No One Knows Like I Do
A/N: I'm baaaaaccck! Oh I decided to use a * for emphasis on words. That's all.
Chapter 16 – The Graduation Dance
"Oh my god, I just can't believe that Seifer is taking me to the dance!" Rose gushed excitedly as she rummaged through her closet for a suitable dress.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Macy said flatly as she casually browsed through a fashion magazine while laying on Rose's bed.
Rose paused and whirled around. "And WHY aren't you more excited for me?"
"Gee I dunno, maybe because you've been repeating yourself for the last hour or so," Macy answered smugly.
"Oh I get it. You're just jealous!" Rose exclaimed snobbishly while carelessly tossing her hair over her shoulders. "Jealous because I have a date to the dance and you don't. Well, ha ha to that!"
Macy threw her magazine down in disgust and stepped to Rose. "You know what Rose? I've been trying to be the good friend and support you, but all you think about is Seifer! To be honest, I think it's just *terrible* how you try to bust your way between Fujin and Seifer!"
"So you're saying that all this time when I thought you were supported me you were really just on Fujin's side? That's so disgusting………to be on that freak's side." Rose jabbed a finger into Macy's chest and spat, "I thought we were FRIENDS Macy!"
Macy slapped Rose's hand away. "That's right. We *were*." She grabbed her things and angrily stormed out of the dorm past Fujin who was just entering.
Fujin raised an eyebrow curiously but figured they were having a spat over clothes or something equally stupid.
"Oh, I don't believe her!" Rose screamed while throwing the dresses she pulled out the closet around the room. "That bitch! How dare she be on that albino freak's side!"
'Oh so that's what this is all about,' Fujin thought smugly. 'Me. What a surprise.'
Fujin carefully stepped into her bedroom so as not to trip on the boxes she packed with her things. As she kneeled down, folded another cardboard box and began to put the rest of her things in it, she heard Rose crying faintly.
'Oh what's this? That heartless bitch is actually crying. Not that I feel sorry for her.' Fujin continued to pack her things carefully trying her best to block out Rose's crying.
After a few minutes Rose's sobbing became even louder. "That does it," Fujin muttered, pissed off.
She slowly rose from her place on the floor and walked to next door to Rose's room. Fujin stood in the doorway for a few seconds watching Rose. The human side of her kicking in, she stood in front of Rose and finally spoke.
"STOP CRYING."
Teary eyed, Rose squinted up at Fujin. "What?"
Fujin shifted her weight impatiently and placed on hand on her hip. "I said, stop crying. Quit feeling sorry for yourself." Fujin snatched a tissue out of a nearby tissue box and thrust it in Rose's face.
Rose snatched the tissue and wiped her eyes. "Who said I was feeling sorry for myself? And for that matter, what the hell do you care?" she snarled.
"I don't," Fujin calmly shot back. "I need a peace of mind to pack and you're ruining it with all your sobbing. Hyne-"
"You know, I'm glad you're leaving you one-eyed freak," Rose cut in. "Makes my life less miserable!"
"That's nice," Fujin snorted derisively.
It bothered Rose that Fujin completely brushed off her comment. She decided to get more personal and push her buttons. "Oh and just to let you know, I'm going to the dance with Seifer," Rose bragged.
'Wow, even when she's all upset she still manages to be a bitch. Simply amazing,' Fujin thought sarcastically.
"I know. He told me," Fujin answered coolly.
"Oh don't try to act all cool. I know it's just *tearing* you apart! You see that? He didn't want YOU. He wanted me!"
Fujin discreetly balled up her fist and began counting to herself. She wasn't going to let Rose see that she had hit a nerve. "Ha…"
"Ha, what?
"No wonder why you just lost a friend. You think you have the upper hand, but I suggest you think again. Face it Rose, with that kind of attitude you won't get very far in life. Or do you think you could buy your way through that too?" Fujin stepped away from Rose and headed towards the door. "So what if you're going to the dance with Seifer? Besides that, what do you have? Nothing." Fujin walked out of Rose's room and went back into her own to finish packing.
Rose could do nothing more than to slide off her bed and crumple down to the floor in tears.
~*~*~
"Man, is this great or what?!" Seifer shouted happily as he looked around his new SeeD apartment.
