(Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters. This is just for fun.)

Chapter 9: Chew Chew Train Cafe

Squall's shoulders hitched slightly as the office door slammed shut again. He sat at his desk stunned and motionless. Within a short period of time Rinoa had stormed out of the office not once, but twice. And he'd still done absolutely nothing.

What was wrong with his reflexes?

He'd been mentally prepared to put himself out there and approach his coworkers. Maybe. But now they were definitely gone. They'd left for lunch without him. He didn't even have the chance to go up there and talk.

Bad timing. I was too slow to react, he thought to himself, trying to break down what had gone wrong so he could correct it for next time. Now that his opportunity had come and gone, he sat there trying to envision ways he could have joined them or things he might have said. There had to be a solution if he thought hard enough. And if he had a time machine.

After a few moments he realized his mind was mostly blank. Apparently more time wouldn't have been a help.

Maybe if I'd... he started to think. But wait, he wouldn't have done anything. He was being too passive. As much as he'd like Rinoa to come up and jump into his lap and start a conversation, that was never in a million years going to happen.

In his defense, he didn't think they'd leave so suddenly. For one thing, it wasn't lunch time yet. But maybe Rinoa hadn't noticed that when she dragged Selphie and Zell out the door. She'd seemed surprisingly worked up by Seifer. It was kinda funny how she could just change her demeanor so suddenly. Sometimes she was quiet and unsure, sometimes forward and playful, and other times she just exploded in an impassioned and inappropriate outburst. You never knew what you were getting with Rinoa. It was kinda cute. Kinda exciting.

Squall brushed his fingers over his keyboard and smiled. Actually he thought it was kinda hot for some reason. He could watch Rinoa yell at Seifer all day. And he just might in this office.

Squall started envisioning that when Rinoa's desk phone started ringing shrilly, interrupting his quiet contemplation of her weird brand of hotness. It rang and rang because nobody was there to stop it. In her haste Rinoa hadn't taken care of her office duties. The phone system hadn't been set to its automated message service.

Squall reflected on her carelessness. Although, was careless really the right word? She was trying to be caring towards Selphie and Zell. So she wasn't careless, at least not towards people, but she wasn't particularly caring about her receptionist duties. Admittedly that wasn't ideal in a receptionist, but maybe it just meant she was a better at being a person than she was at being an office worker.

The shrill ringing of the phone continued unabated. The sound grated on Squall's ears. He waited for several more rings until it mercifully stopped. Finally.

Squall left his cubicle and strode up to Rinoa's desk. No overthinking, just doing.

It was funny how walking up to Rinoa's desk was so easy now that nobody was in the office. Seifer had gone to the break room and who knew where Irvine had disappeared to? Why couldn't he have done this before?

He quickly took Rinoa's phone off the hook and punched in the code to make it forward to the voicemail. He didn't want the phone intermittently ringing off the hook for the next hour. It wouldn't reflect well on the company and it would be a disservice to Phoenix's customers. They were a small company, but they shouldn't be unprofessional.

Plus, he didn't want Rinoa to get in trouble with Quistis. He didn't mind picking up her slack here or there.

It was funny that Rinoa had been in such a rush that she hadn't been thinking of her job at all. She didn't have many duties, but keeping the receptionist desk covered was the main one. How'd she forget? He remembered the sound of hot anger in her voice as she spoke up to Seifer. She'd gotten very riled up by his mocking of Selphie and Zell. She wasn't used to Seifer like Squall was. He'd been desensitized to his rudeness. Now Squall just took it in stride, like it was just an inevitable part of life.

Maybe he was doing it wrong. She seemed to think it was worthwhile to defend her coworkers, even though she didn't know them very well. Squall had known them for years, why hadn't he come to their defense?

He turned back to his cubicle, and looked around at its emptiness. It was so quiet and so gray. So empty and devoid of life. Nobody was even in the front office right now.

In a burst of thoughtless impulsiveness, he reached out and grabbed his coat. He was headed to the front door before he realized that he was going to go out and join them for lunch. Why not? Selphie didn't say he couldn't come. She'd said they could all go out for lunch today. He would be included in that, right?

Squall was feeling emboldened by his desire to learn more about Angelo. Maybe Selphie and Rinoa would keep talking about this strange 'Angelo' jerk over lunch.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, he figured.

His legs kept him moving out the door before his mind had a chance to stop him.

Selphie spun on the shiny chrome and red vinyl barstool at the lunch counter and let out a small whoop of joy. She was so happy that her coworkers had come with her to her special happy lunch place. Little toy trains filled with baskets of food puttered around the restaurant while train themed children's music played over the loudspeakers.

