I led Steven through the crowd until we were standing in front of the three Al Bhed. They stopped, and Rin nodded at us. I smiled, but Steven elbowed me sharply. I looked up at him as he affected a blank, empty expression. Rolling my eyes inwardly, I turned to Rin as he held out his hand. Steven simply stared at it, so I stepped forward and shook it. Rin’s face sank a little, but he quickly composed himself and turned to his companions. “Brother, Rikku, this is Steven and Charlotte. Steven, Charlotte, these are my peers; Brother and Rikku.” I smiled politely at them, noticing Steven sigh as I did so, and had to stifle a chuckle. He was always so protective; he didn’t trust any strangers. But we weren’t able to go home, and our only hopes of finding our real father hung on these three Al Bhed. So I decided we would have to seem trusting, at least.
“Shall we get a table?” I asked, taking the initiative. Rin nodded, and we followed him over to the busy dining area. I slipped into a chair, and pulled Steven down beside me. “Lighten up a little, please!” I urged him in a whisper, but he simply threw me a disapproving look and assumed his ‘poker’ face again. I smiled again, and Rin and his friends finally sat down beside us. They had been scanning the area, obviously worried in case anyone overheard our discussion.
“So then, to business,” Rin declared, and he leant forward over the table. “Rydik tyull earin,” muttered Brother, but Rin raised his eyebrow, clearly a little annoyed. “I told you, English please. We would not want to exclude our English-speaking friends. Everyone here must trust each other now.” Brother shrugged and nodded. Rikku flicked her vivid hair out of her jolting emerald eyes. “So, like, can we just get on with this already, or something?” she laughed, and Rin nodded. “To business,” he repeated. I looked at Steven before my eyes were pulled back to Rin, and he continued to speak.
“As Steven already knows, there are major consequences to defying us.” Rin began, and I swallowed nervously, hiding it as best I could. “Before we can accept you as an Al Bhed Sympathizer, we must first make sure we know where your loyalties lie. A sort of… initiation test, if you will.” Charlotte made to speak but I cut ahead of her. “What sort of test? A written exam or a mission?” Rin smiled gently and turned to Rikku, nodding. Rikku smiled and leapt up, looking around slightly. “Ooh! Like, him, in the blue! Go over to him and… Umm Rin? What was it again?” Rin shook his head, smiling. “Charlotte, if you please. Go over to the man in blue that Rikku pointed at and, using any means necessary, get his e-mail address.”
I looked over to Charlotte, who was positively beaming. This ‘man in blue’ was a boy, probably eighteen years old. He had black hair with crimson lowlights that leapt from his head and spiked in several different directions. His fringe was long, like mine, but covered his whole face. The light-blue shirt he was wearing clashed perfectly with a pair of violet skinny jeans, and a studded belt hung over the top. I looked at her, blankly, and she smiled and skipped away, closing in on her target. I looked over to Rikku and said calmly, “She’s just going to flirt with him. Couldn’t you have picked a less good-looking guy?” Rikku smiled. “I know, isn’t he like, gorgeous? I’d SO date him!” I looked down at my lap. If it wasn’t for Julian, so would I. That was the problem… my brotherly instincts had leapt into action as soon as I saw him, and I couldn’t help but worry.
I sprinted across the shopping centre until I was within a few feet of the guy. He had earphones plugged in under his dramatic sweep of hair and looked totally zoned out. Thinking hard about how to catch his attention, I pushed my hair out of the way absentmindedly. My eyes tugged back to the table where Steven was still sitting, and I noticed he was watching warily; he looked as though he would come running over any minute. Rin was smiling again and talking to Steven, who nodded before finally wrenching his attention back to his words.
The guy paused and bent down, fussing over his shoelaces. Darting forward, I took a deep breath before bumping into him and thudding down to the floor next to where he had fallen. “Oh my god, I am so sorry,” I gushed, “Are you alright? I stopped paying attention for a minute. I am truly so unbelievably sorry!” He looked at me, and I noticed his piercing emerald eyes glint from behind his heavy fringe. Laughing lightly, I spoke again, “Really, are you okay?” He nodded and pulled himself up to his feet silently. I did the same before gasping in pain and clutching my ankle; a shot of pain had flown through me. Groaning inwardly, I warned myself to be more careful next time I fell over.
I noticed Steven watching me again, but my attention was drawn back to the guy as he asked, “Are you okay?” His voice was low and smooth, with a slightly worried undertone. I shook my head, chuckling again. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m generally a really clumsy person, so I’m always falling over and walking into things and stuff,” I giggled, straightening up carefully. “I’m Charlotte,” I smiled. He smiled back. “Hayden.” I forced my hair behind my ears again and shoved my hands into my pockets, feeling a little nervous. “…I really am sorry,” I said, but Hayden shook his head. “Nah, it was probably my fault, you know. I shouldn’t have stopped in the middle of the shopping centre to tie my laces.” I laughed again, “I guess that probably wasn’t so clever after all.”
Hayden looked away, blushed, and looked back. “So, uh…” he mumbled, “do you wanna go get a drink or something?” I had to catch myself before I accepted, thinking about why I was talking to him again. “Um,” I stuttered, “I…I can’t really. Not right now. But…” I hesitated nervously, “how about you give me your e-mail address, and we can organise it for some other time?” He thought about it, before nodding slightly. Out of his pocket, he pulled a pen and a scrap of paper and scrawled something down, handing it to me with a shaking hand. I scanned the e-mail and smiled. “Thanks.” He shrugged. “So, I guess I’ll talk to you later then,” I laughed, and he nodded happily.
I turned away from Hayden and flashed a thumbs-up at Steven, grinning. But strangely, shock registered on his face as he pointed at something behind me. I started to turn around, but was cut off by a force around my waist pushing me to the floor. Blinking rapidly, I saw Hayden’s mop of hair in front of me. “W-What?” I stammered. He looked angry. “I saw you. Who’s the guy over there?” he demanded. I shook my head, “My brother!” He flicked his hair back almost lazily and said, “Liar! You were just using me, weren’t you? Give back my e-mail!” I shrugged, shaking my head. He raised his fist menacingly, but I wasn’t about to let him hit me. I grabbed his fist and ducked under him as he growled, and I jumped right to my feet. “What the hell is your problem?” I cried, but instead of answering he tugged himself up, wrenching his hand out of mine. He swung it at me, clenched again, but I took hold and sprang behind him, forcing it up behind his back.
Hayden moaned in pain. “Leave. Me. Alone,” I hissed in his ear, and shoved him to the floor. He lay there, panting slightly, and I strolled over to the table. Once there, I slammed his paper down in front of Rin. “He worked for you, didn’t he? You planned it, and you expected me not to notice? I saw his eyes; he was an Al Bhed. You planned every second of that!” Steven glared at Rin angrily. “Is that right?” he barked. “Of course it is,” I said, forcing calm, “because nobody would care that much over a stinking e-mail address. Did you really think I wouldn’t work it out?” Rin opened his mouth to speak, but Steven cut across him, “Are you for real? And you expect us to trust you? Come on, we’re going.” Steven stood up, trying to tug me away, but for once I was the level-headed one. I rationalised with him in whispers for a few minutes, and eventually he sat down, agreeing to listen to Rin’s explanation. “But if I don’t like it, we’re out of here,” he muttered. I rolled my eyes and sat next to him again.
