Disclaimer: (See Part I.)

A/N: Chayn is a character that I made up, along with Buzz and Garold, and anyone else that I throw into this story that have nothing to do with FF8 whatsoever; I own nothing else but the plot of this story.

To my readers/reviewers: Getting close to the end now. I'm really excited. This will be my first ever completed FF8 fic! Yay! Thanks for all your comments and contributions! And people, I know more of you are reading this than are reviewing. Please let me know how I'm doing!

-.-.-.-.-

Irvine returned to his dorm room and immediately hooked up the ear piece for the monitor to a tape recorder so that he would have proof to show Zell, and ultimately, the Headmaster and have Chayn kicked out of the Garden, never to become a SeeD. Irvine chuckled to himself as he plugged the tape recorder into the wall socket.

"... Needed to speak with you, do you have a minute," a voice came through the recorder the second that it had been plugged in.

Irvine panicked. Chayn was already in the room not more than five minutes since he had been there. He ran to a stack of books and papers on his desk and threw them aside to find a blank tape to record on. He grabbed the tape, forced it into the recorder, and hit record.

"Sure, 'sup?" asked the familiar voice of Zell.

"Well, I was thinking, about what you had told me the other day about you and Irvine, and I thought that you would be the best person to talk to about this..."

Irvine furrowed his brows. Zell had told Chayn about their relationship? He sat down and waited intently to see where the conversation would go next.

Zell looked at Chayn with a confused expression. "What are ya talkin' 'bout?"

'May as well just come out and say it,' Chayn thought to himself. "Well, you have given me the courage, by telling me about your relationship, to finally be able to say this to you."

Zell and Irvine both waited for Chayn to tell them what he was talking about.

"And... what's that?" asked Zell.

"Zell, I... I- I LOVE YOU!" Chayn finally got his words out. He stared deeply into Zell's eyes.

"What!" Irvine asked aloud in his dorm.

Zell didn't say anything, causing Chayn to look away and blush with embarrassment.

Irvine jumped up and paced back and forth. He took off his hat and ran a hand over his head to smooth out his hair before putting the hat back on. The brat didn't know what he was talking about. How could he possibly know if he truly loved someone at his age?

"How long have you felt this way, Chayn?" asked Zell in a softer voice.

Irvine sat back down and waited anxiously for the little punks reply.

Chayn looked back at Zell. "Since that day when I helped Dr. Kadowaki dress your wounds and nurse you back to health when you were attacked in the Training Center." He paused and waited for Zell to say something, but he didn't, making Chayn feel very nervous.

Irvine listened and waited also. If someone didn't say something soon, he was going to get up and go to Zell's room to settle things between the two.

"I... don't know what to say," Zell began.

"Then do not say anything." Chayn reached over with his hand and rubbed the side of Zell's cheek as he had done many times over to the picture in his box.

Zell didn't resist the younger boy's touch. "But Irvine-"

"There is no Irvine," Chayn cooed. "You are over Irvine."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing." Chayn interrupted Zell with a lip locking kiss.

Zell was a little caught off guard, but he gave into the kiss. After all, it couldn't hurt to indulge the boy for the moment.

Irvine listened intently for more conversation. He didn't want to think about what was doing on in the other dorm. What if Chayn was trying to stab Zell at that very moment? He tried to calm himself. No, he would have heard a struggle, but what if there hadn't been a struggle? Irvine panicked more and prepared to rush out the door any second.

Even though Zell had called things off with Irvine, he felt a little devilish.

Chayn pulled back from Zell, and Zell assumed that the younger boy's business was done until Chayn began to tug at Zell's jacket in an attempt to take it off.

"Whoa," Zell pushed him back. "What are you doin'?"

Chayn was a little hurt by the question. "Isn't this what you want?" he breathed. "Don't you love me too?"

Zell didn't know how to answer the question. "Uh- I like you, but this isn't what I want."

"Then what do you want?" Chayn asked impatiently, moving behind Zell.

"To take things slooow." Zell recomposed his slightly disheveled appearance.

"Are you sure that's what you really want?" Chayn asked, playfully nipping at Zell's ear.

"Ack!" Zell jumped up. "Yes I'm sure!"

Chayn crawled his way to Zell. "If you really wanted to though-" Chayn began to undo Zell's belt.

Zell pushed his hands away. "No," he stated firmly, causing Chayn to pout. "I think you should leave now." He moved to the door and opened it.

Chayn stood up and straightened his navy blue uniform. "I will be back again," he promised before leaving.

