Hatred to Love
A/N: It's been so long since I updated! (I've been busy with a lot of things…) And along with a lot of expectations and hopes for this year, I hope to finish this story at least before I'm 15 (which is in 8 months time) Now that all of the things that I've planned are almost over, I can finally write what I've been meaning to write since I started this story almost two years ago…I hope that you guys still have faith in this story.
Chapter 15 – A Reason to Love
"Just what should I name you?" Rinoa asked her energetic brown and white dog, tilting her head to one side to think. After her shower, she had blow dried her jet black hair, making it all thick, warm and smooth, but dry. She had eaten dinner already and brushed her sparkly white teeth, so now she was free to do whatever she wanted to do. Dressed in pyjama pants, a light pink satin singlet top and a bath robe, Rinoa was lying on her stomach on top of her bed sheets. The dog licked her face again, causing Rinoa to burst out laughing. Even though she didn't have her dog for that long, he could already easily make her laugh and smile like she truly meant it.
Stroking the dog's head tenderly, Rinoa had a look of utter adoration on her face. When she was younger, she had always wanted a younger sibling or at least something to look after. A younger brother or sister was out of the question, with her mother being too busy to look after a child (because she had always insisted that a child be looked after its own mother, instead of nannies, like her other peers in the celebrity world) and didn't want to become pregnant just to patch up her marriage to Richard, because at that point, they were already close to divorcing and a baby born just to save a marriage wasn't what Julia wanted at all. Her parents didn't want to get Rinoa something to look after, because sooner or later, the pet would die and leave Rinoa in grief and seeing their daughter upset, hurt them the most.
Maybe this is Father's way of trying to convince me that living with him is better than living with Mum…That's it! I know what to name you now! If only you were a girl doggy, I could name you Angel, but since you're not, Angelo is fine. Suits you too, you look like an Angelo.
"How do you like being called Angelo?" cooed Rinoa softly. Angelo barked gleefully in agreement to his owner's question. Pulling the dog closer to her, Rinoa nuzzled her own nose against his warm, furry body. "Then it's settled. Welcome to the Caraway family Angelo!"
Rain continued to drizzle outside, but not as heavy as it was before. Thunder had begun to demonstrate its severity, by lighting up the dark, cloudy night sky from time to time. Rinoa and Angelo took no notice of this however; the two of them were playfully fooling around on her princess canopy bed, not bothered about the rain outside at all.
At least now, I have an excuse to get away from all those family times we seem to have now, mused Rinoa as she scratched the top of Angelo's head adoringly.
Several weeks had passed since the first day of term 2 and yet, it seemed like more than a year. Rinoa had been too busy with schoolwork (assessments, studying for exams and homework) and after school outings with Samantha and sometimes Seifer to remember to stay in contact with her Balamb friends. It wasn't intentionally; she just had a feeling that they'd be fine without her there. Rinoa didn't feel the way she did at the beginning of term, always constantly worrying about her friends and considering moving back to Balamb High because she missed it and them so much. Now she was very much used to being at Deling Academy and had already moved on so much that she couldn't even look back at her past.
Rinoa never really saw much of her friends from Balamb and now, rarely even saw Squall…occasionally, she called him, but all she could talk about was how her life was becoming more difficult and also about things happening at Deling Academy, but she left out the bits about Seifer, because she didn't want her boyfriend to think that the reason that she wasn't contacting him much, was because she was busy spending time with Seifer (and Samantha).
Back at Balamb High, Selphie, Zell, Irvine and Squall (but mainly the other three) were partially struggling to move on. Without Quistis, everything seemed to not be right at all. Sure if she had come back to the group, it wouldn't be the same as it used to be, because they had steadily moved on, but when she did come back to visit, the atmosphere had felt tense and heavy. Quistis was still pretty much the same blonde haired, blue eyed Quistis, but when she came back, it was as if a stranger was intruding.
School life at Deling Academy for Rinoa was going well, with her topping most of her classes. She spent a lot of her time away from home after school, because she couldn't stand being around her stepmother or her stepsister, but knowing that Mandy regularly visited her closest one hundred buddies after school and with Amber working until 4 and her own dear father working until late at night, Rinoa regularly stopped home after school to pick up Angelo and took him with her to outings after school with Samantha. When he was bothered to, or didn't want to put up with his bothersome parents, Seifer would join them too. She knew that with her year 10 exams drawing closer, she should start revising her work to prepare for it, but she couldn't concentrate at home and instead of going to the library to study, she ran away from all her problems by going out with Samantha after school. It wasn't deliberate; Rinoa just didn't want to face the problems that were thrust to her. But a part of her also felt scared; scared that Squall and the others had moved on. She knew that she had to move on…there was nothing else she could do.
