The Virus
Chapter 6: What Happened?
A/N: Hopefully the writer's block I have won't interfere with my ability to write, because just for my readers, I'm working hard to finish my story, no matter what.
"Wake up, Rinoa..." Squall pleaded, shaking her lightly. Morning was rolling around, and no one except Rinoa and Zell had gotten any sleep. For Squall it was because he was scared stiff that Rinoa wasn't going to open her eyes again, for everyone else, it was the fact that it was cramped in the tent, and Zell was tossing and turning in his sleep.
"I'm sure she's ok, Squall." Quistis said, not looking up from where she was placing a cool cloth on Zell's forehead. "She's burnt and probably knocked herself out, but she'll be fine."
"You don't know that!" He snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry... I'm just..."
"Scared!" Selphie finished. "And of course you would be, you love Rinoa!"
Squall blushed only slightly, and turned his head so no one would notice. "Of course, but I'm not scared I'm... concerned."
"Liar." Selphie teased, but stopped when Irvine shook his head no. "Sorry Squall. I just can't help it. It's fun to tease you."
Squall gave her a dirty look, but he didn't really mean it. And, to tell the truth, he was still very angry with Zell, and he knew everyone else could tell by the way Squall had spoken to Zell outside the tent earlier that night. He didn't trust himself if Zell woke up before Rinoa either, there was no way he'd be able to keep his mouth shut.
"You shouldn't be mad at Zell, you know." Irvine spoke up, cracking the silence that had fallen throughout the tent.
"And why not?" Squall snapped, turning his shining blue eyes on Irvine.
The Cowboy was quiet for a second before saying, "Zell woke up to hear and pretty much see something huge outside. He screamed before Rinoa could stop him. Maybe you should be angry with Rinoa for not being able to keep Zell quiet."
Squall glared with so much conviction that Irvine wisely shut his mouth and looked away. "I wouldn't blame Rinoa because it wasn't her fault. If Zell hadn't have screamed, Rinoa would be just fine right now!"
Quistis, unable to take anymore, shouted, "If Zell hadn't screamed, you'd be stuck to the bottom of that thing's foot by now Squall, so stop taking out your anger on Zell! He did nothing to you except respect your every word and move!"
This time Squall was the one who looked away and went totally quiet. He thought about what Quistis was saying, then shook his head. "I can take care of myself. I would have been fine."
"I give up!" Quistis sighed, shaking her head. "You are absoloutely hopless!"
"Guys?" Selphie tried, but she was interrupted.
"What do you mean hopeless?" Squall snapped, turning again to look right in his ex-instructor's eyes. "I sit here and I put the blame on the person who most deserves it and you call me hopeless!"
"Guys?" Selphie said again, a little louder this time.
"Zell doesn't deserve it, and you know it! You're just scared that what happened what your fault because maybe you weren't quiet enough to sneak up on it! Or maybe you have to blame Zell because precious Rinoa can't do anything wrong, can she?!"
"Leave Rinoa out of this!" Squall roared, his hands clenched into fists.
"Guys!" Selphie called again, and again no one listened.
"Why? It's probably her fault we're in this mess right now!"
"If Zell hadn't have gotten sick-"
"How could you be so cruel?!"
"Me, cruel? Ha! That's a laugh when those word come from you, Quistis!"
"Guys!" Selphie shouted, as loud as she could, and finally things went silent.
"What?" Squall snapped, sounding very annoyed.
"Zell's awake."
A silence took through the tent, and the only sound was the light rain on the canvas, and a soft sniffle from where Zell had his back to everyone.
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Squall hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at Selphie.
"I did! No one listened!"
"Zell-" Quistis said, but he interrupted.
"Don't talk to me, please. It'll just end in another fight."
"Zell, I-" Squall tried, and again, Zell's voice broke through.
"Don't you talk to me at all."
Squall took a ragged breath, then unzipped the tent and stepped outside into the rain.
"He didn't mean it." Selphie said softly, moving closer to Zell. "He didn't."
"Yes he did, he meant every word of it, and he's right." Zell said softly, and anyone who knew Zell could tell he was more than upset.
"Don't even think that, Zell!" Quistis told him, a hand on his shoulder. "He's just in a bad mood."
