"Well guys, we've gotta go pick out some dresses." Rinoa said to Selphie and Quistis.
"We'll see you later." Selphie said cheerily. The girls got up and started to walk to the parking lot.
"Pick out something sexy Selphie!" Irvine called out to her. He could see Selphie had started to blush. Irvine's call had drawn many guy's attention.
"So guys, what are we wearing?" Squall asked.
"Let's just wear our SeeD uniforms with some 'artistic' changes." Irvine said leaning back in his chair.
Zell just sat there with a stupid grin plastered on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy.
* * *
"This is so exciting, I love going to buy new dresses!" Selphie exclaimed.
"You guys will have to help me pick out a dress, I haven't been shopping for a dress since before I was an instructor." Quistis said somewhat exhausted from the excitement of the last few days. Rinoa and Selphie both nodded.
They were walking towards the parking lot as Seifer came walking towards them. They figured he'd keep walking but instead he stopped and asked Quistis if he could speak to her.
"You guys go on ahead, wait at the parking lot." Quistis yelled to Selphie and Rinoa. Selphie and Rinoa nodded.
"Yes, Seifer?" Quistis asked.
"Umm…I know it's kinda late but…all screw it…this is B.S." Seifer rambled. Seifer started to walk away. Quistis grabbed his arm.
"What is it, Seifer?" Quistis asked concerned.
Seifer had a huge frown glued to his face. He was biting his lip nervously.
"Would you go the dance with me?" Seifer whispered.
"Seifer, I'm sorry…" Quistis saw Seifer hang his head.
"I'm sorry you didn't ask me sooner, I'd love to go with you." Quistis said smiling.
Seifer looked at Quistis in disbelief.
"You're shitting me…I mean, Really, you'll go with me?" Seifer said, still in shock.
"Definitely." Quistis said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you at lunch, then we'll go to the dance." Seifer nodded intently.
He all of a sudden, took Quistis in his arms and was twirling her around. When he sat her down he hugged her tightly and whispered "Thank you so much Quisty." Then he ran off.
Quistis put a hand to her cheek. (What have I done, oh Zelly…I'm sorry.)
Quistis ran to the parking lot, she hopped in the backseat. Selphie drove out of the garage and towards Deling City, the nearest mall was there.
"What did Seifer want?" Rinoa asked looking back at Quistis.
"He had a question about my class." Quistis said monotonously.
When Rinoa saw the look on Quistis' face she didn't press the subject. Selphie could tell by looking at Rinoa that she shouldn't bring up the topic.
"We're gonna have so much fun, come on guys, it's gonna be great." Selphie encouraged, always the group's sunshine.
Quistis just couldn't stay sad around Selphie. Quistis, despite her predicament, smiled.
They reached Deling city within the hour. They hopped out of the car and ran to the mall.
As usual, the mall was full of bustling people. Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa were walking towards their favorite shop, Balamb Marche. It had everything a girl could want, cosmetics, clothes, candy, books, shoes, purses, EVERYTHING!
On the way to the dresses, they got preoccupied by makeup.
"We gotta find new makeup." Selphie said joyously.
"Guys, I don't have that much money." Quistis informed Selphie and Rinoa.
"That's why I have Squall's credit card," Rinoa said smiling mischievously.
"And I, Irvine's." Selphie said grinning devilishly. Quistis couldn't help but laugh at the two troublemakers.
"Quisty, you gotta try this lipstick, it'll look perfect on you!" Selphie exclaimed.
Quistis walked to where Selphie was and asked the clerk for a lipstick sample.
Quistis applied the lipstick, and looked towards Rinoa and Selphie.
"That looks so good Quistis." Rinoa said truthfully.
"Wait," Selphie pulled a container of blush from her purse. She jumped up and put it on Quistis' cheeks. "You look so beautiful Quistis, now we just need eye shadow."
They spent the next hour getting make-up. They finally made it to the dresses.
Rinoa and Selphie already knew which dresses they wanted. Selphie's was a beautiful teal dress that made her eyes sparkle. Rinoa had a gorgeous azure dress that brought out her smile.
For Quistis, they had gone through the entire rainbow twice and they were coming back to red, a lighter, softer red.
