A/N: Song that's making my spirits go up these days? Divine by KoRn. Anyone who knows what the song is about will understand ^_~
Aaaaanyway… First appearance of the Trepies for the fic, although they do nothing… yet.
Barbie is property of Matel (erm… I think…). Not mine, either way.
Last chapter summary: Seifer and Quistis return to Garden safe and sound and reunite with all their friends.
~*A second chance*~
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 20: Embarking on a long journey
It seemed like it was going to rain today.
Grey clouds darkened the skies and ominous thunders could be heard from afar.
Strange.
The sky had been very clear during the previous hours of the day.
Cid's thoughts traveled to his wife. He couldn't remember the last moment they'd spent together... Ever since she mysteriously went hungry for power and decided to become the world's enemy, he couldn't recognize her anymore... What had happened to the beautiful, kind and caring woman he once knew and loved? What had happened to the woman who would lay by his side on their bed at nights, sweetly asking him if he remembered the way they'd first met.
And how could he forget?
How could he possibly forget the first time her amber eyes fell upon him, as she wet her feet by the shores of Obel lake, tossing stones onto the surface…
He was tired.
Tired of pretending everything would eventually work out, tired of pretending that he put his duty above everything else.
Even above the woman of his life.
He couldn't do it. It was too painful. He hated himself for admitting this, but he needed to place the responsibility upon someone else's shoulders. So that he could go on living without guilt.
Guilt for ordering the assassination of the most important person in his life.
It would be someone else's decision. Not his.
A knock on the door made him jolt up slightly. Regaining his cool, he sighed deeply and spoke.
- "Come in." he said.
The door opened, revealing Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy standing behind it. The two young men saluted their Headmaster and stood at attention in front of his desk. Cid turned around and faced them.
- "At ease, men." he said "Please take a seat."
Seifer and Squall did so and looked at Cid eagerly, waiting to hear what he'd called them up to his office for.
- "I asked for the attendance of both of you, due to a very important matter that has risen and needs immediate attention." he began.
- "We're listening sir." said Squall.
- "This Garden was founded many years ago…" Cid spoke, looking outside the window "Decades ago…"
'Aw crap…' Seifer thought 'He's not gonna go lecturing us about Garden principles and all that shit, is he?'
- "When it all begun I wasn't the Headmaster, you know…" Cid went on "NORG was both Master and Headmaster of this Garden. I was the Commander of Balamb's SeeDs."
'Odd… I never thought Cid was a fighter in his younger years…' Squall said to himself.
- "A few years later, just after the first Sorceress War… You are familiar with the event…?" asked Cid, although it sounded much more like a statement.
- "Yeah, you're talkin' about that other Sorceress some guy from Esthar knocked out, right?" replied Seifer.
- "The current President of Esthar trapped Sorceress Adel, thus ending the days of her tyrannical reign." Squall said matter-of-factly, earning a glare and a cocked eyebrow from his blond peer.
'Fucking show-off…' Seifer thought.
- "Yes, that is correct. Anyway… After the First Sorceress War, Edea suggested that I become the Headmaster. I discussed the idea with NORG. He wasn't all that pleased about it, but finally agreed." spoke Cid "So ever since then, I've been both the Headmaster and Commander of Balamb Garden. After that War however, no opportunity has yet risen for me to use my title as a Commander." Cid went on "So, it's only natural that after all these years of… limited action, I've sort of lost my edge as a warrior."
Cid chuckled at his last statement, a somewhat melancholic laughter, Squall noticed.
- *Sigh* As you can both see, I'm getting too old for this position…" he said. Seifer and Squall stirred in their seats. What was Cid saying? "I can still handle being the Headmaster; it's only paperwork. But there are other tasks that are out of my hand…"
- "Such as?" asked Seifer, raising an eyebrow.
- "I'll get to that…" said Cid "First, I'd like to talk to you about a few other things… Squall." he added, looking at the brown-haired boy first "You did an excellent job in leading the team that saved Garden from the missiles. You displayed once again your composure when it comes to crucial matters and your outstanding leadership qualities."
- "Thank you, sir." Squall said modestly.
- "Seifer," Cid began, turning over to the blond this time "You did the most foolish thing you've ever done in all your years in Garden." Seifer sat up straight. That couldn't be good…"You ran off all by yourself to help Quistis, endangering both yourself and her at the same time. You had a fair chance of getting caught, both of you, and could have been seriously hurt, if not executed."
