Copyright:I do not own Final fantasy 8 or the characters or anything to do with it. but you already knew that! i also dont own the lyrics used in this songfic they are from the songs 'if i were you' and 'don't tell me' both written and owned by hoobastank.

Note:well this is my first attempt at a songfic, or a story atall really. This is just chapter one. Chapter 2,3,4 are coming soon i promise. would love some feed back so please review. I also promise the other cahpters wont be as long as this one, so please read!

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You seem to find the dark when everything is bright.

You look for all that's wrong instead of all that's right.

The cafeteria of Balamb garden was lively as usual. At a table in the centre of the cafeteria sat Commander Squall Leonhart with the 5 people most important to him. His best Friends-the lively Zell Dincht, the re-instated instructor Quistis Trepe, Spunky Selphie Tilmit and Irvine Kinneas her cowboy boyfriend-and of course his girlfriend Rinoa Heartilly. It had been a year since their ordeal with Ultemicia, but now everything appeared to be perfect for the six heroes.

But unfortunately it's always true that beneath the surface there are cracks forming. Squall and Rinoa appeared to be the perfect couple, and at first they were. They were deeply in love, and probably always would be. But that doesn't mean they didn't have problems. Squall was constantly busy with his commander job, and recently he had been working most days and a lot of nights too. At first Rinoa was tolerant, understanding how much stress he was under, but more recently she had started complaining to Squall that he never made time for her, that he worked too often. This had caused a fair few fights; squall was tired of being criticised for being committed to his job. But to everyone else, they still appeared to be perfect .All this fighting took place behind closed doors.

Another issue was Seifer. He too had changed in the last year, he was good now, but he still wasn't Squall's favourite person. Squall knew that Seifer still had a thing for Rinoa, he knew about their past, and he knew that they had become more and more friendly over the last year. He trusted Rinoa but he didn't trust seifer. At the very moment Squall was thinking about this, Seifer appeared at the edge of the table. "Morning guys" he said pulling up a chair and sitting next to Rinoa. The two began a conversation that didn't seem to include anyone else. Irvine and selphie were deep in conversation, as were Quistis and Zell. Squall was slightly wounded by his friends ignoring him. Irritated, he downed his coffee, slammed the mug on the table and stood up. "I'm gonna go."

Rinoa jumped up from her seat. "Is everything ok hunny?" she asked

"fine. I just have to work. It's important". A stab of irritation entered Rinoa's mind. He was always saying how important his work was. More important than her? "ok" she said evenly trying not to let the irritation show through in her voice, "but don't forget we have tickets for that show tonight, the concert. It starts at six. So don't be working late."

'She's all ready assuming I'm going to let her down. That's charming' Squall thought as he walked away from her.

Squall sat in his office sifting through a mass of paperwork that had just arrived. He glanced at his watch. 6.07 pm. "damn it" . He was supposed to being going to the show, but he knew he was nowhere near finished here. He knew what he had to do.

The phone in Rinoa and Squall's dorm rang twice before Rinoa answered.

"Hey. It's me." came Squall's voice on the other end. 'He's going to cancel I just know it' Rinoa said to herself.

"Rinoa, I'm not going to be able to make it to the show. I'm sorry. But you know, why don't you go anyway, you'll probably enjoy it."

Rinoa took a deep breath, then just put the phone down.

Look what surrounds you now, more than you've ever dreamed. So what's it going to take for you to realise it can all go away in one blink of an eye?

It was past 1 AM. In the darkened dorm room Squall lay on his bed waiting for Rinoa to come in. He was starting to wonder were the hell she was. Surely the show couldn't be that long. Suddenly he heard footsteps and voices outside the door. Someone was laughing, a man. The voice he immediately recognised as Rinoa's said "Shhh! Stop laughing. It's not funny. If I don't find my key I'll have to knock and Squall wont be happy if I wake him up."

The male voice spoke, "I actually think that would be quite funny!" Then it clicked-that voice belonged to Seifer!

A few seconds later he heard the key in the lock and the door opened slowly letting a beam of light into the room and then shut. Assuming that squall was asleep, Rinoa crept across the room heading for the bathroom.

"were have you been?"

Rinoa nearly jumped a mile in the air "Ahhh! You scared me I thought you were asleep!" I was at the show, it ran over a little."

"cant imagine it was much fun on your own" Squall said flicking on the nearby lamp "or did you take someone?"

"oh yeh. I gave your ticket to selphie. Girly night out.".

Squall nodded in response and Rinoa turned and started to head for the bathroom again.

"liar". The word broke the room as easily as stone shatters glass.

Rinoa spun round to face her boyfriend. "Excuse me?"

"you're a damn liar! You went out with Seifer. And don't try to deny it because I heard him outside".

Rinoa sighed "ok fine. I didn't feel much like going on my own, then I bumped into Seifer and he didn't have plans. it's no big deal"

"then why did you lie?"

" Because I knew you'd be annoyed. I knew you'd overreact".

Here we go again…another fight.

You never say a word unless it's to complain, it's driving me insane

Don't tell me you are ready to change don't tell me from now it wont be the same.

Squall awoke up the next morning with memories of the previous night filling his head. Every painful word said was still there, clinging to his thoughts. The yelling and screaming had gone on all night. The same old issues and some new ones. God, had he really said what he thought he had? Squall thought it all over as he showered hoping the blasting water would wash away the pain and guilt he was feeling. 'I accused Rinoa of cheating on me with Seifer, called her a liar. I'm an idiot. She wasn't completely innocent though, she said things too. She hurt me.

Said I was shutting her out, ignoring her. Kept yelling that I hadn't changed, called me jealous of Seifer because he had changed. That just made me mad. But that wasn't the worst of it….' Squall thought back to the very end of the argument.

"Did you ever love me squall? Are you even capable of love? " Rinoa had tearfully screamed at him. And that was the point he snapped, and the point he couldn't come back from. What he had said…..

" How dare you even ask. I risked everything for you. I am capable of love and I did love you. But I cant keep this up anymore. Love doesn't last forever"

"true love does"

"then I never truly loved you. We're through"

At the moment the anger just melted away and turned to sorrow. He could see in her face he had broken her heart. He had broken his own too.

'God why did I say that…. I didn't even mean it. Of course I love her. I don't want it to be over. I don't even know how to live without her.'

Knock knock knock

Squall answered the door to see Rinoa standing there.

"We need to talk" she said almost in a whisper.

The moment he saw her squall was conflicted. Half of him wanted to forget it all, tell her he didn't mean what he said , tell her how he really felt, that he did love her. But the other half of him was still angry, why should he apologise, he wasn't the only one at fault. He said nothing, stared at her silently.

It's not what you say or what you do, you cant take back what you've put me through

"Please Squall. I'm sorry about everything I said. I was just upset. I didn't mean it." she had broken into a wave of tears "please tell me you didn't mean it either. Please tell me you do love me."

"I do still love you" squall said quietly "but I don't think it was working. It's not just last night Rin…"

"Please cant we just give it one more try.!" she begged

Tension filled the room, suspended like a wave waiting to break. The silence was unnerving, finally Squall spoke…. "No."

Crash. The wave had broken.

Note:ok. hope you liked it. chapter 2 coming soon!