Title: A Knight, a Lion, and a Little Messenger Girl
Chapter 10: Coming Closer
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the FFVIII Characters.
"Expulsion?" Selphie exclaimed with wide eyes.
Squall's eyes also grew wide, "That can't be…"
"I did not assault him! I was defending myself from what happened last night!" Selphie shouted.
"Explain it to Headmaster Cid. That is all," the Garden Master told her and exited the Quad.
Squall looked down at Selphie and saw that all the color had drained out of her face. He put a hand on her shoulder. She looked downward, "Expelled…? I can't get expelled," she said under her breath.
"Just go to Cid and explain everything," he told her calmly, but inside he was fuming with anger towards Seifer. This was his revenge? To just get rid of Selphie? Sure, he was on the Disciplinary Committee, but that gave him no right to make such a claim. How can anyone even believe that such a tiny girl 'assaulted' him. But, violence outside of monster fighting was prohibited in the Garden, so it was plausible.
Selphie looked up and nodded slowly. "I'll go…" She felt as if a weight had fallen on her. She slowly walked towards the exit of the Quad and to the elevator. The walk seemed longer than any she had taken before. She felt nauseous as she pressed the button for the third floor. How could Seifer do this to her? Hadn't he done enough damage already? She didn't think what she did barely compared to what he did to her. She saw the doors open and felt all the air go out of her. She walked into the office, "Selphie Tilmitt…reporting," her voice was quiet and meek.
"Ah, good afternoon, Ms. Tilmitt," Cid said, "Take a seat."
Selphie walked out of the elevator on the first floor a couple hours later. Seifer was standing near the directory and saw her. He waved to her, giving her a wide smile, "So sorry to see you go." She ignored him and walked towards the Cafeteria, knowing it was dinner time. She wasn't feeling hungry, but she knew the people she would want to talk to would be there.
She walked in and saw Zell motioning to her, sitting with Squall. She walked to their table and sat down. Squall was looking a lot more depressed than usual, but heard the squeak of her boots, so he looked up. He met her eyes, looking concerned, "How'd it go…?" He saw the sadness in her eyes and could see tears just waiting for a chance to fall from her eyes.
"I-I can stay," she said softly.
Squall paused for a moment. She had said the exact opposite of what he thought she would say from her expression, "Great!" he said happily. Zell raised an eyebrow at his outburst.
"Then, why the pouty face, Selph?" asked Zell.
Selphie sniffled softly, "I…I don't get to be in charge of the Garden Festival anymore." The tears waiting to fall poured out quickly, and she put her face in her hands as she cried.
The two watched her for a moment. They all thought it was a weird reason to be upset and thought she should be grateful to not be expelled. But, they knew her better than that. The Garden Festival was her pride and joy of the Garden.
Squall reached over and put a comforting hand on her back, "I'm sorry, Selphie," he said quietly.
"But, you can still work on it right? You just can't be in charge?" Zell asked. She shook her head slowly, her hands still covering her face. "Oh...that really sucks, Selph. I'm sorry."
She wiped her cheeks before removing her hands and leaned back in her chair. "I hate him…" she mumbled to herself.
"Join the club," Zell said. He then sniffed the air as he saw the food being brought out. "Sweet! Fresh hot dogs! I'll be back." He got up and ran over, just as twenty people rushed in front of him. He sighed loudly and got in the back of the line.
Squall watched him, "At least he doesn't give up with that."
Selphie nodded slowly and sighed. Squall watched her with a frown. Seeing her so upset like this was upsetting him. He wanted to do something to help her. But, he really wanted to do something to Seifer for putting her through such misery. He reached into his pocket and handed Selphie a tissue. She looked at him and smiled slightly, "Thanks." She wiped her eyes, then looked at him, "Why are you so nice to me all the time now?"
Squall paused. He hadn't expected that question, "Uh…because you've been upset lately. And you're my friend…so, I don't want to see you hurt..." He scratched his head for a moment, "Didn't we already have this conversation…?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "Probably…everything is just so jumbled together right now. I just want to be happy again…I hate feeling this way."
"I hate you feeling this way, too…" Squall told her quietly.
She stood up, "Thanks…I just hope it goes away soon somehow." She brushed some of her hair out of her face, glancing around the room.
"Where are you going…?" he asked, watching her.
"Back to my room. This day feels like it's been so long, you know?"
She bent down suddenly and hugged him, "Thank you so much, Squall." She sniffled softly again, but when she was about to let go, he put his arms around her and held her tightly for a moment. He then let her go, and she looked down to hide the redness coming into her cheeks as she walked away from him and to the door.
