AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know what you guts are thinking. Another party? Yeah I know its a little repetitive, but this part is essential to the plot, so just bear with me. Moving along. Here is Chapter 9.

XXXX

"You seem to be going to hang out with your friends a lot more than usual these days Cloud," Mrs Strife said, looking at her son's fancy attire.

Dressed in a smart dress shirt and black jeans, Cloud smiled at his mother. "That's because I didn't have friends before Ma."

Mrs Strife frowned. "Really?"

Cloud nodded. His mother looked genuinely surprised. She had known her son had been the quite, stay at home with a video game type of teenager, but hearing such a blunt statement shocked her.

"Don't worry about it Ma, it was for the best. Besides, I'm happy now, that's all that matters, right?"

Mrs Strife nodded. "I guess so."

A horn blared from outside.

"That'd be my ride. See ya, Ma," Cloud said walking towards the door.

"Have a good time," his mother said, trying to smile.

Cloud missed her concerned face as he skipped outside, where Tifa was waiting in her red sports-car.

"Well you're in a good mood today," she commented as Cloud hopped inside the car.

"What's not to be happy about?" Cloud asked her, as he adjusted his seat belt.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that I'm not used to you being this perky. I'm more used to the down, shy Cloud," Tifa replied with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Say, Tifa? You got a cigarette for me? I forgot to buy," he told her as she pulled off.

Tifa looked at him in surprise. "You started smoking? Since when?"

"A couple of weeks now," Cloud answered breezily. "Now are you gonna get me one or not?"

Tifa giggled, as she handed him a box. "I'm watching you! Only one."

"As if I'd try and rip you off, Tifa," Cloud said, as he deftly replaced one of the cigarettes.

"It's the ones you wouldn't usually suspect that you need to watch," Tifa said with a laugh. "Oh Cloud!"

"What?"

"Nothing," she replied with another laugh. "How are you coping?" She asked after a slight pause.

"With?" Cloud asked her.

"Y'know? With Jessie being out of town," Tifa asked.

Cloud's face drooped slightly. "I'm managing." How could he tell Tifa he was actually happy that she was out of his immediate area?

"I'm sure you wanted to use the extra time to be with her," Tifa went on.

Cloud had been using excuses of studying and exam pressure to try and stay away from his girlfriend. For once he was thankful he had chosen a notoriously difficult course to study. Unfortunately, this had resulted in him spending less time with Tifa as well. She seemed to be encouraging Cloud's relationship with Jessie.

"I guess," he said eventually.

"Cloud is everything cool?" She asked, not missing the underlying edge in his voice.

"I don't know Tifa," he said, lighting his cigarette and rolling down his window, staring at the bright street lights outside. "I just don't feel like Jessie and I have much of a future."

Tifa gave him a concerned look, before turning her eyes back to the road. "Oh well. I guess maybe sometimes you need a break."

"Probably," Cloud responded.

"Well, at least you finally get to meet Vincent," Tifa said with a smile.

And she thought THAT would cheer him up? Resigning himself to the evitable, Cloud forced a smile. "At last!"

Tifa gave him a glowing look.

XXX

Yuffie's house was styled similarly to a giant, many levelled pagoda. It went without saying that both Yuffie and her parents went out of their way to flaunt their Asian heritage. As Cloud and Tifa knocked on the door, they took in the beatiful garden and small brook surrounding her house.

Yuffie, dressed in a skin-tight blue number opened the door with a cheery smile. "Hey guys, glad you made it!"

"Hey Yuffie!" Tifa said, giving the smaller girl a tight hug.

Cloud stepped forward and embraced Yuffie. Thankfully, unlike their last hostess, Yuffie was waiting for all her guests to arrive before getting rat-arsed drunk.

"Come on in, I don't have an outdoor jacuzzi, but there's a shitload of other stuff!" Yuffie said, ushering them in happily.

The scene was a lot similar to Cissnei's party, except the scenery was a lot more pleasant. With subdued bright colours and tasteful Japanese lamps hung from the ceiling, adding soft light to the house.

"Looks like Vincent hasn't gotten here yet," Tifa said, scanning the crowd. Cloud just shrugged, it really made no difference.

"Wanna dance in the mean time?" Tifa asked.

"Nah," Cloud said, shaking his head. "Let's get wasted first!"

Tifa shrugged. "Its up to you."

Cloud simply nodded and walked towards the nearest alcohol table. Grabbing a can of beer, he swigged, nearly downing all of it. Tifa sipped at her beer while peering at him in intrest. "You've become quite the hardened drinker I see," she observed.

With another gulp, Cloud sighed in satisfaction. "Not the lightweight you remember, huh?"

Tifa giggled. "Not at all, I'm not so sure whether I should feel relieved or concerned."