"I hear a train in the distance! Choo! Choo! Train, Train, take me away! To the future we will go!" the loudspeaker sang.

Selphie clapped her hands together with the beat and sang under her breath. A small child at the other side of the restaurant started clapping her hands together in imitation of her and smiled. Selphie nodded her head at the little girl in approval. They shared a moment of train filled happiness. She knew what this restaurant was all about. Fun!

While Selphie spun on her seat, Rinoa sat down next to her. She was much less enthusiastic about this place than Selphie, but she could see its charms. It had a bright and entertaining atmosphere and it smelled like hot and greasy fries. This was exactly the sort of fun restaurant that would appeal to children, and one that her father would have never taken her to when she was little. She smiled as a toy train went past her with a tiny teddy bear riding on the caboose. Rinoa had been forced to fit into the adult world when she was little because her father wouldn't have ever lowered himself to the level of a child. As a result, Rinoa had to "acquire a taste" for a lot of foods that were considered delicacies, no matter how much she hated them.

Another train went past. A steaming plate of fries covered in cheese wafted past her nose. She started salivating like a wild animal. She grabbed at a menu.

It was nice to be able to eat a plentiful plate of hot and greasy comfort food amongst people of her own general age group. Artfully arranged plates of minimalistic gastronomic delicacies were nowhere to be found here. Rinoa looked down at the laminated menu that was covered in sticky fingerprints and started looking it over. She was trying to decide on something to try when she looked over at Zell. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed as he studied his menu with intense concentration. He didn't appear to be entertained by the restaurants unusual decor. Rinoa could tell that he was at this restaurant for the food alone. He hummed under his breath as his eyes darted rapidly around his menu.

"Should I get fries or cheese fries on the side?" Zell said out loud.

Rinoa couldn't remember if she'd ever had cheese fries. They sounded pretty heavy, but if Zell got some, maybe he'd let her try a few.

"Why not both?" Selphie asked while stopping spinning.

Zell raised his eyebrows at her suggestions. The thought hadn't even occurred to him that he could have both.

"I don't think I should," Zell started to say.

"Your mom isn't here to stop you," Selphie said. Zell bristled at her statement. He was touchy when people mentioned his mom. He was a bit of a momma's boy, and that was okay because he loved his ma, but he just wished people wouldn't mention it all the time. Although maybe he did talk about his ma at the office more than most people would.

"Come on Zell, treat yourself. It's a Monday," Selphie said, continuing to spin slightly on her stool.

Selphie could make anything into a special occasion, even a Monday. She was the sort of person who could sabotage healthy eating resolutions, like a little devil perched on a dieter's shoulder. Luckily Zell wasn't dieting and had a high metabolism due to his casual interest in practicing martial arts and weightlifting.

Zell thought about the cheese fries. He hadn't had cheese fries in forever. It was a gluttonous treat, even he hadn't indulged in that often. Maybe he'd let Selphie talk him into it. It wasn't like he 100% didn't want to have them.

"Could we get some fries AND cheese fries over here for my friend?" Selphie called across the restaurant to a random waiter wearing a train conductor hat, making the decision for him. She leaned over and gave Zell's bicep a squeeze. Zell smiled at the contact, equally annoyed and flattered.

Selphie could prod a person into doing all sorts of things they wouldn't normally do. Once as a dare, she even got Zell to jump off a cliff. Actually it was more of a large rock on the beach, but it was pretty big.

"Yum yum, we're having fun!" she sang under her breath. Zell started to smile. He actually was starting to have fun. The smell of hot dogs was lifting his mood, and he also was sorta liking the attention from Selphie. She wasn't his type, but attention was attention. And hot fatty fries were on their way.

"I've had so many of these hot dogs, and they're all good," Zell said as he leaned over towards Selphie as if he was sharing a big secret. "Maybe I'll try something different today. It is a Monday after all." Her celebratory attitude was starting to rub off on him. He looked over the menu some more. "Hey, I've never tried The Doom Train, maybe I'll try that."

Selphie stopped smiling and swiveling on her bar stool. Her face sobered as she peered over at him. "Zell, The Doom Train, is not to be taken lightly. That's a whole foot long hot dog topped in extra spicy chili." Her voice had gotten much lower pitched than he'd ever heard it. Unbeknownst to him, this was her natural voice, she usually just spoke in a higher pitched tone. It fit her persona as energetic pixie.

"Oh yeah Chili dog!" Zell cheered while raising his fist in the air.

"Spicy!" Selphie warned while waving her hands in front of her face. "Really spicy!" She shook her head from side to side. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Do you not like spicy foods Selphie?" Rinoa asked. She doubted a children's restaurant would feature anything truly fiery. Maybe Selphie was overreacting. She seemed to exaggerate things. And Rinoa also had a feeling she was more into sweets than heat.

