Chapter 3 Tell Me
Author's Note: To everyone out there, I'm not saying Quistis is intellectually challenged, but she's nuts! And yes, Squall is the REAL genius in this fic, and don't you think this will make Quistis more hardpressed? She's intelligent, but that extra hard work earned her the extra seven marks to bag the top spot. And if you haven't selpt for nerly a week, you'd be fainting after a big shock too :) The third chapter? Uh- Oh. This might just turn out to be a complete fic! AAAAHHHH!!! Thank you to all!!!!!
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Seifer slung the jacket over his shoulder as he strolled down the dimly lit corridor of Balamb Garden. The air was peaceful and serene, the only noise was the quiet gurgling of the water fountains and the occasional cricket song. It was nearly six and almost all Garden students were out in town, having a ball after the exams. For some reason, he didn't feel like it tonight. For one, he was worried about his last examination. It wasn't that he did badly; he did well... perhaps too well.
He took out his mobile and dialed it, but got a dead ringtone. Where was Quistis, he wondered. His parents were out in town, but he declined, saying he had a bad headache. He did have a headache, but if his mother knew why he knew she would have admonished him. "Quistis is fine, why do you worry so? She's a clever girl, just like you."
That's the problem. Quistis. He didn't understand why his mother was pushing his sister so hard. Or why Quistis was doing this to herself. Quistis was suffering, but it seems like nobody cared. In a way, he felt responsible, since Quistis was doing this because of him. No... because his mother wanted her to be just like him...
But she's torturing herself, he scolded silently as he walked out of the premises and headed to the city. Garden was a ten-minute walk from the city and he liked to walk - it was much more peaceful. He could imagine his sister would love it here... but would it make this better?
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The world was a swimming mass of color and it took a few minutes for the colors to rearrange themselves into recognizable shapes. A worried face was peering over her, and it took a few more seconds for her fogged mind to register who it was. "Dr...?"
Dr. Kadowaki straightened up and took her pulse, frowning and tut-tutting. "Your pulse was very slow young lady... you shouldn't exert yourself like this."
Quistis slowly sat up and looked around, trying to force her brain to function again. "The Infirmary?"
"Glad to see you're alright now," Dr. Kadowaki nodded in satisfaction. "You fainted, and a student brought you here," Dr. Kadowaki continued briskly, clearing paraphernalia from the desk. "It's luck I'm still around, young lady. Word of advice," She came back to Quistis and checked her temperature; "Don't study so hard. I've had cases of girls coming to me with a serious eating disorder and a drug overdose, but this is the first time I've been hit by a student who doesn't eat and sleep because of studying!"
Quistis slowly looked around, registering the jumbled facts. She was walking, thinking about something, when she bumped into somebody...she jerked up. "Who - " Her words were cut off when a familiar guy entered the room, looking chagrined. Her eyes narrowed at him and he pretended not to notice.
"You should sleep more, young lady," Dr. Kadowaki was saying, fussing over the girl, but Quistis was too harassed to notice. "Hmm...you're not steady yet. Young man," she turned to Squall; "Can you please walk her home? Thank you," She handed the books that Squall had so kindly retrieved from the floor. Squall stared at them with distaste. If he knew he was going to carry them, he would have left the books where they were.
Quistis swung her legs over the bed, trying to shake the dizzy feeling off. "I'm...I'm okay..."
Dr. Kadowaki held up a finger, stopping her. 'Go."
"Bossy woman. It's a wonder how she got to be a doctor. And she calls herself a matron!" Squall grumbled as he walked out of the school gates. Unfortunately for him, he left his motorbike at home since he had planned on going straight to the club today. Quistis walked silently a few paced behind him, deep in thought. She suddenly stopped and regarded him thoughtfully. "Did you... take me to the matron?"
He looked back at her and shrugged. "I would have gone without you anyway," he grinned. "That dictionary of yours gave me a nice sore toe. But I couldn't leave you," he added hastily seeing her frown. She looked at the books he carried. "Are they heavy? Let me - "
He shied away and grinned. "The doctor's right. You're not well, and I can't have you dropping in the middle of the street."
