Note: SORRY! I have been trying to figure out how to continue the rest of the story with the weekend and besides...you can't blame me for trying to have a good time in the summer right? *grins wide* Anyways, the chapter you've been anticipating! The second part of the weekend, starring Selphie and Zell! ^^
Chapter 11 - The Weekend Part Two
~Saturday~
They arrived at the building at around three o'clock in the afternoon. The building of the prison cell was visible behind the tall trees and bushes and Selphie could see the dull coloring of the walls and the barred up windows. First, the car had to go through some heavy inspection (to make sure there was no screw or any tools set the prisoners free) before she drove it down the parking lot provided at the front. Selphie was excited to see her brother again. After a few months of not being able to talk to him, other than by letters, she wondered what he would look like. He told her one time he would have sent her his recent picture, but prison cells didn't have cameras. The bouncy brunette was just looking around quietly as her and Quistis walked down the main hall, when the blond spoke to her.
"So, how old is your brother now?"
Selphie glanced at her and smiled. Her eyes wandered towards her black eye, then tore them away from it, then replied, "Oh, he's nineteen!"
Quistis nodded, then once again, the two continued to walk down in silent, following a large, dark skinned guard. They followed him towards a dark corridor, then inside a bright room with rows of chairs all aligned behind a table with a glass wall attached at the top. On the tables were the old-style telephones and through the glass windows, were small little slits that shows that 'something' goes through there. The guard pointed to the chair in the very middle of the room and Selphie thanked him quietly, before sitting down on the chair. Quistis sat on a chair provided for her beside Selphie.
"His sister is here to see him." The dark skinned guard spoke, looking at the guard on the other side of the glass window standing by another door. This guard was caucasian and by the other guard's request, he nodded and left for the door to fetch her brother. He appeared a few seconds later, followed by a tall and skinny short, brown haired man with emerald green eyes that resembled Selphie. Quistis knew he was nineteen, but with his disheveled hair and baggy eyes, she couldn't see the youth inside the boy. She saw a man, already having that stressed out look most men wore when they're married or just coming home from work. Nevertheless, Quistis saw the happiness in Selphie's eyes.
"Hey, Tiny!!" the young man spoke, his eyes glancing over at the blond girl beside his sister. The smile he wore with the sight of his little sister, made Quistis change her mind about him being 'older' than he looked. When he smiled, he looked nineteen as he's suppose to be.
"Garrett!" It looked as though Selphie was eager to hug him, but knew she couldn't because of the glass in between them. She reached for the phone to the side and pressed it against her ear. She waited until she noticed her big brother with his phone pressed against his own ear. "How are you?"
The young man nodded and smiled again. "I'm fine, shrimp! How's Zell?"
"Oh um....he's fine..." Selphie sighed. Was she lying to her own brother? The truth was... Zell didn't look good. Well, to her anyway. Zell may think he's good, but the thought of him smoking just like her brother did, made her gut churn. She would tell him when she was ready. After all...there was no hurry. "So, when did they say you were coming out?"
Garrett took a deep breath and smiled with glee. "Next week! Like I said about getting out the last week of May! I can't wait to see everyone! How's mom and dad?" His eyes wandered back to the blond sitting next to Selphie. "And is she your friend or just someone sitting beside you while we talk?"
Selphie turned beside her and blushed in embarrassment. "OH! I'm sorry! Quistis, this is my brother, Garrett. Garrett, this is Quistis, she just moved in town and high school about a few weeks ago!"
Garrett nodded--the only thing he could do instead of shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Quistis."
"Nice to meet you too," Quistis replied, a little red on the cheeks. Suddenly, she felt like everyone was watching her.
"So, anyways, mom and dad are okay," Selphie replied from her older brother's other question. "They can't wait to see you again!"
"Five minutes, Tilmitt," a voice spoke from behind.
Selphie looked up at the same caucasian man who brought in her brother earlier and frowned. "Five minutes already?"
Garrett shrugged. "That's their rule these days. I don't know why, but I have to follow 'em.... But we have five minutes so that's okay! Tell me all about what's been going on with high school for you? Are you going to graduate for sure?"
The brunette laughed. "Of course I am! But this girl here..." She glanced over at Quistis. "Only a few weeks here at school and she's already recieving honors for her math marks!"
"Wow, you must be a smart one!" Garrett said to Quistis.
Quistis shrugged, her blushes never wavering. "Well I um..."
"Hah hah! I guess we embarrassed her too much didn't we, Tiny?"
Selphie nodded. "Sorry, Quistis! I couldn't help but show you off to my brother!"
The blond nodded. "That's okay..." she said quietly.
"So, Garrett.... do you have a graduation gift for me?" Selphie grinned, her eyes twinkling at her brother.
All the older brunette could do was laugh.
"Well do you?" Selphie asked again.
Garrett winked at her. "You'll see...."
"Five minutes is up, Tilmitt..." the same guard spoke to Garrett.
Garrett rolled his eyes, only which Selphie and Quistis could see and stood up. "Well, I better get going." He cupped one hand around the phone so only he and Selphie could hear and said, "The man's pretty fussy about time... So I better not make him wait!"
Selphie giggled. "Okay..." she whispered back.
Once again her older brother winked at her and smiled. "I'll see you in a week!"
"How are you getting there? Want me to pick you up?" Selphie asked, her eyes shining with hope.
Garrett smiled. "If you want! I would rather have you than be dropped off by uh...." His eyes strayed towards the caucasian guard. "Nevermind.... I gotta go! Bye squirt! And nice to meet you, Quistis!"
