Dedicated To You
Disclaimer: I didn't create any of the characters in this chapter (hell, in this story! Except a few, that is...), but you can thank Square for creating the v game! Oh, and the creators of Final Fantasy. Genius, you guys, GENIUS!! (p.s. also the term used for Zell's..erm..defeat early in this chapter is taken from the movie Secret Window. You shall see!)
Chapter 11
Squall woke up early the next morning in the infirmary. It wasn't very light, and he could see much, but he could see that Rinoa wasn't in bed. He sat up, and looked around, panicked. 'Where is she?!' he thought, and almost let out a cry, when he saw a beautiful figure almost float into the room. He ran to it, praying it was her. He drew close, and Rinoa's eyes sparkled in the smokey light. " Hi," she whispered, almost as if she was afraid of waking someone. Squall let out a sigh of relief.
" I was worried; where were you?" he asked, a bit hushed himself.
" I had to stretch my legs, sweetheart." she replied, caressing his face. " You look terrified. Don't be, please..." She paused staring deep into his eyes. " I'm fine." She kissed him, lingering a bit. When she pulled away, though, she added teasingly, " You worry too much!"
" I had a dream..." he started, but shook his head. " I mean, I almost lost you once, and I don't want it to happen again. Can't I be a little concerned?"
Rinoa softly chuckled, and kissed him again. " This isn't a little concerned," she said, rubbing his hand, which was still shaking. " This is fear. Darling, you don't have to be afraid." She looked a bit saddened now. Squall looked tired, despite the fact that he had slept, and he looked worried. Rinoa didn't like the thought-she didn't want him to worry. Nothing was wrong; nothing.
Squall didn't feel the same way. The dream he had awoken from left him shaken, and nervous. 'That doesn't mean it's real, though,' he thought, 'It isn't real.' He sighed. " I'm sorry." he said.
Rinoa smiled sadly. " Don't go worrying anymore, okay?" she said, " You've got me worried now."
Squall nodded, but kissed her hard anyway. It was almost as if she was leaving, even though his heart and mind told him she wasn't. But, there was a feeling that couldn't be shaken, a feeling that something bad might happen.
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Later that morning, at sunrise, Selphie woke up. Sleepily, she got dressed, and went out for a walk. She enjoyed the crispness of a new morning, and she wanted the fresh air. 'Besides,' she thought, 'Today's a good day, because Rinny's finally leaving the Infirmary!' She continued on that thought happily, practically jogging the five circles around the Garden. People stared at her around the third or fourth time, but she didn't care; she was getting a workout. At the last go round, she ran into Zell.
" Heya, cutie!" he said peppily, with a quick peck at the end. She giggled.
" Hiya!" she replied, " Hope you don't mind, but I have to go take a quick shower. This walk was longer than usual!"
" You sure worked up a sweat." he teased, laughing until she punched him in the ribs. " Ow!" he cried out, doubling over in pain.
" Love hurts, sweetie." she said, running to her dorm.
" Hey, come back!" Zell shouted, trying to jog after her. He quickly gave up, when he saw the cafeteria lady opening the cafeteria. " Another day," he saighed, " Another pending request for the breakfast hot dog!!!" He ran to her, his eyes pleading with her.
The woman stood firm. " Another refusal from the Commitee." she finished, walking into the kitchen to prepare a large serving of scrambled eggs. Zell sighed, then slammed him foot on the floor, balling up his fists.
" Man, why can't they just make me four or five hot dogs?" he mumbled. " It'd hold me over until lunch; at least!" After waiting a few minutes by the kitchen door, he sighed, and walked away, in agony, defeat...and sloth...
As he walked away, he remembered Selphie. 'How's about I sneak in on her?' he thought. 'It'll be perfect! Especially since she has no room mates yet!' So, he snuck over. He was grinning wickedly when he stealthily swung the door open. 'Perfect...' he thought, spying the closed entrance to the bathroom, and the noise of running water. He snuck over to the door, and waited patiently for it to open.
Selphie was just about finished, when she had heard a slight noise by the door. 'What the hell?' she thought, shrugging. She shut off the water, dried off, and prepared to open the door...
