A/N: Hey guys, I'm back!

I'm sorry I took so long to update this time, but time is running short on me right now: got so many things on my hands that I don't find spare time to write… Sorry again.

Enough apologizing, you don't want to read my excuses… So, on with the fic. It's party time!

Chapter 5

In da club

"Whatcha need is a boyfriend, girl." Rikku stated, while picking her outfit for that night.

Time had passed slowly on those last couple of weeks and everything seemed to be going well. Lulu's mood had improved greatly and she and Wakka were reading themselves to receive the baby who would come soon enough. Rikku and Gippal were still teasing and picking on each other and I was beginning to wonder if they would ever hook up; it was about time now. Baralai had adjusted just fine and was having a wonderful time with our group. He and Paine didn't talk much yet but she was finally accepting and actually enjoying his presence, which made him so much more contented. As for me, I was spending more time with Shuyin and we were trying to catch up for the time we had been separated. He was becoming a little more light-hearted and easygoing and the only time he seemed more saddened was when we talked about Lenne. I hadn't heard from her since the night she had called me on the phone and neither had Shuyin. I was beginning to worry about her and that was why I had promptly accepted Rikku's invitation to go out that Friday night. I was hoping I would run into her in this club where we were going; I knew she usually sang there, so…

"What!" I exclaimed, looking at my cousin in disbelief. Okay, I knew I should go out more and all the other stuff she had said when she had invited me to go to this new club in the centre of the city. But needing a boyfriend? I mean, I was just fine all by myself. I didn't need no guy, whatsoever!

"Yeah, Yunie, you need a guy." She repeated, a broad smile over her lips.

"The hell I do, Rikku!" I told her "I'm just fine the way I am. Besides, I have you guys to keep me company. Friends are better than guys, don't ya think?" I tried to convince her but she just stared at me.

"Yunie, if ya think that, you're weirder than I thought…"

I sighed. "Rikku…"

"Don't 'Rikku' me! You know one thing has nothin' to do with the other. Friends are friends, but you still need a guy sometimes… You can't just French kiss your best friend, can you?"

I laughed at her words. In a certain way, she was right. Friends had nothing to do with guys and, well, maybe I did need a guy. I had been feeling kind of lonely lately, even with so many friends around me. Perhaps it was time for me to look around and hook up with someone. And if it didn't work, well… Whoa, wait a second! I didn't even had a guy and I was already thinking of breaking up? Oh Yevon, I was being weird!

"Okay, Rikku, maybe you're right…" I began, not wanting to give in completely. "But that doesn't mean I need a guy. It just means I need someone to have... a little fun with."

"Yay! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, baby!" she punched the air above her and made a strange victory dance. Then she jumped off the bed and ran towards my closet "But if you're goin' to hook up with someone you need to look like a goddess tonight."

I laughed again and decided to go with the flow (even if only for that night. The thought of Rikku picking up my clothes everyday scared the hell out of me, even if my clothes were a lot more decent than her own…). So, when she came back carrying a white mini skirt and a deep blue sleeveless shirt, I smiled and tried them on, matching the earrings and the bracelets on my right wrist.

"Ya know, Yunie", Rikku said, absorbed in her thoughts "I think you should take off that necklace of yours…"

I instantly reached for the silver chain around my neck and clasped it tightly. That necklace was very special to me; it had belonged to my mother and it was the only thing that I had from her. When she had died and my father had given me the necklace I had sworn to never take it off and I intended to keep my vow, no matter what Rikku said about it.

"Forget it, Rikku, I'm not doin' it." I told her firmly.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, whatever ya say, cous. I was just sayin' that it doesn't match your earrings."

I shook my head, smiling again. I couldn't believe she was worried because the earrings and the necklace didn't match. "You're crazy…"

"Hey, no need to offend, 'kay?" she pouted and I laughed. "So…" she continued, forgetting she was supposedly offended. "Do you have any guy in mind already?"

