Disclaimer: Yeah so I don't own Final Fantasy or Square so none of these
characters are my creations. Seeing as this is loosely based upon the
anime Perfect Blue I suppose I should say that I have nothing to do with
that either. Well read on and hopefully it should get better.
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Actress in the Mirror
Chapter One - Goodbye
The small crowd had neatly gathered into the tiny theatre which was situated in the north west of Deling City. It consisted mainly of young children with their parents along with teenagers and people who were just curious to find out how good the performers and the performance really were. A nervous young woman peered out at them from behind the curtain.
"Wow, this is the biggest crowd we have ever had!" She exclaimed.
She felt an arm wrap itself around her neck and a masculine hand pulled on her cheek. Turning to look she could see that it was the director of the play. He seemed as jolly as ever and she could not help but smile at his cheery nature until he blew the smoke from his cigar into her face.
"Come on Snow White," he bellowed, "it's time for your big speech. Get it done quick and we can be out of here in about 2 hours."
The actress did not share in his enthusiasm for getting the play over and done with as soon as possible. Yes, they had been acting it out for three months now but this was going to be her final performance with the group. Perhaps even her last performance forever. After this she was going to go home, give up her acting career, just so she could spend more time with her boyfriend and all of her friends. She fixed the headband in her hair and stood in the middle of the stage, waiting patiently for the curtains to rise. Glancing at the wings she saw her colleagues smiling at her and a few even gave her the thumbs up sign. This made her feel a little better. She could not understand why she was so nervous, she was fine when acting normally.
"Good luck," the director smiled.
The curtains seemed to fly up past her and all she could see were seats full of smiling people. Some of the children seemed a little restless but a lot of the young girls stared in awe at the beautiful dress which was right in front of their very eyes. The actress with long, raven black hair slowly walked towards the front.
"Ahem," she started. "Hi. A lot of you may not know me. I'm Rinoa, Rinoa Heartilly. Today is going to be my last performance at the Dominion Theatre. I'm leaving the group and I may not be coming back. As I'm leaving this is going to be the last time we show Snow White. I'm the only one with black hair," she joked. There were a few weak laughs in the audience but she did not mind too much. "So anyway on with the show! And seeing as this is my last performance I'm going to give it my all and make sure this evening goes out with a bang! Thank you and enjoy it!"
The audience clapped as she walked out into the wings. All but one, a figure sitting in the corner of the back row was not entirely pleased with what had just been said. He ran his fingers over a scar which ran through his forehead and scowled. He knew exactly where she would be going and why.
***
The classroom on the second floor of Balamb Garden was totally quiet. The class had long since left and all that remained was the woman who had taught it. She was busy writing a few notes about what had gone on and how well the class had behaved for its usual teacher. After all, she was not officially an instructor at the Garden anymore but would often stand in when a tutor was either sick or away. She quickly finished her last sentence and grabbed her coat. She was supposed to be meeting a friend at the car park where they would then go off to Balamb Town. Making sure her glasses were straight and her hair was not a mess she opened the door and was surprised to see her 'date' standing in the doorway. He looked as though he had been meaning to knock but was not sure if he really wanted to.
"Well this is a pleasant surprise," she smiled. "I thought we were supposed to meet at the car park."
He barged past and could not face looking at her. She knew something was wrong and her heart sank as she realised what it was. A small tear escaped from her eye but she quickly wiped it away so that he would not notice. She placed a hand on top of his shoulder. The leather jacket was cold. Funny, she thought, he had once given it to her to keep her warm.
"Squall, is Rinoa, is she coming back?" she finally asked after minutes of silence.
Squall took a while to answer and when he did it was just a nod. The ex- instructor tried to keep herself from bursting into tears but it was just too hard. They came gushing out in an instant and there nothing she could do to stop them.
"Quistis." He was not too sure how he was supposed to comfort her but he walked forward and wiped away her tears.
"Well that's it then," she gulped. "This is the end."
"No. No Quistis it doesn't have to be this way surely," Squall protested.
"I couldn't do that to Rinoa. I think it's best for everyone if we finish."
"You mean break up?"
"Were we actually ever going out?!" she demanded angrily. "Squall we were having an affair! I can't let Rinoa get hurt and neither should you. Do you even still love her?"
"I don't know," he admitted quietly.
That was all Quistis could take. It suddenly dawned upon her that what they were doing was not as innocent as it had once seemed. With Rinoa away she had felt more happy than ever before. Being with Squall made her feel loved. Now she just felt dirty and sick. Opening up the door she beckoned for him to leave. As he slowly wandered aimlessly down the hall she felt a large amount of emotional pain rise up in her.
