Author's note: Hi y'all! Stupid traffic again and the updates. You know how long I've been trying to get in? Anyway, I'm happy to say that Chapter 6 is here! I hope you enjoy it!!!!!!!
Chapter 6 - Guilty
It has been two days days after that stolen kiss him and Selphie made in the cafeteria. It was Monday. It was the most horrible day all students face in their school years. Monday was a 'cursed' monday or so what Zell thought about it. He hated Monday. Zell removed the pillow from his face and glanced at the clock beside him. The red numbers beamed in his eyes. It was close to noon. His stomach growled and he knew this was a sure sign of his hunger for... what else! Hot dog! Zell sprang to his feet and quickly got dressed. His messy hair curled over his eyes and he swiftly brushed a wet comb through it to keep his hair from going to his eyes. With that finished, he headed for the door and stepped out into the hallway. Remembering what he had done to his best friend's girl friend last night, he slouched his shoulders and frowned, putting his hands in his pockets. Just thinking about it, made him feel guilty. What has he done? It may just be an innocent little kiss, but it still felt wrong. What's more is that he kept thinking about it and wished he could kiss Selphie again. He was being such a horrible person! He took a deep breath and concentrated on the floor instead of looking in front of him as he turned a corner. He was surprised as he halted to a stop when he almost bumped into someone he wanted and didn't want to see right now. He gulped.
"Hey, Selphie..." he said, trying to opress the nervousness in his voice.
Selphie grinned, trying to resist the urge to jump in his arms. His strong arms. She fidgeted with her hands and looked up to mee his eyes. "You slept late again?" she asked with another smile, trying to make the tension between them disappear.
Zell rubbed the back of his neck. "Um... yeah. I couldn't sleep last night." Her crutches were gone and he was glad about that. Irvine was coming back today.
"Really? Why?" She shifted her weight to her other foot.
Zell looked at her and turned away. "I couldn't stop thinking about what happened between us."
Selphie took a deep breath and shook her head. She forced a smile on her face. "Hey, you said it was a mistake and we should forget about it! Besides, it was a few days ago!"
Zell turned his attention back to her. "That's just it. I can't forget about it."
Selphie blushed, her eyes widening in shock. She wanted it to be a dream, a nightmare maybe, but it wasn't. It was true and she had cheated on Irvine. She became speechless.
They were silent for a while, staring at each other and trying to make sense of it all.
Selphie opened her mouth to speak first, but a familiar voice interrupted her.
"Hey, Zell!" Zell looked over Selphie and watched as Rinoa strolled towards them with Squall waltzing right beside her. "Where have you been?"
Zell shrugged, walking pass Selphie and towards Rinoa and Squall. "I overslept I guess."
Squall snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "You're kidding? Aren't you the first one to always line up at the food line, but end up NOT getting hot dog?"
The blond man rolled his eyes. "Well, I had things to think about!" he snapped. Rinoa and Squall were shocked. Selphie was shocked as well, her eyes widened in disbelief. They knew he was an ill-tempered man, but they had no idea Zell was that defensive. They watched as Zell stomped pass them and into the cafeteria.
Rinoa and Squall looked at each other, then they looked at Selphie for explanation. Selphie didn't really know what went wrong, but she chose not to question. She walked pass them and walked to Zell. She was surprised to see him sitting on their usual table, eating other than hot dog. She looked over her shoulder, noticing that Rinoa and Squall weren't there anymore. Selphie took a deep breath and walked over to where Zell was sitting, the same table where they sat about two days ago.
"Can I sit here?" Selphie placed her hand on a chair across from Zell and looked at him for his answer.
Zell grabbed the sandwich sitting in front of him and shrugged. "Go ahead. It's not reserved for anyone." He took a bite out of his, hamburger. Selphie sat down and looked at him, watching him eat the sandwich.
"Why didn't you get a hot dog?" Selphie asked, clasping her hands on the table in front of her.
Zell nodded his head towards a line up at the front of the food counter. Selphie followed his gaze. "You think I'll get a chance to get a hot dog when there's too many people lining up for lunch?" He looked at Selphie. "Have you eaten lunch yet?" He took another bite of his sandwich.
Selphie stared at him. She didn't answer his question, instead she couldn't help but notice that Zell was acting strange. Moody. He was barely speaking and was not getting on Selphie's side. She was ready to burst. Zell was acting too much like Squall. "You've been avoiding me since what happened. What's wrong?"
