The Rules of the Red - 2nd Edition |✓|

Chapter Seven, Part Three - Business As Usual

Ethan was smooth on his feet as he twirled me about the room under the instructor's careful guidance. He was insufferably patient when I tripped and stumbled over my own feet, and infuriatingly kind when correcting my steps. For the most part it was the same as every other practice, except now I actually allowed myself to enjoy it. For the first time in a while I wasn't consumed by my anger with Ethan. I let myself forget, and in doing so I remembered again why I almost fell for him in the first place.

At the end of practice, laughing and breathless, Ethan picked me up and spun me around in celebration. Out of nowhere, he set me down and let me go. I staggered, struggling to hold my balance but it was too late. I crashed backwards, gut wrenching as my brain anticipated the fall. But instead, something incredible happened. I fell... and never hit the floor. Instead, strong arms enveloped me, catching me an inch from the ground. Suddenly, I was looking into the frosty blue eyes of my hero.

"Tidus?"

The next thing I knew the world was blurring uncomfortably. I had the stomach-clenching sensation of experiencing impossible speed as I was carried away. I shut my eyes tight, only daring to open them when I was safely on my feet again. My vision swam and at first all I could see was black. We were surrounded in it - drowning in it - until I heard the clicking sound of a light turning on. At once I recognized the outline of a storage space somewhere inside the dance hall. We had traveled fast but not far.

Biting my lip, I waited for him to speak. His face stood out from the darkness behind him, lit behind the thin string of a bald lamp. It swayed between us.

"Our plane to JFK leaves tonight at 8:00. LaGuardia's a bit closer to the hotel but I find that JFK's customer service is worth the extra cab fare."

I stared at him, my heart was still pounding. "Um... it's been over a month since I've heard from you." I said finally. "Tidus, you could've been to New York and back by now."

"I had to delay the trip. Claudia's sister is unwell so I've been tending to her." His eyes were so serious, so piercingly blue. "I'm ready now."

"But... I thought you said you didn't want me to go."

"I never said that." Tidus replied. His lips twitched ever so slightly. "I just haven't given you an answer until now."

"Right. Well, I guess I'd better go home and pack-"

"Naomi..." He paused. "I've had a lot of time to think over the past month. Perhaps I was too harsh the last time we met. You aren't like other girls and it shows. I let myself get caught up in that when I shouldn't have. I think maybe I gave you false hope -"

"No, you didn't. Actually, I heard you loud and clear."

"Well, either way, I am sorry."

"I don't need your apology. Besides, I didn't let you do anything I didn't want you to.

Silence fell. Nothing moved but the tiny, golden particles of dust illuminated by the light. They danced and swirled about us, synced in perfect harmony.

"Tidus... are you afraid to die?" I didn't know where the question came from, but it was out before I could stop it.

He tilted his head slightly. "I'm already dead."

"Yeah but... aren't you scared to do it again? Aren't you afraid of... of the pain? Of not coming back?"

"When it's my time to go, I'll deal with it." I looked down and repressed a sigh. I hated when he avoided my questions. "But it's better when you can meet the darkness in someone's arms. Dying is easier when you can do it with someone who loves you."

Caught off guard, I looked up again, astonished and intrigued by his answer.

"Naomi? Where are you?" The distant but approaching sound of Ethan's voice fractured the moment into a thousand pieces. Disappointment caused me to loudly exhale as Tidus glanced at the door.

"He wants you."

"But I don't want him." I wished I could find a reason for him to stay.

"See you tonight, Naomi," he replied dispassionately. And then he was gone, leaving only a breeze to remind me that he had been there at all.

I walked to the open doorway, peering out to see Ethan coming up the hall with an angry, enlightened look on his face.

"That was him, wasn't it?" he demanded. "What the hell did he want?"

"Tidus asked me to do him and Claudia a favor," I said carefully. Already Ethan the Reactor was showing signs of a meltdown.

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"He asked me to go with him to New York. There's an amulet they need and I told him I would help him find it."

"Why?"

"Because if I show them enough trust, maybe they'll start to trust me too. Ethan, you don't have a problem with this, do you?

"Nope," he lied. "Course' not."

"Good because I'll probably be gone for couple of days, so I'll need you to handle Leadership business in my place. You up for that?" Ethan nodded, silent and stony. "Ethan, I'll be fine. You don't have to worry." I laid a hand on his arm but he shrugged it off.

"Sorry, but I think it's a little late for that."

* * *