Author's Note: For the sake of this story, Angelo is a male. I find it funny that in the actual game, only one character specifies Angelo's sex, and that character was (of course) Irvine, with his uncanny ability to find any female anywhere. Still, it could be assumed that Irvine just guessed her sex as people sometimes tend to call an animal a "she" before finding out its true sex. The other characters refer to Angelo like an asexual being. Angelo can pretty much be considered androgynous, unless one does some research into the characters online-which I've forgotten about, but whatever. Angelo in this story is a male. You'll see why in this chapter. Great!


Chapter 2: Perfect Stranger


When Rinoa returned home that day, Angelo charged to the door to greet her on her way in. He was her companion. Sometimes if Rinoa took him on walks, he was friendly to the strangers who greeted him and complimented his well behavior; however, he was slower to respond to men, often growling at them to keep away from his princess. Her mother had even said that Angelo believed he was her boyfriend because of the jealous fit he would throw when a male approached her, but Rinoa laughed at her assumption and said that he just needed to work on his people skills.

"Hey buddy, did you miss me?" she said, kneeling down and giving him a hearty rub through his soft fur. She then smelled his body odor from where she stood, "Whoa, smells like somebody needs a B. A. T. H.". Somehow oddly enough, he knew what certain words were and often avoided her until she stopped using them, those words were: Bath and Vet. Rinoa could continuously surprise him with these things by simply spelling them out; that is, until he showed signs of outwitting her and learned to spell also.

Angelo licked her cheeks before she could protest. He often licked the left side of her face more than the right. She figured he was biased like that, taking pity on the side of her face that she had spent all her day destroying. The girl sighed within, now that she was home, there was no more talk of looks. In her apartment, her own kingdom, things were blissful and normal. She was completely regular, and everywhere she walked to and fro within her place there was peace.

If there was no peace in her own home, how else would she keep having the strength to go out and try to grasp what little normality the real world offered to her and people like her.

Rinoa rose to her feet and headed to her bedroom that was to her right and across the room behind a door of its own, only to find the dog whining in neglect.

"Angelo, are you hungry? I left food for you today, so you shouldn't be starving you know," she said, tossing her overcoat across the sofa and opening her room door. He followed her inside and jumped on her bed quickly, "No, no, no, you stink right now, get off the bed."

He tilted his head as if having a hard time understanding and she smirked, "Angelo, you know what I'm talking about. Don't look at me like that."

Immediately he jumped off and trotted to her, then pressed his paws into her thighs, "What is it?" She reached down and fluffed up the fur at his cheeks with a smile again, "I missed you too. Now would you let me change and get comfortable so I can tend to you all you want? Is that okay?"

The dog immediately lowered from her legs and trotted out the room while Rinoa was finally able to dress into more house suitable clothes. As she did her apartment chores and bathed Angelo, she kept thinking about the long and crazy day at work she had had. Life was full of disappointments and joys, so it seemed. At one point she was ready to just go home, but then, she couldn't wait to see what would happen next. She wondered what he was like, the man who had left his name in that note. Squall… She thought within, wondering why his name was so unusual. It wasn't like her name was common either, but 'squall' was a type of wind, a dangerous one. Why would someone want to name their child after something so dangerous? Well maybe there were peaceful squalls that inspired his parents to name him, assuming his parents were the ones who actually named him.

Who am I to say anything? I don't know anything about him. Why am I even thinking about him right now anyway? I'm pretty sure I'm the last thing he's thinking about. And even if he was, it's probably something like 'that poor girl with the scar.' I don't need anybody's pity, and I definitely shouldn't get my hopes up about this guy. Either he shows up or he doesn't, and if he doesn't, then it's better that I don't see him again. He probably just didn't want to hurt my feelings by telling me to my face anyway… Let's just stop thinking about it.

Even before she could tell herself to stop thinking about it, there was a cloud brewing in her mind already and it drained her, the longer she continued in thought. She had talked herself out of a compliment. It was better if she hurt her own feelings than if someone else did it, at least she could forgive herself later and she would also never leave.

Angelo, now in the process of being towel dried, barked playfully at her and caused her to lose her reckless train of thought. If for a moment, she was glad to be free of her problems. She spread the towel across his body, only to have him dodge her hands and jump up at her face to lick her cheeks again. The girl could do nothing more but laugh. He would always be her best friend and companion. Nothing would ever change that. Who needed the complication provided by the words of an outsider, a mere stranger?