"Hmm… no, I guess not."

"How 'bout Baralai?"

I snapped my head back to look at her, surprised by her suggestion. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well, you guys look really close lately and… he's soooo hot. I thought that maybe you could…"

"No way, Rikku!" I chuckled. "Baralai's just a friend. I was thinking more about… Gippal!"

My cousin almost jumped from her seat. "What!"

"Whoa, Riks, calm down! I was just kiddin'; you can have him, cous." I said, quickly lifting my hands up, before she could kill me.

She eyed me suspiciously, but when she saw me giggling she realized I was just joking and she laughed too.

"So… you like him or what?" I asked, trying to steal a confession.

"Or what." She responded, smiling widely at me. I sighed, thinking I would never get Rikku to confess her feelings for Gippal

When we had finished dressing up and doing our hairs and make-up we descended the stairs and went to pick up Paine. Then we drove off to the club, where we met Gippal, Baralai, Nooj and… LeBlanc.

"Does she have to come along?" I heard Paine mumble beneath her breath as we approached them.

"Whassup, ladies?" Gippal asked, showing off his image, as usual. He was pretty hot in his black jeans and tight red t-shirt. I glanced at Rikku, whose eyes were fixed on the boy in front of her.

"Better than ever, Gippal." I chuckled, passing over him and stepping near Baralai. Whoa! He looked stunning that night! He was wearing beige trousers and a white shirt, which matched his silvered hair and contrasted with his extremely tanned skin. Well, actually he was not very different from the other days, but I guess I was just looking at him differently since Rikku's little speech about how we could make a good couple. I shook my head, realizing I had just been staring at him for what seemed like hours. He was smiling at me, offering me his arm, so I took it and entered the club with him.

We sat at a table near the bar and Gippal immediately went to order the drinks. I looked around at the room; it was huge! It used to be a temple, in ancient times, but then religion had decayed and temples had been abandoned. Now there were a few companies which were trying to recover the patrimony and bring it into the future, meaning, transforming the temples into major clubs, shopping malls and other stuff like that. Even so, I liked the club's atmosphere. It looked like we were in some kind of dungeon all made of stone, with high columns and dimmed lights.

"This is really nice" I commented, staring around.

"Yeah, I like it too." Baralai agreed.

LeBlanc stood up, dragging Nooj behind her. "Let's dance, love."

He looked at us but didn't say anything, following his girlfriend to the dance floor where they started dancing to the sound of the beat.

"Look at that bitch― acting as if she was so important…" Paine said in a cold voice. "Why did she have to come, anyways?"

"Well Paine, Gippal and I invited Nooj and he told Leblanc and she just glued herself to him, if you know what I mean." Baralai answered, looking straight at her. She stared back at him for a few moments and was about to say something, but was brusquely interrupted by Rikku, who had not been paying any attention to our conversation.

"Fryd y zang (What a jerk)!" she shouted angrily, glaring somewhere behind us. I turned and immediately understood what she meant. Gippal stood there at the bar, talking to a beautiful young girl with long blonde hair. She looked like she could melt into his eye and he smirked: another one to add to his long list.

I turned my eyes to Rikku once again. She looked like she could kill someone, her face flustered in anger and her eyes shooting deadly glares in Gippal's direction. Well, my cousin could be the upbeat, cheerful and playful type of girl, but when someone messed with her it meant hell for that person. She could be very mean and vengeful at times, she was no sweetie candy girl.

"Forget it, Rikku." I told her over the table "There's plenty where that one came from." With that I stretched my arm and pointed around, to the many hot guys who were in the club that night.

She seemed to relax a bit and then a devious smile spread over her glossed lips. "Yeah, you're right, Yunie. I'm just going to enjoy the night!"

