Diclaimer: I do not own anything of Final Fantasy.

Author's Note: I'm trying to work on sticking in one tense, so if I don't do that, please tell me. :D

Tifa was gone that day, and so were Denzel and Marlene. Cloud was all by himself, and enjoying it immensely. He hadn't had one job to do that day, nobody was trying to make him play hide and seek and nobody was bugging him about calling Cid about whether or not the oil in his bike was done being changed. He was entirely relaxed…with a small white book in his hands.

He sighed, as he flipped the book over in his hands. He was trying to look at the back cover, but for some reason it was glued shut. What was back there? He had read three entries in the past half hour, and luckily they were all just mindless banter about her hair, or the diner, or the orphans. With each entry had come a sense of foreboding, and a sense of regret. He shouldn't have been looking at them. They were Tifa's, but the information the pages contained were so...interesting. He wasn't really even sure why.

"Hmph…" he sighed at the thought of it. The way that small book was overpowering him was so stupid. He couldn't even explain why he had gotten it out and was reading it.

He opened the book again to the next entry, and was relieved to find that it didn't start out talking about him. It actually started out talking about Reno:

"Dear Diary,

Reno asked me out today."

Cloud furrowed his eyebrows. That would mean that she had written this entry just last week. He was nearing the present entry, obviously.

"I didn't know what to say!" the diary read "So I just told him I'd think about it. He gave me flowers when he asked. It was really sweet, I suppose. He even got my favorite flower, but I'm not sure how he would have figured that one out. The only people that know what it is are Cloud, Marlene, and Denzel, and that's only because the day we went on the picnic Marlene brought me some wild flowers and I was really happy because they were my favorite, and I hadn't thought that they grew wild anymore.

Anyway, when I told him I'd think about it I couldn't tell what his emotions about it were. He just kept a straight face and said, 'Okay. Take your time.' And left! I mean, I'm glad he didn't pester, but, and I'm serious when I say this, I think he has a tutor on how to treat me! He just didn't act himself. Usually he's a pig when it comes to women, or maybe all of what I've been told by Cid who heard it from Rufus who heard it from Rude was just nonsense, and I'm completely wrong about him. That's possible, right?"

"I guess." Cloud says, as he started to break out in a sweat. Actually, he was the one who had "tutored" Reno. He had told him what to say, and how to say it and everything that he knew Tifa would need to hear if Reno wanted her to say 'Yes'.

"So, Reno left me confused and wondering…and blushing, though I'd never admit it to anyone. I don't understand why it would confuse me so much! But I am! I'm confused, and stressed, and I want it all to go away, because, in truth, he's almost got me saying 'Yes'."

"Why?!" Cloud blurted out, surprising himself. He didn't know why he had yelled that. His eyes had slightly widened, and they darted around the room as though looking for a place to escape. He felt his heart pounding within his chest from the adrenaline rush that had gone through his body. He shook his head, and looked back down at the book. He wanted to keep reading, but he had doubts of actually being able to do it.

He had to. He looked back down at it, and read the rest of it.

"And I want to say 'Yes' and then again I want to say 'No' and I'm not sure which to say, and I'm not sure which one would be best for the rest of us: Denzel, and Marlene, and Cloud. What I do affects them too, and vice versa, now that Cloud has decided to hang around more and more. I just don't know.

Marlene is coming down the hall calling my name. Probably an upset stomach.

Tifa"

Cloud sat there for a few minutes, not bothering with anything about him. He hadn't even bothered to close the book. His thoughts were focused around that one line '…he's almost got me saying 'Yes'.' He felt like he was losing his best friend, or sister, or whatever it was he considered her to be. She was his best friend, and the only one that could tolerate him being within a five mile radius for more than a week.

The phone rang, and made him jump out of his slump. He reached over and picked it up, holding it to his ear.

"Hello?" he muttered.

"Hey. I thought Tifa might be there." It was Reno.

"She took Denzel and Marlene with her. I don't know where they went; something about Denzel needing some new clothes." Cloud said. Why was he telling Reno about this?

"I'll call back later then."

"No. Don't."

"...Why not?" the reply was suspiscious, and somewhat surprised.

"Because--" Cloud wasn't really sure why because, and was kicking himself for getting into this situation.

"Why?" Reno pestered. He sounded slightly annoyed.

"Because--" This time, Cloud was interrupted by Rude who was starting to yell at Reno on the other end.

"Look, Reno, all I'm saying is leave.the.stupid.lid.on.the.pickles! The whole room smells like viniga--!"

"I've gotta go Cloud. I'll call back later." a rather annoyed Reno could be heard just barely over Rude's yelling as he ended the conversation and hung up.

Cloud nearly slammed the phone down onto its receiver. He massaged his temples with his index fingers, and tried to clear his mind. His eyes squeezed shut, and his lips squeezed together. His fingers moved methodically about his temples. Grabbing the little white book roughly, he threw it onto Tifa's bed where he had found it earlier, and stormed out. He decided he would go and pick up his bike.

He grabbed his jacket, and pulled it on roughly. He didn't know why he was so angry, just that he was and he didn't know who he was angry at. It was definitely either himself, Reno, or Tifa…or Cid for waiting so long to get his bike's oil changed. He'd blame everything on Cid; it worked best when he used Cid as an excuse. It was more conceivable. He slammed the door on his way out, and walked down the street. It was cold out and he could see his own breath in the air rise like steam. The sky was overcast, and everybody out was wearing heavy clothing. You could smell the fresh sent that rain always brought with it, and Cloud had a slight suspicion that it would snow on them all that night. He decided to take the next day off and take Denzel and Marlene to the park to play in the snow. Tifa would probably be too busy with Reno, but he supposed he could invite her too…for Marlene's sake.

R&R