"Butterfly"
By NocturnalFerri
Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue. FF8 ppl belong to Squaresoft, I think. "Crazy For This Girl" is by Evan and Jaron. And "Butterfly" * Yay! Happy dance* is by Crazy Town. Tell me Zell doesn't remind you of the lead singer! omg.
Yes yes, it's one of those song fics where the gang's a band preforming it, what can i say...
Rated PG - Zelphie - The gang gets entered in a talent contest. Guess what they're performing? Guess who's singing? Guess whose he's singing to?
Slam!
The door to the modest hotel room slammed shut, rattling the cheap discount priced fake paintings on the walls. A pink apron landed atop one of the lampshades, dimming the light of the room. A plastic nametag followed suit, thrown haphazardly onto the table. Its owner through herself face first onto one of the three beds.
"Having no money sucks." Grumbled Selphie, voice muffled by the thick mattress.
"Care to state something we don't know?" replied Rinoa. She sat down onto of one of the dressers, starting to unclip her apron. Selphie looked up, brushing her short brown hair from her face and rolled onto her side.
"How much longer until we get enough to get out of this dump?"
Rinoa shrugged. The party had arrived there a little more than a week ago after being sent on a mission. They were on their way back when they just happened to encounter a very good pickpocket, leaving them with next to nothing and train ticket-less. Being that there was no way to contact the Garden, they were stuck there until they could raise enough money to pay for their fares home. All of them took up jobs, most of them menial. Considering it was a high living cost and low wages area, it was going to be a little difficult.
"Honey, I'm home!" called out Irvine. He shut the door with the sway of his hips.
"Who you calling 'honey'?" challenged Selphie. Irvine shot her a playful offended look. She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him.
Rinoa shook out her uniform headband cap matted hair. "The boss let you out early?" She looked at her watch. "I thought you had to stay and serve during happy hour."
Irvine shook his head. "No way! And serve those drunks again? Yuck, I smelled like vomit for three days straight!" He perched himself on top of the dresser next to Rinoa. "There are a lot of disadvantages of being a bartender." He ticked off his fingers. "First off, you're a clear shot if anyone gets a hang over. Second, alcohol isn't exactly my cologne of choice, and third, I'll get in big trouble if they figure out I'm not even old enough to drink."
"Well, it's better than being a waitress." Said Rinoa with some distaste. "All those nasty old guys hitting on my isn't my idea of fun."
"We get pretty good tips though." Said Selphie optimistically. She dug into her pockets and pulled out a wad of Gil. Rinoa grinned and pulled out her own day's tips.
Irvine frowned. "Hey, I didn't get that much." He pulled out two Gil coins."
"The old guys tip the best." Said Rinoa. "They may stink, but if you give them the sweet innocent cheery peppy routine, they cough up some extra Gil." The two girls looked at each other knowingly and flashed their routine puppy looks at Irvine. He covered his eyes.
"Ah! Stop that! You're going to make me pay up too!" They giggled.
Squall, Quistis and Zell were the next to arrive. Quistis had a dull glazed look over her eyes, probably from being stuck at the computer all day as a data entry person. Squall and Zell looked a little worse for wear. "Hey guys!" said Zell. Squall merely gave a short salute wave. Both made a beeline for their stash of items in search for a couple of potions.
Rinoa giggled as she went to help them rummage through the bag. "The little kids beat you up again, hmm?"
Squall scowled and cast a quick Cura spell on himself. "No, they did not beat us up."
"Just tire us out," said Zell. He shot a pleading look at Squall. "I'm out of curas." Squall sighed and cast Cure for him. The looked a little better. The two worked at a nearby martial arts studio, teaching little kids the basics, giving boring tutorials on battle screens, and helping run a tutorial on the various type of magic. It was something both had mastered ages ago, and were sick of repeating.
"Did you get dinner?" asked Quistis, some of the glaze moving out of her eyes. "I'm starved."
"Sure did." Said Selphie. She motioned to a paper bag in the corner of the room, bearing the "Mike's diner" on it. "That's one advantage of working at a diner. You get all the untouched leftovers. Zell leapt at the bag and rummaged through it. Selphie rolled her eyes. "Sorry Zell, we ran out of hot dogs." Zell's shoulders slumped in dejection and handed the bag to Quistis.
"Aw man…"
Selphie couldn't bear the pathetic hungry look on Zell's face. "Don't worry Zell. I'll snag a few tomorrow and hide them for you." His face brightened up.
"Thanks Sefie."
While they dug into their meal, Squall pulled out their envelope of accumulated Gil. Every paycheck and tip went into getting tickets home. Well, except the money they need for rent and food anyway. Rinoa scooted next to him and put her chin on his shoulder. "So, how much more do we need?"
Squall silently counted out the various coins and paper. "Another 10,000 Gil."
"Inflation sucks." Grumbled Irvine.
"If we were in Balamb right now," said Zell. "We would have been out of here a long time ago. We would have had more than enough to get out."
"If we were in Balamb, we wouldn't' be in this position right now." Corrected Quistis. "There has got to be a faster way of getting enough money for tickets." She caught Irvine and Zell's sly looks. "And no, we're not stealing from the bank, or stowing away in a crate, or selling our bodies for cash." The pair snapped their fingers.
"We'll find a way." Said Selphie positively. "We just gotta keep at it."
"You said it Selphie." Said Zell, backing her up.
"With those two around, how can you not feel hope?" laughed Quistis.
