Squall felt uncomfortable, and disgruntled. He looked furtively towards the great oak door barring his escape, and sighed. Couples waltzed passed, all dressed extravagantly. You could practically see the wealth dripping off them, in the form of fancy clothing and jewelry. Unfortunately, Squall was stuck here till midnight. He took a sip out of the glass in his hand, and grimaced at the bitterness of the drink. He didn't particularly care for the taste of alcohol, but he needed something to do with his hands, and it was the perfect excuse to decline requests for a dance. Squall kept his eyes firmly on the ground. He didn't want to make any eye-contact, least someone took it as an invitation to come over and talk to him. Unfortunately, there were some people who just couldn't take a hint,
"Ah! So you're the president's son eh?" Squall gave a curt nod to a random guy wearing a cowboy hat, with long hair. Surely that would be against the dress code? Squall thought bitterly about his normal clothes, about how he wasn't allowed to wear them, and how they looked no where as strange as this guy's cowboy getup.
"So what's it like to be the 'long lost son'? I saw that article," Squall cringed. He'd very much like to kill that stupid reporter, and his idiot photographer.
"I heard you have a problem with the ladies, they can't get enough of you! I can relate to that, have the same problem myself. Ladies come flocking to me, but luckily there's enough of Irvine to go around." said Irvine grinning broadly, eyeing nearby groups of women. Squall rolled his eyes, and looked away, hoping to kill the conversation.
"I'm Irvine Kineas by the way, second in command for security." he added as an after thought, offering his hand. Squall ignored it.
"Ouch." said Irvine withdrawing his hand, "That magazine was right about you. The war must of sucked!" No kidding ... thought Squall.
"Heard about what happened in that village. That was very brave of you." Shut up ... shut up ... thought Squall. He really did not want to talk about it.
"Is what they printed true?" asked Irvine, clearly interested.
"I don't want to talk about it." said Squall coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Fair enough." replied Irvine, but his attention had shifted elsewhere, to a brunette girl walking past. Irvine started walking after her,
"Nice talking to you Squall." said Irvine with a tip of his hat, then he was gone,
"He baby ..." Squall heard him say as he caught up to the girl. Squall sighed. He leaned back against a pillar, hoping to blend into it.
(.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)
'If we don't kill them, they'll kill us all first!" this statement was greeted with an outburst of angry agreement.
'Click' went Squall's camera. They looked like a pack of desperate animals. Squall pitied them. He spoke up.
"But sir, that's completely unethical." he said quietly. His comment was greeted with an eerie silence. Someone cocked a gun.
"Shut up boy. You don't know anything!" yelled the commanding officer. "I give the orders around here! You take orders from me! If order you to kill, you kill!" he was beyond reason. "We raid tomorrow." there was murmur of agreement. Squall looked around all the gaunt, dirty faces of the men. They were desperate. He understood that, but there was no way he could take part in what they were planning ...
(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)
Squall broke out of his musings as his senses suddenly started screaming at him. He had the strangest feeling that someone was watching him, that danger was nearby. His head jerked up, and he looked at the endless sky suspiciously. The whole ceiling was made of glass, it really was a sight to see. He gazed searchingly, but could find nothing obscure or incriminating. Just endless black, pinpricked with stars. Something flashed. Squall's eyes darted towards the movement, only to see a shooting star falling to earth. He followed its path, I'm too paranoid ... thought Squall sighing, but he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. The star vanished out of sight, but Squall allowed his eyes to wander. He caught sight of someone looking up in the same direction, they must have seen the star as well. It was a girl, with very long dark hair and warm brown eyes. She turned suddenly, as if sensing his gaze. Their eyes met, and she smiled, holding up one finger imploringly. Huh? Does she mean the star ... thought Squall. She started walking towards him.
(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)
Rinoa had spotted the boy from the far side of the room. He was looking at the ground sadly, leaning against a pillar. He was pretty for a boy, but well built with longish light brown hair that hung into his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone she recognized, looking for someone. Most probably her. She frowned, then started walking towards the good looking guy. Suddenly his head jerked up to the sky, Rinoa followed his gaze and saw he was looking at the sky. A star shot across the black night. When Rinoa turned back towards the boy, he was staring straight at her. She smiled, and held up a finger. He cocked his head to the side, which made him look incredibly cute. He was good head taller then her, even in her heels. It was his eyes that caught her though. They were a deep, dark, blue. Gorgeous as they were, there was something incredibly sad about them ... and familiar.
