A/N: Well, my dear readers, I checked reviews this morning (Nov. 18) and
found the 'before or after' votes at a deadlock. Three for three, and some
that didn't give their opinion. I know I didn't give very long, but I'm
ready to write, so, I'm counting myself as the deciding vote! And I
decide: *drum roll* Before! I have two main reasons for doing this, which
I'll tell you about at the bottom. For now, I'm gonna stop boring you and
get to the story.
Chapter 15
So, his gut feeling had been right on the money. He hadn't been fast enough to stop it, and now she was gone, possibly forever. He shuddered at the thought. The police chief's fiancé, stolen right out from underneath him. What would people think? He shook his head, feeling ashamed that such a thought had even dared to cross his busy mind. Her safety was more important than his reputation.
As Seifer stared idly out the window, his stomach twisted into a maze of knots as he waited for something, anything to drop down from the heavens above and lead him to the love of his life, he wondered is she was thinking of him at that moment.
Yesterday's revelation still burned at the forefront of his mind. He wanted to believe that he had been wrong. He wanted to find her, and settle his worries once and for all. He just couldn't understand why she would've carried on as far as she did with him if she was never happy.
A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips as he thought of how they'd first met. He'd noticed her right away, of course, just as all the other men had. She was beautiful, with a hauntingly dark air about her, something brought upon her by living in the depths of misery. At the time, Seifer was the biggest playboy at the station, and at first, trying to date her was just a game. But her utter resistance to his attempts had drawn him in deeper, her apathy towards his tearing apart his ego, and forcing him to face his own selfishness. He was no longer the same man. Was he?
It occurred to him then, that he'd never asked her why she had been so distraught in the first place. She had never volunteered the information, and he had never once cared to ask. Some pieces of the past were meant to stay buried, and at the time, he assumed she had let go of her pain for a life of happiness with him. The truth was, that the past had never let go of her, and whatever it was that caused her so much sorrow still had a death grip on her. He tried to think. what had she said of her life before coming to the city? Where had she been, what had she done?
Before the answers could come to him, Raijin entered the office, a mess of papers in his hands, and a wide smile on his face. "We've got a lead! She withdrew all of her money from the bank the morning she went missing, and a woman at the bus station identified her. Said she was heading to FH with some man. Now all we have to do is go after them!"
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Squall slowly opened his eyes, a foreign feeling of warmth covering his body. He instantly felt at peace, despite everything, and was nearly lulled back to sleep by the gentle touch of heat surrounding him. He couldn't help but wonder, somewhere deep within his mind, what it was, and where it was coming from. Suddenly, he was aware of a warm rush of air against his neck, sending tingles over his skin. He shifted slightly, and realized there was a long, smooth leg hooked around one of his, and a small, delicate hand resting on his chest. He cautiously reached a hand up and stroked it through the mass of silky raven hair that was spilled over the pillow next to him. This elicited a contented sigh that was breathed against his throat, and the soft body next to him snuggled closer until he could feel her every curve pressed against him.
A smile started to form on his lips, as he relaxed into the comfortable position he'd suddenly found himself in. It was certainly an improvement from last night, when she was barely talking to him. Perhaps she'd decided at some point during the night to forgive him?
(Even if she had decided to forgive me, this is a little closer than you'd usually get to someone who's just a friend) he mused. (This is more like something you'd do with someone that you.)
His thoughts trailed off as reality settled in, and a cynical thought popped into his mind. A frown twisted his face once more, as he felt her stir next to him. He closed his eyes, feigning sleep, and quietly lamented the loss of her warmth as she slowly sat up.
Squall reached a hand up to rub his eyes then, as if he'd just woke up, before chancing a look at her. A look of confusion graced her features for a brief moment, before she quickly pushed away from him, trying to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
He sat up as she hastily pulled a pair of jeans on, and reached for her hairbrush. "Where to today?" he asked quietly. She violently tugged the brush through her dark locks but showed no other sign of acknowledgement. He sighed. "So you're not talking to me at all today?" Still no reply. "You know, this isn't going to do either of us any good!" he growled, quickly growing impatient. "If anything this is going to cause even more problems, and that's the last thing we need right now."
