Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I do not own the places. I don't own anything related to FFVIII, all I own is the plot.
- Chapter five: Doublecrosser -
She looked around wildly. Where had the note come from? Someone had shoved it through the little gap between the door and the floor, she was sure of that. It was the only way she could think of. But who? And the message...someone knew about her and Irvine. She suddenly realised someone else knew her secret.
But it could be anyone.
She tore the paper into tiny pieces and dumped it in the bin. She shivered and quickly locked the door as if she was afraid the one who had written the note would come in. She stepped into the shower and let the water fall down on her head.
Usually this soothed her, making her feel clean and free of guilt. But now she could only think about the note.
'I know what you do. Doublecrosser.' She shivered again.
Doublecrosser.
Suddenly she opened her eyes with shock. Doublecrosser. Hadn't that been the same word in that anynomous post on the Garden online forum?
A chill seared through her body. Was someone after her? Was someone stalking her? Someone had definitely been watching her, how else could anyone have known. She felt small and alone. Unsafe. As if someone was watching her right now.
Quickly she turned off the water and wrapped herself in towl. She dried her hair in front of the mirror and studied her face. Her eyes were frightened, just like the bird's in the drawing, she realised. She shook her head violently, not wanting to think about the drawing. It resembled a bluejay too much for her liking.
The bang of the door closing loudly made her jump. She listened closely to the bathroom door. Someone was in their dorm.
"...Squall?" she asked hopefully.
"Yeah, it's me. Were you expecting someone else?" he joked.
She let out a relieved sigh. Hearing his voice was good. She felt safe again. She opened the bathroom door and stepped out. He looked up.
"Woah...for me?" he said as he looked at her.
She suddenly realised she was dressed in just a towl. She blushed and looked at the floor.
"Maybe." She said, smiling playfully. "Or perhaps I just love showering."
He laughed as he took off his jacket and threw it over the back of a chair. "That does seem to be on your fabourites list lately. You take a shower every time I see you."
"...Just wanting to stay clean." She said slowly.
He smiled and ran a hand through his hair before stepping up closer to her. His hands rested on her bare shoulders and his head leaned against hers softly.
She heard him take in her scent, his fingers traced up her neck and she closed her eyes as she felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand up straight. Their lips met and she kissed him hungrily.
'Doublecrosser.' It shot through her head as Squall pulled her down onto the bed.
She stiffened.
'Doublecrosser.'
She wanted to pull away from Squall, but he didn't notice her reluctance. She raised her hand and caressed his face. Then she felt a sudden urge of pity. He had no idea. He loved her so much and she betrayed his trust so bitterly.
She didn't deserve his love even if she really wanted it. She should have stood up and walked away, she should have pushed him away in order to protect him from her. But she knew she wanted to be with him now, no matter what.
She wanted to kiss him and hold him. She wanted his affection. Ignoring all that, she leaned in to kiss him again, though her eyes were starting to burn with tears. She needed him.
"...Are you sure it's safe? I mean, look at it." Zell said as he gave the giant bird cage on the stage a suspicious glance.
But Selphie ignored him and shooed him out of the way. He leaned back and made some room for people to pass. The girl who was supposed to be placed inside the cage eyed it with a similar look of suspicion while tugging at her blue skirt nervously.
"Selphie..." she said reluctantly. "I'm not really sure I want to get up there..."
"Oh, nonsense." Selphie said reasuringly. "It's really quite safe."
"Quite safe? Not really safe? And it's so high!" the girl sighed.
"Naina, you did audition for this out of your own free will. A lot of other dancers are jealous, you know."
"I know I auditioned for it. But that was before I knew you were going to dress me up like a bird and put me in a cage at least twenty feet high!"
Selphie stared at her sternly. "You're not going to quit, are you? We need you, you're the lead dancer!"
Naina sighed and hung her head. "I know...it's just so high..."
She gave Zell a hopeful glance, trying to persuade him to help her, but Zell shook his head. He knew better than to get in the way of Selphie and her festival.
With a loud, resigned sigh, Naina climbed inside the cage, ready to have herself hoisted up to a hight that made her feel dizzy even when she was just thinking about it. She silently envied the other dancers who would be allowed to dance with their feet in contact with solid ground. This wasn't what she had bargained for.
A boy from the tech-squad secured her to some elastic ropes. She sat down on the trapeze and heard herself give the techie the okay to hoist her up.
"Selphie...you know that if she falls, you'll be held responsible..."
