Seven

(The Next Day)

And, of course, the next day would be miserable. Indeed. It was rainy all day, so there weren't that many customers.

"Hey, you!" Esmeralda slapped her hand down on the counter. "You need to do something. Geez, you've been moping around here like a wandering ghost!"

"Great, now you're getting worked up. Just stop, I'm fine."

Zack's POV

"Yo! It's the puppy!" Angeal called out as I walked through the door.

"Aw, c'mon Angeal, I just got here!" I complained.

I heard someone walk through the door soon after I did. "Zack?" the voice was soft and gentle.

"Hiya, Aerith." I turned to look at her. Like always, she was holding flowers, cradling them in her arms like a baby.

"It's so good to see you again Zack!" she smiled.

"Hey, what happened to that awesome flower wagon I made you?!"

She looked down at the floor. "It... fell apart, and I couldn't fix it."

I laughed. "Okay. Well, I know he's here, so... where can I find him?"

Aerith smiled pointing to the door behind me.

"Is he sleeping?"

"Yes." she giggled.

I walked over to the door and counted to three. "No Zack. He's tired!" Aerith protested. I was up to no good, and she could tell.

As soon as I got to three... "CLOUD!" I barged in, being as loud as I could.

He grumbled then sat up to look my way. "Z-zack?"

"Who else would It be? Sephiroth?"

"That's not funny." his voice cracked.

"Lighten up." I laughed.

"So, how have things been?" Angeal asked.

"...never better..." that was true. But something told me this 'trip' wouldn't be easy- going like I wanted it to be.

Aerith asked the next question. "Have you made any new friends?"

I smiled, remembering the day I walked through town, seeing that tiny shop and meeting Alina. I was in a daze.

"Helllooo?" Aerith sounded impatient.

"Uh. Yeah, I have."

"Well, well, well... people like puppies huh?" Angeal added jokingly.

"Is this person nice?" Aerith asked.

I nodded. Then, Cloud spoke. "It's a girl, isn't it?"

It seemed like everyone in the room was leaning toward me, on the edge of their seats.

'Give me a break' I thought. "Yeah. Her name is Alina."

Angeal burst into laughter, Cloud just rolled his eyes, and Aerith was amazed. She wanted me to tell her more.

Later That Day

"Hey." I greeted Alina over the phone. "Yeah, everything's fine. How about you? Oh. Okay." she had to hang up.

Aerith came outside to join me. "Was that Alina?"

"Yes..." I stared at the open phone. It was blinking 'call ended.' it felt like she didn't want to talk to me.

"Zack? What's the matter?"

"I think she's mad at me. Our phone calls are short and she sighs a lot." I let my head drop.

"She misses you."

I looked at Aerith. "If that's the case, then why...?"

I heard her sigh. "She misses you and it probably makes it hard to talk because no matter how long you talk to her, she can't see you."

Aerith is really good at this kind of thing.

"Hm..."

"You shouldn't stay long. It's rude to keep a girl waiting."

"Yeah." was all I could say to that.

"May I ask you something?" Aerith asked.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"What's she like?"

I shook my head. "You two ask the same questions. I should have known you'd ask that."

*So the story telling begins*

"Wow. She sounds perfect for you. You sound happy when you talk about her." Aerith said.

"Yeah. I am happy." I replied.

"You like her a lot." she nudged me in the side.

"Probably more than I should." I looked away.

"Why do you even say something like that?"

I sighed. "I keep leaving her behind."

"Then, bring her here next time. We won't bite, you know." she smiled.

"I don't know about that." I winked, making her laugh.

"I'm leaving early. Cloud, you better be ready..." I told everyone that next morning.

Cloud stood up. "Why are we leaving early?"

Aerith shook her head, "Now Cloud, Zack has to get back to something important." she looked at me and smiled.

Cloud just sat there. He probably didn't want to get taken away from Aerith, but dragging him away was her idea in the first place.

'Zack, take Cloud with you. If only for a couple of days. He doesn't get out much anymore, I'm worried. He looks up to you, you're his best friend.' those were her exact words.

After the last battle involving Sephiroth and Genesis, Angeal hasn't done much either, but I can't tell him to do anything.

One Week Later

"So Cloud, you ready to meet my new friends?" I asked him. We had already left. It was around 2:00 p.m.

"Yeah. I guess." he replied in a low voice.

"You guess?"

"Well, I've already met Angeal and Aerith. But, I guess I don't have a choice." Cloud sighed.

I laughed. "Yeah, I'd drag you along anyways."

"I know. You don't have to cover it up, I know she's worried. That's why you're doing this."

"I'm sorry Cloud. Aerith has her reasons."

"Okay. We're here. Midgar! Alright Cloud, let's go."

I lead Cloud through the streets of Midgar, until we stopped in front of the place that I had missed the most. Ceres' Potion Shop. I was happy to see that sign again. It felt like I had been away for more than a week and half, which was actually part of the original plan. I wasn't supposed to be here for another couple of weeks.

I opened the door, walking through with Cloud right behind me. There were no sight of movement, no one was inside- for what I could see.

"Hello?" I called out. I looked at Cloud. "Something's not right."

He looked confused, "how can you determine that? You've only called for someone once, plus, we've been here for less than a minute.

What he said made sense, but something told me to listen to my instincts.

And my instincts told me to listen to my heart, which was telling me that something was a little off.

"Hello?" I called once more. "Esmeralda?. Alina?"

Before I could call out one more time, the door opened. "Zack?" Esmeralda's voice rang through the empty room, bouncing off of the cream-colored walls.

"Esmeralda! Where's Alina?" I rushed over to her.

She didn't answer.