-1Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the FFVIII characters, but I DO own the plot and Jamie Kramer, my OC.

Summary: One Garden. Many complications occur and difficulties arise, but life was never really that simple, was it? Various pairings contained. My take on the characters living a 'normal' life.

Jamie was standing atop the balcony, considering her thoughts on her friends' recent annihilation on Sorceress Ultimecia, the dangerous sorceress that had come from the future.

I'm so glad that she's gone now, but if only I had been there too, the sorceress thought to herself. She had obviously gotten her powers from her mother, Sorceress Edea Kramer. Jamie had her powers from birth, and has been able to steadily control it as she was growing up.

She had been watching Squall and Rinoa, who were standing close by in the balcony, Squall's arm around Rinoa's waist, and Jamie had instantly felt a pang of envy. Not only were those two the 'Garden couple of the year', as Selphie so lamely put it, but Jamie had wished that she was by Squall's side, not Rinoa. Yes, being a stubborn girl, she would never admit that she was jealous of Rinoa, but she had always hated her.

Jamie was so wrapped up in her own thoughts about the two, that she hadn't heard the 2nd floor balcony door slide open, and was instantly released out of her 'thought world' when a rough, but soothing voice worriedly asked "Jamie, you okay?"

Seifer Almasy had always been, and always will be, Jamie thought, Squall's biggest rival, and she wasn't surprised that he was also looking at the Commander and his girlfriend with equal distaste.

Jamie smiled at him, and nodded her head. "Don't worry Seifer, I'm fine", she said. Seifer was the guy that she felt she trusted most, and was sort of like an older brother to her. "I was just thinking…"

"About him?" Seifer had instantly said. Seifer was aware of the love that Jamie felt for Squall, in a way, it was kind of obvious to him. Ohh, feeling jealous now? A snide voice in his head remarked.

You wish, was the reply.

Luckily, Jamie's voice had brought him back to Gaia, and saved him from thinking that he was a total nutcase for having a war inside his own head.

"No way, Seifer. I've already told you, I am definitely over him", Jamie said, but didn't feel totally convinced.

At that point, Seifer felt his temper rise, and before he knew it, his tone became more harsher and his words were spat out like venom.

"'Definitely over him'? Oh, give me a break, Jamie! I know you too well, and I've seen the way that you look at him, it's pathetic! Squall's with Rinoa now, so why don't you live with that fact, and just move on?!" He had practically yelled to her, shocking her beyond belief. But before she had time to shout something back at him, he had gone back inside, his trench coat flapping behind him as the breeze slightly lifted it up from the ground.

Tears threatening to spill out from her turquoise eyes, Jamie hastily blinked them back, and leaned back against the wall, her expression distant from what was happening, whilst her mind registered everything that Seifer had said.

Quistis had gotten sick of marking and grading papers all the time, so she had decided to go down to the Quad, to take in some fresh air. Aah, at least this is a nice change, much better than being stuck in my classroom, grading students' papers. She thought to herself, happily.

Cid had, willingly, given Quistis back her Instructor's Licence, and she had happily accepted it back. After the whole fiasco regarding Ultimecia and the 'Fated Children', as they were now referred as, Cid felt that this was the best thing to do for Quistis, as she did put all her time and work into organising lessons and helping students.

She had taken a few steps forward, when she heard someone shout "Quisty!" Upon turning round, Quistis found the owner of that voice running towards her.

Zell Dincht.

She had heard some troubling rumours as of late, and they troubled her because she was in the centre of it all. The rumours were focussed around a certain blonde haired martial artist and another blonde, and instructor.

In other words, some students had believed that her and Zell were having a relationship.

The thought had made her laugh, as she had not given off any signs that her and Zell were going out, and wanted to question Zell about it. Trouble is, that he began to act very strangely. Sometimes, he would turn slightly red when Quistis mentioned the rumours, and sometimes, he would also stutter.

And if there was one thing that she definitely knew about Zell, apart from the fact that he was more than obsessed with hotdogs, it was that he never, ever stutters.

But as much as that troubled her, she was relieved to see Zell. She just felt like she needed someone to talk to.

"Oh, hi Zell", Quistis said, when he stayed in step beside her as they began to walk through the Quad. "Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, everything's fine with me", Zell answered, with his trademark grin in place, "I was just walking around, but then I saw you, so I decided to come. Bored of marking papers?"

