Disclaimer: The only characters that I own are Jamaila and Gabriel.
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"" – Speech
Italics – Thoughts
Line breaks – Another scenario
: -- : -- - Time lapse
Bold – Emphasized words/Flashbacks
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The city of Balamb looked really pretty at night. Although it was not beautiful in comparison to Deling City, it was pretty nonetheless. But Selphie surely had not expected to come here at all, but due to Xu's persuasion, she was the one forced to collect the weapons required for the younger SeeD cadets to train with. But she wasn't complaining. No, Selphie would have loved to take another chance to see the pristine city glowing with lights. And incidentally, she loved to go out and about, since she was not one to lounge around in one place for too long.
Tapping her fingers idly on the steering wheel, as she waited for the traffic lights to turn green, the brunette caught sight of a figure; an all-too-familiar figure wearing an all-too-familiar dress. The said figure had run out of a restaurant and had hailed a cab; clambering to get inside whilst she withdrew some coins from her black purse. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Selphie struggled to see who it was – although she did have an idea – and had barely registered that the lights had shifted colors; a fact that was only known to her by the beep of the car behind her. Hastily, she drove the car and set off for her destination, all other thoughts temporarily forgotten.
--
Placing a soft, white quilt over Gabby's torso, Jamie watched him for a moment, as his chest rhythmically heaved up and down as he peacefully slumbered. However, the sound of a couple of persistent knocks awoke Jamie from her moment of peace, as she frowned and made her way to the door. After unlocking it, she turned the handle and found herself face-to-face with him.
Seifer.
--
Squall felt numb. Even as he walked across the dormitory corridors, he felt as if he couldn't hear or see anyone else; all his mind was focused on was the sobbing form of Rinoa as she had run out of the restaurant. His hands involuntarily formed fists – in result of anger or rejection, he didn't know – and the only thing that bought him back to Gaia was the "Oomph!" that was heard as his body made contact with someone else's, resulting in the latter with her butt on the ground and the former staring at the familiar figure of Selphie.
A wave of déjà vu hit him at that point as he asked "Are you okay?" Selphie, possibly also recognized the familiar scene, smiled up at him as she lifted herself back up into a standing position.
"Heh, looks like it's déjà vu. But, yeah, I'm fine."
Squall nodded and was just about to set off again, when Selphie's next sentence stopped him.
"You know, you should go see Rinoa now. She seems really depressed about something."
To her surprise, Squall's eyes instantly hardened and he looked across the hallway. "I'm really tired and I want to rest. She can come speak to me in the morning."
"But, Rinoa -" She started meekly.
"I said she can come speak to me in the morning," Squall said through clenched teeth. Selphie, sensing his anger, simply let him walk away and pondered on what may have happened between the two.
--
"What are you doing here?" She asked him, her tone slightly harsh.
Seifer had either not sensed her unwelcome tone or didn't feel offended by it, as he simply replied "I came to talk to you."
Rolling her eyes at his blunt reply, Jamie placed a hand on her hip, as if she thought this was a waste of her time. "I figured. What about?" She had a feeling that she already knew the answer.
"Rinoa."
Ignoring the unknown feeling building up against her chest, Jamie tried to keep her voice as casual as possible. "… What about her?"
"Did you know that she's in the Infirmary now?"
"No … No, I didn't." Still the attempt at being casual, although her voice faltered slightly.
Seifer snorted disbelievingly. "Don't lie to me, Jamaila. You're the reason she's in there now and you know it."
"What –"
"I saw you run away from her when she was hit. And I've also realised how much you hate her; it's so blatantly obvious." He smirked slightly, as he leaned towards her. "I may be blond, but I'm not stupid."
Either to avoid looking at Seifer's triumphant smirk or to avoid giving in to confessing to him, Jamie looked away and, instead, stared at the blue wall. "... Okay, so you came to tell me off because of that, right?" Her turquoise eyes met Seifer's jade-green. "But, I seriously do regret it. As much as I ... don't like her, I would never have done that, if I could -"
"Jamie, don't try to screw around with me. You would have done it," Seifer interrupted. "And, to think, it's all because of jealousy." He watched, satisfied, as Jamie's eyes narrowed at the last word.
"Look, whatever you think, I am not jealous of -"
"How come you hate her so much, then? Is it because of the fact that she is the only person that got Squally-boy to open up? Or is it," he questioned, enjoying the way that her eyes admitted defeat as she tried to look away from him, and smirked. "- Is it because of what happened that day? When me and Rin -"
"It's got nothing to do with that," she hissed, her eyes glowing like crystals. He raised his eyebrows disbelievingly.
"If you say so ... But," he leered, leaning towards her once again. "If you really wanted, we could -" He gestured to the vacant bed.
