A/N: Sorry, more mystery! I don't think I've pointed it out before, but please take note of the time in the chapters. Those are the 'linebreaks', could be confusing if you don't see them. Thank you for the reviews guys!

'Morning After'

SUNDAY

09:45

Rinoa awoke with an aching back and instantly knew she wasn't in her own bed. For one thing she felt groggy and she was cold. For moment she didn't want to open her eyes, hoping that she could fall asleep once more, so she wouldn't have to deal with the day. Instead the sound of someone rattling cutlery and opening and closing cupboards forced her to sit up and look around.

She found that she as still wearing her clothes from the night before and had fallen asleep on her sofa. On the armchair next to her was Zell, his mouth open as he slept. He was still in a deep alcohol educed dream; the woollen throw that usually decorated the chair was pulled over him like a blanket. His only movement was the shallow rise and fall of his chest and the occasional twitch.

Pushing her dark hair back from her face, Rinoa looked towards her kitchenette and saw that Squall was helping himself to her breakfast cereal. She didn't remember inviting anyone back to her home. She vaguely remembered leaving the club, but after that… nothing.

Squall must have felt her staring at him, as he stopped midway of opening the fridge and stared at her. When nothing was said, he continued making his breakfast in silence.

"Hey, um," Rinoa said, trying to dispel some of the awkwardness she was feeling. She knew that she must look a mess. Her skin felt grimy and her eyelashes clumpy with old mascara. "How'd we end up here?" she asked.

Feeling around behind her she found that she had been sleeping on one of her shoes, accounting for most of her aches. Squall continued to stare at her, occasionally spooning cereal into his mouth. He had been waiting for something unusual to happen all night, since it was clear that Rinoa wasn't as ordinary as she seemed. Even though he could tell by talking to her, that she didn't think so herself. What he had found unusual was the fact that he'd agreed to spend more time in her company.

Rinoa gave him a nervous smile. Clearly he wasn't in the mood for talking. Although she'd rather he didn't continue to scrutinize her so thoroughly, especially when she felt disgusting.

"House party at yours," he said once Rinoa had given up on getting a reply. She looked back at him puzzled. "Remember? You got the tequila out and started doing shots. But he passed out," he said pointing at Zell. "Then you did," he informed her.

She felt a twinge up her spine as she tried to remember that. Why had she chosen the sofa over her own bed? She thought must be a very generous drunk person. And a lucky one this morning, for shooting tequila she felt remarkably well.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"I stood and stared at you all night," he replied.

"What?" Rinoa demanded jumping up from the sofa. He had better be joking, or he and his freak friends could all get lost right away. Regardless of how good he looked with tousled hair and a halfway unbuttoned shirt. She stopped herself, he's from another dimension, she reminded herself, or so Zell says, he might be able to read minds. Cats, she thought, Cats with hats on. There was no change in Squall's expression, so she supposed he couldn't read minds.

"I watched TV," he said at last. "You're not that interesting."

The way he said that made Rinoa think it was some kind of backhanded compliment. She was a bit interesting then. It was better than nothing.

"You didn't sleep?"

"I slept yesterday," Squall said matter-of-factly.

"Well so did I, but I still have to sleep again…" Rinoa said, with her eyebrows raised. "You're a bit weird," she commented before she could stop herself.

Before Squall could answer the front door was unceremoniously banged open and Seifer and Quistis barged through with bags of drive-thru breakfast. Their arrival woke Zell and he sat up, startled. Selphie also emerged from Rinoa's bedroom, looking well rested and happy. Rinoa wondered again why she had fallen asleep where she had, leaving her room free for the other girl, who had obviously had a much more enjoyable sleep.

Quistis was looking rather flushed as she handed around the unhealthy meals to both Zell and Selphie's eager hands. She offered one to Squall and Rinoa was surprised to see him accept it, pushing his bowl away. She had thought, now wrongly, that deep-fried eggs, burger and bacon in a bun wouldn't be his thing.

Rinoa noted that Quistis was still wearing the same clothes as last night. She concluded that Seifer hadn't gone back to Quistis' place, or she would have changed. But whatever they had been doing whilst she was passed out, she was glad that they had been kind enough to bring back breakfast.

"I'm going to have to go home to shower," Quistis said as they ate. "We'll be meeting up again later I suppose?"

Selphie and Seifer looked at Squall. They were both happy to meet up again, but Squall might not be. Not that either really cared for what he decided, they were going to do what they wanted anyway. But no one wanted an argument today, not when everyone was feeling a bit fragile.

"Sure," Squall said without much enthusiasm.

"Can we meet at Zell's?" Selphie asked. "He has an ouija board. I really old one, isn't that right Zell? I want to have a go. See if I can call up any famous dead folk."

Seifer scoffed, but when no one protested it seemed it was settled. They were going to Zell's, whether Zell liked it or not.

10:40

Selphie was still talking as they stepped out onto the front door step, causing Squall to bite his tongue against telling her to hurry up. He was staring to get tired now, or bored, he couldn't really tell. Rinoa looked like she could do with a few more hours sleep and had run out of conversation a while ago. She waved them all from her house with a smile, but Squall could tell she was happy to have some peace and quiet. Looking across the road, Squall faltered for the briefest of seconds before continuing. Only Seifer noticed his uneven step, but said nothing in front of the others.

"Oh," Zell said when they reached Quistis' car. "There is something I have to tell you. I couldn't before, not with Rinoa around…"

He let the sentence hang for a moment.

"Her last name is Heartilly."

Squall shot Seifer a concerned glance. The only one that didn't see the significance of this was Quistis, although she could tell that it meant something to everyone else.

10:45

Irvine dropped back into the shadows. He had been watching the house for what seemed like forever. Finally the one he was waiting for left, surrounded by her companions. It was clear that the three of them were some kind of unit, not as he'd first thought, casual acquaintances. He was surprised to find that there were more of them now, another male with magic, a blonde woman and the occupant of the house he was watching.

He knew that he had been sensed; one of them had looked directly at him, but had not reacted. He had been about to leave when he realised they were going in different directions. The new additions were getting into the car and the original three were not. His curiosity was rewarded, when he heard the name 'Heartilly'. Foster would certainly be interested in that. But maybe he'd keep it to himself for now though, use it for bargaining material if he found himself in tight spot.