Thank you everybody for your reviews! I'm glad you find this story to be something original! It is rather original isn't it...Heh, since it's based off of some real life experiences and some not-so real life experiences. ;) So anyway, I'm going to attempt to update every other day or so, because I don't want this story to drag on too long. So it should be a nice, entertaining read. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Unwanted Jersey
Yuna and Baralai stared at each other for some time, and then Yuna looked back at her ticket stub. Was it really her?
She looked up then, only to see her face on the huge screen that hung above the pool.
Yuna then felt a million faces on her, and she immediately turned red.
"Congratulations to our winner!" the announcer cried, "Come pick up your jersey at the end of the game!"
The lights then went out and the cheerleaders began their halftime show, but Yuna was too in shock to watch. Baralai seemed to be in shock too, for he said nothing.
"Well, it's yours," Yuna said, handing him the ticket, "It's your ticket, after all."
"They won't give it to me though," Baralai said, "Now that they've seen you on the screen, they'll just give it to you. In fact, someone should be here soon to escort you to the room where you'll get the jersey. Some crazy girls are going to want to attack you."
"Seriously?" Yuna asked, "Just over some jersey?"
"Yeah," Baralai said, and he let out a laugh, "Out of all of the crazy fans, I can't believe it was you that won it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuna asked him.
"Nothing," Baralai said, "Don't take it the wrong way. It's just, you didn't even know who this guy was until tonight. And now you'll be taking home this jersey, without even understanding its worth. There will be people offering you huge amounts of gil for that jersey."
Baralai was then cut off as Yuna's phone went off. She picked it up, noticing that it was Rikku who was calling.
"Oh my Yevon Yunie, did you just win that jersey?" it was indeed her cousin.
"Yeah, I guess so," Yuna said.
"You guess so? Yunie, do you realize how big a deal this is? This is the jersey! Everyone in this entire place would sell their souls for that jersey, including me! I am so horridly jealous of you right now!"
Yuna was still staring at her ticket, and she realized that Baralai was staring at her, watching her intently. She sighed, remembering the earlier conversation that had occurred between the two.
"Well, I don't understand the big deal," Yuna said, shrugging, as if Rikku could see her.
"The big deal, Yunie, is that that jersey could be worth loads and loads of money. And you get to get it autographed and everything!"
"Rikku, I should go," Yuna said.
"Oh, that's right, you're with Baralai, aren't you?" Rikku asked, loudly, so Yuna was sure Baralai could probably hear, "How's that goin' for ya?"
"It's fine, Rikku. Goodbye."
"Wait—!" Yuna hung up before Rikku could finish talking.
The game must have started at exactly that moment as well, for the crowd began to cheer, momentarily forgetting that they weren't the winners of the jersey.
"I'm going to call down and find out why you're the one that won the jersey," Baralai said, as soon as Yuna turned her attention to him.
"What's the big deal?" Yuna just asked, and exasperated, fell back down into her chair, "It's just a smelly old jersey that some guy wears."
"Sell it then," Baralai said, sitting down next to her, "I bet anybody here would pay a fortune for it. Go ahead, try and sell it! Just sell your ticket stub."
"Alright, I'll do just that," Yuna said, surely, "In fact, I'll go right now."
"Well, maybe that's not such a good idea," Baralai said, softly, "You probably won't get the best deal here. If you go and get the jersey, I bet a business would buy the jersey from you for a huge sum. Just wait."
"So I should go and get the jersey?" Yuna asked, "What do I do?"
"Basically," Baralai explained, "An escort will be here, and they'll take you down to the main floor. I think you'll have to wait a half an hour or so after the game, and then the player comes out and gives you his jersey. He signs it, and then that's it."
"Okay," Yuna said, nodding, "But what if I don't want it?"
"You want it," Baralai said, "It's yours."
"But it's your ticket!" Yuna said, "Shouldn't you get it?"
Baralai shrugged, and said, "Consider it a reminder of this game, a gift from me."
