Chapter Eighteen: A Stressful Gathering
As he entered the Quad, Squall's eyes widened at the sight of the transformed room. "Now that's impressive."
Certainly it was impressive; in the short span of two hours the Quad had been changed from a movie theatre to a dance hall, complete with buffet tables covered with food, and chandeliers delicately suspended from the ceiling all throughout.
"Yo!" called a familiar voice, and Squall smiled as Zell and Sally approached him, arm-in-arm as usual. As was expected for an official function, he was wearing his SeeD uniform while she wore her candidate uniform. "Can you dig this?" he asked as he made a show of looking around the redecorated room. "I'm starting to think that maybe Trabes is a big transformer."
"You big silly," Sally giggled as she gave his arm a squeeze. "Trabia Garden specializes in tactics; that's why they were able to rearrange this room so quickly."
"Yeah, but…two hours?" he said incredulously.
"One, actually," she replied then nodded with a giggle as his head dropped with an exaggerated expression of slack-jawed, wide-eyed disbelief.
Squall couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange. "In any case, I'm impressed," he said, looking around the room again. "And glad that Selphie's on our side, now that I think about it."
"Is someone talking about me?" a chipper voice called out, and the Chief of Garden Intelligence joined the trio a moment later. "I heard my name; are you three gossiping about me? And if so, is it anything juicy?"
"Hey, Sylph!" Zell laughed. "Naw, girl; Squall here was just talking about you behind your back."
"R-Really?" Selphie's smile faltered but she quickly kicked it back into place.
"Knock it off, Z," Squall protested with a shove to the cackling martial artist's shoulder, then looked over at Selphie. "Miss Regal had just reminded me that Trabia Garden's good at tactics, which made me realize that you'd have to be good at it, too, which made me glad that you're on our side."
"Thanks," she giggled, but then her face fell as her eyes refocused in the direction of the entrance. "Oh…"
"What's the matter…?" Zell asked, trying to see where she was looking. "Whoa; I can't believe he actually came…"
Irvine Kinneas stood just inside the entrance to the dance hall, surprisingly alone. Apparently he noticed them because he touched his fingers to the brim of his ever-present cowboy hat before making his way over to one of the many buffet tables. He had his usual cocky grin, though it looked…subdued.
Squall was so caught up in the sight of the less-than-confident sharpshooter that he didn't notice the couple approaching from behind. "Good evening everyone," a throaty, female voice purred, and Squall jumped as he turned to find Quistis and Zone behind him; while she wore the SeeD uniform as expected, Zone had somehow managed to afford a nice, dark-blue suit with a white shirt, complete with a thin, black tie.
"Qui-Qui!" Selphie cried as she threw herself at her friend. "I'm so glad you two came!"
As the girls squealed over each other, Zone extended a hand to the Garden commander. "Squall, good to see you again."
"You too, Abe," Squall replied with a warm smile as they shook hands. "Have things settled down in Timber, yet?"
"Finally!" the former Timber Owl exclaimed with a laugh. "Things are still kinda hairy in Deling, though; a lot of people have needed therapy after Edea's…no, Ultimecia's spell."
"I can imagine." Squall knew what the other man was referring to; during Sorceress Edea's speech to the Galbadians she had used a form of a mind-control spell to pacify the crowd and make them more receptive to her angry and hate-filled words. "Having your mind messed with like that? I'm just glad I was focused on my job."
"H-Hi…"
"Rinoa!" Selphie squealed, her attention abruptly shifting from the tall blonde to the raven-haired sorceress. "It's so good to see you again!"
"Th-Thank you…" the sorceress replied as she accepted a kiss on the cheek from the overly-excited girl. "I'm…glad you're not mad at me."
"What happened, happened," Selphie replied as she hugged her friend. "I'm just glad you're better now."
"'Sup, Tiss!" Zell called to the young woman standing just behind Rinoa. "Here to give your new leg a test drive?"
