Disclaimers: Final Fantasy VIII and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. Character designs are by Tetsuya Nomura. I own the story and the characters that are obviously new and made up.

Maybe It Could Work
by Elcyion Pitye

0. Selphies Website.... UPDATED!

Hey everyone! It's me, Selphie!! I think I should update you all about ... well, everything! Tee-hee!

Okay, so after the defeat of Ultimecia, we had this awesome party in celebration of it! It was fun!! Lots of yummy food, lots of laughter, sparkling cider in little champagne glasses (aren't those called flutes or something? Quisty would know... I think....), and, of course, relief from the super stressful times that was the Second Sorceress War!! Oooh, so epic.

Anyway, I caught much of the super awesome action of the party with my video camera!! Hah!! I taped some iiiinteresting stuff...

Hehehehe, blackmail... This means you guys better be nice to me or this stuff gets uploaded and STREAMED ON MY SITE! :D

Okay, okay, enough of that. I better tell you about what's been up since then.

We're heroes!! We saved the world!! That, in turn, gave us celebrity status. We had non-stop interviews with the press, fans wanting our autographs, and EVEN MERCHANDISE FOR EVERYONE TO BUY! Who wants to wear a special edition Selphie Tilmitt shirt, hm? I know you do! Some of the money made goes to repairing damage all over the world, namely my beloved Trabia Garden! Go go go!

Everything, like all the attention, got tiring after a while, but hey, we're at least HERE telling the story and not stuck in that weirdo time compression stuff!

As for all of us individually...

Irvine, a.k.a., my favoritest Irvy in the world was already a student at G-Garden, so he could transfer here to continue his training for SeeD. Rinoa wants to be one, too, but she's actually too old (by two years!) to even apply as a student! Major sadness there, but Headmaster Cid had seen enough of our ordeal to let her register and train for SeeD! Woo-hoo!...

---

Within the third floor office of the Headmaster of Balamb Garden stood Rinoa Heartilly, who did her best at saluting to a seated Cid Kramer.

Edea Kramer, his wife, stood to the side of his desk. She looked on with a smile, proud to include the young raven-haired girl as one of her own alongside the other heroes of the Second Sorceress War, her friends and her boyfriend Squall Leonhart. She also figured that the brown-haired commander was the one who taught Rinoa how to salute like a true SeeD.

"Thank you, sir!” Rinoa declared enthusiastically, perhaps a little too peppy in her tone of voice. It couldn't be helped, however. She was truly excited about attending Garden, especially at being something that was considered an oxymoron. A sorceress who wanted to become SeeD. It was something to go into history books.

"It was nothing at all, Miss—excuse me—Cadet Heartilly," Cid replied from behind his desk, giving her a broad grin. "Now go on and see your friends. It's vacation; class won't be in session for a while."

"Um, one more thing..." Rinoa looked at the floor and asked meekly, "I know the rules said no pets in the Garden..."

“... That dog of yours?” he guessed, raising an eyebrow.

"Angelo is important to my fighting skills. I need to train with him to fight."

"Well, of course,” he replied hesitantly, not too fond of having an animal in his decently clean facility. But what choice was there? Angelo was a vital part of her combat repertoire. "Just keep the dog out of trouble."

Rinoa clapped her hands with joy. "Awesome! Thanks, sir!" She saluted again and ran off merrily to the elevator.

"Plenty of Garden rules need to be redone, no?" Edea said softly after the raven-haired teen disappeared through the elevator doors.

---

... In fact, Rin and Irvy didn't even hafta take any of the pre-SeeD exams; they could've gotten automatic SeeDships (!!!!!), but those two really wanted proper training. That's cool for them! And yes, Headmaster Cid is still... headmaster. Tee-hee. He's in charge of most of the stuff concerning non-SeeD... stuff. I should work on vocabulary, huh? Haha!!!

And since he's not doing a lot with SeeD missions, guess who is? Squall Leonhart, of course!! Poor thing. The first thing Headmaster gave him was a high stack of papers to look over. All early applications for SeeD... I guess a lot of people got inspired. Squall, don't be picky, okay?!!!

Who else, who else...

Oh, Quisty has her instructor license back! The headmaster said that she has "shown all her valor, dignity, and skill during the incident to prove that" she deserves it. According to her, those were the exact words he used. Yeah, as if I would ever use words like valor in real life!

Zell and I haven't done much. We're still SeeDs of the highest rank (A, baby! Yeah!), but we were told that we were gonna be around helping instructors when were not busy. Plus, I have extracurricular activities (which is a big hint to you all that YOU SHOULD HELP OUT WITH THE FESTIVAL).

