Disclaimer: "Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est, fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better…" No… still don't own Final Fantasy VIII….. yes, my brain is fried…
Chapter 36 – Strangers in the Night
"...DARY! Right? Right?" Inara cheered as she stood on the central platform of the solar panel disk in FH.
Behind her a handful of FH's engineers worked on beams and platforms apparently building something. In front of her, Quentin, Xu, Rian and Sorphan's latest Garden Festival addition, Nida, sat on the ledge listening attentively as the tallest boy, who had just washed out of the galbadian uniform and into his casual clothes, now seemed completely recovered from his momentary depression, sporting a WAY too happy a face.
"What exactly are you suggesting?" Quentin wondered, leaning back on the pavement with Xu sitting beside him, suddenly straightening up in sign of attention.
Both had changed after giving their report to headmaster Cid, opting for something more... comfortable. Now, Quentin wore his shirt slightly unbuttoned, black trousers and boots, having left his vest out. Xu, on the other hand, had discarded the SeeD uniform and now wore her more casual outfit.
Nida sat next to them, a little to the side, unsure of what exactly was he supposed to be doing there.
Last thing he remembered was walking around with a couple of cadets and FH workmen to the Quad of Garden so they could assess some damage. The next instant he was being dragged around, arm in arm with both Inara and Sorphan, towards the storage room and to carry a load of assorted equipment and follow them around. They said they were getting something up for everyone to relax and that he was gonna be a part of it too. They neglected to mention he had absolutely no choice in the matter.
He had been warned before of the persuasiveness of the tall brunet's eyes, something famous throughout Garden for managing to make the Ice Queen join a social gathering, but he never thought he would be caught in it. Now he sat there, half listening in to the red headed woman, whom he'd never seen before in his life, doing Hyne knew what...
"Well, as I said..." Inara continued. "We are holding a concert. Now, originally it was just to celebrate our timely return and the salvation of FH, but there has been a new development..."
Inara paused for a moment to give emphasis to her next statement.
"Schala's promotion..." She finally said in all pump and circumstance. "It's the perfect opportunity to go all out and help cheer up Schala in the process."
"Just picture it..." She added as the expression of disbelief spread among her audience.
None of them believed Schala was the type to enjoy a concert. They were also certain she would not want to be cheered up, though she would obviously be in need for it. All knew her well enough to know she had locked herself in her room over thinking about... well, everything. The girl definitely needed a break.
"A fancy stage... courtesy of our new friends from FH..." She started again, signalling the stage in construction behind her.
The platform where the mayor's house stood had been chosen for the big show. Not only did the disposition of the solar panel disc allowed for a great audience with a good view, but the solar panels themselves made for awesome light effects that could light up the skies for kilometres...
"An awesome band playing cool, assorted songs..." She continued, this time gesturing around her as if indicating all the people around her, whom frowned slightly at the implication.
She couldn't mean they, could she? Sure, none of them were completely tone deaf, having taken music lessons as part of the Gardens' curriculum. SeeD training really did approach all areas of expertise in preparation for future missions.
Though none of them could think, at that moment, how knowing how to play an instrument could help them fight a sorceress...
Anyway, the most of them didn't feel comfortable performing in such a great stage, especially considering most hadn't picked up any instrument for years now...
"And a handsome and appealing date by her arm..." She added, this time clearly pointing at Rian sitting at the edge of the group.
Rian shrunk but in an excited way. A first date with Schala – if you didn't count the tour, and he wasn't... especially considering how it had been interrupted – and to a concert no less. It certainly had more potential than a tour of the garden or any other time alone together they had shared till that moment.
"It will be the perfect night!" She brought it home. "And I'm sure Schala will enjoy it... Well, at least appreciate our effort to cheer her up." She had to correct.
"We owe her that much."
They all looked among each other, shifting their eyes then at Quentin. In the absence of Schala, they all looked up to the Senior SeeD and Instructor as the leader of the gang. Even Nida stared up at him since, well... knowing him first and foremost as his instructor, he'd be the logical choice to be making the decisions.
Quentin looked very doubtful, though. It was such a great deal... and cheering Schala was also quite the undertaking...
Hell, why not? He eventually wondered. She would certainly need it, Hell... they all did.
"Sounds fun." He caved.
"Woohoo!" Sorphan cheered with an incredible high jump, that only caught the most recent addition to the group by surprise, all of the others more than used to his exuberance.
"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" He cheered again, doing a little happy dance which made everyone laugh out of his pure happiness.
"Alright..." Zanya managed to let out between laughs. "Who are you getting to play in this shindig?"
The laughter died down as both Sorphan and Inara got a smile on their faces that crept the hell outta them and gave them a really ominous feeling. Even Nida, that had seen that very same smile seconds before being drafted into their schemes, shook a bit in dreaded anticipation.
"Well..." Sorphan started, sharing a look with his partner in crime.
Inara reciprocated the gesture before they both turned back to the others.
"We are!" They said in unison.
The other SeeDs stayed silent for a while as the dread justified itself. None of them saw that particular element of their idea as a good one, except maybe for Rian.
He smiled, thinking how great that was gonna be. He remembered doing those kinds of things back in high school, silly really that rarely turned out any good, but they were always a lot of fun.
"Say wha'?" Zanya reacted, stunned and almost falling of her seated position.
"You can't be serious?" Quentin noted. "I mean, we can't just get all together and do a concert. It'll take at least a week to train and get minimally ready and I doubt the repairs on the Garden will take that long." He added.
There was the composition learning, the instrument training, the tempo synchronization and the practice with all of them together... there was no way they could do it in less than a week...
"Actually..." Inara stepped in with a smile both awkward and mischievous. "We were thinking of doing it tonight... You know, strike while the iron is hot." She added, cringing as she expected their reaction.
After a small but meaningful silence, the walls came down.
"WHAT!"
"No way!"
"Impossible!"
How did I get pulled into this...?
All of them were utterly outraged, except, once again, for Rian. He thought it was a great opportunity to hold a concert then and there, and even if it wouldn't be perfectly performed, it should provide much needed distraction.
He understood, though, the why and how most of the SeeDs wouldn't like the suddenness of the act. They were not prone to act silly in front of other people. Sorphan, Inara and Zanya were the more than occasional exception, though the blonde didn't seem particularly eager on this one.
Nida, on the other hand, didn't know what to think, except that he really rather be somewhere else. Doing a concert, performing in public? And with less than a day to prepare? These people were crazy.
"Oh, c'mon guys!" Sorphan wailed. "It has to be tonight!" He insisted.
Like Quentin had said before, the repairs in the Garden were going smoothly and it wasn't like they had a lot to repair. It shouldn't take more than a couple of days for such a talented and hard working crew, but that wasn't even the point.
After the stresses of the last couple of days, with the missiles, the separations and the near destruction of the Garden and the town, they needed a release. And that concert was it.
"Sorphan, it's just not possible." Quentin tried to explain, standing up but still a bit short to be at eye level. "It's too short notice, we can't do it this rushed, it just can't be done..."
Sorphan was at the brink of tears, now. He wanted it to happen that night. He was back at the Garden he thought he'd lost and had no idea what had happened to the other Garden. He needed to get his mind off things, he needed that concert.
Inara looked intently at both men, sharing the occasional look over the rest, more than half of them nodding in agreement, Nida rather vigorously. She half expected the resistance to occur, and had prepared her bearings for such an event. Her speech was out, preacher like.