"Absolutely, Chief!" Tisky replied happily as she gave her restored leg a couple of pats. "In fact, I'm looking forward to it."
"You two seem to be getting along well," Sally remarked. "Is it because of…? You know…"
"If you're talking about when Miss Rinoa healed my leg, then yes," Tisky confirmed. "But I consider her one of my best friends now, now that I've gotten to know her better."
"How wonderful," Sally replied warmly as she unconsciously snuggled her man's arm.
"Hey, is this a private party, or can anyone join?" Dawn said as she and James joined them, both in uniform.
"Mr. Barton," Squall greeted with a warm smile as he reached out to shake hands with the gunslinger. "I know it's only been a few hours, but it's good to see you again."
"Thank you, sir; likewise," James replied as he accepted the proffered hand. He then stepped close enough for only Squall to hear his next words: "Are you better, sir? I don't mean to pry, but-"
"I'm fine, thanks," Squall replied, grateful that the background noise was enough to mute their conversation to the others.
"Excellent, sir," James replied as he stepped away, giving Squall his precious space back. "I do hope you have a good time this evening."
"I'll…do my best," the young commander replied, touched by his subordinate's concern and well-wishes.
"I'm going to go get something to eat, if no one minds," Selphie said as she took hold of Squall's arm, only to quickly release it again. "Anyone want to come with?"
"I'll go," Sally and Dawn replied almost as one before exchanging awkward smiles.
"Um, okay…" Selphie said, sounding a little less enthusiastic.
"I'll come, too," Rinoa said with her hand raised, then turned to her new friend. "Do you want to come, Tisky?"
To Selphie's relief, Dawn and Sally weren't the only ones to join her; Rinoa, Tisky, and Quistis also went along, leaving the men to 'fend for themselves' as Quistis jokingly put it as she departed with the others.
Squall still had difficulties with large groups of people, so as the other men headed over to one of the many buffet tables and the room continued to fill he made his way to a corner of the room and planted himself there in preparation for an evening of avoidance. He experienced a bout of déjà vu as a female server carrying a tray of drinks stopped to hand him one before moving on. He felt a little refreshed as the sparkling water cooled his nerves along with his throat.
"E-Excuse me, commander…?"
Squall lowered his glass to find a female in the candidate uniform squirming before him. She looked familiar, but… "Yes, Candidate…? I'm sorry; you look familiar, but I'm having trouble remembering your name."
"It's Brisbane, sir. Kara Brisbane. I tried to give you the Elixir after you saved me – I mean, us – from the second floor when it collapsed." She knotted her fingers and shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she glanced up at him repeatedly.
"W-Well, Candidate Brisbane…" Squall started, stuttering slightly as he noticed that one of her feet was turned inward and remembered what Zell had said about it, "…what can I do for you?"
Kara flashed a hesitant smile up at him before she opened her mouth…
"Whoa, you should try this!" Selphie exclaimed as she held a small sausage in front of Quistis' face. "It's cooked in barbecue sauce!"
"Yes, Selphie, thank you," Quistis chuckled before allowing the hyper girl to stick the morsel in her mouth.
"I was thinking of getting some of those and some carrots for balance," Selphie giggled as she started to fill her plate. "And if I have any room after that, I'll-"
"Um, chief…?"
Something about the way the Sally addressed her superior drew everyone's attention, and everyone in the group looked over to see Sally staring off toward the opposite side of the room; even with all the people present, it was still possible to catch a glimpse of the other side of the room every now and then. "Is something wrong, Sally?" Dawn asked as she followed her friend's gaze to find… "Oh, shit…"
"Language, please," Quistis admonished as she, too, followed Sally's gaze. "Oh, no…"
"What's going on?" Selphie chirped just before biting down on a carrot. "What'sh…" Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Squall talking with… "N-No…" she breathed, the uneaten part of her forgotten carrot tumbling from her mouth to the floor. "N-No…"
"She said she was gonna do it…" Dawn murmured, more to herself than anyone else.
