A/N: I see many of you are 'complaining' about how much of a 'bunny' Seifer is… So I've decided to bring over my Muse and talk about it… I present to you, Salaam Dementia (Sal), my Muse!
SAL: Hey there… *waves*
WRITER (ME): So Sal, everyone's bitching because you have Sei and Quis 'boinking' all the time…
SAL: It's not MY fault! It's the damn hormones on these kids! They're the ones to blame!
WRITER: Hey guys! (calls Sei and Quis, who walk over hand-in-hand)
QUISTIS: What is it?
ME: The readers are complaining about your constant erm… 'boinking'…
QUISTIS: What?! *blushes*
SEIFER: What's their damn problem? *cracks knuckles, looking over at screen*
SAL: The readers want to see some plot for a change! This isn't a damn harlequin!
SEIFER: Well shouldn't you be blaming HER *points over at author* for the lack of plot?
WRITER: Hey! I promised I'd make up for it in the sequel! I just wanted to write a carefree story at first and then…
SEIFER: Yeah, yeah… *mockingly*
WRITER: Don't take that tone with me, or I'll have her *points at Quis* mad at your for the diary for ever!
SEIFER: S-s-s-so? *tries to act cool*
QUISTIS: So, no 'boinking' for a loooong time…. *crosses arms*
SEIFER: WHAT?! *turns over to writer* Why you little…
WRITER: Watch the tongue Seify…
SEIFER: Tsk, fine…So, now what?
WRITER: Now you'll be nice to me and I'll be nice to you. If you promise to help me out here and have SOME sort of evolution in the plot, then I'll make Quistis forgive you…
QUISTIS: What do you mean MAKE me?! What, I have no free will here?
WRITER: Hon, do you REALLY what to stay pissed at him forever?
QUISTIS: *looks over at Seifer* Well… The sex IS good…
SEIFER: *hurt* Is that all you see in me?
QUISTIS: Oh no baby! *hugs him* You know you're my frisky little bunny rabbit…
SEIFER: *grins and whispers something in her ear*
QUISTIS: *giggles* Let's go! *grabs Sei's arm and they both leave*
SAL: *Sigh* Not again… *slaps hand on forehead*
WRITER: *turns over to screen* Well there you have it folks! If Seifer keeps his promise and is nice to me, the next few chapters will have a bit of action (I mean REAL action, not 'action'…) and then I'll keep my promise in having Quis forgive him. How? You'll just have to wait and see… ^_~
Chapter 28: The 'Big Bang'
Two days later…
Quistis had just finished up with one of her classes for the day and was walking down the corridor, over to the elevator to get to the Training Center, where her next class was. Her face was blank and expressionless, her lips pursed, while she barely dragged her feet to walk. Suddenly she heard her cell-phone ring. She retrieved it from her pocket and looked at the number calling. Seifer. She pressed the 'C' button, canceling the call and put the phone back in her pocket. After only a few seconds, it rang again. Quistis sighed and reached back for it. Still Seifer. This thing had been going on from the previous day. Feeling tired of the situation, she decided to answer it.
- "Yes?" she said wearily.
- "Quistis, where the hell have you been?!" said Seifer 'Hell. You said it yourself…' she thought.
- "Busy." she replied coldly.
- "Too busy to pick up the Hyne damn phone? I've been trying to reach you from yesterday! You've either not answered or cancelled my calls!" he said "And when I came and knocked at your dorm you never answered!"
- "Instructors have these tiny little things called classes all day, you know?" she said mockingly.
- "OK, OK… Let's just say I buy the whole thing about classes all day…" he said "…which by the way I don't, couldn't you have given me a call and say you were going to be busy? You got me worried!"
- "Frankly Seifer, I don't give a damn!" she said in a Scarlet-O'-Harra manner, terminating the call, then shutting her phone down.
Feeling incredibly frustrated, she continued to head towards the Training Center. She didn't feel like crying; she hadn't shed a single tear ever since she had read that diary. Not that she didn't care, but she just felt… nothing. Just anger 'Looks like my students are gonna have to pay for it…' she thought, feeling already sorry about the poor kids who'd have to face her indignation.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "We're done for the day…" said Quistis taking notes on her clipboard "I expect better performance from all of you next time…"
The students slowly dispersed and left the Training Center, commenting on the extremely hard training session. A small group of boys were last to go.
