When Squall accidentally stumbles upon the free-hearted Rinoa, his world is turned upside down. However, with a mounting tension between him and Seifer, will Squall find himself in dangerous waters with his long-term enemy?

Chapter 1

Crash and Burn

Squall squinted, his eyes taking their own sweet time to adjust back to the darkness inside Balamb Garden. His morning spent wandering around the Quad had left him dazed and disorientated. Stumbling through the corridors, Squall blessed the time he had spent committing the Garden's layout to memory. Unfortunately, people didn't stay still like the walls did and he found himself brushing shoulders none too gently with a fair few people. All but falling into the elevator, it dawned upon Squall that it was his own fault – he knew it was sunny outside and had done nothing to prevent his eyes from adjusting to the almost blinding light.

Able to see a little more but still wandering on instinct, Squall walked towards his classroom slowly. The daze must have slowed his reactions because one minute he was stood upright, the next he was laid on his back with a gentle weight on top of him and the wind almost knocked clean out of him. Realising the weight on him was a person, Squall checked if there was anyone around to see them in the compromising position and get the wrong idea. Nobody.

"Oh…uh. Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He muttered.

"My fault. I was late for class and too busy reading the map to see you." A female voice squeaked from on top of him.

"Are you hurt?"
"No. Are you?" Squall checked himself; his body was still recovering from the shock but seemed to be intact.
"I'm fine."
"I should get off of you, shouldn't I?"

"Yes…" She hoisted herself up, crawling off of him and to where her books were sprawled across the floor.

As Squall sat up, he was assaulted by the girl's chocolate brown eyes. She ruffled her jet black hair back into place and bent to pick up her books.
"Hehe, sorry. I'll be more careful next time." Squall started to help her, picking a book up and handing it to her. "My name's R-" A shouting echoed down the corridor.

"Hey babe! Whatcha doing down…" Seifer stopped when he saw Squall kneeling on the floor with one of the girl's biology books in his hands. "What's going on here?" He demanded, fist clenching and his eyes narrowing. The girl finished collecting up her books, taking the biology book from Squall's hands.

"Nothing, Seifer, just on my way to class."
"Hmph. Well, I'll take you. I don't want you meeting any more losers on your way." He spat. "Later, puberty boy!" The girl looked like she was about to protest Seifer's treatment of Squall but she was pulled closer to him and dragged away. Looking over her shoulder, the girl waved at Squall then turned back to watch where she was going.

Something was bugging Squall. No, it wasn't Seifer's insults, Squall had created a protective barrier from them, after all the years spent fighting, his comments just bounced off. No. It was something else… the way he held that girl and how he dragged her along, it was getting under Squall's skin. Cursing himself, Squall got back on his feet and brushed the dirt off his uniform. Who was she? Why had she let Seifer handle her that way? At long last, Squall's vision was returning and he could see enough to walk into his classroom.

Waltzing in late wasn't Squall's usual style, he was always a student who was where he needed to be at exactly the right time. As it was, Instructor Trepe was consumed by her marking and the students only quickly looked up from their work to acknowledge his lateness. Quietly taking his seat next to Zell Dincht, Squall looked at their task and started the set work. However, he soon found his thoughts returning to the mystery girl. He could see her in his mind's eye; her perfect shoulder-length black hair, those calming brown eyes and the way that her smile tugged at her lips and lit up her eyes, pulling a smile onto his own face…

Checking himself, Squall realised what he was doing. He was starting to develop feelings for this girl he didn't even know. What had he come to? And it was quite obvious she was with Seifer, she wouldn't have let him handle her like that otherwise. Cursing his bad luck, Squall slumped slightly in his seat, burned by feelings that had only developed a few minutes ago. It took all Squall had to stop him from smashing his fist into the table in frustration. This feeling had come only once before and had passed quickly but there seemed something different this time. His feeling seared his insides, burning and torturing him. He should have just tried to ignore her but now he knew how he felt… there was no stopping the inevitable pain that followed.

