This is our story.

Part 3

Mai and Ellie whizzed past faceless students in the hallway as they raced to where they were supposed to meet everyone. Quickly bursting through doors, they darted through the corridors, Ellie slightly ahead of her friend. At least until she tripped, landing roughly on the floor in front of Mai, who had no time to stop or dodge her. The girl let out a squeal before tumbling over her friend and rolling down the hallway. Ellie, who had done this so many times it was almost comical, shot back up to her feet, and helped her comrade join her. Then they were off again, sprinting like madwomen.
They finally came to the front doors where they believed everyone would be. They were right that most were there, however they seemed to be waiting on someone else, apart from Mai and Ellie. Looking over at the front gate, the girls saw that Squall, Instructor Trepe and Seifer all seemed to be standing there, waiting for someone. The two girls began walking towards the group. Then, out of nowhere, Mai broke into a run and tackled her brother to the ground. Panting slightly Ellie jogged to the group and giggled at the look on Squall’s face while Mai got up and dusted herself off. When she was done, she held a hand out to her poor brother, and tugged him off the ground, grinning wildly all the while.
“Sorry Leo, are you alright?” she asked, worried that she had hurt him when she tackled him. He simply nodded.
“You forgot this…” he muttered, handing her the messenger bag she had forgotten. Her eyes lit up immediately when she saw it.
“Right! I did forget it! Thank you, Leo!” She returned while hugging him.
“Mai, Ellie" Instructor Trepe began, "you will both be in Squad B along with,” she then looked around nervously and continued, “Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht and Seifer Almasy.” Mai’s eyes went wide and she glared at Seifer.
“Ew. Can’t I switch members?” Instructor shook her head sadly.
“I'm afraid that's not possible." She then cleared her throat. "You're all assigned to Squad B and I'll be the instructor in charge. Teamwork is of the utmost importance, so let's get through this exam, everyone." She then looked to Seifer and added, "You're the squad leader," Instructor Trepe told him. "Good luck to you."
"Instructor," Seifer said, shaking his head, "I hate it when people wish me luck. Save those words for a bad student who needs them, eh?" Fujin and Raijin chuckle, her loud and demonically; him insanely. Ellie, Mai and Squall simply backed away slightly.
Everyone's attention was then diverted to the front doors of Balamb Garden, which began to open, admitting a blond-haired boy to the outdoors. He was beaming happily, and he seemed to truly express his joy when he began to do back-flips, rather than walk, towards the gawking troop of people. Mai and Ellie's eyes widened and their mouths began to hang open at the sight. Then, with what seemed like perfect timing, he slipped about three feet from the staring group, and landed hard on the ground. As if right on cue, Mai and Ellie began to laugh hysterically at him.
"Wow. And I thought we were the only clumsy ones in school, eh, Mai?" Ellie said laughingly. Mai just shook her head as she walked to the boy on the ground.
“Hey you okay there?” Mai asked while holding a hand out to him. He just stared at her. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shook his head. He grabbed her outstretched hand and so she could pull him up. Seifer started to laugh arrogantly and Instructor Trepe chuckled slightly, while Squall just rolled his eyes. Mai glared at Seifer and helped the boy to his feet. "Um..." Mai said awkwardly she then smiled and held her hand out “I’m Mairina Leonhart by the way. But everyone calls me Mai.” She stated brightly, the boy taking her hand.
“Zell Dincht.” He said ginning at Mai charmingly.
Then Ellie, seeing her friend become slightly flustered, waved cheerfully, and said, "Hey, I’m Ellie Tucker!" The cheerful Ellie could also see that her friend had not released Zell's hand. With a discreet nudge to Mai, the girl continued what she was saying by introducing everyone else.
“That’s Squall Leonhart—Mai's brother,” she said while pointing to a tall brown-haired boy. “That’s Seifer Almasy—Mai’s evil ex—and by the way your glaring at him I assume you know him—and this is Instructor Trepe.” she gestured to each respectively. She smiled sweetly, and Zell nodded and waved to everyone there, excluding Seifer of course. Seifer then looked from Raijin and Fujin to Squall, Zell, Ellie and Mai.
“Listen up! Teamwork means staying out of my way. It's a Squad B rule, so don't you forget it." He stated while glaring at the group. At that, Mai sent him a not so friendly hand gesture while the others settled with rolling their eyes.
