Double Dares and Hopeful Hearts: Chapter 3

by Kitian

Disclaimer: None of the characters being used are owned by me because I am not Squaresoft, just a broke RPG fan with lots of spare time to write. Rats.

Key: = Character's internal thoughts







She didn't have time to react, not even to think.



She heard the faint beep of the electronic card being registered from outside the room. The door slid open, and Quistis' heart stopped.

Oh Hyne...please....let it be anyone but *him*.....I'll just die....

Quistis Trepe had never considered herself much of a spiritual person. She didn't believe in fate, she didn't believe in luck. When she had been found abandoned as a child in the streets of Deling City by Matron, she assumed it was pure coincidence that the motherly woman had decided to take a different route coming home from the grocery store. When she became an Instructor at an extraordinarily young age, she regarded it as the result of fifteen years of hard work and perserverance. When she and the others had defeated Ultimecia, she chalked it all up to their exceptional abilities and unfaltering will to prevail. Not luck. Quistis Trepe wasn't the type of woman who needed luck, had never depended on chance or good fortune to get her by.

But right now, Quistis was praying with all her might to whatever gods might be listening that they would see it fit to make her lucky, just this once, and not have Seifer Almasy walk in the door.



Lady Luck was always very fickle.



The jade green eyes were a dead giveaway. If not them, the high, sharply angled cheekbones, perfectly groomed head of rich blonde hair, and tall, imposing, muscular figure that practically took up the entire doorway certainly revealed who it was that had decided to walk in on Quistis.



Seifer freaking Almasy.



Exactly the last person she wanted to see.



At first he just stood there, blinking. It took a moment for his brain to register what his eyes were seeing, but once it did, his jaw slackened in disbelief and he was left speechless. Walls which were once stark white were now mottled with spattered red paint; bedsheets which were once a clean slate gray were now streaked crimson with scrawling letters; furniture that had once been neatly arranged was now strewn with heaps of winding toilet paper.

My.......room........what the....what the HELL happened to it??!?!?

His verdant green eyes narrowed into intense slits of emerald, his eyes radiating a severity and anger that was hard to describe. His fists clenched at his side, his brow furrowed in a mixture of confusion, shock, disbelief, and growing rage.

"Who the hell......" Seifer growled, his words coming out in a low, rumbling snarl that was feral and almost beastly sounding.

Oh Hyne oh hyne oh hyne oh hyne oh hyne oh hyne I can't believe it's him it's HIM he's just standing there I wonder what he's thinking what the hell is going through his head right now oh he looks so angry I think he could kill me but he hasn't said anything yet, he hasn't even moved or looked my way....maybe he hasn't seen me yet maybe he's still in shock.....maybe if I stand here reeeaaaal still he won't even notice I'm here, just don't make a sound and he won't know I'm here.....



Fat chance.



Slowly Seifer turned his head, his eyes still trying to register the sight of his wrecked room. If Seifer thought he was shocked before, though, he certainly was not prepared for what he saw next. For the next thing his eyes fell upon was the half-naked, dripping wet form of Quistis Trepe, standing at his dresser with his underwear drawer wide open and her delicate hands clenched firmly around several pairs of his favorite white boxers.



The surprises just kept coming.



"........Instructor......?!?!??" Seifer's eyes widened in incredulity, his once angered features now filled with bewilderment.

Mentally, Quistis was falling all over herself right now, her mind a frantic chaotic mess of scrambled nerves all screaming at her to MOVE dammit, speak, do something! Instead she just stood there, frozen in place, not knowing what to do. A deer in headlights, as the expression goes.

"Uhh......yeah......it's me......."

Fantastic, Trepe. You are just a mastermind with the words, aren't you??? Holy Mother of Hyne you've done it now. Talk about the shit hitting the fan. Just try and talk yourself out of this one, Quistis.

Seifer's mind was drawing a blank as well, so dumbfounded was he at seeing his very own instructor in front of him, amidst a room that had had the hell vandalized out of it.

She couldn't have......





....could she?



"Uh....what....are you doing in my room?"

As if it wasn't obvious.

"I....ummmm.....well, you see......Seifer, your room is....I can explain........" Quistis stammered, finally finding it in herself to move, although not very gracefully. She started to back away from Seifer as her numbed brain kept stuttering out answers, stumbling backwards in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible.

".....Explain? So....*you* did this to my room??" Anger slowly started to creep into his voice, replacing disbelief as his eyes narrowed again.