"Because of me. Rinoa's probably never going to wake up, and then Squall will hate me forever, and it's all because I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut." Zell rolled over and sat up, and then headed for the entrance to the tent.
"Zell, where are you going?" Irvine asked.
"Away!" Zell told him, and was about to go when Irvine pulled him back.
"Oh no you don't. You're staying right here with everyone."
"I don't want to say, it's all my fault you guys are in this mess right now. Squall's right, if I hadn't have gotten sick-"
"Zell, stop!" Selphie snapped, and the tent again fell silent. "Listen to yourself! What you're saying is ridiculous! It's not like you injected the virus into yourself! You couldn't help getting sick, so don't beat yourself up about it, understand?"
Zell nodded miserably, and stopped struggling to get away from Irvine.
"Now come on and go back to sleep. I bet by the time you wake up, everything will be all worked out." Selphie told him, and smiled comfortingly as he crawled back to the sleeping bag and laid back down.
Irvine shook his head, and headed for the front of the tent.
"Irvine, where are you going now?" Selphie asked him, but didn't try to stop him.
"Outside to speak with Squall." Irvine said very angrily, then he was gone.
*****
Squall visiously hacked at the tree in front of him, trying to release his emotions on something he couldn't really hurt. He felt so guilty about saying what he said now, since Zell could hear him. He couldn't believe he had been so cruel to someone who worshipped the very ground he walked on.
"You're an asshole, you know that?"
Squall turned around to face Irvine. "Why are you out here bothering me. Go back into the tent."
"No. Not until you admit that what you said was wrong, and go in and say you're sorry to Zell."
Squall glared. "As your Commander, I'm ordering you to get back in the tent."
"Go ahead and fire my ass then, 'cause I'm not moving."
Squall rolled his eyes. Irvine could be so stubborn sometimes. "Look, I'm not saying anything to him if Rinoa doesn't wake up. It's his fault."
"You're cold, Squall. Dissing your enemies is one thing, but to treat your friends like shit? What do you think Rinoa would say?"
"Nothing, because she's probably a vegetable!" Squall snapped, and turned back to the tree, his anger returning.
Irvine didn't take it and grabbed Squall by the shoulder and turned him around again. "She was the one who chose to cast the Ultima spell, Squall, not Zell! Man, who pissed in your cheerios?"
"I hate that expression." Squall said, and started to turn again.
This time Irvine shoved him back into the tree and pulled Lionheart from his hands. "Swallow your pride and apologize, or by the time this little mission is over, you'll be alone." And Irvine turned and went back into the tent, leaving Squall alone to think about what he said.
*****
"I'll carry Rinoa." Squall told everyone, picking up Rinoa's relaxed body and holding her tightly. "Irvine, you carry Zell."
Irvine gave Squall a very dirty look, but picked the sleeping boy up anyhow.
"I'm hoping we make it far today before we have to stop. It's been really bad these past couple of days, but we can't stop because of a few bad experiences."
Quistis placed the last few items that were out back into a box, and lifted it up. She put that one on top of a few others, and struggled before lifting them up as well.
Selphie was also carrying quite a few boxes to make up for what Rinoa couldn't carry.
They all started to walk, and after a very long silence, Squall started to tell them his plan for the day.
"We'll walk all morning, possibly past lunch if it's possible, and when we're all hungry, we can sit down and make a small fire to cook lunch with. If we can do without the fire, that's even better because the smoke might attract some wild animal, we don't need that right now. At lunch we can cast spells on Rinoa and Zell to our heart's content, even if it won't help. Then after lunch, we go as far as we can until we find a good spot to camp, set up, and get some rest."
"Are you sure Irvine can go so long without a break? I mean, you've only got Rinoa, and Zell is much heavier than she is." Quistis said, stumbling over a small branch and quickly recovering herself. "I'm not even sure Selphie and I can go that long, with all these boxes."
"We'll go as far as we possibly can." Squall repeated, and then went silent. Anyone who knew Squall knew it meant 'End of conversation, don't even try to talk to me or you'll get a whatever'.
*****
It seemed like forever to Quistis, but they finally stopped for their lunch break.
Irvine's arms were trembling from carrying Zell so long, and Selphie even had lost her usual smile and was rubbing a red spot from where the corner of the box had dug into her skin.
