Fic: Maybe I'm A Lion - CHAPTER THREE
Title: Maybe I'm A Lion
Author(s): dazzling_icer
Chapter: [3/?]
Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Luke and Noah (or other ATWT characters), nor do I claim any ownership over the video game Final Fantasy VIII. FFVIII, and any borrowing or allusion to places or characters belongs to Square Enix.
Characters/Pairings: Luke/Noah, Ali/Aaron, Casey/Maddie, Dr. Bob, Carly, Margo, Holden, John Dixon, Reid Oliver, and many other Oakdalians.
Word Count: ~5K
Warnings: None for this chapter. Besides some swearing.
Spoilers: None! Completely AU! :)
Summary: Becoming a SeeD was Luciano Grimaldi's way out. It was his freedom. Escaping the ruthless grasp of his father, a powerful general in the Galbadian Army, was the answer to all of his problems. Training to become a SeeD at one of the world's top mercenary schools wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but it was going to be so worth it. That is, until Luke meets a stranger at school that starts to make his life a lot more complicated. What happens when this stranger is found to be holding crucial secrets about Luke’s destiny? And how does Luke react when he discovers that the strange happenings around him are a lot bigger than just random coincidence?
A/N: Sorry for the wait! But seeing as how we were all in NYC last weekend, I didn't have time to post. And I'm really sick right now so I'm trying to get this posted as quickly as I can, so I can go back to sleeping my weekend away and loading myself with drugs. Sounds fun, right? Blech.
Anyway...Enjoy! :)
Previous
Luke smiled at the thought of Noah watching him walk away in disbelief. He too could play his game. Eventually he will get whatever it is that Noah’s hiding out of him, he just knew it. He would break him, eventually.
Luke thought about it for a moment and he couldn’t understand why Noah was so intriguing to him. Every time he was around him, he felt warmth from his cold stare and a tumbling in his stomach and it didn’t make sense. He’d only known Noah for less than a day and already he felt like a cliché. That “I barely know you but I can’t get you out of my head” feeling. It was stupid, and Luke hated that Noah made him feel that way.
Luke pushed away all thoughts of Noah, and continued his exploration of Garden by visiting all of its different sections. He avoided the Training Center, however, for a lack of a weapon. He did enjoy the Library though, whose vast rows of books and magazines seemed never-ending. He glanced at a few books while wandering up and down the large columns and shelves. In the very back of the Library was a lab, with several top-notch computers with comfortable chairs in front of them.
He continued onto the Quad, which was a huge auditorium that was connected to a ballroom for events and parties. This was where orientation would be held, and Luke decided to take a look around before going into the auditorium for the presentation. He stepped into the gigantic ballroom and looked around in awe. The sound of his feet against the tile floor echoed in the large dome-shaped room. The ceiling was made of glass and was held up by large pillars that surrounded the circumference of the room. A stage was set up opposite to the stairs that led into the room, and small, elegant tables were stationed in front of it.
He looked over to his right, and noticed in the corner of the room was a small balcony. He walked over to it and slowly opened the glass doors to the outside. The cold morning air swept across his body, causing him to shiver as he stared at the open plains in front of him. The view was very much like the view from his room, but this time, he could see Balamb at the edge of the ocean in the distance. He sighed and rested his elbows on the ledge of the balcony as he looked at the small town. He could see ships coming in to port, but he could barely make out the other buildings. The one he did recognize was the huge hotel that he saw when he arrived yesterday.
A few moments passed of staring off into the distance and Luke was suddenly brought back to life by the sound of voices.
“And this is the ballroom! The Garden Festival is held here every year!”
Luke turned around and saw Alison walking with Headmaster Bob. Ali was spinning around slowly and staring at the ceiling.
“This room is so gorgeous!” she exclaimed happily. She giggled and shouted “Hello!” and waited for the small echo of her voice to respond back to her. Headmaster Bob smiled at Ali’s childish action and began to giggle himself. Alison then looked up and noticed Luke out on the balcony.
“Oh, hey! Luke!” Alison waved frantically toward him. Luke waved back and walked hurriedly over to them.
“Hey, Ali! How’re you?” Luke asked. His eyes shot up as Ali practically launched herself at him, and he had to chuckle a little at how friendly she was.
“I’m great!” Alison replied. Luke pulled away from her and looked at Headmaster Bob.
“Good morning, Headmaster,” Luke said politely.
“Good morning, uh…what is your name young man?”
“Oh! I’m sorry. I’m Luke…uh, Luciano Grimaldi,” Luke cringed a little, shaking the headmaster’s hand. He hated using his real name.
“Ah, Mr. Grimaldi! Son of Lily Walsh and General Grimaldi, yes?” Luke just nodded and looked down at the floor, missing the look that flashed in the headmaster’s eyes. “I knew your mother briefly for a time. She was always very accommodating of SeeD’s staying at her hotel while on missions in Deling, even despite your father’s position. She was a wonderful woman. You look very much like her.”
Luke looked up at him and flushed slightly. “Thank you, Headmaster. That is very kind of you to say.” Luke felt emotional at the Headmaster’s kind words about his mother, and he swallowed hard and cleared his throat, deciding to change the subject. “So what are you doing here, Ali?”
“Oh! Headmaster Hughes was just showing me around the Quad!”
“What for?” Luke asked curiously.
“Miss Stewart here is going to be the new leader of the Garden Festival Committee!” the headmaster said proudly.
“Really?” Luke said, smiling at his friend. “That’s great, Ali! Even if I have no idea what that is…”
“It’s a committee that plans the Garden Festival!” Ali giggled. Luke raised his eyebrows in question, obviously still not sure what that meant.
“The Garden Festival is a party that is held at the end of every year.” Headmaster Bob jumped in to explain. “It is in honor of the students who passed their SeeD exam. It is sort of like a graduation party, but more important. Other headmasters of the other Gardens will attend, as well as major political figures. It allows our regular clients from all over to meet our new employees.”
“And my job is going to be to plan the whole thing!” Alison continued. “I get to pick everything from decorations to what food will be served!” Luke smiled at Ali’s enthusiasm. She seemed like she would be good for the job.
