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Whispered Screams	By : AngryAngel Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 6957 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
The rest of Seifer's day
had passed rather uneventful. Some sloppy canteen hot-dogs, some Biology and
History, and a whole lot of boredom. Needless to say, he was glad when the
final bell had rung and he was able to weave his way out of the crowded school
building. He had run into neither Squall nor Irvine throughout the entire
afternoon, but as he came trudging into the parking lot, subconsciously keeping
watch for a certain black Honda, a familiar voice suddenly called out his name.
"Hey, man! Seifer!
Wait up!"
Seifer turned around with
his backpack already in his hand and his hair slightly ruffled by the afternoon
breeze, and his jade green eyes clashed with Irvine's sparkling amethyst ones.
The cowboy was jogging towards him lightly, one hand flat upon the top of his
hat to keep it from flying off. His lips flashed that typical bright
gigolo-smile, and a certain part of Seifer begun to wonder whether Irvine was
truly all that straight - there was just something strange and fruity
about him. For the second time that day, Seifer cursed his obvious absence of a
"gaydar".
"What's the matter,
Irv?" he finally asked, when his opposite had stopped short before him and
remained awfully quiet.
"Ah, well... I was
just wondering whether you'd wanna come to 'Ward's' with me," Irvine
explained casually, but Seifer didn't miss the anxious undertone to the
brunette's voice. "I'm on my way there for lunch and stuff..."
"... 'Stuff'?"
Seifer inquired with a kink of his eyebrow.
"Yah, you know... I'm
still working on that girl's phone number, and I, erh, figured maybe you could
talk 'ole Squall into helping me out."
Seifer's features writhed
in confusion. What on earth made Irvine think that he had some sort of standing
connection to Squall? Granted, they hadn't totally jumped down each other's
throat that day, but Irvine obviously wouldn't know about that.
Or would he?
"You want me
to talk to Squall?" the blonde asked skeptically. "Why me of all
people? You seem to know him much better than I do. I just moved here,
remember?"
Irvine shrugged
innocently, and he folded his arms at the crook of his neck.
"He-he. Actually, I
heard that you and him hit it off quite well in art class today. He doesn't
usually speak more than three non-consecutive words in one lesson, ya know...
so considering his standards and what I've heard, he's been a real
motor-mouth."
"Who the fuck told
you that?"
"Ah, just some girl
in your class that I know. Her name's Sue," he explained, waving his hand
dismissively as if swatting away a fly. "Anyway, you up for it, or
what?"
Quietly, Seifer weighed
his options. The idea of seeing Squall again rang distinctly more enticing in
his ears than the prospect of returning home to his trashed apartment. His
"roommate" Shiva was well taken care of, so there really was no
viable reason for him not to take part in Irvine's plan.
And thus, he agreed.
They each hopped into
their own cars and met up again at the very exit of the parking lot, and Seifer
wasn't surprised to see Irvine waving at him out of a bright red Mustang
convertible. It was a chick magnet if he'd ever seen one. He gave the other
youth a lazy thumbs-up through his rolled-down window, and then motioned him to
go ahead and take the lead.
They didn't drive very far
at all. Irvine had spoken true when he had claimed that "Ward's" was
right across from their school; it was barely three minutes away. They pulled
up at the side of the road right in front of it - a boxy, wood paneled building
that was painted in a creamy white color and crowned by a blue rooftop. Despite
the fact that most kids were already rushing to get home, there was still a
fair crowd of cars clustered around the parking lot of the restaurant.
Seifer leapt out of his
truck and slammed the door shut, and as he cast a quick look around, he spotted
a familiar black bike that was parked only a few feet ahead of them, safely off
to the side of the curb. For some reason, the mellow pace of Seifer's heartbeat
sped up ever so slightly at the sight, and there was a strange sensation of
butterflies exercising flips in the pit of his stomach.
Oh, he was definitely
starting to feel like a fan girl.
He trained his gaze away
from Squall's bike and to the building in front of him, if only to distract
himself. And as he now took a more detailed assessment of "Ward's
Diner", his eyes widened greatly in bewilderment.
The huge, stylized form of
a harpoon graced the diner's blue roof. Yes, a harpoon indeed, and it
just happened to take up about half of the building's length. It was painted
black and carved out of sturdy wood; if it hadn't been, its weight probably
would have managed to crush the entire complex. Seifer stared at it in childish
awe and it took him a moment to notice the blue neon lights flashing across the
entrance that spelled out the words "Ward's Diner".
"This is it," a
voice next to him declared unnecessarily.
Seifer turned and blinked
at Irvine, then back at the harpoon. With his lips curling, he jabbed his
finger at the strange object.
"What the fuck is
that?"
"That's a
harpoon," Irvine chuckled.
"No shit, smartass!
Why is it up there? I thought this was a diner and not a fucking fishing supply
store."
"Well," the
cowboy drawled, "From what I've heard, Ward's actually a retired sailor.
The entire diner is decked out with fishing supplies and other freaky shit.
It's really cool though. Come on! You'll like it."
Reluctantly, Seifer hit
the small remote control for his car alarm and followed Irvine up the wooden
stairs to the door. The restaurant still didn't appeal to him at all; whoever
had allowed this Ward fella to plant a 20-foot harpoon on top of his diner had
to have been on crack. It didn't surprise him that the auburn haired cowboy was
all over it, though - Irvine, too, had some strange quirks to call his own. One
day he'd probably open up a saloon right in the middle of town.
