Sorry that took so long. I've had a lot of reports and tests this week. I'm trying though. Thanks Selphie-fan for still reading this.

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"So? Tell me about it," Selphie said with an urgent tone. She had called while Rinoa was gone and left a message. That was the greeting Rinoa got when she called back.

"Not much to tell," Rinoa confessed. She was using the phone in her room. "It was kind of boring actually. Nobody really knew what to say. Squall talked to me though."

"Oh yeah? About what?"

"I don't know. He just asked me a few questions. It wasn't anything huge. Better than nothing, I guess. I was surprised he was there. Quistis told me she'd asked him to go but I didn't expect him to show up."

"Yeah me too. He doesn't seem like the type to go on a date. Know what I mean? He doesn't do much to go out of his way to talk to anyone. That doesn't mean you can't try though. You want him that bad, by all means... I'll even help you if you want."

"Well, I don't need any help right now," Rinoa said. "Thanks though."

"Yep. Just tell me when you need me. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

Selphie wasn't in school the next day, which left Rinoa practically alone. Quistis was there but Rinoa felt like staying away from her that day. Quistis didn't seem to notice Rinoa's –or Selphie's- absence. First hour went by extremely sow but second hour was even worse. Rinoa tried not to fall asleep during the teacher's lecture. Her vision began to blur, her eyes felt heavy, the teacher's voice sounded far away and Rinoa wanted to sleep. Without Selphie everything was dull and ordinary. All her energy had decided to leave and follow Selphie instead. A loud snap right next to her head made Rinoa jump out of the sleep she'd fallen into. "Either you start paying attention or you can leave right now, Ms. Heartilly," the teacher snarled.

"Sorry," Rinoa mumbled almost inaudibly. She thought about going to the office to call her mom. At the same time, she didn't want to go home. An isolated space with a warm blanket would be better. Just lying there, dreaming peacefully with no interruptions... Maybe Squall could even be there. He could hold her and fall asleep with her. The image stuck in her mind with the most painful realization that it would never happen. Someone like him would never be interested in her. She'd be more likely to bore him to death than anything else. He'd have more fun staring at the brick wall. The image of Squall sitting in a chair, having a serious conversation with a red-bricked wall entered her mind. It was impossible for her not to laugh, but when she did, she regretted it. Everyone, including the teacher, turned to look at her.

The teacher growled, "Go to detention, Ms. Heartilly." Rinoa hesitated a moment then walked out the door. This was the first time she had gotten in this much trouble. She had never had a detention before. When she stepped through the doorway, she saw that she wouldn't be the only person there. Squall Leonhart was already sitting in a desk. She took a seat next to him. The desks they were forced to sit in had a tall, thin piece of wood on the right and left sides, apparently an attempt to isolate students and keep them from talking. The rules were posted on the wall above the desk. Rinoa read them in her mind, 'One: no talking; two: have work to do; three: no food or drink allowed; four: no sleeping... Some of these rules are weird'. No one was in the room watching them so what was stopping them from breaking the rules? Maybe there were cameras hidden around the room or something. She glanced around at the room. Squall leaned back in his chair so he could be seen.

"Hey, Rinoa. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Um, I got a detention," she said.

"Really? Why?"

"Because I laughed in class."

"...? What teacher do you have?"

"Mrs. Smith."

"Ah, that explains it," he laughed a little. "She's always crabby. She hates me. She's part of the reason I'm in detention."

Rinoa asked, "Why are you in here?"

"She made me late and wouldn't give me a pass. I have a lot of tardies so now I'm here. No offense but I'm assuming this is your first time in detention."

"Yeah it is. I-"

"No talking," a voice suddenly said from behind Rinoa's head. It made her jump out of her chair. The hint of a smile showed up on Squall's face. Rinoa stole a glance at the woman behind her. The woman was short and staulky. Her faded brown hair was curly, a few wrinkles stood out, her face had a sour look to it and she wore loose fitting clothes. Just by the look on her face, Rinoa could tell this woman was unapproachable, the icy-blue eyes of this woman made Rinoa want to run and hide. The unknown woman sat at a table behind them. Rinoa laid her head down on the small desk she was confined to. She stayed like that, undisturbed, until something hit her head and rolled to where her eyes could see the object. It was just a crumpled up piece of notebook paper.

