No One Knows Like I Do
Chapter 7 A Night on the Town
After the written test had taken place, Cid decided that everyone in Garden could use a break. He figured that a trip to Deling City would be the best thing: shopping, restaurants, clubs and a beach. All the things that young adults love to do. He instructed Nida to fly Garden near Deling City where they would stay for a few days. Seifer loved the idea of going to Deling City; it was a place he knew well. He knew how to have a great time there. Fujin on the other hand could've cared less. Crowds of people were not her thing. Never the less, she joined Seifer and together they went to a restaurant and karaoke called "'Jason's." It was the type of place where one dresses casually. Seifer opted for a plain white collared shirt, untucked black cargo pants and black boots. Fujin didn't want to give that much thought to her outfit, so she decided on a blue light blue collared shirt, dark blue boot cut jeans and black boots. Seifer thought it would be cool for both of them to wear boots.
As soon as they arrived, an extremely long line greeted them. Fujin folded her arms and shifted her wait impatiently.
"ANNOYANCE," Fujin huffed. She was hungry and was eager to sit down and eat.
"Eh, Fuj? You must be if you took on that tone," Seifer chuckled. "Don't worry, the wait is probably an hour at the most."
"WHAT?!"
"All we have to do is leave our names with the hostess. Then we can leave and do something else." Seifer and Fujin slowly made their way to the podium and at last it was their turn.
"Hello, Almasy, party of two," Seifer greeted the young brunette hostess.
"Okay, Almasy.wait! You're Seifer Almasy?!" The hostess exclaimed excitedly. Ignoring the fact that Fujin was right next to him she continued, "You're a lot sexier in person. You know, I totally understand the whole sorceress thing. I totally forgave before you even did it!" The hostess suddenly caught Fujin's glare, but pretended to be unfazed.
"Yeah, well, I'd rather not talk about it, okay?" Seifer answered sourly.
"Oh, of course! Well, here's your pager and you should be paged in an hour, okay?"
"Thanks. Come on Fuj, let's get outta here." Seifer took the pager and led Fujin out of the door by her arm. Once outside, they began to walk in the general direction of the shopping district. It was a beautiful night, one that was not too cool nor too hot. The stars shone brightly even though the city lights outshined them. The city was crowded and it didn't matter that it was a Friday night either. Deling City drew crowds from far and wide regardless. In the time that they had began walking, neither of them spoke a word. After walking another two blocks, they ended up at the end of the shopping district. All of a sudden, Seifer stopped walking.
"Hey, Fuj."
"Hm?" Fujin stopped walking to look at him.
"What's on your mind? You're so quiet."
"Nothing really."
"Sure." Seifer knew better than that. He could always tell when she was thinking about something. A look of withdrawal usually crossed her face and she seemed to be in a different world. Seifer had always decided that it was best to leave her in her thoughts, not wanting to disturb her. He knew that she would speak her mind eventually.
Seifer walked over to a bench near a clothing store and sat down. Fujin followed suit and looked at the passing crowds of people. In one instance a middle-aged woman looked at Fujin with curiosity, then disgust. She was amazed at the platinum haired beauty, but she was looking at Fujin's eye patch the most. Fujin continued to hold eye contact with her. The woman got so caught up in looking at Fujin that she ran into the guardrail that separated the street and the sidewalk. Seifer laughed rudely as Fujin continued to stare the woman down. In what seemed to be out of nowhere, a police officer approached the young couple.
"Eh, excuse me, are you bothering this here woman?" He eyed Fujin and Seifer in a scolding way.
"NEGATIVE." Fujin leaned back and folded her arms.
"Yes they were officer!" The woman exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at both. "Especially her!" Fujin arched an eyebrow.
"What did she do to you madam?" The officer asked gently.
"She was eyeing me like a hawk is what!" The middle-aged woman glared hotly at Fujin.
"Untrue," Seifer snapped. "This "madam" was looking at my girl as if she had never seen a young girl before."
"In any case, the two of you are causing problems. What I suggest to you is that you stop tormenting people on the street, got it?"
"NEGATIVE."
"Excuse me, young lady?"
"TORMENTED FIRST."
"Young lady, would you please lower your tone?" the officer asked impatiently.
"How are we causing problems? We were sitting here, minding our own business until she showed up staring at my girl!" Seifer was fuming at this whole scene.
"And I supposed to believe that? Just do what I said. Good night." The officer walked down the street and continued his patrol.
