Well guys, have you missed me? What took me so long to update? Well, I hurt my wrist in tennis the other day, and was thusly unable to type. That's write, I'm not even supposed to be typing right now. But, I am. : ) That's because tomorrow, I leave for tennis camp. So, I won't be back until Friday, but I'll try to get the next chapter up on either Friday or Saturday, because I want to finish this story before tennis season starts. XD Okay? Enjoy, because I enjoyed writing this chapter: )

Chapter 10: A Hot Summer Night

"Wow, it's packed," Tidus said softly to himself as he pulled into the road that Yuna resided on. Cars lined the streets, an entire block from Yuna's house.

Stepping out into the summer heat, Tidus shoved his hands into his pockets nervously, and started toward Yuna's house.

What if he ran into Dona? What if Dona threw him out? Worse yet, what if Yuna threw him out? What if Yuna was with another guy…?

Tidus' mind was everywhere. He noticed that his palms were getting sweaty, and he doubted it was from the heat.

He finally made it to Yuna's house, and saw that people were everywhere outside, around her pool, like they had been at that first party. He remembered that Dona and Leblanc had been inside the room that overlooked the pool, sitting there. Perhaps that's where they were now?

Tidus went on into the pool area, blending in nicely with all of the people that were there. Now he just had to figure out how to get in without Dona or Leblanc seeing him.

He found himself sneaking up to the house, and peaking in the window. He saw Leblanc, but noticed she was quite busy. She was on the couch, with an older man on top of her, making out heavily.

"Good," Tidus said softly to himself, "I can at least get in…but where's Dona? That bathroom perhaps?"

Deciding to take the chance, Tidus went on in, past Leblanc, and to the stairs. He realized he had been so worried about finding Leblanc and Dona that he hadn't even wondered where he would find Yuna.

He decided he'd simply retrace his steps from that first party. So, to the closet it was.

He opened the door up, only to interrupt a young couple, who stared wide-eyed at him, looking scared.

"Oh, sorry," Tidus said, shutting the door. Okay, no Yuna there. Was she already to her room then?

Nervous, he continued up to the third floor, where Yuna's room was located. The door to her room was closed, but it usually was, so nothing out of the ordinary.

Although Yuna's house was air conditioned and much cooler than outside, he suddenly felt much hotter. Everything seemed clammy.

Tidus reached out his fist to the door, and knocked, at first softly, and then louder. He waited, and there was no answer.

Sighing, he turned around, and walked away from the door. Where was she? Was she in there and just not opening the door? Was she in there with someone? If she was, was it too late for him?

He realized he was panicking. Seriously and literally panicking. The entire summer had gone in a flash, and he hadn't been able to put any of his thoughts together. Was this clique too much for him? Could he not win? Should he just give up?

"Not until after I find Yuna," he told himself, "But where to look? And without Dona finding me?"

He got an idea. If Yuna were smart, she'd lock her door if she was doing something inappropriate in her room. So if the door was locked, perhaps she was in there. In that case, he'd just have to bust it open.

He walked swiftly back to the door, and tried the handle. Only, to his surprise, as he'd convinced himself that it would be locked, it opened. Too surprised to pull back, he went ahead and opened it, only to see, to his relief, an empty room. Still, there was the living area and the bathroom to check out.

He crept in silently, shutting the door behind him, in the case that Yuna—or worse, Dona—were to walk in. He walked over to the living area only to find it empty. For a while, he contemplated on the idea of just staying in the room until she got back, but realized she could have gone someplace else. Not only that, but he didn't want to seem like a stalker…

He tried the bathroom door, only to find it unlocked, and empty. He had to admit, he was rather disappointed. He had expected her to be in there, with some guy, and he would simply pray they hadn't done much, and beat whatever he could out of the guy, and then heroically restore Yuna to him.

He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Now idea-less, Tidus walked out of her room, and back down the stairs. Perhaps while Leblanc was busy, he could weasel some answers from her?

Tidus walked into the pool room, where Leblanc was rather busy. (He wondered too, why they didn't get a room, but only momentarily…he had better things to worry about.)

"Hey Leblanc," he said, crossing his arms, "Where's Yuna?"

Leblanc and the man stopped, and she kind of rolled him to the side, and looked at Tidus upside down. He noticed immediately that she was drunk.

"How should I know?" she said, as the man began to kiss her again.

"Hey, man," Tidus said, "Stop kissing her for like ten seconds."

