Cloud-Gazer: That's a whopping review! I love it! haha. Yes, Eva knew what she was getting herself into when she met Ollie, and she still did, so she'll have to accept it in my opinion... drama, drama... Lol, it's the city that never sleeps, clubs be going up on whatever the day is haha. Well, Eden's obviously fancy in a dress! Ollie's cute at ever ;) Hell yeah, go big or go home, Tequila time! I don't think the alcohol tolerance was ever mentioned in any canon work, but I've used it before! She was more tolerant back in Wutai and during her conversation with Reno, when they shared that bottle of Bourbon. Haha, you're such a sadist for wanting Reno to pop up whenever and see her like that! I expect there to be some surprises for you coming up in that case! Thanks for the major review!

Chapter 218

"Eden," Ollie called from the living room. I had just left for the kitchen to get us a drink and a snack, but I'd barely opened the fridge when I heard his voice. "There's a Breaking News Special on, come check it out." We'd been watching a movie on television, but there had been a commercial break. "Holy crap, it's Rufus!" he added as I padded back into the living room with two soda's and a bag of crisps.

An anchorwoman appeared on the screen, holding a microphone.

"This morning, the world was surprised by the sudden reappearance of none other than Rufus Shinra himself," the blond woman said excitedly, talking so fast I had to strain my ears to understand her. "For over three years, Rufus Shinra was believed to be dead, after having lost his life in the brutal attack by Weapon on Midgar. The word was even made official by his executives, mere hours after the attack. How President Shinra has managed to survive, is yet to be revealed, but it is a fact that he is alive and healthy. Moreover, official word has reached us that he has organized a charity ball next week, to show the world how much he and his company have changed. Important people from all over the planet will be attending and the proceedings will go to several charities in Edge, in order to support those who have lost so much over three years ago. We are looking forward to next week, as perhaps the President will announce his next steps, and share with us the story on his survival. For CE-News, this was Moira."

Ollie and I stared at the screen for a moment, while the commercial break continued and the news program had now come to an end. The fact that no one but us knew that Rufus was actually still alive still felt strange to me. He'd been kept under the radar by the Turks, who flew him from place to place in secret. The world must be shocked, maybe even a little fearful that things would go back to the way they used to be. Was this why he was organizing a charity party? He'd definitely played his part in the restoration of the world, and had put a lot of effort into finding a cure for Geostigma, but he'd been infected himself, so that had been mandatory. As for the rebuilding of the world; without one, there would be no need for a leader, and being a leader is what he aspired most. Was there any truth to his claims, or was everything simply for his own benefit? I had always seen Rufus as a two-faced snake, and I still did. I trusted him about as far as I could throw him. So had he changed? Only time would tell.

It was about three days later when the doorbell rang. No one ever came around this far away from civilization, so whoever it was, had a reason for being here. Ollie had gone to get some groceries in Edge, though I knew he simply needed some time alone, and maybe a private moment to talk to Eva. They had been calling each other frequently, though many times their talks ended up in heated discussions and eventually, fights. Eva would hang up on Ollie, and he would sulk the rest of the day. More than once I had wondered if they were ever going to get together again, even though they loved each other very much. This was just one of those things that didn't solve itself, and something had to give. Ollie barely talked to me about it, and their arguments never changed from the day before, so there was no need to really. He knew I was on his side, he didn't need to convince me. On occasion, I was sure he was about to ask me to talk to Eva for him – he was that desperate. He also knew I wouldn't go easy on her, so he hadn't asked me as of yet. I wondered how long it would be till he did.

I'd been mopping the floor when the doorbell rang, and I almost slipped on my way to see who it was. At first I though that it might be Ollie being too lazy to open the door himself. My mouth was already open to shoot him a snark remark, but my jaw snapped shut when I found out it wasn't Ollie on the other side. It was a dark haired young guy in a red uniform. On his hat it said 'Dan'.

"Hi, Dan," I said instead. "What can I do you for?"

"You Mrs Fox?"

"Do I look like a Mrs to you?" I asked him, unsure of whether to feel complimented or insulted. Was I beginning to look old? I hadn't noticed any wrinkles, and gravity hadn't set in yet as far as I knew.

"Do I look like I care?" he drawled, making me cock an eyebrow at him. Then he held out a small package for me and shook it in my face impatiently. "Take the damn thing, miss. I have other places to be. Who the hell lives all the way out here anyway?"

I snatched the package from his hand and shut the door in his face. I watched him through the window as he got back on his scooter and he drove down the path at high speed. Kids these days were getting cheekier and cheekier.

Then I remembered the package and I frowned at it, rolling it over in my hands. As far as I knew, Ollie hadn't ordered anything and neither had I. Deciding there was only one way to find out, I grabbed one of my blades from the kitchen counter, and cut the box open. When I tilted it, a smaller, black velvet box slid out, onto the counter. It looked like some sort of jewelry box, and when I opened it, I actually gasped. Inside, lying on a black velvet cushion, was an expensive looking necklace. At least thirty tiny gemstones – and I was pretty sure they were diamonds – sparkled in the light. They were set in a teardrop shaped platinum pendant which looked to be made of glass. It was truly beautiful. Not only had I never owned anything this luxurious and expensive, – which I was pretty certain it was – I'd probably never even seen anything worth this much. Perhaps apart from my sais, which were priceless.

