"I cannot believe you guys did this!"
Kayla, me, Vaughn, Luke, Cale and Raine all winced as my mother's shrill voice cut into our eardrums. She was super-pissed. We had just landed the Ragnarok and exited. Our parents were waiting for us in the hangar. The look of shock on their faces was priceless when they saw that it wasn't only the boys, but me, Kayla and Raine as well. Uncle Squall hadn't looked too thrilled when he heard that Tal was sleeping in the ship but we figured that bringing Tristen and Raven back would lessen our punishment a little bit. If we hadn't had them, we would've high-tailed it to Trabia to live with the Shumi as artisans.
"Listen, Mom…" Luke started.
"Excuse me," my father interrupted, "But did I tell you that you could talk?"
"No, I…"
"Then don't," my dad snapped and Luke fell silent.
"It's bad enough that you stole the Ragnarok and went after the sorceress," my mom continued, "But to take your younger siblings! What were you thinking?"
"Actually Mom," I defended, "We made them take us. It was our choice. They didn't want us to go"
My mother's icy blue eyes fell on me and she stared for a moment, making me shiver inside. "So then, you're as much to blame as they are?"
I sighed in defeat and looked at the ground. "Yes."
"Then you will all be punished accordingly," my mother stated.
We all turned towards the Ragnarok as Uncle Squall came down the ramp, carrying Raven. He was followed by Uncle Irvine and Uncle Zell, who were pushing a stretcher with Tristen on it. Last came Aunt Selphie, helping Tal out of the cargo hold.
"How are they?" my mom asked as the group joined her and my dad.
"Fine," Squall informed.
"Raven and Tristen are still out because of the Sleep Powder," Aunt Selphie explained, "We figure it'll be best to keep them sedated until we figure out how to handle them. As for Tal here, he'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
Tal grinned sheepishly and avoided eye contact as they left the hangar, heading for the infirmary. Once they were gone, my mom's gaze fell on us again.
"While I would love to stand here and lecture you all night, I know that you have been through a lot and would like to get some sleep," my mom said, "So I'm going to let you go, but, you will be punished and until that punishment is decided and executed, all of you are under house arrest. None of you are allowed to leave the Garden under any circumstances."
"Mom, we're in the middle of the ocean," Luke smirked, "where are we gonna go?"
"Straight to the bottom if you keep mouthing off to your mother," my dad promised. Luke glared but fell silent.
"And one more thing," my mother started, "All of you have a meeting with Headmaster Cid at 0900 hours so I suggest you get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a rough day for all of you. In fact, I'll be very surprised if you are all still SeeDs come tomorrow."
With that, she turned on her heel and left the hangar. My dad hesitated a moment, then followed behind her. Once they were out of earshot, I exhaled a breath I didn't even know I'd been holding.
"We really screwed up this time," I said, "We're gonna get our SeeDs titles stripped from us. We'll be lucky if we don't get expelled."
"They can't expel us," Luke insisted, "Our parents live here. Where are we supposed to go?"
"I don't understand why they're so mad," Raine stated, "We brought Raven and Tristen back. Doesn't that count for anything?"
"Not when you steal the Ragnarok and sneak out of the Garden to do it," Cale commented.
"Come on," Vaughn urged, "Let's just get some sleep and talk about it in the morning. There's nothing we can do now."
The rest of us agreed and we headed towards the dormitories. Of course, no one was awake at this hour so we didn't run into anyone on the way. We all went out separate ways to our dorms. Once inside, I changed into my pajamas and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
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The next morning, I was awakened by a pounding on my door and Kayla calling my name.
"Go away!" I grumbled and pulled my blankets over my head.
"Kaisa, get up!" Kayla insisted frantically, "We have to meet with Headmaster Cid in twenty minutes!"
Those words got my attention and I sprang up in bed. My eyes immediately fell on my clock. 0838. I hadn't set the alarm last night because I'd been too tired. I scrambled out of bed and rushed to the door. When it opened, I saw that both Kayla and Tal were waiting outside, dressed in their SeeD uniforms. They looked at me in shock when they realized that I had just gotten out of bed.
"Oh Hyne!" Tal exclaimed, "What are you doing? We're gonna be late!"
"Why didn't you wake me up?" I questioned.
