Starstruck
"So starstruck, baby could blow my heart up? I'm so starstruck baby could you blow my heart up?"- Lady Gaga feat Space Cowboy ~ Starstruck
"See you," Tifa struggled to say as the nerves were starting to get to her at the thought of going to her new high school. Barret raised his eyebrow and realized something.
"Wait kid," Tifa turned around to see Barret walk over to her. "I 'ave a little present yer' dad wanted to give ya'." Tifa looked puzzled. She followed him out the bar and went towards the small garage that was just next to the bar. She watched Barret as he opened the garage door and threw a set of keys to her.
"This is yers'," He grinned. She followed his gaze and set her ruby orbs on a red 1963 Chevy pick up truck.
"No way!" She laughed and ran up to it, inserting the keys in the key hole then swinging the door open.
"Yer' dad picked it out and bought it off an old suppler," Barret patted the bonnet, "Old beauty ain't she?" Tifa jumped into the front seat and placed her hands on the wheel.
"She sure is!" Tifa laughed and threw her school bag onto the seat next to her.
"Wel' good luck with the first day, yer' still remember how to get ther'?" He asked, walking out the garage.
"Yeah and thanks," I'm going to need it, Tifa cringed at the thought and turned the engine on. A loud rumbling sound barked out and with that the old truck came to life whilst she put her foot down on the accelerator. Barret and Marlene, who had appeared by his side, waved from outside. Tifa returned the wave and started her journey to her new high school.
As she arrived she saw all the unrecognisable faces walking into the entrance, getting out of their cars and sitting down on the grass outside with their friends. She breathed out and with a shaky turn she turned her truck into an available parking slot. You'll be fine, she told herself and took out her keys out of the ignition and opened the car door, taking her school bag with her. She shut the car door and swung her baG on her shoulders and started to walk to the main entrance, following the instructions the school had sent her on a introduction letter. The high school was like any other regular one. It was quite big and was surrounded by trees and vegetation. Tifa gulped, I'm so going to get lost here... She looked around her, biting her a lip, a habit she had whenever she was nervous. She could have sworn people were staring at her. She ignored this and kept moving and gazed around the parking lot. Most of the cars where old models except for a shiny silver porche that looked totally out of place and an enormous new model motorbike next to it. At least Tifa didn't have to worry about her poor old truck looking rather out of place. She entered the main building and gave the receptionist her enrolment letter and accepted the timetable in exchange.
"Give this enrolment slip to your tutors and at the end of the day register here," Tifa nodded and also received a slip and a map, "and if you have any problems just come back here." The kind receptionist smiled and returned to her computer. Tifa breathed out and peered at the timetable she had just received. Calculus....Great. She looked at the map and found a way to building '3'. The bell had rung for first lesson and she was late in trying to find the stupid class. She finally found the classroom and stood outside the door. Oh great! I'm 10 minutes late and everyone has already sat down!, Tifa cringed even further, looking through the small window. She turned around, facing the window with her back, thinking about what she would do. Do I go in? I don't want to disturb them...Oh just GO! She debated with herself, biting down on her lip even harder that she nearly drew blood.
"Excuse me do you need something or are you standing outside my class for the hell of it?" A sharp voice said behind her. She shot round and blushed bright red. The teacher had appeared not looking too happy. She had a blonde bob and looked very official in her white shirt with a black tie accompanied by a set of black trousers and black shoes. Tifa gazed past her to meet thirty pairs of eyes turning her way with some whispering to one another and some actually sniggering. SHIT.
"Um..um.. I'm new here, I got lost...and-" She froze on the spot, feeling the nerves take over her body.
"Well next time try and get here earlier, I will not tolerate lateness." The teacher abruptly spoke over her, Ouch, Tifa winced and followed her in the classroom and tried not to look at the students that were watching her every move. She gave her the slip and waited for a response...and waited and waited...
"Well are you going to sit down or not?" The teacher yelled, making Tifa jump.
"S..sorry.." She stuttered and looked over for an empty seat. She found one next to a friendly looking girl and kept her head down, walking to the seat. She sat down quickly and threw her bag under the table. The teacher breathed out, impatiently and then carried on the class. Tifa was so close to crying so she pushed her hair forward and started to bite her nails, squinting so hard that the tears wouldn't come out. After the teacher had gone over what they would learn in the current semester, she gave out sheets of work and returned to the desk. A student then handed out text books to each desk.
