Author's Notes: Wow! This fic is actually close to surpassing the reviews I had in another fic of mine, "Cast Away in the Shadows", which has 56 reviews as of now. That makes me so happy! ^____^ Well, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it! I think I kinda do!!!

PART 13 Rain

Quistis groggily walked over to the door to answer whoever was knocking. "Glycine... What do you want?"

Glycine smirked and shook her head sadly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Quistis. What have they taught you here? That is no way to greet your younger sister."

Quistis raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Sister? When have you ever called me that?!"

"How it pains me to see you like this! How could you?!"

"Tell me what you really want, Glycine. Don't think I'd be so foolish to actually believe you've changed."

Glycine flapped open her large fan and put it up to her face. "I know what you're up to, Quistis. You will not succeed, I assure you. Seifer is MINE. I know about everything! How you long for him! You barged in on us, clad only in that skimpy robe of yours! I know what your true intent was!" She pointed the fan over to the sleeping girl on the bed. "If you displease me in any way I will make sure that she pays for it!" Glycine turned around and stomped away.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Quistis called out. "If you do, I'll make you pay!"

Glycine slowed down a little and looked over her shoulder. "We'll see about that."

Quistis' anger started to build up. She then rushed over to Glycine and stopped her. She clenched her fist and prepared to slam it into her face. How she wanted that content look on her face to go away.

"You can't do it," Glycine said. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me!" Quistis growled.

"You would never. You know I have more power than you! I may not be as strong as you but I definitely have more control! More than you can imagine! And you know it! Father always liked me best!"

"Shut up..."

"He doesn't love you! He doesn't love you or Coquelicot! Orphans! That's all you were and all you will be to him! Orphans! You have no father!"

"SHUT...UP..."

"Nothing! You mean nothing to him! You're NOTHING!"

Quistis slowly released her grip on her.

"I'm right," Glycine said. "And you know it." She laughed and walked away.

'N-Nothing... That's what I am...'

~*~*~*~

Tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them spill. She was known as the Ice Queen. She would not allow herself to melt. She would not cry. Even when the heavens were doing so.

She looked out at the sea. Dark, cold and gloomy. Exactly how she felt that moment. She didn't flinch as the ice cold water lapped at her bare feet. Everything was so cold and gloomy, out in the sea and in the rain. The raging sea, the storming clouds... But they could not compare to the anger and hatred she was feeling.

She hated herself so much. So much. For being herself. She was just...nothing. So useless, no unwanted... Cast away in the shadows. She hated it. She hated it all. How she cared so much for other people and how she never was cared for the way she wanted. She hated how those who did care for her had suffered so. And it was all because of her. All because of nothing.

It was all so tempting. She could just jump into the sea and stop hurting. Who would care? Who would care about nothing? All so tempting... She wanted to jump, she wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. But she couldn't. All so tempting and torturous.

She looked up when she could no longer feel the cold rain hitting her face. "Seifer...how did you find me?"

"I followed you," he replied as he placed his trenchcoat on top of Quistis' head and wrapped it around her. "I thought you'd know better, Instructor. How come you're out here in the rain? You can catch a cold."

Quistis removed the coat and handed it back to him. "I don't care."

Seifer handed the coat back. "You need it more than me."

"I don't want it."

Seifer rolled his eyes and sighed. He wrapped the coat tightly around her. "I won't take 'no' for an answer."

Quistis just bit her lip and looked away. "Why?"

"You can't catch a cold. You got a lot of things to do. You have to prepare for that wedding, don't you?"

She didn't respond. She just kept silent and forced back the tears.

"Hey, why so sad?"

"I want to be alone..."

Seifer boldly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

"I told you..." she repeated, "I want to be alone..."

"Nobody wants to be alone."

She bit down hard on her tongue. The tears were starting to seep out. "How would you know? You've never really been alone."

"Trust me, I know."

She pulled away from him. "No, you don't! You don't know how it is when no one's around you! No one to hurt and no one to be hurt by... You've always had that posse of yours, you've always had your friends. You would never know!"

"Heh. My posse. My friends. My only friends. Haven't thought about them for a while. So you think I'm not alone, do you? Just 'coz I had friends one time means I'll never be alone forever, right? That's how it is?" He shook his head. "You have no idea how hard it was to leave the only friends I ever had. How I regretted leaving them. I wish I could've gone back and make it like it was before but I just couldn't do that to them. Now they're gone and I have nobody now. But you... You have a family, a future... You would never know."

