Summary: Lust is a strange and powerful thing, having the ability to draw two people together within its entrapment or pit them against one another in jealous rage over something both parties desire, but neither have yet attained. SLASH Love-Triangle
CHAPTER TWO: PRESENTS AND PARTY PLANNING
"So much for that idea," Irvine muttered discontentedly to himself, shaking his head slightly and letting out an annoyed sigh. It's not that he didn't want to talk to Zell exactly, he just didn't particularly want to talk to him at this particular moment. Foiled in his plan to sneak back to his dorm room without being spotted, Irvine plastered a cool smile in place and waited for Zell to catch up to him.
"Hey, man! Where ya off to?" Zell greeted with his usual amount of enthusiasm. Irvine shrugged noncommittally in response, not really in the mood to explain why he was going to hole himself up in his room or try to think up an excuse as to why he had to be going just now and couldn't chat.
"Okay, anyway, I just wanted to catch you while you were alone and all. I was wondering if you wanted to pitch in to buy a birthday present for Squall; I really don't know what to get him or anything, but I thought that maybe if the two of us worked on it together, we'd be able to think of something he might actually want…by the way, did you see him and Seifer fighting earlier? I mean, wow! Great show, huh?" Zell rabbited on before finally asking for Irvine's input into the one-sided conversation. Irvine had completely forgotten that Squall's birthday was just around the corner, the big 18 too.
"Yeah," he replied despondently to Zell, trying to infuse just enough excitement into the answer for Zell to accept it and not ask for him to expound. He wasn't really sure what he was agreeing with, seeing as his mind was more occupied with what he should do about the Ice Prince's birthday. But Zell seemed satisfied with the rather vague response, nodding his head up and down in agreement, though Irvine wasn't sure whether he was agreeing with his small input or with something going on in his own head.
"Anyway, do you wanna go pick out a present in Balamb Thursday? Or we could even go up to Delling, maybe to Esther or something. I'm sure we'd be able to borrow the Ragnarok…" Zell trailed off, waiting for a comment from Irvine, who seemed to be spacing out a lot more than usual today. "You alright, man?" Zell asked the cowboy with concern, his eyebrows creasing in a worried frown.
"Yeah, yeah…I'm fine…we can go pick out a gift somewhere Wednesday or Thursday, just pretend we have to go do something for the festival…we'll figure out where to go later," Irvine provided, shrugging lightly as if to say that there was really nothing to it. Zell might not be able to see through his flippant act, even with all that he'd learned at Garden, but inside, Irvine was a downright mess.
What would he get for Squall? How the hell could he have forgotten? Admittedly, he half the time didn't even know what month it was, let alone the day--well, maybe that was exaggerating a tad, but still. He wanted to get his crush something nice that said 'I care about you a lot' in a friendly not flirtatious, but not purely platonic either, way. It had to be something Squall would actually like and use and…Hyne, that would take him forever to find!
Turning toward Zell once more, he suddenly realized another minor problem. Zell wanted them to buy something for Squall together. And that just wouldn't do at all. He wanted his gift to be special, something that would perhaps make Squall look at him in a new light. That wouldn't happen if the gift was from him and Zell.
That didn't mean that he and Zell couldn't go out shopping together, though...he'd just have to think of some way to get Zell to agree to getting separate gifts, and then get him off of his tail long enough to actually get the gift without the blonde peering over his shoulder the whole time. But that would be the easy part. Now to decide what he would get for Squall...
Everything that the brunette would need or want he already had...at least that's the way it seemed. There had to be something that he could get for Squall, but what? He'd said he needed a new blender the other day...but a blender wasn't very romantic, to say the least. He could get him a new earring, maybe with Griever on it or something...but that might be kind of tacky. He needed something special, something unique, something that said that he'd put a lot of thought into it and really focused on what Squall himself would pick out.