"You're welcome…" he said under his breath as he watched her go.
Squall walked into the Quad as he watched some of the students painting banners and putting things together for the Festival. He approached one of the underclassmen, "Excuse me…when is the Festival?"
The student looked terrified to be speaking to Commander Leonhart, "I-it's on Friday, S-sir."
Squall didn't seem to notice, "Friday…so that leaves us tomorrow to set up for it."
"U-us?"
"Yes…attention, everyone, the head of the Garden Festival Committee has been…" he shook his head, "She is ill…so I will be taking over for her for the remainder of the time." All of the students looked confused and said things to each other such as, "I bet she really got expelled" and "Why is he the one in charge now?" Squall chose to ignore the comments as he went to help with various things around the Quad.
Zell walked in a while later and saw Squall actually helping someone. His jaw dropped, and he walked over to him, "Squall, man, are you feeling okay?"
Squall turned around and looked at Zell, "Yeah…why?"
"Well…you're, uh, doing this," Zell motioned to everything around the Quad.
Squall crossed his arms, "So? I'm the Commander…I need to be involved in everything."
Zell raised an eyebrow, "Since when?"
"Since…" Squall paused, then sighed, "Look, I know how upset she was and I want to make the festival perfect for her..."
"For who—Oh! For Selphie," Zell grinned, "I get it now! Suddenly it all becomes clear!"
Squall rolled his eyes, uncrossing his arms, "It's nothing. Really. Just…don't tell her. Is that clear?"
Zell nodded, "Sure, sure, I won't say a word. My lips are sealed."
"Good…keep it that way. But, make sure she at least comes to festival. She'll need to get out of her room by then."
"Why don't you, you know, go comfort her? Eh? Eh?" Zell wiggled his eyebrows at Squall.
Squall rolled his eyes again, "Leave me alone." He turned away and started working again.
Zell made his way to the door, "Have fun and I'll make sure she comes, don't worry! Just leave it to me!"
Squall looked in his direction, "Don't tell her what I'm doing…"
"Okay, okay! Calm down, Commander!" Zell yelled as he left the Quad.
Squall sighed to himself and continued working, 'I hope she enjoys it… I miss that smile on her face.'
Friday came quickly, but Squall had managed to get everything set up on time. He didn't understand how Selphie did it everyday. The past two days worrying about it had worn him out. The girl must have infinite energy. He looked at the clock, the festival would start soon. He hadn't seen Selphie for the past two days and knew she was up in her room, most likely moping. He wanted to save her from that like she said he did the other day, but he was too busy. He regretted not seeing her, but knew that he had made everything perfect for her with the festival. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face. He felt a small smile appear on his face as he pictured her. He quickly shook his head as he realized he needed to get changed. He rushed to his room to change.
Zell approached Selphie's door with the festival only an hour away. He knocked on it and heard a small voice from inside ask, "Who is it?"
"Yo, Selph, it's Zell," he called on the other side of the door.
"Come in, it's open," she replied. He opened the door and stepped into her room to see her sitting on her bed in a field of tissues. He furrowed his eyebrows, "Wow…you must have taken that pretty hard."
She nodded, "Yeah, well, it wasn't just that. Everything from the past few days just sorta built up on me and I had to have wallow time."
"I get it, but you should really come to the festival tonight. I mean, you did basically everything up to the past couple days, you gotta come to enjoy it!"
"I know, I'm going to go. I love the festival…I just hope it's not how I left it the other day…"
Zell shook his head, "Nope! Someone took it over for ya."
She tilted her head, "Oh, really? Who?"
"Oh…just some person on your committee, I don't know their name."
She nodded, "Good…I hope they did a good job." She really wanted to be the one to put all the finishing touches on the festival, but it couldn't be helped. She stood up and picked up the numerous tissues, putting them in the trash can. "I'm going to shower and get ready. I'll see you down there, 'kay?"
Zell grinned, "Great! Everyone will be glad to see you!" He turned and left her room.
She sighed to herself as she finished cleaning up her room. She then walked to the shower and started getting ready for the festival.
Squall stood against the wall as he watched everyone enter. He had his eye out for the cheery, green-eyed girl, but so far, he hadn't seen her. Zell came in at the end of a crowd of people and walked over to Squall, "S'up, Squall?"
"Did you tell her to come?" Squall asked quickly.
Zell nodded, "Yeah, she said she was planning on coming, anyway."
