It was a long road to get home. For her, at least. Maybe it was just the fact that she was with him that seemed to slow down time; perhaps it was just her imagination. Maybe they were just walking slow.

"What was she like?" She had heard him ask the question, but it had only registered a few seconds later.

Rinoa. She knew who he was referring to off the bat. And yet it took her a few more moment to gather up the courage to tell him. How do you tell someone about the love that they can't remember? How do you explain to someone why they fell in love with them; for what reasons the person was worthy of their love?

That last part made her wince as the painful realization once again came that, Squall, indeed, did not love her. And if he did, it was only as a sister or a friend. He would never love her like he did Rinoa. Never.

Rinoa, Rinoa, Rinoa. A smile crossed her lips, what a hard person to describe. She took a shaky breath; she wouldn't falter, not this time. "Well," The words only barely escaped her throat as for a moment there she was unsure whether she could actually tell him. Tell him about the girl who took his breath away, the girl who she knew for sure he loved. The girl she would never be.

"She was very selfless." The word nice came to mind, but she ignored it. Nice was such a ..bland word. Over used. Rinoa was a good person, she knew that; but it hurt her to know that she would always be his first his choice, his first love; and if she was to be anything she would always be second. Always second to Rinoa. The blonde forced the bitter thoughts out of her mind, she didn't need anything else plaguing her mind. "She used to brighten the room; she was bit dare I say, headstrong though." The thought alone brought alone brought another smile, but made her heart sink. "She was brave." The blonde whispered, trying to force a smile. "She risked her life for you."

"Why?" Why, why, why? It seemed all he ever asked was why; just like a little child. And yet there were so many questions and so few answers.

Why would Rinoa risk her life for him, wasn't it a simple answer? "Because she loved you." The answer came out before she given it a second thought. "When you love someone..." She trailed off for a moment, trying to collect herself. "You're willing to give your life..." For once in her life, she was having difficulty trying to get the proper words out.

"It's alright." Squall said, continuing to walk. "You don't have to explain." He paused a moment. "I understand."

[ o [ o [ o

"Squall? Squall where are you?" It was like time compression all over again, complete and total darkness. Where was the light? There was always some sort of light no matter how dark everything got, right?

Then a glimpse of light, just a flicker, then it was gone. She hesitated for a moment before walking to it, slowly at first, then a fast pace walk, and then finally, full out sprinting towards it. "Squall!" She was calling out to him, hoping he would hear her, hoping he would be her knight again; protect her from anything that wished to hurt her.

There was no response. She was stilling running, calling out his name in vain hoping he would rescue her from the darkness. Then she saw him, only for a moment. Just like the light, a small flicker and then he too, was gone.

All she knew was that she had to get to him. It seemed like she had been running forever and she wasn't getting anywhere until finally he had appeared in the horizon. "Squall!"

He turned at the mention of his name, curious who had called it. A smile crossed her lips, she had finally found him. "Squall..." She said, taking his hand. "I finally found you."

Only this time, the sky hadn't opened up. They hadn't reappeared near the orphanage in the field of flowers. They hadn't had their happily ever after. "Who are you?" He asked quietly, pulling his hand away. Her heart shattered.

"W-who am I?" She asked, horrified. "You don't remember me?" He shook his head.

"Quistis." He whispered.

She shook her head in vain. No, that wasn't her name at all. Had he forgotten her so easily and replaced her? "Y-you're joking, right? This must be a joke!" He didn't answer, and she soon found her self terrified.

Then there was a sound of the clicking of heels. She ignored it, "You must remember me!" She pleaded, tears stinging at her eyes. "Everything we went through together!"

The clicking was getting closer and she continued ignoring it. "Tell me you remember! Please!" Squall continued to say nothing. "Please tell me you remember..." She whispered.

Someone was coming, and the clicking sound was filling her ears. She turned around in order to see the person. "Quistis!" The woman walked right by her. "Quistis!" Again, she was greeted with silence.

And as she watched the blonde approach him she noticed the chain around the other woman's neck. Her chain. Her eye's widened and she reached to her own neck to find them; to find some sort of relief, but the only thing she found was thin air. She winced as her own nails came into contact with her skin - the chain and ring were gone.

"Squall! Quistis!" Why weren't they responding? She watched as he reached out to her, and she stretched out her own arm to reach him; but he hadn't been reaching for her. She recoiled in horror as she saw him take the other woman's hand. "Why?" She whispered, tears finally escaping her eyes.

"Why?!" She yelled, her knees buckling; and she couldn't help but watch as he kissed her. "Why...?" She repeated quietly. The darkness closed in soon after.

Rinoa bolted up straight out of bed, frantically reaching for her ring chain. They weren't there. She swallowed hard before cautiously looking around at her surroundings. Her own room, her own bed, her home. No, it wasn't home without him.

She smoothed her hair back. It was just a dream, she knew it was. They wouldn't betray her like that, she knew they wouldn't.

But... They were literally in the middle of no where. All alone. Hyne only knew what they were doing; and with him not remembering her at all... she knew that much. It had broken her heart when they had told her.

"He's got amnesia... he received a blow to the head." Cid had practice in telling people this. She knew that much because later on she had been told she had been the last to know. She stopped breathing, and examined his face. It was perfectly straight - he wasn't joking.

"W-what?" She asked, clutching the chair arms madly. "What do you mean he has amnesia?" The raven-haired girl asked, on the verge of tears. "H-he doesn't remember anything?"

Cid shook his head, Matron loyally beside him for support. "Not...not quite." He said quietly. "He remembers Quistis." By the time her heart had recovered from the initial shock; it had stopped another beat.

"He what?" Rinoa asked barely audible. "Why would he remember her and not anything else?" Her fingers reached up and found the necklace, and she closed her eyes hoping that maybe if she wished hard enough he would remember. If she wished hard enough he would remember.

"We don't know, child." Matron said calmly. "However, tomorrow... Squall will be leaving with Quistis to Winhill. We believe that she may be able to trigger some memories."

Anger flared up in her. "And I can't?" She cried irritably. She was tired of everyone thinking she was weak, that she was just a bother. "I love him!"

Cid shifted uncomfortably, obviously not knowing what to say. Matron took that as her cue to step in. "We know, but Rinoa, you are a growing Sorceress, and emotions play a critical part in being one. If for some reason your emotions got too powerful.."

She couldn't stand to hear this anymore. First they thought she was too weak to do anything and now they thought she was too powerful! Rinoa stood up wordlessly and left the room. She needed to find Quistis.

If he didn't remember... If he didn't remember her at all; would he have gone for Quistis instead? She had been with him longer, they had grown up together... Rinoa felt her self beginning to breathe faster, panicked, laboured breaths. What if he had gotten the wrong idea? What if he had fallen for Quistis instead? Millions of irrational thoughts plagued her head. If her dream... if her dream was premonition... She began to feel sick, what if he left her for Quistis? No. She took a moment to calm herself down. No. They wouldn't do that. She couldn't doubt Squall. She wouldn't. Not at time like this.

"I love you, Squall." She whispered, looking out the window for a shooting star.

But there were none.

[ o [ o [ o

"You know, one day," Irvine had said, keeping walking distance with Squall. "You're gonna look back one day, and Quistis won't be following you anymore. And then you're gonna realise how much you need her."

Squall made a rude comment under his breath. "I don't need her." He said coldly. "I'm fine by myself."

"Everyone needs someone." Irvine said with a small smile, walking past the other man.

Squall paused a moment and looked behind him. Good. She still with him. He let out a small sigh of relief, ran his finger through his hair, and continued walking.