Disclaimer: All FFVIII characters belong to Squaresoft.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews everybody! Hope to see more soon ^_~
Alexia inhaled the crisp morning air, fresh from the rain during the night. She didn't open her eyes immediately, and let her others senses sharpen before she relied on sight again. Something smelled so good... And something felt even better. She curled up tighter underneath the cotton sheets, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as an involuntary smile crept to her mouth. Everything was so wonderful, until she remembered what had happened the night before. She slowly opened her eyes, looking around the room before turning over to see Seifer was still fast asleep. The scent of his cologne was still as strong as it had been before, but never too strong for her liking.
Although he looked so inviting, she couldn't bring herself to stop being angry with him. It wasn't even bad enough that he was acting the way he was. It was the fact that he didn't realize it.
His eyes fluttered as the light from the window fell upon them and he soon awoke, staring over at Alexia before giving her a weak smile. He wasn't sure if things had changed since their argument, and if they had, he didn't want her thinking he still held her in contempt. "Morning," he said lazily.
She said nothing as she slid out of bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door noisily behind her. Seifer let out a groan and put his hands over his face, rubbing the sleep from his heavy eyes. There was no use in chasing her in there; that would surely make matters worse. He could envision it all in his mind. He'd go in there, she'd scream "pervert!" and some sort of big heavy object would come in contact with his face. No, it just wasn't worth it.
He heard the shower water turn on, but Alexia emerged for a moment to grab her day clothes from one of the drawers at the side of the dim room. She didn't even glance at him as she turned back to the bathroom door.
"Alexia, will you just please *talk* to me?" he pleaded. When silence was all that came back to him, he tried a different approach. "Well then would you at least give me some sort of way to know how you feel?"
She turned around swiftly, keeping her lips pursed tightly and her eyes fixed directly on his. She raised her arm, giving him the finger before re-entering the bathroom and slamming the door a second time. Seifer pounded a fist against the frame of the bed.
It seemed like forever until the water turned off and Alexia came out, wearing a black clingy short sleeved shirt and hip hugging faded jeans. She smelled like raspberries, the kind of shampoo she always used. Her hair was somewhat soaked, but she was ernestly drying it with the towel she'd brought out with her. Seifer was still seated on the bed, just watching her as she walked around the small dorm, picking up and putting in a pair of earrings, running a brush through her hair, and slipping on her pair of black heeled boots. Finally, she let out a sigh and spoke to him. "Why do you keep staring at me?" she asked, sounding irritated.
"Because I'm trying to figure out what has you cranking," came the monotone response. It was unusual for Seifer to not have a smart, cocky comeback, even with Alexia.
"Seifer if you don't get it by now, I don't think you ever will," she told him with a shake of her head.
"Lexi, I thought you liked Edea. Wasn't it you who was always saying how much you looked up to her? How she had so much poise and elegance and everything? What happened to that attitude?"
She set the brush down on the dresser and refused to look him in the face. "I... I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right, that's all." Her voice was downhearted, Seifer could sense it without even hearing her speak though. He just didn't know why exactly. But whenever he asked to try and clear things up, that would only upset her more. What was he supposed to do?
"Lexi, you can talk to me about it, I promise." He slowly approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist carefully, making sure he wasn't invading her personal space. Normally she wouldn't mind and would welcome such actions with open arms, but now he wasn't so sure. She stood there for a few moments, allowing him to hold her long enough to know she wasn't totally angry with him anymore, but she broke away and exited the dorm without saying another word.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Galbadia Garden was so quiet anymore. It was an eerie quiet, not a peaceful one. You could tell something was going on inside it, something no one was to know about. Something secretive and dangerous. Was Alexia the only one who felt that way? Or was it just her overactive imagination that was playing tricks on her again? Either way, she didn't like it. And even Seifer was being caught up in everything that was going on, which he didn't understand either.
In the midst of her daydreaming, she'd walked straight into someone who had been coming from the training area. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going..." Alexia replied immediatly.
"Don't worry about it," came a familiar voice.
Alexia smiled. "Oh, hey Cory. Training again I see?"
Cory Nights ran a hand through her long red hair. "Of course. One can never be too skilled, right?"
Alexia nodded her agreement. "That's right. At least that's what you always say."
