Okay, lately I've been trying to figure ou how long this story can be before August (According to my update-schedule) and it looks like it'll be at least 20 chapters, if not more. Haha, unless I decide to end it early, but right now that's not really an option. I just wrote chapter 13 yesterday, and I must say, I'm rather pleased with it, or at least the ending of it. It maybe by my favorite chapter yet! Haha, sorry for making you guys think of 13...Back to 8! Haha, enjoy!

Chapter 8: Flirt

As Yuna figured, she was just about to go to bed—she was brushing through her hair quickly—when Tidus' music suddenly started, possibly even louder than it had ever been before. If that was, of course, a possibility.

Clad completely in her pajamas, Yuna once again slipped on a pair of flip-flops, and started across the yard to Tidus' pool.

Tidus was leaning against the edge with a smirk on his face as she came, so Yuna knew he was probably waiting for her.

"Hey!" Tidus greeted her, loudly because of the music.

"Tidus, turn down the music," Yuna said, crossing her arms, "I was trying to sleep."

"Okay," Tidus said, "But you have to come swimming with me!"

"Okay, turn down the music and I'll consider it," Yuna said, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, I'll turn it down," Tidus said, and he crawled out and turned down a knob on his speakers, "Now come on, let's swim!"

Yuna shook her head and said, "I don't think so."

"Fine then, I'm turning the music back up!"

Tidus turned to turn the music back up, and then turned back around to say something, only to suddenly stop. Yuna was lifting her nightgown over her head, and Tidus didn't know if he should close his eyes or just stand there. So he of course just stood there with his mouth agape.

Underneath her nightgown was a black and white polka-dotted bikini—not too risqué, of course.

"Are you kidding me?" Tidus said, "You're really going to swim?"

"Yeah," Yuna said, shrugging, "But no more music, go it?"

"Wait, what about when I party?"

"We'll talk about that later," Yuna said, and she slid in the pool, "Your pool is heated?"

"Yours isn't?"

"I don't use it," Yuna said, looking at the water, "I haven't used it since I was little."

"That's lame," Tidus said, sliding back into the pool, "Don't you like to swim?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

Yuna just shook her head and said, "I don't know, actually… I guess I feel kind of awkward in a swimsuit."

Tidus craned his neck as if to look, and he said, "You don't look too bad."

"Don't look at me!" Yuna cried, crossing her arms over herself, despite the fact that she was in the water.

"Trust me, I wasn't looking at you!" Tidus said, "Well, I was, but only because you asked me to!"

"I didn't ask you to," Yuna said, turning away from him.

"Whatever," Tidus said, "So you don't swim because you think you look awkward. That's lame. Go work out or something so you get a major six-pack like what I have. Wanna see it?"

"I've seen it," Yuna said, rolling her eyes.

"Pretty hot, isn't it?"

"Whatever you say," Yuna said, rolling her eyes.

"You know, even though your back is to me, I still know you're rolling your eyes," Tidus said, rolling his own eyes, "I'm just trying to be helpful."

Yuna didn't say anything, but she let out a little gasp as something hit her in the back.

"What's this?" she cried, picking up an odd-shaped blue ball.

"Are you serious?" Tidus asked, swimming up to her, "That's a blitzball."

"Really? This is a blitzball?"

"You're kidding," Tidus said, his face completely serious, perhaps the most serious Yuna had ever seen it, "You really don't know that this is a blitzball?" He took the ball from her hands and twirled it on his finger.

"I've never seen a blitzball game," Yuna said, "Or a blitzball."

"You didn't play it in gym?"

"I took art instead of gym," Yuna said, shrugging.

"You're kidding," Tidus said, shaking his head with a look of disbelief across his face, "You've never ever seen a blitz game?"

"No."

"You've never played blitzball?"

"…No."

"Well, let's play right now!" Tidus said, "Me versus you."

"No!" Yuna said, "I don't know the first thing about blitzball!"

"Dude, you cannot go through your life without playing a game of blitz!" Tidus said, "And who better to play it with than me, Bevelle's star blitzer?"

"You'll kill me! Besides, I don't even know what to do!"

"Fine, I'll take you to a game. There's a club-level team here. We can watch them. They're not nearly as good as me, but they're at least a step about high school."