"Well, if I'm just such a problem right now, why don't you just go on without me!" she hissed. "You're the damn genius, you can figure all this out yourself. So what am I good for anyway? Are you gonna hold me hostage or something if the police do catch up with us? Have you got a gun hidden somewhere so you can point it at my head when they show up? I mean, what's my life matter to you?"
"Rinoa, you're over-reacting. You know I would never do something like that."
"Bull shit! You don't care what happens to me at all! If you really did then how could you have possibly expected me to give up everything in my life for you. How could you even ask me in the first place?"
"Don't even try it. I didn't force you to do anything; you did it of your own accord. Yeah, I asked you. I needed your help and I thought I could trust you."
"You trusted that you could use me!" she spat.
"And what about you?" he demanded.
"What about me?"
"Aren't you just using me as a temporary replacement for him?"
She couldn't help the gasp that escaped from her. "How could you even think that? I mean. what the hell ever gave you that idea?"
"This morning," he retorted angrily. "Cuddled up to me like you probably do with him every night. did you think that if you shut your eyes tight enough, you could pretend that I was him?"
A visible shudder ran through her body, and she could barely keep the sob swelling in her throat from reaching the open air. Her fists clenched at her side, and she tried with everything that was in her to be calm. When she had finally composed herself enough, she grabbed the cell phone from her purse and headed for the door, pausing for just a moment. "For you information, he and I have never shared the same bed," she replied coldly, without ever turning to face him. "And if my being there really bothers you that much, then I can assure you that you and I will never share a bed again, either. I'm going to call Isabella. I'm sure if you go to the front desk, you can arrange to have a room of your own."
As the slamming door signaled her departure, Squall collapsed back on the bed, burying his face in his hands. He couldn't stand it much longer. Rejection would be painful in a way that he would never recover from, but at least it was simple. To keep lying like this, to keep hurting her again and again just so he could delay the inevitable. He would be lucky at this point if she didn't hate him for the rest of her life. Nothing, in his mind, could ever be worse than that.
Then, of course, there was her claim that he'd made her give up everything for him. While he knew it was just something she'd thrown out in the middle of an argument, he couldn't help but curse himself for his actions. He'd dragged her into this with him, not really considering how it would ruin her life. All he knew at the time was that he needed to see her, and be with her, if only for the sake of proving his innocence. In the end, it only hurt them both.
Grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper from Rinoa's purse, Squall slowly transferred his feelings to the paper, struggling to get every word exactly as he wanted it. He wanted her to know precisely what he felt, after he set her free.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Rinoa walked with slow, leisure steps around the boardwalk, waiting until she could get a signal on her phone. Her hands trembled so much she could hardly read the screen, and her face was still damp with tears. She knew a lot of the things she said weren't true. He hadn't forced her to do anything. she had been all too willing to run away with him. But what did it matter in the end? He was even more selfish now than before.
She finally stopped her pacing, with a relieved sigh, and dialed the number Isabella had given to her at the funeral. She bit her lip, praying she would pick up the phone. She needed to talk to someone, someone that would cry and curse Squall's name right along with her.
"Hello?"
"Hi!" Rinoa exclaimed upon hearing her voice. "I'm so glad I could reach you!"
"Rinoa? What's up?"
The excitement drained from Rinoa's voice and she sighed once again. "I'm. I'm with Squall, at a place called FH, I think. I need someone to talk to."
"You're. but he's. Look, if I'm not mistaken, FH isn't that far away from Dollet. If you'll go there, I'll hop a bus and meet you at the station, okay? It shouldn't be but a couple hours. I take it this isn't just another one of your arguments."
Rinoa laughed bitterly. "If I didn't care about him so much I swear I would've walked away last night. I need someone to talk to."
