Hello, my lovely readers. Yes, much to the contradiction of the judgement of most of you, I am, in fact, alive and well. I went through a period of such bad writer's block that not only could I not write a word of this story, butI couldn't write any of my original work either. But I'm hopefully back in the groove of fanfiction now. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys keep me going! On another note, I'm no longer going to put 'Tidus POV' or 'Yuna POV'. I'll simply put a line, like you see below. And this chapter is more of a Yuna/Lulu friendship chapter, so it doesn't have a ton of Tuna love. And now, on to the story!

Chapter 9
The Answering Machine Tells All

So Tidus and I worked on our project in class for the next two days. Monday was slightly awkward since we had just been caught eating doughnuts in the hallway a few minutes before, but we became more comfortable as the hour went on. Actually, pretty much all of the awkwardness was fading from our relationship. We were treating each other normally now. Of course, the complete unease of our past would never completely leave us (or me at least) but it was good that things were getting better.

But even though I was happy about this, my mind still couldn't find peace. I hadn't seen Lulu at school since Monday morning, and I had been getting sick with worry. She hadn't even been coming to work, and I feared that she would get fired. I had tried to call her apartment countless times, but each time I got the answering machine. I had decided that, tonight, if she wasn't at work, I would pay her a visit.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Even though we had to work very fast in order to get all eight pages of our report done, Tidus and I managed to get finished just in time.

"Phew!" He exclaimed, sitting back in his chair after we had finished right before the bell rang on Wednesday. "I'm glad that's over."

"Yeah," I agreed, sorting the pages of our report. "Usually Mr. Maechen doesn't assign such tough projects. I'm surprised at him."

Tidus shrugged as Mr. Maechen entered the room, smiling from under his long white beard. "Well, class, you know what today is! Please pass your reports to the front in an orderly fashion!"

So we began passing our reports up to the desks in the front row. In the end it turned out that about one half of the class hadn't even gotten finished. What upset me was that they deliberately hadn't gotten it finished.

"Did you seriously expect us to do a report like that, old man?" Porio Michelo said after Mr. Maechen addressed this issue to the class. Porio's partner, Jeremiah Brethis, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," Moira Yumen said. "I mean, on Al Bhed of all things?"

A murmur of agreement swept throughout the classroom. I bit my lip. When I was younger, I had never been able to understand racial tension. I couldn't see why all people couldn't act normal towards each other. But as I got older, I realized that people were like that because of various reasons, such as influence from parents or any people they respected, and that was the way it was, and the way it would always be.

Mr. Maechen held up his hands to silence the class. "Students, please refrain from talking." The majority of the class got quiet. "That's better," Mr. Maechen continued. "If you must know, I simply assigned this project to broaden your horizons. Nothing more, nothing less. There should have been no issues such as this; I am quite disappointed in you all." There were still several murmurs going through the class, but it seemed that Mr. Maechen had, for the most part,gotten his point across.

Mr. Maechen sighed. "Well, I expect the rest of these projects by tomorrow morning before class. If they are not on my desk by that time, I will make sure to assign detentions to all of the students whom failed to do the work assigned to them. Now, moving on," Mr. Maechen sat down at his desk and pulled out his copy of our history book. "Open your books to page two-hundred and forty-three. We will be moving on to the next chapter, 'Early Agriculture of the West Hemisphere.' Gaplardi, if you would please begin reading."

"So, Tidus," Rikku sat down next to me at our usual lunch table, smirking. "How did the project with Yunie go?"

"Fine," I said, taking a sip of my soda.

"'Fine'?" Rikku said, biting into her grilled cheese sandwich. "That's it?"

I raised my eyebrow at her. "Um, yeah. Fine. Why?"

Rikku sighed. "You two just look so darn cute together," I heard her mumble.

I turned to her sharply. "What!"

Rikku smiled. "I was just saying that you and Yunie look cute together, that's all."

"Together? What do you mean, together?" I asked, though I knew very well what my perky friend meant.

Rikku rolled her eyes. "Together means together, Tidus. An item. Going steady. A couple."

I shook my head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Rikku," I began, taking an extra large swig of my soda. "But no. We don't."

"Whatever, Tidus," Rikku said, sighing. "But I still think I'm right."

"And you're the only one, Rik," I said. How could she possibly think that Yuna and I looked good together? Of all the couples, the two of us were probably the most unlikely.

Dona and Barthello soon joined us, and we got into conversation about the blitzball tournament in Luca that all of us would be going to in March. My dad had gotten the tickets for free since he was a 'blitzball veteran', and since his old team, the Zanarkand Abes were playing in the finals.

After about ten minutes of discussing the tournament, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Wakka standing behind me, fidgeting nervously.

"Hey, Wakka," I said, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Hey," he said. "Can I sit down for a minute, brudduh?"

"Sure," I said, nodding towards the chair next to me. "What's up?"

"Ugh," Wakka looked around uneasily. "I was just wondering…I mean…"

I laughed at Wakka's behavior. "Jeez, Wakka. You're acting like someone's about to jump you or something. Spit it out."

