Chapter 3
Amy awoke from her sleep to someone knocking on the door of her dorm.
"Amy?" It was Zell. She had promised him that she would go to the city of Balamb with him. He was going to visit his mother, and he had wanted her to go with him so Amy could meet her. Amy had forgotten to set her alarm clock the night before because she had been so tired from training with Seifer that day. She looked over at the clock, and began to panic more than she already had been. She was supposed to have been ready 10 minutes ago!
"Amy?" Zell called again, "Are you ready?"
"Hold on!" Amy said quickly, already scrambling into her cloths. She wore a royal blue shirt, jean shorts, and a trench-type overcoat that was black with read lining. She simply combed through her hair, not bothering to put it up, and quickly rushed to finish everything else she needed to do to get ready. She slung the small pack she had prepared the night before onto her shoulders, and, now out of breath, opened the door. She ran straight into Zell, and would have fallen backward, if he hadn't caught her.
As he caught her, Zell hugged Amy and said softly, "Are you alright?"
"Umm…Yes…I'm fine…" Amy muttered in reply.
"Okay then," Zell said, "are we ready to go?"
"Yep!" Amy said happily, "Let's hit the road!"
Zell followed Amy as she skipped down the halls of Balamb Garden, headed for the front gate.
"Ma, I'm home!" Zell called as he and Amy walked into his home.
"Oh! Hello Zell," his mother replied, walking out of an inner room. "Is this your friend?" she asked, motioning at Amy.
"This is Amy," he said, lightly pushing Amy towards his mother.
Amy was a bit nervous, but muttered, "H-hello Ms. Dincht; pleased to meet you." She extended a hand in greeting.
"Zell! You didn't tell me that you had such nice friends!" Ms. Dincht said as she shook Amy's hand. She then looked down at Amy and said, "You're always welcome here, dear." Amy couldn't help but smile and nod as she said, "Thank you."
"C'mon Amy!" Zell said, suddenly extremely happy, "I wanna show you something sacred."
Amy giggled slightly and followed Zell upstairs.
When they got to a room, Zell spread his arms and said proudly, "This is my room!"
Amy had to laugh. He had called his room sacred.
Zell took a step toward Amy and put one arm around her. "I don't allow many people to see my room," he told her, "…Unless the need to…or…that person is special." He gently held her tighter, pulling her slightly closer to him.
Amy melted into Zell's side and arm. Zell had just called her…special. She couldn't believe it. She didn't know of anything special about her.
"Thank you…" she whispered to Zell after a pause, "but…I don't understand how I am special. There is nothing special about me…"
"Amy…" Zell whispered back, putting both of his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Amy," he whispered again, "You are special to me in so many ways; too many to count."
Amy buried her face in Zell's chest, on the verge of tears, and hugged him back.
"Zell!" It was Zell's mother. "Zell! Come back down here please! I need to know what to fix for dinner!"
"Alright Ma!" Zell called back, then looked to Amy. "C'mon," he said, and turned around to go down the stairs. Amy followed.
"Zell, what would you like me to fix you and Amy for dinner?" Zell's mother asked when they had reached the bottom of the stairs.
Zell turned to Amy and asked, " How hungry are you tonight?"
"Well…I was going to go back to Garden in a while…" she replied.
"You're welcome to stay for the night," Ms. Dincht said, " There's an extra room upstairs."
"Oh!" Amy said, surprised. "I couldn't possibly--!"
"I would like that," Zell interrupted.
Amy sighed, but said, " Okay…But, just so you know, I'm not hungry at all."
"Then it's decided!" Zell said with a smile, "Hey Amy, could you go wait upstairs for me?"
"Alright…" Amy agreed and walked upstairs to Zell's room to wait.
Zell waited for Amy to disappear up the stairs to speak. "Hey Ma," he said, turning back to his mother, "Do you think that I could take Amy to the little coffee shop for dinner tonight? She said that she wasn't hungry after all."
"The Balamb Café? Sure. Here's some gill," Ms. Dincht replied as she handed Zell some money.
Zell's eyes lit up. "Thanks Ma!" he said, hugging his mother.
"Go on and have a good time," Ms. Dincht said.
