A/N: Hmm, very interesting reviews for the last chapter, which gave me a lot to think about writing-wise. I'm going to try to mix things up a bit in this chapter or at least that's the plan, so if it's not this chapter it'll be coming up (so keep an eye out for it!). Anyway, as always, it's great to hear your comments and feedback no matter what it is, and I almost always reply to your review regardless of whatever you might say. So, R&R.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII and all related characters belong to SquareSoft/Enix, not me.

Addicted

EilayAdnayVolieay

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Tour of Deling Part 2

(Squall's POV)

Rinoa had stopped staring at him, and was instead actually trying to swing as high as she could on the swing she was sitting on. Squall just stayed close to the ground, pushing himself every now and then, his thoughts once again turned to what they had gone to when Rinoa mentioned the parks in Deling. He remembered her asking him why he liked parks — he hadn't wanted to tell her, to reveal that much. Maybe it wouldn't be considered revealing much at all, but he knew he just wouldn't feel comfortable with it. The mentioning of friends he once had, it... just seemed strange and hard to talk about.

Okay, so he hadn't exactly had a ton of friends. Basically, the only one he even remembered was Seifer. That was because Seifer was the only one who had remained in Balamb after a few years, whereas the rest all moved away. Seifer now was very different, and hanging out with all the wrong people.

In fact, it had probably been after he and Seifer grew apart that Squall swore off getting close to people. Not necessarily because he had been hurt, just... scared.

Rinoa wanted friendship from him, that much was obvious. She wanted more than that, but he wasn't even sure if he was ready for something like a friendship again. Yet here he was hanging out with her — he wouldn't even really call it a tour, not the way he had intended. Sometimes, he really hated how confusing his life could be.

"Do you know how long we'll be staying here?" Squall asked quietly, breaking himself away from his thoughts. Rinoa dropped her feet to the ground to stop herself from swinging, and looked at him.

"...at the park, or Deling?" She asked him smiling. Squall gave her his you-know-what-I-mean look, and she sighed. "I guess it'll depend on what happens to my dad. They... they'll probably take you home soon, and leave me here." Squall thought he heard the hint of sadness in her voice, but he ignored it. Though admittably he might... not exactly hate talking to her, and sometimes do things he didn't understand or have a reason for, it still wasn't his responsibility to ask what was wrong or cheer her up. In all honesty, he didn't know what he could say to cheer her up anyway.

"What makes you say that?" Squall asked her, gripping the chains of the swing he was on.

"Well, who knows how long my dad will be in the hospital? You can't miss school forever, and... it's more understandable if I do. Especially if I end up having to move back here." Rinoa continued. Squall tried to picture the way her father had looked in the hospital, and grimaced. He didn't think her father would be getting out too soon. He looked over at her and saw she was blowing on her hands as if they were cold. For a moment, he had the wild crazy thought of holding them to heat them up, but shook the thought away the instant it came to his mind.

"Hey Squall?" Squall turned and looked at Rinoa, who was staring at her feet again.

"...what?" He asked her. She started going higher on her swing.

"When we... get back to Balamb... are you going to stop talking to me again?" Rinoa asked him, looking over to him. Squall didn't say anything at first. I mean, how should I know? I... might talk to her, I guess. We live together, right? It would be kind of hard to ignore her completely. But... I guess she might not be living there much longer after all. Maybe.

"I don't know," Squall replied truthfully. Rinoa stopped swinging and got up off of her swing. Squall stared at her confused, but she said nothing. Instead, she began to walk away. Squall stood up and quickly caught up to her. "Rinoa?" He waited for her to say something. She turned to him, not meeting his gaze.

"...it's nothing you said," She explained quickly. "I guess I'm just a little worried about my dad. I... know this wasn't really the greatest tour so far, so... why don't we keep moving?" She asked him, and Squall nodded without a word. So, she was worried that he wouldn't talk to her anymore once they left Deling. Was he really that interesting to talk to? No, Squall thought, remembering the real reason she must want to talk to him. It's just because of... a crush. God, why is it all my thoughts seem to somehow involve Rinoa? I want my old thoughts back. Squall sighed. He really was confusing himself.