"Don't worry, Elena is always like that..." The girl next to Tifa whispered to her, pretending to flick through the text book. Tifa glanced at her and smiled. She had long brown hair which was tightly plaited and emerald green eyes. She was wearing a pink and white dress with white sandals. She returned her a warm smile and pointed at the work.
"I hate calculus," She made a face, "I'm so failing in it."
"Me too," Tifa replied with a smile.
"I'm Aerith Gainsborough,"
"Tifa Lockhart," Tifa grinned and with that she had made her first friend at Edge's High school.
For the next two hours they talked about their interests, dislikes and what teachers to look out for. They compared timetables and worked out what lessons they had together. Tifa told her about where she was from and why she had moved. Aerith nodded in an understanding manner and talked about herself.
"So how are you liking Edge? A bit different from your quite town huh?" Aerith asked politely, whilst they walked down the corridor to the cafeteria.
"Yeah it's alright," Tifa replied, "How long have you lived here?"
Aerith sighed but replaced it quickly with a smile.
"All my life," She said, sounding sad, "but I'm going to move away after graduation!" She perked up laughing.
"Got any ideas where you're going to move to?"
"Hmm hard choice! Possibly the Costa Del Sol?" Tifa grinned at this and laughed.
"Sun, sea and the hot guys! What's not to love about the Costa Del Sol!" Aerith's eyes widened and suddenly burst out laughing.
"Well of course!" Tifa laughed along with her. Tifa was relieved that she had befriended someone like Aerith. She was so easy to talk to and Tifa didn't feel awkward around her. She hoped that Aerith felt the same about her.
They reached the cafeteria and sat down with a group of her friends. There was one boy swinging off his chair, goofing around. He had bright red hair and blue eyes. Next to him was a quiet boy with dark shades and on the opposite side of the table was a girl with chocolate brown eyes and auburn coloured hair. Tifa blushed at the 3 pairs of eyes that had turned her way
"Well well well, who's your friend Aerith?" The red haired boy asked, already leaning on the table, his eyes locked onto Tifa which were refusing to budge. Tifa felt violated.
"This is Tifa, she's new here," Aerith answered, sitting down. Tifa automatically sat down to the chair next to her, slightly turning away from the red haired boy. He moved his chair closer to her, making Tifa silently curse in her head.
"My name is Reno, it's a pleasure to meet you," He smiled darkly, leaning further towards her. As he moved towards her she moved backwards.
"Nice to meet you." Tifa said, gritting her teeth together.
"Reno, leave her alone you pervert," The girl with the auburn hair said solemnly, biting into her sandwich. Tifa gave her a promising look as Reno sat back in his chair.
"I'm Cissnei and that's Rude," Tifa nodded and looked to Rude and back to Cissnei. Rude slightly nodded his head. Tifa could have sworn he was turning pink.
Aerith sighed and rolled her eyes.
"It's like you're the shiny new toy or something," She whispered, not looking too impressed, "just ignore them."
They started to talk about how there summers had been. Reno was chatting obsessively about his knew hobbies and how his holiday to the Costa Del Sol went.
"...And there was this HUGE wave," He made his arms mimic the size of the wave, "and I was like, DUDE!..." Tifa added in the occasionally 'oh wow!' and 'oh really?' when necessary and rolled her eyes at Aerith. Aerith laughed and also pretended to sound interested.
"He's ALWAYS like this!" She whispered to her while Reno was getting right into his story.
"Actually Reno, you got scared and screamed for your mom to come and save you," Rude cut in. Reno gave him a withering death stare.
"I think you're forgetting that it was ME who saved you from drowning Rude," Reno sharply cut in.
Cissnei laughed under her breath.
"No you both were drowning and it was me who had to save both of your asses," both Rude and Reno growled in Cissnei's direction. Their poor attempt to impress the new girl had failed. They carried on the conversation, bickering about who looked better on the surf board.
Suddenly the door to the cafeteria opened which was in Tifa eye range. A young girl with short black hair skipped in. She had the most cheeky looking grin on her face imaginable. She was wearing a cute fashionable tank top with short black Jean shorts and a pair of black converse. She had bright brown eyes which had a strange blue/green tint to it. She skipped across the cafeteria which was so light that Tifa could have sworn she flew. Tifa was captivated.
