Move it
Squall sat down in the 2nd floor classroom. A new year at Balamb Garden, new terms, new classes, instructors, cafeteria queue sneaking attempts and so on and so forth. He never cared for anything aside from schoolwork. Garden festival? No thanks. Christmas ball? He'd pass. The annual new-years- eve "later-than-midnight" party? He had to try hard not to laugh when he was offered an invitation, it was that absurd. Good thing was that since he was still just 13 years old, he was too young to take part in the bachelor auction or the bachelor girl auction. Still, it wouldn't surprise him all that much if some moron popped into the classroom a few years from now, asking if he'd be candidate #1120 or whatever. Couldn't he be granted some privacy? The sliding doors at the far end of the classroom swung open and in the hallway instructor Xu was making merry with her favourite student, Quistis Terpe. Quistis was one of few students at Balamb that actually mastered Blue Magic. It was quite common in the northern parts of the world, but as far south as Balamb it was a rarity. Small wonder Xu trained her day and night. Excellent talent was not to be wasted, but rather polished until it shun and glowed with perfection. That was Garden's policy.
"Well Mr Leonhart, have you decided on which classes to take this year? I just want to remind you that this year you'll be selecting your speciality and your default weapon." Xu said as she walked towards Squall.
He just shrunk deeper down behind his desk, head bent downwards and eyes locked on the computer screen. Xu was a good instructor, keeping business and personal affairs worlds apart, just the way Squall liked it. Come to think of it, he'd never really seen Xu wear anything else but her SeeD uniform.
"So, what will you do then?" Xu asked with a friendly expression on her face. Squall didn't turn up to face her, nor did he speak up. After a moment he just made a small nod towards the screen. Xu could read just as good as the next person, so words where not required as far as he was concerned.
"Gunblade? I must say you're aiming high Mr Leonhart." Xu said with a hint of admiration in her voice. "Is there a special reason for that weapon? It's the hardest to master, you might fail you know, or at the very least make it harder for yourself to graduate."
Silence. Squall's eyes were jumping from left to right, as if he was reading his thoughts through one line at the time. "I need to be strong." He said finally.
"You can be strong with a lance, spear or even just your bare fists." Xu pointed out. Xu was the guide guiding the students; even the one that didn't needed nor wanted guidance. That was their relationship in a nutshell.
"Unless you feel that I'm unsuited for a Gunblade, I don't see why you want to interfere with my decision." Squall grunted with a slight edge to his voice. "Watch it Leonhart, I'm only here to help you, so don't start snapping at me for doing my job." Xu said with a stiff and obvious fake smile.
A silent warning from teacher to student, Xu didn't take crap from a student, not from Squall or even Seifer. Slap at Xu and a truck hit you in return, it simply wasn't worth it. "I'm sorry, but you see my point don't you?" Squall said.
"Of course I do. I recommend the revolver model." Xu replied. Their little argument was now just a fading shadow of the past. "It's heavier than the Hyperion model and is slower on the trigger, but more stable. Not to mention it's far easier to upgrade to other models later on." She supplied Squall with enough info to make his choice. Knowing Seifer, he'd go for the Hyperion. Seifer was always looking for a shortcut of some sort.
"Let me see your timetable then." Xu said, holding out her hand. Squall lazily looked around on his desk and under some papers and notebooks before he handed her a sheet of paper. "You're missing 1 ½ hours Leonhart and since you're going to take Gunblade classes... you'll have to take... lets see... no, no and no." Xu mumbled a bit to herself as she seated herself on the edge of Squall's desk.
He gave Xu's legs a nervous glance. She did have a lovely figure, but Squall quickly swallowed down the hot feeling that began to rise in his chest and looked away. "Looks like you'll be swirling around on the dance floor Mr Leonhart." Xu said finally with a beaming smile on her face, yanking Squall out of his thoughts.
"Dance...?" Squall blinked at her. "Yes, everything else crashes. Either dance until your shoes catches fire or decide on another weapon." Xu replied, returning the timetable. "Why do we even have a dancing course on Garden?" Squall asked as he raised form his seat and began packing up his papers and notebooks.
