Disclaimer: I don't own FF8...

Author's Note: Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Here's a little bit of an earlier update for ya! Hope you like it!

Rhapsody

Chapter 12- You're Beautiful

Squall walked through the forest, searching for Rinoa. He walked on and on, but there still wasn't any sign of her. Something inside of him knew that something was terribly wrong. He had to get to Rinoa. His steps turning into a run, Squall frantically searched the forest. "Rinoa?" He called. "Rinoa, where are you?!" Squall kept on running, searching for any sign of the girl who held his heart. He stopped suddenly, as he caught sight of a still form on the ground...

"No!" He shouted as he saw who it was. "Rinoa..." He whispered.

"I told you that you would kill her." Caraway said as he came up behind him. "You didn't listen to me when I told you to stay away."

"I...I didn't do this." Squall told him.

"Yes, you did, Squall. You got the ransom note. It was from one of your enemies. An enemy of Balamb Garden. It had nothing to do with Rinoa, but just her being associated with you has gotten her killed."

"No! That's not true!" Squall shouted, trying to block out Caraway's words.

"You can't deny it anymore, Squall. YOU killed Rinoa."

"No! I didn't kill her! I DIDN'T!"

Squall shot up from his bed. God, it was just a dream... His heart was pounding loudly and he was sweating profusely. There was no way he could get back to sleep now. Turning his head, he looked at the clock...7:37 am. Time to get up anyway.

As Squall got dressed, he still couldn't shake off the feelings that the dream had stirred up in him. What if it had been some prophecy of what was to come? He could never live with himself if something like that would happen to Rinoa. I have to go see her...

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"I can't believe you two! You're going to make me go shopping alone?" Rinoa asked Quistis and Selphie .

"I'm sorry, Rin, but you know I can't go. I've got to work out these bills and all this other crap." Quistis told her.

"What about you, Selphie?" Rinoa demanded. "What's your excuse?"

"Tim wanted me to help him out downstairs today. I'm really sorry, but I promised him. Do you want me to tell him that something came up?" Selphie asked.

"No, if you promised, you promised. I guess I will go alone then." Rinoa said as she picked up her purse and left the room.

I guess it's not their fault if they're busy, but I hate going shopping alone. Who's gonna help me pick out an outfit, now? Sighing, she walked through the Club. She was just about to walk out the door, when it opened. "Squall!" She said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, but it looks like you're going out. Want me to come back later?" He asked.

"Absolutely not! This is too perfect! You can come shopping with me!" She exclaimed happily.

"Shopping? Definitely not." Squall told her, backing away.

"Aw, come on, Squall! Please?" She put on her most pathetic puppy-dog look. "Quistis and Selphie are busy, so they can't come. You don't want me to go alone, do you?"

"No...but shopping just isn't my thing." He looked at her and felt those words melting away. "Okay, fine! I'll go with you." He said in defeat.

"Yes!" She said as she jumped into his arms. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Yeah..." He mumbled. "Loads of fun..."

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"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Squall grumbled as they entered the store.

"No complaining!" Rinoa said as she playfully hit him on the shoulder. "Now," She said, looking around, "I need to find something to wear to my next performance and you are going to help me."

"Of course, your Highness." Squall joked. "Where would you like to begin?"

Rinoa smiled. "Humor me, okay?" She looked around. "Where to begin... I guess we should just look around. If you see anything worthwhile, show it to me, okay?"

They walked around for a while, but nothing was really catching her eye. She looked through rack after rack, and sighed in defeat. "Isn't there anything I can wear in this store?"

"How about this?" Rinoa turned around to look at the dress that Squall was holding and gasped. The dress was made from a beautiful light blue material and was very long. It was held up by two thin straps made from tiny crystal stones. "It's gorgeous." Rinoa said softly.

"Try it on." Squall urged. "I'll wait right here."

Rinoa took the dress and nodded. She walked into the dressing room and slid the dress on. It fit her perfectly. Smiling uncertainly, she exited the dressing room and approached Squall. Twirling, she said, "What do you think?"

Squall's jaw dropped when he saw her. She looked like an angel. In that instant, he forgot about being a danger to Rinoa, about Caraway's words, about Seifer. All he saw was her...Rinoa. "You're beautiful." He said softly.

Rinoa blushed at Squall's words. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah, I do." He said sincerely.

"Well, thank you." Rinoa smiled softly and headed back into the dressing room.

Moments later, Rinoa came out of the dressing room, dressed in her normal clothes. She paid for the dress and then exited the shop with Squall.

"Thanks for finding that dress for me." Rinoa told Squall as they began to walk. "It really is perfect."

Squall nodded. "As soon as I saw it, I could see you in it. I'm sure you would have found it without me, though."

Rinoa shook her head. "I'm not so sure. I was honestly ready to just give up and leave, when you showed it to me."

"Well, anyway, I'm glad that I was able to help."

"Me too." Rinoa smiled. "Here we are!"

Squall looked up, confused. They had stopped just outside of a restaurant named Angelo's. "What are we doing here?"

Rinoa laughed. "We're having lunch here. Come on." Rinoa said as she walked in.

Squall followed behind her. "You didn't tell me we were going out for lunch."

"Well, I didn't know we were." She smiled. "I guess you could say that this is my way of thanking you for all the help you have given me. Plus, I like being with you in public, and seeing the evil glares that the other girls give me." She grinned.

"What?" Squall asked. "Why would they do that?"

"Hmmm...I don't know. Maybe because you are so adorable!" Rinoa laughed.

Squall blushed. "No I'm not."

A waitress came up to them, then, and escorted them to a table by the window. As they took their seats, Squall said, "You know, you really don't have to do this."

"I know." Rinoa said cheerfully. "But I want to."

The waitress returned minutes later to take their order. They both had the same thing: a burger and fries, with a Coke.

"So, have you heard anything about Seifer?" Rinoa asked later.

"No. The last thing I heard was that he's in some kind of psychological recovery group." Squall told her. "Maybe he'll get the help he needs."

Rinoa nodded. "I don't really care what happens to him anymore. After what he did...all the danger he put me through...I don't think I can ever forgive him.

You're a danger... Squall grimaced. No one is safe around you...

"Squall?" Rinoa waved her hand in front of his face. "Squall!" Still, no response. "Squall, are you all right?" Rinoa said as she shook him gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He told her.

"Are you sure? Maybe we should go." Rinoa realized that Squall had barely touched his food. "Aren't you going to finish eating?"

"I'm not really hungry." Squall replied. You don't want her death on your conscience...

"Squall, I think we should go. Come on." They both stood up and Rinoa paid the bill. Once outside, Rinoa turned to Squall puzzled. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Are you feeling sick?"

Squall shook his head. "No, really, Rinoa, I'm okay. It must have been the air or something."

Rinoa was skeptical, but she smiled anyway. "Okay. As long as you're alright."

"I am, honestly." Squall assured her.

They walked back to the Club together. Once outside of the door, Rinoa turned to Squall. "I'll be performing tomorrow night. You're coming, right?"

This is your chance to tell her, Squall. Tell her you can't be with her...that you're a danger. But when he looked into her eyes, so full of hope and happiness, he couldn't bring himself to do it. "Yeah." He told her. "Yeah, I'll be there."

Author's Note: Sorry, I know this chapter was really short and really stupid. Bear with me please, hopefully the next chapter will be better!