Disclaimer: I do not own any character in any shape or form. They belong to Square Enix :)

Author's note: Okay here it is! I got a little feelsy when writing this so... have fun! As usual, some of you might think OMG this too OOC. I'm sorry for that! I'm still new at this! And this is the only story that has more than 2 chapters that I have ever made. ;n; Also pardon my English, I'm not that good. But enjoy reading! :3

Popularity Feud

Chapter 12

Okay, I'm pretty nervous right now. I should be right? I mean it's my first date with Sephiroth… is it? I mean, the time he went to my house and when I slept at his isn't considered a date right? Right? Sighing, I went towards the living room pacing, biting my lip, or anything one could consider an act of nervousness. In about 5 minutes, he'll be here and I really don't know what to do. I haven't been in a relationship before so I'm really clueless about dates and such, of course I heard the girls in class talk about it but… I'm scared what might happen afterwards. After all, I am still a virgin… could Sephiroth be one of those people who do it on the first date? Probably not, he didn't even touch me when I slept at his house, well except for the part where he grabbed my hand, but that was it!

I am dressed in a simple baby blue Sunday dress, which is kind of funny because it's a Saturday not a Sunday. Laughing sheepishly to myself, I sat on the couch and fiddled with my fingers, my eyes constantly peering at the clock that was hanging on the wall. I decided to let my hair down today and tied a red ribbon near the tip. I'm wearing a little bit of make-up but not a lot, a little foundation here and there and a simple peach lip gloss.

The door bell rang and I let out a breath that I did not know I was holding. Standing and straightening up, I walked towards the door and opened it with a smile on my face. I was greeted by a small smile from him, he was dressed in a simple white shirt, black vest and black pants that made him look even taller than he is now. His hair as always is set loose on his back, he looked at me and I noticed that his once dark and cold eyes, softened a bit. Just a tiny bit that it was barely visible but I know it did.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked, extending his hand towards me. Accepting it, I nodded and locked the door with my other one.

"So where are we going?" I asked, excited and nervous at the same time. Because of that, I seemed a little hyper. He chuckled at me and I tried as hard as I can not to show him my red face.

"Well, I decided that we should go to the city roam around for a bit, eat at a restaurant or whatever place you want to eat and then go to the beach," He said nonchalantly, and I scowled a bit at that. He laughed at my expression and I punched him on the shoulder for acting 'cool', he probably did all that to tease me. Whenever he tried to tease me, I get agitated but at the same time I really don't mind because I know that he's not tired of me…yet.

"Okay Mr. I'm so cool-"

"Oh, I'm Mr. I'm so cool now huh—"

"Shush up—"

"What if I don't want to?—"

"I'll make you!—"

"How my dear, are you going to do that?" He chuckled, crossed his arms together and raised a brow at me.

"You shush up or I'll—I'll—I'll kiss you, you jerk!" I screamed once we reached the main entrance of the apartment, causing a few people to turn their heads at us. My face is red, extremely red. How do I know? I can feel the heat rise up to my cheeks and probably my whole head. He chuckled again, wow what a way to start a date.

"You won't do that—"

"I can and I will—"

"Then prove it," He looked at me, this time his gaze was intense and serious. I could feel myself melting right then and there. Gulping, I argued with myself if I should really do it. If I do it, then I prove that I can kiss him. If I don't then he's probably going to call me a wussy.

"Fine."

Standing on my toes I gave him a quick peck on the lips, and then I started walking away with fists clenched. Oh my shiiii—did I just really do that? Yep I'm getting red again; in fact I'm so embarrassed that I'm actually stomping away from the building.

I heard running footsteps behind me, and I exactly knew who it was. I stopped, waited for the arse and I turned around expecting to see him panting, but there he was as if nothing had gone wrong in the world.

"Alright, I'll stop being an insufferable—"

"Ass"

"Yes, an insufferable ass to you for the duration of this date we have today, but let me just say this to you right now Tifa. That I will never… ever, stop teasing you. It's just too fun," He smirked, offering his hand to me and after rolling my eyes I gladly accepted. I guess a little fight was going to happen a lot if we were to be 'together'.

