Vince: Anyway, I'm sorry everyone for taking oh-so long to get this chapter out. You know how it is... writer's block, life (I got married :D!) And my muse left me.
Arvida: Took a small vacation, not left. Stop being so dramatic.
Vince: Look, point is you took an extended vacation. I really should hire a new muse.
Arvida: You'd miss me too much.
Vince: Not if my replacement was good.
Arvida: You know, you're sick. Stop bullying me or I will leave you! Grr!
Vince: Harumph
Training
Chapter Three
Balamb
By:
Vince (Saturn Angels)
After their little game of tag on the Ragnarok Selphie was definitely on edge, she tried to be discreet about keeping space between herself and Seifer, but alas it was rather noticeable. A meter to his left was a bit much.
"You act as if I have the plague," Seifer said somehow managing to be both annoyed and amused by the situation.
"Well how do I know? You could have contracted some weird disease! Or maybe I'm just worried stupidity is contagious. There's no cure for that you know." Selphie suggested playfully but moved a little closer to Seifer nonetheless.
They walked in silence for a while, which was certainly bliss for Seifer before Selphie was reminded that she didn't like not having anything to say. "So, what do you want to do?" she asked curiously, at the current point in time they seemed to just be walking aimlessly.
"You mean I actually get a say in something?" Seifer asked faking a sharp intake of breath, "Is being a leader too tough for you, Messenger Girl?"
Selphie stuck out her tongue stubbornly, "I just thought I'd be polite and ask. Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot. More than once. We've hardly spoken three sentences to one another yet you have always seemed hellbent in not liking me. Is it just something about me?" she asked, but knew subconsciously that there really was no reason to ask. He'd insulted her enough to know the answer to that question. "And with all due respect, which really isn't much if you think about it, I should be the one to resent you."
There was a brief moment in time where Seifer thought she'd finished talking, and just as he was about to respond she opened her mouth to add something, "And I don't hate you."
"That's all well and good," Seifer said and stopped walking. Selphie soon followed suit, they'd stopped near the docks. Balamb really was a pleasant town. Friendly, warm, sunny, always a gentle sea breeze. She could see herself living as an old maid in one of the little houses by the sea. That would be nice.
She would have hundreds of cats.
Even though she really liked dogs, but who ever heard of a crazy old lady with one hundred dogs?
No one.
Selphie blinked as she realized Seifer had been talking the entire time, "I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention. Did you say something?"
With a roll of his eyes Seifer shook his head, "Forget it. I'm going to fish, you can do whatever you want."
"We're supposed to spend time together." Selphie mentioned, then thought it sounded awfully clingy. But it was the truth and there really was no other way to put it without sounding really dull and unexciting.
"Well, I'm going fishing." Seifer repeated, "You can too if you want, or you can run around and do whatever it is you do with your free time."
The bubbly brunette was all but ready to give Seifer a list of her favorite hobbies, but before she could get the first word out Seifer held up a hand to silence her as if he knew what she had been thinking.
"That wasn't an invitation for you to speak."
Selphie frowned, "Meanie." she muttered underneath her breath, but Seifer still managed to hear. And even if he hadn't heard he had known it was coming, Selphie was predictable like that.
"So, you like fishing?" Selphie finally asked.
Seifer shrugged, "I find it relaxing..." he didn't feel the compelling need to mention how bad he was at it.
"I've never gone fishing before," Selphie said, "But I've watched a few people before. It doesn't seem fun at all, you just... sort of... sit there." At each pause her expression became more and more like a grimace, "It seems really, really boring."
"Like I said Messenger Girl, you don't have to watch me fish. In fact I'd prefer it if you didn't."
"Selphie," she corrected automatically. She seated herself at a nearby bench and waved her arms around, "Fish away!"
"I do need fishing equipment."
"What? You mean you don't just tie string to a stick?" she asked, pretending to be surprised. "I'm sure you could get some at the item shop." Before Selphie had even finished her sentence the blonde was heading towards the previously mentioned building.
Seifer seemed to be of the really impatient sort. More so than she herself. She couldn't see how he could possibly like fishing.
Selphie sat and waited for a while, swinging her legs back and forth as she took in the scenery of Balamb. It wasn't very often that she really got to visit Balamb. She usually spent her holidays at... Trabia. Visiting some of her old friends.
Trabia, the one reason she couldn't bring herself to really like Seifer. Whenever she thought of it she was filled with emotions, and definitely not the happy sorts. Her insides felt like cold lead and she was put into such a bad mood that she almost became a completely different person.
When she thought about it nothing could really cheer her up. Not sunshine, not her friends, not schoolwork, not her articles on Sir Laguna, not even the Garden Festival Committee. She felt empty and yet at the same time overflowing with anger, sadness, and hatred for the one who caused all that suffering.
That being of course Seifer.
