Quistis was pacing in front of her door just as she had the last time Seifer came to pick her up before school. It wasn't entirely necessary that he come and pick her up, but she wanted the chance to talk with him a bit outside of school. She was honestly surprised they didn't get into trouble for talking as much as they did. She didn't want to have to be careful about whispering and being quiet. And unfortunately, Seifer couldn't bring her home after school because he had practice every night. The same anxiety flared through her veins as she sent the text that morning asking him to come and get her. She wasn't sure why she felt like one day he would just tell her no and laugh at her. He assured her just yesterday that the two of them were friends. She just had to keep telling herself that. As much as they were opposites and it all seemed impossible...they were friends.

A familiar red car started driving down the dirt road leading to her trailer. She made sure she had her bag and jacket and locked the door on her way out. Seifer was a little later than she expected him to be. Later than he was the last time he picked her up as well. She felt a little nervous about making it to school on time, but didn't think Seifer would dilly dally on their way there. He assured her last time they would get to school before the bell and they had.

"Good morning," she greeted a bit quietly as she opened the door and slipped into the passenger seat. The masculine smell of the inside of his car along with his cologne and soap from a morning shower slammed into her senses at full speed. It was almost disorienting. He smelled so good.

"Morning!" He smiled at her. "This is a surprise Everything alright?"

Quistis didn't ask him for a ride until that morning when she was already part way through getting ready for school. She didn't give much detail in her text either. Just a simple ask for a ride. His answer back was brief too and she hoped she hadn't angered him. He didn't look angry, though.

"Yeah! Everything is fine. I'm sorry I asked last minute. I didn't text you when I woke up because I remember you saying you didn't get up that early."

"You can text me whenever you want. I won't wake up to it if I'm sleeping. I sleep through everything. I got your text when I was in the shower. I would have been here earlier but I wasn't expecting it."

"Sorry," Quistis mumbled.

"No reason to be sorry! I just gotta drive faster is all," he turned to her, smiling.

"Well, I have some news..."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" He glanced at her as he started driving.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to go to Esthar to your game."

"Nice!" Seifer turned to look at her and smiled before pulling out of the park she lived in and out onto the road. "How did you swing that so quickly?"

"Well, it's not in stone yet. I still have to ask my dad. That's going to be the biggest hurtle. But not impossible. When I was talking to Selphie last night, she was helping me plan a way to go."

"Does she know you're going to watch me play?"

"Wellll...I mentioned that we should go to cheer on Zell. But Selphie is Selphie and you can't hide much of anything from her. I'm pretty sure she has a sneaky suspicion I plan to pay more attention to you out on the field-"

"As I would hope you would!" Seifer teased.

"She seems all excited to sneak me out to another city to see a boy," Quistis rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah?..." Seifer asked, smirking at her. "Sounds pretty scandalous for the class president."

"I'm going to a soccer game! There's nothing scandalous about it!" Quistis smiled.

"If you say so..."

"I do! So...there's some other details that still need hashed out."

"Like what? Maybe I can help."

"Well, like I mentioned, I still need to ask my dad. Selphie said that she would most likely be able to come with me. So that's a big help. I won't be going alone and he's known Selphie since we were in kindergarten so it should be okay. I'm just worried the distance will give him pause..."

"Not sure I can be much help there. I doubt saying my name will get you any brownie points. Her cowboy boyfriend going along too?"

"Irvine? Probably. She doesn't go far without him," Quistis joked. "Plus, it will probably make my dad more comfortable with it too. It won't just be two young girls out alone."

"He'd be okay with a boy going with you two?"

"Not just any boy...Selphie's boyfriend. My dad has known Irvine for years too. It's a running joke that Irvine and Selphie have been dating since they met. Those two were hardly inseparable. They only claim to have started dating recently, although we all know they've been into each other for years. He trusts Irvine."

"What's it got to take for him to trust me?" Seiner asked, glancing over at her for a quick moment.

Quistis didn't know how to respond right away. Why exactly was he asking? Was he sick of her always having to sneak away and create stories just to be his friend?

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

"Sorry about what?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"I know it stinks that I have to sneak around. It's probably super annoying. And super lame."

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Seifer furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm just curious. Would be nice to not have to sneak around...eventually." He flashed her a smile to let her know he wasn't upset by their predicament. "So what else? What's the other issues we still have to solve?"

"Um, well I still have to get the money for the train ticket. And the game, but that's only a couple gil."

