Author's Notes: Thank you everybody for all the reviews! I thought that I wouldn't get any. ^^ It makes me happy to know that there are Squalphie supporters out there! Squalphie! Whoo-hoo!!! Hope this next chapter isn't bad or anything! Enjoy! Oh, and I hope you're all right with the other couples in the fic!
PART 3 Preparations
Squall entered the Quad, expecting at least Selphie to be there, but found no one. Perhaps it was because of the fact that he came before most students were awake. He took a seat in the front row and decided to wait. That day, all the actors and actresses in the play would start rehearsal so he made sure his schedule was cleared. He also made sure he came exceptionally early. It would be best for him if Seifer didn't see him going into the Quad. The blond could be very nosy and would never give up until he got to the bottom of why Squall was entering a restricted area.
"Squall! You're early!" Selphie's voice said from behind.
Squall turned around and could hardly breathe as he watched the angel-like creature walk down towards him. He never in his life expected this small, young woman to look so spectacular. The long, billowing gown of pure white and a pale yellow made the Quad, lit up only by the rays of the rising sun, seem brighter.
"It's so great to see you've made it!" she said with a big grin on her face. "Hey, you like this dress?" She held up the skirts of the gown and spun around. "I made it myself."
"All by yourself?" It was surprising to know that she had made such a wonderful creation all by herself.
"Yeah! You like it?"
'You're beautiful...' "Why did you make it?"
"It's for the play. This is the dress that Sofie wears at the ball where she and Spall have their first dance."
"I see... What? I thought that I wasn't going to dance!"
"I said that? Oh, I'm so sorry! It seems that you and I have to have a little dance together..."
"But you said... Why?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know!" She hung her head low. "I was so busy with the play and all that it was difficult for me to remember..." She clasped her hands together in apology. "Please forgive me, Squall! I hope you still stay in the play! I need you! I worked so hard on this dress just for you. Everything I'm doing for the play is for you--all for you, Squall... If you leave, all my work would be for nothing..."
'All for me...? But...' "Why?"
"Because..." She smiled timidly. "Because, Squall, I like you..."
'What? She...likes me? What does she mean by that?'
"...being in the play."
For a while there, Squall had felt some kind of disappointment, but shrugged it off as nonsense.
"You're the only one I want to play Spall," Selphie said. "If you quit...I really wouldn't know what to do. The dance is just a small scene and all we're going to do is have a waltz. A fast dance and a small waltz, that's it. It's just before intermission and before you know it, we'll be dancing off the stage."
A small dance, was it? He found himself reluctant. Who knew what Selphie's definition of 'small' would be? But she did do all that work. And it was all for him. "Why all for me?" he asked. He already felt obliged to stay in the performance but he wanted to know why all her work was dedicated to him, Squall Leonheart, of all people.
"Well..." He could see she was hesitating. "I don't want anyone else to be Spall; you're the only one I'm gonna settle for! You know what they say, "No pain, no gain". I'm doing all this work for you because I want you to stay. If everything I'm doing won't keep you then...then I don't know. I thought that if you knew all this was for you, you'd wanna stay... Everyone else wants you in! I've already put up advertisement for the play and I got some pretty good feedback concerning you! Posters are on the walls, I've put things up on the internet... You being in the play will make it a hit! I want this play to be worth it for everybody..."
'Everyone wants me, huh?' This idea actually made him feel some kind of satisfaction. "Don't worry about it, I'm staying."
Her beautiful emerald orbs lit up. "Really?! Booyaka! Thank you!!" She threw her arms around the startled young man and squeezed him tightly. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace.
Selphie took the opportunity to tell him of the other wonderful news. "Oh, and we have to sing in a couple of scenes..." She shut her eyes and squeezed him tighter, hoping he wouldn't get mad at her, or at least be too unable to breathe that he wouldn't be able to say anything about it.
"Wha--"
"How come you never hug me, huh, Squall?" Quistis laughed from behind.
