Running Away

Chapter Six

Home Sweet Drunk

The delicious smell of fresh coffee hit me as I awoke that afternoon. I could here the birds chirping outside and feel the warmth of the sun streaking through the open window. I sat up in my bed, half asleep with my eyes drooping and looked around the room. I felt around the bed for a bottle of water—I always kept one by my side when I slept. It's just a habit I'd picked up on when living in Home. To my surprise, I knocked a heavy metal thing-a-mabob off the table. Since when did I keep heavy thing-a-mabobs on my bedside table?

I jumped off the bed, for the first time realizing how high up it was. I picked up the heavy object. "A picture?" I murmured, lifting the picture to my eyes as they focused in their drowsy state. The picture was of a blond man and a small child laughing upon his shoulders. I brought it closer to my face and gasped.

The picture was of Gippal. This room belonged to Gippal. (More importantly, so did the bed.) I spun around the room frantically, hoping it was a dream or I was just imagining all the male clothing, all of the half-naked songstresses on the walls, the giant poster of things you can do with beer, and all of the trash was just a figment of my over-imaginative mind.

I closed my eyes with optimism, screaming when I found myself still in Gippal's room. How did I even get here? What did we do last night? Why do I smell like pond water? Where the heck are my clothes? I ran into the bathroom, searching for something—anything that could explain the night.

Nothing. What was I expecting, a narration? Psh, I wish.

Where the heck is Gippal? Oh my god. What if we—no, he wouldn't do that when I was drunk...would he?

Oh no, he would! I felt like crying. I had no recollection of anything pertaining to getting here. The last thing I remember is talking with Gippal...we were wet..?

I closed my eyes and slammed back into the wall, slowly sliding down it.

I kissed him after we went swimming in the lake.

How could I forget?

I sighed and walked back into his bedroom. I needed to get back home, that I knew for sure. I'd talk to Gippal later—if I could even face the guy. Of course, I don't think he'll want to see me ever again.

Never mind that! I need to get back home. Concentrate, Rik, concentrate!

I shook it off and looked out the window, spotting the woods in the distance. Perfect, it's close and nearly no one is outside. Score! My luck is turning around. I did a little dance to the door, grabbed a spare shirt and messily pulled it over my head, letting it dangle off my body like a gigantic dress.

That smells bad.

And has some mystery stain right on the logo.

Just as I was about to turn the knob, I spotted a hat by the door. This will come in handy. I tucked my hair back and into the baseball cap, pulling it as low as it would go.

I wretched open the door and took off running, ignoring anyone I came across in the hall. The shirt and hat would only camouflage so much, ya know?

I burst through the double doors, streaking past a man carrying a briefcase and into the nearby woods. I collapsed back into a thick tree, breathing heavily from the danger less than the run itself. Running was just something I excelled at, being an Al Bhed. It was one of the many things we did better than the rest of the world, seeing as it was our only way around the desert besides our limited amounts of hovers. We prided ourselves on our abilities with machina, but never lost sight of healthy means of transportation.

With as much covertness as I could muster, I snuck through the mini-forest. After getting snagged on the same branch three times, I began to despair. I stole to the edge of the thicket and found a nicely sized bush. I peeked from behind the bush and scanned the grounds, the pool lay peeping out behind the massive garden with terraces, a tennis court much like our own beside it, and a soccer field between the garden and I. A group of guys played soccer near the garden, yelling various insults about each other's abilities. A soccer ball flew from the goalies' grasp, and into the trees beside me. I muffled a shriek. "I'm going to kill you, Gippal." I muttered under my breath as I darted to a tree a few feet away as stealthily as possible. A red-headed boy retrieved the ball without a glance my way.

I looked around again, spying a blond guy walking towards the pool. He was alone, without a towel, but instead he carried a blitzball. He tossed the ball into the water and kicked off his shoes.

Ah ha, a stooge. The boy stripped off his shirt and dove into the water, hidden beneath the surface. It's now or never. I ran from the trees, tripping over a estranged, moldy old bench. I giggled at myself, successfully calling the attention of a few of the 'soccer stars'.

