Coping With Love
Chapter 5: Getting Closer
By FlyPinAyS
When her alarm clock began ringing, Yuna hopped out of bed and ran to the shower, before he could get in. However, he woke up earlier. Just as she ran out of her room, Tidus was closing the door with a smirk on his face. Yuna groaned and began pounding the door. Today was the day. It was her first day of school at Besaid High. Yuna wanted to get to school fresh and early. It was already six, and Tidus hogged the bathroom every morning. Every morning, at the same time, Tidus went to the bathroom to take a dump and a long shower. Whenever he took a dump, he took forever, but he never liked to admit it.
"Tidus, please don't tell me you're going to take two hours in there." Yuna yelled angrily as she pounded her fists on the bathroom door.
"I'm using the bathroom Yuna." He yelled back, "I'm busy."
"Oh come on, I know you're crapping in there. Don't be embarrassed, we all do it." She said.
"Use Shuyin's bathroom!"
"But Tidus, all my things are in this bathroom!" She screamed. When Tidus didn't respond, Yuna leaned on the door and sighed. She heard the click of the door opening, and with a loud thud, she fell on the floor. Yuna looked up angrily, and saw Tidus staring down at her.
"Here's your things," He said as he handed her all her bathroom supplies, "Now… GET OUT!" Tidus gave her a hand, and helped her up. Then, he pushed her out of the bathroom, and with a loud bang, slammed the door shut.
Yuna frowned and walked to Shuyin's room and took the shower that she was planning on taking.
In the next hour everything was ready. Yuna and Tidus were dressed, they ate, and they had their bags.
"What's next?" Yuna smiled excitedly.
"We walk to bus stop, so that we can take the public bus to school." Tidus answered with a monotone voice.
Yuna stared at him, with a scowl on her face. Geez, how depressing can he get?
Tidus opened the door, and they began walking to the end of the street. They both sat on opposite edges of the long green bench. Tidus sat on the left, and Yuna sat on the right. Three people could fit between them. It was a long boring silence, as they waited for the bus. When the, gray bus finally arrived, Yuna grimaced.
"There's no room in there." She whispered unhappily. The bus was over crowded with students, workers, and towns people. It was so crowded that people's faces were pressed against the windows.
"Well we're going to have to fit aren't we," Tidus answered in a sarcastic tone. The bus door opened, and the sound of frustrated and uncomfortable people could be heard. Yuna followed Tidus into the bus miserably. There were so many people, that they ended up standing on the steps, with their faces pressed against the bus door.
"Is this legal," She replied as she was accidentally elbowed in the face.
Tidus didn't answer, and quietly stood there without any complaints.
After what felt like hours, the bus finally opened its doors to Besaid High School. Yuna jumped out of the bus, leaving Tidus to pay the fee, and fell to her knees.
Tidus stood beside her and nudged her with his toe, "What are you doing on the ground for goodness sake."
Yuna ignored him and kissed the ground. "I LOVE YOU!" she yelled to it gleefully. Tidus slapped his forehead with his palm.
"Stop that. We're at the school. Plus, the floor is so dirty."
Yuna glared at him, but got up. Behind his back, she stuck out her tongue and wiped her mouth, disgusted after realizing that he was right.
"Let's get our class schedules from the office." He said to her as he led her towards the office. There were so many students waiting for their schedules, but once Tidus came, they allowed him to go ahead of them.
"Come on Yuna." Tidus said quietly as they walked to the front desk. Yuna stared at everyone. Once they got their schedules Tidus whispered good luck to her and left Yuna standing by herself.
"Tidus! Tidus don't leave me!" Yuna yelled angrily as she stood in the middle of the quad.
Because of her anger, Yuna turned around and stormed towards her first class. Unfortunately, she didn't see a young lady slowly walking towards her.
The two ladies bumped into one another hard and, with the sound of flying papers, they fell to the ground.
