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: I'm SO sorry it took this long to update! Gomen nasai dear readers! But I went away on camp and then when I came home I had a LOT of stuff to do, so I kinda didn't have the time. But I'll tell you one thing: camp was great. We watched Pirates of the caribean both evenings and we stayed up late talking nonsence and I even sang Disney songs with one of my friends. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. Well, I guess that's enough of my pointless blabbering. Enjoy the first part of 'the party'!!!!!!
~ Chapter eleven: Party (part one) ~
Selphie and Rinoa were running around, throwing stuff in and out of a crate.
"Should we bring this?" one asked the other while holding up a pack of Party hats.
Rinoa shook her head. "Nah. He's not gonna wear them, and neither am I."
Selphie agreed and threw it over her shoulder. "Okay, next item. How about this?"
This time she was holding up a stereo.
"Yeah! No party without music eh?"
Selphie popped the thing into the crate and continued her search for party stuff for Squall's birthday.
"Hey Selphie. I just thought of something. D'you think we can have a bonfire on the beach? You know.........burn the left over wood.........we'd have light AND heating outside! That way we can dance there too!"
The other girl smiled too. "Hell yeah! Great idea. We'll have to ask Matron first though. We can do that when we dump all this stuff at the orphanage today."
At that moment the door opened and Quistis came walking through.
"Oh hey Quisty! How are you feeling?" Rinoa said.
Selphie offered her a chair. "Sit down you look a bit pale."
Quistis took her seat. "Yeah yeah I'm fine. Really I am. How's the party coming along? Can I help?"
"No no no. You just sit back. I really admire you Quisty. It was so brave of you to volunteer." Selphie said as she made sure Quistis remained in her chair.
"It really was brave. I couldn't have done it."
Quistis blushed. "Don't be silly. I'm sure you would have done the same. I just beat you to it."
Rinoa now joined them: "Yeah! You didn't hesitate at all! You practically had your hand up before the doctor could finish her sentence. What made you do it?"
Just for a second Quistis thought back to the Training Centre and to the moment in the Infirmary.
'Why did he do that? Why does he look at me like that and why does he confuse me like that? I can't stand that look in his eyes. It makes me love him more.'
"Quistis?"
"Oh.........yeah, sorry. I did it because.........he's my friend and.........and I felt a bit guilty about training with him when he had only just recovered from fainting the night before."
Rinoa and Selphie looked at her in silence. They had never seen their friend like this, this concerned, this misty, this out of place. This wasn't like her.
Suddenly the silence was broken when the door opened again. Rinoa's face turned from worry to happiness when she saw Seifer coming towards them.
"Hey bigguy! How are you feeling? I hope you feel better then you look."
She looked from him to Quistis and back again. "Honestly, you two look like a pair of ghosts!"
Selphie nodded agreeingly. Seifer grabbed a chair and seated himself next to Quistis. He glanced at her shyly.
"Hey Quistis." He mumbled.
Quistis didn't look at him. 'Don't do this to me Seifer.'
Rinoa and Selphie gave each other a meaningful glance.
"Hey Rinoa, I think we should, er, get the party stuff to the Ragnarok." Selphie said.
Rinoa understood and quietly joined Selphie outside.
"Are those two.........you know?"
Selphie shrugged. "I don't know. They do have a lot to talk about I guess. But this accident is not the only thing going on between them."
Rinoa still didn't understand. "But what about Fujin? She and Seifer are engaged. Surely he hasn't forgotten about her. He's not like that, is he?"
Selphie shrugged again. "Rinoa, you'd know more about that then I would. I never had a relationship with him. But I DO know Seifer and since he returned to Balamb he has been one of the most sincere, honest and serious people I know. If there IS something going on between him and Quistis, then he probably has a good reason for it. But I'm not sayind there actually is something between them."
Rinoa raised an eyebrow. "Selphie Tilmitt.........you have been studying them haven't you?"
Selphie smiled. "Well no, not really. I just noticed a few things in their behaviour. Like they were both silent and misty all the time. And when she heard about the engagement she nearly cried. I saw her face. And they kept running away all the time."
"Selphie my friend, I have much to learn."
They giggled.
"But we can't breathe a word okay? Nothing I said is for sure. It's just one of my crazy theories. I could be all wrong."
"Yeah.........you're probably right. Let's just get on with this stuff okay? The party has to be perfect."
* * *
"Quisty........."
