Whew, I've been busy! I had to really work to get this one out on time! Plus, it's REALLY long! Oh well though, more to read, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 5: The Unwanted Party
"I almost feel sorry for Kilika," Baralai said, although he laughed when he said it, "They're getting killed."
True indeed, they were behind the Basilisks by four points.
"There's still four minutes left in the game," Yuna said, "They could still pull though and win."
"It's unlikely," Baralai just said, smiling at her.
With that said, a member of the Basilisks grabbed the ball and made yet another goal.
Yuna laughed, and said, "Yup, it's highly unlikely."
Baralai laughed too, and said, "They must feel like such losers. They're at the bottom of the line—even further down than Besaid!"
"Poor guys," Yuna agreed.
The two watched the game in silence then, before Baralai finally sighed, and said, "Are you sure you don't want to hang out after the game?"
"I have to be with Rikku," Yuna said, biting her lip.
"Are you sure I can't go with?" Baralai asked for what seemed like the hundredth time, although in reality it was only the second or third.
Yuna looked at the ground, and doing her best to act natural, said, "You know how much Rikku doesn't like you…"
"Well, maybe we can start over?" Baralai said hopefully.
Yuna threw him a smile, and said, "How about tomorrow night? I'm afraid she'd get angry tonight, since I promised her it'd just be her and me."
"Alright," Baralai said, turning his attention back to the game, "Call me when you're done though, if it's not too late."
Yuna's stomach clenched. "Um…I have a feeling it'll be an…all night kind of thing."
Baralai simply smiled at her, and said, "Well, don't be too tired for the game tomorrow!"
Yuna gave him a wry smile in return, and said, "I'll try not to be. I wouldn't want to sleep through the game, after all!"
Baralai smiled at her, and then completely turned his attention back to the game. Yuna chewed lightly on her lip, and looked the opposite way from Baralai, praying that he couldn't read her face. She fumbled with her fingers nervously, for she was indeed nervously. Was she doing the right thing?
Tidus' line came out into the sphere, but Yuna couldn't watch. What was going to happen to her? What would Tidus do? The other day, she hadn't cared. Now that she was deep inside of his trap though, how would she get out? She sighed. The answer was simple: She wouldn't.
There were only seconds left in the game. Yuna's stomach began to hurt. Was she supposed to go to the locker rooms immediately after the game? What if Tidus hadn't cleared it with the security. Would she get in trouble? Would her father be notified that his little girl was heading to the locker rooms to do who-knows what with a blitzball player she hardly knew? She didn't care if her father knew. She was just afraid of what would happen if her father did know. He would probably kill her.
She side-glanced Baralai, and bit her lip once again. What would he think of her if he knew? Obviously he wouldn't be very happy. Did Yuna care? If he thought horrid thoughts of her, did it matter? All the better to stay away from him, right?
But then what? If her reputation was ruined, she'd simply be tossed away, first by Tidus, and then by Baralai.
But perhaps Tidus wouldn't toss her away? Yuna sighed. She had to be realistic. Of course Tidus was going to toss her away! She was a one-night thing, and both she and he knew that.
Yuna swallowed. She couldn't let Baralai find out.
The final buzzer buzzed then, causing Yuna to literally jump. Why did she have to make it so obvious that she was nervous?
"Where are you meeting her?" Baralai asked then, after the two clapped for their team's victory.
"Rikku?" Yuna asked. Of course, who else would he be thinking of.
"…Yeah."
Yuna's heart sped. Where was she meeting Rikku? She couldn't say outside of the locker rooms!
"Oh, by her seats," Yuna just said.
"Well, let's go then."
Yuna's eyes popped open. Let's?
"I can go by myself," Yuna said, her voice quivering.
"It's alright, I'll walk you," Baralai just said, throwing her a smile, "What section is she seated at?"
Yuna's heart was speeding. For all she knew, Rikku wasn't even at the game!
"Really Baralai, it's alright," Yuna said, managing to sound somewhat forceful, "Besides, I think Rikku was upset that I was watching the game with you and not her anyway. I don't want to make her more upset."
"She seems like she gets upset pretty easily," Baralai simply mumbled to himself, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yeah," Yuna said, smiling. She figured this was the time they were supposed to hug or kiss, or somehow acknowledge that yes they were a couple and yes, they were saying goodbye. Instead, the two just stood their in an awkward silence, before Baralai finally nodded, and said goodbye, and then left.