Zell growled and slammed his fist down on the alarm clock besides his bed. After hearing the crunch of broken metal and plastic, he blindly swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, wobbling a bit, not quite awake. He yawned and made his way to the bathroom for a quick shower. One of the major drawbacks of being in a cheap hotel, in a cheap adjoining suite, on discount, was that there was only one bathroom. With the six of them, it was a nightmare. Zell cracked one eye open, saw the bathroom door and reached out for the knob. A sudden flash of yellow entered his vision in front of the door, colliding into him. The yellow figure yelped in surprise. Zell snapped his eyes opened and saw Selphie holding a large yellow towel in front of her, and steam coming out of the bathroom from a just finished shower. He put the two together. "Uh, uh, uh, sorry!" Zell clapped his hand over his eyes.
Selphie giggled. "It's okay Zell! I'm decent." Zell opened his eyes behind his hands and looked through the cracks between his entwined fingers. Selphie held the towel away from her, revealing her usual yellow dress. He sighed in relief and lowered his hands. As he did so, he realized he was only in his boxers. He blushed bright red and folded his arms across his chest, a little insecure.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I traded shifts with someone. She had to go to her kid's parent teacher conference thing." Explained Selphie. She rubbed her dripping hair with the towel. "So I get to go in a little late."
"Oh, cool." Replied Zell. "Uh, so, it's just the two of us?" she nodded. They stood there silently for a moment, a little shy of what to say. "Uh," Zell jerked a thumb towards the bathroom. "You done? I just wanna take a quick shower."
"Yeah, go ahead." Said Selphie. She watched Zell head towards the bathroom, stealing one last look at him before the door closed. She sat down at the mirror and picked up her brush. Zell doesn't look all that bad. She mused. She brought the brush through her fine brown hair. He had muscles, not like those lumpy bodybuilders she saw in his Combat King magazines, but enough to look strong. He had to be with all that shadow boxing he does. Selphie giggled softly to herself. The sound of water pelting down in the shower started. Selphie looked at the doors reflection in the mirror. He's really kinda cute. An' really sweet and nice. Hyper and optimistic like me. He can actually keep up with me when I'm on a hyper kick. Not at all like Irvine. He's just a flirt and a player. Not like Zell…Selphie frowned and whacked her forehead lightly. What am I thinking! Zell's my friend. That's all. I don't like him like that. The image of Zell in his boxers flashed through her mind once more. She shut her eyes unbelieving what she was thinking. "Ahh! No!"
A peculiar sound coming from the acoustic-friendly bathroom caused her to open her eyes. It sounded like Zell was talking to himself, or had the radio on. Selphie leaned in the direction of the bathroom and strained to figure out what it was.
"She rolls the window down, and she, talks over the sound, of the cars that pass us by, I don't know why but she changed my mind…"
Selphie gasped. She knew what song that was. A song. Zell was singing? In the shower? A bewildered look overcame Selphie's face. Zell can sing? She edged towards the wall of the bathroom to hear.
"I look at her, she looks at me, she's got me thinkin' about her constantly, but she doesn't know how I feel."
Selphie clapped a hand to her mouth, smothering a laugh. He was carrying the tune pretty well. His pitch was almost the same as the way they played it on the disk. Selphie put her ear to the wall, eager to hear more. She never would have thought Zell could sing. He was more of the physical activity type. Sure, he adept at music as the rest of them were and could play more than one instrument, then again, it was a requirement for SeeDs. She smiled. His voice was soft yet strong and rich. She pressed closer to the wall and listened as he went through a couple more songs. She giggled a little, hearing him do a rap song. It was strange. The shower suddenly turned off, and the door flew open soon after, startling Selphie. She jumped away from the wall, stumbling on the bed and falling on the floor.
Zell ran to her with concern. "Sefie! You all right?" Selphie brushed away the hair over her eyes and blushed with embarrassment. Of all the people to get clumsily over, it just had to be Zell.
"Yeah, I was just, uh…looking for my, um, chain! Yeah, that's it." Selphie slipped her hand into her pocket, took out the chain, and pretended to retrieve the chain from under the bed. She showed the plain silver chain to Zell. "See?"
Zell rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "Uh, right." He took her arm and pulled her to her feet. "I thought you were leaving."
Selphie fussed with her skirt. "Uh, well, um, I had a bit of trouble, um, zipping up the back of my dress." She tugged the back of her dress, successfully unlatching the top snap of her dress and un-zippering it a little.
"Oh," Zell blushed. "Would you like me to help?"
"Uh, sure." She turned around to let Zell get the zipper. Zell swallowed hard, a little nervous of such close contact. His fingers clumsily seized the zipper, pulled it up, and snapped the latch. Selphie turned around. "Thanks!" She grabbed her apron and nametag. "Well, I've gotta go. See ya!" Selphie waved and ran out the door.
"Yeah, see ya." Said Zell to the already closed door. He frowned and rubbed the back of his head. "What just happened?"
"Pick up! Table two!" bellowed Mike, storeowner, cook, manager, and severely understaffed.
"Yeah, Coming!" yelled Rinoa back. She swept the dirty dishes into her cart and headed for the kitchen counter. She picked up the plates, and headed for the table. She put down the plates before the two old men. "Here's your Chocobo burger with fries and here's your tuna sandwich."
The more wrinkled of the two smiled up at Rinoa. "Thank you very much…" he looked at her nametag. "Virginia."