"Bye!" Selphie replied. She turned to face Quistis. "Well, let's get going! You promised your Aunt you'd be back by dinner right?"
The blond girl nodded. "Well, I'm not in a hurry."
"In that case, wanna stop by at this mexican restaurant? I'm dying for some tacos!"
Quistis laughed. "Well, you're the driver, I'm not going to complain!"
"Well, good because I'm going to MAKE you go whether you liked it or not!"
*********************************
There was silence in the air, except for a few puffs of smoke that blew around them. Usually, he never liked that smell, but in time, he had gotten used to it. It was part of him, his new 'life,' his new breath of fresh air. It was his home... One puff of smoke made him whole again.
"This is nice...where's this one from?" He glanced at the perfect roll of brown in his hand and looked at it for a while, before putting it back into his mouth. "It tastes like Columbia to me."
Kent smirked, taking his own cigarette into his mouth, inhaled, then let it float into nothingness. "Are you kidding me? Columbia has NO quality taste as Italian cigar does! This is vintage man!"
Zell laughed. "Well, I'll take your word for it." He took another puff, then released it into the atmosphere and watched it fade into the horizon. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "Hey, it's almost six. I better go. My aunt and uncle are probably waiting for me now for dinner."
"Dude, it's Saturday! You want to go to a club?" Kent squashed his Italian cigar against his boot and stuffed his hands into his pocket. "There's tons of other pots we could try out that are also from different countries!"
The blond thought for a moment. It was a good idea to go to a club and have fun, but his reputation as a good, 'nephew' was on the line. Should he risk it? Kent's offer was indeed very tempting. As if reading his mind, Kent gave a wail of laughter. "Are you planning to be a good 'son' again Dincht? Hah! Hah! I don't think you qualify as THAT anymore....you're hooked with pot! It's too late for you now!"
Zell joined in his laughter. He was right. There was no point in hiding his 'good reputation' now. Eventually, his family and Selphie would find out and right now...he didn't care one bit if they found out. The two boys laughed for a few seconds, before Zell joined Kent inside their car to the club.
*************************************
"Quistis, I have to show you something and please promise me you won't tell anyone or at least freak out about this!" Selphie slowly fished through her jacket pocket.
"Come on Selphie, why would I freak-" the blond girl stopped in midsentence and glanced at the content resting on her friend's palm. "Oh.... Oh, Selphie please say you don't..." She was staring at something small and white and rolled up into a single piece of paper and Quistis immediately knew what it was.
"Of course not!" Selphie replied, interrupting Quistis. She looked around, making sure no one was looking and then put them back into her pocket. "It's not me..." she continued, lowering her voice a little. "It's..." She took a long deep breath then said, "It's Zell."
"Zell?" The blond girl was surprised. Zell? The football jock, Zell? "You mean your best friend in the whole world, Zell Dincht? The one who plays football for our high school's team?"
Selphie just nodded rather sadly. "What else?"
"Oh..." She didn't know what else to say at this moment. Quistis sat there, figuring out what to say, when Selphie finally spoke. "I want to tell him how I feel about this, but what if he starts hating me for it? I mean, it's none of my business after all..." She stopped, as if waiting for Quistis to reply.
"Well, true, it's none of your business, but you're also concerned about his health. I mean that's one thing you should be worried about." She has heard about the symptoms of drugs. She remembered reading about them in the library when she had to do research about them. The blond girl leaned closer, her elbows rested on the table and peered deeper into her eyes. "How did you get that anyway?"
"From his jacket pocket. No wonder he started acting weird. I mean sure, he eats a lot, but not as hungrily as he did when I saw him!" Her eyes shined with worry. What if the same thing could happen to Zell than it did to her brother? "I don't know what to do, Quistis."
At this point, the food they ordered finally arrived, giving them time to breathe from the news that impacted them both. They ate and drank from their cups in silent for a while. One in a while, Selphie's eyes darted down towards the marijuana in her pocket, while Quistis' eyes blinked from behind her rimmed glasses worriedly towards her friend. It was after a few more minutes, until Quistis finally answered her question. "You should just talk to him about this, Selphie. You can't go on pretending you didn't see anything."
Selphie sat quietly, then nodded slowly. "Yeah..." Can she really do it? Can she really go up to him and talk to him? It would probably be easy for some people, but this was far more difficult than taking a math test. This was Zell Dincht, her best friend, the one she knew very best. If she told him about what she did (taking the marijuana from his pocket without asking), then Zell would have a fit. She has known Zell to be temperamental over small trivial matters. And since Zell has known marijuana his only 'best friend,' it WOULD be like betraying his own 'best friend,' by another best friend. "Yeah, I think I'll talk to him."
Quistis smiled. "That's a spirit!" She pressed her lips against her straw and sip some coke into her mouth, then pulled them back up. "So, are you going to talk to him tonight or...?"
The brunette shook her head. "No, I think I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'll see him at church. And besides, I need time to think about what to tell him after the service." She looked up at Quistis, her eyes widening in excitement. "Hey, you want to come to church with me, tomorrow?"
The blond bookworm thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "That would be great. I haven't been to church for a while." To be honest, she has NEVER been to a church before, except maybe at the time one of her father's close friends got married. But never in the sense of actually going to a church service before.
Her eyes glittered in happiness as Selphie glanced at her watch. "Hey, it's almost nine. I can't believe we've been here nearly an hour or so!"
Quistis glanced at her watch as well. "You're right."
"My parents are going to be worried about me. My curfew is suppose to be at eight!"
"Why didn't you tell me, Selphie?" Alarmed, the blond stood up quickly and grabbed her purse, then headed for the door.
