Notice there was no chapter preview? Know why? Course you don't... Something big is gonna happen in this chapter... it could change the fate of humanity... okay maybe not, but something big!
This chapter will be far more serious than past chapters... But humorous moments will take place
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Rinoa walked down the hall slowly after school, trying to comprehend what her imagination had just conjured up. Her eyes were filled with dreary spacey ness that held no focus. Her expression was stoic.
Her thoughts could have been racing ahead of current times, but she just couldn't help herself. Dating Squall. It was like some bizarre fantasy. She couldn't help but want to waver this thinking off as a silly crush. A childish, elementary school, 'like like' situation. Did she even like him? What the hell is like anyways?
How could she ever have a crush on anyone after meeting them less than a week ago. Maybe she loved him. Nonsense. Insanity. Love? Love takes months, years, lifetimes to fully understand let alone achieve. But how she wanted it... to feel that passion when someone utters the words 'I love you'. To take their hand in yours. To be together forever.
"Wow..." Rinoa muttered. "I think to much during school hours." She noted, looking down at the hall she had just walked through...
Chapter EIGHT: Fly Me To The Moon
'It'll be quick and simple...' Squall planned as he paced along the roof, which was currently vacant. '"Hey Rin, you wanna do something on Saturday?"... NO! Saturday? What the hell? Friday is the time... plus I shouldn't call her Rin. Wait... you're thinking far to strategically. Love may be a battlefield, but it doesn't need complicated strategies... just go in, guns blazing. That's a poor example. Who cares? Going on a tangent, stop it.' Squall thought refocusing himself.
He looked over the side of the building to the ground below and found Rinoa chatting with Quistis and Selphie. He needed her to be alone, it was far to awkward for everyone to know.
'I'm gonna do it. I swear.' He stated, clenching his fist. "No squall, no cloud shall hinder me." He proclaimed dramatically.
"Excuse me?" A voice behind him asked curiously. Squall whirled around and came face to face with Nida.
"Oh sorry... I'm just a little on edge." Squall said with a little laugh. He tried to brush past Nida, but he caught Squall's arm roughly.
"We're all waiting for your next big move. The audience awaits the next line. The spot lights watching you. Don't mess up. Don't stress. An actor is based solely on the quality of his portrayal of one thing to the next." Nida reminded cryptically. Squall gave him a blank stare, trying to unravel the tapestry of words he had just received. Nida let go and Squall moved on.
Squall walked down the steps, wondering just what Nida had said to him. Was he saying that he was the actor? Who was he acting for? For his friends? He didn't have to act for anyone... did he? Was he going to need to?
Before his thoughts could venture much further he spotted Rinoa at her locker putting her books away, alone.
'Cha-ching.' Squall thought with success. He strode up to her and stood next to her. This caught her attention and she looked to him with a smile.
"Hey Squall." She greeted quite lamely.
"Hey Rin." He began, building courage for his next sentence. 'C'mon... this is your big chance.' He thought working himself up. He opened his mouth to speak, but another voice cut him off.
"OH MY!!" A voice hollered. It was Xu's. Squall mentally cursed and rolled his eyes with an evil grimace. He turned to her with a sour face. Xu ignored it. "If it isn't Squall and Rinoa! Just the people I wanted to talk to. So? How's your little festival thing coming along?" She asked, far to cheery to be normal.
"Fine thanks." Squall said with a vicious tone in his voice, ready to punch Xu.
"Yeah. We're working really hard. We're doing a play so hopefully you'll come to see it." Rinoa said with a hopeful grin.
"I will and might I - " Xu was about to continue until Squall's rude voice cut her off.
"HEY!! Don't you have someone where to be? Like hell or something?" Squall asked as he began to push her away.
"Excuse me?" Xu asked flabbergasted.
"Get lost!" Squall whispered venomously into her ear as he pushed her out of the school.
"Oh my gosh! Look at the time! I gotta get going, bye Squall!" Rinoa said as she walked for the double doors to the entrance of the school.
"I won't be misdirected that easily, Squall." Xu said with determination as she marched up the steps towards the doors when suddenly they came crashing into her, hitting her hard in the face. "OW!!! FUCK!!!" She screamed loudly as she held her bleeding nose.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Xu." Rinoa apologized as she held Xu's back, trying to support her in anyway.
"It's all right." She lied.
"mwhahaha..." Squall whispered evilly, trotting down the steps, past them. Xu growled, annoyed. Her plans were going all hay-wire because of Squall. Damn him!
Rinoa lay down in her bed in her pajamas, her hands behind her head, thinking. She couldn't stop thinking about him... what if he did ask the question? She pondered into the silence and blackness of the room around her. As expected, received no answer.
