Quistis felt his presence before she saw him, and
turned around in time to be shoved-though not as hard as she expected-against
the wall. The jade eyes she was staring into were blazing with green fire
and she vaguely wondered what she’d done this time. She didn’t wonder for
very long.
“No one gets away
with embarrassing me in public, Trepe, and that
includes you!” Seifer yelled.
Embarrassed
in…? Oh, that chair thing.
She squared her
shoulders, even though his hands clutched them, and raised an eyebrow, calling
on her self-control and dry humor. She was definitely not in the mood for
a fight. “You called me a liar. And I didn’t lie. I would
look better than you in a peach dress.”
He couldn’t help
it. The right corner of his lip twitched and curved slightly, and his
grip on her shoulders loosened. “I have to agree with you on that
one.” Then his gaze hardened. “But you still knocked my chair out
from under me.”
Was he trying to find something to be mad
about? Quistis folded her arms. “I don’t
normally indulge myself in such urges, but you deserved it.” Besides, she
added silently, the only thing that gets through to you is violence. Even
gratitude means nothing to you.
“No man deserves
public humiliation, Trepe.” Anticipating her
next comment, he shrugged. “Well, Eric does, but I’m not Eric.”
Her voice was
soft. “No…you’re not.” Then her eyes met his and she smiled
self-deprecatingly. “I’m sorry.” For not trusting
him. Or at least knowing she wouldn’t under similar
circumstances. She probably didn’t now. So it meant a lot when she said,“You are a better man.”
Despite what you did to that girl-Clasyl was her
name. But he was supporting her. Ma Dincht
was a bundle of information.
Seifer gazed into her deep blue eyes, somewhat warily,
because they held so much disdain for him in the past. But right now,
they didn’t. They possessed some level of understanding. “Any man
is better than a man like Eric.” Seifer
shrugged and dropped his hands. The urge to make her pay for his
embarrassment was gone. “I’m really not that much better. I’m just
a boy on a string.” Oops. He could have kicked himself. Oh
well, it’s not like Quistis Trepe
would know what that phrase really meant to him.
Her head shot up
and she took a step toward him. “What’d you say?” A boy on a string? Oh Hyne…it
couldn’t be…Oh Hyne. But then if it was true,
why wasn’t she completely disgusted with the idea? Because
he saved her? Because he was acting human?
No, Quistis, it’s because
it can’t possibly be him, so you have nothing to worry about! Seifer Almasy was as far from
musical as a person could get…except perhaps Squall, there was no helping that
one.
No getting out of
this one, Seifer. “I said I’m a boy on a string.
That string being the child Clasyl’s carrying,” he
said bitterly. I hope it isn’t mine.
No, her musical
buddy couldn’t be him. The song said he didn’t mind and Seifer obviously did. Quistis
released a breath she’d been holding. “Well, you did get her pregnant,”
she offered and regretted it immediately, as his face bent to inches from hers.
“Maybe I did,
maybe I didn’t,” he growled dangerously. “Not that it’s any of your
business, Trepe.”
Why did the sound
of his voice, so rough and primitive, send a thrill down her spine? When
had his voice become so…why was her heart racing? It wasn’t fear. Quistis was quite familiar with that emotion and this was
not the same. Unconsciously, she tilted her face upwards, closer to
his. His green eyes reflected surprise and Quistis’
face flamed as she realized what she’d done. She ducked around him,
facing the other wall as she gathered her composure. “I have work to do. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow, Seifer.” Proud that her voice remained steady, Quistis walked away, forcing herself not to run away from
his mocking eyes. He would love that.
“It’s going to be
interesting walking down the aisle with you, Trepe,”
his mocking voice, filled with silent laughter, made her stiffen
more than the implication of his words.
“Don’t flatter
yourself,” she called back acidly, but as soon as he couldn’t see her anymore,
she took off at a run.
