SRY About the late update:feels bad: Love you guys...hope you come back to review! T.T
Selphie's kind of OOC, I guess. Rest assured, I did that completely on purpose. I never found the hyper, chipper Selphie characterization to be very interesting, honestly: rather than the traditional definable "Cute, Younger Girl," I made her the "Smart Aleck." So yeah, I guess if you don't like my Selph then you can either suck it up or beat it...
Also, if I'm being too vague, about my Zephyr Roth, just um...well, I can't believe I'd have to actually point this out, but in case you didn't get it, try to imagine him too look like Sepiroth. Just more nice and less brooding and...way hornier. X.x And his hair is only to his shoulders. (Think KH Riku's hair with less layering work.)
Also...why have I written so many teachers without their sanity? XD You'll see when Squall gets to Band...
(Is this chapter kind of bad? I don't like the ending. I might change it later. Let me know.)
"Below I know I love her but act like I don't want her. Could be an organ donor, the way I'd give up my heart but never know, because shit, I'd never tell her!"
–Andre "3000" Benjamin
Dancing In Drag
Chapter 5: So He's In the Closet
"No, no, you're not understanding, Squall," Quistis wore a pink leotard under black silk harem pants, but despite her casual outfit, she stood with a strong professional aura around her that often made her students a little afraid to approach her. She tapped her finger against her full lips, frowning down absently, deep in thought. Squall fidgeted a bit.
"Did I do it again?" he asked, slightly irked at himself. Quistis looked up at him.
"You tried to fix it, at least," she explained, "but still; I really can't express how sharp this dance has to be. This particular modern dance has an odd rhythm, and your movement must be punctual to a fault. At least try to lose your reservations when dancing for this song," she added hopefully, glancing into vexed silver-blue eyes.
Squall sighed soundlessly and looked down at his bare feet for a moment, mulling over ways to attempt to be "punctual to a fault." He hadn't had much experience with modern dances and peculiar rhythms like this before; he had more practice in classic, fluid dance.
And he had attended a Tango workshop. One time. Rinoa had never let him live it down.
Since then, he had stuck to his usual type of dance and was reluctant to move out of his comfort zone. Of course he should have expected the comfort zone to be broken immediately in an advanced dance class.
Quistis' lips quirked up in a small smile as she set her gaze on the awkward young man.
"Don't take it the wrong way," she said, quieter, "it's already very good progress for a first day. Even for an Advanced student. Most of the other girls in here couldn't get this far in one day."
She stopped herself before she could say any more, and abruptly walked away, wondering why she had felt obligated to say that. She hardly ever dished out compliments for anyone, and just like that, she had started talking his ear off with sweet praise. She sighed and touched a finger to her temple, venturing to critique some of the other dancers.
Squall only blinked and watched her go, a little frown finding his subtly made-up face. Going over to the dancing bar on the far wall, he held on while facing the mirror wall on the other side of the room. He saw himself frowning back, and only frowned a little more. He wasn't dressed like all the other girls; he wore a loose white tee and his last pair of black pants instead of a leotard. This was the reason that Quistis had been his only teacher to know about his actual gender; he wouldn't be able to get away with no leotard if she didn't. And there was no way in hell fires he was going to wear anything skintight such as standard women's dance attire (as much as Rinoa had begged him to, he had to draw the line there.)
Thus, with a frown, he started practicing his jump/kicks in a "punctual" way. Whatever that was supposed to mean.
From the other side of the room, the green-eyed young woman was watching the oddly-dressed new dancer practicing on the bar, sighing quietly and leaning her face on her fists childishly and pouting slightly, blatantly neglecting the practice her own dancing routine. Another girl came over beside her and looked at what she was watching, then slapped the green-eyed girl's hair playfully with the towel that had been around her neck.
"What yah doing, Selphie? Instructor Trepe's gonna eatcha alive if yah don't get to dancin'!"
"Hold on," Selphie mumbled, watching with a bit of an amused smile as the obviously talented new brunette dancer, in an attempt to do an air-kick in a "punctual" manner, ended up kneeing himself in the face. With a little quiet yelp, he fell clumsily and held his nose in his hands. A little too punctual, maybe?
"Damn..." Squall mumbled, glaring at his fallen reflection. 'I'm not getting this right at all.'
Smiling more broadly, she walked over to this new girl, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot with a smart-ass look.
"Heh heh, you having a little control problem, newbie?" She stopped tapping her foot and narrowed her eyes in a grin. Squall glanced up, still holding his nose, and his eyes flickered sharply, shooting icy daggers at the unwelcome company. She stuck her tongue out cutely and made a victory sign with her hands.