'What should I say?' She asked herself as she turned to her side, bringing her legs to her chest. 'He's so cute... how could I say no? The way he looks at me. Those cute eyes, that cute smile that makes me wanna give him a big hug. So adorable. Should I say yes? What if he really doesn't ask me and all my speculation was just totally random tangent. What will others think if we start dating? They probably don't want us together... it be so awkward I guess.' She thought logically. Her mind went blank for a second as she closed her eyes for a quick rest. She sighed, and opened her eyes once more revealing the darkness of her room. It was darker than she remembered. Her eye's darted around her room, afraid of some lurking beast/criminal/rapist. She slowly sat up, her posture stiffening, breathing becoming less rhythmic and her muscles tightening. She gulped, and reached for the metal baseball bat under her bed, ready to strike. Just as she could feel the cool metal of the bat, her mobile rang. She freaked out and screamed, ripping the bat from its original position and posing it in front of her, ready to beat the living shit out of whatever. She quickly recognized the sound and reached for the phone on her night stand.
"Hello?" She began, loosening up a bit. She looked at the clock and found the time to be 10:30 pm. An odd time for a phone call.
"Hi." Squall began, his voice steady while his whole body trembled.
"Oh hey Squall. Do you know what time it is?" She asked, slightly agitated.
"Oh crap! I'm so sorry! I'll call tomorrow." He hastily said, ready to hang up.
"Wait wait wait." Her voice cutting through his thoughts like a thick knife. "You've got my attention. Lets continue." She insisted with a tiny giggle.
Squall's face melted with the harmonic sound of the giggle. His eye's drooped, his smile grew enormous and his overall body deceased its tense state and relaxed with pure joy.
"I ummm... I." He said in a daze.
"Yes?" Rinoa beckoned.
"Oh!" Squall exclaimed, snapping from his trance. 'Okay... here it goes Squall...'
"I called to ask if you wanna go to a movie and get some dinner afterwards." He said, steadily, confidently and forthrightly.
"Sure." She answered, quite plainly.
'What? Excuse me?' Squall thought, flabbergasted.
"Awesome." He exclaimed with a bright smile. Rinoa laughed, surprised at such excitement.
"Okay. Well I better go... It's sort of late. Have to get to bed." She explained with a smooth, cool voice. Squall just mumbled something in his excitement. "Bye." She said and hung up.
'You're such a dork Squall... you were a stuttering mess while she was quiet, calm and in control of herself.' He thought, annoyed at himself.
"Why am I critiquing myself!? I GOT A DATE WITH RINOA!!" He shrieked with utter joy.
"A daughter!?" Zell exclaimed from the front of the Hybrid Rainbow's Fortress (the head of the classroom). The group was paracticing for their big play which was supposed to be put on next week. A one time showing.
"I'm sorry master." Irvine apologized, bowing apologetically, holding his script and reading it out of the corner of his eye. Irvine had managed to receive a part even this late in the game through a lot of persuading and alot of candy buying for Selphie.
"Sorry!? YOU'RE sorry!? I should be the one sorry one! I have received a daughter! A DAUGHTER!!! Of all the things to happen! I'd rather soon be dead than have this shame upon my family, career, reputation and most of all the country's!" Zell exclaimed with great gestures and over the top acting.
"I heard screaming! Goodness what is happening!?" Selphie, as the maid, exclaimed. She as well was holding her script.
"This is male business. You, however... go tell my wife I'm very displeased with her! Tell her she shall meet with me immediately she is out of that dammed room!" Zell barked, enraged, stomping his feet. Selphie nodded and ran off.
"Telling good women off are we now, Lord Kanto?" Squall asked cockily as he played the part of a Count.
"Oh... it's you, Count Cropett. I should have expected you showing up on such an occasion. You're most likely the cause of this day's unfortunate circumstance." Zell heaved with disgust.
"Count your blessings you old twit. At least you have a child to raise." Squall answered craftily he walked to Zell and stage-whispered: "You can always play the little filth off as a boy, you know?" He said, an evil grin materializing. Zell gave a totally perplexed look, then his thoughts quickly snapped into place and he smirked.
"Let me go check on the daughter of mine..." Zell said casually as he left. Irvine gave Squall and odd look as he had not heard what he had told Zell.
"I'm most glad you were able to change Lord Kanto's mind!" Irvine exclaimed as he bowed his head. He stood and ran off.
"Idiots." Squall said with a laugh and walked off.
"Hey that was good!" Quistis congradulated.
"Quite." Nida agreed.
"Now... just memorize all of your lines by Monday." Quistis instructed as she slipped her glasses back on and looked at their schedule.
"Monday!!" Rinoa cried, flabbergasted. Her jaw dropped and her eyes watered as realization that her entire weekend was destroyed.
"Duh! We have to work on other things besides just the acting..." She pointed out, as if she was stating the obvious. No one else had even thought of the other things, except Nida with the backgrounds.
