A/N: Thank you SO much ATK1734 and Lumina! Your reviews always encourage me to push myself and keep up with the updates. I am sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger XD He's a short chapter to resolve it and move the story forward a little. I might do a double update today if I can finish the next chapter, but I'm putting this out first so you can find out what happened at least. Hope you like it, here's chapter 22. :)
CHAPTER XXII.
First Fight
Cloud
"Let's break up," I forced myself to say the words, my hands hanging loosely by my sides. I didn't dare to look at her. One more look at her and I would change my mind, hold onto her warmth. My hands were trembling slightly, and this feeling of dread was spreading slowly over my entire body. This is a mistake. Even my thoughts were against me. But there was no way I could shove her in harm's way, just to satisfy my selfish desire to have her.
There was a short silence. Lightning exhaled deeply. "Fine, let's break up," she replied coldly.
That's right, Farron. You need to leave me behind, move on. Live your life, find happiness... like you deserve.
She knocked on the door twice. "Yazoo?" She called.
"What?" I heard Yazoo's bored voice on the other side.
"Guns blazing on three," she said in an urgent tone as I heard the loud click of a safety switch going off. Surprised, I turned around to find Lightning was checking the ammo of her gun, pointing it at the door. She stood tall and confident, unyielding, unafraid.
"1…." She counted, squaring her shoulders.
"2…." Her grip tightened around the weapon.
"3!" The door opened and Yazoo stepped away as a guard rushed towards us and Lightning kicked his weapon out of his hand before shooting him in the leg.
"Hey, old man, get his stuff!" She yelled as our family's driver came running into my room. "Master," he bowed quickly as he grabbed my luggage. I was frozen on the spot as several other, deafeningly loud shots were fired. Lightning was clearing people out and I heard her bullets followed by swift, but silenced ones. Yazoo was… helping her, for whatever reason.
"I told you to let me do the firing," Yazoo chastised but she ignored him.
"There's too many," Lightning eyes scanned the corridor quickly. "Clear, let's move!" She shouted, turning around to face me. Her eyes… those icy blue eyes I had come to like so much, narrowed at me. Anger, hurt, betrayal… I saw all those emotions reflected in them. But one emotion was overriding everything else. My own eyes widened as she reached for my hand, gripping it like she was holding onto something precious. We gazed into each other's eyes, and there was an inexplicable pain in my chest. She said nothing to me, nothing at all. Her hand yanked me forward as our legs sprang into action. Before I knew it we were running past the security guards laying on the floor, groaning in pain.
One of them grabbed a gun and aimed, but another one yelled at him. "Don't hurt the Masters! Shoot the girl!"
More bullets followed as we raced for the elevator and all of them were meant for Lightning. I tried to pull her away but my body had lost all its strength, simply propelled into the run by Lightning's sheer willpower. We made it to the elevator and she pressed the button, the three in our party firing in the direction of the guards.
A few minutes later an army of armed guards came in through the emergency stairs on the other side, entering the corridor and examining the sea of injured bodies on the floor. The elevator arrived with a ding and the driver got in first with my luggage, holding the door open.
"Save your bullets!" Yazoo shouted, as he flung open a door in front of us, quickly reloading. He kicked the door away, and made three, clean headshots in a row. "I'll hold them off. Go." He told Lightning as he pushed us both in the elevator, standing in front of us and facing the other way.
"As if!" Lightning screamed, grabbing the collar of his long coat and pulling him into the elevator with us. She shot at the main light in the corridor, which burst immediately on contact with the bullet. Darkness fell onto the floor, save the emergency lights that flickered on. She then shot towards the ceiling a second time, as water rained down on everyone, causing confusion.
"Go go go!" She screamed as the old man frantically pressed the button, repeatedly. The elevator began moving towards B1 and I realized Lightning was still holding onto my hand. I just stared at her in pure awe, unable to process what was going on. I had said those cruel words to her, but she was holding onto me with even more passion.