She narrowed her eyes, not sure what to make of this. "And why would you care?"
Squall looked quizzically at her. "You're not a very friendly person, are you?"
She turned red. Imagine that, being admonished by a guy! "No...I'm sorry, it's just that - "
"It's okay, people are grumpy when they just got out of bed," he said amiably, continuing on.
Quistis bit her lip as she caught up with him. "I seem to remember yelling at you before I passed out... did I say anything bad?"
"...Nah."
They walked in companionable silence, neither knowing what to say anyway. Quistis had her eyes glued to her shoes and Squall considered it a miracle she knew the way home. The sky was rather gloomy for six-thirty, and Squall began having misgivings when he realized Quistis had stopped. They've arrived.
Even in the impending darkness, he couldn't fail to notice where he was - Hasberry Avenue; Balamb's Rich Man's Lane. The house he was standing in front of was fairly large by modern standards, and he could see the corner of a fishpond and a well-tended garden. So the Ice Queen's a rich one, he thought. Who would've guessed? She never showed even a trace of it.
She turned to him awkwardly and was about to say something when the sky gave an almighty boom and the heavens opened - much to Squall's dismay. "Hurry and open the gate!" he yelled as she fumbled in her bag for the remote; and found it broken. "It must have broken during the stupid collision," She muttered crossly as she pulled out a ring of keys and manually unlocked the gate, tripping the alarm system. They made a mad dash up the driveway where Quistis threw open the door and they collapsed in an exhausted heap in the hallway. Quistis quickly scrambled up to turn the alarm off, and when she returned, Squall had taken his jacket off and was examining it with a frown. The books again, lay discarded on the marble floor, but this time they were wet. "My books!!"
"My jacket!' Squall countered, looking quite cross. He was muttering indistinctly to himself, turning the jacket over and over. Quistis straightened up after picking up the books, feeling...guilty? In a way. If he didn't have to escort her back, he wouldn't have ruined his jacket. After all, she didn't faint... it was unnecessary, but oh what the heck. She slowly placed the books on a side table and turned to Squall, face troubled. "I'm sorry," She said in a small voice. "I... it was my fault. You shouldn't have taken me home..."
That made him stop and his frown lightened. He stopped his scrutiny and shrugged. "Nah... maybe I can get a new one downtown..."
"This is really good leather," She had taken the jacket from his hands and was feeling the material with awe. "And the fur..." Making up her mind, she smiled at Squall and wrapped the jacket around her arm. "Tell you what. I'll get this fixed for you; just to say thanks, and sorry for your troubles."
Squall ran a hand through his now damp hair. Noticing this, Quistis walked to the living room and switched on the electric fire. 'Here, dry yourself," She handed him a towel and went to put the jacket away, and change into dry clothes. When she returned, Squall was sitting on the sofa, drying his neck and staring absently into the fire.
"it looks like it's not going to let up for a while," She said softly as she looked out the window. Squall noticed her and beckoned her over. 'Come on here. You're gonna get a flu."
Quistis blinked confusedly for a minute before gingerly sitting down next to him. He caught on and burst out laughing. "What, do you think I'm going to seduce you? After what you did to me?"
"What, the dictionary?"
He chuckled and resumed staring into the fire, staring back into his memories. She suddenly remembered and smiled too. "I remember... the orange juice."
"Yeah," he leaned back and basked in the warmth of the fire. "That was my first rejection...and you scared me like hell."
"I did, did I? Was that the reason why you never spoke to me for the whole two years?"
"Interesting," Squall smiled. "I thought you lived in a different universe. Looks like you remembered me, huh?"
"Anyone would remember who they dunked orange juice on, I suppose. Just because I don't ogle over you doesn't mean I don't realize you exist."
"Oh really?" There was a glint in his eye and he inched his face closer to her impassive one. "Is it hard to ogle now?"
She daintily laid a finger on the tip of his nose and pushed his face away, smiling. "See? I knew you'd try. Is there any girl who was able to resist you?"
