~ Chapter FIVE: Shooting Star: In This Vast Universe, You are Unique ~
*****************************
"Alright Rinoa..." Rinoa spoke softly as she meditated in the corner of the hallway, just before the Graduate announcements. "You must remember... if you don't make SeeD, it's not your fault, it's Seifer's. That little shit face fucked everything up... little rat bastard!" Rinoa screamed as she stood, her eyes bulging with rage. "I'll rip his head off!" Rinoa screamed once more, right into Selphie's face. Selphie was taken aback, scared.
"We could have done a much better job if Seifer wasn't our Squad leader." Zell complained. Seifer stepped directly behind Zell just as he said that. Seifer reached around and grabbed Zell's chin tenderly and pulled it forcefully towards his head. Seifer smiled and Zell just gave a nervous smile back.
"What did you say?" Seifer asked tenderly. Zell just shrugged with an idiotic smile on his face.
"I don't remember-AH!" He squealed in pain as a hard knee jab came to the back of his knee caps. "Rinoa said something worse!" Zell yelled, trying to divert the pain.
"But she's my Ex... and a very sexy Ex at that." He commented, giving a wink to Rinoa who showed him her middle finger in reply. Squall scoffed at the words from Seifer's mouth. Seifer obviously heard that tiny scoff as he pushed Zell to the side and walked for Squall.
"You've been nothing but trouble." Squall told him with a stoic face as he crossed his arms across his chest. "You always seem to make matters worse." He continued. Seifer smiled at him like some kind of school girl.
"Oh but... I know Rinoa likes it and that's why I do these kinds of things!" Seifer insisted as he shot a glance over to Rinoa who had a sour look on her face.
"Then why does Rinoa hate you?" Squall asked him, looking to Rinoa to finish things off. She was glad to.
"Yes Rinoa, why DO you hate me so?" Seifer asked, generally concerned as he walked towards her.
"'Cause you're a dip shit." She answered, making it simple. "... and you're like some kind of freak masochist, you look like a child molester, you have the attitude of a stuck up prince and to top it all off... you smell like you haven't taken a shower in a good year or so." Rinoa listed proudly and in one very long breath.
"Those words cut deep princess." Seifer said in a very stoic manner as he turned away from the scene and towards the entrance to the elevator however he couldn't go very far as a Garden Official came towards all the people waiting in the halls.
"Here are the Graduates of the Field Exam. Once I have read the select student's names, will they please step forward." He instructed before hand. He pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and began to list off the names.
"Rinoa Heartilly." He called. Rinoa screamed with delight and skipped towards the man, a large, pretty smile on her face.
"Selphie Tilmitt." He said. Selphie screamed just like Rinoa and ran towards Rinoa with bouncing strides. They smiled at each other and gave each other high-fives.
"Squall Leonhart." The Garden Official called. Squall stepped forward, his face showing no emotion but his eyes could easily show how proud he was. Squall stood next to Rinoa and she pinched his butt lightly which caused Squall to blush furiously.
"Zell Dincht." The man called. Zell put his hands in his back pockets and did an odd chicken strut up to where the group was.
"... and some guy... I can't pronounce his name. Umm... Hujikaryet?" The man questioned.
"It's John." A person said stepping forward.
"Right, right! Of course!" The man lied. "Those are all the graduates!" He called, everyone in the hall sighed with disbelief and Seifer stabbed the wall with his gunblade and everyone ran away.
They were all lined up in a row as Cid came into the room and looked them all over, beaming with a smile.
"I'm sorry, but I must make this brief as I have an appointment in..." He looked to his watch. "... 3 minutes." He finished as he looked back up to them. "I'm very proud of all of you and I hope this is what you have dreamed to be for a long time." He paced slowly before them as he continued. "And good luck on your missions and travels." Cid finished as he suddenly stood in place before them. They all saluted. "You are now officially all SeeDs." He said saluting them back. "Now I must go." He said, and left.
"Wow... this is so cool." Rinoa squealed as she walked for the elevator with everyone else.
"I know... what should we do now that we're SeeDs?" Selphie asked, stepping next to Rinoa.
"Well... the SeeD ball is tonight... so... We gotta go out and buy fancy outfits!" Rinoa concluded.
"You're right! And the SeeD ball starts in less than 5 hours!" Selphie squealed, worried.
