A/N: Hey y'all! A very quick update this time for two reasons: 1) The chapter is a bit smaller than others 2) It took quite a bit to update last time, because I had stuff to do as well as Internet problems, so I sat and wrote more that time.
Chapter 5: And the winner is… Nida? WTF?!
- "I'm telling you, something's wrong with her!" said Rinoa to Selphie, Irvine and Squall at the cafeteria the next morning. The two couples had woken up and had gone there for breakfast.
- "I already told Squall and I'll tell you two now: Quistis just feels lonely, that's all." said Irvine.
- "It's not just this, she's behaving really weird. She's really absent minded, whenever I talk to her she barely listens!" said Selphie.
- "Depends on what you were talking to her about…" said Irvine with a smirk on his face.
- "Oh stop it…" giggled Selphie giving her boyfriend a light push with her elbow.
- "Hey… You know what I just thought?!" said Rinoa excitedly.
- "I'm afraid to ask…" mumbled Squall.
- "What if she's in love?!" exclaimed Rinoa.
- "That's ridiculous, with who?" said Squall.
- "That's a good question…" said Selphie falling deep in thought.
- "Seifer…" said Squall.
- "WHAT?!" said the two girls in unison.
- "Seifer. He just came in." said Squall, looking at them with a weird expression.
- "Oh… I thought…" said Rinoa.
- "Yeah, we thought you meant…" said Selphie.
Squall rolled his eyes and sighed, going back to his plate of bacon and eggs. The girls went on about how they'd play 'Match-maker' on Quistis, and get her the perfect boyfriend. Irvine however, seemed to be bugged by something. Quistis had just walked in the cafeteria. Seifer, who was standing next to the counter waiting for his order, spotted her and gave her an embarrassed look. Quistis did the same, until she blushed and turned away, heading for the table where the others were. Irvine happened to catch the whole scene and found it highly suspicious. 'Until yesterday, they were in great terms and now they don't even talk to each other? And what about that look…?' thought Irvine. Him being the expert he was in relationship issues, he instantly caught the tension between them. To be frank, anyone would have… It was so thick around the air you could actually cut it… Either way, he sensed something was going on between the two, but found it best to not mention anything yet…
Quistis made her way to the table, after talking to dozens of students who walked up to her. She looked exhausted. Obviously, she hadn't had a peaceful sleep the night before; her eyes had blue circles underneath and they were hardly open. She walked over to them and sat down on the table.
- "So, how was clubbing last night?" said Irvine mockingly.
- "Not now Irvine… I'm not in the mood…" said-slash-yawned Quistis.
- "Didn't get enough sleep?" asked Selphie.
- "Obviously not…" she replied.
- "Here…" said Rinoa taking out a small mirror and something that looked like lipstick. "Lemme help you cover them up…"
- "Cover what up?" asked Quistis.
- "Those huge blue circles you've got! Don't tell me you didn't notice them…" said Rinoa.
- "I did… I just thought they'd bring out the color of my eyes…" said Quistis, making the rest of them laugh. Rinoa used the lipstick-shaped concealer on Quistis and after a minute, there were no traces of blue circles.
- "Thanks, but what's the big deal anyway?" asked Quistis.
- "No deal… Just want you to look good…" said Rinoa giving Selphie a swift look.
- "O - K…" said Quistis shrugging.
- "Mornin' everyone!" said Zell, who had just entered the cafeteria, along with Shizuka.
- "Hi guys…" said Shizuka shyly, as Zell tightened his grip around her waist.
- "Zell, Shizuka…" said Irvine, lowering his hat at them.
- "Where have you guys been?" asked Rinoa.
- "We were just packing; we're leaving in half an hour. Came to say 'Goodbye'." replied Zell.
- "Leaving? Where are you going?" asked Squall.
- "Just a weekend get-away. I got permission from Cid." said Zell.
- "You will be here on time for the play, riiight?" asked Selphie, getting a murder-like expression on her face.
- "We'll be back by Sunday noon." replied Shizuka.
- "Thought so…So, where are you going?" asked Selphie.
- "Esthar." said Shizuka excitedly. "I've never been there before! Zell said you guys already have."