"Yes. You."
"Too bad," She shrugged. "Let me be a reminder to you then. Nobody's perfect."
"Guilty as charged," he grinned and settled back into the cushions. This was another thing he never expected; sitting with the Ice Queen, having a normal conversation. If he didn't know better, he would have called those people who despised her as blind, but maybe... "You're okay, you know that?"
"What?"
He looked at her. "You're... I mean, you're just like a regular girl. Except you're smart. Why can't you be like this in front of other people?"
She stared at him for a moment before turning away. "There's no need to," She said in an oddly strained voice. "...Unlike you, there are other things in my life which is more important than having fun..."
"Like Balamb Garden?"
Her heart skipped a beat. How could he see...? "Like Balamb Garden," She said firmly and turned to him. "By the way, congratulations on your great achievement. You must be proud."
He shrugged absently. "It doesn't matter to me...Studying isn't everything to me..." his voice trailed off when he noticed she didn't meet his eye. He could've bit his tongue off! Who was he speaking too? "Hey," he nudged her arm and she turned to him. He held out his hand, smiling. "Congratulations to you too."
She stared at his hand for a moment before looking out the window. "The rain has stopped," She said quietly and got up. He was left sitting there, feeling extremely foolish.
"Thanks for the fire," he awkwardly pushed back his fringe as she opened the door to a eerily serene world. She stared outside and then turned to him. "I'm sorry for troubling you," She said rather formally, her eyes giving nothing away. With a jolt Squall realized the Ice Queen had returned. "Yeah. Don't forget what the doctor said." He hurriedly made his exit. He gave an involuntary shiver as his skin adjusted to the change in climate.
"Than you, Squall,"
He looked over his shoulder and saw a faint smile; just before the door closed. And then he was left with the shrubs and the carps in the pool.
He chuckled as he continued his journey. "You're welcome... Quistis."
Author's Note: Well? Anything to say? Yell? Scream? Bash? No problem. Just review for me and you'll make me a very happy author. I accept everything.
Author's Note: To everyone out there, I'm not saying Quistis is intellectually challenged, but she's nuts! And yes, Squall is the REAL genius in this fic, and don't you think this will make Quistis more hardpressed? She's intelligent, but that extra hard work earned her the extra seven marks to bag the top spot. And if you haven't selpt for nerly a week, you'd be fainting after a big shock too :) The third chapter? Uh- Oh. This might just turn out to be a complete fic! AAAAHHHH!!! Thank you to all!!!!!
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Seifer slung the jacket over his shoulder as he strolled down the dimly lit corridor of Balamb Garden. The air was peaceful and serene, the only noise was the quiet gurgling of the water fountains and the occasional cricket song. It was nearly six and almost all Garden students were out in town, having a ball after the exams. For some reason, he didn't feel like it tonight. For one, he was worried about his last examination. It wasn't that he did badly; he did well... perhaps too well.
He took out his mobile and dialed it, but got a dead ringtone. Where was Quistis, he wondered. His parents were out in town, but he declined, saying he had a bad headache. He did have a headache, but if his mother knew why he knew she would have admonished him. "Quistis is fine, why do you worry so? She's a clever girl, just like you."
That's the problem. Quistis. He didn't understand why his mother was pushing his sister so hard. Or why Quistis was doing this to herself. Quistis was suffering, but it seems like nobody cared. In a way, he felt responsible, since Quistis was doing this because of him. No... because his mother wanted her to be just like him...
But she's torturing herself, he scolded silently as he walked out of the premises and headed to the city. Garden was a ten-minute walk from the city and he liked to walk - it was much more peaceful. He could imagine his sister would love it here... but would it make this better?
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The world was a swimming mass of color and it took a few minutes for the colors to rearrange themselves into recognizable shapes. A worried face was peering over her, and it took a few more seconds for her fogged mind to register who it was. "Dr...?"
Dr. Kadowaki straightened up and took her pulse, frowning and tut-tutting. "Your pulse was very slow young lady... you shouldn't exert yourself like this."