"Like what, exactly?" Squall asked, questioning Quistis's knowledge.
"Let's see... light positioning, voice projection, blocking, microphone positions, the stage itself, costumes, advertising, sponsors, budget, and the fact that the actors must memorize the rest of their lines is a given." Quistis said, making it seem as if it was as plain as day.
"There goes my weekend." Rinoa complained as she squatted down, placing her head in her hands.
'There goes our Friday.' Squall complained to himself, secretly blaming Quistis for all his problems.
"So we're not going to the movies on Friday everyone?" Rinoa asked, looking up to everyone.
'Huh!?' Squall mentally exclaimed. 'But... but... NO!! AGGHH!! Stupid Squall!' He screamed, cursing himself over and over.
"Movie? What movie?" Selphie asked, slightly hurt and offended no one had told her.
"Squall told me about it." Rinoa said, throwing a curious glance to Squall.
"Ahehehe..." Squall giggled after a moment of silence.
"Squall..." Selphie began, glaring. "Can I talk to you outside?" She said, forcefully grabbing his collar and dragging him out the door.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!" Squall screamed as he sank into the wall outside.
"I won't. Now shut up." Selphie demanded. "You asked Rinny out, didn't you?" She asked.
"Maybe..." Squall confessed, blushing profusely.
"AHA!!" Selphie screamed with joy as she grabbed his hands and began to jump up and down in a giddy happiness. "I can't believe YOU actually did it! I never thought you would! I was all ready to give you a shove in the right direction." She told him.
"Thanks for the concern. But, I did it. Even though it failed miserably and she didn't even realize it was a date in the first place." Squall mused.
"True. But that's okay. It's the thought that counts." Selphie insisted.
'Right... the thought counts...' Squall thought in a melancholy fashion as he down cast his eyes from hers....
The next day... Squall and Rinoa were walking into their math room just as the bell rang.
"Cha-Ching!" Rinoa said with confidence as she took her seat next to Squall.
"Hello class!" The teacher greeted, happily. "Today, you're being assigned a project!" She said with enthusiasm. A collective groan sounded from the class. "Shut up. It'll be better than what you're thinking, I'm sure." She assured as she eyed them all. She stepped to the head of classroom and cleared her throat. "You are to do ONE equation from the lesson we learned yesterday, explaining what you're doing as you're doing it." She said. The class looked at each other. This 'project' would be insanely easy. "The catch is... it must be eye catching. You can't just simply do it on a piece of paper, oh no. Expand your mind beyond paper, like poster board, slide show presentation with the computer. Something of the sort. Just no sheets of paper, is that clear?" She looked to each of her students, studying their looks of relaxation. "This project is due tomorrow." She finished quickly.
"TOMORROW!?!?" Someone screamed in class, standing up and knocking over their chair in the process.
"Tomorrow." The teacher repeated. "You can do it with a partner. I'll give you the whole class period now to decide your partner and plan your project." She finished and sat down. As she turned her back the whole class flipped her off. Everyone immediately began to clamber and move about, looking for a partner. Squall instantly turned around and looked at Rinoa. She nodded, she knew what he wanted.
"Okay. I got an idea for this thing." Rinoa began clasping her hands on her desk. Squall turned around and straddled his chair so he could face her. We could get a large poster board and paint it on. And we could have this cute little animal on the sides saying how we did it." She suggested.
"That sounds perfect because I don't have any ideas." Squall laughed.
"Okay then, wanna come over to my house after school?" She asked. Squall nodded.
"Sounds good." He agreed.
"Hmmm... I don't really wanna work on the project right now." Rinoa commented as she hung her head, letting her hair rest against the cool desk.
"We don't have to work on it now. Save it for your house." Squall suggested, leaning closer to Rinoa. She whipped her head up causing her hair to whip Squall's face harshly. "OW!" Squall cried as he held his face.
"Oh! Oh my gosh! Sorry!" She apologized hastily as she gingerly took his head in her hands. Squall, surprised by the touch, let his hands drop slowly and steadily from his head. He stared into her caring and concerned eyes and became lost in a world of thin darkness...
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In The Next Chapter::::
~Squall's request for a date may have not worked but he's in for a surprise when he heads to Rinoa's house for the project... a little mess can do wonders...
~With the Hybrid Rainbows a mile behind schedule their morals plummet and Selphie begins to wonder of they'll ever even end up doing the play after all that hard work!!!
~ Fujin takes her evil schemes into her own hands and casts out her troop of followers... now, with no where to go they begin to wonder just what to do next....
A/n: Sorry it took me so long to finish this... school is a bitch. I hate it... yuck. Then I had problems with my bf... but they're fine now. I'll HOPEFULLY get a chapter out by tuesday because we have a 4 day weekend (cha ching)
Ta Ta La Ya'll!!!
~ x20 Vision