A/N: I just want to apologize for my previous upload, I had uploaded my
unedited one. This one is edited and fixed up. Once again, sorry for my
last upload and hope my story is more enjoyable now that it has all of the
grammar and spelling mistakes removed (
Who'd have thought, that I, Quistis Trepe would fall in love with someone so unlike me. Sure there were the odd rumors going around about me and Seifer, but god knows that would never happen. And anyways, Fujin tended to hog him to herself. Not that I ever really minded.
The Treppies were sure crush most of those rumors of course...and then manage to spread even more about me. I swear, I never understood why those students were so...obsessed with me. It was half they're fault I had my instructor license taken away, then of course it was also Seifers...but that didn't matter. We had defeated Ultimecia and were all safe and sound back in Garden. At the party we had thrown after Ultimecia's defeat I had attempted a conversation with Cid about perhaps getting my instructor license back...fat chance of me having any civil conversation with Selphie and Irvine running around! Don't get me wrong, I love the two to bits, but they got a little over excited with the camera (At least they were smart enough to leave Rinoa and Squall be)! I'm really not much of a cameraperson, but Irvine and Selph insisted! And anyway...it was fun to see them goofing around...and to let loose myself.
Then we stumbled upon Zell, scarfing down hotdogs like there was no tomorrow, only succeeding in making himself choke from hotdog overload! He can be such a goofball at times and also a little annoying but I don't know, there was always something about him. I guess his always 'look on the bright side' attitude was what got me. Then again, like hell I could tell him any of this, I think he would take it completely the wrong way, or that little library girl would rip my throat out. Don't get me wrong, I really have nothing against molly (heh, we all found out her name at the party, but Zell continues to call her library girl) but I think the girls a little too obsessive and I know Zell's not really in love with her. He's pretty clueless when it comes to that kind of stuff, I know it sounds cruel but trust me, I've known him a pretty long time. Its just the difference between the looks they give each other, in Zell's eyes I see more friendship feelings towards molly's and in molly's, its some insane obsession. Call me harsh if you wish but I'm only calling what I see. I know she'll only end up hurting him, and god knows I DONT want to see that, I love Zell far too much.... beyond friendship. That's right, I, Quistis Trepe am in love with Zell Dincht. Hard to believe huh? I think it is, we're so different yet I'm drawn to him. Its nothing like how I felt towards Squall, because this is real, I know it!
Yup, I have secretly been in love with Zell Dincht for two years now. Not that he has ever noticed, only the others have. First Rinoa, then Selphie then Squall and Irvine. I trusted those guys and I told them everything, they were my best friends. I was afraid of course to let them know but they totally understood, but lets get back to the whole molly problem.
Molly's starting to become controlling with Zell and that's why I'm worried. If you could look into his eyes like I can, you would see that the brightness there is slowly dimming. I have to stop this, but I don't know how. I don't like how people have labeled me the cool, strong one because it's totally wrong. I get scared, especially with stuff like this because I'll be asking something of Zell that maybe, he's not prepared to do.... then again, I'm also faced with LB's wrath, but I think I can handle that.... can I?
'Knock, knock'
I look up from my diary entry and quickly save it. I took Selphie's advice and decided to keep a diary, we all do now. It was indeed a great idea, cause little did we know that just a couple days after the party we had started to forget what had happened. We had had a discussion with squall and headmaster cid and we decided it was best to let the GF's go. Of course, we never did, we needed them and it wasn't like they were some pets to be let free whenever we pleased. They had become a part of us now; they had been inside our heads and-
'Quisty, come on we're gonna be late!'
'Sure! One second, 'Kay Selph's?' I called, quickly closing the document and logging off my computer. I turned and gathered my stuff sitting on my bed. We had all decided to take a break from the repairs and everything we had been doing lately. The last couple weeks had been hell at garden, everyone running around seeing what they could do to help, constant break outs of monsters from the training center because the two doors in there were up for a remodel, and on top of that we had monsters from the outside getting in. it was awful and while everything seemed almost 'ok' there were still a few kinks that needed to be worked out. Of course, we would deal with those after our little visit to the beach today.
'That's it; I'm coming in quisty! You take waaaaay too long and I don't like standing out in this hall by myself!' Selphie said and then poked her head in, 'heehee, good! Your ready! Now put it into high gear and haul ass woman!'
I couldn't help but laugh, Selphie was a hoot and a half and she was a great friend. I could always count on her to relieve whatever stress I had with a good cup of coffee or sometimes, a bowl of ice cream. She was really sweet and I was never ungrateful for having her as a friend.
'Yeah, sorry. I was marking some of my students work. I'm telling you, I think this week has been too much on everyone, my students aren't thinking straight and they're losing marks for it,' I sighed and grabbed my beach bag off my bed and walked over to the door, closing it and locking it after Selphie had stepped out into the hall, 'but then again, I haven't really been the best instructor because I've been running around so much. Did you know I had to have one of my students watch my class for me because I was called away.... three times!'
Selphie giggled and hooked her arm in mine.
'Ah, don't worry about it. In fact, don't worry about anything today, s'alright? It's our day off! Whoo hoo!' Selphie cried out and then thrusted an arm into the air joyously. A couple of SeeD candidates walked by, smiling and waving. We waved back and giggled. I could always count on Selph's to make me loosen up.