This is all too good to be true, huh? Like Irvine and Rinoa joining us and Quisty getting her license back just like that. Lotsa happy ending stuff. Well, being world heroes has its advantages. :P

Anywayyyy.

Fujin and Raijin came back to B-Garden without many problems. There was still talk behind their backs about that or whatever, but what the hey. We forgave Matron for doing what she did. It wasn't her fault. She was a pawn of Ultimecia, just like how Fujin and Raijin just followed their friend out of loyalty to Seifer, who was a pawn of the sorceress. Yeah, stuff like that.

So basically, the only person we shouldn't be able to forgive is Ultimecia. And now she's as dead as a doornail thanks to us!!! :DDDD

But speaking of Seifer, I know he's spent time in prison, but not before giving a public apology to the world about his actions as the Knight...

---

Two armed D-District prison guards, stoic and stiff, flanked a handcuffed Seifer as he trudged to the platform that overlooked his massive audience in Deling City.

Well, what a way to ruin a fun, relaxing day after the Sorceress War. What were they thinking, taking Seifer away from Fujin and Raijin and the dock like that? He was happy for the first time since "it" happened. But then came some Galbadians suddenly arresting him and dragging him away. They forced him overnight in a prison cell without warning. Was that even legal? Well, if he was one of the biggest enemies in the world during the war, then it probably didn't even matter to them. No one was on his side at the moment.

So there he was, a day after the end of the war and the end of the odd chaos that was time compression. Seifer blinked instinctively from the onslaught of camera flashbulbs. He almost felt like a celebrity. Almost. Except instead of adoring fans clamoring for him, he had plenty of angry, yelling mobs of people calling him names and giving him death threats. How the ex-knight was able to keep an expressionless face in front of them, he didn't know.

One of the guards adjusted the microphone on the podium for Seifer. The other grunted an urge for him to get it over with.

Rude much?

For the first time in years, Seifer was scared. He had never felt so small. They all hated him, every single one of those faces in the masses of people there. He never minded it before, because he liked people fearing him. But now it wasn't fear, it was just animosity. He didn't think about it until now, but he knew they wanted him dead. It felt more awful than he imagined, especially when he remembered everything he has done in the past year. Hell, in his entire lifetime, from his harmless childish bullying at the orphange to threatening the life of Rinoa, someone he once cared about, by evilly handing her over to a dangerous being without a second thought.

Why did he have to be so pig-headed? Why was he "problematic" enough to hold President Deling at the edge of his gunblade? To let his bewitched matron give him his "dream,” a delusion of grandeur and power? To have his only friends, Fujin and Raijin, get caught up in the mess that followed?

So many why's, but Seifer didn't expect an answer from Hyne. He didn't even expect forgiveness. But at least he had this moment. It was probably the only way he can make redemption.

He wrung his clammy handcuffed hands behind him, taking in the angry and expectant stares from below. He took note of all the cameras broadcasting his worldwide appearance, recording the belittlement of the biggest bully douchebag in the world. By now, he had lost every sense of pride he had ever used as his facade. He was a monster in those dark times, but now, he was a coward, groveling at the feet of those he pushed away in his past, the ones he hurt and tortured and lived to tell about it, the relatives and loved ones of those who perished, the mentors he could've had if he let them lead him.

It all hit him hard, right there on the platform above Deling City. He couldn't be the arrogant, cocky Seifer anymore. (An epiphany? Is that what it's called?) he wondered to himself.

Gulping, Seifer finally leaned into the microphone. "I..." he began, his voice squeaking. The crowd's shouts and cries didn't quiet down any.

(They won't listen.)

"I realize now... what guilty actions I have taken in the recent past," he said solemnly, continuing despite the noise. "And even though it was Sorceress Ultimecia's fault, I accept the blame." Seifer closed his eyes briefly and then returned to his silent audience. "I'm... sorry. For everything. For Trabia, for the Gardens, for turning back on my home and the people in it... testing their patience..."

(Shit...) His voice had cracked at the last word. He didn't expect himself to come to tears. Whilst talking, he realized that he couldn't go back home to his Garden anymore. Not when he was stuck in jail for Hyne knows how long. But even if he weren't, no one would want him back. That reality hit him hard, but he understood that. He didn't want to, but it was true. Knight in exile. Truly alone.

