(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .author's note. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I can't figure out how to put an HTML coded page onto Geocities. Aren't I sad? Why can't every uploading system be as simple as FF.net's?
It's late. I'm currently finding new ways to keep my mind running. Insomnia is a horrible, horrible thing.
Yes, people. Squall KNOWS. He has found out the truth, and is it a good thing? How will he react? I really don't know yet. Let us see the fruits of my typist's thumb . . .
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. quistis .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I yawned, paying for my coffee with little glee. I do not enjoy coffee as much as some, and normally I wouldn't touch the stuff. However, today I needed a slight caffeine boost. I had been out all night, almost, and with a grand total of four hours of slep, my normal functioning wasn't at a hundred percent.
I fought the urge to slump as I sat. Sleep would be nice. My eyes fought to close; I fought to keep them open. I scanned the table. Zell and Selphie were flirting horrendously, most likely another of Selphie's plots to get Irvine's attention. From what I could tell of Irvine's scowl, it was working quite well.
I sighed as heavily as I could without attracting undue attention. I would mostly likely have to lie, wouldn't I? Lying, I'm afraid, is NOT my strong suit. Only pure luck has saved me from an undercover mission thus far.
You ought to commend me for my amazing luck.
. . .though I prefer not to rely on such a fickle thing as luck, of course.
I haven't seen Squall yet. Very lucky. Neither has anyone else, otherwise, they'd be talking about how something was wrong. Extremely lucky.
I blew the steam off the top of my mug, sipping the hot beverage delicately. However, it was only a matter of time before Squall turned up. I-
"Um, Quistis?" a voice interrupted my inner debate. I swiveled. Rinoa was standing behind me, looking rather bashful. I turned full length towards her, keep my gaze level with hers.
"Yes, Rinoa? What is it?" I sipped my latte once more, swishing it down to avoid burning my tongue. She twisted her foot into the ground uneasily.
"Um. . ." She twisted her eyes away from mine. "I . . . just wanna apologize . . . you know, I got outta hand the other night, and . . . said some things I didn't mean . . ."
I blinked once. Didn't mean?
I had almost forgotten her outburst. Almost. My mind has, lately, been on . . . other things.
I had a nagging feeling . . . that she was telling the truth. I stifled a snort. She didn't mean them now, standing there in front of me. Right now she regretted every word, and she regretted them so much that she felt obligated to apologize. I turned my cup around slowly in my hands.
But at the time . . . when she said them . . . when she had backed every syllable with rage and hatred . . . if I had asked her then if she meant it . . . I know what she would have said.
I gave a half smile. It was done already, and there was no use dwelling on the past, when the future still loomed ahead. "It . . . is forgotten. Apology accepted, Rinoa. Have a seat." I gestured with one hand to the chair next to me.
She slid awkwardly into the table. " . . . Thanks, Quistis."
Squall had definitely received Ellone's message. Even through my lack of sleep induced impaired concentration, I could tell Squall was not happy. From the moment he stepped into the cafeteria, everyone else could tell too. Usually, Squall walks with a certain heavy ease, a ponderous sort of movement. Not so today.
Today he was all wire and sinew, with so much bridled . . . energy? Emotion? Frustration? Yes, so much bridled frustration that he almost seemed to forget to hit the ground.
He was obviously brooding over something, and had gotten just as much sleep as I had--which didn't happen to be very much. He slumped into his usual chair without getting anything to eat.
Zell, unwisely, broke into his thoughts. "Hey, Squall," he asked around his mouth of food, "Aren't ya gonna eat?"
Squall glared at him. Zell looked almost regretful as he swallowed. "Heh heh . . . nevermind, man, I guess breakfast ain't that important of a meal anyway . . ." he took another bite cautiously. An edgy Squall was unsurprisingly dangerous to ones appetite.
I should have known the others would notice something wrong. But they really hadn't figured into any of my plans, as much as I regret admitting it. I also should have figured that Rinoa wouldn't give up as easily as Squall.
"Squall, is something wrong?" She leaned forward, biting her lip. Ah, yes . . . her irrepressible effervescence. As usual, Rinoa made a big mistake . . . in the best of intentions, of course. Squall swiveled in his seat and gave a stony glare.
"Absolutely NOTHING is wrong. Everything is just . . . " Squall gave a bitter, short laugh, "PEACHY."
I winced. Not the best reaction in the world. He laughed again, even more harshly. "Oh, I had a great nights sleep." He stood up, looking up through the cafeteria's glass ceiling.
