You guys, I don't know what to do! I really think I could end this story right here and right now! ...But I don't feel like it's the ending. But I'm running out of ideas! And I don't want to fill this story with nothingness...What do you guys think? Do you want me to try to pull some ideas out of nowhere and put them in here? Or do you just want me to end it? OR, do you want me to take a little break until I think of something? Because I'm really at a loss...
Well, you guys enjoy, and tell me what you want! Haha...
Chapter 11: The Unwanted Wait
"When will you know how Gippal is?" Yuna asked, although she was unsure if she really wanted to bring that up again.
"Hopefully soon," Tidus said, "But they caught the guy, you know. Turns out, he was trying to cut me, but the dumbass didn't know which one I was. He saw the seven on Gip's twenty-seven, and thought it was my thirty-seven." Tidus sighed then, and said, "I would have rather he got me."
"Don't say that," Yuna said, "You said it yourself, if you couldn't play blitzball, then you couldn't do anything…"
Tidus chuckled very softly to himself and said, "But would that be such a bad thing?"
"You don't want to play?" Yuna asked then, shocked.
"It's not that exactly…" Tidus said, "It's just that…I don't want to leave this team. I've only been here two years, and I've grown really attached to all the guys. This is the most fun I've ever had playing blitz. And now it's over."
"Don't you still have the playoffs?" Yuna asked then.
"Yeah, but not at home," Tidus said, "Those are played in Zanarkand, in the arena that will be my home next year."
Yuna looked at the ground. Somehow she always seemed to manage to forget that Tidus would be in Zanarkand the next year. With Dona…
"Tidus," Yuna said, looking away from him, "Y-You don't have to break up with Dona if you don't want to. E-Even if you still want me, I'll be okay even if you don't break up with her."
Tidus laughed and said, "Oh, believe me, I want to break up with her. Badly. Are you going to go to the playoffs?"
"I don't know if I'll be able to," Yuna said, trailing.
"Well, either way, Dona will be here tomorrow. While I'm sitting out, I'll break up with her. You can even come with if you don't believe me."
Yuna laughed and said, "Isn't it mean to make her come all the way here if you're just going to break up with her?"
"No," Tidus said, "She comes here anyway to visit her cousin."
"Oh," Yuna said, "Won't she be embarrassed in front of her cousin if you break up with her?"
Tidus shook his head and said, "Her cousin hates blitzball and hates me, so I don't think it really matters."
"So they still won't let you play tomorrow?" Yuna asked, for she knew Tidus was very disappointed.
"Yeah," Tidus said, "They said I still shouldn't have fought. How could I not? I guess that guy looks pretty rough. At least he's out for the rest of the season."
Silence fell then, and Tidus said, "You have no idea how pissed off I am about Gippal. Who does something like that?"
"They obviously thought you were a huge threat," Yuna said, "But I guess in a way, their plan worked."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Tidus said, "You know, I really lost myself out there. I've never hit someone like that. Ever. I seriously wanted to kill him."
"At least your team still won," Yuna said, "All of that cheating and you guys still beat them!"
"Yeah," Tidus said, giving her a little smile, "I guess they team may be alright without me next year, huh?"
"When exactly do you leave?" Yuna asked.
"About a month exactly," Tidus said.
"What? You mean you won't even be finishing out the year?" Yuna asked, shocked.
"No," Tidus said, "I have to start practicing with the team as soon as possible."
"Oh," Yuna simply said softly, "So you'll be all the way in Zanarkand…"
"All the way? It's only like three hours," Tidus said, "You know, when I first came here, I really thought…I really thought I would hate it. You know, I'm not the biggest guy, so everybody assumed I sucked, and assumed that I was overrated, you know, since I was everybody's first pick for scouting. So when Gippal found out I was gonna room with him, he was ticked. He nor anybody else wanted anything to do with me, even though they were all freshmen too." Tidus laughed upon recalling these memories, and said, "I went through so much shit my first couple of days."
Yuna smiled and said, "Like what?"