"Like stopping the missiles couldn't be done?" Inara started, getting the others attention.
She paced around them slowly, her stare burring into each of their faces, making her words sink into their brains.
"Just like the Garden couldn't be saved?" She continued, pacing around.
"Escaping the D. District prison; delaying the missiles; saving Balamb Garden; saving FH..." She started getting into it.
"These may seem impossible for most people, but we did them."
"We escaped the impregnable highest security prison EVER." which was an amazing feat.
"We blew up the Galbadian missile base..." which was pretty cool too.
"We made it so Balamb Garden would rise up from the ground and move away from the incoming missiles..." and that particular feat being a whole new degree of awesome.
"Three people stood between half the Galbadian military forces and the people of FH without even flinching... and we drove them off to the bottom of the ocean." with a little help of a giant water snake... B-awesome, by the way!
"For Hyne's sakes..." She brought it home, one more time. "WE ARE SEEDS, we make the impossible possible time and time again!"
She paused for a moment, regaining her breath under the surprised gaze of the others. Even Sorphan was stunned by her passionate words.
And Nida, in particular, didn't know what to say. He knew they had gone out on a mission and that they ran into some trouble out there, coming in during a civil war and warning of incoming missiles, but... had they really done all that?
Inara straightened up, having recovered from her mock lackness of breath as she locked her stare into each of their faces.
"After all we've done..." She paused again, giving extra emphasis on her words. "Are you really going to tell me that... doing a concert with half a day's preparation... was the one thing we couldn't do...?"
Silence stretched as Quentin resisted caving in to her pretty shrewd argument. Her words had fulfilled their intended purpose. The others were charged for it now, even Nida that barely even knew her seemed slightly peeved by their accomplishments.
Quentin probably couldn't prevent it, even if he wanted to.
"Inara, you talk a fine line..." Quentin eventually yielded.
"Thank you, Quentin." She replied, trying, though not much, to disguise her victory smile.
She sure knew how to rattle a crowd.
"So... How are we doing this?" He asked in order to get things moving.
The sooner they'd start working on their performance, the less it would suck.
Inara turned to Sorphan and, taking his cue, he rushed to a small pile of stuff no one had noticed was there in the first place, except for Nida that had helped carry it there less than an hour before.
Fumbling with it for a moment, Sorphan quickly returned with his hands full of sheet music, and a couple of instruments. He placed them down as orderly as his situation allowed, and went back stage again to help Inara, who had followed him earlier, carry a grand piano to the others' location. It was pretty heavy though, and with a quick glance his way, Nida stood up and hurried to help out, causing the smile to grow on Sorphan's face.
He was very well trained...
After taking a moment to compose themselves from the lesser strain – lesser than any other taken that day, at least – Sorphan picked up the sheet music, straightened it and distributed one each to Nida, standing right beside him, Zanya, Quentin and Xu, all who stood up after everything was in place.
"Here's the sheet music for the songs we'll be performing." Sorphan noted.
There were six scores, meaning five instruments in play though not all of them would be in use for all of the music. Five instruments and vocals he was going to have to convince one of them to partake.
And that was the main reason why they had needed to recruit a couple of members off the usual gang. Xu was easily brought in – as Inara had mentioned at the time they noticed they didn't have enough people – since she hadn't left Quentin's side since their arrival and so, would probably be willing to join them. The sixth element had been slightly trickier to acquire.
There was Rian, but Inara, and Sorphan by association, had different plans for him: The leading role of the play. So, there was a hole in their performance.
As they pondered on it, standing at the shambles of the Garden Festival Committee's ruined stage, light shone on their little dilemma. A hand full of people entered the Quad, a few cadets, FH personnel and... Nida. Sorphan immediately recognized him from the SeeD exam, the only other apart from their gang to have made it into SeeD. He would be the one to save the day.
Back then, he had looked at Inara and Inara had looked back at him, a truly disturbing smile on both their faces as they turned back in unison and called out, only Sorphan saying his name as Inara didn't know the man.
And that's how Nida got involved in that whole mess, though he was now more into it than earlier.
As everyone looked over the compositions in their hands, wondering to themselves which part they'd pick, Rian was oddly left out to which he immediately complained.
"Hey, don't I get one?" He wondered, standing up and switching his eye focus between Inara and Sorphan.
"No, Rian. I'm afraid you aren't playing tonight." Inara told them as she approached him.
Rian was visibly upset. He didn't expect to be left out, not again and especially not in a non-combative situation. He wanted to share that moment with Schala, and everyone and he couldn't believe they were taking that away from him.
"Calm down, Rian." Inara added immediately as she noticed his reaction. "I have a slightly different plan for you."
Inara stepped closer, wrapping an arm around his suspicious face while turning him away from the others. She gave a couple of steps before halting and half turning back, still with her arm around the other young man.
"Sorphan, you got that?" She asked as the tall teen was busy handing instruments to their friends.
Sorphan turned to her calling and nodded with a wide smile of happiness that his event was finally taking place. Inara smiled in turn, resuming her walk with Rian but not without adding in a loud voice.
"I call dibs on the bass guitar!" She shouted without getting a reply as Sorphan and Zanya struggled over the electric guitar, Quentin sat at the piano stool with Xu leaning over its side and Nida merely stepped to the side, not wanting to get in the middle of the struggle and perfectly content with having whatever was left after their choosing.
"It's really, the only instrument I can play..." She confessed, lower so only Rian heard her.
They walked a bit away from the others, moving away from the ruckus that had instilled.
"Now, Rian. You have the most important part in this play, and that is..." She paused as she felt his attention on her, now seemingly less suspicious and more curious. "To get Schala to come to the concert..." She added, drawing a surprised then pensive look from the non-SeeD teen.
Getting Schala to mingle with them in a social event would indeed be a tough job to accomplish...
Seeing he was no longer upset for being denied the chance to make a fool of himself on stage, Inara continued with a renewed smile.
"So... let's talk clothes..."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Schala laid on her bed, fully clothed – except for her jacked which she had discarded over a chair – staring up at the ceiling, not a thought in her head, for a change.
She had spent the last hours – not one, not two, but several hours – thinking about any and everything, and finally her mind had run out of things to think about.
The most prominent nagging thoughts focused on the headmaster's announcement... her promotion to head commanding officer of SeeD.
It had taken many hours for her to cope with that particular predicament. Her...? Responsible for everyone...? It was just too much to ask for...
She had reasoned for hours that she had no choice as long as she was a SeeD. At that time a random thought actually suggested that if she quit, she'd be off the hook, but that thought was immediately discarded. Being a SeeD was all she knew, it was all she was. If that was taken away, there wouldn't be anything else...
So that was it, there was no choice. She would lead everyone to fight, defeat and kill the sorceress... Hyne, what a job... Kill the Sorceress... Kill the Headmaster Cid's wife... how it would have cost him to give that order... an order she would have to give as well.
The order to kill someone's loved one...
And then, there was Seifer... Would she have to give the kill order on his life as well? She doubted greatly they could get to the sorceress without going through Seifer first and, stubborn as the guy was, it would take nothing less than death for him to stay out of the way... She'd witnessed that herself in the float during their first assassination attempt.
As the leader, those decisions and giving those orders were all on her. It was so much to ponder on, so much to take in... So much to think about and the moment wasn't even there yet.