"Quisty!" Selphie let go of Squall and greeted the blonde ex-instructor.
"What is he doing here, anyway?" Quistis asked Selphie. "Squall, you should know better than to be in an off-limits area!"
"Quistis," Selphie began as she grabbed the young man's arm. "Meet Spall Tirmutt."
"What!?" The older woman looked as if she were ready to burst out laughing. "Squall? Squall Leonheart? He's going to be Spall? He's going to be in the play?!" The girl nodded. Just as expected, Quistis did burst out laughing. She held on to a chair to prevent her from falling to the ground and seemed like she was going to die of laughter.
Squall looked at his watch. "It's been two minutes, Quistis, I believe it's time for you to stop laughing."
She finally regained her composure and stood up straight as she wiped away tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Squall, really, I am."
"So why are you here?"
She cleared her throat. "I, Quistis Trepe, will be playing the role of Beatrise Armasie."
"You? An actress? I should be laughing."
She shrugged. "I had no choice. Selphie asked me, you know how she is."
"Unfortunately..."
"Hey!" Selphie cut in.
Quistis smiled. "I was only joking, don't worry!"
Selphie faced Squall, putting her hands on her hips. "And what do you mean by, 'unfortunately...'?!"
"It was nothing," Squall said. Selphie was about to respond to this when she saw the surprised look on his face. She turned around to see what Squall was looking at.
'Speak of the devil... What the hell is he doing here? Dammit, maybe he saw one of those ads Selphie put up and he's here to torment me. Oh, god, what do I do now?' Squall felt a sense of insecurity but he would not dare show this in front of his rival. He glared at him, hoping that when he was spotted, his feeling of uncertainty would be hidden behind the angry look on his face.
Quistis turned around as well to see why Squall had suddenly looked angry. She quickly turned around again upon seeing who the person was. "Selphie, what in the world is he doing here!?" she demanded in a whisper.
Before an answer could be given, his deep, masculine voice announced, "So here I am, Tilmitt." He walked over to the group of people and got that cocky smirk of his when he saw Squall. "Squall, what a surprise. How nice to see you." He came to a halt when he recognized the blonde with her back turned to him. "Quistis..."
The uneasy woman covered her mouth to muffle her voice. "I'm not Quistis!"
He then took on a look of seriousness as he placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Quistis...will you please look at me?"
Quistis immediately pulled away and faced Selphie. "Selphie! What the hell is he doing here! Make him go away!"
The younger girl tried to calm her down. "Now, Quistis, be reasonable..."
"REASONABLE!?" she boomed. "How can I be reasonable?!"
"Quistis, he doesn't mean any harm..."
"NO HARM?! This...this pig cheated on me! How reasonable can you get?!"
"I did not cheat on you!" Seifer interrupted. "You misunderstood!"
"Yeah, I misunderstood," she spat, rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. "I believed you actually cared. Obviously, I misunderstood that one."
"Damn it, why can't you just let me explain?!"
"What's there to explain? You cheated on me, the end. That's all I need to know."
"Quisty..." Selphie cut in. "He never did such a thing..."
"Are you defending him?" Quistis asked, staring at her friend with eyes as wide as saucers. "Selphie, you don't know what you're talking about!"
"I know he didn't do it," she said. "Can you just keep yourself from yelling every time he's around? How can we make this play good if you two are constantly fighting? You have to cooperate! After all, you're gonna be playing his girlfriend. We want the audience to believe that you're in love with him, don't we?"
'Bad move,' Squall thought as he shook his head sadly. Selphie was sure as heck lucky that she was Quistis' friend or else all hell would have gone loose.
"WHAT?????!!!!!!!!!!" Quistis' face had turned beet red from anger and embarrassment. "Me? I'm going to play that bastard's girlfriend???!!!"
"Quisty, please don't scream so loud..."
