Chapter Ten: Early Mornings

"Well, that's it. I'm finally done!" Cloud said happily to himself as he locked up the pizza parlor. The rain was starting pick up, Cloud bit his lip as he tugged at his jacket. "Dang it, this thing isn't helping me at all," he muttered. He ran to his Fenrir and started the engine as fast as he could. Suddenly, a black SUV came up. It stopped right in front of him.

He rolled his eyes. It was probably Rufus Shinra again. Asking for Tifa, again…

The next thing he knew was seeing Tifa emerging from the SUV. She had shorter hair, he noticed.

"Cloud!" she gasped. Something jumped inside Cloud. "Thank the goddess, I thought I wasn't gonna catch you." Tifa smiled.

He only stared at her. "Tifa? Is that really you?" he asked. She was back!

"Mmm, yes." She smiled. Cloud's heart skipped a beat. Why was he feeling like this? Tifa walked towards him. Cloud swallowed.

"Cool. Where have you been?" he asked, trying to act calm.

"Not here." she whispered, pulling his hand. "Let's go to your house. It's awfully cold out here."

"Yeah, sure."

"Let's use my car. You're soaking wet." Tifa said.

He nodded, but once he opened the passenger seat's door, he found that it was occupied. "Uh, Tifa, who is this? Your sister?" he asked.

Tifa shook her head. "No, that's Marlene. I met her in the village I was staying in. She wanted to tag along, so here she is. Get in, we need to get back by tomorrow."

The drive to his apartment was short. Apparently, he lived close to his working place. The apartment complex was gloomy, and all of its residents were sleeping. Cloud had to carry Marlene, since she had fallen asleep.

"It's not much, but it's home." Cloud said. "Oh, and we have to be quiet. I share this flat with Zack." He placed Marlene on the old couch and grinned apologetically. "Um, can I offer you anything? Coffee?"

Tifa smiled and shook her head. "No, but thank you."

"Alright."

Cloud's apartment wasn't stylish nor was it shabby. It looked like what a room shared by two guys would look like—messy in most places, neat in some areas. The white walls were bare, the curtains looked like they needed washing and the floor was neat. Cloud rushed to tidy up a bit. He stuffed some magazines in a drawer. Tifa smirked.

When he looked at her, she knew exactly what he wanted to say but couldn't. "Oh, please sit down." Cloud said, gesturing to the seat beside her.

"I know what you're thinking about. You wondering where I went, and why," Tifa said quietly. He nodded. She smiled. "And why I'm sitting in front of you now."

He took a seat in front of her. "Yeah, sort of… So why did you suddenly leave?"

"I just wanted out. I was starting to feel claustrophobic. I asked for a break from my manager but he refused, he said I had too many engagements that couldn't be put off." Tifa said. "I felt so ignored."

"Ignored?" Cloud asked. "But everybody loves you…"

Tifa shook her head. "No. If you're talking about my fans, the press… then you don't understand. They only love the Tifa that wears skimpy clothes. Do you think that they would still adore me if I no longer wore scanty clothes? Don't be fooled by the media's mask." She sighed. "Everybody in the entertainment business has their own masks… their personal demons."

Cloud only nodded. In the couch, Marlene stirred.

"I always thought about it like that." he shrugged. "So… what are you planning to do from here?"

Tifa closed her eyes. "I'm going to go back to square one. Don't you know that Genesis is cheating on me? Marlene was the one who told me… because she was the one who watched the TV."

"Wait… what?" Cloud said, "You didn't watch TV at all during your vacation? Wow, Tifa." There was a hint of strained humor in his voice. When Tifa didn't laugh, he looked at her. She was crying. "Oh, Tifa." Cloud's tone was serious now, comforting. He touched her shoulder and patted it consolingly.

"He said he loved me, Cloud! He told me so many times! But the moment I leave, he goes off and holds another girl in his arms… like I didn't exist." she sobbed. "And we've been together for three years. Has it always been this way?" Her shoulders shook as she cried the tears she didn't cry in front of Marlene. "I know that he… he's not the serious type but Cloud… I… I believed the fantasy he created for me… I thought, hey, he's different from the other guys. But he isn't!"

