Chapter 7 – Rinoa's crazy night
A/N: (Important!) Bianka I couldn't get this chapter through to you. I don't know whether my e-mail isn't working, or it's something else, but whatever it was it wouldn't work. *Cries* I want my beta!!!
So everyone, please don't be too mean to me, I was alone without my beta for this chapter.
"Selphie! Oh Hyne how are you?" Rinoa squealed into her phone.
"I'm fine Rin. Me and Irvine have just pulled into Esthar station." Selphie said, her voice sounding muffled by all the background noise. Obviously the station was very busy this evening.
"Selphie why didn't you tell me you be arriving now? I would have come down and met you!" Rinoa protested. She would have loved to have seen her friend arrive in the station, and was disappointed to have missed it.
"I know, but I didn't want to bother you. What with your great job and all! Oh I can't wait to see your office! Is it all shiny and gold and stuff?" Selphie spat out forgetting that to get an answer, she needed to pause and let Rinoa speak, finally she ran out of things to say and silenced. Rinoa took the opportunity to inform her friend of the truth.
"It isn't that great Selph." Rinoa mumbled.
"Oh I bet it is." Selphie said confidently. "Do ya wanna speak to Irvy? He's just getting the luggage now since I can't carry it." Selphie babbled.
"What do you mean you can't carry it? Did you hurt yourself?" Rinoa asked urgently.
"Nah, anyway here he is...." Selphie said her voice trailing off.
"Hey hot stuff! ...Ouch Selphie sweetie, don't hit me! I was only saying hello to our friend." Selphie's mumbling could be heard faintly in the background.
"Hi Irvine. So are you going to tell me what this mystery visit is all about?" Rinoa asked playfully.
"No, and this isn't a visit. We're moving here. Obviously not today because we still have to sell the flat, but you get the idea." Irvine replied vaguely.
"Erm, no, not really. Listen we have to meet up, all this is much too confusing." Rinoa complained.
"Urgh arranging a lunch date! You can talk to Selphie, I'm outta here." The phone was abruptly passed over, and Selphie was heard once again on the other line.
"Tomorrow we can meet up at that restaurant you took us to last time, say 12 o'clock lunch time. We'll meet you outside and we can go in together!" Selphie said, taking over the situation immediately. Any plans Rinoa previously might have had were instantly cancelled, friendship took priority right now.
"Sure, that sounds great." Rinoa said smiling.
"Oh, ahh! Sorry Rin but I gotta run, we've got tons of stuff to do before tomorrow, I'll see you soon."
"Yeah, alright. Ok bye then." Rinoa said feeling disappointed.
"Bye!"
Rinoa hung up the phone with a saddened click. She didn't like to be left out on what was happening with her best friend, even though Selphie had told her it was good news. After putting her phone away, Rinoa decided to go and look for Squall. Vaguely she remembered him saying something about eating, although he had completely lost her attention at that point.
The corridor outside of Squall's room was deserted and Rinoa had an instant lonely feeling as she stepped outside, she wondered how Squall could live here anyway, it reminded her too much like a hotel than a home. Casting her mind back to when she had been staying here, Rinoa tried to remember the way to the kitchen. After making herself confused, she thought it best to ask the elevator operator.
"Good evening Miss. Going down?" He asked happily as she stepped in.
"Yes I think so. I'm trying to find the kitchen." Rinoa replied as he closed the doors.
"Ah yes you'll need to go down. Take the left corridor and then the first left door. It's a short-cut." He said smiling. Rinoa nodded and thanked him as she stepped out. "Remember, first left." He called after her.
Rinoa walked across the glittering entrance hallway and into the more humble looking left corridor. She hadn't been down here before, and she wondered if she'd been misdirected. But sure enough, on the left there finally appeared a door, and she gingerly pushed it open. A view of the kitchen appeared before her and she walked in.
"Squall, are you in here?" Rinoa called shakily, her voice sounding weak and feeble as it bounced off of the white shining walls.
"He's in the breakfast room dear." Replied a light voice from inside. Feeling more confident, Rinoa looked around for the owner of the voice. "That's just through there."
Rinoa found herself looking at a cheerful woman making some sort of elaborate sandwich on the kitchen counter. She smiled brightly and held out her slender arm for Rinoa to shake her hand.
"My name is Gloria." She said, her earrings bouncing as she shook Rinoa's hand with enthusiasm.
