"I don't know how u can do it, Al" Selphie frowned as she looked to the long line of people in the cafeteria. Her face brightened as she caught sight of Irvine. He was standing next to Squall. "I mean Irvy and I have never had a fight, but when we spend too much time together, we bicker. But you and Zell are NEVER apart and NEVER argue at all. Isn't there at least one small thing about him that gets on your nerves?"
"I know it's unbelievable, but there is absolutely nothing. If I don't like an gesture he makes, I already love it because he made it" Alli replied happily.
"You two act like you've only just started going out, but it's been ages... How long now?" Quistis asked.
"Fourteen months, two weeks and three days" Alli announced proudly.
"Wow. Someone's not counting. Squall and I have been officially together for around 2 and a half years now. Boy, do people change as time goes by..." Rinoa said happily.
"I know" Quistis grinned as she thought about her Seifer. He had grown to be so kind. So caring towards her and people in general, he had even started mending broken friendships like Squalls.
Selphie caught a glimpse of Zell slowly strolling towards the table of girls. He held a bunch of crimson red roses tied with a lacy bow in one hand and he raised his other to give her a small wave and sheepish smile.
"Some people never change" she said with a soft sigh as Zell stopped quietly behind Alli. Zell silently handed to the roses to Quistis who was out of Alli's range of vision. Alli didn't understand Selphie's statement until her eyes were covered by a pair of strong hands. She reached for them and immediately knew their owner. She grasped onto them and slowly pulled them away from her eyes. Zell glided his head over her shoulder and kissed her cheek as Quistis thrust the bouquet in front of her. Alli's smile grew as she saw them.
"Aww...Zell!" She stood up and threw her arms around his neck. They slowly closed in and let their mouths mingle.
"Eeww gross!" Rinoa shrieked playfully. Selphie burst into giggles. They pulled away and Alli blushed.
"Hey it's not as bad as seeing Squall TRY to kiss you. He looks like some kinda-" Quistis stopped as Squall cut her off.
"Some kind of what?" He acted macho which made Selphie laugh even harder.
"And what do you mean, 'Try' ?" The laughter could no longer be stopped and even Squall had a little giggle. Irvine walked over as the laughter ended.
"Did I miss something?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rinoa sure was right. People change, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Unfortunately for Alli and Zell, fate made that change bad.
"Hey have you guys seen Alli lately?" Quistis asked as her big sister instincts took over. "I'm worried about her"
"I seen her last week... She looked terrible. I heard rumours that she had a huge fight with Zell" Irvine whispered.
"Yeah. Zell doesn't look too well either. I hope everything is ok. I tried to talk to Alli the other day but she said she had to go. That was the first time I said seen her in ages" Selphie frowned.
"I heard that Alli and Tyla aren't even friends anymore. The last thing I heard Tyla say about Alli was that she was having trouble sleeping at night" Quistis said.
"I tried to talk to Alli about it and she said she was fine. She is so skinny. She mustn't be eating at all" Rinoa said softly.
"I don't think Zell is eating either. When was the last time we saw them down here? Ages ago. I went to see him last week and he said that he's fine and that he's got an extra job. Maybe it's stress?" Seifer said.
"I think as good friends that it is our responsibility to help them. Whether they had a fall out, family problems, stress, whatever" Quistis announced.
"Why don't we split up? Half of us can go see Alli while the other half go see Zell" The group nodded and went their separate ways.
Quistis was the first to reach Alli's door. She was followed by Seifer and Rinoa.
"Alli?" Quistis knocked softly on the door. There was no reply. She slightly pushed the door and it clicked open.
"Strange..." She shrieked as she saw Alli's body lying unconscious on the floor. Rinoa and Seifer burst in after her.
"Oh my God" Rinoa whispered. "We have to get her to the infirmary"
"She has a pulse" Quistis said with slight relief. She looked around and saw a needle on the ground. "Oh Alli honey... No..." At the same time the other two saw what she was looking at. Seifer began to lift her body up. Quistis helped.
"I'll stay here and clean this up" Rinoa offered.