"Let's go with relief," Cloud said, taking another beer. "Where's Barret?"

"He couldn't make it, he's gone home to Corel this time," Tifa said lightly, though her eyes were still scanning the crowd eagerly.

Cloud made a noise in response. And went back to his beer. "So where we getting weed?"

Tifa laughed. "Wondered when you were gonna ask, I brought some. I figured we might need back up."

She exchanged a smile with Cloud as she pulled out two joints, which Cloud happily accepted. They soon fell into a dazed state and began smiling uncontrollably, revelling in the high.

"Oh look Cloud! There he is!" Tifa's voice broke through Cloud's mellow high.

"Stood out," Tifa had said describing her new boyfriend. That had been a major understatement. Vincent Valentine was a tall, pale man that resembled nothing so much as a vampire. His long dark hair fell to his waist, held up by a crimson headband. He wore black jeans and a red leather jacket with smart biker boots. All together he looked like a goth with a few pieces of blood stained clothing, even his eyes were red, matching Tifa's own crimson orbs.

"Hey!" Tifa said in delight, as the man came closer.

"Hi," came his reply, as Tifa had said, Vincent wasn't the talking type. He looked at Cloud questioningly, but said nothing.

Cloud, for his part, did not allow himself to be intimidated by the admittedly scary-looking guy in front of him. He took a cool puff of his joint, and stuck his chin out proudly.

Tifa, obviously sensing the tension, rushed to fill the gap. "Vincent this is Cloud, my best buddy!"

Cloud's stomach had ceased to clench everytime Tifa unwittingly reminded him that he was being friend-zoned into oblivion.

"Cloud, this is Vincent, my boyfriend," Tifa went on, gazing at Cloud, pleading for his approval.

Cloud was having none of that though. "Hi," he said, pointedly leaving out the customary "nice to meet you" part of the conversation.

Vincent returned the animosity by simply nodding, saying nothing.

Tifa gazed pleadingly between the two of them. "Vincent, did you bring the mushrooms?"

"I have them here," Vincent replied, pulling out a small bag of the drugs Cloud remembered from Cissnei's party.

"Great!" Tifa said, to cover up the lack of emotion both men were showing. "Let's go and have some!" She took Vincent by the arm, and gave Cloud a look, indicating he was to follow. Cloud did so reluctantly, unwilling to play the thrid wheel, especially as he saw Vincent's arm snake itself around Tifa's waist, and slipped under her shirt. From the movements of his wrist, Cloud figured he was playing with her belly ring.

They walked to a corner in the house, and each of them consuming a single mushroom, with Vincent staring daggers at Cloud as the blonde man took one from him. They stood in silence for a while, the only noise being the loud music Yuffie had supplied, waiting for the drug's effects to kick in.

Cloud's vision was just starting to blur, when Vincent suddenly pulled Tifa into a deep kiss. The dark-haired man pinned her against the wall, and continued to force his tongue into her mouth. Cloud, feeling uneasy averted his gaze as Tifa clutched at Vincent's back, and allowed him to separate her legs with his own. Tifa gasped as he suddenly went down on his knees and lifted her shirt, before playing with her belly ring with his tongue.

Cloud looked away, trying to find some way to distract himself, but couldn't keep the image of Vincent ravaging Tifa out of his mind's eye.

"Vincent!" He heard Tifa protest wildly. "Not here!"

"You're right," Vincent replied quitely. "I know of an empty room here, we can use it!"

"But we can't just leave Cloud alone!" Tifa protested again.

Cloud turned around at the mention of his name. He saw Vincent still on his knees, toying with Tifa's midriff with his mouth.

"Cloud doesn't mind, do ya Cloud?" He replied, taking the ring between his teeth. "A man has needs, he understands!"

Cloud managed to give a nod, not trusting his voice. The sight startled him and a weird feeling of hatred and jealousy erupted in his heart.

Tifa gave Cloud an uncertain look, but Vincent had gotten to his feet and moved his hands under her shirt, and behind her. Within a moment he had pulled out Tifa's bra. Tossing it to Cloud, he gave a sickening sneer. "Watch over that for me," he said with a smirk as he led Tifa away.

Watching as Vincent led her away, Cloud knew then, what his feelings were, the realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. He was in love with Tifa Lockheart. And it was too late now, she was probably already getting it on with Vincent as he stood there, wordlessly holding on to Tifa's bra. He felt so angry. Angry at himself, for not getting the courage to tell her how he felt, yet at the same time he felt so helpless.

With an angry grunt, he turned away and walked down to the party. If she didn't give a shit, then neither did he!

XXX

Cloud went back down to the party, absently grabbing another beer. Although his head was buzzing with the mushrooms and weed in his system.

