Dance with Me?
Rinny Leonheart
Summary: The famous dance scene from Final Fantasy Eight that helps Squall and Rinoa become the couple they are today. Slightly OOC.
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy Eight or any of its characters. Squaresoft created them, and therefore I have no claims on the profits they have made. I am not making any money off this; this is for my personal pleasure only.
The fic will be in Squall's POV.
Dance with Me?
The SeeD graduation Ball. Another social occasion to which I have to attend. I'd rather be in the Training area, or raising my SeeD level by taking the 30 tests. But no, I have to be here…
I'm standing under a pillar watching all of the happy couples dancing. I'll admit I'm slightly jealous. Not that I don't have a partner, but that everyone is happy. I should be considering I've just been made a SeeD, but I just feel empty inside. My face is in agony from my sparring session yesterday. Stupid Seifer, at least I gave him a souvenir back for what he did to me.
A waitress passes me and offers me a drink. I think it's a glass of wine or something. I graciously accept it and take a sip.
"Yo!"
Oh Hyne. It's Zell. He comes running up to me and stops.
"S'up Squall?! Heh-heh. I guess we're both SeeDs now, huh?" he rubs his right hand on his pant leg and thrusts it towards me.
"Put it there man."
I just stare at it. Zell withdrew his hand and laughed.
"Hah! Even as a SeeD, you're still the same." he said. "Well, that's typical of you."
Typical of me? Yeah, that about sums me up. Squall Leonhart, introverted member of SeeD.
"See ya!" Zell yelled as he ran off to join the rest of the party
"Oh... Hey, Zell. Wanna join the Garden festival committee and…" Great. It was Selphie
"Sorry I... ahh... Just remembered something! Gotta go! See ya!" Zell said quickly before she could get another word out.
"Hmmm…"
Selphie frowned and looked for more possible candidates. She saw me. Oh Hyne.
"Squall! Hi!" she said, cheery as ever as she ran up to me. "Wanna join the garden festival committee?"
I was as still as a statue, unmoving and non-talkative.
"You can help out whenever you have time."
I stayed quiet, praying she'd leave me in peace.
"...Please?" she begged, her lip quivering at me. I hated it when girls did that. I couldn't say no.
"Sure, you seem to be putting a lot of effort into this." I said before I could stop myself from talking.
Selphie's green eyes widened.
"REALLY?!" she yelled. "Woo-Hoo!" she jumped excitedly. Inside, I smiled. Selphie was full of energy. She reminded me of someone but I couldn't put my finger on it…
"I know we'll be busy with lots of SeeD stuff, but let's work hard on the Garden festival, too." Selphie said.
"Bye!" she said, waving at me as she left.
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I continued to stand at my pillar after Selphie had gone. The peace was lovely and the view I could see from below the skylight above me was almost indescribable.
I'll admit that the clear night sky was intoxicatingly beautiful. The stars shone brightly, as if they were smiling at me. Most likely teasing me.
A shooting star flew across the sky above me. My eyes followed its trail and I was stupid enough to look at the ballroom floor. A girl was standing in the middle of all the dancing couples, watching the star as it soared throughout the others. She turned and looked at me, smiled and raised her right index finger at me. I don't know why I did this but I tilted my head slightly, as if I wanted her to come over. She dropped her hand and walked over to me. At this point I should have walked away but I was trapped now as she advanced towards me. I couldn't get away.
As she approached I took in her looks and attire. She was shorter than I was, long dark hair with two golden streaks down the sides of her heart shaped face. She was rather pretty actually. Her eyes were large and reminded me of chocolate with swirls of caramel.
She was wearing a knee-length ivory coloured dress and matching shoes. She gave me a small smile and began speaking to me.
"You're the best looking guy here. Dance with me?" she asked me. My eyes widened in shock. If I'd been having a sip of my drink it would have been a spit take. She wanted to dance with me? Oh crap.
She looked at me, her eyes narrowed slightly, but not in an angered way. It was more like she was trying to see inside me.
"Let me guess. You'll only dance with someone you like. Ok!" she clapped her hands together and raised one to my face. Her fingers touched my chin and she waved her other hand in front of my eyes.
"You-are-going-to-like-me. You-are-going-to-like-me." She chanted mystically, like that of fortune tellers I've seen in Balamb. She tilted her head to one side and looked at me.
"Did it work?"
Like hell it did!
I had to say something. She wasn't going to leave unless I said something. I took a big sip from my drink. If ever there was a time for Dutch courage, now was the time for it! I changed my mind quicker than I had made it!
"I can't dance." I told her. What a lame excuse! This angel was asking me to dance and I was refusing to! What was I thinking?! If I'd been a spectator, I'd have kicked the guy for being so stupid as to refuse an invitation from this dark-haired beauty.
She shook her head and grabbed my arm.
"You'll be fine. Come on." She said dismissively. "I'm looking for someone. I can't be on the dance floor alone."
Was she nuts?! I staggered as she meandered through the other dancing couples to the centre of the dance floor. I crashed into her as she turned me around to face her; she giggled and placed my hand on her waist, holding onto my other hand tightly. She tried leading me to the music that had just started and I just kept getting two left feet. I was too petrified to do more than move my feet two steps and move the arm attached to hers as she did a spin-out. I forgot to let go of her hand and she crashed into me when I forgot to grab her as she returned. She let go of me in frustration. This was my chance to make a run for it but she grabbed my hand again before I got four steps away.
She obviously knew the routine but maybe she was expecting her partner to know it as well. I did know it but I couldn't make any of the moves, it felt like I was wading through treacle, my moves were all glued to the floor and any I tried to make kept my feet immobile. She tried this weird stepping move towards me still holding my hand, one step forward and two steps back; I can't remember the correct name for it. She twirled around me and grabbed my shoulders and I tried moving with her again.
I wish I hadn't tried; I stumbled back slightly and bumped into Nida and his dance partner. They gave me a dirty look and she did something unexpected. She stuck her tongue out at them! I looked into her eyes and she looked into mine. She smiled at me and almost tilted her head to one side. The tempo of the music sped up and at that moment... at that moment we began moving in a liquid motion. I lead her as we danced in the perfect routine. I don't know why I suddenly began dancing like that; all I knew was that I was.
We twirled along the dance floor, our movements in sync as I spun her back and forth, my hand touching her back every time she returned to me. After what seemed like mere seconds, she grabbed my shoulder on the last spin and the lights went out. Fireworks began exploding outside and I looked up. I felt a smile trying to form on my face when she gasped in delight. My attention turned back to her and she winked at me, smiling and walked off the dance floor.
I just stood frozen where I was, unable to move again. I didn't even get her name and another person was just walking away from me. I tell myself it doesn't matter, everyone leaves me. But there was something about her, something that made me think differently. I have no idea whether I'll see her again. Do I want to? What would I do?
My mind is filled with so many things; it's hard to interpret my thoughts as a whole. Maybe she was an illusion, and I was dancing with myself.
Whatever
Author's Note: Hello loyal fans! What did you think? The dance itself was short but it's hard to remember the names for all the turns and spins! Review and let me know what you thought. Your opinion is very much appreciated!
Rinny Leonheart