Disclaimer: I do not own any FFVIII characters...although I wished I did...


Hey,

Sorry but I'm gonna be working late again...
Dinner is in the freezer if you want it. Have a
good day.

Dad

10 year old Squall Leonhart sighed when he read the all too familiar note left on the kitchen counter before he went to school. This was going to be another one of those boring, suck filled days...or so he thought.

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"Good morning class, we have a new student enrolling today. She will be coming in shortly. Please make her feel at home." Squall could only barely make out Mrs. Edea's voice as he scribbled on a free piece of paper waiting for class to start. Public schools were such a waist of time.

His deep concentration on the little angel he was so carefully drawing was broken when a smart ellicky voice spoke up. "So why should we? She's not from around here! She won't belong!" Mrs. Edea smiled as patiently as she could. "Now Seifer, you haven't even met her. Who knows, maybe you'll even like her." The 11 year old blond rolled his eyes in disgust. "I hate girls!"

"Hush now, here she comes." The door opened and a figure walked in. "Class, I would like you all to meet Rinoa Heartilly." Just to be polite, Squall decided to give the new student some attention so he looked up from his drawing.

There stood the prettiest girl he had ever seen with her dark, long hair and intense eyes, all of which were greatly complimented by her expensive looking blue sweater. "Hey look, a rich kid!" Seifer teased, "...and it looks like Squall's got a crush! Hey, aiming a little high aren't you?" The shaggy haired boy looked at his rival with intense loathing. "Whatever."

"Well I think she is pretty! Hey, Rinoa, come sit by me!" a cowboy wannabe screamed from the back corner of the class. "Hey Irvine! What about me? I am sitting next to you!" a little wildly blond haired boy whined. "Shut up Zell, you're ruining my moves!"

Mrs. Edea put a stop to the argument quickly though. "Miss Heartilly, you can take a seat next to Squall for right now. I think he could show you around and make you feel right at home." The little girl smiled enthusiastically and quickly took her seat.

"Oh well, I still have my sweet little Selfie! You'll always be my number one!" Irvine chirped and smiled at the cute little brunette beside him. She smiled back at him with a you-wish look. "You're so silly Irvie!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Seifer groaned. "Yea me to!" Zell agreed but got an angry look from the little punk. "Shut up chicken wuss. You're such a loser!" He began laughing hysterically as Zell began to cry.

"Mr. Almasy, I think you need to visit the office..." The laughter stopped and the boy glared up at his teacher. "Quistis Trepe, you're in charge while I'm gone." A girl in pink stood up in the front row. "Yes ma'am." The two left and she stayed her ground.

Seeing the coast was clear, Rinoa looked over at her doodling host. "Whatcha drawing?" she whispered so Quitis couldn't hear. Trying to keep his cool, Squall just shrugged, "Nothin much..." Then before he had a chance to catch her, she slipped her hand in and grabbed the paper. "Oh this is so cute! Can I keep it? I really like it!" Holding back a deep blush, the boy looked at her and shrugged, "Whatever."

Their conversation, if that is what you call it, was interrupted by a wailing Zell, "Squall, beat him up! Seifer is so mean!" Rinoa looked at him with adoration. "Oh that's cute! So you kind of take care of him like a little brother!" Squall rolled his eyes. 'How do I get caught up in all this? I just want to be left alone...'

"Now everyone, get back in your seats! Mrs. Edea will be back soon!" Quitis wailed frantically, trying to get the class in order but to no avail, "Irvine, keep your hands to yourself! Rinoa, I know you're new but you need to be a little quieter..." her voice was drowned out by the noise of the classroom.

The noise was only ceased by the reappearance of their teacher. "Back in your seats, now! Thank you for the effort Quitis...now class is about to start. Today we will study ancient...."

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Squall sat by himself and picked at the crap the school had the nerve to call food. 'Oh well, it's no worse then home...' he thought to himself as he dared a first bite. "Wow, you sure are brave for trying this food! By the way, thanks for showing me around and stuff..." Rinoa said, sitting down next to him, bringing the table population up to 2.

