Disclaimer: (See Part I.)
A/N: Chayn is a character that I made up; I own nothing else but the plot of this story.
To my readers/reviewers: I'm sorry for any OOC-ness that Zell has portrayed.
-.-.-.-.-
Wednesday. Irvine stood in line for his lunch in the cafeteria. Was that Selphie coming his way? It most definitely was. On her plate she had a grilled cheese sandwich, which Irvine painfully remembered was her favourite food. Coming up behind her was Seifer.
Irvine snarled as the replacement put his arm around Selphie's waist and they shared a laugh together. Irvine caught Selphie's eye as she passed and forced a smile.
She glared at him and continued to walk by with Seifer.
Irvine quickly bought his lunch and found an empty table to sit at.
Shortly, Rinoa and Quistis joined him. Irvine welcomed them happily as he didn't want to sit alone.
"Oh, Quistis, did you know that the cafeteria lady's son likes stuffed pink panda bears?" asked Rinoa.
"Really...?" asked Quistis, not really sure what to make of the fact.
Irvine would have asked what they were talking about, but he figured it best to just let this conversation slip by him.
Faster than one could say 'moomba', the conversation turned in the direction of Irvine.
"So Irvine, who are you with these days... or nights? Seeing any nice ladies?" asked Quistis, genuinely interested in what Irvine had been up to.
"Yeah, Irv, who ya hanging out with?" asked Rinoa, taking a sip of her juice.
Irvine shifted his weight nervously on his seat. "Well, um... I think it's a little early to be hooking up with someone new, don't you"
"Well yeah," said Quistis "but not for you."
Irvine shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't deny the truth, but he knew that he had disappointed the ladies by not being able to fill them in on his personal life.
"Irvine, I never thought I'd ask this, but..." Quistis paused "are you attracted to men?"
"What about Zell?" Rinoa added quickly. "You've been hanging around with him a lot lately."
Irvine could feel his face redden. "Well... He's been helping me through some, uh... issues."
"But you were really worried about him the other day when you asked me to go and talk to him for you," Rinoa reminded.
"Of course I was!" Irvine said, regaining his cool. "He had flipped out and I just wanted to help him with his school work. He's a little touchy when it comes to jokes, ya know?"
"Oh..." said Quistis with disappointment. "I thought you two were closer than that."
"Yeah," said Rinoa to Quistis. "I guess Zell's just out of luck."
"What do you mean?" asked Irvine.
"Oh, nothing" said Rinoa. "You aren't interested."
Irvine's eyes widened in shock. "Well, I'm interested in what you have to say now. Tell me."
"Un-un!" Rinoa shook her head. "Zell might get mad if I tell you."
"If you tell me what?" asked Irvine becoming more aggressive. "I won't tell him, I swear!" He crossed his heart.
Rinoa smiled at Quistis before looking back to Itvine. "Okay, it's like this. Zell has a big crush on you."
"What?" asked Irvine in disbelief.
"Oh yeah, mega crush!" Quistis confirmed.
"No he doesn't!" Irvine confirmed. "We're just friends."
"Well, like it or not, that's not how Zell feels," said Rinoa.
A sad look befell Quistis' face. "Oh no!" she said.
"What is it Quisty?" asked Rinoa.
Quistis' eyes became teary. "Now Zell's going to have a broken heart."
Rinoa became teary-eyed, too. "You're right!" She and Quistis hugged each other in an attempt to comfort each other from the sadness of the whole situation.
Irvine looked around quickly to see if anyone at the other tables was watching the girls' dramatic scene. "No one's going to have a broken heart, because no one has a crush on me!" Irvine said with force, hoping that the girls would finally get the message.
"Oh, how would you know?" snapped Rinoa. "You're a guy! You have no idea how the hearts of women work."
"Um... but Zell's a dude, too..." Irvine pointed out.
Quistis glared at Irvine. "Hearts of women." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter if he's male."
"You have no idea how Zell begged me to talk to him for you," Rinoa lied. "I thought he was gonna cry!"
"Why would he want you to talk to me?" asked Irvine. "He sees me far more than he sees you."
Rinoa and Quistis looked at each other with knowing looks and exclaimed in harmony "Clueless!"
Irvine raised an eyebrow at the girls in question, but they ignored him.
