Your Magic Final Fantasy Adventure

Chapter 10- Valentine's Day Ruckus

"I am not wearing that, Yuffie."

It was now Monday afternoon. The dance was on Friday, and Yuffie had taken you shopping for an outfit to wear for the occasion. Currently, she held up a bubblegum-pink strapless, frilly dress with a whole bunch of fluff in the skirt. If it was a darker color, you could see one of your older friends wearing it, but the color was what was killing it for you.

"Why not?" whined Yuffie.

"Look at it! I'd look like the forgotten cast member of 'The Wizard of Oz' who helped land planes because her dress is so damn vibrant!"

Yuffie gave you a 'seriously?' look. "You're overreacting," she said, putting the dress back.

"Listen to me, Yuffie. I'm not anti-dress, like a lot of girls seem to be for some reason. But, there are limits, girl. This is only a high school dance. Save the fancy stuff for when Cloud and Tifa get married."

You kind of regretted that last sentence, but knowing Cloud, that probably wouldn't be for a while, anyway.

The two of you were in that store for three hours. You found a simple, fitted strapless dark metallic electric blue and midnight purple dress, with a leopard print, that reached just over your knees. You helped Yuffie find something practical (to be a ninja, she was awfully into frilly dresses) which turned out to be a black and white polka dotted rockabilly pinup dress. You also ended up getting accessories, and even debated getting some hair extensions for Yuffie so that she could wear her hair in one of those updos that went with her dress. You decided against it.

You were at a store a few towns away, ensuring that no one would buy the same dress you did. When the two of you had finally finished up, Tifa drove you home.

"Ready for the dance now?" asked Yuffie, as the two of you settled into bed.

You snuggled into your covers and gave her a smug, stubborn "nope."

The next day at school, you came across Serah, who was holding a box of pink and white carnations. "Hi, guys!" she said.

"What's up with the box of flowers?" Yuffie asked her.

"These are carnations," she corrected. "They're gifts. You can find a kiosk in every wing of the building, where you can buy one for the object of your affections. You just fill out a form telling us who and where to send it to, and if you want to send a message, what it should say."

You nodded. "So, if I end up getting one of these, I know that I officially have a stalker."

"Somehow, you always manage to suck the fun out of things, [name]." And with that, Serah walked off.

You laughed. "Man, it's so fun to do that to her. Or to anybody who makes a big deal out of this stupid holiday."

"Oh, have we a sourpuss here?" asked Logan; you were now in front of weaponry class. "Or, perhaps a woman scorned?"

"Call it what you want," you replied. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, call it what you want! Foster The People reference FTW.)

You entered the room, where Kimahri was cleaning the practice weapons. "Kimahri agrees with [name]," he said. "Kimahri thinks love holiday is foolish."

You held out a hand. "See?"

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at you.

As you took your seat and began searching for your homework to turn in, Logan sat in Snow's seat (two seats to the right of yours). "So, I've heard that [name] has had the unfortunate displeasure of meeting my younger cousin."

You rolled your eyes. "How'd you find that out?" you asked.

"Because she wouldn't shut up about it," he replied. "At dinner she continuously goes on and on about the girls at school and who she hates and why she hates them and... ugh, I think there's a malignant tumor encasing most of where my brain is supposed to be at this point." He rubbed his temples for added effect. "I thought this would stop after middle school, but-"

"Wait, she's a freshman?" you asked. "Oh, no, that means she's probably in my class tomorrow too." You groaned.

For today's lesson, you'd be outside for the duration of class for a lesson on the different types of swords. It was so important, Cloud came in to assist with the lesson, and there were a few medics around in case anyone got hurt.

"This is a two-part lesson," Logan said. "Today, we'll just work on the different types of swords. Then, next week, there'll be a lesson on special swords. So, enjoy this full practice session, because next week there won't be one."

"Aw, man," complained Snow.

"Now, then, we have seven types of swords we'll be using and studying today. They are: a rapier, cutlass, longsword, katana, buster sword, broadsword, and double-edged sword. Now, Kimahri and I have already gauged your progress and have compiled a list of which pairs will use which weapon, so listen closely."

First, Logan called Snow and Lightning for the buster sword.

"Now, what is he thinkin', putting those two together?" Fang asked no one in particular.

"That's why the medics are around," you pointed out.

You waited around. Fang and Brendan were both called for the double-edged sword, Spencer-Lynn and Noel were called for the katana, Yuffie was called for the rapier, and you were called for the longsword, against Squall.

