Seifer stared at the couple.
Married? Hyne, he knew that Rinoa
and Squall were in love, but he didn’t know they were that in love. Willing to spend the rest of their lives
laying only one person? How boring. He was shocked. And
looking across the table, it was obvious he wasn’t the only one who felt that
way. Quistis Trepe’s
expression matched his own.
“Married?” she
squeaked. So
young? Then she cleared her throat and said in her normal cool
melodious tone,” So…what’s the date of the happy occasion?”
Nice recovery, Trepe. Seifer examined the
two holding hands. They looked…happy. Well, Rinoa
always looked happy, but there was more color in her cheeks, more sparkle in
her eyes. And Squall looked…Squall-happy. His lips may have curved
an extra two millimeters.
Rinoa tightened her grip on Squall’s hand and beamed.
“We were hoping next month! That is, if someone,” her eyes moved to Selphie,”
will help us plan?”
Selphie clapped her hands and let out a whoop. “Booyaka! I’ll give you the
best wedding ever, Rinoa, I promise!”
“I know, Selph, that’s why I asked. I have complete faith in
your abilities,” Rinoa laughed, the sound like
tinkling bells at Christmas time. She looked at Squall expectantly, who
tried to ignore it.
Seifer folded his arms and leaned against the wall, waiting for what he was sure was coming next. He
wasn’t disappointed. Sure enough, after being elbowed by Rinoa, Squall coughed and spoke.
“Um…we wanted you
all to be a part of the procession, if you all don’t-“
“Selphie, Quisty, Lex, will you be my bridesmaids?!” Rinoa
cut in, hopefully. “Edea’s agreed to be the
matron of honor!” Lex and Selphie
squealed in excitement, grabbing each other’s hands. Quistis nodded, pleased smile on
her face.
Squall turned to Zell,
“So Squall, Rinoa…who am I escorting?” he asked maliciously. Quistis’ back stiffened and her eyes iced over, the smile
disappearing, as he watched her make the connection. Lex and Zell.
Selphie
and
“Seifer.”
The blond man
didn’t move from his position, but his green eyes traveled to the speaker.
When he saw her, he froze.
A tall, willowy
redhead stood there, large brown eyes focused on the man leaning against the
wall. Her belly was rounded and it was quite obvious she was pregnant.
All eyes turned
to him as he pushed off the wall, expression neutral. “Later gang,” he
called back, grabbed the girl’s hand, and pulled her out of the cafeteria.
Quistis watched him go, her back ramrod straight. Seifer compared her spine to an iron rod once. She
supposed it was true, but the way he said it made her want to beat him on the
head with the aforementioned weapon. She and Seifer
had never gotten along, not when she was his instructor, not even since he’d
come back to make SeeD. She had approved when
asked for her opinion, but only because she thought he had changed. Like
so many other times, she was wrong.
Had he gotten
that girl pregnant? It certainly looked like it. Quistis wouldn’t put it past him to love her and leave
her. Hell, that’s what all males did. Like Eric. At least I’m
not pregnant, she thought, and mentally sent support to the redhead. That
girl would need all the support she could get if Seifer
was the father of her baby.
The blond woman
dismissed him from her mind and turned back to the others, who were paying
attention to the rapidly talking Selphie. She
cut in with,” Congratulations, Rinoa, Squall!
I’d love to stay and help plan, but I promised extra help to a junior cadet.”
Squall eyed
her. He knew her schedule better than she did. So she jumped in
with,” He asked me in the hall and I had nothing else to do. So I
agreed.” Without waiting for a reply, she marched out of the cafeteria.
She had a tape to
deliver.
*
*
*
“Clasyl, what are you doing here?” Seifer
asked, once they’d reached the privacy of his room. “And how…?” The
redhead burst into tears and threw her arms around him.
“Oh, Seifer!” Her arms
secured his waist in an iron grip, her rounded belly pressing uncomfortably
against his…*ahem*. Seifer swallowed, and
carefully set her away from him, gesturing for her to take a seat. Then
he waited while she gathered her composure.
“How far along
are you, Clasyl?” he finally asked.
“8 months,” she whispered, eyes downcast.
Seifer cursed, and put his hand on his forehead.
Right about the time they broke up. He drew in a deep breath. “Is
it mine?” Her deep brown eyes raised to meet his
and he sighed, refusing to acknowledge her wince. “Why didn’t you tell me
before?”
“My…Eric told me
that he would take care of the baby, it didn’t matter that it was someone
else’s. I, uh, didn’t tell him that you were the father.” More
tears streamed down her pretty face. “He dumped me four months ago-said
he found someone else- and took all my money, so I’ve been trying to raise
money to come and find you. I finally did. And now we’re together!”