Touching the scar on his face, Squall added another thought – She'd never find me attractive anyway. Seifer may have a scar but he's got a nice build. Compared to him, I'm a scrawny wreck. The rebellious side of his emotions screamed at him to think of this as only a positive thing but he quelled it and tried to resume his work, trying to not think of 'her'.

The next two lessons passed in a daze of stabs of pain and actual concentration on his subjects but Squall often found his treacherous thoughts returning to the girl, resulting in the hurting. Oh, why had Seifer had to interrupt before she'd said her name? Maybe that was half of the problem – he didn't even know who she was. His mind had resolved to referring to her simply as "Princess". Damn Seifer. May Hyne find Seifer an eternal place in Hell.

Squall was sitting alone in a corner of the cafeteria, Squall took this opportunity to people-watch. To see who was coming and going. Then, who should enter but the very person he sought? As her eyes analyzed every part of the room, Squall did his best to look away and pretend he hadn't noticed her but his body was betraying him; just a few seconds later, his gaze was drawn back to her.

However, behind the princess stood Seifer, his arm protectively around her shoulders, claiming her as his own. She didn't accept his affection but nor did she shrug him off. Squall gulped and made sure Seifer hadn't seen him staring. Together, the pair got their food and sat down at a table close to him, their backs to Squall and the other people on the table laughing and joking with Seifer. The princess looked so out of place, so lost amongst the people that were Seifer's friends – not hers.

Not meaning to look but nevertheless drawn, Squall saw Seifer's hand slip under the table to caress the princess's leg. A stab of jealously shot through Squall and intensified when Seifer's wandering fingers started to move closer to her middle, slipping in between her legs. A protective instinct rose and it took all of Squall's discipline to stay seated and force the fork onto the plate to retrieve food and then away again to his mouth. The princess looked uneasy, she looked at Seifer and shook her head but his fingers only moved closer to the hem of her shorts. Anger boiled inside of Squall. Who the hell did Seifer think he was?

Then, the princess whispered something in Seifer's ear and he stood up, removing his hand and walked out of the hall, leaving his bag and books on the table. She looked behind her and her eyes immediately caught Squall's. Petrified she'd realised he was watching her, Squall's eyes shot down to his food and remained there, no matter how much his senses begged to look up again. Approaching footsteps had him glance upwards quickly to see her eyes trained hard on him and a smile on her face. What if she came and sat with him? What should he say? He definitely wouldn't reject an offer of companionship. She breezed up towards him and it took every ounce of control Squall possessed just to keep looking at the half-empty plate in front of him.

Well, here he was. The guy that had had her daydreaming since their chance encounter earlier that day. His face was downcast, his eyes fixed hard upon the items on his plate. Standing at the end of the table with her tray of food and her bag perched uncomfortably on her shoulder, Rinoa wasn't sure if she should ask permission, wait to be invited or just sit down. Waiting to be invited seemed unlikely with how unresponsive he was being so Rinoa chose the former, it seemed more courteous. Rinoa cleared her throat politely. He still didn't look up. Trying not to look too disheartened, Rinoa chose talking.

"Excuse me?" His eyes glanced up quickly to acknowledge her before darting back to his peas. "May I sit with you?"

Rinoa could have sworn she saw him suppress something.

"…Sure." His voice was low and emotionless, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Sinking gracefully into a seat close to him, Rinoa flicked her mind through topics they could discuss. Finally, she settled with the most obvious one.

"So… sorry about earlier."
"What about it?" He was cold and hesitant which just drove her harder to talk to him.
"Seifer…" Rinoa answered, hanging her head slightly in the shame of the memory.

"Don't be sorry about that. Seifer's always been like that." Rinoa creased her eyebrows, something many people had said they found cute. Was she trying to flirt with this guy?

"You know Seifer well?"
"You could say that." Rinoa realised she wasn't going to get anything more of that topic from him. She watched his Adam's apple move as he spoke.

"What's your name?" Biting her lip, Rinoa hoped she didn't look too desperate to find out this hunk's identity.
"Squall. Squall Leonhart." Rinoa suppressed a sigh of relief. "And yourself?" He seemed to regret his question, his gaze more focussed than before on his poor food.

