Crimson - Chapter 7 (Vincent Valentine x Reader)

Chapter VII - What It Is To Be a Friend

    The Next Day:

    You stepped out of the bathtub and reached for the towel that you had hung on the side, wrapping it fast around your body. With careful steps, you headed to the ceramic sink and grabbed the smaller towel, throwing it over your head and drying your wet hair. As you let the now damp towel fall from your head, you dropped it on top of the sink and leaned against its cold, white surface. You raised your eyes to look at your own reflection in the mirror that was fixed over the sink and you reached to wipe the fog with your palm, feeling the droplets of clear water slide from the glass onto the palmar skin of your hand. Your brow furrowed at the sight of your face; red cuts and scrapes stood out in notable contrast with the unblemished skin of your visage, but you were thankful that the gash on the side of your forehead was no longer bleeding. 

    You let out a long sigh from between your lips and inched forward, trying to get a closer look at your grazed skin. Carefully, you let the tips of your fingers feel the undamaged skin of your face while trying to avoid the injured patches as much as you could. You winced at the unpleasant feeling when your fingers accidently made contact with the painful scrape on your cheekbone, causing it to sting more than it already did.

    You huffed exasperatedly, wondering how in the world you had gotten yourself into this ordeal. You always knew that owning a motorcycle had its own risks, but you never had foreseen something so terrible happening to you; a motorcycle crash was the least thing that could have come to your mind. You always were a careful driver, but you still didn’t know what had happened that day. To you, it was closer to a bad dream than a reality! Perhaps, you had been too abstracted due to your depressing thoughts that you couldn’t pay attention to the dangers that lied ahead.

    With your hands, you pulled your hair back so it was no longer falling over your face, all the while keeping your eyes fixated onto the foggy mirror that reflected the features of your visage. ‘I should have been more careful…’ you chided yourself. As you gazed further into your reflection which was traced by the little drops of water trickling down the surface of the mirror, a sobering thought was able to sneak its way through the whirl of unpleasant memories. You remembered how, just the day before, Vincent Valentine had sat across from you and tended to your wounds with utmost care. You remembered the solemn expression on his face as he had gazed deeply at your face, the shy touch of his fingers as they had grazed your skin, and his silent presence that had left you in a state of wonder.

    You couldn’t keep yourself from smiling at the memory, but what surprised you was the warm sensation that you could, not only feel, but also see, spreading in the form of red hue over your cheeks. You had never been so close to Vincent the way you were the day before; well, you have never been that close to any other man for that matter. Surprisingly, you didn’t feel the least uncomfortable around him at that time, that’s excluding the constant sense of timidity that you couldn’t suppress. Fluttering your eyes to shake yourself out of your daze, you proceeded to dry your body and put on your clothes.

    ********

    You were almost startled by the sudden sound of your house’s doorbell going off, followed by a series of loud bangs on the door. Frowning at the eagerness of whoever was at your door, you placed your book down and pushed yourself off the couch, wincing a little at the movements that your sore muscles were executing. You made your way to the entrance of your apartment as the knocks grew louder and louder with every step you took closer to the wooden door. Peering through the peephole, you felt as if your breath got frozen in your throat.

    You gulped, taking a step back. You looked at the door as if you could see through it the two persons that stood on the other side, and you took a deep breath, readying yourself to greet your visitors. Hesitantly, you reached for the door’s knob and turned it, unlocking the door with a faint click. Before you could crack the door ajar, a hand planted itself flat on the outer surface of the door and pushed against it with such force that could send the door open to the very extent that its hinges would allow, had it not been for the solid wall that supported it from behind. “And now you decide to open the door for us!” Exclaimed Zack.

