Black Dreams, White Dreams
By Lulu-san
Chapter 12 – Hanging out with a hangover
Upon arriving back at the hotel, Rikku had immediately dashed into the shower first, causing the group to exchange exasperated looks.
Lulu frowned and dropped into a chair, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes.
"Well, it's not like I really want a shower anyway," Tidus began, flopping down onto his couch. "Wakka and I have already showered after Blitz practice. You girls can go in ahead of us."
Lulu nodded, barely moving her head. She was already so worn out – and it had only been a day or two since they'd left Besaid. All she wanted was sleep – to be honest, she couldn't even be bothered with a shower. She sighed again, and brushed some more hair out of her eyes. The chlorine had turned it slightly dryer than normal, and she knew that she would have to at least rinse it out before tomorrow – or else it would become unmanageable. She sighed again, more deeply than before. It was all such…a hassle.
Rikku suddenly emerged from the bathroom, sparkling clean and filled with fresh energy; steam and scented air drifted in from the door behind her.
"U-mmph!" she stretched her arms over her head and grinned at them. "I feel so much more alive now!"
"Glad to hear it." Tidus replied in a manner than suggested otherwise.
"Aw, c'mon! Get your energy up!" Rikku replied cheerfully. "Or you'll be no fun tonight!"
"Tonight?" Wakka interrupted before he could help himself. "What's going on tonight? Are we going somewhere?"
Rikku and Tidus gave him bored expressions.
"Oh…yeah, you were…" Tidus bit his lip in an effort to stop himself from saying the words 'stalking Lulu'. "Somewhere…else…..when we discussed it."
"So, what's going on again, ya?" Wakka asked with a frown. "Remember, we've got the big tournament tomorrow and…"
"We know, we know…" Rikku sighed.
"Well, if you know, then what are you playing at?" Wakka complained, beginning to lose his temper.
"Relax, big boy!" Rikku patted him on the arm. "We're just going out for a few drinks, that's all – go to a few bars to celebrate the beginning of the tournament, you know!"
Wakka looked sceptical.
"Are you even of legal drinking age?" he questioned, pointing at her accusingly.
"Of course!" she retorted.
"Just…" Tidus snorted underneath his breath.
"Anyway, moving right along" Rikku continued with a pointed frown at Tidus. "It'll just be a bit of fun – we'll come home in time for you guys to get a decent sleep, okay?"
"Well…alright then." Wakka finally agreed.
Rikku beamed at him, before perching on the edge of the chair Lulu was resting in.
"Soo…Lululu…" she taunted, leaning across the older woman. "Do you want to borrow some more of my clothes tonight? You might pick up or something, you never know!"
"I'm not going."
Rikku blankly stared at Lulu, before grinning carelessly.
"What d'ya mean, Lulu!" she said enthusiastically. "Don't be such a spoil-sport!"
"I said, I don't think I'll be going." Lulu repeated, staring Rikku straight in the eye.
Lulu was fed up. She was tired, her head was throbbing and she was still feeling twinges of painful humiliation each time she remembered her ungraceful drowning experience.
"But…" Rikku began, her brow furrowing in the way it always did before she began to whine.
"No, Rikku." Lulu stated firmly. "Today, I've been more than complacent – shopping, going to the pool, being dragged all over town. I've had enough. Go ahead and have fun together, but this time – I'm afraid I'm not joining in. And that's final."
Rikku paused, and looked like she was about to argue the matter – but seemed to think better of it. It appeared that Rikku had finally realised that she had reached the limit – and that there was no point in pushing harder.
"Okay then!" she nodded. "We won't be too long anyway – so you won't get lonely."
"Just don't party too hard and make yourself sick." Lulu warned her. "I'm warning you now, I won't show much sympathy."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them!" Rikku laughed, whacking Wakka on the shoulder.
"I was referring to you…" Lulu muttered, but Rikku was too preoccupied to notice.
"Well, lets say…departure in 20 minutes?" she asked after a quick glance at her watch.