Zell slammed his sandwich down on his paper plate and glared at her. "Look, why don't you just stop asking me these questions and leave me in peace!" He slid his chair away from him as he stood up, the stands making a screeching sound against the pavement and turned around, leaving his sandwich sitting on the table.
Selphie wasn't about to be dumped by one of her closest friends. She stood up quickly and followed Zell outside the cafeteria. When they were in the hallway, that was the time Selphie chose to call his name.
"Zell!"
Zell rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to snub Selphie. Yet, he couldn't bare the sight of her. Seeing her would make him feel vulnerable and force him to run into her arms and kiss her again. His feelings were definitely coming back. He couldn't do that. She was Irvine's girl friend. HIS girl friend! He jerked around and clenched his fists, trying to hold back the anger in his voice. "What is it, Selphie?"
Selphie walked to him and frowned. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you in any way. I love Irvine, I really do, but I-" She looked into his eyes, a hurtful look sketched on her face.
Zell returned her gaze, but quickly pried his eyes away from her. "It's not you Selphie..." He paused. He couldn't stand hurting her. Part of him wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her, but part of him told him to stay away, telling him that she was Irvine's girl friend. He couldn't betray his best friend.
'You already betrayed him from that kiss the night before!' a voice said inside his head. Guilt suddenly masked his heart. He couldn't bare it! He had to get away!
Zell didn't finish his sentence, instead he turned around, facing the elevator and started to walk away, but not before Selphie touched his arm, did he stop and looked over his shoulder to glance at her.
"Zell... Is there something you'd like to tell me?" she asked, another question Zell refused to answer. He jerked his arm away from her and shook his head vigorously. He turned around and looked down on her with his green eyes. Green met green and they stood like that for a few seconds, until a PING! from the elevator was heard.
****************
He stepped out of the elevator, his shoes making a soft tapping sound on the cement floor. Behind him he could see Quistis and Seifer talking to each other. Flirting, mosty likely. He wasn't really paying attention, since he kept thinking about Selphie. As he looked up, he was surprised to see Selphie and Zell standing a few feet away from him. They weren't saying anything to each other, except they were just staring at each other, as if in a trance.
"Hey look! It's your girl friend and Chicken-Wuss!" Seifer bellowed, wrapping an arm around Quistis' shoulders.
Selphie blinked, upon hearing Seifer's voice and looked up. Irvine was walking towards them. She felt overjoyed for his return, but felt a knot in her stomach. She was nervous as well. She wasn't a liar and there was no point of keeping the kiss a secret. Is there?
Zell glanced at her and sighed quietly. Irvine was back now. Selphie would run into his arms and he would be just the loser he always was.
Irvine waved at her and smiled. "Hey, my little Butterfly!" he greeted. The name 'Butterfly' was his favourite name for Selphie. Since she always wore yellow and was always fluttering about in every direction, gave him the reason for the name. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips.
Selphie kissed him back, trying to hold back the pain in her heart. How can she be in love with two men? Is she THAT horrible? She wrapped her arms around his neck, which at that point she had to tiptoe and hugged him as much as she wanted to.
Zell watched their interaction and gulped. He couldn't stand this. What has he done to Irvine? Irvine shouldn't be his friend. He shouldn't be. It may just be one innocent little kiss, but that one kiss changed him. It felt good to him and that one moment, his feelings truly did come back. At that point on, he wanted to hold his feelings, away from his heart, but he just couldn't!
A hard smack on his back interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and noticed Seifer smirking at him. "Hey, Chicken-wuss!" Seifer said, a way of greeting him. Seifer knew how much Zell hated that name. Quistis nudged him on the shoulder.
Zell frowned. "Hey," he answered, staring ahead of him to the happy couple.
Seifer looked shock. Usually, Zell would beat his ass down by now for calling him 'Chicken-Wuss' everytime he greeted him. Zell would clench his fists, grit his teeth and punch nothing but air to let his temper out and would say, "Don't call me Chicken-wuss!" But Seifer had a feeling there was something wrong with Zell. "Hey! Are you all right?"
Zell kept staring at the couple and nodded. "Yeah... I'm fine."
Seifer was too busy noticing Zell staring at Selphie the whole time he talked. The older blond shook his head and talked about their adventures back in Galbadia. But Quistis. Quistis was not fooled by it. She could see Zell staring at Selphie in particular and she had a feeling something had happened between them while they were gone.
