Disclaimer: I don't own FF8...

Author's Note: Thanks to for all the reviews everyone! To Embodyment of the Inferno: Thanks for the suggestion! I really think that that song fits the characters, but I'm not sure how I can fit it into this particular fic. I'll definitely try to work it in, though. Thanks again!

Rhapsody

Chapter 5- Hurting

A bruised and battered Seifer walked into the Star, swaying back and forth. "Well, was it?" Seifer pressed. "I must admit, I'm flattered."

At this point, Rinoa was furious. Who the hell was Seifer to come harassing her every time she was happy?! She had had just about enough. "I would never sing something like that for you!" Rinoa's glare was terrifying. "Get out of here! Why can't you understand that we're finished?! There is no you and me anymore! get a life!" She shouted.

"Bravo, excellent speech Ran!" He exclaimed.

Rinoa shook her head in disgust. "You're drunk, Seifer."

"Am not! Let's go Ran, come on! We needs to go." He said. "Hey, whats you staring ats?!" He said, staring at the wall. "You wanna fight?!"

Squall got out of his seat and approached Seifer. "That's enough. Go home, Seifer." He said coldly.

"Hey, is Swall! Hows ya doins?" He slurred. "Rans, this yours man?"

"Stop it, Seifer!" Rinoa exclaimed. "How much have you had to drink?"

"A couple ofs beers...nuthins much."

Tim decided that he had better step in. "Alright Pal, that's enough. Let's go." Tim told him.

"Where's we goings? I donts wants to go."

Tim grabbed Seifer by the shirt. "Too bad, Buddy. Come on." He said as he dragged Seifer out of the club.

Once they were gone, Rinoa took the stage again. "Once again, thank you all for coming here. I'm very sorry that you had to witness that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go." She said as she hurried off the stage and up to her room.

Squall watched her go and it saddened him. She looked like she was going to burst out crying. Quistis noticed the look on Squall's face and approached him.

"Go after her." Quistis told him.

Squall stared at her. "What?"

"I said go after her. She's obviously hurting and you seem to help with that." She said.

"Why don't you go help her? You're her best friend, aren't you?" Squall asked.

"That's not the point!" She exclaimed. "Listen to me Squall. I don't know you very well, hell, I don't even know you. What I do know is that you make my friend very happy. Do you know how depressed she was after her break-up with Seifer? She hasn't been this happy in a long time." Quistis sighed. "But every time Rinoa is happy, Seifer finds some way to ruin it. She wanted to talk to you tonight, so why don't you go to her? Please?"

Squall sighed. "Fine, but only for a minute."

Quistis smiled. "Thank you, Squall. This will mean so much to Rinoa."

Squall nodded and walked away from her and up the stairs. Once he reached Rinoa's door, he stopped. What the hell am I going to say to her? He knocked lightly on the door.

"Go away, Quistis." Rinoa called. "Or Selphie. Whichever one you are. Just please leave me alone."

"Rinoa...it's me...Squall." He said.

Rinoa opened the door slightly. "Squall?" She asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you would have been long gone by now."

"Quistis asked me to check on you." He told her.

Rinoa's heart sank. "Oh..." Was all she said. "Well, I'm fine. You can go home now."

"You don't look fine to me." Squall said.

"You don't have to worry about me, okay Squall?" Rinoa snapped. "Just leave me alone."

Squall closed his eyes in agitation. "Fine, have it your way." He said as he turned to walk away.

"Wait, Squall!" Rinoa exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just been a hard week."

Squall nodded. "I understand. You probably want to be alone..."

"Actually, could you stay for a while? I'd really like to talk to you." She told him.

"I guess, but only for a few minutes. It's getting late." He said.

Rinoa nodded and opened the door fully to let him in. "Have a seat." She said casually.

Squall sat down in a chair and Rinoa sat on the edge of her bed. "What did you want to talk about?" Squall asked.

Rinoa fidgeted with her hands. "Well, it's about the other day, when Seifer kidnapped me." She paused. "I'm sorry if I offended you when I kissed you. I don't know what came over me."

"Whatever. It's no big deal, Rinoa." He said.