Xu took a deep breath before speaking. "As a SeeD you'll find yourself in just about any situation imaginable sooner or later. If you want to blend in, as it is often required, you'll need to learn various skills. Even if it's just the very basics." That's the silliest thing Squall had heard to date, but he didn't have much of a choice.
Back in the dorm Squall lied on his bed, glancing upwards at nothing. Dance? Him? He saw himself stiff as a stick on the dance floor. The girls were giving him a hard time as it was. Probably all due to those damn romance novels that they sold in Balamb. 8 out of 10 included a loner coming as some "hot-stuff-lover" to either a far out of reach mansion or tiny village. Story was always the same; boy & girl had no one to fully understand them, so they're lonely, but together they find true love and bla, bla, bla.
How on earth did he know all this? Quistis hardly ever let him out of her sight for some reason. She kept on poking her nose in-between him and Seifer. Though whenever Seifer wasn't around, Quistis would happily chat about the sky, flowers, shoes, dresses, shampoos and lastly books. Getting stuck with her in the Garden elevator was a hellish experience. As a result of that little episode, Squall learned everything worth knowing about love novels.
Being a real life loner made the girls head spinning whenever Squall walked by. If word got out that he was taking dancing classes, this year's Valentines Day was going to be worse than last year. Squall didn't even like chocolate! Only one who both knew and cared was Quistis. She only bought him a vanilla ice cream on Valentines Day and left it at that. Being popular amongst over 250 female students against his will. Squall Leonhart sure had a troubled school life.
He closed his eyes and felt sleep crawling over him from his feet and over his chest as a warm and comfy blanket. For a faction of a second he saw it, a sight beyond what he could stand. A grand feast at the Garden ballroom and he was the only guy there. The girls all gathered around him, each and every one of them kindly asking for a dance. "NO!" Squall shot out of bed as if he'd laid his back on glowing iron. "...No, I don't want their attention." He muttered to himself, leaning his face in his left palm.
After some deep breaths he looked at the clock on his bedside table. 23:56 it said, nearly 1 hour after curfew. It was a long shot, but he had to try, he had to try to haggle with instructor Xu about his timetable. Lining up some decent arguments for his case, Squall got up and headed for the instructors section of the dorm.
"What are you doing here at this hour?" A Garden employee grunted as he met Squall in the hallway. "I need to see instructor Xu. I'm her student, Squall Leonhart and yes, it's urgent." Squall replied loud and clear.
"Are you aware...." The man began but Squall just nodded his reply. He wasn't interested in Xu so there was no need to fear that some teacher-student taboos would be broken under the new moon. After a little back and forth, Squall found himself standing in front of Xu's door. He took a deep breath and let it out as an audible sight before he knocked on the door.
Sounds of someone tossing themselves around in the bed, fumbling after the alarm clock and some grunting and mumbling (most likely curses) followed before a pair of sleepy feet dragged an even sleepier body to the door. The door suddenly got yanked wide open and Squall almost yelped at the sight. Xu stood there with just a big white pyjamas shirt and a pair of bright green panties on her.
"Thiisssh... better be important!" Xu half barked sleepy, swaying a little in a circular motion with her right hand on the doorknob. "Instructor, we need to talk." Squall began. "Umrph...? Squall? What on earth are you doing here? Go to bed for Hyne's sake!" Xu said, rubbing her left hand over her sleepy face.
He froze, his mind went blank and his mouth dropped open. For the first time ever, Xu used his first name. What was this feeling, this... heat building up within him? Why did he keep staring at Xu's mouth? And where were his jacket, pants and shoes?
"Squall... we're standing here, in the instructors dorm hallway... correction, the FEMALE instructors dorm hallway, in our underwear/pyjamas' at... 10 past midnight. If this is a declaration of love, I'm calling the discipline committee." Xu said, landing her head on the edge of the door, leaning on it so that she didn't fall down.