- "Sir, I-" Seifer tried to say, but Cid interrupted him.
- "I'm not quite finished yet." he said "What you did, was one of the most stupid deeds I've ever seen anyone perform," Seifer swallowed hard "However, it was also one of the most heroic at the same time."
- "Huh?" Seifer said flabbergasted. He couldn't have heard right…
- "Hence, I think it's only fitting that I congratulate both of you. You're among the best fighters Garden has ever had, and without any doubt the most appropriate successors for one of my positions." said Cid. Squall and Seifer looked at each other "I hereby name you both, the new Commanders of Balamb Garden's SeeDs."
Both young men froze in their positions.
- "What?" Seifer mumbled, breaking the awkward silence.
- "You heard me. The two of you are now Commanders of this Garden." replied Cid "You're both destined for this position…"
Seifer's mind took quite a while to process what Cid had uttered. His heart made a steep jump to his stomach and up to its right place again. He felt like he'd finally managed to make one of his deepest desires come true. Glory. And recognition. Hyne knew how much he craved for both and now he had finally made it. If he knew beforehand what Cid was going to talk to them about, he would have guessed that he would only make Squall a Commander. But for once, someone viewed him as an equal to his lifelong antagonist 'Heh… It's either that, or Cid was afraid of my reaction if he only made Puberty-Boy a Commander…' he thought, grinning slightly. He then cocked an eyebrow and fell in deep thought…
On the other hand, Squall felt anger welling up inside him 'What does he mean 'destined'?! It's not like it was decided since we were born… Did he even consider ASKING if we want all this responsibility over our heads? *Scoff* Seifer's probably bursting with pride right now. I can't expect him to take this seriously anyway… He'll just abuse the authority foolishly given to him…' he thought.
- "But, sir," said Squall eventually "BOTH of us?" he asked.
- "Yes, that is something quite unusual, but I chose both for the following simple reason: You Squall, will keep Seifer in check and make sure he doesn't take any rash decisions." replied Cid, arching an eyebrow at Seifer. Seifer frowned a bit "You're the most… logical counterpart. However, sometimes, difficult measures demand bold decisions. I'm afraid your dedication to the position of SeeD sometimes clouds your determination, Squall. But as it has already been proven, Seifer has no such hesitations. And that's why he's the other man. Understood?" asked Cid.
- "Understood…" said both men in unison, although still utterly bewildered by what they'd just heard.
- "Good. You shall be starting up first thing tomorrow morning. Your office will be the one right across mine. Be there at 0800 hours sharp. I expect a speech from both of you, concerning your new duties, for the entire student body. Dismissed." said Cid.
-
Seifer and Squall got up from their seats, saluted Cid and left the office. Once outside, Seifer closed the door behind him and looked at Squall.
- "So…" he said.
- "So…" said Squall.
- "Now we have to actually work together?" Seifer said raising an eyebrow.
- "Unfortunately… yes." replied Squall, crossing his arms, looking away.
- "*Scoff* Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow at 'work' Commander Puberty…" said Seifer chuckling and walked towards the elevator.
Squall eyed him poisonously and shook his head in disbelief 'That's it…Cid has officially gone nuts. And now I have to co-exist with Commander Asshole…' he thought.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer made his way towards the dorms. The thought of becoming a Commander for Garden had still not quite sank in… It wasn't something to be taken lightly. It meant that he was now responsible for any action taken by Garden. Every mission, every operation… Every decision. He wondered how everyone would take it. He had no doubt that they'd be ecstatic over the idea of Squall being a Commander, but him… It wouldn't surprise him if they started some sort of riot, demanding his backing off.
He scoffed.
'At least the money will be good.'
Grinning, he knocked on the door before him.
Raijin opened up, Fujin standing right behind him.
- "I've got news…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "He WHAT?!" Zell yelled, banging his fist against the table.
- "Zell, calm down…" Rinoa mumbled.
- "No I will NOT calm down! Is Cid out of his frickin' mind?!" Zell shouted.
By now, every head inside the cafeteria had turned towards their table.