"Sorry to bother ya," she said with a little girlish sneer, "but I was just wonderin' why ya look so much like someone I know." She raised an eyebrow suggestively.
Squall froze, and his glare turned into an inquisitive and suspicious stare.
"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly, frowning.
Selphie waited a moment before sitting down by Squall with her legs crossed Indian-style. Leaning back on her arms, she openly scrutinized him.
"What's your name?" She finally asked, not answering the original question and bringing up her own instead. Squall frowned and looked away silently, lightly tracing little nothings in the ground with his index finger.
"C'mon, then!" She urged, straightening her back and leaning forward to gently knead Squall's shoulder with her knuckles. "I'm Selphie." She sighed soundlessly and vainly flipped part of her milk-chocolate colored hair.
Squall refused to speak. Instead, he stood up and positioned himself back on the bar, prepping for another kick/jump. Selphie stood back a bit from fearing her own safety and watched as he executed it very nicely. Moss-green eyes narrowed in a smart grin and she pursed her lips.
"Ya aren't half bad, newbie. What's your name, now?" she added, hoping it sounded like an afterthought.
Squall ignored her again and prepared to try the jump/kick once more. The green-eyed girl frowned and crossed her arms again.
"Hey, I'm asking ya a question!" she persisted as he came down from another good kick with a slightly sketchy landing, hands clutching the support bar tightly. He prepped another jump and Selphie sighed and shook her head to herself.
"Oh, just a random guess but..." She stepped closer, "...your name wouldn't happen to be 'Squall Loire,' would it?"
Caught by surprise, Squall fumbled and the foot caught on the support bar at the same moment his hands slipped from it, swinging him down and causing him to hit the back of his head on the floor with a loud "thud."
Squall didn't open his eyes for a moment; he wasn't unconscious, but he just didn't feel like moving, because his head had immediately started throbbing. Quistis rushed over and glanced disapprovingly at Selphie before leaning down by Squall.
"Squall, are you okay?" She fanned his face calmly, keeping her composure and studying him with no semblance of urgency. Selphie only looked away. So this new one's name was Squall, after all...
He sat up slowly and when he opened his silver-blue eyes, they were immediately glaring at Selphie. He glanced then at Quistis.
"I'm fine," he mumbled, getting up and rubbing his head inconspicuously as some of the startled other dancers watched curiously for a few more moments before returning to their work. Before the green-eyed spunkpot could say more, Quistis ushered her away to work on her own dance. But Selphie's head couldn't keep thoughts of Squall away for the rest of class.
Lucky her. Squall's head couldn't keep the pain away for the rest of class.
-o-0-o-
"Squall! What's wrong, girl? You don't look so great."
Squall was back at his locker again, putting away his dance bag and pulling out a black case from his bag. The brunette's mouth twisted in disapproval, hoping to indicate he didn't want to reply to the crested blonde beside him. Instead of asking again, Zell noticed the case and a boyish grin stretched his face.
"Sweet! You have band class, too?"
Squall blinked to the side anxiously. 'Too.' Sighing soundlessly, he knew this meant that he'd be forced to take along an escort. And somehow he figured Zell would be following him like this for more than just one day.
"Yeah..." he said with a little shrug, leaning slightly and stretching for a moment.
Zell's distant stare and the furious blush that had squirmed across the blonde's face was not entirely unnoticed by Squall, and the brunette glanced down curiously, mid-stretch, to see that his shirt had ridden up to show a bit of his flat stomach. Face warming up, Squall dropped the stretch and looked away as Zell apologized quietly.
Squall cursed himself in his mind. Had he honestly already become this comfortable with his outfit? Silently he hoped that this didn't mean that after the year of school he'd decide to continue wearing drag because he had gotten so accustomed to it.
Then he floated off into deep thought, staring pensively at nothing. What would happen after he graduated from GHS? He knew it couldn't be possible that he just be able to graduate and then end up never working with or seeing any of his classmates again, so eventually they'd all find out he was actually a guy. The pondering brunette felt a little guilty by this, to deceive everyone, but then reminded him that this was all society's fault, and not his. Well, mostly not his, except for him being him. But was that really even his fault?
"Uhhmm...yo…we're gonna be late for class..."
A gentle poke at the side of his head made Squall jump slightly and impulsively slam his locker shut. Zell stared at him quizzically and Squall blinked at him apologetically.
"Sorry..." he tried quietly. "...I lost myself for a second. Can you tell me where the band room is?"