'So Selphie, what do you think Irvine's gonna be wearing for you? Speedo or swim trunks?' I asked, poking her side as we turned the corner and headed into the parking garage. We walked up to Selphie's brand spanking new motorcycle and climbed on, grabbing our helmets and putting them on securely.
'I don't know...I'm not much of a Speedo girl but hey, whatever the hell floats the boys boat!' she said playfully and started the motorcycle and we zoomed out of the garage and headed towards the beach. I loved riding Selphie's motorcycle; it gave me a sense of freedom...and a healthy dose of fear. I enjoyed that fear though, it was a nice adrenaline rush, and it wasn't like I was afraid Selphie couldn't handle the bike (cause she could, trust me, you should see the STUNTS this girl pulls on it!) but I dunno, just the fact there's nothing protecting me other then my own skin or a layer of leather sort of made me feel, well rebellious! And it was a great feeling.
The beach wasn't too far away, only about a twenty-minute drive...and of course Selphie and I made it in ten with her behind the wheel. We pulled to a stop on a grassy hill just in front of the beach and caught sight of the gang. Selphie grabbed hers and my stuff from behind the bike and handed me mine and we made our way down the sand dunes. She and I both managed to lose our footing (Selphie first of course, but she dragged me down with her) and fell, rolling down what was left of the dunes and stopped just in front of Rinoa's and squalls towels.
'Hey guys!' Rinoa giggled.
I sat up and dusted the sand off my body and fixed my skirt. Then stood, giving Selphie a hand and we gave Rinoa a hug.
''Hey you!' I said, plopping down beside her as Selphie tore off her tank and shorts and ran off to the water. We watched and giggled when Irvine suddenly popped out of the water and grabbed her, Selphie letting out a squeal before he smothered it with his lips.
'Those two are something else,' I said, laughing as Selphie got loose and tried to run away, but only managed to fall face first into the water.
'No kidding,' laughed Rinoa and then she slapped my thigh playfully.
'Ow, what the hell was that for?' I asked, laughing myself. I knew she didn't do it in any other way but to just annoy me and to get a laugh.
'Nothing really, just wondering when your going to strip down like the rest of us! Here we all are in our swimsuits and you're in a skirt and a long sleeved shirt. Honestly woman, we brought you here to relax so relax, oookies?' she said, poking my arm repeatedly.
'Yeah, yeah,' I said, standing up and removing my top and skirt to reveal the only bikini I owned. A simple red one, nothing particularly amazing about it but it fit me just right and hey, I thought I looked pretty damn good in it. I sat back down beside Rinoa and hugged my knees to my chest then it hit me, Zell and squall weren't here!
'Where's Zell and squall?' I asked, Rinoa waving a hand carelessly and pointing down to the beach. I put a hand above my eyes to lessen the intense light form the sun and saw three figures approaching us. One figure bouncing up and down, the other two figures walked calmly.
'They went to go get some drinks for the cooler,' Rinoa explained.
'The one bouncing around must be Zell' I thought to myself, a small smile playing across my lips.
'Why ya smiling, sunshine?' Rinoa asked in her usual perky tone. I turned back to face her and saw she had already put her shades over her eyes and was trying to catch a tan. I smiled at her and stood up, stretching my legs and arms. I always did this before I swam, I hated it when I got cramps out there in the water and besides, there still may be a few monsters around here.
'No reason really, just thinking about how much fun we're going to have today,' I looked back over to see Zell and Squall were getting closer but...was that Molly with them? I looked back at Rinoa and frowned slightly, ' how come molly's here? I thought she had to watch the library?'
'Naw,' Rinoa said, removing her shades and smiling lazily up at me, ' she found out we were coming here and asked her little Zelly-poo if she could come and of course he gave in. besides, he wants to make her a part of the gang.'
I sighed and scratched the back of my head then reached up and pulled my hair out of its usual bun and then pulled it back into a tight pony tail, 'I dunno Rinoa, are you sure she didn't pester him about becoming one of the gang?' I asked, shaking my head after putting my hair up and then stood up straight, the suns rays kissing my bare skin.
'I dunno, quisty...I know how you feel about her, I mean, we've talked about this before but I think you just gotta let it be, hm? Come on, Zell can take care of himself,' Rinoa said soothingly.
'Yeah, when it comes to monsters and things and ugh,' I groaned unpleasantly and rubbed my hips, 'I'm thinking too much again. That waters calling for me and I'm answering it!' I yelled and then ran down the beach and dived in, just catching the beginning of my name being called. I felt the cool water wash over me and loosen up all my tense joints and I just swam around under the water for as long as I could and then came back up to the surface for some air. I suddenly remembered my name had been called and before I could acknowledge what was happening an excited looking Zell was bounding towards me, splashing water everywhere and then WHAM he collided into me and the two of us fell back into the water, making a huge splash!
I felt his arms entangled around my body and ignored the thoughts and feelings that suddenly swamped my brain when I felt his touch and kicked the water, heading towards the surface for some air. Seconds after I had surfaced, Zell's head popped up. I giggled and pointed at his hair, he looked so different when it was up in its usual three thick spikes at the front. He raised an eyebrow at me and smiled.
'What?' he asked, poking at my tummy. I winced and swam a little bit away from him.
'Oh nothing,' I teased and just as he was about to dive at me again we both heard a splash and I turned to see Molly on Zell's back.