Two days later, Rinoa was at work just as usual. Squall hadn't shown up and she concluded that he was just like the rest of the world's men, as expected, and life would go on as usual—without him. She was standing in the adult fiction section dusting the shelves off and musing about her work life. It seemed like people were doing less reading these days. Being a librarian was more like guarding an abandoned warehouse with a dust broom instead of a flashlight. The girl shook her head at the amusing thought and continued her work.

"Excuse me, ma'am," a woman interrupted her, "but where are the restrooms?"

"Just follow that walkway to the back wall," she turned around and pointed to the walkway, "And stay on your left, you'll see the sign for it and it'll guide you from there," she concluded with a friendly smile.

"Thank you," the woman returned her smile and left Rinoa standing in the aisle with the dusty books all around. She was on the first floor in a wide area with book shelves and aisles everywhere. It was possible that if you were on your first visit to this particular library, you might have trouble locating the restrooms. The girl concluded that she was a dust-broom wielding security guard and also the restroom guide, could anything be wackier than this?

Rinoa decided to walk out to the main pathway and head toward the front desk where Edea was sitting, who had occasionally looked into her hand mirror to make sure she appeared customer friendly, unlike her counterpart librarian Selma, who was intimidating and rarely smiled unless the other librarians spoke to her. She was the living incarnated, stereotypical reason people thought librarians were mean. She never seemed to breathe. If you had a question, it was best to ask another visitor, at least when they answered your question, they didn't ridicule you in the same sentence as the answer. When Rinoa had first started working there, she often wondered if the woman had her words set to an automatic condescending tone, as every word from her mouth seemed irrational. The girl shook away the unprofitable thoughts and turned her attention elsewhere.

Suddenly a group of people entered the library at once and he was part of their group. Rinoa immediately backed into the aisle and out of sight. She would not easily be spotted if he were to look around before walking completely inside. After the group dispersed throughout the library, she realized they were not all together, but might have gotten caught at the same traffic light and just came in together after having parked outside. She saw him walk in slowly. His eyes were focusing more on the upstairs area. Rinoa didn't know why, but she smiled, maybe he remembered she was always upstairs and he would most likely find her up there. No, maybe he was just remembering that that was where he could find his reading material.

She watched him walk by the front desk giving Edea an amiable smile and he continued upstairs to his reading venture. Rinoa held her breath tossed herself back into the book aisle just seconds before Edea's eyes could find her. Edea seemed to remember the girl's latest location and had turned around in her seat to search for Rinoa in that area with her eyes. All the while, Rinoa continued to hide out of fear, excitement, and embarrassment, still peeping through the openings between each of the shelves only to find Edea's eyes on the prowl once more.

Edea, would you stop looking for me?! I know he's here! You're gonna draw attention to me! Quit looking! The girl averted her eyes away and slammed her back into the bookshelf. Her heart was pounding inside her chest. Calm down, Rin! Just breathe! He's probably just looking for another series or ready to check out a new source. This is just…a normal thing, and he was glad that you helped him out. So take a deep breath, calm down, and don't get your hopes up too high. Rinoa finally listened to her inner voice and took a deep breath. After pulling herself together, she finished dusting the area and then decided to keep herself busy with smaller tasks once again. Casually, she approached the front desk only to hear Edea chiming, "Oh Rinny!"

Inside, Rinoa already knew what this was about. Edea smiled radiantly, in her fitting short business casual dress. She had the figure of a twenty year old, even in her forties. Her long coal black hair was always kept neatly in a sophisticated bun that rested at the at the rear angle of her head, hanging just above her left shoulder. She usually decorated her hair with a flower comb above her right ear and matching earrings. Rinoa admired Edea's taste in fashion. There wasn't a day that had gone by that the older woman hadn't dressed to impress. She was certain that her husband was one lucky man, as the woman still seemed to be in love with him for as long as they'd known one another. She wondered if she would ever find someone to share her life with. Regardless, Rinoa made her way over to the front counter where Edea awaited.

"Your friend just came in about two minutes ago." Two minutes, Rinoa thought disappointedly. Surely she was dusting forever. Maybe everything went faster in her mind because she was treading a thin line between fantasy and her reality. "He's upstairs, and you never know, he probably needs some help looking for that non-existent series," the little woman winked.

"Edea," Rinoa sighed embarrassingly, "he's probably forgotten all about that by now. I mean, it has been a few days, you know?"

"You don't know for sure and it's been two days," Edea protested, "I can spot a nice young man from a mile away, even just having met him once. Sometimes, all it takes is one good impression. And believe me, if I felt like he was a bit shifty, I would've never given you the note that he left for you."

