Disclaimer: Still not mine. Squaresoft's.
Zell woke up. Today was the day. He was 18. Humming happily to himself, Zell bounded into the shower, he considered 'waking' Shiva up, but decided against it. She had been extremely worn down after their last mission, taking blows for him, letting him attack the soldiers without fear, until she had passed out, or at least, the GF equivalent. He hadn't realized the toll it was taking on her, and was ashamed that he had let it happen.
Breakfast. Toast and eggs, quick and easy to make. Next. Presents. Zell grinned. His mother had given him his a few weeks ago before Balamb Garden left Balamb. Taking it out from under his bed, he ripped it apart, sending shredded paper flying into the air. He'd clean it up tomorrow. Opening the box, Zell took out a bottle and grinned. Balamb Leather Oil. Expensive stuff, he knew, and he loved the feel of his gloves after he used this stuff, but refrained from buying it, since it had become a tradition for his ma to send him a bottle for his birthday.
It was just after noon when he finished properly taking care of his favorite battle gloves, and his SeeD uniform's gloves. Fairly bouncing with anticipation, he went straight over to Irvine's room that he shared with Selphie most of the time, though not officially. Just as he was abut to knock, the door slid open, and Irvine stalked out, pulling just short from hitting Zell.
"Err, hi Zell. Whatcha doing here?"
"Just came to see what you guys were up to tonight.." Selphie hadn't mentioned a birthday party. Therefore it was a surprise party. Selphie loved parties and planning them. Zell couldn't wait.
"Don't tell Selphie, she'll kill me is she finds out I told anyone…we have reservations in Balamb Cabaret" Zell was floored. Reservations there were near impossible to get, to think they did it for him.."
"What time?"
"Well, I'll be getting Selphie blindfolded and into the car at six, and, well, don't expect us back tonight." Zell was stunned, but plastered a grin onto his face that was so fake it hurt.
"Ah, special special evening for two planned, eh?"
"Yep" Irvine was quite proud of himself, Zell couldn't bring himself to blame him for forgetting his birthday. The fact that Selphie forgot was harder, but still…they were his friends, so he would accept it.
"Well, have fun" Having to get out of there, Zell practically fled from his friend and into the lobby, just as the floating garden hit a bit of mid-ocean turbulence. Turning, he went to the cafeteria, planning on grabbing lunch and figuring out what to do.
Sitting down with a plate of hotdogs, Zell began to think. Irvine and Selphie had their night out. Seifer and Quistis were off the Garden on a mission. Squall…Squall would be in his office all night, working on the test results from the tests he had administered today. Zell wondered why he had scheduled the tests for his birthday, perhaps they all had forgotten? With that sobering thought, Zell made up his mind on his plans. Getting up, he turned directly for the training center.
Leaving the training area just at five, before it was flooded with cadets, Zell went straight back to his room, and got in the shower. After getting dried, and dressed in fresh clothes, Zell began to pile things into a backpack. After a quick stop by the cafeteria, Zell headed upstairs, and out onto a balcony.
Setting his pack on the ground, Zell opened it and spread out a blanket and weighted it down with a few small books. Sitting cross-legged, Zell pulled out a plate of hotdogs at the top, followed by a bottle of wine he had stolen from Irvine's stash, and a glass, and a cupcake, with frosting, sprinkles, and a candle.
Devouring a quick meal of hotdogs, Zell lit the candle with a quick spell, and stuck it in the cupcake and began to sing. "Happy birthday, to me. Happy birthday, to me. Happy birthday, to Zell, Happy birthday to me." Zell did a remarkable job of managing not to let the fact that he was alone on his birthday show on his face, barely tearing up. Pulling himself together, he poured himself a glass of wine, and took a long drink of the alcohol. He hadn't drunk before, and he quickly decided that while it may not have been the best tasting drink he'd ever had, it wasn't bad. So he had another glass. And another. And another, and so on, until the bottle was done. His head hurt, but in a good way. It didn't hurt that he was ignored anymore, and that's all that mattered to him at the moment.
Moving next to the rail, he looked out at the ocean as the Garden flew on. So huge, vast, and empty looking. The pain came back without warning as he looked over the edge, and he couldn't help it as he began to cry softly. He had been ignored before, but…never his birthday. It was supposed to be his day, but nobody had time for him. Not today, not the day before. And not the day after either he knew.
The Ragnarok flew by, on its way to dock with the Garden. Zell idly wondered who was on it, then gave a pitiful shrug. It didn't matter, they wouldn't be interested in him anyway. Turning back towards his pack, he took out a pad of paper and a pen. He had planned to write a thank you letter to his Ma, and he would write letters…
Seven letters, he thought, as he sealed the envelope on the last on. Squall, Selphie, Seifer, Quistis, Irvine, Cid…and Ma. He wondered briefly which ones would hate him for the letters, or be glad he had written them. Turning back to the railing, he carefully stood on the side guard. He looked around. It was so…free, to not have to worry about one thing or another, not a care in the world, everything was taken care of.
Zell closed his eyes and just felt the wind enwrap him. Peaceful.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" A regal, maternal voice.
Zell spun around. "Matron?" A tremor was in his voice, and he saw the door opening. And then he realized that when he turned around, he had overbalanced himself. As Seifer came through the door, gunblade resting against his shoulder, a box in his other hand, he was witness to the sight of a wide-eyed Zell falling backwards. The box in his hand dropped as his gunblade did, and he raced to the railing, extending one hand. Too late. Zell was out of reach.
Zell wasn't sure if he had screamed, or if Seifer had. It didn't matter he realized, he was going to die, and he had just realized he didn't want to, he wanted to live. As he fell past another balcony, time seemed to slow, and he had an eternity to take in what he saw. Selphie, and Irvine, dressed up for their evening out. Selphies face was twisted in horror, and Irvine's in shock. Then Selphie began to scream and time resumed its normal speed, and he saw the water coming up fast. Then he hit, and everything went black.