"Yeah, hang on – I'll just get in the shower…" Yuna replied, grabbing a towel from Tidus's bag, which lay wide open next to his 'couch bed' and dashing into the bathroom. The door slammed shut, and the sound of rushing water could be heard shortly afterwards.
Lulu stretched her arms over her head and let out an almost inaudible sigh. She was so tired now – so fed up with gallivanting, and was extremely relieved that Rikku wasn't kicking up more of a fuss about leaving her behind. She had been all set to fight it out, yet Rikku seemed content enough just to give it up this one time. Wakka, however, seemed to be less than happy. She looked over her shoulder at him, wondering why he seemed to be frowning so fiercely at the floor.
However, before she could press him on the matter, Tidus had clapped a hand on Wakka's shoulder, and the two men had headed into the bedroom in order to change into clean, nice 'going-out' clothes.
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"Well then! We'll be careful! Don't wait up, Lulu!"
Rikku began pulling on a jacket as she spoke, while Wakka, Yuna and Tidus stood waiting patiently in the passageway behind her.
It had been a whole hour and a half since Rikku had announced that they were leaving in '20 minutes' and Lulu was extremely close to breaking point. They had already 'left' three times, only to return five minutes later, having forgotten something or other.
"Alright." She answered through clenched teeth. "Have a nice time."
"Oh, I nearly forgot" Rikku suddenly exclaimed, digging around in her jacket pocket.
"What!" Lulu fought to keep herself from screaming in frustration.
"Keys!" Rikku announced, brandishing a set of gold keys out in front of Lulu's nose. "You need the keys! We've got one set, but you'll need these."
Lulu sighed, and accepted the proffered keys.
"Okay. Now you had better get going…" she said firmly, and began to shut the door as Rikku scampered out of the way.
"See ya!" Rikku called over her shoulder as they left. Lulu listened for a while, and when it seemed certain that they weren't coming back to retrieve any other forgotten items, she let out a huge sigh of relief, before flopping backwards onto the couch. All the stress and fatigue of the last few days felt as though it had congealed inside her head, leaving it heavy and throbbing.
"I need to sleep." She suddenly said aloud.
The words resonated in the empty room, and she squeezed her eyes shut, as though to block out the sudden confession.
"I really…really need to sleep…" she whispered again, feeling exhausted, hot tears pressing tightly against her eyelids. However, rather than let herself have a small moment of weakness; rather than let herself have a small cry, Lulu forced herself to sit up again and opened her eyes slowly.
"I'll have a bath." She decided, running her fingers through the dry curls of her hair. "That'll help. It'll help."
She rose up off the couch, and made her way into the bathroom. As the others had only had time for showers, the bath remained clean and ready for use. Lulu began to run the water, and before too long, an inviting bubble-bath was finished and waiting for her. She undressed quickly, and dumped her clothes unceremoniously inside the nearby washing machine. However, just before she was about to sink into the hot, soothing water, she touched a hand to her hair and realised with a jolt that she had forgotten something.
"Damn! Shampoo!"
There was none in the shower, or in the bathroom cupboard. She growled in her throat. Didn't hotels provide free samples anymore? But then again, she realised with a grim smile, Rikku or Yuna would have probably used it by now anyway.
Still, Lulu thought, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body, she had remembered to bring a small bottle with her – it should still be in her bag. At least, it was there last time she checked.
Pulling the towel a little tighter, (didn't hotels believe in making decent sized towels anymore?) she opened the door to the living room, and walked towards the shared bedroom. She would pick up some clothes from there too – she had stupidly put the new ones in the wash already.
However, she had only walked about halfway across the room, when the front door suddenly opened with a click.
Lulu froze.
So did Wakka.
He stood in the front door frame, with one hand on the door handle, looking like he had been hit with a petrification curse. Their eyes met, and neither of them moved. It was as though they had both just been caught in a sudden time freeze. Lulu's hands clutched the towel she wore tightly.
"Forgot…" Wakka's voice cracked and he cleared his throat before starting again. "Forgot my…wallet."