“Oh, well…if you need help with anything, just let me know,” Luke said.
“Sure we do! We always need members!”
Just then, an announcement rang through the Garden’s PA system:
“Attention all students! Orientation will be starting in ten minutes time. Please make your way to the Quad Auditorium, located next to the Cafeteria. Thank you!”
“Ah, that’s my cue! Luke, it was a pleasure meeting you. And Alison, I wish to talk plans with you after orientation. Just come to my office on the third floor and Margo should let you in,” Headmaster Bob gave them a small smile and headed toward the exit. Luke and Alison waved good-bye and watched him leave before heading toward the auditorium themselves.
They passed through the huge double doors of the ballroom and headed out into the hallway of the Quad.
“So what were you doing in there, Luke?” Ali asked him.
“I was just looking around. I walked through the whole Garden this morning, tried to get used to the place,” Luke replied. They continued on into the auditorium where several students were already gathered into their seats. On stage was Headmaster Bob, with Carly and Margo sitting to his right, and many other people who Luke assumed were other instructors. Also on stage sitting towards the back, were people in weird uniforms who Luke had never seen before. They were clad in red and white robes that covered them in full, and wore a yellow hat that hid parts of their faces.
Luke and Alison sat down in the middle of the main section and talked quietly to each other until orientation was about to begin. Luke looked around at the incoming students, and noticed that Noah was sitting in the very last row all by himself. He seemed very unhappy and annoyed having to come. He was leaned back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest. He must have felt Luke’s eyes on him because he looked up and met his gaze and he quickly turned away from him.
Luke noticed that there were several more students here than the fifteen or so that arrived with him on the bus from yesterday. He suspected that they had arrived earlier in the week or in Noah’s case, a lot earlier. After waiting for about five more minutes, Headmaster Hughes arose from his seat and walked toward the podium as the crowd went silent.
“Welcome everyone to Balamb Garden!” he said into the microphone, lifting his arms into the air like he did when they first arrived. “Again, I am Bob Hughes and I am the Headmaster. Becoming a member of SeeD is a privilege, and requires months of training and years of hard work. All students will take the Written Exam at the end of the first semester to see if they qualify to advance to the next level of their training. If one passes the Written Exam, a Field Exam is given at the end of the year. Any student who is able to pass that will be welcomed into the SeeD organization.
“Now then, Balamb Garden has a few rules that every student and personnel must abide by. I would like to welcome to the podium the head of the Disciplinary Committee!” the headmaster turned around and faced in the direction of the people wearing the red and white robes and Luke watched one in the front stand and walk forward.
“The rules of Balamb Garden are simple, and every student is expected to follow the guidelines,” the man from under the yellow hat spoke. “Now then, all sections of Balamb Garden will be closed at 11 P.M. sharp every night, and students are expected to be in their dorms at midnight. The Training Center, however, is opened 24 hours a day and any student wishing to train after curfew must have permission from their instructor or the headmaster to be allowed in after curfew.
“Training in the hallways of the Garden is strictly forbidden and anyone found doing so will have their weapon confiscated. As such, no scooters, mopeds, gliders, skateboards, or any other type of transportation are allowed inside the Garden walls except in the Training Center. In addition, basic conduct must also be exhibited at Garden at all times. No fighting, drinking, or recreational drugs or substances of any kind are allowed. Use of any of these will result in immediate disciplinary action.”
At those last words, the man turned and sat back down in his seat in the back. Ali moved closer to Luke and whispered to him. “He doesn’t seem very friendly, does he?”
“None of them do. But I guess you wouldn’t be either if you had to wear a hat like that.” Luke whispered back. Ali giggled softly and then looked back up at the stage when the headmaster began to speak again.
“Well, that is all, students. We now ask that you remain seated and listen to your next instructions from Margo.” At that, Margo stood up and made her way to the podium. She was wearing the same uniform from before, only this time her hair was back in a bun.
“Now then, it is time for all students to register for their classes. Everyone will be given certain requirements based on their weapon of choice. Every student will have five classes, one for each day, and the weekends off. However, some classes might require training or further lessons on the weekends to fully prepare you to become a SeeD. Now, if everyone would please exit the auditorium and proceed into the hallway. You will be asked to line up and go through each station of registration. You are now dismissed.”
At that, everyone rose from their seats and headed to the hallway. Luke and Ali were among the first half of the people out and noticed a bunch of booths were now set up with people manning each station.
“So what weapon are you going to choose?” Luke asked as they stepped up to wait in the first station.
“I don’t know,” Ali said, putting her hand up to her chin to think. “I think I’ll go with the nunchaku! It’s light and easy, and seems to be my style. What about you?”
“I think I want to master the blaster edge,” Luke said casually. He had thought about it more since the previous afternoon, and it was really the only weapon that appealed to him. But he had to admit, he didn’t know if it was the actual weapon itself, or the magic aspect that the weapon provided that really intrigued him.
As they came to the first booth, the woman behind it handed them a registration form. “Please look over these forms to see if all of the information is correct,” the woman said. Luke looked it over quickly.
Name: Luciano Grimaldi
Age: 18
Place of Birth: Deling City
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5’11”
DOB: May 16
Blood Type: A-
Student ID #: A00153
Seeing that all of the information was correct, they handed the paper back to the woman and proceeded to the next booth. When they got there, a man behind the counter asked for their names and what would they like their weapon of choice to be. After telling him their selections, the man wrote them down on their records and told them to proceed onto the next booth after handing them a small index card.
Sitting behind the next station was Carly, who was looking down at her clipboard with her glasses at the end of her nose. Upon seeing them, Carly smiled.
“Ah, Miss Stewart and Mr. Grimaldi, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Luke and Alison said together.
“Can I have your cards please?” Carly asked. Both of them handed the cards over to her and watched while she marked some things down onto her clipboard. She then began to type things into the computer in front of her, and after several minutes, turned back to them with a smile.
“Okay, Mr. Grimaldi, I’ve signed you up for your Weapon’s Training class based upon your selection. You are also required to take Introduction to Magic due to your weapon of choice. Our other basic requirements include Guardian Force Training, Battle Tactics and Strategies, and also the Etiquette class.”