I glanced at his face and shifted uncomfortably. Being this close to a pissed Squall is NOT good for your health. I hoped my face didn't look as guilty as I felt.
Squall didn't seem to notice at least. He tilted his head down, and his hair fell over his eyes as he audibly muttered. "Thank you, Ellone," he spat out angrily. "Why don't I thank Hyne more often for a wonderful Sis like her?" He looked back up. " . . . Fucking Hallelujah."
Squall rarely cussed. That was Zell and Seifer's area. And for him to say such a word with any references to Ellone? The Sis he so doted upon?
I resisted biting my lip. He was taking this horribly. The one thing worse that might have happened was Squall running rampant with Lionheart. . . that possibility wasn't seeming unlikely at the moment either.
He glared at us all, and snapped up straight. "I have a phone call to make," he stated monotonously.
I stared at his retreating back as Irvine motioned for us not to follow. Squall? Would he be alright? Rinoa tried to get up. I halted her with a gesture. "No," I said softly, still watching the retreating figure, "He's gotten a bit of a shock. Give him time to think things through, he won't act unless he feels it's justified."
I turned back to the others. They were staring at me. Selphie was biting her lip, Zell was just shell shocked. Rinoa wasn't in any better condition, and Irvine had taken off his hat to rub his head.
My statement had given away a bit more information then I had meant to. A, that I knew what was wrong, and B, that Squall might have to take action.
I have said this before, but let me get something perfectly clear: I am a horrible liar. People mistake that fault for honesty, or nobility. For all my skill in decievment, I am terrible at any and all fibbing.
I tried to look as if I didn't know any more than they did.
Which, unfortunately, singled me out immediately. Selphie pouted suspiciously. "He-ey, Quisty? Do you know something?"
Oh, damn. "No, oh no! Why would I know anything?" I blurted out automatically. "I know nothing! I mean, how could I know? Wouldn't you know?" I stopped my babbling abruptly, before cupping my fore head in my palm. Oh, my.
Now that wasn't obvious or anything. Oh, no, of course not. Sarcasm. You see my point?
Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "Quistis . . . we worry about him. Why are you keeping this a secret?"
I sighed. Ok, since I can't lie . . . tell the truth.
Just . . . not the whole truth, you see.
"Listen," I rubbed my temple irritably. "I'm not supposed to know anything. It's an accident I do. I'd tell you if I could, honestly, but this is between Squall and-" I hesitated, and continued. "This is between two people, and I'm not one of them. I was merely a hand in the passing of information. As was Ellone. If Squall wishes to enlighten you, that's his choice."
Irvine shook his head. "So . . . you can't just tell us and-"
"It wouldn't just be Squall's confidence I'd be breaking!" I snapped. "Squall doesn't even know that I know! I'm supposed to be as clueless as the rest of you!" I shook my head, slamming an emphatic hand on the table. "So until he decides to stop playing the enraged victim, my hands are bound!"
Zell snorted. "I can understand that . . . cuz he was ready to get Ides of March on some ass . . ." He pointed at me bluntly. "If he thought you knew something on whatever the hell he was talking about, that ass? It'd be yours."
I sighed, and looked up. Not exactly my original reasoning, but it was extra incentive, I admit. I really couldn't tell them. They seemed to understand that at least.
. . . only proved that I was a coward.
"Everyone . . ." I stood, and gathered my belongings. "I . . ." What could I say?
I looked at them in the eyes. Confusion, reluctance, envy . . . and the inevitable acceptance. I smiled. I couldn't say thank you, far too prosaic . . . but . . .
"I have a class to teach."
Oh, well, now you know for certain I'm a bitch. I shook my disgustedly at my cowardice. No, there was no time to waste. I have repairs to do.
First off, Squall had said he had to make a phone call. Three possibilities there. He might have called Ellone for answers, unsurprising. He might have called Laguna for answers; in his confrontational mood, that wasn't dubious.
. . .He might have called the missile base, and ordered a nuclear strike versus Esthar. Not an unreasonable option, either.
I shook my head. Things were not looking up. I headed to my classroom.
My class, I think, has a collective intuition. Somehow, whenever my emotions are at a peak, or I'm especially tense, they know exactly when to get impossible to handle. Irvine once told me that my mood was directly proportionate to the amount of detentions I had given that day. I think I broke a record today; half my class was in the office.
The other half was being surprisingly attentive.
I eyed the phone. Perhaps I should call . . . Laguna?
