Disclaimer: Me own FF8, me own FF8!  Me own FF8… It sit on shelf in bedroom, it sit on shelf right next to FF7.

Chapter XII

It was funny… How Jake and Squall were so different.  The way they kissed, the way they… You know.  Another difference was that when I woke up in the early hours of the morning, Squall was still there.

At first I was kind of confused.  Not because I thought he was Jake, but because I thought he would be like Jake.  I stirred slightly and turned towards him.  His eyes shot open… He was so aware of what was happening, even he was sleeping.  I had to restrain myself from screaming.

"Hey." He said.

I smiled slightly, calming a little bit, "Hey."

"I just had this really weird dream about Smokey the Bear…" And I couldn't help but explode in laughter.  He tried to cover my mouth with his hand, "Shh…" He was trying hard not to laugh as well, "No, shh, Joan'll hear us." Now that shut me up.

"I was with Smokey the Bear and we were going out for ice cream and while they were filling up his cone with soft chocolate ice cream… the machine caught fire and you know, Smokey the Bear helps prevent fires but he just started screaming at the top of his head 'Burn, baby, BURN!' and I was so scared that I-"

I interrupted him with a fit of giggles.  It was around one in the morning and he was telling me about Smokey the Bear screaming 'Burn, baby, burn!'  I shoved my face into the pillow to stifle my giggles but to no avail.

"Why are you laughing?" I sensed the amusement in his voice, "This is far from funny; don't you get it?  This is Smokey the Bear we're talking about here.  You're not very compassionate." He started trailing butterfly kisses on my neck.

"What did you dream about?" He asked between kisses.

"You." It came out almost as a moan.

"I don't believe that for one second… But that's nice." He kissed me softly.

"Squall…" I pushed him away a bit, "Did you hear Joan and her sisters come back in?"

"No… Why?" He asked.

"Because the door my bedroom door is wide open."

***

"Had quite a night, hmm?"  Joan smirked as a came through the kitchen door.  I had taken a shower and dressed and now I was hungry.  Well, at least it was only Joan and not her two sisters.  The interrogation would have been deadly.

This was Jo, and I had always told her everything… It wouldn't be any different now.  However, I answered her question with one of my own, "Please tell me we were done when you actually came home."

"Yes, fortunately for you." She answered, "However, leaving your door open wasn't a smart idea."

"Did Jojo and Jen happen to glance in the room?  Please say no, please say no." I was practically begging her to tell me that I had some pride and dignity left.

"No, they did not." She replied, sipping her coffee.  The phone then rang and Joan picked it up.  "Hello?" 

I glanced over at the caller ID screen and nearly shrieked in horror.  Jake Asselin.  I stuck my finger on the (what I like to cal) "hanger-upper" button. 

Joan gave me a quizzical stare, "What is the matter with you?"

"Please, just let me avoid Jake for a couple of days!  I just want to stay away from him, I don't want to have anything to do with him anymore!" I cried out.

"Oh please!" Joan pushed away my pleads, "I bet you he's done the same to you a million times.  Who hasn't been cheated on at eighteen?  Give me a break."

"I know that he's done the same to me, but I just don't want to see him again… Ok?" I looked at her helplessly, "Please, Joan…"

"Fine… But knowing him, he'll be dropping himself off here at around noon." 

"Ok, then I'm going somewhere else until tomorrow at noon, when my parents are back."

***

He was playing Sly Cooper.  Of course he was.  I sat down on the couch next to him and I felt almost cheap asking him favors upon favors, "Squall?"

"Mhmm?" He tapped buttons mindlessly.

"I need your full attention." I pushed the pause button in the middle of the controller.

"Hey…" He whined slightly but I made him look at me.

"I need another favor…" He arched an eyebrow, "Could you please… Get me out of town for a few days?  Just… Sort of… Go somewhere else, anywhere.  Just please… Out of Deling."

And yet I couldn't fool him, "Aw, can't I just beat the shit out of him?"

"Squall please.  We'll study for your exams there, if you want." I was doing a lot of begging today, wasn't I?

"Ahh fine.  I have a tiny apartment on the Dollet shores.  You wanna go there?"

***

"My dad gave it as a present for my seventeenth birthday.  It's nice… But it's useless because the council says I'm too young to live in it by myself."

We had packed out bags for one whole day and had agreed to his apartment. 

It was a nice place.  A clean kitchen, a modern living room and a small bedroom; it was nice.  The weather, however, was an entirely different story.  The skies were a grayish black and it would be only too evident that there would be a rainstorm.  A squall.