The woman looked at Fujin triumphantly until she finally walked off too. Seifer looked at the Fujin in disbelief.
"What the FUCK?! What the hell just happened? I don't believe this shit!" Seifer continued to curse and rant. He had had enough of this type of thing happening. "No matter where we go, there's always someone startin' shit with us!"
"Calm down," Fujin said quietly. "You're acting like Zell."
"Like chickenwuss? Sheah right!" Seifer exclaimed indignantly.
"Don't worry about it Seifer. It happens all the time," Fujin continued. "I thought you would be used to this type of thing by now." Fujin turned her head away from Seifer when she said this.
"Are you?" Seifer shot back.
"No." She was used to hiding her anxieties, not showing them. 'Why can't I just live like a normal person? All I ask is to just be left alone.' Fujin thought bitterly. 'I wish things could be different, but who am I kidding? I might as well get used to it.'
Both sat in distressed silence until Seifer's pager went off. He looked at Fujin and saw that she wore that famous withdrawn expression. "Fujin, let's go eat."
He took her hand gently and the walked slowly back to the restaurant.
~*~*~
Fujin made it a point to pretend that everything was normal when they arrived back at the restaurant. Once they got their table, she started a random conversation for the sake of making Seifer feel better. He appreciated the fact that she had done that and he decided to help her in her effort.
"We should probably stop at the weapon shop before we leave the city," Fujin was saying as their waitress walked up. Of all people it had to be Samantha, the girl that Seifer had shown Garden to. (Remember her? Try chapter 2.)
"Why hello Seifer!" She bubbled excitedly. "How's it goin'?" She leaned down and gave him a quick hug.
"All right. Hey, I want you to meet Fujin," he answered gesturing toward her.
"Hi, how are you? My name is Sam," she said politely. "Seifer's told me all about you."
"Same here," Fujin answered. "Nice meeting you."
"Cool. All right! As you know, I'm your server, so can I start ya'll off with anything?" She looked to Fujin first.
"I'll have the Deling Special with an iced tea."
"I'll have the same, but make mine a Coke."
"Got it. I'll bring your drinks to first, okay? Well, I hope the two of you enjoy your meal." Samantha took their menus and sashayed away.
"She still likes you," Fujin muttered.
"Well, y-yeah," Seifer stammered. "I'm sure it's pretty obvious that we're together though."
Fujin nodded. "I saw you looking at her when she walked away."
"Aw come on! Don't do this to me tonight, all right?"
Samantha came back with their drinks and as she walked off she blew a kiss at Seifer. Fujin acted as though she didn't notice, but Seifer knew better.
"Are you getting offended, Fuj?" Seifer asked. "She's just being friendly."
"Um hm. That she is," she replied taking a sip of her iced tea.
"It's harmless. Don't worry about it. She can't have me anyway. You wouldn't allow it, right?" Seifer said jokingly.
They both knew that it was useless to try to pretend that all was normal that night. Even though they tried to, it all felt strained. Seifer looked in the direction of the karaoke stage where Selphie was belting out an upbeat love song. She was a one woman show, dancing and singing and having a ball. Her friends cheered her on, letting out whistles and hollering.
Seifer thought back to the times when Raijin would drag him and Fujin to a karaoke bar. He could sing a lick, but they all had their fun then. 'What happen to those days?' Seifer thought. 'Before the whole sorceress thing, we used to have all kinds of fun together. Me and my posse. Now everything's all complicated. Fujin was like one of the guys and now.it's all different somehow. Ever since Fujin told me how she felt, it seems like it's been different. Now, she's not like one of the guys.'
"Seifer." Fujin interrupted. He shook himself out of his thoughts to regard her.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to the ladies room. I'll be right back."
"Yeah," Seifer replied distantly.
Fujin made her way through the aisles of tables, all the while receiving curious stares as. She finally arrived at her destination and she took refuge in one of the stalls where she let all her feelings go.
~*~*~
"Ohmigosh Selphie, that was so good!" Zell's girlfriend Nina shrieked excitedly, clapping her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Thanks. I love to do karaoke since I get to perform for people!" Selphie jumped up and down happily.
"Well, I'm sure all the guys like it," Quistis said deviously.
"What's that supposed to mean Quisty?" Selphie asked incredulously. "Oh, I get it.I can't believe you said that!" She pretended to be incredibly shocked by forming her mouth into an O. Quistis swatted at her playfully.