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. laguna .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me.
Argh.
The new president of Galbadia, Koryu Deling, is NOT making things easy on me. Reforms and laws and crap are flying every which way.
The proverbial shit has really hit the fan, folks, and let me tell ya, it's messier than it sounds.
For one thing, he's totally rewritten that treaty. The one that I was supposed to sign with Caraway before he croaked? Yeah, that one. This was NOT the treaty I agreed to sign. It had all thisnew stuff on trade and technology. Phtt.
Yeah, like I was ready to give away Esthar's technology to anybody.
I look over it, Kiros peeking over my shoulder. "There is no way I'm signing this!" I slammed down the paper digustedly. "No friggin' way."
If I signed it, Esthar'd get the short end of the stick, to say the least; we'd practically be agreeing to a self-embargo. He looked at me strangely.
"You've been diligent," he observed. I looked at him. Uh . . . yeah, I'm the president. Kinda hafta be, you know.
He shook his head. "What's with the circles under your eyes? You went to bed early, and slept in a bit, too." He peered at my face darkly.
Eh heh heh . . . "Well, uh . . . I couldn't sleep . . . I ended up getting about . . ." I counted in my head. " . . . four hours worth." Which was true, really, I just hadn't told him WHY I hadn't been able to sleep.
Ward leaned forward. " . . . " Whatever the heck he said, Kiros agreed.
"Yeah, man, you're hiding something." He poked me in the chest.
I gulped. Damn. I'm a good liar, but hey, these guys know me. Can't really fool people that you've been with for most your life. Eh, gotta try, though.
I pasted my best 'I'm a moron' grin on. "I-"
"And don't try to fool us, man. It ain't happening," Kiros shoved his face into mine. "What's up with you lately?"
" . . . " Ward agreed.
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me.
Ah, well. It wasn't gonna be a secret for long, anyway.
No use for it . . . I choked up. Everything.
Except for Quistis.
I figured she wouldn't want her involvement known, but if she did want some credit, then hey, she could have it. Wasn't like the so-called 'credit' was important or anything. So, Kiros and Ward wouldn't know of Quistis in this round.
Ward gave a low whistle. Kiros shook his head. "Man . . . where'd you get those guts from all of a sudden?"
I grin cheesily, but not before-unsuccessfully-stifling a yawn.
Kiros narrowed his eyes. "Go back to bed, Laguna." He shoved me in the general direction of the door.
Huh?! "Kiros, what the hell . . .? You usually BEG me to stick around the office." And sign stuff. And push papers. And things.
"You need time to think about things, Laguna."
I thought on that . . . no, not really. I don't like thinking. It gets depressing, cuz it always ends up being about Raine . . . or Squall . . . damn.
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me.
"Eh heh heh . . ." I pointed at a couple other pieces of paper on the desk.
"Er . . . I have work?"
Kiros wasn't happy.
Needless to say, I was back in my room ten minutes later for some unneeded R&R. Yeah, I was tired, but how the heck do you expect me to sleep at a time like this?
Argh.
Yeah . . . I looked around. I was alone, with nothing to do but brood on my own crappiness. What a wonderful world.
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me. I shook my head lightly. That's like . . . the fifth time I've thought that today? Fourth? Fifth?
Whatever. The thing was, I have no idea on how Squall's mind might work. Kinda boring in my opinion; he's too . . . closed. Don't know why, but he's almost jaded.
I threw myself on my bed. Urk. I felt like Sleipner had decided to trample me in the few hours of sleep I'd had. I forced my muscles to relax, not succeeding very we-
**RING**
I jumped up. What? Oh. Phone.
Was it Quistis with news? I perked up at that thought. He-ey! This was good.
I bounded across my bed, wresting pillows out of my way to get to the phone. "Hello?" I spoke a bit breathlessly.
"Laguna Loire?" a semi-familiar voice toned from the receiver. I grinned.
"Quistis! Are ya okay?" Stupid question.
"Yes, yes of course. How are you?" I could hear her bemusement over the phone. Stupid question in return. Damn formalities.
"Hey, I'm fine." I whistled a few notes. "You calling to . . . say something? What?"
"Well, you certainly cut to the chase. Merely to update you . . ." Her voice faltered, and she trailed off slowly. Gee, how heartening.
"Ah . . . You don't sound too happy . . ." Yeah, that was an understatement on my part.
Her voice grew a hard edge. Bad news, definitely. "Well, I hate to say . . . but Squall isn't taking the news too well." I winced. Just what I'd expected.