"We figured you'd show up sooner or later," Tal stated, "I mean, this is only the most important meeting of our lives. We didn't figure you'd sleep through it."
"It's good to see you're okay," I replied sarcastically.
"Enough!" Kayla insisted and pushed me back into my room. "Go! Get ready! We'll wait for you but for the love of Hyne hurry!"
I nodded and after grabbing my own uniform out of the closet, hurried into the bathroom. I showered and changed in record time and was out in the room again with seven minutes before the meeting with the Headmaster. As soon as they saw I was ready to go, Kayla and Tal dragged me out of my room and we practically ran to the elevator. We rode it up to the Headmaster's office on the third floor and we relieved to see that the Headmaster wasn't there yet. Everyone else was, however, dressed in their SeeD uniforms, except for Raine, who was in her cadet uniform.
"We were starting to think that maybe you guys had decided to abandon ship and swim to land," Luke teased.
"Kaisa was still asleep when we went to get her," Tal grumbled. I shot him a glare but he didn't see it.
Luke chuckled. "Figures."
Another glare was sent in my brother's direction but he didn't see it either because at that moment the back door of the Headmaster's office opened, admitting my mom, Uncle Squall and Headmaster Cid. All seven of us snapped to attention and saluted as Cid sat down at his desk. my mom and Squall took their places, one standing on each side.
"At ease," Headmaster Cid said and we dropped the salute but remained ramrod straight and professional. "I trust all of you know why you're here." None of us answered, just as the Headmaster expected. He continued. "What you did last night broke several Garden rules. Quistis, could you tell them the rules they broke?"
My mom nodded. "Out after curfew, stealing Garden property, using stolen Garden property, endangering a cadet, using Garden property on a mission not sanctioned by Garden…"
"Thank you Quistis," Cid interrupted, "That'll do for now." He turned back to us. "The list goes on, I'm afraid. While any one of these transgressions could result in losing your SeeD title, all of them together warrant a strippage of title and expulsion. However, you did manage to battle a sorceress and her knight, and bring back two members of Garden safely. I considered this when contemplating you punishment."
The entire group of us stiffened, waiting for the inevitable.
"Now," Headmaster Cid continued, "I want you to know that your punishment is non-negotiable. What I have decided is what will be, no discussion. Do you understand?"
We nodded. I caught a glimpse of my mom and saw that she was almost as nervous as we were. Apparently Cid hadn't told her what our punishment was.
"Now on to your punishment. When you chose to take the Ragnarok in search of the sorceress, all of you must've known the consequences. That makes you either very noble or very stupid, I haven't decide which, although I've been leaning towards the latter. On the other hand, the seven of you managed to detain a sorceress and her knight without unnecessary harm to either them or your team, which is very impressive. In my life, I've only seen one other group of people do that and I believe you know who I mean. You are obviously valuable members of SeeD so your punishment is this: three months probation, during which time if you slip up even once you will be stripped of your Seed title and expelled without delay. Also, you have one month of clean-up duty in the Ragnarok hangar. Every time that ship comes back, the seven of you will make sure it is spotless inside and out for it's next mission. You can start with that as soon as you leave here."
The seven of us stared at the Headmaster, practically gaping. All of us weren't quite sure that we'd heard right. Luckily, Cale spoke up to clarify the situation.
"Excuse me Headmaster," he said, "But I'm not quite sure I heard you right. We're not expelled?"
"No."
"And we're still SeeDs?"
"Yes Mr. Dincht," Cid grinned, "You are still SeeDs. Except of course for Miss Leonhart, who is only a cadet."
Next to the Headmaster, my mom was all smiles. "Thank you sir."
"Edea's the one you should be thanking," he told her, "She rationalized the situation for me." He glanced back at us, seemingly surprised to see that we were still standing there. "Oh yes, you are dismissed."
As one, we saluted, then hightailed it back to the elevator. We were all in such a hurry to get away from the third floor that all seven of us crammed into the cab. the door barely had room to close without part of Luke getting stuck in it. He pushed the button for the first floor and we began to descend.
"I can't believe we didn't get expelled!" Kayla exclaimed and with a shriek of glee, threw her arms around Tal's neck in a tight hug. After a brief hesitation in which he glanced at Vaughn out of the corner of his eye, he hugged her back.
"And we're still SeeDs!" Cale added excitedly and began to shadowbox in the crowded elevator. I ducked and shrank back against the wall to avoid getting hit.