"I like the dress, I'm just not sure it's the right one." Rinoa commented to Selphie. Selphie just nodded in agreement.
A guy walking by, was looking at the three girls and when his eyes came to Quistis, his mouth opened in shock.
Quistis' face turned a soft, light red. Selphie and Rinoa's mouths dropped open.
They both simultaneously said "Perfect!" Quistis' blush matched her dress perfectly and Rinoa and Selphie knew it.
"Quistis, every guy that sees you will be doing at least a triple-take." Rinoa said happy that they had found the perfect dress.
They bought their dresses and headed back to their car. Quistis had been having so much fun she had forgotten about her dilemma.
When they started driving back to Balamb, Quistis thought she should tell her friends.
"Um…guys, you know when Seifer wanted to talk to me?" Quistis asked.
"Yeah." Selphie replied.
"He was really asking me to the dance." Quistis revealed.
"So what?" Rinoa said kind of nervous about what Quistis would say next.
"Well, I said I would go with him." Quistis mumbled.
Rinoa and Selphie both turned around and stared at her.
"Selphie, watch the road!" Quistis exclaimed.
There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute.
"How could you, Quistis?" Rinoa asked, heartbroken.
"Seifer looked so sad. I couldn't help it." Quistis replied.
"But what about Zell?" Selphie asked.
"I know, I'm going to tell Zell what happened and then tell Seifer I can't go with him." Quistis said, trying to make it right.
"Good." Selphie said and sighed.
They entered the parking lot and got out of the car, it was still silent.
They slowly walked into the halls.
"Hey Girls!" Irvine yelled from across Garden. The girls started smiling as Irvine ran towards them, his duster flapping behind him.
"So how'd it go?" Irvine asked excited about the dance.
"We all found our dresses. Plus, we bought some new makeup. By the way Irvy, here's your credit card." Selphie said and winked at him. She threw it to him.
He scratched the back of his head. He shrugged and tucked it back into his wallet.
"Where's Squall and Zell?" Rinoa asked looking for her date.
"They're hanging out at Zell's dorm." Irvine replied.
"Let's go then." Selphie said and started walking towards the dorms. They all followed her.
"Hey Selph, what color dress did you get?" Irvine asked curiously.
"You can't know anything about my dress until the dance." Selphie replied matter-of-factly.
"What about your dresses, what do they look like?" Irvine asked Rinoa and Quistis.
"Irvine, Selphie just told you you're not supposed to know what the dresses look like until the dance." Rinoa responded.
"Come on, just a peek." Irvine pleaded.
"No." Selphie said forcefully.
Rinoa opened the door to Zell's bedroom. Zell was playing video games as he laughed at Squall who was trying to beat Zell in a race.
"Hey Guys." Rinoa said smiling.
Squall hopped up, ran over and kissed Rinoa. Zell slowly jumped up and shut off his system.
"You guys find what you want?" Zell asked. All three nodded.
Selphie and Rinoa both dragged their men out of Zell's room, various goodbyes were heard. Then only Quistis and Zell were left there.
"Umm…Zell I have something to say." Quistis started.
"Yeah." Zell said, apprehensive because of the look on her face.
"You know the dance." Quistis said stalling. Zell nodded, a frown on his face.
"I kind of told Seifer I'd go with him." Quistis blurted. Zell's eyes got wide for a second, and Quistis could see the pain in them but as quick as it appeared it disappeared and Zell was back to being Zell.
"Now, don't worry, I'm going to go tell Seifer I can't go with him." Quistis started.
"Don't." Zell commanded.
"Why?" Quistis asked bewildered.
"Because it's obvious you want to go with him." Zell commented.
"No Zell, I want to go with you, it's just that Seifer looked so lonely when he asked me." Quistis said trying to dismiss what Zell was saying. She was on the verge of tears and she didn't even know why.
"Quist, be happy. Why are you upset? Go with Seifer and have a great time. You'll have so much fun." Zell commented.
"But I was supposed to go with you." Quistis cried, the first tear upon her cheek.
Zell walked up to her, placed his hand on her face and wiped the tear away.
"But you want to go with Seifer. I can tell." Zell said, that effervescent smile fading from his lips.