They pulled one of the
swinging double doors open and stepped inside, and Seifer had to narrow his
eyes against the dim light of the establishment that was so different from the
brightness outside. He could make out a large shadow in front of him, and when
he had fully adjusted his focus, the shadow phased into the tall, bulky outline
of a dark haired teen that was about his age, but had at least 250 pounds to
his name. The short-sleeved, dark blue waiter's shirt he was wearing stretched
tightly over his massive chest and shoulders, but his deeply tanned face seemed
oddly na�ve as he glanced at them from behind a small, wooden reception desk.
He looked like one of those guys that were really soft at heart, but way too
strong for their own good.
Irvine stepped up to the
desk with a blithe grin seemingly stitched onto his face, and he smoothly
raised a hand in greeting.
"Yo, Rai, how's it
going today?"
The other boy reciprocated
the grin and slowly begun to scratch the back of his head with one of his huge
hands.
"Ah, just busy, ya
know," he answered in a deep, husky voice. "Now that school started
again, ya know, it always is."
"Yeah, makes sense.
Good for business though, ain't it?" Irvine mused. "Hey, by the way,
this is Seifer, he just transferred from Balamb High. I thought I'd bring him
by for some of your Dad's famous burgers. Seif, this is Raijin. His father Ward
owns this place."
Curiously, Raijin blinked
past Irvine and laid his dark brown eyes on Seifer. The blonde smirked back at
him lazily.
"'Sup?" Seifer
grunted.
"Hoho... hello,"
Rai waved. "My Dad's from Balamb too, ya know."
"Cool," Seifer
replied blankly, already feeling his attention seeping away.
This was cool and all, but
hadn't they come to talk to Squall and that strange crush of Irvine's? Talking
to some giant kid who was obviously gifted with a brain the size of a pea just
struck him as a plain waste of time.
"Anyway," Irvine
interrupted the blonde's musings, "There's only gonna be the two of us.
And by the way, is Squall working today?"
Seifer's ears perked up
again immediately, feeding on the sound of Squall's name, and he zeroed his
lucid green gaze in on Raijin, who was nodding sheepishly.
"Yah. He works almost
every day now, ya know."
"Sheesh. Just how can
you stand his grumpy ass every day? Ah, whatever. What about Selphie? She
workin' today, too?"
"Yah. She's here,
too. Her school doesn't start again until next week, ya know."
Irvine's lips curled into
a cunning smile.
"Sweeeeet... just put
us in their sector then, 'kay?"
"Okay," Raijin
replied with an oblivious shrug of his massive shoulders. "You can sit
wherever you want, ya know."
Seifer took note of the
happy spark smoldering in Irvine's eyes, and he could only hope that the cowboy
hadn't seen something similar flaring up in jade green depths at the mentioning
of Squall's name. Having a crush was a pretty embarrassing thing, really, and
he'd prefer to keep it secret for as long as possible. After all, not everyone
wore their heart on their sleeve like Irvine did.
Silently, they followed
Raijin's lead to their table somewhere in the back, and Seifer was staggered by
the strange array of fishing rods, harpoons, stuffed fish, fish paintings and
other maritime oddities that lined the pale blue walls of the diner. Chairs,
benches and tables were made of rough furniture wood and covered with squishy
blue cushions that actually did look kind of comfortable. More than anything,
though, Seifer was keeping watch for Squall's lean frame, but for the life of
him, he couldn't spot the brunette anywhere. The place was pretty large and
jam-packed, and there were several waiters and waitresses in dark blue shirts
and little black aprons scurrying back and forth.
Suddenly, Irvine elbowed
him into the side rather painfully, and Seifer growled under his breath at the
gesture.
"That's her,"
the cowboy hissed excitedly, jabbing his finger somewhere to the right of them.
Seifer's eyes followed the
brunette's trigger, and they fell upon a tiny, dark blonde girl in a waitress
uniform who was balancing a tray over-loaded with glasses and plates, her
tongue stuck between her teeth in concentration. She was looking both of them
over with curious, large green eyes when she felt their gazes on herself, but
she did not reciprocate Irvine's silly grin.
"Heya Selphie!"
the cowboy shouted across the crowded room (and turned more than just one head
in the process), which only resulted in the girl blushing a furious shade of
crimson and quickly whirling around to run off into the opposite direction.
Seifer couldn't help but
snicker, and he punched Irvine's shoulder amicably.
"Smooth move, Irv. I
Hope you've got the wedding bands picked out already."
The dark haired teen
gnawed down upon his teeth at Seifer's taunting, and he shoved his hands inside
the pockets of his jeans while his lower lip jutted outwards.
"I'm getting her
phone number, and if it's the last thing I do," he muttered, the urgency
in his voice bordering to fanaticism that was worthy of concern. "No woman
can resist this charm!"
Still laughing, Seifer
continued to follow Raijin, but he quickly swallowed the sneering sound from
his tongue when he spotted a slender, dark-haired figure a little ways off in
the distance. The boy had his back turned towards them as he was wiping a
table, but even if Seifer wouldn't have remembered Squall's dark blue jeans,
he'd have recognized the smooth curve of his legs, the way his toned shoulders
tapered into a very slim waist and the fine strands of chocolate brown hair
swaying rhythmically with the brunette's every movement from a mile afar.
Instinctively, the speed
of his heartbeat jumped out of pace.
When Squall turned around,
a yellow sponge in one hand and disinfectant spray in the other, his dark brows
lowered at the sight of Seifer and Irvine approaching his row of tables.