- "Man! Talk about bitching spree today!" said one of them.
- "Tell me about it!" said the middle one.
- "Yeah, but it's kinda hard to keep a grudge on her… Not with an ass like that…" said the last one, turning to look back at her "Damn, I love the new outfit!" he added, checking out the back of her leather pants.
The other two boys snickered and turned to look as well. All three of them swooned on Quistis' perfect figure. When they turned around to go though, they came face to face with Seifer. He had his arms crossed, and was giving all three of them a deadly furious look. The boys looked at him terrified.
- "If you three want to live to see your graduation, you should wish I never catch you talking about Instructor Trepe or any Instructor that way again…" he said. The boys all swallowed hard and nodded.
- "Alright…" said one of them.
- "Sorry about that…" said another.
- "Sorry what?" asked Seifer.
- "Sorry Mr. Almasy…" repeated that last boy.
- "That's more like it… Now scram!" Seifer said loudly, making the three boys scatter immediately.
Seifer gave them one last poisonous look, then walked over to Quistis who was still taking down notes, although he was sure she'd watched the whole scene.
- "I told you…" said Seifer once reaching her "Those pants are way too tight. See how those horny kids were ogling at you?"
- "Oh please!" she said snapping her clipboard noisily. She made a move to leave, but Seifer grabbed her arm.
- "I'm talking to you." he said firmly.
- "About what? Horny teenagers looking at my ass?" she said mockingly, raising an eyebrow "As if you care…"
- "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked angrily, never letting go of her arm.
- "Use your brains. That is if you have any…" she spat at him.
- "Would you mind telling me what the FUCK has gotten into you these days?!" he said releasing her, crossing his arms.
- "Does the word 'Journal' ring any bells?" she hissed, crossing her arms as well.
Seifer's eyes shot wide open. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.
- "Thought so…" said Quistis, turning her heel.
- "Quistis wait!" said Seifer running behind her "It's not what you think!" he added, grabbing her hand.
Quistis swiftly turned around and with her free hand, she landed a hard slap across Seifer's face, making his head turn over from the force. He felt his cheek sting, but it could hardly compete with the sting he felt in his heart. He touched his burning red cheek and turned around to face her.
- "Quis… I…" he began.
- "Shut up!" yelled Quistis "I don't want to hear another word from you!"
- "You've got every right to be angry, but…" he tried to say.
- "I said shut up! Don't you dare even look at me again Almasy, or they'll be gathering you in pieces!" she screamed and left the Training Center in a fury.
Seifer was left standing there, feeling thunderstruck. He touched his forehead with one hand and sighed 'Damn, I screwed up… I screwed up big time…' he thought.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis ran back to her dorm. She shut the door behind her with a loud thud and threw her things on the floor. She was breathing fast through clenched teeth, trying to keep her eyes wide open. If she closed them, tears would flood her face. They soon began to sting and hurt, but she refused to shut them. She looked around her room frantically, looking for something to break. She spotted an empty vase, grabbed it and threw it against the wall, smashing it into shards. She let out a silent 'scream' and fell down on her knees covering her face with both hands. The first tears came instantly and she was soon lying on the floor, crying her eyes out…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The following week went painfully slowly for both of them. Quistis worked her days off, trying to keep her mind off anything else. Many students walked up to her every day, asking her why she wasn't feeling alright, but she always responded with a forced smile, saying she only felt a bit under the weather. Seifer on the other hand, had no missions to keep himself busy, so he just roamed around the corridors like a ghost, drowning himself with alcohol and cigarettes at nights.
One of these nights, when he was just getting back from a pub in Balamb, he found someone waiting for him in the Parking Lot.
- "My office. Now Almasy." said a very pissed-off looking Xu.
- "Not in the mood for late-night kinkiness, but thanks for the offer…" he said smirking, locking the car.
- "Maybe you're in the mood for late-night ass-kickingness?" she asked furiously, bringing one of her deadly daggers dangerously close to his throat.
- "Go ahead." he said calmly, not moving a muscle. Xu pressed the dagger on his neck, making it bleed just a bit "OW! Are you crazy, you bitch?!" he yelled, jumping back, holding his throat.
- "Just following orders…" she said.
- "What the fuck do you want?" he asked, eyeing her angrily.
- "Are you coming up?" she asked.
