Chapter Eight: The Secret Revealed
By PasifikStar
Author's Note: I can finally read reviews. Thank you guys so much!!! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I know some things are predictable, but I hope I'm giving you enough suspense and stuff. Thank you for all the positive encouragement, it's very much appreciated!! I'm still listening to Hikaru Utada ballads, the last chapter I spent listening to the piano version of "First Love" and this chapter I'm listening to "Final Distance".
* All standard disclaimers apply: I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters.
"It's me..." the voice said again. Her words got caught in her throat as she stood by the water, the waves nearly lapping at her toes. "Rinoa..."
The phone almost fell from his hands as he closed his eyes. It was her voice. He couldn't believe it, it just had to be a sort of joke. Slowly, his fingers tightened around the small device and kept it pressed against his ear. The thundering sound of the waves crashing against the beach was suddenly drowned out. *Is it really you...?* his thoughts whispered.
"Squall?" her voice asked, a hint of desperation in them. "Squall are you there?"
"Yes, I'm here..." he trailed off, still believing that he was dreaming. "Rinoa...Hyne, is it really you?"
"Yes..." Rinoa whimpered. She closed her eyes tightly as she stopped by the water's edge. When she opened them, they were moist and rimming with tears. "I can hear you..."
*I miss you...tell her that...* his mind ordered. Squall opened his mouth to speak, but only managed to blurb out incoherent dribble. "Rinoa...I... Hyne...dreaming..."
On the other end of the line, Rinoa bit her lip and smiled slightly. "I miss you, too..." she answered softly.
Squall let out a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm really talking to you... Part of me thinks it's some sort of joke...Like a dream where I'll wake up and realize this never happened."
"It's no dream..." Rinoa said. She looked over her shoulder and saw Irvine leaning against the side of his car. A sly smirk was over his lips as he gave her a thumbs up. "It's more of an elaborate plan."
"How so?" Squall asked.
Rinoa giggled slightly. "Irvine came to visit me today and took me out... then he said to call Selphie's phone to say hi and I did..."
"Seifer broke my phone...and then Selphie and Quistis made me take Selphie's phone in case of an emergency..." Squall's blue eyes went wide as he suddenly realized what had happened. "Hyne...they planned this..."
"We have excellent friends, Squall," Rinoa chuckled. She crouched down by the water and reached out one hand to touch the cold, salty waves. She took a deep breath and smiled slightly. "How are you doing?"
"I'm miserable," Squall spat out simply. "You're not here, how else could I be?"
Rinoa closed her eyes and smiled. "What a coincidence...I'm miserable, too..."
"I can't stop thinking about you," Squall whispered. "And just when I think I have, I hear your song on the radio. And all I think about is you again."
"What about...you know...your punishment?" Rinoa asked in a low voice. She could sense him hesitate on the line and held her breath. "Are you okay?"
"I sent in my retraction forms to pull out of the G-14." he stated.
Rinoa closed her eyes tightly as a pained look went over her face. "Squall, I'm sor-"
"What did I tell you?" he scolded softly, hiding a hint of amusement. "I don't regret anything. There will be other years...when you can be there, cheering me on...and no one will think it's wrong and stop us."
She let out a breathy whimper. "I want to be with you now," she said softly. "I want to see you."
"I want to see you, too..." he said. "Watching a music video is a poor substitute for the real thing."
"I've gotten you into so much trouble..."
Squall chuckled slightly and took a step into the water. The icy waves lapped at the toes of his boots as he looked down. "Tifa isn't too happy with me either. She demanded that I re-think pulling out of the G-14. But I said I'd take the punishment because I do love you."
"Don't take a punishment to prove you love me, Squall," Rinoa said. "I don't want to cause you any more pain."
"Holding you in my arms for one second is more pleasure than all the pain that this will ever give me," Squall told her. Rinoa blushed at the sound of insistence in his voice. "So don't ever say that you're sorry for anything. Because I'm not."
"I just wish it didn't end up this way..." Rinoa said.
"Rinoa," Squall replied softly. "It hasn't ended yet."
Rinoa smiled slightly as clear tears slowly began to trail down her face. "I just miss you so much..."
"I miss you, too...I've been so worried about you," Squall said. "Are you all right? Is everything okay?"
Rinoa nodded to herself. "My father got me a tutor...the only people who visits is Irvine and my manager. I'm trying to finish a song for my next album."
"Just work hard, Rin," Squall answered. "Work hard and one day we'll be together again."
"But I want us to be together now..."
"I do, too..." Squall said. He looked out into the ocean. "So...are you at home?"