"Ouch! That really hurt. Watch where you're going next time," a high pitched voice said angrily. Yuna rubbed her knee and helped pick up the girl's papers that were scattered all over the ground.
"I am so sorry. I'm Yuna. I'm new around her." She answered with embarrassment.
Yuna looked at the stranger and gave forced a smile.
The girl shook her head and smiled, "I'm Rikku. It's nice meeting you Yuna. I'm sorry I was a little impolite, but the first day of school is always frustrating for me."
Yuna grinned and nodded her head. Rikku was pretty in a simple way. She had golden blonde hair which was placed in a ponytail, and her swirling green eyes were gorgeous. She was slender with a petite physique. Once they finished picking up all the papers, Rikku stood up and grabbed Yuna's hand to help her.
"Thanks for helping me. Everyone else would probably have said sorry and left me to pick up the papers for myself. Well where's your next class?" Rikku smiled.
"Umm…. Well I'm not exactly sure how to get there. But, my first class is English with Mr. Katana."
"Aww, it's too bad that we don't have the same class together, but my class is right next door. I'll show you where to go." Rikku exclaimed excitedly.
"Thanks a bunch Rikku." Yuna laughed.
"No problemo Yunie. Oh, is it okay if I call you Yunie?" Rikku asked.
Yuna nodded her head in approval, and the two of them giggled. When they reached their class, they both said goodbye and went in.
Yuna could tell she was early, since there weren't a lot of students inside. Actually she was the first one there.
"You're early, there's still ten minutes till the bell rings." A gruff voice called to her.
Yuna looked around and saw a man, with graying hair, writing things on the white board. "Are you Mr. Katana?" She asked.
"Call me Auron. I like it better when I talk to my students on a first name basis." He answered as he turned to her.
"O-oh," She found him quite intimidating, "It's my first day here so I might as well be early to my classes."
Auron, sat on his desk and stared at her. "Where did you come here from?"
"I moved her from Zanarkand." Yuna answered.
Right after she answered his question, Tidus walked in. When he saw Yuna, he slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"I ditch you and I still end up being in the same class as you." He said disappointedly.
"Why did you ditch me in the first place, when you know I don't know where to go?" She yelled angrily at him from across the room.
"I was saving my image." He said as he yawned.
Yuna rushed to his side and hit him on his forehead as she said to him, "What image?!" Tidus just shrugged in reply.
She stared at his hand and saw that he was holding a piece of paper. Yuna grabbed the paper out of his hand and smiled mischievously, after figuring out that it was his schedule. She took out her own schedule and compared it to his. She grinned and pushed his schedule back into his hand.
"No matter how much you try to ditch me, all our classes are the same. We'll be together in every class. Bwahaha!"
Auron stood beside them and laughed gruffly. He smiled happily at the sight of Tidus. "How are you doing kiddo?" He asked as he gave him a fatherly hug. Yuna frowned and scratched her head in confusion.
"Auron and I go way back. He's close friends with my… Dad." Tidus frowned at the mere word of Dad. Auron too stopped his smiling and comfortingly patted Tidus on the shoulder. Yuna stood there quietly, knowing why Tidus was so made at Jecht. Tidus smiled at Auron then sat in the back of the classroom. Yuna sat at the front of the class.
Right when the bell rang, the students began filing into their classes. As soon as everyone had taken a seat, Auron turned around and shook his head at them.
"Great, just great. Another group of students to teach." He grinned, "Let's see how much knowledge can be forced into those heads of yours."
Yuna slid down in her seat. Auron seemed more threatening than ever. He paced around the room doing the roll call. When he reached her name, Auron stood beside her desk. Yuna looked down, avoiding eye contact.
He is SOOO scary! He seemed so nice when I first entered the class.
Yuna looked up at her English teacher, holding her breath. At eye contact, Auron gave her a friendly smile. Yuna gave a sigh of relief.
I guess he's nice after all.
When Auron walked to Tidus's desk, he smiled at him too. English class flew by. All Auron did was explain the class rules, and he told everyone what they'd be learning for the year.