At this, the happy-go-lucky blonde straightened up and a victorious grin found his face again as he leaned back.
"No prob! I'll walk you there!" he whooped.
'How did I guess...' Squall sighed and nodded with very little vigor. Zell's immaculately blue eyes danced joyously when he saw that nobody else seemed to be escorting the pretty brunette. Nodding triumphantly, he took the lead.
"We'll be there in a second! I know this school like the back of my hand. Just follow the master," he said, jabbing the air with his fists twice before bouncing on.
Watching with darkly-outlined silver-blue eyes and an amused expression, Squall followed after the overzealous blonde.
-o-0-o-
"Hurry!" Zell urged as they ran in mid-bell. Squall obliged, and they made it before the bell could stop ringing. Luckily, it didn't look as if anyone was quite organized yet. People were scattered about, screwing around with their instruments or with band equipment or chattering nonchalantly.
"Hey, hey!" An extremely tall, skinny man with a green-blue shirt, tan slacks, and shoulder-length wavy blonde hair that was almost too yellow, came into view and pushed his turquoise-tinted "John Lennon" sunglasses down to the middle of nose. Squall frowned slightly. This guy didn't look like a very serious teacher, but more like the liberal type that kids would want hang out with. The brunette wasn't fond of this type of teacher at all. But at least he wasn't horrifically strict.
"Yo! Ladies and Dudes!" he called out, in a bit of a dumb accent, "Peace, and listen up!"
Slowly but surely, the cacophonous mess of students calmed down and some sat in chairs. Squall didn't, and Zell, noticing this, only stood beside the brunette.
"Alright, we're back at school so I want all you lovers to just remember that we gotta get some stuff done this year!"
Many of the students grinned. Squall got the feeling that many of them knew this teacher from before. Then again, that would make a lot of sense, wouldn't it?
"For our radical new brothers and sisters, I'm Mr. Ethan Levi, your band instructor! But I go by 'Nature Snake.' Peace to all of you, little freedom fighters! Now, let's get your seats and some of this rad new sheet music, then we'll start on a whole new year of expressing from our souls and hearts!"
Squall's mouth twitched up in a little humorless smile, looking like he might kill something (but only how he looked; how he felt was embarrassed sarcasm.) Zell chuckled and nudged him in the side.
Mr. Levi (or 'Nature Snake') started to go around to his students but didn't stay very long at each of them; he knew most of them and their musical inclination. But when he got to Squall, he blinked and a wide grin crossed his face.
"You're Squall, isn't that right, my sister?"
Squall's eye twitched and he nodded slowly, watching as his freakishly liberal new teacher patted him on the head.
"Hmm...those prideful lips, those psychedelic eyes..." he studied Squall intensely, "I think we'll call you 'Gentle Lioness.' Yes, it suits you well, friend."
Mr. Levi grinned and Squall honestly felt like just falling over dead right there. This teacher couldn't possibly get any worse.
"And what is your method of expressing your soul and heart, Gentle Lioness?"
"S-Saxophone..." The dismayed brunette mumbled, looking away. Ethan's face brightened considerably and Zell just watched the scene, slightly amused at Squall's reaction to their weird teacher.
"Fantabulous! Well little sister, go over and join the other two Saxers! Wonderful, we needed some more...Oh! You're well-experienced in the instrument?"
"Yeah," he said very quietly. Ethan patted his back with a huge beam.
"Those two'll get you right set up! It's about time we had some more Saxers. Those Fluties have been overpowering the mighty Sax in their numbers! It's time to join the resistance, little freedom fighter!"
Squall stared after Ethan as the man moved on, wondering if he had been speaking in some sort of freakish code. As Squall walked away, he couldn't help but smile inwardly as Ethan reached Zell with a shout:
"How incredible to see you here another year, Serene Chicken! Please, my brother, go join with your place in our small world! Make love to your drums, not war! Fantastic!"
When Squall got to the Sax section, he didn't look at them, hoping that they would grant him the same treatment, and he pulled a chair beside the other two. They did look at him, however, perplexed. After all, it wasn't often that their frail Saxophone section gained another member.
"Whoa! Excuse me, miss, are you..." the platinum-haired young man blinked his blue-greenish eyes down and noticed Squall's saxophone, effectively answering his question.
Squall blinked up tiredly at the tall boy with almost white hair, nodding without much energy. He turned his gaze to the other Sax player, and frowned, groaning inwardly.
Smirking pure green eyes watched him carefully and the other one's grin widened.
"That," the turquoise-eyed and white-haired one said, gesturing to the blonde, "is Seifer Almasy, and I'm Zephyr Roth. And you're...?"
