Okay everybody, here is chapter four! It's just a tiny bit shorter than the other chapters, but I think that's alright. This chapter may be a teeny bit hard to follow, but basically it's about some internal warfare Yuna has going on within herself. Well, maybe it's not THAT dramatic. Well, anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 4: The Unwanted Weakness

Yuna leaned her head in her hands, and stared dully at the professor in front of her. The weekend was already long past, as it was already Wednesday. Of course, that meant that it was at least closer to the next weekend, and the game against Kilika.

Her professor continued talking about Spira's governmental system, and its founders, so Yuna found herself drifting off into thought.

She still hadn't exactly told her father that she was 'dating' Baralai. It didn't seem right. To her, telling her father that was the same as admitting defeat. And Yuna wasn't sure she was ready to admit defeat quite yet.

Yuna's mother had died when Yuna was very young. Yuna couldn't even remember her, actually.

Yuna had grown up going to random private Yevon schools throughout her life, all on her quest to make her father happy. Her father had never really pushed her toward anything, so she was basically free to do as she wanted.

Until, of course, she turned seventeen, and her father made it clear that she was to marry Baralai. It wasn't even a choice, and Yuna knew this. Perhaps that was why she had given up and told Baralai that she would be his girlfriend. Even though she had spend the last two years trying to deny it to herself, she knew that she would end up married to Baralai.

True, things could be a lot worse. Baralai wasn't such a horrid guy. He really wasn't. However, Yuna felt that he didn't really like her. He simply convinced himself that he liked her, because he knew as she knew that they would someday be married. That was all there was to it.

Yuna laid her head on her desk. Even if Baralai could convince himself that he liked her, she knew she couldn't convince herself that she liked him. But of all the guys in the world to like instead, why couldn't she seem to forget Tidus, the cocky and arrogant blitzball player?

For some reason, whenever she thought of him, she always pictured him to be so sweet and innocent. He appeared that way, and his cute little smile made him seem that way. Even still, she knew she had to face reality. Tidus was anything but innocent. It was simply the obvious truth, just as Baralai had said. Anybody could see it. Anybody in the entire world could see though that cute smile and into the true depths.

Even still, Yuna couldn't help but feel curious. She wanted to get to know him. Why, she didn't know. But she really did. In fact…She worried that she was growing obsessed with thoughts of him.

He was always on her mind and in her dreams. She read the paper everyday—something she had never done before—all in hopes of seeing an article about him. There usually was one, too. It turned out the blitzball team was extraordinarily popular. How she had never realized it before was beyond her. There was always something about them on the cover of the Sports section of the newspaper.

She found herself standing in her room, staring at his signature on his jersey. She had even looked him up in the phone book!

"What is wrong with me?" Yuna said into her arms, hoping nobody could hear her.

What was wrong with her? She felt lovesick, as if someone had just broken her heart. She probably felt this way because she knew he wasn't as innocent as she tried to make him out to be. She just knew it.

That was besides the point, though. For some reason, she liked the idea of liking him.

Sometimes, she wondered if it was one of those 'love at first sight' kinds of things. She didn't know if she necessarily believed in that, but the more she thought about it, the more she was beginning to believe it. After all, what else would explain her current situation?

In conclusion, Yuna decided that she was a very weak individual. She simply fell for him because he was good looking. End of story. She had to face the facts: the idea of dating him came with plenty of pros. She'd have the best-looking boyfriend in the city, Baralai would be out of the picture, and her father would be furious. She'd finally get the freedom that she was slowly coming to realize she dreaded for.

Of course, Yuna knew it was foolish to think like this. Tidus wouldn't let her be his 'girlfriend'. She would just be some girl he'd have for a night, and then thrown away. However, because Yuna was weak, and ready to admit she was weak, she knew she would give in, and not even care. And of course, because she was weak, she had a small twinge of hope burning inside her, telling her to go as far as she could with Tidus, hoping—no, praying!—that he would realize how much he loved her too, and be hers and only hers. And she could be his and only his and—well, let's just say Yuna would usually sigh dramatically when she got to this part in her thoughts. Because she was weak.

"Alright, that's all the time we have for today," her professor stated, "Be sure to do the readings for next week, and—."

Why the professor continued talking was beyond Yuna. The entire class left before he could even finish speaking.

Yuna put on her mittens and put her backpack on her shoulders. Her classes were done for the day, ending nicely at three o'clock. She rolled her eyes though, recalling how far she had to walk to her car.

