Tease Me, Tease Me Not - Chapter 10: The Way I Am
HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO ROLLARCOASTER217! Sorry I was late but I didn't update until today!
We have finally arrived at .:Dun Dun Da:. Chapter 10! Finally! This is where the romance begins. And it's funny too. And long as HELL!
I know you guys are looking forward to this so I'll stop mumbling on...
P.S. My birthday's in 2 days! (July 25th). Pee my pants in joy!
It was almost noon before Yuna opened up her eyes. She was underneath her blankets in her own bed. Rikku exited the balcony, "Oh, Yuna. You're awake!"
Yuna sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes, "When I came back from dinner last night, you were asleep on the chair in the balcony. I had Gippal carry you to bed." There was a knock at the door, "Who is it?"
"It's me, Tidus. I wanted to talk to Yuna."
"Go away! I don't want to talk to you!" Yuna pulled the sheets over her head. Rikku ran to the door and peeked her head out.
"Yuna just woke up. Go out shopping or something and come back later," Rikku said.
Tidus sighed, "Alright." Rikku ran back into the room.
"Is he gone?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah."
"Good." Yuna hopped out of bed, grabbed some clothes out of the closet, and walked into the bathroom. She came out with damp hair, "Hey Rikku…"
"Yeah?"
"Did you want to go shopping or something? We are in Luca, aren't we? It has some great stores." Yuna asked as she leaned over to tie her shoe.
Rikku eyes lit up, "Really! You want me to go with you!"
"Of course. You're a good shopping partner." Yuna smiled, "Let's go!" The left their room and headed down to Luca's port.
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"Hey Yuna! Check out this bracelet!"
Yuna walked up to the glass, "It's beautiful…" It was beaded with tiny silver, light blue and light purple gems. Yuna felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see who was there. It was Tidus.
"Hey Yuna," Tidus scratched the back of his head, "You two are easy to find! I just had to look into the first few stores." He smiled, "Can I talk with you for a sec, Yuna?"
Yuna's eyes grew dark, "I'd prefer it if you just went away…" Tidus's smile faded.
"Yuna, come over here for a minute," Rikku pulled Yuna over to a clothes rack, "We'll be back in just a second Tidus!"
"Look, Rikku. I appreciate you trying to get us to get along again but…"
"Just listen. I've known Tidus for years now. He's a really nice guy."
"If he's such a nice guy, then why did he dump potato salad over my head?" Yuna asked.
"Tidus thought you put Tabasco sauce in his drink at the picnic yesterday. Once you left Wakka confessed he did it. Tidus even came to apologize this morning. Before you got up he had been in the room every fifteen minutes to see if you were awake yet so that he could say he was sorry. He feels really, really bad Yunie!"
"I guess I could atleast let him apologize but that doesn't mean I forgive him. And since when did you start calling me 'Yunie'?"
"It's cute, isn't it? I came up with it last night!" Rikku said with a smile. Yuna smiled back and the headed over to see Tidus.
"What was it you wanted to say to me?" Yuna asked.
Tidus's was taken aback, she was actually going to let him talk to her, "I wanted to say… I'm sorry about yesterday. I had no idea it was Wakka who put that stuff in my drink. I know it's no excuse for flipping out on you like I did. And I just wanted to try to make it up to you."
Tidus handed Yuna a small, thin box wrapped in pretty purple wrapping paper. She opened it to reveal a piece of paper, "What's this?" She asked.
"It's a ticket for Chocobo rides on the Moonflow tomorrow. I figured the best way to make up for the picnic was an even better picnic, but with Chocobos! They start at one and we ride until around six at night. Then there is supposed to be a really nice fireworks show." Tidus looked down at Yuna. She was just staring at the ticket in her hand, "Well, what do you say Yuna?"
She looked up at him, "Ok."
"Great!" Tidus said with a smile, "I'll leave you two to shop. Oh ya, and Rikku," Rikku turned her head toward Tidus, "Gippal said to meet us at the dinner table at 8:30 tonight."
Rikku nodded and hoped back to gaze at jewelry with Yuna.
When the two returned on the ship they had arms full of bags, "We need to hurry Yunie! It's semi-formal night, which means we have to change into skirts or something. And we have to meet everyone in twenty minutes!"