"Wow, our own apartments…it really pays to be a SeeD, huh boss?" Raijin answered grinning hugely.
"You bet it does! I wonder what we'll have to do besides learn to fly the Ragnarok? Think we'll have to teach too?"
"If we do, maybe I can teach a class about Bo staff technique, ya know?" Seifer simply nodded as if he was lost in thought.
Both were silent for a moment until Raijin broke the silence. "Eh boss? You really takin' Rose to the dance?"
Seifer furrowed his brow in confusion. "Uh yeah. Why?"
"I was just wonderin' how my sister took it, ya know," Raijin answered. "Bet she didn't take it too well, huh?
"Nah." Seifer suddenly pounded a nearby wall. "I was so stupid! Why did I ask that broad to the dance? I mean, I know I did it outta spite, but still…"
Raijin chose his words carefully so as not to upset Seifer. "Well, the damage is done now I guess…"
Seifer sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I shouldn't think about that now. Maybe I should just ditch Rose. Or maybe…"
"What?"
"Maybe I could just *pretend* I'm into her, but ditch her at the dance or something like that. Yeah, I could do that!"
"No you couldn't." A voice spoke from out of nowhere.
"What do you mean I couldn't?" Seifer asked the voice.
"Well Seifer, even though you pretend to be a heartless jerk, I know you couldn't do that," Fujin spoke up.
"Hey, how'd you get in here, sis?" Raijin asked incredulously.
"Raijin, the door was open," Fujin answered impatiently.
"Ohhhhhhh…"
"Wait, what makes you think that I couldn't dump her Fujin?" Seifer asked accusingly. "Look at everything she's done to you! She's done nothing but make your life a living hell! She deserves it!"
Fujin chuckled to herself lightly. "You know what's funny? You know that friend of hers, Macy? They'll no longer friends and she was crying. I almost felt sorry for her…"
"You felt sorry for her? Why?" Raijin cut in. "Who cares if she was crying?!"
"I said ALMOST. Anyway, even though I said you couldn't do it, why not add insult to injury Seifer? Maybe she does deserve it."
"Whoa…," Raijin interjected, "weren't you against him doing something to her, Fuj?"
Memories of all the torture Rose put her through instantly came to mind. "I changed my mind. Shit, after all she's put me through…calling me an albino freak, helping to drive a wedge between me and Seifer… She's one of those girls that can't stand to see people 'less deserving' be happier than her. Whatever she wants she thinks she's supposed to get it…by any means necessary."
"Exactly! So let's show her that she CAN'T have everything she wants!" Seifer exclaimed excitedly.
Fujin smiled to herself. She could care less what happened to Rose. "It's your call, Seifer. Do whatever you want. She's no friend of mine anyway. Hey, the real reason why I came here is because I want you to help me move some stuff into my apartment, so come on."
~*~*~
Cid Kramer was bent over some paperwork in his office with Xu peering at the papers directly behind him.
"You know what sir? I think we should Fujin teach a defense tactics class relatively soon. What do you think?" Xu suggested.
"Perhaps…she does show exceptional ability. I heard about how she handled herself during the SeeD exam. Even her classmate Seifer shows exceptional ability as well. It would be nice to have another gunblade instructor. I'm sure his teaching style would differ from Squall's," Cid answered.
Xu scratched her chin absently. "It would be very interesting to have those two teach a class. Even though Fujin isn't very social I'm sure she's capable of teaching a class. And Seifer…well, that would be *really* interesting."
"What would be interesting?" Quistis interjected as she walked in with a large box.
"To have Seifer and Fujin teach a class," Cid supplied. He glanced at the box Quistis was struggling with. "I see the uniforms have arrived."
"Yeah," Quistis grunted as she sat the box down in a nearby chair. "I hope all the sizes are right this time. I ordered a few before the exam because I had a feeling certain people would pass, but they got the sizes wrong. I swear, every year those uniform people screw *something* up."
"Hey, how come you were carrying that huge box? We have Nida for that," Xu demanded.
"What so I do all the dirty work now?" Nida asked accusingly.
"Hyne! Why do you always pop up when I'm talking about you!" Xu snapped.
"Must be that radar I have built in," Nida answered laughingly.