Deep down, Rinoa still missed Balamb High, but she knew that if she kept lingering on the past, she would never feel comfortable. She needed to move on; no she had to move on. Dwelling in the past would only make her miserable and she didn't want to fake any more smiles onto her face and pretend that everything was just lovely when it wasn't.
It was a different story for Squall. He didn't feel like talking much to his friends. Correction, he never felt like talking much to his friends. But since Rinoa stepped back into his life, she had affected him in so many ways. Now that she wasn't there with him, everything was back to before he had gotten together with Rinoa. None of them could possibly understand how he felt without Rinoa. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he missed her company terribly. He missed her cheerfulness, her sweet and cheeky smiles, how she'd try to make him talk more and open up to the world that he had shunned for so long, everything about her that made him feel better he missed. Just everything that made her Rinoa, he missed. He didn't try to show that he missed Rinoa at all, but Zell, Selphie and Irvine knew it and they didn't press any questions against him.
Zell, Irvine and Selphie had to make sure that any conversation that they had didn't involve Rinoa or was going to steer to her, because as much as they missed her, they didn't want to continue to cling onto something that was no longer there anymore.
Selphie didn't want to come clean, but she felt partially responsible about Quistis' departure to go back to her former group of friends. Just a couple of weeks before, she had confessed to Zell that she disliked the blonde girl, because of her always complaining and never really doing anything much for herself. Although she hadn't told Zell this, she had yearned for Quistis to leave their group as well. Now, she felt guilty, thinking that it was her fault for making Quistis leave. She hid it well though, through her attractive smiles that made her emerald green eyes light up. But she hated faking her smiles and cheerfulness, just like Rinoa.
"Whoa, wonder who the hot guy in front of the limo is," Rinoa could hear Pamela mumble in awe. Samantha could only roll her eyes. Students were exiting Deling Academy's school building in packs as the anticipated end of the day had come at last. As Rinoa and Samantha were leaving, they could hear Pamela gush about some hot guy to her clique of equally bitchy and stuck up friends.
"To her, every guy in front of a limo is hot. Personally, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the 'hot' guy is just a chauffer or some kind of hired help; that'll put dear ol' Pam in trauma for a while," murmured Samantha, earning a giggle or two out of Rinoa.
"Where's Seifer? I thought he was going to come with us," said Rinoa, just noticing that the moody, short blonde haired boy wasn't there with them. She then smoothed out some invisible wrinkles out of her light grey skirt.
"He said something about attending a detention after school," said Samantha automatically as she brushed strands of her sleek black hair out of her face. Noticing an anxious look on Rinoa's face, she added, "Don't fret Rinny, I'm pretty sure that he was lying to avoid shopping with us again," Rinoa couldn't help but muster a small smile.
"Tell you what, if it cheers you up, let's go see who that hot guy in front of the limo is," said Samantha in hopes of getting her friend's mind off Seifer. Rinoa smiled and they both walked off to where Pamela was standing with a couple of her snobby friends, dreamy expressions on all of their faces.
"He wasn't a chauffer or hired help after all, damn it," grumbled Samantha. Rinoa laughed, but stopped short after she saw who the guy actually was. The ice blue eyes, the short and floppy brown hair, the Balamb High uniform with sleeves rolled up and the unemotional face…It was Squall. Her eyes turned wide as she felt the cool afternoon breeze brush lightly against her blush pink cheeks. Rinoa simply didn't know how to react. She and Squall weren't the typical couple; their relationship was more pure and special than your average relationship. The two of them weren't the type to want to see each other every single day, period just because they weren't attending the same high school anymore. Rinoa felt as if her legs were permanently glued to the smoothly paved footpath. Squall…I've missed you so much, but I've…I've moved on. I still love you, but why are you here?
"Is he…Squall?" asked Samantha quietly, focusing her light brown eyes on the ground. Rinoa looked at her friend, the shocked look still on her face. During her time so far at Deling Academy, she didn't think that there actually was a time where she had mentioned her old friends from Balamb or even Squall.
"How…how do you know about Squall?" asked Rinoa at last. Samantha looked at Squall before looking back at Rinoa. "Connections. I met him once at a dinner party a while ago; my father knows his father,"
Does the world get any smaller…?
Squall saw Rinoa talking to a raven haired girl that was around the same height as she was. He knew that Rinoa had seen him, but he knew that she'd come over to him when she was ready. He secretly hoped that Rinoa would hurt up and not take her sweet time, because he couldn't stand being ogled like he was part of an exhibition at the zoo.
