9: Something Unexpected

I was still feeling a little down, but Zell cheered me up a great deal. Whenever he came by our little "jail cells", he would stand on his head and do a somersault. I even caught him trying to be friendly with the posse. It just goes to show you that anyone can be friends if you make the effort to try. Take Zell and the posse, for example. He can actually get along with them! Uh… sort of. Well, anyway! Zell also entertained Nida and I with a rendition of "Five hundred men they were". I'm lucky to have such a good friend. Even Nida would burst out laughing when Zell was around, and Nida hardly ever burst out laughing.

The posse "adopted" Irvine and I into their group. I got along best with Fujin and Irvine got along best with Raijin. Seifer was the serious one in the group (Fujin would only act silly when I was around, go figure) and always had to calm us down when we got too rowdy. I loved hanging out with them, and hearing our unique laughs mix into one was like listening to birds singing. Yes, even Seifer would laugh when provoked. I tried to keep those fun times in mind as I tried selling tickets. Nida and I were getting a few more sales but I knew that there were still people that hadn't bought any. I found that I would get more people to buy tickets if I just sat there and didn't say anything. You can't imagine how hard that is for me to do.

It was two days after that awful scene with Zell and the posse. Nida had sold another ticket and was in high spirits. The posse and Irvine were coming our way, their laughter filling the whole area with life. Irvine stopped suddenly, Raijin nearly bumping into him. I smiled and waved at them and they all waved back. The posse whispered something to Irvine and forcibly pushed him towards me. He said something to them and slowly made his way over to me. Please don't ignore me, I prayed. Irvine smiled at me, then looked over his shoulder. The posse was quietly watching the scene from a safe distance away. Irvine shook his head and tried to ignore them. He tipped his hat like he always did when he greeted me.

"Selphie, dahlin? There's somethin' I've been meanin' to ask you." I stood up, my body quivering in anticipation. He swallowed and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh… will you, ah… I mean…" His voice sounded unusually high. He cleared his throat. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead and slowly trickled down his face. "Selphie, would you like to go to the Festival with me?" I stared at him with my mouth half-open. Am I dreaming? Did he really say that? I wanted to say something, to nod my head, anything, but my body wouldn't obey. He frowned a little and stared at me in confusion. "Selphie? You all right?"

"You want me to go with you?" I whispered, still unable to believe it. He smiled and turned red.

"Sure. I've wanted to ask you for a while now but I just couldn't get up the courage. So… will you go with me?" I slowly moved from my chair and walked over to him. I had pictured myself going wild, knocking over everything that stood between Irvine and myself, and here I was being calm and collected. I put my arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"Of courses I'll go," I answered in a husky voice. I could feel his excitement trembling in his limbs and it soon affected me. I giggled and kissed his other cheek. "Of course I'll go with you!" A grin spread across his face.

"Really?"

"Really!" Irvine laughed and hoisted me up in the air, twirling me around.

"Yeehaa!"

"Woo-hoo!" I giggled crazily; neither of us could stop laughing. I wanted to dance, I was so happy. He set me back down on the ground and held me close. Our hearts shared the same beat. Our chests were falling up and down in sync with one another. I closed my eyes and breathed him in. Strong arms were crushing both of us. I felt something icy touch my cheek. My eyes fluttered open and I saw that Fujin and Raijin were embracing us. Seifer watched us, looking a little awkward all by himself. We begged him to join us and he reluctantly obeyed. Five bodies intertwined as we shared the happy moment together. At last we broke apart. I still clung onto Irvine's arm.

"You know, it feels pretty good to have friends," Seifer said. I couldn't believe my eyes, but he looked like he was actually smiling. It was nothing big, just a little smile, but still! I knew he wasn't a bad guy.

"HAPPY," Fujin smiled.

"We're all going to have such a good time at the Festival!" I declared. Nida smiled at us but didn't move from his post. We exchanged glances and went over to him. His smile turned weak.

"What are you doing?"

"Group hug!" Raijin shouted, and all five of us squeezed Nida in our arms.

_____

I ran into the nearest room, which happened to be the training room. There were only a few people in there. I shouted my good news and went on to the next spot. I saw many confused faces before I jetted onward. I heard one of them ask "What was that all about?" In the Quad, a few SeeDs were fooling around on the stage. I told them my news and looked around for more people. There were students standing on the cliff. They too heard the reason I was so happy. I had surprised one of them so much they almost fell over the cliff. I ran away, but not before making sure he was okay. My next destination was the dormitories. I burst into the nearest room. Squall was standing there in his SeeD Commander uniform.

"Selphie?" he frowned.

"I'm going to the Festival with Irvine!" I announced.

"What?" I slammed the door and went on to the next room. I did the same thing to everyone I came across. In one room I saw Rinoa and Quistis talking. They glanced up in surprise when I burst in.

"I'm going to the Festival with Irvine!"

"How nice for you!" Rinoa smiled.

"Congratulations," Quistis added. I grinned and ran off. Dr. Kadowaki was the only one in the infirmary. She was also delighted to hear my news. When I reached the library I calmed down and entered quietly. Oonagh was shelving books. I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hello, Miss Petite," she greeted.

