"Sharii-chan, you're crazy." Gina shook her head as Zell opened up the door to his dorm room, and they filed in. Gina immediately noted how Zell kept his room as messy as he did when he was at GVSU. "I don't think you should provoke Seifer anymore."
"Psht," Sharon waved her hand. "He started it. Besides, as long as I don't do that when he has his gunblade equipped, I'm cool." She plopped down in a chair.
"You know, this reminds me of that thing you had going between you and Irvine," Zell pointed out, which earned him a glare. "What? It is!"
"No, it's not. It's actually fun when it involves Seifer. With that stupid cowboy, I just wish he'd keel over and die."
Gina just couldn't figure it out for the life of her why Irvine rubbed her best friend the wrong way. In her mind, she couldn't imagine any female not being swayed by his savvy charm and sexy smile. Instead, Sharon picked quarrels with the lover and blew kisses at the fighter. Sharii always likes to say that she's "ass backwards". I guess this would be partly the reason why.
Gina gazed across into Zell's partly open bedroom door, and out of the window where she could see the sun setting. "I wonder what Tiffany's doing now."
"Probably watching the 50th re-run of the Golden Girls while half studying for her law final or something," Sharon scoffed, looking at her watch. "It's only 9:15, so she wouldn't be asleep yet."
"Oh..." Gina said, then stopped. Only 9:15? When I woke up when Sharii called, it was 8:45. We weren't only here for half an hour, were we? "Hey, is your watch right, Sharii-chan?"
Sharon frowned and looked at her watch again, this time noticing that the second hand was frozen. "Oh shit, when did my battery die? I just got this watch a month ago, how can the batteries be dead already?"
"Well, it's not only your watch, but mine, too." Gina confirmed. "That's really weird."
Zell pulled up a chair. "Oh yeah, forgot to tell you about that. That happened to us, too. When we came back here, our watches started ticking again. We didn't really think much about it until we went to report to Cid and he seemed really surprised that we were back so soon, since according to him he'd just given us the order to go investigate the portal an hour before. That's when we came up with the theory that whenever someone goes from one end of the portal to the other, time stops in whatever dimension they're originally from, but only for those who have left."
"And it picks up when they go back?" Sharon wondered. "What in the hell?"
"So basically, our two worlds can't run in unison with each other, unless everything is in its proper place," Gina put simply. "That's really interesting to note. It's sorta like a reminder to ourselves that our real world is waiting for us to return."
"Man, so how are we supposed to tell time while we're here? I got attached to my PPG watch," Sharon pouted.
Zell chuckled. "If you're that time conscious, then I could always pick you guys up a couple of watches for here. Just remember when you guys go back, they won't work."
Sharon nodded and stretched out, tilting the chair she was sitting in back off of its front legs. "We really do appreciate this, Zell. Hey, I wonder if we can rush out right quick and grab him some bagel dogs? Einstein stays open late today, and-" She was cut off by a knock at Zell's door.
Zell blinked and wondered who in the heck would be at his door now. "Who is it?" He called out.
"It's Squall. I have something to tell you."
As soon as Gina recognized the voice on the other end, her eyes got wide and she turned to Zell with a horrified look that matched his own. Squall would not find it amusing to see two people he thought he left behind in their own world chilling out in Zell's dorm. Sharon stifled an "Oh, fuck" and toppled backwards out of the chair, crashing to the ground noisily. Gina winced and helped her clumsy friend up.
"Uh, just a minute!" Zell stalled. "Okay, you guys go into my room and close the door. Hurry!" He hissed at the girls. He waited until the door to his room clicked shut before rushing to the main door and pulling it open. "Hey, Squall. What's up?" He said, running a hand through his blonde hair nervously.
The brunette on the other side of the door looked at him oddly for a second, then walked inside. "What was that loud bang?"
"Oh, that? I, uh... I was rushing to get the door and I knocked the chair over by mistake. No biggie."
On the other side of the bedroom door, Sharon had her ear plastered against it, trying to hear snippets of what was going on in the center room. "Goddamn these doors. They're a lot more soundproof then the ones at our dorms."