"No, Irvine took me to the beach," Rinoa replied. "Are you under house arrest?"
Squall smirked. "I'm supposed to be."
"Supposed to be?"
"I'm at the beach, too...I just needed to get out for a while," Squall said with a smile. He looked out into the water. "Are you by the water?"
"Yes..." Rinoa said, still crouching down. Squall knelt down into the water and touched the waves.
"Touch the sea."
"Why...?" Rinoa asked quietly.
"Just touch it."
Rinoa narrowed her eyes slightly and put her hand into the water. She jerked it back quickly. "It's cold."
"Are you touching it?" Squall chuckled. Rinoa sighed slightly and put her hand into the water. She wiggled her fingers around.
"Yes..."
"So am I..." Squall said. "This ocean goes all the way around the world, Rin...the same water you're touching, I'm touching."
Rinoa closed her eyes tightly and swallowed. "Am I touching you, Squall?"
"Yes..." Squall said softly. He looked out into the horizon as the cool breeze swept over his body. A warm, intently look graced his face as his hand stayed steadily in the water. "I'm with you now."
Rinoa let out a muffled sob as she opened her eyes. She looked out towards the ocean as the salt air pierced her eyes. He was out there, somewhere. He was far, across an entire sea, but he was touching her, connected to her by frigid salt water that lapped at her ankles.
Squall was content with the silence as he looked up at the sky. Rinoa was out there and was thinking of him. For a moment, they were together again. He smiled slightly and a stream of light cut through the obsidian, diamond speckled sky.
"Did you see that?" she gasped on the line.
Squall nodded. "Yeah..." he said. "Rinoa..."
"Yes?"
"I love you..."
"You're going to pay for this you know," Irvine said as they pulled into the boarders of Deling City. "Someone has to pay for it and since you caused it, it's going to be you."
Rinoa sighed and rolled her eyes. Irvine smiled inwardly as she started acting like her usual self. "I said I'm sorry, Irvine. And I WILL pay for it."
"You owe me big..." Irvine said. "I was THIS close to just making you stay in the trunk."
"But you're such a sweet and wonderful man that you let me sit in the car anyway?" Rinoa asked, smiling sweetly. Irvine sighed.
"What can I say? I'm just a sucker for a pretty face," he sighed. Rinoa laughed and Irvine smiled. "I'm glad to hear you laugh again, though... it's been a while."
"Was I really that bad?" Rinoa asked with a slight frown.
"You had me really worried for a while..." Irvine said. "You were in that room for hours, playing the piano...in the DARK. It was kind of freaky."
"Thank you, Irvine...you have no idea what this means to me."
"Yeah, well thanks to you, I'm going to get charged for using minutes over my limit and probably roaming charges...just great..." Irvine grumbled. "You should pay for those, too."
"I'm so happy right now, I'm going to take you up on that and pay." Rinoa said with a bright smile.
Irvine glanced over at her with a strange look. "What did he tell you anyway? Did he ask you to marry him or something?"
"No!" Rinoa blushed furiously. She looked down at her hands on her damp lap. "He said he loves me."
"Well, big surprise there," Irvine said, rolling his eyes. "You were on the phone for a good three hours...your father's going to kill me."
"We're here before my curfew," Rinoa insisted. "Don't worry."
"You're soaking wet!" Irvine gasped. "It's like there was a down pour in my car. Now that you're sitting there, there was!"
Rinoa sighed. On her giddy high, she had actually began to play in the ocean while laughing with Squall later in their conversation. It was then that Irvine had to rush over and call her in, scolding her about getting sick and ruining the interior of his precious car.
But was too late. Rinoa had been waist deep in cold sea water and Irvine was shouting from the shore. If Squall hadn't told her to go back before she got sick, she would've stayed at the beach forever. Rinoa wore a large smile on her face as she stretched her arms back over her head.
"But, seriously, Irvine...thank you," Rinoa said solemnly. "I really miss him."
"I know," Irvine replied. "Selphie keeps saying that Squall was locking himself in his room and ignoring everyone...they figured he'd break the rules and go out on his bike sometime."
"How'd you know that he'd take Selphie's phone?" Rinoa asked.
"Never underestimate the planning abilities of Irvine Kinneas!" Irvine stated. Rinoa gave him a look of disbelief and he sighed. "Okay, Quistis planned it out. I don't know how, but she was able to get Seifer to break Squall's phone and then Selphie was going to make Squall take hers. It worked out really well."
"And how do you know that he'd do it today and take me out?"
