Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I do not own the places. I don't own anything related to FFVIII, all I own is the plot.

- Chapter three: A Little Message -

Squall watched her as she was sleeping in his arms. She looked so peaceful. Most people looked peaceful when asleep, but it touched him to see her like this because of her feeling of unease lately.

He blamed it on himself. He was never there, always busy...and then there were her own classes. She was studying so hard to become a SeeD like the rest of them. She said she didn't want to feel left behind anymore. She felt that becoming a SeeD was all that was left for her to do to become a complete part of the group.

He had told her that she was already completely part of the group, that she wasn't going to be left behind at all. But her mind had been set.

He tenderly caressed her face and she snuggled up closer to him, hiding her face in his shoulder in her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and saw him looking at her.

"Hey..." she said sleepily.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well?

She nodded. "Mmmm...yeah...I want to sleep some more."

He laughed softly. "I can imagine. You came in so late last night. Did your studying go well?"

She yawned and sat up, trying to avert her eyes. "Yeah..."

She got up and walked to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Squall laid on his back and closed his eyes. He listened to the sound of the shower, wondering what was wrong. She had come in late the night before, taken a shower and had crawled into bed without saying a word.

Perhaps she was nervous about her test today. It was theoretical exam, something she wasn't particulary good at. He made a mental note about buying her flowers.

'Forget-me-nots. Her favourites.' He thought.

The water had stopped pouring and Rinoa came out again, her hair dripping. He watched her pick out her clothes and change into them. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of something that would come out right.

She felt his eyes on her and turned around, smiling wamly at him. He smiled back. Suddenly she lurched forward and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

She pulled back and sighed contently. "I wish I could stay like this for the rest of the day..."

"So do I..." Squall replied. "But you've got a test today."

"I know...I'll see you later." She pecked his lips. "At lunch?"

"I'll pick you up at the classroom. What time are you done?"

She thought for a moment. "...Round noon. I'll see you then."

She gave him another kiss before leaving. She closed the door softly and leaned against it for a moment, closing her eyes. She heard the shower turn on again. She shook her head and walked on to the classroom.

It was still empty and she was thankful for that. Now she had some time to try and give everything a place in her mind. She had been with him last night...again. It had been good. Being with him always made her feel cared for.

But then this morning...Squall loved her so much and she knew that. She loved him too. But perhaps he really was her cage. Perhaps she needed to escape him for her own good, even though now she felt happy with him.

She let out a loud aggrivated sigh. It was all too confusing. She couldn't even remember when it had all started.

She turned on the computer on her desk and logged in. She looked at the forum, but there were no new messages for her. Thank Hyne. She couldn't use another message from him right now.

She tried to log off but her eyes noticed a small message at the bottom of the screen. Her heart skipped a beat unpleasantly.

'Doublecrosser'

It did not say who had sent it, it did not say who it was for. Just that one word. Doublecrosser. She switched off the computer, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

She shook her head. It could have been meant for anyone. She didn't even know what it was about, so why worry so much.

A pair of hands on her shoulders made her look up. He massaged her neck gently, sending a wave of calmness down her spine.

"Why so tense, bluejay? You can't be this stressed about a test."

"It's nothing...just nerves."

He leaned closer until his lips nearly touched her ear. "I want to see you after the test."

She tried to calm the tingling sensation that washed over her for a moment. "I- I can't. Squall will be waiting for me."

The hands on her shoulders stopped. "Ah, yes. Squall."

She sighed and stood up.

"You always knew he would be there." She hissed. "You always knew about my obli-...My feelings for him. You knew that right from the start. So don't you come complaining now."

He looked at her angrily. "Yes, I knew. But I didn't expect to come second every time mister boyfriend was available. I'm not just a toy, okay? I'm not something you can use as a back-up plan only."

"That's how we started, remember? Because you and I were both lonely. No...wait...because I was lonely. You just needed to get your action."

"That was a long time ago! It changed, okay? My feelings changed. I'm not treating you like something I use just to satisfy my needs. I do actually have feelings for you! But perhaps you don't share those feelings with me. Perhaps I really am just a toy to keep you busy."

She stared at him, not quite knowing what to say. She felt so angry with him right now.