After headmaster Cid came and gave them his big motivational speech, they were off to the garage. Squall sat between Ellie and Mai, while Instructor Trepe sat between Seifer and Zell.
"Yo, Squall. Show me your gunblade, will ya?" Zell asked animatedly. Squall just stayed silent "C'mon man!" Still nothing. "Just a peek?" Zell begged. "Say something, will ya?" Zell cried. "C'mon, what's on your mind?"
"Nothing," muttered Squall.
Mai poked her brother in the side and laid her head on the back of the seat, shutting her eyelids. “Hey Mai?” Zell began.
“Hmmm?” She asked, not opening her eyes.
“What weapon do you fight with?” he asked. She lifted her hand up, and wiggled her fingers, indicating that she used her hands. “So you fight hand-to-hand? That’s cool.” Zell said grinning; Seifer rolled his eyes and said:
“Chicken-wuss."
At that Zell jumped to his feet. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Seifer just smirked, causing Mai to open and roll her eyes.
“Seifer dear,” she said making everyone look at her oddly, “kindly shut the hell up would you?” she smiled sweetly, while Seifer just glared at her. Ellie giggled a bit behind her hand at the "lover's" quarrel.
“Mai, Ellie... where are your uniforms?” Instructor Trepe asked suddenly.
“Well, you see, I accidentally set mine on fire.” Mai said seriously. Ellie attempted to hide a smirk at her friend's perfect poker face.
"And I don't have mine 'cause I don't know how to walk in a skirt..." Ellie stated sadly. Everyone stared at her “What?? I don’t!”
Mai began to laugh out, "Ellie. You don't exactly know how to walk in pants either."
"As I recall, Mai," the girl returned with a sly grin, "you weren't walkin' so hot yourself!"
And so, the two continued their bickering as if they were actually sisters. Much to the annoyance of everyone else forced into their company. Even Zell, who for a time watched with a degree of amusement, became irritable. After many headaches, and attempts to quiet the girls, the car stopped. The small troop of people clambered out (mostly just to get away from Mai and Ellie), to see a dock with a large ship secured to it.
As they said their departures to Raijin and Fujin (surprisingly enough, the two girls briefly stopped to say goodbye, before continuing their argument like hens), the troop turned and boarded the vessel.
Once inside, Instructor Trepe, Ellie and Squall quickly sat down on a bench that was to the left, leaving poor Mai and Zell to sit beside Seifer.
“Hello, Mai! I knew you couldn’t resist me.” Seifer said while smirking arrogantly. Mai’s eyes went wide and she unconsciously cuddled closer to Zell, who blushed and put his arm around her protectively.
Seifer's smirk fell as his face became an interesting purplish-red colour. His now clenched fists shook and every muscle in his body tightened, as if it would help him from pouncing on (and killing) Zell. His face worsened as he saw Ellie, who had always shown disdain for the arrogant boy, mouth a playful "aww" to her friend. He didn't see his ex-girlfriend mouth her embarrassed "shut up" back, but he saw her friend beam in response. Seeing Instructor's look of concern, and Squall's disdainful glare (and his edging away from the sprightly girl), Seifer's hatred of Zell doubled.
Time passed in silence, and in some cases, with glares. Seifer's face had lost the puce colouring, but he still scowled at the boy, death shining in his eyes. Instructor Trepe and Squall both seemed lost in thought; they found marks on the floor to stare at as they sat silently. Mai remained in Zell's protective arm, and Ellie sat uncomfortably with her leg jiggling. Unable to take the silence any longer, Zell removed his arm from Mai's shoulders, stood up, and announced that he was going to get "some fresh air." Mai watched him, grinningly, as he disappeared up the stairs and through the door.
After a couple of seconds, the girl followed Zell out of the cabin, and onto the deck. The blond-haired boy leaned against a railing, and Mai joined him, trying desperately to not blush from his presence. A quiet conversation began between the two on deck, while silence reigned below.
Ellie could see Seifer's eyes flare at his ex-girlfriend's somewhat bold manoeuvre, and she almost stopped him when he stood to follow Mai. Almost. Personally, she wanted to see him get slapped by her friend, so she simply moved her feet out of his way as he strode past. At Instructor Trepe's inquisitive glance, the boy muttered something about "keeping an eye on them." That was why Ellie never liked him. She could see his egotistical, arrogant, and slightly controlling qualities far better than her friend had been able to.