- "Yeah, we went there last year on a mission." said Irvine.
- "Hey, Squall bro… I hope you don't mind, but I called your dad and he said we could stay over at the Palace." said Zell.
- "Why would I mind?" said Squall shrugging.
- "Your dad?" asked Shizuka impressed. "President Loire is your dad?"
- "Yeah…" replied Squall, feeling a bit annoyed.
- "Oh my Hyne! Zell, I thought you knew the President from the mission, you didn't mention he's Squall's dad!" said Shizuka.
- "Well… y'know…" said Zell, who was starting to feel as uncomfortable as Squall. "Oh hey, look at the time! We gotta run! Bye everyone!" he added, dragging Shizuka out of the cafeteria.
- "Oh that was so sweet! How come we never go off for weekends?" whined Rinoa, looking at Squall. Irvine chuckled when seeing the expression Squall took at the sound of these words.
- "That goes for you too mister!" said Selphie angrily.
- "Mental note to self: Kick Zell's ass when he comes back from Esthar…" said Squall.
- "I'll have to take you up on that one mate…" nodded Irvine. "I'm off to training… Bye y'all" he said getting up.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After some breakfast and a long conversation with her friends, Quistis went back to her dorm to get a shower and think of what to do later on. When she got to her door, she found Seifer waiting outside.
- "Umm… Hi…" he said awkwardly, slightly waving at her.
- "Hello Seifer." said Quistis, feeling her cheeks burn.
- "Listen, Instructor… I just wanted to… apologize. Y'know… For yesterday…" he said looking down at his feet.
- "It's OK Seifer, I…"
- "No it's not." he interrupted. "I don't know what got into me. I mean, you are beautiful, but honestly, you're not my type… No offence…" he said rubbing the back of his head, grinning.
- "None taken…" said Quistis smiling. "Actually, I'm glad I'm not… You're not mine either, so we'll just forget about the whole thing."
- "Yeah… So that we can go on with our work just like before… right?"
- "Right." smiled Quistis. "I'll see you around. Bye!" she said as she opened the door to her dorm.
- "Sure… Oh, hey… Are you going to the play on Saturday night?" he asked.
- "Of course. Selphie's organizing it, how could I miss it?"
- "Maybe I'll see you there then…" he asked eagerly.
- "Yeah, why not?"
- "Good… Well, bye Instructor."
- "Bye Seifer." said Quistis smiling at him.
Seifer smiled back at her as she disappeared behind the door. As soon as the door was shut, his smile turned from kind to mischievous, and there was a little glint of malevolence dancing around in his eyes. 'Oh yeah… She's mine alright…' he thought smirking.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was 12:30 at noon, when Quistis walked over to Squall and Rinoa's dorm and knocked on the door. She really needed to talk to someone about Seifer. Squall? Yeah, right… Zell was away, but he'd be out of the question anyway… Irvine? Nah, she couldn't really freely talk to him… Selphie? She'd end up telling the entire Garden… So it had to be Rinoa. At first she thought that it would be really stupid. I mean, what was she going to say? 'Hi, your ex-boyfriend tried to kiss me and I think I like him, but now I don't know if he likes me…' It didn't quite sound right… But then, she thought that now that Rinoa was so much in love with Squall, she wouldn't mind, right…? Either way, it was too late to back off; Rinoa was already at the door.
- "Hey. Am I… interrupting anything?" asked Quistis.
- "Hey… No I'm by myself. Squall's at the office. Did you want to tell him something?" asked Rinoa.
- "Actually… I wanted to talk to you…" said Quistis.
- "Me?" asked Rinoa puzzled. "Is something wrong?"
- "No, not really…" said Quistis. "I just wanted some… advice…"
- "Sure, come in!" she said cheerfully, glad that Quistis was finally starting to open up to her. "I was just cleaning around a bit…"
- "You two have made it really nice in here…" Quistis said, observing the room. Rinoa took Quistis' hand and went to sit down with her on the bed.
- "So… Tell me…" said Rinoa curiously.
- "Well… You see… It's this guy…" started Quistis hesitantly.
- "I knew it!" said Rinoa. "You're in love!"
- "NO!" said Quistis instantly. "Not in love… I just… like him, that's all…" she said blushing.
