Chapter One - Welcome Back
Rinoa Heartilly greeted Squall as soon as he arrived back at Balamb. She hardly even waited for him to put his bags down before jumping into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck.
Squall, however, was not as enthusiastic about seeing her. He patted her back awkwardly, trying not to flinch.
"Squally! I missed you so much!" she squealed like a young child and tried to steal a kiss from the Commander's lips.
Luckily, he turned his head just in time and saved his lips from the torture. "Thank you, Rinoa," he told her.
She unattached herself from him and gave him a feel-sorry-for-me look. "You're not happy to see me?" she pouted, bottom lip trembling.
Honestly, no, he answered her silently. He picked his bags back up and moved past her, going further into Balamb Garden. He found himself in the lobby, and he reveled in the feel of being back home.
Rinoa, of course, followed. "Angelo missed you, too."
Really? Where is the stupid mutt now? Squall mused to himself, continuing towards his dorm.
"Aren't you going to say anything to me?"
Squall was about to reply with a harsh response ("Sure, I'll say something: Get the hell away from me."), but Selphie came bounding to them, excitedly welcoming Squall back.
Rinoa gave the energetic girl a jealous look, cursing her for stealing her Squally's attention.
Selphie turned to Rinoa. "Rin, I think you might want to head to the cafeteria. Angelo is trying to steal Zell's hotdogs, and Zell's threatening to Booya the poor puppy," she said, her green eyes wide, as if she actually cared.
Rinoa's eyes widened also, though hers were fearful. "Angelo?" She gave Squall a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying off towards the cafeteria.
Selphie waited until Rinoa had disappeared before she burst into a fit of giggles.
Squall gave her a strange look and picked up his bags to continue on to his room.
"That was pretty clever, huh?" she asked between giggles, following Squall.
"Whatever." Squall wasn't following whatever she was talking about, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
"Angelo isn't even in the cafeteria!" Selphie continued to giggle, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Then why'd you tell Rinoa that he was?" Squall inquired. He stopped in front of his dorm and tapped his code into the keypad to unlock it.
"You looked annoyed. You should be thanking me." Selphie smiled and put her hands on her hips.
Squall felt like smiling also, but he kept his serious expression. "Thank you, Selphie."
Selphie's smile widened. "No problem-o, Commander. Rinoa's such a poopy-head." She followed Squall into his dorm without stopping to ask permission.
He didn't mind Selphie's presence, yet, so he allowed her to come in. Squall put his bags on his bed. "Why do you say that?"
The energetic brunette's face suddenly darkened, and a low growl sounded deep in her throat. "Angelo tinkled on the Quad's stage. I got mad and told Rinoa, but she said that it wasn't her fault the stage looks like crap." Selphie sighed and sat down on Squall's bed, beside his suitcases. "I can't stand her sometimes, Squall. I know it's not very nice, but she just… Grrr! Really pisses me off!"
Squall chuckled softly and shook his head. "Don't let her get to you."
"Can't we kick her out of Garden or something?" Selphie asked, looking at Squall hopefully.
"Not without good reason. You know that, Selph."
"Can't we accuse her of attempting to blow us all to smithereens? I did see her looking at Irvy kinda mean."
Throwing Rinoa out of Garden sounded like a great idea to Squall, but he knew they couldn't just kick her out. He had made a promise to look after her. Making that promise, he knew, had been the biggest mistake of his life. He couldn't just break that promise; Squall wasn't that kind of person.
"We just have to deal with her, I guess," Selphie was saying. She sighed to herself. Dealing with Rinoa was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had to at least give it a try. "How was Esthar?" she changed the subject.
Squall shrugged and unzipped his first bag, pulling out the gift he had bought for Selphie. "I got you something." He handed her the gift bag.
"Aw! Squall, you didn't have to get me anything. It was your birthday!" Selphie looked into the bag and pulled out a stuffed moomba. "Cuteness! Thank you, Squall." She gave him a hug and quick kiss on the cheek.
"I got you a post card, too." He opened the bag's side pocket and retrieved the card he had picked out for Selphie.
She giggled happily and hugged the moomba close to her chest while examining the post card: a picture of Esthar at night, its bright lights illuminating the dark. "Thank you!" She continued to hug her moomba and put the card in her pocket. "Did you get something for everyone else? What did you get? What did you get?" She began to bounce on the bed.
Squall contemplated whether or not he should tell her; Selphie was known for ruining surprises. He figured she couldn't ruin this one since he'd give the rest of his gifts before she had a chance to tell. "I got a dictionary for Quistis; it's the latest Richardson edition, and it includes a map and a thesaurus. I also got her a post card." He showed her Quistis' gift. "For Zell I got a booklet of gift certificates for Harry's Hotdog Heaven."
Selphie laughed. "Does he have to go all the way to Esthar to use it?"
"Nope." Squall shook his head. "They're valid at any participating Harry's Hotdog Heaven."
"Zell will definitely like that."
"For Irvine I got a poster of that Girl Next Door model he likes so much, Naomi Roberts." He didn't want to show that one to Selphie, fearing she'd get upset when she saw what the model was wearing (or wasn't wearing).
"Didja get anything for Rhino?" Selphie smiled innocently.
"I got some gourmet dog treats for her and Angelo."
"You've heard that rumor, too?" She gave in to another fit of giggles.
A rumor was going around Garden that Rinoa and Angelo often fought over Angelo's dog treats. It was believed that Rinoa tried to eat the last treat of the box before Angelo even got a chance.
"Did you get anything from Sir Laguna?"
"He gave me a journal." He tried not to sound so unenthusiastic about it, honestly he did, but he found it rather hard to get excited over a journal.
"Ooo, really? That's nice. Now you can keep up with your thoughts. You better keep it hidden, or someone might try to read it," Selphie wisely advised.
Squall nodded and put the journal on his bed. He was going to take Selphie's advice, but he couldn't understand why anyone would want to read his journal. He probably wouldn't even write in it very often. "Thanks, Selphie."
Selphie nodded, still hugging the moomba close. "Everyone's in the cafeteria, if you want to give them their gifts."
Squall remained silent, falling back into his state of indifference. He gathered up the gifts before following Selphie out into the hall.