Storm-torn, flickering eyes scanned over the older blonde's figure just briefly,
their expression arcane, but then Squall snapped his head aside and strode off
to resume his work at the other end of his sector, not giving Seifer even the
whiff of a chance to mutter a quick greeting.
Inwardly, the blonde
sighed with annoyance.
'Well... Guess we're on
ignoring bases again.'
Raijin pointed them to the
table that Squall had just wiped down, and they sank into benches across from
each other. Seifer's back was turned to Squall, but he thought it safe to
assume that the brunette wasn't heeding him with a single glance, anyway. There
was a faint smell of apple soap in the air; an effigy of the same scent that
clung to Squall's hair whenever he had washed it with his shampoo of choice.
Sub-consciously, Seifer decided to go shopping for that same brand, even if
he'd probably never end up using it.
On second thought, he
wanted to punch his own forehead at the mere idea.
'Godammit, what the
fuck is wrong with you, man? To buy his shampoo just because it smells like
him... dude, you're beyond any help.'
Angrily, he swiped the
menu that Raijin was holding out to him out of the youth's large hands, and he
begun to flip through the pages carelessly.
"Squall is gonna take
your orders, ya know," Raijin explained. "I gotta go back."
"'Righty, Rai, see ya
later," Irvine muttered absent-mindedly, his nose already buried in the
colorful menu.
Seifer glanced at him
irritably, and he tapped his index finger against his temple. To the cowboy's
bad luck, he posed as a perfect valve for Seifer to vent his bottled up
frustration.
"Shouldn't you
already know their menu by heart or something?" the blonde huffed.
Irvine looked up and
smiled from beneath the shadow that was cast upon his face by the wide brim of
his hat.
"Nah," he said.
"Ward has owned this place for about four years now, but he changes the
menu like, weekly. He's a good friend of Kiros Seagul, our gym teacher, and
Ward always makes him sample his new creations. Eh... I just assume Kiros is
the one chucking out half of them."
Seifer's face went blank
at that explanation, and he quietly shook his head.
'Freaks. All of 'em.'
Then, something else
occurred to him.
"So why don't you
just ask that guy for her phone number?"
"Huh? Oh, Raijin?
Nah, I tried. He said he couldn't do it 'cause she works for them. Pity."
"Gotcha."
They fell quiet once more,
and soon enough, Seifer had found something that seemed mildly appealing to him
- Grilled Timber Burger with mushrooms and fries - and whatever the hell
exactly it was, it sure sounded edible.
His head snapped upwards
in search for Squall, and as if their stunning brunette waiter had sensed his
cue, the younger teen was already walking up to their table from the opposite
side of the room. Seifer watched him silently and in a (what he hoped to be)
sublime manner, but deep within his chest, he could feel the strings of his
heart being tucked fiercely once more.
'Fuck, this is no fun.
Having a crush fucking sucks!'
Admittedly, Squall did
look cute in his dark blue diner shirt and the simple black apron that washed
casually halfway down his nicely toned thighs. From said apron the brunette
produced a small notebook and a pen; not because he actually had any need for
those basic accessories - his memory was what many would call impeccable - but
because he felt the strange urge to have something to hold on to. Stylish brown
leather bands yet again enveloped his thin wrists, but Seifer paid more
attention to Squall's dark grey eyes (which were stubbornly refusing to collide
with his own jade ones), than to such minor details.
'Why the fuck won't he
look at me?' the
blonde whined to himself. 'He's starting to piss me off.'
Seifer frowned as Squall
halted next to them and trained his distant gaze on the blue and white
checkered tablecloth. His slender fingers were forced tightly around the red
plastic pen, and his voice was monotonous when he spoke.
"What do you want to
drink?"
Unfortunately (and to
Squall's great dismay), neither Irvine nor Seifer were willing to place their
orders just yet, though ready they might have been. Their minds were occupied
with different, more important things. The cowboy leaned back and smirked
hopefully up at the brunette, who finally looked back at him with a pained
expression. The young waiter could already tell that this would turn out to be
difficult.
Some days, Squall Leonhart
truly hated his job.
Then again, he hated his life,
too, so what difference did it really make?
He shoved the thought
aside quickly. He needed this job, more than anything, and he'd rather force
himself to be semi-friendly than take any risk whatsoever of losing it.
Still... he couldn't be
bothered to actually be nice, could he? Straining his memory, he really
couldn't recall meeting all that many nice waiters in his life, so he could
hardly be expected to set new standards. He wasn't planning on it, anyway.
... Whatever.
"Heeey, Squall.
What's up, man? How are y--"
"Spare me," the
brunette hissed coldly before Irvine was even finished speaking. "I'm not
getting you her phone number."
Seifer almost had to bite
down a laugh at the severed look of defeat on Irvine's smug face. The blonde's
features went painfully rigid, though, when Squall twisted around to glare at him
instead.
"What do you want to
drink?" the younger teen repeated mechanically.
Irritation was evident in
the dark haired boy's voice when he spoke, and it caused Seifer to force his
face into a most neutral expression.
If Squall really thought
that his rudeness was going to make this any easier on either one of them, he
was definitely mistaken. He wasn't going to be treated like thin air again.
"How about 'hi' for
starters?" he suggested demurely, cocking one eyebrow.