"So where's your driver?" I asked, looking around for his car. He brought his free hand up to his face, trying to stifle his laugh. I looked at him perplexed. "What?"

"We're going on a date Tifa, we're going to the city using the bus," And with that, I broke down laughing. He was now confused and it was clearly etched all over his face.

"Y-You, riding a bus?" I wiped the tear that dwelled up on my eye. He looked annoyed at me and I smiled back after being able to control myself. "I-I'm sorry. It's just that you don't seem like the one to ride a bus with us commoners."

"Well that's rude of you to say but I actually once rode a bus with my friends… it was when we decided to skip school."

"You actually skipped school before? Whoa, the great and mighty Sephiroth has fallen," I exaggerated, which he responded with a sigh. "Alright, alright I'm just kidding you know." I squeezed his hand and he looked at me, smiling up at him, we waited for the bus.

Once we got to the city, we went to the mall first which of course was a very bad decision for me. How is it that women look at things mindlessly for an hour in just one shop? If this is going to happen in every shop we go to, we'll never finish looking through the whole mall! Sighing, I looked at the woman beside me with her cheery face. Her eyes seemed to widen at almost everything she looked at but then it always ended with a frown once she looked at the price tag.

We're currently in a store that sold antique items; everything seemed interesting, but not as interesting to me as it seemed to her. Something red caught the corner of my eye, and I turned my head to look at it better. What I saw horrified me and I nudged Tifa letting her see what I saw. Her eyes widened and she almost dropped the porcelain doll in her hand.

"It's your friends," She said in a low shaky voice. How stupid of me to not over think this situation.

"Continue browsing, I'm going to go to them and if you see me leaving, wait a few minutes before leaving as well," I instructed. We had both agreed that our relationship was going to be a secret and if we get caught in such a place as this. It's going to be over. She nodded and drifted away from me, her hand left mine and I missed the warmth it had. Mentally shaking my head, I walked towards Genesis and Angeal.

"A surprise to see both of you here," I said, looking at both of them. Genesis grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"A surprise to see you here too Seph," He replied. Angeal eyed me, as if there was something I was hiding. He sighed when he knew he couldn't find out what it was.

"What are you doing here anyways? You rarely go to a mall let along an antique shop," Angeal said.

"I had to get something for my mother,"

"I never knew Jenova liked antiques," Genesis added.

"My family is full of mysteries," I replied. "And if you'll excuse me, I have to leave. The one I am looking for is not in here."

"Alright see ya later man," the red head saluted, and the other nodded. "Bye."

I waited outside for a good couple of minutes and the one I was waiting for finally emerged from the shop. She carried a paper bag in hand. So, Tifa has finally bought something. She smiled a bit and took my hand where she placed the item she had bought.

"What is this?" I asked, confused at the figurine inside a box.

"It's an angel, and it's female so it will remind you of me!" She grinned and clapped both her hands. "She's very fragile and it you drop it, she will break. That's why you have to take good care of her, and you can't just leave it alone or else it will get dust all over and it will look ugly."

I stared at her then at the little porcelain angel inside the box. It did remind me of her, the angel's long brown hair and the weapons she held symbolizes her strength. And Tifa is pretty strong.

"I know it seems sappy and cheesy and you're probably vomiting inside your head right now but…" I looked at her and noticed the sadness that was painted all over her face; she looked up at me, tears dwelling up in her eyes.

"I know our relationship won't last forever, so I wanted to give you something that you can remember me by," She said, her voice quivering. I placed the box inside the bag and held her hand, my other hand wiping away her tears.

"Hey, you'll never know right?" I said. She looked up at me, her eyes glimmering in the light, filled with happiness, hope and…love. I smiled back, but deep inside I was frowning. It was all lies. I gave her false hope. I know our love won't be forever… and when I realized it… I cringed.

We walked towards an anime store, hand in hand and looked at the figurines together. Something caught my eye and I knew I had to get it. Telling her that I had to ask the cashier something, I immediately took the figurine and bought it. I also bought a few books for Kadaj to read, but its main purpose were to only hide the item.