"Cool it Cale before you knock someone out," Vaughn chided.
"Sorry man," Cale apologized and stopped boxing, but continued to bounce around, "I'm just happy. We really dodged a bullet you know."
"I don't know why you guys were so worked up," Luke commented, trying to act cool, "I told you everything would turn out fine."
"Give me a break," Raine scoffed, "I looked over at you during the meeting and your face was so white, I thought you were gonna pass out!"
Raine and I laughed at Luke as he went on the defensive.
"Whatever."
The elevator reached the first floor and we piled off of it. Because Cid had told us to get started on the Ragnarok right away, we all went back to our rooms to change, then meet in the hangar. After changing into shorts and tank tops, Kayla and I met Tal and Raine outside our rooms and the four of us made our way to the hangar.
When we got there, we weren't surprised to find it deserted. It was just like the guys to be late when there was work to do. Luckily we only had to wait a few minutes.
"Here's how I figure it," Luke started as he stopped in front of us, "Since we have to do inside and out, we should split into two groups. Us three will take the inside and the four of you can do the outside."
"No way," I argued, "the inside is way easier to clean than the outside. There's no way you guys are getting off easier than us. If it wasn't for us, the three of you would be doing the whole thing by yourself."
"She's got a point," Vaughn acknowledged.
Luke ignored him and looked down at me. "Well then, what do you suggest we do?"
"Work together on the outside and the inside," I told him, "We'll get it done twice as fast that way."
"All right," Luke agreed, "Let's get started."
The seven of us went to a huge metal cabinet against the hangar wall where the cleaning items for the ship were kept. We got the products for inside and entered the ship.
Half an hour later, the inside of the ship was spotless and we emerged to get started on the outside. We returned the inside items and began to set up for the outside. First, we decided who was going to do what. After drawing straws, it was determined that Luke, Cale and Raine would operate the hoses from the ground while the rest of us would scrub the ship. While Cale, Luke and Raine brought out the hoses and hooked them up to the special spigots on the wall, me, Kayla, Tal and Vaughn filled up buckets from the regular faucets and then set up special ladders around the ship so we could get on top of it. Once everything was set up, we got to work.
"So," I called to the others after a few minutes, "Does anyone know what's going on with Raven and Tristen?"
"They're being kept sedated," Raine shouted from the floor.
"For how long?" Kayla inquired as she scrubbed a portion of the ship.
"For as long as it takes, I guess," Raine answered vaguely.
"Hey Kaisa," Tal called from the front of the ship where he was washing, "I've been meaning to ask you, where did you get Quake magic?"
I stared at him dumbly for a second. "Huh?"
"Last night you used Quake magic several times," he explained, "so I was just wondering, where'd you get it?"
"Oh, I refined some Dino Bones."
The second the words were out of my mouth I realized what a mistake I'd made. I had told him and Kayla about my encounter with the T-Rexaurs in the TC but I hadn't told them that Vaughn had come to the rescue and that we'd killed them. As far as they knew, the monsters that had attacked me were still alive and well, therefore I shouldn't have any Dino Bones.
"Where'd you get Dino Bones?" Kayla asked, suddenly in on the conversation as well.
"From the Training Center," I told them nonchalantly as I continued to wash the ship, "You know, people kill T-Rexaurs all the time and sometimes they're in such a hurry to leave that they don't take their items. I found the Bones just laying around."
Lame explanation, I know, but they seemed to buy it and let the matter drop. I changed a glance over at Vaughn and saw that he was grinning widely. Of course, he knew the true story about my Dino Bones so he must've deduced that I had lied to Kayla and Tal to keep my meeting with him secret, which obviously meant I had a crush on him. Damn! I had just unwittingly revealed the identity of my secret crush to the one person who shouldn't know.
After the conversation about the Dino Bones, the four of us fell into silence, only occasionally talking while concentrating on not falling off of the Ragnarok when we were cleaning some of the more precariously positioned pieces. About an hour or so after starting the outside, we were finished. The four of us climbed down from the ship while the three on the ground rinsed it with the hoses.
Once on the concrete floor of the hangar, I took my bucket of soapy water and started towards the front of the ship where a large drain was set into the floor to allow the water to drain out of the hangar. I was just about to dump my bucket down the drain when I heard my name.