"I'm kidding!" Selphie yelled after her. She joined Quistis by the car a few seconds later and as she unlocked both sides of the car, Quistis was already frowning, apparently not happy by the little joke Selphie told her. "Awww, come on, Quistis! Can't you take a little joke?"
The blond sighed, then nodded, smiling. "Well, yeah I can..."
"Good! But the truth is, my parents DO get worried about me, since they know I've gone downtown to see my brother. What about your parents? Aren't they worried about you too?"
Quistis turned away, her eyes watching the cars go by beside them. "I live with my Aunt and my cousin. My mom died when she gave birth to me." She spoke those words in a straight, monotone voice, without a change in tone at all as if she knew this was coming.
Selphie turned away, her eyes staring towards the road in front of her. "Oh...I'm sorry...." Damn her and her big mouth!
"Don't worry about it..." Quistis replied quietly.
They had passed the tunnel that led to the heart of downtown and drove pass an intersection before arriving to another highway. Some cars beeped at them, probably by horny boys who were apparently staring at them through the car window. Part of Selphie was flattered they would see her as a cute girl, but part of her felt offended. She didn't think she was cute enough. She thought she was just average. "You're not average, Seffie!"
~Flashback~
"You're not average, Seffie!" someone spoke beside her. It was the voice of a thirteen year old, Zell. She found herself back to the little secret hideout they go to when they needed to get away from their parents.
Selphie glanced at her best friend and frowned. "I AM average! I'm not as pretty as the girls in school, so why do you think I'm cute?"
Zell sighed. "You're cute! Stop being negative about yourself!" He stood up and held out his hand. Selphie glanced at it for a moment, then placed her hand over his large ones. She was quickly lifted up on her feet. "Now, come with me. I want to show you something!"
The younger girl stared at him curiously. "What is it?"
The blond tugged at her hand. "Just come with me!" He pulled her with him and led her out of their secret place from under the bushes of a tree and out towards another large tree situated at the bottom of a hill in the park. It was the tree she considered rather unattractive, because it was rotting. He led her towards it, even though Selphie was hesitant and stopped right in front of the tree. "Okay, so what do you think of this tree?"
Selphie looked at him as if he was crazy, then sighed. "I think this tree is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I think they should tear it down considering its very old now. Besides... something could grow from it and what about the kids that play in the playground and-" she was stopped in midsentence by Zell's hand shooting up in front of her.
"I get the point, but here..." He pulled her alongside him inside the dark tunnel at the base of the tree and stopped inches from what he wanted to show her. "Look."
Selphie looked around. How on earth was she going to look at something if it was dark? "Look at what? I don't see anything!" She could hear Zell's heavy sigh, then a tug at her arm. She could feel him moving behind her, then could feel his hand on her shoulders, as if telling her quietly to kneel down on the ground.
"Now, look down on the ground."
The brunette sighed, then slowly moved her eyes down on the ground. "Zell, what are we-oh..." She stopped, her eyes now glowing in astonishment at the beautiful single white flower flourishing under the tree. Sunlight beamed down through the crack and down at the tree, adding a little spotlight to a dancing performer on a stage. "It's uh... flower!"
Zell nodded, kneeling beside her. "Notice how it chose THIS particular tree other than the hundreds of trees in this park?" He looked at her and smiled. "That's because this old tree still has the potential to keep rain and flood away from this flower. This tree may have looked unattractive on the outside, but this flower makes it even more beautiful in the inside. Not many people may seem to care about the large, ugly tree, but from what I saw when you noticed this flower, you were taken by its beauty right? Well, it's the same thing as how I feel about you."
Selphie blushed. She turned away, hoping he wouldn't see and looked back down at the flower. She was speechless after that.
~End of flashback~
"Hey, Selphie...?"
Selphie jumped, almost losing control of the wheel and glanced over at Quistis. "Yeah?"
"I've been calling you for a few seconds now, I thought I lost you for a minute there. It's a good thing you have the skills to daydream and drive at the same time or I would have been freaking out by now."
"Sorry..." Selphie mumbled. She turned the car towards Haley Street and to the direction of Quistis' house. It was now ten to ten when they arrived at the neighborhood and everyone seemed to have gone to sleep already since all the houses were blooming in darkness. She parked the car at the front, glancing at the quiet house before looking at Quistis. "So, church starts at noon tomorrow, so I'll pick you up quarter to, all right?" She turned the ignition off and smiled. Selphie gave Quistis a small hug.
Quistis nodded. "Sure! I'll be ready by then," she said, hugging the shorter girl back. She opened the door and hopped out, then closed the door back again. The blond girl waved, then headed to the house. Selphie made sure she was inside before driving away towards her own house.
She was just turning the corner, when she noticed him standing there. At first she wasn't sure who it was, until she noticed the spikey blond hair and the familiar, blue jacket he wore. "Zell?" she called. Selphie decided it to be a good idea to park the car nearby and approach Zell. The blond was standing in front of what seemed like a house, but particularly NOT his own house. He seemed to be in a daze. She got out of the car slowly and approached the blond in a trance. "Zell?" she called again.
When she was around ten feet from him, Zell finally answered. "Hey, Selph! I knew you'd be here. For some reason, I can't open the door with this key.. Do I have the right key?" He inserted the key again into the keyhole, then cussed when it didn't fit. "Damn it! Why won't it fit?"
Selphie examined him. His eyes were baggy and looked tired and worn out. She placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned. "Zell, that's because this isn't your house. Your house it right next door to this one."
