Red Violets and Forget-me-nots: I'm Right Behind You

*sigh* thanks Restrict for that comment about Selfers... You made my day. (Sorry my e-mail isn't working right so I couldn't e-mail you...) I'm up to one flame, and I think that will be it for a while. *sigh* Oi, yeah, I know Seifer is terribly OOC, but I love him anyways. And yes I realize that I hadn't answered the 'why is Seifer helping Selphie' question and the 'why did Selphie do it', and I probably won't ever get to it, but as long as the story's good, who really cares... (Shut up Restrict I know you're laughing)

¤ At the entrance of the quad, Selphie pulled away from him. "I can walk by myself, thank you," she hissed. He continued to grin at her, unfazed. They walked into the darkened quad. The night only showed stars above them and the moon, but it was not enough light to see what lied in the darkness.

"Surprise!" The lights turned on and the many Garden members popped out at the duo. Sur-surprise. It's not my birthday or anything special... he told!

"You... told them?" Selphie's tone was anything but friendly. The frown turned into a scowl of anger.

"Selph..." Seifer didn't get the chance to explain as Selphie stormed out of the quad.

*But if I knew, I'd run away and not have known you anyway*

The confused looks on everyone's face intensified as Seifer chased after Selphie. As usual she wasn't hard to find. Either that or she was very slow that it was hard not to be able to catch up with her.

*I would run away and be free, I could run away and let go*

She struggled against his hold on her body. "Let me go." He didn't remove his arms even though it created a large scene as a number of people came towards them. He held her until she stopped struggling. It was then Seifer realized, Selphie never cried. From what he heard the closest she ever came to crying was at Trabia after he had ordered missiles to target on Trabia. Was this a real Selphie quality? He mentally smiled as he noticed that he had been creating a real Selphie list and a fake Selphie list for the past two days. It was strange. He felt as if he'd known her for a long time, and he did, after all they were at the same orphanage, though split for a few years in separate Gardens, but they had come back together. It wasn't that he had known her for a long time that allowed him to get closer to her. There was some hidden forces at work. Possibly a dark force.

"Selph, shh," he whispered into her ear. Her hair was tickling his nose. It smelt like a fresh bouquet of flowers, wild flowers. He slowly comprehended what she thought had happened. Piece by piece everything fell together. "It's not what you think, Selphie." He let her go and walked around her in order to look into her face. Not a single tear stained her angelic cherub face. But a frown adorned it. "That frown doesn't suit you. That party is for you, Selph. It's for your hard work at the Garden Festival."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Hey. A promise is a promise. I said I won't tell. I won't tell." She rammed into his arms until he engulfed her with a hug.

"I've never thanked you. Thank you."

"I never said thank you either... we're even." She nodded slowly. "But don't think that means I'm going to leave you to your little antics, missy. I have my eye on you. You don't mind do you?"

She looked down shaking her head. "Just don't fall in love with me. Kay?" He smiled at her warmly.

Then he took her hand and led her back to the quad. "This is your family."

¤

Selphie was finally ushered out as everyone started to clean up. She stood alone on the balcony. Seifer came out. "Hey, beautiful," he whispered placing his trench coat on her slim shoulders to ward off the cold air.

"Hey, Seifer."

They stood in silence watching the stars. A shooting star slowly made its way across the sky. "Make a wish." Selphie studied the star intently then closed her eyes.

"Done."

"It is." He leaned over and kissed her. As soon as it was over Selphie giggled. It was the first time, she had done so in two days.

"How did you guess my wish?"

"Lucky guess." He smiled at her. She looked down.

"Actually, the truth is I wished that I would be cured."

"Cured?" He tried to look at her face but she constantly turned away, avoiding any contact with his eyes.

"I...um... have juvenile ischemia." He gave up on trying to find her face so he settled with pulling her hands into his.

"Selph, why didn't you tell me? Earlier. I meant, why didn't you tell me earlier?" He pulled the rest of her small body to him.

"I didn't want anybody to know."

"It's all right."

"And then Squall found out and he took me off active duty because he was afraid I would be at too big of a risk, that the exertion would kill my heart."

"You'll get through this, I promise."

"And that hurt. But my heart hurt even more. Sometimes it hurts so much I wanted to kill myself. Just so that the pain would end."

"But that isn't like you."

"Then Rinoa and Quistis go flaunting around after visiting the hospital that they were glad that they were too YOUNG to get heart attacks."

"Yeah, well, what do they know?" Selphie nearly laughed as she wiggled in Seifer's arms as he tickled her.

"What was that for?" She glared at him, oddly so, her being nearly a foot shorter then him. "I'm here being serious and you're tickling me."

"That's the point," he whispered into her hair. "You smell nice."

"Thank you, but that's not the point!" She stepped on his foot.

"Ow." He said that with so little emotion that Selphie knew it was fake. He at least let her go. She hugged him around the waist after a moment, feeling empty without him being near her. It felt different from receiving but just as comforting.

*Turning back, I want to turn back, I can only look at time pass me, The times you offered me your love, It wasn't that easy to leave you my heart.*

"I don't want to die. Not yet." He pulled her closer.

"You're gonna pull through this. And I'm gonna be right behind you."

I don't think this is gonna be angst anymore... or maybe it is... sigh the definition of angst is a profound feeling of generalized anxiety or dread. I guess it fits still right? Oh yeah, ischemia is a heart condition, where arteries are clogged in one way or another, not neccesarily by cholesterol. It was a suggestion so I used it.