Author's note: Hiya! ^_^ I'm back. Sorry for the delay, though. I was having MAJOR writer's block for this fic, and school wasn't helping. Well, I'm here now with another chap for this fanfic and hope you'll like it! =) Plus, once I will be finished with this story, I will post another Squinoa called "Aim For The Heart." It should be really interesting. Anyway, have fun reading!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Squaresoft.

The Promise in a Kiss

~Chapter 6~

It Had To Be You

-*****-

Squall woke up franticly in response to his mind's silent cries of pain.

Bewilderment, Déjà vu, extreme irregularity, and a tinge of passion were all swarming brutally in his head.

Never in his life had the young man felt this unusual. The sudden mix of emotions was something he couldn't recall ever happening. Maybe the previous encounter with Rinoa at T-Garden gave him a taste of that certain manly feeling, but to his avail being drunk when asked to do a dare explains that distinguished night.

Squall hastily sat on the bed's edge and buried his flawless face into the warm-blooded hands awaiting it. Thoughts were racing in every direction throughout his brain. He couldn't bear with the blended feelings. Squall needed to hold onto something, fast, before his nerves exploded. He gripped his chocolate tinted hair tightly and groaned painfully in the brutal process. The brunette wasn't experiencing insanity. He was just too perplexed from the former musing. There were an awful lot of questions unanswered, and he couldn't understand why it all had to happen in the first place.

Now, all Squall Leonhart wanted to do was scream. Scream loud enough so that he could let all of his inner demons out, releasing the heavy burden that was still growing strong over his shoulders. He had to do something. Whether it would be guidance or a warm shower, this teenager was in a lot of stress right now, and needed the help as soon as possible. Any kind of help in his state.

Getting overly tired of the frustration, Squall was about to scoop up his desk chair and throw it out the window when his ears caught a faint sound coming from the doorway. Before he had a chance to open it, Squall glanced at the digital alarm clock on his nightstand. It read 4:23 A.M. He mumbled a few cusses angrily and went to greet the person on the other side of the room who was disturbing his peace. The peace in his dorm, that is. Not his mind; it was preoccupied with a bunch of things already, anyway.

As the door swung open, the worn-out-looking male was greeted with no one other than Zell Dincht. The vertically challenged man standing before him flashed a worried expression on his face when he noticed his friend's abnormal appearance. But all Squall did was stare at him with nothing but annoyance.

"Dude," Zell started groggily. "You look so…different. You sure you okay? I was hearing strange things coming from your room. Just wanted to make sure everything's alright."

"I look so different? Hyne, Zell! Look at the time for your sake. It's 4:30 in the morning. How do you expect me to look normal? I need rest Goddamnit, just like you. So, nothings wrong. Now go away," Squall spat. It was a lie, yes, but he wasn't going to let out the truth just yet.

"But, are you sure? And why are some of your things on the floor?" Zell questioned while peeking into the usually clean room. Squall immediately stepped in front of the door and closed it.

"None of your business. Just," he sighed wearily before softening his tone, "please, Zell. I'm in a lot of pain right now, so it would be better if you would just leave me alone for the time being, okay?"

A wave of sympathy passed through the Blondie after Squall sort of revealed what was bothering him. Not wanting to cause any more irritation, Zell decided to let go of the matter for now and leave his drained roommate in solitude. And with a final wave of his hand, Dincht left the room, completely perturbed and sleepy.

The chocolate hair-colored teenager slammed the door after he saw Zell retire to his dorm. Not being able to stay awake much longer, Squall collapsed onto his bed and drifted off into a deep slumber as dawn approached its way into the dark, frozen sky.

The upcoming morning would be the most heart-rending forenoon of all his fifteen years…

Squall will always regret it.

-*****-

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

Mesmerized to the clock hanging on her wall, Selphie watched its artificial hands circle their way around. Her head bounced up and down to the rhythm, which was perfectly matching her usual lively mood. Irvine watched this strange scene with amusement written all over his face. Why was she doing this? Nobody knew.

Rinoa came out of her bathroom and stopped in her tracks when she saw her friends.