The two of you were fairly evenly matched; you figured Squall underestimated you, or you underestimated him, or maybe both of you underestimated each other, because you had a weird feeling that this battle was an awfully tame version of what it could be.

You took a step back. "Leonhart! No holding ba-"

He got you with a low swing.

"Cheap shot." You muttered as you got back to your feet.

"Should've been paying more attention," Squall said. It almost sounded as if he was taunting you.

"Yeah, I got that." You rubbed your sore butt as you walked away.

"...cannot possibly be rigged," you heard Cloud saying. You turned in the direction you heard his voice coming from, and saw that he was talking to Snow and Logan. "No, you're just that bad."

"We'd initially given him the buster sword because he's so strong," Logan said. "Perhaps the better idea would be to give him the rapier, since he's so bad at virtually every weapon."

"Hey!" Snow complained. "I am standing right here!"

"We know. That's the problem," Lightning said before she went to get a cup of water.

~~~~~

During your break, you watched as Serah and the other girls (they all seemed to be girls) from the dance committee delivered carnations to everyone around the school. You were just about to leave to get lunch when a girl approached you. "You're [name] [last name], right?"

You tried to remember where you'd seen her. "Uh, yeah, that's me," you said, scratching your head in confusion.

"Here you go!" The girl handed you a small, pink plastic vase with one pink and two white carnations in it.

When she left, you raised an eyebrow at Yuffie. "This wasn't me, I swear," she said, lifting her right hand. "Scout's honor."

"Okay, Yuffie. But..." You gave the vase another look. "Serah said you can buy a carnation. One. That means that this person bought three, then put them all into one vase."

"So we're looking for someone who pays attention to detail, and isn't a penny-pincher." Yuffie thought. "Hmm. Who do we know that fits that description?"

You thought for circa two seconds. "This is too much work. I'm gonna go eat."

After lunch, and as you entered the building, you said to Yuffie, "You know what the hardest thing about this is? I could easily make a list of all the guys I've met here. But what about if a girl has a crush on me?"

Yuffie frowned. "But the only girl we know that actually admits to being able to fall in love with girls is Mishaela, and she's already spoken for..."

"Yeah." You thought some more. "Well, since it didn't come with a message, we could always assume that it's just from a friend... a friend that really, really values my friendship."

"But no one here has known you long enough for that besides me. Well, or Tifa, but this doesn't sound like her type of thing." Yuffie sighed. "Well, time to go to my boring, average-level music class..."

"Hey," you winked at her, "learn how to sing really fast, and you can be put into Laguna's class with me!" You turned, and discreetly laughed; you knew that wouldn't be happening.

Once you were in class, and you sat with your normal group, you saw that Callie and Yuna both had flowers, the latter having hers in her hair. "Feels good to be loved, huh?" you joked.

"Someone obviously loves you a lot," Callie replied, pointing at your vase. "Your vase is beautiful! My boyfriend is a little scatterbrained sometimes, and forgot that pink is my favorite color..." Vases and flowers were both offered in pink, but Callie's flower was white, and it rested in a purple vase. "So, I have this."

It was then that Gavin strolled into class. "Hi, girls," he said. "I see you all have admirers; secret or not?"

"Dude, I don't even know the gender of the person that sent this to me." You pouted. "I wish I did though. I hate surprises."

At that moment Lisandra walked past you, and whispered something to the girl with her while looking at your flower vase.

"Is someone green with envy?" asked Callie, not loudly, but loud enough for her to hear.

Lisandra looked over to you guys. "How cute, sluts sticking up for other sluts."

Callie turned around to face her. "Okay, bitch, first of all-"

"Not worth it," Gavin said hurriedly, as he cast a wind spell to turn her back around.

"Can someone please tell me what her problem is?" you asked.

Gavin sighed. "Lisandra's best friend developed a crush on me when we had our mission... thingy. Obviously, I refused her, and she became bitter. Both of them did, really. Ever since then, they've kind of made it their personal mission to hate just about anyone that's friends with me."

"What's her deal with her?" you asked, pointing a thumb at Callie.

She answered you, "Good old-fashioned homophobia."

"It is not," Gavin corrected her. "It's just that the fact that you're a girl with dark hair and a... nicely sized bust... who just so happens to be bisexual..."

"You remind her too much of Mishaela," you finished, and Gavin nodded. "Even though your hair is brown, and I think you're taller than her, and you're obviously older, too."

"I can't really blame them for being jealous though," added Callie, "in your case. Look at you! You're such a cutie."

"Guys?" You all turned to Yuna. "Are we going to completely ignore the fact that Gavin just used magic that was able to move a 17-year-old girl in seconds? We're freshmen; we aren't supposed to be that powerful yet."

"Hey, yeah!" You turned to Gavin. "What gives?"

"I didn't intend to make it so strong," he said. "I just wanted to turn her head, and that's the way it came out."

"I think we're going to have to keep an eye on you, Gavin," you told him, staring.