He moved closer to her with his chair. She didn't respond. Her heart was beating so fast she was affraid it would burst. Her eyes were burning. Couldn't he just ignore her or hate her? That would make it so much easier.
Seifer sighed. He didn't understand. She had practically allowed him to kiss her one moment, but turned her head away the next. And the day after that she saved his life. But somehow she didn't want to talk to him or be in his presence.
"Listen Quistis, I don't understand you. You save my life but you don't like me. At least that's how you act towards me."
"Seifer, it's not that I don't like you. Hating you wouldn't hurt me this much. It's killing me and you know it." She said, biting her lip to force back her tears.
Seifer tenderly took her hand in his. "So you do like me.........but there's something that I need to know. Am I.........Am I just a friend to you? It hurts me so much not knowing. It confuses me even more that, everytime I look at you, my heart flies."
He pulled her closer.
"Quisty........."
"Please don't." she whispered.
But he ignored her pleas.
"I can't do this Quisty. I need to say it. Even if it's just once."
"Please don't."
"I love you Quistis. I love you."
She gasped, tears flooding down her cheeks. Somehow she was able to pull herslf from his grasp and ran for the door.
He had said the words she had been dreading. The words which made it impossible for her to forget. The words she had been longing for, had stabbed her through her heart, leaving it to bleed. She threw her self down on her bed and cried and cried.
After a few minutes of total silence she got up and wiped her tears and her face dry with a tissue. She took the photograph that had been standing on her bedside table for a few days. It all came back to her, the day at the orphanage. With her finger she caressed his face.
"I love you too." She whispered.
Again she felt as if she was being stabbed through her heart. How could fate be so unkind to her. Softly she pressed the photograph against her chest, holding it close.
She didn't know how long she had been standing like that. But the silence was broken by a soft knock on the door.
"Quistis? Are you ready? We're about to commence with operation 'throw- Squall-a-secret-surprise-party'. Ready to do the impossible?" sounded Selphie's voice from the other side of the door.
Quistis cast a quick look in the mirror. She looked horrible.
"Uh, just a minute. Code red in here!"
Selphie entered the room. "Yeah you're right there. You look awful. Lemme help you."
She began to take of the ruined mascara and aplied some soft green eyeshadow above her eyes. She finished up with a new layer of mascara and some soft lipgloss that left a hint of a golden shimmer on her lips.
"There. You look gorgeous. Anyone you'd like to impress?"
Selphie gasped as she realised what she had just said. It was only a rumour after all.
"I mean, uh, that IF you wanted to do so, and I'm not saying you do, just a mere slight tiny possibility, that it wouldn't be a problem. Because guys will be lining up for you."
Quistis ignored Selphie's slip of the tongue. She did't want to talk about it and she didn't want to involve Selphie with her problem.
"Well, let's go party girl. If the guys ARE lining up then I get first pick!" Quistis said with a cheeky grin.
* * *
The girls were already inside the Ragnarok when Irvine Zell and Seifer came walking in. All they had to do now was wait for Rinoa. She was going to lead Squall onboard the Ragnarok with some excuse.
Irvine peeked out of a window when he heard some noise outside.
Rinoa was leading Squall into the hangar.
"Quick, lights out and hide everyone! Here they come."
Everyone hid under their seat in the conference room. Selphie behind the steering wheel. They listened to the voices.
"I really can't understand how you could leave your notes in the conference room of the Ragnarok."
"Yeah well, I did." Rinoa's voice sounded agitated.
"And why do you need me to join you on this walk?" Squall's tired voice echoed.
"Because," Rinoa said "because it's scary out here on your own in the dark. Please don't be like this Squall. As soon as I find my notes we'll go and do something fun for your birthday."
The door op the ship opened and closed again. Footsteps rew neared and entered the conference room.
"Show time!" Selphie muttered from her pilot seat.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ *
Firess Ifrit Devil: Wow! This fic is your favourite? Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My fic is someone's favourite!!! W00t. hehe, sorry about that slight moment of sheer overjoy. Hope you liked the chapter!
Sickness in Salvation: Yeah, I think writing about Kadowaki is a great idea! I don't think anyone's ever done that before.........thanks for reviewing again!
Krazie-edge: thank you! Hope you still like it now I've updated.
Verdanii: Weel, I apreciate your reviews a lot too! And congrats with your birthady and stuff, but I guess I'm a little bit late now.........see you at the next chapter!
Again I'd like to apologise for my lateness. But I promise the next chapter will be great! Hope to see you all then and there!