"My name's…"
"Oi! I thought I told you to back off, scar-face." Rinoa's head almost hit the table in front of her. WHY did Seifer always have to appear at the worst of times? "I SAID, I thought I told you to back off!" Seifer called, approaching the table quickly and smacking his fist into the wood, making Rinoa jump almost out of her skin. "What? I don't even get an answer, you home-wrecking SHIT?" Seifer wrapped his hand roughly around Rinoa's arm, making her squeal in shock and pain.

"Ow! Seifer! Let go of me!" He ignored her complaints and pulled her into a standing position. Squall stood too, his gaze dark and intent upon Seifer. The entire cafeteria had stopped to watch the contest.

"The lady said 'let go'." He said simply and calmly, still not allowing any emotion through his cool exterior.

"I think I'll do what I want, you shit sack. This is MYgirl and if I ever see you talking to her again, I'll kill you. Understand?" Rinoa's anger sparked.

"I'm not YOURS, Seifer. I was the one who started talking. I can speak to whoever the hell I want." Rinoa retorted, determined not to let Squall fight for her. Seifer's fist just tightened around her skin in anger, definitely bruising her. "OW!"

"Back off, Seifer. You really want to look like an abusive asshole in front of all of your 'friends'?" Seifer had no response. Instead, he started to pull Rinoa away, leaving her books on the table.
"This isn't over, I'll deal with your sorry ass in a minute. For now…" He wheeled around so his face was barely an inch from Rinoa's. "Go back to your room like a good girl and don't open your door to anyone except me." He spat. Rinoa wiped his spittle off her face with a sleeve.

"I'm not doing what you say and I'm not letting someone else get hurt because of me. We'll both leave the cafeteria and I'll go back to my dorm… alone. Then you'll have some time to decide where the fuck this relationship is actually going. Hyne's sake, Seifer." His eyes flashed red with anger but he knew that contesting her would either result in losing her forever and/or losing a lot of his popularity. Nobody liked Squall but at least Rinoa had some hastily-made friends to back her side up… and Selphie. That and Seifer was well known for using women, she'd have plenty of support from his previous victims.

Accepting defeat in his own way, Seifer dragged Rinoa by her arm out of the hall. "I'll get you back for this, Squall…somehow." Rinoa allowed herself to be dragged, not wanting Squall to worry about her and she didn't say anything about her abandoned books. If they were there then at least she'd have a reason to escape him later or even for someone else to have a reason to knock at her door…

The doors swung closed behind them. "That was fun. Where we going, babe?" Seifer's mood had completely changed.

"I swear you have fucking PMS. You're not going anywhere with me. I'm going alone to my dorm and you're probably going to end up going to take your frustrated lust and anger out on some poor Grat in the Training Centre. Night, Seifer, don't knock on my door, I won't answer."
"Oh, but baby…"

"No, Seifer." Rinoa slipped her arm out of Seifer's loosened grip and started to walk back to her dorm. Footsteps followed her. Rinoa didn't even have to look around to know it was Seifer. Ignoring him, Rinoa pulled a book out of her bag and pretended to read, all the while conscious of the approaching footsteps.

"Squall…dude!" Zell called as he drew closer to Squall's table. Sinking back into his chair, the noise of the room ascended to its normal levels.

"Zell, I need a favour." He muttered.
"What's that?"
"Follow her, discreetly. If I do, there'll be more trouble but Seifer won't get as pissed at you. I need to know if she's okay."
"Whoa… you turning soft on me, dude?"
"No. I just want to know that she isn't getting hurt because of my actions." Squall replied, swallowing the lie.
"Fair enough. Okay, get my hotdogs for me before I wake up for a week and I'll do it."
"Zell…"
"Deal?"
"Deal. Now, please go?"
"No prob, dude." Zell bounded off, his current hotdog dangling out of his mouth. Please, Hyne may Zell be discreet. Oh… she left her books here. Should I return them or wait to see if she comes back for them? Making a choice, Squall placed the books carefully in his own bag so as not to damage them and made off towards his dorm to wait for news from Zell.

