She had never been so confused in her entire life. She thought she had loved Irvine, but that feeling quickly faded as she saw him flirt around with other girls. And then she met Seifer. She had hated him for what he had done at first but when she saw the torment in his eyes, she realized there was more to the sorceress knight than just a heartless killing machine. Just when she had grown to really care about him, he left her. He wasn't coming back but she still went to his old cave one last time, just in case. She knew it would be the last time; she couldn't keep going there or people would start to wonder what she was up to.

But now that he was gone, she was more confused than ever. She reflected back on their short time together and wondered about her feelings for him. She now had to admit to herself that the reason she started to be nice to Seifer was because she felt sorry for him. Had that sympathy turned to love? The more days that passed and the longer she went without him, that answer didn't seem as clear to her. It had all happened so fast that maybe it hadn't been real love. But she would never know for sure, since he was gone now.

Time slipped through her fingers. At first she could barely sleep for thinking of him. Was he all right? Was he even still alive? But the world kept going, and she had to keep going too. Days wore on and it got easier for her not to think about what had happened. She was able to sleep again and go about her normal business. Then came a day when she stopped thinking about him. That was when she truly started to question her feelings for him. Maybe, because no one else would love him, she convinced herself that she did, just so he would be happy.

He said that he loved me... but I don't know if I loved him. I cared about him, and I didn't want him to go through that pain alone, but did I love him? Oh, Hyne, I feel so stupid, so horrible. I just didn't know what I was doing. She so wanted to ask someone's advice, and the only person she could think of to ask was Rinoa. But she had already gone to Rinoa so much concerning this, and she didn't want her friend to worry about her. Who else could help her? The answer came to her, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it right from the beginning: Irvine. He would understand better than anyone.

"Hey, Irvy."

"Hey, Sefie!" he greeted with a smile. He gave her a hug and she hugged him in return. She had so missed being held by the strong arms of a man. "You okay?" She smiled slightly; he always seemed able to tell when she was upset.

"Yeah. I just need to talk to you for a while."

"What about?" She allowed a pause. How was she going to phrase this? She would have to stall him until she figured it out.

"Can we sit down first?"

"Sure thing." He steered her into the Quad, which was usually empty. They sat down on the stage. She was a little surprised that Irvine didn't put his arm around her, but was grateful for it. It meant he was going to seriously listen to her. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and started telling her story. She was careful not to mention Seifer by name, but still watched Irvine to see if he could figure out whom she was talking about. He didn't make a single interruption as she poured out the whole thing: how he had left her, and how she had questioned herself about her feelings. She finally talked herself out, and silently waited for his response.

"Damn, Sefie," he said finally, shaking his head. "Now, you know what I think about all this?"

"What?"

"I think you're just tellin' yourself you didn't love him so you won't be hurtin' as much. I think you love this guy a lot." She thought she detected a hint of jealousy in his voice, but perhaps she was just imagining it. "And I think he really loves you back; he just wants to see you happy."

"Maybe," she muttered. It didn't do her any good to think that he loved her; he was gone now, and he couldn't come back or he would be in danger.

"Ya know, sometimes it's hard for guys to show how they feel. Sometimes they do really stupid stuff. But to want your happiness above his own... that's a sign of real love." Her face flushed hot. "I don't have any answers for you, but I promise I'll be here if you need me."

"Thank you, Irvy. I appreciate that more than I can say." She gave him a tight hug and smiled at him. It was her first genuine smile in weeks.

Selphie was never happier than when she was organizing a festival, and so she had jumped at the chance to organize SeeD graduations. It felt to her that she had more fun at this SeeD graduation than her own. She had worked very hard to make the ballroom look good for the occasion and was so pleased when others appreciated her hard work. She especially loved it when people came up to her and complimented on the decorations, or the music selection. It was nice when she knew people appreciated all she did to make the night special.

"Hey, there, pretty lady. You mind if I have this dance?" She turned and had to summon up all her self-control to not tackle the man standing before her. "Or do ya still gotta play hostess for a while?" He gave her a sad look.