"Um....well, yes....but....but it's not like I did it on purpose! I mean....I did do it on purpose...I just.....uh....." Quistis' mouth went dry and her stomach starting churning as she noticed that Seifer had noticed her backing away and was starting to advance on her, fists still clenched at his side and eyes still glaring daggers of death. Fumbling for words, she tried to step back farther, only to find herself trapped against Seifer's bed. Nowhere to go, and Seifer still kept coming forward..... Quistis felt fear gripping her like an ice cold hand, clamping around her heart and freezing her veins.

"Not on purpose? Then tell me....what exactly *were* you thinking when you.....did this to my room, Instructor? And no bullshitting me either.....I can tell when someone is lying and you're in no position to do so right now." Seifer's voice was deep and dangerously quiet, every word coming out slowly and carefully, every syllable a deadly threat in itself.

Scared to death, Quistis felt her legs give out beneath her and she stumbled backwards, dropping heavily onto the bed. He leaned forward, staring directly into her eyes and forcing her to back up against the wall. He had her cornered, and she felt like a trapped animal. His eyes practically glowed as he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer like a time bomb waiting to go off.

"It....I just.....Irvine and Selphie and everyone and even Squall, th-they....they dared me to do it......they told me I couldn't do it, that I was too stuffy and didn't know how to have fun....and they didn't think I could do it so they dared me to, and...and so I did it....I just....didn't want them to think I was afraid, I don't want them thinking I couldn't do it....." The words tumbled out of Quistis, and she gripped tightly the blankets beneath her, grasping huge folds of it in her hands to keep from falling off the bed in anxiety.

She tried to judge Seifer's reaction, but even with his face practically up against hers she couldn't tell what was going through his mind. Frantically her eyes searched his face, trying to discern the slightest trace of emotion at what she'd just told him, but he just stared at her, silent, his intense eyes still peering at her and making her feel very uncomfortable and incredibly nervous.

What could he possibly be thinking right now? Oh please.....I have to know what he's thinking.....

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Seifer suddenly straightened up, threw his head back, and started to laugh. Deep, throaty, and rough, the laughter reverberated around the room, leaving Quistis stunned.

What....why is he laughing?? What the hell is so funny? What is WRONG with him??

Seifer continued to laugh uncontrollably, his hands now clutching his stomach as he double over in mirth.

What the FUCK is going on? Why is he laughing at me? Is this some kind of weird joke to him??

Indignant, Quistis forgot everything else and sat up straight.

"What the hell is so damned funny, Seifer??"

Seifer's laughter was slowly dying away into a hearty chuckle, and he wiped the corner of his eyes where he had been tearing up from laughing so hard.

"It's just that....well I mean come on, Instructor! This is *you* we're talking about here.... I mean, I never took you to be the type to take a dare, especially from a bunch of ignorant twerps like Selphie and that Irvine guy. I never thought you'd have it in you, doing something like this..... The invincible Quistis Trepe, taking dares like some childish middle schooler. I'd never believe it in a million years. You really are something, you know that?"

Quistis felt her face burning with indignation and resentment. How dare he say that to her? Yes, sure, so part of what he was saying was true. But really, he had no *right* telling her that; *he* was the one who was always bullying little kids and acting immature in class. She didn't come here to be here humiliated. Now she was starting to regret that he hadn't just gotten angry and blown up at her; at least she could reason with that. This was worse....now he was laughing at her. Quistis became flushed, reddening in shame and frustration.

"Well I'm glad you're so amused, Seifer. I'll be leaving now, so if you don't mind..." Forgetting about her state of undress, Quistis huffily got up from the bed where she was sitting and brushed by Seifer, not wanting to look him in the face. She was about to make a hasty retreat out the door when a broad strong arm reached out in front of her, stopping her.

"Where do you think you're going so fast? Don't think you're getting off this lightly, Instructor. Don't forget, you did still trash my room....." All signs of mirth had been wiped off Seifer's face now, and he looked at her with complete seriousness. A small frown crossed his thin lips, his arm still steadfast and firmly in Quistis' way.

"Oh, so what, now you're going to punish me? Is that it, Seifer? Don't you think that this is punishment enough, me being humiliated like this? I'm sorry I wrecked your room, ok? All I want to do now is get the hell out of here. Now let me go." Quistis struggled to move forward, but Seifer refused to budge his arm, his hand clamped firmly around the doorframe.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Instructor. You ruined my room. I don't care if it was for some stupid little dare; nobody does that to Seifer Almasy. I'm not letting you leave this room until I get some kind of compensation for what you've done to my property." Seifer's voice was solemn, and Quistis knew that he was serious about what he was saying.. She felt a little bit of the fear she had felt when trapped on Seifer's bed flare up in her throat, but she quickly pushed it down, not wanting to let Seifer's stern voice scare her.