    You were forced to take a step back as you were met with the distraught looks on your friends’ faces. Aerith, who shared the same perturbed expression as Zack, took a swift step forward and, before you could take another breath, you were already engulfed into her arms. You could feel her shaking terribly as she held you closely to her, sniffling lightly against your shoulder. She didn’t say a word, but you knew she was crying. Without thinking twice about it, you let your hands wind around Aerith’s quivering body, responding to her embrace with a confused one of your own. Raising your eyes above her shoulder, you saw Zack, still sporting the same strained expression on his face. You thought he had run a mile or two: he was panting heavily, with one hand supported on the frame of the door and the other over his knee, all the while keeping his blue gaze connected with your own. “Guys?” You breathed.

    “Where have you been?” Aerith whimpered, keeping her arms fast around you. However, for a moment there you didn’t know what she was talking about. You simply stood there, eyes darting between the young woman in your arms and Zack who stood mere feet behind her. The latter seemed to have finally caught his breath, and only then was he able to notice the adhesive bandages plastered to your face. His eyes widened after taking in the sight of your visage and a look of shock was quick to mix with the worry already evident on his facial features. He straightened, letting his hands fall to his sides. With mouth slightly agape, he asked, slowly: “What happened?”

    Sensing the concern in Zack’s tone, Aerith pulled away from you but kept her grips on your shoulder, and she took a look at your face. The same air of shock as Zack’s came to show in her already teary eyes, her gentle features contorting into a mixture of surprise and worry. A silent gasp left her lips, and after gazing into your face for a long moment, she allowed her eyes to make a quick examination of your form before bringing them back to meet your own gaze. “Wha-… what happened to you?” She couldn’t raise her voice above a whisper.

    You scoffed; you didn’t know why you did so, but it came out naturally. “Well, it’s good to see you too, guys.” You joked.

    “Cut the sarcasm, _______. Tell us, what happened?!” Zack demanded in a more worried tone than angry.

    You sighed heavily, using a hand to comb through your slightly damp hair while looking at the unwanted dandelion plant that had grown in one of the cracks of the cement stairs leading up to your front door. Pressing your lips together, you looked up at Aerith, then to Zack. Their eyes were certainly demanding some answers. So you stepped to the side, and with a tilt of your head, you said: “Come inside. I’ll tell you everything.”

    ********

    “Your motorcycle crashed?!” Aerith exclaimed, confounded.

    “Yep.” You responded shortly. Zack gestured with his hands, dumbstruck, having no idea what to say. “How… how did that happen?!”

    You shrugged. You hung a lock of hair behind your ear, leaning your left arm on the armrest of the couch: “It was raining…” you trailed off, “and… I might not have been paying attention…” you added the last part in a mumble.

    Aerith, who was sitting to your right, placed a comforting arm around you and pressed you caringly to her side. Zack brought his palm to his mouth and his eyes flickered over the adhesive bandages that mapped your face, with the look of concern still showing on his features. “Does it hurt?” He asked after a while of thoughtful examination, and he winced slightly, knowing far too well that it did actually hurt.

    You shrugged again: “Still sore…” you paused, but decided to say something simply to ease the rising worry of your two friends: “But I’m fine.”

    “Did you go to the hospital?” Aerith asked you.

    You shook your head: “No. I didn’t need to.”

    “What?!” Zack jumped in his seat on the couch adjacent to where you and Aerith were sitting. “Why not?! What if something serious was going on?!”

    “Zack…”

    “You should go! Come on, let’s go!” He was about to shoot up from his sitting place, but you were quick to grab his wrist and force him back on the couch. “No, Zack. I’m not going.”

    “Yes, you are.” He encountered firmly.

    With an arm still wound around you, Aerith rested her other hand on your forearm and spoke gently: “_______, you should go. Just to make sure everything’s all right.” Aerith was being reasonable – as she was always – but you didn’t like hospitals, and so you would do anything just to avoid going to one.

    “You shouldn’t be so careless.” Zack reasoned, still trying to convince you into going. He tried to stand up again, but you compelled him to remain in his seat before he could make a move.

    “Zack, trust me. I’m fine.”

    “But… but… look at you! Have you seen your face?!” Zack gestured to the number of injuries on your visage.

