After he was called down to Headmaster Cid's office, I was informed that he passed the exam! He was now a SeeD
and in my heart, I was extremely proud of him! There was a ball for all of the Graduates that night. People like me - the people
that haven't even started to train- were not invited. I was utterly and completely crushed. I had to see Zell dressed in his new SeeD
uniform for the first time!
At sundown, I left the library and walked, with my head down, to the Dorms. I went into my room and sat down on
my hard, cold bed and tried to think of a plan. I looked at my clock. It read, "8:30pm".
"The ball is at 10:00 so…" I thought to myself, "have to get to Zell's dorm before the ball begins! He just might ask
me if I would join him!". I jumped off of my bed and looked through my closet. I had barely any dress clothes because Garden
students were never required to go anywhere formal, except for the SeeD ball. My formal clothes were at the back of my closet
behind my spare uniform.
I took them out and laid them on my bed. There were only 3 so, I didn't take long to decide. There was a short, red
dress, a long, black sequined gown with an A-lined bottom and lastly, a straight, pale green, silk skirt with a matching, backless
top. I looked at all three closely and picked up the green outfit. I tried it on and, to my surprise, I actually looked nice! I looked
-almost- like a princess. I couldn't do hair for beans so, instead of the usual "pigtails", I made a bun. I stood in front of the mirror
and smoothed out the wrinkles in the dress and smiled at how classic I looked. A posed for a little while (Come on! When else
was I going to dress up like that again?) and headed out of my dorm.
At 9:45pm, I was in the hall outside of Zell's dorm, pacing back and forth as if I were looking for someone just so that
if he came out, it wouldn't look like I was waiting for him.
At 10:05pm, I was ready to leave because Zell usually was punctual but, something inside of me told me to wait just
a little longer.
At 10:10pm, Zell stepped out of his Dorm and saw me leaning against the opposite wall, looking at my watch.
"Hey, Bette." He smiled and walked over to me. "Where are you all dolled up to go? Am I going to see you at the SeeD ball".
I sighed, "No"
"Oh yeah. You didn't take them exam. You know, you could go, if you were invited by a SeeD"
"Really?" I asked, trying to sound surprised.
"Yeah…But, you look like you got a hot date"
"Oh," I said, as thought for a minute, "Well, he bailed on me"
"Really?" He looked down and smiled, "Well, will you accompany me to the ball, Miss Bette?"
My heart skipped a beat and I even had to shake my head, to make sure I wasn't dreaming! "Yes. I'd love to!"
"Well, you go on ahead, Bette. I gotta wait for Squall."
My eyes smiled and I nodded. I began to walk away, when Zell called,
"And we ain't gonna be conceiving any babies tonight!" with a chuckle.
* * *
The ballroom was extremely large. It was dome shaped and painted white and gold. The ceiling was glass and, you
could see the sparkling night sky through it. Beautiful dancing music played as couples twirled and spun on the dance floor. Zell
and Squall walked into the ball a few minutes after I arrived. He found me standing by the balcony almost instantly and ran over.
"Heya!" He said.
"Hi" I smiled.
"Oh…wait…" He looked back a Squall, standing by a large pillar, by himself, "I gotta go talk to Squall."
"Sure.", I smiled and turned around, looking out over the balcony. I watched ivory stars dance in ebony sky. The wind started to blow. I felt it brush my face and imagined it was Zell's hand stroking my cheek. It whispered in my ear and I imagined that it was Zell telling me he loved me. The bun in my hair began to come undone and me, usually being very neat when it comes to braids, I just let the wind blow the bun away, leaving my hair to sway in the wind.
"Hey, Bette" Zell called from behind me. "Havin' fun?".
Waking up from my dream, I sighed and said, "Yeah".
"About what happened in the library, Bette…" He began to blush, "Was Julie serious?"
"About?" I said, playing dumb.
Zell sighed, "Nevermind".
The Waltz For The Moon began to play and I looked at Zell. "Would you like to dance?", I asked.
"Uh…" He began to whisper, "I can't dance".
"So? Neither can I?" I punched him lightly in the shoulder, "You seem pretty light on your feet when you're practicing.
So, it can't be as hard as it seems!"
"Alright." He put one arm around my waist and the other, he clasped with mine as I put as hand on his shoulder.
"Here we go".
I smiled and looked at his feet and mine. His feet were moving all over the place! I began to giggle.
"What?" He looked up.