"... I'm sorry... for... everything," Seifer continued, swallowing the lump in his throat. He really was sorry. He never felt shame before this moment, and it hurt like a silver bullet through this heart. "Ill never ever pull a stunt like that again... nor will I ever go against authority for my own selfish reasons... Through this experience, I have changed for the better." (What are you saying, Almasy? No one cares about your fucking feelings!) he yelled to himself.

(They want you dead.)

He wanted to end this damned speech, but couldn't think of anything right to conclude it with. "Uh... and I hope that your lives will be filled with nothing but peace from now on. Thank you." He turned away from the podium. (Lame, Almasy, lame...) he reprimanded himself.

The guards led him away, muttering to each other as if he weren't there.

"So that's the great Seifer Almasy, eh?" The one on the left remarked, snickering.

"Yeah, the so-called 'knight' who quivered in his boots in front of the entire planet," the one on the right replied. They shared a quiet laugh.

Seifer gritted his teeth angrily. He had the biggest desire to hit them both in the face, but obviously that would look really bad, especially after his heartfelt apology to the world. But that wasn't going to grant him another chance, anyway. The guards' words were probably a reflection of how everyone else in the public felt about him.

---

... but after all that, Matron eventually bailed him out, like sometime before classes started again. Yup, you heard right, folks. How? I have no idea. He was supposed to be executed for attempting to kill the president of Deling, or some really heavy punishment... but, oh well. He was lucky. In his defense, President Deling was no good, anyway. Tee-hee. :P

Matron and Seifer both went through pretty much the same thing with the public, with Matron being possessed and Seifer corrupted and brainwashed. I guess Matron was more easily forgiven because she was, ya know, the headmaster's wife, among other things.

I saw the broadcast of his apology. He was reluctantly forgiven, so they said afterwards. Even though it was good of him to do what he did, he still got all these negative responses. But knowing Seifer, he accepted them and possibly brushed them off, knowing he had to live with all that regret and pain for a long time. I'm such a softie for big meanies!

What else happened since I last updated? Ooooh, I remember now. Seifer came back as a student a few months later! Seifer was supposed to be expelled, but you know, knowing what our past was, with our "family" at the orphanage, Cid didn't want to hurt him even more, which I guess was all right. Trabia's bombing was hard on me, but it's easy for me to put things behind me, especially when the other party's willing to apologize and put it behind them too. But man! When Headmaster lifted the ban, Xu was hopping mad!! It was kinda funny seeing her face all red like a tomato (sorry, Xu...).

You should've seen Seifer's face (and ours!) when he first came! I felt for the guy, I have to admit. He looked frightened, you could see it in his eyes, but his stride was still that same over-confident one.

The gang (well, except for Squall. He was doing paperwork for... I dunno, something... that workaholic!! ;P) and I were standing near the directory at the time, and when we spotted him with Matron, we all froze...

---

Seifer walked like he always did in that snobby fashion (which he guessed was something he couldn't really help or get rid of), but he still looked like a scared little child hiding behind his mother, trying not to be seen as he strode in right behind a complacent Edea.

(What am I doing here?!) Seifer pondered, a little pissed as the two of them approached the group, which consisted of Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, and Zell, at the directory. (Matron's the only one who wants me here. This is a waste of time...)

Irvine Kinneas was the first to spot Edea. He tipped his hat, keeping his eyes away from his former enemy. "Matron," he greeted quietly.

"I guess you have figured out why I'm here," Edea replied. She gestured to the blond young man standing behind her.

Quistis Trepe took in a breath. "Oh. Will he be staying here long?" She didn't seem pleased.

“What's he doin' here?” Irvine asked warily.

"Maybe he got accepted back here," Selphie replied. "'Cause Fujin and Raijin are here, too." There wasn't much malice in her voice. Whether she didn't hold a grudge are was still angry on the inside, no one could tell. Seifer definitely couldn't.

"Ask him yourself," Edea said pointedly. She gently shoved Seifer in front of her.

(Erk,) he groaned inwardly. He stared back at his matron in bewilderment. She simply smiled, and silently waved goodbye to the former orphanage residents and the sorceress before making her way to the elevators, presumedly to join her husband in his office. (Thanks a lot, Matron.) Now Seifer was left to fend for himself. Fine then. He crossed his arms and scowled, almost like Squall would. He was prepared for the blow-ups at his face. He'll take it like a man.

"Look at that," Quistis commented, smiling a little. "Poor little Seifer's petrified..." She didn't sound sympathetic. In fact, her tone was mocking. What did he expect, a kiss and a hug from his former teacher? Her patience to come right back to take him under her wing?