"Rinoa." Rinoa said feeling a smile creeping up on her face.
"Would you like a sandwich? I can make you anything you like." Gloria offered.
"Oh, um, I'll make one myself; I don't want to trouble you." Rinoa said finding herself strangely comfortable in this woman's company. Gloria's blonde head nodded in response and she pointed to the fridge.
"You don't have to have a sandwich; if there is anything you want in there, then just help yourself. But I'm afraid Squall's already stolen the ice-cream."
Rinoa wandered to the fridge and pulled the door open, she gasped when she saw the content. There was so much food that it made the supermarket look under-stocked.
"Wow!" Rinoa whispered as she stared at a strawberry trifle.
"Hey that looks good. Bring it out here and we can have some." Gloria said looking over Rinoa's shoulder. Rinoa reached carefully for the trifle and brought it out. In the light of the room it looked even bigger than it had seconds ago. "The spoons are in that drawer." Gloria said pointing.
Rinoa collected two spoons from the drawer and handed one over.
"So err, congratulations for um, you and Laguna." Rinoa said feeling embarrassed, that sentence wasn't very smooth sounding. However Gloria smiled.
"Thank you. Shame I wasn't here earlier, I could have been in your book."
"Well, maybe I'll write a sequel." Rinoa said as she shovelled a large spoonful of cream and jelly into her mouth. "This is good." She mumbled through swallowing.
It wasn't long before most of the sweet was devoured and the two women were talking rather enthusiastically. The giggles and jokes must have carried through to the other room, as shortly Squall appeared in the doorway that joined onto the breakfast room.
"Having fun?" He asked casually.
Rinoa stopped laughing instantly and wiped her mouth automatically, she didn't need him seeing her with trifle all over her face.
"Squall you can't have honestly finished that ice-cream!" Gloria said looking astonished. Squall looked down at the empty pot in his hands.
"Yeah. Well, contrary to some beliefs I do actually eat things sometimes you know." He replied looking rather annoyed.
"You call ice-cream food?"
"Well at least it's not trifle!" Squall shot back. Gloria blushed.
"Ok, you caught me. That was your fault Rinoa, letting me see the trifle; I'm supposed to be on a diet!" Gloria protested flicking her spoon into the sink. Rinoa smiled.
"But you don't need to diet!" She said before she could stop herself.
"Aww, isn't she sweet!" Gloria remarked fondly to Squall. Squall didn't reply, instead he threw his empty ice-cream carton into the bin. "Oh gosh the time! Your father will be wondering what happened to his sandwich!" She said gathering the sandwich onto a plate and balancing it with the other random objects she deemed necessary to carry with her. Squall dreaded to think what was in the sandwich that needed both salad cream and ketchup. "It was nice to meet you Rinoa." She called as she elbowed the door open and walked out.
"She is so nice!" Rinoa said as she put the trifle back in the fridge. "But I really need to go too, if I'm gonna get back to my apartment before they lock the doors."
"You don't need to leave." Squall said as she closed the door to the fridge. She looked at him shyly.
"Well...If it's no trouble." She said blushing. Squall shook his head.
"No trouble. Hey I want to show you something."
"What?" Rinoa asked as Squall held the door open for her. "What is it?" She asked again as she followed Squall along a unfamiliar hallway. Rinoa instantly lost her bearings; this place was too much like a maze for her.
"Do you like swimming?" Squall asked looking at her wickedly. Rinoa folded her arms over her chest annoyed.
"Yes, but I don't see what..."
"Good." Squall said cutting her off. "Lets go then."
"What!" Rinoa screamed through laughing as Squall pulled her through an elaborate gold door. "You have swimming pool! Is there anything you don't have?" Rinoa asked as she walked in the room and dipped her hand into the cold clear water. Squall stared at her back and she walked away from him, in his mind her debated question.
Yeah, I don't have you.
"No, you can pretty much find everything in this house." Squall replied. "So you wanna swim?"
"Squall I'm hardly dressed for..." Rinoa protested. Squall held up his hand for silence.
"Me and Ell keep our swimming stuff over here." He said walking towards something Rinoa had mistaken for part of the wall. It was a cupboard cleverly painted to blend, but was surprisingly deep. "I'm sure Ell's stuff will fit you, and if it dosen't, you can always go skinny dipping."