The girls rushed to get changed and hurried to the elevator. They hit the down button to make the elevator pick them up, "How is it that there are four elevators and not one of them can get to floor twelve!" Rikku shouted, irritated after waiting so long for the elevator to come.
They made it to their table with just a few minutes to spare, "In a rush, ya?" Wakka said. They were still out of breath.
They sat down around the table, "And what can I get for you two lovely ladies?" Hanzel asked as he handed them the menus, "I'll have the chicken," Yuna said.
"And I'll have the halibut," Rikku said. Hanzel left to fill their orders.
"You two were just in time. That was the third time Hanzel came to see us. I told the guys we couldn't order until you guys got here." Lulu said.
Yuna looked across the table at an unfamiliar face, "Paine! You actually managed to get out of your room."
"Yeah. Hanzel came by earlier this morning and gave me some pills to calm down my system. I've never been on a ship before, so my stomach isn't use to tipping back and forth this much."
The group had a wonderful meal that they all enjoyed. The guys stood up and placed their napkins on the table, "Well, we'll see you all tomorrow." Gippal said.
"Where are you three going?" Rikku asked.
"We're gonna hit the arcade before it closes, ya." Wakka grinned.
They left the room as Rikku said, "Boys will be boys…" The girls laughed and stood up to leave after a few minutes, "I think it's time for bed." Rikku said with a stretch.
"That sounds good." Yuna said. They headed to the elevator and up to their rooms.
After a few minutes there was a knock at Yuna and Rikku's door, "Coming!"
Yuna opened up the door to reveal Tidus, "Aren't you suppose to be at the arcade?" She asked.
"Yeah, but I forgot to tell you to meet me in the hall at noon."
"I'll see you then. Night."
"See ya tomorrow," Yuna closed the door and headed into bed.
THE NEXT DAY
"Where is she?" Tidus asked himself as he leaned against the wall in front of Yuna's door, "She's late!"
Calm down Tidus. This whole thing is to make up for me getting pissed off at her. I have to remember to be nice. I can't be a jerk.
"Sorry I'm late." Yuna said as she exited her room, "Rikku was hogging the bathroom again."
"No worries. Let's just get going." They took the elevator down to the port. Yuna gasped as she walked out of the ship.
"I forgot how beautiful the Moonflow was. I haven't seen it since I was little," Yuna's eyes glittered with excitement.
"Let's go. We're already a little behind," Tidus said as he headed towards what he guessed was the Chocobo Ride Station. Tidus handed the man at the desk their tickets.
"Welcome to Chocobo Rides! I will lead you to your chocobos…" The man led them to a pen behind the desk, "Wait here."
He grabbed two chocobos from the pen and placed reins on them. He guided the chocobos towards Yuna and Tidus, "This one is for you, Sir. Her name is Starry. And the other is for you, Miss. We call her Sunny. They make a good match. Follow the path and after a while you will come to an open area, the fireworks can be seen perfectly from there. Enjoy!"
The man returned to his desk and took out some paperwork. Tidus and Yuna led their chocobos to the path. Yuna swung one foot over the chocobo and pulled herself up gracefully, "I take it you've done this before?" Tidus asked.
"Once or twice."
Tidus swung one foot over the chocobo and it jolted forward. Tidus foot caught on the chocobo's reins and was being dragged around by his foot in circles.
Yuna laughed as Tidus cried out for help. Yuna dismounted her chocobo and approached Starry, Tidus chocobo. "Easy girl…" Yuna said as she patted it on the head. It chirped in happiness. Yuna untied Tidus's foot.
"I take it you've never ridden a chocobo before?"
"Nope." Yuna continued to pet Starry.
"Here's what to do: Come over here and start off by petting Starry." Tidus approached his chocobo and hesitantly patted it on the head, "Good. Now put one foot over its back while I pet it so that it doesn't flip out again."
Tidus swung his foot over the chocobo making sure it was nowhere near the reins. Tidus pushed onto the bird with his other foot, "Easy as pie."
"Good little chocobo! Don't worry he wont hurt you." Tidus smiled down at Yuna, "He's too stupid to do anything to you."
"Hey!" Tidus shouted. Yuna returned to her own chocobo and, once again, demonstrated how to flawlessly mount a chocobo.
"Ready?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah. But before we leave how do I make this thing go?" Tidus asked.
