A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than normal and that it took so long! I've been really busy lately and quite frankly, you're lucky to have this! Haha. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! Encouragements are always welcome, especially now since I have a lot of stresses and don't really feel like writing much. I won't give up though, don't worry =] Thanks for reading!
Tifa sat on a chair near Cloud's slumped and unconscious form. He had passed out again and she was so worried about him but didn't know what to do. Thankfully the kids had gone to their room so they didn't know what was going on. She didn't need them to worry about the possibility of this Cloud being the clone.
She sighed, eyebrows drawn together sadly as she continued to watch him. She shouldn't have trusted him so easily when he told her about that night when he'd made a promise. If the clone and Cloud did share a link between their minds like she thought one of them had tried to tell her, the clone could have easily found out about that night from reading Cloud's mind.
Standing up, Tifa moved over and then knelt on the ground, gently running a hand through some of his hair. He was truly very handsome. But who was it?
Allowing her fingers to trace down his face, she pondered the possibility of it being the clone. The thought that she might have been tricked by the fake and she had even kissed him made her pull her hand away again.
She didn't know what to believe. If the Cloud who was in the forest did arrive, how would she know which one was real? They looked and sounded identical.
Slowly leaning towards him again, Tifa lowered her head to his chest and put her ear against him. Breathing out a sigh, she closed her eyes and prepared herself to breathe in time with his heart beat. She didn't know why she wanted to, but just when she was about to breathe in again her eyes shot open and she froze.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The very sound sent shivers down her spine and she trembled without understanding why. It was just the sound of a heart beat. She had been expecting it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Yet... there was something incredibly unreal about it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It was so perfect. Every beat exactly the same as the last. Had Cloud's heart always been like that? Did it mean he had excellent health?
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Or did it mean this was the clone?
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Tifa turned her head so that her other ear was resting against his chest.
Thump. Thump.
He was watching her.
Thump.
"Are you frightened?"
