Here's the next chapter, and I really like how it turned out. There will probably be one, maybe two more until this fic is done, but it''ll get there. Phoenix is helping me out alot, and this thing is really coming together. Please enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW!
Chapter 12 -We Rise and Fall Together
"Oh, Zell! I'm just so happy you're ok!" Selphie cried. "We were all so worried."
After helping Zell to the Infirmary, Seifer had gone out to collect the others from around the Garden. Luckily, Nida, acting physician in Dr. Kadowaki's absence, had been able to get the drugs Zell had taken out of his system before they could cause too much damage.
He was doing better then ever after a good night sleep with Squall and Seifer by his side. Now, he sat up looking guiltily at his good friends, along with Seifer's posse, as they gathered around his bed.
"Thanks, Selph.....and........I'm so sorry for what I did to you." Zell said. "It's driving me crazy knowin' I hurt you...."
"It's ok, Zell......I'm not mad or anything." Selphie replied.
"We know you're going through hell here." Irvine added. "Can't blame you for being a little.........." he trailed off, throwing Zell a shamed smile.
"Thanks......all of you." Zell smiled. "It's really helping me get through this now that I've let it sink in how much you all care."
"And don't you ever forget that, Zell." Rinoa said. "It's something that will never change." She placed a loving hand on his shoulder, sitting herself down on the edge of the bed.
"So where do we go from here?" Seifer asked.
"Yeah." Added Raijin. "Can't handle this happenin' again, ya know!?"
"CORRECT!" Fuujin said. "PAINFUL!"
"Amen." Irvine said with smile.
"Well," Squall began, sitting himself on the bed opposite Rinoa. "I think we need to talk.........all of us. You said once, Zell, that most days you could be just fine, the Zell we had all come to know, but then other days seemed completely downhill, where you could only think about how horrible life was and how much you'd done wrong in yours. We've all had days like that, Zell, but it's something more with you, something that's harder for you to control."
"What are you saying?" Zell asked.
"I'm saying...." Squall continued. "....life isn't something you fix overnight when you have problems and then go on living like nothing happened the next day. Life is something you have to work on everyday. That goes for all of us. So.....if we're going to help you through this, Zell, we have to all do it together. We have to let each other know who we are....."
"Squall.....?" Quistis questioned.
"We've all learned so much about Zell this past week." Squall continued, turning out to the others in the room. "Talking him through his problems is going to have to be something we do every time he needs it, and that should go for each and every one of us, too. And.......I think we should start right now......"
"Just telling each other how we feel.........what eats away at us.......?" Quistis said thoughtfully.
"What we can't always face on our own......?" Seifer finished.
"Exactly." Squall said, smiling as he turned back to Zell. "We can't just fix what's wrong with you, Zell, because it's not that simple. We can only help each other through life as it happens, day by day."
"I....I think I know what you mean." Zell said. ".....and........I'd like that....alot. I just......don't think I can start....."
"It's ok, Zell. You can go last if you'd like, I just think this is something that we all need to do." Squall stated. "What do you say?" He added, turning back out to the others.
There was a silent pause as everyone took in what was being offered, but soon all within the walls of that simple room were giving their nods and words of agreement.
"Good." Squall smiled. "Then I'll take the burden off the rest of you, and I'll start......"
Squall stood from his place on the bed, letting his gaze drift off into nothing as he pondered how to begin.
(I thought this up.......so I gotta fulfill it. Please, God, let this be the answer....)
Squall sighed, gaining his courage, and then took a deep breath before beginning.
"......most days.........I'm terrified just to wake up and walk out into the hallway every morning.........So much has happened, and I can't ever shake the feeling that something else is going to rip through our lives again someday." He spoke pacing the room, his eyes never lingering on anyone or anything for very long.
"Mostly......I'm afraid of loosing all of you......." Tears were already threatening to fall from his thoughtful, hazel eyes, but he didn't let his pride keep them away. "....I closed myself off for years so I wouldn't get hurt, and it almost killed me........When all of you had found your way out of time compression, I lost myself to a world of nothing. I felt so alone........I thought I had lost all of you then, and.......I died. Rinoa.....is the only reason I'm standing here today."
Squall stopped his pacing in front of his love, gazing into her warm, brown eyes, as she wiped away at his tears.
