Chapter 5: The Truth Hurts
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the FFVIII Characters.
Rinoa's cheerful expression changed, and she narrowed her eyes at the sight she saw. "What are you doing with her?" she said, pointedly.
Squall looked down at Selphie and let go of her, looking back to Rinoa. Selphie sighed quietly, wrapping her own arms around herself.
Rinoa walked over to Squall and smacked him across the cheek. "I come back to visit you and find you cheating on me with her!?"
Squall reached up to rub his cheek and angrily said, "No! Goddammit! Will you let me talk for a second!?"
Rinoa crossed her arms and glared at him, "Fine. Talk."
"Selphie was feeling sad about something. I was just giving her some friendly comfort." He continued rubbing his cheek for a moment.
"Sure, Squall. Looked a little more than 'friendly' to me."
He sighed, feeling exasperated, "Whatever. Don't believe me."
Rinoa's expression softened, and her smile returned, "I believe you…I'm sorry about hitting you." She reached up to touch his cheek, but he turned his head so she couldn't touch it. She frowned and crossed her arms again. Squall looked over towards Selphie, but she had disappeared. He looked down at his watch and suddenly remembered something. "Shit, Rinoa. I have to go to a regulation SeeD meeting."
She frowned more, "But, I thought we would go out to eat in Balamb. It's been so long since we've done something like that."
He sighed inwardly, "Yeah, we can do it later. I need to go." Rinoa smiled and leaned up, placing a kiss on his slightly red cheek. Squall looked slightly annoyed and rushed off towards the directory.
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Seifer walked down the hall. He had almost forgotten about the meeting as well. He saw Rinoa standing at the entrance still and raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you're back. What a pleasant surprise," he said sarcastically.
Rinoa looked in his direction and rolled her eyes, "Hello to you, too."
He kept walking and said nothing more. He then remembered he was probably going to have to see Selphie. 'Great,' he thought to himself and sighed again.
"Jeez, why is everyone in such a bad mood around here?" Rinoa said and walked towards the cafeteria, almost running into Zell, who was in too much of a hurry to notice she was there.
---
Selphie was staring at the ground when she heard multiple footsteps approaching. She wondered what this meeting could be about. If it was fighting, they probably wouldn't let her do anything. She looked up when she saw Squall's shoes interrupt whatever it was she was staring at on the ground. He looked down at her and frowned. "Sorry…" he said quietly.
She nodded her head and looked past him to see Seifer coming over. She swallowed hard and looked back up at Squall. Squall looked back to see him as well, his fists clenching and body tensing.
Quistis was on her way over as Squall was about to take a step towards Seifer. Selphie reached out and put her hand on his arm. He paused and looked down at her. "Don't…" she said softly so only he could hear, "Don't make it worse. Not right now…" He sighed and let his body relax, nodding to her.
Quistis looked at everyone, glancing over as Zell ran over and stood in between Squall and Seifer, heaving from being out of breath. Seifer snickered to himself, "A little out of shape, chicken-wuss?"
Zell shot him a glare and looked to Quistis, who was watching the four. "Are you done now?" she asked, but got no response. She assumed that meant they were. "Okay, we have another mission for you all."
Selphie's eyes grew wide, "A-are there going to be partners like last time?" she blurted out, her voice almost shaking. Seifer raised an eyebrow at her outburst.
Quistis shook her head, wondering inside what was wrong with her, "No, you four will be going as a group. Are you even up for it, Selphie?"
Selphie nodded slowly, "Yeah, I'm a little sore, but I can handle it. I need something to distract me, anyway."
Seifer couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Maybe she shouldn't go. We don't want her to almost die again. I don't feel like saving her all over again since she apparently can't look after herself."
Squall clenched his jaw, "You should shut your mouth right now and don't go near her."
Selphie looked up at Squall, and Quistis and Zell both raised their eyebrow, "Is there something I should know about?" Quistis asked.
Selphie quickly shook her head, "No…nothing."
"All right, well, getting back to more important things, you will all be going to Trabia Garden. The headmaster there has notified us because the Galbadian forces are closing in on the Garden, preparing for an attack. And since they only have underclassmen enrolled at the school from the explosion a few months ago, they need SeeDs to protect them. So, you four have been selected." She looked over at Selphie, "I'm glad you're up for it, I knew you would want to be a part of this one."
Selphie nodded, "Yes, I would love to visit my old garden again."
"Why should we care about them? Just let them get attacked. There's probably too many of 'em to protect, anyway," Seifer said.
"We care because they are future SeeDs, Mr. Almasy. Perhaps you shouldn't be a part of this if your heart isn't in it." Quistis replied.
"Oh, my heart is definitely in it, dear instructor," Seifer told her.
Quistis rolled her eyes slightly and said, "All right, well, good. I'll meet everyone at the Balamb train station in one hour. Please, be there on time. You're all dismissed."
