A/N: I would like to thank those that have read and followed along with High School Pandemonium, and honestly I didn't expect to get over 200 views and 10 followers within the 24 hours that it has been posted. And the 2 reviews meant a lot as well, and I know I said when I got 5 reviews I'd post the next chapter, but I decided screw that and I'm gonna post this anyway.
To Hollow Panda: It means a lot that you personally stopped in, read, and reviewed this, and to say thank you for that this chapter is dedicated to you.
To Xcess: I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy what I write. It felt nice to see your name in the reviews as well, so thank you.
To ClaireisinLightning: Well thank you, I'm glad you liked it :) and your pm was so kind, so thank you for that too :)
To HentaiLemon: Well what can I say? I try my best to please :) and I'm glad you can't wait to read more, as I'm equally as excited about writing more.
To Phiatheeggplant: Well I'm glad you love it, I love that you love it :)
To DragonGirl: D'aww cookies :) noms away happily I'm hoping this chapter pleases you as well :)
To Setchan-1995: I'm sorry about the lack of dialogue in the last chapter, and I hope this chapter is better for you :)
To Icegirl1: I'm glad that thought amuses/pleases you as it does me :) her first scene on her Ninja may or may not include a tophat... :)
A/N2: This chapter takes place in the summer before the first day of school, and can chronologically be considered the first chapter in this fic.
Disclaimer: I do not now nor will I ever own Final Fantasy XIII or the amazingness that is it's characters.
Chapter 2: Summer Lovin
It was summer, the blazing heat and the glaring sun could vouch for that. The heat wave that was blanketing Eden was the highest in recent history, with today peaking with a record high of one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit, and the sweat trickling down Lightnings face as she sat on the pier at the beach as well as the glare of the suns rays over the ocean proved that sitting out here for the past hour as she had been doing may not have been the best idea. But as it was, Serah and Snow had talked her into coming along for the grand opening of Lebreaus' beach side cafe NORA. She had spent about thirty minutes at the celebration before saying her goodbyes to Lebreau and the gang and heading out to the pier for some much needed solitude.
Lightning didn't know if the gods were playing some kind of cosmic joke on her, or if she really was cursed by karma, but her plan for solitude appeared to be coming to an abrupt end if the football at her feet and the figure running towards it was any indication. 'Hey Sunshine, toss me that yeah? Sorry bout the throw, didn't measure my own arms strength." The voice belonged to a woman, and as she got closer Lightnings heart rate rapidly accelerated. The woman was a vision. Wild raven tresses with hints of red, long athletic legs that every woman would kill to have, and an amazing body. Athletic and trim, and as Lightnings' eyes traveled further up she noted that the woman certainly wasn't lacking in the bust department either. The tattoo on her arm did nothing to diminish her beauty, the elegant and somewhat primitive tribal design only added to it, in an odd but effective way. The accent with which the woman spoke announced her as Gran Pulsian, and the tan skin was perfection, the scars that marked certain places giving off a deadly, yet dangerously attractive air. A blush spread across her features as she realized that she was without a doubt checking this beauty out. The tight blue tank top and the baggy blue board shorts worked wonders for her figure, and as Light's eyes finally reached her face she noticed that the woman's eyes were a vibrant green, almost emerald or malachite. The smirk the woman wore was like the cat that had caught the canary.
"Why Sunshine, my eyes are on my face. Like what you see?" The woman asked, cocky smirk in place as she laid a hand on her hip. "You know, you're not so bad yourself darlin'." she ran her eyes appreciatively and unabashedly over Light's bikini clad body. A low wolf whistle signaled the intensifying blush on her cheeks. "Name's Oerba Yun Fang, how about yourself Sunshine?" Lightning, who was blushing both from anger and indignation, as well as attraction, (not that she'd admit it) simply stared. She rose in a huff, scooping up the ball and tossing it to this Oerba Yun Fang.
'Don't call me Sunshine, don't talk to me, and for Etros' sake stop staring at my body." Lightning said, beginning to walk away from the beautiful, yet annoying, woman in front of her. To her dismay though, it seemed that the woman had no intention of leaving, as she jogged to catch up and fell into step with her. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Fang tossing the football idly up and down as she searched for a way to start a conversation with the beautiful woman beside her that wouldn't immediately end in being told to shut it. A sparkle appeared in her eye and a mischievous smirk appeared on her face as a plan formed in her head. Now all she needed was the perfect way to put her plan into action, a way that the woman beside her would unknowingly provide.
