Squall walked into the Garden Quad with a look on his face that could only be described as relief. The Quad was peaceful, as most of the students were resting up after a long, arduous day. On the opposite side of the Quad, Squall could see the stage being set up for the Garden Festival Committee. He watched the committee members run around barking orders as he leaned against a tree. He could see a few people he recognised from class, but one person stood out. It was the small figure of Selphie Tilmett, the girl that had fallen, literally, into his life that morning. Most people that Squall ran into in the hall, he would just glance at and forget about. He had a suspicious feeling that Selphie wasn't going to let him forget about her, whether he liked it or not.
Squall pulled his weight back off the tree and looked at it. It was the tree that he always sat near when he was in the Quad. He remembered when it had first been planted in the Garden, four years ago. It had been almost full-grown when it had replaced the tree that used to stand in that spot. Squall shook his head, he didn't want to remember that day, but no matter how he tried, the consequences had impacted his life so greatly, that the result was still placed firmly on his hands. Squall sat down, putting his back against the great tree's trunk, staring off into space. He sat and thought about the soldiers he had killed that day. About their lives, the families that they must have had, their friends, and their homes. He turned his head and glanced at the odd patch of mulch next to him. Squall sighed and pushed the mulch aside to reveal a small, bronze plaque.
In Loving Memory of Lily Brooks
Squall stared silently at the plaque. Lily Brooks had been his best friend -his only friend- from the time he was about six until Lily had died when he was thirteen. She had been kind of like his first kiss and his first love, sorta. It hadn't been anything passionate, just a little peck on the lips, like eight-year-olds normally would do, but it had been something very special for him. They had met in the infirmary on the second day of school, Lily had had an unfortunate accident with an escaped Grat and Squall was sick again. They had spent the next week in beds next to each other, talking. That's how Lily had found out what Squall was. She knew about his sorcerer abilities, and she had not cared, that, unfortunately, had been her downfall.
Squall remembered the last day he'd seen her very clearly. He had been pulled from class for a few months due to puberty kicking in and making his powers go haywire. Headmaster Cid and a few of the other Instructors knew about Squall's power and had thought it best if he stayed away from the other children for a while. So, they had announced that Squall had the measles and was to be left alone, as he was highly contagious. Lily had come to see Squall anyway, she knew that he didn't have the measles, Squall hadn't been sick since the day they'd met. Lily had come to his room, skipping her classes for the day, and talked him into going to the Quad with her. Squall had found it hard to resist the twelve-year-old redhead that he loved so. They had gone to the Quad and were sitting in their favourite tree, talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up.
Lily wanted to be a SeeD, to travel the world, and to never grow old. She had laughed at Squall's dream; he didn't really want to be a SeeD. He just wanted to finish school at the Garden, spend maybe a year or two in SeeD and then leave to start a family. Squall wanted to be a dad when he grew up, to live in Balamb maybe, to have a normal job, and the normal life that he had never had before. They had been in the tree for a few hours when Lily decided that it was probably time to go. Lily had gotten about two-thirds of the way down the tree when her hand slipped and she fell out, landing awkwardly on her leg…
"Lily! Lily! Are you alRI… *cough* …alright?!?" he asked frantically, his voice cracking, as he jumped out of the tree after her.
"Yeah… My leg hurts though…" Squall looked over her leg, it was bent at a weird angle and was starting to swell.
"…I think it's broken… Come on, we gotta take you to Dr. Kadowaki… I'll help you." Lily's eyes widened in fear at the thought.
"No Squall! I'll get in such trouble for skipping class!! And even more if you bring me! No one is supposed to go near you, remember? Oh, we'll get separated, and they'll never let us see each other again!!" Lily begged him desperately. Squall couldn't stand the thought of never seeing Lily again, so he conceded.
"What then? What cAn… *cough* …What can we do?" he asked, his voice cracking again. Lily giggled at the squeak that Squall had made. He sighed at her and raised an eyebrow.
"…I'm sorry… It's just so cute when you do that…" She giggled again, and grimaced at the pain. "…Well… YOU could always cast a cure spell, I know YOU can fix it…" Lily said, batting her eyes at him. Squall glanced at her suspiciously.
"…Lily… I can't do that. You know how dangerous it is! Especially now! Whenever my voICe… *cough* …my voice cracks… Lily… Something bad might happen…" Lily put her hand on her leg and pulled it around slowly, clenching her teeth, and closing her eyes tightly. Squall could tell she was in a lot of pain.
"Fine Squall. Just take me to Dr. Kadowaki, and get me in trouble, and then we'll never see each other again… ever," Lily said, putting a passive look on her face, as if she didn't care if she never saw Squall again.