"Oh…well, good. Now--"
"Yeah, I get it. Leave you alone. See ya!" He walked away from Squall and over to the refreshments, scanning the crowd.
After the longest twenty minutes of Squall's life, a familiar face complete with the flipped out hairstyle walked into the Quad. The girl's eyes still were red rimmed with crying, but the make-up hid it well. Squall watched her look around and saw her mouth drop open in surprise. He then noticed how beautiful she looked in her yellow sleeveless tank-top and short brown skirt, complete with her regular brown boots. (Earlier in the day she decided she wouldn't ever wear heels again. They were hazardous to her walking.)
He walked over to her slowly. She was still looking around in awe, "Hey, Selphie..." he said in a low voice.
She looked up at him, a small smile forming on her face, "Hi, Squall…it's good to see you."
He smiled slightly, "You too…" Someone walked by and gave Squall the thumbs up, while another told him, "Great job!"
She tilted her head as she met his eyes, "What are they talking about?"
"I…uh, I don't know," he said sheepishly.
A few girls then walked by the two. One said, "I didn't think the Commander cared about the festival!" Another said, "I know! But, he did such a great job with it!"
Selphie looked puzzled, and her mouth parted in confusion, "Squall…did you—" She looked around, then back up at him, "Do all this?"
He simply nodded to her, then watched as Selphie's smile grew wider. She closed the few inches between them as she hugged him tightly. "For you…" he said under his breath as he put his arms around her small frame, "I did it for you…" She looked up at him, not knowing what to say. She was overwhelmed with happiness and appreciation and gratefulness and all those other wonderful emotions she hadn't felt in what seemed like so long.
He watched her and felt his slight smile grow into a real one. He had never done anything nice or helpful to anyone, but for some reason, he actually wanted to do it for her. It had taken so much energy out of him, but seeing Selphie happy was payment enough for him. These emotions were so confusing to him; he didn't understand why he did it… He had never done anything like this for Rinoa, and he was with her for a long time…so, why Selphie? They weren't together…so why? He shook his head slightly, then he began to lean his face in closer to hers. He didn't know why, he just instinctively began to.
Selphie watched Squall and began to lean her face close to his as well, her heart beating faster with each passing second. She felt her cheeks become hot and knew she was blushing furiously.
Their faces were barely an inch apart before an annoying voice interrupted them, "Over me, already, Messenger Girl?"
They both let go of each other since the voice startled them as it brought them back to reality. She let out a sigh of annoyance as she looked at the owner of the voice, "Leave me alone," she said quietly. She then noticed he had an innocent girl attached to his arm, looking at him dreamily.
"I guess not everyone heard your little speech," Seifer said with a grin.
Selphie rolled her eyes and turned around to face Squall again, whose fist was ready to beat Seifer to death. "And, say, shouldn't you be packing your bags, Messenger Girl?"
"For your information, I didn't get expelled. So, your little plan failed," Selphie said, still facing away from Seifer.
Seifer's eyes widened, "What? Goddamn, they let anybody stay at this place now."
"Get…away from her," Squall said, his voice full of anger.
"Or you'll do what?"
"Something with my fist and your face…but, then again, I don't want to be expelled." Seifer let out a laugh at Squall's words. He then continued, "That was a real cheap thing to do…you get your pride hurt by a girl, so you try to get her expelled? What the hell is wrong with you!"
"Squall…" Selphie said, nervously, biting her lip, "Don't make it worse…please."
"Well, you see, now she knows not to mess with me. She's afraid of me now and that's always a plus," Seifer grinned.
"What a great thing…a girl you were trying to screw on the first date is afraid of you. That's really making a great claim for yourself, Seifer," Squall replied calmly. The girl on Seifer's arm made a disgusted face and let go of him, walking away quickly.
Seifer watched her and clenched his fist, "Goddammit," he mumbled. "These girls…I swear, so goddamn sensitive." Selphie rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"She was smart to get away now and at least listened," said Squall.
Selphie looked up at Squall, her mouth parting open, "W-wait…" He didn't look down at her for a moment, but when he did, she said, "I-I didn't know what was going to happen…"
Seifer watched them, "Oh, boo-hoo, Selphie. You're just dumb for falling for it…everybody could see it except you apparently. I guess no one really cares for you if they didn't really try to stop you. Maybe they all wanted you to get hurt. And well, you did. You could have gotten some fun out of it, but you're so damn sensitive and have to have everyone care for you and love you just because you love everyone." Selphie looked down. What he and Squall said hurt. She couldn't take much more of this. She was so happy just a few minutes ago. What happened? She didn't want to let words hurt her anymore, but she couldn't help it.