Yuna didn't know how to respond to that, so she focused her attention back to the game.
"They're having a rough time," Baralai said, nodding to the pool, "They're still only leading by one to nothing. I think they're getting tired. You know, it was number thirty-seven that made that goal."
"Really?" Yuna asked, and she found that her eyes were scanning the pool, searching for number thirty-seven. Sure enough, her eyes found him.
It was hard to tell what he looked like, but he didn't appear very old. She recalled then that he was only nineteen, the same age as she.
Baralai was right though; it appeared indeed as if the team were struggling.
"Luca is a good team," Baralai explained, "But we should definitely be able to take them."
"How often do you watch blitzball?" Yuna asked, realizing that he seemed to know a lot about it.
"My father and I have always watched it," he explained, "I've been coming to these seats for as long as I can remember. We also go to a lot of the away games—you know, sort of like a mini vacation every weekend."
"I see," Yuna said, "So where is this team off to next week?"
"They're home again," Baralai said, "We'll play Kilika next week. That school's so small, and their team so bad though that that game will be an embarrassment. And the week after that, we're off to Zanarkand, which will be our toughest game yet."
"Are you going to the Zanarkand game?" Yuna questioned.
"Probably not, but there's always a fan bus," Baralai said.
The crowd began to make a bunch of booing noises, and Yuna looked at the scoreboard, figuring the other team had scored, but they hadn't.
"What's going on now? Yuna asked.
"Oh, we got a penalty," Baralai said, "One of our guys did something illegal…Looks like he held him, which means he grabbed onto his uniform to pull him back, which is something you can't do. There aren't very many things you can't do in blitzball, but that is one of them. So now we're a man down."
"So we're playing four-on-five?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah," Baralai said, "So we have the disadvantage."
The kick-off started, and Bevelle's team managed to get a hold of the ball. Yuna's eyes quickly found player number thirty-seven. He had the ball and was swimming fast, toward the opposite goal, while the rest of his team hung back.
"Why are they hanging back?" Yuna asked, "Why don't they help him?"
"Because," Baralai said, "We need to protect our net."
Before he could even finish speaking, player number thirty-seven darted around the other team's defense, and right around the goalie, making an easy goal on the open net.
The crowd went wild, but Yuna couldn't take her eyes off that player. How swiftly he had moved! It was him versus the entire team, and yet he had managed to get around not only the defense, but the goalie as well.
"That's called a short-handed goal!" Baralai said, obviously excited about the goal, "He's tied with the school record for them—although I guess he's broken it now!"
The game continued then, with Bevelle ahead two to zero. Time was running out, as well.
"You know," Baralai said as soon as the crowd hushed somewhat, "There's a second game against Luca tomorrow. Would you like to come with?"
Yuna looked at him, and realized that she honestly didn't know. She was actually rather enjoying the game.
"Um, I don't know," Yuna said, "I suppose I could."
Baralai smiled, and said, "Really? I can pick you up at the same time!"
Yuna didn't say anything, but rather focused her attention on the game. There were only a few minutes left, and it didn't seem as if Luca would get another goal. All Yuna could do though was play the goal she had just witnessed over and over in her head. How could he move that smoothly?
There was a knock on the door to their box then, and Baralai stood to answer it.
"Hello," a small, nervous looking man said, "I'm here to escort the jersey winner to the ceremonial hall."
"Oh, yeah," Baralai said, "Yuna, come on, we've got to go."
Yuna stood up and walked to the door. Baralai held it open for her, and she followed the man out, and then Baralai followed her.
The three made their way down a staircase that was labeled "Employees Only", and into a very open space.
"Wait here," the man said, and then he disappeared.
Yuna took a seat on the bench that the man had motioned to, and Baralai took a seat next to her.
"This must be near the locker rooms," Baralai mused, "I'm surprised they let us down here."
"I wish we could have finished watching the game," Yuna said, sighing, "I was rather enjoying it."
