Kayli subconsciously gripped the edge of the bench tightly as she watched a figure walk towards her out of the corner of her eye. When they reached her side, she allowed herself to look over and see who it was.
"Hey," Rex said with a grin. "I'm Rex."
"Kayli." she replied smoothly, hoping she wouldn't randomly burst out laughing at him any time soon.
"Nice name," he commented. "It really suits you."
"Thanks. Rex suits you too." Kayli smirked. Rex raised an eyebrow slightly but brushed it aside.
"Want to join my friends and me?" Rex asked innocently.
"Sure." Kayli nodded, standing up from the stool and letting go of the bench from her vice-like grip. She followed Rex over to his table and sat down in the chair he offered, which was coincidentally next to Davis as well.
"Guys, this is Kayli. Kayli, this is Davis, Cloud, Camon and Nareau." Rex introduced them all to each other.
"Hi." Kayli said politely, avoiding Davis' eyes. There were other murmured 'hello's from the others at the table and then Rex leant forward slightly, tilting his head to still look at her.
"Davis thinks you're hot." he said bluntly.
"Rex!" Davis hissed, his face going red with either embarrassment or anger. Kayli looked down, her own face going red as well.
"As if she couldn't tell!" Camon laughed. He was holding a mug of beer and took a large swig, rocking backwards dangerously on his chair. Nareau stared at Kayli silently for a moment before letting out a large sigh and laying his head on the table.
"Don't mind him," Rex said in a quieter voice to Kayli and gesturing at Nareau. "He's got a splitting headache already."
"Was he here this morning as well?" Kayli asked sarcastically. Rex chuckled.
"Hey, why do you look so young?" Camon asked loudly, squinting at Kayli in his obvious drunken state.
"She can't be younger than Spike." Davis replied for her. Cloud glanced up at her from where he'd been staring at the table and frowned slightly before looking down again.
"Yeah, gosh you must be fourteen." Rex commented, now also frowning.
"Are you infantrymen?" Kayli asked quickly, hoping the topic of conversation would turn the way she wanted and she wouldn't have to answer awkward questions.
"Well, these two are third class SOLDIERs," Rex gestured at Camon and Nareau. "And yeah, we're infantrymen."
"You must be really strong." Kayli sighed, resting her head in the palm of her hand and staring at Rex dreamily. For the first time she noticed that he had dirty blond hair, and that it was short around the sides and came down longer at the front. It was an unusual haircut, but it looked great on him.
"That I am." Rex replied with a smirk. His brown eyes sparkled mischievously and Kayli found herself utterly confused as to why she hadn't noticed how good looking he was before now.
Turning her head, she looked around the table to observe the others and see what they looked like. She took in Davis' messy, mahogany-brown hair and dark blue eyes; Cloud's spiky blond hair and light blue eyes; Camon's ash-brown hair and grey eyes; and finally Nareau's confusing mop of almost white hair which was all she could see as he had his head down.
"You're all really handsome." Kayli said with a smile, her gaze lingering on Davis for a moment as she watched his cheeks go red. She'd never seen anything like that ever happen to him before and was quite amused.
"Would you like a drink?" Rex asked.
"Oh, no thanks." Kayli said. She didn't like the idea of possibly getting drunk while in the same room as her friends from ShinRa. Especially while she was looking like a girl.
"You sure? I'll shout you." Rex persisted teasingly.
"I'm fine." Kayli assured him.
"Well, if you're positive." Rex shrugged. "But I would've loved to be the one to buy the prettiest girl here a drink." Kayli blushed slightly and looked away from him. Unfortunately, she then found herself looking at Davis and at the same time they both went bright red, turning away.
"Someone's got the hots for each other!" Camon roared, slamming his drink on the table and promptly sliding off his chair onto the floor. Girlish giggling reached their ears and Rex groaned, face-palming.
