Chapter Three

            The bell had rung for the students and instructors to go back to class, but Zell and Seifer were in Seifer's dorm. Seifer was pacing in front of Zell, who sat anxiously on the bed.

            "You told him!" Seifer yelled. He stopped pacing long enough to grab Zell's face; his green eyes raging. "You fucking told him!"

            Zell was crying. He shook his head. "No, Seifer… He… He came in here. I didn't tell him."

            "Now you're lying to me?"

            "I'm not lying, Seifer; I swear. He came in here."

            Seifer's angry eyes narrowed. "He saw you?"

            Zell nodded before thinking of the consequences.  "He just came…"

            He was cut off as Seifer hit him. "You little slut! You let him see you?"

            Zell cringed back and rubbed his check. "Seifer, I…"

            "Shut the fuck up. I don't wanna hear your shit." He took a deep breath, trying to relax. "If anyone else finds out about this, you're dead."

            "Zell believed him. He didn't want to take any chances. He sniffed and nodded, looking down to the floor.

            "I have to go have a word with Mr. Hero. You, stay here. If you're gone when I get back…" Seifer let his threat fade, letting Zell imagine the penalties. With that said, he turned and walked from the bedroom. Seifer was gone.

            Alone, Zell broke down, sobbing. He curled into a ball on the bed and cried into a nearby pillow.

*

            Squall was sitting in his office, going over a new student's transfer papers when Seifer came strutting into the room. Squall continued to look at the papers, not paying his rival any mind.

            "Hey, Sweetheart," the tall blonde greeted, taking a seat in one of Squall's chairs. "I'd like to know who gave you the right to look at my property."

            Squall looked up from his papers, staring at Seifer blankly.

            "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you. Answer me."

            "Whatever."

            Seifer's impatience grew. "Look, I just wanna know why you think you're all high and mighty just because you saved the world. You're still one of the common people, so stop trying to save everyone."

            There was silence from Squall.

            "Don't ignore me, Puberty Boy. Who gave you the right to look at Zell?"

            "He doesn't belong to you," Squall replied evenly.

            "Last time I checked, yeah, he does."

            Squall sighed and shook his head. "He's his own person."

            "You owe me an apology," he stated. When Squall still said nothing, Seifer growled and jumped from the chair to grab Squall by his jacket. He looked Squall dead in the eyes and tightened his grip. "Apologize. Zell is not yours to look at. He is mine. He belongs to me."

            "No, he doesn't."

            "Don't argue with me. He belongs to me, and you had the audacity to look at something that doesn't belong to you."

            Squall stared back at Seifer, not saying anything. He refused to play along with Seifer's mind game. He wasn't going to apologize; he had nothing to apologize for. He wasn't sorry.

            Seifer, realizing Squall wasn't going to say anything, let go. "If you ever look at my property again, I'll kill you." Seifer left.