"Don't worry," Baralai said, "We have tomorrow to watch it. It should be really exciting tomorrow."
Yuna simply nodded. The two waited in silence for a few minutes, and they heard a loud buzzing sound go off above them, as well as cheers from fans.
"The game must be over," Baralai said, "Sounds like we won."
The man returned then, and said, "Please, come with me."
Yuna stood up, as did Baralai. However, the man turned to Baralai, and said, "Please wait here, Sir."
Baralai looked at him as if he were going to say something, but then sighed and turned to Yuna, and said, "I'll meet you out front, alright?"
"Okay," Yuna said, and she then followed the man.
The man led her to an even larger open space that resembled a banquet hall. Only it was one of the largest banquet halls Yuna had ever been in.
"He should be right out," the man said, "Would you mind if I searched your handbag?"
"No, of course not," Yuna said, handing over her purse. The man searched through it quickly, and then handed it back to her.
"He's going to be very tired," the man explained, "From the long game, so please try to keep this meeting session quickly. You may not video tape, but you may take a picture. However, you may not sell the pictures, but only use them for your personal use."
Yuna cocked her head to the side. Was there really that much to a simple blitzball player?
"Alright," the man said then, after spewing out a few other rules, "I just received word that he's on his way."
How he'd heard word, Yuna had no idea, but she simply nodded, and continued to stand there. The man left, leaving Yuna completely alone.
To Yuna's surprise, she realized that she was feeling rather nervous. Perhaps she was worried that she wouldn't be able to find Baralai after this little meet-up. Or perhaps she was afraid that she would get attacked by the so-called crazy fans. Or perhaps, she really was frightened to meet some guy she had never met before, who was apparently a big deal.
Suddenly, the doors opened, clear across the room, and Yuna found she was having difficulty breathing. Why was she so nervous.
In stepped what appeared to be a normal guy. The only thing abnormal about him was that he was clad in a suit with his hair dripping wet, and had a jersey outstretched in front of him, as it was also wet.
He was looking at the jersey disdainfully, and not at her, but he walked forward anyway.
Was that him? Yuna tried to remember what he had looked like, but she hadn't really gotten a good glimpse.
He finally looked at her, causing her to let out a silent gasp. His eyes met hers, and she felt herself blush—that's right, blush. Why was she blushing?
His eyes were a gorgeous crystal blue unlike anything she had ever seen. Her first thought was that he wore contacts, but she knew that couldn't be. Blitzball players couldn't wear contacts for one thing, and besides that, those eyes were so blue that there couldn't possibly be a contact that could create that color.
He stopped a few feet in front of her, and gave her a smile that she took to be a cheeky one, but her heart began to speed even more at the sight of that smile.
"Sorry it's so wet," he said, "I was trying to blow-dry it quick with a friend's blow-dryer, but it didn't really work."
Yuna didn't say anything. She just stood there, staring at him.
"It's going to be hard to sign," he continued, "Since it's wet, but I think we'll manage."
With that, he pulled out a pen, and said, "Where do you want it signed?"
Yuna's mind was racing. Over and over, she was attempting to convince herself "He's just a normal college guy. He's just a normal college guy…", but for some reason, she couldn't seem to convince herself. She seemed star-struck.
He was waiting for her answer, so Yuna snapped out of her trance and said, "I-It doesn't matter. Wherever."
He looked at the jersey thoughtfully then for a long time, before turning it to the front and signing between the 'Bevelle' and 'Basilisks'.
"Tidus 37" Yuna realized it read. So his name was Tidus?
"There you go," he said, handing her the wet jersey. She took it carefully in her hands as if it were the most delicate thing ever.
"Want a picture?" he asked her then. She had no idea if she wanted one or not, but she did just so happen to have her camera.
She pulled it out of her purse, and to her surprise, Tidus snatched it before she could even turn it on. He had it turned on in a flash, and then leaned in very close to her, putting his arm around her.
