Kia-Kawaii Princess: ::Sigh:: Squelphies…aren't they great? ^o^ It's only a shame that there aren't many of them. I (Anna) can't find one Squall/Selphie lime out there. (If anyone writes one, let me know!)
Zariel and Karla3: Thanks for the compliments on our original characters. ^o^ And we're glad that you enjoy the story so much (we definitely enjoy writing it!!)
Micky-chan: Believe it or not, this story is done on little to no sugar influence! Hah!
XxMazLeonhartxX: Yeah, we're happy Squall kicked Irvine's ass too. We hate Irvine! (Sorry all you Irvine fans out there, we just really dislike him, this will be even more apparent in future chapters…)
A/N: Hello everyone, we're back. And let us warn you…heh…the chapters for this story tend to be really loooong. . But, we blame it on the fact that this story is our baby and we love to write in it and when we start we don't want to stop. ::Takes a huge breath:: Just a warning! Rating may go up in future chapters (we have a chapter planned somewhere in the near future where things get a little darker) but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. As for now, just read and enjoy! And we're sorry it took a while to update.
Taming the Lion: Chapter Five
Just as Sae and Arisu were coming out of class, they were pulled out to the side by Renee. "Guys! I have it figured out!"
"Jeez, Renee! You scared me to death!" Sae exclaimed, clutching her heart.
"Don't do that again!" Arisu laughed.
"Sorry! But I had to tell you!" she continued excitedly.
"Okay! Okay! What do you have figured out?" Sae asked.
"Operation Seifer!"
Both girls 'ooh'ed' and smiled wide. "So? Whatcha gonna do?"
"Yeah! What is the plan?"
"Okay! It's as simple as this! A simple three-step process!" She counted off on her fingers as she listed the steps. "I run into Seifer, I mortally wound Seifer, then I nurse him back to health!" she beamed.
Arisu laughed nervously, "Sorry, Renee. I don't see how mortally wounding him would cause him to fall in love with you."
"Good point…" she rubbed her chin in thought. "I know!" she exclaimed, hitting Sae on the arm.
"That hurt! What did you have for breakfast!?"
Renee smiled deviously and did not answer. Instead she went on with her plan. "How 'bout you two mortally wound him?"
"What?" the two asked in unison.
"Yes! That's perfect! It's okay for him to hate you two, right?"
"Umm…" Sae started slowly, "We're about a foot shorter than him. It's hard for us to look threatening."
"Stand on each other's shoulders! I can get you a cloak-!"
"He's in our weight training class!" Arisu interrupted, "And he already has nicknames for us!"
"Yeah, Weak and Weaker."
"You two have weight training?"
"Not by choice!"
"Yeah, Cid just put us in there!"
Renee laughed, "I couldn't imagine either of you lifting weights!"
"A few weeks ago we probably wouldn't have either."
"It's awful! We're the only girls!" Sae complained loudly.
"Who else has it with you?" Renee mused.
"Squall, Zell, Nida, Seifer, Joey and Rudy," Arisu listed off.
"That's too much!" Renee giggled.
"Can't you find someone else to 'mortally wound' hi-,"
"Oh my Hyne! He's coming! Go, go, go!"
"What about the cloak so we can stand on each other's shoulders?"
"Too late! Hurry!" Without saying anything else, she pushed both girls in the middle of the hallway and ducked behind a trashcan to watch.
"Hey ladies," he smirked, "You sure seem eager to see me."
"Uh…h-h-hey S-Seifer…"
"Uh…M-Mr. Almassy!" Arisu added on, hoping to keep him happy. It was silent between the three of them, both girls were extremely uncomfortable and Seifer was just clueless as to what was happening.
"Is there a reason for this meeting? By all means, I don't mind being late for class; I am every day anyway. But is there any particular reason as to why you just popped out of nowhere?"
"Err, well…you see…a little birdie told us-,"
"Actually…it wasn't a bird-,"
"Shhh!"
"Oh, sorry!"
"Look you two…I think I'll just be going-,"
"NO!" both girls shrieked together, they jumped forward and each grabbed one of his arms.
"What!?" he was starting to get impatient.
"Will you please just come quietly?" Sae begged.
"Yeah, we really don't want to hurt you…"
From behind the trashcan, Renee slammed her hand to her forehead. "They're butchering the plan!" she mumbled, too quietly for anyone to hear.
"What? You two weaklings try to hurt me?" he laughed merrily. "You can't bench the bar in weight training without help!" He probably would be rolling in his laughter if it weren't for the fact he was standing in the middle of the second floor hallway. Sae and Arisu couldn't help themselves and laughed as well.
"So much for looking threatening!" Sae shouted between gasps for breath.
"You're the one who made it sound like some cheesy cop show! You might as well have said, 'stick 'em up!'!"
"I'm going to class," Seifer concluded when he finally regained his composure.
"NO!!"
"Okay! What's the deal!?"
They knew they were standing on thin ice now. Simultaneously they glanced at each other and back to him. Arisu took a deep breath and then she began her speech. "Well you see…it all started when it was brought to our attention that a certain someone, codename 'birdie' revealed in secret her notorious plan. Since our body structure obviously won't be enough to take down a victim of your si-,"
"In English please!" Seifer interrupted.
Once again, the two SeeDs exchanged glances. "We're having a party tonight, wanna come?" Sae asked.
"For what?"
"Selphie returning to Garden! And since you're on the Disciplinary Committee, do you think you could pull some strings so that we can make it a boy/girl party?"
"Maybe, that all depends on who's coming," he said with pride.
"Err…well…we're going to be there! So is Selphie, Quistis, and Renee…"
"Renee…is she the one you two were walking around with a few days ago?"
"Yup!"
"Heh, she was pretty cute."
From behind the garbage can, Renee was blushing like crazy. Upon hearing him say that, she also hit her head on the wall. So what if they didn't follow the plan exactly, it was still working!
"What was that?" Seifer asked when he heard the thump.
"It wasn't me!" Sae declared.
The blond teenager just rolled his eyes. "Am I the only guy coming to this party?" he asked, changing the subject back to the party.
"As of now…yes…"
"But you're welcome to invite a friend!"
"The more the merrier!"
"Okay, I'll get the details from you two in weight training. Can I go to class now?"
"NO!!"
Now he looked as if he was getting ready to pummel them. "We're just kidding! Goodness! You don't have to be so mean!" Arisu laughed.