'Come play with me, Zell!' she said, covering his face in kisses. Zell coughed a bit since a lot of water had gotten into his mouth and rubbed at his eyes. He then gave molly a half smile and let her down into the water.
'Yeah, we all can, me you and quisty! And soon the others are going to join us too!' he said, rubbing her shoulders and then turning to smile at me. Molly pouted and grabbed his chin and turned his face back towards hers.
'Yeah, but Selphie and Irvine get to play alone, why cant you and I?' she asked, succeeding in making me feel totally unwanted. I rolled my eyes, about to say something to her but then saw Zell's confused face and decided why cause him the extra trouble and smiled and rubbed one of his muscular arms.
'Don't worry about it, 'k, Zelly?' I said and smiled, waving at molly and swam towards the shore then walked out towards my bag, passing Rinoa and squall who were cuddling on they're towel. I grabbed my bag and set up my towel a couple feet away from the couple and sat down, one knee bent while my right arm lazily rested on it. I twitched my dangling fingers a bit, staring out at Zell and molly. They seemed to be having a good time. Oh why the hell was I analyzing they're relationship? For Hynes sake, I couldn't believe how jealous I could get. There really wasn't anything wrong with molly, sure she was obsessive, compulsive, annoying, whiny...ok, so there were quite a few faults I saw in her...but I guess Zell or the others didn't see them.
'Ah well,' I sighed and lay down, stretching my body. I needed some sun, being inside the garden a lot lately had made me very pale, 'shit,' I muttered and sat back up, rummaging through my bag for my sun tone lotion only to realize I didn't bring it. I turned over to face Rinoa and squall and parted my lips to ask if I could use some of theirs only to see them sharing a very deep kiss. I looked away, blushing and decided to leave them be. I stood up and walked over to where Selphie and Irvine were sitting.
'Hey guys, you got any sun tan lotion?' I asked, putting my hands on my knees as I bent down slightly. The two looked up at me from their shades and smiled.
'Yeah, lemme go through my bag for it, 'k quisty?' Selphie said and sat up, pulling her bright yellow beach bag over to her side and put a hand inside. I sat down beside Irvine and sighed, looking back over to where molly and Zell were fooling around. Good Hyne, she was throwing sand at him! Irvine must have seen the expression on my face and also where my eyes were and placed a warm hand on my shoulder.
'Don't worry, Zell can handle more than some sand in his eyes,' Irvine said, smiled and lay back down. I noted how he was also wearing swim trunks, why I hadn't noticed before was beyond me. Oh that's right, I was too busy looking for Zell. I rubbed my face with my hands and hid my sad face in them. It wasn't fair, I wanted Zell so much and while I could admit it to myself I could never admit it to him. And anyways, he's with molly, I have at least enough decency to know its not right to get caught up in some love triangle. Of course, the rest of the gang had taken to calling it that... Zell, Molly and Myself in a love triangle. Preposterous! Of course I had talked to everyone other than Zell about it (duh, obviously) and they all had given me the same lecture:
'He's with molly so don't get involved.'
Everyone had whom he or she wanted except quisty, the bossy little ice queen. Heh, another nickname I had been given and the one I despised the most. Why did everyone assume I was some 'ice queen'? I had feelings just like everyone else and I did care about other people. Damn it, I just didn't get any of this. What was wrong with me?
'Ah ha!' I looked up to see Selphie holding an orange bottle of sun tan lotion; 'I found it!' she said happily and threw it over to me. I caught it, smiled my thanks and walked back up to my towel. As I sat down I realised molly and Zell weren't in the water and shrugged it off. I had to stop this, this constant thinking and worrying about him, it wasn't healthy and Hyne knows-
'Hey quisty!'
I let out a rather loud yelp when I heard Zell's voice right beside mine. I panted and looked over at him, at his wonderful smile...his beautiful eyes...his fantastic body...catch your drool, quisty.
'Hi Zell,' I croaked and then turned my attention back to the sun tan lotion and squeezed some out and started to cover my legs and arms. Zell sat there patiently and then started to fidget and leaned his face close to mine,
'Quistis, I need to ask you something,' he said, seriousness very clear in his voice. I dropped the sun tan lotion and quickly picked it back up, hoping he didn't notice my nervousness and excitement, what could he be asking? Could he know about how I feel towards him?
'What about?' I asked the nerves making my head shake slightly as my stomach did back flips. Zell sighed and moved closer, looking around cautiously. I could feel his warm breath on my skin and started getting goose bumps. I moved away a tiny bit and Zell suddenly sighed. I thought I had done something wrong and placed a hand on his shoulder. This was obviously troubling him and I couldn't let my feelings get in the way.
'Its about me and molly...' he said, looking down, fiddling with his feet. My eyebrows furrowed and while a wave of delight swamped over me I got one look at his face and that was blown away and replaced with regret for even feeling happy about that. Whatever it was that was wrong, it was tormenting him and he needed it off his chest. I sighed and placed a hand over my mouth, not in the sense I was shocked but just because its what I did when I was thinking. Zell lied down and placed his arms behind his head, I saw the trouble on his face and took my hands away from my mouth and looked down at him, lightly poking his cute nose. I don't care what I felt right now, my feelings and cares didn't matter, Zell needed someone to talk to, and he needed his quisty.