That other raven haired girl…is she that Samantha girl? I think I've seen her one time…maybe it was at the dinner party in Esthar last year?
"Hey Rinoa, the limo's here, are you gonna come or not?" Samantha obviously didn't know about Rinoa's relationship with Squall.
Rinoa didn't have to think twice about deciding. She could go out after school with Samantha anytime, but it wasn't everyday that her own boyfriend surprises her after school.
"Sorry Sams, but something came up," said Rinoa as she made her way over to Squall, who was patiently waiting for her. When she got to him, that's when she realised that she missed him more than she knew it. Not caring that people from her school could be watching, she whispered to Squall, "Sorry if this embarrasses you Squally," and with that, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Rinoa could hear Pamela and her clique gasp in shock, but all she could do was giggle quietly.
Squall who didn't like any form of public display of affection, merely took his cerulean blue eyes away from the students that were observing the two of them embrace. After the unexpected hug from Rinoa, Squall opened the door to his limo and Rinoa hopped in and Squall followed in after her, shutting the door after him and locking it just in case.
The limo pulled away from Deling Academy and much to Squall's relief, all the bystanders and the hormone crazy teenage girls. Rinoa was sitting right next to him; she hadn't changed that much, except maybe that her uniform was now grey instead of navy and white but she still had the same angelic expression on her lovely face and had the same caring, fun loving, affectionate and loving aura around her.
"You're just the sweetest Squall; I've never heard of any guy surprising his girlfriend after school the way that you just did," gushed Rinoa with a grin as she slipped her lily white hand into Squall's.
All he could do was shrug casually. Wanting to push their chat to another direction, Rinoa asked about how their friends in Balamb. "How's the gang in Balamb?"
"…Pretty much the same," Was all Squall could say. There was more that he wanted to say, much more. But maybe it was because he was afraid that Rinoa had changed. Although she looked the same and acted the same, there was something different about her that he just couldn't lay his finger on.
"Oh…" Rinoa's eyes averted to where her black designer shoulder bag was lying on the leather seat beside her. She wanted to question him about their friends, but Squall didn't seem to be in the mood for a long conversation. Sure Rinoa had moved on, but she still cared about her friends and missed them a whole lot more than they knew it. If Squall had said 'They miss you a lot' then Rinoa would've felt a bit better knowing that they missed her and remembered her as a friend. But in her mind she knew that if they missed her, they couldn't really move on either. Missing someone wouldn't bring them back, but if you knew that someone missed you, it would've made you feel better knowing that they still remembered you and thought about you and didn't just forget about you completely.
Please Hyne; please don't tell me that I've made her cry. The first time I've seen her since break and I've probably made her cry. Good on you Leonhart, at least you've discovered another talent – making your girlfriend cry.
"Where are we going anyway?" asked Rinoa curiously. She didn't want to have to get angry at her boyfriend, just because he didn't say that their friends missed her. When Squall looked at her tearless face, he felt a wave of relief as she didn't seem to show any traces of crying at all.
Wanting to keep it a secret so that it would surprise Rinoa when they eventually got to their destination, Squall just said, "Somewhere that you'll like Rinoa,"
No way…Squall's not taking me shopping for a really early birthday present is he? Haha, I better not keep my hopes up too much.
After that, Squall and Rinoa didn't remember much about their limo ride to wherever Squall knew they were going. Rinoa wanted to talk, but knowing her boyfriend didn't want to talk, she just nestled her head against his shoulder, a pensive look on her face.
I really appreciate him for doing this…he went out of his way to take me somewhere…I wonder why though…
Rinoa bit her lower lip. Squall…why do you do the things that you do? Why do you do all these things that I don't ask of you? Oh Squall…I never knew how much I actually missed you! I'm such a bad girlfriend for not remembering to see you or even call you a lot! You must've thought that I moved on without you, didn't you Squall? Things certainly aren't the way that they were and I know that. I wish that you'd tell me how you feel. I wish that you'd open up more to me. If we could go back to the way things were, I'd do that, but we can't; I can't. Is this how you felt Squall? All the loneliness, bitterness and sadness that I'm feeling?
Then without notice, Rinoa buried her head deeper into Squall's shoulder and wrapper her arms around his waist. Squall immediately looked down and saw his girlfriend embracing him. He could hear her quietly weeping and wondered what the matter was. Squall stroked her soft jet black hair.
Without hesitation, he asked, "Rinoa…what's the matter?"
Rinoa looked up at him with slightly teary eyes, her arms still wrapped tightly around him.
