I THOUGHT YOU PROMISED ME FOREVER
Chapter 5: Rude Confrontations
"What does it look like?" Zell said as he started leading her out of the bar. "I'm here to take you back home to Balamb with me."
"Zell, please let me go!" she cried as she tried to twist her arm free from his tight hold. "I'm not going back with you."
Aya was totally surprised to see Zell again. She wanted to run into his arms and say how much she missed him, but she knew that it would only complicate the whole situation. When she went to see her doctor the day before, she was told that she didn't have very much time left. Her doctor suggested that she check in to a hospital so they could keep a good eye on her in case she suddenly collapses, but she insisted that she was still fine. Now, as Zell continued leading her out of the bar, she wished that she did just that so he would not have been able to find her.
Zell stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her. He stared into her beautiful brown eyes and realized at that moment how much he missed her all these weeks. He wanted to hold her in his arms, kiss her, and tell her how glad he was that he found her again, but at that moment, Zell's main objective was to get Aya out and away from that place were she worked.
When Zell entered the bar, he didn't spot Aya right away. He scanned the room but was having a hard time locating her because the bar was packed with customers. Zell moved to the side to get a better look at the area near the back when he heard one of the waitresses call out Aya's name. Zell turned his head slightly to the right and saw Aya a few feet away holding on to a table with her eyes closed for a second. She looked exhausted and about to pass out. Since she didn't sense his presence as he approached her location, he decided to observe her for just a minute.
Aya's look changed since the last time Zell saw her. Instead of having her hair in her usual low pigtail, it was up in a high ponytail. She was wearing a short black skirt that was about three inches above her knees, and a white, fitted button-blouse. She was also wearing slightly more makeup than she usually wore, and she looked like she lost a lot of weight. Zell couldn't believe his eyes as to how thin she has gotten. She didn't look like the same Aya he knew.
As Zell walked towards Aya, he overheard three drunken men at a nearby table make comments as to what they'd love to do to Aya if she'd go home with them. Zell stopped walking and gave the men deadly looks. The men immediately lowered their heads and continued drinking when they realized that the young man in SeeD uniform standing in front of them could easily beat them up. As Zell continued to head in Aya's direction, he silently thanked the girl who helped him locate her.
When Zell got the lead that Aya was in Fisherman's Horizon last night, he treated it like any of the others that he received; he prepared himself for another disappointment. However, when Zell talked to the girl who provided the information, he realized that for the first time in weeks, he actually had a very good lead to go with.
(FLASHBACK)
"Hello, Miss.," Zell started out to say as he tried to remember the girl's name.
"Cross. Jessica Cross." The girl answered as she stood up and shook his hand.
"Ms. Cross, I'm going to get right to the point. Are you positive that you saw this girl at Fisherman's Horizon?" Zell asked as he showed her a picture of Aya smiling happily at the camera.
Jessica looked at the picture and immediately her hatred for the girl in the picture began to build up inside her. "Why yes," she nodded and faked a smiled. "That's her all right." The little bitch who took Seifer away from me!
"Are you absolutely positive? We received leads in the past that."
"I'm positive, Mr." Jessica tried to read the name on Zell's SeeD Uniform.
"Dincht."
"Huh?" she said in puzzlement.
"I'm Zell Dincht. Aya's fiancé." Zell said as he looked at the girl across the table.
"Oh, I see," she answered. "Mr. Dincht, I assure you that your fiancée is living in FH. As a matter of fact, she even works at a bar there."
"A bar?"
"Yes," she said as she watched the look of surprise on Zell's face.
"Are you sure that we're talking about this same girl?" Zell said as he showed her the picture again. "Aya would never."
"That's her, I tell you! Same eyes, same nose, same smile, same long dark hair, and to convince you further, I can tell you that she has a very faint scar on her right temple."
Zell felt the wind knocked out of him when he heard her mention the scar that Aya got from the Alcauld Plains incident.
"I see that the mention of the scar struck a cord in you." Jessica said as she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the address of the bar. "See for yourself if you don't believe me. I'm telling you, that's the girl that you've been looking all over for."
Zell read what was written down on the piece of paper: Frank's Bar and Grill. 2496 Esthar Blvd. "What would you like in return for helping me find her, Ms. Cross?" Zell asked a while later when he realized that he was really close to getting Aya back in his life.
"I ask for nothing in return," Jessica said with a crooked smile on her face. "When I ran into a couple of you cadets in Deling, and was shown a picture of Aya, I was really shocked to learn that she was a missing student from Balamb Garden."
Jessica couldn't have been happier when she found out that people were searching for Aya. After days of thinking of ways to get Aya out of Seifer's life, a solution came her way. She could finally win Seifer back into her life now that Aya will be out of the picture.
"Did Aya ever mention anything about herself? Anything that could maybe give me an idea as to why she ended up at FH?"
"Well, when I first saw Aya in FH, she seemed a bit out of place, you know what I mean? She didn't seem like the type of girl who belonged in a big city like that, much less working in a bar." Jessica said as she looked at the picture again. "I should have known that she was missing and that people were looking for her. Hmm, do you think that maybe she lost her memory or possibly something of that nature?"
"I don't know." Zell said quietly as he listened to Jessica talk.
"Well, I just want her back home where she belongs." And out of Seifer's life!
"Do you know her well? You seem to care about her."
CARE?! Oh please. I don't give a damn about that girl, Jessica thought. "You can say that."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Cross," Zell said as he stood up and shook her hand. "I'll leave right away so I can get her back home hopefully by tomorrow tonight."
"There's no need for you to thank me, Mr. Dincht," she said as she shook his hand and faked another smile. "I'm just glad that I could do this for her."
(END OF FLASHBACK)
"Aya, I don't know what in the world made you come and work in a place like this, but whatever it is, I think that you should forget about it. You're going back to Balamb with me, and once we get there, we're going to have a very long talk about this."
"Zell, please let me go! I'm not going anywhere with you, okay?!"
"Let her go, cadet!" Seifer said out loud as he approached them. "She's not going anywhere with.Chickenwuss?!" Seifer said in surprise when he realized that the guy dragging Aya out of the bar was Zell Dincht.
"Seifer, is that you?" Zell asked in surprise. He barely recognized Seifer until he saw the very faint scar on his face.
"Yeah, it's me," Seifer answered. "Now be a good cadet and go back to Balamb so you can tell her boyfriend to leave her alone."
"What?" Zell asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Don't worry about the details, Chickenwuss. Just tell Aya's boyfriend that if he sends someone to come and get her again that he's going to have to deal with me."
"Look, I don't think you know what you're."
"Just deliver the message to that son of a bitch!"
"I'm her boyfriend!" Zell answered.
Seifer looked stunned. "You're her boyfriend?!" he asked as he looked at Zell then turned to look at Aya. He looked into her eyes and realized that what Zell said was the truth.
"Yeah, actually to be more specific, I'm her fiancé." Zell answered.
