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To Sickness in Salvation:I'm glad you're not mad at me. I'm pretty sure that this chapter will make up for my previous meanness.
To Wolf of Light: After you blew up the doll, I hope you burnt the pieces and then tossed them into the ocean!
To FantasyWolf: I can live with despise but I think you'll be happy with me after this chapter...at least I hope so.
To Quistis88: Slap away! Although you'll probably have to take a number. You know what, since you asked so nicely, I'll let you be first in line. Let the slapfest begin!
To Boggart: I know! I'm terrible! This chapter will make up for it, I promise!
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"Quistis are you in there?"
Rinoa's voice floated through the dorm door and Quistis sighed. She thought maybe if she didn't answer, they would all just leave her alone. No such luck as a second later, Selphie tried.
"Come on Quisty open up!" the petite brunette ordered, "we know you're in there!"
Quistis groaned, took off her glasses, put down the book she was reading and walked to the door. It slid open as she approached, revealing the two female SeeDs.
"Hi!" Selphie greeted cheerfully.
"Hi," Quistis said back with very little enthusiasm
"Me and Selphie were going into Balamb to do some last minute shopping for the SeeD ball tonight," Rinoa informed, "Wanna come?"
"No thanks," Quistis declined without thinking, "I'm right in the middle of a book and…"
"Let me guess," Rinoa interrupted, "'How to Junction a GF' or 'Magic and You: Best Friends 'til the End'."
"Actually," Quistis corrected, "It's 'Elementary Magic and It's Effects'."
"Whatever," Rinoa groaned, "the point is, you are spending entirely too much time cooped up in your room."
"Yeah," Selphie agreed, "You can't avoid Seifer forever. Besides, you dumped him, remember?"
Quistis cringed. "I didn't dump him, we just needed some time apart." It had been two and a half weeks since Quistis had given Seifer back the engagement ring. Since then, he had been released from the infirmary and she had become a recluse. It wasn't the most productive way to live but it was the best thing for her right now.
"You know, something doesn't add up," Rinoa stated, "you broke up with Seifer and yet you're avoiding him like the plague. Do you still have feelings for him or what?"
"Sure," Quistis admitted, "I mean, I always will."
"Then why'd you break up with him?" Selphie asked, totally confused.
"I think it's time we had a talk." Rinoa walked past Quistis and Selphie followed.
"There's nothing to talk about," Quistis insisted as the two women made themselves comfortable in chairs by her bed, "he just needed some space so I gave it to him."
"He needed some space?" Rinoa questioned, "Sit down, Quisty." Quistis sat down on her bed. "If he needed space, then why does he mope around the Garden like he's a zombie?"
"What?" Quistis stared in confusion at Rinoa.
"It's true," Selphie nodded, "I asked him if he'd help me set up the ballroom for the SeeD ball and he just ignored me!"
Rinoa raised an eyebrow at Selphie's words. "While that may not be the best example, he has been in a daze since you broke up with him," Rinoa told Quistis, "He looks terrible, he hasn't shaved in days, or bathed for that matter. The man is a wreck without you Quistis."
"That can't be true," Quistis shook her head, "he needed space. I saw him and…" She trailed off.
"Saw him what?" Selphie inquired.
"Nothing." Quistis looked away. "Never mind."
"Quisty, what's going on?" Rinoa prodded, "What did you see?"
"Nothing I said!" Quistis told them, "Just forget I said anything."
"Tell us Quisty," Selphie pleaded, "We're your best friends. We're practically sisters, it's not right to keep things from us."
Quistis looked up at the two women sitting in front of her. "Promise you won't tell Seifer?"
"Promise!" they chorused.
"Okay." Quistis took a deep breath. "The reason I broke up with Seifer was because I felt like I was holding him back."
"Holding him back from what?" Selphie asked.
"Well, before I lost my memory, Seifer and I were…intimate with each other," Quistis blushed as she talked, "at least, that's what he told me. Anyway, I just couldn't be in that same level of a relationship now that I can't remember how things used to be. I told him once that if he wanted to see other people he could but he said he'd wait for me forever if he had to…"
"Awwww," Selphie and Rinoa cooed.
"…but apparently forever wasn't as long as I thought because he went to someone else to fulfill his…needs," Quistis finished, "so instead of him feeling bound to me, I cut him loose to explore other options." Rinoa and Selphie were wide-eyed.
"He cheated on you?!" Selphie gasped.
"I wouldn't call it cheating," Quistis defended, "since technically we weren't together and I told him he could…"
"How do you know he cheated on you?" Rinoa questioned.