Squall was busy casting a couple spells on Rinoa, like curaga.
No one was tending to Zell, and had he been awake, he would have felt very unloved by the same people who had been so sweet to him for most of the journey thus far.
Quistis was too busy managing food to notice Zell's temperature rising, or the flushed look his face had aqquired.
Finally Selphie looked over and gasped. "Whoops! Forgot about Zell!" She casted a triple on herself, and then casted esuna three times in a row on him.
His face slowly returned to it's normal heat and color, and his eyes blinked open. "Wh... where are we?" He asked, his voice slightly raspy.
Selphie knew Zell, and she could see that he was still depressed about Squall's feelings towards him. She hugged him tightly. "We've walked all morning. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, sure." Zell shrugged, looking down at his gloved hands. "Tired."
Selphie looked at Irvine for help, but he just shrugged. "Ah... Zell... I, um..."
Zell looked at Selphie with a sad smile. "You don't need to say anything, I know you want me to be happy, I am..."
"No, you're not." Selphie replied, sitting down flat right next to him. "Squall's being a real prick now. It's not your fault Rinoa's still sleeping, she casted the Ultima spell, not you."
Zell shrugged. "Doesn't matter. She wouldn't have needed to if I hadn't screamed like a... like a chicken-wuss."
"Oh, don't bring Seifer into this." Selphie frowned. "His mean names have nothing to do with this."
"Well, he's right isn't he?" Zell asked, and then looked away.
"Zell, come on..."
There was no reply.
Selphie sighed and gave up at about the same time Squall laughed.
He laughed, but it sounded more relieved than anything.
Selphie looked over to see Rinoa sitting up, tightly wrapped in a hug from Squall. "Rinoa!" Selphie ran over and joined in the hug. "Rinoa, we thought you weren't going to wake up!"
Rinoa smiled, looking a little weak but that was it. "You think I'd cast Ultima that close without a shell on first?"
Squall gave another laugh, and Selphie was surprised to see tears shining in his eyes. "Don't ever do that to me again, you understand?"
Rinoa saluted. "Understood, Commander." And the two of them hugged again.
"A-HEM." Irvine interrupted, having came over to see Rinoa was all right with his own two eyes. "Rinoa, what do you think Squall should be saying to Zell right about now? Should he be angry with the poor guy?"
Rinoa glared at Squall. "You didn't!"
"I didn't know if you were going to wake up or not, Rinoa..." Squall managed, avoiding her eyes.
"Go and say sorry right now, Squall! Never blame something like that on him ever again!" Rinoa snapped, pushing Squall only slightly, just to get her point across.
Squall nodded and slowly got to his feet, and made his way over to Zell. "Zell."
The blonde boy didn't even look up.
Squall crouched down and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I said those things to you. You're my friend, and I'm a prick."
Zell looked over at Squall now, a faint smile on his face.
"I was just scared for Rinoa... That's all."
"It's ok." Zell nodded.
Squall looked unsure what to do next, and slowly offered his hand.
Zell looked at it, then happily grabbed it, but instead of shaking it, he pulled Squall into a hug.
Squall froze up, but Zell hugged him anyhow, then let him go. "Zell, what was that for?"
"Just because."
Squall rolled his eyes and got up, heading back to Rinoa. "Happy now?"
Rinoa was giggling. "Yeah, and I guess Zell is happy too. That's good, now we're all friend again!" She got to her feet and hugged Squall, then went over and started a quiet conversation with Zell. The two of them were probably the best friends in the entire group. Selphie and Irvine didn't count because they were officially a couple.
*****
Quistis walked along, nose stuck into the book on Noble. "It says here that the Pheyttia Blossom is noctournal. It only opens it's blossom at night, that's the only chance we have to grab the flower. But it also says that there's some weird creatures that live around there that only come out at night."
Selphie, free of boxes only because Irvine, Rinoa, and Squall were carrying most of them, skipped along besides Quistis. "We can handle them, right? Does it give HP and Weakness?"
"No, but I brought scan spells." Quistis explained. "If we can't find the weakness in the book, then I'll just scan them.
Selphie nodded and started to hum to herself as she skipped along. Despite the muddy ground, and the slight chill, and the fact that if they didn't find this flower Zell would die.
And then it happened.
