Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE FF8 CHARACTERS!!!
A/N: Nothing much to say here. Exams are still going on but I don't care! I wanna write my stories. I know, I'm a bad girl ^^. Please review, I need your support!!
I love my reviewers!! Thanks ppl!!!!!!
XxPhoenix BladexX
FFgal
Angel Rinoa Heartilly
Evan's Rinoa
Cheryl6124
Mariko
Amber Tinted
Tw1light
Chapter 3: The Game of Love
"Irvine, you do it."
"What's wrong, almighty Squall? Can't handle a seventeen-year-old girl?"
My reasons are none of your business. He grumbled in disgust, "Someone has to go around town to gather some information on this Rinoa girl. Selphie'll stay with you and make sure you don't do anything stupid. Also, like you said, I already…have Quistis and I don't want things to get out of hand."
"Awww, I knew you had a kind soul somewhere deep inside," Selphie declared, showing her puppy dog eyes.
"Whatever."
"Anything you say, Leader."
Shut up.
Squall turned around and trudged away, hoping that Irvine would not screw things up. Squall hated people. He just wanted to be alone. Great. Where do I start? The brunette forced himself through the crowd and without noticing it, made his way to the funny-looking building. (where they actually trapped Edea during the parade. Sorry! Don't know what it's called) Suddenly, he noticed a familiar blonde walking towards his direction. Seifer! What's he doing here?
"Hey there, Squall. Shouldn't you be back at the Garden?" he remarked cynically. "Oh, don't tell me you got yourself lost again."
"Whatever."
"Why don't you go back to that beloved 'Garden' of yours? That damned place is filled with people like you. You're wasting your time here."
"…I'm wasting my time talking to people like you," Squall turned and stalked away.
"Running away, Squall? You always run. What a coward."
This made Squall stop in his tracks. He retraced his steps and, without hesitation, introduced Seifer's cheek to his fist.
***
Knock, knock!
Almost immediately, the door swung open, revealing a young lass in a sky blue, cotton knit dress with its front open tied together by two strips that served as clasps. Irvine's eyes trailed down her body (Irvine: Oooo, slender).Having examined the picture countless of times, he recognized her in a second. "Target spotted." Putting on his slyest look, he chuckled and muttered in a low, mature voice.
"Hi, there."
The girl showed no response at first but soon her eyes brighten up. His charm was definitely working.
"Ah, you must be one of Zone's messengers! Man, he always gets a stomachache and Watts is left behind…again," said Rinoa, faking an upset stomach and squatting down. Regaining her original position, she spoke, "Here's the message. Make sure no one reads it, understood? It's extremely private. Deliver it to the address as stated on the back of the paper. I don't trust the mail anymore. My so-called dad is sure to pry into the letterbox and read it. He won't let me out of sight even once ever since 'that'… incident. Besides, I trust Zone's intuition, though this time, he picked a weird choice."
Irvine was clearly confused. His mouth was hanging open and looking at Rinoa with a dumb look glued onto his face.
"C'mon! What happened to your womanizing expertise??" Selphie was stifling a snicker, careful not to acquire unwanted attention.
Rinoa sighed and grabbed the cowboy's hands. Feeling something warm and soft make contact with him, Irvine came back to his senses. "Wow, we're holding hands already?"
"No, silly. Leave it to Zones to find me a 'proper' envoy. Here," sighed Rinoa, carefully placing a small piece of paper into Irvine's open hand. "Handle it with care." Suddenly, there was a door closing from within the house. "Oh, no! Gotta run! Don't tell anyone about this little meeting of ours, ok?" With that, she disappeared once more into the precincts of the confined mansion.
As soon as the coast was clear, Selphie came out from her hiding place and dragged Irvine back onto the sidewalks.
"Wow, that's the first time I see the King of Girls speechless," teased Selphie.
"Hey, she didn't even give me a chance to talk!" Irvine disputed, shrugging his shoulders. "At least my efforts could get a hand on this." Bringing the paper up to eye level, Selphie excitedly swiped it out and read the address: Room 761, Galbadian Hotel.
"Well, should we read it?" Selphie popped the question up and looked at the letter intently.
"Heh, why not? She said it was 'extremely private'," mocked Irvine, stressing on the last two words. "It might help us on our current mission."
It read:
Hey. Sorry it took me so long to reply. I know you've been pretty busy the last few weeks. I heard you were in town, so maybe we could meet up sometime. My dad's gonna have a meeting with the council, later. Could you spare a few minutes to see me later downtown, pretty please? At the main road junction near the entrance? I have lots of things I want to tell you.
Love always, Rinoa.
"Whoa, there's even a 'love always'. Must be her boyfriend," exclaimed Selphie excitedly. "Ho ho ho. Squall's got a rival!"
"Ye-, hey! Whaddya mean Squall? Aren't I the main character in this romantic play?" boasted Irvine.
"Not anymore. Now, all Rinoa thinks of you is a messenger or something. Your part's over~! But, Squall…"
"Okay.Okay! He's better than me! I can take a hint, you know," snarled Irvine, crestfallen.
***
"Look what we've found Squall!" Selphie squealed eagerly, waving the 'love letter' in front of his face. "It's a 'lub leta'!! But it ain't for you! You're back in the spotlight, you know!"
"Yea, yea! Squall always gets the big jobs while we're just backup," grumbled Irvine, refusing to look at Squall.
"What do you mean?" uttered the confused brunette. Selphie began to elucidate the whole encounter with Rinoa and the contents of the letter. Squall furrowed his eyebrows, a sign in him of strong mental work.
I never knew he had such feelings. But it can't be him. There's not enough proof – probably just a coincidence. But there's always a possibility. (Shakes his head and sighs) She's head over heels for a useless guy like him. The same skeptical voice that had haunted him for years suddenly voiced up, "You think you are a better player in this game of love? You don't even have the guts. With a personality like yours, how can you win the girl's heart?" You never know unless you try. If that bastard can do it, why can't I?
"Any ideas on what we should do now?" asked Selphie, casting a wistful look towards Squall.
"I know exactly what to do."
A/N: Actually, I don't know WHAT to do!!!!!!! Help please. I need you kind ppl out there to help me answer a few questions, please?
1. Should they send the letter or not?
2. Who among the entire ff8 cast should Rinoa get close to, just as friends?
3. What should Squall do?
Three questions only. Thank you thank you thank you! Chappie 4 will be up soon!! …in a month of two….
Until then, please review!!