Disclaimer: Listen, I'm a sixteen year old girl. How many chances do you
think I have of owning FF8? Exactly: NONE. I don't own it so you can't sue
me, at least that's the positive side of it.
AN: And again I'd like to thank EVERYONE WHO REVIEWD! A list of names is at the bottom! But the only way to get on that list is if you review. So this is what you must do: you read this chapter, and then you press the lovely little button at the bottom and then you tell ME what YOU think about this chappy! See? It's not thet difficult. So just R&R! PLEASE!!!! Well, I noticed the spellmistakes I had made in the last chapter just after I had posted it and I was too lazy to correct them, so I left them in, but they still annoy the hell out of me so I spellchecked this chapter again. ^_^
~ Chapter four: "I don't care...Do I?" ~
Quistis smelled the flowers. 'What a powerful scent they have.' She thought. 'Almost unreal.'
The sun was shining bright, warming her face. Next to her on the ground was her book. Her book! She sat up and tried to grab it, but someone had beaten her to it. She stared up to see who it was and saw his face.
"Give that back." She said coldly as she turned away from him.
He sighed heavily. "Come on Quistis, don't be like that. I said I was sorry and I meant it too. So please don't be angry with me okay?"
He walked over to her and made her look him in the eyes.
"Who says I'm angry? I'd have to care to be angry...who says I care? I DON'T CARE SEIFER!" she yelled angrily as she forced his hands to let go of her shoulders.
But he didn't let go. "Quistis...you do care...you know it, I know it. You DO care...and...so do I."
She stepped back. "You what?!" she snapped.
He stepped closer, leaving almost no air between the two of them. Softly he caressed her face with his finger. She shivered under his touch. Their breaths mingled and even though she didn't quite understand, she didn't care about that. She liked it. Suddenly his face closed in.
"You know you want it." He whispered.
And she nodded. Yes. She wanted it. And he knew.
"Yes..." she whispered.
A smile played across his face. "Okay then." He whispered back.
And before she had even realised that this would happen, their mouthes connected. There was no hesitation in her mind. She parted her lips. Just as she could feel that she would die without his kiss, he drew back. Her eyes immediately caught his, asking him why he had stopped. He smirked.
"You'll see." He whispered.
The sunlight was suddenly less warm and a cloud was blocking the rays of light. She looked up into the sky. When she looked back Seifer had gone. A cold wind started up and she shivered. Somewhere in the distance music started playing. She sat up straight and opened her eyes.
The alarm clock next to her bed told her that it was 07:00 a.m. (AN: yeah, I know. A dream; how clichée. Don't you just love a good old clichée like that?) Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she remembered her dream. Immediately she ran to the bathroom and splashed a glass of freezing cold water in her face.
'You did not dream that Quistis Trepe. You did not dream that.'
She stumbled back into her bedroom and dressed. As she was combing her hair she noticed something on the floor. A little envelope adressed to her. She picked it up and opened it. It was from Matron. The photograph she had taken that day at the orphanage was inside. She saw Seifer, with his hand on her shoulder. She threw the photograph against the wall and ran out of the room.
* * *
Zell was walking through Garden, on his way to the Quad. In his hand he was holding a photograph. Now and then he would look at it and smile.
The smell of the cafeteria distracted him and lured him inside. 5 minutes later he came outside again, a steaming hotdog in his hands. As he wanted to take the first bite, something caught his eye. 20 meters ahead of him he saw a girl, a strangely familiar girl. Short silvery hair waving behind her.
"Hey isn't that..."
She waved at someone and suddenly Seifer appeared out of nowhere and hugged her. Seifer and the girl walked towards the Quad together, Seifer having his arm around the girl's waist. Zell grinned.
'Seifer has a girlfriend. Seifer has a girlfriend.' He muttered to himself in an annoying little voice.
He continued his walk to the Quad, which happened to be the same way Seifer and the girl were going. They didn't notice him at all. When he finally got to the Quad, Selphie was sitting on the stage, her legs dangling above the floor. She and Irvine were looking at a photograph.
Zell ran towards them, past Seifer and the girl.
"Hey guys! Did you get the photograph from Matron as well?"