Zell closed the door behind the younger boy and leaned up against the door, slowly sinking down to a seated position on the floor. He put his head into his hands and sighed. He didn't know what he wanted anymore.

-.-.-.-.-

Friday's class had nearly finished and Zell hadn't shown up. Irvine nervously tapped his pen against the desk, and wondered if Chayn had anything to do with the disappearance of his friend.

Irvine left the room quickly at the end of class and waited for Chayn.

As the younger boy came out of the classroom Irvine took him by his shirt and pinned him against the wall.

Chayn stared up at the taller student with innocent eyes. "Is something the matter, Mr. Irvine?"

"Is something the matter?" Irvine repeated. "Yes, something is the matter! Zell wasn't in class today and I know that you know why and where he is."

Chayn shook his head. "I assure you that I do not know where he is. Now will you please let me go, or will I have to call the instructor?"

Irvine snarled at Chayn. He was convinced that the rotten kid knew where Zell was, but there was nothing that he could do to force his knowledge about Zell's whereabouts out of him. At least not there in the hallway with everyone watching.

-.-.-.-.-

"Zell, is that you? What are you doing here? Isn't this area off limits when the Garden is in motion?" asked a familiar voice.

Zell looked over his shoulder to see Rinoa. "I could ask you the same thing."

Rinoa sat down beside Zell at the edge of the Garden entrance and dangled her feet over the edge.

Zell resumed his gaze down at the ground as it quickly flew by.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Life."

Rinoa looked interested. "Are you thinking of jumping off?"

"No."

Rinoa looked down at the ground too. "Whew! That's making me a little nauseous."

Zell smirked.

"Hey, are you ready to tell me why you and Irvine aren't talking yet?"

His smirk disappeared. "It's because he's going out with the library girl."

"No he's not," Rinoa said as if it were the most illogical thing she had ever heard.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know everything," Rinoa beamed.

Zell glared at her.

"What? You know it's true!"

The scary thing is, he did know it was true. "All right then, if Irvine's not going out with the library girl, then prove it."

"I don't need to. If you stayed on top of the gossip like me, you would know that Nida is going out with the library girl, not Irvine."

"But that can't be true, Chayn say that he saw Irvine flirting with the library girl."

"Who's Chayn? Oh, that boy in your class. He's probably just jealous that you're with Irvine and not him," Rinoa stated simply. "He's gay too, you know?"

It took a moment for Rinoa's words to sink in. "You think... he lied to me?"

Rinoa shrugged her shoulders. "I wouldn't put it past him." She stood up carefully on the edge and turned to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot! Irvine's been looking for you all morning. Well, see ya!" She waved.

Zell pulled his knees up to his chest. Why would Chayn lie to him to break him and Irvine apart? He thought that it seemed very uncharacteristic of the younger boy. He was a little disappointed in him.

He stood up and walked with determination toward the entrance of the Garden. He had to find Irvine and apologize for not believing him and being so stubborn.

Zell went to Irvine's dorm, but he wasn't there. He tried the cafeteria and the library too, but he wasn't in either of those places. Zell returned to his dorm room. He would have to wait until later to tell him that he believed him now.

As Zell walked into his dorm, he didn't notice the younger boy sitting on his couch waiting for him.

-.-.-.-.-

Irvine turned the door to Chayn's dorm room; it opened. He had seen the boy leave earlier, so he knew it would be safe to enter as long as Chayn didn't come back anytime soon.

Buzz had passed out on top of a large junk pile, and had probably been there since his last party.

Irvine moved carefully around him to Chayn's side of the dorm, which he assumed was the slightly less cluttered side. He was determined to find something that would prove that Chayn was up to no good, and hopefully, something that would get him expelled from the Garden for good.

Irvine moved around some papers and books, all of which related to Chayn's classes and not black magic as Irvine had suspected.

He opened Chayn's dresser and desk drawers, but all he found there were neatly folded clothes and stacks of paper. He moved to the bed and looked under the covers and the mattress. Nothing. He looked under the bed. 'What's this?' he thought, pulling out Chayn's secret box. He tried to force it open. 'A key...' Irvine looked all around him, through the dresser and desk again - everywhere - but he couldn't find a key.

He tucked the box under him arm, assuming that he could pick the lock when he wasn't facing the threat of being caught red-handed, and left the dorm.

When Irvine got back into his room, he tossed his jacket over a chair and turned up the volume on his tape recorder, which was recording constantly. He had already gone through a pile of tapes, all of which were mostly blank.