Zell heard the water shut off, and Selphie step out. 'This is it...' he thought, trying to hide his chuckles. Suddenly, he saw the door open...He stepped back. " WHAT?!" he exclaimed, in shock.
Selphie, already dressed, had stepped out, and punched him in the ribs again before he could realize what was happening. She was quicker than he expected. He doubled over again, moaning, " How?!"
Selphie giggled. " When you're on missions as often as I am, you get used to hearing tiny noises," she replied, " And all you had to do was breathe loud enough for me to hear. You did hit sometihng when you walked in, though, and that's what clued me in, but, hyne, Zell, when I stepped out of the shower, you were breathing louder than Quistis does when she starts to fall asleep! Not to mention before she snores..." She shivered. " Well, what did you think you were going to accomplish?"
Zell stood up straight, in his stance. " You deserve to feel my wrath," he replied angrily, " Now, twice over!" He jumped in front of her, and caught her offguard with a kiss. She giggled. " Caught you that time, didn't you?" he added. She nodded.
" I like surprises." she replied. Suddenly, she remembered her friend. " Ooh, I have to go!" she said, bolting. " I promised I'd go see Rinoa!"
" Not again!" Zell sighed, meaning her running away. " Come baaaaaaaaack!!" he shouted, running after her.
Selphie kept running, not stopping until she entered the Infirmary. " I'm late!" she cried, sliding in. She froze, as did Zell when he entered. Rinoa and Squall were gone. " Hey!" Selphie shouted, " She was supposed to be here!"
Dr. Kadowaki walked in. " What's all the commotion about?" she asked, giving Selphie a concerned look. " Tell me...how have you been feeling lately?"
" I'm not sick, if that's what you mean!" Selphie insisted, " I'm looking for Rinoa. She was supposed to be here!"
" Oh." The doctor sighed. " I'm afraid she already left. Well, the Infirmary. With Squall."
" Where were they going?" Selphie asked.
" I don't know." she replied, " But Rinoa is feeling MUCH better now."
'She wouldn't?!' Selphie thought, and decided to test her theory. She ran back to the dorms, with a half exhausted Zell behind her.
She arrived at Rinoa's dorm, and knocked on the door. " Rinny!!" she shouted, " You promised you were gonna wait for me! Why did you leave?!" No response. " RINOA!!!" she shouted again, pounding on the door. It opened, but her room mate answered.
" Jeez, ever heard of waiting?" she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. " And, no, Rinoa isn't here. Is she getting out of the Infirmary today?"
" Yeah," Selphie muttered, " Thanks anyway." she walked down the hall, and sat on a nearby bench. Zell sat next to her.
" Where is she?"
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Rinoa giggled. " This is nice..." she sighed. She and Squall were in the Secret Area, staring at the sky, and, every once in a while, sharing kisses.
" Just because it's the only place you can go to at night doesn't mean night's the only time you can come here." Squall said.
Rinoa stared at him for a moment. " You know..." she said, " That is THE longest sentence I've ever heard you use." She giggled again, and he tickled her.
" Yeah, well, who ever said I couldn't talk?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.
" A lot of people said you hardly ever talked." she replied. " What happened?"
He smiled, and his eyes glimmered in the sunlight. " You did." he replied.
She smiled back. " Oh, Squall," she said, " That's so sweet..." She looked into his eyes for a moment, then wrapped the moment nicely by embracing him. A moment later, though, a thought came to her.
" What time is it?" she asked. Squall only shrugged. She looked across the plains, and the sun seemed pretty high. " Oh, shit!" she cried, pulling away from him, as painful as it was.
" What is it?" he asked.
She stopped, and turned to face him. Her hair was still messy from the past night's slumber, but she seemed to glow, regardless of the panic she was feeling. " I promised I would meet Selphie at the Infirmary!" she said, " And I'm late!"
They both ran out, and hurried to the Infirmary. They never passed the Dorms, so they didn't see Selphie.
Rinoa practically skid on the floor. Dr. Kadowaki laughed. " This is the second time someone has done that to me this morning!" she exclaimed.
" Second time?" Rinoa echoed.
" Your friend, Selphie, stopped by." she replied, " Just missed her by...twenty minutes."