He tried not to roll his eyes. (Yeah, yeah. Mature, Quisty.) Whatever Quistis had to say didn't have too much of an effect on him. Not because he was, well, Seifer the Bully, and therefore wasn't supposed to care, but because he has heard worse. Much worse.

Rinoa was busy trying to hold an extremely angry Zell Dincht back from beating him up. "I'm gonna pulverize that damn son-of-a--!" he sputtered.

"Zell!" Rinoa protested. “Cool it!”

"We're not here to fight!" Selphie exclaimed. She held her hands up in peace signs. “He came in peace!”

He stopped and stared at her for a moment, as if not understanding. "... Peace?... What the hell, Selph?! He tried to frickin' kill us!" He continued his frenzy, making it even harder for the poor sorceress. “Seifer!” he sputtered lividly. “Haven't you done enough?!”

“I can't hold on much longer!” Rinoa groaned, still trying to restrain the martial artist. “Help!”

Quistis finally took action and whacked Zell's shoulder hard with a gloved hand. "Calm down!" she scolded. Zell looked at her and then sulked a little, sticking his hands in his back pockets.

(What control,) Seifer thought with a slight raise of an eyebrow. No wonder Quistis was an able instructor.

Now that the fighting mad SeeD member was in check, Rinoa, always pretty cheerful, turned and greeted him openly, despite what he had done to her in the past. He had to admire her ability to move on and not hold grudges. "Hey, Seif," she said, smiling. "How are you? Are you gonna be here the rest of the time? Cid let you back?"

Seifer half-smiled at his ex-girlfriend's efforts. "Pretty much..."

"Hey..." Selphie realized, gazing at Seifer. She, also, was a pretty cheerful character, but in a much more sugar-induced way than Rinoa. And ever the optimist, in a naïve, too-easily-trusting way. Funny, Seifer didn't really notice her when she first transferred to Balamb. But from what he's heard, she was crazy when it came to extracurricular activities. Thinking about the way she spoke up, he had to frown. The tone in her voice sounded like one of those crazy Selphie times, all right. "What?" he dared to ask.

"You have to volunteer for the Garden Festival!!!" she cheered, grabbing his hand excitedly with both of hers. "No one else wanted to!" She pouted meaningfully at the rest of her friends.

(Oh, for fuck's sake...) Seifer whipped his hand out of her grasp. "No." Not in hell.

Irvine glared at him. "Hey, be nice to Sefie."

Selphie elbowed her cowboy friend playfully. "Hey, be nice to Seifer," she told him in the same fashion. “I think he'll be fine once we give him a break.”

The Galbadian frowned doubtfully at her, but shut up.

Oh. Those two. Seifer should've figured. Irvine and Selphie were best friends back in the orphanage. "My apologies..." he murmured coolly. Then he added impulsively, "You two dating?"

At first, all five of them stared at him in shock, actually surprised that Seifer was trying to start regular conversation. And then, Irvine actually chuckled, breaking the still silence. "C'mon, you know us. Were partners in crime, but not partners in bed." He grinned devilishly. "But I wouldn't mind a taste of--"

"Gah!" Selphie interrupted. "Irvine!" She was blushing furiously.

Surprisingly, this was an astonishment to everyone else as well. Apparently, Seifer wasn't the only one who misunderstood the two's relationship with each other. "You aren't dating?" Rinoa asked, jaw dropped slightly.

"I thought for sure you guys would be," Quistis remarked, tucking some golden blonde hair behind her ear.

Irvine shrugged. "Hey, I can't stay steady with someone it if therere so many lovely ladies around." He wiggled his eyebrows at Quistis, who rolled her eyes.

Selphie had an unreadable expression on her face, which was strange for Seifer to see, but her face immediately changed to a beaming grin. "He thinks he can bag anyone in Garden, but that's total bull, of course. Tee-hee."

Irvine gasped in mock hurt. "You take that back!"

Zell snorted.

Another voice chimed in suddenly. "Why is everyone gathered aroun—oh..."

Squall Leonhart, the commander of the SeeDs at Balamb Garden, had been approaching the group, a large envelope tucked under his arm, before freezing in his footsteps. Imagine his surprise when he found his biggest rival and most disliked enemy, after Ultimecia herself, with his girlfriend and their friends, acting like he belonged.

Seifer knew Squall wasn't glad to see him at all, judging from that angry look on his face. The blond, of course, being naturally smug when it came to his rival, returned the same glare, but airily so.