It was a very sunny day, however, and the weekend's chilliness had ended, although it was still somewhat cold.

Yuna walked fast, thinking about whether or not she was going to get a coffee or not after class, when all of a sudden she heard someone call her name.

She turned around, only to have her eyes open wide and her heart speed. None other than Tidus himself was jogging up from behind her, clad in a blue jacket with a matching hat.

"Hey!" he said, stopping his jog as soon as he reached her, "Whatchya doin'?"

"I just got out of class," Yuna said, hoping she didn't appear to be an utter bafoon. She felt like such an idiot, for she was sure she appeared love-struck. She figured a guy like Tidus could see right into that too. He would no-doubt attempt to take advantage of her. She didn't care though.

"Oh right!" he said, "What class was it?"

"A really dumb government one," Yuna said, biting her lip nervously.

"I hate government," Tidus said, "I skip it all the time, and just show up for the tests. And then I fail those. But it doesn't matter." He smiled at her, which of course made her heart melt.

"Just leave," she thought, "Don't make me even weaker than I already am!"

"So you going to the game this weekend?" Tidus asked.

Yuna just nodded.

"We're gonna kick their asses," Tidus said, "It's gonna be great."

Yuna simply nodded again.

"Where are you walking to?" Tidus asked her then.

"My car," Yuna said, "The parking lot is really far from my class."

"That sucks," Tidus said, "My place is nearer. Wanna go back there, and I can drive you to your car?"

Everything in Yuna's body told her, "Yes! Go to Tidus' place! Go, go, GO!" Of course, she shook her head, and said, "That's alright. Thanks though."

"You sure?" Tidus asked.

"Yeah," she said, and then decided to change the subject before she changed her mind, "Um, what are you doing?"

"Jogging," Tidus said, looking at his watch, "I jog every day around this time. We've probably even passed each other before!"

Yuna tried to think if she recalled him passing her, but she didn't. Usually she got out of class earlier though, so perhaps that was why.

The two walked in silence then, and Yuna found herself wondering why he was sticking around. Was he dangerous? Yuna side-glanced him, but he didn't appear dangerous. He was just staring straight ahead, looking in thought about something.

"Hey, I'm having a party after the game on Friday," Tidus said then, "Wanna come?"

Yuna's heart seemed to skip a beat. He was inviting her to his party?

"Mm, I don't know," Yuna ended up saying, reminding herself that Tidus wasn't reality. Who knew what would happen if she went to that party!

"Well, if you change your mind, come on over," Tidus said, "You'll definitely know which house is mine."

She thought he would leave then, but he didn't. He just kept walking with her, again saying nothing.

"Your boyfriend doesn't like me, does he?" Tidus asked then.

"Well…He's…" Yuna trailed, for she had no idea what to say.

"…A little uptight?" Tidus finished for her, throwing her a huge smile, as if to say he was proud of himself for his input.

Yuna laughed, and said, "Yeah, just a little."

"He doesn't seem to be much fun," Tidus observed, "How come you go out with him?"

What kind of question was that? Yuna looked at him, and smiled a shocked smile.

He noticed that she thought his question was a little unnecessary, for he said, "Oh, sorry. I guess he's your boyfriend and all, isn't he?"

"It's complicated," Yuna said then, answering his question, "To be honest, we haven't even been going out for a week."

"Seriously?" Tidus asked, "The way you two acted, I figured you'd been going out for years."

"What? What made you think that?" Yuna asked.

"I don't know," Tidus said, shrugging, "You both seemed tired of each other already."

"Oh," Yuna said, looking at the ground.

"Um, sorry!" Tidus said, "I guess that's not what you wanted to hear."

"No," Yuna said, "You're right. Like I said, it's complicated."

She knew he wanted her to explain, but the last thing Yuna wanted to do was explain it to some stranger who she shouldn't even be talking to. He was dangerous, Yuna decided. For some reason, she was having a hard time remembering that underneath his mask of innocence was the devil.

But Yuna was weak.

Taking a deep breath, Yuna said, "You see, our fathers want us to get married. So we probably will."

"Oh?" Tidus said, and he laughed, which surprised Yuna, "That sucks."

"Yeah, it kind of does," Yuna agreed.

"So you don't even like him?"

"…Well, it's more like I don't want to marry him," Yuna said, "He's an okay guy, and if our parents hadn't gotten involved, we might actually like each other. But now…Well, we don't want to be forced to get married."

