Queen Luana: Still no reviews. But oh well, people are reading this so that's a good sign, right? Unless they're just reading this so they have something to point at and laugh. Switching to happy thought modus now.

Boo!

"I honestly hate horror-movies. A lot. But it's a good thing to keep your mind off of things for a while. Sometimes it's better to be wondering whether there's a corpse in your closet than whether he's with her right now."

Zell was whistling when he strolled through Balamb Garden the next day. They hadn't been caught by an instructor the other day and Selphie had actually been smiling when they said goodbye. He closed his eyes and tried to recall every detail of her face. Her eyes had twinkled as she looked up at him to bid him goodnight. Wet strains of hair clung to her forehead and cheeks or trickled drops of water down her neck. Her cheeks had been red, since they had tried their best to manoeuvre around the rampaging monsters and extremely annoyed instructors.

She had cast him a radiant smile and said: "Goodnight, Zell."

And Zell recollected that smile and cherished it. All that time that Selphie had been in their party she had always been peppy and had somehow always succeeded with no exception at giving them that extra boost to continue. Maybe it was her carelessness or her joyful 'teehee' that had kept them going but either way, she'd been irreplaceable and needed.

And only know he saw how despite the smiles and cheery remarks, she was still vulnerable deep down and then her smiles turned out to be very rare and precious.

On his way to Selphie now after having breakfast at the cafeteria, cup of hut cocoa from the machine in his hand, he was hoping to see her smile again.

"Come on in."

Zell was surprised to actually hear her answer and stepped inside. She was sitting in her bed, but instead of lying there curled up in the covers, she was sitting up straight reading a book. A thriller it appeared to be. The curtains had been pulled away and sunlight came streaming in. It was a lovely day and the weather forecast had predicted nothing but sunshine for the rest of the week.

"Hey, Selphie," Zell smiled and handed her the cup of steaming liquid chocolate. "Had a good sleep?"

"It was okay," she said and looked at him. No smile. Only dark pouches underneath her eyes telling him that she had cried. Badly. She sniffed and tucked the book away underneath her pillow when she noticed his look. "Sometimes it hits you like a train." She took a careful sip and licked her lips. "I'm sorry. You were doing so well."

He motioned her to move over and sat down on the bed. "It's okay. I still have five more days."

"Right," she said and forced a smile. "What have you got in store for me today, Wonderman? A paintball match perhaps? Going to paste a picture of him on your forehead?"

Zell chuckled slightly at her attempt at self-pitiful humour. "No, today will be slightly more quiet," he said. "And it's something I'm saving for tonight."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," she said quietly and drank her cocoa but he saw her lips curl upwards.

"I don't mean that," he said through gritted teeth.

"What?" Selphie said and pulled her most lustful face at him. "Think you can't deliver?"

Zell jumped to his feet, cheeks now burning red. "Of course I can! I mean, I don't- I'm not planning to- with you? No!"

Selphie giggled and almost spilled her cocoa. "Poor Zell."

"You'll see, all right?" Zell muttered and left. That had been awkward. For a moment he'd almost pictured it.

He slapped himself when he felt the images coming up again and marched steadily out of the dormitory. He and Selphie, please, the idea alone.

He pick locked the janitor's locker, which he had done so many times before, and retrieved his T-board, which they had seized many times before. He hopped on and whooshed away. He was almost out when suddenly Seifer stepped into the clearing and forced him to stop.

Zell jumped off and took the T-board in one hand. Already he was fearing this conversation. "Hey Seifer. Whassup?"

"So they grounded me for a month," Seifer said and crossed his arms.

"In Balamb?"

"In my room."

Zell looked around then nodded quickly.

"So you, chicken-wuss," Seifer declared, "owe me big time." He leaned in closer. "I saw you running off with that Tilmitt girl. Wow, chicken, I never would've guessed."

Zell turned red as a traffic light yet again and tried his very best to suppress the images but they were there. Irrevocable. He could see himself and Selphie lying in bed, sheets pulled down till their waists, snogging and running hands through each other's hair, Zell flipping her over on her back and-

"Taking advantage of the broken hearted, ey Dincht?" Seifer woke him up as he ruffled Zell's hair roughly. "Honestly, no, I never would've expected, not from you. I thought you were one of those soppy, romantic types." He laughed louldy and smacked Zell on the back. "You surprise me every time, chicken-wuss."

"I'm not a chicken!" Zell snapped but Seifer had already turned and walked away, still laughing.

Zell grunted and hopped back on his T-board before soaring away as fast as he could. Oh well, this was Seifer, right? He'd always find a way to keep on making a mockery of Zell. And besides, he wasn't exactly the gossip type. No worries there. Now just to get to Balamb Garden to get that darn video and then the real awkward conversation would begin. Sure, he had a TV in his room, but he didn't have a VCR.

Only Squall did.

Zell pressed his ear against Squall's door. Nothing. If there was one thing more embarassing than walking in on Squall and Rinoa having sex, it's walking in on Squall and Rinoa having sex twice. So he listened very carefully but could hear nothing. Squall might not even be there.