"Zell's too shy too talk to you about affairs of the heart," said Rinoa. "I mean, you're his crush. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
Irvine wore a blank expression and shook his head.
"Irvine, you just have to give Zell a chance!" Rinoa went on. "He'll be heartbroken if I have to tell him that you rejected him."
"I haven't rejected him though, we're still friends," Irvine said simply.
"Yeah, just friends... like you and Selphie are now right?"
Irvine's mouth hit the floor. How dare they use his own experiences against him! Stupid, evil, conniving women. He did, however, see the point that they were trying to make.
Irvine sighed. "If it will make you feel any better, I'll go and talk to Zell."
Quistis looked at Irvine the way that a mother would her son after he's taken his first steps or said his first word. "Aww! I knew you were attracted to men!"
"I didn't say that!" Irvine objected, standing up to leave.
Quistis shook her head as if she were trying to rid something from her mind. "Whatever." She waved goodbye to Irvine.
"Go get 'im Irv!" Rinoa called to Irvine's back.
Irvine glanced back to the table with a confused expression, and Rinoa wink at him.
-.-.-.-.-
Zell had been released from the Infirmary earlier that morning as his injuries were only minute. Chayn had told him that the Grat had only affected him with a powerful sleeping spell, and that Dr. Kadowaki said that they only needed to keep him in the Infirmary to make sure that there was nothing more serious involved with his condition.
Still in a little pain from the experience, Zell was cautioned to stay in bed and rest for a few more days, but after that he was free to attend his classes again. Joy.
While lying bored to death in his bed, Zell couldn't help but let his mind wander to thoughts of Irvine and his pretty boy good looks. He wondered if Rinoa would really talk to Irvine. Of course, there was no way that Irvine would ever like him even if he did like guys, which Zell was positive that didn't. Zell was just a little boy with a temper. Compared to Irvine, he was like seagull pooh on the base of beautiful statue.
Still, it was nice to think about what life would be like with Irvine. Of course, Zell had had no previous relationships, but he assumed that they would do things together like go out for supper, to the movies, anywhere, as long as they were together. Irvine would teach him how to shoot like a man, and he would show Irvine a few boxing moves.
Then Zell thought about the negative side that their relationship might have. Teasing, hateful remarks, maybe even fist fights, but it could all be worth it if there was a chance that the taller boy felt the same as Zell was feeling now.
Zell was feeling more nervous than ever. What would happen to their friendship if Irvine rejected him? They had to sit beside each other in second class! That would be awkward, but even before that stage, what if Irvine confronted him Zell about the situation? Maybe he shouldn't have let Rinoa take matters into her own hands.
Zell sighed in the quiet room and then a knock on his door made him jump.
His heart raced as he carefully got up and walked to the door, not noticing the pain as much as the last time that he arose from bed. He opened the door to no one other than Irvine.
Impulse told him to close the door again, but Zell resisted the urge.
"Hey," said Irvine coolly. "Can I come in?"
Zell swallowed hard. "Sure." His mind screamed, 'NO!'
Irvine moved past Zell into the messy dorm room. Then he turned to look at Zell, who still hadn't closed the door. It was as if he expected Irvine only to walk in, retrieve something that he may have left behind, and then promptly leave again.
But he did not leave.
There was an uncanny silence in the room that hung in the air like a summer heat wave.
To Zell's surprise, the room suddenly felt as it the temperature had gone up about 20 degrees, even though that was quite impossible. He felt slightly dizzy and wobbled back and forth unsteadily.
In a blur of motion Irvine moved to Zell's side and lead him back to his bed to rest. He placed the back of his hand on Zell's perspiring forehead and wasn't surprised to find that the shorter boy was running a fever.
"It looks like I came by just in time," said Irvine, wrapping the boy back into his blankets. He disappeared into the bathroom and returned to the bedside with a cool damp washcloth, which he placed gently on Zell's forehead.
Zell closed his eyes and welcomed the cooling sensation of the damp cloth. "I'm sorry," Zell apologized for his condition.
"Don't be," said Irvine. "I'm just happy that I can be here for you now to repay you for helping me." He leaned forward involuntarily, though not against his own freewill either, and softly kissed the shorter boy's tattooed face.
-.-.-.-.-
End of Part VII.