A/N: OK… Lemme just say that some of you are SCARY! I like that! ^_^ Here's the damn chapter, calm down already… ;-p
Chapter 35: "SURPRI… HUH?!"
Seifer was thrusting fast, kissing Quistis' neck. She held his back with one arm and the base of his neck with the other, her slender fingers engulfing it; she was enjoying every single second of it. They were both moaning and breathing heavily, wrapped around a bed sheet which reached up to their waists, lying on the floor.
- "…THREE!" yelled Selphie and all six of them barged into the room.
- "SURPRI…" they all began, but stopped in mid-sentence.
Oh, Quistis was surprised all right… All of them were… At the sound of them rushing into the room, Seifer and Quistis froze in their positions. Their six friends stood totally still, looking at the naked ensemble before them, wide-eyed. Seifer and Quistis were still holding onto one another, but their heads were jerked towards the door where the others stood. They were all looking at one another in shock, not being able to phrase a single word. Selphie suddenly dropped the cake, feeling her hands numb. The thud of the plate colliding with the floor seemed to wake everyone up.
- "Uhh… Sorry…" mumbled Selphie and instantly walked out of the room, as well as everyone else.
When the door closed behind them, Seifer slapped his forehead with one hand, while Quistis buried her face in her hands.
- "Oh shit…" Seifer said.
- "Oh my Hyne…" mumbled Quistis.
Seifer fell hard on Quistis' chest and nuzzled his face next to her neck.
- "What do we do now?" he asked.
- "We need to talk to them…" said Quistis "Come on…" she said getting up from the floor.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Selphie was leaning against the door of Quistis' dorm, staring blankly. The rest stood speechless, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.
- "I… I can't believe this…" mumbled Selphie.
- "They were…?" began Zell, with a weird expression on his face.
- "Don't say it." said Squall quickly.
- "But since when are they…?" began Zell again.
- "Well, didn't any of you see that coming?" asked Shizuka. Aside from Irvine, she seemed to be the one least surprised.
- "Why, did you?" asked Rinoa raising an eyebrow.
- "Of course I did… They were the only ones single, they spent quite some time together… It was the only natural thing to happen… Besides, they match perfectly…" Shizuka replied. All of them have her weird glares "Opposites attract each other, remember?" she added.
- "I kinda… knew." said Irvine hesitantly. The rest looked at him surprised.
- "They told you?" asked Rinoa.
- "No. I just figured out…" he replied.
- "See what I mean?" asked Shizuka.
- "This is insane…" said Selphie "I demand an explanation!" she yelled and snatched the card from Squall's hands, storming back inside the room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer had just put his boxers on, while Quistis was still looking for her clothes, wrapped around the bed sheet.
- "Alright…" said Selphie barging inside "What the hell was that?!" she yelled.
- "HEY!" yelled Seifer back "Give us some privacy here!" he added, as Quistis quickly hid behind him.
- "Don't give me that crap! I asked you a question!" yelled Selphie furiously, pointing a finger at him.
- "Don't take that tone with me!" said Seifer angrily.
- "She'll take whichever tone she wants…" said Squall walking in front of Seifer in a menacing way.
- "What's your problem Puberty-boy?" asked Seifer crossing his arms.
- "You're using one of my friends, that's my problem!" snapped Squall.
- "What do you mean 'using'?" Seifer asked narrowing his eyes.
- "Come out with it Seifer…You're only looking for a good lay…" said Squall.
- "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?!" yelled Seifer, grabbing Squall from the shirt.
Squall threw him a punch right across the face, making him let him down. Seifer rushed forward to retaliate, but Quistis held him back.
- "Seifer, no! Stop it!" she yelled.
- "Quistis, let go!" Seifer yelled back.
- "Yeah, leave him Quistis… Let him try and have a go at me…" said Squall crossing his arms.
- "Squall, what the heck got into you?!" hissed Rinoa.
- "He's fucking using her Rinoa! Can't you see it?!" yelled Squall pointing at Seifer.
- "What the hell do you think I am? A kid?!" asked Quistis furiously, letting go of Seifer, approaching Squall.
- "Quistis, I know you…" said Squall calmly "You wouldn't possibly fall for a guy like that… He just wants to have a good time with you…"
- "That's enough Squall!" yelled Quistis, trying to hold Seifer back again.
- "Guys, knock it off…" said Irvine, rubbing his forehead.
- "I'll have to agree with Squall…" said Zell crossing his arms.
- "I don't believe you guys!" yelled Quistis.
- "Quisty, we just want a few explanations…" said Selphie "We never thought you'd be the type to just… shack up with a guy…"
- "And who the HELL told you it was like that?" said Seifer, walking in front.
- "No-one has to tell me something I can see before my very own eyes Almasy…" said Squall approaching him.
- "Stop it! We don't have to fight to get through this!" said Shizuka.
- "Shizuka, stay out of this…" said Zell, approaching Seifer as well.
