Disclaimer: I don't own FF8 or any characters, except Derek…You know the rest…

Well, this is my first try at a Romance/Drama type of Fan Fiction, so please read and review, I hope you enjoy it, constructive criticism is okay…It's up to you, write what suits you. Thanks!

Chapter 1

As soon as the telephone rang in its cheap plastic cradle, Squall picked it up and answered, though he already knew who it was. "Hello?" He spoke into it.

"Hi." He heard the voice of Rinoa respond. They had been officially dating ever since the end of the second Sorceress War, which was a year ago.

Rinoa sounded a little upset through the receiver.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to head over?" He asked, feeling concerned.

"Um, I don't think that that's the best idea. Can you come in an hour or so? I just feel like talking." She replied.

He found this a little odd, but didn't press matters further. "Sure thing, Rinoa, I'll see you then?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Love you, bye."

She said nothing, he just heard the phone click off.

He set the phone where he had picked it up and stepped into the hot shower, tracing little patterns in the steam of the glass. He had been feeling a little more absentminded lately, since Rinoa had been acting a little strange for the past couple weeks. She barely kissed him, hugged him, or show any form of affection. At first he had just dismissed it, but now he didn't know what to expect for the next couple weeks of their relationship. Six months ago he was convinced that she would be the one he would marry and had their kids together. And now he had no clue.

"How could you do this? Why did you betray me?" She cried.

He smirked. "Hyne, don't take it so seriously. It was just one little thing."

"One little thing? We've been together for two months and you already go off and cheat on me! How long has it been going in for?" She demanded.

He turned his back on her and ignored her.

"Tell me, Seifer!" She cried.

"Not that long, a couple weeks maybe." The blonde replied, still not turning to face her.

"A couple weeks? Weeks? Great Hyne. I've lost all trust in you, Seifer Almasy."

"Fine. Then we're done. It didn't even work from the start, anyways. It was just a waste of our time. The entire Garden knew. It's done. Goodbye, Fujin." He said, walking out the door of her dormitory and out to the center of Balamb Garden.

Fujin sank to her knees, holding her face in her hands. She had never felt so weak in her entire life. She couldn't prevent the tears from flowing out of her eyes. His voice still rang through her ears. 'It's done. Goodbye, Fujin.' All she could do was cry harder. No. She told herself. She needed to be strong. She had always been alone, whether or not Seifer had walked out on her. It was his fault. His loss. Why should she feel guilty and take all the blame? His blame? No reason. She could go on. Find new people. And she would be okay. She couldn't help the doubt that washed over her like a tide.

Quistis could never explain why she had always dreaded the oncoming first day of school and training with her students. After the second sorceress war, Cid gave her back her job as Instructor.

"Well," He had said months back, "The board of teachers here at the Garden have decided that you've proved your leadership qualities and maturity well enough to welcome you back here."

And all that took was assisting in destroying the most powerful sorceress in history.

She watched all of her students file in. She recognized the Trepies, who had apparently purposely failed the year before to get back into her class. Those few sat front and center, waving their hands wildly at her, and she simply smiled back and gave a small wave. Creepy.

"Welcome students. I am Instructor Trepe, and this is the course for Advanced SeeD Skills. I'll give a few minutes for you to ask any questions about me that you would like to know." She said.

A few hands went up. Of course, most of them were Trepies.

"Will you marry me?" One of the Trepies asked.

"Um…no." She replied.

"Did you really fight Ultimecia?" A student asked.

"Yes, I did."

"Was it hard?"

"Well, she was the most powerful sorceress, so she did put up quite a fight, but we triumphed in the end." She said with a smile.

"Who'd you fight her with? Did you do it alone?" Someone asked.

She shook her head. "Goodness no! I fought her with our leader, Squall Leonheart, Zell Dincht, a boxer here at Garden, Selphie Tilmitt, Rinoa Heartilly, and Irvine Kinneas, a sharpshooter."

"Kinneas? That pervert hits on me every day!" A girl shouted.

"Zell? Isn't he that freak who loves hot dogs?" Another shouted.