"No big deal!" Rinoa exclaimed. "Then why did you walk away from me?" A sudden thought popped into her head. "Oh my God, you have a girlfriend, don't you? Of course you would. I'm sorry, Squall, I had no idea." Rinoa trailed off, embarrassed.

"Rinoa, calm down. I don't have a girlfriend." He told her.

"Y-you don't?" Rinoa asked. "You sure?"

Squall fought back a smile. "I think I would know if I did."

Rinoa smiled. "You should probably go. Like you said before, it's late. I'm sorry that I was such an ass tonight. I guess the whole Seifer thing is really getting to me."

"Seifer's the only ass that I saw tonight. Don't let him get to you. He won't be able to get to you anymore."

"What do you mean?" Rinoa asked, confused.

"I filed a report against him at Balamb Garden." Squall explained. "What he did to you the other day was illegal. If all goes well, Seifer should be in jail by the end of next week."

"Are you serious?" She asked, disbelievingly. She flung her arms around him. "Thank you so much, Squall! You don't know how happy this makes me!"

"You're welcome." He said. "I really should be going now, though. I'm going to be out of town for a week on a mission. Are you going to be alright?"

Rinoa nodded. "Be safe. I'll be waiting for you to return."

"I will." With that, he turned and walked out the door.

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Rinoa sighed in frustration as she put down her book. This is useless. What's the point in trying to read when all I can think about is him? It had been two days since Squall had left, and Rinoa missed him terribly. Quistis and Selphie were out shopping and she was starting to wish she had joined them.

"Rinoa?" Tim called from outside her door. "Someone's here to see you."

"Who is it, Tim?" Rinoa asked, puzzled. She certainly wasn't expecting anyone.

"Some guy. Says his name's Irvine Kinneas. Do you want me to send him away?" He asked.

Rinoa opened the door. "I'll go see what he wants."

"Would you like me to stay with you in case he's associated with Seifer?" Tim asked.

Rinoa nodded. "If you don't mind, Tim, that'd make me feel a lot more comfortable."

They walked down the stairs, Rinoa leading and Tim behind her. She scanned the few people in the club until her eyes rested on a solitary figure sitting at the bar. "Is that him?" Rinoa asked Tim.

"Yep, that's the one. Do you know him?" He asked.

"Not exactly, but you don't have to worry. He's Squall's friend. I wonder why he's here..." A feeling of dread built up inside her. "Oh my God, what if it's Squall?" She said worriedly. "Excuse me, Tim." She said as she hurried toward Irvine and sat down next to him.

"Hey, Rinoa." Irvine greeted her. "I don't think we've ever been properly introduced. The name's Irvine Kinneas. I'm a friend of Squall's."

Rinoa nodded impatiently. "Yes, I've seen you with him. Why are you here? Please don't tell me something happened to Squall."

Irvine chuckled. "You really do care about him, don't you? Well, no need to worry 'cause Squall's fine. the reason I came here was to ask you about your friend Selphie." He told her.

"Selphie?" Rinoa asked, surprised. "What about her?"

Irvine grinned sheepishly. "Well, ya see, I'm kinda attracted to her, and I was wondering..."

"You want me to set you up with her?"

Irvine nodded. "Do ya think she'll be interested?"

Rinoa smiled. "Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" She teased. "Come back in two nights and I'll see what I can do."

Irvine stood up and shook her hand. "Thanks Rinoa! I can see why Squall likes ya so much!"

Rinoa blushed. "Squall said that?"

"Not in so many words, but you can tell." He told her. "Well, I better go now. I have some work to do at Garden. See ya!" He said as he waved and left.

"Yeah, see ya..." She said softly.

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Rinoa tossed and turned in her bed that night. No matter which way she turned, she couldn't get comfortable. There was no way she would be getting any sleep tonight. Sighing, Rinoa rolled over to her side and looked at the clock: 3:00 am.

You need to get him off of your mind. This really isn't healthy. She told herself. A thousand questions were swarming through her head. Was Squall hurt? Was he thinking of her? How did he feel about her? Rinoa got up, realizing that this was useless. She couldn't fall asleep and she couldn't stop thinking about Squall. She walked over to her desk and sat down. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, she did the only thing she could do...write a song.

Author's Note: I'll try to write the next chapter sooner then I wrote this one, but with school and homework, it's kinda hard. In the meantime, please review.