- "Listen to me, you little dipshits…" said Seifer angrily "I don't give a flying fuck if you two are Quistis' friends, but if you dare talk like that again, I'll fucking rip your throats open…"
- "Does the truth sting Seifer?" asked Squall, raising an eyebrow.
- "For the last Hyne damn time: It's NOT like that!" said Seifer.
- "Then what is it like?" asked Squall in an I-dare-you sort of way.
- "I LOVE HER!!!" yelled Seifer.
Everyone's eyes shot wide open, including Quistis'. Squall's expression became milder, although utterly surprised. Rinoa's hand shot up on her mouth, Irvine raised an eyebrow, Zell blinked, not sure he'd heard right. Selphie's head tilted to one side and she had a puzzled look on her face, while Shizuka's lips upturned into a small smile.
- "What…?" asked Quistis faintly.
- "You heard me…" said Seifer softly, looking at her. He then turned around and looked at Squall "That answer good enough for ya?" he asked sarcastically.
- "I… I… um…" mumbled Squall, speechless.
- "Speak up Puberty-boy, I can't hear you…" said Seifer crossing his arms.
- "I didn't know…" said Squall quietly.
Seifer didn't speak. He just turned around and put his jeans and sweater on. Quistis was sitting on her bed silent. Seifer walked over to her.
- "We'll talk later…" he said and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
He walked past the six people in front of him, not looking at any of them and left the room.
- "Quistis, we're really…" began Zell.
- "Save it Zell." Quistis interrupted him "I'm not the one who has to hear it." she said seriously.
- "Yeah, but we insulted you too…" said Selphie lowering her head.
- "I know you didn't mean anything by it…" said Quistis. Squall turned around and tried to leave the room.
- "Where are you going?" asked Rinoa frowning.
- "I owe someone an apology. A big one…" he said looking at Quistis and left the room.
- "Irvine, Zell, can you guys leave us alone for a while?" asked Rinoa. The guys nodded and left.
- "I'll just go get dressed and then we'll talk…" said Quistis walking inside the bathroom, holding her clothes in one hand.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis walked back inside her room where Rinoa, Selphie and Shizuka were waiting, sitting on her bed. Quistis took a seat on an armchair across them and looked at them.
- "You've got some serious explaining to do…" said Rinoa furiously.
- "Rinoa, I'm not going to apologize for falling in love with Seifer…" said Quistis.
- "Who said anything about apologizing?! What I want to know is why the hell you told us nothing all this time!" said Rinoa angrily.
- "I thought we were friends Quisty…" said Selphie sadly.
- "Of course we are!" said Quistis "But I did you see how the others reacted when they found out?! I was scared to tell you anything… Me and Seifer agreed it would be a real scandal…"
- "The guys are a totally different case. We would have supported you Quistis…" said Shizuka.
- "You just don't understand…" said Quistis lowering her head.
- "We do. It's you who doesn't…" said Rinoa bitterly.
- "Either way… What's done is done…" said Shizuka.
- "Who else knew besides Irvine?" asked Rinoa.
- "Irvine knew?" asked Quistis, kind of surprised.
- "He figured out…" replied Selphie "So who else knew?"
- "Edea and Xu. All of them found out by themselves. I never told anything to anyone and neither did Seifer." answered Quistis. The four girls remained silent for some time.
- "So…" said Selphie breaking the silence "D'you want to tell us how you two… got together?" she asked. Quistis took a deep breath and spoke.
- "Seifer had been hitting on me for quite some time during our lessons…We got close many times, we talked a lot… I began feeling attracted towards him too, but I couldn't let anything happen yet, because he was my student…" she said.
- "Nida was just a cover-up, right?" asked Rinoa "It was Seifer you came to talk to me about, wasn't it?" Quistis nodded.
- "I was going to tell you who it really was, but when Squall interrupted us I just… chickened out…" said Quistis.
- "So when did you two start dating?" asked Shizuka.
- "Just before that accident in the forest, he pressured me and I admitted I liked him too. We got together right after the SeeD ball." replied Quistis.
- "So I was right when I asked you if you thought he had a crush on you, huh?" asked Selphie smiling warmly.
- "Yeah…" said Quistis returning the smile "I guess you were…"
- "And that's why you flipped so bad inside the hospital. You were afraid of losing him…" said Rinoa.
- "Exactly…" replied Quistis.
- "Umm…" began Selphie "I take it you two have… had…"
- "Well, you saw it with your own eyes just before…" said Quistis blushing a bit.
- "Was he your first?" asked Shizuka. Quistis nodded.
- "Hyne Quistis, didn't you feel the need to talk to someone about it?!" asked Rinoa exasperated "When it happened between me and Squall you were the first people I talked to!"
- "You have no idea what it felt like." said Quistis "You think I didn't want to share that with you? But I just couldn't… I couldn't come in one morning and say 'Hey guys, I just slept with Seifer. It was my first time so I'd like to talk to you about it…'."
- "You should have told us from the very beginning. That's our point…" said Selphie.