One of them started whistling, setting the rest off. A few called out various moronic, caustic remarks, failing miserably. "Hey baby, nice ass."

"You got fries to go with that shake?"

"Hey sexah!"

"I beg your pardon!" I screamed back, sticking out my tongue to them. The boys laughed and started to mockingly tease the cat-callers. I shook my head and dove behind a column. So far, so good?

...No, that wasn't good, that was slow torture.

The swimmer had surfaced and was lazing around the pool with his eyes closed. The pool was nearly 10 yards away now, but that was considerable seeing what I'd have to do to get there. He boy launched into the air, tossing his blitzball above his head. He gracefully tackled the ball, sending it soaring pass me as I stood, waiting for my moment. The ball zoomed past my head once more and landing softly on the water. With widened eyes, I watched him perform this trick over and over until he finally stopped and let the ball land neatly on his forehead. He balanced it for a bit, then bounced it off, rolling to my feet.

"Hey, could you bring that back over here? If you'd like to keep watching, that is." He drifted to the edge of the vacant pool and gazed over at me with bright sapphire eyes. They shined boldly against his Al Bhed worthy blond hair. "Eh, you okay?" He lifted himself out of the pool, revealing his, um...abs...yup. That's exactly what I was thinking. I forced myself not to look down, because of his...um...abs. Yup. I wouldn't be looking down further south—not me. Even if he was missing an essential part of his swimming get-up to exhibit a remarkably big body part—er, large in his case, at least--I can't think about without blushing profusely.

The guy continued to stare at me as if I was in a zoo and I shook myself out of it. "You're nak—I mean, yeah...but you think you, uh, might wanna get something on?" I raised my eyebrow and looked up, suddenly fascinated with the shady tree above me.

"Oh shit-hell-fuck-dammit!" He screeched, a faint blush fell across my cheeks, though he had no reason to be embarrassed.

"I swear, I didn't look...long." I giggled and saw him moving from the corner of my eye toward me.

So sue me, I'm human, I'm allowed to look. And what a sight it was...

"I'm Rikku, can I borrow a shirt?" I said, sudden conscious of my own near-nudity.

The boy laughed as he picked up his blitzball and smiled. "Only if you tell everyone what you saw...I mean...only if you promise not to."

I giggled and nodded. "A definite can do!"

"I'm Tidus." He said, jogging over to his shoes. "Will this do?"

"Yuppers." I took a step out from behind the stone, but halted. "Eh...could you...uh...?"

"Nope." He twirled the shirt on his fingertips and smirked. It was eerie, how much of Gippal I saw in him right at that moment. The mannerism, the sound of his voice, the way the sun hit Tidus, had I not known it wasn't Gippal, I would have been seriously weirded out.

Seriously. "You big meanie, give it!" I pouted and stomped my foot. "I'm only in my undies!"

"And a bra, c'mon, I've known you for barely 5 minutes and you've seen worse." He argued, setting the shirt down on a chair. "You gotta get it yourself."

I shook my head and ran up to the chair. I sloppily threw the shirt over my nearly bare body and looked around as soon as it was on.

Phew, no onlookers.

"So, Rikku, what are you doing over here without any clothes?" Tidus smiled mischievously, kneeing his blitzball as he spoke. I fiddled with the shirt a moment, it bore the logo of the school in fraying white. It had to have at least been a year or two old, just on condition alone. Not to mention, it was more than twice my size and hanging off my body like an old muumuu.

"Good question. I woke up here...after last night..." I set my hands on my hips. "Well, I was with my kind of, sort of boyfriend when we got drunk, went swimming in the lake. Last thing I remember was--" Kissing him then falling asleep. A blush rampaged my cheeks and I turned from Tidus. "I—we, that is, fell asleep under a tree on my side of the lake. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a dorm room that isn't mine. I look outside the window and see guys. Gippal is nowhere to be found and--"

"Wait, Gippal?"

I squeaked and shook my head. "No, nope, not him! Never, no, wait, who is Gippal? I mean, I've never heard of him..." I sped, shaking my head throughout it all.