Once again he rolled his eyes and walked into his classroom. After she was sure he was gone, Renee jumped out from behind the trashcan again.
"You two are the greatest!" she exclaimed hugging them. "Now, you have him coming to the party. Perhaps we could ambush him there…"
Sae and Arisu looked at each other, trying to suppress a giggle. "Sure," they said together.
Quistis tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear and continued to concentrate on the road. The last few days had been very hectic. It was a good thing that Cid gave her the day off. She needed to pick Selphie up, and spending a day with her normally cheered the instructor up.
I hope she isn't still depressed, Quistis thought solemnly, I hate seeing her like that! These thoughts mixed with the soft rock playing on the Garden car's radio interrupted her train of thought and almost caused her to miss the turn to into Balamb. Tires screeched as she took the corner faster than she intended. "I hope no one saw that…" she mumbled.
Nonchalantly she searched all of the bystanders. She saw no one she knew. Sighing, she parked the car in front of the Balamb Hotel, stepped out, and looked skyward. The sun warmed her cheeks and caused her to smile.
"This is going to be a good day," she concluded, taking her sunglasses off. Before walking into the lobby, she reached back inside the vehicle to grab her purse then shut the heavy car door. A man cat-called her as she neared the door. Though she knew she could easily beat him to a bloody pulp, she chose to ignore him.
"How may I help you?" the woman behind the desk asked.
"I'm looking for a Selphie Tilmitt."
"I am sorry, we're not supposed to give out our guests' personal information," the woman said with a fake smile.
Quistis rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the counter, "I am a SeeD from Balamb Garden. So is Ms. Tilmitt. If you do not believe she is expecting me, then you may call and ask for yourself."
The woman's blue eyes widened in fear, "Y-Yes ma'am. I'll see what I can do!" As quickly as she possibly could, she began typing into the computer in front of her. "Room 15A! Do you need someone to show you?"
"I'll manage," she said bitterly, then walked off. She was very familiar with the Balamb Hotel because of all the times she stayed there. Selphie's room was on the second floor and not too far of a walk.
Finally she stood in front of the room. "Selphie? Are you awake?"
"Yeah…"
"Good, it's passed three o'clock. I would be worried if you weren't!"
"Yeah, hold on Quisty. I'll be there in a sec."
Quistis could hear her scramble around within her room. Apparently she had started packing early because it wasn't long before she opened the door. The hotel room was a wreck, but she managed to get all of her belongings into a single suitcase. She was wearing clothes that were way too big for her, but the instructor knew why. Sae and Arisu informed her that Selphie refused to change out of Squall's clothes. Quistis found it very cute, in a way, but in another kind of gross.
All in all, the small SeeD seemed to be doing a lot better. Her chestnut hair was curled out at the ends and her bright green eyes shone to enhance her wide smile. "Hey Quisty! I missed ya!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend.
"I'm glad to see you're doing better!" the blond smiled. "So, you ready to get back to Garden?"
"Yeah!" she yelled, raising a fist into the air.
"Okay, let's check you out of here!"
Selphie nodded and began dragging her gigantic suitcase down the hall. "Need any help?" Quistis laughed as she watched Selphie struggle.
"Naw…I'm good…." she grunted. When she reached the staircase she began to lug the big suitcase down it. When it hit each stair, a yelp came from within the bag.
Quistis watched her uncomfortably, "Uh…Selph…there isn't anything living in there, is there?" she asked.
For a split second, Selphie appeared to think, but she replied quickly, "Nope! Just Rocks!"
Not knowing exactly what to think, the instructor just rolled her eyes. "All right, put that in the Garden Car and I'll see if I can check you out." Selphie nodded and threw the blond the keys to her room and continued to drag the suitcase out of the lobby doors.
The car was already unlocked, so the petite girl just opened the trunk and with much difficulty, started to lift her luggage.
A bellhop noticed her struggle and laughed. "Do you need any help, miss?"
"That would be great!"
With a grunt, he heaved the suitcase into the trunk. "You must be a heavy packer," he said, wiping his hands together.
"I guess you can say that…" she put a finger to her lip.
"Say, you're pretty cute," he smiled. "Are you seeing anyone?"
Selphie looked very uncomfortable, "Well…" she started. Silently, she hoped that Quistis would walk out and save her. She had always been more aggressive than her. "Sort of…" she said slowly, hoping he would leave her alone.
"What do ya mean? Are you or are you not?"
"Um…you see…it's kinda difficult…"
"She's seeing the Commander of Balamb Garden," a harsh, feminine voice interrupted. Just in time! Selphie felt as if someone lifted a weight off of her chest.
"Oh, I see," the bellhop said, looking at the floor. "Do you need help with anything else?"
"No, we can manage," Quistis said coldly.
"All right then, have a safe trip home," he said bowing slightly.
Once he was gone, Quistis slammed the trunk down. "The nerve of him!" she fumed. "You don't have to put up with that, you know? If you would've just told him you had a boyfriend he would have left you alone," she had calmed down and her voice was more soft and motherly.
"But that's a lie," Selphie mumbled. Her eyes stung as tears threatened to flow. Sniffling, she shook her head to clear her mind. "But me going out with Squall? That's a good one."
Quistis could see her hurt and touched her shoulder, "Anything is possible. And that is more possible than you think," she smiled.
Selphie shrugged off Quistis' hand and opened the door to the passenger's side. It was silent as the instructor started the engine and drove out of the little town.
"So, what all happened in Balamb? Anything exciting?" Quistis asked to break the silence. Selphie didn't respond, her mind was in a completely different place. While Quisty made small talk, Selphie was thinking about her dog and whether or not he had enough oxygen in that cramped up space.
"So, then I said to him-,"
"Hey, Quisty? What's the Garden's policy on dogs? Since you have the handbook memorized and all…"
"You weren't listening, were you?" she laughed, "And I believe that was the most random question ever."
"I was just curious…"
Quistis pushed her sunglasses further up on to the bridge of her nose, "The Garden Code, page twenty-eight, paragraph two, line six: All domestic pets are not to be permitted in the Garden, or the Garden's related facilities unless authorized by the current Headmaster/Headmistress," she quoted easily.
"Okay, so as long as Cid says it's okay…" she whispered to herself, then she looked back over to the blond woman who was driving. "Alrighty then! What's your policy on dogs in your car?"
