Those Eyes Book One-Complete

Day One

Sam POV

I love living in Midgar. It's such a change from the mundane life of a backwater town like Gongaga. Still, I kind of miss my old home, my parents, and the closeness of nature. Hardly anything grows here in the city. Except people, of course. There are lots of people.

"Goodmorning, Sam! How's the prettiest girl in Midgar doing?"

I don't look up from checking the coffee levels. I know who it is. Greg. He keeps coming here and flirting with me, and it's so annoying. I mean, he's nice and all, but he's not really my type. I like guys that aren't so...plain and normal and predictable.

"I wouldn't know. I'm not her," I reply in a bored tone. He always asks the same question. "You want your usual?"

"Aw, you know me too well!"

Wish I didn't. "Right, it'll be ready in a minute."

"Say, Sam, you get off at 20:00 right?"

Right on schedule. "Yep. I do every night except weekends, as you know."

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies with me tonight?"

Tonight? Thank heavens I actually have a good excuse not to go. I'm not a big fan of going to the movies. "Sorry, Greg. I have plans for tonight. Nikki, Michelle, and I are going to go check out that new ShinRa exhibit tonight."

"You're really into ShinRa stuff, huh? That's cool."

I shrug and hand him his coffee. "Here you are. Maybe you should take Angela to the movies instead. She's been wanting to go for a while."

Greg sighs. "Yeah, I suppose."

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As soon as I get off work, I fix my hair and hurry to the ShinRa building. Luckily, Aunt Jenna's place isn't too far, and I can walk there. I hope I'm not too late.

My friend, Nikki, was finally able to get us a reservation for the new exhibit. She and Michelle are ShinRa enthusiasts like me. Their weapons and tech and overall knowledge is just so amazing! And they do it all with the unlimited power of Mako energy.

"There you are Sam!" Nikki calls as I join them in front of the ShinRa building.

"Sorry, I couldn't drive because Aunt Jenna took the car," I explain earnestly.

"Whatever, let's just get inside before we're late for our reservation," Michelle says, leading the way. Like Nikki, her dad works here, so she knows her way around pretty well.

"So, Sam, did Greg stop by again?" Nikki asks me as we wait in line at the reception desk.

"Of course," I respond, sighing. I know where this is going.

"You should go out with him. He's really nice and he works here at ShinRa."

"He's not my type."

"That's what you said about Nick, too!" she pouts. She hands her ID to the receptionist.

"He wasn't my type either," I say, shrugging. I pull out my ID and give it to the woman. After scanning it, she hands it back.

"Are you sure you even know your type?" Michelle inquires as we walk up the stairs to the elevators.

"I do. I like guys who aren't so plain and normal and stuff."

Both my friends give me a look. I cross my arms over my chest. "What?"

"Good luck finding someone like that here," Michelle sighs, scanning her visitor's keycard over the scanner to let us onto the elevator.

"More chance of it here than back in Gongaga," I retort.

"True, but maybe you should give Greg a chance all the same."

I press the button for the 59th floor once we're inside an elevator. "I'm not going out with any man that I'm not in love with."

"But-" Nikki begins, but Michelle cuts her off,

"It's no use, Nikki. She's made up her mind."

I nod. "Yes, I have indeed made up my mind about this-"

Suddenly, a little red light pops out of the ceiling and begins flashing. An alarm begins to sound, too. What's going on? Did we do something wrong?

"What's happening?" Nikki asks, panicking. "What's with the alarm?"

"Attention! An intruder has entered the ShinRa building! All visitors please remain calm and head to the 59th floor," an automated voice tells us over the intercom. It repeats the message a few more times before falling silent.

"An intruder?" I question. "That can't be us, right?"

"No, we have visitor passes. Someone else must be trying to break in," Michelle replies, though her voice carries a slight hint of doubt.

Nikki frowns. "I bet it's some Anti-ShinRa group like AVALANCHE trying to cause trouble or something!"

"Doesn't matter to us. We just need to head to the 59th floor as we are already doing."

"Skyview Hall. I heard the view is the amazing from up there and people from all over the world come here just to see it."

"I wonder why they want us to go there."

"Better security," I guess.

Suddenly, the elevator stops at Floor 49, the SOLDIER floor. The doors open, and a tall man with long silver hair wearing a long black coat over his bare muscular chest and slightly baggy pants tucked into knee-high black boots steps inside. He's very good-looking, but his blue eyes are cold and calculating, making him seem very intimidating.

My friends and I give him some space as he presses the button for the highest floor. Those eyes of his pass over us in a single sweep. Seeing us as not a threat, he relaxes a little and takes his gloved hand off the hilt of his long odachi-style sword.

When the elevator begins to move again, he finally speaks, "you're visitors?"

We nod, too nervous to say anything. Is he SOLDIER? If he is, that would explain why he's so scary.

"You have nothing to worry about."

Is the scale of the intrusion really so high that they're calling out SOLDIER? I heard each member of SOLDIER is like a one man army. I wonder if that's true. I'm too scared to ask him, though.

"Wow, are you a SOLDIER?" Nikki asks excitedly, getting over her fear rather quickly. Nothing can faze her for very long. "Is it true that you guys are infused with Mako energy to make you more powerful? What Class are you? Are all SOLDIERs as good-looking as you?"

Michelle face-palms at that last question. That's Nikki for you. Always so talkative and forward. She's really the extrovert of our trio.

The man remains expressionless. "I am a SOLDIER 1st Class."

"Cool! That's like the best of the best, right?" she continues, not caring that he didn't answer all her questions. I'm glad that she isn't intimidated by him, or we'd lose this chance to learn more about SOLDIER. "Do you know how to use materia? Have you ever used a summon before? What kind of monsters have you killed?"

I shift uneasily at the mention of monsters. They are one of the big reasons why I left Gongaga. Three years ago, monsters attacked my parents and I while we were working in our garden. Both my parents were killed before the other villagers came to help. I survived with three long jagged scars across my chest. Ever since, I've been terrified of monsters. I hoped I'd be safe from them here in the city.

Finally, we reach the 59th floor. The three of us step out. As I pass the man, I give him a shy smile. He really is very good-looking and unlike any other guy I've ever seen.