"Oh." Lulu's feet felt rooted to the spot, and all she could think to do was continue to act normally. Which was, of course, ridiculous in regard to the current bizarre situation. "I see. I think…I think it's on the table."
"Right…Thanks…"
They stared at each other for a second longer, before reality suddenly hit Lulu with the force of a ten ton brick, and coming to her senses she bolted into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
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"Uh…that…ya…"
Wakka shook his head in confusion, and placed a hand over his heart – as though to calm it. His eyes travelled over to the bedroom door that Lulu had just disappeared behind, and felt his heart pumping faster.
"That…was unexpected..." he eventually murmured to himself, with a disbelieving laugh. To be honest, it had been a shock; and a nasty shock at that; yet he couldn't help but feel that the entire scene had been rather comical.
" 'Forgot my wallet…' eh?" he chuckled to himself softly. "What a dork, ya. What a dork."
He felt his ears burning, and hoped fiercely that Lulu wasn't going to resent him too much. But on the other hand, she had looked just as ludicrous as he had – what the hell had she been doing in the middle of the room in only a towel anyway?
However, before Wakka could ponder that particular question any longer, the bedroom door opened and Lulu emerged – now fully clothed in her usual belts'n'fur dress. She closed the door softly behind her, and Wakka noticed with amusement that she was looking a little bit flushed – possibly flustered?
Perhaps it was wrong of him, but Wakka loved it when Lulu acted 'differently' to her usual composed self. Of course, he loved her no matter what, but when she became embarrassed, or confused, he felt somewhat privileged that she didn't mind him seeing those sides of her personality. Plus, he felt less like a fool around her in such moments.
"Uh, hey." He gave her a nervous smile. "Um…about that, you know…I didn't…"
She stared at him, and his smile melted away.
"I'm sorry. It was my fault." He said quickly, hoping she wouldn't use any painful magic spells on him in revenge.
"No." she sighed and shook her head. "It was my fault. I was…distracted. I wasn't really thinking."
Wakka chuckled in relief; glad that she wasn't angry.
"Nah, let's just forget about it, and say that it's lucky that is WAS me, and not somebody else, ya?"
Lulu raised an eyebrow.
"Well, if it hadn't been you – or Yuna, or Rikku perhaps, I definitely would have had set them alight…or electrocuted them…" She paused. "Or maybe I would have just punched them.
Wakka creased his brow in concentration.
"Wait…If it wasn't me…or…wasn't…" his voice faded out and he gave her a sceptic look. "So basically, if it had been Tidus, you would have set him alight, eh. Once you take away Yuna, Rikku and me – he's all that's left, ya?"
Lulu smiled wryly.
"I suppose." She agreed. "But you forgot to include the hotel staff into your equation. If it hadn't been you, there's a possibility that it could have been one of them."
Wakka pulled a face.
"Erg." He groaned. "Roasted room service. No thanks, ya. I don't fancy cleaning up the mess, once you're through with your revenge."
He cringed at the forced humour in his voice, and turned away from her.
"Well…I'll be off, ya?"
He walked towards the door, but just as he was about to leave, he was suddenly overcome with an extremely frustrating feeling.
"Lulu!" he burst out, turning to face her with a frown.
"Wh-what?"
She looked a little taken aback. Wakka took a deep breath, and fought to keep his voice level.
"Make sure you lock the door, ya? And be careful! Check who it is before opening it. And don't leave the windows open! We won't be too long, so just make sure that you stay safe, and-"
Lulu interrupted his sudden outburst with a scathing look.
"I'm not a child, and you're not my overly-concerned mother, so lay off the instructions, Wakka." She snapped. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, or have you temporarily forgotten?"
"Yeah, but you-"
Wakka bit his lip quickly. He had been about to blurt out that he was concerned about her troubling nightmares – and that she might need his help during the night. But upon remembering her violent reaction to his suggestions that morning, he decided it was best not to bring up that particular subject. He grimaced, and turned away from her.
"I…just…you know…"
She stared fiercely at him.