Now, Quistis was very confused. "Well, this really isn't my car…so I guess it's okay…"
"Good! PULL OVER!!" Selphie yelled, jerking the steering wheel to the side of the road. Once Quistis regained control of the car, she successfully pulled off of the freeway. As soon as the car stopped, Selphie had gotten out and went around the back of the car.
"What the hell has gotten into you?" the instructor asked, rubbing her temples. That gave her quite the scare.
Before long, Selphie opened the back door and something leapt into the car. "Oh Hyne, Selph!" Quistis had put two and two together, and to prove her conclusion, there was a shaggy golden retriever sitting in the back seat.
"Quisty, I'd like you to meet Rocks." The dog wagged his tail.
"Rocks, eh?" the blond laughed.
"Yeah, he helped me in Balamb. He really cheered me up!"
Quistis couldn't help but smile. "Well, it seems as if we're going to get to smell him for the next twenty minutes in this cramped car."
"I gave him a bath last night!"
"It didn't work. I don't think that little pine tree is going to hold out against that odor," Quistis laughed and pointed her head toward a scented pine tree that hung on the rearview mirror.
The two girls laughed and joked around, but once they ran out of things to talk about, it was quiet again. Selphie wanted to start up a conversation again, and there was one question that had been nagging at her. "So, um…how's Squall?"
"Well, where to start?" Quistis took a breath and leaned over the steering wheel as she thought. "He got in a fight…with Irvine."
All of the color drained from her face. "Oh my Hyne. It's my fault, isn't it?"
"No, Irvine was asking for it. But they both got detentions though."
"Were they hurt?"
Quistis pretended not to hear and continued. "Irvine had to hold targets for junior classmen who were learning how to use basic magic spells. His hair is singed!"
"Why? What happened?"
"You see, Seifer was supervising the whole thing and was also supplying the junior classmen with the spells they were using. They were supposed to use the basic fire spell. Somehow, Seifer 'accidentally' slipped in a few firagas into the mix of spells, even an ultima!" They both laughed together. "He isn't seriously hurt, but you have to admit…it's pretty funny."
"Quisty!" Selphie scolded, "You're an instructor, you shouldn't encourage these kinds of acts."
"I didn't encourage them. I just find them funny, in a sadistic sort of way," she laughed.
"What about Squall?" Selphie asked, changing the subject.
"In a way, his punishment is worse, but that's only because he has to serve it longer. The Garden technician is sick, so Squall has to take over his job until he's better."
"But he's not hurt, right?" No response. "Right, Quisty!?"
"Hyne, Sefie! He was in a fight! He's got a cut lip and a broken arm. There's nothing you can do about it!"
Selphie gasped. "How'd he break his arm?"
"He hit it against the floor, hard."
"Is he still…you know…?"
"What?"
"Is he still…does he still…hate me?"
"He never hated you. He was just upset. Anyone can act rash when they're that upset."
Selphie looked at the dashboard as if it were extremely interesting. There was one last question she wanted to ask, but she was afraid of the answer. "Did he and Rinoa make up?"
"No. She's dating Zell now. It looks like the fairy tale romance between the lion and the angel is over." Now, Selphie felt as if someone had taken her heart and replaced it with a lead weight. She felt it drop from its place in her ribs to her gut. "But!" Quistis added with a smile, "I know that there's another angel out there, who may be able to tame the lion. And she will be able to fill a space that her predecessor could not," she winked.
Selphie blushed and slunk lower into her seat. She wanted to be that so-called 'angel', but didn't think it would happen. "I hope she comes along soon, I hate seeing him so upset."
"Hey, Leonhart…" Seifer said. Squall looked up from the heavy barbell he was exercising his uninjured arm with.
"Hmm?"
"Selphie is coming back tonight."
"So?"
"Her friends are planning a surprise welcome back party for her. Are you gonna come?"
The commander sighed and placed the weight back on its rack. "Probably not."
"How come? For scarin' her off like that, you at least owe her an apology!"
"For scaring her off like that, the least I could do is stay away. She probably hates me…"
"Christ Leonhart, Ms. Sunshine hating anyone would be a sure sign of the apocalypse and I think that's highly unlikely. Besides, I'm going to be the only guy if you don't come, and there's no way in hell I'm inviting pisspants."
"What about Zell?" Squall asked, looking over at the martial artist. He was pummeling a punching bag; his face was creased with concentration.
"Where the hell have you been Leonhart? Rinoa has the chickenwuss wrapped so tightly around her finger, even making eye contact with Selphie she considers a sin."
As Squall opened his mouth to give in and consent, they heard two very loud grunts come from somewhere behind them. Shortly after, there were two earsplitting shrieks and a flying barbell. It missed both Squall and Seifer, but hit the unfortunate Nida in the back of the head.
Squall looked back over his shoulder very cautiously in case any more heavy objects came flying his way. When he had fully turned around, he saw Sae and Arisu standing completely still in fear. Obviously, they were the ones at fault seeing as both of them were stuck in a position that suggested such. The two girls looked from each other, to their accidental victim, then to the witnesses and back to each other. The room was completely silent.
Seifer stood up from his place next to Nida to make sure that he was still alive. He followed Squall's gaze to Weak and Weaker; the two he had least expected to ever even be able to inflict bodily harm, to see them both looking as if they were ready to run at any second. To their surprise though, it looked like Seifer was crying. Arisu looked at Sae attentively and they telepathically agreed to investigate.
As they neared him they noticed he was also shaking. Arisu poked him, "Are you okay, Seifer? We didn't hit you too, did we? We thought we only got Nida, um…accidentally of course."
"Yeah, we didn't mean to let go…" Seifer looked at the two apologetic girls and could no longer hold the laughter in. As his laughter resounded throughout the weight training room, others joined in. Pretty soon everyone was on the ground, rolling in laughter. Squall was the only one who remained stoic besides the confused Sae and Arisu, and the motionless Nida.
He sighed heavily, "You still alive Nida?" Nida groaned a yes. "Great then. I'll be leaving." He took one last look at the weight training room turned zoo by the only two girls in the class once again, and turned to leave.
Pulled out of their daze by Squall's movement towards the door, the destructive duo threw themselves across his path. "You never said if you were coming or not." Sae said.
