Chapter 1

Two large ocean blue eyes looked over the side of the wooden table, following ever movement the young woman made in the kitchen. After a while the large eyes closed and you could hear a soft sigh coming from the blonde boy who had been watching Matron.

Matron turned around, noticing the small child for the first time since she had started with lunch. "Zell, why aren't you outside?"

Zell opened his eyes again, tears filling them. He sniffled and bit his lip. "Seifer is mad at me...he says I'm a annoying brat!" He started crying, looking up at Matron. "I'm not, am I?" He asked, hoping Matron would tell him he wasn't and would comfort him.

Matron shook her head. "Of course not Zell, you are my little angel." The woman smiled at him and turned around again. "Go tell Seifer I want him to play nice."

The blonde boy nodded, his tears all ready forgotting but leaving the boy with flushed cheeks and dried tears on his face. "Ok Matron." He told her and ran out of the small house, in search of Seifer.

"Shut up Selphie!" Seifer yelled, pulling at the girl's hair.

The girl tried to kick him, looking around. "Help me Squall!" She tried, looking at the boy who was sitting in the sand, making a castle. For a moment she saw the icey blue eyes look up at her but they quickly went back to the castle and she cried in defeat. "Seifer you are hurting me! I'm telling Matron!"

Seifer let her go when he felt someone push him. When he turned around he saw the small boy who had ran to Matron, crying, earlier. He smirked, crossing his arms, all ready forgotten about Selphie. "So you are ready to cry some more? Cry baby."

"I'm not a cry baby, and Matron says you have to play nice." He said, looking up at the taller boy.

Seifer started laughing. After a few minutes he stopped laughing. Completly silent he looked at Zell. He quickly grabbed the smaller blonde and started to walk towards the water.

Zell started to scream. "No Seifer! Not the sea!"

Seifer started laughing again, feeling Zell's small fist pounding on his back while he was pushed over Seifer's shoulder. "Don't be such a cry baby Zell." He said, feeling the cold water reach his ankles. He walked a little further so Zell would end up completly in the water but would just be able to stand.

"Seifer no!" Zell tried again, crying silently.

The other blonde just laughed and threw Zell in the water. He could hear soft yells from the beach, telling him to get Zell out. He turned and started to leave the water when he heard Selphie sob: "Zell can't swim!" He turned around again, seeing the boy.

Zell was trying to swim, but with every move he made he started to go backwards and into the sea. He cried, going under. When he was up again his vision was blurred. "Please!" He cried. He heard Seifer's voice telling him he could stand but when he tried to place his feet on the ground he couldn't and went under again.

Seifer cursed started to swim towards Zell. "Zell?" He tried, looking around. Then Zell got up, gasping for air. He started to swim towards Zell who has all ready gone under again. He followed Zell, trying to keep his eyes open and not think about the dull sting in his eyes from the salt water. He was relieved when he felt something against his hand, he started to pull at it and knew it was Zell's hair.

Selphie bit her lip, waiting for the two of them to come up. She heard Matron's voice behind her. "What happened?" Matron asked, running into the water. Selphie saw the two blondes coming up and sighed in relief. "Seifer, Zell!" She felt a hand cover her own and looked up to see Quistis beside her, tears trailing down her cheeks.

Matron grabbed Zell quickly, getting back to the beach. Seifer walked after the two, shivering from both the cold water and the relief of finding Zell. He hadn't want this to happen, when he first thrown Zell in the water he was sure they boy could've stood up and walked back to the beach. He would've never guessed that Zell had gotten himself further in the water and almost drowing.

Matron looked at the small boy lying on the beach, he had his eyes open but he was just blinking. His lips were turning blue, and he was shivering. She turned to look at Seifer. "Get out of my sight, you little..." She shook her head. "Just get out of my sight."

Seifer looked at the small boy, lying shivering on the sand before running away, tears in his eyes.

Matron doesn't talk to me, Selphie and the other's try to avoid me, Squall does nothing...as usual and Zell... Seifer turned around in his bed, lying on his stomach. Zell does nothing...he acts like nothing happend.

"Seifer?"

The blonde closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"Seifer you need to eat, Matron asked me to bring it to you." Zell tried, walking over to the bed. He looked at Seifer's back and placed the glass and plate on the bedside table. "I'm not mad at you Seifer." Zell smiled, placing his hand on Seifer's back.

Seifer pushed him away, making Zell fall on his back, his head against Squall's bed. Seifer shot up, looking at the boy who was rubbing the back of his head. "Leave me alone!" Seifer yelled.

Zell pouted, his bottom lip stucking out. "B-but Seifer..."

The blonde glared at him. "I said, leave me alone, I don't want to deal with little pests like you!" Seifer turned, lying back down on his bed so he didn't have to see Zell's face.

Zell sniffled, trying not to cry because he knew Seifer hated it when he cried. "But-"

"Shut up Zell!"

The blonde boy got up, nodding. "You are just like Squall, I hate both of you." Zell said, stucking out his tongue. He left, slamming the door behind himself.

Seifer sighed, closing his eyes. "I told you not to like me, it's your own fault..."

Zell sighed, looking at his drawing. "Matron, do you think Seifer hates us?"

Matron turned around, looking at the children who had been drawing silently. "No Zell of course not, he just doesn't know how to make friends. And because he doesn't know how to, he tried not to make friends, do you understand?"

Zell shook his head but Quistis nodded. "It's pretty simple." Quistis decided, looking up at Matron. "He doesn't how to act because he never had friends, now he just pushes everyone away."

Matron nodded.

The blonde boy leaned his chin upon the table. "How can we make him want friends?" Zell asked softly.

Selphie grinned, bouncing in her seat. "I know, we could give him kisses!"

Matron laughed softly. "I don't think that will work Selphie." She looked at Zell and smiled. "But we could try all kinds of little plans to get him to make friends, if you guys want to of course?"

Irvine looked at the boy sitting next to him and pulled at Matron's sleeve. "What about Squall?"

All of them looked at the child who was still drawing happily. He looked up for a second, looking at everyone before shrugging and returning to his drawing.

Matron couldn't help but smile, her eyes rested on Zell's drawing and crossed her arms in amusement. Zell was drawing himself and next to him was a slightly larger blonde with badly drawn big green eyes.

Author's note: Please review

Discl.: Final Fantasy VIII doesn't belong to me

Warnings: Yaoi

Pairings: Seifer/Zell