a/n: no one said that breaking out of your comfort zone was going to be an easy one right? *sigh* i'm actually learning that the hard way right now. but hopefully, i'll be able to manage myself well. hehehe. anyways, yey! an update! i'm happy, are you? haha. chap 10! wish you'll enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: SE owns FFVXIII (and Seventh Heaven which is from FFVII)!

"Oblivious Fate"

By: rorudesu-chan

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Chapter 10: Confused and Misunderstood

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"I can't agree with that punishment, Mrs. Mulier."

Enigmatic indigo eyes stared firmly into the ginger haired teacher's light colored ones. Noctis jerked in his seat properly as the vivacious Tenebraean who sat beside him, quickly darted her head towards the reluctant Prince.

"Explain why not, Mr. Caelum?" The curious professor said as she tried to figure out Noctis' sudden answer.

"I…" Silence. The Prince was only able to speak out the first person pronoun in which he referred to himself. He had reason, a rational one this time. But somehow, he just couldn't say it aloud. He didn't know what was stopping him.

"I am honestly getting tired of your unexplainable reasons, Mr. Caelum." Mrs. Mulier swathed a wrinkly palm beneath her forehead as her eyes turned to Stella who continued to gaze doubtingly at Noctis. "Miss Fleuret, do you as well, oppose this punishment I have chosen?"

Stella, who was outspoken by nature, carefully laid out her thoughts before Mrs. Mulier. "I don't."

Noctis quickly turned his attention to the Ambassador as she continued with her straightforward answer. "I think this punishment is fair enough. But," Stella paused in midsentence as she took a short glance at the Prince who was listening intently at her. "If Noct doesn't wish to comply with this, then detention may be pursued, Mrs. Mulier. It's just fine with me."

"Very well, Instead of—"

"Stella and I will be the class representatives for the dance, Mrs. Mulier." A deep, enticing voice suddenly spoke aloud, interrupting the ginger haired teacher's statement.

"Mr. Caelum," Mrs. Mulier briefly halted before staring directly into Noctis' still hesitant façade. "Are you sure with this?"

"If Stella wants to conform with that kind of punishment, then so be it." The Prince's firm, unexpected reply startled Stella who again spun her head towards Noctis. Her eyebrows were shaped in confusion on how the bashful heir was becoming quite unpredictable with his decisions.

"Alright Mr. Caelum, Miss Fleuret," Mrs. Mulier gave a look between the two students in respect to their names. "I shall announce to the class tomorrow that the two of you will be the representatives for the senior's dance cotillion. Your practices will begin this weekend here in school. For three 'grueling' weeks, both of you will rehearse the different dance steps every afternoon. Is this understood?"

The timid Prince and his dance partner, the candid Ambassador, nodded their heads in full comprehension as the ginger haired professor pinned her eyes towards the small digital clock that rested upon her table.

"Well, we're done here. The two of you may go now and discuss your own peers regarding the school dance." With a tedious smile, Mrs. Mulier stood up and led the pair towards the door where Noctis and Stella exited shortly.

"So I'll see you in practice, Stella." The ash haired Prince stated in a deep voice as the door behind them gently shut close.

"That's right. Well, I have to go now, Noct." The golden haired diplomat replied silently as the Caelum son shook his head in approval.

But before the vivacious Ambassador could turn the other way around and immediately leave the spot where she and the Prince both stood upon, Stella spun to face Noctis.

"Noct," Her lyrical voice caught his attention. "Why did you change your mind all of a sudden?"

With his indigo irises staring ahead, the bashful Prince said his answer. "I know you wanted to dance, Stella."

"Is that the reason why you agreed with that instead of detention? Because you thought I wanted to dance?"

Noctis fell silent, not knowing how to respond to Stella's question which brimmed with politeness. They both stood there, amidst the other young monarchs who ambled before them. Some of them walked ahead, while some made glances, wondering if the handsome Prince was having quite a bicker with the gorgeous transferee.

"Noct, I'd never want somebody to do something they don't like just because I do." Her face brightened up because of the charismatic smile she had on but the confusion in her beautiful blue eyes gave it all away. As Noctis shyly glimpsed at Stella, he tried to contradict with what she said but the blonde Tenebraean abruptly interrupted him.

"I think Mrs. Mulier is busy right now. But don't worry Noct, I'll find a way to tell her tomorrow that you—we, would rather have detention instead of the dance."