And now her mind, tired and beaten of over thinking everything, was also bored... So much she had actually started to wonder what everyone else was doing. She had refused to face anyone after the announcement, rushing into her room and locking – yes, she had remembered to lock it this time – her door, ignoring all calls of congratulations on the way there. Now, she could actually welcome the distraction...
*Knock Knock*
As if on cue, there was a calm but strong knock on the door, strong enough to wake her in case she was sleeping, but calm enough not to make her jump and grab her blade.
Without rushing, Schala got off of bed and walked to the door, opening it in time to prevent a second knock.
She said nothing as she looked outside and saw half what she expected to see. That half being Rian whom she supposed would be the one to come and drag her away from her solitary moment. It was always him behind her door. What she didn't expect was his getup...
Instead of the trademark vest or the training uniform she had seen him in that day, he wore a formal jacket – which seemed oddly like the SeeD uniform jacket but without the emblems and patterns on the shoulders and collarbone – over a button up white shirt and formal black pants – also like the SeeD uniform ones – over his shiny black shoes.
"Greetings, my lady." Rian greeted with a soft bow.
There had been some discussion as to how he should address her as to better suit the gang's plans. Some had suggested he called her "Commander", the title they had already chosen for her to take as the leader of SeeD military, but both Rian and Quentin believed that approach to draw a negative reaction and thus, throw their plans as feeder to the sharks.
Instead, Rian opted by his old approach which had worked in the past. As such, he half expected her either to groan at his choice of speech or even answer the door with a traditional "What?", but she just seemed tired. This concert felt more and more like the thing to do.
Rising from his bow, Rian looked straight in her eyes, those penetrating blue-grey eyes that were also not displaying surprise or annoyance, but actually a kind of pleasant feeling, as if she was pleased with his coming.
That almost threw him off guard and off the purpose of his visit, but he pulled himself together in a second.
"I was wondering if my lady would like to accompany me." He started in all his politeness.
The offer drew a frown out of her. Last time he had wanted to take her somewhere, it was to the training centre but, for the first time since she could remember, she didn't feel like going there...
"And where would you like me to accompany you?" She wondered.
Rian had to raise his eyebrows at that response, but he composed himself fairly quickly. He never expected her to follow along with his speech pattern. Though it was said in a rather dry tone and lacked the softness he had already heard from her.
But it also lacked the hard edge which faded more and more with each passing day.
"I would like to take you out to a concert."
The frown on her face deepened. How and where could there be a concert?
The Quad stage area had been obliterated by recent events. She had stood amidst the rubble that very afternoon with Sorphan and Inara... Inara, of course. She should have known.
The repair request was for something like that. She probably asked the FH engineers to fix the stage to get on Sorphan's good side – not that she needed help in that department, even Schala could tell – then, tempt him with a concert idea. He would jump at that opportunity.
And then those two would drag the others smack into the middle of it. Doing something this silly and unnecessary then having Rian asking her to join in, probably in an attempt to get her mind off things.
A concert, really... what a nuisance...
Still, it was better than dwelling... or passing out outta pure boredom...
"Alright." She replied, drawing a big smile out of him.
"Excellent." He commented briefly, staring at her for a moment.
He was happy that she had been easier to convince than the others had thought. Inara even coached him in a long and somewhat straining repertoire that in the end, proved completely unnecessary.
At first they all thought that she would immediately say no, that was what was expected, yet Rian thought differently. Something was changing and he could tell that she was starting to loosen up a bit and despite of everything, she would welcome the distraction from all the events of that day and week.
He was particularly pleased to be right.
His eyes made a very quick scan below as something seemed to have caught his eye but he raised his eyes to her face in a second, though sporting an awkward smile.
"We still have time" He added slowly, measuring his words and her reaction. ", if you'd like to change..."
Schala looked down, noticing she still wore the same clothes as that morning. The same clothes she took to battle against the Galbadian soldiers and that unavoidably got either damaged or smeared with blood, dirt and/or gunpowder. It wasn't exactly the ideal clothing conditions to be taken to a concert.
It suddenly flashed in her mind their second meeting, in the Timber Owls Base train. Back then, and it felt like a lifetime had passed, she caught him sleeping shirtless and then he got about to leave without even realising it. She recalled how he awkwardly stepped out to put something on and couldn't stop recognising on herself the same exact feeling.
But, confusing her pensive look with offense, Rian immediately tried to correct himself.
"Not that you're not ok, I mean..." He started awkwardly, snapping her memory bubble. "You look nice in just about everything..."
Her frown stayed but her eyebrow rose at the comment as she stared at him intently.
"I mean, you look perfect in absolutely anything... Everything...! Err..." He corrected, suddenly afraid he might have botched the whole thing.
He was about to start babbling – some more – in attempt of apologising but she quickly turned, closing the door behind her and he could have sworn on his life, she was smiling.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Night had fallen over Fisherman's Horizon and Balamb Garden had become silent. All repairs had stopped since she couldn't hear the machinery anymore, the only sound being their footsteps on the empty halls of Garden.
Schala had taken only about five minutes to wash up and change out of her battle scorched clothes into something more presentable. She chose a skirt slightly longer than usual with two openings in the front, black boots and a sheer white blouse. Also, and much to Rian's surprise and delight, she had placed hairpins in her hair, pulling the most of it from her eyes and leaving just a couple of strains framing her face.
That sight pleased him because it reminded him of the Ball where they'd first met and shared a dance and he couldn't stop but hope that particular event would repeat itself that night.
Schala, on the other hand, was thinking how impressive, efficient and quick the workmanship of Fisherman's Horizon's crafters and engineers was. The Hall outside the dorms had been rid of the awful, not to mention dangerous, hole in the ground brought by the elevation of the control consol for the Garden. The damage was barely noticeable anymore, the floor having regained the pristine state it had before. The remaining traces of battle, all the way to the central fountain statues, had all been repaired or very close thereof.
If Schala didn't know better, she wouldn't say there had been a civil war within those halls just a couple of days ago.
If the crafters had already done this much in such a short time, she couldn't stop but think how much had the engineers already accomplished. With this level of labour, she wouldn't be surprised if the workers needed more than one more day to wrap everything else up.
Rounding the nearly repaired central area, Schala expected them to head towards the Quad, since it was the only place that could hold such an event. The considerably diminished outer area or the inner ballroom, were the only places within Garden which would support a concert. However, Rian kept walking around the halls and when he started climbing the steps to the lift it was clear enough that wherever the concert was taking place, it was not inside Balamb Garden's walls.
The elevator didn't tardy in arriving and the moment it did they both got inside with Rian pressing the second floor button and confirming Schala's assumption.
"..."
"You look very pretty..." Rian broke the silence that had instilled since they left the dorms' hallway.
Schala looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't used to being complimented on her looks, at least not in a situation in which she would take it seriously. She nodded slightly and turned away, observing the fountain from above as the lift rose, all the while, fighting to resist an uneasy smile, her mouth twitching ever so slightly.
Rian wasn't so reticent, smiling freely at the apparent uneasiness of the girl towards praise. It wasn't that she seemed embarrassed, which he would probably find cuter if she was, it was still cute. All other girls he met before at school or elsewhere were always so conceited or over reacting to the littlest of things. Either for being a SeeD or just the way she was, Schala was one unique woman.