    You gave him an expressionless look before reassuring him one last time: “I am okay.” You repeated for the sake of emphasis. “Now, stop worrying.” After feeling your male friend calming down a little, you then became able to notice that his wrist was still caught in your grip and you instantly sensed your lungs contracting inside your chest. Upon instinct, you pulled your hand away and retracted it back to your lap, trapping it inside the grasp of your right palm. You chewed on the inside of your cheek, doing all you could to avoid looking in the general direction of Zack.

    You heard Zack letting out a huff before saying: “I knew something was up…”

    You turned your sight back to him: “What?”

    “_______,” you looked at Aerith as she spoke this time: “we were looking everywhere for you. You just… vanished!” She said softly.

    “We had called you so many times,” Zack continued, “but you never answered! I… well,” he gestured a hand to Aerith, “We… had some good news to tell you, but when we tried to contact you, you wouldn’t pick up the phone!”

    You opened your mouth to speak, but it seemed that Zack hadn’t yet finished what he had to say. He resumed: “We came here and knocked on the door… I was about to break that door down, literally,” he pointed repeatedly in the direction of the house’s entrance, “and again, there still was no answer. We asked our friends and went to your workplace… no one knew where you were! We…” He shook his head, as if trying to rid his mind of any ominous thoughts, “we had been worried sick! We knew that something wrong was going on, but we couldn’t find our way to you!”

    Aerith started rubbing soothing circles on your forearm: “We went to different hospitals, trying to see if we could find you there. We… didn’t know where else to look or… or what else to do.” She dropped her gaze toward the floor, while Zack held his face between his hands and rubbed his tired eyes.

    You looked at the two, not failing to notice the distressed looks that had weighed heavily on their faces. Feeling extremely guilty for the stress and worry that you had caused your two best friends to experience, you hung your head low and bit your lip regrettably: “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to cause you guys to worry.” You muttered.

    Zack let out a heavy sigh. He reached out and placed his hand on your shoulder: “Ah, forget it! It doesn’t matter anymore. What matters now is that you’re here, safe.”

    “Yes.” Aerith agreed, grasping your hand into her own. “You have no idea how relieved we are now that we were finally able to find you!” And you could tell; her voice wasn’t as strained as it had been a few minutes ago.

    You raised your eyes to look at her beaming face, then to Zack to also find a tiny smile stretching on his lips. Uncontrollably, you found yourself responding to their smiles with a smaller one of your own.

    Zack withdrew his hand from its place on your shoulder and, within a second, the small smile that had been on his lips faded. “Look,” his voice was something alien to your ears. He had never sounded so grim, and you didn’t like it. It didn’t sound like Zack. Not the usually cheerful voice that you had grown to love and appreciate. “_______, I can only imagine what you have gone through during these couple of days, and I feel so bad for what happened to you… I really am! But…” he halted, letting another sigh escape his lips, “why didn’t you pick up your phone when we had called you? You could… you could have at least answered our phone calls! We would have gone to wherever you were and helped you! You know that, _______!”

    You blinked, finally understanding the reason behind the scowl on Zack’s face. “I… I’m sorry!” You apologized again, this time in a more eager manner in order to explain yourself. “I did not intend to do that. It…” you ran your left hand through your hair, “I seem to have dropped my phone when the accident occurred. I hadn’t realized it until after I was finally home. I’m really sorry.”

    Zack’s expression seemed to ease noticeably in understanding: “Oh.” He scratched the side of his head sheepishly: “So… so that’s what happened?”

    You nodded.

    “I actually thought…”

    “What? That I had been ignoring your calls, for example?”

    Zack shrugged: “Maybe…” That earned him a flick to his head from you. “You dimwit!” You reproached him playfully, but your cheeky grin grew wider after hearing Aerith laughing heartily at the stupefied look on Zack’s face.