We went out on the beach and stayed for a while, talking.  "Garden is the only thing I really have to look forward to."

I felt a slight pang of hurt, "Well excuse me…"

"What?  What did I say?"

"Garden is the only thing you look forward too?" I couldn't help the disgust in my voice.  What, were you jealous Rinoa?  Were you expecting him to look forward to your unborn children?

"Well, what?" He shrugged and wrapped his arms around me from behind, "Ok, maybe not the only thing… There are a few more important things… I guess."

"You guess?  I feel very cheap." I scowled.

He chuckled behind me and kissed me on the neck, "Aw, come on… You know I look forward to you tonight and for the next few years… But really, especially tonight." He whispered in my ear.

"That was a very terrible thing to say." I retorted, "Firstly, I'm not sure I want you in the same bed as me tonight.  And the next few years?  Now I feel even more cheap."

He continued kissing my neck, "Firstly, I have priorities over the bed.  And… The next few years and maybe more… If you'll have me.  You seem to be the one switching from guy to guy here."

"And you haven't had a steady girlfriend in… Ever!" I countered.

"Because I don't settle down with someone that I don't trust."

"So you trust me?"

"Yes.  However, not enough to lend you the keys of my car."  He grinned and I elbowed him in the abdomen.

I felt a trickle of something wet on my nose.  "It's raining… Let's go in." He got up and brushed himself off of any sand.

"No way!  We're staying here!" I smiled and held onto his hand, "A squall is coming."

"Oh really?  Well, Squall," He pointed to himself, "Wants to go inside."

"Squall, a sudden violent burst of wind, usually followed by rain.  It leaves just as suddenly as it comes."  And it came.

Showers of rain poured down and you could tell that he wanted to kill me for getting him wet.  I just smiled and moved closer to him.

"We're going to get sick!" He moaned.

"You big squalling baby."

"Hence my name." He rolled his eyes, "How about your name?  Does your name have any meaning?"

I grinned.  I really didn't know if my name had any valid meaning but I responded anyways, "Unpredictability… Can you handle that?"

His shirt was completely plastered to him as if it were a second skin.  The rain kept coming, dousing us and finally it stopped as abruptly as it had started.

"We're not going back inside!" I said before he had time to make a move, "We're going to watch the stars."  It was around eight thirty PM. 

"You're kidding me."

"No… After the clouds dissipate, you see the stars so well that you can count them and sum them up."

"So we're going to get pneumonia because Miss Heartilly wants to sum up the stars?"

"Yeah… Miss Heartilly wants Mr. Leonheart to stay with her."

"Well Mr. Leonheart wants to share a bed with Miss Heartilly because Mr. Leonheart doesn't fancy the idea of sleeping on the couch."

"Miss Heartilly doesn't mind." I stuck out my tongue at him and sat back down into the wet sand.  Not such a great idea but with him… Everything felt right.

***

I woke up and felt a familiar feeling.  There was no one in the bed beside me.  Had he just left me here?  No… He couldn't have.  He wouldn't have.

I got up from the bed and pulled on some clothes, because yes, it was a necessity.  And I came out of the bedroom.  He was leaning on the couch, seemingly watching sport news.  His head snapped in my general direction.

"Hey…" 

I walked up to him and kissed him slowly.  When we broke apart he asked me, "You want anything to eat?  You hungry?"

"Yeah, a little." I replied, remaining pressed against him.

"You want me to order a pizza or something?"  At two in the morning?  It could be done but right now I just wanted him to come back to bed.

"No… Come back to bed." I whispered. 

"Ok …" He shut off the television and walked with me back to the room.  I fell asleep, cuddled up close to him. 

Sammy: Oook, this must have been the … weirdest chapter yet.  I still don't know where I came up with the Smokey the Bear idea but hey!  Just to let you know, I don't own Smokey the Bear.  Anyways, this story is coming to an end (15 chapters) and so that's why I want to let everyone know!!  I'm working on another story … please consider it a future read (still SQUINOA) and so yeah … the first chapter of that story will be posted when the 15th chapter of this one is posted.  So please review!  Love y'all! 

Beta's Note: Dreams sum up the events of one's day… But then again… Did anyone see Smokey the Bear anywhere? Heh… No, I'm not looking for him. Anyways, there's a line in here that wasn't originally written by Sammy. I'll give you a cookie if you can find it. Cookie? *Holds the cookie high over their heads* Jump for it! Jump for it! Jump for it! … Ok, I'm done.