Chapter 5.
IIiiII
"I've changed my mind." Seifer said, glaring at Irvine and glaring at everything else as well. "I don't like him."
"You don't?" Irvine grinned. "I knew the spell would wear off some people eventually."
The tall blonde rolled his eyes. "There is no spell, you idiot."
Irvine was seated in the cafeteria with his feet up on the table, Seifer pulled up a chair opposite and whacked the cowboy's feet off the top and out of his way.
"I just don't like that as soon as he walked in the rest of us get second class treatment." He grumbled. "We have to give up our rooms, our privacy, our lives…" He sighed. "It's not fair."
"What happened to your face?" Irvine asked, studying the other man's swelled bottom lip.
Seifer just glared at him.
"Sore point?" The cowboy asked. "What happened? You can tell me."
"You know Nida moved in with me?"
Irvine nodded.
"Well the little whore threw a party last night with loads of other male whores in hot pants."
Irvine whistled. "Sounds like my kind of party."
Seifer frowned. "Well Nida and his… friend were in MY bed when me and Zell walked in last night."
"Ouch." The cowboy chuckled. "You don't mean you and Zell as in 'You and Zell' do you?" He waggled his eyebrows at Seifer.
The tall blonde gave him a look. "Of course not." He frowned. "Anyway I slept on Zell's sofa last night." He arched his back wincing in pain. "Went back this morning-" He frowned. "And all my drawers had been emptied out and the bastard hit me."
"Nida?"
Seifer scoffed. "Please, no his asshole lover."
Irvine smirked.
"He got lucky." Seifer defended. "I was too busy calling Nida a whore and Zell was holding back one of my arms." He huffed. "I was ready to batter him too!" He folded his arms. "Zell broke us up."
Irvine nodded.
"If this new guy wasn't here Nida would still have his room, I would still be able to go back to mine, Zell would still have a sofa, and I wouldn't have a spilt lip or back ache."
"And I'd still be popular." Irvine added.
Someone scoffed causing the cowboy to look up over Seifer's head to see Zell standing there. "You're still popular, you idiot." He walked around the table and punch Seifer in the arm. "And as for you, go and ask Squall to sort out the room situation."
Seifer slumped further into his chair. "I'm not going crawling to Leonhart."
"Well you're not sleeping on my sofa forever either."
"I'll sleep in the quad." He grumbled.
"Like hell you will, get up." Zell said trying to pull Seifer up and out of his chair.
"What?" Seifer scoffed. "Get lost."
Zell frowned and tugged on Seifer's arm. "Get. Up!" He pulled hard.
"Ow! Stop that! You'll break my arm!"
Irvine sniggered in amusement, watching the two blondes argue. Seifer eventually got up and pulled his arm free.
"Now come and talk to Squall with me."
"No!"
"Don't make me hurt you, Seifer."
The taller blonde scoffed. "Like you could."
Zell kicked him in the shins, hard.
"Ow! What, have you been taking lessons from Fujin or something?"
"Come on!"
Seifer sighed and stumbled after him. "Alright, alright, just stop kicking me."
IIiiII
"There he is!" A brunette pulled her reluctant friend along by the arm and pointed out Evan, who was walking with Quistis.
"Keep up!" She hissed. "Or we'll lose him."
"I-I'm not really… into him." The blonde said.
The brunette glared at her friend. "You're- What?! Are you insane?!"
Her shorter friend cowered slightly. "I just err- I don't know- I just don't."
The brunette frowned for a second and then just shrugged. "Fine well…." She glanced up to see that Evan had walked too far ahead. "Hurry up he's getting away."
Quistis frowned at the girls trailing after Evan in the corridor. "Go away." She mouthed.
Evan glanced at her and she smiled sweetly pretending not to notice the girls behind them. The new seed went back to the map she had given him. They were of the Trabian mountains and Evan knew the mountains very well so he was going on the mission. It was between Evan and Selphie and Squall said Selphie would give him a headache.
"So, what's the deal with this mission then? Who hired us?"
"The mayor of a Trabian village in the mountains hired us but I don't know the details yet Squall will fill us in."
They were heading up to Squall's office for a briefing about the mission.
Quistis pointed to the trails on the map that Evan was studying as he walked, the blonde had to pull him by the arm to steer him around objects and people as his face was pressed into the maps and stuff.
They got into the lift and the blonde pushed the button for the top floor.
Evan was looking up from the paper he was holding so he didn't notice Quistis eying him up.
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear nervously. "Evan?"
"Hmm?" He glanced at her.
"I was wondering if- urm-" She fidgeted uncomfortably.
"If- maybe you wanted to- err- I mean- I wondered if you would- if-if you wanted to err- maybe- have- have a drink or something with me later?"
"In Balamb?" He asked.
She nodded.
"Sure." He grinned.
She visibly relaxed and smiled back. "Great, so how about tonight?"
He nodded. "Seven?"
She smiled. "I'll meet you at the front gate."
"Okay." He agreed.
The lift dinged and the doors opened on the top floor.
She smiled at him before stepping out of the lift and towards Squall's office. She knocked on the wood.
"Come in."
Squall was seated at his desk not even looking up from his work.
"Commander." Quistis said formally.
Squall nodded in greeting. "Quistis, Evan. Take seats."
They sat down opposite Squall's desk side by side.
Quistis frowned in concern at Squall. "Something wrong?"
He glanced up at her. "Take a look at this." He shoved something towards him.
