Hatred to Love
A/N: Hey again! Thank you so much for your reviews from last chapter. They really motivated me to update sooner. I wanted to update sooner, but all these last minute assignments and homework (can you believe that I got holiday homework and assignments?) were taking up most of my time. I'm back at school now, and the work is piling up again. But I promise to update whenever I can. There's a new character in this story, Samantha. She's an OC, but based on my good friend and loyal reader of this story, Sammie. (Where would I get a volcano from?) Hope that you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 13 – Hidden Emotion
"Well, well, well, if it isn't 'Princess' Rinoa Heartilly," said Seifer with a smirk on his handsome face, after Mr. Norman had left the two to get to their second period class. Rinoa stared coldly into his jade green eyes.
"I never realised that you had left Balamb High Seifer," said Rinoa bitterly. Seifer's face then broke out into a small, cheeky grin. Rinoa looked at him, remembering that when he was at Balamb High, he hardly ever smiled or had shown any emotion at all.
"Yeah, well you were a bit caught up, trying to get away from Puberty Boy," replied Seifer and looked past her shoulder. Rinoa noticed that his muscles were visible, even though his school shirt had covered his broad shoulders.
What? Why am I noticing his muscles? I'm such a horrible girlfriend to Squall…
"Puberty Boy?" frowned Rinoa as she tilted her head to one side. Seifer smirked once again at her.
"Puberty Boy, Squall Loire-Leonhart. You know, the cold, ice teenager who is every girl's dream guy," said Seifer with a small snicker. Rinoa looked at him with a roll of her eyes. She didn't like the way he was acting at all.
"Shut up Seifer," mumbled Rinoa, who was obviously annoyed that the blonde haired boy was insulting her boyfriend. Seifer looked in her direction and then glanced at his mobile phone,looking for the time.
"Listen, Rinoa, we can catch up later, we have to get to Geography class now," said Seifer while briefly searching the hallways.
"Whatever Seifer," said Rinoa as she followed him to their Geography classroom.
Rinoa was quite surprised to walk through the school hallways and be greeted with university like interiors. The outside of the prestigious private school had already amazed her, but the interior of the school had astonished her even more. Metal gray lockers lined up along the hallway, where small crowds of students had no began to visit, taking books out and placing books in.
Rinoa's lips formed a depressed smile as she remembered how she and her friends had once visited their lockers before school and in between classes. She immediately snapped out of her thoughts as Seifer roughly told her to go into the classroom on their right.
Seifer entered the room first, followed by Rinoa. He dropped his bag down onto the table and sat down on the seat; his hands placed behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. Rinoa then reluctantly took her shoulder bag off, placed it on the table and sat down next to Seifer. His eyes taken off the ceiling were now focused on the raven haired girl sitting next to him.
Rinoa could feel Seifer's strong, steady gaze on her. She turned her head away but she knew that he was still watching her with those intense jade green eyes of his.
"What's wrong Almasy?" asked Rinoa with a sigh as she looked up at him, as her head was placed on her folded arms which were nestled on the table.
"Nothing. I'm just surprised that you'd sit next to me," said Seifer, looking at the other side of the classroom.
After that, the two of them were quiet. More students had entered the classroom; chatter filled up the room and patched up the silence. Somewhere inside of her, Rinoa couldn't help but think that she'd have a hard time getting used to the atmosphere of her new school.
"Hey Seifer, who's the girl?" asked a high, feminine voice. Seifer and Rinoa both looked up at the same too, to see who it was.
A tall, thin raven black haired girl was standing right before them. Her hair was up in a ponytail, but what Rinoa thought made her look really pretty, was the stylish side fringe, which hung down onto her face and fell in front of her eye. On her back she was wearing a small, sports style backpack and in one hand, a black instrument case. Rinoa thought that overall she looked pretty and was probably a friend of Seifer or possibly even his girlfriend.
"Samantha, do I have to tell you who everyone is?" asked Seifer who was now standing next to the raven haired girl.
Samantha kicked his groin in annoyance. "Yeah, you do Seifer," Seifer stumbled back and glared at the striking chocolate brown eyed girl.
"What was that for?" asked Seifer angrily. Rinoa couldn't help but let a giggle escape from her mouth. This Samantha girl had attitude and spunk which reminded her of Selphie. Except Rinoa didn't know that her brunette friend was no longer her usual cheerful self and had almost lost her attitude and spunkiness as well.