"Bye." He said shortly, and turning his back on her scowling face, he left the room and closed the door firmly behind him. He strode a few paces up the passage before having to stop and calm himself.
"Dammit." He cursed, slamming his fist into the wall. He felt confused, frustrated and irritated – all at once. And for Wakka, who liked emotions to be straightforward and simple; it was extremely overwhelming.
He loved Lulu. He knew Lulu. He had known her longer than anybody else had. He couldn't stand the thought of her…involved with anybody else. Hot anger surged through him as he thought of the boys at the pool, or Redden, the smug Luca Goers captain – both of which had expressed interest in his long time friend He knew Lulu was free to choose whoever she wanted, but wasn't sure he could suppress his frustration any longer. When he considered the thought of one of the male hotel staff having burst in on a semi naked Lulu, as he had just done, he felt sick with bitter feelings. He wanted to be the only one who could see her in such a vulnerable state. He wanted to be the only one.
Wakka cursed again.
"This is NOT good, ya." He muttered to himself. This was unjustified possessiveness on his part, and while he despised it; he couldn't control it. And the more he tried not to think about it, the more he found his mind casting itself back to the moment he had opened the door. Semi exposed, Lulu had frozen to stare at him; dark eyes widening in shock, her lips slightly parted. Her long, dark hair had been loose around her – slightly messy and tousled from the pool.
Wakka squeezed his eyes shut and tried to refocus his mind. It was torture, he eventually decided with a grim smile. His own personal Sin, eh? Ever since they had started this ridiculous holiday, he and Lulu had been thrown together in all sorts of hi-jinks. Tidus was right, he thought to himself. If this holiday was going to continue in such a manner, he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to hold back anymore. What if he couldn't control himself?
Wakka jabbed the lift button with excessive force, and as it opened to admit him, he resolved with a scowl, to have a very large, very stiff drink at the bar tonight and do his best simply to forget such troublesome thoughts.
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Back in the hotel room, Lulu had finished her bath and having changed into her bedclothes, was sitting on the couch, drying her hair with the hotel hairdryer. The long dark curls fanned out around her, and she was almost feeling relaxed. The bath had helped – her head was not nearly so painful, and even her shoulders felt less stiff.
However, thinking back to the recent embarrassing encounter with Wakka caused her to cringe. It wasn't just the humiliating experience of being caught exposed; it was the forced nature of their conversation (or was it an argument?) afterwards. How dare he suggest that she was incapable of looking after herself! And even more importantly, how come she had been suddenly rendered incapable of movement when he had walked in on her in the first place?
She gritted her teeth, and turned off the hairdryer with a long sigh.
It didn't really matter, she tried to tell herself. Wakka was tetchy because of the tournament tomorrow. She was tetchy because she hadn't slept or eaten or even taken care of herself as of late. Their behaviour wasn't really strange; it was just a reaction their current stressful circumstances.
Lulu stood up off the couch and stretched her arms. It was still early, but she decided to go to bed early and try to sleep.
After making sure the front door really was locked (she wasn't taking any more risks), she entered the bedroom and curled up in the bed she was currently sharing with Wakka.
However, just as she was closing her eyes, a small flickering of light caught her attention. She heaved herself up and squinted into the darkness. The moonlight from the open window had caught it's reflection on a shiny object lying on Lulu's bedside table. On closer inspection she realised that it was the silver shell pendant that Wakka had given her that very morning.
Lulu extended her hand and gently lifted the pendant off the table. She cupped it with one hand, while gently stroking its smooth surface with the other. And suddenly, without really knowing why, she slipped the necklace and the pendant around her neck and fastened it. She simply liked the gentle weight of the cool silver against her chest, and found it soothing. When she lay down again in the bed, she instinctively clasped the shell in one hand; holding it tightly as she curled up underneath the blankets. Her eyes were slowly closing and she was feeling drowsier each second.