"On my way out the door!" Isabella exclaimed. "I'll see you in a few hours. Hold yourself together until then. Bye!"
"Bye," Rinoa mumbled into the phone. She recalled that they'd reached FH by ferry, after getting off the bus at Dollet. It wasn't but an hour-long ride, if that much, and was cheap at that. She briefly glanced back at the inn, her feet starting to carry her back so she could at least tell Squall she was leaving for a while.
(No, what's the point) Rinoa wondered to herself. (It's not like he cares...)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Not but two hours and thirty minutes later, Rinoa and Isabella were seated on the upper balcony of a classy little coffee shop in Dollet. Rinoa stared out at the quaint little town around her, busying her distressed mind by watching the people come and go.
"I hate to be rude, but. There is a reason I spent two hours on a bus to get here, right?" Isabella asked quietly.
"He's just been using me this whole time." Rinoa murmured softly.
"Using you? For what? You gotta start from the beginning here. I don't understand how you ended up going off with him in the first place."
"After I left the funeral, I went back to my office, and he was there, waiting for me. He said he was innocent, and that he needed my help. At first I wasn't sure what to believe. all the evidence against him was hard to argue with. But he looked me in the eyes and told me he didn't do it. I couldn't help but believe him. I wanted to go with him so badly, anyway. I know I never said anything, and I know it may sound strange to you, but." her voice trail off as she struggled with herself.
"But he'd been on your mind every second of the day since you left the asylum?" Isabella finished. At Rinoa's look of surprise, she just laughed. "Oh please, like it was some big secret. You would look at him, then he'd look at you, and you'd blush and look away. He would look at you a lot too, but you didn't see it half the time. And it wasn't just that you were looking at each other, it was your eyes. I can't say that I know Squall all that well, but I've never seen him look at anyone the way he'd look at you. Zell said the same thing, and he was the man's roommate for years."
"I was a friend," Rinoa replied. "But I guess after all that time of not seeing him, he lost that sense of friendship. I'm just a way out of prison for him."
"What makes you think that he's using you?"
"Because he said so himself!"
"So?"
"What do you mean, so?" Rinoa demanded.
"You should know by now that Squall doesn't always mean everything he says." Isabella chuckled slightly. "Hell, he was probably just embarrassed to admit that he wanted to see you, too, so he said that to cover his tracks."
"You really think so?"
"I'd bet money," Isabella answered.
"Well. you're probably right. I guess we can continue to be friends, then."
"Friends? You don't wanna be just friends with him, admit. What I don't understand is, why did you get engaged to someone else when you clearly have feelings for Squall?"
"I never thought I'd see him again," Rinoa explained. "And even if I did, I know he doesn't want the same thing I do."
"Did he say that?"
"No," Rinoa grumbled, and proceeded to describe to her the details of their last night at the asylum together. By the time she was through, her cheeks were flushed with the memory, but her eyes were also glistening with fresh tears. "He told me to leave. he didn't want me."
Isabella sighed. "I honestly don't know what to tell you, there. I mean, from everything I've seen myself, I'd say the man's been in love with you since the beginning, but I can't really judge without seeing the whole story. Even still, Rinoa. if you don't love this other guy, you shouldn't stay engaged to him. It's not fair to either of you."
"You think I should break it off?"
"Yeah, definitely. So!" Isabella started with a wide grin, "Now that we've solved your personal crisis, let's get you back to your adorable little criminal."
"You make it sound like it's a good thing," Rinoa giggled slightly.
"Of course. One day I hope to have one myself," the blue-haired woman joked as she pushed Rinoa in the direction of the ferry. "If you need anything else, call me."
Rinoa nodded, smiling to her friend, and waving. She felt immensely better having talked to someone, and now she was determined to make peace.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Squall signed his name at the bottom of the paper, before allowing his eyes to drift over to the pile of crumpled papers in the corner. Finally, after hours of searching for the right words to express himself, he had finished the letter. The time had passed by without him really noticing, and he vaguely wondered why Rinoa had been gone so long.