    “Sorry!” Zack pouted, feigning hurt, “I couldn’t think of any other… possible… reasons.” He mumbled. Rubbing the spot where you had hit him with your flat palm, Zack clicked his tongue. “That sucks, doesn’t it? Losing your phone?”

    You chuckled: “Yeah. It does.”

    “But you better get a new phone soon.” Said Aerith, smiling. “I can’t stand a day going by without talking to you, or at least texting you. You know that.”

    You laughed, placing your hand over hers. “Oh, I do.”

    “Yeah. You two would sometimes spend hours, literally hours, just talking to each other on the phone! What do you even talk about?!” Asked Zack, his eyebrows puckered in query.

    “That’s none of your business, mister.” You riposted smartly.

    “That’s right.” Aerith winked at him, “It’s not called ‘girly talk’ for nothing.”

    Zack rolled his eyes in annoyance. ‘Women…’ He muttered. To that, you began laughing along with Aerith, much to the dismay of Zack. After a minute of pestering the poor guy and annoying him with your mocking giggles, Aerith spoke to you again: “Hey, by the way… how did you make it back here? You know, with your injuries and all…”

    Your full grin fell back to a gentle smile. You took a breath before giving a short answer: “Vincent.”

    The two looked at each other briefly then at you, Zack tilting his head only slightly, not seeming to recognize the name. So you added: “Vincent Valentine.”

    It took them a second or two to register that information into their minds. Zack looked surprised, what with the slight raise of his eyebrow. “Valentine?” He repeated, merely for confirmation. You nodded in the affirmative.

    “The Vincent Valentine?!” He asked, more in a statement than a question, simply to make sure that what he had heard was correct.

    “Yep,” was your short answer.

    “Wow!” Zack said in a whisper.

    “Mhm.” You hummed. You entwined your hands that were resting over your lap, and with a little blush you continued: “Actually, he was the one who had found me there, unconscious. So he took me in and cared for me and, well… brought me back home.”

    Zack nodded, silently appreciating Vincent’s considerate deed. Aerith looked at you, worry apparent in her eyes but a lovely smile pulling on her lips, and she spoke: “That’s very nice of him.”

    You hummed again, agreeing with your emerald-eyed friend. Zack fell back against the couch’s backrest and rested his hands lazily on his legs, while sporting a distant look on his face. He shook his head and let a silent snort leave his nostrils before leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Unlike Aerith, he wasn’t smiling at that point: “I should have been there instead…” he spoke under his breath. You looked worriedly at him: “Zack…”

    The fingers of his hands intertwined: “You’re… you’re my best friend, and I… I couldn’t be there when you needed me.” He spoke lowly. You could see from the corner of your eyes Aerith lowering her head sorrowfully, and you knew that she was thinking the same thing as Zack.

    “What are you talking about..?”

    “I’m… I’m sorry. I feel so terrible…” Expressed Zack, his voice meek and pained. Your heart ached at the downcast expression on Zack’s face and the sense of guilt that saturated his voice, and you didn’t like it one bit! You didn’t like seeing him in such a state! It didn’t suit him! You contemplated whether you should bring your comforting hand to his fisted ones, but after a moment of hesitation, you decided to hold his hand with your left. “Zack, don’t say that.”

    “Zack is right.” Said Aerith. You turned to her and your chest hurt even more after seeing the distress shadowing her beautiful features. “You had to go through that pain all by yourself… and we… we couldn’t be there. We didn’t even know what had happened to you!” In contrast to Zack, she was not very skilled at concealing her emotions. She felt just as guilty as your other friend, if not more. But you still didn’t understand why they would feel so culpable as if all that you had suffered had been their fault – their responsibility – and definitely it was none of that.

    You let out a huff of air and grasped Aerith’s hand with your right one, squeezing it in a reassuring way. “Listen, you guys…” You looked between the two, “Stop being so hard on yourselves, okay? And like you said, you didn’t know. Had you known of what had happened, you would have gone to the very extremities of the world just to come to my help, I’m sure. You two never left me. From the very first day I met you guys until this very day, you never left me… not even once.”