Rinoa scowled. The boss was too cheap to get tags with their name on them and gave them old used ones instead. "You're welcome." She flashed them a cute smile and turned around, flipping her hair as she walked away. That usually bought her a few more Gil. She headed to where Selphie was sitting with Quistis. Apparently both were on their coffee breaks. "Hey girls." Both of them looked up from their mugs.
"Take a seat Rinoa." Said Quistis. "I'm sure your boss won't mind."
"Oh yes he will." Said Rinoa. She looked over to where Mike was cooking. "If you're on break, I gotta at least look like I'm working." She leaned against the counter. "You're on break Quistis?"
"Yeah." Quistis bit into the sandwich she had ordered. "I just had to get away from those computers." She held her head in her hands in agony. "If I have to input any more of those files I will go nuts!"
"Don't worry." Selphie placed her hand on Quistis' shoulder. "We won't be here for much longer. Maybe another week. Or even less!"
"Wishful thinking," said Rinoa with a sigh.
"You have to think positive." Said Selphie. The bells hanging on the diner's door jingled as a girl a few years
Rinoa turned around and yelled younger than them entered. She timidly looked around, clutching a stack of bright yellow papers to her. Rinoa took pity on her and called her over.
"May we help you?"
The girl nodded and handed her a flyer. "Hi, I'm a volunteer from the town hall community center. We're holding our annual talent show contest next week and were hoping we could post a couple flyers here."
"Mike! Can we post a couple flyers?"
"What d'ya say?"
Rinoa rolled her eyes at her boss' poor hearing. "I don't see why not."
"Hey," said Selphie. She set down her coffee and went over. "A talent contest? We're kind of new here. Can you tell us more about it?"
The girl nodded. "Sure. It's this yearly thing we do to keep the town's morale up. It looks good for tourists. Anyway, we hold it at the town hall stage. It looks great, lots of decoration, a neat speaker system…the works! Anyway, we take anyone who wants to perform. Anything really. Singing, dancing, juggling, anything. Just no magic."
"Why's that?" asked Quistis, taking interest in the conversation.
The girl shrugged. "Magic is a little common. You can just find draw points. It's not hard if you've been trained to use them, and just about anyone can learn the basics. So, a flash of Fira isn't very impressive."
"So, what's the prize?" asked Selphie.
"Grand prize is 10,000 gil, second is 5000, and third is 2500." Replied the girl.
"How do you sign up?"
"Just go to the town hall, sign the names of the performers, what you're going to do, and that's it." Said the girl. She handed them a few flyers. "Thanks again, and I hope to see you there."
Selphie traded looks with Rinoa and Quistis. She grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I think I am, and I think I'm scared I'm right." Replied Quistis with a groan.
Selphie grinned and held the flyer up onto the diner's bulletin board. She stabbed a tack into the paper. "Garden, here we come."
"You want us to what?!" exclaimed Zell.
"You heard us," Said Selphie. She stood before the entire group in the hotel room, pleading her case. "We can enter the contest and try to win the grand prize! It's enough to get us home! We can do it!"
"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Squall.
"Because!" said Selphie. "We're SeeDs, and we can do next to anything!" squall hit his forehead and shook his head.
"Squall, we really do need to get back to the garden," said Quistis.
"But a talent contest?"
"It's money, Squall. Money we need." Added Irvine. "We just gotta do a little ditty, pray we win, and we're home free." He was already sold on the idea.
"If we do," said Squall. "What are we going to perform?"
"I was thinking," said Selphie. "We could enter as a band."
"Oh no," said Irvine, shaking his head as well as his hands. "Remember the last time we played?" all of them cringed at the memory of the disastrous Garden Festival. "We were playing different music, out of time, out of tune, out of key, and out of our minds." Grimaced Irvine. "We were getting complaints for days."
"We just need new music, that's all." Said Selphie.
"And we'd need a singer." Said Rinoa. "Knowing this place, I think it's all going to be kids our age. And if I know my age group, I'm not going to like stuffy old classical music."
Squall crossed his arms. "Who did you have in mind?"
Selphie grinned, bouncing up and down in excitement. "I know!" She giggled. "I'm really sorry about blowing up your spot." Zell glanced up and suddenly noticed Selphie was looking at him. His eyes opened wide and pointed to himself. Selphie nodded.
"WHAT?!" yelled Zell. He leapt to his feet and shook his hands furiously. "Nooo way! How'd you get that idea?"
Selphie blushed and looked down at her feet. "I kind of heard you singing this morning…you were pretty good."
Zell blanked out for a moment, then grimaced, slapping his head in realization. "Man! I forgot you were here!" He looked over at Squall for help, hoping he could veto the idea. "Buddy, ol' pal. Help!"
Squall smirked, scaring the heck out of Zell. "Sorry Zell. I heard you once. You're not that bad."
"Nooo!" moaned Zell.
"Please Zell?" said Rinoa.
"What about you?" said Zell in desperate defense. "Your mom's a singer or something."
"Pianist." Corrected Rinoa. "Not singer. I didn't exactly inherit those abilities."
"How about Irvine or Quistis or Squall!"
"Irvine looks like he'd belt out Achy Breaky Heart or something, and I don't think anyone would appreciate it." Frowned Selphie.
"Hey!" said Irvine. "I resent that!"
Squall shook his head. "Can't. Won't. I'll play something, but I can't sing."
Zell looked at Selphie begging her with his blue eyes. She shook her head and stood face to face with him. "Please, Zell." She gave him her best puppy eyes. Zell sighed, unable to take it anymore. He slumped his shoulders in surrender.