"Selphie, I can't believe this! Why me and him of all people? I don't think I'll be able to participate in this play anymore..."
"Quistis, you can't say that! Just because Seifer's in the play, doesn't mean you don't have to be! I want this play to be the best it can be and you're the best. Who cares if Seifer's here or not?"
"Hey!" Seifer whined.
"Anyways... I want the best of the best and you're it! It's not like I'm forcing you and Seifer together in real life. After the play, you won't even have to look at his hideous, monstrous face!"
"What!?" Seifer was in disbelief. "You know, I should quit!"
"You're in the play whether you like it or not!" she barked.
"Bitch..." the annoyed blond muttered.
"Look, Selphie," Quistis sighed. "I...I don't really know if I can..."
"If you're not gonna be in the play then I won't," Seifer told Quistis. "I'm not gonna be in it if I know that it was my fault you're not there."
"..."
"Quistis..." Selphie took the older teen's hands into her own. "Come on. We'll talk about it, okay?"
"But--"
"Please? I'm not letting you leave knowing that I didn't at least try my best."
"Well...well, fine."
"Gentlemen," Selphie nodded at the two men. "If you'll excuse us?" She grabbed Quistis by the arm and they left.
~*~*~*~
"How did you get her to stay?" Squall asked as he watched Quistis sitting in the front row, memorizing her lines.
"Well, you know how I am," Selphie laughed, mocking what Quistis had said earlier. "Unfortunately."
The teenage boy shook his head and smiled. "Why did you get her and Seifer to play the roles of lovers, anyway?"
She winked at him and placed a finger on her forehead. "I have a plan."
"A plan? A plan for what? Seifer's funeral?"
"Silly! But no, it isn't that. I felt really bad about what happened that night at the training center. Quistis was so heartbroken over the whole thing. You know when she wasn't around for a coupla days? She was in her room crying. Crying. I never really knew of a time when Quisty was so upset that she cried. I went to her room and she told me everything. She told me about how she and Seifer got together and then of how she loved him and all. I knew then that I had to help her."
"Love? Her love Seifer? Well, that's something I never would've expected. Then if she loved him so much then how come she acts like she wants to rip his head off every time he's around?"
"You know her. She doesn't know how to show those kind of feelings. I think she's great but I think she's too stubborn for her own good."
"So you think a play will get them together? You really should stop reading too much of those romance novels or whatever."
"You're such a pessimist! Besides, even if it doesn't help their relationship as expected, Seifer will be happy."
"What? Who cares about that jerk?"
"Squall, you shouldn't say that about people. Seifer really cares for her and it makes him happy just being near her. It hurts him whenever she's mad at him but since he's just as stubborn as her, if not more, he could never tell her that and how much he misses her."
"What in the world gave you that idea?"
"He told me so."
"Right, like Seifer Almasy, Balamb Garden's most heartless person, would tell you his feelings, if he even has any."
"Yes, he told me. He's stubborn but he did want Quistis to know how he felt. And since I'm one of her best friends then it was only natural for him to tell me. You know me and my big mouth."
Squall stifled a laugh. "Of course."
"He told me... He would never hurt Quistis because he loves her too much."
"Seifer? He's actually capable of love?"
"Yeah, now let me finish! He said he got drunk one night and after that, everything just got mixed up."
"I don't believe a damned word of it."
"Well, if it leads to Quistis' happiness..."
"Being with him won't do her any good! If you really want the best for her then you should let her and Seifer stay the way they are: apart."
"If she thinks he deserves a second chance then I do, too."
"He doesn't deserve anything. Don't you hate him for killing all your friends in Trabia and almost killing you?"
"I'm not one to hold a grudge. And frankly, I don't think it's about Seifer and the things he's done to people in the past. I think you're angry at him for stealing Rinoa away from you."
"I am angry at him for that! If it weren't for him then maybe we still could have had a chance to be happy together..."
