Disclaimer: I still do not own my car, my Jacuzzi, my motorcycle so don't even question me about Final Fantasy VIII, ok?
POV Rinoa
Chapter IVAfter the little stunt my bigheaded boyfriend pulled, I got little sleep and little work done. Not that the teachers minded, it's not like they were breathing down your neck constantly but that didn't stop them from piling it on and collecting it. I handed in three of my assignments late and I slept through economics. No one noticed … they were all asleep as well. Of course I had to get the notes given out by someone who wasn't dozing off and that proved to be a slight challenge. I'll spare you the details.
Back to my point, what was my point? Ah yes … Mr. Jackass. If he pulled something like that again I'd paint his dorm with his blood. It needs color. Anyways! By Thursday he was completely restored to his usual self. Abundant blood loss didn't seem to affect him. Then again, he only needs it to run one thing at a time. Am I being harsh? That's too freaking bad.
After his speedy recovery I was able to spend the last two days concentrating on what I had missed. I knew perfectly well that I wouldn't be able to do it on the weekend, as the SeeD inauguration party would be a pretty time-consuming event. I wasn't one of the only people attending this formal event. My parents as well as the two little twits would be present. I don't know why anyone would think of cordially inviting Mikey and Stu … unless it's to cage them and expose them as specimens. Hm … that isn't a half bad idea.
Twits present or not I had to find a dress. I could always go shopping with Selphie and Quistis … had I the time which I don't. So scratch that option. Seeing my only way out I asked my little lust puppet (Which is Squall, for those who don't know) for his services, "Please? It's just a dress, I'll give you my size and you can go pick one out, the one that you'd think would fit me good." After losing that tormenting argument I opted for the only choice left. I'd rush in Saturday at opening hour and pick the first dress that so happened to be my size … even if it was hot pink with ugly froo-froos. Did I mention how much dislike I withheld for that 'only choice'?
It didn't turn out that bad. I found a nice, spaghetti straps, black dress that fell just above my knee. It was my size. I bought it. I also found/made time to shop around some more and use that credit card that my father so humbly pays each month. Muwahah … I'm so spoilt, so what're you going to do? Sue me?
Back to my initial point, what was it again? Ah yes … after returning to Balamb Garden, bugging Squall, messing up his hair and calling my mother I set myself to work: cooking lunch. It's much harder than you can imagine. Commander Squall Leonheart doesn't eat Kraft Dinner. Nooo, Commander Leonheart demands a full course meal. The ass.
So I prepared him something (and I think it's important to underline the next part) to the best of my ability. Needless to say I overcooked the macaroni and put too much milk, making the cheese sauce slightly watery. And he was pissed off because I had made him Kraft Dinner. Well what? I can't be perfect! What's so bad about Kraft Dinner anyway? After shoveling the food down his throat, uh … I mean … after he casually had his lunch … he returned to work and I was left all alone (This is the part where you feel sorry for me). So I did the dishes and decided to call home once more since my mother and I hadn't properly finished our conversation last time.
The phone rang once and someone picked up, "Hello?" It was Mikey.
"Hey, pass me mom please."
He was silent for a moment, "Make me." Oh no … he wasn't going to start this, was he? Of course he was.
"Mikey, pass the phone to mom." I repeated, knowing all too well that it was futile. In response he burped, "Pass the phone to mom, you little shitwit!"
He began to sing, "Oooooh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS! Absorbent and yellow and porous is he! SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS! If nautical nonsense be something you wish! SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS! Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish! SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS, SPONGE BOB SQUA-"
"SHUT UP!" I screamed into the transmitter, "Shut the FUCK up and pass me mom!"
He began singing a different song, "I've got an F and C and I got a K too and the only thing I'm missing is a BITCH like U!"
The little rat! I slammed the transmitter on the coffee table repeatedly and when I held it up to my ear again, I heard silence. Excellent. "Mikey?" I said in an overly sweet voice, "If you don't want me to tell daddy that you flunked math last term … put mom on the phone."
