(a/n: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm so sorry that I took so long to post up this chapter, but I was waiting until I had at least 28 reviews, as I did for every other chapter. Unfortunately, this was not so *sob*. But that's okay! I love the reviews I already have! So…read! ^_^.)
***
Chapter Seven- Great Ways to Chase Away Women...
***
Selphie fell gratefully onto her bed when back in Garden. She had hoped to sleep during the boat ride, but Seifer was throwing out rude comments to Zell and Quistis was yelling in hopes to shut him up. While that was happening, Squall was interrogating Selphie on what had happened while she was held captive. She remembered their conversation distinctly.
" What happened while you were prisoner of the assassin?"
" Stuff."
" Selphie, be more specific."
" Beat us, shot me, married me and Seifer, beat us more, uhh...more beating?"
" ....."
She was tired! Couldn't he have left the questioning for...next month, perhaps? Men were so ignorant! Well, whatever. She was going to sleep and was never, ever, going to wake up.
***
" MISSION, GOOD?" Fujin asked when Seifer stepped into Raijin's room. It was now their official hangout, since the new disciplinary committy snagged room 007. Seifer shrugged and fell back onto Raijin's beanbag chair. It had never felt better to be back in his trench coat and normal attire, minus the necklace, of course. He made a mental note to get that back from that little messenger girl as he took in the familiar sights in Raijin's room.
Weird was a word not suitable enough to describe the condition of the burly man's room. It was illuminated (if you would call it that) by black lights and Halloween decorations covered the wall. Pictures of 'The Friday Girl' from Timber Maniacs also graced one side of the wall, even though Fujin was on a rampage to get her brother to remove it.
" Hey, heard ya got married to Selphie, ya know," Raijin said over his shoulder as he dug under his mattress for any food. " Did ya get any action from her?"
" IDIOT!" Fujin threw a nearby textbook at Raijin's head from the desk she was sitting on and it was a perfect hit.
" Oww...what, Fuj?" He rubbed the spot where the book had landed, giving Fujin a hurt look. Not that it really meant anything; she beat him all the time. " She broke up with that Kinneas guy a long time ago, ya know!"
" On the rebound?" Seifer asked, suddenly interested in their conversation. " How long ago were they together?"
" 'Bout six months ago, but then Selphie dumped him, ya know."
" RAGE."
" Yeah...he was pretty pissed about it. She had no real reason, so he decided to get back at her by going out with Quistis, ya know."
" Trepe let him use her?"
" OBLIVIOUS."
" As Fuj says. That guy laid it on thick with her and she fell into it. But I heard they're serious now, ya know!"
" VERY."
" Now with Rinoa and Squall, that's another story--"
" Woah, woah, hold it!" Seifer held out his hand and shook his head. " When did all of this happen?"
" During your training," Fujin said, loosing her vocal problem momentarily. " But I guess that doesn't matter, does it? After all--"
" It's not my problem," Seifer finished, standing up hastily. " Listen, I gotta go."
Although Seifer hadn't gotten any rest since he had been in the Deling Hotel with Selphie (even that wasn't classified as complete relaxation, it was difficult to sleep fully with someone like Selphie so close to your body) he barreled through Garden students at an exceptional pace. Screw sleeping, it was just a waste of time anyway. What he needed were answers...and he wouldn't back down without them.
That stupid mission. His thoughts were consumed with either Selphie or that stupid mission! Why had he even strived to become SeeD? On his shoulders, the weight was double the amount of pay he received. Was it fair? He certainly didn't think so. On top of it all, mind games seemed to be a popular trend in employers. Seifer took a turn to the right and knocked over Xu, leaving behind a stack of graded essays strewn on the floor. She cried out something to the tune of '...crazy bastard!' but he didn't dwell on finding out what it was. The elevator was now before him and for a moment he paused before stepping in.
When he had reached the third floor, all it took was one look delivered carefully to the secretary to let him in. The office of Cid had been re-built so that it was behind the platform, which led to the deck. The size had been reduced considerably; it was smaller than a room of a Balamb Garden student.
" Seifer?" Cid looked up from his paper, astonished to see the blonde man in front of him. Seifer strode straight up to the desk and placed his hands on the edges while leaning in to Cid. He intended to make this short and straight to the point; if he didn't play his cards right, he could wind up listening to Cid drone on and on about things of no relevance. It had happened countless times to unsuspecting students.
" Why did you give me the mission?" he demanded, struggling to refrain from raising his voice.
" It was what I thought to be a simple task, and I knew that you would be a great asset. You also wanted a mission to authenticate yourself as SeeD, am I not correct?"