Cory began giggling. "You bet! So what about you Lexi? What are you up to? You and Seifer usually don't come out of that dorm until at least 11," the nineteen year old said with a wink.
Alexia rolled her eyes. "Will you cut it out? I didn't feel like being with him anymore this morning."
Cory raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, a little fight? What about?"
"No, it's not a fight. We just... had a little disagreement, that's all. Nothing to worry about."
"You sure? You look a little depressed. Anything you wanna talk about? I *am* your best friend after all." Cory smiled, hoping it would cause Alexia to smile as well.
Alexia did smile, but it was only to satisfy her friend. "I know, but no thanks. I'll be fine. If I need someone to talk to though, I'll come looking for you."
"Okay, it's a deal. But hey, did you wanna go to the cafeteria? There may not be a big selection left, but at least it'll be pretty empty."
"All right. I don't have anything better to do anyway." The two girls began walking towards the eastern wing of Galbadia Garden. Cory Nights was a nineteen year old member of the G-Army. She had beautiful long red hair. Not auburn or copper, but red. Blood red. And she had gorgeous green eyes, ones that almost resembled Seifer's. She was a martial arts expert, or at least she hoped to be one someday, but her fighting skills were definitely a force to be reckoned with. She most certainly had talent. Her parents were divorced, and she lived with her father when she wasn't living in a dorm at Garden. She hadn't seen her mother since she was four years old, so she didn't talk about her too much.
"Lexi! Earth to Lexi!" Cory called, waving a hand in front of her face. "Are we gonna go in or just stand here and stare at the pretty metal doors?"
Alexia gave Cory a playful shove into the cafeteria, laughing the entire time. As soon as they entered, a hand shot up into the air, waving wildly. "Oh look, it's Sydney and Blaze. The two most annoying people on the planet," Cory whispered as they waved back.
"Oh come on Cor, they're not annoying. They're just... over eager about everything."
Cory shot Alexia a look. "And that has *got* to be the understatement of the century." They made their way over to the table and sat down, Cory secretly making faces behind Sydney and Blaze's backs and Alexia trying to stifle her laughter.
"Hey you guys! Good morning!" Sydney said in a singsong manner.
"Hey," Alexia and Cory said in unison. Cory made a gagging motion.
Alexia thought that was the perfect time to go up and buy some food, and she drug Cory up into the short line along with her. "Cor, if you don't knock it off you're gonna make me piss myself, and I *think* they'd notice if I did that."
Cory laughed heartily. "All right, all right. I'm sorry Lexi. I'll stop."
Alexia shot her a disbelieving look. "You promise?"
"I promise."
After taking a healthy amount of breakfast foods such as French toast, scrambled eggs, sausage and orange juice, Cory and Alexia sat back down, where Blaze and Sydney were fervently discussing something. Blaze turned to Alexia. "So... you nervous?"
Alexia exchanged a glance with Cory, then looked back over at the brunette boy sitting across from her. "Why would I be nervous?"
"You mean you don't know?" Alexia shrugged. "Wow... I thought he would've at least mentioned it by now..."
"Who? Mentioned what? What are you talking about?" Alexia asked as she leaned forward over the table.
"Whoa, retract the claws there, kitty. I'll tell you. You're the only sharpshooter in Galbadia Garden right? After Irvine left I mean. Well Edea wants you to be the one to assassinate the Headmaster over at Balamb Garden. Then she wants you to do the same thing to President Deling."
Both Cory's and Alexia's eyes widened. "What?!" Cory exclaimed.
"Wait, wait, wait... She wants *me* to assassinate both the Headmaster at Balamb Garden *and* the President? Why? I thought Edea and the President were working on the same side! And I thought Edea wanted to *talk* with the Headmaster to have him help find that Ellone girl," Alexia said.
"I guess not. I don't know what's going on, but apparently all of it was Seifer's idea."
"What was all Seifer's idea?" Alexia asked suspiciously.
"Everything. You being the one to assassinate those two people, I mean. He went and suggested it to Edea and she agreed."
Alexia turned to Cory. "Why would he do that??"
Cory shrugged; the shocked look still plastered on her pretty face. "I don't know, but you'd better go and find out."