"I'm afraid most days that I'll lapse back into that heartless nothing and forget how much you all mean to me.........how much I love you...." he pulled himself away from Rinoa, walking to the small window near the bed and looking blindly out the glass.
"I'm afraid of being weak, of letting you down, of letting the Garden down, of........loosing Rinoa to sorcery again, of loosing myself..........into something I can't control..........If I didn't have....each and every one of you here everyday..........I wouldn't.....I couldn't........." Squall lost it then, overcome by emotion. It was one of the few times any of them had ever witnessed him cry, if ever. But, no one would've consider him weak for crying now.
Rinoa went to him, hugging him from behind, and he turned to her, crying openly on her shoulder, until no more tears were left.
It continued like that well into the day, each one of them offering up their hearts and souls on a platter. Most of them broke into tears, and all of them were letting out more than they ever would have dared before.
Rinoa told of her fears of falling prey to her sorcery, of how her mothers death had affected her and her relationship with her father, of her fears of loosing her newfound family, and even of her relationship with Seifer; a friendship she once thought had been so much more.
Quistis offered her fears of rejection, her confused love for Squall that had been merely remnants of sisterly emotion, of her failure as an instructor and her rise back into it, and of how she always felt pushed away into the background because of misconceptions that she was an adult and not one of the gang.
Selphie stated her pain of loosing Trabia and all her friends there, adding wildly every two seconds that she didn't blame Zell in the least, of her fears of it happening here at Balamb, and her annoyance in how everyone saw her as a such a little girl, when she only meant for her optimism to help everyone else cope with what bothered them.
Irvine put in his speech on being a sniper, explaining how painful it had been knowing he could've killed their Matron, of his fears of being forgotten, and shamefully adding how his "ladies man" name tag was nothing but talk, that only one girl would ever be anything to him.
Seifer had an especially hard time exposing *his* feelings.......
"I didn't expect I'd be pouring my heart out to you guys when I asked to come here, but I guess I can do this if it'll help Zell."
Seifer turned his gaze to the floor, staring at nothing in particular as he spoke.
"Wanna know what bothers *me*......what keeps *me* up at night......? What do you think? How many people died because of me, huh? How many innocent people......even Garden students......people I grew up with, people I watched grow up......dammit, do you know what it's like to live with something like that!?"
He shook his head, wishing the anger and guilt away.
"......I could say,.....'Hey, it wasn't my fault. I was under Ultimecia's control,'......yeah, I could say that, but I'd be lyin' if I did. Sure, I was being manipulated by her every step of the way, but only 'cause I let her. I could've gone against her, I could've stopped myself a million times, but I didn't........I thought she was making my dreams come true......"
Seifer gave a bitter laugh, his eyes never leaving the comfort of the floor.
"...what hurts most....is what I did to all of you....."
Seifer finally looked up as he turned his attention to Squall.
".....I never had any right to do the things I did to you, Squall." he admitted softly. "We were both the best at what we did, but I just *had* to be better than you..........Heh.....look what it cost us; matching scars, and the fate of the world....."
Seifer turned to Zell in the bed then, leaving his place against the wall to stand before him.
"......I'm sorry for the things I did to all of you, but with you, Zell........it was just pointless." Seifer truly looked pained as he spoke, even rubbing something out of his eyes every once in awhile. "......I'd tease you for no reason every chance I got......I'd make you feel worthless just to get a kick out of seeing you turn red......" he sighed. "I can't help but feel at least a little responsible for......for what you're going through.......I'm so sorry....Zell........I'm...."
Seifer turned his back on the people in the room. It was just too difficult.
After a few minutes, he continued what he had meant to say. Formally appoligizing to everyone. It was hard, but after he had finished, he was handed a well-deserved surprise. Squall offered Seifer and his posse the chance to return to the Garden, and they gratiously accepted.
Raijin went next, offering his fears of letting himself and his friends down. He only wanted to live up to who he knew who could be. He also added his fears of Fuujin, that he never meant to get on her bad side, he really only wanted her to understand how much she meant to him.
Fuujin, slowly, broke into actually speaking, telling of her fears of letting the posse down as well, and that she only wanted what was best for Seifer and Raijin, that she only wanted their friendship to last a lifetime.
It was a long day filled with tears, pain, and far too many bottled up emotions. Finally, when all else had gone, it was Zell's turn to tell the tale of his fears, his pain, his........ everything.
