Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or any of it's characters, Square Enix does, and that's probably a good thing.
CLOSER
Chapter One
Quistis sat at her desk, grading her student's assignments and idly listening to their chattering. The sun was shining brightly through the slightly cracked windows at the back of the classroom. A warm, gentle breeze ran over her face even in front of the classroom lifting the thin wisps of blond hair briefly off of her face. In reality, she wasn't focused too much on grading the assignments. Because of that fact, she probably had made a few mistakes here and there. She imagined her student's possible faces as they would read over their assignments. She smiled to herself as she thought of their inevitable puzzled faces. Luckily the mistakes were easily corrected on her pad.
She had allowed the students a bit of free time to talk as class was almost over. The free time served more as a break for herself. The class periods seemed as if they were going on longer as the year progressed, and she started to wonder if being an instructor was a bit much for her eighteen years to handle. Of course a troublemaking student by the name of Seifer Almasy didn't help ease the job for her.
Seifer was the same age as Quistis, but he had not advanced nearly as far as her. His temper and rash behavior had effectively kept him from even passing his SeeD exam. Quistis thought that he might be considered quite handsome if not for his arrogant nature. He was tall, athletic, and had a strong face which often bore a serious expression. She was sure Seifer could have easily had several girlfriends if not for the rather intimidating Fujin who always seemed to be around. And then, there was Squall. Seifer's apparent self proclaimed rival and fellow gunblade user. Quistis couldn't help but smile sometimes when she saw the two of them getting into it. In addition to their mutual dislike for each other they shared similar personalities, at least in her eyes.
It was the day before the SeeD exam. Quistis had done her best to prepare her students, but she knew there were those in her classroom who would inevitably fail. She took a glance up from her desk at Seifer who was tapping on his desk noisily and impatiently with his gloved hands. She glanced at her watch, she didn't blame his impatience. She sat her pencil down and resigned to staring at her watch for the rest of the thirty seconds until class was over.
When the bell finally rang she let a short sigh of relief escape her lips. She looked up and smiled at the students as they clamored to the classroom's exit, slightly wishing that she could do the same. She greeted the so-called "Trepies" as they ushered around her desk. All the attention was a little too much for Quistis; she wasn't sure she liked being worshiped. Although the students meant well enough, she couldn't help but feel it was all a little superficial. At their request to help her, she told them the best that they could do was give her some time alone to finish her work. Her words were met with dismay and hung heads, as the students shuffled out of the classroom. As she saw Squall walk by her desk without so much as a glance toward her, she halted him.
"Squall," she called after him. He stopped and turned around, there was a slight hint of annoyance in his eyes. Quistis hesitated, then continued. "Would you mind staying after class a few minutes?"
Squall shrugged in his usual indifferent way and began walking slowly back toward her desk. Seifer passed Squall with a smirk on his face, deliberately brushing against him. Seifer said something to Squall in a low voice that Quistis could not hear, but she assumed it wasn't kind. "You may leave now Seifer," she said to him.
"Thank you for granting me permission, Instructor," Seifer said with the smug smile still on his lips. He took a small mocking bow, then left. Squall placed his hand on his head, shaking his head back and forth.
"I'm capable of standing up for myself," he said. There was a harshness in his tone that surprised her and for a few moments she was unsure of how to respond.
"Yes," she began slowly, "I know that, but I still—"
"Is there anything specific you wanted Instructor?" He said, interrupting her.
"Well, yes. The SeeD exam is tomorrow." Squall nodded, strands of his brown hair falling over his face as he did so. Quistis had half the instinct to reach up and brush them away. She didn't do that of course, and really didn't understand her urge to either. "I just wanted to know if you were prepared, and if there was anything I could do to help."
"I'm ready," Squall said.
Quistis had known the answer to that before she had even asked the question. Of course he was ready for the SeeD exam, he was Squall. She wondered if she had called him back just to see him. She shook that thought from her head, she was just concerned. Apparently overly so, still she pressed on.