"Like no one would talk to me. I would come into the locker room, and everybody would stop talking. It would be dead silent in there. The freshmen hated me, the sophomores hated me, the juniors hated me, and the seniors definitely hated me."
"How did you get them to stop hating you?" Yuna asked.
"You see," Tidus said, leaning toward her as if he had something exciting to tell her, "They all thought I was either overrated, like I said, or really good and could kick their asses any time I wanted too—which I could—and they figured I would just show 'em up. So on about the fifth day of practice, every time I got the ball, I'd pass it. It didn't matter if they were even open. I'd make sure to pass the ball to them. I could have a wide open shot on the goal, but I would still pass it. I would work really hard to get that ball away from the opponent, and then I would just pass it. Always.
"Soon, they began to count on me. I was the one that assisted all the goals. My first year, guess how many goals I made?"
"I have no idea," Yuna responded.
"Five," Tidus said, "Guess how many I've made this year?"
"Um…Ten?"
"Thirty," Tidus said, "With quite a few of 'em being unassisted and shortys, as in short-handed goals. But before I could do that, I had to prove to the team that I was a team player, not some selfish spoiled kid."
Yuna couldn't help but smile. He seemed so proud of himself, as if he had accomplished something very large.
"Soon," Tidus said, "The team began to depend on me. They needed me, ya know? Gip and I became really good friends, and…Well, I got to be friends with pretty much everybody. True, it was kinda hard sittin' there while all my teammates shoved as much alcohol down their throats, while going, "No Tidus, you can't have any. We can all get caught, but you can't: we need you." That was definitely hard…"
Tidus' eyes began to dim then, and he shrugged and said, "So now…I feel like I'm lettin' 'em all down. They all congratulated me, you know, on beating that guy up, and told me not to worry about it, but I can't help but feel upset about the whole deal."
"I know," Yuna said, "It's disappointing."
Tidus gave a little smile, although Yuna wondered if he was trying to hold back tears.
"These guys became the best friends I ever had," Tidus said, "And I'm not sure I want to leave them."
"Then don't," Yuna said, smiling, "Can't Zanarkand wait a little longer?"
Tidus looked as if he was going to say something, but he closed his mouth and then shook his head, saying, "Gippal's injury made that really obvious. I could get hurt, and then there go my chances of playing pro. My knee was a big enough deal. Gip could be out forever, you know."
"Yeah, I know," Yuna said, nodding.
Tidus smiled then, and said, "I just gotta get the team all the way through the playoffs, and to the finals. We're gonna be number one, and I'll get the keep playing all the way through March! That's all there is to it!"
Yuna smiled too, and said, "I know you guys can do it."
"Me too," Tidus said, "But it's not gonna be easy."
"I really want to go," Yuna mused, "I'll try really hard to go, okay?"
Tidus nodded, and then said, "When I go to Zanarkand, to play, I…I won't have much time to myself. It'll be all playing and nothing but, you know?"
Yuna nodded and said, "Right, you'll probably be practicing a lot."
"Which means," Tidus continued, "That for a good couple of years, I'll be too busy to come visit. I won't be able to see my teammates, I won't be able to come back and watch them, and I won't be able to see you…"
"…Right," Yuna said again. Why was he telling her this? Why now?
"When I'm gone," Tidus continued, "I still want to be with you. But I can't."
Yuna nodded. Things were beginning to come together for her. This was his way of telling her that he really wasn't hers, but she could still be his. Of course, had she really honestly expected it to be any different?
Noticing Yuna wasn't going to say anything, Tidus smiled at her, and said, "Someday things'll die down. If you don't mind waiting, we can be together then."
Of course she could wait.
"Alright," Yuna said, "But you promise? If I wait, everything will work out alright?"
"Well sure," Tidus said, "If you don't mind being stuck with a professional blitzball player and living in Zanarkand."
Yuna smiled and said, "I don't mind."
Of course, she knew her father would never allow that. But she didn't care. It didn't matter.
"Great," Tidus said. The two smiled shyly at each other, before Tidus said, "Well, it's getting kind of late…Do you need me to take you home?"