"It's Squall," Seifer answered for him, and silver-blue eyes flickered indignantly and he glared at the casual blonde. How had he found out! With a dismayed frown that wasn't going anywhere, he contemplated the fact that this Almasy was probably going to tell his name to Irvine, giving the cowboy the benefit of the yellow pages and school directories.
"Squall, huh?" Zephyr grinned and brushed some of his shiny, shoulder-length hair out of his face.
"Yep, I'm pretty sure," Seifer continued, not letting Squall actually say anything. "I mean, 'Zephyr' and 'Squall'...sounds like fate to me," the blonde joked, "Maybe I should go change my name to 'Gust' or something. What do you think?" He smirked narrowly at the brunette, and Squall scowled at him.
"Whatever," he said in his mellow voice. "Can you just get me the music?"
Zephyr nodded and pulled out one of many never used copies of their part's music and then sat down, scooting his chair to make a bit of a crooked triangle with Squall's and Seifer's seats. He smirked at the other two.
"Right-o. Let's see...lets just start out from the simplest part here," Zeph said, pointing to a page for the other two to see. Squall's calves crossed and uncrossed as he pulled up his sax. Seifer had his instrument.
"Can you sight-read?" The thought that Squall might not know how apparently hadn't occurred to the teal-eyed young man until that point. But the brunette nodded slowly, and Seifer watched him with a raised eyebrow and hidden smirk.
"Let's go at tempo, then," the blonde said lightly, and both Zephyr and Squall stared at him incredulously.
"The first time around?" Zeph asked, frowning dubiously and glancing over the notes where they sat on the stand.
"Sure, why not?" Seifer grinned smugly at Squall as if daring him to say otherwise. Zeph laughed, his voice rather easy on the ears. Squall wondered if Zeph was in choir as well as band. He figured the silver-haired young man would stand out in singing. Squall caught himself staring and then glanced down at his own notes. It did not go unnoticed by Seifer.
The blonde frowned and then glanced at Zeph quickly. Sure, the guy was a pretty boy, and was quite popular with the ladies, but it was usually girls that had tried for Seifer or Irvine first and then failed and had been left with him as a last choice.
But this new girl hadn't looked at Seifer like that. The blonde wondered what Squall could see in Zephyr and Zell that wasn't in himself. It kind of aggravated him. Sure, he was spoiled. He never had to wonder this about a girl before.
"You want to keep time, Squall?" Zeph asked, staring at him with his teal eyes, kind of pointed at the ends. Squall kept studying the music a moment longer and then glanced up apologetically.
"Hold on...I'm not that fast," Squall mumbled, glaring at his feet. "I can sight-read but not at this tempo the first time..."
Zephyr and Seifer both grinned.
"Then how about we go solo first time around at our own speed?" Zeph suggested, eyeing Seifer then the vexed brunette. Seifer shrugged, not taking his gaze off of Squall as his candy-green eyes shimmered in amusement.
"Okay," Squall shrugged, looking at his music then expectantly at Zephyr and Seifer, who were both looking back at him the same way.
"You go ahead," Zeph said off-handedly, looking back at his own music and sitting back. Seifer crossed his arms and nodded.
Silver flickered over the blue eyes in annoyance, and Squall pursed his lips and brushed his messy chocolate-colored hair out of his face, positioning the sax at his mouth and tapping his foot to keep his own time, not quite as fast as the tempo was supposed to be, but still a moderately fast speed.
'How cute,' Seifer thought to himself almost sarcastically as Squall ran through the first part, 'She's really trying hard.'
When Squall finished, Zeph grinned and gave him a thumb-up.
"Looks like you've got a good practice under your belt. Just work on your form a little," he added, offering Squall a little narrow grin. The demure brunette lowered his head a little and crossed his calves again, nodding.
"Thanks," he mumbled. 'I think.'
Next, Zephyr went. He was really good, in Squall's opinion. He didn't' make a single mistake and he'd gone at tempo. And, he wasn't a hypocrite...he had very good form as far as Squall could tell.
But when Seifer went...
He was...amazing. The hapless brunette couldn't stop himself from watching the blonde play the whole way through. He played everything perfectly like Zeph had, but he also had a certain intensity that completely magnetized Squall's gaze to him. He swayed at just the right moments and didn't even look at the notes the whole time; his eyelids were all the way down and brows creased intensely. The brunette wondered if Seifer was some sort of prodigy who could memorize large stanzas of notes with one look.
