Notes: This was originally a writing exercise brought forth by Alonia Everclear at the Seiftis Forever message board. So, thanks to her for the idea. :) I had a lot of fun writing it—in one day--so I decided to post it. It's just a simple one-shot story and I hope you enjoy it.
The story was originally intended to be a one-shot and I almost decided to write another chapter to it, but I found that it wasn't flowing quite as well so I decided to keep this just like it was. :)
Oomph- Def. Physical or sexual attractiveness, activeness of an energetic personality.
Syn. Get up and go, vigor, pizzazz.
~Get-Up-And-Go~
Quistis Trepe stood in the hallway just outside of her room watching the retreating back of her now ex-boyfriend, Ryan Luff. His shoulders were slightly drooping and his head was hanging. She sighed at the pitiful excuse before her and turned to go back into her room.
The heavy metal door slid shut behind her and she walked over to her desk and sat down heavily. She didn't mean to hurt him, but their relationship just didn't have that oomph that she was looking for. That everyone probably looks for, she thought to herself.
She swiveled around to face the shelves on her desktop and noticed a white crinkled envelope poking out from between two books. It was a letter from Ryan. Quistis rolled her eyes and stood up from the desk. She remembered exactly what the letter said because it was the letter that had caused her to break up with him…
Dear Quistis,
I know that we haven't been dating for long, but I want you to understand just how much you have come to mean to me in this short amount of time. When I wake up each morning, your name is the first word that comes to my lips and the first thought that enters my mind. I look forward to every minute that we spend together and I can only hope that you feel the same…
The problem was that she didn't feel the same. She genuinely liked him as a friend and they had even shared a few non-committal kisses, but that was all. Frankly, Quistis wasn't at all torn up over the situation. Her heart wasn't frozen, but she just wasn't quite as attached to him as he was to her and she couldn't force herself to feel something that she didn't. They had only been dating for about a month and in those days, there just wasn't any magic. There just wasn't any…oomph.
Quistis had only ever truly had one serious relationship in her life so far. It had been with a boy named Quinton, but he transferred to a different Garden. She smiled a wistful smile as she remembered those days. I wonder if I'll ever see him again, she thought.
She walked back over to the desk and snatched up the letter. "I need to get rid of this," she said aloud. The simplest thing to do would be to throw it in the trash, but the last time she threw away something private the Trepies had some how gotten a hold of it and she didn't want that to happen again. "I could always burn it," she said, tapping the letter against her leg.
~
Quistis made her way down the narrow hallway, finally reaching the entrance to the parking garage. The letter was tucked securely in her pocket, as well as a small book of matches that she had found in her desk. She chose the parking garage because it wouldn't set off any fire alarms and also because it wasn't exactly the place to be. It was about the only place she could go without having to leave Garden entirely. She kneeled down in a corner and pulled out the letter and matches.
~
Seifer Almasy stood up from the motorcycle that he was working on. He looked down at his oily hands and his oily white T-shirt. He grabbed the rag that was lying on the seat of the motorcycle and wiped the excess oil from his hands. Well, I guess I'd better go shower and change, he said to himself. He gathered up the tools that he had been using and headed out of the parking garage.
As he rounded the corner he saw someone moving around near the entrance of the garage. He continued walking and soon came to realize that it was Quistis. She was bent down in the corner doing something, and she hadn't noticed him yet. But he did notice how the skirt she wore was raised a little higher than usually as she was bent down. He stopped and put a hand on his chin giving her thigh an appreciative stare.
Seifer was pulled out of the trance by a flicker of light. He walked even closer to realize that she was burning something. He decided to make his presence known.
"Ahem," Quistis' head snapped up at the sound of his voice. She immediately stood up and stomped out the burning corner of the paper. "Quistis, what are you doing?" he asked. He sat the tools he was holding on the hood of a car.
"Seifer? I had no idea anyone else was in here," she said. She straightened her skirt and turned to face him fully.
Seifer had come back to Garden a little over a year ago and since then interaction between the two had been a lot different than it had in the past. Edea had stepped into the situation and decided to play moderator. She had told them how hard it was for her to see them acting so hateful towards each other. She would often make the entire group, except for Rinoa, sit down and talk things out. Some days it was very hard and tense and other days it was actually enjoyable. Usually, on the days when Edea would tell them stories of when they were children. Quistis and Seifer were both surprised to find that they had crushes on each other and that they were nearly inseparable.
Now, they were good friends. They were closer to each other than anyone else in the group. The fact amazed both of them.
"So, what were you doing?" Seifer asked again as he came to stand next to her. He noticed that she was fidgeting a bit. He couldn't help but start to smile.
Quistis looked him in his eyes. She wanted to talk about what just happened between her and Ryan and she and Seifer were friends after all. She sighed and looked down at the partially burnt paper lying on the ground. "Well, as long as you promise not to tease me about it, I'll tell you what I was doing." She picked up the letter and handed it to Seifer.
He took the letter in his still slightly oily hands and read with much interest. "So, the poor sap expressed his undying love for you. What did you tell him?"
"I broke up with him," she said bluntly.
"Dang," said Seifer, a little shocked. "Why?"
"Well, I liked him a lot as a friend, but his kisses weren't thrilling and the relationship just didn't have any…any…" She trailed off searching for the right word. She couldn't believe she was telling him this.
"Oomph," Seifer stated simply.
"Exactly," said Quistis, who was now pacing around. "And the crazy thing is I'm not the least bit upset over this," she said.
"And the problem is…." asked a confused Seifer.
"The problem is that I feel bad about not feeling bad about breaking up with Ryan," she said sounding silly even to her own ears. She finally stopped pacing and turned to Seifer. He stared at her like she had suddenly grown a hunchback. She sighed, figuring that he didn't understand. "Can I have my letter back please?" she asked as she reached out her hand.
Seifer snapped out of his daze and pulled the letter out of her reach. "Wait, why didn't you just throw this in the trash instead of burning it?"
"You know what happened last time I threw something personal in the trash."
"Ohhhh, yeah, I forgot," he said. "Well, why don't you let me do the honors?" She gestured with her hand for him to go ahead.
He turned so that he was facing the concrete wall. Holding the paper by a small corner, he closed his eyes. Quistis watched intently. His eyes opened suddenly and he let go of the paper with the one hand as the other waved over it. It suddenly caught fire and disintegrated right before their eyes. There was barely even any smoke.
"Very impressive, Mr. Almasy," said Quistis with a nod of approval. "I had forgotten how good you were with fire spells." She smiled at him.
He returned her smile. "Come here, Quistis." He put his arm around her shoulders as she came closer. "Listen, you shouldn't feel bad about the situation. I am sure that Ryan will be a man about it and move on. You should never have to settle and if you had stayed with him that is exactly what you would have been doing. Now, the letter is burned and gone forever, so let that be the closing chapter to this part of your life. Believe me, if you spend your time thinking back on things too much it does nothing but give you a headache. What's done is done and in the long run you will see that it was the right decision," he finished.
Quistis was impressed by the words of wisdom he had just instilled onto her. "And what makes you such an expert on this topic, Almasy?" she asked teasingly.
He smiled down at her as he dropped his arm from her shoulder and pulled her closer. She looked down in puzzlement at his arm around her waist. He brought his hand up to her face and turned it back to his own.
"Well, I'm no expert, but I do know this. Now that you're done with that chapter, we can begin our own." He slowly lowered his face to hers and kissed her lips.
She could do nothing but kiss him back. She felt both of his arms pull her tighter and when he deepened the kiss, she couldn't help but let out the tiny "oomph" of approval. Seifer smiled against her mouth and realized that this chapter in the story would be never-ending.
The End