Zell glanced at another house to his left and burst into laughter. "Oh really? I'm so stupid! Hah! Hah! I guess I'm out of it tonight!" As if not noticing Selphie there, he moved back down the stairs and towards his own house, giggling. Selphie watched in concern, but decided to distance herself away from him. She watched him struggle once again with the key before it finally opened. "Hah! Hah! Thanks, Selphie!" He said, without even looking at her. He stepped inside and disappeared from behind the door. She could still hear him mumbling, "I'm so hungry...what's to eat?" before he completely closed the door behind him.
The brunette stood there for a few minutes, trying to hold back tears, but before she could stop herself, drops of tears fell from her eyes and on the cement. It felt like the whole world was abandoning her. He wasn't the one being betrayed. SHE was. She felt like she didn't know the real Zell anymore. She was dying to know the truth and was determined to find out from his own lips tomorrow. She wiped the tears from her eyes hastilly with the back of her arm and sighed. Yes...she was going to find out the truth.
With that thought, Selphie turned on her heels and headed back to her car, driving away with more determination in her heart.
Soon- she would find out.
Soon- she would solve the problem for him.
****************************
Another Saturday, another practice to go too. It was his turn to drive the squirt to the soccer practice. Of course it was ALWAYS his turn. Ever since his father got elected, Laguna has never had time for his youngest son. Even when Cloud needed him the most, Laguna would book those same date to get away from watching the soccer game. He woke up much too early, considering this was the weekend and moaned out of bed, before making his way to the shower so the water would wake him up. It wasn't much of a help, when his mother announced, JUST as he was about to turn on the shower that the shower ran out of hot water and had to be fixed. Squall came out of his bedroom rather gloomily than usual. However, the first few hours weren't all that bad. The usual routine came to play. He had breakfast, minus the shower he had this morning, dropped off his brother at practice and went home to start doing his homework. He had nothing else to do, since Rinoa was out of town and nowhere else to go, while Quistis and Selphie went to downtown to see Selphie's brother and Zell...well, he had no idea where the blond was. He figured the coach probably gave Saturday their practice day since they lost from last week's game.
Squall was just lying in bed, doing his math homework, when the phone rang. At first he decided to have the machine get it, but when his mind wandered off to Rinoa, he quickly changed his mind and reached for his phone on the bedside table. "Rinoa?" he said, even though there was a possibility that it wasn't her.
"Hi, Squall..." He felt a rush of relief when he found out it was her. "How did you know it was me?"
"Hey, Rinoa. Well, just a lucky guess." Absent-mindedly, he twirled his fingers around the phone chord and waited until she spoke again.
"I was just calling to tell you... I was um..."
"What is it?"
"About before. I'm sorry about running away from you. But I have to tell you this before you find out."
Squall let go of his pencil and sat up straight on his bed, his eyebrows furrowing in curiousity. "Find out what?"
"Can you please just listen?" There was an intent irritation in her voice. "I... I think we should break up."
Something in Squall's surroundings suddenly turned black. Part of him died and part of him was torn up into shreds. Did he hear just right? "Sorry, I think I was daydreaming about what you said."
"No, you weren't Squall." Now there was coldness in her voice that Squall hadn't heard from her before. "You weren't daydreaming. I said it from my own lips and I think we should because....well, it's too complicated to explain. Please understand me."
"Understand YOU!? Why should I!? Don't you understand how I feel about this? Just when my life goes well because of you, it's because of you that my life will turn into HELL!" The words, he knew might have stung her, but he didn't care at that point. He was angry... TOO angry to care. He slammed the phone back to its reciever and stared ahead of him. He was breathing hard, imagining Rinoa's face when he slammed the phone in her ears. Just realizing what he had done, Squall stood up and paced around his room, trying to rethink about what to say if she ever calls or if he decides to call her and apologize for his behaviour. But none came out. He was far too angry to think right now. "I need to go out for a walk," he mumbled, walking out of his room and towards the kitchen.
He was unaware of his mother peeking from the kitchen. "Squall? Honey? Where are you going?"
Squall didn't answer, instead he left the kitchen without a word.
*********************
Rinoa felt tears stinging her eyes. Did she do the right thing? She glanced at the ring around her finger and took it out with her other hand. More tears stained her shirt as she placed the promise ring inside the top drawer and closed it. Is she strong enough to handle her life without him? She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sat down on her bed. In the background she could hear her daughter crying for her mother. Rinoa stood up and went to the kitchen where Diana was sitting on her high chair, being fed by Patti with the baby spoon she usually used. "Hi sweetie!" She gave her daughter a gentle kiss on the forehead and Diana squealed in delight at her mother's touch.
"You've been crying..." Patti spoke, glancing at Rinoa's red face.
The dark haired girl smiled. "Yeah I was, but I'm fine now. Thanks..." Ignoring Patti's concerned look, Rinoa picked up her daughter from the high chair and carried her over to the crib in the living room. The kitchen opened up quickly to the living room so Patti could see what Rinoa was doing. The young mother kissed the top of her baby's head again and handed her a baby rattle before heading back to the kitchen. "I...I broke up with him," she said suddenly, sitting down on the chair beside her friend.
Patti was taken aback. She never expected THIS to happen. "Really? Oh... Why?"
Rinoa shook her head. "I don't know. It was the best thing I could think of. I.... I couldn't tell him the truth so I thought it would be best to just let him go before he gets invovled with Diana and I."
"Isn't that what you want? For him to be involved with you and Diana?"
The dark haired girl shook her head again. "I don't think he's ready to be a father to Diana. He has his own problems to deal with."
"Did you even ASK him if he wants to be a father? Poor boy must be confused about what you said to him, Rinoa."
Rinoa sighed. Patti was right after all, but it was too late. She had told him off and she knew she would never see him again.