"I have something to tell you, but I have to do it outside," I whispered. She understood and followed me outside the library. "I'm going to the Festival with Irvine!" I blurted. Her face glowed with happiness.

"Wow! Good for you! It's about time!"

"I know! I know!" We hugged and jumped up and down. Oonagh would never act that way unless I was around. "He just went right up to me and asked me. At first I wasn't sure if he actually said it. This is just about the happiest day in my life!"

"I'm so happy for you!" She hugged me again.

"I have to go tell Zell!" I waved and ran off to the cafeteria. It was the first place I thought of to look for him. I was right; he sat at a table cramming hot dogs into his mouth. I took a seat next to him and waited until he had the mouthful down. He took a swig of water and swallowed it. He grinned broadly.

"What's up?"

"I'm going to the Festival with Irvine!" I declared, nearly screaming. Zell's eyes bugged out and he fell over in his chair. I glanced down at him curiously. He stood up and picked up his chair.

"With Irvine?" he repeated, his voice sounding strange.

"Yep. I'm going with Irvine." I bounced excitedly in my chair.

"Oh." He frowned at his empty plate. "But what about me?"

"There are plenty of girls you can go with." He continued to study his plate. I wondered if he was still hungry.

"I know," he sighed. "I could go with lots of other girls, but… man, Selphie, I was really looking forward to going with you." He blushed at the confession and tried in vain to hide it. I felt my cheeks begin to burn. My insides churned nervously.

"Then why didn't you say so?" Zell, still staring at his plate, shrugged his shoulders.

"Because you wanted to go with Irvine."

"Oh…" Now I felt worse than ever about rejecting him before. "You'll find someone to go with. And anyway, it's not like you're chained to the person you take. I reserved a dance with you, remember?"

"It's not the same thing."

"Zell, I'm really sorry. I feel awful." I held his hands in mine and smiled, hoping that he would smile too. He continued to remain somber. If I had known how much this would hurt Zell, would I have accepted Irvine? I asked myself. No answer came. Zell glanced up to me and for the first time in my time knowing him, he looked sad. I went over to him and put my arms around him. "Zell, don't worry. You'll find someone, I know it. You're such a great person to hang out with." I rubbed my nose on his jacket. He smelled like hotdogs and sweat.

"You're wrong, Selphie. No one else will go with me. You're the only girl I've asked who accepted, and believe me, I asked a lot of girls. But now I can't even go with you. What am I supposed to do?"

"I never meant to hurt your feelings, Zell. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, I know." There had to be a way for me to fix this. I just had to make it up to him.

_____

I tossed and turned in my bed; I couldn't get to sleep. I got up and took a walk. The metal floor chilled my naked feet. I noticed that there wasn't anyone guarding the Quad, so I went in there. I should've been cautious, since the Quad usually wasn't left unguarded, but I didn't think anything of it. Only night-lights illuminated the area. I spotted someone sitting near the pool and as I drew closer I found it to be Seifer. I quietly went over to him and sat down beside him. He acknowledged me but didn't say anything right away. I stuck my feet in the cool water and splashed around.

"Insomnia?" he asked after a long silence.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." I splashed in the water for a while longer. "Anything in particular keeping you up?"

"I have a little guy problem. What's troubling you?"

"Nightmares." I shuttered convulsively. I don't envy him those nightmares.

"Oh." I took my feet out of the water and shook them dry. A few droplets fell on Seifer but he didn't seem to mind. He ran a hand through his hair.

"I know I'm the last person you'd expect to say this, but… do you want to talk about it?" I was a little surprised at this, but he was my friend.

"Yeah, it'll make me feel better." I stared into the water, trying to think of how to begin. "Irvine asked me to the dance."

"No surprise there," Seifer grunted. "And you accepted him, no doubt." I nodded. "Oh. That's… great. Good for you."

"No, not good for me!" I argued. "That's the whole problem! You see, I promised Zell I would go with him if no one asked me three days before the Festival. When I told him about Irvine asking me, he got upset. I don't know what to do. I really want to go with Irvine, but I don't want to hurt Zell's feelings." I drew my legs towards my chest. I felt like I was going to cry… again. Seifer absorbed what I told him in silence.

"Why don't you just go with both of them?"

"I can't do that!" I cried. "It wouldn't be a good situation for any of us." I would always be worrying about if I spent enough time with each of them. I actually thought about going with both of them, but it would be too hard to go from one to the other. Not to mention what they would think about the arrangement.

"Seems to me that the best option would be not to go with either of them, then."

"But then who would I go with?" I frowned. This was followed by a long pause.

"Me." I gaped at him. He was staring back at me without a single trace of embarrassment. Is he… asking me to the dance? It seemed so unlikely, so out of character.

"Oh. Is that why you bought two tickets?"

"Yeah." Seifer was another person I would never be able to figure out.

"But…" He held up his hand and shook his head.

"Listen, Selphie. You don't have to go with me, or Zell, or Irvine, or whoever else asks you. This is going to sound corny, but… listen to your heart. It's usually right about these things." I sighed and hugged my legs tightly.

"I just don't know what to do."

Author's note: Just so you know, I was going to have Irvine not ask her. But I thought it over and decided it didn't make much sense for him not to. As I have it now, poor Selphie is in quite a predicament. You'll have to read on to see how things turn out!