Yuna pretended to go the opposite way from Baralai, and then walked into a random section of the college seating, hoping to fool Baralai. She waited there for a good five minutes, before heading back out. Now she just had to find the locker rooms, and hope that all went well.
She ended up going the same way she had gone the night that she had first met Tidus, when she had gone to get his jersey. She made her way to a long, narrow hallway, and just as she was starting to think she was lost, a security guard made his way toward her.
"I'm sorry, but no fans are allowed down here," he said, shaking his head at her.
"Um…I'm Yuna," Yuna just said, unsure of what else to say, "Um, I'm a friend of Tidus'?"
The man looked at her for some time, before he finally smiled and said, "Oh yeah, he told me you were coming. Follow me."
Yuna breathed a sigh of relief and followed the man down yet another long hallway, before she reached an opening.
"You can have a seat right here," the man said, and he winked at her, and said, "This is where most of Tidus' dates sit."
Yuna's eyes instantly went downcast. So she was just another one of Tidus' easy women, was that it? She sighed. She knew she was.
She sat there for some time, and blitzers started to come out. She recognized none of them, of course, but she didn't really look, either. She was too ashamed. They paid her no attention, and just walked past her.
Well, until a certain player came out.
After the flow of blitzers seemed to stop, the door opened, and out stepped a blitzer, who stopped in front of Yuna and crossed his arms.
"So you're Tidus' new one, huh?" he said to her.
She looked up, only to see a tall blonde standing in front of her.
She felt her cheeks heat up, and figured they were very red.
"Well, look here," he said, "Tidus has a game tomorrow, so don't be out too late. And don't give him too rough of a night—he doesn't need that right now. And—."
"Gippal, are you harassing her?"
Yuna looked up only to see Tidus coming out. He smiled as her eyes met his, and he put his hand on the tall blonde's shouler.
"Just ignore him," Tidus said to Gippal, "He thinks he's my mother or something."
"Hey, I'm just watching out for you 'cause you don't," Gippal said, shaking his head. He turned back to Yuna and continued his list of dos and don'ts.
"Don't try to get Tidus to drink, don't you even think about trying to get him to do drugs, and—."
"Gippal, that's enough," Tidus said, pushing him aside, "Ready to go Yuna?"
"Hey, I'll be at your party," Gippal said, "So I'll have my eye on you!"
"Of course you'll be there, idiot," Tidus said, and he sounded harsh, but Yuna could tell he was just joking, "You're my roommate."
Gippal laughed, and said, "I was making sure she knew, not you, moron."
"Whatever, go home," Tidus just said.
"Yeah, see you soon."
He waved at Tidus and then made a little girly wave at Yuna, and strutted off, slinging his blitz bag over his shoulder casually.
"Um, just ignore him," Tidus said.
"Is he Al Bhed?" Yuna asked then, wondering if he was the guy her cousin had been talking about.
"Yup," Tidus said, "He's pretty much my best friend."
Yuna smiled, but said nothing.
"Ready to go?" Tidus just asked again. He swung his bag onto his shoulder, and smiled widely.
She nodded, and stood up. She had just stood up when he started walking. He led her to a back door, which led to another hallway, and then finally another door, which led to the chilly outside.
Tidus put on his hat, and gave her a sheepish smile, saying, "Coach says I have to wear my hat every time I'm outside. I don't want to catch a cold."
Yuna couldn't help but smile. She definitely got the impression that Tidus was the baby of the team, and their pride and joy, the one person that they wanted to protect more than anything.
"My car's right here," Tidus said, leading her to a sporty blue car.
He pushed a button on his keys, which caused the car to make a little beep-beep noise, and then he opened his own door, and crawled inside.
Yuna knew this was her last chance to run. Of course, she didn't run, but instead opened the door to the passenger seat, and crawled in.
The two rode in silence for some time. Yuna suddenly noted something was off though, and immediately began laughing as soon as she realized what it was.
"What's so funny?" Tidus asked.
"Um, why are you listening to this music?" Yuna asked, for out of his speakers came classical music—violins, flutes, clarinets, you name it.
"Oh," Tidus said, quickly turning down the music, "Um…I listen to it before games." He gave her an incredibly sheepish smile, but then he just shrugged and said, "What would you rather listen to?"
"I don't care," Yuna said, "I just thought it was shocking, that's all…"
"Just because I play blitzball doesn't mean I can't listen to classical music," Tidus just said, smiling, "It relaxes me."
Yuna simply smiled, and said, "Great game tonight, by the way."