Selphie turned towards Rinoa. "I like them okay," she answered, "but this is seriously spicy. Like turn you red in the face spicy. Like steam coming out of your ears spicy."

"Oh, are you sure you're okay with that Zell?" Rinoa asked. Even if Selphie was exaggerating, she didn't want Zell to upset himself.

Zell didn't like Selphie and Rinoa questioning his eating abilities. He was a muscular guy with a big appetite. He could handle all types of food. Spicy food included. He didn't need them nagging him. "No problem!" Zell answered. "You ladies don't need to worry about me. I have a cast-iron stomach."

He quickly ordered The Doom Train, eager to eat something new. This was going to be a special Monday.

Squall marched down the cobblestone street with the wind whistling by his ears. He ducked closer in the fur collar of his coat. Balamb didn't get extremely cold, it wasn't frozen like Trabia, but damp cold had a way of soaking into a person's bones. He hoped he find this place soon or he was tempted to just give up and go back to the office. He'd already been outside longer than he'd expected.

He looked up and down the winding street he was standing on, not sure which direction to try next. How'd he feel so lost in a place that was so familiar to him? He figured he would have found this restaurant fairly easily even though he didn't know exactly where it was. Balamb town was a quaint seaside place, and by quaint he meant small. He looked up and down the next street, not seeing the train cafe either. He turned and headed back towards the train station. It would make the most sense if it was in that region of town. And that was in the "downtown" area of Balamb, at least the closest thing to a downtown it had. There were a few shops, restaurants, and a hotel in that area.

Unfortunately wandering, even a little bit, was wasting precious lunch hour time. He hoped they wouldn't be done and gone by the time he got there. He pulled his jacket tighter around himself to keep warm against the chilly air. He kept walking down the winding street and hoped it was around the next corner.

He hated feeling lost.

Zell's eyes glistened as he looked down at the little red basket. It had just puttered to a stop right before him, brought to him by a little toy train. The train was cute, but he didn't care about that. He just wanted to sink his teeth into his lunch. And it was a glorious sight. A foot long hot dog covered in a thick and rich chili. And that chili was topped with grated cheddar cheese and chopped white onions. It was a feast for his eyes alone! And that didn't even count the regular fries and cheese fries that Selphie had also ordered for him. Each side order of fries had come in their own basket. The entire train was his lunch.

He figured that they'd just come on the side of his hot dog, but in the same basket. Somehow he'd gotten two separate orders. Maybe the waiter had misunderstood. He didn't want that many fries. But if you were going to have too much of a thing, too many fries wasn't so bad.

He let his eyes take in the delicious scene before him for a few more moments. He wanted to save the image into his brain. You eat with your eyes first when you truly wanted to enjoy a meal experience. Then the meaty smell of the hot dog made his mouth water and he decided he'd better get to work if he wanted to get back to the office in any kind of reasonable time.

He picked up the foot long hot dog and tried to balance it delicately in his hand. No matter how he tried to juggle it, the overabundant chili spilled over onto his hand slightly burning him. He was going to make a mess no matter what today. He sighed and took a bite.

All his senses focused on this bite. He tuned out his dining companions and the colorful train atmosphere. He chewed and started taking mental notes.

It tasted even better than it looked. First off, the hot dog had a nice snap to it. Good all beef flavor. You couldn't have a good chili dog without a good basic hot dog as the base. And then there was the chili. It was a combination of rich meat, tomatoes and beans topped with cheese and chopped onions. It would have been a hearty meal in itself. He could imagine his ma making something like this on a cold winter's night. It was delicious, but it had a mild spice mixed into it. Pleasant and flavorful with a nice heat. It was nothing like Selphie warned him about. He could handle it. This restaurant was for babies.

He took another bite, wanting to continue his culinary odyssey. Wonderful hot dog bliss. He thought he heard Rinoa ask him if he like his hot dog, he wasn't sure. He was too busy enjoying himself. It was so good. He stopped chewing and blinked for a moment, did he feel the edges of his lips start to burn just a little bit? Maybe it was his imagination? No, the heat kept building. His eyes started to water, and then he grabbed for his tiny child-sized glass of water. He chugged it, not that it was helping any.

"Waiter," he called, wanting more water. He slapped his hand on the tabletop to get his attention faster.

"You okay Zell?" Selphie asked while chewing her food. Rinoa looked at him with concern.

Squall walked into the restaurant and looked around. It looked like a classic diner mixed with a toyshop. Posters featuring toy trains were featured on the walls, as well as teddy bears dressed as train engineers in various whimsical positions. Everything was colorful and busy, which would be fun for a child, but it was overwhelming for Squall. He tried to scan the restaurant, but it was hard to see from where he was at. The diner was very narrow, yet long. A long counter top stretched all the way from the front to the back of the restaurant, but there were a length of cozy booths made of red vinyl hugging the wall too.