She then stood up and darted off to the dance floor, where she started dancing with very sexy moves. It wasn't long until a very cute guy approached her, leaning in to ask her a question. She grinned and nodded and they began dancing together. Sometimes she glanced in our direction and I knew what she was doing, so I looked behind me to see Gippal with his eye set on Rikku. He seemed a little bit annoyed, but he surely wasn't going to let it show, it would ruin his reputation. He was a lady's man; he could not afford to truly fall for one, especially if this one was as hard to get as Rikku. So he just grabbed the blonde girl's hand and dragged her to the dance floor, near to where Rikku was dancing, starting to dance with the poor girl, who seemed like she had died and gone to Heaven. Didn't she know how pathetic she was being?

"Hey, Yuna, how are ya?" asked a voice near my ear, startling me.

I snapped my head and met Seymor Guado's face so close to mine that I almost jumped back, bumping into Paine, who was sitting next to me. Seymor was a creepy guy from our college who was always hitting on me. He had been after me since the first day he had seen me in high school, long before I started dating Tidus. During our relationship, Seymor had backed off a little but, as soon as Tidus left, Seymor began to chase me once again. He was just so annoying that I always tried to keep myself as far from him as I could. But sometimes it was difficult, like that night.

"Hey, no need to be scared." he said, backing away and straightening himself. "I was just wondering if you would dance with me?" he continued, stretching his hand to me.

I looked at Paine and Baralai, who were observing the scene, expecting them to save me, but none of them said anything. Then I looked back at Seymor and shrugged my shoulders, smiling forcefully. "Sure, why not?"

After all, he's harmless…, I thought, standing up and accepting his hand.

"Who is that guy?" I heard Baralai asking Paine, before Seymor pulled me into the middle of the crowd who was dancing.

He then put my hands on his shoulders and put his on my back, not daring to go any further… yet. I wasn't too comfortable in his arms and I felt really awkward at first, but then I began to loosen up as I got lost in the rhythm of the music. He must have felt me relax in his arms, because his hands caressed my back, getting lower and resting on my waist, and he moved closer to me, rubbing his jeans on my bare legs. I instantly tensed and backed away a little.

"What?" Seymor asked, not letting go of me.

"I…" How was I supposed to tell him that his moves were not welcome?

"Excuse me." Baralai appeared from nowhere and tapped Seymor's shoulder. "Can I interrupt?"

Seymor looked extremely irritated with this, but he just wasn't about to lose his posture. At least not there, not in front of me. So he just forced a smile and stepped back, giving way to Baralai and disappearing in the crowd.

"Paine told me the story." Baralai explained as he placed his hands on my waist "So I decided to come and rescue you."

"Thank you so much!" I said, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him.

"It's alright. I know you would do the same for me."

"That's so sweet, Baralai." I told him, gazing into his big brown eyes.

He seemed a little embarrassed and shrugged it off, starting to sway with the new song that was passing and guiding me in the process. I was not complaining. This dance had nothing to do with Seymor's; in this one I was comfortable, relaxed. After all, Baralai was becoming such a nice friend. We had spent sometime together, talking about Bevelle and our lives there and we had found out that we had so many things in common; we kind of understood each other and that felt really nice…

Rikku crossed our way, moving her hips in sync with another guy. She looked straight at me and winked, with a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She was starting to imagine things, I would bet. But it was only her hyper-active imagination working. Baralai was just a very good friend of mine and I would never want to spoil that friendship because of some minutes of fun.

Then why didn't you have fun with Seymor?, a voice, probably my conscience, said inside my head.

Because Seymor was creepy. That was definitely the answer to that silly question. I knew Seymor and I knew that if I gave him the slightest chance he would start to stalk me or something like that and that scared the hell out of me. Besides, I wasn't attracted to him… Wait, did that mean that I was attracted to Baralai? No, no, no, no, no. He was definitely beautiful and so good-looking, but still… I mean, he was not my type.

And what's your type, Yuna? You never met anyone else but 'him'… Oow, what an annoying little voice! Why couldn't it just shut up?