Lightning was absorbed in her thoughts as she was walking, and thus didn't spot the stick just barely visible in the sand, well didn't that is until her foot caught it and she found herself falling. As she closed her cerulean eyes and braced herself for the impact she was sure was coming. She was pleasantly surprised when two strong, defined, and yet soft and feminine arms caught her, stopping her descent and saving the glasses perched on her nose from certain doom. She shivered unintentionally as the huntress wrapped her arms tighter around her and pulled her into her body to where she could feel the womans' soft breath on her neck and could smell her, a scent that she couldn't quite place, but was amazing nonetheless. "Careful there Sunshine, people might get the wrong idea seeing you fall for me and into my arms like that" Fang whispered, a sly and amused twinkle in her eye that seeped into her low and smoky voice. Another shiver crawled up Lights' spine and through her body, despite the raging heat and the other heat that was pooling somewhere far south of the border. Blushing in embarrassment once again, she untangled her self from this Oerba Yun Fang before she died of embarrassment.
"Thanks for catching me, but I'm pretty sure I told you not to call me Sunshine. I'm also certain I told you not to talk to me, and to stop staring at my body. Seeing as you have no intention of complying with two out of three of the requests I've made, at least call me Lightning" Light told her, before turning and continuing her trek back towards Lebreau, an ever smirking Fang in tow. "Well now Lightning, at least ya finally told me ya name darlin'. Could have come under better circumstances, but I'll take what I can get. I do, however, want a reward for savin' ya from fallin' back there." Lightning froze in place. Something about the way the other woman had phrased that particular sentence, the tone of her voice, had struck her as odd. More than that, it sent even more heat to her; again pooling in a place where it more than likely shouldn't be.
"A-a-and w-w-what are you wanting exactly?" She managed to stutter out, mentally kicking herself for stuttering, Lightning Farron was cool, calm and collected damn it, not a stuttering and blushing teenage girl. But that seemed to be exactly what this young woman turned her into, and instead of making Lightning feel giddy as it would probably make others feel, it infuriated her beyond belief. 'who is she to be so damn sexy? I don't even think she knows what she's doing. She's probably just a natural flirt, does it with everyone she meets. Yeah that's more than likely true. Well I won't be just some silly game, that much I'll make sure of. She wants me? She's gonna have to earn it!' The unnatural and irrational spike of anger and hurt hit her first, then exactly what she had just said in her mind made her want to not exist very much at this very moment in time. 'Damn Farron, jumping the gun are we? You just met her and already you think she's into you? How do you even know she's into women? More over, why do you assume she wants you, even if she is? She could already have someone, more than that she could not even be interested, though I'd say you're more than a little bit interested in her. Play it cool Farron, focus on what she wants, play your cards right, and who knows? Just keep your cool damn it.' She came out of her thoughts only to see Fang staring expectantly at her. Seeing that she had been lost in thought, she'd most likely have to ask her to repeat herself.
"Um sorry, I was thinking. What exactly did you say you wanted again?" Lightning mentally patted herself on the back for not stuttering this go round. Fang smirked as she watched her new (hopefully) friend. She really was too damned adorable for words. "A kiss. Plain and simple. You're not chicken are ya darlin'?" the challenging tone in which she had made her statement made Light bristle. For that's exactly what it was, a statement, not a damned question. "I'm not chicken! How dare you?!" she spat, before surprising both Fang and herself by grabbing the huntresses' hand and pulling her into a deep kiss. Shocked registered in both their minds, neither expecting Lightning to go through with it. But Fang would be damned if she wasted what she was sure would be the only opportunity she had to kiss this vision of beauty that was currently kissing her, and she eagerly returned the kiss. Fang was in for another shock as Light didn't immediately pull away, instead choosing to pull her even closer and run her tongue over her lips, begging for access. Access Fang eagerly granted as she opened her mouth, allowing Light's tongue in and allowing it to explore her mouth, marking the territory.
They continued like that for what felt like an eternity to either woman, but in reality was only a minute or two before they parted for air, both heavily panting and in Lightnings' case blushing heavily. Not that Fang wasn't blushing, just that her tan skin hid it much better than Lightnings' pale and creamy skin did. "Wow. Lightning, you really know how to kiss." Fang said, a dazed look in her eye and a blissful and completely content smile upon her lips. Lightnings' blush intensified, but deciding that she had already done it, threw caution to the wind once again and captured Fang's lips in another searing kiss which was as eagerly returned as the last. When they broke apart Lightning smiled shyly. "Looks like you owe me now huh?"