Quistis slowly sat up and looked around, trying to force her brain to function again. "The Infirmary?"
"Glad to see you're alright now," Dr. Kadowaki nodded in satisfaction. "You fainted, and a student brought you here," Dr. Kadowaki continued briskly, clearing paraphernalia from the desk. "It's luck I'm still around, young lady. Word of advice," She came back to Quistis and checked her temperature; "Don't study so hard. I've had cases of girls coming to me with a serious eating disorder and a drug overdose, but this is the first time I've been hit by a student who doesn't eat and sleep because of studying!"
Quistis slowly looked around, registering the jumbled facts. She was walking, thinking about something, when she bumped into somebody...she jerked up. "Who - " Her words were cut off when a familiar guy entered the room, looking chagrined. Her eyes narrowed at him and he pretended not to notice.
"You should sleep more, young lady," Dr. Kadowaki was saying, fussing over the girl, but Quistis was too harassed to notice. "Hmm...you're not steady yet. Young man," she turned to Squall; "Can you please walk her home? Thank you," She handed the books that Squall had so kindly retrieved from the floor. Squall stared at them with distaste. If he knew he was going to carry them, he would have left the books where they were.
Quistis swung her legs over the bed, trying to shake the dizzy feeling off. "I'm...I'm okay..."
Dr. Kadowaki held up a finger, stopping her. 'Go."
"Bossy woman. It's a wonder how she got to be a doctor. And she calls herself a matron!" Squall grumbled as he walked out of the school gates. Unfortunately for him, he left his motorbike at home since he had planned on going straight to the club today. Quistis walked silently a few paced behind him, deep in thought. She suddenly stopped and regarded him thoughtfully. "Did you... take me to the matron?"
He looked back at her and shrugged. "I would have gone without you anyway," he grinned. "That dictionary of yours gave me a nice sore toe. But I couldn't leave you," he added hastily seeing her frown. She looked at the books he carried. "Are they heavy? Let me - "
He shied away and grinned. "The doctor's right. You're not well, and I can't have you dropping in the middle of the street."
She narrowed her eyes, not sure what to make of this. "And why would you care?"
Squall looked quizzically at her. "You're not a very friendly person, are you?"
She turned red. Imagine that, being admonished by a guy! "No...I'm sorry, it's just that - "
"It's okay, people are grumpy when they just got out of bed," he said amiably, continuing on.
Quistis bit her lip as she caught up with him. "I seem to remember yelling at you before I passed out... did I say anything bad?"
"...Nah."
They walked in companionable silence, neither knowing what to say anyway. Quistis had her eyes glued to her shoes and Squall considered it a miracle she knew the way home. The sky was rather gloomy for six-thirty, and Squall began having misgivings when he realized Quistis had stopped. They've arrived.
Even in the impending darkness, he couldn't fail to notice where he was - Hasberry Avenue; Balamb's Rich Man's Lane. The house he was standing in front of was fairly large by modern standards, and he could see the corner of a fishpond and a well-tended garden. So the Ice Queen's a rich one, he thought. Who would've guessed? She never showed even a trace of it.
She turned to him awkwardly and was about to say something when the sky gave an almighty boom and the heavens opened - much to Squall's dismay. "Hurry and open the gate!" he yelled as she fumbled in her bag for the remote; and found it broken. "It must have broken during the stupid collision," She muttered crossly as she pulled out a ring of keys and manually unlocked the gate, tripping the alarm system. They made a mad dash up the driveway where Quistis threw open the door and they collapsed in an exhausted heap in the hallway. Quistis quickly scrambled up to turn the alarm off, and when she returned, Squall had taken his jacket off and was examining it with a frown. The books again, lay discarded on the marble floor, but this time they were wet. "My books!!"
"My jacket!' Squall countered, looking quite cross. He was muttering indistinctly to himself, turning the jacket over and over. Quistis straightened up after picking up the books, feeling...guilty? In a way. If he didn't have to escort her back, he wouldn't have ruined his jacket. After all, she didn't faint... it was unnecessary, but oh what the heck. She slowly placed the books on a side table and turned to Squall, face troubled. "I'm sorry," She said in a small voice. "I... it was my fault. You shouldn't have taken me home..."
