Hanging up the phone after speaking to Sharon, Gina looked over at Tiffany who was gathering up all her stuff to go take a shower.
"Hey Tiff, would you mind making sure you got some clothes on when you get out of the bathroom? Sharii's coming over to watch some anime."
Tiffany gave a heavy sigh and grabbed her flip-flops. "Y'all and that anime. I swear, you guys need a life."
Gina sighed herself, already getting annoyed. "Just make sure you got something on, ok?"
Tiffany disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door.
Relieved at the silence that greeted her once Tiffany went into the bathroom, she opened up Windows Media Player and unplugged her headphones. Let me see, which episode did Sharii leave off of on Kodocha? Browsing through the collection of CDs she recently got off of Ebay, she settled on just starting from Episode 22 and going from there. Even if they had already happened to see it, they could still watch the same episodes over and over again and laugh like it was the first time they've watched it.
Hearing a knock at the door, Gina's eyes brightened. It had been awhile since Sharon had been over to Swanson, and it would be nice to have someone in the room that she could actually talk to without getting annoyed. "You can come in!" She called out, slipping the correct CD into her computer.
Looking over at the doorway, Gina almost had a heart attack when she saw Squall in the doorframe instead of Sharon. She should have noticed something was up when the door didn't just whip open after the knock, because that's what Sharon usually does. But hey, it had been a while.
And right now, she wasn't sure what to make of this situation at hand. What the hell is he doing in my dorm?
Stepping into the room completely and letting the door close behind him, he stood by the sink uneasily. "... do you have Math 110?"
Forcing her mouth to open, she croaked out "Uh... yeah, I do."
"I was wondering if you could help me with a particular math problem."
Gina's eyebrow raised slightly. Squall... asking for help? I think hell froze over. "What chapter is it in?"
"Chapter 7."
Oh crap. I don't think I went to class enough to know what kind of problems were even in Chapter 7. Shrugging off the thought, she was determined not to let this kind of opportunity pass. How many people could say that they helped out Mr. Silent-Angst? Remembering that he was still standing next to the sink, she jumped up and grabbed Tiffany's computer chair. "Here, have a seat and I'll see what I can do for you," She said as she dumped all of Tiffany's crap on the floor.
Sitting down slowly, Squall glanced around the dorm casually. "Are you sure your roommate won't mind?"
"Oh, Tiff? No, she's in the shower right now anyway, and it'll be hours before she gets out." Picking up her math book, she turned to where she hoped Chapter 7 was. "Now, what kind of problem are you having trouble with?"
Much to her relief, he could point out exactly what part of the problem he didn't quite understand, and Gina used what she learned from Mr. Givens' Calculus class back in high school to work out the problem efficiently. All the while she was helping him dissect the math problem, she kept glancing up at him, watching his expression as he figured out how to work it. She couldn't help but wonder if she should ask him about this thing that was to go down this weekend with Seifer, or to just leave it alone. Gina, stop daydreaming. She blinked as if to wake herself up from a dream, and was surprised to see that not only had Squall finished the problem, but also three others just like it while she was off in la la land.
Putting away her math book and calculator, Gina tried to come up with a way to maybe get him to open up or something, since he was already here. It must've taken a lot for him to come down here and ask me of all people for help. She sat up straight in her computer chair and looked over. "Hey, do you watch any anime?"
Squall raised an eyebrow. "Anime?"
"Yeah, Japanese animation. A cartoon sort of thing."
He paused. "I don't watch cartoons."
"But this is different! Many more interesting themes come out of anime than just plain stupidity like Bugs Bunny or something like that. I have some on my computer right now called Kodomo no Omocha. Want to watch an episode and see if you'd like it?"
"... no, thanks." Squall rose from the chair and started to leave.
"Please? Just one episode. I guarantee that you'll be laughing so hard at it, promise." Promise? Oh, hello, earth to Gina! Mr. Silent-Squall isn't going to laugh, it's a miracle that he said more than two words to you! But Gina just wanted him to stay, because maybe she could get him to say more about himself or something.
