Reinventing Me

Summary – (AU) After enduring a major ordeal, Rinoa gets an opportunity for a fresh start when she transfers to another school. But when the students don't see her for who she truly is, Rinoa takes matters into her own hands by enlisting the help of a reluctant teenager to reinvent herself. However, as the plan progresses, more will unravel than she ever bargained for.

Disclaimer - I do not own anything from Final Fantasy 8, and this disclaimer will apply to any future chapters as well.

Author's Notes – Although I don't have much to say at the moment, what I'd like to mention is that I hope you guys will like this fic as much as the other two. But with that being said, please note that I'm trying to go for a different feel this time, so don't hesitate to comment on anything you may or may not like.

…And before I incur the wrath of all those who may be still waiting for chapter 12 of Breaking Free, don't worry, that'll be done shortly, so sit tight. -And for all of you who aren't following that fic, you can ignore that last sentence. :)

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Prologue – Notebook Therapy

-

Our lives are made in these small hours,
These little wonders,
These twists and turns of fate,
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain.

-Rob Thomas, Little Wonders.

-

A gasp of pleasant surprise escaped her mouth. Finally, they were going to let her go home to her family, back to the ones who'd stuck her here for her well-being, who'd fought tooth and nail against her to stop the destructive behaviour, and who she'd profoundly loved and had missed so dearly – it had been eight long and arduous months since she'd been admitted to this facility and cut off from the rest of the world.

"Now Rinoa," Dr. Marnelle continued, "Although you have completed in-patient treatment here, you will be required to come back for check-ups every month just to see how you're doing at home. Is that understood?"

Rinoa gave a polite nod, smile broadening.

"Very well, you may go to the reception desk and leave with your parents, everything else has been taken care of. Have a safe trip home."

"I will."

The teenager got up from her navy chair and extended her hand in earnest gratitude over the maple desk separating them. The doctor accepted it and shook it firmly.

"Thank you for all you've done. I don't think I'd… still be here without your help."

The doctor shook her head. "I believe that the credit belongs to your parents for getting you here on time. I was merely doing my job."

"I guess you're right… But I still stick with what I said because I owe you too, you know. But in any case… I'd better get going now. Bye."

Without another word, Rinoa left the barren office space, turned right and bolted down the main hallway at full speed, earning a few 'ssshhh!!'s from some of the rooms along the way. Although she had slowed her pace for the last stretch, she couldn't help but to giggle nervously for some reason. But at the end of her stroll across the winding faded-green corridor, Rinoa took a single look back, one last look at her eight-month past.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

'I'm finally going home…'

Turning around, she saw both her parents standing by the front desk. Inevitably, more tears streamed from her eyes.

'…I really am going home.'

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After what seemed like the shortest car trip of her life, Rinoa found herself in the nearly-forgotten comfort of her bed. Although she wanted to catch up on what had happened to everyone else at home during her stay at Obel Lake Treatment Centre, there was one thing that she absolutely needed to do before that. Producing a notebook and black pen from the nightstand's drawer, Rinoa started scribbling away immediately.

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Saturday, October 2nd –

Although I'm kind of hesitant to write this down, I have to admit that it'll probably do me some good to let it all out on paper without having to resort to talk to anybody – that's just too humiliating. This will be my own personal reminder so I won't screw up like this ever again. I don't want to miss another eight month chunk of my life if I can help it.

Anyways… I'd better start from the beginning here.

I guess that the reason why this mess started was because of my ex and those last hateful words he said to me when we broke up. I felt bad for weeks and was getting more and more depressed as the days went by. It was so bad that I went on a diet just to feel good about myself again and to have something else to focus on, to have a small goal even. Heck, I even remember buying a pretty blue dress that was one size lower just to motivate me to do something other than to mope around. And well… before I knew it, I got too good at distracting myself with this 'goal'. Soon, all of those nice compliments people were giving me before turned into nagging. Nag, nag, nag. They'd always say stuff like 'You're WAY TOO thin!' or, 'Do you eat at all?'. …Hyne, it was so annoying that I hid in the library just to avoid them a couple of times. But the truly sad thing about this was that I thought they were just jealous of me and I actually liked it when I convinced myself that they were. It felt strangely empowering, even more empowering than the day I finally fit into that dress.

When February came, I had sunk to an all-time low. The problem was getting bigger and bigger and it was at that point where I must have hit my lowest weight. My thickest sweaters were never warm enough and I had fainted a couple of times as well. I can't really say how many times since my mind was kinda fuzzy back then, but even in my pitiful state, I knew what was happening was wrong and yet, I did nothing to stop the madness. I didn't want to stop the madness.

One thing I remember clearly though was the big fight I had with my parents; I think it had lasted a full two weeks, if not more before they finally forced me into Obel Lake and while I was in there, I still wouldn't stop fighting against anyone who was trying to 'help' me. I was giving the staff as much hell as I could give them for the longest time and to put it briefly, hide and seek was not their favorite game to play with me. Not to mention the fact that I should have been out of there in two months (three months tops) and not eight said a lot about my attitude towards treatment.

-And that's how difficult I was back then. I only started making progress in July when I… had a close call. The whole belief that I was invincible shattered right after they resuscitated me during that stormy night and everything that they had preached before was suddenly making some sense in my head. After that point, I realized that it wasn't worth dying over my stupid ex-boyfriend's words and that's when I made peace with myself. The physical healing came afterwards.

So now that I'm done all treatment there, I want to put all of that stuff behind me. It's shut and closed history as far as I'm concerned, but at least my parents allowed me to change schools like I asked so… it'll be that much easier to make a fresh new start. I wasn't close to anyone at my old school anyways, so the switch should be no problem. Actually, I'm kind of excited since I officially enroll in two days. I wonder what kind of people will be there and what the teachers will be like. I guess that'll be answered soon.

Well… since I seem to be feeling much better and what was needed to be said was already said, I suppose this 'reminder' thing is kind of finished.

But before I forget…I want to say sorry to myself for all of the bad things I had done in the past two years and for the time that I had lost. It's time to turn a new leaf in my life and I hope that I'll do it right this time, no more screwing up.

…But who knows? The future has no guarantees.

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Satisfied with the content, Rinoa got off the bed and neatly placed the pen on the aforementioned nightstand on her right and bent down to gently tuck the notebook underneath the mattress of her bed.

Seconds later, she scampered out of her room, increasingly glad to see the worst chapter of her life ended with a new one beginning. After all, tomorrow was another day.

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End of Prologue Comments – In case if you guys are wondering, the actual chapters will be longer, so don't worry.

Please leave any comments or critiques you may have as they are greatly appreciated.

-Emerald-Latias