"Life Long Forgotten"
By: fluffy pantoufle
Disclaimer: FF8 is the property of Square Enix, and I am in no way affiliated with them!
A/N: Greetings, all! Here's the second chapter of the story! Perhaps some suspense is lost in me uploading chapters so quickly, or perhaps I'm appeasing
anyone who might be intrigued by the storyline. The reason behind this is that I'm returning to college on August 21st, so ideally I'd like to have a huge chunk
of this done by then. Additionally, I want to establish the story in the first several chapters and then get to the really good stuff. (:
So, like always, read - enjoy - and tell me what you think!
PS: When I wrote the Zell/Rinoa flashback, I was listening to "Anyone Else But You" by the Moldy Peaches. It seemed to be a good fit for how I'm trying to
construct their relationship...
The sterile, medical scent of the Infirmary created an unsettling atmosphere for Zell and Selphie. They checked every conceivable spot in Garden and couldn't find Squall anywhere. Figuring that he would show up eventually, the pair decided to wait in the Infirmary and support Rinoa in the meantime. Dr. Kadowaki had not revealed much about her condition, but emphasized that the time period in which Rinoa was struck and treated would be the ultimate factor in her recovery. If they had discovered her too late, even the doctor wasn't sure as to what Rinoa's fate would be.
Zell was finding it particularly difficult to sit still. Selphie would glance at him in her peripheral to see him drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair, shuffling his feet on the floor, or stretching his neck from side to side in an attempt to crack it. He glanced nervously around the waiting room, searching for any sign that would tell him Rinoa was going to be all right. At one point, he felt a small, soft hand on top of his; Selphie was staring at him and smiled with optimism.
"C'mon Zell, don't get yourself so worked up…" Selphie whispered. "Rinoa would want you to stay calm, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," he replied. "I just hate that the doc isn't giving us a clue if Rin's gonna make it through this."
Selphie took a look at the door that led to Rinoa's location, in which Dr. Kadowaki was working tirelessly. "She'll let us know when she has the chance. Right now she's just trying to do everything she can."
Without warning, the door to the Infirmary swung open. Squall, Irvine, and Quistis entered the room, each looking more flustered than the next. Before the door closed entirely, even Angelo nosed his way into the waiting room. Squall was glistening with perspiration; he had a worried, bewildered expression on his face. Irvine was without his trademark cowboy hat and his mahogany colored hair hung loosely. Quistis bent down to pet Angelo, who had begun to whine.
"Has Dr. Kadowaki told you anything?" Squall asked Zell and Selphie, his words quick. Zell could hear the fear in his voice. "Is Rinoa going to be OK?"
Before Zell could speak, Selphie stood up and shook her head. "We don't know. She just said that time is the most crucial factor at this point and hopefully they weren't too late…"
Squall slumped into the nearest chair, burying his face in his hands. If he was about to cry, he was still guarded enough that he wasn't going to show it. The sound of his heavy, ragged breath was amplified against his hands. "I didn't even know that she had left Garden…"
"Squall, don't blame yourself," Quistis said, sitting down next to him and placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. "It was…a freak accident, you know? The weather is out of everyone's control."
"I know," he said softly. "But she should have been with me. We should have been together."
The room fell silent, with the exception of Squall's breathing. Even Angelo quieted down, laying at Squall's feet with his head between his paws. No one knew what to say or do to make the situation any better, so Selphie sat back down next to Zell and Irvine leaned against the wall, his arms crossed against his chest. Quistis patted Squall's back one more time before removing her hand and clasping them in her lap, staring at the floor.
Every so often Zell would glance up at Squall, who remained unwavering in his position of shrouding his face. He wanted to say something, anything to make his friend feel better, but nothing sufficient came to mind. In fact, all Zell wanted to do was speak with Rinoa and reassure her that everything was going to turn out OK. The fact that he might not receive that chance almost brought the young man to tears, but he pulled himself together just in the nick of time.