His head shot up,
green eyes alight. “What do you expect me to do, Clasyl?”
She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “I told you, I’m not marrying
you. This changes nothing about that decision. If it is my baby,
I’ll support it…but I won’t marry you.”
Her eyes welled
up with tears and Seifer cursed, standing up.
“Come on, we’ll go see Edea. She’ll find
somewhere for you to live. You are NOT living with me,” he barked before
she could suggest it. Nodding her head miserably, Clasyl
followed him out of the room.
*
*
*
He left her in
good hands, late that night. Edea called Ma Dincht who agreed to house Clasyl
and her baby for no rent. After all, she was a lonely woman, because Zell was away so often, and she’d always wanted a
daughter. So Seifer drove Clasyl
to the house in Balamb. And she hadn’t wanted
to let go of his trench coat. He sighed. Like his reputation wasn’t
screwed up enough.
As Seifer neared his dorm, something tugged at his memory and
he swiveled around, in the direction of the music room. That tape he’d
left. Had that girl gotten it? Had she, dare he ask it,
responded? Well now that he thought about it, he needed to go check or it
would plague him that entire night while he tried to sleep. In fact, the
voice was all he’d been thinking about up until Squall’s and Rinoa’s announcement, and then Clasyl’s
appearance.
It was around
Her voice echoed
through the room. It was definitely her voice. While she was
singing a song completely different in style and range of the last one, there
was no mistaking the pure tones. The first song had shown off her
soprano, this song, a very husky low alto. Seifer
had no idea which he preferred. But the voice had lost none of its impact
on him, and he lowered himself to the piano bench. There was a connection
between the two of them. They understood what each other meant through
what they sang. Seifer listened to her song,
knew she was talking about herself, knew what she felt like. He was
stupid all the time, he faked his security, his arrogance, because it kept
everyone else from guessing the way he really was. Well, except for Quistis Trepe. She always
knew how to bring him down, could always see through his façade. Maybe
that’s why he really didn’t like her. And this girl could understand.
Seifer popped out the tape, put his in, and struck a chord.
The problems with Clasyl entered his mind, but he
couldn’t vocalize them without giving away who he was. And so he
vocalized through singing. She would understand what he was trying to
say.
They
painted up your secrets
With
the lies they told you
And
the least they ever gave you
Was
the most you ever knew
And
I wonder where these dreams go
When
the world gets in your way
What’s
the pointing all this screaming
No
one’s listening anyway
Your
voice is small and fading
And
you hide in here unknown
And
your mother loves your father
Cause
she’s got no where to go
And
she wonders where these dreams go
Cause
the world got in her way
What’s
the point in ever trying
Nothing’s
changing anyway
They
press their lips against you
And
you love the lies they say
And
I tried so hard to reach you
But
you’re falling anyway
And
you know I see right through you
Cause
the world gets in your way
What’s
the point in all this screaming
You’re
not listening anyway
Again, he let the
guitar fade out-considered that his signature-, stopped the tape, and sat for
awhile, thinking. The music room was good for that; no one was ever
there. He finally left, her tape in his pocket,
guitar in his hand, and the sense of doing something worthwhile in his head.
********************
A/N: “Acoustic #3” by the Goo Goo Dolls. As we get
into this story(yes, thanks to ALL my fans, I’m
continuing! *blows kisses*), you might find a couple more Goo
Goo Dolls songs, b/c I’m a big fan of them(well, not BIG, but a fan ^_^) Shout-outs:
Quistis88-YAY! You’re back and reviewing!
*hugs* Me love you much!
Cranberry13-good, I’m glad! I hope I
get to keep it! THANK YOU!
Sabacat-yay, you’re back too! I am much obliged! ^_^
Cara-you too! Oh the love *tears up*
Setobsessed-yes, I have this obsession with mushy stuff :P
Megs-your wish is my command! ^_^
Lovexfool-I’m working on it, thanks for the
support!
Darth Yoda Calumon
Rocks-this is what listening to “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and the Indigo
Girls on repeat does to you…I write in history class and boy is my grade suffering :P creativity spawns from music! Most of my
stories spawn from songs
Dragon Princess Isis-*bows before royalty*
I shall try to accommodate! ^_^
Heseret-I’m glad you think it’s original! ^_^ Me,
I’m starting to be reminded of Sleepless in
Renegade Seraph-lol!
Well the arrows seem to be working, so I’ll keep on doing it! ^_-
Angelus-That’s a good plan and something
like that might happen :P You’ll have to wait and see
(please do!)
Presentsgirl-thanks much! Something about Seifer always made me think he had one of those voices that
just AAHHH! You know? ^_- Maybe cause he’s just so sexy *meow*
Please keep on with the
REVIEWS
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