"Yuna?" Baralai called softly. His breath on my ear sent a chill through my body and I moved my head slightly so I would be facing him. For one instant, I must confess, I thought he was going to kiss me. And at the time I wouldn't say no to that. But instead of kissing me, he backed away, pointing somewhere. "That guy over there has been staring at us since forever and he tried to call you once. But you were distracted."

I turned and saw Shuyin standing against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest and a frown look on his face. I turned to Baralai and said "He's a very good friend of mine. Will you excuse me one moment, please?"

"Sure. Go ahead." Baralai smiled, motioning me to move, and I made my way through the crowd until I reached Shuyin.

"So you came, after all!" I greeted him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah. You insisted so much that I thought if I didn't come you'd kill me or somethin'." We both laughed and then he asked "Who was that guy?"

I giggled and thanked Yevon it was dark enough so he could not see me blushing a little. "Baralai's just a friend. A good one."

"As good as me?" a sly smirk was forming on his lips.

"No one's as good as you, Shu!" I said, playing the game.

He unfolded his arms and hold me close, kissing my forehead. I smiled and leaned against him for a while, but then I grabbed his hand as a thought occurred to me and dragged him off across the club.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, hesitating a little bit.

"You'll see." I said, moving towards the table where I sat with my friends. Baralai was already there, as well as Gippal and Nooj. And Paine, of course. Rikku was probably still dancing and LeBlanc was nowhere to be found. Not that I was complaining about that…

"Yuna…"

I turned to face him, stopping in my tracks. "C'mon, Shuyin. I'm not askin' you to stay there, just to meet 'em. If you wanna leave I'll go with you, okay?"

He still looked reluctant about going, but finally stepped forward and said, not very happy. "Okay. For you. But I don't promise anything."

"Thank you." I smiled, kissing his cheek. Then we approached the table. "Guys," I started, calling their attention "This is my friend Shuyin." then I turned to Shuyin "Shu, these are my friends Nooj, Paine, Baralai and…"

"Gippal," Shuyin completed.

"How ya been, Shuyin?" Gippal asked, smirking at him.

"Fine. How 'bout you?"

I was extremely surprised with this little conversation. I had no idea that Shuyin and Gippal knew each other! I mean, yeah, they grew up in the same city and all, and they both knew the same people, like Rikku, but… I don't know. I guessed I was just surprised to see two icons of different times of my life come together and mix everything up. But that was what I had wanted, wasn't it? To bring Shuyin together with the rest of us?

"How do you…?" I started but was immediately cut off by Shuyin.

"Long story, it doesn't matter now."

"C'mon, Shuyin, what's the problem?" Gippal asked and then explained "We grew up in the same neighbourhood and we were friends when we were kids. But then I moved and we lost touch, I guess." he shrugged his shoulders.

"Gippal was Tidus' best friend." Shuyin told me in a low tone, explaining everything in that little sentence.

"Never thought you'd know our little Yuna." Gippal continued.

"Well, yeah…" I replied, sitting next to Paine. "You know how it works, Gippal. People live in the same city and get to know each other and―"

"We met through Lulu and Wakka." Shuyin said in a tone that would not admit any more questions about us. He then sat by my side and looked at Paine. "You're Lulu's sister, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" she inquired, raising her brows.

Shuyin smirked. "Well, now it is."

To my major surprise, Paine returned the smirk.

"I'm going to get some drinks." Baralai said, standing up and heading to the bar. I found his sudden decision a little strange, but didn't have time to think about it because Rikku returned to the table, still dancing and laughing. Well, she was definitely enjoying the night!

"Ahh!" she sighed, sitting next to Nooj and looking around. It was only then she saw Shuyin and her eyes widened till they were large emerald swirl pools. "Shuyin!"

He nodded, acknowledging her presence. Others might have though he was being the bad-boy kind, but I knew better. He was just trying to hide his embarrassment and his uneasiness, building up a wall between him and the rest of the world. He was nervous about this sudden reunion with the people from his past.