"Rinoaaa …" He was imitating my voice, the prick! "If you don't want me to tell daddy that you spend your week-ends at Balamb Garden in Squall's dormitory you'll mail a hundred dollars to me now." My face vaulted … he wouldn't dare, would he?
I slammed the phone back down on the cradle and waited for approximately two minutes before picking it up again and dialing my home number once more, hoping my mom would pick up this time. Of course, Mikey picked up the phone yet again.
He didn't even need to ask who it was, he started right off by singing, "There once was a French man, Yvon was his name. Exploring new lands he dreamed was his fame but reading a map was not his forte so poor Yvon was soon cast away. Yvon! Of the Yukon, sailing the stormy seas … Yvon! Of the Yukon, no one could hear his pleas!"
"No one'll be able to hear your pleas once I get my hands on you!" I screamed at him, "PASS THE PHONE TO MOM RIGHT NOW!"
"Oh, look! Dad's home! Hey dad!" He called out, "You want to know something funny? Rinoa's not a virgin, oh nooo! In fact, she-"
"MIKEY, STOP!" I saw my life flashing before my eyes. There was silence for a moment and I felt like crying while waiting for my father to take the line.
I was then aware of the laughter at the other end of the line, "You're such a nitwit!" He cried out, "Since when is dad home at one thirty? There's nobody home except for Stu, Joan and me."
"Mom's not home?"
"Not anymore." More laughter.
I slammed the phone back down and vowed to kill him later.
***
Evening came quickly. I soon found myself putting on my make-up, fixing my hair (not that there's much to do with my hair either way) and dressing myself. It took roughly an hour and a half, what can I say? Perfection is my motto. Of course that didn't suit too well with Commander Leonheart who kept rapping on the bathroom door stating that we were going to be late. Get over it Squall, the ballroom is just a floor away!
When I finally stepped out of the bathroom, he was sitting in the living room armchair, drumming his fingers on the armrest impatiently. His eyes wandered to me standing in the doorway leading to the bedroom. "So?" I asked.
His jaw was slightly ajar and his eyes fixated on me. Excellent. I had to smile. Don't seem to mind that Kraft Dinner for lunch anymore, do ya Squall? And I think you've completely forgiven me for making you wait too. Yes, good … excellent. "Finally." He stated, his amazed expression turning into a frown again.
"Jackass." I muttered loud enough for him to hear. Figures, I was expecting a compliment and instead I get 'Well that took long enough.' That asshole! Did I just see him smile? "What the hell are you laughing at?"
"Nothing." He murmured and kissed my cheek, "But it was worth the wait."
See what I mean? I can go from wanting to kick him in the crotch to just wanting to curl up in his arms and staying there for the rest of the night. But Hyne, do I love him.
***
I hate formal events. They make you feel so uncomfortable. Especially when 'uppity' people like that attend. They ask you questions and you aren't even sure of what they really did ask, "So what're you up to now?" A kind, English general asked.
"Completing my studies."
"I meant your height."
What the heck!? Wouldn't it have been easier to ask me, 'How tall are you?' And if anyone came up to me and asked me my weight I'd kill them on the spot. These aren't questions you ask people! I scanned the ballroom. It was a pretty damn big room and it was jammed pack. Another reason I hate these stupid formal events … too many people!
Mikey brought his ugly mink to the party. Can you believe it?! First of all, who the hell owns a pet mink? And who brings it to a party? He got it over the summer and I'm not sure why I don't have the resolve to kill it and to make myself a scarf with it.
That thing has a pervasive infatuation with me. It's scary! Whilst I was talking with a good old woman (or rather whilst she was boring me with political crap), Mary Jefferson, the evil little rodent coiled itself around my ankles. Since we were both standing, the lady noticed immediately and gave off loud shrieks that got the attention of everyone in the room. Before someone had a heart attack I grabbed the thing (it CLAWED at me too!) and I took it to Mikey, dumping it in his outstretched arms taking immense pleasure in the saucer-like eyes that withheld a great amount of fear.
