Chapter 11: Media
a/n: Welcome to chapter eleven ... I tried to get this up last night but I was having log in problems
Imagine waking up, having a look at the paper and seeing a particularly awful photo of yourself splashed across the front page of Spira's most famous newspaper with a screaming headline saying:
"Royal Divorce"
Well thats exactly what happened to me ... I actually choked on my orange juice when I saw it.
Mum slapped my back so I wouldn't choke to death and told me the media was bound to find out soon or a later.
"Did they have to use that photo ... look at me!" I whined
Mum squinted at the photo and agreed it wasn't the most flattering one they could of used.
"You look like a monkey sissy" Khan teased
Remind me again why I didn't want him to leave?
"Khan" I cried, swatting him with the newspaper
"Ahh" Khan shrieked spitting toast all over the table
"Oh I take you have seen page two of the Spiran Times hunny bunny" Mum smirked
Page two contained an interesting story about Khan, his life so far, his alleged romantic connections with Asha, a debate whether she would be the next queen and finally some nice drunken photos of him that one of his 'friends' most of sold to the paper. According to the paper the divorce had turned the "next machine faction leader" into a alcoholic party boy.
"Thats what you get for underage drinking" Mum lectured with a swift smile
"Mum this is invasion of privacy!" Khan whined
I cautiously flicked through the Spiran times but the only story running on me was "My heartbreak ... Through innocent eyes"
Some anonymous 'close friends' and some 'sources' apparently say I am not handling the divorce very well and I am well on my way to self destruction.
Nice!
Honestly I had seen some pretty shocking stories about my family run in the Spiran Times but it still didn't make it any easier for me each time I had to read that trash.
"Ugh, i'm going to Jame's" I spat
"Wouldn't go out outside if I were you" Mum warned with confidence
"Why?" I questioned with curiously
Mum just nodded her head towards the window, where the blinds were unusually drawn closed.
I opened them slightly and saw several eager looking reporters camped out onto the desert sand
"Mum this is invasion of privacy" I whined, mimicking Khan
"They'll lose interest soon ... Blitzball finals are next week" Mum assured
"How do you know?" I asked
"I've had thirty nine years to watch the media work it's magic" Mum answered
"We were meant to go digging today" Khan sulked
"Don't worry, the parasites will get distracted soon"
Apparently the 'parasites' weren't getting distracted anytime soon
Hours had passed and they were still waiting at the front of our house, eagerly clutching their cameras and scribbling in their notebooks.
"Mum, who would of told the media about the divorce in the first place?" I asked
"Well there aren't many people that could of ... but I suppose it could of just leaked" Mum answered
"Mr Matherson? Mr Putz? Judge Roberta Clare?"
"I doubt it, they're lawyers and the other is a district judge ... I'm sure theres some sort of client confidentiality involved there"
"Brother? Cid?"
"Neeka! they're family" Mum scolded
"But they could be trying to get at dad" Khan threw in
"They wouldn't go that far" Mum answered with blind faith
"Fshea?"
"Brother wouldn't let her do something like that"
"But he wouldn't have to know" I protested
"Very well, suspect one ... who else? said mum
"Khan did you tell any of your friends?" I asked my brother who was sitting at the circular table thinking
"Just Jame?" Khan answered
"Alright suspect two" Mum declared
"MUM!" Khan and I argued
"Hey you think I wanted to add my future 'sister in law' to the list, let alone a boy who I've know since he was four?" Mum defended
"Fine" Khan and I groaned
"Dad wouldn't ... would he?" I asked uncertainly
Mum laughed, "no ... the media has a habit of turning on him quite easily, he wouldn't risk it"
"So who then?"
Mum shrugged "It will all come out in the end"
I was feeling very angry at this point, someone had exploited our family for money.
Someone had destroyed our families privacy for money
Someone had turned our front yard into a media circus
It made me sick
When the day fell to night the reporters must of gotten cold and just went home.
It was the perfect opportunity to sneak out and see Jame
I bolted down the dusty old track embracing sweet freedom.
When I got to Jame's house I was surprized to see him moodily sitting on his front porch, he blinked slowly before he realised I was there.
He seemed surprized ... and not exactly happy either.
I felt a my stomach jerk uncomfortably but I ignored it and plastered a painfully fake smile across my face.
"How are you?" He asked blankly
There was no emotion in his voice and a cold chill racked my body even though it was a warm summers night
"Are you okay?" I questioned him cautiously
"You shouldn't answer with a question with a question" Jame replied swiftly, a small spark of his usual humor.
See he's fine, the little voice in my head told me ... but something ... just something felt a little off.
I shook my head vigorously and ignored it ...but you know something up continued to plague my mind.
"Neeks" Jame pressed, waving his hands in my face.
"I'm sorry ... I got distracted ... what did you say?" I answered, smiling tightly.
Jame would never go to the press ... would he?
"I asked how you were" Jame answered, running his fingers through his dark hair.
"I'm ... I'm okay" I lied
Your just being paranoid ... but what if
"NO!" I cried
"What ... your not okay?" Jame fussed
but is he really worried?
