Note: When Seifer's whole life flashes before his eyes, he has no choice but to turn to the only person who could understand him the most… A lot more Seiftis in this chapter! Woohoo!
Chapter 27 – Behind His Mask
'Even if you don't have good memories with your mother, Seifer….you can still think that you HAVE one. Looking into the bad memories won't help you cope with this pain that you're feeling.' Quistis' words echoed over and over again in his head.
There was silence, except for the sound of the rain splattering around them. It was darker now, much darker. They had no idea how long they were holding onto each other like that, but Seifer knew he had to let go or else BOTH of them will get pneumonia. Slowly and cautiously, he removed his arms from around Quistis' waist. Fully aware that Seifer wanted to leave the cold, damp weather; she did the same and backed up a couple of inches.
Suddenly, a gust of wind came out of nowhere, blowing Quistis' umbrella from her hands. It flew only a few centimeters away, landing in between the swings and the merry-go-round. Both of them stared at it awkwardly for a few minutes, before Quistis made to go for it, but Seifer had already gotten there before her. He picked it up and handed it to Quistis, without even looking at her. "Here, you're going to catch a cold if you don't use it."
Quistis took the umbrella from him and instead of using it on her, she hovered the umbrella on top both of them. Seifer finally turned his face to look at her curiously. "Same with you too," she said. "You don't even have a jacket."
Seifer stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned away. "I'm immune to rain," he answered. Then, without realizing it, he shivered as the rain got heavier and heavier. Quistis stared at him and without thinking, grabbed his hand and said, "Why don't you come with me? You can get dried up in my Aunt's house and she could make hot chocolate."
The male blond suddenly jerked his hand away from her grasp. "What? I don't need your sympathy!" he yelled through the thick rain fall (Although, part of him liked her generosity).
Quistis stopped and turned to look at him, moving a bit closer to keep the rain from spraying on both of them. "Seifer, I don't think this is a great spot to be contemplating on your thoughts while you get yourself sick!" She planted one fist on her hips and frowned disappointedly. She grabbed his hand again and gripped it much tighter than he anticipated and gave up altogether, knowing that when the blond girl had made up a decision about something, there was no way in hell he was able to change it. He allowed her to drag him back to her Aunt's house, while at the same time, feeling dizzy. He hated to admit it, but she was right about something. If he stayed out here longer, he would have collapsed. If Quistis hadn't been there, no one would have known what happened to him, especially his father… The thought of his 'father' frustrated him even more.
Seifer was unaware that he was gripping his hand tightly around Quistis now that the blond girl even jerked her hand from him and turned to look at him. "OUCH!" she yelped. "What's the big idea?" When she noticed the way he was looking at her, she returned him a look of sympathy. She knew what he was thinking and he didn't need to spell it out for her.
"Sorry…" he mumbled. He relaxed his hand around hers as they strolled along down the street towards Charlotte's place. It's been a long time since he was there. Seifer glanced up at a tree standing in the front yard of Charlotte's house. He remembered playing in that tree. His nine year old self was always scolded by Charlotte whenever he climbed up the tree and was too scared to come down. Charlotte had no choice but ask some of the neighbors to help her get the little boy down. 'You're like a cat,' Charlotte said to him that day when they finally went inside the house in time for dinner. Seifer couldn't help but smirk at that thought.
Quistis looked up and noticed a smile on his face. "Is there something funny I should know about?" That question distinguished the smile on his face, but Quistis wasn't disappointed. She already saw the smile. She rapped on the door gently, unaware that Seifer was still shaking.
Seifer didn't look at her; instead he decided to put all his attention on the door opening. Charlotte's face appeared from behind the door and he managed to hide another wave of shiver from the cold before she noticed him there. "Seifer! My God! Look at you two! You're soaking wet!"
Quistis stepped inside, followed by a reluctant Seifer. "I'm sorry I couldn't get the eggs, Auntie-!" But before she could finish her sentence, Charlotte had dragged both of them inside, her face twisted into a look of despair.
"Seifer…." Charlotte looked as though she was about to cry, confirming both blondes that she already knew about Seifer's tragedy. It was a good thing they didn't need to tell her, because Quistis knew it was already hard enough on Seifer.
"What's going on here? Hey-!" Travis was coming down the stairs and his eyes were locked on to the two blondes standing side by side and were soaking from head to toe.
"Travis, I want you to bring extra clothes from the den for Seifer here…" Like a mother would, Charlotte began patting the raindrops away from Seifer's shoulders, while Travis, still confused, ran to the extra room pass the living room and came back seconds later with black pants and a collared shirt. Charlotte looked up at Seifer, grabbed the clothes from her son and handed it to the blond. "Here. Quistis will show you where the shower is upstairs. We only have one bathroom so I think you should go first, Seifer. You seem to be a lot more soaked than Quistis here."
Quistis wasted no time in waiting. She hated walking around in the house wet, but since her Aunt wasn't complaining, she removed her shoes and began walking up the stairs, leading Seifer to the second floor. Seifer still remembered the same painting he saw when he was a little boy surrounding the hallway of the second floor. It was small, but very homely. He already knew where the bathroom was, but Charlotte seemed too upset for him to say anything. Lynette's death must have affected Charlotte more than him. They were good friends since he was a boy. "Here's the bathroom, but I guess you already knew that?" Seifer blinked again and looked at her. Quistis folded her arms across her chest and smiled. "I see that when you come back here, it brings a lot of memories, doesn't it?"
Seifer nodded absent-mindedly.
They stood there awkwardly for a couple of seconds, before Quistis had the courage to turn around the leave. "Hey Quistis?" Seifer called. The female blond stopped and looked over her shoulder at the taller blond, who had already stepped inside the bathroom.
"Oh…right…Hang on a second." Quistis turned and walked pass the bathroom and into a closet in the hallway. She grabbed the first towel she saw and slowly made her back to the bathroom. Quistis had no idea that once she stepped inside the bathroom to hand him the towel, Seifer, with his back to her, had removed his soaking shirt. The blond's eyes traveled from his shoulders to his torso where his pants seemed ready to fall off.
"Is there something funny on my back that you should stare like that?" Seifer looked over his shoulder at her and smirked. He removed his soaking shirt, where he dropped it on the tile floor with a loud 'SPLAT!'
Quistis recovered from close to fainting and turned her eyes from him. She forgot that there was a mirror right in front of him so he could see her reflection where she stood. "Um…no…not at all." She was red in the face as Quistis handed the towel to Seifer.
With a little bit of satisfaction that he could make Quistis blush, Seifer took the towel from her and waited until she stepped out of the bathroom to completely strip naked. Quistis stood there, her mind still on his naked back and the more she thought about it, the more her face turned a deeper crimson red. 'God, he is SO beautiful!' she thought.
"Quistis?"
The blond suddenly straightened up and looked around to see who was calling her. "Yes, Auntie?"
"Auntie?" Travis appeared from the stairs and towards her, his face looking rather suspicious. "I'm your cousin, you dork!" He laughed, and then he noticed her standing just in front of the bathroom where he suspected Seifer was in. "Have you been spying on Seifer?"
