Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Be friendly ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Title: Be friendly

Author: Yorda

Rating: R

Status: WIP

Couples: Seifer/Squall

Warnings: Yaoi, AU, OOC, fluff, stupid school bullies

Disclaimer: Some of the characters belong to Squaresoft.

Summary: AU fic, takes place in a normal senior high. Squall's the bullied one, and Seifer the popular one. A story about the
two of them forming a relationship of some sort ^_^

**AN: Ok, Squall's really a bit OOC in this fic, just a warning ^_^

Chapter 3:

Squall walked across the street towards his own house. It was almost opposite to Rinoa's, just slightly more to the left. The
house was two-storeyed and slightly run-down. Their father hadn't really had the time to repair it. The afternoon sun cast a huge
shadow of the old oak tree, down on the overgrown lawn. Up in the tree top were the remains of an old tree house. Squall had
build it with his father when he was five or six maybe. He noted Charlie's car was parked in front of the house. Charlie was his
sister's boyfriend. They had been dating for some years now. The guy was a bit older than his 18-year-old sister, but despite the
age difference, the two of them seemed to be a match. Squall walked to the front door and made a note to himself that maybe it
was time to re-paint the dilapidated porch.

"I'm home!" Squall called, wanting to make sure Quistis and Charlie would be aware of his presence. The last time he came in
without saying anything, the outcomes had been rather embarrassing. Squall kicked his boots off and made his way into the
kitchen. He saw his sister, being busy in front of the stove, and Charlie helping her out.

"Squall, you're just in time, the dinner will be ready in a sec." The blonde girl greeted his little brother.

"Hey tough guy, what's up?" Charlie smiled and walked over to the cupboard. The brunette boy gave him something resembling
a smile, and leaned against the counter.

"So, who's the owner of the fancy car you just arrived with?" Quistis enquired and glanced in Squall's direction, noting the
sudden blush on the boy's face.

"No one...." Squall mumbled and looked away. "Is dad gonna be home for dinner?" he quickly changed the topic.

"No, he has to work overtime tonight." Quistis answered and let out a sigh. Their father worked as a mechanician at a local Gas
station. Ever since he had lost his wife, the man had to do a lot of overtime work. "Do you have any plans for tonight? Me and
Charlie rented a movie. You can watch it with us if you like."

"And watch you guys make out?! I don't think so." Came Squall's answer. Charlie just chuckled, but Quistis narrowed her blue
eyes, a faint blush covering her otherwise pale skin. She set the dinner on the table and motioned for everyone to sit down.

"I'm not hungry.." Squall informed and walked out of the kitchen.

"But Squall! You gotta eat!" Quistis called after his brother, giving Charlie a worried look.

Squall ran upstairs, noting he still had time before Seifer would pick him up. His room was located at the end of the hall, his
sister's room on the right side, and his father's bedroom on the left. There was a 'Keep out' sign on the door, one that Squall had
made when he was little. The boy stepped into his room and closed the door. Before he slumped down on the unmade made,
Squall turned on the CD player. He lay on his back and let his eyes travel around the small room. His bed was located in the
middle, and there was a little bookshelf just across it, filled with old comics, CDs, school books and magazines. On the right,
there was a window, half of it covered with a dark curtain. Under the window Squall had his messy desk. He couldn't even
remember when was the last time he used it for doing his homework. The paneled walls were covered with different posters, old
photos, drawings and miscellaneous notes. Squall was really not a tidy person, and this annoyed his sister who was always
telling him to clean his room. The floor was filled with his clothes, and it was a wonder he even managed to find anything from
under them. But Squall liked his room just the way it was. In his opinion, it was cozy, not messy. [1]

The brunette lay on the bed and already felt butterflies in his stomach. 'Why did I have to agree to help him...I know I'm gonna
regret it...' Squall cursed in his mind. He sat up and sank his fingers into his unruly mop of hair. Even if he didn't trust Seifer, he
knew the blonde was different from all the other bullies. Or at least Squall hoped he was. He tried to remember all the times he
had met with the older boy. Most of the memories that filled his mind were unpleasant ones. Squall got lost in his thoughts,
Seifer's mocking laughter suddenly sounding in his ears, despite the music playing in the room. The brunette bounced up from
the bed, balling his fists in sudden anger.

'He *is* just like the rest of them! ...Always laughing at me with them...making fun of me!' The brunette's brows were drawn
together, but despite the anger, he couldn't forget all the times Seifer had been his way out of a bad situation. '...He stood up for
me today...didn't he?' Squall felt his face grow hot, as the shower-scene returned to his mind. 'No! He's the one who told Mike
to throw me in the shower!' Squall told himself, even if he knew that wasn't quite true. It was just so much easier to think Seifer
was one of the bad guys. Squall's low self-esteem prevented him from believing that maybe someone just wanted to be nice to
him.

He twined his arms around himself, feeling uneasy about going over to Seifer's home. He bent down to pick up a clean shirt
from his old arm chair, placed on the left side of his bed. The brunette brought the garment up and inhaled, his nostrils filling
with soapy smell. He got undressed and changed into the clean shirt as quickly as possible. Squall hated the way he looked. The
constant insults made about his body had really had an effect on him. There was hardly any self-esteem left in Squall, and
somewhere deep inside, he was afraid Seifer would be the one to rob him what ever little he still had. 'I....I don't wanna go over
there. This has got to be a trap or something...he's probably invited Mike and the others over, and they're gonna-'

"Squall! You've got a phone-call!" Quistis yelled from downstairs and brought Squall back from his doubtfull thoughts.
The brunette blinked his eyes and walked over to his small nightstand. He wiped some papers off from the table, and found a
phone, hidden underneath.

"Hello?"

