6: Friendly Faces

The posse managed to stay out of trouble for three days in a row. Word got around that I was friends with them, so everyone was nice to them. The trio still couldn't believe that I would be friends with them after all that they did. They're really nice people and I actually feel ashamed of myself for not getting to know them sooner. It's strange watching them, because they all seem to be on the same wavelength; it's like they can read each other's thoughts. I wish I had that kind of bond with a person.

I had fallen asleep at my post because no one was buying any tickets. Someone cleared their throat. I sat up and broke into a wide grin. Three very familiar faces were standing over me. A tall, thin woman stood closest to my desk. Her blonde hair was pulled up, two thick strands framing her serious face. Spectacles perched on her nose and she wore the uniform of an instructor. She had a very stern aura about her although I knew that she could relax and have fun once in a while. Clutched in her hands was a thick whip.

Standing behind her was a young woman with long hair the color of a starless sky. A lock of gold interrupted the midnight strands that flowed down her shoulders. She wore a blue dress and a black shirt underneath. She, unlike the lady in front of her, was smiling. One of her arms clung onto a male a head taller than she. His face was serious, a scar cruelly altering his appearance. He wore a leather jacket and black pants and looked every bit a dangerous person. His brown hair was in a mess as always and at his side was a sinister gunblade.

"Hiya!" I greeted, for I knew these three people very well. "Did you guys have fun?"

"I wouldn't call it fun, but we were successful," Quistis answered. She had gotten her instructor license back after we defeated Ultimecia. She, Squall, and Rinoa had gone off on some SeeD job a few weeks ago and were just coming back. "How have you been?"

"Fine and dandy." I held up my role of tickets. "Do any of you guys want to buy a ticket from me? Only ten Gil!"

"Ticket?" Squall grunted. "For what?"

"If you would bother to read the posters, you would know they're for the Spring Festival!" I snapped. That sure surprised him; I'm usually very docile around him. I should really stop hanging out with Zell.

"Buy one, Squall," Rinoa insisted, tugging on his arm. "Please? It would be so much fun if we went." Squall muttered something under his breath. "Come on, Squall. I already know how badly you dance, so there's no reason for you to chicken out." Squall sighed wearily and handed me twenty Gil.

"I guess I'll take two," he said grumpily.

"Thank you, Squall!" I sang, handing him the tickets. "I'm sure you and Rinoa will have lots of fun!" He took the tickets without even thanking me. Rinoa needs to teach that guy some manners.

"Are you going with anyone, Selphie?" asked Rinoa politely.

"I've been too busy trying to get everyone else to go," I answered. That was my excuse, anyway. I couldn't understand why Irvine hadn't asked me yet. Maybe Oonagh's right. Maybe he is shy of me, I thought.

"I'm sure someone will ask you," Quistis smiled.

"Yeah, don't worry," Rinoa agreed. The girls glanced expectantly at Squall. He crossed his arms and remained silent. That was his way of agreeing with people.

"By the way," Quistis continued, "do you think I should buy a ticket or wait until someone asks me?"

"Wait," I advised.

"Oh, all right. Thank you. I'd better go tell the headmaster we're here. I'll see you all later." She waved and made her way to the elevator. Suddenly a thought struck me.

"Hey, Quistis!" She turned back. "Can you and I talk later? In the 'secret place'?" She smiled and nodded. "Thanks a bunch. See you… around midnight, I guess." She waved and entered the elevator. The three of us watched her ascend to the third floor.

"Do you know if any of our friends are going with anyone?" Rinoa questioned.

"Well," I frowned, "so far Zell hasn't bought a ticket. Irvine's got two but he hasn't… I mean, I don't know who he's going with." I blushed; I had almost let it slip that I knew Irvine was going to ask me. Rinoa's eyes glimmered.

"Oh, well, I'm sure Irvine will ask out a nice girl. Don't you think, Squall?" She poked her boyfriend in the ribs. He made a grunting noise in his throat.

"Whatever."

"You say that entirely too much, Squall," I giggled. He rolled his eyes.

"Squall and I have to get going, but we'll see you around," Rinoa said. She winked at me. "Don't worry about finding a date. A certain person will definitely ask you to go." I thanked her with a smile. She put her arm through Squall's arm and the two of them left for the dormitories.

"Behave!" I shouted after them. They both pretended not to hear.

_____

It was only a few hours later that Zell visited me at my "prison". I was in high spirits after visiting with my friends and had managed to get somebody to buy a ticket. Nida was still being ignored by everyone but he didn't seem to mind at all. Zell was kind enough to wave at him. The cheerful guy flashed his toothy grin at me and grabbed the tickets off the desk.

"How many do you have now?" he asked.

"Uh…" I counted on my fingers. "I sold eleven, so… nineteen, I think." Zell whistled in amazement.

"Only eleven people want to come to your Festival?"

"Yep, 'fraid so."

"Damn. Tough luck." He put the tickets back on the desk. He glanced around nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "So, ah… are you, ah… going with anyone yet?"

"No one's asked me." For some reason, this cheered him up.

"Oh. Well, I could take you. That is, if you wanna go with me." He grinned and studied his shoes. My mind felt completely blank. Why was Zell asking me to the Festival? Did he actually want to go with me, or did he just have no one else to ask?