"What future? You have no idea how lucky you are! You have your whole life ahead of you, you don't know if it'll turn out good or not!" She paused and whispered, "at least you'll be allowed to be with the one you care for..."

Seifer stared at her wordlessly. 'You have no idea how wrong you are, Quistis...'

"Just leave me alone," Quistis sobbed. She couldn't control herself anymore and collapsed onto the wet sand as she began to weep.

"Oh, Quistis," Seifer sighed as he kneeled next to her.

"Leave me alone!" she beseeched. "Please!"

He pulled her shaking body closer to him. "I'll never leave you," he said softly. "How come you want to be alone so badly?"

"I hate myself!" she cried out. "Nobody wants me! I'm nothing! Worthless!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am! I'm just a burden to everyone..."

He held her closer. "Why do you think like this?"

"It's the truth. Because of me, the people I care for will be hurt. If I don't get married, my father will punish my mother and then Coquelicot will run away to become a SeeD, just like what I did." She buried her head into her arms. "It's all my fault. I don't want to hurt anybody anymore. I want to be by myself, where I can't hurt anyone."

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "You're so cold," he murmured. "You're trembling."

She looked up at him and he found himself unable to look away from her cold, trembling lips. How he wanted to warm her up so badly. His conscience kept on telling him to look away and control his urges but it was so hard. He sighed and disregarded the voices in his head that were telling him it was wrong. He never listened to his conscience, anyway.

He slowly leaned in and pressed his lips against her trembling ones. He traced their outline with his tongue and tasted the bittersweet mixture of her salty tears and the cold rain. It was like tasting her sorrow and no matter how much she tried to convince herself, he knew she needed someone more than ever. It was about time she stopped being alone.

He buried his hands in her wet, golden, silky tresses and gently probed into her mouth. What he would give to be able to lay her down and make love to her then and there. How he wanted to be able to do that and know that she would gladly let him and return his actions with the same longing. If someone had come up to him that moment and offered him control over the whole world, no strings attached, to give her up, he would have just told them to fuck off. Everything was so confusing, so mixed up, but he was happy enough just holding her in his arms. He believed that not even the gods could give him that kind of happiness.

He felt like dying when she pulled away and broke the kiss. She stared at him, lips parted and eyes as wide as a deer in the headlights.

"This is...wrong..." she whispered. "Not allowed..."

He stopped her with another kiss. He just couldn't prevent himself from doing so. He needed to taste her, hold her just one more time. Even if he would be hurt even more when she pulled away.

'Hyne, Quistis, don't pull away...' he pleaded in his mind. 'Just leave it...leave it be just for this once...'

His heart beat harder in his chest when Quistis gripped onto his shirt as she pressed her body against his and returned the persuading of his tongue.

She broke the kiss and with a long and shaky sigh, leaned onto his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head and let the faint scent of roses sift through his nostrils. So light that it could barely be noticed but such a glorious fragrance! How he wanted that all for himself forever... Why was she doing this? Why was she doing this when it was not was she desired? Why was she leaving especially when he needed her the most? And why did she have to be gone forever?

Seifer held her tighter and fought back his own urge to cry. "Do you despise me that much to be leaving?" he asked.

"I don't," she protested. "Not at all! I want...to stay here... Anything other than this destiny!"

"Then come with me," Seifer insisted. "I'll protect you. I'll kill anyone who even tries to hurt you or those you care for! I don't care, just come with me! Stay with me!"

Quistis released her grip on him and stood up. She backed away and shook her head.

"N-No..." she replied, her voice sounding so choked up. She looked up and locked eyes with him but then turned away. "It's...wrong."

As Seifer began to get up, Quistis ran away.

"Quistis, wait!" he called out.

"I can't!" Quistis cried out. "Leave me alone, Seifer!"

Seifer was about to chase after her but stopped when he came to a realization. His worst fear was coming true.

He ran a hand through the soaked strands of his sandy blonde hair as he looked up to the black sky filled with clouds. He closed his eyes and let the cold rain splatter onto his face.

'Hyne, this is it...my worst fear...I've...fallen in love with Quistis...'