Disclaimer: Must I even repeat myself? I don't own anything! Even though I wish vehemently that Squall were mine…
Author's Note: Wow, finished this chapter sooner than I expected. Anyways, I'm so sorry bout the spelling mistakes in chapters one and two. I'll try to be more careful when typing. Well about the story, Squall's finally gonna meet Rinoa again! Yay! So sit back and enjoy his scattered thoughts! Um and thoughts are now in italics. Sorry, but before my computer wouldn't upload them, but now it decided to, so I'm changing that. Everything else is the same.
Chapter Three: Meeting the "Princess" (Disc I, Part III)
The handsome boy clad in black leather proceeded on his way down the hallway. His face was pinched with annoyance, his mouth pressed into a straight line of frustration. A strand of soft, sandy-brown hair flopped over his eyes, and he swept the strand out of his face, running his fingers through his hair. He was oblivious to the motion that he preformed, his mind concentrating on something else.
Who the hell does that Zone think he is? We weren't trained in the deadly arts of battle and magic to go running around and wake up some snobby chick.
His fist clenched unwittingly at his side, flexing and closing again, his knuckles cracking in the process. His thoughts kept on lingering on the boy in the outer cabin, so he didn't realize that he had reached the end of the hallway, a closed door facing him on the left. He turned and looked at the slab of wood, his anger slowly seething inside of him. But after years of training his emotions, he kept the anger inside. On the outside, he just looked normal, the famed stoic look on his face as always. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and slowly turned the knob.
When Squall entered the room, the first things he saw was a deep sea of rose. The room was completely washed in pink with lavish décor, well at least it was compared to what the rest of the train looked like. Soft pink curtains covered the room and in the corner there was a little mahogany dresser and mirror. In the other corner lie a large bed covered in rosy sheets, with a girl lying on top.
A flash of blue and black struck out against the soft hues of the room. He stared at her a while, noting the way her long, sky blue sweater draped over her legs, the color of her pale ivory skin against the dark black, the strands of ebony silk falling on her face… His breath froze as the realization hit him.
Oh my God… I can't believe it.
He continued staring at the girl, at the shape of her body as she lay curled up, the soft tint in her flushed cheeks, her beckoning lips… He couldn't help it. He just gawked at her, drinking in the sight of the girl he thought he would never see again.
Suddenly, the train came to a sudden halt, shaking in the process. The girl moaned as the waves of slumber began to lift from her. The sound of the simple noise made him shudder; it sounded unbelievably pleasing. He shook his head as she turned and slowly sat up, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light.
Then her gaze traveled to him, locking straight onto his eyes. As the realization of who he was dawned on her, she let a tiny gasp escape her lips.
"Hey… you're... you know, from the party… so… does that mean… you're a SeeD!?"
All he could do was stare helplessly at her.
Oh God she's so beautiful…
The sound of her voice trailed off into his mind. The sound of its sweet and alluring tones drawing him back into the web of desire. His heart pounded and he felt that familiar knot forming in his throat again. She titled her head and looked up at him, curiosity shining in the depths of her chocolate eyes.
He just kept on looking at her, basking in the sight of her. He thought he would never see her again, but here she was right in front of him, staring up at him. She looked so innocent, batting her eyelashes and simply waiting for his reply… reply?
You idiot! She asked you a question. What are you waiting for? Answer!
He tried to say something, but he felt his voice get lost on its way out of his mouth.
Dammit! Not this again!
He swallowed nervously while he continued staring at her. He nodded meekly and swallowed again.
What am I supposed to say to her?
His mind went blank as he continued to look into her eyes, drowning in its dark depth.
Um… maybe I should introduce myself…
"I'm Squall."
She smiled at him and he felt himself almost melting at the sight of the smooth curve of her rosy lips.
What do I saw now? Well, she seems to be stuck on SeeD… and we are on a mission… guess I better tell her bout the other two morons I'm stuck with…
"I'm the squad leader." His voice shook slightly. He swallowed again and continued. "There's two others with me."
He saw the sparkle in her eyes. She smiled brightly and pushed herself up off of the bed. He watched as she extended her legs and placed them on the floor. He saw the toned muscles… the smooth ivory skin…
Then before he knew it, she had run at him and leapt into his arms, nearly knocking him over.
"YEESSS!!! SeeD is here!!!"