She held her breath as he paused and looked back at her quizzically, hoping and praying that she wouldn't get yet another "whatever" from him, even though she had a one in a billion chance of not getting that response.
"Alright."
Gina checked to see if he was sane. "Alright?"
"I'm curious, now," Squall sat back down in Tiffany's computer chair, and faced Gina's computer screen.
She could barely contain herself as she shakily moved the mouse up to File on the menu. YES! I got him to stay! Now, which episode should I pick? Should it be the one where Sana falls from the gym ceiling, or the one where Hayama called Tsuoshi-kun's father a bald asshole, or maybe the silly glasses episode... Stopping her brain from spinning, she realized that the best episode to start off with would probably just be the first episode. After all, he wouldn't be able to understand why Sana was jumping from a gym ceiling, or the bald asshole part, and let alone the silly glasses. Finding Kodocha Episode 1, she maximized the Windows Media Player screen and sat a distance back from screen so Squall would have a chance to see.
Even though the episode was hilarious as it had always been, Gina kept her cool and refused to laugh at the parts that would normally have her rolling on the floor. Checking over periodically at his expression, she was half relieved to see that it wasn't the blank stare he gave almost everything else, but the one he used when watching GTA in the lobby the other day. But the rest of his expression... he could've been watching a documentary of how George Bush came to be in office or something, the way it stayed neutral.
By the end of the episode, Gina was really concerned. What the hell, is he really that drawn into himself that he can't laugh at stuff that's obviously funny? She reached over and clicked the stop button on the computer, and turned to look at him. "Uh, so how'd you like it?"
Squall didn't even blink. Or twitch. Or move. It was if she was looking at a picture of him instead of an actual person. Beginning to wonder if he fell asleep with his eyes open, she suppressed the urge to wave her hand in front of his face. Blinking in confusion, she moved forward and dared to tap his shoulder, but then she noticed that his shoulders started shaking. Stepping back in surprise, Gina took in the scene.
Squall had stopped trying to contain his laughter, and he just burst out in a hearty laugh that he hadn't done in... well, years. Putting a hand to his forehead as he laughed, he was surprised to see that tears were strolling down his cheeks. How long as it been since I laughed?
All Gina could do is stand there and gape at him. If she started to analyze the irony of this situation, her brain would explode, she just knew it. So she just took in how much cuter he looked when he laughed (since this would probably never happen again, she reasoned), and was beginning to laugh herself when there was a knock at her door.
Directly after the knock, the door opened, and in walked Sharon. Gina got her second shock of the day when she saw clumps of snow stuck in her friend's hair, and slush dripping off of her jacket. Her eyes widened even more when the door opened a second time and Irvine walked in, looking just as wrecked as Sharon.
She just gaped. "What HAPPENED?"
Sharon rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Ask him."
Irvine grinned and tipped the edge of his hat to Gina, causing a mound of snow to fall on the ground. "Oops."
Then they both looked past Gina and let their jaws drop to the floor at the sight of Squall Leonhart laughing so hard that his face was red, and his eyes were filled with tears.
"Holy shit. This is a Kodak moment. No, this is a Guinness Book of World Records moment. No, scratch that, it's fucking impossible," Sharon gawked.
Gina started to nod in agreement, when she was distracted by the sound of the door opening again. Only this time it wasn't the dorm door, it was the bathroom door, and Tiffany chose that time to step out of the bathroom. Her arms full with shampoo bottles and a hairdryer... and she was wearing nothing but a yellow towel.
Freeze frame.
Squall abruptly stopped laughing and stared at Tiffany, wide eyed.
Sharon blinked absently at her, not really surprised since she knew how often Tiffany liked to walk around in a half-undressed state.
Irvine half opened his mouth as if to say something, thought against it, and shut it.
Gina however, was the first one to snap out of it, and speak.