"I'm not going to see a game with you," Yuna said, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Tidus asked.

Yuna shrugged and said, "I'm afraid you'll get the wrong idea."

Tidus' smirk returned, and he said, "Trust me, Yuna. If anybody gets a wrong idea, it's going to be you."

He shrugged than, and dipped himself under water, and swam off toward the other side of the pool, leaving the blitzball to sit there, floating.

Yuna picked the ball up thoughtfully. He was right, she was going to get the wrong idea. After all, she knew she was already.

"I have to go," she said, as soon as Tidus surfaced, "I have things to do tomorrow."

"Alright," Tidus said, shrugging, "So no game of blitz?"

"Sorry, but no," Yuna said, tossing him the ball.

"Right. And no more music," Tidus said, "Although, hey, party tomorrow?"

"No," Yuna said, "Not tomorrow."

"Party or blitz, your choice."

"No!" Yuna said, shaking her head, "I don't have a towel."

"Take mine," Tidus said, nodding to the towel that was on a chair.

"Thanks," Yuna said, taking it, "See you later."

"Right," Tidus said, nodding, "Bye."

"Bye."

With that, Yuna grabbed her nightgown and wrapped herself in Tidus' towel—a towel that said in large letters: "Zanarkand Abes"—and started toward her house.

She expected Tidus to turn his music back on, but he didn't. The night was silent, just as Yuna wanted.

-

"Well Yunie, this is impressive," Rikku said, putting the paper down, "Yunie and Tidus, walking the dogs. I didn't know Tidus did that sort of thing."

"I talked him into it…" Yuna said, giving the newspaper a disgusted look. Sure enough, right on the front of the sports section was a picture of Tidus and Yuna, walking the dogs with a caption underneath that said, "Tidus walks dogs in his spare time!"

"I thought you hated him," Rikku said, shaking her head, "I think you're getting too close to him."

"I can't believe they actually put it in the paper. He must have people following him everywhere!"

"Yeah, so don't do anything you'll regret or you'll be all over the news. And your dad will hate that."

"Rikku, I'm not going to even hang out with him, let alone do something I'd regret."

"Good," Rikku said, looking at her cell phone, "Because I was going to get breakfast with Gippal, but I had to come here to make sure you weren't doing anything wrong."

"Rikku, you're the one that you should be worried about! Have you spent a day away from Gippal?"

"Yunie, Gippal is the sweetest guy ever!" Rikku cooed, "He's nothing like Tidus."

"How would you know?" Yuna asked, rolling her eyes, "You don't even know Tidus."

"Yunie, you told me all about how he was, remember? And besides, Gippal's told me some stories."

"He has?"

"Yeah. You know, Tidus has cheated on his girlfriend so many times, and he thinks that's alright, because his girlfriend cheats on him. But really, Tidus doesn't even like his girlfriend. He just goes out with her because she's apparently 'good in bed'. And Tidus is the biggest womanizer ever!"

"So you believe it when Gippal tells you that, but not me?"

"Now Yunie, Gippal knows! They've been best friends since kindergarten. Isn't that cute?"

"I guess," Yuna said, "Where's Gippal now?"

"At Tidus'," Rikku said, smiling, "So anyway, you need to stay away from Tidus, alright?"

Yuna gave her cousin a smile of disbelief, and she said, "Rikku, he has no interest in me. Not like that."

"Yeah, but you don't want to fall into his trap, Yunie!"

"Trust me Rikku, it's not going to happen. He invited me to go to a blitz game, but I turned him down, and he said it was a good thing I turned him down, because he wouldn't want me to get the wrong idea."

"Good," Rikku said, "Like I told you a while ago, Yunie, he's dangerous."

"I cannot believe I'm having this conversation with you!" Yuna said, "Rikku, I know what Tidus is like, okay? Remember, it was only a few weeks ago that I was telling you how dangerous Tidus was!"

"I know," Rikku said, smiling a sweet smile, "I just don't want you to get caught up in his good looks and make a bad decision."

"Rikku, that's not going to happen," Yuna said, "Trust me, I've turned him down numerous times."

"Whatever Yunie," Rikku said, "You're going to fall into his trap. And he's not interested in you. Alright?"

