A/N: Hi everyone, thank you for your lovely reviews :-) I'm sorry it took so long to update this time around, my internet was really screwed up so I didn't have the chance. Btw, yes, all my chapter titles will begin with 'Broken' because that's kind of the theme of the story. Anywho, the chapter is here now and I will try to update as soon as I can. In the mean time, enjoy this chapter!

Flying with Broken Wings

Chapter 5 – Broken Boundaries

Days passed, and with every day, Rinoa and Squall would meet at Obel Lake. It was like an unsaid agreement that they would meet every day at the same time at the same place. They saw it as a coincidence, but secretly, they knew the reason as to why they kept running into each other was because they both knew that one of them would be waiting at the lake for the other.

Squall didn't know what it was that made him go there every day. Every morning, he would contemplate for a very long time as to whether or not he should go or not. In the end, he would go anyway, telling himself 'She probably won't be there', or 'I'm going there because I don't want to be at home and I don't want anyone in town to see me', or 'If she's there, it's just a coincidence.' However, deep inside, a little something drove him to go because he knew that the dark-haired girl with innocent earthen eyes and the sweet smile would be there. He hated to admit it, but he was getting used to her presence everyday…

As for Rinoa, she felt similarly. She didn't care what Caraway said; going down to the lake was like a daily ritual for her. But unlike Squall, she was willing to admit to herself that she was actually hoping that Squall would be there. She was always excited about her trips to the lake, and her heart would simply soar as soon as she saw him. The only thing she hated was the fact that sometimes, they would just meet there and all he would do is sit there passively and listen to her speak. He would hardly ever say anything unless she directly asked him to, and if he ever spoke, he would always do it in a cold and bitter manner. It was as if that slightest trace of cheerfulness he had the other day had completely evaporated, and he returned to his cynical self.

"It's your birthday soon," said Rinoa one day, while the two of them were sitting by the lake.

She was leaning back in a laidback manner, taking in the cool atmosphere of the day. Squall sat beside her, with about ten centimetres separating the both of them. He couldn't believe that Rinoa had remembered his birthday, because he sure as hell couldn't remember hers.

"Yeah."

"Aren't you excited?" asked Rinoa.

Squall shrugged.

"Aw, show a little enthusiasm," said Rinoa with a smile, "you're turning eighteen!"

"It's not for another two months or something," said Squall coolly.

"Correction, forty-eight days," said Rinoa in a matter-of-fact tone.

She's counting down until my birthday?

"Whatever," said Squall absentmindedly.

"Whatever," mimicked Rinoa mockingly. "Isn't there anything else you say?"

Squall remained silent.

"I guess not," said Rinoa with a weak laugh. "Sometimes I wonder what's going in that thick head of yours."

"Are you calling me thick?" said Squall, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's what I said!" said Rinoa, a cheeky grin flickering across her face.

Squall didn't want to fight back, but it felt like he had to. For some reason, he didn't want Rinoa to think that he was thick headed. But why should he care what other people thought? It shouldn't have mattered … he shouldn't have cared … he never cared…

You can't just let her sit there and laugh at you.

"I'm not thick," said Squall simply.

"Aw, is that all you're gonna say?" said Rinoa teasingly. "I expected you to bite back. Because you're so proud, y'know?"

So she made fun of me to get me to talk? And she's trying to take my so-called 'pride' to her advantage? Strange girl…

"Aren't you going to say anything else?" asked Rinoa.

"No…"

"Fine then," said Rinoa in a childish tone.

There was silence. Rinoa simply sat there, staring at Squall with a dull look on her face. Squall tried to pay no attention to it and simply kept his gaze on the still water in front of him. But it was too hard. He hated it when she did this. He hated it when she just stared at him and said nothing. What was worse about it was that she was absolutely silent. He hated it when she didn't speak, because for once in his life, silence was deafening whenever Rinoa was around.

"Will you stop doing that?" said Squall, trying not to show any sign of discomfort.

Rinoa didn't say anything and just kept on staring at him with an expressionless look on her face. The expressionless-ness added a frightening effect to her silence.

"Stop it," said Squall, trying to contain himself.

Rinoa didn't say anything.

Squall rolled his eyes. She was playing another childish game with him. Her childishness annoyed him sometimes. In situations like this, he simply ignored her. But he didn't know how long he could last.

"See, that's how it feels, Squall Leonhart," said Rinoa, returning to her normal self.

Squall said nothing.

"Leonhart!" shouted Rinoa.

"What?" said Squall, clearly annoyed.