Without another thought, Zell turned around and walked away. Quistis and Seifer watched him go. The blond man glanced at his girl friend and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
Quistis shrugged and watched him head towards the boy's dorms. Something was definitely wrong.
****************
Zell stared at the ceiling. He could hear Selphie giggle inside Irvine's bedroom. He couldn't stand this. Sighing, Zell stood up from his bed and headed for the door. He heard the door to Irvine's bedroom open.
"Hey, Zell! Where are you going?" Irvine walked out of his room, his first two buttons of his shirt open. A clear brown lipstick was marked on the corner of his lips. Selphie walked out of the bedroom as well and stepped beside her boy friend, wondering the same thing.
Zell looked over his shoulder. He glanced for only a second at Selphie, then stared at Irvine. "I'm just gonna go for a walk," he answered.
"All right, man," Irvine said, wrapping an arm around Selphie's waist. "Seffie and I are going to stay here and..." He looked at Selphie and winked at her. "Practice our fighting skills."
Zell nodded, his face away from them. "I'll bet," he mumbled. He twisted the door open and stepped out of the room, away from the guilt and pain inside of him. He made a sharp turn and almost bumped into Quistis. She was wearing her usual battle costume, her whip attached to the side of her belt. "Oh. Hey Quistis," he said, quietly. He walked pass her, but not before Quistis placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"What's the matter, Zell? You've been acting strange since we came back yesterday. Did something happen?" Quistis was being the interrogator.
Zell shrugged off Quistis' hand and glared up at her. "It's none of your business, Quistis," he replied, turning around to walk away from her.
Quistis, as much as she hated to do so, grabbed Zell's arm and forced him to turn around. Zell was surprised. He knew Quistis was strong, but he had no idea how strong. No wonder Cid hired her as an Instructor. "Don't be stubborn, Zell! What is the matter? You can tell me anything."
He took a deep breath. His stubborness and anger got to him. "You wouldn't understand, Quistis!" He turned around and walked away again, but he could hear Quistis' heels clicking behind him.
"I wouldn't understand what? That something happened between you and Selphie?"
Zell paused and turned around slowly. He looked around, making sure no one was listening and waited until Quistis was close enough for him to whisper. "Nothing happened between me and Selphie," he said.
"Stop denying it, Zell. I saw the way you looked at Selphie while she hugged Irvine...." She stepped closer. "Are you in love with Selphie?"
Zell blushed, but quickly shook them away with a glare towards his good friend. "Why would I be in love with Selphie? Irvine loves her, not me."
"It's not impossible that two men are in love with the same girl," Quistis said. "Stop denying it, Zell. I know you. I grew up with you. You're much like Seifer, you know."
Zell jerked his head up. "I'm not Seifer!" he yelled.
Quistis nodded coolly. "I know that. What I mean is, you both hide your feelings by denying it. If you were Squall, he would just shut up and walk away, but you and Seifer deny your feelings by anger."
Zell rolled his eyes. Was she lecturing him? "Stop talking to me like a teacher, Quistis!" He clenched and unclenched his fists, before turning back around towards the training area. "If you want to talk to me, you might as well, talk like a friend!" He stepped inside the training center, where only a portion of light illuminated at the entrance.
Quistis caught up to him again, stopping him just before he could make it deeper inside the training center. She placed a hand on his shoulder and Zell turned around again. "Could you please stop walking away from me?!"
Zell was shocked at her outburst. "You must be getting your temper from Seifer," he said, sarcastically, folding his arms across his chest.
Quistis ignored his lack of humour and looked at him. "I'm not talking like a teacher, Zell. I can't help it, I always talk like this. Can you at least hear me out?"
Zell sighed and unfolded his arms. He gestured for her to go on.
"Zell, being with Selphie while Irvine was away made you close to her. I know how it feels. When you're alone with someone, you feel attracted to her, but since Irvine came back, you feel hurt inside."
"Where is this going, Quisty?" Zell was getting impatient.
'What an odd reflection of Seifer,' Quistis thought. "What I'm saying is... don't feel guilty about what happened between you two. You felt attraction then."
"How did you know something happened between me and Selph....?" Zell's shoulders sagged. "She told you, didn't she?"
Quistis nodded.
Zell threw his hands up in the air. "Oh, great! The next thing you know, she'll just blurt it out to Irvine and have him hunt me down!"
