~Eyes On Me~
~Chapter Two~
Rinoa sat in her father's office, trying hard to complete her homework. Phones kept ringing and faxes were constantly coming in as her father calmly took care of everything with a level-head. After she finished her History homework, she leaned back in her chair, pencil behind one ear. Besides math class, school had been rather uneventful. Seifer picked on Zell during lunch, more talk about Squall . . . the usual.
"Rinoa? Are you done with your homework?" her father asked while on hold from one phone call. She nodded and pushed her finished work for him to be examined. While he waited, he looked it over and nodded at her every so often so she knew that her answers were correct.
After fifteen minutes, Governor Caraway hung up and growled. "Honestly, it's like these officials have no idea they leave people on hold," he turned to her and gave a half-smile. "Oh, Rinoa. You did remember about the annual ball coming up this weekend, did you not?"
She rolled her eyes and sat up in her seat. "I asked Selphie if she'd come dress shopping on Wednesday. But, seriously, do I have to go this year? It's the same every year," she complained.
"Now, you know how important it is that you be there. Who else can keep everyone entertained while I'm busy with someone else? Besides, everyone's been asking you be there. They find you absolutely charming," he stated.
She blushed. "In that case, can I invite Seifer to come along, too?"
"I don't see the problem. But you know the rules. You stay downstairs. No going upstairs or any of that. Within my sights if you're going to be with that boy, is that clear?"
Rinoa smiled and stood up. "Crystal."
"Oh, one more thing before you leave. President Laguna Loire has decided to attend this year. He's bringing his son along as well. Sq . . . Sque . . . Squi . . . oh! I remember now. Squall. Squall Leonheart."
She felt her face go pale as she froze by the doorframe. "Squall?"
~*~*~
"I'm home," Squall called through the intercom system of his house. He placed his jacket on the couch in one of the many sitting rooms and headed upstairs. Before he could reach the top, a man appeared from one of the rooms.
"Hey! Squall, you're home!" the man leaned against the banister.
"No, you think?" was his sarcastic reply. He breezed past the man and walked into his room where he promptly slammed the door in his face.
"Laguna? Was that Squall who just came home?" a butler called from downstairs. Laguna looked over the banister and nodded. The butler held up a cordless phone. "We just received a phone call from his school. Something about his tardiness in math class?"
Laguna sighed and brushed a strand of brown hair from his face. "Not again," he muttered. He turned back to the butler. "I'll call them back later. Thank you."
With a nod, the butler turned on his heels and glided away. Laguna shook his head and paced to his son's room. He raised his hand to knock but was interrupted. "Come in," Squall bellowed from inside the room. Obliging, Laguna opened the door and looked around the room. It wasn't often he saw his son's room. It was a dark blue and rather messy. On one side of the room was a desk cluttered with CD's and papers as well as a laptop computer. On the other side of the room was Squall's king sized bed. He lay in the middle of his bed, throwing a koosh ball up and down, catching it each time.
"Well . . . I see you had a rough day," Laguna said slowly.
Squall snorted. "As if every day for me isn't like a living hell."
His father cringed at his son's words. Nonetheless, he continued inside. "Charles just received a call from your school. Apparently you've been late a few times to class?"
Squall stopped and looked at Laguna. "Wow, are you actually taking time off your busy schedule to give me a lecture on why I should be on time?"
"Squall, why do you have to be so difficult?"
"Why do you have to be so busy?" the teen countered. Both stared at each other, tension rising in the room.
"Look, I'm sorry I can't exactly hold your hand every waking moment."
Squall sat up and jumped off his bed, approaching Laguna with fire burning in his eyes. "That's not what I'm asking. All I want is for you to be able to take time off and actually do something other than work. Sometimes I wonder just how it feels to be a normal teen, you know. Oh, that's right. You wouldn't know. You're so busy in your office to even care."
Laguna smiled. "Well, guess what? This Saturday is Esthar City's Annual Ball and I thought maybe we should go."
Squall let out a mixture between a snort and a laugh. "You've gotta be kidding me. I'm not getting into a tux and dancing. If I'm not dancing, I'll probably be sitting for five hours watching boring government officials drink wine (which I can't have because I'm underage) and talk absolute nonsense. Oh, and I'm sure they'll try to make conversation with me such as," he pretended to be an old woman. "'Oh sonny, it must be so nice to be the son of President Loire. Tell me, how are you doing in school? Do you have any girlfriends?'" he dropped the act.
"Look, if you want, we won't stay there long if you don't want to. But I need to be there to talk about some important issues. And I don't want you to stay here alone. You need to get out more, Squall."
"I won't be here alone. The maids and butlers will be here."