" Aw, hyne!" she shouted, bolting back out the door; Squall keeping a steady pace with hers. They both ran to the dorms, and ran into Seifer.
" Rin," he sighed, " Heard you were at the Infirmary. Suffering from a broken heart?" He had a proud, smug look on his face, and when Fujin came to his side, he practically glowed. Squall protectively put an arm around her. 'Stay away, Seifer.' his thoughts growled.
" No, Seifer," she replied smoothly, " But I'll bet you REALLY get girls that way." She glared at Fujin. " Why, look, it already worked. I knew your sleeze worked on chicks."
Fujin started to step forward. 'Cat fight.' Squall thought automatically, thinking Fujin might possibly have the upper hand, when Seifer held her back.
" She's better than you could ever be, babe." he said, glaring at the brunette. " Besides," he added, giving Fujin a kind look, " I always did care about her, I just didn't see it until after YOU left." He walked off, still smug as ever, with an arm around his girl. Fujin stopped for a moment, and turned. " RINOA...BITCH..." she said.
Rinoa started to charge toward her. " You LITTLE-!" she started, but Squall grabbed her hand. " Don't do it, Rin," he insisted. " She isn't worth your time. Just remember, we're looking for Selphie."
" Who is right HERE." added a voice. The usually peppy brunette looked depressed, sitting on the bench with Zell. Her face was in her hands. Zell looked at Rinoa. " You promised her that you would wait," he continued, " Why did you leave?"
" I wasn't thinking!" she cried, running to her friend. " Selphie, I didn't mean to forget. But, Squall and I, well...we wanted to go out and see the sunset, and I didn't think we'd stay out for so long...Selphie, please believe me!" She was on the brink of tears.
Selphie sniffled. " I'm supposed to be your best friend, Rinoa," she said quietly, " What happened to that?"
" NOTHING happened to that, Selphie," Rinoa insisted. " Look, I know I should've remembered, and I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you-"
" How?" she asked, sniffling.
Rinoa paused. " You know the party you wanted me to do a song for?" she asked. When Selphie nodded, she said, " Forget one song. I'll do a concert."
Selphie, eyes red and puffy, looked up. " Really?" she asked. " A WHOLE concert? For ME?!" Her friend nodded. She threw her arms around her in a bear hug. " Oh, THANK YOU!!!!" she said. " To think...THE Rinoa Heartilly is gonna perform a slew of songs at the party I'M putting together! Who ever said the Garden Commitee wasn't getting popular?" She ran off to write up a list of songs for the girl to perform.
Squall gave Rinoa a look. " THE Rinoa Heartilly?" he asked, confused. " What'd I miss?"
Rinoa blushed sheepishly. " I was getting around to that..." she said. " I'm...uh...unofficialy a famous singer..." she said. She paused. " Well, maybe not so unofficial..."
Squall stepped back. " You sing?" he asked. " ...When were you going to tell me?"
" I, uh," Rinoa stuttered, " Wanted it to be a surprise..." She looked at him, and couldn't tell if he was mad at her or not. " I'm so sorry I didn't tell you soo-"
" You wanted to surprise me?" he repeated.
Rinoa nodded meekly, waiting for him to yell.
Instead, he tentively stepped closer, and put his arms around her. " That was a nice thought, really..." he replied.
Rinoa let out a sigh of relief, but also of defeat. " Well, I guess now it won't be a surprise, huh?"
" That's okay," he replied, " Maybe you can try something else."
Rinoa paused, and, the lightbulb blinking on in her mind, she grinned. " Maybe..." she echoed.
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Author's Note: What's Rinoa up to now?! Squall's been acting kinda strange, don't you think? Ah, love...:D Anyway, time to give a few shoutouts to my reviewers!
Maths: You think you see where this is going, huh? Yeah, well, you've got another thing coming! LoL Just keep reading!
Gracie: Heehee, I heard from ya today; know you love it! Can't wait until Chapter 1 of YOUR fic is complete! Keep me posted!
ladyrinoa: Sorry it took so long. My computer 'caught a cold', and my dad had to help me fix it. I'll be posting as often as I can now. BTW, hope you're lovin this, too!
