Chapter 2: Public Display of Affection
Selphie zoomed around her dorm room as fast as she could, searching for something warm to wear. It was bad enough that it was wintertime, making it cold enough in Garden, but the cafeteria was always the coldest section. Besides, she didn't want to be shivering beside Squall as they began their "relationship" in front of most of the student body. She finally managed to find a light gray sweater, throwing it on almost as quickly as she did with her jeans. Selphie started to wonder if pursuing Squall really was an okay thing to do. Rinoa was her friend, but Squall and her weren't going anywhere fast. She'd waited long enough for a chance with him, though, and wasn't going to screw this one up.
Just as Selphie was putting on her sneakers, there was a knock at the door. She jumped to the door with excitement, and opened it to see a half grinning Squall, wearing jeans and Balamb Garden sweatshirt.
"Hi," was all that Selphie could manage to whisper as she looked into his brown eyes.
"Hi," were the only words that seemed to come from his mouth too - it looked like she wasn't the only one nervous about the whole thing. The two silently walked down the hall to the main pathway. The trip seemed to take an eternity, for neither of them could think of anything to say to the other about what they were about to do. Silence was not what Selphie had expected for this get-together, and she honestly hoped it wasn't going to be like this until the Winter Social. What was she doing, anyways? Squall probably didn't like her like she did him, so maybe she was just fooling herself. As sadness began to fill her heart, the two reached the main walkway. She was just about to ask Squall to forget the whole idea, when something totally unexpected happened - he grabbed her hand.
Selphie glanced at Squall with a puzzled look in her face, and he quickly reassured her. "If we really wanna get people's attention," Squall began, "then we gotta make this as real for us as it is for them!" Selphie gave a reassuring smile, even though she wasn't sure if this was an act or he really did feel something for her. She decided to go along with it anyways, and the two made their way to the cafeteria.
All that the students could do was look in shock at the couple walking hand-in-hand down the path. All Selphie could think of during this time would be the look on Rinoa and the gang's faces. If just the student body was acting like Hell opened up and demons were jumping out, what would their closest friends think? Selphie reminded herself that being with Squall is what she really did want, and any sort of revenge was not part of her plan. As the two approached the table where Irvine, Zell, Quistis were sitting, their three friends could only watch with their mouths hanging open and no words coming to them.
"Hi all!" Selphie nearly shouted, as she usually did.
"Sup, guys?" Squall asked with a grin, not really expecting an answer from the surprise on their faces. Zell was the first to snap out of it.
"WHOA!" Zell called out. "When did this all happen?!?"
"I agree!" Quistis joined in. "What the hell's going on here?!?" Squall had forgotten that Quistis once did have a "thing" for Squall, but Squall didn't really expect that kind of comment from a former instructor, either.
Irvine, who Squall thought was the one who was going to throw a fit, interrupted the two. "Guys, guys, guys," Irvine said in his cool, calm voice, "show the new couple a little respect. It isn't like we saw this coming, so let's not scare them away from each other just yet!" Zell and Quistis nervously laughed along with the others, and the "new couple" sat down, still holding hands.
"Anybody know where Rinoa's at right now?" Squall anxiously asked, hoping to avoid conflict with his ex-girlfriend for a while.
"Actually," Zell responded, "she just left to go grab a few hotdogs for us now."
Selphie just looked at Squall and whispered, "I hope this goes well." Squall just smiled back and gave a soft, encouraging squeeze to her hand. Just then, Rinoa came up from behind the two.
"Sorry, guys," she started, "but they're outta hotdogs for today." Everyone let out a small grown - now they'd have to get regular food, no special Garden hotdogs for them today. Rinoa quickly noticed Squall and couldn't help herself but wrap her arms around him, like she always used to. "Squally!" she shouted out, nearly squeezing the stuffing out of Squall. Squall hated that little nickname she gave him, but he held himself back - the best was just about to come.
"Better watch out there, Rinoa," Quistis chimed in. "You might make *Squally's* new girlfriend jealous!"
"And just who might that be?" Rinoa asked with a hint of irritation in her voice. Apparently she hadn't noticed Squall and Selphie's hands locked together, so Selphie (with a smile) pulled up their clinging hands for Rinoa to clearly see.
"Oh," Rinoa began, a little stunned at what she was seeing, "so that's the way it's gonna be. I'm very…happy…for you two." It didn't sound very convincing to any of them, but the gang let it slide - it was quite a bombshell for her. Unfortunately, Rinoa wasn't about to let the issue go…
"So," she started again, staring directly at Selphie, "how'd you manage to take my Squall away from me?"
"Rinoa," Squall interjected, "please don't do this."
"No!" Rinoa snapped, "It's a perfectly valid question that I'm sure Selphie can answer. Well, Selphie? How did ya do it?"
"Simple," Selphie explained, "I didn't smother him and try to keep him away from his friends!" Rinoa was just about to lose it, but Selphie wasn't going to give her that pleasure. Selphie slipped her hand out of Squall's grasp and simply walked away.
"That's right, you run away!" Rinoa shouted across the cafeteria, catching the attention of most of the surrounding students. "You know that Squall will just come right back to me, because we were meant to be with each other!"
"Who does she think she is?" Squall thought to himself. "Meant to be? Who determines something like that? If two are really meant for each other, than they both feel that way - I sure know that I can't, and won't feel the same for Rinoa!" Squall decided that if he was going to send a message to Rinoa, it wouldn't be through words, but action.
Squall quickly got up and ran after Selphie, leaving the rest of the group in confusion. She was only halfway to the cafeteria's exit when Squall caught up to her, and gently grabbed her shoulder. A half ways angry Selphie turned, but didn't have much of a chance to react as Squall pulled her to him. As Selphie felt the warmth of his lips touch hers, she almost pulled away in surprise. She quickly calmed, though, and relaxed in his arms to continue the wonderful experience she'd waited for since she met Squall.
Everyone in the cafeteria couldn't help but watch such a sight between such a seemingly unusual pair. As the two broke their kiss, they couldn't help but notice that everyone else had become aware of their display of affection. Rinoa was especially shocked - she thought that this was just some kind of joke. A little embarrassed at how everyone was staring at them, Selphie pulled herself close to Squall's ear and whispered, "Sorry about that, can we talk about it later?" Squall gave her a reassuring smile and a nod as he let go of her, and she darted off for the dorms…