"Squall! Hi, it's me"

"Oh, hey Zell..." The boy on the other end was his best and only friend. Well, there was Selphie too, but they didn't hang out
together that often, for the girl went to a different school. Squall had known Zell since he went to high school. It had been the
bullies that had brought them together.

"Dude! I heard you got *showered* today! That really sucks..." Squall blinked his eyes nervously and frowned. He didn't really
want to think about what had happen earlier.

"Yeah..." he muttered.

"Anyway, got plans for tonight? I was thinking maybe we could hang out. You, me and Selphie? There's a Star Trek marathon
on the cable tonight. "

"I can't...I...have to study." Squall mumbled, not wanting to tell his friend he was actually spending time with the enemy. "I
have an english exam on Monday."

"Oh...well, I guess it's just me and Tilmitt then. Too bad you're gonna miss the marathon... But anyway, study hard!"

Squall put the phone down and glanced at his alarm clock. It was almost six o'clock and the brunette was feeling nervous. He
walked over to his window and saw Rinoa, mowing the lawn on her backyard. 'Well...at least he was ok when Rinoa was
around....so maybe I should just trust him.'

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Seifer slowed down as he neared Squall's house. He noticed the boy was already waiting for him, sitting on the sidewalk. As
Squall opened the door of his Porsche and made his way in, Seifer turned off the CD player. "Hi...." he mumbled and gave a
little nod. The younger boy quickly glanced over to his direction and said nothing. The atmosphere inside the car was tense, and
for some time, they drove in silence. Squall kept looking out of his window, his fingers playing with the hem of his blue shirt.
Seifer was trying to think of something to say, unable to do so.

'Why does he look like I'm about to eat him or something...' the blonde wondered, as he noted how uptight the younger boy
looked. 'Must be hard for him to trust me, if he thinks I'm one of the bad guys...'

Seifer fiddled with the buttons of the CD player, feeling the need to break the awkward silence in the car. Even the loud music
didn't ease the tension. The blonde let out a frustrated groan and reached for his cigarettes. He lit up a smoke and inhaled
deeply. The car was quickly filled with cigarette smoke, and Squall couldn't stop himself from coughing. The brunette boy
blinked and narrowed his eyes as the smoke made them sting. Seifer noticed this and quickly stubbed out the cigarette.

"Sorry..." he said and opened the window. Once again Squall turned his head to look away.

"So..." Seifer began, finally deciding to start a conversation. He ran his fingers through his short, spiky hair and stole a quick
glance from the rear mirror. Hesitantly, Squall turned his head and met Seifer's eyes. The brunette arched his brows, as if
waiting for the older boy to say something. Seifer noted this, and blinked his green eyes nervously, clearing his throat.

"Well...Squall... I just wanna say that I'm sorry for what happened this afternoon...At the showers..." the blonde spoke. "I mean,
there's nothing wrong with a harmless prank, but what the guys did today...well, that was wrong." When Seifer saw the frown
on Squall's face, he realised his subject of conversation probably wasn't the best one out there. He was about to apologise, but
was interrupted by the younger boy.

"Why do they do that Seifer??" Squall asked, sounding somewhat agitated. Seifer looked down and met the boy's intent gaze. "I
mean w-why do they hate me so much?...I've never done anything to them..." Squall lowered his face, feeling slightly upset.
Seifer was silent and watched the younger boy, not really knowing how to answer. He turned off the music and leaned back in
his seat.

"I don't think we...I mean *they* hate you Squall." Seifer finally spoke. Squall raised his face and watched the blonde with
narrowed eyes. "You're just an easy target, I guess." Seifer squirmed in his seat, feeling uneasy under the brunette's intent gaze.

"Because of the way I look, right?" Squall asked, his voice filled with self-loathing.

"No!...Well...maybe that's one of the reasons...But I don't think...think there's anything wrong with the way you look." The older
boy spoke, suddenly missing some of his usual self-confidence.

Squall blinked his eyes in disbelieve. He wasn't sure if he'd just heard right. It didn't take long however, for a frown to make its
way onto his face. The boy narrowed his eyes and looked out of the window. 'Yeah well...we both know that's just because you
need my help in your studies...why else would you hang out with a brainy...'

Apart from Seifer's fingers, tapping on the steering-wheel, the car was quiet the rest of the way. Expensive-looking houses came
into view as they drove up to 'Hilltop valley', the place to live, if you were rich and prosperous. Squall kept looking out of his
window. Every single house they drove pass, had a pool, at least two expensive cars, parked on the driveway, and a perfectly
managed garden.

"My humble abode." Seifer pointed with his finger and drove his car in front of the garage of his home. He turned off the engine
and motioned for Squall to get out. The brunette closed the door and remained still, trying to take in everything he saw before
him. The house was huge, three storeyed to be exact. It looked very modern. The shape was quite angular and all the windows
were huge. Actually, to Squall, it looked like the front side of the building was all windows.

"Squall?" Seifer called and caused the other boy to blink his eyes. "Do you wanna go in, or maybe stand on the driveway the
rest of the night?" the blonde asked with a faint smirk on his lips. Squall said nothing, but followed Seifer, as the older boy led
him up to the porch. The garden was filled with shaped plantation, many of them representing animals of some sort. Each work
of art was adduced with small spotlight. As they reached the front door, Seifer fiddled with his keys, looking for the right one.

"Don't worry, dad and the old hag...err...my stepmom, they won't be home before smallhours. They're at this beneficence-party,
so the house will be all ours...s-so that we can study I mean..." Seifer stammered and finally managed to open the door. He
stepped aside and welcomed Squall to his home.


:::::::::::To be continued::::::::::

**AN: This was a bit long. I thank you for all the previous reviews and hope to get more.

[1] actually, I think the real Squall would be a tidy person, but this is an AU fic so...^_^

-Yorda