Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII. Square does. I also do not own "All You Wanted". Michelle Branch and her respective record label do.



A/N: Sorry this took so long. I'm trying to be better about updates. I've had writer's block, though. I warn you: this chapter will be full of pure, corny fluff. Hope you can stomach it.



Today's song is "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch. This is pretty much self-explanatory. It is a good display of how Selphie feels about Zell's problem



I wanted to be like you
I wanted everything
So I tried to be like you
And I got swept away

I didn't know that it was so cold
And you needed someone
To show you the way
So I took your hand and we figured out
That when the tide comes
I'd take you away

If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
Was somebody who cares

I'm sinking slowly
So hurry hold me
Your hand is all I have to keep me
Hanging on
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone

If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
Was somebody who cares

All you wanted was somebody who cares
IF you need me you know I'll be there
Oh, yeah

If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
Was somebody who cares

Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go you're gone




Selphie awoke in excitement. She didn't have anything to do that day so she would be able to devote it entirely to spending time with Zell. She still didn't know how to solve his problem. Her spending time with him the previous night did seem like it helped, though. She was glad she was able to help him. Everybody had been ignoring him lately. She knew Irvine wouldn't miss her for the day anyway.
Her thoughts drifted to Irvine. When they had first gotten together she thought she was in love with him, but lately she hadn't been so sure. She knew he wasn't cheating on her, but she didn't like his wandering eyes. When he actually paid attention to her he was a wonderful guy. The problem was he didn't pay attention to her for great lengths of time. She didn't want to seem high maintenance so she didn't voice these negative thoughts to him. And even though she knew he wasn't currently cheating on her, she couldn't help wondering how long it would be before his innocent flirtations turned into something more.
Selphie shook these thoughts. Today was going to be a happy day. She would get to spend it with her favorite person in the world. And she was going to try her hardest to cheer him up. She got dressed and headed for Zell's room.



Zell was laying in bed staring at his ceiling. He liked staring at his ceiling. He always thought best when he was staring at it. His thoughts were currently on Selphie, his best friend. Actually, in a way, she was his only friend. She was the only person that knew about his true feelings. Even though he still didn't have love, she really did help him. At least some of the loneliness dissipated while spending time with her. He was ecstatic that she wanted to spend this day with him, too. He wouldn't have thought that she would rather spend it with him than Irvine.
Zell's happiness drained a little at the thought of Irvine. Zell didn't think he deserved Selphie. Zell hated how Irvine was always flirting with other girls. Zell couldn't imagine how Irvine could take his eyes off Selphie with her soft brown hair, her big caring eyes, her petite figure, and that cute way she kicked her leg up when she got excited. Wait a second. What was he thinking? This was Selphie, his best friend.
'Get rid of those thoughts,' Zell thought, 'She's with Irvine and she's your best friend.'
Zell was pulled out of his thoughts altogether when he heard a knock on his door. He knew it had to be Selphie.
"Come in!" he shouted.
Selphie opened the door and walked in. She was wearing her usual little yellow dress and brown boots. Zell thought she was a vision of beauty.
'Where did that come from?' he asked himself internally.

Selphie had just entered the room. She smiled at Zell. Her smile slowly faded when she actually took a good look at Zell. He apparently had just gotten out of bed because he wasn't wearing a shirt. Selphie had never seen Zell without his shirt on. She couldn't stop herself from staring at his bare torso. She imagined what it would be like to be held in that pair of muscular arms.
She was snapped out of her daze when Zell coughed. She looked at his face to see him eyeing her confusedly. She must have looked like a complete idiot just staring at him like that.
"Um…what would you like to do today?" Zell asked shyly.
"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking we could walk over to Balamb and just wing it from there," Selphie said, getting over her previous stupor.
"All right," he said with a smile. Selphie was happy to see him smile. He looked around for a little while before finding his shirt amongst all the clothes scattered around his floor. He put on the shirt and his shoes and walked over to where Selphie was standing.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah, but do you mind if we stop by the cafeteria on the way out? I'm pretty sure that's where Irvine is and I want to let him know he's on his own today," Selphie asked.
She thought she saw a slight grimace at the mention of his name. She decided that it was nothing.
"That's fine with me. Let's go," he said.
They walked together to the cafeteria. When they got there the saw Irvine laughing with three scantily clad girls. Selphie looked over at Zell. He seemed to be angrier than she was. She had only seen him this upset once when Seifer ate the cafeteria's last hot dog right in front of Zell. She wasn't happy about it herself. She saw the three girls exchanging flirtatious touches. She hat gotten used to this kind of thing, though. She had accepted it. She walked over to him.
"Hey, Irvine," she greeted.
"Huh? Oh, hey, Selphie," he replied.
The girls looked like they were ready to gouge out Selphie's eyes with their fingernails.
"I just came to tell you that I'm going to be spending today with Zell. All right?" she asked.
She didn't know why she was even bothering. She knew he wouldn't care.
"Yeah. That's fine," Irvine said quickly as he turned back to the other girls.
Selphie walked back over to Zell. He was waiting patiently at the entrance of the cafeteria.
"Ready to head out?" she asked.
"Yeah, let's go," he replied as they exited the cafeteria together.