"All right. I'll do it."
Selphie jumped and clapped her hands. "Yay! Great!" She gave Zell a peck on the cheek. "You're the best Zell!" He flushed bright red.
Squall shook his head at the exchange. "Whatever. So, what are we performing?"
"It's up to Zell," said Quistis. Zell groaned.
"Man…"
"Where will we get the equipment?" asked Squall, taking charge.
"I know the band at the bar who would be willing to lend their spare instruments for a while," said Irvine.
"In that case," Squall stood, issuing orders, as if it were a mission. "Selphie will play bass."
"Why?" she exclaimed, surprised her plan backfired on her.
"You're the best at it." Said Squall. "I'll play guitar, if that's any help. Quistis can play the drums." He ignored the look the older teenager was sending him. "And Irvine and Rinoa will…uh…"
"Provide morale support and any tambourine shaking you need." Piped Rinoa. Squall nodded.
"What about me?" said Zell. "I've never done this stuff before. I only sing in the shower."
"I'll help you." Said Selphie, putting her arm around his shoulder. "I'll get you ready in no time flat!"
Zell blushed. "Uh, thanks."
Squall looked around at his friend. "Then it's settled. Agreed?"
"Yes sir!" they chorused. All of them, save for Rinoa, saluted. Squall rolled his eyes.
"Whatever."
-----------------------------------------T-minus 6 days----------------------------------------------
The next day, after work, the group was in the back room of bar Irvine worked at. Squall was in the corner, trying to remember how to play some chord or another on the electric guitar, Quistis was twirling her drumsticks, and Rinoa was pecking at the keys of the piano, trying to remember how to play. Selphie and Zell were seated on the floor of the other side of the room looking through Zell's collection of music discs. Selphie rubbed her hands together. "Okay!" she announced. "Down to business. What kind music do you like?"
"Um, rock, pop, techno, jazz…." Said Zell with a shrug. "A lot of stuff."
"That doesn't help, Zell."
"Sorry." Zell ducked his head.
Selphie smiled. "That's s'ok. Let's look at what you have, and we'll see what we can play." They rummaged through Zell's disks, finding his favorite songs. "What about that song you were singing yesterday morning?" asked Selphie.
Zell looked up at her. "Huh? Which one?"
"The 'Crazy For This Girl' one." Said Selphie. "I really liked it."
"Really?" said Zell, beginning to smile.
"You had a lot of emotion in it, and it sounded really nice." Said Selphie. Zell blushed even more.
"Thanks." He looked at the disk. "I don't know. I was kind of hoping for something more upbeat. You know," he got to his feet and jumped around, shadowboxing energetically. "Something to get the audience going."
Selphie giggled. "Yeah!" she tapped her chin. "Then you gotta dance too." Zell stopped shadowboxing.
"What?!"
They narrowed it down to a few songs and looked up their tabs on the Internet. Selphie gathered the disks and printouts together. "I'll show these to the gang and see if they can play these. She walked away.
Zell slumped in his chair and held his head in his hands. "Man, I gotta go through this?" He shook his head and looked up. "We gotta go home, so I guess I'm stuck. Good thing Seifer can't see me now. I could almost hear him calling me 'Chicken-Wuss.'" He watched Selphie as she popped the disks into the player and let them listen to the songs. Selphie was doing a lot to help him. She didn't have to, but she did. One heck of a special girl. He always had a crush on her. Even back at the orphanage. She was always hanging around Irvine, so he didn't say anything. Plus Seifer was always bugging him, and that didn't leave much free time. He loved the way she talked, how she was always optimistic, how she walked, how she always helped others, how she always made him smile no matter how bad the situation was, how his heart skipped a beat when she looked at him, how he gets charged up just thinking about her, how…she was perfect. She was like him in so many ways. Zell sighed. She would never go for a guy like him. He was no ladies man, not like Irvine. Sure, he had a few girlfriends in the past, but they never lasted more than a month. They didn't mean all that much to him. She did. A strain of one of his favorite songs drifted into his head. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the last reaming disk. He didn't show this one to Selphie. He was too afraid he'd break down with insanity if he let her hear it. It was her song. She was everything the song said she was. He tapped the disk in his hand. Well, he wasn't going to live forever, and if there was only one thing he ever learned from Selphie, it was that there was no harm in trying. He walked over to where everyone was testing out a song. He stopped the player, catching everyone's attention. He popped the disk in. "This is the song I want to do. It's not that hard either." He hit play.
Selphie planted her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you show me this song before?" she demanded.
Zell shrugged. "I forgot I had it. It was in my pocket." He looked around at them. "What do you think?"
One by one, they nodded. As if in response, Squall started playing the main guitar part. Quistis added in a steady drumbeat, and Rinoa tapped out some techno sound effects on the synthesizer. Selphie broke out into a grin, and started to lay the lead bass part.
"Booyah!"
-----------------------------------------T-minus 3 days----------------------------------------------
"C'mon Zell!" said Selphie. She hit the pause button on the player, put down her bass, and looked down at Zell's collapsed tired form. "You can't give up."
Zell sighed and propped himself up on his elbows. "I know. I won't." Selphie grinned.
"That's the spirit." She handed him a water bottle. He drank greedily. The two of them were in the back alley of the hotel, working on Zell dancing to the music, much to his embarrassment. Everyone else was at work, or practicing their parts. Zell stood up. "Jeez, this stuff is hard. How do those music groups do this all the time?"
