Disclaimer:

A/n: I thought this was funny: "I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me saying "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals." Maybe you don't. I just felt like sharing.

xoxoxoxoxox

Rikku laid down on her bed feeling quite exhausted. She had just finished unpacking her entire array of baggage. Tidus, her roommate, had completed the same task in exactly 1/5 of the time. No matter how short you cut her hair she would still always arrange her shirts by color from lightest to darkest. And, according to her beliefs, shoes were meant to be put in height order.

"Wow you have to be the most organized guy I've ever seen." Tidus commented after Rikku finished arranging her new suit jackets by button color.

"Well it makes life easier in the long run." Rikku said, exasperated.

"I was just sayin'…" Tidus said, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you…" Rikku said with a small sigh. Guys aren't supposed to get PMS or sort their clothing I guess. Rikku thought momentarily.

"Hey is your cell phone ringing?" Tidus said pointing to a flashing piece of plastic and

metal on Rikku's bed.

"Oh yea, thanks." Rikku said as she flipped her old Nokia phone open. "Hey."

"Hey Rixi!" a shrill voice screamed over the other end of the phone. Rikku flinched slightly at the familiar sound of Lenne's hyper-anxious-nervous-happy voice.

"Lenne are you alright?" Rikku said, slightly worried at the sound of the noise in the background. It sounded like Lenne was high on caffeine and Paine was playing the emo music she insisted on listening to all the time.

"I'm chipper. We're in the car, Paine and I. She's coming with me. I have to visit my family this week." Lenne replied. Rikku rolled her eyes. This was so typical-Lenne. Doing random things and bringing random people along to do them with her. Rikku sat down on the bed and half-listened while Lenne described an encounter she had yesterday evening with a "really hot really tall really funny guy".

---

The next morning Tidus awoke to the smell of coffee brewing and pork roll frying. He sat up strait in bed and listened to a faint noise coming from the dorm's kitchen.

"Waiting for to-night! Wo-who! When you will be here in my arms…I've dreamed of this love for so long…" Rikku's voice sang loudly to some music video that was playing on the kitchen TV. Wow he sounds like a girl. Tidus thought off-handedly. But upon listening closer Tidus didn't change his opinion. Riku really shouldn't sing. He thought casually as he got up and made his way into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Hey Tidus. I made a huge breakfast. Bacon, pancakes, oatmeal, grits, biscuits and gravy, ham, waffles, eggs, fruit salad, pork rolls, toast, cinnamon rolls, and fresh-squeezed orange juice." Rikku said motioning proudly to the delicious spread she had been slaving over. Tidus' eyes bulged before he hurriedly whipped out his cell phone.

"Hey, 'Lai?" Tidus said to the person on the other line, "yea bring the guys over my roommate made breakfast and we have a ton of food. Yes even enough for Gippal's appetite to be satisfied and for the rest of us to." Tidus spoke for a few more moments before hanging up his phone and grabbing a plate to stack sky-high with waffles.

About forty minutes later four guys and Rikku sat in the living room area of Tidus and Rikku's dorm suite completely stuffed. Tidus had tuned the TV into some early-morning sports news program and the guys' attention was fixed on it. Rikku, however, took the time to notice how any girl would kill to be in the room with her right now. Here she was, one girl, in an all guys boarding school filled with hot guys. Of course she couldn't let them know what she thought about them…after all they might be slightly frightened. And if they found out she was really a girl…well then that could crack-open a whole new rotten egg.

---

Rikku made her way down the school's hallway in search of the front office. Although all students were required to be checked-in and on campus actual classes didn't start until next week. Rikku was taking some of the overwhelming free-time she had to make sure she knew her way around.

"Hey you look a little lost." a voice said from behind her. Rikku turned around sharply to see the ever-so-cocky Gippal standing behind her with a huge smirk plastered on his face.