" You never informed me about the assassin! I don't understand why I was a tag along to Selphie Timlett!"
" Seifer, I know you've had some problems in the past...Selphie knew this too," He paused and slipped off his glasses, then rubbed the bridge of his nose. " You have trouble listening to orders. I felt that if I told you what the true intent of the mission was, you would have been hasty and taken matters into your own hands. But I wanted to see whether or not you had changed from the boy I knew...whether you were a man."
Seifer flinched and his grip on the desk hardened.
" I...don't understand."
" You listened to Selphie, as I had expected, and when you were in danger, you took proper control of the situation. Now I can trust you enough to inform you about global missions, which, as you know, are very important when regarding Balamb SeeDs reputation. Selphie need no longer accompany you. But I was right to set the two of you together."
" ...Why would you give such an important assignment to Selphie?" Seifer released his grip, although inside he was even more furious. Cid had been testing him? Seifer had a strong urge to give the old man one, but inside, he knew what the Headmaster had said was only truth. It was generous enough of him to re-admit Seifer into Garden. Cid had tracked down Seifer when he had left Garden and had persuaded him to become SeeD. He had said that there was promise in him, if only he would learn to control his temper. Well, if anything, he needed another dose of temper management, and fast.
" Ah, yes, Selphie Timlett." Cid leaned back in his chair. " She is a grand fighter but...I urge you not to divulge this information to her...she really was not suitable for the job. I had intended to send Squall Leonhart and Quistis Trepe, but there was the problem of Squall being the son of Laguna Loire, which easily could have been used against him. I do hope that those Estharians hadn't caught on when Squall was sent to rescue the two of you and...ahem...where was I?"
" Selphie?"
" Yes, well, there were other alternative choices, such as Irvine Kinneas ro Zell Dincht as well, but then I thought of you. Seifer, you were excellent for the job since your speed and senses are your dominant strengths, but as I said before, I had to be careful...so I thought of Selphie. She's such a mellow girl, so nice and cheery...ah, are you shuddering?"
"...No. Of...course not..."
" Well then, since she's ...just the complete opposite of you; I thought not only will she be able to complete the mission, but she could bring you out of that hole you're always in. You were always such an unhappy boy who enjoyed bullying people and--"
" Sorry, Headmaster, but it didn't work."
" Hmm?"
" Selphie failed miserably with her 'sub-mission," Seifer informed, crossing his arms. " I say you should demote her."
Cid laughed loudly, holding onto his side with one hand and his head with the other. By the enflamed cheeks, Seifer had a fear that the old man would burst but soon he had composed himself, wiping away remaining tears.
" Seifer, my boy, you're going to be seeing a lot more of Miss.Timlett...or should I say Mrs. Almasy?"
Between gritted teeth, Seifer managed to speak, " What...do you mean?"
" Your marriage is official! A bit of a sad way to begin a life together, but it will take quite a bit of time before you can annul this bond. You remember the law, don't you?"
" Mother fu--"
" Heh heh, I understand your irritation. Just try not to kill anyone along the way; perhaps Selphie does have enough time to work away at you! Dismissed!"
Gladly, Seifer stormed out of Cid's office, this time taking with him a few awards, which previously were on the wall; now they graced the floor.
***
Selphie: noun. An annoying, giggly, temperamental woman who now holds the status of Mrs. Seifer Almasy. She can be found in the Quad during sunny days and sings during rainy days in her dorm room.
The definition of the woman he loved. Or hated. Hyne, he had no idea what he felt about her. Just last week he felt incomplete without having her, but after the mission when he found out that she didn't fully trust him...not to mention how friendly she was with Leonhart in the Dollet hotel. Maybe she was using him how Irvine had to Quistis. He groaned. At least he wouldn't be forced to live with her during the duration of their one-year marriage. Did she even know about that law? If she didn't, then it was her own problem. All he needed was a prescription of completely steering clear of that girl.
Seifer pulled out his keycard and slipped it into his dorm room slot. In a tired haze, he pulled off his trench coat and threw it onto his bed.
" Hey!!!"
Seifer shouted and tackled the intruder to the floor. The person kicked his leg but in seconds he had the offender pinned.
It was Selphie. Go figure.
" What are you doing in here?" Seifer asked, still keeping her pinned underneath him. " Do you get lost that easily?"
" No, I need somewhere to hide out!" Selphie said, writhing uselessly. It was obvious she hated every minute of being at Seifer's mercy, and he couldn't help smirking. Slowly, painfully for her probably, he released her and was rewarded with a sharp smack on the face.
