Chapter 16- Another one?

Vamp Queen

Third-person perspective

Time: twenty days after last chapter, forty days since they came to the Garden

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Hey, I'm back. I thank all those who read and reviewed, but if you're reading this and you do not review, I WILL BE WATCHING YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahem, thanks.

I know that a lot of you will have ideas about this chapter and the meaning to the title. Well, you're in for a surprise. I love surprises!

In an upcoming chapter, Zell-Zell, my co-author, will be writing a chapter together. I can tell already that it will be strange…

Why do you people hate Raven so much? Oh, well. On with the chapter… *grumbling* no one likes my character… how dare they…

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Raven knelt and tried to catch her breath. She now saw why Squall was a good opponent for Seifer. Not only was he strong, but also there was a resiliency that she admired.

Something was not right, though. She was incredibly strong and he wasn't trying very hard, yet she was loosing. She was too weakened to continue. There was something wrong, really wrong.

"Are you ok?" Squall went over to her and knelt down. She was paler than usual and was having a hard time breathing. "You don't look very good."

She waved him off. "I'm fine."

"Then try standing." He realized that this was a bad idea when she looked at him stubbornly and tried desperately to stand. "Never mind. I'm taking you to the med center." He picked her up and started walking.

Raven didn't protest. She was too tired. She looked at the faint red marks on her arms and sighed. "Squall?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"How do you feel about Terra?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "I thought that you hated her and the only reason that you took care of her was because of your duties as a sorceress."

The black-haired girl glared at him. Ever since Seifer had told the entire Garden about her being a sorceress, the word didn't stop cropping up in conversations. Thankfully, everyone accepted her as one and no ridicule had come. Squall was the only guy she knew of who had read her diary and lived to tell about it. "I care about her too. I hate her, yes, but there's a part of me that doesn't. I don't know. It's just strange. And now that you've avoided that question for a few minutes, what's your answer?"

"You don't give up, do you?"

"Nope."

He shook his head, chuckling slightly. "All right, I give in. I like her. A lot. She's really special." His face darkened. "But that chap-wearing idiot is always around her. And hanging on her. And flirting with her. And…"

"Ok, ok, I get the picture. Geez, you're really obsessed with her." She laughed at his scowl then got serious. "If you really care about her, get her to stop this." She showed him the forty marks on her arms. "She has the real thing. She's been cutting herself and she won't eat. Send Irvine to get me from the med center and talk to her. I want to drill it into his head that he needs to allow her to breath every once in a while."

"Alright, fine. If it will get that jerk away from her." Squall noticed the vacant expression on his friend's face. "Raven? Is there something that you're not telling me?"

"…"

"Raven?"

"…"

"Hello?"

"He took advantage of me."

Squall stared at her in confusion and disbelief. "Who?"

"I fell in love with him and while I was drunk, he took advantage of me."

"Who?" Squall was angry now. Raven was as close to him as Elonie was.

"Seifer." Squall's eyes blazed and he began to plan extreme pain for the blonde idiot.

"Squall," she said, noticing the look of extreme hatred on his face. "Don't hurt him. He didn't know. He just didn't know." With that, she stared off into space and refused to talk to him for the rest of the walk.

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Squall walked into Terra and Quistis's room and looked to Irvine. "Raven asked for you to pick her up from the med center. She needs your help with something." Irvine was obviously confused as to why she wanted him, but went anyways.

Squall waited for him to be completely gone before he turned to Terra. "Is Quistis here?"

"No. Squall, did she really want to talk to him or were you just trying to get rid of him?" she was surprised that he smiled and said, "A little of both."

She grinned back. "So, what do you want?"

He kissed her.

Terra, in her complete and total shock, could only kiss him back. He might have been shy and withdrawn when he talked to people, but there was nothing reclusive about his kiss. He pulled the wisp that she considered a body now closer to him and deepened the kiss. She was in heaven.

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. His were searching for something, hers, betraying everything that she felt at the moment. Without looking away from her eyes, Squall took her arm and rolled up her sleeve. She tried to pull away, but his gentle grip was strong and stubborn. "Why do you do this to yourself?" he whispered, tracing each of the scars. "Is it because you feel that no one loves you? Or that they don't care about you?" he lifted her arm up and slowly kissed each of the lines, causing her to shiver. "So many love you, Terra. Each in their own way." He looked back up at her. Tell me why, his eyes whispered. Share all of your secrets. Tell me that you love me too.

"I love you," he whispered and he kissed her again.

Once the kiss ended, he saw tears in her eyes. He pulled her into a tight hug and stroked her hair. "It's ok to cry," he told her.

And she did.

When she fell asleep in his arms, he took her to her bed and laid her there. He sat with her and petted her hair until he, too, fell asleep.

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Irvine sauntered into the med center and tipped his hat to the receptionist. "Where might I be able to find Raven Moss, pretty lady?" he asked, winking at the teenage girl. She giggled and pointed to a door. He tipped his hat again and walked through.

"What was so important that you had to pry me away from Terra?" he asked, the smile gone from his face, eyes, and voice.

Raven glared at the cowboy-wannabe and said "Squall needed a chance and he couldn't get it with your ass hovering around her. Once I get the results of my blood test, I'll be ready to talk to you. Or I can start now. Whichever you prefer."

He leaned against the wall. "I'm listening."

"Terra needs her space. You're smothering her. Squall will be able to take care of her for now. Take a vacation from her. Maybe that's why she won't eat. She feels like you're penning her in. she never liked touchy-feely type of person. She wants to be in control.

"I always knew that she would be a better leader than me because of that. I just wish now that I had given her that responsibility. Maybe… maybe Lunie wouldn't be dead." She looked down. "Maybe I killed her in a way. God, why am I being so open? Just forget that I said all of that, 'k?"

Before Irvine could say anything, Dr. Kadawaki walked in with a strange look on her face. Raven stood up to greet her. "Is there something wrong, Doctor?"

"Have there been any problems in your family with pregnancy?"

Raven's scowl deepened. "Yes, my mom had a lot of problems and my grandmother died giving birth to my dad. Why?"

"Well, why didn't you come see me? I could have helped you with this. No wonder you're so weak."

"Hold on. Why am I so weak? What's wrong?" Irvine had never seen her so upset.

The doctor looked at her, surprised. "You didn't know?" she asked. When Raven shook her head, she sighed.

"Raven, you're pregnant."

She simply looked at her blankly. How could she be pregnant? Then she remembered that night. Raven collapsed in uncontrollable sobs. Irvine and Dr. Kadawaki looked at each other, unsure of what they could do. In the end, they just left her alone.

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