A/N: wow this was a quick update! I realised I didn't really thank my reviewers last chapter SO THANKYOU! I'm pretty sure you all know what its like getting reviews, most ppl here write their own stories. I hope you know how much I appreciate them! Anyway read and review. Some of you might have seen this coming but I think the story is moving on nicely now!
.:How Can I Not Love You:.
Yuna's mind was racing. She had to use all her will power not to run over there and ask Tidus just what the hell was going on. The problem was she didn't want to go anywhere near Seymour.
What is he doing with Seymour? I know he said he had to meet someone male, but he couldn't have meant Seymour…Could he? Yuna was confused.
"Hello, Yuna, anyone home?" Paine was waving her hand in front of Yuna's face.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I said we don't have to go in there, we can just go home." Paine was standing with one hand on her hip, the other one in Baralai's hand.
Yuna thought on this for a while and came to a conclusion.
"No, its ok. I can ignore Seymour, and if I can get Tidus alone I can find out what's going on…" She nodded, more to herself than the others, telling herself she could do this. After all, she wasn't completely useless. She could look after herself.
She straightened her hair and took a deep breath, then began walking again, into the shopping centre.
Once inside she felt safer. The centre was filled with people so she knew nothing would happen.
"I'm going to go this way to the games shop. Are you sure you girls will be ok?" Baralai asked.
"Lai, we'll be fine. You know Paine, if something happens, she'll take care of me." Yuna said and almost laughed at the look Paine was giving Baralai.
"You know better than to imply we cant look after ourselves, Baralai." Paine said coldly, but smiled at the end when Baralai nodded and smiled.
"Ok, but just don't do anything… crazy, ok?" Baralai gave an accusing look at Paine and then turned and walked into the crowd.
"Ok, so you wanted food?" Yuna looked at Paine. Paine nodded and both women began to walk towards the food court.
As they walked, Yuna's mind continued to churn and her stomach did summersaults every time she saw someone that had even the lightest resemblance to Tidus or Seymour.
"Paine… Was it really Tidus we saw? I mean, could it have been someone else?" Yuna kept her gaze focused on the ground as she walked, relying on the fact that Paine wouldn't walk them into people. "I mean, he wouldn't, would he? Damn it Paine, I slept with him!" She looked at her friend now and she had tears in her eyes.
Paine stopped now, "Yuna, I don't know. All I know is that it sure looked like him. Yuna, I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful. I'm normally such a good judge of character, but I… I just didn't see this." Paine crossed her arms and frowned, angry with herself for letting Yuna get hurt again. She couldn't look her friend in the face. Couldn't stand to see Yuna's pleading eyes that begged for all this to be a mistake. She couldn't look into the eyes that had only just started to return to normal from a terrible past…
"Paine… This isn't your fault. I made my own decision and… and it was wrong… I made the wrong decision. But…" Yuna started walking again back towards the food court, Paine started after her and caught up, looked at Yuna as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"But what?" Paine asked, putting her hand gently on Yuna's arm.
"But it just felt so right. He said all the right things. He was…" Yuna looked up ahead, her eyes were glassy from tears that refused to come now. "He was perfect…"
Paine moved her arm so that it was around Yuna's shoulder and they walked in silence the rest of the way to the food court.
Paine got her food, Yuna having already eaten at the fish shop, and sat down at a table that was in the corner so as not to make them to visible. As Paine ate, Yuna continued to talk.
"I just don't understand it… The other day he was kicking Seymour in the head and now he's best friends with him? What is it about men and their ability to crush me? I think I could take on the world and win, but one man can bring me to this… This mess? Ahhhh..." Yuna put her head in her hands and sighed. Just then Paine's phone rang. She looked at the number and clicked it open.
"Hey. Yeah were fine. In the food court. Far left corner. Yeah ok, see you soon." Paine clicked the phone closed and frowned.
"You know you're lucky to have Baralai. He's a great guy… why can't I find a guy like that…?" Yuna smiled at Paine.