Samantha placed her unzipped bag and black instrument case down next to Rinoa and then looked at Seifer directly in the eye. "Oh come on Seifer, Fujin can kick way harder than me. If you can't defend against my kicks, I'd love to see how you'd be after Fujin's done with you," said Samantha with a teasing smile playing on her lips.
Seifer growled at her. "Rinoa, meet Samantha, Samantha meet Rinoa," he said finally.
Samantha spun around on her heel and faced Rinoa. "Nice to meet you Rinoa," said Samantha with a warm smile on her pretty face.
"Hey there Samantha, nice to meet you too," answered Rinoa softly.
Seifer stood there with his arms folded and leaning against the wall, as Samantha began chatting to Rinoa. The two raven haired girls had already sat down on their seats.
"Your name seems familiar. Are you Rinoa Heartilly? Daughter of Julia Heartilly?" asked Samantha curiously as she crossed her long, lightly tanned legs.
Rinoa smiled at the black haired girl. She knew that because of her mother's fame, she had become quite well known too. Her mother had never pressured her into going attending a private school like the children of her mother's other celebrity friends, because she believed that Rinoa would only do exceptionally well in school, if she was at a school that she wanted to be at.
But before Rinoa could answer Samantha's question, their Geography teacher unexpectedly entered the classroom, causing all the chatter and laughter from all the other students to slowly die away.
Seifer had also taken a seat down next to Rinoa as the short, blonde haired middle aged teacher began to mark the roll.
Making her way down the roll and marking off whether the student was present or absent, the teacher then paused as she reached Rinoa's name. Her pen poised as if she were about to write, the blonde haired teacher peered around the classroom, as if some suspicious activity was happening.
"Do we have a Rinoa Heartilly in this classroom?" asked the teacher, gazing at every single one of her students through her glasses.
Whispers and murmurs filled up the classroom's silent atmosphere again. Rinoa could feel just about every single pairs of eyes focused on her. The only pair of eyes that wasn't staring at her in surprise was the piercing emerald green orbs of Seifer's.
Not meeting anyone else's eyes, Rinoa meekly raised her hand and said "Here," to verify that she was present as well as Rinoa Heartilly.
The teacher gave Rinoa a warm, friendly smile, before continuing to mark the roll. Eyes continued to stare at Rinoa as she focused her own brown eyes at the table in front of her. Back at Balamb High, no one really made a fuss about her being the only daughter of the famous songstress Julia Heartilly.
Rinoa could hear whispers and murmurs around the classroom. "Is that really Rinoa Heartilly?" "She's Julia's only daughter isn't she?" "Wow, a celebrity's daughter is at our school," "I should've known about Rinoa attending our school; I am one of Julia's biggest fans after all," "I wonder if she's one of those spoiled, rich divas, like the teen children of celebrities,"
After Samantha had said "Here!" in her high, soft voice, the teacher placed the roll on her top of her folder and leafed through it. She sorted out some worksheets as all the students in the class began to chat quietly.
"I knew that there was something about you that reminded me of Julia," said Samantha in a friendly tone. Rinoa slowly nodded as Samantha began talking again.
Looking up at the ceiling and slouching down on her chair, Samantha smiled. "I basically became interested in music again because of your mother," Seeing that Rinoa was interested and keen to listen to what she had to say, Samantha continued on. "When I was younger, I was forced to do all these things that my parents wanted me to do. Piano lessons, art lessons, violin lessons, ballroom dancing lessons, you name it. I don't think my parents even cared about whether I liked it or not. Being the only girl in my family, I guess that I had to have a lot of skills, probably to impress and dazzle my parent's friends from the country club. As I grew older, I realised that my parents were only using me…to make them look good. I gave up on most of my lessons, because I thought that they weren't worth wasting my time on. That made my parents pretty angry," said Samantha quietly, with a small chuckle.
Rinoa was quiet, as Samantha's words replayed over again in her mind. I was forced to do all these things that my parents wanted me to do. Rinoa tucked a lock of her black hair behind her hair. My parents never really forced me to do anything. They just wanted me to do things that interested me. But what if they had made me do all those things that Samantha's parents wanted her to do? Would I be angry at them? Or would I be grateful, for coming from a privileged, wealthy family? I know that many kids don't even get opportunities and extra leisure activities that they want to do, because of tight money problems.