Putting on his jacket, and taking once last glance around the room, Squall headed for the door. But as he reached for the knob, it turned from the other side, and opened.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Rinoa eased the door open, her legs still wobbly after the boat ride. "Squall, I'm sorry I-"
She froze before she could finish her sentence. Her stomach twisted into a knot, and her heart quivered in her chest, as if it might give out at any moment. She struggled to regain her breath, as fear rendered her speechless. It was over. It was all over, now.
"Don't worry, Rinoa," the deep, strong voice that she had come to resent spoke. "Everything will be okay, I'm here now. And I'm gonna kill this bastard for ever even looking at you!"
"Seifer." she whispered, as she stared hopelessly at the sight before her.
There stood her fiancé, in the middle of the room with his pistol pressed against Squall's forehead. He didn't flinch, or show any sign of fear. He just stared back at Seifer calmly, before allowing his gaze to shift to Rinoa.
"Don't you dare look at her!" Seifer roared.
"Seifer, stop!" Rinoa screamed, finally finding her voice.
"Don't worry about him, Rinoa. He won't ever be able to come after you, again."
"Seifer stop, you don't understand! Just listen to me," she pleaded, pulling in vain at his arm in an attempt to lower his gun. "He didn't kidnap me or anything, I swear!"
Seifer didn't seem to even hear her, as he locked eyes with the man before him. There was no remorse there, no repentance at all. Seifer's arm trembled as his rage grew. He wasn't even sorry for everything he had done! The eyes that stared back at him seemed inhuman with such a steady, unwavering gaze. Such a person was not worthy of life. A clicking sound echoed through the room as he cocked the gun.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ A/N: Cliffhanger!!!!!!!! Yes, I'm evil sometimes, I know. This chapter kinda. stunk to me. Maybe it was too forced. anyway, reasons for deciding on before:
There's only so far I can stretch this drama out (and you can obviously tell I was stretching it in this chapter.) Once the mystery is solved, the story is pretty much over. There would be no time left for romance. So, before it is. Tune in next time!
Chapter 15
So, his gut feeling had been right on the money. He hadn't been fast enough to stop it, and now she was gone, possibly forever. He shuddered at the thought. The police chief's fiancé, stolen right out from underneath him. What would people think? He shook his head, feeling ashamed that such a thought had even dared to cross his busy mind. Her safety was more important than his reputation.
As Seifer stared idly out the window, his stomach twisted into a maze of knots as he waited for something, anything to drop down from the heavens above and lead him to the love of his life, he wondered is she was thinking of him at that moment.
Yesterday's revelation still burned at the forefront of his mind. He wanted to believe that he had been wrong. He wanted to find her, and settle his worries once and for all. He just couldn't understand why she would've carried on as far as she did with him if she was never happy.
A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips as he thought of how they'd first met. He'd noticed her right away, of course, just as all the other men had. She was beautiful, with a hauntingly dark air about her, something brought upon her by living in the depths of misery. At the time, Seifer was the biggest playboy at the station, and at first, trying to date her was just a game. But her utter resistance to his attempts had drawn him in deeper, her apathy towards his tearing apart his ego, and forcing him to face his own selfishness. He was no longer the same man. Was he?
It occurred to him then, that he'd never asked her why she had been so distraught in the first place. She had never volunteered the information, and he had never once cared to ask. Some pieces of the past were meant to stay buried, and at the time, he assumed she had let go of her pain for a life of happiness with him. The truth was, that the past had never let go of her, and whatever it was that caused her so much sorrow still had a death grip on her. He tried to think. what had she said of her life before coming to the city? Where had she been, what had she done?
Before the answers could come to him, Raijin entered the office, a mess of papers in his hands, and a wide smile on his face. "We've got a lead! She withdrew all of her money from the bank the morning she went missing, and a woman at the bus station identified her. Said she was heading to FH with some man. Now all we have to do is go after them!"