A vine seemed to whip out, catching Selphie around one ankle.
She cried out as she fell onto her knees into the mud.
Behind her a small purple flower shot something into the back of her neck, and she shrieked.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Something bit me!"
Squall froze in his tracks and turned around. "What did you say?"
"I said something bit me!"
He ran back to Selphie, sliding in the mud halfway and losing his balance. He righted himself quickly and got to Selphie, pushing her head forwards and moving her hair out of the way.
"What are you- Ow! Squall!"
Squall pulled her back and held out a small thorn in the palm of his hand. "Something shot you."
Selphie took it from him, surprise written all over her face. "What the... What did this?"
Squall kept quiet. Maybe it hadn't been the same thing that Zell had gotten... Even if it was, there was only one cure, and she was infected now. "It doesn't matter, let's get going again." He headed back to the front of the group, and only Rinoa noticed his already pale face was a few shades whiter than normal.
*****
"Are you all right?" Quistis asked Selphie, who had stumbled again into the mud. The girl's yellow dress was almost completely brown now, but the sleepy, out of it Selphie didn't seem to care anymore.
"I'm so tired..." She whispered, pushing herself into a sitting position.
Irvine placed down the boxes and went to Selphie's side, crouching down in the mud and placing a hand on her forehead. "Fever." He told Quistis, who also tested Selphie's forehead.
It was very warm.
Quistis went to boxes Irvine had placed down and opened one up. "I was hoping I wouldn't need to do this but... Squall, can you put Zell down please?"
Zell had gotten worse since Selphie had started showing signs of sickness, and he was now being carried again.
Squall obeyed quickly, worried that what he had feared was true.
Quistis took out two syringes from her little kit and first went up to Zell.
The boy groaned. "Oh no... not this again."
"It'll only be quick Zell, I only need a small drop."
Zell held out his arm and shut his eyes. "I hate needles."
Quistis quickly collected some of his blood, and then went back to her kit and placed it down. She took the second syringe to Selphie and crouched down. "Selphie, I'm going to take a bit of your blood, ok?"
"Yeah... sure..." Selphie slowly held out her arm, allowing Quistis to prick her and suck a bit of blood into the needle.
The Instructor opened another small box and took out a battery- operated microscope. "I'll just compare Zell's blood to Selphie's. If it has the same virus strands, I know if Selphie's infected or not." She put Zell's blood onto a slide and looked into the miscroscope.
"Do I look worse?" Zell asked from his relaxed position.
"A little, yes." Quistis admitted as she switched the slides. She peered in, and shook her head sadly. "Irvine... Selphie's been infected with the virus."
Irvine immediately looked to Squall. "You said it wasn't contagious!"
"It's not." Squall sighed, looking at the interesting mud on the ground. "When she was shot by the flower-"
"A flower shot her?"
"Yes. I pulled out that thorn... That flower is... It's what carries the Pheyttia Disease."
Irvine's eyes began to swirl with anger. "You never said a THING when she got hit with it! You didn't even tell her she'd be sick like this in a matter of hours!!!"
"I didn't think it mattered."
"Well it did!" Irvine snapped, his arms protectively around the now- sleeping Selphie. "If she dies, man... I'll always remember you as the person who never said a thing until it was too far along."
"It wouldn't have done anything except worry everyone if I had said anything. Besides, you couldn't have stopped it, only the cure could have done that."
"It doesn't matter!" Irvine cried, tears in his eyes. "If Rinoa had gotten it and I hadn't said anything, you would HATE me for it! That's how I feel!"
"So you hate me." Squall simplified, an eyebrow raised."
Irvine was quiet for a moment, then he nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"Fine with me." Squall shrugged, and walked away, despite the look Rinoa was giving him.
Instead of chasing her silent boyfriend, Rinoa walked over and sat nex tto Irvine, who now had his head lowered. "You don't hate him."
"No, he just makes me mad."
"He cares, you know."
"Yeah."
"Have you mentioned to Selphie how you feel?"
"What do you mean?" Irvine looked up.
"Have you told her you love her?"
Irvine was quiet, and he bit his lip. "Uhm... No."
"Tell her."
He was silent again, and he looked away.
Rinoa took his hat off him and placed it on Selphie's head, then got up to go after Squall.
