The next morning, Seifer woke up to rain. The hard drops hit his window with a tap that was just loud enough to catch Seifer's ears. It was a Friday, which meant that he had no classes. Most everyone else he knew did, though. He sat up in his bed and saw his clock. It read "9:43." This was earlier than Seifer was used to waking up, but he had no more desire to sleep as long as the rain was beating down on his window. As he drowsily walked to his closet to get dressed, he noticed his phone's message button was flashing.
He walked up to the phone and looked at it for a while. Not many people knew his number, mostly because he didn't want to risk getting it taken away. Slowly, he picked up the phone and hit the message button. While rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he heard the soft voice of Summer on the answering machine.
"Hi Seifer, it's Summer. I didn't know where you were when I asked you to come to the Quad, but when I saw the scene in the hallway I figured you got caught. No biggie, we can meet another time. I have classes tomorrow, but I'd love to get a yogurt or something if you want to. My dorm number is 703; feel free to stop by any time past 4, it's when my last class ends. Catch you later, Bye."
Seifer quickly erased the message, looking at the phone. He stared at the phone for a few seconds before he put it on the receiver.
"Yogurt?" he asked himself. He scratched his head in confusion.
Seifer got showered and got dressed quickly, but no sooner did he leave his room was Selphie on his back.
"Seifer!" She exclaimed, "I need some help getting the things together for my sleep over tonight!"
"And what does that have to do with me?" Seifer asked. Selphie smiled, going up to Seifer and taking his hand. She stared forward, as if she was looking into the sunset like in an old western movie.
"Seifer, how long have we been friends?" Selphie asked.
"We're friends?" Seifer asked.
"Oh come on!" Selphie begged, jumping up and down like a bratty child, "I really need help! I have no one else! Zell and Summer are coming later because they have class!"
Seifer's ears perked up when he heard Summer mentioned. "Fine, but I'm only helping with a little bit."
"Thanks!" Selphie shrieked, hugging Seifer. Seifer rolled his eyes.
"Which way is your dorm again?"
Selphie's dorm room was bigger than all the other dorms, and suddenly it made sense why she wanted to have a sleep over there. Her room was as big as a common room would be like in a fraternity house. There were already streamers, chips in bowls, and a bottle, obviously for "spin-the-bottle."
"Why is your dorm so big?" Seifer asked jealously, walking in and throwing his coat aside.
"Wow, you're a hunk!" Selphie said flirtatiously, looking at Seifer's bare arms, "I wouldn't mind having a piece of that."
"Thanks," Seifer said dryly, "You special or something with this dorm?"
"No, Rinoa and I share it," Selphie said to Seifer's surprise, "Since she's new here, the Garden didn't have any more dorms available. So until they get one for her, me and her get to share a big one."
"So I guess you know then." Seifer said, in reference to when Rinoa had come to him that morning.
"Know what?" she asked, standing on a ladder to put up some streamers across the ceiling.
"Oh," Seifer said, realizing she didn't know, "Forget it. It's not really important."
"Ok, whatever," Selphie said, grunting to reach the ceiling. Then, with a snap, the ladder broke, sending Selphie tumbling to the ground. Seifer ran and caught her just in time.
"Oh, baby." Selphie said seductively. Seifer dropped her on her back. "Ouchies!"
"Let's just get this over with," Seifer said, "What do you need me to do?"
"Well, just basically put up these posters." Selphie said, handing him rolled up posters. Seifer began to tape them to the wall when Selphie suddenly began to get interested in what Seifer had said before.
"So what were you saying before about me knowing something?" Selphie said, taking out sodas and beers.
"It's nothing, really." Seifer said, hiding his head as he hung up Selphie's party posters.
"Nothing, huh?" Selphie asked, "Then what if I said I did know. Would that change anything?"
"Huh?" Seifer asked in confusion, "That doesn't even make sense. If you knew you would have to ask."
"I thought maybe some reverse psychology would work, I guess not." Selphie said, shrugging her shoulders. Seifer continued to put up posters for what seemed like an hour until they were all up. Selphie had finished hanging streamers, banners, and setting up drinks and chips.
"You have plans for tonight with Diehard?" Seifer asked.
"OH MY GOD!" Selphie exclaimed, "You actually asked him? You are such a sweetheart!" She ran to go hug Seifer, but he pushed her aside.
"Just because he said he wanted to," Seifer continued, "But he's afraid about Cody."
"Oh my God," Selphie said exasperatedly, "That little brother is holding me back from doing anything. Isn't that the big sibling's job, not the little one. Sure he's taller than me, but he can't boss me around!"
"He's just thinking about you," Seifer said menacingly, "Like a good brother should."