"Oh . . ." Yeah, clever repartee, isn't it?
"He's just been . . . glowering about.," Quistis went on. I forced my ears to perk. "With the occasional curse word, which usually don't come easily to Squall. He knows Ellone sent the dream . . ." Her tone turned thoughtful for a second. "I wonder what he saw . . ."
I don't. I shook that thought away. "Argh . . ."
Gotta love oversensitive woman; Quistis took my aggravated noise as frustration over my situation. In part it was, now that I thought about, but hey . . . she spoke. "Mr. Loire, give him time. He won't stay like this for long. After all, it might be worse"
"Really. I doubt it. . ." I winced at what she had called me. "And it's LAGUNA. Not 'Mr. Loire.' Makes me sound old."
Silence from the other end. Gee, what a vote of confidence. "Okay, okay, I'm old, I get the picture! Sheez. . ." A thought struck me. "Hey, what, in your opinion, would qualify as 'worse'?"
"Well, he could be calling a missile strike," she stated calmly. "That is in his power."
I hit myself on the head. Yeah, he was the commander of Garden, after all . . . "Gee, thanks for the comforting thought," I muttered into the mouthpiece, not caring that my voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"I apologize . . ." Quistis's voice floated morosely from the phone.
I shook my head, a gesture unseen. "Nah, don't. I was expecting him to take the news badly. . . to say the least . . ." Yeah, I'd expected him to be at my throat by now. I surprised myself with a humorless grin. "Oh . . . man, what a disaster . . ."
Quistis added her own bit. "You're not alone in this 'what a disaster' feeling. The others have figured out that I know something-" I choked, but let her continue "-I've told them that I can't say anything, but . . ." She hesitated, something Quistis rarely, in my experience, does. " . . . they worry."
I squinted out my window. This was not good. "I can see that . . ." I answered slowly, my mind already coming up with possible solutions.
Quistis took a breath. "Don't worry, he'll come around," she tried to assure me. I could tell that comfort was not her forte, but at least she was trying. I nodded twice before remembering that this was a phone conversation, and I answered hastily "I hope so."
I heard a rustle on her end of the line. "Well, Mr. Loire . . ."
"Laguna," I corrected.
"Very well, fine then." She sounded faintly harassed. "LAGUNA." She stressed the syllables impatiently, making me feel kinda guilty for giving her trouble . . . she had done me a huge favor, after all . . .
She continued obliviously. "I have to-"
**click**
I blinked. Huh? "Quistis? You there?"
Nope.
The line was dead.
Dead line? Maybe she accidentally pulled a cord too hard?
. . . Doubtful.
I shook my head. Damn.
If she didn't call back in the next ten minutes, I'd search for her number and call her.
. . . Why the heck would the line just suddenly cut off like that?
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .author's note. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
What's this? Did Quistis hang up on Laguna? Well. It seems that the plot is traveling nicely.
I just had a load of hot chocolate . . . only instead of making it with milk, I made it with COFFEE (it tastes like cappuccino.) I am currently on an intense sugar and caffeine high. Angsty AN? Not this time, folks . . . . Flee, feeble hot chocolate . . . cower before my wrathful thirst for thy sweet pleasure, before I devour thee . . . okay, that sounded vaguely dirty . . .
Just a note . . . when I typed in Seifer, the spell check wanted me to correct it with the word 'sexier.' Oh, my word processor, how little you do know . . .
Review replies. These six individuals either caught my attention, or have been there since the start.
Angelus-Zion - The very first person to put me on fav authors. This story is turning out more successful then I thought, so hopefully, I can only get better.
Sorceress Fujin - Enthusiastic, aren't we? THANKS THANKS THANKS.
Ry, Maloire - My constructive criticism right here, folks. Thank you.
Pretty Green Eyes - One of my most constant reviewers, whom I personally thank for upping the review count (It's pretty high for the current chapter length, but the reviews for each chapter are sinking . . .).
Lunatic Pandora1 - Another constant reviewer. Got to love that 'let the bodies hit the FLOO' remark. Heartening, thank you.
And one of the reviewers mentioned they had the REAL first Laguna Quistis. Well, considering it was started about a year ago and hasn't gotten past the second chapter . . . or even introduced Laguna . . . forgive me for not counting you. But I hope you don't mind me keeping the title of first.
. . . I haven't used an exclamation point once in this AN . . . my longest AN yet . . .