“Etiquette class? What do I need that for?” Luke asked rather confused.
“All SeeDs are required to be trained in many different abilities. It is imperative that all students learn basic life skills that could potentially be useful while on missions.” Carly said. “Is your schedule satisfactory to you?”
“Uh, of course,” Luke replied. Carly entered some more things into her computer and printed out a schedule and handed it to Luke. She then proceeded to schedule Alison, and explain her own specific schedule. When they were done, Carly smiled at them.
“That’s it, you both are all set. Here are your book lists for your classes that you can sign out from the Library. You have free time the rest of the day but we start fresh tomorrow and I expect you both to be on time to my class,” she said over her glasses. They nodded at her instruction, and began to walk away, comparing their schedules as they weaved their way through the crowd.
“I have Battle Tactics and Strategies tomorrow at 10am to 1p, with Instructor Tenney,” Ali told Luke.
“Oh, me too,” Luke said excitedly. “What do you have on Tuesday?”
“Let’s see, I have Weapon’s Training at 2pm to 4:30pm with Instructor Coleman.”
Luke looked at his schedule. “I have Weapon’s Training on Tuesday too, but my class is at 12:30pm to 3:30pm. What about Wednesday?”
“Um…Etiquette at 10 to 12 in the morning with Instructor Hughes.”
“Looks like we have that together, too,” Luke smiled at her. They continued to compare schedules and found that they had every class together except their respected Weapons class, and Luke was grateful that he was going to have a study partner. Just as they finished talking, they turned the corner to exit the Quad and Luke bumped right into someone. He fell down hard on his ass, and his schedule fell out of his hand and glided next to the person’s feet. Luke looked up and was not surprised to see Noah staring down at him.
“You might want to be a little more careful,” Noah said coldly, as he offered Luke a hand. But Luke just scowled at it, and got up on his own.
“Sorry,” Luke mumbled and turned away from his icy stare. Noah bent down and picked up the fallen schedule, handing it to him while keeping his eyes trained on Luke. He snatched it out from Noah’s grasp with a quiet “Thanks.”
Luke then watched as Noah walked out of the Quad with his own schedule in his hand. Alison stared at Luke, who was still turned in Noah’s direction, watching him walk away.
“Oh, looks like someone has a bit of a crush!” Luke quickly shot her a look.
“I do not!” Luke countered, his cheeks flushed. “He’s just…the guy I share a bathroom with. And he’s a real jerk.” They walked out of the Quad and Luke proceeded to tell Ali about his encounters with Noah.
“So…you want to know why he’s been here for a while?” Ali asked with a finger on her chin in thought.
Luke nodded. “Well, yeah, I mean…people only live here at Garden if they are students or SeeD’s, right? And Noah isn’t a SeeD yet, obviously, but he has his own SeeD-issued weapon. There’s…I don’t know, Ali, it just seems like something’s different about him.”
“Well, I’m sure we can find somebody who knows. After all, we have our first class tomorrow and I’m gonna meet a ton of people in the Garden Committee! And a lot of students who haven’t passed their Field Exams yet are still around, so they should know about Noah if they’ve been around for a while too, right? I bet someone knows what his deal is.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” Luke said. He couldn’t understand this need to just figure Noah out. He was a mystery, and Luke could barely think of nothing else since he had met the man the night before. The thought of how much Noah clouded his mind in such a short time was starting to become aggravating. But he felt connected to him somehow. In a way that he couldn’t really explain.
Luke and Alison continued walking out of the Quad and into the main hallway. Ali checked down at her watch and sighed. “It’s 11:30…that orientation took longer than I thought!” She stretched her arms high over her head and smiled. “Sorry to cut and run, Luke. But Headmaster Bob asked to see me after orientation. I’ll talk to you later! We can have dinner together in the Cafeteria! Sound good?”
Luke nodded and waved to Ali, who was already halfway down the corridor. Luke decided he would go get his books for his classes tomorrow before he went and got something to eat for lunch, and began to head for the Library. He entered the large room and began to search in the tall stacks for his needed books. He was surprised to see hardly anyone in the Library at all, thinking that all of the students should have to get their books as well, but figuring they were probably going to wait until the last minute.
It was silent through the shelves and the atmosphere seemed a bit eerie. The only person he could see was the young girl who worked at the checkout counter. But as he turned the corner and headed down a different row, he was met with the sight of a man pacing back and forth between the shelves.
The guy had dark blond hair that was messy atop his head. He wore jean shorts that extended past his knees with a black and blue T-shirt that had a band name on it that Luke had never heard of before. What stood out the most about his outfit, however, were his bright red shoes with these crazy black patterns on them. As he inched closer, he could start to hear him mumbling to himself.
“Come on…get a grip! Just go up there and…” he stopped as he spotted Luke walking closer to him. As the other guy looked up at him, Luke noticed he had a black tribal tattoo that was printed on the left side of his face. The intricate pattern extended from just above his temple down to his jaw line, and as weird as Luke thought it was, judging by the rest of this guy’s outfit the tattoo kind of fit him. “Oh, uh…hey!”
“Hi,” Luke said politely, raising an eyebrow in question. “Are you, uh…alright?”
“W-what, me? Oh y-yeah, I’m okay, just thinking to myself. Alone. Here…where it’s quiet and no one is around.” He stammered through the words and looked down at his feet.
“Yeah…you said that already,” Luke said, stopping himself from laughing at this guy. He could tell he was nervous about something, and by the way he kept saying that he was alone was giving Luke the impression that he didn’t really want Luke around. Luke, of course, was stubborn. And curious.
“Oh…yeah, I guess,” the man said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, so who are you?”
“Sorry, I’m Luke,” he said as he extended his hand.
“Casey Hughes,” he replied as he shook Luke’s hand firmly in return.
“Hughes? Like Headmaster and Instructor Hughes?”
“Uh, yeah, uh…he’s my grandfather,” Casey said. “And Margo is my mom.”
