Esthar Academy. The school located in the upper-class suburbs of Esthar city. Everyone there was rather wealthy to put it simply. A few of the students who attended the academy were sons and daughters of government officials. Rinoa Heartilly was no exception. Being the daughter of Governor Caraway, she too was forced to attend the prestigious school.

Leading the picture perfect life, Rinoa was always forced to hide every flaw about her self. And being the most popular girl in school and dating the most popular guy didn't help her situation much at all. All she wanted was to be a normal teen in her senior year of high school. She didn't want to deal so much with the fame and such.

Could one chance meeting at an annual ball change her life? Could it change the life of the other individual as well?

Eyes on Me

Chapter One

The limo pulled up along the curbside of Esthar Academy. The young woman inside smiled at the limo driver. "Thanks for the ride, George. I'll see you later this afternoon."

"Have a nice day, Miss Heartilly."

The teen nodded and stepped out the limo, a purse slung over one shoulder while her other arm carried an assortment of textbooks and folders. She shut the limo door and walked up the sidewalk to the school known as Esthar Academy. Every so often she'd wave to some of her friends who meandered around campus or were just sitting and chatting. Sighing, she opened the doors and glided inside.

Inside a bunch of students scurried up and down the halls. Many conversations filled the hallway and Rinoa tried with no prevail to eavesdrop in on some of them. She gave up rather quickly and instead found her locker. As she was placing her books on one of the shelves of the locker, she noticed from the corner of her eye a boy leaning against the locker beside hers. She needn't look up to tell it was her best friend, Zell Dincht.

"Hey, Rinny! Look what I got over the weekend!" he exclaimed happily, turning his head to the right. Rinoa looked up from her locker and gasped at the large, ornate tattoo on the left side of her friend's face.

"Zell! Your mom let you get that?" she asked.

"Well, kinda. I was sort of vague that I was going to get it on my face. After convincing her that it wouldn't be some vulgar picture in some unmentionable place, she agreed and that's the story. You like?"

Before Rinoa could respond, another voice cried out from the distance, "Hey Chicken-wuss! You've got a hideous spider on your face!"

Zell's face contorted to that of anger as a blonde-haired, emerald-green eyed boy approached the two. He wore a large, grey trench coat that made him look larger than he was and he also wore his all-too-familiar smirk. Rinoa sighed and turned back to putting things in her locker.

"Dammit, Seifer! When are you going to grow up?"

"Just as soon as you tell me what the heck you did to your face."

The girl slammed the locker and shifted her purse so it was more comfortable on her shoulder. "Knock it off you two. Can't you two ever go more than five minutes without finding something to argue about?"

"Aw, c'mon Rinoa. I was just having some fun with Chicken-wuss. You don't wanna deprive me of my entertainment now, would you?" he replied, snaking his arm around her waist, still smirking.

"Oh, is that all I am? Your little monkey in a cage?!" Zell's eyebrows furrowed and he raised his fists.

Rinoa and Seifer paused, confusion written on their face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The other teen dropped his fists and just crossed his arms in frustration. "You know, people go to zoos to watch monkeys for entertainment pur- Oh what am I explaining this to you for? I'm going to find Selphie and Irvine before class starts," he huffed as he stormed to the stairwell and stomped up the stairs, creating a commotion.

Seifer snickered to himself. "That kid was dropped on the head too many times as a child," he said while leading Rinoa away down the hall to their class which was to start in five minutes.

Switching the subject, Rinoa hugged closer to her boyfriend and smiled. "I missed you this weekend."

"It was only the weekend. Besides, I offered to take you on my parent's yacht and you said you had plans to go shopping."

"Well, we don't always need to be together, you know. And you know that if I don't go shopping at least twice a week I'll go crazy," she joked.

"Hyne, don't remind me. I've actually memorized where each and every one of the stores are."

"Are you saying you don't like shopping with me?" Rinoa feigned hurt.

"No, all I'm saying is that if I keep going shopping with you I'll be broke by next month. No matter how hard I resist, I always seem to spend money on you."

"And that's a bad thing?"

Seifer smirked and kissed her on the top of the head. "You decide. But if I'm going to get into Balamb Garden, I'm going to need to keep some of the money to buy a dorm room and all that other stuff. I'm not going to take a plane everyday just so I can stay there for seven hours and come back home."

The girl frowned and turned away. "I don't see why you can't just go to college around here like everyone else is doing."

He rolled his eyes. "Everyone except those who want to become SeeDs. We've been through this already."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and frowned. "I know. But I just don't wanna spend the whole of my after-high-school years stuck here while you're away from me," she muttered.

"Please. Spare me the waterworks. Now, c'mon. Class is going to start soon and I don't wanna be marked late again."

Rinoa couldn't help but laugh. While some people saw Seifer as the guy who always was in trouble and received bad marks on his report card, on the contrary, he was quite possibly the brightest student in the school. And only she was able to see that.

As they both walked into the math classroom, they sat in their respectable seats. Since the desks were arranged in alphabetical order, Seifer sat up front while Rinoa sat a bit towards the middle.

Right as Rinoa sat down, the bell rang and the teacher appeared from the adjoining room. He walked to the front of the room and stood in front of the whiteboard. Without a word, he wrote, 'pg. 324. #24-48 even.' He turned to the class while pointing back at the board. "This is your assignment. Seeing as you are having a test next week, consider this your review. Take advantage of it. You will study it. You will love it. You will be so consumed in it that it will become your new best friend."

Seifer snorted. "Is this some sort of joke? Are you attempting to hypnotize me? Because it's not working."

"No, Mr. Almasy. I'm simply making a point. Now, open your books now and start working."

