Chapter 37 HAS been affected by revisions. Please visit
Dark as Rain
By Scutter
scutter1200@hotmail.com
This fic is dedicated to Julie, for her life-altering fic, 'Star Light'.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8. I seriously need some sleep...
Rated R.
In case anyone gets confused, the students live in dorm rooms, with communal bathrooms. Something like one bathroom to every four rooms. I don't think I've really explained that before.
Chapter 37
POV of Seifer, Silver Jerome, Justine Bailey.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
I raise an eyebrow at Rinoa, pretending for all the world that she's not the second most powerful sorceress in Garden, and that I'm not floored by the fact that she just stormed into my quarters without so much as a hello before she started laying into me.
"Could you be a bit more specific?" I ask facetiously.
"You," she storms over to me, stabbing a finger at my chest, "leave Squall and Zell alone."
"I haven't done..."
"I saw exactly the way you were looking at Squall today," she interrupts my protests, "and if you think for one second that you're going to get away with screwing things up for them, you're in for a nasty surprise!"
"Last time I looked, they were screwing things up for themselves, sweetheart," I reply casually. "If they can't hold things together between them, you can hardly go blaming me for it all."
"Don't you dare play the innocent, Seifer. You're deliberately making things harder..."
"I am not responsibly for Squall's fuck ups!" I yell back, suddenly deciding it's time to reassert myself. "Whether or not they stay together or break up, or decide they want to beat the shit out of each other is their decision, not mine! But don't expect me to just stand back and leave the pieces on the ground, Rinoa. If Squall's split with Zell, he's fair game, and don't think for one second you have some moral high ground in warning me off him. I love him, Rin," I admit, firmly and coolly. "And if Zell's too much of an idiot to admit the same, that's not my problem."
The sound of Rinoa's hand connecting with my cheek doesn't register until I feel the sharp sting, delayed by the pure shock of being slapped by my ex-girlfriend. Hyne, she's developed a good arm since I last saw her.
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I'm not sure whether it was the shouting that first attracted my attention, or if I just happened to wander this way down the halls, but now I'm well within hearing range, and my curiosity has the better of me. I edge quietly closer, the voices muffled, but still audible even through the closed dorm room door.
I finally get close enough to make out the words, and my heart leaps into my throat when I hear a sharp crack, and then a woman's irate voice; "Squall. Loves. Zell. You conceited asshole! Pull your head out of your ass for just one second, and look at them together! Do you have any idea how much they went through to work things out between them? And then you go throwing a wrench into the works, and you don't even have the decency to be ashamed about it!"
I back away in horror, having heard enough, and too much all at once. I don't know who the people having the conversation are, but it doesn't change anything.
Hyne, I'm so stupid! Zell's in love with Squall! The rumours were true!
I spin around and run as fast as I can back to my dorm room, hoping I don't crash into a wall or doorway as I'm blinded by my tears.
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I'm not shy, I scold myself, as I splash cold water over my face, blinking fuzzily at the bathroom mirror. I'm not bashful, I'm not coy, and I'm NOT nervous. I take a deep breath, calmly letting it out, then ruining the effect by breaking into a fit of giggles. On impulse, I tug the hair elastic from my braid, and let my hair, normally held back in a severe, practical style, flow loosely around my shoulders. The giggles recede, replaced by a small, knowing little smile, and I take another breath, doing better with this one, and managing to calm myself a bit. One more breath, and I manage to feel composed.
I take a critical look in the mirror, slightly surprised at the mature, elegant, and surprisingly attractive (I silently congratulate myself) young woman who looks back. Hyne, I think, sardonically, my mood switching for the fifth time in two minutes. I bet Irvine never had this in mind when he set me and Rick up together.
I gotta say, I had my doubts when he did it. I assumed he was just kidding, that first lesson we had, when he stuck Ulrick 'Fast Ammo' Andrews in the seat next to me. I hadn't come all the way to Balamb Garden from Dollet Military Academy to flirt with some hormone driven penis-on-legs. Rick surprised me after the class, though. He approached me in the hall, and I expected some cheap shot, something along the lines of 'So what time should I pick you up, sweetheart.'
What he actually said was a bit different. "I don't know what Irvine's deal is, but since he suggested it, would you like to go out tonight? I don't... I mean, it doesn't have to be a date, as such, but I'd really like it if you'd just hang out, and have dinner with me?"
It was the most decent thing a guy had ever said to me. So I said yes.
Like so many things around here, looks can be deceiving, and Rick's 'Fast Ammo' look was nothing more than a party-time image. That night, he managed to surprise me again. As I found out, over a slice of geezard pie, he was from a large family from the coast near Timber, joined Garden out of a sense of honour and duty, so that he could make the world a better place for his two younger sisters, and was rather good at intellectual conversation.
It's hard to tell whether Irvine was surprised or not, the way he looked at us when we arrived at the next class, my hand entwined in Rick's, but I'm pretty sure he was pleased about it.
And tonight, I drag myself back to the present, feeling the butterflies flutter into action again in my stomach, we're going to do something very special. I smile at myself one last time in the bathroom mirror, take three steps towards the door, turn back and grab a hairbrush, dragging it through my hair a few times, then put it down and march myself out into the hallway, back to my dorm room.
Rick is sitting on the bed when I come in, leaning back against the wall and flicking through an old issue of Weapons Monthly. He looks up quickly when I come in, drops the magazine on the floor beside the bed and stands up. "Hey," he murmurs, as he comes over to hug me, running his fingers lightly over my hair. "This is nice," he tells me, picking up a few strands and kissing them.
I smile up at him, sure that I'm blushing by now, and lean up on my toes to give him a soft kiss. Then I step past him, taking his hand in mine, and lead him to the bed.
The rest of this chapter has been omitted due to NC17 rated content. Please visit my website for the full version.
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Anyone else think Seifer is being a bit of a bastard? Ain't he adorable!
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