"That doesn't answer my question," Irvine heard Zell say through the monitor.

"What question," Irvine asked the tape recorder as if expecting it to answer him.

"I do not know what more you want from me," said Chayn.

"I just want to be left alone right now," said Zell.

"Why weren't you in class today?" Chayn ignored Zell's hinting that he should leave.

"I needed time to think about things."

"About... us?" Chayn moved closer to Zell.

"There is no 'us'," Zell confirmed. "You lied to me."

Chayn made a face. "What are you talking about?"

"Irvine was never with the library girl, Nida is going out with the library girl. You just wanted me and Irvine to break up so that I would be available again."

Chayn smiled. "And? Now you are available. It was the perfect plan." Chayn stood up from the couch.

Irvine heard the springs through the monitor.

"No it wasn't. I found out didn't I?" asked Zell.

Chayn shrugged. "That does not matter." He took Zell by the shoulders, and with hardly a struggle, he managed to push Zell backward onto the couch. He was by no means stronger than Zell, but they were approximately the same height and Zell hadn't see it coming.

The younger boy pinned Zell's arms down with his body weight and kissed him fiercely. "Irvine does not love you like I do; why can't you see that? What do I have to do to get it through your mind?"

"Get off of me!" Zell kicked wildly with his feet.

"Why won't you return my love?"

That was it. Irvine had heard enough. He grabbed his jacket from the chair and jogged down the hall to Zell's dorm. "Zell, open up!"

Zell and Chayn both looked over at the door.

"Tell him to leave," Chayn whispered into Zell's ear.

Zell struggled to get the boy off of him again, but Chayn didn't move. He couldn't just send Irvine away. Who knows what Chayn would do to him if Irvine left. Then he remembered; he hadn't locked the door. He smirked up at Chayn. "It's open!"

Chayn's eyes widened. He jumped off of Zell and raced to the door, but Irvine was already standing in the room.

"Zell, are you okay?" asked Irvine, glancing over Chayn's shoulder.

Zell stood up. "Yeah, Chayn was just leaving. Right?"

Chayn turned to face Zell. "That is correct, my Honey Lips." He glared at Irvine. "But first, let us examine the reason why Mr. Kinneas arrived at this exact moment. Chayn paced back and forth, occasionally glancing up at Irvine, not intimidated by his height. "Is it because he had an intuitive instinct to visit Zell as he was passing by? No," he answered for them before they had a chance to respond.

Zell stared at Irvine with a confused expression, which Irvine didn't notice because he was to busy snarling at Chayn.

"Or could it be that he was going to drop by to give Zell the work that he missed in class? Wrong again." Chayn moved past Zell to the couch. "I think the answer to this seemingly unsolvable mystery is that Irvine is in here at this exact moment because he has been listening in on Zell's private life through a monitor which he placed underneath Zell's couch." Chayn bent down, pulled out the monitor that Irvine had so skillfully hid, and placed it into Zell's hand.

"Irvine," Zell's eyes were filled with disappointment, "is that true?"

Irvine suddenly felt the need to defend himself. "Listen, it was only for your own good. I told you something was up." He narrowed his eyes at Chayn.

"Man... don't you think I can take care of myself?"

"Of course I do, I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you. It was all in your best interest." Irvine scrambled to get his view across. "In fact, don't you owe me an apology?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry that I didn't believe you about the library girl, but maybe I would have been better off believing it." Zell shook his head sadly. "I want you to leave now, both of you."

"But Zell-" Chayn protested.

"Leave! Go on, get out!" Zell's voice escalated. He pushed Chayn and Irvine toward the door, closing it coldly in their faces. He turned back to face his room, and overcome with emotions of fear, confusion, and betrayal, Zell buried his face in his hands wept.

-.-.-.-.-

Irvine stared at Chayn with suspicion. "How did you know that the monitor was under the couch?"

"I could hear the high pitched ringing that it made," Chayn looked up at Irvine with a 'know-it-all' expression, "and Zell can take care of himself, you know?"

If a member of the Garden Faculty hadn't been walking by, Irvine would have thumped the kid a good one, but he restrained himself.

Chayn turned on his heel and strode arrogantly back to his room.

Irvine stood there in the hall with one hand on his hip wondering what he should do next. Then he remembered the box. He needed to get it open and find out what was inside, preferably before Chayn found out that it was missing, but how would he do that without the key?

'I wonder if Squall has his Gunblade on him?' Irvine thought to himself, and decided to take a walk and find out.

-.-.-.-.-

End of Part XVII.