"Okay, enough you two," Cid interrupted. "We still have some prep work for the dance tomorrow so get busy. Also I want Xu to break the news to Fujin and Seifer that they will have to teach sometime in the future."
"Me? Er…sure. I just hope that Fujin doesn't take it too hard. I don't want her to take her anger out on me if she has any," Xu said nervously.
"Good luck with that Xu," Quistis chuckled.
"Aw, shut up!"
~*~*~
The night of the graduation dance finally arrived and Balamb Garden's ballroom had very few decorations since the ballroom itself was elaborate enough. The Decorating Committee which included Selphie, was busy setting up last minute details like hors d'oeuvres and the punch bowl and of course the music.
Elsewhere, students who weren't SeeDs were fussing with their dresses and tuxes, making last minute adjustments to their appearance. In apartment 115, Fujin fussed with her SeeD uniform while scrutinizing herself in a full-length mirror.
"My legs looks so…weird," Fujin muttered while tugging on the skirt of her SeeD uniform. Even though this uniform was a change from her usual attire, she actually liked the SeeD uniform. The top was a fitted jacket with decorative lapels. The collar and lapels were trimmed with gold brocade as well the bottom of the sleeves. The knee length skirt was black and plain. To complete the outfit was a pair of black calf length boots. Fujin especially liked the boots since they looked like good Raijin kicking boots. However, she wasn't satisfied with the overall look of the uniform. The black material against her pale skin was somewhat startling.
"Oh well…it's not like I could get a tan anyway. Why stress over something like that?" As she was twisting and turning in front of the mirror looking at the uniform from different angles, a knock sounded on the door.
"Yeah, who is it?" she called
"Raijin, ya know."
"Hold on."
Fujin walked out of her new bedroom and through her new pre-furnished living room. It wasn't a particularly large room, but it was cozy. Walking through the room gave her a strange sense of accomplishment. She figured it was because she had her own apartment complete with a living space, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom that was all her own. She reached the door and looked through the peephole to see if Raijin was making faces. Seeing that he was, she shook her head and left him in.
"Heeeeeey Fuj, you look great, ya know! Real professional, ya know!" Raijin exclaimed approvingly with outstretched arms.
"Thanks. You look good too," Fujin complimented awkwardly while ducking his embrace. "Guess these uniforms suit us, huh?" The guys' uniforms weren't too different compared to the ladies' except they were slightly more elaborate and of course, equipped with pants.
Raijin wasn't even fazed that she ducked him since he was used to it. "Yeah. So should we get going to the dance? Hope the food is good, ya know!"
"Yeah I'm ready." Fujin stomach growled in nervousness and she swallowed slightly. She wasn't used to going to social functions such as a dance she was more than a little nervous. Attempting to put her feelings aside, she locked up her apartment and followed Raijin down the hall.
~*~*~
Rose was heavily applying more makeup to her face while singing to herself softly. Unfortunately, Macy wanted nothing more to do with her and her remaining friend Ashley was also keeping her distance since it seemed to her that Rose didn't know her priorities anymore.
Rose sighed sadly as she finished putting on her makeup. 'I completely blew it………Macy's mad at me and now even Ashley won't speak to me. Great.' She snatched her slinky black dress off her bed and slipped it on. Since she had no friends around she had trouble zipping up the back.
"Dammit! How am I gonna get this zippered up!" she screeched angrily. Luckily at that moment, Seifer showed up at the dorm and knocked loudly.
"Yo, open up!"
"Coming…" Rose muttered angrily.
She snatched the door open and began admiring Seifer in his new SeeD uniform. "Wow, you look nice…"
"Yeah, thanks," Seifer responded flatly. "You ready?"
"Almost. I just gotta get my purse and shoes…and could you zipper the back of this dress please?"
Seifer noted the look on her face. She didn't wear her usual seductive, smoldering look. 'Funny…any other time she would try to make a pass at me at a moment like this, but I guess she's not up to it.'
After zippering up her dress and after Rose grabbed her shoes and purse, they headed out of the dorm and to the ballroom.
~*~*~
The ballroom looked even better at night. A warm and calm glow filled the room and to set the mood was soft ballroom music playing in the background. Various couple had arrived already and Cid and Edea greeted students as they came in the door.