"Goodbye," she whispered.
_____________________________________________________________________
Actress in the Mirror
Chapter One - Goodbye
The small crowd had neatly gathered into the tiny theatre which was situated in the north west of Deling City. It consisted mainly of young children with their parents along with teenagers and people who were just curious to find out how good the performers and the performance really were. A nervous young woman peered out at them from behind the curtain.
"Wow, this is the biggest crowd we have ever had!" She exclaimed.
She felt an arm wrap itself around her neck and a masculine hand pulled on her cheek. Turning to look she could see that it was the director of the play. He seemed as jolly as ever and she could not help but smile at his cheery nature until he blew the smoke from his cigar into her face.
"Come on Snow White," he bellowed, "it's time for your big speech. Get it done quick and we can be out of here in about 2 hours."
The actress did not share in his enthusiasm for getting the play over and done with as soon as possible. Yes, they had been acting it out for three months now but this was going to be her final performance with the group. Perhaps even her last performance forever. After this she was going to go home, give up her acting career, just so she could spend more time with her boyfriend and all of her friends. She fixed the headband in her hair and stood in the middle of the stage, waiting patiently for the curtains to rise. Glancing at the wings she saw her colleagues smiling at her and a few even gave her the thumbs up sign. This made her feel a little better. She could not understand why she was so nervous, she was fine when acting normally.
"Good luck," the director smiled.
The curtains seemed to fly up past her and all she could see were seats full of smiling people. Some of the children seemed a little restless but a lot of the young girls stared in awe at the beautiful dress which was right in front of their very eyes. The actress with long, raven black hair slowly walked towards the front.
"Ahem," she started. "Hi. A lot of you may not know me. I'm Rinoa, Rinoa Heartilly. Today is going to be my last performance at the Dominion Theatre. I'm leaving the group and I may not be coming back. As I'm leaving this is going to be the last time we show Snow White. I'm the only one with black hair," she joked. There were a few weak laughs in the audience but she did not mind too much. "So anyway on with the show! And seeing as this is my last performance I'm going to give it my all and make sure this evening goes out with a bang! Thank you and enjoy it!"
The audience clapped as she walked out into the wings. All but one, a figure sitting in the corner of the back row was not entirely pleased with what had just been said. He ran his fingers over a scar which ran through his forehead and scowled. He knew exactly where she would be going and why.
***
The classroom on the second floor of Balamb Garden was totally quiet. The class had long since left and all that remained was the woman who had taught it. She was busy writing a few notes about what had gone on and how well the class had behaved for its usual teacher. After all, she was not officially an instructor at the Garden anymore but would often stand in when a tutor was either sick or away. She quickly finished her last sentence and grabbed her coat. She was supposed to be meeting a friend at the car park where they would then go off to Balamb Town. Making sure her glasses were straight and her hair was not a mess she opened the door and was surprised to see her 'date' standing in the doorway. He looked as though he had been meaning to knock but was not sure if he really wanted to.
"Well this is a pleasant surprise," she smiled. "I thought we were supposed to meet at the car park."
He barged past and could not face looking at her. She knew something was wrong and her heart sank as she realised what it was. A small tear escaped from her eye but she quickly wiped it away so that he would not notice. She placed a hand on top of his shoulder. The leather jacket was cold. Funny, she thought, he had once given it to her to keep her warm.
"Squall, is Rinoa, is she coming back?" she finally asked after minutes of silence.
Squall took a while to answer and when he did it was just a nod. The ex- instructor tried to keep herself from bursting into tears but it was just too hard. They came gushing out in an instant and there nothing she could do to stop them.
"Quistis." He was not too sure how he was supposed to comfort her but he walked forward and wiped away her tears.
"Well that's it then," she gulped. "This is the end."
"No. No Quistis it doesn't have to be this way surely," Squall protested.
"I couldn't do that to Rinoa. I think it's best for everyone if we finish."
"You mean break up?"
"Were we actually ever going out?!" she demanded angrily. "Squall we were having an affair! I can't let Rinoa get hurt and neither should you. Do you even still love her?"
"I don't know," he admitted quietly.
That was all Quistis could take. It suddenly dawned upon her that what they were doing was not as innocent as it had once seemed. With Rinoa away she had felt more happy than ever before. Being with Squall made her feel loved. Now she just felt dirty and sick. Opening up the door she beckoned for him to leave. As he slowly wandered aimlessly down the hall she felt a large amount of emotional pain rise up in her.
"Goodbye," she whispered.