After Irvine and Zell had caught up with Squall in the corridors, they'd insisted that he joined them for lunch in the cafeteria. Rinoa and Selphie were there as well. After much hesitation, Squall agreed to spend some time with them. During the middle of idle conversation, Squall blurted out the news. And the rest, was history…
- "Man, I can't believe this!" Zell growled, falling unceremoniously onto his chair "I mean… no offense Rinoa, 'cause he was your boyfriend and all, but-"
- "Seifer is Rinoa's ex?!" Irvine exclaimed, astonished.
- "Yes." Rinoa replied meekly.
- "Whoo! Talk about love triangles in this Garden…" said Irvine grinning, throwing a side-ways glance at Squall.
Squall arched an eyebrow and glared at Irvine. The latter swallowed audibly and decided to change the subject of conversation.
- "A-a-a-anyway…" he stuttered "What's with those geeks over by that table going all 'conspiracy-like'?" he asked, pointing at a table not too far from them.
Everyone turned around to see who Irvine was talking about. Their eyes fell upon a small group of people, talking in a secretive manner, discussing about what looked like pink fliers.
- "Ohhh… Trepies." Zell said grinning, turning his gaze back to the table.
- "'Trepies'?" Irvine asked, arching an eyebrow.
- "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about this, too. What are Trepies?" asked Rinoa.
- "You know Quistis's last name, right?" asked Zell.
- "Yeah. Quistis… Trepe." Irvine said, getting a hint of what was to follow.
- "Exactly. Trepies, are her fan club." Zell spoke.
- "Quistis has a fan club?" Rinoa asked, dumbfounded.
- "Yup. Created by some psychos who worship her." Zell replied, grinning cheekily.
- "That's rich…" said Irvine, chuckling "So what do they do?"
- "From what I've figured for the short time I've been here…" said Selphie "Practically follow her around everywhere she goes, offer to carry her stuff, rush in line to buy her lunch, keep telling her how wonderful she is…"
- "Stalkers, in a nutshell." Squall piped in.
- "Hyne, isn't Quistis scared of all that?!" asked Rinoa.
- "Pissed, yes. Afraid, no." replied Zell "They're harmless. Not your regular kind of stalkers. They've got the whole package without the creepy, schizophrenic will to do her harm if she doesn't pay them any attention."
- "Except for…" said Selphie meaningfully.
- "You know about that?!" Zell asked Selphie, surprised.
- "Know about what?" asked Irvine and Rinoa in unison.
- "Wimbly Donner." Squall spoke laconically.
- "Who's he?" asked Irvine.
- "He was the Garden Festival coordinator before Selphie came here." explained Zell "If you check the Garden terminals under the page of the Garden Festival, you'll see this announcement he put up before leaving. He claimed it was because the Festival was a failure, which was partly true, but that was not all…"
- "Don't tell me he was…" Irvine began.
- "A Trepie…?" Rinoa finished for him.
- "He was actually the first Trepie. The one who started it all…" said Zell matter-of-factly.
- "Rumor has it that he was so obsessed with Quistis, that he once broke into her room to… y'know…" Selphie said.
- "Dear Hyne!" Rinoa exclaimed.
- "He didn't… hurt her, did he?" Irvine asked, frowning.
- "Let's just say that the guy might have trouble reproducing for the rest of his life…" Zell replied, grinning.
- "Seriously?!" Irvine exclaimed, chuckling "Quistis whooped him raw then, eh?"
- "Actually, although she hit him pretty bad, I heard that he got the real beating when the whole thing became known. No-one knows who did it, but he left with two black eyes, a fat lip, both legs and an arm in cast…" Zell replied, shuddering.
- "Probably the rest of the Trepies." Rinoa suggested.
- "Yeah, that would be my guess, too." Zell said.
- "Anyway…Naturally, he was expelled after that incident." added Selphie "They tried to hush it all up, hence that announcement, but almost everyone knows what really happened."
- "Dude, you got some serious fruitcakes running around this place…" Irvine said.
- "Tell me about it…" agreed Rinoa "Erm… Things like that haven't happened to other girls here, right?" she asked, looking apprehensive.
- "Why, afraid any 'Heartilies' might pop up soon?" asked Squall.