"Sorry if I smell," he said, "You wouldn't think you could sweat in water, but with blitz, you sweat like a pig."
He pulled her into him then, and snapped a picture, self-portrait style. Yuna seemed to shocked to move.
He took his arm from around her and looked at the picture, and smiled at her, and handed her the camera.
"I'm pretty much an expert at that," he said, flashing her a silly grin, "I practice in my spare time. But you're not smiling. Here, we'll take another one."
Again, he wrapped his arm around her, pulled her close, and snapped another one.
"Still no smile," he mused to himself, "Want me to count?"
Yuna wanted to say that she didn't really care, but to her realization, she realized that she wouldn't have minded if he took a million pictures of them, for once again, he wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her close. Only this time, he said, "one…two…three…BLITZ!" Yuna managed to somewhat smile, and as he looked at it, he said, "There, that's better," and handed her the camera.
Yuna's mind continued to run. Should she say something to him? He seemed to be doing a lot of the talking. She couldn't even remember if she had said anything to him. Why was she acting so dumb?
"So did you like the game?" Tidus asked, as Yuna tucked the camera into her purse without looking at the pictures.
"Yeah," Yuna managed to say, "Um…Good job."
"Thanks," Tidus said, throwing his head back as he said it, "That was a hell o' a goal I had, huh?"
It was. Yuna's mind flashed back to his goal, and her heart once more began to pound. She couldn't manage to say anything though.
Finally, he let out a laugh, and patted her on the head, a movement that really shocked her.
"Heh, gotta love girls like you," he said, "Too shy to say anything. What are you, seventeen?"
"Um, nineteen, actually," Yuna managed.
"Seriously?" Tidus said, laughing to himself, "Do you go to the U of B then?"
"No, I got to St. Maechan's," Yuna responded.
"What's that?" Tidus asked, looking dumfounded.
It was Yuna who felt dumbfounded. How had he not heard of St. Maechan's?
"It's a college," Yuna said, slowly, unsure of whether he was joking or not.
"What, a technical school?"
Was he serious?
"It's a school for…Well, it's basically one of the top private schools in Spira," Yuna finally managed.
"Oh, okay," Tidus said then, and he looked toward the door, as if he wanted to leave. He looked back at her though, and asked, "What year are you?"
"I'm a sophomore," Yuna replied.
"Yeah, me too," Tidus said, "But I'm not really supposed to be. I skipped a year of high school. Not that it matters…"
Was there a reason he was spewing out his entire life story? Yuna began to shift uncomfortably, for she had no idea what to do. Perhaps if she could act normal, things would be great.
"Did you come here by yourself?" Tidus asked her then.
Wasn't she supposed to be the one that got to ask him questions, not the other way around? Yuna sighed, and said, "No."
"Oh, did you come with friends?" Tidus asked.
"You could say that," Yuna replied.
"I see," again Tidus looked at the door. If he wanted to leave, what was he waiting for? Yuna looked around as a bit of awkward silence settled in. Was something supposed to happen? Did the small man have to come back in before Tidus could leave.
To her surprise, Tidus looked at her, and said in a soft voice, "You know, we can go back to my place if you want."
"What?" Yuna asked, taken aback. Had he just asked her to his place?
Tidus laughed, and said, "Don't act so shocked. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"No," Yuna said, shaking her head.
Tidus laughed again, and rolled his eyes, and said, "Alright, suit yourself. You would've been my first pick, but oh well. There's plenty more."
Yuna's face scrunched in disgust. What?
"Alright then," Tidus said, "If you're sure…Well, enjoy the jersey!"
He waved to her then, and walked off, back toward the door he had entered, leaving Yuna all by herself, still holding the jersey in her hand.
She stared at the door that he had exited into for quite some time, before finally shaking her head and turning around, heading back toward where she had come from to find Baralai. Even so, she couldn't seem to get a certain pair of blue eyes out of her head.