"I'm sorry Squall! I'm just…so sorry," mumbled Rinoa as small tears formed and slid down her cheeks. Squall draped his arm around her slender shoulders and hugged her closer to him.
"What are you sorry for Rinoa?"
Rinoa bit her lip in an attempt to stop her tears from flowing out. "Everything! I forget to call you, I forget to make plans to meet you…I'm sorry for everything that I've caused you to feel! It's my fault Squall! Everything's my fault!" wept Rinoa as she cried into his chest.
"Don't think like that Rinoa; nothing's your fault…" said Squall vaguely as he kissed the top of Rinoa's head.
Rinoa shook her head. "Can't you see Squall? It wasn't me who met up with you after school, it was you. I feel guilty for not even attempting to meet up with you. I was scared, scared that you've moved on…"
Squall blinked as Rinoa's words sunk into him. I was scared, scared that you've moved on…
She feels the same way too…
Then, in a tone that he didn't recognize, Squall murmured softly, "Don't cry Rinoa, don't cry,"
Visits after school and on weekends wouldn't make things the way that they were. Nothing would. But knowing that Rinoa was scared of him moving on made Squall a little relieved. Rinoa had affected in more ways than anyone could. Her free spirit, aura and appreciation for everything around her had swayed him away from his post-accident behavior. In every way Mandy was just like Rinoa until she was heavily influenced by the 'sluts', but he didn't love her the way that he had loved Rinoa. After the accident, he had felt like nothing. His twin sister lost her life; Rinoa had lost her memory, yet Squall had both his life and his memory.
He felt worthless, just like a piece of trash that had been tossed carelessly onto the side of the road. No one seemed to understand him, not even Sis. His life wasn't worth living anymore, he had thought. But after seeing a new light, Rinoa had stepped back into his life, when everyone else had stepped out and gave him many reasons to embrace life, to live it to your fullest and just to live everyday like it was your last. She also gave him another reason; a reason to love.
"Make sure that the bridesmaids' bouquets match their dresses. What colour were their dresses again? Pale pink. Can your staff make sure that the flowers in the bridesmaids' bouquets are not too elaborate? Good, thank you," Amber had the cordless phone in one hand and a notepad and pen in the other. She was finalizing the flower displays, bouquets and the flower girls' baskets for her upcoming wedding to Richard Caraway.
I can't believe that I'm actually going to get married to him…this all seems too good to be true…
Hanging up with the florist, Amber set the phone down on her office table and sighed. There were too many things to be organized and to be done and Amber had feelings that everything wouldn't be prepared in time for her wedding.
Because Julia Heartilly, Richard's ex-wife was a celebrity, their divorce was quite high profile and set a lot of headlines around the world. And behind every divorce, were also rumours about the breakup. Many rumours circulated and there were many theories in relation to Julia and Richard's end to their 'fairytale' marriage. The worst one was Richard cheating on Julia with Amber, making Amber look like a 'marriage-wrecker'. Of course, she hadn't been the woman that Richard had cheated on, because it was a mutual decision that Julia and Richard had made to end their marriage. She had suspected that some of Julia's loyal fans had started that rumour, because she was an old acquaintance of Richard and was often photographed leaving Richard's office or leaving café's with him. There was an explanation for that: Amber used to work with him, but had quit from that place and usually visited him to see how he was coping after the marriage meltdown and also frequently took him out for a cup of coffee afterwards at a swanky cafe.
Amber had endured a lot of pain and suffered a lot in order to get where she was today. With her own daughter Amanda or as she liked to be called, 'Mandy' acting more and more like a spoiled little brat who knew nothing more nowadays than to be rude, misbehave and be disobedient, this just added to Amber's list of never ending problems. Trying to not be the wicked stepmother to her stepdaughter Rinoa wasn't going well either. In Rinoa's view, it was because of Amber and her father's secret affair that had torn her parents' marriage in half. Not being a person to loathe her elders, Rinoa usually forced herself to be polite and friendly to Amber, but Amber knew that Rinoa wasn't comfortable at all with her or Mandy around the house and with her father marrying the woman that was 'held responsible' for her parents' bitter divorce.
Pulling the elastic hair band out from her light chestnut brown hair and shaking her head so her soft, thinned hair fell down onto her shoulders, Amber felt her head feel a little lighter. Sinking down into her black leather chair, Amber inhaled deeply and steadily exhaled.
A lot of things were on her mind. Sure to others, it might just be daughter is more and more rude as the days go by, stepdaughter dislikes you, wedding preparations and the usual 'It's your fault Julia's marriage ended!' and 'You ended her marriage and now you're marrying her ex-husband! Have some shame woman!' But to Amber, it was much more than just that.
