cloudstrifejenYou know…sometimes I wonder that, too…Ha ha! Kidding! Kidding! Or maybe I'm not. (mischievous grin) Thank you, however! Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the last!!
SilverWhiteDragon: Well, it's a "confession" (and I quote) because you got to delve into Squall's mind…or at least see some of the anger and frustration he has towards Seifer. Completely disregarding the fact that I might have forgotten to change the title before I posted! Ha ha. (nervous laughter)
rikuprincess: Awe!! Thank you! I tried to get this updated as soon as I could, but with school and studying for the WEEs (our senior exit exams) I just didn't have much time to work on it! I'm sorry! I promise the next one won't take as long to update! (gives you a cookies)
Faith1: Ha. Well, since you reviewed/read, I did update this pretty quickly! …I think. Heh. Anyway! Maybe this chapter has something of what you're expecting…or maybe not! I'm not gonna spoil it for you!
Love Psycho: Your review block plus my writers block does not bode well! Eh? Anyway! (jacks cupcake) SWEET! Cupcakes! (happily munches on cupcake like Usagi/Sailor Moon) Yay! (looks at Sprite and then back to you) Got milk:D Ha ha. Anyway! Thanks for the review!!
To my readers: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. It's been hellish, what with studying for the WEEs and whatnot. (P.S: WEEs are our high school's senior exit exams.) That and this project for Advanced Bio, ugh. But I promise that the next chapter won't take as long! At least I hope. Once again! My apologies and enjoy after the disclaimer. Thank you!
Disclaimer: Nope! They still won't sell me the characters!!
Chapter seven: Intrude
Quistis nodded and walked into the main hall of Galbadia Garden, students and the other three instructors following. Everyone stopped in the middle of the room and the vast majority of the students looked around in awe at the expanse of the Garden. Since most had never been outside of Balamb, they could only gape at the massive size of the inner hall. A few students commented that the hall itself was larger than Balamb Garden as a whole.
An attendee was there in the center of the hall to meet them. She bowed as Quistis approached her, Selphie and the others waiting back with the students. She returned the motion and as she stood straight, the attendee spoke.
"The Headmaster asked that you meet him in his office; if you would like to follow me," she said and Quistis nodded. Before following the female attendant, Quistis turned towards the other instructors and gave them the notion to wait. They understood and the female turned and followed the attendant to the headmaster's office.
They traced up the stairs to the right in the center corridor, arriving at a locked door. The attendee punched in the pass code and the door slid open, allowing them both to enter. She motioned towards the couches and as Quistis walked completely in, she bowed out. "He'll be with you in a moment." Quistis nodded as the other female left the room.
Quistis looked around. The room had not much changed since the last time they had been in the room – when they went to speak with Headmaster about the sorceress last year. The couch and chairs still sat in the middle of the room with a clear coffee table between them, the windows were letting in the vast majority of light – which had Quistis wondering why the lamp in the corner of the room was even on.
As she continued to look around, the headmaster of the school walked into the room. She immediately went into a bow.
"Sir," she said as she stood straight.
"Ms. Treppe, it's been a while since the last time we had spoken," Martine said, walking up to the female instructor.
"So it has."
"Balamb Garden still the same as it was last year?"
Quistis nodded slightly as Martine walked around the couches and to the window. "It's calmed down since then," she spoke as she watched him walk. "Now that the war's over, everyone's settled back in, classes have resumed, and the students seem not to mind."
Martine nodded absentmindedly as he placed his left hand on the windowsill. He brought his attention back to Quistis, an eyebrow raised, suddenly looking quite curious. "I hear Cid retired." He was confirmed with a nod from the blonde. He turned his head to stare at a section of the couch. "I see. He was a good man."
"That he was, sir," she replied, wondering why the headmaster was making small talk when she had students waiting in the main hall.
He focused his attention back to the instructor. "Best headmaster Balamb ever had or could ever have, if you ask me." Quistis sighed and forced a smile, shaking her head, as if agreeing. "It's a shame he retired. I bet your Garden isn't the same without him, eh?" He chuckled and began to walk to the coffee table where a setup of gins and tonics lay. "Why was it he retired, anyway?" He asked Quistis as he began to fix himself a drink.
"I believe it had to do with having some extra time," she said, crossing her arms, not seeing why this had relevance to them being at the Garden.
Martine nodded, dropping ice cubes into his drink. "Ah, that's unlike Cid, I must say – would you like a drink?"
"No thank you."
"Well, whoever his replacement can't be as good as he was. Top notch of his age, wasn't he?" He took a sip of the drink. "I just hope your Garden manages fine without him around—"
"Squall is an excellent headmaster, sir. Cid would not have put someone in charge that he could not trust the Garden to," Quistis interrupted him, seeming slightly agitated.