The girl smiled to herself, and nudged Squall before putting up three fingers. Ignoring Squall's glare, and putting a finger down as she mouthed the words "three...two...one," she counted down exactly when the action started. Just as she finished, she pointed to the door, and a voice—Mai's—flared up.
"Seifer, what the hell are you doing up here?" the girl's muffled voice said. "Leave me alone!" the sound of a hand connecting with bare cheek came through sharply, and the door re-opened to a red-faced Seifer tumbling down the steps.
He looked up from his back when Ellie coolly asked, "keep forgetting she uses hand-to-hand, eh Seifer?" Smiling at his response, a deadly glare, she stood up. As the girl stepped over his body, she actually moved gracefully, for the first time in a long while. She climbed the steps and, had she not looked to her feet as she walked, she would not have walked through the door so calmly. When she closed it behind her, and turned to face her friend, her eyes bulged and her jaw went slack.
Mai. And Zell. Their eyes were shut. Their mouths... what the hell where they doing like that? Why were they touching? Stupidly, Ellie shouted the first thing that came to her confused mind. "WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING TO YOUR FACE?!?" was the only thing she could come up with.
The two quickly separated, both of them becoming deer caught in a bright light. Just as a loud clamor arose below deck, their faces became a rather bright crimson. Squall's voice could be heard shouting a vague "Mai?" and scrambling sounded as he and Seifer tried to cram themselves up the stairs. Shaking out of her daze, Ellie wracked her mind to think of something to save Mai from her brother.
Quickly, the girl yelled so the boys beyond the door could hear. "Zell! That's a fresh scar! You're not supposed to be touching it!!" Then, her mind still calculating, she put her hand over her nose, indicating to Mai that she do likewise. Thankfully Zell was able to recover from his shock; otherwise the trio would look foolish.
He stepped away from Mai slightly (they had gotten rather close during their kiss), and he put his hand on the back of his head as he responded. "Well, uh...I've never had a scar before..." Mai was still in her shocked stupor when the door flung open clumsily. At the loud crack, the girl composed herself to be casual, though she felt stupid with her hand in front of her face.
The two boys that were desperate to surface bolted through the door, just in time to hear Zell's answer. Squall came out first, rubbing his shoulder as if it pained him, and gave a quick glare to Seifer before looking to the ground.
"Zell, that is a fresh scar. You'll make it infected if you touch it!" Squall said, still looking to the floor. His voice became dangerous when he added, "And should that happen, you'll find yourself swimming back to Balamb." With that, he turned to leave, but not before glaring at Ellie. Seifer, who had fought his way there as well, remained silent throughout the interaction. He was scowling at Mai, and cursing the air Zell inhaled. His eyes lingered on the pair, and the close proximity of the two, as he turned to go back below deck.
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief after the door clicked shut. In an effort to not appear guilty, she had not looked at Mai or Zell. Now that the danger was over, she glanced at them, only to have her heart almost stop. She muttered a soft "oh shit" as she gazed at them.
"What" Mai and Zell asked in unison. "What's wrong?"
The girl simply raised a pale hand, and pointed at their hands. Their fingers were sweetly intertwined, their hands held fast in each other. Listlessly, the girl added, "you're lucky Squall's got the habit of looking down. He would have killed your ass...and mine," she said in the same dull tone. As if the pair weren't pale enough, Ellie continued, "what's worse, though, is I think Seifer knows."
"That's bad?" Zell asked tensely
"He's our leader on this mission, remember?" Mai whispered through the hand that was still over her nose.
"Mai, hun," Ellie said smilingly, "I think you can put your hand down now."
With a slight blush and a grin, she lowered what had been obstructing her face. Her brow furrowed for a second, her mind still trying to process what was going on. "Why did you have me put it there in the first place?"
Beaming at her own brilliance, Ellie informed them. Apparently, both Mai and Zell were blushing furiously, even when they heard the boys coming. To hide the crimson, and the untouched qualities of Mai's nose, the girl would obstruct her face with her hand. Zell's red colour could be easily explained away with being caught poking at a fresh scar.
