A/N-WOW! Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Since positive ruled over negative, I guess I'll continue this fic! Yay! ^_^ Thanks for all the people that wished me a happy holiday, also! Also, thanks to everyone that already made this story one of their favorites! I'm so happy!!! Yay! *pumps fist in the air happily* I'm sorry I didn't update like at ALL over Winter break! I typed the story every now and then, but I really had no inspiration! But now that I do, let's get this started with!
..\*~Blue Stars~*/..
Chapter Two: Things About the Past
Rinoa took a deep breath and pushed open the wooden doors. She turned her head to the right and focused her gaze on the teacher, who was staring at her silently. Nervously, she habitually twirled her midnight locks with her right index finger and stammered, "Erm…hello…I'm Rinoa Heartilly…" She trailed off, looking at the class. There were a few disapproving stares, stern military faces looking down at her with looks of utter contempt. Some people exchanged glances with each other, recognizing her name.
"Hey, isn't that General Caraway's daughter?"
"Yeah! What's she doing here, the Galbadian scum?"
"Cry, that's not nice!"
Rinoa frowned slightly at the hatred in the voice. She looked at the owner of the voice and met icy maroon. The student's face sneered down at her angrily. The girl was quite pretty, if she didn't have such a nasty frown on her face. Her midnight black waist-length tresses contrasted shockingly with her snow-white face. Her hair was fashioned expertly into odangos (it's like pigtails on the top of your head, but it's shaped like a bun and then the rest of your hair is just left flowing down; if you've seen sailor moon, you'll know what I'm talking about) that shifted gracefully as the girl turned her head.
I don't blame her.
Deciding to ignore the girl known as 'Cry', she continued to look around, and her eyes locked with deep violet. The eyes smiled genuinely with her, the owner tipping his leather hat.
"Hello, Ms. Heartilly," the man said, winking. Dreamy sighs echoed throughout the room. Rinoa couldn't help it. She rolled her eyes, hearing the gasps of absolute shock escaping the girls' lips.
"Ms. Heartilly." Rinoa whirled to face the curt voice. The instructor stared at her and nodded, keeping her piercing ice blue eyes trained on the new student. "Welcome to Balamb High School. Show me your schedule, please." Hesitantly, the brunette rummaged around her short's pockets, her pale fingers lightly brushing against her light blue duster. She finally found it and handed the slim piece of paper to the blonde instructor.
Quistis took the offered paper and stared at it for a few seconds. Looking up, she voiced her question to the class, "Who has GF Theory next period?" A show of hands was raised. "Is anyone willing to help Ms. Heartilly to her next class?" Some hands went down.
"Oooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!" Rinoa turned her head curiously in the direction of the voice. It belonged to a short brunette with a yellow sundress, her brightly insane green eyes dancing, and her sunburned curls defying gravity. Quistis shook her head, smiling slightly, her lips twitching.
"Ok, Selphie." She turned to Rinoa, "Ms. Heartilly, this is Selphie Tilmitt. She will be showing you to your next class. Go ahead and take a seat next to her." Nodding, Rinoa smiled as Selphie grinned and waved at the new student.
This might not be so bad after all.
//***///***////***/////***
"Ok, I'll be letting you guys get back to education! Bye!" Squall rolled his eyes as the secretary chirped her goodbye. A nudge on his side distracted him. Glaring at the martial artist, the stone lion hissed.
"What?"
"We have a new student! I wonder who it could be..." Zell replied, curiously leaning forward towards the doors, as if he might see the new student. Irvine nodded as well, leaning back into his seat and lazily draping his right arm around Selphie's small shoulders.
"It's probably a beautiful woman," the cowboy snickered, receiving an angry smack on his arm from his irritated girlfriend. "What?" The doors opened slowly as Irvine and Selphie continued to bicker. A girl no taller than 5'4" entered the room. Her shoulder-length raven hair flowed freely past her shoulders, the highlights on her hair framing her pale face. She was wearing a light blue duster that covered a black tank top, a dark blue buttoned denim skirt, and black shorts with zippers beneath the skirt. Said girl timidly walked into the room, her brown eyes nervously darting around, and her black boots smacking lightly against the hard floor. She started to play with her hair worriedly and then stammered,
"Erm…hello…I'm Rinoa Heartilly…" She looked around the class hopefully, her slight smile faltering. Her dark eyes roamed silently area, a small frown marring her features as whispers erupted around the classroom. Then her eyes stopped completely on Irvine. Squall had to keep himself from rolling his eyes as the sniper smirked slightly.