"I saw him," Quistis answered.
"You SAW him cheating on you?!" Selphie exclaimed. She narrowed her jade eyes threateningly. "I don't blame you for dumping him! He deserved it! Cheater!"
"I don't believe it," Rinoa breathed, "Seifer loves you, I know he does! Why would he do this to you?"
Quistis sighed. "It's my fault. If I had just made an effort…"
"Like Hell it is!" Selphie shouted, "You didn't do anything wrong, Quisty. He's just a dirty pig who thinks with his dick!"
"Selphie!" Quistis exclaimed.
"It's true!" Selphie insisted, "Next time I see him, I'm going to strangle him!"
"No!" Quistis protested, "You promised you wouldn't tell him!"
"Fine," Selphie relented, "but I'm never being nice to him again! Never!"
"It just doesn't make sense," Rinoa stated, "Seifer isn't someone who would let his hormones get the better of him. What exactly did you see?"
"Let me think…" Quistis said. Like she would have to think. The image had been etched into her mind for the past seventeen days. "Well, I had gone to get us lunch. When I came back, a girl was straddling Seifer on his bed and kissing him."
"What did you do?" Selphie asked.
"Nothing," Quistis replied, "I turned and left."
"Who was the girl?" Rinoa inquired, "Do you know her?"
"I've seen her around the Garden before but I don't know her name," Quistis informed.
"What does she look like?" Selphie questioned with an evil glint in her eye.
Quistis eyed her suspiciously. "If I tell you, you aren't going to go find her and hurt her are you?"
"Of course not!" Selphie exclaimed, "Why would I do something like that?"
"Selphie." Quistis looked at her sternly.
"Fine!" Selphie sighed, "I won't hurt her…physically."
Quistis ignored her last remark and began to describe the girl she had seen with Seifer. "I only saw her from the back but I'm pretty sure she's the girl I've seen around the Garden. She's not real tall, maybe a few inches shorter than me. She's younger than me too, by at least five years. I'd say she's about fifteen or sixteen. She has freckles on her face and red curly hair…"
"Janai!" Rinoa and Selphie gasped at the same time.
"Janai?"
"It's Janai Talbert!" Rinoa informed, "She's been following Seifer around since he got out of the infirmary. No matter how many times he tells her, she just won't' leave him alone."
"She asked him out before we found you in Winhill too," Selphie added, "He didn't want anything to do with her then either."
"But that doesn't make any sense," Quistis insisted, "I saw them. They were kissing and she was on top of him!"
"Maybe what you think you saw wasn't exactly what happened," Rinoa suggested.
"Yeah!" Selphie agreed, "Maybe Janai kissed him because she knew you were watching and she wanted the two of you to break up!"
"Don't you think that's a little far-fetched?" Quistis inquired.
"Not at all!" Selphie defended, "It's entirely plausible!"
"Plausible?" Quistis raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Selphie giggled. "Irvy bought me a word-a-day calendar to build my vocabulary."
Quistis nodded. "Right."
"Look, there's no point in sitting here arguing about it," Rinoa stated, "We need to do something about this! We need to find out the truth!"
"And how are we going to do that?" Quistis wondered.
"We could beat it out of her!" Selphie chirped.
"Or…" Rinoa began, "we could spy on her and her little friends and see what they have to say!"
"That's perfect Rinny!" Selphie praised, "You're a genius!" Selphie jumped to her feet, as did Rinoa. "Come on Quisty! We'll get to the bottom of this!"
Quistis stood up reluctantly. "But I thought you two were going shopping."
"That was just an excuse to get you out of your room," Rinoa informed, "Now come on! We're on a mission!"
The two women dragged the helpless blonde out of her room and towards the cafeteria.
2 Hours Later…
"Who would've thought anyone could be so boring!" Rinoa exclaimed as the three women walked back into Quistis' dorm room. On their little spy mission, they had been subjected to two hours of torturous teenage girl banter. From boys to Bite Bugs and back to boys, Janai and her friends had spoken about everything under the sun except the one thing they had wanted to know. They had finally given up as the teenagers made their way to the library.
"There's two hours of my life that I'll never get back," Quistis complained and collapsed onto her bed.
"There's gotta be another way to find out what really happened," Selphie whined.
"Whatever it is, count me out," Quistis told them, "I've had enough of that girl to last me a lifetime."
"Definitely," Selphie agreed, "I want to pretend that those last two hours never happened. What I write in my diary tonight, I'm leaving that part out."
"That's it!" Rinoa exclaimed, causing Quistis and Selphie to jump.