"Compensation? I'm not about to give you compensation of any kind, Seifer. I'm telling you for the last time.... Let. Me. Go."

Seifer sighed heavily. "I don't think you grasp the weight of the situation. See, you may think of what you did as merely a dare, a harmless prank. But I doubt the Balamb Garden Council will think of it as lightly. You wouldn't want to lose your job as an Instructor over something like harassing a student, now, would you?"

Quistis froze, horror sweeping over her. He wouldn't......no......that would just be to cruel. She couldn't lose her Instructor's license a second time, not over something this petty.

"You wouldn't...." she growled, looking up at him. The look in his eyes told her he was perfectly capable of doing so, and this time Quistis couldn't control the fear welling up inside her.

"Well, I'd have to tell them *something* about how my room got this way, and I'm not very good at making stuff up. Besides, you don't seem like the type of woman who would resort to lying to cover up something she's done. Then again.....you do seem to be very full of surprises tonight, don't you? I hope you're not planning on making a habit out of doing the unexpected. Especially when it could end up costing your job...." He was

mocking her now, and for a moment Quistis felt pure hatred for him. He was smirking, *smirking* goddammit, wholly amused with his total control over the situation and the fact that there was no way she could argue with him.

Resignedly, Quistis sighed and stepped away from the door.

"Fine. You win. What do you want?"

"I don't know. Like I said, I just want even compensation for my room. Nothing less, nothing more."

"Well I don't know what you want from me, I'm not big on blackmailing other people. And I'm not about to give you suggestions, so just think of what I owe you and get it over with."

"Well, let's see....what could make up for breaking into my dorm, toilet papering my room, spray painting my bed, and invading my privacy? Don't think I didn't see you rifling through my underwear drawer, Instructor. I doubt that was part of the dare....just can't control these little urges of ours, can we?" Seifer smirked as Quistis flushed a bright red, her mind racing with embarassment. So he'd noticed.

"Don't even THINK for one second that I'm as perverted as you, Seifer! There's no way I'd ever be caught dead going through your stuff. I just happened to be looking for a pair of pants to replace mine....." The second she said it, Quistis regretted it. Seifer took note of her word's and deliberately looked her up and down, assessing her lack of attire, his eyes trailing the length of her bare legs and her dripping T-shirt which barely even reached mid-thigh. Quistis blushed even harder.

"And don't you DARE get any perverted ideas in that head of yours, Almasy! Just because I don't want to lose my job doesn't mean I'm willing to....to...." She trailed off, not wanting to complete that thought. Seifer raised his hands in mock-innocence, a look on his face that said 'who me?'

"It never even crossed my mind. Honest. But....now that you mention it......"

"Don't. Push. Your. Luck."

Seifer grinned. "Alright fine, if you insist on being that way. However, the problem still remains.....how will you repay me?"

Quistis crossed her arms over her chest and looked away testily. "I don't know. I don't really care, as long as no one knows this ever happened."

Seifer made a wry face, suddenly amused with what popped into his head. Quistis could feel him smiling, but she was afraid to turn and look at him, so she kept her eyes fixed on the wall, waiting for him to speak.

"Instructor.....do you remember that time I stole Squall's report and put my name on it? You put me on student probation for a month, making me clean up the classroom and wash blackboards for four weeks straight."

The memory registered vaguely in the back of Quistis' mind. ".......Yes......" Quistis replied hesitantly. What was he getting at?

"Well, I've thought of a perfect plan. You get to be my own personal slave for a whole month. Any errand I don't want to do, any favors I need to be done, you'll do them. You answer to my every little command. A whole month. No questions asked. In return, I don't tell anyone about what you did to my room and you get to keep your job. Simple enough?"

Quistis felt horrified. Obey Seifer's every command, perform his every whim? For a whole month? That was ridiculous! She couldn't think of a worse punishment. Not in a million years. She'd rather trash a dozen students' rooms before agreeing to an absurd request like that.

"Are you kidding me? Absolutely not, Seifer. There is no way in Hell you're going to make me be your personal slave, not for a whole month. Out of the question."