"We haven't even been here long and he's already done that three times now." Rex explained to Kayli. Nareau lifted his head off the table, reached down to where Camon was on the floor, picked him up and shoved him back onto his chair. Kayli hurriedly looked for the colour of Nareau's eyes before he dumped his head back down again.
Gold. An interesting colour.
Wait a minute- gold?
"He's got gold eyes." Kayli murmured to herself. Rex turned his head to her and smirked, having heard what she said.
"They're contacts." he said.
"Oh, of course." Kayli nodded. She felt her cheeks go slightly red again and felt silly for having thought that they were his natural colour.
"Camon's wearing contacts too." Rex added.
"Why?" Kayli asked curiously. It seemed a bit odd to her that two friends would both choose to wear contacts of different colours.
"They want to hide their eye colour, of course." Rex said with a chuckle. Kayli turned her gaze on him, frowning. "Uh, because they're SOLDIERs and the mako gives them bright blue eyes they hide it so that not everyone they meet knows that they're SOLDIERs." Rex hurriedly explained after seeing her expression.
"Oh, right." Kayli nodded.
Davis shifted in his seat. "So what brought you here?"
"Just wanted to get out and meet new people." Kayli shrugged. The real reason itched to be spoken aloud and she imagined their faces if she actually did just allow her mouth to say it.
"Are we a good sampling of new people?" Rex asked coyly, slowly putting an arm around her shoulders. Davis tensed, staring at Rex.
"Um, you're okay." Kayli said, reaching up and moving Rex's arm from her shoulders. He appeared momentarily downcast before looking past her to Davis and smirking.
"Whoa! Sek-sual ten-shion." Camon slurred.
"Keep your nose out of our business, alright?" Davis growled. Camon let out a giggle-snort and Davis rolled his eyes, turning away.
"Oh no."
Davis, Kayli and Cloud all looked over to Rex and then in the direction he was looking. Over near the door to the bar stood General Sephiroth, wearing his SOLDIER uniform and staring at their table.
"Crap." Davis whispered.
"We-" Kayli paused and hoped desperately no one would notice. "You guys weren't meant to be out here were you?"
"Not really." Davis replied.
"Quick! What's your number?" Rex said, shoving a pen and a scrap piece of paper at Kayli.
"Uh..." she took the pen and let it hover above the paper for a moment before scribbling down a number. Handing it to Rex, she hoped that his look of ecstasy did not mean that he liked her.
"Hello boys," Sephiroth said. Everyone at their table jumped as they realised he was standing right beside them. "Oh, and girl." Sephiroth added as he noticed Kayli.
Davis gulped. "Hello Sir."
"What are we doing out here, may I ask?"
"You were s'posed to be on a mission!" Camon whined, glaring at his beer. One of Sephiroth's eyebrows arched in amusement.
"Do I have to escort you back to ShinRa?" he asked sternly.
"No, Sir." Rex said sadly. "We'll go back now."
"Good." Sephiroth said, stepping back to allow them all to stand up. He looked around at everyone and frowned, his gaze returning to Kayli. "Where's Peters? Didn't he come?"
"Nah, guess you could say he's the smart one." Rex sighed. Sephiroth continued staring at Kayli and one corner of his mouth twitched almost into a smile before he straightened it out again.
"Get out of here or I'll report this." he said.
Davis, Cloud and Rex clumped together and hurried towards the door. Nareau grabbed Camon and hurriedly steered him out as well. Kayli tried to casually leave as well, but froze as she felt a hand on her arm. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as it sped up and had a feeling that Sephiroth would be able to hear it as well, due to his enhanced hearing.
"Nice necklace."
"Thank you."
"Did you consume any alcohol?"
"No, Sir."
"We'll find out tomorrow, won't we?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Dismissed."
Kayli slipped away from the General's grip and left the building, following behind the others at a distance so that they wouldn't think she was. Her heart was still racing and she felt as though she had just come within a hairs breadth of death.
She was now absolutely, one hundred percent positive that Sephiroth knew she was a female. What she didn't understand, however, was why he hadn't mentioned anything at all to do with her leaving ShinRa.
