Flower Garden
Rawr It's Kizami

Chapter Three: Declaration of War

Seifer Almasy was not happy. He was not amused, not pleased, and certainly got going to forget what had happened in the quad that afternoon. That preppy, new girl was starting to seriously grate on his already thin nerves, and she had only been at Balamb Garden for, what? Two days? LESS?

He slammed a heavy fist onto the granite countertop. His shoes, his uniform, his face, even his hair had had that sticky ice cream on it, and nobody, absolutely NOBODY, touched his hair. It had taken him nearly an hour in the shower to get the scent of vanilla out of his blond locks. For Hyne's sake, he didn't want to smell like a damn chick! He was going to get back at that little girl, and when he did, he would make sure she would never see it coming.

"…And then, that pigtailed girl told me they still didn't have it!" Zell exclaimed, his hands waving around in an exaggerated gesture as he recalled his story to a disinterested Irvine next to him. "I've been waiting over a month for 'Goodbye Pupurun!' Can you believe this crap?"

"As a matter of fact, I can," Irvine muttered in his Southern drawl as he helped himself to another cupcake. Shortly after Seifer had literally threw the cake back into the poor girl's face, another cute girl had wistfully presented Irvine with a plate of handmade cupcakes, which he graciously accepted, never mind that he had forgotten to ask her name after he had told her he would call her sometime.

Squall eyed Seifer curiously as Irvine and Zell, who was still complaining about that book, sat lazily on the couch in the lounge next to their private suite's mini-kitchen. Though the four of them sometimes didn't get along, they had grown up together and were practically all each other had since then. For as long as each of them could remember, they had been alone, coupled with nannies and boarding schools while their busy parents were off on business. Aside from Zell for the first several years of his life, the S4 never really had anyone who genuinely cared about them, until they met each other.

Zell had, as Squall believed, perhaps the best childhood out of all of them. His mother gave him love and care since the day he was born, despite that their living situation wasn't exactly the best. For the first four years of his life, he was raised in a tiny, rundown studio apartment in Balamb, until his mother, Ma Dincht, had started a small bakery in her home. Once she started to cater, first to family run coffee shops and eventually to large, upscale restaurants, her business really took off the ground, and Ma's Incorporation, which Zell called Ma's Favorite Child, was born. She started to spoil him with everything she couldn't afford before, but in order to keep this rich lifestyle, she started to work more and he scarcely saw her. By the time he was seven, she was hardly home at all. To an adolescent young boy in need of his Ma's love, he felt abandoned and forgotten.

Irvine, on the other hand, never knew his parents. From the ripe young age of five, he was sent off to Galbadia to be raised by his traditional, yet unconventionally youthful grandfather. He had told Squall once, in a drunken stupor after the four of them had gone out to Balamb for a night, that for as long as he could remember, his grandfather would bring home a different woman every night and in the morning, before young Irvine would wake, she would be gone. Squall remembered scoffing at that, having finally realized where the cowboy got his playboy trait. There was more to it, however, that he and the rest of S4 eventually became aware of; growing up, Irvine never had a prominent female presence in his life. No sister, no aunt, no grandmother, not even a mother. Having suffered from a lack of female affection, he was now making up for it with nearly the entire female population of Garden.

As much as he would refuse to accept it, Squall knew that he and Seifer were more similar than either would admit. They both grew up similarly, with Squall's father, Laguna Loire, the President of Esthar and travel journalist extraordinaire, traveling around Gaia on business, and Seifer's parents busily occupying themselves with managing the omnipresent Almasy Group and playing with their rich toys, the Almasy Foundation for Troubled Youths being their favorite.

Squall was unsure if he should sit next to the clearly irritated man. What would he say? "Hey, Seifer, don't let it get you down, she's just a nobody"? He shook his head. That would just make it worse; it would mean that he, a member of the powerful S4, was humiliated by a nobody. But mostly, it sounded too much like something Zell would say, and if he could help it, Squall wouldn't be caught dead saying something like the hyperactive martial artist.

When Seifer's fiery green eyes darted at Squall, he knew he had to sit. Once he complied, an uncomfortable silence fell over the two men as Zell and Irvine's chatter flew over them. Though the two of them rarely got along, their relationship was a lot better than the one between the two blonds; hardly a moment would pass by without Seifer egging Zell on with an insult or two. Squall knew that, nonetheless, when it came down to it, they would stick up for each other. Much like the way that girl had stuck up for her fallen friend that afternoon.

Squall cleared his throat; Seifer had drifted back into what he knew to be murderous thoughts, and an idea had popped into the brunet's head. Why hadn't he thought of this sooner? It was ridiculous the way the four of them had utterly forgotten about it, but then again, it wasn't particularly a big deal to them. It was just Seifer who remained obsessively fixated on it.

"What, Puberty Boy?" Seifer growled, not feeling quite as amused as usual when he uttered his nickname for Squall.