'C' mon Zelly, you can tell me,' I said rubbing his arm and then smiled encouragingly. He looked down the beach and sighed. Molly must be in the washroom or something I thought, it was the only time the two were probably apart. Zell smiled and sat back up.
'I know, Quis, I could always count on you to have a shoulder to lean on. Its just...' he sighed again and moved his hands around as if he was preparing to give a speech,' 'its just...she asked me if I loved her and....'
I blinked and gulped.
'And....?' I asked, knowing the answer.
'I don't know if I do, I like her, hell yeah but that's it. Just...it's just she's more like a friend to me, you know? She's a great person, don't get me wrong and she's really come a long way with her martial arts and she's not as weak as she was. Also, she has more confidence now, and she always tells me that its me she has to thank for that but...I think she always had that confidence, she just never realised it before. I know she loves me, heck, she told me she's secretly loved me for three years. Can you believe that? A girl actually secretly loved me.'
I chuckled nervously and put a hand to my throat.
'Yeah, who'd have thought,' I aid nervously. Zell just laughed and slapped my back gently.
'I knew you'd say something like that.'
'I'm not that predictable, am I?'
Zell tilted his head to the side after I asked him that and thought for a couple seconds. Then he smiled playfully and started tickling me, causing me to yelp numerous times, and then he stopped and smiled.
'Nah, your quisty, your as unpredictable as they get!' he teased. I grinned at him and lightly punched his shoulder.
'Yeah, whatever.'
'Now, don't go all like Squall on me,' he said, chuckling.
'Oh, shut up Zell!' I said and pushed his shoulder, causing him to lose his balance. He laughed some more on my towel and then I saw a shadow covering his form and looked up to see molly towering over us. Well, I wouldn't actually call it towering since she was only something like five foot one or two. I then realised the position Zell and I were in and pulled my arms out of his and quickly moved away. Molly made some or of a snorting sound and jumped into Zell's lap, causing an Oomph to escape his lips and then he gingerly wrapped his arms around her.
'So, what have you two been chatting about while I've been gone?' she asked, practically throwing the question at me.
I laid back and reached into the cooler and pulled out and coke and took a sip. Suddenly, I felt a little courageous.
'Why do you need to know?' I asked smugly. Hm, maybe that's why I'm called the ice queen I wondered and then shrugged and smiled. I'm only the ice queen to people I don't like, anyways.
Molly's face scrunched up and her fists tightened into tiny balls.
'What's your problem, Quistis?' she screeched and stood up, knocking Zell back. I stood up as well, of course, I was quite taller than her and now I was the towering one, like it should be. Molly's little outburst had caught the attention of the others and now they were looking over here. I caught a glimpse of Zell's worried face but I couldn't help it. I'm sorry Zell, but I can't hold back anymore. It's been two years of this and I've had enough.
I chuckled to myself and waltzed over to molly, poking her shoulder hard enough for her to stumble back.
' Your my problem,' I said simply and crossed my arms. Molly's jaw dropped and she looked at me with the utmost disgust. I didn't care, I was finally telling her how I felt, 'you hang over Zell's shoulders like some robe, you tag along with him everywhere he goes, never giving him any time to himself. Not only that, but like you've just shown now, you get extremely jealous when someone else talks with him. It's especially annoying when you do it to me, to us! ' I said, extending an arm to point to the others, 'we're his best friends, you have no right trying to control his time with us!'
Molly looked like she was about to explode, and her eyes started to water but I wasn't going to give in like everyone else had in the past. This girl needed a dose of reality.
'Your not living in some romantic novel, got that? This is the real world! You've done didley squat in the last couple weeks with the repairs! You distracted Zell when he was repairing some engines and then sat there and complained when we told you to go back to the library! You also continued to bitch and complain the rest of the week!' I rubbed my forehead and started pacing back and forth, 'looks, its great and all that you've found your confidence, but I think I like the old, shy molly who didn't whine all the time!'
'YOU JUST WANT ZELL FOR YOUSELF!' molly suddenly screamed, totally catching me off guard. She stood there, shaking as the tears streamed down her cheeks. My breath caught in my throat and I suddenly shook my head.
'You don't know what you're talking about,' I said simply, beginning to pack up my things, I wasn't going to spend the rest of the day with this cow, not in a lifetime. I couldn't handle this.
'Oh but you do, you love him! Don't act as if I don't know, give me some credit woman! I see the way you look at him,' she screamed, reaching down to be held by Zell, yet all he did was sit there, totally shocked that all this was happening, he wasn't the only one, not only were the others sitting with their jaws slack but I was pretty shocked myself. Finally the dam burst.
'AT LEAST I LOOK AT HIM WITH REAL LOVE! NOT SOME CRAZY OBSESSIVE LOOK!' I screamed and started walking away, I couldn't stay there. As I walked further and further away I heard more yelling. I felt awful; I had ruined everyone's day just because of my damn ego. 'It's not really your ego though, quisty' I said to myself and sighed, suddenly falling to the ground. I couldn't take this, Zell now knew how I really felt for him and on top of that, I had just been really mean to a girl who probably did love him very much, I couldn't believe myself. I suddenly felt the hot stab of tears at the corners of my eyes and I blinked them away. I couldn't, wouldn't, cry.