"Sharii, let's not get too close to the door. What if they hear us moving?" Gina hissed nervously, her stomach doing the familiar flip-flops she hated. I need Maalox, bad.
"They won't. Just... I wanna hear." Sharon reached up and turned the handle as slowly as possible, and opened the door a minuscule crack and peeked out at the two figures standing just outside.
"So, uh... what did you come here to tell me?" Zell said as casually as possible.
"Since we were the team that was sent to investigate the portal, Headmaster Cid wanted me to tell you that we don't have to worry about anyone else finding it. It disappeared just 20 minutes ago."
Zell's eyes widened. "IT WHAT?" Oh, no... how are Sharon and Gina gonna get back? "Are you sure it's gone? I mean, permanently? No chance of it reappearing or anything?"
Squall shrugged. "We don't know. We had limited knowledge about it in the first place, remember? It could reappear, but we're not sure when or where. If we had known it was that unstable, then I don't think Cid would have risked possibly losing SeeDs to an alternate dimension." Then he noticed Zell was steadily turning paler. What is up with him?
Gina and Sharon felt like they had a brick slammed into their faces. The portal was gone? Now even Sharon felt similar to her best friend, her stomach dropping quickly. Oh, God... what have we done? Are we stuck here forever?
"Zell, are you okay? You look a bit sick," Squall inquired.
Zell coughed and tried putting on a grin. "Uh, I'm fine. Just... maybe I ate too many hot dogs today at lunch or something."
Ate too many hot dogs? Zell? Squall blinked at the tattooed blonde in front of him. "Well, that's all, then." He made his way back towards the dorm door. Zell let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Oh, wait." Squall stopped halfway out of the door and turned around. "I need that book back."
"... what book?" Zell drew a blank.
"One of the books you needed for class. Remember you had me check it out for you from the library? It's due back tomorrow, and I don't want any late fees if you really won't step foot in there just because the library girl has a gigantic crush on you."
He remembered now. "OH! That book. Umm, crap..." He sorted through some of the papers on a nearby table, and looked under it and around the floor. "I don't know where I put it."
Squall rolled his eyes. "I bet you put it in that room of yours. Never mind, I'll get it." He moved for the bedroom door.
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT! Sharon reeled back from the door and grabbed Gina's arm in a panic. He was coming in, and they had absolutely nowhere to hide. Their eyes scanned the small room frantically, and all they got in their search was piles of magazines, shirts, and hoodies, and one book - probably the book Squall was coming in there to retrieve. Gina tried to reason if it would be too unusual for a book to come mysteriously flying out of a room; if it wasn't, maybe they could get away with throwing the book out and having Squall catch it without seeing them hiding like typical stow-a-ways. In your dreams, Regina.
Zell rushed towards his bedroom door and pulled it completely closed before Squall could push it open. "DON'T DO THAT!"
"... why not?"
"It's messy."
Squall blinked at Zell for a few moments more. "I know how messy you are. We shared a room at GVSU, remember?"
Zell shifted uneasily. "Yeah, but... uh... it's really bad, this time. There's like, gum on the floor and stuff. Pretty bad. Yeah."
Sharon pulled herself up on Zell's bed, and started yanking at the window. C'mon... OPEN, DAMN YOU! Gina felt around the edges of the window for a clasp of some sort to unlock it.
"Gum on the floor? You're a SeeD who misses the trash basket?"
"It happens!" Zell retorted defensively.
Gina silently thanked god when her shaky hand found the right latch, but then regretted it because Sharon was still pulling on the window, and the pane slid to the side quickly and slammed wide open.
Zell panicked. I hope he didn't hear that...
"What was that?" Squall stared at the door that Zell was still trying to protect miserably.
"Uh, probably just... umm... a Bite Bug," Zell stuttered, his grip tightening on the doorknob pressed against his back.