"They text messaged me."
"Oh."
"I was going to take you out anyway, but when I got to your place, I got the message." Irvine said.
"And what about the beach? How did you know that Squall was going there?"
Irvine grinned. "That wasn't planned," he said as they pulled into the Caraway estate. "Maybe it was fate."
Rinoa smiled and looked thoughtful. "Yeah..."
"Anyway, when we get in there, try not to look so happy," Irvine sighed. "Your father will think something's up."
"Got it," Rinoa said. She took a deep breath and clutched her book against her still damp chest. They car stopped in front of the mansion and Irvine went around the other side of the car to open Rinoa's door for her. "Um... do you think we can...?"
Irvine nodded. "As soon as he sneaks out again, they'll tell me and we'll go out."
"Thanks."
"Uh...Rin..."
"Yeah?"
"I'll have the bill for the car and phone sent to you."
"I'm coming!" Selphie yawned tiredly as she stretched her lower back. She walked towards the sliding door of her room, her hair displaced and her yellow pajamas with sunflowers wrinkled. She reached her door and allowed it slide open. "Squall!?" she gasped out. She unconsciously rubbed her eyes.
"Your phone." Squall stated as he handed her the sleek silver object.
Selphie's eyes went wide and she took it gingerly. She looked up at Squall. "Did she-"
"Good night, Selphie." Squall said before she could finish. He turned around and Selphie ran in front of him.
"Wait, wait!" Selphie said. "Did she call?" she asked eagerly.
Squall's blue eyes settled on her green ones as his lips were set in a tight line. "Did who call?"
Immediately, Selphie's hopeful eyes lost all their sparkle as she assumed that their plan had failed miserably. "Oh..." she mumbled quietly. "Never mind..." she said.
Slowly, she walked past him, heading back to her room with her shoulders slumped and her head drooped. Squall smirked slightly and began to walk away from her. "By the way...I may have gone over the minutes in your plan," Squall said coolly as he walked away. "You know how she loves to talk."
Selphie's eyes went wide and she whirled around. Squall was turning the corner and disappeared around it before Selphie could say another word. The perky brunette jumped into the air and ran into her room.
She flipped open her phone and checked the list of calls received. Selphie's mouth turned into a wide smile as she read who had called her last. *Irvy's Cell...*
"So it worked?" Quistis asked as they sat around in one of the hidden study rooms in the library. "You're positive that it worked?"
"Why else would he have said he went over my minutes?" Selphie sighed. "Of COURSE it worked!"
"Did you call Irvine just to make sure?" Quistis insisted. Selphie shook her head.
"I tried, but he hasn't picked up. But I did leave him a message on his voice mail." Selphie asserted.
"When do you think he'll call back?" Zell asked. He was sitting across from Quistis and Selphie on some small couch.
Selphie was just about to open her mouth when her phone rang. A familiar ring tone echoed in her ears. "It's Irvy!" she said cheerfully as she pulled out the silver object. "Hello? Selphie here!" she said as she held it close to her ear.
"Hey, where's Squall, anyway?" Zell asked Quistis. The tall blond shrugged.
"I don't know," Quistis said. "He hasn't been at his office for days and I didn't see him at the cafeteria for breakfast."
"I didn't see him there at lunch either," Zell frowned. His usual lunch break consisted of two hours at the cafeteria. "I wonder if he snuck out again."
"No, we would've gotten a call from Seifer, Raijin, or Fujin." Quistis asserted.
"Really? When?" Selphie was saying. She waved her hand to get the attention of the two blondes in the room with her. They looked over and Selphie was leaning forward, her eyes wide. "Right...right...okay. We'll find him! What time? Okay, sounds good! Thanks, Irvy!" Selphie blushed. "I miss you, too..."
Quistis rolled her eyes. "Selphie..."
"I have to go! We have to go find Squall!" Selphie said. "Bye!" She closed the phone and looked over at the other two. "Irvine said that Rinoa's starting music video tonight at sunset. She should be done around one am."
"That gives us enough time to find Squall," Quistis said, looking at her watch. It was around four in the afternoon. "The only question is where is he..."
"So is he going to use Selphie's phone again?" Zell asked. "Because the guy at the cell phone store said that it'll take a while to get a replacement phone for Squall."
"He can use mine," Selphie said as she stood up off her chair. "I have unlimited nights and weekends."
"Do we have to sneak him out again?" Zell continued to ask as he and Quistis followed the brunette.
"We have to," Quistis asserted. "Anyone could easily overhear him talking to her on the phone and report it to Cid. It's best that we get him out of the Garden and to a more secluded place where he can speak to her in private."