~~~~~

You managed to get through the next two days okay. On Wednesday you gave your report on your chocobo, and did well. On Thursday you made cheesy Valentine's Day desserts with Wakka, and got a fairly noticeable bruise in combat class due to Fang kicking you too hard in the shin.

Friday evening, you pulled your hair into an elegant updo, and pulled on your dress. You wore a pair of boots with it to cover up the bruise. Yuffie stood waiting for you since her hair was so short you basically could never do anything new with it, and when you were both done, you had to go up to the eighth floor to meet Tifa at her room. She was going to take you.

Then, the three of you made the block's walk back to the school.

"I'm really glad you're the one who's taking us, Tifa!" Yuffie said. "You understand a young girl's mind much better than Cloud would've."

"Don't speak too soon, he might be a chaperone at the dance," Tifa warned.

"Oh dear god, no." You covered your mouth.

"Yep. Chaperones are totally randomized for each dance. All the teachers draw a number or something."

You were worried now, not so much for yourself but for the poor soul that might try to make a move on you at the dance.

The school gymnasium was decorated with pink, red, and white streamers and balloons everywhere. There was a giant balloon arch toward the stage, too. "[name]! Yuffie! Over here!" you saw Rikku waving to you.

You obliged, and she smiled. "Hi, guys! Glad you came."

"I'm starting to regret it more with every second that passes," you informed her.

Rikku just laughed. "Hey, do you see that blond guy sitting on the stage with all those other guys?" She pointed. "That's Yuna's boyfriend, Tidus. He's really nice!"

"I've never seen him before," you said.

"That's because he's a sophomore. So, no dates?"

"We're each other's date!" Yuffie said. "Not in a romantic way, but like a best friends way, you get me?"

You sighed and looked at the clock. "Just three more hours..."

You began to look around to see anyone who might have sent you those flowers. You started with the most introverted boy you knew. "Hope!" you said, gently patting him on the back. "What're you doing here?"

"Serah's idea. Honestly, I'd rather be at home watching some stuff on Netflix or something, but I owe her one after..." He trailed off.

Now you were intrigued. "After?"

"I don't want to tell you about it now; it might dampen the mood." Hope smiled. "Why did you come?"

"Yuffie made me." You crossed your arms like an upset child.

Hope laughed. "Seems apt. Catch you later, [name]; I'm gonna go find Serah and ask how long she expects me to suffer here."

Well, now you knew it wasn't Hope.

You went and bought a can of soda before looking around for people you knew. There was Snow and his crew, but you didn't know them that well. You were fortunate enough to find Yuffie again, so you walked over to her.

"I found out that Hope was forced here too," you told her. "Now I don't feel so alone!"

Yuffie half-smiled, half-frowned. "You know, part of me thinks you're just acting like you hate it here to spite me."

"Are you kidding me? There isn't a spiteful bone in my body!" You laughed as you scanned the room again, but anything you saw didn't have time to register in your head before the music started and Yuffie pulled you to the dance floor.

"But I don't know how to dance!" you complained.

"Neither do I! In fact, I'm sure most people here don't know how to dance! Why don't you just move your body to the beat of the song?"

You took Yuffie's advice, and probably ended up looking like the biggest idiot on the dance floor. Right when you finished up an aggressive twirl, you got dizzy and bumped into someone. It was...

[Option 1: Yuj]

"Oh, hey there, [name]," Yuj said as he helped you regain your footing. "Is there any special reason you're falling into me?"

"Yeah, my dancing kind of intercepted your path," you replied. "Sorry."

"No problem. I hope you don't get offended by this, but you're not a very good dancer... are you?"

"You got me." You held up your hands in mock surrender.

Yuj laughed. "But, that's the thing about dancing; anyone can learn. May I?"

You shrugged. "Your funeral."

A moderately fast-paced techno song came on, and Yuj took your right hand and held it up high, like he was supposed to be doing a hold, but he never put his other arm around you. Instead, he started to move his feet in a certain pattern, and you tried to mimic it the best you could. After so many steps, he'd use the hand of yours that he held to switch you two around.

"Hey, this is actually kinda fun!" you said.