Seifer shook his head sadly, smiling at Quistis' response. She certainly was feisty, he had to give her that. He admired a woman who could stand her ground, especially against him. It's too bad that he had to make her go through this; out of the whole irritating group of Squall's followers, she was the one he'd detested the least. But Seifer never backed down from something he said; if he told her she owed him, then she owed him. And if that meant she had to be his slave for a whole month, well, Seifer certainly wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"I admire your tenacity, Instuctor, but you seem to be forgetting that you're not the only one involved in this little prank of yours. Selphie, Irvine, Zell, Rinoa.....even that detestable Squall Leonhart were all in on this. And your beloved Squall may be the Commander of SeeDs, but Cid still is Headmaster of the entire Garden and his authority overrides that of Puberty-boy's. If you don't do this, I'll make sure every last one of them is held responsible for persecution of a fellow student. I know how the punishment process works here better than anyone; I *am* on the Disciplinary Committee. You may be stubborn, Instructor, but you're not stupid enough to get all of your friends in trouble. No matter what, Seifer Almasy always comes out on top. Always."

Seifer watched Quistis' face for her reaction, and he was more than pleased when her eyes widened in horror and her mouth fell open.

Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Zell.......Squall? Can Seifer really do that? I wouldn't doubt it.....he doesn't seem like the type to bluff..... Oh Hyne I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they all got in trouble because I made such a stupid mistake!

Seifer could see her mind racing, running over all the implications of what he'd told her, and her entire body visibly tensed as she came to a conclusion. Seifer couldn't help smiling inwardly; he'd won. She had no choice. She had to give in.

They should have known better than to mess with me. *Nobody* pulls a prank on Seifer Almasy and gets away with it. Not even Quistis Trepe.

Quistis clenched her fists at her side, her whole body taut. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. Seifer could see her distress, and he felt triumphant.

"Fine. I'll do it. I'll be your 'slave' for one.....whole.....month. Just....don't let word of this get out, don't get anyone in trouble. This is all my doing, not theirs, okay? So leave them out of it."

Victory. "Deal. You keep up your end of the bargain, and I'll keep mine. Seifer Almasy never breaks his word, I assure you." Seifer stoically placed his hand over his heart, grinning widely at Quistis. He even did a grand, sweeping bow, the kind that only a knight would do, the whole time a cheesy grin plastered on his face. Oh, this little deal of theirs was going to be *so* much fun. He was going to make every second of it worthwhile.

Quistis felt her stomach sink. I can't believe it.....I'm Seifer's lapdog.....for a whole *month*......what have I gotten myself into???

Seifer stood up, brushing off his SeeD uniform. "Well. I'm glad we got that whole thing out of the way. Now that that's settled......shall we go?"

Huh?

"What? We? Go where?" Quistis' head jerked up, puzzled by Seifer's words.

Seifer looked at her as if she had just asked him the most obvious question in the world. "What, you don't really expect me to sleep in *here* tonight, do you? Look at this place! I don't know how many rooms you've vandalized, dear Instructor, but you've certainly done a spectacular job of making a mess of mine. And since you *are* obligated to do whatever I say....well, I'm afraid it's your duty to provide me with a place to sleep. So logically, I'll be spending the night in your room. Now....shall we go?" Seifer gestured to the door, waiting for Quistis to lead him to her room as if it were a perfectly normal thing for her to do.

This.....is.......ridiculous. I can't believe he's doing this to me. I can't believe I'm actually going to go along with this. I can't believe I am actually considering the idea of letting Seifer Almasy, *the* Seifer Almasy that has been a thorn in my side since the day we met, spend the night in my room, with me, alone....Oh. Hyne.

Quistis cradled her head in her hands, disbelieving the absurdity of the entire situation. There wasn't much she could do, though. Seifer held all the leverage in this situation, and it *was* her fault that he didn't have a decent place to sleep for the night.

Only for one night.....only for one night.....

"Oh yeah, and before we go, you might want to put these on. You're probably freezing just standing there like that."

Quistis lifted her head only to be hit in the stomach with a big soft wad of dark blue fabric. Seifer had thrown a bundled up pair of sweatpants in her direction and turned his back to her, staring at the wall and crossing his arms as he waited for her to change.

Hmph. That's the first considerate thing he's done all night. I didn't even have to ask him for some pants, or to turn around. Maybe he isn't a complete jerk.........

Quistis unrolled the sweatpants, then stepped into them one foot at a time. She pulled on the thick fleecy material so that the pants came up to her waist, only to find that......

"Seifer!!!!!!!"

"What, what?!? What'd I do?" Seifer spun around.

"These pants are humongous! How am I supposed to wear these? Just look at me!!!" Quistis was practically swimming in the sweatpants, which were drooping way below her waistline, held up only by her own two hands bunching them at the sides. The pantlegs were baggy and far too long for her legs, the material pooling at her feet, covering her toes and then some. Overall she looked downright comical, like a little kid trying on adult

clothes for the first time. His pants practically swallowed her.

Seifer could have laughed his head off at the sight of her, but the serious look on her face told him that he'd be better off saving the humor of the situation for later. "Heh, sorry. Guess I didn't realize you were that much smaller than me. Too bad for you, that's the only size I've got. Everything else I own is either the same size or bigger."

