Before Final Fantasy 7 was released in the US, gaming stores had giant signs in their windows that read "AERIS IS DEAD". How this was supposed to be some major spoiler is beyond me, but I digress. When Cloud gets separated from AVALANCHE near the beginning of the game, he lands in a church that Aeris frequents. She falls for him instantly, but they're forced to leave the church after getting attacked by the Turks. Cloud reminds Aeris of Zack, an old boyfriend of hers, and it doesn't take long for her to have feeling for Cloud and follow him around everywhere. She eventually asks him to be her bodyguard.