He didn't pay any attention to what she had screamed. He grabbed onto her waist, just because of his reflexes, but once his hands rested on her slim figure, he felt the forbidden attraction welling up with even more strength this time. He held onto her tightly, feeling her soft hair on his face as they twirled around. The silky strands brushed his cheek, their scent of strawberries lingering in his senses. Her arms wrapped tightly around his chest… the feel of her skin on his neck… it drove him insane.
That moment, though it only lasted a mere second or two, seemed an eternity. In that moment, he fought a battle with himself, a battle whether to lower the walls encasing his heart and let her in, or keep them up, shunning her away and the chance of heartbreak. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to hold her forever, smell the luscious scent of her hair, feel her soft skin against his… but to feel all of that, he would have to let go of his heart. And he knew he couldn't. The pain of heartbreak was too unbearable to suffer again. That was when he decided to close himself up again, forbidding his feelings to go any further. He loosened his grip on her and gently set her down. She looked so fragile, as if she might break with a harsh touch. But it didn't matter to him anymore. He would not surrender his heart to her. He would not be abandoned again.
"Take it easy." He tried to answer as normally as he could. She just couldn't know the way he felt about her. He looked away, afraid that looking into her eyes would draw him back under her spell. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted movement and saw her walk to the empty corner of the room.
"It's just that I'm so happy! I've been sending requests to Garden forever, but nothing…"
He couldn't help the temptation. His eyes fixed on her, watching her delicate hand grab her left arm, the right forearm resting softly against her flat stomach.
"I'm so glad I spoke to Cid directly."
Her words snapped him out of his trance, and he found himself moving involuntarily towards her.
"Oh…" He was standing next to her again, his muscles freezing. He looked away again, scared of the feelings breaking free once more. His hand rested firmly on his hip as he struggled with his words. "So you were looking for the headmaster at the party?" What else was he supposed to say? 'Oh beautiful temptress, you mean you weren't waiting there to lure me under your spell?'
She turned toward him, then shook her head. He stared baffled at her for a moment.
What was she doing there then?
"You know Seifer?"
Seifer… the name left a bad taste on his tongue, even though it was just a thought. Of course he knew Seifer. They were good old buddies… In fact, they're such good friends that they each gave each other a wonderful present, a lovely scar on each of their faces. Now he had a beautiful life-long memoir of his best friend… He nearly threw up at the mention of his rival. He felt like grabbing the nearest thing and beating the living crap out of it, and that would be her… no… that couldn't happen. So he just crossed his arms and looked away, the look of hatred and scorn on his face apparently oblivious to the girl in front of him.
"…yeah…" The answer was dripping with disdain and disgust. But the girl just continued, as if not even noticing whether he answered or not.
"Well he's the one that introduced me to Cid."
Thoughts raced through his mind.
Seifer introduced her to Cid…? Then that would mean that he knew her, enough to bring her to the Inaugural Ball…as a… date…
His breath caught short as he contemplated the facts in his mind. It had to be that. How else would she have gottten in without an invitation to have a meeting with Cid?
Oh idiot idiot idiot!
He couldn't believe. He was drooling over a girl who was dating Seifer! How could he? Now that lovely vision of beauty no longer seemed so magnificent… ok so maybe he was lying to himself about that part… she was still completely gorgeous… But she seemed a whole hell of a lot less attractive now that he knew that she actually liked Seifer… He shuddered at the thought.
She continued, not noticing his shudder and the look of pure disgust on his handsome features. "Cid is such a nice man. I really didn't think that SeeD would come out and help such a measly little group like us…"
He stared at her, a little shocked.
God, she must be dimmer than she appears. Liking Seifer already brought her down to the bottom of the line, but she didn't even take notice how I reacted to her statement. Damn, she must be a dumb blonde in disguise (A/N: please to all of the blondes out there, don't hate me. I don't mean it towards you. It's just a really stupid stereotype that I decided to have Squall use. I'm so sorry! Don't flame me for this please!). Either that or she is just too plain happy and cheerful, refusing to accept the fact that people happen to be crabby and ill-tempered sometimes. Oh God, reminds me of that cheery, giggly Selphie. Doesn't matter what type she is, I hate both of them.
"…Cid gave the go ahead right away!" She laughed. All of his thoughts shot out of his mind at the melodic and mesmerizing tune. His earlier thoughts of disgust about her immediately vanished as the sound of her mirth struck his ears. He was, once again, awestruck.