"I'll get your tickets. I'm the one asking you to travel that far, so I'll pay for it don't worry. And championship games are a lot more expensive than regular games."

"Oh..."

"Home games are only a few gil for the students. Everyone else pays a bit extra. Away games cost a bit more, especially depending on the field we play at. Each school makes their own prices. But championship games, we have to fly in official refs, sometimes they sell certain merch, photographers are there...it's a big show, really. Not to mention it's Esthar. Everything there is expensive. So don't worry about the cost of anything. I'll cover food and all that too."

"You really don't have to..."

"I know I don't. I spend my money on whatever the hell I want to. And I want to spend it on you getting out and having a good time. Okay?" He glanced over at her waiting for an answer while they were stopped at the red light not far from the school.

"Okay..." she whispered. She was trying not to smile. Deep inside, she hated taking money from people or having everyone else pay for stuff for her. She hated everyone's pity. She got a bit used to it from her close friends but Seifer was new. She wasn't sure how much of it was just friendliness and how much of it was because he felt sorry for her. But she also kind of felt good having a boy say he wanted to buy her things. She always kind of wondered what it was like to be one of those girls who had a boyfriend that took them out and treated them.

"Anything else?" Seifer asked, glancing at her a quick moment.

Quistis took a deep breath.

"Other than the fact that none of my other friends know about this yet and I have no idea how they plan to take it?"

"Just go with your story about going to watch Zell play," Seifer shrugged.

"Yeah, but half the reason the drama started with everyone was because I was found at soccer games...with you!"

"You were found ONCE with me AFTER a game. There's no solid proof I was the reason you were there."

"Try telling them that. I have never once been interested in school sports-"

"Not true." Seifer interrupted.

"Excuse me, what do you mean not true?" Quistis frowned and turned towards him in her seat.

"You played volleyball remember?"

"Yeah, okay that was back in middle school. And it's not like I was super athletic or super into it or anything. It was just something fun I did for a bit."

"Yeah, well, I've seen you play and beg to differ. You're good."

"That was years ago."

"You're still good! And if you haven't been playing at all these past years, then you're an obvious natural. I still think you should play this year. Tryouts will be coming up."

Quistis laughed out loud.

"That would be a hoot! I would never make the team. It's been way too long. And when would I have time to play? I'm way too busy with other school stuff."

"It's just about an hour after school a few days a week. Then we can swap places! I can come and cheer you on instead!"

Quistis just laughed again. She assumed he was completely joking. Seifer was actually being quite truthful. He thought that playing again would be good for her. It would get her out of the house. Give her a bit more of a social life. And as he mentioned, he could cheer her on...which he thought would be kinda hot.

Quistis didn't say anything more about it, so Seifer dropped the subject for now. They were about to pull into school anyways. As he made the turn at the traffic light into their school, he noticed her fidgeting a lot more and a noticeable sigh come out of her mouth.

"You good?" he asked, not sure why the sudden change in her behavior.

"Yeah...yeah just..."

"What's up?" He always tried to keep his tone light as much as he could with her. She scared off easily, always thinking he was mad at her if she so much as detected the slightest change in his voice tone.

"I'm still nervous about Xu and Zell. I still haven't talked to them any. I know Selphie probably went home and spilled everything to Irvine and he always takes her side no matter what. So I know there's no animosity there. But I still have no idea where Xu and Zell stand."

"Well, let Selphie handle them too. She seems good at that stuff. And if they still have a problem with it, fuck em!"

"I can't just say...that. They're my best friends. Xu is one of the few people that doesn't make fun of me for or take advantage of my being smart. She's in a lot of my classes and just as much of an overachiever as I am. So...she gets me in a way a lot of the others don't."

"And what's so special about Zell?" Seifer asked, genuinely wanting to know what anyone saw in that prick.

"I know you hate his guts," Quistis rolled her eyes. "But I've known him since I was really young. He's actually a really good friend and would do almost anything for people he cares about."

"Well then, it sounds like you'll be just fine. Just give them time or whatever. If they hold it against you forever, they weren't as good of friends as you thought," Seifer commented as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off his car.

"You make it sound so easy..."

"I've done a lot of really fucked up shit," Seifer sighed, turning to look at her. "And my two best friends remind me of it every so often and kick my ass when they need to. But they never hold it over my head or make me feel like shit about it. They're still my friends. Even when sometimes I don't know why."