"Guys, I have to go to the bathroom," Rinoa announced.
"Thanks, we really needed to know that," Nina sourly replied.
"Oh, shut up!" Rinoa snapped happily. She did a little impatient dance to show her need.
"I'll go with you," Selphie said soothingly as if catering to her. "Princess."
"Ahhh!" Rinoa hit Selphie on the arm lightly. "Come on!"
Once they arrived to the bathroom, they began talking excitedly about the wonderful night they were having and the much needed break.
"That written test was so hard!" Rinoa exclaimed while reapplying a little of her lipstick. "I studied so hard, so I know I passed."
"Let's not talk about school. This restaurant is so cool! We have to keep coming here and-" Selphie cut herself off mid sentence to look at Rinoa. "Hey what's wrong?"
"Do you hear that?" Rinoa paused holding her lipstick in midair.
"What?"
"It sounds like someone's crying!" Rinoa headed in the direction of the sobbing. "Right here. Someone's in here." She pointed to the stall frantically.
"Should we bother them?"
"Well, we should try to help!" Rinoa knocked on the stall door. "Excuse me, is there anyway we can help you?"
"Rinoa, maybe we shouldn't interfere," Selphie tried. "I mean, it's none of our business, right?"
Rinoa ignored Selphie and continued to knock. "You wanna talk about it?"
Suddenly, Fujin burst out of the stall and headed straight toward the sink. Rinoa and Selphie were taken aback when they saw how came out.
"F-Fujin?!" Rinoa stammered. She and Selphie exchanged shock glances. They had never seen the usually composed Fujin so distraught.
"Um.what happened? Why are you crying?" Selphie asked worriedly.
Fujin straightened herself up and looked into the mirror, making eye contact with the two. "MIND BUSINESS."
"We were just trying to help! I mean, would you ignore someone who was crying?" Rinoa looked at Fujin remembering that Fujin wasn't the type of person she thought and quickly amended her question. "Well, I suppose you would."
Fujin continued to scrutinize herself, finding more things wrong with her appearance. The eye patch, her hair, everything was all wrong to her. 'No wonder people stare. You look like a monster.' Even though Seifer told her otherwise, she still couldn't bring herself to believe him at times. Tonight was one such time.
"What should we do now?" Selphie whispered. "I don't think she wants our help."
Rinoa just nodded, but she figured she should try anyway. "Fujin, I know I'm not your friend and all, but it helps to talk about your problems. You shouldn't let them eat you up." She looked at Fujin who appeared to be emotionless. 'How does she do that? One minute she was crying, and now she looks as if nothing happened.'
"WANT TO KNOW?" Fujin spat. "LIKE YOU CARE."
"Anyone would care if they saw someone upset," Selphie spoke up outstretching her hands to make the point.
"TOO PERFECT TO UNDERSTAND." Fujin brushed past both girls and stormed out of the bathroom.
Rinoa and Selphie stood in silent stupor. Both girls didn't know what to make of what just happened.
"Uh.what did she mean by that?" Selphie finally asked.
"I think I know," Rinoa said thoughtfully. "I was around her when I was with Seifer."
"Huh?"
"Let's just forget it for now. Come on, let's join the others."
~*~*~*
'What the hell would they know about anything?' Fujin thought bitterly. 'They don't have to worry about their appearance and people staring at them because they're normal.' Before she reached her booth, Fujin straighten her face so she wouldn't give away anything to Seifer. 'He has enough problems.' She slid back in the booth and was slightly pleased to find food in front of her. She and Seifer at their meal in silence not knowing what to say to each other. Seifer noticed some type of apprehension bubbling within Fujin and decided that enough was enough.
"Fujin, come on. Will you just say what's on your mind? I had enough of this silent treatment shit we're doing."
Fujin slowly put her fork down and regarded Seifer. "That's nice," she snapped.
"Hey, I'm tired of sitting here and brooding! We're supposed to be having a good time!" He exclaimed.
"Then we shouldn't talk about it. It would ruin the good time."
"Well fine then. Have it your way." Seifer was growing weary of the situation. "Then let's at least talk about something. I won't force you to talk about anything. I just want to have a good time.like we used to! Is that so much to ask?"
"And I'm supposed to pretend? I don't feel like it anymore, it's useless!" Fujin argued back.
"Well, why are we still here then? You wanna leave? I can have that arranged." Seifer flagged down Samantha. "We're ready to go, can I have the check please?"