In all her classes, Yuna's teachers did the same thing. They talked about class rules, and their plans for the year. It was all so boring. Tidus refused to walk near Yuna.
Whenever she tried to walk beside him, he either walked faster or stopped walking.
By her fourth period, Yuna was already falling asleep. When the bell rang, all the students clapped and hooted. It was finally lunchtime.
Yuna walked out of the class, right after Tidus. She decided to follow him. After all, she didn't know where to eat and whom to eat with. Yuna knew Tidus wouldn't want to be with her, so she walked quietly behind him.
Tidus POV
That idiot. How come Yuna doesn't realize that I like being alone during school? I know she's walking behind me. She talks to herself a lot.
Tidus shook his head.
He stopped walking, knowing that she wouldn't be paying attention. He was right. Yuna bumped into his back. Tidus smiled and turned around.
"I knew you'd bump into me." He smiled, "Where are you're going Jinx."
"Oh now you're talking to me." She said with a frown.
"Why do you even care if I talk to you or not? Do you like me or something?" He replied as he began walking away.
"You jerk! I live with you. Why wouldn't I want to talk to you!"
Tidus walked towards her and backed her up against the wall. Yuna looked down at her feet. She was too nervous to look into his eyes. She gazed around the hallway. Everyone was at lunch. It was just Tidus and her.
"Look, I like being alone during school." Tidus said to her as he moved closer to her, "Please don't take it the wrong way." He placed his right hand on the wall, and leaned towards her. He dropped his bag on the floor.
Yuna POV
Yuna slowly glanced up at him, and blushed. He was so close to her. His face was only inches from hers.
Please don't hear the sound of my beating heart. Please don't.
He placed his hand on the left side of her chest. Yuna gasped and smacked his hand off of her.
Tidus stared at her and smirked. He backed off and picked up his bag.
"You're heart is beating like a hummingbird's wings. I guess you like me, Jinx."
Yuna shook her head in disagreement. "NO I DO NOT! And why do you keep calling me Jinx!"
"Because, whenever I'm with you, something bad happens to me." He grinned.
Yuna crossed her arms against her chest and walked away.
"Have fun at lunch!" Tidus called to her.
When she entered the cafeteria, Yuna heard someone calling her.
"YUNIE! YUNIE! TURN AROUND!" Yuna turned around and saw Rikku sitting with two other people. "Come eat with us Yunie!"
Yuna smiled and hurried over to their table.
Rikku giggled, "How was your first few classes. We have two more classes after lunch."
"They were well, boring." Yuna shrugged.
"That's okay so were mine. It is the normal procedure of the first day of school." Rikku exclaimed, "Well anyways these are my friends. This is my boyfriend Gippal, and my best friend Paine. Everyone this is Yuna. She's new here so be nice."
Yuna shook hands with Gippal. He seemed to have chin length blonde hair that he spiked up. He also had the same swirling green eyes that Rikku had. Plus, he was tall and had a good build.
When Yuna shook Paine's hand, Paine smiled and nodded her head. She was slightly intimidating with her gothic appearance that somewhat reminded Yuna of one of Shuyin's friends, Lulu.
Rikku's friends were very nice, and welcoming. After talking for a while, Yuna's eyes began to wander. Where was Tidus?
"Who are you looking for?" Gippal asked her.
"Umm… I'm looking for a guy named Tidus. Do you guys know him?" She answered.
Rikku and Paine laughed.
"Of course we know him," Paine replied, "He's one of the most known guys in this school."
"No way," Yuna answered with shock.
"Don't tell me that you like him." Rikku said really fast.
"I-I don't." Yuna exclaimed.
"Good. He's a real jerk." Gippal answered. Rikku saw the surprised expression on Yuna's face.