Squall managed with some effort to take his eyes off Xu's lips and looked down on himself. He nearly died of embarrassment at what he saw. No socks, no shoes, no pants (a black boxer though, thank Hyne) and just a simple tank top. "I don't want to take dancing classes." Squall finally managed to stammer out.
Xu opened her left eye and for a moment just looked at him. "Stupid, you have to. Case closed, thank you ladies and gentlemen, you've been a wonderful audience and now I'll go to sleep." Xu said, clearly annoyed and began closing the door. "HOLD ON! What if I train on my own in the training center instead? You said yourself that a Gunblade is hard to master. I'll need all the training I can get, right?" Squall finally managed to get his feelings under control and put his left hand on the door, to keep Xu from closing it.
"You need to be 15 years old to train on your own in the training center. Otherwise, you either have to pair up with another student, SeeD or instructor. Most SeeD's are on a constant move all around the world, especially since this general Caraway took over Desert Prison, I'm not interested in holding your hand when I know there's another option rather than over training, I doubt any other instructor will think differently and you're not a team player by nature. Sorry, try again in about.... 750 days or so." Xu shot him a quick sarcastic smirk and for some reason, Squall's heart missed a beat.
"Now... GO TO BED!" Xu yelled and slammed the door shut with a loud bam. "But..." Squall weakly squeaked at the door. "NO BUTS LEONHART! NOW GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I SHOVE A FLARE STONE INTO YOUR BOXER!" Xu barked angrily. Crushed with a feeling total defeat, Squall slowly walked back to his dorm room.
Breakfast time was neatly over and as usual, the new kid on the block, Zell Dincht, came late and made the usual big fuzz about missing out on the Garden hot dogs. Squall honestly had a hard time understanding what was so great about those hot dogs. To him, they were as plain as they get. Xu and Quistis were going over the advantages with Speed magic and as Squall made eye contact with Quistis he quickly turned away. Didn't know she used glasses Squall thought to himself as he sipped his coffee cup.
"Look who's sitting there, it's Squall Leonhart." One girl said with a dreamy look on her face. "I wonder what he likes to eat and drink?" another whispered back. "Coffee. He's an espresso drinking, cool sexy guy." A third replied with confidence. "Boohoo... Lisa, are you in love with him?" The first girl teased.
He nearly choked at that, but decided to down the coffee in one go before the trio got any creative ideas on how to get his attention. "Good morning Squall, early as usual I see." Quistis smiled shyly, yet politely at him. "Mmm..." He barely replied as he strode out of the cafeteria.
The first official school week at Garden started this morning. Headmaster Cid had his yearly speech to the newcomers. A speech that Squall could boil down to once sentence: "Students, be ambitious." How headmaster Cid manage to say those few words over and over again for 2 hours straight was beyond what Squall bothered to understand.
First stop was the armoury, where they would collect their weapons. Each weapon came with a traveller's case and a maintenance kit. Squall and Seifer got some of the biggest cases and a medium sized bag with maintenance gear. This resulted in a buzzing amongst the other students, yet no one asked either of them what weapon they had chosen.
Seifer bathed his face in the awe struck faces of his fellow and minor students. Fujin & Raijin covering his flanks, like they have been doing for the past 3 years. Well back at the 2nd floor classroom, instructor Anakin took charge and past out some papers.
"These are the reference manuals to your weapon. Be sure to read them thoroughly, as knowing your weapon well might save your life in the field." Anakin wasn't a bad instructor. He knew his subject (weapons & ammunition) decent enough, but the way he treated the male students made Squall sick. Rumour had it that Anakin was homosexual and was married to 5 year older man. Did Squall listen to rumours? No, but Quistis did and she'd be 4 steps behind Squall whenever the class was dismissed. When will that girl ever grow up he wondered.
Fujin entered the classroom and Anakin looked at her questioningly. "DUTY." She said. "Problems Ms Fujin?" Anakin smiled faintly at the slivery haired girl. "NO. SOLVED SOON. DELAY." Fujin replied. Anakin nodded his understanding and as Fujin left the class, he returned to strolling around in class.