"If you're that upset," Squall began, pausing when his companion interrupted by assuring him that he was that upset, "then why don't we just handle this the way we usually do?"

The blond blinked blankly before narrowing his eyes into a confused glare.

"Tag her."

Seifer's eyes suddenly widened with a gleeful glint. "Fuck yes!" he cried, gathering the attention of Irvine and Zell, who had stolen one of the former's cupcakes and was chewing a bite with frosting stuck on his upper lip. "Didn't know you were hiding a brain in that empty skull!"

"Whatever." Squall crossed his arms, unamused.

Seifer, however, was feeling quite joyous as he returned to his dorm, the other three members of S4 watching him curiously. Not even the still present smell of vanilla on his hair could bring him down.

-x-

That morning, Selphie awoke feeling refreshed and extremely happy, despite that it was six in the morning. She was super proud of herself and the way she had handled that situation yesterday-she FINALLY gave that dumb blond what he had coming! She frowned as she curled her hair into her trademark flip; she knew that Seifer had much more than just an ice cream to the face coming, but under the circumstances, it was all she had available.

An hour and half later, Selphie slid open her door and bounced out into the hallway. Empty. Strange, seeing as at the same time yesterday her hall-mates were lazying around in the lounge, waiting to head off to class. She shrugged it off and when she turned to shut her door, spotted an unfamiliar red card taped onto it, right under her room number and name plate.

Thinking nothing of it, Selphie snatched the card off. Red, red, red. How unoriginal, she thought as she took sight of the skull and crossbones. It would have looked much better had they used yellow! Rolling her eyes at the stupid prank, she carelessly tossed the card to the ground. A much better prank would have been sticking duct tape to the floor right outside of her dorm so that when she stepped out, she'd get stuck to the floor! Geez, she sighed, how uncreative!

Humming a tune to herself, she skipped her way to class. Selphie couldn't wait to tell Instructor Trepe all about the ideas she had come up with to raise money for the festival! The one she was the most excited about was the bake sale; after seeing that unfortunate girl present that tyrant with a cake, she just knew that there must be more students who knew how to bake, and bake well at that.

As soon as she entered the classroom, she could tell something was off. The atmosphere was cold, uninviting. Tentatively, the brunette walked over to her desk, and instead, found an empty gap. She threw her gaze around the room-they were all staring, no, leering at her. Selphie couldn't understand it; what had she done to deserve this kind of treatment?

"Selphie!" a voice from the hallway screamed.

She instantly recognized it; it was Rinoa's, and it sounded like she needed help! Selphie's first instinct was to quickly dash outside, realizing that because the raven-haired girl was connected to her, the students would give Rinoa the same harsh treatment they were giving her.

As soon as she pulled open the partially open door, a white powder was instantaneously dumped all over the top of her head, staining her face and her pristine uniform. A quick inspection of the powder told her that it was flour, and she scowled slightly; maybe some of these students were a little too enthusiastic about baking.

Selphie stepped outside and instantly saw Rinoa held in the clutches of a bigger male student she didn't recognize, with a throwing dagger, probably his weapon of choice, held against her throat. She felt her anger boiling inside her-they could bully her all they wanted, but when they involved one of her friends, then that was another matter entirely. She immediately rushed to her friend's side.

Rinoa was suddenly released from her captor. When Selphie looked at her questioningly, she turned away ashamedly and ran through the quickly forming crowd of classmates.

She had abandoned her. Rinoa had blatantly abandoned her, even after she had so valiantly stood up for her yesterday. Hurt, but neither surprised nor angry, Selphie glanced around the circle of students around her, and spotted her desecrated desk several feet away. Harsh words and cruel names such as 'wench' and 'outsider' were carved onto it. As her hand traced along the carved lines, her eyes stared into each haughty gaze that watched her.

"Well what are you guys waiting for?" Selphie shouted defiantly, her face supporting a shadow of her usual smile and her hands fisted on her hips as she assumed her usual perky self. "Go on! If you added eggs, you could make pancakes!"

The mob around her, to her surprise, started to pelt her with eggs. Once the first egg hit her square in the back, Selphie pushed her way through the crowd and ran down the hall. When she had said they could make pancakes, she hadn't thought they would have taken her seriously! As another egg cracked open against her shoulder, she ran faster and ducked around a corner.

-x-

Seifer smirked at the images on the screen. He, Squall, and Irvine remained in the suite's lounge, watching the results of their tagging Selphie on the television, as they did with each of their victims. It delighted him to torture this little brunette more than he would admit; nobody touched his hair.

On the couch next to him, Squall shook his head. In the beginning, when they had first formed the S4, they had tagged people who disobeyed Garden rules as a form of punishment. Over time, it had mutated from the disciplining, noble arrangement into the sick, twisted version it was today. Now, they tagged anybody they deemed fit, from students who snuck out of Garden late at night to those that they chose out of pure pride. (He recalled sometime last term when Irvine had suggested they tag this girl who had flat out refused to go out with him and, after the treatment she endured, ended up transferring to Galbadia.)

