A/N: I can't believe how fast I wrote this chapter! It's like my fingers are on fire! Imagine that I'm half-way down the next one as well! Don't expect that to go for long though… Right now I'm just waiting for my university classes to start and when they do, I'll have lots of studying to do and much less time to write.
So… You guys liked the hair do, huh? I thought it'd make him even sexier… I guess it worked! This time I'm not only going to thank you guys for reviewing, but for such hilarious reviews as well! They made me laugh, thanks!
On we go!
Chapter 8: A bit edgy, are we?
The dance in the ballroom was a perfect ending to the garden Festival. Selphie was receiving congratulations from practically every soul in the room and was every time accompanied by a beaming Irvine. Zell and Shizuka were dancing, while Squall, Rinoa and Quistis were talking, while having a drink. Quistis was soon bored, as Rinoa and Squall were arguing on whether their dorm needed 'a woman's touch' -as Rinoa had put it- or not. Her eye caught Seifer talking to the girl that had asked him to go sit with her and her friends during the play.
- "I'm going out to get some air…" said Quistis to the couple, although they didn't seem to even notice her departure.
Quistis walked over to the balcony and put her hands against the railing. She sighed deeply. It was all her fault… If she hadn't pushed Seifer away when he'd tried to kiss her, it would be her he would be talking to right now. 'Among… other things we would be doing together…' she thought, throwing herself onto the railing, burying her face in her arms. 'But I couldn't really do anything, right? 'Cause he's my student… Hyne, I'm so pathetic…'
- "Quisty?" came a female voice behind her. Quistis got up and turned around to see who was calling her. It was Edea.
- "Matron…" Quistis said smiling. "How are you?"
- "Just fine…" she replied. "What are you doing out here on your own?"
- "Just got out to get some air…" she said trying to hide her bad mood, but Edea immediately got to her.
- "What's wrong?" she asked walking over to her.
- "Nothing's wrong… Everything's fine…" lied Quistis.
- "Quistis… Look at me…" said Edea holding Quistis from the arms. "What is it?"
- "I'm just bored that's all…" she said turning back around towards the balcony.
- "Ah yes…" said Edea meaningfully. "I remember the first time I was… 'bored' too…"
- "Huh?" said Quistis puzzled, turning back around.
- "I can tell from miles away you know…" she said tenderly.
Quistis crossed her arms and remained silent. She stood with her back on the railing looking into the ballroom. She saw Seifer talking and laughing with that stupid -in her opinion- girl and looked away annoyed. Edea noticed the whole scene and smiled. Seifer caught her eye as well.
- "Well… Just some motherly advice my daughter… If you really feel something… Go for it. Not matter what." she said caressing Quistis' cheek and leaving.
Quistis turned back towards the balcony and sighed, yet again.
- "Go for it no matter what…" she mumbled to herself. "How could she possibly understand the position I'm in? How could anyone? *Sigh* I'm in deep trouble…"
- "Anything I can do to help?"
Quistis turned around startled and saw Seifer leaning onto the doorframe, looking at her.
- "Seifer… I… I didn't hear you coming…" she said blushing.
- "Obviously…" he said approaching her. "What's wrong?"
- "Excuse me?"
- "You said you were in deep trouble. What happened? Can I help you?"
- "You know… It's really not nice to eavesdrop on people…" she said trying to change the subject.
- "So sue me… Well? Why are you in trouble?" he asked crossing his arms.
- "Nothing… It was just a figure of speech…" she said looking at the view from the balcony.
- "Are you sure?" Seifer asked walking next to her.
- "Positive." she replied. "Wow… look at the moon…" she said.
- "It's nice…" he said plainly.
- "Nice?! Look at it! It's glorious!" she said pointing at it. It was indeed beautiful. Almost full and silvery, it lit up the whole sky.
- "Fine, it's glorious. Happy now?" he asked impatiently.
- "Tremendously…" she replied mockingly, shaking her head in disbelief.
- "OK, OK…" he said getting down on one knee, holding her hand. "Quistis… The silvery moonlight makes you even more beautiful as it falls down on your rosy cheeks…" he added, in a mockingly poetic tone.
- "Seifer… That's not funny…" she said pulling her hand back.
- "Who said I was joking?" he said getting up, getting really close to her.
- "You expect me to believe what you just said?" she said in disbelief, crossing her arms.