"Oh, isn't this great Squall?" Rinoa gushed while clutching Squall's arm. "I'm finally a SeeD!"
"I'm glad for you," Squall answered. "At first I didn't get why you didn't just let us make you an honorary SeeD, but now I know you would have rather worked your way up."
"Well it's about time you realized that I don't like everything to be given to me even if I do have a rich dad," Rinoa answered sticking out her tongue. She glanced up at the large skylight and faced Squall. "Remember the dance when you graduated?"
"Well, yeah. It was only a little while ago."
Rinoa eyes twinkled mischievously. "You know…we could always picked up where we left off when we danced…"
"W-what do you mean Rinoa?" Squall stammered while blushing furiously.
"What do you think I mean?"
Squall cleared his throat nervously. "I, uh…"
"Oh silly! What are you thinking? That's not what I mean!" Rinoa laughed punching Squall in the arm lightly.
'Whew…' Squall chuckled nervously. "Oh, I was just making sure."
"Heeeeey!" Selphie called while running over to the couple. "How come Squall looks all funny?"
"Oh it's nothing." Rinoa answered breezily. "So what's up?"
"How do you like the dance so far? We, the Decorating Committee, wanted to make sure it was as romantic and fun as we hoped it would be. So does it live up to its expectations?" Selphie inquired cheerfully
"Yeah! I'm having a good time AND I'm trying to be romantic, but Squall here is having a little trouble."
"That's Squall for you." Her comment drew a glower from Squall, but she waved it off and continued. "Hey, where's Quisty? QUISTY!"
Quistis whirled around from her position at the punch bowl and glanced at Zell who was scoping out the hotdogs. "Hey, do you think you could tear yourself away and join the others, Zell?" Quistis teased.
"Are you kidding? These hotdogs might not be here when I get back!" Zell protested.
"So take some with you, silly and hurry up." Quistis walked off to join the others with Zell in close pursuit as he did his best to grab as many hotdogs as he could hold.
"You bellowed Selphie?" Quistis asked jokingly.
"Yeaf, whaf's uf Felfie?" Zell greeted mouth full of pork goodness.
"Ewwwww, anyway, I just wanted to know if you guys are having a good time!"
"Of course I am and I'm sure Zell is too, but he's too busy stuffing his face to tell you that."
Zell swallowed and spoke. "Where's Irvine?"
"Ah, over there somewhere," Selphie answered thumbing in a general direction.
"Hey look! Seifer just came with…Rose," Rinoa announced.
"Huh? How come he's with her?" Zell wondered.
"Well Seifer and Fujin had a falling out," Squall supplied. "And I guess he felt he needed to take *someone* to the dance."
"But why her of all people," Rinoa asked disgustedly. "Isn't she Fujin's worst enemy?"
"Maybe not her worst, but she is one of them," Quistis replied.
"I think I'll ask Mr. Seifer why he decided to have that snob as her date!" Rinoa exclaimed as she marched off in his direction.
Rinoa stepped up to Seifer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Excuse me, but may I speak with Seifer for a moment?" she asked Rose.
Rose glowered at Rinoa briefly thinking that Rinoa was trying to make a move on Seifer. Remembering that Rinoa dated Squall, she waved her hand in approval.
"What is it Rinoa?" Seifer snapped as she dragged him away.
"Don't act like I was interrupting something. I just want to ask you something, okay?" Rinoa replied as they stepped out on the balcony for privacy.
"I already know. Why did I take Rose to the dance, right? Why should I have to answer you anyway? Who the hell are you?" Seifer sneered.
"You know, you could stand to lose the attitude," Rinoa counted snappishly. "Just think of how this looks, okay? You on the outs with Fujin and you take one of her worse enemies to the dance! What were you thinking anyway?"
"I wasn't thinking," Seifer said quietly. "And just so you know, me and Fujin aren't on the outs anymore."
"Well that's good. You do realize that just because she says she forgives you, it doesn't mean that you still don't have to prove yourself."
"I know, I know. I don't want to hurt her anymore. She's been through a lot already. I don't need to add on to it."
A slow smile spread across Rinoa's face. "Wow Seifer…you've changed. Not a miraculous change, but a change nonetheless."
Seifer returned her smile with his own. "I told you I was trying to change. So is that it?"
