Hi all, wow this chapter is actually medium length! Or maybe its juts all the spaces I've used. Anywho have a great day. Hope you like this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing. Thought of the day: "Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars." Oh and before I forget if you read this Emawee Happy Birthday!

Chapter 18: The softly spoken stranger

I opened my eyes, and then shut them again. No, I was still here, remembering things had not gone to plan as I would have liked. How long could I lie here pretending to be in a state of unconsciousness? I sighed. No, I was left here to dwell in my past forever; doomed to live in my mistakes. I started to curse Irvine's name.

"Oh it's good to see you're awake, Quistis," Nurse Kadowaki chirped coming over to my bed. Yeah. Maybe for you, I thought miserably.

"You gave us all quite a shock," she said, hoping her bright cheerful smile would lift my spirits. Unfortunately it did nothing of the sort. How many people had heard what I had done? What did they think?

Oh, now you've blown it! As if people weren't awkward enough around you before; now they'll be flaky happy and talking about you behind your back even more!

"Now you must be starving, what can I get you?" Her voice was sickly sweet. I sighed, hoping my despair wouldn't come into my voice.

"I'm not really hungry, but thanks anyway,"

She looked at me oddly, but then accepted on some level that food wasn't what I need now. I sank lower into the bed and tried to make my mind go blank.

Speaking, soft words were hanging around me like a woolly blanket. At first I assumed they were from my dream, a figment of my imagination. I smiled. That voice was so familiar, I wanted to hold this moment, where I all my thoughts were about this speech. It was then that I realized that it was not a vision of a dream I had been having, but that it came from reality.

"You would have liked today, Quistis, the sun was so nice, absolutely beautiful. I must have sat on that hill for about three hours; you know where I do target practice? The daisies are out again. Aren't they your favourite flower? Well, in any case I brought you some so you'd better start to like them… hey, you are awake! I saw your eye twitch, little lady, so stop pretending and wake up so I don't look like a loser talking to himself," I had to smile at that.

"See, told you so."

I opened my eyes, to see Irvine staring at me with lovely caring eyes. I still wasn't happy that I had to come back to reality but I must admit it was a nice thing to wake up to.

"You caught me," I said drowsily. "Oh boy… I'm starving!"

"That's good, because I'm one of the finest cooks in the world," he said humorously.

"Oh yeah… I'll believe that when I see it," I said teasingly.

"Well... you had better start believing. I will pick you up from your dorm at… let me see… seven?"

"I don't know, will I end up back in sick bay from your cooking? Because if so, I think I'd prefer McDonald's,"

"There's no guarantee," And with that he left.

I am absolutely certain that the most contagious thing in the world is a good mood. Irvine's light heartiness seemed to have… I don't know, coloured my day a lot brighter.

And don't get me wrong. I'm not through the woods yet, there's still a bit to go. But I'm closer then I was.

I put my earring in, and jingled my head, watching the little diamonds as they caught the little sparkle with pure beauty. I wasn't really in the mood quite yet to "dress up" as it were. So tonight it was just jeans, a lacy black top and my black knee-high boots underneath. I smiled as I gazed at my refection. The smile looked as though I was in pain, a gritting of teeth, a forced smile of fake happiness. I turned away. I couldn't expect my world to be just to be a bed of roses again. First I had to get rid of the thorns.

I lay back on my bed, not sure what to do with myself before Irvine came to whisk me away. I'm not sure how long I lay there mulling over the same thoughts again and again in my mind as I had done so much lately.

Actually I was becoming quite the expert on it.

A soft knocking interrupted my thoughts a I quickly walked to the door. I paused, my hand on the cool door knob and it suddenly seemed much more then just opening the door. In some weird twisted way, in my mind it was symbolic; as though by opening the door would be opening the door of my life to Irvine, like I had done with Squall. Is this what I wanted, to be hurt all over again?

Or did I just want to stay locked in my dorm watching the opportunities given to me be passed to someone else?

I opened the door.