- "Are you sure?" asked Rinoa in disbelief.
- "Dead sure."
- "So…" said Rinoa mischievously. "Who is he? Do I know him?"
- "Uhh… Could we start with the problem first?" asked Quistis feeling awkward.
- "OK… What's the problem?"
- "You see, he kinda… Hit on me…"
- "That's good y'know Quistis…"
- "I know, but…"
- "Wait, what did he do exactly?"
- "He tried to kiss me…"
- "Oh my Hyne!" giggled Rinoa. "Did you let him?"
- "Uhh… No."
- "What?! Why?"
- "It's just that… I like him but… I don't… trust myself when I'm with him…"
- "Meaning…?"
- "Meaning, I do things I'd never do normally…"
- "Bad things?"
- "More like… Bold things…"
- "Well… That's not necessarily bad…"
- "Yeah, but it's not me…"
- "Does it make you feel wrong?"
- "Not really… I… I think I like it…"
- "Well there you have it then! If you feel good, then it's definitely worth it!"
- "There's another problem…"
- "What now?!"
- "After I… 'pushed him away', he came and apologized and said he didn't mean it and that I'm not really his type, although he thinks I'm pretty…"
- "Hyne, that so gave him away! Quisty, the only reason he said that is because you 'pushed him away' as you said. It only shows exactly how much he does like you!"
- "Really?" asked Quistis eagerly.
- "One thousand percent!"
- "Thank you so much…" said Quistis, holding Rinoa's hands.
- "Think nothing of it… So, c'mon! Tell me! Who is he?" asked Rinoa excitedly.
- "Well… *Sigh* " said Quistis. She breathed deeply. "You gotta promise me not to freak out. And you can't tell anyone!"
- "I swear! Now tell me!"
- "It's…" began Quistis, but was interrupted by the door that opened; it was Squall.
- "Hey girls…" he said waving at them.
- "Squall! Not now! Get out!" yelled Rinoa.
- "Huh?" said Squall confused.
- "We're having a girl talk and you're interrupting! Get out!" she yelled even louder.
- "That's OK Rinoa, I'll tell you later…" whispered Quistis, getting up to leave.
- "No! Just tell me and then go!"
- "I'll tell you later!" said Quistis waving at them both, closing the door behind her.
- "Thanks a lot Squall!" said Rinoa, putting her hands on her hips.
- "Nice to see you too baby!" said Squall offended.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "Alright… Is everyone ready?" said Selphie to a small group of men in tuxedoes standing in front of her. "Hey, hey… You, the third one from the right! Fix that tie!"
- "Right-ho…" said the red-haired man Selphie had spoken to, adjusting his tie, blushing a little.
- "You all wait here and I'll go get her!" said Selphie cheerfully running out of the cafeteria.
She had just gotten out in the hallway, when she ran into Quistis and Irvine.
- "Just the girl I was looking for!" said Selphie to Quistis.
- "What?" asked Quistis puzzled.
- "I've got the most cute hotties waiting for you in the cafeteria!" she replied.
- "W-w-what do you mean 'waiting for me'?" asked Quistis almost terrified.
- "Well, me and Rinoa thought it was high time you found yourself a decent boyfriend, so we took matters into our own hands!" said Selphie. Quistis and Irvine were gaping at her, jaws dropped down.
- "You're kidding right?" said Irvine, unable to suppress a smile.
- "Why would I be kidding?" said Selphie seriously.
- "What's going on?" asked Rinoa, who came standing behind them with Squall.
- "Come on Quisty!" said Selphie grabbing Quistis' hand and running inside, without answering Rinoa. Rinoa was left looking around confused. She turned over to look at Squall, who just shrugged looking as puzzled as her.
- "Come on, we'll miss the show!" said Irvine chuckling mischievously. "Selphie decided to play match-maker on Quistis!"
The three of them ran inside the cafeteria. Selphie had dragged poor Quistis over to the quintet of potential boyfriends who were beaming at her. Quistis grinned at them nervously. They weren't bad to be frank; some of them were even cute, but her eye fell upon a few tables away. Seifer was sitting there, along with two other female students, chatting. When he caught upon what was happening he looked over at her smirking. He leaned over at one girl's ear, whispered something and got up. 'Oh, no… Don't tell me he's coming over here…' thought Quistis. Seifer put his hands in his pockets, and strode over to her, with a devilish grin on his face.
