6. Second Shot

I know I know you feel me beaming
Can you sense my burning x-ray vision
As you roll on by now
You must be gravitating
To the vibe I'm generating or maybe not…yet
I have known you forever
You pushed the reset button on the counter of my heart
But you'll laugh at my advances
But still I've gotta chance it as I watch your dust

-Satellite, Smash Mouth

Zack didn't get a chance to talk to Aeris again until about two weeks after their initial 'encounter', mostly because much of her time was preoccupied with…avoiding him. Fortunately for her, he wasn't in any of her classes, so it limited the times in which she had to steer clear of him to passing periods and lunchtime. She found a nice group of girls to eat with during lunch, and one of the girls always brought along her sophomore boyfriend who was on the JV wrestling team; a tall, muscular boy who really scared the piss out of Zack. So the whole arrangement worked out well for Aeris for two weeks, until he spotted her sitting with a friend after school at a lunch table.

"You know, she still hates your guts," Reeve pointed out, after Zack told he and Cloud that he wanted to walk over to her and maybe chat it up. "She says that you're a sexist pig and that if you had any more intentions of approaching her, she'd tell you to eat shit and go to hell, because the only chance you have with her is down there."

Despite the fact that Cloud and Reeve shared fifth period Algebra with Aeris, he knew better than to trust their information. "She did not say that."

"Well, you have no way of knowing, no do you?" Reeve sneered.

Zack rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine. But if she did say that, it would still imply that I have a chance. Am I right?"

Reeve muttered something that sounded like "Provided that you eat excrement first," but Zack, fortunately, didn't hear.

"Come on," Zack was saying, "I'm right, aren't I, Cloud?"

Cloud was sort of in a daze, mouth agape and not really paying any attention. For the past two weeks the only subject that had been coming out of Zack's mouth was Aeris, so he was a bit Aeris-ed out at the moment.

"Hey, Cloud! Back me up here, will ya?"

"What? Oh yeah, sure." He answered absent-mindedly.

Zack clapped his hands. "Well, that settles it. I'm gonna go and mingle." And the optimistic suitor separated from his friends, setting off on his little quest."

"Poor Aeris," Reeve commented as he shook his head. "She'll hate us for not stopping him."

Cloud shrugged indifferently. "At least we tried."

Reeve snorted. "Hey, whatever man. I was the one doing all the work! You were just standing there, staring into space like some comatose chimera."

"Well, it's time Aeris did a little work. Avoiding Zack is just getting to be way too easy for her. Besides," he grinned, "this way is much more fun; it leaves her with only two options."

Intrigued, Reeve looked at his friend. He was a bit surprised with the obnoxious look on Cloud's face. He didn't see that very often. "Oh? And just what are these options?"

"One, you run. You just start running. I'll trip him and start throwing books and things at him, and then you can get away. But you'd better watch it though, the boy's an athlete."

Aeris frowned at Joanie. Her friend's assessment of the situation was not looking good. "I really don't like being chased. Especially for affection." She looked up and noticed that Zack was approaching ever closer to them. "And my alternative?" she asked quickly.

"The alternative is that you…" She paused for a moment. "Er, you talk…to him?" Aeris stared. "Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about! You play with him, mess around with his head. You know!"

"No, I don't know! Joanie, I need better options!" Zack was mere yards away now.

"Look, this isn't multiple choice, okay? I can't think…"

"Joanie!" she hissed. "Quick, come up with-"

But alas, it was too late. "Hello, ladies," Zack greeted, flashing a stupid grin. "Nice day we're having, eh? Very sunny."

If the sheer lameness of the comment hadn't made the girls gag, the fact that they lived in perpetual night under the goddamn plate did. "It was a nice day," Joanie muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing." Joanie suddenly picked up her bag, recognizing her 'hey, I tried, but you're on your own now, girl!' cue. "Look, Aeris, I've gotta go. I have a piano lesson tonight." Aeris looked at her pleadingly, but it didn't work. Joanie walked off without waiting for a goodbye.

Zack was looking off after her as well. "Huh. Well, pardon me, but your friends don't seem to be very reliable."

"I'm aware," she answered, though she didn't direct her look of disdain at Joanie. It was focused on the two boys watching them from their spot next to the gym, trying to hide the fact that they had just been watching Zack's approach with gut-splitting glee.

"So how have you been, then?" Zack asked politely. It seemed like he wanted to make a better impression on Aeris this time. He was hoping the last one he made wasn't permanent. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been busy," she answered shortly, hoping this wouldn't take too long.

"Oh really? Huh. …Well, have you gotten used to everything yet? Know how to get around the school?"

"I can find my way around well enough." This was all too formal. She felt like she was talking to the mayor.

"I see. Uh, so…did they tell you the thing about the third floor-"

"-What, the supposed 'pool' up there? Yeah, I've heard about that. None of the upperclassmen have tried to sell me 'pool passes' yet, so I suppose I'm not such an obvious newbie."

"Heh, yeah," said Zack, who glanced at the ground, obviously braindead for something to say. "That's good."

Aeris watched Zack amusedly, and started laughing. Zack stood there sort of mystified, wondering how to react. "What, do you have to be a total ass in order to converse with anyone?" She asked him.

That certainly took him by surprise. "Wait, excuse me?" he started, dropping the polite demeanor. "How on earth was I being an ass?"

"No, it's the opposite of that," Aeris giggled. "You weren't being an ass."

"So? Don't you prefer that?"

"Well, sort of, but you're really boring when you try to be courteous and respectful."

Zack's jaw dropped, crashed into the ground, cracked a hole in the pavement, and then some. "What….So you're telling me that you don't like it? You're telling me the exact opposite of what you said the other day! Well hell, aren't you a real woman! Freakin hell!" This was probably the first time Zack had ever been mad at a crush. It was very different for him, really. "Geez…You want me to be a bad-mannered dick?"

"Look, Zack," she started, "I don't want you to be a bad-mannered dick because it's not in the very least attractive, and I don't want you to be a respectful gentleman because honestly, you really suck at it."

Zack stared blankly. Aeris sighed. "Okay, you want to know why I'm better friends with Reeve and Cloud than I am with you?" He nodded. "It's because they're themselves. Neither one is over the top, and neither feels the need to be a complete ass. And I know that you're not a complete ass, because both of them told me so. So just…be you, be normal Zack. And if you stop thinking with your crotch all the time, there's a good chance that I'll be your friend.

Zack took all of this into consideration, taking a moment to think a while. Then he grinned. "I'm going to hold you to that, Aeris."

"Ah, no guarantees. I only said that there's a good chance."

His grin widened. "That's still better than a chance in hell, isn't it?"

Aeris looked at him curiously. "What?"

Yes, an update! I should apologize, but it's only going to happen again. But not with the next chapter! Because I have like, half of it written already, and I could probably post it over Spring Break (next week). And yes, I know that this chapter was short, for a damn, what, nine month wait? I'm sorry. But it's really more of a self-contained thing, so I didn't connect it with what I wrote for the next chapter. And if anyone's missing Reno, have no fear. He's in the next chapter. Still moody, but he's there.

BTW, this QuickEdit thing is still gay. I can't insert empty space,so I usedruler lines to sort of get the same effect.But I want my empty space, dammit.

To Riyuji (sorry this took so long): I'm Pinoy too. So I was just hollerin' back, yo! Um...yeah...I'm a dork...