There was some truth to the statement, she did want to go with Seifer, badly, but what Zell was missing was that she wanted to go with him too.
"Quist, don't worry about it, I didn't really want to go anyway." Zell said, flawlessly hiding the pain he felt saying this.
Quistis hung her head dejectedly.
"Oh, Quistis, I didn't mean I didn't want to go with you, I would love going with you. It's just I'm not a huge dance fan." Zell said realizing she must have taken it the wrong way.
Quistis lunged at Zell and threw her arms around him, burying her head in his chest.
"Zell, you are the sweetest, kindest, nicest guy ever." Quistis said wiping at her tears and beaming at him. Zell smiled back at her, laughing slightly.
Quistis pulled out of the embrace and left the room, happy Zell was the person he was.
"If only that was helpful to me." Zell whispered to himself.
Zell thought of breaking down right there but as the tears forced their way out, Zell did what he did best, he shut off his floodgates, and after a while the stabbing pain lessened to a dull throbbing. The tears were still on the verge but eventually they fell back into his two sapphire oceans, joining the rest of the sea of tears that were locked in there.
Zell stood there for the next few hours, not moving, not even thinking. When he finally was able to move it was nearing 9:00. Zell quickly walked to the front gate, avoiding everyone. As he walked the plains, he noticed the storm clouds above him. He looked towards Squall's dorm. Who was there, none other than the perfect couple themselves, Rinoa and Squall.
They were talking, which was constantly interrupted by kisses. Then it started to sprinkle. Very quickly, it started to pour. Rinoa and Squall, both laughing, ran back from the balcony into his dorm.
Zell stood there and felt the water splash against his skin. He let it soak his clothes and the skin beneath.
All of a sudden, he dropped to his knees, letting the rain pound against his back. He stayed there hour after hour, the rain melting his perky hair making it cling to his forehead.
Zell sat there in the torrent of rain as his friends, unaware, were peacefully asleep in their beds.
Zell never slept, he never shivered, he never coughed, he barely breathed, he hardly moved. He just let the rain wash over him, he swallowed the lump in his throat, locked away his tears and let the pain shatter his heart.
"We'll see you later." Selphie said cheerily. The girls got up and started to walk to the parking lot.
"Pick out something sexy Selphie!" Irvine called out to her. He could see Selphie had started to blush. Irvine's call had drawn many guy's attention.
"So guys, what are we wearing?" Squall asked.
"Let's just wear our SeeD uniforms with some 'artistic' changes." Irvine said leaning back in his chair.
Zell just sat there with a stupid grin plastered on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy.
* * *
"This is so exciting, I love going to buy new dresses!" Selphie exclaimed.
"You guys will have to help me pick out a dress, I haven't been shopping for a dress since before I was an instructor." Quistis said somewhat exhausted from the excitement of the last few days. Rinoa and Selphie both nodded.
They were walking towards the parking lot as Seifer came walking towards them. They figured he'd keep walking but instead he stopped and asked Quistis if he could speak to her.
"You guys go on ahead, wait at the parking lot." Quistis yelled to Selphie and Rinoa. Selphie and Rinoa nodded.
"Yes, Seifer?" Quistis asked.
"Umm…I know it's kinda late but…all screw it…this is B.S." Seifer rambled. Seifer started to walk away. Quistis grabbed his arm.
"What is it, Seifer?" Quistis asked concerned.
Seifer had a huge frown glued to his face. He was biting his lip nervously.
"Would you go the dance with me?" Seifer whispered.
"Seifer, I'm sorry…" Quistis saw Seifer hang his head.
"I'm sorry you didn't ask me sooner, I'd love to go with you." Quistis said smiling.
Seifer looked at Quistis in disbelief.
"You're shitting me…I mean, Really, you'll go with me?" Seifer said, still in shock.
"Definitely." Quistis said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you at lunch, then we'll go to the dance." Seifer nodded intently.
He all of a sudden, took Quistis in his arms and was twirling her around. When he sat her down he hugged her tightly and whispered "Thank you so much Quisty." Then he ran off.
Quistis put a hand to her cheek. (What have I done, oh Zelly…I'm sorry.)