They both muttered their gratitude, and Mai walked to Ellie, giving her a kind embrace. In her ear, though, she whispered, "alright, I forgive you for punching my brother"
Calmly, Ellie breathed back, "I didn't cover you so I could be forgiven for something that was deserved. I did it because you're my friend, and it needed to be done." the two girls separated, and Mai looked at her friend sternly.
"How did he deserve it, exactly?"
"You, and he, know me when I'm stressed. Add the worst insult that could ever come my way, and you've got someone begging to get hit."
"Wait," Zell said, "who'd you hit?"
"Squall" Mai and Ellie returned. Zell burst out laughing, ignoring Mai's smoldering glare.
Through his rather contagious laughter, the boy continued, "is that why he's got that shiner?!" Even Mai couldn't keep a straight face at the mirthful question.
After their laughter died down, Ellie sighed and told her comrades she was going below deck.
"Um, I'd leave Seifer to himself," Mai warned
"You're right, I'd do the same, too" Ellie agreed. "If Seifer was actually alone..."
Ellie turned and made her way towards the door as Mai and Zell looked at each other with pale faces. Seifer knows. And with that horrifying thought (Mai wouldn't put it past him to blurt everything out of spite) the new pairing dashed to the door, shoving Ellie out of their way. Not wanting to miss anything, the girl scurried behind them, coming into contact with them as they stood on the stairs. Literally. Ellie, as anyone could guess, lost her unsteady balance and crashed into her comrades.
Tumbling, turning, yelping and finally landing on the cabin floor in front of everyone, the trio fell off the stairs and into the company of their grim-faced allies. Seifer burst out in hysterical, yet slightly evil sounding, laughter, while Instructor Trepe tried to hide her giggles behind her hand. Seeing the squirming knot of her students caused her to break her calm attitude. Squall, however, looked even more sour than when his sister was going through her 'smooth prankster' phase.
"Wait wait wait!" came a voice near Mai's elbow. "I was behind you two!"
"Yeah, so?" entered Zell's voice near the girl's feet.
"So then how the hell'd I end up on the bottom?!"
"You tart!" Mai laughed while moving her arm from under her back.
Then came the deadly calm of Squall's voice. Slowly and clearly, he said coldly, "get off my sister, Zell."
Mai heard angered footsteps, and then a large weight was lifted from her body. Zell was, forcibly, removed from the chaotic knot of teenagers. Finally able to breathe, and see the cabin, Mai looked upon her brother clutching at Zell's shoulders. The girl could feel her friend squirm beneath her, and attempt to get up. The attempt failed, and Zell jerked out of Squall's grip. The blond-haired boy bent down, offering a hand to Mai, which she took smilingly. The now-free Ellie scrambled to her feet, cracked her back, and sat next to Instructor Trepe as Zell, Squall, and Mai took their seats as well.
With silence befalling the cabin, once again, Mai reached for her messenger bag for a source of entertainment. She reached into the darkness, and with Ellie watching her curiously, the girl pulled out a bag of her favorite brand of potato chips. Mai tore into the foil, and began to attack her salty obsession. Noting his own hunger, Squall reached to the bag calmly, if not stupidly. His loving sister growled at him savagely, and promptly bit him before returning to her beloved snack. Quickly, Squall retracted his hand and glared at the girl that sat across from him, for her choking laughter.
The boy felt movement by his side, and turned to see Zell's arm being gently put around his sister's shoulders, with a distinct look of fondness in his eyes. So Seifer was telling the truth. Out of reflex, Squall's eyes began to burn hatred towards the blond, and he even went so far as to emit a low growl that came from the depths of his chest. His loathing was interrupted by his sister's rummaging, though. She reached into her bag again, looking for a hair tie, and pulled out a bright yellow scarf. Mai's face fell as she looked from the wretched thing to her friend. Ellie's face became long and wan, and the girl appeared as if her eyes were about to well up with tears.