"Who's she?" Tifa asked Aerith. Aerith turned to her and gazed in her line of sight.
"She's Yuffie Kisaragi, cute isn't she?" Tifa could sense a tiny bit of resentment in Aerith's voice. She was shortly followed by a tall dark guy. He was very mysterious, wearing a red T-shirt and black jeans. He had dark circles under his eyes and long dark hair. He had a very handsome face which made Tifa gawk. He also had the same blue/green tint glistening in his blood red eyes.
"That's Vincent Valentine, he doesn't talk much," Tifa raised an eyebrow, "He's in my English class." Tifa nodded and watched him gracefully walk over to the table that the girl named Yuffie had sat down on. He looked very stiff and didn't look over at anyone.
"Handsome isn't he?" Aerith said in awe, looking in his direction.
"Yeah..." Tifa looked to where they were sitting. They looked pretty normal, but something about them screamed out special. They looked a total different league to the other ordinary students in the cafeteria.
Tifa looked back at the door that had opened after Vincent.
It was then when he came in. He had golden blonde spiky hair and the most amazing sapphire orbs. He had a perfectly built body and had a model look face. He was also wearing a long sleeve grey top and loose blue jeans. He took long strides across the cafeteria to the same table the other two had sat down at.
"That's Cloud Strife, totally gorgeous obviously," Aerith breathed out, "Of course nobody here is good enough for him," Tifa nodded silently, watching him sit down.
"So like, don't waste your time you know," She laughed, looking down at her lunch. Something told Tifa that something had probably happened between them, something involving Aerith getting totally blown off. Aerith changed the topic conversation quickly and started talking about some good looking celebrity breaking up with his girlfriend. Tifa was only half listening, eyes still on the mysterious group who were sitting down at the table talking. They are so extra ordinary! She thought to herself. The bell rung and with that the cafeteria started to empty out.
"What lesson have you got next Tifa?" Cissnei asked. Tifa looked at her timetable which read out 'Biology'.
"Biology," Tifa replied, folding up the timetable and putting it back in her jeans pocket.
"Hey me too!" Reno appeared by her side making Tifa jump.
"Me, Aerith and Rude have English so we'll see you at lunch," Cissnei gave Tifa a sympathetic look, and walked with Aerith and Rude to their next class.
"Come on, I'll show you were building 2 is!" Reno stated, putting his arm around Tifa's shoulders and yanking her towards their biology lesson. Oh dear god...
"...So I'm here for you," Reno hadn't stopped talking to Tifa on their way to biology, "a lunch date, shoulder to cry on..."
"I'm kinda' like the suffer in silence type," Tifa smiled politely, still gritting her teeth, looking at Reno's arm which was still slung around her shoulders.
"No problem honey, hey I was wondering..." Tifa closed her eyes and wished he would stop hitting on her.
"-Hey isn't that the biology class?" Tifa quickly pointed out, pulling away from his grasp.
"...yeah," Reno said, realizing he had missed his chance. They both entered the classroom which was already full.
"Tseng, Tifa's new here," Reno said to the teacher who was at his desk. He had black hair and looked well dressed. Tifa handed the slip while Reno went to sit at the back in his normal seat.
"Welcome Tifa, this is biology as you already know and you will need these," He handed her a text book and a few sheets. Tifa accepted them and smiled to herself. At least this teacher isn't mean!.
"I'm afraid this class is quite full but I'm sure we can find a seat for you.." He searched for an empty seat for the new girl to sit in, "There next to Strife,"
Tifa followed his gaze and saw the empty seat next to the angel looking boy she had seen earlier in the cafeteria. Instant blood rush. She breathed out and did as Tseng had told. She sat in the empty seat and tried not to stare too much at the angel boy. He didn't even twitch, just keeping his eyes to the front of the classroom, possibly waiting for the class to begin.
Tseng started the class, talking about what modules they would study. Most of them Tifa had already finished from her last school so biology would be a breeze. Tseng stopped talking and set out the tasks for the day. At times she would shyly glance over to the angel boy named 'Cloud', blushing a deep crimson. He looked so handsome. She watched carefully as his arm flexed, writing a perfect script on the test sheets. Total perfection. Reluctantly Tifa returned to her sheet and started to answer a few problems on the question sheet, using her hair as a curtain to hide from the model. Eventually Tifa got to a question where she would need the text book for guidance so she grabbed the book, the model looking boy also had made a grab towards it. They touched fingertips, and a burst of electricity that shot through Tifa's hand was so strong that she grabbed back her hand. She blushed a deep crimson, from head to toe.