GoodGurl: Yikes! Too much drama! Sorry for making you all wait everyone! Hope you guys had a good summer! ^^
Chapter 11 - The Weekend Part Two
~Saturday~
They arrived at the building at around three o'clock in the afternoon. The building of the prison cell was visible behind the tall trees and bushes and Selphie could see the dull coloring of the walls and the barred up windows. First, the car had to go through some heavy inspection (to make sure there was no screw or any tools set the prisoners free) before she drove it down the parking lot provided at the front. Selphie was excited to see her brother again. After a few months of not being able to talk to him, other than by letters, she wondered what he would look like. He told her one time he would have sent her his recent picture, but prison cells didn't have cameras. The bouncy brunette was just looking around quietly as her and Quistis walked down the main hall, when the blond spoke to her.
"So, how old is your brother now?"
Selphie glanced at her and smiled. Her eyes wandered towards her black eye, then tore them away from it, then replied, "Oh, he's nineteen!"
Quistis nodded, then once again, the two continued to walk down in silent, following a large, dark skinned guard. They followed him towards a dark corridor, then inside a bright room with rows of chairs all aligned behind a table with a glass wall attached at the top. On the tables were the old-style telephones and through the glass windows, were small little slits that shows that 'something' goes through there. The guard pointed to the chair in the very middle of the room and Selphie thanked him quietly, before sitting down on the chair. Quistis sat on a chair provided for her beside Selphie.
"His sister is here to see him." The dark skinned guard spoke, looking at the guard on the other side of the glass window standing by another door. This guard was caucasian and by the other guard's request, he nodded and left for the door to fetch her brother. He appeared a few seconds later, followed by a tall and skinny short, brown haired man with emerald green eyes that resembled Selphie. Quistis knew he was nineteen, but with his disheveled hair and baggy eyes, she couldn't see the youth inside the boy. She saw a man, already having that stressed out look most men wore when they're married or just coming home from work. Nevertheless, Quistis saw the happiness in Selphie's eyes.
"Hey, Tiny!!" the young man spoke, his eyes glancing over at the blond girl beside his sister. The smile he wore with the sight of his little sister, made Quistis change her mind about him being 'older' than he looked. When he smiled, he looked nineteen as he's suppose to be.
"Garrett!" It looked as though Selphie was eager to hug him, but knew she couldn't because of the glass in between them. She reached for the phone to the side and pressed it against her ear. She waited until she noticed her big brother with his phone pressed against his own ear. "How are you?"
The young man nodded and smiled again. "I'm fine, shrimp! How's Zell?"
"Oh um....he's fine..." Selphie sighed. Was she lying to her own brother? The truth was... Zell didn't look good. Well, to her anyway. Zell may think he's good, but the thought of him smoking just like her brother did, made her gut churn. She would tell him when she was ready. After all...there was no hurry. "So, when did they say you were coming out?"
Garrett took a deep breath and smiled with glee. "Next week! Like I said about getting out the last week of May! I can't wait to see everyone! How's mom and dad?" His eyes wandered back to the blond sitting next to Selphie. "And is she your friend or just someone sitting beside you while we talk?"
Selphie turned beside her and blushed in embarrassment. "OH! I'm sorry! Quistis, this is my brother, Garrett. Garrett, this is Quistis, she just moved in town and high school about a few weeks ago!"
Garrett nodded--the only thing he could do instead of shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Quistis."
"Nice to meet you too," Quistis replied, a little red on the cheeks. Suddenly, she felt like everyone was watching her.
"So, anyways, mom and dad are okay," Selphie replied from her older brother's other question. "They can't wait to see you again!"
"Five minutes, Tilmitt," a voice spoke from behind.
Selphie looked up at the same caucasian man who brought in her brother earlier and frowned. "Five minutes already?"
Garrett shrugged. "That's their rule these days. I don't know why, but I have to follow 'em.... But we have five minutes so that's okay! Tell me all about what's been going on with high school for you? Are you going to graduate for sure?"
The brunette laughed. "Of course I am! But this girl here..." She glanced over at Quistis. "Only a few weeks here at school and she's already recieving honors for her math marks!"
"Wow, you must be a smart one!" Garrett said to Quistis.
Quistis shrugged, her blushes never wavering. "Well I um..."
"Hah hah! I guess we embarrassed her too much didn't we, Tiny?"
Selphie nodded. "Sorry, Quistis! I couldn't help but show you off to my brother!"
The blond nodded. "That's okay..." she said quietly.
"So, Garrett.... do you have a graduation gift for me?" Selphie grinned, her eyes twinkling at her brother.
All the older brunette could do was laugh.
"Well do you?" Selphie asked again.
Garrett winked at her. "You'll see...."
"Five minutes is up, Tilmitt..." the same guard spoke to Garrett.
Garrett rolled his eyes, only which Selphie and Quistis could see and stood up. "Well, I better get going." He cupped one hand around the phone so only he and Selphie could hear and said, "The man's pretty fussy about time... So I better not make him wait!"
Selphie giggled. "Okay..." she whispered back.
Once again her older brother winked at her and smiled. "I'll see you in a week!"
"How are you getting there? Want me to pick you up?" Selphie asked, her eyes shining with hope.
Garrett smiled. "If you want! I would rather have you than be dropped off by uh...." His eyes strayed towards the caucasian guard. "Nevermind.... I gotta go! Bye squirt! And nice to meet you, Quistis!"
"Bye!" Selphie replied. She turned to face Quistis. "Well, let's get going! You promised your Aunt you'd be back by dinner right?"
The blond girl nodded. "Well, I'm not in a hurry."