"It's up to him to decide where to go," Selphie said. They walked over to the door and opened it to exit. "We just have to find him and..." her voice trailed off as they turned the corner and found the brunette sprawled across one of the couches in the upper loft, reading a book. "That was easy..."
Quistis sighed and walked over to Squall. "Squall," she said. She moved in close as the brunette laid there, seemingly ignoring them. "Squall, are you awake?" She peaked over the book he was reading and realized he was wearing headphones. She could make out the thin black cord that went from his ears to a small silver object on his stomach.
The book lowered and Squall raised his blue eyes up to meet Quistis'. He gave her a questioning look but didn't say a word. Selphie came up behind him. "Squall," she said in an excited low voice. "The angel has flown the cloud..." she winked.
Squall narrowed his eyes. He lifted his left hand and removed the ear pieces from his ears. "What?"
"The Angel," Selphie repeated earnestly. "Has flown the cloud. The LION," she pointed at him. "Should pursue."
Squall stared at Selphie as if the girl were crazy and slowly turned to look at Quistis. "What is she talking about?"
Quistis rolled her eyes. She held her hand out in front of Selphie. "Phone," she stated. Selphie dug into her pocket and handed her the sleek silver phone. Squall's eyes studied it warily. "Lucky for you, Selphie has free nights and weekends," Quistis said, holding the phone over Squall's face. "But just in case, I'd start calling around ONE in the morning... when the weekend already started..."
Squall's eyes went wide, immediately realizing what they were trying to say. His hand flew up and snatched the phone. "Thanks," Squall said. He looked around as he shoved it into a pocket within his leather jacket. "I'll get right on that."
"You might want to FIND A PLACE to get good reception," Zell added casually. "I swear, the reception at the Garden has gone downhill lately."
Squall nodded understandingly and closed the book his was reading. He looked at his watch and realized he had plenty of time to devise a plan to sneak out. "Thank you for the phone," Squall said. "I appreciate it."
The trio nodded and smiled as he stood up and put the book on the couch. They followed him with their eyes as he walked around the loft and headed for the stairs. As soon as he disappeared, Selphie fell back on the couch and let out a tired sigh. "Now what?"
"Now we have to make sure he can 'flee the cloud' as you say, and not get caught," Quistis said as she leaned against the arm of the couch. She reached down and picked up the book that Squall was reading. "Hmmm..."
"What is it?" Zell asked. Quistis closed the book and showed them the front cover.
Selphie sat up straight to read the embossed gold lettering on the maroon bound book. She frowned slightly. "Chronicles of the Galbadia 14..."
"There's got to be a way to get him to go," Zell said sadly. "It's not fair! He worked so hard for it. And you saw how he was on the track that day! He was flying!"
"What can we do, Zell?" Selphie sighed. "I mean, it's one thing to help him with Rin, but we don't know where to start on the whole G-14 thing."
"I'm sure Squall has other years to pursue it," Quistis said as she flipped through the book. "Maybe even next year. By then, he and Rin might not be stuck where they are now and she could be there when he races."
"I guess..." Selphie pouted. "But still..."
"You know, Squall doesn't regret anything," Zell said. "I think he thinks it's worth it."
Selphie giggled. "It's like something you'd read in a romance novel!"
"Yeah..." Quistis added. "Let's just hope this novel has a happy ending."
"Rinoa, lean against the side of the railing! But be careful!" the director shouted as they stood on the top of a tall building in Deling City. "Right there! Perfect!"
Rinoa had both her hands on the railing that looked down over the brightly lit city before her. At past midnight, high up on a building with the wind going over her, she was freezing her butt off. To make things worse, her costume was thin white dress. It reached her ankles, but it still had quite a draft.
Irvine was standing to one side of the make-up crew playing the role of body guard once more. As the music started up and echoed in his ears, he put his hand in his pocket, wrapping his fingers around his phone just in case it began to vibrate, signaling that Squall was calling.
Rinoa opened her mouth and began to sing along with the song, looking out earnestly over the city. Her eyes were filled with emotion as she followed the director's instructions. The wind swept past them, blowing her hair past her face, but she didn't fidget. Her eyes kept looking out towards the city.
It was the last day of shooting the music video. So far, Squall had called every single night on their way back from the video shoot. Because Irvine had to take Rinoa home afterwards, as sternly ordered by her father, their conversations had been short and to the point. Rinoa must've also felt that it was somewhat uncomfortable as Irvine was there while she was talking, meaning she had no privacy.
