This is a little old. Almost a year old now, I think. I made some really pretty thing with Rinoa on PaintShop, and it made me want to write a fanfic about it. So I did. I did it for my creative writing class. It was also heavily inspired by the song Believe by Skillet.

The stars seemed so close it was like she was standing among them, twinkling little lights swirling all about her. She was completely oblivious to the commotion going on inside. For now, it was only her and her stars, free from her life, from the craziness that had been going on lately.

She had left the party minutes earlier, hoping to get away from the bustling crowd. She'd had enough of the people congregating around her, demanding the details of her journey, oblivious to the fact that she just might be exhausted from said journey.

Rinoa wasn't one to complain much, though. She only wanted some peace. Seeing her friends having fun, dancing, Zell stuffing his face, Irvine flirting with all the ladies in the party, Selphie, constantly hitting Zell on the shoulder, making faces at people, and Quistis, talking with the former headmaster of the school, keeping a close eye on who used to be her students, it made her happier than she had been in a long time. All that they had been through, it was over now. It didn't seem possible.

Rinoa was particularly happy seeing Squall. Not apathetic, anti-social, emo Squall. There was a smile on his face as he watched and talked to his friends, his new status as headmaster obviously increasing his determination and standing. She couldn't help but smile every time she saw him, even now. She caught his eye, just as she was turning to leave for the balcony, and her smile grew wider. She gestured with her head to follow her, and she turned and left, smiling.

And now, here she was, standing on the deck, hands folded over the railing, watching the sky. Alone. The man she secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) loved was not standing beside her. She was alone with the starry night. The wind blew through her jet black hair, blending with the coal sky.

When she heard footsteps behind her, she didn't move, she didn't turn her head. She knew it was him, there was no confirmation needed.

"I'm sorry… tied up… lots of people." He mumbled, hardly audible. He stood beside me, looking at me.

She turned and looked at him, bringing her index finger up to her lips in a silencing gesture, and smiled, looking back up to the stars. He followed her gaze, a slight smile gracing his lips. She looked back at him, the stars brilliance seeming positively miniscule compared to him. She could see him in a new light. The huge scar running across his face from the sword fight he'd gotten into with Seifer… it no longer seemed to symbolize his misery, his past. It now represented his new strength and confidence.

Squall turned to look at her, his grey eyes meeting hers. Her heart skipped a beat at the look he was giving her. She scolded herself inside. She was the one that had been leading him on this whole time. She had been waiting for this to come since the beginning. Her legs moved as if in a trance, and she wrapped her arms around him just as he did her. She looked up at him, and their lips met, melting together.

Rinoa bolted upright, clutching her sheets, sweating profusely. The same dream again. Why? Why was she remembering after all these years? Why did she react this way? Why was it so traumatizing? It was all past her now… yet she kept having this dream, over and over again, and every time she awoke in a sweat as if it was some sort of nightmare.

With some reluctance, Rinoa buried herself back within her covers and went back to sleep. A dreamless sleep, but also restless.