"Yeah he's a great guy but I don't know where he gets it from… Not his father that's for sure." Paine frowned even more, and glared at her phone. She then looked up at Yuna and grinned. "Yuna I can read you like a book. You're thinking that you want to know what the problem is, but you don't want to ask because you think it's rude." Yuna blushed smiled herself. 'Well I'll ask him later if its ok that I tell you. Or maybe he can tell you himself, that might be better. Besides, I'm more worried about you. What are you going to do?"
Yuna sighed. "I just don't know, Paine. I suppose I just really need to talk to him. It might just be a big misunderstanding…" Paine gave Yuna a doubtful look. "I know. I know what I saw and it wasn't good. But I need to know why. And the only way to find out is to ask him, right?" Paine nodded and finished her meal. The girls sat in silence for a moment, both thinking about each other's problems and their own.
"Hey." Baralai's voice interrupted the silence. "Is everything alright? You girls seem a little more quiet than normal." He sat down at their table and looked at the girls.
"Oh hi Baralai. We were just thinking about stuff." Yuna answered.
"Yes I guessed as much." He answered. "So have you come to any conclusions?"
"Only that I want to talk to him. Just see him one more time so that I know why…" Yuna answered.
"Well that's fair enough. Do you want to go look for him now?" Baralai was always being the organised one.
"No. I'm not that eager… But if I see him…"
"Ok, well let's get going. I'm kinda tired from uni… I could use some couch time…" Paine said and she began to stand up. Yuna and Baralai both nodded, not wanting to argue with Paine when she is tired.
As they approached the car, Baralai pressed the unlock button on the remote and it beeped twice. Just as Yuna was getting in the car, Paine spoke.
"Uh, Yuna. Look…" She nodded towards the shopping centre entrance. Yuna looked up and saw someone she wanted to see but didn't want to see at the same time. Tidus was running towards the car waving and smiling.
"Bother…Ahhhhh" Yuna grumbled to herself.
"Go on Yuna. Now's your chance!" Baralai gave her a smile.
"Ahh, I know I said I wanted to talk to him but I didn't mean NOW! I need some time to think about what I want to say!"
"Just say what you feel. You're better off not thinking about things like this. Just say whatever comes to mind and I'm sure it will be what you want." Paine gave Yuna a small shove out the car. "We'll be right here." She looked at Baralai and he nodded.
Yuna took a deep breath and got out of the car.
"Hey Babe! I though I nearly missed you!" Tidus puffed as he went to out his arms around Yuna. Yuna, however, would have no part in this and put her hand against his chest and gently pushed him away. It took Tidus a moment to see the look in Yuna's eyes and another moment to work out what it was. Disappointment.
"Yuna, what's the matter?" Tidus asked, trying once again to touch Yuna's shoulder, only to be brushed off again.
"Think about it Tidus." Yuna said, not angrily, but more sad than anything else. She still couldn't look him directly in the eyes, for fear she would break down.
"Think about what? What's wrong, Yuna?" he asked again, hoping that the next line that came out of her mouth wasn't going to be 'if you don't know I'm not going to tell you' just like all the other girls. He bent down a bit and tried to look her in the eyes, but she turned her face away and stared at the cement car park floor. Confused, Tidus looked up to the car where Baralai and Paine sat, watching them. But as he looked both looked away and pretended not to be interested.
Right, He thought. Something is definitely wrong here. "Yuna what the hell is going on, why are you angry? What happened?" Tidus grabbed Yuna's chin and gently but firmly pulled it upwards so finally she had nowhere else to look but into his eyes. That's when he saw the tears. Through his hand on her chin, Tidus could fell Yuna tremble and tried to hug her, only this time she shoved him more violently in the chest and he stumbled backwards.
"What the fuck, Yuna?" He got his balance and straightened his shirt. "What the hell was that for?" he walked forward and grabbed both her shoulders that were clearly shaking now. Yuna tried to shake him off but Tidus refused to let go. Not until I know what this is all about. I'm going to lose you that easily, Yuna, he thought.