- "Why not?" he asked, leaning in closer, so that their faces were almost touching.
- "What are you doing? Everyone's looking in…" she said glancing sideways at the ballroom, where lots of people were indeed looking at them.
- "Alright…" he said pulling her towards a corner. "Now they're not." he said when they were out of sight. "Let's resume our conversation… Why not believe me?" he asked crossing his arms.
- "Why are you doing this?" she asked in an almost pleading tone.
- "Haven't you already figured?" he asked.
Quistis didn't reply, just swallowed with difficulty. Seifer put his hands against the wall she was leaning against, blocking her way from each side. He looked at her meaningfully and got his head close with hers. He tilted his head lightly, closed his eyes and leaned in. Quistis wanted so much to let him go on, but she couldn't… When his lips were less than an inch away from hers, she suddenly turned her face to the side and Seifer ended up kissing her cheek. He opened his eyes surprised and slightly drew back. Quistis swiftly slid with her back down the wall and ran out of the balcony back inside the ballroom.
- "HYNE DAMN YOU QUISTIS!" Seifer yelled banging his hand hard on the wall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The following weeks went by in a lot of tension for Quistis. She and Seifer were hardly talking to each other. The only communication they had was during their lessons, during which they were both really cold towards each other. Her friends watched her get more miserable by each passing day, but none of them could really understand why. Irvine seemed to be the only one who had figured out what was going on between these two, but never told anybody. Squall thought it was Seifer's fault as well, only he got the picture totally wrong…
- "Hey Almasy!" called Squall. Seifer turned around to see who was calling him. Squall walked down the corridor along with Zell and approached Seifer.
- "What?" said Seifer as soon as they reached him.
- "Me and Zell wanted to talk to you." he said crossing his arms.
- "Alright…" said Seifer raising an eyebrow. "Make it fast though. I've got a lesson in less than five minutes and your friend will make my life hell if I'm late…"
- "Ah… Exactly what we wanted to talk to you about…" said Squall.
- "You see, we've been under the impression that there's something going on between you and Quistis the past days…" added Zell.
- "What do you mean 'going on'?" asked Seifer narrowing his eyes.
- "We mean, that she's been a mess and we can't help but feel that you're behind all this." said Zell.
- "Me…?" he said in disbelief. "Why would I do anything to her?" he asked.
- "That's what we came to find out…" said Squall.
- "Are you threatening me?" asked Seifer sounding almost amused.
- "I sure hope I am…" said Squall smirking.
- "Listen here… puberty-boy… If you came to pick a fight you're on, but I did nothing to your beloved Instructor." said Seifer. "And by the by… Are you that much of a coward to face me alone, that you had to bring Chicken-wuss with you?"
That was it; Zell launched himself onto Seifer throwing him a hard punch. Seifer retaliated fast, by grabbing Zell's hand and twisting it behind his back. Squall ran and grabbed Seifer's arms from behind, freeing Zell. The latter turned over to grab Seifer's legs and settle him down, but he gave him a hard kick on the chin.
- "OW! SON – OF – A – BITCH!!!" yelled Zell and got ready to attack Seifer again.
- "ENOUGH!" shouted a female voice.
Quistis had emerged out of nowhere. She was on her way to her lesson with Seifer, when she heard commotion from the Dorm hallway and went down to check it. Zell was standing looking at Quistis, while Squall was still holding Seifer, although he'd loosened his grip.
- "What the HELL is going on here?!" she shouted angrily. "What are you, five or something? What if a student came by and saw the Commander, an Instructor-to-be and a student kicking the SHIT out of each other, huh? How irresponsible can you three get?! I could expect that from Seifer and Zell who are always fighting, but what the FUCK got into you Squall?"
- "Quistis calm down…" he said releasing Seifer. "You don't know what happened."
- "Well enlighten me!" she said impatiently crossing her arms.
- "We were just talking…" began Squall. Next to him, Seifer wiped his bleeding lip with his fist, while casting him an angry sideways look. "And things got a bit… rough…" added Squall.
- "A bit rough?" said Quistis. "Mind to tell me who started the fight?"
- "I did." said Zell looking down at the floor. "But Seifer provoked me."
- "Seifer?" said Quistis looking at him.
- "What?" he asked.
- "Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.
- "No." he replied blankly.
