Chapter Eighteen: Fitting

As Cloud tried to render their instructor's pose directions, he thought about Tifa's odd deal. Why had she made him agree to her terms? What was the reason behind it? Why did they suddenly fire all the blonde models and kept only the brunettes?

"Cloud! You're not focusing! You look awkward! Focus!"

He looked up to meet his instructor's frustrated, perfectly maintained face. "I'm sorry, Jean."

"Ah, this is why I don't like having models that only get here because of connections." The instructor sighed as he turned away. "The shoot's going to begin tomorrow, so everybody please do your best!"

"Yes Jean!" everybody chorused. Cloud didn't join the enthusiastic crowd. He was too annoyed with what the instructor said. The crowd of graceful swans broke away as they were given a break. Cloud sat down on the floor and heaved a sigh as well. Tomorrow, the campaign shoots were going to begin. The location and the call time were yet to be announced. Zack sat beside him and sighed heavily. "This is so tiresome…but it still beats getting prank calls from morons."

"Yeah, you got that right." the blonde chuckled.

"I wonder what Aerith's doing right now. She'll be here later, won't she?"

Cloud punched his friend playfully in the arm. "Looks like you've got a little crush on her, eh, Zack?"

"What?"

"Forget it man, I heard Sephiroth's making a move on her. You've got no chances against that guy."

Zack rolled his cerulean eyes and shook his head. "There's nothing bad on hoping, right?" He stood up and looked down at Cloud. "Aren't you in the same predicament as me?"

"What do you mean?

"You like Tifa."

"Of course I do. Everybody here does."

"That's not what I meant, you idiot." Zack said flatly.

With a sigh, Cloud just looked at the floor.

Tifa sat opposite Ysabelle, Bart and Rufus in the conference room. They were polishing ever last detail of the commercial shoot for tomorrow.

"The commercial is going to begin with Tifa and Aerith in a corner of a coffee shop, and you r partner, Cloud will be there with Zack and a few other models. He sees you, and gets attracted to you instantly. You will be absorbed in reading a book, and will not notice him. When they leave, Tifa will leave an article of herr clothing on the chair's back, he will pick it up, and chases her. But he doesn't find Tifa. The first commercial's going to end with Cloud staring at your garment in his hand." Bart said.

Ysabelle raised an eyebrow. "And how about the other models?"

"The other models are going to be the people inside the shop." Bart turned his head towards Tifa. "What do you think, Tifa?"

She nodded. "It's alright."

Ysabelle clapped her hand and said, "Then! It's time to choose the first articles of clothing you'll be revealing tomorrow." Taking it as their signal, the party got up from their seats to head to the showroom. Hundreds of mannequins were placed inside the showroom, each wearing the reality of Tifa imaginations. It was her second time to see her designs turned into tangible items, and it still amazed her how she had been the one behind them all.

"I think the models should be called in for a fitting," Tifa said as she examined a pink trench coat with stud embellishments at the cuffs. "Aerith loves pink, doesn't she?" she asked her group. Lazard looked at the coat and shook his head. "I don't think that a trench coat is appropriate for an indoor scene, love. It's far too dressy. Think casual." He walked over to a mannequin wearing a pink crumpet cardigan. "I think, you can leave the styling to me, dear girl."

Tifa shook her head. "Hmm, then I'll get bored." She moved on to the next row of mannequins. "Hey Bart… what if we feature cardigans, long tees and leggings in this first commercial?"

"How do you plan to do it?" Bart asked from across the room.

"In every model, there will be a certain key piece that will catch the eye of the audience. Like, that pink crumpet cardigan—I think it should be paired with gray and black, with studded flats." she answered.

"And the boys' line?" Lazard echoed.

"Checkered button-down shirts against neutral colored jackets and jeans..." Tifa answered. "But Zack and Cloud will be wearing a different set of articles, just to make them stand out."

They stripped off a hundred articles of clothing for hours.

"I never thought that the day that I would be so proud of you would come, honestly, doll." Lazard said. "But today is that day! You've done so well with your designs. I mean… your cardigans, they're just adorable! Those little heart buttons are going to be a hit with the ladies, and don't get me started with the men's wear."

"Thank you." Tifa said as she looked at her stylist. He had never looked this enthusiastic in the past, and she liked him when he was carefree.

"You and Aerith ought to be wearing dresses, while the other girls are wearing pants. It'll make you stand out more."

"Hmm," Tifa said. "We'll see. Isn't Aerith coming yet? Why isn't she here?"

"She's shooting a campaign this morning." Lazard said. "Ooh… I think we're going to have a little glitch in the make-up department. You're the face of Chrysalis Cosmetics, and she's the face of the rival company."

Tifa frowned. "Does the make-up even have to matter? She can use her company's cosmetic and the rest will use Chrysalis. Where are the models? They're five minutes late!"

"Relax, sweetheart, they're on their way. They don't fly."

"Right… Sorry. I guess it's taking a toll on me, huh?"

"It sure is. Why don't you outside to get some fresh air? I can handle the models from here."

"Alright. Thank you." she said, smiling at her stylist.

The sun was high up the sky when Tifa emerged from the studio. She took in a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She should go back to Kalm pretty soon… but things were too hectic to make time for it. Her concrete surroundings steadied her balance as she opened her eyes. Suddenly, there were people screaming her name.

"Tifa! Over here! Look here! Tifa!"

"Oy! Tifa!"

"Look here!"

"Hey!"

Oh Minerva. Do these paparazzi keep hounds to track me down? At this rate, it will be impossible to shoot outdoors! Tifa thought. Aren't they supposed to be circling around Reno..? He loves attention. They aren't even supposed to know where I am!

Security personnel quickly attended to the nosy papz—but of course, the security personnel would never be able to drive them away for good until they got snapshots of Tifa. They'd camp out near XY's studio if they needed to.

Feeling more stressed than she would have liked, Tifa marched back inside the studio to find the models fitting the clothes already. Lazard had made Cloud wear a beige long-sleeved shirt, chocolate brown pants, sneakers and an ocher cardigan with brass buttons. Zack on the other hand, was wearing a gray cardigan with big, black buttons and black jeans.

"Hey beautiful." Cloud said as he looked up at her.

"Hey…you like very nice." Tifa said, feeling her heart skip a beat. No, my heart, I need to focus on the job.

Lazard sighed dramatically. "Oh, these boys are too sexy for words. Can I keep them!"

"Er…"

"I'm just kidding you, Tifa."

"Right. Okay." Tifa said with a strained voice. Cloud and Zack looked freaked out. They looked adorable with their expressions. "Um… when's Aerith finally going to come anyway?"

"She should be here in a few more minutes, don't worry. Now, why don't we get your clothes prepared?" Lazard said as he pushed her away from the duo.

They finished planning and arranging at one in the morning. Tifa yawned as she stretched her arms at the backseat of the SUV. At least the traffic was smooth now. She needed to sleep now since the call time for the shoot was six o'clock in the morning sharp. Well… that would certainly be a difficult ordeal. Good thing Rufus was around—his temper is the best alarm clock one could have.

Author's Note:

Okay. Now I'm scared—it's been a long time since the last update and I'm extremely doubtful of this one. I kid, I always have that feeling whenever I finish writing an update. I hope you liked what you just read. Whether you did or did not, I hope you will still review.

Victoria Chrystallis