Thanks also to all my other readers, whom quite possibly haen't reviewed (but that's okay!) Hope to hear from you all more soon! Trinity
Disclaimer: I didn't create any of the characters in this chapter (hell, in this story! Except a few, that is...), but you can thank Square for creating the v game! Oh, and the creators of Final Fantasy. Genius, you guys, GENIUS!! (p.s. also the term used for Zell's..erm..defeat early in this chapter is taken from the movie Secret Window. You shall see!)
Chapter 11
Squall woke up early the next morning in the infirmary. It wasn't very light, and he could see much, but he could see that Rinoa wasn't in bed. He sat up, and looked around, panicked. 'Where is she?!' he thought, and almost let out a cry, when he saw a beautiful figure almost float into the room. He ran to it, praying it was her. He drew close, and Rinoa's eyes sparkled in the smokey light. " Hi," she whispered, almost as if she was afraid of waking someone. Squall let out a sigh of relief.
" I was worried; where were you?" he asked, a bit hushed himself.
" I had to stretch my legs, sweetheart." she replied, caressing his face. " You look terrified. Don't be, please..." She paused staring deep into his eyes. " I'm fine." She kissed him, lingering a bit. When she pulled away, though, she added teasingly, " You worry too much!"
" I had a dream..." he started, but shook his head. " I mean, I almost lost you once, and I don't want it to happen again. Can't I be a little concerned?"
Rinoa softly chuckled, and kissed him again. " This isn't a little concerned," she said, rubbing his hand, which was still shaking. " This is fear. Darling, you don't have to be afraid." She looked a bit saddened now. Squall looked tired, despite the fact that he had slept, and he looked worried. Rinoa didn't like the thought-she didn't want him to worry. Nothing was wrong; nothing.
Squall didn't feel the same way. The dream he had awoken from left him shaken, and nervous. 'That doesn't mean it's real, though,' he thought, 'It isn't real.' He sighed. " I'm sorry." he said.
Rinoa smiled sadly. " Don't go worrying anymore, okay?" she said, " You've got me worried now."
Squall nodded, but kissed her hard anyway. It was almost as if she was leaving, even though his heart and mind told him she wasn't. But, there was a feeling that couldn't be shaken, a feeling that something bad might happen.
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Later that morning, at sunrise, Selphie woke up. Sleepily, she got dressed, and went out for a walk. She enjoyed the crispness of a new morning, and she wanted the fresh air. 'Besides,' she thought, 'Today's a good day, because Rinny's finally leaving the Infirmary!' She continued on that thought happily, practically jogging the five circles around the Garden. People stared at her around the third or fourth time, but she didn't care; she was getting a workout. At the last go round, she ran into Zell.
" Heya, cutie!" he said peppily, with a quick peck at the end. She giggled.
" Hiya!" she replied, " Hope you don't mind, but I have to go take a quick shower. This walk was longer than usual!"
" You sure worked up a sweat." he teased, laughing until she punched him in the ribs. " Ow!" he cried out, doubling over in pain.
" Love hurts, sweetie." she said, running to her dorm.
" Hey, come back!" Zell shouted, trying to jog after her. He quickly gave up, when he saw the cafeteria lady opening the cafeteria. " Another day," he saighed, " Another pending request for the breakfast hot dog!!!" He ran to her, his eyes pleading with her.
The woman stood firm. " Another refusal from the Commitee." she finished, walking into the kitchen to prepare a large serving of scrambled eggs. Zell sighed, then slammed him foot on the floor, balling up his fists.
" Man, why can't they just make me four or five hot dogs?" he mumbled. " It'd hold me over until lunch; at least!" After waiting a few minutes by the kitchen door, he sighed, and walked away, in agony, defeat...and sloth...
As he walked away, he remembered Selphie. 'How's about I sneak in on her?' he thought. 'It'll be perfect! Especially since she has no room mates yet!' So, he snuck over. He was grinning wickedly when he stealthily swung the door open. 'Perfect...' he thought, spying the closed entrance to the bathroom, and the noise of running water. He snuck over to the door, and waited patiently for it to open.
Selphie was just about finished, when she had heard a slight noise by the door. 'What the hell?' she thought, shrugging. She shut off the water, dried off, and prepared to open the door...
