Chapter 12
pride and punishment

"Hey Squall, so about our bet…" I heard her say. I stopped in my tracks and started to slowly turn around.

"Oh, you mean the bet that I won?" I casually asked. She was still leaning back against the railing with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her face was still flushed and her eyes were narrowed at me. She was obviously upset, but there was something else I could see in her eyes. Past the fury and wrath, there was a flicker of deep rooted pleasure. The corners of her mouth giving away that she was fighting a smile.

"No, you must be mistaken, the bet that I won," she said calmly as she began to walk towards me.

"What the hell are you talking about, it's pretty damn obvious that I won the bet," I responded while giving her a quizzical stare.

"Uh, no, it's pretty obvious that I won the bet" she said in a raised voice. What the hell? Is she blind?

"I…I'm sorry…what is this we're floating on?" I asked while feigning my utter ignorance. "Wait…wait…don't tell me…is it a…" I said as I paused to rub my chin with my thumb and forefinger, "…is it a plane? No that can't be right, I don't see any wings," I mumbled. "Is it a…car? No, no that's not right either, no tires. Well shit, you've stumped me Rinoa. Please, enlighten me, what is this that we're magically floating on?" I sarcastically asked.

"Alright smartass, it's obviously a boat but-"

"Wait, what did you just call it…a boat?"

She was boring holes into my head with her rabid glare. I began to smile knowing that the next word I would say would surely set her off, unleashing a plague upon me of epic proportions. I bent down so that I was eye level with her.

"Yeah it's a boat, and that means I won…so get over it" I said with spite. I then turned around and walked back to the bent where Zell was reclining. I was about to sit down when I heard her call out.

"You most certainly did not win the bet Squall!" Hyne, what is this! How is it that she won? Is she that blind? Maybe she swallowed too much sea water as a kid?

"How is it that you won? We're on a boat!" I exclaimed as I turned around to see her storm down the aisle.

"Yeah, a STOLEN one at that!"

"So what! We've got a boat! Sure Mr. Dumbfuck here went off and stole one, but we've got a boat! Therefore I won!"

"Hey, I resent that, Puberty Boy!" Seifer cried out, but it went unnoticed.

"No you didn't!" she said as she approached me, getting right up in my face. "I never said 'I bet you won't be able to steal a boat' I said 'I bet you won't be able to find a single person on Balamb to drop us off on Ponchi!'"

"Well here's a newsflash for you, Seifer and I just happened to be on Balamb, and guess what…Seifer is taking us to Ponchi!" I said while pointing over at blonde.

"That's such a bullshit excuse. The fact of the matter is you didn't find anyone to drop us off," she spat out.

"Why can't you just accept the fact that you lost!"

"Because I won!" she said through clenched teeth.

Unbelievable. Never did she say anything about not stealing a boat, so technically what Seifer did was okay…well it wasn't okay…in a sense that…with the shooting and all…ah fuck it. I'm not even going to try and explain it. 'The fact of the matter is blah blah blah'. 'I'm right because I'm a surfer, I'm rich and famous, and besides, I look really cute when I pout'…okay so she really didn't say that, but damn it, I can be pissed off can't I? I mean, I have a valid reason, I won the fucking bet!

While in the midst of my self brooding, I had to shut my eyes and take a deep breath to try and quell the anger that was slowly starting to boil over. I felt like I was back at garden arguing over something as petty as a triple triad game. This was ridiculous. It became apparent to me that neither of us was going to budge on the subject. I slowly opened my eyes turned my head towards Quistis and Seifer.

"Alright, so who won?" I calmly asked.

"Squall," "Rinoa," they both said practically in unison.

"Well clearly Squall won, Rinoa never specified that stealing a boat was not an option, and besides, I was on Balamb," Seifer explained to Quistis.

"Thank you," I chimed.

"Wait a minute Squall, don't celebrate yet. Seifer, I think Rinoa meant that no locals would drop us off on Ponchi. So you being on the island doesn't count, and neither does stealing a boat. Sorry Squall, I'm gonna have to side with Rinoa on this one," Quistis equally explain, only more eloquently than Seifer.