"I don't know, Zell. I was actually waiting for someone else to ask me."

"Oh." His whole face turned bright red. "That's okay. I understand." I felt really bad about crushing him like that. I tried to think of a way to make it up to him.

"Zell, I'm really sorry."

"No, it's okay." I could tell from his fake smile that it wasn't.

"I want to make it up to you. Tell you what: if I still don't have a date three days before the Festival, I'll go with you." He grinned until I could see every single one of his teeth.

"Really?"

"Sure. Plus, I'll reserve a dance for you no matter what. Deal?"

"Deal!" We shook hands. He waved and walked off, whistling a cheerful tune. He can be so weird sometimes.

_____

At the end of the day I hadn't gotten any more sales. Only eleven tickets were sold in two weeks. Nida had finally gotten some sales from Headmaster Cid and his wife Edea. If things didn't start looking up, it would be a very small party. It's not like the others hadn't been trying to sell tickets. Students in the Garden are just lazy bums that will probably wait until the last minute to get their tickets.

"Selphie?"

"Yes, Nida?"

"I am weary." The young man sat down and rubbed his temples. I sat next to him and put my arms around him.

"How come?"

"Because none of the girls I asked to go with me gave me a positive response. I fear I may be going to the Festival by myself."

"You won't be by yourself, silly," I smiled, tapping his nose with my finger. "Everyone on the Garden committee will be there."

"I meant I won't have a date."

"Oh." My brow furrowed in thought. "Well, you and I are going to have a dance anyway. That's sort of the same thing." He shook his head sadly. "Okay, okay. I'll fix something up. Just don't get your hopes down." He smiled at me.

"Selphie, you are one of a kind."

"I know."

_____

BEEP! BEEP!

This time I didn't ignore the alarm. I turned it off and glanced over at Oonagh to make sure it hadn't awoken her. She was a fairly deep sleeper and wasn't easily roused. I quietly slipped out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and tiptoed to the training center. Night lights were on for those people that liked to train in the privacy of night. I ran across a few monsters but I easily took care of them and continued on to the "secret place".

The "secret place" wasn't a well-named area, since everyone in the school knew about it. Insomniacs wandered about, laughing and carrying on. I spotted Quistis and the two of us found a secluded area where we could talk without being interrupted. Quistis was wearing her old pink dress and her hair was down. She looked very pretty with her hair down and I wondered why she didn't have it that way more often.

"You wished to speak to me?" she asked. I had, but I couldn't think of my reason. What was it I wanted to talk to her about? Oh, yeah.

"I'm having Irvine troubles."

"Oh, I see." She rolled her eyes. "I can't imagine what you see in him."

"Everything," I sighed, clasping my hands together. She shook her head and tried not to look amused. "I know he likes me; it's so obvious by how he looks at me and how he treats me. I just can't understand why he doesn't come out and say it. I mean, he doesn't seem to have any problems telling other girls he likes them."

"Irvine is a flirt; we all know that. I think he's afraid of being rejected if he reveals his true feelings. Why else would he flutter about making passes at every girl he meets?" Quistis adjusted the spectacles on her nose. "It's fairly obvious that he cares about you. He just doesn't think he'll be able to express his feelings in the right way. That's my observation, anyway." I stared at her in silent awe.

"Did you study human behavior or something?" She smiled and blushed slightly.

"No. I just form opinions based on what I see."

"You're not the first one to tell me that Irvine's afraid of me, you know. My friend Oonagh also thinks he's scared of me," I noted.

"Not scared so much as wary," Quistis corrected me. "Let him take his time. He'll ask you when he's ready." I smiled and felt a little better. A light bulb went on in my head. I grinned mischievously.

"There's just one more thing, Quisty."

"What's that?" She ignored the old pet name in true Quistis fashion.

"Will you please consider going with Nida to the Spring Festival?" Quistis blinked in confusion, her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Nida?"

"Yeah, Nida. Nida Jones. You know! He's the guy that piloted the Garden. No one else will go with him."

"Well, I don't know…" She pretended to be interested in her hands.

"At least give it some thought. Please?" I pouted as cutely as I could.

"All right, all right. I'll go with him if he asks me. How's that?" I grinned and gave her a big hug.

"Thank you!" I sang.

"Anything else you want to talk about?"

"Not at the moment. It's time for us ladies to go to bed." She agreed and we exited the "secret place". The training room was still lighted. I wonder if Irvine ever comes here at night to train? I thought. We bade each other good-night and went to our separate rooms. I reset my alarm and changed into my night clothes. Things were turning out so well. Nida would have a date for the Festival and I was going to be with Irvine. The only thing that could make this any better would be if I sold more tickets! But that was asking too much.

I climbed into bed. The sheets felt a little cold but I knew in a moment my body would warm them up. I'm going to the Festival with Irvine! my brain sang. And Nida's going with Quistis! Irvine and Selphie, Irvine and Selphie. I smiled and began to drift into deep sleep. I'm going to the Festival with Irvine! I'm going to the Festival with Irvine! I'm going…

Author's note: I'm so glad people are enjoying this so far! Sorry if I messed up on Squall's hair color. Anyway, please be patient with Irvine. I'm stalling for a reason, ya know? It's called suspense! Thank you for reviewing and please enjoy the upcoming chapters!