1 Alternate Realm

Chapter 8

Choices



Julia's brow crinkled as she saw Squall and Rinoa come up the walkway. Instead of laughing and talking with each other as she'd expected to see, both of them were spaced apart and looking away from one another. The two looked deep in thought about something, and a grim look crossed both of their faces.

They approached the door, and Julia opened it. No one spoke as they walked in, almost as if everyone in the room sensed tension in the young couple's moods. The door clicked shut, and still, nobody made a sound. Squall and Rinoa stood in the living room in front of Laguna and Julia.

"What's the matter you two?" Laguna said finally, breaking the silence.

Suddenly Rinoa looked as if she wanted to lash out at him. Unexpectedly she felt as if Laguna was at fault for this happening. Even if it wasn't true, she needed someone to blame for all of it.

Squall grabbed her hand, calming her emotions. If they were going to do this, he thought, they'd have to do it together. Otherwise they would get nowhere.

"We have… something to tell you both," Rinoa started shakily. Squall spoke next.

"It's something that changes Rinoa's and my relationship. A lot."

The room was still for a moment, as Laguna and Julia waited. "Well?" Laguna said anxiously. "What is it?"

Rinoa's eyes cast down to the carpet. She couldn't bring herself to look at Laguna while she said softly, "Squall is my… my… my stepbrother."

Julia gasped, feeling her heart race. She felt frozen… almost as if her brain was so shocked, it couldn't tell the rest of her body what to do. She managed to turn her head to Laguna, who sat on the couch looking notably less astonished than she. Should she suspect that he knew?

"Laguna?" she said almost breathlessly. "Did you know about this?"

He scratched the back of his head, avoiding the three pairs of eyes. What could he say to them?

"…Well… not exactly. I knew something was familiar about Squall… but I never thought it was true. "

"Well it is!" Rinoa cried, taking a step toward him. "And I would've appreciated it if you'd told me you thought I was dating my family!" She clenched her fists in rage, turning back from them and running up the stairs. Squall followed, not wanting to be left alone with Laguna and Julia.

Julia shook her head, halfway out of her trance. She had Laguna to deal with now, instead of Rinoa. She felt more like a mother to him than a wife.

"Laguna… why didn't you say anything?"

He looked down, feeling a little ashamed. "I… Rinoa just seemed so happy. I didn't want to ruin it run the risk of having it be a false suspicion."

"You could've at least said something to me about it so we could have looked into it more. Don't you trust me?"

Looking up sharply at this he said, "Of course I do! I'm just not very sure about my way of thinking, that's all. Hyne knows I've looked stupid in front of you guys before… why take more humiliation for something so serious?"

Things were quiet in the room for a few moments, tension leaking into the already heavy air. Finally, Julia spoke.

"Well, we've got two broken hearted teenagers, one of which is your son. What are we going to do about that?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea. What can we do? Break our marriage for them?"

After that comment, neither said another word.



More stillness prevailed upstairs as well. Squall stood by the door, and Rinoa sat on her bed, drying her tears. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore. "How do we fix this Squall?" she asked, almost shrinking back at the sound of her loud voice.

"I don't know if we can Rin. We have no options."

"But we have to do something! I love you! I won't let this stand in my way."

"I love you too… but I'm your stepbrother. Think about it. As long as you're Rinoa Loire, we're not lovers, we're stepbrother and sister."

An idea suddenly hit Rinoa like a half-ton weight. Her head snapped up, and Squall looked over at her. "What?" he said at her now smirking face.

"I've got an idea," she informed. "It's sounds crazy, but it just might work."

She got up from the bed, breezing past Squall and seizing the doorknob. He was asking desperately what her plans were, but she did not reply. He had no choice but to follow her down the stairs, and out the door, ignoring the calls from her Mother and Laguna.

He didn't know what she had in mind, but as long as it helped their situation, he would follow her to the end of the world.



"Rinoa, where the hell are we going?" Squall asked as they came upon a large building. Bound and determined to get where she was going, she never took the time to tell him. He was getting frustrated with her though, since it seemed like she was paying no attention to him. They went inside the building, Squall taking no notice of the sign above it saying what it was.

Phones ringing, people talking, and papers shuffling completed a business like atmosphere as they came inside. Rinoa still zoomed ahead of Squall, as he followed hopelessly behind. Finally, they reached a woman's desk, and Rinoa stood in front of it.

"May I help you?" the woman said, looking up at the two. But as she recognized her face she said, "Oh, hello Rinoa!"

"Hey Kate. How are you?"

"I'm alright… what brings you here today?"

Rinoa looked over at Squall, and he to Rinoa. She looked back at the woman, saying, "Well… I have a BIG favor to ask of you."

"And what's that?"

"Kate… this is Squall Leonhart. He's my boyfriend and I love him with all my heart… but…"

"But…?"

"He's also my stepbrother."

Kate drew in a noticeable breath. "Wow… that is a problem."

"Exactly. And there's nothing we can do about it as long as my Mother and his Father are married. This is where my favor comes in."

"What do you need me to do?"





Author's Note: MWA HA HA, cliffhangers… guess you people will just have to wait for the next chapter… eh? Guess you won't know what she plans to do till next chapter! Ha ha… I'm so evil. Let's just say some of you won't expect it. And no offense to anyone, I just don't think you'll guess. Thank you SOO much everyone for all the reviews, it keeps me going. Happy reviewing to you nice people! (