Hello my lovelies! I'm so sorry for the long wait! Though hey, at least this one didn't take two years to write! (I'd almost feel proud...) Many thanks to eternally awesome and ever faithful The Lonely Fox, Hinagy, VioletSkiesxX, rushninja, AmiiLouu, Zexy, The Lonely Fox (yes, twice~ cause she's that awesome), Hegodart and Evra89 for your kind words! And many thanks to christian as well for the kick in the butt (btw, I hope you can read this sometime not during 4:30 AM on a school night ;D)!

Anyway, I'm really glad I still got so many reviews after all this time, I truly appreciate it! :D
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this chappie, I made it extra long! And Merry X-mas in advance to you all! ;)

~Saekaeru

Chapter 11
Shattered

Tidus' POV:

The next day I was feeling okay again, so I went back to school. Ever since I realized how I felt about Yuna a sense of relief had washed over me. Like I finally got the last piece of the puzzle and saw the whole picture. But now it got me walking through the halls uneasily and on edge. I was nervous to run into her. Not only because of how I feel about her, but also because I have no idea what actually happened last Saturday. Seeing as I don't think she was as drunk as I was, she probably remembers each and every detail. Oh, man!

"Come on, tell me who it is!" Wakka whispered to me rather loudly, it hardly being a whisper.
I still hadn't actually told him who it was, since I didn't trust him to keep his wide trap shut. And it had to be me. I wanted to be the one to tell her. Today.

Wakka and I were walking toward history class together and turned a corner on our way.
Suddenly creeping from about that corner, Dona appeared and walked passed us. She threw me a devilish glare, I guess she didn't have much of a reason to like me anymore.. I swallowed again nervously. Dona'll probably be even more pissed off when she finds out the one girl she tried to keep from me, is the one I like so much. Dona might egg my house!

We turned another corner and suddenly I saw Lulu, Rikku and of course… Yuna.
I froze.
"Wakka, wait!"
I grabbed Wakka's t-shirt from behind and yanked him back around the corner.
"I… I can't!" I stuttered. "Sh-She's right there!"
"Who is?" Wakka boldly turned his head around the corner again. Then his head turned red with fury as he glanced over his shoulder back at me.
"LULU? You like Lu, seriously?"
"Sssh! No, no, no! I'd never…!" I hissed softly, hoping the girls wouldn't hear.
"Imma gonna do your head in, ya wussy chocobo!"

Wakka grabbed my head and locked it under his arm.
"Ouch, ouch! Dude, no! It's not Lulu!"
"Then who is it, huh?"
Wakka turned his head again, now looking at Rikku.
"It's the Al Bhed, then! Isn't it?"
I didn't want to say anything. If I said it wasn't Rikku either, even an idiot could figure out who it was instead. And Wakka was your average idiot.
"I can't say! Just lemme go already!"
"Fine! But I'll figure it out sooner or later, ya?"

Wakka finally loosened his headlock grip and I took a moment to catch my breath. Wakka sure had a lot of power in those upper arms of his..
"You comin' or what?" Wakka was already making his way toward the classroom.

I peeked around the corner again but Yuna, Rikku and Lulu were gone. They must have gone inside already. I swallowed again nervously. Okay, so I didn't have to talk to her now, but I sure had to talk to her later. I anxiously scratched the back of my head for a bit as I followed Wakka inside. Now I just had to get through history class without staring at her too much…

Yuna's POV:

My eyes couldn't help but follow Tidus as he walked in. Though he's had two days to rest since Saturday, he still seemed a bit pale and uneasy. I had hoped he would look back at me for a second and smile, but he just stared in front of him as if something were troubling him.
I grabbed my history books out of my bag and started to read a random paragraph to distract myself. But as much as I tried, the history of the city of Guadosalam failed to intrigue me now even less than it normally could. The hour passed by very slowly. I had to yawn constantly and I was relieved when the bell rang. I grabbed my books together and I put them back in my bag. As I stood up I could see Tidus walk past me hastily.

