Disclaimer: I do not own Squaresoft, Final Fantasy VIII, nor its characters.

You are the One for Me

Chapter Two

Squall was already enraged when he arrived at the office. He had not slept a wink last night. And that was all because of Yumi who threatened to file rape against him if he would not marry her.

Rape? Hah! If there was going to be a rape charge, he was the one who was raped! The woman brought him to her apartment, gave him wine – lots of it – and then she seduced him! The woman was bold, and Squall was okay with a one-night stand.

And then he found out that the reason why Yumi did that was she was pregnant. She wanted to get a man who would marry her because of her condition. The woman did not know who was the father of her unborn child – she had too many lovers. And Squall was, unfortunately, the man she thought would be best to give a surname to her baby.

He never had a woman who did not bring him problems in his whole life. If she threatened him, so be it! But he would never marry Yumi. He was still sane.

At the office, he was faced with another problem. Seifer was absent! And he was the one who was supposed to give a report at their meeting later that afternoon.

If Squall were not that angry at Yumi, he would have forgiven Seifer and Squall would just have given the report. But this was just one of those days that he wanted to unleash all the anger that he felt. And he decided that that unlucky person was Seifer.

If he called Seifer at his house, Seifer would have easily avoided him by telling the maid to tell Squall that he was not at home. And so, Squall chose to see him personally by going to the Almasys' house.

When he got there, he unintentionally ran over the pool of mud. The two persons standing by the gate got splashed with water and mud. He recognized them as the househelp at the Almasys' mansion in Winhill.

Squall was really angry. And he did not have the time nor the patience to apologize to just a pair of hired help.

He pushed the window button and the window at his side came down while he shouted at her. "What are you doing there just standing and sauntering as if you're in a park? Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me coming?" he growled.

"You jerk!" the girl yelled at him as she charged at him.

He shot daggers at her. He motioned the security guard to open the gate wider. He closed the window of his car.

He was already passing through the gate when he heard loud breaking of glass. He immediately stepped on the brakes and whirled around in his seat. He stared in horror as he saw that the window at the back of his car was broken.

"Fuck!" he cursed as he looked at the backseat and saw a huge, dirty and muddy rock surrounded by broken glass.

Another sound of breaking glass followed.

Squall immediately got off his car and he saw the girl picking up another big rock.

"Rinoa! Stop it already!" the old man standing near her scolded the girl.

The girl called Rinoa was clutching the rock. "What?! Are you still gonna ignore us? Just because you're in that fancy car of yours doesn't mean—"

He cut her off. "Do you know what you just did?! The windows you broke are expensive! Do you have money to pay for those windows?"

"And you want me to pay for those?" she incredulously asked. "This is what I should pay to assholes like you!" she screamed at him as she tried to hurl the rock at him, but the old man grabbed her arms.

"Sir, please forgive my daughter. She's still young that's why she's so fearless," he said.

The girl spun on her heel and faced the old man. "Why should you apologize to that asshole?" she asked angrily. The old man let go of her arm.

Squall wanted to strangle the girl. Does this bitch know who I am?

"I can have you arrested for that!" he shouted at her.

"Are you threatening me? You just try that!" she screamed at him, her face red with anger.

Bitch, he muttered to himself. He stepped closer to the two. "Hey, old man, you oughta lecture your daughter. I might forget that she's a girl and punch her good!"

"Hah! Are you trying to scare me? Me? You just do that and I'll hit you twice! If you think that you could just belittle us, you're wrong! You're going to sue me? Have me arrested? Okay, let's see! I'll sue you, too!"

Squall was furious with this girl. He gritted his teeth. Girls just really brought problems to his life!

"You seem like you don't have an answer for that, Squall." And it was followed by loud laughter.

Squall spun around. Seifer was standing with his hands on his hips. The guard was beside him.

"There is nothing funny about this! Two of my windows are broken because of this bitch!" he replied angrily.

