I Forgot Your Name
By Kupo
Chapter Seven: Your Eyes
-- The House, Kitchen
Zell half-way rose from his seat, still holding the warm mug in one of his hands. He gestured to the chair across from him and gave Rinoa a small, tentative smile.
"Hey Rin, sit down and have a cup of joe with me..."
He watched as Rinoa ran her fingertips down the doorframe. When they reached as low as her arm would allow, she glanced at Zell and then trailed them back up the frame. She slowly sauntered into the kitchen. Zell turned a slight shade of pink, Rinoa was wearing one of Squall's white T-shirts again, but she had opted to not wear shorts with the shirt this morning, and a good deal of her leg was exposed, much more than Squall would have liked, at least.
Oh man, Squall would kill us both if he walked in right now... this is just so wrong, this isn't like Rinoa.
He was relieved when Rinoa finally eased herself into the seat across from him, never losing eye contact. Zell began to feel extremely uncomfortable. He sat back down in his own chair and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.
"Uhhh... hey Rin, did you sleep ok?"
Rinoa looked down for a moment, and then looked up at him through her eyelashes.
"I could have slept better... I was frightened last night... it would have been nice to have someone beside me, to protect me and keep me warm..."
Oh Hyne, this is so NOT where I wanted this to go.
Even as Zell realized the conversation had left the stage of being platonic friends well behind, he left something rub his leg, just above his ankle. He was so startled that that he jumped, and a good deal of the coffee in the mug he was still holding sloshed out and onto his lap. He winced as the hot liquid ran over his skin, but his face began to look truly pained when he looked back to Rinoa, who was still running her foot up and down his lower leg.
"I could have slept better with someone beside me."
Zell was growing increasingly nervous and unhappy with the conversation. As much as the logical part of his mind told him to get up and leave the table, his concern for his friend won out, and he stayed put. He leaned across the table, his eyes communicating how worried he was.
"Uhhh, Rin... I'm sure that if you told Squall that he's be, um... more than happy to help you out, ya know?"
Rinoa leaned across the table to meet his gaze.
"Who says I want Squall?"
That was about as much as Zell could handle. He pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. He threw his hands to either side of him and shouted in his well-known, passionate yell:
"Come on, Rin, this isn't funny or anything! You're making me nervous and I-, damn it, we- we're all worried about you! We want to help you! Let us!"
Rinoa stood up as well, and closed the distance around the table from herself to Zell remarkably quickly. She stood so close to him that Zell could see every detail and line of her face. She looked up at him, her dark eyes glowing with some deep emotion or power- he wasn't sure which.
"You'll help me, Zell?" she whispered softly. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and half against his will and half due to his worry for his friend, he allowed himself to be embraced and even felt his own arms go around her in a tight hug.
I don't know what to do, Rinoa... I wish I could just squeeze whatever's wrong right out of you! Damn!
Zell began to relax as Rinoa remained still in his arms for a few more moments. He wondered if all she needed was just to be reassured that there were people there for her. Certainly everyone had down days. and Rinoa had gone through a lot yesterday. He could certainly understand if she acted--
Zell froze in mid-thought, horrified, as Rinoa lifted her face from his chest and softly kissed the skin right under his jaw line. He wanted to think he had imagined the whole thing, and maybe he could have done so, but he felt her do kiss him again, this time closer to his ear. Her lips lingered there as she whispered,
"Help me... you have as much to gain as I do, young man..."
Zell pulled away from her roughly.
"Rinoa! What are you doing?! I can't deal with this anymore, so knock it off!"
Rinoa stood still a moment, looking up towards the ceiling. Slowly, she lowered her head so that her eyes met Zell's. Zell began to back up slowly, wanting to get out of the kitchen, and away from this situation. As worried as he was about Rinoa, he didn't feel that his saying there would help any at the moment. He watched as Rinoa took three quick strides towards him, and he tried to turn around and leave quickly. As he turned, however, he found himself face-to-face with the wall. Feeling a little panicked inside, he turned back to Rinoa. She was staring at him with the same intense eyes as before, but now instead of being filled with seduction they were filled with malice. She spoke quietly to him, her voice almost a hiss.
"You scorn me and my offer? I only offer once, and to refuse means you're against me! There's only one other choice for those who oppose me, and I'll be happy to help you with it!"
Zell blinked in horror as he felt two hands tighten around his throat. He put his hands on her shoulders to push her away, but was amazed to find that not only could he not get her to loosen her grasp on him, but he couldn't even get her feet to budge from where they seemed rooted to the ground.
Rinoa... what are you doing? How did you get so strong? Why are you doing this...?
"Rinoa..." he managed to gasp out. He felt her hands grow even tighter, and his heart was beating fast with fear. He looked her in the eyes as spots began to appear all around him.
Whose eyes are those?