~Raven55
AN: I'm SO sorry it took this long to update! Gomen nasai dear readers! But I went away on camp and then when I came home I had a LOT of stuff to do, so I kinda didn't have the time. But I'll tell you one thing: camp was great. We watched Pirates of the caribean both evenings and we stayed up late talking nonsence and I even sang Disney songs with one of my friends. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. Well, I guess that's enough of my pointless blabbering. Enjoy the first part of 'the party'!!!!!!
~ Chapter eleven: Party (part one) ~
Selphie and Rinoa were running around, throwing stuff in and out of a crate.
"Should we bring this?" one asked the other while holding up a pack of Party hats.
Rinoa shook her head. "Nah. He's not gonna wear them, and neither am I."
Selphie agreed and threw it over her shoulder. "Okay, next item. How about this?"
This time she was holding up a stereo.
"Yeah! No party without music eh?"
Selphie popped the thing into the crate and continued her search for party stuff for Squall's birthday.
"Hey Selphie. I just thought of something. D'you think we can have a bonfire on the beach? You know.........burn the left over wood.........we'd have light AND heating outside! That way we can dance there too!"
The other girl smiled too. "Hell yeah! Great idea. We'll have to ask Matron first though. We can do that when we dump all this stuff at the orphanage today."
At that moment the door opened and Quistis came walking through.
"Oh hey Quisty! How are you feeling?" Rinoa said.
Selphie offered her a chair. "Sit down you look a bit pale."
Quistis took her seat. "Yeah yeah I'm fine. Really I am. How's the party coming along? Can I help?"
"No no no. You just sit back. I really admire you Quisty. It was so brave of you to volunteer." Selphie said as she made sure Quistis remained in her chair.
"It really was brave. I couldn't have done it."
Quistis blushed. "Don't be silly. I'm sure you would have done the same. I just beat you to it."
Rinoa now joined them: "Yeah! You didn't hesitate at all! You practically had your hand up before the doctor could finish her sentence. What made you do it?"
Just for a second Quistis thought back to the Training Centre and to the moment in the Infirmary.
'Why did he do that? Why does he look at me like that and why does he confuse me like that? I can't stand that look in his eyes. It makes me love him more.'
"Quistis?"
"Oh.........yeah, sorry. I did it because.........he's my friend and.........and I felt a bit guilty about training with him when he had only just recovered from fainting the night before."
Rinoa and Selphie looked at her in silence. They had never seen their friend like this, this concerned, this misty, this out of place. This wasn't like her.
Suddenly the silence was broken when the door opened again. Rinoa's face turned from worry to happiness when she saw Seifer coming towards them.
"Hey bigguy! How are you feeling? I hope you feel better then you look."
She looked from him to Quistis and back again. "Honestly, you two look like a pair of ghosts!"
Selphie nodded agreeingly. Seifer grabbed a chair and seated himself next to Quistis. He glanced at her shyly.
"Hey Quistis." He mumbled.
Quistis didn't look at him. 'Don't do this to me Seifer.'
Rinoa and Selphie gave each other a meaningful glance.
"Hey Rinoa, I think we should, er, get the party stuff to the Ragnarok." Selphie said.
Rinoa understood and quietly joined Selphie outside.
"Are those two.........you know?"
Selphie shrugged. "I don't know. They do have a lot to talk about I guess. But this accident is not the only thing going on between them."
Rinoa still didn't understand. "But what about Fujin? She and Seifer are engaged. Surely he hasn't forgotten about her. He's not like that, is he?"
Selphie shrugged again. "Rinoa, you'd know more about that then I would. I never had a relationship with him. But I DO know Seifer and since he returned to Balamb he has been one of the most sincere, honest and serious people I know. If there IS something going on between him and Quistis, then he probably has a good reason for it. But I'm not sayind there actually is something between them."
Rinoa raised an eyebrow. "Selphie Tilmitt.........you have been studying them haven't you?"
Selphie smiled. "Well no, not really. I just noticed a few things in their behaviour. Like they were both silent and misty all the time. And when she heard about the engagement she nearly cried. I saw her face. And they kept running away all the time."
"Selphie my friend, I have much to learn."
They giggled.
"But we can't breathe a word okay? Nothing I said is for sure. It's just one of my crazy theories. I could be all wrong."
"Yeah.........you're probably right. Let's just get on with this stuff okay? The party has to be perfect."
* * *
"Quisty........."