"Yeah," Yuna said, her voice dropping, "I know."

-

"And then Rikku said, "Gippal, I think the guy in your I.D. picture is my older brother!"'

"Wow, really funny," Tidus said, putting his head on the table, "Can we talk about something that doesn't have to do with Rikku?"

"She's really adorable," Gippal just continued, "I never thought I'd be one to get all goo-gah over my girlfriend, but she's just so cute! And sweet, and…"

"Shut up!" Tidus finally said, "What the hell happened to my friend Gippal? Where the hell have you been?"

"Tidus, what the hell is your problem? We turn nineteen in a month. We're not high school misfits anymore. You're going off to some big-name college while I just go to some technical school. I'm not going to waste my summer partying and having sex with random girls, Tidus. If that's what you want to do, fine, but I'm over it."

Tidus crossed his arms and pouted, and said, "Gip, we've been best friends since kindergarten! You're just gonna throw it all away because of some girl?"

"Ti, I still wanna be friends," Gippal said, "I just don't want to trot around like an idiot anymore, and I think you should try to understand that."

"Seriously, I'm calling Rikku and telling her you're breaking it off," Tidus said, pulling out his phone, "Dude, she was mine! And now you're practically getting married to her!"

"Give me that phone!" Gippal cried, trying to take it from him, "And you had no interest in her! You just wanted to mess with her!"

"So! She was still mine!"

"Give me that damn phone!" Gippal cried again and finally managed to snatch it, "Why the hell do you have her number anyway?"

"Because she was mine!" Tidus cried, "It took a lot of work to get that number!"

"I deleted it," Gippal said, handing Tidus' phone back to him, "See you around."

"Or not!" Tidus yelled after him, "We promised not to let a girl come between us, remember?"

"Yeah, when we were retarded assholes in sixth grade!" Gippal simply yelled back at him.

Tidus didn't say anything. He just sat there as Gippal left his house.

"What do I need him for anyway?" he said, leaning back in his chair, "He's been M.I.A. for about a week now and I've been fine. I'll be just fine…"

-

"Gippal has shown huge signs of maturity in the past few days," Rikku said, taking a bite of a chip, "He's really such a sweetheart."

Yuna was leaning her head into her hand, with a look of boredom spread across her face. Had Rikku really sat there for twenty minutes telling her of nothing but Gippal? Yuna glanced at the clock on the wall. Yes, she really had been sitting there for twenty minutes.

A ringtone of a sappy love song suddenly sang into the air, and Rikku said, "Ooh, that's Gippal now. We have the same ringtone! Isn't that cute?"

"Yeah, whatever," Yuna said, lifting her head up, just happy that Rikku was distracted.

"Hey!" Rikku said, answering her phone, "Oh, ready to go?"

"Ready to go where?" Yuna asked, despite the fact that Rikku was talking on the phone.

"Miniature golfing," Rikku beamed, "Okay Gippal, I'll be right out! I love you too!"

She hung up then and said, "Gotta go! Bye Yunie!"

"Bye," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, "See you later."

"Yeah!" Rikku just said, and was out the door very quickly.

Yuna sighed and shook her head. She did not understand her cousin. She wondered if Gippal was as annoying as Rikku had been. She figured he couldn't be. There was no way anybody could be more annoying than Rikku had been. If she heard the name Gippal one more time, in fact, she figured she would scream.

Yuna rested her head in her hand one more time. Rikku seemed to really like to reinstate the fact that Tidus wasn't interested in her. Yuna's eyes drifted out the window, and toward Tidus' house. She bit her lip thoughtfully. Why wasn't he interested in her?

Yuna shook her head. She couldn't be thinking like that! He wasn't interested in her, and that was that. It was better that way anyway, because she knew she wasn't interested in him. Or was she?

Yuna sighed. She didn't know. A ways down from her on the table was Tidus' towel. She had washed it just earlier that morning, and figured she should take it to him. She didn't exactly want to see him, but she grabbed the towel anyway, and started toward his house.

She reached the door and had just rung the doorbell when Tidus answered.

"Oh, I thought maybe you were Gippal," Tidus said, sounding disappointed, "But I guess that was just me getting my hopes up."

