Author's Note: Okay. Here's Chapter Six. Thank you for all the reviews. I'm glad that everyone likes the story so far.
Disclaimer: If you really need this, maybe you shouldn't be reading this story.
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Chapter Six: Nosiness
Just as Yuffie sat down on the back row of the auditorium of her biology class Wednesday morning, she felt a tap on the shoulder. Looking up, she saw Squall's face, his long russet bangs falling into his azure eyes. Remembering the night before, she started blushing. "Y-Yes?" she stammered.
He held her notebook out to her. "You left this at my apartment last night."
"Thank you," she said quickly as she grabbed it, trying to turn her head so he wouldn't notice the crimson spreading across her cheeks. He continued to stand there, just staring down at her. "Is there anything else, Squall?" she asked quietly.
He furrowed his brows, "It's Leon. You didn't happen to come back last night to get it, did you?"
Yuffie gulped, the image of Squall in his boxers flashing in her mind, causing her blush to deepen. "No, I didn't even realize it was gone until just now," she calmly stated, the lie coming out smooth. "Why?"
Squall shook his head, "No reason. It must have been the neighborhood kids, playing pranks." He looked down toward the front of the room, where he normally sat, but it was already full. Sighing, he asked, "Do you mind if I sit here?"
"No, go ahead." She moved her backpack out of the empty seat beside her so Squall could sit down. He scooted past her and plopped down in the seat, dropping his book bag as he did so. It took every ounce of control Yuffie possessed to keep her blush to a minimum as she glanced at the man beside her.
Squall turned his head to look at the young woman beside him, who was busy writing down every word the professor said in her notebook. Sure, she was annoying as hell. And he could not understand why anyone would ever even try to be as perky as her. But, on the other hand, there was something about her that was starting to get to him. Something alluring. He had not allowed himself to feel this way about anyone since Rinoa. Leon, get a grip on yourself. She's only eighteen, he chided himself. "So, are you coming to the study group again tomorrow night?" he whispered to her.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Yuffie looked at him with confusion. Does he actually want me there? she silently questioned.
Realizing that he might be showing something more than dislike for the girl, he quickly answered. "Damn! I was hoping to be able to get some actual studying done." There, he thought, that ought to throw her off the trail.
Yuffie's eyes narrowed in anger. "Oh, don't worry, Squall. The only reason I'm going is because Aerith made me promise. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be there."
"It's Leon, for the last time," he growled as he turned his attention to the professor at the front of the large room.
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Thursday evening found Yuffie rummaging through her closet, desperate for something decent to wear. She had already pulled out at least half a dozen outfits, which were now strewn around the room. Kairi sat on her bed, watching her roommate pull out another reject from the closet and throw it on the floor.
"Ya know, Yuffie, you could just wear what you have on? I mean, this is just a study thing, not a date," the red-head calmly stated.
Yuffie turned to face her roommate. "But, I want to look nice. I want Squall to notice me." She went back to ransacking her wardrobe.
Kairi laughed softly. "Before you saw him in his boxers, you could care less what you wore. Now look at you. You're more worked up over this than you were about you're date with Riku." She stood up and went to her closet, hoping to find something in there for her roommate.
"If you saw him in his boxers, you'd be doing the same thing." The ebony-haired woman pulled out a pair of flared blue jeans with blue flowers embroidered up the legs. "How about these?" she asked Kairi.
The red-head gave her the thumbs up as she pulled out a light blue blouse. The long sleeves were made from a sheer blue material and the collar had small designs interwoven in the fabric. "Here, try this on," she said as she tossed the shirt to Yuffie.
Yuffie gasped, "But, Kairi, this is so beautiful! I couldn't possibly wear it!" She started to hand it back to her roommate, only to have it refused.
Kairi shook her head. "No, I never wear it. I want you to have it, for keeps." She ignored Yuffie's stare. "Besides, the color looks better on you anyways."
Yuffie gushed a quick 'thank you' as she ran to the bathroom to change into her ensemble. Coming out, she let out a soft squeal of delight when she saw that Kairi was right; that shade of blue looked perfect on her. "Oh my gosh, Kairi! I can't believe this! Thank you so much for the shirt! I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you."