With apprehension, Mai slowly grabbed another bit of cloth, and pulled it out into the scrutinizing light. Another yellow scarf. Damn. There were two uniforms in the bag. The girl had been relying on the hope that she could convince Ellie to wear the uniform, but that dream had been shattered with the sickening color of those two scarves. With a sigh, Mai continued to pull out the rest of their uniforms. The two scarves along with the girls' shirts, jackets, socks, and pairs of shoes sat menacingly in Squall's lap. Finally, Mai was only left with the horror that would be their skirts. The girl shut her eyes as she drew out the final pieces of cloth in her bag. With held breath, Mai withdrew her hand from the bag, along with what was being crumpled in her fist, which happened to be—
"PANTS!"
At Ellie's excited shout, Mai's eyes shot open to see that in her hands lay a pair of long black trousers. Mai hated the skirts just as much as Ellie did (hence why Mai "accidentally" set hers ablaze) so it seemed perfectly normal for the girl to join her exuberant friend in an overjoyed dance. The others, however, did not see such logic, and consequently backed away from Mai and Ellie.
Instructor Trepe, with eyebrows raised and concern behind her glasses, asked about their uniforms. "I thought you burned yours? And the uniform consists of a skirt... how did you two end up with pants?"
Squall answered the instructor, not moving his eyes from his sister and her friend. "I only packed what I saw... they were hanging from their doors, and I picked them up," he muttered.
"Wait, you went into our rooms?" Ellie asked, still jumping around with Mai. Squall answered quickly, with no hesitation whatsoever.
"No! They were on the outside!" he responded as if he feared even the thought of entering a room that was inhabited by a female. Mai, being his sister, caught the almost non-existent sentiment behind his words.
"You know, Squall," Mai began, grinning playfully, "you're not going to get attacked by a tampon for walking into a girl's room!"
A mortified stillness came over her brother. Squall was so disturbed by his sister's proclamation, he visibly shuddered, with his eye twitching ever so slightly. Unconsciously, a low growl reached up from his depths again, and he shut his eyes in an attempt to blot out the terrifying thought that was Mai's glib statement. Quezacotl, being the same sex as Squall, did his own horrified shudder. Seifer and Zell, who uncharacteristically agreed on something, joined sides with Squall on this. It appeared to be an unwritten rule, of sorts, that when a girl's...time was mentioned, all men present would become allies. Even if it was a brief time, and even if they showed enmity towards each other, they would form a miniature bond. This rule could be seen taking affect when both Zell and Seifer did the same shudder as Squall.
All three women-folk, however, found no sympathy for the rather disgusted gentlemen. Mai was forced to kneel from her laughter, her breathing impeded, though her eyes had no difficulty making tears roll down her cheeks. Ellie, who still sat on the bench, couldn't help but double over in hysterical laughter that made no sound. Breathing was a painful effort, but the girl still managed to wheeze in some air every so often. The sight of Squall, Zell, and Seifer's revulsion forced the straight-laced instructor to bury her face in her hands. She desperately tried to remain cool and impartial, but she fought a losing battle. She was still female, after all. Her body shook with both the strain of quieting her mirth and inhaling. She would not remove her face from its shield for quite some minutes after the laughing fit ended.
The girls' laughter finally died down, and they realized that they were getting closer to their SeeD tests. Wiping the last of her tears from her eyes, Mai suggested the she and Ellie go change into their uniforms. Instructor Trepe gave them directions to the restroom, and the girls followed them to a silvery, metallic bathroom with two stalls, and a pair of sinks and mirrors. They walked into their respective stalls, carrying their uniforms carefully. After all, they were pants.
Sundry chit-chat started up as the girls both sped into their uniforms. An unspoken race had started, and when they finished, they flung their stall doors open and hopped out. They both stood in front of each other, their movements having been perfectly synchronized. Their eyes narrowed at each other, and Mai voiced her annoyance with a simple, "we have got to stop doing that."
Wanting to test something, Ellie piped up. "you started with your shirt?"
"No. Pants," Mai returned, shaking her head.
"Damn."
The two laughed at their closeness, and walked out of the bathroom, both looking at the mirrors as they passed. Mai stopped, and grabbed the scarf from around her neck. She twisted her long, dark hair, and tied it in a knot before securing it with the bright bandanna. Then, looking critically at her face, she pulled out several silver hoops from her pockets, and one onyx stud, which she put in her nose.
"I was wondering when you'd put your nose-ring in, hun," Ellie said to her friend, looking at her through the mirror. Unable to resist the reflective surface, the girl let down her own hair, and tied it back up.
