I don't own SqueNix which definitely means that I don't own Final Fantasy! Oh, and I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chappy up and running. I had first written such an awesome chapter and everything was oh-so beautifully written then… I just forgot to save it and had to start all over again!

I think that this story won't be a very regularly updated one. Being the average teenager and all means that... Well… I like going out I guess? Or something like that… And I'm also quite serious about my studies so that kinda' gets shoved into my schedule too. I'd like to apologize in advance if I take ages to update like I did with this chappy and I'll try and make 'em longer from now on! Enjoy!

The Game of Life

Chapter 2:

Blinded by Light

Midnight began to fall onto the golden ashes of the beach that Bodhum was infamously known for. The platinum haired adolescence dragged his poor, worn out converse in the fine sand has his dirt-ridden laces were dampened by the common, salty liquid.

'I knew it would happen…' he distantly thought to his own, pitiful self. 'If so them why am I being such a… such a kid about it?' He knew that at the age of fourteen, he was barely an adult and with that, labelled as a 'kid' which he dreaded being called. With his yearning continuously burning in his chest, he wanted to be seen like his mentor was. Strong, trust worthy, independent…

A strained sigh escaped his cracked lips as he felt a sudden realization whip at his consciousness. As each step dragged on, he began picking up his pace until he started from an agonizingly slow walk to a paced jog. The dreaded, carved steps that led to the steep cliff the overlooked the ocean was coming closer to view as his inhaling and exhaling deepened.

He had remembered it all too sweetly. The first time he met her – Lightning. It had been a formal dinner at the Estheim residence where Claire 'Lightning' Farron had requested for a promotion from Bartholomew as to be upgraded in her ranks from Sergeant to Lieutenant. He mainly sat in silence at the dinner table, observing his elders conversing with one another. His father asked her about her reasons and Lightning had replied by telling him that her sister – now known as Serah Farron Villiers – was to be wed to a man by the name of Snow Villiers and that she wished to be able to support her sister and brother in law along with herself. Then, she had explained that she offered to move out of the house to give the newly-weds some space and they had voraciously declined her offer. They exchanged words of formality and sometimes even a short living joke or two. All Hope could do was look up from his lap every now and again to trace his eyes over the blindingly beautiful woman that was sat in front of him and - as far as he knew – was never caught in the process.

Over time, the insanely stunning being that he knew as 'Miss Farron' had become close friends with his mother and often came over to visit. Personally, the boy enjoyed the newly titled Lieutenant's company and not long after found himself quite familiarized with her. In fact, he continuously found himself e-mailing or calling her either to simply talk or ask with help on his homework. Lightning never once thought twice about the reasons as to why he called her out of all people. One, with his parents given such important titles in society to grasp, they were rarely ever present at the large house and two he did not find it easy to make friends so he had not many options on people to call. She'd frequently hear him speaking about a pair of boys that were named Yuj and Maqui yet had never met the duo face to face. She could have sworn that she had heard about a pair of youthful hooligans that went by the name of Maqui and Yuj on the news but honestly couldn't have cared much less.

As you would have guessed, the soldier had insisted on the teen calling her Lightning or Light and… well, do you honestly think that he even had a choice?

A violent stumble from stepping on his untamed laces dragged him back to the cold depths of reality. He flicked his right arm out to search for anything to hold onto and keep his boyish face from meeting the ground and the only thing that he managed to grab onto was… nothing. His forehead banged on the dirt which he was sure would hurt in the morning yet he had luckily shoved his palms to the ground in time to soften the fall of the rest of his body. A pained groan slipped from his lips as he simply lay on the dirt ground almost as if he was waiting to be magically lifted off the ground.

"Oh! Are you alright there?" an unfamiliar voice questioned the boy on the ground.

Hope looked up to the sourced of the high-pitched noise. The girl's accent was colourful – certainly not from Bodhum, she had two red locks of hair pulled into twin tails that were gently curled and she had an arm extended towards the silverette. Hope could think of no other polite gesture than to accept the hand and used it to pull himself from the uncomfortable ground.

"As much as I do enjoy a nice lie down myself, I don't think it's such a good Idea to do it on the floor," she humorously giggled while brushing off the dirt from Hope's clothes.

"U-uh… Thanks miss," He quietly said.

"No problem! Haven't seen you around here before, are you lost?"

"Oh, no. I'm just going to…" slowly, Hope pointed to the large house not so far in the distance only realizing a moment too late that he just told a stranger where he was staying.

"Well, you can't keep Lightning waiting now can you? You know how she gets when she's worried. C'mon, get going!" the red haired girl gently pushed Hope towards his destination.

"How do you know Lightning?"

"Let's just say she's a friend of a friend! Now go!"

"O-okay. Thanks again miss," Hope bashfully voiced.

"Vanille!"

"What?"

"That's my name – Vanille!" the red haired girl repeated, "now go, go, go!" she shouted.

"W-woah! I will, I will!" he playfully laughed as he lifted his left hand to nervously scratch the back of his neck, "take care on your way home, Vanille!" he politely gestured a gentle wave and it was exchanged for a funny looking smile.

"Don't worry about that now because I only live in the house next door," she happily chimed as she tilted her head to the direction of where she lived which so happened to be right next to Lightning's.

Vanille tugged on Hope's hand and somewhat dragged him down the rest of the length home while he refrained from even trying to make any noise of disapproval. The small talk was comfortable and he could already tell that this girl was definitely not one to look at the downside to things.

"Right. You get to Lightning quickly and maybe she won't punish you!" she jokingly giggled while she pushed him to the front door of the building.

"P-punish?"