Two girls managed to sidle up to him as he was busying himself with his drink.

"Hey!" One of them said happily.

Cloud made to take a swig before answering, to his dismay the can was already empty. He lit a cigarette instead. "Hi," he replied uninterestedly.

His impassive response only seemed to delight the pair of them. They giggled again. This constant giggling was beginning to piss Cloud off. He glared at them through the haze of smoke that had formed. "Can I help you two with anything?" He snarled, looking for anyone to release his pent-up aggression at.

The girls giggled again. "Such a rude boy!" One remarked.

"And just when we were gonna make an offer," the other said in mock-regret. "Pity."

Cloud looked at them again, maybe he was being a little rude. "Sorry, got a lot on my mind right now," he said with a shrug.

"Ooooooh, not to worry! We understand!" The first girl replied.

"Well, there's a pool in the neighbour's yard! Its quiet! Wanna go with us?" The other said quickly.

Cloud mentally weighed the odds. He could do with a quieter scene to calm down, and maybe take his mind off what his best friend was doing upstairs.

"Why not?" He said, giving another shrug. Both girls immediately pounced on him, each taking his arm and led him out the back door. The party was still going on outside, but the girls steered him away from the dancing crowds to a nearby wall.

"Over here," one of them whispered climbing over the wall. Cloud hesitated a moment before following the second one over.

When he landed in the neighbour's yard, he was shocked to see a pleasant back yard. It was covered in well kept grass, and sported a variety of neat garden benches and tanning beds. The pool the girls had promised was in the center of the yard, glistening in the moonlight, surrounded by a white stone cobble.

"This way," one of the girls whispered, taking his arm and leading him to a nearby bench, where her counterpart was fiddling with something. In the full moon's light, Cloud thought he saw what looked like a syringe. He sat down on the bench, just in time to see the girl dip the syringe into a small blue bottle.

"What's that?" He asked, staring at the greenish liquid the girl drew into the syringe.

"Only the best thing ever created!" The girls said together. "Mako!"

Cloud had heard of Mako before, who hadn't? It was an extremely powerful narcotic, rumoured to be addictive from the first use. It was also very expensive, it figured that a bunch of spoilt, rich college students like these two were the only ones to use it. He had personally never tried the stuff, being pretty scared of it.

"I'm not so sure about this," he whispered.

"Oh, don't be such a pussy!" One of the girls said. "We've done it a lot of times before! Its amazing, unless you're too chicken."

Cloud couldn't allow that insult to stand like that. "I'm no fucking pussy!" He snarled. "Gimme that!" He finished, snatching the syringe out of the girl's hand. "Uh, where do I inject it?" He asked, holding it lamely in his hand.

The girls giggled again. "In the vein on the inside of your elbow, idiot!"

"Oh, right," Cloud muttered. Without another moment, he stuck himself, gritting his teeth against the pain on the sharp needle invading his bloodstream. Lifting his thumb, he made to depress the liquid into his vein.

"Don't inject it too fast or you'll pass out," one of the girls warned quietly.

"And hold the needle steady, because if it breaks there'll be trouble," the other cautioned.

Cloud listened to the words, and made sure to do as they had said. No sooner had he removed the needle, that he felt an overwhelming rush of euphoria, the likes of which he had never experienced before. He closed his eyes, watching as bright flashes of colour exploded beneath his eyelids. He opened them, yet the flashes did not disappear. He watched as the girls each took the syringe and injected themselves. His mind briefly recalled hearing something about not sharing needles, but he pushed the though aside. He couldn't help but notice just how attractive the two girls were, clad in skimpy clothing. He closed his eyes again, the rush of stimulation a little too much for his brain, which was unused to a high of such magnitude.

He didn't know how long he sat there, eyes closed, listening to the distant music in the background, and the almost indistinct rustle of the grass in the wind. When he finally gathered the calm to open his eyes, he saw that the two girls had stripped off all their clothing and had clambered into the dimly lit pool.

"Come on! Join us!" One called.

Cloud barely registered the words, he was much more interested in the fact that the girls had even removed their underwear and neither of them were shy about showing it.

"Come on Cloud, take off your clothes and jump in," the other said seductively, her hands curling around her friend.

Before Cloud could even register what he was doing, he had removed his clothing and stepped into the pool, making his way to the two girls. Before he knew it, he was locked in a fierce kiss with the one on his right. No sooner had he finished kissing her, than her friend claimed his lips in another kiss as both of them wrapped themselves around him. He vaguely felt his body reacting to their presence and body heat.

"I have a girlfriend," he heard himself protest half-heartedly.

"She's not here right now, is she?" A voice said in his ear.

