By Ddoskocil
"Blank! Get up!" The pounding begins. I moan, roll over, and pull the blanket over my head. The pounding doesn't stop. It only gets louder and more insistent.
"Go away, Zidane," I mumble out barely loud enough for him to hear. He doesn't stop banging on my locked door.
"Open up, Blank! I've gotta talk to you."
I sit up, letting the blanket pile around my hips. "Is this important Zidane? What time is it?"
"Six," he answers more quite.
"At night!" I scream as I jump out of bed, rushing to dress.
"In the morning," he answers, again in that quick, sheepish voice. I growl and flop back into bed, pulling the covers over my head once more. "Go away!" I yell as I try to go back to sleep. I hear his sigh then his footsteps as he walks away.
I lay there for several minutes, tossing and turning and cursing at Zidane for waking me two hours after I went to sleep. Finally I sigh, throw the blanket back and get out of bed. I slowly dress, not wanting to be up yet. I curse Zidane one more time as I unlock and open the door. Zidane is leaning against the side of the door as I walk out.
"Sorry about waking you up," he says. I scowl and walk past, heading toward the kitchen. There is a fresh pot of coffee on the stove. I make a cup and sit down. Zidane sits across from me, his hands folded in his lap, his leg moving up and down in quick motions.
"What?" I finally growl.
"Are you mad at me?" he mumbles out pitifully, his head down, his hair covering his eyes. I sigh.
"No, I'm not mad at you. What did you want to tell me about?" I ask. He perks up, his eyes shining.
"You should have gone to the party last night. It was great."
"What happen?" I ask, my smile blocked by my hand.
"I met this girl that I helped out once. We had a great time. She was beautiful and smart and funny. I couldn't believe I met her again after all these years. I wouldn't have recognized her if they hadn't announced her, but I think she remembered me. I wish you could have met-have you always done that?" he asks mid-sentence. I'm taken off guard by the question.
"Done what?"
"Play with your ear like that? Have you always done that?"
I think about it for a second. "I guess I have. Why?"
"Oh...no reasons. Just reminded me of someone. Anyway, this girl, we danced for hours. We didn't stop until the end of the night, and even then, I think we both wanted to keep going. We talked about everything that we have done over years. She became acquainted with this countess, who she's been working for-are your ears pierced?"
I look at him, stunned. "What?" I breathe out.
"Your ears, they look like their pierced. They have little holes in them."
"Oh..." I tug on my ears, thinking of an excuse. "They've always been like that. It's just freckles. Now tell me more about Nekel."
"Well we-what did you say?"
"I said tell me more about..." I stop, panicked as I realize my mistake. "About this girl."
"You said 'Nekel.' I never told you her name." He crosses his arm and stares at me.
"I guess I heard it from one of the other guys," I say absently as I stand to leave.
"I didn't tell anyone else."
"Oh well, I guess I heard it somewhere else." I start walking away.
"You went to the party anyway, didn't you?" he says as he stands, hands on hip, fire in his eyes. "You lied to me because you didn't want to go with me, huh?"
"I...um...Zidane...Yes, I went to the party last night," I finally admit , my mind quickly coming up with a story to tell him. "I went to find you, because...I changed my mind about not going. But I saw you dancing with this girl, and...um...I asked about her. That's how I knew who she was," I stammer out, knowing he's not going to believe me. I wouldn't believe it.
"Oh," is his only comment. "I guess I was just glad to see Nekel I wasn't paying attention to anything else." He pauses for a moment. "I want to see her again, Blank. I made her a promise that I would come back to her."
I remember the promise, but another memory also comes to me; one made long ago when I was a young girl being put on a boat by a young boy. He promised me then that he would come for me, that he would find me one day, but he never did. My blood starts to boil and I clench my fists.
"Didn't you once pro-" I stop myself. Blank would not know of the promise, and I have already messed up too many times this morning.
"What?" he asks.