Fang chuckled but complied with the adorable request from the other woman. After breaking apart for the third time, they turned and continued wherever it was that lightning seemed to be leading them, both too absorbed in their own thoughts to speak to each other, but the silence was far from uncomfortable; in fact it bordered on content. Lightning had assumed that since she had already thrown all caution to the wind thus far and it had paid off, then maybe she could make her namesake strike again and obtain the gorgeous Gran Pulsian's number. After all, the woman was eager to kiss her, so maybe she'd be interested in staying in contact as well?
Flash Forward two weeks from the beach
Light was happy. That's the only way she could describe the last two weeks. She had indeed obtained Fang's number, but more than that they had officially become a couple. Serah and Snow were pleasantly shocked, where as Lebreau was overly excited to see her normally stoic and aloof childhood friend so relaxed and laid back. Something about Fang just seemed to complete Lightning. But Light knew that once the summer ended, Fang would have to return to Gran Pulse. Her sister was there, her school, even her job. But they had the summer, and Light was perfectly happy to make the most out of the most amazing two months of her life. Every moment she spent with Fang was pure bliss. But it still weighed heavily on her mind knowing that if, and the chances of it were extremely slim, they continued their relationship beyond the summer, she wouldn't be able to be around the woman she had fallen in love with anywhere near as often as she was now. While that would be an issue, she already knew that losing Fang completely would destroy any chance she had of ever loving again. What was she to do though? How could she convince her lover that not only was staying with her best for them both, but that seeing each other as often as possible was as vital as breathing? She didn't have a clue, but hopefully she could figure it out soon.
She was pondering this as she pulled out of her garage in her Civic before driving to the start line of the race Snow, Lebreau, Fang, and herself were having. It had occurred to Lightning that in the two weeks that Fang and herself had been dating, she had yet to see exactly what kind of ride her girlfriend had. She smirked as she tried to envision a car that would match the personality of her energetic, sometimes abrasive, mischievous girlfriend.
Pulling up she noticed that Snows Lamborghini, which he lovingly called Shiva, was already present, along with Lebreaus Lotus Elise known as Natalia. Fang hadn't arrived yet, but she had a longer drive from her hotel to the starting point that Light had texted to her earlier. She tapped the button on her headset, the line crackling to life. "Serah, Fang should be here soon, and then we can start. Honestly, I'm nervous. What exactly happens? It's not the race I'm concerned about, it's Fang. The summer won't last forever. What do I do when the time comes for her to return to Gran Pulse?"
The worry in her sisters voice shocked Serah, enough to render her speechless for a few minutes. The last time Lightning had shown worry for anyone other than Serah herself was when their parents were still alive, when her mother was deathly ill. Fang must have meant more to Lightning than she let on most days.
"Honestly Claire I don't know. That's something you need to sort out with Fang, it's not something I can help you with. But I've seen how much Fang loves you. I'm certain you two can work something out. Just keep faith Claire."
The use of her real name caught her off guard for a minute, but she knew in her heart that her sister was right. It was between herself and Fang, and Serah really couldn't do anything to help her in this one.
"Thanks sis, I guess I just needed to hear what I already knew." Claire was smiling to herself inside her Civic, knowing that whatever happened, she'd deal with it, and she'd find a way to keep the woman she loved in her life. The smell of burning rubber on asphalt assaulted her nose as squealing tires were heard coming around the turn. She glanced into her rear view mirror, smiling as she caught sight of her girlfriend.
Fang had arrived, wearing a black leather biking jacket, with a tight black tank top underneath. Black fingerless gloves adorned her hands, and the leather pants she was wearing hugged her lower half snugly. The top hat on her head made her giggle. Her girlfriend was a bit childish at times. But her smile turned into her jaw dropping when she took in just what her girl was on.
The black Ninja was beautiful. The purple stripes on the side emphasized that it was a racing bike, and the roaring of the engine was proof enough. This is what they were going against? She was confident in her Civic, Odin had served her well, but that Ninja would be trouble. Big trouble. Her girlfriend pulled up to the starting line, taking her place beside Light's car and tossing her girlfriend a cocky smirk and a wink. Light merely nodded before turning her head to focus on the road in front of her. Serah fired the starting pistol and the race was on.
A/N: Wow, next chapter is the first race. I hope you read my authors note at the beginning, otherwise a lot of these events and the timeline may seem wonky to you. I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review. I made my deadline as well :) Until next time, The TableThrower signing off.