"Mr Leonhart, please show me your weapon." Anakin was suddenly standing right next to him. Fine, fine... just wipe that stupid look off your face Squall complained mentally, but kept his standard "don't-give-shit" mask on firmly.
The case locks flipped open with two quick clicks and as Squall opened it, the smell of "straight-from-the-store" leather tickled his nose. A sliver Gunblade, revolver version rested inside. 6 4 inch long and 1 inch wide silver bullets were lined up as tiny soldiers just underneath the gun barrel.
"Well, go on Leonhart. Give it a swing." Anakin urged him with a gesture of his right hand. Squall hated that gesture. It looked so... feminine and totally out of place when a man did it.
He picked up the sword and held it in front of him. Twisting his wrist around, Squall examined the weapon for different angles, tested the weight and how it felt in his hand. An admirable "OOOOOOOH!" rang through the classroom as the other students suddenly noticed what weapon Squall had chosen. "I doubt you'll graduate Mr Leonhart." Anakin said before clapping his hands lightly, thus urging the class to get back on track.
Wednesday arrived and during lunch break, Squall hid his face inside his arms, which rested on the table in front of him. He should be eating, but he wasn't hungry. His coffee had turned to ice since some hot head lost her temper and sent Blizzard spells dancing between the windows.
Seifer & Co quickly showed up, flexing muscles, rank and authority, waving around with his Gunblade as usual. "Mind if I join you?" A light voice spoke up. Judging from the tone, Squall figured that she had been standing there for a while, charging up her courage before speaking. "...Yes, I do mind." He said, not moving a muscle.
It was the same scene as always. Quistis never gave up did she? When on earth would that girl take a hint? She always showed up when Squall least wanted it. Sound of a chair being pulled up, cafeteria plate being placed on the table, the fluff sound of a skirt scratching against the edge of a chair and a chair being pulled step wise towards the table. Didn't she hear me? Sitting up, Squall was taken a bit off guard by Quistis glasses.
"What?" She asked, chewing down some noodles. "When did you start wearing glasses?" He asked her. Why did he ask her that? He should be leaving now, why was he buying time? Oh, right. Dancing class... The lesser of two evils and all that he concluded.
"Since late summer. The doctor says that if I junction correctly, they won't be required in battle so I can still take my SeeD field exam. I just don't walk around with a GF in my head 24/7, hence..." Quistis explained, tapping the left side of her glasses with her fork.
"They suit you... you look really good." Squall blinked for a moment. What the heck was he saying?! Now Quistis wouldn't leave him alone for years! Quistis seemed to be equally surprised as she just gaped at him.
"R-r-really...? Th-thank you..." She muttered, turning her full attention to her noodles with a blushed face. If she suddenly got the wacky idea that he'd be her knight in shining armour, he'd just had to prove her wrong. He didn't want anyone in his life and he sure as hell didn't want to be in anyone else's life either. Why was he building bridges then?
Their eyes met as they both looked up at the same time. As if on cue, they both looked away at the same time. "I have a class..." Quistis said after some long and painfully silent minutes. Afraid that if he opened his mouth he'd ask for her hand in marriage, Squall just shut up and cursed himself for his carelessness.
Nervously Quistis gathered her things, her hands visibly trembling. Why was she acting up like that? Squall's blue eyes caught every motion, he started memorizing the curves on her hands, noticing how carefully polished her fingernails were and again their eyes met. Confusion was boiling inside him. Why? He didn't need her, but why was there a small part of him found her cute? She was one of the top 3 beauties at Garden, why would she need to lean on him? She could pick any guy, even instructor Anakin to be her knight in shining armour.
Quistis had something at the tip of her tongue, but Squall didn't hang around to listen. Thinking to himself that dancing class couldn't POSSIBLE be worse than this, he walked out of the cafeteria. Everyone with eyes in their head saw that Squall was in a very bad mood, so they quickly got out of his way.
