Tidus was walking to Shuyin's truck when someone grabbed his backpack and yanked him backwards. The blonde stumbled back and would've fallen had the person let go of his backpack. He swallowed nervously as he came face-to-face with the people Lulu had told him to avoid: Dona and Barthello.
"Look at this, Dona. I caught me a faerie." Barthello smirked.
Tidus looked around the parking lot for his brother or one of his friends. Just his luck…there was no one he knew around.
"Do I get three wishes, Mr. Faerie?" Barthello continued to mock.
"Please, just leave me alone." Tidus replied meekly.
Dona laughed and Barthello whipped the blonde around by his backpack again. Tidus could feel the tears building up but he refused to let them fall.
"Hey! Cut that out!"
All three teens looked up to see a frowning Wakka approaching them.
"Leave him alone, Barthello."
Barthello released Tidus and gave him a little shove. The blonde tripped and fell heavily against someone's car, banging his hip against it.
"We were just having a little fun, Wakka." Dona said.
"Yeah well he don't look like he's havin' fun." Wakka replied, helping Tidus straighten up. "You ok?"
Tidus nodded and rubbed his sore hip.
"You're no fun, Wakka. You need to lighten up." Dona half-sneered.
"If you keep yappin' you'll miss your bus." Wakka answered.
"Come on, Dona. Let's go." Barthello said.
Barthello joined hands with his girlfriend and the pair walked off to find their bus.
"You sure you're ok 'n' all?" The tall redhead asked.
If he spoke Tidus was sure he'd burst into tears so the blonde just nodded.
"Where's your brother's truck? I'll wait with you until he shows up."
Tidus half-turned and pointed at Shuyin's vehicle before limping off. His hip ached something fierce. Wakka leaned against Shuyin's truck and folded his arms.
"This is a really nice truck."
"M-hm." Tidus quietly agreed.
All the buses had left by the time Shuyin arrived. He frowned when he saw Wakka standing there with Tidus.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"One of the guys was pickin' on him." Wakka responded. "I just stood here with him and made sure that no one else picked on him."
Shuyin's frown deepened and he walked over to Tidus, hugging him.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here, T. The teacher kept me after the bell to explain something. Are you ok?"
"It's ok. I just…my hip is bruised." Tidus replied softly, hugging Shuyin back.
Shuyin broke the embrace and ruffled his little brother's hair. "Thanks for staying with him, Wakka. Want a lift home since you missed your bus?"
"That would be nice, yah." Wakka replied, nodding.
Shuyin hugged his brother again then they all got in the truck, Wakka in the back seat, and drove off.
"Why was he picking on you, Tidus?" Shuyin asked.
Tidus winced and held the seatbelt away from his sore hip. "My 'secret' is out."
"Hmn." Shuyin nodded. "Guess I'll be getting in a lot of fights again."
"Me too, eh?" Wakka grinned.
The younger blonde just blushed and said nothing. Shuyin chuckled and patted his brother's knee.
"Don't worry, Tidus. People at our old schools knew not to fuck with you and the people at this school will know it too soon enough. You'll survive."
Tidus nodded but said nothing. He always felt bad knowing that he was the cause of 95 of his brother's fights. The next twenty minutes passed in silence. Shuyin pulled up into Wakka's driveway. Chappu was lazing on the front porch eating a popsicle and "reading" a ladies swimsuit magazine. He waved to Tidus but didn't get up.
"What a lazy little bugger…" Wakka chuckled, shaking his head. "Thanks for the ride, Shuyin. Stay cool, Tidus."
"No problem." Shuyin replied.
Tidus nodded at Wakka and the redhead exited the truck. He gently smacked Chappu upside the head as he walked by him.
"Get off your ass and ask mom what you can do for her!" He ordered.
Tidus chuckled and Shuyin pulled out of the driveway, heading back out.
"Hey…do you mind if we stop at Ickles Ice-cream Shop?" Shuyin asked as they drove along.
"No. Why?"
The older sibling grinned. "Lenne works there after school."
The blonde laughed and shook his head, "I should've known."