There's the next chapter. We hope you like it so far. We need more reviews people! More reviews! This is going to get pretty dramatic, so please let us know what you think. See you in the next chapter! Oh yeah, and REVIEW!!! ^_~
A/N: Thanks for the reviews everybody! Hope to see more soon ^_~
Alexia inhaled the crisp morning air, fresh from the rain during the night. She didn't open her eyes immediately, and let her others senses sharpen before she relied on sight again. Something smelled so good... And something felt even better. She curled up tighter underneath the cotton sheets, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as an involuntary smile crept to her mouth. Everything was so wonderful, until she remembered what had happened the night before. She slowly opened her eyes, looking around the room before turning over to see Seifer was still fast asleep. The scent of his cologne was still as strong as it had been before, but never too strong for her liking.
Although he looked so inviting, she couldn't bring herself to stop being angry with him. It wasn't even bad enough that he was acting the way he was. It was the fact that he didn't realize it.
His eyes fluttered as the light from the window fell upon them and he soon awoke, staring over at Alexia before giving her a weak smile. He wasn't sure if things had changed since their argument, and if they had, he didn't want her thinking he still held her in contempt. "Morning," he said lazily.
She said nothing as she slid out of bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door noisily behind her. Seifer let out a groan and put his hands over his face, rubbing the sleep from his heavy eyes. There was no use in chasing her in there; that would surely make matters worse. He could envision it all in his mind. He'd go in there, she'd scream "pervert!" and some sort of big heavy object would come in contact with his face. No, it just wasn't worth it.
He heard the shower water turn on, but Alexia emerged for a moment to grab her day clothes from one of the drawers at the side of the dim room. She didn't even glance at him as she turned back to the bathroom door.
"Alexia, will you just please *talk* to me?" he pleaded. When silence was all that came back to him, he tried a different approach. "Well then would you at least give me some sort of way to know how you feel?"
She turned around swiftly, keeping her lips pursed tightly and her eyes fixed directly on his. She raised her arm, giving him the finger before re-entering the bathroom and slamming the door a second time. Seifer pounded a fist against the frame of the bed.
It seemed like forever until the water turned off and Alexia came out, wearing a black clingy short sleeved shirt and hip hugging faded jeans. She smelled like raspberries, the kind of shampoo she always used. Her hair was somewhat soaked, but she was ernestly drying it with the towel she'd brought out with her. Seifer was still seated on the bed, just watching her as she walked around the small dorm, picking up and putting in a pair of earrings, running a brush through her hair, and slipping on her pair of black heeled boots. Finally, she let out a sigh and spoke to him. "Why do you keep staring at me?" she asked, sounding irritated.
"Because I'm trying to figure out what has you cranking," came the monotone response. It was unusual for Seifer to not have a smart, cocky comeback, even with Alexia.
"Seifer if you don't get it by now, I don't think you ever will," she told him with a shake of her head.
"Lexi, I thought you liked Edea. Wasn't it you who was always saying how much you looked up to her? How she had so much poise and elegance and everything? What happened to that attitude?"
She set the brush down on the dresser and refused to look him in the face. "I... I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right, that's all." Her voice was downhearted, Seifer could sense it without even hearing her speak though. He just didn't know why exactly. But whenever he asked to try and clear things up, that would only upset her more. What was he supposed to do?
"Lexi, you can talk to me about it, I promise." He slowly approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist carefully, making sure he wasn't invading her personal space. Normally she wouldn't mind and would welcome such actions with open arms, but now he wasn't so sure. She stood there for a few moments, allowing him to hold her long enough to know she wasn't totally angry with him anymore, but she broke away and exited the dorm without saying another word.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Galbadia Garden was so quiet anymore. It was an eerie quiet, not a peaceful one. You could tell something was going on inside it, something no one was to know about. Something secretive and dangerous. Was Alexia the only one who felt that way? Or was it just her overactive imagination that was playing tricks on her again? Either way, she didn't like it. And even Seifer was being caught up in everything that was going on, which he didn't understand either.
In the midst of her daydreaming, she'd walked straight into someone who had been coming from the training area. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going..." Alexia replied immediatly.
"Don't worry about it," came a familiar voice.
Alexia smiled. "Oh, hey Cory. Training again I see?"
Cory Nights ran a hand through her long red hair. "Of course. One can never be too skilled, right?"
Alexia nodded her agreement. "That's right. At least that's what you always say."
