Disclaimer: Not that I don't love disclaimers and all that, but you know what's meant to go here. Actually, I'd better type it, else those guys in suits will come knockin….I don't own a thing, cept maybe my mini-hi, clothing (no, wait, that's wrong…), school-work, posters, make-up, jewellery, etc.
"Yo dude, you goin to da Grad Ball?"
"Definitely!"
"Cool, see ya there!"
You da man! Can't believe I passed that test today. I mean, I knew I would, it was like Instructor Trepe said, all I had to do was keep my cool. And I was cool, right?! Right, I'm always cool. Hey, there's Squall!
"Hey man, y'all right?"
"Whatever…"
"You'd better go and get ready soon, else you'll be late"
"Whatever…"
Geez, it's like a grey cloud's over his head all the time. Wonder if he'll loosen up at the Ball tonight…Hey, here's my dorm.
Zell wandered inside after completing the usual security measures. He'd been here so long that he hardly had to think about it, he was basically on autopilot, even when he was throwing his board to the side of his bed, he knew the exact strength and angle he needed to get it to land just right. Even though he didn't seem the type, his dorm was almost immaculate. Judging by the way he eats, you would never know that Zell actually hates mess.
He walked to the other side of the room in a few paces and picked out his SeeD uniform from the assortment of baggy trousers and t-shirts in his wardrobe. He found the thing hanging on the very side of the furnishing and when he took it out, he saw that it was very creased.
Dammit! I'm never gonna get away with these lines all over it, I knew I shoulda taken mama's spare iron with me. I know, I'll get one of the girls to clean it up for me.
So out of his dorm he went.
Now, who should I ask? Natsumi might, she's always helping me with the books in the library, and maybe she'll help me with my uniform. Now, which one was her dorm?
After knocking on a few wrong doors, and asking a few fellow students, he finally reached Natsumi's dorm.
"Hi, I was wondering if you could do me a favour."
"Depends on what it is."
"I'm having some trouble with my uniform, I've sorta creased it quite badly, and I don't really know how to fix it, so –"
" – So you were wondering if I could fix it for you," she finished for him.
"Well, yeah. That is if you wouldn't mind…"
"Of course not, I'll drop it by your dorm in about 10 minutes!"
"Thanks Nat, I owe ya one!"
"No problem, I was going to fix my clothes anyway, I'll just do yours at the same time"
"Great! See ya in a bit!"
Wow, that was easier than I thought it'd be.
Zell returned to his dorm and disappeared into the shower.
He appeared 10 minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist and a few puddles from where he'd walked.
Damn, I always do that! I never seem to remember to dry my feet before I leave the bathroom. Never mind, I'll do that next time.
There was a knock on the door.
Wonder who that could be…
He shouted to say that it was open, and Natsumi walked in with his uniform in hand. She almost dropped the pile, when she saw his bare torso. Zell didn't seem to notice, as she had accidentally knocked his board with the door and he was rushing to save it from being chipped if it had hit the floor.
"Oh, sorry Zell, I didn't mean to do that!"
"Don't worry bout that. You shouldn't be saying sorry, I should be saying thank you for the uniform."
"It's alright, I didn't mind doing it. You can ask again anytime." She handed Zell the pile.
"Really?! Gee, thanks Nat, I might take you up on that!"
"I think I'd better leave you to get ready for the Ball."
"Oh, yeah, I'll see you later then."
"Yeah, bye!"
With that, she had left the room as quickly as she had entered. Zell gently placed the uniform onto his bed.
Let's get this hair sorted out. Now, where's that hair gel?
Zell rummaged through a heap of clothes he had left in the corner, the only kind of messiness in the entire room.
No, it's not there. Where did I put it? Lemme think, I used it this morning and put it onto the side of the sink.
Zell wandered back into the bathroom and examined the sink.
No, not there either. Is it in the cabinet?
So he opened it and found only a shaver, toothbrush and toothpaste.
Where is it?! Hang on, did I put it back into my suitcase, so that I'd remember to take it to mama's with me? Well, third time lucky!
Sure enough, he had packed it, just in case he had left it in his dorm.
Now, let's fix this hair.
Zell screwed off the lid and put some onto his fingers. He worked it through into his hair and spiked his hair until it was just right. He laughed a little, as he remembered how he saw some guys try to copy his style and failed miserably. They found it impossible to have spiky hair at the length Zell had his. What they didn't know was that there was a special ingredient in his gel, which made even his length hair spike.
Well, I've sorted out the hair, so the only thing left to do is to change into the uniform…
When that was done, he waked out of his dorm and locked the door. He then wandered down the assortment of corridors and eventually came to the hall the Ball was in. He was right on time; the band had just started their introductory piece to let the students know Headmaster Cid was about to give his opening speech.
Zell went straight for the buffet cart and helped himself to the mixture of food available, whilst the headmaster's voice echoed over the hall. The speech finished and Zell turned to complain to a fellow student.
"It's not fair!"
