Famous

"Woah! No way, it finally came out!" Zell snagged the book from the New Release section and held it up triumphantly. Irvine rolled his eyes at the childish behavior but decided to indulge Zell anyway, walking over to the crowing boy and taking a peek at the prized book.

"Huh? Hey, is that us?" Irvine grabbed the book from Zell's fingers, flipping through the pages and staring at the black and white renditions of themselves. "What in the world? Is this a manga? Of us?"

Picking up another copy off the shelf, Zell started reading through the manga that detailed their adventures in stopping Ultimecia. He winced at one section, biting his lip and putting the book down briefly. "Oh man, I didn't think she was going to put that part in. Now I'm screwed forever," the hyper blonde lamented. His bangs drooped in disappointment, but Irvine noticed he didn't but the book back on the shelf.

"What, did they have Seifer calling you 'chicken-wuss' or something?" the brunette joked, elbowing Zell in the side and causing him to drop the manga. When Irvine saw the page it had landed open on, he burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha ha, oh man, she *did* put 'chicken-wuss' in there! That's-" he was about to say hilarious, but stopped himself short at the look on Zell's face. "Uh, that's, well, it's. . ."

Zell sighed. "It's hilarious. You can say it. I'm sure that's why she put it in there; every story has a comic relief character — I guess I just got stuck as that guy." Shaking himself out of his funk, Zell picked the book up and tucked it under his arm. "Doesn't matter! I'm buying it anyway! I've been waiting months for this to come out."

The lady at the cash register took a look at the cover of the manga Zell was buying, then took a look at the two men buying it. "Oh my gosh!! You're *them*!! No way can I charge you for this! It's about you! Take it, please! Um, but maybe," the girl reached below the register and pulled her own copy of the manga out, "could you guys sign mine? I'm such a big fan." Now she blushed and looked at Zell. "Especially of you, Mr. Dincht. You managed to stay happy and fun even with all the stuff you went through. You're amazing!"

That cheered Zell right up and he signed the girl's manga with a big grin, leaving her a very personal message in thanks. Irvine signed it too, though his message was just the impersonal "Thanks for the support" kind. The boys walked out of the store with free books and, in Zell's case, a heightened sense of self-esteem.

"Aw yeah! The chicks love me! Maybe this manga will be good for my image after all." Zell was set after that, smiling and waving at people passing by who recognized the heroes. Irvine watched him, smiling fondly at Zell.

When they got back home, Irvine shut himself up in his room to read the story of their battle against Ultimecia, making sure to carefully read the parts featuring Zell. The girl at the register was right, for the most part, but the manga didn't even show half of his real personality. Zell was deeper then the public would see in the manga, but that was okay. Irvine knew the real Zell, and so did Selphie, Squall, Quistis, Cid — the people who really mattered. Everyone else didn't know what they were missing.