It wasn't Seifer staring back at her… no, it was a different blonde-haired male.

"Um… who are you and why are you in the girls' section of the dorms?"
"Sorry, I've been asked to check you're okay." Rinoa sighed, if this was one of Seifer's half-hearted attempts…

"By who?" Rinoa asked, jutting her hip out sassily.
"…Squall."

"Oh…" Rinoa breathed, her sassy façade crumbling in the flush on her face. "W…why didn't he come himself?"
"He didn't want to risk getting you into anymore trouble. Do you want me to walk you to your dorm? I don't like Seifer either and I don't wanna think about what he could do to you."
"I'll be fine, I've dealt with worse and I don't think Seifer would take too kindly to you walking me. Best not to put you in the line of danger too."

"I've been dealing with Seifer for years, same as Squall. I can hold my own. It's you we're worried about."
"Well don't you worry. Tell Squall I'm just fine and I'll see him around, I won't let Seifer chase me off from having a nice friend like him... or you." Rinoa smiled cheerfully. Zell smirked but didn't say anything about it.
"Well if you're okay…"
"Yeah, my room's just around the corner anyway."
"Really? What number? Yanno…in case Squall asks."
"Why would Squall want to know my dorm number?"
"I don't know…"
"Well, tell him to ask Selphie then." Rinoa replied cheekily and bounded off with feigned confidence which she refused to let Zell see through. "Night!"

Finally, the comforting flat surface of her door rested against Rinoa's back, soothing and cooling the heated flesh. Today had been hectic, Seifer's possessiveness, Squall's kindness and that big fight in the cafeteria. Surely Seifer saw that he was in the wrong… the one who had committed the horrible deed and flown off the damn handle. Whatever… Rinoa wasn't going to let him into her room, not tonight and definitely not until she felt she had forgiven him enough.

Looking down at her arms, Rinoa saw the bruises Seifer had caused. No, she wasn't forgiving him for quite a while. Pushing away from the door, Rinoa went to go and lie on her bed, thinking about the books that probably still sat on the table, the homework just begging for her to complete it. Instead, she relaxed and wheeled her mind around everything that had happened, the day seemed to have passed so quickly.

Squall's face kept returning to the forefront of her mind. His stormy eyes were the first thing she saw, staring back at her with that controlled amount of emotion. Then, his chin and smile. That chestnut brown hair that stayed where it was put and he didn't care to fix; it still looked perfect. His arms and the muscles they contained – Rinoa wondered what it felt like to be held close by Squall but she doubted it was a sensation she would ever come to terms with – he was too aloof and Seifer would wreak hell. Wrapping her arms around herself, Rinoa tried in vain to fight away the impenetrable cold that had entered her bones.

"Squall…" Rinoa sighed, realising that he still didn't know her name. "Damn you, Seifer. Why am I even still with you? You're just too…. Too much." Rinoa sighed, burying her face into her pillow.

An hour or two later, a knocking echoed through the room, Rinoa suppressed a cry of annoyance. Rising again, Rinoa pushed her eye against the eyehole in her door. Seifer.
"I told you not to knock!" She screamed wildly through the wood.

"Rinny, please open up, I just wanna give my baby girl a hug!" Rinoa's heart caught in her throat. Part of her wanted to believe him but she knew he wanted more.

"No, Seifer. I'm still mad. Talk to me tomorrow."
"No. I can't go to bed without shaying goodnight to you!" He sounded drunk, no doubt he'd found some alcohol with Raijin.

"Seifer, you're drunk. Go bed. Now."
"I'm not drunk…"

"Now if you don't open up, I'm gonna go after your 'new boyfriend' and shmash him in." Holy shit… he wouldn't hurt Squall? Wait, this was Seifer, of course he would. Submitting to the emotional blackmail and hating herself for it, Rinoa unlocked her door and opened it just wide enough for her to be half visible.
"What do you want, Seifer?" Rinoa saw that some of her neighbours had emerged to see that she didn't get hurt; almost everyone in the Garden had been in the cafeteria.