Rinoa hadn't thought about all that. She knew Edea never meant her any harm and would be more than accommodating when it came to her feelings on a personal issue. Surely Edea had a keen insight into this guy's motives. It now seemed like a slight possibility that maybe she was either being too hard on herself or too hard on him.

"And Rinny," Edea continued, "how much do you want to bet that that note he left was just a way for him to get to talk to you?"

Rinoa faced the upstairs area and took a deep breath, "Edea, I just…" the girl's voice trailed off. She really needed to be honest. Things, when it came down to men, had never actually happened in her favor before, "I don't want to get my hopes up about this guy, so please..."

"Come here Rinoa," Mrs. Kramer motioned her hand to come in near as she always whenever there was some private content needing discussing between the two, "…If you keep beating yourself up, you're never going to be able to live happily."

"But…but I am happy," she lied. Sure, she was living comfortably, but everyday she found herself going home to a dog…and solitude.

"Trust me, you need this darling," the glowing, married woman smiled. "…Even if he's just a friend, what would be the harm in that?"

The girl backed away from her slowly and clasped her hands together, "Yeah," she muttered, "I hope you're right."

"Here's another box of returned movies," Edea grinned, reaching on the floor for the box and lifting them up on the desk. The younger brunette moved quickly to retrieve the box as the woman chuckled, "I can't send you up there empty handed, you know."

Rinoa grinned and nodded her head. She then turned around and headed upstairs to the movie area to restock all the newly returned items. Just as she reached down for the last movie, she felt as though someone was approaching her. When the feeling lingered, she knew without a doubt he was nearby.

The girl gripped the movie in her hand and faced him, this time not caring what side of her face she showed. He might as well see all of her, she thought, maybe then he would leave sooner so everyone could move on to other things. However, she was surprised to find that he was smiling, thin lips curved into a smile, innocently, sweetly. He then lifted his right hand shyly, as if to wave but lowering it in case she hadn't recognized him.

"H-hi," she responded softly to his gesture. Then acting quickly and nervously, she returned her eyes to the shelf before her only to have the movie in her hold slip from her grasp and drop to the floor. The brunet went down for it first and quickly, grabbing the box up and rising abruptly.

He stood tall with an opened grin, or a soft chortle, and also held the movie in his grip.

"Here you go," he said while handing it back to her, and she took it slowly and muttered her thanks. Rinoa found its place and shelved it next to the others. "Um," he started again, "I don't know if you, if you got that note I left the other day..." As he spoke, Rinoa noticed that his grin disappeared. He seemed a bit nervous, probably as nervous as she was. It made her relax slightly.

"Yeah," the girl turned to him immediately, "Edea, the librarian you left it with, she gave it to me."

"Great," his grin returned along with a sigh of relief, "I wanted to come back sooner, but I needed to go out of town for a couple of days. Uh…about the other day that I was here, I hope I didn't…I hope I didn't upset you— not that you would remember that or probably even care," he placed his hands inside the pockets of his jacket and cleared his throat while looking at the floor, trying not to stumble over his words. Rinoa smiled, why was he so nervous? It was almost as if he wasn't used to this sort of thing, a guy like him? No way…

"No, it's alright. Thank you," she answered briefly. "Oh, and about that letter… You do know that there is no such thing as a spin-off to the Esthar Chronicles, right?"

He laughed immediately, and returned his eyes to hers, "Actually, I know that. I just didn't know what else to say."

"Why would you—" Rinoa's right eyebrow lifted at him curiously, astonished.

"In case she read the letter…," his eyes motioned downstairs, indicating Edea. Rinoa immediately understood his point. It would have looked inappropriate if he said what he really wanted to say, but then, what was it that he really wanted to say to her. "…Rinoa, right?"

"Yeah, that's my name," she grinned, she hadn't come out and told him, but she did remember Edea saying her name several times around him. He had remembered her name after all that time? And it sounded so natural coming from him too.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable the other day. I didn't mean to stare."

Rinoa sighed and shifted her view to the floor. An apology..? Was that all he had wanted to say to her? "It's alright," she answered and aligned her eyes with his again. Yeah, maybe that's all he wanted… "I'm…I'm just..."

"No, you don't have to explain. I was out of line to stare like that," he took his hands out of his pockets and lowered them slowly, then brought his left hand to his hair, "A-anyway… This is going to sound a little crazy, but…I've actually wanted to talk to you for a while. I just couldn't work up the nerve."