“Oh, that’s cool, I guess,” Luke said. He knew exactly what it was like to have a family member in a position of power, and Luke immediately felt bad for the guy. “So, are you a student here then, or…”
“Well…I am now,” Casey began as he looked over his shoulder at something. He was becoming anxious and began to kind of rock back and forth where he was standing. “I’ve lived here on and off because of my mom. Splitting time here and back home in Balamb with my dad. But I’m a student now, so I’ll be here permanently.”
He had been here a while? Maybe he knew what was up with Noah. He was about to open his mouth and his him about Noah, when Casey quickly turned around and began to walk away.
“I’m sorry, Luke. I’ll talk to you later, man. There is just, uh…somewhere I have to be!” He whipped around quickly and ran out of the Library before Luke could even reply. What the hell was up with him? Luke thought. He decided to forget about it, and continued through the rows of books and found all the materials that he needed for his classes.
He walked up to the girl at the counter, who was a cute, petite girl with dark brown hair and wide eyes, and she began to sign out his books. He left the library minutes later with four heavy books in his arms, along with a few notebooks and binders, and he slowly and cautiously headed back to his dorm room. He could hardly see where he was going, and the added weight caused him to walk a bit awkwardly as he struggled to keep the books from toppling over. He finally reached the dorms and turned down to his hall when he felt a force run into him, causing himself and his books to fall on the floor. He fell with a thud and the books landed open and scattered over the carpet.
“You really need to watch where you are going, Mr. Grimaldi,” a voice said above him. He looked up and sure enough, there was Noah standing over him for the second time that day. Noah again offered him his hand and this time he obliged. He pulled him up dangerously close to him and their eyes met. Luke succumbed to the urge to just stare at Noah for a moment because even though the guy was a total asshole, he was also a total gorgeous asshole, and he really couldn’t help himself. But he allowed himself only a moment before gathering his wits and breaking the gaze, crouching to the ground and starting to pick up his scattered books. Noah immediately bent down to help him.
This was weird. The way things were going between them, he would never have thought Noah would actually take the time to help him pick up his things. Hell, Luke was surprised that Noah even tried to help him up earlier in the Quad. It just added more to the whole mystery of who the hell Noah Mayer was. Luke rose to his feet and Noah handed him the rest of his books.
“Thank you, Noah,” he said.
“Sure,” was all he said, and Luke was once again taken off guard when Noah continued to stand there. Deciding that he would try to use this sudden niceness to his advantage, he cleared his throat and looked up at Noah.
“Hey, Noah…do you maybe want to go have lunch with me?” It was a long shot, but maybe Luke would finally be able to sit Noah down and actually try to be friends. Maybe learn a thing or two about who he was and why he was here.
Noah looked like he was actually considering the question for a moment and then gave him a small smirk. “With a klutz like you? I’ll pass.” He then turned and walked away from Luke’s gaping mouth. He stood in the hallway, dumbfounded. Why did Noah always do something really nice and then turn around and be a jerk again? Asshole.
Luke turned and stomped off towards his room.
“Arrogant son of a bitch! God he’s so…” he said aloud to himself as he struggled to reach into his pocket for his room key with all of his books in his arms.
“Don’t worry about him…he’s always like that,” a voice from behind him said suddenly. Luke jumped, almost dropping his books again, and whipped around to see a shorter man leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway. His eyes narrowed as he took in the man. He saw that he was wearing black pants and a black shirt with a white cross down the middle, with a long white trench coat that had embroidered red x’s on the sleeves over it. He had blond hair that was slicked back and was smiling confidently at him through his dull blue eyes.
“You know Noah?” Luke asked cautiously.
“Noah? Yeah, you could say I know him. I’m sort of his rival,” he said as he walked closer to Luke. He could see him better now, and despite the sleazy smile he held on his face, Luke had to admit he was fairly good looking.
Doesn’t even hold a candle to Noah, though.
“Here, let me help you with that,” he offered as he took the books from Luke’s arms so he could pull out his room key. He took the key from his back pocket and swiped it through the slot. The door opened and he stepped through, followed by the blond stranger.
“You can just set those on the desk.” Luke told him, feeling awkward at having a complete stranger standing in his room. The other man did as he was told, and then turned back to Luke.
“So, uh…”
“Luke.”
“Luke, I’ll take you up on that lunch offer, if you’ll let me,” he smiled at Luke flirtatiously as he took a step toward him, his smirk turning into a very unattractive leer on his face.
“Um, actually I’m getting a really bad headache and I think I’m just going to take a nap,” he smiled, hoping that was enough for the guy to just go away.
“Aw, come on, man. It’ll be fun!” Luke’s face scrunched up at the goading in his voice, and he was beginning to like this guy less and less.
“Listen…”
“It’s Kevin.”
“Listen Kevin…I just met you…” Luke began before Kevin cut him off.
“Oh, so you want to take it slow? I can do that,” despite his words, Kevin was taking another step toward Luke, and Luke wanted to crawl out of his skin.
“I’m sorry, Kevin. Maybe some other time,” he replied before pushing around him and walking toward the door, holding it open. Kevin said nothing, just smirked at him and walked out, strutting off down the hallway. Luke closed the door and leaned against it, exhaling deeply and feeling relieved that he just escaped whatever that was. He replayed that completely awkward conversation in his head, and it suddenly dawned on him that Kevin had said that he had known Noah. Damn it.
He threw the door open and ran after Kevin, hoping to take him up on his offer and sit through a lunch with him if it meant that he would finally get some answers about Noah. But as soon as he got out in the hallway, he looked off in the direction that Kevin went and found that he was already gone.
+++++
It was late, and the moonlight shone through the slits in the blinds, illuminating only parts of the room. Noah lay down on his back with his head resting on his hands. He stared at the blank ceiling of his room, lost in his thoughts.
”So you’ve finally found him after all this time …what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know.”
”You’ve got to tell him.”
“I know.”
”When? It won’t be long now…”
“Whatever…”
”Sir…he has to know.”
“He’ll figure it out sooner or later…he seems smart.”
”But you have to be the one to tell him.”
Noah sighed, rolling over onto his side, and pressing his face into his pillow. “Why me?”