"Let me explain." Rikku smiled, "Tidus has a brother named Shuyin. Both Tidus and Shuyin were very popular because they were gorgeous and very kind. Shuyin graduated two years ago, and then Tidus becamse so moody. No one knows why. He used to be so nice, now he talks to no one at school."
"Anyways why are you looking for him? How do you know him in the first place?" Paine asked.
"Umm… we go way back. We're old friends." Yuna blushed.
"Tidus is so good looking," Rikku sighed. Gippal looked at her angrily, and everyone laughed.
"I've seen better," Yuna replied as she thought of Shuyin's mature features.
Paine, Rikku and Gippal nodded their heads. When the bell rang, Yuna reluctantly said goodbye and headed for her next class.
Tidus… popular? Eeew. I guess no one knows that Tidus is so angry because of his Dad. I won't tell my new friends that I live with him, because they don't like Tidus very much.
Yuna was about to sit at the back of the class, but when she saw Tidus there, she sat in the front. He made her so uncomfortable.
The last two classes flew by quickly. When the bell rang signaling the end of school, Yuna ran to catch up with Tidus. They walked silently towards the bus stop. There were so many students waiting. When the bus arrived, Yuna and Tidus knew that this bus ride would be even more uncomfortable than their morning ride.
"Why don't we walk home?" Tidus offered
"I'd like that." Yuna replied quickly walking away from the bus stop.
This is awkward. They walked wordlessly for so long. When Tidus finally broke the silence, Yuna couldn't stop smiling.
"What'd you think of the school." He asked her.
"Mmm… It was okay. It was just the first day of school, so you know, it was kind of boring."
"I know you were bored, since I saw you sleep in practically all of our classes." Tidus laughed. Yuna nodded her head and laughed with him.
"So, I heard you're Mr. Popular in school." She said quietly.
"Nope. You're talking about Shuyin. I'm not popular."
"Oh come on Tidus. This morning, everyone let you cut in front of them to get our schedules, and at Senior Sunrise, everyone was staring at you. Everyone also told me about how you had a complete change in personality. They said you changed from kind to moody." Yuna replied.
"Well they wouldn't understand anything." Tidus retorted. The two of them stopped walking.
"Well maybe, if you talked to you Dad…"
"Don't talk about my Dad with me." Tidus snapped angrily, "You have no idea how much he betrayed me! Don't ever mention th-that word with me again!!!"
"I-I'm sorry Tidus." Yuna said as she gently placed her hand on his back.
Tidus shook her hand off of him and whispered, "You don't know anything." Tidus looked back at her, and ran off, leaving Yuna behind for the second time that day. Yuna sluggishly walked home by herself.
"Why did you leave me alone again Tidus?" She whispered silently, "I hope I didn't upset you too much. Shuyin always said that talking about your Dad was such a hard matter for you. I should have never brought it up."
When Yuna reached the house, she opened the door sullenly.
"Tidus are you home?" she called. When no one answered, she unhappily walked to the kitchen and cooked dinner. She didn't eat yet, because she was waiting for Tidus to come home.
When the clock struck 9:00, Tidus still wasn't home. Yuna groaned and covered the dinner with paper towels. Her stomach was growling loudly, but se refused to eat without him. She sat down on the couch, and wrote a quick note for when Tidus came home. Yuna turned on the television, and after a few hours of waiting, she fell asleep.
Tidus POV
Tidus refused to go home. He hated his Dad with a passion. No one talked about Jecht with him for so long, that it surprised Tidus a little. So when Yuna brought it up, their conversation rekindled the anger in his heart. Whenever Tidus was mad, he ran to the beach and sat on the pier. When he was little Yuna always brought him to the pier to calm down his anger or comfort his sadness. Tidus smiled remembering the times when Yuna still lived in Besaid. They were little kids then, playing at the beach every single day without a care in the world.
"I remember when we were best friends. I was so angry when you left." Tidus said to himself.
Flashback"TIDUS!" 5-year-old Yuna yelled as she ran towards the pier, "I knew you'd be here. You're always at the pier whenever you're upset." Yuna smiled down at him, when she reached Tidus.