"Now that you guys are here, we'll be able to carry out all kinds of plans!"
She walked over to the mirror, looking at her reflection, fondling the ring hanging on her chest from a thin silver chain. He was left all by himself, gazing at her reflection in the mirror, frozen once more in his tracks as her spell weaved around him again. He observed her, noticing that she was quietly standing with her head down as if praying. He didn't want to disturb her quiet serenity, then he quickly reminded himself that she was nothing to him. Why should he care for her if she was Seifer's girl? Why should he if he vowed never to set his heart free again? Then he unwittingly stared at her again, his eyes slowly trailing from her hair, down her back, to her… He shook the somewhat lustful thoughts out his mind again. What? He couldn't help it. He's only male, after all. He walked slowly over to her, lightly coughing to get her attention.
He turned around, still holding onto the ring. "Yes?"
He shunned away the last of his thoughts about her, his face turning back into its indifferent and uncaring mask. "I'm goin' back to the others." He replied in the coldest voice he could muster at the moment, but it just didn't have the same effect. He still had feelings for her, not much, but just that little bit hindered his normally icy voice.
"Ok, let's go!" She walked towards the door, leaving him to trail along behind her. Which just gave him a perfect view of her back, her legs, and her…
Ah! Just stop staring at her ass!
"Um, Squall?"
He snapped his head up to meet hers, hoping that she hadn't seen the angle of his gaze.
"Is 'he' here?"
'He'?
"Seifer."
He could have smacked himself in the face. Of course 'he' was Seifer. Who else would she be thinking of?
You know you wanted her to have been thinking of you.
Shut up!
He clenched his eyes, willing the thoughts to the back of his head. Now how to answer her? He decided to tell her the brutal truth. Reveal to her that her boyfriend is nothing more than a scumbag that couldn't even make it into SeeD, no matter how many times he took the damn test.
"… … No. He's not in SeeD."
"Oh…" Her voice sounded disappointed. But that was what he wanted, wasn't it? Then why did it hurt so much to see her like this?
It's because you're in love with her. You just won't admit it.
Shut up for the last time!
When he lifted his head up, he saw her leaving through the door. He hung his head down. He was too confused. He seemed to be battling more with himself than with the enemy.
He looked up to see her racing back into the room, stopping in front of front of him.
"Oh yeah, my name's Rinoa."
Rinoa… Oh what a beautiful name… Perfect for such a beautiful woman…
She reached out and took his hand, slowly shaking it. "Very pleased to meet you Squall."
His heart began to increase its beating, no matter how much he willed it to slow down.
She was pleased to meet me…? No, she's just being polite…but wait a minute… why do I care?
She put her hand on her knees, bending up to look at him. "SeeD members dance quite well, don't they?"
He didn't know how to respond to her little flirty comment. He wanted to say something charming, but then chided himself for still thinking of her that way. He put his emotions aside and answered truthfully.
"Approach your target inconspicuously at a dance party… There may be missions requiring this sort of subterfuge. It's expected of SeeD to learn various skills."
She straightened up, a little slowly, a small pout dancing on her lips.
"Oh… so it's work related. That's too bad…" She turned away from him. He shook his head, his thoughts flitting through once again.
Idiot idiot idiot…
She flicked her hair over her shoulder, catching his eye. The movement was amazingly sexy, the silky jet-black stands flying over her bare shoulder and landing softly on her back. He just stared, swallowing the troublesome lump forming once again in his throat.
"Ok, I'll meet you there." With that, she ran out, leaving him staring at the spot where she just was. He put his hand on his forehead, the other on his hip. He closed his eyes as he felt the oncoming migraine.
This is all too much…
He gently rubbed his temples before heading out the door to meet with the others.
Author's Note: Ok, pretty long chapter for such a short period in the game, no? Well, I just kinda wanted to focus in on Squall's thoughts more, tell you what I think might have gone through his mind at the time. If you like it, please review. But as always, I ask you not to send any flames if you don't. Now I think I might have the next chapter up by at least Sunday, probably sooner though. But I'm really not sure. It depends on how things are. Oh and this is besides the point of the story, but I just feeling like telling you. I finally graduated 8th grade today! Whoo hoo! I also got valedictorian, so that was totally like awesome. Uh… sorry, I'll be on my way now, and let you go review. (hint hint) ^_^