Quistis smiled at him and watched him get out of the car. Maybe he was right. They had her back so many times over the years. They were with her through some of the hardest things a person faces in life. And even as her entire life flipped upside down and everything changed...they were still there. And they never made a big deal about it. This minor fight they had shouldn't decide the course of their friendship for the rest of their lives. Quistis just really hated conflict and confrontation. She was too afraid to even talk to her friends for fear they would fight again. She should just wait for them to come to her instead. Until then, she would just keep to herself. At least she still had Selphie always on her side...and Seifer.

Quistis was sitting at her lab table next to Squall looking through the microscope at her slide. It was awkward working with him, but then again, when wasn't it? It's not like he was treating her any differently than usual. He never talked or showed any kind of emotion. And today was no different. She just couldn't shake the weird suspicion that he actual disliked her. The way he turned her down at the dance. The way he spoke to her most of the time in labs. The way he sided against her at the arcade when her and her friends were fighting. It wasn't even his fight or business yet he still piped in. Yeah, he definitely hated her, she figured.

Squall go up from their table to get another piece of equipment from the other side of the room. A few moments after he had walked off, Quistis sensed someone come up and stand right beside her before she heard a voice.

"So how long are you going to ignore me, huh?"

Quistis looked up from her work and over at the person standing to her right. It was Xu. She recognized the voice. She wasn't sure what to say back. Sure, she had been ignoring her friend. But only because she was afraid of what to say to her. And still hurt by the past weekend's events.

Slowly, she noticed a smirk forming on Xu's mouth.

"Oh come on, Q! Do you honestly think I hate you?" When Quistis didn't respond, she kept talking. "Look, Selphie called me last night. None of us actually hate you, Quistis. Shit got heavy that night, yeah. We yelled and maybe shouldn't have, but whatever. Friends fight sometimes. Who cares. The only one truly butt hurt about anything is Zell but it's probably because his stupid ego got bruised when found you talking with the true star of the team and not him."

Quistis still stood there silent. She wasn't quite sure how to respond. She was beyond thankful that Xu was talking to her. And that she wasn't actually mad. That anyone was actually mad. It made her feel a bit silly she had been so worried about everything and had taken a bit of a tantrum with them herself the last couple days by ignoring everyone.

"So," Xu continued on. "Selphie tells me you plan to go to the championship game to make it up to Zell, huh?"

"Yeah. Figured it would be nice," Quistis shrugged.

"Hmmm. It would be." Xu continued smirking at her. She wasn't sure what was up, but that look on Xu's face always meant something was stewing in her brain. "Esthar is pretty expensive. You got enough for the tickets there and back?"

She knew Xu didn't mean anything malicious by asking. Her friends were always concerned with her being able to afford things she wanted to do and none of them ever held it against her.

"I'm working on it but I'll be able to swing it I think."

"Huh..." Xu squinted her eyes a bit at her friend. "Are you just going to go and come back?"

"Probably. It will be a long night, but I don't think I can convince my dad to both let me go that far and to stay the night too."

"Hmmm...well," Xu slid her had on the table over close to Quistis'. "Here's a contribution from me. I hope you have fun. You deserve it."

When Xu lifted her hand, Quistis noticed twenty gil sitting on the table. It wasn't a lot considering where she was going, but it was still a really generous gift. When she looked back up at Xu, her friend winked at her and walked back to her own table.

Quistis carefully pocketed the money. She always felt a little dirty taking money from her friends, even after all these years. But she knew her friends took more offense when she didn't accept their gifts. And that's what it was. A gift. Not pity, not something to hold over her head. Just a gift from her closest friends. She had to keep telling herself that. Everything about this trip was going so well so far. She only hoped the conversation with her father went the same.

Quistis walked through her front door, once again a bit surprised it was unlocked already. She already forgot her father wouldn't be working any overtime any time soon. It had been a long time since she came home to her father already sitting in the living room. She spent most of the bus ride home practicing how to ask him about going to Esthar this weekend. She wished Seifer could have driven her home. He would have calmed her nerves a bit and maybe helped her with what to say. She wondered if Selphie should be there when she did it. Her friend had a way of sweet talking almost anyone and getting exactly what she wanted.

"Hey daddy," Quistis greeted him as she shut the door behind her.

"Hey there, pumpkin! How was school?"

"Not bad…pretty good actually."

"Wonderful! I stopped at the store on the way home. I was thinking we could have spaghetti tonight, if that's okay..."