"Yeah, that'll happen." Rinoa replied burying her smile into the towels beside her. Squall shrugged and grabbed a pair of dark blue trunks and walked away to the changing rooms on the other side of the pool.
Rinoa took a handful of swimming costumes and headed towards the door next to where Squall had disappeared to. After shedding her clothes, Rinoa found herself standing in a bright red swimming costume.
"Hey boys, can you say Baywatch?" Rinoa said striking a pose in the mirror. "Ha I don't think so." She decided taking it off and opting instead for a baby pink bikini. "Now that's more like it!"
Squall was sat on the edge of the pool opposite to where Rinoa walked out from, he smiled when he saw her.
"Yeah, I knew this was a good idea." He mumbled as Rinoa gracefully slid into the water.
"You are coming in right?" She asked after submerging herself and brushing her hair out of her face.
"Sure am." Squall confirmed pushing himself in. Rinoa laughed as Squall swam underwater and tried to grab her ankles. Suddenly she stopped. Squall resurfaced after he sensed something was wrong. "What?"
"Did you hear that?" Rinoa whispered. Squall shook his head as Rinoa hung onto him and looked around.
"What was it?" Squall asked worried.
"Laughter. And no it wasn't me." Rinoa replied. "Someone is outside."
"Well you know other people do live here too." Squall said sarcastically. Rinoa shook her head firmly.
"No. It was the laughter that no one was supposed to hear, if you know what I mean." Rinoa said.
"Oh Rinoa you naughty girl!" Squall said smiling. Rinoa hit him on the arm.
"Shh, there it is again." Rinoa said placing her finger on her lip in sign of silence.
"Hey, that's my sister!" Squall said looking shocked. Rinoa bit her lip, maybe this wasn't quite the way Ellone was planning on telling Squall about her new boyfriend.
"Maybe we should go." Rinoa said trying to pull away.
"No." Squall said sharply.
"But..."
Just as Rinoa was about to protest again, Ellone and Zell appeared through the glass doors that lead out onto the garden. It was blatantly obvious what they were doing, as they continued to do it as soon as stepped into the room.
"Why is he kissing my sister?" Squall hissed trying to swim closer. Rinoa held him back.
"No." This one syllable word carried towards the couple and made them start. Ellone looked around and blushed.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you were there." She said looking at her feet. Zell looked extremely worried. "We where just going to go swimming."
"Yeah." Zell confirmed.
Squall opened his mouth to speak but was instantly distracted. The door in which both Squall and Rinoa had entered through was suddenly bashed open, and Laguna ran into the room looking excited. He was wearing a pair of brightly coloured trunks with a yellow and blue fish pattern, and seemed completely oblivious to the others in the room.
"DIVEBOMB!" He shouted jumping into the pool. Rinoa screeched as wave of water went over her head. Squall did his best to steady her from going under again and when she saw his worried face she laughed.
"It's ok Squall I can swim."
"I know, but..."
"Hey wait for me!" Gloria shouted as she ran into the room and dived in after Laguna.
Ellone and Zell took advantage of this distraction, and headed towards the changing rooms before anyone noticed. A moment later they reappeared in their swimwear and jumped in also. A game of water polo was then set up around Squall and Rinoa until they were dragged onto Laguna and Gloria's side to 'beat the champions.'
"So what did Selphie want?" Squall asked whilst hitting the ball towards the goal. Rinoa cheered as they scored.
"Selphie? Oh, yeah Selphie. She and Irvine just arrived at the train station. We're gonna go for lunch tomorrow. Um, did you want to come?"
"No thank you, you probably have a lot to discuss with your friends." Squall said feeling disappointed, he would have liked to have had Rinoa to himself for another day.
"Yes that is true, but you wouldn't be in the way I promise. I know they would love to see you." Rinoa said wrapping her arms around his neck to avoid being drowned by very crazy Laguna.
"Well maybe I could drop in, and say Hi."
"That would be wonderful. I'll tell you more about it later, right now we have a game to win."
Rinoa and Squall made their way back upstairs about five past midnight. The fast paced day clearly shone in their eyes, as they fought to keep them open.
"Where am I going to sleep Squall?" Rinoa asked, nearly bumping into a vase due to her sluggish movements.
"Anywhere you want." Squall answered.
"Don't Squall, I'm serious. Plus I don't have any clothes to wear tomorrow."
