Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII...

Author's Note: Well, I've finally managed to continue with this. I would just like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single person that reviewed or e-mailed me encouraging me to continue. You all helped me get through a really trying time. I have set my account not to allow anonymous reviews. I am sorry to any of the people who have been reviewing anonymously, but because of the comments I had been receiving, I was forced to block anonymous reviews. Unfortunately, because of how busy I've been lately with my schoolwork, updates might take even longer than usual. I try to update every weekend, but it looks like that might not be possible for a while. Also, I've decided that I'm only going to include Author's notes in the beginning of the chapter, and not the end, as well. Again, I'm really sorry, but thank you to everyone for bearing with me this whole time.

On the Ice

Chapter 4- Trust

Rinoa paced the length of her hotel room nervously. Squall would be arriving any time now. Why does that make me so nervous? We're just going to watch the competition. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. He's coming to my hotel room! I have every right to be nervous! She told herself. But why? He's just your partner...maybe your friend. You're not supposed to get this worked up over a friend!

Sighing, Rinoa sat down and began combing her hair. You're the one that invited him here. She reminded herself. He was the one that seemed uncomfortable with the idea. But you had to go open your big mouth and convince him to come.

Rinoa was startled out of her thoughts by a nock at the door. "Just a minute!" She hurriedly got up, and with one final look in the mirror, she opened the door. "Seifer!" She gasped.

"Were you expecting someone else?" He smirked.

"I-I...what are you doing here?" She managed to get out.

"Let me guess...you thought I'd be at the competition right now." Seifer took Rinoa's silence as a yes. "Don't worry, I'll be there. I just thought I'd come and see you before the big night."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you want, Seifer? You still haven't answered my question."

"What do I want?" Seifer repeated. "I thought that would be obvious. I want you, Rinoa."

She shook her head disgustedly. "Oh really? If you want me so much, then why have you been with Quistis this whole time? You know, I can't even believe this! Did our earlier conversation mean nothing to you?"

Seifer walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "I made a mistake," He said as he stroked her cheek. "I belong with you...not Quistis." He said softly.

Rinoa didn't have a chance to respond as his lips crashed down on hers hungrily. She wanted desperately to pull away, but old emotions resurfaced and she found herself kissing him back. Rinoa felt herself succumbing to Seifer's charms as he deepened the kiss. A nock on the door, however, brought her back to reality and she pushed Seifer off of her.

"Get out of here, Seifer!" Rinoa ordered him, trying to compose herself.

"That's not what you want, Rinoa. Don't deny it..." Seifer said as he reached for her again.

"Let go of me!" She shouted. "I meant what I said. Get out!" A second nock on the door drew her attention away from Seifer. Rinoa ran to the door and flung it open irritably. "Squall..." In all the commotion with Seifer, she had completely forgotten that Squall was supposed to be coming over.

"Rinoa, is everything okay?" Squall asked, genuinely concerned.

"She's fine," Seifer said as he stepped into Squall's view. "Isn't that right, Rinoa?"

"I told you to get out!" Rinoa said angrily. "Now leave."

"Whatever you say, princess, but just remember, we can continue what we started anytime. You know where to find me." With a final smirk, Seifer left.

Rinoa turned to Squall. "I know what this looks like, Squall, but it's not what you think."

"Your romantic life is none of my business." Squall told her. "What I need to know is...can I trust you?"

"Of course you can trust me, Squall! Don't ever question that."

"This isn't a game, Rinoa. I don't know what the hell just went on between you and Seifer, but if you're going to be with him, then I don't think I should be here." Squall told her.

"Squall," Rinoa said gently, "I'm sorry that you think I've betrayed you. I know it looks bad, but I'm not involved with Seifer anymore. He came here thinking that he could stir up any old feelings that I had for him, and I'll be honest with you...it almost worked."

Squall's gaze was cold. "Almost worked? Rinoa, this isn't tug-of-war! I need to know that this is going to work. I'll ask you again, can I trust you?"

"And I'll tell you again. Yes, you can trust me, Squall. Tonight was just a stupid mistake. Seifer has no place in my future." She told him honestly.

Squall nodded. "Alright, I believe you, Rinoa. Now, are you going to let me in or what?"

Rinoa smiled. "Of course! Come on in." She moved to the side and shut the door as Squall entered the room. "I was thinking...Seifer knows where to find me. After tonight, I should probably move to a new hotel."

"That's not a bad idea. I should probably do the same thing. I don't want to be anywhere near Quistis right now."

"Um...since we're going to be partners, shouldn't we stay at the same place?" Rinoa asked.

Squall nodded. "We can take care of it tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Rinoa grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. "The competition should be on soon."

"You don't sound too happy about that," Squall pointed out.

Rinoa shook her head. "It's not that I'm not happy...I'm just nervous. What if Seifer and Quistis put on a great performance? Maybe I underestimated them."

"Rinoa, I used to attend a military academy. The one thing they always stressed was to never underestimate the enemy. What I'm trying to say is, we shouldn't underestimate Seifer and Quistis, but think about it. Their chance aren't good. They've barely had time to practice and they're new to each other. They don't know each other's ways yet."

"I guess you're right." Rinoa smiled and then hugged Squall tightly. Sensing his discomfort, she let go.