Laguna started to walk out of the room. "Well, you're coming with me whether you like it or not. You will wear a tux and you will dance. Besides, I heard the Governor's daughter's going to be there. You should talk to her."
" . . . Whatever."
Laguna sighed. "Sometimes I wonder about you. Anyway, I thought you might want to know. By the way, you can consider this punishment for being tardy so much," he flashed a toothy grin. "See ya!"
As Laguna shut the door, Squall flopped back on his bed and clenched his jaw shut. "I wish a lightning bolt could come from the sky and strike me dead," muttered Squall.
The door suddenly opened again and Laguna's head popped through. "By the way, in case you were wondering, the Governor's daughter goes to your school. Rinoa Heartilly. You know her?"
Squall sat up in his bed quickly. "Rinoa?" he turned to Laguna and narrowed his eyes. "Don't you know how to knock?" he yelled before throwing the koosh ball at the already-closing door.
As he got up to retrieve the ball, his mind kept racing with the name Rinoa Heartilly.
~*~*~
Author's note: Wow, I'm so sorry for the wait everyone! I've been quite busy and I never got around to loading this chapter. I can assure you though that the wait for the next chapter won't be as long. However, after chapter three, the wait may be long again due to the fact that I'll have to get back into writing this and I still have to think of an ending that works out. Gomen! Six reviews, not bad. Especially in the Final Fantasy VIII section where no one hardly reviews. ^.^ Now, time for review replies.
Dark Angels: I'm glad you thought the beginning was good. Quite honestly, I was worried that I went too much into detail yet not enough at the same time. Hopefully I'll still be up to your standards with this chapter.
Wolfdrifter: Wow, lol, resorting to pleading? That's new for me. Well, sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I'll try harder to work faster to please you. ^.^
DBH: Thanks! I look forward to your next review as well. ^.~
GrieverLion: Thanks so much for reminding me that I still had this story up. If you hadn't noted me in my diary, I probably would have forgotten about it. Hope everything's going well with your problems and I'm very flattered that you went to great lengths to remind me to get the next chapter up.
Quisty65: Hi! Thanks for the review! ^.^
Joey: Hey, just wanted to say thanks so much for helping me with the first chapter. I'll be using you again quite soon to help me check over the rest of the chapters. You better review again, or else . . . lol. I love you so much!
Sorry this chapter was short, but I'm pretty sure chapter 3 was longer. Look forward to it soon! ^.^
~Chapter Two~
Rinoa sat in her father's office, trying hard to complete her homework. Phones kept ringing and faxes were constantly coming in as her father calmly took care of everything with a level-head. After she finished her History homework, she leaned back in her chair, pencil behind one ear. Besides math class, school had been rather uneventful. Seifer picked on Zell during lunch, more talk about Squall . . . the usual.
"Rinoa? Are you done with your homework?" her father asked while on hold from one phone call. She nodded and pushed her finished work for him to be examined. While he waited, he looked it over and nodded at her every so often so she knew that her answers were correct.
After fifteen minutes, Governor Caraway hung up and growled. "Honestly, it's like these officials have no idea they leave people on hold," he turned to her and gave a half-smile. "Oh, Rinoa. You did remember about the annual ball coming up this weekend, did you not?"
She rolled her eyes and sat up in her seat. "I asked Selphie if she'd come dress shopping on Wednesday. But, seriously, do I have to go this year? It's the same every year," she complained.
"Now, you know how important it is that you be there. Who else can keep everyone entertained while I'm busy with someone else? Besides, everyone's been asking you be there. They find you absolutely charming," he stated.
She blushed. "In that case, can I invite Seifer to come along, too?"
"I don't see the problem. But you know the rules. You stay downstairs. No going upstairs or any of that. Within my sights if you're going to be with that boy, is that clear?"
Rinoa smiled and stood up. "Crystal."
"Oh, one more thing before you leave. President Laguna Loire has decided to attend this year. He's bringing his son along as well. Sq . . . Sque . . . Squi . . . oh! I remember now. Squall. Squall Leonheart."
She felt her face go pale as she froze by the doorframe. "Squall?"
~*~*~
"I'm home," Squall called through the intercom system of his house. He placed his jacket on the couch in one of the many sitting rooms and headed upstairs. Before he could reach the top, a man appeared from one of the rooms.
"Hey! Squall, you're home!" the man leaned against the banister.
"No, you think?" was his sarcastic reply. He breezed past the man and walked into his room where he promptly slammed the door in his face.
"Laguna? Was that Squall who just came home?" a butler called from downstairs. Laguna looked over the banister and nodded. The butler held up a cordless phone. "We just received a phone call from his school. Something about his tardiness in math class?"