"Be careful" were Seifer's last words as he disappeared out the door.
At Zell's dorm Squall opened the door with his security card. Selphie ran in before him and shrieked. Squall froze as he saw his best friend sitting in the corner hugging his knees. He raced to Zell's side and slowly placed a hand on Zell's arm.
"Zell" Squall shook him softly to no avail. He checked his pulse and told everyone that he still had one. The three quickly ran their eyes over the room to look for answers to Zell's state. They found nothing.
"Let's get him to Dr K." Irvine said as the two men carried their friend. Selphie just dawdled sadly behind them.
When Zell's body had reached the infirmary, the group of friends were surprised to see one another. They stood in silence as they waited for what seemed like and eternity in the hall. As the doctor appeared in front of the group, the eagerly awaited good news. She motioned for them to follow her inside to Alli and Zell's room.
"It's policy not to tell you what goes on, but I think you all need to know. Alli... Well she overdosed on some drugs-"
"What drugs?" Squall cut her off.
"Heroin..." Squall shook his head. "She's going to be fine now. I've given her some medication to help. It's not going to be an easy road back to recovery though. With the support of you all, she'll make it through. As for Zell, I'm afraid we have no idea what is wrong. He's condition is stable, there's no foreign substances in his body. It's seems like he's just unconscious, but we don't know how. It seems to be stress related. Maybe lack of sleep. He'll wake in a few hours. I think it's just a coincidence that they are both here and it doesn't mean that Zell was involved with the drugs" Squall walked off and leant against the wall.
Alli was the first to awake of the two.
"Where.." Alli began as she looked around the room. She saw the worried and tear stained faces of her friends and realised they now knew the truth. Alli covered her face in shame and began to let the tears fall.
"I'm so sorry Zell... Why didn't I listen to you..." She murmured in between sobs. Quistis put her arm around her. "Where's Rinoa and Zell? Do they hate me that much that they don't care"
"No sweetie" Irvine replied softly. They're both... Right here" He moved to the side and Alli saw Zell's unconscious body on the bed next to hers.
"Zell!" Alli struggled to get free of the cords restricting her.
"He's fine Al" Rinoa whispered as she softly stroked his limp hand while holding the other. Alli's eyes were glued on Zell and for the first time she noticed how painfully skinny he had become. She looked at her hands and realised the same thing.
"It's all my fault! If only I had listened to him..." This time Selphie hugged her while Quistis held her hand. Irvine was standing next to Seifer while Squall still leant in silence against the wall. The only emotion he showed was his furrowed brow. Alli looked at him and noticed his cold stance. Alli sat up. "I'm sorry Squall. I know your disgusted... I'm sorry OK. I'm SO sorry. Throw me out of Garden, punish me however, just don't punish Zell for my mistakes" Squall slowly walked towards Alli, without once taking his eyes off her. Alli's tears began to fall once more. "Please don't hate me. I know I'm worthless and pathetic" Squall gently placed a finger to her lips. He removed them slowly to make sure she didn't utter another word. Alli closed her eyes and prepared for the bad news, but was shocked when she felt Squall's strong arms pull her close. He raised his hand to her head and softly stroked her hair as she lowered her head onto his shoulder. Her tears continued to fall. He lowered his voice and whispered "shh". Rinoa was taken aback. That was a thing she expected Quistis to do and maybe even Irvine but not Squall. He was fine at showing his affection towards her, but she had never seen him do it to anyone else. Squall lowered his head until his lips were right at her ear. His voice was almost inaudible as he spoke. The people in the room could barely make out what he was saying.
"You're not worthless or pathetic... And I don't hate you Al... I love you.. How could I hate someone that has made my best friend so unbelievably satisfied and happy with life... I'm eternally greatful to you... I'll always be there for you..." He brought his head back up and kissed the top of her head as he continued to stroke it. After a moment , he slowly pulled away. His hands smoothly slid from her back, across her shoulders and neck and to a stop on her cheeks.
{ Like a pro } Thought Irvine. { I taught him well } Squall held his hands there as he looked deep into her tear-filled eyes. He skillfully kept his hands still, but used his thumbs to wipe away her tears.
