Chapter 13 (Thinking of you)

Rinoa sank down on her bed tired and devastated. She didn't even get to see him, nor talk

to him. It's not fair! It's just not fair! Rinoa thought. "Squall, you saved my life again,"

Rinoa said to herself, "Why am I so weak that you have to do that all the time!" Rinoa

started crying, but then quickly quieted herself. I have to be strong, for Squall. I have to

be strong to beat Ultimecia. Squall isn't a crybaby. If I want to replace him, I have to

stop crying… I have to be brave… I have to be a lion…Rinoa thought to herself. She got

up and went to the bathroom and looked at herself. She didn't look the same. She wasn't

the same optimistic girl that she always saw in the mirror. She couldn't be that now.

Rinoa narrowed her eyes and told herself to look serious. "I have to erase myself," Rinoa

mumbled, "I need to make a new me. I can't be the same Rinoa anymore." She went

back to her bed and started thinking. Thinking about Squall. She remembered all the

good times, the bad, all the humorous times, and the serious ones.

Flashback

Rinoa followed Squall as he gave her a tour of the garden. Squall started explaining

where things were, just telling her where each hallway leads. Rinoa thought it was a little

boring, especially that Squall was speaking in a monotone voice. She spoke up.

"Um…Squall, this is nice of you and all, but could you make it a little more interesting,

you know like a real tour?" Squall looked at her with a very annoyed look and shrugged.

He then kept walking over to the infirmary. Rinoa followed him also a little annoyed that

he hadn't responded. Squall headed into the infirmary and showed it to Rinoa. As they

entered, Dr. Kadowaki saw them. She smiled and spoke. "Oh hello Squall! It's not

everyday I see you walking with a girl, is she your girl friend?" Squall turned red, and

tried to speak cooly. "I'm just showing her around," he answered. Squall glanced at

Rinoa and saw that she was pouting. "Oh Squall, couldn't you have just said yes, just for

fun?" Rinoa asked him annoyed. "Fine then, YES," answered Squall in a very sarcastic

voice. Rinoa pouted again and groaned. Dr. Kadowaki smiled at them. "You guys are

cute," she said laughing.

Rinoa smiled remembering the memory. Then she tried to recall another one and one more came.

Flashback

Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis went back to Balamb Garden after getting out of that robot in

FH. Squall decided to explore FH some more but Rinoa stopped him. "You know, you

surprised me just there." She told him. "You looked and sounded so happy to see them. It

was the first time I've seen you so honest. It was really… sweet!" Rinoa felt really happy

at seeing this side of Squall other than the cold, distant person he normally showed

himself as. Squall was surprised at her what she said. "I was happy to see them!" he

told her in a monotone voice. "You think I don't care? Just because I don't get involved

with other people's affairs doesn't mean I don't care about people. I was so worried that

I'd sent them to their deaths, that… Well, I was glad to know they were all safe. What's

so surprising about that?" Squall finished. "No! There's nothing wrong!" She told him

quickly, "It's good that you care. They're your comrades, but also…" her voice got

softer "…they're your friends!"

Rinoa smiled at the memory, that was the first time she had seen the real Squall. Sure it took long, but it sure was well worth seeing. "First times…" Rinoa thought quietly, "When did I meet Squall anyway?" Rinoa closed her eyes trying to remember her first meeting with Squall. "I remember!" exclaimed Rinoa trying to replay the memory back in her head.

Flashback

Rinoa went in the middle of the dance floor and looked up at the glass ceiling. There

were lots of stars. She saw a shooting star and quickly made a wish. As she looked down,

she saw a teenager. He had brown hair and icy blue eyes. He was at the corner of the

dance floor with a drink. He had been looking at the stars also. Rinoa smiled at him

warmly and pointed to the shooting star that has long vanished and walked over to him.

"Dance with me?" Rinoa asked. Impatiently she waited for an answer but heard nothing,

and the teenager just sipped on his cup. Feeling snobbed, Rinoa went and talked some

more. "Let me guess, you'll only dance with someone you like," Rinoa told him. Then she

circled her finger around by his eyes (as if hypnotizing him) and said, "YOU'RE GOING

TO LIKE ME, YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE ME," Rinoa stopped and smiled, "Did it

work?" The teenager shrugged and finally said something. "I can't dance." Rinoa

winked at him and grabbed his hand. "Come on, its okay. I can't be at the dance floor

alone!" Rinoa then dragged him to the dance floor and put her hands on him, and placed

his hands where it should be. They started a slow dance at first, and he was able to keep

up a little. A little. The teenager bumped into Rinoa twice because he didn't know what

to do. When they bumped into another couple dancing, Rinoa stuck out her tongue at

them and the teenager stared. He was ready to leave now, (duh, very embarrassing) and

he started to, except Rinoa grabbed his arm and pulled him back. The next dance was a

fast gavotte, no time for talk. But this time Rinoa was surprised. He danced perfectly!

They were perfect in step and motion, and Rinoa was thrilled. Finally as the gavotte

ended, the music returned back into a waltz, Rinoa back into the teenager's arms. There

were fireworks up in the sky, and he smiled as he looked at them. Rinoa looked at them

too, until she saw the headmaster. She smiled at the teenager again, pushed him away

gently, and left.

Rinoa laughed. She laughed again harder this time. It was such a beautiful memory, her

first meeting. "Oh Squall, you looked so funny back there," said Rinoa in a fit of giggles,

"But you ended up knowing how to dance after all!" Rinoa sank back in her bed, trying to

remember more memories, eventually falling asleep, thinking of Squall. Of the good

times.

Well that's all about it for chapter 13, sorry to bore you guys to death, but I promise the next chapter is going to be exciting! Thanks for the people that reviewed again!

Ceres81