.:.Eyes On Me.:.

.:.Chapter 7.:.

The room was dark as Squall laid in his bed, his hands resting behind his head. Save for a few of the maids bustling around and cleaning, the room was silent. Squall had been home for a few hours now after he drove off from school. The phone rang about an hour ago and one of the butlers had picked up. Of course they had to tell the President everything when it came to school. He was waiting for the door to open anytime now and for his father to come in and ask why he was skipping school again.

"Squall Leonheart! Get down here now!" a voice boomed over the house's intercom system.

Well, maybe he was wrong about the door opening bit.

Squall sighed and pushed himself off of his bed and plodded downstairs where Laguna was waiting, looking quite irate. "What do you want? I thought you were out by Balamb for the week," Squall asked.

"You thought wrong. What's this I hear about you skipping the second half of school today?"

Squall turned to walk back upstairs when Laguna yelled, "Get back down here young man!"

He stopped in his tracks and began to snicker sardonically. He turned around and directed his attention to the man at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, please. You've been out of my life more than you have been in it. You've bribed me to get everything you want. Now when everything's starting to look bleak, you want to act like a father to me. It's a little late for that, Mr. President. Don't you agree? Quit trying to act like you actually care about me because, even if everyone else can't see it, I can. You don't care. You only care about yourself." The teen stomped back up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He opened his sock drawer and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one up while sitting next to an open window. From where he was sitting he could see Esthar Academy. A few of the sports teams were winding down their practices while other teachers were leaving to go home after a hard days work teaching.

"Didn't know you picked up smoking," a voice murmured behind him. Squall jumped and muttered a few curses before realizing who it was. Laguna stood against a wall with his arms crossed.

The president's son smirked. "There's a lot you don't know about me then," leered Squall, stubbing the cigarette on the ledge and closing his window as he mimicked his father's actions and crossed his arms over his chest while leaning against the opposite wall.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why do you always have to be so damn difficult? Always skipping school, going places without my permission and now I find that you're smoking? What, are you having sex, too?"

"No, I'm still a virgin. No one wants to screw the antisocial freak."

"That was a rhetorical question, you know," Laguna pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in thought. "I don't know what to do anymore, Squall. I guess your mother took care of you so much that when she left I didn't know how to take care of you."

Squall shrugged and moved to sit on his bed. Laguna ran his hand through his hair and shook his head almost in defeat. "I'm sorry, but you can't come into my life and expect me to be all buddy-buddy with you," the angsty teen whispered. He rose to his feet and walked passed Laguna, scoffing in his face before continuing out of his room. Laguna heard the door open and close downstairs and the loud squealing of the tires on the pavement peel out of the driveway.


The curtains were drawn and a romantic mood was set. Seifer and Rinoa were on her bed, kissing passionately yet at a slow pace. He let his hand wander up her shirt and feel her soft, pale skin. Rinoa tensed up and Seifer sensed it, pulling his hand back and leaning back on his elbows. His shirt was off, exposing his defined stomach and tanned body. Rinoa, however, was fully dressed. Seifer had tried for the past half hour, unsuccessfully, to get her to loosen up.

"What now, baby?" the blonde exhaled, frustrated by now.

Rinoa bit her lower lip nervously and laid her head on her boyfriend's chest. She could feel him stroking her hair. "I . . . I'm so sorry. I can't. Not after everything else. I can't seem to get them out of my head."

"We've done stuff before. I mean, it's not anything new between me and you. You trust me, don't you?"

"I trust you but-," Rinoa was silenced by a kiss from Seifer. She closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck. She knew she had to get over what happened. Seifer would never do anything to hurt her. Instead, she thought of previous times they had been together. A romantic getaway at Trabia last summer, a day in the city, a bunch of men trying to get their way with you. "Stop!"

Seifer jumped back, hitting his head on her headboard as he tried to lay back. Rubbing where he bumped it, he sat back up and eyed her. "Rinoa, what the hell is wrong with you? Sheesh, can't even kiss you without you freaking out. I could get any girl and fuck her brains out but I choose to stay with you. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Rinoa narrowed her eyes and looked at her boyfriend almost as if for the first time. "Oh yeah? I could get any guy if I wanted but I stay with some stuck-up, snotty, asshole who makes fun of my friends and doesn't care about his girlfriend!"

"I don't need this shit. Screw you. Can't believe I've stuck around with you for almost three years and got nothing out of it," Seifer bellowed, collecting his clothes and wallet and leaving Rinoa on the bed. She leapt up and followed him to the door.

"Fine! I don't want to be with you anyway! You won't last one day without me!" she screeched, slamming the door and kicking it with her foot as hard as she could in anger.

"What on earth is going on out here?" Governor Caraway cried, coming out of his office. Rinoa made eye contact, shook her head, and ran back to her bedroom as tears trailed down her face. She collapsed onto her bed and sobbed deep in her pillow.

Governor Caraway door opened and inched inside the room. Rinoa continued to cry even when her dad took her in his arms and allowed her to sob in his shoulder. "He broke up with me."

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry-."

Rinoa pushed away from him. "The thing is, I still love him. I can't seem to get my mind off of him, no matter what. He's so arrogant and conceited and rude but to me he's so sweet and loveable and romantic. I hate being in love."

Caraway brushed a tear from under her eye and smiled sadly at her. "I know these last few days have been rough on you. I wish I could help you. Unfortunately, I don't know how. That's something your mom was good at. Always helping people and comforting them, that was her favorite thing for her to do."

Her face crumpled and she fell into a heap into her father's chest. "I miss mom. I wish she was here again. Why the hell did she have to leave us? Leaving me to go on without her help or laughter or anything. I feel so dead now that she's gone!"

Caraway cradled her and kissed her on her head. "I know. You've just gotta keep going on with your life. I wish everyday I could see her again. It's hard on both of us, but I know it's even worse for you. I know every girl needs her mom and I'm sorry I'm not always the person you can talk to," he soothed.

For the next moments, Caraway held his daughter until her breathing steadied and he knew she had fallen asleep. He laid her back onto her bed and covered her up in her sheets. Slowly, he made his way out of the bedroom and back to his office. Peace was restored in the Caraway household but the somberness was still there.


Author's Note: I'm getting so incredibly bad at this! My chapters are so short. My apologies. I have no idea why I can't make them longer. I guess I hate to think that they might get boring if I drag them out longer. Anyway, you know the drill. Read and review. I love my reviews! . BC, I have my outline saved on my livejournal as a private entry, so I know I won't lose it. Thanks! Thanks to my other loyal reviewers who have been here since the beginning. You all are the ones who are keeping me going!