Regardless of the all too short conversations, Squall had diligently snuck out every night for the past four days just to hear her voice. In a way, Irvine admired his devotion and was very happy to see Rinoa smiling more often.
"All right! That's it!" the director called out. Irvine snapped back into attention as all around him, the crew members all began to scatter and clean up. Rinoa walked towards him and waved.
"I'm going to go change real quick!" she said. Irvine nodded as Rinoa walked past him into the small portable dressing room that had been brought up to the roof specifically for the purpose of allowing Rinoa to change in privacy.
As the crew packed up the lights, microphones, cameras, and other pieces of equipment, Irvine heard the faint sound of his phone. He quickly dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He read the name of the caller. *Selphie Cell...* "Hello?" he said, bringing the phone to his ear.
"Irvine, is Rinoa there?" Squall asked.
"She's in the changing room," Irvine reported. "We just wrapped up the video. Can you give her a few minutes?"
"I'll call back in ten." Squall replied. The line went dead and Irvine looked at the phone. It was exactly one in the morning.
*Man...he's punctual...* he thought to himself. He waited a few more minutes before Rinoa returned. She was wearing a fluffy light blue jacket over a black turtle neck and jeans. "Ready?"
"Ready!" she said. They headed into the building and then went towards the elevator. "Hey, did he call?" she asked as soon as they were inside the privacy of the elevator.
Irvine nodded. "You were in the changing room. He said he'd call you in ten minutes."
"Okay!" Rinoa said brightly. A wide smile was on her lips and she had found herself unable to take it off. Her heart was already starting to beat rapidly just thinking about him.
Irvine glanced down at her and smiled slightly. She seemed so happy. He hadn't seen her like that since...since ever. "Excited?"
"Of course!" Rinoa exclaimed. "Thanks so much, Irvine!" She suddenly threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. "You're the bestest friend ever!"
Irvine laughed and hugged her back. "Right...you say that now, but the moment you go home, you'll tell Angelo the same thing."
"Ah...you're right." Rinoa giggled. She let him go as the elevator stopped. They waited for a moment and then the doors slid open.
Rinoa's smile immediately left her face as she saw who was standing in the lobby waiting for her. Her blood turned to ice in her veins as the man who was waiting for her turned and saw her. Irvine's eyes went wide and he looked over at Rinoa. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently lead her out into the lobby. "It's okay..." He whispered in her ear.
"There you two are." a deep voice said. Rinoa stiffened and narrowed her eyes.
"General," Irvine said as the military man reached them. "This is quite a surprise."
"Yes, well, I was in the neighborhood-"
"At one in the morning?" Rinoa asked bitterly. "Drop the act. Why are you here?"
The General looked at his daughter. "Picking you up," he stated. "Now, get in the limo. Irvine, thank you for your help-"
"But...uh...sir, we were going to grab a snack afterwards!" Irvine stammered as the General reached out and grabbed Rinoa's arm.
"Some other time, Irvine! Thank you for playing Rinoa's body guard these last for days. It's been very much appreciated." Caraway said.
"Let me go!" Rinoa said as she tried to pull away. "I can get to the limo by myself!"
Caraway reluctantly let her go and Rinoa turned to Irvine with a worried look. "Uh...it's not a problem, sir..." Irvine said. "I'll take care of everything if Rinoa needs a body guard again." he said. He gave Rinoa a look that assured her that he would talk to Squall about the situation.
She wanted to run from her father. She wanted to grab Irvine, get in his car, and tell him to drive her back to the beach. But if she so much as showed that she wanted to go with Irvine, her father would suspect something. After all, after he took her to the beach, her attitude had changed somewhat. She couldn't afford to get Irvine, and perhaps herself, Squall, and the others back at the Garden in trouble in one selfish act.
"There's no need for that," Caraway replied. "It's all been taken care of."
"Taken care of?" Rinoa asked, whirling around to glare at her father. "What are you talking about?"
"Irvine need not concern himself with being your body guard from now on," Caraway answered, obviously pleased with himself. "He has his own life and job. It would be selfish to force him be your body guard, even if he is your friend."
"Sir, it's really no problem," Irvine insisted. "Like you said, Rinoa is my friend. It's no trouble-"
"Non-sense!" Caraway said with a wave of his hand. "I've already hired another body guard for Rinoa."
Squall sat on the hard packed sand, facing the water as the night sea breeze swept through his unruly brown hair. In his hands, he gently cradled Selphie's phone. She had so many phone chains hanging from it they easily made up the same weight as the phone itself. He moved the object around in his hands and stopped when it's front faced him. The time on the digital clock said that it had been ten minutes since he first called.