Quistis shook her head. "No, she wouldn't do that."
"Obviously, she would. She's back with Irvine now, remember? I'm just the rebound boy from the other side of the castle, while her knight is away slaying dragons!"
"You know, that's not true," Quistis replied.
Zell looked at her, a look of disbelief on his face. "It IS true, Quistis and you know it! That's just Selphie. When Irvine's away, she'll go to the next guy and kiss him. If I hadn't stopped myself then, who knows what could've happened between us!"
"Don't talk to Selphie like she's some kind of player, Zell! Because she's not!"
"Of course I wouldn't say that! I love her!" Zell wanted to correct himself, but it was too late. Quistis had heard it.
Quistis looked at him, but not in shock. She was staring at him proudly.
"You were just saying to make me say it, didn't you?" Zell said, meeting her eyes. Quistis was smart.
Quistis nodded. "I'm sorry, Zell. I had to let it out of you. I've known for a long time now."
"What do you mean?"
"You were just hiding your feelings, weren't you?" She arched an eyebrow at him and folded her arms across her stomach. "It came back to me then. I remember running into you and Selphie while you sat on a log on the beach. You were.... six I think and you gave Selphie a large shell that you caught while playing in the water. You blushed when she kissed you on the cheek and thanked you for the sea shell. You were just remembering your feelings for her as well, weren't you?"
Hence the term 'old feelings.' Is that what he's been feeling? His memories? They were just memories of his childhood? A feeling that he had for a long time now, but was just erased by the GF's? "We were kids then. Quisty. It was probably just a crush or something," he suggested.
"It may just be a crush, but somehow your crush developed into love when you met her the first time after being separated."
"What?" Zell rolled his eyes. "That's it! I'm going inside the training area and train. I'll talk to you later!" For that, he turned around and walked away, inside the training center. Quistis watched him go and shook her head.
"Love DOES come in many forms ," she whispered to herself.
Comment: Okay, so what Quistis said doesn't make sense, but I couldn't think of another way to put it. Anyway, Quistis knows! How? Well, Selphie obviously has a big mouth, but she's also her best friend. What about Zell? How is he going to handle this, now that he knows he's been crushing on Selphie since they were kids? And Irvine... will he ever find out what happened between them? Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GoodGurl
Chapter 6 - Guilty
It has been two days days after that stolen kiss him and Selphie made in the cafeteria. It was Monday. It was the most horrible day all students face in their school years. Monday was a 'cursed' monday or so what Zell thought about it. He hated Monday. Zell removed the pillow from his face and glanced at the clock beside him. The red numbers beamed in his eyes. It was close to noon. His stomach growled and he knew this was a sure sign of his hunger for... what else! Hot dog! Zell sprang to his feet and quickly got dressed. His messy hair curled over his eyes and he swiftly brushed a wet comb through it to keep his hair from going to his eyes. With that finished, he headed for the door and stepped out into the hallway. Remembering what he had done to his best friend's girl friend last night, he slouched his shoulders and frowned, putting his hands in his pockets. Just thinking about it, made him feel guilty. What has he done? It may just be an innocent little kiss, but it still felt wrong. What's more is that he kept thinking about it and wished he could kiss Selphie again. He was being such a horrible person! He took a deep breath and concentrated on the floor instead of looking in front of him as he turned a corner. He was surprised as he halted to a stop when he almost bumped into someone he wanted and didn't want to see right now. He gulped.
"Hey, Selphie..." he said, trying to opress the nervousness in his voice.
Selphie grinned, trying to resist the urge to jump in his arms. His strong arms. She fidgeted with her hands and looked up to mee his eyes. "You slept late again?" she asked with another smile, trying to make the tension between them disappear.
Zell rubbed the back of his neck. "Um... yeah. I couldn't sleep last night." Her crutches were gone and he was glad about that. Irvine was coming back today.
"Really? Why?" She shifted her weight to her other foot.
Zell looked at her and turned away. "I couldn't stop thinking about what happened between us."
Selphie took a deep breath and shook her head. She forced a smile on her face. "Hey, you said it was a mistake and we should forget about it! Besides, it was a few days ago!"
Zell turned his attention back to her. "That's just it. I can't forget about it."
Selphie blushed, her eyes widening in shock. She wanted it to be a dream, a nightmare maybe, but it wasn't. It was true and she had cheated on Irvine. She became speechless.