"Quick! We make haste!" Rinoa proclaimed. "The elevator is far to slow! To the stairs!" She said as the two ran for the stair case and bolted down as fast as they could.
"So Squall... what should we-" Zell was about to finish his sentence until he found that Squall was nowhere in sight. He looked around and found him in the elevator, alone. "Hey wait!" He called, but the clear blue doors shut and it shot down as Squall waved bye.
"Geez..." Zell complained with sore face. "Hmmm... I'll go visit The Library Girl!" He proclaimed as he boarded another elevator.
*
Squall lied down on his bed with a tiny sigh and placed his hands behind his head. He kicked off his shoes with a push from the opposite foot and wiggled his toes about in his sock.
'... I wonder if Seifer really wanted to become a SeeD?' He questioned to himself in thought. He rolled over, facing the wall and curled up a bit. 'He's tried how many times now? 2, 3? So... he must want to become a SeeD. And I'm sure he could if he would just shut the fuck up... dumbass.' Squall concluded. He rolled back onto his back and eyed his SeeD uniform that had been given to him just recently. 'I hate that color...' He thought distastefully. 'I don't want to wear it at all... but if Rinoa wants me to. I wonder what she is going to wear?' He wondered as he closed his eyes to try and imagine. He couldn't make anything out, all he had ever seen was her in her school uniform or in the blue get up. 'I'm sure it will be nice...' He concluded.
A knock rang from his door. He rolled his eyes but stood and answered it none the less. It was Quistis in her teaching uniform for some bizarre reason, considering they had no classes.
"What?" He asked as he looked her over, a bit perplexed about the change of style.
"Can I talk with you for a bit?" She asked. He turned back around into his room and nodded, letting her in. She walked past him and looked about his bleak and boring room. She took a seat on the end of his bed.
"What is it?" He asked, trying not to sound like he cared that much.
"Well..." She began, trailing off a bit. She looked about the room discretely, afraid of confronting the topic at hand.
"Well?" He asked, becoming the slightest bit agitated in her silence.
"Who are you going with to the SeeD Graduation Ball tonight?" She asked, pulling the question right out of her ass. She knew it was stupid question to, considering she already knew, well, everyone knew.
"No one." He answered. Quistis turned to him in shock.
"What about Rinoa?" She asked in a very strong tone, almost trying to make him remember.
"She didn't mention anything so I assumed she already got a date." Squall told her.
"You're kidding, right?" She questioned with a disgusted laugh. Squall just scowled at her. "Just because she didn't mention anything doesn't mean that she's going with someone else!" She scolded. "I'm sure she expects you to be her date." She finished with a little smile, knowing that she had helped in some way.
"I'll let her decide that, okay?" Squall told her as he looked away from her and out towards the window. There was silence between them for a minute or so.
"I remember my Graduation Ball." Quistis began, looking to her skirt as she tugged at the end of it. "I had refused every single one of the dates that guys offered me. I wanted to go alone." She said sadly. Squall was still turned away towards the window, but he was listening. "At the Ball I did nothing but sip wine and be a wallflower as I watched all the happy people dance, but then..." She paused a bit and Squall looked to her out of the corner of his eye, wanting her to continue. "... Seifer asked me to dance." She finished, Squall was a bit shocked but didn't show it. "I knew he shouldn't have been there, he wasn't even a SeeD but I didn't care. I danced with him, he was the only one I danced with. He wasn't great at dancing but neither was I." Quistis said, a tiny smile shining through. There was silence between them for a bit. "Aren't you going to say anything?" She asked, leaning closer to him on the bed.
"Why? Am I suppose to say something?" He asked, still turned away from her. The scenario was becoming uncomfortable.
"Well... I don't know. I guess not." She told him, drawing herself away from him a bit.
"Then why did you tell that to me?" He asked turning to the floor. She could tell he was becoming agitated. "If you just wanted to be heard, then go to talk to a wall." He said as he stood up and walked for the door, about to open it for her. She didn't move from her spot.
"Sometimes its nice to have people listen to your thoughts." She told him with an angry face. He didn't respond. "I know you want me to go... and I will... but haven't you ever talked to Rinoa before?" She asked as she stepped next to him, making eye contact with him.
"That's none of your business." He told her coldly as he tossed his eyes away from hers and to the hallway. She exited his dorm without another word and turned back around towards him.