"That's what?" Selphie inquired.
"That's how we can find out what really happened!" Rinoa clarified, "her diary! She's gotta have one! Almost everyone in Garden does!"
"You're right!" Selphie agreed.
"Uh guys," Quistis interrupted, "how exactly are you going to get her diary?"
"We'll just have to let ourselves into her room, that's all," Rinoa explained.
"How are we going to do that?" Quistis inquired, "don't we need her keycard and her password?"
"Not if we have a master keycard." Rinoa opened the top drawer of Quistis' nightstand and pushed aside some stuff until she came across what she was looking for. She pulled out an old book and began flipping through the pages. "Aha!" Rinoa pulled a white keycard out of the pages and returned the book to the drawer. "All instructors are given master keycards in case of emergencies." Rinoa and Selphie headed towards the door.
"Wait a minute!" Quistis called, "we can't just go barging in there! What if she's there? And do you even know what dorm room is hers?"
"Good point," Rinoa acknowledged, "we'll have to break into Squall's office first to find out what dorm she's in, then we'll have to make sure she's not there." They started for the door again.
"This is insane!" Quistis protested and chased after them, "What if we get caught?"
"Relax Quisty," Selphie comforted, "Rinny's great and breaking and entering. She sneaks into Squall's office all the time."
Rinoa nodded and she and Selphie left the room. Quistis hesitated for a minute, and then followed after them quickly. The three women made their way to the elevator and Rinoa stopped them outside of it.
"It'll be easier if I go alone," Rinoa told them. She looked down at her watch. "I should be back in a few minutes." The other two nodded and Rinoa climbed into the elevator.
Four minutes later, the elevator doors opened and Rinoa stepped out. She had a piece of paper in her hand and a smile on her face. "Janai Talbert, room 107, shares a room with Maili Krandle, both of which are in the library and will remain there until I give Cammi the okay to let them go. Come on."
The three women hurried back to the dorm hallway and wandered around until they came to room 107. Selphie and Quistis made sure no one was around as Rinoa slipped the keycard into the door. It beeped and then slid open. They all ran inside and Rinoa locked the door behind her using the password taped above the keypad. Once this was done, they turned to survey the dorm.
"Which room is hers?" Selphie asked as she stared at the two identical rooms.
"Her weapon is a spear so look for spear accessories," Rinoa offered.
"It's this one," Selphie announced, pointing to the room on the left. A long spear was visible leaning against the back wall.
"Let's go to work then." They entered the tiny room and began searching through her dresser and nightstand. They found nothing. They looked under her bed, nothing. They looked under her mattress, nothing. They looked under her pillow, nothing. Rinoa sat down heavily on the bed.
"Where could the damn thing be?!" she shouted.
"Oh!" Selphie chirped and dropped to her hands and knees in front of the nightstand. She reached under it and began feeling around on the bottom of it. "Got it!" There was a momentary ripping sound and Selphie retracted her arm, a pink and white diary in her hand. Rinoa and Quistis stared it shock.
"How did you ever come up with that idea?" Quistis asked.
Selphie smiled sheepishly. "It's the same place I hide mine. It's the only place Irvy hasn't looked."
"Give it to me." Rinoa snatched the book, which had a piece of Velcro stuck to the front, and opened it.
"Hey!" Selphie pouted but Rinoa ignored her.
Rinoa flipped through the entries as Selphie and Quistis waited anxiously. "Ah! Here we go!" Rinoa put her finger on the page. " 'November 21,'" Rinoa read, " 'Dear Diary, my carefully laid out plans were finally executed today. After cutting Maili's leg with my spear, I ran to the infirmary and told the doctor that there had been an accident in the Training Center. After she left, I was all alone with Seifer. I knew that bimbo fiancée of his would be back soon, so I acted fast. When I saw her coming, I jumped on him and kissed him. It was amazing! I know she saw too because she turned and left. Unfortunately, Seifer wasn't too thrilled and he chased me out of his room but that doesn't matter. He'll warm up to me eventually. I can't wait until I feel his lips on mine again. Signed, Janai." Rinoa closed the diary and looked up at Quistis.
"What have I done?" Quistis whispered.
"Don't worry about it Quisty," Selphie assured, "we'll fix everything!"
"No!" Quistis declined, "I messed everything up by myself, I need to fix it by myself. Come on, let's get out of here before we get caught."
Selphie replaced the diary to it's hiding spot and they left the dorm. They walked in silence until they reached Quistis' dorm. Rinoa handed her the master keycard.
"Are you sure you don't want our help?" Rinoa inquired.
