A/N: Hello again. This is chapter two, hopefully a bit longer than last and with more characters. Please ignore some major things that aren't very plotlike, I apologize for them, but they make the story work easier and a tad more fun to write. Now onward.
Anybody is able to put an input on how the story flows. Just please leave even a one word review on what your decision is if you want to participate. Majority vote wins.
leaving- 2 vote (sweetest days and starriver92)
staying-0
I hope everyone enjoys and thank you!
Bold and Italics will be thoughts.
-these will be choices the characters will have to make. At the end of this chapter is a choice for you. Choices will determine how this story plays out. Who knows what will happen? For all who participate, I thank you all.-
There was no way Squall could possibly get any sleep with Balthier on the other side of his wall. Rolling out of bed, he grabbed his leather jacket from off the back of his desk chair and slipped it on, making his way out of his bedroom. Shutting the door behind him, he grabbed his keys that hung on a small nail on the wall. Noticing the second pair on the coffee table, obviously his roommate's, he was half tempted to steal them so that the fool would somehow manage to lock himself out. As nice as it sounded, he chose against it and walked out into the hallway, locking the door behind him.
It took him a minute or so to be greeted by the unwanted light of day, stinging his weary eyes. After adjusting a moment or so, he pondered where the best possible sleep would be. The classroom was out; nobody wanted to listening to the irritating Trepies squealing and gabbing. Squall was not in the mood to return to the training center. He had learned early on that though it is quiet and warm, it was obviously not the safest place for he was almost eaten alive by grats the one time he attempted. Quad and cafeteria were without a doubt out, leaving the library as the best decision and conveniently not a far off walk.
Once inside the silent building, Squall quickly passed by the shelves of textbooks and novels to the back, where several large desks sat against the back wall.
"Ah! Squall, is there anything I can help you find?" Squall turned to see Ellie, the small library girl with a long pigtail draped in front of her uniform. He shook his head, grabbing the first book within his reach. He didn't want to be kicked out for dozing.
"No, I'm fine. Just here to study," he lied, hurrying off and finding a seat. He cracked open the book and pretended to read for a minute or two until he was sure that Ellie was gone before placing his head between the pages and shutting his eyes. There were small sounds, the shuffling of desks and the turning of old pages, mixing together into a makeshift lullaby, and finally he got his wish of falling asleep.
"Dude! Wake up!"
Like the sound of shattering glass, Zell's voice cut through the silence and woke Squall from the small amount of sleep he had gotten. The blond tapped the now half slumbering brunette on the head with his notebook, trying to get his friend to hurry up. Most unwillingly, Squall lifted his head from the pages of his pillow, wiping the small bit of drool from the corner of his mouth. Slamming his book shut, the gunblader, glared back at Zell.
"What the hell do you want, Zell?" he growled. Zell took a small step back. He had forgotten Squall was not a happy person when awoken, though he wasn't the happiest person awake either.
"Class. Starts in like ten minutes, man," Zell said, starting to hop up and down, like he was about ready to run. Quistis didn't mind student sleeping in her class. They just better be there.
Shit. I slept longer than I thought.
Quickly getting up, he saw Zell had already made it to the door. Running after, earning a few unappreciative comments from library staff, The two seeDs in training hurried out into the daylight, which yet again burned Squall's eyes. The two hurried to the first floor lobby and both slammed their hands on the up button for the elevator at the same time, Zell's hand getting squashed under Squall's fist. Waiting for the usually slow elevator, the two finally caught a breath.
"Heh, let's not do this again," Zell laughed, starting to repeatedly push the button. Squall rolled his eyes. "So why were you in the library? There are people in there who might actually want to talk to you."
Squall really wanted to punch Zell sometimes. The elevator let out a high-pitched ding and the doors slid open. The two walked inside and Squall pushed the button for the second floor. A moment later, the elevator lurched upwards.
"None of you business," Squall said flatly, not wanting to remember the possible horror that awaited him when he returned. It was Zell's turn to roll his eyes.