"See you tonight." She said as Squall closed the door. He walked to his bed and fell down upon it. He sighed heavily. He lied there for a bit as thoughts of the previous conversation raced through his head. A knock sounded from the door and Squall sat up, annoyed.
"What is it now, Quistis!?" He called, angrily as he got to answer the door. He opened and was about to complain to her until he found who it as. Rinoa stood there, her eyebrows slanted wondering what the hell he was talking about. She tapped her foot periodically waiting for him to say something. "Sorry Rin." He apologized sheepishly.
"It's alright. But... why was Quistis with you?" She asked as she brushed past Squall and entered his room. He closed the door and leaned against it.
"How did you know?" He asked.
"Well, two things. One: When I knocked you exclaimed 'What is it now, Quistis!?'." Rinoa said, mocking his voice perfectly. "Two: I saw Quistis walk out of your room." She finished as she took a seat on his bed. He pushed off from the door, walked to her and stood before her.
"She was being weird." Squall said from out of the blue. While it seemed random, he knew that was her next question's answer. Rinoa smiled, fell off the bed and got onto her knees and latched onto his legs. "What are you doing?" He asked in surprise as he stepped back a bit, dragging her with him.
"I felt like hugging you." She confessed as she snuggled her cheek into his pants. Squall rolled his eyes and bent down to her.
"Why did you come here?" He asked, stroking her hair softly but surely. In response she snuggled ever closer.
"I wanted to tell you to get ready for the Graduation Ball..." She told him as she continued to press herself to him.
"Leave and I'll get ready." He told her. She shook her head. "Then I won't get ready." He reminded her. She shook her head again.
"I wanna stay!" She complained like a little child.
"I'm not a stripper." He said as he stood. He brought his hands under Rinoa's arms and lifted her up. As soon as her feet touched the ground she pushed her hands into his jacket, near his shoulders and pushed his jacket off. "I already told you..." He began but cut himself off as he saw Rinoa taking of his belts. She flicked the last one off and tossed it on the ground and smiled up at him.
"If you won't do it, then I will." Rinoa said to him as she pushed her hands up and inside of his shirt, touching his stomach. He immediately jumped back from the abrupt contact. He looked at her sternly and she was beginning to feel bad. "Sorry... I'll leave..." She said sadly as she walked to leave but Squall jumped in front of her and unbuttoned her blue duster, causing it to fall to the ground. "That's no fare!" She complained. "I have nothing to change into!" She exclaimed. "Lemme go get my dress..." She said with a wink and left. Squall looked down at her blue duster, sat down and took it in his hands.
'How old is this thing, geez?' He questioned feeling it gently.
A few minutes later Rinoa bounded into the room huffing and puffing from all the running she had done. She was carrying a cream white dress in her right hand, and held the door open with her left. She entered, trying to calm her breathing. She found Squall digging through his closet.
"Found it." He whispered, not realizing that she was even there. He pulled out from the closet with a ring in his hand. He eyed Rinoa and he quickly shoved the ring into his back pocket, hoping she didn't notice it. She decided to ignore it and stepped closer to him, her breathing now normal.
"I got my dress." She told him, holding it up. He walked to her almost as if he didn't even care what she had to say. Hr grabbed her around the waist and brought her face close to his. "W-What... what is it?" She asked, a bit shocked at the sudden closeness he had caused. He remained silent and pushed his hand up the back of her top. "Wait." She whispered. She pulled away from him and set the dress neatly down on his bed, afraid it would get messed up. "Ready." She said as she got back to her original position. He pushed her top up and over her head and kissed her neck gingerly. She shivered with delight from the contact and pushed her hands up his stomach, causing the shirt to travel with her hands. In no time at all, the shirt was over his head. Once his head was visible, she kissed him as he struggled to get the shirt off of his arms. She broke the kiss and laughed as he struggled more. She pushed it off from behind his back and they continued their kiss.
"Where is this going?" Squall asked between a break from their kiss. "Are we changing or having sex?" He asked as he kissed her shoulder, leading his way up to her neck with little kisses.
"Lets change... there's always after graduation." She reminded him. "... but... you feel so good." She said, arguing with herself. He broke away from her and grabbed his SeeD clothes, much to her distaste. Her arms still lingering in the air from where she was holding him.
