Balamb Dream
Chapter 3





Squall sat on the couch of his dormitory and sighed. Today had been a long day for him. He was confused now, everything had become so complicated. Now, he had Quistis to worry about. It was quite obvious that she liked him.


**Flashback**

Squall and the others rode the train back to Balamb. Selphie was in the outer room singing her train song. That song always got on Squall's nerves. Today wasn't a good day for him. He had a terrible headache and was exhausted, having been kept up all night by Zell's loud snoring. He just wanted to get back and see Rinoa again. He hated not being able to take her along. She'd be done with classes soon, but she wasn't able to join them on the mission. Squall wanted to hold her again, it had seemed like forever since they had even held hands.
Quistis looked at him, noticing that he was deep in thought. She smiled a bit, looking at his beautiful eyes. 'Why'd Rinoa show up?' Quistis wondered, 'She doesn't deserve him.'
As much as Quistis wanted to believe this, she knew it wasn't true. Rinoa had earned Squall. She'd given him what Quistis knew she could never give, life. Ever since Rinoa had showed up, Squall's icy shell had melted away, little by little. Quistis wanted to trade places with Rinoa. She ad always loved Squall. She had recent relationships, but she still felt so alone. She longed to be in Squall's arms, to feel the softness of his lips upon hers.
Squall looked up from his thoughts and noticed Quistis dreamily staring at him.
"Quisty? Are you okay?"
"Oh." Quistis snapped out of her fantasies, "Sorry, Squall. I was just thinking about something."
"Okay." Squall replied, but he still felt uneasy. Quistis looked like she was dreaming about him. "What's on your mind?"
Quistis laughed, "You never answered that question. It's nothing important."
"Yes, it is." Squall said
Quistis sighed, "Do you miss Rinoa?"
"Of course, why?"
"I don't know. I...just haven't been in a relationship where I felt something before, what's it like?"
Squall sighed, "Quisty, don't do this to yourself. You're only Twenty. You have your whole life ahead of you to find someone."
"Yeah." Quistis replied But I think I've already missed my chance.

**End Flashback**

The way Quistis had looked at him, Squall knew she was thinking about him. He'd known Quistis liked him for a long time. It freaked him out, and now Rinoa was nervous, because he had been so uneasy. He couldn't help it. Quisty? Of all people, why did she like him so much? He was not a great person to begin with, he honestly didn't even know what Rinoa saw in him. 'Why does everyone like me?' he thought, 'I try to be unlikable. This is too complicated!'
Squall didn't know how to approach Quistis now. He could barely look her in the eye. He was so uneasy. He knew her love for him must be killing her, because she knew Squall would never return the love. Squall loved Rinoa, and he only wanted her. She and him had dated for almost a year and a half now, and Squall knew marriage was going to come up soon.
He didn't mind commitment, he loved Rinoa. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But Quistis was
Starting to bother him. He didn't want to hurt her. She'd always been a sister to him, and he knew he couldn't ever love her, but he still wanted to spare her pain.
But this wasn't about Quistis now. It was about him and Rinoa.
Squall's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" he asked
"It's Rinoa, can I talk to you?"
Squall rose from the couch and answered the door, allowing her in.
"Squall, what's wrong?"
Squall sighed, "You always know."
She sat down, "Yes, please talk to me. You've been acting weird."
Squall looked at her, "I've got a lot on my mind."
"Tell me. Come on, we've been through thick and thin."
Squall sat down, "I...I don't know."
Squall didn't want Quisty to get hurt.
"Squall."
"I...just don't want this person to be hurt."
Rinoa sighed, "It's Quistis, isn't it?"
He bit his lip.
"What happened?"
"On the train today, I saw her looking at me. She was staring at my eyes, and she had this dreamy look on her face. She likes me Rinoa, she has for a long time. It makes me nervous."
Rinoa nodded, "I know Squall, I've been able to tell for awhile. But it's out of your hands. You don't want to be with her, do you?"
"No! I love you. I could never love her. She's like a sister."
"What are you afraid of then?"
Squall sat next to Rinoa on the couch, "I know we've got a great thing here, and I'm happy for that. I want this to last forever. I...I just don't want to see Quisty hurt."
"I know. But what can you do? I don't want Quisty hurt, either, but I want to stay with you."
Squall shook his head, "We're staying together, whether she likes it or not. But we have to help her find someone. She needs happiness."
"Squall, who can we get to love her? Quisty has to do it herself or it isn't real."
"I know. It's her life, we have to let her live it."
"Yes." Rinoa replied, "We can help, but she has to get over you. You're happy now."
Squall moved closer to Rinoa, "Um...I've been thinking about this for awhile. We're happy together, and neither of us wants it to stop. I want to be with you forever, Rinoa. We're young, but that means a lot of time together. So, will you marry me?"
Rinoa smiled and looked at the ring in his hand. "Yes." She replied
She then kissed him, with all she had.
"I'm gonna be Mrs. Leonhart." She laughed
Squall smiled, "Yeah. I'm gonna talk to Quisty tomorrow. Until then, we don't need to worry about her."
The two slept happily in one another's arms that night, dreaming of the years to come.