- "This is Jason. He's from Balamb City and… Quistis are you listening?" asked Selphie angrily, seeing that Quistis was abstract.
- "What? Oh yes… Go on…" said Quistis.
- "As I was saying, Jason has just finished law school and…" began Selphie, but was interrupted.
- "What's going on here Selphie?" asked Seifer, resting his elbow on Selphie's shoulder. "What's with the gathering?" he added, eyeing all five of the guys standing in front of him from head to toe.
- "*Giggle* *psst* *psst* They're all here for Quistis." whispered Selphie on Seifer's ear.
- "Are they now?" he smirked. Quistis had gone burning red in the face. "Well, I'll better leave you then. Wouldn't want to interrupt…" he said grinning. "*Psst* *Psst* Good luck Instructor…" he whispered in Quistis' ear, walking back to his table. Quistis was furious.
- "OK. Just to set the record straight. I'm reeeally busy these days to date anyone. You'll excuse me, won't you guys? Come on Selphie!" said Quistis impatiently, grabbing Selphie hard from the arm.
- "OW! Quisty…" whined Selphie. "*Psst* *psst* I'll call you guys back!" she whispered to the disappointed quintet, as Quistis dragged her out of the cafeteria.
Rinoa, Irvine and Squall ran along, Irvine howling in laughter, Squall grinning and Rinoa looking upset.
- "What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Quistis asked Selphie furious.
- "They were cute, weren't they?" grinned Selphie.
- "Selphie, I do not need a blind date!" yelled Quistis. "You made a fool out of me back there!"
- "It wasn't just my idea…" said Selphie innocently, looking over at Rinoa.
- "Rinoa…?" said Quistis, looking as if she was going to explode.
- "I'm sorry… We just thought…" apologized Rinoa.
- "SHUT UP IRVINE!" shouted Quistis at him; he was still laughing.
- "Quistis calm down… I'm sure they were just trying to help…" said Squall seriously. Quistis gave him a look that read 'Kill!'.
- "Maybe we'll just go…" said Squall, pushing Irvine down the hallway.
- "Listen…" said Quistis, a bit more calm now, when the guys had gone. "I'm really fine without a boyfriend right now. I've got loads of work to take care of right now. When all of it is finished, then I can start thinking about a relationship…"
- "Quistis… The truth." said Rinoa crossing her arms.
- "What truth?" asked Selphie.
- "Quistis is already involved with someone…" said Rinoa.
- "Rinoa!" shouted Quistis. "You promised!"
- "What?! She knew? How come you never told me?" asked Selphie annoyed.
- "That's not the issue here. She was just about to tell me who it was when we were talking earlier today." said Rinoa. "Well…?" she asked.
Quistis looked at the two of them terrified. She couldn't tell them, she just didn't feel right about it. At least not yet… She was relieved that she hadn't told Rinoa before, but now she was really cornered.
- "Quistis, we're waiting…" said Rinoa.
She looked around desperately, thinking of what to answer. Just then, she saw Nida walking past the Cafeteria hallway, towards the Quad. She had no choice; she had to do it… 'Oh boy…' she thought.
- "Well?" asked Selphie, crossing her arms as well.
Quistis took a deep breath and spoke.
- "It's… Nida…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: He, he… Did you like the 'Nida' idea? Hmmm… Come to think of it a Quida would be something original to work with in another fanfic… ;-p Anyway, this is a Seiftis so don't worry… Talking about other fanfics, what would you guys think of a FF8 pirate story? I've been thinking about it ever since I saw 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl'. I even got some first few ideas on the story. The basic plotline mostly. Keep in mind that it'll have nothing to do with the movie; the story will be original. If you think it'll be cool, tell me so I can start working on a few stuff. Of course, if I actually do it, it won't be before this fanfic is over… Probably… ^_^
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
How will the girls deal with what Quistis blurted out? How will it affect Nida?
Seifer gets in trouble. Is Quistis willing to help him?