Chapter 7
Lightning rubbed her temples, taking deep breaths. She was sitting upright in her bed fighting the waves of emotions that were bombarding her night, muttering soothing words to herself. Her dreams about Serah were getting worse and she had no idea of how to get rid of them, or at least how to make them less disturbing. Lightning glanced from underneath her bangs at her alarm clock beside her bed. 2:33 AM. "Damn it," she breathed. Three hours and twenty-seven minutes to go before Claire wakes up, shecalculated.
She ran an anxious hand through her hair, moving the messy strands away from her eyes. Lightning took a shaky breath, wiped the stubborn tears from her eyes, and got out of bed. She made her way downstairs, taking quiet steps to avoid waking her niece. Lightning walked straight to the kitchen and made some coffee, starting her usual morning routine. She paced around the room waiting for the familiar sound of the buzzer signaling that her drink was done. Lightning gazed at the timer and sighed. She was dreading how long it was taking for it to finish. Lightning backed up against a counter and eased herself to the ground. She pulled her legs into her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She shut her eyes and let her mind wander. Lightning watched helplessly as the memories flashed through her mind.
"Listen, Claire," Serah emphasized her sister's real name in a firm voice. "I can do whatever the hell I want!"
Lightning laughed without humor. "Not when you live under my roof," Lightning barked back. "My house, my rules."
Serah ground her teeth together. "How cliché. I have to say I'm disappointed with your logic."
Lightning turned around to glare at her sister. "I'm not joking around, Serah. You listen to what I say, no questions."
"Fine!" Serah roared. "If living in your house means I have to be oppressed," Lightning scoffed at her midsentence, "then I don't live here anymore!" Serah was yelling by the end of her declaration.
Lightning's eyes narrowed at her sister, a mannerism that would usually send Serah whimpering in fear to her room, but seemed to have no effect on her now. "No," Lightning stated, venom creeping into her voice.
Serah raised an eyebrow, a silent threat.
"I said no, Serah, and that's final."
"You're so… So…" Serah said, searching for the right words.
"So what?" Lightning challenged.
"So different... Since mom and dad died. It's like you've lost the fun and happiness you used to have, that I used to love… What happened, Light?" Serah's voice was lower, closer to being normal.
Lightning blinked. That wasn't what she was expecting. "I-I…" she stuttered.
"Never mind, I don't care," Serah growled.
Serah stalked into another room and Lightning heard the door slam. Lightning stood frozen to her spot, unsure of what to do. Serah had never disobeyed her before. Lightning waited a few minutes, listening to the rain pound on the roof. She rubbed her forehead, grabbed her coat, and ran outside to her car.
Lightning opened her eyes as the coffee machine howled at her, indicating that the beverage was done. She stood up, almost robotically, to make her drink. She poured the liquid into her mug with no creamer or sugar, leaving it black. Lightning sat down with a sigh at the table in the middle of the kitchen. She took a gulp of her black coffee and rested her head in one of her hands. She shut her eyes once more.
The rain was falling hard making it difficult for Lightning to see as she drove through town looking for Serah. The streets were covered in puddles and forgotten garbage. The only light was from the headlights of cars and the occasional street lamp. She couldn't have gotten very far, Lightning insisted to herself. Her eyes scanned the horizon in a frantic search for her runaway sister. She checked down every alley to make sure she wasn't getting mugged, or worse.
Lightning had already checked the mall, one of Serah's favorite places to go in her free time. After that she drove around the more populated areas with no luck. Now she was searching through some of the more dangerous locations in town.
Lightning's mind was racing. It was filled with horrible thoughts and ideas of what could have been happening to her. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and punched in Serah's number.
"Come on, come on," Lightning whispered hopefully. The phone rang until Lightning heard Serah's voice answer from the opposite end of the line. "Thank god, Serah? It's me, Lightning, I-"
"I'm not able to pick up at the moment, so leave me a message and I'll get back to you!" Serah's voice chimed. The phone beeped, implying Lightning to leave a message.
"Shit, Serah, pick up your goddamn phone for once!" Lightning exclaimed and hung up. She pulled over next to a sidewalk and laid her head on the steering wheel. She forced her breathing to stay even, but tears still fell down her face. Lightning took a jagged breath and looked out of the windshield. She stared unseeingly into the night, but before too long a familiar pink-haired girl walked by. Lightning blinked, jumped out of the car, and sprinted to the slender figure marching away.