Squall sat down in the 2nd floor classroom. A new year at Balamb Garden, new terms, new classes, instructors, cafeteria queue sneaking attempts and so on and so forth. He never cared for anything aside from schoolwork. Garden festival? No thanks. Christmas ball? He'd pass. The annual new-years- eve "later-than-midnight" party? He had to try hard not to laugh when he was offered an invitation, it was that absurd. Good thing was that since he was still just 13 years old, he was too young to take part in the bachelor auction or the bachelor girl auction. Still, it wouldn't surprise him all that much if some moron popped into the classroom a few years from now, asking if he'd be candidate #1120 or whatever. Couldn't he be granted some privacy? The sliding doors at the far end of the classroom swung open and in the hallway instructor Xu was making merry with her favourite student, Quistis Terpe. Quistis was one of few students at Balamb that actually mastered Blue Magic. It was quite common in the northern parts of the world, but as far south as Balamb it was a rarity. Small wonder Xu trained her day and night. Excellent talent was not to be wasted, but rather polished until it shun and glowed with perfection. That was Garden's policy.
"Well Mr Leonhart, have you decided on which classes to take this year? I just want to remind you that this year you'll be selecting your speciality and your default weapon." Xu said as she walked towards Squall.
He just shrunk deeper down behind his desk, head bent downwards and eyes locked on the computer screen. Xu was a good instructor, keeping business and personal affairs worlds apart, just the way Squall liked it. Come to think of it, he'd never really seen Xu wear anything else but her SeeD uniform.
"So, what will you do then?" Xu asked with a friendly expression on her face. Squall didn't turn up to face her, nor did he speak up. After a moment he just made a small nod towards the screen. Xu could read just as good as the next person, so words where not required as far as he was concerned.
"Gunblade? I must say you're aiming high Mr Leonhart." Xu said with a hint of admiration in her voice. "Is there a special reason for that weapon? It's the hardest to master, you might fail you know, or at the very least make it harder for yourself to graduate."
Silence. Squall's eyes were jumping from left to right, as if he was reading his thoughts through one line at the time. "I need to be strong." He said finally.
"You can be strong with a lance, spear or even just your bare fists." Xu pointed out. Xu was the guide guiding the students; even the one that didn't needed nor wanted guidance. That was their relationship in a nutshell.
"Unless you feel that I'm unsuited for a Gunblade, I don't see why you want to interfere with my decision." Squall grunted with a slight edge to his voice. "Watch it Leonhart, I'm only here to help you, so don't start snapping at me for doing my job." Xu said with a stiff and obvious fake smile.
A silent warning from teacher to student, Xu didn't take crap from a student, not from Squall or even Seifer. Slap at Xu and a truck hit you in return, it simply wasn't worth it. "I'm sorry, but you see my point don't you?" Squall said.
"Of course I do. I recommend the revolver model." Xu replied. Their little argument was now just a fading shadow of the past. "It's heavier than the Hyperion model and is slower on the trigger, but more stable. Not to mention it's far easier to upgrade to other models later on." She supplied Squall with enough info to make his choice. Knowing Seifer, he'd go for the Hyperion. Seifer was always looking for a shortcut of some sort.
"Let me see your timetable then." Xu said, holding out her hand. Squall lazily looked around on his desk and under some papers and notebooks before he handed her a sheet of paper. "You're missing 1 ½ hours Leonhart and since you're going to take Gunblade classes... you'll have to take... lets see... no, no and no." Xu mumbled a bit to herself as she seated herself on the edge of Squall's desk.
He gave Xu's legs a nervous glance. She did have a lovely figure, but Squall quickly swallowed down the hot feeling that began to rise in his chest and looked away. "Looks like you'll be swirling around on the dance floor Mr Leonhart." Xu said finally with a beaming smile on her face, yanking Squall out of his thoughts.
"Dance...?" Squall blinked at her. "Yes, everything else crashes. Either dance until your shoes catches fire or decide on another weapon." Xu replied, returning the timetable. "Why do we even have a dancing course on Garden?" Squall asked as he raised form his seat and began packing up his papers and notebooks.