I carefully caressed the fragile looking thing, afraid to break it. I knew it had been forged with some sort of magic, and it wouldn't surprise me if somewhere among the gems, there would be a tiny piece of materia hiding, to add to its unearthly glow. Whoever would send me –? I dropped the box onto the counter as if it had been set on fire. That man. That insufferable man.

Dan must have informed whoever he worked for that the package had been delivered into my hands, because right then, my phone rang. I sighed and closed my eyes with a groan, not wanting to have this conversation. After ringing for about twenty times, it stopped, only to start again and again and again, until I finally answered with more aggression than was called for.

"What?!" I all but yelled into the phone.

Rufus chuckled on the other end, seemingly amused for whatever reason. He had the strangest reaction to anger. "Do you like my gift? I believe it will look absolutely stunning on you."

"What are you trying to achieve?" I asked him, a little calmer now. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to get it. "I'm not interested."

He laughed again, a seductive grinning that reminded me of when he'd been caught in my bedroom that night. "You don't even know what I want to ask you yet," he said. "Are you sure you want to reject me before I tell you?"

"Yes," I replied firmly. "I'm sending it back to you, I don't want it."

There was no way I was going to take something like this from him. Not only was it expensive – and I didn't want to owe him anything – I really wasn't comfortable with wearing one of his gifts. Not something like this. A gift like this meant something.

"Consider it a way of showing my appreciation for your role in defeating Deepground," he told me. "And by extent, the world. If it weren't for you, Omega might not have been defeated." He was so full of shit and he knew it.

I hated how he always managed to twist things to make them sound all right, but I supposed that was what made him such a great politician. They were all full of shit.

"Did you send Cloud a necklace?"

He laughed at my sarcasm, but he got the message. "I'm afraid you got me there. Take the gift, Eden. I'm not accepting a return to sender." Then he hung up on me, preventing me from retorting, which I was about to do. Why would I care what he accepted or not? I didn't want the damn thing.

My eyes fell on the open black box on the table, once again mesmerized by the beauty of the pendant inside. Was this its magic? That it drew people in? Before I knew it, my hand was already reaching out for it, and it was the sound of the door opening that startled me out of my dazed state. I pulled my hand back and looked at Ollie, who'd just entered the kitchen with three bags of groceries and a surprised look on his face.

"Why do you look like I caught you doing something you're not supposed to be doing?" he asked me before he walked over to the other counter and carefully set the bags down. As expected with Ollie, one toppled over and three dumbapples rolled to the floor in quick succession. He bent down to pick them up, but I pushed away from the counter, shoving the box under his nose.

"Forget the apples, look at this, what do you see?" I wanted to know if he experienced the same mysterious pull towards the pendant as I did, and if so, I needed to know exactly what kind of witchcraft Rufus had brought into my house.

"Eden..." Ollie whispered as he stared down at the pendant wide-eyed. "Who gave you this?" He gaped at me in awe. "Holy shit, it's beautiful…and it's so…is that thing even safe? I dunno, it feels a little…off." He looked at me in question, a quizzical frown on his face. "Who sent you this, do you know?"

"Rufus," I replied darkly, snapping the box shut and closing my fist around it. "He's up to something, and I don't think I'm gonna like it."

"Well, just don't wear it then."

I looked down at the box in my hand, thinking there was no way I was ever going to. Until I knew what was wrong with it, it would stay stuffed away in the back of some drawer, no matter how pretty it was. No matter how much I really wanted to put it around my neck. Rufus, you bastard, what are you playing at this time?

"I will kick your ass!" Ollie yelled as he bashed the buttons on the controller, trying to get ahead of me on the television screen. We were sat on the floor in front of my sofa, playing video games. I stuck out my tongue in concentration, my body actually swaying along with my movements on the TV. It was Friday just after dinner and we were enjoying ourselves immensely. On the screen, the finish line came into view and Ollie cursed loudly beside me as he gave his all to catch up with me. Then, I zoomed across the finish and dropped the controller with a victory cry, my hands shooting up into the air. Ollie groaned loudly and flung his own controller to the floor in defeat.

"Whoo!" I laughed as Ollie got to his feet in annoyance, stomping into the kitchen. "Did it again! You suck, Ollie!"

We'd been playing for almost four hours, only having taken a break to have dinner, and he was still behind by at least five races. He claimed he couldn't see in 3D, I claimed he sucked.

"Uh, Eden?" Ollie's voice sounded a little unsure, and I snapped to attention. "Why is there a Limo outside your house?"

I got up from the floor and joined him by the window. Sure enough, down the hill at the bottom of the path leading up to my house, was a large, black, shiny Limo. What was that doing there? In response to my question, my phone rang and somehow I knew this wasn't a coincidence.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, Eden."

It only took me about half a second to recognize the voice on the other end. "Rufus?" I spoke his name with a mixture of demand and wonder. Ollie stared at me with a quizzical look on his face, feeling equally surprised. "What –?"