There were always weapons upgrades and attachments, but that wasn't personal enough, anyone could see that Squall's gunblade was important to him. Squall's bomber jacket was starting to get pretty worn out, maybe he could get him a new jacket, a leather trench coat or something? Before he could really ponder that idea, Zell suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Irvine? Dude, you totally spaced out there for a second. You sure you're okay?" Zell questioned, looking concerned as he peered intently at Irvine, trying to see if he was ill or something.
"I'm fine, I was just...thinking of a gift for Squall," Irvine replied truthfully, figuring that it was a safe enough answer as long as he didn't reveal exactly what he had been thinking.
Zell nodded, seeming satisfied with the response. "Yeah, well he's a tough one to chose for," Zell assessed, shaking his head slightly as if to suggest that he was disappointed with Squall's behavior. "Well, I've got to go, I told Quisty I'd do a demonstration for one of her classes. So, I guess I'll see ya later."
"Yeah, see ya," Irvine responded, watching as Zell waved enthusiastically before jogging off in the direction of the elevator. Shaking his head at the blonde's typical energy, Irvine idly wondered, not for the first time, whether Zell had ADD. He wouldn't be surprised if he did.
Now if he could just make it to his room as originally planned without getting stopped again...which was easier said than done. With just a peripheral flash of yellow to warn him, Irvine was suddenly attacked from his right, the creature latching onto him in an excited hug. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"Selphie, do you mind?" he asked the girl, unable to move his arms due to her strangle hold around them. Selphie giggled, though complied with Irvine's request.
"Irvy! I'm so glad I found you," she announced, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "I thought I was going to have to eat lunch all by myself," she complained, pouting at the thought.
Grabbing hold of Irvine's arm, she proceeded to drag him off in the direction of the cafeteria, skipping slightly as she went. "Umm...Selph? I was just heading back to my dorm..." Irvine offered in mild protest, causing Selphie to stop in the middle of the hallway.
"Oh, come on, Irvy! Aren't you hungry? You can always go to your room later," Selphie pointed out, giving Irvine her best puppy dog look. Despite the fact that he still needed to figure out what he was going to get for Squall and had papers that he needed to look over, Irvine found himself unable to refuse.
"Alright, Selphie, but after that I need to go get some work done," he acquiesced, chuckling slightly as Selphie clapped her hands in excitement.
"Okay, I promise I'll let you get your work done, Irvy. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble now, would I?" Selphie smiled, teasing the cowboy good-humoredly.
Irvine rolled his eyes. "So what have you been up to?" he questioned, knowing Selphie well enough to tell that she had something up her sleeve.
The girl gave him the most innocent look she could muster. "Well..." Selphie trailed off, looking around to make sure that no one was listening in. Leaning closer to Irvine, she spoke low enough so that they wouldn't be overheard. "I'm planning a surprise party for Squall's birthday," she announced, smiling in devious delight as she unveiled her plan.
Irvine raised an eyebrow, wondering if perhaps Selphie had ADD too...or maybe she just consumed too much sugar--probably those darn Pixie Stix. The idea was actually pretty good, though. A surprise party, while not exactly something that Squall would chose for himself, might actually be good for Squall.
Guessing that there was more to the plan than just a simple birthday party, Irvine scrutinized Selphie. "And...?" he prodded, waiting for the full truth to be revealed.
"What makes you think there's more?" Selphie asked innocently, smiling up at her friend.
Irvine merely shook his head, smirking slightly at Selphie's typical behavior. "Selphie, I know you well enough by now to know that there's always more," the cowboy replied, chuckling.
Selphie rolled her eyes. "I suppose you're right," she conceded, giggling slightly. "Alright, I'll tell you. I managed to get us in The Spot, so after the big family fun stuff, with Laguna and everyone, we're going to go clubbing!" Selphie announced, voice growing louder with her excitement.