After she finished buying her own purchases, we walked towards a candy store. She bought a few candy and I offered to pay for it. After a few quarrels, shouting, and threatening each other, I paid for her candies. She stuffed one in her mouth and grumbled in annoyance. Chuckling at her actions, I took the change and we set off to eat lunch… or so I thought.

"Hold still!" I exclaimed, making sure all of his hair was tucked inside the beanie, well except for his bangs. Man, it was hard to run away from my friends, especially since almost one of them noticed him.

"I still don't know why we have to do this Tifa," He said. I looked at him with a brow raised. He couldn't be serious now could he? Rolling my eyes, I finally tucked the one stubborn strand of his hair into the hat. "It's hot outside, and you're expecting me to wear this?"

"Yes Sephiroth, whether you like it or not," I sighed and started to work on mine. Instead of letting it loose like I usually do, I decided to put my hair into pigtails. I cut the ribbon in half and started tying my hair up. After a few failed attempts, I was finally able to put it up.

"So are you ready to go now?" I nodded and we left the store, walking towards my favorite restaurant.

When we were done eating, we went to the beach. Surprisingly, there was a carnival going on nearby and we decided to go on a few rides. Some were fun, especially the rollercoaster but my hat almost fell off and I had to struggle holding it with one hand. We went to a haunted house, but it wasn't that scary. Their make-up was done horribly and their acting was horrible as well. I chuckled while we walked in it and Tifa nudged me a little bit, telling me that I should be considerate towards the people. Nodding my head, I tried my best not to laugh. Once we were out, I had to release the laughter I kept inside and she laughed with me as well. She tugged my hand and dragged me towards a contraption called the "Ferris Wheel". She asked if it was fine for me to ride it with her and I nodded. After all, this is a date. It wasn't one of those boxed Ferris wheels, it was simple one that only holds two people, and those two people had to sit next to each other. Before we got on however, the usher winked at us and made sure it was all secure before lifting us off and getting another pair.

The whole ride was quiet and it was uncomfortable. Not only that, it was pretty long too and it also gave us quite a view of the beach. We noticed that the sun is about to go down in an hour or so. She smiled, enjoying the scene and taking a deep breathe of the fresh air. I looked at her as she did that and I couldn't help but feel as if I'm in a trance. She turned her head to look at me, blushing she smiled a little before looking back at the view.

"Shall we go to the beach to watch the sunset?" I asked absentmindedly. Now where did that come from? No matter how much I tried, I can't take back what I said.

"Sure," Tifa smiled. I stared at her, the way how the light illuminated and reflected her face was perfect and she looked beautiful. I smiled back unknowingly before looking at the view.

Once we got off, she sheepishly said that she was hungry. And so I told her to wait for me in one of the bench. Tifa nodded and waved her hands as I walked away to get the both of us ice cream.

"Hey there pretty girl," A bunch of guys approached me. One of them leaned on the bench and I could smell the stink of alcohol on him. The other two stood in front of me, leaning forward to get a clear look on my face. I cringed from the odor of the alcohol on them. "Why don't ya, go with us ye?" One of them said.

"I'm sorry but I'm not interested," I replied calmly, patiently waiting for Sephiroth. One of the men who were standing leaned even more and I tried to hold my guard down. He eyed me disgustingly and I mentally puked at his ill intentions.

"Pssh, Come on, you'll have fun with us." He said as he blew on my face with his disgusting breath.

"As I have said, I'm not interested. If you value yourself, I suggest you leave." I warned them, a hint of malice and threat in voice. I do not want my date to be ruined by a bunch of ruffians who are out looking for trouble. One of them laughed, and the others followed his lead.