At the other end of the
table, Squall's eyes were radiating murder, and the pen was creaking
dangerously in his hand. How he hated this. This stupid idiot was so fucking
arrogant, and no matter how hard Squall tried to ignore him, he just wouldn't
get the fuck lost, or at least stop bothering him. It was such a pain. Seifer
Almasy's smirk was so damn self-assured and cocky, like the whole fucking world
belonged to him and him alone.
Squall wanted to throw
something at him.
"I don't have time
for this bullshit," he snarled angrily. "Are you going to order or
not?"
The blonde cast a long,
lazy look around Squall's rather empty sector, indicating his skepticism over
the brunette's lack of time, then connected his gaze with Squall's tense face
once more. The brunette narrowed his eyes, and chocolate brown wisps of hair
flipped into his face when he lowered his head with a snap, thrusting his
notebook and pen back into the pocket of his apron.
"Hey, hey, hold on
now, hold on!" Irvine piped up quickly as Squall already turned to leave.
"Sheesh. Yeah, we wanna order."
The cowboy sighed and
blinked at the menu to recall his selection. Then, he shoved it across the
table and in Squall's direction.
"I'll take a lemonade
and the basket of breaded shrimp," he said sourly.
Wordlessly, Squall took
the menu and turned to Seifer, his eyes demanding a response - and a quick one
at that. Meanwhile, the blonde had brought one hand to his chin, and he was
scratching it thoughtfully as he held Squall's mortifyingly cold gaze.
"Are you always this
rude?" Seifer finally asked, his voice deliberately taunting. "Could
be kinda bad for business."
Squall's eyes were now
mere slits, and anger was clearly interlacing his tone when he spoke.
"Depends on the
customer."
"Oh really? So just what
did I do to deserve this?"
Surprisingly, the brunette
seemed taken aback by that question, and his mouth moved softly, almost as if
he was going to give some sort of reply, but then he sealed his lips together
tightly and his pretty features curled.
'Asshole.' He snarled to himself. 'Whoever
cares what you did or didn't do? Why can't you just mind your own fucking
business?'
Seifer began to tap his
fingers on the table complacently, pretending to hum a tune.
"I'm waiting,"
he declared lightly. "I don't have all day, ya know."
Squall growled furiously.
"Look, what do you want?"
he snapped. "Why the fuck are you here?"
Irvine cast confused
glances back and forth between the two youths that were glaring at each other
competitively. He began to wonder; either Sue had been high on... something...
earlier, or she had been talking about a different Seifer and Squall - because
these two weren't getting along at all. Then again, he mused, he
probably should have figured as much on his own. He had known Squall since
kindergarten, and though the brunette's nature had been distinctly more cheerful
back then, he had pretty much turned into a downright asshole the moment he had
hit puberty.
Irvine sighed like a
wounded animal. At this rate, he was never going to get Selphie's phone number.
Meanwhile, in the face of
Squall's hostile outburst, Seifer merely smirked nastily and leaned back in his
bench to get a better look of the brunette and the fury that writhed each and
every one of his features. Part of him found that anger enticing, and another
part told him to stop.
He didn't listen.
"I'm here to
eat," he stated coolly. "Not more, not less. Got it, kid?"
Squall, suddenly realizing
that he had gone just a little too far (and not sensing the subtle lie in
Seifer's words), shoved the hair out of his face blearily and pinched the back
of his nose with a mute sigh.
"What do you want to
order?" he asked flatly, his eyes focused on some random pattern on the
wax tablecloth and his voice tight with strain.
"A Pepsi and a Timber
Burger," Seifer replied with a feral snarl. "Please."
Seifer was angry; probably
no less angry than Squall was. He had been hoping for some casual conversation,
damn, perhaps even a friendly smile on Squall's side for once, and instead he
got this. It was uncalled for, and it was unfair.
He watched silently how
Squall's pale hand reached for his menu, and for a moment he felt the strange
urge to stretch out his own fingers and run them across those smooth plains of
ivory skin. They'd feel soft, probably, and yet so different from those of a
girl. His throat tightened up at the thought, and his muscles started twitching
in anticipation as he studied those lithe, agile fingers.
Squall, however, had
caught Seifer's eye and instantly yanked his hand back as if stung. Clutching
the menu, he took a half-step back from the table and his breathing stilled.
Confused by that jumpy gesture, Seifer flicked up his gaze and looked at him.
It was then when, for the
very first time, Seifer thought that he saw something like fear or panic
simmering in depths of smokiest grey. A raw edge, a painful bitterness and a
shadow that swallowed all brightness from those eyes... even an idiot
could see that this was fear in all its purity.
Seifer blinked, his face
immediately losing its harshness at this realization, and he opened his mouth
to say something useless, but Squall had seized his chance all too rapidly and
was already hurrying towards the diner's kitchen. His flight instincts
functioned flawlessly, and Seifer could do little but gape.
"What the
fuck..."
The blonde begun to mumble
incoherently under his breath, still taken aback by what he had seen in
Squall's eyes. Why would the other youth be afraid of him? Why would he be
afraid of anyone, for that matter? He didn't understand.
Then, he reconsidered. He
remembered Squall flinching at his touch in gym class, recalled his outburst at
the school's spring the day before, and his incredibly strange behavior at the
lavatory. Something about this just wasn't right, and although he ignored the
reason why he cared, he knew very well that he did.
There was more to this
secretive guy than initially met the eye.
"Well, isn't he
in a chipper mood today," the cowboy in front of him grimaced. "And I
thought that he'd--"
Irvine broke off abruptly,
and one second later, Seifer understood why. He suddenly felt someone's hands
on his right arm, encircling it vigorously and giving it a fierce tug. Seifer
turned his head to the side and looked up.
