CrossBlades Chapter 2


     He stood, staring down at the book in his hands, the book Rinoa had asked him to find. Stupid feminist self-help crap; he had no idea why she read it. She seemed like an intelligent girl, well most of the time.
     Why do I even bother? She drives me nuts! Squall had been contemplating breaking off the relationship on and off now for the past month. Something in him kept telling him she was just being herself and that was no reason to end things between them.
     Why do I feel like such a sap all the time? I'm a SeeD for fuck's sake, I'm supposed to know what I'm doing, always have a level head, take charge of things. And now I'm standing in a bookstore talking to myself. He looked up. Irvine was immersed in the weapons section, rifling through a handgun encyclopedia. He sighed and carried the book to the counter.
     "Are we ready to go?" He turned to see the three of them standing behind him. Selphie had her arm looped around Irvine's elbow and Zell had his head cocked to the side, waiting for their leader's response.
     "Yeah, sure." He took the bag and followed them out of the store. In the jeep, Squall sat in the driver's seat, letting his thoughts disappear under the task of driving. Zell took shotgun and Selphie and Irvine sat in the back. Selphie let out a yelp after the car started up and Squall nearly slammed on the breaks.
     Zell spun around in his seat, wrapping an arm around the chair. "You wanna get us in an accident? Cut it out you two!"
     "What? We're just havin' some fun."
     "It's not fun!" Selphie pouted from her seat. "How am I supposed to get you back? Punch you in the face?"
     "Works for me." Zell raised his shoulder in a shrug.
     "You know you like it." Irvine grabbed Selphie by the ribs, sending her into hysterical screeching. Squall looked back in the rear-view mirror.
     "See? You're smiling." Irvine shifted his weight to get a better angle of attack.
     "Fuck off!" Selphie squirmed in the seat. Squall slowed to a red light and sighed. Why did they act like this? They were all supposed to be mature. It was just disgusting. They were supposed to behave like adults. Who am I kidding? We're barely adults, how are we supposed to know how to act? We're just pretending at everything anyways.
     "Wow, it's pretty cool driving backwards." Squall looked at Zell, still clinging to the seat.
     "What?" The light changed and he sped off.
     "Everything's moving backwards."
     "I think your brain's going backWARDS!" Her last word was punctuated by a scream as Irvine continued to tickle her. "Irvine, cut it out!"
     "If she pees the seat, you're cleaning it." Zell continued to look out the windows.
     "I'm not five, I don't pee myself anymore."
     "I never peed myself when I was five."
     "No, you just ran around and sooked." Irvine looked at the blonde martial artist. Selphie grabbed his hand and twisted it. "Ow! What did you do that for?"
     "Revenge, you big jerk!" She crossed her arms and sat back in the seat.
     "Aw, come on, you know you like it." He leaned in, wrapping his arm over her shoulder. She relaxed a little and let him pull her towards him.
     "You guys done?" Zell had his feet up on the seat now and completely twisted himself around in the seat belt.
     "Not really..." Irvine grabbed Selphie's chin and pulled her face to his, tracing a line of kisses down her neck. She just sat there and blushed.
     "Get a room!" Zell pushed against the back of his chair.
     Irvine pulled his mouth from Selphie's skin and stared at Zell. "Turn around." Then he returned to his previous engagement.
     Zell spun around in the seat without even bothering to undo the seat belt. Squall kept looking at him from the corner of his eye.
     "How did you do that?"
     Zell just blinked at him. "Years of practice I guess. I used to be able to lie flat in the back seat of a car with my seat belt on."
     "I bet Seifer must like that trick." The spiky haired blonde went beet red at Irvine's comment.
     "Anyone can do that." Selphie piped up, shoving him off her. "And don't bug him about Seifer. You know how he feels."
     "I think everyone but Seifer knows."
     "Shut up or so help me, I'll come back there and shut you up myself!" Zell flung around and punched the seat.
     "Look, settle down, all of you. We're here." No one else seemed to have noticed that the car stopped. Squall took out the keys and undid his belt. He slammed the door and left them in the Jeep, walking swiftly up the steps. When he opened the door, Rinoa was sprawled on the couch in a towel. Squall nearly dropped the bag on the floor.