"First off, don't call your chocobo a 'thing'. You'll hurt her feelings. Second, just flick its reins. To make it stop pull back on the reins. Off we go!" Yuna flicked her chocobo's reins and it walked slowly forward.
Tidus flicked Starry's reins and it went zooming down the path he pulled back on the reins to make it stop. He had almost fallen off. "Only flick once to make it walk. If you flick it twice it will run."
Tidus flicked the reins once and his chocobo proceeded slowly.
"So I take it you weren't the one to come up with the idea to go chocobo riding?" Yuna asked as she steered her chocobo next to Tidus.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah. It was Rikku wasn't it?" Yuna asked.
"Yup. I swear that girl cannot stay out of anyone's business…" Tidus said. Yuna giggled.
Tidus smiled at Yuna, "What is it? Is there something wrong?"
"No. It's just…I think that was the first timeI've made you smile this entire cruise. Without injuring myself that is…" Tidus said.
Yuna smiled at him, "You owe Rikku a lot though. If it weren't for her I still wouldn't be talking to you. How long have you known her for?"
"Since freshman year. It was the same time I started the band with Gippal and Wakka. So when Gippal came to practices he would bring Rikku…"
"You're in a band?"
"Yup."
"That's so cool!" Yuna said, "What's it called?"
"Zanarkand's Fayth. We do a little bit of everything. Wakka's an awesome drummer! And Gippal is amazing on the keyboard!" Tidus was getting excited to finally talk about something he enjoyed.
"What do you do in the band?"
"I'm thelead singer. Plus I play the guitar."
"I wish I could do something like that. I have no musical abilities what so ever."
After a moment of silence Yuna asked, "Why do you like music so much?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you can sing, you can play guitar, you're awesome at DDR, so you can dance. All of the things you seem to like doing revolve around music." Yuna said.
"Huh. I never really noticed it before. It's kind of like you're asking me why I am the way I am. Or like me asking you why you sleep around with guys so much…" Tidus paused. He looked over at Yuna who was staring at the ground, "I'm sorry! I went to far!" He hit himself in the forehead.
"Don't worry about it. I don't mind talking about it. Everyone calls me a slut, so I've just gotten use to it," Yuna gave a saddened smile, "Do you want to know why I am the way that I am?"
"Only if you want to tell me." Tidus said a little worried about what the outcome of this situation would be.
"I never use to be this way, you know, a whore. I use to be the quiet girl. It all started about half way into my freshman year; my boyfriend and I had been dating for almost a month, he treated me like a princess and my father approved of him, which was a bonus. Everything was going great until… he hit me one day when I showed up late to his apartment."
Yuna paused as her chocobo walked over a giant tree root sticking out of the path road, "Eventually the occasional hits turned into full out beatings, and then into… ummmm… sextual abuse."
"He raped you?" Tidus asked quietly in almost a whisper,not believing what he was hearing.
"Yeah…Almost every night for half a year."
"What happened?"
"Eventually I met Lulu. I became her friend in no time at all. She saw him hit me one day after school and decided that she wouldn't let him hurt me like that anymore. Lulu maybe quiet, but when her friends are in trouble she'll speak her mind. Anyway, Lulu told my father. He forbid me to see my boyfriend ever again. Needless to say, that didn't go over so well with my boyfriend. A week after I broke up with my boyfriend my father died."
Tidus could sense Yuna fighting back tears, "You don't need to go on."
"No, I want to…" Yuna continued, "My mother died when I was two. I had no one to turn to but Lulu. So I moved in with her. But she couldn't heal how I felt inside. I had so much anger filled up inside of me. I needed to find an outlet, so that's when I changed. After being abused for so long, it became a part of who I was. I started sleeping around and before I knew it I was labeled a slut. To be perfectly honest, I really don't care. I wont get hurt again."
"But don't you want love?"
"Love?" Yuna laughed, "I don't believe in love. It's just something made up by people who haven't discovered the feeling of hurt yet."
There was a long silence between the two as they rode down the path.
What is she thinking about? She's so quiet. All this time I just thought she was some easy whore. But there was a reason. I actually feel sorry for her…
"Tidus?"
"Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking."
"I just asked you how you like the cruise so far…" Yuna said.
"It's great! I love having our own butler. What's your favorite part so far?"
"I love the views! Do you know where we're stopping tomorrow?"
"It's an at sea day. We're on the water all day."
"Awesome! That means everything will be guaranteed to be open. I can finally check out the Art Gallery, Library, and Mini mall!"