Quistis frowned.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? I doubt I could take a step in these pants without falling over, let alone go all the way over to my room, which is two floors up from here!"

"Well.....you could always go without them.....I certainly wouldn't mind, and it's quite a nice look on you....." Seifer grinned, wagging his eyebrows at her.

"Ugh!! You're disgusting. Never mind, these will have to do. Let's just go; I don't want this night to last any longer than it already has." I just want to go to sleep and forget any of this ever happened. The shorter tonight is the better.

Quistis walked down the hallway, holding up Seifer's sweatpants with one hand and clutching her Instructor's keycard in the other. Seifer idly sauntered beside her, his long legs perfectly capable of keeping up with her as she walked hastily in the direction of her room. Neither of them said anything, only walked side by side in utter silence. Occasionally she glanced up at him through the corner of her eye, only to see Seifer staring straight ahead, hands thrust deep in his pockets. He didn't seem to be showing a lot of emotion, except for the faintest trace of amusement and....contentment? playing upon his features, but that could have been the odd lighting in the Garden hallways. Lack of sleep played weird tricks on the mind.

Finally they reached the door to her room, which was reclusively located at the farthest end of one of the uppermost dormitory halls. These rooms were known for being much larger and nicer than the customary SeeD rooms given to students on the lower floors. Being an Instructor had its perks.

Wordlessly she slipped her card through the ID slot, and the door whooshed open. Quistis quickly walked in without looking behind her to see if Seifer followed. For all she was concerned, he could spend the rest of the night locked out in the hall and it wouldn't bother her in the least. Nope. Not in the least.

Light flooded the room as Quistis flicked the switch to her left, and Seifer let out a low whistle as he surveyed his plush surroundings. Quistis' room had to be at least two, possibly three times the size of normal SeeD rooms, which were designed to comfortably provide two full-grown adult with sleeping and studying areas. The place was well-lit with a number of elegant lamps, giving the entire room an effulgent glow.

Unlike normal SeeD students, instructors were allowed the privilege of being able to put whatever and however much they wanted into their domiciles, and Quistis had put a lot of work into making this place feel like home to her. There were paintings she'd both made and bought hanging on the walls in cultivated frames; a small but expensive glass coffee table stood in front of a large, comfortable-looking peach-colored sofa; a queen-sized bed stood off to the side of the room, complete with a full set of downy pillows and silk sheets.

"Wow, Instructor.... they really treat teachers well, here, don't they? Daamn. If I'd only known....maybe I would have tried harder to pass all those darned SeeD tests...."

"Maybe you should've tried harder because it's the right thing to do. Cheating doesn't get you anywhere, and neither does slacking off."

"Hm. Ever the Instructor, I see." Seifer paused. "Except for when you're wrecking other people's rooms, of course."

Quistis glowered at him, daring him to add anything to that statement. He's never, ever going to let me live this down, is he?

Seifer only responded by brushing off her icy cold glare and striding purposefully over to her full-length couch, which he promptly plopped himself into. He stretched languidly across the entire length of the sofa, his lithe figure impossibly long as he extended his arms above his head and yawned. Quistis watched him with impatience, her arms crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Ahhhhh......this is sooooo nice. I don't understand why you teachers need a bed when you got stuff this nice lying around the place. I tell ya, some people just get plain spoiled."

Quistis bristled at his remark. Spoiled? She worked hard, dammit, dealing with obstinate kids every day, spending hours a night grading srcribbled papers, going over tests and lesson plans with the utmost scrutiny. She thought she more than deserved a nice couch in her room.

"Seifer, I didn't bring you here so you could affront my lifestyle. I brought you here because I felt the tiniest bit guilty about ruining your room, and because it was only practical to have you stay here because you have nowhere else to go. Of course, I think this more than balances for what little guilt I felt, so please stop trying to insult me. It's the last thing I need right now, okay?"

To her surprise, Seifer's face fell a little and he actually looked genuinely sorry that he had called her spoiled. He murmured something under his breath that she couldn't make out, but it almost sounded like it could've been.....an apology? No way. Seifer never apologized. It had to have been her imagination.

Maybe she could have been a little less harsh, though......

If Seifer had felt at all remorseful, he quickly got over it and moments later showed no sign of it. He jumped off her couch and walked directly into her bathroom, calling out behind him, "I'm using it first, so you'll have to wait!" and then shutting the door behind him. He hadn't even asked.

Finally alone, Quistis sank exhaustedly into her couch, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She massaged her throbbing temples, felt like screaming, but settled for sighing heavily.