She heard Cloud's chair scrape the floor and his quiet footsteps. He kneeled in front of her and held her hand. His eyes glittered in the dark, they quivered, as if he were unsure of what to say. Tifa just looked at him. "I thought… I believed… that he wasn't using me for more publicity. B-but I guess that was exactly the reason behind it all."

Outside, the rain fell harder.

Finally, Cloud reached out and wiped away her tears with the back of his hand. "You really loved him, didn't you?" he whispered.

"Yes," she croaked. "I did."

"When I was kid, I had a crush on the prettiest girl in school. Heck, all the boys did. But she always hung out with the popular boy because he was the smartest and coolest… She never let anybody talk to her. It was as if we were monsters who would eat her if we did. One day, the most awesome thing happened. She talked to me." Cloud said. "She told me that I was pretty cute. She asked me loads of things… like, what books I read, what sports I played—I said I played nothing, because I was so honest. And then the popular kids sprang up on us and laughed at me. They called me names and the worst part was that she pointed and laughed at me as well." Tifa stared at him, hiccupping. "Ever since then, I hated her and her group. I think she's a single mom now."

Tifa turned away. "That's different. At least she didn't pretend so long."

Cloud stood up. "Yeah. But I became a better person after… I guess, I'm telling you to move on from him and become a better girl so that when he sees you again, he'd eat his heart out." He gave her a small smile.

She returned his smile. "That's exactly my plan. Tomorrow, I'm going to start with that."

"How?"

"I'm firing my manager and then I'm going to look for a new one. Tifa Lockhart will be in indefinite hiatus until I figure out what I want to do with my career… if I still want to continue with it or quit it. Maybe if I decide to quit, we can start our own business." Tifa smiled weakly.

"What business would that be?" he asked.

Tifa shrugged. "I don't know… yet!" she laughed shakily.

"Hey, I'll hold you to that, future business partner." Cloud winked.

Silence enveloped them.

"I think you should get some rest, Tifa. You can sleep in my room." he suddenly said.

"But where will you sleep?" she asked.

"I'll sleep on the couch. She'll be sleeping beside you anyway."

"Oh no. I couldn't possibly… I mean Cloud, it's sort of embarrassing. This is your place after all."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I won't be comfortable with Zack screaming in the morning."

Tifa smiled and Cloud led her to his room, a sleeping Marlene in his arms. His room was neat, his bed was fixed and there was not a litter on the floor. It smelled of his cologne. She liked it. Genesis's room always smelled like air freshener, cigarette smoke and new books. She's not saying that she didn't like the smell of his room, but it was just too much. She liked more simple smells like Cloud's room. Goddess, why was she rambling about smells?

"Hey Cloud," she said as Cloud turned to leave.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Thank you." she kissed his cheek. Cloud's face was hot, was he blushing? Tifa giggled nervously. "Uh, can I ask you a for another favor?"

"S-sure." Cloud mumbled. They were an inch apart, he could just pull her into his arms and kiss her soft lips.

"Go back with us, so I can get my things and set my plans in motion tomorrow, okay?" she whispered.

Cloud nodded. "Alright. I'll go... Good night, er, morning."

"Good morning." Tifa said, Cloud closed the door.

As Cloud settled in the couch, trying to get comfortable he looked up at the dark ceiling. It really was unfair for Tifa to be treated the way everybody had treated her. For him, she was one of the most beautiful people he had ever known, not only from outside but also from inside. How could her boyfriend and manager have not seen that?

Author's Note: You're not even reading it. Okay, if you are, thank you for not ignoring me. xD I'm so sorry if this took so loong to put out, school is eating me alive. Darn those equations. Anywho, how did you find this chapter? BORING? OKAY? GOOD? HORRIBLY WRITTEN?

Tell me what you think in your REVIEW. :)

-Victoria Chrystallis