"I love you" He said in his normal voice. Alli noticed how he no longer cared what the others thought. Before he wouldn't even say that to Rinoa in private. Squall gave her a soft kiss on her nose and walked slowly over to Zell and Rinoa. Selphie felt like clapping, but of course it was inappropriate.
"We all love you Al, but you have to tell us the entire story... How long has this been going on? Why didn't you come to us for help? Why didn't you get Zell to help you? " Quistis began but Seifer cut her off.
"Give her time to answer Honey" he said softly. Selphie held her hand while Quistis held the other.
"You remember the last 'End Of The Sorceress War Ball'? I..." Alli stopped as she felt a sharp pain go through her side. She grasped it in an effort to stop the pain. After it went away she continued. "I went to an after party without Zell. The first time I went anywhere without him. I really wanted to go and he was totally against it. I didn't want to go without him, but I went" She stopped again as the pain came back. "I drunk quite a bit, but I was still able to make decisions and know I was making them. A girl offered some tablet to me. She said it was an 'E' and would make me have a ball. I couldn't see the harm in one tablet so I took it and loved it." The pain began to grow stronger. She breathed stiffly and continued. "After that, I continued to take it. At first Zell didn't know. Then I began to lie to him. I'm so ashamed. I LIED to him. I told him I was having bad chest pains at night and I had to take tablets for it. At first he believed me, then after a while, I think he just knew. I suddenly started to do everything without Zell and at the time I didn't care. I went to more parties in Balamb and I somehow got onto the harder stuff. Before I knew it, Zell had-" The pain came suddenly, then left as quickly as it came. "Before I knew it, he had found me in my room off the planet. When I came back he just sat there staring at me. His eyes were so dark and sad" Her tears fell heavily. "At first he helped clean up so I left no evidence. He said that he would help me get over it. We started doing things together again. And for a while I was almost clean. But then I somehow got back on it. I began to lie to him again. He thought I was completely clean and he was so happy. The lies worked until he found me again. I had never seen him like that before. He was just so... He just kept yelling. He said that he couldn't trust me anymore after all the lies. He was so angry that I thought he was going to hit me" Quistis wrapped her arm tightly around her. "He never did though. Not once. After he calmed down he apologised and held me. I made him go through hell. He stayed with me when I needed a hit and held me when my body rejected food. He cleaned up... He did everything. He told me that I was not going to go back that way ever. I believed him too until stupid me went back for more. The last time he found me was about a month ago. He wasn't angry this time. He just sat in the corner and cried. That was the moment he... he finally gave up on me" She covered her face with her frail hands and cried. When she gained some composure she continued. "After that I just didn't care about anything. I gave up on life. If only I had stayed clean. None of this would have happened. I'm gonna do it this time. I've lost everything... but I'm not going back-" The sharp pain came back in full force and Alli screwed her face up in pain. Selphie yelled for the Dr. The men all held her down as her body began to spasm. Dr Kawadoki pressed a button on the machine next to Alli and it injected a solution into her body which made her relax and sleep. Dr Kawadoki explained that her body needs heroin and it's the only way it knows how to act without it. She also explained that the machine gives her tiny doses of the medication when she needs it and then left the room. As the silence continued, Seifer decided to break it.
"We have to help her guys. If she can get through this, maybe Zell might even forgive her" he said softly.
"He's already forgiven her. He forgave her a long time ago, he just hasn't admitted it. No matter what you do to a person, if they love you they'll always forgive you" Squall replied knowingly. He thought about the countless times he rejected Rinoa in hurtful ways, but she kept on coming back and he was greatful for that.
"You guys. I think he's waking up" said Rinoa who hadn't spoken a word. Rinoa slowly reached over and smoothed this blond fringe out of his face.
"Alli?" Zell asked weakly.
"No sweetie. It's Rinoa" Zell's face fell. "Oh come on. I'm not that bad" she tried to joke.
"Why am I here?" He asked.
"That's what we were hoping you'd tell us" Squall said smiling that his friend was fine.
