A/N: Yay! Reviews make me a happy camper! Depending on how I do the story, it may turn out to be another triangle story. But I'll try my frigging hardest not to, I swear on that. If I do decide to make a triangle-square thingie (cause lets not forget Rinoa here), Quistis' opposing male is not someone who'd you expect.

I'm Still In Love
Beginnings

Quistis sighed gently as she leaned on the balcony of yet another SeeD Ball. As much as she loved Selphie, as a sister and a best friend, she couldn't stand the fact that she had to throw at least ten balls in one year. The first couple were amazing, yes, but now they seemed to drag on and were a great burden for Quistis. She turned around and leaned her back against the balcony, watching the crowd. A year and a half ago, this room was filled with tired warriors, coming home from the fight of their life. Now, it was filled with people just around her age, maturing and blossoming into well toned warriors. A figure emerged from the crowd, causing Quistis' heart to skip a beat. Inside, her mind was screaming a million things to do, but outside, she remained nonchalant as ever and just watched as the figure made its way over to her. "...Hi," the voice called out.

Quistis blinked and nodded her acknowledgement to the figure. "Yes?"

Cold versus cold. That's the way how it has always been. Not a drop of fire or flame would ever appear between them. "...All the other balconies were full." She nodded her head again. "...You...want to be left alone?"

She shrugged, turning away from her, her iced over eyes causing even the figure to freeze dead in his tracks. "Doesn't really matter, now does it Squall?"

Squall...that name came out so buttery from her tongue and lips. Squall. She repeated it in her mind a thousand times a night, mumbled it incoherently as she fell feign to the touch of sleep, and even dreamt it. Squall. "It does."

She blinked. His voice was cool, calm, collective. "Oh?" Her heart pounded against her chest.

"If you want to be left alone, you have all rights to." She heard him shuffle his feet and soon he was next to her, handing her a glass of red wine. She took it, a bit apprehensively, and sniffed at the contents.

"Winhill Red?" she asked, gently bringing it to her lips. From the corner of her eye she saw him shake his head.

"Estharian Red 235." She nodded and approved the choice. She preferred Winhill Red. He sipped on his glass, watching the night sky next to her. Without them even knowing, lost in their own thoughts, the ball was ending. Well hidden behind a now drawn curtain, a soft breeze blew in. Cold, wintry air. Trabia.

"...Wonder what time it is."

"Who cares." It wasn't a question expecting an answer. It was a statement.

"...Rinoa." She had spoken the one name she had always regretted. Rinoa. Rinoa. Rinoa. The name danced in her mind. Rinoa. Quistis blinked as another, stronger, breeze blew in. She set the glass down and placed her arms around herself, leaning her elbows on the balcony railing. Rinoa.

"Why would she care?" Bitterness. Quistis raised an eyebrow at him. He was silent.

"...Are you going to explain?" He shrugged and she smirked. "Trouble in paradise already?"

"She wants to get married." Quistis bit her tongue sharply, letting a small yelp let loose. "Are you ok?" he asked, turning towards her.

"Huh? Oh! Yes. I'm fine...just...bit my tongue." She smiled at him. She had actually smiled at him instead of that normal ice cold glare with tight stout lips.

He pointed at her arm. "You're covered in goose bumps."

She looked down at her arm and shrugged. She watched him take off his jacker and inch closer to her. "What are you doing?" she asked, backing away slowly.

He blinked. "...I'm trying to be nice."

She blinked back and relaxed, feeling the warm heat of his jacket wrap around her. She carefully slid her arms into the sleeves. It was surprisingly large on her. "Thanks."

She felt his arms wrap around her and her entire body grew stiff as a board. "Now I'm cold."

"Then why don't we go inside?"

"Shh...I just want to spend some time alone."

"...But I'm here." She took that two ways: either he thought of her as nothing or he was just that comfortable around her.

She felt him shrug and held her closer. "Quistis?" She turned her head towards him some and saw his face lean in closer to her. He rested his forehead on hers, their nose touching gently his lips motioning her name as they gently brushed against her own.

"Quistis?"

"Quistis?"

"Quistis!"

"QUISTIS!"

She sprung up from the bed, wiping away the reminents of sleep from her eyes. "I'm up!" she called. She looked around, finding the clock on her desk. Seven fifty five. She wasn't late for class. She just got done a mission. It was her three days compensation days off.

"Quistis! Open the door!"

"I'm coming! Give me a second, Selphie!" She flew out of bed, grasping her lilac colored robe and tossed it on, tying it to her body. She pressed the door release button and Selphie charged through, in her robe. "What?" Quistis asked. Selphie had, again, destroyed another beautiful memory in her mind's sleep state.

"Rinoa and Squall!"

Her heart skipped a beat. "What? What about them?"

"They broke up!"

Her stomache danced on air, her heart was jumping out of her chest, her knees were growing weak. "...Wh...what?" she asked. It was too good to be true.

"He caught Rinoa with another man!"

She blinked. It really was becoming surreal to her now. She sat down on her bed. "Who?" she asked. She had to pretend to be at least somewhat interested in the gossip. She couldn't just run off to Squall and coddle and caress him.

"Some guy in your afternoon class. He was tutoring her."

"Jacob?"

"That's it!"

"...What does she see in him?" He was nothing compared to Squall. Jacob stood at Quistis' height, was a bit on the thin side, pale, long black hair, and dark brown eyes. He was a punk, a rebel, but the one thing he had going for him was his intelligence.

"I'm not sure but apparently, when you guys got home yesterday, she said she was going to watch the big game and left Squall, Irvine, and myself alone in the cafeteria. This morning, Squall was doing his routine run around the Garden and saw her come out of his dorm all messed up looking!"

Squall did routine runs around the Garden in the morning, she asked herself. She didn't know that. "Wow...so what happened?"

"Rinoa was crying for him not to be mad...he didn't sound angry."

"That's because it was her choice, Selphie." Both of them turned towards the doorway. Squall was standing there in a jogging suit. Selphie rubbed the carpet with her foot innocently, and looked away from Squall. "I just told Irvine and Zell about it." He glanced at Quistis in her robe, his eyes twinkling a bit.

"So you've become the gossip king now, Squall?" Quistis said as she looked away from him.

A small beeping noise was heard and Selphie lifted up her wrist, looking at the watch. "...Damnit, I'm gonna be late for Ethics class! Quistis, chat over lunch today?" she asked. Quistis nodded her head as a streak of yellow dashed out of her room.

Squall walked in and pressed the button to close the door, glancing at Quistis. "I didn't know you went jogging in the mornings."

He walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her and grasping her hands. "I didn't know you liked the color purple."

"It's lilac."

"Whatever," he mumbled out. He crawled in between her legs, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her chest. She smiled softly and gently stroked his hair downwards. "...I'm happy."

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He nodded his head. "Why?" she asked.

"Cause...I can be with you, and only you."

A/N: So yea, I'm mean. Nothing can be that easy in my world. -points to above chapter- Seems so happy, right? WRONG!