He began to press re-dial, when the phone's screen began to flash and he realized he was receiving an incoming call. The caller was Irvine and he eagerly picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked, slightly excited.
He heard someone sigh heavily on the other line. "Squall," Irvine said reluctantly. "We have a problem."
"Irvine?" Squall asked, his eyes narrowed. "What's wrong? Is Rinoa okay?"
Irvine was sitting in the driver's seat of his car as he sat in the underground parking lot of the building. He ran his hand down his face. "Rinoa's fine...but it looks like we might have trouble with your little phone calls from now on."
"Did her father find out?"
"No," Irvine said. "But Rinoa got a new bodyguard. And unlike ME, he'll probably report everything to her father."
Squall mentally swore and closed his eyes. "I see..."
"Look, man, I'm really sorry," Irvine said. "But I'll try to keep this up."
Squall sighed heavily. "Thanks...bye." He looked down at the phone as he brought it down from his head. With a shaking hand he pressed a button and ended the call.
"YOU were the one who said it!?" Tifa growled viciously. She nearly flew over Cloud as she lunged at Tidus. "I'm going to kick your ass!!!"
"I'm sorry!!" Tidus shouted as he cowered behind Zidane. "We were just talking! I didn't see any harm in it!"
"You didn't even know for sure that they were together and you went and told Yuna's father!? You KNOW he has a lot of connections in Galbadia!" Tifa shrieked. Cloud had his arms around her waist, keeping her from clawing at Tidus' face. "We lost our ONE member whose going to the G-14 because of your big mouth!"
"I didn't mean to!" Tidus wailed. "I swear it! It's just that they seemed kind of close. He even held her hand-"
"But you don't go around tell people that they're together like that!" Tifa yelled back.
"Tifa, it isn't his fault. How was he supposed to know that Yuna's father would tell Rinoa's father? It was an accident." Cloud insisted. He finally succeeded in calming Tifa as the busty brunette stepped back.
She took a deep breath and ran her hand down her face. "Fine, but how the hell are we going to remedy this? It's already too late to fix that problem, anyway. Rinoa's father already pulled her out of school and fat chance he's going to let her go back just because Tidus admits he did something stupid."
"Don't worry about it," Tidus said cheerfully. "After you told me what happened, I wanted to fix it so I called Yuna-"
"Oh, geez..." Tifa sighed. "Yuna cannot fix all your problems, Tidus," Tifa grumbled. "You are such a cry baby!"
"I am not!" Tidus said. "Just listen to what I have to say!"
"You make it hard to since everything that comes out of your mouth ends up getting someone in trouble and screwing over the rest of us." Zidane replied casually. Tidus shot him a glare and Cloud walked up to them and held up his hands.
"All right, CHILDREN," he insisted. "Let's hear what he has to say first."
"Thank you, Cloud." Tidus said.
"It better not be stupid." Cloud added. Tidus frowned.
"ANYWAY," he began. "After I explained it to her, she said she'd try to fix it. So she contacted someone. It's an old body guard of hers and an old friend of my father and her father. He's an old fart sometimes, but-"
"Get to the point." Tifa hissed.
"She heard that General Caraway, Rinoa's father, was looking for a new body guard for Rinoa so she asked him to apply." Tidus ended. He smiled brightly and the other three looked at him strangely.
"Okay...so, this would help HOW?" Tifa asked, narrowing her eyes.
Tidus smiled and paused. "Um..." *Damn...how did this work...* "Let me get back to you on that."
Zidane just shook his head and started up his motorcycle. "Sometimes I wonder if you ever open your mouth with something relevant to say."
Rinoa woke up, her eyes sore from crying the night before. She rolled out of bed and headed towards her bathroom to change. Within moments, she was walking down the stairs to get breakfast. She was dressed in overalls and a T-shirt. Angelo walked down the steps behind her.
As she reached foyer, she saw her father talking to a tall man in a dark maroon suit. He had sunglasses perched at the tip of his nose and one of his eyes seemed to be constantly squinted. His hair was graying and Rinoa felt that he looked a bit scary.
"Rinoa! Good morning!" General Caraway said. She winced as she heard her father's voice and nodded her head as she walked down the rest of the stairs. "Rinoa, this is Auron, he's going to be your new body guard!"
Rinoa nodded numbly and stretched out her hand to shake his. "Good morning, sir." she mumbled.
Auron smirked slightly and shook her hand. "Are you all right?"
