48 –

"Do you mind if I borrow your magazines? I'm pretty bored," Cloud said impishly to the old woman, who was busy reading one herself. She looked up from her rag and nodded. He found himself liking his neighbor. She didn't really talk so much, didn't ask questions about him, and was actually very polite. Her name was Mary, and she was often visited by her daughter around the same time Zack did. The television was always on, which usually frustrated and upset him more. Every show was talking about Tifa and Genesis, scrutinizing every imaginary detail a source reportedly confided about the couple's upcoming nuptials, screening the couple's romance timeline. It was enough to drive Cloud to the wall! He grabbed one magazine, which had Tifa on the cover, wearing a military trench coat – no, it was Genesis's famous duster – and just a pair of leather shorts underneath, her hair was tousled and her red lips were parted slightly, she was looking directly at the camera as if asking for a fight. The tiny headline read: Tifa Lockhart: How She Tamed Genesis Rhapsodos.

Tamed Genesis Rhapsodos! Cloud wanted to laugh. She never managed to do that, did she? She was literally living at the palm of the bastard! And… the girl he loved would never have agreed to do a photo shoot this risqué. Perhaps in this world, this woman wasn't the woman he loved and adored. Perhaps in this world, this Tifa was just a puppet of her company and Genesis; a girl without a voice of her own in the concrete forest of show business. It made him feel sad about that. Disappointed, even…

"I love them together," Mary commented as another gossip show began airing the unbearable event. "Genesis is such a good man. I know he may not be your typical nice guy, but he's a really good man."

Cloud looked up from the magazine and asked, "Why would say that he is, Mary? It's not like you know the man… do you?"

Mary lowered the television's volume as another of their roommates growled for her to do so. Then she looked at him again with kind eyes, "Oh… my daughter is the president of one of his fan clubs! Do you know Red Leather, son? She is the president of Red Leather, and she's met him quite a few times. Says he's a very charming man…" Her eyes were twinkling. "And he appears to very smitten with his fiancé. Once he even flew all the way back to Midgar in the middle of his tour because he heard she'd been rushed to the hospital!" Cloud furrowed his brows at what the old woman was spewing. "Anyway, are you a fan too? You seem to be asking a lot of questions."

"Oh no… not really." Cloud said quietly.

Suddenly, Zack barged in, followed by Mary's daughter. He was carrying a basketful of fruits which Cloud guessed were for Mary. "Hey sport!" Zack said cheerily as he set the basket down on the old woman's stand. "Doc said that you're free to go this afternoon! Which is a total relief because the pizzeria's like, totally blown up with orders and stuff." Cloud tried his best to appear relieved.

The neighborhood Zack had directed the cab to was unfamiliar territory. The houses weren't neatly kept, nor were the overflowing garbage cans. Dirty children with mud-caked clothes ran around the sides of the street. Cloud followed his friend to yet another apartment complex. It was relatively smaller, filthier than the apartment they had originally rented. There was a dumpster by the stairs, overflowing with waste. They lived on the third floor, next to an apartment that smelled like freshly baked cookies. Hmm, at least they had nice neighbors.

"Home sweet home!" Zack groaned, stretching his arms. His fists almost reached the ceiling. Cloud took off his beaten down sneakers and followed him inside. The couch was ancient, their television was at least decent, and there was big poster of a sexy model on one of the doors. Cloud guessed that that was Zack's bedroom. The light was dingy, everywhere. Cloud marched right into the door next to the be-postered one, and ended up in their bathroom. "Um, Zack?" he called out, eyeing the dusky blue tile floor.

"Yeah?"

"Where's my room?" he asked.

Zack roared with laughter. "You've forgotten about our apartment!" He steered him the be-postered door, which led into a wide room that had two single beds. One was made and neat, Cloud guessed that that was his, and the other by the window was messy. Cloud chuckled, "Sorry. It's been a while. I think… I think I'll go rest or something." He settled into his bed and Zack stalked out, muttering. Cloud stared up at the ceiling and sighed deeply. In his chest, his heart was thumping twice as fast. What was happening? He just didn't understand what was happening – did he really just dream everything about having Tifa as his fiancé and being out of this hell of a life? No… it all felt too real, it's been several lifetimes already… those things… everything they shared together couldn't just be dream, right? He wanted to scream. This wasn't real! It just couldn't be! He needed to get back to his real world. But how exactly?