"I guess it's just the combination of all the things I've gone through in my life that seems to slice through me almost everyday," Zell began. "Being teased at the orphanage, all the foster parents I went through, the families I lost........then after making it to Garden with a great family behind me..........it was always being second best and being teased for that too......though......I don't blame you for any of this Seifer, ok?"
Zell turned to Seifer who was once again leaning against the far wall, and was met by a pained smile.
"Mostly......" Zell continued, staring down at his hands. "......it's knowing that alot of people might have lived at least a little longer then they did if it hadn't been for me......"
"Don't start that again, Zell.......please," Selphie pleaded, wiping at a fresh tear as it rolled down the side of her cheek.
"I wish I didn't have to, Selphie........but it's there.......eating right through me....."
"It wasn't your fault, Zell..." Squall comforted from his spot on the bed. "You had nothing to do with what happened to Trabia."
"You all keep telling me that." Zell said. "But.......I know none of you will ever blame me for what happened 'cause that's just the way you are......it's just......I know that if I only would have kept my big mouth shut........they wouldn't have......" Zell wiped at the tears freely falling down his face. It seemed he had cried so much lately. He never would have imagined he held so many tears.
"Zell...." Seifer whispered from across the room. "You're wrong. Ultimecia's the one who gave the order to......"
"It doesn't matter." Zell interrupted. "I'm still....."
"No, *listen* to me....." Seifer cut in. ".....*Deling* was the one who heard you say it was Garden. He was killed, remember? If you want to blame someone in this room for Trabia, then blame me, not yourself."
"What do you mean....?" Zell asked.
"I mean, Ultimecia had no way of knowing it was Garden, because she killed Deling, and he never told her. *I* was the only one who knew besides him who was around the sorceress. She was walkin' around in my mind from the beginning, Zell, all she had to do was look. If it's someone's fault besides hers for Trabia.......then it's mine......"
Seifer clenched his eyes shut at the released truth. He'd always thought of it that way, but never had been able to say so himself.
".....it...it wasn't my fault....?" Zell asked softly, hardly believing what he'd just heard.
"It never would have been, Zell." Rinoa said kindly. "And it's not Seifer's fault, either. It's Ultimecia's, and only hers." She looked with great compassion to both Zell and Seifer, hoping they'd understand the truth everyone else saw.
Watching Zell, they all noticed the heavy burden that seemed to lift from him after so long.
Seifer.......he opened his eyes, pained, so pained, but hopeful, too. *He* could go on believing it was Ultimecia's fault and not his. Zell.....just couldn't. At least now, there was one less horror for Zell to relive. Something Seifer was more than happy to take away from him. A start in making up for years of regret.
"Wow." Raijin said thoughtfully. "Kinda heavy in here, ya know?"
"STUPID!" Fuujin said, turning to kick him sharply in the shin.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
A round of laughter filtered through the room, a welcome change to the "heavy" atmosphere.
"...this....was nice." Zell said. "It helped alot to talk, and to hear you guys talk about your problems, too."
"It's a start." Squall smiled.
"It can't fix everything, Zell, but it can help." Quistis offered. "On those days when things get just too hard to handle, we can be here for one another to help each other through it. I think Squall's right, this will be good for all of us."
"Thanks." Zell smiled. "You guys are amazing. I don't deserve friends like you......"
"Don't even start." Squall cut in. "Just remember that we love you, and whatever else needs to be done, we'll do it. We'll get through this together, no matter what it takes."
Squall stood up from the bed, smiling, as he headed towards the door.
"Right now, I think we need to let Zell get some rest. It's been a long day."
"Quistis and I are staying with you tonight, Zell." Rinoa said. "We thought Squall could use a night in an actually bed for a change."
They began filing out of the room, saying their goodnights, and before leaving, Selphie turned back to Zell from the doorway.
"Irvine and I are gonna stop by the cafeteria." She beamed. "Want us to bring you back some hotdogs?"
Zell smiled. "Sounds great Selph, and........ya think you can find that sketch stuff you and Irvine got me? I got this idea for somethin' I wanna draw."
Selphie beamed even brighter. "No problem! I'll be back before ya know it!"
With that, she bounded her way from the room heading towards the cafeteria.
There you go, Chapter 12. I really like how they all talk things out. Something like that can really help a person. I know from experience. Life *isn't* something you shuffle through. If I didn't have my close friends to talk with the way these characters talked, I would have ended up like the original Zell in this fic a long time ago. Next Chapter coming soon. Please review.
