Author's Notes: ATTENTION! If you have not read the new revision of chapters 6 through 8, you REALLY NEED TO. Trust me. Some of the changes are big and important. And they WILL affect upcoming parts.

Now, onto why this is all so late. To be honest, I've had tests, projects, and finals all leading up to the culmination of my undergraduate degree. That is right, at this point I have added letters to my name. I now hold a Bachelors of Arts in English, making me an alumni, and a proud member of the class of '11 at my college. I graduated Magna Cum Laude, though that was only because they stiffed me with one arbitrary rule that prevented me from fully qualifying me for Summa despite my having earned it grade wise.

That being said, I spent a whole hell of a lot of time near graduation spending time with my friends and my boyfriend, and packing. After graduation I spent a LOT of time packing and closing out the house I lived in. Then, just as I get home, I'm almost too sick to live. Once I was able to think straight I launched myself into the final revisions, and finally have the whole of the story revised. Thus I can move on to the final interlude and writing new content. Isn't that amazing?

That said, I still HIGHLY ADVISE that people GO BACK AND READ THE REVISED CHAPTERS. I will say this again come Chapter 9. I WILL draw upon the changes in the new area, and anyone who hasn't read the old stuff by then, gets confused, and asks me a question that would have an obvious answer if they had read, well, I kind of have no pity as I've been warning about this for the last two interludes, and will do so for this and the new chapter.

Okay, done ranting and reminding. Without further ado I give you the final interlude, but a different sort of interlude indeed. Set a month after the second interlude.

A Firm Talking To

"What did you do?"

The question didn't even get Elijah to open his eyes, just earned a dismissive wave with his hand. Alana rolled her eyes, not surprised to find that the red-haired moron that was her rival for the most unfathomable reasons wasn't even willing to talk. That didn't mean she was going to back down and give in. That wasn't her way. Instead Alana moved to stand between Elijah and the sun, smirking as her shadow fell across the supposedly napping cadet's face. That, at least, got a reaction from the other sword fighter.

"Must you bug me, Alana? I was having the most wonderful dream," Elijah mumbled, still stubbornly keeping his eyes closed.

"Oh? And what in the world does your perverted mind find to be a wonderful dream? Tormenting poor Nomura?"

That got Elijah's attention quickly enough, and for a moment Alana couldn't help but mourn the fact that there wasn't a low hanging branch directly over his head that that Elijah could have bumped on the way up. Sadly the part of the faculty that dealt with grounds did very well at keeping all of the trees properly pruned, and didn't leave any low hanging branches at all, least some fool decide to climb, then kill himself with a fall. Thus Elijah was soon sitting up, his bright blue eyes narrowed and flashing as he scooted so that his back rested against the trunk of the tree he had claimed as a napping spot in the Quad.

"Unlike some people, I would never think of harming that kid. He's too..."

"Nice?" Alana offered as Elijah trailed off, before shaking her head. "You could have fooled me. Seems like he's been pretty out of sorts for this last month. And I think it's your fault."

"Blame the roommate. Nice, Alana. Real damn creative. Better chance it's Seifer than me. Or you, for that matter."

"Always trying to divert the blame," Alana sighed as she crossed her arms. For a moment she thought, then shook her head again and moved to sit next to Elijah. That, amusingly enough, seemed to make Elijah more shocked than the accusation that he did something to Nida. Interesting, and only further proof for Alana's suspicions.

"If it was Seifer, then I would have heard of you and Seifer having another one of your 'talks.' And it isn't like I've done anything lately to encourage or discourage his little crush, so it can hardly be my fault."

"His what?" Elijah demanded, eyes wider still as he leaned in closer. It was almost enough to make Alana laugh.

Almost.

"Some best friend you are if he didn't even tell you that. And some idiot you must be if you couldn't see it. The way he looks at me when he thinks I can't see..."

"Geez, Nids, gotta pick the prickly ones, don't ya?" Elijah mumbled to himself, shaking his head.