"In that case, wanna stop by at this mexican restaurant? I'm dying for some tacos!"
Quistis laughed. "Well, you're the driver, I'm not going to complain!"
"Well, good because I'm going to MAKE you go whether you liked it or not!"
*********************************
There was silence in the air, except for a few puffs of smoke that blew around them. Usually, he never liked that smell, but in time, he had gotten used to it. It was part of him, his new 'life,' his new breath of fresh air. It was his home... One puff of smoke made him whole again.
"This is nice...where's this one from?" He glanced at the perfect roll of brown in his hand and looked at it for a while, before putting it back into his mouth. "It tastes like Columbia to me."
Kent smirked, taking his own cigarette into his mouth, inhaled, then let it float into nothingness. "Are you kidding me? Columbia has NO quality taste as Italian cigar does! This is vintage man!"
Zell laughed. "Well, I'll take your word for it." He took another puff, then released it into the atmosphere and watched it fade into the horizon. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "Hey, it's almost six. I better go. My aunt and uncle are probably waiting for me now for dinner."
"Dude, it's Saturday! You want to go to a club?" Kent squashed his Italian cigar against his boot and stuffed his hands into his pocket. "There's tons of other pots we could try out that are also from different countries!"
The blond thought for a moment. It was a good idea to go to a club and have fun, but his reputation as a good, 'nephew' was on the line. Should he risk it? Kent's offer was indeed very tempting. As if reading his mind, Kent gave a wail of laughter. "Are you planning to be a good 'son' again Dincht? Hah! Hah! I don't think you qualify as THAT anymore....you're hooked with pot! It's too late for you now!"
Zell joined in his laughter. He was right. There was no point in hiding his 'good reputation' now. Eventually, his family and Selphie would find out and right now...he didn't care one bit if they found out. The two boys laughed for a few seconds, before Zell joined Kent inside their car to the club.
*************************************
"Quistis, I have to show you something and please promise me you won't tell anyone or at least freak out about this!" Selphie slowly fished through her jacket pocket.
"Come on Selphie, why would I freak-" the blond girl stopped in midsentence and glanced at the content resting on her friend's palm. "Oh.... Oh, Selphie please say you don't..." She was staring at something small and white and rolled up into a single piece of paper and Quistis immediately knew what it was.
"Of course not!" Selphie replied, interrupting Quistis. She looked around, making sure no one was looking and then put them back into her pocket. "It's not me..." she continued, lowering her voice a little. "It's..." She took a long deep breath then said, "It's Zell."
"Zell?" The blond girl was surprised. Zell? The football jock, Zell? "You mean your best friend in the whole world, Zell Dincht? The one who plays football for our high school's team?"
Selphie just nodded rather sadly. "What else?"
"Oh..." She didn't know what else to say at this moment. Quistis sat there, figuring out what to say, when Selphie finally spoke. "I want to tell him how I feel about this, but what if he starts hating me for it? I mean, it's none of my business after all..." She stopped, as if waiting for Quistis to reply.
"Well, true, it's none of your business, but you're also concerned about his health. I mean that's one thing you should be worried about." She has heard about the symptoms of drugs. She remembered reading about them in the library when she had to do research about them. The blond girl leaned closer, her elbows rested on the table and peered deeper into her eyes. "How did you get that anyway?"
"From his jacket pocket. No wonder he started acting weird. I mean sure, he eats a lot, but not as hungrily as he did when I saw him!" Her eyes shined with worry. What if the same thing could happen to Zell than it did to her brother? "I don't know what to do, Quistis."
At this point, the food they ordered finally arrived, giving them time to breathe from the news that impacted them both. They ate and drank from their cups in silent for a while. One in a while, Selphie's eyes darted down towards the marijuana in her pocket, while Quistis' eyes blinked from behind her rimmed glasses worriedly towards her friend. It was after a few more minutes, until Quistis finally answered her question. "You should just talk to him about this, Selphie. You can't go on pretending you didn't see anything."
Selphie sat quietly, then nodded slowly. "Yeah..." Can she really do it? Can she really go up to him and talk to him? It would probably be easy for some people, but this was far more difficult than taking a math test. This was Zell Dincht, her best friend, the one she knew very best. If she told him about what she did (taking the marijuana from his pocket without asking), then Zell would have a fit. She has known Zell to be temperamental over small trivial matters. And since Zell has known marijuana his only 'best friend,' it WOULD be like betraying his own 'best friend,' by another best friend. "Yeah, I think I'll talk to him."
Quistis smiled. "That's a spirit!" She pressed her lips against her straw and sip some coke into her mouth, then pulled them back up. "So, are you going to talk to him tonight or...?"
The brunette shook her head. "No, I think I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'll see him at church. And besides, I need time to think about what to tell him after the service." She looked up at Quistis, her eyes widening in excitement. "Hey, you want to come to church with me, tomorrow?"
The blond bookworm thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "That would be great. I haven't been to church for a while." To be honest, she has NEVER been to a church before, except maybe at the time one of her father's close friends got married. But never in the sense of actually going to a church service before.
Her eyes glittered in happiness as Selphie glanced at her watch. "Hey, it's almost nine. I can't believe we've been here nearly an hour or so!"
Quistis glanced at her watch as well. "You're right."
"My parents are going to be worried about me. My curfew is suppose to be at eight!"
"Why didn't you tell me, Selphie?" Alarmed, the blond stood up quickly and grabbed her purse, then headed for the door.
"I'm kidding!" Selphie yelled after her. She joined Quistis by the car a few seconds later and as she unlocked both sides of the car, Quistis was already frowning, apparently not happy by the little joke Selphie told her. "Awww, come on, Quistis! Can't you take a little joke?"