"Yeah! Look at this!" Selphie took out the old photograph and held it next to the new one. "See? It's almost exactly the same! We were in the exact same places as we were in when Matron took the picture all those years ago!" they started laughing.
Zell turned around. "Where are the others?"
Selphie shrugged. "Well, Quisty is over there." She pointed. "She's been a bit sulky all morning. Just staring out in front of her. I don't know where Rinoa and Squall are and-"
"Hey everyone." Seifer cut in.
"Oh hey Seifer." Selphie replied without tearing her eyes away from the photograph.
"HELLO."
Zell, Irvine and Selphie snapped up.
"Fujin???" they asked unbelievingly.
The girl nodded.
"Wow, that must've been.ages! How are you?"
Fujin shrugged. "FINE."
"But what are you doing here? Why have you come back?" Irvine asked curiously.
Fujin looked at Seifer. "EXPLAIN." She said.
He nodded, faced his friends and explained the situation. Selphie looked pensive and said:
"So your father is the new leader of Dollet and you're here to negotiate friendship with Balamb? I never knew there had been a civil war-thingy in Dollet. Wow, that really surprises me."
Quistis had now joined them and was surprised too. "Long time no see Fujin." She said as she extended her hand. Fujin took it and greeted her.
Quistis looked back at Seifer. She hated him for being so damn good looking. She cursed herself under her breath.
'You don't like him okay? It was just a stupid dream.' Said a voice. But another one contradicted. 'Yeah, well if you DON'T like him, then why do you feel so strange around him. Admit it. You like him.' She ignored these thoughts and stared out in front of her again.
"Quistis, you okay? You look a bit...out of it." Seifer's voice sounded from far away.
Suddenly somebody was shaking her back and forth. "Quistis?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
Seifer pushed her down on a chair. "You looked like you were going to faint."
She smiled faintly. 'How can I faint when you're in the room?' 'See! You DO like him!' 'So what if I do? It's never hurt anyone to like somone has it?' she blushed. "Just deep in my thoughts." She said to the others. "No need to worry. I'm fine."
Rinoa and Squall finally entered the Quad and joined them. Immediately Rinoa started squeeling.
"Oh!!! Wow what a beautiful ring! Fujin, who's the lucky one then?"
The others looked from Rinoa to Fujin and to the ring on her finger.
"Ring?" Zell asked curiously.
Fujin blushed. So did Seifer. He put his arm around her waist and beamed at them: "Well...I'm the lucky guy! Fujin and I have been engaged for quiet a while now. I proposed to her the day before she left. So...that would be...3 months? Somehting like that. I thought I had lost her, but finally she came back. So when we decide a date, we'll get married!" Seifer smiled proudly.
The others started congratulating them immediately, giving Seifer a friendly punch on the shoulder, hugging, shaking hands.
Quistis felt dizzy all of a sudden. 'En...engaged?' She sat down, preventing she'd faint. Her heart aching though she did not want to admit it. She heard his voice again, felt his eyes resting on her.
"Quistis, are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah...just really happy for you guys." She muttered vaguely. "Sorry I've got to fo I..."
She got up and left them. As quick as her legs would allow she ran bak to her dorm. Another dizzy spell played up as she punched the code to her dorm and she got to her bed just in time before her legs gave way. Moaning she sat down, clasping her head. It was hurting her, but her heart ached even more.
'Stop this stupidity at once Quistis. You do not love Seifer. You don't even like him. He's an arrogant, egocentric bastard and...he's engaged.' But she didn't mean it. She liked him. A lot. She loved him.
'Why though? I don't even know him that well.' 'Shut up you silly cow, you know it doesn't work like that. Anyway, if you really DO love him, then you've got a problem.'
She got up and ran to the toilet. A sudden feeling of nausea had gotten hold of her as she saw an image of Fujin and Seifer, hand in hand, before her eyes again.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ *
Thanks to ALL the reviewers! YOU ALL RULE!!!
