Author's note: Hey, um…I'm back from hibernation…Ugh, I just got a severe case of writer's block, and I was in an emotional transition in my life, well actually I just got out from the psycho ward…So sorry if this chapter is a bit messed up cause I'm working on a rush here. Well, as usual, thanks for the reviews hope I get more! ^_^

Legend: Words in italics, are obviously thoughts, or to softly emphasize, whatever that means…while words in bold, are to emphasize, or for any other obvious reason. ~*~*~ means transfer of character, obviously enough…

Warnings: If you want to read something that will stimulate your mind and enrich your vocabulary, or probably anything that a sane person would write, stay far away, I mean FAR AWAY, from my fics, for these fics can cause permanent brain damage and most likely insanity. Well…other warnings are: Shounen-ai / yaoi / a bit of angst / foul language / some MAJOR OOC / drugs / and some other stuff that might not be pleasant for children…if you don't like those stuff, I advise you to leave now. *No lemon in this chapter!!!*

Disclaimer: Do we even need this? I mean, if I owned Zell, Seifer and all the other ff8 characters, then I wouldn't need to write in fanfiction.net, I would also be writing my own book by now! Anyway, Squaresoft owns all those cool characters, not me, so don't sue me.

Chapter 5

At the hospital…

"Doc, is he… gonna be okay?"

"Why yes…for now…"

"What do you mean for now?"

"He still needs to stay here for a couple of more weeks"

"Oh…Okay…"

"Has he been under any kind of medication?"

"None that I know off…Hey, do you know anything about that?"

"…"

"Hello?! Earth to Seifer! You've been quiet since we got here!"

"Oh…sorry…I'm just worried…That's all…"

That's so sweet…I know they're right for each other! Only if Zell could snap out of this and everything will be perfect! He and Zell…holding hand in hand…It's so romantic! Speaking of romantic…haven't been talking to my beautiful girl back at Galbadia Garden… wonder how she's doing... Selphie! Concentrate! Zell's sick here!

"Selphie…You okay?"

"I'm fine, just spaced out a little… Nothing to be worried about!"

~*~*~

"We don't know if he's been taking any kind of medication, why doc? Is there a problem?"

"Well…uh, how do I say this, we ran a blood test and we found lots of various chemicals and even a large amount of Diazepam in his blood, or in laymen's terms, he's been taking Valium on a daily basis."

"WH…what?! Valium?! How can that be?!"

"So that's why he's been acting strange lately…"

"I told him he had a problem!"

"…"

"I can't believe it! Zell's into drugs?! No way!"

"…"

"Ehem…Excuse me, but I still have to look at a few more patients."

"Thanks doc. Hey Selph, when do you think this started?"

"I don't know…The doctor said there were tons of 'em in his blood…probably a long time ago."

"…"

"Seifer, aren't you gonna say anything?!"

"…"

"Fine! Be that way! I can't believe after all you've been through you're just gonna sit there!"

"Sorry…I'm going out for awhile…"

***

"Do you think Seifer's gonna be ok?"

"Of course, Seifer's not the type of person who would do something irrational over a thing like this"

"Well, ya… I guess…"

"I don't think it's the proper time to bring this up, but how about our mission? We still have to give Squall the report…"

"Squall… I think we should tell him… He might be worried."

"You're right…but why don't we make it easier for ourselves and tell Quistis to inform him instead!"

"That's a great idea, but who's gonna enlighten her with our ordeal?"

"You are! You are her boyfriend after all."

"Why me?! …That's so unfair…"

"You talk to her and I go check on the victims! Ok!"

"If Quistis gets mad at me and I don't get laid for a couple of weeks… it's gonna be all your fault!"

"Not my problem! There's a payphone in the hospital lobby and remember to break it to her gently!"

"Sure…"

*walks with head down towards the lobby while muttering a chain of curses too obscene for younger readers*

~*~*~

Valium? Has he lost his mind?! He knows better than to take those kinds of drugs! Well, maybe the Zell with the mother does but I don't know about the one who bar hops every night… Damn! What's wrong Zell? Why won't you tell anyone? I'm here to help you, Selphie can see that, why can't you? I am here for you, no matter what...