The blond sighed, then nodded, smiling. "Well, yeah I can..."
"Good! But the truth is, my parents DO get worried about me, since they know I've gone downtown to see my brother. What about your parents? Aren't they worried about you too?"
Quistis turned away, her eyes watching the cars go by beside them. "I live with my Aunt and my cousin. My mom died when she gave birth to me." She spoke those words in a straight, monotone voice, without a change in tone at all as if she knew this was coming.
Selphie turned away, her eyes staring towards the road in front of her. "Oh...I'm sorry...." Damn her and her big mouth!
"Don't worry about it..." Quistis replied quietly.
They had passed the tunnel that led to the heart of downtown and drove pass an intersection before arriving to another highway. Some cars beeped at them, probably by horny boys who were apparently staring at them through the car window. Part of Selphie was flattered they would see her as a cute girl, but part of her felt offended. She didn't think she was cute enough. She thought she was just average. "You're not average, Seffie!"
~Flashback~
"You're not average, Seffie!" someone spoke beside her. It was the voice of a thirteen year old, Zell. She found herself back to the little secret hideout they go to when they needed to get away from their parents.
Selphie glanced at her best friend and frowned. "I AM average! I'm not as pretty as the girls in school, so why do you think I'm cute?"
Zell sighed. "You're cute! Stop being negative about yourself!" He stood up and held out his hand. Selphie glanced at it for a moment, then placed her hand over his large ones. She was quickly lifted up on her feet. "Now, come with me. I want to show you something!"
The younger girl stared at him curiously. "What is it?"
The blond tugged at her hand. "Just come with me!" He pulled her with him and led her out of their secret place from under the bushes of a tree and out towards another large tree situated at the bottom of a hill in the park. It was the tree she considered rather unattractive, because it was rotting. He led her towards it, even though Selphie was hesitant and stopped right in front of the tree. "Okay, so what do you think of this tree?"
Selphie looked at him as if he was crazy, then sighed. "I think this tree is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I think they should tear it down considering its very old now. Besides... something could grow from it and what about the kids that play in the playground and-" she was stopped in midsentence by Zell's hand shooting up in front of her.
"I get the point, but here..." He pulled her alongside him inside the dark tunnel at the base of the tree and stopped inches from what he wanted to show her. "Look."
Selphie looked around. How on earth was she going to look at something if it was dark? "Look at what? I don't see anything!" She could hear Zell's heavy sigh, then a tug at her arm. She could feel him moving behind her, then could feel his hand on her shoulders, as if telling her quietly to kneel down on the ground.
"Now, look down on the ground."
The brunette sighed, then slowly moved her eyes down on the ground. "Zell, what are we-oh..." She stopped, her eyes now glowing in astonishment at the beautiful single white flower flourishing under the tree. Sunlight beamed down through the crack and down at the tree, adding a little spotlight to a dancing performer on a stage. "It's uh... flower!"
Zell nodded, kneeling beside her. "Notice how it chose THIS particular tree other than the hundreds of trees in this park?" He looked at her and smiled. "That's because this old tree still has the potential to keep rain and flood away from this flower. This tree may have looked unattractive on the outside, but this flower makes it even more beautiful in the inside. Not many people may seem to care about the large, ugly tree, but from what I saw when you noticed this flower, you were taken by its beauty right? Well, it's the same thing as how I feel about you."
Selphie blushed. She turned away, hoping he wouldn't see and looked back down at the flower. She was speechless after that.
~End of flashback~
"Hey, Selphie...?"
Selphie jumped, almost losing control of the wheel and glanced over at Quistis. "Yeah?"
"I've been calling you for a few seconds now, I thought I lost you for a minute there. It's a good thing you have the skills to daydream and drive at the same time or I would have been freaking out by now."
"Sorry..." Selphie mumbled. She turned the car towards Haley Street and to the direction of Quistis' house. It was now ten to ten when they arrived at the neighborhood and everyone seemed to have gone to sleep already since all the houses were blooming in darkness. She parked the car at the front, glancing at the quiet house before looking at Quistis. "So, church starts at noon tomorrow, so I'll pick you up quarter to, all right?" She turned the ignition off and smiled. Selphie gave Quistis a small hug.
Quistis nodded. "Sure! I'll be ready by then," she said, hugging the shorter girl back. She opened the door and hopped out, then closed the door back again. The blond girl waved, then headed to the house. Selphie made sure she was inside before driving away towards her own house.
She was just turning the corner, when she noticed him standing there. At first she wasn't sure who it was, until she noticed the spikey blond hair and the familiar, blue jacket he wore. "Zell?" she called. Selphie decided it to be a good idea to park the car nearby and approach Zell. The blond was standing in front of what seemed like a house, but particularly NOT his own house. He seemed to be in a daze. She got out of the car slowly and approached the blond in a trance. "Zell?" she called again.
When she was around ten feet from him, Zell finally answered. "Hey, Selph! I knew you'd be here. For some reason, I can't open the door with this key.. Do I have the right key?" He inserted the key again into the keyhole, then cussed when it didn't fit. "Damn it! Why won't it fit?"
Selphie examined him. His eyes were baggy and looked tired and worn out. She placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned. "Zell, that's because this isn't your house. Your house it right next door to this one."
Zell glanced at another house to his left and burst into laughter. "Oh really? I'm so stupid! Hah! Hah! I guess I'm out of it tonight!" As if not noticing Selphie there, he moved back down the stairs and towards his own house, giggling. Selphie watched in concern, but decided to distance herself away from him. She watched him struggle once again with the key before it finally opened. "Hah! Hah! Thanks, Selphie!" He said, without even looking at her. He stepped inside and disappeared from behind the door. She could still hear him mumbling, "I'm so hungry...what's to eat?" before he completely closed the door behind him.