"Just don't touch me!" Yuna cried out, still trying to release herself from Tidus strong grip. His hands were beginning to hurt her shoulders as she struggled.
"Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on!" Tidus said, his anger at not knowing what he had done wrong was beginning to get the better of him…
"Tidus, you're hurting me…" Yuna still tried to worm her way out of his grasp.
"Just tell me what's wrong!" he half yelled at her.
"Or what, Tidus?" Yuna cried as tears streamed down her cheeks freely now. Tidus looked at her confused now. "OR WHAT TIDUS? You'll beat me and rape me just like your best buddy Seymour?" At this statement Tidus' grip loosened completely and Yuna smacked his arms away. Tidus took a step back.
"But I… I don't underst…." He began, shaking his head in confusion.
"Don't be ridiculous, Tidus. And don't you DARE lie to me. You owe me that much at least." Yuna was furiously trying to wipe the tears from her face.
"But Yuna, it's the truth! I have no idea what you're…."
"I saw you with him!" she cried out loud and clenched her hands into white fists at her sides in frustration.
"Saw me with who?" Tidus was equally as frustrated with the situation as Yuna was, only for different reasons.
"I saw you with Seymour! We all did!" She threw her arm in a gesture behind her, motioning to Paine and Baralai, who both swiftly pretended to be doing something other than watching the arguing couple. "And you sure as hell looked pretty chummy together!" She crossed her arms, frustration replaced by anger.
"What? Are we talking about the same Seymour that I fly kicked the other day?" Yuna's eyes narrowed. "The same Seymour that, inadvertently, had me on the receiving end of two black eyes?" Yuna's eyes narrowed more, now they were tiny angry slits. "Yuna I haven't seen him since that day at McDonalds! I just finished my meeting and was about to come and see you…" he pointed to where his bike sat, not 6 spaces away from Baralai's car.
"Yeah, your meeting with Seymour…" Yuna added venomously.
"Yuna, I swear to you I haven't seen him since that day. That's the honest truth!" Tidus promised and took a step nearer to her.
"Then tell me, Tidus. Who was it you were meeting today?" She said, emotionless.
Tidus sighed and looked down at the cement, then, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips he looked up at Yuna. Her face was full of so many emotions: hope and fear, disappointment and defeat, distrust… just to name a few.
"I came here to meet…" But he was interrupted by a shout from the shopping centre doors.
"Tiduuuuusssss!" A male voice called. The both looked up, Yuna half expecting to see Seymour, and Tidus knowing whom the voice belonged to.
Yuna watched, gob-smacked, as a man, about Tidus' age, with blonde hair, cut the same as Tidus', eyes the same blue within blue as Tidus', in fact almost everything about him was Tidus, but not, at the same time.
"That was close. I thought I'd missed you. Can you give me a lift back to the hotel?" The blonde man asked Tidus seemingly unaware of the surprised Yuna and her even more surprised friends sitting in the car behind them... Yuna gave a small 'eh' noise and the newcomer looked at her. "Oh hey. I'm…." But he stopped talking as soon as he looked at her face, his hand out stretched in an offer for Yuna to shake it only she didn't, but he didn't move it away either.
Tidus sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Deciding this was a good a time as any for introductions.
". Shuyin, this is my girlfriend Yuna. At least I hope you're still my girlfriend." He turned to look at Yuna at the last statement. Then he continued. "And the two in the car over there that look like wide mouth frogs are Paine and Baralai. Yuna, this is my twin brother, Shuyin"
A/N : DUN DUN DUUUUMNNNN! Ok ok I know everyone makes Shuyin and Tidus brothers or twins or whatever, but it's hard to get everyone from ffx2 into a story WITHOUT making them siblings, is it not? Anyways please review, Im already working on the next chapter so it shouldnt be a long wait!