Dangerously In Love
Chapter 1
Trials and Tribulations
"Dammit!" Rinoa exclaimed in exasperation, slamming her pen down on the note pad in front of her.
"Shhh!" A stern voice hissed from the other side of the almost deserted library. Rinoa cringed with rage, her hands curling into fists.
"Whoa! Calm down Rin," Zell soothed, alarmed at her sudden annoyance.
Rinoa slumped her head into her hands and rubbed her head slowly as if she expected it to help her find the answer. "This is impossible," she murmured.
"No it's not, you just have to be good," Zell teased.
Rinoa slowly looked up and frowned at him. He quickly realised that she was in no mood for jokes.
"No one ever said this was going to be easy, Rinny," Zell said softly. "Have you actually realised what a small percentage of cadets become SeeD's? Especially first time round." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But you can do this Rin, you know you can." He stooped his head in an attempt to catch her downward gaze. "...I know you can."
She looked up at him, her expression lightened. "Thanks, Zell." She couldn't help but smile back at him. "Thanks for everything. You're a great tutor, as well as a great friend. I really appreciate it."
"Aww, give over Rin, you're making me blush!"
"Seriously...if I do pass, it'll only be because of you..."
Zell looked at her for a second, her beautiful brown eyes shining with gratitude. He moved closer to her, smiling affectionately. "Come here, you..." Zell held his arms out to her, Rinoa silently took up the offer. She sighed peacefully as if Zell's tight embrace had removed all the doubt and worry in her mind.
"What's going on here then?" The playful voice made them both jump and part quickly as if they were committing a crime. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"Selphie! You scared me half to death!" Rinoa chided, clutching her chest. Zell scratched the back of his head, blatantly embarrassed.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were up to something," Selphie teased.
"Yeah we are, it's called cramming!"
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot! You've got your final written exam tomorrow. I was wondering what you were doing in here so late."
"What? You thought that maybe Zell and I had arranged a secret meeting in the romantic setting of the Balamb Garden library!?" Rinoa retorted sarcastically. Selphie smiled back at her friends comment, then looked towards an uncharacteristically silent Zell.
"And what have you got to say for yourself, mister?"
Zell looked at Selphie's mischievous face and held his hands up innocently. "I'm just her tutor!"
"Humm... an interesting alibi..." Selphie paced in front of the two suspects sceptically. "So if you are who you claim to be Mr. Dincht, may I ask you what it is exactly that you are teaching her!?"
Zell looked bewildered. "Huh? Well, we were... I mean, I was...um..."
"Cat got your tongue has it Zell!?"
"We were going over the History of magic."
"Is that right..." she asked rhetorically. "So if you were in fact 'going over' the History of Magic, you won't mind me taking a look at evidence 'A.' " Selphie quickly snatched the note pad Rinoa was working on from in front of her. Rinoa tried to retrieve it but Selphie was too quick.
"Ha! Now let's see..." Still in character, Selphie flipped through the book for what she was looking for. "The History of Magic," she read aloud "an introduction to materia and Magicite...Ahw, I thought I was onto something good then..." she said feigning disappointment. "The defendants are found not guilty, I guess you're free to go." She handed the pad back to Rinoa. "The History of Magic, eh! That's a tough one Rin, no wonder you're in here so late!"
"Tell me about it! I don't understand why we have to learn about, and how to use things that don't even exist anymore. I mean, what's the point of knowing that for optimal effect 'Heal' materia should be paired with 'All' materia in a double slot!?"
Zell stood up and patted his student on the head. "Looks like my work here is done. Come on Rinoa, you better get some sleep."
Rinoa reluctantly packed away the rest of her things.
"Fine...I guess I am pretty tired."
They walked to the door. Rinoa stopped and turned around upon realising someone was missing.
"Selphie?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you come here in the first place," Rinoa asked susspiciously, "...so late at night"
"Well...ummm..."
The conversation was cut short by the noise of the automatic doors opening, presenting a very shifty looking Irvine.
Rinoa turned back to her friend, her eyebrow raised accusingly. "Very romantic!"
* * *
The warm sea breeze drifted calmly through Rinoa's soft, raven black hair circling her with a feeling of complete and utter relaxation. It had been so long since she had felt this at ease, this happy. She never wanted it to end. Her eyes surveyed the beautiful landscape searching in vein to find any fault with this enchanting place. It felt as though no one had ever been here before, a secret place that only she was permitted to see, if only she could take in all of it. Her vision seem blocked somehow, as though she was blinkered. Her sight gradually seemed to blur, to distort. She strained her eyes in attempt to bring back the wonderful sights that were now being ripped away from her. The images began to fade faster and faster she tried desperately to register everything she could and store it into her memory, but the harder she tried to focus the more it hurt her head. Waves of pain shot from the back of her eyes to the back of her brain. The short, sharp pain became increasingly more intense until it felt as though it was ringing through her ears. It was disturbing her breathing, engulfing and suffocating her, she felt as though she was loosing all control, as though she was falling.