But not just Seifer, she blamed herself as well, for not being able to stop the missiles. She had been close... but not close enough.
She sighed quietly to herself trying to pull her mind away from what always seemed to be clouding her subconscious thoughts. She hadn't even noticed Seifer had returned and already cast his... line...
Selphie wasn't big on fishing talk. 'Hook, line, and sinker' was about as technical as she could get in that subject. She didn't like fishing too much, as stated previously, but not only because it bored her, also because she felt really bad for the poor fishies.
After all, how would she feel if she just happened to be swimmi... er, walking around, lured in by a delicious looking cake, and BAM! A piece of metal is embedded in her mouth and she fights to get away, but she can't. And she's reeled in. And sometimes, after suffering 'long enough, she's set back as if nothing happened to her. And other times... she's eaten.
And that just didn't seem like something she'd want to experience in her lifetime.
Thus, she was a vegetarian.
Sure, she had the Balamb hot dog every now and then but that didn't really count.
...And she begged forgiveness each night after she ate one.
Lost in her thoughts she hadn't realized two things:
One: Seifer had caught some innocent little fish, emphasis on little. Apparently he wasn't the best fishermen Balamb had ever seen.
Two: Selphie's nose was definitely beginning to get sunburned.
She would, of course, eventually notice number two, painfully so. But at the present it didn't bother her in the least. She did, however, notice number one in a way that wasn't really noticing it.
Not really noticing it because the reason she'd actually turned around was because Seifer had yelped because he'd stabbed himself with the hook (definitely not sanitary) while letting the fish go.
So, she hadn't caught sight of the fish. She snorted, "Having trouble?" she asked as Seifer sucked on his germ-infested finger which Selphie stared at in open distaste.
"Shut up, Tilmitt."
"Hey!" Selphie said, forgetting the problem at hand, "You called me by my name! Sort of. But, it's Selphie. Not Tilmitt." she stood from her comfortable spot on the bench to examine Seifer's injury.
Which was bleeding a hell of a lot for being attacked by a tiny hook.
No, actually she didn't see what Seifer was making a big fuss over. There was no blood at all yet he acted as if he was about to die of blood loss. Always the walking pharmacy Selphie pulled a band-aid from the back pocket of her dress (Yes, she really did keep stuff in there), and put it on Seifer's finger. "The disinfectant is on the Ragnarok so I can give that to you later." she added.
Seifer shrugged, "It's not that big of a deal. I was over-reacting simply to over-react."
Rolling her green eyes heavenward Selphie chose to stay closer to Seifer. She sat with her legs hanging off the edge of the dock, barely able to reach the water's surface with her toes.
Ah, the horrible evils of being short. She heard Seifer snicker and knew why, but didn't let it get to her. After all, she wasn't short. Everyone else was tall.
It was as simple as that.
Selphie hummed a tune to herself for the majority of the time they spent by the sea, of she had known what they would be doing all day she would've brought her journal with her. She planned on writing in her journal about each day for the next three weeks. She stuck her tongue out as she caught a glimpse of the locks of hair closest to her face. They had started to curl because of the humidity.
She hated that.
Her hair was going to look weird for the rest of the day.
Pouting, she tried to flatten and flip her hair with her hands. It worked, a little. And somehow managed to make it look even weirder.
She shrugged and decided she wasn't out to impress anyone anyway.
She could just be herself.
Nothing to be ashamed of.
She leaned on her hands and kicked her feet back and forth, making tiny splashes and ripples in the water. Her arm twitched and her hand instinctively tried to straighten the unfortunate tresses once more.
If the front of her hair looked like that she didn't want to think of what the back looked like.
"A hat would have been a good idea," Seifer said offhandedly causing Selphie to jump simply because it had been so quiet for so long. Which she thought was kind of funny because they must have been there for hours and still Seifer hadn't really caught anything.
"Why's that?"
"Your scalp is sunburned."
"Agh!" Selphie reached up a hand to gingerly touch the part in her hair. He was right. "This sucks!" she muttered to herself, why hadn't she considered bringing a hat? One of those wide-brimmed ones would have been cool. Maybe with a sunflower on it.
She liked sunflowers.
But now wasn't the time to think about that. She pressed a bit harder on her scalp, testing how bad the damage was. It could be worse. But then again it could be nonexistent which it certainly wasn't.
"Did you want to go back to the Ragnarok to eat something?" Seifer asked, courteous for once though it was probably only because he was hungry.
Selphie didn't have a hat but she wouldn't let that stop her! There were plenty of other options. Like... wearing a towel on her head. She could make it into a fashion statement.
"Huh? Oh, are you sure you want to head in so soon? I mean, you haven't caught anything."
That seemed to push a button with Seifer as he straightened up his shoulders a bit, "It isn't as easy as it looks."
"What's so hard about waiting for a fish to nibble bait?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, "If you're bad at something like fishing it automatically makes you bad at everything in life."