As Kayli's mind whirred with thoughts, she didn't notice Davis falling back to walk beside her.
"Why did you leave as well?"
Kayli jumped, looking up and seeing Davis. Her face went scarlet and she was thankful that it was night so it would be hard to see the colouration.
"Oh, I was thinking of going soon anyway." she lied with a shrug.
"So where are you headed now?" he asked casually.
"Why?" Kayli asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes at him slightly.
"No reason, I was just trying to keep conversation going." Davis fumbled slightly. Kayli allowed a small smile to appear on her face as she watched him stare down in embarrassment.
"Can you tell Rex something for me?" she asked.
"Uh, sure." Davis said, looking crestfallen.
"Later on, tell him that I gave him my friend's phone number and not my own." she said. Davis' eyes widened and he snorted in laughter before hurriedly covering it up.
"Why did you do that?" he gasped.
"Well, to put it bluntly it's because I didn't want him to call me." she explained. "And please don't ask me to give you my number."
"I wasn't going to." Davis mumbled. Kayli smirked and turned her face away to hide it. She thought how Davis was acting around her was absolutely adorable.
"You should catch up to your friends." she said.
"Yeah." Davis agreed quietly, but without making any moves to speed up.
"I'll see you around, okay?" Kayli said, giving him a small push forwards. He gave her a half smile and nodded.
"I'll hold you to that," Davis said. "You know where to find me."
"Yeah, I do." Kayli nodded. Davis sighed and then lengthened his strides so as to catch up with Rex and Cloud. Kayli hung back and had a look in the windows of shops along the way, trying to allow the distance between them to grow larger quickly.
Once she couldn't see them any more, she quickened her steps and glanced over her shoulder in paranoia, wondering where Sephiroth was and whether he was watching her from somewhere.
It wasn't too long before she reached ShinRa again and walked through the doors. Keeping her head down, she managed to get through the reception area without being questioned and then all she had to do was exactly what she had done when on her way out.
That was when she realised she had no idea how to get into her room without being seen, and that was where she had left her clothes.
Groaning, she stopped to lean against a wall and think about her situation. It was after dinner so everyone would be staying in their rooms from now on, so the idea of sneaking in while they were out was scrapped.
"Oh my gosh they're going to walk in and I won't be there!" Kayli whispered in horror. What if they realised when Roy wasn't there that she was Roy?
"Come on! No one will know!"
Kayli's eyes widened as she heard Rex's voice. Wishing she could disappear through the wall, she stayed perfectly still and waited.
"Please don't make me come!" Kayli heard Cloud whine.
"Don't you want to find Roy? What if he's gotten himself trapped in an elevator or something?" Davis questioned firmly.
"Oh, fine." Cloud sighed.
"Where should we start looking?" Rex asked.
"Maybe he's still in the cafeteria." Davis suggested. Kayli closed her eyes and mouthed 'yes' over and over.
Moments later, Rex and the others faded from earshot as they walked down a different corridor in the direction of the cafeteria. Kayli wasted no time in sprinting towards where she knew her room was and slamming the door behind her as she entered.
In record time, she got changed into her uniform and removed her make-up, applying her 'Roy' make-up afterwards. Her heart was pounding as she hid the clothes she had been wearing deep in one of her drawers and packed all her cosmetics away.
Finally sitting down on her bed, she tried to slow her breathing.
"Oh, man." Roy hissed under his breath as he pulled off the wig he'd been wearing. He stood up and reached under his bed for the box it had been in and put it in before shoving it back under and sitting down once more.
Fifteen minutes later, Roy was lying down on his bed with his eyes closed as Rex, Davis and Cloud entered the room.
"There you are!" Rex exclaimed. "We were just looking for you!"
"You're back early." Roy commented as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Rex had a slap-happy expression on his face and Roy raised an eyebrow at it.
"Well, Sephiroth caught us so we had to leave." Davis said with a shrug.