"I don't believe you." She scoffed, disgusted.
He merely smirked back.
A couple of seconds passed, in which Jamie simply stared anywhere but at Seifer, who could easily sense her unease. Placing a hand on the back of her head, Seifer pulled Jamie in for a kiss, whilst the latter had no time to react as her lips forcefully crashed into his.
Jamaila had read the whole saga of 'A Sorceress and Her Knight' stories and had convinced herself, at an early age, that fairy tales like that didn't really exist ... The same theory could apply to a first kiss. There was no tenderness, gentleness or any fireworks shooting off at the distance. The kiss they shared held abysmal possessiveness; Seifer first to break out of their intimate contact.
Still shocked beyond words, Jamie watched him; her mouth agape and her voice temporarily lost.
"Sweet dreams, Kramer." He said, the smirk heard in his tone of voice as he made his way back to his room, leaving the brunette to ponder on her own befuddled thoughts.
: -- : --
The morning was always one of Zell's best times. But today, he felt extremely ... agitated. I guess I should really go and kick some ass. He'd barely been battling any beasts for a long time and he was itching for practice. Walking towards the TC, he checked and double-checked Ehrgeiz, ensuring that it was in a fit condition to battle.
Upon arriving at his destination, the martial artist caught sight of some other ill-prepared cadets making their way out; obviously having been ill-informed of the strength of the beasts that lurked inside. Continuing on, Zell found nothing else of interest for a while.
A rustle in the bushes instantly caught Zell's attention and he clenched his hands into fists and raised them in front of his face, falling into his signature battle stance. A couple of rustles followed the first and a Grat made its presence known. Slightly disappointed, Zell pondered whether or not he should bother with the fiend. But, this could be a good chance of flexing my muscles. After all, a battle was a battle and despite not being one of the more challenging foes, Grats were still quite benefitial nevertheless.
Grinning to himself, the brawler waited for the Grat to fall into position and charged at it.
--
"And that is exactly how the Lunar Cry had started." She said and placed some strands of hair behind her ear in irritation. After glancing at most of the occupants in the class, Quistis realised that they were ever not bothered or were just hiding their interest.
She guessed that it was the former.
Looking upon the students' faces again, Quistis sighed, for she knew she would have to go into the 'SeeD Speech'. "Everyone, you should already know that your theory tests are fast approaching next week and regardless of whether or not you find any of the subjects interesting," She stared particularly at the blond seated at the back before continuing, "you would still have to take notes and at least show some enthusiasm in wanting to pass your exam."
Despite the slight scolding, only a couple of students paid attention to her, with their backs straight and their attention solely focussed on her. Hyne, tell me they're not just Trepies ... With another sigh, she was about to turn around and continue writing out notes on the blackboard, when a raised hand caught her attention. Glimpsing the student responsible, she realized that it was Eric, one of the smarter ones in the class. She nodded at him.
"Did you want to ask a question, Eric?"
He straightened his glasses sheepishly. "Um, yes, Instructor Trepe. I was just wondering what the Centran empire had to do with the Lunar Cry."
Then, silence.
Quistis allowed her mind to process what he had said and questioned him. "Are you saying that you weren't listening to the half-hour lecture I gave you on that very topic?"
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head in reply.
"... Very well. I'll explain."
She did not even acknowledge the other students' aggravated sighs.
--
"They're from a city called Callistus." He confirmed and Irvine was only even more confused.
"Callistus?" He repeated. The Headmaster nodded.
"Yes, a city now in ruins. It's located in the Nectar Peninsula in Centra," He elaborated. "However, most of the townspeople there have certain ... characteristic traits that make them easily distinguishable."
"Yeah, but what exactly did they come here for?"
"Well, as they seemed to be orphans, I thought that it would be best if they stay here with us for the time-being. They seem to have promising talent, in any case."
Irvine looked slightly hesitant. "Yeah, but, Sir ..."
"Irvine, do you honestly mistrust them that much?"
Irvine allowed his gaze to fall down upon the velvet carpet. With a smile, Cid decided to break the silence. "If you wish, I could ask Xu to research more into them. But," he continued "as long as you don't say a thing."
Irvine's gaze fell back to the Headmaster. "Really? Hey, thanks Sir!"
With a nod, Cid allowed Irvine to escort himself out and proceeded to call Xu.
--
"And then, I asked her 'Do you seriously like me? Like, really like me? Because these days, you never know ... ya know'?" Raijin was telling his two fellow Disciplinary Committee members. However, Seifer's attention was caught on something else ...