As they started to walk back down the road they had came, it didn't take long until they were already back near the hotel. Rinoa was about to walk the other way, Squall could tell, but he saw she did seem cold — he could at least do something indirectly about it, he decided.

"...why don't we go into the hotel bar for a bit? You said they played piano there, and..." Squall trailed off. He didn't want to add anything to that about how much warmer it would be in there, but Rinoa seemed to realize what he meant anyway and smiled gratefully.

"Sounds great," She told him, and she lead the way into the hotel. Squall stopped at the entrance to take a look around — the lobby of the hotel looked pretty fancy, but it didn't seem too crowded. Rinoa walked over to the right of where she had been standing and started to head down a set of stairs, so Squall tore his eyes from his surroundings and followed her down.

Once down there, Squall realized this must have been the bar Rinoa had mentioned in the earlier part of her tour. There were some soldiers sitting at one of the tables, a bunch of girls at another, and an elderly couple who had probably come just to hear the music. Rinoa led Squall to a table away from all of these people, and he felt his stomach drop and felt suddenly very uncomfortable. Why had he suggested they go to any place where other people would... see them together? Now he felt like an idiot. If he wanted her to warm up that bad, he could have just told her she could do the tour another time and head back to the Caraway Mansion.

A young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties came walking down the stairs. Squall normally wouldn't have noticed anything like that, but everyone else had turned their gaze to her and began to clap quietly at her arrival. Rinoa seemed to be the only one who wasn't watching the young woman descend the stairs.

"Is... are you... alright?" Squall blurted out, and suddenly he froze. What was he doing!? He hadn't meant to say that, hadn't meant to bring it up at all. And now, Rinoa was looking at him, just as surprised as he felt. He shrugged awkwardly, and she looked down at the table.

"My... mom used to play here a lot. And that girl," Rinoa nodded towards the young woman who had come down the stairs, and was now sitting at the piano getting her music set up. "She always plays songs that my mom wrote. Everyone does, but... well, this one in particular seems to really like them. She writes her own, but... she always plays a few of my moms anyway." Rinoa smiled, but somehow it seemed as if it was very forced. Squall wondered for a moment whether or not he should ask, but finally decided against it. He had already asked too much.

"...I guess that would be difficult," Squall said finally. Rinoa nodded, but a hush fell over the entire bar as the young woman began to play. Squall decided to take advantage of this sudden silence that had begun to return to his thoughts. And, he hoped, not to think at all about Rinoa. Yet as hard as he tried to find something he felt he needed to think about, just to make himself feel better or anything, he couldn't. All his thoughts turned in some way back to Rinoa. How she liked him. How Squall... was a little confused about whether or not he had any kind of feelings for her, friend-wise or something more. Only a little confused. How even Ellone had... he shook his head.

He needed to talk to Ellone. She was, really, the only person he felt he could talk to when he lost control of his thoughts. Maybe it was because they had known each other for so long, or because he had always considered her his big sister... he didn't know. But he did know he didn't want to share his thoughts with Rinoa, especially not the ones concerning her in any way.

"...I'll be right back," Squall told Rinoa suddenly, and she looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh, o... okay." She said, looking confused. Obviously, she was wondering where he was going. But he couldn't tell her he wanted to use the phone, because... well, quite frankly, she'd wonder who he'd be calling. She had already tried to establish he didn't really have friends. And who would he call, his dad? Not likely.

Squall remembered seeing a payphone outside by the hotel, so he walked up the stairs and out of the hotel completely. Nobody was at the payphone he had wanted to use — which was good, because that meant he wouldn't have to wait longer than necessary. He picked up the receiver of the phone and dialed the number for Ellone. It rang a few times; she picked up.

"Hello?" He heard her on the other end. He sighed.

"It's me, Ellone." Squall said quietly. She obviously recognized his voice.

"Squally!" Squall cringed; he hated that nickname. Or any nickname, for that matter. "And what do I owe the pleasure of this call? Got a girlfriend yet?" She asked him teasingly. Squall frowned. She always asked him that — it was like her own little joke she had when he called her. Yet somehow, he couldn't help thinking about what Rinoa had said. Ellone had talked about him, with Rinoa. He wasn't sure he was all that comfortable with that. But, it wasn't as if there was anything he could do about it now.