"Thanks," Tidus said, "It was awesome, killing them like that."
"I felt kind of bad for them," Yuna admitted, looking at her feet.
"I didn't," Tidus said, "Because as soon as I think like that, I'll start to lose. I gotta keep focused on winning. The more points ahead we are, the more likely it is that we're gonna win. It's easier for the heart, know what I mean? There's not nearly as much stress then."
Yuna simply nodded. Not that she understood, though…
"Wow, look at all the people here!" Tidus said, as they pulled onto his road.
Yuna looked, and sure enough, there were cars lined up all down his street.
"Where will you park?" she cried, wondering if he would have to park way down the road from his own house.
"No worries," Tidus said, "They always leave a spot for me!"
He zipped around a few cars then, and into a place that seemed to be there just for him. Yuna realized that it probably was there just for him.
"Alright," he said, "Here we are."
Yuna stepped out of his car, and her eyes popped open. His house was so huge! And for just a college student! Yuna glanced at him, wondering just indeed where he got his money. Surely the school didn't pay him that much.
"Come on," Tidus said, leading the way to the front door. He opened it, only to have a blast of music come floating out the door. He walked in, and Yuna followed. There were people everywhere! Never had Yuna seen so many people in one house, and this was just the living room.
"Do people always beat you to your parties?" Yuna found herself asking.
"Usually," Tidus just said.
Tidus waved to some guys, who must have been blitzball players, and then led Yuna to another room. Yuna's heart began to race. Where was he going to take her? She also immediately looked at the ground. She realized she was getting a lot of looks as she walked past people.
Tidus led her to a room that was far from the front, where there were less people—although people were still there, and he sat down on the couch, leaning far back.
Yuna took a seat next to him—not too close, of course—and looked around. She simply couldn't get over the size of the house, nor the size of the party. Never in her life had she been someplace so busy!
Tidus leaned his arm on the arm of the couch, and put his head in his hand. He looked tired.
Of course, this just made Yuna feel even more out of place.
A girl came into the room then, and she squealed when she saw Tidus. To Yuna's surprise, the girl—a blonde with an incredibly low top—squeezed herself between Tidus and Yuna, and wrapped her arm around Tidus.
"Hey Tidus!" she said, holding her beer in front of herself, as she half sat on Yuna and half sat on Tidus, "Wanna go up to your room with me?"
"Get away Leblanc," Tidus said, "Can't you see I'm with someone?"
"Well ditch her!" the girl just giggled, "You know you'd rather have me!"
Tidus simply pushed her off of him, sending her onto the floor. She spilt her beer all over and gasped, and then simply stomped off, saying nothing more to Tidus.
Yuna didn't know what to do or say. Was she just in the way? Tidus seemed really annoyed—perhaps he wasn't annoyed at Leblanc's actions, but instead the fact that he was with her and not Leblanc?
"Tidus, I—," Yuna started, only to have him interrupt her.
"I just hate these parties!" he cried, "I don't know why Gippal has to have them every Friday night."
"Wait…This is Gippal's party?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah," Tidus said, sighing, "Gippal's twenty-one, you know. So he can drink and stuff. So he and all the others have these huge parties every Friday."
"So you don't drink?" Yuna asked. She felt utterly shocked. She had thought Gippal was just kidding.
"I can't," Tidus said, "If I get caught drinking underage, I won't be able to play for a few games. That could kill me."
"Well, you don't have to drink to have fun," Yuna said.
"Yeah, but it's no fun being around all these morons," Tidus said, "All these guys turn into assholes when they're drunk." He sighed then, and said, "Wanna go somewhere else?"
Yuna just nodded.
"Come on then," Tidus said. He grabbed his coat and handed Yuna hers, and walked out a back door.
"Where are we going?" Yuna asked.
"To get something to eat—I'm starving!" Tidus just said. He seemed to be in a better mood, and Yuna wondered if it was the fresh air.
The two climbed back into his car, and Yuna said, "So you don't like to party?"
"I don't know," Tidus just said, shrugging, "It's hard, being the youngest on the team. And…You know, not to sound cocky or anything, but it's hard being the youngest and the best."
Yuna couldn't help but smile. She had figured he was egotistical, but at least he was trying to mask it.
They drove in silence, basically because Tidus was listening to "Highlights of the Game!" on the radio.
Finally, the pulled up to a restaurant, and Tidus said, "This place alright?"
Yuna had never been to it before, but she nodded, and followed Tidus inside.