"No! Lily! I don't want that to hAPpen… *cough* …happen!" Squall looked at Lily forlornly. "…Okay… I'll do it…" Lily squealed with glee and threw her arms around Squall's neck, kissing his cheek. Squall pulled her arms from around his neck and blushed. He sat down next to Lily's broken leg and carefully put his hand on the part that was swelling. Lily held her breath and watched, she had never seen Squall do magick before. Squall closed his eyes and concentrated on her leg. Lily's leg and Squall's hand started to glow a light blue colour. Squall suddenly opened his eyes.
"…cURe!… *cough*" Squall's voice cracked again as he said the word, and instead of the blue sparkle of a cure spell, Lily suddenly gasped and passed out. Squall jumped forward. "LILY!!!" He touched her face. Her eyes were open and staring out into space. Her skin was cold under Squall's hand. Squall stood up and backed away from Lily's body… She was dead. Squall's eyes grew wide as he realised what had happened. He backed into the tree that they had just been climbing and turned. He watched in horror as the bark under his fingertips turned grey and brittle. Squall looked up at the branches of the tree and saw the leaves turn brown and start to fall. He took his hand off the tree and stared numbly at the ground. Behind him, he heard a voice…
"Squall?" Squall looked up from his memories and saw Selphie standing there. "Hi… Are you alright?" Squall blinked, and stared passively at Selphie. She looked very concerned. "I saw you sitting over here all by yourself and came to say 'hi,' but you didn't answer me the first five times I said it…" she said, smiling. Squall looked away.
"…Whatever…" Selphie giggled and sat down next to him. She glanced at the plaque on the other side of Squall.
"Who's Lily Brooks?" Squall stood up and started to walk out of the Quad. Selphie stood up too. "Hey! I just thought that… you looked like you needed someone to talk to…" She said after him. Squall stopped and turned.
"…Just… Leave me alone Selphie… I know you… mean well, but I… I prefer to be left alone…" He turned again, slowly, and walked away.
***
Squall heard a knock on his door. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the new uniform he had found there, his SeeD uniform. The knock came again. Squall sighed and stood up, walking past the SeeD candidate jacket on the floor, to the door. He opened it and was surprised to see Selphie standing there, already in her new uniform. Selphie grinned widely at Squall.
"Hiya!" Selphie walked past him into the room. Squall stared after her, dumbfounded. "…What?!" she exclaimed, turning to look at him. "You're not even in your uniform!!" She put her hand on her hip and glared at Squall's dirty T-shirt, his torn, bloody, and blue SeeD candidate pants, and his still-gloved hands. "Go put on your SeeD uniform this instant! There's a party tonight, and I have been given the responsibility of making sure you go!" Selphie pouted at him. Squall just stared at her. "…What? …Oh! How do I look?" She said, turning in a circle and giggling.
"…Given the responsibility by whom?" Selphie blushed.
"…Um… Well, it wasn't really given to me… Um… by anyone… I just thought… Heh…" Selphie scratched her head and stared at the floor, bashfully. "…That after seeing you… Well, so down… this afternoon… You kinda needed to go…" Squall rolled his eyes. "Oh Squall! Please come!!! Please, please, please, please, please?? I just saw you today, and knew that we had to be friends!!! So, please come to the dance!! It'll take your mind off of whatever you're upset about!!" Squall looked uncertainly at her.
(…Friends?) He had to admit that Selphie seemed familiar to him, like they knew each other from somewhere, but he didn't really want to go to the dance. He shrugged.
"…I don't really want to go…" Selphie pouted.
"Okay, then… I guess I'll see you around then…" She started to walk dejectedly out of the room. Squall sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Selphie… Don't be like that… Okay… I'll go…" Selphie turned around and jumped up and down with glee.
"Whoo hoo!! You won't be sorry, I promise!" she squealed happily. Squall walked into the next room to change into his SeeD uniform, and closed the door behind him.