”Because, sir. If you don’t…the enemy will.”
NEXT
Author(s): dazzling_icer
Chapter: [3/?]
Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Luke and Noah (or other ATWT characters), nor do I claim any ownership over the video game Final Fantasy VIII. FFVIII, and any borrowing or allusion to places or characters belongs to Square Enix.
Characters/Pairings: Luke/Noah, Ali/Aaron, Casey/Maddie, Dr. Bob, Carly, Margo, Holden, John Dixon, Reid Oliver, and many other Oakdalians.
Word Count: ~5K
Warnings: None for this chapter. Besides some swearing.
Spoilers: None! Completely AU! :)
Summary: Becoming a SeeD was Luciano Grimaldi's way out. It was his freedom. Escaping the ruthless grasp of his father, a powerful general in the Galbadian Army, was the answer to all of his problems. Training to become a SeeD at one of the world's top mercenary schools wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but it was going to be so worth it. That is, until Luke meets a stranger at school that starts to make his life a lot more complicated. What happens when this stranger is found to be holding crucial secrets about Luke’s destiny? And how does Luke react when he discovers that the strange happenings around him are a lot bigger than just random coincidence?
A/N: Sorry for the wait! But seeing as how we were all in NYC last weekend, I didn't have time to post. And I'm really sick right now so I'm trying to get this posted as quickly as I can, so I can go back to sleeping my weekend away and loading myself with drugs. Sounds fun, right? Blech.
Anyway...Enjoy! :)
Previous
Luke smiled at the thought of Noah watching him walk away in disbelief. He too could play his game. Eventually he will get whatever it is that Noah’s hiding out of him, he just knew it. He would break him, eventually.
Luke thought about it for a moment and he couldn’t understand why Noah was so intriguing to him. Every time he was around him, he felt warmth from his cold stare and a tumbling in his stomach and it didn’t make sense. He’d only known Noah for less than a day and already he felt like a cliché. That “I barely know you but I can’t get you out of my head” feeling. It was stupid, and Luke hated that Noah made him feel that way.
Luke pushed away all thoughts of Noah, and continued his exploration of Garden by visiting all of its different sections. He avoided the Training Center, however, for a lack of a weapon. He did enjoy the Library though, whose vast rows of books and magazines seemed never-ending. He glanced at a few books while wandering up and down the large columns and shelves. In the very back of the Library was a lab, with several top-notch computers with comfortable chairs in front of them.
He continued onto the Quad, which was a huge auditorium that was connected to a ballroom for events and parties. This was where orientation would be held, and Luke decided to take a look around before going into the auditorium for the presentation. He stepped into the gigantic ballroom and looked around in awe. The sound of his feet against the tile floor echoed in the large dome-shaped room. The ceiling was made of glass and was held up by large pillars that surrounded the circumference of the room. A stage was set up opposite to the stairs that led into the room, and small, elegant tables were stationed in front of it.
He looked over to his right, and noticed in the corner of the room was a small balcony. He walked over to it and slowly opened the glass doors to the outside. The cold morning air swept across his body, causing him to shiver as he stared at the open plains in front of him. The view was very much like the view from his room, but this time, he could see Balamb at the edge of the ocean in the distance. He sighed and rested his elbows on the ledge of the balcony as he looked at the small town. He could see ships coming in to port, but he could barely make out the other buildings. The one he did recognize was the huge hotel that he saw when he arrived yesterday.
A few moments passed of staring off into the distance and Luke was suddenly brought back to life by the sound of voices.
“And this is the ballroom! The Garden Festival is held here every year!”
Luke turned around and saw Alison walking with Headmaster Bob. Ali was spinning around slowly and staring at the ceiling.
“This room is so gorgeous!” she exclaimed happily. She giggled and shouted “Hello!” and waited for the small echo of her voice to respond back to her. Headmaster Bob smiled at Ali’s childish action and began to giggle himself. Alison then looked up and noticed Luke out on the balcony.
“Oh, hey! Luke!” Alison waved frantically toward him. Luke waved back and walked hurriedly over to them.
“Hey, Ali! How’re you?” Luke asked. His eyes shot up as Ali practically launched herself at him, and he had to chuckle a little at how friendly she was.
“I’m great!” Alison replied. Luke pulled away from her and looked at Headmaster Bob.
“Good morning, Headmaster,” Luke said politely.
“Good morning, uh…what is your name young man?”
“Oh! I’m sorry. I’m Luke…uh, Luciano Grimaldi,” Luke cringed a little, shaking the headmaster’s hand. He hated using his real name.
“Ah, Mr. Grimaldi! Son of Lily Walsh and General Grimaldi, yes?” Luke just nodded and looked down at the floor, missing the look that flashed in the headmaster’s eyes. “I knew your mother briefly for a time. She was always very accommodating of SeeD’s staying at her hotel while on missions in Deling, even despite your father’s position. She was a wonderful woman. You look very much like her.”
Luke looked up at him and flushed slightly. “Thank you, Headmaster. That is very kind of you to say.” Luke felt emotional at the Headmaster’s kind words about his mother, and he swallowed hard and cleared his throat, deciding to change the subject. “So what are you doing here, Ali?”
“Oh! Headmaster Hughes was just showing me around the Quad!”
“What for?” Luke asked curiously.
“Miss Stewart here is going to be the new leader of the Garden Festival Committee!” the headmaster said proudly.
“Really?” Luke said, smiling at his friend. “That’s great, Ali! Even if I have no idea what that is…”
“It’s a committee that plans the Garden Festival!” Ali giggled. Luke raised his eyebrows in question, obviously still not sure what that meant.
“The Garden Festival is a party that is held at the end of every year.” Headmaster Bob jumped in to explain. “It is in honor of the students who passed their SeeD exam. It is sort of like a graduation party, but more important. Other headmasters of the other Gardens will attend, as well as major political figures. It allows our regular clients from all over to meet our new employees.”
“And my job is going to be to plan the whole thing!” Alison continued. “I get to pick everything from decorations to what food will be served!” Luke smiled at Ali’s enthusiasm. She seemed like she would be good for the job.