"Yeah, I guess it is." Rinoa turned and headed back inside. "Good luck with Fujin," she called.
"Thanks."
~*~*~
Rinoa skipped up to her group plus Irvine with a big smile on her face.
"What're you so happy about Miss Heartilly," Irvine asked curiously.
"I just talked to Seifer," she answered in a singsong voice.
"Yeah, so what?"
Rinoa clasped her hands together happily. "He's changed a lot! I think Fujin really does something to him. She inspires him to change and she doesn't even realize it."
"Are you serious?" Selphie asked incredulously. "Well, what about the whole Rose-as-his date thing? Wait, are he and Fujin even on speaking terms?"
"Geez, so many questions! Well, he said that he wasn't thinking when he asked Rose to the dance-"
"It figures. That's Seifer for you," Squall interrupted smugly.
"Squall, I'm talking!" Squall simply shrugged and Rinoa continued, "Anyway, he wasn't thinking. Knowing Seifer he did it out of spite or something stupid like that."
"So are they speaking or not?" Zell interjected.
"Hyne, if you people would just let me tell you! YES, they are speaking! Happy?" Rinoa finished as she haughtily folded her arms.
"Well that's good," Quistis said. "Speaking of Fujin, there she is and there's Raijin too."
Selphie ran over to the pair to greet them after Cid and Edea. "Hey guys! Are you ready to par-tay?!" she yelled pumping her fist in the air.
"Yeah, ya know!" Raijin responded equally excited. "I'm going off to eat if that's okay with ya Fujin?"
"Sure, I'll be fine by myself."
"Okay. You can find me at the food table if ya need me, ya know."
Fujin smiled slightly. "Thanks. Uh, have fun." Fujin wasn't the type to show her feelings, but she appreciated how Raijin was always looking out for her. Even when she felt as though no one was in her corner, her brother was always there for her. She watched him leave and turned to Selphie.
"Is the slow dancing starting soon?"
"Huh? Yeah, I think so, how come?" Selphie was surprised that Fujin's voice was missing the hard edge that it usually carried.
"I think I'll just sit and watch then." Fujin walked to a nearby and sat with a few of her classmates. Some said a general hello while others ignored her, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was sit and watch everyone else have a good time.
Selphie watched Fujin sadly. "Gee, she doesn't look like she's having much fun…"
Irvine walked up behind Selphie discreetly. "Hey Sefie!" Irvine asked with a grin on his face. His grin vanished when he saw the look on her face when she turned around. "What's wrong?"
"Poor Fujin doesn't look like she's having a good time. I don't want anyone to be left out of the fun…"
Irvine looked out at the dance floor and spotted Seifer slow dancing with Rose. "Oh I see. You know what though? Rose doesn't seem to be gloating or anything like she usually does."
Selphie looked at the couple also. "Yeah, it doesn't look like she's having much fun, but I don't care about her," Selphie answered while waving her hand carelessly.
"Maybe we can get Seifer to dance with her on another song," Irvine suggested.
"Yeah! Let's do that!"
When the current song ended, Rose excused herself and went to the ladies' room leaving Seifer alone on the dance floor. He decided to take a seat, but before he could reach the table Irvine waltzed up to him.
"Hey there," Irvine greeted clapping a hand on Seifer's shoulder.
"What do you want?" Seifer asked coldly.
"Ouch, ice cold," Irvine said as he removed his hand from Seifer's shoulder. "I just wanted to do a friend a favor and I need your help."
"What friend?"
"Sorry I can't say…they swore me to secrecy."
"Well then I don't care." Seifer turned to leave, but Irvine stopped him.
"Aw come on, it's a favor for a lady. How could you refuse that?"
Seifer started to say something, but appeared to think better of it. Finally he said, "All right, what is it?"
"See that girl over there?" Irvine pointed into Fujin's direction.
Seifer thought Irvine just meant some mousy looking girl who needed a charity dance, but when he pointed to Fujin a look of surprise crossed his face. She was off to herself and appeared to be having a terrible time. "Uh yeah…"
"I think she wants to dance with you," Irvine replied smiling. "It's written all over her face."
"Fujin? Uh, she's kinda shy with that type of thing so I doubt it."
