Disclaimer: I do not and never will own any of the Squaresoft Characters, they are copyright to their respective owners.  However, Amelia and any other character to appear in this story are of my own creation and therefore should not be used (like the ever will be…) without my expressed permission.

Chapter Two – First Impressions

For a while the pair continued to observe one another, lips pursed as each attempted to understand exactly what was going through one another's mind.  For the most part, no results could be found and idly, each could only glare, however, Amelia became aware of the penetrating stare Sephiroth held and soon dropped her gaze, defeated in a sense, but she had never been one for confrontation in all honest truth.  Once again silence fell and Amelia found new interest within her shoes, obviously new like the rest of her uniform and unbroken for with every movement...they squeaked, in fact such a thing probably didn't help her much in regards to fitting in, it was easy to pick out the 'newbies' simply by their uniforms.

"If you live within the slums then how did you even manage to get into a school like this?" Sephiroth at last spoke, allowing his tone to house a small note of curiosity that he should have technically hidden, for what he had said was not welcomed particularly well.

"Excuse me?" Amelia repeated, her voice threatening to break out of absolute astonishment, was he merely classifying her according to where she was brought up and lived for that matter?

"Well, as you said yourself the people within the slums are considered to be inferior to those who live upon the plate," he pointed out, his expression guarded as he attempted to explain himself, true, he had never really been uncomfortable through a confrontation but somehow, things almost seemed a little different at present, "If they are so inferior to those on the plate then how on earth can you explain your place within this school?" he enquired and she blinked.  A realisation came over her features and she pursed her lips momentarily, so he hadn't meant what she had though he meant.

"My grades were seen by the school...this school, apparently, one of my teachers recommended me because they thought I could do better than what they were able to give me in my old school," she seemed to shrugged carelessly and sighed as she began to brush off the dust from her skirt and attempted to knock the creases off her skirt as the material had an uncanny ability to kink easily if sat in one place for too long.

"So, what you are trying to say is that you were simply transferred because you have capabilities that even this school can see?" he pointed out slowly, at first she didn't quite understand whether he was trying to grasp the current situation and understand it or whether he thought he understood it but needed confirmation, evidently the second was more likely and she nodded briefly.

"Something like that..." she replied at last and clasped her hands together self consciously.  Another uncomfortable silence followed and each found themselves either staring at a wall or at their feet however, Sephiroth had never looked down in submission in his life and the lockers had become increasingly interesting throughout this current conversation.  It seemed that neither could quite grasp who the other thought about certain subjects and so, neither would step out of line...well not yet anyway.

"So..." Amelia spoke again and found no more words.  The two, seemed to be unable to communicate, odd considering the fact that within their own circles of friends or in Sephiroth's case 'Acquaintances' they could say whatever they liked, though the only way of explaining this was to simply point out the differences in their upbringings, after all, one was wealthy while the other wasn't quite so well off, their traditions and opinions were different yet here they were, at least attempting to make a conversation.

"Are you still afraid of your sandwich?" he piped up at last, allowing a rare smile to linger upon his lips briefly.  The once mature face transformed into that of a playful boy and Amelia gasped, he seemed almost normal! At that point he resembled the boys she was familiar with within the slums, playful, hopeful, humorous...His eyes glittered for a few moments and at that moment she began to warm to him, if he could at least smile in such a way then surely he could talk like someone she was more familiar with?

"Only when it's in the cafeteria..." Amelia confessed in a soft voice, pursing her lips and lowering her gaze again.  Sephiroth shuffled upon his spot for a moment, an odd action for one always so sure of himself but something was conflicting with him internally and within moments he let out a thoughtful sigh.

"I suppose...I could always break the rules..." he mused as he glanced down at the shy figure that had her head bowed and hands tightly clasped together in some form of self assurance.

"I thought head of years weren't meant to do that," she murmured and lifted a hand, it paused within the air and she became aware of the hair bristling upon the back of his neck, his muscles tensing as he observed her fingertips.  Slowly, she moved her hand through the gap between them and placed her fingertips to the gold circular badge that glittered against the black material that made up his blazer.  She allowed her hand to linger for a moment before moving it away again and Sephiroth seemingly fought back a sigh of relief, "Don't think I hadn't noticed," she finished and once again silence fell.

Such a silence seemed to be impossible to break however, at that moment her stomach decided to make a point of making her note that it was extremely hungry and in need of food, she blushed...a deep red and placed her hands to her cheeks.

"This way," Sephiroth murmured at last, the corners of his lips threatening to twitch again as he turned on his heel and walked down the corridor once more.  He could tell she was soon following him by the 'tap, tap, tap' of her heels against the tiled floor and slowed down to a slow walk, his strides almost impossible to match especially considering her size, "Where are your bags?" he enquired as an afterthought and she shrugged.

"I don't actually know," she commented in a soft voice as she folded her arms round herself protectively, "In the bin somewhere?" she offered meekly until he developed a small frown, "I didn't actually care about my bag when I was well..." she didn't finish but he nodded, she had said enough.  Regardless, something caught his eye and he quirked a brow.