    Aerith opened her mouth to speak, “But we were supposed to be ther-…”

    “You’re here now, aren’t you?” You interrupted her, addressing your question to the two. Hesitantly, Zack raised his eyes to meet yours but they hurried to flutter their sight away. He nodded diffidently.

    “So please, stop worrying about this.” You turned to Aerith, tilting your head to have a better look of her face. “Okay?” You asked with a smile. She nodded in return, her pretty smile finding its way to her lips.

    You wanted to lighten up the mood a little, so you crossed your arms against your chest and spoke: “Now tell me. You said you had some good news that you wanted to share with me.” Actually, you did have a small idea of what this good news was about, and it wasn’t the kind of news that would make you all excited and happy. However, you wanted to do anything to show your support for your two best friends, even if this “anything” included crushing and stomping on your own feelings.

    Aerith shifted in her seat and straightened her back, looking a bit nervous about the change of subject. However, Zack seemed that he had been still dwelling on the negative thoughts from before that he didn’t quite register what you requested. “What good news?” He looked confused for a few seconds before realization showed on his handsome features: “Oh! That! Uh, yeah… well… um…” He glanced at Aerith shyly, meeting the timid look in her green eyes. Zack brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat: “It’s… this is not… good time… it… it can wait.”

    “Why?” You asked.

    You could tell that Zack was fumbling around in his head to find a convincing answer, but it was clear that he could come up with nothing. Fortunately – for him of course – Aerith seemed to catch on and she answered instead: “It’s just…all that has happened to you. We’ll… we’ll tell you some other time.

    “Oh, come on, you guys! Tell me!” You implored.

    Zack opened his mouth: “Uh, well… no, no… forget it.”

    “Don’t be like this! It’s not cool! If you won’t tell me now, then I’ll make sure to keep bugging you two until you finally spill the bean!” You pouted, feigning offence by their reluctance. “Besides, I really do need some good news at the moment.” You shifted your sight between the two and pulled off the best mimicry of a puppy’s pleading eyes that you could muster: “Please?”

    You turned your head to look at Aerith who, hesitatingly, stood from her place on the couch and made her way to the spot next to Zack, placing her hand on the male’s arm. Feeling the gentle touch of her fingers against his skin, Zack inhaled deeply but paused in thought. He scratched the back of his head; the warm hue that gradually made its way to his cheek was enough to give away the embarrassment he was feeling at that moment. He chuckled nervously: “Well uh… the… the truth is… uh…”

    Zack glanced to his left, finding a shy smile on Aerith’s lips. He smiled lightly in return before releasing a short breath, attempting to compose himself: “Aerith and I… we’re uh…”

    Aerith shook her head at the man next to her; he’s tough alright! Throw him anywhere, and he’ll land standing straight. Simply looking at those muscles of his should tell you how strong this man really is! However, putting his physical strength aside, the guy can be an awkward mess whenever he needed to express himself, and especially when it comes to personal matters. Aerith slipped her hand through the crook of Zack’s arm while letting a wider smile stretch over her lips: “What Zack is trying to say is… we’re together.”

    Zack nodded, relieved that Aerith delivered the news on his behalf, quite eloquently compared to the stuttering muddle that he had been. You breathed inwardly; you were actually surprised at your own composure. You were handling the situation a lot better than you had thought you could.

    With the most expressionless look you could bring off, you queried: “That’s it?”

    At that, the expectant look dropped from the newly-announced couple’s faces. “What?” Asked Zack, dumbfounded.