Chapter 12 -We Rise and Fall Together
"Oh, Zell! I'm just so happy you're ok!" Selphie cried. "We were all so worried."
After helping Zell to the Infirmary, Seifer had gone out to collect the others from around the Garden. Luckily, Nida, acting physician in Dr. Kadowaki's absence, had been able to get the drugs Zell had taken out of his system before they could cause too much damage.
He was doing better then ever after a good night sleep with Squall and Seifer by his side. Now, he sat up looking guiltily at his good friends, along with Seifer's posse, as they gathered around his bed.
"Thanks, Selph.....and........I'm so sorry for what I did to you." Zell said. "It's driving me crazy knowin' I hurt you...."
"It's ok, Zell......I'm not mad or anything." Selphie replied.
"We know you're going through hell here." Irvine added. "Can't blame you for being a little.........." he trailed off, throwing Zell a shamed smile.
"Thanks......all of you." Zell smiled. "It's really helping me get through this now that I've let it sink in how much you all care."
"And don't you ever forget that, Zell." Rinoa said. "It's something that will never change." She placed a loving hand on his shoulder, sitting herself down on the edge of the bed.
"So where do we go from here?" Seifer asked.
"Yeah." Added Raijin. "Can't handle this happenin' again, ya know!?"
"CORRECT!" Fuujin said. "PAINFUL!"
"Amen." Irvine said with smile.
"Well," Squall began, sitting himself on the bed opposite Rinoa. "I think we need to talk.........all of us. You said once, Zell, that most days you could be just fine, the Zell we had all come to know, but then other days seemed completely downhill, where you could only think about how horrible life was and how much you'd done wrong in yours. We've all had days like that, Zell, but it's something more with you, something that's harder for you to control."
"What are you saying?" Zell asked.
"I'm saying...." Squall continued. "....life isn't something you fix overnight when you have problems and then go on living like nothing happened the next day. Life is something you have to work on everyday. That goes for all of us. So.....if we're going to help you through this, Zell, we have to all do it together. We have to let each other know who we are....."
"Squall.....?" Quistis questioned.
"We've all learned so much about Zell this past week." Squall continued, turning out to the others in the room. "Talking him through his problems is going to have to be something we do every time he needs it, and that should go for each and every one of us, too. And.......I think we should start right now......"
"Just telling each other how we feel.........what eats away at us.......?" Quistis said thoughtfully.
"What we can't always face on our own......?" Seifer finished.
"Exactly." Squall said, smiling as he turned back to Zell. "We can't just fix what's wrong with you, Zell, because it's not that simple. We can only help each other through life as it happens, day by day."
"I....I think I know what you mean." Zell said. ".....and........I'd like that....alot. I just......don't think I can start....."
"It's ok, Zell. You can go last if you'd like, I just think this is something that we all need to do." Squall stated. "What do you say?" He added, turning back out to the others.
There was a silent pause as everyone took in what was being offered, but soon all within the walls of that simple room were giving their nods and words of agreement.
"Good." Squall smiled. "Then I'll take the burden off the rest of you, and I'll start......"
Squall stood from his place on the bed, letting his gaze drift off into nothing as he pondered how to begin.
(I thought this up.......so I gotta fulfill it. Please, God, let this be the answer....)
Squall sighed, gaining his courage, and then took a deep breath before beginning.
"......most days.........I'm terrified just to wake up and walk out into the hallway every morning.........So much has happened, and I can't ever shake the feeling that something else is going to rip through our lives again someday." He spoke pacing the room, his eyes never lingering on anyone or anything for very long.
"Mostly......I'm afraid of loosing all of you......." Tears were already threatening to fall from his thoughtful, hazel eyes, but he didn't let his pride keep them away. "....I closed myself off for years so I wouldn't get hurt, and it almost killed me........When all of you had found your way out of time compression, I lost myself to a world of nothing. I felt so alone........I thought I had lost all of you then, and.......I died. Rinoa.....is the only reason I'm standing here today."
Squall stopped his pacing in front of his love, gazing into her warm, brown eyes, as she wiped away at his tears.
"I'm afraid most days that I'll lapse back into that heartless nothing and forget how much you all mean to me.........how much I love you...." he pulled himself away from Rinoa, walking to the small window near the bed and looking blindly out the glass.
