Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny.

A/N: More YxF. Hurray for me! It's been quite awhile since I've written anything really.

Other random stuff: Gad. Beelzebub is so hilarious!

" " for speech
Italic for flashbacks, thoughts, and opinions.

If anyone even bothers to read this, I apologize for the bad grammar; I'm uber rusty. Feel free to point out corrections. Reviews would be nice. :)

Girls Like Her

People. Music. Dancing.

The girls involved practically glowed with beauty as it was supposed to be a ball of posh, confidence, and probably even romance for all of them.

But unlike everyone else who were enjoying themselves chatting or dancing at the floor with their tuxedo-clad escorts, Flay sat by herself between a bunch of empty sideline chairs, forcing a smile at every person who made eye contact with her, just as she had been taught to do when walking into the pageant interview.

Oh, but who was she kidding?

It was a clear cold evening and the stars shone down upon the skylight as bright as merciless truth. It was getting late; and not one guy had offered for her hand to dance. Regardless, she maintained her straight posture and continued to smile.

Flay should have seen this coming. This shouldn't come as a big surprise. She was in fact the girl everyone envied, the one they wish they could be but can't. She had beauty, grace, brains, money, and popularity, which could come out as overwhelming to some guys, but whatever, that was their problem. She'd rather flaunt then demure-down. That's how it had always been, at least that's how it had always been for her, unlike some humble-humble people—

"Thank you for allowing me to be your escort, Lacus."

Lacus Clyne, the perfectly groomed lady, who could do no wrong, giggled. "The pleasure's all mine, Kira. I'm counting on you to be around for a long time to come."

With a gentle smiled affixed, Kira Yamato moved on Lacus and Flay saw them lean toward each other and kiss.

Watching them, she silently offered up a prayer that one day someone as great of a guy as Kira would love her like that. She thought, as she did too often lately, since her daddy brought-up that awful idea of getting her engaged to an asshole, then pushed the thought away.

When her gaze strayed to the crowd unexpected falling on a blonde in a white luxurious gown, she chided herself and pulled it back. Urgh, Flay couldn't help but roll her eyes. Don't even let her get started about Cagalli Yula Athha, the rebellious tomboy, everyone's favorite heroine, with her Red Knight in shining armor.

There was just something unfair about life... Why does the modest goody-good girls always get the charming guys?

Indeed. Even Auel Neider, her formal partner, had left her side to approach another girl, Meyrin Hawke, a sweet shy girl, emphasis on the sweet, to dance.

Sitting on the sidelines with no one to talk to, Flay sighed.

"Hey, isn't that Flay Allster,"

Overhearing her name, Flay turned her attention to the women far to her right. So far, she had done well to ignore the gossips going around from time to time, but as the room crowd swelled, she chanced a discreet glance at the women talking about her.

"CE 74's Ms. Heliopolis? Why isn't she dancing?"

Murmurs and more murmurs that were unskilled attempt of whispers... Flay wasn't surprised to see a petite blonde in a white dress covered by a zillion sequins sitting in the vacant chair next to three more girls also bundled up in sequins. One out of the four, Flay recognized, was a former pageant contestant that she had previously compete against.

"Awful, right?"

"Serves her right for making the other contestants cry."

Flay watched the pretty blonde laugh, smile like an electric eel, then lean forward to whisper something else to her group of friends causing the rest of the women to sniff with agreement and laughter.

"What a bitch. That'll teach her that beauty and money can't buy her everything."

Flay took a moment to really look at the other women at the side. For the most part, she wanted so much to march right there and tell them that the pageant wasn't bought. Of course, it's not like she couldn't with her daddy's money, but fact was— it wasn't.

Was it her fault that she was just a lot more thick-skinned then the rest of the girls who participated? Was it her fault that she was, plain hard fact, much better than they'll ever be in a lifetime?

Eventually, there came a needing urge to shove it in their faces that she won the beauty pageant because she was a lot prettier, brilliant, and charismatic than either one of them. And just to ground them even lower, Flay wanted to publicly announce how their hair don't match their make-ups, how their sequined gowns made them look like standard fishes, except for Ms. former pageant contestant, who unlike her tuna fish friends, had managed to carry-off her dress elegantly. Although despite the humiliation she could impart, Flay was certain— each of the girls had already been offered a danced at least once tonight... so who was she to criticize? True, they were a bunch of bitches that deserved to be crushed under her heel, but she wasn't foolish enough to pick a fight of which she knew she wouldn't be able to win.

Besides, what those girls have said might not be so far from the truth— no guy wanted to dance with Flay Allster because she was probably an ever bigger bitch than four of the girls put together.

Flay fingers crumpled her skirt, her legs tightened underneath. This was by far her first and worst cotillion ever. Flay heard herself mutter. And what's even worst, her eyes were staring to undeniably itch.

Flay dubbed a careful wrist on the itching only to discover with shock that they were actually her tears with a touch of make-up.