Zell was the only one who saluted and ran back towards the Cafeteria to get a snack before the trip. Selphie began walking away, towards the Infirmary. She wanted to get a check up before she left since she didn't know how long she would be gone. Squall watched her walk away and Seifer watched Squall with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, I get it," he said.
Squall looked over to him quickly, "Get what?"
"You like her now and you're jealous because she likes me," he replied with a grin.
"That's not it at all," Squall snapped, "I was worried about her because you were such an asshole to her."
"Yeah, well, what can I say, I didn't tell her to like me. And hey, why do you like the little messenger girl? Isn't your woman back? I know I would prefer the whiney bitch over the hyperactive school spirit girl. I should know, anyway," Seifer snickered.
Squall's eyes widened and he stepped over to him, his fist already clenched. He cracked him across the cheek hard. Seifer reeled back slightly and held his cheek, "Man, you do love hitting me."
"You asked for it," Squall said, his fist ready to hit him again. Before he could, Seifer lifted his leg and sent a kick towards Squall's stomach. Squall felt all the air go out of him for a few seconds and gasped for breath. He finally regained it and shouted, "You piece of shit! How could you treat her like that?"
"I told you. I don't care. I wasn't even going to say that to her, but it just came out," he shrugged his shoulders, "It's not my fault if she thought I liked her."
Rinoa was on her way towards the front to see if the meeting was finished when she heard the shouting. She stopped and watched the two.
"She thought you liked her because it was the first time you barely showed any concern for anyone. Apparently that didn't matter though," Squall said bitterly.
"What? You think she changed me or something?" He scoffed at Squall, "No one could change me. I was just caring for her because you always have your hands full of Rinoa and didn't think you could make time to care for your 'friend'. Someone had to do it so she wouldn't die."
"What the hell is your problem? I could always make time for her. She's my friend for god's sake! You think I don't care about her? I care about her more than that stupid girlfriend of mine who just comes here and smacks me for no reason!" Squall yelled.
Rinoa finally spoke up, her eyes suddenly full of tears, "Is that…what you really think?"
Squall looked towards her, he hadn't even noticed her. "Goddammit," he muttered to himself. He sighed inwardly, knowing he couldn't get out of this one, "…Yes."
Seifer couldn't help but snicker to himself. This seemed like it was going to be entertaining.
Rinoa walked up to him and smacked him again, "There! That time you deserved it! How can you care about her more than me!?"
"Rinoa, not now…" Squall quietly said.
"Yes, now! I came back here for you thinking you actually loved me and cared about me, Squall, especially after everything we've been through! How could you say you care about her more than me?"
"I…don't know. I just do. I've known her since I was little and…I can't help but care about her more," Squall replied calmly.
"Fine, Squall! You can just forget about having me then!" Rinoa spoke angrily, "I'm not going to be second best for you. You just take me for granted! You think Selphie actually likes you the same way you like her? You're probably going to be all lonely and it's all your fault! Have a nice life, Squall!" Rinoa smacked him again and turned, running towards the exit of the Garden.
Squall put his hand to his forehead, ignoring the stinging pain on his cheek. 'What a day,' he thought to himself.
"Thanks, Squall. That was very entertaining," Seifer said with a grin. "Oh, look at the time, better get to the train." He turned and walked towards the Balamb Garden exit.
Squall kept his hand on his forehead as footsteps approached, "Squall?" asked Selphie, "Was that you yelling out here?"
"Yeah…" he said, removing his hand and looking at her.
She noticed his cheek and her eyes widened, "Are you okay?"
He looked away from her, "…Yeah, I'm fine."
She nodded a little, glancing at the clock, "We should get to the train."
"Sure…" he said and walked towards the exit, Selphie following him. She watched him as she walked, he looked more troubled than before.
Zell ran up behind them, "Hey, guys, wait up!" he called.
The two looked back and saw Zell. He saw both of their discomforted expressions and said, "Whoa, who died?"
Selphie said, "I think we've all had a really bad day…" Squall didn't say anything and Selphie furrowed her eyebrows. The three walked to the train, with Selphie and Squall looking confused, tired, troubled, and depressed.
Rinoa was waiting by the train and glared towards the approaching group. Squall sighed to himself, "Oh, great," he said quietly.
"Don't look so excited, Squall," Rinoa said, bitterly. "Lucky for you I get to ride on the same train until I get off at Deling City. Then, I can be out of all your lives." She looked towards Selphie and sent her a glare.
Selphie looked up at Squall for a moment, then to Rinoa, looking confused. 'Well, something must have definitely happened…and what did I do?' Selphie thought.
Zell looked at everyone, "Well, Quistis, let's get this fun mission started, eh?"
Seifer rolled his eyes, "No one wants to hear you talk, chicken-wuss."
Quistis passed out the tickets and sighed, "This should be fun…"
-To Be Continued-
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