"Ya think we're scared of ya? You're just a pathetic weak little gir—" I punched the man in the throat that temporarily blocked his air passage and as he was struggling for breath, I lurched forward, grabbed him and threw him over. Knocking the man in a sate of unconsciousness. I prepared for the others, who looked bewildered at their friend then at me. One of them launched an attack and I blocked it with my hand then threw a kick at him. After I threw the kick at the man who is know sprawled all over the floor, the last man standing grabbed my hand. I struggled to break free but all my energy was spent on the two previous men. But I did not give in as I tried to kick him, but he blocked it. Man, what a way for a date to go…

"Let her go," I said, dumping an ice cream cone on the man's head. He shrieked from the impact of the cold substance on his bald head and unknowingly released his grip on her. She took the opportunity and threw him over, sending him to unconscious state along with his fellow intoxicated friends.

"My muscles are hurting," I heard her say as I walked towards her, one cone in hand.

"Are you alright? I came as soon as I saw you're being attacked," I handed her the cone and she accepted it with a small smile. She licked it in a few placed to stop it from flowing down.

"Not soon enough but it will suffice. Thank you Sephiroth," She looked up at me and smiled.

"Yeah, come on. Let's go," I took her hand in mine and she walked happily while eating her ice cream. Too bad I had to waste mine on a drunk man's head. Tifa stopped and I turned my head to look at her. What surprised me though, was that she was offering me her ice cream.

"You had to waste your ice cream because of me," She mumbled, a shade of red tainted her face. I smiled and licked the ice cream.

"I don't really want it, but I do want to know what it tastes like," I winked at her before we started walking again. It was a few minutes before we found an almost secluded spot at the beach and we sat down. She was enjoying her almost finished ice cream while I enjoyed the breeze of fresh ocean air.

After a minute or so, the sunset was visible and it was beautiful. Tifa leaned forward and smiled happily. I looked at her and smiled myself, yes it was beautiful indeed.

"You know, I haven't been here since my parents left." She said in a low tone. She buried her head on her knees before turning to look at me with a teary smile. "I've forgotten how beautiful it really is. Thank you."

I leaned in towards her, slowly closing the gap between us. I looked at her once more, her eyes shimmering in the light, her hair billowing against the wind. I took off the ribbon that constricted her hair to let it freely breathe. I took off the beanie I was wearing and cupped her face, carefully taking it in my hand. Our hairs collided against each other in the wind. I brushed a strand of hair from her face, and leaned in forward carefully taking her lips in mine.

My lips brushed against her softly. It was the first real kiss we ever had. This one was not made out of agreement or understanding. It was a kiss that told how we felt about each other. I didn't want it to happen, but every inch of my body told me that this was right. And I was so drowned in the emotions and feelings shared in our kiss that it blocked my brain from thinking. I pulled her closer to deepen the kiss, turning the innocent kiss to a kiss burning with fervor. I smirked when she kissed me back with an equal amount of passion. It was if we both needed this, a feeling of security and warmth and love.

We had to break it when we had to gasp for air. We were panting, we laughed, we smiled, and we held each other while watching the sunset.

"Well goodnight Sephiroth," I said with a blush on my face. The date turned out great in the end; we had our first real kiss for the first time and watched the sunset together in each others arms.

"Wait… before I leave, I have to give you this." He took out a figurine from one of the bags he was holding. "You gave me a remembrance, so I got you one too… only this time, it's a bit different."

He took my hand and placed the figurine of a one winged angel with long silver hair a sword.

"Unlike yours, this one is not fragile. If you dropped it, it will not break. He is not a beautiful angel, but more of a monster with a cold heart. If you leave it unattended, it will not matter…" He trailed off and I stared at him with tears dwelling up in my eye. "For his heart will always be uglier than his appearance. However, even if he is an evil monster… he will always protect the one he loves and keep her safe. Because she has showed light to his…dark heart."

Unbeknown to me, my tears rolled down my face. He wiped them away with his thumb and he placed a kiss on my forehead.

"When the angel and the monster are no longer together… the monster will still remember the way she gave light to his life."

He left with those words. And I stood there, with tears flowing down my face, looking at the empty space where he once stood.

Author's note: Anyways, did you guys like it? Was it crappy? Please let me know! ;A;

Also the part with Sephiroth's figurine... It's actually Sephiroth but shhh XD It's AU!