Seifer's blood started to boil. He now had a face and a name to go with the son of a bitch that made Aya's life miserable. Looking at Zell's tight grip on Aya's arm and the look on Aya's face that looked like fear, Seifer's jaw tightened and his hands balled into fists. Taking a quick step forward, Seifer swung his arm and punched Zell across the face.
Zell fell on the ground and at that moment, customers screamed and gathered to the sides. "You'll pay for putting her through hell!" Seifer said as he stood over him.
Zell quickly got up and started punching Seifer back. "What the hell has gotten to you, Seifer?!"
"You!" Seifer answered as he punched Zell on the face again. "That's what!"
"This has nothing to do with you, Seifer!" Zell said as he kneed Seifer in the stomach.
"Stop it" Aya cried as the two men continued to fight.
The men who stood around tried to hold Zell and Seifer back, but since their strength were nothing compared to the strength of the two, they were tossed aside by either men whenever they came forward to stop them.
"Stay out of my business, Seifer!"
"She is my business!"
"Please stop fighting!" Aya yelled out loud as the two men continued to duke it out. "Please stop it!" Neither Zell nor Seifer paid any attention to her.
"What do you mean by she's YOUR business?!"
"You have a brain, Chickenwuss. Why don't you figure it out!"
"Zell, please go," Aya said as she held on to his arm and tried to make him leave.
Since Zell was caught up in his fight with Seifer, he had no idea that it was Aya who was holding on to his arm. Thinking that it was one of the men trying to hold him back again, he moved his arm with such force that it ended up flinging Aya's light body a few feet away, in which she ended up bumping the back of her head hard on the wall.
"Aya!" Zell said as he realized that it was Aya he ended up hurting. "I'm sorry I thought."
"You bastard!" Seifer growled as he went after Zell. "That's the last time I'm going to stand here and let you hurt her! Prepare to go to hell, Chickenwuss!"
"Seifer, please stop," Aya said as she got in front of Seifer and tried to hold him back. "Please!"
Zell stood for a moment and thought of what Seifer said earlier. As he did that, he watched the way Seifer and Aya acted in front of one another. Aya had her hand on Seifer's chest as she held him back, and Seifer held her shoulders as he asked her if she was okay from that earlier hit. The look of concern in Seifer's eyes and the gentle way he held Aya made Zell wonder if something deeper was going on between them. After a few seconds, Zell cursed to himself when he realized what was going on. "YOU!!!"
Aya and Seifer quickly turned to face Zell, who looked at both of them with a lot of anger in his eyes.
"Zell."
"How could you do this to me, Aya?" Zell said as he shook his head in disbelief. "How could you after all that we went through?!"
"I'm so sorry, Zell," Aya said as she came closer to him. "I'm so."
"Stay away from him, Aya," Seifer said from behind. "Leave this place, Dincht, and don't ever come back."
"I'm not going anywhere without Aya," Zell said firmly as he locked eyes with Aya and tightened his jaw.
"I'm not asking you, Chickenwuss. I'm telling you."
"Shut the fuck up, Seifer!" Zell yelled as he pointed at Seifer. Turning to Aya, he calmed down his voice. "Aya, I'm not giving up on us. Please go back to Balamb with me so we can work this out."
"There's nothing for you two to work out. She left you for a reason, Zell. Deal with it!" Seifer said.
Zell didn't pay any attention to Seifer. His complete attention was on what Aya was going to say. "Aya?"
Tears started rolling down Aya's cheeks. "I.I.I can't, Zell." She cried. "I'm sorry but I can't."
"Why not?" Zell asked. "Aya, I don't know what I did to make you walk out on me, but I assure you that I'll do anything to make things right between us again. If Seifer is your reason for staying here, I can't accept that. I know that you still love me."
"Zell, Please go. Don't complicate." She cried as she walked away from him.
Seifer walked forward and started pushing Zell out of the restaurant. "You heard what she said, now get away from here!"
Zell pushed Seifer hard to the side. "You owe me an explanation for all this, Aya!" he said as he walked up to her and grabbed her wrist to spin her around to face him.
"Please leave, Zell. Please, I'm begging you. Please don't do this!"
"I am not leaving without a clear explanation from you, Aya. You owe me!"
Aya looked around the room and noticed that there were still a few customers in the bar watching them. Not wanting to create any more scenes, she looked up at Zell and answered. "Let's go in the back. I'll.I'll tell what you want to know."
"Aya, I'm not leaving you alone with him!" Seifer said just as Frank showed up and tried to hold back his friend.
"Seifer, I'll be fine," she answered. "Please stay here. I need to talk privately with Zell."
"Aya!" Seifer called out as Aya and Zell started walking towards the back of the bar.
Aya led Zell inside the employee lounge room and closed the door once they were both inside. Since she was still feeling a bit lightheaded, she decided to lean against a table for support as Zell stood in the middle of the room. Raising her eyes up to Zell, she smiled lightly but soon erased that smile on her face when Zell looked down at her angrily.
"WHY?!" Zell asked angrily as the pain from her betrayal twisted around his heart.
Aya stared at the ground and tried to think of a lie to tell him.
"Answer me, Aya!" Zell continued, but after waiting for some time and still not getting an answer from her, he calmed himself down and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Why did you walk away from us?"
Aya raised her eyes to look up at Zell and saw the pain that she was inflicting on him.
"Aya, please tell me so I can understand."
Aya's eyes started to well up with tears. He deserved to know the truth but she knew that the truth would only hurt him more. Gathering all her strength, she gave him an answer. "Zell, I don't love you anymore."
"You don't love me anymore?" Zell repeated as he looked deeply into her eyes. "You know what? I don't believe you."
"It's the truth. Now go." She cried as she wiped the tears that rolled down her cheek. "You got the explanation that you've been looking for."
"No, that explanation is not enough." Zell said as he tilted her chin up with his index finger so she could look up at him. "Aya, I need to know when you stop loving me?"
Aya wanted Zell gone at that moment. She was feeling awfully lightheaded and didn't know how long she was going to be able to keep her strength up in front of him. "Zell.please.go." She said as she closed her eyes for a second and gripped the edge of the table tightly.
"Answer me, Aya!"
"I stopped loving you a long time ago!" Aya lied. "There, are you happy now?!"
"No, because I know that you still love me!"
"I don't love you!"
"I know you still do. That look in your eyes tells me otherwise."
"My eyes are deceiving you, Zell. The love I felt for you is gone. Move on with your life and forget about me." Please.
"What did I ever do to you to make you stop loving me?!"
"It's what you didn't do, Zell." She said as her eyes welled up with fresh tears. "You.you were never there for me these past few months. You cared more about those missions of yours than you did about us."
Zell was completely stunned by Aya's reply. "Don't you dare use those missions as an excuse. I asked you in the beginning if you were going to be fine about me getting involved in all those missions, and you said that you were perfectly fine with them!"
"I was very unhappy with you, Zell. All you cared about was yourself. You didn't care about me!"
"You know that's a damn lie! All I cared about was you." Zell said as he gripped her arms. "All I ever did was try and make you happy."
"You failed, Zell!" Aya lied. "You made my life miserable."