"NO! Of course not!" She covered her face in her hands and fast-walked to her bedroom. Travis watched her leave, still trying to suppress a laugh, which came out into a snort. Quistis closed the door behind her as calmly as she could and took a long deep breath. Trying to remove the redness from her cheeks, the blond crossed her room to the other side to her closet and grabbed her bathrobe hanging at the door. Quickly removing all her wet clothes, she put on her robe and removed all her pins from her hair. A flow of gold fell down her back, all tangled and wet, but Quistis decided to tackle her hair tonight with her not-so reliable hair brush waiting for her on the dresser drawer. She had no choice but to wait for Seifer to finish taking a shower before it was her turn.
After what seemed like minutes of untangling her hair, Quistis sat down on her bed and laid her head down on her pillow.
"Quistis!" It took a while for the blond girl to realize that she wasn't asleep, until she noticed that her eyes were opened. She sat up and opened the door to her bedroom. "Quistis?"
"Yes, Auntie?" she answered. She moved to the top of the stairs where Charlotte was standing at the opposite end, getting ready to walk up the stairs to fetch her.
"I made some hot chocolate so tell Seifer he can stay for a while here…"
Quistis nodded. "All right," she said, rather quietly, her heart beating a million times over. Suddenly, she felt excited that her Aunt made hot chocolate for the both of them.
*************
He really didn't want to be here. He had his fun, of course, with making Quistis blush. That was about the only glory he felt in this house, but nothing else made him smile. Every time he thought of his mother, he immediately sees her crushed between two cars…hers and someone else's. Seifer turned and glanced at his reflection in the sliding door of the shower stall. He saw himself. He wanted to smile, but his lips would stay the same… firmed and frowning.
When was the last time he smiled?
Sure, he smirked, but a smirk didn't mean it was a 'smile.' It was just a way to cover the feelings he had inside. It was his own mask of illusion to fool the audience in his act. How long can he keep this mask? Will he be able to smile again? Even after all that's happened? "Ah CRAP!" he swore, closing his eyes to feel the water falling on his back. He leaned his back against the cold, wet surface of the bathroom stall and buried his face in his hands. He promised himself he wouldn't cry. 'I am so pathetic,' he thought. He was a man…men didn't cry! Angry at himself for being weak, Seifer slammed a fist against the wall. Was he just saying all those things to Quistis about letting go of someone you love who died? Was he just fooling himself? Was he just being a hypocrite?
"I can't take this." He turned and reached for the shower knob, then twisted it off until he could only hear just the long second intervals of water falling on the wet, tile floor. The sound of the shower still reminded him of that moment underneath the rain, with his face buried in his face, surrounded by feelings of despair and sadness.
Seifer stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel hanging at the side of the wall. The water from around his body fell like rain from his tousled hair, to his back and around his legs, where it met its fate on the cold floor. He dried his hair with his towel and moved over to where the mirror was in the sink. Once again, he saw his own face…he saw his mask. He was now part of the audience and when he moved his lips to attempt a smile. For a moment there, he thought he saw a smile, but he realized that it was just his usual smirk. He was fooled by own mask of illusion. Sighing, he turned his head towards the clothes Quistis handed him earlier folded neatly on a chair. Seifer stared at the solitary chair standing there, wondering why it was there in the first place and remembered that Charlotte used to cry at night when her husband died in a car accident. She would take her magazine, walk into the bathroom, lie to Travis that she was just going to the bathroom and would just sit there, thinking. Seifer saw her do that once when she thought no one was home and she never knew until now that Seifer knew her secret. He didn't understand, however, why the chair was still there. It has been nearly eighteen years since he passed away.
The blond took a deep breath, removing all the thoughts away on that one chair and grabbed the clothes. He looked at the shirt first. It was a nice color… dark blue. It was a collared shirt with a single button at the top. Seifer quickly put it on and unbuttoned the single button on the shirt. He had forgotten that Gerald was a skinny man if he were alive today to be compared with Seifer or Travis, so the shirt on him was a little tight. It was tight enough to show off a little bit of his muscles, but Seifer didn't have time to complain. Having a shirt was enough than walking around in a house half naked. He could hear another door opening in the hallway. He had forgotten that Quistis needed to take a shower as well. Seifer put on the pants provided for him and didn't have much time to complain about how short the pants were when he heard a soft knock on the door.
"Seifer? Are you done in there?" he heard Quistis say. "My Aunt told me to tell you that she made hot chocolate. She says to stay for a while and have some."
Seifer grabbed his wet clothes and opened the door. "Yes, I'm done and I don't know if I want to stay," he answered, ignoring Quistis' disappointed look "All yours…" He walked passed her and didn't even bother to glance at Quistis' reaction with the clothes he was wearing. In fact, he was glad, because he had a fleeting impression that it wasn't the type of reaction he was looking for.
By the time he made it downstairs and by the time he thought of some kind of excuse not to stay, he heard Charlotte's voice. "Seifer? Are you leaving now?" He could hear the disappointment in her tone of voice and Seifer had no choice BUT to stay. Seifer moved to the kitchen and noticed Charlotte sitting on one of the chairs. She looked as though she was crying. "At least stay for some hot chocolate." Charlotte looked at him strangely, in fact…sadly. Seifer had forgotten that Charlotte and his mother were best friends during his childhood. The thought of Charlotte crying for her best friend completely flew pass him and as that thought hit him, he felt his stomach do a double somersault. Guilt had punched him right in the gut.
"All right," he mumbled, reluctantly taking a seat next to her. She slid an already made hot chocolate towards him, but did not meet his eyes. Seifer quietly looked down inside the mug at the whipped cream covering the brown color of the hot chocolate. After all the hard work she made, there was no point in neglecting a hot chocolate as good as Charlotte's. He always loved Charlotte's hot chocolate.
For a moment, they sat silently, until a thought occurred to him, which forced the silent barrier to break surrounding them both. "Where is Travis?"
She put down her cup and had no choice but to look at him in the eyes. "He's asleep now. He has school tomorrow. He was asking me what happened, but I told him he had to sleep."
Seifer continued to stare at the content inside his mug. "How did you find out about this? Did dad call you?"
Charlotte lifted her cup to her mouth and then put it back down again. She gave herself a moment to swallow the chocolate and when she was done, she said, "Your mom and I were best friends, Seifer. There is nothing that I don't know about what happens to my best friend."
"Yes, but…" He didn't know how to continue with his sentence. He really didn't know why they stopped being best friends.
"Your mother and I still kept in touch so I know everything that's going on."
Seifer suddenly felt his fists clenched at his side. "Even the one about my REAL father?" He looked up, his eyes dangerously leering at Charlotte.
However, the woman didn't seem to be unnerved by his look. Charlotte simply removed her eyes away from him and glanced towards the kitchen counter as if there was something interesting there and sighed. "Seifer, they didn't want to tell you for reasons like this…" She turned to look at him, pointing with her head at his clenched fists. "They were afraid that you would act this way if you found out."