"Yes..." she said in a dull voice. *Someone kill me...*
"All right! Auron, please familiarize yourself with Rinoa's schedule. I trust that she will be safe in your hands." With that, Rinoa's father left them in the foyer. Auron slowly looked at Rinoa, who was sulking.
"I'm going to eat breakfast..." she mumbled. "Sorry about all of this..."
"There's nothing to be sorry about," he told her in a deep, stern voice. "May I ask what happened to your previous body guard?"
"He was technically my best friend," Rinoa said as they entered the dining hall. She sat at the head of the table as the maids rushed around her to bring her food. "So I never really had real one."
"I see," he said. He stood behind her, looming over her like a shadow. She silently wished that he would ease off a bit. "By the way, Miss Caraway-"
"Rinoa is fine."
"Yes, Rinoa," he said. He dug through his suit and took out an envelope. "My former employer's daughter is a big fan of yours and when she found out that I was to be your new body guard, she asked if I could give this to you personally. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all..." Rinoa took a sip of her tea and glanced over. She took the envelope from his hands and put her tea cup down. She opened it and pulled out a letter. As she read it, her eyes narrowed and a slow smile drew on her face. Slowly, she folded up the letter and slipped it back into the envelope.
"Mr. Auron," she said with a bright smile. "I think we're going to get along just fine."
The G-14 was in one week and Squall stared blankly at the calendar by his desk. The date had been circled twice with red marker and even filled in with a yellow high lighter during one of his bored moments. Now, it was nothing more than a date to him.
He was sitting on his desk, no longer on house arrest, but still under probation. He had to be back at certain times now. He looked at his laptop at the smiling face of Rinoa on his screen. He got another instant message from Zell, who was trying to cheer him up.
Squall was about to type a response, when another message box popped up. He narrowed his eyes. He didn't recognize the sender, but read the message anyway.
Call this number...I'll be waiting at the beach in an hour for your call.
*Rinoa?* he thought to himself. Half of him was in disbelief. It had been so long since she contacted him online and part of him didn't believe that it was her. Regardless, he grabbed his keys and helmet and ran out of the room.
He ran straight to Selphie's room and knocked on her door. Silently, he prayed that she was in there and that it wasn't just a joke that someone was playing. If it was, he would find them and hurt them.
"Selphie's in the training room," Quistis said as she approached him. He had a frantic look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"I need to borrow her phone!" he said.
Quistis looked at her wrist watch. "She won't be out for another hour-" Squall mentally swore as he ran down the hall. Quistis barely had time to turn her head and call towards him. "Hey!" It was too late, Squall had already turned the corner and Quistis sighed. She took out her own phone and looked at it. "You could've borrowed mine..."
Squall raced down the stairs, being too impatient to wait for the elevator. He shot down the corridor, almost hitting the wall as he turned a corner. He saw the doors to the training room up ahead and dug through his pocket to look for his key card. He pulled it out as he slid to a stop.
"No..." he mumbled as he slid his card through. Red letters popped up that said that his card was under suspension and was therefore not allowed to go into the room. He tried again, in vain. He let out a deep breath as he lifted his balled fists and pounded against the door. "Selphie!" he shouted.
His pounding died down as he realized she couldn't hear him. He leaned against the door heavily and lifted his first to hit the door once more. "No, I don't know where he is..." a deep voice said. Squall narrowed his eyes and turned his head. "I have a session in the training room right now. I don't have time to...yes, of course I care about you... yes, I know I owe you...listen-I just can't find him right now."
Seifer turned the corner, Hyperion slung over his shoulder as he casually walked down the hall, holding a cellular phone to his ear. Squall groaned and pushed himself off the wall. He straightened his jacket and Seifer stopped and stared at him. "What?" Squall hissed.
"Never mind, baby, I think just found him," Seifer said. "Puberty boy, Quistis is looking for you. She says you can use her phone."
Squall's eyes lit up as he realized what he was saying. "Where is she?" he demanded.
"Baby, where are you?" Seifer asked on the phone. He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll stop calling you that...sexy."
Immediately Squall heard Quistis yelling at Seifer. "Never mind! I'll find her myself!"
"Hey, wait a second," Seifer called. Squall was already running up the hall. Seifer sighed. "She said she'd meet us here..."
Squall headed towards the elevators, planning to go back to where he had last seen Quistis. As soon as he got into one elevator, the one next it opened and Quistis walked out. Just as she did, Seifer turned the corner. "Where is he?" she said, closing her phone as soon as she saw him.
"Don't know," he shrugged. "He said he'd find you himself."
