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

A/N: I am terribly sorry that this I haven't updated in so long! I was preparing for school after I wrote the last chapter and I really wanted to update so badly but alas…. I have gotten the dreaded writer's block. ;O; I will now upload the new chapter! Thank you for those who are still willing to stick with me until the end! I hope you like this one! It has been lingering on my head for far too long.

Popularity Feud

Chapter 13

"It can't be! You must be joking! He would never lower himself to date her"

"Yeah especially if she's an enemy of ours! Besides brother would never do such thing!"

"We saw it with our own eyes boy, now calm down before you break the desk,"

"He's right, we saw her leave after him when we were at the shop"

"Wait, why where you guys there anyway?"

"Zack leave them be,"

"Alright, alright. I was just curious Aerith…" Zack sighed and massaged his temples. Everything he's hearing is clearly making no sense at all. If they were keen on destroying the Avalanche then why is the President associating with a member of the group? Unless… Zack shook his head, clearly not wanting to think those kinds of thoughts. He did not want to view Sephiroth in that way because he knows that deep down, Sephiroth is actually a good person in his weird sick way.

Aerith looked worriedly at her boyfriend. She could see the confusion etched on his face, in fact, she could see all the confusion etched on all of their faces. Well except for one person.

"Yazoo, you seem very calm about this whole situation. Are you not as worried as your brothers?" Aerith asked, everyone turned their heads to look at him. He remained calm, his posture as elegant as ever.

"I am very worried for my brother and his actions. But we are not ones to judge what he is doing. He is a free man and can do what ever he pleases," He looked sternly at Angeal and Genesis. Genesis jumped a bit on his chair but Angeal remained unnerved.

"I feel as though you are hiding something from us, Yazoo" Angeal said, staring intently at the man. Yazoo gave a low chuckle.

"I do not know what you are talking about Angeal," Yazoo said as he stood up. "This conversation is getting boring, if you'll excuse me—"

"Where are you going brother?" Kadaj asked, standing in front of him. Completely blocking his way from the door, he gave him a cold glare one that could kill if seen by others. "You know something don't you?"

"Kadaj, move out of the way please," Yazoo said, a bit peeved by the sudden attack. It was not his fault that he was observing the feud since day one while the others only focused on their popularities and other trivial matters.

"I will not… you've always stayed so quiet during these past few weeks especially when brother brought her home all bruised," Yazoo clenched his hands, it did not go unnoticed by his brother though. Kadaj stared at his brother who hid his face from him by lowering his head causing his bangs to cascade over his face.

"Move."

"No."

"Damn it Kadaj! I said move!"

"Make me!"

Everyone stared at them with intensity in their eyes. Neither of them had the guts to alleviate the tension, more likely, no one dared to. It is the first time that they saw Yazoo show this amount of emotion publicly and especially to Kadaj. Tons of questions roamed through their minds, but none can be answered. All they could do right now is watch the event unfold in front of their eyes.

What happened next was something none of them could ever believe he would do. Yazoo's clenched fist came in contact with Kadaj's abdomen, making his brother double over in pain on the floor. He was clutching his stomach, hissing profanities at his brother with anger in his eyes. Yazoo tried to hide the hurt he felt inside when he saw the emotion in his eyes, but what is done, is done. He could not take back the pain that he has caused. He walked towards the door as everyone rushed Kadaj's aid and Aerith shook her head in disapproval.

A tear fell from his eye and he welcomed the cold greeting of the empty hallways of the school. He was used to being lonely, not that anyone cared about it. The only time that he felt as if he belonged was when he walked with his brother Kadaj and Loz home, because he knew that they cared for him, but now he has ruined that bond between them all because of his stubbornness. He could have told them what was going on in order to relieve everyone of their worries, but he believed that if the time was right… his brother would tell them.

"Yazoo," He looked up to see his brother looking down at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yes brother, I just needed fresh air that's all." He lied. He's been lying to everyone lately that it didn't bother him at all. Sephiroth nodded and continued walking towards the room where everyone had their little meeting. Yazoo lingered for a while and then continued to walk towards the gym to practice before school starts.

"Man, I totally saw them this weekend! They even tried to hide from us." She crossed her hands and groaned in annoyance.

"Cheeky bastards,"

"Well they were on their date weren't they? It's not as if we can just waltz in and say hi,"

"Barrett's right Yuffie. We need to focus on more important things."

"Like what? Preventing Cloud from knowing? I think that he'll know soon. Heck he might have known already!" Cid yelled, angrily putting out his cigarette. Everyone nodded their head at his exclamation. He crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance very similar to what Yuffie had done earlier.