"It's really not like that, Stella."

"It isn't? Then what is it?"

Again, Noctis was silent. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't being pushed to do something he didn't like at all. Rather, it was wholly different from what Stella had thought. Somewhere deep inside him, the Prince was still the little Prince whom the late Queen mother had always known to be quite shy around people he didn't really know much. He wasn't unsociable but somehow, he was just timid when being with 'strangers'. Yes, truth is told, the Ambassador whom the Prince has already known for quite a long time since that night in the balcony was still a stranger to him. Noctis wanted to tell this to Stella. But sadly, he just couldn't seem to find the guts to say it.

"I'm sorry, Noct. I can't really understand you right now." Stella took a deep breath before continuing with a frank smile etched on her face. "I know there's something you wish to tell me but you still can't. Maybe by next time..."

She took a step backward and then another before finally turning around to leave the perplexed Prince behind.

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Within the light traffic, one of the Caelum family's black four-seater luxury cars drove moderately underneath a huge intersecting flyover. It was already past six in the evening and the Prince and his posse just left the air soft grounds and were already heading towards their usual after-game hangout.

"That was the best winning streak we've had so far!" Lacertus rejoiced loudly as his mischievous pal who had a triumphant façade agreed as well.

"Yeah, we definitely kicked Vittorio's ass for good!"

"So when is our next game?" Celer's scar faced buddy asked excitingly.

"Hmm…" The air soft addict paused and closed his eyes as he tried to recall what was written on the grounds' bulletin board. "The second weekend of next month…"

"Alright! We're definitely going to win that next game for sure!" Lacertus exclaimed, slapping a big high five with Celer who sat in the passenger seat.

"Hmph. You can actually recall the schedule of our next air soft game in a mere glimpse, but you can't even memorize the elements of the periodic table which we've been studying since fifth grade."

"Hey!" Celer's exhilaration was abruptly disrupted by the person seated beside him. "I'll have you know that I've already familiarized myself with the elements and I can prove it to you right here, right now!"

"Familiarizing is different from memorizing." Salsus jeered firmly as Lacertus watched another episode of their classic ludicrous arguments.

"Gah!" The pissed off blonde rotated his eyes in disgust. "Look Sal, if this is about earlier, I'm sss-sorrr-rry I 'accidentally' fired a pellet at you thus getting you disqualified. But believe me, it wasn't 'on purpose', at least we won right?…"

Celer's bluffing chatter slowly became a background noise as the intellectual Salsus, who took charge behind the wheel, couldn't help but notice the quietness of the Prince in the backseat. Using the rearview mirror that hung in the center from the dashboard, Salsus darted his gaze at the reflection of Noctis who looked impassively outside the window with a hand rested upon his cheek. Amidst Celer's defensive blather, Lacertus too realized the absence of the Caelum heir's sadistic yet friendly comments towards Salsus and Celer's typical squabble.

"I'm quite curious about your sudden silence, Noct." His glasses wearing pal spoke while keeping an eye on the road ahead.

"Hey, are you still listening to me??" Celer questioned demandingly.

"I bet it's that Stella girl you're thinking of right now, eh Noct?" Lacertus smugly stated, completely shoving away his blonde friend's idiotic inquiry.

"Since when did you know what's going inside my mind?" Noctis chortled darkly as he faced his slick haired buddy who sat beside him in the backseat.

"Since we saw you guys together in the library the other day, doing the "book report"." Celer said as his fingers quoted the word the emphasized word in midair. "And don't think we don't know why you were late for that one important air soft game before! We're on to you, my dear Prince!"

"No wonder I felt the presence of idiocy all the time inside the library." The Prince mumbled under his breath in reply.

"C'mon Noct!" Lacertus' muscular arm suddenly wrapped around the Prince's neck. "Are you going to keep hiding it from us or what?"

"Hide what?"

"Pfft!! That you and Stella are going out! Really Noct… You are underestimating the power of me and Lacertus and uh, that guy over there who thinks he knows a lot. Did you think we'd never find it out?" Celer had a foolish look on his face as Salsus quietly steered the wheel while waiting for a revelation that he had secretly known for a long time.

"You're sadly mistaken." Noctis gently pulled his head from Lacertus' brawny grasp as his naive pal opened his mouth to contrast.