"HA!" Rinoa mocked as she smirked.

"Irvine? Selphie?" I asked while starting to get annoyed.

They both looked at each other and began brainstorming, each vying for either outcome of the bet. They huddled together making sure that no one could hear them, acting as if their decision would forever change the fate of the world. Soon they both started becoming more vocal until a shouting match practically broke out.

"She meant a local not Seifer! And Squall didn't even get the boat!" Selphie cried out

"She didn't specify! Come on Selphie, Squall won."

"Specify? Specify this!" Selphie said as she promptly slugged Irvine in the gut.

"UGH! Selphie, I thought we talked about this, how you weren't going to hit me in the stomach anymore," Irvine wheezed out as he bent forward.

"Oh yeah…" Selphie admitted as an after thought, "sorry Irvy, it slipped."

I just covered my face with both of my hands and ran them through my hair. I stood with both my hands behind my head and slowly turned towards Zell who was eating something from a bag. He was about to stuff his face full with something that looked liked…is that dried, mashed up hotdogs…Hyne Zell…until he noticed that everyone was staring at him. He dropped what he was eating nonchalantly and stood up to face us.

"I'm sorry, what?" he hesitantly asked.

"Who won the bet Zell," I stated rather than asked.

"Ah yes, the bet, the wager, the jackpot, the big stake, the gamble, the-"

"Ah fuck man! Yes Zell, we know, now just answer the man!" Seifer lashed out.

"Alright, the thing is…I wasn't really there when the bet was made…so how do I really know what was said between you?" he weakly offered.

"Zell just fucking choose! Who do you think is right?" I spat out.

"Don't yell at him, let him make up his own mind," Rinoa said while glaring at me.

"I'm not yelling at him, I'm just asking him a simple question," I said through clenched teeth.

"Uh…I…Ri..no Sq..a" he whimpered.

"Oh fuck this, I'm beating it out of him, Quistis grab the wheel," Seifer stated as he began to make his way towards Zell. Quistis obliged while Seifer lunged for Zell, but Zell darted out of the way and tripped over some bags. Zell scrambled to get up but was grabbed and pulled up by Irvine.

"Hold him Irvine," Seifer said as he got up from the bench seat and made his way towards the cowboy, "I'm gonna smash his fucking skull in." Seifer grabbed Zell's collar and raised his fist.

"Seifer you know you won't hit me, you have too slow of a punch," Zell commented. Before Seifer could bring his fist down Selphie stepped between them.

"Boys! Back to your corners!" she said while trying in vain to push Seifer away.

"Zell…just tell us who you think won," I said flatly.

"Alright, alright…geez…" Zell said. Both Irvine and Seifer released their grips and waited for the martial artist's answer. His eye darted back and forth nervously between Rinoa and me, and then he came to it, a moment of clarity. He straightened himself up and smoothed out his shirt, opened his mouth, and made a pained face.

No, NO! Don't you dare!

"…sorry Squall…but Rinoa won this one."

Traitor.

"And the truth shall set you free!" Rinoa proclaimed triumphantly as she threw her arms in the air in victory. Selphie pushed Seifer away and ran up to her, embracing her in the 'Selphie bone-crushing hug'. Rinoa's face immediately fell, although she tried to play it off, but I knew the pain she was going through, especially since she's a virgin to the 'Selphie bone-crushing hug'. Not knowing what else to do, I sat down and watched as Selphie and Rinoa spun themselves around in a circle, until Selphie tripped on one of the bags and they both fell down in a heap of laughter. Rinoa clutched her stomach with one hand while she laughed. Zell and Irvine joined along in their laughter, only it was directed at me.