"Oh, so they decided to wait until ONE OF THEM DIES TO TELL ME!?" He was now on his feet, his hands lying flat on the table. "SO THEY DECIDED TO WAIT UNTIL I'M TALL ENOUGH AND STRONG ENOUGH FOR THEM TO TELL ME!?" He couldn't take this anymore. Even Charlotte knew about this… why didn't he know? Why was he the last one to know?
As if reading his mind, Charlotte also stood up, matching height with him. "You are their SON! OF COURSE YOU'RE THE LAST TO KNOW!" She was also matching her voice volume with him. She took a deep breath and sat back down. "So will you please just sit back down and not yell? My son is sleeping…"
Seifer took a deep breath and did as he was told. His wet clothes hung limp on his right arm and, remembering the letter in his pant pocket, he reached inside and handed it to Charlotte. "This is the letter my mom gave me."
Charlotte looked at him curiously and took the letter from him. She read and re-read the letter over and over until she finally handed the letter back to him, her eyes anywhere except Seifer's. "There you go. All the answers are in there."
The blonde's eyebrows suddenly furrowed angrily. He was losing patience with many people these days. "Is that all you have to say? You were my mom's best friend…" He expected sympathetic words from a woman who babysat him until he was ten years old, but he received no response from her. Frustrated, he stood up and stuffed the letter into his new pants. "Well I guess our conversation won't go anywhere if all I get is silent treatment." He turned and headed for the door, but Quistis' sudden presence there stopped him in mid-walk.
She heard it all. All his anger… all the pain he's been wanting to let out. All that must have drained him of his energy, because with just one look, Quistis noticed how tired Seifer was.
They stared at each other for a few moments, until Seifer was the first one to break eye contact. He turned away and went for the door, when Quistis suddenly stopped him. Seifer looked at her, expecting for her to say something, but Quistis just grabbed an umbrella hanging at the side of the door and handed it to him. "Here…you need this walking home," she said.
Seifer mumbled a 'thank you' and grabbed the umbrella from her. "I'll give this back to you tomorrow," he said, once again opening the door to the cold, and wet night air. Without giving Quistis another glance, he quickly left with his clothes still hanging on his right arm.
Quistis watched him leave. She wanted so much for him to stay. And, no matter how bad of timing it was, she wanted to ask him whether he was still willing to take her to the dance, but… she couldn't do that to him…not when his heart is still breaking from his mother's sudden death.
******************
"Hello, Seifer…" The blond was greeted by a deep, familiar voice. He wasn't surprised that his father was there, his shadowed figure shining in the moonlight at the bottom of the stairs. "I thought you were home so I checked if you were in your bedroom, but I guess not."
Seifer said nothing. He folded the umbrella and tossed it lazily aside by the door and walked to the kitchen. He heard his father following him into the kitchen, but stopped just by the archway between the kitchen and the hallway.
"The hospital called. When they told me you were already there to see your mother and left, I thought you came home straight away. Then, I saw your car parked in the hospital parking lot and I got worried." Bryan stuffed his hands I his
He didn't listen. Seifer continued to pour the coffee grind aimlessly inside his mug. It was until it fell all over the counter did he realize that he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He could feel his father approaching him, his heavy footsteps the only noise making inside the house, besides the little scraping noises as Seifer began picking up the coffee off the counter.
"Seifer, are you all right?"
Suddenly, he felt his right hand slam on the kitchen counter with a loud 'SMACK!' Some coffee grinds fell onto the floor, while everything else around the counter juggled at the impact. Seifer glared at his father. "That's the stupidest question I have ever heard from you…" he scowled, trying to hold back the anger that was once again boiling inside him. He had enough anger in just one day. Seifer didn't give his father a chance to reply back, when he suddenly turned and headed for the stairs. He could feel his father watching him from behind, but he didn't care. "I'm going to sleep," he said simply, walking up the stairs. He disappeared in the darkness, leaving his father behind to clean the mess he made.
***************
Morning came by once again and she was relieved that when she woke up, it was a bright sunny day, unlike all the other days of the week. Quistis was even more relieved that it was Friday. She stretched and yawned and changed into a pink turtle-necked shirt and a long, black skirt that reached the bottom of her knees. She knew that even with the sunshine outside, there was still some chill in the winter air. Quistis grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs, while at the same time, gathering all her golden hair and tying it up to turn into her usual bun. It was still a little bit wet from her shower last night as she ran down the stairs, said good bye to her Aunt and left without breakfast.
Rinoa greeted her at the front of the school with the usual smile on her face and once again, Selphie wasn't there. But then again, Quistis thought, Rinoa was ALMOST like Selphie so there was no total loss there. "Hi! Quisty!"
Quistis' face turned red. "Oh, come on, Rinoa…do you have to call me with that name?" she said, lowering her voice. Her face turned redder as students walked by them, laughing at her name.
The dark haired girl smiled and nodded. "Of course! It's what Selphie always calls you so I thought…why not?" Rinoa turned and walked inside the building.
The blond rolled her eyes. "I give up…" she mumbled. Quistis followed the younger girl inside and they walked together to the direction of their lockers. Rinoa's was just across from where Quistis' was so they were free to talk about anything, just by shouting out across from each other, except anything that was personal. Quistis wasn't ready to tell Rinoa about what happened last night. She placed all her books and her binders inside her locker and took out the ones she needed, and then stuffed them in her backpack.
"Bonjour!" Startled, Quistis turned to look beside her. Standing there was a tall (much taller than Seifer), young man about their age with short sandy, brown hair. He was quite handsome, with shining, pearly white teeth. Shocked beyond words, the blond gave him a curious look. "You are Quistis, correct?" he asked.
Quistis nodded, still trying to figure out who this guy was, while Rinoa watched them, clearly trying to figure out who he was as well. "I 'ave 'eard so much about you from my friends," he said with his thick French accent. "I know zat you are a smart girl, but I never knew you were so beautiful." He reached down and gently took Quistis' hand in his.
The blond blushed. "Um….I guess." She didn't know what to say. Here was this guy, an incredible HOT guy talking to her. Quistis blushed even more when he suddenly lifted up her hand and kissed the back of it gently. "P….pleased to meet you."
"Enchanter," he said, smiling at her. "Forgive me for being rude. My name is Jacque Godenot." He began fishing for something inside his right jacket pocket and took out two familiar items. "I know it eez sudden. I have always wanted to meet such a beautiful lady, so I ask you zis, mademoiselle…Would you like to go to zee dance with moi?"
Quistis was taken aback. Who was this guy? Seriously, he was suddenly creeping her out, but she didn't want to be rude. He was being nice to her after all. "Well… I don't…" How should she turn this guy down? Then again, she already bought a dress for the dance and she already promised Rinoa she would go. Seifer hasn't really mentioned anything to her about the dance…Why would he? His mother just died. She thought it would be rude to mention it to him since he was still suffering from the loss… But before, she could decide, something grey and tall moved in front of her. She looked up and noticed that someone's back was to her, obviously speaking to Jacque. Then…she heard 'his' voice.
"I'm sorry, but she's already going with me to the dance." Annoyed, Seifer placed his thin notebook close to Jacque's face. He knew that the idiot was going to make a move on Quistis.