Seifer leaned against the wall, green eyes hooded, as he
stared after her retreating back. He didn’t flatter himself. To do
so would be delusional and he’d lost too much during the war of Ultimecia to harbor any more illusions. Except,
maybe, deep down inside for the musical girl. But when Quistis tilted her face like that, he wanted to kiss her, wanted
to hold her, wanted to see if she was
really as icy as she acted-as icy as Eric said she was. And it made no
sense because it was Quistis Trepe.
Quistis Trepe who taught
him to be a failure, Quistis Trepe
who treated him like the dirt she walked on, Quistis Trepe who he couldn’t
stand. He wasn’t going to deny that she was attractive. Hyne, one would have to be blind not to see that Quistis was beautiful and extremely sexy, despite her
librarian personality and style. Seifer was definitely
not blind. He shook his head. Chalk it up to your hormones, Almasy! You haven’t gotten laid since Clasyl-his pride added in that his abstinence was by
choice-and the thought of being kissed by a beautiful woman just got you a
little randy. That’s all.
Why had she
looked so worried when he said he was a boy on a string? The only person
he’d ever said-sang-that to before was the girl…His
eyes widened. It couldn’t be! There was no way such an icy woman
would show that much emotion to a perfect stranger; she didn’t even show her
friends. On the other hand, Seifer didn’t
either. His brow furrowed. The girl couldn’t be Quistis…
Could she?
“BAH!” Seifer swung around and punched the wall. Her
identity was driving him mad, but the idea of his dream girl being Quistis didn’t sit particularly well. And he was sure
that if the girl found out that she was trading tapes with the lapdog she
wouldn’t be interested anymore. Plus there was the wedding to deal with, Clasyl to deal with, too many things much more important at
this time than discovering who she was. He would listen to her voice and
dream. For now, anyway.
He carefully made
his way down the hall toward the music room and ducked inside. Not that
it mattered if anyone saw him, since he could come up with an excuse no
problem, it was just the thrill. He made his way over to the piano and
listened to her voice. Most of the song was a cappella and her voice
handled it brilliantly, never losing a note, never going flat or sharp, just
perfect pitch. It soared, it was quiet, and it was peaceful. But
the words told him that she felt the same way towards him. All the more reason not to reveal who he was yet. And
some part of him demanded that he be honorable and not find out who she was
either. Yet that didn’t mean he couldn’t tell her who he was.
Since Seifer didn’t have his guitar, he played a chord on the
piano-all Garden members must pass a piano proficiency test before graduation*-
and cleared his throat, before pressing record.
And
I’d give up forever to touch you
‘Cause
I know that you feel me somehow
You’re
the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be
And
I don’t want to go home right now
And
all I can taste is this moment
And
all I can breathe is your life
‘Cause
sooner or later it’s over
I
just don’t want to miss you tonight
And
I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When
everything’s made to be broken
I
just want you to know who I am
And
you can’t fight the tears that ain’t coming
Or
the moment of truth in your lies
When
everything feels like the movies
Yeah
you bleed just to know you’re alive
And
I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When
everything’s made to be broken
I
just want you to know who I am
And
I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When
everything’s made to be broken
I
just want you to know who I am
And
I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When
everything’s made to be broken
I
just want you to know who I am
I
just want you to know who I am
I
just want you to know who I am
I
just want you to know who I am
I
just want you to know who I am
Seifer rested his hands on the final chord, before
switching the recorder off and letting out a deep breath. His voice was
raw. He hadn’t put that much emotion into a song in a long time and it
took its toll on his voice. He swallowed and got up from the piano bench,
vaguely thinking that the song sounded better on guitar, but his voice couldn’t
handle another beating like that. Not without training. And if that didn’t give away his secret, he
didn’t know what would, besides coming out and saying it.
He was close to
his dorm room and precious sleep, when a familiar figure appeared in front of
him. It paused, and then was in his arms, clutching his waist in a death
grip. Seifer sighed and pushed her away from
him.
“What are you
doing here, Clasyl?”
The redhead
pouted and crossed her arms over her round belly. “I wanted to see you.”
Seifer ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.
“Well, I DON’T want to see you. Would you please leave me alone?”
Clasyl ignored the question-no, the command. “You
don’t mean that, Seifer. Hyne
wouldn’t allow us a baby if we weren’t meant to be together!”