“Oh, well…if you need help with anything, just let me know,” Luke said.
“Sure we do! We always need members!”
Just then, an announcement rang through the Garden’s PA system:
“Attention all students! Orientation will be starting in ten minutes time. Please make your way to the Quad Auditorium, located next to the Cafeteria. Thank you!”
“Ah, that’s my cue! Luke, it was a pleasure meeting you. And Alison, I wish to talk plans with you after orientation. Just come to my office on the third floor and Margo should let you in,” Headmaster Bob gave them a small smile and headed toward the exit. Luke and Alison waved good-bye and watched him leave before heading toward the auditorium themselves.
They passed through the huge double doors of the ballroom and headed out into the hallway of the Quad.
“So what were you doing in there, Luke?” Ali asked him.
“I was just looking around. I walked through the whole Garden this morning, tried to get used to the place,” Luke replied. They continued on into the auditorium where several students were already gathered into their seats. On stage was Headmaster Bob, with Carly and Margo sitting to his right, and many other people who Luke assumed were other instructors. Also on stage sitting towards the back, were people in weird uniforms who Luke had never seen before. They were clad in red and white robes that covered them in full, and wore a yellow hat that hid parts of their faces.
Luke and Alison sat down in the middle of the main section and talked quietly to each other until orientation was about to begin. Luke looked around at the incoming students, and noticed that Noah was sitting in the very last row all by himself. He seemed very unhappy and annoyed having to come. He was leaned back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest. He must have felt Luke’s eyes on him because he looked up and met his gaze and he quickly turned away from him.
Luke noticed that there were several more students here than the fifteen or so that arrived with him on the bus from yesterday. He suspected that they had arrived earlier in the week or in Noah’s case, a lot earlier. After waiting for about five more minutes, Headmaster Hughes arose from his seat and walked toward the podium as the crowd went silent.
“Welcome everyone to Balamb Garden!” he said into the microphone, lifting his arms into the air like he did when they first arrived. “Again, I am Bob Hughes and I am the Headmaster. Becoming a member of SeeD is a privilege, and requires months of training and years of hard work. All students will take the Written Exam at the end of the first semester to see if they qualify to advance to the next level of their training. If one passes the Written Exam, a Field Exam is given at the end of the year. Any student who is able to pass that will be welcomed into the SeeD organization.
“Now then, Balamb Garden has a few rules that every student and personnel must abide by. I would like to welcome to the podium the head of the Disciplinary Committee!” the headmaster turned around and faced in the direction of the people wearing the red and white robes and Luke watched one in the front stand and walk forward.
“The rules of Balamb Garden are simple, and every student is expected to follow the guidelines,” the man from under the yellow hat spoke. “Now then, all sections of Balamb Garden will be closed at 11 P.M. sharp every night, and students are expected to be in their dorms at midnight. The Training Center, however, is opened 24 hours a day and any student wishing to train after curfew must have permission from their instructor or the headmaster to be allowed in after curfew.
“Training in the hallways of the Garden is strictly forbidden and anyone found doing so will have their weapon confiscated. As such, no scooters, mopeds, gliders, skateboards, or any other type of transportation are allowed inside the Garden walls except in the Training Center. In addition, basic conduct must also be exhibited at Garden at all times. No fighting, drinking, or recreational drugs or substances of any kind are allowed. Use of any of these will result in immediate disciplinary action.”
At those last words, the man turned and sat back down in his seat in the back. Ali moved closer to Luke and whispered to him. “He doesn’t seem very friendly, does he?”
“None of them do. But I guess you wouldn’t be either if you had to wear a hat like that.” Luke whispered back. Ali giggled softly and then looked back up at the stage when the headmaster began to speak again.
“Well, that is all, students. We now ask that you remain seated and listen to your next instructions from Margo.” At that, Margo stood up and made her way to the podium. She was wearing the same uniform from before, only this time her hair was back in a bun.
“Now then, it is time for all students to register for their classes. Everyone will be given certain requirements based on their weapon of choice. Every student will have five classes, one for each day, and the weekends off. However, some classes might require training or further lessons on the weekends to fully prepare you to become a SeeD. Now, if everyone would please exit the auditorium and proceed into the hallway. You will be asked to line up and go through each station of registration. You are now dismissed.”
At that, everyone rose from their seats and headed to the hallway. Luke and Ali were among the first half of the people out and noticed a bunch of booths were now set up with people manning each station.
“So what weapon are you going to choose?” Luke asked as they stepped up to wait in the first station.
“I don’t know,” Ali said, putting her hand up to her chin to think. “I think I’ll go with the nunchaku! It’s light and easy, and seems to be my style. What about you?”
“I think I want to master the blaster edge,” Luke said casually. He had thought about it more since the previous afternoon, and it was really the only weapon that appealed to him. But he had to admit, he didn’t know if it was the actual weapon itself, or the magic aspect that the weapon provided that really intrigued him.
As they came to the first booth, the woman behind it handed them a registration form. “Please look over these forms to see if all of the information is correct,” the woman said. Luke looked it over quickly.
Name: Luciano Grimaldi
Age: 18
Place of Birth: Deling City
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5’11”
DOB: May 16
Blood Type: A-
Student ID #: A00153
Seeing that all of the information was correct, they handed the paper back to the woman and proceeded to the next booth. When they got there, a man behind the counter asked for their names and what would they like their weapon of choice to be. After telling him their selections, the man wrote them down on their records and told them to proceed onto the next booth after handing them a small index card.
Sitting behind the next station was Carly, who was looking down at her clipboard with her glasses at the end of her nose. Upon seeing them, Carly smiled.
“Ah, Miss Stewart and Mr. Grimaldi, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Luke and Alison said together.
“Can I have your cards please?” Carly asked. Both of them handed the cards over to her and watched while she marked some things down onto her clipboard. She then began to type things into the computer in front of her, and after several minutes, turned back to them with a smile.
“Okay, Mr. Grimaldi, I’ve signed you up for your Weapon’s Training class based upon your selection. You are also required to take Introduction to Magic due to your weapon of choice. Our other basic requirements include Guardian Force Training, Battle Tactics and Strategies, and also the Etiquette class.”