It was the girl, Selphie
or whatever her name was - the one that Irvine was so fond of. She was standing
next to him, slightly bent over, and her little hands were clasped around his
biceps like vices. Her face was stern and focused onto his, and there was
something feral in her deep green eyes that called Seifer's senses to flip to
alert status.
What the fuck did she
want?
Across from him, Irvine's
jaw had dropped low enough to collide with the surface of the table. The cowboy
weakly raised a hand as if to snare the girl's attention, his face still blank
like a sheet of paper, but Selphie had her sights set on Seifer - for what reason
ever.
"Erh, Se-Selph?"
Irvine stuttered helplessly.
Her head snapped up and
she glared at him, wordlessly sticking out her tongue. Then, she re-adjusted
her focus on Seifer, and her pretty features twisted with the labor of trying
to wrench the brawny blonde out of his seat.
"Hey, what the
fuck... what do you want?" Seifer barked, and he swiped his arm out of her
grasp effortlessly.
She frowned at him,
fastening her hands around her hips.
"Come with me!"
she finally commanded with a hiss, her voice leaving little room for argument.
"Bu-but--"
"Oh, shut up,
Irvine!" Selphie snapped, and she was rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"I need to talk to your friend here."
Seifer's eyebrows shifted,
and he heeded her with a dangerous sneer. Just who the fuck did she think she
was to come barging in like that, demanding his attention?
"And just why would I
be interested in talking to you?" he hissed back banefully.
Once more, she glared at
him, and her little nose crinkled.
"Oh, you are interested!
Come on!"
She stomped off towards
the lavatories, and Seifer reluctantly stood up to follow her, if only because
her last statement had piqued his interest. He didn't have any idea what she
wanted, much less why she was so aggravated, but maybe her reasons would
intrigue him.
It was worth a minute of
his time, anyhow.
He stopped short behind
her in a separate hallway that led indeed to the diner's restrooms, and she
finally faced him with an expression that prophesized utter doom and
destruction.
"So!" she
bit insinuatingly.
"'So' what?"
he growled back.
Once more, she placed her
hands on her hips and did her best to try and stare him down - which proved to
be rather futile since she was about a foot shorter than he was. To her
defense, though, he had to admit that said disadvantage didn't quench her
efforts the least bit. For a little lady like that, she sure was a menace
alright.
"What do you want
from Squall?" she finally asked, clueing him in on her motives.
So that's what it was -
she had some sort of interest in Squall. He wasn't surprised. He should have
figured that he was butting into someone else's territory. And yet, Squall
hadn't struck him as the kind of guy that kept fan girls or stalkers, or even a
girlfriend for that matter.
Well, he'd figure out soon
enough which category to sieve her into.
"Uh... the fuck are
you talkin' about?" he asked, pretending to know of nothing, and he
shadowed his voice with a subtle note of warning.
"Oh please, I'm not
Irvine, you know," Selphie declared with a dismissive wave, and her
curled-up hair was bouncing lightly in an echo of the motion. "I'm not
that oblivious."
"Not sure what you're
getting at," he bit tightly.
"I watched you guys
talking."
He shrugged, his face
deliberately cold and arrogant. Inwardly, however, he was starting to feel at
least slightly on edge. Hell, if she had really recognized his interest...
"And?" he asked,
still trying to sound careless.
"Aaaaand I can tell
that you have a crush on him!" she declared bluntly.
Seifer's face twisted
immediately at that comment, and his eyes narrowed. Every muscle in his body
tensed in revolt at being confronted with her "knowledge" so openly,
and he snarled at her with thinly veiled hostility.
"Watch what you
say," he hissed dangerously.
She snorted coolly.
"I don't care
if you're gay, okay? But if you don't like people finding out, you might wanna
try and be a little less obvious."
"You little--"
"Tche. I'm not scared
of you," she shrugged her tiny shoulders, before her eyes lit up with
fierce determination. "But you better be scared of me!"
Now that one was comment
he hadn't expected, or much less been prepared for.
Just who the fuck
did she think she was?
"... Uh, excuse
me?" he scoffed. "You delirious or something?"
"Squall is my friend,
and he's had it really rough, you know! He doesn't need a jerk like you in his
life. I want you to leave him alone!"
"And just who are you
to make a statement like that? Don't be so full of yourself."
"Hah! You're one to
talk! You look like you've got an ego as big as the entire equator!"
They glared at each other
mutely, anger and irritation clashing in a disturbing duel of emerald orbs, but
then the words Selphie had thrown at him finally sank in, and Seifer relaxed
visibly as his mind finally latched into the discussion.
Something she had said had
definitely elicited his interest.
"What do you mean,
'he's had it rough'?" he asked slowly, cocking his head aside.
At the sound of his loud
voice softening, she finally seemed to calm down as well. Her green eyes
searched his, and she crossed her arms before her chest.
"Well... the kids at
his school aren't very nice to him, you know... and he works a lot to
pay for his motorcycle and his stuff for school. I know he's kinda... touchy,
but he's a really sweet guy once you get to know him! He can be so kind."
"... Do you
have a crush on him or somethin'?" Seifer inquired with a kink of his
eyebrow.
Selphie's face flushed
crimson at his words and she shook her head vehemently from side to side,
causing her heavily hair spray treated tresses to slice the air like
whiplashes.