At this rate, I'll be grateful if we even manage to make it to our wedding day…
Picking up her cordless phone again, she dialed Mandy's mobile number, to tell her that she'd be home late tonight. Holding the phone up to her ear, she could hear it ring. It rang, rang and rang until a female voice spoke.
The person you are trying to call is unavailable at the moment, please leave a message after the beep…beep
Knowing her daughter well, if you couldn't contact her in the first place, then she'd probably never listen to her voicemail either. Pressing the 'end' button on the sleek black and silver phone, Amber hung up.
Her gaze came over to a framed photograph of her and Mandy, placed near her laptop computer. Amber couldn't help but gather together a smile on her face. It wasn't of sheer happiness, but the fact that she was much happier before she had become engaged to Richard.
I wonder if this is what I really want…is this marriage going to make anyone happy at all?
Amber's eyes then shifted over to a large window, where the clear blue sky was slowly altering to a mixture of red, yellow and orange streaks. It was such a beautiful sight and it took Amber's mind off the things that she was always constantly worrying about these days.
When the limo suddenly stopped, Squall opened the limo's door, got out himself and gestured to Rinoa to come out as well. Not sure of what to expect, Rinoa took her sweet time exiting the limo gracefully, like her mother had taught her to.
The calm, relaxing feel of Balamb hit her as she clutched onto Squall's outstretched hand. In her mind, she was thinking of how grateful she was to have a boyfriend like Squall who knew that she missed her old home and school and took action, rather than whisking her off for a romantic after school date and then without realising it, Rinoa lost her balance and fell into Squall's arms. With one arm already being held tightly by Rinoa, Squall's quick reflexes immediately came in and he held out his other arm and caught her in his arms.
Burying her head deep into his muscular chest, Rinoa sighed. Taking it the wrong way, Squall thought that she didn't like being dragged off by her boyfriend all the way to Balamb, when she could've been hanging out with that other raven haired girl, Samantha or whatever the girl's name was.
"You're so sweet Squall…you took time off just to take me here…you shouldn't have though…but why…why Balamb beach?"
"…I…I thought that you might've…liked it," mumbled Squall as he tried hard not to be squeezed to death by Rinoa.
Looking up to her boyfriend's handsome face, she smiled sweetly with that pure, innocent and angelic face of hers. A small, half-smile was returned to her.
I love him…I really do. I just hope that he feels the same way that I do…Oh Squall…even if we've only been together for a short amount of time; I feel like I've known you and loved you forever. I don't care that you're nothing like the other guys, you're you and that's what you'll always be. My heart feels like it's going to burst right now…
Taking his hand, Rinoa hauled him along for a stroll on the beach with her. It was a cool, breezy autumn afternoon and not a single person was in sight at Balamb Beach. For some unknown reason, Squall was thankful that the two of them had the beach all to themselves. The clear blue green waters seemed to be glimmering at its best and the creamy white coloured sand felt smooth underneath their tight black school shoes.
After minutes of walking along the crystal clear waters, Rinoa brought the brisk walk to an end. Squall glanced down at Rinoa, wondering what she was going to do now. Rinoa had sat herself down on the lush white sand and pulled off her tight black shoes and then, her knee high white socks.
Arranging her shoes and socks neatly (because she wasn't a slob and liked everything to be neat and perfect), Rinoa got up and smiled cheekily at her confused boyfriend.
"Aw, come on Squall. When was the last time you took a walk on the beach wearing your school shoes?" teased Rinoa playfully. Squall looked down at his own tight black shoes. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Rinoa was right. Whenever they had gone to the beach, he either wore thongs or walked around barefoot, but with his long, baggy school pants basically covered up his legs and feet, yet somehow, Rinoa managed to get his pants drenched with water.
Sighing, he sat himself down on the soft white sand beside Rinoa and took off his shoes and socks and arranged them near Rinoa's own shoes and socks. When he was done, he had found that Rinoa wasn't beside him at all. Thinking that she was playing a silly little joke on him, he craned his neck and searched up and down the beach with his piercing cerulean blue eyes for a certain raven haired girl…
Hearing the sounds of water splashing and the sound of running feet against the sand, Squall knew immediately where to look.
His electric blue eyes moved over to where Rinoa was frolicking with the chilly waters of Balamb beach. It was a fairly cool day and certainly not a time to be getting yourself wet when you didn't have proper clothes to change into afterwards. But did Rinoa care? No.
