a/n: chap 11! thanks so much to those who give me their comments/compliments regarding this fic! i think of those as inspiring thoughts that help this fic reach up to this chapter. i know its not that many (for now), but hopefully i can continue this until i can! read and i hope you'll enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: SE owns FFVXIII! Tetsuya Nomura too!

"Oblivious Fate"

By: rorudesu-chan

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Chapter 11: Settlement

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Stella shut the door of her locker close. After getting the things she needed for her succeeding period, the blonde Ambassador headed towards her homeroom class which she happened to share with the charcoal spiked Prince. As she strolled down the corridor, her thoughts were finally settled on choosing the dance cotillion over the one week detention.

Her feet stopped before a wide open door. Stella's blue irises scanned around the classroom and realized that she had already arrived in her first period class in the morning. She stepped inside but instead of going directly to her chair, Stella decided to approach Noctis who was engaged in a conversation with his scar faced pal in one corner of the room.

"Hello Noct," Stella's enticing voice caught the attention of the Prince who turned around and saw the blonde student standing behind him.

"Stella," Noctis grinned in reply as he felt a brawny arm suddenly fastening around his neck.

"Hey there!"

"Hello Lacertus. Would it be alright if I speak with Noct for just a few seconds?"

The slick haired student bounced his gaze between Noctis and Stella before removing his grasp from his pal's neck. "Sure! Why not?"

As Lacertus turned away from the pair, he saw his ruffled haired buddy dashing quickly towards the Prince. The scar faced student thought that Celer had to be stopped for some reason that's why before the seemingly exhilarated boy could reach his monarch friend, he was abruptly impeded by a familiar headlock.

"Where do you think you're going, eh?" Lacertus said with a laughing demeanor.

"Gah!" Celer choked out his words in reply. "Let go of me Lacertus! I have to tell Noct something really urgent!"

"Like what?"

"They've just released this brand new model of an air soft gun which can fire seven pellets at the same time! Isn't that so awesome??"

"Yeah! Hey, I've got an idea!" Lacertus tightened his headlock as the poor defenseless Celer seemed to be slipping away from the grip. "Why don't we talk about it way over there with Sal?"

"Sal? Pfft! Like I need another one of his wisecracks! Besides, who would be a better listener than my dear buddy Noct?"

"Noct? Oh! So you wanted to talk with him?" Lacertus sarcastically remarked.

"Duh! Now, will you just let go of me??" Celer rolled his eyes in which his pal couldn't see because of their rather ridiculous headlock position.

"Sorry pal! He's kinda busy at the moment."

"What?? Busy?"

Without any reluctance, Lacertus spun himself and Celer around to reveal what the scar faced boy meant by 'busy'. Upon seeing Noctis seated in his armchair with Stella standing right before him, Celer's annoyed façade quickly transformed into a smug.

"Ohoho! Noc—"

"Let's go, Celer!" And with a strong pull, Lacertus carried himself and his mischievous friend away from the pair, unluckily, with the scar faced boy still having the neck hold on Celer.

Meanwhile, the beautiful Tenebraean who stood before Noctis looked at him in his cobalt eyes while she confidently spoke out her thoughts.

"Noct, about yesterday…"

"Its fine, Stella. I'm the one who should—" ThePrince slowly darted his eyes outside the window as he was kindly interrupted.

"Wait, just hear me out first okay?" She smiled charmingly and went on. "If you still like the two of us to be the dance representatives in the cotillion, I'm not going to contradict anymore. I realized that I was just assuming things yesterday. That's why you didn't get the chance to say what you really thought."

"So you realized." Noctis laughed sarcastically as Stella continued.

"I'm glad I did." The Ambassador grinned. "Would it still be alright with you if we went on with that 'punishment'?"

The Prince stood up and strolled slowly towards the classroom window beside his seat. "It is. Bu—"

Before Noctis could continue, his head suddenly jerked upon hearing the toll of the school bell. He was unfortunately unable to tell Stella the reason why he was quite reluctant about being paired with her for the cotillion. But he knew he had to tell her. He simply wanted to.

"The bell has already rung." The blonde Tenebraean smiled appealingly. "Do you want to continue this later, Noct?"

He nodded, pleased. "Free period then."

Stella's blue irises slowly gazed downwards, with the Prince's cobalt ones, trailing along the way.

"History class is surprisingly a long walk from this classroom. It actually takes me about an hour just to go there." The bubbly girl chuckled over this petty fact.

"That's fine. I'll walk with you." Noctis surprisingly said in a slightly endearing voice.

"Be seated everyone!" The ginger haired teacher's pitch echoed loudly within the walls as she entered the classroom with yet another tedious façade.

"She's about to announce the cotillion representatives. I presume there aren't any regrets?"

The vivacious Tenebraean slowly walked backwards as she returned to her seat. Her head shook sideways in reply and a smile crafted on her lips as a sign of certainty to the Prince.

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It never really shot across Noctis' mind that a walk with Stella to her History class would be the solution to continue on what they still had to say to each other. Well actually, what he stillhad to say. The blonde Tenebraean was already satisfied since having her thoughts lift off her was what she just aimed for this morning. And seeing that it had gone quite well, Stella was now wondering what else the bashful Prince wanted to say to her.

"Hey Celer!" The scar faced student immediately approached his blonde classmate right after the bell for free period tolled in. "Did you see the look on those girls' faces when they heard that Stella was paired with Noct for the cotillion reps? Ha! Priceless!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Celer brushed off Lacertus' grinned reply.