- "Lead the way, you fucking fruitcake…" he mumbled.
Xu walked out of the Parking Lot and over to the elevator. They took it to the third floor, where her office was, right next to Squall's. Xu opened the door and flicked the lights open. Seifer walked inside and sat on an armchair. Xu closed the door shut and approached him.
- "So…" said Seifer "How could I ever assist you?" he asked mockingly.
- "I'll just cut to the chase…" she said, standing up in front of him, with arms crossed "Quistis has been looking dreadful for days. I know you're behind all this, so just be a nice little bastard and tell me what the hell you did to her.
Xu expected Seifer to respond with a witty, smart-ass remark, but it never came. Instead, he just buried his face in his hands and lowered his face down. Xu looked at him confused and utterly surprised.
- "Well?" she asked impatiently.
- "I fucked up Xu…" said Seifer in a low voice, just above a whisper.
- "What did you do?" she asked.
- "Does it matter?" he said sighing.
- "Did you cheat on her?"
- "No. I'd never do that…" he replied. Xu didn't know why, but she believed him.
- "Did you say something that hurt her?"
- "Not exactly…"
- "Damn it, do I have to pull it out of you with a crowbar?!" she said exasperated "What the hell did you do?!"
- "I don't want to talk about it… Makes me feel worse…" he said.
Xu ran a hand through her hair, sighing loudly. Just then, she heard Seifer sniff. She quickly turned her head towards him. He was still hiding his face in his hands.
- "Are you… crying?" she asked, not daring to believe what she saw before her eyes.
- "No!" said Seifer, quickly wiping a tear that was ready to form in his eye.
Their looks met. Xu stared deep into the green emerald eyes before her and found only despair.
- "I swear to Hyne Almasy, if you're faking that…" she said.
- "Faking what?" he asked.
- "That… look…"
- "Xu, if you dragged me all the way up here to talk bullshit…" Seifer began.
- "Do you honestly care about her?" she asked.
- "Well what the fuck do you think?" he asked angrily getting up.
- "Answer the question Almasy." said Xu firmly.
- "Of course I do! I l-l-l…" Seifer began. Xu's eyes shot open. He wasn't really going to say…? "…l-l-like her…" stuttered Seifer, in a not very convincing way "…very much…" he said.
He fell back on the armchair heavily, sighing.
- "Hyne… I don't know what to do…" he mumbled.
- "Well…" said Xu softly "You could always try talking to her."
- "I've tried. She won't listen." he said.
- "First of all… About what you did… Is there any… excuse for it?" asked Xu, trying to work something out.
- "Kinda…" he said.
- "Yes or no?" asked Xu.
- "Yeah, I guess… In a way…"
- "Good." said Xu "Make sure you're on the elevator tomorrow morning at exactly 9 o' clock."
- "Why?" Seifer asked puzzled.
- "No questions. Just be there and make sure you're alone." said Xu "Understood?"
- "Sure…" said Seifer shrugging "Can I go now?"
- "Yeah go. And don't forget what I said." she said, while he made his way out.
- "I won't…" he mumbled, walking out.
Xu watched him disappear through the elevator doors. She sighed and shook her head in disbelief 'I must be nuts…' she thought.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning, Seifer did as Xu told him to. He was inside the elevator at exactly 9 o'clock, alone. Nothing too difficult though, as most of the students were already inside their classrooms, so no-one used the elevator. He waited inside and after a couple of minutes someone called it. Seifer crossed his arms and waited impatiently, curious of what would happen 'Probably someone irrelevant calling it… Damn, why am I even doing this? What's the point?' he asked himself. The elevator went past the 2nd floor. Seifer raised an eyebrow. The only people up in the 3rd floor that time were Squall and Xu. He shrugged and waited to see who would enter as the doors began to slide open. His heart raced when he saw Quistis enter. She mechanically pushed the button for the 1st floor, then turned around and noticed him. She stood still for a moment; their eyes hadn't met for a whole week now.
- "I'm out of here…" said Quistis and made a move towards the doors.
- "No wait, I'll go…" said Seifer lowering his head and walking towards the doors.
The elevator was reaching the 2nd floor by then and just about when Seifer was about to press the button for that floor, it just stopped. Both of them froze. Seifer raised an eyebrow and pushed the 'Stop' button. Nothing happened. He pushed the button for every floor. Still nothing. Quistis was leaning against a corner, looking pale. Seifer picked up the phone and tried to call emergency.