(…I'm sorry already…)
***
Squall watched the dancers swirl by him as he nursed the glass of champagne in his hand. He had seen Quistis dancing, Selphie was running around from person to person asking everyone if they wanted to help out with the Garden Festival, and Zell was off somewhere. Squall had seen him earlier, Zell had approached him and tried to start a conversation, but Squall was determined to be a wallflower, so Zell had left, finding other, more talkative company. Squall had even caught a glimpse of Seifer that evening, actually dressed up nicely. Squall had wondered how Seifer had made it into the dance, when he was supposedly being punished. A girl walked by Squall and offered to take his empty glass. Squall set it back on the tray and dropped his hand to his side. She asked if he wanted more champagne, but he shook his head. She walked away, as Squall turned his attention to the glass ceiling of the ballroom. He was bored. It was a clear night, he stared at the bright stars glimmering over everyone's heads, and caught a glimpse of a bright shaft of light, streaking across the sky, a shooting star. Squall's eyes followed the shooting star across the sky until it had disappeared, just as quickly as it had appeared. He brought his gaze back down and noticed a girl looking up through the glass ceiling as well. She was standing alone. The girl had dark brown hair, with gold streaks mixed in. She had on a short white dress. Squall breathed in sharply as she brought her eyes away from the ceiling and looked straight at him. She had brown eyes. The girl smiled at him and pointed at the shooting star. Squall blinked.
(…Is she… saying something to… me?) She turned and walked toward him. Squall straightened as she stopped in front of him, his heart was in his throat.
"Hello." Squall swallowed nervously and just stared at her. "…You know, you are definitely the best-looking guy here… Do you want to dance?" She smiled at him. Squall looked at the floor, he had no clue as to what to say. The girl sighed, "Lemme guess… You'll only dance with 'someone you like'? Am I right? …Hmm…" She pursed her lips and stared at him.
"Okay, how about this?" She raised her hand to his face, Squall flinched reflexively backward, his head hitting the wall behind. "You-going-to-like-me, you-going-to-like-me…" she chanted, wiggling her fingers at him. "Did it work?" she asked him, dropping her hand. Squall smirked a little and shrugged.
"I can't dance…" She seemed to be expecting this answer and grabbed his gloved hand, to his surprised and horror, and started to pull him toward the dance floor.
"Oh, that's okay… I'm trying to find someone, and I don't want to be on the dance floor alone…" she answered, dragging him into the crowd of dancers.
***
Quistis Trepe watched the dancing from a distance. She had been enjoying herself for a little while, but then Headmaster Cid had gotten a hold of her and given her some very mind-numbing news. She had gone back to her room and changed clothes, wondering what was going to become of her. Then she found herself returning to the ballroom, she wanted a friend to talk to. Quistis had searched the room, looking for someone to talk to. Xu was dancing, Headmaster Cid was talking with some Instructors, and then she saw Squall. A handsome vision in his new SeeD uniform, Squall looked uncomfortable and out of place. Quistis knew that he wasn't very social and talkative, but maybe he'd listen to her. She started to walk toward him, but stopped abruptly. Another girl had approached him and was speaking to him. Quistis had never seen the girl before, she wasn't a SeeD.
The girl talked to Squall for a minute and then dragged him on the dance floor. Quistis almost laughed out loud. It would be amusing to see the oh-so-obviously-scared Squall, try to dance. Quistis found a good view of the dance floor and leaned against a nearby pillar, watching amusedly as Squall stepped all over the feet of the girl. Quistis was surprised by the fact that the girl didn't give up, she just took Squall's right arm and put it around her waist, and took his gloved, left hand in hers and tried again. Squall stepped on her a second time and instead of the girl giving up, Squall did. Quistis watched him shake his head and turn to go, he even got a few steps away, but the girl was persistent. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back, trying once more. Quistis giggled and watched Squall try desperately to keep up, with no avail. Finally, the two ran into another dancing couple. The couple looked angry for a second, but soon their faces went from angry to nervous. Quistis wondered why for a second and realised that the couple had realised that the person who had run into them was "The Lion."
She smiled and continued watching. Squall looked apologetically at the couple and the girl just stood in front of him, waiting. Quistis watched Squall turn to the girl, and the girl smile. Squall stared at her for a second and then started to dance with her, perfectly. Every move was correct, every step was in time with the beat of the song… Squall could dance. Suddenly, fireworks exploded in the sky above everyone. Quistis looked up, watching the red, green, and blue lights explode and then fade into darkness. She brought her attention back to Squall and the girl, but the girl had disappeared. Squall was standing on the dance floor staring off to his left, looking rather overwhelmed. He stood there for a second and then slowly left the dance floor, making his way outside, onto the balcony. Quistis walked quickly after him. He was staring in the distance at the sea. Quistis came up quietly behind him.
"…You really are amazing… Even that dance was perfect…" she said quietly. Squall turned his head a little.
"…Thanks…" he answered, turning his head back toward the sea. Quistis remained silent, not knowing what to say next. Squall sighed, irritated. "…Yes?" Quistis straightened.
"What? You can dance with a girl you've never seen before, but you can't talk to me?" Squall snorted.
