The Final Fantasy: Part I
There is no denying the fact that I miss her truly¡¦her wit, her charm, her insatiable thirst for adventure and action. I don¡¯t know why I do this to myself. She¡¯s with someone else now. God, I wish I could just see her again, to feel her warm breath upon my lips, to caress the soft peach glow of her perfect heart-shaped face. I guess this is really over between us. What happened?
A story by: Walking Contradiction
A fanfiction of Squaresoft¡¯s ¡°Final Fantasy VIII¡±
Chapter two: Better to have loved and lost¡¦
The tall and impish-looking 19-year old commander silently gazed out towards the vast and endless horizon, staring at the meshing warm colors of pink, purple, orange, and red: the beauty of nightfall. Every evening, after everyone else had cleaned up and went back to their dormitories, Squall Leonhart would always stay behind at the third story balcony. Sometimes, he¡¯d stay there until past midnight, just gazing at the twinkling stars and the shimmering moonlight cast upon the sea. He¡¯d been doing this ever since she disappeared, ¡°she¡± being his short-time love, Rinoa Heartilly.
¡°Isn¡¯t it just gorgeous?¡± she gasped softly, as she spotted another shooting star. Squall ran his fingers through his wild mane and blushed, not staring at the sky like his comrade was doing, but staring at something else¡¦her, of course. ¡°Yes,¡± he said, never letting his eyes leave from the beholding sight. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± Rinoa smiled, her angelic eyes twinkling with pure joy. ¡°It¡¯s even better out here with you.¡± Squall felt his heart catch in his throat. ¡°R-really?¡± Rinoa turned to face him and pointed up towards the infinite sky with her right index finger. ¡°You saw it, right?¡± Her lips curled into a little smile. Oh, how he loved her. Squall threw away all feelings of pride and fear. Shaking a little, he smiled back and stepped forward to wrap his arms around her small waist. Rinoa seemed to be taken aback by this sudden move, but she embraced it, putting her own arms around Squall¡¯s neck. His face inched nearer to hers, and she felt her eyes flutter shut, her insides swooning and bursting. Softly, Squall¡¯s lips brushed hers, and she felt her face flush. She sighed with content, and kissed back. While the others were celebrating the Seeds¡¯ victorious return from the ultimate battle with the sorceress from the future, Ultimecia, the two lovers stayed outside all night, watching the night stars twinkle, embracing themselves in a new-found love.
Squall sighed and threw a small pebble out to the ocean, letting the small rock skip three times across before sinking to a depressing fate. He just couldn¡¯t stop thinking about her. No matter how hard he tried to cast all memories of her aside, the feelings would just linger more frequently, driving him to his breaking point.
¡°I just have to see her¡¦¡±
Squall couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. Fiance or no fiancé, Squall decided to go back to Deling City and demand to see her. He needed to hear her voice speak to him. So far, he hadn¡¯t talked to her at all during the past two years. If she was really going to get married, he needed her to tell him with her own voice, not from anyone else. If she truly loved the other guy, Squall decided to let her go. He hung his head defeatedly, his arms resting on the ivory surface. Yes, that¡¯s what he was going to do.
Little did Squall know that a sleek, navy-haired vixen was spying on him from the corner of the large dining hall. Seeing Squall¡¯s head sink down with his shoulders hunched over the tepid waters confused her. Every night, she¡¯d creep out of her dorm to spy on this handsome commander. She had an eye on him for the longest time. She was entranced by his mysterious nature and sharp, good looks. The tall, dark, and handsome type was a major go for her. For years, she had admired him from a distance, Squall never knowing. This girl¡¯s name was Pavlova Lock. She was an 18-year old SeeD who specialized in civilian protection. She was popular among her peers for her striking, exotic beauty and cheeky personality. Pavlova could have dated any guy in the entire Garden. However, she found the guys at Balamb to be rather dull and boring. They often failed miserably in trying to court her, bringing her flowers, candy, the typical gifts to offer a girl. Squall Leonhart, however, was an exception. He was the only guy who never made a move on her and she was intrigued by him immediately. Always by himself, training his already toned and lean, muscular body late into the night every day, everyone labeled him as a ¡®lone wolf.