"I'm sure you and dad'll work something out." I smirked at him. I could practically sense the radiation of my father's intense glare on Mikey. I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of utter joy and satisfaction. Pretty damn cunning if you ask me, he's the one who got himself in this shit. I was only making it worse, that's all. Hyne cannot smite me for seeking revenge, can she? Of course she can't.
The rest of the evening edged on with events that aren't worth mentioning. Well, Seifer looked so damn smug when he got his SeeD diploma that he nearly tripped on stage, which was pretty damn hilarious if you saw it from my perspective.
I suppose it's only custom to mention the, uhm … slightly conflicting event of the night. Well, ok, my father doesn't really know that I spend week-ends at Balamb Garden and I was planning on keeping it from him for … oh, the next few years or so until I could officially be considered an adult so that he couldn't oppose himself to it (not that I really cared if he did or not).
The thing is that Squall doesn't know that my father doesn't know and I was planning on keeping it from him until the day I died. I thought he might take it the wrong way or something. It's not that I don't consider my relationship with Squall serious, by all means, I do. I love him, much more than he knows but it's easier to just keep it the way it is.
So when he whispered in my ear, "Are you spending the night here?" It caused slight problems since my father good-naturedly thought that I was going home with the entire family because … well, I still do live with my parents. So what the hell am I supposed to do? Who would take the truth better, Squall or my father? Squall, and that's saying something.
So I pulled his sleeve and whispered back, "Uh … the thing is that my father was expecting me home."
"I don't get it, you come here every week-end."
"Yeah … but he doesn't know that." He stared back at me incredulously and for a split second I actually thought it would have been better to tell my father.
"Rinoa, I … you … I thought-" I always knew that when the first thing that he uttered in a sentence was my name, a fight was about to break loose. Fights are ok, but not in public in front of political figures. I knew that, he knew that.
He clenched his fists, grinded his teeth and shot me a look that clearly said, 'For fuck's sake!', then he walked away. Which was most painful of all. It practically felt as if he was walking away from me forever so I did what most stupid people do. I went to give the other truth to the already angry behemoth, which is my father.
"Dad?"
"Hm?" He was drowning away the mink incident with champagne. Of course my father has an alcohol tolerance of a five hundred pound man. It would take eighteen BOTTLES of that champagne to get him wasted, unlike my mother who only takes two bottles of beer and she begins to feel whirly. Guess what alcohol tolerance I inherited? That's right, my mother's! Why am I talking about this?
Back to my father, "I've been meaning to tell you something."
"Now that's rare."
My look of utter innocence metamorphosed in a glare, "I know, all the more reason to listen, don't you think?"
His head turned towards me and I was kind of scared of the fact that we have physical resemblances. Everyone used to tell me I looked like my mother but I have my father's eyes. Damn it, that means I look like a bitch half the time!
"I never said I wasn't listening, what is it?" He asked.
"Well … you know how I spend week-ends at Dawson?" I asked lightly and he nodded slightly, I had gotten his suspicion, "Well, I'm actually here … half the time … most of the time … all the time."
"Peachy." He replied and I believed for a moment that this would be the final word. How utterly wrong I was!
"Is … that it?" I asked cautiously.
"Hell no." He slammed his glass down on the nearby counter of the bar and I flinched, "For once in your life, you're going to listen to me, sweetheart." I was so glad others weren't around at the moment, "No matter how much of a failure as a daughter you are, there are such things as minimal decency. Skank, not decent. Whore, not decent. Fucked up girl, semi-decent. Upgrade, honey."
Those were probably the harshest words my father had ever said to me and I was surprised how much pain they caused, "Failure as a daughter? And you think you've passed fatherhood with flying colors? You're one to talk to minimal decency, you can't even accept that your kids aren't going to be like you, they aren't going to become lawyers and doctors and big political figures! Aren't you the one who receives my term marks from Dawson? I haven't given you anything to complain about yet and-"
"Wonderful! So you know everything about chromatin, about the atomic theory, about Pythagoras and Thales and Rutherford's gold foil experiment and of Bequerel's discovery of radioactivity. Frankly, I've never heard of Aristotle's theory on matter and I've never studied DNA but I've always conducted myself as a well brought-up gentleman. You've passed the borderline."
