.:oOo:.

IMPORTANT A/N : WAAA! REINA-SAN IS BACK IN THE HOUSE. IM SO, SOOOOOO SORRY TO KEEP YOU ALL WAITING FOR LIKE, A YEAR AND A HALF! I AM A BAD PERSON. I ADMIT. Allows people to chuck stuff at her B-But in the time I have been gone, I have been honing in on my writing skillz. (l33t). Please, please forgive me for leaving you all! I hope my new eloquence can make up for it, D;

DiScLaMeR

I think to start off a new leaf, I will do this properly for once.
Any of the Kingdom Hearts characters do not belong to me. (Damn.)
By my OCs do.
Thank you.

.:oOo:.

Obsession

By Reina Kashra (Now know as Lumikuu)

Chapter5 -

Coffee Break

.:oOo:.

So basically my social life was in shambles. Cloud hated me, and thought I was stupid, and Leon...loves me, but hates me for unknowingly leading him on.

Wow.

I never knew boys could be such a problem.
Back in elementary school I dealt with boys easily. In recess, if they acted up a bit too much, a kick in the groin/shin would put them back in line. But not in this case. Now I was in high school, and violence and ignorance was not an option. (Or was it..?)

Sitting here on the public bathroom floor of my school, I realized how pathetic I was being. I stood up, changed into the icky nurse-given clothes (hey, better than nothing I guess), and sat under the hand dryer while it ran. It was a quite effective way to dry my hair, and think at the same time think.

I have always prided myself in my resilience, and being able to stand up for myself and other people, but right now, my courage and will to be strong was fading fast.

What to do?

I decided that the white tiled walls of the girls bathroom were interfering with my brain cells, and stopping them from providing me with an accurate answer, therefore a scene change was in order.

I left school on my bike and headed towards my favorite hangout. Turning on a specific street, I entered a small parking area and locked my bike to a nearby tree. Heading past a few dilapidated buildings, I entered a very old and tiny plaza, with a couple of rundown shops. I passed the first door and stopped at the second door. A piece of printer paper with a hasty message was taped half-assed to it. The note read; 'Cafe Cache, Punks and brats not allowed. Please get lost.'
I laughed, and went in.

The inside of the building was dim, and smoky, but oddly comforting and home-ish. Little garden-style tables sat to the side, some occupied. Bookshelves of old novels, in nearly every language lined the wallpapered walls. Spaces not covered shelves were covered in 80's rock, and movies posters. A bar with a variety of beverages and desserts sat in the corner with a few overhead weak lights flickering on and off. But the thing that stood out most was a little stage in the back of the room. Dusty yes, but pretty much state of the art technology. Speakers suspended in midair from the ceiling above the stage, and subwoofers on the ground at the foot of the curtains. There was even a karaoke system.
No one was currently up there, but the area was open for to guests to use.

The place may seem shady to newcomers, but there were no illegal comings and goings in this place. It was a calm environment where creativity and inspiration was born. To put it simply, I loved it here.

I sat down on a stool at the bar, thinking.
I couldn't believe I didn't see Leon coming. It was quite obvious now that I thought about it. And what Vera and Riku had said, it was all true. I had always been oblivious about boys' feelings for me, and here was just another example. I put my head down on the table.

And Cloud. What a poor kid. I had never noticed him. Not in the halls, not in class, not even in the cafeteria till now. Had he really meant it about the bullying? How was it I had not seen it? Any of it?

You have always been in your little group Reina. Anything that happens outside of your group, you fail to take notice.
It is not your fault though. Cloud was right when he said it was none of your business. It is not your job to look for people to help. You just do so when the matter arises.

This bugged me. a) My mind was talking to me b) it was right c) how had I been so ignorant?

Also, Cloud had mentioned a connection to Sephiroth and Aerith. Whether Cloud liked or still liked Aerith had yet to be determined. He also said that Aerith had 'left' him for Sephiroth, which could either mean Aerith lost interest in Cloud and moved on to Sepiroth, or Cloud had never really had Aerith, but they had been close and simply drifted away.
I knew Aerith was a nice girl, with good grades, and a sense of dignity, so I was thinking the latter. Sephiroth was an infamous jerk and bully, who used his strength looks, and money to work his way to the top of the social scale. He was also using his advantages to rub it in Cloud's face.

