In The End.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or song.

Squall stared out of the window onto the dawn of a new day. He closed his eyes as he heard Rinoa smash something in the opposite room. He didn't think it was that big a deal, he got a new Gunblade and forgot the inscription that he had promised Rinoa. The blood of my enemies serves Rinoa. It was a disgusting thought that he didn't really want put on there anyway. Why was she so mad? If it was that important then he could go back and ask for the inscription. They couldn't break up because of something so small…

(It starts with)
One thing, I don't know why,
It doesn't even matter how hard you try,
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme,
To explain in due time.

Squall waited for Rinoa to calm down. He was sure all she needed was time to come to her senses. But as the day aged Rinoa still hadn't spoken to Squall and it was time to confront her himself. He walked down to the cantine passing all his saluting students without a second glance. A quick scan of the room told him that Rinoa had sought out another of her hideaways. Squall and Rinoa had been together for a good two years now though so if anyone could find her it would be him…


All I know,
time is a valuable thing.
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings,
Watch it count down to the end of the day,
The clock ticks life away.

Squall unsurely made his way to the infirmary. He wasn't quite sure of what to say, do or what reaction Rinoa might have. As he passed through the automatic doors he noticed a flash of blue in the corner of his eye. He turned slowly hoping that she wouldn't have been so childish as to try and hide. She had. "Rinoa…" Her dark head appeared above the desk. "Is there something you want headmaster?" Squall was taken aback. "You don't ever have to call me that."

"Oh, I think I do." Squall resisted the urge to offer her detention, as she had recently enrolled in Edea's garden. "Why are you making such a big fiasco of this? I can get it done today if it really means that much." Rinoa straightened up.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The inscription. That is what this is all about?" Rinoa glared hotly at him.

"It's too late Squall. I'm leaving this garden and going to find Seifer." Seifer?

"Rin, he's dead. He was lost in time." Rinoa wasn't having any of it. She shoved Squall out of her way. "A true friend wouldn't forget me, even in another life." With that she was gone. Squall leant on the windowsill as he watched her walk out of garden and out his reach forever.


It's so unreal,
Didn't look out below.
Watch the time go right out the window,
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know,
Wasted it all just to,
Watch you go.

Squall knew exactly what he had done wrong. Even though he relied on Rinoa he had never told her just how much he cared for her. She was the only one to have reached him since Ellone was taken from him. A single tear emerged but bringing with it no relief. Two years…


I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me, will eventually, be a memory, of a time when I tried,

Squall bustled out of the room. "Headmaster? What's going on?"

"…"


So hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

So Rinoa thought he had forgotten her. That was all he could do now. She had gone looking for a dead man to love her. She was lost to him. Squall just didn't understand. Two years of perfection together. I tried to make it work… Why does this ALWAYS happen to me? Maybe it was just time to give up. Crawl back into his shell and let things fade away…


One thing, I don't know why,
It doesn't even matter how hard you try,
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme,
To remind myself how,
I tried so hard.

Squall lied on his bed thinking back on his relationship with Rinoa. He didn't care that he was supposed to be forgetting her. The thoughts were comforting, but that in itself brought sadness because he knew he could never have that again. He remembered how at any occasion he couldn't dance with anyone else, look at anyone else, or speak to anyone but Rinoa. They had only ever had small fight before, mostly to do with nocturnal activities and the garden. Maybe they weren't supposed to be together. It seemed just plain lucky they had got to such a point in their relationship.


In spite of the way you were mocking me,
Acting like I was part of your property,
Remembering all the times you fought with me,
I'm surprised it got so (far).

As the days passed Squall had almost completely vanished from garden. He spent every second locked in his quarters. He spent every minute thinking of his life so far. He had failed in everything social which was all that mattered to other people. You've changed Squall. Since when does what other people think matter? They don't know you… No one knows you…


Things aren't the way they were before,
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore.
Not that you knew me back then,
But it all comes back to me,
In the end.

Maybe he should've just told her he didn't like the idea. Any other inscription would have been fine. But… This isn't going to help anything Squall. The voice in his head spoke. You need to get it all out in the open. Tell the world how you feel…


You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me, will eventually, be a memory, of a time when I,

Squall bustled out of the room in the direction of the quad. "Headmaster? What's going on?"

"…"

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter.

Squall had put the equivalent of his life in her hands. He was finding it increasingly hard to live without her. No longer eating, drinking… Only thinking and listening to the voice. "" You know how to let them know how you feel. She wants a dead man to love her… "Could I…No that's not the right question… Should I…?"


I've put my trust in you,
Pushed as far as I can go.
For all this,
There's only one thing you should know.

Squall walked to the edge of the quad, where not too long ago he had rescued Rinoa. "Headmaster?" A young trainee SeeD. "What's going on?"

"…"


I've put my trust in you,
Pushed as far as I can go.
For all this,
There's only one thing you should know.

In a flash of voices, cries for help, and an epic struggle of head versus heart Squall launched himself over the barricade and ended his journey…

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter.

...Only to start a new one, to places far beyond life, pain, death and all that we know.(A/N: So sadly I can't right about them).

That's your lot. Now appease the God Of Hamsters (my boss) and review.