Seifer approached Squall's red Evolution. He inspected the car's damage then looked at Rinoa. The girl suddenly stepped backward which made Squall's eyebrow arch in wonder. Rinoa looked like she wanted to vanish from where she was standing.

"Huge damage," Seifer said. "But this shouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you," he told Squall as he smirked at him.

"What? Are you telling me this is all my fault?" he exploded.

"You insulted them. You did not treat them as people. That's very bad, Squall."

"Now you're telling me that you're siding with these people?" Squall sputtered.

"Of course not! I am just pointing out the facts. You better come inside. You need a drink. You need to cool down."

"And my car?" Squall demanded.

"I'll take care of it," Seifer said as he put his arm over his friend's shoulders.

Before the two young men passed the gate, Seifer looked back at the caretaker and his daughter.

"Vincent, go to the servant's quarters so you can change. You might catch a cold in those wet clothes."

"Thank you, Sir Seifer," Vincent humbly said.

The loud-mouthed girl remained silent.

So... she knows how to be humiliated. Squall mused that the day will come that this girl would suffer from his hands.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Three days had passed before Rinoa could muster enough courage to talk to Seifer and thank him for his help. When she saw Seifer at the gate on that mud-shower-day, she wanted the earth to swallow her.

What would he think of when he saw her looking like that? When she attacked Squall?

Turn off! her mind screamed.

Yes, Seifer noticed her all right, but she never dreamt he would pay attention to her in that scenario.

She breathed sharply when she saw Seifer's blue Porsche Baxter. After he parked the car, she cautiously walked towards the garage.

"S-sir Seifer!"

Seifer looked at her. He looked as if he was trying to remember her name.

"Rinoa, right? You were the one who had a shouting bout with Squall, right?" he said as he smiled slightly.

Rinoa hung her head in shame. She was still embarrassed.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me out there," she shyly said as she shifted from one foot to another.

"That's nothing," Seifer said.

"You had to pay a lot for the damage that I've done to his car."

Rinoa almost flinched when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She looked up and saw Seifer standing in front of her.

Hyne... please tell me this is real.

"That's just gil. It doesn't amount to the amusement I got when I saw Squall dumbfounded at you! That was the first and only time that he acted that way and it was very hilarious!" Seifer blurted.

Rinoa was confused with what Seifer had said.

"Are you and Squall rivals?" she asked.

"Not exactly, but we both get..." he paused as he chose a word. "... elated when we outdo one another. We are competitors. You can call it professional jealousy since we have the same job, although we can't destroy each other because our company would face the consequences."

Rinoa slowly nodded her head, as she understood the relationship between the two men.

"By the way, I heard you're studying. At what college?" Seifer asked.

"Esthar Community College," Rinoa replied.

"Hey, I pass by there when I go to the office. I can give you a ride to school. Is that okay with you?"

Her heart threatened to leap off her chest.

"Yes, sir! I would like that very much!"

"Stop calling me 'sir'. I'm not that old."

"If that's what you want... Seifer," Rinoa said as she rolled his name on her tongue.

Seifer patted her on the shoulder. Which made Rinoa giddy.

"I think you and I could become very good friends," Seifer said.

Friends? That was not the only thing that could happen. Because Rinoa wanted to be his wife.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Rinoa's happiness was short-lived. Seifer only drove her to school for a month. She found out that he was only using her to make his current girlfriend Sarah jealous. Sarah's apartment was just near Rinoa's school. Seifer wanted Sarah to see that he could easily replace her.

Rinoa discovered this when a tall leggy redhead stepped in front of Seifer's car at an intersection one morning.

"I want to talk to you, Seifer!" the woman hissed.

Seifer parked his car by a nearby shop.

"Just a minute, Rinoa," he said before he got off the car.

Rinoa could hear everything even if the couple was a few feet away from the car.

"What were you thinking by showing off with that girl in your car?" she spat at him as she poked him in the chest.