"…Whatever…" He turned to her. "You're my instructor, and I'm your student, it's kind of awkward when you just stand there staring at me…" Quistis chuckled.
"Getting a taste of your own medicine Squall?" she inquired sarcastically. Squall turned away.
"If you're just out here to irritate me, it's worked… Will you go away now?" Quistis stopped laughing and looked at Squall, visibly hurt. She thought for a second and pulled herself together.
"…I've come to give you my final order." Squall turned, puzzled. "You and I are to go to the 'secret area' in the training centre." Squall put his hand on his hip, imitating his usual stance of annoyance.
"If we're going in there to tell everyone they're breaking curfew, forget it… That's the disciplinary committee's job…" Quistis chuckled again.
"…No, nothing like that… Just go get changed and meet me inside the training centre, alright?" Squall sighed.
"…Whatever…" He turned and walked off of the balcony. Quistis watched him leave before going to the training centre to wait for him.
(…He's always going to think of me as an Instructor isn't he? …If only he knew…)
***
Squall walked slowly into the training centre. Waiting just inside the door was Quistis. Squall stopped in front of her and waited, she'd been the one to ask him here anyway. Quistis looked at Squall and smiled. He was back in his normal clothing, she inspected him, leaving her eyes on his hands.
"Not even this once?" she said gesturing toward the gloves. Squall just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
(Whatever…) Quistis sighed and turned toward the main entrance into the training centre. "Well, here we go… Squall? Have you ever fought a T-Rexaur?" She said abruptly. Squall shrugged.
"…Sure… Lots of times…" Quistis raised her eyebrow suspiciously, looking at Squall in disbelief. Squall just started walking toward the entrance, who cared if she believed him or not. Quistis followed closely behind him as they entered the training centre. It had live monsters running around, and wasn't someplace you wanted to be alone in. The "secret area" was a small, secluded spot in the middle of the training centre. It was fenced off and well protected from the monsters running around. The hazardous part was just getting to it.
Squall and Quistis made it to the secret area, fighting only one Grat that had snuck up behind them along the way. Quistis walked slowly to the barrier wall, and leaned against it. Squall glanced around the secluded spot at the two couples already there and suddenly wondered why Quistis had brought him there.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Quistis sighed, staring out over the silent jungle of the training centre. Squall came up next to her and leaned on the barrier as well.
(…Whatever…) Quistis sighed again. "What time is it?" Squall glanced up at the moon.
"…Sometime after midnight…" Quistis shook her head.
"…Oh… Well, as of this moment in time, I, Quistis Trepe, am no longer a Balamb Garden Instructor…" Squall glanced at her, but remained silent. "I'm just a regular SeeD member now… Who knows? Maybe we'll even end up working together someday…" She shrugged and leaned forward.
"…Okay…" Squall said uncertainly, (Was this what she dragged me out here for? …To tell me this? …Why?).
"Is that all you're gonna say?" Squall shrugged.
"What else can I say? …If that was what was decided, then that's it, I can't do much about it…" Quistis stared at the jungle quietly.
"…They told me that I wasn't a good instructor, more specifically, that I lack leadership abilities…" Quistis laughed bitterly, "Me… Who was a SeeD at the age of fifteen and an instructor by seventeen… It's only been a year… Where did I go wrong? I tried hard… I did my best… Squall, are you even listening to me?" Squall had turned away from Quistis and was facing the opposite direction.
(She just wants to rant at me about her problems… What am I supposed to do about them? I have enough of my own…) Squall turned again, facing the door. He leaned back, rested his elbows on the barrier, and sighed impatiently.
"…What am I supposed to say? …These aren't my problems, they're yours, why are you telling them to me?" Quistis turned to Squall desperately.
"You don't have to say anything! I… I just want you to listen… I want someone to talk to, someone to listen to me…"
"If you want someone to listen… go talk to a wall." Squall stood up and walked toward the exit. Quistis turned angrily.
"I was talking to a wall, Squall Leonhart!" Quistis turned back to the jungle, offended. Squall stopped and turned. "…Aren't there times when you just want someone to talk to… to share your feelings with?"
"…Everyone has to take care of themselves. I don't need anyone else's feelings pulling me down…" he answered sharply. He waited a second for her to respond, then left. Quistis pushed back the tears savagely and looked back in the direction Squall had left.
(…A failed instructor… I can't even get through to him, how could I expect to teach anyone else?) She turned around slowly and walked after him. Quistis exited the secret area and found Squall leaning against the wall outside.
"I thought you had left…" she snapped. Squall shrugged.