Quistis looked over at the kitchen table and saw a jar of generic sauce and a box of noodles. It probably cost her father no more than a few gil, but for some reason spaghetti always felt like a fancy meal to the both of them. And there was always a good bit of leftovers when they were done.

"Sounds great! Just let me know when you're ready for dinner and I'll fix it."

Quistis walked back in to her room and got to work on her homework. She always liked to get it done as soon as she could. She remembered the few times she thought an assignment wouldn't take her long, and she ended up being up half the night completing it.

It was about two hours later that her father asked if she was ready for dinner. She was finishing up her last assignment and told him she would make the food as soon as she was done. Before she left her room, though, she sent a text to Selphie.

Quistis: Bout to ask my dad about this weekend. Wish me luck.

It didn't take long for her friend to message her back.

Selphie: Let me know how it goes or if you need me to call and talk to him!

Selphie: I'm so excited!

Selphie: I hope he says yes!

Selphie: We will come up with another plan if he doesn't!

Selphie was one of those people who tended to send paragraph messages sentence by sentence, each as their own text.

Quistis left her phone on the bed and went out into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. Boiling noodles and heating up sauce was super simple, but she still liked preparing dinner for her father. She felt a sense of importance taking care of him, even if the roles were supposed to be reversed. She was rehearsing in her head over and over what to say to her father. Under normal circumstances, she knew it would be no problem. The issue was that Esthar was so far away and quite dangerous. It was a huge city, far bigger than Balamb, and definitely didn't have the quaint and friendly touch her own town did. She had never been there but heard many stories from people who have and from documentaries she had watched. The city was once governed by an awful tyrant of a person that turned a lot of its inhabitants cold and mean themselves. Their new president was said to be kind, but she didn't know anything about him. Not many people did.

Once upon a time, Quistis was looking at colleges in Esthar. It had some of the best schools. There was also an appeal to going someplace new and being at a large school with loads of clubs and activities and so many new people from around the globe. The diversity was unmatched at Esthar University and the other private colleges in the city. They were all super expensive as well.

When the noodles finished boiling in the pot, she took them to the sink to drain. Her stomach began knotting up again as she prepared a plate for both her father and herself.

"It's done, daddy."

"Thank you, love!" her father responded, turning off the tv to join her at the small kitchen table.

The two ate in silence for a few moments. Quistis wasn't eating as much as she usually did. She barely felt hungry with her nerves going haywire. Finally she decided to take a deep breath and just ask him.

"Hey dad, I um…I have a question to ask."

"What is it, pumpkin?" he asked, taking a big bite and looking up from his plate at her.

"So…I know we don't have money for this, really, but it's okay! I already have that part covered. But um...well, our school's soccer team made it to the championships! It's super exciting!"

"I remember you saying something the other night about that!"

"Yes! Well, Zell is on the team, as you may remember. And me and Selphie and Irvine thought it would be a really great idea to maybe go to the Championship game and cheer him on…"

"Oh, have you made up with your friends?" her dad asked, smiling a bit at her and hoping it was true. Seeing his daughter so broken down that night hurt his heart.

"Yeah, actually. I had a great talk with Selphie the night she came over and I spoke with Xu today and…everything seems okay again." She left out the part about not talking to Zell yet.

"That's great news, honey! I'm so glad."

"Yeah…so, I just think it would mean a lot to Zell if we went and cheered him on."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!"

"Great! But, um…the problem lies in where the championship game is at…"

"Where's the game being played?"

"It's…in Esthar City."

Quistis' father paused taking the bite he was holding up on his fork. He seemed to frown a bit and lower his fork.

"Honey…that's a long way away," her father sighed.

"I know…"

"I can't bring you there."

"I didn't figure you would be able to. But I can take the train-"

"All the way to Esthar? That's dangerous sweety!"

"Well, I won't be alone! Selphie is coming too! And Irvine! So we have a male with us. It won't just be two girls. Plus other students will be going and all have to take the train. They rented buses in Esthar to bring all the students to the stadium from the bus station and back when the game is done. So we will be in a crowd of people we know almost the whole time!"

"What day is the game?"

"Saturday. So we would leave in the morning and be back at night."

"Isn't that going to be a late night? I still don't know if the train is a good idea that late."

Quistis face fell a bit. She knew he probably wouldn't say yes right away. She was trying to think of something else to say to ease his mind.