**********The Next Day*************

Squall walked towards his office, where he told Quistis to meet him. He was nervous. He had to tell her about he and Rinoa being engaged, how would she react?
'No.' he thought, 'I need to do this. I have no reason to be afraid.'
He entered the office and she turned to face him, "Good morning commander."
Squall winced at the name. Quistis called him that all the time, just to annoy him. He closed the door behind him and turned to face her.
"Quisty, this is important. I need to talk to you."
He smile turned serious, "Okay, what is it?"
"Rinoa and I are engaged."
He immediately saw sorrow on Quistis's face, but she changed it to fake happiness, "That's great. I'm happy for you two."
"Don't lie to me, Quistis. I know that you're in love with me."
Quistis looked up, surprised, "You...what? But how?"
"I can see it Quisty. I know this is hard for you, and I'm sorry. I love you, but not the way you want me to. I'm happy with Rinoa, she's wonderful for me. You may think you love me, Quistis, but you've got to think about it. I could never make you happy, you know that. You and I aren't compatible. You're like my big sister, and I can't look at you the way you look at me. Quistis, I would only bring you pain. You know that as well as I do."
Quistis folded her arms, "What, am I better than Rinoa? How can you only bring me pain if you haven't only given her that?"
"It's different, Quisty. Rinoa has a different personality that makes she and I a better couple. It's just who she is. And believe me, I've brought her more pain than she will admit. I honestly don't see why I'm worth it to either of you."
Quistis laughed, "You're wonderful, Squall. There's so much in you that we want. You are perfect."
Squall shook his head, "Quisty, you have to let me go."
"It isn't that easy."
"Quisty, I don't want to hurt you. You deserve someone who can love you back."
Tears fell down Quistis's face, "I am happy that you are happy. But it hurts, Squall. It always has. Seeing you two together, I just want to be loved like that."
Squall sat down by her and put an arm around her, "You will be, someday. I never thought I would be loved, or that I could love, but I was wrong. You'll find someone Quistis, and you'll be happy that you let me go."
"This won't affect our friendship, will it?"
Squall smiled, "No."
Quistis sighed
"Hey Quisty?" Squall asked
"Yes?"
"Will you be Rinoa's maid of honor?"
Quistis smiled, "Really?"
"It would mean a lot to her, and me."
Quistis nodded, "Okay, Squall."


************A few months later*********
Quistis stood on the balcony alone, as usual. He wedding was beautiful, and she wanted to enjoy the reception, but she couldn't handle it. She cried, seeing them so happy. She wanted him so badly, and she still couldn't let go.
She heard footsteps behind her and quickly wiped her tears away. "Go away."
"Quistis, what's wrong?"
Quistis turned around, "Seifer?"
"Yeah, I came, believe it or not."
Quistis folded her arms, "Do you want to make it worse?"
Seifer sighed, "I know the feeling, Quisty. I still love Rinoa. It's hard for me to see her so happy, especially with him. But I'm letting go now, because I've fallen for someone else."
Was this the same Seifer? Never once had Quistis heard him say anything like that. He was serious.
"I'm glad for you." She grumbled, and turned around
"Don't you even wanna know who it is?" he asked stepping to her side
"Fine, tell me."
Seifer looked at her, "You. I've fallen for you."
Quistis looked at Seifer in surprise, "Me? You like me?"
Seifer nodded, "Please Quisty. I think we would get along great if you got to know me."
Quistis smiled, "Seifer."
With that, Seifer pulled her close and kissed her. To Quistis's surprise, she actually liked it. She gave in. For once, she actually felt right in a man's arms.
Squall looked out through the window onto the balcony, Rinoa at his side. They were headed for his dorm, but stopped when Squall noticed Quistis.
"She's happy." He said
Rinoa squeezed his hand, "I told you she could do it on her own."
The two went to his dorm, and Squall was happy. He knew that Quistis was going to be okay without him.

Author's notes: Hope you guys liked it!