Zell heard the water shut off, and Selphie step out. 'This is it...' he thought, trying to hide his chuckles. Suddenly, he saw the door open...He stepped back. " WHAT?!" he exclaimed, in shock.
Selphie, already dressed, had stepped out, and punched him in the ribs again before he could realize what was happening. She was quicker than he expected. He doubled over again, moaning, " How?!"
Selphie giggled. " When you're on missions as often as I am, you get used to hearing tiny noises," she replied, " And all you had to do was breathe loud enough for me to hear. You did hit sometihng when you walked in, though, and that's what clued me in, but, hyne, Zell, when I stepped out of the shower, you were breathing louder than Quistis does when she starts to fall asleep! Not to mention before she snores..." She shivered. " Well, what did you think you were going to accomplish?"
Zell stood up straight, in his stance. " You deserve to feel my wrath," he replied angrily, " Now, twice over!" He jumped in front of her, and caught her offguard with a kiss. She giggled. " Caught you that time, didn't you?" he added. She nodded.
" I like surprises." she replied. Suddenly, she remembered her friend. " Ooh, I have to go!" she said, bolting. " I promised I'd go see Rinoa!"
" Not again!" Zell sighed, meaning her running away. " Come baaaaaaaaack!!" he shouted, running after her.
Selphie kept running, not stopping until she entered the Infirmary. " I'm late!" she cried, sliding in. She froze, as did Zell when he entered. Rinoa and Squall were gone. " Hey!" Selphie shouted, " She was supposed to be here!"
Dr. Kadowaki walked in. " What's all the commotion about?" she asked, giving Selphie a concerned look. " Tell me...how have you been feeling lately?"
" I'm not sick, if that's what you mean!" Selphie insisted, " I'm looking for Rinoa. She was supposed to be here!"
" Oh." The doctor sighed. " I'm afraid she already left. Well, the Infirmary. With Squall."
" Where were they going?" Selphie asked.
" I don't know." she replied, " But Rinoa is feeling MUCH better now."
'She wouldn't?!' Selphie thought, and decided to test her theory. She ran back to the dorms, with a half exhausted Zell behind her.
She arrived at Rinoa's dorm, and knocked on the door. " Rinny!!" she shouted, " You promised you were gonna wait for me! Why did you leave?!" No response. " RINOA!!!" she shouted again, pounding on the door. It opened, but her room mate answered.
" Jeez, ever heard of waiting?" she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. " And, no, Rinoa isn't here. Is she getting out of the Infirmary today?"
" Yeah," Selphie muttered, " Thanks anyway." she walked down the hall, and sat on a nearby bench. Zell sat next to her.
" Where is she?"
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Rinoa giggled. " This is nice..." she sighed. She and Squall were in the Secret Area, staring at the sky, and, every once in a while, sharing kisses.
" Just because it's the only place you can go to at night doesn't mean night's the only time you can come here." Squall said.
Rinoa stared at him for a moment. " You know..." she said, " That is THE longest sentence I've ever heard you use." She giggled again, and he tickled her.
" Yeah, well, who ever said I couldn't talk?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.
" A lot of people said you hardly ever talked." she replied. " What happened?"
He smiled, and his eyes glimmered in the sunlight. " You did." he replied.
She smiled back. " Oh, Squall," she said, " That's so sweet..." She looked into his eyes for a moment, then wrapped the moment nicely by embracing him. A moment later, though, a thought came to her.
" What time is it?" she asked. Squall only shrugged. She looked across the plains, and the sun seemed pretty high. " Oh, shit!" she cried, pulling away from him, as painful as it was.
" What is it?" he asked.
She stopped, and turned to face him. Her hair was still messy from the past night's slumber, but she seemed to glow, regardless of the panic she was feeling. " I promised I would meet Selphie at the Infirmary!" she said, " And I'm late!"
They both ran out, and hurried to the Infirmary. They never passed the Dorms, so they didn't see Selphie.
Rinoa practically skid on the floor. Dr. Kadowaki laughed. " This is the second time someone has done that to me this morning!" she exclaimed.
" Second time?" Rinoa echoed.
" Your friend, Selphie, stopped by." she replied, " Just missed her by...twenty minutes."
" Aw, hyne!" she shouted, bolting back out the door; Squall keeping a steady pace with hers. They both ran to the dorms, and ran into Seifer.