Rinoa seemed quite taken aback by his intervention and the nature of his comment. She looked quite offended, and Squall was about to mutter an apology, when he noticed the grin now slowly creeping up her lips. A grin that quickly turned into giggle, giggle turned into laughter, then to full-blown hystericals, as the rest joined her as well 'Geez, it wasn't that funny…' Squall though, grinning awkwardly and somewhat wryly. Apparently, it was the fact that Squall had even uttered a comment like this that brought up this kind of reaction from the others. Either way, he was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable and besides, he had been right on his way to his room before Irvine and Zell dragged him over to the cafeteria, insisting that he 'hung out' with them.
- "I think that'll be all for me on the gossiping department." Squall said getting up, when the laughter had died down "I'm going to my room."
- "Aw, stay some more!" Selphie complained "We were just about to go order some lunch!"
- "I'm not that hungry. See ya." Squall mumbled, walking away from their table.
Four pairs of eyes followed him out of the room, where he bumped onto Seifer and his posse, then turning back to each other.
- "That guy really needs to lighten up…" Irvine commented, shaking his head in disbelief "Anyway, I'm goin' to get something to eat. Anyone want anything?" he asked.
- "Oh yes! A salad with extra dressing and a bun for me, thanks." said Rinoa.
- "A cheeseburger for me!" Selphie said, smiling sweetly at Irvine.
- "If you're lucky enough, six hotdogs will do. Otherwise get me some burgers too or something…" said Zell.
- "Sheesh, I was only trying to sound nice…" said Irvine, getting up from the table.
'SIX hotdogs?!' the cowboy thought, shaking his head in disbelief. Thankfully, the line wasn't particularly long, so he wouldn't have to wait forever.
The last person on the line was Seifer.
- "Hi." said Irvine. Seifer turned around.
- "Hi." he replied, turning his gaze back forward.
Irvine looked around bored, until a bright yellow leaflet stuck onto the wall on the other side caught his attention.
- "Hey," he said, nudging Seifer "What's that leaflet over there?" he asked, trying to make idle conversation.
- "Dunno, don't care." replied Seifer, after throwing it a quick glance "Maybe more Garden Festival shit."
- "Hey! Selphie's in charge of that, you know…" said Irvine matter-of-factly, sounding a bit offended.
- "I never said Selphie's shit. Just the damned Festival…" said Seifer, shrugging.
Irvine's gaze traveled around a bit more, waiting for the line to clear out, when a thought crossed his mind.
- "Hey." he said, nudging Seifer again. The blond groaned.
- "What?" he asked impatiently.
- "You've been here for long, right?" Irvine asked.
- "Yes…?"
- "So you know about the previous guy who was in charge of the Festival?" asked Irvine.
- "Yes, why?" Seifer asked, frowning.
- "We were just talking with the others and they told me that dickhead made a… move, on Quistis. Is that true?" he whispered.
- "Yes." replied Seifer, frowning even more.
- "Heard he got a big ass-whoopin' before he left…" Irvine said, sniggering "Know who did it?"
- "No…" replied Seifer, smirking "But let's just say" he went on, eyes locking onto a figure who entered the cafeteria "That the motherfucker got what he deserved…" he finished, voice deep and sinister.
Irvine arched both eyebrows, turning to look at Quistis who had just entered. Seifer had already turned around, ordering his meal. Irvine looked at him, narrowing his eyes and grinned.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis made her way down the corridor leading to the cafeteria. Many heads turned as she strolled down, wishing her a good day, receiving a warm smile and a nod in reciprocation, while others just studied her figure as she walked. She was really flattered by all this attention when it was manifested at first, but soon grew tired of it. As well as annoyed and distraught, after certain… incidents took place. Shaking herself mentally, she continued her pace towards the cafeteria, when she came across a brooding, black-clad figure passing through the threshold and towards her direction.
Squall.
- "Hello Squall." Quistis greeted him politely, once he reached her.
- "Hello Instructor Trepe." Squall spoke, nodding.
- "Squall, please. You make me feel eighty when you call me that. I'd like to believe we know each other well enough to be on a first name basis." Quistis said, smiling.
- "Right… Sorry… Quistis." he said.
- "Had lunch then?" she asked.
- "No, I'm not hungry. But Irvine, Zell, Rinoa and Selphie are inside, in case you're looking for some company." he said nonchalantly.
- "Oh, good. Hyne, I almost forgot…" she said, extending her arm towards him "Congratulations." she spoke, smiling warmly.