'Oh, what's the use,' I muttered to myself and just broke down, letting all the tears I had held in for two years loose, it felt good but I still felt horrible. I stood back up and started walking again, ignoring my name being called behind me from the beach. It was about a half hour walk to Garden, I'm sure I'd be fine...yeah, just keep telling yourself that, quisty
Who'd have thought, that I, Quistis Trepe would fall in love with someone so unlike me. Sure there were the odd rumors going around about me and Seifer, but god knows that would never happen. And anyways, Fujin tended to hog him to herself. Not that I ever really minded.
The Treppies were sure crush most of those rumors of course...and then manage to spread even more about me. I swear, I never understood why those students were so...obsessed with me. It was half they're fault I had my instructor license taken away, then of course it was also Seifers...but that didn't matter. We had defeated Ultimecia and were all safe and sound back in Garden. At the party we had thrown after Ultimecia's defeat I had attempted a conversation with Cid about perhaps getting my instructor license back...fat chance of me having any civil conversation with Selphie and Irvine running around! Don't get me wrong, I love the two to bits, but they got a little over excited with the camera (At least they were smart enough to leave Rinoa and Squall be)! I'm really not much of a cameraperson, but Irvine and Selph insisted! And anyway...it was fun to see them goofing around...and to let loose myself.
Then we stumbled upon Zell, scarfing down hotdogs like there was no tomorrow, only succeeding in making himself choke from hotdog overload! He can be such a goofball at times and also a little annoying but I don't know, there was always something about him. I guess his always 'look on the bright side' attitude was what got me. Then again, like hell I could tell him any of this, I think he would take it completely the wrong way, or that little library girl would rip my throat out. Don't get me wrong, I really have nothing against molly (heh, we all found out her name at the party, but Zell continues to call her library girl) but I think the girls a little too obsessive and I know Zell's not really in love with her. He's pretty clueless when it comes to that kind of stuff, I know it sounds cruel but trust me, I've known him a pretty long time. Its just the difference between the looks they give each other, in Zell's eyes I see more friendship feelings towards molly's and in molly's, its some insane obsession. Call me harsh if you wish but I'm only calling what I see. I know she'll only end up hurting him, and god knows I DONT want to see that, I love Zell far too much.... beyond friendship. That's right, I, Quistis Trepe am in love with Zell Dincht. Hard to believe huh? I think it is, we're so different yet I'm drawn to him. Its nothing like how I felt towards Squall, because this is real, I know it!
Yup, I have secretly been in love with Zell Dincht for two years now. Not that he has ever noticed, only the others have. First Rinoa, then Selphie then Squall and Irvine. I trusted those guys and I told them everything, they were my best friends. I was afraid of course to let them know but they totally understood, but lets get back to the whole molly problem.
Molly's starting to become controlling with Zell and that's why I'm worried. If you could look into his eyes like I can, you would see that the brightness there is slowly dimming. I have to stop this, but I don't know how. I don't like how people have labeled me the cool, strong one because it's totally wrong. I get scared, especially with stuff like this because I'll be asking something of Zell that maybe, he's not prepared to do.... then again, I'm also faced with LB's wrath, but I think I can handle that.... can I?
'Knock, knock'
I look up from my diary entry and quickly save it. I took Selphie's advice and decided to keep a diary, we all do now. It was indeed a great idea, cause little did we know that just a couple days after the party we had started to forget what had happened. We had had a discussion with squall and headmaster cid and we decided it was best to let the GF's go. Of course, we never did, we needed them and it wasn't like they were some pets to be let free whenever we pleased. They had become a part of us now; they had been inside our heads and-
'Quisty, come on we're gonna be late!'
'Sure! One second, 'Kay Selph's?' I called, quickly closing the document and logging off my computer. I turned and gathered my stuff sitting on my bed. We had all decided to take a break from the repairs and everything we had been doing lately. The last couple weeks had been hell at garden, everyone running around seeing what they could do to help, constant break outs of monsters from the training center because the two doors in there were up for a remodel, and on top of that we had monsters from the outside getting in. it was awful and while everything seemed almost 'ok' there were still a few kinks that needed to be worked out. Of course, we would deal with those after our little visit to the beach today.
'That's it; I'm coming in quisty! You take waaaaay too long and I don't like standing out in this hall by myself!' Selphie said and then poked her head in, 'heehee, good! Your ready! Now put it into high gear and haul ass woman!'
I couldn't help but laugh, Selphie was a hoot and a half and she was a great friend. I could always count on her to relieve whatever stress I had with a good cup of coffee or sometimes, a bowl of ice cream. She was really sweet and I was never ungrateful for having her as a friend.
'Yeah, sorry. I was marking some of my students work. I'm telling you, I think this week has been too much on everyone, my students aren't thinking straight and they're losing marks for it,' I sighed and grabbed my beach bag off my bed and walked over to the door, closing it and locking it after Selphie had stepped out into the hall, 'but then again, I haven't really been the best instructor because I've been running around so much. Did you know I had to have one of my students watch my class for me because I was called away.... three times!'
Selphie giggled and hooked her arm in mine.
'Ah, don't worry about it. In fact, don't worry about anything today, s'alright? It's our day off! Whoo hoo!' Selphie cried out and then thrusted an arm into the air joyously. A couple of SeeD candidates walked by, smiling and waving. We waved back and giggled. I could always count on Selph's to make me loosen up.
'So Selphie, what do you think Irvine's gonna be wearing for you? Speedo or swim trunks?' I asked, poking her side as we turned the corner and headed into the parking garage. We walked up to Selphie's brand spanking new motorcycle and climbed on, grabbing our helmets and putting them on securely.