"For my birthday, a couple of years ago, one of my older brothers had bought me a CD, your mother's debut album 'Eyes on Me'. I was a bit disappointed to tell you the truth, but I listened to the CD anyway. I was amazed that your mother's songs had a real meaning behind them, rather than the ridiculous chart toppers that have no meaning whatsoever that you hear all the time on the radio. Julia wrote most of her own songs and played the piano in such a breathtaking manner. She was only 20 years old at the time and was going to be the next big thing and 'it' girl according to the media. That's why I began taking flute lessons, rather than piano, because I had already reached the advanced level. It was because of your mother that I began taking an interest in music again," said Samantha with a warm smile that highlighted the features of her face. Rinoa returned the smile, delighted that her mother had helped her new friend take on something that she thought was worthless.
The rest of the class had already begun working on the worksheets that the blonde teacher had handed out a while ago. Seifer didn't bother to pick up a pen as he studied the worksheets, pretending to be occupied so that Samantha wouldn't suspect that he was listening on to their conversation. Seifer was still studying the sheet of papers that he was holding, but the work wasn't sinking into his mind.
Samantha always seems so positive and so carefree…Who would know that she was from such a tough, yet wealthy family? Thought Seifer.
As the blonde haired teacher walked past their row of tables, Seifer didn't even bother to even look like he was working hard on the worksheets. The teacher knew that he could be a troublemaker, but he was a good student that preferred to muck up all the time and not bother doing the set class work.
"You two girls, why aren't you working?" said the blonde haired teacher, looking questioningly at the two raven haired girls sitting beside Seifer. Rinoa and Samantha looked up at the same time, plastering innocent, confused looks on their porcelain features. Several people turned back to see what had shattered the silence, while others turned around to see what the fuss was about.
Seifer sighed as he peered over Rinoa's shoulder and caught a glance at Samantha's face. She had always lent him a hand in the past, although he had always refused it. He owed Samantha a favor and even though he wouldn't admit it, he would never back down on his word.
Leaning back on his seat, he looked at the teacher directly in the eye. "So Miss, what did you do before you got a job at this school?" asked Seifer casually with a small smirk on his face, trying not to appear as though he was trying to pull the teacher's attention away from the raven haired beauties.
The teacher's face softened as Seifer spun Rinoa's black pen in his hand skillfully. His eyes darted away from his teacher's own, as he knew what would happen next.
Taking her glasses off and placing them in one hand, the teacher crossed her arms and began talking.
"Well, you see Seifer, I used to write in a newspaper column, but I have had some experience in teaching. When I was invited by Mr. Norman to join the teaching staff at his new, private school, I was ecstatic at a fresh start in another career opportunity besides journalism. I already had an interest in Geography, so I was offered to teach in the social sciences department," said the blonde haired woman with a smile on her face.
Seifer looked up at her as she sighed and forced a small, tight lipped smile on his good looking face. From behind the teacher's back, Samantha mouthed 'Thanks' to Seifer and smiled sweetly at him. Rinoa turned around and smiled gratefully at him.
"What was I meant to be doing?" asked the teacher rhetorically, slapping her forehead. As Samantha began to open her mouth to smartly reply to her blank question, the teacher walked off, mumbling something under her breath and looking a bit lost.
Samantha snorted as the teacher walked off and began checking on the progress of the other students in the class. Rinoa had her hand curled up in front of her rosy coloured lips, so that the teacher would think that she was coughing, instead of snickering at her antics.
Looking at the casual, calm and collected Seifer on one side and a laid back, carefree and smiling Samantha on the other side, Rinoa felt relaxed. She thought that she would have a hard time getting used to her new school, but maybe; just maybe, these two interesting characters might be the key to helping her liking and accepting her new school.
The sound of the bell ringing was heard throughout all the classrooms and hallways of Balamb High. To the students, this meant the end of period one and onto the next lesson before recess. To all the teachers, another lesson to teach or for the fortunate ones, a break in the staffroom to mark homework, assignments or test papers.
"What's keeping the teacher so long?" asked Irvine as he sat down on the silver seats. Squall, Selphie and Irvine were inside the school gym, sitting down next to the other students in the class. Their PE teacher was usually late, but never this late.
"Who cares Irvine? This means a bludge lesson, right Erica?" remarked Mandy as she fiddled with her honey coloured hair. Erica nodded in agreement to what Mandy had said.
