Chapter 4: Confessions
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the FFVIII Characters.
Inside his room, Seifer was slumped over on his desk, sleeping on an open weapons monthly magazine when he heard a distant knock awake him from his sleep. He lifted his head, blinking his eyes a few times to make the familiarity of his room come into focus. He squinted at the door and groggily said, "What?" to whomever had awoken him.
"Um…Seifer, it's Selphie. Can I come in for a sec?" the timid voice called from the other side of the door.
Seifer immediately got up and went to door, rubbing his eyes for a moment before opening the door to see a surprisingly chipper Selphie. "Hey…," he said to her.
Selphie looked up at him and smiled, "Hey, Seifer. Oh, you look sleepy…did I wake you up?"
Seifer nodded, "Yeah, but, it's fine. I don't care."
Selphie's smile remained, "Okay, good, well I--"
Seifer stepped out of the way, "You can come in, if you want."
She nodded and stepped into his room. He went and sat down in his chair and motioned his hand for her to take a seat on his bed. She walked over and sat down, facing him. She glanced around the room slightly, biting her lip for a moment. Seifer noticed and raised an eyebrow, "Uh, so, how are you feeling?"
She looked back to him, "Oh, I'm doing a lot better. Still a little head-achey and stomach-achey, but overall, I feel much better. All thanks to you."
Seifer looked away from her, "Nah, you were hurt, so I took you to the Infirmary, it was nothing."
"Either way," she said, "I'm really grateful. I just wanted to tell you how much I do appreciate it." She smiled thankfully to him, but he still wasn't looking at her.
"It's nothing," he replied.
"I…I also wanted to say…" Selphie began.
Seifer looked back over to her and watched her. She suddenly looked even more nervous than when she came inside. "What?"
"Well, after everything that happened…I think…I mean, I know that I…" She bit her lip again. She could almost feel her heart pounding through her chest. She never thought she would be this nervous to tell him. "I-I…like you, Seifer."
Seifer stared at her. Was she serious? Judging by her nervousness, he knew she was. "Oh," was all he could say. He continued staring at her, almost studying her. Why would she like him? All he did was rescue her from, well, dying. No wonder she came down with a crush on him. This still seemed ridiculous to him. She was so not his type, even if she was incredibly attractive and nice to him. Her extreme hyperness and cheeryness just wasn't his thing. He suddenly started laughing. "I think you have a concussion, Selphie." She furrowed her eyebrows, feeling slightly offended, "What? Well, I probably do, but that's besides the point. I'm serious. I like you, Seifer. I really do."
"So, what?" he said, the tone of his voice suddenly changing.
She paused, and her brows remained furrowed. "So…I-I just wanted you to know."
"Do you expect me to do something about it? Do you want me to kneel down and confess my feelings to you? Is that what you want?"
"Well, n-no…but--"
He interrupted her abruptly, "You think that just because you like someone and you tell them that they'll automatically lay everything down for you?" He scoffed at her, "Little princess Selphie, you think you can get anything you want just because I rescued you. Well, too goddamned bad! I have a life and I don't see you involved in it anytime soon, or ever, for that matter," he almost glared at her as he spoke.
Now she was the one staring at him. She had nothing to say now. Her mouth was parted and the only thing she felt was her hands trembling. Was he really saying this?
"I don't want you peeking around at me just because I saved your damned life. Get over it, little messenger girl. We had a mission together. Who cares? Just get out of here and leave me alone," his tone was harsh, and she could tell he was serious.
She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before getting up and running out of his room. He got up and slammed his door. Although he hadn't expected to say everything he had just said, for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to care about how she was feeling. Instead, he just went to his bed and laid down. Why did he explode like that? Selphie wasn't a bad person. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. She just liked him; that wasn't anything bad. Then again, he didn't want her to like him. He wasn't a good person for a relationship and even if he did like Selphie the slightest bit, he didn't think he could be with her. He turned over on his side and stared at the wall. He knew she was upset, but he didn't move or force himself to express concern. He just stared at the wall.
She barely heard the door slam as she kept running. Before she knew it, she felt warm water splashing onto her cheeks. She reached the entrance to the dorms and leaned against a pole, looking upwards. She reached up and wiped away what she had let free from her eyes. 'Did that actually happen?' she thought. 'It was so surreal…Did he really say all that?' She felt a few more tears fall, and she immediately wiped them away, 'I can't believe how stupid I am. What did I expect him to say? Well…I didn't expect him to say that. Maybe a 'That's flattering, but I just want to be friends'?…I could have handled that.' She looked at the ground, 'God, I can't believe that just happened…'
"Selphie…?" A deep, but familiar voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to see Squall. He looked concerned.
"H-hi, Squall. I-I don't really want to talk right--" she started, wiping her cheeks quickly.
"Are you all right…?"
She met his eyes and shook her head, "I…don't think so."
Squall suddenly understood and the tone of his voice became bitter, "Seifer. That bastard. I warned you, Selphie."
"I know…" she sniffled softly, "I just thought he had changed. I'm so stupid…"
"You're not stupid. He's the one who's stupid, for treating you like this. You…don't deserve it…" he said the last part more quietly.
Selphie tried to smile but all of the pain she was experiencing was so overwhelming, she barely could anymore.
He lifted his arm and put his hand on her small shoulder, looking into her reddened eyes, "Selphie, you're an amazing girl and you don't deserve to be treated like that. He should be lucky to find someone like you. Anyone should, for that matter."
This time, a small smile managed to form on her face, "Thanks, Squall," she said quietly.
He watched her for a moment, then moved his hand to her back, gently pulling her into an embrace. She reflexively wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. It was just the comfort she needed. Maybe her crush on Seifer was just a delusion…Maybe she still really did like Squall…She had no idea. Her mind was racing. She was feeling so hurt just moments before, but now in the arms of Squall, she was feeling better.
She looked up at him, and Squall put a hand to her cheek softly. He didn't know why he did, it was almost an instinctive thing to do. She smiled a little, the pain seeming to melt away.
Squall looked at her seriously and began, "…Selphie, I--"
"There you are, Squall!" A peppy female voice interrupted.
Squall suddenly removed his hand from Selphie's cheek and looked over to see Rinoa standing a few feet away from them…
To Be Continued
Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I'll try not to take so long next time!