Oblivious Chapter Fifteen, a final fantasy viii fanfic

A/N: Diddly: You'll see what I mean when I say steal your ideas a little bit later. Not really stealing, per say...merely...erm...borrowing? Yea, that works. LOL! I'm glad that you guys enjoyed the last chapter. I'm kinda losing my confidence in this story, but I want to finish it. No...I HAVE to finish it. I shouldn't even be writing now, but the more I update, the more room for new ideas! Soon, I'll finish Silent Cries/Silent Dreams. And then I'm going to continue Rebel With A Cause and Goodnight, My Love. And I have most of "LOVE" done...I just want to keep revising and adding on to it!

A/N #2: I know I'm finishing this. It'll end in a matter of 5-10 chapters. Oh...and the song is owned by DJ Sammy and Yanou "Heaven (Candlelight remix)" and YES...I know we're not supposed to have songfics...but this isn't a songfic.

Chapter Fifteen

Quistis sighed as she paced back and forth on the stage. She could hear the orchestra playing songs so that the people could dance while they were waiting for the next performer to go on stage. Quistis paused and looked at the piano. She had decided not to sing the song she had sang to Squall. She looked around, gently rubbing down the front of her short black dress. It only came up to her knees, and she had on strappy heels.

She sat down on the piano bench, her soft fingers gently brushing the keys. She felt the heat of the lights flash onto her skin, a drop of sweat immediately falling down her face. She did not want to do this one bit. She heard the curtains open, the roar of applause, and then silence.

Her fingers gently pushed the keys down, the melody flying out into the air. She tilted her head towards the microphone, her sweet voice in perfect harmony with the music.

"Oh, thinking about our younger years
There was only you and me
We were young and wild and free...
Now, nothing can take you away from me
We've been down that road before...
But that's over now...
You keep me coming back for more..."

She heard the crowd shush, there was no movements, no sway of dresses. She kept her eyes tightly closed, stage fright overcoming her.

"Baby, you're all that I want,
When you're lying here in my arms...
I'm finding it hard to believe...
We're in heaven...
And love is all that I need,
And I found it there in your heart,
It isn't too hard to see,
We're in heaven..."

Her hands danced magically across the keys of the piano. A single tear rolled down her eyes, thoughts of Squall in front of her face. it was the one thing that kept her calm. Her voice lifted up, the music floating into people's ears.

"Oh, once in your life
you find someone...who wil turn your world around,
pick you up when your feeling down...
Now, nothing can change what you mean to me...
There's a lot that I could say,
But just hold me now...
'Cause our love will light the way..."

She breathed in, her voice going stale. But she didn't stop and she continued to hold onto the sob that was erupt from her thoat.

Her voice soared as she picked up the volume.

"I've been waiting for someone,
for something to arrive...
for love to come along...
Now our dreams are coming true,
Through the good times
And the bad...
I'll be standing there by you!"

Her hands paused, and then continued to move on, keeping the melody alive in the quad.

"Baby, you're all that I want,
When you're lying here in my arms...
I'm finding it hard to believe...
We're in heaven...
And love is all that I need...
And I found it there in your heart!
It isn't too hard to see!
We're in heaven..."

Finally, the ending spoke louder than any lyric she sang.

"Ohh, ohh, ohh!
Ohh, ohh, ohh...
We're in heaven..."

She played the last few notes, and then her hands stopped moving. She suddenly heard a loud cheer, causing her eyes to open. She looked throughout the quad, the many faces of her students and colleagues staring at her, applauding her, standing around for her. A bright rose color grew to her face. She stood up and trotted off stage, tears spilling out of her eyes. She had imagined just Squall standing out there, watching her with those intense eyes. She leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. "Quistis! You did amazing!" a voice called out. She heard the echo of heels and looked up, staring at the long yellow dress and the bright green eyes of Selphie. "I didn't know you could sing like that!"

"It's...nothing," she whispered, her voice dry and hoarse from realizing what she had just done.

"Nothing? You did great!" The voice belonged to Zell, she turned and looked at Zell in a suit, alongside of him was Irvine. It looked like he was crying.

