CHAPTER ONE: WHAT ARE BEST FRIENDS FOR?
"Squall Leonhart is the biggest meanie ever!" Rinoa cried emphatically as she sat down heavily on the central couch of the junior mixing area, a disappointed, angry frown marring her features.
"And why, precisely, would you say that?" Quistis inquired, raising a perfectly plucked, blond eyebrow as she shifted her attention from her Calculus book to her, now pouting, friend.
"Because..." Rinoa began, inserting a pregnant pause to emphasize the profound horror of what she was about to relate.
"Oh, spit it out already!" Zell cried from his seat on the couch opposite the raven haired drama queen. Obviously patience was not one of his virtues.
"Fine!" Rinoa harrumphed, "He refused to be my date to the homecoming dance." And with that said, the sulky look once more appeared on her face, making her look all the more like the spoiled, little brat that the entirety of Richmont High School knew her to be.
Irvine let out a small chuckle at Rinoa's expense from his position on the armrest closest to Quistis. "Well, darlin', that's no biggie. I'm sure there are plenty of other fine gentlemen who would be more than willing to escort you to the dance," he intoned, giving Rinoa one of his patented sexy smirks.
"I hope you're not including yourself among those 'fine gentlemen,'" Quistis remarked dryly, giving Irvine a scrutinizing look as she carefully marked the place she'd left off in her book with a finger. "After all, you already agreed to go with Selphie. Did that just happen to slip your mind, or are you simply being a shameless flirt as usual?"
Irvine snorted at Quistis's typical response before flashing her a charming smile. "Just tryin' to make the little lady feel better is all, Quistis. Besides, I was thinking about trying to set Rinoa up with one of the guys on the football team."
Quistis merely rolled her eyes before resuming her reading. Rinoa seemed to perk up at the mention of being hooked up with one of the football players.
Her disappointment forgotten, she eagerly perched on the edge of the sofa, leaning towards Irvine. "Really, Irvy?! Oh my god! Do you think there's anyone on the team that doesn't have a date yet? Oh that would be wonderful! Just don't make me look too desperate—and make sure he's handsome..." Rinoa rambled on and on about her list of requirements, but nobody was really listening to her anymore.
Quistis was still reading, trying to block out Rinoa's incessant chatter so that she could concentrate on the material she wanted to make sure she knew before the test next period. She had already read the chapter twice, but you could never be too prepared.
Irvine merely leaned back against the couch, sliding down the armrest so that he now sat on the cushion beside Quistis. He looked rather bored and as if he might just fall asleep. When Rinoa had first started he had mumbled various agreements and nodded his head in affirmation every once in a while to let Rinoa know that he was paying close attention, but Rinoa was so caught up in her dreams of the perfect date Irvine was going to get her for the dance that she didn't even notice that he had stopped even pretending to listen.
Zell, not surprisingly, had already escaped, mumbling something about hotdogs. You'd think that the five hotdogs he had consumed at lunch not even an hour ago would have filled him up, but Zell's stomach was like a bottomless pit and hotdogs were his favorite.
Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of fourth hour. That meant they only had five minutes to get to their next class.
Quistis hurriedly stashed away her math book in her dark blue messenger bag, before shouldering it and heading off in the direction of her calculus class, too preoccupied to say goodbye to her two friends that were still sitting on the couches.
Rinoa hopped up shortly after Quistis's departure, straightening her denim skirt before shouldering her own messenger bag and picking up her purse. "Thanks for finding me a date for the dance. You're the best!" Rinoa thanked Irvine with a big smile on her face before heading off to her French class. You'd think Irvine had already actually found her a date; which he hadn't.
Great. Why the hell did I tell her I would try and get her a date? What if there isn't anyone on the team, at least not any one decent, that doesn't have a date already? Oh crap, Rinoa would kill me if that happened. Irvine's train of thought was cut short by the ringing of the bell signaling the start of fifth hour. Damn, late again. Despite his desire to just stay on the couch and take a quick nap, he heaved himself up, gathering his stuff together as fast as he could manage and headed towards the gym for his weights class.
Author's Note: Okay, I know it's a little short and all, but this seemed like a good place to stop and I wanted to see how people would respond before I go on. I know I didn't have Squall, Seifer, or Selphie in this chapter (though two of them were mentioned), but they should be included in the next one. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!