They were silent for a while, staring at each other and trying to make sense of it all.
Selphie opened her mouth to speak first, but a familiar voice interrupted her.
"Hey, Zell!" Zell looked over Selphie and watched as Rinoa strolled towards them with Squall waltzing right beside her. "Where have you been?"
Zell shrugged, walking pass Selphie and towards Rinoa and Squall. "I overslept I guess."
Squall snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "You're kidding? Aren't you the first one to always line up at the food line, but end up NOT getting hot dog?"
The blond man rolled his eyes. "Well, I had things to think about!" he snapped. Rinoa and Squall were shocked. Selphie was shocked as well, her eyes widened in disbelief. They knew he was an ill-tempered man, but they had no idea Zell was that defensive. They watched as Zell stomped pass them and into the cafeteria.
Rinoa and Squall looked at each other, then they looked at Selphie for explanation. Selphie didn't really know what went wrong, but she chose not to question. She walked pass them and walked to Zell. She was surprised to see him sitting on their usual table, eating other than hot dog. She looked over her shoulder, noticing that Rinoa and Squall weren't there anymore. Selphie took a deep breath and walked over to where Zell was sitting, the same table where they sat about two days ago.
"Can I sit here?" Selphie placed her hand on a chair across from Zell and looked at him for his answer.
Zell grabbed the sandwich sitting in front of him and shrugged. "Go ahead. It's not reserved for anyone." He took a bite out of his, hamburger. Selphie sat down and looked at him, watching him eat the sandwich.
"Why didn't you get a hot dog?" Selphie asked, clasping her hands on the table in front of her.
Zell nodded his head towards a line up at the front of the food counter. Selphie followed his gaze. "You think I'll get a chance to get a hot dog when there's too many people lining up for lunch?" He looked at Selphie. "Have you eaten lunch yet?" He took another bite of his sandwich.
Selphie stared at him. She didn't answer his question, instead she couldn't help but notice that Zell was acting strange. Moody. He was barely speaking and was not getting on Selphie's side. She was ready to burst. Zell was acting too much like Squall. "You've been avoiding me since what happened. What's wrong?"
Zell slammed his sandwich down on his paper plate and glared at her. "Look, why don't you just stop asking me these questions and leave me in peace!" He slid his chair away from him as he stood up, the stands making a screeching sound against the pavement and turned around, leaving his sandwich sitting on the table.
Selphie wasn't about to be dumped by one of her closest friends. She stood up quickly and followed Zell outside the cafeteria. When they were in the hallway, that was the time Selphie chose to call his name.
"Zell!"
Zell rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to snub Selphie. Yet, he couldn't bare the sight of her. Seeing her would make him feel vulnerable and force him to run into her arms and kiss her again. His feelings were definitely coming back. He couldn't do that. She was Irvine's girl friend. HIS girl friend! He jerked around and clenched his fists, trying to hold back the anger in his voice. "What is it, Selphie?"
Selphie walked to him and frowned. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you in any way. I love Irvine, I really do, but I-" She looked into his eyes, a hurtful look sketched on her face.
Zell returned her gaze, but quickly pried his eyes away from her. "It's not you Selphie..." He paused. He couldn't stand hurting her. Part of him wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her, but part of him told him to stay away, telling him that she was Irvine's girl friend. He couldn't betray his best friend.
'You already betrayed him from that kiss the night before!' a voice said inside his head. Guilt suddenly masked his heart. He couldn't bare it! He had to get away!
Zell didn't finish his sentence, instead he turned around, facing the elevator and started to walk away, but not before Selphie touched his arm, did he stop and looked over his shoulder to glance at her.
"Zell... Is there something you'd like to tell me?" she asked, another question Zell refused to answer. He jerked his arm away from her and shook his head vigorously. He turned around and looked down on her with his green eyes. Green met green and they stood like that for a few seconds, until a PING! from the elevator was heard.
****************
He stepped out of the elevator, his shoes making a soft tapping sound on the cement floor. Behind him he could see Quistis and Seifer talking to each other. Flirting, mosty likely. He wasn't really paying attention, since he kept thinking about Selphie. As he looked up, he was surprised to see Selphie and Zell standing a few feet away from him. They weren't saying anything to each other, except they were just staring at each other, as if in a trance.
"Hey look! It's your girl friend and Chicken-Wuss!" Seifer bellowed, wrapping an arm around Quistis' shoulders.
