Sitting alone at a table in the dark was not fun, Selphie decided, burying her head in her hands in the far corner of the ballroom. She almost knocked over her drink, and quickly sat up, having already knocked over a glass of water all over her black sequined dress. At least it was only water, she thought to herself. But she didn't really care about any of this at all. She was just using it, she knew, to take her mind off things. brbr

She looked across the floor, and saw Zell eating a hotdog and holding hands with a pretty blond girl on one side, and a brunette SeeD candidate on the other. She thrust her face into her hands again and bit her lip. Why did he have to be so awful? He just…went off with other girls! It wasn't supposed to be like this, was it? No! It had never been this way with Irvine, not really. He'd joked around a bit, but he'd only truly had eyes for Selphie. But oh no, not Zell. He'd already probably danced with every girl here, EXCEPT Selphie.brbr

She stood up, and locked eyes with him as he munched on his hotdog. He looked around, and grinned stupidly. Disgusted, she walked to the other end of the room, so she didn't have to see him. Only this morning it had seemed perfect. All too perfect, she should have known. Somehow, she knew she shouldn't be surprised by Zell's sudden change, yet she was. Surprised and saddened. Would she ever find someone who actually cared enough about her to bother? Irvine had been too set on the rest of his life to spend enough time with her. And now Zell…brbr

Unable to bear it anymore, she stormed out of the ballroom and started running down the hall, in no particular direction. A few passing people gave her startled looks, but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting away, to where she could just be by herself. She ran until she found somewhere to run to, and found herself in the training center, unexpectedly. She stopped for only a minute, then ran forward into the training center, and threw herself at the first monster she saw. It was a grat, and she had it down in about three blows. Slightly pleased with herself, she whirled, and tackled another one.brbr

She didn't know how long she went on like that, but with each fallen monster, she felt more and more satisfied. After a while, she sat down on the grass, and breathed heavily. So what if Zell didn't care? So what? It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She had herself, and her skills, and her friends. She didn't need a guy. Ever. Never again. This was it, she thought. This was IT. brbr

She didn't notice the approach behind her until a huge shadow loomed over and in front of her. Whirling around, she saw the T-Rexaur, raising it's head and roaring 10 or more feet above her. Scrambling to her feet, she grabbed her Strange Vision and stood at the ready, ducking as it swiped over her head. She lashed out twice with her nunchaku, then dropped and rolled out of the way of it's massive foot. Cracking out her weapon with fervor, she almost managed to avoid the jaws…but not quite. Before she knew what was happening, she was lifted up into the massive maw of the big ugly beast.brbr

She struggled violently, dropping her weapon in a panic and trying to wedge her removed boot between it's teeth so that she could slip free. Unsuccessful, she closed her eyes and prepared for the end. So this is it, she thought. At least I won't have to see Zell anymore. I wonder if he'll miss me…brbr

Suddenly, she was dropped out of the mouth, and landed in a heap on her feet. The T-Rexaur was screaming with rage, and she ducked, but realized that it's attentions were not directed at her, but at another figure blocking it away from her. She looked up, and saw a familiar blond form in a long gray coat. Seifer?? What was he doing helping her? He'd only returned to the garden a month or so ago, and no one was really comfortable around him. She wasn't sure who was more dangerous, him or the monster. Quietly, she got up, and snuck behind a tree to watch.brbr

Seifer had the creature down in a few powerful magic blows, before turning back around, and heading for the exit. Selphie looked toward the fallen monster, then toward him, before running out of her cover and catching up with him. "Thanks!" She said, smiling and grabbing his arm. He shook her off and kept going. "Heeey!" She jumped in front of him. "Don't leave so soon! I want to thank you! You saved me!"brbr

Seifer deigned to give her a long look. "You just did," he muttered. "But…" He rolled his eyes. "What??" "Just…thanks, I guess," she said. "But why did you do it? I thought you hated us! Squall and everybody!" He just turned and kept walking. He couldn't help wondering to himself why he'd saved her himself, really. It had seemed so natural. I'm going soft, he thought, heading back to the ballroom. He heard Selphie hard on his heels and groaned, but continued to ignore her as he walked. She stayed behind him, not really trying to talk to him, so it suited him just fine.