Chapter Ten: Feelings

Seifer took deep breaths He needed to give himself a pep talk before Selphie arrived. Okay, just relax. She's your friend. I mean, it's Selphie! You don't really like her that way. It's just your imagination. She's just your friend. These feelings that are stirring inside you? They're nothing! Absolutely nothing! You don't have to worry about it. You just feel close to her because she's the first person to really care about you for a long time. You don't have any special feelings about her. You don't have any need to be nervous around her. She's your friend, that's all. Nothing more than a friend. You can relax. You're okay. You're getting worked up over absolutely nothing. It's nothing. Okay, I'll admit those feelings were a lot like the beginnings of a crush, but it's really nothing to worry about. You don't like her that way. She's just your friend. She's just your friend. He smiled. Yeah, that's right. Just my friend. That's all.

Fujin and Raijin were sitting quietly nearby while he went through this mental chat with himself. It was almost time for Selphie to come by and hang out with them. It was two days after Seifer's encounter with Squall and he still couldn't get over the hug Selphie gave him when he told her he refused to fight Squall. Her gesture kept Fujin and Raijin smiling long after she was gone. They obviously thought there was something going on between Seifer and the rambunctious girl, and Seifer was beginning to think so himself. He spent the past two days trying to convince himself otherwise and he was confident that it worked this time. There's nothing to worry about. She's just my friend. I don't like her that way at all.

"Seifer! Hey, I've got the greatest news!" Seifer's heart began to beat faster. Selphie appeared, looking just as cute and cheerful as ever. All of that time he spent convincing himself he didn't have feelings for her was wasted in an instant. Selphie hugged each member of the posse and sat down next to Seifer. The warmth of her body lingered where her arms touched him. "Twenty people have signed the petition so far!" Seifer was in a happy daze, barely paying attention to her words. She hugged me again...

"You got a time limit for that thing?" Raijin asked.

"Nope! Seifer, you'll never believe it, but I got Squall to sign the petition! Isn't that great?" Seifer finally snapped out of his daydream.

"What?" Selphie repeated herself. "Oh. Yeah."

"What's wrong with you?" Selphie wondered with a frown. "You look a little flushed." This only made Seifer blush.

"Nothing."

"I know what's wrong!" Raijin grinned with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "It's obvious, ya know!" Seifer glared at him, giving him a look that promised great pain if the secret were told. "He's got cabin fever, ya know?"

"Oh, no! Is it serious?"

"Selphie, cabin fever means he's tired of being inside," Fujin explained patiently.

"Oh. I knew that." Her face lit up and she bounced a little on her feet. "I've got a great idea! Let's go outside! I've got cabin fever too!" She grabbed Seifer's arm. "Come on, Seifer! Let's go outside!"

"Okay..." Negative responses just couldn't be formed in his mouth while Selphie was around.

"We've got cabin fever! We've got cabin fever!" Selphie chanted as she dragged Seifer out of the Garden. His heart sang happily as he felt her hand in his. Fujin and Raijin followed, desperately trying not to burst out laughing. I've got Selphie fever. Damn. Just when I convinced myself I didn't like her, too. What in the hell's wrong with me? He didn't want to admit to himself that he was harboring these feelings toward Selphie. It seemed so absurd. How could he like her? They were far too different.

"I like the Garden, but bein' outside is good too, ya know," Raijin commented.

"Yeah! It's so nice to be outdoors!" Selphie agreed cheerfully. She let go of Seifer and plopped down on the grass. Seifer was free to smile at her childish action. Fujin and Raijin were shaking from laughter dying to escape. "The sky is so bluuuuuuuue! Seifer, come down here and see!"

"I can see the sky right here," he answered.

"No! You've got to come down here to see it right!" she protested. "Fujin! Raijin! Show him how to do it right!" They wordlessly joined her on the ground. Fujin lay with her hands clasped on her stomach and Raijin with his arms out spread-eagle.

"This is cool, ya know!"

"Told you so!" Selphie sang. Seifer stared down at them. He no longer bothered to hide his smile.

"You guys are being so ridiculous."

"Join uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!" Selphie insisted, stretching her arms out for him. Seifer rolled his eyes. I can't believe I'm doing this. Then again, I've been acting crazy since I got here. He sighed wearily and joined his friends on the ground. The sky looked exactly the same. "See? Isn't this soooooooo much better?"

"Yeah," he lied.

"Seifer, why're you always so dull?" Selphie whined, twisting on the ground so she could look at him.

"Dull?"

"Yeah, dull! You're boring!"

"Hehehe. You're boring, ya know!" Raijin chuckled.

"Shut up! Or I'll come over there and shove my foot in your mouth!" That sobered Raijin quickly. "What makes you say I'm dull, Selphie?" Seifer resumed as if there was no interruption.

"Because you are!" she answered.

"Explain."

"I always have to think of fun stuff for us to do! All you do is stand around! You never have any fun!"

"That's the way I am, Selphie." He felt like he was speaking to a child, but because it was Selphie he kept his tone gentle. "I've always been that way. My idea of fun is hauling someone in detention or making fun of Zell."

"Boring!" Selphie yawned. "Fun is when you do something you wouldn't normally do, and you enjoy it! Like running around the Garden without shoes on!" Something I wouldn't normally do, Seifer mused to himself. Well, I wouldn't normally like someone so much, and I really do enjoy being with Selphie. So... am I having fun right now?

"I have fun," Fujin mentioned. "Pushing Raijin into the lake was fun."

"No! It can't be that kind of fun! It's gotta be fun that doesn't hurt anybody."

"Doing nothing can be fun," Seifer pointed out.

"Hey! That must mean you're having fun right now!" Selphie realized. "Is that true?"

"Well, I..."

"I succeeded in making you enjoy yourself!" Selphie sat up and grinned happily down at Seifer. "Since we started being friends, I made it a point to make you enjoy yourself, and I finally succeeded!" Seifer sat up as well. He beat off the grass from his hair, feeling it beginning to grow back in the bald spot from his fight with Zell. Selphie's cheerfulness was so wonderfully contagious, and so welcoming to counter his past depression.

"Selphie, how in hell can you stay energetic all the time?"

"I don't know. It's a gift, I suppose."

"I would think you would get worn out after a while."

"That's what sleep is for!" Selphie giggled. "Hey, you two don't have to lie there any more. Unless you want to!" Seifer saw she was distracted and took his chance. Slowly he reached out and covered her hand with his. Her skin felt soft under his calloused fingers. Selphie, I wish I got to know you before any of this happened. Maybe then I wouldn't have gotten involved with the sorceress. Almost as if she heard him, Selphie turned her head and smiled at him. He quickly withdrew his hand. "You're really my friend now, aren't you?"

"I guess so."

"Are you sick or something? You look all red."

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Okay!" Selphie chirped. "Hey, let's run around the Garden without shoes on! It'll be fun!" Seifer shrugged helplessly. Who was he to argue with that?

"Why not?"

"Woo hoo! All right, let's go!" Selphie ran off toward the Garden. The posse exchanged looks and followed. She has no idea. Fujin and Raijin figured it out, but she doesn't know. Maybe it's better that way. Maybe...

Many students were taken by surprise when they saw Seifer, Fujin and Raijin running around the Garden without shoes on. They passed it off as a trick on their minds. The posse just weren't the type of people to do something childish like that.