Sharon stepped out first, determined to test how far the jump was to the ground before Gina could possibly injure herself. It wasn't that far at all, if anything a foot or two. But any elevation was big to Gina and her paranoia that her ankle was going to become painfully twisted again, so she had stay calm in hopes that her friend would, too. Although at this point, you'd think she'd risk a broken ankle over facing Squall's wrath.
"There's a Bite Bug in your room? We have to eliminate it now!" Squall tried to move around to open the door.
"NO!" Zell shouted quickly. "I meant... it's not in there, it just flew crooked and hit the window. They get crazy and do that sometimes."
Squall began to wonder if Zell had gone insane. He was acting very strange, and Squall didn't remember any typical Bite Bug behavior involving slamming into windows at dusk. "...Zell?"
"Yeah?"
"Open the door."
Sharon waved the okay for Gina to come down. Gina shivered a bit at the cool breeze drifting through the window, and gathered up her courage and cautiously raised one leg through the open window. Please, Zell... stall him longer!
"Uh, why?" Zell twitched.
"Because I need my book! Hyne, what is up with you today?" Squall started to get annoyed.
"I told you, the water in the Cafeteria tasted funny."
"... I thought you said you ate too many hot dogs."
I did? Damn! Mentally slapping himself, he tried to cover. "Yeah, that too. You figure the day I finally get my hot dogs is the day they don't cook them right, huh?" He laughed pathetically.
That's it. Squall roughly braced his arm up against the area between Zell's chin and neck, forcing his head up painfully against the doorframe. "Listen to me, Zell," He growled, applying pressure slowly to decrease his air supply. "My patience is wearing thin. Open. The. Door."
"Okay, okay!" He croaked, twisting the doorknob. "No need to get violent, geez!" The door swung open, and Squall released his friend and stepped inside.
Gina saw the door opening and let go of her grip on the windowsill, letting herself fall to the ground. She didn't twist her ankle, but she did lose her footing and went flailing into Sharon, causing them to fall in a heap on the grass.
Picking up the book, Squall sighed. All that trouble just to get my damn book back... He straightened up and noticed that Zell's window was wide open.
Zell peeked in. "Oh! How did the window get open? The latch must've been loose."
Gina and Sharon untangled themselves and got to their feet quickly. "We gotta get outta here!" Sharon whispered, peeling off her Lisa Frank jacket and rolling it into ball before stashing it deep inside some nearby bushes. It wasn't exactly camouflage ready. "If Squall comes out, then we book it like a bat out of hell. Until then, walk carefully and slowly." Gina nodded and pulled her hood over her head, as if it would make her more invisible that way. They tiptoed through the long grass, their backs pressed against the building.
Squall looked outside and down, scanning the area. Doesn't seem too- wait, what was that? He thought he caught movement disappearing out of his peripheral vision, and on an impulse, he jumped out of the window to investigate.
Upon hearing the feet hit the ground, Sharon and Gina acted on an impulse of their own; to run like fuck. When Squall heard pairs of feet scrambling to get away, he raced off after them. Zell poked his head out of his window, and prayed that they got away alright.
"Okay," Sharon huffed. "On the count of three, break off. 1... 2... 3!" At the count, they dashed off in opposite directions, causing Squall to pause and wonder which figure to dart after. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to go after the hooded figure to the left.
Gina was dying. Or, it felt like it. How many times had she found herself running today? She heard footsteps approaching fast, and tried to pick up the pace. A cramp set in from running right after eating, and her breathing became ragged. Oh, crap...
Sharon slowed her pace and turned around when she realized there was nobody following her. Then, that means... "SHIT!" She double backed to where she thought Gina went, and she arrived just as she saw Squall tackle Gina to the ground. Not really knowing what she was doing, she jumped up and attached herself to Squall's back and wrapping her arms around his neck, hoping to deter him from doing any more harm to Gina before he realized who she was.
Gina pulled half of her body up from the ground to see Sharon being tossed forcefully off of Squall's back. Watching as he got up to detain her tumbling figure, Gina got to her feet and grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around to face her. "SQUALL, DON'T!"
Crystal blue eyes met the pleading stare of brown ones that he'd never thought he'd see again.