Squall hadn't even realized the musical part had finished until shockingly green eyes met his with a bit of a confused look, and the brunette frowned and looked down at his notes. Zeph looked between the two and a small grin crept up his face.
They continued practicing.
-o-0-o-
"You're such a show-off."
Seifer blinked up at the silver-haired young man who was smiling down at him as he picked up his stuff. Squall and many other students had already left, but he and Zephyr usually stayed behind band class a few minutes. It was before lunch break, anyway.
"What?" he asked, narrowing jade-green eyes at smiling teal ones.
"That girl, Squall," Zephyr said, folding his arms across his chest and cocking his head, brushing aside long, whitish bangs and tucking some behind his ear. "You were totally showing off for her." He feigned a fake pout. "You never try that hard for me!"
Seifer stood up and shook his head with a little smirk, brushing past his friend and walking off. "Let's go," he replied with a little amusement, and Zeph pulled his sax case over to the other instruments, leaving it there and following after the lofty blonde.
"Oi, 'Eifer, why're you taking your sax with you?"
Seifer stopped and turned, green eyes studying his friend with an inquisitive glance at his empty hands, and then gripped his sax case tighter.
"Because generally, to play it, I'd need to have it with me." He said, raising an eyebrow. "And don't call me 'Eifer,' weirdo," the blonde added with a lopsided grin.
"Why shouldn't I?" Zeph ran over to him before he could get out of the room and nudged him. "Hmm? 'Eifer?"
He poked Seifer's chest then looked up with a coy grin, cupping the blonde's face in his hands and leaning up, closing with a kiss. Before he could deepen it, Seifer pushed him off, though not very forcefully, and wiped his mouth.
"Listen," he started, wearing a little smile but a dark expression anyway, "I understand that you're horny...as always," he added with a little smirk, "but I'm not handing out favors this year...sexual or not. You know goddamn well I'm not into guys."
Zeph sighed and folded his arms across his chest again, tapping his foot and looking down at it pensively.
"...I guess you're right..." he mumbled, and when green eyes watched him, stupefied, he looked up with his thoughtful frown and pursed his lips.
"I got myself a boy back in Dollet over the summer," Zeph explained, grinning. "Cute blonde. Guess this year, me 'n you could be considered cheating."
Seifer lifted an eyebrow. "Wow. That easy? Damn, I hoped there might be a little drama. I'm glad, though. It was getting a little old." His lips quirked up in a little smirk. Zeph gave him a hesitant look.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can tell the folks you're still..."
The blonde frowned and waved it off. "Nah, its fine. I figured its time I taught the old man to make his own living."
He laughed shortly, then turned away quickly before Zeph could see the next expression on his face. The platinum-haired boy touched his shoulder with concern before the blonde could walk away.
"Sei..."
"What?" he replied kind of roughly, turning back his tired gaze.
"We can be friends after this, though, right?" he asked, hopeful intention shining in his narrowed teal eyes.
Seifer sighed and shrugged Zeph's hand off his shoulder, throwing back a bit of a sleepy smile and nodding. "Sure thing. We're cool."
"Hup there, brothers!" a familiar voice shouted across the room cheerfully, "Nature Snake is always encouraging more love, but you two are missing the digestibles!"
Zeph laughed again, saluting Ethan with a wide grin and following Seifer out of the band room.
"Thanks, Mr. Levi! See ya!"
"Call me Nature Snake, friend! And remember, make love, not war!"
"Squally!" Rinoa latched herself onto her step-brother's arm and grinned her cute girlish grin up at him, and he squirmed.
"Ri-Rinoa. Please don't," he hissed, noticing all the stares from all around the hall. His hands absently trailed to feel the back of his skirt, and Rinoa saved him, noticing this and slapping his hand away before it could touch his bum.
The dark-haired little pixie giggled and let him go, inspecting Squall thoroughly before nodding.
"You've kept yourself up pretty great, Squall" she said happily, clapping her hands together. "Your eyeliner's in place, too! Guess you haven't been crying! Hehe!"
"Crying? Why?" Zell's curious face popped up on one side of Squall and the brunette's back stiffened.
"She's just kidding," Squall mumbled, silver-blue eyes narrowing at his step-sister. Rinoa smiled sheepishly.
"Hey, didn't I have first three classes with you?" she asked lightly of Zell, who blinked thoughtfully and offered her a sloppy grin.
"I think so," he said, shrugging. "I just remember that crazy stunt you pulled in second hour." He raised a cut-off blonde eyebrow at her and she stuck her tongue out.
"Serves you right for hitting on my sister!" she laughed, and both Squall and Zell blushed, though the blonde reddened much more profusely.