I can't figure out how to put an HTML coded page onto Geocities. Aren't I sad? Why can't every uploading system be as simple as FF.net's?
It's late. I'm currently finding new ways to keep my mind running. Insomnia is a horrible, horrible thing.
Yes, people. Squall KNOWS. He has found out the truth, and is it a good thing? How will he react? I really don't know yet. Let us see the fruits of my typist's thumb . . .
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. quistis .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I yawned, paying for my coffee with little glee. I do not enjoy coffee as much as some, and normally I wouldn't touch the stuff. However, today I needed a slight caffeine boost. I had been out all night, almost, and with a grand total of four hours of slep, my normal functioning wasn't at a hundred percent.
I fought the urge to slump as I sat. Sleep would be nice. My eyes fought to close; I fought to keep them open. I scanned the table. Zell and Selphie were flirting horrendously, most likely another of Selphie's plots to get Irvine's attention. From what I could tell of Irvine's scowl, it was working quite well.
I sighed as heavily as I could without attracting undue attention. I would mostly likely have to lie, wouldn't I? Lying, I'm afraid, is NOT my strong suit. Only pure luck has saved me from an undercover mission thus far.
You ought to commend me for my amazing luck.
. . .though I prefer not to rely on such a fickle thing as luck, of course.
I haven't seen Squall yet. Very lucky. Neither has anyone else, otherwise, they'd be talking about how something was wrong. Extremely lucky.
I blew the steam off the top of my mug, sipping the hot beverage delicately. However, it was only a matter of time before Squall turned up. I-
"Um, Quistis?" a voice interrupted my inner debate. I swiveled. Rinoa was standing behind me, looking rather bashful. I turned full length towards her, keep my gaze level with hers.
"Yes, Rinoa? What is it?" I sipped my latte once more, swishing it down to avoid burning my tongue. She twisted her foot into the ground uneasily.
"Um. . ." She twisted her eyes away from mine. "I . . . just wanna apologize . . . you know, I got outta hand the other night, and . . . said some things I didn't mean . . ."
I blinked once. Didn't mean?
I had almost forgotten her outburst. Almost. My mind has, lately, been on . . . other things.
I had a nagging feeling . . . that she was telling the truth. I stifled a snort. She didn't mean them now, standing there in front of me. Right now she regretted every word, and she regretted them so much that she felt obligated to apologize. I turned my cup around slowly in my hands.
But at the time . . . when she said them . . . when she had backed every syllable with rage and hatred . . . if I had asked her then if she meant it . . . I know what she would have said.
I gave a half smile. It was done already, and there was no use dwelling on the past, when the future still loomed ahead. "It . . . is forgotten. Apology accepted, Rinoa. Have a seat." I gestured with one hand to the chair next to me.
She slid awkwardly into the table. " . . . Thanks, Quistis."
Squall had definitely received Ellone's message. Even through my lack of sleep induced impaired concentration, I could tell Squall was not happy. From the moment he stepped into the cafeteria, everyone else could tell too. Usually, Squall walks with a certain heavy ease, a ponderous sort of movement. Not so today.
Today he was all wire and sinew, with so much bridled . . . energy? Emotion? Frustration? Yes, so much bridled frustration that he almost seemed to forget to hit the ground.
He was obviously brooding over something, and had gotten just as much sleep as I had--which didn't happen to be very much. He slumped into his usual chair without getting anything to eat.
Zell, unwisely, broke into his thoughts. "Hey, Squall," he asked around his mouth of food, "Aren't ya gonna eat?"
Squall glared at him. Zell looked almost regretful as he swallowed. "Heh heh . . . nevermind, man, I guess breakfast ain't that important of a meal anyway . . ." he took another bite cautiously. An edgy Squall was unsurprisingly dangerous to ones appetite.
I should have known the others would notice something wrong. But they really hadn't figured into any of my plans, as much as I regret admitting it. I also should have figured that Rinoa wouldn't give up as easily as Squall.
"Squall, is something wrong?" She leaned forward, biting her lip. Ah, yes . . . her irrepressible effervescence. As usual, Rinoa made a big mistake . . . in the best of intentions, of course. Squall swiveled in his seat and gave a stony glare.
"Absolutely NOTHING is wrong. Everything is just . . . " Squall gave a bitter, short laugh, "PEACHY."
I winced. Not the best reaction in the world. He laughed again, even more harshly. "Oh, I had a great nights sleep." He stood up, looking up through the cafeteria's glass ceiling.