She took it and her eyes widened, she glanced up at Squall and he nodded. "That's what I thought."
Evan blinked. "What is it?"
Quistis showed him the picture. It showed a strange lightly green girl with fairy wings and elf ears and long white hair.
"Who's that?"
"It's a guardian force." Squall explained. "I've never seen it in person but-"
"I have." Quistis said.
Squall frowned. "You have? When? Where?"
"A while ago now… about four years ago…" She glanced up nervously. "Inside Lunatic Pandora."
Squall swallowed. "Oh."
Evan frowned. "That was something to do with the sorceress right?"
Squall raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you got top marks in all your classes."
He shrugged sheepishly. "Well… high marks."
"Squall and I were in separate teams when I saw the elf girl." Quistis explained.
"Oh." He said. "So what the hell was she doing in the Trabian mountains?"
"Good question." She glanced at Squall. "Maybe we should get Irvine up here, apparently it spoke to him, though I didn't heard anything."
Squall nodded and pressed the tanoy button.
"This is Squall, can Irvine please come up to my office? Thanks." He turned it off.
"While we're waiting for-" Quistis started to say when the door burst open and Irvine came in, almost falling into the room. He straightened when he saw the three of them staring at him.
"Is something wrong Squall?" He asked, edging into the room, keeping away from Evan. He eyed the new seed suspiciously.
Quistis frowned. "Were you just outside the door the whole time?"
"I was passing by and then… I heard Squall's announcement." He explained.
Squall rolled his eyes, standing up from behind the desk. "Nothing, come here."
He stopped in front and to the side of the desk. "Here, look at this." He handed him the picture of the guardian force.
He nodded. "I remember her, the green lady." He nodded casually, looking up at them.
They looked at him as if waiting for more.
"What?" He asked.
"It's a guardian force." Squall said.
"I know that." He said.
"Quistis said she spoke to you inside Lunatic Pandora."
"Oh." He paled slightly. "Err- Y-Yeah I suppose she did. Why?"
"Because she's been seen in the Trabian mountains and we're been paid to get rid of her."
"Oh." He said.
"So?" Quistis prompted.
"So? What?"
"What did she say?"
He looked down and stammered a little. "Well -err- it's- personal." He fidgeted, glancing at Squall and then back at the floor.
"Personal?" Quistis asked.
"Yeah err- she- urm she seemed to be able to read my mind, she could see that I had-err- feelings for-" He glanced at Squall. "Someone."
The brunette flushed and fixed his gaze on his desk.
"She noticed before I had-err- have even noticed." He finished, studying the table as if it was the most interesting thing ever.
Quistis shared a knowing look with Evan. "She didn't speak to me or Selphie."
"She said something about reading people's hearts." He muttered.
"Maybe you should come with us." Evan said.
Irvine blinked. "Huh? What?"
"Maybe she'll appear for you." He glanced at Squall. "What do you think?"
The commander glanced between the Evan, an amused Quistis and an uncomfortable cowboy.
"Fine." He said finally, glanced reluctantly at Irvine. "Come with us."
"Great." The cowboy grinned and rubbed his hands together. "I'll be in your team right?"
Squall opened his mouth to protest. "Well that hasn't been decided yet."
There was knock on the door, they all looked up in interest.
"Come in." Squall said.
Zell marched into the room with a reluctant Seifer following him. "Squall we need you to sort out the dorm situation." Zell said.
"What happened to your face?" Quistis asked.
"This asshole friend of Nida's punched me." Seifer explained.
"What dorm situation?" Squall asked.
Evan looked away from Seifer who was glaring at him. "What did I do?" He asked.
"You!" Seifer pointed. "If you weren't here then Nida wouldn't have had to move out of his dorm and into mine! If Nida hadn't had that stupid gay party in MY dorm and trashed the place I would be able to go home! I wouldn't have a split lip from where that asshole boyfriend of Nida's punched me and I wouldn't have backache from sleeping on Zell's couch!"
Evan blinked at Seifer's rant. "Oh." Was all he said.
Zell ignored Seifer's outburst and addressed Squall. "Seifer hasn't got anywhere to live, do something about it."
Squall rubbed his forehead feeling a headache coming on. "What do you want me to do? He doesn't get along with anyone."
"I don't know. Kick Nida out or something."
"Why not give Nida Zell's dorm, which is a one roomed dorm and you two can share Seifer's two roomed dorm?" Quistis suggested.
"That's what I said." Zell agreed.
Squall sighed and shrugged. "Fine."
"So I'll have to help with moving again?!" Seifer huffed.
Zell punched him on the arm, not too gently.
"Ow!" Seifer rubbed his sore arm and gave Zell a light shove in return.
"Stop complaining! You wanted rid of Nida well now he's going and you're still not happy."
"That's that done, off you go." Squall waved them away.
Seifer muttered something under his breath and the two blondes shuffled off out of Squall's office again.
Quistis shook her head. "Those two." She said.
"So when do we leave?" Irvine asked.
"Tomorrow." Squall said. "We'll take the Rag to the base of the mountain and go up on foot."
"Who's going? Just the four of us?"
"The four of us are going up the mountain, we'll take a few others on the ship in case we need assistance." Squall explained.
Irvine nodded.
"We'll meet at the front gate in morning at 8:00." Squall said. "Until then go and help Seifer and Zell move out." Squall told Irvine. "In case anyone getting killed." He added.
Irvine turned to leave. "If Seifer gets punched in the face again I want to be there to see it." He grinned.
IIiiII
TBC