'You're still hung up on her? You must love her very much to be missing her even now...' "Squall, I--"
"Selphie!" The rest of the cast members had arrived and were waving to the young brunette from their place by the entrance.
"I guess everyone's here," Selphie shrugged and got down from the stage. "Hey, guys!"
~*~*~*~
"Okay." Selphie sighed. The others surrounding her watched as she paced around the stage. "Seifer Almasy?"
"Here," Seifer said, dully.
"Uh huh... Well, Seifer here will be playing Stypher Strepe, drummer of Sofie's band. Next is...Jules Arc?"
"Present!" Jules stated, raising his hand. He had fiery red hair and seemed to be about sixteen to eighteen years old.
"Okay..." Selphie nodded. "Jules will be playing Mik Jekil, lead guitarist of Sofie's band. Now... Verne Chiu?"
Verne, a young man of about nineteen and whom had spiky black hair with blue streaks, raised his hand. "Yep."
"Verne will be playing Hyde Anseek, lead singer of the band. Garnet Lockheart?"
Squall turned his attention to a girl who had a striking resemblance to Rinoa. "Here!" Even her voice was like Rinoa's.
"Garnet will be Fiona Cassidy, Spall's girlfriend." Selphie paused for a second when she saw Squall staring at the Rinoa look-alike but shook her head and returned to announcing the roles.
~*~*~*~
Once everyone knew who was playing which character, they all had started on to rehearse their lines out loud. Selphie sat in the front row, watching as Squall and Verne were finishing their scene.
'Squall is a pretty good actor,' Selphie thought.
"I think that Sofie really likes you," Hyde said. They were rehearsing out a scene where Hyde was offering Spall to join him and the band on their tour that summer. Hyde was convinced that Sofie wanted to be more than friends with Spall and thought that if Spall had come with them, the two would perhaps get closer. "I know Sofie and I dunno anyone who she'd liked more than you."
"Absurd," Spall scoffed. "Sofie and I...it's just like ketchup and chocolate... It isn't a good combination."
"Ketchup and chocolate?! Man, I'd hate to know what you eat for dinner! Don't invite me to go eat at your place, okay?"
"I'd hate to know how many times you haven't brushed. Your breath stinks!"
"Ha! Well, the offer still stands. Change your mind anytime!"
"I'll keep that in mind. Just brush your teeth now."
"Hahaha! Sure, man!"
Selphie clapped as the two men got off stage.
"My breath doesn't really stink, does it?" Verne asked as he puffed onto Selphie's face.
Selphie coughed and waved a hand in front of her face. "Want a breath mint?"
"Oh damn! I finally got Xu to go out with me! Can't be having trash breath!" Selphie giggled as Verne rushed to the bathroom.
"Squall, you're a better actor than you think you are," the young girl complimented. "I really think you and Sofie make a good couple."
"What?"
Selphie blushed once she remembered what she had just said. "U-Um...so the next scene..." she stuttered, trying to change the subject. "Where's Quistis and Seifer? Hey, Raijin!"
Raijin came out. "What do ya need, ya know?" he asked. When he and Fujin found out that the leader of their posse was to perform in the play, they decided to take part in it, too. Raijin helped put up the set and did various jobs such as carrying props and improving the stage. Fujin had taken the role of Kasumi Yamazaki, the girlfriend of a character named Erwing Grey. Irvine was also in the play and was to be playing Erwing Grey. Selphie had long gotten over the fact that Irvine was with Fujin behind her back and actually asked them to be a part of the play. It was awkward at first but Selphie had truly forgiven them for what they had done and let it go. She had a feeling she and Irvine wouldn't have lasted that long, anyway.
"Could you go find Quistis and Seifer for me?" Selphie called out. "It's time for their scene."
"'Kay, I'll go and--"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the scream.
"That Verne..." Selphie muttered. "I wonder what happened to him now. He probably freaked out 'coz a hair was out of place..."
Sammie, a girl helping in setting up the play, came running in. "Everybody!" she said. "Come see what happened!!!"