"Thanks," she whispered out, staring back at the ground. Selphie cheered and looked out at the crowd. They were still clapping for Quistis and Quistis was growing redder. She stood up and immediately left her friends. She sighed and looked around, realizing she was backstage. She walked down a set of stairs, waving as a few people commented her singing. She came to the end of the backstage and looked around, sure enough...there was Squall. She walked over to him, nonchalantly pushing her hair behind her ear. "Hi."

He looked up upon hearing her voice. He walked over to her, placing his hand onto her waist, kissing her lips gently. "I want to dance with you," he whispered in her ear. She blushed. "In front of people."

"Are you mad?" He shook his head. "What do you think people are going to say? Better yet, what do you think they'll do?" she asked, pulling away from Squall. It was hard to have a secret relationship, even if it had been a few days.

"I don't care. Not anymore...after you sang that song..."

"No." She shook her head. "I don't want to lose my job again, Squall. Look...can we just keep it a secret just a little longer?" she asked. She hated having a secret relationship, especially when it was the one relationship she wanted so much. She reached for his hand and he immediately pulled it away. She looked at him pleadingly, but his eyes were cold as ice.

"Fine," he mouthed out. He spun around and walked away, his brown hair bobbing up and down. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to her, and his eyes still had that cold death glare.

"Squall. Don't start. You knew this was going to have to be this way..."

"Fine," he said once more. He tried to pull his hand away, but she held it firmly. "Look, you weren't out there. You didn't hear those guys talking about how they were going to dance with you. Do you realize how that made me feel? I don't like this!" he finally exclaimed, his hands now in the air.

"You think I do?" she asked accusingly. "I wish I could scream out to the world about how I feel for you! But I can't, because then you'll lose your job and I'll lose mine!"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "...whatever..."

With that, he walked away and quickly. Quistis opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She pulled off her shoes and grasped them firmly in her one hand. She ran down the hall, taking the backway to the hallways, following Squall. "Squall!" she called out.

He stopped and turned around, that same look still in his eyes. "What?" he asked uncaringly.

She stopped a few feet in front of him, catching her breath. "Don't do this," she whispered. "Can we talk?"

He sighed and looked at her. Her face was red, probably due from the stage fright she had just barely recovered from, from their little spit, and from chasing after him. "Go talk to a wall..."

Her face immediately shot up. "What?" she whispered.

His eyes dropped, the icy glare leaving his face. "Quistis," he reached for her, but she pulled away.

"I can't believe you just said that." She shook her head. She wasn't going to cry. 'You're not going to cry,' she told herself. Her heels dropped to the floor and she immediately began walking quickly through the empty hallways. She felt his hand wrap around her wrist. "What?" she mumbled out.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that." His voice was sincere.

'Don't look at him!' she screamed in her head. She merely shrugged. "Whatever, Squall."

She pulled her arm away and began walking again. She heard his footsteps behind her, but they were ignored. Why did it matter if he followed her or not? He didn't want it to be a secret and she couldn't afford to lose her job...again. "Quistis. Will you look at me?" he asked as they neared her door. She stopped and turned around, her sapphire eyes brimmed with tears. She was thankful for the darkened halls. She saw that he was carrying her heels and frowned. Why was he being so sweet after being so mean?

"Yes?" she asked as cold as she could muster up inside of her. He handed her the heels, and she took them. "Thanks..."

"I really didn't mean to say that. I was just...angry. At myself mainly. I know you want to keep it a secret...but I can't."

She merely shrugged. She knew if she began to talk, she would start to cry. And Quistis did NOT want to cry in front of Squall. "Ok..."

She turned back to her dorm and slid her keycard through. It beeped and she walked in. She saw Squall standing in her doorway, frowning. "If you want to keep it a se..."

She interupted him. "No, you know what Squall? Go ahead...tell the world. I don't care if I lose my job. Obviously you don't. I mean...come on now? Who would Cid fire? You or me?"

"Don't..."

"Seriously, Squall! Why the hell would he fire you? You're the commander. Hyne forbids he loses his precious commander!"

They were fighting. Squall was too hard-headed to give in and Quistis was too worked up and stubborn. Quistis pressed the button to close the door, and it shut immediately. She heard him sigh outside, and then his footsteps walking away. Quistis sighed and leaned against the door, sliding down and bringing her feet into her chest.