I glanced at his face and shifted uncomfortably. Being this close to a pissed Squall is NOT good for your health. I hoped my face didn't look as guilty as I felt.
Squall didn't seem to notice at least. He tilted his head down, and his hair fell over his eyes as he audibly muttered. "Thank you, Ellone," he spat out angrily. "Why don't I thank Hyne more often for a wonderful Sis like her?" He looked back up. " . . . Fucking Hallelujah."
Squall rarely cussed. That was Zell and Seifer's area. And for him to say such a word with any references to Ellone? The Sis he so doted upon?
I resisted biting my lip. He was taking this horribly. The one thing worse that might have happened was Squall running rampant with Lionheart. . . that possibility wasn't seeming unlikely at the moment either.
He glared at us all, and snapped up straight. "I have a phone call to make," he stated monotonously.
I stared at his retreating back as Irvine motioned for us not to follow. Squall? Would he be alright? Rinoa tried to get up. I halted her with a gesture. "No," I said softly, still watching the retreating figure, "He's gotten a bit of a shock. Give him time to think things through, he won't act unless he feels it's justified."
I turned back to the others. They were staring at me. Selphie was biting her lip, Zell was just shell shocked. Rinoa wasn't in any better condition, and Irvine had taken off his hat to rub his head.
My statement had given away a bit more information then I had meant to. A, that I knew what was wrong, and B, that Squall might have to take action.
I have said this before, but let me get something perfectly clear: I am a horrible liar. People mistake that fault for honesty, or nobility. For all my skill in decievment, I am terrible at any and all fibbing.
I tried to look as if I didn't know any more than they did.
Which, unfortunately, singled me out immediately. Selphie pouted suspiciously. "He-ey, Quisty? Do you know something?"
Oh, damn. "No, oh no! Why would I know anything?" I blurted out automatically. "I know nothing! I mean, how could I know? Wouldn't you know?" I stopped my babbling abruptly, before cupping my fore head in my palm. Oh, my.
Now that wasn't obvious or anything. Oh, no, of course not. Sarcasm. You see my point?
Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "Quistis . . . we worry about him. Why are you keeping this a secret?"
I sighed. Ok, since I can't lie . . . tell the truth.
Just . . . not the whole truth, you see.
"Listen," I rubbed my temple irritably. "I'm not supposed to know anything. It's an accident I do. I'd tell you if I could, honestly, but this is between Squall and-" I hesitated, and continued. "This is between two people, and I'm not one of them. I was merely a hand in the passing of information. As was Ellone. If Squall wishes to enlighten you, that's his choice."
Irvine shook his head. "So . . . you can't just tell us and-"
"It wouldn't just be Squall's confidence I'd be breaking!" I snapped. "Squall doesn't even know that I know! I'm supposed to be as clueless as the rest of you!" I shook my head, slamming an emphatic hand on the table. "So until he decides to stop playing the enraged victim, my hands are bound!"
Zell snorted. "I can understand that . . . cuz he was ready to get Ides of March on some ass . . ." He pointed at me bluntly. "If he thought you knew something on whatever the hell he was talking about, that ass? It'd be yours."
I sighed, and looked up. Not exactly my original reasoning, but it was extra incentive, I admit. I really couldn't tell them. They seemed to understand that at least.
. . . only proved that I was a coward.
"Everyone . . ." I stood, and gathered my belongings. "I . . ." What could I say?
I looked at them in the eyes. Confusion, reluctance, envy . . . and the inevitable acceptance. I smiled. I couldn't say thank you, far too prosaic . . . but . . .
"I have a class to teach."
Oh, well, now you know for certain I'm a bitch. I shook my disgustedly at my cowardice. No, there was no time to waste. I have repairs to do.
First off, Squall had said he had to make a phone call. Three possibilities there. He might have called Ellone for answers, unsurprising. He might have called Laguna for answers; in his confrontational mood, that wasn't dubious.
. . .He might have called the missile base, and ordered a nuclear strike versus Esthar. Not an unreasonable option, either.
I shook my head. Things were not looking up. I headed to my classroom.
My class, I think, has a collective intuition. Somehow, whenever my emotions are at a peak, or I'm especially tense, they know exactly when to get impossible to handle. Irvine once told me that my mood was directly proportionate to the amount of detentions I had given that day. I think I broke a record today; half my class was in the office.
The other half was being surprisingly attentive.
I eyed the phone. Perhaps I should call . . . Laguna?
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. laguna .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me.
Argh.