"That's how it feels!" said Rinoa loudly. "When you just sit there and say nothing … that's how it feels. It really irritates me, Leonhart. And when you just say 'whatever' and give me this blank look, it peeves me off like crazy! It really isn't necessary, you know. If you don't want to talk to me, then maybe you should just stop coming here every day!"

Oh brother…

"I'm just trying to be friendly, Squall," continuedRinoa, "I'm just trying to get to know you more. But all you do is shut me out. It's not going to help."

"I don't want you to know me," murmured Squall.

"Then why is it that you keep coming to meet me here every day?" asked Rinoa, frustrated. "Why don't you just stop coming? Why do you just sit here and listen to me all the time instead of just getting up and leaving? There must be a reason. Because you definitely don't come here everyday just to smell the flowers…"

Squall didn't know what to say. He didn't even know why he came there in the first place. But what was he supposed to say to her? He can't just say 'Yeah, I came here because I wanted to get to know you'. It would just destroy everything he ever stood for. It was like admitting defeat. It was like admitting he was wrong. He hated being wrong, but most importantly, he was never wrong.

Rinoa sighed, exasperated, when Squall didn't say anything. "Whatever," she said sullenly. She huddled her knees to her chest and put her chin on top of her knees. She simply stared out into the lake with a sulky look on her face. She ignored Squall's slightly shocked face gazing upon her and continued to act as if he wasn't there.

Oh great, now look what you've done, a voice in Squall's head said. You've made her upset.

Well it's not my fault she gets angry over the smallest things…

She just wanted to be your friend, stupid.

I don't want to be her friend, argued another voice in Squall's head. I keep telling her that. But she just doesn't get it.

Then that means she's right. You're the one who keeps coming to her. Obviously she's expecting you to be friendly, at least. But you just have to be a jerk and use the same sad excuse all the time.

I have to be a jerk because I am a jerk. If I give in, then I'll just end up being the victim. It'll be like history repeating itself. I'm sick of being used. I'm sick of being hurt. I just want to be left alone.

Then why don't you stop coming to see Rinoa then? If you want to be alone, why do you keep bringing yourself to her?

Shut up.

Squall knew his conscience was right. No matter how much he argued with himself, he just couldn't find a good enough reason as to why he was there. And the awkward silence in the air was not making matters any better.

Don't just stare at her. Say something to make her feel better.

Stupid conscience…

"Fine," mumbled Squall, "I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Yeah, smooth move, Leonhart.

Rinoa perked up and gave Squall a look of disgust. Then she rested her chin on her knees and hugged herself again, back in her sulky state of being.

Squall sighed. I bet she's doing this just to patronise me… He wondered whether he should've just gone home without saying anything. No … I don't want to go home… So what was he supposed to say?

"Whatever," he said. He wasn't going to redeem himself. There wasn't any point. Instead, he got up and began walking away from her. He could feel Rinoa's eyes staring after him in surprise, but he didn't care. She shouldn't have been surprised. She told him to leave so he might as well have left.

She never told you to leave, said that voice in Squall's head.

I don't care.

Squall just wanted to stop thinking about her. Why was he thinking about her in the first place? He was stupid to have gone down to the lake that day, knowing that she would be there. He was stupid to have gone down to the lake any day. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because of that dream he had the other day of her kissing him. It hadn't come to mind since then, but now that he thought of it, he began to see Rinoa in a different way. And it was just a little bit frightening...

Rinoa sat there, her temper slowly rising. That Squall Leonhartwasso … impossible. She wondered how anyone could behave like that. She wondered how anyone could sleep at night,knowing that they've hurt so many people for reasons unknown. She wondered if there was such a creature alive that was as hostile as him, so hostile that it hurt. All she wanted was for him to talk to her, to act as if he actually cared. And even if he didn't care, it didn't explain why he always 'accidentally' ran into her every morning.

She sighed. Being stubborn and childish about it wasn't going to help. She couldn't stay angry with him forever, because that would only make him even more hostile towards her. But she didn't like admitting she was wrong. She hated being wrong. And she wasn't wrong this time, she was right. But … she guessed that it was necessary to solve things with Squall if she expected him to open up to her.

Rinoa stood up on her feet. "Squall!" she called out.

But there was no response. Squall was out of sight and probably far away by then. Rinoa wondered where he could've gone. He can't have gone home, because she knew that he wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary. But there wasn't much else he could've done. He didn't know his way around yet.

Maybe he's in town, she thought.