"You should have your hair down more often, Ellie!" Mai suggested, her face manipulated by concentration. She put three small rings in her lip, and then she finished off her adornments with 7 earrings.
Satisfied with the mirror, they left the metallic restroom, and reentered the cabin where everyone was congregated. Instructor Trepe's face fell slightly as she looked at Mai's jewelry. Mai smiled sweetly, and said, "They're lucky," as she pointed to her face. She always loved that reaction from people.
Where Instructor frowned, Zell gazed at the girl with wide eyes, and his mouth opened in astonishment. Seeing his face, Ellie began to giggle slightly, but Mai simply gave a sweet smile which made her lip rings shine. She then looked to her ex, to see his reaction, and saw his eyebrows raised in surprise. She had never worn her jewelry in front of him before. She simply gave him a smirk that clearly said that he could have had her. They sat down, and Squall rolled his eyes at his sister's boldness. Mai was still in her playful mood, so she grinned and waited for her brother to inhale. Just when he did, Mai imitated him, and the siblings both uttered a bored "whatever" at the same time.
With a sidelong glare, Squall sighed out a second "whatever," and then the fight started. With alight eyes, Ellie refereed one of the longest whatever-fights she had ever seen.
"...Whatever"
"...Whatever"
"...Whatever"
"...Whatever"
Ellie looked back and forth between the two, making animated (and rather fake looking) facial expressions in "reaction" to the fight. Squall's whatevers became more annoyed with each syllable, and the rest of the cabin-mates (apart from Mai and Ellie) looked as though they would commit suicide (or homicide) at any point. Mai's voice remained calm and cool, and she never changed her composure. Even when she threw her "secret weapon" into the battle of wits.
"...whatever"
"Whateverer"
Then, Ellie gasped loudly, forcing her hands to shoot up to her mouth to cover it in "fear" of the misplaced word. Squall blinked, and let out a truly bored "whatever." With a cheerfulness that could be considered proper motive for murder, Mai and Ellie both chirped their own happy whatever to combat Squall.
The boy let out a frustrated sigh, and, out of pure reflex, repeated the now-hated word, "whatever."
Mai opened her mouth to combat the word, and actually had a chance to make sound, but she only managed a "what-." Zell, wanting to end the barrage of whatevers, did something that would be forever noted as desperate. He sat next to her, so his swift movement wasn't prevented by the girl. With surprising tenderness, the blond boy reached his hand onto Mai's jaw-line, and directed her face towards his. Before the girl—and anyone else for that matter—knew what was happening, he placed his opened mouth across the girls lips, and he gave her a long, passionate kiss.
Mai was able to recover from her shock easier than the others. She just shut her widened eyes and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck. Seifer, Squall, Instructor Trepe and Ellie were unable to do that however. The four onlookers could only wallow in their gaping. The only sound that penetrated the disbelieving silence was Ellie's vague, "I think my heart just stopped."
It seems as though their enthrallment only lasted as long as Zell's kiss. When he pulled away from Mai's still—yes still—opened mouth, the others sprang into action. Everyone in the cramped cabin leaped to their feet. Squall and Seifer jumped up in the hopes of doing bodily harm to the blond boy. Instructor Trepe stood in an attempt at restoring long-lost order to the room. Ellie shot to her feet, having seen Squall's gunblade mysteriously find its way into his shaking hand. Mai, with heckles raised, fiercely flung herself in front of Zell, her lip in a sneer and a low growl escaping her chest.
With a smile at Mai, Ellie walked towards Squall as she chuckled out, "it was that good, eh?" Squall scowled coldly at the girl, but she ignored it. Instead, she closed her hands around his ever so gently, so as to prevent the boy from using his gunblade.
The hands were warm...
Faces were warm in the small cabin too. Still holding hands, both Mai and Zell turned a deep scarlet at Ellie's joking words. The boy looked to the floor, avoiding all eyes, and the girl looked over her shoulder, biting her lower lip to quiet her excitement. Yes, it was good.
Ellie continued her giggles by commenting on the crimson of their visages. "Congratulations! You two now have the land—I mean, sea—speed record for blushing!"
Instructor Trepe then broke in quietly. She had glanced out the small round window, and saw a war-torn spit of land ahead. "No, Ellie, you were right. Land. We're there..."