Well, turns out my father STILL isn't satisfied with the computer, so it's going back in the shop in the morning (Current Time-11:30 PM). I have no idea when we're getting it back, could be a matter of hours, could be 2 more weeks. Therefore, I don't think YOU should have to suffer because my dad is a perfectionist, so I'm gonna burn the midnight oil and pump out some more reading material. So let's get straight to the responses.

jasmine32: Keep encouraging me, it's good for my ego.

QueenAdreena: Yes, this will be HELLA long. In my head, I figured more than 60 chapters.

That's out of the way. OK, for all you Rinoa fans, it's the SeeD ball.

CHAPTER 7: SHOOTING STAR.

Squall had gone to the cafeteria for something to eat, then returned to his dorm. Outside, he saw Selphie waiting for him, however, this time, she was wearing a uniform identical to Quistis' teaching attire.

"HAH! Found you" She said. "What do you think? My SeeD uniform." Squall simply nodded, then realized that he had his own SeeD uniform. He stepped into his dorm and quickly changed, looking at himself in the mirror before going back into the hall.

"Hey, lookin' good." Selphie commented. "Alright then, lets hit that Par-tay" Selphie was right again, there was a party being held for the Newest SeeDs, more of some kind of ball really. The only ones allowed in were Headmaster Cid, the Garden Faculty, Clients, and SeeDs: new and old. If a SeeD had a date, an exception would be made.

The Ballroom was the biggest room inside the garden, except for the Quad. Squall only decided to go just to let Headmaster Cid know that he was there and not trying to skimp out on the celebration. Squall simply didn't like social events, especially this kind. A waitress came up and offered him a glass of champaign, which he took and just sipped at.

"Yo" he heard a voice say. Squall took a quick glance to see Zell headed his way.

"S'up Squall? Heh-heh, Guess we're both SeeD's now, huh" He said.

"Brilliant deduction, Zell." Squall said, not changing his expression at all. "You have an amazing grasp pf the obvious." Zell chuckled a little and extended his hand to shake Squalls, though Squall just looked at it and went back to his champaign.

"Hah, even as a SeeD, you're still the same." Zell said"Well, I guess that's typical of you. See ya." Zell took off and was cornered by Selphie.

"Oh, hey Zell. Wanna join the Garden Festival committee and..." Selphie couldn't finish as Zell interrupted her.

"Sorry, I...ahh...just remembered something, gotta go." Zell told her. Selphie scanned the room for more potential members, or 'victims' when she spotted Squall.

"Squall, hi." She said"Wanna join the Garden Festival committee? You can help out whenever you have spare time. Please" Squall, just like with Zell, stood there sipping at his champaign. Too bad nobody told her about Squalls Anti-socialism. Selphie decided to try elsewhere.

In Squall's book, this night won the award as "Most boring night ever." Squall had finished his first glass and was halfway into the second as he looked through the crystal-glass roof into the night sky. He stared into the stars for a while as he saw a shooting star streak its way across his vision, snapping him out of his thoughts. He wondered how many people might have seen it. He brought his glance back down to the party to answer his own question: One.

She stood about 5'3" and had raven black hair, with a few gold streaks on either side of her face. She wore a necklace, which had a ring on it. She was in a white halter dress that stopped in the middle of her thighs. Squall noticed her look in his direction as she pointed to the sky. Before Squall could register another thought, she started walking over to him. Ignoring people got Zell and Selphie to go away, so Squall thought maybe it would work on this new girl too. Come to think of it, Squall had never seen this girl before, he had been at Garden for as long as he could remember, and her face didn't seem familiar. Perhaps she was a client?

"You're the best looking guy here." She said to him, which made him raise an eyebrow. "Dance with me" Squall wondered why she would want to dance with the guy just standing there like a doof drinking champaign. He kept pretending to ignore this strange new girl.

"Let me guess, you'll only dance with people you like." That word seemed unusual in Squalls mind, the only person he really had a problem with was Seifer, but still, Squall didn't seem to 'like' anybody. "Ok then" She said, putting her hand up to his face. "Look into my eyes." She began twisting her hand around. "You're-going-to-like-me. You're-going-to-like-me." She took her hand down as Squall took another sip.

"Did it work" she asked aloud. Squall knew she wasn't going to leave until he said something.

"I can't dance." he lied.

"You'll be fine, come on." she said grabbing his hand. "I'm looking for someone, I can't be on the dance floor alone."

Squall wasn't really going with her as she dragged him onto the dance floor, though he wasn't resisting either. Passing Zell, Squall handed him his half-glass as she reached the middle of the dance floor. She put his hands in the proper places, and began to dance. Squall thought that if he acted like a moron, she would let him go. As she danced near perfectly, Squall (purposely) stumbled. At one point, he stepped on her foot, losing his own footing. She let out a small giggle and repositioned Squalls hands as they continued. Squall continued to stumble and soon, one quick dance move sent him flying into the girl he was dancing with.

"Sorry" He said as he turned to leave"I should probably go now."

"No, don't leave" she said, pulling him back. It was easy to see now that the only way out of this was to give in. Squall took her hand as he finally started to get the feel of things. Holding her by the hand, he thought, was easier than at close range. However, the tune playing called them to get close again, causing Squall to get stumble-footed again, sending them into another couple.

"Hey man, watch it" the guy said.

"Lay off" Squalls 'partner' said"He's a beginner." Squall was taken aback at how she handled things, but he didn't like to be underestimated by someone he didn't even know. Squall decided to stop lying here and show her who the beginner really was. Squall started dancing right, ending up with the two of them close together as the song came to a close and fireworks went off above them. The two of them watched for a few seconds before he noticed her looking over his shoulder.

"Thanks for the dance, but I got to go. Bye." Just like that, she disappeared into the crowd. Squall found her more mysterious than...that girl in the Infirmary. Something about the girl from this morning seemed familiar, Squall just couldn't put his finger on it for some reason. The girl he had just danced with was another story, completely unfamiliar. Squall wanted to clear his head and stepped out onto the balcony to get his thoughts together. He wasn't out there for two minutes when he heard a pair of footsteps behind him.

"You really are an excellent student, even that dance was perfect." Squall couldn't mistake that voice. He didn't have to turn around to know that the one speaking to him was Quistis.

"Thank you." He stated. A few minutes of uneasy silence passed between them when Squall noticed that his Instructor was still there. "Yes" he asked, turning around to see his instructor in her battle gear.

"So you'll dance with someone you don't even know, but you can't stand being around me." She said.

"Whatever" Squall began"You are an instructor and I am your student. It's kind of awkward when you don't say anything."

"That's true, I was like that myself" Quistis said, her voice trailing off. "Oh!...I completely forgot. I wonder what's to become of me." Squall raised an eyebrow at what she was talking about before turning to look out into the distance again.

"I've come to give you an order." she said. "You and I are to go to the Secret area in the training center. you know, where students meet up to talk after curfew."

"They do more than talk" Squall said"Besides, what are we going to do there, are we going to tell everyone they're violating curfew? If that's the case, forget it. Leave that for the disciplinary committee." Quistis let out a small laugh before speaking.

"Go get changed and meet me in front of the Training center, this will be my last order." Squall left, headed for his Dorm.

"Get changed? Meet me in the Training Center? What's this all about" he thought.