"I don't know," said Selphie, taking a sip from the water bottle. "I always figured the only way they could, is if they have something they're working towards. You know, a goal or something. Like what we're doing. Or maybe if they're doing it for someone." Selphie giggled. "Most of the time it's for their moms, or girlfriends, or something." Zell grinned. "Why don't you just keep thinking of your goal, or whoever you're doing this for, and hat might help." Selphie suggested.
Zell looked at her. I'm doing it for you. He nodded. "Sure." He got to his feet and jumped around, pumping energy into himself. "Let's take it from the top."
"Super duper mega cool!" exclaimed Selphie. She was about to reach for the player when Zell stopped her.
"No. I just want to hear you. That's all I need." Selphie looked at him, startled. Zell caught himself, realizing what he said. "Uh, I mean, you do have the main part, and stuff. Uh, yeah."
Selphie seemed to accept the answer. "All right." She started thumbing the strings and let the music play itself.
-----------------------------------------T-minus 2 days----------------------------------------------
"I see the sun rising over through dark clouds, and a vision of you, standing out in the crowd."
"Gawd, shut the hell up!!" yelled Squall. He chucked a pillow at Zell. "You got the words down pack now let me sleep!" Squall pulled the ratty covers of the bed over his head. "I pulled double shifts last night!" Never get between the commander and his catnap. Then again, that's the time when everyone bugs him.
Zell frowned. He was in the middle of going over the dance routine he and Selphie came up with the other day. It wasn't really a dance, but a few things he would do to highlight some verses. He even used some of his limit break moves. He was getting pretty good too, well, until Irvine interrupted. "Hey, I'm practicing."
"You've been practicing!" said Squall, his voice muffled by the blanket. "You'll be alright. You're better off than the rest of us!"
"Yeah," Zell remained stubborn. "But I wanna get it perfect."
With a slight growl, Squall sat up and threw the blanket off. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Zell with his weary eyes. "That's it. Spill it Zell. I want to know."
Zell paled. "Uh, whaddaya mean?"
"What's going on between you and Selphie?"
Zell jumped. "What? Huh? What are ya talkin' 'bout?"
Squall rubbed his forehead. "Look, I know it's not my thing to go into this kind of stuff, but if you're going to keep this up all night, I'll never get some sleep." He leaned his elbows on his knees. "So spill."
Zell swallowed hard. "Uh…well, I kinda have a crush on Selphie."
"Tell me something new." Zell looked shocked. "I've known ever since…" squall paused. "Since even back at the orphanage." He lifted an eyebrow. "Valentines day. The anonymous smudged painted card?"
Zell blushed. "Oh, I forgot about that. Hey! Did Selphie ever figure it out?"
"No."
"Whew." Sighed Zell.
Squall shook his head. "You're going to sing for Selphie? That's why you're working so hard on it?" Zell nodded. He sighed and started to lie back down. "If that's the reason, then go right ahead. Just do it a little quietly." He pulled the blankets firmly around his head.
"Hey, that's man!" cried Zell. "I knew you were a romantic at heart!"
"…"
-----------------------------------------T-minus 0 days----------------------------------------------
"Oh man oh man oh man oh man." Muttered Zell, over and over. He ran through the streets of the town. "Sefie's gonna kill me!" he dodged a guy pulling his hotdog cart. He was so wrapped up in his mission, he didn't even stop to buy hotdogs. Now that's drastic. Zell clutched an item wrapped in pink tissue paper in his hands, the reason for his lateness. He had just decided on it a couple days ago, after his late night conversation with Squall and started on it the next day. It took him a little while to find enough metal for it and finished it. He was supposed to be at the town assembly hall to set up for the night's contest. He tore around the corner of the town hall building. Waiting for him on the steps was Selphie herself. "Ahh!" Zell screeched to a stop, shoving the delicate package into his jacket pocket. Selphie giggled.
"Hi Zell, you're just on time."
"Uh, I am?" Zell scratched the back of his neck.
"Come on." Selphie took Zell's arm and led him into the building's backstage entrance. "Everyone is waiting for us.
The room was packed with all of the contestants. Colorful acrobats doing flips, an off tune opera singer belting out scales, Moombas juggling and doing Double Dutch, and a Chocobo and it's trainer. Zell laughed at the Moombas adorable attempts. They finally reached the rest of the group. Rinoa and Squall were talking about something or other while Squall tuned his guitar, and Quistis was tapping her sticks on the arms of her chair. "Hey guys!" yelled Zell.
"Glad you could make it." Called out Rinoa.
Selphie looked around. "Hey, where's Irvine?"
Squall's eyes darted around the room and locked onto something in the distance. "There he is."
"Stop you!" yelled Irvine. He and the Chocobo trainer were chasing the run away Chocobo around the room. The trainer had apparently asked for his help. The pesky bird warked and sped up, leaping over contestants. "Wait!" Irvine frowned. "Fine, drastic measures…" He threw out his hand and touched the tip of his hat. "Cast Stop!" a blue aura surrounded him, but dispersed quickly. "Agh! Miss? Fine, be like that!" He held out his hand again. "Cast Haste!" This time, a red glow surrounded him. He suddenly went faster, easily caching up to the bird. The Chocobo looked back in surprise.
"Wark?!"
Irvine leapt and grabbed onto its neck. "Float!" the magic took hold of the bird, lifting it off the ground. It's legs wiggled in the air, unable to go anywhere.
"Wark? Wark wark!" it screeched in alarm.