The cold breeze blew into my face sending shivers down my spine. The moon was glowing in all its radiance, when something came crawling back into my mind. Something I thought was already buried within my collection of neglected memories. The promise…

*Flashback*

It was almost like any other night. The moon was full, the wind blew coldly against my skin, the waves gently rolled across the shore and the distinct smell of the ocean plagued our senses, it's what you'd expect from a house near the sea. And that's when we made it. I can't believe I still remember that promise…It was one of the very few times we breathed in the same space without the urge to rip each other's face off. Surprising isn't it, you're thinking of something when suddenly an episode of your life which you already thought you would've forgotten starts coming back and it's in full detail. Details, which include the way his features had looked that night. The expression on his face…so evident and full of meaning for a boy his age. It was all so breathtaking.

*End of Flashback*

My nostalgia came to a halt when I felt a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"You okay?"

*sigh*

"I'm gonna be a complete liar if I told you that I know how you feel just to make to you better, so I'm gonna scrap that part out and tell you that's it's gonna be alright instead. Since, I'm pretty sure about that one."

"Thanks Selphie."

"No problem, after all I am the official moral booster around here...Soooo… are you gonna tell me what's wrong or do I have to squeeze it out of you?"

"It's nothing, don't worry, it's Zell who needs help, not me."

"Do I look like an idiot to you? Wait, don't answer that!"

"…it's just that…I don't understand why he's doing this…"

"So do we…Let's just pray that whatever phase he's going through, he gets over it soon."

~*~*~

"WHAT?!"

With that word all the people in the lobby had their heads turned on an embarrassed-looking cowboy who was trying his best to calm down the person on the other line.

"They said he'd be alright for now, he just needs to stay here for a couple of more weeks."

"I send you on a simple mission and you tell me that Zell is in the hospital?! Tell me what exactly happened, NOW!"

"Well…uh… you see, darlin' Zell's been taking stuff…"

"What kind of stuff? Can't you just spit it out already?"

"There's no easy way to tell you this but…Zell's been taking drugs… Valium to be exact…and the doc-"

*loud thump*

"Quisty? You still there? Hello? Don't go unconscious on me now! Hello?"

"…"

~*~*~

Amidst to everyone's knowledge, the very person they are all worried sick about is waking up from his slumber. And is now contemplating the very reason he is present in this healing facility. Slowly rising from his bed the said man is now feeling the after affects of taking prohibited medicine and is now expressing his discomfort by using terminology that can perplex even the most knowing people.

"Shit! What the hell is fucking wrong with my damned head?! I feel like my head's gonna explode!"

As Zell realizes that no one is in attendance to hear his justifiable protests, he ponders on something else better to do. After a few minutes of pondering, he results to the most appealing thought in his head, and that is to go out of his room and look for the others. Just as he was about to do the said thing, a frustrated looking cowboy suddenly enters the scene.

*mumbles incoherently a string of curses*

"I…Ir…Irvine?" Zell manages to say softly, ignoring the pain in his head as he speaks.

*mumbling*

"Irvine." He said more sternly.

*still mumbling*

"IRVINE!"

"WHAT?" The articulate cowboy still managed an annoyed expression which made Zell more infuriated than he already was.

"I've said your name more times than I should've and now you're looking at me as if I'm the most annoying creature on the planet!"

"Oh… sorry."

"Yeah… sure…Well, anyway, what the hell am I doing here? And what the fuck is wrong with my head?! I feel like I've been hit by a Marlboro and Ruby Dragon's Breath and at the same time been grilled by Hexadragons!"

"Well, duh, of course, what did you expect? You'd feel fine and dandy?"

"What? Whatcha talking about?"

"Come on Zell, the doctor told us already."

"Told you what?!"

"We know Zell…we know you're taking drugs."

Author's note: Gosh, this chapter sure took long even though it's so freaking short. And I reread the whole story… I realized how terribly OOC the characters are. And for the spelling and grammar junkies, I intended some of the spelling errors, like typing 'talkin' instead of 'talking', etc. just trying to get them 'in character' or whatever. Oh yeah… sorry for the cliffhangers too…mwahahaha!