The lift stopped and both got off, walking normally to the access door leading to the second floor balcony. As they crossed the halls, Schala made a point to take notice of the classroom where she saw the galbadian prisoners being held, which now found itself empty. Seemed like one of the FH workers' undertakings, mainly the cages to be built in the basement level, had already been finished.
Another high mark for Fisherman's Horizon's excellence in workmanship.
Stepping through the access door, the environment on the outside was exquisite. The sky was clear, a blanket of stars adorning the dark heavens and shining starlight over the calm ocean waters. A soft, salty breeze blew in from between the work cranes that towered over the Garden's structure, silent and unmoving as the workers were nowhere to be seen. They had probably called it a day already even though it was barely after nightfall.
With such a beautiful night, it was no wonder they didn't wish to squander it with working afterhours.
Schala recalled they were going to a concert and couldn't stop but wondering if it was open invitation, meaning the FH people could also attend, though she was unsure if they'd be up to yet another commotion. But she also had to add to her string of thought, it looked like the perfect night for such a performance.
They walked through the catwalks heading towards the town at a steady, non hasted pace and they did so in silence. In fact, other than those four words spoken in the elevator, Rian had been quiet the whole time though, Schala noticed, every once in a while, his casual smile would widen for a few moments.
Before she could elaborate on the reason behind his amusement or even, Hyne forbids, ask him about it, they rounded the last tower.
Schala had to stop to admire the sight. It had nothing to do with the sight of that morning. In the centre of the solar panels was an enormous stage like structure. It was gigantic with a couple of platforms which were still enveloped in darkness while the structure itself glittered and glowed with an assortment of coloured lights. And it wasn't just the stage. The solar panels reflected the lights creating whole new colours that completely lightened the sky.
"There it is..." Rian started, breaking the silence and her examination of the scene, "the concert area."
Rian was surprised as well. He had been there during construction, but hadn't seen the final result under those conditions. The night really raised the bar onto a whole new level.
Schala kept her stare. She couldn't stop but wondering on the amount of trouble it had taken to make. She set up to talk Inara down about it. Her condition to "using" FH engineers was so as not to disturb work on Garden, but that had been too much.
"Schala, c'mon." Rian called out, already standing on the cargo lift and waiting for her to join him. "They're waiting for us."
Schala frowned at the apparent implication, but didn't have time to ponder as she followed him onto the cargo lift.
"Hey, there." The triplet operating the upper lift controls greeted as he, surprisingly, stepped behind them and activated the lift from the inside.
He smiled as, after touching some buttons and levers, the lift went down as smoothly as before. It made to wonder why there were two lift operators in the first place...
"Looking forward to your friends' show." He added on the way down. "We haven't had a party around here in quite a while. For all the people living here, there aren't that many with musical aptitude."
That was true. Last time anyone in town tried to sing on a microphone, there wasn't any piece of glass intact for half the town.
"Well, we'll see how you guys turn out." He said as the lift reached the bottom and he got out, signalling them to do so as well.
As they did, the young man nodded, looking to the side to a group of friends that gathered nearby. It seemed like they were the final fare before the concert started, and it seemed like the bulk of Fisherman's Horizon had come to watch the show as well.
"Enjoy the concert..." He mentioned before starting to walk away.
He stopped a bit ahead and half turned to look back at them.
"By the way, looking good." He added with a smile before going away for good.
Schala turned to face Rain whom had done the same. She tilted her head slightly, again taking the possible comment slightly awkwardly and he just smiled. She really wasn't used to being commended on her good looks. Why she wasn't more often, he had no clue. And that night in particular, rid of all and any weapon or military indicator, she looked that much prettier.
Today, she was just another girl going to a concert.
They walked out noticing the group whom the triplet joined, identifying the other lift operator, though neither could tell which one was the upper or the lower, and the third, ill mannered triplet. That one was easily identified since, despite them saving the town, he still looked them over with disapproval and distaste.
But nothing was going to ruin that perfect night, so ignoring or dismissing the hateful stare, the two continued onwards to the edge of the solar panel disk.
Schala was surprised the blinding light being cast by both the stage and their reflections on the solar panels didn't cause a distorting effect. She realised, as she stood by the borders that the view of the stage was perfectly clear, though the stage itself was still dark, all the light being directed away from it.
"Hey, Schala, Rian." A familiar voice called out which was immediately recognized as Inara's.
The pair had to step back as they realized what the red headed sharpshooter was wearing. Instead of her usual attire, or even her borrowed one, she now wore a stunning short, blue sparkling dress that contrasted nicely with her red hair. On her hand, as she approached them, she seemed to be carrying a black cowboy hat.
"So... Rian really talked you into coming, huh?" She commented as she approached Schala first, hooking an arm around her and turning her so she wouldn't be overheard. "I must say I'm impressed. The boy managed to deliver." She added meaningfully.
Schala frowned as she stared back at her, not so greatly bothered by being hugged as she would once be. But the other woman's words, not as much as bothered her but confused her. What the hell was she going on about?
"You guys look really good together." She added again withholding the hidden meaning from Schala's understanding.
Inara merely smiled knowingly before turning them both back to face Rian, who had a suspicious frown on his face.
"Everything looks awesome down there." Rian interjected, feeling uncomfortable by not knowing what Inara was whispering about.
One never knew what that woman was thinking... or plotting...
The unspoken intention was clear enough for Inara, who released Schala and approached the railings circling the solar panel disk.
"Of course, it was all done under my close supervision." She replied with a large smile, approaching Rian now.
"FH people are so handy. It turned out just like I planned." She added, discretely putting her arm around Rian now.
Just like she did with Schala, Inara turned him around for a private comment session leaving Schala to continue confused, probably pondering on the possible meaning of her words.
"So you got her here, huh?" Inara told him, nudging him in approval. "Not bad, not bad at all." She added smiling freely, so much it started to make him uncomfortable.
She thought that was just the cutest thing... after Sorphan, that was...
"So..." She continued, pulling him closer while standing on her toes in order to get at his level, "I saved you a seat next to the stage..." she told him, "It's wide, lots of space to move around, just like you wanted..." She added, her innuendo clear as the starry sky above their heads.
"Inar..." Rian tried to comment, but she continued.
"The place is marked so you won't miss it." She wasn't leaving him the room to put a word in. "You'll know it when you see it. Just let it all out tonight..."
Before Rian could try to say anything, she stepped back, moving towards the access path down the solar discs.
"I gotta roll. You guys have fun tonight!" she shouted back as she hurried, not without a wink sent the raven haired young man.
Schala, drawn from her trance, looked at Rian with a raised inquiring eyebrow, but the young man just shrugged to defuse the matter.
"She saved us a seat near the stage." He said, hoping to refocus the purpose of that night. "We'll have the best view." He added.
"Let's go." He added, holding his hand out as if it was meant for her to take it.
Instead, he moved it to the side and back in a leading bow. Whether that was his original intention or not, none would be the wiser, but Schala took the lead with a small nod. As she passed by him, he rose and walked with her, side by side.
They stepped down the ramped steps leading to the central platform turned stage. Looking randomly to the side, Schala noted that most, if not all of Garden's reduced personnel, including SeeDs and cadets, had taken seats, mostly improvised, all over the solar panels. She could even identify several FH locals spread around as well. They had all come down to see the concert.