Irvine slid down. "Finally." The room applauded him. He grinned cockily, took of his hat, bowed. "Thank you, thank you." He walked back to the group.
Selphie jumped up and down. "Great show, Irvy!"
"All in a day's work, m'lady."
"Ooh, look." Said Rinoa. She leaned to the side to look out the curtains. "They're about to start."
* * *
"Oh no!" cried Selphie. "We're up next!" she jumped about nervously. "Quistis, got your sticks? Rinoa, got your music? Squall, got your guitar pick? All of them nodded. She suddenly gripped at the roots of her hair. "Ah! Did I tune up?" she strummed the strings quickly, listening for a sour note, finding none. "Whew."" She ran to the curtain and peeked through the slit. The dancing Moombas were still at it. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh…"
Zell watched Selphie twitter about, freaking at every little thing. He felt someone jab him at his elbow. He glared at Quistis. "What was that for?!" Quistis lifted an eyebrow then jerked her chin towards Selphie. "Huh?" Quistis smiled at him, knowing exactly what was going on. He caught Quistis meaning. "Uh…" he swallowed.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh!" Selphie suddenly felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her, clasping at her waist, pinning her arms to her sides. Soft wisps of hair tickled the back of her neck as whoever-it-was leaned in to whisper something into her ear.
"Relax Selphie. Just have fun."
Selphie looked over her shoulder, thinking it probably was Irvine. He was the sort to do such an impulsive thing. Instead, she was met with the blue of Zell's eyes. She jumped in surprise. "Zell? What? What? What are-"
Zell grinned at her. "What am I doing?" she nodded. "Trying to calm you down, girl. Stop jittering. And I'm not letting go until you stop bouncing up and down. You're making my eyes dizzy just watching you." Even as nonchalant as he sounded, he blushed.
Their eyes remained locked. (Aiiee! Zell! Oh my gosh. He was watching me?) Selphie took a deep breath and eased her jitters. As much as her shaking stopped, the flip-flops her heart and stomach were turning began. She blushed. "Um, thanks."
When Selphie's jumping slowed down to an acceptable level, Zell unlatched his arms from around her, much to Selphie's dismay. Just when she was enjoying it, too. "Hey, no problem." He looked over his shoulder and cleared his throat. "Uh, I think we're on." He jerked his to where the rest of the gang was being herded onto the stage. He noticed a waved of tension flash over Selphie's face. Zell smiled reassuringly and took Selphie's hand. "Hey, don't worry you're pretty little head, Selphie. I'll take care of it. Just leave it to me. Supply the bass and were home free. All I need is you Selphie."
Selphie squeezed Zell's hand. "Thanks." (He thinks I'm pretty?! He needs me? Oh my gosh!") She let herself be pulled out onto the open curtain stage. Neither of them chose to look out into the packed audience until they got to their positions. Zell reluctantly let go of Selphie's hand as he took up the mike.
A brightly dressed man trotted up to them from where he was hovering about on the edge of the stage. He had slicked back bleached blond hair and a toothy grin that would make even a car salesmen cringe. He turned to the audience and spread his arms. "How about those Moombas, people!" the audience cheered. "All right! Now we have something special for you guys. One that could just give those Moomba's a run for their money!" he turned to Zell quickly. "What's your names son?"
Zell swallowed. "Uh, Zell, Selphie, Squall, Quistis, Rinoa and Irvine."
"Where you kids from?"
"The Balamb Garden." The host double taked at them, and so did the audience.
"Really? You guys are a long way from home." He snapped back to business. "Ohhhhkay! So what are you kids going to be playing for us tonight?"
"Um, Butterfly, by Crazy Town."
"Yeah! Sounds good to me!" exclaimed the host. Zell was sure the guy hadn't a clue who Crazy Town was. The host backed off to the end of the stage. "Let's see what you kids got!"
Zell swallowed hard and motioned for Irvine to hit the lights. Quistis did a silent count in as Selphie and Squall started off. Selphie supplied a fast low bass line. Kind of like the subconscious thought, laying low beneath everything but it's what you remember best. Zell didn't think that made any sense (/*AN: Neither does the writer LOL*/), but that's what he thought. Squall came in with a funky eerie sounding guitar thing. Squall wiggled his left fingers, causing an even more wicked vibrato effect. Zell grinned, Showtime! He stepped out of the shadows and started singing. A handful of the hard-core punk rock kids yelled out their support, recognizing the song while a number of the girls squealed. He took full advantage of the seductiveness of the song, moving some action to his hips and fingertips, gesturing, but keeping it clean and tasteful the whole time. (/*AN: I do NOT write lemons! Or limes! Or anything hentai like that!*/ )
Zell made his way from one end of the stage to the other. He crouched low, spider-ed around a bit, and then sprang to the other side of the stage. Zell bounced energetically as if her were shadowboxing, minus the shadows and the boxing.
"Butterflies in her eyes and looks to kill
Time is passing
I'm askin', could this be real
Cuz I can't sleep, I can't hold still,
He only thing I really know is she got sex appeal."
Zell slowed his dancing down a bit, turning a little on the sweeter side, touching his heart for a bit of emphasis.
"I can feel too much is never enough
You're always there to lift me up
When these times get rough
I was lost now I'm found ever since you've been around
You're the woman that I want
So yo I'm puttin' it down."
Zell leapt up and modified his limit break moves, starting with his Mach kick, then for his burning Rave move punching the stage floor with as much power as he could without breaking the wood. His Booyah move was particularly applauded.