"You've never even tried fishing."
"I don't have to. It's simple enough."
"I'd like to see you try."
Now, Selphie had certainly seen that coming. It may have been deja vu, or just intuition. Nonetheless she shrugged, "Fine. After I prove you wrong we can go and get something to eat. Or perhaps have Zell's mom cook the giant fish I'm sure to catch."
Seifer scoffed, "It's all yours." he said, handing her the fishing rod as if it were a crown presented at a royal coronation.
Selphie curtsied, or tried but unfortunately her dress was a bit too constricting and so she flailed a bit trying to regain her balance before she fell over.
Seifer smirked, "Is that part of your fishing technique?"
"Yes." Selphie muttered grumpily as she looked at the rod in her hands. Now... what was she supposed to do exactly?
Okay, so... the string went out into the water... and the reel must be to... reel the fish in once it bit. And the button where her index finger was...
...what was that for?
She pressed it experimentally and the weight tied to the end of the string fell to the floor. That was to make it go far, so she thought. To cast it. 'Cast' it.
Seifer shook his head and she could imagine him saying something like 'Oh, this is going to be hilarious.' But he stayed silent.
Selphie drew back, ready to cast and Seifer spoke up.
"It'd be a good thing if you had bait on the other end, Tilmitt."
"I knew that." Selphie answered huffily. But she couldn't kill a cute little worm just for the sick pleasure crazed people get from fishing. Poor worms... so cute and wiggly. She looked at them, squirming, "Isn't there something else I could use?"
"You could try your luck without bait." he suggested sarcastically, a suggestion that Selphie took despite knowing that he wasn't being serious.
She drew her arm back, pressed the button, and (keeping a tight grip on the handle) flung her arm forward.
She didn't see the line go very far, but she did hear a loud cry from behind her.
Turning on her heel she put a hand to her mouth as she realized exactly what would happen. "Why didn't you stand further away?" she asked, nearly fainting at the sight of the hook which had caught the right side of Seifer's lower lip.
She stared at it for a while which seemed to annoy Seifer, "Don't just stand there!" he said. Selphie dropped the fishing rod, which tugged at Seifer's lip just a little bit, but enough for him to yell out some vague curse.
"I'm sorry!" she said, "Now hold still-"
Seifer backed away, his hands held to keep Selphie at a distance, "You'll make it worse."
"Don't be a baby!" she scolded, "It can't be much worse. Maybe you could leave it in as a piercing. You know, lip rings can be very sexy."
He glared at her.
She smiled apologetically, "Sorry- I'll go get someone to help you then!"
"No." He said, motioning for her to come back. His eyes narrowed in concentration, and maybe just a little pain, as he himself grabbed the hook- felt which way it had gone in, and yanked it out without making the whole any bigger.
Selphie apologized profusely, "I'm sorry! Really sorry! Did it hurt? I suppose that's a stupid question of course it hurt, I'm sorry."
"Well, you lost the bet." Seifer said, trying to forget about it as he rubbed his lower lip.
"Why?" Selphie asked mischievously, "I'd say I won. I did say I'd catch a big fish, and that's what I did."
Kind of.
-
End Chapter Three
Vince: Well! I hope you liked it, and now it's time to go to bed. :) But not until I finish the shout-out list of course! I hope all of you are still reading, though I know it's pretty much impossible. Ugh. Damn writer's block!
Fle: Thanks :) It took me a while but I did 'keep it up'.
dyna: Thank you:D Hope you're still reading!
Phoenix30: Aw, thank you:D I didn't have much time for funny author's notes this time though. Woe.
Magwen: Well, I know you said really soon but... apparently my time goes by really really fast and... it's not soon anymore. But. I hope you're still reading!
arien: Sorry to keep you waiting so long! And thank you.
miserene: Thank you :)
I'm just a person: Thanks! Yes, I like pretty much anyone with Selphie. Probably because she's one of my favorite characters from Final Fantasy VIII.
Forlorn Hope: Now it's been... more than two months- but uh. Oh well! Thank you :) And yes, it is indeed PG. I just had to have a bit of tension earlier, but nothing will actually happen. Not yet anyway. Nothing big unless it's right with the story. Anywho! Thanks :)
Xtreme Nuisance: Hi, yes. It's been a long time but I finally felt like updating! And yeah, at the time I didn't remember they went by military hours. Oh well.
Morgana Mitchell: Soooo, this probably wasn't as soon as you'd hoped but... uh. Hope you're still reading! Long live Selfer, w00t!
Thorn Rose: Wow. It's been a long time since I've updated. Agh, sorry! And thanks :)
gamergal20: Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it! I hope you're still reading.
chitana: Thank you
Agh. Damn you writer's block! Making me lose my readers... hopefully you'll come back to me and this story. I miss youuu! Please review, I hope I didn't lose ALL of you.