"You really can't dance, Zell!", I cracked up laughing. I composed myself and cleared my throat. "How about I lead
this time?"
He smiled, "Okay".
"Okay. We'll go to the left".
"Alright...I thought you said you couldn't dance!"
"Oh well, I lied!", I giggled, "1, 2, 3…1,2,3" I said with the tempo of the music. He began to catch on quickly. He
even stopped looking at his feet and at my face. I looked away, at other couples dancing. "Oh my!".
"What?" He asked.
"Look at Squall!"
Trying not to mess up, he looked over at Squall and a young woman wearing a short, white dress. He kept his pace
and managed to yell, "WHOA! I didn't know Squall could dance like that!!"
"Hm…Impressive", I said.
There was then a large "BOOM" sound that came from above. Zell and I stopped and looked up and what we saw
was a magnificent sight! Fireworks, of every color exploded in the sky in a symphony of fire! I looked at Zell. In his eyes, I saw
the reflection of the fireworks. As his head was still tilted upwards, I leaned forward, to go in for the kiss. He looked down just
before my lips touched his. I moved my head back and looked upwards again. I heard him sigh. Without saying a word, Zell
began to lead. I could hear him counting under his breath "1, 2, 3 …1, 2, 3…"
I smiled and let him lead.
* * *
We walked back to my dorm, laughing like old friends. We stopped in front of my room.
"Goodnight, Zell" I said, sweetly.
"Goodnight"
"Thank you for inviting me to the ball" I said. I just wanted the night to last a little longer so, I tried to continue talking.
"It's no problem. Besides, what are friends for?"
"Friends!?!…FRIENDS!?!", I thought to myself, "Just friends!?"
"And, that guy who stood you up, he deserves a real ass kickin'! He don't know what a great girl he was missing out
on.", He smiled and kissed me on the cheek.
I opened the door and walked inside. I turned around, "Bye".
"Bye". He said and strutted off.
I closed the door, fell down on my bed and began to dream on Cloud 9.
I swear I could've heard Zell yell, "YAHOO! You're getting through to her!" to himself, from outside of my door but, it might just
have been me, dreaming.
~Chapter 3's Comin' Up! She still hasn't won his heart yet! Things are gonna get a little bit juicier~
and in my heart, I was extremely proud of him! There was a ball for all of the Graduates that night. People like me - the people
that haven't even started to train- were not invited. I was utterly and completely crushed. I had to see Zell dressed in his new SeeD
uniform for the first time!
At sundown, I left the library and walked, with my head down, to the Dorms. I went into my room and sat down on
my hard, cold bed and tried to think of a plan. I looked at my clock. It read, "8:30pm".
"The ball is at 10:00 so…" I thought to myself, "have to get to Zell's dorm before the ball begins! He just might ask
me if I would join him!". I jumped off of my bed and looked through my closet. I had barely any dress clothes because Garden
students were never required to go anywhere formal, except for the SeeD ball. My formal clothes were at the back of my closet
behind my spare uniform.
I took them out and laid them on my bed. There were only 3 so, I didn't take long to decide. There was a short, red
dress, a long, black sequined gown with an A-lined bottom and lastly, a straight, pale green, silk skirt with a matching, backless
top. I looked at all three closely and picked up the green outfit. I tried it on and, to my surprise, I actually looked nice! I looked
-almost- like a princess. I couldn't do hair for beans so, instead of the usual "pigtails", I made a bun. I stood in front of the mirror
and smoothed out the wrinkles in the dress and smiled at how classic I looked. A posed for a little while (Come on! When else
was I going to dress up like that again?) and headed out of my dorm.
At 9:45pm, I was in the hall outside of Zell's dorm, pacing back and forth as if I were looking for someone just so that
if he came out, it wouldn't look like I was waiting for him.
At 10:05pm, I was ready to leave because Zell usually was punctual but, something inside of me told me to wait just
a little longer.
At 10:10pm, Zell stepped out of his Dorm and saw me leaning against the opposite wall, looking at my watch.
"Hey, Bette." He smiled and walked over to me. "Where are you all dolled up to go? Am I going to see you at the SeeD ball".
I sighed, "No"
"Oh yeah. You didn't take them exam. You know, you could go, if you were invited by a SeeD"
"Really?" I asked, trying to sound surprised.