The blue-eyed instructor smiled. "Trust me, Zell. If you were stuck in a classroom marking papers all day, you would get more than bored".

Zell nodded, smiling. "Actually Quisty, I would never stay stuck in a classroom, by myself, with nothing but some paperwork to accompany me. I mean, that is so not….me, you know?"

Quistis smiled slightly when she pictured Zell in a classroom. She had already learnt that certain fiends had their own adaptations, and Zell's adaptation had nothing to do with a classroom.

She smiled and decided to talk to him about the rumours.

I mean, they are focussed on the two of us, so who better to talk to it about than him? The blonde thought to herself. "Well, I heard some…troubling rumours lately, about the two of us?" She said uneasily, wondering if he was going to do what she thought he was.

And…he did.

Not surprised by this, but equally puzzled, Quistis registered the faint tinge of red that appeared in his cheeks, and heard him reply. "What rumours? I haven't heard no rumours! But I don't like rumours, so maybe that's why I haven't heard of them", he began to ramble.

But before Quistis could elaborate on the point that she was trying to make, Zell had waved farewell, and rushed out of the Quad, as if the place was going to explode in a couple of seconds' time.

So Quistis did nothing but just stand there in shock, and wonder why Zell was acting most peculiarly.

After clearing her head a bit, Jamie had left for the 1st floor. Maybe a walk around the Garden would do me some good. The brunette beauty thought to herself.

After exiting the elevator as it had reached her destination, Jamie had decided to ponder on her next destination, but she heard a familiar voice shout "Jamie! There you are!"

Jamie had smiled, as Selphie was one of her closest friends, and if she needed to tell someone something, Selphie was the girl on top of her list. But from the expression on Selphie's face, Jamie judged that she was in a hurry, and didn't have time to listen to other people's problems.

As soon as Selphie was in arm-range of Jamie, she immediately went into 'Talk-a-lot' mode. "Jamie, thank goodness you're here. I've been looking for you everywhere! I need to organise the Garden Festival because I want to do a special on Squall and Rinoa's relationship success. Well, I was in the storage room, and I saw all this heavy machinery and stuff. And I need someone really strong to help me set up. Can you help me, J? Pretty please?" Selphie had rambled, and began batting her eyelashes at the last statement.

Jamie had smiled all throughout Selphie's presentation. Something about her always made Jamie see everything in a positive light. But sadly, she had to reject Selphie's offer.

"Sorry Selph. In case you haven't realised, I'm not exactly the strongest person, am I?" Jamie informed. "I guess you'd better find one of the guys".

Selphie pouted slightly. "Well, I don't know where any one of the guys are. I haven't seen Irvine all day, and I doubt that Zell is a macho man. And as for Squall….He'd rather feed me to a Tonberry than help me", she had frowned slightly, but then saw a shadow of a trench coat sweep out of sight. Almost out of instinct, Selphie squealed "Seifer!" and had ran into the dorms, where he was heading.

Jamie frowned slightly when she had heard Seifer's name, and had barely acknowledged Selphie's wave of farewell as she had left. I'd better go somewhere else. The brunette thought to herself. The last thing that I need on my mind is another conversation with Seifer.

With that in mind, Jamie had left for the 2nd floor.

Seifer was just going to go to his dorm room, when a squealing "Seifer!" had made him turn around and see Selphie running towards him.

Oh Hyne, this is just what I need. He thought to himself, his eyes seething with anger. A nice, little chat with Messenger Girl over tea parties and cuddly teddy bears.

Selphie was positively beaming at him, and placed her hands behind her back, clasping them. "Seifer, I need your help. I've got some reeeaaallllyyy heavy machinery that I need you to take to the Quad, so that I can organise the Garden Festival. Will you do it for me?"

Seifer had mentally scoffed at the fact that she was asking him for help, of all people. But he knew that her nagging would only get worse if he had rejected, and so he did the most sane thing that he could do.

He nodded.

He managed a small smile, when he saw Selphie jump up and down due to pure excitement, and asked "You want me to go there right now?"

Selphie nodded her head, her hair bouncing wildly. "Yep, I'm coming with you, so I can help you and show you where I want everything". She had smiled.

Then as abruptly as it came, Selphie had literally pounced on him. "Thank you soooooo much, Seif!"