“Etiquette class? What do I need that for?” Luke asked rather confused.
“All SeeDs are required to be trained in many different abilities. It is imperative that all students learn basic life skills that could potentially be useful while on missions.” Carly said. “Is your schedule satisfactory to you?”
“Uh, of course,” Luke replied. Carly entered some more things into her computer and printed out a schedule and handed it to Luke. She then proceeded to schedule Alison, and explain her own specific schedule. When they were done, Carly smiled at them.
“That’s it, you both are all set. Here are your book lists for your classes that you can sign out from the Library. You have free time the rest of the day but we start fresh tomorrow and I expect you both to be on time to my class,” she said over her glasses. They nodded at her instruction, and began to walk away, comparing their schedules as they weaved their way through the crowd.
“I have Battle Tactics and Strategies tomorrow at 10am to 1p, with Instructor Tenney,” Ali told Luke.
“Oh, me too,” Luke said excitedly. “What do you have on Tuesday?”
“Let’s see, I have Weapon’s Training at 2pm to 4:30pm with Instructor Coleman.”
Luke looked at his schedule. “I have Weapon’s Training on Tuesday too, but my class is at 12:30pm to 3:30pm. What about Wednesday?”
“Um…Etiquette at 10 to 12 in the morning with Instructor Hughes.”
“Looks like we have that together, too,” Luke smiled at her. They continued to compare schedules and found that they had every class together except their respected Weapons class, and Luke was grateful that he was going to have a study partner. Just as they finished talking, they turned the corner to exit the Quad and Luke bumped right into someone. He fell down hard on his ass, and his schedule fell out of his hand and glided next to the person’s feet. Luke looked up and was not surprised to see Noah staring down at him.
“You might want to be a little more careful,” Noah said coldly, as he offered Luke a hand. But Luke just scowled at it, and got up on his own.
“Sorry,” Luke mumbled and turned away from his icy stare. Noah bent down and picked up the fallen schedule, handing it to him while keeping his eyes trained on Luke. He snatched it out from Noah’s grasp with a quiet “Thanks.”
Luke then watched as Noah walked out of the Quad with his own schedule in his hand. Alison stared at Luke, who was still turned in Noah’s direction, watching him walk away.
“Oh, looks like someone has a bit of a crush!” Luke quickly shot her a look.
“I do not!” Luke countered, his cheeks flushed. “He’s just…the guy I share a bathroom with. And he’s a real jerk.” They walked out of the Quad and Luke proceeded to tell Ali about his encounters with Noah.
“So…you want to know why he’s been here for a while?” Ali asked with a finger on her chin in thought.
Luke nodded. “Well, yeah, I mean…people only live here at Garden if they are students or SeeD’s, right? And Noah isn’t a SeeD yet, obviously, but he has his own SeeD-issued weapon. There’s…I don’t know, Ali, it just seems like something’s different about him.”
“Well, I’m sure we can find somebody who knows. After all, we have our first class tomorrow and I’m gonna meet a ton of people in the Garden Committee! And a lot of students who haven’t passed their Field Exams yet are still around, so they should know about Noah if they’ve been around for a while too, right? I bet someone knows what his deal is.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” Luke said. He couldn’t understand this need to just figure Noah out. He was a mystery, and Luke could barely think of nothing else since he had met the man the night before. The thought of how much Noah clouded his mind in such a short time was starting to become aggravating. But he felt connected to him somehow. In a way that he couldn’t really explain.
Luke and Alison continued walking out of the Quad and into the main hallway. Ali checked down at her watch and sighed. “It’s 11:30…that orientation took longer than I thought!” She stretched her arms high over her head and smiled. “Sorry to cut and run, Luke. But Headmaster Bob asked to see me after orientation. I’ll talk to you later! We can have dinner together in the Cafeteria! Sound good?”
Luke nodded and waved to Ali, who was already halfway down the corridor. Luke decided he would go get his books for his classes tomorrow before he went and got something to eat for lunch, and began to head for the Library. He entered the large room and began to search in the tall stacks for his needed books. He was surprised to see hardly anyone in the Library at all, thinking that all of the students should have to get their books as well, but figuring they were probably going to wait until the last minute.
It was silent through the shelves and the atmosphere seemed a bit eerie. The only person he could see was the young girl who worked at the checkout counter. But as he turned the corner and headed down a different row, he was met with the sight of a man pacing back and forth between the shelves.
The guy had dark blond hair that was messy atop his head. He wore jean shorts that extended past his knees with a black and blue T-shirt that had a band name on it that Luke had never heard of before. What stood out the most about his outfit, however, were his bright red shoes with these crazy black patterns on them. As he inched closer, he could start to hear him mumbling to himself.
“Come on…get a grip! Just go up there and…” he stopped as he spotted Luke walking closer to him. As the other guy looked up at him, Luke noticed he had a black tribal tattoo that was printed on the left side of his face. The intricate pattern extended from just above his temple down to his jaw line, and as weird as Luke thought it was, judging by the rest of this guy’s outfit the tattoo kind of fit him. “Oh, uh…hey!”
“Hi,” Luke said politely, raising an eyebrow in question. “Are you, uh…alright?”
“W-what, me? Oh y-yeah, I’m okay, just thinking to myself. Alone. Here…where it’s quiet and no one is around.” He stammered through the words and looked down at his feet.
“Yeah…you said that already,” Luke said, stopping himself from laughing at this guy. He could tell he was nervous about something, and by the way he kept saying that he was alone was giving Luke the impression that he didn’t really want Luke around. Luke, of course, was stubborn. And curious.
“Oh…yeah, I guess,” the man said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, so who are you?”
“Sorry, I’m Luke,” he said as he extended his hand.
“Casey Hughes,” he replied as he shook Luke’s hand firmly in return.
“Hughes? Like Headmaster and Instructor Hughes?”
“Uh, yeah, uh…he’s my grandfather,” Casey said. “And Margo is my mom.”