Wow. She must be losing her touch. Those sub bitches actually managed to make her cry.

Refraining from ruining more of her mascara, ladies room. Ladies room; Flay hurriedly stood up to take her retreat, when she smack dab into what seemed like a wall and fell back onto her seat. Looking up, she was not prepared to see Yzak Joule clad in a black tuxedo, standing in front of her, and the sight of him froze her on the spot.

"Psst... Look who's over there."

"Oh my gosh, isn't that Yzak Joule? I thought he said he wasn't coming?"

"So scary... but so cool." Came from the same women to her right while all Flay could come up with was.

"Yzak..."

Yzak Joule glowered at her on the spot. Panic swirled in her stomach at the thought of how pathetic she must have looked right now, especially in front of him.

"Come with me!" He said immediately. Pissed as he usually was, he grabbed her arm and, surprisingly, yanked her off the chair in one swift motion and began hauling her ungracefully through the sidelines.

The few malicious eyes followed them, clearly waiting for her to trip on her white gown and fall on her face.

"Eh, why is he with Flay? There's just no way. She's such a bitch."

Suddenly, Flay felt the pressure of Yzak's grip on her arm, squeezing.

"He's way too good for her."

Tightening...

"Someone should go over there and c-"

"Would you all just shut the fuck up! She's my lady! You assholes got a problem with that?"

The music halted. The entire room turned into stunned silence as if Yzak had took command and those present waited expectantly for his next speech. All of them were staring at the two of them, but alas Yzak ignored them all and simply finished what he came there to do, which, Flay realized, was to pull him and her out of the cotillion.

There was excited chatter as they left.

And for a moment, Flay couldn't stop thinking how embarrassing it was— having heard Yzak say those words aloud, and how just being near him at that time, made her heart pound.

"Shit." Flay heard Yzak mutter when it was just the two of them.

"Wait Yzak, where are we going?" Flay asked just as they were in the hallway.

"We're getting out of here!" He answered with a command. "We're betrothed. You didn't have to be in there in the first place!"

Correction. Closer to the truth, she was almost secretly betrothed to Yzak Joule because his mother just happened to be a close friend of her dad; and because someone out there made a fictional movement that bitchy girls like her should either never marry or end-up with fools, losers, players who can't commit, or in her case, the reckless hot tempered guy with the foul mouth.

No way! "No, we are not. Daddy said it wasn't official." Flay told Yzak, making him growl low in his throat.

"It would be if you would stop resisting!"

Wait, what? Flay's perfectly eyelined lids blinked furiously confound. Why was he making it look like she was the only one who was against their engagement? Why was everyone making her out as the bad guy!

Feeling like she had just kicked a puppy, "I'm not leaving. I still want to stay and dance." Flay said, yanking her arms free which moved Yzak to stop and throw her this look that yelled shitloads of 'are you stupid?'.

"As if I'd let you go back in there and dance with some guy!" He argued.

Startled by him once more, Flay considered pointing out that if any guy had wanted to dance with her at all, he already had the entire evening to ask her, but there had been no one, because she was the bitch, she was the spoiled princess, the wicked witch; because she was Flay Allster and she was undesired. But nonetheless, Flay was not known for cowering with self-pity so she looked into Yzak's blue eyes with her smile firmly in place and squeezed her hand in his.

"Then dance with me."

00000

Flay did not know what she had been thinking... Maybe she had meant it as a test; maybe she had expected he would run off; or maybe she just wanted to prove she deserved to be with someone better than him.

But as she took Yzak's hands and slipped them both back inside and into the dance floor, she felt a deep spark of warm recognition run through her heart.

"Here. Like this." Slowly taking their positions, Flay guided Yzak's hands to the back of her waist, showing him how to slow dance while she slid hers on his shoulders. "Relax, okay? Let yourself go." Flay added soothingly. "Just look into my eyes and follow the music."

Yzak only grunted in response as they began to sway gently.

That's when their eyes met; when an unexpected flush of heat shot up her neck and stained her cheeks. Of course, many knew Yzak Joule didn't like to dance, but only a selected few knew this was because he didn't know how to. Yet, Flay realized then, only he would do this for her...

The rest of the room receded half through the romantic song.

How could have she been so blind? Flay wondered to herself, sliding her arms around her partner's neck, locking them in place. While pressing closer to him, she actually felt her betrothed jump slightly at the sudden intimate contact, surprised, before eventually melting into the embrace.

She stopped swaying; Yzak followed in her steps.

Smiling genuinely, Flay buried her head on Yzak's chest, allowing her to indulge in it's comfort and the woodsy scent of his cologne; all that she'd missed out since she began comparing and looking far for the impossible.

Idiot.

Flay knew very well that Yzak was no perfect prince and this might not be the happily ever after everyone dreams of, but this was enough. This was definitely enough.

She could find happiness here... with him.

**End 09/18/2011