"Sure thing." Samantha sensed something was wrong, so she didn't even both to flirt with Seifer.
After Seifer paid for their meal, the couple made their way in the direction of where the Garden was parked. It wasn't close to the 10:00 curfew, but the night was over as far as the both of them were concerned. Once they made it back to the Garden, Seifer walked Fujin to her dorm room. Once they reached the front door, Fujin immediately faced Seifer.
"I'll tell you what the problem is. I'm so sick and tired of being treated like shit everywhere I go. I knew something like that would happen tonight! But, no matter how much I psych myself up for something like that, I'm still never prepared for the blow! I can't stand it anymore! I'm human like anyone else! Why can't people understand that? Why?!" Fujin sank down on the floor burying her head in her hands.
Seifer sat down next to her, but he didn't say anything. He simply waited for her to continue.
"I wanted to have a good time! It's so hard though when people stare at you like you're an abomination! I just want to fit in for once! Or at least people could leave me alone!" She let out a wretched sob and dissolved into tears.
Seifer put his arm around Fujin's shoulders, pull her closer to him. "Hyne." He immediately became outraged at all the people who had brought so much hurt to Fujin even though he didn't know who all did.
"No matter what, I'll be there to stand up for you. You tell me if anyone says something to you, understand?"
Fujin sobs died down to sniffs. "No.I have to do this alone." She wiped her eye with the back of her hand. "I have to learn how to put up with it."
Seifer gently toke hold of her face and turned her head toward him. "I remember a certain person told me that I didn't have to face my troubles alone. Why is it any different for you?"
Fujin made direct eye contact with him. "Oh yeah I did say that, huh?" She chuckled softly. "Guess you caught me."
"Sure did." Seifer rose to his feet and pulled Fujin with him. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah.I'll be fine." Fujin put her key in the door and pushed it open. "Thanks a lot."
"Sure thing. See ya later then." Before he could even begin to go to his room, he felt Fujin pull on his shirt. When he turned around, she pulled him into a gentle embrace.
"I'm sorry we couldn't have a better tine tonight," she said quietly.
"Don't worry about that. Let's worry about the next time. I promise that it will be better. I'll make sure of that."
Chapter 7 A Night on the Town
After the written test had taken place, Cid decided that everyone in Garden could use a break. He figured that a trip to Deling City would be the best thing: shopping, restaurants, clubs and a beach. All the things that young adults love to do. He instructed Nida to fly Garden near Deling City where they would stay for a few days. Seifer loved the idea of going to Deling City; it was a place he knew well. He knew how to have a great time there. Fujin on the other hand could've cared less. Crowds of people were not her thing. Never the less, she joined Seifer and together they went to a restaurant and karaoke called "'Jason's." It was the type of place where one dresses casually. Seifer opted for a plain white collared shirt, untucked black cargo pants and black boots. Fujin didn't want to give that much thought to her outfit, so she decided on a blue light blue collared shirt, dark blue boot cut jeans and black boots. Seifer thought it would be cool for both of them to wear boots.
As soon as they arrived, an extremely long line greeted them. Fujin folded her arms and shifted her wait impatiently.
"ANNOYANCE," Fujin huffed. She was hungry and was eager to sit down and eat.
"Eh, Fuj? You must be if you took on that tone," Seifer chuckled. "Don't worry, the wait is probably an hour at the most."
"WHAT?!"
"All we have to do is leave our names with the hostess. Then we can leave and do something else." Seifer and Fujin slowly made their way to the podium and at last it was their turn.
"Hello, Almasy, party of two," Seifer greeted the young brunette hostess.
"Okay, Almasy.wait! You're Seifer Almasy?!" The hostess exclaimed excitedly. Ignoring the fact that Fujin was right next to him she continued, "You're a lot sexier in person. You know, I totally understand the whole sorceress thing. I totally forgave before you even did it!" The hostess suddenly caught Fujin's glare, but pretended to be unfazed.
"Yeah, well, I'd rather not talk about it, okay?" Seifer answered sourly.
"Oh, of course! Well, here's your pager and you should be paged in an hour, okay?"
