[Name]

Away from Home, Part 14

The bell ending third period rang.  You quickly gathered your things and made your way over to today's person of interest.  If you were going to get to the bottom of what was going on, you were going to have to talk to a certain person: Kairi.  You had a feeling that she might have went through what's happening to you right now.

"Hey Kairi, can I talk to you after school?"  You asked hesitantly.  You had prepared yourself for rejection just in case.  She looked at you for a moment before responding.

"Okay."

"Oh!  Well, uh, how about we meet by the gates?"  Honestly speaking, you didn't expect her to agree so easily.  She nodded.

"Sounds good."

The school day dragged on.  Whenever you had time, you thought about how you were going to ask Kairi what you've been wondering.

"'So why exactly does everyone think you're a skank?'  No.  How about, 'Did anyone ever try and force you to date one of your friends?'  Nah."

By the time sixth period rolled around you still didn't know what you were going to say.  Oh crap.  It was sixth period.  A feeling of dread grew as you changed into your training clothes.  

"Please don't let this class be awkward because of the whole Tifa situation."

You left the locker room and joined the other students in the gym.

"Alright, today you'll just get a partner and spar for the rest of the period.  Be sure to use the new techniques that you've learned," Leon explained once all of the students were in the room.

"Make sure to partner with someone from your same section," Cloud added.

You looked around to find someone to spar with.  There's nothing worse than being the only person without a partner.

"There's an odd number of people in your section, so it looks like I'll have to be your partner."

You recognized the voice as none other than Tifa.  Maybe there was something worse than not having a partner.

You landed on your back for the third time.  At this point you're main goal was staying on two feet instead of beating Tifa.  You had given up on trying to land a hit on her, every time you tried she would use some counter-attack and wipe the floor with you.  For the past couple of rounds, you focused mainly on defending yourself from Tifa's brutal attacks.  Seriously, this girl could kick some major ass.  Too bad you were on the receiving end of that ass-kicking.  By the time class ended you were sure you were going to be sore for the next couple of days.  You couldn't help but feel that Tifa may have taken some of her frustration out on you.

Just as planned, you met Kairi by the gates of the school.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"What happened last year?"  You blurted out.  Kairi was quiet for a moment before answering.

"It's kind of a  long story, so we should sit down for this."

You found yourself sitting on a bench downtown with Kairi waiting for her to start her story.

"You know how you're kinda the center of attention this year?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," you said, looking away from her.

"I'm being honest, you are."  You shrugged in response and she sighed.

"Anyway, that's how it was like for me last year.  Suddenly I found guys flirting with me all the time.  I never reciprocated because I never felt the same way about any of them.  But then guys got jealous of other guys and girls got jealous of the attention guys were giving me, so I was told to choose someone to date.  When they figured out I wasn't going to date anyone..."  She trailed off.  Kairi cleared her throat and continued.

"They're still great friends; I don't hold anything against them."

All you could do was nod.  A quick smile flashed across Kairi's face.

"I remember there was this one time where I had to be in a play as punishment and then all the other guys joined, too."

"What kind of punishment is acting?"  You asked with a slight laugh.

"I have no idea.  The whole thing was ridiculous.  On the night of the performance all of the guys with acting parts tried to improv a kiss with my character."  She said shaking her head, but not without a smile.

"What play was this anyway?"

"The Tragedy of King Lear."

"Oh, who was your character then?"

"King Lear."

You and Kairi spent some time talking and laughing on that bench.

"And then he told me that I had 'magnificent orbs'," Kairi laughed.

"What the heck are those?"  You giggled.

"I guess he meant my eyes.  But I thought he was talking about my boobs so I tried to avoid him for the rest of the week."  You both laughed.  After a few more minutes of talking, it was decided that you both should start heading back to the dorms.  The two of you were walking along the sidewalk when you recognized a certain street.

"Hey Kairi, you go on ahead.  I need to go do something."  She shrugged.

"Okay."

You turned down the street and made your way over to the quaint house.  You knocked on the door and hoped that what you were doing was going to end well.

"Hey," Tifa said when she opened the door.  Her voice was tense and her face was unreadable.

"Can I come in?  I won't be long."  

Once you were in her living room, you turned to face Tifa and took in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry.  I'm sorry about what happened and I hope you feel better.  I understand why you might not like me right now.  I never meant for any of this to happen.  I want you to know that you're a good friend of mine and that I would never intentionally hurt you.  I'm sorry."

Tifa was silent for what felt like an eternity, but it was probably just a moment.  You thought you saw her lip quiver.  Her arms quickly wrapped around you.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.  "I'm so sorry."  You rubbed her back while she still held onto you.

"There, there," you murmured back.  "There, there."  

It wasn't much, but it was all you could think to do to comfort her.  You didn't blame her for being frustrated with you after Cloud broke up with her.  She was just hurting and needed to release it somehow.  What she needed was others to be there for her at a time like this.  After all, people need people.  You don't know how long you were standing there with her, but it didn't matter to you.  All that mattered was showing Tifa that you were there for her and always would be.

"There, there."

Author's Note:

Wow, didn't think I would get this out so soon.  I didn't edit this chapter as much as my other ones so please let me know if you find any errors or if the writing doesn't make sense.  I hope everyone is having a great time now that school is coming to an end!  Hope you enjoyed this!