Squall tried to push passed them, but for the only two people in the entire benching world who couldn't lift the twenty-five pound bar without the added efforts of the other, they wouldn't budge. "Okay, what do you want?"
Sae looked at Arisu in disbelief, and looked back at their commander. "We want to know if you're coming or not."
Squall sighed and without looking them in the eye, replied, "No."
"We thought you might say that," Sae looked at her comrade. Arisu pulled a sheet of paper out of her gym shorts, unfolded it and showed it to him. It appeared to be a list with two columns. One column was entitled 'people that are coming' and it had a short list of names preceding it. The second column said 'people we are forcing to come', there was only one name following that title: his.
"We can either do this the easy or the hard way," Arisu smiled, a hint of evil in her eye.
"What are you going to do? Hit me with a barbell?" he jeered at them, and tried once more to push past them. He would have been successful this time if Seifer had not grabbed the back of his shirt.
"Either you give in and say you will come on your own free will…"Arisu started.
"Or he'll make you," Sae finished.
Squall looked up, Seifer peered down at him. Normally he would not turn down a fight, especially a fight with Seifer. But he already had detention, and he had no intentions of lengthening it. "Fine, I will if I have time. I have to do the technician's work until about ten o'clock."
"That's fine! Party ends at midnight!" Sae squealed happily and gave Arisu a high five.
"You better show, Leonhart," Seifer called after him.
"Uh…sorry to interrupt…" Zell said putting his hand on the girls' shoulders. "But we need to get Kadowaki in here, or something. Nida's probably got quite the concussion."
"Oh, shit! Man down!" Seifer yelled. He had forgotten that there was a severely injured person in the room. "Chickenwuss, get the doctor!" Zell nodded and ran out the door.
There was a mad scramble of people as they rushed to help Nida, or in the girls' case, hide all evidence that said it was their fault. Squall on the other hand, shrugged and left the room. It was almost four thirty. Five was when his shift started, and he needed to eat before he did anything.
Renee rushed into what was Selphie's future room. A lot of people pooled their money together to help buy the almost run away clothes and furniture, since so much was lost. It was Renee's job to get as much decorating done as possible. Sae and Arisu were supposed to help as soon as they got done with their last class, but that wouldn't be for a while.
Renee sighed and threw the shopping bags down next to the bare bed. "Where to start?" she thought out loud to herself. "Might as well start with making the room livable…"
She dug through the bags and found the stuff for the bed and began making it. "Sae and Arisu, please report to the Headmaster's office!" the intercom spoke loudly, just as she put the last pillow in place.
"In trouble again!? They're supposed to be helping me!" She shook her head and laughed. "Wonder what they did this time?"
"Need help?" a male voice said from the doorway. Her heart almost stopped, she knew who it was. "Sae and Arisu told me to help you until they got out of the Headmaster's office."
"S-Sure. That'd be great!" she smiled nervously.
"Okay, what do you need done?"
"Um…well…" she looked at the bags. "Just take everything out of those and put them wherever."
"Simple enough." The room was silent as Seifer looked through the bags. Renee was busy hanging up clothes when suddenly the room was not silent anymore. Seifer had found a stereo in one of the bags and plugged it in, rock blared on the speakers. "I love this song!" he yelled over the loud music.
"Me too!" she laughed, putting a shirt on a hanger.
"Are there any tools in here so I can hang the bulletin board up?"
"No, just set it against the wall."
Just as she was finishing hanging up clothes, she was pulled away from the closet. A big pair of hands had grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. She was standing face-to-face with Seifer. Before either knew what they were doing, they were dancing to the rock music and laughing.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat loudly and the music was turned down. "Ooooh, what was going on in here?"
"Hey! What do you know! It's Weak and Weaker!" Seifer laughed, "So what's the punishment?"
"Wait a minute!" Renee interrupted, "First of all, what was the crime?"
"I'll let them tell you, I'm supposed to keep watch for Selphie." Without saying anything else, he ran from the dorm.
"Looked like you two were having fun," Arisu winked. Renee turned a light pink and quickly changed the subject.
"So what did you two do this time?"
"We accidentally knocked Nida out with the thirty pound barbell," Sae mumbled.
"Hyne! How the hell did that happen!?" she exclaimed.
"We kinda…lost control of it…"
"No, Sae piled on lotion before we got into the room and her hands were too greasy to grip anything!"
"Hey! You let go too!
"I couldn't hold onto it by myself! I would have gone flying with it!"
"Okay you two, I get the picture. So what did Cid say?"
"For punishment we have to take the SeeD written exam," Sae said quietly.
"What day?"
"Tomorrow," they said in unison.
"It shouldn't be too bad! A lot of people are retaking their SeeD exams to raise their rank tomorrow. You'll know a lot of people there!"
"You don't understand! Our freedom of not being SeeDs will officially be over!"
"We won't be able to share a room together!"
"Then why don't you fail it intentionally?"
"Cid said he'll pass us anyway because he knows that we know the material," Arisu cried dramatically.
"Oh, sucks to be you two," Renee chuckled, then look at the recently plugged in digital clock. "Crap! Help me with the streamers and banners! We have roughly ten minutes before guests are due. Twenty before Selphie and Quistis get back!"
Sure enough, it was about a quarter until seven. It was already dark outside except for the Garden's lights as the trio worked double-time. Luckily it didn't take long to decorate. Pink streamers hung everywhere and balloons littered the floor. Across the room a gigantic sign read 'Welcome back Selph!' in big yellow letters.
At that point, the only people in the room awaiting her arrival were Renee, Arisu, Sae and Seifer. He had informed them that he saw the Garden car return to the parking lot and that Quistis would be bringing Selphie up at any minute. All of the others would be arriving randomly through the night. The lights were switched off and four were crouched in the corner.
From under the door came a faint light from the hall. The door swung open and everyone jumped out screaming, "SURPRISE!"
"Wow, that's nice guys, but you've got the wrong person." It was not Selphie, but Xu. She still had on her SeeD uniform and her short brown hair was pulled hastily back into a low ponytail.
"Another girl?" Seifer complained. Everyone laughed.
"Sorry, the guys won't be showing up until later," Renee giggled.
"Anyway, I just saw Selphie and Quistis," Xu's voice dropped to a whisper, everyone leaned in to hear what she was saying. "They were coming out of the parking lot, so I rushed to beat them-,"
"What are you people doing in my room!?" Everyone's eyes grew to the size of saucers as they turned to come face-to-face with the person they were supposed to surprise.