"You're right. There's always after." He reminded her as he placed it on the bed and bent down to pick up his shirt.
"Dammit." Rinoa cursed quietly for saying that answer.
"I have something to give you after the Graduation Ball anyways..." He told her as he looked to her out of the corner of his eye. She nodded and took of her skirt, ready to put on her dress.
Rinoa walked to the Graduation alone as she had left Squall to apply her makeup and jewelry, etc. She walked to the elevator, where alot of other people from different Squads were. They all got on one elevator and rode to the fifth floor. That particular floor of Garden was rarely used as it was so nice and fancy, they were afraid of using it to much.
She made her way to another elevator with no one aboard it. She entered it and pressed the button which read '5'. The elevator sped up, the floors passing by like strange blurs. She let her hands slowly stroke her cream outfit. Her hands slowly smoothed out the material from her stomach to the end of her short skirt that ended mid thigh. The elevator dinged lightly, signaling she was there. The clear blue elevator doors opened revealing the entrance to the beautiful ballroom. She stepped out of the elevator and left towards the ground floor.
She stepped into the ballroom and down the marble steps. The walls were of a pretty pink marble and ivy was hung from the sides of the ceiling ever so perfectly. The ceiling itself was of complete glass. The stars that night seem to show themselves brighter than ever. She smiled gently as the atmosphere was perfect. She looked about the large room to find people dancing in the middle to a pretty ballroom song. She looked about the room a bit more and found Squall being his usual self. He was leaning against a wall in the corner, sipping a glass of champagne. She smiled and continued down the stairs and to him. She stood before him, her hands on her hips as he stared at her.
"You really shouldn't drink alcohol." Rinoa advised as she took the glass from his loose hand. She took a sip and gave it back to him.
"Same to you." He said as he drank the rest of it off.
"Alcohol makes me dance better." She told him with a wink.
"No matter how much, or how little, alcohol I drink I dance like a rabid monkey being chewed on by piranhas." He told her as he placed the empty glass on a side counter. The inside of the glass was still foamy and a little bit of champagne lingered at the bottom, waiting to be drunk.
"I doubt that. For SeeD you're required to take dancing lessons." She reminded him. "And I'm sure you excelled at it, as embarrassing as that maybe." She said as she leaned against the counter next to him. He remained silent. She looked to him out the corner of her eye. "So... you're not going to dance then?" She asked, pushing off from the counter. He shook his head. "Okay, I'll find someone else to dance with." She told him, trying to make him jealous. She couldn't tell if it worked or not as he remained stoic.
Quistis walked towards the elevator in silence. The halls were empty as it was after curfew for most of Garden, with the exception of the SeeDs. She was in her teaching uniform as all teachers were assigned to attend with their uniforms even though she wanted to dress up.
"And where is Ms. Trepe going?" A cool voice asked to the right of her. She looked and found Seifer leaning against the railing in the shadows.
"What is it Seifer?" She asked as she placed her hands to her hips.
"I just wanted to know why you didn't pass me." He told her as he approached slowly.
"I have a place to go to... so if you want to still talk, then walk with me." She told him, hoping that would give him the hint to go away but it didn't as he walked with her.
"Tell me, I want to know." He said as he looked to her.
"It wasn't all my fault." She reminded him. "I don't personally grade every single one of you. I don't even know what you've done half the time." She said. "But I give you a grade on your performance during the prerequisite, before the field exam and after." She told him.
"And what did you say about me then?" He asked.
"During the prerequisite I told them you were being a little shit kicker, basically, but battle-wise you excelled and that was same thing for all of them pretty much." She said with a fake smile. He scowled. "I mean... you didn't actually think you were going to get to be a SeeD, did you?" She asked. Seifer looked down, disappointed in himself. "Everyone-and I mean EVERYONE-knows you have a bad wrap." She reminded him as she stopped and turned to him. "If you could just get your act together, you'd be in business." She told him with a smile as she patted him on the shoulder. "Next year is always another chance if you're serious about becoming a SeeD." Quistis encouraged.
"I am..." He told her, looking her in the eyes.
"Oh Squall!" Selphie called as she approached him. He was still in the same spot as last time, this time with another champagne glass. She bounded in front of him and smiled at him, trying to start things off with a good impression. "Would you like to join the Garden Festival?" She asked as her head bounced lightly to and fro.