They all ran to the bathroom and saw a trembling Verne outside by the door. His eyes were as wide as those of a deer in the headlights and his face looked ready to burst.
"D-Don't go in there..." Verne stammered.
"Verne, we all know how horrifying it is to see your face," Selphie said with a sigh. "You'll get over it."
"It ain't nuthin' like that, dummy!" he retorted.
"Then what's the matter?"
"T-Too...shocked...to tell..."
"Is the door open?" She rolled her eyes when he didn't reply and walked over to press her ear against the door.
"I thought it was locked!"
"Hey..." She gulped. "That's Seifer. You caught him while he was using the facilities, huh?" She didn't need to hear an answer when she heard another voice.
"It's hard to lock a door when you're too busy having someone stick their tongue down your throat!"
"QUISTIS!!!" Selphie barged in and found two red-faced blondes. Seifer was zipping up his pants while Quistis was buttoning her shirt. "Um...hiya... I see you two have made up? O-kay, I'm just gonna leave you two alone for a while... It's your turn to rehearse, that's all I wanna tell ya. Okay, okay, bye bye!" She closed the door and leaned against the door, trying to catch her breath.
"I can't believe you didn't lock the door!!!"
"It's hard to lock a door when someone just caught you in your underwear and in the middle of having se--"
"OKAY, PEOPLE, LET'S GO!!!" Selphie announced, ushering everybody back out. She sank into a chair and shook her head as slowly massaged her closed eyes. She looked up when she heard footsteps. "Well... You were right, Verne, that was truly a traumatizing experience."
"I told you," Verne replied breathlessly.
"Those two are so unpredictable," Selphie said as she began to regain her composure. "One minute, Quistis acts like she wants him dead and the next, she's half-naked and finding herself being caught in the bathroom in the middle of getting it on with him."
"Scary, isn't it?"
"Yeah," she laughed and quietly added, "And I thought me liking Squall was weird..."
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Did you say somethin'? Somethin' 'bout Squall?"
"No-Nothing!"
"Really, 'coz I coulda sworn that--"
"I-It's nothing!" She quickly got up to her feet. "Hehe... Okay, I believe we should go on to rehearsing? Quistis and Seifer should be out here anytime soon."
"Um...sure...whatever, Selphie. Hey, just be sure not to tell Jules 'bout the whole incident when he comes back from the cafeteria. He's a Trepie, you know how crazy those people can get when there's somethin' going on with Quistis and they just find out about it. Imagine how it'd be like when he finds out his "Golden-haired Goddess Trepe" was just caught with "That Lapbitch Almasy"."
"Heh, no way."
"'Kay. Oh hey, I'm gonna go get somethin' to eat, ya wanna come?"
Selphie didn't seem to hear Verne as her thoughts started to wander to the young brunet man leaning on the stage, reading his script. 'I wonder why I said I liked Squall... Well, of course I like him, he's my friend but... What if I said that because I liked him...more than friends? Oh, this is so confusing!'
"Selphie? ...Selphie!"
She discontinued her train of thoughts and blinked. "Um...yes, Verne? What is it?"
"Okay, so now you listen? I called your name like a million times, Selphie."
"I-I'm sorry... I just...y'know, dazed out."
"Well, I asked you if you wanted to come with me to eat. In the cafeteria. You know where that is, right? Or did you forget after your little trip?"
"Verne."
"What?"
"You're an idiot."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Let's go eat?"
Selphie sighed and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay, fifteen minute break!" She took the arm Verne held out for her and they walked out of the Quad.
"Hey, Selphie," Verne began. "About that Squall guy... You like him or somethin'?"
"Of course not!"
"Heh, 'coz I was wonderin'. So if you don't like him then why were you staring at him for like five minutes while I was calling your name?"
"Me? I wasn't staring at him!"
"I think you've got the hots for him."
"No way!"
