Quistis stared into the mirror. Her eyes intense.
She grabbed the scissors out of the drawer, her mind was made up.
Without any further hesitation, she began cutting her long straight hair into a short blunt style that was barely longer than her jawline.
Within only moments, the long golden hair was scattered all over her bedroom floor.
What is wrong with me? How could I ever let Seifer…of all people…Never again.
She quickly got dressed into her little tartan dress, which didn't leave much of her body to the imagination, and pulled on her chunky black boots. Looking very androgynous, she sauntered out of her house, She lit a cigarette and tried to set her head straight. There was no way she was going to spill any information regarding last night to Rinoa. This would have to go with her to the grave.
The diner was only a short walk from where she lived, her stomach growled as she opened the door, the bell jingled as she walked in. Suddenly everyone in the diner had their eyes on her, most girls narrowed their eyes, and most of the guys suddenly had a major case of slack jaw.
She spotted Rinoa sitting in one of the booths, wearing a pair of thick rimmed reading glasses and studying the oversized menu.
She slipped into the seat opposite Rinoa, "Hey nerd" she smiled, finally getting the attention of her friend.
Rinoa nearly fell out of her seat when she saw Quistis.
"You're hair! It's…GONE!" she gasped, her hand over her mouth in shock.
Quistis frowned at her, "Don't have a damn heart attack woman, It's still me" she said, taking her menu and glancing over it.
Rinoa took off her glasses, and studied her friend. She looked beautiful. Sexy in her punk-princess dress and dangerous, with her new jaggered bangs framing her gorgeous face, and hovering over her dark lined eyes.
"You look amazing, Quistis!" Rinoa spluttered, finding it hard to believe that this was the same girl she had seen just last night making out with Seifer Almasy in the sand under the moonshine. Should I say something…? Heck, I don't even know if I should tell her about Squall and me… I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SQUALL AND ME DID!
Her mind was reeling.
"Hi girls, are you ready to order?" the young waitress interrupted, hovering beside the table with her pen and notepad.
"I'll have a cherry soda, and a bowl of cheesy bacon deluxe fries!" Rinoa beamed, happy to break the awkward silence.
"I'll have the same" Quistis said, shooting the waitress a dismissing glance.
"So" Quistis said, "What happened to you and Squall last night? You never bothered showing up at the beach, everyone was really worried" she continued.
Rinoa swallowed and rummaged through her purse, retrieving a hair tie, she quickly put her hair up into a bun, feeling as though she needed to occupy her idle hands.
Gosh…what do I say? Do I just tell her Squall stayed the night at my house… Or should I just say…
"Nothing happened, I didn't feel well, so…Um… Squall turned the car around and took me home, not sure what he ended up doing that night…"
Quistis narrowed her eyes. And Rinoa knew she was done for. The waitress politely delivered the two cherry sodas to the table, and said the fries would just be a few more minutes.
"You are a terrible liar Rinoa. We are supposed to be friends! You better start telling the truth right about now, or people might start to get the wrong idea about what you and Squall have been doing behind our backs! You know that Squall means a lot to me! Tell me the damn truth!"
Rinoa flew up off her seat. Her tiny hands balled into fists by her sides.
"Oh that's really rich. If Squall meant 'so much' to you, then WHY did you throw yourself onto Seifer last night down on the beach! WE SAW YOU!" the words tumbled out of Rinoa's mouth one after the other, there was no stopping it.
Before Quistis could even say a word, Rinoa snatched her purse and stormed out of the diner. The waitress delivered both serves of the fries, and Quistis decided that in all her misery, she would stay here until closing time and eat herself to death. This could not be happening…
_
Squall had spent the day helping Zell to do chores around the house.
He figured it was the least that he could do, considering Mrs Dincht had allowed him to practically move in. She never asked any questions. She'd told him he was welcome to stay as long as he needed to. She had washed all his clothes and made a delicious stew for lunch. She was a great woman, and Squall was eternally grateful for the kindness she had shown.
The two boys had just finished up cutting the grass and pulling out the weeds in the vegetable patch. It was time for a beer.
Zell wiped his sweating brow with the back of his hand as he plonked down on the freshly mown lawn. The midday sun beamed down on them.
"I just can't believe man… Who would ever have though Seifer could tame the wild beast that is Quistis" he chucked, cracking open his can.
"Quistis is one complicated girl. She's had a rough life… she went through a lot being in and out of foster care when she was a kid… She's faced a lot of rejection. I really do hope she can find some sort of happiness. Even if it is with Seifer, hahaha" Squall mused, gazing out into the azure sky.
Zell started babbling, but Squall was in his own world as he lit up a cigarette.
All he could picture in his mind, was Rinoa, in her little black singlet and pink lacy underwear. Last night had been the best night of his life. After they had gone back to her place, they had created their own little world.
He could still see her cute expressions as she chugged down beer after beer trying to keep up with him. Trying to impress him. As the night wore on, she had slowly stripped down to just her black singlet and panties. And when she had pressed herself against him, in her drunken haze, it had taken every last bit of his strength to hold back from what he had really wanted to do.
She had passed out on her bed, so he dressed her in the first thing he could find, a pink night gown, then passed out beside her.
He smiled at the memory, and realized, he already missed her.
"Hey Zell we should try the beach thing out again tonight, and get the group together again, it looks like it's gonna be a long, hot summer, let's make the most of it, man" Squall said, eager to get down to the beach and hopefully score a first kiss from Rinoa, it seemed like it was about time.
"Yeah man! I'm down for that! I'll call everyone up and get it happening!" Zell grinned.
Authors note: (update November 21 2012) Wow, I'm not even sure this update will ever see the light of day. Hahahah, I think people stopped reading Brand New many years ago, but I'm going to start updating it again, so for any new readers who might start getting into this, Please read and review, It would be great to hear what anyone thinks. I'm sorry for letting this story rott for so long, life sometimes gets in the way of our best intentions, but my love for Final Fantasy VIII will forever remain, and I'm looking forward to getting back into this again! Thanks!