"You're lying!" Zell said as he shook her lightly. "You never for a second gave me any reason to believe that you were unhappy with me!"
"Well, I was." She said as the tears started rolling down her cheek.
"Those missions didn't bother you before."
"We weren't going out then!"
"It didn't bother you when Rex went on missions."
"He.he was never away for long like you were."
"I can't believe I'm hearing all this." Zell said as he walked to the other side of the room. "I came to this damn bar thinking that you were coming back home with me, but instead I come to discover that these last few months with you was nothing but a damn lie. I must say that you did a great job of lying to my face. You never for a second gave me an idea that you were miserable with me." Zell said as he felt his world crumble around him.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were feeling that way, Aya? I know that we could have worked it out somehow." Zell asked as he stared at a wine glass tray near where he was standing.
Aya kept silent.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was about you when you left? Thinking that all was well with our relationship, I thought that maybe you ran away because you had a problem that you didn't want to share with me. A few times, the thought that you left me for someone else crossed my mind, but I always brushed that thought aside because I believed in my heart that you only loved me."
"Fine, I admit that there was a time when I thought that you went back to Rex. I even went to see him to see if you did, but when I got there, I realized that you didn't. Half of me was happy, but the other half was not because it meant that I didn't know where you were."
"Not a minute went by that I didn't worry about you. I spent my days searching all over the place and I spent my nights wondering where you could possibly be. Did you know that some young girl was attacked here by the Dollet serial rapist a couple of weeks ago?"
Aya looked up at Zell then quickly turned away when he locked eyes with her.
"I guess not. Let me fill you in for a minute." Zell said as he leaned against the wall. "I heard that the girl was beaten pretty badly, but luckily three guys found her just in time before that scum had the chance to hurt her even further. Well, now that the he's caught, he will finally pay for all the many women he hurt. I heard he's serving several life sentences for the murders he committed. As for the three anonymous guys who rescued the girl, Squall wanted to meet them. He planned on giving the two middle-aged men reward money and the young man our age a chance to join SeeD. Pretty cool, huh? But guess what? Those three guys wrote him a letter saying that they didn't want anything."
"As for the girl, I was told that she wanted to remain anonymous as well. I guess it's understandable why she doesn't want anyone to know who she is, but I had the need to see her, do you know why?"
Aya stared at the floor and asked quietly. "Why, Zell?"
"Because that night she was attacked, I had a nightmare that you were in trouble. We've always had a connection with each other, so when the awful feeling that you were in trouble came over me, I got really scared for you."
Aya's eyes welled up with tears as she remembered that horrible night. Even though her attacker was caught, she kept getting nightmares that he was going back to get her. Now, as she listened to Zell, she was shocked to discover that the man who was asking to meet her this past week concerning the attack was none other than him.
"I wanted to make sure that she was not you! The thought that you were that girl nearly killed me, Aya." Zell said as he remembered the pain he felt in his heart when he heard about the attack on the news. "If anything like that happened to you, I don't know how I would be able to forgive myself knowing that I was not there to save you from harm. See how worried I was?"
"I told you in the letter to forget about me, Zell."
Zell muttered a curse under his breath. "Damnit, Aya! Did you honestly expect me to just forget about you that easily? I care about you, can't you see that?!"
Zell walked over to her again and cupped her face between his hands. All anger from his face was replaced with that of the love that he felt for her. "Aya, please come back to me," he said as he bent his head down to kiss her. "I love you so much."
For a second, they forgot about everything else. They were completely lost in the spell of their kiss. It was sweet, passionate, and filled with the longing feeling they felt for each other over the past few weeks. Aya gripped his arms for support as Zell pulled her closer into his arms and kissed her even more passionately. "Don't break your promise to be with me forever, Aya," he said as he kissed her again.
The spell was broken. Aya quickly pushed him away and walked to the other side of the room. As much as she wanted to promise him forever, she couldn't. "Go, Zell!"
"Go? You expect me to go after that kiss? You're kidding, right?"
"Con.consider that my goodbye kiss to you." Aya's eyes welled up with fresh tears. "It's over between us, Zell. Over."
Zell muttered a curse under his breath as he shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this. It's because of Seifer, isn't it?" He said as his jaw tightened and his hands balled into fists at his sides.
"No!"
"Bullshit! When did you meet him, Aya? Was it during my 3-week mission to Dollet? No wait, was it during my 1-month mission to Centra Ruins? You know I was at a lot more, could it be during those other times?"
"Zell, please don't do this." She begged.
"Tell me!"
"Leave Seifer out of this, Zell. This is between you and me. I swear to you this has nothing to do with Seifer."
"I'm not that stupid, Aya. Why else would you not give us another chance if it's not because of him?"
Aya stared up at him in silence.
"Well?" Zell waited for her answer.
Aya looked away.
"You don't have any other explanation, do you?"
"We're just friends."
"Friends?! You expect me to believe that? I saw the way you two acted with each other, Aya. Friends don't act that way. You've been sleeping with him, haven't you?"
"No, Zell, please stop talking like this!"
"Were you sleeping with him while you were still with me?!"
"No," She answered as she stood in front of him and looked him in the eyes. "I was only with you!"
Zell shook his head in disbelief as he stared into the eyes of the woman he loved. As much as he wanted to believe that she didn't sleep with Seifer while they were together, images that she did ran through his mind. The thought that she was sleeping with another guy while he was away on missions made him sick to his stomach. "LIAR!"
"I would never lie about that, Zell. If there's one thing you should know, it's that I've never been with anyone else while we were together!"
"Oh, so I guess you're saying that you're sleeping with him only now, is that it?!" Zell said angrily. "I should have known that you'd leave me eventually. After all, you did leave Rex for me. You claimed that you loved him and even came close to marrying him. But at the last minute, you decided to be with me. Did you really love me or did you just see me as a way out of your wedding to Rex?" Zell asked.
"I loved you."
Zell brushed her words aside. "Then, just a few months from our own wedding, you decided to pull this little disappearing act on me. Are you afraid of commitments, Aya? Well, are you? If Seifer proposes to you tomorrow, will you leave him too? How long are you going to stay with him until you walk away? Four months? Five months? Man, who would've thought that you'd turn into such a slut!"
"Zell, listen to." she said as she held on to his arm, her heart breaking at his cruel words.
"Don't touch me!" Zell yelled angrily. "I'm so angry with right now, you know that?!" He looked at Aya and saw the tears in her eyes. His brutal words really hurt her.
"Zell, I'm really sorry about all this. I really am. If I could take away the pain I have caused you, I would. I know that you're really hurt by all this right now, but I just understand that someday you'll realize that this is all for the best. I'm so sorry for hurting you like this, Zell. I'm so sorry," she sobbed as she sat on the floor and buried her face in her hands.
Zell looked down at Aya as she cried. Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized that their love ended this way. He wanted to get down on his knees, hold her in his arms, and tell her that he was sorry too for not working hard enough to make her happy when they were together. However, the pain that he was feeling in his heart from her unfaithfulness was just too much for him to bear. Pushing back the tears in his eyes, Zell walked around her and left the room.