The elevator opened with another ding as Yazoo shot the valet in the arm. He groaned in pain, falling to the floor as he held his arm. Yazoo grabbed the first set of keys he saw, pressing them quickly. A black Toyota corolla beeped, and the four of us rushed towards it. The driver threw my luggage in the back. He tried to get in, but Lightning placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You, take back the limousine. It's proof that Yazoo was with us," she told him. Even in this chaos, she was thinking clearly. The old man nodded, glancing anxiously at us both before running in the direction of the limousine. Lightning finally let go of my hand, pushing me in the back seat. "Yazoo, protect him!" She directed as Yazoo tried to reach for the front.
"You should be with him-" he protested but Lightning shook her head.
"You're a better shooter, just do it," she insisted and he nodded, sliding in next to me as he began pink haired girl got into the front seat, revving the engine. She whipped out her phone as the car screeched, making a sharp turn and heading for the exit.
"Tifa, I… I went in guns blazing after all. Meet me at the east gate. I don't know when we'll be there but I'll try to be fast. Bring Zack," she fell silent, nodding against her phone. "Yeah, I have Strife." She hung up, dialing another number as a barrage of bullets pelted the car. I ducked as Yazoo pulled the window down, taking out the driver with one deadly strike. The car lost control, spinning as it collided against a pillar.
"Reno, I have a situation. Come to the east gate, bring Rude if you can. I need help, please," it was the first time I heard Lightning plead to someone. And it was because of me. She ended the call and looked at the silver haired male in the rearview mirror. "You didn't have to steal a car," I heard her say as she stepped on the accelerator. Yazoo raised an eyebrow at her as he relaxed slightly.
"The limousine and my Porsche are tracked. Plus, you broke big brother out of a top secret facility, I didn't think you'd be opposed to a little grand theft auto."
Lightning smirked, but lost it quickly as a bullet shattered the rear windshield.
"These guys don't know when to give up," she gritted her teeth as she maneuvered the car between the others on the road. Yazoo aimed at the car behind us but Lightning quickly stopped him.
"Civilians!" She reminded him and he sank back in the backseat, both of us ducking.
"How are you planning to lose them?" He said coolly as more bullets shot towards us.
"Just watch me," she growled, keeping her eyes on the road. She began driving in an erratic manner so it was difficult to aim for the car and the bullets missed, just flying past us. She turned off the main road, glancing quickly in the rearview mirror.
"Yazoo, now!" She thundered and Yazoo emptied his Nighthawk into the car behind us, taking out every single person.
"Don't take only headshots," I finally spoke as my youngest brother's green eyes met mine. "They'll know it was you," I suggested and Yazoo nodded silently, a little surprised that I had spoken to him.
Lightning handled the car on the rough road, not slowing down even as the terrain became rougher. Yazoo and I were tossed around in the backseat, and we held onto the car doors. She made another sharp turn, returning to the main road with another loud screech. As soon as we returned, we realized a car had been waiting to intercept us.
"I don't have a lot of bullets left," Yazoo announced and Lightning nodded, stepping on the accelerator again. They began shooting straight at her and I inched towards her but Lightning growled at me.
"Stay put Strife, trust me!"
Trust me.
I nodded, as Yazoo and I both held the seats in front of us, bracing for impact.
"Your girlfriend is crazy," Yazoo complained as panic began to show in his usually indifferent voice.
"Ex-girlfriend," Lighting said icily as the corolla slammed into the car. Some of the guards jumped out before the impact, but a few of them jumped on the roof of our car before the moment of collision.
"Humph," Lighting let go off the accelerator, doing a 360 degree spin as the men were thrown off the roof. She turned the steering wheel expertly as the car faced forward again. The car behind us had caught fire, and Lightning unlocked her pistol, one hand loosely on the steering wheel.
"I thought you were all out of bullets," Yazoo was surprised, staring at her with the same respect that I was experiencing right now.
"I saved one. Let's go out with a bang," she turned around as we both ducked again. The bullet flew over our heads, and there was a loud explosion. The vehicle was dismembered, and its parts flew out in the blast, effectively blocking the road behind us.
"Watch out!" Yazoo warned as Lighting faced towards the road.
"Yazoo, HIDE!" She yelled at full force as she recognized the resemblance between the two silver haired men.
Kadaj.
