The first person she saw the next morning
was the one person she didn’t want to see most. Fortunately for her,
Quistis had developed the habit of surveying her surroundings before she
continued out of her room, thus she spied Eric and ducked back into her room
before he spotted her.
Why the hell was
he hanging around this hall of dorms when his was on the other side? The
idea that she knew exactly why he was hovering there had a sick feeling rising
up in her stomach, and she sank to her knees, clutching it. How long was
he going to stay there? Because of her injury, she’d already slept longer
than she normally did, and her head was beginning to ache. Not only from
the bump on it, but from the lack of caffeine. Quistis needed coffee,
plain and simple. Without her morning cup, she would die a slow and
painful death. Well, not really, but her head would pound like a bitch,
making her very grumpy and quite able to live up to her nickname.
She leaned her
head against the door and stared at the clock. 12:13.
Almost exactly two hours later than her daily cup of coffee.
Crossing her arms, she gazed at the ceiling. Was it always textured like
that? Then she gazed out the window. Nice and sunny. Dammit,
she thought grouchily. Her eyes moved to the floor. Gee, the tiles
sure made interesting patterns. Convinced that she’d spent quite enough
time waiting, she turned in a circle on her knees and opened the door a crack,
then shut it almost immediately. He was still there! Her eyes went
to her clock and widened.
A pounding on her door-and therefore, her back-made her jerk up,
blinking rapidly. Where was she? Even as the pounding
continued, she swallowed and regained her bearings. She was in her
room. Everything was fine. The clock read
It wasn’t
Eric. She tried to slam the door anyway, but was stopped by a strong hand
closing over her wrist. Green eyes glared at her, and Seifer barked,”
Hyne, Trepe, how long does it take for you to an answer a simple knock?!
Did I interrupt something?” His eyes moved mockingly over the empty room
and back to her. “All alone? Wouldn’t have thought you the type, Trepe.”
It took a moment
for Quistis to realize the implication of his words and her blue eyes
narrowed. “That,” she said coldly,” is not even worth an answer.
What do you want?”
Seifer leaned
against the doorjamb, effectively blocking any movement of hers to escape,
either into the room or out of it. “I was sent to find out why you hadn’t
appeared yet. Everyone was worried that maybe your head was more injured
than we thought.”
That had Quistis
blinking. “Everyone?” she repeated.
Seifer
shrugged. “Well, Rinoa, Selphie, and Lex were. And
their boy-toys.”
“Just because
you’re jealous that you don’t have a woman doesn’t mean that they’re boy-toys,
Seifer,” Quistis shot back. “I’m fine, and I’m late, as you pointed
out. Excuse me.”
The blond
straightened and glared down at her. “For your information, Trepe, I
could have any woman I wanted. Any woman, anytime,
anywhere. I just choose not to be on a leash!”
“I’d say getting
an innocent girl pregnant and abandoning her, just to have her show up again,
is a pretty tight leash, Seifer!”
As soon as the
words escaped, she covered her mouth with her hand, blue eyes wide over the top
of it. Had she just said that? Her eyes met his and his face was
impassive. “That was low, Trepe,” he said finally. “Even though you hate me. That was low.” Without
another word, he spun on his heel and walked away.
She watched him
go, arms dangling helplessly at her sides. She wanted to apologize,
wanted to tell him that she hadn’t meant it, wanted to blame it on her bad mood
and injury, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth and call him
back. Damn your pride, Trepe! Just…damn you.
Slowly,
ashamedly, she headed for the cafeteria, certain that the whispers and giggles
she heard were all directed at her, her accident, and her loss of
control. She looked a mess and she knew it, knew they were talking about
it. Of course, no one really thought that, but it was enough for Quistis
Trepe to imagine that they were, enough to put her in
a depressed mood. She entered the huge dining hall, located her friends,
and trudged over to them. Seifer wasn’t among them.
“Quisty!” Selphie greeted her with her usual exuberance, but
concern flickered through the emerald green eyes. “Are you okay?” she
asked softly. Quistis forced a smile for her empathetic friend, but knew
that the brunette wasn’t fooled.
“I’m fine,” the
blond reassured them and took a seat. A steaming coffee cup was shoved in
her direction, and she took it with a grateful look at Selphie, raised it to
her lips, and felt the pain cease.
Selphie, biting
her lip, sat back down and leaned forward, green eyes glittering
suspiciously. “You slept awfully late,” she pointed out innocently
enough. “Normally your caffeine headache would wake you up.”