- "My mistake… No point in keeping rubbing that in now…" said Quistis.
- "Well…" said Selphie "Since we didn't get the chance to have those talks back then, we could always have them now…"
Quistis grinned and looked at the three eager girls before her. She began her narration about every experience she had with Seifer; their fights, their secret meetings, their recent trip to Esthar. Her three friends listened to her every word and reacted accordingly.
- "Damn… I can't believe that all this time we were saying… stuff about Seifer and he was your boyfriend…" said Selphie blushing.
- "Yeah, I know… It felt really weird…" said Quistis grinning.
- "So you've had quite the adventures with him, huh?" asked Shizuka.
- "Never a dull moment, that's for sure…" replied Quistis.
- "Do you really love each other?" asked Rinoa.
- "Yes. Very much…" said Quistis. Rinoa smiled at her.
- "In that case… I'm really happy for you…" she said.
- "Thanks…" said Quistis smiling back.
- "Hey… Can we see that tattoo?" asked Selphie mischievously "And the belly-ring!"
- "Alright…" said Quistis chuckling.
She got up and pulled her shirt up first.
- "Wicked!" said Selphie excitedly.
- "Looks great on you!" said Shizuka.
Quistis then put her leg up on the armchair, pulling up her skirt. The three girls leaned closer and looked at the little heart on her inner thigh.
- "I am so getting one with Squall…" said Rinoa admiring it.
- "Ooh, I bet he'd just love that…" said Selphie chuckling.
- "You never know!" said Rinoa crossing her arms.
- "You said Seifer got one too?" asked Shizuka.
- "Yeah." replied Quistis.
- "Where?" asked Rinoa.
- "His… umm… right… cheek…" said Quistis smiling awkwardly. The three girls looked at her puzzled.
- "Wait a sec…" said Rinoa.
- "He got it on his right butt cheek?!" asked Selphie with eyes wide open. Quistis nodded, biting her bottom lip.
- "Oh my Hyne!" said Shizuka giggling.
- "We have got to see it!" said Selphie excitedly. Quistis crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow "Uh, right…" said Selphie rubbing the back of her hair "Sorry 'bout that…" she added grinning.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was heading back to his dorm, feeling terrible. He stopped walking when he heard someone calling him from behind.
- "Seifer!" called Squall. Seifer turned around and looked at him raising an eyebrow, frowning.
- "Listen, if you're here to start…" began Seifer angrily.
- "I'm sorry." said Squall quickly. Seifer crossed his arms, not speaking "I was wrong just before. I shouldn't have spoken like that. I was just really worried about Quistis. And so was Zell."
- "So it was just easy for you to deduce that I only wanted to sleep with her?" asked Seifer. Squall didn't speak "I'll be honest with you…" said Seifer "That was my purpose at first…" he added. Squall looked up at him surprised "…but it seems that your friend made me fall for her… bad." Squall eyed Seifer kind of angrily "She already knows." Seifer added quickly.
- "And she forgave you?" asked Squall.
- "Surprisingly… yes." said Seifer. Squall scoffed.
- "Don't let this get to your head but… I would have forgiven you too…" said Squall and turned around to leave. Seifer looked at him puzzled "Just 'cause you were honest Almasy… for once…" said Squall without turning around and disappeared down the corridor.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was lying down on his bed, smoking. He was staring up at the ceiling blankly. So… He'd finally done it… He had told Quistis how he really felt… Not under ideal circumstances, but still… He wondered what would happen now. Would Quistis return that feeling, or would she just get spooked out just like she had some time ago? Seifer let out a big sigh, exhaling smoke. Just then, came a knock on his door. He put out his cigarette and got up to answer the door. He found Quistis standing outside.
- "Hey…" he said awkwardly.
- "Hey… Can I come in?" she asked.
- "Sure…" said Seifer, stepping aside "Don't you have any classes?" asked Seifer, closing the door.
- "Fortunately, today I start at noon." she replied.
- "Oh good… Sit down…" he said.
- "So…" said Quistis sitting on his bed "They know…"
- "Would have happened sooner or later…" said Seifer sitting next to her.
- "I know, but I didn't want it to happen like this…" she said.
- "Yeah, you're right… It was kinda… awkward…" he said, rubbing his back hair.
- "Did you remember their faces when they saw us on the floor… doing stuff?" she asked, grinning.
- "I swear I thought Chicken-wuss was about to have a heart attack…" said Seifer chuckling.
They both laughed hard for a couple of minutes. Seifer looked at Quistis and pulled her into a tight embrace. He pulled up her chin and gave her a deep kiss… He suddenly stopped, held her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes.
- "I love you…" he said. Quistis smiled.
- "I love you too Seifer…" she said.
Seifer smiled broadly and a small 'Yes!' sound escaped his lips, as he leaned down kissing her again…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Ah yes… The 'I love you' scene… Finally… ^_^
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
Alright, let's recap… The whole gang knows, Edea knows, Xu knows… So, who's left then?
Why, the public of course!