He dimly heard someone call out for Rinoa, but after that the spots seemed to multiply by the hundreds and after one last bright explosion of color, Zell's world went dark.
--The House, Front Door
Squall burst through the front door, the car still idling in the driveway.
"Rinoa!!!" he called out. He paused a moment, hoping she would either appear in front of him or that he would at least hear some sound. The house seemed too quiet. When he got no reply, he ran from the door through the living room and into the kitchen. What he saw when he got there made him stop so suddenly that he skidded a foot or two on the hardwood floor.
Rinoa, standing with her feet braced apart, both of her small hands around Zell's throat. He watched, frozen in shock, as Zell whispered Rinoa's name and then slumped over. Squall continued to watch as Rinoa released her hold on him and allowed him to fall to the floor. The horrible thud that Zell's body made as it connected with the ground jolted him from his state of shock and he ran to his friend.
"Zell!" he called out, as his lifted his friends upper body from the ground. "Zell, wake up! Shit!" Squall was unsure what to do to help a victim of strangulation. Lacking a better idea, he laid Zell flat on the ground and began chest compressions. After pressing five times, he leaned over Zell and breathed into his mouth, and then repeated the process again. He worked frantically, his dark hair falling into his eyes, which threatened to cry.
Oh Hyne, what do I do? What is going on?!
As Squall leaned over the give Zell another breath, Zell's eyelids fluttered. Squall leaned close to his friend and watched with relief as Zell took a slow, pained breath, and then another. Zell opened his eyes fully and coughed, wincing with the evident pain it caused him. He turned his head slightly to look at Squall, whose face was still only inches above his.
"Please man, no more kissing Zell today..."
Rather than wonder what that meant, Squall allowed relief to fill him as he sat back on his heels. The relief lasted only a moment, however. He wheeled around to look at Rinoa.
She was staring blankly across the room, completely emotionless and still horribly pale. Squall stood and went to her. He brushed her hair away from her face and whispered to her,
"Rinoa? Baby, you alright?"
Slowly she turned her eyes to his face. At first they seemed to register nothing, but then warmth began to fill them, and they became the eyes he knew, the ones that belonged to the girl he had pledged his life to always love and protect.
"Squall...?" she whispered softly. Then she too began to fall to the ground. Squall's quick reflexes prevented her from connecting with it, though. He caught her lightly in his arms and lowered her to the ground. She was breathing and appeared to be in only a very deep sleep.
Suddenly he heard the front door that he had left open in his haste to find Rinoa close. He heard several thuds and then the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards the kitchen. He looked left to Zell, who was still laying on the floor trying to regulate his breathing, and then to Rinoa, who was asleep on his right.
Whoever this is... I can handle them on my own... I'll die to protect my friends and my love.
He had just begun to rise from the floor as the intruder came into view.
Squall was so shocked that he has back down on the floor. There, in the doorway, stood Laguna. He was juggling two suitcases and a smaller bag. Laguna looked first to Squall, then at Rinoa, and then at Zell. Finally turning to Squall, he dropped the rest of his bags and scratched the back of his head.
"Hey kiddos, what's going on in here?"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Hey everyone. Yeah... I know its been like two months since I updated. A lot's been going on (put normal sorry-I-didn't-update excuses in here) and I really didn't feel like I had the time or energy to devote to writing a good fic. Things have finally calmed down and I do believe that I can began to write again... I just didn't want to only do something halfway as well as I could have, ya know? Anyway, an important note about this chapter:
~*~It was originally a lot darker. I edited it down a lot to keep it PG-13. However, if people would like me to go full-out with the darkness when the story calls for it, please let me know and I will definitely consider changing the rating so that I can keep you guys happy.
And now, just because I haven't been around in a while doesn't mean that I forgot how to say thank you! Thank you to all my reviewers, specifically:
Karla3- hey you! sorry I haven't been able to review your stories in so long, like I said I've been busy, but I have read everything you've been writing and you rock! Thanks for you review, I hope you're happy with this chapter ^_^
Old User- Thank you for the review, and look! I finally continued!
RinoaLeonheart1- Sorry this update wasn't ASAP... but I still hope that you like it! I got my instant messaging back, so i.m. me sometime!
DemonRyu(nsi)- What a sweet review! And what you said is exactly what I am going for... I don't want Squall to die to cause it to happen... so thanks for catching that! Please enjoy this chapter! =)
Rebekka- Thank you lots for your review! I got the update done, please read and let me know what you think ^_^
Rinoa Lockheart- Hehe, I kept him alive, are you glad? Thanks for your review!
Spirit Dragon- *blushes* Is it ok if I tell you that I love you? That was one of the nicest reviews I have ever gotten! Please let me know what you think of this chapter ^_^
Becky- I luff you too. ;-)
So there you have it! Please review and let me know what you think! Much love to everyone who reads! Te amo~ Kupo