"Thanks. Come on Fuj, let's get outta here." Seifer took the pager and led Fujin out of the door by her arm. Once outside, they began to walk in the general direction of the shopping district. It was a beautiful night, one that was not too cool nor too hot. The stars shone brightly even though the city lights outshined them. The city was crowded and it didn't matter that it was a Friday night either. Deling City drew crowds from far and wide regardless. In the time that they had began walking, neither of them spoke a word. After walking another two blocks, they ended up at the end of the shopping district. All of a sudden, Seifer stopped walking.
"Hey, Fuj."
"Hm?" Fujin stopped walking to look at him.
"What's on your mind? You're so quiet."
"Nothing really."
"Sure." Seifer knew better than that. He could always tell when she was thinking about something. A look of withdrawal usually crossed her face and she seemed to be in a different world. Seifer had always decided that it was best to leave her in her thoughts, not wanting to disturb her. He knew that she would speak her mind eventually.
Seifer walked over to a bench near a clothing store and sat down. Fujin followed suit and looked at the passing crowds of people. In one instance a middle-aged woman looked at Fujin with curiosity, then disgust. She was amazed at the platinum haired beauty, but she was looking at Fujin's eye patch the most. Fujin continued to hold eye contact with her. The woman got so caught up in looking at Fujin that she ran into the guardrail that separated the street and the sidewalk. Seifer laughed rudely as Fujin continued to stare the woman down. In what seemed to be out of nowhere, a police officer approached the young couple.
"Eh, excuse me, are you bothering this here woman?" He eyed Fujin and Seifer in a scolding way.
"NEGATIVE." Fujin leaned back and folded her arms.
"Yes they were officer!" The woman exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at both. "Especially her!" Fujin arched an eyebrow.
"What did she do to you madam?" The officer asked gently.
"She was eyeing me like a hawk is what!" The middle-aged woman glared hotly at Fujin.
"Untrue," Seifer snapped. "This "madam" was looking at my girl as if she had never seen a young girl before."
"In any case, the two of you are causing problems. What I suggest to you is that you stop tormenting people on the street, got it?"
"NEGATIVE."
"Excuse me, young lady?"
"TORMENTED FIRST."
"Young lady, would you please lower your tone?" the officer asked impatiently.
"How are we causing problems? We were sitting here, minding our own business until she showed up staring at my girl!" Seifer was fuming at this whole scene.
"And I supposed to believe that? Just do what I said. Good night." The officer walked down the street and continued his patrol.
The woman looked at Fujin triumphantly until she finally walked off too. Seifer looked at the Fujin in disbelief.
"What the FUCK?! What the hell just happened? I don't believe this shit!" Seifer continued to curse and rant. He had had enough of this type of thing happening. "No matter where we go, there's always someone startin' shit with us!"
"Calm down," Fujin said quietly. "You're acting like Zell."
"Like chickenwuss? Sheah right!" Seifer exclaimed indignantly.
"Don't worry about it Seifer. It happens all the time," Fujin continued. "I thought you would be used to this type of thing by now." Fujin turned her head away from Seifer when she said this.
"Are you?" Seifer shot back.
"No." She was used to hiding her anxieties, not showing them. 'Why can't I just live like a normal person? All I ask is to just be left alone.' Fujin thought bitterly. 'I wish things could be different, but who am I kidding? I might as well get used to it.'
Both sat in distressed silence until Seifer's pager went off. He looked at Fujin and saw that she wore that famous withdrawn expression. "Fujin, let's go eat."
He took her hand gently and the walked slowly back to the restaurant.
~*~*~
Fujin made it a point to pretend that everything was normal when they arrived back at the restaurant. Once they got their table, she started a random conversation for the sake of making Seifer feel better. He appreciated the fact that she had done that and he decided to help her in her effort.
"We should probably stop at the weapon shop before we leave the city," Fujin was saying as their waitress walked up. Of all people it had to be Samantha, the girl that Seifer had shown Garden to. (Remember her? Try chapter 2.)
"Why hello Seifer!" She bubbled excitedly. "How's it goin'?" She leaned down and gave him a quick hug.
"All right. Hey, I want you to meet Fujin," he answered gesturing toward her.
"Hi, how are you? My name is Sam," she said politely. "Seifer's told me all about you."
"Same here," Fujin answered. "Nice meeting you."
"Cool. All right! As you know, I'm your server, so can I start ya'll off with anything?" She looked to Fujin first.
"I'll have the Deling Special with an iced tea."
"I'll have the same, but make mine a Coke."
"Got it. I'll bring your drinks to first, okay? Well, I hope the two of you enjoy your meal." Samantha took their menus and sashayed away.