"Well, where's Alli then?" He asked, but he answered his own question by looking over at her. "She's not... Is she?" He asked worried.
"No... We found her in her room. She going to be ok. But she told us everything that happened" Squall said. "You both should have told us sooner. We could have helped"
"I didn't want you all to think any less of Alli. She's addicted. She would have been thrown out of garden. I didn't want anyone to look down on her"
"We wouldn't look down on her Zell" Irvine said. "We care about both of you. Was Alli what you meant when you said you had an extra job?" Zell nodded. Zell felt a sharp pain speed through his body. He winced as it grew stronger. Suddenly Alli began to throw spasms again. The doctor entered the room and pushed a different button. She said that the dosage she had been receiving must not have been strong enough. When Alli settled down, he felt the pain go away and he relaxed. Rinoa noticed straight away, but it took the others a while later to realise it. Her face grew bright as it all clicked in her mind. She whispered to Squall who responded by holding Zell's hand. No one realised what was happening. Squall sat emotionless until he felt Zell's grip grow stronger. He looked towards Alli and as Rinoa predicted she was squirming. As her body began to have smaller spasms, Zell held tighter. Squall laughed when he realised Rinoa was right. Rinoa happily ran off to tell the doctor while Squall told everyone why he was laughing.
"It's almost like a sorceress and knight bond" he continued. "Zell, You have empathy pains for what Alli is going through. I've heard of twin siblings having them as well, but never a partner. You two must be meant to be. Your link to each other is so strong, it's spiritual" Everyone nodded smiling as they realised it was true.
"That must be why I'm never hungry. The drugs act as a food depressant on her as well as on me"
"That's right" the doctor exclaimed as she entered the room. "Which is also why we couldn't find anything wrong with you"
"Can I go to her?" Zell asked quietly.
"Sure. Do you guys mind giving them some privacy? I'm sure you all must be hungry and tired. Why don't you come back tomorrow?" The doctor suggested. The gang nodded as they each hugged Zell goodbye. Squall was the last to leave the room.
"I'll catch up in a sec" he called out to the others. "I know I only know her side of the story and I know I shouldn't stick my nose in, but don't be too hard on her. She knows how much she's hurt you..." Zell nodded. He was expecting the usual handshake or salute he always got from Squall, but instead Squall hugged him tightly. With a nod, Squall left the room. Dr Kawadoki helped Zell into a wheelchair and pushed him over to her side. She left the room and closed the door as quickly as Squall did. He slowly reached up and held her thin hand, not for a second taking his eyes off her.
"Al... What happened to us... We were so happy and close" he said trying to fight the tears. "I was willing to do anything for you... I did do everything... I thought it was enough, but I wasn't enough to help you through. I'm sorry I stopped being there for you. I broke our promise and I hate myself for it. But I'm here now..." He rested his head on her arm and waited for her to wake. She didn't wake until the next morning. When she slowly arose her face brightened to see that Zell was by her side just like he promised. She weakly stroked his blond hair that she had longed to touch for so long. She felt him flinch and he began to wake up. He raised his head to see that she was awake. He was about to apologise but she beat him to it. Her tears began to fall again as she told him what she had told the others. He reached up and wiped her tears away. He stared into her sad eyes and wished that they would sparkle like they used to. He wished her face was bright and strong with her hair bouncing happily around her beautiful face. He weakly stood up. He wanted to kiss her so bad, but he didn't know if she would accept it. He leant over to hug her, but she shook her head. Feeling slightly rejected, Zell frowned. Zell clicked when she patted the space on the bed next to her. He carefully lifted himself up onto the bed and relaxed as he felt the calming warmth of her body laying next to his. He laid down next to her and held her. For the first time in months, Alli smiled her full bright smile. Alli took the moment and played it over in her head. She felt like dancing. As her eyes began to get heavy, she laid her head on Zell's chest the way she always did and draped her arm across his abdomen as she always did. Zell wrapped his arm around her and protectively held her close. With his other hand her stroked her tired face.