"Ummm... sure." He said in a wavering manner, not knowing what to say.
"Awesome." Selphie whispered as she stomped her foot with excitement. "See yah 'round then!" She said with a little wave as she skipped off. He sighed and looked up to the night sky. The stars were magnificent and dotted the holy black sky perfectly. They were ornaments for the gloomy dark space. As his eyes wandered the dark space he came across a shooting star. It was the first shooting star he had seen in awhile. He heard a giggle from just next to him. He turned and found that Rinoa was looking at him, a smile on her face. She was bordering the edge of the dance floor as she pointed to the same area that the shooting star was at. He nodded questionably, not knowing what else to do. She smiled and walked up to him. She grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes.
"Pretty wasn't it?" She asked. Feeling all the different eyes of the SeeD's on his, he pulled away from her touch. The SeeD's turned away and continued with their dance. He remained silent. "Well, if you don't want to talk about the shooting star then at least dance with me." She said.
"I already told you I can't dance." Squall reminded her as he resisted her tugs.
"Like I care." She said as she pulled ever harder towards the dance floor. "And besides, these people don't know you. Who cares if they see you dance? All that matters is that you got to try something new and fun." He gave her a questionable look at the statement she had just given him. "Trust me." She said.
"No." He said, making it simply. She smiled even brighter, snatched his champagne glass and tossed it on the counter. The contents spilled out, but she didn't care. Squall looked a tad shocked at her sudden action.
"They're called paper towels." She reminded him with a smile. They remained silent for a bit and Squall felt a bit comfortable in the fact that Rinoa had given up on him dancing. But as soon as he was comfortable, she grabbed his wrists and pulled him to the dance floor with all her might. Once they were out in the middle, he didn't bother resisting, to caught up in the embarrassment as Zell's video camera rolled on, capturing their every movement. Squall gave him a scowl but he just gave a thumbs up back. Rinoa placed his hand onto her hip and he guided his other hand to her shoulder. She positioned herself correctly and they attempted to dance.
Their feet were clumsy and uncertain as they attempted to dance in unison. They bumped into a few people very slightly as Rinoa tried to guide him correctly around the dance floor. That didn't quite work out as Squall stepped on her foot and stumbled into her. She pushed back, causing him to stand properly.
"Forget this." He said shaking his head as he left hastily.
"Oh no, no, no!" Rinoa insisted as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to her.
"For god sakes Rinoa! I can't dance worth shit." Squall finally concluded for her.
"I don't believe that for a minute..." Rinoa mumbled as she got her hands in the correct positions. Squall did the same for her, just to amuse her. They began to dance, or tried to. Squall stepped on her foot again and they ran into another dancing couple.
"Watch where you're going you dumb klutzes!" The man exclaimed.
"Go learn yoga and blow yourself!" Rinoa sneered angrily. She pushed Squall and her back into their correct position and Squall flashed her a quick and very tiny smile. A new song started just as they reached their new positions. Squall sighed and decided upon what to do. The song began and they danced. Their hands, arms and legs were in perfect synch. Squall was a natural pro and Rinoa just fell into his graceful moves. She was loving every minute of Squall's true self. The self he hid away. The lie that he once put up had vanished and in its place, a new Squall, a better dancing Squall.
The song was over to fast and ended with them only centimeters away from each other. They looked into each others eyes and she smiled her proudest smile. He let his hand fall to her bare arm and rubbed it gently and tenderly. Fire works boomed over head and they broke their eye contact to look up at it. Flashes of red, blue, green and every color exploded up in the heavens. Out of the blue, Squall broke away from her and dug into his back pocket and emerged with a ring on a necklace. It was Squall's favorite ring in fact, his griever ring. He placed the necklace around her neck and kissed her cheek softly.
"I'll explain later." He told her with a whisper. She nodded and let her fingers gingerly caress the ring lying down just above her cleavage. She bent up to whisper in his ear.
"Back to your room?" She questioned. He nodded and they walked off the dance floor.
*************
A/n: I don't want to say this... but I'll say it none the less. Download the song 'Shooting Star' by Kotoko. If you have an appreciation for J-POP, you'll like it. It's from the show 'Onegai Teacher'. Anyways! I hope you all liked this chapter. I just love writing this story and I'm so glad all of you are enjoying it as well. It means alot to me, this being my first fic and all.