"Kaisa."
I turned around to find Vaughn Kinneas standing a few feet behind me. He started to say something, then acting like he tripped, threw his bucket of water at me. The water hit me, soaking my hair, black tank top and my blue denim shorts. I stared at him, wide-eyed and opened mouthed, with my hair hanging around my face in soggy ropes. Finally, after hearing his laughter, I came to my senses and threw my bucket of water on him. I aimed high so the water hit him square in the face, knocking off his cowboy hat and soaking his white T-shirt. His laughter died in a sputter of water.
"Oh, it's on now Almasy," he warned and without hesitation, he ran back to the faucets to fill up his bucket. I thought about doing the same but figured I'd have to fight for it, so instead I ran to where Raine was standing.
"Raine, let me have the hose," I insisted.
"Why?" she asked, eyeing my wet clothes questioningly. Vaughn and I had been on the other side of the plane, so she hadn't seen what happened.
"Because I need it," I told her and without warning, snatched the hose out of her hands and hurried towards where Vaughn was filling up his bucket.
Because the hoses were especially designed to watch the ship, they had adjustable nozzles that allowed the water to practically peel the paint off at it's highest setting or gently sprinkle at the lowest. Since I didn't really want to hurt Vaughn, I adjusted the nozzle to about half and waited for him to turn around.
"Ready or not Kai, here I…"
Vaughn trailed off as he saw me standing there with the hose. Before he had time to throw his bucket of water or run, I opened fire with the hose. The stream of water hit him in the chest, causing him to drop his bucket. It hit the ground and rolled away, spilling it's contents.
Seeing that he was overpowered, Vaughn charged at me and grabbed the hose, trying to take it away from me. I refused to give in and we began to fight over it. As we did so, the water stream went in all different directions. A sudden gasp near us caused us to stop for a second to see what had happened. We both cracked up laughing when we saw Kayla standing there, her hair and face soaking wet. Our laughter subsided and with a quick glance at each other, Vaughn and I turned the hose on her.
Kayla squealed and tried to stop the water with her hands. Hearing her cries, Tal came to help her and in return, got soaked as well. Suddenly, from our left, a stream of water hit us. We turned in that direction and saw Luke had decided to join the battle as well. Before long, the entire hangar had broken out into an all-out water fight.
Who knew how long the seven of us would've stayed in there, soaking each other and having a great time, if we hadn't been interrupted.
"What is going on here?"
The stern voice echoed in the concrete hangar and we all stopped what we were doing and turned towards the source. My mother stood near the hangar door, her eyes wide in disbelief and anger. Luckily she hadn't caught a stray stream of water of we'd all be dead.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded and started towards us, her SeeD boots clicking on the dry concrete and splashing on the wet. "You are supposed to be washing the Ragnarok, not having a wet T-shirt contest!"
Next to me, Vaughn grinned at the thought and I elbowed him before my mom saw his smile. He frowned down at me and didn't smile again.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" my mom continued.
We all looked at each other, none of us wanting to speak and condemn ourselves. Finally, Luke broke the silence.
"We did clean the Ragnarok," he told her and motioned to the crimson ship, "Look."
We turned to look at our handy work and saw that the ship did look good. It was practically sparkling in the glow from the overhead lights.
My mom's stern face remained. "All right, it is clean, but that doesn't explain your childish behavior. The reason I'm here is to tell you that all of you except Raine are to report to Commander Leonhart's conference room ASAP. Considering the circumstances however, I'm obliged to give you ten minutes to clean up the hangar and yourselves. You will then report to the Commander's conference room and I suggest that you not be late." With that, she turned and left the hangar.
"Man, she can be a real hardass sometimes," Vaughn commented as we began to put the washing equipment away.
"She's still pissed off about last night," Luke explained, "She's disappointed that her children did something so stupid. She's afraid we're gonna turn out like our dad."
"Shut up," I snapped, "there's nothing wrong with Dad. She's pissed because she doesn't want me to turn out like you."
"So, what do you think this meeting's about?" Cale started before Luke and I could continue our argument.
"I don't know," Tal answered, "but I know I don't want to be late so we better hurry."