"Like I said, I wouldn't be alone. Selphie is going and so is Irvine. And Zell, of course. So there's two guys that will be with the both of us. We promise to be careful!"

"How much is all of this going to cost? Trains that far aren't cheap. And you're going to need something to eat as well."

"My friends have it covered. They really want me to come along with them."

"Xu isn't going?" her father asked.

"No, she said she couldn't make it." Quistis only half lied. She knew her friend wasn't coming, but she didn't know the details why, exactly.

"I still would feel better if an adult was going with you guys."

"Well, there's going to be parents there as well. I'm sure Zell's mom is going!"

"Hmmm…that is true…" her father brought a hand up to rub his chin a bit in thought.

Quistis was almost holding her breath hoping her dad would agree to her plan. She was really going through a lot of effort just to see Seifer play. She didn't even think she would really get a chance to hang out with him after the game like they usually did. Especially if she went with friends. They would wonder where she ran off to. Well, Selphie would know. And probably blab to Irvine. But Zell was another story. She still didn't want to risk him finding out yet.

"Please, daddy…" Quistis whispered as a last plea.

"I want Zell's mom's phone number. And confirmation that she is in fact going. If she is, you can go. As long as you keep your phone on you and promise to stick near your friends. No going out into the city!"

"Of course! Thank you daddy!" Quistis squealed and jumped out of her seat to round the table and hug him.

"This excited over a soccer match, huh?" her father chuckled.

"Just…excited to go out with my friends a bit. And see a new place. And it's kind of exciting that Zell's team might take the championship our senior year."

"Yes, that is exciting! Well, I'm glad you have such nice friends willing to bring you along. I wish I could pay for it. I hate you have to rely on them like that."

"They don't mind," Quistis told him in a hushed voice. She hated it too, but didn't want him worrying anymore about money than he already did. "I think they're more offended when I don't take their offers."

"Well, you truly do have good friends," he father smiled, taking another bite of his spaghetti. "What about that other boy? The star of the team Zell doesn't get along with."

Quistis stomach dropped. Why was her father asking about Seifer? She racked her brain for a moment she would have discussed him with her father. She then remembered her dad being awake when Seifer brought her home the night of the big fight.

"Um…what about him?" Quistis asked, not making eye contact with her father.

"Do you plan to avoid him while at the game? Didn't you say he doesn't get along with Zell?"

"Yeah, they, uh…they don't get along. He understands Zell is my friend though. He isn't bothered by it."

Quistis' father took a long look at his daughter. A part of him wondered just how close the two of them really were. He felt the need to add a bit more to his stipulations of letting her go to Esthar.

"Promise me you'll be smart Quistis." Hearing her father use her actual name made her look up at him. It was rare he didn't use a pet name when speaking to her. "I know you're at the age of liking boys but…boys are after different things than girls. Especially at this age. Don't get yourself in any situations you shouldn't be in. Okay?"

Quistis could feel her cheeks heating up. Was her father really insinuating she was going to the soccer game to…sleep with Seifer? She wasn't even in a relationship with him. And he wouldn't…do that to her, right? He's had plenty of opportunities to try something with her and hasn't yet.

"It's just a soccer game daddy. Promise."

Her father smiled at her and continued with his dinner. Her dad's comments caught her a bit off guard, but she wasn't going to let it dampen her mood. He said yes, and she could barely contain her excitement.

A/N:

I have to apologize a hundred times for this chapter.

1- it was supposed to have been published weeks ago.

2- it still feels unfinished but i have to stop it here

3- It's almost half the size of other chapters

After finishing this chapter, honestly a couple months ago, it was so short and felt unfinished. But everything I try and add to it needs to go in the next chapter. This happens all the time to me but just trust that everything else goes in the next chapter. I'm also just telling myself to put this out because I owe you guys something after waiting this long. And as my life usually goes, it has not been an easy couple months recently. Two major horrific life altering things happened and it has me pretty down and broken. It's putting a damper on me functioning, let alone writing, but I'm also hoping I can get back into writing as a therapeutic thing. I leave for vacation to my favorite writing place in a week and I hope I can get some stuff down.

The next chapter is gonna be the trip to the game, the game itself, and everything that happens while there. It's also gonna start the shift of things for these two. I'm so thankful for the comments I continue to get on this fic, and everyone who is still around and still puts up with me lol I'm not giving up on this fic and have much more to come. If only the universe would give me a break...

Please forgive any grammatical/spelling errors. Again, at this point I just need to post this.