That made him stop and his frown lightened. He stopped his scrutiny and shrugged. "Nah... maybe I can get a new one downtown..."
"This is really good leather," She had taken the jacket from his hands and was feeling the material with awe. "And the fur..." Making up her mind, she smiled at Squall and wrapped the jacket around her arm. "Tell you what. I'll get this fixed for you; just to say thanks, and sorry for your troubles."
Squall ran a hand through his now damp hair. Noticing this, Quistis walked to the living room and switched on the electric fire. 'Here, dry yourself," She handed him a towel and went to put the jacket away, and change into dry clothes. When she returned, Squall was sitting on the sofa, drying his neck and staring absently into the fire.
"it looks like it's not going to let up for a while," She said softly as she looked out the window. Squall noticed her and beckoned her over. 'Come on here. You're gonna get a flu."
Quistis blinked confusedly for a minute before gingerly sitting down next to him. He caught on and burst out laughing. "What, do you think I'm going to seduce you? After what you did to me?"
"What, the dictionary?"
He chuckled and resumed staring into the fire, staring back into his memories. She suddenly remembered and smiled too. "I remember... the orange juice."
"Yeah," he leaned back and basked in the warmth of the fire. "That was my first rejection...and you scared me like hell."
"I did, did I? Was that the reason why you never spoke to me for the whole two years?"
"Interesting," Squall smiled. "I thought you lived in a different universe. Looks like you remembered me, huh?"
"Anyone would remember who they dunked orange juice on, I suppose. Just because I don't ogle over you doesn't mean I don't realize you exist."
"Oh really?" There was a glint in his eye and he inched his face closer to her impassive one. "Is it hard to ogle now?"
She daintily laid a finger on the tip of his nose and pushed his face away, smiling. "See? I knew you'd try. Is there any girl who was able to resist you?"
"Yes. You."
"Too bad," She shrugged. "Let me be a reminder to you then. Nobody's perfect."
"Guilty as charged," he grinned and settled back into the cushions. This was another thing he never expected; sitting with the Ice Queen, having a normal conversation. If he didn't know better, he would have called those people who despised her as blind, but maybe... "You're okay, you know that?"
"What?"
He looked at her. "You're... I mean, you're just like a regular girl. Except you're smart. Why can't you be like this in front of other people?"
She stared at him for a moment before turning away. "There's no need to," She said in an oddly strained voice. "...Unlike you, there are other things in my life which is more important than having fun..."
"Like Balamb Garden?"
Her heart skipped a beat. How could he see...? "Like Balamb Garden," She said firmly and turned to him. "By the way, congratulations on your great achievement. You must be proud."
He shrugged absently. "It doesn't matter to me...Studying isn't everything to me..." his voice trailed off when he noticed she didn't meet his eye. He could've bit his tongue off! Who was he speaking too? "Hey," he nudged her arm and she turned to him. He held out his hand, smiling. "Congratulations to you too."
She stared at his hand for a moment before looking out the window. "The rain has stopped," She said quietly and got up. He was left sitting there, feeling extremely foolish.
"Thanks for the fire," he awkwardly pushed back his fringe as she opened the door to a eerily serene world. She stared outside and then turned to him. "I'm sorry for troubling you," She said rather formally, her eyes giving nothing away. With a jolt Squall realized the Ice Queen had returned. "Yeah. Don't forget what the doctor said." He hurriedly made his exit. He gave an involuntary shiver as his skin adjusted to the change in climate.
"Than you, Squall,"
He looked over his shoulder and saw a faint smile; just before the door closed. And then he was left with the shrubs and the carps in the pool.
He chuckled as he continued his journey. "You're welcome... Quistis."
Author's Note: Well? Anything to say? Yell? Scream? Bash? No problem. Just review for me and you'll make me a very happy author. I accept everything.