"...no," He replied after awhile. "I guess I just... felt like talking," He put his head in his hands — he normally never felt like talking. Ellone was going to pick up on this right away. But... pick up on what exactly? And why had he even called Ellone? He had a feeling he already knew exactly what she would say, and he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear it. In fact, he knew he didn't. So why had he bothered?

"Something bothering you, Squall?" He heard Ellone's voice full of concern and sighed. He didn't even know what was wrong, or if something was bothering him, or... what was going on. If anything at all.

"I... don't... know," He replied truthfully, finding each word very difficult suddenly to say. All he had known when he had left Rinoa in the hotel was that he found himself needing to talk to Ellone, to his sister. And now he didn't even know what he had wanted to say.

"Was there anything you wanted to talk about? Where are you, anyway? It definitely wasn't your cell or home number that came up on my Caller ID."

"Uh, we're in Deling." Squall looked around and saw the street was getting more empty, the sky darker. Great. That probably meant that Nico and his dad would be back soon, and wonder where he was. And notice that, oddly enough, Rinoa was gone too... had they even left a note? Squall couldn't remember.

"We?" Ellone's voice sounded amused and Squall immediately glared, though he knew she couldn't see it anyway.

"...dad and Nico." Squall said briefly, trying to avoid mentioning Rinoa.

"...what about Rinoa?" Ellone asked, sounding more and more amused by the second. So, avoiding mentioning Rinoa hadn't seemed to matter much.

"She's kind of the reason we're here." Squall admitted finally. "Her... dad's in the hospital." He added, and then he immediately regretted it.

"...and you came with them to... support her?" Ellone suggested, sounding completely ecstatic.

"NO." Squall told her firmly. "This wasn't my choice — I had no option. I did what I was told." Typical, always following orders and instructions.

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. Well, this was one situation where Squall really didn't care. She seemed to like the thought of Rinoa and... Squall shook his head. He wasn't about to allow his train of thought to go in that direction again. "So... how is Rinoa? You know, with her dad being in the hospital and all." Oh no. He knew exactly where she was trying to take this. Or... maybe he was being over analytical.

"As good as can be expected, I guess." Squall told her, turning around and leaning against the booth.

"So, are you staying at her house in Deling?" Ellone asked casually.

"...yeah,"

"Squall, I know you're not much of a people person. Or a talkative person, period. But... I think Rinoa could really use someone to talk to. And you don't have to say anything at all, sometimes... people just want to talk to someone and get it off their chest." Ellone added. ...then why don't they just go talk to a wall? Squall thought agitated.

"...she has family," Squall said after a few moments silence. It wasn't a lie, exactly, though he was sure that the last people Rinoa would go to for support would be her family.

"Yes, but family... sometimes, people need a friend, Squall. Don't you remember what it was like when you needed your friends?" She asked him. Squall stared down at his feet. Another person bringing up the whole friendship thing. He just didn't get it — why couldn't people rely on themselves? Sure, talking might be okay sometimes, but it's not as if those friends could actually make the situation any better. If anything, it would just be nothing but a pity party. Or, at least that's what he thought.

"... I don't remember much of anything from when I was little." He told her after awhile of being silent. He heard her sigh on the other end, and he switched the phone over to his other ear.

"Maybe it's time you talked to Seifer again, Squall." The hidden meaning in her words rang out loud and clear to Squall, but he ignored it. There was no way he was going to try to talk to Seifer again. The guy had grown up to be a total creep — though Squall hadn't grown up to be the greatest person either, at least people didn't really have anything bad to say about him. He hadn't really done anything to cause that — all they could say was that he was antisocial.

"I have to go, Ellone." Squall said firmly.

"Don't be mad at me, please?" Ellone asked, and Squall heard the sound of someone talking in the background. Ellone said something inaudible back before he heard her sighing on the phone again.

"I'm... not mad at you, Elle." Squall reverted back to what his dad had called her and what Squall had called her when he was little, to show her that he really wasn't mad at her. She sounded relieved.