He was smirking as he aimed for her head, but he missed as Lightning's driving resumed it's erratic pattern. The bullet grazed her shoulder as it shattered the window next to her. Lightning groaned in pain, but the car picked up speed, whooshing by him. Her blood flew out of the window, some of it landing on my cheek.
We drove for a while, but nothing else happened. Lightning continued to drive at an insane speed, breaking every speed limit that existed on the highway. There was silence as we raced against time. I recognized the look in Yazoo's eyes as he stared at her. It was the same look… the same expression I had the first time she handed me my favorite album.
Yazoo had fallen for her too… huh.
The car came to an abrupt stop, jerking us both forward. Our faces smacked against the hard headrests in front of us and we both inhaled sharply, grabbing our heads in pain as we recoiled. She stopped at the first train station she saw.
"We need to lose the car," she said quickly, stumbling out of the car as her hand shot up to cover her skin. Before I could even move, Yazoo was by her side. He ripped the fabric of his thin coat, wrapping it around her arm.
"I thought that was custom made," she flinched in pain as he continued.
"It is," he replied simply as he supported her weight. "Your leg is bleeding…" he said out loud, alerting me as well. "Don't tell me you were driving with that," he glared at her, and I couldn't believe that Yazoo could actually care about another person.
"There was no choice, let's catch that train." She walked to the trunk and flung it open, grabbing my baggage and handing it to me.
"We're going home," she told me with a straight face, but her eyes painfully parted from mine, like she couldn't bear to look at me. Her hand gripped mine again as she began dragging me to the train station as fast as she could manage in her current state. The three of us waited in line for the next train, out of breath and disheveled from all the running.
Yazoo's phone rang, and he answered it with an annoyed sigh. "What? How should I know? No, I am at home. Yes, fine. Come back, I'll still be here," he lied, quickly ending the call before the train announcement started.
"You need to go." It wasn't a question. Lightning glanced worriedly at him, the way she often looked at Serah.
"If I go missing, it'll be suspicious. I am taking a taxi," he told us in a flat voice. His hand reached for Lightning's and he pulled it up to his lips, kissing it in front of me.
"Thank you," he didn't need to explain what it was for. I knew it was a thank you for not leaving him behind.
Lightning didn't withdraw her hand from him, but as he released it, she slipped out of black leather gloves and handed them over to him. He threw a look my way, taking them from her as he began walking away briskly, disappearing out of the crowded station without a second look.
There was silence as we both got on the train, ignoring the looks thrown our way from the other passengers. Lightning leaned against the door, her eyes idly taking in the night view. The city lights were bright, and they danced on her face, lighting it up in different colors. One of her hands was still holding mine - she wasn't letting it go. I wanted to pull her against my chest, kiss her deeply, tell her how much I thought about her. I wanted her to know how she was the reason I could get through the dark days, and how long I waited to lose my fingers in her hair.
But I couldn't. I knew I had made a mistake, a big one.
And she wasn't going to forgive me easily.
When we arrived at the east gate, we both held up our student IDs and the guards let us in. Reno and Rude ran over to us. The redhead looked panicked as he saw the wounds on Lightning.
"What the fuck, yo," he stepped towards her but she put her hand up.
"I am fine, I need you to do a parameter check and see if we're being followed. Or if there are any suspicious people. I don't want to endanger other students," she said in a low voice.
"But you need to go to the hospital…" Reno contested. Lightning nodded in response, releasing a soft growl.
"And I will. But I need to do something first," she answered. Rude put his hand on Reno's shoulder.
"Let's go," he nodded towards Lightning, and it seemed to reassure her. The two made their way out of the gate, just as Tifa and Zack came running towards us. Both of them jumped me, and I stumbled back from the force of their hug. I couldn't breathe, but they wouldn't release me.
"Guys, you're killing him," Lighting said quickly as they both attacked her next.
"Jesus dude... What happened?!" Zack scanned her and Tifa had a panic attack just from seeing her bloodied and roughed up like this.
"We need to talk, the four of us. So let's go, I'll deal with these later," she pushed on and the others gave in. Lightning rarely listened to anyone when she was like this, and we had all learned that rather quickly about her.
