Seifer's POV:

That was unexpected. Cloud honestly knew a lot more than most people did. He was "intuitive"; at least, that's how Quistis put it and I must say, I agree. For someone to just pick up that I'd been screwed over as badly as I had, I was impressed I gotta admit. His vote of confidence in me had also given me a new lease on life – I had to change for the better.

Even more unexpected than his rather astute observations, was that he invited two perfect strangers to his house. I don't know why but I had to say that I trusted this guy. Quissy obviously agreed since she hadn't raised one single complaint or qualm about it. We met our Mother at the spot she had specified she'd pick us up from and we went to get Dad from work.

I didn't want to give a recount of the day to my parents at the moment, living through today once was more than enough thanks, though I did mention that we'd met at least one person who seemed genuinely interested in being our friend. Mom smiled and pressed us for details and I felt embarrassed that I hadn't asked him more about himself in science. Quissy and I had spoken a bit about ourselves though we were cautions and certainly didn't give more detail than strictly necessary.

When I couldn't answer, Quistis altered the course of the conversation by mentioning that he'd invited us to his house. When he gave us the address, I recognised the street as one that was fairly close to ours. Mom harped on about how wonderful that was though I wasn't listening. I didn't mean to come across as ungrateful or anything but my mind was elsewhere. Since that P.E. lesson, I had Squall on my mind. He was definitely an amazing guy (even if he had the emotional depth of a teaspoon).

When we got dad, we headed home and had dinner. By 6:30, Quistis and I were both ready and heading out the front door. "Give us a call if you want to be picked up" dad called from upstairs and Mom waved at us from the kitchen before we turned around and walked down the path and up the street.

Balamb at 6:30 was still surprisingly light. I remember at our home in Galbadia, it was quite dark by 5:30. Strolling down the twilight streets was peaceful, you could tell that Balamb was only a small Island nation since the breeze rolling in off the sea was amazingly fresh. The sky here was much clearer than back home as well we could see stars peeking out on the eastern horizon and the now dull glow of the setting sun on the western horizon.

We found the place with relative ease and I thanked the Gods that we had done so much wandering over the last week of holidays. It had only taken us about 10 minutes to arrive there from our place. Standing outside, I had to question if this was the right house. It was a beautiful 2 story house, rendered on the outside with a sand coloured plaster and all the door fittings and windows were black. It looked classy alright and the manicured lawns did nothing to settle my worries.

It wasn't until the door had opened and a tall blonde figure, bathed in the pool of light that streamed down onto the grass that I accepted that we were at the right address. "Welcome to my house. I see you found it easily enough, though I didn't expect anyone for another ten minutes at the least." He grinned sheepishly as I finally took in what he was wearing. A Kimono and Hakama, both were traditional items of clothing from Esthar.

They definitely suited him I thought. "I was practicing Kendo, so please excuse my appearance" He said. "We guessed you were Estharin when you told us your parents were there. Who else in our grade is?" Quissy asked. "Who else is Estharin? Well you have Lenne and Yuna Chére of course, followed by Yuffie Kisaragi and Nida Matsumoto" he finished.

"Well instead of standing around out here, would you like to come in? The door on the left will take you into the lounge, you guys can make yourself comfortable while I change into something… Less comfortable but more appropriate" he laughed and Quissy joined in. I smiled and taking his advice, turned into the room on the left. It was HUGE.

We were there for about 5 minutes before he reappeared wearing dark jeans and a bluish/purple shirt that seemed to match his eyes perfectly. "It's a really nice place you have here!" I commented. Quistis was looking almost longingly at the piano in the corner of the room, a fact which had not escaped him.

"You like Piano?" he asked, Quissy nodded. She'd always wanted to learn though Mom and Dad never seemed to be able to get around to hiring a tutor. "Shall I play something for you?" he asked "While we wait for the others that is" Quissy nodded though I had to ask "Who else is coming?" there was no trace of arrogance in my voice, Instead, there was apprehension.

"Selphie and Squall are coming around, I hope you don't mind." His voice echoed in my head as my stomach plummeted. Ever since leaving school, I had Squall present in my mind as if he'd been burnt into my memory. I was only vaguely aware of him playing the piano as my heartbeat increased. Why was I acting so nervous? The last time I'd spoken to Squall I got hurt bad. Cloud tried to explain and it made me feel better though I wasn't prepared for this unexpected piece of info.

The seconds passed so slowly. I was definitely nervous. It seemed a long time when we heard the sounds of a car turning into the driveway, a telltale sign that the others had finally arrived. Cloud stood up and headed to the door and Quissy sat down on the stool and fingered a few of the keys lightly. I heard the door open and heard people walking towards the room. Framed in the doorway was Selphie whose surprise was apparent, though she wasn't displeased.

Running towards me, she apologised profusely for her behaviour in P.E. in such an honest manner that I couldn't help but smile and insisted that my actions earlier were nothing and that I owed her an apology. Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn that I saw Squall glare at Cloud with enough power to frighten the gods themselves. Cloud whispered something, Squall nodded and they both headed into the room.

Right about now, my heart was replaced by a jackhammer and my stomach with a swarm of butterflies. Cloud smiled at everyone present, a smile which was returned by almost everyone except a certain brooding brunette. I wanted to… I don't know… Not hit him or anything but certainly do something to improve his attitude.

I hadn't noticed Cloud leave the room and was surprised when he came back, saying something which my mind didn't quite process until the girls stood up, following him. Squall shot me a glare which I only managed to returned half-heartedly, there was no point in denying that I was interested in this guy and that was why I couldn't bring myself to respond in kind. I stood up and followed the girls, past Squall, through the hall and into the dining room. On the table was laid out several pizzas and a hell of a lot of soft drinks.

I sat down at the table, between the girls and Cloud sat opposite me. I appreciated his kindness though if I had known that Squall would be here, I may have spared myself the grief.