Blonde Ambition
A Cloud & Tifa Fanfiction

- Amaranthos –

If you're bored and you just want to read something to pass the time, this could help. Mind you, it ain't a masterpiece, but it fills the diet of relaxing you… just give it a chance

Chapter 1: Meet my life

"Tifaa!" a voice shouted from down the hall.

I cringed. Stopping abruptly, I had this urge to book it and run. Where had my sudden need to head to Physics go? Taking a deep breath, I readied myself and turned around.

There he was… a tiny voice in my brain seem to moan softly… Cloud Strife. Slowly he approached me, and I swore I'd totally die on spot. There's something so dreamy about him - the way the air and sunlight bickered to touch him. Could I die more happy… I smirked

"Hey…sorry to keep yah" he said somewhat out of breath. His messy blond locks fell magically around his perfect face.

Nervously I fixated my glasses, and spared a small smile.

"Heh..heh" I blushed. Somebody shoot me…

"Um, yeah…" he paused to retrieve something from his backpack. I held my breath, somehow waiting for the most gorgeous blond guy to talk to me. To me! Cloud Strife, I dreamily thought. He was the perfec-

"You forgot your notebook…" he handed me the book, and those blue eyes smiled warmly back at me – of course making me melt.

"Oh… I didn't really know it was missing" I cognitively spoke, sincerely at a loss of words that my Advanced Database notebook was not in my possession.

"Yeh, I kind of saw Aerith with it, and I figured she was probably gonna do something really devious with it. So…here it is.." he spared a small smile.

"Aerith?" I sounded surprised, but honestly I shouldn't have. I shook my head remembering the bridges burnt and words said in high school that had us feuding over matters which she clearly couldn't get over. Ever since high school, we held this unsaid wager of who was it between us could make Cloud their boyfriend. Yes, when I think back at it, its all so very sad – why? Because we were essentially stupid teenagers held at the belief a man - more technically Cloud, was all we needed to be some type of queen bee. Unfortunately… all of that ended our last year of college when she became Cloud's girlfriend.

"I'm sorry Tif…"

I looked up, somehow taken back by being called Tif. How wonderful it sounded in his mouth.

"It's okay" I smiled nervously, "I appreciate it…"

He scratched the back of his head, "no problem, well, I guess I should get going…see yah around"

And then he was gone like that. I was still trying to figure him out, and the more I thought of him the more I felt sorry that he was in a relationship with a low life like Aerith.

Aerith… what did she have that I didn't? Speaking of the devil, why did she have my Database book? She wasn't even a Science's major… Better yet, how did she get her leachy little hands on them? I'd love to hear this one…

"… I absolutely detest parties. Besides mid-terms are coming up" Tifa explained. Spreading her blanket flat on the sand.

"Oh come on Tif… it's your final year of college, live it up a little. You seriously can't be the only girl on campus that I befriend who does not party or have a social life…" Yuffie indicated.

"Well excuse me, but I happen to be a Physics major and it's not some walk in the park like other majors" Tifa stuck out my tongue.

"That's rich Tif!" Yuffie took a seat next to the brunette.

"All the same, she is right Tif. You've been getting straight A's since we started college. Seriously I don't think it's gonna hurt you to give yourself a little break once in a while to be human… or sociable." Tifa's other bestie Shera spoke.

Tifa sighed. Looking at the ocean, she wondered how this conversation even began.

"You guys," the brunette sighed, "I appreciate the concern, but I'm not a party kinda girl" she paused, "I'm not even a dress-up girl. Sadly, I'm just normal Tifa" she confessed.

"Hey… you're not normal – you're a bit too nerdy but there are tons of things that don't make you normal…" Yuffie explained

"Yeh, well, my abnormality ain't exactly getting me any closer to Cloud" she fumed.

"My gosh girl sometimes you are such a chick…" Yuffie complained.

Tifa had to stare at the younger woman strangely. "Oh forgive me for being a girl?" Tifa thought.

"Look, forget the Cloud thing, there are so many hott guys on campus, and oh my gosh, it's unreal how many of them need a cute, smart, and steady girl like you in their lives" Yuffie retorted.

"Urh…" that sounded like a total lie

"Okay-okay, take Zack from our Database class, he's been totally crushing on Aerith for forever, poor guy all he wants is a good girlfriend. But slagger Aerith has no interest in him, rather she's off with your man parading she's actually gotten one."

"Thank you for reminding me of the obvious" Tifa groaned

"What Yuffie means to say is" Shera interjected, "is Zack's a great guy and I'm sure he'll find you absolutely great as girlfriend material. Besides if he's too hooked on the Aery-head, why don't you date Vincent Valentine?" Shera smirked

"Yo. Not cool. You know Vincent's mine" Yuffie explained.

"Don't see your name on him…" Shera bit back…

"Really, I swore it was. If it isn't I could always make you see with some better clarity" Yuffie cracked her knuckles…

"Are you threatening me monkey-girl?" Shera stood up sharply.

"Okay, okay girls come on calm down. This is the exact reason I just give up in guys."

"Give up most definitely you should!" came the voice of none other than "Aerith!" Tifa gritted my teeth

"What do you want?" Tifa glared her daggers.

"So I heard you got your book back, nerd… I'm sure you enjoyed every second with Cloud…" she laughed, "Pathetic…"

"Shut your mouth Gainsborough" Yuffie shot back.

"Ouch! As if! Look Tiffy, I don't need to remind you of the obvious but don't go making getting close to my man a habit" she snarled. "Like you said, maybe its just time you gave up and realize girls like me get everything they want – even the guys." She drew closer, "I always win, and I always get what I want…" she smirked devilishly, "truth is, it's not even hard to win when the competition is like you…"

Somehow, those words had penetrated Tifa's heart.

"They don't want a nerd Tifa… they want a woman, the one who can afford themselves to take a look at who they are in the mirror."

"You baka yarou!" Yuffie screamed out

Aerith walked away, leaving Tifa to sit in the destruction of her words.

"Can you believe her?" Shera threw up her hands in complete frustration, "absolute monster!"

"No…" Tifa's voice was small.

"Don't believe an ounce of that venom Tif" Yuffie intervened.

"No, she's right. All this time I've been this person - this nerd - self-absorbed-Cloud-freak, and I've never done anything but hope and wait for him. All I've ever done for myself was push myself to limits with school. I tried to look at myself from the angle where it was okay to be who I was. But" she pursed lips, "but it's not okay. I've allowed the only guy I've ever liked, be taken away because I didn't have the guts to go get him myself." she breathed deeply

"Tifa…" Shera softly called…

"Sher … I think I'm fedup being a loser" came the words that had both friends eyeing their spectacle-wearing friend curiously.

"What's it gonna take for me to stop feeling but more importantly being the loser I am? Is it the clothes then I don't want the clothes, is it the glasses, the body or maybe its my grades." Tifa shook her head annoyed.

"Tifa you seriously can't be letting Aerith's words get to you this bad. You know she's a mess of a human.. listening to anything she has to say is like poison" Shera afforded.

"Poison or not Sher, she's right. Gah, it's my last year of college and I haven't even kissed a guy since high school. Ten years from now everyone's gonna remember me as Tifa the nerd. I don't want to be remembered as a nerd." She stood up brightly.

"I wanna be remembered as being the girl everyone fell in love with…"

To be continued

An: Hope you guys liked the first of many chappies to come.