"How dare you." She hissed. "If that is what you think then obviously you don't know me. You think this is all just a game? I have feelings for you too and you know it. Otherwise I wouldn't come back to you every time, now would I? Just face it, Irvine. I love you and I love Squall. Things are complicated enough without us arguing."

He stepped back. "...Fine. Perhaps you're right. It's not easy. Not for you and not for me. Can we just forget about this?"

She felt her head nod. Yes, she wanted to forget. In all honesty, she wanted to forget a lot of things. But right now she'd settle for this.

"So..." he said after a while. "No lunch then."

"No..."

"How about dinner?"

"...Not tonight. I can't. Tomorrow perhaps. After dinner."

He nodded. "Sounds good..."

He quickly bent forward and kissed her softly, ignoring her little surprised whimper.

"Good luck on your test."

"You too." She whispered as the classroom door suddenly opened to let in other students.

Everyone sat down and waited for the instructor to come in. He glared at his students over the top of his glasses. He had high hopes for this class, especially because most students looked up to two of their classmates who had fought in the war against the sorceresses, and wanted to grow to their level. On the other hand, those two were starting to slack off and they weren't as good as they used to be.

"Right." He said. "Today you will take the theoretical exam. Those of you who pass may take the field exam next week. Those of you who fail will be forced to wait another period. I wish you all the best of luck."

Rinoa looked at Irvine quickly before bending back down over her test. The test itself was easy. She had seen enough battles to be able to answer the questions. She looked at the clock patiently and filled in the answers one by one, feeling quite calm.

But her head was still so confused. Squall would be waiting for her once the test was over. But somewhere in her mind she knew that she wanted to spend more time with Irvine too. Sometimes she felt that Irvine was all she needed but then an image of her and Squall would jump to mind, casting Irvine far into the background.

She couldn't figure out who meant more to her. She let out a loud, agrivated sigh, earning herself a lot of angry stares from the other students. She smiled apologetically and they returned to their tests. She watched the time crawl on, keeping one eye on the clock.

She waited until the rest was done. She could feel Irvine's eyes on her, but decided to ignore him. At the moment she didn't want to look at him. Shaking her head, she let her hair ripple gently. She rested her head on her hand and tried to imagine what it would be like if she could just dash into Squall's arms when class was over.

'...Why shouldn't I be able to do that.' She though. 'It's not as if it would be unfair to Irvine...he knew from the beginning I really love Squall.'

But she knew that she had allowed something physical to turn into real emotions, something that never should have happened.

The instructor stood up, ready to collect their tests. Rinoa stood up with the others and handed in her answer sheet as she passed the instructor's table. She could hear a few girls who were already outside giggle. She heard them mention her name too.

When she left the classroom she saw what they had thought was so funny. Squall was leaning against the wall opposite the classroom door with a beautiful bouquet of forget-me-nots, looking a bit uncomfortable because of this attention from her classmates. She smiled warmly and rushed forward, planting kisses all over his face. She laughed when he pushed her off gently, looking at her with surprise.

"What happened? I haven't seen you this...happy in a while."

She kissed him again and nuzzled his neck. "Nothing. I just realised how much I missed you and how much I love you."

He hugged her. "Missed me? You only had once class since you saw me last."

"Yeah, I know. But I was done real soon so I had all that time left to think about you and long for you."

He laughed and took her hand.

"How 'bout you and I go out for a meal and a movie?" he said as they reached the Main Hall.

"Sounds good to me. But let me put these in water first." She said, pointing at the flowers. "And I need to feed Angelo too."

She skipped away and started to run as soon as she was out of sight. She felt so happy all of a sudden. And she realised she only needed Squall's love and attention to be content.

She rushed into her tiny kitchen, plucked a vase from a cabinet and filled it with water. Before letting the flowers rest in it, she smiled at them. She loved that scent. Forget-me-nots really were her favourites.

She took a can of dogfood and emptied it into Angelo's tray. He barked at her thankfully. She hugged her pet tightly.

"You know...I think everything's going to turn out perfectly fine. Squall's really been spending all this time with me and that's all I ever wanted. I love him so much. I really don't need Irvine at all. He'll just have to accept that."

Then she quickly ran out the door to meet Squall, who was waiting for her patiently.