"He wasn't," Squall muttered, huffing and looking away, shifting his weight on his almost completely bare legs. Zell nodded vigorously.
"It's true. I'm just glad to have a friend," the crested blonde said, looking at his feet.
Rinoa raised an eyebrow and looked from Squall to Zell, and then back to her brother.
"Friend, huh?" she crossed her arms and jutted out a hip expectantly. "Is your friend gonna show us ladies a nice coffee shop or café in town?" she asked dubiously. Squall sighed and gave his sister a "please stop" look. She winked at him, round, dark brown eyes shining cutely.
"Huhhh?" Zell blinked his shining ultramarine eyes and gave Rinoa a bit of a dumb look before donning a childish frown. "I don't know. I personally like GHS' own cafeteria. Great hot dogs," he added with a dreamy smile. Rinoa giggled and poked him.
"Weirdo. Who would stay at school for lunch hour? Nobody normal!" She looked at Squall, who was rubbing his head, something he did when he was thinking.
"Whaddya think, Squally?"
He glanced up at her apologetically and smiled.
"I think I'm going to stay here. You go explore town without me," he said quietly, and when Rinoa frowned and opened her mouth to protest, he continued, "If you find a good place, I'll go with you next time."
Frowning slightly, she pouted and shrugged. "Okay, fine. But I'm not letting ya do this again tomorrow! I'll find a great place!"
She smiled and kissed his cheek before catching up to some girls she had met in class earlier. Squall watched after her, rubbing the back of his neck. Zell's eyes, the most pleasant shade of cerulean, regarded him carefully.
"Uh...wanna join me for hot dogs, then?" Zell asked, and even this made a pinkness kiss the blonde's cheeks. Squall's lips quirked up in a tiny smile and he nodded.
"Excuse me! Squall!" The brunette sighed soundlessly and turned, seeing his dance teacher, Quistis, walking up to him briskly, wearing a pristine black suit. He raised a dark brown eyebrow at her but she didn't pay it any mind.
"You left your shirt in the dance room," she said, apparently in a hurry. "The last dance class was last hour, so I had to lock up the studio, but your stuff is in the hallway's storage closet." She shoved a key into his hand. "Just return the key to the office when you have your things. I have an appointment out of the school. Good day," she finished briskly, nodding to him and clicking off on her high heels.
Squall stared after her, dumbstruck, and lowered his silver-blue gaze to the key in his hand, then glancing at Zell, who look equally confused.
"Can I find you in a few minutes?" he asked, voice still quiet as ever, and Zell nodded slowly.
"Okay. Do you need help finding the cafete—"
"No." Squall interjected, a little irritated. The blonde smiled sheepishly and waved, jogging off.
A pair of curious teal eyes watched curiously as the lean brunette in the short denim skirt walked off to the hall by the storage closet, unaware of his gaze. A small smile crept up the watcher's face and he ran in the other direction.
-o-0-o-
"Seifer!" Zephyr reached Seifer, Irvine, and a small flock of girls that were horded around the two. He leaned over on his knees and caught his breath. The blonde glanced down on him, past all the girls, candy-green eyes holding a quizzical look.
"Zeph...what's wrong?" He asked, scratching above his forehead at his hairline and squinting.
"Co-Come, quick! It's...It's...!"
The platinum-haired young man caught his breath, and frantically waved Seifer over to follow him, sprinting down the hallway. The lofty blonde young man watched stupidly for a moment before wading through the squealing girls and taking off after Zeph.
"I'll be right back," he called out to Irvine, who shrugged and grinned widely.
"Take yer time, cowboy," Irvine mumbled, lazily blinking his hazy crystal-blue eyes, smiling dumbly, and slinging his arms around two girls that were clinging to his sides. "More girls for me."
Zeph slowed down when he approached the dance hallway, and saw the storage closet door was wide open, the key still in the door. He grinned and walked over, hearing loud, heavy, and quick footfalls nearing his back.
"Hey, Zeph!" Seifer stopped abruptly when he saw the teal-eyed boy standing by the open closet with his back to him, and walked over slowly, catching his breath. "What was that a—AH!"
Clutching firm hands to Seifer's broad shoulders, Zeph used all of his body's force to shove the blonde headfirst into the closet, slamming the door shut after him and turning the key in the knob, locking the door and taking the key.
"...THE HELL! ZEPHYR! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Zeph sighed and put a hand on his hip, grinning widely as his blonde friend banged on the other side of the door and screamed profanities. He shook his platinum-haired head to himself with a triumphant smirk and walked off.