"Hello, Ms. Heartilly," he winked at her. And so came the dreamy sighs. Everyone was quite taken aback when the young woman seemed unfazed by the gesture and rolled her rich brown eyes. Her attention was diverted when the instructor spoke, Quistis' crisp voice containing a slightly icy edge.
"Ms. Heartilly." The pale girl faced Quistis and they talked quietly for a few minutes. Squall smirked slightly as he listened to Irvine fuming, his mauve eyes flaming.
"How can she possibly resist someone as hot as me? Not to sound conceited…" Irvine said quite vainly. Zell rolled his eyes and exchanged a sarcastic look with Squall.
"No, Irvine, you don't sound conceited at all. And only, I don't mean that." Zell received a rough shove from his irate friend, chuckling and shaking his head. After a while, Quistis faced her class, looking slightly annoyed.
"Is anyone willing to help Ms. Heartilly to her next class?" Squall watched silently as quite a number of hands withdrew from the air, the female majority of the class giving Rinoa disapproving glares. Selphie sighed angrily.
"These people are so mean!" Without a second of doubt, the short brunette started to frantically wave her right hand in the air, smiling brightly. "Oooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!" The new student turned to face Selphie, a small smile twitching the corners of her lips.
"Ok, Selphie." Quistis smiled slightly. "Ms. Heartilly, this is Selphie Tilmitt. She will be showing you to your next class. Go ahead and take a seat next to her." Rinoa nodded and shyly approached Selphie as the shorter brunette grinned and waved eagerly.
"Hi," Rinoa sat down on an empty seat on Selphie's right, placing her backpack on the ground with a small thud. "I'm Rinoa. Rinoa Heartilly." Selphie smiled and nodded, winking at the brunette next to her.
"My name's Selphie Tilmitt, as Instructor Trepe already said! Welcome to Balamb High School! So you have GF Theory next, huh? That class is so lame! I don't know why they have that stupid class! To add to that, the teacher for our next class is named Mr. Stodgy. Can you believe that?!" Rinoa stifled a giggle, her eyes crinkling at the corners. The auburn-haired teenager who had winked at her earlier leaned next to Selphie, flashing a warm smile.
"And I'm Irvine Kinneas. Selphie's boyfriend." He stretched out his right hand, which was covered by a brown leather glove that cut off around his knuckles, showing his fingers. Rinoa hesitantly shook the sharpshooter's hand, eying him suspiciously. "Now that we've been acquainted, I'd like to know why you---" Irvine was interrupted by another deep voice.
"Hi! I'm Zell Dincht!" The blonde man grinned happily at the new arrival, waving from his seat beside Squall, and totally ignoring Irvine's scathing look. Rinoa waved shyly in his direction. Wow, I'm making more friends already…She noticed a lone figure clad in a dark outfit sitting next to Zell. She leaned her head to the side, getting a better look. Turning towards Selphie, her questioning brown eyes darted quickly towards the impassive teenager.
"Hey, Selphie…Who's that?" Selphie looked confused for a while before focusing her gaze on Squall, muttering an "Ooh!"
"That's Squall Leonhart. He doesn't talk much, except to me, Irvine, and Zell. But that's because he has to send orders to us because he's the leader of--" Selphie cut off when Irvine sent her a reprimanding stare.
"Hm? He's the leader of what?"
"Oh, nothing." Rinoa decided to let it pass. I'll just have to pry it out of her later. She curiously stared at Squall, squinting slightly.
"You know…he looks really familiar…" She eyed his unruly brown locks which rebelliously framed his stony face. His deep blue eyes seemed to form a violent maelstrom, a nearly invisible white mist swirling softly in his dark orbs. A deep scowl added the effect to his handsome features, and his studded left ear shone ominously under the light's glow. Lastly, a scar was slashed between his eyes, making him look all the more dangerous. After a couple of seconds, Rinoa happily snapped her fingers, "I knew it! He looks almost like the President of Esthar, Laguna Loire!" Selphie nodded with vigor, grinning.