Wakka forced a laugh. "Heh…ugh, yeah, I just wanted to know…H-Have you seen Lulu around the past couple of days?"

I was taken aback by his question. Lulu? Why was he asking about Lulu? "Ugh, no, I haven't. Granted, I don't really pay that much attention, so I wouldn't reallyknow."

"Oh," Wakka said, glancing at the lunch table that Lulu usually sat at. "I just thought…since you were working with Yuna on that thing…Well, thanks man." But as he made a move to get up, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back down into his seat.

"Why do you ask, my friend?" I smirked evilly, lowering my voice. Luckily, the others had paid no attention when Wakka sat down. "Has Rikku's prediction come true?"

Wakka looked shocked for a moment, but his expression quickly reverted to one of anger. "You're kidding, ya? I mean, Lulu? Of all the couples, we're probably the most unlikely!" And with that, he got up and went back over to his usual table of blitzball jocks.

I stared after him for a moment. Sure, I was surprised that Wakka liked Lulu. He only made it one hundred percent obvious. But what I was more surprised at was that he had just said about Lulu and he being an unlikely couple was the exact same thing that I had just been thinking about Yuna only a little while before.

"Bye, Gippal!" I called, exiting a slightly busy Opurson's at six thirty that night. Lulu had once again missed work, and Mr. Opurson hadn't exactly been happy about it. I cringed as I remembered his outburst.

"She's not here! Again!"

"Mr. Opurson, please, just give her a chance…"

"I already gave her a chance on Monday, Yuna, as well as on Tuesday."

"But Mr. Opurson, please try to understand," I begged for my best friend. "She's…she's just under a lot of stress right now. I mean, with us being seniors and such. There's a lot more work."

"Yuna, you know just as well as I do that Lulu is an extremely intelligent girl. She can handle anything that's thrown her way. And even if Lulu was under stress, she would have the common sense to call in sick!"

My head drooped. I knew that Mr. Opurson was completely right about Lulu. She had always been smart, and had never once had trouble keeping up with her studies. But when I heard Mr. Opurson sigh, I looked up to see him rubbing his wrinkled head in frustration.

"Okay, Yuna, I'll tell you what," he said, looking at me with tired gray irises. "I'll give Lulu one more chance. One more, and that's it. If she's not here on Friday, I'll take her job. No exceptions."

And with that, he walked out of the 'employees only' room.

I knew that I had to get Lulu to come to her senses. If I didn't, she would get fired. I had known Mr. Opurson long enough to know that he wouldn't lie about something like that.

I turned the opposite way that I usually did on my way home in order to get to Lulu's apartment building. It would take me about a half an hour to get to her house from here. I prayed to Yevon that she was there. I had to talk with her. I had to find out what was wrong.

As I walked through town, I suddenly heard someone calling my name. Or, rather, my newly bestowed nickname.

"Yunie! Hey, Yunie!"

"Oh, Yevon. Not now," I muttered as I slowly turned to see none other then Rikku, waving at me maniacally, and behind her were Tidus and Wakka, both with their hands in their pockets. I sighed, and plastered a small smile on my face as I waved back.

"Hey," I called.

"What're you up to?" Rikku asked, walking up to me.

"Ugh…I was just going home," I said, blabbing out the first thing that came to mind. Good going, Yuna, I thought to myself. They'veall been to your house. They'll know you're going the wrong way. But, to my surprise, neither of them said anything. I thanked Yevon that they had bad memories.

"Well, since you're free, do you want to get something to eat with us?" Rikku asked.

I could've sworn that Tidus and I both flinched at the same time. I didn't really want to accompany them, and it was pretty obvious that he didn't want me to either.

"Ugh, I have a lot of homework to do, so I think I'll just…" ButI stopped in mid-sentence. There, on the other side of the street, walking with a tall, strange-haired man, was none other then Lulu. And the two were headed into a restaurant, 'The Yellow Feather'.

My eyes must've gotten wide at the site, because Rikku turned around to see what I was looking at. Luckily, Lulu and the man had already made it through the door.

"What're you looking at, Yunie?" Rikku asked, glancing at me before squinting at the same spot that I was still staring at.

"Ugh…" I began, getting an idea. "Actually, I would like to get a bite to eat with you guys. How about the Yellow Feather?"

Rikku beamed. "I knew you'd come around! So, the Yellow Feather, huh?" She grabbed my arm and began pulling me across the street. "Sounds good! Let's go!"

We reached the other side of the street with Wakka close behind us. Rikku spun around and put her hands on her hips. "You coming or not, Tidus?" she called.

Tidus had been standing there in a daze, but was snapped out of it when he heard Rikku's call. "Oh, ugh, sure." And he trotted across the street after us. I wondered what his problem was, but had no more time to think about it as we entered the Yellow Feather, for my mind quickly reverted to Lulu and her companion. From the looks of it, they had already been seated since they weren't standing by the peppy looking hostess, who was looking around eagerly for new customers.

"Welcome!" she piped up when she saw the three of us. "Would you prefer a booth or a table today?"

