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

Author's Note: Well, since this week is April vacation, I've had much more time to work on this fic. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter up this weekend. Thank you all so much for the reviews! I've been much more inspired to write this lately since I recently got tickets to the Bon Jovi/Goo Goo Dolls/Sheryl Crow concert in July. I'm extremely excited about that! Also, thanks so much for anyone who has been reading my live journal ^_^

On the Ice

Chapter 7- Warnings

"Congratulations!" Rinoa ran up to Selphie and gave her a hug. "You guys were great!"

Squall nodded his agreement and shook Irvine's hand. "You put up a good performance out there. You deserve the win."

"Thanks," Irvine said sincerely. "That means a lot coming from you."

"Hey, why don't we go out and celebrate?" Selphie suggested excitedly. "Let's all go out to dinner! It's on us!"

Rinoa shook her head. "You're the two that won! Dinner will be on us."

"On us?" Squall smirked. "Speak for yourself."

"Squall!" Rinoa hit him playfully. "Do you really expect me to pay for everyone's meal?"

Squall raised his hands defensively. "It was your idea, not mine."

"I've got a better idea. How about everyone pays for their own meal?" Irvine suggested.

Rinoa clapped her hands. "That sounds wonderful!"

"Tee-hee, great! Just let Irvine and me freshen up. Then, we can be off!" Selphie and Irvine disappeared into the locker room and Rinoa and Squall waited outside for them.

Rinoa sighed happily as they walked into the parking lot. "I'm so happy for them! I actually thought that Seifer and Quistis could have taken the win."

"Me too. But that goes to show that they're all talk." They approached Squall's car and got in.

"Exactly," Rinoa smiled. "So, when do you think we'll be back in competition?"

Squall shrugged. "Who knows? It depends on how hard and how much we work. To be honest, I don't really mind not competing for a while."

Rinoa looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean? You don't want to skate anymore?"

Squall sighed. "It's not that. I just don't mind being off for awhile and not having to face all the pressure."

She nodded. "I understand, but we're not really off. We're still training, and you might not be anxious to go back, but I am."

Squall turned to face Rinoa. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Why are you my partner? I mean, out of all the skaters in the world, why stay with me?"

Rinoa frowned. "Well, for one, I love being around you. You're a great partner and a wonderful friend. I want to be a part of your life. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"No one ever has before. Everyone I ever cared about went away and left me alone. Every time I begin to trust someone, they leave me alone. Why haven't you left yet?"

"Oh, Squall..." Rinoa's heart broke. "I'm not going to leave you." She reached out and took his hands in hers. "I assure you, I have no intention of leaving."

"Are you sure? Because if you aren't, I don't want you to feel obligated..."

Rinoa shook her head firmly. "I don't feel obligated." She kissed him tenderly. "I'm here because I want to be. No one makes my decisions, but me."

Squall leaned across the car and wrapped Rinoa into his arms. Rinoa was surprised by his actions, but relaxed in his arms. Just then, Selphie and Irvine approached the car.

"Sorry that we took so long. Are you ready to go?" Selphie asked.

Squall nodded. "Where are we headed?"

"Irvy said he saw this cute place downtown. It's called 'Larson's Place.' You two up for it?" They nodded their consent. "Great! See you in a little while!"

Selphie and Irvine got into the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Squall and Rinoa followed behind them. As they drove down the street, Rinoa looked out the window and stared at the dark sky. She gasped, causing Squall to take his eyes off the road in front of him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

Rinoa smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I just saw a shooting star, and it was beautiful. I'd never seen one before."

Squall relaxed. "Did you make a wish?"

She grinned. "Maybe.... You don't expect me to tell, do you?"

Squall opened his mouth to reply, but never got the chance to as their car was hit from behind. Both Squall and Rinoa jolted forward.

"Who the hell was that?" Squall asked angrily. He looked in the rearview mirror, but couldn't make out who was in the car behind them.

"Should we pull over?" Rinoa asked shakily.

"I don't know. We might lose them if we do."

Suddenly, the car rammed them again, hard. This time, their car surged forward and crashed into Selphie and Irvine's car, causing them to swerve to the side of the road. Squall jammed on the brakes and managed to stop off to the side of the road.

Squall turned to Rinoa anxiously. "Are you okay?"

Rinoa nodded numbly. "Who was that?"

"I don't know. I'm going to go check on Irvine and Selphie. You wait here."

Rinoa shook her head. "I'm coming with you."

"Rinoa..."

"No, Squall, I'm coming. They could be hurt...we've wasted enough time already."

Squall nodded and they got out of the car. As they approached the car in front of them, Irvine opened the door and turned towards them. Seconds later, Selphie appeared.

"Are you guys alright?" Rinoa asked anxiously.

"Yeah, we're okay." Irvine responded. "What the hell was that?"

Squall shook his head. "Someone rammed us from behind. Unfortunately, we have no idea who it was."