Chapter 6: What Happened?
A/N: Hopefully the writer's block I have won't interfere with my ability to write, because just for my readers, I'm working hard to finish my story, no matter what.
"Wake up, Rinoa..." Squall pleaded, shaking her lightly. Morning was rolling around, and no one except Rinoa and Zell had gotten any sleep. For Squall it was because he was scared stiff that Rinoa wasn't going to open her eyes again, for everyone else, it was the fact that it was cramped in the tent, and Zell was tossing and turning in his sleep.
"I'm sure she's ok, Squall." Quistis said, not looking up from where she was placing a cool cloth on Zell's forehead. "She's burnt and probably knocked herself out, but she'll be fine."
"You don't know that!" He snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry... I'm just..."
"Scared!" Selphie finished. "And of course you would be, you love Rinoa!"
Squall blushed only slightly, and turned his head so no one would notice. "Of course, but I'm not scared I'm... concerned."
"Liar." Selphie teased, but stopped when Irvine shook his head no. "Sorry Squall. I just can't help it. It's fun to tease you."
Squall gave her a dirty look, but he didn't really mean it. And, to tell the truth, he was still very angry with Zell, and he knew everyone else could tell by the way Squall had spoken to Zell outside the tent earlier that night. He didn't trust himself if Zell woke up before Rinoa either, there was no way he'd be able to keep his mouth shut.
"You shouldn't be mad at Zell, you know." Irvine spoke up, cracking the silence that had fallen throughout the tent.
"And why not?" Squall snapped, turning his shining blue eyes on Irvine.
The Cowboy was quiet for a second before saying, "Zell woke up to hear and pretty much see something huge outside. He screamed before Rinoa could stop him. Maybe you should be angry with Rinoa for not being able to keep Zell quiet."
Squall glared with so much conviction that Irvine wisely shut his mouth and looked away. "I wouldn't blame Rinoa because it wasn't her fault. If Zell hadn't have screamed, Rinoa would be just fine right now!"
Quistis, unable to take anymore, shouted, "If Zell hadn't screamed, you'd be stuck to the bottom of that thing's foot by now Squall, so stop taking out your anger on Zell! He did nothing to you except respect your every word and move!"
This time Squall was the one who looked away and went totally quiet. He thought about what Quistis was saying, then shook his head. "I can take care of myself. I would have been fine."
"I give up!" Quistis sighed, shaking her head. "You are absoloutely hopless!"
"Guys?" Selphie tried, but she was interrupted.
"What do you mean hopeless?" Squall snapped, turning again to look right in his ex-instructor's eyes. "I sit here and I put the blame on the person who most deserves it and you call me hopeless!"
"Guys?" Selphie said again, a little louder this time.
"Zell doesn't deserve it, and you know it! You're just scared that what happened what your fault because maybe you weren't quiet enough to sneak up on it! Or maybe you have to blame Zell because precious Rinoa can't do anything wrong, can she?!"
"Leave Rinoa out of this!" Squall roared, his hands clenched into fists.
"Guys!" Selphie called again, and again no one listened.
"Why? It's probably her fault we're in this mess right now!"
"If Zell hadn't have gotten sick-"
"How could you be so cruel?!"
"Me, cruel? Ha! That's a laugh when those word come from you, Quistis!"
"Guys!" Selphie shouted, as loud as she could, and finally things went silent.
"What?" Squall snapped, sounding very annoyed.
"Zell's awake."
A silence took through the tent, and the only sound was the light rain on the canvas, and a soft sniffle from where Zell had his back to everyone.
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Squall hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at Selphie.
"I did! No one listened!"
"Zell-" Quistis said, but he interrupted.
"Don't talk to me, please. It'll just end in another fight."
"Zell, I-" Squall tried, and again, Zell's voice broke through.
"Don't you talk to me at all."
Squall took a ragged breath, then unzipped the tent and stepped outside into the rain.
"He didn't mean it." Selphie said softly, moving closer to Zell. "He didn't."
"Yes he did, he meant every word of it, and he's right." Zell said softly, and anyone who knew Zell could tell he was more than upset.
"Don't even think that, Zell!" Quistis told him, a hand on his shoulder. "He's just in a bad mood."