Taken aback at
Selphie’s double-layered statement, Quistis nearly slopped her coffee onto her
clothes. Her blue eyes rose to Selphie’s, who smiled sweetly. “I
guess it wasn’t bad enough today.” Selphie’s lips tightened and she was
still only for a moment, before she stood, slammed her hands down on the table
and leaned over, putting her nose to nose with Quistis.
“Quistis Trepe,
was Eric waiting outside your dorm?!” she demanded. The shock in Quistis’
eyes was answer enough for the petite brunette. She put her hands on her
hips and faced Squall. Her voice conveyed everything she had to say about
that fact through one word. “Squall!”
The Commander was
on his feet before Selphie finished the drawn-out syllable of his name.
His blue-gray eyes bored into Quistis. “SeeD Trepe, was he waiting for
you? Was there any harassment of you? Any
threats?”
Quistis slowly
shook her head. “He was just out there…and I didn’t feel like dealing
with him or any thing he had to say.” Lex put a sympathetic hand on her
shoulder. Squall sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair; he looked
at the angry Selphie.
“Selphie, I can’t
do anything to him if he’s done nothing.”
The brunette
stamped her foot. “It’s STALKING!”
Though
Until Rinoa
asked,” Where’s Seifer?” Quistis barely managed to hide her wince,
disguising it as a cough. The ebony-haired sorceress glanced at
Quistis. “Didn’t he come get you?”
“Yes,” the blond
responded through her coffee cup. “He-uh, he didn’t stay long.”
“Strange,” Rinoa
murmured, resting her chin in her hand. “He said he’d be back right after
he went to check on you.”
“He left before I
did.” That was a true statement, Quistis told herself. He stormed
off cause I said something uncalled for. Why do I always end up sending
him off angry with me? Why does it matter, Quistis? Do you feel
guilty for treating him badly when he saved you? You wouldn’t be extra
nice if Zell or
“Hello!
Hyne to Quisty, Hyne to Quisty! Wake-up in there!”
Quistis blinked
and drew back at the too close hand waving in front of her face. She
looked up into Zell’s sky blue eyes. “Er-sorry.
I was thinking.”
“I’ve never known
you to be spacey, Quisty,” Zell remarked, then took a bite of hot dog.
“We’ve been calling your name for a good two minutes!” At least, that was
what Quistis thought he said; she really couldn’t tell through the mouthful of
hot dog.
“Sorry,” she
murmured. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
The group gave
her matching strange looks.
She held up her
hands. “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine!” She ignored the skeptical
glances, and took a sip of her coffee. “So why were you calling my name?
“We were discussing times available for us to go look
at dresses,” Rinoa told her, excitement making her dark eyes sparkle.
“What’s good for you?”
“Me?” Quistis
paused, then shrugged. “I’m free whenever.
Just tell me in advance.” It’s not like she had classes to worry about teaching
anymore. No, she wasn’t still bitter. Okay, maybe just a little.
Rinoa leapt up
and threw her arms around the blond. “Oh, thanks so much, Quisty!”
An eyebrow raised
and Quistis stared at her in confusion. “For what?”
“Agreeing to go tomorrow!” Rinoa said with a happy grin.
“Tomorrow?” I’m so lost, Quistis thought. But
what am I doing tomorrow? Absolutely nothing.
She smiled. “Tomorrow would be great.”
Seifer threw his
head back, shaking the sweat from his forehead and eyes. His grip on
Hyperion tightened as he faced yet ANOTHER T-Rexaur. He’d been steadily
killing them for the past hour without any magic at all, and he still couldn’t
get her comment out of his mind.
Why did it hurt
so much? If it had been anyone else, he would have blown up at them, made
them wish they’d never been born, possibly even give them a couple of
scars. But when she’d said it, it hurt.
Hurt somewhere in his chest. Like someone had
gripped his heart and squeezed. And despite popular belief, Seifer Almasy
had a heart. He just kept that fact well-hidden; hidden enough that he
sometimes forgot its existence. And then Quistis Trepe had to run her
mouth at him and it suddenly reappeared.
“Damn her!” he
cursed, and charged the growling beast. “No Mercy!” he yelled.
“Fire Cross.”
It was
done. Damn easy monsters. He pulled out a Phoenix Down and uncapped
it, preparing to toss it on the giant creature, but a voice stopped him.
