Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII...
Author's Note: I am extremely sorry for how long it has been taking me to update this fic lately. I've had writer's block for the past two weeks and I'm not entirely sure if it's over yet, seeing as to how I really don't like this chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. I'm glad that a lot of you think that the kiss was sudden, because that's exactly how I intended it to be. I'd also like to give a special thank you to OnemoreSquall. Thanks for making me aware that the ice has to be cleaned every hour. If you have any more skating techniques I could use in this fic, I'd love to hear them! Also, I have my Livejournal up and I have been updating it pretty regularly. Here's the link if anyone wants to check it out: .
On the Ice
Chapter 6- Confusion
They parted and Rinoa touched her lips in a daze. Did that really just happen? "Squall..." She began.
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rinoa. I don't know why I did that... I shouldn't have done that."
"It's okay," Rinoa assured him. "I mean, it's more than okay. What I'm trying to say is...could you kiss me again?"
Squall stared at her in shock. She's not offended? "I, uh, I don't know."
"Oh," Rinoa's face fell. "I understand. It was just one of those spur of the moment things."
"Yes," He nodded. Then, seeing the look on her face, he quickly said, "No! That's not what it was at all."
"Then what was it, Squall?" She asked quietly. "Why did you kiss me?"
Squall shook his head. "I don't know, Rinoa. What do you want from me?" He asked, exasperated.
"What do I want?" Rinoa practically shouted. "I want an explanation, damn it! Or do you just go around kissing girls without giving them a second thought?"
Squall sighed. "I don't have an explanation to give you, Rinoa."
"So that's it, huh? I am just another girl to you! Hell with the sympathy act and the 'let's be partners' deal. You were only after one thing and now you got it. You happy?"
"Rinoa, please, it's not like that. You have to trust me," he pleaded.
"There are those words again. Trust me and everything will be okay." Rinoa ran a finger down Squall's chest seductively. "You've got me," she whispered.
"Rinoa," Squall gulped, "Why are you acting like this?"
"What? You don't like this, Squall? Kiss me," She demanded.
This time Squall complied. The feeling of her mouth on his was like heaven. Everything about her was intoxicating. Suddenly, Rinoa pulled away. Squall gave her a confused look.
"I...I'll see you later," She managed to say as she turned and fled from the arena.
Squall stood rooted to the spot, feeling more confused than ever.
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Squall buried his head in his hands. He didn't want to go back to the hotel and face Rinoa, so he chose to stay in the locker room for awhile. Why had he kissed Rinoa? Regardless of what Rinoa thought, Squall hadn't kissed her just for the hell of it. Something had come over him and now he felt so vulnerable.
You asshole. You made Rinoa leave and you hurt her badly. For what? You felt something for her. No, you feel something for her. He shook his head. This was never going to work. I should never had kissed her...
"Excuse me, Sir? Are you in tonight's competition?" A man, no older than Squall, asked.
"Uh, no," Squall answered.
"Hey buddy, are you okay? You seem really upset about something."
"You could say that." Squall looked up. "Why do you care?"
"Hey, I'm just trying to help you out. The name's Zell." He stuck out his hand. "Zell Dincht."
Squall looked at Zell's extended hand, but made no effort to return the gesture. "So why are you here?"
"I was sent to clear out the locker room. The skaters need to use this room, so you're going to have to leave." Zell told him.
"Fine." Squall got up.
"Let me guess...woman problems?"
".................."
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No," Squall replied, "I don't." And with that, he turned and left the room.
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Rinoa stood on the balcony of her hotel room, gazing out at Dollet. A plethora of feelings ran through her. She still wasn't sure of what she felt towards Squall, and more importantly, what he felt towards her. Why did he kiss me? She sighed. Everything was so confusing. What now? Have a romantic relationship with Squall while being his skating partner? I've tried that and it doesn't work out. I don't want to ruin what Squall and I have.
"What am I supposed to do?" Rinoa asked no one in particular. She had no idea as to how Squall felt about her. He could have kissed her just for the hell of it, but something told her that he wasn't the kind of person that would do that. I have to talk to him. I really can't decide anything until I hear what he has to say. This time, I won't let him get away with saying "I don't know."
Satisfied, Rinoa turned around...and bumped right into Squall. Feeling a strong sense of deja vu, she quickly said, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm staying here, too, remember?"
Rinoa bit back an angry retort and simply said, "Yeah, I remember." She started to walk past him, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Rinoa, I need to talk to you," He pleaded.
Remembering her earlier vow to talk to Squall, she decided to hear him out. But that didn't mean she had to like it. "What do you want, Squall?"
He sighed. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Rinoa. You asked me why I kissed you, and I said I didn't know, but that's a lie. I kissed you because my heart told me to."
Rinoa stared at him. "Your heart told you to?" She asked skeptically.
"I'm attracted to you. I tried to make this purely professional, but I can't. I know you just ended a bad relationship, but I think this is different," He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. What I'm trying to say is that I think we should give this relationship a chance."
