Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ moving on ❯ 6- under locks ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

So, on to chapter 6. I'm sorry if the last episode dragged a little. I promise that from now on this story will be all killer, NO FILLER!!

Also, I've been told that I need to write longer chapters, so.... here goes for the longest yet (probably).



Chapter 6: Under Locks

<i>'I feel I'm under locks

and no-one made a key

so in here I will rot

it makes more sense to me

and now I'm given hope

a hope of being free

untie the shreds of rope

that hold me to my knees'- Defenestration, 'Under Locks'</i>



Quistis felt she was stagnating here at Garden. Sitting under a tree in the training centre, she truly wished to die (and not for the first time).

<What is there for me here? > she wondered hopelessly.

<I'd rather die free. On my own somewhere...not here, where everyone would come to the funeral and giggle to each other and forget I'd ever existed by the next day.> Quistis thought fiercely.

<Maybe I'll leave Garden...I could travel the world, then throw myself off the edge of FH.> Then she shuddered, grimacing. She knew that she would never have the guts to leave the only real home she'd ever known, even if it wasn't much of one.

Quistis jumped at a sudden rustling in the bushes, jolted from her dark reverie.

'Quistis?' said a man's voice tentatively. She watched incredulously as Squall extricated himself slowly and painfully from the thick shrubbery.

'Guess I shoulda taken the path, huh?' he said, grinning. He raised one hand to his hair, then, realising it was a lost cause, lowered it slowly.

'What...do YOU WANT?!' Quistis had been as close to calm as she ever got while she contemplated her own death; now she could feel all her suppressed rage rising in her like an inferno. Seeing her so furious, which was extremely rare, made Squall all the more wary.

'Look, Quistis. I only came to apologise for Rinoa, okay? Now, I've said it. I'll go, if you want.'

'Yeah, right.' Quistis replied sullenly, hugging her knees. 'Like she'd do that. Tell me the TRUTH, Squall.'

'Well...to be honest? Rinny and me argued about it.' Squall said unhappily, his hands in his pockets.

Quistis arched an eyebrow cynically, but said nothing, staring into space.

There was a long silence, until finally-

'Well?'

Squall looked worried.

'Umm. 'Rinoa is...very angry. She didn't want to apologise- in fact, she didn't want to speak to you at all. Or even see you. Ever again.'

Quistis could feel her anger cooling, becoming ice. Her only weapon against those who sought to hurt her. <Calm.> she thought.

'Quistis? You ok?'

<You have got to be joking.>

'Yeah.' She forced a smile. 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

Squall stepped towards her suddenly.

<What is it NOW?! Can't he see I want to be left alone?>

'Quistis, you're not okay. Even I can see that. What Rinoa said was... pretty bad, and we both know none of it was true.'

Quistis gritted her teeth. 'So WHY did you let her say it?! To be honest, Squall, I would be quite happy if I never saw her again.'

'I said we argued. I...told her that if she didn't stop this bitch attitude thing..'

She wished he would get to the point.

'..then we were finished.'

Quistis couldn't help but feel shocked, despite herself. Up until now, everyone had pretty much assumed that Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly were a matching set; they were practically Superglued together. <Squall dropping Rinoa? I'd say that's about as likely as Seifer Almasy coming back to Garden.>

'So...?' she prompted. She wanted to hear the end of THIS story.

'Well...I don't think she believed me. I left her to work it out for herself.'

'Really?' Quistis couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice.

'What's so funny? This is really serious!'

'Oh, I just think you're lying. You? Show some backbone? Where Rinoa's concerned, you're basically Doormat Boy.'

'...whatever.'

'Hey, don't lie to yourself, Squall. She uses you all the time, either as her personalised credit card, or as a shield from the consequences whenever she goes too far in the Bitch Stakes. She's the original spoiled brat. In fact, if it wasn't for you, Irvine, Selphie and I would probably have hauled her Prada (~it's an Esthar clothing company, honest!~) ass out of Garden weeks ago.'

'QUISTIS!' Squall stared at her in utter shock It was totally unlike his former SeeD instructor to attack someone that directly. On the rare occasions when she did have a deprecating remark, it was usually more on the witty side of nasty. Even if he did hide his amusement when it was directed at his girlfriend.

'I'm sorry.' She shrugged her slim shoulders. 'But someone had to say it, Squall.' She turned to face him, her clear sapphire eyes looking directly into his own.

<Hyne, she's beautiful.> He was stunned by his sudden realisation. Why hadn't he seen it before? Everything about her- her slender body, the rich gold of her hair (just then, the sun caught it, and it seemed to glow with a fiery heat) and her catlike eyes.

She noticed his stare, and frowned, puzzled. 'What?'

He looked away. 'Nothing.' he mumbled, his tongue suddenly thick in his mouth.

<Fuck, this wasn't meant to happen!> His heart racing, he tried to think of Rinoa-his girlfriend, the woman he loved-but all he could think of was the way Quistis' lips curved when she smiled.

Quistis herself was getting seriously worried. 'Squall, what is it?' she asked concernedly. Had she upset him with her rant about Rinoa? Sure, the dumb bitch deserved it, but Squall was blind to his girlfriend's flaws.

<God, if only she knew.> he thought to himself, almost laughing aloud at the irony of it- Quistis thought he was angry about Rinoa, when in fact she couldn't be further from his mind.

'Squall, I'm serious. What's the matter?'

Quistis was leaning over him. He couldn't resist it any longer-

-Squall grabbed her, pinned her to the ground, his lips brushing hers. She panicked-

<<hot breath inside her mouth, a rough hand scraping between her legs>>

-and pushed away, gasping with fear. Her eyes wide and unseeing, she raced away from him, her legs threatening to give way as she rushed to find somewhere, anywhere, that was safe.






~shit! ok, Quisty has some issues surrounding sex, it's clear. Next chapter: SEIFER MEETS CID!!


ps, sorry it's so short, I'll probably add another chapter tomorrow, but I'm too tired to write any more. (I went SHOPPING!! and got chased by townies, but that's another story)

The song quote is from 'Under Locks' by Defenestration.


Oh yeah, Square owns FF8 and all characters therein. However, it does not own Prada (yet).