"It's a protection…" she murmured sleepily to herself. "He's…looking after…me…even now…"
She vaguely wondered what she was saying as she wavered between being asleep and awake, but her thoughts faded completely away, she was sure she heard herself mumbling those words over and over again.
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"That's some drink!"
Tidus leaned over towards Wakka and sniffed the heavy concoction that the scowling Besadian was holding.
"You sure you can handle that?" he asked as Wakka took a huge gulp of the strong liqueur.
"Aw, shuddup." Wakka wiped his mouth and shuddered. "I need this drink."
"Yeah…but the game tomorrow?" Tidus reminded him pointedly. "You don't want to get a hangover and…"
Tidus's voice tapered away as he watched Wakka downing the entire remains of the drink in one go.
"Well…just don't overdo it!" he said in resignation.
Wakka slammed the empty glass down on the bar, and ordered another. Tidus sighed. Rikku had taken them to a popular bar in Luka, but far from having light-hearted fun, Wakka seemed to be taking the opportunity to drown his sorrows…whatever they might be. But then again, Tidus thought to himself, he had a shrewd idea of what might be causing this sudden change in Wakka.
"Hey Wakka…" Tidus asked casually. "Something happen with Lulu when you went to get your wallet?"
Wakka snorted into his drink and began coughing.
"Nah…nothing' He choked, barley noticing that he'd knocked his drink to the floor, where it had splashed all over his shoes. "Why…why'd you think so?"
Tidus bent over to pick up Wakka's now empty glass from the floor.
"Oh, no reason." He said evasively. "Just wondering…"
"Yeah well." Wakka muttered. "One might think that after all these years…but it's not like I care anyway…well I do care…that's not the point…totally unacceptable don't you think? I mean…It wasn't my fault…never listens to me…"
Tidus watched with a bemused expression as Wakka grumpily tried to drink from his glass and continued to mutter to himself– barely noticing that the glass was in fact empty and he wasn't actually drinking anything. Something must have stirred him up bad, to have caused such a mood. Usually Tidus could make out what was behind most of Wakka's mutterings, but he had no clue as to what had happened this time.
"Ah well." Tidus clapped a hand of Wakka's back. "Let's just have some fun tonight, yeah? Want some of my drink?"
Wakka looked at the proffered drink, before sighing and hanging his head.
"No thanks, brudduh." He said sadly, and hiccoughed. "I'm done drinking tonight. You're right, gotta focus on the game now."
He stood up and stretched, before heading off to join Yuna and Rikku, who were drinking further down the bar.
Tidus watched him go, wondering what on earth could have brought on this sudden burst of erratic behaviour in his old friend.
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Lulu was dreaming. Small pink rabbits in bathers danced around her, before Rikku suddenly appeared, saying that the bathers suited the rabbits far better than they suited her. Lulu had been about to object – surely she had better style than the rabbits, but before she could, Wakka had mysteriously taken Rikku place and was now explaining very quickly that he had cooked up some hotel staff for dinner, and did she want to have barbeque sauce with them?
Lulu blinked in confusion, and when her eyes opened again, she realised she was on the Besaid beach – and the nightmare that had plagued her for months was beginning again. She watched it happen, hating every moment. Why did she have to see Chappu die? Why was he so angry? And what the hell was Wakka trying to do by kissing her, anyway? But, above all, why, when she was left completely alone at the end of dream, did it feel as though her heart had been ripped out – a experience so disturbing that it made her nauseous when she woke up?
Lulu tossed and twisted in the blankets, before waking with a start. She lay still for a few seconds, holding her breath. And then, just as she had expected it, a wave of nausea swept through her. She breathed heavily through her gritted teeth, and swallowed often – pleading with herself to keep the nausea under control.
"I'm fine, I'm not sick, I don't feel sick." She muttered through gasping breaths. 'I'm not going to be sick, I'm fine…I'm fine…"
She felt like crying.
"I'm fine…I'm not going to be sick."
Her hand found the shell pendant around her neck, and she squeezed it tightly.