“Seifer.”
He growled, low
in his throat. It was HER voice. He didn’t face her, but he capped
the bottle and put it back in his pocket. “Trepe.”
“Seifer…about
what I said earlier…”
“Forget
it.” Now he did face her. “Are you done yet? I’m training.”
Her blue eyes
narrowed, but she forced herself to take a deep breath. “About what I
said earlier-“
“Hyne, Trepe, leave it be. I’m busy at the moment. And you’re
bugging me.”
“Am I mistaken or
do you just not WANT to hear my apology?” Quistis asked through gritted teeth,
hand dangerously close to Save the Queen. It closed around the handle as
he sneered at her.
He laughed
mockingly. “An apology, Trepe? Is that
what you call it? I call it you trying to not feel guilty for a low
blow.” A warning note appeared in his voice as she began to withdraw her
whip. “I wouldn’t, Trepe. I’m not in a good mood.”
Not a
warning. A challenge. At least that’s how
Quistis saw it. Ignoring him, she slowly uncoiled Save the Queen from her
side and snapped it on the ground in front of him.
Seifer didn’t
flinch, just shrugged out of his trench coat and raised Hyperion. His
well-muscled arms gleamed under the lights of the training center, reflecting
off the sweat on his skin’s surface. They flexed as his grip tightened
and Quistis found herself wondering what she’d gotten herself into. No
question, the fight was going to be long and hard, and she was glad that she
hadn’t worn her uniform.
They sized each
other up, not a hard task since they’d been working together for such a long
time, before the distant firing of a gun-probably handled by a cadet-signaled
the beginning of their fight. Quistis eyed him, careful to keep her
distance from his deadly blade. Her whip was a long range weapon,
contrary to his, and to get close was instant defeat. She struck out with
it, wrapping around the blade of Hyperion, and attempted to yank it out of his
grip, but he jerked it back and Quistis felt her arm wrench. She gritted
her teeth and with a flick of her wrist, Save the Queen returned to her.
Seifer charged, with his normal position, leaving his guard open, and sliced,
once, twice, forcing her back, forcing her to defend and not attack. And
he was holding back, too, the bastard. Her blue eyes were cold as she
quickly, keenly, took in her surroundings. Her eyes focused, only
momentarily on a high branch above them, before returning to Seifer’s form and
sidestepping out of the way of his attack. Taking the chance, she lashed
out, feeling the whip close around the strong metal and swung up and over his
body, twisting to push him with her legs. They caught him square in the
back and he stumbled, but kept his balance. His eyes spat green fire as
he turned to face where she stood with a raised eyebrow.
“Confident, Trepe?” When she didn’t say anything,
Seifer smirked. “Then how about upping the stakes?”
“There are no
stakes, Seifer.” Just pride.
“So it won’t be
too hard to up them will it?”
“What did you
have in mind?” she asked, crossing her arms but leaving Save the Queen dangling
from one hand.
He thought a
moment, before he said,” If you win, you can request whatever you want from
me. And when I win, I can do the same to you.”
Arrogant bastard. But if Quistis said no, he’d take it
for a sign of weakness and throw it in her face whenever he had the
opportunity. So against her better judgment, she agreed, and took up her
position once again.
Completely unprepared for his onslaught. Before she
could blink, he was in front of her, thrusting and slicing at her quickly
moving body. It took all of her concentration to avoid the constant, fast
attacks that she was certain would take off a limb if they hit. He left
her no time to use her whip, no time to get a better position. His power
was incredible, and Quistis found it hard to plan a move when she couldn’t
think without being hit. So she attempted her last successful move.
But this time, he caught the whip with Hyperion as it flew towards the beam,
and jerked it from her hand, spinning around to hold Hyperion with Save the
Queen wrapped around it, to her pale throat.
They stared at
each other for a long moment, before Seifer stepped away and unwound Save the
Queen. He handed it back to her, before resting the gunblade on his
strong shoulder. “Well, Trepe, I win.”
She inwardly
cringed, but forced herself to remain calm and collected. He had indeed
won. Oh, the humiliation that was about to come to her. “What’s to
be my punishment, Seifer?”
He tsked at her
and leaned forward cockily. “Now now, Trepe, let’s not be a sore
loser. You should ask what I want you to do.”
Her azure eyes
narrowed, even as she inclined her head. “What do you want me to do,
Seifer?”