Serah heard footsteps and turned to see her sister charging toward her. She started to move faster, her drenched hair sticking to her frame.
"Serah!" Lightning shouted as she came into hearing distance of her sister.
"Stay away, Lightning!" Serah yelled back.
Lightning started taking longer strides. "No," she said.
"I'm serious, Lightning! Dead serious!" Serah screeched, speeding up her pace to a run. Lightning was catching up. Serah knew she had no chance of escaping her sister so she slowed back down, defeated.
Lightning came to a walk beside Serah. She looked her sister over. "You're soaked. Here," Lightning paused to take off her jacket. "Take this."
Serah shook her head. "I don't need your sympathy."
"You're ridiculous," Lightning stated, a smirk on her lips. She hung it over Serah's shoulders anyway.
Serah looked at Lightning, silently asking for forgiveness. Lightning nodded slightly at her, telling her that everything was okay. Serah inched closer to her sister so their arms were barely touching.
"I got your message by the way…" Serah admitted. "I wanted to call back, but…" Lightning chuckled. "Well, you swore twice in the same sentence, so I figured that you needed to calm down a bit."
"I… I was worried, not mad," Lightning explained.
"Oh, Light," Serah whispered and wrapped her arms around Lightning's middle, stopping her in her tracks. Lightning hesitated before wrapping her own arms around her little sister. Serah buried her face into Lightning's shoulder. "I'm sorry," Serah said, her voice muffled.
"It's okay, Serah," Lightning replied. She took a breath of relief but stopped in the middle of her inhale. She smelled something peculiar coming from Serah. "Serah?"
"Hm?"
"Where did you go?" Lightning asked.
"Nowhere," Serah answered.
"Oh really, because I can smell cologne on you," Lightning claimed.
"Oh, uh, yeah… I stopped by Snow's place…" Serah confessed. Lightning made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. They let go of each other and started to walk back toward Lightning's car. "Okay, I know that you don't like him very much, but he's a good guy, I swear!"
Lightning hesitated. "Just be careful around him," she requested.
"I will, Light. You have nothing to worry about," Serah insisted. Lightning raised an eyebrow. "I promise."
Lightning's head snapped up, surprised by a slight pressure on her arm. Her eyes found the one responsible. "Claire," Lightning breathed. Of course, who else would it be?
"Are you alright, auntie? Were you having a bad dream?" she asked.
Lightning took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "No, no I wasn't having a bad dream," she explained. Just unwanted flashbacks, she complained to herself. She thought briefly about what she had just watched and couldn't remember what had triggered the fight that her and Serah had had that night. "Was I talking, or something?"
Claire nodded.
"Okay," Lightning responded. She gazed around the room, looking for a clock. "It's already six?" Lightning wondered. She dipped a finger in her coffee and found that it was cold. "Well, thanks for waking yourself up, Claire," Lightning thanked and patted Claire awkwardly on the shoulder. Claire smiled. Lightning rushed to her feet and started digging through the cabinets that lined the walls. "Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" Lightning didn't care for the answer, because even if her niece said no Lightning would make breakfast anyway.
"Sure," Claire replied.
"Alright," Lightning mumbled. She brought some cereal down and retrieved two bowls. While she was rummaging through the fridge for the milk, she remembered her talk she had with Sazh the other day. "So, would you want to play soccer, Claire?" Lightning offered.
"I don't know."
Lightning rolled her eyes. Serah used to say the same thing to her in the same voice. All Claire needed was a little encouragement. "I think it would be fun. You'd get to spend time with other kids," Lightning described as she poured milk into each of the bowls. "And you'd get to run, kick things, maybe even score some goals… How's that sound?"
"I don't know."
Lightning placed spoons in their cereal bowls and carried them to the table. She placed one in front of Claire and sat down with her own. Lightning thought about what might make it sound like a good idea to her niece. "We could get Dajh to play." Claire looked uninterested. "You know, your mom used to play…" Lightning said, cringing at the words as she spoke of her sister.
Claire looked at Lightning, curious. "Really?"
Lightning smiled despite the touchy topic they were getting into. "She was the best on her team."
Claire's eyes widened. "Did you play too?"