I could hear Irvine making lewd comments along with Seifer and Zell taking their own stabs at me, but I didn't pay attention to them. My thoughts seem to have drifted off in a different direction. I could only focus on the bikini topped, denim cut-offs clad woman rolling around on our packs; it only faintly registered that she had randomly fallen on my pack. She smiled and gave Selphie a high five as she attempted to get up. As she stood up, she released her hair from its binding, letting long stands of raven hair flow down past her shoulders. She grinned from ear to ear as she ran her hands through her hair, shaking out the kinks, stretching out her toned stomach. Slowly, to me anyway, she turned toward Quistis who offered a congratulatory embrace. I closed my eyes with my hands covering my face.

Stupid fucking Zell, why did he have to side with Rinoa? She's probably paying him, yeah that's it. Hmmm, maybe it won't be so bad. At least she won't have you streaking anywhere, at least I hope not. As I tried to convince myself that this wouldn't be that bad, another fear started to balloon up in my mind. Squall, don't let this develop into anything…more.

As quickly as the sun reached its height in the sky, it started sliding down towards the horizon. The island of Ponchi with its towering cliffs was now visible as we continued up the coastline of Balamb. Everyone had seemed to settle down after the bet was "unfairly" settled in my opinion. A few rules had been established for me to follow, including a new name for me.

My name is now…Pugsley. I won't be able to speak unless Rinoa speaks to me, and when I do speak to her I'm not allowed to insult her or scowl at her. If I want to speak to anyone else I have to get permission from Rinoa. And how am I supposed to get permission from her if I can't speak unless spoken to? Yeah I wondered too, I guess I'll just have to throw something at her to get her attention. Lets see, what else…oh, I have to follow her around and wait on her hand and foot. So currently I am sitting on the floor with my legs stretched out and my arms folded against my chest, leaning against the bench cushion, and to my left is one of Rinoa's legs as she sits on the other facing Selphie. My sunglasses, which I was allowed to dig out from my bag provided they weren't broken, are pulled low and shielding my eyes. My view is hampered by the sides of the boat so I have nothing to look at, except for my feet…and…currently I am reciting the 'Five Little Pigs' in my head and wiggling my toes.

This little piggy went to the market. This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast geezard. This little piggy had none. And this little piggy cried "wee, wee, wee, wee," all the way home.

Shut the fuck up. I know you're laughing at me, but you try killing three hours with nothing but your feet to look at. Selphie and Rinoa have been playing mercy to kill the time. You know, that stupid game were you try and bend the other person's wrists back until they cry out 'mercy' from the pain. I hate that fucking game. I think Selphie has lost every single time, and yet, she giggles and laughs after every loss.

"How are you doing down there Pugs?" Rinoa asked. Oh, I'm having a fucking ball playing Five Little Pigs with my toes, and later, maybe I'll set up a tea party with them! How the fuck do you think I'm doing!

"Fine," I said as I held back my thoughts.

"Would you like to play mercy Pugs?" she asked me.

"No."

"Come on, I'll go easy on you, I promise," she begged.

"No."

"Oh don't be bitter Pugsley," she said as she as nudged me with the heel of her foot.

"I'm not," I replied with disdain.

"Fine be that way."

Just then the motor started to sputter. I looked up to Seifer who was steering the boat. He stared down at the gauges.

"Seifer, what's going on?" Irvine asked.

We're out of gas.

"I don't know," he replied as he continued to scan over the gauges. Quistis peered at the gauges for a moment and then pointed down at the gauge were the arrow was pointing at the large 'E'.

"We're out of gas," she said calmly. That's what I said. "That's what that big 'E' means Seifer."

"I knew that," Seifer said as he tried to cover his ass. The engine died. Everyone got up to look around at where we were and how far away from Ponchi we still were.

"Well at least we can see it," Selphie meekly offered. I slowly stood up and peered at the still distant Ponchi. The towering vegetated cliffs stood out with only a thin strip of beach visible.

"We're still closer to Balamb, so I suggest we camp there for the night since there is no way we can reach Ponchi before nightfall," Quistis said as she pointed back towards the coast.

"Alright, so how do we get back to the coast Miss Know-it-all," Seifer said as he folded his arms.