"Tidus!" I called out to him, not really thinking.
He swiftly stopped to turn around and look at me, he stammered but didn't actually say anything.
"How are you feeling?" I said when he continued to keep quiet, and I couldn't think of anything better to say.
"Oh, I'm f-fine. Thanks!"

He turned around again and walked out of the classroom at the same pace as before, if not faster. I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Why was he so jumpy? He must be embarrassed because of everything that happened Saturday.
I took my bag and hung it over my right shoulder, I traced his steps outside the classroom, where Lulu and Rikku were waiting for me for lunch. Or actually, just Rikku.

"Where's Lulu?" I asked.
"She said there was something she had to do, so she went on ahead. However, there's something I need to ask you, Yunie." Rikku suddenly had a surprisingly serious look on her face, and her voice lacked its usual chipper tone.
"Okay," I said cautiously, "what is it, Rikku?"

She glanced down and bit on the nail of her thumb as if she were ashamed and embarrassed.
"Well, Gippal asked if I, – uhm…"
Suddenly I got what she was trying to say.

"It's okay, Rikku. I don't mind if you go out with him. I don't mind at all," I smiled.
"Really?" she looked up at me with a striking hesitance in her eyes.
"Yes, really." I nodded to her in assurance.
She went quiet and stared down at her feet again. I guess she needed to hear more from me in order to truly believe me.
"It's horrible being kept from someone you like, just because someone told you you can't be with them." I reassured her. After all, I knew exactly what that was like, and remembered well how much that hurt at the time.

"Aren't you… mad at him?" Rikku inquired further.
"Maybe a little," I laughed. "But I think I can forgive him if he treats my favorite niece well."
"Am I not your only niece?" she retorted.
We both giggled for a bit, and then we both knew it was all water under the bridge.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Rikku went on, fortunately sounding much more like her usual self again. "Guess who's coming to Zanarkand for a live concert in two weeks?" she paused in a seeming attempt to create more tension; "The Black Magicians!" she yelled out eventually.
Though I was surprised by her news, I couldn't help but laugh. "Mages, Rikku! The Black Mages!"
"Same difference! But that's not the point! We can finally set up our Wakka and Lulu match-making project now!"
"Yes, that's great!" I smiled excitedly.

"We will have to make sure she doesn't find out though! Wakka needs to be the one to ask her!" Rikku continued to ramble on enthusiastically.
"Right, he has to buy two tickets and then she'll have no choice but to go with him," I remembered the plan we had laid out so ingeniously a few weeks before.
"We need to go tell Tidus right away!" Rikku chirped.

I felt butterflies in my stomach at the mention of his name. I wanted to protest against the idea, but she had already started to drag me by the wrist as she ran toward the cafeteria. Rikku and I barged through the cafeteria doors, causing for quite a few heads to turn. I glanced around, but luckily Lulu wasn't here yet. In the meantime, Rikku had spotted Tidus and launched herself toward her target like a missile, still dragging me along the way. As she made a sudden break, I flew past her and almost bumped into Tidus, who had just put his lunch on the table, where he was about to sit down with Wakka.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Tidus gasped. He seemed caught off guard. I wanted to apologize but I didn't seem to get a chance to.
"We have something important to tell you!" Rikku started. "You tell him, Yunie!"
Not expecting this sudden opening for me to speak, I blushed and was at a loss for words for a few seconds. Tidus looked at me with his azure blue eyes intensely, which made me feel weak in the knees. Why did he have to look at me like that?
"Uhm.. The Blue Mages are coming here for a concert in two weeks," I finally uttered nervously, still staring deeply into Tidus' eyes. Tidus looked at me in confusion. Did I say something wrong?

I glanced over at Rikku, who scowled as if she was thinking intensely.
"I thought you said they were black…" she mumbled.
"What?"
"The Black Mages, you said blue."
"Oh.. right!" I blushed even more, now Rikku was the one correcting me!

Tidus said nothing. He still seemed confused and simply sat down with his lunch, apparently too lost in thought to give any sort of reply whatsoever to our news. I could only wonder what he was thinking…

Tidus' POV:

I stared at my lunch in front of me, still trying to figure out what just happened. The situation seemed familiar and it reminded me of something, but what?