The brunette stood there for a few minutes, trying to hold back tears, but before she could stop herself, drops of tears fell from her eyes and on the cement. It felt like the whole world was abandoning her. He wasn't the one being betrayed. SHE was. She felt like she didn't know the real Zell anymore. She was dying to know the truth and was determined to find out from his own lips tomorrow. She wiped the tears from her eyes hastilly with the back of her arm and sighed. Yes...she was going to find out the truth.
With that thought, Selphie turned on her heels and headed back to her car, driving away with more determination in her heart.
Soon- she would find out.
Soon- she would solve the problem for him.
****************************
Another Saturday, another practice to go too. It was his turn to drive the squirt to the soccer practice. Of course it was ALWAYS his turn. Ever since his father got elected, Laguna has never had time for his youngest son. Even when Cloud needed him the most, Laguna would book those same date to get away from watching the soccer game. He woke up much too early, considering this was the weekend and moaned out of bed, before making his way to the shower so the water would wake him up. It wasn't much of a help, when his mother announced, JUST as he was about to turn on the shower that the shower ran out of hot water and had to be fixed. Squall came out of his bedroom rather gloomily than usual. However, the first few hours weren't all that bad. The usual routine came to play. He had breakfast, minus the shower he had this morning, dropped off his brother at practice and went home to start doing his homework. He had nothing else to do, since Rinoa was out of town and nowhere else to go, while Quistis and Selphie went to downtown to see Selphie's brother and Zell...well, he had no idea where the blond was. He figured the coach probably gave Saturday their practice day since they lost from last week's game.
Squall was just lying in bed, doing his math homework, when the phone rang. At first he decided to have the machine get it, but when his mind wandered off to Rinoa, he quickly changed his mind and reached for his phone on the bedside table. "Rinoa?" he said, even though there was a possibility that it wasn't her.
"Hi, Squall..." He felt a rush of relief when he found out it was her. "How did you know it was me?"
"Hey, Rinoa. Well, just a lucky guess." Absent-mindedly, he twirled his fingers around the phone chord and waited until she spoke again.
"I was just calling to tell you... I was um..."
"What is it?"
"About before. I'm sorry about running away from you. But I have to tell you this before you find out."
Squall let go of his pencil and sat up straight on his bed, his eyebrows furrowing in curiousity. "Find out what?"
"Can you please just listen?" There was an intent irritation in her voice. "I... I think we should break up."
Something in Squall's surroundings suddenly turned black. Part of him died and part of him was torn up into shreds. Did he hear just right? "Sorry, I think I was daydreaming about what you said."
"No, you weren't Squall." Now there was coldness in her voice that Squall hadn't heard from her before. "You weren't daydreaming. I said it from my own lips and I think we should because....well, it's too complicated to explain. Please understand me."
"Understand YOU!? Why should I!? Don't you understand how I feel about this? Just when my life goes well because of you, it's because of you that my life will turn into HELL!" The words, he knew might have stung her, but he didn't care at that point. He was angry... TOO angry to care. He slammed the phone back to its reciever and stared ahead of him. He was breathing hard, imagining Rinoa's face when he slammed the phone in her ears. Just realizing what he had done, Squall stood up and paced around his room, trying to rethink about what to say if she ever calls or if he decides to call her and apologize for his behaviour. But none came out. He was far too angry to think right now. "I need to go out for a walk," he mumbled, walking out of his room and towards the kitchen.
He was unaware of his mother peeking from the kitchen. "Squall? Honey? Where are you going?"
Squall didn't answer, instead he left the kitchen without a word.
*********************
Rinoa felt tears stinging her eyes. Did she do the right thing? She glanced at the ring around her finger and took it out with her other hand. More tears stained her shirt as she placed the promise ring inside the top drawer and closed it. Is she strong enough to handle her life without him? She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sat down on her bed. In the background she could hear her daughter crying for her mother. Rinoa stood up and went to the kitchen where Diana was sitting on her high chair, being fed by Patti with the baby spoon she usually used. "Hi sweetie!" She gave her daughter a gentle kiss on the forehead and Diana squealed in delight at her mother's touch.
"You've been crying..." Patti spoke, glancing at Rinoa's red face.
The dark haired girl smiled. "Yeah I was, but I'm fine now. Thanks..." Ignoring Patti's concerned look, Rinoa picked up her daughter from the high chair and carried her over to the crib in the living room. The kitchen opened up quickly to the living room so Patti could see what Rinoa was doing. The young mother kissed the top of her baby's head again and handed her a baby rattle before heading back to the kitchen. "I...I broke up with him," she said suddenly, sitting down on the chair beside her friend.
Patti was taken aback. She never expected THIS to happen. "Really? Oh... Why?"
Rinoa shook her head. "I don't know. It was the best thing I could think of. I.... I couldn't tell him the truth so I thought it would be best to just let him go before he gets invovled with Diana and I."
"Isn't that what you want? For him to be involved with you and Diana?"
The dark haired girl shook her head again. "I don't think he's ready to be a father to Diana. He has his own problems to deal with."
"Did you even ASK him if he wants to be a father? Poor boy must be confused about what you said to him, Rinoa."
Rinoa sighed. Patti was right after all, but it was too late. She had told him off and she knew she would never see him again.
GoodGurl: Yikes! Too much drama! Sorry for making you all wait everyone! Hope you guys had a good summer! ^^