"Oh Hyne, Rinoa when did you start wearing that?" She looked down at herself and saw that she'd unconsciously taken her duster off, leaving her in shorts, her corset and the tank top.

"Um… ever since I bought it?"
"Mmmmm…" He put his hand on her stomach and pushed hard until she fell into her room. Seifer pushed himself into her room and closed the door loudly behind him.

"Seifer, what the hell? Get out of my room!" Rinoa exclaimed, lying on the floor and pushing herself up with her elbows.

"Hyne, Rinoa. Wear that around me more." He slurred, his eyes diluting with lust. No…
"…what?" Seifer bent over, forcing Rinoa hard against the floor again, scraping her elbows across the carpet, burning her. He pressed his lips on hers, kissing her forcefully. Rinoa didn't kiss back and when Seifer realised his, he pulled his head back.

"What's wrong, babe?"
"I told you, I'm still mad with you. Please leave until I've calmed down." She gritted her teeth to stop her from yelling.
"You're not serious?" He said, his eyes flashing with surprise and his voice reeking of alcohol.

"I am, now please? I want to get my homework done and then go quietly to bed."
"You're saying no to sex with me?"
"Seifer, you've had alcohol. Plus… I don't want to have sex yet."
"Fine." He spat, Rinoa turned her head from the spit and the stench of alcohol. "I'll see you tomorrow, babe, don't expect me to be in a good mood if you come crawling back to me tonight." No, Seifer would be in a VERY good mood if she did that. Seifer pulled himself off her and stormed out of the door, leaving it ajar.

Rolling onto her front and away from the door, Rinoa let her tears fall. The door opened slightly and someone closed it almost silently, sinking to sit next to her and stroking her head. Looking up, Rinoa realised it was her friend Selphie.
"Shhh, don't cry over him. You deserve better, Rinny. When are you going to realise that?"
"I already have but I know he won't take no for an answer. I… I can't believe I got myself into this mess, Seffie." Rinoa said, trying to stifle her sobs as she sat upright again.

"Don't blame yourself, Rinny. Maybe you should try to spend some more time with that guy from earlier, stop you from feeling too bitter about guys in general. And maybe you'll see that there's better for you out there."
"Who? Squall?"

"Yeah…"
"Hmph. I wonder if he has my books…"
"What?"
"When Seifer dragged me out of the cafeteria, I left my books on the table. He might have just left them on the table though..."
"Well, I'll go look in the cafeteria, I doubt you wanna go out while you're feeling like this…"
"Thanks Seffie." Her friend got up and walked outside, leaving Rinoa alone.

Going to splash some water on her face, Rinoa realised that her little crying bout over Seifer was totally pointless, as far as she was concerned, they were over now. As soon as someone treated her like that, she didn't want to know them anymore. Nothing could erase that pain from her mind.

Selphie walked slowly down to the cafeteria, stopping only to nod to her other friends, not even wasting time talking to them, Rinoa was distressed and she needed Selphie back as soon as possible. Luckily, the cafeteria hadn't been locked yet, she stepped inside and looked around the room. Searching every table, Selphie saw no books. A catering assistant walked past her.
"Excuse me!" The woman turned around. "My friend left some books in here, have you seen any?"
"The only books I remember were taken by a brown-haired boy after he had a shouting match with another guy. Seifer I think his name was."

"Do you know what the brown haired guy was called?"
"I honestly have no idea, I'm sorry."
"Thank you anyway."
"No problem, good night."
"Night." Selphie muttered, turning back and wondering who she should ask about the boy.

Suddenly, someone brushed past her shoulder.

"Sorry…" the figure muttered.
"No problem mate." Selphie answered, heading towards the boys' dorm to see if she could find him.
"Excuse me?" It was the same person who had brushed her shoulder. Turning, Selphie's mouth almost opened in shock. "Is your name Selphie?"
"…Yes, why?"
"She told me to ask you what her room number was."
"Who did?"
"I don't know, I didn't get chance to find out her name." The brown haired boy replied.
"You're Squall?" Selphie asked, a smile appearing on her lips. Selphie swallowed it.