After putting away the cleaning stuff, we hurried back to the dorms to change. Raine was pouting because she wasn't invited to the meeting, which suggested that it was some kind of SeeD conference. I was eager to find out what the meeting was about so I changed quickly and pulled my hair back into a ponytail after wringing the excess water out of it. After changing, the six of us met in the hallway outside the dorms and went together up to the third floor.
When we entered Uncle Squall's conference room, we were surprised to see our parents, except Aunt Rinoa and Aunt Cammi, were there. Even Aunt Fujin and Uncle Raijin were sitting in chairs at the table. Uncle Squall, who sat at the head of the table, stopped his conversation with my father and looked up.
"Have a seat," he said and we all took chairs around the table. Once we were seated, he continued. "You may or may not know this, but Raven and Tristen are still under Sorceress Lantana's control. We are keeping them sedated with drugs and sleep spells but we have had to up the dosage twice since they were brought last night. Because part of the sorceress is inside them, they are able to use her powers to fight off the sedative. We won't be able to keep them unconscious for much longer. Dr. Kadowaki says that by two nights from tonight, they will be able to completely counteract the sedative no matter how much we give them."
"What are we gonna do?" Cale asked.
Uncle Squall glared and Cale averted his gaze. "The only thing we can do is find some Odine Bangles for them."
"Odine Bangles?" Luke repeated doubtfully, "Aren't those things. like, impossible to find?"
"Since Dr. Odine's death, people have been hoarding the few Bangles that remain and charging outrageous prices for them. Fortunately, on a mission to Timber a while ago, Zell came across a shop that sells them, although the price is somewhat exorbant."
"But Timber…" Tal started.
"Yes," Squall interrupted, "Timber is being occupied by Dollet and no one is allowed in or out. We are going to be parachuting into the forest outside of Timber, then sneak into the city itself."
"We?" Tal asked, "You mean, like, all of us?" He motioned around the table.
"Yes," Squall nodded, "the fifteen of us will be leaving tomorrow at…"
"Fifteen?" Uncle Zell interrupted, "But there's only fourteen of us. Who else is going?"
Uncle Squall sighed. "Rinoa insisted on going as well."
"Mom!" Tal exclaimed and jumped out of his seat, "Mom's awake? How is she?"
Squall motioned for his son to sit. "Yes, she's awake. She's fine. Dr. Kadowaki wants to keep her overnight for observation but knowing your mother, that's probably not going to happen."
"Why didn't you tell me she was awake?" Tal questioned and sunk back into his chair.
"Because we need to deal with the Odine Bangles first," Squall told him sternly. "Now, as I was saying, we will leave tomorrow at 1900 hours. Fujin and Raijin will fly the Ragnarok and the rest of us will parachute into the Timber forest."
"Why don't we just land the plane and hike into the city?" Irvine asked.
"Because," my dad answered, obviously annoyed at Uncle Irvine's stupidity. "The Dollet military has a high tech radar system that can detect a plane within a ten mile radius of the city. They'll know we're there and beef up security or shoot us out of the sky. We'd never get in."
"They how are we supposed to parachute into the forest?" Irvine countered, "Won't they see the plane and shoot us down?"
"Zell," Uncle Squall said.
"Right," Uncle Zell smiled, "Their radar is high tech, but it has a glitch that doesn't allow it to detect objects in the air above 500 feet. All we have to do is fly above 500 and they'll never know we're there."
"What about when we jump?" Vaughn inquired, "Won't they detect us on the way down?"
"No," Zell replied, "The radar will only pick up objects the size of a small car or bigger."
"I'm not complaining," Vaughn assured, "But isn't that kind of a design flaw?"
"It was made that way so that wildlife such as birds and flying monsters wouldn't interfere with it," Zell explained.
"Now that that's done, I'll continue with the plan," Squall stated. "After parachuting into the forest, the thirteen of us will regroup and then a scout team will go to the borders of the city and report back. We will then divide into three groups and, waiting until nightfall, each enter the city at separate points. Two teams will be decoys and one team will go in to retrieve the Odine Bangles. If something happens to the main team, the other two teams will do anything necessary to get the Bangles. Remember, we have to get those Odine Bangles no matter what. Once the Bangles are acquired, we will rendezvous in the forest, then meet up with the Ragnarok nearby. Because of the radar, the escape must be precisely planned or the ship could be shot down. Are there any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "All right everyone, get plenty of rest tonight because you probably wont' get any sleep tomorrow. Dismissed."