"Well," she said, rising from her seat and beginning to gather up some papers to look over back in her room. "I'm always available for extra help." She had said this to reassure him, but it seemed to just annoy Squall even more.
"Do you show so much concern with all your students?" He asked pointedly. She knew what he was implying. He was talking about Seifer. Maybe if she showed more concern for him he would finally pass his SeeD test. Maybe, Quistis thought, but Seifer was no longer a child, despite how he acted like it at times. He had the skill to pass the test if he really wanted to, it could be argued that he was the most skilled student at the Garden, certainly in battle. He was only rivaled in that way by Squall. No, she thought it wasn't her fault if Seifer didn't pass again; it wasn't her failure. At least that's what she continued to tell herself.
"Well, good luck then." She said, she motioned toward the door and followed him as he walked out.
"Thank you, Instructor." Squall replied formally. It wasn't quite what Quistis wanted to hear, not that she really knew exactly what she wanted him to say, but at least the annoyance was gone from his voice.
After they exited the classroom she noticed that he was walking a bit slow. She got the hint and quickened her pace, her footsteps echoing sharply in the empty hall. The rest of the students had been quick to get as far away from the classrooms area as possible. She couldn't say that she blamed them.
If she had been paying attention to her path to the elevator, Quistis might have avoided the collision which knocked her to the ground. She landed hard on her rear and angrily looked at who had caused the incident. Her glasses had been knocked off when she fell, but through her blurred vision she could make out the figure of a small girl who was scrambling to assembler her things.
Quistis cleared her throat as she reached for her glasses and placed them back on. now through the now crooked frames she could make out the girl more clearly. She was small with short brown hair and green eyes. She continued gathering her things as if Quistis wasn't even there. Quistis cleared her throat again, louder this time and the girl finally looked up.
"Oh," she said. "I'm so sorry." Her voice was light and full of energy. Her expression was truly remorseful and Quistis found it difficult to remain upset at the girl. The girl finished gathering her things then stood, reaching out a small hand to in turn help Quistis to her feet. She took it gratefully, straightening her skirt when she was back on both feet.
"Well," the girl said. "I really am sorry, but I'm running late. Seeya around sometime!"
The girl flashed a bright grin before taking off down the hallway. Quistis allowed herself a moment of composure then gathered up her papers which where scattered about the hallway. As she walked toward the hallway she mused to herself about the young girl bumping into Squall who was probably still down the hall. She smiled, it would be funny to see him handle such a small situation so seriously. Poor girl, Quistis thought, he would probably end up frightening her.
As the elevator began its descent, Quistis considered visiting Dr. Kadowaki for a bit, but decided against it. She had been quite tired recently and opted instead to retire to her room for a quick nap. As she was heading down the stairs she felt a slight rumble beneath her feet. Quistis didn't think much of it, she assumed it was just the inner parts of the Garden's running on overdrive for a few minutes. However the rumbling increased as she walked. By the time she had reached the area of the directory, she couldn't just feel it, she could hear it too.
It was a low rumble, that sounded like it was coming from the throat of a monstrous beast on the verge of death. She stopped and listened, people around her had begun taking note too. She was about to turn around and head back into the elevator up to see Headmaster Cid when she stopped.
There was a group of student's running down the hall from the front gate. They were screaming and had panicked expressions on their faces. Quistis grabbed the arm of one of the male students who had come rushing by her.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"M-monsters," he stuttered. "They're right out side of the gate."
"What?" Quistis said with shock. "Why would there be—" But the student didn't stick around to answer, he had already run off. She looked down the hall as there were more and more students running with fear. Worry clouded her usually light hearted blue eyes as she rushed down the hall, her body quickly becoming lost amongst the crowd and a sea of screams.
A/N: This if my first fanfiction, so please review it if you read. I'll respond to each review and take your suggestions, thanks for reading chapter one.