Startled, Jacque backed away and stuffed his tickets into his pocket. He shoved the book out of his face and glared into the face of a blond man, who was an inch shorter than him. "Who are you?"
Rinoa watched from the sidelines. 'OOOOhhhhh! A triangle!' she thought excitedly in her mind. 'This is going to be something!'
Quistis glanced from one man to the other, and then soon stayed only on Seifer, curiously watching him. The blond man took another step forward, his eyes turning into thin slits. "Like I said, I'm going to the dance with this girl, so why don't you ask Brandy?"
Jacque's eyes widened. 'He knows!' he thought, staring into Seifer's dangerous intense green eyes. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. Seifer expected him to back off, but Jacque was even more persistent than he expected. "If you are taking her to zee dance, you would not leave a beautiful girl's side at all! And you would have a ticket already bought for the both of-!" He stopped. The blond shoved something into his face and there they were… the two dance tickets placed in his right hand.
Seifer smirked. He wasn't going to let this bastard win! "I'm not that stupid… So you can leave now."
"I see…" He looked over Seifer's shoulder at Quistis and gave her another genuine smile. "Well, I will see you at zee dance my beautiful angel…" Jacque walked pass Seifer and reached down to take Quistis' hand in his one more time, then kissed the back of it. "Until we meet again my Princess…" He turned and left, leaving Seifer fuming with rage.
Quistis looked up, her eyes searching Seifer's back. Before she had a chance to say something, Seifer turned to face her and shoved the two tickets in her hands. "Here, you hold on to the tickets. I might lose them if I keep them. I'll see you after school," he said, without giving one glance at the blond girl. He too, turned and left, but in the opposite direction of Jacque. She watched him leave, absent-mindedly stuffing his hands in his pockets as he entered the Western hall towards his first class.
Rinoa gave her a moment to stare into space, before clearing her throat to interrupt the now noisy hall that suddenly erupted from out of nowhere. "Hey, Quisty… I think we better go to class now." She closed her locker and watched as Quistis just turned and left for her first class as if in a trance. "Quistis?" The dark haired girl sighed and waved at Quistis' back. "All right, I'll see you at lunch then."
***********
The dance was once again the talk of the school as she walked down the hallway to her match class to meet with Seifer. There were talks of who was going with whom and what kind of gowns the girls were wearing for this 'blessed' event. Quistis spent her entire day in school, still thinking about this morning, while she ignored Rinoa's worried glances. The same students, who gave little reminders about the dance to each senior in the school, were still giving them out, even though most of them have already gotten the little note.
When Quistis reached the closed doors of her math class, she paused and stared at it. What was she going to say to him when he sees her? Should she be smiling at him for defending her against the weird, creepy guy who kissed the back of her hand? Or should she be smiling because he has confirmed it himself that he was taking her to the dance? Right now, she knew that mentioning the dance and the guy would only make Seifer's blood boil (though she didn't understand why). Another reason would have to be…because he was still in grief of his mother's death. Cautiously, she grabbed the door knob and slowly twisted it open. Looking around, she noticed the same empty tables usually seen after school, except for the stack of books on the last table of the first row. Seifer was sitting in his usual seat, but she expected him to have his feet propped up on the table, instead, she saw him reading carefully through the math book and…to her surprise- through the colorful notes she had given him weeks ago. When the door behind her closed, making a slow, clicking noise, Seifer looked up from his reading and greeted her with a nod. Quistis just nodded back, awkwardly taking her seat just in front of him.
"I read through your notes last night." Of course it was a lie and Quistis knew it, but she allowed him to allow just this once. She could see the suffering in his eyes and could hear the pain through his voice. Finding out the real truth about the painful past and seeing someone die right in front of you would drive anyone insane. The blond girl sat there, staring at him, contemplating whether they should go through this study or not. She could hear him talk, but she didn't hear anything genuine from his voice. He didn't mean it all. He was holding an expression that kept his real emotions inside. He was once again hiding behind his mask, refusing to let his tears come out. "Is there something on my face that you need to stare at it all the time?"
Quistis blinked. She has been staring at him for so long that she hadn't realized that he was talking to her now, his eyes examining hers with that same look of confusion. But underneath it that, she heard his cries. She heard his pain. 'Why do you let yourself suffer like this, Seifer?' she thought. "Um…there's nothing there. So, where were we?" She looked down at her opened math book, which wasn't even opened in the right page.
"Did you even hear a word I said?" Seifer asked, annoyed.
The blond girl nodded. "Yeah, I did."
"Then what did I say?" he folded his arms across his chest.
His face, his eyes, his heart.... Why was he hiding all this from her? Hadn't her words hit him as hard as she hoped it would? Didn't he understand it at all? "Uh…you said….you said…."
Seifer took a long deep breath and closed his eyes in irritation. He reached out for his math book and closed it. "Okay, clearly your head is in the clouds somewhere, so I can't study like this if you're like this…" He stood up and started to leave, when a loud noise stopped him on his tracks.
"STOP DOING THIS TO ME!" Quistis yelled, standing up.
The blond man turned to look at her, astonished. "What-?"
"THIS!" She placed a hand on her heart. "You're trying to confuse me! Why won't you tell me how you feel? Wasn't last night enough for you to tell me everything?!" Tears suddenly began to fill her eyes and fall down her cheeks. "Stop hiding from me!"
Seifer's face twisted into a look of dissatisfaction. "Why should I tell you everything!?" he spat, gripping his math book tighter around his right arm. "You have no right to tell me to stop hiding from you. I have every right to hide things from a girl who barely knows me!"
"Then I guess my efforts were all in vain!" Quistis growled, picking up her stuff from the table and hastily stuffing them in her backpack. She gave Seifer an expression of disgust as she took out the tickets from her jacket pocket and slammed them down on the table. "HERE! You go with someone else! Maybe it's best that we go with other people…" She looked away, hiding her sad face behind her golden hair. "I want to go the dance happy and not depressed because 'someone' doesn't want to share his feelings with me. I thought….I thought that….Last night…." Was she being hasty? Was she being unfair? Right now, she didn't care, as long as she left his sight for good! Maybe he wasn't ever going to open up to her. Maybe last night wasn't enough. Maybe she was wrong to ever….fall for him. She was tired of waiting. She was tired of asking him questions about his life, instead of him opening up to her.
Shocked, Seifer watched her walk pass him without giving him a second look. What did she mean all her efforts were in vain? They weren't in vain at all! She was working hard enough already to tutor him. "What the hell are you talking about!?" he yelled in the hallway.
Quistis did not look back, leaving Seifer to turn and stare at the tickets lying on the table with a hollow heart. Angrily, he walked to the table and picked up the tickets. Seifer looked at it one last time, before ripping it to shreds. Why was he wasting his time with this girl anyway? All she ever did was get mad at him for no reason at all! He didn't need anyone. Didn't WANT anyone, except… Seifer felt his heart skip a bit. Except….