"Some of us don't want it to be a bludge lesson Amanda," snapped Selphie, who was obviously in no mood to put up with Mandy.
How Rinoa can survive with that fat blonde, I have no idea! Thought Selphie as she stubbornly stuck out her tongue at Mandy.
Mandy glared at her in a bitchy way, before dragging Erica off with her. Selphie slumped backwards and leaned against the wall in a casual way. Her emerald green eyes met Irvine's own blue-green ones. She moved her head away, feeling almost guilty for treating her boyfriend this way.
I'm so sorry Irvine…I wish that I could tell you…but not now. Not yet. I'm so sorry Irvy. I love you so much and I want to tell you everything, all the good and the bad. But I can't. I'm sorry.
Squall sat on the other side of Irvine, not bothering to even lift his head up as Mandy called out his name in her fake, sweet voice. He knew that it wasn't as if Rinoa had stepped out of his life again, but in his mind it seemed like she did. He didn't want to open up to anyone; he didn't want to interact with anyone else. His friends knew this and they respected it, but they tried to make him open up, but no luck.
Flashback
Rinoa sat on the hospital bed, her raven black hair looking beautiful and glowing. All her angelic features were still there, despite just waking up in hospital after a terrible accident. A bandage was wrapped around her forehead, to stop more blood from coming out.
A heartbreaking expression was on her face. She had been this way all morning. She hadn't shown any emotion or spoken much at all. She just sat up, leaning against her pillow, underneath the blanket covers.
Thirteen year old Rinoa lifted a hand up and touched the thick bandage draped around her forehead. She sighed heavily and looked out the window and stared wistfully at the cerulean blue summer sky. She looked away as she heard the door to her private room close.
Squall stepped into the room, looking at Rinoa with a solemn look on his young, good looking face. Rinoa just looked at him, blinking in confusion as if she didn't know who he was.
He walked over to where her bed was and sat down on the white and blue covers.
"How are you Rinoa?" asked Squall with a tight lipped forced smile. He didn't feel like smiling or being happy at all, but he wanted to seem positive for Rinoa, even though he had not wanted to. His own hand was reaching out to touch her small, pale hand. As his hand touched her own, she pulled away, as if his touch was lethal.
Squall leaned back, a confused look crossing onto his face. What Aunt Julia and Mum said can't be true…thought Squall as he glanced at Rinoa, who tried hard to not look at him.
"How…how do you know my name?" asked Rinoa quietly as she stared at the hospital's shades of green tiled floor. This caused Squall to look and feel even more puzzled. Only in his wildest dreams would he ever imagine that his 'angel' would not know him or even recognise him.
"Rinoa…don't you know who I am?" asked Squall, his voice going louder than usual. Rinoa looked alarmed at the volume of his voice. So far, the people that had visited her had used soft, soothing voices, not loud, demanding ones.
Rinoa shook her head, as she continued to gaze at this mysterious brown haired stranger who was sitting on her hospital bed. "Do…do I know you?" asked Rinoa softly as she looked into the brown haired boy's mysterious blue eyes.
Squall's eyes broadened as Rinoa's questions floated into his mind. How…how do you know my name? Do…do I know you?
How could this be Rinoa? You remember everything else…but you've forgotten…me? Thought Squall as a million different emotions ran through him at once. You can't have forgotten me Rinoa…you can't have…
He leaned closer to her, his blue grey eyes locking into Rinoa's striking brown orbs. "Do you know anyone by the name of Squall Loire?"
Rinoa's emotionless, pale face then turned into a small frown as she thought of the name. Squall Loire…Squall Loire…Squall Loire…I don't think I know anyone by that name at all.
"I don't believe I know anyone by that name," said Rinoa finally, causing Squall to cringe as the words escaped from her own mouth.
"This is a joke, right Rinny?" said Squall, an emotionless expression crossing onto his puzzled face. It might not seem like him, but deep within his heart, it was slowly beginning to shatter.
The pale, striking raven haired girl simply looked at him, not knowing how to respond to his question. She gave him a small, cheerless smile as she leaned back onto her pillow.
He placed both his hands onto her slender shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Rinoa, it's me…Squall. Don't you know who I am?" asked Squall pleadingly, hints of hurt and sadness in his voice. Rinoa could hear his heart beat faster and faster. Her own was too. A mysterious stranger shows up into her private hospital ward and asks her if she knows who he is. This was too much for her. Especially since she was still feeling fragile and weak from having lost a lot of blood and having many restless nights in the hospital.