"Oops…" Sae mumbled.
"SURPRISE!" everyone else exclaimed. Selphie looked confused.
"Okay, let's try this again," Quistis laughed and led Selphie back out of the room. Seifer shut the lights off again and everyone rushed back to their corner. The door opened again and lights were flipped on.
"Surprise!" everyone yelled at once, jumping out of their hiding places for the second time. Selphie screamed and covered her mouth, almost falling on her back.
"What do you guys think? Was she surprised enough?" Quistis asked.
"Nah…I don't think so…" Renee winked.
"Okay, Sefie! Let's try that one more time!" Sae yelled and pushed her out of the room, once again, closing the door. "On the count of three!" She shut off the lights. "One, two, three!" She threw open the door again and flipped the lights back on.
"SURPRISE!"
"Oh my GOD!" Selphie yelled and pretended to faint.
"It's better, but still needs work," Arisu said slowly.
"Should we try it again?" Xu laughed.
"No, I hit my head on the wall on the way down that time," Selphie said, rubbing her sore head.
"Okay then," Quistis winked.
"Welcome back!" Renee, Sae and Arisu yelled together. Then, simultaneously, they ran to hug their friend.
"How was Balamb?" Renee asked.
"It wasn't all that bad," she admitted. "I want everyone to meet the newest member of our group!" Selphie turned to the door and whistled. A dog walked into the room and sat next to Selphie's heels. "Everyone, meet Rocks!"
Instantly, Renee plopped down beside the dog and began scratching him behind the ears, "He's so sweet!"
"Yeah! And Cid already gave me the okay to keep him in Balamb Garden! As long as he does his business in the training center, Cid sees nothing wrong with me keeping him!"
"That's great!" Arisu exclaimed, "But why did you name him Rocks?"
"Now that is an interesting story!" Quistis laughed.
"I hate kids, I hate kids, I hate kids," had been Squall's mantra since he had suited up into the white jumpsuit of the Garden technicians. The stupid brats had been pestering him ever since he came on duty; asking him stupid questions he would love to respond to with a fist. Since fighting was exactly the way he got into the mess, he avoided it and instead started his mantra.
His job was to fix all electronics that needed repairing and telling students their I.D. numbers if they asked. He had a clipboard with all the student names listed, but he avoided referring to it. Every minute felt like an hour and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.
"Yo, Squall…what number am I?" someone snickered. He couldn't quite see clearly who it was because he was focusing on rewiring the computers in the second floor classroom. Instead, he continued with his version of standard procedure.
"Kid in red shoes number twelve: Student I.D. number seventy two thousand, hundred, two million three four…"
"Geez Squall, you're just throwing out numbers aren't you? 'Cuz this thing says my I.D. number is 62184…"
Suddenly Squall recognized the voice, "Zell?" from behind him he heard a gulp.
"U-U-Uh…y-ya. Heh…hey, S-Squall. J-Just came by to check up on you. Heh." From the corner of his eye, Squall saw the red shoes begin to back away.
Squall popped his neck and stood up straight, turning around to face Zell, when suddenly something dawned on him. "Zell, do you have any idea how many students in Garden have the exact same shoes as you?"
"N-N-No Squall…how…uh, how many?"
"It's really quite remarkable. Twelve people, Zell. Twelve. What's really weird is that they all had the same orange socks too; with 'Zell rocks my socks off' stitched on them. And they all had the same spastic voice."
"Uh-uh-uh y-ya. Uh, wow S-Squall, that really is remarka-remarkable. T-Twelve, huh? I sure m-must be popular, huh?"
"Zell, you've been the one asking me your student I.D. number and birthday to the exact hour and second of your birth for the last four hours, everyone half an hour, haven't you?"
"W-What? M-M-M-M-Me?" Zell's stutter had worsened considerably. "N-N-Nooo-ho-ho."
"So, in reality, my mantra shouldn't have been, 'I hate kids, I hate kids,' it should've been, 'I hate kids and I hate Zell'…" Before any actual pummeling could take place, the commander's wristwatch started beeping, signaling the end of his shift. "Thank Hyne!" he exclaimed as he ripped his hat off. Zell watched in disbelief at his luck and proceeded to make his escape.
Once Squall had gotten over the ecstasy of realizing his shift was over, he headed out the door and towards his dorm. While walking there, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the real technicians and them having to put up with immature students always asking what their student I.D. number was. As he neared his dorm, he saw two shadows in the distance. He leaned forward a little to see if he could make them out more. Nothing. So instead he decided that since the two specks were right outside his dorm he'd do some investigating.
As it turned out, it was Sae and Arisu, making sure he didn't do whatever it was that he was doing. Just when he turned on his heel to run, he felt something or rather, some things hurtle full speed into his back, knocking him completely off balance.
"Nice drop kick, Sae!"
"Why thank you, Arisu! And your Kung-Fu has really come a long way as well."
Squall stared up at the ceiling. "Dear Hyne! What do you WANT from me?"
The two psychopathic girls stared down at him, grinning. "We want you to come to Selphie's party, of course!"
Squall wondered if in their minds they really thought they were Hyne, and why they asked for Seifer's assistance on making him come when they were clearly lethal without his help.
"Dear Hyne, Sae! I think we killed him!" Arisu shrieked.
"Oh no! Selphie will never forgive us!!" Sae panicked.
"I'm not dead," he muttered, lifting his head. Slowly, he heaved a sigh, "I'll go to the party, I promise. But can I at least change?"
"You have five minutes buddy!"
"Yeah, otherwise Arisu and I will have to come in there and take you out by force!"
"Whatever…" he waved a hand over his shoulder as he unlocked the door to his dorm. He felt their eyes boring a hole into the back of his head, but he didn't turn around. Once the door was shut, he slunk onto his bed and turned on the radio. His body ached from his first day of work, and it screamed for rest, as did his mind. But a promise was a promise.
Using all of his will power he sat up, unbuttoned the jumpsuit and threw it into the bathroom where it would be waiting for him the next day. As fast as he could, he pulled on a pair of black pants and a white tee shirt; his trademark look.