"Huh? Isn't this the part wherein you burst out laughing in other people's pain?"

"I know but I'll do that later okay?" Celer restlessly raised his head in a frantic search within the students who bustled out of the classroom. The ruffled haired boy's action quickly caught Lacertus' attention.

"What are you doing now?"

"Looking for Noct… Damn! Where is he?"

Celer's frenzied look for his fellow air soft comrade ended in failure as the Prince's presence in the room was nowhere to be found.

Elsewhere, a certain pathway where only a few sovereigns lurked in its hallway was being sauntered by Tenebrae's youngest Ambassador. Within the corridor, the Caelum heir strolled along with her, bringing with him the reason behind his accompaniment with her.

"Noct," Stella kindly grinned. "We're almost there to my History class but you still haven't told me what you wanted to say to me awhile ago."

"Yeah, that." Noctis coolly replied as he seemed to have forgotten to actually tell her what he wanted to say.

"Does it have something to do with the senior's dance?"

"Close."

"Oh. Hmm…" Stella fixed her eyes in wonder upon the Prince who surprisingly strode ahead of her yet with a closer distance. "Do you really want to tell me, Noct? Or do I just have to guess until I get it correctly?"

"Maybe."

Noctis' small and seemingly pointless answer halted the female diplomat in her steps for a few moments before she quickly decided to startle the Prince by rushing right in front of him. The Caelum son tried his best not to show his surprised reaction but the immediate turn of his head towards the other direction, revealed his secrecy.

"Will you please just tell me, Noct?" Stella pleaded as the Prince lowered his head before finally giving her a direct reply.

"It's quite difficult to explain, Stella."

"How?"

"You might find it awkward."

The pair was already in the third floor of the university's other building, just a hallway away from the History classroom. As Noctis was forcefully stopped to explain, he slowly walked towards the railings which overlooked a grassy courtyard.

"Just say it to me first then I'll decide whether it's an awkward answer or not." Stella trailed her companion towards the balustrade as she waited intently for his response.

"I don't think you've noticed, but I'm a rather 'different'person from the rest." Noctis paused as his eyes wandered the vast scenery before him. "It's not that I don't like socializing to others besides my friends. I just don't really do well with… strangers." The Prince blurted out the last word with effort as he confidently gazed at the Ambassador who was listening eagerly.

"I hope you now understand why I was quite reluctant about the two of us being paired together for the dance."

"I see…" Stella darted her eyes ahead of her. After thinking of the right thoughts to say, a charming smile pulled the corners of her mouth to the sides. "Your reason isn't awkward. It's honest."

As Stella slowly turned her head towards Noctis, the bashful Prince grinned before gently averting from her gaze.

"I'm relieved that you finally came out clean. At least now I know what's running inside your thoughts."

"You make it sound like I'm the type of person that's hard to understand." Noctis smirked in reply.

"You think so, Noct?" Stella chuckled sarcastically.

The Ambassador wasn't the only one who was relieved. The Prince was relieved too, maybe even a lot more than Stella was. It felt good for Noctis to have that burdensome reason taken off his chest. But for him, it felt even better that the first and probably the only person he ever told it to, fully understood what he really meant.

As Stella's gorgeous irises wandered aimlessly upon Regius' courtyard before her, a certain couple who walked together on the grassy carpet immediately caught her attention. She trailed the boy and the girl with interest until both of them disappeared into a building. After thinking it over and over again, Stella surprised Noctis once more by shooting him with a rather 'special' question.

"Noct," The diplomat's lyrical pitch made his head swerve towards her. "Do you want to go on a date?"

The Prince's cobalt eyes blinked shockingly as expected. But instead of panicking ridiculously, Noctis replied with a deep, calm tone.

"A date?"

"Yes, a date. It's where two people meet and they spend some time getting to know each other."

"I know what a date is, Stella." Noctis chortled darkly. "But I do remember that guys are usually the ones who ask the girl out. I don't think it's the other way around."

"I know that too." Stella smiled and carried on. "But I don't think this guy beside me is ever going to ask me out which is why I did instead."

The Prince thought deeply before answering. "So, you want the two of us to get to know each other more?"

"Well, sort of. I think I know a lot about you already, Noct. But when it comes to me, apparently you don't." Noctis fell silent upon hearing and realizing Stella's truthful remark.

"We don't have to call it a 'date'. We can just think of it as a meeting wherein you have to know at least twenty things about me."

"That many?"

"It's just a suggestion." Stella grinned in response.

Noctis thought well about her offer. Way before, he used to always watch Lacertus and Celer go on either blind or planned dates. Because of this, the Prince was the 'observer' and not the 'dater'. He never really complained though. For him, just sipping down on a tall glass of iced tea while watching his buddies with their respective dates and pretending to actually be mentally there, was plainly normal. It was a typical routine; one in which it never shot across Noctis' mind what would happen if it was him in Lacertus' or Celer's place who was getting to know a certain girl, instead.

"Will Friday night sound alright for you, Stella?" He inquired with a smirk.

"It's settled then, Noct." She approved with a smile.

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a/n: okay, how was this chapter? please tell me! Review! And, Critique (gulp!) if you find any grammatical errors, typos and such! I know I'm not a really open minded person that's why I want to start being like one. 'Cause nobody's perfect, right? hopefully, the reviews and criticisms i'll get will help me become a better writer! But please.. take it easy on me, okay? ^______^ Thanks so much!!