"Squall!" Rinoa exclaimed happily, hoping her cheerfulness would put him in a good mood. She ran up to him and gave him a hug. Her boyfriend returned it gently, his face unchanging. Nope, her approach didn't work.

"They told me there was a new student here, but they didn't tell me it'd be you," Squall said coldly. He shoved the envelope in Seifer's hands. The gesture was a little too hard and a little too menacing for Seifer's taste. He didn't like it at all. His snobbish, but rather harmless front fell, revealing his inner arrogance and short-tempered nature. The big bully side of him.

"Hey, be nice," Rinoa pleaded softly to her boyfriend. "It's been hard on him..."

"Hard on him?" the commander echoed quietly. "What the hell did we do, then?"

"Just let me go to my fucking dorm and I'll be outta your face," Seifer growled at Squall, fed up.

Using all the patience she had, Quistis put a hand on Seifer's shoulder and changed the subject. "Well, if you're training for SeeD again," she started, "then they probably put you back in my homeroom, but check your envelope just to be sure. Class starts on Monday. And Garden uniform fittings are tomorrow..." She led him away from the group, treating him as if he were truly a new student. He silently thanked her for not being as sour as Squall was.

The older gunblade user dare himself to give them one last look, craning his neck. He found the commander still leering at him, his eyes telling him he didn't belong back at Garden. It didn't last long, however, since he walked away quickly, back to the elevator where he originally came from.

Rinoa followed, giving Seifer one last look. "Squaaaall, come on!" she was heard saying before the doors closed on them.

The others, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie, looked at each other awkwardly. After a few words, they too, dispersed.

"Promise to be good this time around?" Quistis queried, catching his attention again as they walked further away, into the North Block.

Seifer snapped his head toward her, his sharp green orbs incidentally catching and holding her crystal blue. "I will," he replied. "I think I can learn to follow orders... again." He hoped she could see the sorrow in his eyes, the sadness and determination. He wanted her (and everyone else's) grudge to melt away. For once, he gave her a genuine smile. Not a hateful sneer or a haughty smirk, but a real, well-intentioned upward curve of the lips. (Yeah, I think I can do it this time around,) he told himself confidently.

He thought she saw her blush a little under his gaze, but it could be the lighting in the room that made it seem that way. “Heh, you know,” she spoke up, rather teasingly, “you'd be a lot better-looking if you didn't look so mean all the time.”

He smirked. Oh, so he wasn't seeing things. “You like that, don't you, Quisty?” He pretended to rub his chin in thought. “I might have to do that more often for you.”

Her jaw dropped. Clearly, she wasn't expecting that sort of reaction out of him. “I, uh,” she began, looking confused as to why she suddenly turned flustered. “I, well, I'll walk you to your room.” She exhaled heavily as soon as the words came out, calming herself down. "I don't want your roommate to freak when he sees your infamous face. I'm sorry to say that you'll have yet to win the forgiveness of your peers."

He shrugged. “Bring it, Quisty.” He offered another grin that he knew she liked so much, and went on into the dorm area. He felt her gaping at his back, not in disdain or anything negative, but in simple incredulity.

“Now you're just mocking me,” she said dubiously, finally catching up to him.

---

... so we all dispersed after Squall and Seifer glared at each other silly. Awkward...

I went with Irvy into the Training Center and badgered him about ideas for the Ball (I'm in charge of that too, so I'D APPRECIATE HELP FOR THAT, TOO, hint hint), but he couldn't come up with any at the moment. I was about to ask Zell again if he wanted to join the Festival Committee, but he dashed off in the middle of my sentence! He was mumbling about what else?

Hot dogs! Mmmm~

So that's why he wasn't as hyper that day... Someday, I'm going to steal those away from the cafeteria and hide them in my room. Then he won't be able to get away from me, that stupid-face :( I can see it now. Every time he helps me at the SeeD Ball and/or the Garden Festival, I'll reward him with a hot dog. Hehehehe.

Whooosh, well, I'm tired, and this was a mega long entry!!! How long have I been sitting here, huh? Oh, well. I'll end it right now and update later. Booyaka!!

P.S. - JOIN THE GARDEN FESTIVAL!!!!!!!! PLEEEEAAASE?!?

Author's Notes: Welcome to the re-write! I know you guys have enjoyed my writing, including my beginning chapters, but it's still very slightly cringe-worthy to me, so I took the opportunity to re-vamp some of it, making it meatier and more descriptive. Hopefully it'll be a great improvement.

See you all soon!