Selphie blinked, upon hearing Seifer's voice and looked up. Irvine was walking towards them. She felt overjoyed for his return, but felt a knot in her stomach. She was nervous as well. She wasn't a liar and there was no point of keeping the kiss a secret. Is there?
Zell glanced at her and sighed quietly. Irvine was back now. Selphie would run into his arms and he would be just the loser he always was.
Irvine waved at her and smiled. "Hey, my little Butterfly!" he greeted. The name 'Butterfly' was his favourite name for Selphie. Since she always wore yellow and was always fluttering about in every direction, gave him the reason for the name. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips.
Selphie kissed him back, trying to hold back the pain in her heart. How can she be in love with two men? Is she THAT horrible? She wrapped her arms around his neck, which at that point she had to tiptoe and hugged him as much as she wanted to.
Zell watched their interaction and gulped. He couldn't stand this. What has he done to Irvine? Irvine shouldn't be his friend. He shouldn't be. It may just be one innocent little kiss, but that one kiss changed him. It felt good to him and that one moment, his feelings truly did come back. At that point on, he wanted to hold his feelings, away from his heart, but he just couldn't!
A hard smack on his back interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and noticed Seifer smirking at him. "Hey, Chicken-wuss!" Seifer said, a way of greeting him. Seifer knew how much Zell hated that name. Quistis nudged him on the shoulder.
Zell frowned. "Hey," he answered, staring ahead of him to the happy couple.
Seifer looked shock. Usually, Zell would beat his ass down by now for calling him 'Chicken-Wuss' everytime he greeted him. Zell would clench his fists, grit his teeth and punch nothing but air to let his temper out and would say, "Don't call me Chicken-wuss!" But Seifer had a feeling there was something wrong with Zell. "Hey! Are you all right?"
Zell kept staring at the couple and nodded. "Yeah... I'm fine."
Seifer was too busy noticing Zell staring at Selphie the whole time he talked. The older blond shook his head and talked about their adventures back in Galbadia. But Quistis. Quistis was not fooled by it. She could see Zell staring at Selphie in particular and she had a feeling something had happened between them while they were gone.
Without another thought, Zell turned around and walked away. Quistis and Seifer watched him go. The blond man glanced at his girl friend and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
Quistis shrugged and watched him head towards the boy's dorms. Something was definitely wrong.
****************
Zell stared at the ceiling. He could hear Selphie giggle inside Irvine's bedroom. He couldn't stand this. Sighing, Zell stood up from his bed and headed for the door. He heard the door to Irvine's bedroom open.
"Hey, Zell! Where are you going?" Irvine walked out of his room, his first two buttons of his shirt open. A clear brown lipstick was marked on the corner of his lips. Selphie walked out of the bedroom as well and stepped beside her boy friend, wondering the same thing.
Zell looked over his shoulder. He glanced for only a second at Selphie, then stared at Irvine. "I'm just gonna go for a walk," he answered.
"All right, man," Irvine said, wrapping an arm around Selphie's waist. "Seffie and I are going to stay here and..." He looked at Selphie and winked at her. "Practice our fighting skills."
Zell nodded, his face away from them. "I'll bet," he mumbled. He twisted the door open and stepped out of the room, away from the guilt and pain inside of him. He made a sharp turn and almost bumped into Quistis. She was wearing her usual battle costume, her whip attached to the side of her belt. "Oh. Hey Quistis," he said, quietly. He walked pass her, but not before Quistis placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"What's the matter, Zell? You've been acting strange since we came back yesterday. Did something happen?" Quistis was being the interrogator.
Zell shrugged off Quistis' hand and glared up at her. "It's none of your business, Quistis," he replied, turning around to walk away from her.
Quistis, as much as she hated to do so, grabbed Zell's arm and forced him to turn around. Zell was surprised. He knew Quistis was strong, but he had no idea how strong. No wonder Cid hired her as an Instructor. "Don't be stubborn, Zell! What is the matter? You can tell me anything."
He took a deep breath. His stubborness and anger got to him. "You wouldn't understand, Quistis!" He turned around and walked away again, but he could hear Quistis' heels clicking behind him.
"I wouldn't understand what? That something happened between you and Selphie?"
Zell paused and turned around slowly. He looked around, making sure no one was listening and waited until Quistis was close enough for him to whisper. "Nothing happened between me and Selphie," he said.