Rinoa thought that would be the most logical thing, and decided to go after Squall into Timber. As much as she hated chasing after a guy and admitting she was wrong, she knew thatSquall was probably the best friend she could ever have. He was the only person who didn't judge her because of her health condition … he was the only person who didn't pity her…

He doesn't know about my condition, thought Rinoa earnestly. But … I suppose he'll know soon enough. And I can only hope that he won't feel differently about me.

Rinoa walked at a somewhat quick pace into town. As soon as she reached Timber, she wondered where Squall would've gone. There wasn't much to choose from – it was a pretty small place. She scanned the area she was in at that moment, and fortunately, she spotted the forlorn young man at once. Funnily enough, he was sitting at a table at the café she worked in.

When Squall spotted her, and their eyes met for a split second, she shook her head with a sad smile and walked over to him. She was half expecting him to just get up and walk away, but he didn't. He stayed stationed at his place and acted as if he hadn't seen her.

"Strange place to hide in, don't you think?" said Rinoa light-heartedly, sitting herself in the chair opposite to Squall.

Squall said nothing and inattentively stirred his coffee, the metal spoon making a jingly ching-ching sound as he did so. Rinoa tried not to let her frustration show on her face. She was angry because he was silent in the first place, the least he could've done was to say something now. But she didn't want to be angry ... she had to apologise to get things working again. Even if she didn't want to apologise, even if she didn't really do anything wrong, she just wanted everything to be better again ... even if that meant apologising.

"Squall," she said softly. "I'm sorry."

Squall looked up at her, a slight but clear expression of surprise on his face. "For what?" he asked.

"For being such a childish, stubborn … thing," said Rinoa, lost for words. "I know I shouldn't have gone off at you like that. But, it's just … sometimes, I feel like I'm talking to myself whenever I'm with you. I just want to know that you actually care about the words that come out of my mouth."

Squall was carefully contemplating on what he should have said next. He was very tempted to say 'I don't care about the words that come out of your mouth' but that wouldn't make any sense. Whether he liked it or not, if he said anything that was Squall-like, then it would hurt Rinoa. And somehow …hurting Rinoadid not seem at all tempting.

"I…" His gaze shifted around the place uncomfortably, and he was still stirring his coffee absentmindedly. "No … I guess I do care about what you say. I just don't have anything to say in return."

Rinoa smiled weakly. "I think that coffee has been stirred enough."

Squall stopped stirring.

"Yeah, I understand that, I suppose," continued Rinoa. "But it's more than that, isn't it? You don't want to say anything because you want to give off this impression that you're cold and hard and you don't want to be disturbed. But it's too late for that, Squall, because I know you're not really like that. So you don't have to act like that … you can just be yourself. I don't care if you seem like a fool or you think it's going to hurt your pride, because if you be yourself, then that proves to me that you are strong. And brave. And all of that other stuff you wish you were."

A cheeky grin appeared on her face for a second, but she quickly wiped it off when Squall glared at her warningly.

"It's not as easy as you say it is," mumbled Squall. "How can I trust you? I can't."

"Then how come you trusted your sister?" said Rinoa. "Or that girl that was like your sister. You let her in, didn't you? Why can't you do the same with me?"

"Because she ended up leaving," murmured Squall.

"Well, technically, you left her," said Rinoa. "And if you're afraid of me leaving you, then you don't have to worry about that. Because I'm not going anywhere. I don't have anywhere to go. And that's a promise, Squall Leonhart."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep," said Squall.

"You're really mean, did you know that?" Rinoa slightly frowned. "You don't trust me? Okay, I pinky promise." She held out her little finger on the table. "I pinky promise that I won't leave you, if you promise to open up to me."

Squall stared at the finger she had out, wondering what she was playing at. "What?"

"Pinky promise!" said Rinoa. "It means I won't break it. If you want proof, I pinky promised my mom that I would keep her wedding ring safe no matter what. And see, it's still here! So, pinky promise!"

Squall couldn't believe what Rinoa was saying to him. Her patience with him was astounding. Any normal person would have just given upon him by now. "You're crazy."

"Excuse me," said Rinoa defensively, "but this is not crazy. Unless you're afraid that I'll break my promise because you don't believe me. But trust me mister, I don't break my promises. If anything, it'll probably be you who breaks your promise."

"I'm not a liar."

"Then c'mon, what are you waiting for?" demanded Rinoa, her pinky still out on the table.

"All right, fine!" said Squall, annoyed. "If it'll get you to shut up…"

Rinoa grinned. "Okay, go on."