"Selphie…" Rinoa's expression was one of firm resolution as she moved to stand before the distraught girl to take her by the hands. "What are you going to do? Are you going to just let her take him like that?"
"R-Rinoa…?" Selphie turned agony-filled eyes on Squall's ex-girlfriend. "Why…Why are you asking me that? Don't you want him back, too?"
"I've…burned my bridges with him," Rinoa said with a voice filled with regret, tears spilling from her eyes even as she tried to hold the other girl's gaze. "But you have a chance! Are you going to give up on him that easily?"
"You said that you thought the two of you would be a great fit," Dawn pointed out, moving to the edge of Selphie's periphery.
"But-!" The distressed girl covered her face with her hands. "I shouldn't get in the way of his happiness!"
"And how do you know that you couldn't be part of his happiness?" Sally pressed.
"I… P-Please…l-l-leave me alone…" Selphie whimpered before breaking into a run toward the nearest exit, trying desperately to ignore the concerned looks sent her way.
Squall internally cringed as he tried to think of a way out of the conversation with the starry-eyed candidate; it was pretty clear where she was trying to steer it. "That's… Um, good for you, Miss Brisbane."
"Oh please, sir; p-please call me 'Kara'. She clasped her hands behind her back, accentuating her ample bosom as she smiled up at him. "Sir, I was hoping that…"
A movement from the other side of the room drew Squall's attention as he noticed a familiar form hurrying toward the exit. "Selphie…?"
"S-Sir?"
He narrowed his eyes at the departing figure; there was no mistaking the impossibly-bouncy hair, but…was she covering her face with her hands? "I'm sorry Miss Kara, but something's come up. Please excuse me." Without waiting for a reply he hurried toward the exit himself, stopping briefly to hand his glass to a passing server. "Thank you."
"Have a pleasant evening, sir," the server replied to his retreating form before returning to his duties.
Across the room, Squall's abrupt departure was noticed by the other men. "Where's the commander going?" James asked, gesturing to the exit doors.
"Aw, he probably just needs some space," Zell replied as he added another hot dog to his already-impressive pile. "He's not big on parties. Or big groups of people, for that matter."
"I dunno," Zone chimed in, scratching his cheek. "He seemed like he was in an awful hurry."
"Zell!"
The young man in question looked up to find his girlfriend hurrying toward him with the other girls in tow. "S'matter, Megalicious?" he grinned as he added yet another hot dog to his plate. "Don't worry; I'm leaving enough for everyone."
His smile faltered, however, when Sally grabbed his arm with a look of distress. "The chie-I mean, Selphie saw Squall talking with…with…"
"…one of his admirers," Dawn chimed in.
"Oh, crud…" Zell grunted, his eyes briefly losing focus. He quickly turned to Zone and thrust his plate out at him, nearly dumping the pile of hog dogs. "Could you track this for me, homes? I gotta jet."
"I'll take care of it," a familiar yet unexpected voice declared.
"Oh, hey Irvine," Zone greeted as he held one side of Zell's plate. "Enjoying the party?"
"Yeah, thanks." The sharpshooter took a step closer to fix his gaze on the marital artist. "Listen; you let me take care of Squall and Selphie, all right?"
Zell was about to protest, but something about the haunted look in the other man's eyes… "Sure, dawg; they're all yours."
"Zell?" Sally tugged at his shirt, worry in her eyes. "No disrespect intended, but isn't he the-"
"It's cool, Sally," Zell replied, surprising her with the proper use of her name as he looked back to the cowboy. "Go do your thing, man."
Irvine nodded once, then touched his fingertips to the brim of his hat before jogging out the exit.
"Are you certain that was wise?" Quistis asked. "You know his history; how do you know he won't make things worse."
"I can't explain it," Zell admitted with an awkward chuckle as he took his plate back from Zone. "But…I got this feeling that he wants to be part of someone's happy ending…even if it isn't his."