He vaguely saw Vincent and Tifa in his foggy mind, saw Vincent grappling her, forcing his tongue into her mouth. The thought shook his resolve and he allowed himself to be lost in the amazing sensations he was feeling...

XXX

Cloud tossed on his bed, it was about eight-thirty in the morning, he was still on vacation and his mother had long since left for work. She really did a lot for him, cared way too much for him, having taken extra care not to wake her son as she left the house at some unspeakable hour of the morning.

He really needed a cigarette, even though he hadn't been a smoker for very long, he still felt the craving for nicotine in his blood. Resigning himself, he crawled out of bed and pulled on a sweater and a pair of track-pants.

Grunting, he left the house and took care to lock the door behind him. There was a small cafe a couple of blocks away that he could buy a packet of cigarettes. Putting his hands in his pockets he began to stroll towards the shop. It was a Sunday so the neighbourhood was unusually quiet, with very few cars roaring up the street.

Cloud was one block away from his house when he noticed a little girl walking in the same direction as him. She was exceptionally tiny, no older then five or six, wearing a pink blouse that seemed to swallow her. He was walking so briskly, he soon became parallel with her. She turned her head and peered at him through chocolate-brown eyes.

"Oh, hello sir!" She said brightly. She smiled at him, showing many missing teeth.

Slightly taken aback, Cloud did his best to smile back. "Hi," he said slowly.

"I'm Marlene!" She said, not catching his nervousness, giving him a look of wide-eyed innocence. "Nice to meet you sir!"

"Nice to meet you too, Marlene. I'm Cloud," he replied evenly.

"Where you going?" She asked.

"The cafe," Cloud answered.

"Oh, me too!" The girl said happily.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to talk to stranger?" Cloud inquired curiously.

The girl nodded, looking a little guilty. "Yeah, she said that there are a lot of bad, scary people out there!" She said sheepishly, but then gave Cloud a glowing smile. "But you don't look scary at all sir! I just know you're a good person! Not at all like the scary folks mom told me about!"

Cloud inwardly groaned, not even little girls took him seriously. "How do you know that? I could be a scary man that eats little girls like you!"

Marlene just laughed. "You just look like such a nice guy, and you have this look in your eyes that tell me you're one of those people that help others, not one who could hurt anyone else!"

Cloud looked at the girl in wonder as they walked together. He felt a strange sort of protectiveness towards the girl, she had such intelligence and maturity for someone her age, yet seemed so innocent and naïve. A part of him wanted to preserve that innocence.

"My baby brother passed away on Friday," the girl said suddenly. "He was only four months old!"

Friday? That had been the day he had been so high on Mako. To think, a young baby had died, while he was out getting high on illegal drugs! Cloud suddenly felt bile rush to his throat with such guilt. Even though he had nothing to do with the child, he still was unable to squash the feeling in his stomach. Why was she telling him this anyway?

"I'm sorry," he said after a short pause.

Marlene just shook her head and turned towards the sky, a glowing look in her eyes. "Its okay, he's with God now! He's gone to a better place, his up in Heaven, watching us right now. And his also here, in my heart. Its what's gonna happen to us all someday, right? We aren't gonna stay here forever, all we can do is make the best of our time here. Make sure that when we go there, we can look back and be proud of what we did. Momma told me that sometimes God will send an angel to watch over us and make sure we're alright!"

Cloud couldn't help but think that he was talking to one right now.

XXX

Cloud collapsed back onto his bed, a lit cigarette already between his fingers. After they had visited the cafe and bought their stuff, the girl had bought bread and milk for her family, he had walked her home, feeling a sudden urge to protect her. Marlene possessed an amazing sense of purity that Cloud felt duty-bound to preserve, nothing should ever be allowed to tarnish such goodness. Her words to him had deeply impacted the young man. He wasn't really into self-introspection, but the girl had gotten him thinking about his life and its direction.

But she had done more than that. She had shown Cloud that even in a world full of so much darkness, there were people of pure-hearts. Tiny specks of light in the growing darkness in the world. He realised the world needed more people like Marlene.

He imagined himself at her age, had he been just as innocent, yet mature as she was? He doubted it, the girl was definitely something special. Even if he never saw her again, he knew that a part of Marlene would stay with him forever. Their short meeting had struck a chord in his heart and Cloud felt, for the first time, that maybe there was some good in him afterall and that little girl had seen it.

XXX

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm especially proud of that last bit, I felt it really added more depth and reality to this story. I guess a little thing like meeting an innocent little girl can really impact opur lives. That little encounter is a true story by the way, and yeah kids that age actually do have maturity like this. I'm not a religious person myself, but I do believe in God and I'm proud of that! Anyway before I get into another mad tirade lemme just end this note here. Please review!