Zell nodded quickly with a smile and ran up the stairs.
Amy was sitting on his bed when Zell walked into his room. She looked up form the daze she had been in, and still had glazy eyes. Zell's face changed form happy to worried. "What's wrong?" he asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he sat beside her.
"Oh! N-nothing!" Amy said, quickly looking at Zell with a smile. Zell could tell that the smile was fake, but sighed and smiled back, standing up. He took Amy's hand and said, "Come on. I'll show you your room."
Amy nodded and allowed Zell to lead her to a room across from his.
"Well…this is it," Zell said. "I'm guessing you didn't bring any extra cloths since you were planning on leaving?"
"No…" Amy said, "I didn't."
"Okay. Get settled here and I'll be right back," Zell told Amy, and left the room.
A few minutes later, Zell returned with a bundle under his arm.
"Ma told me to give you this," Zell said, and threw the bundle to Amy. She unfolded the bundle to see that it was a long, white gown. Its design signified that it was to sleep in. It was made of a silky material, and barely had any sleeves.
"When you go to sleep, you can wear that," Zell said, "Ma said to tell you to give her you cloths when you change so that she can wash them for tomorrow."
"Alright…" Amy replied, and lay the gown down on the bed.
"Amy?" Zell whispered.
"Yeah?" Amy said quickly, surprised that Zell had spoken so quietly and suddenly.
"I was just wondering…" Zell said, looking off to the side at the floor, "Would you…umm…happen to want to go to the Balamb Café with me?"
"I would love it Zell!" Amy said, grabbing her pack, tossing it onto one shoulder, and latching onto Zell's arm.
Zell smiled softly and, using Amy's position to his advantage, put his other arm around her, holding her close. He moved his hand to the back of her head, and bired his face in the top of her hair.
After a few seconds, Zell backed away and said, "Alright…Let's go." Amy smiled and nodded, then followed Zell down the stairs. As they headed out the door, Zell called, "Ma! We're leaving!" There was a quick reply of, "Alright! Have a nice time!" before they left. Zell shut the door behind him, and walked alongside Amy until they came to Balamb Café. It was a small coffee shop that also served small desserts. You could also get sandwiches and salads.
Amy and Zell entered the coffee shop and sat down at the bar. "I think I'll just get some hot chocolate," Amy said, "I'm really not hungry at all."
"Neither am I," Zell said.
Soon the bar tend came by to take their orders.
"Two cups of hot chocolate and a small plate of cookies," Zell said.
"Coming right up!" the man replied and began to fix the order.
"Amy…" Zell said, turning on his stool to face Amy.
"Yes?" Amy said, not fully turning to face Zell, but looking to him. Zell reached out and took Amy's hands, which had been resting on the bar, in his. "Amy…" He whispered again, "I think today I realized that…that I…that I really love you."
Amy was surprised by the sudden confession. "You…you……what?" she said, speechless.
"I love you…" Zell repeated, softly rubbing Amy's hands with his fingers.
Amy blushed softly and couldn't help but smile at Zell as he looked down at her hands.
"Zell…" Amy whispered, "…I love you too…more than you know."
"I think I do know," Zell whispered back, and leaned forward, hugging Amy.
"Order's ready!" the bar tend said, placing two cups and a plate of small cookies in front of Zell and Amy.
Amy and Zell paused for a moment, silent, staring at the plate of cookies and the two cups sitting on the counter. Then, suddenly, Amy started giggling. Zell laughed slightly at her. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing; nothing," Amy replied, continuing to laugh.
"Okay…" Zell said sarcastically as he took a sip out of his cup. Once Amy stopped laughing, she drank her hot chocolate and ate a few cookies, waiting for Zell to finish.
When they were done, they walked hand-in-hand back to Zell's house.
To my reviewers: Thank you for being patient with me!!! I finally got the time to work this fic without having writer's block! yay! lol
Btw, the library girl that the fic is based off of is the one that studders when talking to Zell. If you go into the library and talk to her with Zell in your party, she will talk to him while studdering. She is also the same library girl that posted on Balamb Garden's message board. She used the s/n: Librarian. Zell used the s/n: Z.D.
