Sammy-Chan: Welp, another chapter! Enjoy, enjoy!!
~Chapter 13: Afraid of Falling in Love~
Selphie walked along the shores of Dollet with her blond-haired companion. The sea was so beautiful in the evening. Zell held her hand smiling at the amusment on the tiny girls face as she saw the waves crash on the nearby cliffs.
"I'm seriously worried about her …" She sighed.
***
Squall woke up to the sun shinning through the curtains. He slowly got up and peeked into the other room. She was still asleep. They had rented 2 rooms this time. Scratching the back of his head he headed towards the bathroom to take his morning shower. So many thoughts were triggered. Obviously the Ultemecia thing had not been a dream. But why had she kissed him last night. Heat rose in his cheeks at the thought that maybe she had guess what he was going to say. I think I'm falling in love with you. That was so stupid, why'd he have to even start that sentence. It was true but he doubted the feeling was mutual. He got out of the shower, got dressed and looked at the time. Holy shit, it's 10! Only dressed halfway (meaning he had no shirt on) he went to wake his companion. He shook her shoulder as he tried to pull his socks on.
"Rinoa … wake up." He said hurriedly.
"Wha …" She mumbled.
"It's 10!"
"Ugh …"She shoved her face back in the pillow.
"I'm going to the restaurant next door and I'm getting breakfast … you better be dressed by the time I come back …" He said and pulled on a shirt, "Or else I'll dress you myself."
She mumbled something about killing him and hid under the covers. Rolling his eyes he darted out the door and headed towards the tiny restaurant. Rinoa peeked through the covers. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. She slowly got out of bed and headed to the shower.
He ran across the traffic-free street into the little food place.
"Hi …" He wheezed to the clerk.
"Hello sir …"
"I'll have … 3 eggs and …"
"Oh, we don't serve breakfast at this time … sorry."
"Oh man … he looked up at the tiny blackboard in the back of the clerk advertising the lunch specials. He noticed "cheese burgers". That was what Rinoa usually always had at the Garden cafeteria.
"I'll have two of those … and … one hamburger and two large fries. To go."
"Alright." After waiting 3 minutes, paying and picking up the package, he darted back out the door, across the street and was going to head back up to the hotel but over heard a conversation coming from an alleyway.
"Listen, if anyone ever finds out about Suogi." He didn't manage to hear the other part but he did catch a word, "…Desmond…"
He tried hearing more but the conversations were droned out by a zooming car. He did see a wealthy looking man escape by the alley and into his fancy looking car but that was that.
***
Rinoa got out of the shower, the hot water seemed to make her even more sleepy. She slowly got dressed, brushed her teeth and dried her hair. Then collapsed in an empty chair. Man, she was tired. She would have fallen asleep if Leonheart hadn't barged in nearly making her hit the ceiling in shock.
"Over heard something!" He said tossing her the brown paper bag with the food. "Fuck it's cold out there!" His cheeks were red from being exposed to the cold.
"Ok, please knock next time you come in …" Rinoa said.
"Why?" He breathed.
"For obvious reasons …" She said setting down the bag on the nearby table.
"Ok … I got you a cheeseburger … and fries. Nothing else available."
"That's fine …" She drew a chair at the table and fished out the packages.
"So …" He took the other empty chair and took out his own lunch.
"So what?" She asked taking out the fries.
"Yah … we should check into that Desmond thing. Well, the weapon department thing." He said.
"Guess so …" She said taking a bite out of her cheeseburger.
"Why did you kiss me last night?" He blurted out.
She stayed silent, her head bowed for a moment. You couldn't really tell she was blushing 10 shades of red. "To shut you up."
Another slight pause, "Ok … you never let me finish my sentence." He said.
"Don't finish it." She said.
"I'm serious you know …" Now he knew that she knew.
"I doubt it." She responded looking in his eyes.
"What are you scared of?" He asked leaning across the table to her.
***
"She's scared of falling in love …" Selphie said leaning on the railing.
Zell listened intently, "Give me a break Selphie, Squall won't rape her or anything …"
"I know … I'm scared for her. I mean … I don't know. She likes him. I think he's the only guy who … hasn't judged her like the council has."
"Squall's something else." Zell said simply.
"Yah, he is."
"You think she was better off with the Almasy guy?" Zell laughed.
"No!" Selphie said.
"Selph, babe, I've never met Rinoa. But … if she's all you been telling me she is … Squall's probably in love with her too."
***
"Nothing … I just ... " Rinoa responded. She bit her lip nervously. "You …"
"Don't know who you are …" He finished the sentence. "Yeah, I do. You are Rinoa Heartilly, 17, soon to be 18. You're commander of Galbadia Garden. That's only half of who you are. I know. I also know you hate Sefeir and you can't get along with your dad. Your sister drives you nuts but you love her a lot. Selphie's your best friend and she's the only one that you can really confide in. You like cheeseburgers, your golden streaks in your hair are actually natural for some unknown reason. Fuck, Rinoa. Besides Selphie, I think I'm the only one who know you for who you are."
She just stared at him. He continued, "You're not even half as confident as you put out to be. But your father, and I quote, 'Don't let anyone see your insecurities.' You're living in a vacuum. You only do what's right according to the council. Don't you ever follow your heart sometimes?" He looked at her helplessly.
She sighed. "Squall …" She tried to find words but nothing came. She took a deep breath. "Think about it Squall. When you were little, did you ever wish you were greater then what you really are? I mean … you aren't a noble. Ever wish you were?"
"I wish I was now … it wouldn't affect your image if I was, right?" He said bitterly.
"Well don't. You think your life is tough, well look at mine. If I do anything out of line, if I just follow my heart, they'll do everything to crush me." She almost whispered. "I was 3 years old and there was this dog that came in my backyard. I named him Angelo, he was just a baby. Well, I used to go feed the dog every day with just some crap out of my fridge and when my dad found out, he caught the dog and he had it killed. I was three Squall. You want to know why he killed it? Because dogs are farmer animals. Meant for poorer families. Instead he got me a cat, just because they're supposed to be more sophisticated! This is the shit I have to go through everyday!"
Squall stayed silent. "I can't just, be with you because I love you. I have to … be with someone rich, because they're rich. No one really cares if they beat me or if I hate them, as long as I'm with someone that's … not who they seem to be." She finished.
"You scared I'll end up like the dog?" He asked.
Rinoa just replied, "Squall, I really do … love you. Really, I care about you a lot more then I did about the dog … which is why, it would hurt a lot more if I lost you …"
Sammy-Chan: Awww, so sweet!! R&R everyone! Oh, and if you haven't already, you might want to re-read the story because I made A LOT of changes in the first few chapters! Thank you all reviewers! Please tell people about this story, I can't keep writing without feed-back.