¡¯ Pavlova tried talking to him once and it nearly ended in disaster. She began to flirt with him, just as she did to other guys. Tossing him a ¡®look,¡¯ fluttering her dark eyelashes, and making ¡°goo-goo¡± eyes at him, the only response she¡¯d receive from him would be an empty stare¡¦then, he¡¯d walk off. Pavlova felt genuinely confused and angry. No guy could resist her! What was wrong with this boy? Ever since then, she became obsessed with him, desperately trying to win his heart, but to no avail. Some time ago, Pavlova heard some gossip from some local students that Squall was actually dating! Back then, he was off to fight the sorceress from the future who wanted to take over the universe. He was never really around the Garden that much. Pavlova waited patiently, counting down the days when he¡¯d finally return. Then, she could start fresh, for by then, she had collected as much information she could about him. When Squall did return with his group, a bunch of dinky SeeDs that Pavlova personally detested, she constructed an elaborate plan to finally capture his heart once and for all. She decided that the Seed victory return party would be the best time. When everyone else would leave, she¡¯d present herself to him as a fresh new person. Her timing would be impeccable! Well, she was wrong. It turned out that Squall was the one who returned as a totally different person. His usual serious face was smiling, and his walk even had a cheery bounce to it. What had happened? Then, Pavlova saw her, the girl who stood next to Squall the entire night during the party. Pavlova eyed her jealously. Humph! This girl couldn¡¯t even compare with her! Her short dark, jet-black hair was coarse-looking, whereas Pavlova¡¯s long, shiny navy ¡®do was as soft as silk. The girl¡¯s face was too round; Pavlova¡¯s was a perfect oval. Her height was rather average, whereas Pavlova stood at a sleek 5¡¯6¡±. What could he possibly see in her! Pavlova spied on them the entire night, seeing them converse and crack jokes with their group. Ugh, the gross and mentally-challenged Zell Dincht, the putrid, selfish, and conceited former instructor, Quistis Trepe, the dinky and clownish ditz, Selphie Tilmitt, and some weird long-haired cowboy guy who looked like a woman that Pavlova had never seen before. The whole evening was detestable, according to Pavlova. She kept her wary eye on Squall and his mystery girl, though. They didn¡¯t really do anything, however. They weren¡¯t holding hands, no kissing, nothing! Pavlova smirked to herself. She let the evening pass on, finally enjoying herself when a cute guy from Trabia Garden introduced himself to her. Of course, she¡¯d lead him on to thinking that he actually had a chance with her. When she was done breaking the poor guy¡¯s fragile heart, Pavlova realized that she let her guard down. Squall and the mystery girl was nowhere to be found. She walked around frantically, searching for the familiar faces. Suddenly, she heard a loud screech coming from the opposite side of the room. Pavlova looked to see Selphie Tilmitt pointing excitedly towards the balcony to the Cowboy guy, who was holding up a camcorder on his shoulder. Now, what was she acting so frenzied over? Pavlova became slightly interested and made herself over to the area. She casually leaned against the marble frame way of the balcony, pretending to enjoy the party, but really looking out from the corner of her eye to see what all the hubbub was about. Pavlova gasped. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. Squall had his arms around the mystery girl with a content look on his face.
¡®He wouldn¡¯t even¡¦no!¡¯ Squall¡¯s face inched nearer to the girl¡¯s and, then¡¦.he closed his eyes and bent his head to kiss her! On the lips! Pavlova pulled away from the disgusting image and put both hands over her rapidly beating heart. She felt fresh tears stinging her eyes. ¡®How could that bitch steal him away from me like that! Nobody can do that! NOBODY!¡¯ Pavlova ran out of the hall and steadied herself against the entryway.
Tears flowed freely from her eyes. ¡®He can¡¯t do this to me. He belongs to me! ME! He¡¯s just confused with that beady-eyed wench! She¡¯s definitely the one leading him on! Well, this isn¡¯t over. He will be mine¡¦¡¯ With that last thought lingering in her mind, she stormed off to the dormitory to isolate herself with her anger.
That was the last time Pavlova had seen the girl around him. Not long afterwards, Squall¡¯s new cheerful attitude had disappeared completely, leaving him looking more forlorn than before. He became quieter and more reserved. Even his friends couldn¡¯t cheer him up. That¡¯s when Pavlova came to the realization that the girl was out of the picture. From the way Squall acted and looked, the girl must have dumped him, rather than the otherwise.
¡®She really is a supreme bitch. Oh well, she doesn¡¯t deserve him anyway¡¦¡¯
Pavlova found out that Squall took daily trips down to the great hall where balls and feasts were held. It was also the place where the SeeD inauguration party was held, and also the last victory party. He¡¯d stray over to the balcony where he¡¯d stand still and watch the sun go down and stars come out. Squall would stay long hours after midnight, until he¡¯d see the first flicker of daylight. Pavlova almost felt his pain.
¡®How dare she leave him like this! Oh, she¡¯ll pay, she will. She will realize what she lost when she sees me in his arms one of these days!¡¯
Pavlova took one last look at her love and snuck back down to the dorms. She yawned, but felt wide-awake. She had a plan for Squall, and this time, she was one-hundred percent sure that it would work. She almost skipped happily back to her room.
¡®Oh, Squall, you¡¯ll see how much better I am than she will ever be. You and I are going to be a perfect match, you¡¯ll see.¡¯
***To be continued***
