Queen Luana: Yeey, I got reviews. At least know I know what the readers think of this lil' fic here. Okay, four more days to go. Will Zelly succeed? Pompompom.

The red dress

"Shop till you drop. Buy lots of things you really don't need. Go wild."

Zell forced one eye to open, but the other seemed to be glued shut. He didn't know what time it was. The curtains were still drawn and only a thin ray of light was able to sneak through and fall upon the body of the girl still caught in his embrace.

It seemed as if they hadn't moved an inch throughout the entire night. Zell had slowly drifted off with his arms wrapped around Selphie's body and they were still there. Her head was pressed against his chest and he could smell the coconut shampoo he had so gently washed her hair with two nights ago. He pulled back a little to observe her face.

She looked so peacefully, lying there with her eyes closed and hands pulled up underneath her chin. He didn't want to wake her up. It was as if this soft slumber would keep her from feeling hurt. But she couldn't stay here forever. Besides, she was crushing his arm.

"Selphie," he said softly and placed his free hand on her shoulder. No reaction. He said her name again and this time she moaned and stretched.

"Zell?" she asked drowsily and looked around. "Oh no, I'm still in your room. Oh, I'm sorry." With obvious effort she rose and rubbed her eyes. Zell stretched his arm a couple of times. Okay, it was still alive.

Watching Selphie crawl out of bed was a real picture. She had rolled over on her belly and in that position she flung out one leg and then the other. She groaned again and pressed her face into Zell's sheets. Her shirt was crumpled heavily and her skirt had made a huge turn so the line of buttons was now halfway Selphie's bum.

"Need a hand?" Zell smiled and got up himself. He heard a muffled 'uhu' and lent her his arm, which she used to pull herself up.

She uttered a 'thank you' and made her way for the door. "I'll be off to my room then…"

"Go freshen up a bit," Zell told her. "I'll come pick you up in about an hour, okay?"

She came to a halt at the door and glanced at him over her shoulder. "Eh?"

Zell only raised his eyebrows with a broad grin on his face and unbuttoned his vest.

When Selphie had left he hopped under the cold shower for a minute. The cold water ran down his body and trickled down into the sink. He closed his eyes. No, he was not exactly looking forward to today. He'd marked it in Rinoa's notes with a text marker and had feared the day ever since he'd made his bet with Selphie. But if this were what it took to win, then hell, he'd even do it smiling.

After he had dried himself off he got dressed and checked his alarm clock. 11.43.

Okay, he could go pick up Selphie, have lunch at the cafeteria, then drop off Squall's VCR (at 2 PM sharp!) and then they could get going.

Selphie was brushing her hair when he arrived. She was wearing her classic yellow dress and her boots stood ready at her bed. Zell was over flown with nostalgia as he brought up memories of their first SeeD mission in Timber. He sure missed those days. Even though Squall hadn't exactly been the talkative type, he'd enjoyed the three of them being together. Selphie had somehow compensated for Squall being so antisocial.

"Just two more minutes," she said and combed desperately at a tangle of hair.

Zell checked his watch again. If they didn't hurry there wouldn't be any hotdogs left. He hadn't had breakfast; he was starving!

Selphie dropped the brush and quickly pulled on her boots. With a grunt she forced her left foot in and then jumped up. "Ready!"

Zell smiled. "Come on, let's go grab a hotdog."

The cafeteria line was endless. Zell hopped up and down. "Ow, I hope there are any hotdogs left by the time we get there!" he whined.

"Zell, I think you're an addict," Selphie said.

"No I'm not!" Zell reacted. "I just like them a lot."

Selphie waved back and forth from her heels to her toes. "Okay, so what've you got in store for me today?"

"We're going out," Zell said. "Deling City. We'll head to Balamb after lunch, grab a train to Timber and there we'll have to switch."

Selphie smiled and stared down at her feet. "I like trains."

They reached the counter and Zell was lucky two get two more hotdogs. "I know you do," he said and pulled out his wallet to pay.

After lunch, they dropped off the VCR at Squall's room (after pacing up and down in the hall, afraid to disturb him again, until it was 2 PM sharp) then they hitched a ride for Balamb. Just being outside seemed to pep Selphie up since she practically skipped all the way to the train station. It must've been about a week since she'd had any fresh air.

"The train's here!" she sang and hopped aboard. The train croaked and then started moving. Selphie ran into the corridor and pressed her nose against the window. For a few seconds she could see the train leaving Balamb, riding through the fields, before soaring into the underwater tunnel. "So, what's in Deling City?" she asked when Zell joined her and watched as they saw the tunnel lights flash by.

"Shops," he said matter-of-factly and grinned when he saw the amazed look on her face.

"We're going out shopping?" she asked suspiciously. "Why?"

Zell raised an eyebrow. "You don't like shopping?"

"Sure I do!" she immediately said. "But you're a boy… You loathe shopping."