"What in the hell, I TOLD YOU TO COME OUT WITH CLOTHES ON!"
Tiffany looked astonished that Gina would dare attack her right after a shower. "I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY GOING TO BE SHARON COMING IN HERE!"
"THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE THE FACT THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY CLOTHES ON, AFTER I KINDLY ASKED YOU TO PUT SOME ON BEFORE YOU STEPPED OUT OF THE BATHROOM! I'M TIRED OF HAVING THIS ARGUMENT WITH YOU DAY AFTER DAY!"
"WELL, I'M TIRED OF YOU INVITING EXTRA PEOPLE OVER HERE DAY AFTER DAY!"
Gina's eye twitched. What the hell... "THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I INVITED ANYBODY OVER IN MONTHS!"
"Hey, can I see that hair dryer right quick?" Sharon cut in.
Tiffany blinked at Sharon as if she grew four heads, then turned back to Gina. "THAT'S NO EXCUSE TO HAVE A DAMN PARTY IN THE DORM WHILE I'M IN THE SHOWER!"
"A PARTY? MORE PEOPLE WOULD BE WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR IF I WAS THROWING A DAMN PARTY!"
As soon as Gina gestured towards the door to emphasize her point, the door whipped open once again, and Zell hopped in.
"I thought I heard your voice from down the hall, Gina! Guess what I just found out? They're doing a buy two, get one free special going on at the Einstein Brothers Bagels place, and I was coming in to see if you would like to come with me to... IUSDFHADFAHHHHHHHH!" He caught sight of Tiffany out of the corner of his eye, and jumped approximately ten feet in the air.
Not knowing what to do, especially since there was a new abrupt addition to the room, Tiffany shoved the hairdryer in Sharon's hands, backed up into the bathroom, and slammed the door. The sound of the inside door lock could be heard as it clicked in place.
Irvine turned to Zell. "Man, what'd you scream like that for? I think you hurt her feelings."
Zell shrugged. "Dude, I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting her to be half naked in my peripheral vision, that's all." He looked past everyone and caught sight of Gina's duffel bag half opened on the floor, revealing part of her vast video game collection. "Oh sweet! You have Devil May Cry!" Making his way over to the duffel bag, he entertained himself by shuffling through the games.
Sharon plugged the hair dryer into the socket next to the sink and began blow-drying her hair.
Squall, who was feeling pretty awkward, stood and regained his composure. With a glance over at Gina, he moved around everyone in the commotion and slipped out quietly.
Having been the only person noticing Squall's exit, Gina wondered if he would ever be back to watch more Kodocha. Probably will be, seeing the reaction I got after just the first episode. Grinning slightly at the thought that she was finally getting him to loosen up, she looked over at Sharon struggling to blow dry the back of her head. After watching her many attempts falter for a while, Irvine stepped over and grabbed hold of the hairdryer. Sharon automatically tried to yank it back, shooting visual death rays at him. He just stood there calmly returning the glare, and soon her expression faltered as she released the hair dryer in silent defeat. Smiling in victory, he proceeded to gently run the dryer through her hair.
If life was an anime, Gina would've fallen on the ground with her feet sticking straight up in the air. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she knew that something happened between the two of them. Sharon just didn't give into defeat, at least, not that easily. She'd have to interrogate her later.
"DAMN! I ALMOST FORGOT!" Zell jumped up from the little ring of video games surrounding him. "I GOTTA GET MY FREE HOT DOGS BEFORE THEY RUN OUT!" Jumping clear over the pile of games, he sprinted for the door, and grabbed Gina's arm as he opened the door. "C'mon! You gotta go too! You don't need a coat; if you run fast enough, you won't have time to feel it. Let's go!"
Gina laughed as she let herself be dragged out of her dorm. Yeah sure, it was probably 25 degrees outside, but she didn't let herself care for once. When Zell takes control of the reins, there was no turning back.