"No, you jerk! I
don't!"
"... Hn. Just a
thought. Then why the fuck are you telling me all this?"
"Because you seem
like the type of guy who enjoys hurting others."
He paused at that remark,
and he had to admit that it stung... a lot. Perhaps because there was a great
grain of truth hidden in those few, challenging words. Indeed, she was all too
much on track - he had been one of the greatest jocks and bullies at his
old high school, but those days belonged to the past and he liked to believe
that he had changed - at least by a little. Sure, he still talked out of his
ass every now and then, but he usually hated himself for it afterwards. Olds
habits simply died hard. Generally speaking, he didn't even mean anything by
his rudeness.
"You're wrong,"
he finally said, the tone of his voice more coarse than usual.
"Oh, am I?" she
chirped. "I'm not so sure. You look mean."
"Oh, and judging
someone by their looks is all that noble, is it?"
The blush returned to her
face, and she seemed at least slightly flustered by his surprisingly wise
words.
"Well... no..."
she huffed, "But my first impressions are usually correct!"
He studied her face for a
long time, and she stared right back at him, defiance mirroring from the clear
emerald surface of her eyes. Seifer tried to be mad at her, but for some
reason, he couldn't manage. There was a certain type of sincerity about the way
she had approached him, and she obviously cared quite a bit about Squall's well
being. Maybe she was the missing link he had been searching for - someone who
was close to Squall and knew what the hell was going on.
"Alright
then..." he said, choosing his words very carefully. "What if I told
you that you were wrong about me being a jackass, but right about the other
thing?"
"The other thing?
What do you mean?" she asked, curiously so.
He groaned. Should he
really say this? After all, she was just some stranger, and a seemingly
kooky one at that. For some reason, though, he trusted her, if only because she
was worried about Squall and he himself was just so damned interested in
the grouchy brunette. Sadly, he was willing to do just about anything to find
out more about Squall.
"I mean... if you
were right about me being interested in him?" he pushed himself to say.
"What then?"
"Then I'd tell you to
stay away from him," she growled testily.
"For fuck's sake, I'm
not trying to hurt him," he snapped back in exasperation. "I just
wanna get to know him."
He leaned against the
wall, and she watched him drawing a deep breath. Inevitably, her frown smoothed
out at the sight. There was something honest and unguarded about Seifer's
helplessness - something truthful about the frustration painted all over his
handsome face. She was surprised that he was even talking to her, because
really, she had expected for him to punch her or do something else along those
lines after she had confronted him about his crush. Guys like him had a habit
of doing things like that.
Then again, maybe he wasn't
the type of guy that she had originally taken him for.
"Well..." she
started, shifting from one foot to the other and twirling her dark blonde hair
thoughtfully between her fingers.
He glanced at her from his
spot at the wall, his face gloomy.
"Well what?"
"I just don't want
him to get hurt. He's really not doing so well these days..."
Seifer straightened up at
her gingerly muttered words, his back still connected to the hard, wallpaper
covered surface behind him.
Maybe she did know.
"Do you have any clue
why he's not doing well?"
"No," she
shrugged helplessly, crushing his hopes. "He's pretty nice to me now that
we've been working together for almost a year, but he never talks about
himself. I only know that he lives with his parents and little sister at the
other end of town, and that he works here because he pays for all his stuff by
himself. It's a bit... weeeeird, you know, 'cause his Dad is a big shot lawyer,
I think. He should have a loooot of money."
"Hmph."
That was a lot less
information than Seifer had hoped for. After all, the girl was acting like she
was Squall's fucking mother. She was strangely protective over the brunette,
but didn't actually seem to know jack shit about him. It was kind of
frustrating.
Suddenly, something else
occurred to him.
"So... is Squall gay
or what's the deal?"
Selphie reciprocated his
attentive gaze quietly, screwing up her face. She knew that she should have
been prepared for that question, and for the very first time, she regretted
approaching the blonde in the first place. It was really none of this guy's
business what Squall was or wasn't - but then again, was it really any of her
business, either?
"Uhm."
"Uhm what?"
Seifer asked.
"I don't really
know," she explained, thoughtfully tapping her nose with her right index
finger. "As far as I know, he's never had a girlfriend. Then again, he's
never had a boyfriend, either. People don't usually stick around him
very long, because he's always so cranky."
"Any idea then as to
why he's such a grumpy ass?"
"Nuh-uh. I have no idea.
See, on some days he'll be very quiet and hardly say a word... then on others,
he'll be like, really angry and hurtful! It's kind of confusing."
She stuck out her tongue
again, and Seifer finally understood why Irvine liked her. She was cute,
pretty, brave and obviously, she was also caring; all very desirable traits
indeed.
The sudden thought of
Irvine stirred a shadow of guilt inside him, and he cleared his throat.
"Eh... what about
Irvine, by the way?"
Selphie blushed a violent
shade of crimson, and she dropped her gaze to the floor under incoherent
mumbles.
"Say what?"
Seifer inquired, unable to decipher her babbling.
"I said... What about
him?" she squeaked, the tone of her voice suddenly off by a few pitches.
"Well, he talks my
ear off about getting your phone number. He really likes you."
"Humph," she
frowned darkly, and her head whipped back up. "He's cute, but he needs to
stop flirting with all those chicks! I heard about it from Squall, and I see
him doing it here in the restaurant, too. He's not getting my phone number
until he grows up!"
"Alright, fair
enough."