"Well, we could just ride the current back to the coast, but-"

"It's too slow, we won't get there before the sun sets," Zell added.

"Exactly. So, we either find an oar to use so we can row back to the coast, or someone volunteers pull us to shore," she said methodically, seemingly ignoring Seifer's comment. Zell pulled up the cushion on the seat.

"Okay, so there is no oar, but we've got an inner tube and a tow line," he said as he held up the deflated inner tube and pulled out the tangled tow line.

"So…who wants to volunteer then?" Quistis asked. Silence ensued. Well there's a shocker, no one wants to volunteer!

"Hey Rinoa, why don't you have Pugsley here tow us back to shore?" Irvine asked with a smile. Fuck! I glared at Irvine as he leaned back against the side of the boat with his arms resting against the railing, smiling away. Rinoa slowly turned towards me and looked as she was silently considering the thought.

"…heh…no, I couldn't do that to him, besides, he's injured," she said as she turned back around.

"I'm not injured," I said, taking offense.

"I'm sorry, Pugsley, did you say something?" Rinoa asked as she turned back around.

"I'm not injured," I said as my jaw tightened.

"You were shot, I'm not going to make you-"

"It grazed me, I wasn't shot" I interrupted rather condescendingly.

"Fine, you were grazed by a bullet, I'm still not going to make you tow the boat to shore," she replied.

"And why is that Rinoa?" I said as I stepped closer towards her, "because you would feel guilty knowing that a bullet grazed me while I saved you from getting hit? Because you would have to watch me pull the boat thinking that I'm in pain?" I spat out.

"Squall, she's just concerned that-" Quistis tried to reason.

"I don't need your pity," I said as I leaned down so that we were at eye level, ignoring Quistis. "Zell, give me the tow rope."

Alright, I admit, what I just said was really harsh, harsher than I intended it to be. The truth was that I didn't need let alone want anyone feeling sorry for me, it's not like I lost a leg or anything. I saw the hurt spread across Rinoa's face as she thinned her lips and looked down at her feet. She looked behind her and sat back down on the bench, giving everyone a forced smile. Zell tentatively held the rope out for me. Selphie walked up to me and softly punched me in the stomach.

"That you deserved, don't be an ass Squall," she said softly as she walked past me to sit down next to Rinoa. I took what she said to heart and snatched the rope from Zell's outstretched hand. I proceeded to walk towards the front of the boat. I walked past Quistis who just shook her head at me. I got to the front railing and crawled over it to the fiberglass ledge that converged to a point. I sat down and took off my sandals, tossing them behind me. I leaned over to see if there was a tow ring attached to the hull. I spotted the ring and began to tie a tight knot, pulling on it for good measure. Satisfied with the knot I created, I straightened up and gripped the rail as I slowly rose to my feet. I undid the button on my shorts and pulled the zipper down. I gripped the rail again as I slid out of my shorts, revealing my black trunks. I tossed them back inside the boat where my sandals were and sat back down of the ledge. Zell came up behind me and handed the other end of the rope to me.

"Good luck man, 'cuz you're going to be in a world of pain," he snorted as he rested his elbows on the railing.

"Thanks," I dryly replied. I sat there for a moment staring out at the ocean as it met the cloudless sky. I looked back towards Balamb and noticed that the sun was still above the canopy of treetops, but would soon disappear. I peered down at the waves as they lapped against the hull of the boat. Shit, this is going to hurt like hell. I took off my sunglasses and pulled my ring off, handing them to Zell.

"How far do you think it is?" I asked.

"Ah…only a about a mile, give or take…a couple…hundred yards," he said with a smile.

"Great," I said as I wrapped the end of the rope around my fist. "Well, here goes nothing."

