Selphie Audition

It had been a strange few weeks. For all of them. It was like fate had suddenly decided now was a good moment to dump everything on them at once, and it was clear that recent events had shaken up even the usual happy, cheerful people. They’d discovered their ‘origins’ so to speak, the fact that all of them had lived in the same orphanage together, and that sorceress Edea had taken care of them. Not too long after that, they’d been attacked by Galbadia Garden, and now Rinoa was comatose for some reason… and Edea had gone back to the sweet woman she’d once been, back when they’d all still called her Matron. It was all a bit much to take in, but even with everything going on, Selphie still tried her hardest to be strong and keep cheering people up, though it wasn’t easy for her either. It was hard to cheer people up who were completely out of it, which was what she suspected was the case with Squall. He seemed to be doing even worse than usual, and when she’d caught him sitting by Rinoa’s bed earlier in the day, any playful comment of ‘a kiss from her prince might wake her’ had died on her lips, and she’d simply backed out and left the infirmary before their leader realized she was there. What could she possibly say to cheer him up? What could she tell anyone to cheer them up? Anything she’d say would sound like a cliché and any joke she’d try to make would be cruel and heartless. Perhaps that’s why she retreated into the infirmary as much as she had these last few days. Rinoa wasn’t conscious, but it still made her feel calm and more like her usual self to sit and talk to the other girl. She couldn’t do anything to help wake her up, but maybe just keeping her company would help, even if it was just a little? Besides, she figured that if Rinoa could hear them, she’d want to hear some of the more amusing sides of life as well… Squall was probably moping and feeling depressed, so she doubted if he ever talked to her about silly everyday subjects like what sort of silly haircut a girl at the library had gotten, or that Irvine had accidentally tripped on a bucket and nearly fell off the second story walkway.

“So yeah,” she finished her story and slid off the chair to sit on her knees next to the bed, her elbows were leaning on the mattress next to Rinoa, and her chin was casually perched in her hands, “He missed out on hotdogs… again,” a soft snort escaped her mouth and she lightly patted the other girl’s leg, “Don’t tell him this, but I actually bought the last hotdog…” she glanced over her shoulder towards the entrance hall and then leaned closer to Rinoa’s ear, “And I knew he was coming,” almost as soon as she spoke the words she broke down into a fit of giggles and playfully slapped Rinoa’s leg a few more times. “Seriously though, don’t tell him!” she hissed through her teeth and then went completely silent when she heard footsteps in the entrance hall, though she visibly relaxed when she spotted the doctor’s familiar figure walk by and sit by her desk again after stepping out for lunch not too long ago. “Heya doc!” she called and waved from her position by the bed, and then turned her attention back to sleeping beauty. “You know Squall was here earlier…” sighing a little, she rested her cheek on the bed, “Did he say something nice to you? He’s been even more of a grump lately than he usually is, I think he misses you a lot…” she smirked and closed her eyes for a second, “You should hurry up and come back so you can lecture him for us, he terrorizes the whole school with his glares and his ‘whatever’s’, they actually sound evil now, like, I’ll tell him ‘good morning Squall!’ and he’ll just glare at me and get all angry and go…” her expression grew dark for a second when she tried to mimic an evil Squall voice, which wasn’t quite as easy as she thought it’d be, “…whateverrrrrrr!” she growled and then let out another fit of giggles. It wasn’t funny at all. Nothing about this entire situation was amusing in the slightest. But what else could she do? There was enough sadness and anger around this place lately that they could fill the oceans with it, there needed to be at least a few people who remained optimistic for the future, or else what was the point of even going on at all?

The short girl was about to make up another weird story that would’ve probably made Rinoa laugh, had she been awake to hear her, when the doctor called her, asking her to run an errand for her real quick. “Welp, duty calls!” she bounced back to her feet and dusted off her knees, “I’ll be back later, I’ll bring a book to read… uh… maybe. If I remember,” she grinned and gave her friend a mischievous look, which she obviously couldn’t see, “If I forget, I’ll make something up. Something awesome! So look forward to that!” No response. Selphie obviously hadn’t expected there to be one this time, but part of her kept hoping that Rinoa would somehow reply to her when she least expected it. Maybe it didn’t even need to be words, just a small change in expression would already help a lot. At least then she’d know her friend could hear her. It was so strange, talking to someone when you weren’t sure they were even aware of your presence. The hardest part of the visit was here again, actually walking out the door and leave her here. For some reason, the brunette always struggled with that final part. She didn’t really want to leave, and she was genuinely worried whether something big would happen while she was away, and not in a good sense. Biting her lip and shuffling her feet awkwardly, Selphie slowly but surely backed away far enough to reach the doorway, “So… catch you later then!” she called in her usual peppy tone before turning completely and physically forcing herself out of the room, marching by the doctor’s desk without uttering a single word. After Trabia, she’d struggled with these sort of things a lot more than she had in the past. After all the people she’d already lost, Selphie didn’t want to say goodbye. Never again.

Words: 1109

Notes: Everyone's worst fear coming true: Selphie talking to you when you can't escape e.e

This is disturbingly fantastic.

2/2.