Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII … however, a friend who is planning on conquering the world promised to give the SQUARESOFT corporation to me … *giggles insanely* Soon, my pet … Soon … *pets her evil cat*
Chapter XIII
"Squall, I'll kill you if you do!" She shrieked as I held a glass full of icy cold water above her. I hovered above the bed, smirking.
"It's 9:30 AM, sunshine… If you don't get up now I might just have to do something so sinful… Oooohh, save me from Satan!" I tipped the glass a little more and that got her moving.
"Ok, ok!" She scowled, "I'm up!" She grabbed the glass of water from my hands and poured it on my head. I felt the icy stream flow down my neck and onto my back, "Holy Jumping Mother of…" I started but I never finished that thought… I moved onto the next one, "That's it… You're dead!"
"Oooh, I'm so scared…" She stuck out her tongue and then darted from the bathroom, locking the door.
"Hey!" My cries of protest did not stop her and neither did my hammering on the door, "Open the door, Rin… I have the authority in this residence, open it… Now!"
I could hear the laughter from within, "Oh yeah, bite me!" And I heard the shower water go on. Should I pick the lock? Hmm… That was an interesting idea.
"Don't you even dare!" I heard her warning.
"Aww…" I muttered. Then I grinned. Fine… I would be a nice gentleman until she got out of the shower. However… The topic of afterwards would need to be discussed.
***
"They suck! The Timber Owls suck ass this year!" I tried arguing back but she would have none of it. Yes… We were arguing about soccer teams.
"They do not! They just need to get into the feel of the game!" I semi-listened as I glanced at the traffic light. Goddamn pain in my ass… The traffic lights, not her.
"Oh … sure … the feel of the game. If you ask me, they should have had the feel of the game since they started to play... Like since they played in tykes! Admit it! They suck!" We were listening to the game that was broadcasted through radio. We were riding back home and were trying to make it back before noon.
She played with the dial, changing the wave reception to a music channel, "Forget it."
"Hah! You just don't want the proof that they do suck!" I pointed out, "You don't want to hear them lose to the Dollet Dragoons!"
"Squall, shut up." She said in irritation and I smirked, "And wipe that look off your face."
"Sure… Princess." I bit my lower lip and averted her eyes. However, I did hear the low deadly growl and the muttered curses under her breath.
***
It was about 11:30 AM when we got back to the house and Joan's sisters were packing up. I asked them why they were leaving so soon and it turned out that they were maids too… And they had to get back to their respective employers.
A family of maids. Okey-dokey. I won't bother asking. It was an awkward good-bye, I'll tell you that. Well… For me anyways. I hardly knew them.
In any case, when they were gone, Rinoa and I went back to studying.
"Ok… Peaceful, sea-bound, fishermen's town."
"Fisherman's Horizon." Yes, I had finally decided to cooperate.
"Independent of Galbadia."
"Dollet."
"Many resistance fraction."
"Timber."
"Let's drop Geography."
"Let's!" I said enthusiastically… I hated geography.
"Squall…"
"What?" She didn't answer. She just kind of looked at me. I repeated my question, "What?"
"What're you going to do once you get to Balamb?" She tilted her head slightly. I noticed she did this a lot when she was asking a question.
"Be commander of Balamb Garden." The answer seemed obvious enough.
"Well, duh… But… I mean… What else?" She was really beginning to confuse me.
"Uh… I'm going to… Live there and breath… And eat… And… All the things I regularly do." I offered but she seemed disappointed at my answer. "Why? What do you mean?"
"Ok, it's nothing. Let's keep going."
***
"I'm going to fail!" She wailed, snapping the physics textbook shut. I had resolved to playing Sly Cooper again.
Mike walked in then, "You always fail; why is this time so different?"
"You!" She said venomously, "You're back?"
"Yeah, I am." He informed and sat right between us, "You're still at the Panda King?"
"I can't seem to beat the fat-assed sonofabitch." Then remembered my manners and shut my mouth.
"Just keep moving… That way his attacks won't hit you." He instructed.
"You won?" Rinoa asked him. He didn't answer. She asked again, "Did you win or did you lose?" Still no answer.
This time I asked him, "Mike? Did you win or lose?"
"Who gives a fuck?" He snapped and ran out of the room.
"I don't think it all went down well." Rinoa observe. "Maybe I should go…"
"Study." I smiled at her, "I'll go see what's wrong. Women wouldn't understand."
"Oh… Sure." She looked at me skeptically. I bent down, made sure no one was looking (that was the vital part) and kissed her quickly before leaving the room.
***
"What's up?" I asked, and really, I was concerned.
"We lost… Because of me." The kid's eyes became suddenly really shiny and I knew by the repeated blinking motion that he was going to start crying on me. And he did.
"Hey… Come on. Mike, soccer is a team effort. The team doesn't lose because of one person."
"Yeah they do…" Tears streamed down his face, "And they lost because of me."
"Aw, come on. How did they lose?"
"I'm just a crappy soccer player!" More tears.
"Well… Maybe soccer isn't your thing." Here I was, commander of Balamb Garden, comforting a kid because he'd just lost a soccer game. Look what you've done to me, Rinoa!
Deep down, I knew I did care about the kid. And I cared about Stu. And I cared about Rinoa more. And it felt good. "No one is good at everything. You can take up another sport that you'd be better at. Like… Basketball."
He sniffled a bit more and then asked, "Do you think I'd be good at basketball?"
"Well, I don't know. You have to try to know." I stated, "Here, I saw the basketball net in the garage. We'll go set it up and give it a few shots. You want to?"
He nodded slightly, "Stu can come too?"
"Yeah, 'course." I replied. "Come on."