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Squall slowly opened his eyes, a foreign feeling of warmth covering his body. He instantly felt at peace, despite everything, and was nearly lulled back to sleep by the gentle touch of heat surrounding him. He couldn't help but wonder, somewhere deep within his mind, what it was, and where it was coming from. Suddenly, he was aware of a warm rush of air against his neck, sending tingles over his skin. He shifted slightly, and realized there was a long, smooth leg hooked around one of his, and a small, delicate hand resting on his chest. He cautiously reached a hand up and stroked it through the mass of silky raven hair that was spilled over the pillow next to him. This elicited a contented sigh that was breathed against his throat, and the soft body next to him snuggled closer until he could feel her every curve pressed against him.
A smile started to form on his lips, as he relaxed into the comfortable position he'd suddenly found himself in. It was certainly an improvement from last night, when she was barely talking to him. Perhaps she'd decided at some point during the night to forgive him?
(Even if she had decided to forgive me, this is a little closer than you'd usually get to someone who's just a friend) he mused. (This is more like something you'd do with someone that you.)
His thoughts trailed off as reality settled in, and a cynical thought popped into his mind. A frown twisted his face once more, as he felt her stir next to him. He closed his eyes, feigning sleep, and quietly lamented the loss of her warmth as she slowly sat up.
Squall reached a hand up to rub his eyes then, as if he'd just woke up, before chancing a look at her. A look of confusion graced her features for a brief moment, before she quickly pushed away from him, trying to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
He sat up as she hastily pulled a pair of jeans on, and reached for her hairbrush. "Where to today?" he asked quietly. She violently tugged the brush through her dark locks but showed no other sign of acknowledgement. He sighed. "So you're not talking to me at all today?" Still no reply. "You know, this isn't going to do either of us any good!" he growled, quickly growing impatient. "If anything this is going to cause even more problems, and that's the last thing we need right now."
"Well, if I'm just such a problem right now, why don't you just go on without me!" she hissed. "You're the damn genius, you can figure all this out yourself. So what am I good for anyway? Are you gonna hold me hostage or something if the police do catch up with us? Have you got a gun hidden somewhere so you can point it at my head when they show up? I mean, what's my life matter to you?"
"Rinoa, you're over-reacting. You know I would never do something like that."
"Bull shit! You don't care what happens to me at all! If you really did then how could you have possibly expected me to give up everything in my life for you. How could you even ask me in the first place?"
"Don't even try it. I didn't force you to do anything; you did it of your own accord. Yeah, I asked you. I needed your help and I thought I could trust you."
"You trusted that you could use me!" she spat.
"And what about you?" he demanded.
"What about me?"
"Aren't you just using me as a temporary replacement for him?"
She couldn't help the gasp that escaped from her. "How could you even think that? I mean. what the hell ever gave you that idea?"
"This morning," he retorted angrily. "Cuddled up to me like you probably do with him every night. did you think that if you shut your eyes tight enough, you could pretend that I was him?"
A visible shudder ran through her body, and she could barely keep the sob swelling in her throat from reaching the open air. Her fists clenched at her side, and she tried with everything that was in her to be calm. When she had finally composed herself enough, she grabbed the cell phone from her purse and headed for the door, pausing for just a moment. "For you information, he and I have never shared the same bed," she replied coldly, without ever turning to face him. "And if my being there really bothers you that much, then I can assure you that you and I will never share a bed again, either. I'm going to call Isabella. I'm sure if you go to the front desk, you can arrange to have a room of your own."
As the slamming door signaled her departure, Squall collapsed back on the bed, burying his face in his hands. He couldn't stand it much longer. Rejection would be painful in a way that he would never recover from, but at least it was simple. To keep lying like this, to keep hurting her again and again just so he could delay the inevitable. He would be lucky at this point if she didn't hate him for the rest of her life. Nothing, in his mind, could ever be worse than that.