Zell was content as he ever had been during their walk. Not much was said, but that didn't matter. Zell just liked being in Selphie's company. It really made him forget about his unhappiness. All that mattered at the moment was being near Selphie.
The came to the section of the road to Balamb that was adjacent to the forest. Selphie stopped for a second. Zell was wondering what she was thinking because it appeared that gears were turning in her head.
"Let's play hide and seek!" she said suddenly.
"What?" Zell asked confusedly.
"We used to play hide and seek all the time at Matron's orphanage. Don't you remember?" Selphie asked.
Zell remembered. The endless games of hide and seek he had enjoyed with Selphie happened to be his happiest memories. Zell smiled at the thought.
"Yeah, I remember," he said, still grinning.
"So, you wanna play?" she asked hopefully.
Zell shrugged, "Why not?"
"Yay!" Selphie said in glee as she did that cute leg kick that Zell loved so very much.
"So who's hiding first?" he asked, unable to contain his smile
"Me!" Selphie shouted enthusiastically.
"All right," Zell said as he walked over to a nearby tree, "This will be the base. I'm gonna count to 100 and then I'll come looking for you."
"Okay," she agreed.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yeah!" she said excitedly.
Zell covered his eyes.
"Go!" he shouted.
He heard her run off into the woods. He started counting to 100.
"Ready or not, here I come!" he shouted when he finished counting.
He headed in the direction that he had heard her run off in. He looked around for any possible place that she might be hiding in. He was starting to remember how good at hiding she was.
When it seemed that he would never find her, he heard her jump out behind him. He whirled around to see her sprinting for the base tree. He ran after her. It was an all-out chase. He started gaining on her. His longer legs gave him more speed.
He had just about caught up with her. He made a final stride and grabbed her around her waist with her arms pinned to her sides. He turned her around in his embrace so that she was facing him. He picked her up and spun her around in victory. When he set her down they were both laughing hysterically. His arms were still locked around her waist when the laughing subsided, but her hands now rested on his chest.
This was when Zell noticed how close they were. He could feel Selphie's breath on his face. He was staring deeply into her eyes. Their smiles had faded and they were locked in each other's gaze. Something deep down inside Zell was telling him to lean down and kiss Selphie. Zell was a mixture of emotions. He was a mass of confusion. He had never felt this way about Selphie before. It was so strange, but he was having a very difficult time trying to fight the urge to kiss her. His brain kept reminding him that she was Irvine's girlfriend. It just wasn't right. Selphie would probably hit him anyway.
He released her from her embrace. When he looked at her he could have sworn he saw a hint of disappointment in Selphie's eyes. He must have been wrong, though, because she was happily with Irvine. Zell decided that these new feelings for Selphie would just have to be pushed into the back of his mind and forgotten. It wasn't like he was falling in love with her or something.

It was plain and simple. Selphie was confused. She didn't know what had just happened. She had a boyfriend and there she was, hoping against hope that Zell would kiss her. She couldn't believe that she even thought that. Zell was her best friend. She decided that this was just a passing fancy. A silly attraction that would just have to be forgotten. It wasn't like she was falling in love with him or something.
She decided that the silence must be broken.
"Are you ready to head to Balamb?" she asked.
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea," he said.
They finished their walk to Balamb.
The rest of the day went by very quickly for Selphie. She had more fun than she could ever remember having, even with her strange new attraction to Zell. First, they rented a couple of fishing poles. That turned out to be an experience neither of them would soon forget. After proceeding to stab himself with a hook Zell almost got dragged into the water by a fish. Selphie hadn't done much better. She couldn't even bring herself to put the worm on the hook. She just couldn't hurt an innocent creature. Instead, she took all her worms and freed them outside the city.
Then they ate lunch at a small café. The day's conversation was great. Selphie had never talked like that with Irvine. And that was another thing. She kept comparing the things he did to what Irvine would normally do. She couldn't understand why she would be doing that. Irvine was her boyfriend and Zell was her best friend. Those were two very different roles in her life. It was like comparing apples and oranges, but here she was doing it.
Then dinner came. They ate at a restaurant with outdoor tables. It was very pleasant. It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining brilliantly. Across the street there was a group of street performers playing soft music on their instruments. They had a trumpet, a saxophone, and a violin. It was very relaxing. Zell really appeared to be the happiest Selphie had seen him in a while. She was even happier because she was the cause of this happiness.
They made small talk for a while and then Zell looked at her strangely. Selphie didn't know why he was looking at her like that.
"When's the last time Irvine told you how beautiful you are?" he asked.
Selphie was shocked at the statement. Zell had never said anything like that to her before. And actually, she couldn't remember Irvine ever telling her she was beautiful. Seeing Selphie's startled reaction Zell looked like he immediately regretted saying that.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," he said as he looked down at the table.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to seem upset or anything. Thank you very much for the compliment," she said, smiling at him.
"Any time," he said, smiling back.
He looked over at the band and then looked back over at Selphie.
"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked.
Selphie was taken aback again. She hadn't danced since the SeeD ball. Irvine didn't like dancing.
"I'd like that a lot," she said.
He got up and offered his hand to her. She took it and got up from her seat. They walked over near the band. The band was playing a slow, mellow song. Selphie wrapped one arm around Zell's neck and took his right hand in hers. Zell wrapped his other hand around her waist. Selphie was surprised, but Zell could actually dance very well.
"I didn't know you could dance, Zell," Selphie said as she looked up to meet his gaze.
"I guess I have a few hidden talents," he said, smiling his trademark toothy grin.
"I really appreciate this," he added, "This time with you has made me happier than I've been in a while."
"I'm glad," she said, "I've enjoyed it, too. I really did miss hanging out with you."
Then they were silent as they continued to sway to the music. Selphie couldn't remember being so content. She felt like she could stay this way forever. She rested her head on Zell's chest. She was a little surprised when she felt him kiss the top of her head. She didn't know what was happening between them, but she didn't think she could stop it if she wanted to.




Well, there it is. Again, I'm sorry this took me so long. Tell me what you think. I'll try and have the next chapter up soon.