Author's Note: Thank you for reading this! I promise it'll get better and longer because this isn't written at 4 AM. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own legal rights to Final Fantasy VIII or their characters and anything related. They are property of Squaresoft/Enix/Whatever. If you sue me, all you'll get is my paper and pencils that I use to rough draft. This laptop is mine, but the only way anybody can get it is if you pry it off my cold, dead fingers. And you don't want to kill me just for my laptop, then you won't have the wonderful ego that comes with my stories!

But I talk excessively, enjoy!

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To Be Magic

Chapter II: I Watch You In Your Sleep

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Squall was as clear of Rinoa's departure as a heavily tinted window with muddy fingerprints all over it. W-What? What's the matter… He decided to visit her room to see what the matter was. He met up with Quistis along the way.

"Hi Squall, Rinoa just ran by here… Is everything ok?" she asked with genuine concern in her eyes and voice.

"I… I really don't know what's the matter. I was on my way to see her."

"Alright, I'll go with you. We are like sisters, she can talk to me."

"No," Squall interjected. "I have an idea of what the problem is…"

"What is it?"

"No… Its nothing."

"Alright. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The conversation took much more time than he expected. I'm afraid she'll do something irrational. I can't afford to lose you, Rinoa. His mind raced with thoughts as he began to race with his feet. No, Rinoa will do nothing irrational, I'm just very worried about her. She did, after all, capture my heart and soften it from cold, hard steel into a warm, touchy gelatin. But I must comfort her… This… This would be my first time feeling close to someone in a very long time. To lose control of her emotions would mean the loss of control of my emotions… How I became this attached to her, I don't know. But I'm very glad that she entered my life.

He finally arrived at her room, stopping for a moment to hear the soft, yet harsh, sobs echo through the door. He didn't need convincing to help her, but he wanted to share her suffering. This is much contrary to his old ways. Squall decided that he couldn't share her pain by just standing there, so he finally inhaled deeply and knocked.

She coughed. "Y-Yes? W-Who is i-it?" she called in between sobs and coughs. He answered by entrance.

"Rinoa…"

"Squall!" she latched onto him, knowing his full intentions. They embraced for minutes, or hours. "I don't want to lose you! Ever!" she bawled.

"But I am here for you," he replied with a serene sincerity that would have killed Ultimecia on the spot. "Always."

Rinoa's crying has been calmed to sniffles. "I'll be here, waiting for you."

"Waiting… If you call, I'll come running to here. To find you."

"I need to learn to defend myself, so if you call, I'll come running here. To find you."

They kissed.

After what seemed hours, they finally let go and sat together on her bed.

Rinoa started, "I plan to start the SeeD classes tomorrow." As if on cue, there was a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" Squall asked.

"Squall? What are you doing here? It's after midnight." They both recognized the voice as Cid's.

Squall opened the door while responding, "I was just talking with Rinoa."

Cid smiled. "You've changed so much. Was I interrupting anything?"

Rinoa stood up and walked over to Squall's side and said, "No, we were finishing up."

"Well, in that case, shall I come in? I'm only staying for a short while."

"Yes, please come in."

So after Cid settled in one of her chairs, with Squall and Rinoa on her bed, he began to speak. "As you know, Rinoa, classes start again tomorrow."

Rinoa giggled, "We were just talking about that."

"Oh? Well, I always come to pep up my new students personally the day before classes. With your sorceress powers, I'm sure you'll exceed our expectations." He smiled for reassurance. Then it turned into a frown. "But…" The door had a knock again.

"Come in!" Rinoa said.

It was Edea. She came inside with graceful stepping of that of a cat's. She also purred melodically like a cat, "But dear, I foresee something dangerous. Please, be careful. I do not know what it is, all I have is intuition." She then turned to Cid. "Dear, it is getting late, come."

"Yes, I was finished anyway." He stood up from his chair and started to leave with Edea who already was walking away. "I expect much from you. Goodnight." He turned back around and walked off.

"Rinoa, just curious. When did you find the time to sign up for classes?" Squall broke the nearly non-existent silence.

"Well, when we were at Laguna's Presidential Palace that one night we stayed there before ramming into the Lunatic Pandora, I was restless. I talked with him and he suggested that I take the classes. So, I called Cid the next morning, before anyone else woke up. He said that he would accept me into the curriculum if we defeated Ultimecia. This helped me remind myself of the failure I've been…" she trailed off, turning her gaze to the floor.

"You haven't been a failure. You've helped us greatly. But you've helped me the most," Squall reminded her.

She brightened back up again. "Yes, you're right. Well, I have to sleep now, goodnight." She kissed him once more and he left. She turned off her lights and she fell asleep immediately, since she was so exhausted from her depression before.

Squall looked back. He whispered, "Goodnight, my angel."

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Well, that was a quick update! At least, a quick update for me. As usual, I appreciate all opinions and constructive criticism. –Starts writing the next chapter-