The walk to our room was short. It felt nice to be back in my own room. I kicked off my shoes, sliding my luggage in one corner of the room. There were fairy lights arranged in the shape of a wolf, with a small banner inside that read "Welcome back, Cloud!" There were also photos from our trip scattered all over the white wall, inside the shape of the wolf.
Guilt washed over me as I looked down, unable to face the others.
"What happened?" Tifa broke the ice as the others sat down. Lightning just stood in a corner, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. I said nothing, so the pinkette finally spoke.
"Strife was leaving the country when I got there," she informed the others and Zack and both Tifa threw angry looks at me. I knew I deserved them.
"Cloud… is that true?" Zack asked me in a sad voice, looking straight at me.
"Yeah," I confirmed but couldn't say anything else. I worriedly glanced towards the bleeding girl, but she was staring out of the window, lips pursed tightly.
"You can't do that!" Tifa shouted, angry tears sliding down her cheeks. "You're so stupid! Always doing these things… Do you know how worried we have all been?!"
I exhaled loudly and opened my mouth but nothing came out. I wished I could explain everything, but it was too complicated. And it was going to get worse, very fast, after the stunt we had pulled tonight.
"Are you going to talk or not?" Lightning snapped and our eyes met.
"I can't stay here. Sephiroth will do anything in his power to get to me before my birthday next year, and you'll all be targets. He won't attack me, he can't. Not with the world watching his every move. But he'll come for each and everyone one of you, until I have nothing left to protect," I tried to articulate my thoughts, struggling immensely as my eyes refused to leave hers. She didn't break eye contact, but her eyes were burning with rage.
"Do we get a say in this at all?" Zack surprised me by asking. I looked at him and he was smiling, but it was an empty smile. "You think I'll be able to live happily knowing that you left everything you loved behind to keep me safe?"
"Cloud, we'll be fine-" Tifa started but I interrupted them.
"Do you want to spend the next two years of college walking out the door and not knowing if you can come back? Brakes that suddenly stop working, drinks that are poisoned. Just how much are you willing to risk for me?" I stared at Tifa who bit back on her lower lip.
"So what? We'll double check brakes and be careful when we go out to drink. Problem solved," Zack said it jokingly but I knew he was serious. "We'll just have to be more vigilant," he said.
"You don't understand, none of you do. I can't lose you," I reiterated.
Lightning snorted and I growled at her. She refused to back down as sparks flew between us. "I know you don't care about me, but at least listen to Tifa and Zack. They're your oldest friends, and they're not wrong."
"You think I don't care about you?" I asked in disbelief as Lightning released a soft 'humph'.
"You have a funny way of showing it," she returned, and I held back the anger swirling inside of me. She had every right to be angry, where I had none.
"You think you'll still want to be with me if something happened to Serah?" I stood up, my hands balled into fists. "If you lost Serah because of me, tell me you'll be able to still love me!" I shouted as Lightning straightened up, leaving her relaxed position.
"You're so full of yourself," her words were harsh, and I was just discovering the extent of her wrath. "You think I didn't have any enemies before? My life in the military was fucking rainbows and butterflies? I never let anyone so much as scratch Serah. You think I'll sacrifice you to keep her safe? I don't need your help. No one is hurting my sister. And I'll actually be around to make sure they don't lay their filthy hands on her. Ever."
"Light's right. We have a better chance of figuring things out when we're together, Cloud," Tifa placed her hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it off. I knew what my family was capable of and vigilance wasn't going to save us.
"I am leaving," I told them finally, trying to calm myself. "I don't expect any of you to understand. I give up."
"Cloud, don't give up," Zack stood up as well, placing his hand on my shoulder. I stayed still as the warmth of his hand held me in place. "We're all in it for life. And one day, everyone dies. It'll be a disease, an accident, or just old age. It'll happen. We can't live our lives fearing death and loss. We need to actually live our lives. You are the one who taught me how to live mine, so don't run away from yours - no matter how fucked up it is or gets from now on."
When Zack finished I took another deep breath. Zack withdrew his hand and I dared to glance at Lightning. Her eyes were moist and it seemed she was holding back tears. It surprised me and my mouth fell open, unable to say anything that could calm her right now.