    “That’s the good news?” you repeated with the same monotonous voice, pushing the entertained laugh back. Aerith fluttered her eyes in utter bewilderment while Zack on the other hand opened his mouth and closed it, making the perfect human imitation of a fish taken out of water, for he didn’t know what to say in response to your unexpected, quite stoic reaction to what he had assumed would be big news! “I… I thought…”

    Seeing the disappointed looks in your friends’ eyes, you couldn’t help the amused grin that broke on your face. “You goofs!” You cracked up laughing, unable to contain your laughter any longer. The baffled expressions on their faces were priceless! You banged your fist against the armrest of the couch, your laughter growing out of control. “You two… you two are so… gullible!” you choked out, your words interrupted by short gasps for air.

    Zack, feeling highly offended by your deceiving raillery, stood up from the couch and, in a swift movement, caught you in a choking headlock. “Zack!” You squeaked, but your head was already caught inside the angle of his muscly arm and, before you knew it, he was ruffling the top of your head with his strong knuckles. “Zack! Zack! Stop!”

    “Playing with my nerves, huh? Huh?!” He said through clamped teeth, giving your scalp a playful noogie.

    “Please! Stop!” You continued laughing despite the lack of breath that you were very aware of. “I’m sorry!”

    “Sorry won’t work, kiddo! I’m so killing you today!” Zack threatened, biting his bottom lip in determination, but he couldn’t help the sportive chuckle that sounded in his throat. You slapped his arm continuously, silently begging him to let go of you, but he didn’t even budge. “Zack… Zack, you’re hurting me!” You rasped, completely out of breath.

    Aerith, who was laughing uncontrollably from her place on the couch, rushed to Zack’s side and tried to pull him away from you, a remnant of the stubborn laugh still vibrating in her throat. “Zack! That’s enough. You’re choking her!”

    Fortunately, Zack listened to Aerith’s request and broke the confinement that his arm had formed around your neck. “That’s what you get for trying to be so annoying!” He chided humorously, laughing at the mess that he had made out of your hair. You pouted, glaring lightheartedly at the black-haired man who returned to his seat with Aerith. With your fingers, you pressed in place some of the adhesive bandages that had just partially detached themselves from the damaged skin of your face. Puffing in feigned annoyance, you whined: “Why do you have to be so aggressive?”

    “It’s your fault!” Zack defended.

    “I was just kidding!”

    “It wasn’t funny!” He retorted irreverently. “That’s it?!” He cheeped, attempting a horrible mimicry of your voice: “That’s the good news?!”

    “I do not sound like that!”

    “I’ll tell you what you don’t sound like… a good friend. We tell you that we’re dating, and instead of being happy for us, you make fools out of us! Thank you very much!”

    “Aww! Zacky’s sad!” You cooed, causing him to roll his eyes and Aerith to chuckle in amusement. “Alright, I’m sorry. C’mere.” You rose to your feet and bent to give your friend a tight hug, and though he really wanted to continue the little game of playful pretense, he brought his arms to your back and returned your hug alike. “I’m so happy for you!” You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to contain your emotions.

    “Hmm, for a moment there, I thought you didn’t care.” Zack commented, cheekily.

    You chuckled: “Shut up.” You pulled away from Zack but without forgetting to flick his forehead playfully. “Idiot! Of course I’m happy!”

    Zack returned your smile with a wide, toothy grin. “Thanks, _______.” He said with all sincerity. You turned to Aerith and reached for her hand, pulling her off the couch. With a big smile on your face, you wound your arms around her form, pulling her into a warm hug. Almost instantly, her arms were around your torso, inviting you into her gentle embrace. You rocked gently, both of you feeling grateful and satisfied by the comforting presence of the other. Your eyes fluttered when you heard Aerith sniffing softly as she rested her chin on your shoulder and, inadvertently, you rubbed a gentle hand against her back. You pulled away after a minute, looking directly into her emerald green eyes. They were misty – with tears of joy, you were positive. With your thumbs, you wiped her fresh tears away and gave her a benevolent smile that could speak thousands of encouraging words. It only got wider when she returned the smile with a happier one of her own.

    You took her hands into yours and expressed heartily: “Congratulations!”

    Aerith chuckled, a lovely shade of red embellishing her full cheeks. “Thank you, _______.”