He moved closer to her with his chair. She didn't respond. Her heart was beating so fast she was affraid it would burst. Her eyes were burning. Couldn't he just ignore her or hate her? That would make it so much easier.
Seifer sighed. He didn't understand. She had practically allowed him to kiss her one moment, but turned her head away the next. And the day after that she saved his life. But somehow she didn't want to talk to him or be in his presence.
"Listen Quistis, I don't understand you. You save my life but you don't like me. At least that's how you act towards me."
"Seifer, it's not that I don't like you. Hating you wouldn't hurt me this much. It's killing me and you know it." She said, biting her lip to force back her tears.
Seifer tenderly took her hand in his. "So you do like me.........but there's something that I need to know. Am I.........Am I just a friend to you? It hurts me so much not knowing. It confuses me even more that, everytime I look at you, my heart flies."
He pulled her closer.
"Quisty........."
"Please don't." she whispered.
But he ignored her pleas.
"I can't do this Quisty. I need to say it. Even if it's just once."
"Please don't."
"I love you Quistis. I love you."
She gasped, tears flooding down her cheeks. Somehow she was able to pull herslf from his grasp and ran for the door.
He had said the words she had been dreading. The words which made it impossible for her to forget. The words she had been longing for, had stabbed her through her heart, leaving it to bleed. She threw her self down on her bed and cried and cried.
After a few minutes of total silence she got up and wiped her tears and her face dry with a tissue. She took the photograph that had been standing on her bedside table for a few days. It all came back to her, the day at the orphanage. With her finger she caressed his face.
"I love you too." She whispered.
Again she felt as if she was being stabbed through her heart. How could fate be so unkind to her. Softly she pressed the photograph against her chest, holding it close.
She didn't know how long she had been standing like that. But the silence was broken by a soft knock on the door.
"Quistis? Are you ready? We're about to commence with operation 'throw- Squall-a-secret-surprise-party'. Ready to do the impossible?" sounded Selphie's voice from the other side of the door.
Quistis cast a quick look in the mirror. She looked horrible.
"Uh, just a minute. Code red in here!"
Selphie entered the room. "Yeah you're right there. You look awful. Lemme help you."
She began to take of the ruined mascara and aplied some soft green eyeshadow above her eyes. She finished up with a new layer of mascara and some soft lipgloss that left a hint of a golden shimmer on her lips.
"There. You look gorgeous. Anyone you'd like to impress?"
Selphie gasped as she realised what she had just said. It was only a rumour after all.
"I mean, uh, that IF you wanted to do so, and I'm not saying you do, just a mere slight tiny possibility, that it wouldn't be a problem. Because guys will be lining up for you."
Quistis ignored Selphie's slip of the tongue. She did't want to talk about it and she didn't want to involve Selphie with her problem.
"Well, let's go party girl. If the guys ARE lining up then I get first pick!" Quistis said with a cheeky grin.
* * *
The girls were already inside the Ragnarok when Irvine Zell and Seifer came walking in. All they had to do now was wait for Rinoa. She was going to lead Squall onboard the Ragnarok with some excuse.
Irvine peeked out of a window when he heard some noise outside.
Rinoa was leading Squall into the hangar.
"Quick, lights out and hide everyone! Here they come."
Everyone hid under their seat in the conference room. Selphie behind the steering wheel. They listened to the voices.
"I really can't understand how you could leave your notes in the conference room of the Ragnarok."
"Yeah well, I did." Rinoa's voice sounded agitated.
"And why do you need me to join you on this walk?" Squall's tired voice echoed.
"Because," Rinoa said "because it's scary out here on your own in the dark. Please don't be like this Squall. As soon as I find my notes we'll go and do something fun for your birthday."
The door op the ship opened and closed again. Footsteps rew neared and entered the conference room.
"Show time!" Selphie muttered from her pilot seat.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ *
Firess Ifrit Devil: Wow! This fic is your favourite? Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My fic is someone's favourite!!! W00t. hehe, sorry about that slight moment of sheer overjoy. Hope you liked the chapter!
Sickness in Salvation: Yeah, I think writing about Kadowaki is a great idea! I don't think anyone's ever done that before.........thanks for reviewing again!
Krazie-edge: thank you! Hope you still like it now I've updated.
Verdanii: Weel, I apreciate your reviews a lot too! And congrats with your birthady and stuff, but I guess I'm a little bit late now.........see you at the next chapter!
Again I'd like to apologise for my lateness. But I promise the next chapter will be great! Hope to see you all then and there!
~Raven55