Watching his one and only true love with a pure look of happiness and joy on her face made him want to smile; they had been through so much together and this day only showed a fraction of their bliss together.
I wonder…if now is the right time for me to tell her how I feel. I never got the chance to say it when we were younger, but is now the right time?
A pensive look on his usally solemn face, Squall was in deep thought. I want to say it…but I can't…
His thoughts washed away like writing on sand, as he felt salty water being splattered onto his face. Knowing who the culprit was without having to think about it, Squall looked up and saw that Rinoa had gotten her skirt and part of her grey jumper wet already. Figures…she'd easily get herself and her clothes wet when she's within one or two meters of a hose, a sprinkler or anything that has something to do with water.
A twinkle of mischief in her eyes, a cheeky smile playing on her lips and her hands radiating the shine of the clear beach water, Rinoa had all the evidence that she had splashed water onto Squall's face. A half smirk formed on his face.
"You can't sit there all day lost in your own thoughts. Get up and have some fun already!"
Squall smirked again. Waiting until Rinoa had finished her teasing and had turned her back around revealing a very wet grey jumper, a drenched skirt and trickles of water sliding down her long, slim lily-white legs, Squall decided to accompany Rinoa.
"Ahhhhhh!" Rinoa's shriek could be heard as chilly blue beach water was emptied on her back. Turning around to Squall with a quiver on her lips, Rinoa acted as if she was about to cry. Squall who had no idea that she was just playing around with him, looked at her with an expression that resembled anxiety. Catching him off guard, Rinoa splashed more of the icy water onto Squall's uniform, making the shirt almost see through. Taking off at high speed and occasionally slipping on the sand, Rinoa and Squall spent the rest of the afternoon frolicking together and getting their uniforms even more soaking wet.
The sun was almost setting and the sky was streaked with several different colours. After playing around with the water (and each other), they had set themselves down on the sand next to each other and watched the beautiful sun depart slowly.
"Ahh…ahh…atchoo!" sneezed Rinoa. Sitting beside her, Squall looked over to his girlfriend and saw that she was freezing cold; her usually rosy lips were turning purple and goose bumps had started to appear on her lily white skin.
"Rinoa, you should've washed yourself off and not continue to stay soaking wet and hope that the sun setting would dry you…" murmured Squall as he stroked some strands of her damp raven black hair out of her heart shaped face. Rinoa's warm chocolate brown eyes looked into his ice blue eyes. Her whole body was trembling and he knew it.
Leaning back and slowly unbuttoning his white sleeved white shirt, Squall still had the cold, hard look on his young handsome face. When he was done, Rinoa had this uneasy feeling, knowing that he could be practically be exposing his bare, muscular chest and risk getting himself sick, while she had his long sleeved shirt and was all warm. Sneaking a peek at him, Rinoa breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Squall was wearing a grey singlet like top underneath that seemed to make his shoulders look broader than they already were and his muscles bigger.
Squall leaned over to Rinoa, about to drape his school shirt onto her slender shoulders, but Rinoa held up both her hands and said, "It's fine, I've got it," Taking the shirt from him, Rinoa slipped both her arms into the long sleeved white shirt and instantly felt warmer.
You've changed a lot since the start of the year…Squall…
"Thanks Squall…" said Rinoa inaudibly as she hugged her knees closer to her chest. Squall just mumbled a 'Hmmm," and without warning placed an arm around her slender shoulders, to help keep her warm.
I really want to tell her how I feel…but is this the right moment? Will she be able to accept it? To her, we've only been together for a few months…but to me, we've been together for much longer…is this the right time?
"Squall…what do you think about when you watch the sun setting?" Rinoa looked up at him, an innocent look on her heart shaped face.
I think about how much I want to tell you that I do love you…Damn it Leonhart! That's not what you think about when you watch the sun set! You've never even watched the sun set before!
"….I've never watched the sun set before," Was his answer. Rinoa simply smiled and leaned closer to him.
"Really Squall?" Rinoa couldn't help but ask even though she knew the answer already. When Squall nodded his head curtly, Rinoa tilted her head to one side, revealing the natural copper streaks in her raven black hair and smiled a half-smile.
"It's such a beautiful view, I can't believe that you've never actually seen it before," sighed Rinoa.
This is my opportunity to tell her how I actually feel…but why can't I say it?
"Squall…thank you…thank you for bringing me back to Balamb and…and taking me to a place that I always wanna go to…" Rinoa leaned up to Squall and brushed her lips against his cheek tenderly.