Everyone stood up to leave except Tal.
"I'm gonna wait for my Dad, then go see my mom," he explained.
Kayla and I nodded, then left the conference room with the others. Our parents stopped outside the room and began to discuss the mission while the rest of us rode the elevator back down to the first floor. Because of the early meeting with Cid and then washing the Ragnarok, none of us had eaten anything so we headed to the cafeteria. Kayla and I chose a table away from our brothers and talked a little about the mission. After eating, we headed back to our dorms. Because of the meeting and the strenuous cleaning. I was kind of tired. I decided the best thing to do was go back to my room and take a little nap.
After saying goodbye to Kayla, I went into my room and fell asleep as soon as I laid down. I was awakened a few hours later by the ringing of my telephone. I groaned loudly and answered it.
"What?"
"My my my, aren't we a little ray of sunshine." It was Kayla.
"This is the second time you woke me up today. Forgive me if I'm a little cranky."
"Cry me a river," Kayla chuckled. "Me and Tal were headed to the Training Center. You wanna come?"
I almost agreed before I remembered the way Kayla had stood vigil by him in the Ragnarok. She definitely had strong feelings for him and I was pretty sure they were mutual. I decided to give them some alone time.
"No thanks," I declined, "I'm still wiped out. I'll catch up with you guys later."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"All right," Kayla agreed, "If you're not up and about before then we'll come and get you for dinner."
"Okay."
I hung up the phone and laid back down but, of course, I wasn't tired anymore. I laid there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling before deciding that I wasn't falling back to sleep. I sighed and sat up again, plugged in my computer and logged on to the Garden network. I went into the infirmary reports and saw that Aunt Rinoa was to be discharged early tomorrow morning. She had recovered completely. Aunt Cammi was still unconscious and showed no signs of waking any time soon. I also tried to check on Raven and Tristen but I didn't find their names on the dwindling list of patients. The whole thing was probably kept quiet to avoid a repeat of what had happened with Tristen before.
After logging off, I turned off the computer and decided to go for a walk around the Garden. "When bored and restless, nothing cures like a walk around the blue Garden." That had been a slogan Headmaster Cid had thought up when people started getting into trouble when the Garden was mobile.
I waited another five minutes just to be sure that Kayla and Tal would already be at the TC, then left my room. I wandered down the Dormitory corridor and out into the main hall. I passed a few SeeDs and cadets but none that I really knew. I wandered down the hallway, not really paying attention to my surroundings. My thoughts were more focused on the mission tomorrow and what could happen.
You know how in those cheesy teen movies the girl will be walking down the hallway and accidentally run into the guy she has a huge crush on and you think "That's so lame. That never happens in real life." Well, it does. My mind was so focused on what was going to happen tomorrow that I was completely spaced out and WHAM! I slammed right into Vaughn Kinneas. I bounced off and stumbled back and he grabbed a hold of my arms to steady me. I blinked a couple of times and looked up to see who I had ran into.
"Sorry!" I apologized before it even dawned on me who it was. When I finally realized, I nearly choked.
"Hey," he greeted, letting go of my arms, "What a coincidence, I was just looking for you."
My stomach did a cartwheel. "You were? Why?"
"I wanted to ask you about something that was said earlier," he told me, "you know, when we were cleaning the Ragnarok"
I swallowed hard. I was pretty sure what he was going to ask. "Oh really? What?"
"How come you lied to Kayla and Tal about how you got the Dino Bones?"
Dammit dammit dammit dammit DAMMIT! "Uh, I don't know."
He grinned, knowing the exact reason why I had lied to them. A sudden thought occurred to me.
"Why didn't you tell Luke about our conversation on the beach?"
"What makes you think I didn't?"
"He would've never passed up the opportunity to make fun of me," I told him truthfully.
"Oh," Vaughn said as if he hadn't known what I was talking about, "You mean when you asked me to go to bed with you."
"I did not!" I defended, "I told you, the words came out wrong but that doesn't change the fact that you didn't tell him about it."
"Kai," he started cooly, "Think about it. How stupid would I have to be to tell your big brother that you had propositioned me? He'd probably pop my head right off my shoulders."