"Will you just give it up already, Seifer?" Squall yelled. "She's been through enough of your shit; no matter if we told her it was going to happen or not. And I care about her more than you'll ever care about anyone in your life, so just leave us all alone!"
Selphie felt dizzy from confusion. First, Squall was about to kiss her, then he practically insults her, now he was defending her again? She put her hand to her forehead, but suddenly felt a force push her to the side, which caused her to fall on the ground on her side. She shook her head and looked up to see Seifer hitting Squall. Zell rushed over and pulled Seifer off him almost instantly, while she stood up, looking horrified. She couldn't take it anymore. She yelled, "Everybody! Just stop! Please!" The three of them, including a few other people in the area looked over at her. She looked at them, "Okay, I made a mistake. You all apparently knew about it. I was stupid to fall for all of his fake stuff, but…when you get really lonely after a while…you can't help but make dumb dating mistakes sometimes. And I thought you liked me, Seifer, but I made a mistake. That's it!" She looked at Squall, who was wiping the blood from the side of his lip, "A-and seeing you with that horrible girl all the time killed me! So…I-I'm not the only stupid one around here making bad dating choices." She then looked back to Seifer, "And you just need to get over this whole thing and leave me alone. Keeping this going and getting back at me and all this other stuff is just pathetic, so stop already!"
She brushed her skirt off and sat down on a bench with an exasperated sigh. Zell looked at Squall, "Guess I missed somethin'…" Squall only nodded and watched Selphie. He felt bad for what he said, especially now that he knew why she had dated Seifer in the first place. She had always liked him, but Seifer was the only one who had shown interest in her since Irvine. How could he not see it before? He thought her crush on him was only recent, but being with Rinoa must have clouded him from seeing it. He smacked his forehead and sighed. He wished she would have just told him in the first place.
Seifer shook his head at Selphie's outburst. 'I'm sick of this shit, anyway, I'll just stay away from her. Makes things less fun, but easier.' He walked away in search of the girl he came with.
Selphie leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Her head was pounding. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come to the festival. She sure wasn't having any fun. Squall was on his way over to talk to her when Quistis snatched the seat next to Selphie, "Hello, Selphie, are you alright?" she asked, looking concerned. Squall stopped and watched them from afar.
Selphie looked at her and nodded slowly, "Yeah, don't worry, Quisty, I'll be fine."
Quistis smiled a little, "Good…I've been worried. Well, we all have. Especially Squall. He's been in here the past two days working like crazy to get everything perfect. I think he slept maybe two hours."
"Really? Wow…" Selphie bit her lip. She had just yelled at him, even though he had made the festival perfect just for her. She put her face in her hands, "Hyne…I just keep screwing everything up, Quisty."
Quistis put her hand on her shoulder, furrowing her eyebrows, "What's wrong?"
"Well, you know all the stuff that happened with Seifer…and now I feel like I screwed up any sort of possibility I had with Squall," Selphie said, although her voice was muffled.
"I don't think so…Squall doesn't give up easily, and I don't think he would give up on you."
Selphie lifted her head, "Why do you think so?"
Quistis smiled, "Because I can tell…it's my Instructor and womanly intuition, if you know what I mean."
Selphie nodded a little, "I think so… I just don't want to mess up something that could be with the one good guy I know."
"Come on," Quistis urged, "You're the most optimistic person I know, you have to have some kind of hope in this. I have hope for you two."
Selphie smiled a little, "Thanks, Quisty."
Quistis gave her a small hug and then stood up, "I'll see you around later. Just be hopeful, okay?"
She nodded, "I'll try." Quistis smiled to her and walked away.
Squall waited a few minutes before sitting on the other side of the bench. She looked over at him meekly, feeling suddenly more nervous around him than when he was about to kiss her. She looked down and sighed inwardly. She had no idea what to say to him. She wanted to thank him for doing what he did with the festival and at the same time she wanted to apologize.
"Squall—"
"I'm sorry, Selphie," He interrupted.
She looked at him and tilted her head, "I'm the one who should be sorry."
He shook his head, "No…I shouldn't have said what I said. I didn't know the whole story…"
"But, you made the festival all perfect for me and I just yelled at you in front of everyone! I am a horrible person! I don't even know why you talk to me because I just mess everything up and make you feel bad!"
He looked at her and moved a little closer, "The only time you make me feel bad is when you're feeling bad."
"But--!" she protested.
He shook his head, "Why do you think I did all this for you…?"