"I know," Selphie said, not catching Seifer's teasing, "I guess I should just deal with it. Hey, I mean he's doing it out of love."
Selphie walked over and stole a cheese doodle from a bowl on her desk.
"But then again," Selphie debated, "Diehard is a total hottie!"
"Yeah," Seifer said sarcastically, "I wish I had that ass."
"Oh, shut up," Selphie said, "That ass is mine. Hands off!" She pretended to swat at Seifer's hands. Seifer laughed to himself.
"Let's keep it that way, shall we?"
Seifer left Selphie's room at two thirty to go get something to eat before he would return to meet Summer at Selphie's dorm. Seifer could hardly wait. He hadn't blown it with her, yet, so in his mind there was still a chance to get with her. He was determined to not let her slip through the cracks like Rinoa did.
As he approached the cafeteria, he saw Quistis sitting alone at one of the tables where faculty members usually sat (the ones that didn't eat in their offices). Seifer approached Quistis' chair, asking "Need some company?"
Quistis looked up from her book and smiled at Seifer. "Please." She said, offering him a seat with a gesture of her hand.
"So how are you today?" She asked him. The rain had turned to thunder and the Garden seemed dark, and even though there were many lights on, there was a lack of natural light.
"As good as to be expected, yourself?" Seifer asked with a smile on his face.
"Fine." She said, folding the page in her book and placing it aside.
"Well, while you are here," Quistis said, taking some papers out of her bag, "I have to discuss something with you."
"What?" Seifer asked, looking at her bag. Quistis soon revealed the last essay that he wrote, along with Diehard's. She placed her glasses on her face and took out a red pen.
"I can't help but notice that your essay and Mason Dean's Diehard's real, full name are similar in many ways." She said, placing her pen on areas where she circled in red and wrote "same."
"What's there to say, I needed some help and he let me borrow his paper." Seifer said.
"He let you borrow his paper?" Quistis asked, "I think it's the other way around."
"And why is that?" Seifer asked.
"Because you don't need a good grade as badly as he does. Mason is a brilliant fighter, but when it comes to studies he isn't as strong. I'm going to make him redo it; maybe you should let him know."
"Fine." Seifer said. Quistis put her papers back in her bag, placing her book back with them. She had a coffee in front of her, which she was constantly stirring.
"Uhm, do you think things would have worked out between you and Squall had Rinoa not been there?" Seifer asked in a soft voice. Quistis sighed, slowing down her stirring.
"I can't say that I believe it would have," Quistis said.
"But you said yesterday that you could have been the one to give him his smile." Seifer said.
"Impressive memory," Quistis said, "But, alas, I was just living in my own nostalgia. I know that he could never love me, and I don't know why I still love him.
"You still love him?" Seifer asked. After a pause to process what he had just heard, he asked in almost a whisper, "Why are you telling me all this? Are you high or something?"
"Seifer," she said, after taking a sip of her coffee, "I've never done drugs before in my life and I never will. But, I think that if I want you to trust me, I should trust you. I don't just keep telling everyone about my personal life, and if my instincts are correct, you won't either."
"I'll consider it." Seifer said, with a smile.
"I trust you." She said, looking down at her coffee. She added some more sugar.
"I just want to tell you I think you're making a big mistake by loving Squall." Seifer said.
"Loving who?" Cody asked from a few tables back. Seifer and Quistis looked in horror. "Who's loving Squall?" Cody approached their table, looking at Seifer.
"I didn't say Squall, you idiot," Seifer said, "I said...Squaltair...Squaltair Yanstrovich, the famous poet. Quistis thinks he's good, but I know he's bad. Don't you agree?"
Quistis closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "You just can't appreciate fine poetry." She said, stirring her coffee faster with her head down.
"Never heard of him," Cody said, truthfully, "Anyways, Selphie said that Zell and that girl Winter are helping out and she wanted me to send for you."
"You mean Summer?" Seifer asked.
"Yeah, that's it," Cody said, "So let's go. I gotta make sure my sister isn't getting 'freaky' with any guys, if you know what I mean." Seifer rolled his eyes, then looking at Quistis. She smiled a girlish smile that Seifer had never seen on her before. Acting on pure impulse, Seifer leant across the table and kissed Quistis on her cheek.
"Let's go, Codes." Seifer said, putting his arm around Cody's shoulders, not letting him turn around. Seifer never knew how Quistis looked after that moment, but he imagined she just continued to stir her coffee so rigorously that it spilled out of its foam cup.
Seifer returned to his dormitory for a few hours before going back to Selphie's. He had the initial intention to go back to Selphie's as soon as he got something to eat, but he wanted time to process what Quistis had told him. Seifer couldn't imagine why anyone would love Squall Leonhart, let alone someone as smart as Quistis. He figured she had run the pros and cons of loving him in her mind like a teacher of her stature would. Then again, Seifer debated that ultimately most people would just follow their heart, no matter how stupid their heart may be.