Dammit! He was right! He had a perfectly logical explanation while I had none. There was only one thing left to do: get away while I had the chance. I decided to play the cool card like he had and casually flipped my hair behind my shoulders. "Well, I've got somewhere to be. See you later Vaughn."
I started to walk by him but he stopped me with a hand on my arm. I nonchalantly looked up at him, trying to convince him that I couldn't care less about him. "Was there something else that you wanted?"
He grinned down at me and I felt my cool exterior crumbling. He really was cute, there was no denying that, and his charm made it that much harder to resist him. I suddenly remembered the battle with Tristen the night before and how Vaughn had put his arms around me to help hold off the katana. I had to fight to keep from grinning like an idiot. My heart began to beat faster as he leaned down closer to me.
"Aside from those who are closely related to you, there isn't a man in this Garden who would pass up the chance to go to bed with you," he whispered, "Me included."
"Oh Hyne." I felt my heartbeat speed up even more and I was having trouble drawing breath. Had he just said what I thought he said?
He straightened up. "Of course, if I even thought about it, your brother and father would tear me apart." He let go of my arm. "See you later Kaisa."
Vaughn walked away and I stood staring at his retreating figure. After he had disappeared into the dorm hallway, my mind started working again and I realized that he had just totally worked me. The whole conversation had been to see if I really had a crush on him and being the flake that I am, I had gone right along with it. Now he knew for sure that I liked him. Dammit! Why was this happening to me? I really needed to talk to someone about everything but I was reluctant to discuss it with Kayla because of the teasing factor and because her and Tal's weird behavior was one of the things I needed to get off my chest. I decided that there was only one person I could talk to. After weighing the pros and cons, I headed for the dorms.
I walked down several hallways before I came to the door I was looking for. On the other side was more than just a dorm, it was almost like a small house, with a kitchen, two bedrooms, living room and bathroom. This was a special wing of the dorm area where the married couples lived. I had lived here myself for the first ten years of my life until officially enrolled in Garden. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Just a minute!"
A few seconds later, the door was opened and my mother stood on the other side. She was obviously surprised to see me. "Kaisa! I didn't expect to see you. Why did you knock?"
I shrugged. "I dunno. Respect of your privacy I guess." I looked past her into the living area. "Is Dad here?"
"No, why? Do you need to talk to him?"
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."
She nodded. I could tell she knew I had something kind of important to talk to her about. She stepped aside and I walked into the room. I sat down heavily on the couch and after closing the door, she joined me.
"Is something wrong, Kaisa?"
"No," I assured, "Nothing's wrong, I just have a lot on my mind and I really need to talk to someone about it."
My mom smiled. "I'm honored that you would come to me. Does this have something to do with the new sorceress?"
"Strangely enough, no," I told her, "I'm actually dealing with that pretty well, considering." I paused. "What I want to talk about is a little more personal."
My mom leaned forward slightly, her entire attention focused on me. "All right."
I took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start. "Well, I guess first things first, I think Kayla and Tal are seeing each other secretly."
"What makes you think that?"
"They've been acting weird lately," I explained, "you know, like they're hiding something. At first, I teasingly asked if they were together but the way they denied it made me think that they were. Now they just keep telling me their not but I know they've been spending time together alone and last night when Tal got hurt, Kayla stayed by his side the entire time. I know they like each other but they won't admit it to me and I can't help but feel a little betrayed."
"Sweetheart," my mom started and put her arm around me, "I know you feel like you're being left out, but remember, they are your best friends and just because they've developed feelings for each other doesn't mean that they're going to forget about you."
"I know, it just sucks. Why do things have to change? Everything was great and now I feel like my life is being turned upside down."
"That's just part of growing up," she told me, "things change, but the three of you will always be friends."
"I know." I grew silent for a minute.
"That's not the only thing that's bothering you, is it?"
"No," I admitted, "there's something else..." I trailed off and she kept quiet, waiting for me to continue. I sighed. "Well, there's this guy..."
My mother smiled knowingly. "Go on."
"And well, I've known him for a long time and never gave him a second thought but now I can't seem to stop thinking about him."
"Vaughn Kinneas is quite a looker."
My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. "How did you know?"
She scoffed. "I'm not stupid Kaisa."
I sighed loudly and laid down in my mother's lap. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Mom. I mean, Hyne, it's Vaughn!"