- "Shit! It doesn't work…" he said banging it back in place "Oh wait!" he said delightfully. He dug his hand inside his pocket and took out his cell-phone, smiling at Quistis triumphantly.
- "Nice try…" she said, still as white as chalk "…but cell-phones don't have a signal inside this elevator."
- "What?" asked Seifer "You sure?" he asked. Quistis nodded "Does that mean…?"
- "We're trapped in here…" said Quistis breathlessly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis was curled up in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth. She was breathing fast and her eyes were wide open. Her face was really pale and she looked ready to pass out. Seifer walked over to her and kneeled down.
- "Are you alright?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
- "Don't touch me!" she yelled shaking it off.
- "Look, just pretend it's not me! Pretend it's anyone else! I just want to make sure you're OK!" he said.
- "Well I'm not!" she snapped.
- "Are you claustrophobic?" he asked, trying to put his hand on her shoulder again. This time she didn't shake it off.
- "No… I've just had a really bad experience inside an elevator once…" she said trembling.
- "Here…" he said taking off a shirt he was wearing "Wear this…" he added, putting it over her shoulders.
- "Thank you…" she said, sliding her arms in the sleeves. She looked at him and spoke "You went back to the store and got the T-shirt?"
- "Yeah…" he said smiling "It came out really good…"
- "It's nice…" she said, still trembling.
- "Feeling better?" he asked.
- "No…" she replied.
- "Can I… hold you?" he hesitantly asked. Quistis looked at him "I told you… Just pretend it's not me…" he said. Quistis nodded.
Seifer slowly put his arms out. Quistis moved closer to him. He softly wrapped both arms around her shoulders. She buried her face inside his arms, shaking. He gradually tightened his grasp, caressing her hair. Quistis' breathing soon became normal. Seifer closed his eyes and sighed.
- "I feel better now…" she mumbled at some point "You can let go…"
Seifer reluctantly loosened his grasp and let her pull back. Quistis sat down on the corner again and held her knees tightly. Seifer sat down, just a bit farther away from her.
- "Can we… Can we talk?" he asked.
- "Alright…" she said.
- "Mind if I go first?" he asked.
- "Go ahead…"
- "*Sigh* Alright… I won't deny what you read in the diary. I wrote all that and they were true…" he began. Quistis looked down at her feet and breathed deeply "They were true back then. Back when I wrote it. Then… things changed…"
- "*Scoff* How?" she asked.
- "Well… You probably noticed a few… changes in the last entries."
- "I might have…" she said.
- "That was when I began seeing you… differently." he said "I'll admit that all I wanted was to get you in bed at first. The least I can do now is be honest. But it's not like that now…"
- "And what is it like?" asked Quistis raising an eyebrow.
- "I… I've got… feelings for you…" he said looking at her.
- "*Scoff* I suppose now you're going to say you love me?" she said mockingly, looking at him too.
- "Quistis don't set things with only two parameters. Not everything is either plain sex or true love. There is much more in between…" he said. Quistis looked away and sighed.
- "I dunno Seifer… I dunno how I can trust you again…" she said.
- "Let me try. Try and gain your trust again. Even if it means staying away all that time. Just let me try." he said eagerly.
- "I don't know if I can…"
- "Why not?" he asked.
- "Because I don't want to get any more hurt in the process…" she said looking at him.
- "Quistis, I…" he began, but just then the elevator went back to function.
- "Finally!" said Quistis relieved, getting up. Seifer got up as well.
- "Can we please finish this conversation?" he asked.
- "I don't think we've got anything else to say…" she said looking at him "For what it's worth… It was good while it lasted." she added. Seifer felt crestfallen "Thank you for your shirt…" said Quistis taking it off, placing it around his shoulders "Goodbye…" she said, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.
The elevator doors opened and Quistis got out, not looking back. Seifer felt his knees weak and slid down onto the floor. He stared blankly at nowhere in particular, until the elevator got called again.
- "I'm sorry Seifer…" said Quistis while tears ran down her cheeks.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Oh I can just feel your wrath approaching…
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
Seifer leaves on a mission, having his heart broken by Quistis.
Quis and the others suddenly receive a message that something went wrong in Seifer's mission… Very wrong…