What in Hyne's name…?

She cleared her throat. "Um, guys?"

Irvine instantly stopped looking at his hypnotized girlfriend and turned his head to face a very confused-looking Rinoa. She pointed to Selphie, expecting some kind of explanation.

Irvine chuckled. "Beats me," he shrugged. "Blame the clock."

Rinoa rolled her eyes and cleared the emerald eye-colored female's bizarre behavior out of her mind.

"Can we just go now? Grab that silly girl by the hair and drag her out of here. I'm going to confiscate that crap she's addicted to so we wouldn't have to deal with this later on. C'mon," she motioned towards the door, "I'm leaving."

Irvine did as he was told, and when in the process of grabbing Selphie's hair, she immediately went out of her trance and yelped in distress as her tall boyfriend pulled on her short, auburn locks.

"Ouch!! Irvy you stupid butthead, let go!" she demanded while still screaming out of the immense pain in her head. Irvine unhesitatingly listened and stopped with Rinoa's request.

"Sorry baby," he apologized while pointing to a girl who just walked out of the room. "It was her idea."

Selphie fixed her hair and put on a pissed off frown. Irvine winked charmingly at her and she ran out with a, "jerk!" Her boyfriend smirked and fleeted after her.

"No really, it was!"

Rinoa sauntered down the elegant halls of Trabia Garden towards the cafeteria. She, no, they were already late for breakfast. She stopped walking when the sound of Selphie's rapid footsteps entered her ears.

"Rinny!" she grinned, showing all her teeth. "Please don't leave me with that mean jerk ever again! He damaged the delicate hairs on my head, and now they hurt."

Rinoa laughed at this. Suddenly, Irvine came into their view and retorted with that same smirk on his face.

"Yeah, damaged as in touched."

"F you Irvy! It really hurts, you know."

"Yeah right."

"I'm serious!"

"Mm-hmm."

"Man, you are one twisted mutha—" Rinoa cut her off.

"Knock it off, guys. Let's just go to lunch. I'm starving."

Selphie stuck her tongue out at Irvine, a habit she had always done whenever ticked off. Her bf put on that pitiful dogface again and she just bounced away, not wanting to look at his desperate facial expression. Irvine decided to leave it at that and followed his friends into the lunchroom.

-*****-

"Ugh, finally," Rinoa said as she bit into her blueberry waffle. "I thought that you lovebirds would start a huge war zone on the lunch line."

Selphie glared at Irvine as they both sat around the table. "Well, we would've if this demon right here didn't carry respect for the lunch ladies."

"Right," the cowboy wannabe told her as he opened his milk. Selphie waved it off. "So, Rinoa," the raven-haired female looked up from her food, "are you still thinking about SL?"

She grimaced. "You idiots aren't helping, you know that? I need some support, not that kind of...crap."

Irvine's eyes fixed themselves nicely onto a couple of women who passed by, and his girlfriend didn't notice. She giggled at Rinoa's answer.

"Lighten up, Rin! But tell me again. How did the hottie look like?"

She sighed dreamily. "Well, he had this cute, shaggy brown hair, enticing blue eyes, hot leather outfit, and adorable smile—all of which I may never get to see again." Her eyes saddened at the truthfulness of those words. Rinoa told the couple about the enigmatic events yesterday, and they were really shocked. Irvine was bewildered and Selphie was surprised. You can't blame them, though. As people say, shit happens. But to her, it wasn't just shit. It was something unforgettable. The blissful feeling that creeps over her body when she thinks about him can't be described in words. Rinoa could have easily mistaken the exotic feeling for infatuation, the way her blood rushed to her cheeks whenever she saw his gorgeous face in her mind. But, could that really be what it all was? Confused puppy love? Sure, her mind would agree, but what about her heart? It didn't think so, and now, there was a vicious war zone within her. A battle of the heart and mind… Who was winning?

Selphie was about to reply when she noticed where her flirtatious boyfriend was looking. Not this again…

She aimed for his shin under the table and hit it hard out of dismay. Irvine's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he felt a throbbing pain forming on his right leg. He turned his head, facing her before speaking.