"Open it," Squall whispered.

"Keep quiet, Mr. Leonhart."

Rinoa carefully opened up the smashed sheet and saw he had written on it. 'This teacher sucks,' she read. 'Zell told me there is another one that lets you talk as long as it doesn't get too loud'.

She scribbled, 'Yeah, she's certainly crabby,' in blue ink on the line under his penciled message before swiftly throwing it back. 'How could she not see us do that,' Rinoa wondered. Apparently she wasn't that observant. The paper fell onto her desk with a soft noise.

'Hey, what were you and Selphie talking to Zell about that one day- I can't remember when it was,' he'd written. She knew what he was talking about but there was no way in hell she could tell him. He might get disgusted and quit talking to her or something. She had to play it safe for a while.

'I'm sorry,' she wrote. 'I can't remember either. Are you going out for any sports?'

'No. I don't really like any sports. Zell is thinking about being in track next year.'

'Cool. Quistis is going to try out for cheerleading.'

'Are you going out for cheerleading? I'll go to the games if you are.'

Rinoa could feel herself go red as she wrote, 'No. I don't think I could do that.' The bell rang just as she was about to throw it back to him but she let him read it anyway.

"Why do you say that?" he asked. They made their way down the hall, side-by-side.

Rinoa said, "Because- I don't know. I just don't think I can. Anyway, I got to go. Do you mind if I sit with you at lunch again?" This question seemed extremely risky to her but she took the chance despite.

"That's fine. See you later then." Squall walked the opposite direction and disappeared into the mass of people. Rinoa grabbed the books she needed from her locker before going to class.

Third hour was also boring and she almost fell asleep again. The teacher didn't seem to notice so she didn't get in trouble. It probably helped that she sat in the very back. Quistis was behind Rinoa in line at lunch. Rinoa tried not to zone out on what Quistis was saying. Rinoa was first to get her tray, which, in a way, wasn't good. Quistis followed her over to Squall and Zell's table. Squall tensed up at the sight of Quistis but he began to relax when she didn't hang on him. Quistis, Zell, and Squall were having fun picking on each other. As hard as she tried, Rinoa just couldn't get involved with what they were doing. She was so tired and so worried about Selphie that it was impossible to focus. Squall's eyes when he caught her with that unmistakable question, "What's wrong?" She could only shake her head. She dumped her tray, unable to eat, and hid out in the bathroom.

On the way to the last class of the day, Squall caught Rinoa in the hallway. "Rinoa," he said as he grabbed her shoulders. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"

She sighed, "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Come on. You obviously need a break from here and I'm willing to listen to what's eating you so tell me. Well, wait. I'll tell the teacher something so we wont get in trouble." He disappeared into the classroom for a moment then came back out. "I told her you were sick and that I was going to escort you to the nurse's office." Rinoa laughed a little. He smiled and said, "Come on. I know somewhere we can sit and talk." They went through the janitor's room out the door that led to the parking lot behind the school. A few teachers parked their cars back there because it was close to their classrooms. Since the seventh hour gym class was using the football field-which you had to walk up a path to get to- Squall took Rinoa to the baseball field nearby. Behind the small shed is where they found a place to sit. "So, what's been bugging you?" he asked. "Are you upset because you got a detention? It's not a big deal."

"Oh, no," she said with a forced smile. "That's not it. I'm worried about Selphie. I just have this bad feeling that something's wrong. She'd call me is she was sick- she calls me for everything."

"Well, you can try calling her after school just incase but I'm sure she's fine."

"Yeah... I'm just worried. She's my best friend, you know? I have to look out for her." Squall nodded. They were silent for a moment before she said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What?"

"Why are you in a foster home?"

"Because my father is an alcoholic and my mother is depressed." The tone of his voice dropped when he told her this. She could tell it was a touchy thing for him to talk about.