Rinoa looked up and gazed into his electric blue eyes. Even though they didn't show it, Rinoa could tell that his eyes were distressed and emotionless at the same time.
"I'm sorry, but I'm feeling really weak right now and I need some rest. Thank you for taking your time and dropping by, even though I'm pretty sure that I've never met you in my entire life," said Rinoa, looking away from him as his blue eyes were so intense and blue, it hurt to look at. Her left hand had rested on the blanket covers the whole time, but it had slowly curled up into a tight ball.
Squall gradually released his hands from her shoulders and backed away. She almost felt sorry that she couldn't help him in any way at all. As he made his way out of the room, Rinoa thought that she had seen small tears form in his unemotional blue eyes.
She exhaled heavily. But I'm pretty sure that I don't know him at all, thought Rinoa as she closed her eyes.
His smile…when he first came in…it was an incredibly lonely smile…
Squall was still in her room, yet she couldn't see him, because he was standing behind the wall. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. She doesn't remember…she doesn't remember me…She remembers everything else…except for me. Even though she's still alive, it feels that I've lost two important people in my life. Adelina and Rinoa, thought Squall, his face still emotionless.
He placed his hand on his forehead and then brushed some of his dark brown hair away from his face. He blinked furiously so that his small, newly formed tears wouldn't drop down from his eyes.
How could you not remember me Rinoa? Our promise…our childhood…everything that had to do with me…you forgot. I thought that Mum and Aunt Julia were joking when I overhead them saying that you've regained your memory, but that one part had remained forgotten. All the memories of me.
How could you forget Rinoa…? How could you…forget…?
End Flashback
Squall blinked as the flashback ended. He hadn't had them for a while and he was glad. Why did that memory have to drift back and remind me? The day that I visited Rinoa after the accident. The day that she said that she didn't know anyone named Squall Loire. I thought that she was just kidding at first, because it's in her nature, but she was serious, thought Squall.
But she's with you now…there's no need to remember the past anymore…his mind said. Squall looked away.
But what if something happens and I lose her again? What if she regains her lost memories of me and remembers that the old arrogant, cold, pig-headed, wealthy, popular idiot in her eyes was the guy that she had promised forever…? Squall said to himself.
"Selphie, I just wanted you to know this. We're boyfriend and girlfriend and we have been for nearly four months. That might seem like a short amount of time for me to admit my real feelings to you…but I do love you. But if you're going to continue to ignore me and what I say, then so be it. Dump me right here now, right now and you'll never have to put up with me and my stupid antics again," said Irvine softly enough for his girlfriend to hear as he stood up from his seat. He didn't want to lose her, but from the way that she was behaving, he could clearly see what she wanted.
Irvine's words sunk deep into Selphie's mind and in her imagination, pierced through her heart. She didn't want to let Irvine go, but she didn't want to have to be so secretive around him either. She knew that because of her family problems at home, it had stopped her from smiling and laughing that much these days. And with Rinoa and Quistis leaving, she had found it even harder to force a smile onto her normally cheerful face.
Selphie looked up, to see her boyfriend's back facing her. She bit her bottom lip as she stood up and made her decision. She walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his stomach. No one too much notice of this, because the other students were off talking in their own little groups and minding their own businesses.
As Irvine decided to walk away after saying what he wanted to say to his distant honey coloured girlfriend for a long time, he felt a female's trim arms wrap around his stomach. He stopped in his tracks, knowing who it was without even having to look or ask.
"Sefie?" murmured Irvine as a small, gloomy smile played on his lips. Selphie rested her head on Irvine's back and several strands of her honey coloured hair fell onto her face, almost covering her pretty emerald green eyes.
"Irvine…I don't want to let you go. And I know that you don't want to let me go either," said Selphie, finding it difficult to find her voice. Irvine remained quiet, so Selphie opened her mouth and began to speak again.
"I don't blame you if you want to dump me. I've been playing the role of the jealous, angry girlfriend for a while now. But I now know that you were only spending a lot of time with Jessica, because you really wanted to pass Geography. I'm sorry for everything Irvine!" said Selphie in a high pitched voice, before breaking down into tears. Irvine could feel his shirt dampen and could tell from that, that Selphie was weeping.
