Author's note: Ahaaa! Look Koo! I've got reviews!! Woohooo! [Hugs Koo]

Koo: ¬.¬ [takes out knife] Touch me and I'll put this knife right through your repulsively sickening heart.

--"... [turns to her reviewers] Waahhahaha!! [I'm pathetic, I know.] Sniff...sniff I love you guys! :D I'm so, so very sorry that I took so long. [I was banned from using the computer.] Well...Here's da next chappie!!

Random quote: Hey, let me touch that red...bonbon lookin' thing on your head...ZZzzz... - Baku, sleep-talking

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9.

Chapter 2- A piece of moldy cheese

Mallory

Cure- Restores over 300 HP for single or multiple targets......Life- Recovers character from KO and restores some HP......Shell- Reduces damage from magic attacks

THUMP!

The redhead flinched at the sound of the thump. Mallory stifled a growl and buried herself under the immense pile of worksheets, hoping to drown out the endless poundings. Taking a deep breath, she told herself to calm down.

Protect- Reduces damage from physical attacks......Mini- Shrinks and lowers defense and attack power

THUMP!

Argh! Forget it! I can't concentrate!

Flinging her purple ballpoint pen to one side, Mal slammed her book shut. How is she ever going to ace her test when her totally selfish and ignorant friend was making such a ruckus?!?!

"Garnettttt! I know you're angry but can you please stop hitting the table! I would love to get out of my chair and stab every inch of your body using my pen, but, unfortunately, my pen was tossed out of the window and is now probably resting happily on a white blanket of snow. It would take an extreme amount of effort to retrieve it. However, if you still insist on doing that ever-so infuriating thumping of yours, I would have to resort to killing you with my bare hands. And that, trust me Dearie, will not be a pleasant sight."

That felt good, thought Mallory cheerily to herself. An involuntary smile of triumph crept to her face as she pondered whether she should do this more often. She rummaged through her drawer, in search of a pen when a pang of guilt hit her. Maybe she should apologize...

Mal turned to look at her russet-eyed friend. She expected to see an annoyed 16-year-old lass glowering heatedly at her. To her utmost surprise, Garnet was sitting on a leather armchair, staring blankly at the huge portrait of their headmistress, which was hung on the dormitory wall. The brunette didn't seem to have heard a word she said.

"Uhm...Garnet?" coughed Mallory, trying to get her attention.

Silence.

Mal frowned. Raising her voice a notch louder, she called out to her possibly deaf friend.

"Garnet!"

Again, silence.

She was going to shout out once more, when all of a sudden, Garnet leapt out of the chair. She bounced around the spacious room, shouting elatedly, "I got it! I got it!" Mal knew that studies came first but she realized that when your friend is acting like she's possessed, that meant that revising for the exams could wait.

Walking steadily to the mentally unstable teen, Mallory noticed a vast number of students with their mouth wide-opened, gawking at Garnet's eccentric behavior. She grabbed Garnet by the wrist, clamped her free hand over Garnet's mouth and dragged the girl up the stairs, to their shared bedroom. Mal closed the door behind and took a seat next to Garnet who was sitting cross-legged on Julie's bed. "Explain yourself," demanded Mal.

Before Garnet could utter even a single word, the wooden oak door flew open. Julie was clutching onto the doorframe, panting, while Beatrix just stood there looking completely bewildered.

"Garnet! Oh my god! Are you okay?! As soon as I heard that you were behaving like a raving lunatic, I rushed to the dorm and witnessed the whole thing! I was like 'Oh my god! Oooh my Goddd!'. That Tantalus played a prank on you again! Am I right? I must be right! They must have drugged you or got you drunk-"

Beatrix kicked Julie's leg in an attempt to shut her up. Bad move. Julie gasped. Clasping her injured leg, she began to shriek shrilly in pain.

Mal squeezed her eyes shut. Although, Juliet was blessed with good looks and wealth, Mallory had never loathed her. Julie was so sweet and generous that Mal couldn't bring herself to hate the blonde. Julie would be the first one to volunteer to help Garnet in her plans to save the koalas. But sometimes, just sometimes, Julie would get way too annoying. And that sometimes, is now.

"Juliet Peterson! Stop shrieking and for god's sake, keep your mouth shut! Don't talk until you're told to do so! Ah! No buts! Now sit there and behave yourself!" cried Mal, looking dangerously livid. The blonde instantly went silent.

Mallory smiled.

Peace at last...

A yell of joy escaped Garnet's mouth. The girl was unable to contain her joy any longer. Her chestnut-brown eyes were filled with excitement. Mallory spotted a flash of slyness amongst the clouds of sheer exhilaration. She wondered what Garnet was up to.

"I've got a plan!"

Beatrix arched a brow. "What plan?"

Mallory massaged her temples. If this was another one of Garnet's plan to save the koalas, she had a feeling that her head would explode.

"A plan to get back at those worthless, good-for-nothing, silly-"

"We get the idea, Garnet. You can stop now," moaned Mal, wearily.

Garnet blinked before she continued. "-absolutely brainless scums of Tantalus," gushed Garnet with extreme determination.

Mallory's ears perked up. Everyone turned to face Garnet. They exchanged thrilled glances and huddled around each other to hear the plan.

Beatrix squealed, delighted and embraced Garnet.

"Am I allowed to speak now?" murmured Julie grumpily.

Watch out Tantalus, here we come.