The new president of Galbadia, Koryu Deling, is NOT making things easy on me. Reforms and laws and crap are flying every which way.
The proverbial shit has really hit the fan, folks, and let me tell ya, it's messier than it sounds.
For one thing, he's totally rewritten that treaty. The one that I was supposed to sign with Caraway before he croaked? Yeah, that one. This was NOT the treaty I agreed to sign. It had all thisnew stuff on trade and technology. Phtt.
Yeah, like I was ready to give away Esthar's technology to anybody.
I look over it, Kiros peeking over my shoulder. "There is no way I'm signing this!" I slammed down the paper digustedly. "No friggin' way."
If I signed it, Esthar'd get the short end of the stick, to say the least; we'd practically be agreeing to a self-embargo. He looked at me strangely.
"You've been diligent," he observed. I looked at him. Uh . . . yeah, I'm the president. Kinda hafta be, you know.
He shook his head. "What's with the circles under your eyes? You went to bed early, and slept in a bit, too." He peered at my face darkly.
Eh heh heh . . . "Well, uh . . . I couldn't sleep . . . I ended up getting about . . ." I counted in my head. " . . . four hours worth." Which was true, really, I just hadn't told him WHY I hadn't been able to sleep.
Ward leaned forward. " . . . " Whatever the heck he said, Kiros agreed.
"Yeah, man, you're hiding something." He poked me in the chest.
I gulped. Damn. I'm a good liar, but hey, these guys know me. Can't really fool people that you've been with for most your life. Eh, gotta try, though.
I pasted my best 'I'm a moron' grin on. "I-"
"And don't try to fool us, man. It ain't happening," Kiros shoved his face into mine. "What's up with you lately?"
" . . . " Ward agreed.
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me.
Ah, well. It wasn't gonna be a secret for long, anyway.
No use for it . . . I choked up. Everything.
Except for Quistis.
I figured she wouldn't want her involvement known, but if she did want some credit, then hey, she could have it. Wasn't like the so-called 'credit' was important or anything. So, Kiros and Ward wouldn't know of Quistis in this round.
Ward gave a low whistle. Kiros shook his head. "Man . . . where'd you get those guts from all of a sudden?"
I grin cheesily, but not before-unsuccessfully-stifling a yawn.
Kiros narrowed his eyes. "Go back to bed, Laguna." He shoved me in the general direction of the door.
Huh?! "Kiros, what the hell . . .? You usually BEG me to stick around the office." And sign stuff. And push papers. And things.
"You need time to think about things, Laguna."
I thought on that . . . no, not really. I don't like thinking. It gets depressing, cuz it always ends up being about Raine . . . or Squall . . . damn.
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me.
"Eh heh heh . . ." I pointed at a couple other pieces of paper on the desk.
"Er . . . I have work?"
Kiros wasn't happy.
Needless to say, I was back in my room ten minutes later for some unneeded R&R. Yeah, I was tired, but how the heck do you expect me to sleep at a time like this?
Argh.
Yeah . . . I looked around. I was alone, with nothing to do but brood on my own crappiness. What a wonderful world.
I wondered how Squall was taking the news. He probably wanted to kill me. I shook my head lightly. That's like . . . the fifth time I've thought that today? Fourth? Fifth?
Whatever. The thing was, I have no idea on how Squall's mind might work. Kinda boring in my opinion; he's too . . . closed. Don't know why, but he's almost jaded.
I threw myself on my bed. Urk. I felt like Sleipner had decided to trample me in the few hours of sleep I'd had. I forced my muscles to relax, not succeeding very we-
**RING**
I jumped up. What? Oh. Phone.
Was it Quistis with news? I perked up at that thought. He-ey! This was good.
I bounded across my bed, wresting pillows out of my way to get to the phone. "Hello?" I spoke a bit breathlessly.
"Laguna Loire?" a semi-familiar voice toned from the receiver. I grinned.
"Quistis! Are ya okay?" Stupid question.
"Yes, yes of course. How are you?" I could hear her bemusement over the phone. Stupid question in return. Damn formalities.
"Hey, I'm fine." I whistled a few notes. "You calling to . . . say something? What?"
"Well, you certainly cut to the chase. Merely to update you . . ." Her voice faltered, and she trailed off slowly. Gee, how heartening.
"Ah . . . You don't sound too happy . . ." Yeah, that was an understatement on my part.
Her voice grew a hard edge. Bad news, definitely. "Well, I hate to say . . . but Squall isn't taking the news too well." I winced. Just what I'd expected.