Rufus cut me off. "I want you to join me to my charity ball tonight. Be ready in twenty minutes and get in the car. My driver will take you to your destination. And do wear something nice. Something to go with your new accessory. No weapons, please. I assure you, you won't need them."

"Uh…no?" I was too stunned by his sudden invitation to come up with a better retort, but then again, 'no' kinda cut it. Where he got the sudden delusion that I would be going anywhere with him, I had no clue, but he was wrong. Not to mention he'd referred to the necklace he'd sent me. There had to be something fishy going on. "I have no intention of going anywhere with you, Rufus, so tell your driver to get lost. Or I could always send Ollie, I'm sure he'd love to hold you hand."

Ollie grinned sheepishly, and I knew he was picturing making a total fool out of Rufus on his big night. Why was Rufus asking me along though? Was it all about this crazy idea that he'd gotten into his head about the two of us, or was there something else behind this? Was he trying to impress me?

"Do you have any clue how many women would die for an opportunity like this?" His tone was still gentle, but I could tell he was already getting impatient. What did I care about other women? Maybe he should've asked other women. He must've known what I was thinking, because he fell silent for a moment, as if he contemplated on how to convince me. "...There will be a lot of influential people there tonight, Eden. Getting in touch with them could be a huge advantage to your network. Being connected is important, you know that."

Why I would want to be connected, I couldn't fathom. I had no need for friends in high places, or people who wanted to mingle with me. I wanted to be left alone, nothing more.

"I see that doesn't convince you," he then added, noting my ongoing silence. "Let me take you out, Eden. Where's the harm in that? I'm fairly certain you've been cooped up in that house of yours with that moron long enough. Mingle a little. And let's not forget you owe me a favor. I said I would collect at a time of my choosing. Now is that time. I will behave, I promise."

At his words, I looked at Ollie again. Moron? I loved this moron, he was my best friend. However, maybe it was time for me to go back out into the world. If I stayed here, I would never meet anyone and I was sure to end up alone for the rest of my life. Ollie wouldn't stay with me forever and even if he did, it wasn't the same. So maybe meeting some new people wasn't such a bad thing after all. And if by doing this I could pay off my dept to Rufus, I would. It was a minor favor compared to the things I knew he was capable of coming up with.

"Eden?" Rufus pressed after about another minute of silence.

"I'll go get ready."

Ollie had to act like my girlfriend and helped me pick a dress. I'd always loved black, and I chose black for this occasion as well. I wore heels tonight, gems sparkling along the strap around my ankles. The dress swayed freely just above the knees, and fitted around my waist and torso. It was a sophisticated looking dress in my opinion, with a sweetheart neckline and covered just enough skin along the shoulders and back to be considered decent. The back dipped low, but not low enough to be trashy. I wore my wavy hair in a high tail, not having had enough time to fix it properly. I would've liked to leave it loose, but this would have to do. I'd spent most of my time on make-up, creating a prefect set of smokey-eyes, something I rarely ever did. Usually, I applied some liner and mascara, but this time I'd taken the time to make an impression. Since my Mako treatment, my eyes had always been my most notable feature and they were even more striking now. When I had looked in the mirror, I'd barely recognized myself. Ollie's jaw had dropped down to the ground when I had stepped out of the bathroom, making me feel a little too smug for my own liking.

Because I possessed very little jewelry, my arms, ears and neck were bare, and I refused to wear the necklace that Rufus had sent me. I didn't want his gifts, they were nothing more than an attempt at bribery.

Ollie escorted me down the path towards the Limo, making sure I didn't break an ankle on these shoes. It was raining the whole way and I was shivering from the cold outside, but the car ride was warm and pleasant.

The driver drove me over to Junon, and then to the same building where we'd first encountered Rainman and ruined his show. This time, the place was decorated in red and gold, the colors of Shinra. A broad red carpet was laid out before the entrance.

The driver handed me a golden envelope containing my invitation, and opened the door for me to let me out. He even held out his hand to escort me. I smiled at him in thanks, before making my way up the carpeted steps. I handed my envelope over to the neatly dressed man by the door. He handed me a single red rose in return and held the door open for me.

They'd saved no expenses tonight, and when I stepped inside, the first thing I saw was a large golden fountain in the center of the lobby, spilling red chocolate. Around the edges of the fountain, golden platters with all kinds of fruits were waiting to be savored. My mouth watered at the sight. I had never been to a party like this, and having grown up a tom-boy, this was all very new to me. New and a little exciting. I couldn't deny it, though I felt a little lost.

Then a gentleman approached me, and to my surprise, it was Tseng. I'd been too dazed by my surroundings to notice this at first glance, even though he always looked perfectly dressed whatever the occasion. He extended a hand to me and smiled his familiar smile at me. After bowing at the waist, he pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles, actually causing me to blush. I had no idea who I was anymore. This environment and dress were making me feel all girly, and I hadn't yet decided whether I liked it or not.

"Eden," Tseng said as he straightened and let go of my hand. "I must admit I have never seen you look this striking. Shall we?" He held out his arm for me to take, and led me out of the lobby, while I beamed at the magnificence around me.