- "Thank you." Squall said modestly, shaking her hand in a lukewarm manner "I take it the news are all around Garden then?" he asked.
- "No, no-one knows yet. I was up to the Headmaster's office, discussing about my new classes and he told me." Quistis replied "I've decided to take up Junior classmen. I think I'll manage better, don't you think?"
- "Maybe." said Squall, shrugging "Sounds nice."
- "Yes it does, doesn't it?" she said, smiling brightly "I like the idea of guiding students into their very first steps."
- "Right."
- "Not in a good mood, are we today?" Quistis asked.
- "Not really." Squall admitted.
- "Don't worry, Squall. Seifer may be a pain at first, but he'll come around soon." she said and winking at him, resumed her walk down the corridor.
Squall scoffed 'He'll come around she says… I'll be lucky if we don't kill each other after the first day…'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
You know, by now I'd already lost my job as an Instructor… So I'm finally beginning to understand where all
that 'lacking leadership qualities' headed towards…
You think Seifer was the reason?
One of them, yes…
Quistis, did that erm… incident with Wimbly Donner really happen?
*Pause* Yes.
Oh… Really sorry to hear that…
Don't be. He's still going to be walking funny after the beating I gave him.
You and 'someone' else…
*Pause* Yes…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The following day…
Seifer was up in his office signing some papers, when he heard a knock on his door. He raised his head from his desk and spoke.
"Come in."
The door opened and Xu walked inside. She took a few steps forward and saluted him.
"I just came to collect the admission forms in case you were done signing them Commander" she said, her voice timid.
"Yes, yes. You can take them." Seifer replied sternly, stacking the papers.
Xu approached the desk and collected the forms, saluting once more, then turning to walk towards the door.
"And Xu?" Seifer said.
"Yes, sir?"
"You will address me as Commander Almasy, sir from now on, or I'll demote your bony ass back to fucking Ensign. Did I make myself clear?" Seifer asked, a smug smile broad on his face.
"Yes Commander Almasy, sir. Crystal." Xu replied, blushing.
She turned around once again and exited the office. Seifer smirked triumphantly 'That'll teach ya to bust my balls in the SeeD exam, bitch…' he though.
He got up from his comfortable, leather chair and looked outside the window.
The intercom on his desk buzzed, making him turn around. He pressed the button and spoke.
"Yes?"
"Commander Almasy, sir," spoke his secretary "Instructor Trepe is here requesting to see you."
'Is she now?' Seifer thought, rubbing his chin.
"Let her in."
The tall blond sat onto his chair once again, intertwining his fingers on the desk. The door knocked.
"Come in."
Quistis appeared on the threshold, clad in her uniform. Closing the door behind her and walking a bit closer, she stopped and saluted him.
"Commander Almasy, sir."
"Instructor Trepe." said Seifer, nodding "May I ask what it is you're here to see me for?"
"I have come to discuss my new timetable." Quistis said "I'm afraid some of the hours are not suitable to the rest of my schedule."
"You timetable, please." Seifer said, extending his arm.
Quistis walked over to his desk and handed him a paper. Seifer skimmed it through.
"My request is that you reschedule the 1400 hours class on Monday to 1600 hours, and my 1600 hours class on Wednesday to 1100 hours." Quistis said.
"Hmmm…That would be a problem," Seifer said, checking another paper "Since one of them will collide with the same class Instructor Aki is teaching at that hour and the other with Instructor Rogers's class."
"So isn't there anything that can be done?"
"No, I'm sorry." Seifer said, getting up.
"Nothing?" Quistis asked again.
"I'm afraid so." Seifer replied, walking in front of her, crossing his arms.
Quistis smiled mischievously and rested her palm on the desk behind her.
"Surely we could… discuss this a bit further?" she asked, her voice huskier.
"Do you have any… 'other' ideas in mind?" Seifer spoke, arching an eyebrow.
"I may have…" Quistis replied impishly, biting her lower lip.
"Could I hear them out?" Seifer asked, leaning closer to her.
"Why, of course…" Quistis replied.
With one swift sweep, she cleared off Seifer's desk, discarding all the items to the floor. She grabbed Seifer's shirt from the front, yanking him forward as she lay backwards onto the desk.