The guy stopped and gave Tidus a dirty look, and Tidus walked over to them. He grabbed the man's shoulder and lifted him off of Leblanc, and then grabbed Leblanc's shoulder, and shifted her away from him, and said, "Tell me where she is."

"Yuna?" Leblanc just said, staring dazedly at Tidus.

"She went to Dona's," the man said, shoving Tidus back and pulling Leblanc back to him.

"You weren't supposed to say that!" Leblanc screeched loudly, and pushed the man off of her, and stood up, stumbling as she did so.

Tidus took a step back, afraid of what Leblanc was going to do. Still, why was Yuna at Dona's?

"Dona!" Leblanc suddenly yelled loudly, and she stumbled toward the stairs.

"Shit," Tidus said, and ran out the door, into the mass of people around the pool.

He pushed his way through them, and out of Yuna's yard. Was he just going to go straight to Dona's? Obviously Dona would find him there. But did he have time to not go straight to Dona's?

He started toward Dona's, telling himself that Dona couldn't really do anything to him anyway. But what if that man had been lying? Could it be a set-up? Could he just burst into Dona's house? What if her father were home?

Tidus began to sprint toward Dona's, acting on adrenaline more than anything.

He reached Dona's place in no time, and rang the doorbell, praying that anybody but Dona answered. If her father answered, he figured he'd just play the "hey, I'm your daughter's ex-boyfriend, remember me?" thing, and go from there.

Whether it was to his surprise or not though, there was no answer. Again, he rang the doorbell, and waiting. Again, no answer.

Finally, he tried the door, which, to his surprise, was unlocked. Sighing, he allowed himself in.

The house was pitch black. He tried to remember the layout of Dona's massive house, and he tried to remember where her bedroom had been.

He found his way to the stairs, and walked up them, remembering that Dona's room had been on the second floor. He found it, and the door was shut. However, to his surprise, he heard sounds coming from within.

He felt his heart drop. They weren't the sounds he'd been hoping to hear. He heard moans and groans and…well, his stomach was beginning to hurt. Swallowing, he decided he'd just have to burst in, and tell Yuna what he thought.

Tears were beginning to gather in his eyes. He was too late. She was already with someone else. Still, he had to try to save her. But what if she didn't want to be 'saved'? Well, at least he would know he tried.

With that, he threw his shoulder at the door, and it clicked open (he realized it hadn't even been locked…), and he was thrown inside.

He regained himself and stood straight, got rid of his tears, and put on a don't-mess-with-me kind of look, made sure he stood firm, and said, "Get away from her."

Only, as the lovers clicked their lamp on, he realized it wasn't Yuna and some guy, but instead, Dona, and none other than Gippal.

Both of them stared at him, and he stared back at them. They must have remained this way for a good minute, if not longer, before Gippal finally said, "Tidus, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Uh…what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were going to Rin's!"

"Everybody at Rin's was coming here," Gippal said, "But that doesn't matter. Get the hell out!"

"Uh…Dona, where is Yuna?" Tidus just said, trying to recover from the shock he was undergoing.

"Do as your friend says," Dona sneered, "Get the hell out of here."

"N-Not until you tell me where she is," Tidus said, his voice quivering from the shock.

"I said, get out," Dona said, her eyes glaring at Tidus.

"Tell me where she is," Tidus simply demanded, "Or Gippal will leave, and he'll be the second guy to leave you…"

Gippal looked at Tidus, and then back at Dona, but kept his mouth shut.

"Find her yourself," Dona said, suddenly smiling, "Before it's too late. I hooked her up with Bickson, your blitzball rival. I simply told him he needed to do something that Tidus couldn't seem to accomplish, and he was all ready to go at it."

"You did what?" Tidus cried, his heart dropping. Bickson? He would…he would probably kill Yuna!

"Get out!" Gippal cried.

"You're just wasting time by being in here," Dona sneered.

Angered, Tidus had no choice but to leave. He slammed the door shut, and ran down the stairs. Was Yuna in this house? Was she in her own house? Or was she somewhere else?

He was panicking even more. What if he didn't find her? He walked slowly down Dona's stairs, trying to make up his mind as to where to go. Suddenly, something clicked.

That first night with Yuna, she hadn't been expecting to take him to her room. She had told him later, one hot June morning while floating in her pool, but rather, her father's room.

"Her dad's room!" Tidus yelled loudly, and bounded down Dona's stairs, skipping three at a time, and threw himself out the room.

Back into the hot summer night he went, and ran across the street, toward the music and cheers that were erupting from Yuna's house.