"Oh contraire my dear friend, it is you who is sadly mistaken."

"She's the one Arkenis wants me to keep an eye on." A direct answer was firmly delivered by the Prince.

"Eh?!"

"Pardon??"

Noctis darted his cobalt shaded eyes outside the car's window as images of dimly lit streets quickly flashed by. "In order for my kingdom to acquire Tenebrae, I must get close to a person who has Tenebrae blood flowing within. That's what Arkenis pleaded me to do."

"No way!" Celer gasped in absolute shock.

"So that Stella is going to help the Crystal from getting destroyed?" Lacertus said in a sudden serious pitch.

"In a way or so."

"Well what are you waiting for, Noct? Get close to her!"

"I'm currently trying to, Lacertus."

"So… we we're wrong… the whole time??" Celer stated as it took awhile before the truth sunk inside him.

"Okay then. How's it going as of now?"

The scar faced boy's question was surprisingly tough for Noctis to answer. Befriending Stella was going quite well until he suddenly made himself unclear to her for something he himself couldn't even bring to explain.

"Noct?" The Prince's stillness was questioned by Lacertus.

"It's getting a little bit rough but I'll manage."

"Noct wasn't really going out with that hot blonde chick?? So that means 'he' was right all the time…?" The air soft lover's face gloomed in realization.

"Rough? How?"

"It's best not to talk about it for now." Noctis calmly replied with certainty to his comrade as Salsus slowly pulled over in one corner of the street.

The Prince and his posse had arrived at their after-play hangout. The three friends shortly got themselves out of the black vehicle, leaving their glasses wearing pal to securely lock the car. As the foursome gang entered the Seventh Heaven coffee shop, they went directly towards their favorite spot just beside the fishpond which had a miniature waterfall gushing gracefully on its center. Besides them, there were also other sovereigns who enjoyed the coffee and the quick-fix meals that the café offered.

Alcoholic drinks are usually drunk in order to forget the day's turmoil and frustrations. Coffee wasn't liquor but Noctis had hoped that it would at least, in a way, bring the same 'relieving' effects that the bitter booze brought. The day was quite tough on him. The silent Prince didn't know why he didn't have the strength to tell Stella why he abruptly decided to agree with the dance punishment nor did he know why he just kept thinking about this matter over and over again.

"I'll have the Chicken Enchillada, what'll you get Noct?" Lacertus' booming voice caught the attention of Noctis who hadn't noticed the presence of the café waitress standing by for their order.

"I'll have what he's having." The Prince responded with a nod. As the waitress scribbled down his chosen meal and repeated what the bunch had ordered, Noctis stared into the flowing waterfall before their table as he thought again about his unspoken reasons for Stella's outspoken questions.

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It was around nine thirty in the evening by the time the Tenebraean Ambassador had finished her daily call report with her fellow female diplomat. Stella had stayed outside her dorm room and in the corridor where the company of the other occupants were absent. She needed to be in a place where it was quiet and where there wasn't anyone around to hear her top secret conversation. Now that she was done, the blonde haired transferee jerked the doorknob open and went back inside her room where Laura and her other dorm mate was fast asleep.

As she silently approached her bed which was located right beside Laura's, Stella tossed her phone on the side table which made a low thud on its wooden surface.

"Hey Stel,"

"Oh! I didn't mean to wake you up, Laura…" The vivacious Ambassador hurriedly turned around and saw that her auburn haired roommate had sat up in her sheets.

"Nah, you didn't wake me up at all. I've got insomnia, FYI." Laura rubbed her left eye gently as her dorm mate settled on her own bed and jostled her legs inside the comfy blanket.

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, but I don't really think it's the insomnia that's gotten me sleepless right now. I mean, I did take my meds just before bunking in."

"Okay, so what's bothering you right now, Laura?" Stella asked kindly beneath the dimness of the room that was illuminated only by the small lamp on the side table between them.

"Ugh… a lot actually. This day's one of the worst that I've had so far."

"I can definitely relate with you." The blue eyed diplomat recalled the scenery in the front of Mrs. Mulier's office where she and the unpredictable Prince stood before one another in complete misunderstanding.

"Oh yeah? What's your side then?"

"It doesn't really matter what it is. It wasn't that bad anyways." Stella responded with a candid grin.