The waiter seated them immediately, even though the place was crowded, as if they knew that Tidus would be there.
"I usually come here when I don't want to hang around the party," Tidus said, shrugging, as if he could read Yuna's mind.
Yuna simply nodded, and then turned her attention to the menu, although it wasn't the menu that she was thinking about.
Finally, Yuna took a deep breath, and said, "Tidus…Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Go for it," Tidus just said, although he seemed more interested in the menu.
"Um…How much money does the school pay you?" Yuna asked, hoping she wasn't invading too far into his privacy.
"A lot," Tidus just answered.
"Did they give you the house and everything too?"
"No, that's Gippal's," Tidus said, "But yeah, they gave it to him."
"It's a really nice house," Yuna managed, "And your car is really nice, and your…"
"I got money," Tidus said, and gave her an odd look, "What do you think, blitzers are poor?"
"Well I don't know," Yuna said, "It just seems odd that a college kid would have that much money."
"Do you know much about blitz?" Tidus asked then, "If you're good, you rake in the dough—when you play as an amateur you make a fine penny, and when you play professionally, you make more a day than pretty much everybody in all of Spira."
"Really?" Yuna asked, but she knew that his answer wasn't the one she was looking for, "You said your parents had money though…"
"Well, yeah," Tidus said, and then he put his menu down and looked at her. He crossed his arms, and said, "You don't know who I am, do you?"
"What do you mean?" Yuna asked.
"You don't know who my father is?"
"No."
Tidus laughed, and said, "Um, Jecht of the Zanarkand Abes? You've never heard of him?"
Yuna shook her head. Should she have?
Tidus just laughed again, and said, "He was their legendary player."
"Oh," Yuna said, "So he made a lot of money?"
"Yup," Tidus said, nodding, "He made the most money a blitzer has ever made. And I'll follow in his footsteps."
"Where is he now?" Yuna asked.
"Dead."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Yuna said quickly, ashamed that she had to ask.
"Don't be," Tidus said simply, "He drank himself to dead. It was better for all of us."
"Are you from Zanarkand?" Yuna asked then.
"Yup, I was born 'n raised there."
"Is that where you want to play?"
"You mean, is that where I'm going to play?" Tidus said, and then he nodded, "Yup, I've been signed with the Abes; I'm the first to ever get signed at my age! I've been signed though since I was eighteen."
"Wow," Yuna said.
"Yeah," Tidus just said. The waiter came then and took their orders, and said that he would get their food out immediately.
The two sat in silence, saying nothing.
Their food really did come immediately, and upon seeing the look of shock on Yuna's face, Tidus explained that since he was who he was, he always got his dinner immediately.
The two then ate in silence, and Yuna was beginning to wonder what was in store for her next.
She took yet another deep breath, and said, "So what are we going to do next?"
"It's getting late," Tidus said, looking at his watch, "Want me to take you home?"
That was it? He was going to take her home? Like a…gentleman?
"R-Really?" Yuna asked, "We're not going to…"
"Not going to…Oh." Tidus smiled and shook his head, "Well, unless you want to."
Yuna didn't know what to say. She simply shook her head, 'no', and said, "I didn't think you were one to ask."
"I always ask," Tidus said, but then he just shrugged and said, "Usually I don't need to ask."
"Oh," Yuna said. So she was different. What was she to him then? A dinner friend?
"Where do you live?" Tidus asked, standing up and putting his coat and hat on.
"In northern Bevelle," Yuna said.
She followed him out to her car then, and off they went.
The car ride was mostly silence, for the radio announcers were still talking about the game. Tidus didn't really seem to be listening though, for he appeared rather deep in thought.
"Is this one yours?" Tidus asked.
"It's the next one, but stop here," Yuna said, "If my dad knew I wasn't with…Well, here's fine."
"Alright," Tidus said.
Awkwardness then followed. Yuna couldn't help but realize that it was definitely one of those 'moments', the kind of time when something—anything!—should have happened.
Just as she was sure something would happen though, Tidus smiled, and said, "Will you be at tomorrow's game?"
"Yeah," Yuna said.
"Come wait for me again if you want to," Tidus said, "You're welcome any time."
Yuna smiled, and said, "Alright. Thanks for everything. Bye!"
"Bye," he said. She crawled out, and waved, and then he was off.
Sighing, Yuna didn't know how she felt. Part of her was relieved to have made it home alive, but another part of her was disappointed.
The night simply hadn't been dangerous enough.