[Name]

Away from Home, Part 3

You were surprised no one had followed you.  While you were walking down the street you took the time to ponder over your situation.

“I don’t know how far away this island is from a mainland, so I don’t know if high jacking a boat is worth the risk.  I also can’t call anyone while I’m here.  Maybe I could write a letter…?  No, I wouldn’t know who to write to and if I did, it would look suspicious if I received letters from law enforcement.”

So far your best option was to play along with whatever is happening.  You sighed at this; if you were going to be compliant this could mean spending months here before making progress in your escape plan.  You were wary of the idea of living alongside those strangers, not mention the possibility of experiencing Stockholm syndrome.

“I gotta do what I gotta do.”

On the way back to the house you had come up with a variety of lies in case anyone questioned your sudden departure.  Unfortunately, they were all awful and someone would have to have the IQ of a goldfish to believe them.  When you re-entered the house however, everyone was chatting and acting as if you hadn’t left at all.

“There you are!  Sorry about Axel, he has a reputation of being a player,” Yuffie explained as she caught sight of you.

“Hey! I am not!”  Axel protested from nearby.

“I don’t think anyone’s used the term ‘player’ since the ‘90s,” you thought as the two argued.

“Sorry about my brother, he can be a real pain in the ass.”

You looked over to see a guy with goggles.  You’re pretty sure his name was Reno.

“Oh, that’s alright.”  You noticed that red hair and questionable tattoos seemed to run in the family.

“Yo are you going to the barbecue tomorrow?  It should be pretty cool.”

“Maybe, I’m not sure yet.”  You were planning on conveniently falling sick tomorrow. 

“Don’t worry, we don’t bite,” he said with a smirk.

You weren’t entirely convinced.

Before you could respond, Tifa entered the house along with Cid.

“Well [Name], we got your dorm all set up.  Did you like the welcome?”

“Not particularly.”

“Yeah, it was nice to meet everyone.” 

You spent the next hour making small talk with the various people in the room.  Despite their strange appearance, you found it surprisingly pleasant to talk to some of the people there.

“I still don’t want to go to that damn barbeque.”

After the last person had left, Tifa turned to you and asked what you wanted for dinner.  You were starving, but being alone with the woman resurfaced the feelings of nervousness you had earlier.

“Um, I’m not really hungry.  I think I’ll just go to bed actually.”

Tifa showed you where the spare bedroom was and left you in peace.  On the bed was a pair of pajamas for you.

“How does she know my size?” you wondered.  Giving up on making sense of anything, you put on the clothes and got settled in bed.

You didn’t get much sleep that night.  So when Tifa offered you breakfast, you made sure to get your fair share of coffee.

“So [Name], have any plans before the barbecue tonight?”

“Not yet, what time is it anyway?” you asked so you knew what time to feign ill.