Chapter 2: Leaving Home

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters used in this story, that wonderful gaming company Squaresoft does. Don't sue me, please!

A/N: I feel loved! Six reviews! Yay! Ok, four for Quall, two for Seiftis. I just thought of something. I can try and make everyone happy. I'm going to try and make it a Seiftis and a Quall. Now, I said try. I don't know if it'll work. We'll just have to wait and see how this goes. You know the deal, R&R, no flames. It's gonna be Quall first then Seiftis. Let's see if I don't screw up my story now. :)

Her blue eyes looked out into the day. She had long past Balamb Garden. No longer would she consider it a home. Cid had given her the instructors job back. She was grateful, at first. It kept her busy, kept her mind off of things. That was during the day. At night, her dreams would drive her mad. She thought of nothing but Squall. It was killing her seeing him and Rinoa together. Quistis tried to push those thoughts out of her head, but couldn't. Everything at Garden reminded her of Squall. That's why she ran away. To hide the pain, the hurt. Her only purpose now was to find a place to stay. She had all but banished love from her heart.

She kept walking until she came to Balamb. She would have went there the night before, but the intensity of the storm forced her into the cave. I'm still not far enough away, she thought. Need to go farther, but I need some sort of a disguise. She looked around for something, anything to use as a disguise, or to give her an idea for one. She saw an ad on the ground with something that caught her eye. She walked over to it and picked it up. The picture on it was of a woman dying her hair.

"Perfect!" She walked toward the store and entered it. What color am I going to dye it though? Brown? No, I wouldn't look good as a brunette. Hmm, red looks good. Wait a minute though... How many red-heads have blue eyes? Need colored contacts. Green ones. And... scissors. The pure thought of cutting her hair made her shudder. I need to though. Too many people know what I look like. I like how long my hair is too... She sighed and took everything up to the register. She paid for it all and walked out of the door. She walked toward the train station. The conductor was standing there, selling tickets to people heading toward Timber. She walked up to him and asked, "Excuse me, how long until the next train to Timber comes?"

"Ah, let's see here... Should be coming in about ten minutes, miss. Would you like to purchase a ticker?"

"Yes, please."

"Ok, that'll be 3000 Gil." She handed him the money and took her ticket from his hands. She walked up the rest of the stairs and waited for the train to arrive. Timber still isn't far enough. They'll find me, I know they will. I don't want to go back. I should have told Cid though, let him know I was leaving, give him some time to find a replacement. But, he would've told everyone, and they would've tried to prevent me from leaving. Or worse, through me a party. That's not what I wanted. But, where to after Timber? Too fr to Esthar, and they probably wouldn't let me in anyway. Dollet's too small, but I could go to Deling. Hmm, I'll think about it when I get to Timber. She waited for the train to come, and when it did, she boarded it. She sat down at a window seat. That was pointless. Most of the ride is under water, what am I going to see in a dark tunnel?

"The train is now leaving Balamb Station. Next stop, Timber. We are now leaving Balamb Station. Next stop, Timber Station." Quistis sank into her seat and thought about where to go next. She drifted off into a restless sleep.

Two robed figures stood talking in a round room. The room held nothing more then a small table with a burning candle in the middle of it. The room had no windows, and no visible doors.

"Does she know?" asked the first figure.

"No, I don't think so..."

"Hmm, this could cause a problem."

"How so?"

"That... that's a little hard to explain."

"Why?"

"Wait... she's here."

"What?! How?"

"I... don't... know. Let us leave, and quickly."

Just as quickly as her dream came, it faded, leaving a fuzzy feeling in her head. What was that about? Oh well, no sense in dwelling on it now. The train emerged from the tunnel, on dry land.

"We will be arriving at Timber in approximately 15 minutes. Please gather all of your personal belongings if you are getting of here. Timber, next stop!"

Jeez, we're here already? Shouldn't have fallen asleep. Quistis looked out of the window. The sun had already started to set, and the first few stars were poking out in the sky. Well, when I get to Timber, I'll get a room at the hotel for the night. I'll decide where to go tomorrow. I'll be able to think clearer after a full night's sleep. She just enjoyed the rest of the trip, trying not to think of Garden, and Squall.

The train got to Timber and she got off of it. She walked toward the hotel to get a room. As she walked in, she was almost immediately swarmed by people.

"Is that really her?"

"I heard that she's part of a group, whatchamacallit, SeeD I think it is."

"I saw her on the TV a few months ago."

"Yea! When they first got it workin again! I saw that too."

Quistis walked past the gawking people. If only they knew exactly what had gone on in the past few months. I just want to get my room as quickly as possible, I have a long day ahead of me.

"Can I help you?" asked the woman behind the desk.

"Yes, I'd like a room for the night."

"Of course. This way please." The woman showed Quistis to her room. As she entered the room, the only thing she saw was the bed. She walked over to it and collapsed on it, not waking until the next morning.

A/N: I hope this going good so far. My first FF8 romance story, I don't want to screw it up. Well, R&R, no flames, but constructive criticism welcome. And sorry it took such a long time to review, just had a lot of things on my mind lately. Like other stories that just popped up in my mind, no matter how hard I tried to tell them to go away. Right, ok then. That's it for now.