"Commander Squall? What a hot piece of man!"

"Please marry me!"

"Okay, quiet!" She shouted, interrupting them. "Goodness, you all talk a lot. Now, please turn on your monitors and read the introduction to the class, and then complete the assignment listed under them." She said, taking a seat at her desk. She had forgotten what a hassle teaching could be. It didn't feel as though they were seventeen, just two years younger than her, and yet so different. She felt as though she were in for quite the year.

Snatching a few books off of the mahogany shelves without looking at them, Zell couldn't help but to feel desperate. His library card had been completely maxed out with all the books he had been checking out, just for the attention of Danielle, the librarian. He couldn't help but feel like a stalker as he peeked through the shelves at her every once in a while. She raked a hand through her long chocolate hair and smiled and waved at him when she spied him steal a look through the shelves. He blushed profusely and gave a little wave back to her, practically running to another bookshelf further away. He stood up straight and took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. Holding the books to his chest, he ventured out towards the main desk, where Danielle stood cheerfully. "Hello, Zell. More books today? Let's see, Anatomy of a Sorceress? Quite some…detailed pictures in here." She said with a grin as she scanned his books.

He blushed a bright crimson color and handed her the library card.

"Uh, your card is maxed out. And you also owe the library about 250 gil."

He blushed more. "I know." He confessed.

"You knew? I'll take a wild guess that you've just been checking out books for a chance to talk to me, even if that costs you 250 gil."

Zell gawked at her. "How…"

"Zell, please. You've came in here every day for two weeks now. You want to go out or something?"

All he could do was blush more. "Uh…uh…sure! Want to go get a hot dog for lunch sometime?"

She beamed. "Yeah! I'd like that a lot. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow." He said, waving to her and picking up his books, walking out of the library with a bounce in his step.

She slapped down the last 25 gil that she had in her wallet, bank account, savings, everything. She now officially had no money whatsoever. She knew that any one of her friends would loan her money, but that was a pride issue. Besides, she already had a job. It wasn't a very hard-core type thing, just 'pleasure'. As the owner of Sweet Dreams had said. Sweet dreams were basically just dancers, not hookers. And Selphie had to keep telling herself that to feel reassured. She could dance, she had moves. But she also had morals. So, no stripping. Even if that caused a pay cut. Just dancing.

The bartender handed her a cheap booze for her last 25 gil. The Balamb Tavern wasn't nearly dreary enough to match her mood, but the floating garden had made this week's stop in Balamb, so that the students could visit their families. Next week, Deling City! Too bad she lacked the money to gamble there.

The bartender slid a sweaty bottle of beer over to Selphie, who picked it up and drained half of it. What had happened to her? A month ago, she received the call saying that her best friend, who had lived in Trabia, was killed in a training accident. And it was all downhill from there. She kept drinking now, wasted all her money, and now she was a worker at Sweet Dreams. What a waste of life. And she was only eighteen, for Hyne's sake. Her cell phone rang. Sweet Dreams provided the phone, for 'business'.

"Hello?" She asked, nearly belching.

"Selphie, you've got a job. Balamb Garden, dorm number 221. Your name is Vickie. Vickie Vixen."

"Vicki Vixen?"

"It's sexy. Sexier than Selphie Tilmitt, which sounds like a hamster. Now get on it."

"Screw you, Derek."

It was too late, he had hung up.

She stood up and trudged out of Balamb, heading towards the Garden. She encountered a few monsters along the way, and took her rage out on them, beating them incessantly until they shriveled up and died. She at last arrived at the Garden, heading to the dormitory, amused that someone from garden actually called Sweet Dreams. She knocked on the door, room 221.

"Who is it?" A male voice called out from within.

She took a deep breath. It's only dancing. Just dancing. "Vicki Vixen." She replied, frowning. How lame.

"It's open!" The voice called. She swung open the door to find client number one. "IRVINE!"

To be continued…

Well, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1…I left you on a cliff hanger there! So, please review on what you thought, and I'll do my best to update as soon as possible. Thank you!