'I don't know...I'm not much of a Speedo girl but hey, whatever the hell floats the boys boat!' she said playfully and started the motorcycle and we zoomed out of the garage and headed towards the beach. I loved riding Selphie's motorcycle; it gave me a sense of freedom...and a healthy dose of fear. I enjoyed that fear though, it was a nice adrenaline rush, and it wasn't like I was afraid Selphie couldn't handle the bike (cause she could, trust me, you should see the STUNTS this girl pulls on it!) but I dunno, just the fact there's nothing protecting me other then my own skin or a layer of leather sort of made me feel, well rebellious! And it was a great feeling.
The beach wasn't too far away, only about a twenty-minute drive...and of course Selphie and I made it in ten with her behind the wheel. We pulled to a stop on a grassy hill just in front of the beach and caught sight of the gang. Selphie grabbed hers and my stuff from behind the bike and handed me mine and we made our way down the sand dunes. She and I both managed to lose our footing (Selphie first of course, but she dragged me down with her) and fell, rolling down what was left of the dunes and stopped just in front of Rinoa's and squalls towels.
'Hey guys!' Rinoa giggled.
I sat up and dusted the sand off my body and fixed my skirt. Then stood, giving Selphie a hand and we gave Rinoa a hug.
''Hey you!' I said, plopping down beside her as Selphie tore off her tank and shorts and ran off to the water. We watched and giggled when Irvine suddenly popped out of the water and grabbed her, Selphie letting out a squeal before he smothered it with his lips.
'Those two are something else,' I said, laughing as Selphie got loose and tried to run away, but only managed to fall face first into the water.
'No kidding,' laughed Rinoa and then she slapped my thigh playfully.
'Ow, what the hell was that for?' I asked, laughing myself. I knew she didn't do it in any other way but to just annoy me and to get a laugh.
'Nothing really, just wondering when your going to strip down like the rest of us! Here we all are in our swimsuits and you're in a skirt and a long sleeved shirt. Honestly woman, we brought you here to relax so relax, oookies?' she said, poking my arm repeatedly.
'Yeah, yeah,' I said, standing up and removing my top and skirt to reveal the only bikini I owned. A simple red one, nothing particularly amazing about it but it fit me just right and hey, I thought I looked pretty damn good in it. I sat back down beside Rinoa and hugged my knees to my chest then it hit me, Zell and squall weren't here!
'Where's Zell and squall?' I asked, Rinoa waving a hand carelessly and pointing down to the beach. I put a hand above my eyes to lessen the intense light form the sun and saw three figures approaching us. One figure bouncing up and down, the other two figures walked calmly.
'They went to go get some drinks for the cooler,' Rinoa explained.
'The one bouncing around must be Zell' I thought to myself, a small smile playing across my lips.
'Why ya smiling, sunshine?' Rinoa asked in her usual perky tone. I turned back to face her and saw she had already put her shades over her eyes and was trying to catch a tan. I smiled at her and stood up, stretching my legs and arms. I always did this before I swam, I hated it when I got cramps out there in the water and besides, there still may be a few monsters around here.
'No reason really, just thinking about how much fun we're going to have today,' I looked back over to see Zell and Squall were getting closer but...was that Molly with them? I looked back at Rinoa and frowned slightly, ' how come molly's here? I thought she had to watch the library?'
'Naw,' Rinoa said, removing her shades and smiling lazily up at me, ' she found out we were coming here and asked her little Zelly-poo if she could come and of course he gave in. besides, he wants to make her a part of the gang.'
I sighed and scratched the back of my head then reached up and pulled my hair out of its usual bun and then pulled it back into a tight pony tail, 'I dunno Rinoa, are you sure she didn't pester him about becoming one of the gang?' I asked, shaking my head after putting my hair up and then stood up straight, the suns rays kissing my bare skin.
'I dunno, quisty...I know how you feel about her, I mean, we've talked about this before but I think you just gotta let it be, hm? Come on, Zell can take care of himself,' Rinoa said soothingly.
'Yeah, when it comes to monsters and things and ugh,' I groaned unpleasantly and rubbed my hips, 'I'm thinking too much again. That waters calling for me and I'm answering it!' I yelled and then ran down the beach and dived in, just catching the beginning of my name being called. I felt the cool water wash over me and loosen up all my tense joints and I just swam around under the water for as long as I could and then came back up to the surface for some air. I suddenly remembered my name had been called and before I could acknowledge what was happening an excited looking Zell was bounding towards me, splashing water everywhere and then WHAM he collided into me and the two of us fell back into the water, making a huge splash!
I felt his arms entangled around my body and ignored the thoughts and feelings that suddenly swamped my brain when I felt his touch and kicked the water, heading towards the surface for some air. Seconds after I had surfaced, Zell's head popped up. I giggled and pointed at his hair, he looked so different when it was up in its usual three thick spikes at the front. He raised an eyebrow at me and smiled.
'What?' he asked, poking at my tummy. I winced and swam a little bit away from him.
'Oh nothing,' I teased and just as he was about to dive at me again we both heard a splash and I turned to see Molly on Zell's back.
'Come play with me, Zell!' she said, covering his face in kisses. Zell coughed a bit since a lot of water had gotten into his mouth and rubbed at his eyes. He then gave molly a half smile and let her down into the water.