"It's just a thought, of course. You'd make a pretty cute couple."
"...Dummy..."
They entered the cafeteria and went to get some food. After getting their lunch, they went to look for a table.
"Look, there's Jules," Verne said. They went to the table where the redhead was sitting at. "Hey."
"Hey, guys," Jules greeted.
"How are--" Selphie stopped when she spotted Raijin by himself at a table in the corner. 'That's strange... Raijin is hardly ever alone. He should at least be with Fujin or in the Quad waiting for Seifer...' She got up. "Guys, I'm gonna go and eat with Raijin, okay? You two just hang out here."
"Sure, Selphie..." Jules replied. "But why?"
"I might have something I need to talk with him about," she said. She gave them a nod and walked over to the dark-skinned man. "Hi, Raijin."
"Yo," he greeted.
"Mind if I sit here?"
"No prob."
"Thanks." She took a seat across from him and took a bite out of her chicken club sandwich. Raijin hunched over a piece of paper on the table and continued writing. "Hey, aren't you gonna eat your noodles?"
"Ha?" Raijin glanced at the big bowl of beef ramen at the side. "Later."
Selphie tilted her head to one side and eyed the piece of paper curiously. "What's that you're writing?"
His tan face then turned a shade of red as he tried to cover the paper with his large, muscular arms. "It's nothing, ya know!"
This caused the girl to get more curious and she leaned over to see what the paper was. She tried to push away his arms blocking her view. "Lemmie see!"
"It's none of your business, ya know!"
"Can I please see?"
"No!"
"Please?"
"Get away from me!"
"Pretty please?"
"No way!!"
"Wow, is that Tuba Pudding, Jr., the actor in the movie, "Pururun in Love"???!!!"
"WHERE?!" Raijin jumped out of his seat and began looking around. "Pururun? Pururun? Where are you???"
"Aha!" Selphie grabbed the paper and began to read it.
Hey,
What's up? I know we don't really know each other but I always used to see you hanging out with Squall and his friends. I was even surprised that you knew my name that day we talked. Remember? Look, I ain't no Squall or anything if he's the kind you go for but I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out with me or something. I thought you'd wanna have some fun after those guy troubles you told me about. I'm not asking if you wanna be my girlfriend or anything just to go out as friends. I'm working in the play so maybe after that we can go to the party they're having after the show. If you don't wanna go to the party then I can do anything you wanna do. Don't worry if you don't wanna go with me. I know a lot of women who don't like me and people sometimes say it would be hard for me to get a girl. I'm used to getting rejected and stuff. If you're ever free and you wanna hang out with me then I'd really be glad. Just tell me, OK? See you later.
-- Raijin
"So you like someone, huh?" Selphie grinned mischievously as she handed him back the letter.
Raijin seemed embarrassed, partly because he actually fell for the girl's trick but mostly because she had read his little note. He sat back down and quietly ate his noodles.
"Tell me who she is," Selphie said.
"No way."
"Fine, then I'll just follow you so I can see you give it to her."
"I'm gonna leave it in her room."
"Then I'll see whose room you'll go to."
"I'm gonna quit the play."
"What?!"
"I'm leavin' if you don't quit botherin' me, ya know!"
"Then just tell me, please?"
"No."
"Maybe I can hook you up with her."
"I don't need it."
"Oh, come on!"
Raijin ignored her and finished his bowl of ramen as quickly as he could. He pocketed the piece of paper and left.
'Geez, what's his problem?' Selphie wondered.
~*~*~*~
::Welcome to the Balamb Garden Festival Website!!!::
[Opening Night]
Balamb Garden's first play is tomorrow night...I'm so excited! I'm kinda nervous, though, but I have confidence in all the hard work put into our performance! Come one, come all to the quad, at 18:30! I hope this will be a hit...
Oh, did anyone know that one of the Disciplinary Committee members has a lil' crush on someone...? Tee-hee! I wonder who it is...