Seifer opened the door to his dormitory and closed it as if he had a secret to hide. In a way, Seifer considered the information Quistis had given him about herself a secret, even though she didn't exactly say that she didn't want him to tell anyone. The message was pretty much clear, though.
Never once had the idea to blackmail Quistis cross Seifer's mind. This idea, though, would have previously been an ideal thing to do. He showed that he was still someone of a blackmailer with the whole Squall and Rinoa incident, but he had a newfound respect for Quistis after she opened up to him. He figured, though, that perhaps she was just desperate and had begun to open up to everyone, he just being one of her witnesses.
Seifer walked towards his closet and began to change his clothes when Diehard came into the room. Seifer and Diehard shared dormitory codes just in case they ever needed to reach each other in an emergency, but every so often Diehard would just enter without knocking if he just didn't feel like it.
"Oh," Seifer said, naked from the waist up, "What's up?" Diehard walked over and sat on Seifer's bed as he usually did. Seifer continued to get dressed as he heard Diehard sip on a bottle of beer.
"Why the hell are you drinking in my room, fool?" Seifer asked, pulling a t-shirt over his chest.
"I'm just nervous I guess." Diehard said, placing his beer on the floor, "That Selphie girl wants it bad."
"So," Seifer said, sitting down next to Diehard and taking off his shoes. He wiggled his toes in relaxation. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I don't know if I want to do it." Diehard said listlessly.
"Then don't," Seifer said, getting up to go to the bathroom, "She doesn't control you."
"I'd suck, anyways." Diehard said sadly. Seifer turned around and looked at him.
"What's up with you?" he asked, looking at his friend in the face, "What happen to the confident Diehard?"
"Do you think I'm a good kisser?" Diehard asked, looking up at Seifer with sad eyes.
"What?" Seifer asked, caught off guard by Diehard's question, "How should I know? You've probably just been drinking too much."
Seifer turned the water on in his sink, plugging the drain so the water would collect. As soon as enough was in the sink, Seifer took come in his hands and splashed it on his face with a gratifying coolness.
"Can I kiss you?" Diehard asked, getting to his feet.
"Hell no." Seifer responded matter-of-factly. It wouldn't have been the first time that Seifer saw Diehard drunk, so this behavior wasn't a surprise to him. "Are you trying to irk me?"
"What the hell does irk mean?" Diehard asked drowsily. Seifer dried his hands on a towel on his bathroom counter, immediately going and taking Diehard's beer from the floor.
"Give it back." Diehard said angrily.
"I think you've had enough of this stuff for now," Seifer said, proceeding to dump the beer down the sink, "At Selphie's party you'll find more of that."
Before Seifer could fully dump the bottle, Diehard rushed at him and tried to grab at it. Seifer held it above him in efforts to keep it away from him.
"Just lay off me." Seifer said impatiently, advancing backwards until Diehard forced him to fall on the floor. Seifer grunted as his head hit the hard tile on the floor of his bathroom.
"What's up with you?" Seifer asked angrily. Diehard lay on top of Seifer from the fall. Before he could complain anymore, Diehard's flashed Seifer a smile.
"You're not drunk." Seifer said after a short pause. Diehard's eyes gleamed, and before Seifer could stop him, he pinned Seifer's wrists to the tile and kissed him hard on the mouth.
Seifer didn't kick his legs in fury as many other students may have done. He closed his eyes, feeling Diehard's tongue move around his mouth, still in shock from what his friend had done.
What the hell is going on? Seifer thought, Is this really happening?
Seifer realized that he was kissing Diehard back out of reflex, mostly because he had thought about making out with Summer at Selphie's party that night. He tried to push Diehard off him, but his grip on Seifer's wrists was strong. Seifer had figured out what Diehard had planned to do that night and was impressed by it.
Diehard pulled back with a satisfying smack of his lips, panting softly through a smile at Seifer.
"Ok," Seifer said nervously, "You've had your fun. You got me. Now get the fuck off me."
"Are you in a hurry?" Diehard asked teasingly. He moved his head near Seifer's neck, planting kisses down his throat.
"Get off me now, you fucker." Seifer said, his voice growing impatient. He lifted his elbow up and jabbed Diehard in the chest.
"Ok, ok." Diehard said getting off of Seifer's body. Seifer got up awkwardly and stared at Diehard in both confusion and horror.
There was an awkward silence to follow, Diehard looking back at Seifer with an embarrassed smile. He dug his hands into his pockets, looking down at his cowboy boots.
"You shaved your Mohawk." Seifer said, noticing that Diehard's head was evenly shaved. His eyes were blankly staring at Diehard.