Sickness in Salvation
Firess Ifrit Devil
Juliet3
CelestialStarLight
Verdanii
I never actually had people who really reviewd practically ALL the chapters of one fic, so I am really really happy that this fic is doing so well. I've written about thirteen chapters by hand already and it's not done yet! So you all keep reviewing and I'll keep posting chapters, how's that for a fair trade eh? ~Raven55
AN: And again I'd like to thank EVERYONE WHO REVIEWD! A list of names is at the bottom! But the only way to get on that list is if you review. So this is what you must do: you read this chapter, and then you press the lovely little button at the bottom and then you tell ME what YOU think about this chappy! See? It's not thet difficult. So just R&R! PLEASE!!!! Well, I noticed the spellmistakes I had made in the last chapter just after I had posted it and I was too lazy to correct them, so I left them in, but they still annoy the hell out of me so I spellchecked this chapter again. ^_^
~ Chapter four: "I don't care...Do I?" ~
Quistis smelled the flowers. 'What a powerful scent they have.' She thought. 'Almost unreal.'
The sun was shining bright, warming her face. Next to her on the ground was her book. Her book! She sat up and tried to grab it, but someone had beaten her to it. She stared up to see who it was and saw his face.
"Give that back." She said coldly as she turned away from him.
He sighed heavily. "Come on Quistis, don't be like that. I said I was sorry and I meant it too. So please don't be angry with me okay?"
He walked over to her and made her look him in the eyes.
"Who says I'm angry? I'd have to care to be angry...who says I care? I DON'T CARE SEIFER!" she yelled angrily as she forced his hands to let go of her shoulders.
But he didn't let go. "Quistis...you do care...you know it, I know it. You DO care...and...so do I."
She stepped back. "You what?!" she snapped.
He stepped closer, leaving almost no air between the two of them. Softly he caressed her face with his finger. She shivered under his touch. Their breaths mingled and even though she didn't quite understand, she didn't care about that. She liked it. Suddenly his face closed in.
"You know you want it." He whispered.
And she nodded. Yes. She wanted it. And he knew.
"Yes..." she whispered.
A smile played across his face. "Okay then." He whispered back.
And before she had even realised that this would happen, their mouthes connected. There was no hesitation in her mind. She parted her lips. Just as she could feel that she would die without his kiss, he drew back. Her eyes immediately caught his, asking him why he had stopped. He smirked.
"You'll see." He whispered.
The sunlight was suddenly less warm and a cloud was blocking the rays of light. She looked up into the sky. When she looked back Seifer had gone. A cold wind started up and she shivered. Somewhere in the distance music started playing. She sat up straight and opened her eyes.
The alarm clock next to her bed told her that it was 07:00 a.m. (AN: yeah, I know. A dream; how clichée. Don't you just love a good old clichée like that?) Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she remembered her dream. Immediately she ran to the bathroom and splashed a glass of freezing cold water in her face.
'You did not dream that Quistis Trepe. You did not dream that.'
She stumbled back into her bedroom and dressed. As she was combing her hair she noticed something on the floor. A little envelope adressed to her. She picked it up and opened it. It was from Matron. The photograph she had taken that day at the orphanage was inside. She saw Seifer, with his hand on her shoulder. She threw the photograph against the wall and ran out of the room.
* * *
Zell was walking through Garden, on his way to the Quad. In his hand he was holding a photograph. Now and then he would look at it and smile.
The smell of the cafeteria distracted him and lured him inside. 5 minutes later he came outside again, a steaming hotdog in his hands. As he wanted to take the first bite, something caught his eye. 20 meters ahead of him he saw a girl, a strangely familiar girl. Short silvery hair waving behind her.
"Hey isn't that..."
She waved at someone and suddenly Seifer appeared out of nowhere and hugged her. Seifer and the girl walked towards the Quad together, Seifer having his arm around the girl's waist. Zell grinned.
'Seifer has a girlfriend. Seifer has a girlfriend.' He muttered to himself in an annoying little voice.
He continued his walk to the Quad, which happened to be the same way Seifer and the girl were going. They didn't notice him at all. When he finally got to the Quad, Selphie was sitting on the stage, her legs dangling above the floor. She and Irvine were looking at a photograph.
Zell ran towards them, past Seifer and the girl.
"Hey guys! Did you get the photograph from Matron as well?"
"Yeah! Look at this!" Selphie took out the old photograph and held it next to the new one. "See? It's almost exactly the same! We were in the exact same places as we were in when Matron took the picture all those years ago!" they started laughing.