Despite what one would think of her, she understood that with all that they went through, a distraction in the form of a parody concert would lift their spirits and relax them before they were forced to head back into battle. With that in mind, she turned her eyes back to the path downwards and left the people to do their bidding
They finally reached the central platform and climbed the stairs onto it, standing right below the stage. This close and even with most of it shed in darkness, Schala could still point out several elements. The stage itself had been build expertly and so they, even so close, could see it all and the people in the back as well, due to the elevation of the solar panel structure itself. The stage was plain and it had several platforms, accessible by ramps, some of which had musical instruments on them, mainly what looked like the outline of a grand piano and a set of drums on opposite sides in the back.
One single light turned on then, illuminating only the front portion of the stage but enough to shed light over Sorphan as he stepped forward. He too was wearing something different from the usual get up.
He was using a reflective grey vest with a light brown mid arm t-shirt underneath. The tight pants matched the vest, though of a less reflective material, that ended in a pair of ankle brown boots with narrow tips. His hair was as unruly as ever, and maybe a bit more since it stabbed all over the place and on his wrists was matching dark brown leather bracers.
All around, he looked ready to rock.
He stepped to the edge where there was a stand-in microphone and it was then that Schala noticed he had a strapped electric guitar hanging around his shoulder and resting at waist level. The guitar was black with several stripes of bright gold. As he had to regulate the mic's height to accommodate him – whoever had set it up was considerably shorter – he noticed the pair immediately below him and couldn't stop greeting them with an energetic wave before focusing on the rest of his audience.
"Welcome ladies and gents, to our little performance." He spoke into the microphone causing his voice to carry till the far reaches of the town.
"This show is for all of you out there who have been through more than your fair share as of late, and are in need of a well deserved break from it all..." He shouted into the crowd that cheered back, only increasing his enthusiasm.
"This is especially..." He continued once the audience allowed him to speak once more, "dedicated to one person. One to whom a large weight has been placed upon and hopefully, this will help to lighten the load."
His stare shifted from the crowd to focus again on the people right below him, at the lower edge of the stage, and to one in particular who suddenly straightened and frowned. Schala did not like where that was going...
"This concert is for you, Schala." Her fears were confirmed at that statement. "As congratulations on your promotion. We back you up all the way, girl."
Schala stepped back. So much for a relaxing concert attendance with no concerns or attention time...
She'd had it so she instinctually turned to leave but was forced to halt her intentions. She looked down at her left arm to find another hand restricting her and keeping her in place. Following the length of the sleeved arm, she couldn't hide the surprise on her face to verify that it was Rian that had grabbed her.
"That's it Rian! Don't let her get away!" Sorphan cheered from the stage, ignoring the fact that Rian was risking himself to ending up unconscious on the cold floor for his rather daring move, but he was more worried with making her stay and enjoy herself.
Whether she wanted to or not, and no matter the casualties.
"Wait." Rian called out though his gesture was more than enough to imply it.
Schala stared at him, her surprise being that he would stop her physically. She was used to having to hear his strong opinions and comments and all that, but it was the first time he'd made the first physical contact to the point of placing his hands on her.
Still, she didn't shake her hand away from his hold.
"They really put in a lot of effort into this." He told her, seeing her not having already bolted outta there as a sign she might be inclined to stay. "And you don't have to do anything... just stay and listen, that's all they want."
Schala was hesitant. She didn't like the fact that they had went to all that trouble for her, even involving the FH engineers into it. And she couldn't understand why they would to something this big because of her.
Still, and despite having every fibber of her being telling her to just leave, she couldn't ignore Rian's words... "Just stay and listen, that's all they want." It was a very hard thing for her to do, to stay there just to please them... but still, she couldn't bring herself to leave after how Rian asked her to stay.
She nodded in defeat causing both teens to smile either in victory or just pure pleasure that Schala was letting herself go more and more.
"Alright!" Sorphan cheered loudly, his happiness heard throughout the town."Enjoy the show, Commander!" He added.
To that, Schala's surrendered expression gained a new deep frown at the title called, and Rian was slightly worried Sorphan had gone too far. His hand even jerked slightly as if she were to leave, but stayed in place.
Like herself, the others had been through a lot as well and if they needed that performance to clear their heads, and needed her to be there to share it with them, she would give in to them this time. She decided to stay, despite not being entirely pleased.
On the other hand, Rian couldn't be happier that the date was really happening, that she hadn't run away and, especially, that she hadn't shove his hand away.
"Let's hit it, guys!" Sorphan shouted to the speakers, stepping back as all the lights in the stage turned off.
There was a full five seconds of silence before the speakers sounded out...
"What can I do for you?"
The soft female voice echoed throughout the arena and beyond the rims of the solar panels.
The stage lights turned on, one at the time and with different colours, the first shining over Sorphan as the first cords coming from his electric guitar filled the void after the first words.
His fingers moved swiftly and without skipping a beat, keeping a quickening pace into an active tune. For a couple of seconds, he was the only one playing but soon another light lit another part of the stage.
Inara stepped into place, moving her fingers expertly throughout the strings of her bright red bass guitar, keeping his rhythm and adding melody onto it. She was wearing the same as what they saw her in earlier, but was now wearing her cowboy hat that complemented with her boots, added to her look.
She was enjoying herself greatly, playing while looking either at the audience, Schala and Rian or Sorphan, a constant smile and cheerfulness in her stance.
A fast pace drumming sounded before the light shone at a back corner of the stage, illuminating both the drum base and its player. Zanya hit the sticks all around the drums and plates, apparently in a frenzy but every hit, every thumb and every plate ringing sounded in accordance with the rest of the instruments already playing.
Zanya's shape was barely visible behind the large drums, but the positioning of the stage still allowed view onto her alternative attire, more suitable for a performance, and that suited her rather well. She wore a thin black top under a dark netted shirt reaching from her collar bone to her waist that allowed the view of her intrinsic set of tribal tattoos covering the left side of her chest and stomach. She wore shorts with their right leg reaching just above the knee and her left below it, which was adorned with similar yellow and red tribal markings as her black tattoos. Around her waist, her typical white belt hanged to the side, laying on the floor of the stage. On her feet, a pair of black combat sneakers pedalled the main drum every other second.
Next, a peculiar sound was heard. It seemed a bit off, more jazz oriented, but it happened to complement the melody in an unexpectedly good way. As the lights went up at the far end of the stage, Nida's shape came into view. He was rocking a golden saxophone in either fast or slow motions while his fingers hammered its length without missing a note, adding depth to the tune.
It was a surprise for most of the audience, Schala included, to see him there, playing in a different outfit, certainly not chosen by him. It consisted of dark blue suit pants, crumbled at the edges as they went under his black, untied ankle boots. On the top part, he wore a slender purple vest over an olive green shirt that oddly worked together. His hair was spiked with gel, other than his usual straight outline, and he wore shades in the darkness as he played with his eyes closed behind them, feeling the music and playing with all his soul.
It didn't take long after that for the last light to turn on the back centre stage and illuminate the grand piano, which Schala had already noticed before, and its player. The only member of the close knit group who was missing was Quentin and it was no surprise to find him sitting in the piano stool, dancing with his hands over the white and black keys and giving an extra impact to the melody being played. Still of note, was the fact he was the only one thus far not to have completely strayed from his usual wardrobe, wearing his usual white shirt and blue vest and trousers. What was different, was the lower part of a dark blue long four-cut surcoat with a black line on each stripe, which he wore over the waist. This long vest ensemble fell on the back of the stool and complimented the image perfectly.