Her…
GoodGurl: GAH! Another fight! Of course! :D I won't let you go guys get away THAT easily with a sudden kiss! We have to make them 'fight' first to make a good impression! *sigh* when will Seifer STOP yelling and losing his temper!? Was Quistis wrong to get mad at him? What happens now for this couple??? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Chapter 27 – Behind His Mask
'Even if you don't have good memories with your mother, Seifer….you can still think that you HAVE one. Looking into the bad memories won't help you cope with this pain that you're feeling.' Quistis' words echoed over and over again in his head.
There was silence, except for the sound of the rain splattering around them. It was darker now, much darker. They had no idea how long they were holding onto each other like that, but Seifer knew he had to let go or else BOTH of them will get pneumonia. Slowly and cautiously, he removed his arms from around Quistis' waist. Fully aware that Seifer wanted to leave the cold, damp weather; she did the same and backed up a couple of inches.
Suddenly, a gust of wind came out of nowhere, blowing Quistis' umbrella from her hands. It flew only a few centimeters away, landing in between the swings and the merry-go-round. Both of them stared at it awkwardly for a few minutes, before Quistis made to go for it, but Seifer had already gotten there before her. He picked it up and handed it to Quistis, without even looking at her. "Here, you're going to catch a cold if you don't use it."
Quistis took the umbrella from him and instead of using it on her, she hovered the umbrella on top both of them. Seifer finally turned his face to look at her curiously. "Same with you too," she said. "You don't even have a jacket."
Seifer stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned away. "I'm immune to rain," he answered. Then, without realizing it, he shivered as the rain got heavier and heavier. Quistis stared at him and without thinking, grabbed his hand and said, "Why don't you come with me? You can get dried up in my Aunt's house and she could make hot chocolate."
The male blond suddenly jerked his hand away from her grasp. "What? I don't need your sympathy!" he yelled through the thick rain fall (Although, part of him liked her generosity).
Quistis stopped and turned to look at him, moving a bit closer to keep the rain from spraying on both of them. "Seifer, I don't think this is a great spot to be contemplating on your thoughts while you get yourself sick!" She planted one fist on her hips and frowned disappointedly. She grabbed his hand again and gripped it much tighter than he anticipated and gave up altogether, knowing that when the blond girl had made up a decision about something, there was no way in hell he was able to change it. He allowed her to drag him back to her Aunt's house, while at the same time, feeling dizzy. He hated to admit it, but she was right about something. If he stayed out here longer, he would have collapsed. If Quistis hadn't been there, no one would have known what happened to him, especially his father… The thought of his 'father' frustrated him even more.
Seifer was unaware that he was gripping his hand tightly around Quistis now that the blond girl even jerked her hand from him and turned to look at him. "OUCH!" she yelped. "What's the big idea?" When she noticed the way he was looking at her, she returned him a look of sympathy. She knew what he was thinking and he didn't need to spell it out for her.
"Sorry…" he mumbled. He relaxed his hand around hers as they strolled along down the street towards Charlotte's place. It's been a long time since he was there. Seifer glanced up at a tree standing in the front yard of Charlotte's house. He remembered playing in that tree. His nine year old self was always scolded by Charlotte whenever he climbed up the tree and was too scared to come down. Charlotte had no choice but ask some of the neighbors to help her get the little boy down. 'You're like a cat,' Charlotte said to him that day when they finally went inside the house in time for dinner. Seifer couldn't help but smirk at that thought.
Quistis looked up and noticed a smile on his face. "Is there something funny I should know about?" That question distinguished the smile on his face, but Quistis wasn't disappointed. She already saw the smile. She rapped on the door gently, unaware that Seifer was still shaking.
Seifer didn't look at her; instead he decided to put all his attention on the door opening. Charlotte's face appeared from behind the door and he managed to hide another wave of shiver from the cold before she noticed him there. "Seifer! My God! Look at you two! You're soaking wet!"
Quistis stepped inside, followed by a reluctant Seifer. "I'm sorry I couldn't get the eggs, Auntie-!" But before she could finish her sentence, Charlotte had dragged both of them inside, her face twisted into a look of despair.
"Seifer…." Charlotte looked as though she was about to cry, confirming both blondes that she already knew about Seifer's tragedy. It was a good thing they didn't need to tell her, because Quistis knew it was already hard enough on Seifer.
"What's going on here? Hey-!" Travis was coming down the stairs and his eyes were locked on to the two blondes standing side by side and were soaking from head to toe.
"Travis, I want you to bring extra clothes from the den for Seifer here…" Like a mother would, Charlotte began patting the raindrops away from Seifer's shoulders, while Travis, still confused, ran to the extra room pass the living room and came back seconds later with black pants and a collared shirt. Charlotte looked up at Seifer, grabbed the clothes from her son and handed it to the blond. "Here. Quistis will show you where the shower is upstairs. We only have one bathroom so I think you should go first, Seifer. You seem to be a lot more soaked than Quistis here."
Quistis wasted no time in waiting. She hated walking around in the house wet, but since her Aunt wasn't complaining, she removed her shoes and began walking up the stairs, leading Seifer to the second floor. Seifer still remembered the same painting he saw when he was a little boy surrounding the hallway of the second floor. It was small, but very homely. He already knew where the bathroom was, but Charlotte seemed too upset for him to say anything. Lynette's death must have affected Charlotte more than him. They were good friends since he was a boy. "Here's the bathroom, but I guess you already knew that?" Seifer blinked again and looked at her. Quistis folded her arms across her chest and smiled. "I see that when you come back here, it brings a lot of memories, doesn't it?"
Seifer nodded absent-mindedly.
They stood there awkwardly for a couple of seconds, before Quistis had the courage to turn around the leave. "Hey Quistis?" Seifer called. The female blond stopped and looked over her shoulder at the taller blond, who had already stepped inside the bathroom.
"Oh…right…Hang on a second." Quistis turned and walked pass the bathroom and into a closet in the hallway. She grabbed the first towel she saw and slowly made her back to the bathroom. Quistis had no idea that once she stepped inside the bathroom to hand him the towel, Seifer, with his back to her, had removed his soaking shirt. The blond's eyes traveled from his shoulders to his torso where his pants seemed ready to fall off.
"Is there something funny on my back that you should stare like that?" Seifer looked over his shoulder at her and smirked. He removed his soaking shirt, where he dropped it on the tile floor with a loud 'SPLAT!'
Quistis recovered from close to fainting and turned her eyes from him. She forgot that there was a mirror right in front of him so he could see her reflection where she stood. "Um…no…not at all." She was red in the face as Quistis handed the towel to Seifer.
With a little bit of satisfaction that he could make Quistis blush, Seifer took the towel from her and waited until she stepped out of the bathroom to completely strip naked. Quistis stood there, her mind still on his naked back and the more she thought about it, the more her face turned a deeper crimson red. 'God, he is SO beautiful!' she thought.
"Quistis?"
The blond suddenly straightened up and looked around to see who was calling her. "Yes, Auntie?"
"Auntie?" Travis appeared from the stairs and towards her, his face looking rather suspicious. "I'm your cousin, you dork!" He laughed, and then he noticed her standing just in front of the bathroom where he suspected Seifer was in. "Have you been spying on Seifer?"