They were silent for a few
moments, both gazing at the tiled floor to their feet. The situation had become
somewhat awkward, and Seifer was no longer sure whether it had been such a great
idea to clue the girl in on his wants concerning Squall. Then again, he had
never been one to cry over spilled milk - what was done was done, and he'd just
have to make the best of it.
Somehow.
"I guess I should let
you get back to Irvy," Selphie finally split the silence. "Your food
should be there by now, too..."
"Hn," he
affirmed with a low-pitched grunt.
"Hey, eh... listen,
uhmm... err...?"
"The name's
Seifer."
"Oh. Well, listen,
Seif... I'm sorry for being a bit, ahem... blunt?"
He gave a rasp chuckle.
"No shit,
missy."
"Yaaaaah, you see, I
really care for him! He's like a little brother to me!"
"... Little
brother?" he drawled skeptically.
Selphie's cute face
screwed into a frown, and she stuck out her tongue once more. Seifer couldn't
help but smile at the gesture. He'd definitely have to let Irvine know not to
flirt around too much anymore. This girl was too cute to pass by - well, as
long as one didn't have their sights set on a certain brunette someone already,
anyway.
"You know what I
meeeean," she sighed at him. "Ahh. Well... I guess as long as you
treat him nicely, I have no objections against you court-shipping him. But if I
find out that you hurt him, I swear I'm gonna kick your ass, Seifer!"
He laughed loudly and
good-naturedly at her threat and the way she was shaking her little fist at
him, and he even ruffled her hair in a clumsy display of affection. It was
somehow relieving to have her consent, even if he didn't quite know why he
cared for a stranger's opinion in the first place. Had he been truly honest
with himself, however, he would have realized that she was the first person to
ever approve of him being attracted to another male, and said little fact alone
was enough to raise his sympathy towards Selphie to a whole new level.
"Gee, thanks
Mistress," he smirked, feigning docility. "Lemme get back to
court-shipping then."
"Alrighty. I'll make
sure to tell Squally that you're actually pretty nice."
"Heh," Seifer
grunted. "Thanks. Looks like I can use all the help I can get."
The blonde pushed himself
off the wall and turned his back on her without heeding her with another
glance. Languidly, he wove his way towards their table, where Irvine was
already waiting anxiously. One of his hands was clutching a fork, the other a
glass of lemonade, and he looked about ready to crush both of them, or drop
face forward into his basket with breaded shrimp, for that very matter.
"Where the fuck were
you!" he barked. "Where is she? What were you two doing, anyway? What
did she say? Does she like, like me?"
Seifer chuckled as he
settled in his seat and screened hungrily over his burger. Across from him, his
companion was breathing rather noisily. Finally, Seifer flicked up his gaze and
met Irvine's blood-shot eyes with a smirk.
"Take it easy,"
he grunted, his voice rough and low. "I think she likes ya."
Irvine almost hurled his
fork across the room at Seifer's nonchalant words, and his amethyst eyes flared
to light like a dark purple night sky strewn with billions of stars. He leaned
forward and into his blonde friend, who immediately edged back in his bench.
"Really?" Irvine
cried hopefully. "You're not pulling my leg or something?"
Thoughtfully (and also
cruelly slowly), Seifer picked a French fry from his plate and stuck it in his
mouth, chewing placidly. He knew well enough that Irvine was on the verge of
suffering a coronary, but after having been confronted about his own and thus
far rather fruitless crush, Seifer wasn't feeling all too compassionate.
"Seifer! For fuck's
sake, tell me before I croak!" the cowboy howled, wrenching one of his
hands into his napkin.
Finally, Seifer's lips
snapped into a sly smirk, and he smoothed back his hair with one hand.
"Alright
already," he teased. "She said she'll give you her number if you stop
flirting with anything that breathes."
"... Oh."
Looking oddly defeated,
Irvine retreated to his side of the table. He began to fumble with his hat in
thought, while Seifer was already wolfing down his burger and keeping out an
eye for his favorite waiter. Unfortunately, Squall was nowhere to be seen, and
neither was Selphie for that matter. Seifer wondered whether the girl had drug
Squall into some dark corner for a lecture, too.
He doubted it.
"No more flirting,
she said?" Irvine piped up in front of him. "Like... none at
all?"
"Yup."
The cowboy gave a
strangled gasp. "... She's trying to kill me."
"Ya think?"
"Yeah! I'm not like
the ice princess, you know! I need to converse! I need to flirt! Women are the
air I breathe! Just what am I gonna do-oo?"
Seifer honestly had to
resist the urge to drop to the floor and roll with laughter. Irvine seemed
truly devastated at the prospect of cutting down his flirting quota, and the
little wheels behind his forehead were grinding in the hopes of finding a way
out of his precarious situation.
It was almost cute.
As the blonde lazily
continued to stuff his face with his last bits of hamburger, contemplating the
few things that Selphie had told him, his ears perked up at the sound of rubber
soles squeaking on stone tiles somewhere very close. Quickly gulping down his
food, he turned his head in anticipation.
Storm blue eyes clashed
with his own, and their ill-tempered owner's jaw was hard, as if set into rock.
The dark haired boy that had emerged out of nowhere looked so very cold and
rigid, his resemblance to a statue much too striking. For a second, Seifer
seriously considered grabbing the stoic brunette and placing a fierce kiss on
those goddamned cold lips, if only to find out for once and for all whether
Squall was gay or not. The moment passed, though, and Squall slapped a sheet of
paper onto the table before Seifer. Doubtlessly, it was their check, and upon
its delivery Squall spun around again without wasting any time in the blonde's
presence.