" Watch it, Almasy," Selphie said, taking her seat back on the bed. " No one messes with me." She checked the bottom of her boots, fluffed her hair and then rocked back with her arms underneath her legs.
Seifer was still in shock that Selphie had even dared to hit him. He blinked a few times but then frowned and walked to where Selphie was. In a single sweep he picked her up and hauled her over his shoulder. She kicked his chest and beat his back but that didn't slow him down. He left his room and began walking down the dormitory halls.
" So where should I throw you?" Seifer asked over his shoulder to his wife. " The dumpster outside the Garden, the fountain or the stream in the Training Area?"
" Grr...is this any way to be treating your majorly cute and sweet wife?" Selphie demanded. " See if I ever bake you anything!"
" C'mon, tell me where you wanna land or I'll choose myself."
" How about I land my foot in your ass!" Selphie shouted. " I can't believe that for an entire year I'm going to be your wife!"
" You know about the law," Seifer said, idly. He swung around suddenly and Selphie's head connected with the wall with a loud thunk.
" Arg! You bastard!"
" This is just to teach you never to come in my room again!" Seifer stopped and Selphie painfully craned her neck up to see that they were at the entrance of the dormitories. She moved her head to the side to see a bench, and what looked like the fountain.
" You wouldn't..."
" I would." Seifer laughed but stopped short and instead cried out when Selphie pinched his back by lifting up the bottom of his shirt. Mentally, he kicked himself for forgetting his trench coat. Quickly, before she could inflict any more pain on him, Seifer grabbed Selphie around the waist tightly and with both hands, held her above the fountain upside down. She shrieked and looked absolutely furious, her face becoming red not only from the blood rushing down.
" Stay out of my room," Seifer said, quickly raising a hand to her thigh so that her dress wouldn't ride up.
" Up yours!" Selphie countered. She was a tough one. Seifer lowered her down until the tips of her hair brushed against the fountain water. " I have every right to be there! We're married, you know!"
" I'm getting a restraining order," muttered Seifer, lowering Selphie a bit more. Now an inch of her hair was soaking up the water.
" SELPHIE!!!"
Out of literally nowhere, dozens of Garden students surrounded Seifer and began to advance on him with a crazed look in their eyes.
" Let go of Selphie!" someone called out from the back of the mob.
" Yes, we demand to unhand her, you fiend!"
" LEAVE ME ALONE!" Selphie cried out. " I CAN HANDLE THIS MYSELF!" to Seifer, she said low enough so that the students couldn't hear, " Get me out of here, or else. These guys used to be Trepies!"
Seifer narrowed his eyes and examined the closest ones. Three guys that he had seen in the cafeteria day in and day out who had never passed the field-test due to Miss.Trepe's wonderful existence and two girls, one with a ponytail and the other with short hair. The girls he was afraid of the most. They had once cornered him when he had dumped Gastric Juice on Quistis in class. It was actually quite funny when her clothes began to dissolve but those girls didn't think so. Luckily, he just showed them the blade of his beloved weapon and they backed off. He had no weapon right now.
He lifted Selphie up from the water and laid her on the ground. She swayed when she leapt up but then she ran into the dorms without a word while the former Trepies followed her quickly. Seifer pushed his way through the crowd and noticed Irvine and Zell around the front. Chickenwuss would be an easy target for interrogation, he had no strength to fight back. Seifer grabbed the blonde by the collar and waited until the crowd had disappeared after Selphie before pushing him against the wall.
" What the hell's going on?" Seifer growled. " When we had come back a day ago, everything was normal. Now everyone is going after Selphie like she's a witch or something!"
Zell choked out something and Seifer loosed the death grip on his collar.
" ...Yo, it's nothin', we just think that she's hot and single...that's all...will you let go of me?"
" Uh huh." This was odd. No one even gave a second thought about Selphie and now they're all interested in a date? She didn't look any different from when she had left, if not counting the loss of bounce in her hair. It didn't flip out as crazily as it used to.
" Listen here, you stay away from her. She's my property."
" Property?" Zell snorted. " You don't own her!"
" Heh, well, I branded her," Seifer joked, but he certainly sounded serious.
" You what?!"
" Shut up!" Seifer shook Zell and the boy's head smacked against the wall.
" Seifer, should you be harming Zell like that?" At the sound of Xu's irritated voice, Seifer let go hastily and sent Zell crashing to the floor. He whirled to face Xu and pushed her before going after Selphie.
He had been wrong in assuming Selphie was once more in his room. The place was spotless and Selphie-less. Sighing, he collapsed onto his bed, wishing to forget about the strange incident that had taken place. All he wanted was sleep! Was that too much to ask? He kicked off his boots and closed his eyes but was rudely awakened not even a minute after.