"Sure," Yuna said.
"You coming to tomorrow's game?" Tidus asked, looking hopeful.
"Do you want me there with your fiancé?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah," Tidus said, "I do."
"Okay," Yuna said, "Then I'll come."
-
Yuna drove separately to the game that night, being that Tidus had told her that he was meeting Dona for dinner. As Yuna walked into the arena, she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She was the girl that was going to cause Dona to be upset—a girl she had only barely met, and a girl who had done nothing to her.
Yuna tried to imagine how she would feel if Tidus were to break a wedding off just because he had found some other girl. She knew she wouldn't feel good. Was it fair to Dona?
Yuna's stomach ached, actually, for she then remembered that she had told Baralai she would return to him. Of course, she hadn't. So many hearts she had broken…
She tried not to think this way. She was victorious, was she not? He was hers. Or for as much as she could tell.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to go and see Rikku, being that Tidus said he would call her once he entered, although he warned her that he would be surrounded by people.
"Yunie!" Rikku greeted her as soon as she came into view of her cousin, "I totally didn't know you were coming tonight!"
"I'm here," Yuna said, shrugging.
"Ick, with Baralai?" Rikku asked, "Did you see what happened to Gippal yesterday? Oh my Yevon, I am so pissed off!"
"Yeah, me too," Yuna said, "And actually, I'm not here with Baralai."
"You're not?" Rikku asked, looking behind her cousin, "Who are you here with then?"
Yuna smiled a little smile and said, "Tidus."
"Nuh-uh," Rikku said, nudging her cousin, "I just saw him walk past here."
"He's not here yet," Yuna said, shaking her head, "You must have seen someone else."
"Oh no, it was him," Rikku said surely, "And he had some chick on his arm that I had never seen before."
Yuna's heart fell.
"What did she look like?" Yuna asked quickly.
"Hmm…She had short brown hair and a really short skirt on. I figure she must be freezing! It's snowing out as we speak!"
"That can't be," Yuna said, "She must just be some crazy fan."
"Yeah, but she was pretty much all over him, and he didn't seem to mind. It made all of us pretty jealous," Rikku continued, nodding to all of the girls that she was sitting with.
"That can't be…" Yuna said again, trailing, "Where is he now?"
"I have no idea," Rikku said, "Over there somewhere. Just look for a crowd, and it's probably him."
"I swear Rikku, he told me…" Yuna's heart began to fall. What he had told her and what the truth was probably weren't the same thing.
"I could be wrong," Rikku said then quickly, "Maybe it wasn't him and maybe that girl wasn't with him…"
"He told me he was breaking up with his girlfriend," Yuna said, "And that he would call me as soon as he got here."
"Well, maybe he did and it's just a stupid girl latched to him," Rikku said, "In the meantime, wanna have a seat?"
Yuna was just about to sit down, when Rikku suddenly said, "Wait, he's right over there, Yunie! See him?"
Yuna looked, and sure enough, there was Tidus. And of course, there was Dona, latched tightly on his arm.
Anger began to boil within Yuna. How could he have lied to her like that? Swallowing, Yuna didn't even say goodbye to her cousin, but instead marched back up the stairs. She was going to get to him and give him a piece of her mind.
When Yuna reached the section Tidus was in, however, Dona was no where in sight. That didn't keep Yuna from feeling angry, though.
"Tidus, I need to talk to you," Yuna said through gritted teeth, pushing her way through the crowd that had gathered around Tidus.
Tidus looked surprised to see her, as if he wasn't expecting her, and said, "I'll talk to you all later. I gotta…Uh…"
"Take care of your girl problems?" a younger boy, perhaps a fifteen-year-old, finished for him.
"Yeah," Tidus just said, nodding.
Yuna waited for the crowd to leave, before saying, "My cousin said you're here with Dona? Did you not break up with her?"
"Huh?" Tidus asked, and then he looked away sheepishly and said, "Not yet. I couldn't, you know…"
"Why not?" Yuna demanded, "Look, Baralai's right up there. I can still go apologize to him and fix everything. If that's how it is Tidus, I understand. If you love Dona and if you want her, that's fine."