"Didn't you say you knew her from before?" I ask instead. He gives me an odd look, knowing I wanted to say something else, but he answers my question anyway.
"Yeah, I helped her escape from this guy, he was a Count or something, who was hurting her. He found out what I did and had me imprisoned. I escaped, but I couldn't risk trying to find her. I wanted to." I listened to him, hearing every word, but not truly believing what he had to say. He wanted to look for me, but something kept him from doing it. Then, a light came on and I understood they were chasing him like they were chasing me.
"I never knew. All this time and I thought you had forgotten me..." I whisper.
"What? What do you mean, Blank?" He looks at me, his face filled with confusion. Then he fills in all the gasps, all the small things that I have done over the years that have reminded him of someone else.
"Blank?"
"Hey, guys, the boss wants to see both of you in the rehearsal room," one of the other guys says as he pokes his head through the doorway. I can hear him mumble something about hating it when people fight as he walks away.
I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I will them to stop and close my eyes, hoping Zidane won't notice. He starts to say something, but stops after the first sound leaves his mouth. Then he sighs and turns, walking out of the room. I dry my eyes and go to the sink to splash some water on them, but I'm sure they are red.
"Everyone is waiting for you," I hear Zidane say. I turn but he is gone. I take a deep breath and go to the rehearsal room.
The boss is standing in the back of the room, looking over the script for a new play. Before he starts he puts it down and says, "Some Countess is looking for this girl named Nekel." My heart starts to pump faster. "I thought one of you might know something about her."
"You don't know," Zidane asks. He looks at me. My heart falls into my stomach. He knows who I am now and he could tell everyone. He could tell my secret to these men. I look back at him, pleading that he not, almost begging with eyes that he keep my secret at least until we can talk.
"Know what?" Zidane keeps his gaze on me for a second more before turning to the boss.
"Nekel and I were friends when we were younger. I saw her at the party, but I don't know where she went. I don't even know where she is staying." he answers, his gaze steady on the boss. The boss nods and continues looking at the script.
"We start rehearsal tomorrow. Don't forget your scripts," he says as he points to a stack near me. I grab one and quickly leave. I run to my room, but before I can slam and lock the door, Zidane is there.
"Nekel?" he asks as he holds the door open. I try to shut it on him, but he holds it open. Once again the tears well up in my eyes. I let the door go and sink down onto the floor.
"You're Nekel? For these years you've only been pretending to be Blank, but you're Nekel."
"Yes, I'm Nekel. I'm the girl you rescued all those years ago. I thought you forgot about me, and the Count was after me, so I hid. I didn't know I would find you," I sob.
"He doesn't know."
"Of course not. I never planned on letting you know." I look up at him.
"Yeah," he says as he looks at the floor. He kicks at the dust, anything to avoid my gaze.
"I'll leave. I can go find Countess Je'Laquetta. She already thinks that I lost my luggage and clothes so I'm sure that she'll help me out. It wouldn't be so bad. I could live with her, have a normal life." The tears are dry, but I feel sick to my stomach.
"Go see this countess," I put my head in my hands, ready to cry hot tears anew, "and tell her that you found your best friend and are staying with him indefinitely."
My head snaps up. "Zidane..." He nods. I smile and scramble to my feet to hug him. "You mean you're not going to tell any one?"
"That's what I mean. But, -" he looks lost at what to call me, so I interject "Blank."
"Blank, you're my best friend. I mean...wellI like you as Nekel and all, but..."
"Zidane, it's okay. I'll always be your best friend. And...I've already made a promise about Nekel. This is my life now, and now I think I can live with it."
Disclaimer: Blank, Zidane, and any other Final Fantasy IX characters are copyrighted by Squaresoft since July 2000. All copyrighted material used here without permission for non-profit uses. If copyright holders wish any thing removed, please e-mail me and it shall be done.. This story, it's ideas and Nekel are copyrighted 10/02 by DDoskocil .