- "Very well… Come on. We'll be late for our lesson." she said walking down the hallway.
Seifer shot the other two a poisonous look and walked behind Quistis. She didn't say a word. They walked out of the Garden, towards the fields to begin their practice. They silently fought a few Bite Bugs to warm up and then entered a forest. After a fight with a Caterchipillar, Quistis burst out.
- "Will you please just concentrate?!" she whispered, trying not to make much noise and draw the monsters near.
- "What did I do now?!" he whispered back angrily.
- "The SeeD exam is in three days and you're hitting a Caterchipillar as if you're afraid it might murder you!" she said. "Do you mind telling me where was your mind wandering?"
- "Can we just forget about this please?" asked Seifer impatiently.
- "It's because of that stupid fight, isn't it?" she asked. Seifer didn't speak. "You know, I can't believe you…Just a couple of weeks ago I save your ass from a fight and now you go and get into another one?!"
- "It's not like that, OK?"
- "Then what is it like? Is anyone going to bother telling me?"
- "Look… Your pals don't like me, I don't like them and that's it! No harm done…"
- "What do you mean 'no harm done'? If I hadn't found you, you'd have made total fools of yourselves to the students, let alone encourage them to fight as well!"
- "What's the matter? Thought I'd hurt your precious puberty-boy?" he said narrowing his eyes.
- "What?" she said feeling the blood in her veins boiling.
- "You heard me…" said Seifer smirking. "Thought your beloved Commander would get hurt? Even if he did though, you wouldn't be the one to take care of him… Rinoa would be…"
- "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Quistis with a tone of threat in her voice.
- "Come off it Instructor… You've been pining for him ever since you laid eyes on him… Too bad Rinoa beat you to it though…" he said with malevolence in his voice "But even if she hadn't… I don't think Ice Queens are really his type…"
Quistis had heard enough; with all the force she had in her, she landed her hand on Seifer's cheek. The slap was so hard that it left a red mark on his face. Seifer's head turned around from the intensity of it. He'd closed his eyes and a deadly furious expression had spread across his face. He turned back around to look at Quistis. For the first time in her life, she felt terrified by him. The look on his face could have easily been that of a murderer. Quickly, he grabbed Quistis' arm which was still hanging in the air. He held it so firmly that Quistis felt the pain shoot across her whole body. He looked at her straight in the eyes, leaning his face dangerously close to hers.
- "You're lucky I don't hit women… Come to think of it… it might be a good time for me to start doing so…" he said menacingly.
- "You're hurting me…" said Quistis faintly; she couldn't think of anything else she'd dare say at this moment.
Seifer let go of her hand. The expression on his face remained the same though.
- "What I don't understand…" he said crossing his arms "… is why you let me get my hopes up since you obviously don't like me, but Squall…"
- "First of all, Squall is just my friend. Nothing more. I used to think we could have been something more, but now I don't. Second of all…Do you even understand the position I'm in?" she said, starting to talk a bit louder.
- "No… But please… Indulge me!" he said mockingly.
- "You're my student Seifer! Even if I did have feelings for you, I could never express them! It's against my morals!" she said exasperated.
- "Do you?" he asked narrowing his eyes.
- "Do I what?"
- "Have feelings for me." he said firmly.
- "Seifer…" she said in a tired tone.
- "Answer me!" he said loudly.
- "YES, DAMMIT! YES - I - DO!" she screamed.
Almost instantly, many distant roars were heard. Seifer and Quistis looked around in horror.
- "W-w-what was that?" asked Quistis terrified.
- "I don't know, but better take out our weapons…" he said taking Hyperion out.
With his other arm he held Quistis from the back as close to him as possible and kept looking around, ears peeled for any sound. Soon the roars came again. They kept getting louder, a good sign that the creatures were coming closer. Suddenly, they just stopped. Seifer and Quistis looked around frantically. There was an unbearable silence. Soon it was broken by the rumor of leaves. Just then, five T-Rexaurs emerged from the huge bushes. They looked at the couple menacingly, starting to roar again.
- "Quistis…" Seifer whispered faintly to her ear, sliding his hand down her own, holding it. "Run!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: I just love writing those little scenes were Seifer and Quistis are about to kiss, but something happens. It brings me real joy to torture my readers, so I'll just go on with my malevolence spree…
NO PREVIEW OF THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!! :-p