"Oh . . ." Yeah, clever repartee, isn't it?
"He's just been . . . glowering about.," Quistis went on. I forced my ears to perk. "With the occasional curse word, which usually don't come easily to Squall. He knows Ellone sent the dream . . ." Her tone turned thoughtful for a second. "I wonder what he saw . . ."
I don't. I shook that thought away. "Argh . . ."
Gotta love oversensitive woman; Quistis took my aggravated noise as frustration over my situation. In part it was, now that I thought about, but hey . . . she spoke. "Mr. Loire, give him time. He won't stay like this for long. After all, it might be worse"
"Really. I doubt it. . ." I winced at what she had called me. "And it's LAGUNA. Not 'Mr. Loire.' Makes me sound old."
Silence from the other end. Gee, what a vote of confidence. "Okay, okay, I'm old, I get the picture! Sheez. . ." A thought struck me. "Hey, what, in your opinion, would qualify as 'worse'?"
"Well, he could be calling a missile strike," she stated calmly. "That is in his power."
I hit myself on the head. Yeah, he was the commander of Garden, after all . . . "Gee, thanks for the comforting thought," I muttered into the mouthpiece, not caring that my voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"I apologize . . ." Quistis's voice floated morosely from the phone.
I shook my head, a gesture unseen. "Nah, don't. I was expecting him to take the news badly. . . to say the least . . ." Yeah, I'd expected him to be at my throat by now. I surprised myself with a humorless grin. "Oh . . . man, what a disaster . . ."
Quistis added her own bit. "You're not alone in this 'what a disaster' feeling. The others have figured out that I know something-" I choked, but let her continue "-I've told them that I can't say anything, but . . ." She hesitated, something Quistis rarely, in my experience, does. " . . . they worry."
I squinted out my window. This was not good. "I can see that . . ." I answered slowly, my mind already coming up with possible solutions.
Quistis took a breath. "Don't worry, he'll come around," she tried to assure me. I could tell that comfort was not her forte, but at least she was trying. I nodded twice before remembering that this was a phone conversation, and I answered hastily "I hope so."
I heard a rustle on her end of the line. "Well, Mr. Loire . . ."
"Laguna," I corrected.
"Very well, fine then." She sounded faintly harassed. "LAGUNA." She stressed the syllables impatiently, making me feel kinda guilty for giving her trouble . . . she had done me a huge favor, after all . . .
She continued obliviously. "I have to-"
**click**
I blinked. Huh? "Quistis? You there?"
Nope.
The line was dead.
Dead line? Maybe she accidentally pulled a cord too hard?
. . . Doubtful.
I shook my head. Damn.
If she didn't call back in the next ten minutes, I'd search for her number and call her.
. . . Why the heck would the line just suddenly cut off like that?
(¯`'·.¸(¯`'·. .author's note. .·'´¯)¸.·'´¯)
What's this? Did Quistis hang up on Laguna? Well. It seems that the plot is traveling nicely.
I just had a load of hot chocolate . . . only instead of making it with milk, I made it with COFFEE (it tastes like cappuccino.) I am currently on an intense sugar and caffeine high. Angsty AN? Not this time, folks . . . . Flee, feeble hot chocolate . . . cower before my wrathful thirst for thy sweet pleasure, before I devour thee . . . okay, that sounded vaguely dirty . . .
Just a note . . . when I typed in Seifer, the spell check wanted me to correct it with the word 'sexier.' Oh, my word processor, how little you do know . . .
Review replies. These six individuals either caught my attention, or have been there since the start.
Angelus-Zion - The very first person to put me on fav authors. This story is turning out more successful then I thought, so hopefully, I can only get better.
Sorceress Fujin - Enthusiastic, aren't we? THANKS THANKS THANKS.
Ry, Maloire - My constructive criticism right here, folks. Thank you.
Pretty Green Eyes - One of my most constant reviewers, whom I personally thank for upping the review count (It's pretty high for the current chapter length, but the reviews for each chapter are sinking . . .).
Lunatic Pandora1 - Another constant reviewer. Got to love that 'let the bodies hit the FLOO' remark. Heartening, thank you.
And one of the reviewers mentioned they had the REAL first Laguna Quistis. Well, considering it was started about a year ago and hasn't gotten past the second chapter . . . or even introduced Laguna . . . forgive me for not counting you. But I hope you don't mind me keeping the title of first.
. . . I haven't used an exclamation point once in this AN . . . my longest AN yet . . .