-o-0-o-
"Little piece of...! Get your ass back here! Zephyr!" Seifer growled against the door in the dark as it slowly hit him that Zeph had locked him in here and wasn't coming back for a while. He leaned down against the wall and crossed his arms, stretching his legs out and accidentally kicking something.
"Hnn."
The blonde heard a strange little noise and leaned forward.
"Somebody there...?" he asked quietly, squinting into the dark but still unable to see anything. 'Damn. There isn't a light in here...'
He heard some shuffling and reached a hand out, touching something that felt like...an arm. The blonde's eyebrows raised slowly.
"Who's there?" he asked the body, expression then darkening, "and do you have anything to do with Zephyr's little 'plan?'"
"Get me out of here," a voice growled, and jade-green eyes, not visible in the dark, widened. He sat back for a moment.
"...Squall?"
He heard another hissing sound and a small smile crept up Seifer's lips. So that's what Zeph had been planning. Well, he couldn't really hate his friend for giving him this opportunity to get the ice princess to warm up. Not that he hadn't already, at least by a little, judging by the way those gorgeous angel-eyes were staring at him when he played sax. He smirked. Then again, his musical skills tended to do that to people. That and his ability to totally milk his talent.
"I can't get you out. I can't even get me out," Seifer started, crossing his arms and leaning back against the door, eyes closed. "That dipshit Zephyr locked me in here for some reason."
"This is your fault," the brunette growled, turning his head away from Seifer's voice. "You'd better hope that I'm not late."
Seifer chuckled, not moving, eyes still closed in the pitch dark.
"You sure are a piece of work," he said, and Squall sent a narrow glare at the direction of Seifer's voice (he couldn't see anything.)
"Whatever," the brunette scowled and leaned his chin on his hands, elbows propped up on his crossed legs.
They sat in silence for a while, both of them shifting a little uncomfortable every few moments. Finally, Seifer sighed loudly.
"You met my friend Irvine, didn't you?"
Squall sounded like he had choked, and started coughing quietly.
"Y-yeah. (cough) He's an ass."
Seifer opened his jade-green eyes and let out a genuine laugh. Squall's eyes widened slightly and he stared inquisitively in the direction of the laugh. Seifer had a strange laugh, not in a bad way, just unusual. For some reason, the only image in Squall's mind when the blonde laughed was hot melted chocolate pouring onto a white china plate. ...Maybe he was losing his sanity, after all...
"He's pretty full of himself, isn't he..." Seifer mumbled with a little smile. Squall looked away, not that anything looked any different; everything was black.
"You know..." the brunette started softly, and Seifer closed his eyes again, leaning his head back against the door.
"What?"
Squall glanced in his direction sharply.
"You're even more full of shit."
Well. Seifer certainly hadn't been expecting that. He didn't want to smile, but he found that he was anyway. It didn't really matter, the only person he had to hide anything from was himself, because Squall couldn't see him.
"I'm sad you'd think that," the tall blonde returned. Squall huffed and leaned his face in his arms with a sigh.
"Sure," he mumbled, closing his eyes and remembering Zell's words in homeroom, "like it matters to you what another 'slut' thinks."
Seifer blinked his eyes open and stared into the ceiling blackness.
"Hmm." All he could do was hum thoughtfully, and then he cracked a smile. "If you can resist even me and Irvine, then you couldn't be a slut," he laughed again, but this time it was less genuine and less intriguing. Squall was silenced for a moment, frowning.
"Whatever..." he mumbled, turning his face away from the side Seifer was on.
Seifer sighed, not knowing what else to say. Silence prevailed again and Squall started tapping his foot, squirming it around in the uncomfortable flip-flop. He sighed in frustration.
"Don't get why anyone would wear these," the brunette mumbled to himself, but Seifer listened with an attentive ear and chuckled, shaking his head, and leaning it back against the door.
"You're really different from the other girls, Squall," he said in a kind of smooth voice, turning on the charm. He'd show Irvine. This girl wasn't as hard to crack as the cowboy had made it seem. Then again, Irvine had always been way too tactless. Squall was an easy case for someone like Seifer.
The brunette let out a short, humorless laugh.
"I know your little game," he said flatly. "Just drop it. I'd never go near anyone like you or your fake, conceited friends."
Ouch. Irvine was kind of right; she was harsh.
"Well, why are you near me now?" Seifer tried, massaging his jaw tiredly.
Squall hesitated, then frowned with a scowl. "I would never be of my own will," he corrected pointedly, scooting away from Seifer slightly.