What a night......

She realized that all her muscles were tensed so rigid it was to the point of aching. Forcing herself to relax, she breathed in and out, letting herself sink farther and farther into the soft, comforting recesses of her couch. Through the bathroom door, she could hear the rushing noise of the faucet and the faint sound of Seifer brushing his teeth.

Quistis shook her head. The entire situation, this entire freaking night had been so absurd, so preposterously surreal that she had no choice but to go with the flow. She still couldn't believe that directly in the next room, her very own bathroom, Seifer Almasy was brushing his teeth. Brushing. His. God. Damned. Teeth. It was like they were freaking married.

"Unnnngh...." Quistis pulled herself up from the couch. She dragged her feet over to her dresser and pulled out a smaller, much more fitting pair of light grey sweatpants and changed into them, doing so as quickly as possible in case Seifer didn't believe in brushing his teeth for very long. Turning around, she expertly tossed Seifer's sweats onto the arm of her sofa.

Spotting the plush pillows lining the sides of the couch, she walked over to them and picked them all up in an armful, squeezing the pillows to her in a possessive embrace as she walked them over to her bed and plunked them down there. Seifer was only getting the bare necessities for sleep tonight. He was lucky she wasn't making him sleep on the floor. All right, so she had messed up his place, and it was only fair that she let him stay the night. That didn't mean she was about to make his stay a pleasant one, though.

Laying herself stomach down on the bed, Quistis stretched herself as far out as she could go, moaning in satisfaction as she buried her face into the cluster of pillows now crammed around the head of her bed. She wriggled around a little, pushing around the blankets to mold to her form, then lay still, face embedded in the shrine of soft pillows.

Mmmm.....sleep.....finally......I never thought tonight would end......thank Hyne it's over.......

Quistis felt herself being pulled into the warm comfort of her bed, falling deeper and deeper into its pliant folds. Her breath heated the pillows, and she reveled in the feeling as warmth spread across her entire face, her eyes firmly closed. Sleep called to her, beckoning her tired brain into its calming, tranquil depths, making sweet promises of rest and forgetful bliss.

Bed........feels....so.....good......so.........warm.......just..........want...........sleep............slee

p.............slee-

"Quistis!!!!! Do you have any dental floss??? I can't find any in your cupboard..... It's all just shampoo bottles and girly crap like that. ...Hey, Quistis? Quistis, you still breathing over there?? Some help here please!!"

Quistis screamed with all her might into her pillow.

AAAAUUUUUUUGHHHH!!!!!! That asshole!!!!! I was *just* starting to fall asleep, and he has to practically wake up the whole frickin' Garden because he wants *dental floss*?!?!?! I'm going to kill him!!!!!

She stormed out of bed and over to her linen closet, where she kept extra dental floss in case she ran out. Picking up one of the small white plastic cases, she hurled it at the bathroom door with all her might. Ideally, Seifer would have opened the door at that exact moment, allowing the dental floss to bean him right smack in the face. That would have made Quistis feel a lot better.

Instead, the dental floss harmlessly bounced off the bathroom door, to land with a pathetic little 'plink' on the ground.

"There! There's your goddamned dental floss, I hope you're happy! Now for Hyne's sake, please, just let me go to sleep!!!" Stomping her way over to her bed, Quistis adamantly flopped herself back down onto it, stubbornly burying her face back into her pillows. She listened as the bathroom door opened, and Seifer leaned over to pick up the dental floss. She remained perfectly still as she heard the plastic case be pulled off the floor, then tensed as she realized Seifer still wasn't closing the door. Was he just.....standing there?

Quistis' heart raced as the thought crossed her mind. Is he watching me? Oh Hyne, I bet he's just standing there looking at me like the pervert he is, thinking Hyne know's wha--

The door squeaked a little before clicking firmly shut behind him. The sound of water rushing started again.

Quistis' pulse slowed back down again, and she relaxed. She almost felt a little....disappointed.....

Oh hell. I just hope he's happy with the dental floss. If he wakes me up again for soap or something stupid like that, I'm just going to have to beat him senseless with a textbook. That guy can be so aggravating....

Sighing, Quistis turned her head to the side so she was looking at the blank surface of the bathroom door. Having her face in the pillows didn't allow her the luxury of breathing, so she settled for laying sideways.

Good. He's quiet in there. *Now* I can finally get back to sleep. Ugh........my muscles are so sore.......I really love this mattress......

Quistis felt her eyelids getting heavy, drooping until she couldn't hold them open any longer.

Back....to....sleep........