Xu took a deep breath before speaking. "As a SeeD you'll find yourself in just about any situation imaginable sooner or later. If you want to blend in, as it is often required, you'll need to learn various skills. Even if it's just the very basics." That's the silliest thing Squall had heard to date, but he didn't have much of a choice.
Back in the dorm Squall lied on his bed, glancing upwards at nothing. Dance? Him? He saw himself stiff as a stick on the dance floor. The girls were giving him a hard time as it was. Probably all due to those damn romance novels that they sold in Balamb. 8 out of 10 included a loner coming as some "hot-stuff-lover" to either a far out of reach mansion or tiny village. Story was always the same; boy & girl had no one to fully understand them, so they're lonely, but together they find true love and bla, bla, bla.
How on earth did he know all this? Quistis hardly ever let him out of her sight for some reason. She kept on poking her nose in-between him and Seifer. Though whenever Seifer wasn't around, Quistis would happily chat about the sky, flowers, shoes, dresses, shampoos and lastly books. Getting stuck with her in the Garden elevator was a hellish experience. As a result of that little episode, Squall learned everything worth knowing about love novels.
Being a real life loner made the girls head spinning whenever Squall walked by. If word got out that he was taking dancing classes, this year's Valentines Day was going to be worse than last year. Squall didn't even like chocolate! Only one who both knew and cared was Quistis. She only bought him a vanilla ice cream on Valentines Day and left it at that. Being popular amongst over 250 female students against his will. Squall Leonhart sure had a troubled school life.
He closed his eyes and felt sleep crawling over him from his feet and over his chest as a warm and comfy blanket. For a faction of a second he saw it, a sight beyond what he could stand. A grand feast at the Garden ballroom and he was the only guy there. The girls all gathered around him, each and every one of them kindly asking for a dance. "NO!" Squall shot out of bed as if he'd laid his back on glowing iron. "...No, I don't want their attention." He muttered to himself, leaning his face in his left palm.
After some deep breaths he looked at the clock on his bedside table. 23:56 it said, nearly 1 hour after curfew. It was a long shot, but he had to try, he had to try to haggle with instructor Xu about his timetable. Lining up some decent arguments for his case, Squall got up and headed for the instructors section of the dorm.
"What are you doing here at this hour?" A Garden employee grunted as he met Squall in the hallway. "I need to see instructor Xu. I'm her student, Squall Leonhart and yes, it's urgent." Squall replied loud and clear.
"Are you aware...." The man began but Squall just nodded his reply. He wasn't interested in Xu so there was no need to fear that some teacher-student taboos would be broken under the new moon. After a little back and forth, Squall found himself standing in front of Xu's door. He took a deep breath and let it out as an audible sight before he knocked on the door.
Sounds of someone tossing themselves around in the bed, fumbling after the alarm clock and some grunting and mumbling (most likely curses) followed before a pair of sleepy feet dragged an even sleepier body to the door. The door suddenly got yanked wide open and Squall almost yelped at the sight. Xu stood there with just a big white pyjamas shirt and a pair of bright green panties on her.
"Thiisssh... better be important!" Xu half barked sleepy, swaying a little in a circular motion with her right hand on the doorknob. "Instructor, we need to talk." Squall began. "Umrph...? Squall? What on earth are you doing here? Go to bed for Hyne's sake!" Xu said, rubbing her left hand over her sleepy face.
He froze, his mind went blank and his mouth dropped open. For the first time ever, Xu used his first name. What was this feeling, this... heat building up within him? Why did he keep staring at Xu's mouth? And where were his jacket, pants and shoes?
"Squall... we're standing here, in the instructors dorm hallway... correction, the FEMALE instructors dorm hallway, in our underwear/pyjamas' at... 10 past midnight. If this is a declaration of love, I'm calling the discipline committee." Xu said, landing her head on the edge of the door, leaning on it so that she didn't fall down.