The big surprise in the piano scene was the character standing next to it. Xu stood half leaning over the big, dark grand piano wearing a slink low back, silk red dress that attached at the neck and reached her mid thighs with an opening on the right side revealing a satin and lace black girdle. Her hair was puffed up and she wore long sparkling earrings and a long, fancy necklace.
As the music gained momentum, Xu leaned off the piano and raised her hands to her face, revealing herself holding a microphone to which she immediately started to sing along the melody, moving through the stage as she repeated the first lines a couple more times before starting off the song itself.
"Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart
I could see a place that's something like this
Every now and then I don't know what to do
Still I know that I can never go back
..."
And so, the band was complete, playing a fast tune song that had most of their listeners stand up from their improvised seats and start to dance to the groove.
Sound which was of surprisingly good quality, Rian wondered, especially considering the incredibly reduced amount of time the performers had to prepare and their own concerns on the matter. SeeDs were used to not fail at anything and everything they did, and despite all odds, this was not going to be their chance to break that self imposed rule.
Rian slightly nudged his hand, still grabbing Schala's as to call her attention. She was also staring at the immense spectacle her companions had been able to pull out of their hats... well, Inara's hat anyway. And they were really good, not that Schala was any expert.
Feeling the pull from her limb, Schala turned to Rian who was smiling sweetly at her. When she turned, he signalled her to walk with him so they'd take their seats, the ones Inara so conveniently arranged for. Nodding in agreement, Schala followed after him, for once not taking the lead.
And she was alright with it at that point.
They walked hand in hand for a couple of steps till Rian found it. It wasn't that much of a reservation, he reasoned, a single magazine resting on the side ledge, the same where the meeting for the concert had taken place that afternoon. As Rian stepped close enough, he almost freaked at the type of magazine the sharpshooter had chosen to mark their spot. Not only was it not the type of magazine Rian would read less alone possess, it could give the wrong impression to whoever happened to see it.
He rushed forward to grab it before anyone, mainly her date, could see it, completely forgetting he still held hands to the person in question. She felt a jerk and was forced to double step to prevent falling and eventually had to let go completely. Rian kneeled and grabbed the offensive item, hiding it behind his back as he turned and smiled at her. Schala looked at him in a mix of confusion and inquisition, but he ignored it for lack of a proper explanation, opting to signal her that they were at their assigned location.
Still with a frown on her face, Schala stepped into place, sitting on the slightly elevated edge of the platform with her legs crossed ahead of her. Letting his eyes rest on her as she sat, Rian made to follow in her example, lowering into a sitting position while discreetly throwing the magazine out of sight. He relaxed a bit after that, letting his stare fall on Schala once more as she looked up at the concert.
After a moment shared in silence, with only the music flowing around them, Rian turned his eyes away from her fair face and looked up at their friends. He was determined to strike a conversation, since that's also what he intended when he dragged her there that night. There were some things that needed to be said and as much as it pained him to disturb the perfect atmosphere, he couldn't let this opportunity go by.
"They're not half bad, actually... I expected them to be more lacking." He opted by starting the conversation with a less intrusive comment.
Schala nodded in agreement. She remembered her roommate – yes she had some recalls of them sharing a room though, and often by choice, she'd forget about it – attempting to play on a guitar she said once belonged to her grandfather. After a cord or two, she screamed in a panic that she'd broken the strings and her father was going to kill her. Schala highly doubted the peaceful looking man would lift a finger against his beloved daughter apart from the occasional smack on the back of her head, but it went to prove Zanya and string instruments were a bad combination.
However with the drums she handled herself rather well. Without a doubt, percussion was her gig.
Rian stayed in silence, looking back at the stage and their friends performing before resuming his intended topic.
"So... I've been wondering..." He started again, drawing Schala's attention from the performance and on to him.
He remained looking at the stage for a little while longer, turning then to face her and stare into her inquiring eyes.
"About this promotion..." He continued, letting the issue linger in the air.
Schala frowned to the choice of topic, turning her face away to look up at the stage once more. It was clear to Rian that he had touched a subject she'd rather not talk about at that moment, the supposedly relaxing time they'd arrange for her.
"I know you probably don't want to talk about it..." He started again, gaining a slight confirming jerk, but she still wouldn't turn back to face him.
You got that right... Schala wondered. After spending an entire afternoon thinking about it, she didn't want to ponder on it anymore. She had already made up her mind on the matter, there was no longer the need to dwell deeper into it.
"And I know the next couple of days or even weeks will involve a lot of work for you..." He continued, determined to see it through, "and you might be thinking about handling it all on your own..." He added with a soft, knowing smile.
Yeah... that sounds like me... She reasoned. She was the kind of person to hold it all on the inside, even she was aware of that. She turned back at him, reinforcing his resolve.
"All I wanted to say was..." He paused, staring deeply into her eyes, unblinking, making sure she was truly paying attention to him this time and that she knew that he was serious, "You are not alone..."
She blinked out of her stare, both surprised and inquiring.
"You're a loner, I get it." He started to elaborate. "You probably could never depend on anyone before, either by choice or not having a choice at all, but..." he paused to find the words, "...right now you are not alone."
Schala's frown deepened slightly as that hit a particular nerve. He was right in his assumption. Ever since she was young, growing up without parents, alone in an orphanage and then thrown into Garden at the age of seven, forced to fend for herself among her peers...
She might have started by not having a choice in being alone but then, she grew accustomed to being alone and preferred it like that...
"You are surrounded by people who lo... who care about you." He corrected himself in time, not wanting to drop the L bomb on her just yet. "Who worry and care enough they'd pull this off in less than half a day just to cheer you up."
She looked back at the stage for a moment, thinking about it... Sure, they were all comrades in arms, they'd been through a lot together and she admitted that such experiences created strong bonds between them. But still, that wouldn't account for someone, in this case several someone's, going through all that trouble just for her sake... She still couldn't comprehend that behaviour entirely...
"We're all here for you..." Rian continued, making her turn once more to face him, "either to fight beside you, to talk or just listen..."
"All we want is for you to share the burden, not to try doing everything by yourself because you don't need to anymore."
He paused as he looked at her with sweet eyes, her own staring back at him with intense awareness, taking in his every word.
"You are surrounded by friends and all we want is to be there for you... so let us..." He added with a dazzling smile, his case partially made.
Be there for me... can you really do that? Schala pondered, considering his words and their meaning...
In this life there are no guarantees... we may be together today and dead tomorrow... Especially considering their line of work...
What's the point of friendship and companionship if it can be obliterated in a blink of an eye...?
And once it's gone, what's left? Pain, suffering... to get close to someone and have them ripped away from you, isn't it just too much to bear?
Isn't it better to just cut your losses from the start and just spend your life alone so you never have to go through that suffering?
She thought with a mental cringe, suddenly unsure if it was not already too late for her to try and make that distinguish...
On the background, the long forgotten concert kept going on. A couple other songs had played themselves out. At that moment, a slower song started to fill the silence around them...
"Whenever sang my songs
On the stage, on my own"
"I know I'm dropping a bombshell on your lap right now." He told her.