"I think I have an idea as to who it was," Rinoa told them. They turned to her curiously. "I believe that it was Seifer and Quistis."

Squall sighed. "I was thinking the same thing...but we don't have any proof. For all we know, it could have been some drunk."

"They did have a motive, though," Selphie said. "We should have told you this before..." She looked at Irvine and he nodded. "Seifer and Quistis threatened us, right before we competed tonight...."

Irvine nodded as he thought about what Seifer had said earlier and how Quistis had told them not to take his threats lightly. "It all makes sense. They have a grudge against you two for teaming up and they dislike us for winning. So they came after us for revenge."

"The question is, do we go to the police?" Rinoa asked.

"We don't really have a case..." Squall ran a hand through his hair. "All we have is speculation. There really isn't anything the police can do and getting them involved could make things worse."

Selphie nodded. "You're right. Let's just forget about this for now and head to the restaurant. We're supposed to be celebrating!"

"Yes, I almost forgot about that," Rinoa told her. "I'm with Selphie. We can drop this for now and have some fun. There's time to look into this later."

They all agreed and got back into their cars. The incident was put to rest...for the time being.

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

Ten minutes later, they all arrived at Larson's Place. They entered the restaurant and a waitress greeted them. "Hello! Welcome to Larson's Place! How many people are in your party?"

"Four," Squall answered simply.

"Okay, right this way, please." The waitress led the way to a booth in the corner of the room. Squall and Rinoa sat on one side, across from Irvine and Selphie. "My name is Joanne, and I'll be your waitress today." She handed them the menus. "I'll give you a few minutes to look those over. Holler if you need anything!"

All four studied their menus, casually remarking on what sounded good. A few minutes later, everyone had just about made up their minds, except for Irvine.

"Hmm...should I go with the steak or chicken?" He asked, seriously contemplating the matter.

Selphie giggled. "For goodness sakes, Irvy, chose one! Do you want me to flip a coin?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea."

Selphie rolled her eyes and extracted a coin from her purse. "Heads is steak and tails is chicken." She flipped the coin; heads. "It's heads, you're ordering the steak."

Just then, Joanne returned to the table. "Are you ready to order now?"

Squall ordered first. "I'll have the marinated chicken breast and a water, please."

Next was Rinoa. "Um, I'll have to backed scrod and a diet Pepsi, please."

"Howdy there, Joanne," Irvine winked. "I'd like the steak, medium well, and a Budd Lite."

Last to order was Selphie. "Okay, I'll have the Chicken Caesar salad and an iced tea."

Joanne finished writing the order down and smiled. "We'll get working on that right away," She said and walked off.

"So, have you two decided when you're going to be competing again?" Selphie asked.

"Actually, we were just discussing that earlier," Rinoa told her. "We haven't said 'this is the exact date we're going back' because we don't know, yet. We still need to get used to each other's techniques and skating habits. When we feel as if we're ready, we'll return."

Selphie nodded. "Well, we'll be glad when you do. You two are the closest friends we have. It'll be nice to have you around."

Rinoa smiled. "Thanks, Selphie. We really appreciate what the both of you have done. A lot of people would have sided with Seifer and Quistis."

"Not us," Irvine grinned. "We know trash when we see it."

"I wish I had that ability," Squall grimaced. "Maybe then I could have avoided any contact with Quistis."

Rinoa reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. "You can't blame yourself for that, Squall. We've all made mistakes."

Irvine and Selphie nodded. "It's true. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Squall nodded reluctantly. "Yeah... I keep telling myself not to dwell on the past."

Sensing Squall's discomfort, Selphie changed the subject. "So...are you two, you know, dating?"

Rinoa blushed. "Well..."

"Do we look like we are?" Squall asked.

Selphie nodded. "You look like a very cute couple. If you aren't dating, then what are you waiting for?"

Rinoa laughed. "We're not officially dating, but..." She trailed off.

"Alright, no further explanations required," Selphie giggled. "I'll get it out of you sometime, though."

Joanne arrived just then with their meals. The rest of the evening went by smoothly, with much laughter and joking around. Squall found himself oddly comfortable around this people. The feeling was foreign, but it was...nice.

They all got up and were about to leave, when Joanne hurried up to them. "Sorry to bother you again, but the gentleman at table seventeen asked me to give this to you." All four of them turned to the table, but no one was there.

"What does it say?" Rinoa asked.

Squall read the not out loud. "The events that happened earlier tonight were no accident. Be on your guard." He turned towards Joanne. "Who gave this to you?"

"I don't know. The man was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and I didn't get a good look at his face. I'm sorry."

Rinoa turned to Squall, fear evident in her eyes. "What does this mean?"

Squall shook his head. "I don't know, but I do know thing."

"What's that?"

"We should take this seriously. Whether this is a warning or a prank. We don't need something else to happen."

They all nodded silently in agreement. They had no other choice. They had to watch themselves.

~*~