Squall managed with some effort to take his eyes off Xu's lips and looked down on himself. He nearly died of embarrassment at what he saw. No socks, no shoes, no pants (a black boxer though, thank Hyne) and just a simple tank top. "I don't want to take dancing classes." Squall finally managed to stammer out.
Xu opened her left eye and for a moment just looked at him. "Stupid, you have to. Case closed, thank you ladies and gentlemen, you've been a wonderful audience and now I'll go to sleep." Xu said, clearly annoyed and began closing the door. "HOLD ON! What if I train on my own in the training center instead? You said yourself that a Gunblade is hard to master. I'll need all the training I can get, right?" Squall finally managed to get his feelings under control and put his left hand on the door, to keep Xu from closing it.
"You need to be 15 years old to train on your own in the training center. Otherwise, you either have to pair up with another student, SeeD or instructor. Most SeeD's are on a constant move all around the world, especially since this general Caraway took over Desert Prison, I'm not interested in holding your hand when I know there's another option rather than over training, I doubt any other instructor will think differently and you're not a team player by nature. Sorry, try again in about.... 750 days or so." Xu shot him a quick sarcastic smirk and for some reason, Squall's heart missed a beat.
"Now... GO TO BED!" Xu yelled and slammed the door shut with a loud bam. "But..." Squall weakly squeaked at the door. "NO BUTS LEONHART! NOW GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I SHOVE A FLARE STONE INTO YOUR BOXER!" Xu barked angrily. Crushed with a feeling total defeat, Squall slowly walked back to his dorm room.
Breakfast time was neatly over and as usual, the new kid on the block, Zell Dincht, came late and made the usual big fuzz about missing out on the Garden hot dogs. Squall honestly had a hard time understanding what was so great about those hot dogs. To him, they were as plain as they get. Xu and Quistis were going over the advantages with Speed magic and as Squall made eye contact with Quistis he quickly turned away. Didn't know she used glasses Squall thought to himself as he sipped his coffee cup.
"Look who's sitting there, it's Squall Leonhart." One girl said with a dreamy look on her face. "I wonder what he likes to eat and drink?" another whispered back. "Coffee. He's an espresso drinking, cool sexy guy." A third replied with confidence. "Boohoo... Lisa, are you in love with him?" The first girl teased.
He nearly choked at that, but decided to down the coffee in one go before the trio got any creative ideas on how to get his attention. "Good morning Squall, early as usual I see." Quistis smiled shyly, yet politely at him. "Mmm..." He barely replied as he strode out of the cafeteria.
The first official school week at Garden started this morning. Headmaster Cid had his yearly speech to the newcomers. A speech that Squall could boil down to once sentence: "Students, be ambitious." How headmaster Cid manage to say those few words over and over again for 2 hours straight was beyond what Squall bothered to understand.
First stop was the armoury, where they would collect their weapons. Each weapon came with a traveller's case and a maintenance kit. Squall and Seifer got some of the biggest cases and a medium sized bag with maintenance gear. This resulted in a buzzing amongst the other students, yet no one asked either of them what weapon they had chosen.
Seifer bathed his face in the awe struck faces of his fellow and minor students. Fujin & Raijin covering his flanks, like they have been doing for the past 3 years. Well back at the 2nd floor classroom, instructor Anakin took charge and past out some papers.
"These are the reference manuals to your weapon. Be sure to read them thoroughly, as knowing your weapon well might save your life in the field." Anakin wasn't a bad instructor. He knew his subject (weapons & ammunition) decent enough, but the way he treated the male students made Squall sick. Rumour had it that Anakin was homosexual and was married to 5 year older man. Did Squall listen to rumours? No, but Quistis did and she'd be 4 steps behind Squall whenever the class was dismissed. When will that girl ever grow up he wondered.
Fujin entered the classroom and Anakin looked at her questioningly. "DUTY." She said. "Problems Ms Fujin?" Anakin smiled faintly at the slivery haired girl. "NO. SOLVED SOON. DELAY." Fujin replied. Anakin nodded his understanding and as Fujin left the class, he returned to strolling around in class.