But Rikku didn't care if Shuyin just nodded or not. For what it takes, he could have even ignored her, but she would always run up to him and hug him the same way she did, throwing her arms around his neck and talking really fast. "I'm sooo glad to see ya! It's been ages, ya know? We've missed ya!"

He was kind of shocked but she didn't seem to notice it. She was about to go on when Gippal interrupted her, looking annoyed, "Crid ib, Cid's girl (Shut up)! He's got the point."

Her smile faded immediately and she let go of Shuyin, turning to Gippal and glaring at him. Apparently, she still hadn't forgotten his previous actions with the blonde girl. She said, in the coldest voice she could find "E ryda oui, Gippal (I hate you)."

Gippal froze and set his jaw when he heard those words. I could tell he wasn't expecting them. I mean, Rikku had said them thousands of times, but it was always joking and kidding with him. Now it sounded serious and even though he probably knew she didn't mean what she was saying, it was too late for turning back. He slowly got to his feet, directing a cold glare at her, and then left without saying another word.

Rikku sat back again, leaned against her chair and sighed heavily. An awkward silence fell over us.

Suddenly Paine got up and spoke, her cool voice waking us from our thoughts. "I'm bored."

"So, what do you wanna do?" Nooj asked, lifting his head to her.

"Drink." She answered plainly. "Everyone who goes to the bar doesn't bring any drinks… So I'm gonna get my own."

Nooj smiled. "Sure. Go ahead."

Paine smiled back and disappeared in the middle of the crowd. Shortly after that it was Nooj who left, because he had spotted LeBlanc calling him from the dance floor. Finally it was just the three of us and the silence fell over us again: Rikku was absentminded, something really weird, but I believed her thoughts were still on Gippal and she acted weird every time she was with him or thinking about him; Shuyin, on the other hand, was probably thinking how he had let himself being dragged by me into this confusion of friends and strangers; as for me, I was trying to figure out what to say to break the silence. But it was Rikku who spoke first.

"So, Shuyin, why are you here?" she asked, as if trying to forget other issues and turning her attention to him.

He blinked twice and then answered shyly. "I came to meet Yuna. I didn't know she was going to introduce me to all of her friends at once…" Surprisingly enough, he didn't seem annoyed with that. Actually, he was smiling.

"Yeah, it was about time you got yourself back into the world, boy." My cousin said matter-of-factly.

"Rikku!" I exclaimed, opening my eyes to her "Haven't you ever learned what tact means?"

"Yeah." She answered me, not worrying a bit "It means lying and not saying some truths to certain people. It doesn't work for me."

I sighed and shook my head. Rikku would never know how to be subtle.

"You're one of a kind, Rikku." Shuyin stated, chuckling a little. I looked sideways at him and saw him giving Rikku his stunning smile. He was definitely in a good mood that night. I just hoped his mood wouldn't change drastically when he discovered why I had insisted so much for him to come to that club in particular.

A/N: So, did you like it? I sure did enjoy myself writing this chapter, so I hope you had fun reading it too… Did you? (Shows puppy dog eyes) Review, pleeeease……

Habbo: I certainly don't mind your criticism, after all, you're only trying to help me out and clarify your own questions. So allow me to explain: this story is told from Yuna's POV, right? So, Paine is described as Yuna sees her, which sometimes may not be the most accurate way. For instance, according to Yuna, Paine acted really strangely when Baralai showed up, but that was because Yuna had never seen her friend acting like that before. But we cannot forget that Yuna only knows Paine for about a year so far; there's certainly lots of thinks they still don't know about each other… Anyways, the characters will evolve throughout the story, and maybe Paine will get closer to your idea of her (I'll try, I promise). And she's not mean, she's just… Paine. ;-)

Well, if I wasn't clear enough or if you have anything else to say, you know what to do: just review… :-)

To all the others, thanks for reviewing, it means a lot to me…