R e d + R e d + R o s e by Nicya
Prologue
A blond, blue-eyed, 18 year old woman sipped her coffee and
watched the buildings go by in a blur through the large windows of the
bus that would take her home. Her glasses were fogged from standing
outside in the cold streets of Chicago, Illinois and then suddenly
stepping into a warm but stuffy area. As she waited for her stop to
come up she half-listened to a student that was in her English class
and also sitting beside her, blab about guys. She wondered why, if the
girl was so angry at her boyfriend that she continued to go out with
him. The tarty chatter did not interest her very much however having a
companion sit beside her was a rarity and it was better then sitting
beside the mysterious guy that was eyeing her at the back of the bus.
It was not as if she was scared but more so she was annoyed and tired
of turning all the players down.
Quistis Trepe was a relatively new student at Balamb Public High
School but she had been there long enough to learn about the cliques
and the idiots that tried to steal lunch money in the Cafeteria. She
did not have many friends because of her quiet yet self-assured
attitude though the attention she received from the portion of male
students was more then enough to make up for that. It was not as though
she batted her eyelashes and giggled like a ditz when she was in the
company of the opposite sex but apparently it was her figure and "hard-
to-get" personality that made her appealing to men, at least, that was
what her companion sitting next to her claimed. She could care less, it
wasn't like it was impossible to deal with it and she couldn't exactly
help it if she was attractive. Seeing her stop coming up, which was at
a small park, she politely ended the conversation with her friend as
she got up to exit the bus and thank the driver.
Quistis shifted her book bag on her shoulder and started to make
her way home by cutting through the snowy park and being wary of the
ice patches. It was then that she noticed the stranger from the back of
the buss had got off as well and was walking only a few steps behind
her. The fact that he was most-likely following her to get her address
and phone number made her want to turn around and slap him even though
he hadn't even made any attempts to do that yet. She realized, as she
was halfway through the park that he was walking in step with her.
"Hey, I'm Zell, what's your name?"
She was silent as she continued walking, tuning him out and
concentrating on getting home without yelling at the stranger.
"Uh, I'm new to this place. I go to Balamb…I've seen you there too."
Quistis remained quiet and tried willing him away in her mind.
"…Guess you're not really talkative. Aren't you cold wearing a short
skirt and a light jacket like that?"
Five steps later she was still mute and the young man started to slow
down, apparently he had got the message. It made her feel bad and for a
split second she considered that he might be different from the other
assholes.
"It's cold but I'm fine, I don't have very far to walk." She spoke up
just as she heard him sigh from a few steps behind.
He seemed to instantly perk up and jogged up beside her, keeping in
sync with her steps once again.
"Yeah? Wow, what kind of an accent is that?"
"English."
"You're from the U.K? When did you transfer here?"
"Originally from the United Kingdom, eight years ago I moved to
Australia and picked up that accent as well. I reallocated here three
years ago, when I was fifteen."
"Australia…it must be nice not having to worry about winter!"
She rounded the corner of her street and the guy continued to walk
beside her.
"I suppose. But not having seasons becomes rather dull after a while."
She said thoughtfully, "Did you move onto this street?"
Shifting the conversation purposely and biting her lip as she noticed
him staring at her. He stopped and scowled; she slowed down and came to
a halt as well, giving him a curious look. They were now halfway down
the street and almost at her house.
"Nah, my house is back there. I'm so stupid, I just didn't realize
where we were."
She smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Looks like you should get going then. Will you be able to make it home
okay?"
He nodded and waved before turning around.
"Oh and Zell, thank you for walking me home, you can call me Quistis."
The vibrant young man with spiky blonde hair faced her again and smiled
goofily.
"No prob, see ya around Quistis!"
Prologue
A blond, blue-eyed, 18 year old woman sipped her coffee and
watched the buildings go by in a blur through the large windows of the
bus that would take her home. Her glasses were fogged from standing
outside in the cold streets of Chicago, Illinois and then suddenly
stepping into a warm but stuffy area. As she waited for her stop to
come up she half-listened to a student that was in her English class
and also sitting beside her, blab about guys. She wondered why, if the
girl was so angry at her boyfriend that she continued to go out with
him. The tarty chatter did not interest her very much however having a
companion sit beside her was a rarity and it was better then sitting
beside the mysterious guy that was eyeing her at the back of the bus.
It was not as if she was scared but more so she was annoyed and tired
of turning all the players down.
Quistis Trepe was a relatively new student at Balamb Public High
School but she had been there long enough to learn about the cliques
and the idiots that tried to steal lunch money in the Cafeteria. She
did not have many friends because of her quiet yet self-assured
attitude though the attention she received from the portion of male
students was more then enough to make up for that. It was not as though
she batted her eyelashes and giggled like a ditz when she was in the
company of the opposite sex but apparently it was her figure and "hard-
to-get" personality that made her appealing to men, at least, that was
what her companion sitting next to her claimed. She could care less, it
wasn't like it was impossible to deal with it and she couldn't exactly
help it if she was attractive. Seeing her stop coming up, which was at
a small park, she politely ended the conversation with her friend as
she got up to exit the bus and thank the driver.
Quistis shifted her book bag on her shoulder and started to make
her way home by cutting through the snowy park and being wary of the
ice patches. It was then that she noticed the stranger from the back of
the buss had got off as well and was walking only a few steps behind
her. The fact that he was most-likely following her to get her address
and phone number made her want to turn around and slap him even though
he hadn't even made any attempts to do that yet. She realized, as she
was halfway through the park that he was walking in step with her.
"Hey, I'm Zell, what's your name?"
She was silent as she continued walking, tuning him out and
concentrating on getting home without yelling at the stranger.
"Uh, I'm new to this place. I go to Balamb…I've seen you there too."
Quistis remained quiet and tried willing him away in her mind.
"…Guess you're not really talkative. Aren't you cold wearing a short
skirt and a light jacket like that?"
Five steps later she was still mute and the young man started to slow
down, apparently he had got the message. It made her feel bad and for a
split second she considered that he might be different from the other
assholes.
"It's cold but I'm fine, I don't have very far to walk." She spoke up
just as she heard him sigh from a few steps behind.
He seemed to instantly perk up and jogged up beside her, keeping in
sync with her steps once again.
"Yeah? Wow, what kind of an accent is that?"
"English."
"You're from the U.K? When did you transfer here?"
"Originally from the United Kingdom, eight years ago I moved to
Australia and picked up that accent as well. I reallocated here three
years ago, when I was fifteen."
"Australia…it must be nice not having to worry about winter!"
She rounded the corner of her street and the guy continued to walk
beside her.
"I suppose. But not having seasons becomes rather dull after a while."
She said thoughtfully, "Did you move onto this street?"
Shifting the conversation purposely and biting her lip as she noticed
him staring at her. He stopped and scowled; she slowed down and came to
a halt as well, giving him a curious look. They were now halfway down
the street and almost at her house.
"Nah, my house is back there. I'm so stupid, I just didn't realize
where we were."
She smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Looks like you should get going then. Will you be able to make it home
okay?"
He nodded and waved before turning around.
"Oh and Zell, thank you for walking me home, you can call me Quistis."
The vibrant young man with spiky blonde hair faced her again and smiled
goofily.
"No prob, see ya around Quistis!"