Seifer hesitated but a second.
"Hey, wait!"
Squall froze on the spot
when the blonde called out to him, but he still refused to turn around. Seifer
stared at the brunette's motionless back, at the muscles that were shifting
agitatedly beneath indigo fabric, and he didn't even notice Irvine's strange
looks that were darted towards him from beneath a wide brimmed cowboy hat.
"Squall."
The urgency in Seifer's
voice finally crashed through the brunette's defenses. With his face wiped
clean of expression, Squall reluctantly swiveled around to confront his
customer again. Seifer was staring up at him almost pleadingly, and Squall
furrowed his brows when he noted the rush of emotions in the blonde's hypnotic,
dark green eyes. Inwardly, he heaved a sigh of exasperation.
Just what did that
guy want?
"What?" he
growled unwillingly, placing his right hand on his hip.
Seifer sucked a quick
breath of air through his teeth, and he ignited the brightest of smiles upon
his lips that he could possibly come up with. "Court-shipping", huh?
It sounded so much less complicated in theory. Of course, Irvine's presence
didn't exactly make things any easier, but most likely, it also didn't make a
difference. One way or another, Squall seemed far from interested in so
much as a conversation with him. In fact, the brunette was vehemently denying
his mere presence.
Nonetheless, he had to
give this a fair shot. If anything, he owed that much to his childish and all
too masculine pride.
"I wanted to ask you
a favor," Seifer started slowly, not quite yet sure himself where he was
going with this.
Squall seemed less than
appealed by the idea of doing anyone any favors, but at least he didn't
stomp off right away. Sure, his cold, grey eyes darkened visibly and he crossed
his arms before his chest in a very pissy manner, but by all means, at least he
was listening.
It was more attention than
most had ever received from Squall Leonhart.
"We got math again
tomorrow," the blonde continued, his mind working on light speed,
"And I, uh, kinda need some help going over the homework she gave us...
Edea I mean... uh, yeah... So I was wondering if you could help me out."
Seifer groaned silently to
himself at the fake and static sound of his own words. This was rather lame,
and without a question, Squall must have seen right through his act. He could
have hardly been any more obvious. Strangely enough though, the brunette merely
continued glaring at him and didn't collapse with laughter at his pathetic
move.
"I'm not a
teacher," Squall finally stated monotonously.
"No shit, smarty pants,
I know that," Seifer frowned. "But you're still pretty good with that
kinda stuff. I suck at math, and if I flunk it I'm gonna be in some deep shit.
My Dad would kill me, literally."
Seifer hadn't placed much
hope in his attempt of luring Squall into meeting up with him, but for some odd
reason that last statement seemed to have stirred the dark haired boy's
attention. Something in his face changed, though Seifer could by no means say
what exactly it was. Squall looked infinitely softer, a bit more insecure and a
lot less uncaring, but most importantly, his frown gradually eased into an
almost humane expression.
"Fine," Squall
responded eventually, trying hard to sound annoyed. "I'll do it tomorrow
before school. Meet me at the spring."
"No kidding? Sweet,
alright!" Seifer smiled, and he had to force his heart to calm and keep
from skipping. "I'll be there, like, a half hour before class, is that
cool with ya?"
"Whatever."
Squall shrugged and turned
on his heel in one fluid motion, his fine brown hair sweeping into his face as
he walked away. Seifer could care less; he was absolutely elated over the idea
of spending a whole half hour in Squall's sole presence. Frankly, the brunette
had surprised him by accepting his plea for assistance, but Squall's reasons
were of little importance to him at that point.
Still beaming like a
lovesick schoolgirl, he spun around to face Irvine, who gave him a rather peculiar look.
"What?" Seifer
muttered, shoving the last bite of hamburger into his mouth and trying hard to
look serious.
"What was that
just now?" Irvine
mumbled, pointing vigorously in the direction where Squall had vanished.
"Whaddaya mean?"
"He was like...
almost nice. I thought he was gonna chew your head off at first, but I
haven't seen him be that civil since kindergarten. And how come ya asked him
for help and not me?"
Seifer swallowed hard. A
dozen answers, none of them really useful, echoed inside his head. He really
had to watch his "cover", he decided, or else he'd be in trouble.
"Well," he
started, shrugging softly. "I thought it'd be a good chance to probe
around in the whole Selphie affair."
'... "Probe
around"? Did I just say that? Oh my god, Almasy, get your mind out of the
fucking gutter.'
Irvine, however, seemed
entirely satisfied with that answer. Nodding proudly, he grasped their check,
took a brief look at it and slapped a $20 bill upon the table.
"Hey, I can get
that," Seifer protested.
He always felt like a girl
when someone treated him for a meal, granted that "someone" wasn't
his family. The cowboy waved at him dismissively, then took a last sip of his
lemonade and got up.
"Nah, this was your
first time here, hence my treat."
"Alright," the
blonde shrugged. "Thanks, man."
"Sure, sure."
As they filed out of the
restaurant and bid Raijin a quick good-bye, jade green eyes were ever-searching
for their storm grey counterpart, but once again, Squall was nowhere to be
found. Seifer thought that he had seen a flash of Selphie's skirt disappearing
around a corner somewhere, but he wasn't entirely sure and didn't care too much
in the first place.
And as for Squall...
Well, at least he had
something to look forward to.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Whispered Screams