The toilet flushed, and Seifer threw the door wide open, allowing a flood of blinding light to fall directly onto Quistis' face. He stood in the doorway, his massive silhouette casting a shadow across her prone, but now completely awake, form.

I'm.......going........to........strangle.......him.......

Quistis' eyes flew open, her mind filled with every intention of throttling the figure standing in her bathroom doorway.

"Seifer.....what the hell do you think you're--"

She was stopped, though, when her eyes adjusted to the light and she realized that she was staring at Seifer's naked, muscular chest. He was wearing only the black formal pants that belonged to the SeeD uniform, his belt and shirt slung casually over his shoulder. Quistis' mind went blank as she stared at his bare torso: firm, tall, rippling with bronzed muscle, hard and tanned to perfection..... The light thrown on him from the bathroom surrounded his form with a soft glow, highlighting every lithe feature on his body.

.......sexy........

Seifer's eye caught Quistis' and she realized she was gawking. She mentally slapped herself silly, shaking herself out of her hormone-induced reverie. Oh Hyne I can't *believe* what I was just thinking about Seifer with his shirt....off......SNAP OUT OF IT Quistis! This is *Seifer* we're talking about here.....the man who bugs the living daylights out of you? Almost got you fired? Twice? And happens to look incredibly good without a shirt on, showing off all that perfectly sculpted muscle and--oh Hyne.....I need to stop thinking. Right. Now.

Seifer was grinning crazily inwardly. He had most definitely caught Quistis admiring him in only his SeeD pants, and he could see her berating herself mentally for it right now. Could he help it if he was so damned irresistable?

Externally Seifer remained entirely calm, showing no sign that he had acknowledged Quistis' momentary lapse of self-restraint. Coolly he walked over to the couch, where he slung the shirt and belt off his shoulders and dumped them on top of the sweatpants. He bent over the couch, readjusting the cushions so they were more accommodating to his liking.

Quistis recollected her wits, determined not to let Seifer get to her. "Seifer....you're not planning to sleep like that, are you?"

He barely looked up at her, turning his head only the slightest bit in her direction as he remained stooped over the sofa, patting the cushions.

"Well, it's either this or I sleep in just my boxers like I normally do. Although....who knows, you might like that outfit better.....you certainly seem to have a penchant for looking at my underwear......." Seifer raised an eyebrow at her suggestively, straightening up so he could look her straight in the face, at the same time conveniently giving her a head-on view of his chiseled figure.

Quistis quickly buried her face back into her protective pillows, out of disgust for Seifer's nonchalance and embarassment at the fact that she had caught herself admiring Seifer's bare upper body for a second time that night and she was starting to blush.

Dammit.....what the hell is wrong with me?

"Ugh...do whatever you want. And don't ever mention boxers to me again, Seifer. You know perfectly well I have absolutely no interest in your underwear whatsoever." Her voice came out muffled from behind the pillows, but she didn't care. She just wanted him to disappear right now. He was troubling her mind more than enough to last her a lifetime.

"Sure....." he said quietly, although he really knew that Quistis wasn't looking through his boxers drawer for her own pleasure, he was just poking fun at her because, well, he liked to see her squirm. It wasn't often he found something that he could use against the icy Instructor, and he certainly wasn't about to let her live it down. Not for a while, anyway.

Quistis refused to look back up at him or respond, so he turned off the light and flopped down onto the couch, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the dark ceiling. He tried closing his eyes, but he felt so restless right now, so fitfully awake that the attempt didn't last long. He looked over to where Quistis was lying face down in bed, and he watched her breathe for a while, trying to judge whether or not she was still awake. What the hell. He was still awake, so it didn't really matter. She was just going to have to be awake with him.

"Quistis?"

Quistis didn't respond. She just lay there, silently wishing that he wouldn't push any farther. Just pretend you're asleep....maybe he'll go away.....maybe he'll just shut up and leave me alone and I can finally finally go to sleep.....

"Quistis? You awake?"

No...please.....for Hyne's sake, please just be quiet and go to sleep!!

"Hey! You awake over there?"

"MmmmMMNNNGH." Quistis groaned into her pillow. Hyne, this guy just never gave up.

"What *now*, Seifer?"

"I dunno. I just couldn't sleep, that's all. Wanted to see if you were awake."

Holy Shiva. He's like a little kid, only worse! At this rate, I'm *never* going to get to sleep. I swear, he's doing it on purpose....he's doing this because he knows it'll drive me crazy and I won't, can't do nything about it because it's part of our stupid little deal. Hyne.

"Well I am now, thanks to you. Seifer, why don't you just count sheep or something....I'd really like to go to sleep......"

