A/N: Well, here's chap. 10... Expect the story to get angsty soon. Enjoy.
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Winhill was a 2 mile walk from the airport. Quistis reached Winhill's outskirts by twilight.
The first thing she noticed was the constant fog that hung around Winhill, cloaking it from the rest of the outside world.
When she reached the town itself, she noticed the place exuded despair. It seemed like a ghost town, she could spot a few houses but then again she could only see a few yards in front of herself because of the fog. She couldn't fathom finding Zell in a barren wasteland like this.
Quistis began to walk forward, hoping she was making it to the center of town. After walking for a little while, she became frightened. She could see, literally nothing around her, all that surrounded her was fog, she couldn't see any houses, a bar, or even a motel.
(Maybe they don't have houses, maybe it's just a colony of homeless people.) Quistis thought. As she began to contemplate the reason she hadn't found any buildings, she finally made out a large building, she prayed it was the motel, she didn't like the prospect of staying at a stranger's house in a place that was completely foreign to her.
She walked closer, and could see lights on, She stepped up to the door, and knocked cautiously.
An large, rough-looking, unshaven man opened the door. "Can I help you?" He said gruffly.
"Is this the motel?" Quistis said shakily.
"No, the front door is three doors down. This is just a room." The man said none too politely.
"I am so sorry, I just came here, I've only been here once before, under extremely different circumstances, and it's really foggy out. I apologize." Quistis rambled.
It was highly uncommon for Quistis to lose her composure. She was more nervous than she'd ever been in her whole life. It was immensely different coming here alone than with her friends. Also, the town itself sent chills down her spine. The weather didn't help Quistis feel anymore confident either. All in all, she was notably scared and now felt like an idiot.
The man's face softened somewhat. "Listen, you shouldn't be alone in a place like this."
Quistis definitely agreed with the man.
"Let me walk you down to the front desk." The man said gently, obviously trying to be patient with the young woman.
Quistis trailed the man closely, she didn't want to lose him in the fog.
He opened the door and light hit Quistis' eyes. He held the door as she walked through. He stepped in after her and closed the door behind him.
Quistis walked up to the front desk. "Sorry Miss, we're full up." The man behind the desk said.
"Hey Jim, give the girl my room. I'm leaving tomorrow." Quistis' new found friend said.
"Sure thing, Chet." Jim replied.
"Thank you, you're very kind." Quistis replied gratefully. As Quistis looked around she noticed a few tables set up, like a small diner, she saw a young woman bringing meals to people. She had forgotten how long it had been since she'd eaten.
Chet looked at her. "Hungry?" Quistis nodded. Chet pulled a chair out from the table and scooted Quistis in to the table. He flopped down on a chair across from her. The Waitress came over to take their order.
"Can we get two ham sandwiches and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. You look like you could use some fluid. Also, two waters please." Chet ordered.
"So, would it be impolite for me to ask your name?" Chet asked. Quistis had completely forgotten that she hadn't introduced herself.
She reached her hand out to him. "Quistis."
"That's a beautiful name…" Chet said sincerely.
Quistis took a long look at Chet. He was an older man, she would say mid 40's. His hair was jet-black, and was rather gruff-looking. However, his eyes gave away his true persona, they were gentle and kind.
"So, Quistis, what's a beautiful young lady like yourself doing in Winhill?" Chet questioned.
"Why?" Quistis asked. "Maybe I just came here to get away from wherever I was, maybe I like it here." Chet didn't mention the way she had fumbled with words when she had first seen him and told him it was her second time here."
"People only come to Winhill for three primary reasons. One, they're running away from something they don't want to face. Two, they're reminiscing over the regrets in their life. Three, they want to have some time and be depressed and alone. You don't look like you're any of those. So, why are you here?" Chet asked politely.
Quistis smirked, the man was intuitive she had to give him that. "I'm here looking for a close friend who came here." Quistis said, still smiling with thoughts of Zell on her mind.
"Where'd you come from?" Chet asked curiously.
"Balamb, I live in the Garden there." Quistis said, thinking of the friends she'd left behind to come find Zell.
"Wow, he must be a pretty close friend to make a girl come all the way over here and to Winhill of all places." Chet said in awe.
Quistis' face became immensely serious. "Extremely close."
"Well, good luck finding him." Chet said earnestly.
"Thank you Chet." Quistis smiled.
"Well, I'm headed to the airport to leave, I've got an early flight to catch." Chet remarked.
"Chet, could you do me one more favor, how do I get to the bar?" Quistis asked.