"Nothing's wrong with you," she chuckled as she stroked my hair like she used to do when I was little, "That's another part of growing up. One day, he's just plain old Vaughn and the next, he's something more."
"Ever since he caught me when I flew off the BGH251F2, I've been thinking about him more and more," I informed, "and it seems like every time I leave my dorm, I'm running into him. The weird thing is, it's not just in the cafeteria. Right after the SeeD exam I ran into him in the infirmary, when we stopped the Garden for the night between Trabia and Galbadia, I went for a walk on the beach and he showed up. Then he saved me in the Training Center after I got attacked by two T-Rexaurs and he was the one who tackled me out of the way when Raven tried to fry me and Tal, then he cleaned the cuts on my face for me. He also helped me hold off Tristen last night when we fought him and Raven. And then, just now, I ran into him in the main hall." I paused, remembering the words he had said to me. "And he's said that I'm pretty on several different occasions. I know I shouldn't read too much into what he says because of the 'Kinneas Charm' and all, but I just can't help it. I really want him to like me." I looked up at my mom. "Am I completely insane?"
"No, you're just growing up. At some time in her life, every girl feels this way about a boy."
"Did you feel this way about Dad?"
"When I didn't want to choke the life out of him," she laughed.
I smiled slightly. "What should I do?"
"My advice would be to tell him how you feel," she started. She obviously saw the fear in my eyes at the very thought because she continued quickly. "But I'm sure that's out of the question, so I would suggest you just wait and see what happens. Now I know that must seem like the most torturous thing in the world to do but it's for the best. If he likes you too, he'll let you know."
"How?"
"Considering it's Vaughn, he'll probably come right up to you and tell you," my mom stated, "although, Selphie told me that he's hesitant to admit his feelings to girls that he really likes. When it's just casual flirting, he's very confident but when feelings come into play, he gets nervous."
My heart sank. "But he has been flirting with me."
"Yes," my mother admitted, "but think about it, is he flirting with you like he does other girls?"
I thought about it for a second. I'd seen Vaughn, Luke and Cale flirt with countless girls in my life and now that I thought about it, Vaughn hadn't launched a full-blown attack on me. Usually when he was trying to win over a girl, there were countless bouquets of flowers and stuffed animals involved, not to mention so many cliched romance movie moves that it was almost disgusting to watch. While he had been flirting with me a little bit, it was nothing compared to what I'd seen him do.
"No, not really."
"There you go then."
I sat back up. "I still don't know what is going on with me, but I feel a lot better. Thanks Mom."
"No problem."
I stood up and she walked me to the door. Before I left, I turned back to her. "Could you do me a huge favor?" She nodded. "Don't tell Dad about this okay? I don't want him to over react."
"It's between you and me," she promised.
"Thanks. Bye Mom."
I left the suite feeling better than I had in a while. It felt good to discuss my feeling with someone, especially since it meant I got to spend time with my mom. Lately it seemed like the only time we talked was when we were fighting or working.
After the talk with my mom, I went back to my dorm and caught up on some reading before dinner. As promised, Kayla and Tal showed up to get me for dinner. After stepping out into the hall with them, I gave them both a big hug. They both looked at me strangely.
"What was that for?" Tal asked.
I shrugged. "Nothing. Just because you guys are my two bestest best friends."
The strange looks didn't leave their faces but they didn't pursue the matter further and the three of us went to the cafeteria. When we entered, I found myself scanning the room for something or someone. Of course, that someone was Vaughn and I spotted him with my brother and Cale at a table against the far wall. I looked away before someone caught me staring and got in line with Kayla and Tal to get our food. After we got our trays, we sat down at a table away from our brothers and ate while talking about the mission tomorrow. It was, after all, our first real SeeD mission and we were excited, if not a little leery. Just having to parachute out of the Ragnarok was enough to make us edgy, never mind the rest of the mission.
After dinner, the three of us walked back to our rooms and then said our goodbyes. I went into my dorm and changed into my pjs. I made sure my battle gear was ready for tomorrow then spent about an hour sharpening my sais and checking on my magic, items and junctions. I wanted to make sure I had everything ready before we left for Timber. I knew I had all day tomorrow but I wanted to be prepared just in case we had to leave earlier for some reason. By the time all of my preparations were complete, it was nearing 2200 hours and I decided to get some sleep. I crawled into bed and fell asleep shortly after.