"Yeah…But, you look like you got a hot date"
"Oh," I said, as thought for a minute, "Well, he bailed on me"
"Really?" He looked down and smiled, "Well, will you accompany me to the ball, Miss Bette?"
My heart skipped a beat and I even had to shake my head, to make sure I wasn't dreaming! "Yes. I'd love to!"
"Well, you go on ahead, Bette. I gotta wait for Squall."
My eyes smiled and I nodded. I began to walk away, when Zell called,
"And we ain't gonna be conceiving any babies tonight!" with a chuckle.
* * *
The ballroom was extremely large. It was dome shaped and painted white and gold. The ceiling was glass and, you
could see the sparkling night sky through it. Beautiful dancing music played as couples twirled and spun on the dance floor. Zell
and Squall walked into the ball a few minutes after I arrived. He found me standing by the balcony almost instantly and ran over.
"Heya!" He said.
"Hi" I smiled.
"Oh…wait…" He looked back a Squall, standing by a large pillar, by himself, "I gotta go talk to Squall."
"Sure.", I smiled and turned around, looking out over the balcony. I watched ivory stars dance in ebony sky. The wind started to blow. I felt it brush my face and imagined it was Zell's hand stroking my cheek. It whispered in my ear and I imagined that it was Zell telling me he loved me. The bun in my hair began to come undone and me, usually being very neat when it comes to braids, I just let the wind blow the bun away, leaving my hair to sway in the wind.
"Hey, Bette" Zell called from behind me. "Havin' fun?".
Waking up from my dream, I sighed and said, "Yeah".
"About what happened in the library, Bette…" He began to blush, "Was Julie serious?"
"About?" I said, playing dumb.
Zell sighed, "Nevermind".
The Waltz For The Moon began to play and I looked at Zell. "Would you like to dance?", I asked.
"Uh…" He began to whisper, "I can't dance".
"So? Neither can I?" I punched him lightly in the shoulder, "You seem pretty light on your feet when you're practicing.
So, it can't be as hard as it seems!"
"Alright." He put one arm around my waist and the other, he clasped with mine as I put as hand on his shoulder.
"Here we go".
I smiled and looked at his feet and mine. His feet were moving all over the place! I began to giggle.
"What?" He looked up.
"You really can't dance, Zell!", I cracked up laughing. I composed myself and cleared my throat. "How about I lead
this time?"
He smiled, "Okay".
"Okay. We'll go to the left".
"Alright...I thought you said you couldn't dance!"
"Oh well, I lied!", I giggled, "1, 2, 3…1,2,3" I said with the tempo of the music. He began to catch on quickly. He
even stopped looking at his feet and at my face. I looked away, at other couples dancing. "Oh my!".
"What?" He asked.
"Look at Squall!"
Trying not to mess up, he looked over at Squall and a young woman wearing a short, white dress. He kept his pace
and managed to yell, "WHOA! I didn't know Squall could dance like that!!"
"Hm…Impressive", I said.
There was then a large "BOOM" sound that came from above. Zell and I stopped and looked up and what we saw
was a magnificent sight! Fireworks, of every color exploded in the sky in a symphony of fire! I looked at Zell. In his eyes, I saw
the reflection of the fireworks. As his head was still tilted upwards, I leaned forward, to go in for the kiss. He looked down just
before my lips touched his. I moved my head back and looked upwards again. I heard him sigh. Without saying a word, Zell
began to lead. I could hear him counting under his breath "1, 2, 3 …1, 2, 3…"
I smiled and let him lead.
* * *
We walked back to my dorm, laughing like old friends. We stopped in front of my room.
"Goodnight, Zell" I said, sweetly.
"Goodnight"
"Thank you for inviting me to the ball" I said. I just wanted the night to last a little longer so, I tried to continue talking.
"It's no problem. Besides, what are friends for?"
"Friends!?!…FRIENDS!?!", I thought to myself, "Just friends!?"
"And, that guy who stood you up, he deserves a real ass kickin'! He don't know what a great girl he was missing out
on.", He smiled and kissed me on the cheek.
I opened the door and walked inside. I turned around, "Bye".
"Bye". He said and strutted off.
I closed the door, fell down on my bed and began to dream on Cloud 9.
I swear I could've heard Zell yell, "YAHOO! You're getting through to her!" to himself, from outside of my door but, it might just
have been me, dreaming.
~Chapter 3's Comin' Up! She still hasn't won his heart yet! Things are gonna get a little bit juicier~