"Yeah, she left her books in the cafeteria and I was gonna return them to her… or I could leave them with you?" Selphie shook her head and stepped slightly backwards. Her palms were facing him so he didn't entertain any ideas about putting them into her hands and abandoning his chance to see Rinoa.

"No, her room is 683, go into the girls' dorms section and follow it around, you'll get there quickly." Selphie ran off before he could ask her anything else.

Pounding down the corridors, Selphie knew she had to find out where Seifer was and keep him occupied. And there he was, sitting on a bench with Raijin and Fujin, drunk and slurring his sentences. Crouching uncomfortably behind a plant, Selphie prepared herself for hours of discomfort, hoping Rinoa appreciated it.

Selphie wasn't back yet, had she had trouble getting to the cafeteria? Even if she had, Rinoa couldn't do much about it, she had changed into her comfy pyjamas and felt too self-conscious to go looking for her friend. There was a knock on the door, getting up, Rinoa went to answer it. Without even looking through the eyehole, she opened the door.

"Really, Selphie, we've been friends since childhood, you don't need to…" Rinoa said before she realised who was actually at her door. "Oh!" She finished as Squall's confused face appeared behind the door. "Squall…hi." His eyes widened at her attire and Rinoa did her best to hide herself behind the door.

"…Hey." He muttered, breathlessly. "You…urm… left your books." He continued, holding them out for her and returning his eyes to the ground. Rinoa took the books from him and wrapped her arms around them.

"Thanks… you wanna come in for a minute?"
"…sure." Squall followed her slowly into her dorm. Rinoa put the books down on her desk and sank onto the bed. Covering her body by drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them close.

"You can sit." He did so, perched right on the end of her bed. Rinoa's phone buzzed on the bedside table. "Sorry." She blushed, picking it up and reading it.

'Got eyes on Seifer, you two have fun ;) x'

The text was from Selphie... that meant she was following Seifer, but what was with the emoticon? Deciding to not reply, Rinoa put the phone down and looked back at Squall who was staring at his hands.

"Sorry about that…"
"Doesn't matter. Are you… are you okay?"
"I am thank you. Are you?" Squall looked up, his eyes focussed on Rinoa's arm.

"I'm fine." His hand extended. Rinoa didn't stop him as his fingers brushed across the purpling finger shaped bruises on her arm. "He hurt you."
"It doesn't matter. It's just a bruise – it'll fade. At least now I know what I have to do." Squall looked up, his stormy eyes meeting hers as if to ask her to continue. "I know that I deserve better." His eyes widened, Rinoa put her knees down and shuffled slightly closer, she wanted to see how he reacted. He watched her coolly but she was sure she could hear his heart hammering against his ribs.

"You do." He gulped. "You're so much better than Seifer. You deserve someone who looks after you and doesn't treat you like… that." Rinoa edged closer. "He never was nice… but you…" Closer. "…you're perfect." Closest. Rinoa could feel Squall's gentle breath on her neck as he watched the light dance in her eyes.

"Squall…" she breathed. He looked back down nervously, clutching his hands so tightly his fingers had to be digging painfully into his palms. Rinoa's hand extended, catching him under the chin and pulling his face back up to see her. "You don't need to be nervous around me…" Rinoa leaned in closer, she could feel his racing pulse through his neck and felt her own heart start to speed. Her mouth was so close to his, so close it hurt and her eyes were starting to droop, darting between his lips and his eyes. He didn't seem to take the hint so Rinoa pressed so close to him, he had no choice but to realise what she wanted from him.

Squall only paused for a second before he closed his eyes and moved his mouth so it was only a millimetre away from Rinoa's lips. Taking control, Rinoa shut her eyes and captured Squall's tentative lips in hers, at first he didn't kiss back but she soon felt his hand slip behind her head to run through her hair and pull her mouth harder on his.