"Um..s-s-sorry.." She stuttered, eyes flickering wildly and her heart beating like crazy. She could feel the sweat dripping from her forehead. He barley made eye contact looking towards the desk and pushed the book in the middle. He then retuned back to his sheet, casually dismissing the situation. What the... Tifa angrily thought. She didn't know whether to feel angry or humiliated. Whichever it was, she carried on with her problem sheet, digging the pencil lead hard into the paper. When she had finished she saw that the model looking boy next to her had already completed both problem sheets. How did he do that so fast! She looked around the classroom and saw that most students where still completing the first sheet, Reno included, who was peeking at the girls test sheet next to him. Typical. Tifa started on the second test sheet rushing through the answers as fast as she could. As soon as she was done she slowly had built up the confidence to speak to him. Should I? She breathed in and ignored her nerves that were bubbling in her stomach.
"These problems were sure easy to work out huh?" Her voice wobbled as she said each word, biting her bottom lip hard. She couldn't even look at him properly causing her to looked down to her lap. He slightly looked at her, raised a perfect blonde eyebrow and then looked back to the front. He nodded slightly, looking not the slightest bit interested. Tifa sighed a little and pressed on.
"I've done this module at my old high school that's why," His eyes flickered towards her sheet then looked to his watch to check the time, still ignoring her. What a jerk! She turned away from him and gave up feeling rejected.
As soon as the bell started to ring the angel boy got up, collected up his books and messenger bag and swiftly and paced around Tifa's chair and quickly exited. Tifa angrily shoved her books and sheets in her bag and flung it over her shoulders. What a snob! He may look perfect but manners go a long way! She thought to herself, getting up from her stool.
"That was a hard lesson huh?" Reno appeared as if from nowhere behind her making her violently jump.
"Yeah it was," She replied, still all worked up from the brief meeting with the angelic boy.
"What's up?" Reno asked as they left the classroom.
"Nothing, I'm fine," Tifa said, still with a hint of anger in her words. She was flattered that he was making an effort with her but she still wished he would just leave her alone.
"Don't worry, Strife is always like that," Tifa suddenly was all ears and eyes for Reno. He had got the problem in one. Obviously he had been staring at her insanely all lesson sensing the tension between her and her biology partner.
"Really?" Reno nodded and made a face and began to speak.
"Strife's an ignorant jerk, he only hangs around with those weirdos, the hyper ninja girl Yuffie and the goth kid Vincent," He said, swinging his bag over his shoulders.
"Have they always been like that?" Tifa asked, looking in Reno's direction.
"They moved down here a few years back, and yeah they keep to themselves," Tifa nodded, gathering as much information of them as possible, "They all live together with their adoptive father , Angeal, I think his name is." Tifa stayed silent.
"Weird huh? Like they're all the same age and they live together!" A throaty laugh escaped out of Reno's mouth, "bunch of freaks."
Tifa looked away and processed the information Reno had given her. They all lived together? That is weird...
"Too bad you have to sit next to him, I would gladly swap but Tseng is really touchy with seating plans," Tifa smiled limply and looked away from him. Oh boy...
Her first day had been a mixed of emotions. She had no words for it as she drove back to Barret's place in her trusty and rusty old truck. To sum up, she found that her first day had been a success. She had made a few friends, not got lost and found all her classes on time (except for that first class she had been late for.) She smiled to herself, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to the radio music whilst also looking out the dirty window at the new environment she was now in. There were a lot of grey buildings, motorways and a lot of people in the bustling town. There was hardly any greenery anywhere which was a contrast to her home town. The more she fooled herself that she was absorbed in the scenery the more she got upset. The situation in biology still bugged her. She just couldn't get him out of her head as she tried to figure out why he acted like that towards her. She also thought about the information Reno had gave her. She thought and thought but still couldn't think of an explanation. She breathed out deeply and carried on down the road. There was something off and she wanted to know why.
When Tifa wanted something, she more than likely always got it somewhere down the line. She made a promise to herself that she would uncover these secrets while she was there. Her mind was set and her will was strong. I will figure you out Cloud Strife. One day at a time.