Prequel to "Not a Summer Fling." I guess it's kinda weird...

Enjoy? Xp

I breathed in fresh, salty sea air. After spending most of the afternoon on the train from Esthar to Fisherman's Horizon, where my brother Zell and I had been forced to sit in a tight cabin that stank of cheap perfume and sweat with no respite due to a sudden rainstorm, it was heavenly to stretch and walk around.

"We're here! Fisherman's Horizon! And no parents either!" Zell exclaimed. "I couldn't have planned it better myself! Though I wish we were somewhere with a beach and hot girls…." His voice trailed off as a group of tall, busty blondes passed us.

I sniggered. "Like you'd be able to snag a girl like that."

"Bring it on, Rinoa. Let's see who gets a date for the concert tomorrow first."

"With pleasure."

The sun succumbed to the depths of the ocean as we finally settled down at the inn. Zell had spent the remaining few hours of light trying to get a date while I laughed at his failure. I could always count on him being unpopular with the girls, though, truthfully, I couldn't really tell why. He was cute, if a bit short, and his white-blond hair had just been shaved--Delia, our stepmother, had forced him to get a haircut when his hair reached his shoulders. Perhaps his mischievous blue eyes and smile clashed with his baby-round face. Or his inexhaustible energy. I was too close to him to be an impartial judge; we were, after all, twins.

Zell flopped onto his bed, scowling. "Stop laughing. You haven't gotten a date yet either."

I turned on the television. "I don't need to. Your girl repellant is working just fine."

My brother jumped to his feet. "You wanna take this outside?" he demanded. I forced him to sit down, reminding him that I always beat him to a pulp when he "took things outside." He sighed melodramatically.

"Why can't you ever be wrong," he groaned. We both laughed.

It was our first summer without our parents. As I lay in bed that night, I could sense that something big was going to happen.

"It looks like a tie," Zell said grudgingly. We sat a ways from the stage, on the edge of the glass platform in the middle of town. The band, a local one called Punishment, had the speakers on so loud that the glass shook.

"Maybe next time, bro."

He clambered to his feet. "Staying here? I'll see you at the inn then," he said and disappeared into a surprisingly large crowd of adolescents and young adults.

I looked down at the black water, shimmering where moonlight kissed the baby waves lapping against the steel posts that supported Fisherman's Horizon. My bare legs dangled in the cool night air.

"It's a long way to the water."

"That's why the railing's here," I retorted, looking up to see who had spoken. A guy I took to be around my age, fourteen, slouched beside me, his arms resting against the railing. I stood up. "It's not like I'm suicidal or anything."

The boy smirked, not looking at me. All I could see was his gangly, angular silhouette, outlined in silver light. The edges of his spiked, gold-brown hair glowed like little white flames. He wore a white tee and cargo pants.

I extended a hand. "Rinoa…" Should I give him my real name? I decided to use my mother's maiden name. "Heartilly."

He took it, hesitantly at first, in his own, which was large and rough. His grip made the butterflies in my stomach flap frantically. "Squall Leonhart."

We talked about everything and nothing. Nothing personal, that is, except for the basics. I lied about personal information; to him I was a fifteen-year-old from Esthar. I was here with my cousin.

He was fifteen, also visiting for the summer from Trabia, helping his uncle at the junk shop. Didn't talk much. I had to coax and prod to get that much out of him, but it was worth the effort in my opinion. Every time I heard his soft, low voice, I became more and more infatuated.

But it was his eyes that did me in. They were a deep blue-gray, large and cold at first--I was drawn and repelled by their icy depths. As we talked the night away, though, they warmed and it became increasingly hard to resist just staring at him. He was so…handsome. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. I couldn't figure out why he was even talking to me. I was just plain Rinoa, average girl.

He escorted me back to the inn. When we reached it, he looked (down) at me, his face serious. "Stop by the junk shop, will you?" My eyebrows shot up. He rushed into an excuse. "I know it's not much of a girl hangout, but I'd like…" His cheeks flushed.

I grinned. "I was planning on going there anyway."

We remained there for an awkward moment. Then, suddenly, he leaned down and kissed my cheek.

"See you tomorrow, then," he said and bolted.

I would have laughed at his exit if I hadn't been so shocked. I could feel my face burn up. I'd beaten Zell once again. A small chuckle escaped my lips.