"Yeah," Selphie agreed, "we want to help."
"You already have helped," Quistis smiled, "you found out the truth. The rest of it is up to me. First, I need some time to sort out exactly what I'm going to say."
"When are you gonna talk to him?" Selphie prodded.
"Tonight," Quistis replied, "at the SeeD ball. I'll see you guys then." Quistis entered her dorm and the door slid shut behind her.
Outside, Selphie and Rinoa looked at each other.
"You think everything will turn out okay?" Selphie asked.
"Sure it will," Rinoa assured, "this is Quisty and Seifer we're talking about. No one has ever fought as hard for their love as those two did. There's no way their gonna let this tear them apart."
"You're right," Selphie agreed with a smile.
"I always am."
The two women headed off towards the main hallway.
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Quistis stood in front of the mirror attached to her dresser as she put on her earrings, diamond studs with a silver strip leading down to another diamond stud, and her necklace, which was a black choker with a diamond dangling from it. Her hair was swept up into a French twist and two curly tendrils framed her face. She wore minimal make up, as she didn't need it, and a navy blue dress with a tight, spaghetti strapped bodice and long, flowing skirt. After hours of preparation, she was ready for the SeeD ball.
She wasn't, however, ready for her talk with Seifer.
Ever since she had returned to her dorm room, she had been trying to think of a way to explain to him what she had seen and how she had misinterpreted it. It wasn't easy. Every time she ran through the words in her head, she found something wrong with them. By 6:47, she had decided that the words would never be perfect and if she didn't get moving, she would be late for the ball. She strapped on her open-toed heels and made her way to the door.
It was then that it hit her. Her memory came rushing back to her with all the force of a tsunami. She cried out and clutched her head as memory after memory ran through it. They were all so vivid: the first time she had seen Edea's orphanage and the others, the first time she had come to the Garden after it's completion, the first time she had handled a whip, passing her SeeD exam, passing her instructor's exam, having her instructor's license taken away, obtaining Save the Queen, fighting Ultimecia, teaching Seifer once he returned to the Garden, the first time they kissed, the first time they made love, the night he proposed to her and finally, falling off the Garden after the attack by Kaiser Deling.
"Stop!" Quistis cried weakly but the memories ignored her. Her head felt as if it would burst from all the images and she could take no more. Blackness enveloped her and finally the images stopped.
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"She should've been here by now," Rinoa commented.
"You don't think she chickened out, do you?" Selphie asked.
"She wouldn't dare," Rinoa insisted. She thought for a moment, "but just in case, I think we should go get her and escort her to the ball."
"Good idea," Selphie agreed. The two girls left the ballroom and took the elevator down to the first floor. They stepped off and caught sight of Seifer heading towards the Quad.
"Hey Seifer!" Rinoa called. The blonde stopped and turned to her. At least he shaved, she thought. "You're going the wrong way! The SeeD ball is up there!" She pointed to the second floor.
"I'm not in the mood for a stupid party," Seifer told her, "I'm going to sit in the Quad where no one will bother me."
"Suit yourself," Rinoa shrugged, secretly pleased that he and Quistis would have somewhere private to talk. The women made their way around the Garden to the dormitories and stopped outside Quistis' room.
"Quistis, are you in there?" Rinoa called through the door. "It's time to go to the ball." There was no reply.
"Come on Quisty!" Selphie demanded, "You already tried this once today. It didn't work then and it's not gonna work now! Open up!" There was still no response.
"That woman sure can be stubborn," Selphie commented.
"I thought something like this might happen so…" Rinoa reached down her green dress and pulled out a keycard. "I snatched this from Squall's room."
"You're a genius!" Selphie exclaimed, "you always think of everything!"
"I know." Rinoa slipped the master keycard into the slot and waited for the door to beep. It did and then slid open. "Come on Quisty, where are…" Rinoa trailed off as her eyes fell on the crumpled form of the blonde. "Quistis!"
The two women dashed into the room and knelt down beside the fallen instructor.
"Quistis!" Rinoa shouted, "Wake up!"
"What's wrong with her?" Selphie questioned, fear evident on her face.
"I don't know," Rinoa admitted, "try casting Curaga on her."
Selphie nodded. "Curaga!"
Immediately, Quistis' eyes fluttered and then opened. She blinked a few times to focus and then looked up at the two figures leaning over her.
"Selphie? Rin?" Quistis sat up.
"Quisty, are you all right?" Selphie asked.
"Yes," Quistis assured, "the memories, they were just too much for me and I fainted."