Then, of course, there was her claim that he'd made her give up everything for him. While he knew it was just something she'd thrown out in the middle of an argument, he couldn't help but curse himself for his actions. He'd dragged her into this with him, not really considering how it would ruin her life. All he knew at the time was that he needed to see her, and be with her, if only for the sake of proving his innocence. In the end, it only hurt them both.
Grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper from Rinoa's purse, Squall slowly transferred his feelings to the paper, struggling to get every word exactly as he wanted it. He wanted her to know precisely what he felt, after he set her free.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Rinoa walked with slow, leisure steps around the boardwalk, waiting until she could get a signal on her phone. Her hands trembled so much she could hardly read the screen, and her face was still damp with tears. She knew a lot of the things she said weren't true. He hadn't forced her to do anything. she had been all too willing to run away with him. But what did it matter in the end? He was even more selfish now than before.
She finally stopped her pacing, with a relieved sigh, and dialed the number Isabella had given to her at the funeral. She bit her lip, praying she would pick up the phone. She needed to talk to someone, someone that would cry and curse Squall's name right along with her.
"Hello?"
"Hi!" Rinoa exclaimed upon hearing her voice. "I'm so glad I could reach you!"
"Rinoa? What's up?"
The excitement drained from Rinoa's voice and she sighed once again. "I'm. I'm with Squall, at a place called FH, I think. I need someone to talk to."
"You're. but he's. Look, if I'm not mistaken, FH isn't that far away from Dollet. If you'll go there, I'll hop a bus and meet you at the station, okay? It shouldn't be but a couple hours. I take it this isn't just another one of your arguments."
Rinoa laughed bitterly. "If I didn't care about him so much I swear I would've walked away last night. I need someone to talk to."
"On my way out the door!" Isabella exclaimed. "I'll see you in a few hours. Hold yourself together until then. Bye!"
"Bye," Rinoa mumbled into the phone. She recalled that they'd reached FH by ferry, after getting off the bus at Dollet. It wasn't but an hour-long ride, if that much, and was cheap at that. She briefly glanced back at the inn, her feet starting to carry her back so she could at least tell Squall she was leaving for a while.
(No, what's the point) Rinoa wondered to herself. (It's not like he cares...)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Not but two hours and thirty minutes later, Rinoa and Isabella were seated on the upper balcony of a classy little coffee shop in Dollet. Rinoa stared out at the quaint little town around her, busying her distressed mind by watching the people come and go.
"I hate to be rude, but. There is a reason I spent two hours on a bus to get here, right?" Isabella asked quietly.
"He's just been using me this whole time." Rinoa murmured softly.
"Using you? For what? You gotta start from the beginning here. I don't understand how you ended up going off with him in the first place."
"After I left the funeral, I went back to my office, and he was there, waiting for me. He said he was innocent, and that he needed my help. At first I wasn't sure what to believe. all the evidence against him was hard to argue with. But he looked me in the eyes and told me he didn't do it. I couldn't help but believe him. I wanted to go with him so badly, anyway. I know I never said anything, and I know it may sound strange to you, but." her voice trail off as she struggled with herself.
"But he'd been on your mind every second of the day since you left the asylum?" Isabella finished. At Rinoa's look of surprise, she just laughed. "Oh please, like it was some big secret. You would look at him, then he'd look at you, and you'd blush and look away. He would look at you a lot too, but you didn't see it half the time. And it wasn't just that you were looking at each other, it was your eyes. I can't say that I know Squall all that well, but I've never seen him look at anyone the way he'd look at you. Zell said the same thing, and he was the man's roommate for years."
"I was a friend," Rinoa replied. "But I guess after all that time of not seeing him, he lost that sense of friendship. I'm just a way out of prison for him."
"What makes you think that he's using you?"
"Because he said so himself!"
"So?"
"What do you mean, so?" Rinoa demanded.