"What was that for?" Squall asked.

Rinoa blushed. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that. You just...you surprised me. Thank you for making me feel better."

Squall ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably. "Well, I'm glad that you're feeling better."

"Oh, look! It's starting!" Rinoa exclaimed. "I guess this is it, huh?"

"Not yet. Quistis and Seifer will be skating last, so we still have some time," Squall told her.

Rinoa sighed. "If I don't die from nerves first!"

"Would you rather be there?" Squall asked. "Waiting to compete in front of everyone?"

"It's funny...I seem to be more nervous now than I am before performing. But once I get out there...it's like I'm in a different world. I can be completely relaxed with myself and I just feel whole." Rinoa shrugged. "It probably doesn't make any sense...and I'm not sure how else I can explain it."

"No, that makes perfect sense because I've been there. That's why I love skating so much. You get into that zone and nothing can take away that feeling..." He trailed off.

Rinoa just stared at him. "Wow..."

"What?" Squall asked, confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You understand," Rinoa whispered. "I mean, you really understand what it feels like. Seifer...he never got that."

Squall turned his gaze to the TV. He needed to look anywhere other than Rinoa's face. The look she was giving him was piercing his soul. "Look...it really is starting this time."

Rinoa nodded. "This really is it."

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"Where were you?" Quistis demanded, her tone accusing.

Seifer rolled his eyes. "I went to get something. I told you that I was going to be gone for awhile."

Quistis sighed. "Then what did you get? I still haven't seen anything, Seifer."

"Well, I was going to give these to you after our performance, but..." Seifer trailed off as he drew out a bouquet of a dozen roses and presented them to Quistis.

"Oh, Seifer!" Quistis gasped. "I'm sorry that I questioned you. It's just that I thought..."

Seifer shook his head. "Don't worry, I know. Now, are you ready to blow the socks off these people?"

Quistis smiled. "Of course! Let's do this!"

"Our next competitors are Quistis Trepe and Seifer Almasy!" The announcer's voice boomed throughout the arena. "You may remember Quistis' former partner, Squall Leonhart, and Seifer's former partner, Rinoa Heartilly. Both have unexpectedly quit the competition. Will the new team of Seifer and Quistis have better luck? We'll just have to watch and see!"

Quistis and Seifer skated onto the ice hand in hand and all smiles. It was clear just by looking at them that they were full of confidence, although Seifer was being very cocky. They took their places and the music started up. They pushed off the ice smoothly and were completely in sync with each other. Their first jump approached and they nailed it perfectly. Their second jump, however, was a little wobbly. After that, Seifer seemed to be moving at a much faster pace than Quistis. Their final jump wasn't perfect, but not horrible, either. The music ended, they took their final bows, and skated off the ice.

"Can Almasy and Trepe take the lead? Here come their scores!" The announcer said excitedly.

"The technical marks for Almasy and Trepe are: 5.7, 5.6, 5.7, 5.6, 5.6, 5.7." The crowd applauded and the scores continued. "The artistic marks for Almasy and Trepe are: 5.6, 5.5, 5.5, 5.6, 5.6, 5.5."

"Reasonable marks for Almasy and Trepe. This will put them in second place. Join us here Saturday night for the final round of the competition."

Back in the locker room, Seifer and Quistis were pretty pleased with themselves. "We could have done better," Seifer said, "But second place is what we need right now. All we have to do is kick Kinneas and Tilmitt out of first place Saturday night."

Quistis nodded her approval. "It's a done deal."

******************************************************************************************

Rinoa yawned. "Well, they did pretty well for themselves... It looks like they could be a challenge."

Squall nodded. "You seem really tired. We can worry about it in the morning."

"Yeah, I just hope that Seifer doesn't come back here..." Who knows what could happen?

"Do you think he would hurt you?" Squall asked, clearly concerned.

"I don't know..." Rinoa answered truthfully. "Squall...I'm scared. I don't know what he might do."

Squall sighed. Damn...I wish that my hotel room was closer to here...

"I know I have no right to ask you this, but could you stay with me tonight?" Rinoa asked shyly.

Squall sighed again. Stay with her...? I don't want her to get hurt... "Okay, but just this once. Tomorrow we'll find somewhere else to stay."

"Thanks, Squall!" Rinoa said as she embraced him tightly for the second time that night.

"Don't worry about it." Squall said uncomfortably.

Rinoa released him and looked at him shyly. "Um...you could sleep in the bed. I'll take the floor."

Squall shook his head. "No, you take the bed. Don't worry, I'll be fine on the floor." He joked.

Rinoa smiled. "Are you sure?" Squall nodded. "Alright, I'm going to go change." Rinoa disappeared into the bathroom.

While Rinoa was in the bathroom, Squall took off his jacket and put it over a chair. I can't believe I'm doing this. Squall shook his head.

Moments later, Rinoa came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt. "Here," Rinoa said as she tossed him a pillow and blanket. "Are you sure you're alright with sleeping on the floor?"

Squall rolled his eyes. "Yes, Rinoa, I'm sure."

"Alright then, goodnight." Rinoa said as she turned off the light and snuggled deep under her covers.

"Goodnight."

~*~