He finally got away from Hewley.
Sephiroth sighs, glad he found this little route to the dojo a while ago, a perfect excuse to escape from that overly friendly senior. He doesn't hate Hewley at all though, but sometimes it's just so exhausting trying to keep up with his energy.
He enjoys the solitude of his walk, his eyes trained on his phone as he reads through tomorrow's course material. As he approaches the corner heading to Midgar Seventh, a couple of familiar voices begin to drift from ahead.
"You really should stay away from her. She's dangerous."
"Oh come off it, she's actually really nice! You're both kinda similar in a way."
"I am nothing like her."
"Oh yes, you are. Underneath all that, you're both just big softies."
"S-softies?!"
Sephiroth looks up from his phone. It's that girl again, with her long, dark hair and wine-red eyes, walking with that spiky haired pretty boy who carries around a bat.
He passes by them a lot when he takes this route. Ever since he bumped into that girl months ago, she's taken to greeting him, and he always greets back out of politeness. At the same time, it seems he earned the ire of the blonde boy, receiving a death glare from him each time they pass. Which, if Sephiroth was being honest, amuses him to no end, that he can get such a reaction for doing absolutely nothing.
He doesn't even know their names. They were just passersby at the end of the day. Complete strangers from different schools politely acknowledging each others' presence. Like when you thank the bus driver when you get off your stop.
Sephiroth expects the same greeting today as he meets the girl's eyes. But instead, he's met with bright, excited eyes, and she dashes off from the blonde boy's side to meet him.
"Tifa!" the spiky guy calls out after her, sounding exasperated. So her name is Tifa? Sephiroth makes a mental note of that.
The girl called Tifa ignores him, stopping in front of Sephiroth. He stops as well, just staring at her, waiting. Is there a reason she's approaching him directly now?
"Good afternoon," she greets as usual. Jovial, to the point, but it's the first time she greets him this close up. This is the second time he's seen her so close, and he notes the little fading freckles speckling her cheeks.
"Good afternoon," he replies monotonously as he usually does.
"Just a moment, please." She reaches into a paper bag he hadn't noticed she was carrying. It looks almost empty now. She comes up with a small little plastic bag sealed with a red ribbon, filled with what looks like a mix of separately wrapped confectionery. "Happy Valentine's Day!"
He blinks down at the little plastic bag, completely thrown off. He hadn't expected a girl who he just passes by to suddenly give him something.
But of course, Valentine's Day. He recalls the mountain of chocolate and letters stuffed in his locker earlier today. How Hewley had hooted at him and called him "Mr. Popular" upon seeing it. How so many girls (and a few boys) approached him today to invite him somewhere private, probably to confess. He'd rejected them, obviously, not at all interested in stuff like that.
Sephiroth is used to this kind of attention. This has been happening to him for as long as he remembers. He's gotten sick of the taste of chocolate by now.
So then why is his heart going this fast while getting what are clearly obligatory chocolates from this random girl?
He betrays none of these thoughts on his face, however, as he reaches out and takes the little bag. He looks down at it briefly, then back up at her.
"Thank you," he says simply, "Tifa, was it?" He pauses, considering, then continues. "I'm Sephiroth."
Tifa seems surprised that he introduced himself. But then she smiles, putting her hands behind her and leaning towards him. "It's nice to finally put a name to the face, Sephiroth."
From over her shoulder, Sephiroth doesn't miss the hilariously ugly scowl the blonde pretty boy is making. For some reason, he gets this irresistible urge to annoy him even more, so he gives Tifa a soft smile in return. "Figured it was about time," he responds, dropping the monotone.
"Tifa," the spiky one calls out with a tone of impatience. As she turns back around to look at him, Sephiroth couldn't help the smirk that forms on his face. Spiky head doesn't miss that, his scowl deepening, blue eyes practically burning a hole into him as he taps his bat against his shoulder.
"Alright, alright." Tifa huffs, and she turns back to give Sephiroth an apologetic look. He schools the smirk back into a friendly smile for her. "Sorry, gotta go. Hope you enjoy the chocolates!"
"Thank you once again," he responds, "farewell."
She walks past him with a parting nod and he also moves forward, eyes meeting with the blonde kid. The way his cheeks are puffed and brows furrowed underneath the blonde spiky hair reminds Sephiroth of an angry baby chocobo. The image is funnier than it has any right to be.
"It's just friendship chocolate," chocobo face mutters at him as they pass each other. "Don't get any ideas."
Sephiroth just looks down at the little bag of candy in his hand, smiling to himself, surprised at the amount of amusement this small event is giving him.
He looks forward to seeing those two again.
This bonus chapter is dedicated to the 3 Clotisephs out there. Keep on shippin', friends.