Seifer shifted on the couch so that he was halfway sitting up on the couch, his hands still firmly secured behind his head. "I'd really like to and all, but sleep just isn't doing it for me right now. So.....since you're my slave and all now, I'd like you to entertain me while I can't sleep. Just....I dunno. Talk or something."

You.....have....GOT.....to....be....kidding.....me.

"........Talk, Seifer? You don't exactly strike me as the type of person who enjoys friendly conversation. And I know I'm not the type who enjoys it at freaking one AM in the morning. Find something else to entertain you. I'm going back to sleep."

"Aw c'mon, Instructor. I'm bored. I hate being bored. Shoot, you didn't even give me a blanket or anything to sleep with! I'm surprised I'm not freezing to death over here."

"Well that's just TOO BAD for you because that's all you're going to get. What are you anyway, some kind of baby? Why don't you just go put on a shirt for Hyne's sake?"

"Cuz.....that'd be too simple. I'm here to be a pain in your ass, remember?"

Quistis sighed. He was most certainly right about that.

"Ungh......fine......if you INSIST.......just what exactly would you like to talk about, now that I'm completely wide awake?"

Seifer laid back thoughtfully, the soft velvet of the sofa's cushion cool against the warm skin of his bare back.

"Hmmm.....well......for starters......what *were* you doing in my underwear drawer, anyway? I mean, aside from the fact that you're so undeniably wild for me and had the uncontrollable urge to go on a boxer raid."

Quistis forced herself not to move, quelling the urge to get up and whack Seifer upside the head.

"Seifer, I thought I told you never to mention boxers to me again."

"Yeah, well, I don't ever remember agreeing to that. So.....gonna tell me or what?"

Ugh. Might as well just tell him and get it over with....maybe it'll get him to finally shut up and go to sleep.

"If I tell you.....will you promise to stop asking me stupid questions and let me go to sleep?"

Seifer frowned in the darkness, thinking this over.

"I.....guess so. Yeah, sure, whatever. Just tell me, will ya?"

"I slipped and fell when I was spray painting your bed, and when I got up I did it too quickly and I got dizzy so I sat down on your bed. The paint was still wet and it got all over my pants, so I went to wash it off and you happened to walk in on me when I was searching for something else to wear. That's it. Happy now?"

He remained silent for a while, a little disappointed at Quistis' factual story. He was kind of expecting something a little more exciting as to why she was walking around his room half naked, but if this was all he was going to get out of her....

"Yeah. Sure. All good now."

"Good." Quistis mumbled. Maybe now I can finally get some rest.....

Seifer remained true to his word, and didn't say anything. He just lay there silently, staring up at the shadowy ceiling, restless thoughts racing through his vigilant brain.

Maybe I really am bothering her. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on the girl.....after all, she was just doing it to prove something to her friends, incompetent twits as they may be. It's not like I don't know what it feels like, to have people doubt your abilities...... Shit. Am I getting soft? What the hell am I talking about? She deserves anything I dish out to her. I've got every right to make the next four weeks of her life a living hell; she completely trashed my room. Besides, how often do I get chances like this, anyway?



Seifer flipped over onto his side, one arm dangling listlessly over the side of the couch. He reached over and felt the smooth, cool surface of the glass coffee table. He started to drum his fingers on the table, half on purpose to annoy Quistis, and half out of sheer boredom.

........what the hell is he doing now? I thought he said he'd be quiet......

"Seifer....." she mumbled groggily, her eyes still closed tightly.

Seife responded by drumming harder on the table.

"Seifer." she replied more firmly, starting to become really annoyed with his rapping on her coffee table.

Seifer didn't say anything.

Ugh......he's doing it on purpose again. Dammit. I haven't been stuck in this stupid deal for more than an hour, and he's already driving me crazy. How am I going to last a whole month like this?

Determined to build up a shell of resistance to Seifer's tactics, Quistis turned over in bed to face the wall, covering her ears with pillows to drown out the monotonous, drilling sound of Seifer's fingers tapping against the glass tabletop.

Eventually, the drumming slowed, then finally ebbed away into silence as Seifer's breathing grew slower, deeper. He was finally falling asleep.

The silence was a welcome rapture to Quistis' tired ears, and as she finally began to submerge herself into the blissful realm of slumber, the last thought that ran through her mind was that before the end of the week was out, Seifer was going to drive her completely, absolutely, insane.







Author's Notes: Hmmmmm. I rather like the idea of Quistis being Seifer's personal slave, don't you? Just wait until chapter four when Seifer really starts to put his power over her to use.....hehehe oh the ideas I have...... R&R, please!!! Reviews/comments are much appreciated.