"Yah! Don't you read the news? He's the president's son! Duh!"
"Really? Then why's his last name Leonhart…?"
"Oh, well…" Selphie leaned in closer, darting a quick glance towards the front of the room. Seeing that their instructor was not glaring daggers at them, she whispered, "His mother, Raine Leonhart, died when she gave birth to him. Squall doesn't really get along with his father for personal reasons, so he took his late mother's maiden's name," the perky brunette said. A deep feeling of empathy squeezed painfully around Rinoa's heart.
"I know how he feels…" she muttered quietly, hanging her head down. Her bangs shadowed her porcelain face, her expression unreadable. Selphie shifted slightly in her seat, peering down concernedly at her new friend.
"Oh. Does that have to do with you having a different last name than your father? Hey, are you ok…?" Rinoa faced her friend suddenly, smiling sadly.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Ladies! Please pay attention!" Quistis' voice reached the two women's ears and they both muttered an apology, focusing their attention on the blackboard. As the lesson continued, Rinoa couldn't help but think of the memory that had come back to her from Selphie's words. Does that have to do with you having a different last name than your father?
Flashback….
Three year old Rinoa Caraway giggled as her mother tickled her, her brown eyes shining with happiness.
"Happy birthday, Rinoa! What would my little darling like for her birthday?" Julia asked, cuddling her young daughter. Rinoa grinned and sat up in her mother's lap, clapping her hands giddily.
"I want a horsey! I wanna ride it through the meadows, and I wanna make friends with it, and I'd like it to be shiny and black! Hee-hee! Would yoo get that fwo me?" Julia laughed, tucking a stray strand of midnight hair behind Rinoa's left ear.
"We'll have to see about that," Julia said softly, kissing her daughter's forehead.
"Absolutely not." Both females turned towards the sound of the stern voice. General Caraway marched into the parlor, a deep frown etching his features. Rinoa sniffled slightly, tugging on her mother's sleeve.
"Mommy…?" Tears started to seep slowly out of her chocolate eyes, and she wiped them away fiercely, shaking her small head. "Why's daddy so mean…?" she whispered quietly.
"Julia. I'd like to have a word with you."
Julia smiled and hugged Rinoa tightly for a brief second before letting her go. "I'll be right back, darling. Don't worry." The slim woman stood up from the window seat and walked towards her husband, who was still frowning. As Julia walked out of the room, he faced Rinoa.
"Don't dream big, Rinoa." Without looking back to see his daughter's sad face, he turned around and left the room, his boots clicking heavily. Rinoa curled into a little ball and leaned against the window, crying quietly.
"I hate yoo, daddy…"
She could hear her parents fighting. Rinoa squeezed her eyes tightly, as if the sound of her mother's protests would be blocked out. The door slammed loudly and the sound of a car screeching out of the driveway echoed in Rinoa's ears. Her blood turned to ice and she suddenly felt cold.
"Mommy…?!" A moment later, her father entered the parlor, his eyes cold.
"Get up and go to your room."
"Where's Mommy going?"
"That's none of your concern. Now go." Rinoa silently slid off of the window cushion. As she walked past her impassive father, she whispered softly, so softly that Caraway almost couldn't hear it.
"I hate yoo." She then fled to her bedroom. Caraway's pained look went unnoticed. Rinoa landed on her bed. She grabbed a pink lacy pillow that her mother had made for her and sobbed into it. "Why'd yoo leave me, Mommy?" She fell asleep, her crystal tears staining her pale face.
When she woke up, it was dark. She could hear voices downstairs. Curiously, she walked down the spiral staircase where her father was talking silently with someone at the door. The messenger was wearing an outfit with the Deling Hospital emblem on it. Rinoa's heart clenched fearfully.
"Daddy…? What's goin' on?" she tugged on her father's sleeve, peering up at him with her worried brown eyes. The messenger looked down at the little girl and his eyes turned sad.
"Miss Caraway. We regret to inform you that your mother was involved in a car accident…" And Rinoa didn't hear the rest of the words. After the explanation, Rinoa and her father rushed to the hospital, where Julia lay dying.