Before he opened his door, he ran his right hand through his messy hair. Lastly, he put a sling around his injured arm, hiding as much of the hideous cast as possible. When he opened his door he found that Sae and Arisu didn't wait for him. He wanted to double back into his room, but a part of him drove him to the girls' dormitories.
Seifer is right…I do owe her an apology… It was this thought that drove him down the long hallway. He approached the door; laughter was coming from within. Carefully, he opened it. The door let out a loud creak, informing everyone of his arrival.
Now more than ever he felt like disappearing.
"Leonhart! How nice of you do join us!" Seifer yelled from the other side of the room. Squall nodded at him and began making his way over to him. "I was starting to think you wouldn't come!" Seifer laughed, "The amount of estrogen in this room is overwhelming!"
"No kidding," Squall agreed. He began to scan the room.
"She's in the bathroom," Seifer said, taking a drink from the pop can he held in his hand.
"Oh, but I wasn't loo-,"
"Don't lie, Leonhart," the blond said with relish, "I'm no idiot."
"Whatever…"
Xu walked over to where the boys were standing. "Hey Squall! I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Hi, Xu."
"It's so good to have Selphie back! She was only gone for a few days but still…she's what brings so much of the cheerfulness into Garden."
"Yeah, Ms. Sunshine sure does know how to light up the room," Seifer agreed.
Xu started saying something else, but at that moment the bathroom door opened and out stepped Selphie. Squall didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for her when he noticed that she was still wearing his clothes. Apparently, she noticed he was there too. Time seemed to stand still as the two stared at each other.
The sound of music stopped the trance-like state the two were in. "Let's liven up this party!" Renee had declared, turning up the stereo, despite Quistis' plea to keep it down.
Squall felt the urge to go up to Selphie. He had to apologize for acting the way he did, but he couldn't get himself to move. It seemed as if Selphie had the same problem, because instead of approaching him she walked straight over to Sae, Arisu and Renee.
He felt like the black sheep, he had no one to talk to, but he grew used to this feeling long ago. Just as he was walking back over to Xu, Quistis and Seifer, the door burst open.
"Zell!" Arisu exclaimed.
"Shh!" he put a finger to his mouth. "I may not be able to stay long, but I wanted to welcome Selphie back to Garden!" He walked over to the group of girls. "Mom called me billions of times about you. Sorry I didn't come visit, you know I would, but Rinny's been a little…" he didn't finish.
"That's okay! Thanks for coming anyway!" Selphie smiled. "How long can you stay?"
"Well, what time does the party end?"
"Midnight," Renee responded.
"I may get to stay for the rest of it then!" he smiled. "Welcome back, Selph!" he said, giving her a hug. "Things weren't the same without ya."
"Of course not! It's because I'm so awesome!" she smiled. Zell laughed and started walking to the cooler to get a soda. Squall made sure he met him there. Zell still hadn't noticed him, so the commander used this to his benefit. He came up from behind him and smacked him in the back of the head. Zell's face came in contact with the wall.
"Frickin' hell!" he yelled and turned around to look at Squall. "What the hell was that for!? Surely you aren't still mad 'cuz of the whole student I.D. joke…"
"No, I never got a chance to thank you for your beautiful artwork."
"Artwork?"
"Look at what you did to my cast!" he pointed to all of the drawings all over the pink cast.
"What makes you think I did it?"
"YOU SIGNED YOUR NAME! It says right here, 'I love hotdogs –Zell Dincht'."
"Uh…" Zell looked around for an excuse, but instead found himself laughing. By this time he wasn't the only one. Everyone else, including Squall, was doing the same.
"What's this supposed to be anyway?" Squall asked, pointing to a particular drawing that he wasn't able to make out. "A hotdog?"
"It's a unicorn…" the room erupted with laughter again.
The two friends walked to the corner. "So what's been going on? I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you in forever!"
Squall shrugged. "Nothing really. I came here to apologize to Selphie, but I…never mind."
"What?" Zell urged. "C'mon tell me!" Squall merely leaned against the wall.
"Just drop it. Forget I said anything."
"Okay man, whatever." Neither spoke for a few moments. "Hey, um…Squall…I don't know if you already know about this…"
"You're going out with Rinoa. I know, and no, I don't resent you for it."
"Wow! Hyne man! You could be a psycho!"
"Psychic, Zell."
"You knew what I meant," the martial artist laughed. "But, going back to the Selphie subject. If you were planning on apologizing, you'd better do it soon."
"I know…"
"Go on! I'll go too if it makes you feel better," he winked.
"I can manage by myself." With dignity, Squall walked over to where it seemed Selphie was carrying on a very intellectual conversation with Quistis about chocobos.
"Hey, uh…Selph, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Selphie shot Quistis an uncomfortable and worried look, then nodded. Squall held on to her by the shoulder and led her away from the instructor. "Can we go somewhere quieter?" he asked, "This music makes it to where I can hardly think."
"Yeah, we can step outside. Just be sure to keep your voice down. We don't want to get in trouble…"
The two stepped into the hallway, Selphie quietly shutting the door behind them. Now that he had her alone, Squall didn't know where to start, so he said the first thing that came to mind.
"I noticed you're still wearing my clothes," he smiled lightly.
"Oh! I'm sorry, here you can have them back-,"
"Oh no, that's alright. You can keep them if you want. I have enough of them anyway."
"Okay," she smiled up at him, but the smile quickly faded and he saw her lip tremble. As she began to cry, she looked up at him, "Do you still hate me?" Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. He didn't know what to do; Rinoa was never this emotional.
"No Sefie. I never hated you… So please, don't cry."
She brought her hands up to cover her red eyes. "I'm so sorry! I'm not trying to, they just won't stop."
He couldn't take watching her cry anymore; he wanted to stop her somehow. But he was so short of practice on this topic, he was at a loss. Improvising, Squall wrapped his uninjured arm around her small waist and allowed her to cry into his chest. Her sniffling soon stopped and her breathing regulated.
"Are you better now?" he asked, looking at the top of her head.
She took a shuddery breath and looked into his slate blue eyes. She nodded, and then chuckled between her tears. "You have some grease on your cheek. Hold still…" Standing on her tiptoes, she was able to rub it off with her thumb. "That's better," she smiled. Wiping the moisture from under her eyes with the back of her hand, she began opening the door.
"Hey, wait Selphie!" he said, grabbing her arm. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm the one who owes you an apology for acting like such an ass. I overreacted on Thursday and I…I'm sorry." He tried to look her in the eyes but both of hers were closed, and a new tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry," he repeated quietly.
