Authoress' note: Sorry this is late. I've been put on some new medication and the main side effects are that I'm really drowsy and lethargic so I'm having trouble keeping my eyes focused to write this. It's also really difficult to walk because my legs keep giving out and I fade in and out when I stand up. So that's why it took longer to finish this. I wish that I didn't have to be so slack with my updates. Please forgive me and I'll work harder!
Chapter 7
Irvine's POV
The night air is sweet and warm against my cold face and I find myself enjoying the night for its beauty more with Squall walking next to me with his torch humming a nameless tune.
"Hey Irvine, let's go to the clearing in the forest near here. It's nice there!" he requests and I nod. If anything were to attack, it would be okay cause I could feed from them while Squall got away.
"Mmm, okay."
Looking over at Squall, I'm entranced by how the delicate light from the moon accentuates his face. The cold eyes seem full of warmth and the lips usually pursed look like they're pouting. He truly is beautiful… And I'm being sappy again.
"Something you like Irvine?" he asks and I jump. Dammit! Don't scare me like that!
"Yep. He's probably the most beautiful creature that I've laid eyes on who's carrying a torch. Why? Is it a crime to love?"
The faint blush that appears on his cheeks makes him look cuter and I giggle. So innocent my moonlit one!
"Do you love someone?"
Yes, you. But I need to think carefully about telling him. A vampire loving a human after all isn't normal! I mean I feed from them so what right do I have to love one? But I do! And I think that sometimes it's a fate worse than death because of this gap of secrecy between us. I want to tell what I am. But I'd lose him…
"Yep. But I'm afraid to tell him in case he pushes me away…"
"Love is a strange thing. It can be very beautiful and at the same time very condemning. But without a risk, you cannot live so telling him won't do any harm."
"It will cause all the pain with my darkest secret between him and me. I'll lose him, I know it."
"And what says that I won't stay Irvine? Don't you trust me enough?"
"I trust you Squall, I just… I wish I could tell you but I'd lose you. My secret isn't on the same level as most normal secrets. It's the kind that hurts, the kind that kills and separates people. I can't tell you. I just can't."
"Why won't you? No matter what I won't run away. I can't just run away from you!"
"And I won't risk hurting you. I risked everything with my mother when I told her and I lost her. I won't let you follow in her footsteps in different circumstances. I don't want to lose you and to do so as selfish as it is, I would rather die than to anything to hurt or separate you from me. I'm selfish and horrible. But I'm in love and if this is the price, then let it be so."
He turns away and looks off to the distance towards the light from the car approaching us that eclipses us in its headlights.
"Looks like Quistis and Seifer are back. Hope you're ready for Selphie."
Nope and don't think I will be. The car pulls up next to us and Quistis winds down the window.
"Squall I can't find them but I needed to come back. Can you take your car and go get them?" she asks and he nods.
"Okay. See you back at the house in an hour then."
Thanking us, she drives off and I look at Squall. Please for the love of Hyne let him not be angry with me!
"I'll come…" I start but he shakes his head.
"I'll go alone. You just stay here. I need some time to think things through. See you later Irvine…"
I hide my tears as he walks away and sigh. It's for the best. It probably is. But just watching him walk away worries me. Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it. My blood runs cold as he whispers into the wind, "I regret inviting you here. It was a mistake…"
Turning away, my fangs bite through my lip as I struggle to keep a neutral face and I run off into the dark. I should go feed. I have to anyway. The upper hills surrounding the property are full of all kinds of rabbits and birds to eat. If food ever ran out for everyone there, there would be plenty of game in the hills to ensure adequate food for months.
I choose a fat old rabbit tonight near his end. It is better to prey upon them because they're going to die and this one I could feel was about to give up the fight tonight. So slipping gently behind it, I quickly snap its neck and drive my fangs into it through the fragile skin of the throat and feed quickly. I hate to waste time eating unless I am feeding for pleasure or trying to take as little blood as possible. After all, I do like to sample the local 'cuisine' before I select my dishes. A vulgar way to phrase such a thing and I know I'll have to change that.
Licking the excess blood off my mouth and the little on my hands, I jog back to the house and collapse on the couch. Seifer comes in and stares at me before positioning himself strategically in front of me but just out of my reach and smirks.
"Depressed because Squall is out?" he taunts and I snarl. Backing off a few feet, he shakes his head a little and sighs.
"Sorry Seifer. Didn't mean to do that. I'm just worried. I can feel that something bad will happen tonight. I can feel it inside and I'm worried" I reply and rub my face with my hands.
"You know we have a word for that kind of thinking. It's called being paranoid."
"We have a cure for your kind of thinking too Seifer. It's called a psychiatrist."
Quistis laughs from the kitchen before throwing in her own analogy. "And we women have a saying about you lot!"
"Oh, and that would be?"
"Men are like roses. Watch out for the pricks!"
"Oh thanks darling! That was reassuring! Remind me again why I'm marrying you!"
"Because you love me!"
He chortles and turns back to me. "I love her but she always seems to be able to get the best of me. I hate that!"
"I know what you mean…" I sympathize.
"So why do you think that something's gonna happen tonight?"
"I have an instinct that tells me so and I have yet to see it fail me. I should relax but something's wrong… or will be soon…"
I weakly struggle out a smile and close my eyes. Relaxing, I let my thoughts drift to Squall and suddenly a burning pain flares throughout my body. I yell out and claw at my eyes. Something's wrong! Squall! Flames, fire, the car mangled and smashed with the smoke entwining around his broken body.
I leap up and run to the door but Seifer blocks me.
"Where are you going?"
"Squall's hurt! Fire, flames, the car wrecked, pain. Let me go" I shout but he holds me back.
"I have to go to him!" I plead but he doesn't listen.