"What?"

"You're supposed to link your pinky with mine, silly," said Rinoa. "That's the whole point of this exercise."

Squall rolled his eyes. Here she goes again with her childishness. But he extended his gloved hand out anyway and linked his little finger with Rinoa's, and at that moment, he felt like the biggest loser. Amazingly, he didn't hate this feeling. Maybe it wasn't a loser-ish feeling ... perhaps it was that light-hearted feeling of being a child again ... of being an innocent, happy person without a care in the world. But that fleeting feeling was gone the instant Rinoa withdrew her hand from his.

"All right, good," said Rinoa, satisfied. "Now. Are you looking forward to school? We go in three weeks."

Squall shrugged.

"Uh-uh, your promise, remember?" said Rinoa, clicking her tongue. "Wow, it's been two seconds and you've managed to break your promise already. You're worse than I thought."

"Hey, that doesn't count," said Squall defensively.

Rinoa giggled. "Fine then, I'll forget about that then. So, are you looking forward to school?"

"I … guess," mumbled Squall. I really hate this … what was I thinking, making a dumb promise like that?

"That wasn't so bad, was it? Now, next question."

"No … please don't," said Squall feebly.

Rinoa laughed. "Oh, you're so cute."

"…Whatever," said Squall, but he couldn't help but slightly flush.

"Hyne, you really need to learn how to deal with stuff like this," said Rinoa, shaking her head. "When a girl says you're cute, you don't say 'whatever'. But that lesson can wait for another day, I guess."

Squall felt like eating a cactus. This was truly demeaning. He was about to come up with a comeback, but another voice interrupted him.

"Is that you, Heartilly?" said a lashing female voice.

Rinoa jumped at the sound of another voice and turned to look for its owner. Her heart flopped when she saw a girl her age, with wavy, waist-length amber hair and a nice tan that was suspiciously fake. She had luscious, large lips, which was coated in about twenty layers of shining lip-gloss. She was rather tall, but perhaps it was because she was wearing high shoes. The girl was wearing a leather black skirt that was short enough to be a belt, and a white halter-neck top, exposing her slender figure and slightly large bust. She pulled up her designer sunglasses, revealing her electric-blue eyes. Her eyes were probably the most striking thing about her appearance … they were probably even more piercing than Squall's eyes, if that was possible.

"Yes, it is me," said Rinoa bluntly. "I'm wondering what you're doing here, Ferris?"

"Why, can't I walk around Timber now?" asked Ferris. "I live here too, you know."

"Yeah, whatever," said Rinoa, rolling her eyes. "How come you're here alone? Where are your little cronies?"

"It's none of your business, Heartilly," said Ferris sharply. "But I'm wondering why you're not alone. I didn't know anybody would want to hang out with a freak." She put great emphasis on the word 'freak', saying it as if it were two syllables instead of one.

"Go shove a cock in your mouth, Ferris," said Rinoa harshly.

Squall recoiled in discomfort. It seemed that Rinoa had forgotten that he was still there, and he was somewhat glad about it, too. He had never seen this side of Rinoa before, and it was kind of … disturbing. He always thought of Rinoa as a nice, peaceful girl. He didn't actually think she was stubborn in this way. He didn't know what to make of it. Maybe she wasn't all what he had expected.

"Oh, feisty," said Ferris, a heinous-like smirk appearing on her face. "Well … hope to see you at school. Let's hope you can make it, huh?"

"Oh don't worry, I will," said Rinoa, an equally smug smile flickering on her lips.

"And bring your friend too," purred Ferris, eyeing Squall seductively. She winked at him and strutted away, her high heels making a clicking noise on the pavement as she went.

Rinoa rolled her eyes and turned back to Squall, a slight look of amusement on his face.

"Who was that?" asked Squall, trying not to show any sign of interest.

"Oh … don't worry about her," said Rinoa. "That was Ashleigh Ferris. She goes to my school. Well, our school."

"And I assume you dislike her?" said Squall.

"Dislike her?" exclaimed Rinoa. "Far beyond dislike, Squall. She's just so … urgh."

"Why?"

"I don't know," said Rinoa, drifting off a little. "Ashleigh … she's so two-faced. Sometimes she can be really nice, I'll tell you that. In fact, we can get along if we tried. But sometimes she's just a big bitch, for reasons unknown. I mean, one second she's saying 'Hey Rinoa, you want some help with that?' and the next second she'll turn around and just call you a freak."

"I guess some girls are like that," murmured Squall.