"Ow," he cried out. Selphie smirked in satisfaction. Revenge was glowing in her eyes as Irvine reached for his injured body part and starting rubbing it. Rinoa giggled, but then felt like she was being ignored.

"Ahem, Selphie?"

Upon hearing her name called, the petite teenager looked towards Rinoa's direction. She threw her a questioned facial expression.

"Ugh, never mind. Although I think that you should take Irvy to the infirmary. He doesn't look too good," Rinoa stated as she bit her bottom lip. And obviously right now, he was in an anguished state. Selphie hit pretty hard for a girl her age, and Irvine was her object of demonstration for proving that fact correct.

The female across from her sighed, green eyes meeting brown. Irvine continued clutching tightly onto his leg, still staring at it, helplessly. Selphie nodded.

"I agree…"

-*****-

The sirens were roaring continuously.

He lay there, not comprehending even the slightest commotion of what was happening around him.

Squall couldn't hear, couldn't feel, couldn't speak, the list can go on and on. He couldn't do anything but stay there, completely drenched in pain. Immense pain.

It was so unbearable that the fallen boy couldn't even feel it anymore. He tried remembering the past events, but his mind was in no condition of functioning. Then, it all came to him, faster than a change in traffic lights.

He had illegally taken a walk down the Balamb roads, to clear his head of all emotional issues he was coping with. It was exactly 10:53 A.M. before his legs took their last moments of strength. Squall's condensing sense of hearing would be gone forever, too, as time passed by. He would never have the chance to run through the blossoming flower fields he once did so when just a little child. He would never acknowledge the beautiful sounds birds chirped every time morning approached. And, he would never be able to turn back the cruel, never-ending hands of time. It was his destiny to be like this…and now, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. These trifle seconds that nearly cost him his life would haunt the torn brunette all the way to his grave.

The paramedics rushed like bulls on a vicious stampede towards the victim. A truck that had been delivering supplies to B-Garden had hit him accidentally, and all Squall could clearly focus on was their health. It was his own fault that he had not been observant enough when the large vehicle appeared in front of him. But, the thing was that it all happened so fast that he didn't have much time to do anything. Heading out of his only home this morning was probably the biggest mistake he had ever done. And now, he had to live with the horrifying results in the future. If there even was a future. But, fate had it's own plans for this wretched teenager.

Now, Squall could barely hear faint sounds surrounding him. His vision was sullen and blurred, so from whom he was hearing this was uncertain. It sounded much like medical staff, and soon he could actually feel things touching him. Hands, to be precise. These people were mounting him up onto Hell knows what, and soon he could feel the object he was put onto moving in a fast pace. His tensed muscles boiled in pain, and he felt blood dash rapidly throughout his anguished body. It was remarkably hard for Squall, but he was a fighter and the life-threatening situation he was in proved this fact utterly. At this moment all he really wanted to do was to be left alone, but he knew that if his wish was granted he would gradually die on the spot, his mind and body shrieking with distress while he'd have waited for his last breath to come.

The emergency crew now carried his stretcher into the ambulance car. As they did so, his head started throbbing with even more intense pain, and at this point he literally wanted to die. He had never felt so helpless and pained in his entire being, so death was the only cure. Or at least sudden death, so that way he wouldn't have to deal with all of the pressure. It's that simple. But, would he really want it? There were people who cared about him, like Zell and…Rinoa…? Oh boy…here we go again. Even after being injured so severely, there was the slightest bit of fondness and passion in his afflicted inner self.

The engines blasted on and the automobile immediately rushed out of the area. As they hurried away, a weak smile formed tenderly on Squall's battered face.

There was going to be hope for him after all…

Even when his eyes fluttered closed.

-*****-

Author's note: Bwahaha, yet another ample plot twist to this ficcy, eh? Lol, hope it rather…er…shocked ya! I thought it would be a nice little thing to add, hee-hee, that would do big effects on this story. *Sob* poor Squall, his life will be effected GREATLY after this accident. Well, hope you enjoyed reading! Leave me a review once you're done reading this. Go on now! ^_^