"NO! Of course not!" She covered her face in her hands and fast-walked to her bedroom. Travis watched her leave, still trying to suppress a laugh, which came out into a snort. Quistis closed the door behind her as calmly as she could and took a long deep breath. Trying to remove the redness from her cheeks, the blond crossed her room to the other side to her closet and grabbed her bathrobe hanging at the door. Quickly removing all her wet clothes, she put on her robe and removed all her pins from her hair. A flow of gold fell down her back, all tangled and wet, but Quistis decided to tackle her hair tonight with her not-so reliable hair brush waiting for her on the dresser drawer. She had no choice but to wait for Seifer to finish taking a shower before it was her turn.
After what seemed like minutes of untangling her hair, Quistis sat down on her bed and laid her head down on her pillow.
"Quistis!" It took a while for the blond girl to realize that she wasn't asleep, until she noticed that her eyes were opened. She sat up and opened the door to her bedroom. "Quistis?"
"Yes, Auntie?" she answered. She moved to the top of the stairs where Charlotte was standing at the opposite end, getting ready to walk up the stairs to fetch her.
"I made some hot chocolate so tell Seifer he can stay for a while here…"
Quistis nodded. "All right," she said, rather quietly, her heart beating a million times over. Suddenly, she felt excited that her Aunt made hot chocolate for the both of them.
*************
He really didn't want to be here. He had his fun, of course, with making Quistis blush. That was about the only glory he felt in this house, but nothing else made him smile. Every time he thought of his mother, he immediately sees her crushed between two cars…hers and someone else's. Seifer turned and glanced at his reflection in the sliding door of the shower stall. He saw himself. He wanted to smile, but his lips would stay the same… firmed and frowning.
When was the last time he smiled?
Sure, he smirked, but a smirk didn't mean it was a 'smile.' It was just a way to cover the feelings he had inside. It was his own mask of illusion to fool the audience in his act. How long can he keep this mask? Will he be able to smile again? Even after all that's happened? "Ah CRAP!" he swore, closing his eyes to feel the water falling on his back. He leaned his back against the cold, wet surface of the bathroom stall and buried his face in his hands. He promised himself he wouldn't cry. 'I am so pathetic,' he thought. He was a man…men didn't cry! Angry at himself for being weak, Seifer slammed a fist against the wall. Was he just saying all those things to Quistis about letting go of someone you love who died? Was he just fooling himself? Was he just being a hypocrite?
"I can't take this." He turned and reached for the shower knob, then twisted it off until he could only hear just the long second intervals of water falling on the wet, tile floor. The sound of the shower still reminded him of that moment underneath the rain, with his face buried in his face, surrounded by feelings of despair and sadness.
Seifer stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel hanging at the side of the wall. The water from around his body fell like rain from his tousled hair, to his back and around his legs, where it met its fate on the cold floor. He dried his hair with his towel and moved over to where the mirror was in the sink. Once again, he saw his own face…he saw his mask. He was now part of the audience and when he moved his lips to attempt a smile. For a moment there, he thought he saw a smile, but he realized that it was just his usual smirk. He was fooled by own mask of illusion. Sighing, he turned his head towards the clothes Quistis handed him earlier folded neatly on a chair. Seifer stared at the solitary chair standing there, wondering why it was there in the first place and remembered that Charlotte used to cry at night when her husband died in a car accident. She would take her magazine, walk into the bathroom, lie to Travis that she was just going to the bathroom and would just sit there, thinking. Seifer saw her do that once when she thought no one was home and she never knew until now that Seifer knew her secret. He didn't understand, however, why the chair was still there. It has been nearly eighteen years since he passed away.
The blond took a deep breath, removing all the thoughts away on that one chair and grabbed the clothes. He looked at the shirt first. It was a nice color… dark blue. It was a collared shirt with a single button at the top. Seifer quickly put it on and unbuttoned the single button on the shirt. He had forgotten that Gerald was a skinny man if he were alive today to be compared with Seifer or Travis, so the shirt on him was a little tight. It was tight enough to show off a little bit of his muscles, but Seifer didn't have time to complain. Having a shirt was enough than walking around in a house half naked. He could hear another door opening in the hallway. He had forgotten that Quistis needed to take a shower as well. Seifer put on the pants provided for him and didn't have much time to complain about how short the pants were when he heard a soft knock on the door.
"Seifer? Are you done in there?" he heard Quistis say. "My Aunt told me to tell you that she made hot chocolate. She says to stay for a while and have some."
Seifer grabbed his wet clothes and opened the door. "Yes, I'm done and I don't know if I want to stay," he answered, ignoring Quistis' disappointed look "All yours…" He walked passed her and didn't even bother to glance at Quistis' reaction with the clothes he was wearing. In fact, he was glad, because he had a fleeting impression that it wasn't the type of reaction he was looking for.
By the time he made it downstairs and by the time he thought of some kind of excuse not to stay, he heard Charlotte's voice. "Seifer? Are you leaving now?" He could hear the disappointment in her tone of voice and Seifer had no choice BUT to stay. Seifer moved to the kitchen and noticed Charlotte sitting on one of the chairs. She looked as though she was crying. "At least stay for some hot chocolate." Charlotte looked at him strangely, in fact…sadly. Seifer had forgotten that Charlotte and his mother were best friends during his childhood. The thought of Charlotte crying for her best friend completely flew pass him and as that thought hit him, he felt his stomach do a double somersault. Guilt had punched him right in the gut.
"All right," he mumbled, reluctantly taking a seat next to her. She slid an already made hot chocolate towards him, but did not meet his eyes. Seifer quietly looked down inside the mug at the whipped cream covering the brown color of the hot chocolate. After all the hard work she made, there was no point in neglecting a hot chocolate as good as Charlotte's. He always loved Charlotte's hot chocolate.
For a moment, they sat silently, until a thought occurred to him, which forced the silent barrier to break surrounding them both. "Where is Travis?"
She put down her cup and had no choice but to look at him in the eyes. "He's asleep now. He has school tomorrow. He was asking me what happened, but I told him he had to sleep."
Seifer continued to stare at the content inside his mug. "How did you find out about this? Did dad call you?"
Charlotte lifted her cup to her mouth and then put it back down again. She gave herself a moment to swallow the chocolate and when she was done, she said, "Your mom and I were best friends, Seifer. There is nothing that I don't know about what happens to my best friend."
"Yes, but…" He didn't know how to continue with his sentence. He really didn't know why they stopped being best friends.
"Your mother and I still kept in touch so I know everything that's going on."
Seifer suddenly felt his fists clenched at his side. "Even the one about my REAL father?" He looked up, his eyes dangerously leering at Charlotte.
However, the woman didn't seem to be unnerved by his look. Charlotte simply removed her eyes away from him and glanced towards the kitchen counter as if there was something interesting there and sighed. "Seifer, they didn't want to tell you for reasons like this…" She turned to look at him, pointing with her head at his clenched fists. "They were afraid that you would act this way if you found out."
"Oh, so they decided to wait until ONE OF THEM DIES TO TELL ME!?" He was now on his feet, his hands lying flat on the table. "SO THEY DECIDED TO WAIT UNTIL I'M TALL ENOUGH AND STRONG ENOUGH FOR THEM TO TELL ME!?" He couldn't take this anymore. Even Charlotte knew about this… why didn't he know? Why was he the last one to know?
