The Last Traces of Childhood
Chapter 11 – TheEnd?
(Note: Some contents in this chapter may not be suitable for children under 13.)
Dear Diary,
Oooh, I can't believe what just happened Quoting from Yuffie, "Oh Gawd!" I really hope that I didn't scare Cloud off! Argh, I should waited! I feel so stupid! This is one of those times that I wish there was a fortune-teller with me right now, and she could tell me what's in me and Cloud's futureif we even have one together, that is! *Sniff* Can't believe the summer has the start like this Wish I had a time machine so I turn back to an hour ago and take back those stupid words. I don't want to lose Cloud I wish I could talk to Yuffie about my situation, but knowing her, she'll most likely say something like, "You shouldn't worry; everything will work out fine!" Maybe so, but how long is it gonna take? This time, I have doubts her prediction All I can say is, if Cloud turns to someone else, it's over between us Hey, some jerk is throwing rocks at my window! Geez, how irritating! I'm gonna look out my window and confront the jackass, so I think I ought to sign off; I'll write sometime later when I'm up to it
Aeris tucked her diary under the mattress and frowned at the small "clink!" sound that repeatedly was heard by her ears, as small pebbles contacted with her window. Now clothed in her pajamas of a button-up, oversized, white dress shirt reaching down to a couple of inches below her boxers, the flower girl got up from her bed. She had wanted changed quickly, wanting to get out of that horrid prom gown as soon as possible, for wearing it only made her remember the past events and made fresh pain stab at her heart. The auburn-haired teenager went over to her window and pushed open the doors, peering outside and trying to look at the perpetrator chucking rocks against the glass frame of her window.
"Hey, stop that!" She called out into the dark night with quiet firmness.
The teenage girl squinted her eyes and glanced around her yard. All she could see was a dim figure moving near toward herclimbing on the entangled vines! She gasped and shut her window, latching the lock tightly. Aeris dashed back to her bed, yanked her blanket over her and gripped her two teddy bears closely to her chest. Her rasped breathing filled the silent air as she waited for the intruder to either show their face, or leave. Aeris' hands shook when she finally stood up and went back to the glassy window. She unlocked the doors, and pushed them out once more.
Suddenly, a shadowy face appeared! The flower girl opened her mouth to scream, but a hand leapt out of nowhere and covered her mouth, sealing her vocal cry. Aeris backed off, and a dark figure jumped in from outside and grabbed her arm. She struggled to get away to her door, but the person darted after her and the two stumbled to the floor, the figure falling on her as they landed. The auburn-haired teenager wrestled to get the intruder off, but she couldn't move when her body was pinned to the floor. She snarled and moved around restlessly, only stopping when a beam of light appeared as the person flicked on a flashlight, revealing their face.
"Aeris, it's me!" A quiet male voice informed her.
"Cloud?!" Aeris shrieked as quietly as she could, happiness rushing through her as well as anger. Her boyfriend looked solemnly down at her.
"Sorry if I scared you" He apologized softly. Then he glanced at their position and immediately got off of her; he reached down with his hand and helped her up.
"It's okay" Aeris assured him. "But Cloud, what are you doing here? It's almost one o'clock!"
"I know, I know" He replied, brushing his long blonde bangs away from his forehead and fumbled with the sleeve of his jacket. Even at nighttime, the summer weather was hot and Cloud slipped out of his black leather jacket, tucking it under one of his arms as his girlfriend gave him a curious look.
"Something wrong?" She questioned, almost coldly.
"N-no," He stammered. "Uh, maybe we should sit down" Aeris obliged with a careless shrug and sat on the edge of her bed, then tugged Cloud down to sit beside her; he did so.
The flower girl glanced strangely at him and he kept looked away nervously, not meeting her eyes.
Not this again! She thought, beginning to feel upset
"Cloud, tell me what's bothering you," Aeris persisted. When he didn't answer, she demanded more firmly, "I'm not trying to sound rude, but if you're not here for any reason, perhaps you should leave"
Cloud stayed silent; the teenage girl's patience was wearing short. She sighed in frustration and stood up, putting her hands on her waist. Aeris opened her mouth and was about to say more, but her boyfriend gently pulled her back down and placed a finger over her mouth and a few seconds later, his lips replaced his finger.