"I'm…fine…"
Lulu couldn't be sure of how long she lay there, curled into a tight ball with the pendant clenched tightly in her hand, but when her breathing slowly returned to normal, and she felt a little less sick, there were deep imprints in her hand from squeezing the silver shell so hard.
Feeling a little dizzy, Lulu moved herself into a sitting position on the bed. She still felt unwell, but could hardly believe it. For the first time in months, she had managed to calm herself from the nightmare without actually throwing up. She swallowed nervously, but when it seemed certain that she really wasn't going to vomit, she let out a deep breath of relief. Perhaps she wasn't that ill after all.
She lay back of the bed; resting her arms gently over her stomach. The clock on her bedside table read '2:34 AM". The others weren't back yet, she realised. Well, it would be on their own heads if they couldn't get up in the morning.
Lulu fell into a gentle doze, and was only dimly aware of the others returning back from their night out a little while later. She heard the front door click open, and the sound of muffled voices.
"Urrgh, don't need sche-schleep yet…Still wanna pah-pah-party!" she heard Rikku slur unintelligibly as she fell through the bedroom door. "The night is shtill…lhaaard…"
"Shh, Rikku!" she barely registered hearing Yuna whisper. "You might wake her!"
Lulu subconsciously rolled over. She was only half-awake, and didn't even stir when Rikku crashed into the bed she shared with Yuna. Eventually Rikku found her way into the bed and flopped down face first; snoring loudly.
"Oh, Rikku…" she heard Yuna sigh, and then a sound of rustling sheets that sounded like Yuna arranging Rikku into a more comfortable position.
"You okay, Yuna?" came a whisper from the nearby darkness. Lulu stirred a little in response to the voice, but carried on sleeping.
"We're fine, Wakka." Came Yuna's hushed voice. "You better get some sleep now. Goodnight"
She felt the mattress sag as Wakka slipped into the bed beside her, bringing with him a tangy scent of smoke and sweat. She was too far into her doze to be able to open her eyes, but she could tell from the movement of the sheets that he was now lying directly next to her.
The room was silent again; Rikku and Yuna must have already dropped off. Lulu exhaled deeply, and felt her entire body relax into a deep sleep. She felt safer knowing that they were all back again. And, somehow she also felt more comfortable and at ease with the warm weight of Wakka's body lying inches away from her own. Reassured, she snuggled deeper into the blankets and curled up once again.
However, just before Lulu completely lost consciousness, she was just aware of a sudden soft warmth on her lips; a brushing sensation of skin against skin that left the slightest lingering taste of sweet liqueur. Whether she was dreaming or not, Lulu could not know, for the warmth faded away as suddenly as it had appeared, and before Lulu's exhausted mind had processed it, she was already fast asleep.
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"URRRGHH…NOOOOO!"
Lulu groggily opened her eyes; dimly wondering what could be causing such a noisy racket. Early morning sunlight streamed into the room from the open window, and she squinted her eyes against the glare.
"I'm DYIIIIIIIIIING! I'm DYIIIIIIIIING!"
Lulu slowly heaved herself into a sitting position, and immediately noticed that there was nobody in the bed beside her. Wakka had obviously already gotten up – but the flattened part of the mattress where he had been lying was still warm. He must have only just left.
"THE LIGHT…THE LIIIGHT! URRRGH! NO! IT'S SPLITTING MY HEAD! OOOHH! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
Lulu looked over towards the source of the noise to see Rikku lying in bed with her hands plastered over her face groaning and moaning like never before.
"BLEEAH…I'm gonna be sick…I'm gonna be sick…Oooh, it feels like somebody is scraping rusty nails inside my BRAIN! Arrrgh…"
Next to Rikku, Yuna had sat up and was rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"What's wrong…" she mumbled wearily. "What's going on?"
"I'm DYING!" Rikku wailed immediately.
Lulu swung her legs out of bed, and walked over to Rikku.
"What's the matter?" She smirked, sitting down next to her. "Headache?"
"Oh, shut up, Lulu!" Rikku moaned, rolling over and pulling a pillow over her head.