As if reading his mind, Charlotte also stood up, matching height with him. "You are their SON! OF COURSE YOU'RE THE LAST TO KNOW!" She was also matching her voice volume with him. She took a deep breath and sat back down. "So will you please just sit back down and not yell? My son is sleeping…"
Seifer took a deep breath and did as he was told. His wet clothes hung limp on his right arm and, remembering the letter in his pant pocket, he reached inside and handed it to Charlotte. "This is the letter my mom gave me."
Charlotte looked at him curiously and took the letter from him. She read and re-read the letter over and over until she finally handed the letter back to him, her eyes anywhere except Seifer's. "There you go. All the answers are in there."
The blonde's eyebrows suddenly furrowed angrily. He was losing patience with many people these days. "Is that all you have to say? You were my mom's best friend…" He expected sympathetic words from a woman who babysat him until he was ten years old, but he received no response from her. Frustrated, he stood up and stuffed the letter into his new pants. "Well I guess our conversation won't go anywhere if all I get is silent treatment." He turned and headed for the door, but Quistis' sudden presence there stopped him in mid-walk.
She heard it all. All his anger… all the pain he's been wanting to let out. All that must have drained him of his energy, because with just one look, Quistis noticed how tired Seifer was.
They stared at each other for a few moments, until Seifer was the first one to break eye contact. He turned away and went for the door, when Quistis suddenly stopped him. Seifer looked at her, expecting for her to say something, but Quistis just grabbed an umbrella hanging at the side of the door and handed it to him. "Here…you need this walking home," she said.
Seifer mumbled a 'thank you' and grabbed the umbrella from her. "I'll give this back to you tomorrow," he said, once again opening the door to the cold, and wet night air. Without giving Quistis another glance, he quickly left with his clothes still hanging on his right arm.
Quistis watched him leave. She wanted so much for him to stay. And, no matter how bad of timing it was, she wanted to ask him whether he was still willing to take her to the dance, but… she couldn't do that to him…not when his heart is still breaking from his mother's sudden death.
******************
"Hello, Seifer…" The blond was greeted by a deep, familiar voice. He wasn't surprised that his father was there, his shadowed figure shining in the moonlight at the bottom of the stairs. "I thought you were home so I checked if you were in your bedroom, but I guess not."
Seifer said nothing. He folded the umbrella and tossed it lazily aside by the door and walked to the kitchen. He heard his father following him into the kitchen, but stopped just by the archway between the kitchen and the hallway.
"The hospital called. When they told me you were already there to see your mother and left, I thought you came home straight away. Then, I saw your car parked in the hospital parking lot and I got worried." Bryan stuffed his hands I his
He didn't listen. Seifer continued to pour the coffee grind aimlessly inside his mug. It was until it fell all over the counter did he realize that he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He could feel his father approaching him, his heavy footsteps the only noise making inside the house, besides the little scraping noises as Seifer began picking up the coffee off the counter.
"Seifer, are you all right?"
Suddenly, he felt his right hand slam on the kitchen counter with a loud 'SMACK!' Some coffee grinds fell onto the floor, while everything else around the counter juggled at the impact. Seifer glared at his father. "That's the stupidest question I have ever heard from you…" he scowled, trying to hold back the anger that was once again boiling inside him. He had enough anger in just one day. Seifer didn't give his father a chance to reply back, when he suddenly turned and headed for the stairs. He could feel his father watching him from behind, but he didn't care. "I'm going to sleep," he said simply, walking up the stairs. He disappeared in the darkness, leaving his father behind to clean the mess he made.
***************
Morning came by once again and she was relieved that when she woke up, it was a bright sunny day, unlike all the other days of the week. Quistis was even more relieved that it was Friday. She stretched and yawned and changed into a pink turtle-necked shirt and a long, black skirt that reached the bottom of her knees. She knew that even with the sunshine outside, there was still some chill in the winter air. Quistis grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs, while at the same time, gathering all her golden hair and tying it up to turn into her usual bun. It was still a little bit wet from her shower last night as she ran down the stairs, said good bye to her Aunt and left without breakfast.
Rinoa greeted her at the front of the school with the usual smile on her face and once again, Selphie wasn't there. But then again, Quistis thought, Rinoa was ALMOST like Selphie so there was no total loss there. "Hi! Quisty!"
Quistis' face turned red. "Oh, come on, Rinoa…do you have to call me with that name?" she said, lowering her voice. Her face turned redder as students walked by them, laughing at her name.
The dark haired girl smiled and nodded. "Of course! It's what Selphie always calls you so I thought…why not?" Rinoa turned and walked inside the building.
The blond rolled her eyes. "I give up…" she mumbled. Quistis followed the younger girl inside and they walked together to the direction of their lockers. Rinoa's was just across from where Quistis' was so they were free to talk about anything, just by shouting out across from each other, except anything that was personal. Quistis wasn't ready to tell Rinoa about what happened last night. She placed all her books and her binders inside her locker and took out the ones she needed, and then stuffed them in her backpack.
"Bonjour!" Startled, Quistis turned to look beside her. Standing there was a tall (much taller than Seifer), young man about their age with short sandy, brown hair. He was quite handsome, with shining, pearly white teeth. Shocked beyond words, the blond gave him a curious look. "You are Quistis, correct?" he asked.
Quistis nodded, still trying to figure out who this guy was, while Rinoa watched them, clearly trying to figure out who he was as well. "I 'ave 'eard so much about you from my friends," he said with his thick French accent. "I know zat you are a smart girl, but I never knew you were so beautiful." He reached down and gently took Quistis' hand in his.
The blond blushed. "Um….I guess." She didn't know what to say. Here was this guy, an incredible HOT guy talking to her. Quistis blushed even more when he suddenly lifted up her hand and kissed the back of it gently. "P….pleased to meet you."
"Enchanter," he said, smiling at her. "Forgive me for being rude. My name is Jacque Godenot." He began fishing for something inside his right jacket pocket and took out two familiar items. "I know it eez sudden. I have always wanted to meet such a beautiful lady, so I ask you zis, mademoiselle…Would you like to go to zee dance with moi?"
Quistis was taken aback. Who was this guy? Seriously, he was suddenly creeping her out, but she didn't want to be rude. He was being nice to her after all. "Well… I don't…" How should she turn this guy down? Then again, she already bought a dress for the dance and she already promised Rinoa she would go. Seifer hasn't really mentioned anything to her about the dance…Why would he? His mother just died. She thought it would be rude to mention it to him since he was still suffering from the loss… But before, she could decide, something grey and tall moved in front of her. She looked up and noticed that someone's back was to her, obviously speaking to Jacque. Then…she heard 'his' voice.
"I'm sorry, but she's already going with me to the dance." Annoyed, Seifer placed his thin notebook close to Jacque's face. He knew that the idiot was going to make a move on Quistis.
Startled, Jacque backed away and stuffed his tickets into his pocket. He shoved the book out of his face and glared into the face of a blond man, who was an inch shorter than him. "Who are you?"
