Things Change
Chapter 6
by Mariye
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Disclaimer: I don't own FF8 or its characters.
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Zell waited until they had all walked into his room. He looked around at all of them.
~Why do they all look so confused? So scared? Its not like anything's happening to them.~
He watched as they all found places to sit. Quistis was sitting on the edge of his desk chair. Selphie, Rinoa, and Irvine all say on his bed, looking at him. Squall stood next to Rinoa, his hand on her shoulder.
"So how you wanna hear this bad to worst or worst to just bad?" Zell asked as he dropped down on the floor in front of the door.
"There's more than just one piece of bad news?" Rinoa asked as she fingered the rings on her necklace.
"Depends if you consider me beating up Seifer a bad thing."
"Well, I guess it kinda technically is." Selphie said as she bounced on Zell's bed.
~If it lasts more than ten seconds I guess its not worth hearing to Selphie.~
"I'll try and keep all this brief. First, the bad news. I beat up Seifer and broke his nose."
"Congrats Zell." Irvine tipped his hat to him.
"Well, I suppose he did have it coming." Quistis said as she studied her boots.
"Next, Libby broke up with me."
"You owe me two hundred gil Rinoa!" Selphie said, sticking her hand out. Rinoa slapped it.
"This really isn't the right time..."
"Oh come on. You said she wouldn't tell him for another week and I said it would be this week. Pay up." Squall glared at Selphie. She stuck her tongue out at him and shut up.
"Well, since my first two little announcements seemed to bring so much joy I can just imagine how happy this last one is going to make you." Zell got up and walked over to the full length mirror on the door. Everyone was silent and watching him.
"I have cancer."
Everything was silent. Zell turned around.
~Maybe they didn't hear me.~
"I said I have cancer. Leukemia. Adult acute myeloid leukemia." He looked at each of them. Irvine cleared his throat and when Zell tried to meet his gaze would only look down. Selphie seemed to deflate. She stopped bouncing on the bed and just stared at him in shock. Rinoa was clutching her rings and Squall's hand. Squall was just looking at the ground, still trying to comprehend the situation. Quistis was very pale, and hand her hand covering her face.
~Well, this is going well.~
"I've met with Lheia, Dr. Kadowaki, and she has told me my treatment options. I am going to have chemotherapy. I will also still remain in Garden during all this. Hopefully we'll be able to get it to go into remission. Even if that happens though, I would have to continue some chemo to get rid of all the cancerous cells. She seems to think I have a good chance of going into remission. You're the first, and hopefully only, people who I will tell about this." Zell looked at them, waiting for a response.
"Who else knows?" Squall asked quietly.
"Cid, Matron, my mother, Dr. Kadowaki, and the two interns in the infirmary, Sionna and Aeron."
"When are you going to start treatment?" Quistis asked, looking Zell right in his eyes.
"As soon as possible. Dr. Kadowaki said that since I have an acute case that it has to treated quickly."
"Could you end up dying?"
Zell looked at Selphie, who was holding her hands in her lap and looking at him.
"That is a possibility."
~I feel like I'm part of an interview. Not like I'm their friend telling them what's wrong. Its like they're analyzing everything. I have to get out of here.~
"I have to go. I told the Doctor I'd come to the infirmary for a check up. Excuse me." Zell opened the door and quickly crept out. He backed away at first, waiting to see if any of them would follow after. Would try to catch him and talk to him.
No one left the room.
He slowly walked down the hall.
~Did I honestly want any of them to follow me? I mean, I want to be alone. I don't want any goodwill committees. I just want to try and sort things out. And I probably can't do that with all of them following me around.~
Zell periodically checked over his shoulder.
~They'd only just get in the way anyway. Trying to get inside my head. Thinking they can help make things all better...~
Zell walked a little slower, then stopped by the hall that lead into the center of Garden.
~So why aren't they following me?~
Zell stood by the door and waited.
~What is wrong with me? Why am I just standing here? I wanted time to think. I got it.~
"Hello Chicken-Wuss."
Zell turned and saw Seifer standing at the hall's entrance. Raijin and Fujin were strangely absent.
"What do you want Seifer? Get outta here."
"I want revenge twirp." Seifer made a fist and hit Zell in the stomach.
~Great. Just great.~
As Zell hunched over, he saw a small dagger fly through the air and pin Seifer's sleeve to the wall.
"Now now Seifer. What have I told you about playing nicely with others?"
Zell looked up and saw a familiar girl walking towards them. She reached over and pulled the dagger out of the wall, releasing Seifer.
"Sionna. What, are you following me?"
"I have better things to do with my time."
"Then prove it by leaving now to attend to these important things." Seifer moved forwards toward her and put his fist in her face.
"I am here actually to attend to more important things. Right now Zell is an outpatient. I was on my way to his room to remind him to come in for his checkup." Sionna pushed Seifer's hand out of her face.
"Yeah, just wait. You and his little friends can't be around to protect him all the time."
"What makes you think I need protecting?" Zell asked, standing up straight.
Seifer didn't answer. He just kept walking.
Zell looked at Sionna who was slipping her dagger up her sleeve.
"Staring isn't very polite. The first two times were freebies. But now since you treat me bad I'm afraid I'm going to have to start charging you."
"I didn't ask for your help."
"Yeah, but it sure looked like you needed it. Now if you excuse me, I have to be going."
Sionna started to walk away down the hall.
~What is wrong with her? Here that guy Aeron can't be nicer to me. Same with the Doctor and Cid and Matron. My friends are all probably in shock right now, but once they come to they're gonna be treating me like a king. So what's with her?~
"Where?"
~Damn why am I even talking to her? She's right below Seifer on my hatred list.~
Zell watched as she kept going.
~Because she doesn't care.~
Zell came to the realization as he walked to catch up to her.
~She doesn't care and so she won't treat you like everyone else will. She may even treat you like there's nothing wrong with you. Plus you can tell her things you wouldn't tell everyone else because you know she really won't listen and she'll probably forget most of the things you tell her.~
"Sionna!" Zell watched as she stopped and pivoted to face him.
"What?"
"Where?"
She flipped her hair back and looked out the row of windows on the wall.
"Out. I'm not sure. I just don't want to be cooped up in here."
"Can I come?"
Sionna looked at him with her eyebrow raised.
~What, is that idea so inconceivable to her?~
"I was planning to just spend the day alone."
"So was I."
~But the only way to truely be alone is to be with someone who doesn't care about you and who will ignore you.~
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
"Please."
It was then that Rinoa and Squall chose to walk out of Zell's room. When they spotted him they both walked over. Rinoa came over and trapped Zell in a huge embrace. Sionna watched as Squall stood with the two of them.
"Zell, are you alright?" Squall looked at him.
"Well, aside from maybe dying yeah, I'm fine." Rinoa gasped as he said that.
~Huh, who would have thought I would be good at black humor.~
"Listen, we all know that the way we reacted, well, we could have taken it better. We want to make it up to you. We were thinking about a road trip to Timber over the weekend. Its all up to you."
Zell looked at his two friends in front of him, then turned to look at Sionna, who was still waiting behind him.
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Once again, why is Seifer afraid of Sionna?
Who will Zell go with?
Would he rather be around someone who doesn't care?
Or would he rather be with people who do?