Chet's face suddenly became deathly serious. "Quistis, it's not a safe place for a young woman like you. The people here are all depressed, sad, and hurting. Eventually, it becomes deep-seeded, and they become bitter, angry and even enraged. Are you positive you wanna stay, I could get you a ticket back to Balamb, stay for a few days and see you off." Chet was obviously worried for Quistis' safety. Deep inside, that scared her.
"No, I need to find him." Quistis' resolve was steadfast.
"Alright, I'll lead you there…but, please be careful." Chet said dismally.
Quistis got up, and followed him out the door, she memorized where her room was located, and caught up to Chet, who walked forward, Quistis had no idea how he could see where he was going. She sped up and walked by his side, within a few minutes they had reached the bar.
Chet looked at her one last time. "You see that light out there, that's the motel."
Quistis looked out and what looked, extremely far away, was a small light, which she assumed was near the front office of the motel. She nodded, letting Chet know she saw it.
"Thank you, for everything, I don't know why you helped me, but know it's greatly appreciated." Quistis smiled at him.
"Take care of yourself, Quistis, and you make sure and tell that friend of yours how lucky he is to have a friend like you, and such a beautiful one at that." Chet smiled at her and waved as he started to leave.
Quistis sighed and opened the door. The bar was extraordinarily different then what she expected.
The music was not loud, but it certainly wasn't quiet. An angsty, slow song was being played. It seemed like no one was talking, the only thing happening was people drowning their sorrows. Their was a dance floor, but only two couples were dancing, which in itself seemed almost out of place, yet she noticed that almost always at least one couple was dancing. She thought she understood, a minute's distraction from their melancholy life and from all their troubles.
She quickly took a seat at the bar, the bartender didn't even ask what she wanted, just handed her a glass of water. She noticed the mood of the whole bar was the mood of the song being played. She sat there for a while, looking around for Zell. She also noticed that never once did an upbeat song play or a song with joyful lyrics play.
All of a sudden, a chill ran through her body, as a hand tightly gripped her shoulder. The hand was rough and cold. She turned around quickly and slapped the man that had grabbed her.
It was Zell. Her initial reaction was to slap him again for scaring her. Then she wanted to run and hug him as hard as she could possibly muster.
However, once she made eye contact with the cold blue steel orbs, she wanted to scream. This wasn't the Zell she remembered. Stubble covered his face, she could tell he hadn't been too concerned with keeping up his appearance. His lips were pulled in a frown that plagued his face. His eyes were the hardest she had ever seen them be.
Before Squall opened up to his friends, his eyes were icy and frigid, which had made her want to help him open up to the people he loved. But Squall's eyes had never been like this. Zell's eyes were like cold steel, like he wasn't the person she had known at all, which frightened her.
Zell felt his lip to check if it was bleeding. He slowly looked back at her, the frown on his face deepened as he spoke in a rough chilling voice.
"What are you doing here?"
"Zell, I came to find you, I want to stay with you for awhile." Quistis said taken aback by his "greeting".
"Where are you staying?" Zell said, his voice dripping with disdain.
"In the motel right down the road. Room 103." Quistis couldn't believe what Zell was doing.
Before Quistis knew what was happening, Zell turned around and rushed to the door.
Quistis ran after him "Zell! Wait, ZELL!" She called after him.
As she exited the bar, she saw his silhouette disappear into the fog.
"Great first meeting." Quistis mumbled to herself.
She walked towards the motel, and the light slowly began to get brightly. She reached her room and entered it, it was unlocked. She looked at the bedside table and saw the room key attached to a note.
I put your bags in the closet. Good luck with your friend.
Sincerely,
Chet
Quistis smiled as she thought of the man that had helped her out.
She closed the door, locked it, and pulled back the covers.
Quistis hadn't expected the place to be so muggy, it was really humid. She began to undress, She slipped her panties and bra off, and stared at herself in the mirror.
She blushed as she looked at herself, she took the clip out of her hair and let it cascade down her shoulders. Her hair hung wildly over her body. She wondered if Seifer was thinking about her right now. She wondered if Seifer thought about her like this, imagining her naked body, she blushed again.
So, inevitably, her thoughts couldn't help but wander to Zell, and wonder if he was doing this exact thing right now, looking at the immediate changes in him, she assumed he probably wasn't thinking about her too often as of now. But, did he ever think about her like this, naked and in her most vulnerable state. Did he ever think about being the one there for her, to protect her at all times.
She thought of them together, locked in passion, and as soon as the thought appeared, she banished it from her mind. She blushed profusely as she climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her unclothed body and found sleep immensely blissful after the night she had just had.
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A/N: Angst ahead. So be prepared. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. So, my best regards to all of your fics and keep writing.
