Chapter Four: Territorial Dispute

Selphie sat on the edge of the dock, her short legs hanging over the edge. They were too short to reach the water, but every now and then, the waves would splash against the concrete and sprinkle her feet with the warm water. Her sneakers were next to her, her arms still wrapped around her middle. Her eyes stared blankly out over the ocean, the sun glinting off of the water reflected in them.

Zell sat, cross-legged a few feet away. He didn't watch out over the ocean; instead, he watched out over her. He didn't understand it. Maybe Irvine might have been okay in the beginning but he had been watching Selphie slowly crumble under the womanizing cowboy for two years now, ever since they got together after the demise of Ultimecia. Surely Selphie knew that this wasn't the first time Irvine cheated on her.

There had been rumors all over the school of who had gotten to sleep with Irvine every weekend. Some of them were just that, rumors. Who wouldn't want to say that they slept with one of the heroes from the Sorceress War and earn their fifteen minutes of fame? But soon the rumors started to fit so well with Irvine's agenda…

Zell shook his head. Selphie had been playing pretend all along. She knew all of what was going on. She just refused to believe it. She didn't want to believe that someone would hurt her so deeply, so personally. She had been so eager to fight Ultimecia because of the damage the black sorceress was causing but poor Selphie just couldn't fight the damage directed at her. There had been a time when Zell couldn't fight the pain too…

"Selphie? Do you ever remember your parents or anything?" He asked, picking up a pebble and tossing it from hand to hand, his eyes following it. He didn't want to look in her face and see the apparent pain that was tearing her apart.

She shook her head, shaking herself from her thoughts. "I dream about them from time to time." She pulled her feet up and tucked them under her neatly, sitting back on her heels. She began to play with grass that had grown in a crack in the harbor. "I like to think that my dreams are my memories but I don't know…" She glanced up at him, waiting for a fun comment or a grin, anything that could chase away the demons in her heart. But Zell didn't look up from the pebble, being tossed between gloved hands, as he told her about his memories.

"I unequipped the guardians as soon as we defeated Ultimecia. I didn't want to forget that battle. Or what we had gone through together. But as soon as I did that, I not only remembered, I started remembering things that I had forgotten." The pebble went faster and faster between his two hands. "I remember a small little village, kinda like Winhill but even smaller. It's near an ocean. I remember walking along the beach every day with my mom – my real mom – and picking up shells. When the sun started to set and the tide began to rise, my mom and I would go inside. She'd start cooking dinner and she'd let me rinse away all the sand and dirt from the shells.

"She'd tell me to pick out my favorite shells and when dinner was done, she and I would sit there, eating and stringing the shells together. We'd make necklaces, bracelets, decorations, everything you can think of with those shells. And some days we'd go out and sell them at the market." The pebble was flying between his hands. "My dad would come home, and we'd all eat dinner together. Then one day, when I was about six or seven…

"All the men gathered because Galbadia was forcing everyone to join the war against Adel. My mom didn't want my dad to go; she was pregnant and couldn't manage on her own. My dad tried to make her go back home but she refused, not without him. One of the Galbadian soldiers got mad and he tried to push her away. She tried to fight him but he got rougher with her. My dad tried to stop the soldier and the soldier pulled out his gun." Zell's voice broke but he quickly cleared his throat and kept telling his story. Selphie stared at him, wide-eyed.

"He accidentally shot my mom. He killed both her and my baby sister. My dad lost it. He loved my mom so much… He lived for her. And he died for her. My dad killed the soldier then shot himself in the head…" The pebble flew from his hands and landed with a 'plunk' in the water before sinking. He rubbed at his eyes briefly before looking up at her.

"Zell… I…" She said, her voice a whisper. He fumbled with something around his neck. Over his head, he pulled it and extended it in her direction. It was a worn black string, strung with several kinds of shells.

Their eyes met. "Last summer I went back to the orphanage to talk to Edea and see if she knew anything about my parents. She brought me a black tin box, shaped like a heart, filled with all kinds of stuff. She pulled out this necklace and told me that it had been clutched in my fist when I had been brought to the orphanage. She had kept it, because she knew that someday we'd all remember our parents and would want a small piece of them. This was the last necklace that my mom and I had made, the day she died." Selphie gulped. She climbed up and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He grabbed her hand and placed the necklace in her hand. He closed her fingers around it. She lifted her head, confused. He looked at her, his blue eyes serious. "I want you to have it, Selphie." She shook her head, fervently, and tried to hand it back to him but he wouldn't take it.