He placed his hands on her own and gently took them off his stomach and comforted his girlfriend. Now she was in his arms, and dampening his shirt, but he didn't care. His arms wrapped around her slender shoulders, he tried to soothe her. "Selphie…but does this mean that you'll tell me why you've been so secretive for the past few weeks?"
Selphie looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy from shedding a lot of tears. She couldn't tell Irvine the truth about why she was being distant…at least not now.
All Selphie could do was shake her head. She had found it hard to talk, because she was crying so much. She was grateful for having such a patient, caring and understanding boyfriend, even though she knew that because of how she was treating him, she didn't deserve someone like him. Irvine nodded and leaned down to kiss her tear stricken cheek. After that, he caressed her hair. Selphie felt safe in his arms but knew that if she didn't resolve her family problems, then she'd never feel the warmth, the tranquility of being together with Irvine.
Irvine tilted her face up to his and smiled his trademark cheeky grin at her. Selphie brushed away some of her tears and smiled mischievously at him, her emerald green eyes shining with bliss. The old Selphie and Irvine were back.
"Mandy? Mandy? Mandy Portman are you listening to me!" said Erica, trying to divert Mandy's attention away from Squall. Twirling a lock of her new honey coloured hair and gazing at Squall with a longing and dreamy look on her face was what Mandy was doing. Erica was talking intimately to her, except that Mandy had lost interest after a couple of minutes, so she decided to gaze dreamily at her ex-boyfriend.
"Hmmm?" replied Mandy in a soft tone, her hazel eyes still focused on Squall. Erica sighed exasperatedly and an annoyed look took over on her face. "Mandy…." Whined Erica.
Everything about him…will always remind me of what we shared together. He's still acting all depressed and cold, now that my darling stepsister isn't there to calm him. The only thing that the raven haired bitch was good at was being a pest and the only thing standing in the way of me and Squall ever being together again.
"Erica, you know that Rinoa is my stepsister now, don't cha?" asked Mandy, flipping her blonde hair behind her shoulder. Erica nodded, looking at her friend with a sly look on her face.
"You're not going to get me over to your house, so that I can play the wicked stepsister's evil crony, are you?" asked Erica skeptically, looking at Mandy questioningly. Mandy looked at her with a roll of her eyes.
"Of course not! What kind of stepsister do you think I am?" asked Mandy, forcing a shocked look onto her pretty face and raising her voice to a high pitched girly tone. She knew that most of her friends respected Rinoa and if they knew about her newest scheme, then there would be possibilities that they would stop supporting her or worse, warn Rinoa in advance. Leanna, her ex-best friend had already stopped talking to her and dropped her as a friend and Mandy didn't want to lose any more friends.
Leanna…I'm really sorry…But I don't think you'll be forgiving me anytime in the near future.
"Anyways Mandy, still think that you and Squall will be an item, now that Rinoa's nearly out of the picture?" asked Erica vaguely. Mandy bit her lower lip and a thoughtful expression entered her face as she tilted her head onto one side, letting her honey coloured hair hang down.
After moments of silence, Mandy smiled. "We'll see Erica. We'll see,"
Two raven haired girls and a blonde haired boy could be seen sitting underneath the big oak tree, in Deling Academy's school yard. The two girls were chatting away, as well as trying to finish off their lunches, while the blonde boy sat there, an unreadable expression on his face.
"If you're going to sit there and wait for Fujin and Raijin, they're still on their family vacations," said Samantha, picking up a small piece of sushi from her cute, peach coloured lunchbox and popping it into her mouth. Rinoa looked at him with a sympathetic smile on her face.
The three of them had a lot of classes together that day, and she had heard Fujin and Raijin's name called out a couple of times, when the teachers were marking the rolls. She knew that it wasn't like him to behave this way, but maybe he had changed drastically after he had left Balamb High.
"You know Rinoa, there's this fortune teller downtown in Deling. Wanna go after school? My chauffer can take us there," said Samantha, who tried her hardest not to look at Seifer. A small frown entered Rinoa's face as she thought about what Samantha had asked her.
"I…I don't know Sammie. My father and stepmother might need me home," said Rinoa sounding unsure. Samantha looked at her understandingly, as she packed her lunchbox back into her bag. Rinoa had noticed that Samantha had left her bag unzipped.
"Relax Rinny; today's our early day, school ends at 2:15, rather than the usual 3:10,"
Seifer jerked his head up, as he heard what Samantha had said. He smirked as the words repeated in his mind. "Not that stupid fortuneteller, who can't predict anyone's fortune if her whole life depended on it!"