Until next time,
GrayFox
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Winhill was a 2 mile walk from the airport. Quistis reached Winhill's outskirts by twilight.
The first thing she noticed was the constant fog that hung around Winhill, cloaking it from the rest of the outside world.
When she reached the town itself, she noticed the place exuded despair. It seemed like a ghost town, she could spot a few houses but then again she could only see a few yards in front of herself because of the fog. She couldn't fathom finding Zell in a barren wasteland like this.
Quistis began to walk forward, hoping she was making it to the center of town. After walking for a little while, she became frightened. She could see, literally nothing around her, all that surrounded her was fog, she couldn't see any houses, a bar, or even a motel.
(Maybe they don't have houses, maybe it's just a colony of homeless people.) Quistis thought. As she began to contemplate the reason she hadn't found any buildings, she finally made out a large building, she prayed it was the motel, she didn't like the prospect of staying at a stranger's house in a place that was completely foreign to her.
She walked closer, and could see lights on, She stepped up to the door, and knocked cautiously.
An large, rough-looking, unshaven man opened the door. "Can I help you?" He said gruffly.
"Is this the motel?" Quistis said shakily.
"No, the front door is three doors down. This is just a room." The man said none too politely.
"I am so sorry, I just came here, I've only been here once before, under extremely different circumstances, and it's really foggy out. I apologize." Quistis rambled.
It was highly uncommon for Quistis to lose her composure. She was more nervous than she'd ever been in her whole life. It was immensely different coming here alone than with her friends. Also, the town itself sent chills down her spine. The weather didn't help Quistis feel anymore confident either. All in all, she was notably scared and now felt like an idiot.
The man's face softened somewhat. "Listen, you shouldn't be alone in a place like this."
Quistis definitely agreed with the man.
"Let me walk you down to the front desk." The man said gently, obviously trying to be patient with the young woman.
Quistis trailed the man closely, she didn't want to lose him in the fog.
He opened the door and light hit Quistis' eyes. He held the door as she walked through. He stepped in after her and closed the door behind him.
Quistis walked up to the front desk. "Sorry Miss, we're full up." The man behind the desk said.
"Hey Jim, give the girl my room. I'm leaving tomorrow." Quistis' new found friend said.
"Sure thing, Chet." Jim replied.
"Thank you, you're very kind." Quistis replied gratefully. As Quistis looked around she noticed a few tables set up, like a small diner, she saw a young woman bringing meals to people. She had forgotten how long it had been since she'd eaten.
Chet looked at her. "Hungry?" Quistis nodded. Chet pulled a chair out from the table and scooted Quistis in to the table. He flopped down on a chair across from her. The Waitress came over to take their order.
"Can we get two ham sandwiches and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. You look like you could use some fluid. Also, two waters please." Chet ordered.
"So, would it be impolite for me to ask your name?" Chet asked. Quistis had completely forgotten that she hadn't introduced herself.
She reached her hand out to him. "Quistis."
"That's a beautiful name…" Chet said sincerely.
Quistis took a long look at Chet. He was an older man, she would say mid 40's. His hair was jet-black, and was rather gruff-looking. However, his eyes gave away his true persona, they were gentle and kind.
"So, Quistis, what's a beautiful young lady like yourself doing in Winhill?" Chet questioned.
"Why?" Quistis asked. "Maybe I just came here to get away from wherever I was, maybe I like it here." Chet didn't mention the way she had fumbled with words when she had first seen him and told him it was her second time here."
"People only come to Winhill for three primary reasons. One, they're running away from something they don't want to face. Two, they're reminiscing over the regrets in their life. Three, they want to have some time and be depressed and alone. You don't look like you're any of those. So, why are you here?" Chet asked politely.
Quistis smirked, the man was intuitive she had to give him that. "I'm here looking for a close friend who came here." Quistis said, still smiling with thoughts of Zell on her mind.
"Where'd you come from?" Chet asked curiously.
"Balamb, I live in the Garden there." Quistis said, thinking of the friends she'd left behind to come find Zell.
"Wow, he must be a pretty close friend to make a girl come all the way over here and to Winhill of all places." Chet said in awe.
Quistis' face became immensely serious. "Extremely close."
"Well, good luck finding him." Chet said earnestly.
"Thank you Chet." Quistis smiled.
"Well, I'm headed to the airport to leave, I've got an early flight to catch." Chet remarked.
"Chet, could you do me one more favor, how do I get to the bar?" Quistis asked.