Hmm.

Now to make to find some way to get both boys to forgive me.
I still hadn't decided how I felt about Leon after his confession. But in the mean time, I know there was no way to ignore Leon's feelings for me, and no way in hell was I going to let that make our relationship awkward. Our friendship was too strong to be ruined like that.

I would find Leon an electric guitar player for Obsession and apologize, explain my stupidity and obliviousness, and all should be well for a few days.
As for Cloud, I had no idea. I didn't want him mad at me, but I wanted to be friends at least. I wanted to help him, but I still couldn't get his face and words out of my head...

"Don't give me your pity!"

I sighed rather loudly.

"Crappit." I mumbled.

"Hey, Brat, didn't you see the sign?"

"Shaddap Cid. I'm thinking." I hissed, at the same time looking up to see the middle aged man looking at me with mock concern.

"Don't hurt yourself now."

"Thanks, I won't." I put my head back down, resisting the urge to bang my head respectively on the counter. There was silence, except for some Trance music this kid was playing on his laptop in the back. Then Cid said;

"Well Kid, you know...if you ever want to...talk." he said awkwardly, but sincerely. I looked up at him, trying not to grin at him too much.

"Aww, you old fart, you really do care."

"Damn Brat." he grumbled, but he didn't leave, so I took that as a cue to continue.

"Well, you remember Leon?"

"Ohhhh, boy troubles. I see..." he said grinning and lighting a cigarette.

"You know what, this was a bad idea, just forget it." I scowled, slipping off the barstool.

"Hey! Hey! It was a little humor, okay? Jesus, kids these days can't take a joke." he took a drag and motioned for me to sit back down. I did so and frowned, pointing at the cigarette,

"I'm sure you've heard those are bad for you."

"Damn it kid, if I had a dollar for every time someone has said that to me, I wouldn't be running this joint. Hell, I'd be in Vegas playin poker with my type." He looked wistfully at me.

Your type? I'd hate to see that.

"Me and more than a few people would kill you if you sold this place, ya know."

"Yeah, I know, but it don't matter anyway. The way things look; I'll be running this thing till the day these cigarettes get me. Which is actually pretty soon."

"Nah Cid, even though you're an old fart, you're not that old of a fart."

"Hell I don't know, my brother died at forty-two."

"You have a brother?"

"No, but that's not the point."

"Ha, what's the point then?"

"I don't know, what is the point Brat?" he looked meaningfully at me while wiping a glass. I rolled my eyes and tapped the counter.

"Drinkie."

"What the hell are you? A stupid baby?" but never the less he began to work the machines, filling a Styrofoam cup. "You're still avoiding the damn point."

"I know, but you have to admit, I'm getting better at it, aren't I?"

"That's not necessarily a good thing Brat." he said, setting down the steamy cup. I took a sip and spat the liquid back into the cup before jamming it violently on the counter.

"Holy crap Cid! You made it too hot! Crappit, I burned my tongue..." I fanned my mouth.

"How do you brats say it...? Oh yeah. Oops, my bad." he said very unconvincingly.

"Whatever. Now I have to wait for it to cool..." I moaned. I was never very fond of hot drinks, but Cid's 'Double Trouble' hot chocolate was unbeatable.

"Yeah, and while you're waiting Brat, we can get to the point you've been evading ever so nicely."

Yeah, you know how I said Cid's hot chocolate was unbeatable? Yeah well, so is the old fart himself.
So I took a deep breath, and told him everything. Starting from when I first bumped into Cloud, to where I was now, sitting in his cafe.

"Damn, girl. You're six feet under from what I understand." he said, stroking his chin stubble.

"Wow Cid, you're an absolute genius." I grumbled as I blew on my drink.

"Hey, shaddap Brat, I wasn't done talkin'." he picked up another dirty rag and began to clean an old fashioned teacup. " Well, you like this kid. Cloud, right?"