When Aya heard the door click shut, she cried even harder. She had no idea that the way things would end between her and Zell would be this painful. She placed her right hand over her heart in hope of lessening the ache that she was feeling at that moment as she used her left hand to wipe the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
Suddenly, a couple of drops of blood landed on the floor in front of her. Aya touched her nose and gasped when she moved her hand away and saw the blood on her fingertips.
Meanwhile, Seifer was being calmed down by Frank when Zell walked through the dining area. Seifer was getting ready for another fight, but ended up being surprised when Zell just walked out the door without a word. Thinking that the talk between Aya and Zell turned out well, Seifer went to see Aya in the lounge room.
"Aya?" Seifer said as he opened the door. Aya was sitting on the floor with her back to him, and looked like she was trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Aya?"
"Just.just a second, Seifer." Aya said as she tried to wipe away the blood on her nose. The nosebleed was caused by her illness, but since Seifer didn't know that she was sick, she didn't want to mislead him into thinking that Zell hurt her.
Seifer walked over to her and quickly stopped when he saw the drops of blood on the floor. Getting down on his knees, he held her shoulders and made her look up at him. When she did, he saw the tears in her eyes and the blood on her nose that she tried to wipe off with her fingers.
"Seifer, please don't mis." she cried as she saw the anger grow in Seifer's eyes.
"He will pay for what he did to you, Aya," Seifer's jaw tightened as he stood up. "I swear I'll make him pay."
Aya stood up and held on to his arm. "Seifer, please don't go. Zell didn't do this!"
"Stop protecting him, Aya!" Seifer said as he left her in the lounge room. "It's time that someone gives him a lesson."
Frank was cleaning up the dining area when he suddenly spotted Seifer storm out of the bar with anger in his eyes. "Hey, Seifer, where are you going?"
"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" Seifer said furiously.
Seifer ran down the streets until he finally spotted Zell. "Hey, Chickenwuss!" he called out.
Zell continued to walk. Either he didn't hear Seifer or he was ignoring him.
Seifer muttered a curse under his breath when Zell didn't stop. Rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, Seifer ran to catch up with Zell.
"Don't walk away from me while I'm talking to you, Zell." Seifer said when he was just a couple of feet away.
"Or else what?!" Zell asked as he turned around and got himself into a fighting stance.
Seifer didn't give Zell an answer, and instead swung his fist in an attempt to hit Zell on the face. Zell saw it coming and moved his head to the side as he stepped forward and punched Seifer right on the stomach.
The two young men began to duke it out just as a small crowd of spectators started to form around them.
"What the hell is your problem, Seifer? Aya's yours, what else do you want from me?!"
"I want you to pay!"
"Pay for what?! I don't owe you anything!"
"Not me, Chickenwuss, you owe Aya."
"I don't owe her anything neither. She's the one who owes me!"
"I personally don't give a crap about you, Zell. I'm here to make you pay for hurting her."
"You know what, Seifer? I'm really getting sick of your bullshit about me hurting Aya. I did nothing but love that girl, but you're making it sound like all I did was treat her like crap. Don't make me out to be the bad guy here because I am not!" Zell said as he shoved Seifer to the side and began to walk away.
"Are you scared of fighting me, Zell?" Seifer said as he wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth. "I guess nothing changed since the last time I saw you three years ago. Even to this day, you're still nothing but a chicken!" He said as he started making chicken noises.
Zell walked back and stood face-to-face with Seifer, his index finger poking at Seifer's chest. "I disliked you before, Seifer, but not I absolutely hate you. You tried to ruin my self-esteem in the past by calling me names but didn't really succeed, so I guess ruining my life now will do the trick for ya, huh? Are you satisfied, Seifer? Are you finally happy now that you found a way to break me? How long did it take you to do all this, huh? Weeks? Months? Is fucking with me really that entertaining to you?!"
"Stop blaming me.Chickenwuss. You ruined your own pathetic life."
"How dare you say that I ruined my life?! Everything was perfect before you fucked it all up. Aya and I were happy, and we were going to get married in a few months, but because of you, that will never happen. What did you say to her, Seifer, huh? Did you promise her a wonderful life with you? Based on what I saw, you don't have very much to offer her. You're still the same loser that I used know." He said angrily. "She had a great life in Balamb, Seifer. She had a good home, she had great friends, and she had a good job, but she gave up all that.for this." Zell said as looked at his surroundings. "She deserves better than this, and you know it!"
"That might be the case, but just remember that she did choose this life. Besides, I can offer her something that you couldn't."
"And what might that be?"
"The love and happiness that she deserves."
"Are you saying that you've fallen in love with her?" Zell asked.
"It's really none of your business but if you must know, yes, I'm very much in love with her." It was the first time Seifer said that out loud.
"Shut up, Seifer. We both know that you're not capable of loving anyone but yourself."
"You know what, I don't have to explain anything to you! You lost. I won. End of story."
"Say what you want, Seifer." Zell said, hurt by his defeat. "But just remember that she was mine first!" and with those words, Zell started to walk away.
Seifer couldn't believe what he just heard. Zell just talked about Aya like she was some kind of property of his. Furious at Zell's words, Seifer responded back.
"How does it feel knowing that you'll never have her in your arms again, Zell?"
Zell once again stopped in his tracks. Seifer knew that physically, Zell could beat him, but emotionally, he knew that he had the upper hand.
"Don't tell me that you're not going to miss the way she looks into your eyes just before she kisses you," Seifer said as he watched Zell tighten his jaw. "Or the way she holds on to you tight and calls out your name when you make love to her. I know I would if I was in your position."
Zell pushed Seifer against the wall. "Shut up, you son of a bitch!" He said as he gripped Seifer's shirt collar with one hand and used the other hand to punch him on the face. Images of Seifer and Aya in bed together ran through his mind.
"You might have had her first, Chickenwuss, but in the end, that doesn't really matter. It's who she ends up with last that really counts."
"I said shut up!" Zell said as he swung his arm back and was about to hit Seifer with a powerful punch.
"Please don't, Zell!" cried Aya as she tried to get between Seifer and Zell. "Please don't hurt him anymore."
Zell turned his head, stared into Aya's tear-filled dark brown eyes, and felt his heart sink down to the pit of his stomach.
"Please Zell," she begged as fresh tears rolled down her face when Zell still didn't lower his arm.
Zell took a deep breath. After lowering both his arms a while later, he turned to walk away.
Aya walked after him. "Thank you," she said softly as she placed her hand on his arm.
"Get your hand off of me!" Zell said as he shook her hand off. "How many times do I have to tell you that, huh?"
"Zell, I just."
"Leave me alone! I don't want you anywhere near me, do you understand?! I don't want to hear your voice, I don't want to smell your perfume, I don't want anything that has to do with you!" Zell said angrily as his heart broke into many pieces at the words that he was saying. "I don't want us to see each other again. Not in this lifetime, not in the next, not ever!"
"No, Zell, you don't mean that." Aya cried as a fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Hell yeah I do, Aya, every word of it. From now on, you don't exist to me." Zell said as he stared into her eyes for the last time. "You're already dead in my eyes!"