"Prickly? Just because I can hardly stand your lazy attitude doesn't mean I'm 'prickly,' Zale. And, as cute as Nida is, I doubt it would work out between us anyway."

"Why's that?"

"I can't stand you. He can. Proof of too extreme of a difference in personality."

"He can't stand me either," Elijah mumbled, perhaps thinking it too quiet for Alana to pick up, but she heard it none the less.

So there really was more going on. Interesting.

"If he can't put up with you, it's obviously something you did. Now fess up. What the hell did you do?"

"And why the hell should you care?" Elijah snapped, jumping to his feet and glaring down at her. "Miss high and mighty wants to come down and take care of the little quiet kid. Please. You only care about your classes and your damn sword. You're almost as bad as Quistis or Squall. Hell, even Seifer has more fun than you do, and more friends might I point out. And he's an ass."

"Did you know Nida's grades have been dropping? No? Why would you if you aren't in our class? Oh, right, you're his friend and roommate. Surely you should have noticed before a girl in his class. He's also taking rather poorly to combat classes..."

"Says the girl that started a year early," Elijah snapped, but there was obvious concern in his eyes at Alana's revelation.

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that I get to watch him in combat classes. We ARE in the same class, remember? I get to see him more than you do. At least I do these days, now that you're avoiding him."

"I am not."

"Then why does he always seem so bummed when he watches you walk past?"

Elijah didn't meet Alana's eyes this time, but she could almost feel the embarrassment radiating off of him.

"What did you do?"

"You seem oddly concerned about a guy who you said yourself you couldn't be interested in."

"Not couldn't. Just that I don't think it would work. But you're avoiding the question. What did you do?"

"It isn't any of your damn business."

"Come on. It can't be as bad as either of you are treating it. It's not like you kissed the poor boy or something."

There was no response save for Elijah's blushing, and Alana couldn't help but blush a little herself when she realized just what that meant. Elijah had... With Nida... Oh dear.

"You idiot," she snapped, smacking Elijah a few times, and taking a bit of pleasure in the way he flinched away from her, covering his head with his hands. "You damn idiot. What were you thinking!"

"I didn't mean to. I told him to leave it be!"

"So you kiss him when he doesn't?" Alana hissed. "No wonder he is mad at you. He must have been so confused."

"Hardly," Elijah said as she finally stopped hitting him. "He made it abundantly clear that he understood and wanted no part in it."

"And have you talked to him since?"

"Whatever," Elijah said, standing and dusting off the back of his pants. "Like you would understand."

"I didn't realize you were such a coward," Alana said, and smirked when she saw him freeze. Elijah was just so easy to deal with sometimes, no matter how strange the conversation.

"I'm not a coward."

"Says the boy who is running away." Alana shrugged and stood herself. "But you're right. What business of mine is it whether you care about Nida's feelings or not. Still, if it proves that he finally has grown up enough to see that you're hardly worth his time, maybe I should spend more time with him."

"You said..." Elijah said, whirling on her.

"That his friendship with you was part of the problem. But if it turns out that maybe he wasn't all that much like you after all..."

"Stay away from him, Alana. He's mine."

With that Elijah stormed off at last, and Alana couldn't help but smile. She knew where he was heading, whether he admitted it or not. If she was lucky she would see Nida acting like his old self in a few days now, once Elijah finally got the guts to stop running away from his problems. While Alana frankly didn't care about that, it did hurt her to see someone as nice as Nida hurting so pointlessly. Who knew, maybe Nida even benefited from having a friend as annoying and lazy as Elijah.

With a sigh Alana stood as well, dusted off her pants, and stretched. What she really needed right now was some more sword practice. Soon enough Elijah would be after her for a match because she had 'dared meddle in his business.' That made her smile. It was far more fun to fight with the lazy ass when he was angry than it was when he was depressed. When he was angry it was like a real fight.