"Mini Mall?" Tidus asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! They have one on the same floor as the dining area only on the other side. Rikku and I have been dying to see what they're selling."
"Come on!" Tidus said jokingly, "We are in the middle of Spira's ocean for ten days! And you two want to spend the entire time inside shopping? You have to come out and enjoy the sun!"
"I guess…"
"Promise me you'll atleast come outside and enjoy the sun tomorrow."
"Ok."
"Pinky swear…" Yuna locked pinkies with Tidus. Yuna giggled.
"So Tidus, are we back on the truce?" Yuna asked.
"I'm not sure. I guess we really don't need a truce anymore. We seem to get along just fine."
"Wanna hear something funny?" Yuna asked.
"Sure."
"I work at 'The Besaid Harbor Restaurant.'"
"That one by the water?" Tidus asked.
"That's the one. Each year for Spira Independence Day they have a fireworks show over the water. I've seen it every time for the past six years. I've been working there for three years. When the fireworks start we turn off all the lights in the restaurant and watch them."
"What's funny about that?" Tidus asked.
"The funny part is that I've never actually seen them with anyone. I always sit in the same spot on the grass alone. Going to see these fireworks with you is going to be something special…"
Tidus turned red. "Hey look! There's the spot by the Moonflow that we're suppose to see the fireworks from! Race ya!" Tidus said as he double flicked his chocobo's reins. It raced down the trail.
"Hey! No Fair!" Yuna screamed as she made her chocobo start running.
"Beat ya!" Yuna said, as she was the first to arrive at the spot.
Tidus dismounted his chocobo and tiedthe reins to the tree behind him, "Lucky try! Good thing we got here, it's almost time for the fireworks."
Yuna smiled, "I do have a question for you though. You said yesterday that the only way to make up for the sucky picnic was with an even better picnic. This isn't even a picnic…"
"Not yet anyway," Tidus plopped his backpack on the ground and started to unload a series of foods.
"No way! These are all my favorite foods!" Yuna said as she looked down at Tidus.
"I know. I asked Lulu what you liked," Tidus said as he took out three blankets and laid one across the ground.
"That's so sweet…" Yuna said as she tilted her head and smiled.
Tidus blushed. Yuna sat down next to the pile of her favorite foods and picked up a bowl of raspberries, "Come sit down! I think the fireworks are starting!" Tidus went to go hand Yuna a blanket when he tripped and it went flying into the Moonflow.
"Crap! You can have mine..."
"It's Ok. We can just share the other one. I don't mind if you don't."
Tidus smiled and sat down with the balnket. He wrapped the blanket over Yuna's shoulders and she scooted closer to him for more blanket.
"Thanks."
The pyerflies swirled around themcreating a dance of magical light. Then the first explosion appeared across the sky. Followed by a purple and a blue one.
Tidus looked over at Yuna. He could see the colors reflect in her bi-colored eyes.
She looks so happy… I'm glad we did this.
There we go! Some Yuna and Tidus romance and this is only the beginning! And we FINALLY found out why Yuna's a whore (see, I told you guys there was a reason!) Next time we shall dig deeper into the Tidus/Yuna romance! See you at Chapter 11: Balloon Beam.
And REVIEW! Because that's what Awesomely Cool People do!
Before we continue onto the awesomely cool people who reviewed last chapter, I'd like to tell you guys about my new and upcoming story! Summary- A Seaside Affair: Yuna's engaged to be married in less than a month, when she starts to fall for the man in the next room over while away at her last husband-free getaway, will she continue along with her wedding plans? Or will she find herself giving it all up for the man next door? What do you guys think? Huh? Huh? Huh? Tell me! Is it a good idea?
And on to the Awesomely Cool People! (Once again, worship their asses!)-
gurlo09, rina bebii, digitalgirl89, Mandy, Cluck the Chickin, Dj-Sesshoumaru, sita, Rollercoaster217, Little Prayer, bbychrangel, gothmaniac, mandyfanforevr, tuna4yunis, tidusXyuna637, kyritawuv, brownsugar, Someone,cazzyrulz, lanablaze92, Noelly and Chloe and finally This Story Kicks Ass! (I've said it once and I'll say it again, Best-Name-Ever!)
Holly Crap that was a lot of reviews! So happy... Review now and your name could be here!