"Sorry to bring it up."

"No," he said, "that's okay. I've never talked about it before and I probably should. I've been away from them for a long time. The last time I saw either of them my dad tried to run off with us. He put me in the trunk and forced my mom into the car. The cops stopped him and I haven't seen either of them since. My social worker is supposed to come visit with me tomorrow but I doubt she'll have any news about my parents. As far as I know they haven't even tried to contact me." He sighed, his breath slightly ragged, "I wish I could see my mom again. She's a good person, you know? None of this is her fault." Rinoa took a chance by reaching over and hugging Squall. She was surprised he didn't pull away. Instead, he willingly hugged back.

"I'm sure your mom tried to contact you," Rinoa said. "But, I think something as serious as that happens, the social workers don't give either of you information about the other so you can be safe. You'll probably get to see your mom again but I doubt you'll get to see your dad again."

"That's all right," Squall said. His breath tickled her neck as he spoke. "I don't think I can handle seeing him again. I might flip out or something. I hate him and I wish I could tell him that." He pulled away from her and quickly wiped his face off. His eyes were a little red. Forcing a smile, he said, "Sorry. I get like that when I think about my mom. I know, it sounds stupid-"

"No, no."

"I'm such a baby," he remarked disgustedly.

"No you're not. You've never told anyone about this?" He shook his head that he hadn't. "If you ask me, you're pretty strong but you have to talk to someone about it. You'll hurt even more if you try to hold it in."

"Yeah I know." They were quiet for a while until Squall said, "Are you going to the dance coming up?"

"I don't know," she said. "When is it?"

"In a few days, I think. I'm not sure. Quistis would probably know."

Rinoa laughed, "Yeah, actually she would. Did you have fun on the date?"

"I could hardly handle the 'date' with her. Though it wasn't much of a date. Kind of pathetic, really. I mean, what did she expect us to do?"

"Maybe she was hoping you'd make-out with her." She couldn't help laughing at his reaction.

"You know, I'm fine with being her friend but anything more than that is not possible. She's a little too stuck-up for me. Besides... I already have someone in mind."

"Oh yeah?" Rinoa said, hiding the disappointment she felt. "And who would that be?"

"Nope. Can't tell you. It's a secret- at least, for now it is. Maybe you'll find out later."

"Okay. Should we go back now?"

"Yeah, probably. Let's go." They were able to slip back into school with no problems.

"Rinoa," the teacher said when they came in, "I thought you were sick."

"I'm still not feeling too well but I've gotten this far, might as well tough it out," she responded. The teacher seemed to accept this answer and did not question Rinoa any further.

Rinoa walked home from school with a backpack full of any books for homework she had. Before her mind could focus on any of that though, she had to call Selphie. The first time, no one answered, it just kept ringing. Instead of trying it again right away, Rinoa got to work on one of her assignments. Once one was finished, she called a second time. The process continued until she had finished her last assignment and called a fourth time. A faint click sound interrupted the ringing. "What do you want?" a gruff, male voice asked. She immediately hung up. That couldn't be who she thought it was; could it? It'd been a long time since she had heard his voice so she wasn't sure. Phone in hand, she decided to call again just to be sure. Someone picked up but whoever it was said nothing so Rinoa asked for Selphie. The same voice as before answered, "Who is this?" Rinoa slammed the phone back in its place. It was him. Rick was out of jail but why was he at Selphie's house? Had her mom taken him back? More importantly, were Selphie and her mom okay? There wasn't anything Rinoa could do to find out right now. Going over there might be too dangerous. She wouldn't be able to call the police either. He was a freeman and as far as she knew he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Mom," Rinoa called as she walked into the kitchen.

Julia answered with a, "Yes dear?"

"Selphie wasn't in school today and... I tried calling her house but... Rick picked up the phone." The clatter of dishes being washed suddenly stopped. Her mother was just as worried as Rinoa.

"You're sure that was him?"

"Yeah. I called twice because I thought I was hearing things."

