On the edges of the sharpest knives Who: Squall and OPEN What: Mr. Lion needs to be social again Where: Around Balamb Garden, eventually getting to the cafeteria When: Thursday, November 20th @ 4pm-ish
The last few weeks had been a nightmare for Squall. He couldn't pinpoint what had set him off, whether it was the ordeal with Selphie or working piling up or something else. It had happened one morning while he was trying to make breakfast for himself. First the music came. Always the same song skipping. The moment it played in reverse, Squall always knew he had little time to protect himself for what would happen. Unable to calm himself down, the anxiety swallowed Squall up as he no longer found himself in his suite, but instead in a vast, distorted desert with flashes of images bombarding him. Hands clamped over his ears in an attempt to block out the sound, but the music boomed without any mercy.
By the time Squall came to, he was curled up on the floor, tears rolling down his face as shaky breaths barely filtered through his lungs. One of his favorite coffee mugs had shattered in the process and his breakfast had burned to a crisp. He felt stupid for showing weakness right then. What would the rest of Garden think if they knew the Headmaster still experienced trauma for what had happened during the Time Compression? It only served as a reminder for Squall that no matter how hard he tried to stabilize himself mentally, some days were better than others, and some day he couldn't stop the flashbacks and panic attacks.
Some time had passed before Squall even considered being more social again. Plans were canceled and promises of rescheduling were made. For the time being, Squall needed to be alone, but he tried his best to make sure he didn't hide in his hole forever. He was able to have his bad days, but now he needed to pick himself up and go on with life.
Having no more appointments left for the day, Squall decided to head down to the cafeteria for a change of pace. That meant more exposure to people and perhaps he'd sit down and catch up with a familiar face. Focusing on his breaths, Squall took a corner on his trek and nearly collided into someone else. He gasped, mentally berating himself for not being aware of his surroundings. "Sorry, didn't see you." A moment later he'd realize who it was he nearly ran over, but his head was still spinning and the anxiety needed to be swallowed down.