The two girls sat down at our table. Yuna took the empty seat next to mine. I looked at her for a second and she smiled at me. I smiled back awkwardly, now feeling even more confused. Did something happen between us last Saturday? Argh! I don't know what it is!

"Penny for your thoughts?"
I glanced sideways and Yuna was looking at me, that cute smile still framing her face. There was absolutely no way I could tell her what I was thinking! I stammered trying to look for any kind of right answer.

"Yes Blondie, whattaya think we should do about the concert?" Rikku added.
Oh right.. The Black Mages concert, I was hardly able to catch what Yuna was saying before.

Wakka, who was sitting across from me, looked about as confused as I was.
"What's this all about, ya?"

Rikku decided to explain.
"Okay, so Yunie, me and Tidus had come up with a plan to set you up with Lulu."
"You know I'm into Lu?" Wakka said surprised, taken aback.
"Oh c'mon, the entire world knows! And we're tired of looking at your lonesome sulky face!" Rikku giggled. Wakka threw her a stare.

"The plan was to wait for a Black Mages concert," Yuna continued.
"And then you would buy two tickets and ask her to go with you."

"Oh, c'mon! She'll never want to go with me to some stupid concert!" Wakka sighed, seeming to have lost any hope long ago of being able to "woo" the cold-hearted Lulu.
"It's her favorite band, I'm sure she'd go, even with someone like you!" Rikku reassuringly patted Wakka on the back.
"Whaddaya mean someone like me, eh?"
"We just need to make sure she doesn't find out there's a concert!" Rikku went on, lowering her voice a bit, as if someone might be spying in on the conversation. "Then in the end, when the tickets sell out, she'll have no choice but to go with you!"

Wakka suddenly seemed very confident and he grinned mischievously.
"That sounds like a plan to me, ya?"
"We'll all pitch in to pay for the tickets!" Rikku encouraged him some more.
"Wait.. what? I don't have the cash for that!" I stammered. Before I had the chance to actually object though, Rikku told us all to shush as she saw Lulu make her way over. And she had brought unwanted company.

"Gippal!" Rikku jumped up from her seat happily and giggled.
I, on the other hand, wasn't at all happy to see him.
"What are you doing here?" Rikku asked.
"We had a little heart-to-heart," Lulu answered for him as she calmly sat down at our table. Gippal grinned uneasily, pulled out an extra chair and also sat down next to Rikku. Looking at the guy suddenly jogged my memory. Didn't Yuna tell me he was just using her? I glanced at Rikku - who was still giggling like a school girl. Probably to get to her, I thought. I could feel myself starting to dislike him even more. I even felt the urge to just go ahead and wipe that stupid smirk right off his face. I glanced over at Yuna, who I expected to be upset by him being here, but she was smiling like always. I felt kinda relieved, at least that meant she didn't really care for him anymore.

Rikku obviously still wanted to know more about their heart-to-heart. She was sitting on the edge of her seat looking intensively at Lulu. "So.. what did you two talk about?"
"I just made something clear to him." Lulu said, not really answering the question.

I stared at my lunch again. It was odd that I could only remember some things of last Saturday. I still remembered the party, the girl, doing that one stupid thing with the girl, passing out on the street, Yuna finding me, her telling me about Gippal. But that's all. Now I got this nervous feeling in my gut that I'm forgetting the most important part..

As I was drifting off in thought again, I never realized that a few moments from now, something horrible was gonna happen. Something that I should've seen coming, and which I couldn't undo. Something that was gonna ruin everything... And I wasn't going to be able to stop it...

Yuna's POV:

Judging from Lulu's solid expression and Gippal's awkward laugh, I was pretty sure Lulu threatened him. I caught myself smiling a bit at the thought of Lulu yelling at Gippal, ensuring him of the fact that he'd be in need another eye patch if he'd harm Rikku or mistreat her, and that she would see to this personally.

