...leave it up to you...
Chapter 6 : Missing you
Tamiel
I can't believe this. Here I am, outside Balamb Garden, but I can't even get my stupid phone to work. Oh, wait... here we go!
"Hello? Can you hear me?" I ask. I hear some static, then Rinoa's voice. "I'll see you in a few then." I put my phone away and hurry into Balamb Garden. Rinoa's waiting with a huge grin on her face. She's changed a lot since I last saw her, too.
Her hair's longer and has more blonde in it. Still the same face, only now with some make-up. Instead of her cutesy little girl outfit she's wearing a black miniskirt, a white button-up spaghetti-strap tank top, just-below-the-knee boots, but of course that blue sweater thingy with the angel wings on the back.
She runs over to me and gives me a hug. "I'm so glad to see you!" she exclaims, almost choking me. She finally lets me go and looks me over.
"You're more tan," she points out. "And your hair's lighter."
I shrug. "Yeah, not much."
"Is this the infamous queen of the hot dogs?" a blond boy with a black tattoo on his face asks. Wait... that couldn't be...
"Zell!"
He mocks me and jumps up and down. "Like, oh my Hyne, Tamiel!" I run over and jump into his arms, then mess up his hair.
"How do you like that?" I ask, smirking as he puts me down. He smiles and I can't help but give him a huge grin back. Rinoa rolls her eyes and jokes,
"It's a good thing the cafeteria isn't serving hot dogs today."
"Rinoa!" Zell and I exclaim.
I eventually see everyone again - except for Irvine who's taking care of some things as well as picking up something in Deling - including Squall.
The thing is... he looks strange. A little thin, and it's almost like he has a lack of will to really try anything. His eyes seem so dead now. There was a spark before; that was what Rinoa saw in him.
I nudge Quistis and ask, "How long has he been like that? Not quite depressed but just... really indifferent?"
Quistis bites her lip. "A while. Almost a year now, I guess. He hid it for the first two years, I know. But now... he just doesn't care anymore. He just trains all day for no reason. He doesn't do any SeeD work or teach classes. It's almost like he's gone..."
I know exactly what Quistis is talking about. It's the way Seifer looked when I first saw him. Oh, that's the one little thing I didn't tell Rinoa. Ever. She doesn't know about Seifer staying with me. She doesn't even know if he's still alive, although they all occassionally hear of the 'Sorceress's Knight' being seen around the world.
The thing is, if Rinoa ever knew, I don't know what she'd do. Get mad maybe, for me not telling her. Or maybe she'd be happy... I don't really care to find out. Seifer's not ever going to come back. I guess I've kind of given up hope on him... after he left... well, things just got too hard.
Everything's been different since he disappeared again. I haven't seen him or heard from him since the day he left, and that was three months ago. I waited for him, hoping he'd come back and say, 'Surprise!' or something like that, but nope. He just vanished, like the 'Sorceress's Knight' that he once was.
Squall puts a hand on my shoulder and I look up. I guess I was zoning. "Are you alright?" he asks, his voice soft and deep. The same voice I remember from so long ago. His hair's a little grown out, but other than that, he looks the same.
I nod and smile. "Just wondering how it is that you lost another five pounds when you don't weigh anything to begin with, big boy!" He sports a little smile, but not much.
"I don't know. Zell eats all the hot dogs."
"I do not!" Zell insists, folding his arms across his chest. "You're a big fat LIAR!"
Figuring that Zell might go on and on for a while, I take the opportunity to go back to my room and relax. Maybe take a shower later, check out some of the stores in Balamb, and of course find out where Quistis put Tiara.
Rinoa and Quistis told me to send Tiara earlier, that way she would be here when I arrived. They promised that they'd take good care of her, so of course I agreed. She's getting bigger now, but not too big. Oh, she's just the cutest thing ever!
Oh, that's strange - my phone's ringing.
"Hello?"
No one answers.
"Hello?" I repeat.
Still no answer.
"... ... ... WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!"
"... sorry..."
There's a click, and the line goes dead. That voice... it was so soft. So quiet. Definitely male. It couldn't have been... no. No no no. There's no possible way that it was... him.
But maybe...