Irvine, from his seat at the counter, chuckled. "She's a tough lil lady, I'll give 'er that much." He quickly glanced around the spacious room, taking note that the tattooed member's door was open and the room empty. "Where's Zell?"

Squall shrugged. He knew, though, that the short blond was most likely somewhere eating his daily dose of hotdogs. "This is usually the end," he stated, as Selphie ducked into a dark corner and out of sight.

In mock anguish, Irvine took his hat into his hands and held it over his heart, a phony expression of sincerity on his face. "Poor lil Selphie. I knew she wouldn't last long."

Finally tearing his eyes away from the screen, Seifer turned to the other two members of S4. "No," he corrected smugly, "It's over when she comes crawling on her hands and knees, begging for forgiveness."

Irvine and Squall exchanged unsure looks. They knew how stubborn, and even dunderheaded at times, Seifer could be.

"Just wait," Seifer continued. "I bet you she'll come in at any minute."

The three men turned their attention to the door.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. Squall suppressed a smirk as he turned back to the other men. He hadn't expected anything anyway.

"You'll see. They always come crawling."

-x-

Selphie panted, trying desperately to catch her breath. She had finally lost the mob behind her! Closing her eyes and relaxing her weight against the railing behind her, she groaned tiredly. Those Garden students, with all the training they've had and were taking, could really run! Honestly, she hadn't expected them to put up such a dauntless chase! Luckily for her, Selphie ran much faster; being perky also meant having an abundant amount of stamina! She held her head up proudly. Those shallow Gardeners, as she came to call the blind followers of the SeeD 4 (or StupiD 4 as she liked to say), could SUCK it!

She shook her head, the loose flour powdering out of her hair and off her face. She didn't really know where else to run to, so she found herself at the same staircase she had met Zell on. When the hyper girl had arrived, she found it odd that it was usually empty aside for the blond.

"Selphie!" a familiar deep voice called.

"Zell!" she called back as he stopped in front of her, a plate of hotdogs in his hand. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my hotdog eating spot," he replied before taking a large bite. "But it'th godden a lot noisier hurr. I mide hafta fine another spah."

"Bummer," Selphie commented, sheepishly wiping some flour from her face. "It's my fault. I'm sorry, Zell!"

"Don't be!" he responded, offering her a hotdog at which she shook her head. "This wouldn't have happened if only I'd said something yesterday." In a self-centered rage Selphie had never seen before, Zell punched the wall with his free hand and froze in position. "Truth is, me and Seifer don't get along that well. He's just an asshole!"

"No kidding!" Selphie agreed, eyes widening at the depth of the hole in the wall when Zell removed his gloved fist. "But I'm not going to let him win! I'm gonna show that choco-poo who's boss!"

Laughing at her determined defiance, Zell pulled out of his pocket a silk, white handkerchief embroidered 'ZD' and wiped away the flour from her surprised face. Selphie was touched. If he weren't holding that tray of food and her uniform covered in the white powder, she would have pounced on him and given the martial artist a tight bear hug!

Giggling like the schoolgirl she was, Selphie took the cloth from his hand and peered up at his baby-blue eyes. "I'll clean this up and give it back to you as soon as I can!"

The sounds of clamoring students got louder, and a panicked look briefly flashed across Selphie's features. She glanced back at Zell, who supported a somewhat annoyed expression.

"I don't think I'll be coming back here," he told her, his expression now one of disappointment. "It's time to find another spot."

-x-

Clutching onto Zell's handkerchief, Selphie slowly opened the door to the classroom and peeked inside. Sighing in relief at the sight of the emptiness, she straightened up and walked inside. Stupid, stupid, how could she have been so utterly stupid? She almost laughed out loud at how reckless she had been that morning, especially to have left her bag in class!

As she approached her desk, which had been replaced and was shining with novelty, Selphie noticed a stuffed bear sitting next to her schoolbag. Excited yet apprehensive at the same time, she tentatively reached forward and picked up the doll. 'Press Here!' a little tag on its paw read. Well, Selphie had never been one to refuse the press of a button! As her thumb and forefinger pressed together against the tiny mechanism hidden in the paw, her tentative smile stretched into a full-fledged grin.

"I'm sorry, Selphie!" Rinoa's voice rang out from the bear. "I was a coward this morning. Please forgive me!"

"Of course I forgive you," Selphie replied to the voice-recorded message, hugging the bear close with one arm as she slung her bag over her shoulder with the other. "And don't worry, Rin-Rin," she continued, shooting the empty class another quick glance, "I'm a lot tougher than I look!"

-x-
(To be continued.)

Hmm… I feel like the ending's so… cliched for this chapter, haha! And the beginning's like these big blocks of text. :