"For your information I enjoy wandering aimlessly!" Rikku yelled in a lame attempt to justify her actions. Gippal's smirk grew before he raised an eyebrow in a rather an amused look.

"Well in that case I guess I'll leave you here without a ride to Laurie's party. Baralai, Tidus, and Shuyin already left." Rikku's eyes widened. The more she thought about it the more she was dreading Laurie's party. From some rumors she had heard she had learned that Laurie's parties almost always involved games of spin-the-bottle and Rikku didn't think she could handle that. Or the traditional seven minutes in heaven either.

"I thought her party was tomorrow." Rikku said lamely as she fiddled with a keychain on her key ring. "Besides I have a car."

"But you don't know where it is. And its tonight. Come on we're already passed fashionably late." Gippal said as he turned on his heel and randomly exited the building.

Alright Rikku you can do this just follow Gippal and take really deep breaths. Rikku soothed herself as she jogged lightly after Gippal and began on her way to a party she wouldn't soon forget.

---

It's always a bad sign when you pull up at a party and you don't hear any loud music. It's an equally bad sign when you see someone running out of the party wearing a ball gown. Rikku was horrified. Gippal didn't even seem to notice.

"Hey boys!" Laurie's distinct voice shouted from the doorway to her huge townhouse. She was wearing a sapphire colored ball gown and high-heeled shoes making her look almost average height. Rikku's eyes widened even farther when they entered the party and found teenagers sitting on the hardwood floors of one huge room stuffing their faces with food and chatting amongst themselves while faint waltz music played and a disco ball gave off light overhead. It had to be one of the oddest parties Rikku had ever attended. The girls all wore ball gowns and most had on long white gloves. The boys were dressed in tuxedos and suits, with the exception of Rikku. She was wearing kaki cargo pants and striped polo.

"Doesn't Laura throw the most memorable parties?" Rikku heard a familiar voice saying off to her right. She spun around to see Lenne and Paine, both wearing dark red ball gowns, standing in the corner of the room.

"Lenne? Paine?" Rikku said happily. Both girls' eyes looked immediately at their old friend.

"Hey Rix-Riku." Lenne said as she made her way over to the place where Rikku was standing next to Gippal and Laurie.

"Hey I didn't know you guys were coming." Rikku said, slightly confused about her friends' attendance at the party.

"Oh Riku I see you've met my cousin Lenne and her friend Paine." Laurie said, suddenly cutting into the conversation. Lenne rolled her eyes and Paine was gone…somewhere.

"Yeah Riku and I are from the same town, Laura." Lenne answered casually. Laurie's eyes narrowed slightly before they returned to their typical widened expression.

"I've gone by Laurie since the sixth grade." She answered shortly before turning suddenly on her heel to flirt with Shuyin.

"I still don't see the difference!" Lenne yelled after her seriously. Rikku and Gippal exchanged glances and Rikku had to stifle a giggle.

---

About one hour later Rikku found herself a somewhat wallflower. She didn't know how to act like a guy at a party. Lenne and Paine were her only saving graces. Lenne would bring people by to chat with her and Paine would occasionally stop arguing the topics of political sciences and emo music with Baralai to talk with her briefly. Her new guy friends were no help. Tidus walked up to her once and casually told her that maybe she should flirt with the "ladies" if she wanted to see any kind of action.

Rikku did not want to see any kind of action; with a girl anyways that was… not really her thing. However it seemed to be Shuyin and Gippal's thing more then anyone else. Rikku had been keeping somewhat of a running tally and Shuyin had already scored with six girls each and by the looks of it Gippal had his eyes on a seventh. Needless to say Laurie was not happy about Shuyin's behavior. From the snippets of conversation Rikku had managed to pick up she had learned that Shuyin and Laurie were officially dating.

"Hey Riku! Laura wants everyone to gather in the living room." Lenne said as she appeared from no where. Rikku gravely trudged after her friend into another room that connected to the large room the party had been occupying thus far.