"Why don't you sit with everyone else? Are you shy?" Squall looked up at the chatty girl with a cheek full of food. "Do you need anything else?" he sputtered out. Rinoa gave him a puzzled look. "No, I just wanted to talk." If it had been anyone else Squall probably would have shooed them away. Instead, he swallowed his 'food' and nodded.

The girl flashed him a radiant smile and decided it was ok to go on with her one sided conversation. "I used to be home schooled but dad decided I should come here to make friends. Maybe you could come over one day or....I know! I'll go to your house! Mine is so boring and dull. Where do you live?" Squall choked on the milk he was chugging while she talked. "Uh, no where special..."

How could he tell her he lived in a crappy little trailer? She would probably laugh at him...

"So how does tomorrow sound?" Squall snapped back into reality at the offer. No way was she going to HIS house. "I don't know..." Rinoa sighed and looked down at the table in concentration while she bit her tongue. It didn't take long for her head to snap back up into place triumphantly. "You say that because your mom has to ok it right?"

"My mom is dead..." Squall said bluntly, rolling his spork in the gravy substance on his tray. This news seemed to hurt her more then it hurt him. "Oh, I'm so sorry....my mom is dead too..."

Before this talk had a chance to take off the bell rang for class, much to Squall's relief. "Well, see ya..." he muttered and hurried away. How much more socialism could he take today...the meter was running low already.

"Hmmm, he must be really shy..." Rinoa said to no one and got up to go back to class. "Wait a minute...I need to talk to you, princess." She turned around to see Quistis staring at her not three inches away from her face. Rinoa smiled, "Is there a problem?" "Yes, don't talk to Squall anymore. He doesn't like it." To Rinoa, this sounded like an order, and Rinoa Heartilly takes no orders. "Maybe he just doesn't like you because he said I could visit him tomorrow!" she said defiantly and walked away, head held high.

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There wasn't much actual class work done for the rest of the day due to all the chatting and interruptions. When Zell finally giggle a little too loud for the last time Mrs. Edea snapped. "What is the meaning of all this foolishness you all are doing today?!" she nearly yelled. All the kids shut up....except Zell. "Rinoa is going to Squall's house tomorrow! It's just really weird...he has never asked anyone before."

A shaggy head snapped in the main direction of the newest student. Rinoa quickly tried to spit out an excuse, "Uh, it's not like that! It's more like I asked hi..." "Squall's got a girlfriend! Squall's got a girlfriend!" Seifer cheered to the whole class. "Now Seifer, do you want to go to ISS for the second half of the day as well?" The rebellious boy sat back down in his seat growling.

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"Oh god, I hope I never have another day like this again..." Squall mumbled as he stepped into his room and threw his backpack on the bed. He took a moment to look around. A junky twin bed, one small dresser with a bad drawer, and a lone picture of his sis on the wall was all that consisted of his room. "This just sucks..."

A little sickened by his surroundings, he decided to go to the kitchen and see what this food in the freezer his dad wrote about was. He opened the large freezer and saw a frostbitten pizza waiting on him. 'Thanks a lot dad...Am I supposed to live my life on frozen pizza?'

But, what other choice did he have? He groaned and put it out on the counter to be put in the oven. While it cooked he dug past the beer in the fridge for a coke. He didn't mind the beer so much. His dad was pretty responsible about that stuff.

The rest of the night went by without event until his dad got home. "Hey I'm home! Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Laguna asked his son with a lifted eyebrow. "Couldn't sleep..."

Instead of nagging or scolding him, Laguna just sat down next to him on the couch. "Watching Law and Order again? You're no fun!" Squall gave him the evil eye. "I like this show." Before Laguna could come up with a brilliant joke or story he remembered something. "My boss called me to his office today. Says his daughter, is it Rinoa, said you wanted her to come up. So, for you, I told him it was ok...Now don't worry, you can thank me later!"

Squall immediately got up and ran to his room. 'What's up with him?' Laguna wondered but shrugged it off and turned the channel to South Park. "This is better!"