"Don't sweat it. If you're lucky then you'll survive with a working bone or two!"

Before Hope could even make any kind of indication of displeasure, the thick accented girl had already skipped away into her own home, her various coloured beads chattering in the comfortable silence of the night with every exaggerated step she performed. A soft sigh flew from the boy's mouth in exhaustion as he slowly slid his hand into the small bag that was latched onto his belt and rested on his left thigh then dragged out a chain of silver and copper keys, jammed the correct one into the keyhole of the front door and carefully – as to not awaken a perhaps slumbering Lightning on the couch – pushed the daunting door open. The hinges gently squealed and Hope made quick work of passing the door of possible doom of waking a sleeping soldier. As gently as he could, he closed the door behind him and a small click of the lock was heard. A lonely sound of fabrics rubbing against each other echoed through the room as Hope removed his shoes and hoodie and poked his head around the corner to see a figure in the darkened area with a cold cup of coffee resting in its hand.

"Hope," the figure stated.

No reply.

"Hope, turn on the lights and come sit. I'm not mad. Really."

A vivid heartbeat could be heard pulsating within Hope's mind as he grazed his small fingers over the switch that enlightened the room and a quiet 'click' danced with the silence. The pink haired solder came to Hope's view and she had a stern look plastered onto her beautiful features. One that assured Hope that she wasn't angry at Hope for coming home late but more assured him that it was okay to be upset if he wanted to. Glistening blue eyes sympathetically targeted the boy as he slowly made his way to her. She set down her mug and the sound of glass meeting wood surfaced into the air.

"I'm sorry, Light. I just lost track of-"

"What did I just say? Hope, come on. It's okay," she reassured him and she extended both of her arms to welcome him to an embrace.

In return, Hope fell into her and dropped onto the couch.

"It's okay if you want to cry, you know," Lightning stated, "if you're worried about me calling you a kid then don't be. You've been so strong so far, Hope. Just let it all out," she whispered while he dug his head into her neck.

"It's not fair, Light."

"I know,"

"I didn't know it was going to happen so suddenly."

"I know."

"It won't be the same anymore!" he began sobbing and she felt his tears drop onto her skin.

"I know," she said while she ran her hand through his soft, platinum hair and began rocking him back and forth in her arms.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be."

"Light?"

She could feel his cold breath kiss her skin while he heavily breathed. His tears began trickling down her neck and she hummed a small reply to let him know she was listening.

"Was this my fault?"

Suddenly, Lightning stopped swaying back and forth and sighed. She dropped her shoulders and let go of the back of Hope's head.

"Hope, look at me."

The young boy pulled himself from the hug and looked up at his guardian behind his silver bangs. Lightning look in his features – flat, silver hair, shaking hands, eyes shrouded with confusion and splashed with red and finally, the tears welling up in his teal orbs.

"I'm not just telling you this as your mother's friend but as your friend as well. Don't you dare blame yourself for this. It wasn't your fault – okay?" she gently comforted her young friend.

Hope looked up to Lightning and bit his lip to cut off any whimpers or sobs from slipping from his mouth but his efforts were to no avail. He suddenly began brawling like a child and once again buried his head into the crack of Lightning's neck. She felt him gently nod.

"Shh… shh… It's okay, Hope. You're going to be fine," she said while she pressed his head against her skin using her hand, "because I'm going to protect you."

All too suddenly, Hope stopped his loud sobbing but his whimpers and sniffs were drawn longer.

"I-I'll… protect you too," he bashfully said, "I-I mean… I'll try."

Lightning quietly chuckled at Hope's response and said, "come and be my knight in shining silver hair to save me from the evil stupidity of the giant ogre, Snow?"

They both began giggling and Hope was immediately cheered up by the uncharacteristically funny joke from Lightning.

"Light?"

"Hnmm?"

"Could you… S-sing to me?" he stuttered.

She looked at him questioningly.

"W-well… mom used to always sing to me to sleep when I was upset."

"I'm not too much of a singer…"

Hope looked at Lightning with slight disappointment in his but understanding was also present in his eyes.

"Lay down on my lap," she commanded and he did so. He gently set his head onto her ivory skin and relaxed. His hair tickled the sensitive skin of her lap while she began to softly sing.

"You, rest inside my mind,
Since the day you came,
I knew you would be with me.
All the times we spent,
What we shared was surely,
Warm enough to know you cared for me.

Light, floods through memories,
Helps me walk my path,
I'll keep my head up high.
Words and Faith and Love,
Your strength gives me hope,
Someday I'll find you with open arms."

"That was… amazing, Light. What song was that?" Hope asked with a gentle tone.

"It's a song that I used to sing to Serah when we were kids. I remember – we wrote it together a long time ago. Whenever she couldn't sleep she'd sneak into my room and snuggle up to me. Then I'd sing or hum the song to her until she slept," said Lightning.

After that, the moment of talking was ceased and neither said anything because there was nothing needed to say. The lieutenant continued to hum the song to the resting boy on her lap and a peacefully nostalgic look had replaced the usually stilled frown of her face. While she melodically hummed, she was gently stroking Hope's silver tresses in order to calm him down. Once his breathing was slowed, eyes were shut and he seemed to relax his body, his companion silenced her song and leaned backwards to rest her head. She shut her eyes and attempted at her best to stay still. Not long after, both fell into a deep, peaceful rest.

"Get out of my house!"

"You're a disgrace to this family!"

"I don't want anything to do with you."

"I'm done with you, Hope Estheim. We're through."

So, I hope you liked that chapter guys! I hope to see you again soon! I really want to have Vanille and Fang play a significant role in this story and I think you'll see what I've been planning for in a new chapter's time!