Seifer regarded
her for a long time, looking her up and down-it made her spine tingle-, nothing
of what he was thinking showing his jade depths. Then without a word and
a gesture for her to follow him, he turned and headed to the secret area.
Warily, she followed him. What was he going to make her do?!
Satisfied that it was empty, Seifer leaned his back against the wall, resting
his elbows on the top of it. Still he said nothing.
“What do you want
me to do, Seifer?” she repeated, the beginnings of annoyance in her voice.
Another long
pause before a challenging look filled his gaze and he smirked. “I want
you to kiss me. On the lips.”
Quistis couldn’t
contain the gasp that escaped. “What?!”
“You heard me,
Trepe. And we had a deal.” His green eyes laughed at her.
“But-“
Coward, his eyes
said. You’re a coward, Trepe. She stiffened and, throwing back her
shoulders, headed for him, blue eyes unreadable.
Just a peck, Quistis. That’s all you’ll give
him. And then go rinse with mouthwash for a couple hours. I’m not a
coward, she told herself, as she rose onto the balls of her feet and pressed
her mouth against his.
But what she
intended disappeared as soon as their lips met. All thoughts vanished
from her mind, except for the feeling of his mouth on hers. She heard
nothing, felt nothing but him. There was barely controlled fire on his
lips, fire coursing through his veins. That’s what he was, a firebomb on
the verge of exploding. It was intoxicating. Her head began to spin
as the kiss continued. What was going on inside of her? Why did she
feel like this? Why was her chest aching all of a sudden? She’d
never felt like this-like she was about to go up in ashes-before; why Seifer?
That was what
brought her back to reality. His name.
She’d kissed Seifer. She hadn’t just kissed him. She’d kissed him. And liked it!
Quistis, what is wrong with you, she asked herself, staring up at the blond man
in front of her, blue eyes swirling with
confusion. Amazed to find that his own green
eyes were bewildered as well. Scared of what she felt, while just for
that moment, she stepped back, lips parted in shock, unable to speak.
Seifer recovered
himself first, and his customary smirk appeared. “Hyne, Trepe, didn’t
know you wanted me that bad. I was expecting a peck, if I got
anything. Harboring a secret crush?”
She snorted and
tossed her head, resting a hand on her hip. “Couldn’t take the heat,
Seifer?” she shot back.
“Heat?” he threw
back his head and laughed. “Eric was right, you ARE frigid. And all
I got was a kiss.”
Quistis Trepe
didn’t move a muscle. She gaped at him-no, through him-unable to believe
what he’d just said. Had he not felt what she had? Impossible, he’d
been confused too…right? But the hurt. It
started in her heart and spread to every corner of her body, and she blinked
back the tears, willing herself not to cry in front of him. She was strong, she didn’t need him or his approval. Who cared
what he thought anyway? Swallowing the lump in her throat, she
shrugged. “Takes a real man to turn me on, I guess.”
With that, she turned and walked away, head held high.
Before long she
found herself running, ignoring everyone she saw, ignoring the horrified looks
at her sweat-soaked appearance. Just ran to seek solace in the voice of
one who didn’t think she was frigid, who felt towards her the way she felt
towards him. And yet, even as she tried to keep her mind on the person
behind the voice, her thoughts kept drifting to Seifer. He probably
wasn’t affected at all, either by her kiss or by her reaction. That was
how he was, talking and laughing and smirking. He had no feelings except
for himself.
Gritting her
teeth, she struck a chord on the piano and played.
Still
can’t recognize the way I feel
Nothing
of what you said to me was real
And
you still can’t find the strength to apologize
You
just go on laughing and telling everyone lies
‘Cause
you wanted it all, wanted it all, you wanted it all
No,
and there’s nothing at all, there’s nothing at all, there’s nothing at all
Maybe
if you could see beyond your nose
Nothing
of what happened surely shows
But
your ego excelled and then your attitude
And
you went on laughing and shouting
It’s
all too shrewd
She choked back a
sob and quickly stopped recording. The other person’s tape rested
comfortably in her hand, and she slowly rose and headed out of the room, to her
dorm. She had to clean herself up.
Clasyl held back
a snarl as she hid behind a bush. She’d seen the whole encounter and was
furious. How dare that tramp touch Seifer?! As if Quistis Trepe had
some kind of claim on him. HA! Seifer was taken,
and no goody-two shoes ice queen-that’s what she’d heard people call her-was
going to take him away. And Seifer! How dare he let that
woman kiss him?! Brown eyes narrow, she turned and stalked toward the
entrance of the training center. The monsters stayed away, easily sensing
her anger.