"But before that we met this awesome chick!" Rex said. "She had black hair like yours and her eyes were your colour too!" Roy mentally scolded himself for forgetting about his eyes.
"She didn't like you." Davis said.
"Excuse me? She spoke to me the most!" Rex retorted.
"Hey, you know when you asked for her number?" Davis asked.
"Yeah! She gave it to me!" Rex nodded enthusiastically.
"She gave you her friend's number! Try calling it." Davis told him. Roy turned away to stifle a laugh while Rex stared at Davis with his mouth wide open.
"I wondered why she hesitated first." Cloud said quietly.
"Dude, you hardly said a word!" Davis laughed, speaking to Cloud. "In fact, I pretty much forgot you were there."
"Let me guess, you were so amazed by the girl's beauty that you forgot about everything else in the world?" Roy asked with a smirk.
"Shut up!" Davis growled, but with a laugh in his voice too.
"He was almost drooling!" Rex said to Roy. "If we stayed any longer he probably would have tried to kiss her or something."
Roy felt his face flaming up and hurriedly looked away, but not before he had seen Davis' face going red also.
"I've never seen you so at a loss for words." Rex said to Davis, not noticing Roy's discomfort.
"Leave me alone." Davis grunted.
"No way! This is awesome! I've finally got blackmail to use on you!" Rex laughed and went over to his bed, sitting down.
"How long have you two known each other?" Cloud asked curiously.
"Oh, we come from the same town," Rex explained. "So we've pretty much known each other all our lives. And that's why it was so weird seeing you speechless!" Rex directed his last sentence at Davis, who simply turned away and ignored him.
"What was her name?" Roy asked Rex.
"Kayli. Isn't that pretty?" Rex grinned.
"You sound like you like her too." Roy probed, rather enjoying himself. Rex's grin fell from his face and he fixed Roy with a betrayed expression before laughing.
"I guess so. She was just so pretty and so nice." he shrugged innocently.
"She liked me more." Davis muttered. Roy snorted slightly and then quickly covered his face, trying to hide his amusement.
"I hope I see her again." Rex said thoughtfully.
"I know I will." Davis boasted, finally turning back around to look at him. "She promised me I would."
"What? How come I didn't hear?" Rex asked, shocked.
"It was on our way back. She left at the same time as us." Davis said.
"Hey Rex, what happened to you liking Gemma?" Roy questioned, interrupting them to satisfy his own curiosity. Rex looked over at him and grinned.
"Still do."
"What about Kayli?"
"Like her too. Might even ask her out if I see her again." Rex puffed his chest out.
"You look like a penguin doing that." Roy said monotonously. Rex burst out laughing, his chest deflating as he did so.
"What would we do without you?" he asked between laughs.
"Probably die of boredom." Davis answered for Roy. "But guys, nothing about me liking Kayli leaves this room okay?"
"Yeah sure, I'll just invite everyone I want to tell into our room before I tell them." Rex laughed, dropping his head into his hands as he laughed uncontrollably.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure it stays in." Roy said to Davis.
"Thanks." Davis said quietly.
"Hey guys, we've got swimming again tomorrow." Cloud said. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed and was reading over his schedule.
"No way!" Roy exclaimed, scrambling up from his sitting position on his bed and moving over to look at Cloud's schedule. "I'm going to die!"
"How bad could it be?" Davis asked.
"Bad enough. It's the first one I'll have with the whole class." Roy replied, frowning.
"It's a bit weird how we've had no swimming lessons since then isn't it?" Davis commented.
"Not that I care." Roy muttered.
"Yeah, me neither. I was just saying." Davis shrugged. "But come on, we should get our sleep so that hopefully we don't wake up with migraines."
"You actually drank alcohol? I didn't see-" Roy clamped his mouth shut and hope his slip-up wasn't noticed.
"Had some, but not much. It shouldn't give me a headache but I'm going to go to bed now just in case." Davis began grabbing his things for bed and Roy relaxed slightly.
"I think I will too." he said.