"What's her number?" Julia dialed the number her daughter gave her and waited while the phone rang. Someone must've picked up because Julia said, "Is Carol home?" Rinoa stared at her mother, wishing she could hear what was being said. "What are you doing there?" Julia's jaw tightened and her eyes became colder. "If you do anything to hurt her- damn it! The bastard hung up on me. I'll be back. I'm going over there to check."

"Mom, are you sure you should do that?"

"It'll be all right. Don't worry. I'll be back in five minutes."

With nothing else to do, Rinoa went up to her room. Her mother could get hurt if she wasn't careful. What if something bad happens to her mother? What if Rick seriously injured Selphie and Carol? What if they were dead? Three quick raps on the window made Rinoa jump. Her heart was beating faster then when she watches a scary movie. A barely recognizable Selphie was perched by the window. Rinoa let her shivering friend inside the house. "Where have you been?" Rinoa asked.

"Rick came back this morning," Selphie said. "I got mad at my mom for letting him stay so I ran away. I've just been wandering around town all morning."

"You don't know how worried I've been. I thought he hurt you or something. My mom just went over there."

"Good. Maybe she can talk some sense into her. It's cold out tonight."

"I can tell. Your cheeks are red. Have you been outside all day? I'm surprised your parents didn't find you."

"Nah, mom wouldn't come looking for me. When Rick is around, it's like she only cares about him. But no, I haven't been outside all day. Some girl let me stay in her house for a while."

Shock was expressed on Rinoa's face as she said, "You stayed at a stranger's house?"

"Well, yeah, but it's cool," Selphie insisted. "She was real nice. Probably about the same age as our moms and married too. Her name was Edea. Her hair was really long- down to her waist. It was pretty though. I was planning on bringing you to meet her sometime. So, what'd you do today?"

"Why are you asking about me? Shouldn't we be talking about you?"

"Ah I'm fine," Selphie responded as she plopped down on the bed. "So? Tell me."

"I got a detention and skipped class with Squall."

"A beautiful start to an odd romance."

"Shut up." Selphie was smacked in the face with a pillow.

"Okay, start with the detention."

Rinoa sighed, "All right. Well, Mrs. Smith gave me the detention."

Selphie scoffed, "Figures. What'd you do? Blink?"

"No I laughed."

"Oh heaven forbid we show any sign of happiness in her class."

"Yeah, well, I went to the detention room and Squall was already there. We passed notes back and forth and he asked me what we were talking to Zell about. Of course I couldn't tell him so I lied and told him I couldn't remember. Then when the bell rang, he walked me to my locker and I asked if I could sit at his table at lunch with him. I did but I forgot Quistis was following me so she sat down there too. Squall didn't seem very happy about that."

"Who could blame him? She practically stalks the guy. Anyway, what happened after that?"

"He caught me in the hall before seventh hour and told the teacher he was going to bring me to the office because I was feeling sick. We went out to the baseball field and talked. After a while, we went back to class. I told the teacher I was going to tough it out."

"Did he ask you out?"

"No, of course not. I'm sure there are a lot of other girls he'd rather date."

"Hey, Rinoa?" Selphie said after a few minutes of silence.

"Hm?"

"Can I stay here tonight?"

"Sure. You'd better go home after school tomorrow though or your mom will report you as a runaway."

Selphie scoffed, "I'm sure she has better things to do than worry about me. Plus, I doubt Rick would even let her phone the police if she wanted to. He's such a prick."

"Yeah... Do you need some clothes for bed?"

"No I'm okay. Want me to sleep on the floor?"

"Nah, you can sleep in the bed. It's definitely big enough." Rinoa and Selphie were asleep by the time Julia came hone, slamming the door shut behind her. Anger over-powered her because of her visit with Carol and Rick. Julia felt like bashing someone's head in- preferably Rick's. He had Carol hypnotized to believe him. He even put up the act with Julia but she saw right through it. That man was good at deceiving Carol. He had her at his feet. It was as though the incident years had never happened. It would be hard to shake this one but Julia was determined to help her friend. For now though, she just went to bed.