"Even so, just make her night and dance with her, okay? She'll appreciate it. I guarantee it!"
Seifer glanced at Fujin once more and nodded. "All right cowboy, I'll do it. I don't care if she tries to fight me either."
"That's the spirit! Now go on over there." Irvine gave Seifer a little encouraging push and walked off.
"So?" Selphie asked eyes wide.
"Isn't it obvious? He's going over there," Irvine answered.
"Woo hoo!" Selphie exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Irvine happily.
~*~*~
Seifer walked nervously over to Fujin and sat down in an adjacent chair. "Why the long face Fujin? Not having fun?"
Fujin looked up in surprise, as she wasn't paying attention to anything or anyone. "Huh?"
Seifer just smiled at Fujin, a smile that usually made her melt. It was currently having that effect on her, but she still wanted to play it cool with Seifer.
When the next song came on, Seifer extended his hand to Fujin. "Come on."
Fujin stared at his hand nervously. 'He's asking me to dance. Oh Hyne, that's so embarrassing…'
"Hey, what's wrong? Come on."
Fujin gingerly took his hand and he led her on the dance floor. For some reason he didn't stop there however.
A started Fujin began to wonder where he was taking her, but her question was soon answered when they arrived at the balcony.
"I know you feel uncomfortable dancing with all those people, so I figured we could just enjoy ourselves out here," Seifer spoke up.
"O-okay…" Fujin responded quietly.
"Hey, how come you're acting all shy all of a sudden? Are you sure you're Fujin?" Seifer teased hoping to get a laugh out of her.
His efforts paid off and Fujin chuckled softly. "No…"
"No, you're not? Well where is Fujin then?"
"RIGHT HERE," Fujin responded jokingly.
"There you go! That's the Fujin I know!" Seifer exclaimed dramatically.
A comfortable silence fell between the two as they listened to the music coming from inside and the crickets chirping. The Garden was settled back into it's original spot on Balamb Garden's campus since they was no need to fly it anywhere. Seifer slid an arm around Fujin's waist and to his surprise she didn't spin out of his grasp. 'I guess she's warming up to me a little bit,' he assumed.
"Seifer?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's Rose?"
"She claims she had to go to the ladies' room, but I think she left. She spent most of her time on the verge of tears. How come?"
"Just wondering. So I see you didn't have to ditch her after all."
"Nah. She was a mess when I came to pick her up. Oh well, who cares about her anyway?"
"Yeah…"
Another comfortable silence followed. This time neither was worried about making conversation since it was enough to enjoy each other's company.
Seifer broke the silence this time. "You know Fujin…sometimes I think about how lucky I am."
"In terms of what?"
"Well, even though I screwed up a few times you're always there for me. I wonder…I wonder why you have so much patience for me, Fujin."
Fujin turned her head away in thought. "I don't know. Maybe it's the same way that Raijin is there for me no matter what. The things that you go through with a person are what make a relationship stronger. Brother and sister or otherwise…"
"So you're saying that 'cause we went through a lot that no matter what I do you'll always be there?" Seifer asked incredulously.
"Not exactly. What I'm saying is that we built up our relationship. It just didn't happen out of nowhere…we're the ones that made it happen. As to what type of relationship…that's one of the bonuses. We decide that for ourselves too. And it's nice to think that no matter how far a person takes you they'll always be there, but that's not always true. Every person has their limits."
"I get it Fuu. Hey…when did you get to be so wise anyway?"
"I've always been this way Seifer. You just don't pay that much attention to it," Fujin chuckled.
Seifer's hand went to Fujin's waist to her shoulder, which he gave a reassuring squeeze. "Well, I'll try to pay more attention. You make a lot of sense."
"I've always been the smartest out of the Disciplinary Committee anyway," Fujin joked.
"Aw, don't rub it in," Seifer snapped as he gave her a playful nudge. Then he pulled Fujin closer to him and she also wrapped an arm around his waist. Feeling even more comfortable, she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes taking in all the sounds of the dance and of the night.
Nearby, Selphie and Irvine watched contentedly. They were simply glad to know they had a part in Seifer and Fujin's happiness.
So…what did you think? Do I even have any readers out there? Oh, I hope so…you guys keep me going! I was surprised how easily I typed out this chapter. I guess I'm back!!!!