"I'm afraid of being weak, of letting you down, of letting the Garden down, of........loosing Rinoa to sorcery again, of loosing myself..........into something I can't control..........If I didn't have....each and every one of you here everyday..........I wouldn't.....I couldn't........." Squall lost it then, overcome by emotion. It was one of the few times any of them had ever witnessed him cry, if ever. But, no one would've consider him weak for crying now.
Rinoa went to him, hugging him from behind, and he turned to her, crying openly on her shoulder, until no more tears were left.
It continued like that well into the day, each one of them offering up their hearts and souls on a platter. Most of them broke into tears, and all of them were letting out more than they ever would have dared before.
Rinoa told of her fears of falling prey to her sorcery, of how her mothers death had affected her and her relationship with her father, of her fears of loosing her newfound family, and even of her relationship with Seifer; a friendship she once thought had been so much more.
Quistis offered her fears of rejection, her confused love for Squall that had been merely remnants of sisterly emotion, of her failure as an instructor and her rise back into it, and of how she always felt pushed away into the background because of misconceptions that she was an adult and not one of the gang.
Selphie stated her pain of loosing Trabia and all her friends there, adding wildly every two seconds that she didn't blame Zell in the least, of her fears of it happening here at Balamb, and her annoyance in how everyone saw her as a such a little girl, when she only meant for her optimism to help everyone else cope with what bothered them.
Irvine put in his speech on being a sniper, explaining how painful it had been knowing he could've killed their Matron, of his fears of being forgotten, and shamefully adding how his "ladies man" name tag was nothing but talk, that only one girl would ever be anything to him.
Seifer had an especially hard time exposing *his* feelings.......
"I didn't expect I'd be pouring my heart out to you guys when I asked to come here, but I guess I can do this if it'll help Zell."
Seifer turned his gaze to the floor, staring at nothing in particular as he spoke.
"Wanna know what bothers *me*......what keeps *me* up at night......? What do you think? How many people died because of me, huh? How many innocent people......even Garden students......people I grew up with, people I watched grow up......dammit, do you know what it's like to live with something like that!?"
He shook his head, wishing the anger and guilt away.
"......I could say,.....'Hey, it wasn't my fault. I was under Ultimecia's control,'......yeah, I could say that, but I'd be lyin' if I did. Sure, I was being manipulated by her every step of the way, but only 'cause I let her. I could've gone against her, I could've stopped myself a million times, but I didn't........I thought she was making my dreams come true......"
Seifer gave a bitter laugh, his eyes never leaving the comfort of the floor.
"...what hurts most....is what I did to all of you....."
Seifer finally looked up as he turned his attention to Squall.
".....I never had any right to do the things I did to you, Squall." he admitted softly. "We were both the best at what we did, but I just *had* to be better than you..........Heh.....look what it cost us; matching scars, and the fate of the world....."
Seifer turned to Zell in the bed then, leaving his place against the wall to stand before him.
"......I'm sorry for the things I did to all of you, but with you, Zell........it was just pointless." Seifer truly looked pained as he spoke, even rubbing something out of his eyes every once in awhile. "......I'd tease you for no reason every chance I got......I'd make you feel worthless just to get a kick out of seeing you turn red......" he sighed. "I can't help but feel at least a little responsible for......for what you're going through.......I'm so sorry....Zell........I'm...."
Seifer turned his back on the people in the room. It was just too difficult.
After a few minutes, he continued what he had meant to say. Formally appoligizing to everyone. It was hard, but after he had finished, he was handed a well-deserved surprise. Squall offered Seifer and his posse the chance to return to the Garden, and they gratiously accepted.
Raijin went next, offering his fears of letting himself and his friends down. He only wanted to live up to who he knew who could be. He also added his fears of Fuujin, that he never meant to get on her bad side, he really only wanted her to understand how much she meant to him.
Fuujin, slowly, broke into actually speaking, telling of her fears of letting the posse down as well, and that she only wanted what was best for Seifer and Raijin, that she only wanted their friendship to last a lifetime.
It was a long day filled with tears, pain, and far too many bottled up emotions. Finally, when all else had gone, it was Zell's turn to tell the tale of his fears, his pain, his........ everything.