"Memories?" Rinoa inquired. Suddenly, her face lit up, "Does that mean…?"
"Yes," Quistis nodded, "I'm finally back."
"Yay!" The younger women hugged Quistis tightly.
Rinoa was the first to let go. "You have to go tell Seifer!"
"Oh my Hyne, Seifer!" Quistis exclaimed, "Where is he?"
"In the Quad."
Quistis leapt to her feet and was out the door before Rinoa or Selphie could react. She ran down the dorm hallway and turned onto the main hallway, never slowing down. The entire way to the Quad, she kept thinking Hyne, please let Seifer forgive me! She reached the Quad and hurried towards the balcony in the back. She knew that was where he'd be.
Sure enough, she spotted him sitting on the ground against the balcony with his legs dangling over the side of the Garden through the railing. Her heels clicked loudly, announcing her approach. He obviously heard because he spoke to her without turning around.
"Go away," he snarled, "I don't want to be bothered."
"Seifer?"
He turned around when he heard her voice. "Quistis, what are you doing out here?" He faced away from her again. "You're gonna miss the SeeD ball, or did you forget about that too?"
Quistis narrowed her eyes at his back. "Seifer Almasy! What in the Hell makes you think you can talk to me like that? I didn't let you talk to me like that when we hated each other and there's no way I'm going to let you talk to me like that now!" Seifer turned to her again, a shocked expression on his face. "That's right, my memory's back and you know what I remember? You are a stubborn ass! I don't know who I let myself fall in love with you in the first place!"
By this time, Seifer was on his feet. He slowly walked up to her and took her hands into his own. "You remember everything?" Before she could answer, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.
She pushed him away, her eyes still narrowed. "Don't think that you can make up for what you just said to me with one little kiss."
"Hyne woman," Seifer smiled, "can't you just get lost in the moment?"
"No."
"Oh, well, excuse me Miss here's-your-ring-back-because-I-don't-want-to-be-your-fiancée-anymore!" Seifer quipped, "but I happen to be excited about this."
"The only reason I gave you the ring back is because I saw that little tramp Janai kiss you!" Quistis defended.
Seifer's smile faded. "Quisty, you gotta believe me, I didn't…"
She hushed him by putting her hand over his mouth. "I know. I came out here to tell you that I'm sorry for distrusting you."
"How did you find out that I had nothing to do with the kiss?" Seifer inquired.
Quistis grinned. "Rinoa, Selphie and I broke into her room and read her diary."
The smile returned to Seifer's face as he pulled her engagement ring out of his pocket. "I think this belongs to you." She held up her hand and he slipped it on her finger. He looked down at her and their eyes locked. "Quistis Angelica Trepe, will you marry me?"
"Yes." Quistis leaned up and kissed him passionately. They pulled apart when they heard footsteps coming towards them.
"Seifer!" a voice called from inside the Quad. A second later, none other than Janai Talbert appeared on the balcony. "My friend Maili said she saw you come in…" She trailed off when she saw the two blondes entangled in each other's arms. A look of anger crossed her face. "What are you doing with my Seifer?"
"You stupid…" Seifer started forward but Quistis stopped him.
"No Seifer," Quistis smiled evilly, "let me."
Seifer grinned. "She's all yours babe."
Quistis turned from Seifer and started towards Janai. The redhead's face went from angry to scared as the blonde instructor started towards her. She turned to bolt but Quistis stopped her with a shouted command.
"Don't even think about running!" Quistis ordered. Janai turned back to the taller woman and stared at her fearfully. "Listen up little girl, I know what you did and if you ever come near my fiancé again, you'll be on the bad side of my Save the Queen, do you understand?"
"Y…yes…."
"Yes Instructor Trepe!" Quistis corrected.
"Yes Instructor Trepe," Janai repeated.
"Good, now get out of my sight before I change my mind and decide to take out my anger on you!" Quistis ordered.
Janai turned and scrambled out of the Quad as fast as she could. Seifer walked up next to Quistis once the girl was gone.
"Nicely done," Seifer praised.
"Thank you," Quistis smiled.
Seifer held his arm out. "What do you say we head to the SeeD ball?"
Quistis looped her arm with his. "No. Tonight is all about us. I don't want to be with the crowd. I just want to be along with you."
"In that case…" Seifer unlooped his arm from hers and scooped her up into his arms.
"Seifer!" Quistis exclaimed and wrapped her arms around his neck, "What are you doing?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he smiled and headed towards the dorms.
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I hope this happy ending was sufficent to cover my butt from excessive flaming. The epilogue will be posted tomorrow so keep your eyes opened!