Quistis sighed. "Men..." she muttered.
Upstairs, the doors opened and Squall ran out, running into Raijin. "Oh, Squall! Glad to see you, ya know-"
"Can't talk. Have you see Quistis?" Squall asked.
"Quistis? No, not today, ya know-"
"Thanks, bye!" Squall ran past the tall man before he could say another word.
"Squall!" Raijin sighed. He shook his head. "Fujin, just got back with your new cellular phone, ya know..."
Squall was already halfway down the hall when he said that and didn't hear it. *I NEED to get a phone!* his mind screamed. He mentally cursed Seifer for having ruined his phone in the first place. *I should've made him give me his...*
"Squall." a voice called as he looked around the hallway. He turned around and saw Fujin walking towards him.
"Not now, Fujin, I'm looking for Quistis." he stated.
Fujin shook her head and lifted up a bag. "Phone." she said.
"Phone?" Squall asked. His eyes went wide. "MY phone?"
"Affirmative." she nodded.
She handed him the bag and he tore through it. Finally, he pulled out a black phone similar to his. "Does it have the same number?"
"Affirmative," she said. "Phonebook same."
"Thanks, Fujin!" Squall said. He opened the flip phone and headed to the elevator. On the way out, he ran into Raijin, who asked if Fujin found him. Then he ran into Zell, who wanted to know if he was okay because he wasn't answering his messages. Then Seifer and Quistis intercepted him.
By the time he was riding out of the Garden, twenty minutes had passed. He mentally swore as his bike took on the lone road out of the Garden. His hands gripped the handles tightly as he sped up.
Rinoa sat on a rock on a jetty as the waves crashed at her feet. At the start of jetty, her new body guard kept watch. The sun was starting to set and Rinoa looked down at Auron's phone. She couldn't believe her luck. Her new body guard was more trusted than Irvine AND knew about her and Squall.
She silently thanked whoever Yuna and Tidus were for their assistance, although the letter had explained that it was their fault in the first place. Regardless, she took what she could get. Suddenly the phone sounded to life and Rinoa opened it. "Hello!?" she gasped out breathlessly.
"Rin?" a breathy voice rasped from the other end.
From where he was, Squall leaned against the guard rail by the side of the road. Behind him, the sea roared. He dropped his helmet on the ground as he slid into a sitting position with his legs stretched out in front of him. His hair was damp with sweat and he ran his leather gloved hand through it.
"Squall?" Rinoa asked in a whimper.
Squall tiled his head back as the breeze went past him, cooling him after he had rushed to get away from the Garden. "Yeah..." he breathed. "Miss me?"
"Of course I have!" she gasped. Squall chuckled. "I cried all last night when I thought I couldn't talk to you again!"
"One day, we can talk to each other without it having to be a secret..." he whispered intently. "Loving you should not be a secret."
"Secret..." Rinoa said in a soft voice. She looked down at her feet nervously. She hated that word. She had carried a secret her entire life and because of it, her father had torn her away from the man she loved. "Squall... you love me right?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Yes," Squall stated. "I love you, Rinoa. Nothing will change that."
Rinoa closed her eyes. "What if I did something horrible?" she asked quietly. *What if I AM something horrible?*
Squall narrowed his eyes, concerned. Her tone had suddenly turned nervous. As if she was afraid of something. "Rinoa," he said as he leaned forward slightly. "What's wrong?" She didn't reply. "Are you all right? Rinoa?"
"I'm here," she said, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "What if...what if something happened and I did something terrible, but I had no control over it...would you still love me?"
"You know I would," Squall asserted. "No matter what. Rinoa...what's going on? What's wrong?"
Rinoa closed her eyes tightly and rubbed them with her free hand. "Squall, I have a secret..." Her father's voice echoed in her head. Scolding her and reminding her what was on the line. Her career. Her friends. Her entire life would be gone.
This world will kill all sorceresses. They FEAR them. They are DANGEROUS. No matter how well loved you might be now, the moment you tell them that you're a sorceress, they'll put you away. They'll hunt you down and won't rest until you're dead. Do you understand? No one will ever love you if you tell them!
She had been told that since she was a child. Since they first discovered that she was a sorceress. *He's lying...* Rinoa told herself like she had many times over. *Irvine knows. Seifer knows. They love me...Squall will love me.*
"Rinoa?" Squall asked quietly to see if she was still on the line. Rinoa opened her tearful eyes and swallowed. Her heart was racing as her palms suddenly began damp with sweat. She took a deep breath.
"I'm a sorceress."