As Rinoa opened her book, she could faintly hear her boyfriend mutter under his breath, "Now, assignment. I know it's a bit sudden, but will you marry me? I've fallen in love with your and you are officially my new best friend"

A few students laughed and a few covered their snickers with coughing. Just as everything died down, the door opened and a student wearing mainly black sauntered inside. His chocolate-brown hair partially covered his eyes and he proceeded to sit in his desk.

"I don't think so, Squall Leonheart. This is the third time this week that you've come in my class, unexcused and late. I'd expect better from the president's son. And I'd be right in assuming you have not brought your textbook, again?"

"Yes, sir. You'd be correct on that assumption," the teen mumbled flatly.

"I guess I can't do anything today. You'll just have to go without a review today, unless someone's willing to lend you their book," the teacher looked around at the class and smiled gleefully. This would be killing two birds with one stone. Sort of. "Well, if no one's going to volunteer their book, looks like I'll have to call on someone! Let's see . . . ."

Everyone pretended to be absorbed in their studies, trying to avoid being called upon and have to work with Squall. Finally, the teacher squealed. "A perfect match! Squall Leonheart, you'll work with Rinoa Heartilly until you finally bring your book back."

Rinoa slid lower and lower in her seat, her face quickly turning a shade of red. Everyone laughed at her misfortune of having to work with the social outcast known as Squall. Everyone laughed, that is, except Seifer. By now he was standing and glaring daggers at both the teacher and the teen.

"Sir! You can't be serious! You can't possibly pair her up with the likes of him! Why not pair him up with-."

"Why, Mr. Almasy! Are you suggesting you'd like to work with Mr. Leonheart?" his eyes lit up.

Seifer opened his mouth to say something but shut it immediately. When it came to having to work with Squall, he'd rather save his own skin than worry about his girlfriend. He shook his head and proceeded to continue the argument. "I'm just saying that-."

"If you've got nothing else to say, I'd suggest you sit down or you'll receive detention."

"I can just take the zero for today, sir. I don't want to have to put the rest of the students through so much stress of having to work with me," Squall hissed, his eyes shifting from Seifer's back to the teacher's.

"No! You will finish your review today if it's the last thing you do! Sit down and work on your review! And you, Mr. Almasy. Another word from you and you will receive detention! You hear me?"

The class fell silent and went back to their work. Rinoa sat back upright in her seat and stole a glance at Seifer. She gave him a look that practically begged for her to be saved. The blonde shrugged and turned back to his work. Rinoa felt her jaw drop. Not even her boyfriend was willing to help her! Growling, she looked up from her book and forced a smile at Squall. He rolled his eyes and pulled a desk right next to hers. He slumped in the seat and placed his head in one hand.

Rinoa placed the book between the desks and took out a clean sheet of paper. As she was beginning to work, she felt the book slide back to her side of the desk. She stopped and looked at Squall. He stared back and nudged the book a little more to her. "I don't want your sympathy. You can work by yourself. We'll pretend this never happened."

She was surprised. "But, Mr.-."

"Who cares what he said," he cut her off, almost reading her mind. "I don't want your sympathy. I can see I've already put you through enough. It's written all over your face."

"No, that's not it, you see-."

He turned his back to her and leaned against the pole along the right side of the desk. "Just work. Besides, I'm already failing this class. What's one more zero going to hurt?"

She shut her book and closed her eyes. "It's almost like you don't even care that you'll fail."

" . . . Whatever."

The girl shook her head, almost feeling guilty for some unknown reason. "Look, I'm not giving you sympathy. Just do your work and I'll help you . . . if you want," her eyes widened as she said this. Had she actually said she would help him with the assignment?

". . . . ."

"Fine. Don't blame me when you get in trouble for not working."

For the rest of the period, Rinoa kept working on her assignment, occasionally sneaking peeks at the boy beside her. With every glance she found it much harder to concentrate on her work. So she was thankful when the bell rang and everyone gathered their stuff to leave. Silently, Squall stood up and walked away, leaving Rinoa completely baffled by his behavior. Not that she was caught off-guard by his coldness because that's why he was often shunned in the first place. But that he never even cared to stick up for himself.

She was snapped back to reality when she felt Seifer shake her gently. "Rinoa, c'mon. The bell rang."

Rinoa nodded and packed her work into her book and followed after him. When they were out in the hallway, he faced her. "How was it working with that loser?"

"Well, he didn't really talk. So I can't say," she replied slowly.

"Sorry I couldn't help you and all. What was I going to say?"

Rinoa narrowed her eyes suddenly. "You could have at least made more of an effort. You just kinda sat there."

"Yeah, after I put up a good argument," he stopped in front of a classroom and pulled her back. "I didn't know what else to say. Ok? Just . . . don't worry about it. It's over and done. Now, later at lunch. Same meeting place?"

"Yeah, by the tree beside the gates."

"You're still mad, aren't you?" he ran a hand through his hair.

"A little. But I'll get over it," she reassured, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I'll see you later, alright?" She waved and walked down the hall to her next class, feeling a little better than she had just a few moments before.

~*~*~

Author's note: Hey! I'm back and better than ever! I had this story for a LONG time and I was going to post it before Thanksgiving break. However, time slipped and I ended up forgetting about it. ^.^

I noticed there was a story a tad bit similar to this one. I must say this in advance, I have only read a handful of Final Fantasy VIII fics. I bear no responsibility to the accidental coincidences that my story may have with other fics.

Read and review please! Look forward to new chapters within a few weeks (I already have chapter two and three written up, but there's no point in posting them if no one reads the first chapter! ^.^)

~*~*Starlight4u*~*~