"Mr Leonhart, please show me your weapon." Anakin was suddenly standing right next to him. Fine, fine... just wipe that stupid look off your face Squall complained mentally, but kept his standard "don't-give-shit" mask on firmly.
The case locks flipped open with two quick clicks and as Squall opened it, the smell of "straight-from-the-store" leather tickled his nose. A sliver Gunblade, revolver version rested inside. 6 4 inch long and 1 inch wide silver bullets were lined up as tiny soldiers just underneath the gun barrel.
"Well, go on Leonhart. Give it a swing." Anakin urged him with a gesture of his right hand. Squall hated that gesture. It looked so... feminine and totally out of place when a man did it.
He picked up the sword and held it in front of him. Twisting his wrist around, Squall examined the weapon for different angles, tested the weight and how it felt in his hand. An admirable "OOOOOOOH!" rang through the classroom as the other students suddenly noticed what weapon Squall had chosen. "I doubt you'll graduate Mr Leonhart." Anakin said before clapping his hands lightly, thus urging the class to get back on track.
Wednesday arrived and during lunch break, Squall hid his face inside his arms, which rested on the table in front of him. He should be eating, but he wasn't hungry. His coffee had turned to ice since some hot head lost her temper and sent Blizzard spells dancing between the windows.
Seifer & Co quickly showed up, flexing muscles, rank and authority, waving around with his Gunblade as usual. "Mind if I join you?" A light voice spoke up. Judging from the tone, Squall figured that she had been standing there for a while, charging up her courage before speaking. "...Yes, I do mind." He said, not moving a muscle.
It was the same scene as always. Quistis never gave up did she? When on earth would that girl take a hint? She always showed up when Squall least wanted it. Sound of a chair being pulled up, cafeteria plate being placed on the table, the fluff sound of a skirt scratching against the edge of a chair and a chair being pulled step wise towards the table. Didn't she hear me? Sitting up, Squall was taken a bit off guard by Quistis glasses.
"What?" She asked, chewing down some noodles. "When did you start wearing glasses?" He asked her. Why did he ask her that? He should be leaving now, why was he buying time? Oh, right. Dancing class... The lesser of two evils and all that he concluded.
"Since late summer. The doctor says that if I junction correctly, they won't be required in battle so I can still take my SeeD field exam. I just don't walk around with a GF in my head 24/7, hence..." Quistis explained, tapping the left side of her glasses with her fork.
"They suit you... you look really good." Squall blinked for a moment. What the heck was he saying?! Now Quistis wouldn't leave him alone for years! Quistis seemed to be equally surprised as she just gaped at him.
"R-r-really...? Th-thank you..." She muttered, turning her full attention to her noodles with a blushed face. If she suddenly got the wacky idea that he'd be her knight in shining armour, he'd just had to prove her wrong. He didn't want anyone in his life and he sure as hell didn't want to be in anyone else's life either. Why was he building bridges then?
Their eyes met as they both looked up at the same time. As if on cue, they both looked away at the same time. "I have a class..." Quistis said after some long and painfully silent minutes. Afraid that if he opened his mouth he'd ask for her hand in marriage, Squall just shut up and cursed himself for his carelessness.
Nervously Quistis gathered her things, her hands visibly trembling. Why was she acting up like that? Squall's blue eyes caught every motion, he started memorizing the curves on her hands, noticing how carefully polished her fingernails were and again their eyes met. Confusion was boiling inside him. Why? He didn't need her, but why was there a small part of him found her cute? She was one of the top 3 beauties at Garden, why would she need to lean on him? She could pick any guy, even instructor Anakin to be her knight in shining armour.
Quistis had something at the tip of her tongue, but Squall didn't hang around to listen. Thinking to himself that dancing class couldn't POSSIBLE be worse than this, he walked out of the cafeteria. Everyone with eyes in their head saw that Squall was in a very bad mood, so they quickly got out of his way.