"Oh, Zell, I can't. It's yours… It's a family heirloom. It's special to you…" She panicked, trying to give it back to him. But he wouldn't take it!

"Selphie." He said, firmly enough that she stopped and looked back up at him. "You are special to me." He stood up and walked away, heading back in the direction of his house. Selphie looked down at the necklace in her hands before putting around her neck. Her fingers brushed the precious sea shells gently and she tucked the necklace under her shirt. She looked out over the sea, her mind filled with thoughts and memories.

xxx

"Hello? Hello? Is anybody here?" Irvine banged on the closed window, hollering for someone to answer him. He had to find Selphie and he didn't want to go wandering around Balamb City, looking for her, and then find out that she was actually on the train heading to Esthar or something like that. Finally the shade lifted up and an old man appeared at the window. He yawned loudly and groaned.

"What do you want? What!" The man shouted, rubbing at his eyes.

"Did you see a short girl, with flippy brown hair come through here yesterday?" Irvine shouted, banging his hand on the ledge for emphasis. The man glared at him with red eyes before sliding the shade down loudly. "Hello?" Irvine asked. When he got no response, he groaned. Great, now what?

His answer came when he looked down the road and saw Zell running up from the ramp that led to the dock. The blonde man didn't see Irvine as he ran down the steps into a house, that Irvine recognized as Molly Dincht's place. He thought about following after Zell but decided against it. If Zell had actually tried to convince Selphie to come back to him, she would be back in his arms right now. So, maybe Zell wasn't to be trusted…

The cowboy was careful sneaking past the Dincht's residence, making sure to crawl past the windows. But as soon as he had passed the house, he climbed to his feet and ran to the dock. He smiled as he saw her. She sat on the edge of the dock, wearing her red tank top and black shorts. He almost didn't recognize her without the happy flip in her hair but he knew it was her. He could pick her out from a crowd of a million people. He walked up behind her.

"Zell?" She asked, thinking it was the fighter that was walking up behind her.

Irvine glared. Yeah, Zell's gonna get it! But he dropped the glare and put a smile on his face to greet his girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. Or soon-to-be-girlfriend. Whatever she was. "No, baby, it's me."

Selphie jumped and she nearly toppled over into the water but Irvine caught her and pulled her to her feet. He bent over and to hug her but she shoved him away. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing here?" She threw her hands in the air and shook her head. "No, Irvine, I don't want to hear it. Leave me alone, go back to Balamb. We're over…"

He grabbed her wrist but quickly let go again when she spun on him, furious, fire in her forest green eyes. "Baby, just let me say something… Please? C'mon, I went to freakin' Quistis and Seifer for advice, the least you can give me is a chance to explain myself!"

She stopped and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Explain yourself? What's there to explain? We've been together for two years and clearly our relationship means nothing to you because you'll sleep with whatever skank comes along and tries to jump in your bed. I thought we had something, Irvine, but obviously, I was just being used, a toy for your entertainment." Irvine bowed his head when he saw that tears were welling up in her eyes. He fell to his knees in front of her and took her hands in his.

Gently he kissed each and every knuckle on her hands before looking up at her. She was sobbing as he began to speak. "Ever since I was a stupid little teen boy, I ran around with all of the girls. I never could keep a girlfriend, but that was okay because I didn't really want any of them. I just craved the attention. Since I didn't know my parents, I wanted something to cling to, something I could call my own, but none of the girls I met could fill the hole in my heart." He climbed to his feet but looked down at her. He brought a hand to her chin and tilted her face upwards to him.

"And then I found you… You made me feel like no other. I was sure that I had finally found the missing puzzle piece and it scared me. I was scared because I thought that I'd lose you again. I got stupid, the fear made me an idiot. I should have just trusted our love and let it be at that. But no… I'm so sorry, baby, but I promise that if you give me another chance, I will show you. You are the only thing that I've ever wanted!" He leaned down to kiss away her tears but before he could, a voice shouted.

"Get away from her!" Selphie yanked her hands out of Irvine's grasp and turned to look as Zell ran down the ramp. He stepped in front of Selphie, blocking her from Irvine. "Go away, Irvine. She doesn't want you anymore. You hurt her too many times." Selphie bowed her head and began to walk along the edge of the dock.

Irvine stared at Zell. "I thought you told me you would help me. I thought you agreed to try and talk her into coming back to me!" He yelled.

Zell shook his head, laughing. "No, I said I'd talk to her. I never agreed to anything. I talked to her and convinced her that she could do better and that this was the one chance she needed to be rid of you and be who she really is."