Seifer was shocked at the fact that Selphie was literally hugging him, and she was certainly stronger than she looked. "Hey, it's fine", Seifer said indifferently. "We'd better go now, the sooner we do this, the better".

Selphie broke the embrace, and briefly nodded. "Yep, you're right, Seif. Let's go right now", she said, and before Seifer had any more time to protest, Selphie had led him to the elevator, as they headed for their destination.

Jamie had logged into her 'account', for lack of better words, so that she could check her mail and finish off some outstanding tests. Being the Headmaster's daughter meant that she didn't often get into trouble much, but she couldn't resist entering an empty, unlocked classroom, and hopefully keep her mind off Seifer and Squall.

Hmm, looks like I've got no new mail, Jamie thought to herself, as she was scrolling down her inbox. Her eye was then caught by an incoming message. The sender was confirmed to be Irvine.

Irvine…But why would he send me a message? He's normally busy around Selphie, the brunette pondered, but thought better to herself, and opened up the message.

It read:

Hey Jamie, I've seen you around the Garden, and your beautiful face is always shaped in a frown. What's keeping you so down, girl?

Well, whatever it is, you can talk to me, babe. I'll be here for you. I sent you this message from my dorm, and I want to speak to you in private, if you're free.

Come to my dorm, the door's unlocked. It's room number 105. Come alone.

Irvine

Jamie read the message and then logged off her computer, shutting down her computer. That's weird, but he's a friend, right? And he cares…. Jamie thought to herself, and exited the classroom.

However, as soon as she had exited, she had nearly bumped into Selphie. Cursing herself mentally, she wasn't really listening to Selphie's apologies, as she had seen who was behind the petite brunette.

Seifer.

Without making eye contact with him, Jamie had hastily apologized to Selphie and proceeded to walk towards the elevator, when a firm grip on her wrist stopped her. Looking back, she had discovered that Seifer's hand was firmly gripped around her slim wrist.

Eyes narrowed slightly at the intimate contact between the two, Jamie ha turned around until she was facing Seifer. Selphie had already unlocked the door to the 'storage room', and entered it.

Seifer's brisk voice had filled the empty air that had suspended at the silence that had occurred between the two of them. "Listen, Jamie, I need to talk to you", he said, hoping to communicate his feelings for her.

Jamie looked at him and had her emotionless mask plastered on her face. "Look, I can't talk to you right now, and I'm not prepared to listen to anything that you have got to say. A real friend needs me right now, alright?" She had said, anger threatening to spill out from every syllable that she had spat out.

Before he could say anything else, Jamie had walked towards the elevator and entered inside, just as it was about to close.

Cursing his luck, Seifer walked back into the storage room, and began to help Selphie, whilst reminiscing the mere fact that Jamie was riled at him.

Jamie was walking across the dormitory corridor, all the while looking for room 105. He said it was urgent. I hope he's okay…..Jamie began to worry for her friend, and had found the door number. With two knocks, she had entered the room, remembering that the door was unlocked.

Her heart had instantly torn in two at that point, as she saw Irvine leaning against the wall, alcohol bottle in hand.

His expression was pretty sombre, but he managed to smile, and said, "Hey, Jamie. Glad you could come".

Jamie had looked from the bottle to his expression, and had instantly grabbed the bottle. "Look Irvine, I'm not going to allow you to keep drinking, okay? I care about your health", she said, feeling curious as to why he was drinking in the first place.

Irvine flashed a smile at her. "Wow, you care. I thought that my life was down in the dumps", he said. Jamie was regarding his expression, he had a flirtatious smile on his face. He's obviously been drinking way outta his league. She thought to herself.

Putting the bottle on his bedside table, she asked him, "So, Irvine? Why exactly have you been drinking?"

Irvine looked at her in the eyes, and simply replied, "Because of you". After that, his mind slipped off into unconsciousness, and he was about to collapse on the ground, but Jamie had caught him, and directed him to the nearest bed.

Because of….me? Irvine Kinneas, you are so totally wasted. Jamie thought to herself, and decided to let him rest. So, she made her way into the kitchen, all the while thinking about what he said.

Boys sure know how to play with my mind.

Author's Note: Well, this is my attempt on a 'soap opera' focussed on different issues on the FFVIII gang's lives. If you like, review please.

That's it from me.

Ciao, amigos!