Neither said anything for an even longer silence. Seifer kept lightly tapping the back of his head against the door out of boredom and Squall folded his arms under his chest and shivered, bare shoulders getting kind of chilly. Of course he didn't let on that he was cold; he didn't want any unwanted attention. He just wanted to get out and get away.
Seifer really didn't know what to do. He wasn't about to give up, but so far the only tactics he'd had to use on slightly less eager girls in the past were already not working. Even the stubborn ones had cracked after a few of his lines, and some saxophone. This one was just something else.
The blonde opened his mouth slowly.
"My..." he started tentatively, "...I was never close to my dad."
Squall was nearly startled by that statement. Looking up and in the direction of the other young man's voice, he raised a dark eyebrow and gave a narrow frown.
"Why would I care..." Squall mumbled half-heartedly, looking away.
Seifer thought to himself a moment. Maybe she was the type that was into sensitive guys. That had to be it. He smiled to himself, knowing the brunette wouldn't be able to see it.
"Ever since I was a kid..." he continued, "neither of my parents really cared much for me. Funny how that works, huh..."
Squall huffed and smiled bitterly to himself. 'Funny how it works,' he agreed in his mind.
"They thought I was a liability more than their own freaking kid...they still do, I think."
The brunette was silent, pretending to ignore him but really listening intently. That sounded a lot like himself. 'I am a liability, aren't I...' he thought sadly, turning his head over and sighing soundlessly.
"They got me lots of stuff, but I wasn't really happy 'cause they never actually acted like they liked me. You know, 'just love me' and all that shit."
Squall hummed in agreement involuntarily and nodded to himself, closing his eyes. 'All that shit is right...'
"I'm supposed to be a top student for them," he laughed shortly, blinking hazy candy-green eyes open at the black ceiling again. "I'm pretty much a shit head, though. Only thing I can really do right is play sax, and they hate that. Too bad it's the only thing I like," he added bitterly.
'Only thing I can do is dance, and she hated it. The bitch.'
The brunette sighed loudly and frowned at Seifer.
"Great sob story, but its not going to work. I'm not charmed," he said flatly, and Seifer blinked in surprise, dropping his head from its position back and staring down at where his hands were. He didn't say anything more.
The blonde sighed and massaged his face in his hands. Was it just him or was it really cold?
Suddenly, the door opened behind Seifer and he fell on his back, quick to climb up. There was Zephyr, grinning widely.
"How'd it go? Did you sco...whoa. Seifer..." the teal-eyed boy frowned and pinched the blonde's face. "Shit, man, you look like death warmed over. What the heck happened to you?"
Seifer blinked dazed green eyes and felt his own face, a confused expression falling on it as he looked at Zeph.
"What are you talking about?"
The platinum-haired young man glanced behind Seifer to see Squall looking just as screwy. The brunette pushed past Seifer and glared at him and Zephyr.
"I already told you not to try that with me. You even have your facial expression down right..." Squall gave a bitter, displeased sneer. "I just hope you know people like you two have sick hearts. Don't bother me again, please." With that he hurried off and went to find Zell to apologize for missing him all of lunch.
Zeph and Seifer watched, silenced, as the pretty brunette left. The teal-eyed young man glanced up at his stressed friend and raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, what the hell happened in there, 'Eifer?" He asked quietly, and the blonde just shook his head and started walking.
"That never happened to me. I tried to charm her...but then I forgot and I just kept going on and on. Well...screw it, Zeph. This is damned weird. I think I'm gonna give her up to Irvine."
Zephyr raised an eyebrow and a little smile graced his lips.
"Seifer, I..." he started, then smiled more broadly, "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, but if you think I could help, then I will, no problem." He patted the blonde's back. "Oh, and since this apparently has something to do with Irvine, I'd tread carefully if I were you," he added with a little laugh.
The green-eyed young man smiled tiredly and nodded, rubbing his eyelids. Why did he feel so tired? And...why the hell did he feel so…unattractive?
Ouuuh. Weird.
"Thanks. But damn, I'm really confused. I hope I never meet a girl like her again."
Zephyr laughed and sighed loudly, shaking his head.
"I hope, for you sake, that you don't, either."
-o-0-o-
Holy chocobos! O.O What the heck is going with Squall's and Seifer's families? Dx Wanna know? Then reviewwww. XD Err...I was really tired when writing this, so I'm sorry that it's not very good. X,x
Another apology for my late update. :'D
:offers all her reviewers strawberry ice cream and chocobo-print boxers:
(Zell plushies available instead, upon request. n.n)