"Of course you can dance with me, silly!" she giggled. She offered him her hand, but just then the music was cut off. Puzzled, she glanced over at the DJ. His eyes were wide and he was motioning for her to come over. "I'll be back," she assured Irvine, and hurried over. All around her the newly graduated SeeDs were murmuring uneasily.

"Selphie, I don't want anyone to panic, but I just heard some very bad news," hissed the young student. "I already informed Commander Leonhart and some others."

"What's going on?"

"He's coming this way," came the cryptic reply.

"He?" repeated Selphie. The student nodded but didn't seem to want to explain himself. "Where's Squall now?"

"He went outside with Instructor Trepe, Rinoa, and Zell. You and Irvine better go out there, too. Just in case."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks. Put the music back on; we don't want people to worry." She returned to Irvine, feeling very jittery. The music came back on and the dance continued. Irvine arched an eyebrow, questioning her with his eyes. "There's some trouble," she reported. "Squall and the others are outside. I think we'd better go out and see what's going on." He nodded in agreement. They went to their rooms to collect their weapons and headed for the front gate.

Squall and the others were already there. The DJ had looked frightened to Selphie, so she was edgy on what she would see. She stood beside Rinoa. The dark-haired girl acknowledged her with a nod.

"Glad you two made it," said Squall, barely above a whisper.

"What's goin' on here?" asked Irvine. "What's comin'?" Squall pressed a finger to his lips. Selphie could hear footsteps approaching. It sounded like three pairs of feet, and the owners didn't seem in much of a hurry. She clenched her weapon tightly, ready to attack. Her friends were quiet; all of them were tense and hardly allowed themselves to breathe. At last their visitors came into the light.

"You!" shouted several voices at once.

"Not another step!" warned Squall, brandishing Lionheart. Selphie felt like her whole body had shut down. She stared and stared, not wanting to believe what her eyes told her.

"Why did you come back?" she asked flatly.

"I decided not to run any longer," he answered. "I'm not afraid to die, so there's no reason for me to hide."

"You made a huge mistake coming back here!" shouted Zell. He rushed forward and slugged the taller man in the jaw. Seifer staggered back but didn't counter. Fujin and Raijin glanced at him, as if silently asking permission to fight back. Seifer ignored them, focusing instead on Zell.

"Go ahead and kill me if you want. I don't care." Zell stared at him in disbelief.

"You want to die?"

"NO!" shrieked Selphie before she could stop herself. Her weapon fell out of her hands as she rushed over and threw her arms around Seifer. "Seifer, please! Don't throw your life away!" Needless to say, her friends were stunned. Seifer pushed her away. She stared up at him and met with his sad gray eyes.

"What I did can never be undone, but if my death brings justice, then so be it." Irvine came up and put a hand on Selphie's shoulder.

"It's him, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You were right, Irvy. I still love him."

"Then I spare his life." Irvine set his gun on the ground. Selphie was surprised, but not as much as Seifer.

"I can't do it, either," said Squall. "I still don't trust you, but... I can't do it." Quistis and Rinoa agreed, laying their weapons down. The posse looked shocked that their enemies would refuse to kill them.

"Thank you," managed Seifer. Squall turned and walked away, Quistis and Rinoa following.

"You just better not set one foot into the Garden," threatened Zell. He shoved Seifer roughly and stormed off.

"Make her happy, okay? Treat her right." Irvine and Seifer stared at each other. Irvine held out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Seifer shook it. Irvine picked up his gun and walked back in the Garden. Selphie was now alone with the posse.

"You came back. I can't believe you risked your life to come back."

"I didn't risk anything... except how you felt about me. I said in my note to love someone else, but at heart I didn't want that. I was risking that you had moved on. I'm glad you didn't."

"So am I." She smiled, but the smile wavered when she saw the hint of tears in his eyes. "Seifer, what's wrong?"

"I'm... happy," he choked. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her mouth.