"Zack said I'd gotten hit… by a truck…" Cloud said slowly, pursing his lips. That was what had happened, right? He was in the intersection… then the truck careened over, like its brakes were off… He shut his eyes and tried to remember anything else. "And then what…? Come on Cloud, you have to remember!" He whacked his head repeatedly, as if doing so would actually guarantee that he would remember. Finally accepting the futility of his action, he lay down and slept.

It was dark and cold when he woke up. It must have been dawn.

Cloud lay pin-straight, holding his breath, counting to three. Maybe now he would be back to his real world, where Tifa would be sleeping by the bedside, holding his hand. One… two… he exhaled, three! He sat up and saw, from the outlines of the room that he was still in hell. Zack's digital clock indicated 4:31. Groaning, Cloud rose from bed and decided to explore their, no his, apartment. Some things were familiar, some were not. In this universe, Zack was totally into comics. There was a cluttered heap of comics by the sofa. Cloud settled himself on it and idly browsed his friend's collection, trying to calm down.

Zack woke up two hours later. He woke up like the real Zack – too energetic one second and then grumpy the next. "How many pieces of toast do you want?" Zack called from the back of the apartment, which was the kitchen. "Oh… um, four." Cloud said. Zack whistled. "That's a pitiful number. Since when did you eat just four pieces of toast, Cloudy boy?" Was Zack implying that dream Cloud was a glutton? Cloud sighed. "Yep. Just four for today. How many are you making anyway?" Zack laughed. "Dude, we consume a whole loaf every morning. What's up with your memo, huh?"

"Are you serious right now?" Cloud moaned as Zack set a high stack of toast in front of him.

"What? I even bothered to fry bacon!" Zack snapped as he created a bacon sandwich for himself. "Just because you've been hired by a movie director for a standing role doesn't mean you've gotta diet ya know! The audience won't even see your pretty face."

Cloud spluttered out his coffee. "I've been what?"

"You auditioned for a minor, itty bitty role in some un-named movie last month, Mister Acting-is-my-life," Zack deadpanned, stirring his coffee. "Don't tell you've forgotten all about that too! Jeez! Just please assure me that you still remember how to ride your motorcycle."

"Wasn't I hit by a truck? I wouldn't exactly have a motorcycle to ride now, would I?" Cloud asked, suddenly feeling like he'd been punched in the gut. His beloved Fenrir! "Uh hello, chocobo brains?" Zack sighed. "You never use your motorcycle on duty so your beautiful ride's still intact. Anyway, we should probably hurry. We'll be late for work. Uncle's really going to eat your ear about traffic vigilance, I guarantee it."

And he was totally right. "See what happens when you don't follow the traffic rules, kid!?" their boss said with an exasperated voice. "Well anyway, I'm glad you're back. We've been really short on staff. And Zack wasn't much help either. Glad to see you're okay." Cloud furrowed his brows. Back in his real world, the boss actually liked Zack, and often turned a blind eye towards his friend's idle moments, but it seemed that dream-boss wasn't too fond of Zack. They only had five deliveries the whole day. It wasn't bad, of course, any number's better than zero. But in his real world, the pizzeria did way better than this. "Alright, we're good to go," Zack said as he finished checking the locks. The boss had allowed them to take home a box of pizza that had been cancelled on the last minute. "Hey, let's eat this over there. Don't wanna wait for it to heat in the microwave," the raven said as he trudged over to the darkened park across the street. He sat down on one of the park benches, underneath a dim light post and immediately dug in. Cloud sat down next to him and took a slice.

"Tomorrow's going to be the day you work in the movie, right?" Zack suddenly said while chewing.

… Tomorrow? Cloud scowled. "I don't know… hey, where is the shooting anyway?"

Zack playfully punched his friend's shoulder. "You oughtta know! You were the one who auditioned, right?"

Cloud chewed thoughtfully. "Actually I can't remember."

"Weird. So weird. It's like you've forgotten everything you've done lately. Isn't amnesia like the other way around?" Zack said carefully. "Anyway, you're going to see the love of your life on set. The movie's got Tifa Lockhart as its leading actress after all. If you really don't remember what you've been doing the past few months, I'll help you."

Ba-thump.

His tall friend suddenly stood up. "Anyway, let's go."

As they walked back to their motorcycles, Cloud couldn't stop thinking about what Zack had said. Here, he was obsessed with show business, and was an aspiring actor. Here, he would still meet his girl. Maybe this was a second chance thing. But why would he need to have a second chance? What had he done wrong in his real life to deserve such a messy present? Wake up Cloud, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!

Author's Note:

I wonder what'll happen when they meet. Hm. Stay tuned.