"Told you," he agreed. "Anyone can dance."

[Option 2: Hope]

"Oh, I'm sorry, [name]. I wasn't in your way, was I?" Hope smiled nervously as he awaited your answer.

"Trust me, there is no way you could've known I'd end up here," you told him. "No biggie. My dancing is just that unpredictable."

Hope frowned, trying to understand exactly what you meant. "Your dancing is unpredictable?" he repeated. "How so? I was always under the impression that one always has their steps planned out in their head."

"Oh, no, not me," you said with a confident grin. "My body just does what it likes, and I just... kind of let it."

"Would you be interested in a more... controlled type of dance?" asked Hope, holding out his hand.

You nodded, and as you walked over to the floor a slow waltz came on. "Just follow me, I'll lead," Hope said.

You pouted. "Now, see, I always hear people say that in movies, and I never understood it. How can I follow you? We're moving at the same time, close to one another, so it's not like I can watch you first and then try it."

"Just... it'll make sense once we start."

You were still a little confused as Hope grasped you in the traditional waltz hold, and began to move. After a while you were able to pick up on the movements and dance better.

"Oh, now I get it," you said, feeling exhilarated. "Say, Hope, how do you know how to waltz, anyway? I don't think it's exactly a standard-issue skill for people our age."

"Oh. When I was younger, my parents enrolled me in charm school. We learned all of this stuff; you know, chivalry and the like." Hope smiled a little. "I honestly didn't think I'd use any of it, but here I am."

"Nice thing to have up your sleeve," you told him, as you continued on.

[Option 3: Gavin]

You squealed as you fell to the floor, falling on top of whoever it was you initially ran into. While getting up, you realized that person under you was Gavin.

"Oh, Gavin! I'm so sorry!" You sprung to your feet, and offered a hand. "I'd have been more careful if I could've, but, uh... yeah."

"No hard feelings," he said as he stood. "It was an accident. I understand."

"But I totally ruined your dance with..." You looked around, but the ravenette you were looking for was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Mishaela? I thought you'd be dancing with her."

"Yes, well..." Gavin averted his gaze. "I'm not sure that she wants to. However, since we're both here now, maybe you can be my partner?"

"That's probably not a good idea," you insisted. "I mean, come on. I just knocked you over not even two minutes ago."

He shrugged. "Always room for improvement."

There was a salsa-esque song on as the two of you walked to the dance floor. "Do you know what you're doing?" asked Gavin.

"No, but I've watched enough 'Dancing With The Stars' to know. Plus, if push comes to shove, I could just watch you."

Gavin nodded, and took your hand as he began to lead you in a simple salsa. You tried to move your hips like you were supposed to, and coordinate with your steps. You thought you were doing okay; but, whenever you looked at Gavin, you were convinced you'd never be as good as he was.

"Thanks for dancing with me, [name]. I really appreciate it." Gavin gave you a short nod.

[Option 4: Noel]

You fell flat to your butt, and the person who you'd bumped into barely flinched. He did turn around, though, and that's when you realized it was Noel.

"Oh, hey," he said. "[name], right? What are you doing all the way down there?" He offered his hand.

"I was dancing, and then I twirled, and because of that I didn't exactly see you," you explained. "That's why I bumped into you, and fell."

"Oh." Noel thought. "It sounds like fast-paced dances aren't for you. I suggest something slower; maybe like what's playing now."

You gave a listen, and discovered that the music had now changed to a jazzy piece. "What kind of dancing do you do with this type of music?" you asked.

"The easiest kind in the world." Noel offered his hand again, but for a different reason this time. "May I?"

You stared at his hand for a few seconds, but then took it. "Okay, but I'm warning you, you're probably gonna regret this down the line."

Once the two of you made it onto the dance floor, Noel held you close and began to sway from side to side. "This is it," he said to you.

"Really? All we're gonna do is sway?" You felt more confident now.

"Yep. As long as you don't mess this up, we'll be good for the rest of the song."

You rested your head on Noel's chest as you continued to dance to the music. When the song ended, he flashed you a smile. "There you go," he said. "Now when a jazz song is on and someone else asks you to the floor, you can look like you know what you're doing."

