[Name]

Away from Home, Part 12

As the days passed, you kept up with your meetings with the mysterious man. He never talked much, he would ask you questions about yourself and listen to what you have to say. Whenever you asked him anything about the island he would answer vaguely or say he would tell you the answer another time. The meetings never lasted longer than an hour; neither of you wanted anyone to question your whereabouts. Even though you weren't receiving any important answers, you couldn't help but enjoy the time spent in the antiques store. You liked to have someone who would listen to you.

"And then he told me that red travels farther than all the other colors. I really don't know how he's passing science class."

The Mystery Man, an unoriginal nickname you came up for him, smiled and then leaned across his desk toward you.

"[Name], I feel as if you've been avoiding a certain subject."

You shrugged. He was right. Anytime school or your friends became the topic of the conversation you made sure not to mention the dance on Saturday. You hoped that if you ignored it long enough it would go away.

"But that's not how life works."

"Why?"

A simple question with a complex answer. If the circumstances had been different, going to a dance wouldn't seem so bad. Getting dressed up and spending the night with your friends could be fun. But the events of the past week had left your brain fried, so you thought it best to just relax this weekend. Plus you hated how the boys would argue with each other. That was the worst. The man spoke again.

"You don't hate these people do you? I don't see why you're apprehensive about this."

"Well... Every time the subject comes up it causes a lot more trouble than it's worth."

"Seeing as the dance is tomorrow, you might want to fix that."

"[NAAAAAAAAAMMMMMEEEEE]!!"

You jolted out of bed and came face to face with Yuffie.

"Today's the day!" She cheered.

"How did you get into my room?!"

"Huh?" Your brain function was not yet 100%.

"Of the dance, silly!"

"Shit." You were 0% prepared for this.

"Oh, well... I haven't had time to find something to wear so I don't know-"

"Never fear! Ninja Yuffie is here!" She cried as she rushed to the bathroom. You took the opportunity to look around the dorm and notice that Namine was nowhere to be seen.

"Voila!" You looked to Yuffie and saw her holding a piece of formal wear that looked red carpet worthy.

"Woah, when did you get that?"

"Monday. Now hurry up! We only have six hours to get ready!" She handed you the outfit and shoved you into the bathroom to get changed. It only took you a few minutes and soon you were stepping back into the room. Namine had returned and was helping Yuffie organize her makeup and hair supplies.

"Hey, Namine." They both turned toward you and silently stared for what seemed to be forever.

"What?" You began to fidget. All this staring was making you uncomfortable.

"[Name]..."

"You look gorgeous!" Yuffie finished with a large smile. Your cheeks began to heat up as you tried to shift the focus away from you.

"Uh, thanks... So what are you guys wearing?"

It turns out that Namine was going to wear a simple and clean white formal dress while Yuffie had a tux with a dark green tie. It didn't surprise you that Yuffie chose to roll up the sleeves and loosely knot the tie. Now it was time for hair and makeup.