     "What’re you doing?!"
     "I was just watching TV after I had a bath."
     "What's the holdup?" Irvine pushed against Squall, still standing in the doorway. "Oh, hey Rinoa, nice towel."
      Squall smacked his fist across Irvine's shoulder without looking. Irvine just brushed past him, Selphie in tow.
     "Rinoa, I have to show you the dress I bought."
     "Okay, I'll be up later."
     "Better make that a lot later..." Irvine spun on the upstairs landing.
     "I didn't want to know!" Zell squeezed past Squall. "You comin' in or what?" He turned and held a hand up in front of Rinoa, ducking his head down as he skipped quickly into the kitchen.
     "What?" Rinoa sat up on the couch, tugging at the top of the towel when it refused to follow her. Squall spun around and shut the door.
     "It's not like I'm naked."
     Squall sighed and turned around. He could tell she was going to start pouting. He stepped into the center of the room and handed her the bag.
     "Here's the book you wanted."
     She looked at the book, then flung it down on the couch beside her, jumping up to hug Squall. He coughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Something brushed against his waist, then he realized her towel fell off.
     "Oops!" She pulled away and looked at the towel. "Oh well." She draped her arms over his shoulders and looked at him. He was concentrating on the ceiling.
     "What? It's not like you've never seen me naked."
     "This..is different."
     "How?" She stood back and put her hands on her hips. He glanced down then back up, trying to contain his embarrassment.
     "That was intentional."
     "Does it matter?" She inched closer to him, sliding her hands to his waist. She paused, then stomped her foot. "Would you at least look at me?"
     He looked down at her face, almost a boyish quality to his features.
     "What is wrong with you, Squall Leonheart? You are the weirdest boyfriend I've ever had! I'm naked here and you're not doing anything!"
     "Well now I'm really not eating out there!" Zell hollered from the kitchen. Squall tried to muffle his laughter but it came out as a snort. Rinoa growled. He raised his eyebrows and tried to straitened his face. Rinoa’s sense of humor was nothing compared to the sick minds he and Zell enjoyed, and he doubted she’d like if he pointed out that Zell said eating out.
     "What? I'm sorry?"
     "What's so funny?!"
     "Nothing?"
     "You're impossible!" She stormed upstairs, then came back down, shooting him a dirty look as he handed her the towel. She flew up the stairs and Squall ran his fingers through his hair as he heard her kick a door open. Multiple screams erupted from upstairs, and Zell poked his head out from the kitchen. Two doors slammed. Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen and sat at the island next to Zell.
     "What was all that about?" Zell asked around a mouthful of sub.
     "Who knows... Why'd you have to remind me?"
     "Of what?" He picked up a piece of lettuce that fell out of the sandwich and flipped it back onto Zell’s plate.
     "That porn."
     "Oh yeah! The one that made me so sick I can't eat while watching porn."
     "You're the only one who'd eat during a porn anyways."
     "Well you have to admit it was pretty gross. A giant milking machine...but with guys..." Zell shuddered, then dropped the sandwich on the plate. "You want this? I've just lost my appetite."
     "Sure. I thought you liked guys.” Squall draped his arm around Zell.
     “Skank.” He shoved him off. “You know what I mean.”
     “What? That thousands of liters of cum doesn’t turn you on?”
     Zell scrunched his nose. “Yeah but that’s from a whole bunch of guys. I don’t know who they are or where they’ve been.”
     “You know where Seifer’s been.”
     “Shut up!” Zell shoved him, not hard enough to push him off the stool. “Speaking of which, is it safe to walk around yet without naked Rinoa?"
     "Sounds like she's in her room."
     "Good, cause I need my hoverboard."
     "Going out for a bit?"
     "Yup, I'll be back later." The blonde took off out of the kitchen. Squall tore off a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth. Things had been sour with him and Rinoa for a long time. He didn't understand it at all. She had been naked in front of him and yet he hadn't felt a thing. What's wrong with me? He sighed, resting his elbow on the counter and put his head on his hand. Zell flew out the door. Squall looked out the window, then decided to go for a walk. He wasn't hungry and it was no use sticking around here, Rinoa would just come down and yell at him again. When had his life become so monotonous?

Chapter 3
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