"Oh, I'm not saying that Cid would, I'm only saying that – wait. Squall…" He seemed to try jogging his memory, the name seeming familiar to him. His eyes lit up, remembering the name. "Ah, that young boy from last year?" Quistis nodded. "He was the leader of his squadron last year, correct? In the attempt to take down the Sorceress?"
"Yes sir. Cid asked him to take over his place as Headmaster last year – and so Squall accepted. He was able to reorganize the Garden during and after the war to prevent complete chaos among the students and other SeeD cadets."
Martine's eyebrows rose. "I see." His expression changed and he laughed. "Well, then! Odds are you're not here for small talk," he said, chuckling slightly as he took another sip of his drink before setting it down on the table. "I've checked with the instructors, telling them about your arrival and whether or not extra students will be joining their classes; all has been cleared and everything's set up. I only ask a few things." He paused here, becoming very serious as he eyed Quistis. She seemed not phased in the slightest, her attention still focused. "Be sure to alert the instructors of the classes that you will be attending before the class starts and – for the main part – if there are any mishaps whatsoever from any of your students or instructors, I warn you that you will be immediately reported to the exit."
Quistis gave a quid motion with her head. "We – the instructors and students – understand the position. We have explained this to our students and we can promise you that everything will be in order."
Martine shook his head. "I'm glad to see that we're on the same page here, then." His expression changed once more, his previous expression coming back. "Well, in that case, I better let you get back to your students before they stir a riot wanting their instructor back, eh?" He laughed, motioning to the door. Quistis followed him to the closed door and as it slid open, he turned to face the blonde. "Good luck, instructor Treppe."
She nodded, gave her thanks, and left the room, the door sliding shut behind her. She sighed and headed down the stairs, into the corridor, and out into the main hall where the others and students waited. They had all begun chatting hastily, laughing about Hyne only knew. As Quistis approached the others, Selphie was the first to see her and when she stopped in front of them, Zell let a quirky grin cover his face.
"So how'd it go? We set?" She nodded. "Sweet!"
"So when do we get to split up?" Selphie asked as she did a skip-step towards the blonde.
"Here in a minute." She walked to the center of the hall and whistled, getting the students attention. They all focused their attention to her, instantly quieting down. She waited until every student had gone quiet before she spoke. She cleared her throat. "Thank you," she spoke, mentioning the fact that the students went quiet for her to speak. She looked around the group of students. "Now, does everyone here remember the numbers that were assigned to them last night?" She watched as most students nodded and others said 'yes ma'am.' "Good. Listen closely to receive instruction on which instructor you'll be with regarding those numbers. Everyone who received a number one—" she watched as some students perked up. "You are group number one and you will be going with Selphie Timlitt." She motioned toward Selphie who waved to the students whose eyes were on her. Quistis continued. "Group number two, you will be with Zell Dincht—" He held up a peace sign as students glanced over to him. "Group three will head out with Irvine Kinneas," she said as she pointed to Irvine, before rolling her eyes when he pointed to himself and grinned. "And as for group four, you'll be with me. Now, if everyone would get with their appropriate groups, we can separate and have a tour of the Garden."
Talking erupted as the students began to split into their separate groups. They waved to other friends when they had been put in opposite groups just before everyone began to walk in different directions.
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Seifer sighed and let his head hit the wall with a thud. He had just exited the Training Center, and even fighting could not take his mind off of earlier events. He banged his head on the wall several more times before just letting it rest.
Damn it, he cursed. How the hell am I gonna get Leonheart to open up now?
"Shit!" He hit the wall with his fist.
The expression of Squall's face flashed back into his mind. He let his expression calm, his green eyes staring at the space on the wall.
"I'm sorry – I won't – I promise—"
Seifer shook his head and pulled back on the wall. He stared blankly at the wall, face twisted into a look of confusion. The echo inside his head continued and he shook his head again. Squall's voice? Déjà vu? He bit his bottom lip and moved his head to look off to the side, fist still on the wall. He took his head down, and put his index and middle fingers on his head. Hyne, I'm losing it!
He brought his attention to two people who began walking to the Training Center – one male; one female. He caught a piece of their conversation before they walked out of sight.
"Don't worry! You'll be fine," the male said as he faced her and grinned. "If anything goes wrong, I'll be there to protect you!" He slung his arm around her shoulder. She grabbed the cuff of his sleeve and removed his arm.
"Oh, yes," she replied as she rolled her eyes. "You'll protect me? Correction there, buddy," she patted him on the shoulder. "I'll be making sure you don't get your arse handed to you." He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. She stuck out her tongue as she continued. "You forget; who's the one who kicked your arse the other week during class?"
He sighed and muttered, "You did."
She nodded. "Right. And who's the one who currently has a ten in class?"
He sighed again. "You do."
"Exactly," she said, nodding again.
Seifer watched as the two disappeared from sight, recognizing that both of them were from his class. He thought about whether or not to hang around and see if either one came running from the Training Center, screaming about a T-Rexaur, but decided against it and turned on his heel, heading to his dorm to change clothes.