"We're gonna get through it this time Hon" Alli held him tighter when he called her that time-old name. The one he had called her for almost 2 years. The one that always made her feel proud to be his. She closed her eyes and happily let sleep take her away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Being the one who found her, Quistis felt that she should be the first one to see Alli that morning. She quickly got dressed and raced in to see her and Zell. When she arrived she found Zell and Alli sleeping soundly in each others arms. She smiled warmly and began to leave the room. As she turned around, she became face to face with Squall.
"Hi" she said to him happily.
"Hi... Why are you so happy?" He asked. Quistis stepped to the side so Squall could see them. He smiled too. He happily hugged Quistis, then left the room.
"That boy is WAY too compassionate now... I'm worried about him" she laughed at her statement and left to meet everyone at the cafeteria for breakfast. When she had almost reached the entrance she saw Rinoa and Selphie carrying trays of food. Quistis gave them a strange look and wondered what they were doing since food isn't allowed outside of the cafeteria. Rinoa noticed the look and smiled.
"We're taking them to Zell and Alli. Wanna come?" Quistis nodded as she headed back to the infirmary with them.
"You should see them. They look so cute!" Quistis smiled as she opened the door for them both.
"Awwwww!" Rinoa almost squealed. Selphie shushed her but it was too late. "Sorry" she whispered as the two awoke.
"Hey there" Quistis said softly. Alli and Zell smiled happily.
"We brought you both some food" Selphie said in her bouncy tone. At the thought of food both and Alli and Zell screwed their faces up in unison.
"Uh-uh. None of that" Rinoa said as she brought her tray over to them and Selphie brought the other.
"Are you sure they are allowed to eat? Did you ask Doc?" Quistis asked unsure. Rinoa nodded.
"Come on Zell. You know you want a hot dog..." Selphie teased as she waved it in front of his face. He tried to bite it, but couldn't. So he tried again, but this time he succeeded. He closed his eyes as he savoured his second favourite taste in the world. His absolute favourite was of course his girl of strawberries hinted with Jasmine. Alli also began to eat. It felt great to have food in her stomach. Zell suddenly burst out "Get that bucket!" Rinoa was so shocked that she grabbed it faster than the speed of light. Zell quickly helped Alli sit up properly and held the bucket in front of her face. Selphie closed her eyes as she knew what was coming. And sure enough as Zell well knew, she couldn't hold the food down. He slowly rubbed her back as she stopped. Rinoa handed her some tissues.
"Sorry" Alli replied embarrassed.
"It's ok. I was kinda expecting it" Quistis replied. "Keep trying and it will get easier" So Alli tried again. She thought she was going fine until she knew it was coming back up. From experience Zell knew all the small signs for when she was going to throw up. She would slightly roll her eyes and her nose would twitch. So he grabbed the bucket for her and rubbed her back again.
"You're really good with this Zell" Quistis smiled.
"It's called practise.. And lots of it" he smiled. Alli looked down at the bed spread ashamed. Zell noticed and tapped her nose playfully when she was doing the wrong thing. "None of that thank you" He said trying to sound gruff, but he failed miserably. Alli tried again with the food, but this time she kept it down. She smiled contentedly as she did. The two continued to eat without any more interruptions until the rest of the gang arrived.
"I thought we were sposed to all meet at the cafeteria, THEN come here TOGETHER girls" Seifer said.
"We couldn't wait, sorry" Rinoa smiled as she put on her innocent face and fluttered her long lashes at Squall. After breakfast was finished, the doctor suggested that they go into the new garden area for patients. After both were helped into wheelchairs, the gang went outside. Alli looked around as the sunlight drenched her. She couldn't remember the last time she had been out in the sun. Selphie studied Alli carefully. In the sunlight she could see all the horrible lines that started to appear on her skin. Selphie was glad that they could help Alli now.
A couple of days later, Zell was allowed to go home. Of course, he didn't. He got his favourite reclining chair from his dorm and brought it over to the infirmary and stayed by Alli's side. Over time she got better. She even apologised to Tyla. Once she had gained a substantial amount of weight, she was allowed back into her dorm. By order of "Special circumstances" Squall even allowed Alli and Zell to share a dorm.