They drove into the downtown area and pulled into the parking lot of one of the smaller strip malls. Just as they pulled into a parking space Lenne emerged from her car a few spaces away. Tidus giggled. The girl was wearing a pink "nurse" dress, pink sneakers, and a pink ball cap with a fake ice-cream cone perched on top of it.
"What a humiliating uniform. Poor Lenne…" Shuyin murmured, watching the girl lock her car and walk inside.
"I think she looks cute in it." Tidus chuckled. "You should get a job here, Shu. Then you and Lenne can be cone heads together…"
Shuyin glared at his brother then pounced on and tickled him. Tidus laughed and tried to fight Shuyin off.
"Okay, okay!" He laughed. "I take it back!"
"That's a good boy." Shuyin grinned, unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the truck.
Tidus righted himself then unbuckled his seatbelt and left the truck.
"You're mean, Shuyin." He grinned.
"I'll buy you an ice-cream and make up for it."
Shuyin locked his vehicle and they made their way to the ice-cream store, Tidus limping the whole way.
"Still sore?" Shuyin asked with a frown.
Tidus nodded and opened the door for his brother. The two blondes went inside to see Lenne and her male co-worker dispensing ice-cream. The male worker wore dark blue instead of pink but his uniform was still as plain and humiliating as Lenne's. Shuyin and his brother walked up to the counter. Lenne blushed when she looked up and saw them.
"Who told you I work here?" She asked.
"Letty." Shuyin replied with a smirk.
"I'm going to kill him." Lenne muttered under her breath.
"Lenne, this is my brother Tidus. He's one of the people coming surfing with us this weekend."
"Hi Tidus." Lenne smiled.
"Hello Lenne." Tidus returned the smile.
The co-worker gave Lenne a disapproving look and the brunette blushed a deeper red.
"Welcome to Ickles. What can I get you today?" The girl asked, still blushing.
"I'll have a single scoop of chocolate with caramel drizzled on top." Shuyin replied, still smirking. "Tidus?"
"Double scoop of chocolate cherry, please."
Lenne nodded and scooped their ice-cream into two waffle cones. She topped Shuyin's with caramel and handed the blondes their ice-creams.
"That'll be $5.35 please." She said, ringing their purchase up on the cash register.
Shuyin paid for the ice-creams and both blondes bid farewell to Lenne before leaving the store.
"She seems nice." Tidus said in between licks of his ice-cream. "She was blushing the whole time."
"Yeah I know. She just likes me that much." Shuyin grinned.
Tidus snorted and laughed. They got in Shuyin's truck again and headed for home.
"Don't tell Rin what happened, okay?" Tidus said. "I don't want him to worry."
"All right." The older teen nodded. "I won't tell."
The teens were done their ice-creams by the time they reached home. They both kissed Rin on the cheek before going to their room to do their "homework".
Tidus unbuttoned his shorts and slid them down off his injured hip. Shuyin winced and sucked air in through his teeth as the huge red and purple bruise came into sight.
"That asshole." He muttered. "You're banged up pretty good."
"I noticed." Tidus replied, righting his shorts and zipping them up again.
"Well the good news is it should be healed enough by the weekend that you can still go surfing." Shuyin grinned.
The younger teen chuckled and nodded. "That is good news."
Shuyin poked his head out of the bedroom then looked at Tidus. "Rin is outside. You hang tight here and I'll get you an ice pack."
Tidus nodded and his older brother left the room. The blonde picked their phone up and dialled Clasko's number. The brunette answered on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Hi Clasko, it's Tidus."
"Hey Tidus. How are you?"
"I'm good. Listen, do you want to come surfing this weekend with me, my brother, and one of his friends?"
"Sure! Sounds great!"
Tidus told Clasko their address and what time to meet them. They had just hung up when Shuyin came back with Tidus' ice pack.
"Thank-you." The blonde said, lying down on the bed.
"You're welcome."
Shuyin handed the pack to Tidus then went to sit at the computer. Tidus opened his shorts and set the pack on his hip.
"Ah! Cold!"