----

"Okay everyone sit in a circle! Its time for spin the bottle!" Laurie squealed and she sat next to Shuyin with a beaming smile on her face. Lenne sat down next to Rikku and giggle slightly at Rikku's deer-in-the-headlights expression.

"I'll spin first." Gippal volunteered as he elbowed his way through three different girls, all of whom were vying for his attention. "Round and round the bottle goes where it stops no one knows." Gippal muttered the traditional rhyme that was spoken at all of Laurie's famous house parties.

Finally the bottle did stop. A girl with short red hair and violet eyes blushed when she saw the neck of the bottle pointing distinctively at her. "Alright." Laurie said excitedly, "Kairi and Gippal go into that closet. You have seven minutes." Kairi got up nervously and followed Gippal into the closet.

"Isn't this like a combination seven-minutes-in-heaven and spin the bottle?" Rikku whispered to Lenne. Lenne shrugged and muttered something about Laurie, who for some reason Lenne insisted in calling Laura.

Exactly eight minutes later a dazed looking Kairi and a smug looking Gippal emerged from the closet.

"Gippal and Kairi I said seven minutes not eight." Laurie scolded. Gippal frowned.

"Sorry Laurie I'll remember that next time." he said smoothly. Kairi's face remained a deep crimson the rest of the night.

----

"Alright next one to spin the bottle is…Riku!" Laurie said happily. So far almost two hours had past and Rikku had been very fortunate. Nothing had landed on her and Laurie hadn't randomly selected her to spin. Now, however, her luck had seemed to have run out.

Better get this over with and blacked out of my memory as soon as possible Rikku thought bitterly. She took the cold bottle between her fingers and spun it with all her strength. "Round and round the bottle goes, where it stops no one knows." Rikku chanted as all the others had. The bottle spun and spun…and spun before it landed directly on Laurie herself.

"Oh my!" Laurie said squeakily. "Shuyin would you mind…for the sake of tradition?" Laurie asked her boyfriend, her eyes huge with guilt. Shuyin shrugged and mumbled something that no one else could make out. Laurie nodded and walked defiantly into the closet. Rikku followed even more hesitant, if that was possible, then Kairi had been.

---

"I really feel guilty." Laurie confessed once Rikku closed the closet door. Rikku shrugged she didn't feel guilty just completely sick to her stomach.

"Well then I'll air-kiss your cheek like they do in Europe and we'll just sit in here for seven minutes." Rikku suggested hopefully. Laurie nodded and Rikku air-kissed her cheek, just like everyone did in Europe, and then they sat down.

"So, do you like Silver Crest?" Laurie said awkwardly.

"School hasn't really started yet but the campus is nice." Rikku shrugged.
Laurie nodded and began fiddling with her hair.

"You know Lenne pretty well right?" Laurie said finally.

Rikku nodded, she couldn't tell where this was going. "We've been friends ever since we were really little." she offered.

"Do you know if Lenne and Shuyin…do you know if they…if they…are Lenne and Shying going to…" Laurie stumbled over her own words. "I'm sorry I know guys can't understand these things so I don't expect you to." she said between sobs.

Rikku sat still. Inside she was screaming that she did understand those things. She understood them better then most girls.

"I think Lenne really likes him." Rikku said before realizing her unloyal words. She glanced down quickly at her watch, "Seven minutes are almost up. Come one lets go wipe your face dry." Laurie nodded and watched Rikku exit the room first, a new feeling coming into her mind. Riku, Laurie thought, should be a role model for guys everywhere. He really knows how to treat a girl right…better then Shying…perfect for me…

-----

A/n: That's where I'm leaving you. Laurie has a crush on Rikku? Maybe…even if it's a weird concept just remember Laurie thinks Rikku is a guy. Even if she'd make a very short one.

Also some Lenne/Shuyin? Perhapts... stay tuned…

Review comment, whatever…

Lucy