A/N: I got two new reviewers. Twenty-one reviews so far! I feel great about my story.

Omega Gilgamesh: I was so sad when she died, and I wish there was no such thing as Cloti! Unfortunately, most like Cloti and not Clerith. Ah well. Thanks for reviewing.

Princess of the Knight: I just realized you wrote some of my favorite stories. Project Holy and My Light are really good. I wish you'd update Holy, though. And Cloud will! He'll tear that bad boy up! Just you wait…

Jindinea: I'm glad you do. And don't worry; I'll try to explain everything. I do like updating, though.

Mibu Onikage:I know the chapters are short, but I put 'em out quick…maybe I should make them longer…I'll make this one longer, k? The only reason I apologized for the wait was because there were several times where I could've put it out but something came up. Thanks for reviewing!

Beeria: I know! I hate her dad myself, and I made his dumb ass. And, yeah, she's going to his house! It just…popped into my mind. I practice free writing, which means I let my mind wander while I write. You're going to get some totally random things in this story. Speaking of stories, I read a couple of yours a while back. They're really good.

Anonymous: All right. Anything for my readers.

Chapter Six

It took a moment for it to sink in that Brandon was in his house, all alone with a girl he just might like…a little more than a friend. As if she was trying to make it harder on Brandon, Laura announced that she was about to take a shower.

"Now?" he asked.

"Yes now!" she said. "I went on a jog earlier, and I'm sweaty." Her eyes danced with amusement. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Uh, no," Brandon said, looking away. "I just- uh, I'll make dinner."

"You don't have to," she replied. "I have a job. It's the least I could do to pay for a pizza."

Brandon agreed and decided to look through his parents' movies. They'd taken most of them with them to Oklahoma on their business trip and left him a few old scary movies and a couple of dumb comedies they'd taped. He went with the scary movies.

The pizza had already arrived and the movie was already playing when Laura came out, her hair slightly wet. She sat next to Brandon, and he could catch her scent. She smelled…good.

He found it even harder to concentrate on the stupid movie. His concentration left completely when Laura threw a pepperoni at him. The sauce made it stick to his cheek, and she began to laugh. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and threw the pepperoni back at her.

Suddenly, pizza was flying everywhere, and it still hadn't cooled off. A whole slice landed on top of Brandon's head, and he began to tickly Laura to death when she wouldn't stop laughing.

The slice of pizza fell off his head and on the floor. Laura began to slide down after it. She grabbed him, and they both went crashing to the ground, Brandon on top of her. They were both so busy laughing, they didn't notice the front door open.

"Brandon? What are you doing, son?" asked a feminine voice. Brand's eyes widened; that voice could only belong to one person. His mother only called him "son" when she was surprised- in a bad way.

"What's going on, Barbara?" asked a male voice. His father stepped into the doorway next to his wife.

Brandon quickly rolled off Laura, and they quickly stood up. It was bad. The living room was covered in pizza, there was an uninvited guest over- of the opposite sex- and they'd just walked in on him on top of her. "I can explain…" he said.

"It's all my fault," Laura cut in.

"What's your name, young lady?" his father asked.

"Lauren," she said politely. "I'm sorry about this."

"Why are you over here?" He looked at both of them.

"I'm having…family troubles, and I asked Brandon if I could come over," Laura said apologetically. Brandon stared at her; if he'd had anyone else over, he would be dead by now. The expressions on his parents' faces told him he just might get off the hook.

"Oh," said his mother. "Oh, that's different."

"Clean all this up, you two, and then we'll talk," his dad said.

"Yes, sir," they both said and immediately went to work. His parents went upstairs with their suitcases to unpack.

"You're good," Brand whispered when they were out of earshot.

"I know," she said, grinning. "I trust you weren't expecting them back so soon."

"Yeah," he said, dumping pizza into the garbage can. "They weren't supposed to come back until tomorrow afternoon."

"Do you think they'll let me stay over?" Laura asked.

"My parents are pretty nice," he said. "You'd have to be Garret for them to kick you out in this situation."

Laura looked like she was about to laugh, but her eyes suddenly grew sad. She looked out the window, and Brand knew who she was thinking about.

"Don't worry," he said, helping her put the last of the pizza in the garbage can. "We'll get Tiffany back from Sephiroth."

"I think what he meant by 'place youth despises and the old miss dearly'," Laura said. "It really isn't that hard, as if he wants us to go. He means school. I wonder when he's going to…" She trailed off, but Brand caught where she was going.

"Just don't think about it," Brandon said.

"You're right," Laura said with a sigh.

"All right, now," Brand's father said as he walked into the room. "You want to stay here for tonight?"

"Yes," Laura said.

"I suppose you can have Cloud's bed," his mother said, going to the kitchen. Laura grinned, thinking, 'So that's where he got the name.' "Sorry for ruining this for you, son, but they called us back early."

"Where will he sleep?" Laura asked.

"The couch," his father said simply. Brandon slumped; he hated the couch.

"It's settled, then," his mom said. "Sweetie, do you have pajamas?"

It took Laura a moment to realize she meant her. "No," she said. "I left in a hurry."

"Do you mind wearing one of Cloud's big t-shirts and shorts, dear?" she asked Laura.

Laura shook her head.

"Prepare her bed, Brandon," said his father, "and get her some pajamas."