"Last time you were here you sort of left in a hurry…" He paused here. "You didn't pick up some of your washing, so we put it back in the room you stayed in, so you can stay there tonight. Sorry, I'm being rude. You can stay there if you like." Squall said rephrasing his words. Rinoa nodded thankful. She could see in his eyes that this wasn't just some way of getting rid of her, he generally was looking tired, and probably needed sleep just as much as she did.
"Yes, ok." Rinoa said as they stood outside of her room. "Goodnight then."
Quickly she kissed him lightly on the lips and walked into her room fast. She smiled at him as she shut the door, and laughed when the door was shut.
"Goodnight." Squall replied to the door, and wandered away in a soft zigzag to his own room. When opening the door he found that Rinoa had left most of her stuff on his floor. Carefully he picked up her bag and reopened his bedroom door. Much to his surprise he found Rinoa stood on the other side of it.
"I err, forgot my stuff." She said feeling stupid.
"Yes, I noticed." Squall said handing her bag over.
"Thanks." She mumbled taking it and turning to leave.
"Rinoa. I don't want you to sleep down there." Squall said staring at her back. She turned slowly, her heart hammering.
"So, um, what you propose instead?" She asked flirtatiously, looking at him from under long eyelashes.
"Stay here with me."
Rinoa remained where she was, she could never understand how Squall could be so calm about matters such as these, didn't he get embarrassed?
"Ok." Rinoa said, surprising herself. Squall pushed the door open wider and let her walk in. Once inside Squall shut the door and pulled a t-shirt from a drawer and handed it to her.
"The bathroom is through there." He said pointing. "You can get changed." Rinoa didn't reply, but took the shirt and walked into the bathroom.
Squall sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the wall. What had he gotten himself into now?
Rinoa returned to see Squall already changed into pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt very much like her own, lying almost asleep on his bed. He opened his eyes to look at her when he felt her climb on also.
"I'm sorry, I though that would be longer than it is." He said looking at her shirt.
"Doesn't matter." Rinoa said pulling the covers over them and then laying down. Squall closed his eyes again and let the dizzy feeling of sleep come over him. He was only vaguely aware of two arms encircling his waist, and Rinoa's head coming to rest on his chest.
"Goodnight." Was the last thing he heard, before he fell away into sleep.
AN: Sorry for the long delay in updating, but I've had almost an essay per day to write for the last six weeks. I was so crazy to take both English and English Lit!!
Ps, to anyone who had read 'Othello' isn't Iago cool?!
But anyway, thank you reviewers!!
The Angel of the Lion—Hey, you were right! College is so much fun! Thank you for the review.
Rizza426—Omg the hurricane! I hope I didn't do too much damage!
Billie the Kid—It's early days yet, don't worry. This time it will end good, I promise!!
Seifer's Incarnate— Thank you for reviewing me!!
Kat-gurl1—Mariko—Chrono-Maku---Thank you, thank you!!
Hiasha—Hey, out of your mind is the best place to be!
Omnitoad--^_^ Thanks for reading!!
Archangel_6 6 6—Hey no lemons, this story is remaining pg13!! Don't worry there won't be any sickening shopping chapters, unless they are necessary. (Because I hate writing them!) Sorry for the briefness about Gloria, hopefully I plugged a few gaps with this chapter, but there is still a way to go yet. Thanx for reading!
Leonhart—I wish I could speak Spanish, it would really help. :)
Kool Kaizer—I just love it when Squall gets really mad, I just couldn't resist writing it. Don't worry, he'll forgive Laguna soon enough.
FFgal—Thank you for all the reviews! Lol hidden agenda, no Gloria's nice I swear, I couldn't keep track of a villain right now.
Melissa—Oh she will *looks around sneakily* she will.
Eiggem3—I would, although unfortunately I need my brother to buy toys so I can play with them. Our latest toy is a pirate ship, with a working cannon!!! I just never grew up.
Karla3—lol a cricket. Thanks for reading.
And last but not least, my Rinoa Heartilly-Leonhart, she'd mine I tell you, my friend!!!! Woah the lack of food is making me insane!
Thank you for reading everyone!!
Oh and one last thing before I shut up and go away. Has everyone seen the second Harry Potter film, where he walks across the snow with his owl? I was there!!! I was there in the funky bit with the windows!! I had the scary Snape feeling, he was behind me, I swear he was.