She landed with a muffled 'bump', which made her heart lurch with fear. The ringing in her ears was still there but it seemed somewhat more familiar. Although she was still surrounded by darkness her eyes sought out a small glimmer of light. She reached up to it and the light suddenly pierced through the darkness allowing herself to focus her vision. Her lips parted as she released an anguished moan upon realisation of where she was. She flailed her arm around sleepily in an attempt to quash the irritating noise. The alarm clock landed directly on her head and bounced off on to the floor beside her. She groaned in pain but at least the ringing had stopped. She continued to lie there for a minute starring at the glaring red digital numbers as her mind slowly tried to piece together their significance. 9:02am. Fear suddenly rose in her throat, she felt her heart miss a beat as she realised that she was half an hour late for her written SeeD exam. She despiratly tried to untangle herself from the bed sheets, finally managing to stand up only to trip over again as she lunged towards her bag. She got up once more rubbing her head, grabbed her stuff, opened the door and ran full pelt towards the exam hall.
She knew that as long as she got there before the exam finished she would be alowed to take the test, even though she would have to finish at the same time as everyone else, she had to do this. This was her only chance. She slowed down as she rounded the corner and stopped infront of the door to collect herself. She inhailed deeply, and stepped inside. Suddenly all eyes were on her, the whole room was silent. She felt a wave of heat rise up her body, colouring her cheeks. There must be something really wrong for them all to part themselves from their exams. She scaned round the room for insperation, but no one's eyes met with hers. Realisation rushed through her body, she slowly but painfully looked down at herself...
"Aaaarrrraaahhhh!!!"
Rinoa sat bolt upright in her twisted sheets, sweat dripping from her face, her breathing erratic. Cursing herself for getting in such a state she turned her head towards her digital alarm clock. It beamed 6:02 back at her. She swept her hair back, out of her face and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She wasn't taking any chances.
Author's Note: Well finally got round to re-writing this! It seems a lot shorter than my first attempt but please review & tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!
Rinoa Angel xxx
rinoa_ffangel@yahoo.co.uk
Disclaimer: None of the characters, or places in this story belong, have belonged, or will ever belong to me. The are from the wonderful minds at Squaresoft and this fiction is purely for entertainment reasons. ^_^
Chapter 1
Trials and Tribulations
"Dammit!" Rinoa exclaimed in exasperation, slamming her pen down on the note pad in front of her.
"Shhh!" A stern voice hissed from the other side of the almost deserted library. Rinoa cringed with rage, her hands curling into fists.
"Whoa! Calm down Rin," Zell soothed, alarmed at her sudden annoyance.
Rinoa slumped her head into her hands and rubbed her head slowly as if she expected it to help her find the answer. "This is impossible," she murmured.
"No it's not, you just have to be good," Zell teased.
Rinoa slowly looked up and frowned at him. He quickly realised that she was in no mood for jokes.
"No one ever said this was going to be easy, Rinny," Zell said softly. "Have you actually realised what a small percentage of cadets become SeeD's? Especially first time round." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But you can do this Rin, you know you can." He stooped his head in an attempt to catch her downward gaze. "...I know you can."
She looked up at him, her expression lightened. "Thanks, Zell." She couldn't help but smile back at him. "Thanks for everything. You're a great tutor, as well as a great friend. I really appreciate it."
"Aww, give over Rin, you're making me blush!"
"Seriously...if I do pass, it'll only be because of you..."
Zell looked at her for a second, her beautiful brown eyes shining with gratitude. He moved closer to her, smiling affectionately. "Come here, you..." Zell held his arms out to her, Rinoa silently took up the offer. She sighed peacefully as if Zell's tight embrace had removed all the doubt and worry in her mind.
"What's going on here then?" The playful voice made them both jump and part quickly as if they were committing a crime. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"Selphie! You scared me half to death!" Rinoa chided, clutching her chest. Zell scratched the back of his head, blatantly embarrassed.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were up to something," Selphie teased.
"Yeah we are, it's called cramming!"
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot! You've got your final written exam tomorrow. I was wondering what you were doing in here so late."
"What? You thought that maybe Zell and I had arranged a secret meeting in the romantic setting of the Balamb Garden library!?" Rinoa retorted sarcastically. Selphie smiled back at her friends comment, then looked towards an uncharacteristically silent Zell.
"And what have you got to say for yourself, mister?"
Zell looked at Selphie's mischievous face and held his hands up innocently. "I'm just her tutor!"
"Humm... an interesting alibi..." Selphie paced in front of the two suspects sceptically. "So if you are who you claim to be Mr. Dincht, may I ask you what it is exactly that you are teaching her!?"