"Calm down Irvine. He'll be fine…" he tries and with a burst of energy, I wrap one hand around his wrist and yank it up with a crack as I dislocate his wrist and he doubles over in pain. Leaving him yelling off swear words, I fly out the door and run as fast as I can down the path and onto the main road. Fire… Squall… I need to find him! A column of smoke in the distance alerts me and I cut through three fields and leap my way over the fences to the roadside.
My first instinct near the sweltering inferno of ash and flames is to run away but I force myself down to push forward.
"Squall!" I call. "Where are you? Can you hear me?"
"Ir… vine…" a smoke tainted voice croaks out and I turn to my left in search of its source. Trapped under the flaming rubble of the car he lies pinned and… bleeding…
I drop to my knees and stroke his face gently with no thought to my safety near one of the only things that can kill me.
"Why…" he groans before he bursts into a coughing fit. The acrid smoke probably is toxic to him so I rip off my jacket and cover him with it.
"Just hold on, I'm going to move the door!" I order and covering my hands with my shirt, I quickly lift the car off him and send it rolling onto its back. Hurrying to Squall's side, he rasps out something that I can't hear.
"Just stay with me Squall!" I plead and wrapping him in my coat, I pelt with him down the road towards the town. Wrapped cold, shivering and covered in ash he clings to me and whimpers in pain whenever I make a sharp turn.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I mutter and nearly die with relief as the town near the station looms up ahead. Getting through the streets was fairly easy but finding the hospital wasn't and in the end I have to leap from building to building until I spot the hospital and land roughly at the entrance, scaring half the patients and people there out of their wits. The doors open and I run in and over to the desk.
"Welcome to emergency… how can I help you?" the receptionist drones off and I glare at her.
"I need him seen to now!" I order and taking one look at him barely breathing and black head to toe and at the look on my face, she seizes the phone from its cradle and pages the doctor.
"Burns patient here in emergency! Get someone down here NOW!" she screeches into the phone and moments later a doctor followed by stark white linen bed with an IV drip slam out of the doors.
"Lay him down gently… easy does it… right! Get him out of here!" the doctor orders and I follow, clutching onto his hand.
"I'm so sorry Squall! I'm so sorry!" I cry as we reach the operating room and I'm left outside as the cold white doors close in front of me. My attention is diverted suddenly to the nurse gently asking me something.
"Would you like to wait in the room he will be admitted to until they are done?" she asks tentatively and I nod. Hyne I hope he'll be okay. Following her, we head to the second floor to the room number 36A. Sitting down and burying my face into my sooty hands, the nurse leaves momentarily, returning with a clipboard with a pen attached and a notepad.
"Sir, I need you to fill these out and can you tell me what happened and what relation you are to the patient?"
My relation to Squall? Will he forgive me if I said lover?
"Of course. Squall invited me up here to Balamb on a weekend trip because of his sister's wedding and he wanted some company. I came and late this evening, we were going for a walk when his sister Quistis drove up and asked that he go and pick up his cousin Selphie and his ex Rinoa. He told me to stay behind and as he drove off, I felt something was wrong. I tried to rest and something just… consumed me and I saw flames and panicked. I took off after him barely twenty minutes since I had last seen him and found him trapped under his burning car. I got the car off him and brought him here. Oh Hyne this is all my fault!" I sob and try to wipe away the tears with my sleeve.
"Okay. And your relation to him?"
"I don't know. Just put me down as a friend. I love him but I don't know how he feels about me…" I sigh. She smiles and putting down the pen and notepad, comes over to me and rubs my back soothingly.
"Just between you and me, I don't think he wanted to let go of your hand when we got to surgery. I think he loves you too. So don't give up okay?" she giggles and writes down on the notepad, 'Lover.'
I smile and she hands me the clipboard.
"Please fill out all the details you know about him and he'll be back here soon" she finishes and walks out, leaving me in the pristine, antiseptic reeking cold room. Please let him be alright!
I fill out the form numbly and leave it on the table. I can barely stand to wait for him. I guess though I should call Seifer though and let him know what's going on. Heading out to the reception, I ask the man behind it if I could make a quick phone call and he nods. Pulling out the paper that Squall gave me with the address and the phone number of the house in it that I stashed in this coat, I dial it and Kiros answers it.
"Kiros speaking."
"Kiros! It's Irvine here. Squall's been injured in a car accident. I've got him to the hospital" I said with my voice quivering and I have to hold the receiver away from my ear as he yells, "WHAT!"
Deeming after a few moments that the phone is safe to listen to again, I speak. "I'll be staying here the night until he comes out of surgery. I just called to let you all know. Tell Seifer that I'm sorry about dislocating his wrist. Talk to you later," and I hang up.
Returning to the room, I sit and wait for an hour and finally they wheel the bed in with Squall on it, looking much cleaner but nonetheless worse for the wear. He opens one eye gingerly and spotting me, he smiles.
"Irvine…" he whispers and I'm there by his side the minute he speaks.
"It's okay. Just rest up Squall. Everyone knows so don't worry now. Just get some rest." I soothe and what he says next catches me off guard.
"Thank you… I'm glad you were here…" he starts and I shush him. "Just rest…"
"I love you…" he sighs and closes his eyes. Within moments he is asleep but his last words still echo in my mind. He… loves me? Squall… loves me? Is this a dream?
Authoress' notes: There you go. All done for the day. I'll get started on the next chapter. Wasn't as dramatic as I wanted it but I'm tired from my day and from the medication so this was as good as I could do. On a nastier note, I passed out again today. Woke up with the class around me. Was awkward… very awkward… This makes twice in 24 hours. Passed out the first time in the shower and I hit the glass which shattered so I now have a large wound on my stomach. Not so smart… Anyway, I'll go and see the doctor about changing the medication. Will try to get the next chapter up soon. Until then!