Rinoa watched from the sidelines. 'OOOOhhhhh! A triangle!' she thought excitedly in her mind. 'This is going to be something!'
Quistis glanced from one man to the other, and then soon stayed only on Seifer, curiously watching him. The blond man took another step forward, his eyes turning into thin slits. "Like I said, I'm going to the dance with this girl, so why don't you ask Brandy?"
Jacque's eyes widened. 'He knows!' he thought, staring into Seifer's dangerous intense green eyes. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. Seifer expected him to back off, but Jacque was even more persistent than he expected. "If you are taking her to zee dance, you would not leave a beautiful girl's side at all! And you would have a ticket already bought for the both of-!" He stopped. The blond shoved something into his face and there they were… the two dance tickets placed in his right hand.
Seifer smirked. He wasn't going to let this bastard win! "I'm not that stupid… So you can leave now."
"I see…" He looked over Seifer's shoulder at Quistis and gave her another genuine smile. "Well, I will see you at zee dance my beautiful angel…" Jacque walked pass Seifer and reached down to take Quistis' hand in his one more time, then kissed the back of it. "Until we meet again my Princess…" He turned and left, leaving Seifer fuming with rage.
Quistis looked up, her eyes searching Seifer's back. Before she had a chance to say something, Seifer turned to face her and shoved the two tickets in her hands. "Here, you hold on to the tickets. I might lose them if I keep them. I'll see you after school," he said, without giving one glance at the blond girl. He too, turned and left, but in the opposite direction of Jacque. She watched him leave, absent-mindedly stuffing his hands in his pockets as he entered the Western hall towards his first class.
Rinoa gave her a moment to stare into space, before clearing her throat to interrupt the now noisy hall that suddenly erupted from out of nowhere. "Hey, Quisty… I think we better go to class now." She closed her locker and watched as Quistis just turned and left for her first class as if in a trance. "Quistis?" The dark haired girl sighed and waved at Quistis' back. "All right, I'll see you at lunch then."
***********
The dance was once again the talk of the school as she walked down the hallway to her match class to meet with Seifer. There were talks of who was going with whom and what kind of gowns the girls were wearing for this 'blessed' event. Quistis spent her entire day in school, still thinking about this morning, while she ignored Rinoa's worried glances. The same students, who gave little reminders about the dance to each senior in the school, were still giving them out, even though most of them have already gotten the little note.
When Quistis reached the closed doors of her math class, she paused and stared at it. What was she going to say to him when he sees her? Should she be smiling at him for defending her against the weird, creepy guy who kissed the back of her hand? Or should she be smiling because he has confirmed it himself that he was taking her to the dance? Right now, she knew that mentioning the dance and the guy would only make Seifer's blood boil (though she didn't understand why). Another reason would have to be…because he was still in grief of his mother's death. Cautiously, she grabbed the door knob and slowly twisted it open. Looking around, she noticed the same empty tables usually seen after school, except for the stack of books on the last table of the first row. Seifer was sitting in his usual seat, but she expected him to have his feet propped up on the table, instead, she saw him reading carefully through the math book and…to her surprise- through the colorful notes she had given him weeks ago. When the door behind her closed, making a slow, clicking noise, Seifer looked up from his reading and greeted her with a nod. Quistis just nodded back, awkwardly taking her seat just in front of him.
"I read through your notes last night." Of course it was a lie and Quistis knew it, but she allowed him to allow just this once. She could see the suffering in his eyes and could hear the pain through his voice. Finding out the real truth about the painful past and seeing someone die right in front of you would drive anyone insane. The blond girl sat there, staring at him, contemplating whether they should go through this study or not. She could hear him talk, but she didn't hear anything genuine from his voice. He didn't mean it all. He was holding an expression that kept his real emotions inside. He was once again hiding behind his mask, refusing to let his tears come out. "Is there something on my face that you need to stare at it all the time?"
Quistis blinked. She has been staring at him for so long that she hadn't realized that he was talking to her now, his eyes examining hers with that same look of confusion. But underneath it that, she heard his cries. She heard his pain. 'Why do you let yourself suffer like this, Seifer?' she thought. "Um…there's nothing there. So, where were we?" She looked down at her opened math book, which wasn't even opened in the right page.
"Did you even hear a word I said?" Seifer asked, annoyed.
The blond girl nodded. "Yeah, I did."
"Then what did I say?" he folded his arms across his chest.
His face, his eyes, his heart.... Why was he hiding all this from her? Hadn't her words hit him as hard as she hoped it would? Didn't he understand it at all? "Uh…you said….you said…."
Seifer took a long deep breath and closed his eyes in irritation. He reached out for his math book and closed it. "Okay, clearly your head is in the clouds somewhere, so I can't study like this if you're like this…" He stood up and started to leave, when a loud noise stopped him on his tracks.
"STOP DOING THIS TO ME!" Quistis yelled, standing up.
The blond man turned to look at her, astonished. "What-?"
"THIS!" She placed a hand on her heart. "You're trying to confuse me! Why won't you tell me how you feel? Wasn't last night enough for you to tell me everything?!" Tears suddenly began to fill her eyes and fall down her cheeks. "Stop hiding from me!"
Seifer's face twisted into a look of dissatisfaction. "Why should I tell you everything!?" he spat, gripping his math book tighter around his right arm. "You have no right to tell me to stop hiding from you. I have every right to hide things from a girl who barely knows me!"
"Then I guess my efforts were all in vain!" Quistis growled, picking up her stuff from the table and hastily stuffing them in her backpack. She gave Seifer an expression of disgust as she took out the tickets from her jacket pocket and slammed them down on the table. "HERE! You go with someone else! Maybe it's best that we go with other people…" She looked away, hiding her sad face behind her golden hair. "I want to go the dance happy and not depressed because 'someone' doesn't want to share his feelings with me. I thought….I thought that….Last night…." Was she being hasty? Was she being unfair? Right now, she didn't care, as long as she left his sight for good! Maybe he wasn't ever going to open up to her. Maybe last night wasn't enough. Maybe she was wrong to ever….fall for him. She was tired of waiting. She was tired of asking him questions about his life, instead of him opening up to her.
Shocked, Seifer watched her walk pass him without giving him a second look. What did she mean all her efforts were in vain? They weren't in vain at all! She was working hard enough already to tutor him. "What the hell are you talking about!?" he yelled in the hallway.
Quistis did not look back, leaving Seifer to turn and stare at the tickets lying on the table with a hollow heart. Angrily, he walked to the table and picked up the tickets. Seifer looked at it one last time, before ripping it to shreds. Why was he wasting his time with this girl anyway? All she ever did was get mad at him for no reason at all! He didn't need anyone. Didn't WANT anyone, except… Seifer felt his heart skip a bit. Except….
Her…
GoodGurl: GAH! Another fight! Of course! :D I won't let you go guys get away THAT easily with a sudden kiss! We have to make them 'fight' first to make a good impression! *sigh* when will Seifer STOP yelling and losing his temper!? Was Quistis wrong to get mad at him? What happens now for this couple??? Stay tuned for the next chapter!