As he walked down the hall with his hands shoved in his pockets, he wondered where the rest of the students were that were not going on the field trip. More than likely, the majority had gone into town looking for something to do while the rest hung back to work on assignments. He walked up the slope to the dormitories and under the overhang before splitting to his left for his own dorm room. He input the combination to open his room and the door slid open; he walked in, the door sliding shut.
Giving it some thought, he decided to go ahead and take the initiative to the showers, figuring it would be best to take it in the early evening rather than get up early in the morning. He grabbed a clean white shirt out of the top dresser drawer as well as a pair of clean boxers. He grabbed a towel from the top of his dresser and headed to the restroom down the hall after making sure his dorm room was locked. He slung the towel over his shoulder.
As he arrived at the restroom, he turned the handle and walked in. His eyes widened at the sight he walked in on, the towel falling from his shoulder, clothes hitting the tiled floor as they slipped from his hands. He jerked his hand up and placed it across his eyes.
"Ah, shit! Sorry!"
Squall stood in front of the mirror, hands stopped through his wet hair, and a towel wrapped lightly around his waist. His eyes shot open and his face went red. Seifer bent down and groped around for his fallen items, all the while saying 'damn it' and 'sorry.' Seifer brought down his hand as he stood and gave a lopsided grin. The brunette crossed his arms in an inconspicuous way to hide his torso.
"Would it kill you to knock?" Squall asked in an agitated voice, trying to keep the burning in his cheeks down.
Seifer's nervous grin dropped and he scoffed. "How about locking the door?" He retorted, sneering. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about this problem."
Squall rolled his eyes. "That wouldn't be so difficult if the lock wasn't broken." He gave Seifer a stern look as the blonde continued to stand in the doorway.
"So fix it. Wow. That's a tough thing to figure out." His eyes trailed to where Squall had his arms across his chest; chill bumps had begun to form on his arms.
"Yeah, if someone hadn't literally stolen the lock." Squall continued to stare at Seifer, bluish gray eyes piercing through him.
Seifer's eyes trailed up his neckline.
"Stole it, huh?"
And across his shoulders and down his abdomen.
"Yeah…" Squall replied, now giving Seifer a curious, but still agitated, stare.
Unconsciously, Seifer let his eyes drift lower and lower until they stopped at the white towel that was limped slightly around his waist. He paused for a moment, eyes not even blinking and Squall shifted uncomfortably, face reddening even more. He swallowed. "What?" He asked in a nervous tone. Seeming to come back to reality, Seifer blinked a few times and shook his head, focusing his attention back on Squall's eyes, shooting him another glare.
He put his hand on his hip. "Since when do you take your shower in the evening? You're more of a morning person anyway."
Squall shrugged and averted his eyes off to the side of Seifer's head, staring at the paint on the wall. "I – I don't know…" he trailed off.
Why's he suddenly stuttering? The question randomly popped into Seifer's head. He crossed his arms and raised a brow as he started at Squall, waiting for him to continue.
"When I uh," he stared down at the tile by his feet. "I mean, you were…" he paused and brought his attention back to Seifer who was still giving him an annoyed look. He tensed and cleared his throat. "I didn't want to chance walking in on anyone again. Since everyone seems so intent on taking theirs in the morning."
Seifer covered a laugh by coughing. "Oh-ho!" He cried out as he bent his torso slightly. He smirked. "You're referring to when you walked in on me." He snickered as he watched Squall's expression change, his shoulders hunched up a bit and he shrunk back. "Hm, I thought as much." He shrugged. "Didn't think you'd change your schedule because of one incident." He laughed and shook his head. "Well, then, I'll leave you to finish primping yourself." At this, Squall huffed, furrowing his eyebrows. He turned and grabbed the handle, ready to leave, but not before turning his head to say one last thing. "Hurry it up, though, would ya? I don't feel like waiting thirty minutes to take a shower because you feel the need to primp yourself like some drag queen." He shut the door the moment he finished his sentence, which was a good thing he did, whereas something large made contact with the door as Squall tried to throw something at him.
Seifer sighed and began walking back towards his dorm. He stared at the floor in front of him as he walked, mind wandering elsewhere. What the hell was that? Did I just eye Squall? He asked himself, putting emphasis on Squall's name. "What the hell's wrong with me?!" He cried out as he hit his head on the door to his room. Ugh…ew. That's a sick thought. He punched the wall before standing straight and inputting his combination. "You better not take forever to get the hell out of the damn bathroom, Leonheart," he muttered to himself as he walked into his dorm, the door sliding shut.
And…the end result? Ha. I know, this chapter probably wasn't what you all were expecting. But cut me some slack! Exit exams, people! Exit exams! Ha ha. Anyway. Once again! Please review! I reply back to all signed reviews!! Laters!