Lightning nodded. "I wasn't on her team, though. They put me with kids my own age."
"Were you good too?" Claire asked, her full attention on the woman across from her at the table.
Lightning chuckled. "You could say that," she responded, thinking back to the days of her youth. "It seems to run in the family and I bet that you'll be good too."
Claire grinned. "Really?" Lightning smiled at her niece's enthusiasm.
"Come on, come on!" Claire urged, dragging Lightning by the hand through the Parks & Recreation building. "I'm going to be just like Mommy!"
Lightning's brow creased. How is that supposed to help me get over the fact that she's gone? Lightning silently questioned. They shuffled through the halls until they made it to the proper room. Claire bounded to the front desk with Lightning trailing behind.
The receptionist looked up from the paperwork he was doing. Lightning understood that they were probably a much-needed distraction. "Hello! How may I help you ladies today?" he asked politely, his eyes sparkling.
"Is this where we sign up for soccer?" Lightning said.
He looked between Lightning and Claire. Claire was grabbing the edges of his desk attempting to contain her eagerness, but failing. The man grinned. "Which of you will be signing up?" he questioned humorously. Lightning didn't think it was very funny.
Claire looked up expectantly at her aunt. "Light?" she whispered. "Me, right?"
Lightning nodded at the girl and turned her eyes back to the receptionist. "Her," she muttered and motioned her hand at Claire.
The receptionist chortled. "Alright," he said and turned to Claire. "And what's your name?"
Claire looked timidly from the man to Lightning, waiting for something. Lightning nodded encouragingly. "Claire," she answered.
The receptionist looked to Lightning. "Farron," Lightning said.
"Claire Farron," he murmured as he scribbled the name onto a piece of paper. "If you can just fill these out," he said, passing papers to Lightning. "Then you'll be playing in no time," he added with a smile.
The sound of whistles and the laugh of children filled Lightning's and Claire's ears as they walked to the soccer field. Claire was suddenly very timid at the sight of so many people. Lightning was almost smug at the thought of Claire being shy. Serah had never been shy, so Claire wouldn't be just like her mom.
As they approached the field, they could hear the coach yelling, "Hustle! This isn't a Girl Scout meeting! Move your butts!" followed by a medley of blaring whistles. The voice sounded vaguely familiar to Lightning.
Lightning lead Claire down the dirt trail and arrived at their destination. They stood to the side until Lightning could get the coach's attention. It was a dirt field, dust being kicked up from the slight breeze and moving feet under the blazing sun. The white chalk lines were faded from being trampled on and not being renewed regularly.
"Excuse me?" someone said from behind them. Lightning turned around when the person responsible for speaking tapped her on the shoulder. It was a woman shorter than Lightning with red hair pulled into pigtails and a curious expression in her green eyes. Lightning suddenly felt that she knew her from somewhere. "You wouldn't happen to be the new ones, would you?" she spoke with an accent that was oddly familiar to Lightning.
Lightning raised an eyebrow at being called "the new ones," getting a feeling that Claire and her had been talked about. "Yes, we are," she responded.
The woman beamed. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. "I'm Vanille, nice to meet you! And you are?"
Lightning gasped quietly. "Vanille? Do you… Do you remember me?" The red head tilted her head to the side, puzzled. Lightning felt a twinge in her stomach as she realized just how detached she had become from the people that she had once held close to her heart. Lightning wasn't sure when or how it had happened, but she was now regretting it. "It's me, Lightning…"
Vanille's eyes widened with recognition. "Oh my gosh! Lightning!" she blurted and quickly wrapped her arms around Lightning who was very uncomfortable with the sudden contact. "I never would have guessed! I'm so sorry, I could never forget you!" At this point, Vanille had released Lightning but was just getting started with her emotionally charged words. "I've missed you so much. How have you been? I've been great. I've been helping coach kid's soccer with Fang. She's missed you too, Light. She took it pretty hard when you stopped talking to us like you did. Is this your daughter?" she babbled.
"Uh-" Lightning managed to squeeze in before she was interrupted by more of Vanille's rambling.
"She looks a lot like you, but I never took you as the motherly type, no offense…"
Lightning took advantage of Vanille's pause and forced words out of her mouth. "She's my niece. Well, I guess she's my daughter now, though…" Lightning mumbled. Vanille tilted her head, in the way that Lightning remembered her doing it.