Outside in the hallway, Irvine walked down the hall to her dorm. He saw Squall walking, his face bunched up in an angry look. Or perhaps he was thinking. Irvine could never tell the difference between the two. "Squall?" he asked.

Squall walked by him. He felt Irvine grab his arm and immediately spun around. "What?" he asked. His voice was as cold as it was the first day Irvine met him. It gave him chills then, and it gave him chills at that moment.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Irvine blinked. "What about Quistis?"

"Go ask her. How would I know?" he mumbled. Irvine blinked again.

"...What happened, dude?"

"Why the hell do you care? You want her."

"But I'm not gonna take her from you when she's vulnerable...what happened?"

Squall sighed and threw his hands up. "Whatever!" he called out, he spun around to walk away, but felt Irvine tapping his shoulder. He turned back around, glaring at the cowboy. "What?"

"Will you just tell me what happened? Did you and Quistis get into a fight? Did you guys break up?" his voice was hopeful at the end.

"Might as well have..."

"Fuck you," a female voice called out from behind Irvine. Both Irvine and Squall looked down the hall, staring at Quistis. She went to go walk back into her room, but Irvine was too quick for her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her tight. "Let me go! I don't want to look at him!"

Squall growled loudly, walking over to Irvine and shoving him off of her. "Don't touch her!"

Quistis immediately pushed Squall, and hard for her size versus his. "Why do you care? You said so yourself!"

Irvine grasped Quistis' arm, pulling her away from the raging lion. "Quistis, don't say that. He does care..."

Squall roared loudly, his hands flying to his hair. "WHAT THE HELL! Irvine, you want her! Why are you backing me up?"

Quistis roared back, ready to lash out. "Why do you even care if he's backing you up? You obviously don't want me!" If Irvine wasn't holding onto her waist, she would have began to fight Squall, whether he was male or not.

"Hey! Whoever said anything about not wanting you, Quistis?" Squall yelled back into her face. "I just wanted it to be known that we were going out!"

"So I could lose my job?" she yelled back accusingly. Irvine placed both arms around her.

"You know, Quistis...you're pretty strong..."

Both Quistis and Squall screamed at him, "SHUT UP!"

His eyes opened wide. "Squall, go take a breather!" he ordered as he dragged Quistis into her room. Her door shut and Squall was left there. He grabbed his hair again, frustrated by women and by Irvine.

Irvine placed Quistis down onto the couch that was in her room and pinned her down. "Irvine! Let me go!" she cried out.

"You're lucky that everyone is at that concert..." He released her and walked over to the door, leaning against it. She stood up and glared at him. "Quisty...that may work on Squall and that may threaten your students, but your glares just make me giggle."

She shook her head and picked up a paperweight, throwing it dead at his face. He ducked and looked up at her, his eyes in shock. "Let me out of here," she demanded. She wanted to talk with Squall...rather...fight with him and scream at him.

"Holy shit. That could've hit me!"

"No duh. Let me out."

"Hell no! Not when you're acting this way!" He stayed put at the door, despite the fact she was eyeballing the other paperweight. "Quistis. Just calm down. Squall's going to calm down, too. Then, when you're both calm...you guys can talk it out." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Now what the hell is going on between the two of you?"

"He wants our little secret out in the open."

Irvine paused. "So?" he asked.

"So! So that's basically saying I'm fired!" she exclaimed. Irvine held up his hands.

"Ok, ok! But...you'd be with Squall. Which is something you always wanted."

"But if I lose my job, how do suspect that we see each other?"

Irvine opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. He scratched his head and looked at her. "Point taken."

"Now, you tell me why you're trying to help us out."

"Because you're both my friends."

"But you like me."

Irvine shrugged. "Me liking you takes a backseat to friendship, hon."

She gave him an odd look and sat down onto the couch. "I just want to be happy..."

"You ever think that being in Garden isn't what your happiness should be?" he asked. She looked up at him, only to simply shrug. "Listen...I do like you...a lot...and I still want to go out with you...and I'll be here for you no matter what happens..."

She nodded her head and stared at her hands that were sitting in her lap. "Irvine...you don't have to be so nice to me, you know..."

He laughed and opened the door. "But I want to be. It's fun to boggle your mind."

She picked up the other paperweight and threw it at Irvine...but the door immediately closed.

A/N: I really like how this chappie turned out! Oh just wait until the next one!