Her big green eyes reopened and she smiled widely, and hugged him tight, wrapping her arms around his stomach. "Apology accepted," she said into his chest.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat loudly. It didn't come from Selphie's room either. They both stared at Selphie's neighbor's door. It was ajar and someone familiar stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Automatically, Selphie's brain registered who it was. This was the same woman Irvine had cheated on her with.
She was wearing a very short and immodest silk robe that had been hastily tied. One of her hands rested on her hip and the other was holding her head, the elbow resting on the side of the doorframe. Her long and curly red hair was askew, and Selphie counted about five hickeys that were perfectly visible around her neck. This woman didn't try to hide them, in a way she almost showed them off.
"What are you two doing?" she asked, eyeing Squall suspiciously. "No boys allowed in or near girls dormitories, you should know better than that Commander Leonhart," she shook her head, causing the strawberry curls to bounce. "Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Squall wanted to yell 'how long have you been listening!?' but held his tongue. The redhead smirked maliciously and shut her door.
"We better go back to the party," Selphie finally said, turning back to the door. However, when she pushed against it, it didn't open.
"Did they lock us out?" Squall asked quietly so as not to be noticed by anyone else.
"I think the door may be jammed, but I'm not sure."
"Let me try." Pressing his right shoulder against the door, he turned the knob and pushed against it. The door was dislodged, but the force sent all who were standing near flying. That just so happened to be everyone.
"Were you listening in too?" Squall asked agitatedly to all the bodies sprawled across the floor.
"No! Um…" Sae and Arisu looked at each other. "We started a congo line, and everyone joined us. When you opened the door, it hit Arisu and she lost balance."
"Why is it that it's always me who loses balance in the stories!?"
"Fine then! I lost balance and it was the domino effect."
While it seemed like something those two would do, Squall had his doubts. One by one everyone got up to resume the party. Renee had landed on top of Seifer after the incident and when she stood up off of him, she felt dizzy. She wobbled a bit and almost fainted, but Seifer managed to catch her.
"You alright?" he asked.
She opened her hazel eyes and nodded. "Ya know, you really are cute…" Seifer laughed and winked at her. Those hazel eyes entranced him and he couldn't help but think: Hyne, she's beautiful. He just couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead he helped her straighten up. "Wanna dance?"
Renee's eyes lit up. "Would I?" Seifer stared at her a little uneasily and he swore he could see little stars in her eyes. And stars, as all males know, meant one thing…glomping; a man's worst fear. As he got ready to back away she giggled. "I would love to!" Seifer breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close one…
The party raged on for another hour or so and as midnight approached, people began dragging themselves out of Selphie's dorm. Selphie stood at the door and thanked each and every one of them as they left. "Bye, Zell! Thanks for sneaking over tonight!" Selphie smiled and waved cheerily as he began making his way stealthily down the hall to the boys' dorms.
While she watched him go, out of nowhere, something grabbed onto her shoulders. She turned her head to come face to face with Arisu. "So…much…dancing…don't know…if…I can…make it…" the exhausted blond spat out, apparently using up all her energy as she collapsed in a heap on the already struggling Sae, who had been trying to drag herself out of the dorm using only her arms to propel her. Both of their legs had given out a long time ago while jumping to Rammstein.
"Ugh…ugh…ugh…thank…s…ugh…for…urgh having…us….Self…" Sae managed to wheeze out.
Selphie laughed. "You guys were the hosts, not me."
"What…ever," Sae gasped.
"Yeah…you…keep…your ear…out of this…we…don't…need your…lip…" Arisu breathed out as she managed to take up a similar position to Sae. Selphie watched in interest as her two pathetic friends dragged themselves down the hall. Once she regained her voice, she shouted after the two.
"Hey! Wrong way you guys!"
"Noooo-ho-ho-hoooooo," the blond squealed.
"That's it. I give up. Hyne! Just kill me now!" the defeated brunette proclaimed as loudly as she could manage.
Selphie walked towards the two girls. "Want me to help?"
"No. We already settled out accounts with the floor. We are sleeping right…here," Sae yelled pointing dramatically at the floor.
"Alright then. See you tomorrow you two."
"Right…See you tomorrow."
Selphie walked slowly back to her dorm. Tonight had been amazing! She was finally back home with all her friends. Even Squall had come to welcome her back. He really didn't hate her. She'd even…he'd even…they had even hugged! Just thinking about it made the small girl turn completely red.
As she walked into her dorm, she came head-to-head with her worst nightmare. Day one back home and she was going to have to clean this?! Her gaze fell across the many pop cans that littered her desk. Zell had managed to drink most of them in less than an hour. Though Zell, not being the brightest crayon in the box, did not realize that by doing this he would be stuck in the bathroom for the rest of the night.
She then turned to look at the stuffed animal pyramid that Seifer had made all by himself with Renee coaching him the entire way through. A tent had been made from her sheets and mattress stretching from the TV to the bed. This particular monument had been made by Sae, Arisu and Quistis and was immediately proclaimed their stronghold. How they got Quistis to help may never be known.
The chestnut haired girl laughed softly then groaned. "Why me? I hate cleaning! Come on Hyne, you knew that!" she shouted, looked skyward.
Out of the blue, from somewhere behind her, she heard his voice. "Want some help?"
Selphie couldn't stop the blushing of her cheeks but at least tried to remain calm and in control. "Sure! That'd be great! I hate cleaning, ya know?"
Squall nodded and headed towards the animal pyramid. "What's this?"
"Oh, that's Mr. Woof Woof," Selphie stated very matter-of-factly.
Squall seemed to laugh a little which delighted the younger SeeD. Anyone who accomplished such a feat should be awarded a medal or two at least.
He tried again, "That's not quite what I meant. What I meant was, what is this?" he asked, making a motion with his hands, engulfing the entirety of the pyramid.
Selphie cocked her head to one side. "That? It's the eighth wonder of the world. Geez, Squall! Don't you keep up with the times?"
"Can I…um…knock it down?"
"You should be asking Seifer that. He's the creator of this architectural wonder.