Samantha grimaced. Rinoa's eyes shifted between the two, who had now locked eyes with each other.
"Well that stupid fortune teller predicted that a blonde haired male, would become a new acquaintance of mine!" snapped Samantha. Seifer muttered some curse words under his breath. Rinoa, who knew in the past to stay out of other people's arguments, withdrew her delicate, small white hand and rested it on her thigh.
"Most of the males in this school are blonde haired! You're not even acquaintances with most of them!"
"Forget it Seifer, you just don't want me to take Rinoa there after school, because you want to take her somewhere so that you two can catch up!"
"What? No I don't," retorted Seifer, looking past his shoulder, an enraged look on his handsome face. "How did you know that the two of us knew each other?" asked Rinoa curiously. She knew that it wasn't too obvious that both of them had known each other and she was pretty sure that Seifer hadn't told Samantha anything about his past, because that's the way he was.
"You probably don't hang around with my second cousin then Rinny," sighed Samantha. "As much as I hoped that I'd never have to say this, but my second cousin is Erika, you know the big gossiper of Balamb High. She told me a lot about you, but I won't mention them now,"
Rinoa's eyebrows furrowed as she remembered the dark haired girl and how she had spent most of her time gossiping and making Rinoa's life a living hell after she and Squall had begun dating.
"You're related to Erika?" Rinoa couldn't help but say. Samantha nodded with a tense smile on her face. "Yeah, but I hardly ever tell anyone that,"
Because she's probably a humiliation to their family…mused Rinoa, a thoughtful look on her face.
"So…is that a yes Rinoa? Besides, it's just for some fun anyway and who knows, her predictions might be true," said Samantha playfully. Rinoa didn't want to do anything after school, except maybe call her friends and ask them how they were, but what would one outing after school do?
"Oh alright. I'll go," said Rinoa finally. From the corner of her eye, she thought that she had seen Seifer roll his eyes, but she didn't think much of it. Samantha had a huge smile on her face and waved her black instrument case around victoriously.
"Watch where you wave that thing Samantha, you could hurt someone," remarked Seifer, a cold look on his face. Samantha glared at him through her dark brown eyes, but didn't say anything.
Rinoa had a little smile on her face, to make up for all the tension. But all she was really doing was hiding her emotions.
I wonder how Squall and everybody else is doing right now…
"Hey Squall! Squall, wait up!" called a female from far behind. Squall didn't bother to turn around and see who it was that was calling his name, as he was walking across the road to his sleek, black chauffeured limo.
The cool autumn breeze blew gently against Squall's hair. He hadn't made it in time to cross the lights, so he was standing there, an unreadable look on his handsome face. Cars passed by, and orange coloured leaves fell slowly and gracefully down from trees and scattered the footpath.
Squall could hear footsteps approaching him, but as usual, he didn't care or even bother to see who they were from the corner of his ice blue eyes.
The footsteps suddenly stopped as the person or persons had caught up to the lights. Squall could hear the person from behind exhaling heavily as they caught their breath again.
"Squall…I finally…caught up to you," said the girl. Squall simply ignored her.
Frustrated that he hadn't shown any signs at all, the girl walked over and stood right in front of him. "Squall, talk to me, please?"
"What Mandy?" said Squall finally. Mandy sweetly smiled at him. "You know how Edea gave us that über long and boring assessment task today?" Squall's eyes were focused on the gray paved road. "Well, Daddy's having renovations done to the house, so can we work at your house?" Mandy quickly fibbed. She hadn't wanted to bring him back to Caraway Manor, because then Rinoa would want to spend time with him and she'd just be left out.
"Please?" said Mandy, a sincere look on her face. Squall rolled his eyes and silently prayed to Hyne that the lights would change so that he would be able to cross the road.
What the heck would she want to do it at my house? What's wrong with the local library?
The lights changed and the little green man appeared, signaling that Squall would be able to cross the road. More leaves gracefully fell down from the trees and the wind gently blew them to other positions.
He has to say yes. He just has to! I forgot to bring my mobile phone today and I don't think the chauffer will pick me up today! Squall just has to say yes!
Seconds past and with a low grunt, Squall said "Fine," And then proceeded to cross the road without saying another word to the honey haired girl. Mandy smirked and followed after him to the other side of the road, where the black limousine was parked.
I knew that I'd get my way…I knew it.