For the first time, Rinoa wasn't paying attention to what Squall was saying and continued to rant on. "I mean, I think she feels sorry for me so she acts all nice and stuff. But then when she doesn't feel sorry for me, she'll just treat me as if I was just like everyone else. And frankly, I'd prefer that she treat me like I was like everyone else because then I'll know I can't trust her."

Squall thought she was referring to the fact that her mothered died when Rinoa said 'she feels sorry for me', but in fact she was referring to her condition. But obviously, she didn't say that.

"I mean, have you ever met someone like that?" said Rinoa, still passionately ranting on about Ashleigh. "You think they're all nice, but in fact, they're not?"

"Yeah, I have actually," said Squall, nodding.

"Really? Who?"

"She's sitting right in front of me," said Squall plainly.

Rinoa stared at him in horror. It probably took her another five seconds to actually process what Squall had just said to her. This was mainly for two reasons: she didn't think Squall would say something like that, and the thought of her being like a girl she despised so much was absolutely shocking.

"I am not like Ashleigh!" cried Rinoa, taken aback. "That's insulting!"

Squall couldn't help but laugh.

"No, no, don't laugh!" cried Rinoa. "Why is it that you laugh at the most inappropriate things? You're supposed to laugh with me, not at me!"

Squall let another snigger escape his mouth. He collected himself, and tried to keep a straight face again. "No … it's true. I don't know … I thought of you as a sweet girl. Until you said … what was it? 'Go shove a cock in your mouth'…?"

"You thought I was sweet?" said Rinoa, her eyes lighting up.

"That's not the point," mumbled Squall. He couldn't believe he just said something like that aloud. "You're just what you said … someone you thought was nice, but in fact, they're not."

"Is that … bad?" asked Rinoa, looking sulky.

Squall shrugged. "You tell me."

Rinoa looked like she wanted to kick herself. She hated being compared to Ashleigh like that. In fact, she never thought of it in that way until Squall mentioned it to her.

"But I'm only nasty to her because she's nasty to me," said Rinoa, not wanting to admit she was wrong. "She brings it upon herself! If she's nice to me, then I'll be nice to her. If she's bitchy to me, then I'll be bitchy back. So it's up to her on how I act. I wait for her to approach me."

Squall shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know how to act towards these girly matters, and frankly, he didn't want to meddle with these matters any further. He had to admit … he was quite the same as Rinoa. He never acted on his own accord – he always waited for others to approach him and start him. The only difference between the way Squall and Rinoa behaved was the fact that Squall always acted the same – a cold, heartless bastard.

"Oh, you ruined it, Squall," said Rinoa, shaking her head disappointedly. "You were actually being very good today in keeping your promise until you just had to shrug your shoulders like that!"

"…Whatever."

"Your promise, Squall!" reminded Rinoa.

"Nothing in that promise of yours said that I wasn't allowed to say 'whatever'", said Squall.

"Okay, okay," said Rinoa, "you can keep that damn word. Just don't say it too much."

"Only if you stop talking about Ashleigh," said Squall.

"Why?" asked Rinoa suspiciously.

"Because I'll get jealous."

Rinoa's eyes widened in utter shock and wondered if she heard Squall wrongly. It was definitely uncalled for, not to mention extremely strange.

"Relax, Rinoa, I'm just messing with you. You really should learn how to take a joke," said Squall coolly.

Rinoa let out an outraged gasp, her mouth wide open with absolute astonishment. She couldn't believe Squall actually made such a wisecrack joke like that. And what's more, he recycled her line that she used against him a couple of days ago and was now using it against her! This was very un-Squall-like behaviour, but Rinoa had to admit that she loved it. Maybe she was actually getting to him. Maybe he was actually opening up to her on her account…

And Squall cracked a smirk, shaking his head at Rinoa's naivety, and started to drink his over-stirred coffee that was turning cold. He wondered why he was acting this way. But it wasn't as bad as he thought. Though, he still believed that one day Rinoa would leave. One of his mottos in life was 'nothing lasts forever'. But maybe something didn't need to last forever for him to appreciate it.

Maybe.

A/N:Ah ... the return of Ashleigh. But don't worry; she won't have a very big role as she did in Lost Memories. She's not going to be a focus character in the story; she'll probably just appear a couple of times. Besides, I'm sure most of you are probably sick of her :-P Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying to make these first couple of chapters of relationship-building as interesting as possible before I bring in the real complication of the story. I hope I'm not rushing things, I just really want to get into it...oh and thanks for reading, it means a lot to me :-)