Suddenly, Yuna began to tear. She forced herself not to cry though, but she felt herself growing weak.
"And if you want me on the side, that's fine too," Yuna finished, closing her eyes. A mistress? Was that really what she wanted?
To her surprise, Tidus laughed, and he said, "I don't want either of those options, Yuna. I'll break up with her right now."
"Huh?" Yuna asked, and a wave of relief went through her. Of course, she knew that he could still be making things up.
"Oh Tidey!" Yuna then heard from behind her, just as a smiling Dona came up the stairs, "I got you the largest beer possible!"
"Dona, I told you, I'm underage," Tidus said, just as he had the last time Yuna had met Dona, "And besides…There's something I have to tell you."
"What?" Dona asked, and she pushed Yuna aside to get closer to him, "And who is she?"
Did she really not remember her? Yuna felt hurt, even though she was unsure of why she should feel that way.
Tidus licked his lips and said, "Dona, it's over between us. I don't want to get married, and I don't care what kind of deal my old man made with your granddad. It's over, Dona."
"You can't do that!" Dona cried, "We're engaged!" She flashed a large diamond in Tidus' face, "Remember?"
"I was drunk when I bought that," Tidus said, "And seventeen! You're kidding, right?"
Dona pouted, and looked like she was going to cry. Yuna simply looked at the ground. She felt horrible. Should she jump in and say that she would just leave? Dona and Tidus could get married, and things would be happy.
Before Yuna could react, however, Dona suddenly threw the beer in Tidus' face, made a huffing noise, and started off.
"That's fine with me!" she cried back to him as she walked off, "I already have men lined up for me anyway."
Yuna put her hand over her mouth. For some reason, she wanted to laugh, probably because Tidus' face was dripping from the beer.
Tidus just laughed though, before Yuna could, and shook his head, as if to dry it.
"She's so immature," he said, laughing, "But that was easy enough, huh?"
Yuna finally laughed and said, "I can't believe she did that!"
People around them were laughing and patting Tidus on the shoulder, and Yuna could only smile. He was going to be good at being famous.
"I gotta go," Tidus said then, to the people around him, "I better go wipe my face or something." Everybody laughed, and Tidus smiled and walked off, nodding at Yuna for her to follow him.
She did as told, and as soon as they made it into the mostly-empty lobby, Tidus took her hand and led her into the men's bathroom.
"Tidus!" Yuna cried, "I can't go in there."
"No one's in there!" Tidus said, dragging her in despite the fact that she was protesting.
As soon as they were in there, he pushed her against the wall and kissed her. Yuna allowed him to do so for only a second, before she pushed him away.
"Don't," she said, "You reek of beer."
"Shut-up," he said, laughing, "It's not my fault."
"You better get that cleaned up," Yuna said, "Since Gippal's not here to boss you around, I guess I'll have to. You don't want to have people think you've been drinking. Especially before the playoffs!"
Tidus laughed and walked over to a sink, where he proceeded to wash his face.
"How is Gippal, by the way?" Yuna asked, walking up next to him.
"Alright," Tidus said, "He's scheduled for surgery tomorrow. He's out the rest of the season, but he'll be back. It's a cut tendon, but the doctor says he'll be ready for next year."
"That's good," Yuna said smiling, "Is he disappointed?"
"Yeah," Tidus said, "But he'll get over it. He was just glad I kicked the shit outta that guy."
Yuna smiled and said, "Me too."
"Really? I figured you'd be all pacifist on me."
"Nah, I was really glad you attacked that guy. It shocked me, but I'm glad you did it."
"Me too," Tidus agreed, "Even if it meant I had to sit out. It was worth it."
Yuna simply smiled, and he smiled back at her.
"Well then," he said, "Let's go back to the game."
He offered his arm to her, and Yuna took it, and the two marched out, ignoring the looks that people gave them upon seeing them exit the men's restroom together.