"Come on, Stel. Just share to me what happened. I won't bite." Laura giggled as she continued. "You've always been there when I'm the one chatting endlessly. Besides, I think this is another one of those weird nights wherein the pills don't work against my insomnia."

Stella was quite reluctant at first, but seeing that it might bring her some peace if she talked about it, she gave it a try.

"I got myself in trouble in my homeroom class along with somebody else. So as punishment, we would become the class' representatives for the senior's dance cotillion."

"Oh my gosh! Really??" Laura's dainty hands waggled excitingly in the air. "So who is this guy you got paired up with? Is he cute?"

"Well, it's not important anymore Laura, because we've both decided that a five day detention was much better than being the representatives for the dance."

"What?" The girl with the auburn tresses suddenly snapped at Stella. "Why? To be in a dance competition is like a totally cool thing!"

"It is, but it's not fun when the person you're dancing with is very hesitant about doing it."

"Like how?"

"He was really unable to make up his mind, you know. And for some reason that kind of…"

"Kind of…?"

Stella bit her bottom lip as she carefully thought of what word to describe the feeling she felt towards Noctis earlier. But her thoughts were futile as she was indecisive with her answer as well.

"You know what I mean…" She smiled candidly at her friend in response.

"Stel, are you annoyed at this guy or what?" Laura self-righteously gazed at her azure eyed roommate.

"I…" Stella paused and exhaled a breath. "Don't really know. It's just that he keeps his explanations hidden for some reason I can't contemplate on. I know he's shy but—"

"He's shy?" Laura half heartedly scoffed as she interrupted.

"Yes, I think so."

"Is he always like that?"

"Maybe not always. Because when I see him with his friends, he smiles and laughs in his own expressionless way." Stella grinned over this hilarious fact.

"Okay, that's like totally unimaginable. But," Laura braced herself for an advice that was about to come out based on her own experiences. "When somebody is shy around someone else, it's probably because they don't know that person very well. I mean, wouldn't it be freaky if a guy suddenly asks you to be his girlfriend when you barely know who he is?"

"Of course it would be. But, what if you've known that person for quite a long time now?" Stella asked curiously.

"Hmm… You know him, but what if he doesn't know you?"

For someone who looked shallow like Laura, a witty advice from her which actually became a solution to a blurry problem was something that came out once in a blue moon, figuratively speaking. It took quite awhile before the layered haired diplomat perfectly understood what her roommate meant. Maybe by looking in another perspective, one could as well comprehend what he or she never realized before. Stella's face brightened with her charismatic smile again, but this time, her gorgeous azure eyes didn't reflect any confusion like it did before.

"Uh, Stel?"

"Yes, Laura?"

"Are you still okay? You suddenly got all hushed."

"I'm fine now."

"So you're really going to use my advice?"

Stella plumped her pillow before laying down her head upon it. "Perhaps," It felt good to have her back resting comfortably in her soft bed as she continued to speak softly. "I think I'll have to talk to him before homeroom period begins tomorrow."

"Yeah, good idea Stel." The chirpy cheerleader pulled her legs out of the sheets and stood up as her feet slid in her slippers. "Tell me how it went okay?"

"Aren't you going to sleep yet, Laura?"

"Insomnia, sweetie. Besides, I hear TV downstairs. Something good must be on." Laura walked towards the door but before her hand could grasp on its handle, Stella's endearing voice halted her.

"Thank you for the advice, by the way."

"Anytime!" With a wave in one hand, Laura gently opened the door and went out of the room.

Stella never really thought about having the whole thing resolved nor did she think that it was actually possible that Noctis might not know anything more than her name and her elite occupation as an Ambassador. Maybe it was this whole 'get-close-to-the-Caelum-Prince' thing that got in the way. As she thought back, Noctis was able to share something about him besides the Crystal whenever the situation was kindly complimenting with it. Although Stella was a sociable and talkative person, she had come to a realization that she never really talked much about herself. This was what Laura's advice had meant. And fortunately for the attractive diplomat, she was clever enough to understand it.

The blonde Tenebraean shifted her weight to one side was she faced the curtained window. After having her dilemma faced off with a constructive advice, Stella now wondered how to get the enigmatic yet bashful Prince to know her in a sense that he could trust her even more and be comfortable when she's around.

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a/n: tell me what you guys think of this one! i hope i still secured them right in their character personas! Please Review!! Thanks so much! :D ...