"Hey, Vanille! What's the holding up? You were supposed to have gotten the jerseys by now. For our practice game, remember?" a huskier voice with the same accent as Vanille called to them from a distance.
"I'll be right back," Vanille babbled to Lightning before turning around and dashing towards a black haired woman standing on the field.
Lightning noticed that Claire looked rather frightened, and she figured that it was probably from her first encounter with the peppy red head that had been standing with them not moments ago. Lightning put a hand gently on the girl's shoulder, reassuring her. "Same old Vanille," she mumbled.
In the distance, Vanille was animatedly explaining the situation to Fang. Lightning could hear Vanille's high-pitched voice from where she stood and couldn't help but smile as her voice gained an octave as she continued talking. She could see that Fang's jaw had dropped and she was staring in her direction. Vanille grabbed Fang's hand and started running back towards Lightning. The nearer they got, the more Fang started to drag Vanille behind her until she let go and was running like the wind at Lightning.
A smirk tugged at Lightning's lips and she started to wave timidly. Fang had a goofy grin on her face, her teeth showing. Her green, baggy t-shirt was hugging her body from the speed and her soccer pants allowed her to move easily while her cleats were digging deeper and deeper into the ground with each step.
Fang opened her arms as she ran. "Lightning!" she shouted happily. Lightning stopped waving and braced herself for the inevitable impact that was to come. Fang was laughing loudly as she recklessly slammed into Lightning and the two fell to the ground. Lightning yelped as she hit the ground with Fang landing on top of her.
"Ow," she mumbled before sitting up and rubbing the back of her head. Lightning scanned her surroundings to make sure that Claire hadn't been hurt in Fang's charge. She spotted her niece a few feet away, wide eyed. Lightning grunted as she was tugged back to the ground and pulled into a fierce hug by Fang.
"I'm glad you stopped by! I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me," Fang teased, elated. She wrapped her arms tighter around Lightning.
"Uh, Fang. Can't breath," Lightning struggled to say.
Fang chuckled then let go. She hopped to her feet and offered a hand to Lightning who was still on the ground. Lightning ignored her and got to her feet, dusting herself off. Fang put a hand on her hip and rubbed her jaw in amazement. "Wow. I can't believe I'm speaking to Lightning Farron," she said. Fang shook her head. "Never thought I'd see the day."
Lightning wiped at the dirt that clung stubbornly to her pants. "I didn't think you'd be so excited to see me."
Fang gasped and put a hand on her heart, mocking pain. "How could I not be excited to see my long lost friend?" Lightning smirked and raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, Fang?" Vanille spoke up. Lightning and Fang looked her way. "We have a new player," Vanille said, tilting her head towards Claire.
Fang's jaw dropped once more and she looked at Lightning. "She's yours?" Lightning nodded. Fang walked up to Claire and put an arm around her shoulders. "Welcome to the team! Any relative of Lightning's is a relative of mine. What's your name?"
"Claire," she mumbled.
Fang smiled. "Claire, you're going to love it. Everyone's real nice and soccer's the best sport there is-"
Vanille giggled.
Fang grimaced. "What?"
"Remember when you got into that fight with that one guy over what the best sport in the world is?" Vanille asked.
"Yeah, why?" Fang questioned. Vanille shrugged. Fang sighed. "I think it's the best sport… Anyway, it'll be fun. Trust me," she said with a wink.
A/N – So, I guess this is a full AU thing. You have to admit that it would be pretty terrible if Fang and Vanille never became a part of this. And I thought it was about time for another flashback.
Onto other topics, I'm thinking of giving Lightning a love interest. Yaaaay… So, I'm going to take suggestions. Just let me know if you'd like it to be an OC or a character from the game, and if from the game, who or if you wouldn't like her to have one. And I may or may not take your suggestions, depends on if I like it or not. But don't worry about if you get your way or not, I'll love the fact that you're participating anyway. Tell me in a review or PM me, or just leave a review saying how good or bad I'm doing. I love feedback!
I'm not sure if I was able to respond to everyone last chapter, so I'll just thank you guys here. Thank you so much, you guys are part of what's keeping me writing. I love to hear from you and I can't wait to see what you have to say in the future!
Thanks for reading!