"You should know by now that Squall doesn't always mean everything he says." Isabella chuckled slightly. "Hell, he was probably just embarrassed to admit that he wanted to see you, too, so he said that to cover his tracks."
"You really think so?"
"I'd bet money," Isabella answered.
"Well. you're probably right. I guess we can continue to be friends, then."
"Friends? You don't wanna be just friends with him, admit. What I don't understand is, why did you get engaged to someone else when you clearly have feelings for Squall?"
"I never thought I'd see him again," Rinoa explained. "And even if I did, I know he doesn't want the same thing I do."
"Did he say that?"
"No," Rinoa grumbled, and proceeded to describe to her the details of their last night at the asylum together. By the time she was through, her cheeks were flushed with the memory, but her eyes were also glistening with fresh tears. "He told me to leave. he didn't want me."
Isabella sighed. "I honestly don't know what to tell you, there. I mean, from everything I've seen myself, I'd say the man's been in love with you since the beginning, but I can't really judge without seeing the whole story. Even still, Rinoa. if you don't love this other guy, you shouldn't stay engaged to him. It's not fair to either of you."
"You think I should break it off?"
"Yeah, definitely. So!" Isabella started with a wide grin, "Now that we've solved your personal crisis, let's get you back to your adorable little criminal."
"You make it sound like it's a good thing," Rinoa giggled slightly.
"Of course. One day I hope to have one myself," the blue-haired woman joked as she pushed Rinoa in the direction of the ferry. "If you need anything else, call me."
Rinoa nodded, smiling to her friend, and waving. She felt immensely better having talked to someone, and now she was determined to make peace.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Squall signed his name at the bottom of the paper, before allowing his eyes to drift over to the pile of crumpled papers in the corner. Finally, after hours of searching for the right words to express himself, he had finished the letter. The time had passed by without him really noticing, and he vaguely wondered why Rinoa had been gone so long.
Putting on his jacket, and taking once last glance around the room, Squall headed for the door. But as he reached for the knob, it turned from the other side, and opened.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Rinoa eased the door open, her legs still wobbly after the boat ride. "Squall, I'm sorry I-"
She froze before she could finish her sentence. Her stomach twisted into a knot, and her heart quivered in her chest, as if it might give out at any moment. She struggled to regain her breath, as fear rendered her speechless. It was over. It was all over, now.
"Don't worry, Rinoa," the deep, strong voice that she had come to resent spoke. "Everything will be okay, I'm here now. And I'm gonna kill this bastard for ever even looking at you!"
"Seifer." she whispered, as she stared hopelessly at the sight before her.
There stood her fiancé, in the middle of the room with his pistol pressed against Squall's forehead. He didn't flinch, or show any sign of fear. He just stared back at Seifer calmly, before allowing his gaze to shift to Rinoa.
"Don't you dare look at her!" Seifer roared.
"Seifer, stop!" Rinoa screamed, finally finding her voice.
"Don't worry about him, Rinoa. He won't ever be able to come after you, again."
"Seifer stop, you don't understand! Just listen to me," she pleaded, pulling in vain at his arm in an attempt to lower his gun. "He didn't kidnap me or anything, I swear!"
Seifer didn't seem to even hear her, as he locked eyes with the man before him. There was no remorse there, no repentance at all. Seifer's arm trembled as his rage grew. He wasn't even sorry for everything he had done! The eyes that stared back at him seemed inhuman with such a steady, unwavering gaze. Such a person was not worthy of life. A clicking sound echoed through the room as he cocked the gun.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ A/N: Cliffhanger!!!!!!!! Yes, I'm evil sometimes, I know. This chapter kinda. stunk to me. Maybe it was too forced. anyway, reasons for deciding on before:
There's only so far I can stretch this drama out (and you can obviously tell I was stretching it in this chapter.) Once the mystery is solved, the story is pretty much over. There would be no time left for romance. So, before it is. Tune in next time!