"Pardon?" Lulu asked with mock innocence.
"You know very well that I'm DYING from a-"
"Hangover?" Lulu finished helpfully.
"Yet to be identified illness." Came the muffled reply. "Which may or may not have something to do with alcohol. Urrrgh. I'm NEVER drinking again."
Lulu sighed and shrugged.
"Well, I did say I wouldn't show much sympathy." She reminded Rikku.
"Oooooh…eeerrghh…aaargh…"
Rikku had started wailing and moaning again, and Yuna and Lulu exchanged significant looks.
"How much did she drink?" Lulu mouthed.
Yuna shrugged in reply, and held up a few fingers. Then her brow creased in concentration and she raised a few more fingers. Finally, she held up both hands with all fingers raised and shrugged again.
"I'll make you some tea, Rikku…" Lulu said comfortingly; she was beginning to feel a little sorry for her reckless friend. "You'll feel better soon – I'm sure it's not too bad."
Rikku merely groaned in reply.
"I'll be back soon." Lulu said softly to Yuna, who nodded and begun rubbing Rikku's shoulders.
In the kitchen, Lulu found Tidus and Wakka, both who were drinking extremely strong coffee and looking very nervous.
"Sounds awful." Tidus said, gesturing with his head to the bedroom where Rikku's moans could still be heard.
"She'll live." Lulu replied. "Probably."
Tidus chuckled, but Wakka simply turned away from her and began washing his cup. She wondered if he was still angry about their spat last night. It was more likely, though, that he was just anxious about the tournament which would begin later than day.
"Well," Tidus said, gulping down the rest of his coffee. "Wakka and I had better be off. We've got to get there early to get everything ready. Final practices and all, you know."
Lulu nodded.
"We'll meet up with you at the stadium in an hour or so, alright?" she said to Wakka, who merely grunted and began walking to the door. Lulu shot Tidus a querying look, but he pulled a face and mouthed the word "Nerves?"
"See you soon…and don't be too nervous." She tried for what was an encouraging tone of voice. "If you stay calm, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Thanks!" Tidus called as he walked out the door, but Wakka had already left without saying a word.
Lulu slowly shook her head, and began searching the kitchen for something to sooth Rikku's hangover. She would make Yuna a nice cup of tea as well. After all, she'd probably need it once she was through calming Rikku down. Rikku was the only person she knew who could make a hangover contagious.
END OF CHAPTER 12 - To be continued...
An UPDATE? Do you believe it? Yes, here it is – the long awaited chapter 12!
I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to take this long. It was just one of those things that I just kept forgetting about! What with exams and all, I just didn't have time. I'm such a bad girl TT
BUT! Here it is, overdue I know, but I just want to say that as long as there is even just one person reading this, I will persist and finish the damn thing! (even though I feel like I'm hardly getting anywhere plot-wise! I have a plan, but I get sidetracked and write extended scenes that were never meant to be included cough cough)
But I am VERY proud, that this is one of the first chapters that I have written before midnight! I always write this story in the late hours of the night, I think that at least 90 of it was written past 1 am...BUT! this chapter was written during the afternoon! OO how strange! I wonder if there is any change in the quality!
Anyway, hmm…my thoughts on this chapter! Betcha all thought Wakka would be getting the hangover…hehe, nope…always going to be Rikku, poor thing. I had a little trouble deciding on a chapter title this time too… I don't think it's very catchy.
ANYWAY! I will sign off here, with an unstable promise, that I will do my best to make regular updates. I know, I know, I promise this every single time I update. But I am very determined to finish this story now, it's long been in the back of my mind. There are enough unfinished fics out there – I don't want to add another one to the pile.
SO! Bear with me, and I would love to hear your thoughts on how things are turning out! Like I said, I have a plot planned out – but I'd love to hear what you think is going to happen next, so drop me a review – all feedback is much appreciated!
Oh thank you all for the lovely reviews and everything – I'm so sorry to keep you all waiting!
Until next time, many apologies and many thanks for sticking with this story –
Lulu-san