Tidus just laughed again, and said, "So ditch him."

"I can't do that!" Yuna cried. Yes, Tidus was indeed dangerous.

"Sure you can," Tidus said, just as they reached the parking lot, "Come with me after the game instead."

Yuna thought she was going to die. Oh how weak she was!

"You aren't weak," Yuna's mind cried, "You aren't some foolish girl, Yuna! Tell him no! Tell him to get lost and never talk to you again! Don't let that smile fool you!"

"I can't do that," Yuna managed to mutter.

Tidus nodded slowly, as if he understood, but then he said, "Why not?"

"It's complicated!" Yuna just said again, for it was indeed complicated.

"Okay Yuna, get in your car. Get in your car and drive away as fast as you can!" Yuna's head was screaming.

Tidus sighed, and said, "Look Yuna, I know you're a 'good girl'. Don't you ever want to do something you're not supposed to do?"

Yes, he was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

"All of the time," Yuna just said, "But I can't. You're right, I'm a 'good girl'. Probably too much of a good girl for my own good."

"Alright, suit yourself," Tidus said, looking rather disappointed, "But you know, you can still come to the party; just bring your boyfriend. It'll be alright."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," Yuna said, smiling, "Maybe I'll see you then. Good luck on Friday."

Tidus simply nodded, and said, "See ya."

He waved then, and smiled as if nothing had happened between them, and then jogged off.

Yuna climbed into her car, and then leaned her head against the steering wheel. Had she really just done that? Had she really just told him that 'no, she wasn't interested'? She sighed. That could have been her one and only chance.

Yuna tried to convince herself that she had done the right thing. Still, she knew that if she could play the event over again, she wouldn't have done the same thing. She would have rushed straight to Tidus' house and just let him have her.

Yuna wanted to cry. Why was she so weak? Why did she even bother trying to be strong? She was a weak woman, and that was all there was to it.

She was one hundred percent under Tidus' trap. How she had got there in the first place was beyond her, but she was there. And that was all that mattered.

-

Yuna sat on her bed, staring at the jersey that was laid out on her dresser. She had her phone in her hand, but she had no idea who she expected to call.

Her mind was running madly, more crazily than it had all week.

What if Tidus really wasn't dangerous? What if she just thought that, because Baralai had led her to believe that? Maybe he was just a really nice guy, and maybe he really liked her.

She shook her head quickly. No, that was just what Tidus wanted her to believe. Or was it not?

She was confusing herself to no end. She leaned back on her bed, with her phone still in her hand.

Finally, she stood up and went to her dresser, where she picked up a little slip of paper that was lying next to the jersey. Then, she sat back down on her bed.

She really was weak.

On the slip of paper, she had written seven digits: Tidus' phone number.

Without even thinking, she quickly dialed the number, and placed the phone to her ear. A lump began to grow in her throat, although she had no idea why.

"Hello?"

"Tidus?" Yuna asked.

"…Yeah?"

"I-It's Yuna!"

"…Oh! Hey!" he said, "Um…How'd you get my number."

"Oh Yevon, now he'll think I'm a stalker," Yuna thought, but she simply took a deep breath and said, "It's in the phonebook."

"Really? I should probably get that unlisted," Tidus chuckled, "We don't want crazy people finding out my personal information now, do we?"

Silence followed, and Tidus finally said, "…Is there something you want?"

Yuna almost hung up. Instead though, she took a deep breath, and said, "I want to go with you."

"What?" Tidus asked, although Yuna was sure he had heard her.

"I want to go with you!" Yuna cried, "I'll ditch my boyfriend."

There was some silence, but then Tidus said, "Okay. Meet me down by the locker rooms after the game. I'll tell security beforehand that you're coming."

"Okay," Yuna said, "I guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah, see you then," Tidus said, "Bye."

"…Bye."

He hung up then, and Yuna simply dropped the phone. Had she really just done that?

She quickly picked the phone up, and quickly dialed Baralai's number. He didn't answer, for he was probably in class, so Yuna left him a quick message, making up a lie as she went.

"…Um, hey Baralai, it's me," Yuna just said, swallowing hard, for she needed to get rid of the large lump in her throat, "I'm going to meet up with my cousin after the game on Friday—it's her b-birthday—so if it's alright, I'd still love to watch the game with you, but then I have to go meet my cousin. Well, um, call me back! Bye."

Yuna hung the phone up, and then laid back in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She was indeed weak.