"It never works," her voice broke, so she took a breath before continuing, "You appease him now, and delay the fight. It'll still happen. You think he won't hurt us when you're out of the way? I have seen enough bad guys to know that's not how it works. He'll come for us anyway. You are the one who knows him the most, who can read him well and anticipate his moves. You're the best shot we have against him. And you leaving us will just make us more vulnerable. But it's fine, it's not like you'll listen to me."
I stepped towards her, unable to hold back. I wanted to take her in my arms, just make all of this go away. I reached for her hand but she slapped it away angrily. "I am done, we're done. Goodbye, Strife," she spat before turning on her heels and exiting the room. She slammed the door shut behind her and Tifa jumped up in shock.
"Cloud, go after her! She's your girlfriend!" Zack smacked my shoulder. My head hung low, my feet losing the ability to move again.
"She's not. I broke up with her," I told Zack who just stared at me, dumbfounded.
"She brought you back from hell and you broke up with her?!" In a rare display of anger Zack growled, pushing me back with both hands. "Get a grip!" He shouted as he ran after the pink haired girl. Silence fell upon the room. I sank to my bed, holding my head in my hands. Tifa touched my shoulder gently, carefully, like she was scared of how I'd react.
"Cloud?" She called my name softly. I had actually missed this.
"Tifa… I messed up with her. I thought I was protecting her, so I asked her to break up. I didn't think we'd end up like this," I poured my feelings out in front of my best friend. She turned my face so I was looking at her.
"You thought she'll just cry and beg you to reconsider?" She chuckled sadly, crimson eyes staring deeply into mine. "She's not me, Cloud. Thinking back on it, us breaking up and getting back together again and again… we were younger and… it was pretty toxic. We need to do better now, we're adults," she finished and I gulped, fighting back my own tears of frustration.
"I don't think things can go back to the way they were. Everything's different now," I said in a small voice. In a shocking move, Tifa pushed her lips against mine, closing her eyes. I pushed her away gently and she smiled, letting go off my face.
"You're in love with her," she said out of nowhere and I needed a full minute to comprehend the words. My face heated up in response. And the worst part was being unable to deny my feelings any longer.
"I can finally let you go now," she took a deep breath, her smile growing wider. "But if you don't make things right now, you'll live your life regretting. A girl like her doesn't wait around for any guy."
"I'll mess up again, and hurt her. And then it'll be like this again," there was a voice inside me, pulling me deeper into the negativity, the darkness. So many men I knew liked Lightning, and maybe one of them could make her much happier than me.
"Dilly-dally, shilly-shally," Tifa tilted her head to the side. "Stop taking the weight of the world on your shoulders. We're not letting you go anywhere. You might not be able to save us all, and we might get seriously hurt, or even die. But we're not giving up and just dying, not without a fight. Now you decide what's important to you. I have another friend who needs me right now," she stood up, walking to the door. She turned to smile at me once, before leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I stayed there for a few minutes, my eyes wandering over the photos on the wall. I blinked twice as I stood up to closely examine one of the photos. Lightning and I were sitting at the bar, and her hand was against my lips. She was blushing deeply, lips parted just as she did when she wanted me to kiss her. When did these people take this embarrassing photo?
I scanned the other images too. Lightning and I cuddled, sleeping together. Lighting was smiling behind the kitchen counter as we cooked together. Lightning and I were sitting on the porch in the snow, drinking hot coffee as we gazed into each other's eyes. There were so many memories. And finally, the group photo in the middle. We had all screamed feng shui, and laughter had burst out of us. Everyone was laughing, and I was surprised at my own expression of ease in the photo.
These people made me happy. These were my friends, and this was my home. I needed to make things right with the pink haired girl somehow, who had taken my hand tonight even when I had asked her to do the opposite.
I couldn't let her go.
A/N: And doooone! Yazoo is so cute. Welcome to the Lightning Farron fan club, m'boy XD We'll definitely see Cloud in action in some other chapter, I wanted Lightning to really shine in today's update. Anyway, hopefully this resolved some of the cliffhanger from last time. But now Lightning's veeery angry. XD
Anyway, until the next update. Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend! :)