Suddenly, I spotted Lulu. She and the man were sitting at a table in an aisle near the back of the restaurant. And close but not too close to them was an emptybooth.

"Booth!" I blurted out. "Maybe that one over there?" I pointed at the one near Lulu, trying not to make myself too obvious. Thehostess smiled and nodded and began leading us towards the booth. Luckily, thehostess was tall, so I could easily walk behind her and not be seen by Lulu.

The four of us sat down, me and Rikku on one side, Tidus and Wakka on the other. Immediately, Rikku leaned over to me.

"That's Lulu, isn't it?" she whispered so the guys couldn't hear.

I blinked stupidly, and after a moment said, "Ugh, yeah, it is. Just a coincidence, I guess." I picked up the menu and pretended to read it, though I kept continuously glancing at Lulu and the man. Was this that Nooj guy that she had been telling me about? I figured it had to be; Lulu had no other men in her life. No father, no brothers, no uncles, no one.

"Who's the guy with the anti-gravitational hair sitting with her?" Rikku continued, looking at the man strangely. "He might be hot if he wasn't wearing all that red spandex. Gag."

"I don't know," I said, continuously glancing from my menu to Lulu.

"Oh, well," Rikku said, picking up her own menu. "I think I'm just gonna get a burger. How about you guys?"

"Steak," Tidus said.

"Steak," Wakka echoed.

"I'm not that hungry," I said, keeping one eye on Lulu.

"Oh, c'mon Yunie!" Rikku said, playfully punching me in the arm. "You're the one who wanted to come here, so you have to get something!"

But I didn't respond. Because at that moment, Lulu's eyes locked with mine. For a moment we just sat there. Then, she immediately grabbed Nooj's hand, whispered something and smiled at him. He nodded, and they both stood up, and headed for the door.

"Ohhh no," I whispered, putting down my menu.

"What's wrong?" Rikku asked.

"I…I just forgot that I had a doctor's appointment tonight, about…" I looked at my watch. "Uh-oh. It's now. Sorry guys. See you later."

"But---"

I got up from my seat and bolted out the door before Rikku could finish, attracting attention from quite a few of the customers. I looked around. Lulu and Nooj were nowhere in sight. Maybe they went to Lulu's house, I thought, and started running towards her apartment complex.

In aboutfifteen minutes, I reached the front of the three-story building. I stopped and crouched, trying to catch my breath. The sun was slowly setting, so I had to hurry. This area could get dangerous at nighttime.

I walked up the steps and pushed open the door. Ientered the corridor and immediately headed up the stairs to the third level. A baby crying, various televisions going, and someone taking a shower were only a few of the various sounds that greeted me as I walked to the top. When I reached my destination, I immediately knocked on the first door to my right. Lulu's apartment.

I stepped back after I knockedand waited. After no one answered, I knocked again, a little bit louder. Again no one answered, and my frustration heightened. "Lulu, open the door!" I called, and knocked harder. But I must've knocked a bit too hard, because the door opened halfway, causing me to stumble inside. I looked up, expecting to see Lulu, or even that Nooj guy. But no. I saw neither of them.

In fact, I saw nothing.

Lulu's apartment was completely empty.

I looked around wide-eyed. Everything was gone. Her furniture, her small television, her card table, her paintings, her old arearug. Everything. The shades were drawn shut, condemning the room to darkness and making it even more ominous-looking.

And amidst the blackness, I saw a blinking red light.

Making my way carefully to her kitchen counter, I stared sadly at her answering machine, the number four being the blinking light I had seen. After debating, I raised my hand and pressed the play button.

"You have four new messages," the female voice on the machine recited. "Message one."

"…Lulu?" I heard my voice echo through the machine. I had left this message Monday, the day that she had ran out of school. "Hey, are you alright? I really don't care about what happened this morning, so you don't have to apologize or anything. I know you're under stress. Just give me a call when you get this, okay?"

"End of message." I pressed play again. "Message two."

"Hey, Lulu, it's Yuna. I'm working extra today, Tuesday, and Mr. Opurson said you didn't call in sick yesterday. This really isn't like you, Lulu. I wish you'd call me or something. You didn't show up for school again today. Call me later tonight, because I have summoning classes."

"End of message." I pressed the button again. "Message three."

"Lulu, this is Mr. Opurson. You've now missed work two times with no explanation whatsoever. I'm afraid that if you don't call in about your absences by Friday, I'm going to have to let you go. I'm sorry, Lulu."

"End of message." Cursing Lulu's carelessness on the work issue, I pressed the play button for the last time, and heard a surprising voice emit from the answering machine.

"Yuna? It's Lulu."

I froze, the only thought going through my head being, 'Howin Yevon did she know I was here?'

"I saw you today at the restaurant, and I figured you'd check my apartment. This was the only thing I left at the house, so…" She paused. "Listen, Yuna, don't waste your time. I'm fine here with Nooj. I don't need anyone else. I'm dropping out of school, and I'm going to stop attending guardian's classes. I'm sorry about that, Yuna. I'm sure you'll make a great summoner.Good-bye."

Click.

"You have no more new messages."

Sincerely,
Inannalia