Quistis ran to the parking lot, she hopped in the backseat. Selphie drove out of the garage and towards Deling City, the nearest mall was there.
"What did Seifer want?" Rinoa asked looking back at Quistis.
"He had a question about my class." Quistis said monotonously.
When Rinoa saw the look on Quistis' face she didn't press the subject. Selphie could tell by looking at Rinoa that she shouldn't bring up the topic.
"We're gonna have so much fun, come on guys, it's gonna be great." Selphie encouraged, always the group's sunshine.
Quistis just couldn't stay sad around Selphie. Quistis, despite her predicament, smiled.
They reached Deling city within the hour. They hopped out of the car and ran to the mall.
As usual, the mall was full of bustling people. Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa were walking towards their favorite shop, Balamb Marche. It had everything a girl could want, cosmetics, clothes, candy, books, shoes, purses, EVERYTHING!
On the way to the dresses, they got preoccupied by makeup.
"We gotta find new makeup." Selphie said joyously.
"Guys, I don't have that much money." Quistis informed Selphie and Rinoa.
"That's why I have Squall's credit card," Rinoa said smiling mischievously.
"And I, Irvine's." Selphie said grinning devilishly. Quistis couldn't help but laugh at the two troublemakers.
"Quisty, you gotta try this lipstick, it'll look perfect on you!" Selphie exclaimed.
Quistis walked to where Selphie was and asked the clerk for a lipstick sample.
Quistis applied the lipstick, and looked towards Rinoa and Selphie.
"That looks so good Quistis." Rinoa said truthfully.
"Wait," Selphie pulled a container of blush from her purse. She jumped up and put it on Quistis' cheeks. "You look so beautiful Quistis, now we just need eye shadow."
They spent the next hour getting make-up. They finally made it to the dresses.
Rinoa and Selphie already knew which dresses they wanted. Selphie's was a beautiful teal dress that made her eyes sparkle. Rinoa had a gorgeous azure dress that brought out her smile.
For Quistis, they had gone through the entire rainbow twice and they were coming back to red, a lighter, softer red.
"I like the dress, I'm just not sure it's the right one." Rinoa commented to Selphie. Selphie just nodded in agreement.
A guy walking by, was looking at the three girls and when his eyes came to Quistis, his mouth opened in shock.
Quistis' face turned a soft, light red. Selphie and Rinoa's mouths dropped open.
They both simultaneously said "Perfect!" Quistis' blush matched her dress perfectly and Rinoa and Selphie knew it.
"Quistis, every guy that sees you will be doing at least a triple-take." Rinoa said happy that they had found the perfect dress.
They bought their dresses and headed back to their car. Quistis had been having so much fun she had forgotten about her dilemma.
When they started driving back to Balamb, Quistis thought she should tell her friends.
"Um…guys, you know when Seifer wanted to talk to me?" Quistis asked.
"Yeah." Selphie replied.
"He was really asking me to the dance." Quistis revealed.
"So what?" Rinoa said kind of nervous about what Quistis would say next.
"Well, I said I would go with him." Quistis mumbled.
Rinoa and Selphie both turned around and stared at her.
"Selphie, watch the road!" Quistis exclaimed.
There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute.
"How could you, Quistis?" Rinoa asked, heartbroken.
"Seifer looked so sad. I couldn't help it." Quistis replied.
"But what about Zell?" Selphie asked.
"I know, I'm going to tell Zell what happened and then tell Seifer I can't go with him." Quistis said, trying to make it right.
"Good." Selphie said and sighed.
They entered the parking lot and got out of the car, it was still silent.
They slowly walked into the halls.
"Hey Girls!" Irvine yelled from across Garden. The girls started smiling as Irvine ran towards them, his duster flapping behind him.
"So how'd it go?" Irvine asked excited about the dance.
"We all found our dresses. Plus, we bought some new makeup. By the way Irvy, here's your credit card." Selphie said and winked at him. She threw it to him.
He scratched the back of his head. He shrugged and tucked it back into his wallet.
"Where's Squall and Zell?" Rinoa asked looking for her date.
"They're hanging out at Zell's dorm." Irvine replied.
"Let's go then." Selphie said and started walking towards the dorms. They all followed her.