Rinoa wanted to confess. She wanted to confess her feelings to him…but somewhere deep inside her heart, she had this feeling that he didn't feel the same way that she did. She bit her lower lip. She loved him…she loved him so much that she couldn't put up with it anymore! She wanted to tell him how she really felt, she wanted to be closer to him, to get to know him more, to understand what he was feeling, she wanted to know what was real and what wasn't…she just wanted to know everything about him!
Believing that he didn't want to talk after accidentally drinking some sea water that was splashed into his face by her, she simply snuggled herself against Squall and they both watched the majestic sun set. Rinoa wanted to say something, but she was too wrapped up in Squall's warmth to want to budge.
Although from afar it looked like Squall was enchanted by the sight of the sun setting, he wasn't. His azure blue eyes weren't even focused on the sun. He was in deep thought. He couldn't stop thinking no matter how hard he tried.
If I don't tell her now…I probably never will get another chance…
Rather than pondering about telling Rinoa his true feelings, he slowly loosened up and made the most of his precious time with Rinoa. Even if it was just watching something like the sun set. But with Rinoa by his side, he felt at ease.
Time seemed to pass by and working up the courage to say something and not just sit on the warm white sand watching some spherical object depart, Squall cleared his throat and said, "Rinoa…I-…" But he couldn't finish off his sentence. Like a sleeping baby angel, Rinoa had fallen into slumber as quietly as a feather drifting along in rhythm to the breeze. Squall couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sight of Rinoa sleeping.
The sounds of water crashing onto shore made Rinoa stir a little, but as stubborn as she was, she still remained asleep. Squall didn't want to wake Rinoa up from her serene nap, so he made the choice to stay a little while longer than he intended so that she could rest.
Pushing strands of her jet black hair out of her angelic face, Squall cursed at himself silently for possibly tiring her out too much. He knew that she was already worn out from lack of sleep at night (as she had told him on a phone call late one night) and also from being troubled by family dilemmas.
Sighing, he drew her closer to him and lightly rested his chin on the top of her head.
Rinoa…I do love you…
And there the two of them were, sitting on the lush white sand, not knowing what was in store for them in the future. But for now, the two of them didn't care about that. They had each other and that was really all that mattered to them.
"Did you see how short Alexa's skirt was? I know! I didn't think that our school skirt could get any shorter than the lengths all the girls in our group has!" Mandy was striding around Caraway Manor's foyer in her hot pink, loose fitting track pants, a skin tight white tank top that seemed to highlight her chest area and a matching hot pink jacket with a hoodie. She had gotten home quite late, because she had spent most of the afternoon at a sick friend's house. When she had gotten home, she had expected a brutal lecture from her mother about coming home late and not calling to tell her that she would be home late, but fortunately her mother wasn't even home yet.
"No way! Are you serious? Deidre and Vince are dating!" Mandy squealed into her candy pink mobile phone. Hearing the front door bell ring, Mandy sulked into the phone and walked over to the front door. Sighing as she opened the door, she expected it to be either her stepfather or her mother. Her hazel eyes widened as she was met with cold, cerulean eyes.
"I'm going to have to let you go now. Love you!" said Mandy quickly into her phone. Hanging up, Mandy smiled seductively at Squall, but the smile almost immediately disappeared as she caught sight of her resting raven haired stepsister in Squall's arms.
Why that little sneak…
Not wanting to sound anything like an evil stepsister, Mandy quickly put on her 'guy' voice (a voice she used to sweet talk only when guys were around) and faked a shocked look onto her face.
"What did you do to my stepsister!" Mandy silently praised herself for sounding so convincing. It was just too bad that Squall didn't buy it.
"Rinoa's resting Mandy…"
Mandy smiled her sweetest smile and said, "Oh…of course…silly me, sorry for sounding like I was…going to accuse you of doing something to her. I really do worry about her…more than anyone thinks anyway…" sighed Mandy, leaning over to tuck some strands of her stepsister's raven black hair out of her face. Squall wanted to step back so that Mandy wouldn't be able to do anything to harm Rinoa or even touch her…but if he had, he could've plunged down the cold, hard steps of Caraway Manor.
Squall knew that she was faking the whole 'loving, caring and sweet' stepsister act. He knew that underneath all the sweetness and fake syrupy smiles, she still loathed Rinoa and would do anything to break the two up so that she could be with him again. Squall didn't know what had influenced Mandy or rather, driven her to become the girl she was now, but he knew that he had to keep an extra eye on Mandy, to make sure that Rinoa didn't get harmed by Mandy or worse, find out the whole truth behind the agonizing flashbacks that she'd been having for some time now.