"Really…I didn't know…well…I'm sure that he won't mind…"
Selphie watched as Squall pulled Mr. Woof Woof off the top of the pyramid and set him on her bed. He continued to do this with each and every animal. Selphie was shocked. She had expected Squall to knock down her pyramid of loves with a swift kick of his foot. This small action may have meant little to a bystander, to her though it showed that he understood her, or at least a little…and that he cared enough about her feelings! Or maybe she was just fooling herself. That could be the way he would have done things regardless. The thought he might care, even a little, filled her with hope.
"Hey! No! Stop it! Bad dog!" Selphie looked up from where she was picking up confetti to see Rocks hauling Mr. Woof Woof off to his 'special corner' and Squall following behind.
Rocks, having spent most of his doggy life stealing food from angry butchers, had hardly any problems outrunning and evading the SeeD. Selphie watched in amusement as Squall lunged and plunged repeatedly after the fluffy toy. After a couple of minutes she chose to intervene and help the poor guy out.
"Come here Rocks! Come here my kitty!" Immediately the shaggy dog came running, dropping the stuffed animal at Squall's feet. Selphie kneeled down so that she was level with Rocks and began rubbing the panting dog's ears. "Whoza good kitty!? Whoza good kitty!?"
Still breathing hard from chasing the dog, Squall eyed her. "That's a really big cat…"
"He's not a cat, silly! He's a dog! And he's my kitty!" Selphie explained what she thought made perfect sense.
"I give up," he sighed, falling backwards onto her bed. "I'm beat, and too tired to even try to figure out what you just said."
Selphie laughed. "That's alright, you can go on back to your dorm. I can finish the cleaning."
"But that's not right, it's your first night back. You shouldn't have to clean all of this up by yourself." With a grunt, he heaved himself back up and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "So, what else do you need done?"
Wearily, she glanced around the room. "I probably should try to get that banner down…and the streamers too."
Squall looked from her then to the streamers and came to the conclusion that there was absolutely no way that she would be able to reach them without the help of a ladder. "Let me handle that."
"Okay, I'll start with the pop cans then," she smiled. She grabbed the trashcan and carried it over to the desk covered in cans and other trash. With a swipe of her hand, she knocked all of the offending junk into the garbage. As she was getting ready to set the trash bag outside for the janitor to pick up, she was stopped.
"Selph, can you give me a hand?" Squall asked.
"What do you need help with?" she said, shutting the door behind her.
"I got all of the streamers down, but I can't reach the banner…"
"Uh…sorry to point this out, but I'm shorter than you. I can't reach it either!"
Squall laughed, most uncharacteristically and started walking over to her. "I know that. I'll lift you high enough for you to tear it down."
"B-B-," She felt so stupid, she couldn't think of what she should say and before she could do anything, before she could even reply to his idea, she could feel his huge hands on her waist, already lifting her high enough to grasp the paper banner. Eyes wide, and mouth agape in utter shock, she squealed as she felt her legs leave the ground.
"Whatever you do, don't kick backwards," he grunted.
Selphie glanced up and began reaching as far as she could. Still, her fingers could barely brush against the paper sign. "A little higher," she said. She could feel as his knees bent and he pushed her even further up. Finally, she was able to grasp the banner. "Got it!" she announced.
Suddenly, she felt the ground under her feet again and she yanked on the bit of banner that was in her hand. The entire thing fell from the ceiling. "So, what's the story behind the dog?" Squall asked, sitting on the floor next to Rocks.
"Oh, him? I saved him from a butcher."
"What!?" Squall's face turned white at the thought that a butcher was after a dog, and maybe that was what was really in the cafeteria's hotdogs.
"He was a stray, stealing food from just about anywhere he could. When I found him a butcher was chasing him out of the meat store. Poor kitty was only hungry," she smiled down at the dog and patted his head.
"Do I even want to know why you named him Rocks?"
Selphie smiled wide, "I don't know. Do you?"
"Sure, how come?"
"I had to sneak him into the hotel somehow, so I went to the Dincht's house and his mom let me borrow a suitcase. I hid him inside the suitcase, but as one of the bellhops was carrying it, he kept asking what was inside because it was so heavy."
"And you said rocks?"
"Yes! And after that, it just stuck. I kept telling everyone that Rocks was in my suitcase, and it wasn't a lie."
"I see. So, he kept you company in Balamb?" She nodded.
"And Cid gave me the approval to keep him! I'm thinking of training him just like Rinny trained Ang-," she stopped herself.
If her bringing up his ex-girlfriend bothered Squall then he didn't show it. It was silent as the two looked around her dorm. "I think that's it," she said slowly. "Thanks for helping!"
"Your welcome," he said in his trademark monotonous voice.
"It's late, I hope you get enough sleep for work tomorrow!"
"I'm used to running on little to no sleep," he said, but she knew it was a lie to make her feel better. He walked to the door, and she followed closely behind.
"Goodnight," he said, turning to look at her. For a fleeting moment it looked as if he was going to kiss her. Her heart stopped beating, and it seemed as if she was almost afraid to breath too. Her entire body seemed to have frozen up, but he didn't kiss her. As a matter of fact, he didn't even hug.
She watched as he walked out of sight, and scolded herself for believing that he would actually kiss her. Tiredly, she walked back into the safe reaches of her dorm.
However, Selphie wasn't the only one watching Squall leave. The redhead had poked her head out of her door as well and watched the retreating figure. She glanced over her shoulder at the clock the hung on the wall. "Two o'clock, eh?"
She smiled maliciously and shut her door, thinking of all the things that could have been going on in the room next to her. Victoriously, she fell into her red satin sheets and let her curls flow all around her head. Tomorrow would be a very eventful day…
* * *
Dum dum dummmmm….. ::Dramatic music:: Hah! We'll keep you hanging right there. Evil aren't we? Yes, yes, we know. But it should reassure everyone to know that we are working on the sixth chapter right now (nine pages typed so far) and we doubt it will be more than a month before it is posted. (It really just depends on how fast we can get the chapter emailed to Battle Angel Ren and how fast she replies).
Also, if you are interested in Beta-Reading or Musing (or both!) for one of our stories we have four ideas for new stories we will be writing once we finish the ones we're working on. Two are Final Fantasy VIII stories, one FFVII and one for Gravitation. More information is posted in our bio. If you are interested, send us an email! We'll email you back as soon as possible with a quick outline of what we're planning on doing with the story and an approximation of when we intend to start writing it. ^o^ Until next time everyone, adios!