Sighing, Kairi muttered, "Just give me and Sora some alone time in the room once in awhile." But, either Yuffie didn't hear her or she chose to ignore her, as the joke Kairi expected from her never came.
"I need shoes! What shoes am I going to wear?!" Shoes came flying out of the closet as Yuffie picked up, examined, and discarded pair after pair.
"Yuffie!" Kairi shouted. "For crying out loud! Do you want him to notice your shoes or you?" Her roommate looked at her in shock. "Fine! Just wear your boots. That way you'll be a little bit taller at least."
Yuffie reached into the back of her closet and found the boots in question. They were old, but they were comfortable and they still looked nice. "You're absolutely right, Kairi. I want him to notice me, not my shoes. Plus, if I'm taller, maybe he'll notice me more." She sat on the bed and began lacing the boots up as Kairi slapped her forehead in disgust.
Finishing with her boots, Yuffie went to the sink where all the makeup and perfumes sat. She picked up a Gardenia perfume and was about to spray it on when Kairi stopped her. "Yuffie, I know you want him to notice you, but how obvious do you want to be? If you put on that perfume, he's going to know right off the bat."
Yuffie thought for a moment before slowly putting the perfume back down on the sink. "Okay, you have a point. This will have to do...for now." With that, she picked up the wooden hairbrush and began to brush her short black hair. "There, I'm ready to go," she finally announced.
"It's about time. You're running late," Kairi grumbled.
"WHAT?!" Yuffie shouted as she glance at the clock on the bedside table. 6:07. "I was supposed to be there at six. He's going to kill me." She grabbed her car keys and ran out the door.
Kairi rolled her eyes as the door slammed shut behind her roommate. "She's fallen for that guy. Hard," she mumbled as she picked up the phone to call Sora.
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Yuffie raised her hand to knock on the door, expecting Squall to swing it open before her fist hit it like he did the time before. However, that didn't happen. In fact, she stood there knocking for what seemed like hours before he did finally open the door. She began apologizing before he even opened his mouth.
"I know I'm late. I'm so sorry, but my car...you see, I had a flat tire." She smiled as the lie slipped from her mouth.
"Whatever," Squall muttered as he opened the door wider for her to enter the apartment.
Looking around, Yuffie noticed that Aerith and Cloud weren't there. "Um, where's Cloud and Aerith?" she asked timidly.
The man ran a hand through his russet locks, sighing. "Aerith called to say that Cloud's sick and she's over there nursing him back to health."
An image of what Aerith's nursing might include floated through Yuffie's mind. "Oh, so it's just you and me tonight?" She tried to keep the eagerness out of her voice, but feared that she was failing miserably. She hoped that Squall wouldn't catch it.
"Yeah. Just you and me." With that, he slammed the door shut behind them and stalked across the room to the couch. "Truth be told, I was hoping you wouldn't come."
Yuffie glared at him. "Thank you, Mr. Congeniality. I'm so glad that I'm wanted around here." Sarcasm dripped from her voice with the statement. She turned around to leave, but was stopped by his voice.
"Since you're here though, we might as well try to study together. Maybe we can actually learn something." He opened his biology textbook as well as his notebook.
She rolled her eyes, "Well, gee, when you put it that way, how can I resist?" she said sarcastically as she went and sat on the other end of the couch. They studied for awhile, but Yuffie had a hard time focusing on the text and not the man at the other end of the couch. Sure he was mean to her, but still, she was drawn to him. She couldn't explain it, nor did she want to. "Hey, Squall, could you explain this to me?" she asked quietly as she pointed to a section in her book.
"It's Leon," he growled as he took the book from her hands and tried to explain mitosis to her. Noticing her yawn, he stopped. "I can't help you if you don't pay attention."
Yuffie rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "I know, I know. It's just so...boring." She stood up, stretching, "Hey, where's your bathroom at?"
He pointed down the hall, "Last door on your left." Thinking for a moment, he hollered, "And don't go nosing around in anything."