Irvine tried to sidestep Zell but the blonde matched him step for step. "Selphie, sweetheart, please tell him. Tell him that you want to be with me. Baby, I love you!" He stammered, pleading with her. But before he could move around the blonde to reach out for Selphie, Zell landed a punch in Irvine's stomach. When he pulled his fist away and watched as Irvine doubled over in pain, he gawked. He couldn't believe that he had actually hit him… He closed his eyes as he heard Selphie gasp.

Selphie yelped. Tears flooded her eyes. "Can't I just be happy…?" She whispered. She stormed past the two men in her lives and ran to the only place she had found a moment of respite – Zell's bedroom. She closed the door and locked it before burying her face in the pillow. Why didn't it ever end? She had thought that the battle against Ultimecia would be the hardest thing she'd ever have to do but she was horribly wrong.

"Selphie? Baby, I'm sorry…" Irvine pleaded with her at the door, knocking softly. She could hear the sound of something sliding against the wall and a soft thud. She bit her lip, silencing her sobs, to find out what happened. Did Zell hit him again? "I'm so sorry… Can't you believe me? Just give me one more chance, sweetheart…" She started to cry again. Nope, Zell hadn't hit him again, Irvine had just leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, to sit there.

"Go away, Irvine. Go back to Garden." She mumbled. "Leave me alone!" Her eyes turned towards the window when she realized someone had knocked on it. Zell's face appeared in the window and he flashed her a grin. She groaned and rolled over, covering her face with the pillow. He yanked the window open as quietly as he could and scrambled into the room. He sat at the foot of the bed, the smile gone from his face as he stared at the pillow she was hiding under.

"Selphie, I'm not the kind of guy who will sit here and beg. And I know that it is your decision on what do you with this situation. But I just want you to remember how special you are to me. I'm your best friend and if things are to stay that way, then fine. But I never want to be anything less than that." She peeked under the pillow at him and he smiled at her sadly before climbing to his feet and creeping back out the window.

Irvine knocked one more time at the door. "Seffie?" She could hear someone climbing the steps behind him. "Oh, hi, Ms. Dincht." He mumbled, taking his hat off.

"Irvine, it's getting late. It'd be best for you to return to Balamb Garden for tonight and let Selphie rest." Irvine nodded and headed down the stairs. Selphie climbed out of bed and stood at the window, watching his slow progression down the street and out of the city. She sighed and when she looked down, she could see Zell sitting in the street, leaning with his back against the house. He had his head down. Selphie sighed. What was she supposed to do?

xxx

"Zell?" She whispered, stepping out the front door. She glanced down the street. He was sitting where he had been earlier. Where could he be? She pulled her jacket tighter around her body before heading towards the docks. She could see the outline of the dueler sitting at the edge of the dock, his legs hanging over just like hers had been earlier that day. His blue eyes were staring out over the sea, which was as flat as marble.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled. "Hey, Seffie…" He turned back to the ocean. She sat beside him and took his hand in hers. He glanced at her, confused, but by now, her eyes were trained on the sea.

"I was always trying to make everyone else happy. Ever since I was a little girl, my goal in life was to keep everyone else smiling, even if it cost my own happiness. During the war with Ultimecia I stayed by Irvine's side because I didn't want to hurt him by rejection. But the more time I spent with him, the happier I found myself." Her grip on Zell's hand tightened. "But then I felt him pulling away. I began to feel like I wasn't enough to keep him happy. I fell out of love with him. Or maybe I never really loved him. Maybe it was just habit to feign love while trying to keep him happy." Her lip trembled and her voice grew shaky.

"Selphie…. I'm sorry… " Zell began but she cut him off.

"I should have seen it from the beginning." Her eyes turned towards him. "I never loved Irvine because… Because I loved you, Zell… But things didn't seem right. All I wanted to do was make people happy but you… You were already happy. So I pushed myself away, thinking that you didn't need me. But in fact, I needed you…" Selphie began to cry, her grip loosening on his hand. He pulled her close, keeping her in a tight hug.

"I love you, too, Selphie."

"You're the only one who really saw me for who I really was. I'm no different from everyone else. If you cut me, I'll bleed. If you hurt me, I'll cry." He kissed her lightly on the lips and held her tight, wiping away her tears.

"I'll never hurt you, Selphie, I promise."

She stared up at him, tears still blurring her vision. Irvine said the same thing, Zell... But Selphie didn't say a word and just let herself be comforted. She blinked away the remaining tears and looked away from his steady gaze and out over the ocean. Was this the new start that she needed? She smiled. It was definitely a new direction.