I stood up from the ledge and jumped into the water. Immediately the pain ripped through my body as the salt licked my wounds. As I plummeted through the water I began slowing in speed until I eventually stopped descending. I shut my eyes tightly as the stinging pain seemed to increase with every second. Both my head and my side began throbbing. I found my strength seeping away from me as the pain slowly began paralyzing my body. My lungs were beginning to burn, signaling my need for oxygen. It took every ounce of energy to get my legs moving, kicking me back up to the surface. When I did break the surface I gasped for air and let out low wail. My eyes were still closed as I moved one arm down to press on my side, yet this produced even more pain. I grit my teeth and took a sharp breath inward, slowly releasing it.

"Hey, he's alive! That's twenty gil Seifer," I heard Irvine call out.

"Fuck!" Seifer cried out. I opened my eyes in time to see Seifer pull the gil from his back pocket.

Without responding, I turned towards the coast and started swimming away. I quickly found that using my arms to help me swim wasn't an option as every time I stretched my torso out it felt like someone was taking a chainsaw to my side. I closed my eyes as another wave of pain engulfed my senses, rendering me practically motionless. Somehow I found the strength to keep my legs kicking.

I suppose this is what I deserve. I wish that I could take back what I had said to Rinoa earlier. It wasn't her fault. It was my fault for dragging her into all of this. Today had already been a rollercoaster ride, and there was no telling what I would have to endure once we reached shore. So far today I've been an ass, a smartass, an overbearing and protective…ass, and finally an all around shithead, and all of these just in front of Rinoa. There really was no need for me to be the latter. The truth is I never did find anyone on Balamb that would drop us off on Ponchi, not a single person. I take it that neither did Seifer. Sure I could've admitted that I was wrong and avoided the argument with Rinoa, but I choose to but heads with her. I refused to lie down like a wet blanket; I had my pride to defend. Yes, she had won the bet fair and square, but part of me wanted to see her riled up. I was coming close to crossing a line, a line that has frightened me since I was nine.

"Hey Squall, can you go a little faster? It's getting kinda hot and we could really use a breeze!" Eat shit and die Seifer.

Even when I let her help me, I knew that I was coming close to crossing that line. I don't know what made me do it. I was suddenly acting on a whole new playing field, carnal instincts almost. I no longer had any control over my actions. I knew I shouldn't have let her get that close in the first place. Everything about her was becoming intoxicating to me. The smell of her scented coconut shampoo in her hair, her silken skin rubbing against mine, the way her face started to redden in our contact; it was all becoming too overwhelming for me, I couldn't back away, I couldn't stop. Hyne, it was like I was back to being an addict again, just pushing myself to the limits to get that elusive euphoric feeling. So I trapped her and leaned in. Blood curdling screams rang out in my mind, but I could only faintly hear them over her rapid breath and thunderous heart beat. I knew that what I was doing was only going to hurt Rinoa in the long run, yet I couldn't stop myself.

With the sun retreating behind that treetops and casting an eerie red hue across the sky, the beach was quickly coming into view. Soon I could feel the muddy sand envelope my feet as I dug my feet in to stand up. Tiredly, I trudged forward and the water level began to fall from my shoulders down to my waist as I climbed higher up onto the beach. Feeling that the boat had gotten stuck in the sand, I dropped the rope and continued up towards the beach. As the water fell below my most recent cut a new and more powerful wave of pain radiated outward and it came in contact with the air. I sucked in a breath and plowed up the beach, my legs being dragged down by the weight of the water. I finally made it up to the swash but couldn't command my legs to go any further and collapsed from the overbearing pain, or was it from the impending turmoil?

"Heh, give me back my gil Irvine."

I knew that I was getting too close, closer than I have ever been, and it was scaring the shit out of me. The only problem is I don't think I can stop it from happening.

there you have it. so this chapter is a giftto those of your who are willing to give a review. who da thunk, an update in less than a week. i must say i quite impressed with myself! anywho, thanks again for the reviews, however far and few between they are, they still count. oh yeah, and i don't own the Five Little Pigs story or even know who wrote it in the first place. so if you do know, give yourself a pat on the back, cuz you're a frickin genious. hmm...maybe it was the cousin of mother goose...
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