"I guess it's just the combination of all the things I've gone through in my life that seems to slice through me almost everyday," Zell began. "Being teased at the orphanage, all the foster parents I went through, the families I lost........then after making it to Garden with a great family behind me..........it was always being second best and being teased for that too......though......I don't blame you for any of this Seifer, ok?"
Zell turned to Seifer who was once again leaning against the far wall, and was met by a pained smile.
"Mostly......" Zell continued, staring down at his hands. "......it's knowing that alot of people might have lived at least a little longer then they did if it hadn't been for me......"
"Don't start that again, Zell.......please," Selphie pleaded, wiping at a fresh tear as it rolled down the side of her cheek.
"I wish I didn't have to, Selphie........but it's there.......eating right through me....."
"It wasn't your fault, Zell..." Squall comforted from his spot on the bed. "You had nothing to do with what happened to Trabia."
"You all keep telling me that." Zell said. "But.......I know none of you will ever blame me for what happened 'cause that's just the way you are......it's just......I know that if I only would have kept my big mouth shut........they wouldn't have......" Zell wiped at the tears freely falling down his face. It seemed he had cried so much lately. He never would have imagined he held so many tears.
"Zell...." Seifer whispered from across the room. "You're wrong. Ultimecia's the one who gave the order to......"
"It doesn't matter." Zell interrupted. "I'm still....."
"No, *listen* to me....." Seifer cut in. ".....*Deling* was the one who heard you say it was Garden. He was killed, remember? If you want to blame someone in this room for Trabia, then blame me, not yourself."
"What do you mean....?" Zell asked.
"I mean, Ultimecia had no way of knowing it was Garden, because she killed Deling, and he never told her. *I* was the only one who knew besides him who was around the sorceress. She was walkin' around in my mind from the beginning, Zell, all she had to do was look. If it's someone's fault besides hers for Trabia.......then it's mine......"
Seifer clenched his eyes shut at the released truth. He'd always thought of it that way, but never had been able to say so himself.
".....it...it wasn't my fault....?" Zell asked softly, hardly believing what he'd just heard.
"It never would have been, Zell." Rinoa said kindly. "And it's not Seifer's fault, either. It's Ultimecia's, and only hers." She looked with great compassion to both Zell and Seifer, hoping they'd understand the truth everyone else saw.
Watching Zell, they all noticed the heavy burden that seemed to lift from him after so long.
Seifer.......he opened his eyes, pained, so pained, but hopeful, too. *He* could go on believing it was Ultimecia's fault and not his. Zell.....just couldn't. At least now, there was one less horror for Zell to relive. Something Seifer was more than happy to take away from him. A start in making up for years of regret.
"Wow." Raijin said thoughtfully. "Kinda heavy in here, ya know?"
"STUPID!" Fuujin said, turning to kick him sharply in the shin.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
A round of laughter filtered through the room, a welcome change to the "heavy" atmosphere.
"...this....was nice." Zell said. "It helped alot to talk, and to hear you guys talk about your problems, too."
"It's a start." Squall smiled.
"It can't fix everything, Zell, but it can help." Quistis offered. "On those days when things get just too hard to handle, we can be here for one another to help each other through it. I think Squall's right, this will be good for all of us."
"Thanks." Zell smiled. "You guys are amazing. I don't deserve friends like you......"
"Don't even start." Squall cut in. "Just remember that we love you, and whatever else needs to be done, we'll do it. We'll get through this together, no matter what it takes."
Squall stood up from the bed, smiling, as he headed towards the door.
"Right now, I think we need to let Zell get some rest. It's been a long day."
"Quistis and I are staying with you tonight, Zell." Rinoa said. "We thought Squall could use a night in an actually bed for a change."
They began filing out of the room, saying their goodnights, and before leaving, Selphie turned back to Zell from the doorway.
"Irvine and I are gonna stop by the cafeteria." She beamed. "Want us to bring you back some hotdogs?"
Zell smiled. "Sounds great Selph, and........ya think you can find that sketch stuff you and Irvine got me? I got this idea for somethin' I wanna draw."
Selphie beamed even brighter. "No problem! I'll be back before ya know it!"
With that, she bounded her way from the room heading towards the cafeteria.
There you go, Chapter 12. I really like how they all talk things out. Something like that can really help a person. I know from experience. Life *isn't* something you shuffle through. If I didn't have my close friends to talk with the way these characters talked, I would have ended up like the original Zell in this fic a long time ago. Next Chapter coming soon. Please review.