"She still likes you," Fujin muttered.
"Well, y-yeah," Seifer stammered. "I'm sure it's pretty obvious that we're together though."
Fujin nodded. "I saw you looking at her when she walked away."
"Aw come on! Don't do this to me tonight, all right?"
Samantha came back with their drinks and as she walked off she blew a kiss at Seifer. Fujin acted as though she didn't notice, but Seifer knew better.
"Are you getting offended, Fuj?" Seifer asked. "She's just being friendly."
"Um hm. That she is," she replied taking a sip of her iced tea.
"It's harmless. Don't worry about it. She can't have me anyway. You wouldn't allow it, right?" Seifer said jokingly.
They both knew that it was useless to try to pretend that all was normal that night. Even though they tried to, it all felt strained. Seifer looked in the direction of the karaoke stage where Selphie was belting out an upbeat love song. She was a one woman show, dancing and singing and having a ball. Her friends cheered her on, letting out whistles and hollering.
Seifer thought back to the times when Raijin would drag him and Fujin to a karaoke bar. He could sing a lick, but they all had their fun then. 'What happen to those days?' Seifer thought. 'Before the whole sorceress thing, we used to have all kinds of fun together. Me and my posse. Now everything's all complicated. Fujin was like one of the guys and now.it's all different somehow. Ever since Fujin told me how she felt, it seems like it's been different. Now, she's not like one of the guys.'
"Seifer." Fujin interrupted. He shook himself out of his thoughts to regard her.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to the ladies room. I'll be right back."
"Yeah," Seifer replied distantly.
Fujin made her way through the aisles of tables, all the while receiving curious stares as. She finally arrived at her destination and she took refuge in one of the stalls where she let all her feelings go.
~*~*~
"Ohmigosh Selphie, that was so good!" Zell's girlfriend Nina shrieked excitedly, clapping her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Thanks. I love to do karaoke since I get to perform for people!" Selphie jumped up and down happily.
"Well, I'm sure all the guys like it," Quistis said deviously.
"What's that supposed to mean Quisty?" Selphie asked incredulously. "Oh, I get it.I can't believe you said that!" She pretended to be incredibly shocked by forming her mouth into an O. Quistis swatted at her playfully.
"Guys, I have to go to the bathroom," Rinoa announced.
"Thanks, we really needed to know that," Nina sourly replied.
"Oh, shut up!" Rinoa snapped happily. She did a little impatient dance to show her need.
"I'll go with you," Selphie said soothingly as if catering to her. "Princess."
"Ahhh!" Rinoa hit Selphie on the arm lightly. "Come on!"
Once they arrived to the bathroom, they began talking excitedly about the wonderful night they were having and the much needed break.
"That written test was so hard!" Rinoa exclaimed while reapplying a little of her lipstick. "I studied so hard, so I know I passed."
"Let's not talk about school. This restaurant is so cool! We have to keep coming here and-" Selphie cut herself off mid sentence to look at Rinoa. "Hey what's wrong?"
"Do you hear that?" Rinoa paused holding her lipstick in midair.
"What?"
"It sounds like someone's crying!" Rinoa headed in the direction of the sobbing. "Right here. Someone's in here." She pointed to the stall frantically.
"Should we bother them?"
"Well, we should try to help!" Rinoa knocked on the stall door. "Excuse me, is there anyway we can help you?"
"Rinoa, maybe we shouldn't interfere," Selphie tried. "I mean, it's none of our business, right?"
Rinoa ignored Selphie and continued to knock. "You wanna talk about it?"
Suddenly, Fujin burst out of the stall and headed straight toward the sink. Rinoa and Selphie were taken aback when they saw how came out.
"F-Fujin?!" Rinoa stammered. She and Selphie exchanged shock glances. They had never seen the usually composed Fujin so distraught.
"Um.what happened? Why are you crying?" Selphie asked worriedly.
Fujin straightened herself up and looked into the mirror, making eye contact with the two. "MIND BUSINESS."
"We were just trying to help! I mean, would you ignore someone who was crying?" Rinoa looked at Fujin remembering that Fujin wasn't the type of person she thought and quickly amended her question. "Well, I suppose you would."
Fujin continued to scrutinize herself, finding more things wrong with her appearance. The eye patch, her hair, everything was all wrong to her. 'No wonder people stare. You look like a monster.' Even though Seifer told her otherwise, she still couldn't bring herself to believe him at times. Tonight was one such time.