" Heeeey, is this 'The Girl Next Door'?"
There was shuffling, and then the sound of dozens of objects crashing down. Aggravated, Seifer pulled himself up and opened the closet door where all of the noise was coming from. Inside, Selphie smiled sweetly back at him with one hand behind her back. He grabbed her arm and saw she was holding a picture of Seifer and Squall in the tub together when they were three. Both of the little boys were giving the most enchanting smiles, which would cause even the most fearsome warrior to break into a grin. Seifer snatched the offending picture from her and placed it on the shelf above them where Selphie couldn't reach even with a stool.
" So cute!" Selphie gushed, holding tightly onto Seifer's hand. Letting him loose, she covered her mouth with her hand daintily when she squealed and then giggled, jumping slightly while at it. Seifer couldn't help but to wonder whether she had a stash of Prozac in her dorm room; that would explain why she was normal (slightly) on the mission and so crazed now. But her strange behavior could also mean that she was trying to take his mind off of what he had seen and how those Garden students were behaving.
" Why are those guys chasing you?" Seifer asked, crossing his arms. Selphie seemed to notice his pensive mood and her smile finally faded from her lips. She gave a casual shrug and fell back onto Seifer's bed, exhaling deeply.
" ...I have no idea," she moaned. " Ever since we came back, I've had my phone ringing off the hook with guys asking me out, stupid love notes and gifts delivered to me, and the Trepies have converted to Timlies!"
" Whoring yourself off again, I see," Seifer said with a curt snort of disgust. " Never too early to start."
" Seifer William Almasy!" Selphie shouted, shooting to her feet. Her eyes burned into his with a golden rage that turned them dark with the slightest hint of a flame within. " Don't you start this again! Does it seem like I know what's going on? I don't even want any of them!"
" I don't want to hear about it," Seifer hissed, matching her anger with his own, if not more. " You think you can come in here and pretend everything is all right, and that nothing happened?"
Selphie backed onto the bed, her hands gripping the edges but her eyes never leaving Seifer's. Her anger had died down yet Seifer's had increased. It was unexplainable what set him off, and he was in fear of what he might say to Selphie -or even do. The weight of everything that had happened came crashing down on him and he was screaming inside to be exorcised of this anger that was pulsing inside of him. Selphie continued to stare at him in a fazed expression, but then she raised her hand to her chest.
"...Do you care about me?" It was more of a factual statement than a question. In her eyes he could see someone innocent, perhaps even romantic -a young girl caught in what, he failed to know. He looked away, unable to stand the sight of her. They had been through quite a lot together, even though for a short duration of time. But he still didn't know the answer to her question. She certainly wasn't like all the rest, and that could lead to something he didn't want to face -or accept.
" I think you should leave," Seifer said, turning his back to her.
" Tell me."
" Leave!" Seifer shouted. " Unless you want to be hurt."
" You can't shut me out like this..." Selphie cried out, getting off of the bed. She began to tug on his arm, urging him to look at her, to acknowledge her presence. " If you won't tell me...then tell yourself. I can't keep waiting for you."
" Then don't."
" I won't hurt you..." Now she was crying. The sound of her shattered voice made him sick and uneasy. " ...Not like the rest."
The rest?
There had been others...but he had hurt them. Yet Selphie...she was strong enough to combat his every move with one of his own. Just by looking at her he could feel something soften inside of him and he wanted to protect her, although she hardly needed it. But when it came to what she felt about him...for once he had no answer. She was standing in front of him, a wistful look on her face but all he could think about now was how she was with Squall in Dollet.
Love had never managed to fool him; he had steered clear of it for nineteen years. And it was not going to get him now.
" I don't need you, Selphie. I don't care about you." He now turned to face her, and told himself she was just another enemy. Another challenge, another roadblock keeping him from his dream.
What dream?
" You can't mean that..." She looked down, which was a relief to him. Another moment of this, and she would win. He had to end it soon. " I'm not like the rest!"
" You are."
Those last words had hit her hard and she was shocked, appearing as if he had hit her. Tears that stained her cheeks halted and then she turned on her heels and ran out. Like all the rest.
***
(a/n: Math Exams are my enemy. I'm starving to death. How are you? And I'm sorry if I'm jumping around too much with Seifer's feelings. I just feel that he's a guy that's confused and can never make up his mind...which is why he was so easily manipulated by Edea (Ultimecia).)
( )( )
(^.^)
[ ]
~ ~
***