Although Irvine really should have expected such a stunt from Selphie, he still couldn't help but be both shocked and impressed. "You know, this is Squall's birthday, Selph, and I really don't see him as the clubbing type..." Irvine assessed, not wanting to burst Selphie's bubble, but also wanting to make sure that Squall would have a good time on his big day.
"I think Squall's a closet clubber," Selphie announced self-assuredly, not doubting her observation one bit. "I mean, have you seen the clothes he wears? I bet he frequents S & M parties in his spare time."
As much as the idea appealed to Irvine, he couldn't help but rule it out. "Squall never goes anywhere on the weekends, Selph. At least not anywhere that we don't know about, especially since we're usually the ones dragging him out. Squall's clothes may be a bit...contrary to what you'd think he'd wear based on his personality, but that's no reason for you to go and jump to conclusions," Irvine chastised lightly, grabbing one of the food trays as he and Selphie finally made it to the lunch line.
Selphie pouted, grabbing a tray of her own. "You're no fun, Irvy!" she complained teasingly. "Besides, I would have thought you would like the idea," she brought up casually, or at least as casually as she could.
Irvine gave her a searching look, wondering if she'd cottoned on to his crush. "What do you mean, Selph?" he questioned with forced nonchalance, grabbing a milk carton and vegetable platter and pretending to be clueless as to what she had been implying.
Selphie rolled her eyes, easily seeing through the charade. "I'm not blind, you know. I can tell that you like him," she declared with certainty, smiling in self satisfaction as Irvine turned away from her, blushing.
Regaining his composure, Irvine glanced back at Selphie as they made their way along the counter topped with food. "Don't go tryin' to set us up now, Selph," Irvine warned, his Galbadian accent becoming more noticeable with his nervousness.
Selphie looked disappointed. "Aww, Irv, why not? You two would be so cute together, and besides, I think it would be good for both you and Squall," Selphie informed her friend, somewhat hurt that he didn't want her help in winning over his crush.
Irvine sighed, knowing that Selphie truly meant well, but unsure whether Squall would welcome her meddling. "I don't know, Selph. I mean, what if Squall doesn't like me like that? He seems more apt to go for Seifer," he announced forlornly, the thought of Seifer bringing a frown to his face.
Truthfully, he didn't mind the guy despite the whole Sorceress War thing. He was mean and obnoxious, sure, but he didn't mean half of what he said and Irvine knew enough to not take him seriously most of the time. Besides, he remembered him from the orphanage, from when they were all kids, so he couldn't really hate him even if he'd wanted to. Even if Seifer was trying to steal Squall away from him. Not that he could blame the bastard; Seifer'd always had good taste.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Irvine," Selphie chastised, not liking Irvine's attitude about the whole situation. "Maybe Squall likes Seifer, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't like you too. And I know you well enough to know that you would hate yourself if you just sat back and let Seifer win. So cheer up already! Plus, you've got an advantage over Seifer," Selphie announced proudly, pausing in her pick-me-up speech long enough for Irvine to ask her what she meant by her last statement.
Irvine decided to play along. "Okay, Selph, I'll bite. What advantage do I have over Seifer?" he questioned deadpan, though he was somewhat curious as to the response.
Selphie laughed, latching onto Irvine's arm as they headed toward a table in the far corner to eat their lunch at. "Why, you've got me helping you, silly!" Selphie declared as if it should have been obvious. Irvine had guessed the answer correctly. And that's what he had been afraid of.
TO BE CONTINUED...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and sorry that this chapter took so long. Hopefully the next one will be out sooner, though I'm not making any promises. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chappie. ;)
Now to answer your questions...
Angels-Obsession: Yes, it is Irvine lusting after Squall. (I like Zell alright, but I've never really gotten into Zell slash.) Anyway, thanks for the rave review. ;)
Biskit: I haven't decided for sure whether it will be a threesome or whether I'm going to make Squall chose. I guess it just depends on the way the story progresses. I'll probably make Squall chose, cause I agree with you about Seifer being somewhat selfish, but at this point it's not set in stone.