"What does it look like?" Zell said as he started leading her out of the bar. "I'm here to take you back home to Balamb with me."
"Zell, please let me go!" she cried as she tried to twist her arm free from his tight hold. "I'm not going back with you."
Aya was totally surprised to see Zell again. She wanted to run into his arms and say how much she missed him, but she knew that it would only complicate the whole situation. When she went to see her doctor the day before, she was told that she didn't have very much time left. Her doctor suggested that she check in to a hospital so they could keep a good eye on her in case she suddenly collapses, but she insisted that she was still fine. Now, as Zell continued leading her out of the bar, she wished that she did just that so he would not have been able to find her.
Zell stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her. He stared into her beautiful brown eyes and realized at that moment how much he missed her all these weeks. He wanted to hold her in his arms, kiss her, and tell her how glad he was that he found her again, but at that moment, Zell's main objective was to get Aya out and away from that place were she worked.
When Zell entered the bar, he didn't spot Aya right away. He scanned the room but was having a hard time locating her because the bar was packed with customers. Zell moved to the side to get a better look at the area near the back when he heard one of the waitresses call out Aya's name. Zell turned his head slightly to the right and saw Aya a few feet away holding on to a table with her eyes closed for a second. She looked exhausted and about to pass out. Since she didn't sense his presence as he approached her location, he decided to observe her for just a minute.
Aya's look changed since the last time Zell saw her. Instead of having her hair in her usual low pigtail, it was up in a high ponytail. She was wearing a short black skirt that was about three inches above her knees, and a white, fitted button-blouse. She was also wearing slightly more makeup than she usually wore, and she looked like she lost a lot of weight. Zell couldn't believe his eyes as to how thin she has gotten. She didn't look like the same Aya he knew.
As Zell walked towards Aya, he overheard three drunken men at a nearby table make comments as to what they'd love to do to Aya if she'd go home with them. Zell stopped walking and gave the men deadly looks. The men immediately lowered their heads and continued drinking when they realized that the young man in SeeD uniform standing in front of them could easily beat them up. As Zell continued to head in Aya's direction, he silently thanked the girl who helped him locate her.
When Zell got the lead that Aya was in Fisherman's Horizon last night, he treated it like any of the others that he received; he prepared himself for another disappointment. However, when Zell talked to the girl who provided the information, he realized that for the first time in weeks, he actually had a very good lead to go with.
(FLASHBACK)
"Hello, Miss.," Zell started out to say as he tried to remember the girl's name.
"Cross. Jessica Cross." The girl answered as she stood up and shook his hand.
"Ms. Cross, I'm going to get right to the point. Are you positive that you saw this girl at Fisherman's Horizon?" Zell asked as he showed her a picture of Aya smiling happily at the camera.
Jessica looked at the picture and immediately her hatred for the girl in the picture began to build up inside her. "Why yes," she nodded and faked a smiled. "That's her all right." The little bitch who took Seifer away from me!
"Are you absolutely positive? We received leads in the past that."
"I'm positive, Mr." Jessica tried to read the name on Zell's SeeD Uniform.
"Dincht."
"Huh?" she said in puzzlement.
"I'm Zell Dincht. Aya's fiancé." Zell said as he looked at the girl across the table.
"Oh, I see," she answered. "Mr. Dincht, I assure you that your fiancée is living in FH. As a matter of fact, she even works at a bar there."
"A bar?"
"Yes," she said as she watched the look of surprise on Zell's face.
"Are you sure that we're talking about this same girl?" Zell said as he showed her the picture again. "Aya would never."
"That's her, I tell you! Same eyes, same nose, same smile, same long dark hair, and to convince you further, I can tell you that she has a very faint scar on her right temple."
Zell felt the wind knocked out of him when he heard her mention the scar that Aya got from the Alcauld Plains incident.
"I see that the mention of the scar struck a cord in you." Jessica said as she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the address of the bar. "See for yourself if you don't believe me. I'm telling you, that's the girl that you've been looking all over for."
Zell read what was written down on the piece of paper: Frank's Bar and Grill. 2496 Esthar Blvd. "What would you like in return for helping me find her, Ms. Cross?" Zell asked a while later when he realized that he was really close to getting Aya back in his life.
"I ask for nothing in return," Jessica said with a crooked smile on her face. "When I ran into a couple of you cadets in Deling, and was shown a picture of Aya, I was really shocked to learn that she was a missing student from Balamb Garden."
Jessica couldn't have been happier when she found out that people were searching for Aya. After days of thinking of ways to get Aya out of Seifer's life, a solution came her way. She could finally win Seifer back into her life now that Aya will be out of the picture.
"Did Aya ever mention anything about herself? Anything that could maybe give me an idea as to why she ended up at FH?"
"Well, when I first saw Aya in FH, she seemed a bit out of place, you know what I mean? She didn't seem like the type of girl who belonged in a big city like that, much less working in a bar." Jessica said as she looked at the picture again. "I should have known that she was missing and that people were looking for her. Hmm, do you think that maybe she lost her memory or possibly something of that nature?"
"I don't know." Zell said quietly as he listened to Jessica talk.
"Well, I just want her back home where she belongs." And out of Seifer's life!
"Do you know her well? You seem to care about her."
CARE?! Oh please. I don't give a damn about that girl, Jessica thought. "You can say that."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Cross," Zell said as he stood up and shook her hand. "I'll leave right away so I can get her back home hopefully by tomorrow tonight."
"There's no need for you to thank me, Mr. Dincht," she said as she shook his hand and faked another smile. "I'm just glad that I could do this for her."
(END OF FLASHBACK)
"Aya, I don't know what in the world made you come and work in a place like this, but whatever it is, I think that you should forget about it. You're going back to Balamb with me, and once we get there, we're going to have a very long talk about this."
"Zell, please let me go! I'm not going anywhere with you, okay?!"
"Let her go, cadet!" Seifer said out loud as he approached them. "She's not going anywhere with.Chickenwuss?!" Seifer said in surprise when he realized that the guy dragging Aya out of the bar was Zell Dincht.
"Seifer, is that you?" Zell asked in surprise. He barely recognized Seifer until he saw the very faint scar on his face.
"Yeah, it's me," Seifer answered. "Now be a good cadet and go back to Balamb so you can tell her boyfriend to leave her alone."
"What?" Zell asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Don't worry about the details, Chickenwuss. Just tell Aya's boyfriend that if he sends someone to come and get her again that he's going to have to deal with me."
"Look, I don't think you know what you're."
"Just deliver the message to that son of a bitch!"
"I'm her boyfriend!" Zell answered.
Seifer looked stunned. "You're her boyfriend?!" he asked as he looked at Zell then turned to look at Aya. He looked into her eyes and realized that what Zell said was the truth.
"Yeah, actually to be more specific, I'm her fiancé." Zell answered.
Seifer's blood started to boil. He now had a face and a name to go with the son of a bitch that made Aya's life miserable. Looking at Zell's tight grip on Aya's arm and the look on Aya's face that looked like fear, Seifer's jaw tightened and his hands balled into fists. Taking a quick step forward, Seifer swung his arm and punched Zell across the face.