"Whenever said my words"
"And I know it's something you are not comfortable with... all I ask is that you think about it... like I need to ask that..." he chuckled, knowing perfectly well how she over thought about everything.
"Wishing they would be heard"
He returned his eyes to hers, smiling softly as to reassure her of his words.
"I saw you smiling at me"
"Just consider it... consider us for a moment." He asked her, wishing deeply for her to do just that.
"Was it real or just my fantasy?"
"You can rely on us," he added, "...we'll always be here for you." He emphasized.
"You'd always be there in the corner"
"Will you? How can you be sure...?" Schala suddenly said, catching him off guard.
"Of this tiny little bar"
"What?" He replied in surprise.
He expected her to think about it, he didn't think she'd reply there and then.
And the point where she focused on... He could tell, he finally realised how vulnerable she really was... How the fear of losing the people she'd grown so attached to terrified the hell outta her...
"My last night here for you"
"How do you know you'll be here for me forever?" She elaborated, her face and voice emotionless, as usual, but her eyes betrayed some anxiety for his answer. "You can't know that..."
"Same old songs, just once more"
No one knew how long they had on that "Earth". Making a promise to be there forever, it was a sure way to have it eventually broken...
"My last night here with you?"
"Well, no... I suppose I can't..." Rian reasoned, but refused to give in, not when he had at last cracked the walls and made her open up to him.
"Maybe yes, maybe no"
He inched closer, breaking through her personal space but did nothing more than stare at her stormy blue-grey eyes, so filled of confusing clouds.
"I kind of liked it your way"
"But I'm here now. Isn't that enough?" He let out, keeping his eyes on her, trying to make her understand that he would never betray her...
"How you shyly placed your eyes on me"
She stared back at him, her frown gone as his words and actions, echoed by the music playing on the background, made it impossible for her to even blink, less alone tear her eyes off his.
"Oh, did you ever know?"
He decided to continue, then, taking advantage of the moment and momentum to tell her what he'd always wanted to say...
"That I had mine on you"
"I'm here, so depend on me... talk to me or at me, either way..." He paused, finding the right words to express his feelings.
He'd been wanting to tell her all those things for so long, practiced in so many times in his head, but when the time came, the words just pooled outta him. He was so into it, he barely even registered he was no longer talking for the rest of them, but just for himself...
Schala listened intently. She sure didn't expect the conversation to turn around her like that. She didn't know what to say, or react to his, well... sort of confession...
"Darling, so there you are"
"I want to know what's on your mind, what's troubling you or what makes you happy..."
"With that look on your face"
He wanted to make her happy... no matter what it took... He had fallen so heads over heels over that girl, he had lost himself into her...
"As if you're never hurt"
"I want to know you and I want you to know you can count on me..." He moved closer, resting his hand on hers, which she didn't move, paralyzed by his words... "For anything..."
"As if you're never down"
He wanted to be her support, someone she could lean on. But she wasn't sure she could do that... All her life, she'd tried not doing exactly that...
"Shall I be the one for you?
"So, what do you want?" He suddenly asked, his words running away from him and catching her completely off guard...
"Who pinches you softly but sure"
What do I want? I don't think I even know... She wondered, truly unsure what her answer would be to that question, asked to her not for the first time... So, as per usual, she changed the target of the query...
"If frown is shown then..."
"What about you?" She focused on him completely, diverting the question but was suddenly lost in intense brown eyes...
"I will know that you are no dreamer"
She had barely noticed, didn't even realize... he'd been staring at her that entire time... Whenever she'd turn her eyes away or closed them in thought, his hadn't wavered for long.
He'd kept his eyes on her, burring his intentions into her asking, practically begging her to see him, to really see him and confide in him, trust him. He wanted to be a part of her life, to get to really know her.
He already knew a part of her, so much he knew she was just deflecting the question back at him because she didn't know the answer herself.
What made her happy... it must have been something she never thought for herself...
They kept staring at each other, stormy blue locked on chocolate brown, either completely unable to tear their gaze away...
"What do you want?" She repeated, her tone suddenly softer... her question, an echo of the same words being said towards someone else...
"So let me come to you"
"Me?" He wondered, but he had known the answer to that question for a long time... "I've got what I want... right here."
"Close as I want to be"
"I want this moment to last forever, here... with you, under the moonlight, music on the background..."
"Close enough for me"
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be..." He concluded, his stare soft as he kept leaning towards her and was now almost on top of her.
"To feel your heart beating fast"
She was stunned beyond words, or even coherent thoughts. There was this surge running through her, lulling her into a calm and at the same time excited moment. Before she could ponder more on this sensation she was so unfamiliar with, Rian stood up, staring down at her as he stretched his hand to her, holding it in front of her for her to take it.
"And stay there as I whisper"
She stared at the offered hand, hesitant to take it. But then his words echoed in her head, "depend on me, rely on me... trust me..."
"How I loved your peaceful eyes on me"
Raising her eyes to his, she placed her hand on his and with a both thankful and excited smile, he pulled her up into a loose hold, not quite a hug yet, all the while never tearing their eyes from each other.
"Did you ever know?"
Just like in the SeeD Inauguration Ball, Rian took her hand and led her a bit more to the centre of the platform, so they would have all the room they needed. And this time, he didn't need to lead her other hand to his shoulder as she did it willingly, both losing themselves in the moment.
"That I had mine on you?"
As she music danced around them, they too moved accordingly... no inhibitions, no restrains... Just a man and a woman moving closely together at the slow paced rhythm of a song that spoke straight into their hearts...
"Darling, so share with me
Your love if you have enough
Your tears if you're holding back
Or pain if that's what it is
How can I let you know?
I'm more than the dress and the voice
Just reach me out then
You will know that you are not dreaming"
As the music continued to play, and they continued to dance, all around the solar panel couples, either self-made or due to current circumstances, shared the dance floor wherever they were and could. They all danced to the music that touched at their hearts...
"Darling, so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you?
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"That... was... perfect..." Inara let out as she crossed the halls at highly late hours, walking side by side with her fellow band members.
The concert had ended late, very late at that and even so, most of the audience had stayed till the very end. After the last song played, and necessary encore, the people finally started to clear the "concert hall" and after that, Sorphan insisted they cleaned up the stage and put the instruments away themselves, not wanting to increase the FH men's workload, who had done so much for them already.
It had taken time and now they were all very, very tired as they dragged themselves to their dorm rooms...
But still, it had been awesome.
"It went much better than I thought it would." Quentin admitted, he being the one who was more worried at the lack of preparation.
"It was all wonderful..." Xu let out between yawns, half walking half being led by Quentin as they all pulled through together with the sole purpose of reaching their rooms... and only then collapse on the bed.
"The people were really into it." Zanya cheered on, apparently not at all tired after the extremely long day they all had.
And especially considering the load she had to carry. Nida had fallen asleep while they were cleaning up the stage area and, not wanting to leave him there, they were forced to carry him back to his room, duty that had befallen the muscle of the group. Zanya carried him as if he were no heavier than an oversized, man shaped soft pillow.
The stage itself was left up since Sorphan had arranged for the FH people to dismantle it and take the parts back to the Garden storage room... He had plans for those.
"Everything was more than perfect!" Sorphan cheered, also apparently unaffected by the late hour or strain of the day.
"And did you see Rian sneaking out with Schala? That was so awesome!" He squealed a little bit, holding his hands together in excitement like a little boy...