'Yeah, we all can, me you and quisty! And soon the others are going to join us too!' he said, rubbing her shoulders and then turning to smile at me. Molly pouted and grabbed his chin and turned his face back towards hers.
'Yeah, but Selphie and Irvine get to play alone, why cant you and I?' she asked, succeeding in making me feel totally unwanted. I rolled my eyes, about to say something to her but then saw Zell's confused face and decided why cause him the extra trouble and smiled and rubbed one of his muscular arms.
'Don't worry about it, 'k, Zelly?' I said and smiled, waving at molly and swam towards the shore then walked out towards my bag, passing Rinoa and squall who were cuddling on they're towel. I grabbed my bag and set up my towel a couple feet away from the couple and sat down, one knee bent while my right arm lazily rested on it. I twitched my dangling fingers a bit, staring out at Zell and molly. They seemed to be having a good time. Oh why the hell was I analyzing they're relationship? For Hynes sake, I couldn't believe how jealous I could get. There really wasn't anything wrong with molly, sure she was obsessive, compulsive, annoying, whiny...ok, so there were quite a few faults I saw in her...but I guess Zell or the others didn't see them.
'Ah well,' I sighed and lay down, stretching my body. I needed some sun, being inside the garden a lot lately had made me very pale, 'shit,' I muttered and sat back up, rummaging through my bag for my sun tone lotion only to realize I didn't bring it. I turned over to face Rinoa and squall and parted my lips to ask if I could use some of theirs only to see them sharing a very deep kiss. I looked away, blushing and decided to leave them be. I stood up and walked over to where Selphie and Irvine were sitting.
'Hey guys, you got any sun tan lotion?' I asked, putting my hands on my knees as I bent down slightly. The two looked up at me from their shades and smiled.
'Yeah, lemme go through my bag for it, 'k quisty?' Selphie said and sat up, pulling her bright yellow beach bag over to her side and put a hand inside. I sat down beside Irvine and sighed, looking back over to where molly and Zell were fooling around. Good Hyne, she was throwing sand at him! Irvine must have seen the expression on my face and also where my eyes were and placed a warm hand on my shoulder.
'Don't worry, Zell can handle more than some sand in his eyes,' Irvine said, smiled and lay back down. I noted how he was also wearing swim trunks, why I hadn't noticed before was beyond me. Oh that's right, I was too busy looking for Zell. I rubbed my face with my hands and hid my sad face in them. It wasn't fair, I wanted Zell so much and while I could admit it to myself I could never admit it to him. And anyways, he's with molly, I have at least enough decency to know its not right to get caught up in some love triangle. Of course, the rest of the gang had taken to calling it that... Zell, Molly and Myself in a love triangle. Preposterous! Of course I had talked to everyone other than Zell about it (duh, obviously) and they all had given me the same lecture:
'He's with molly so don't get involved.'
Everyone had whom he or she wanted except quisty, the bossy little ice queen. Heh, another nickname I had been given and the one I despised the most. Why did everyone assume I was some 'ice queen'? I had feelings just like everyone else and I did care about other people. Damn it, I just didn't get any of this. What was wrong with me?
'Ah ha!' I looked up to see Selphie holding an orange bottle of sun tan lotion; 'I found it!' she said happily and threw it over to me. I caught it, smiled my thanks and walked back up to my towel. As I sat down I realised molly and Zell weren't in the water and shrugged it off. I had to stop this, this constant thinking and worrying about him, it wasn't healthy and Hyne knows-
'Hey quisty!'
I let out a rather loud yelp when I heard Zell's voice right beside mine. I panted and looked over at him, at his wonderful smile...his beautiful eyes...his fantastic body...catch your drool, quisty.
'Hi Zell,' I croaked and then turned my attention back to the sun tan lotion and squeezed some out and started to cover my legs and arms. Zell sat there patiently and then started to fidget and leaned his face close to mine,
'Quistis, I need to ask you something,' he said, seriousness very clear in his voice. I dropped the sun tan lotion and quickly picked it back up, hoping he didn't notice my nervousness and excitement, what could he be asking? Could he know about how I feel towards him?
'What about?' I asked the nerves making my head shake slightly as my stomach did back flips. Zell sighed and moved closer, looking around cautiously. I could feel his warm breath on my skin and started getting goose bumps. I moved away a tiny bit and Zell suddenly sighed. I thought I had done something wrong and placed a hand on his shoulder. This was obviously troubling him and I couldn't let my feelings get in the way.
'Its about me and molly...' he said, looking down, fiddling with his feet. My eyebrows furrowed and while a wave of delight swamped over me I got one look at his face and that was blown away and replaced with regret for even feeling happy about that. Whatever it was that was wrong, it was tormenting him and he needed it off his chest. I sighed and placed a hand over my mouth, not in the sense I was shocked but just because its what I did when I was thinking. Zell lied down and placed his arms behind his head, I saw the trouble on his face and took my hands away from my mouth and looked down at him, lightly poking his cute nose. I don't care what I felt right now, my feelings and cares didn't matter, Zell needed someone to talk to, and he needed his quisty.
'C' mon Zelly, you can tell me,' I said rubbing his arm and then smiled encouragingly. He looked down the beach and sighed. Molly must be in the washroom or something I thought, it was the only time the two were probably apart. Zell smiled and sat back up.