" Rin," he sighed, " Heard you were at the Infirmary. Suffering from a broken heart?" He had a proud, smug look on his face, and when Fujin came to his side, he practically glowed. Squall protectively put an arm around her. 'Stay away, Seifer.' his thoughts growled.
" No, Seifer," she replied smoothly, " But I'll bet you REALLY get girls that way." She glared at Fujin. " Why, look, it already worked. I knew your sleeze worked on chicks."
Fujin started to step forward. 'Cat fight.' Squall thought automatically, thinking Fujin might possibly have the upper hand, when Seifer held her back.
" She's better than you could ever be, babe." he said, glaring at the brunette. " Besides," he added, giving Fujin a kind look, " I always did care about her, I just didn't see it until after YOU left." He walked off, still smug as ever, with an arm around his girl. Fujin stopped for a moment, and turned. " RINOA...BITCH..." she said.
Rinoa started to charge toward her. " You LITTLE-!" she started, but Squall grabbed her hand. " Don't do it, Rin," he insisted. " She isn't worth your time. Just remember, we're looking for Selphie."
" Who is right HERE." added a voice. The usually peppy brunette looked depressed, sitting on the bench with Zell. Her face was in her hands. Zell looked at Rinoa. " You promised her that you would wait," he continued, " Why did you leave?"
" I wasn't thinking!" she cried, running to her friend. " Selphie, I didn't mean to forget. But, Squall and I, well...we wanted to go out and see the sunset, and I didn't think we'd stay out for so long...Selphie, please believe me!" She was on the brink of tears.
Selphie sniffled. " I'm supposed to be your best friend, Rinoa," she said quietly, " What happened to that?"
" NOTHING happened to that, Selphie," Rinoa insisted. " Look, I know I should've remembered, and I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you-"
" How?" she asked, sniffling.
Rinoa paused. " You know the party you wanted me to do a song for?" she asked. When Selphie nodded, she said, " Forget one song. I'll do a concert."
Selphie, eyes red and puffy, looked up. " Really?" she asked. " A WHOLE concert? For ME?!" Her friend nodded. She threw her arms around her in a bear hug. " Oh, THANK YOU!!!!" she said. " To think...THE Rinoa Heartilly is gonna perform a slew of songs at the party I'M putting together! Who ever said the Garden Commitee wasn't getting popular?" She ran off to write up a list of songs for the girl to perform.
Squall gave Rinoa a look. " THE Rinoa Heartilly?" he asked, confused. " What'd I miss?"
Rinoa blushed sheepishly. " I was getting around to that..." she said. " I'm...uh...unofficialy a famous singer..." she said. She paused. " Well, maybe not so unofficial..."
Squall stepped back. " You sing?" he asked. " ...When were you going to tell me?"
" I, uh," Rinoa stuttered, " Wanted it to be a surprise..." She looked at him, and couldn't tell if he was mad at her or not. " I'm so sorry I didn't tell you soo-"
" You wanted to surprise me?" he repeated.
Rinoa nodded meekly, waiting for him to yell.
Instead, he tentively stepped closer, and put his arms around her. " That was a nice thought, really..." he replied.
Rinoa let out a sigh of relief, but also of defeat. " Well, I guess now it won't be a surprise, huh?"
" That's okay," he replied, " Maybe you can try something else."
Rinoa paused, and, the lightbulb blinking on in her mind, she grinned. " Maybe..." she echoed.
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Author's Note: What's Rinoa up to now?! Squall's been acting kinda strange, don't you think? Ah, love...:D Anyway, time to give a few shoutouts to my reviewers!
Maths: You think you see where this is going, huh? Yeah, well, you've got another thing coming! LoL Just keep reading!
Gracie: Heehee, I heard from ya today; know you love it! Can't wait until Chapter 1 of YOUR fic is complete! Keep me posted!
ladyrinoa: Sorry it took so long. My computer 'caught a cold', and my dad had to help me fix it. I'll be posting as often as I can now. BTW, hope you're lovin this, too!
Thanks also to all my other readers, whom quite possibly haen't reviewed (but that's okay!) Hope to hear from you all more soon! Trinity