Zell looked bewildered. "Huh? Well, we were... I mean, I was...um..."
"Cat got your tongue has it Zell!?"
"We were going over the History of magic."
"Is that right..." she asked rhetorically. "So if you were in fact 'going over' the History of Magic, you won't mind me taking a look at evidence 'A.' " Selphie quickly snatched the note pad Rinoa was working on from in front of her. Rinoa tried to retrieve it but Selphie was too quick.
"Ha! Now let's see..." Still in character, Selphie flipped through the book for what she was looking for. "The History of Magic," she read aloud "an introduction to materia and Magicite...Ahw, I thought I was onto something good then..." she said feigning disappointment. "The defendants are found not guilty, I guess you're free to go." She handed the pad back to Rinoa. "The History of Magic, eh! That's a tough one Rin, no wonder you're in here so late!"
"Tell me about it! I don't understand why we have to learn about, and how to use things that don't even exist anymore. I mean, what's the point of knowing that for optimal effect 'Heal' materia should be paired with 'All' materia in a double slot!?"
Zell stood up and patted his student on the head. "Looks like my work here is done. Come on Rinoa, you better get some sleep."
Rinoa reluctantly packed away the rest of her things.
"Fine...I guess I am pretty tired."
They walked to the door. Rinoa stopped and turned around upon realising someone was missing.
"Selphie?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you come here in the first place," Rinoa asked susspiciously, "...so late at night"
"Well...ummm..."
The conversation was cut short by the noise of the automatic doors opening, presenting a very shifty looking Irvine.
Rinoa turned back to her friend, her eyebrow raised accusingly. "Very romantic!"
* * *
The warm sea breeze drifted calmly through Rinoa's soft, raven black hair circling her with a feeling of complete and utter relaxation. It had been so long since she had felt this at ease, this happy. She never wanted it to end. Her eyes surveyed the beautiful landscape searching in vein to find any fault with this enchanting place. It felt as though no one had ever been here before, a secret place that only she was permitted to see, if only she could take in all of it. Her vision seem blocked somehow, as though she was blinkered. Her sight gradually seemed to blur, to distort. She strained her eyes in attempt to bring back the wonderful sights that were now being ripped away from her. The images began to fade faster and faster she tried desperately to register everything she could and store it into her memory, but the harder she tried to focus the more it hurt her head. Waves of pain shot from the back of her eyes to the back of her brain. The short, sharp pain became increasingly more intense until it felt as though it was ringing through her ears. It was disturbing her breathing, engulfing and suffocating her, she felt as though she was loosing all control, as though she was falling.
She landed with a muffled 'bump', which made her heart lurch with fear. The ringing in her ears was still there but it seemed somewhat more familiar. Although she was still surrounded by darkness her eyes sought out a small glimmer of light. She reached up to it and the light suddenly pierced through the darkness allowing herself to focus her vision. Her lips parted as she released an anguished moan upon realisation of where she was. She flailed her arm around sleepily in an attempt to quash the irritating noise. The alarm clock landed directly on her head and bounced off on to the floor beside her. She groaned in pain but at least the ringing had stopped. She continued to lie there for a minute starring at the glaring red digital numbers as her mind slowly tried to piece together their significance. 9:02am. Fear suddenly rose in her throat, she felt her heart miss a beat as she realised that she was half an hour late for her written SeeD exam. She despiratly tried to untangle herself from the bed sheets, finally managing to stand up only to trip over again as she lunged towards her bag. She got up once more rubbing her head, grabbed her stuff, opened the door and ran full pelt towards the exam hall.
She knew that as long as she got there before the exam finished she would be alowed to take the test, even though she would have to finish at the same time as everyone else, she had to do this. This was her only chance. She slowed down as she rounded the corner and stopped infront of the door to collect herself. She inhailed deeply, and stepped inside. Suddenly all eyes were on her, the whole room was silent. She felt a wave of heat rise up her body, colouring her cheeks. There must be something really wrong for them all to part themselves from their exams. She scaned round the room for insperation, but no one's eyes met with hers. Realisation rushed through her body, she slowly but painfully looked down at herself...
"Aaaarrrraaahhhh!!!"
Rinoa sat bolt upright in her twisted sheets, sweat dripping from her face, her breathing erratic. Cursing herself for getting in such a state she turned her head towards her digital alarm clock. It beamed 6:02 back at her. She swept her hair back, out of her face and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She wasn't taking any chances.
Author's Note: Well finally got round to re-writing this! It seems a lot shorter than my first attempt but please review & tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!
Rinoa Angel xxx
rinoa_ffangel@yahoo.co.uk
Disclaimer: None of the characters, or places in this story belong, have belonged, or will ever belong to me. The are from the wonderful minds at Squaresoft and this fiction is purely for entertainment reasons. ^_^