"Because of me. Rinoa's probably never going to wake up, and then Squall will hate me forever, and it's all because I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut." Zell rolled over and sat up, and then headed for the entrance to the tent.
"Zell, where are you going?" Irvine asked.
"Away!" Zell told him, and was about to go when Irvine pulled him back.
"Oh no you don't. You're staying right here with everyone."
"I don't want to say, it's all my fault you guys are in this mess right now. Squall's right, if I hadn't have gotten sick-"
"Zell, stop!" Selphie snapped, and the tent again fell silent. "Listen to yourself! What you're saying is ridiculous! It's not like you injected the virus into yourself! You couldn't help getting sick, so don't beat yourself up about it, understand?"
Zell nodded miserably, and stopped struggling to get away from Irvine.
"Now come on and go back to sleep. I bet by the time you wake up, everything will be all worked out." Selphie told him, and smiled comfortingly as he crawled back to the sleeping bag and laid back down.
Irvine shook his head, and headed for the front of the tent.
"Irvine, where are you going now?" Selphie asked him, but didn't try to stop him.
"Outside to speak with Squall." Irvine said very angrily, then he was gone.
*****
Squall visiously hacked at the tree in front of him, trying to release his emotions on something he couldn't really hurt. He felt so guilty about saying what he said now, since Zell could hear him. He couldn't believe he had been so cruel to someone who worshipped the very ground he walked on.
"You're an asshole, you know that?"
Squall turned around to face Irvine. "Why are you out here bothering me. Go back into the tent."
"No. Not until you admit that what you said was wrong, and go in and say you're sorry to Zell."
Squall glared. "As your Commander, I'm ordering you to get back in the tent."
"Go ahead and fire my ass then, 'cause I'm not moving."
Squall rolled his eyes. Irvine could be so stubborn sometimes. "Look, I'm not saying anything to him if Rinoa doesn't wake up. It's his fault."
"You're cold, Squall. Dissing your enemies is one thing, but to treat your friends like shit? What do you think Rinoa would say?"
"Nothing, because she's probably a vegetable!" Squall snapped, and turned back to the tree, his anger returning.
Irvine didn't take it and grabbed Squall by the shoulder and turned him around again. "She was the one who chose to cast the Ultima spell, Squall, not Zell! Man, who pissed in your cheerios?"
"I hate that expression." Squall said, and started to turn again.
This time Irvine shoved him back into the tree and pulled Lionheart from his hands. "Swallow your pride and apologize, or by the time this little mission is over, you'll be alone." And Irvine turned and went back into the tent, leaving Squall alone to think about what he said.
*****
"I'll carry Rinoa." Squall told everyone, picking up Rinoa's relaxed body and holding her tightly. "Irvine, you carry Zell."
Irvine gave Squall a very dirty look, but picked the sleeping boy up anyhow.
"I'm hoping we make it far today before we have to stop. It's been really bad these past couple of days, but we can't stop because of a few bad experiences."
Quistis placed the last few items that were out back into a box, and lifted it up. She put that one on top of a few others, and struggled before lifting them up as well.
Selphie was also carrying quite a few boxes to make up for what Rinoa couldn't carry.
They all started to walk, and after a very long silence, Squall started to tell them his plan for the day.
"We'll walk all morning, possibly past lunch if it's possible, and when we're all hungry, we can sit down and make a small fire to cook lunch with. If we can do without the fire, that's even better because the smoke might attract some wild animal, we don't need that right now. At lunch we can cast spells on Rinoa and Zell to our heart's content, even if it won't help. Then after lunch, we go as far as we can until we find a good spot to camp, set up, and get some rest."
"Are you sure Irvine can go so long without a break? I mean, you've only got Rinoa, and Zell is much heavier than she is." Quistis said, stumbling over a small branch and quickly recovering herself. "I'm not even sure Selphie and I can go that long, with all these boxes."
"We'll go as far as we possibly can." Squall repeated, and then went silent. Anyone who knew Squall knew it meant 'End of conversation, don't even try to talk to me or you'll get a whatever'.
*****
It seemed like forever to Quistis, but they finally stopped for their lunch break.
Irvine's arms were trembling from carrying Zell so long, and Selphie even had lost her usual smile and was rubbing a red spot from where the corner of the box had dug into her skin.