Chet's face suddenly became deathly serious. "Quistis, it's not a safe place for a young woman like you. The people here are all depressed, sad, and hurting. Eventually, it becomes deep-seeded, and they become bitter, angry and even enraged. Are you positive you wanna stay, I could get you a ticket back to Balamb, stay for a few days and see you off." Chet was obviously worried for Quistis' safety. Deep inside, that scared her.
"No, I need to find him." Quistis' resolve was steadfast.
"Alright, I'll lead you there…but, please be careful." Chet said dismally.
Quistis got up, and followed him out the door, she memorized where her room was located, and caught up to Chet, who walked forward, Quistis had no idea how he could see where he was going. She sped up and walked by his side, within a few minutes they had reached the bar.
Chet looked at her one last time. "You see that light out there, that's the motel."
Quistis looked out and what looked, extremely far away, was a small light, which she assumed was near the front office of the motel. She nodded, letting Chet know she saw it.
"Thank you, for everything, I don't know why you helped me, but know it's greatly appreciated." Quistis smiled at him.
"Take care of yourself, Quistis, and you make sure and tell that friend of yours how lucky he is to have a friend like you, and such a beautiful one at that." Chet smiled at her and waved as he started to leave.
Quistis sighed and opened the door. The bar was extraordinarily different then what she expected.
The music was not loud, but it certainly wasn't quiet. An angsty, slow song was being played. It seemed like no one was talking, the only thing happening was people drowning their sorrows. Their was a dance floor, but only two couples were dancing, which in itself seemed almost out of place, yet she noticed that almost always at least one couple was dancing. She thought she understood, a minute's distraction from their melancholy life and from all their troubles.
She quickly took a seat at the bar, the bartender didn't even ask what she wanted, just handed her a glass of water. She noticed the mood of the whole bar was the mood of the song being played. She sat there for a while, looking around for Zell. She also noticed that never once did an upbeat song play or a song with joyful lyrics play.
All of a sudden, a chill ran through her body, as a hand tightly gripped her shoulder. The hand was rough and cold. She turned around quickly and slapped the man that had grabbed her.
It was Zell. Her initial reaction was to slap him again for scaring her. Then she wanted to run and hug him as hard as she could possibly muster.
However, once she made eye contact with the cold blue steel orbs, she wanted to scream. This wasn't the Zell she remembered. Stubble covered his face, she could tell he hadn't been too concerned with keeping up his appearance. His lips were pulled in a frown that plagued his face. His eyes were the hardest she had ever seen them be.
Before Squall opened up to his friends, his eyes were icy and frigid, which had made her want to help him open up to the people he loved. But Squall's eyes had never been like this. Zell's eyes were like cold steel, like he wasn't the person she had known at all, which frightened her.
Zell felt his lip to check if it was bleeding. He slowly looked back at her, the frown on his face deepened as he spoke in a rough chilling voice.
"What are you doing here?"
"Zell, I came to find you, I want to stay with you for awhile." Quistis said taken aback by his "greeting".
"Where are you staying?" Zell said, his voice dripping with disdain.
"In the motel right down the road. Room 103." Quistis couldn't believe what Zell was doing.
Before Quistis knew what was happening, Zell turned around and rushed to the door.
Quistis ran after him "Zell! Wait, ZELL!" She called after him.
As she exited the bar, she saw his silhouette disappear into the fog.
"Great first meeting." Quistis mumbled to herself.
She walked towards the motel, and the light slowly began to get brightly. She reached her room and entered it, it was unlocked. She looked at the bedside table and saw the room key attached to a note.
I put your bags in the closet. Good luck with your friend.
Sincerely,
Chet
Quistis smiled as she thought of the man that had helped her out.
She closed the door, locked it, and pulled back the covers.
Quistis hadn't expected the place to be so muggy, it was really humid. She began to undress, She slipped her panties and bra off, and stared at herself in the mirror.
She blushed as she looked at herself, she took the clip out of her hair and let it cascade down her shoulders. Her hair hung wildly over her body. She wondered if Seifer was thinking about her right now. She wondered if Seifer thought about her like this, imagining her naked body, she blushed again.
So, inevitably, her thoughts couldn't help but wander to Zell, and wonder if he was doing this exact thing right now, looking at the immediate changes in him, she assumed he probably wasn't thinking about her too often as of now. But, did he ever think about her like this, naked and in her most vulnerable state. Did he ever think about being the one there for her, to protect her at all times.
She thought of them together, locked in passion, and as soon as the thought appeared, she banished it from her mind. She blushed profusely as she climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her unclothed body and found sleep immensely blissful after the night she had just had.
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A/N: Angst ahead. So be prepared. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. So, my best regards to all of your fics and keep writing.
Until next time,
GrayFox