"Oh ... no I'm fine ... I was just thinking"
"Ah want to come inside? Jame asked, twitching his eyebrow in confusion
This is JAME Neeka, he wouldn't do that to our family
Ok" I replied
When I walked into the house my eye immediantly jumped to the brand spankin' new silver SphereVision set that sat proudly in the corner of the room.
That looks rather expensive Neeka ... where did they get the money so fast, a cruel voice bounced of the walls in my head
"You like it?" Jame asked quietly, looking at ground.
Why wont he look at me? I questioned helplessly
"It's ... it's nice" I answered, struggling with my words.
"Yeah" said Jame, flicking on a Blitzball game with the silver remote pad.
The Al Bhed Blitzball team exploded across the screen, plainly thrashing the Macalanians.
"If they win this one the Al Bhed are in the finals" Jame cried enthusiastically, his swirley green eyes lighting up.
I hope you enjoy watching it on your new SphereVision set, a venomous voice, so unlike my own spat harshly in my mind.
Jame and I sat in total silence as we watched the last quarter of the game, finally it was over and the Al Bheds won respectively.
"I should go home" I stated blankly, now fully convinced Jame had sold the divorce story to the papers.
We headed outside and I was about to set of for a heartbroken walk down the dusty track when Jame spun me around.
"Your not okay" He nodded, looking into my eyes.
How can he even look at me after what he did!
State the obvious" I shot back moodily
"I'm sorry, did I ..." But Jame never got to finish the sentence
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!" I shouted
Jame looked seriously confused.
He should run of to Luca and be an actor
"Do what?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT"
"I'm sorry, I really don't know what your -" Jame replied with annoyance becoming evident in his voice
"IT WAS YOU WHO SOLD THE DIVORCE STORY TO THE PAPER ... HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MY FAMILY ... TO KHAN ... TO ME ... TO MUM!" I screamed, kicking around the sand.
Jame looked more furious then I had ever seen him
Probably because he's been caught out
Do you seriously think that?" He asked coldly
"YES"
James pulled me in front of him and set his hands on my shoulders.
"Look at me ... do you seriously think I did that" said Jame, his smoldering eyes looking more serious then I had ever seen them.
I felt myself begin to shrink before him, I swallowed and summoned my strength.
"Yes" I answered, but it only came out a soft whimper.
Before I cold see Jame's expression he looked at the ground, when he looked back up at me he had recomposed himself.
His expression was impassive
"Why?" He asked quickly and coldly, his tone of voice hit me straight to my heart and I found I was beginning to doubt myself.
"Something ... was ...was wrong with you before ... and you have a new spherevision ..." I stuttered
Jame's expression was icily cold ... he didn't look how he should ... guilty and caught out.
"My mothers been harassing me .. after six years of no contact she wants me to live with her, I've had a lot on my mind ... she was trying to buy me with the spherevision I guess" said Jame emptily
Oh god ... and then he shoved me away, as he walked back up to his house he stood on the porch, towering over me.
"My father was right when he told me to never trust women ... they are all the same, one way or another" he said voice void of emotion ... and then he went back inside.
I wanted to break down and cry right there, but I blinked back tears and begun to walk home.
Seconds later a heard a loud smash come from inside the home, and the bluish glow of the SphereVision screen disappeared from the front window ... and the house went black.
Part of me wanted to run back in there and try and make things okay ... I couldn't handle him sitting alone in the dark ... all trust broken and feeling so empty.
But I didn't, I kept on walking.
It's no loss ...he was probably lying anyway, but the words wouldn't comfort me because deep down ... I knew ... I knew he wasn't lying.
I finally let the tears fall from my face.
The rest of the walk home was a blur of violent crying and regret.
Why cant I think things through? I cursed
I remember my dad always called my mum too impulsive, she made risky decisions ... although it usually worked out well in the end, he still didn't like it.
I walked into the house, wondering if I could run inside my room without anyone seeing my puffy bloodshot eyes.
I am so stupid!
"Neeks ... I just got off the commsphere with your - ... have you been crying?" Mum asked with shock
"Just ... just a bit of hay fever ... it's the pollen ... in the air ... this time of year" I lied ... even though I knew mum wouldn't believe me because I had never had hay fever once in my life.
"Anyway, I just got of the commsphere with your father and Aera broke up with him then went straight to the papers" said Mum breathlessly
The absolute icing on the freakin' cake
"I hate her" I muttered, blaming her directly for whatever had happened with Jame and I ... was it a fight or a break up? I questioned myself silently
Of course it's a break up you stupid girl, a merciless voice inside my head snarled.
Deep down ... very deep down, I still held hope Jame would forgive me ... somehow
yeah right!
I weakly took the Commsphere from mums grasp and walked into my room.
I had the call immediently connected to D'Jose where Karfka swiftly stated dad wasn't taking any calls.
"I'm his daughter for god sakes!" I screamed into the speaker ... Karfka looked like he had been electrocuted and immediately connected the call to dads room.
"I told you "NO COMMENT" Dad shouted like he had rehearsed that same line many times that day.