"General Caraway, sir." Caraway stood up quickly from his sitting position in the waiting room. Rinoa looked up from her curled position on the floor, her eyes watery and panicked. The doctor sighed deeply. He checked his clipboard, as if to distract him from looking at the worried man's eyes. "Your wife is suffering from a severe concussion. When she and the other driver collided, she must have tried to swerve out of the way, and that resulted in her car being turned over. She also has a broken neck, and if she survives, she will be paralyzed from the neck down. Lastly, a huge shard of glass embedded itself into her abdomen during the crash, and it's causing internal bleeding and some damaged organs. She's in critical condition." Caraway sat back down in his seat, his hands covering his face as he started to shake violently.
Rinoa looked over at her father. This man, who was so strong, who never shed a tear when his men died during war, who never showed any emotion, was sobbing silently in the red chair. She walked quietly over to her father, patting him awkwardly on the back.
"Mommy's going to be otay, right?"
Flash to the ocean, where a funeral is taking place…
The sun shone brightly in the cloudless blue sky, its rays gleaming proudly on the lush green grass. Colorful petals floated gracefully around the area, decorating everyone's hair. Today seemed too happy for what was taking place. Everyone was clothed in black. Some women were sobbing uncontrollably and a priest was talking about her life. As if he knew her. Rinoa frowned angrily as the priest took a vase and threw ashes into the ocean, muttering an ancient chant as he did so. What gave him the right? The three year old was void of any tears today. She remembered her mother's words as she lay dying on her bed, her body weak, and her breath heavy.
"Don't cry, Rinoa. Be strong for me. I want to see you smiling when I die, and I want to see your beautiful smile when they throw my ashes into the sea. Don't forget that I'll be watching over you in the sky, ok?" Rinoa sniffled and managed a small smile, grasping her mother's pale hand.
"Don't say that, Mommy!"
"Listen to me, darling. I already feel my life flashing before me…" Julia chuckled bitterly and kissed her daughter's hand, "Remember that everyday is a gift, and to always smile with your heart…" Julia held Rinoa's hand tighter, her eyes slowly fluttering close. "Don't forget that Mommy loves…" Julia's breathing suddenly stopped. Rinoa could feel her blood run cold. She stood up from her chair quickly, looking down at her mother.
"Mommy? Mommy?! Mommy, wake up! You can't leave me, Mommy…Look, I'm still smiling! Open your eyes…please?" The young girl shook her mother's body gently. Tears slipped out of her eyes as she continued to smile.
Rinoa sucked in a deep breath as the last of the ashes were thrown into the sea. The funeral was already over. Caraway walked over to his daughter.
"Let's go." Rinoa looked up at her father coldly.
"It's your fault Mommy's dead. I can't fwogive yoo."
End flashback
After that day, Rinoa had changed her last name to Heartilly, Julia's maiden name. She became distant with her father, and had been very rebellious throughout her preteen years and still now. Sighing, she checked the clock in the front of the room. Two minutes to go. She chanced a quick glance at Squall, wondering how he had dealt with his mother's death, and then stared at the scar slashed between his eyes. I wonder where he got that from…?
Suddenly the taciturn teenager tensed as he felt someone's eyes on him and he turned his head to face Rinoa, his dark blue eyes narrowing to slits. Embarrassed at being caught red-handed staring, she quickly turned away as she felt her cheeks flame. Nice going, Rinoa. Ah, what do I care?
The bell rang, signaling the end of class. As the students rushed to the door, Quistis' voice boomed over their animated chattering.
"Remember that your essays are due Thursday!" Groans were her only reply. Standing up, Selphie kissed her boyfriend good bye, waved to Zell and Squall, and turned to Rinoa.
"C'mon, let's go!" Nodding, Rinoa took her own backpack and together they entered the busy and loud hallway, disappearing among the crowd.
A/N-HYNE! I finally finished Final Fantasy VIII on 12/29/03! I'm so damn proud of myself! The battle with Ultimecia wasn't as hard as most people said it was, but it does take some time! And when Squall smiled in the end, it was so cute! I was squealing my ass off! YAY! And Zell choking was the highlight of the ending! *laughs* Well, I just wanted to share that with you guys! Besides that, I'm sorry that I didn't update at all during the break! I had to practice my clarinet for the Korean Variations Folk Song thing my band has to do in March…*cough* Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Also, do you think I'm going too fast? Tell me tell me TELL ME!!! And I'm sorry about the ending to this chapter! It really sucks, but ah well!