Squall was busy casting a couple spells on Rinoa, like curaga.
No one was tending to Zell, and had he been awake, he would have felt very unloved by the same people who had been so sweet to him for most of the journey thus far.
Quistis was too busy managing food to notice Zell's temperature rising, or the flushed look his face had aqquired.
Finally Selphie looked over and gasped. "Whoops! Forgot about Zell!" She casted a triple on herself, and then casted esuna three times in a row on him.
His face slowly returned to it's normal heat and color, and his eyes blinked open. "Wh... where are we?" He asked, his voice slightly raspy.
Selphie knew Zell, and she could see that he was still depressed about Squall's feelings towards him. She hugged him tightly. "We've walked all morning. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, sure." Zell shrugged, looking down at his gloved hands. "Tired."
Selphie looked at Irvine for help, but he just shrugged. "Ah... Zell... I, um..."
Zell looked at Selphie with a sad smile. "You don't need to say anything, I know you want me to be happy, I am..."
"No, you're not." Selphie replied, sitting down flat right next to him. "Squall's being a real prick now. It's not your fault Rinoa's still sleeping, she casted the Ultima spell, not you."
Zell shrugged. "Doesn't matter. She wouldn't have needed to if I hadn't screamed like a... like a chicken-wuss."
"Oh, don't bring Seifer into this." Selphie frowned. "His mean names have nothing to do with this."
"Well, he's right isn't he?" Zell asked, and then looked away.
"Zell, come on..."
There was no reply.
Selphie sighed and gave up at about the same time Squall laughed.
He laughed, but it sounded more relieved than anything.
Selphie looked over to see Rinoa sitting up, tightly wrapped in a hug from Squall. "Rinoa!" Selphie ran over and joined in the hug. "Rinoa, we thought you weren't going to wake up!"
Rinoa smiled, looking a little weak but that was it. "You think I'd cast Ultima that close without a shell on first?"
Squall gave another laugh, and Selphie was surprised to see tears shining in his eyes. "Don't ever do that to me again, you understand?"
Rinoa saluted. "Understood, Commander." And the two of them hugged again.
"A-HEM." Irvine interrupted, having came over to see Rinoa was all right with his own two eyes. "Rinoa, what do you think Squall should be saying to Zell right about now? Should he be angry with the poor guy?"
Rinoa glared at Squall. "You didn't!"
"I didn't know if you were going to wake up or not, Rinoa..." Squall managed, avoiding her eyes.
"Go and say sorry right now, Squall! Never blame something like that on him ever again!" Rinoa snapped, pushing Squall only slightly, just to get her point across.
Squall nodded and slowly got to his feet, and made his way over to Zell. "Zell."
The blonde boy didn't even look up.
Squall crouched down and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I said those things to you. You're my friend, and I'm a prick."
Zell looked over at Squall now, a faint smile on his face.
"I was just scared for Rinoa... That's all."
"It's ok." Zell nodded.
Squall looked unsure what to do next, and slowly offered his hand.
Zell looked at it, then happily grabbed it, but instead of shaking it, he pulled Squall into a hug.
Squall froze up, but Zell hugged him anyhow, then let him go. "Zell, what was that for?"
"Just because."
Squall rolled his eyes and got up, heading back to Rinoa. "Happy now?"
Rinoa was giggling. "Yeah, and I guess Zell is happy too. That's good, now we're all friend again!" She got to her feet and hugged Squall, then went over and started a quiet conversation with Zell. The two of them were probably the best friends in the entire group. Selphie and Irvine didn't count because they were officially a couple.
*****
Quistis walked along, nose stuck into the book on Noble. "It says here that the Pheyttia Blossom is noctournal. It only opens it's blossom at night, that's the only chance we have to grab the flower. But it also says that there's some weird creatures that live around there that only come out at night."
Selphie, free of boxes only because Irvine, Rinoa, and Squall were carrying most of them, skipped along besides Quistis. "We can handle them, right? Does it give HP and Weakness?"
"No, but I brought scan spells." Quistis explained. "If we can't find the weakness in the book, then I'll just scan them.
Selphie nodded and started to hum to herself as she skipped along. Despite the muddy ground, and the slight chill, and the fact that if they didn't find this flower Zell would die.
And then it happened.