Cory began giggling. "You bet! So what about you Lexi? What are you up to? You and Seifer usually don't come out of that dorm until at least 11," the nineteen year old said with a wink.
Alexia rolled her eyes. "Will you cut it out? I didn't feel like being with him anymore this morning."
Cory raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, a little fight? What about?"
"No, it's not a fight. We just... had a little disagreement, that's all. Nothing to worry about."
"You sure? You look a little depressed. Anything you wanna talk about? I *am* your best friend after all." Cory smiled, hoping it would cause Alexia to smile as well.
Alexia did smile, but it was only to satisfy her friend. "I know, but no thanks. I'll be fine. If I need someone to talk to though, I'll come looking for you."
"Okay, it's a deal. But hey, did you wanna go to the cafeteria? There may not be a big selection left, but at least it'll be pretty empty."
"All right. I don't have anything better to do anyway." The two girls began walking towards the eastern wing of Galbadia Garden. Cory Nights was a nineteen year old member of the G-Army. She had beautiful long red hair. Not auburn or copper, but red. Blood red. And she had gorgeous green eyes, ones that almost resembled Seifer's. She was a martial arts expert, or at least she hoped to be one someday, but her fighting skills were definitely a force to be reckoned with. She most certainly had talent. Her parents were divorced, and she lived with her father when she wasn't living in a dorm at Garden. She hadn't seen her mother since she was four years old, so she didn't talk about her too much.
"Lexi! Earth to Lexi!" Cory called, waving a hand in front of her face. "Are we gonna go in or just stand here and stare at the pretty metal doors?"
Alexia gave Cory a playful shove into the cafeteria, laughing the entire time. As soon as they entered, a hand shot up into the air, waving wildly. "Oh look, it's Sydney and Blaze. The two most annoying people on the planet," Cory whispered as they waved back.
"Oh come on Cor, they're not annoying. They're just... over eager about everything."
Cory shot Alexia a look. "And that has *got* to be the understatement of the century." They made their way over to the table and sat down, Cory secretly making faces behind Sydney and Blaze's backs and Alexia trying to stifle her laughter.
"Hey you guys! Good morning!" Sydney said in a singsong manner.
"Hey," Alexia and Cory said in unison. Cory made a gagging motion.
Alexia thought that was the perfect time to go up and buy some food, and she drug Cory up into the short line along with her. "Cor, if you don't knock it off you're gonna make me piss myself, and I *think* they'd notice if I did that."
Cory laughed heartily. "All right, all right. I'm sorry Lexi. I'll stop."
Alexia shot her a disbelieving look. "You promise?"
"I promise."
After taking a healthy amount of breakfast foods such as French toast, scrambled eggs, sausage and orange juice, Cory and Alexia sat back down, where Blaze and Sydney were fervently discussing something. Blaze turned to Alexia. "So... you nervous?"
Alexia exchanged a glance with Cory, then looked back over at the brunette boy sitting across from her. "Why would I be nervous?"
"You mean you don't know?" Alexia shrugged. "Wow... I thought he would've at least mentioned it by now..."
"Who? Mentioned what? What are you talking about?" Alexia asked as she leaned forward over the table.
"Whoa, retract the claws there, kitty. I'll tell you. You're the only sharpshooter in Galbadia Garden right? After Irvine left I mean. Well Edea wants you to be the one to assassinate the Headmaster over at Balamb Garden. Then she wants you to do the same thing to President Deling."
Both Cory's and Alexia's eyes widened. "What?!" Cory exclaimed.
"Wait, wait, wait... She wants *me* to assassinate both the Headmaster at Balamb Garden *and* the President? Why? I thought Edea and the President were working on the same side! And I thought Edea wanted to *talk* with the Headmaster to have him help find that Ellone girl," Alexia said.
"I guess not. I don't know what's going on, but apparently all of it was Seifer's idea."
"What was all Seifer's idea?" Alexia asked suspiciously.
"Everything. You being the one to assassinate those two people, I mean. He went and suggested it to Edea and she agreed."
Alexia turned to Cory. "Why would he do that??"
Cory shrugged; the shocked look still plastered on her pretty face. "I don't know, but you'd better go and find out."
There's the next chapter. We hope you like it so far. We need more reviews people! More reviews! This is going to get pretty dramatic, so please let us know what you think. See you in the next chapter! Oh yeah, and REVIEW!!! ^_~