“I’m afraid
that’s NOT how the world works, Clasyl. Go
away.” And he started for his dorm again. She grabbed his arm and
opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her by yanking his arm away and
pointing a finger in her face. “I’m not
interested. GO AWAY!” Muttering obscenities under his breath,
he disappeared into his room, and Clasyl heard the
click of the lock.
Her brown eyes
widened and she spun away, angrily, striding-waddling-toward the lobby where Ma
Dincht waited. A figure in the shadows caught
her attention and she watched it from the corner of her eye. Ah, Quistis Trepe. The woman
who was arguing with Seifer earlier and attempted to
get him to kiss her was now lurking around his dorm. Like her Seifer
would ever kiss that tramp, throwing herself at him like that. With a
loud scoff, Clasyl marched into the lobby and went
over to Ma Dincht.
“I’m ready to
go,” she muttered.
As she turned to
leave, she saw Quistis disappear down the dorm
hall. Her brown eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. Her hands
tightened into fists as she followed Ma Dincht to the
parking lot.
Seifer was hers.
**********************************
A/N: SORRY! I was away for the weekend,
and I was searching for an appropriate song for the chapter. Had to
settle for “Iris” by the Goo Goo
Dolls! ^_^ Wow, I’m honored by the number of reviews I’ve gotten! *gleeful
jumping* And my hair is fuschia,
naahahha! A good weekend. SO
THANK YOU!
QuistisTrepe1402-maybe she will, maybe she
won’t ^_^ and seiftis is the ULTIMATE FFVIII pairing
Sabacat-eep, now? How about now?
VegaKeep-can’t have too much trouble yet, ne?
Quistis88-I hope this is soon enough
*cower*
Seyenaidni-aww, you’re here so I don’t need to resort to
violence ^_^
Glacial
Stella Anon-*barely made the deadline*
Well, it was a bit OOC for Quisty, but I figured that
a person was bound to get a little frustrated when another person who saved her
life treated her badly, you know? Oh well, glad you’re still reading ^_^
Gold-O_O author of “In
Whose Name?” *GLOMPS*
thank you for reading!!!
Dragon Princess Isis-good stuff, I’ll try
and read it!
Lovexfool-ooooh, what kinda
socks? And I made another fave stories list! YATTA!
Alonia Everclear-AHHH,
don’t stab yourself!!! I FORGIVE YOU! *HUGS*
Waterff-aww, thank you! I do the same thing…the beat
may be good but if the lyrics are trite, I won’t like the song
Lexiter Jackson-I GET A COOKIE! Spice cookie? ^_^
I will brainwash you onto the side of Seiftis!
*giggle* Let Squall have Rinoa, give Quisty a REAL man *ahem* sorry
Blitz Babe-ooh, a long review! And I get
ANOTHER cookie! YES! I’m so glad you like it
Kay Thomas-Seiftis
is the best pairing ever!
Slice of Zucchini-I hear that…although I
would prefer my BEDROOM floor *ahem*
Effingdoris-no, you don’t suck! You read it, afterall! And I appreciate it!
Cara-eep, I hope
this is still fast :P I always thought Seifer was honorable, even though other people saw him
differently, and stands up for what he thinks is right, whether it is or not,
you know?
Megs-ANOTHER FAVE LIST! I’m doing good! *blush* And I have a feeling
that all the insults aren’t meant literally
Emerald-queen-ack,
don’t die! I’ll keep going!
Aeris Deathscythe-thank
you! Speaking of good stories, are you going to continue “Moulin Rouge! FF8 Style”? ^_^
Akira Silveracious
Majere-I love Macross and
Yoko Kanno is a brilliant composer
Rose Mochazuki-wow,
thank you! ^_^ I’m working on “The Way the Wind Blows” actually…I want to
finish this one and “I For You” first cause those are the ones foremost in my
mind. But definitely after those two are done ^_^
And thank you to EVERYONE and anyone I
missed! I love you all! Just remember, I love you more if you
REVIEW
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