Zell turned around. "Where are the others?"
Selphie shrugged. "Well, Quisty is over there." She pointed. "She's been a bit sulky all morning. Just staring out in front of her. I don't know where Rinoa and Squall are and-"
"Hey everyone." Seifer cut in.
"Oh hey Seifer." Selphie replied without tearing her eyes away from the photograph.
"HELLO."
Zell, Irvine and Selphie snapped up.
"Fujin???" they asked unbelievingly.
The girl nodded.
"Wow, that must've been.ages! How are you?"
Fujin shrugged. "FINE."
"But what are you doing here? Why have you come back?" Irvine asked curiously.
Fujin looked at Seifer. "EXPLAIN." She said.
He nodded, faced his friends and explained the situation. Selphie looked pensive and said:
"So your father is the new leader of Dollet and you're here to negotiate friendship with Balamb? I never knew there had been a civil war-thingy in Dollet. Wow, that really surprises me."
Quistis had now joined them and was surprised too. "Long time no see Fujin." She said as she extended her hand. Fujin took it and greeted her.
Quistis looked back at Seifer. She hated him for being so damn good looking. She cursed herself under her breath.
'You don't like him okay? It was just a stupid dream.' Said a voice. But another one contradicted. 'Yeah, well if you DON'T like him, then why do you feel so strange around him. Admit it. You like him.' She ignored these thoughts and stared out in front of her again.
"Quistis, you okay? You look a bit...out of it." Seifer's voice sounded from far away.
Suddenly somebody was shaking her back and forth. "Quistis?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
Seifer pushed her down on a chair. "You looked like you were going to faint."
She smiled faintly. 'How can I faint when you're in the room?' 'See! You DO like him!' 'So what if I do? It's never hurt anyone to like somone has it?' she blushed. "Just deep in my thoughts." She said to the others. "No need to worry. I'm fine."
Rinoa and Squall finally entered the Quad and joined them. Immediately Rinoa started squeeling.
"Oh!!! Wow what a beautiful ring! Fujin, who's the lucky one then?"
The others looked from Rinoa to Fujin and to the ring on her finger.
"Ring?" Zell asked curiously.
Fujin blushed. So did Seifer. He put his arm around her waist and beamed at them: "Well...I'm the lucky guy! Fujin and I have been engaged for quiet a while now. I proposed to her the day before she left. So...that would be...3 months? Somehting like that. I thought I had lost her, but finally she came back. So when we decide a date, we'll get married!" Seifer smiled proudly.
The others started congratulating them immediately, giving Seifer a friendly punch on the shoulder, hugging, shaking hands.
Quistis felt dizzy all of a sudden. 'En...engaged?' She sat down, preventing she'd faint. Her heart aching though she did not want to admit it. She heard his voice again, felt his eyes resting on her.
"Quistis, are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah...just really happy for you guys." She muttered vaguely. "Sorry I've got to fo I..."
She got up and left them. As quick as her legs would allow she ran bak to her dorm. Another dizzy spell played up as she punched the code to her dorm and she got to her bed just in time before her legs gave way. Moaning she sat down, clasping her head. It was hurting her, but her heart ached even more.
'Stop this stupidity at once Quistis. You do not love Seifer. You don't even like him. He's an arrogant, egocentric bastard and...he's engaged.' But she didn't mean it. She liked him. A lot. She loved him.
'Why though? I don't even know him that well.' 'Shut up you silly cow, you know it doesn't work like that. Anyway, if you really DO love him, then you've got a problem.'
She got up and ran to the toilet. A sudden feeling of nausea had gotten hold of her as she saw an image of Fujin and Seifer, hand in hand, before her eyes again.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ *
Thanks to ALL the reviewers! YOU ALL RULE!!!
Sickness in Salvation
Firess Ifrit Devil
Juliet3
CelestialStarLight
Verdanii
I never actually had people who really reviewd practically ALL the chapters of one fic, so I am really really happy that this fic is doing so well. I've written about thirteen chapters by hand already and it's not done yet! So you all keep reviewing and I'll keep posting chapters, how's that for a fair trade eh? ~Raven55