“Oh, that’s cool, I guess,” Luke said. He knew exactly what it was like to have a family member in a position of power, and Luke immediately felt bad for the guy. “So, are you a student here then, or…”
“Well…I am now,” Casey began as he looked over his shoulder at something. He was becoming anxious and began to kind of rock back and forth where he was standing. “I’ve lived here on and off because of my mom. Splitting time here and back home in Balamb with my dad. But I’m a student now, so I’ll be here permanently.”
He had been here a while? Maybe he knew what was up with Noah. He was about to open his mouth and his him about Noah, when Casey quickly turned around and began to walk away.
“I’m sorry, Luke. I’ll talk to you later, man. There is just, uh…somewhere I have to be!” He whipped around quickly and ran out of the Library before Luke could even reply. What the hell was up with him? Luke thought. He decided to forget about it, and continued through the rows of books and found all the materials that he needed for his classes.
He walked up to the girl at the counter, who was a cute, petite girl with dark brown hair and wide eyes, and she began to sign out his books. He left the library minutes later with four heavy books in his arms, along with a few notebooks and binders, and he slowly and cautiously headed back to his dorm room. He could hardly see where he was going, and the added weight caused him to walk a bit awkwardly as he struggled to keep the books from toppling over. He finally reached the dorms and turned down to his hall when he felt a force run into him, causing himself and his books to fall on the floor. He fell with a thud and the books landed open and scattered over the carpet.
“You really need to watch where you are going, Mr. Grimaldi,” a voice said above him. He looked up and sure enough, there was Noah standing over him for the second time that day. Noah again offered him his hand and this time he obliged. He pulled him up dangerously close to him and their eyes met. Luke succumbed to the urge to just stare at Noah for a moment because even though the guy was a total asshole, he was also a total gorgeous asshole, and he really couldn’t help himself. But he allowed himself only a moment before gathering his wits and breaking the gaze, crouching to the ground and starting to pick up his scattered books. Noah immediately bent down to help him.
This was weird. The way things were going between them, he would never have thought Noah would actually take the time to help him pick up his things. Hell, Luke was surprised that Noah even tried to help him up earlier in the Quad. It just added more to the whole mystery of who the hell Noah Mayer was. Luke rose to his feet and Noah handed him the rest of his books.
“Thank you, Noah,” he said.
“Sure,” was all he said, and Luke was once again taken off guard when Noah continued to stand there. Deciding that he would try to use this sudden niceness to his advantage, he cleared his throat and looked up at Noah.
“Hey, Noah…do you maybe want to go have lunch with me?” It was a long shot, but maybe Luke would finally be able to sit Noah down and actually try to be friends. Maybe learn a thing or two about who he was and why he was here.
Noah looked like he was actually considering the question for a moment and then gave him a small smirk. “With a klutz like you? I’ll pass.” He then turned and walked away from Luke’s gaping mouth. He stood in the hallway, dumbfounded. Why did Noah always do something really nice and then turn around and be a jerk again? Asshole.
Luke turned and stomped off towards his room.
“Arrogant son of a bitch! God he’s so…” he said aloud to himself as he struggled to reach into his pocket for his room key with all of his books in his arms.
“Don’t worry about him…he’s always like that,” a voice from behind him said suddenly. Luke jumped, almost dropping his books again, and whipped around to see a shorter man leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway. His eyes narrowed as he took in the man. He saw that he was wearing black pants and a black shirt with a white cross down the middle, with a long white trench coat that had embroidered red x’s on the sleeves over it. He had blond hair that was slicked back and was smiling confidently at him through his dull blue eyes.
“You know Noah?” Luke asked cautiously.
“Noah? Yeah, you could say I know him. I’m sort of his rival,” he said as he walked closer to Luke. He could see him better now, and despite the sleazy smile he held on his face, Luke had to admit he was fairly good looking.
Doesn’t even hold a candle to Noah, though.
“Here, let me help you with that,” he offered as he took the books from Luke’s arms so he could pull out his room key. He took the key from his back pocket and swiped it through the slot. The door opened and he stepped through, followed by the blond stranger.
“You can just set those on the desk.” Luke told him, feeling awkward at having a complete stranger standing in his room. The other man did as he was told, and then turned back to Luke.
“So, uh…”
“Luke.”
“Luke, I’ll take you up on that lunch offer, if you’ll let me,” he smiled at Luke flirtatiously as he took a step toward him, his smirk turning into a very unattractive leer on his face.
“Um, actually I’m getting a really bad headache and I think I’m just going to take a nap,” he smiled, hoping that was enough for the guy to just go away.
“Aw, come on, man. It’ll be fun!” Luke’s face scrunched up at the goading in his voice, and he was beginning to like this guy less and less.
“Listen…”
“It’s Kevin.”
“Listen Kevin…I just met you…” Luke began before Kevin cut him off.
“Oh, so you want to take it slow? I can do that,” despite his words, Kevin was taking another step toward Luke, and Luke wanted to crawl out of his skin.
“I’m sorry, Kevin. Maybe some other time,” he replied before pushing around him and walking toward the door, holding it open. Kevin said nothing, just smirked at him and walked out, strutting off down the hallway. Luke closed the door and leaned against it, exhaling deeply and feeling relieved that he just escaped whatever that was. He replayed that completely awkward conversation in his head, and it suddenly dawned on him that Kevin had said that he had known Noah. Damn it.
He threw the door open and ran after Kevin, hoping to take him up on his offer and sit through a lunch with him if it meant that he would finally get some answers about Noah. But as soon as he got out in the hallway, he looked off in the direction that Kevin went and found that he was already gone.
+++++
It was late, and the moonlight shone through the slits in the blinds, illuminating only parts of the room. Noah lay down on his back with his head resting on his hands. He stared at the blank ceiling of his room, lost in his thoughts.
”So you’ve finally found him after all this time …what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know.”
”You’ve got to tell him.”
“I know.”
”When? It won’t be long now…”
“Whatever…”
”Sir…he has to know.”
“He’ll figure it out sooner or later…he seems smart.”
”But you have to be the one to tell him.”
Noah sighed, rolling over onto his side, and pressing his face into his pillow. “Why me?”
”Because, sir. If you don’t…the enemy will.”
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