"What should we do now?" Selphie whispered. "I don't think she wants our help."
Rinoa just nodded, but she figured she should try anyway. "Fujin, I know I'm not your friend and all, but it helps to talk about your problems. You shouldn't let them eat you up." She looked at Fujin who appeared to be emotionless. 'How does she do that? One minute she was crying, and now she looks as if nothing happened.'
"WANT TO KNOW?" Fujin spat. "LIKE YOU CARE."
"Anyone would care if they saw someone upset," Selphie spoke up outstretching her hands to make the point.
"TOO PERFECT TO UNDERSTAND." Fujin brushed past both girls and stormed out of the bathroom.
Rinoa and Selphie stood in silent stupor. Both girls didn't know what to make of what just happened.
"Uh.what did she mean by that?" Selphie finally asked.
"I think I know," Rinoa said thoughtfully. "I was around her when I was with Seifer."
"Huh?"
"Let's just forget it for now. Come on, let's join the others."
~*~*~*
'What the hell would they know about anything?' Fujin thought bitterly. 'They don't have to worry about their appearance and people staring at them because they're normal.' Before she reached her booth, Fujin straighten her face so she wouldn't give away anything to Seifer. 'He has enough problems.' She slid back in the booth and was slightly pleased to find food in front of her. She and Seifer at their meal in silence not knowing what to say to each other. Seifer noticed some type of apprehension bubbling within Fujin and decided that enough was enough.
"Fujin, come on. Will you just say what's on your mind? I had enough of this silent treatment shit we're doing."
Fujin slowly put her fork down and regarded Seifer. "That's nice," she snapped.
"Hey, I'm tired of sitting here and brooding! We're supposed to be having a good time!" He exclaimed.
"Then we shouldn't talk about it. It would ruin the good time."
"Well fine then. Have it your way." Seifer was growing weary of the situation. "Then let's at least talk about something. I won't force you to talk about anything. I just want to have a good time.like we used to! Is that so much to ask?"
"And I'm supposed to pretend? I don't feel like it anymore, it's useless!" Fujin argued back.
"Well, why are we still here then? You wanna leave? I can have that arranged." Seifer flagged down Samantha. "We're ready to go, can I have the check please?"
"Sure thing." Samantha sensed something was wrong, so she didn't even both to flirt with Seifer.
After Seifer paid for their meal, the couple made their way in the direction of where the Garden was parked. It wasn't close to the 10:00 curfew, but the night was over as far as the both of them were concerned. Once they made it back to the Garden, Seifer walked Fujin to her dorm room. Once they reached the front door, Fujin immediately faced Seifer.
"I'll tell you what the problem is. I'm so sick and tired of being treated like shit everywhere I go. I knew something like that would happen tonight! But, no matter how much I psych myself up for something like that, I'm still never prepared for the blow! I can't stand it anymore! I'm human like anyone else! Why can't people understand that? Why?!" Fujin sank down on the floor burying her head in her hands.
Seifer sat down next to her, but he didn't say anything. He simply waited for her to continue.
"I wanted to have a good time! It's so hard though when people stare at you like you're an abomination! I just want to fit in for once! Or at least people could leave me alone!" She let out a wretched sob and dissolved into tears.
Seifer put his arm around Fujin's shoulders, pull her closer to him. "Hyne." He immediately became outraged at all the people who had brought so much hurt to Fujin even though he didn't know who all did.
"No matter what, I'll be there to stand up for you. You tell me if anyone says something to you, understand?"
Fujin sobs died down to sniffs. "No.I have to do this alone." She wiped her eye with the back of her hand. "I have to learn how to put up with it."
Seifer gently toke hold of her face and turned her head toward him. "I remember a certain person told me that I didn't have to face my troubles alone. Why is it any different for you?"
Fujin made direct eye contact with him. "Oh yeah I did say that, huh?" She chuckled softly. "Guess you caught me."
"Sure did." Seifer rose to his feet and pulled Fujin with him. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah.I'll be fine." Fujin put her key in the door and pushed it open. "Thanks a lot."
"Sure thing. See ya later then." Before he could even begin to go to his room, he felt Fujin pull on his shirt. When he turned around, she pulled him into a gentle embrace.
"I'm sorry we couldn't have a better tine tonight," she said quietly.
"Don't worry about that. Let's worry about the next time. I promise that it will be better. I'll make sure of that."