"You wanna go through here by yourself? …Fine by me…" He turned and started to walk away.
"Wait!" Quistis ran up to him. "…I'm sorry…" Squall shrugged.
(Why is she saying sorry?) "…I shouldn't have dragged you out here… I should have known that you wouldn't understand…" Quistis gazed into Squall's eyes, feeling anger, self-pity, and stupid for thinking that Squall of all people would listen. She stared into his eyes, and he stared back, the expression on his face showing boredom.
(…The colour of the sky after a storm…) Quistis stepped toward Squall, not really paying attention to what she was doing. She raised her hand and ran her fingers lightly through his hair. Squall jerked slightly in surprise and stared at Quistis in extreme confusion.
(…What the!?) he thought, his eyes growing wide. Quistis kept stroking his hair, staring absently into his eyes, and then turned her chin up and kissed him. It was a tender kiss on his lips. Squall pulled away frantically and turned… She had touched him, no, she had not only touched him, her skin had come in contact with his skin and nothing had happened to her. Quistis, realising that she had just done only what she had dreamed of, took a step toward him.
"…Squall? I-I didn't mean-" Squall turned abruptly looking Quistis right in the eyes.
"Don't ever, ever, touch me again…" he said menacingly to her, his eyes full of fear and anger. He faltered backward a few steps and turned again.
(…She…she kissed me… But, she's an instructor! …Not anymore… Shit, what if something happens to her! …Dammit, I'll get kicked out of this school for good -or worse- hunted down for what I am and killed… What the fuck was she thinking!!) He closed his eyes.
"…I'm sorry Squall…" he heard Quistis whisper behind him. "…I-I don't know what came over me… I-" she was interrupted by a loud scream, coming from the direction of the training centre entrance. Squall raised his head and turned toward the sound.
"Somebody!! …Anybody!! Help me!!" the voice shouted. Quistis looked at Squall and watched him step toward the sound.
"…We can't just stand here! Let's go help," Quistis urged, happy for the diversion.
***
The girl screamed again. Squall and Quistis ran toward the scream and saw that a monster was attacking the girl. She was curled in a ball on the ground with her arms above her head, trying desperately to fend off the Granaldo. She peeked through her arms and saw Squall.
"Squall!!" Quistis entered her view a second later. "Squall!! Quistis?! Help me!!" Squall stared at the girl as Quistis tried to figure out a way to distract the Granaldo. She seemed so familiar, she had a white skirt and a blue shirt on. Wrapped tightly around her frame was a green shawl. Squall had seen her before. Suddenly a fireball hit the Granaldo from behind. Squall turned and saw Quistis drop her hands and pull out her whip as the Granaldo's attention was diverted. Squall drew his gunblade, but he couldn't take his eyes off the girl.
(…Elle?) The name popped into his head as he realised who she was.
(She's… she's Ellone…) Quistis jumped forward and hit the Granaldo with her whip.
(…Sis…?) The Granaldo flew out of Quistis's reach and turned back to the girl, who hadn't been as dangerous as these two new creatures turned out to be. Ellone screamed again, her voice blending with that of another. Quistis looked sharply at Squall.
"NO!" he shouted, thrusting his hand out in front of himself. Lightning shot through his arm, hitting the monster cruelly. It was like no other Thunder spell Quistis had ever seen before in her life. The Lightning surrounded the Granaldo, getting brighter and brighter. Quistis had to cover her eyes with her arm. She brought her hand back down when she heard a large explosion. The Granaldo had disintegrated. Squall ran forward to the girl as Quistis stared at him incredulously.
"…Ellone?" he whispered, kneeling in front of her. The girl raised her head and looked into Squall's eyes.
"…Squall…" she whispered back, smiling. Out of no where, two men ran into the Training Centre, pushed their way past Quistis and stopped. They both wore white uniforms and headbands.
(They look like guards…) Quistis thought. Ellone raised her hand to touch Squall's face, but Squall moved his head at the last second, staring at the ground. Ellone dropped her hand slowly as the two men came forward.
"What are you doing in here! It isn't safe…" the first one said. Ellone stood up slowly, and looked down at Squall.
"…Alright…" The two men bowed to Quistis and started to walk away. Ellone lagged behind, staring at Squall. "…Goodbye Squall…" she said softly as she walked away.
***
Author's Note: No, there will still be no Squall/Quistis hook ups, okay? I'm just updating. Anyway…R&R. Disclaimer stuff… yeah… okay… SQUALL IS STILL MINE! And Laguna will be mine as soon as I figure out a way to steal Jaina-chan's deed to him…^_~
-Rhyein