Garnet

A cold gust of wind blew by, caressing my hair. I dug my hands in my pockets, trying to gain warmth. Kicking the heap of snow under the gigantic apple tree, I was hoping to find Mallory's purple pen but only succeeded in tripping myself and falling face-first into the snow.

Why am I here again? Ah...Yes. How could I forget? Mallory's pen.

I sighed. Why did I have to be so nice? Mallory said it was alright but I insisted on retrieving her pen for her. I clenched my fists. It's been over an hour and the lost pen still hasn't been found!

"Where are you, Mr. Pen?! Please come back! Come back! Come back, you moldy piece of cheese!" I cried, mostly to myself. I strained my ears to pick out any sound given by the pen. I could even imagine it shrieking for help in a shrill, piercing voice. I was desperate!

"I've been called many things in life, but never a moldy piece of cheese," chuckled a soft voice.

I hastily looked up. A tall silver-haired teenager was looming over me. He looked rather amused with a lazy smile traced on his lips. He held out his hand to help me up to my feet. Oh no! He thought I was talking about him! Him? A piece of moldy cheese?! No-no! Never! When I didn't respond, he shifted his feet uncomfortably and placed his hand back at his side. I sat up hurriedly. My face was flushed.

"Oh! No, Mister! You misunderstood! I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to a uh..a..uh..a tree! Yes! Tree! You're much to cute to be a moldy cheese!" I stammered, fiddling with my coat button.

Oh my god! Much to cute? A tree?! What am I saying?!

I could have slapped myself.........I did. He flopped down next to me, arching a brow looking puzzled. I must have looked like an idiot. He glanced at the tree.

"It can talk?" he asked.

It was my turn to look confused. "A tree? Talk?"

He shifted his penetrating cerulean-blue gaze back to me. "You said that you were talking to the tree. Remember?"

My cheeks turned a thousand times redder. I choked out a laugh, faced the apple tree and started talking to it casually as though it was the most normal thing to do. He thinks I'm an insane person. Lucky thing that jackass, Zidane isn't here. He would probably be taking pictures and snicker at my stupidity. Whatever happened to our friendship? I grabbed onto the nearest thing within my reach (which was a pebble) and threw it into the frozen lake. The pebble skidded on the icy surface.

A reassuring hand squeezed my shoulders, giving me comfort. It was the boy. He looked worried.

"Are you okay, Garnet?"

I nodded, then, frowned. How did he know my name? I didn't recall telling him that.

He smiled when he saw my perplexed face. "You're popular. Everyone knows your name," he replied. There was truth in his words but his eyes told me that there was something more to it.

"My name's Kuja."

Kuja?....Hmm...What a nice name. It suits him. Mysterious, charming, appealing. I stood up and brushed away the dirt from my coat. I was supposed to be looking for the pen but here I was sitting with Kuja, chatting away merrily. I told Kuja that I had to look for a pen and he offered to help. I stared Kuja. I like that name...Kuja. It has a sort of exotic feel to it. Hmm...Kuja.

Zidane

Unknown to the two, a blonde was watching them intently from his bedroom window. Zidane pressed himself against the glass window, struggling not to lose sight of Garnet and Kuja.

Left...Right...Behind the tree...

FLASH!

"AAAAHHH!"

A brilliant bright light blinded him. Swishing his tail frenetically, Zidane buried his face into his gloved hands. His vision soon cleared and he caught sight of a figure sitting at his side. The figure was shaking him violently, yelling "Are you alright, Ziddy?! Ziddy?!"

"Really, William, I'm just fine. Do shake me harder. I don't mind getting myself killed," retorted Zidane, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

William stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm...That doesn't sound like you. Aha! You must be delusional! Poor Ziddy! Let me shake some sense into you!" With that, the dark-haired boy started shaking him again.

"Stop doing that, you bisexual fre-"

William hurriedly shoved a piece of paper into Zidane's mouth, muffling his voice. His silvery-gray eyes glistened with panic. Grabbing his new camera, (which he named, 'WCF' a.k.a William's camera full-stop) he surged out of the bedroom. Zidane was quite unwilling to have a bisexual roommate at the beginning. But as time passed, Zidane discovered that William is a great friend...if you put gay bit aside.

The door creaked open. A pair of frosty gray orbs was staring eagerly at him. "Uhm...Ziddy? Don't tell anyone else okay?" William pleaded in a hushed whisper. The raven-haired's only respond, was a flying paper ball which came zooming towards him. Squeaking in fright, William hastily closed the door.

Zidane peered through the curtains. Garnet and Kuja were gone. They looked so happy together. They would be 'The perfect couple' as some would say. An annoying feeling was tugging his heart. The blonde just wished it would stop. Did it hurt when he saw the two of them together? Frankly, he didn't know. He couldn't describe it. His throat was clogged up and he couldn't breathe. His eyes were watery and his heart wrenched each time he saw Garnet flash a smile at Kuja.

He stared at the ceiling, trying to untangle this intangible quandary. It could be jealousy...or it could just be the cracker he choked on when he saw them. Garnets never smiled at him anymore much less have a decent conversation. Did he miss her? He quickly erased the thoughts from his mind. Zidane didn't want to think about it. He wasn't jealous...Was he?

A/N: Was it short? Lol. I was trying to squeeze in Garnets' revenge somewhere but it juz wouldn't work...So look out for Garnet's revenge on da nxt chappie!Oh yeah! If u've got any good pranks or ideas juz send it to me through email or notify me via your review. :D Dun 4get to review ppl!!