'I know, Quis, I could always count on you to have a shoulder to lean on. Its just...' he sighed again and moved his hands around as if he was preparing to give a speech,' 'its just...she asked me if I loved her and....'
I blinked and gulped.
'And....?' I asked, knowing the answer.
'I don't know if I do, I like her, hell yeah but that's it. Just...it's just she's more like a friend to me, you know? She's a great person, don't get me wrong and she's really come a long way with her martial arts and she's not as weak as she was. Also, she has more confidence now, and she always tells me that its me she has to thank for that but...I think she always had that confidence, she just never realised it before. I know she loves me, heck, she told me she's secretly loved me for three years. Can you believe that? A girl actually secretly loved me.'
I chuckled nervously and put a hand to my throat.
'Yeah, who'd have thought,' I aid nervously. Zell just laughed and slapped my back gently.
'I knew you'd say something like that.'
'I'm not that predictable, am I?'
Zell tilted his head to the side after I asked him that and thought for a couple seconds. Then he smiled playfully and started tickling me, causing me to yelp numerous times, and then he stopped and smiled.
'Nah, your quisty, your as unpredictable as they get!' he teased. I grinned at him and lightly punched his shoulder.
'Yeah, whatever.'
'Now, don't go all like Squall on me,' he said, chuckling.
'Oh, shut up Zell!' I said and pushed his shoulder, causing him to lose his balance. He laughed some more on my towel and then I saw a shadow covering his form and looked up to see molly towering over us. Well, I wouldn't actually call it towering since she was only something like five foot one or two. I then realised the position Zell and I were in and pulled my arms out of his and quickly moved away. Molly made some or of a snorting sound and jumped into Zell's lap, causing an Oomph to escape his lips and then he gingerly wrapped his arms around her.
'So, what have you two been chatting about while I've been gone?' she asked, practically throwing the question at me.
I laid back and reached into the cooler and pulled out and coke and took a sip. Suddenly, I felt a little courageous.
'Why do you need to know?' I asked smugly. Hm, maybe that's why I'm called the ice queen I wondered and then shrugged and smiled. I'm only the ice queen to people I don't like, anyways.
Molly's face scrunched up and her fists tightened into tiny balls.
'What's your problem, Quistis?' she screeched and stood up, knocking Zell back. I stood up as well, of course, I was quite taller than her and now I was the towering one, like it should be. Molly's little outburst had caught the attention of the others and now they were looking over here. I caught a glimpse of Zell's worried face but I couldn't help it. I'm sorry Zell, but I can't hold back anymore. It's been two years of this and I've had enough.
I chuckled to myself and waltzed over to molly, poking her shoulder hard enough for her to stumble back.
' Your my problem,' I said simply and crossed my arms. Molly's jaw dropped and she looked at me with the utmost disgust. I didn't care, I was finally telling her how I felt, 'you hang over Zell's shoulders like some robe, you tag along with him everywhere he goes, never giving him any time to himself. Not only that, but like you've just shown now, you get extremely jealous when someone else talks with him. It's especially annoying when you do it to me, to us! ' I said, extending an arm to point to the others, 'we're his best friends, you have no right trying to control his time with us!'
Molly looked like she was about to explode, and her eyes started to water but I wasn't going to give in like everyone else had in the past. This girl needed a dose of reality.
'Your not living in some romantic novel, got that? This is the real world! You've done didley squat in the last couple weeks with the repairs! You distracted Zell when he was repairing some engines and then sat there and complained when we told you to go back to the library! You also continued to bitch and complain the rest of the week!' I rubbed my forehead and started pacing back and forth, 'looks, its great and all that you've found your confidence, but I think I like the old, shy molly who didn't whine all the time!'
'YOU JUST WANT ZELL FOR YOUSELF!' molly suddenly screamed, totally catching me off guard. She stood there, shaking as the tears streamed down her cheeks. My breath caught in my throat and I suddenly shook my head.
'You don't know what you're talking about,' I said simply, beginning to pack up my things, I wasn't going to spend the rest of the day with this cow, not in a lifetime. I couldn't handle this.
'Oh but you do, you love him! Don't act as if I don't know, give me some credit woman! I see the way you look at him,' she screamed, reaching down to be held by Zell, yet all he did was sit there, totally shocked that all this was happening, he wasn't the only one, not only were the others sitting with their jaws slack but I was pretty shocked myself. Finally the dam burst.
'AT LEAST I LOOK AT HIM WITH REAL LOVE! NOT SOME CRAZY OBSESSIVE LOOK!' I screamed and started walking away, I couldn't stay there. As I walked further and further away I heard more yelling. I felt awful; I had ruined everyone's day just because of my damn ego. 'It's not really your ego though, quisty' I said to myself and sighed, suddenly falling to the ground. I couldn't take this, Zell now knew how I really felt for him and on top of that, I had just been really mean to a girl who probably did love him very much, I couldn't believe myself. I suddenly felt the hot stab of tears at the corners of my eyes and I blinked them away. I couldn't, wouldn't, cry.
'Oh, what's the use,' I muttered to myself and just broke down, letting all the tears I had held in for two years loose, it felt good but I still felt horrible. I stood back up and started walking again, ignoring my name being called behind me from the beach. It was about a half hour walk to Garden, I'm sure I'd be fine...yeah, just keep telling yourself that, quisty