This is what he came for? Aeris wondered. Mmmm, I guess this is a good enough reason
No, it isn't. Another part of her mind said. Stop prancing around and get the truth!
Even though she didn't really want to, the flower girl backed off and asked him, "Um, is this why you came?"
"No" Cloud answered. "ListenI was thinking about you said earlier at the prom"
Her stomach tightened and she questioned sadly, "You're gonna break up with me?"
Cloud's eyes widened. "What?? No way! What ever gave you that idea?"
"I was afraid that I scared you off," Aeris admitted quietly, looking down at her hands shyly.
"No, no, it's nothing like that!" He assured her softly, and then lifted up her chin with one finger. "I just couldn't wait until morning to tell you"
"Tell me what?" She asked, a confused expression on her face.
"Remember when you said that you loved me?"
"Hrmp," Aeris grunted, slight bitterness creeping up in her voice. "How could I forget-you didn't respond and clamed up"
"I apologize for hurting you," Cloud said quietly. "But let me finish"
"Alright" She replied, and focused her attention on him.
He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, then looked into her eyes with deep intensity that made her want to her shiver, and said to very softly, "I love you, Aeris"
She gasped. "What did you say?"
"You heard me" Cloud told her with a wry smile. "I said I love you."
Aeris buried her face into her blanket, feeling a little embarrassed.
This is a fine mess She thought to herself. Cloud finally says that he loves me and I get cold feet
"Aeris, are you okay?" He asked with concern.
"Y-yeah, I'm all right" The teenage girl said, her voice muffled by the soft cotton fabric. "Just wasn't expecting-I mean, um"
Her boyfriend laughed quietly. "So I'm not the only one that's nervous?"
"Noof course notdo you know how hard it was for me to say, "I love you" to another person besides my parents? Oh wait, you do know, arghI feel so stupid" She murmured.
Cloud took her blanket away and said, "Well, don'tyou shouldn't" Aeris lifted up head and giggled nervously.
"Heh, that was my first time saying that I loved anyone, you know," Her boyfriend admitted, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I mean, I've said it to my parents, but it doesn't really count, ya know what I mean?"
She nodded. "Earlier, tonight? That was my first time too" Aeris told him as a small teardrop dripped down her cheek.
"W-what's that?" The teenage boy asked worriedly, when he noticed the tear. "Rissy, why are you crying?"
"Oh, it's not out of sadness!" She told him. "I'm just very happyhappy at what you said to me"
Aeris gently touched his cheek with her hand and said with a small smile, "If Yuffie was here, she'd say that she was right; everything did work out"
Cloud smiled back. "I'm glad that it did"
He raised a hand and lightly traced Aeris' smooth facial features. The flower girl smiled and brought up hers to brush it gently against his slightly stubby cheek. Her boyfriend caught that fugitive hand and momentarily rested his lips gently upon her fingertips; she let out a sigh of pleasure.
After he did so, Cloud bent his head down and kissed her on the mouth, softly caressing her lips with his, while she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. One of Cloud's hands settled on her waist as the other went to slowly caress her hair. His girlfriend smiled inwardly and pressed his head more firmly against her. The flower girl's gentle force caused him to lean more foreword. Cloud wrapped his arms around her, carefully putting the weight on his elbows, not wanting to crush her as the two fell back onto the mattress, Aeris' dress shirt sliding slightly up her slender thigh at their action.
The couple continued kissing; not noticing that the teenage girl's blanket had slithered off of the bed and fell silently to the floor. Her body tightly pressed under her boyfriend's warm one, Aeris ran her hands along her his muscular back, and then ran her fingers gently through his spiky blonde hair. His lips left her mouth and traveled down, past her chin. He gently kissed the sensitive skin on her neck as Aeris shut her eyes tightly and smiled.
Cloud's hands retracted from her hair and waist, and he swiftly slipped his shirt off over his head; the piece of clothing fell silently onto the bed. The flower girl pulled back slightly and placed a hand over his heart, unwillingly stealing the beat. He gently touched her cheek with his fingertips, and then the teenage boy leaned down and his hands went slowly to the front of her dress shirt. Taken in by the passion and sensation of the situation, he unfastened four of her buttons, paused for a second and kissed the soft skin that was revealed. Aeris intertwined her arms around his upper body, resting her hands gently upon his muscular naked back.