After moments of silence, Squall said in a bored tone, "Can I come in?"
Mandy snapped out of her own world, quickly nodded a yes and opened the door wider, so that Squall could enter Caraway Manor with Rinoa still snoozing in his arms.
Is it just me, or does Rinoa always seem to sleep these days? Mused Mandy as she smiled dazzlingly at Squall who just stared coldly back at her.
"After you put…her down, do you wanna come to my room so we can have a chat for old time's sake?" asked Mandy keenly, peering up at Squall with her light hazel eyes.
Squall just stared at his honey blonde haired ex-girlfriend coldly, before turning around smoothly so that Rinoa didn't awaken and marched up the stairs to find somewhere to place his sleeping girlfriend down. Having a 'chat for old time's sake' with Mandy was the last thing that he wanted to do.
Although he had not been in Caraway Manor for what seemed like an era, he still knew the whole place pretty well. Squall didn't know what Mandy was playing at, but he thought that she'd have moved on by now, like how he had managed to move on. But…Mandy had made it quite understandable that she wasn't over him and would do anything to get him back; even if that meant that her stepsister's happiness was the sacrifice.
Finding Rinoa's room through all the other rooms in the hallway, Squall tried his best to kick her door open as quietly as he could. A gentle breeze was blowing through Rinoa's open window and her thin azure material curtains blew along gently with the cool night breeze as well.
If Squall had wanted to switch the lights on, he couldn't have anyway, because with Rinoa in his arms, he couldn't move his arms at all. But with the moonlight shining through Rinoa's windows, it was good enough for Squall to see where he was going.
Squall saw Rinoa's canopy 'princess' bed and walked over to it. His cerulean blue eyes were focused on where her bed was and not on her tiled floors, so when he accidentally kicked what felt like a basket, he simply shrugged it off.
After taking a couple more steps, Squall made it to Rinoa's bed. Pulling the blanket up (so that Rinoa could be warm whilst sleeping) with one hand, he knelt down onto her unruffled bed and tried as gently as he could to place her down without waking her up. Once Rinoa was resting peacefully in her own, soon to be warm bed, Squall placed the thick blanket over her.
He took a seat on Rinoa's bed and watched his girlfriend sleep, like how a mother watched over her baby at night to make sure that no harm would come to it. Squall stroked her slightly damp raven black hair. She truly was an angel and always had this kind of 'effect' on people; she could easily touch anyone's hearts but the one most affected by it was Squall.
I love you Rinoa…I'm sorry that I never actually got to really say it to you…
Squall's electric blue eyes then averted over to Rinoa's nightstand, where several framed photographs were placed in order. Mummy and Angelo? If Rinoa is mummy…then I probably must be daddy…
Placing a quick, tender kiss on Rinoa's forehead, Squall took one last look at his resting girlfriend and made his way over to Rinoa's open window and leaped out of it and into the dark, night sky.
I want to tell you…I really want to…
Watching Squall depart from Caraway Manor through her own bedroom window, Mandy shoved her thin material like curtains back to their original state exceptthat itwas much more out of place.
As much as I hate to play the role of the jealous ex-girlfriend, I can't stand watching him love someone else when I still have strong feelings for him! The worse thing about loving you Squall…is watching you love someone else, namely my own stepsister.
I know that I'm not Rinoa…but I know that what we had together was real and pure. But you'removed onnow; you've won the girl…again. Just like when we were kids, I end up losing you…to her.
Mandy seated herself down onto her windowsill and leaned her head against the window. Her light hazel eyes watering as she remembered all the times she had lost something to someone else. Although Rinoa didn't remember due to the horrific accident that she was involved in when she was 13, Mandy was actually a distant friend from her childhood.
Blinded by her jealousy and competitiveness, Mandy slowly began to lose herself to her darker side, the one that wanted to be the best of all the rest and would do anything to achieve that regardless of what she had to do or the people that she had to hurt in order to attain that. She wanted to be admired, envied, praised, adored, loved, respected, but on top of all of that, she wanted to be loved by one boy. Squall Loire. He had been an unreachable kid growing up, but even Mandy knew that he eventually grew to have a soft spot for Rinoa.
I lost…to her. My whole life, I ended up losing to her. But this time will be different. I'll become the better known daughter of Richard Caraway and Squall's girlfriend.
Blinking back her tears, Mandy mustered a sinister smile. No matter what, I will break the two of them up. I don't care what the consequences are; Rinoa will suffer all the pain and agony that she didn't even know she put me into.
Mandy's light hazel eyes averted to the shining white moon. Squall…you and I are meant to be…We're the ones that truly belong together.