Zell fell on the ground and at that moment, customers screamed and gathered to the sides. "You'll pay for putting her through hell!" Seifer said as he stood over him.
Zell quickly got up and started punching Seifer back. "What the hell has gotten to you, Seifer?!"
"You!" Seifer answered as he punched Zell on the face again. "That's what!"
"This has nothing to do with you, Seifer!" Zell said as he kneed Seifer in the stomach.
"Stop it" Aya cried as the two men continued to fight.
The men who stood around tried to hold Zell and Seifer back, but since their strength were nothing compared to the strength of the two, they were tossed aside by either men whenever they came forward to stop them.
"Stay out of my business, Seifer!"
"She is my business!"
"Please stop fighting!" Aya yelled out loud as the two men continued to duke it out. "Please stop it!" Neither Zell nor Seifer paid any attention to her.
"What do you mean by she's YOUR business?!"
"You have a brain, Chickenwuss. Why don't you figure it out!"
"Zell, please go," Aya said as she held on to his arm and tried to make him leave.
Since Zell was caught up in his fight with Seifer, he had no idea that it was Aya who was holding on to his arm. Thinking that it was one of the men trying to hold him back again, he moved his arm with such force that it ended up flinging Aya's light body a few feet away, in which she ended up bumping the back of her head hard on the wall.
"Aya!" Zell said as he realized that it was Aya he ended up hurting. "I'm sorry I thought."
"You bastard!" Seifer growled as he went after Zell. "That's the last time I'm going to stand here and let you hurt her! Prepare to go to hell, Chickenwuss!"
"Seifer, please stop," Aya said as she got in front of Seifer and tried to hold him back. "Please!"
Zell stood for a moment and thought of what Seifer said earlier. As he did that, he watched the way Seifer and Aya acted in front of one another. Aya had her hand on Seifer's chest as she held him back, and Seifer held her shoulders as he asked her if she was okay from that earlier hit. The look of concern in Seifer's eyes and the gentle way he held Aya made Zell wonder if something deeper was going on between them. After a few seconds, Zell cursed to himself when he realized what was going on. "YOU!!!"
Aya and Seifer quickly turned to face Zell, who looked at both of them with a lot of anger in his eyes.
"Zell."
"How could you do this to me, Aya?" Zell said as he shook his head in disbelief. "How could you after all that we went through?!"
"I'm so sorry, Zell," Aya said as she came closer to him. "I'm so."
"Stay away from him, Aya," Seifer said from behind. "Leave this place, Dincht, and don't ever come back."
"I'm not going anywhere without Aya," Zell said firmly as he locked eyes with Aya and tightened his jaw.
"I'm not asking you, Chickenwuss. I'm telling you."
"Shut the fuck up, Seifer!" Zell yelled as he pointed at Seifer. Turning to Aya, he calmed down his voice. "Aya, I'm not giving up on us. Please go back to Balamb with me so we can work this out."
"There's nothing for you two to work out. She left you for a reason, Zell. Deal with it!" Seifer said.
Zell didn't pay any attention to Seifer. His complete attention was on what Aya was going to say. "Aya?"
Tears started rolling down Aya's cheeks. "I.I.I can't, Zell." She cried. "I'm sorry but I can't."
"Why not?" Zell asked. "Aya, I don't know what I did to make you walk out on me, but I assure you that I'll do anything to make things right between us again. If Seifer is your reason for staying here, I can't accept that. I know that you still love me."
"Zell, Please go. Don't complicate." She cried as she walked away from him.
Seifer walked forward and started pushing Zell out of the restaurant. "You heard what she said, now get away from here!"
Zell pushed Seifer hard to the side. "You owe me an explanation for all this, Aya!" he said as he walked up to her and grabbed her wrist to spin her around to face him.
"Please leave, Zell. Please, I'm begging you. Please don't do this!"
"I am not leaving without a clear explanation from you, Aya. You owe me!"
Aya looked around the room and noticed that there were still a few customers in the bar watching them. Not wanting to create any more scenes, she looked up at Zell and answered. "Let's go in the back. I'll.I'll tell what you want to know."
"Aya, I'm not leaving you alone with him!" Seifer said just as Frank showed up and tried to hold back his friend.
"Seifer, I'll be fine," she answered. "Please stay here. I need to talk privately with Zell."
"Aya!" Seifer called out as Aya and Zell started walking towards the back of the bar.
Aya led Zell inside the employee lounge room and closed the door once they were both inside. Since she was still feeling a bit lightheaded, she decided to lean against a table for support as Zell stood in the middle of the room. Raising her eyes up to Zell, she smiled lightly but soon erased that smile on her face when Zell looked down at her angrily.
"WHY?!" Zell asked angrily as the pain from her betrayal twisted around his heart.
Aya stared at the ground and tried to think of a lie to tell him.
"Answer me, Aya!" Zell continued, but after waiting for some time and still not getting an answer from her, he calmed himself down and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Why did you walk away from us?"
Aya raised her eyes to look up at Zell and saw the pain that she was inflicting on him.
"Aya, please tell me so I can understand."
Aya's eyes started to well up with tears. He deserved to know the truth but she knew that the truth would only hurt him more. Gathering all her strength, she gave him an answer. "Zell, I don't love you anymore."
"You don't love me anymore?" Zell repeated as he looked deeply into her eyes. "You know what? I don't believe you."
"It's the truth. Now go." She cried as she wiped the tears that rolled down her cheek. "You got the explanation that you've been looking for."
"No, that explanation is not enough." Zell said as he tilted her chin up with his index finger so she could look up at him. "Aya, I need to know when you stop loving me?"
Aya wanted Zell gone at that moment. She was feeling awfully lightheaded and didn't know how long she was going to be able to keep her strength up in front of him. "Zell.please.go." She said as she closed her eyes for a second and gripped the edge of the table tightly.
"Answer me, Aya!"
"I stopped loving you a long time ago!" Aya lied. "There, are you happy now?!"
"No, because I know that you still love me!"
"I don't love you!"
"I know you still do. That look in your eyes tells me otherwise."
"My eyes are deceiving you, Zell. The love I felt for you is gone. Move on with your life and forget about me." Please.
"What did I ever do to you to make you stop loving me?!"
"It's what you didn't do, Zell." She said as her eyes welled up with fresh tears. "You.you were never there for me these past few months. You cared more about those missions of yours than you did about us."
Zell was completely stunned by Aya's reply. "Don't you dare use those missions as an excuse. I asked you in the beginning if you were going to be fine about me getting involved in all those missions, and you said that you were perfectly fine with them!"
"I was very unhappy with you, Zell. All you cared about was yourself. You didn't care about me!"
"You know that's a damn lie! All I cared about was you." Zell said as he gripped her arms. "All I ever did was try and make you happy."
"You failed, Zell!" Aya lied. "You made my life miserable."
"You're lying!" Zell said as he shook her lightly. "You never for a second gave me any reason to believe that you were unhappy with me!"
