The usual disclaimers apply here. Gosh, it has been a while since I last worked on this story...almost a year at least! Sorry to have kept you waiting. Reviews are greatly appreciated and in fact; I thrive on them.

The beauty Esthar laid out before him amazed Squall. Tall skyscrapers loomed before him, monorails everywhere; people of diversity all walked past him. He walked a bit slower than the group in front of him, taking in all the beauty. I want to live here. I've only been here for a few hours and already I love the city. It would be perfect if...

"Squally!" A high-pitched squeal pierced the brunette's private thoughts. Squall angrily shot a glare at the speaker, noticing it was Selphie, his perky if not a bit annoying friend. Selphie was jumping up and down, frantically waving her arms in air. "What?" Squall shouted back at the over hyperactive girl. "Hurry up! You're gonna fall behind and get lost!"

Squall frowned, his brow knitted. He glanced around and let out a startled cry to see he is standing on the other side of street opposite of where the group of tourists now was. Selphie rolled her eyes and hurried forward to the front of the quickly departing group. The group parted and Mrs. Edea Karmer appeared. Her tiny lips turned upside-down into a tight frown, hands on her hip. "Squall, please do hurry up! We haven't got all day to wait for you to cross streets!" Laughter erupted from the group behind Edea. Squall's shoulders sank; his face scarlet from humiliation of having his situation pointed out in such a humiliating way. He waited until the pedestrain-crossing light signaled it was safe for him to cross and he made his way, or rather, he slinked his way across to the waiting and extremely impatient group.

Upon his long-awaited arrival, Quistis threw her arm around Squall's shoulders. She cast a sidelong glance at her friend, smirking. Squall shrugged off Quistis' arm, brooding.

"Oh, don't be such a baby!" "I'm not being a baby..." Squall half-heartedly muttered, pouting.

"Tell you what. When we stop somewhere for lunch, wanna split an Esthar-style pizza slice with me?"

"Whatever."

Quistis smiled sympathetically and she again put her arm around Squall's shoulders. "Hey guys!" a voice chimed in. Quistis and Squall looked up to see a smiling Rinoa. "Care to split that Esthar-style pizza three-way?" Quistis was blushing even furiously now, looking down at the ground. Squall noticed this and he smirked. Gee, it's only pizza... I wonder what happened? "Hey, Squall," a male voice called out in a really friendly way. Squall glanced around to see the speaker and upon the sight of the speaker, he swallowed a big lump in his throat. Zell... "Z-Zell!" Quistis giggled and was quickly silenced by a sharp poke in her side by Squall's elbow. "I'll leave you guys alone. Come on, Rinoa," Quistis said while linking her arm around Rinoa's arm.

Zell and Squall watched the two girls depart, awkwardly looking at anything but each other. They walked forward, together, not wanting to fall behind. "So...we're roommates, yeah?" Zell murmured shyly, breaking the awkward silence. "Looks like it." Squall reached out and brushed the hair away from his eyes. Zell watched the simple action with a strange interest. It made Squall nervous. Why is he looking at me like that? Squall's eyes darted back and forth, his head bending down self-consciously.

Zell noticed Squall fidgeting around nervously and he shook off his...interest in Squall. He cleared his throat and gestured something with his hands. "So, Squall... Are ya havin' fun yet?" Squall shrugged and cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah, you know...whatever."

"Ah. Ya know, I wish I could live here."

Squall's eyes widened, a smile played at his lips. He quickly hid the smile and stared stoically at the tattooed blonde. "Really."

"Yep. Squall, I just wanna tell ya..."

"Hey, guys!" another male voice interrupted Zell. Zell shot an annoyed glance at the interrupter. "Irvine!" The cowboy-wannabe threw his arms around Squall and Zell's shoulders, oblivious to what he had done. "So, guys, wanna scope for hot chicks or babes or whatever you guys are into..." Both Zell's and Squall's faces turned a deep shade of scarlet at this. Zell reached up and smacked his cowboy friend in his head. "Ow! What was that for?!" Squall just couldn't help himself but to laugh. He began to laugh, amused by the absurdity of the situation.

Zell's ears pricked up at the soft laughter coming from Squall's direction. Zell smiled and joined in. He got a nice laugh... Irvine also joined in, not wanting to be left out of whatever the hell's going on. "So how about it, guys? Wanna check out hot people?" In unison, Zell and Squall smacked Irvine and their hands came into contact of each other. Electricity shot throughout Zell and Squall's arms. Squall looked at Zell, their glances locking. Squall's hand lingered on Zell for a short moment before pulling away. Zell nearly let his disappointment show on his face but he quickly hid it.

Noticing the chemistry between the two boys, Irvine smirked to himself. My work here is done. Now it's up to them to finish the job.

Any thoughts on how this story have progressed so far? Again, reviews are greatly appreciated and flames are not. In fact, anyone who flames me without a reason will be shot.