[A/N Hoping I didn't rush the ending of this chapter… Please review people! I NEED INSPIRATION! Think this is one of the longest chapters… Hmm… ^^]

It was two days after the Garden Festival. Quistis was just in her room reading her book Loving You Like A Dream again and trying to finish up the last few chapters.

"Please... You DON'T..."

Tears fell landing on my cheeks and my lips.

"Erica... I care about you... I do..."
"Just, please... You don't care about me. GO AWAY." She pushed him away and ran into the deep of the forests where no one would disturb her.

Why doesn't he love me, I ask? Why?

Quistis didn't feel too bad for the character in the story.

It's a fairy tale. I know the end will just end up with 'And they lived happily ever after.". Everything, even fights, are perfect and work out in stories.

She read a bit more and almost came to the part where things got better and it's obvious fantasy-ness came back. She stopped reading though when she heard Seifer call her name. She opened the door and there he was, right in front of her.

"Hi, Seifer." She said brightly.

"Hey, Quistis..." His voice trailed to an end. "You're hair's down."

"Oops... Forgot about that. Wait a second." She let him in and ran into her bathroom and pulled it up into her usual style.

"Like your hair that way... But you look just as nice with it up." He grinned.

"So..." She blushed but still asked, "What is it?"
"Well... Right the SeeD test is already three days away?" He said.

"Yeah... I forgot about that. I'm going to be one of the SeeDs coming." She sat down on her bed.

"So... I was wondering if you'd help me prepare like you said you would." He ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"Oh, sure, Seifer. Like when, I mean, I could already... now." She offered.

"Now? That'd be great."

"Hmm... okay but you did study for the exam, right?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well, I was sorta hoping, you'd help there too. You know me... the *ehem* undisciplined one." He grinned.

"Can't deny that." She giggled. "Sure, why not?" She stood up, "Just give me 10 minutes? I'll meet you in front of the training center, I'll just get ready some of my books and notes when I was instructor. Should be helpful."

"Okay, meet'cha there! Thanks a million, Trepe!" He left her room, grinning at her.

She ran outside and yelled, "Quistis!"

"Fine, QUISTIS!" He shouted back mockingly and laughed.

She shook her head, chuckled and quickly got the stuff she needed. She tossed them into a messy pile on her bed. She grabbed Save The Queen and ran to the Training Center where she said she'd meet Seifer. She found him outside the parking lot on her way there. He was talking to Fujin when she arrived and didn't see her. She tapped his shoulder.

"Ehem..." She smiled. "Hi, Fujin." She said in a friendly tone.

Fujin nodded and smiled at Seifer. Then she left them alone.

"Well. You ready, Seifer?" She asked him.

"Always have been." He adjusted Hyperion. "Let's go. Test of speed! Last on inside is a loser!" He ran to the Training Center, quickly, not giving her a chance.

She shook her head. "Seifer you and your games...!" She grinned though when she got there ahead of him.

"And you were saying?" She teased.

"I let you win that one, Quistis. Next time I won't go easy on you." He grinned wickedly and put his arm around her, pretending to strangle her.

Quistis laughed. "Let's not waste anymore time." She walked through the Monsters' Lair and pulled out Save The Queen. She looked around for a minute or so.

"Where on earth are the monsters today...?" He wondered. Like they heard him, two gnats came out, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Right there!" Quistis yelled.

"Ooh... finally, a battle." He said.

Quistis battled one of them and killed it with one last of her Fire Magic and a few strong hits of her whip. Seifer just used his Hyperion and it died quickly. He grinned and posed with his gunblade.

"Seifer, quit it. Any monster could just come out all of a sudden and attack with you posing like a moron." Quistis tried to hide her smile.

They battled around five more gnats after that.

"Damn... Where are all the T-Rexaurs today?" Seifer grumbled. Just then one of them appeared behind him.

"You got your wish!" She yelled. "Look behind you!"

He turned around and yelled, "Yeah!"

"Don't be so happy, Seifer, he could attack any moment!" She hit it with her whip and it growled. Seifer slashed it with his Hyperion and a cut appeared on it's leg.

"Blizzaga!" Quistis yelled and a strong blast of ice magic hit the T-Rexaur. It growled louder and Seifer hit it with his Hyperion a number of times.

"We almost have it..." Quistis told him.

He attacked it once more but the monster countered it and slashed Seifer with it's tail.

"Argh!" Seifer held his arm and Quistis could see a bit of blood spill.

"You okay?" She asked him.

"I'll be fine!" He lifted his gunblade but Quistis could tell it hurt. She hit the monster with her whip, again and again.
"Blizzara!" She used her magic and finally the T-Rexaur collapsed on the ground.

"Are you okay?" She ran to Seifer.

"Fine." He said, but Quistis pried his fingers of the wound anyway. It was big, deep and bleeding badly.
"Hmm... It's looks worse than it actually is." She looked around. "Come on... Secret Area. I'll check it out there. It's dangerous here."

"Ouch..." He said as she covered it with her hand but let her pull him to the Secret Area.

"Now, let's see that again." She said as they entered. She pulled her hand away and examined it.

"It stings like hell." He said.
"Don't be a baby... It's just the blood that makes it seem horrible." She said. "Take off your jacket; it's hard to see with it covering." He took it off but kept muttering that it hurt when he did.

"Just the same. It hurts like hell." He said when it was finally off.

Quistis shrugged. "Hold out your arm." And he did.

She used his jacket to wipe off the blood. "Hell, that stings!" He yelled.

"Sheesh, I'm just trying to make sure it won't get infected!" She told him, "Hold still or it might hurt even more."

He did as told but still grumbled.

"Damn, no potions..." Quistis muttered to herself. "Cure." She tried to heal him and the bleeding stopped but the wound was only partially healed.

"Damn... no more!" She just kept muttering. "Come on." She tore a part of the sleeve of Seifer's jacket and wrapped it tightly around his wound.

"Quistis, that was my favorite jacket!" He told her.

"You've got extras of them. The all look identical." She said, exasperated.

"True but... still." He shrugged.

"Anyway, let's go. I've got some potions in my room." She grabbed his hand and quickly pulled him out of the training center before they could be attacked.

"Thanks... For doing that, Trepe... Quistis." He told her as they approached her room.

"It was a challenge, but no problem." She grinned and opened the door. "Sit down." She told him and started rummaging around for a potion.

"I know it's here somewhere..." She mumbled. "Aha! Here it is!" She called from inside her bathroom.

"Great." He said.

She came out holding the bottle filled with blue liquid. She handed it to him and he gulped it down.

"Does it still hurt?" She asked softly.

"Not as much..." He admitted.

"Good." She smiled and stood up from her bed. "Should we start studying for your exams now? If you don't even pass you won't get to become a SeeD."

"There goes the ambitious side of you, Quis. Gonna have me studying all night and day aren't you?" He joked.

She grinned. "Perhaps. If you keep this up. Sit down here." She motioned to the seat next to hers.

She noticed her book on the table. She quickly turned back to Seifer though.

"You like Fairy Tales, Quistis?" He asked, seeing the book on her table.

She nodded and frowned.

Suddenly, a question had formed in her head. Maybe from her book. She's not sure. All she knew was that when she looked at him, she had to ask. She stared into his eyes and couldn't stop herself. Before she could stop the words from coming out, they were said. The words felt strange and unfamiliar in her mouth but still she asked him,

"Seifer, do you love me?"

[A/N Cliffhanger! Cliffhanger! Cliffhanger! Bad, bad, bad me… =P Just have to wait for the next one. ^^]