"Oh sorry princess" he said sheepishly
"Daddy" I whispered, small fat tears beginning to drip down from my face
"Neeks whats wrong?" Dad asked urgently, looking like he wanted to break through the glass and be right there with me.
"Can I stay at D'Jose tonight?" I whispered
I needed to get as far away from this house ... and from Jame's house as I could
"Did you and your mum have a fight?" He asked sympathetically.
"No ... no ... please I just need to get away from here"
"Sure you can come here ... you never have to ask, you know that don't you?"
"Yeah" I answered softly, and then I hung up the CommSphere
The hover pulled up in front of D'Jose
Mum still looked concerned ... and confused as why I was doing this.
It was just after twelve am and the D'Jose grounds were completely deserted.
Mum opened her mouth to say something ... but the only sound that hung in the air were were the croaks of the crickets.
"Bye baby girl" Mum said, kissing my forehead.
"Night mum .. I'll call you tomorrow" I said sadly, stepping out of the hover.
I watched the hover speed away.
I felt better to say the least, I think getting away made me feel better ... like I was leaving behind the responsibility of cleaning up the damage that I'd caused in Sanubia.
The crickets continued to croak, the stars continued shine and I made my way up to the doors of D'Jose temple.
Not much later I was sitting on a couch with dad, feasting on Ice cream while we both sulked about our messed up lives.
"I trusted her" Dad whined
"How could I be so stupid!" I cursed
It resulted in our best chat we had had in many months ... or maybe even years.
It was like the spark in the father-daughter relationship had been lit again ... like I loved him so much ... and not because I had to, he was my father after all ... but because I wanted to.
"I think Aera will do a spherevision interview" Dad fretted
"I'll claw her eyes out if she tries" I threatened viciously.
"What did she mean by ''So sorry ...I'm moving on to better things'' anyway" Dad said, impersonating Aera's voice with a shrilly whine.
"Stupid woman ... shes an attention seeker" I tried to comfort ... forgetting about my own problems for a short second.
We both sighed and sunk deeper into the couch
There wasn't a time in my life where I can remember things being this traumatic.
If this wasn't making me stronger it was going to destroy me.
I entertained the fact that maybe I should be stronger ... more mature.
Maybe then things would get better.
Maybe ... just maybe.
A/n: Trust me I set out to make this an amusing chapter ... kind of like a detective one, like ''who dunnit?" but it turned out to be one of the most emotional chapters yet ... I hope it wasn't too dramatic. I tried not to over do it so it resulted in me spending three days writing the Jame and Neeka argument ... ugh, I just wasn't satisfied with anything I had written. This was an extremely late update, it's not that I had writers block or anything, it's because I went on an eleven day holiday to Vietnams Hanoi, lovely holiday, anyway I had hoped to get this up before I left but then the chapter would of been rushed. I'm sincerely sorry for the delay.
Review Replies:
Jezzi: Thanks for the lovely review, I understand exactly what you mean ... especially about the arsehole fathers ... anyway Rikku will just have to learn that 16 years with him cant be erased ... though she will try!
FlyHigh4Life: LOL, haha, your reviews always make me laugh, hope you enjoyed the chapter ... and that Gippal earned a few points in your book.
oOoDancingQueenoOo: hehe, I will say no more ... wink
Jen: ugh, Aera is a little bitch isn't she, lol, atleast the broke up anyway, thanks for the great review:)
Rikku SWiRLS: lol, I still feel guilty ... don't worry, i'm overly dramatic as well, i'm glad you got stuck into the story though ... that makes me feel bloody good!
Moogle Girl: Thanks for the review, lol, I love the quotes ... can I help take over the world with the fuzzy moogles ... pretty please?
randomcat23: G'day, It didn't seem right to fit Khans decision in this chapter, I guess it was just kinda Neeka and Jame revolved, you'll get his decision next chappie though, thanks for your always lovely reviews
green-eyed-blonde: I'm glad you related with the brother-sister situation. I don't have any siblings so I just had to kind of guess what the bond would be ... YAY! I'M HAPPY!
Madmaz: LOL, I hate it when FF wont let me log in ... grrrr, it's so frustrating. Anyway thanks for another lovely much appreciated review. I know it must get repetitive me saying it but I truely do mean it, I've never taken one of these for granted. I know i'm meant to be trying to ease my characters out of depressing times but I changed my story plan to make things flow a tad bit better ... things will get better soon ... If I stick to the plan anyway.
DeaDolce: Thankyou for reviewing, I read this in a little internet cafe in Vietnam and I was grinning ear to ear! Gippal and Rikku are complicated, and in the coming chapters i'm going to delve into them a bit more. I get the feeling I have been neglecting them slightly. I'm glad your liking Neeka ... although she is starting to crack a bit I still find her very strong. I wish I could of been more like her in my own experiences. Your absolutely right about getting outside support for Rikku, I guess I always intended but I could never really fit it in, I also didn't want any outside influences or interfering emotions ... I think I just wanted to keep it raw and simple, it's a nice idea though ... and it's certainly got me thinking!