"I don't know…'cause you felt sorry for me or something since I was up moping in my room like I said I would be."
"Now you're the one being stupid, Selphie…do you not remember anything about the other night?" Squall asked, sounding slightly annoyed. His annoyance came from the fact that the night had meant so much to him. To him it seemed like she was disregarding it, although inside, he knew she would never do that.
"Of course I remember it…How could I forget?"
"Well, you're acting like you have no idea why I could possibly do something nice for you," he crossed his arms.
She frowned a little, "I'm sorry, Squall. See? I told you, I mess everything up. And I guess I'm just having problems trusting people, even though I know you're the one person I can always trust…you've been there for me since my first day here."
He uncrossed his arms, turning towards her, "Selphie, I just want you to be happy…" He reached over and put his hand against her cheek softly, feeling it become warm as she blushed. She looked up at him, her green eyes full of confusion. "I just want to see you smile all the time," he told her.
She reached up and put her hand over his, her mouth curving upwards into a smile. She met his eyes, and he smiled a little. "Seeing you smile is so rare…I wish you would do it more, you know," she said, her smile growing.
"To tell you the truth, the only time I ever seem to smile anymore is around you."
Squall and Selphie spent the rest of the evening together at the festival. They ate together, talked together, avoided Seifer together, and had a good time, which was rare for the two lately.
Selphie waved to Quistis, giving her a knowing look, then waved to Zell as she left with Squall. He walked with her out of the Quad and into the hallway. He glanced down as he saw her empty hand. He reached down, taking it into his own carefully. Selphie's eyes widened for a moment in surprise as she looked up at Squall. She then smiled, glancing down to try to hide the inevitable blush. He smiled a little as he watched her. He couldn't understand how anyone could possibly do anything mean to her…or use her. She seemed so innocent and her nervousness just made her more attractive to him. For once, he didn't feel pressured to be the perfect date to her. Not that they were dating, he corrected himself. He could just be himself and felt so free with her…and happy.
They got to her room, and she looked up at him, "Well, here's me."
He nodded slowly, "Yeah…"
"I really had a good time, Squall. You made everything so perfect with the festival and I'm really glad. It really means a lot to me."
He nodded again, "I know." He then realized he hadn't let go of her hand yet, instead he squeezed it softly. She glanced down for a moment, then back up into his eyes.
There was no one around to interrupt their perfect moment and this time he was going to take it. He brought his face close to hers slowly as she did the same, leaning up since she was considerably shorter than him. He put his free hand against her cheek and slowly pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes, taking in the moment. This kiss was much different than the one she had had with Seifer. His was very forceful, but this kiss seemed so pure and soft. She didn't want it to end, and she kept her lips against his for as long as she could stay on her tip toes. The two slowly pulled back and each felt a warm sensation in their cheeks, but both smiled at each other.
He finally let go of her hand, but used his to pull her into an embrace. She pressed her face against his chest for a moment and felt happy and safe in his arms, the way she did the night he had stayed to comfort her. 'He's the one…' She knew it. But, she didn't want to jump ahead of herself. She had always known, but experiencing it was the best feeling to her.
"Goodnight, Selphie," he said and put a soft kiss on her head, taking in the strawberry scent of her hair.
She smiled and hugged him tightly before letting go. "Goodnight, Squall. I'll see you tomorrow." She reached over and opened her door, not taking her eyes off of him for a moment. She then walked into her room, slowly closing her door, behind her. But, she turned around almost immediately and stared at the door.
Squall watched her door for a moment, smiling to himself. Then, he walked down the hall to his room, putting his hands in his pockets. He went into his room, closing the door behind him. Then, fell back onto his bed, smiling. 'One of the best nights in a while…' He turned on his side and closed his eyes, falling asleep soon after.
'Wow…' Selphie thought as she fell back onto her bed. She pulled the covers over herself, not being able to stop smiling. 'Finally…' She closed her eyes, 'Maybe things are going to finally come together…the night was so great, they have to...' She drifted off to sleep with a small smile still on her face.
A distant pounding on his door at three in the morning woke Squall up from a peaceful sleep. He opened his eyes halfway and slowly moved to the door. He heard a faint whimpering on the other side that sounded like a girl crying. His immediate thought was that something had happened to Selphie. His eyes widened, and he quickly opened the door. His eyes grew even wider.
A bawling Rinoa stepped into his room, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck, "Squall! Thank god!"
To Be Continued…
Oh, I am just so mean with making complications for everyone when everything gets good. XD Oh well, another chapter is on its way after this one! I hope you are enjoying them!