She rolled her eyes and started down the hall. Once she reached the bathroom, she turned on the light and shut the door, taking care to lock it. An evil grin spread across her face. "Don't go nosing around," she mimicked as she opened the medicine cabinet. "I wonder if he has any Advil or something. All this studying is giving me a headache," she mumbled under her breath. Rummaging around the bottles of pills in the cabinet, she saw it. A bottle of prescription drugs. Furrowing her brows, she pulled it out and read the label: Wellbutrin. "Hmm," she wondered as she made a quick mental note to look the drug up on the Internet when she returned to her dorm that night. Carefully placing it back on the shelf in what she hoped was the same position, she finally found the Advil. Sighing with relief, she quickly poured out two pills and swallowed them with some water.
She came back to the living room, sitting back down on the couch, this time a little bit closer to Squall. Looking around, she noticed the picture of the beautiful woman on the wall again. "So, Squall who's that in the picture?" she asked as she pointed to it.
He turned an icy blue glare in her direction, "It's Leon. And it's none of your damn business who she is."
"Oh, an ex-girlfriend, I take it?" She knew she was pushing her luck, but curiosity was getting the better of her.
Squall closed his eyes and counted to ten before answering her. "I told you, it's none of your business." A sudden wave of sadness came over him as he remembered when that picture of Rinoa had been taken, the day after he had proposed to her. He glowered at Yuffie. "Now, we can either study or you can leave? Your choice."
"Geez, Squall, it was only a question. You don't have to get all angry about it."
"Leon, and you know what, you don't have a choice anymore. Get out!" he bellowed as he pointed toward the door.
"Fine!" she shouted as she stalked to the door. "I hope you fail the test tomorrow, Squall!"
"Leon!" he yelled to the slamming door. Placing a hand across his eyes, he tried to stop the images of Rinoa from running through his mind, but it was no use. She was there and she refused to leave him in peace.
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Kairi looked up from the T.V. when she heard the door slam shut and saw Yuffie stomp over and throw herself on the bed. "So, I take it your study group didn't go as planned?"
Yuffie glared at her. "I don't want to talk about it."
"And I guess Squall didn't notice you, either, huh?"
"I said, I don't want to talk about it!"
"Sheesh, I was only asking a question. You don't have to get all bitchy on me."
Remembering the bottle of pills she had found in Squall's medicine cabinet, Yuffie went over to her computer and began a search for the drug. As soon as she typed in the name Wellbutrin, a hundred different sites came up. She went to the first one she found and read what it was used to treat. "Oh my gosh!" she gasped.
Intrigued, Kairi asked, "What?"
"Squall...he's suffering from depression," she muttered as she continued to read about the drug.
"What are you talking about, Yuffie?" the red-head asked confusedly.
Sighing, Yuffie explained. "When I was at his apartment, I happened to stumble across a bottle of pills in his medicine cabinet. So, I thought I would look them up and see what they were for." She thought back to the way he had reacted when she asked about the picture on his wall. "The picture....I bet she has something to do with this," she stammered.
Kairi rubbed her forehead in confusion. "Okay, what about a picture?"
"There's a picture on his wall of a beautiful woman. I asked him about it, and he got all defensive. She must be the key to his depression."
"Yuffie, when are you going to learn to stay out of other people's business?"
She grinned. "Never. But, hey, now that I know he's depressed, maybe I can un-depress him."
Kairi shook her head. "Yuffie, it doesn't work like that. You can't just 'un-depress' someone just like that. It takes time."
"Well, I can try, can't I?"
The red-head rubbed her eyes, "Yuffie, if you value your life, I think you should leave Squall alone. I don't think he'd appreciate you meddling in his life."
"How would you know? You've never even met him," Yuffie retorted.
"I don't need to meet him. You talk about him enough. And he sounds like a very personal man."
"Whatever. Look, it's my life and I'm going to do what I think is right, okay?"
"Sure. What type of flowers should I send to your funeral?"
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Author's Note: Well, there you have it. I don't know how long it'll be before the next chapter is up. A lot of stuff has been going on at school lately. I have 2 papers due within the next two weeks. Plus, I have a midterm a week from Wednesday. But anyways, I'll get the next chapter up and running as soon as I have time for it. You know the drill. Read and Review.