Zell shrugged and pressed his hands against the window. "Ah, it's not that bad," he said, though it was a lie, he did loathe it. Until he'd been sixteen, his mum had still done all the shopping for him. "It'll be fun!" He forced himself to smile enthusiastically. But it worked and Selphie seemed a little more confident about the day.

They switched trains in Timber and the next one took them straight to Deling City. Even though it was broad daylight, all streetlamps were lit and the streets had a cosy fashionable atmosphere. Deling's main street was crowded with mostly women and Zell had a though time keeping up his cheery face. But it worked. In fact, he looked more into the shopping spree than Selphie did.

"Come on Selphie," he said and nudged her, "drop the sad face. Look." He pointed at the closest store. "Look what nice dresses they have here! Come on, we're going in and we're not leaving until you've discarded at least three pieces of clothing because they make you look fat." When he took her arm to pull her inside, she was smiling again.

"Zell, are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here," Zell called out with a smile. He had settled down in one of the couches placed directly across the dressing rooms. A silky red curtain separated him from Selphie changing clothes.

There was a sigh, and then the curtain was pulled away. She had slipped into a flowery light summer dress with short sleeves. She twirled around and the skirt danced along with her moves. Zell nodded. "Not half that bad."

Selphie cocked her head sideways. "You think?" She posed in front of the full-length mirror hanging in her cubicle.

Zell stepped up behind her. "But maybe not what we're looking for here." He put up his index fingers as ordering her to wait for a few moments. While he was gone Selphie watched herself more closely.

"Not half that bad, huh?" she asked her reflection.

"Here we are," Zell smiled and reappeared with what seemed like a piece of red fabric draped over his arm. "Try this one."

Selphie took the dress with a shrug and pulled the curtain close behind her.

Zell plumped down in the blue velvet couch again and twirled his thumbs. So he was slightly bored out of his mind and once again failed to understand how women could actually do this for fun.

"Zell?" Selphie popped her head out and watched him. "Since when have you developed a taste for dresses?"

Zell sniggered and gave her a nod. "Go on, show."

She rolled her eyes and pulled the curtains away.

A broad smile appeared on Zell's face as he watched her from head to toe. The dress he'd picked out for her was a burning red one. It had the length of her yellow dress – not too long, not too short – but it was far more stylish. It was sleeveless and had a long white ribbon around the waist, tied into a bow on her back. It showed a little cleavage, but not too much to be sluttish. She looked adorable.

Zell got up and motioned her to turn around and she did so with a smile. "Well, this has Selphie written all over it!" he said.

Selphie watched herself. "I like it." Then she pouted. "But when would I wear it?"

Zell placed his hands on her shoulders. "This Sunday."

She turned around, breaking free from his clasp and peered at him for a while before saying: "The Balamb Bash?" She shook her head. "Zell, I can't go."

"Sure, you can," Zell said confidently. "Why not?"

"I don't feel like it, I mean," she sighed and stroke a strand of hair from her face. "It's so… social."

"Okay, stop, you're starting to sound like Squall," Zell said and pressed her chin up. "I promise you, you'll feel like it. It's Thursday now. Three more days."

She smiled compliably then peeked at her boots. "I'll need shoes…"

After paying for the dress, they left and searched every shoe shop they could find until Selphie eventually, at the fourth shop, pointed at a pair of shoes with a gasp.

She had chosen a pair of polished black pumps with the tiniest red heart sewn on at the side. But she pulled a lip when she saw the price tag.

Zell took the pumps with a smile. "My treat, then." He'd done it partly because she had looked so adorable when she'd spotted the shoes, and partly because if she didn't buy these, they could keep on looking for hours. Seriously, he did loathe shopping.

All the way back to the station Selphie kept loading him with 'thank you's while she cuddled the bag that held the shoebox within. They bought an ice cream at the station, and then boarded the train leading to Timber.

"Oh craps…" Zell had seen the clouds coming in when they took the train to Balamb in Timber. Now that they had left Balamb Station, they found themselves in the middle of the pouring rain. They had quickly sought shelter underneath the carport of the Rent-a-car.

"Oh, now what?" Selphie asked. "This could go on for hours." She was right. The entire sky was a dark grey without the littlest patch of blue sky in sight. "And the Rent-a-car is closed." She kicked the wall. "Why would it be closed in a time like this!"

Zell put his hands in his pockets. "Than this leaves us with two options," he said. "Or we wait for this to pass, or…"

Selphie looked at him and he returned that look with a mischievous smirk. She put her hands on her hips. "Well, after you, Zell."

With a smile, the boy took her hand and pulled her into the pouring rain. Screaming and laughing like two little kids, they ran through the fields, his hand never letting go.

Queen Luana: Okay, that's it for now. Not much happening in this chapter, but I just thought that going out shopping was an important part of the healing process. Anywho, I'll be off with my parents for three days so don't be expecting any chapters any day soon, but I'll update as soon as I can once I get back. Maybe I'll even post a new chapter right before I leave, but I'm not making any promises.