He took a deep breath and knocked. Silence. Then again, he wasn't expecting a cheerful 'Who is iiiit?' either. Just as he was about to lean in to check for any disturbing sounds again the door slid open and he stumbled backwards in surprise. He quickly straightened when he saw Squall standing there, towell around his waist, hair dripping.

"Perfect timing, Zell," he said softly and as ironic as always.

Zell coughed to conceil a giggle, remembering Rinoa's pathetic attempt at an excuse, and cleared his throat. Squall would've just snapped at him to get the hell out if Rinoa had actually been there with him. He'd clearly just been taking a shower.

"Hiya," Zell said, "mind if I borrow your VCR?"

Squall looked at him. It didn't seem as if he was about to answer.

"Just for one night," Zell added. "I'll get it back to you first thing tomorrow."

Squall stepped aside to let him in. "No, you'll give it back to me tomorrow at two," he said. "We've all had experience with your perfect choice of-", he narrowed his eyes, "-timing."

Zell smiled nervously and quickly unplugged the VCR. "Right. Thanks, man. You'll get it back scratchless!"

Without saying another word Squall pushed him back out and closed the door. Zell was about to walk away, glad that he was still scratchless, when he reconsidered. Squall sure wanted him out of that room quickly. He could just listen for the shower to be turned on or something. He leaned over and pressed his ear against the cold metal door and waited for any sound to emerge from behind it. The sound that came was much louder than he had expected, and not anything like he had expected. It was the sound of a door opening and an angry, wet, half-naked man shouting: "GET THE HELL OUT, ZELL!"

"Movie time," Zell smiled and waved the videobox in front of Selphie's eyes.

"Gosh this is old," she said as she took the box and read the back. "The Cottage?"

"It's your average classic horror movie," Zell smiled. "Come on, I've got chips and soda ready in my room."

"Chips, eh?" Selphie smiled and nudged him. "Not any nuts by example?"

"STOP THAT!"

Half an hour later they had both settled on Zell's bed, shoulders pressed together and eagerly groping for the bowl of chips. The movie was basically a bunch of horror clichés rammed together. Eerily lit rooms, shadows moving in the background, strange noises coming from other rooms and corpses suddenly falling out of closets. More than once had Selphie gripped Zell's arm tightly and more than once had he shrieked as another decomposing body smacked into the windshield.

"Why are you always so startled?" Selphie asked him after a while. "I thought you'd seen this one?"

"Hey, I'm a chicken, remember," Zell snapped and took another swig of cola.

The movie ended with a lot of screaming, from the TV as well as the two people clasping each other's arms fearfully in the poorly lit bedroom.

"Thanks a lot, Zell Dincht," Selphie snapped. "This'll keep me up all night!"

"Hey, I'm not too joyful either right now." Zell quickly switched on the light.

Selphie seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I don't want to go back to my bedroom! It's daaark!"

"Well, I'm not staying here all by myself either," Zell said and scratched his head. "Aw man…"

"Then it's decided…" Before Zell could even blink Selphie had already dived back into his bed and underneath the sheets. "I'm not leaving!"

"What? We can't share a bed!"

"Hey, there's plenty of room left," Selphie said. "I'm not that fat!" She pulled the sheets up till her nose. "Come on, what's worse? Sleeping alone in this state or sharing a bed with a girl?"

Zell stood there fists clenched. "I'm working on it…"

"Aw, come on," Selphie sighed and pulled away the sheets. "Get in here."

Zell swallowed and took off his vest. "H-Hey! Don't look!"

"Oh, you big baby." Selphie pulled the sheets over her head. "There, happy?"

Zell quietly undressed and slipped into his striped PJs. With some hesitation he switched off the light. Slightly trembling he crawled into bed next to Selphie. Her bare shoulder pressed against his and he had to take a deep breath to prevent the images from returning.

"Well, so far your third day," Selphie said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah."

"I have to admit," she said quietly, "this is keeping my mind off of him."

He looked at her and smiled and she smiled back.

"Hey, what did Squall say when you asked him to borrow his VCR?"

Zell slapped his forehead and she giggled. "You better feel okay again at the end of this week cause I've gone through a whole lot of trouble for you and we're not even halfway yet!"

"At least you can already make me smile again," she said and rolled over so she now faced him. "A few days ago I feared I'd never be able to smile again."

"Oh, don't be silly," Zell said, "you're Selphie. You're all about smiling."

"I know," she said. "But, he really hurt me. You know."

When Zell cocked his head to the right he saw her eyes had begun watering with tears. No, not again. Without even fully realising it himself he forced one arm underneath her neck and another around her shoulders. Then he pulled her close until he could practically feel her heart beat against his chest.

"I know, Selphie."

Queen Luana: Slightly shorter than the last chapter but hey, it's worth it now isn't it? I still haven't figured out whether they're gonna be a couple or not. Either way, I like seeing them together. Oh well, you'll see now won't you?