"Does your bag happen to be yellow with white wings hanging out either side?" he murmured and she glanced up very suddenly, he took that as a yes and swiped it from atop one of the lockers, no one, would be seen dead in this school with a bag like that and since she was new he could pretty much assume it was hers.  She blushed and took it from his outstretched hands, examining first exterior then content before sighing almost mournfully, "Is something wrong?" he enquired and she shrugged.

"Not really..." she replied gently and zipped it shut, hugging it close to her chest and offering a small smile, "Thank you by the way," she added and tilted her head to one side, "But where's your bag?" she asked curiously until he glanced at her ever so slightly.

"Lounge..." he offered with a delicate shrug, shoulders rolling naturally in elongated ovals before relaxing once more within their places. 

"We have a lounge?!" Amelia enquired in absolute astonishment once more, in all her time here no one had mentioned a lounge, mind you...they hadn't mentioned the games room either and the only way she had discovered its existence was to actually stumble upon it...she shivered at the small memory and then pursed her lips.

"Indeed," he seemed surprised by her lack of knowledge regarding what the school had to offer, "However, very few people use it, the Games Room tends to be the most common place to 'hang out' I believe," he was the first to offer her an explanation and despite herself she couldn't help but feel that maybe he could be considered some sort of friend to her.

"Oh," it was the only sort of reply she could offer to his comments and bit her lower lip as they made their way up a set of steps, already she felt uneasy, she had sprinted down these steps a while ago...they led to the games room, however, he passed the games room and instead came to another door, curling his fingers around the handle and pushing the door open.  At once, Amelia could make out the various faces that were engrossed within work, books or even newspapers, but unlike the games room, there was almost complete silence.  In fact the only sounds were whispered debates over answers regarding school work or even politics...they weren't allowed to argue about politics in the slums...

"Welcome to the lounge," Sephiroth's voice murmured in her ear as he pushed her inwards and closed the door, a few glanced up and nodded in greeting before returning to their work...she wasn't being judged? A shy smile appeared upon her lips as she began to pad across the carpeted floor, taking in the surroundings that she now resided in, it was just so cosy...

Within the lounge, a very traditional feel could emanate from the walls and furniture, hard backed, mahogany chairs with cushioned fronts held old, carved workmanship.  The walls, lay home to many unusual works of art, scenery to portraits they all stared down at her and upon the centre wall rested a fire place, crackling in greeting towards her...it was so odd, the only thing she had ever really seen as a source of heat was the mako generated radiators...Regardless, she drew her hands along one of the seats and sat down experimentally.  The already seated Sephiroth bit his lower lip as the poor girl sank into the cushioned chair and let out a surprised squeak, nevertheless, she soon recovered and tugged herself into a more comfortable position, tugging her feet up onto the chair so that she was curled up against the back and the arm closest towards him.

"Eat this," he ordered, keeping his voice still low as he tossed her the sandwich, it didn't smell of fish...it was something else but either way she was hungry and soon began to eat, it was during this time that she could observe each of the people within the lounge, well aware that they were just as curious of her as they were to her.

"Thank you..." she whispered and tilted her head to one side as she took in his appearance, well, he was certainly tall, athletic with well defined muscles beneath the shirt, she didn't have to be a genius to work that out, long silver hair, seemed to glistened like dew upon a leaf against the firelight and on occasions even took on a reddish hue, such hair surrounded the delicate features of his face and as he rested his chin upon pianist fingers she focused on his eyes...those eyes that she had attempted for quite some time to understand.  In this lightly, within the slight shadows that he had retreated to, they had taken on a ghostly glow, they held a knowledge and yet a sense of loneliness within them and despite his formidable appearance she couldn't help but wonder if there was something much deeper lingering within this boy...after all, he had looked his age when he had smiled but now he had seemingly put up a face to hide his true personality...

"So, what were your first impressions of this school when you approached and entered it?" he enquired at last.

"First impressions?"

"First impressions..." he repeated and she sighed thoughtfully, what were her first impressions?

"Well, when I first saw the school it was from a distance, I had to arrive on the train and the tracks pass it a long way off...at first I couldn't quite believe the size but when I drew nearer it seemed even bigger than when I had first thought, nevertheless, I thought it was beautiful," she confessed almost shyly, "Not like the schools in the slums, we don't have grass...we have to have our sports in halls or on gravel pitches and even then they aren't that great, but here...well, the grounds are lovely..." she paused as she took a few moments to reflect on the interior of the school, "Like the lounge," at last she continued, "Everything within the school is very impressive, beautiful...alluring,, it's a comfort in some places such as here, it seems almost homely..."

"And the people?" Sephiroth continued.

"I have yet to form a complete opinion regarding them..." she confessed and with that, she nibbled experimentally on the sandwich once more before biting down into it, savouring the rich taste as she took part in the daily ritual of feeding herself, but wait a minute...didn't he need this to eat?