Her legs enveloped his waist, pulling him closer, as his lips descended on hers…
*****
*Knock* *Knock*
Seifer jolted up in his bed, looking around in utter confusion. He groaned and fell back onto his bed stomach-first, burying his head into his pillow.
- "Son-of-a-bitch!" came his muffled curse, as he brought his fist down to the mattress with might.
Knock* *Knock*
'Oh, the dickhead who had the nerve to wake me up won't hear the end of this…' the blond thought, kicking the covers off the bed.
Knock* *Knock*
- "I'M COMING ALREADY!!!" he roared.
He walked over to the door, literally fuming, and yanked it open.
- "WHAT?!"
- "And a good morning to you, too." spoke Quistis, staring at him wide-eyed.
- "Oh…" Seifer said, letting out a whimper. She was wearing her uniform… "…It's you."
It took Quistis's eyes quite a few seconds to realize –the sudden yelling could have that effect- that he had answered the door in his boxers. Strong, worked-out arms protruded from a pair of broad shoulders, a chiseled chest cascaded down to a 'V' shape, ending in narrow, firm hips. Hermes of Praxitelus had nothing on the guy…
- "Uhh… Yes," said Quistis, looking away momentarily, then turned her gaze up to his face. There. That was… safer "It's me. Are you aware of the time?"
- "Excuse me?" Seifer asked, arching both eyebrows.
- "Do you know what time it is?" Quistis repeated, hands on her hips. Her voice had suddenly become quite austere.
- "Fuck, I dunno… Seven?" he asked, shrugging.
- "Try eight thirty." Quistis informed him.
- "Erm… You came all the way here just to tell me that?" Seifer asked, rubbing his sore neck, yawning.
- "Use your almost inexistent brains, Almasy." Quistis said, rolling her eyes "Do you recall any 'arrangements' you had for the day?"
- "First of all, bitchin' ain't gonna get you on my good side." he replied, counting 'one' with his fingers "Second," he released another finger. He paused, thinking "…No." he added, shaking his head.
- "Come on, Seifer!" Quistis said, exasperated "Cid told you to be at your office at exactly eight o' clock!"
Seifer froze 'Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck…'
- "Is he… mad?" he asked, rubbing the back of his hair.
- "Thankfully, he's not here yet." Quistis replied "He left last night on some business and stayed over in Balamb. He called at eight and said he'd be here by nine o' clock tops. Come on, hurry!" she urged him, pushing him inside his room.
- "OK, OK, quit shovin'!" Seifer protested.
He walked over to his closet, grabbing a pair of faded jeans and a white T-shirt with some red writing on it. He walked over to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Quistis exhaled audibly. She began pacing around the room. That guy would be the end of them all… First day in his brand new position and what did he do? He slept in… She shook her head in disbelief. It enraged her how some people had no discipline in their lives. Probably because she had so much in hers.
Quistis suddenly stopped in her tracks, eyes widening.
Furious beyond imagination, she strode over to the bathroom door and knocked hard.
- "SEIFER! Is that WATER I'm hearing?!" she yelled.
- "Umm… yeah?" came Seifer's obviously confused voice.
- "Are you taking a shower?!" she shouted.
- "Erm… yeah… Why, you wanna join?" Seifer commented sarcastically.
-
Obviously, the situation seemed hilarious enough to him to joke about. Quistis thought she was going to explode…
- "You're already half an hour late, Cid could be here any minute and YOU'RE TAKING A SHOWER?!!!" she roared, banging hard onto the door once more.
- "Hey, I happen to be a clean guy, you know…" Seifer spoke from the bathroom.
Quistis took a look around her. Covers thrown onto the floor, bed sheets dangling from the edges of the bed, an ashtray on the nightstand that hadn't been emptied since Hyne knew when, a stack of magazines onto the desk, a ton of clothes thrown haphazardly onto the chair and a trash can that seemed ready to collapse under the weight of the already protruding garbage.
- "Seifer, if you're not out here in one minute, I swear to Hyne-"
- "Sheesh, keep your panties on! I'm almost done!" Seifer protested.
Quistis let out a grunt of indignation, throwing a kick at the door. She winced and limped for a bit, ready to pull all her blond hairs out one by one. She crossed her arms and waited. Her gaze fell onto the blanket lying on the floor. It practically screamed at her to pick it up '*Scoff* Yeah, right… Now I'm going to be Almasy's personal maid as well?' she thought.