In order to raise his spirits, Zell thought about all of the great times that he had spent with Rinoa. There was that one night in the cafeteria when Irvine had gotten the last hot dog in the lunch line… Zell remembered how angry he had gotten, and how hungry he was! Rinoa offered to distract Irvine so that he could grab the coveted hot dog and bring it back to his table. Luckily, Selphie had let slip to Rinoa that Irvine loved it when she would come up behind him and wrap her arms around his neck.
"When you do it, you need to, like…I don't know…give a little sigh of relief or something," Selphie said, shrugging. "It's hard to explain. I just know that Irvine goes weak every time I do it!"
After making sure Selphie wasn't around to see, Rinoa spotted Irvine sitting alone in the cafeteria, with the hot dog on a plate and a book open on the table. While Zell waited out of Irvine's view, Rinoa sauntered up behind him and quite alluringly wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her cheek against his and sighed ever so softly.
Irvine grinned. "Aw, Seffie baby…hello to you too." He tried to turn his head in order to give her a kiss, but as he did it dawned upon him that it wasn't Selphie. "HEY!" The cowboy exclaimed, toppling out of his chair and onto the floor. As he did, Zell ran by, snatched up the hot dog, and ran out of the cafeteria. Rinoa knelt down, gave Irvine a plutonic kiss on the cheek, and followed Zell.
Several minutes later, the duo was sitting on a bench outside of the dormitories. Rinoa leaned back and watched the people go by but, more interestingly, watched Zell consume the hot dog. It only took a moment or two, but before she could blink twice that hot dog was nothing more than a memory. A look of pure delight danced its way across his face, and Rinoa burst out in laughter.
"What?" Zell inquired, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was a fabulous hot dog!"
Rinoa had to wipe the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes and attempt to compose herself. "I…I bet it was!" She exclaimed, all the while giggling like a preteen.
He couldn't understand why his friend was bursting into hysterics. To Zell, the consumption of a hot dog - especially one that was so difficult to obtain - was almost a religious experience. However, he chose not to say that to Rinoa, fearing the consequences… A confession like that would surely make its way around Balamb Garden within a day or so. Instead, he remained silent and watched as Rinoa tried to regain herself.
Zell could always acknowledge the fact that Rinoa was a pretty girl, ever since the day he met her. However, on the evening of the "hot dog heist," as they began to call it, there was something damningly attractive about the raven-haired beauty, something that drew him in like never before. Of course, he knew he could never act upon how he felt that day, and since then had tried to suppress any attraction he had to Rinoa Heartilly. Zell had too much respect for his friends in order to do that.
Suddenly, Zell snapped out of his daydreams as the door opened and Dr. Kadowaki emerged. She looked exhausted, but satisfied. Everyone in the room felt as if they had been taken by the shoulders and shook when she appeared, and they waited quietly for her to speak.
"This has been a terrible accident for Rinoa, as I'm sure you all know," she began. "Thankfully, it seems as if we have gotten to her in time and she should make a complete recovery. I'd like to keep her here for several days in order to monitor her progress, but I'm confident that all will be well."
It was as if a huge, dark cloud had passed and the sun finally shone through. Squall nodded to Dr. Kadowaki and smiled, while Selphie and Quistis stood and embraced in the center of the room. Angelo rose to his feet and let out an excited bark, sensing the change of energy within the room.
"Can we see her, Dr. Kadowaki?" Squall inquired.
The doctor nodded. "Yes, of course. She's just very tired, so I suggest that you keep the visit short for tonight."
Squall stood and looked at the others. Nothing needed to be said. Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine gathered themselves and left the waiting room, realizing that Squall wanted to be alone with her. Zell whistled to Angelo and, after catching the dog's attention, followed his friends out of the waiting room.
Despite the fact that he was dying to speak to Rinoa, with Angelo trotting at his heels the blonde felt as if he had a piece of her with him. Zell knew that he could wait until the morning to see her, but the image of her laughing reverberated through his mind and - against his better judgment - made its way down to his heart.