A vine seemed to whip out, catching Selphie around one ankle.
She cried out as she fell onto her knees into the mud.
Behind her a small purple flower shot something into the back of her neck, and she shrieked.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Something bit me!"
Squall froze in his tracks and turned around. "What did you say?"
"I said something bit me!"
He ran back to Selphie, sliding in the mud halfway and losing his balance. He righted himself quickly and got to Selphie, pushing her head forwards and moving her hair out of the way.
"What are you- Ow! Squall!"
Squall pulled her back and held out a small thorn in the palm of his hand. "Something shot you."
Selphie took it from him, surprise written all over her face. "What the... What did this?"
Squall kept quiet. Maybe it hadn't been the same thing that Zell had gotten... Even if it was, there was only one cure, and she was infected now. "It doesn't matter, let's get going again." He headed back to the front of the group, and only Rinoa noticed his already pale face was a few shades whiter than normal.
*****
"Are you all right?" Quistis asked Selphie, who had stumbled again into the mud. The girl's yellow dress was almost completely brown now, but the sleepy, out of it Selphie didn't seem to care anymore.
"I'm so tired..." She whispered, pushing herself into a sitting position.
Irvine placed down the boxes and went to Selphie's side, crouching down in the mud and placing a hand on her forehead. "Fever." He told Quistis, who also tested Selphie's forehead.
It was very warm.
Quistis went to boxes Irvine had placed down and opened one up. "I was hoping I wouldn't need to do this but... Squall, can you put Zell down please?"
Zell had gotten worse since Selphie had started showing signs of sickness, and he was now being carried again.
Squall obeyed quickly, worried that what he had feared was true.
Quistis took out two syringes from her little kit and first went up to Zell.
The boy groaned. "Oh no... not this again."
"It'll only be quick Zell, I only need a small drop."
Zell held out his arm and shut his eyes. "I hate needles."
Quistis quickly collected some of his blood, and then went back to her kit and placed it down. She took the second syringe to Selphie and crouched down. "Selphie, I'm going to take a bit of your blood, ok?"
"Yeah... sure..." Selphie slowly held out her arm, allowing Quistis to prick her and suck a bit of blood into the needle.
The Instructor opened another small box and took out a battery- operated microscope. "I'll just compare Zell's blood to Selphie's. If it has the same virus strands, I know if Selphie's infected or not." She put Zell's blood onto a slide and looked into the miscroscope.
"Do I look worse?" Zell asked from his relaxed position.
"A little, yes." Quistis admitted as she switched the slides. She peered in, and shook her head sadly. "Irvine... Selphie's been infected with the virus."
Irvine immediately looked to Squall. "You said it wasn't contagious!"
"It's not." Squall sighed, looking at the interesting mud on the ground. "When she was shot by the flower-"
"A flower shot her?"
"Yes. I pulled out that thorn... That flower is... It's what carries the Pheyttia Disease."
Irvine's eyes began to swirl with anger. "You never said a THING when she got hit with it! You didn't even tell her she'd be sick like this in a matter of hours!!!"
"I didn't think it mattered."
"Well it did!" Irvine snapped, his arms protectively around the now- sleeping Selphie. "If she dies, man... I'll always remember you as the person who never said a thing until it was too far along."
"It wouldn't have done anything except worry everyone if I had said anything. Besides, you couldn't have stopped it, only the cure could have done that."
"It doesn't matter!" Irvine cried, tears in his eyes. "If Rinoa had gotten it and I hadn't said anything, you would HATE me for it! That's how I feel!"
"So you hate me." Squall simplified, an eyebrow raised."
Irvine was quiet for a moment, then he nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"Fine with me." Squall shrugged, and walked away, despite the look Rinoa was giving him.
Instead of chasing her silent boyfriend, Rinoa walked over and sat nex tto Irvine, who now had his head lowered. "You don't hate him."
"No, he just makes me mad."
"He cares, you know."
"Yeah."
"Have you mentioned to Selphie how you feel?"
"What do you mean?" Irvine looked up.
"Have you told her you love her?"
Irvine was quiet, and he bit his lip. "Uhm... No."
"Tell her."
He was silent again, and he looked away.
Rinoa took his hat off him and placed it on Selphie's head, then got up to go after Squall.