"Stop denying it, Zell. I saw the way you looked at Selphie while she hugged Irvine...." She stepped closer. "Are you in love with Selphie?"
Zell blushed, but quickly shook them away with a glare towards his good friend. "Why would I be in love with Selphie? Irvine loves her, not me."
"It's not impossible that two men are in love with the same girl," Quistis said. "Stop denying it, Zell. I know you. I grew up with you. You're much like Seifer, you know."
Zell jerked his head up. "I'm not Seifer!" he yelled.
Quistis nodded coolly. "I know that. What I mean is, you both hide your feelings by denying it. If you were Squall, he would just shut up and walk away, but you and Seifer deny your feelings by anger."
Zell rolled his eyes. Was she lecturing him? "Stop talking to me like a teacher, Quistis!" He clenched and unclenched his fists, before turning back around towards the training area. "If you want to talk to me, you might as well, talk like a friend!" He stepped inside the training center, where only a portion of light illuminated at the entrance.
Quistis caught up to him again, stopping him just before he could make it deeper inside the training center. She placed a hand on his shoulder and Zell turned around again. "Could you please stop walking away from me?!"
Zell was shocked at her outburst. "You must be getting your temper from Seifer," he said, sarcastically, folding his arms across his chest.
Quistis ignored his lack of humour and looked at him. "I'm not talking like a teacher, Zell. I can't help it, I always talk like this. Can you at least hear me out?"
Zell sighed and unfolded his arms. He gestured for her to go on.
"Zell, being with Selphie while Irvine was away made you close to her. I know how it feels. When you're alone with someone, you feel attracted to her, but since Irvine came back, you feel hurt inside."
"Where is this going, Quisty?" Zell was getting impatient.
'What an odd reflection of Seifer,' Quistis thought. "What I'm saying is... don't feel guilty about what happened between you two. You felt attraction then."
"How did you know something happened between me and Selph....?" Zell's shoulders sagged. "She told you, didn't she?"
Quistis nodded.
Zell threw his hands up in the air. "Oh, great! The next thing you know, she'll just blurt it out to Irvine and have him hunt me down!"
Quistis shook her head. "No, she wouldn't do that."
"Obviously, she would. She's back with Irvine now, remember? I'm just the rebound boy from the other side of the castle, while her knight is away slaying dragons!"
"You know, that's not true," Quistis replied.
Zell looked at her, a look of disbelief on his face. "It IS true, Quistis and you know it! That's just Selphie. When Irvine's away, she'll go to the next guy and kiss him. If I hadn't stopped myself then, who knows what could've happened between us!"
"Don't talk to Selphie like she's some kind of player, Zell! Because she's not!"
"Of course I wouldn't say that! I love her!" Zell wanted to correct himself, but it was too late. Quistis had heard it.
Quistis looked at him, but not in shock. She was staring at him proudly.
"You were just saying to make me say it, didn't you?" Zell said, meeting her eyes. Quistis was smart.
Quistis nodded. "I'm sorry, Zell. I had to let it out of you. I've known for a long time now."
"What do you mean?"
"You were just hiding your feelings, weren't you?" She arched an eyebrow at him and folded her arms across her stomach. "It came back to me then. I remember running into you and Selphie while you sat on a log on the beach. You were.... six I think and you gave Selphie a large shell that you caught while playing in the water. You blushed when she kissed you on the cheek and thanked you for the sea shell. You were just remembering your feelings for her as well, weren't you?"
Hence the term 'old feelings.' Is that what he's been feeling? His memories? They were just memories of his childhood? A feeling that he had for a long time now, but was just erased by the GF's? "We were kids then. Quisty. It was probably just a crush or something," he suggested.
"It may just be a crush, but somehow your crush developed into love when you met her the first time after being separated."
"What?" Zell rolled his eyes. "That's it! I'm going inside the training area and train. I'll talk to you later!" For that, he turned around and walked away, inside the training center. Quistis watched him go and shook her head.
"Love DOES come in many forms ," she whispered to herself.
Comment: Okay, so what Quistis said doesn't make sense, but I couldn't think of another way to put it. Anyway, Quistis knows! How? Well, Selphie obviously has a big mouth, but she's also her best friend. What about Zell? How is he going to handle this, now that he knows he's been crushing on Selphie since they were kids? And Irvine... will he ever find out what happened between them? Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GoodGurl