The rest of the gang looked like they were having fun, even squall. He looked pretty at home with his black guitar, hammering the strings like there was no tomorrow. Rinoa was too busy looking at her fingers, making sure her fingers were playing the right keys. She was no pianist, that's for sure. Selphie grinned as she watched from the back. Zell kept up his punk-ish but sweet attitude. He really was like that. Punk looking, all tough guy and stuff, but he was also a softie and a really sweet guy. Selphie's mind boggled as she watched Zell zip around the stage, break dancing, springing around like a Kool-Aid overdosed hyperactive caffeine addict 10 year old on a sugar rush. "He's just as hyper as I am," mused Selphie. "She stifled back a giggle as he continued to seduce the audience.
All of a sudden, Zell twisted back a little and caught her eyes. She saw something in his and she couldn't quite pin down what it was. Honesty?
"I don't deserve you
Unless it's some kind of hidden message
To show me life is precious
Then I guess it's true
To tell the truth I never really knew 'til I met you
I was lost and confused,
Twisted and used up
Knew a better life existed but thought that I missed it
My lifestyle wild
I was livin' like a wild child
Trapped on a short leash
Paroled by police files
And so, what's happening now
I see the sun breaking over through dark clouds
And a vision of you standing out in the crowd."
Zell suddenly double stepped and started dancing towards her, locking onto her eyes. So mesmerized was she by them that she fumbled with the strings of her bass, totally missing a couple beats. Zell didn't seem to care about-facing the audience anymore. All he saw was her.
"So, sexy almost evil
I'm talkin' 'bout butterflies in my head
I used to think that happy endings
Were only in the books I've read
You made me feel alive when I was almost dead
You filled the empty space
With the love I used to chase
So as far as I could see it don't get better than this
So butterfly here is a song and it's sealed with a kiss
And a thank you miss."
Zell touched his fingers to his lips then grinned as he let them fall from his face. He reluctantly turned back to the audience and finished up the song.
"Come my lady
Come come my lady
You're my butterfly
Sugar baby
Come my lady
You're my pretty baby
I'll make your legs shake
You make me go crazy."
The audience roared in appreciation, deafening their ears. They were apparently a hit. Zell stepped back and breathed deeply, catching his breath. The host jogged onto the stage and threw one arm back at them. "All right! I think that one's a keeper! That was Zell-Irvine-Quistis-Selphie-Squall with Moth-
"Butterfly." Corrected Selphie.
"Butterfly!" said the host. He shooed them off stage so another group could be sent out.
"Yahhhhhoooooo!" Hollered Irvine. He grabbed Selphie by the waist, tossed and twirled her in the air. Selphie giggled then pounded her fists against his shoulders in request to be put down.
"We did it!" chirped Rinoa. She hugged Squall.
"Now let's see if we can win." Said Squall.
"I say we have a good chance." Said Quistis. She thought for a moment then clicked her drumsticks together. "Knock on wood."
"Nice work Zell." Said Squall.
"Uh huh. That was great!" exclaimed Selphie, clapping her hands together.
Zell blushed. "Shucks." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You guys were real kewl too!"
All we have to do now," said Rinoa sitting herself on Squall's amp. "Is wait."
"And cross our fingers." Said Quistis.
They dispersed about the backstage area. Zell watched Selphie play with her hair, then with her skirt, then with her lip gloss, then eventually flick her nun chucks around. He slipped a hand into his pocket, rooted around through all the gum wrappers and lint until his fingers closed around a folded piece of cloth. Zell pulled it out and rubbed his thumb against the silky material, thinking. He took a step forward, stopped, shook his head, then stepped back. Then forward, hesitated, then stepped back. Zell frowned. He took a deep breath and turned around, summoning his courage. "Selphie, I-"
He turned just in time to see Selphie's back disappear behind the closing backstage door. Zell sighed and went after her.
It was dark now, save for the streetlights that lined the streets. Selphie was standing with her back to him, her head tilted up, illuminated by the pale moonlight. Her arms were wrapped around herself against the warm breeze. Zell smiled then cleared his throat. "Uh, Hey Selphie."
She turned around in surprise. "Oh! HI Zell." A blush tinted her cheeks slightly. She hoped Zell couldn't see it.
"Whatcha doin' out here?" asked Zell.
Selphie shrugged. "Dunno. It got a bit stuffy inside. I needed some fresh air."
"I know what ya mean." Zell breathed in the night air. "Wow."
"Yeah, 'wow' is right." Giggled Selphie. She turned to Zell. "Hey, you did really good out there, Zell. It was sooo cool. Even the disk didn't sound as good."
Zell blushed. "Aw, thanks." He scuffed his toe against the pavement. "I couldn't have done it withoutcha."
"It's too bad you can't sing two songs." Said Selphie. "I would have wanted to hear you sing some more."
"Seriously?" Selphie nodded.
"Maybe something different than punk rock or rap. Something…um, ya know, slower." Said Selphie, blushing even more and looking down. "You're good at putting expression in your voice."
"Ummm, thanks…"
They were quiet for a little while, not knowing what to say. Finally Selphie started towards the door. "We'd better go back in. They should be done soon."
Zell watched Selphie turn away. He remembered the little folded package in his hand. Zell nervously jumped about on the balls of his feet. Finally he reached out to Selphie's turning shoulder. "Uh, Sefie? Hold up a sec, will ya?"