"What?"
"There are no hot dogs here. How do they expect us to enjoy this evening without hot dogs?"
The guy rolled his eyes but was unnoticed by Zell, as he was still marvelling at the lack of hot dogs.
Zell walked to a pillar at the side of the room. He had come here without a date, so he did not expect to go for a dance with anyone. He watched the couples weaving in and out of each other while absent-mindedly drinking from a glass he was handed to by a waiter.
I wish I had asked someone to come here with me, and then I could put into practice those dancing lessons mama made me go to. Of course, I'll never tell anyone about that. Hopefully, they wouldn't ask. Hey, who's that girl? She's pretty hot. She's looking at the door; she may be waiting for her date. Oh well, too bad.
At that point, Natsumi strolled over and struck up a conversation with him.
"Hey ya Zell, what's on your mind?"
"Nuffin, just thinking bout stuff."
"Hmm…a dangerous past time", she smiled.
Zell grinned in response. "Why are you here anyway, I didn't know you took the test."
"No, I didn't. That's why I'm not in uniform."
"Oh yeah, I didn't notice. Like I said, my mind was elsewhere. So, you enjoying the Ball?!"
"Yeah, I spose."
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Selphie practically sprinting into the hall and Squall almost crashing into her as she stopped.
"Hey, there's Squall, I'd might as well say hi, I'll catch ya later!"
" Yeah, later."
With that, Zell left Natsumi and dodged the couples. He carried on watching Squall and Selphie.
What's Selphie up to now? Is she trying to get him to dance? Oh well, I might as well interrupt!
"Hey, Squall buddy, howz it goin, man? Alright Selph?"
"Zell, Squall won't dance with me. Hey, I know, would you like to do the honour?"
Would I?! I've been waiting for a dance all night!
Zell responded by offering his arm and flashed Selphie one of his grins. With his head turned towards Selphie, he noticed a relieved Squall looking in the other direction. Selphie drew his attention.
"You know how to dance, right? It doesn't matter if you don't, it'll still be fun"
"Yeah, I kinda do, so you won't have to tense your feet. Besides, your feet are so small, I probably won't even get them, even if I aim for em!"
Selphie aimed a fake punch at his bicep.
Dammit, that actually kinda hurt! Oh well, I guess that explains why she's a SeeD, since she doesn't look that big,
They walked to the middle and started dancing to the music as soon as they reached their destination. Zell immediately recognised the music as a waltz piece and took the lead. Selphie soon followed and were mimicking each other's moves, making them look like they were dancing with their reflection. They were enjoying themselves so much; they found it hard not to beam at each other.
After a while, Selphie leaned in to whisper, "Zell, who's that girl with Squall?"
"Huh? Where? Oh, I don't think I've seen her around. She might be an exchange student like you. She's pretty. How would she know Squall? As far as I know, he doesn't talk to many guys or girls. Oh well, things change right?"
Damn, she was waiting for Squall?!
"I don't believe this! He told me couldn't dance. I can't believe he lied to me!"
Zell spun around so that he could observe the couple in question.
"Calm down. Look, he doesn't know, he's standing on her feet more than the floor!"
"Hehe, oh yeah!"
They turned to the side, so that they could spy on the couple at the same time.
That seemed to cheer her up. I think I should give Squall some dancing lessons. Nah, this is funny! Wait a minute he's improving. Oh well, it looks like the show's over. I was having so much fun watching them as well!
It was true; Squall had dramatically improved for some unknown reason. Soon, it looked as though Squall and the girl were destined to dance together. They were moving with such grace and agility, it seemed hard to believe Squall had never stepped foot onto a dance floor.
Zell didn't want to seem rude, so he turned his attention back to Selphie, who he noticed was still fixated on the couple. A couple of seconds later, she too turned her attention back to the dance she was in.
Zell soon had confirmation of Selphie's priorities.
"C'mon Zell, I wanna know who that girl was."
"Yeah, cool. I wanna know too," and he meant it.
The massive crowd of people, who had developed, as the band started up the new track, slowed them down.
"Hey, that chick was cute. Who was she?"
"You said you didn't dance! You liar. Who was she anyway? Do we know her?"
Zell looked at Squall and noticed his eyes staring at a spot in mid air. He followed his eyes and saw nothing. At least, it was nothing to him.
Author's notes: Wow, I only posted the last chapter a few days ago. Oh well, this is what happens when my brother leaves me alone with the computer at 2am. I think I should really get some sleep now, as I still have school. Hope this wasn't too bad, and sorry it was so long. I forgot to say for the last chapter that I do actually like Selphie (she's my fave character after Rinoa), I didn't mean to be mean to her if I did. Natsumi is the girl in the library, I think that's her name anyway; else I just made it up. Well, review it please, even if you do wanna scream at me for such a bad fic and making you read this for so long, or if you're one of those rare peeps who do actually like it, you can praise me! Whichever you are, please review!! Hmm…now I've gotta figure out which characters I've got left…