"Yeah," Diehard said, putting his hands on his head, "I couldn't get used to sleeping on that thing."
Seifer suddenly was struck with a strange feeling of attraction towards his friend. He, for the first time, noticed Diehard in a different light than he had ever before. Diehard appeared to look handsome to him rather than just another one of his friends. He closed his eyes, shaking his head and began to leave the bathroom, when Diehard placed his thick arm in front of the doorway. For the first time, Seifer noticed that Diehard had light green eyes.
"Please?" He asked in almost a whisper.
Selphie turned up the volume on her CD player, letting her head bob with the music for a few seconds before going to tend to some chip bowls that needed to be refilled. She looked around disappointedly, looking for Diehard.
"Where could that man be?" She asked angrily.
"Maybe it's better if he's not here," Summer said, taking a chip from Selphie's refilled bowl, "We get to enjoy more girl time."
"Hey, I'm here!" Zell said, flipping channels on Selphie's television.
"As I said," Summer said, turning and smiling at Selphie and Rinoa, "Girl time."
With that comment, Rinoa and Selphie ran into their rooms to get make up supplies.
"Ok, Zell," Selphie said cautiously as she and Rinoa emerged carrying boxes and bags of make up, "How would you like to become beautiful?"
"Huh?" Zell asked, his mind not moving from the television screen. He was engrossed in a sporting event that was flashing on the television.
"Get him!" Summer yelled, pouncing on Zell, holding him down with the help of Rinoa.
"What are you doing?" he asked in horror, looking at a blush brush that Selphie unearthed from one of her many bags of make up.
"Just acquainting you with a man's worst nightmare." Selphie said playfully. She opened a make up case and dabbed the brush on a pallet of pink blush.
"It keeps women in their bathrooms for hours," Summer said, playing along with Selphie, "And it costs them hundreds of dollars each year."
"Do you know what it is?" Rinoa asked, smiling at Summer and Selphie.
"Make up!" They all shouted, grabbing beauty products and assaulting Zell with them.
Seifer closed his eyes, grunting as he thought of Summer. He wanted so badly to go to the party Selphie was having, but he knew he couldn't go there. His shoes were hard on the marble floor, as they had been the night after all was settled with the Gardens and the sorceress. The night was dark and only a few lights were on. The garden was unusually empty, even the usual drunks weren't hanging around, constantly insisting they could hold their drink even though they were spewing chunks all over the place. Seifer walked until he reached the quad.
He entered the Quad slowly, being aware of his every step. He saw the sky was clear, but the air was sharp and cold. Despite the coldness, he ventured out on to the balcony. He let his arms rest on the railing. His mind raced harder than it ever had. His friend of so long had turned out to be gay. Not only that, he had turned out to have had a crush on Seifer himself since the beginning. Who would have thought? Seifer laughed bitterly at the cards he was dealt.
Fuck this Seifer thought to himself, Fuck all of this. Why did I even think I could get to know these people...or even want to. I hate every single damn son of a bitch in this Garden.
He found himself in a familiar position as he had been before. The same night flashed in his mind as the one before. His eyes began hear the classy music play in his head. It was so clear and crisp in his mind that it made him believe that it was playing somewhere. His eyes began to well up with tears he furiously tried to keep back.
"I won't." Seifer said through clenched teeth, his back sulked as he tried to keep his eyes dry.
Finally, Seifer's eyes let a tear fall down. After that came another, until Seifer was crying into his gloved hands. The music seemed to be getting louder in Seifer's mind, making his tears fall even faster.
"SHUT UP!" Seifer yelled loudly, hearing his voice echo off the walls of the quad. Seifer moved his head to his arm, crying softly into his arm.
"How could he do this to me?" Seifer cried bitterly, "That stupid son of a bitch."
Just as Seifer was about to leave the balcony, a small figure emerged from the entrance to the quad. Seifer watched it with angry eyes, puffed and red from being wiped harshly. Seifer wiped the rest of his tears away with a coarse hand. He watched as the figure got closer. How he hoped it was Summer. Maybe she was an affectionate girl who could come and comfort him and, even though he would resist her at first, she would keep persisting until finally she would break the strong shell of a man that stood before her. Seifer punched at the wall angrily, thinking about Squall and Rinoa.
The figure walked with cautious steps, as if it was walking over an area covered in mines. It seemed as if the figure made one false move the ground would explode. As it got closer, the steps increased until Seifer had a clear view of who was standing in front of him. The moonlight shone on her face, making her look even lovelier than she ever had. Her hair was in a quick bun and she was wearing a small black evening dress. Seifer closed his eyes and opening them again, just to see if he wasn't imagining things.
"Hello, Seifer." Quistis said softly.