"Of course," you agreed. "See ya."

~~~~~

After your dance you wanted some fresh air, so you decided to go out to the balcony. From your high perch, you could see the entrance and everyone by it. There were couples making out, a cluster of seniors smoking who knows what, and some people just taking a breather, like you. Ah, the joys of high school.

You heard the door close behind you, and turned- and you were surprised at who you saw. "Noctis?" you asked. "What are you doing here? Aren't you... you know... the enemy and all?"

He laughed a little. "Not many people know about that. As for why I'm here, a little nostalgia never hurt anyone."

"Yeah, I'm sure you had friends here," you agreed.

"Actually I did have one good friend. His name was Prompto. But, for his senior year, he's gone as an exchange student somewhere all the way in Gran Pulse." He thought. "I did exchange a couple of hellos with some people I recognized though. Which reminds me, you wouldn't have happened to see Brecken?"

You shook your head. "No, but the night is still young. The dance just started less than a half-hour ago." You frowned in thought. "Hey, wait a minute. She'd said she wasn't coming at first, until a friend of hers made her. She might've went with her original mind."

"Well, I sure hope not," replied Noctis. "The main reason I came is because she said she'd keep me company. I'll go look again."

"I'll help," you volunteered.

When you were back inside, you found out that there was slower music playing, and there was a fog machine cranked up to high, making the room smoky. "This is probably the cheesiest thing I've seen that wasn't in a movie," Noctis said to you, and you laughed, agreeing with him.

"Don't say that, they might think it's a challenge," you said in a hurried whisper to him. He smirked and nodded. "So, do you see any sign of our fair maiden?"

"Not really, but she is on the short side," replied Noctis. "She could be right behind any of these people and we wouldn't even know."

You sighed. He had a point.

The two of you eventually found your junior friends at a post near the snack table. "Hi, guys!" Brecken said, surprised at your arrival.

She then introduced Chiara and Spencer-Lynn to Noctis, and they all began to exchange pleasantries. After so long, Noctis asked Brecken to the dance floor, leaving you with the other girls.

"I'm glad you decided to come, Chiara," you said. That wasn't just you being nice; the whole reason you even found the girls was because of her hair color, so you really were glad she showed up.

Chiara nodded politely, and began to pull apart the cookie she was holding. You pretended like you weren't watching her, but you saw that she continued to break the cookie until it was in tiny pieces, then started with a different cookie.

"Hey!" Spencer-Lynn took the second cookie from her, which was broken in half already. "Those are for eating, Chiara, which'll be pretty hard to do if you keep crumbling them up like this." She ate half of a half and turned to you. "Can you convince her to ask someone to dance or something? At this rate she'll disassemble the table."

"Sure." You grabbed Chiara by the wrist and began to lead her away from the food.

"Um, [name], y-you don't have to..." she began to say. "I mean, you could have just left me-"

"Why don't you have a comfort item?" you interrupted. "People with anxiety usually have one- something they can look at, and hold close, to calm them down. Where's yours?"

"Well, the thing that comforts me the best is my sister, but since she's a living, breathing, independent entity, I think she has better things to worry about than me."

You were about to refute that when Snow's orange-haired friend walked to the two of you. Gadot, was it? "Well, hello," he said. "What a beautiful lady we have here."

"Hey, Gadot, I saw her first!" you heard someone complain behind you. You'd never heard the voice before, so you didn't try to place it. "No fair!"

"Tough break," Gadot said nonchalantly as he took Chiara's hand. "So, what brings you to this side of the gym?"

You facepalmed at how terrible that was, and Yuj, Lebreau, Snow, and a blond kid you hadn't met joined you guys. "Hi, Chiara," Yuj greeted her. "You could totally tell him to back off if you want- he's not quite as good with the ladies as I am."

"Or me," added the blond. "I'm way better than both of them put together!"

"Cut it out, Maqui," Gadot said, pushing him away. "Little shrimp. Anyway, now that the children are gone, how's about you and I get a little grown-up business done?"

Snow was the only person that noticed you, and gave you both a friendly wave before shaking his head and making the "cut" gesture (moving his hand across his neck like he was cutting his head off) making you giggle.

"Hey." You heard a familiar voice, and turned around to see Noel. "Is there a problem here?"

You shook your head, but you saw that Chiara was as pale as a ghost, (which was saying a lot, because she wasn't usually bursting with color as it is). Noel put his arm around her and told the boys. "We're going to leave now."

The boys then turned to you, but with a stern, solid "nope," you walked away.

That's when Yuffie found you. "Where have you been, [name]?" she asked. "I've been all over looking for you!"

"Sorry, I've been busy," you apologized.

"Well, that's good, I guess!" she beamed. "Come on, we can dance some more."

So you followed her... until you realized that dancing with her was how you got into this whole adventure to start with.

_
{a/n}: Yeah, I'm actually trying very hard to not ship everyone with everyone in this story.