Laguna sighed and brushed a strand of brown hair from his face. "Not again," he muttered. He turned back to the butler. "I'll call them back later. Thank you."
With a nod, the butler turned on his heels and glided away. Laguna shook his head and paced to his son's room. He raised his hand to knock but was interrupted. "Come in," Squall bellowed from inside the room. Obliging, Laguna opened the door and looked around the room. It wasn't often he saw his son's room. It was a dark blue and rather messy. On one side of the room was a desk cluttered with CD's and papers as well as a laptop computer. On the other side of the room was Squall's king sized bed. He lay in the middle of his bed, throwing a koosh ball up and down, catching it each time.
"Well . . . I see you had a rough day," Laguna said slowly.
Squall snorted. "As if every day for me isn't like a living hell."
His father cringed at his son's words. Nonetheless, he continued inside. "Charles just received a call from your school. Apparently you've been late a few times to class?"
Squall stopped and looked at Laguna. "Wow, are you actually taking time off your busy schedule to give me a lecture on why I should be on time?"
"Squall, why do you have to be so difficult?"
"Why do you have to be so busy?" the teen countered. Both stared at each other, tension rising in the room.
"Look, I'm sorry I can't exactly hold your hand every waking moment."
Squall sat up and jumped off his bed, approaching Laguna with fire burning in his eyes. "That's not what I'm asking. All I want is for you to be able to take time off and actually do something other than work. Sometimes I wonder just how it feels to be a normal teen, you know. Oh, that's right. You wouldn't know. You're so busy in your office to even care."
Laguna smiled. "Well, guess what? This Saturday is Esthar City's Annual Ball and I thought maybe we should go."
Squall let out a mixture between a snort and a laugh. "You've gotta be kidding me. I'm not getting into a tux and dancing. If I'm not dancing, I'll probably be sitting for five hours watching boring government officials drink wine (which I can't have because I'm underage) and talk absolute nonsense. Oh, and I'm sure they'll try to make conversation with me such as," he pretended to be an old woman. "'Oh sonny, it must be so nice to be the son of President Loire. Tell me, how are you doing in school? Do you have any girlfriends?'" he dropped the act.
"Look, if you want, we won't stay there long if you don't want to. But I need to be there to talk about some important issues. And I don't want you to stay here alone. You need to get out more, Squall."
"I won't be here alone. The maids and butlers will be here."
Laguna started to walk out of the room. "Well, you're coming with me whether you like it or not. You will wear a tux and you will dance. Besides, I heard the Governor's daughter's going to be there. You should talk to her."
" . . . Whatever."
Laguna sighed. "Sometimes I wonder about you. Anyway, I thought you might want to know. By the way, you can consider this punishment for being tardy so much," he flashed a toothy grin. "See ya!"
As Laguna shut the door, Squall flopped back on his bed and clenched his jaw shut. "I wish a lightning bolt could come from the sky and strike me dead," muttered Squall.
The door suddenly opened again and Laguna's head popped through. "By the way, in case you were wondering, the Governor's daughter goes to your school. Rinoa Heartilly. You know her?"
Squall sat up in his bed quickly. "Rinoa?" he turned to Laguna and narrowed his eyes. "Don't you know how to knock?" he yelled before throwing the koosh ball at the already-closing door.
As he got up to retrieve the ball, his mind kept racing with the name Rinoa Heartilly.
~*~*~
Author's note: Wow, I'm so sorry for the wait everyone! I've been quite busy and I never got around to loading this chapter. I can assure you though that the wait for the next chapter won't be as long. However, after chapter three, the wait may be long again due to the fact that I'll have to get back into writing this and I still have to think of an ending that works out. Gomen! Six reviews, not bad. Especially in the Final Fantasy VIII section where no one hardly reviews. ^.^ Now, time for review replies.
Dark Angels: I'm glad you thought the beginning was good. Quite honestly, I was worried that I went too much into detail yet not enough at the same time. Hopefully I'll still be up to your standards with this chapter.
Wolfdrifter: Wow, lol, resorting to pleading? That's new for me. Well, sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I'll try harder to work faster to please you. ^.^
DBH: Thanks! I look forward to your next review as well. ^.~
GrieverLion: Thanks so much for reminding me that I still had this story up. If you hadn't noted me in my diary, I probably would have forgotten about it. Hope everything's going well with your problems and I'm very flattered that you went to great lengths to remind me to get the next chapter up.
Quisty65: Hi! Thanks for the review! ^.^
Joey: Hey, just wanted to say thanks so much for helping me with the first chapter. I'll be using you again quite soon to help me check over the rest of the chapters. You better review again, or else . . . lol. I love you so much!
Sorry this chapter was short, but I'm pretty sure chapter 3 was longer. Look forward to it soon! ^.^