"Well, I was." She said as the tears started rolling down her cheek.
"Those missions didn't bother you before."
"We weren't going out then!"
"It didn't bother you when Rex went on missions."
"He.he was never away for long like you were."
"I can't believe I'm hearing all this." Zell said as he walked to the other side of the room. "I came to this damn bar thinking that you were coming back home with me, but instead I come to discover that these last few months with you was nothing but a damn lie. I must say that you did a great job of lying to my face. You never for a second gave me an idea that you were miserable with me." Zell said as he felt his world crumble around him.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were feeling that way, Aya? I know that we could have worked it out somehow." Zell asked as he stared at a wine glass tray near where he was standing.
Aya kept silent.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was about you when you left? Thinking that all was well with our relationship, I thought that maybe you ran away because you had a problem that you didn't want to share with me. A few times, the thought that you left me for someone else crossed my mind, but I always brushed that thought aside because I believed in my heart that you only loved me."
"Fine, I admit that there was a time when I thought that you went back to Rex. I even went to see him to see if you did, but when I got there, I realized that you didn't. Half of me was happy, but the other half was not because it meant that I didn't know where you were."
"Not a minute went by that I didn't worry about you. I spent my days searching all over the place and I spent my nights wondering where you could possibly be. Did you know that some young girl was attacked here by the Dollet serial rapist a couple of weeks ago?"
Aya looked up at Zell then quickly turned away when he locked eyes with her.
"I guess not. Let me fill you in for a minute." Zell said as he leaned against the wall. "I heard that the girl was beaten pretty badly, but luckily three guys found her just in time before that scum had the chance to hurt her even further. Well, now that the he's caught, he will finally pay for all the many women he hurt. I heard he's serving several life sentences for the murders he committed. As for the three anonymous guys who rescued the girl, Squall wanted to meet them. He planned on giving the two middle-aged men reward money and the young man our age a chance to join SeeD. Pretty cool, huh? But guess what? Those three guys wrote him a letter saying that they didn't want anything."
"As for the girl, I was told that she wanted to remain anonymous as well. I guess it's understandable why she doesn't want anyone to know who she is, but I had the need to see her, do you know why?"
Aya stared at the floor and asked quietly. "Why, Zell?"
"Because that night she was attacked, I had a nightmare that you were in trouble. We've always had a connection with each other, so when the awful feeling that you were in trouble came over me, I got really scared for you."
Aya's eyes welled up with tears as she remembered that horrible night. Even though her attacker was caught, she kept getting nightmares that he was going back to get her. Now, as she listened to Zell, she was shocked to discover that the man who was asking to meet her this past week concerning the attack was none other than him.
"I wanted to make sure that she was not you! The thought that you were that girl nearly killed me, Aya." Zell said as he remembered the pain he felt in his heart when he heard about the attack on the news. "If anything like that happened to you, I don't know how I would be able to forgive myself knowing that I was not there to save you from harm. See how worried I was?"
"I told you in the letter to forget about me, Zell."
Zell muttered a curse under his breath. "Damnit, Aya! Did you honestly expect me to just forget about you that easily? I care about you, can't you see that?!"
Zell walked over to her again and cupped her face between his hands. All anger from his face was replaced with that of the love that he felt for her. "Aya, please come back to me," he said as he bent his head down to kiss her. "I love you so much."
For a second, they forgot about everything else. They were completely lost in the spell of their kiss. It was sweet, passionate, and filled with the longing feeling they felt for each other over the past few weeks. Aya gripped his arms for support as Zell pulled her closer into his arms and kissed her even more passionately. "Don't break your promise to be with me forever, Aya," he said as he kissed her again.
The spell was broken. Aya quickly pushed him away and walked to the other side of the room. As much as she wanted to promise him forever, she couldn't. "Go, Zell!"
"Go? You expect me to go after that kiss? You're kidding, right?"
"Con.consider that my goodbye kiss to you." Aya's eyes welled up with fresh tears. "It's over between us, Zell. Over."
Zell muttered a curse under his breath as he shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this. It's because of Seifer, isn't it?" He said as his jaw tightened and his hands balled into fists at his sides.
"No!"
"Bullshit! When did you meet him, Aya? Was it during my 3-week mission to Dollet? No wait, was it during my 1-month mission to Centra Ruins? You know I was at a lot more, could it be during those other times?"
"Zell, please don't do this." She begged.
"Tell me!"
"Leave Seifer out of this, Zell. This is between you and me. I swear to you this has nothing to do with Seifer."
"I'm not that stupid, Aya. Why else would you not give us another chance if it's not because of him?"
Aya stared up at him in silence.
"Well?" Zell waited for her answer.
Aya looked away.
"You don't have any other explanation, do you?"
"We're just friends."
"Friends?! You expect me to believe that? I saw the way you two acted with each other, Aya. Friends don't act that way. You've been sleeping with him, haven't you?"
"No, Zell, please stop talking like this!"
"Were you sleeping with him while you were still with me?!"
"No," She answered as she stood in front of him and looked him in the eyes. "I was only with you!"
Zell shook his head in disbelief as he stared into the eyes of the woman he loved. As much as he wanted to believe that she didn't sleep with Seifer while they were together, images that she did ran through his mind. The thought that she was sleeping with another guy while he was away on missions made him sick to his stomach. "LIAR!"
"I would never lie about that, Zell. If there's one thing you should know, it's that I've never been with anyone else while we were together!"
"Oh, so I guess you're saying that you're sleeping with him only now, is that it?!" Zell said angrily. "I should have known that you'd leave me eventually. After all, you did leave Rex for me. You claimed that you loved him and even came close to marrying him. But at the last minute, you decided to be with me. Did you really love me or did you just see me as a way out of your wedding to Rex?" Zell asked.
"I loved you."
Zell brushed her words aside. "Then, just a few months from our own wedding, you decided to pull this little disappearing act on me. Are you afraid of commitments, Aya? Well, are you? If Seifer proposes to you tomorrow, will you leave him too? How long are you going to stay with him until you walk away? Four months? Five months? Man, who would've thought that you'd turn into such a slut!"
"Zell, listen to." she said as she held on to his arm, her heart breaking at his cruel words.
"Don't touch me!" Zell yelled angrily. "I'm so angry with right now, you know that?!" He looked at Aya and saw the tears in her eyes. His brutal words really hurt her.
"Zell, I'm really sorry about all this. I really am. If I could take away the pain I have caused you, I would. I know that you're really hurt by all this right now, but I just understand that someday you'll realize that this is all for the best. I'm so sorry for hurting you like this, Zell. I'm so sorry," she sobbed as she sat on the floor and buried her face in her hands.
Zell looked down at Aya as she cried. Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized that their love ended this way. He wanted to get down on his knees, hold her in his arms, and tell her that he was sorry too for not working hard enough to make her happy when they were together. However, the pain that he was feeling in his heart from her unfaithfulness was just too much for him to bear. Pushing back the tears in his eyes, Zell walked around her and left the room.