When she reached
the main lobby, she held up a Garden Faculty member.
“Excuse me, sir,”
she said sweetly. “I’ve left something in my boyfriend’s room and I can’t
find him to get it back. Would it be possible for you to take me there?”
Even the Garden
Faculty member was unable to resist the helpless charms of a pregnant woman,
and he nodded, escorting her to Seifer’s room and letting her in. She
turned to him, gratefulness written all over her face. “Thank you so
much,” she purred. “I don’t know how long it will take me to find it, and
I don’t want to keep you…” Touched by her thoughtfulness, the man nodded
and turned away. He hoped her boyfriend knew what a prize he had.
Clasyl smiled to
herself as she shut the door behind him and surveyed the room.
She was in.
The fucking
bastard!
Eric’s grip on
his gun tightened. How dare Almasy touch Quistis?! Quistis was
Eric’s alone. Sure, he’d dumped her, but he could easily win her
back. She was a pushover who wanted love and gave her body to get
it. Eric thought Quistis was hot and pretended to give her love. It
was a good deal. And now this lapdog was trying to take it away from him.
The SeeD strode
to his dorm, wheels in his brain turning. Quistis would be his
again.
But how?
*********************************************
A/N: *dun dun dun* “Still Can’t…” by The Cranberries. EEPS, I’m SOOO sorry about
how late this is. It was exam week(that somehow
turned into exam month…), and I had NO time at all to type. This chapter
is a little bit longer than usual, and I kinda like it. Much Seiftis-y goodness, ne?! Dun worry, I’ll explain later :P I broke 100 reviews though, yatta! ^_^ THANKS SO
MUCH!
Glacial
Quistis88-I’m writing, I’m writing, I
SWEAR! And me <3 Seifer!
Megs-O.O Someone was insulting me? I
was talking about the insults Quistis and Seifer were throwing at each other!
^_^ Thanks so much!
Sabacat-the next part? Um..well…here it
is *sheepish smile* Clasyl is pretty bitchy. She’s turning out
differently than I planned.
Stella Anon-eek, I hate to think what
you’re going to say about this one! And this story should be no more than
15 chapters…otherwise I start to lose interest :P
Seyenaidni-Iris a FABULOUS song
Jean-chan-possibly! I’ll go download it
and look at the lyrics!
Dragon Princess Isis-talk about improving
the mood of the chapter! I always read through the chapter listening to
the song in it on repeat, to make sure it fits. ^_^ I’ll go read your story!
Lexiter Jackson-I LOVE SPICE COOKIES! In
fact, I have a craving…I’ll brainwash you eventually :P
Or any of the authors on my favorites list can too, probably better than I
*hint hint* ^_-
Mintaka-Welcome back! ^_^ What film is “Iris” from? I just listen to it to cry
Effingdoris-damn right it rocks! So many
weird looks from the people on campus :P And
yeah, she is, much to my dismay…I wanted her to be a more sympathetic character
but it just didn’t work out that way!
Slice of Zucchini-my floor first! And Clasyl as competition? Ridiculous!
Cara-yo yo! ^_^ And
I can’t tell you what will happen, it would SPOIL it! NYAHAHHAA
Blitz Babe-I assume drink on screen is a
good thing?(ooh that kinda rhymes!) And somehow
Quisty manages to stock up enemies no matter where she goes. If I were
her though, I would kissed Seifer like nothing else!
^_-
Lovexfool-I love plaid! I have a
pair of red plaid tights, they kick ass! *happy dance* My
story is loved!
Littlekmt-workin on it!
Dragoon3x-I shall try!!!
Emerald-queen-ain’t she though? Wonder
what she’s capable of… *thinks*
Yume-er…was that a trick question? ^_^
I’ve updated now…I try and do better next time
WaterFF-you get brownie points for signing
in! And you’ll have to wait and see ^_-
Setobsessed-thank you!
DTok-hyne, you reviewed a lot! *hugs* I’m
not sure what’s wrong with the first chapter, I’ve tried reformatting but it
doesn’t work. You shouldn’t have stayed up so late to read, though I DO
appreciate it! ^_-
And to anyone else who read but didn’t review(-_-), THANK YOU! PLEASE keep on doing what
you’re doing, as you all make my day!
REVIEW
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