"Hey Selph, what color dress did you get?" Irvine asked curiously.
"You can't know anything about my dress until the dance." Selphie replied matter-of-factly.
"What about your dresses, what do they look like?" Irvine asked Rinoa and Quistis.
"Irvine, Selphie just told you you're not supposed to know what the dresses look like until the dance." Rinoa responded.
"Come on, just a peek." Irvine pleaded.
"No." Selphie said forcefully.
Rinoa opened the door to Zell's bedroom. Zell was playing video games as he laughed at Squall who was trying to beat Zell in a race.
"Hey Guys." Rinoa said smiling.
Squall hopped up, ran over and kissed Rinoa. Zell slowly jumped up and shut off his system.
"You guys find what you want?" Zell asked. All three nodded.
Selphie and Rinoa both dragged their men out of Zell's room, various goodbyes were heard. Then only Quistis and Zell were left there.
"Umm…Zell I have something to say." Quistis started.
"Yeah." Zell said, apprehensive because of the look on her face.
"You know the dance." Quistis said stalling. Zell nodded, a frown on his face.
"I kind of told Seifer I'd go with him." Quistis blurted. Zell's eyes got wide for a second, and Quistis could see the pain in them but as quick as it appeared it disappeared and Zell was back to being Zell.
"Now, don't worry, I'm going to go tell Seifer I can't go with him." Quistis started.
"Don't." Zell commanded.
"Why?" Quistis asked bewildered.
"Because it's obvious you want to go with him." Zell commented.
"No Zell, I want to go with you, it's just that Seifer looked so lonely when he asked me." Quistis said trying to dismiss what Zell was saying. She was on the verge of tears and she didn't even know why.
"Quist, be happy. Why are you upset? Go with Seifer and have a great time. You'll have so much fun." Zell commented.
"But I was supposed to go with you." Quistis cried, the first tear upon her cheek.
Zell walked up to her, placed his hand on her face and wiped the tear away.
"But you want to go with Seifer. I can tell." Zell said, that effervescent smile fading from his lips.
There was some truth to the statement, she did want to go with Seifer, badly, but what Zell was missing was that she wanted to go with him too.
"Quist, don't worry about it, I didn't really want to go anyway." Zell said, flawlessly hiding the pain he felt saying this.
Quistis hung her head dejectedly.
"Oh, Quistis, I didn't mean I didn't want to go with you, I would love going with you. It's just I'm not a huge dance fan." Zell said realizing she must have taken it the wrong way.
Quistis lunged at Zell and threw her arms around him, burying her head in his chest.
"Zell, you are the sweetest, kindest, nicest guy ever." Quistis said wiping at her tears and beaming at him. Zell smiled back at her, laughing slightly.
Quistis pulled out of the embrace and left the room, happy Zell was the person he was.
"If only that was helpful to me." Zell whispered to himself.
Zell thought of breaking down right there but as the tears forced their way out, Zell did what he did best, he shut off his floodgates, and after a while the stabbing pain lessened to a dull throbbing. The tears were still on the verge but eventually they fell back into his two sapphire oceans, joining the rest of the sea of tears that were locked in there.
Zell stood there for the next few hours, not moving, not even thinking. When he finally was able to move it was nearing 9:00. Zell quickly walked to the front gate, avoiding everyone. As he walked the plains, he noticed the storm clouds above him. He looked towards Squall's dorm. Who was there, none other than the perfect couple themselves, Rinoa and Squall.
They were talking, which was constantly interrupted by kisses. Then it started to sprinkle. Very quickly, it started to pour. Rinoa and Squall, both laughing, ran back from the balcony into his dorm.
Zell stood there and felt the water splash against his skin. He let it soak his clothes and the skin beneath.
All of a sudden, he dropped to his knees, letting the rain pound against his back. He stayed there hour after hour, the rain melting his perky hair making it cling to his forehead.
Zell sat there in the torrent of rain as his friends, unaware, were peacefully asleep in their beds.
Zell never slept, he never shivered, he never coughed, he barely breathed, he hardly moved. He just let the rain wash over him, he swallowed the lump in his throat, locked away his tears and let the pain shatter his heart.