"I can't believe you're leaving me. We're best friends," Tidus cried to her.
"I can visit. Plus, we can always write letters to each other and talk on the phone." Yuna whispered.
"It isn't the same."
"Yes it is Tidus. You are always so stubborn. My Dad needs to leave Besaid. He was offered a really great job in Zanarkand. Plus my Dad wants to start a new life in the city." Yuna said as tears fell down her face.
"But our families belong together. My Dad can help your Dad get an even better job here! Yuna, I don't want you to leave."
"I know you don't."
The two of them hugged one another, and cried in each other's arms.
PresentAfter Yuna left, Tidus tried to call and write to her. However, he never sent the letters he wrote. Tidus knew that they could have kept in touch. It's just that he never tried hard enough. Judging by the way Yuna acted arounded him, Tidus knew that she probably forgot of their close friendship from 12 years ago.
I regret it completely.
His happy child hood memory was replaced with his regret for not keeping in touch with Yuna. Then Tidus also remembered why he was at the pier in the first place. So he got up and walked home, knowing that it was already very late.
Tidus opened the front door to the house, and headed to the kitchen. He saw two plates of food, that were untouched.
"Did she eat at all?" He asked with confusion. Tidus walked to the living room, once he heard the television. He found Yuna sleeping on the sofa.
Tidus sat on the floor beside her and shook his head. He grabbed a piece of paper that he found addressed to him on the table. It was a note from Yuna.
Tidus, if you come home and read this note, I'm sorry. I should have never mentioned… him to you. Please don't be mad at me. You're right, I don't know anything about what happened between the two of you. But, when you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you. I promise.
Tidus held on to the note and beamed. He caressed the side of Yuna's cheek, and ran his fingers through her soft hair. Yuna turned onto her side and whispered, "Tidus."
He walked to his room and picked up an extra blanket. Then he returned to the living room and covered her.
"I'm sorry I left you alone Yuna. Goodnight." He whispered to her. Tidus got up and went back to his room to go to bed.
Yuna POV
A few hours later, Yuna frantically woke up and ran around the house.
"Is he home?" She continuously asked herself.
At the exact same time, Tidus woke up and left for the kitchen. He wanted to get a water bottle. Yuna ran to his room and jumped on his bed. There was no one.
Yuna lay down on the bed and she sighed, "Why didn't he come home. Is he that frustrated with me?"
She turned and faced the wall, and closed her eyes resting them. Tidus entered his room and sighed. It was really late, and very quiet. Yuna moved on the bed and accidentally kicked a pile of books off the bed and onto the floor. Tidus yelled and on instinct, he threw his water bottle at whatever was on his bed.
"OWWW!!" Yuna yelled as she sat up, "What was that for?" She sat up and rubbed her bruising thigh. Yuna's eyes widened when she saw that it was Tidus. She got up and ran towards him with a limp. She smiled and hugged him, holding him tight.
"You're home," She whispered. Tidus slowly nodded his head. He kept his hands to himself, holding them limply by his side. Then he slowly pulled her arms off of him and knelt down.
"How's your leg. I threw the bottle pretty hard." He said as he poked her bruise.
"Hey, don't poke my bruise." Yuna snapped, "What are you, a ninja? Right when I made a noise, you threw your water bottle at me with lighting speed!"
"I'm sorry Yuna. I didn't know that it was you. When I heard the books fall, the sudden noise scared me. I just threw the bottle on instinct."
Yuna shook her head and knelt down beside him, "Don't say sorry. I should be apologizing for upsetting you while we were walking home. I'm sorry."
Tidus sighed and helped her to her room. "Let's just pretend like nothing happened okay." He said, forcing a smile.
Tidus helped Yuna into bed, then headed towards the door. Before leaving, he turned around and said, "Goodnight, Jinx."
Yuna was silent awhile then she laughed. "Goodnight, Ninja."