"Things not going well between Gippal and you?" Yuna asked, following Tidus into his rather large and messy house.

"No, not at all," Tidus said, "And if I hear the name Rikku one more time, I'm going to flip out."

Yuna laughed and said, "And I thought I would flip out if I heard the name Gippal said once more!"

"What, Rikku at your place?" Tidus asked.

"She was," Yuna said, "She came to warn me to stay away from you."

"She would," Tidus said, looking angry, "That two-faced bitch."

"Hey! Don't talk about her like that!" Yuna cried.

"I was referring to Gippal," Tidus said, shaking is head, "I'm assuming he probably told Rikku some nasty things about me."

Yuna shrugged and said, "He may have."

"I trusted that asshole," Tidus said, "Anyway, can I help you with something?"

"Here's your towel," Yuna said, handing him the towel, "I washed it and everything."

"Thanks," Tidus said, "Sure you don't want to go to that blitz game tonight? I need to do something, or I'm going to go crazy."

"Throw a party," Yuna said, surprised that it was she that was giving him the idea.

"Uh…Gippal usually takes care of everything," Tidus said, looking sheepish, "I don't even know who to call, or what kind of beer people like, or…"

"Well, I guess you have to learn now, huh?"

Tidus just swallowed and said, "I can't believe he's acting this way!"

Yuna shrugged and said, "I guess love might do that to you."

"Ugh, don't call it that!" Tidus cried.

Yuna laughed and said, "Have you ever been in love, Tidus?"

"No," Tidus said, looking disgusted at the thought, "And I don't care to be."

"You don't want to get married and have a family?" Yuna asked, shocked.

"Nope. I don't ever want to calm down," Tidus said, "I just want to run around all the time and do whatever I like."

"Me too," Yuna said.

"So you've never been in love?" Tidus asked.

"No."

"Well, you seem to be pretty supportive of your cousin."

"I am," Yuna said, shrugging, "I have to be happy for her. You should be happy for Gippal too, Tidus. As his friend."

"Yeah, I guess," Tidus said, shrugging, "It's just that I'm really used to having all of the attention, you know."

"Oh, I know," Yuna said, shaking her head.

Tidus was silent for a while, before he suddenly perked up with a huge smile and said, "Hey, wanna play Frisbee?"

"Sorry Tidus," Yuna said, shaking her head, although a smile crept onto her lips, "But I can't be Gippal's replacement. Besides, I have to go do some baking for the bake sale."

"You know," Tidus said, his eyes resting onto her in a manner that she did not enjoy, "You should make some baked goods for our double party. I bet the crowd would love that."

"There is not going to be a double party," Yuna reminded him, but for some reason, her heart began to speed. She looked back at him, and right into his crystal blue eyes.

"Do-Do you wear contacts?" she asked then, hoping her voice didn't sound as jumpy as she thought it did.

"Nope, natural color," Tidus answered, "How about you?"

"No," Yuna said, shaking her head.

"They're blue, aren't they?" Tidus asked, leaning backwards to check himself in the mirror, "My old man really hates me for it."

"Why?" Yuna asked.

"Because he's jealous of my good looks," Tidus said, "As are all of Bevelle's male population. And some of the female population, although most of them just think I'm sexy."

Yuna couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you so full-of-yourself?" she asked, shaking her head.

"You don't think I have reason to be?"

His question shocked her. He had an almost shocked look on his face, as if he truly did believe that he had every right to be cocky.

"Well I…" Yuna trailed and she said, "It's tacky to tell someone how 'sexy' you are."

"Tacky, huh?" Tidus just said, sounding thoughtful, "Does it annoy you?"

"Slightly," Yuna said, and she shot him a challenging smile, "But most things you say annoy me…Slightly."

"Oh yeah?" Tidus asked, "Like what?"

His voice had dropped just a little bit, and Yuna knew he had switched into his flirtatious mode.

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. With a small smile crawling onto her lips, she knew what her next move was going to be.

"You want to be flirtatious?" she said to him in her head, "Well, I can play this game too."

She gave him the most flirtatious smile she could manage then, and she said, "So, what time does the blitz game start?"

Tidus' eyes flashed and a look of shock spread across his face, but only momentarily. A smile spread across his lips slowly, and he said, "Seven."