"Why are you giving me a piece of your mind when it was you who started going out with other men even if you're already my girlfriend? Listen, Sarah, I can also play your game!" he seethed.

The two talked some more and argued. At the end, the woman gave up.

"Okay, I'll never look at another guy again. Just get that girl out of your car!"

"Sure!"

Seifer got in the car. Rinoa felt her tears threatening to fall. Why in the world did I misinterpret Seifer's kindness?

"I think this would be the last time I drive you to school. My girlfriend is getting jealous. I hope you understand," Seifer said softly.

She nodded weakly.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Rinoa was not herself. That night, she thought about Seifer. She loved him. Why won't he love her? Just because she's a maid?

Her pillow was wet with tears. Maybe if I were rich Seifer would notice me.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

For the time being, Rinoa avoided Seifer. She was a little mad at him. The problem was she still was in love with him. Seifer was still the man she wanted to marry.

Maybe Seifer would start paying attention if she finished college. But she had just started and she still had a long way to go! And women still flirted with Seifer. What if one of them would force him to marry her? And that Sarah, it looked like Seifer was serious with her.

She sat down at the bench in the garden, staring at the sky, when she heard someone calling her name.

Madam Anna! she realized as she heard the voice of the kind lady. She whirled around and saw the well-bred woman sitting at the balcony. Anna waved at her.

"Come join me for tea, Rinoa!" Anna invited her.

She got up. She did not want to reject her employer's offer. Whenever Anna visited Winhill, she asked Rinoa to come with her. Anna told her many stories, especially stories about her and her life.

Anna came from a poor family but because she had a good head on her shoulders, she finished college. She became a bank manager and, there, met Seymour Almasy. Although Anna had lived affluently, she never forgot where she came from. She remained kind and humble. She treated everyone equally.

"How's school?" Anna asked as Rinoa sat across her.

"I'm doing fine in school, Madam," she said.

Anna frowned at her.

"Mommy," Rinoa corrected herself.

Anna smiled at her. "That sounds better, dear." She put her teacup on the table. "Is it true that you fought with Squall?"

Rinoa groaned inwardly. She told Anna what had exactly happened. When she finished recounting the event, Anna shook her head from side to side.

"Those two, really! Ever since they were kids, they had tried to outdo each other. We thought they passed that stage and would become friends. But that did not happen. What the other one had, the other wanted! From cars to girls. Those two will never get married if they keep fighting over one girl."

Rinoa's ears perked up.

"Do you mean... if Squall likes one girl, Seifer would go after her?"

Anna nodded. "Have you met Sarah? Sarah is Seifer's girlfriend but before that, Squall courted her. I think those two boys are having a contest on girls."

An idea popped into Rinoa's mind. But it was impossible. She was mad at Squall and Squall was mad at her. But if she could charm Squall into wooing her, Seifer would definitely court her.

She could easily make Seifer fall in love with her if Seifer would be her boyfriend. After all, Rinoa was confident enough that he would learn to fall in love with her.

But what about Squall? It would be difficult to make Squall like her. A plan started to take shape in Rinoa's mind.

A/N: Hi, everybody! I hope you liked Chapter Two. I would like to acknowledge remote mine *please take a bow, my friend* for beta-reading this chappy. I'd also like to thank all the people who read this fic.

SkyeLight: Wow! Thanks so much! I just wanted the characters to be like... you know... normal people who are imperfect in one way or another. I'm really glad you liked it. I hope you liked this chappy, too. Thanks again!

remote mine: Hehe! Yep, it's funny alright. But I put this story in Romance/Drama category. It will be romance/drama in future chapters. =) Fixed the summary... thanks! I really appreciate everything... the comments, suggestions, criticisms, encouragement... and most especially, the beta-reading! I hope you didn't get a headache from beta-reading this chappy. =) Thanks so much again!

Please R&R! Comments, suggestions and criticisms are greatly encouraged. Thanks!

~bembem~