A small white strap slipped out into view when she shifted and upon noticing it, she immediately tucked it back into the folds of her shirt, blushing fiercely. Cloud smiled slightly seductively down at her, then slowly went back to his task. He unhooked all but two buttons, and stopped to peel the two pieces of clothing back, placing his soft lips on her navel after doing so. Pleasure jolted through Aeris' nerves and she let out a small moan. Feeling a bit cold, Aeris grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her chest, covering her bare skin.
Cloud's eyelids felt heavy as he slowly pulled away from her, spotting his girlfriend watching him through half-closed eyes. The spiky-haired teenager couldn't read the emotions in her face, but he sheepishly hoped that she didn't hate him for what they just done; he certainly didn't have any regrets. Doing that with someone he loved, Cloud had no objections to it. But, maybe Aeris had
"I-I'm really sorry, Rissy" He apologized softly, pink flush appearing in his pale, sweaty cheeks. Carefully, he got off her and slipped to the floor, sitting with his back against the side of her bed.
Aeris didn't say anything, just sat up on the hard mattress and silently refastened the buttons on her shirt. Then, she slid down as well and sat next to him, her lush eyelashes fluttering over her eyelids as she closed her eyes. The flower girl leaned her head atop the surface of her bed.
"You can slap me if you want to?" Cloud offered, wincing slightly at the thought of his girlfriend being mad enough to strike him.
A dreamy smile spread over her soft, pink lips. "I'm not gonna slap you" She said finally.
"Um, a-are you mad?" He questioned nervously.
"Not reallya little surprised, perhaps"
"Surprised at what?" Her boyfriend asked.
"Our boldness," Aeris answered with a giggle. "I mean, my parents are down the hallway and we just kept making out, and" She paused and flushed. "Other stuffon my bed, of all places!" The teenage girl wagged a finger at Cloud teasingly. "If they had walked in on us, I'm sure my mom and dad would get the wrong idea about our relationship"
A twinkle appeared in his cool blue eyes as Cloud replied bravely with a boyish grin, "What wrong idea? That I can't resist you?"
Aeris blushed deeply and protested, "Cloud"
"Ugh, sorry" His smile fell as he apologized for-what felt like to him-the hundredth time.
I hope she doesn't think I'm some kind of pervert The teenage boy thought, a painful feeling appearing in his chest.
His girlfriend chuckled. "You already apologized multiple times"
"No, I meant, I'm sorry for what I did." Cloud informed her.
The flower girl smiled. "Like I said before, 'it takes two to tango'. I had fault as well; don't blame yourself for what happened"
"Uh, I guess I should go" Her boyfriend declared, somewhat unwillingly.
"Yeah" She replied, just as reluctantly.
"See ya later, Rissy" Cloud said as he picked up his jacket and stood up from the floor.
"Bye" She called to him quietly.
Ooooh, it's gonna be hard going to sleep after that Mmmm, Cloud's got a pretty nice body Aeris thought with a small giggle, and then silently scolded herself for thinking that way.
The flower girl smiled to herself and retrieved her blanket from the ground, and then she grabbed her teddy bears. She wondered if she should get out her diary and add a new entry, but a tired yawn escaped her mouth and Aeris decided to postpone it until morning. Sighing blissfully, she hugged the two stuffed animals to her sides, and lay back on her bed. As she closed her emerald green eyes, Aeris couldn't help but wonder if what she shared with Cloud would ever happen again
Is this theend? Well, I suppose the fall - freshman year in college - will answer that The flower girl hypothesized, and started to drift off to sleep with a big yawn. I hope it will, anyway
To be continued
Author's Note: Hope you readers enjoyed this, please review and let me know what you think of my fic! I know that these high school stories piss off some people, but I'm hoping that mine didn't, heh heh BTW, I'm aware that some (well, most) of the peoples' behaviors are OOC, but this fanfiction does occur in an alternate universe Well, whether or not you liked this story, I'd like to ask you readers a question: should I write a college sequel?
With love for my fans,
Tiger5913