***
"Yeah, it's coming along." I watched him as he took another shot and got it in, "See? Not that hard. Just practice and you can get it from three meters away at any angle." I lay down on the front lawn watching him.
Stu watched as well and then suddenly, "I'm thirsty."
"Ok, hang on. I'll get us a couple of cans of coke." I went into the house, opened the fridge, got out three cans and went back outside. Only to walk in on a scene that made me lose my mind.
"Hey spaz, where the hell's your sister?" Jack Ass was back. He shoved Mike and grabbed the basketball. "Oh what? You thought you could actually be good at something?" He threw the basket ball right at Mike's face and the aim was good. The kid's nose started bleeding like hell, I'll tell you that.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Yeah, that's the point where I felt like jamming a fire poker up his ass.
"Oh lookie here… It's the commander guy. Listen… Why don't you mind your own fucking-" That's when my fist went down and cracked his nose. And then my left fist found a cozy spot between his rib cage. I heard a crack there too.
He fell to the floor looking pathetic. Wait, what am I saying? He is pathetic! That's when Mike came with a can of coke, shook it and opened it right in his face. Which was quite funny, "There you go, asshole!"
Suddenly, Mike's triumphant face turned to horror, "Oh no…"
"What? What's the matter?" Asked Stu, very amused by all this 'Beating-Up-Jake' action.
"Jessica's outside, she saw what happened. She thinks I'm a wuss… She'll think I'm weak. What am I going to do?" Then in dawned on me. Mike had a crush… On the sleazy little neighbor girl.
I pulled him on the porch and said, "Wait here." Then I went up to her.
"Wow, you sure gave him a beating…" She smiled at me. I recognized the smile. It was the smile whores use when trying to get business.
"Listen lady, go back into your little million dollar home and get yourself a life. Maybe you won't be so bent on ruining other people's."
She looked at me, her mouth gaped slightly. I went back to Mike, ignoring her completely. "Listen kid, stay away from girls like that. Ok?" I looked to him, making sure if he was listening. To be absolutely positive, I took him by the shoulders, "Hear that? Stay away from girls like that. Go for girls like your sister. They nag at you, they bitch and they always have something to complain about… But they're worth it in the long end. Because when they tell you that they love you, then you know they won't be dancing on your grave when you die. Are you listening?"
"Yeah… I'm… I'm listening." He nodded, his nose still bleeding like crazy. Jake had slithered away somewhere and I couldn't really care less about him.
"Good, let's go inside to clean you up."
Things weren't as simple. "Omigosh! What happened to you?" Julia screamed out as Mikey came into the entrance hall.
"Holy hell! Mikey, what did you do?" Caraway gasped and Rinoa, who had just come down the stairs, only stared.
"I… Took a shot at the net… And the ball hit me back in the face." I just stared at him, disbelievingly.
"Stu?" Julia wasn't going to believe that, right off the bat.
"Yeah, it bounced off the headboard… And landed on his nose." He confirmed. What was wrong with these kids?
"Squall?" Now Caraway was asking for my version.
Mike looked at me with a certain helplessness in his eyes and I was practically forced to say, "Yeah … that's what happened."
"Alright! Let me get you some ice and towels!" Both Julia and Caraway rushed out of the room with Joan and Rinoa.
"Why did you do that?" I whispered to him.
"Because… Rinoa loves Jake, I think. And I don't want to hurt her. I don't like it when my sister's sad. I might… Be mean to her sometimes… But I love her. Really… I do. And I just want her to be happy."
Rinoa… Loved Jake? Did she really?
***
"Tell me what really went on." It was an order, not a question. She had trapped me in the 'game room'.
"Listen, Rinoa…"
"It was Jake. Right?" Bingo.
"Yeah…" There was an odd silence.
"Hyne…" She whispered, "I'm going to owe him more than an apology."
"Do you love him?"
"Mikey? Of course, he's my brother." She avoided my eyes and looked out of a window.
"No. Do you love Jake?" I made my question as forward as possible. I guess I had succeeded.
"I thought I did… For a while."
"Thought you did?"
"I didn't really know what it felt like to be in love." She replied. My spirits slightly lifted.
"And now?" I asked.
"And now?" She repeated. "Things change, I guess. Now I know… What it feels like. I suppose."
"You suppose." I went closer to her and we stood barely inches apart.
"As in… I'm kind of afraid. But I think it'll be ok. Because… I feel safe with him, the one I'm in love with. And… Comfortable. But nervous. Because I don't know how he feels."
How was I to be positive that it was me that she was talking about? She continued so I didn't have to fill in the silence. "I guess that I should ask him."
"Sounds good." Oh hell… Did I just say that.
She turned around slightly and looked at me, "Ok… I love you, do you love me?"
"That was blunt." I commented.
"It was honest." A slight pause and then, "Respond to me the same way that I asked the question. Honestly."
She was asking me to recite the words… Those three little words that were so hard on me. The ones that made me go crazy at times. Honestly.
"Rinoa…" I looked at her.
Her words ran in my head, 'Nervous… Afraid…' Isn't that the exact way you feel right now? 'Safe… Comfortable…' Isn't that the exact way you felt when you held her?
"I love you." The words were calm, softly spoken. Contrary to the emotions that stirred up inside. I could practically feel my stomach ripping apart again.
You could tell it wasn't really the answer she was expecting from my mouth and I guess that's why I decided to close the momentary gap of silence by kissing her.
That's when Julia walked in.
Sammy-Chan: HAAAAAAHHH!! They're in
deep SHIT now! 'When the shit hits the
fan.' Ok, I'm calm, it's all good……
heee! Review, review, review! Thank you everybody! Please don't forget to review!