When Aya heard the door click shut, she cried even harder. She had no idea that the way things would end between her and Zell would be this painful. She placed her right hand over her heart in hope of lessening the ache that she was feeling at that moment as she used her left hand to wipe the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
Suddenly, a couple of drops of blood landed on the floor in front of her. Aya touched her nose and gasped when she moved her hand away and saw the blood on her fingertips.
Meanwhile, Seifer was being calmed down by Frank when Zell walked through the dining area. Seifer was getting ready for another fight, but ended up being surprised when Zell just walked out the door without a word. Thinking that the talk between Aya and Zell turned out well, Seifer went to see Aya in the lounge room.
"Aya?" Seifer said as he opened the door. Aya was sitting on the floor with her back to him, and looked like she was trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Aya?"
"Just.just a second, Seifer." Aya said as she tried to wipe away the blood on her nose. The nosebleed was caused by her illness, but since Seifer didn't know that she was sick, she didn't want to mislead him into thinking that Zell hurt her.
Seifer walked over to her and quickly stopped when he saw the drops of blood on the floor. Getting down on his knees, he held her shoulders and made her look up at him. When she did, he saw the tears in her eyes and the blood on her nose that she tried to wipe off with her fingers.
"Seifer, please don't mis." she cried as she saw the anger grow in Seifer's eyes.
"He will pay for what he did to you, Aya," Seifer's jaw tightened as he stood up. "I swear I'll make him pay."
Aya stood up and held on to his arm. "Seifer, please don't go. Zell didn't do this!"
"Stop protecting him, Aya!" Seifer said as he left her in the lounge room. "It's time that someone gives him a lesson."
Frank was cleaning up the dining area when he suddenly spotted Seifer storm out of the bar with anger in his eyes. "Hey, Seifer, where are you going?"
"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" Seifer said furiously.
Seifer ran down the streets until he finally spotted Zell. "Hey, Chickenwuss!" he called out.
Zell continued to walk. Either he didn't hear Seifer or he was ignoring him.
Seifer muttered a curse under his breath when Zell didn't stop. Rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, Seifer ran to catch up with Zell.
"Don't walk away from me while I'm talking to you, Zell." Seifer said when he was just a couple of feet away.
"Or else what?!" Zell asked as he turned around and got himself into a fighting stance.
Seifer didn't give Zell an answer, and instead swung his fist in an attempt to hit Zell on the face. Zell saw it coming and moved his head to the side as he stepped forward and punched Seifer right on the stomach.
The two young men began to duke it out just as a small crowd of spectators started to form around them.
"What the hell is your problem, Seifer? Aya's yours, what else do you want from me?!"
"I want you to pay!"
"Pay for what?! I don't owe you anything!"
"Not me, Chickenwuss, you owe Aya."
"I don't owe her anything neither. She's the one who owes me!"
"I personally don't give a crap about you, Zell. I'm here to make you pay for hurting her."
"You know what, Seifer? I'm really getting sick of your bullshit about me hurting Aya. I did nothing but love that girl, but you're making it sound like all I did was treat her like crap. Don't make me out to be the bad guy here because I am not!" Zell said as he shoved Seifer to the side and began to walk away.
"Are you scared of fighting me, Zell?" Seifer said as he wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth. "I guess nothing changed since the last time I saw you three years ago. Even to this day, you're still nothing but a chicken!" He said as he started making chicken noises.
Zell walked back and stood face-to-face with Seifer, his index finger poking at Seifer's chest. "I disliked you before, Seifer, but not I absolutely hate you. You tried to ruin my self-esteem in the past by calling me names but didn't really succeed, so I guess ruining my life now will do the trick for ya, huh? Are you satisfied, Seifer? Are you finally happy now that you found a way to break me? How long did it take you to do all this, huh? Weeks? Months? Is fucking with me really that entertaining to you?!"
"Stop blaming me.Chickenwuss. You ruined your own pathetic life."
"How dare you say that I ruined my life?! Everything was perfect before you fucked it all up. Aya and I were happy, and we were going to get married in a few months, but because of you, that will never happen. What did you say to her, Seifer, huh? Did you promise her a wonderful life with you? Based on what I saw, you don't have very much to offer her. You're still the same loser that I used know." He said angrily. "She had a great life in Balamb, Seifer. She had a good home, she had great friends, and she had a good job, but she gave up all that.for this." Zell said as looked at his surroundings. "She deserves better than this, and you know it!"
"That might be the case, but just remember that she did choose this life. Besides, I can offer her something that you couldn't."
"And what might that be?"
"The love and happiness that she deserves."
"Are you saying that you've fallen in love with her?" Zell asked.
"It's really none of your business but if you must know, yes, I'm very much in love with her." It was the first time Seifer said that out loud.
"Shut up, Seifer. We both know that you're not capable of loving anyone but yourself."
"You know what, I don't have to explain anything to you! You lost. I won. End of story."
"Say what you want, Seifer." Zell said, hurt by his defeat. "But just remember that she was mine first!" and with those words, Zell started to walk away.
Seifer couldn't believe what he just heard. Zell just talked about Aya like she was some kind of property of his. Furious at Zell's words, Seifer responded back.
"How does it feel knowing that you'll never have her in your arms again, Zell?"
Zell once again stopped in his tracks. Seifer knew that physically, Zell could beat him, but emotionally, he knew that he had the upper hand.
"Don't tell me that you're not going to miss the way she looks into your eyes just before she kisses you," Seifer said as he watched Zell tighten his jaw. "Or the way she holds on to you tight and calls out your name when you make love to her. I know I would if I was in your position."
Zell pushed Seifer against the wall. "Shut up, you son of a bitch!" He said as he gripped Seifer's shirt collar with one hand and used the other hand to punch him on the face. Images of Seifer and Aya in bed together ran through his mind.
"You might have had her first, Chickenwuss, but in the end, that doesn't really matter. It's who she ends up with last that really counts."
"I said shut up!" Zell said as he swung his arm back and was about to hit Seifer with a powerful punch.
"Please don't, Zell!" cried Aya as she tried to get between Seifer and Zell. "Please don't hurt him anymore."
Zell turned his head, stared into Aya's tear-filled dark brown eyes, and felt his heart sink down to the pit of his stomach.
"Please Zell," she begged as fresh tears rolled down her face when Zell still didn't lower his arm.
Zell took a deep breath. After lowering both his arms a while later, he turned to walk away.
Aya walked after him. "Thank you," she said softly as she placed her hand on his arm.
"Get your hand off of me!" Zell said as he shook her hand off. "How many times do I have to tell you that, huh?"
"Zell, I just."
"Leave me alone! I don't want you anywhere near me, do you understand?! I don't want to hear your voice, I don't want to smell your perfume, I don't want anything that has to do with you!" Zell said angrily as his heart broke into many pieces at the words that he was saying. "I don't want us to see each other again. Not in this lifetime, not in the next, not ever!"
"No, Zell, you don't mean that." Aya cried as a fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Hell yeah I do, Aya, every word of it. From now on, you don't exist to me." Zell said as he stared into her eyes for the last time. "You're already dead in my eyes!"