    Returning to your previous seat, you smiled at the couple: “It’s about time, you two.”

    “Hm?” Zack raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

    You shrugged your shoulders: “I kinda always knew that you two have something for each other.” You felt yourself wincing on the inside, the word ‘always’ seeming a little heavy on your tongue.

    “What?!” both Zack and Aerith looked surprised. “Really?!”

    You nodded.

    “Was it that obvious?” Aerith asked, embarrassed.

    “Yep.” You answered simply, feeling horrible for lying to the two dearest people to your heart. Zack looked at his new girlfriend: “I guess we’re the only ones who didn’t notice it.” He chuckled sheepishly before addressing you again: “But why didn’t you mention something about it before? Or at least hint to it?”

    You made a hasty search in your head for a convincing answer, hoping it’ll sound at least passable. “Well… it was up to the two of you to figure it out. It would have been a huge giveaway had I said anything.” You nodded to yourself – your fabricated reason was conceivable.

    Zack nodded repeatedly: “Yes, I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t tell us…” he paused, his ivory skin growing red quite noticeably. “I was… I was really glad when I found out about our mutual feelings…” he turned his sight to Aerith who sat to his side and pulled her hand into his larger one, showing her a gentle smile he had reserved only for her, and he added in a loving whisper: “I think it was worth the wait.”

    Aerith’s face couldn’t have looked more flushed than it already was at that very moment, but she did not hesitate to reciprocate his romantic words with a timid smile of her own. Placing her hand on top of Zack’s, she looked lovingly into his bright blue eyes: “And knowing that you liked me back made me feel like I’m the happiest girl alive!” She expressed heartily.

    The content smiles that the two lovers were exchanging did not go unnoticed by you; you had to scold the feeling of melancholy that settled heavily on your heart. You were trying very hard to suppress the fierce yet silent war that took place deep within your core: a conflict between the part of you that felt happy for your two best friends and the other – a more deplorable – part, the one that felt sad for knowing that Zack will never notice the feelings that you had for him.

    As if becoming lost just by looking at each other, the couple seemed to have forgotten that you were actually there and they began leaning toward each other, and before you could turn away, their lips were already connected. Their kiss was chaste and quick, but you managed to look away before seeing too much of what you were adamant to avoid. Fixing a strand of hair behind your ear, you bit your lip and busied your eyes from looking at the two lovebirds.

    “Ooh, _______! Don’t you look flustered!” Cooed Zack, who was now looking at you with a big grin full of mischief.

    You whipped your head to look at him: “Wha-?”

    “We’re gonna act very lovey-dovey from now on, so you might as well get used to it.” He teased, making you glare at him. “You’re disgusting.” You retorted, feigning revulsion. Zack laughed out loud while Aerith quietly reprimanded him for poking fun at you. “That’s okay,” he chuckled, “you’ll get used to it. Kissing is something couples do.” Zack’s grin seemed to grow more impish, if that was even possible: “And I think your hero can help with that.” He finished with a wink.

    “Wha- what hero?! What are talking about?!” a look of confusion molded with wariness showed on your features.

    “Your knight in shining armor… Vincent, of course! Who else would it be?”

    You paled, your eyes growing round like saucepans. V-Vincent? M-my hero?! In shining… armor?! H-he… me… k-kis-… WHAT?! The drained color of your face didn’t last more than five seconds, for a flaming blush was quick to spread over your cheeks and across your face, setting your skin ablaze! Were you flustered when Zack and Aerith were kissing? Yes. Yes, you were. But that was literally nothing compared to how ridiculously scorching your whole face looked after Zack’s jocular remark. “ZACK!!!” You squeaked his name, clutching at the cushion sitting by you. With the irksome grin still plastered to his lips, Zack crossed his arms defensively in front of him before you slammed the cushion square in his face. “YOU’RE DEAD!!!”

     

     

    
            To Be Continued…