"You think just because I spend nights with Squall that I do it with everyone else?" God, why can't I shut up? And another person walked away from me tonight.
***
I decided it was for the best to leave the party and go up to Squall's dormitory. After changing into more comfortable attire I sat on the couch hugging my knees staring at a blank television screen. No, it wasn't boring. Painful thoughts kept me quite busy, against my own will.
The thing with these painful thoughts is that they get ideas into your head that scare you to the core. By the end of half an hour I was convinced that Squall never wanted to see me again and that I should leave immediately before he comes back with a strawberry blonde beauty by his side.
So … I jumped off the couch and practically ran for the door. Just as I opened the door and darted out I smashed against something much stronger than myself, 'Please don't let me see the blonde, don't let me see the blonde, please don't make me go through the pain …' I shut my eyes tightly as I felt his arms around me.
"Where the hell were you? I was looking everywhere." He was looking for me, he was looking for me! As in … not spotting other girls! "Where the hell were you going?"
"Out of Balamb." I replied in a muffled voice, I didn't want to let him go.
"Why?"
I wanted to tell him but he'd probably question my trust towards him. I guess I did for a while but I'm not used to it, not used to him.
He took me by the waist and I knew the cue. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me back inside. "You told your father?" He asked.
For a moment I couldn't look him in the eye as I replied, "Yeah."
"Thank you." He shut the door by kicking it with his heel and it automatically locked. Our lips brushed but I pulled away by force of habit. Instead I wrapped my arms around his neck for support and shoved my head on his shoulder. He carried me to the bed and set me down there. He took off his SeeD jacket and boots and then bent over me, kissed my neck and trailed his lips to my collarbone.
"Squall …" I whined, "I have a headache." I complained.
"Bullshit." He murmured in my ear. It's fascinating to observe that we already act like an old couple.
He kissed me, breaking it off at regular intervals to breath. My hands fumbled with his belt and his zipper. I've always hated his goddamn uniform pants. His shirt was the next thing to go, then my pants … then my shirt, what? I'm not taking you from step A to B here. Not enough details? Fine; it was amazing, I climaxed. Not good enough? Then rent yourself a porno flick.
I was woken by his sweet kisses, his arms around me. "What time is it?" I asked drowsily.
"3:29 a.m." He whispered.
"Go to Hell." I replied and snuggled closer, shutting my eyes.
"Too late, I'm in heaven."
"That was so cliché, I'm ashamed of you, Squall Leonheart." I let him kiss me, his tongue slipping into my mouth. His bangs fell onto my forehead and temples and some of his unruly strands of hair brushed against my cheeks.
We broke apart, stared at each other for a moment until I said, unable to break away from his light blue eyes, "Now let me go back to sleep." I shut my eyes, it was the only way to pull apart from his gaze.
"I love you." It was no louder than a murmur, his lips brushed near my eyelashes and he finally pressed them against my forehead. I felt a little numb by the words.
"Are you just trying to get laid again?" I asked playfully.
"You really do have a low esteem of me!" He cried out incredulously, "But … you know … I'm up to it if you are."
"Let me go back to sleep." I whined and slammed my fist on his chest, not that it did much good. He probably barely felt it anyways. "And I love you too."
Squall Leonheart. Commander of Balamb Garden. Whatever he was … if perfection was a sin he would end up in Hell.
Sabam: *Clears throat* Well … this was a really, really, really long chapter! I think it doubled the regular chapters! Anyways, since I gave you guys a nice, long, fluffy chapter I demand reviews!! Please?
Sidenote: I do not own Spongebob Squarepants, neither do I want to … he is THE ugliest thing I've EVER laid eyes upon.
The 'I got an F and a C and I got a K too and the only thing I'm missing is a bitch like U' is part of a song by Marylin Manson (HAH, Can you believe I was about to type Marylin Monroe? HAH! *Slaps her knee* THAAT'S A GOOD ONE!) I'm just not sure WHICH song. Either way, I don't own it.