Suddenly I saw something from the corner of my eye. A girl was making her way through the cafeteria towards our table. I had a good look at her face. Anyone could tell that she was very pretty. She had high cheekbones that she showcased with some pink blush, and her ample lips were covered in shiny lip-gloss. Her eyes were grey, and she had lustrous long light-blonde hair to well over her shoulders. She walked over with a sense of confidence in her each and every step that I could never have, for which I felt a sense of admiration.

But as she started to get closer I began feeling a bit uneasy. Though I didn't recognize her at first, I got the unsettling idea she might be one of Tidus's fan girls. And what happened next I could barely wrap my mind around…

The girl approached Tidus. She leaned in over the table right in front of me. I could even feel her blonde hair shortly brush against my cheek as she swiftly moved passed me, to Tidus, who she kissed, full on the lips.

I stopped breathing. For a second my vision turned black and I felt faint. I quickly tried to convince myself she was just some crazed-out fan stepping way out of line, but it was pointless.

"I just can't get enough of your kisses, they're so good," I heard her tell him.
"Wh-What are you doing?" Tidus said.
"C'mon, you and me at that party last Saturday, that definitely meant something," she continued.

It was nauseating. I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't stand to be near that girl any longer. To hear her talk about him like that, or to see that confident smile on her perfect face. Or to even smell her intensely sweet perfume. But so much more than that, more than anything of all, I couldn't stand to be near him anymore, ever again.

For a few more seconds, I pretended to have no heart or feelings, I shoved my chair back and got up calmly. At first I walked but then I ran. I ran as fast as I could. Anything to escape.

Tidus' POV:

"YUNA!"
I yelled after her as loud as I could but I knew she wouldn't stop. I jumped up so fast my chair fell over. I had to stop her. I wasn't gonna lose her like this. Not because of this stupid girl. Not because of the stupid things I did. Not like this.

Yuna had already run out of the cafeteria and I couldn't see her anymore. Somehow, I started to feel so scared and desperate, it felt sickeningly bad in the pit of my stomach. I kept running and called out her name several times more. I turned a corner and suddenly saw her, still running at top-speed through a hallway. I ran as fast as I could and I finally caught up with her.

"Yuna, wait!" I grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. She wouldn't look at me and turned her head the other way. "Let me go…" she said softly.
"No. Not until you hear me out." I tried to stay calm but my voice was shaking.
"The girl means nothing to me, okay? It was an accident, I only kissed her when I was drunk." As I was saying it I realized I only made it all sound worse. "I didn't mean to…"
"Let me go," she said, louder this time.
"Yuna, please..."

She finally turned her face my way and looked me in the eye.
"Let go."
She was crying.

I was so shocked my grip on her hand loosened and she turned and stepped away. I wanted to move after her but at the same time I didn't know how. Just when I thought she might start running from me again, she hesitantly turned back around and looked at me once more, tears still in her eyes. She almost seemed angry, something I had never seen before.

She spoke up, softly at first.
"You know, I was glad when you first came here. You were different to me than other guys were. You reached out to me. You were kind and you tried to make me smile."
As out of place as it was now, a smile was about to form itself on my lips. Until I realized she was speaking in past tense the entire time…

She went on. "But then there were times when you suddenly wouldn't look at me anymore, or say hello to me when we'd meet somewhere. These were times I realized you were with another girl. Which I could understand. So whenever that happened I'd tell myself to forget about you. That I was fooling myself, thinking you could like me as much as I liked you. But then, as soon as you'd be on your own again, you'd come back to me and make me feel like there was something between us." She paused and looked down, her voice shaking slightly. "…And then you go off and do something like this again! I don't know how to even entrust a tiny piece of my heart to you!"
She remained still, seeming to expect any kind of a response.

But I had one last horrible mistake to make, which was not knowing what to say at that moment...
She did was what was only reasonable. She turned and she walked away.
Before I could fully take in everything that happened, and even more so – everything she had just said – she had disappeared from my eyes altogether, and I was unsure if her eyes would ever meet mine again...

Ahahaha, I bet you all hate me now! xD
Stalk me some more to get some more!

~Saekaeru