Brandon nodded and ran up the stairs to his room. Laura, not wanting to be alone with strangers, excused herself and ran after him. She glanced about Cloud's room as he turned his back to her and fixed his bed. It was so like him. There were army posters on the wall, a poster of some guy from an anime show wielding a huge sword, and tons of wooden and steel weapons lying about messily among the dirty clothes on the floor.

When he saw her, he quickly stuffed the dirty clothes in a basket and closed the lid. She smiled at him. "I like your room," she said.

"Thanks," he said. "Here are some clean clothes." He handed her some really baggy shorts and a t-shirt that could fit two Brandons in it. She thanked him and quickly ran off to change.

Brandon sighed and began to straighten his messy bed. This had been a really embarrassing day. He hoped things just settled down a bit.

Vincent's POV

Vincent ran down the dirt road through the woods. Sephiroth was chasing him, he knew. He put a hand on his hidden gun.

A black corvette was speeding down the road after him. He could barely see it in the dark. He winced and held one of his wounds. He couldn't keep running forever.

Sephiroth let go of the wheel and aimed his rifle at Vincent. His shot missed when Vincent suddenly dropped to the ground and rolled off the road. Sephiroth slammed down on the brakes when he passed him and got out of his car.

"Time to die," he said, pointing his rifle at Vincent, who sat up. Sephiroth was taken by surprise when Vincent suddenly leapt up, shot wildly at him, and shoved his rifle to the side. Vincent then pushed past Sephiroth and leapt into the corvette. Sephiroth would have gone after him if Vincent wasn't still firing at him. He watched his corvette speed down the street and pulled out his cell phone.

"I want to report a grand theft auto."

Brandon's POV

Brand tried to find a comfortable position on the lumpy couch he was forced to sleep on. It seemed impossible, however. His parents were asleep in their room, and Laura was probably snoozing, too. He wished he was so lucky.

"Brandon," whispered a voice from the bottom of the stairs. He looked up and saw Laura approaching him.

"Laura? What are you doing up?" he asked.

"Same as you," she said, smiling. "I couldn't sleep."

"Oh," he said and sat up. "So, uh, what's up?"

"Come sleep with me," she said.

"Huh?" Brand asked.

Laura sighed with frustration. "I mean sleep in your room. I'll even let you take the floor," she said.

"I'll get in trouble," he said, hesitant.

"Oh, come on, bodyguard," she said. "Please?"

Brandon gave in. "All right." They were about to go upstairs when there was a soft tap on the window beside the front door. The exchanged looks and slowly approached. Brandon pulled aside the curtain, and they both sighed with relief when they saw Vincent.

Brand quickly opened the door. As soon as it was open, Vincent collapsed. Brand caught him, and they helped him onto the couch.

"Vincent?" Brand whispered. "What happened?"

"Sephiroth," Vincent said.

"I'm going to call an ambulance," Laura said, starting for the phone.

"No," Vincent said. "I'll be arrested. I'm sure Sephiroth has called the cops on me already. Just…help me hide."

Brand and Laura looked at each other. Before he even realized it, Brandon was dialing for Garret. He always picked up late at night, but never during the day.

"What the hell are you doing calling me this late?" Garret demanded as soon as he picked up his phone.

"There's an emergency," Brandon said. "Your parents are never home, and Vincent needs a place to hide out. He's also hurt, and your mother keeps medical supplies there, right? Can you come to my house?"

"Sure," Garret said and hung up. Brandon put down the phone.

"He's coming. He lives only a couple of minutes away," Brand said. "Let's get Vincent outside."

Laura and Brandon, along with a greatly weakened Vincent, got onto the porch. Vincent was laid out on his back. He winced before saying, "You'll have to hide…the car." Then, his eyes closed. Laura caught her breath and put a hand to his throat. Her sigh of relief told Brandon that Vincent was just asleep.

"I'll do it," Laura said, getting to her feet. She gave Vincent a worried look but left his side to get into the corvette. Brandon nearly had a heart attack when she pulled recklessly out of the driveway, spun, and drove off down the street. He wondered where she was going but quickly dropped the thought when Garret pulled in.

"Hurry the hell up and get him in!" Garret ordered. Brandon lost no time complying. As soon as the door was closed, Garret drove off.

Brandon sat on his porch and waited for Laura to come back. He was just about to grab his bike and ride after her when some new car pulled into the driveway. He was surprised his parents hadn't woken up from all the noise.

Laura got out of the car and waved to the driver before he pulled out and left. "That was Biggs, my dad's friend," she said. "He'll take care of it."

"Oh," Brandon said. "He didn't ask any questions?"

"Well," Laura said, hesitating.

"You can tell me," Brandon said.

"He usually deals with crime related things like this. In fact, it's usually bodies he takes care of," she said with a grimace.

"Oh," Brandon said again. He ran a hand through his hair and stood up. "We'd better get back inside. We'll go after Sephiroth tomorrow morning. Without a car, he won't go very far."

Laura yawned and agreed. This time, he went up peacefully and lay down on the floor.

"Cloud?" she asked. At the use of his that name, he sat up and looked at her. She smiled. "Don't get yourself killed, all right?"

Brandon nodded. "Don't worry. I'm your bodyguard. I have to be there to protect you," he said.

She nodded. "That's a promise?"

Brandon nodded. "That's a promise."

A/N: Long enough? I hope so. And I tried to put some action in there, too, but there'll be more later. It'll be better. Anyways, tell me what you think. Thanks for reading, and please review!