"Even so, it would crush him." Vincent spoke with determination in his eyes. The determination to make sure that Cloud would never find out, because not only is he going to make Tifa choose between her heart and her friends, he would suffer himself. Vincent has been observing the two of them for a while now, and he could see that Cloud is changing. He no longer is the man who was always fawning over Aerith but instead, he's slowly reciprocating the feelings Tifa had for him.

"It's not like he likes Tifa so stop worrying Vincent," Yuffie said calmly. She leaned back on her seat and rested her feet on the table. Vincent sighed and turned to leave the room, letting them do whatever they want. He could hear the laughter inside the room as he moved further away, it seems like that they could not care less about what Cloud might feel. Vincent could not argue with them on that because he used to ignore Tifa's feelings.

"I wonder… why did he return them now?" Vincent said to himself. He always liked it when there is no one in the hallways, it calmed him. He could think better this way, besides noises always distracted him from thinking clearly. Vincent was so indulged in his thoughts about the predicament that he bumped in to something hard. Apparently that 'something' made a sound upon its impact on the floor.

"I'm sorry," he said, finally coming back to reality. He held out a hand to the person in front of him. He was shocked to say the least –not that he would show it—to see Yazoo in front of him. So he's the person he bumped in to. He waited for him to take his hand and Yazoo looked up at him. He slapped the hand away and Vincent took his hand back, rubbing the certain parts that stung.

"Don't bother," Yazoo helped himself stand up and brushed off the dirt that stuck on his clothing. Once he was ready and all balanced he continued his walk, only to stop after a few seconds. "Don't dirty your reputation by helping a popular… you wouldn't want your friends hating you now, do you?"

And with that he left.

Vincent sighed and continued to contemplate not only due to Sephiroth and Tifa's relationship but also to Yazoo as well. He seemed a little on the edge today he noticed, because usually he is quiet and uncooperative with the feud ordeal.

"They know,"

"Who?"

"My friends… I think yours too…" He said, his hair billowing in the wind. He turned his head to look at her.

"I think so too," She looked at the scenery in front of her. She could see the woods, the clouds, the sky, the students… She turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with mixed emotions. She's still uncertain about their relationship especially since that goodbye he gave her. She has been looking at the figurine every time she was doubting her feelings.

"How… how do you feel about them knowing?" He asked, lowering his gaze. He couldn't look at her when she gives him her response. He has fallen too deep for his liking and he could not deny the bet he made with his father. He couldn't feel as though he was losing, he never knew emotions are hard to handle. He thought this would be easy… but he guessed wrong.

"Truthfully… I don't know," She sighed and looked at the sky. "I feel as though we should stop…" He felt the pain in his chest increase and he tried his best to hide it.

"…but at the same time, I don't," She looked at him and smiled. It was one of those smiles he loved so much. It was so happy and so serene. It was everything that he knew he could never return. Everything that he has been striving to reciprocate.

"I agree on the last part," he chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood and laughed along with him.

"So I guess it is official then?" She asked, leaning against the railings of the rooftop.

"Not quite, I wouldn't want chocobo boy hurting you," He replied and took in a deep breath.

"It's more you I'm worried about," She tittered, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? I'll have you know, I have one countless national championships in Kendo." He said calmly in a supercilious manner. Tifa scoffed at this and pushed herself of the railing.

"That's old school, besides Judo has more advantage if there were no weapons involved," She boasted and placed her hands on her sides.

"How about we have a little spar then?"

"W-What? Right here? B-But I'm not properly clothed for it!" Tifa said exasperatedly. She glared at Sephiroth's smirk.

"Typical, you're just afraid I'll beat you." He grated, sending a wink at her afterwards, causing her to blush.

"Fine! Let's do it!" Tifa prepared herself, making sure she has the right form before launching herself towards him. He blocked her attacks and managed to dodge them with ease. It continued for 10 more minutes and Tifa is getting exhausted, it was plainly visible because she was panting and her attacks are becoming sloppy. With her last attempt to throw him which turned unsuccessful she collapsed against him. He held her as she panted and gasped for air.

"You need more stamina, Tifa." He joked, he knew that she is fit for a woman her age. She mumbled something incoherent at him and he chuckled at her state.

"Bastard,"

He walked towards the wall where the exit is at, Tifa in his hands and leaned on it before slowly sliding down the wall so that he could sit down and placing Tifa on his lap to let her rest. They stayed that way for a couple of minutes until Tifa finally fell into slumber. He gave a small smile when he saw her cuddled up against him and his blazer and didn't bother waking her up. Maybe his father could pull a few ropes for him so that they both won't be in trouble for skipping classes. Yes, that would be nice. He fell asleep after half an hour with his hand holding her close as if he was afraid to let someone take her away.

A/N: So there you go guys! I hope you had fun. :)

It seems that my writer's block hasn't completely left yet :( I hope it's not too OOC for you guys ^^'' I'll try to update as soon as I can!