Her gaze never left the blanket.
Pick me up…
She looked away and began tapping her foot on the floor.
Pick me up…
Her eyes fell back onto the blanket.
Pick me up…
She sighed 'Dammit…'
She strode over to the bed, picked up the blanket and began folding it, in an almost hostile manner, while cursing inwardly.
The door behind her opened, revealing Seifer dressed in his jeans, T-shirt in one hand, towel on the other, with which he rubbed his hair dry. Quistis froze in position 'He just had to walk in right now, didn't he?'
- "Cleaning up my dorm for me? What next, cook me dinner?" Seifer said, winking at her as she turned around.
- "Just put some clothes on and let's go before I have a nervous breakdown." Quistis said through gritted teeth, looking away.
- "Talk about PMS…" Seifer mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.
He tossed the towel onto the bed -'Pig.' Quistis thought-, slipping his T-shirt on, walking towards the nightstand to pick up his wallet and weapon, which lay on its case near by. She rolled her eyes. His T-Shirt read on the back: 'You're ugly and I'm not in the mood. So don't even think about it.'
- "Something that does not have offensive logos on it?" Quistis asked, voice as calm as her current mental state allowed it to be, crossing her arms.
- "I've got one that says 'Barbie is a bitch'…" Seifer suggested, slipping Hyperion through the belt on his jeans.
- "Let's just go." Quistis said, shoving his trench coat -which she had picked up from the heap of clothes on the chair- to his chest, dragging him out to the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Squall seemed ready to burst any moment now, Xu and Nida threw him sideways glances and then looked at each other, making a mental bet that if they held his nose, he'd combust.
The small elevator leading up to the bridge was called.
Squall stopped pacing back and forth and stood next to the empty shaft of the elevator, waiting 'There's gonna be Hell to pay… I can feel it…' Xu thought.
The elevator rose back up, revealing Seifer and Quistis. The latter threw one glance on Squall's face and swallowed hard as she realized what was about to follow.
- "Mornin'…" said Seifer casually "Cid not here yet? What, does he have no manners?"
That was it.
After a long period of intense throbbing, the vein in Squall's forehead finally popped.
- "WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN?!" the young Commander roared, grabbing Seifer's T-shirt.
Quistis, Xu and Nida stared at him wide-eyed. Seifer simply smirked. He pointed down at the office, now visible from the bridge. Squall arched an eyebrow and looked down. Cid was coming.
Growling, the brown-haired boy let go of his blond counterpart, running a hand through his hair as the elevator got called again.
Within seconds, Cid appeared up in the bridge. The man looked as if he'd run a mile.
- "I'm terribly sorry for being so late!" he exclaimed, wiping his damp forehead dry with a hanky "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long…"
- "It's OK, sir." Seifer replied, grinning.
Everyone but Cid glared at him.
- "Alright then. Ready for the announcement?" asked Cid.
- "Ready." replied Seifer.
- "Ready." mumbled Squall.
Cid turned the PA on and cleared his throat.
- "This is Headmaster Cid. I have an announcement to make." he spoke "I have important news that I must share with all of you. The Garden is being repaired. We're leaving FH as soon as the repairs are done. We're going on a journey. This is a journey to defeat the sorceress. Garden will now be used as a mobile base. The administration of Garden will be run by myself and the staff, as usual. This journey will involve many battles. A well-qualified leader is needed for this. Or rather, two well-qualified leaders. Therefore, I am appointing Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy as your new leaders. From now on, Seifer and Squall will be the leaders. They will decide our destination and battle plan. Everyone, please follow their orders. If there are any objections, please come see me in person."
Cid turned the PA off. Seifer chuckled inwardly 'Oh, they'll be flooding his office for me…'
- "Well, then. I have my own business to attend to. I'll leave the rest up to you." Cid addressed Seifer and Squall.
The Headmaster left the bridge, heading back down to his office. Squall looked at Seifer, who smirked back 'This is going to be one loooong journey…' he thought.
A/N: I pity Squall… I really do. But hell, it's fun to watch your –borrowed- characters suffer and squirm *evil grin*
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
A day in Hell for Seifer…
You'll know what I mean soon enough… :-p