"Cold as ever, man. Anyway, Selphie's been talking non-stop about-" It was then that Squall decided to stop listening. He knew Selphie well enough to know all she ever talked about was the Garden Festival and for some odd reason, explosions. The small elevator ding came once more and the the two stepped out into the hallway of the second floor. Zell was still talking.
"SQUALL!" No matter how hard he tried, there was no possible way to drown out her voice. Before he could even see her, Rinoa Heartilly had jumped into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. "Hey, you guys are late!" she said, starting to drag Squall off by his arm. He knew better to resist. Zell suppressed a chuckled at how helpless he was against her. The three walked the rest of the way to class, Rinoa never letting go.
"Oh, Squall, guess what Selfie told me," Rinoa started as they walked into the classroom, but quickly shut up the moment they came inside.
Closer towards the back of the room, unfortunately not far from Squall's seat, was a large cluster of girls making a rather noticeable rucus. Shorter than the rest of the girls, the three noticed Selfie somewhat out of the ring of girls, jumping up and down trying to see.
What the hell is going on?
"...that's there's a new candidate joining our class," Rinoa finished, though there was obviously no need for it. Squall instantly knew who it was, but prayed he was wrong, that the moron had been sent to a different instructor and that there were two students transferring in.
Please let it not be him.
It was.
"So where did you transfer from?!"
"What do you specialize in?!"
"Are you single?!"
"Ladies, ladies, one at a time please," Balthier said with a charming smile. "Guns happen to be my specialty, but don't get me wrong; that does not mean I'm no good in hand to hand combat," he continued, blowing over his knuckles as if he had just punched someone out. That earned another very eager squeal from the girls.
Managing to pass through the crowd, since their desks were on the other side of the giggling mass, Balthier gave a small wave.
"Ah, Squall, you really should try harder to be on time. One mustn't be late," he said with a smirk. Rinoa and Zell raised an eyebrow.
"You know him?"Zell asked under his breath. Rinoa looked rather interested as well. Squall grumbled and went quickly to his desk, one row behind and far too close to the noise, ignoring the both the blond and brunette. He just wanted to zone out until the end of class. Rinoa sitting down on his thigh and wrapping her arms around his waist was not helping though.
"So how do you know him? Old friend?" Rinoa asked, continuing to watch the swarm, Selphie finally managing to squeeze inside and talk to the new student. Her face was a bright pink.
"Is it any of your business?"
"Of course!" Rinoa whined, tapping Squall on the nose with her finger, a habit of her's he never was exactly fond of. He didn't like anyone treating him as though he was a child. In order to stop her, he decided to answer the question.
"He's an infes-"
"My roommate." Squall near jumped as Qusitis chimed into the conversation, her head somehow resting on shoulder. "See, I'm getting better at figuring you out," their instructor said with a satisfied grin. Both Zell and looked surprised at her comment and both looked to Squall for validation. His sigh was taken as a yes. Standing upright, the blonde walked over to the group of girls. "Now that you're acquainted with our new student, could we perhaps move onto the actual lecture please?"
Loyal Trepies immediately sat down in their seats as the rest of the girls rather unwilling left to their own desks. Rinoa let out a small chuckle at their disappointment and she too stood up. She gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"He might be popular, but you're still the best looking guy here," she said before she and Zell headed to there desk not too far off. Squall really wanted to slam his head repeatedly into his desk.
"Oh, how cute," Balthier, who had turned around, said with a face that read sickened. "Girlfriend?"
-Yeah, she's pretty cute, huh?-
-No, we're just friends.-
-Not interested-
A/N:I think I did Zell okay, but is Rinoa in character enough? I'm a bit worried about her. I like writing as Squall. He's a complete ass sometimes, but he's kind of fun to do.
Okay, the choices have been laid out for you. You have the option of saying Rinoa is your cute girlfriend, you guys are just friend, or you just don't like her. Your choices determine the outcome of the story so please leave a review. Majority vote will be carried out. Thank you again for your participation and see you all soon!