I blushed. "No! I...I don't...wait, I don't know..."

"Yes. Yes you do."

"But no! I mean- wait-"

"Alright! Jesus, child...Don't kill yourself over it. Let's just say you do."

"But I-"

"We are speaking figuratively! FIGURATIVELY."

"...Ok..."

"Alright. Well. Techically, when we like someone, we don't like them sad. We like them chipper."

"Do people even use that word anymore?"

"The point is, you need to ignore what he said to you in the bathroom, and keep your annoyingness up."

"I see."

" Talking to him and doing nice things for him will help. When you're around him, get your friends to follow you."

"I see."

"If he ignores you, go to the places you know he has to go. His locker for instance."

"I see"

"Also, ask him how he is alot. And ask him if there's anything he'd like to talk about.."

"I see."

"Stop saying that. And then he might not realize it at first, but he'll be happier, because he has someone who pays attention to him, cuz from what I understand, he's a lonely guy."

"I see-OW!" Cid whipped my arm with his dirty dish towel. "Gross Cid! Who knows where that's been!"

"Are you even listening to me!" Cid demanded, and he looked kinda mad.

"Yeah Cid, I promise." I said, really meaning it. "But I have 2 more questions."

"Shoot."

"Mmkay, so I get the whole, 'do-not-let-cloud-walk-more-then-5-inches-away-from-you' bit, but that means I'll be around when Sephiroth comes to play. Cloud didn't like it when I defended him, and he doesn't defend himself, so...I can't really stand there and let it happen..."

"Then don't, idiot girl."
"What?"

"If I remember right, you took out a guy twice your size in this very bar with your bare hands. Even Tifa was impressed, and she's a pro in that area."

"Oh, well he was annoying Vera and me-Wait. Are you saying I should attack him!"

"Weeeeeell..."

"Cid, I can't get expelled, my parents are uber-strict."
"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, you're breaking one of the biggest rules in school...Thou shalt not skippith?"

" It's different Cid."

"Ok then...Then get him where no one can prove you were the one who did it."

"...How?"

"You're a smart kid, you'll figure it out."

"Gasp. A complement Cid? I do believe you are getting soft."

"Don't make me hurt you. Now what about the second one?"

"The what?"

"Your second question?"

"Oh right. Um, And Leon...I was thinking.."

"Finding him an electric guitarist should do it."

"Wow Cid, that's exactly what I was thinking!"

"Great minds think alike."

"Oh dear, another complement...Are you okay Cid?"

"Beat it Brat." he barked and whipped the towel in the air. I laughed and hopped off the seat, narrowly missing the rag.

"Too slow old fart."

"Here." he tossed a piece of paper at me "Now get out before I call the cops" he grumbled, but I could tell he was trying not to smirk.

I grabbed the paper and read the first few lines. It was a flyer for tonight's stage lineup. The first few slots were taken up by some new people, a girl I knew was a regular here (she plays the drums), and an accordianist (don't ask, Cid's place attracts more than a few weirdos) But then slot number six caught my eye, and all the breath ran out of me.

It said, " 6 - Electric guitarist.

Name- N/A

Playing- Muse, Greenday"

I didn't read the rest. I just gaped. I turned my head slowly to look at Cid.

"Oh my gosh.Cid."

"Hmm?" he asked, mock oblivious.

I squealed and jumped up into the air.

"Oh Cid! I take back everything I ever said about you being stupid and ugly!" I hugged him briefly over the counter. "I love you, you silly old fart." grabbing my Double Trouble I zipped out towards the door.

"Hey! Hey Brat! You didn't pay!"

"You can put it on my tab!"

"Tab? What tab! Tabs don't exist anymore!"

I laughed all the way back to my bike.

.:oOo:.

Author's Notes: Er... so? Please don't hurt me if it's too short/terribly written. I did my best after being out of the groove for so long. Oh, did I mention I've been away because a) school work and b) I now live in Paris, France? Since June 29. yeah. Im sorry. These french internet people are lazy asses. I have been waiting for exactly one month now.And that is all I have to say about that.