"You're the best looking guy here." said Rinoa, hands on hips. "Dance with me?" The boy took a sip of his drink, and there was silence ... I'm going to be so disappointed if they guys an idiot. He is hot, but what kind of airhead can't answer a simple question? thought Rinoa. After a few awkward moments of silence, the boy finally replied.
"I don't dance." he said. Rinoa mentally sighed with relief, he sounded intelligent enough.
"Let me guess ..." she said playfully. "You'll only dance with someone you like ... alright then," she went on her tippy toes, put one hand under his chin, and made circles in front of his eyes with a finger. "You're-going-to-like-me ... You're-going-to-like-me ..." she chanted. Rinoa suppressed a laugh. He was actually following her finger!
"Did it work?" she asked, removing her hands. He shook his head.
"I can't dance." he said looking away.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I can't be on the dance floor alone, besides, a good looking guy like yourself should be out there for everyone to appreciate." said Rinoa, taking his drink, putting in on the tray of a passing waiter. She took his hand, and pulled him forcefully away from the pillar. Squall didn't resist.
(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)
Squall hadn't been kidding when he said he couldn't dance. He'd never danced like this in his life. The girl with the white dress had caught him off guard, and he didn't know what to do when she grabbed his hand, so he followed. She pulled him out to the middle of the dance floor, then placed one hand on her waist, held one on her own, and put her hand on his shoulder. They started moving in time to the music, but Squall got confused and kept bumping into her. After nearly knocking her off her feet for the third time, Squall gave up. He tried to walk off the floor, but she grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Ok, I'll lead this time, you follow," she whispered in his ear. She placed his hand back on her waist, and put her hand on his shoulder again.
"And, one, two, three, one, two, three ..." she counted out loud. Squall started getting the hang of it. "That great!" she whispered, then they collided into another couple.
"Watch it!" said the male angrily. The girl glared back, and poked out her tongue. She then turned and smiled at Squall, who was looking a little lost.
"Lets try again." she said. as the song came to an end, Squall turned the girl out perfectly, and caught her in the crock of his arm.
"And you said you couldn't dance!" said the girl in mock anger. Squall shrugged. Another song started up. The girl's eyes lit up.
"I love this song! Just one more dance please? You finally have the hang of it! You lead this time." she said smiling serenely. Squall had a funny feeling he was going to regret this.
(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.)
The young reporter was bored stiff. For being such a prestigious, international event, it sure was boring. He yawned, and noticed his camera man was half asleep, leaning heavily in the tripod. He'd taped the speeches from various ministers, and generals at the beginning, but right then, the most interesting thing to tape was old people ballroom dancing. He stared blankly out at the dance floor, but then a couple caught his eye. They were young, and made quite a nice pair.
"Oh my god." said the reporter under his breath when he realized who they young couple were. It was the president of Ester's son, and the daughter of the Governor of Galbadia. He watched them for a few minutes. She was a graceful dancer, while he was just confused, trying to keep up. They collided head on with another couple, and angry glares were exchanged. The reporter slapped his cameraman.
"Wake up! Wake up!"
"W-what?" he said with a start,
"I want to to film that young couple down there." the reporter tapped his foot impatiently as the cameraman looked down sleepily.
"Hey, isn't that the boy from that teen magazine? He's the president's son ... Hey! That's the Governor's daughter!"
"Well hurry up and film it!" said the reporter slapping the camera man over the head. The camera man set up his gear as quickly as he could, while the reporter followed the couple's progress avidly. The boy seemed to slowly be getting the hang of it.
"Okay. We're ready, in five, four, three, two, one, you're on!"
"Hello ladies and gentleman. Here I am at the peace conference ball in Ester on this lovely night. This event marks the joining of two great nations, and out on the dance floor, the son of Ester, and the daughter of Galbadia are helping this unification ..." the camera panned out to the dance floor just as a new song started. The boy had really gotten the hang of it. He and the girl were dancing terrifically, oblivious to the camera. Other old couples actually stopped to watch them. The boy spun the girl out, catching her in his arms just as the song ended. There was a scattering of applause, then there was a loud noise, as if something had exploded. The building vibrated, then the room was plunged into darkness. Much chaos ensued, people screamed, other yelled louder to try to restore peace. A gunshot sounded, and blind panic broke out as glass rained down on the crowd. The music resumed, blaring out of the speakers. A few minutes later, the lights came back on. The young couple had vanished.