Just then, two figures entered the Cafeteria and queued at the back, waiting for the line to shorten so that they could purchase some food. Obviously sensing someone's eyes on her, Seifer watched as Jamie turned to look at him and, for a couple of seconds, their eyes met. Unsure of the emotion that rose up inside him, he watched further as the silver-haired male beside her said something to her, which caused her to break eye contact with Seifer and look back at the queue.
To avoid watching the two converse, the blond turned back to his posse, who were regarding him with calculating expressions. Feigning ignorance, he stared back at them, hoping that they weren't thinking what he thought they were thinking. "What?"
Still staring at him, Fujin shrugged. "DISTRACTED."
Raijin nodded and followed his comrade's lead. "Yeah, you were lookin' at Jamie. It's like somethin's goin' on between you two, ya know?"
Raising his eyebrows with an amused smile, Seifer watched them. He was impressed that they had caught on ... Faster than expected, in fact. "Nah, there's nothing going on between us. Don't worry about it," he added, and Raijin resumed eating, apparently satisfied with the answer. Fujin, however, was still regarding him with the expression that made her feel slightly crafty. To avoid looking at her, Seifer began to stir his coffee and watched as the liquid stirred within the cup.
"JEALOUS?"
Surprised, he looked back up at his female companion. Maybe, just maybe, he was too predictable.
--
Glad that Quistis had accepted his date (or, according to her, a 'friendly get-together'), Zell was still in his dorm room, pondering on what he should wear. The simple matter of clothing used to be so trivial to him. But not now.
In the end, he decided to simply put on a red t-shirt bearing the slogan 'G is for Gay-badia' and some blue jeans, followed by his usual red sneakers. After looking back at his shirt, he decided to cover it up with a black hoodie he had recently bought from Balamb. Satisfied with his appearance, he exited his room and made his way to where Quistis would be now.
Her office.
--
With reluctance, Squall decided to talk to Rinoa. However, truth be told, he didn't know exactly what he was going to talk to her about. After all, her desertion had contributed to his broken heart and now he felt he had nothing more to say to her. But Selphie's insistence and (he felt like a lovestruck fool thinking it) her angelic face both meant that he had decided a while ago.
Unbeknownst to him, his feet had already taken him to Rinoa's room. With a sigh, the gray-eyed male knocked on the door twice and waited. A couple of seconds passed and the door opened.
He found that he had never truly appreciated just how beautiful she looked, regardless of how he felt towards her right now. However, she was looking at him inquisitively and he had no choice but to say what was on his mind.
"Rinoa ... we need to talk."
--
It was an awkward date.
Well, there were many reasons of why Zell was currently whistling tunelessly and Quistis was trying her best to mark the remaining student body's examination papers. However, the most prominent reason must have been because it was only considered as a date by one of the participants; the other was simply 'accompanying a friend.' As Zell continued to whistle, the blonde Instructor raised her eyes up to watch him.
The brawler, eventually aware of this, stopped at once. "Oh, heh ... Sorry. Keep marking, Quis."
Smiling, she put her pen down. "Thanks, Zell. But, I've just realized that I haven't been paying you much attention. I'm sorry."
Zell grinned. "No worries. I know how much you like to - uh - pass students."
He refrained from hitting his head, at that point.
Picking up her pen, Quistis resumed marking. After placing the exam paper of 'Lyn, Jeanette' aside, she smiled up at Zell, who had a sudden urge to say what he thought about her.
"Um ... Quistis?"
The hesitant tone which he used must have worked, since Quistis stopped marking once more.
"Um, you know ..." He swallowed, then tried again. "I think I ... I think I l-like you."
--
Jamie was glad that he had decided to escort her to her dormitory. As much as he resembled Seifer at times, he and Seifer could not be more different. She looked back at him and watched him for a while. Ashibo, content on finishing off his burger, looked at Jamie, when he realized that she was smiling at him, and gave her a grin reminiscent of Seifer's.
As they stopped outside Jamie's dormitory room, he turned to her. "You'll be okay by yourself, right?"
Jamie smiled back up at him. "I'll be fine ... Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "Well, I'm pretty busy now. So, I just wanted to make sure you were gonna be okay by yourself before leaving."
She smiled back at him and as he outstretched his arms, she moved forward and rested her head on his lean chest. They stood like that for a couple of seconds before he bade her farewell.
"Bye, Jamie."
"... Goodbye, Ashibo."
But, as he walked away, Jamie couldn't help but have a sneaking suspicion that he was lying.
--
Author's Note: Oh ... I was actually planning to have this updated on my birthday (which was yesterday, by the way) but unfortunately, couldn't. Ah well, no worries. R&R, please!
But, before we go:
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NEXT CHAPTER:-
Plans could go into practice
Mission time!
The truth unveiled