Selphie turned back around and flipped back her hair. "Yes?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I uh…" he took a deep breath, hardened his face and balled up his fists in determination. "I just wanted to thank you…for coaching me, and stuff. You kept me from chickening me out." Zell slapped his forehead. "Man, I'm glad Seifer can't hear me." Selphie giggled
"No problem, Zell. You did great. It was really super duper mega cool!" said Selphie, attaching her ultimate compliment.
Zell scuffed his sneaker against the pavement. "Well, I kinda meant every word of it."
Selphie blinked at him. "What?"
Zell took both of her hands and pulled her closer to him. He leaned in close and said recited softly. True it wasn't the most romantic song, but it expressed a lot. "You filled that empty space with the love I used to chase, And as far as I can see it don't get better than this." Zell smiled. "Whenever I see you, something happens to me, like a lighting jolt to my system. I kinda…I really like you…a lot…so much that…I think I…love you." He kissed her softly on the lips.
A smile quirked itself onto Selphie's face as they parted. "Is that the best you can do?" Zell blinked back, a little surprise of her response. Selphie stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her hands around Zell's neck. Zell grinned broadly and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Will you be my butterfly, Selphie?" whispered Zell. He unlatched one hand from her waist and took her hand, pressing the cloth into her palm. Selphie looked at it curiously then unwrapped it. Nestled within the fabric was a metal butterfly charm. It was tinted yellow with tiny red jewels set into its wings. The wings had tiny delicate cutout designs. So carefully made was it, that it could have only have been made by hand and a lot of time. Zell always did boast he could make anything and Selphie took this as proof. His clear blue eyes met her jade green ones and locked for what seemed to be an eternity.
"I should have made you sing sooner." Said Selphie with a smile. "You're so sweet Zell. So cool, so like me. You understand me better than anyone. Some of the things I love about you, Zell." She grinned. "So, I guess that's a yes."
"Really?" said Zell. Selphie nodded. He grinned and lifted her up by the waist and twirled her in the air. "Booyah!" Selphie laughed as Zell put her back down to the ground. As her feet touched the ground, she gripped Zell's shirt and pulled him close to her. Zell took the butterfly charm and gently lifted the chain around Selphie's neck and slid it on. The butterfly rested against just below Selphie's neck. Their foreheads touched as they looked into each other's eyes.
Irvine rushed to where they were. "Hey guys! They're going to announce the win-" Irvine trailed off as he noticed Zell and Selphie. "Whoa."
Zell saw Irvine and jumped apart and blushed bright red. Zell rubbed the back of his neck and Selphie tugged at the hem of her dress. Irvine Stared at them in disbelief. "Uh, they're going to announce the winners." He backed away, still amazed. "Selphie and Zell? Who'd've thought?" He muttered.
Zell and Selphie grinned at each other. Zell took Selphie's hand and together they walked back to the stage. Zell looked over at her. "I didn't think you'd, ya know, feel the same way I do." He looked sheepish. "I kinda thought you were into guys like Irvine."
Selphie shook her head. "Nuh uh. He's a player. Not my type, and he knows it. He can try all he likes, but it's not going to happen."
Zell grinned. "Booyah!" they met up with the rest of the group. None of them seemed surprised to see them together. "Yo, did they announce the winners yet?"
"They are now." Said Rinoa. She pulled the curtain back a little more to see. The host was in the middle of the stage, holding an unopened envelope.
"Hey hey hey people. We have the results! Alllrrriiigghhhtttyyyy thennnn! Third place is…the dancing Moombas!!!!" A quartet of Moombas pranced onto the stage. They took the little trophy the host was holding out to them. "Second place is…Zeff the amazing contortionist!" a young man walked onto the stage on his hands, twisted in a pretzel, and took the trophy with his feet. "How about that!" A drum roll began. "And the winner of the grand prize is…" Everyone held his or her breath. "The kids from Balamb for Butterfly!"
The next day they were at the train station, eager to go home. Squall was getting their tickets while they hung around the boarding ramp.
"The first thing I'm going to do as soon as we get back," said Quistis. "Is to take a nice warm bubble bath."
"Umm, you said it! Agreed Rinoa. "
"I'm heading straight for the cafeteria. "Announced Zell. "They've gotta have some hot dogs now."
"Thinking with your stomach again, Zell?" asked Quistis shaking her head.
"It's better than those diner hotdogs." Said Zell in defense. "They were kinda shriveled and kinda salty." Selphie and Rinoa shook their heads, feeling some leftover loyalty to their old job.
Squall came back waving six tickets in his hand. "Ready?"
They boarded and hung around the train's lobby car as Squall punched in their tickets. As usual, Selphie made a beeline to the window-lined hallway. Zell came up behind her and slipped two hands over her eyes.
"Zell!" she exclaimed. Zell let his hands drop.
"Aw, how'd you guess?" he pouted.
"You're the only one who wears Ehrgeiz gloves. They feel weird." Selphie smiled. "Aw, don't look so pouty. Be happy!" Zell had to smile.
Selphie leaned against the window and looked at him thoughtfully. "So, what happens now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Between us."
Zell took her in his arms. "Well, we get home, and I take you out for dinner, make you dinner, or whatever. Maybe a walk on the terrace at dusk, a movie or something, and with me absolutely going crazy over you. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me." Grinned Selphie. She stood on her toes and gave him a little butterfly kiss. "C'mon." she started into the party's cabin.
Zell's knees quivered for a moment, staring at her back as she took his hand and gently pulled him into the cabin. He followed after her with a goofy smile on his face. "Well…Thank you miss."