Selphie sat down next to him. "I know. That's why I made sure her costume can be hooked up to safety lines. I don't want to kill her, you know."
Zell chuckled. "I suppose so. When do you think this will be ready for the whole of Garden to see?"
She shrugged. "Hmmm, not quite sure yet. But we'll be able to advertise soon. So keep an eye out for our posters. Entry is only fifteen gil."
Zell pretended to be surprised. "Fifteen gil? What, no free tickets for your friends?'
Selphie hit his arm playfully. "Hey, this whole construction costs a lot, you know. And Cid doesn't pay for everything. Besides, you can afford fifteen gil, can't you."
"Of course I can." He said soothingly.
Selphie smiled and stared at Naina when the music started. Zell watched the girl in the air absentmindedly. His thoughts were not focussed. He wondered why Selphie had chosen this cage to be her décor, to be the centre of this theme. Was it an example of how she felt herself? Or was is just a coincidence, perhaps this idea was nothing more than inspiration and it had no meaning behind it.
He looked up when Selphie got to her feet to talk to the girl who was in charge of the lighting scheme. He, too, got to his feet and decided he was going to grab a bite at the cafeteria.
"I'll be right back." He said
Selphie nodded. "See you later, then."
Zell walked up the stairs and took the long route to the cafeteria. He wanted to walk for a bit, to clear his head. He halted when he reached the main hall. A few people were gathered at one of the walls, they seemed to be reading something.
Curious, he walked over to them. They dispersed, except for Quistis, who was there as well. There was a poster on the wall with some text on it. The title read 'Adventures of a Songbird'.
He looked at Quistis. "What's this?"
She shrugged. "Someone pasted it on the wall. It's a story of some sort. Or at least the beginning of one. I don't understand what it's for, though."
Zell leaned in to read it.
'This story is about a little bluejay, caught in a cage. She has been tangled up in a web of her own adventures. The purpose of this story to tell everyone about her antics and her deeds so that everyone will know not to trust this innocent little songbird for what she appears to be.'
"Well, that doesn't make any sense." He said, raising his eyebrow.
Quistis nodded. "I know. And I have to take care of this because Squall doesn't think he should be bothered by stuff like this. He doesn't care that our strict policy against littering and poluting, which includes posting random things on walls without permission, has been violated more than once over the last few days. We never had any problems like this before. Cid reckons there's more to it than meets the eye. But Squall doesn't want to be bothered by this. So now I get to go on stake-out duty."
She let out a sigh.
"I was trained to be a fighter, not a hallmoniter who hands out detentions and passes to let you go to the toilet."
Zell placed an arm around her shoulders. "I feel sorry for you...I can understand how you must feel. Any idea why he gave you this thing to do? Can't you delegate it on to someone else?"
She shook her head.
"That sucks...tell you what. Why don't you come with me to eat something and we'll talk some more about it."
Quistis laughed. "Good idea. My stomach's been growling for ages. And yours has been too, by the sound of it."
They walked away, leaving the poster on the wall where it had been placed. Suddenly they noticed more of them. They seemed to have been pasted over every wall every so often. And every one of them had attracted a few students, trying to read it over their mate's head.
"It's uncanny. It looks like some sort of sect." Zell whispered jokingly.
Quistis didn't respond. She eyed the students suspicously.
Rinoa closed the door behind her. Squall was still asleep. She tied her hair into a ponytail and watched her wet hair drip little patches of water on the floor. She walked to the door, not wanting to wake Squall. It was still early in the morning but she needed to get out and breathe some fresh air.
Last night had been horrible. He had been so loving and yet her mind had been with Irvine all the time. She remembered that she had wished she could sink through a hole in the ground.
She shivered a little and pulled up her gloves a little higher. A long time ago she had felt lonely because Squall hadn't had time for her. But now she felt alone because both he and Irvine had too much time for her.
She rubbed her stomach when it grumbled and headed to the cafeteria. She barely noticed the white posters on the walls during her walk. Only when she wanted to enter the cafeteria and she saw one on the door did she realise it was there. Curious, she leaned in and read it.
Her eyes grew wide. She ripped it from the door and tore it up frantically. She looked around wildly to see if anyone had seen her but there was no one there. She turned around and ran to the main hall.
She let out a yelp as she noticed more of them all around her. Someone had been watching her. She realised she had been right about that after she had received the note. She knew someone had been watching her.
The drawing, the note, these posters...she had been followed.