The only part of him which was not like a little boy was his height.
And it was true. Little after they finished their first slow song, Rian and Schala, who had been dancing much to everyone's – everyone who was paying particular attention to them, anyways – delight.
Now, what they had sneaked out to do? None had any idea.
"I still say we should have followed them..." Zanya commented, adjusting her cargo that threatened to fall off her shoulders.
"I am curious..." Sorphan added in. "But we were in the middle of a concert, we couldn't just drop everything and go!" Though at the time, the thought had crossed his mind...
All of them had some morbid curiosity to know what they were up to. Truth was, they didn't have the slightest clue.
They could have just gone back to the Garden straight after, though the fact the lift operating twins had stayed in the concert till the end made that scenario less likely. They could have just wandered around the town, enjoying the soft sound of the waves hitting the base of the structures and gone back to the Garden a while after leaving the concert. Or they could still be out there, enjoying the night.
Of course there was also the possibility they had come back to the dorms, but were still together... It was that possibility that nagged in the mind of some who struggled with the will to go check either of their rooms...
After all, Rian had managed to convince her to attend the concert... who knew what else could he talk her into...?
"Just leave them alone..." Inara, surprisingly enough, was their advocate, insisting on more than one occasion that they'd leave them be.
"Let them have their moment... Whatever that may be..." She added, to which the rest of them gave in.
True, she was also curious and she would probably corner either one or the other for intel in the morning, though Rian was more likely to spill the beams... But for now, she wanted them to have exactly that, their one moment together after and before any confusion could arise.
To let them have their one peaceful night together...
It was with that thought that the SeeDs parted ways to each of their dorms, with the exception of Xu who already shared a room with Quentin, and Zanya who had to drop off her shipment first before falling into her own bed...
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
As the night gave way to dawn and the first rays of light peaked over the horizon, steps could be heard throughout the halls of the otherwise silent Balamb Garden
The major population still slept after the late night outdoors' activities, but the steps didn't belong to any who had just woken up, but to those that had yet gone to sleep.
Rian and Schala crossed the halls in silence, much like they had spent the most of the night after leaving the concert grounds. For hours, they just walked around under the starlight, hand in hand, merely sharing the comfort of each other's company.
Rian was more than content to taking things slowly, understanding that any faster and Schala could regress to her closed heart, never to let anyone in again. But she had taken her defences down for him that night. For that night, they had just been a boy and a girl, holding hands, all night... no fights, no pressure... no problems troubling their minds...
He understood that night had been special for both of them, and that the next day things would go back to how they were, for the most part at least. The fixing of Garden so that they could go after the sorceress, Schala as commander of SeeD, were things Rian knew he couldn't change and that would return to the top of the priority list.
But at least, for one night, Schala could forget about all of that and enjoy the last moment of complete peace and relaxation she would be entitled to for the long times ahead...
That was the main reason Rian had prolonged that night for as long as he could... The days would be hard again starting tomorrow, but Rian hoped Schala would not go completely to the way she was and that she could rely on him more... on him and on the rest of the gang as well.
As for Schala, it had also been a big step, letting herself go like that. She was always aware, always prepared to jump into action at the littlest sign and she preferred it like that. But being with Rian was different. It was not that she felt safe enough that she didn't feel the need to defend herself, quite the opposite. When she was around Rian, in normal circumstances, she always saw the need to be extra protective of him, due to his lack of SeeD training and client status and all. But that night had been different.
Being in such an intimate situation with him, with no danger in sight, actually allowed her to let herself go a bit, let her worries pass her by. Around him, her body felt relaxed. There was no fighting tension, no physical strain. There was the occasional mental strain, when he went all righteous and noisy and profound, but for the last couple of days, his words hadn't come as much of an attack but mostly as support, and her strain had slowly lessened. His words that night had made her think, but there was no pressure, no on the dot decision to be made.
At that time, with all that she'd been through and all that was expecting her and from her in the next days, she welcomed his presence and allowed herself to just be led away...
The dawn's light started to lighten the sky at a distance, signalling the night's end. No matter how they both kinda wanted for it to last longer, either to enjoy the other one's company or to postpone the decision making and responsibilities. Either way, the magical night was over and it was time to return to the rest of the world.
With that thought in mind, they reached the dorms' wing, heading towards Schala's room first since it was the closest to the entrance. Arriving at her door, Schala reached to her pocket for the card key but found it still being held by Rian's who tightened his grip for an instant instead of letting go.
She turned to him as he did as well, both sharing one long stare into each other's eyes and both knowing that was the end of the good times.
Rian moved first, but instead of releasing her hand and let her walk away, he raised it to his lips, closing his eyes as he gave it a long tender, soft kiss, using his thumb to massage her knuckles that had suddenly grown stiff. It was a bold move, and he was barely able to resist smiling against the back of her hand for her reaction. After a longer moment than necessary, Rian lifted his head, having to try his hardest not to take advantage of her clearly stunned state and do something more daring.
Instead, he stepped back, releasing her hand which remained hanging in the air where he left it, frozen in place, and spoke.
"Good night." He said in a soft voice, turning to the side and walking away before his instincts overran his common sense.
Reaching the corner, he spared her one last glance, finding her standing where he left her, her hand in the air and her face turned towards his departing form. Their eyes met one more time before he was out of sight and he had to support himself on the wall to prevent from falling.
Schala remained upright and frozen in place for a while. She surely didn't see that one coming, his bold move. She turned her head away from the spot where Rian had disappeared a few minutes ago to look at her raised hand, the tingling of his lips on her skin still present. True, they'd held hands for about the entire night, but that felt so different.
She eventually broke the spell and turned back to her dorm, reaching for her keys and stepping inside, closing the door behind her.
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The dawn's light shone on the calm coastal waters of Balamb Island, starting to dissipate the night's mist that temporarily gave cover to the fast approaching galbadian armada, led by the massive red snake that was Galbadia Garden.
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"So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday." Young Noah,
The Notebook
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AN.: Hey again! Told ya I'd be back soon ;P
So here it is, the final part of the chapter I originally thought would be with the previous one... glad I had my beloved Beta change my mind... And she was the one that came up with the Chappy's name too, and if you listen to the song, it does apply for the most part XD.
I really liked writing the concert part as well as the preparation leading up to it. It was fun, and that's what it's all about. And, as for the use of Real Emotion from FFX-2, well... I wanted more than one song to be played during a concert and, as I also wanted to keep it in house, at least for the time being, this was the FF song that came to mind.
Besides, I figured that... if I ever were to write a Twisted Fantasy X and its sequel... there was NO WAY in heaven or hell that I would make a male Yuna sing... especially that song, I mean, c'mon? I don't think anyone would want to see that...
As for the song-fic portion of the chapter... I thought about it and my Beta backed me up... it's really an awesome and probably the only way to do that part...
Anyway, hope you liked it and rest assured, I'm already working on the next chapter... be ready for another all original XD(though, don't hold your breath... still working on the thesis and don't want you dear readers choking to death :P)
Read ya later
Revir
Reply to anonymous replies part:
As you might have guess, this part will be empty today... considering I barely gave you, my beloved readers, time to read two paragraphs of the first chapter, it'd be close to impossible for me to have reviews on that chapter by the time I post this one... which I'm guessing will be just a couple of minutes apart... Oh well ;P