Rinoa smirked. "Well, Mr. Leonhart, you do know how to win a girl over."
Squall shook his head. "Not just any girl."
"Well..." She shifted uncomfortably. "I should apologize as well. I shouldn't have played with you either. I wanted so bad to hear an explanation, though."
"Now you have one."
"Yes," She smiled, "And it's more than I could ever have hoped for."
"You still haven't given me an answer, though." Squall reminded her.
"Like you don't know what I'm going to say," She teased. "Of course I think we should give it a go. There are many successful boyfriend/girlfriend teams out there. I'd like to be added to their number."
Squall grinned. "So do I. But for the time being, we're going to have to settle on working our asses off."
"Yes, if we want to be successful. Right now, though, we still have time before we have to head back to the arena to watch the competition. Are you hungry? Because I'm starving."
"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry, too."
Rinoa clapped her hands. "Great! I'm going to make you the best meal you ever had!"
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"Irvy, what do you think about Seifer and Quistis?" Selphie asked as they warmed up backstage.
"What about them? They seem like they'll be tough competition, but so are we. I think we can beat 'em."
"Yeah, but what do you think of them as people?"
Irvine was puzzled. "As people? Well, I don't rightly know. I haven't really talked to them, although that Seifer seems kinda arrogant."
Selphie nodded. "I was talking to Rinoa earlier. Most of the rumors are true...Seifer did cheat on her. She's going to be partners with Squall Leonhart now."
Irvine whistled. "Seems to me like they're going to be some team. I'm sure Seifer and Quistis won't be too happy to go up against them."
"Tee-hee, I suppose not! There's just something about them that I don't like..."
"About Leonhart and Heartilly?" A voice asked. "I don't blame you. There's nothing to like about them." Seifer walked into the room, with Quistis following behind him.
"Actually, we weren't talking about Squall and Rinoa," Irvine told them.
"Yeah, we were talking about you!" Selphie exclaimed.
Seifer glared at her. "If I were you, I'd watch my mouth."
"Is that a threat?"
Quistis smiled cruelly. "Let's just say that you should always take Seifer seriously. We'll see who's talking trash after tonight's winner's announced."
"Yeah," Irvine said coolly. "We will see."
Seifer stared at him coldly. "Watch yourself, Cowboy. Those that associate themselves with Leonhart and Heartilly need to be taken care of."
"And what, precisely, do you plan to do?" Irvine asked.
"Seifer laughed. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough."
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Squall and Rinoa took their seats among the thousands of others that had come to watch the final round of the competition. It always amazed Rinoa that so many people shared her love of skating. When you were out there, the bigger the crowd the better. It allowed you to get pumped up and be filled with a great adrenaline rush. Rinoa sighed wistfully. She couldn't wait to be out there again.
Squall nudged her gently. "It's starting..."
Rinoa focused all of her attention to the ring of ice. First up were Anita Lawrence and Chris Baker. Since they were currently in third place, they got to skate first. They put their hearts into that performance and you could really tell. Unfortunately, their technical performance just wasn't up to par. Once they finished, they got their marks, which were just as Rinoa expected. Strong artistic marks, but low on the technical part.
Next up were Seifer and Quistis. Again, Seifer looked extremely cocky and too sure of himself. Quistis was all arrogant confidence. What a pair they make! Rinoa couldn't help thinking. The music started up and they were off. Rinoa noticed that their performance was a lot more sexy and flirtatious than before, and Rinoa could see how they had improved. The artistic portion was great, and the technical moves were flawless. They ended on an extremely happy note.
"Damn, that's going to be hard to beat," Rinoa whispered to Squall.
He nodded. "Here come their scores."
"The technical marks for Almasy and Trepe are: 5.9, 6.0, 6.0, 5.9, 6.0, 6.0." The crowd cheered. "The artistic marks for Almasy and Trepe are: 5.8, 6.0, 6.0, 5.9, 5.9, 5.9."
"Great marks for Almasy and Trepe!" The announcer exclaimed. "Will Kinneas and Tilmitt have what it takes to capture the gold?"
Irvine and Selphie skated onto the ice. They were all smiles and you could see the happiness emanating from them. Their performance was a jazzy number, very playful and fun. The crowd really got into it, and Rinoa found herself clapping along with the rest of them. They pulled off all their jumps with ease, especially the triple axle. The music ended and the crowd was on their feet. Selphie and Irvine took their bows and got ready to hear their scores.
"The technical marks for Kinneas and Tilmitt are: 6.0, 6.0, 5.9, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0." The crowd roared with approval. "The artistic marks for Kinneas and Tilmitt are: 6.0, 6.0, 5.9, 6.0, 5.9, 6.0."
"That makes Irvine Kinneas and Selphie Tilmitt the winners of this competition!" They jumped up and down, hugging each other excitedly.
However, not everyone in the arena was celebrating. Off to the sidelines stood two figures, enraged with the outcome of the competition.
"This is not the last time they're gonna be hearing from us," Seifer promised.
~*~