"What?" She was surprised, a tiny grin appearing. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but I've been coming here for the last three months," he finally lowered his hand and continued. "Part of it was because I was reading up on old comics and biographies, and the other reason was because I…I wanted to meet you. I don't want to freak you out or anything," he held his hands out defensively momentarily, "but I've always known where the magazines are. It was my excuse…"

His eyes were fixated on hers, open and earnest, eyebrows relaxed from their usual slanted and serious ways. He anticipated her response, but who was she to respond to something like that? Why would he go through all that trouble?

"Like I said," he took a breath and forced himself to continue spilling his guts to her, "You have a great smile, and I've been hooked since the first time I saw you. I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner sometime, or I mean…give you a call first…?"

Was it some type of sick joke? Maybe even a nightmare. Surely Angelo was going to jump on her bed and wake her up. It couldn't be happening. No one had ever sincerely asked for her company in this manner. Was it out of pity? Maybe he mistook her quietness as a foolish flaw of some self loathing easy girl. Never again would she be taken for a fool. Even so, he didn't seem like the type who would resort to such a thing. The girl became a victim of an ongoing debate occurring within. Her mind began its torrent of delusional, situational episodes. Before Rinoa knew it, her panic had manifested into spoken words.

"If…if you're just…" she started, her eyes slanted as that familiar nudge welded up in her heart, "If you're one of those sick guys who's just trying to take advantage of me, then please leave right now or I will scream."

"Wait, what?" The young man paused, completely lost by her response. Somehow, however, he had sensed the hurting and bitterness in her voice. Someone had obviously wounded her before. Whatever it was that happened to her, it was not at all what he had intended to inflict upon her. "Please don't get the wrong idea, that's not who I am at all."

His back immediately straightened, eyes assuming a stern approach. When he spoke this time, his voice was no longer shaky, but was direct, honest and sincere, "I resent people like that, and I would never take advantage of anyone. Most of all, I would never hurt you." The brunet closed by taking a step back away from her ,giving her the freedom to walk away.

Rinoa released her breath and stared down at the floor. She had to admit that he was certainly more confident than any other lowlife scum she had ever come across. His voice and his eyes were so believable. If he really was a scum bag, he would've given up by now. Even if he's just a friend, what would be the harm in that? Edea's words had returned to her.

"Listen, if you don't want me to talk to you, then I could leave you alone. If you don't ever want to see me again—"

"No… I'm sorry," she tried to smile and brought her eyes up to his, apologetically, "I'm really sorry! Clearly I…I'm not the best conversationalist, I'll admit that," she whispered, glad to see that he had softened his eyes upon her apology. "…Squall, isn't it?" The girl inquired.

"Yeah," he nodded his head and took a deep breath as well, unsure of what to expect next.

Rinoa held out her hand finally and he studied it first, looking down at her hand and then lifting his to return her gesture. He reached slowly, grabbing her hand with a firm and gentle grip. Both of their hearts relaxed considerably the moment their hands touched. He stared into her soft brown eyes while shaking hands with her lightly.

Realizing they were staring at one another in mere silence for almost an entire minute, the young woman cleared her throat as per distraction. "Nice to meet you, I'm Rinoa Heartilly," she said, finally.

"Squall Leonhart," he spoke at last, softly releasing her hand, "it's a pleasure."


Hi!


Hello again! I must go through and correct the first chapter! It's the weirdest thing…it's like a typo bullfrog just comes out of nowhere and starts snatching my words from the screen. When I look at my document on my screen, it looks fine, but then I come here to glance over the chapter, I'll notice all the typos! Gosh, I need typo goggles! lol So here we are. I have nothing to say, actually. I'm having fun writing, and I know my stories tend to start off a little slow, I'm going to do something differently with this one, though. I believe there are two more chapters I'll update within this week for this particular story, as well as for the other stories I'm working on now, and then there was something in the plot I needed to fix too. It's just one thing after the other again! Sorry guys about the typos. Sometimes they're funny, but then excessive typos tend to take away from the story. I didn't realize how tired I was when I was going over it for myself, and sometimes I tend to write words-saying some aloud, and neglecting to write those said words down or type it in, if you know what I mean. I editted and rearranged some areas, but failed to delete and backspace properly...so goofy. This is my horrible habit, and it's embarrassing as well. Please excuse my typos, but know that I'll get back to cleaning it up soon.

I'm such a rambler!

Alright, stay tuned for the next chapter: "First Date"…You'll notice that this story and Fate,Wild are probably the closest to writing fluff that I'll ever get; though I should warn you that the genre will be changing in the near future chapters. Thanks for reading and alerting! As usual, let me know what you think, okay? Please and thanks! lol

Take care,

StardustRay~