-----------------------------------------
By the time the weekend rolled around Tidus' nasty bruise had faded and the pain had ebbed into a tiny sting. It was now Saturday morning and the brothers were getting ready to go surfing. Tidus, clad in just his orange swim trunks, was in the kitchen making a lunch. Shuyin was on the phone with Lenne.
"Hmmn…" Rin inspected the lunch Tidus was making. "Don't want to eat my cooking?"
Tidus chuckled, "We're not surfing here, Rin. Lenne said she wants to show us a really awesome spot."
"Ah, I see." The man smiled. "Oh, Auron and I are going to look at a vehicle for me so we might not be home when you get home."
"Okay. Have fun." Tidus replied.
"Oh we will." Auron smirked as he entered the kitchen.
Shuyin hung up the phone and walked over to Tidus. "Lenne gave me her address. We can drive over there and then follow her to the spot she wants to show us."
Tidus nodded, "Clasko should be here soon."
As if on cue the doorbell rang. Rin went to answer it and let Clasko in. Once introductions were made the three boys said goodbye to Auron and Rin. They put Clasko's board in the truck bed with Tidus and Shuyin's boards then strapped them down.
"Do you mind if we put the picnic basket in the back with you?" Tidus asked.
"Nope." Clasko replied.
The brunette got in the backseat and Tidus set the basket of food next to him.
"Who else is coming?" The brunette asked.
"Lenne Ishida." Tidus replied, buckling himself in. "Do you know her?"
"Nope." Clasko shook his head.
"She's a girl that Shuyin liiiiikes." The younger blonde chuckled.
"Oh shut up." Shuyin replied, giving his brother a gentle shove.
Shuyin pulled out of the driveway and they headed to Lenne's house. When they pulled up Lenne was waiting on the front stoop. Shuyin and Clasko's eyes widened. Lenne was wearing a purple bikini and sarong. She smiled and waved as the boys approached. Shuyin unrolled the window as she approached the truck.
"Are you boys ready to go?" She asked.
"Sure thing." Shuyin grinned. "The guy in the back is Clasko by the way. We call him CJ."
Lenne leaned into the truck and smiled at Clasko, "Hi CJ."
"Hello." Clasko replied, his voice breaking a bit.
Lenne giggled and headed for her car. She hopped in, started her vehicle, and pulled out of the driveway. The blonde put his truck in gear and followed Lenne down the road.
"She's really pretty." Clasko said.
"Yeah…" Shuyin sighed dreamily.
"Purple is a nice color on her." Was all Tidus said.
Shuyin chuckled and elbowed his brother again. Clasko clasped his hands in his lap. He wondered if he should really ask this…
"Tidus?"
"Yeah?"
"Uhm…can I ask you about something I heard around school?"
"Sure."
"Is it true that you're…gay?"
"Yes."
Shuyin looked in the rearview mirror at Clasko. The brunette didn't seem uncomfortable or angry.
"Ah, that's cool." He finally replied. "I was just wondering if it was true or not. Sorry if I offended you by asking."
"It's ok." Tidus replied with a smile. "I wasn't offended."
Shuyin made a left onto a gravel road, following Lenne's car.
"This must be a secluded place…" Shuyin said.
Tidus nodded, turned the radio on, and opened his window. Clasko leaned back in his seat and enjoyed the wind on his face. They bounced along the gravel road for nearly thirty minutes before Shuyin made another turn onto a bumpier road.
"Wow. We're really out in the hills…" Clasko said.
"It's so pretty out here…" Tidus murmured, watching the scenery go by.
Up, down, and around the hills they went. They made a few more twists and turns and pretty soon the road had turned into just two ruts.
"Wow. How long have we been on the road?" Clasko asked. "It's hot back here!"
Shuyin closed the windows and turned the air conditioner on. "We've been driving for almost an hour. We'll probably get there soon."
Just as Shuyin had predicted they soon saw a beach come into their view.
"Wow. Nice." Tidus remarked.
"Yeah. It's got white sand." Clasko added. "That's rare here."
"Worth the drive." Shuyin smirked. "We're going to have a lot of fun."
I used to know someone who had to wear Lenne's uniform to work XD;; R&R Please .