"Riiight, um, well. Sounds to me like you two, I mean, you and not Gippal had a nice night." Tidus cracked a smile, poking me in the ribs. I pouted.

I cannot believe I just said all of that. I cannot...Oh geez. What now? " Well, not Gippal and I did have a fabulous time, but not like you think we did." I waggled my finger at Ti, causing him to laugh and ruffle my already atrocious bed-head hair. "Can you just get me home?"

Tidus chuckled one last time and linked his arm in mine. "Right this way." He made a sweeping gesture toward the garden and grinned larger than I had thought possible. "Ma'am."

I shook my head, smiling myself. "You goof."

"Gippal's Girl." He said, bumping me with his wet hip. I toppled over a few feet, regaining my composure in just enough time to run into a bush.

"Hey!" I shrieked as I fell forward, face colliding with leaves. "Owie!" Tidus howled with laughter and lifted me up.

I rubbed my face, freeing a leaf from my hair.

"Oops, my bad." He apologized, bemused look still upon his face. I smacked him in the back of head, giggling madly as he too fell into the offending bush.

0-0-0-0-0

Tidus wrote his number and screen-name on my forehead when we got back to BSFG. I had to convince him to come up to my room with me, telling him a bazillion times he wouldn't be caught. I added him to my Bevelle Instant Messenger as soon as I took a long, thorough shower and ate a toaster pastry, my 'food' of choice.

He wasn't on, not that I had expected him to be. Marza, on the other hand, was. I blocked her as soon as I got on...not that it would do anything. She's right across the hall from me and at any moment could just come in and--

"Hey, Rikkie." Marza said cheerfully, bouncing into my room and flopping down on my bed. I watched her, honestly dumbstruck at her nerve. She smiled up at me and opened one of my magazines.

"What are you doing?" I spat, ripping the 'zine from her hands. She looked shocked for a moment then laughed.

"C'mon, no hard feelings about yesterday, right?" Marza sat up and leaned back on her hands.

"Yes! Hard feelings, severely hard feelings! You tricked Gippal and I, you deliberately got him drunk so you could...well, do whatever you did with him!"

She raised her eyebrow and stood. "You mean, you don't know?" A smile crept over her face like she caught a rat in a trap. I wanted—screw that, I still do—to hit her so hard she'd bleed...but, like a good little girl, I resisted and settled on glaring at her.

I yanked her out of my room by her wrist. "No, now stay out."

"Shame, you liking Gippal." She said, malice dripping from her every word. I blocked it out and began to shut the door. "Seeing as he's just looking for another notch in his bedpost, or have you already become this? I heard you spent the night in his dorm."

I nearly tripped over myself, though I was standing still. I eased open the door to find Marza lazily buffing her nails with her breath. "How could you have heard that?"

"Oh, word travels fast around here, Rikkie dear. You and him, he's over it now. Why do you think he even came here last night? You can't honestly think he likes you, can you? I mean, it's Gippal after all. He could, and has, had everyone he's ever wanted. Why would he give up the wide selection for some girl he's only known for what, a week? Two?" Marza kicked open her door with her foot, marveling her in own ego. I wanted to kill her, she seriously thinks I'm dumb enough to by all this bull.

"Good afternoon, Marza." A girl's voice floated between us. I looked down the hall to find a pretty, silver haired girl in a pants suit walking up toward us. She had devilish red eyes, the bad girl walk and look down to a 'T'. "You might want to retrieve your head from your ass before you start believing your own bullshit."

Marza gaped, nails poised in front of her mouth. I snickered and shook my head. "And you, don't let him get to close. Gippal loves you now, but how long will that last?" The girl continued to walk along her way, leaving the two of us to wonder who the hell she was, and how true her little outbursts really were.

-sits- Review or I'll hurt you.

Plain and simple. I'm not having a good day in the slighest. Trust me. It's the worst I've had all summer.

Big thankies to Hommeles and Nikki Of Spira for your support, I really love you guys :3

But, please review. Boost my morale.