"Good-bye, Squall."

"Bye, Ellone." Squall hung the phone back up on the receiver and leaned against the side of the phone booth. That call hadn't really helped him with anything, and he hadn't even brought up what Ellone had told Rinoa. He didn't really bring up anything he had intended to. All it took was Ellone to start teasing him about Rinoa, and everything else he had intended to say faded away.

Strange, how teasing Squall about Rinoa, had gotten such a reaction. What was happening to him? He wasn't used to this... strange back and forth thoughts and feelings. One minute, he wanted to avoid Rinoa like she was the plague and the next he was asking her to take him on a tour of Deling. When he was so determined to do one thing and kept doing another, how could he really tell what it was that he actually wanted to do? This isn't worth thinking about... Squall thought finally.

"Squall?" Squall jumped at the sound of his name and realized Rinoa had come outside to see what he was doing. He opened his mouth to explain he had only wanted to call Ellone, but the expression on her face told him she already had her own idea as to what she thought was going on and didn't intend to let him convince her otherwise. "If you didn't want to hang out anymore, you could have just said so." Rinoa told him, before turning around and starting to run down the sidewalk back to the mansion.

Now what? Should he run after her and try to explain, or just walk back? He tried to think for a moment, and realized he didn't remember where the mansion was. He could ask, but... he'd save that as his last resort. It might seem as if he was being the stereotypical guy afraid of asking directions, but with him, it was more of a disinterest in talking directly to anyone.

Damn it, Rinoa... Squall sighed and stepped out of the phone booth and started walking in the direction Rinoa had been headed. At least he could get in the general direction of the mansion and maybe find it. Or have a better chance at finding it.

After several minutes had passed, Squall stopped walking and put his hands on his hips, looking down at the ground, frustrated and annoyed with himself. ...I'm pretty sure I walked by that park bench already. And that's the same lamp post that wasn't working the first time I walked by it. Ugh, Rinoa, why didn't you just ask what I was doing with a phone? I could have called a cab, but... no address. And even if they would have known what I meant if I said the Caraway Mansion, I can't even find a cab, and there hasn't been a phone book in any of the phone booths I've passed yet so I could call one.

"Well, well, well. Squall Leonhart. What might you be doing in the lovely city of Deling?" Squall turned around to see who was talking to him, and when he saw the blue-haired teen, he narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"...that's really not your business." Squall said finally, before turning around and starting to walk down the street again. Devin came up to him and put his hand on Squall's shoulder. Squall quickly moved away from Devin, who put his hands in the air as if to say he was surrendering.

"Are we lost?" Devin asked, and Squall crossed his arms.

"No."

"Really? Because I was sitting in that charming little restaurant with my parents and I'm quite sure I've seen you walk by here at least five times." Damn. Squall thought.

"... fine, I'm lost." Now get lost. Squall added in his head.

"Where are you headed?" Devin asked, clearly not getting the hint that Squall didn't want to be anywhere near him. Or, if he did, he didn't care.

"...Caraway Mansion."

"I know where that is, let me walk you there." Damn right you know where it is, you — get a grip, Squall, who cares, it's just some creep. Some creep Rinoa's dating. The evil voice in his head intervened. She's not dating him anymore! Squall argued back, not even knowing why he was arguing with himself. Maybe she doesn't want to be, but she hasn't technically broke it off. Whatever.

"...whatever." Devin laughed at this, and Squall sighed. He had a feeling the walk to the mansion was going to be very, very long.

A/N: So, I had to throw in something there to just sort of mix things up a bit with the whole Rinoa and Squall thing — I mean she might like him but that doesn't mean she's not going to get those typical jealousy feelings or feel a little paranoid or self-conscious, and she's still capable of getting mad at him. I am very uneasy about this chapter, I have no idea what you'll think of it readers but hopefully it wasn't a complete mess. That would suck. Anyway, sorry for the wait for this update, I've been trying to teach myself Physics the past few weeks — (now I'm dropping out of the course because it's ridiculous and my teachers, well... yeah.) Anyway, R&R, let me know what you think, no matter what it is you do think about this chapter or the story in general.