Where were they?

The general layout of the restaurant made it hard for Squall to see if his coworkers were there, but he was also having trouble finding them because there was movement everywhere. Intricate train tracks wove around the restaurant with toy trains bearing steaming baskets of food. They were in constant motion and he tried to get his eyes to settle on something stationary in vain. Children wiggled everywhere while their moms tried to steady them and get them to eat. His eyes saw one young mom at the back the restaurant frantically trying to pat her large son on the back while he appeared to be sputtering on his food.

Her really, really large son who was wearing casual work clothes.

His eyes narrowed as he realized it was just Selphie and Zell. How'd he think Zell was a kid? Zell was shorter than average, but no child would be that wide. At least not in an athletic way like Zell was. And Selphie could be a young mom, but she wouldn't have a kid who was roughly her own age. Squall was disappointed in his ability to quickly gauge a situation. He must have been thrown off by the context of the children's restaurant.

Squall decided to try again and quickly scan the place. If Selphie and Zell were eating lunch, Rinoa had to be nearby. A blur ran up to Zell offering him a stack of paper napkins.

Squall dodged a small running child as he slowly walked closer to his co-workers. His mind went into overdrive now that he was here. How should he explain himself? Should he just sit there with them like this was normal? For all they knew he was a regular customer at this place.

While his mind reeled he slid into the unoccupied stool next to Zell. He would have loved to have taken a seat next to Rinoa, but he didn't want to be too obvious. Although was coming all the way out here just for a chance to be with her not obvious enough? They were going to find out why he was here and laugh at him. Rinoa already had a boyfriend and here he was mooning after her. He hardly even knew her.

"Hello," Rinoa said while leaning forward, dark hair swinging in front of her face. She gave Squall a small wave. Selphie and Zell hadn't noticed him yet because they were too busy summoning the courage to combat The Doom Train.

Squall nodded his head at Rinoa and drummed his fingers on the countertop.

That's right. He was there. She noticed him. Now what?

Squall noticed that Rinoa was picking at a half finished grilled cheese sandwich in a little red basket in front of her. Her fingertips were shiny with grease.

Lunch. That's what he was going to do. He was going to order some lunch. That was his cover story after all. It was lunch time and he was going to eat. He picked up a menu that was wedged between the plastic mustard and ketchup bottles that were near him. What should he get? He looked over as Zell was coughing and wiping chili stains of his face with a brown paper napkin. Zell seemed to be having trouble with the hot dogs at this restaurant.

"I'll have a hamburger," Squall said to the waiter that swiftly appeared next to him.

At the sound of Squall's voice, Selphie spun around. Zell looked up suddenly through red and watery eyes.

"Yo, it's Squall!" Zell exclaimed between coughs.

Selphie put on a huge smile. One more person had come to her favorite restaurant. She must be very persuasive. It warmed her heart.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you come out to lunch with us," Zell said. Squall shrugged at him. "Doesn't make sense." Squall's face paled slightly at Zell's remarks.

"But you're welcome anytime," Selphie added with a little bounce. Her expression was unsure, but hopeful. She turned to look at Zell briefly. "Although this is kinda weird." She felt that she had to agree with him a tiny bit as well.

Squall knew they were going to notice him doing anything out of character. Maybe he shouldn't have come. This was a mistake. He was even thinking of leaving as he glanced over at Rinoa's open face and her deep brown eyes. No, he came all the way out here. He was going to soldier it out. He was going to make it plausible and natural.

"I wanted to get out of the office today," Squall explained. Zell's eyebrows knit together and his mouth pulled to the side. Selphie looked at him blankly. "Seifer," he added. Suddenly Zell nodded his head at him, it all made much more sense now. He would have wanted to get away from Seifer too. Selphie made a big "oh" with her mouth at the mention of him. That explained everything to satisfaction for her.

"Hey Squall," Rinoa called across the counter to him. Squall's face immediately perked up. He looked towards her as much as he dared, but not looking her directly in the eyes. "Don't order The Doom Train," she said slowly and with emphasis. Squall didn't know what she was talking about, but it didn't matter. "Just for future reference," she said quickly and with a smile. Squall wanted to smile along with her too. This felt like a private inside joke, except he didn't know what she was talking about.

Selphie continued to eat her hot dog that was covered in yellow mustard while Zell had slowed to a stop with his meal. Every once in a while he'd venture to take another bite, and then several sips of water. He decided to turn his attention to his plentiful baskets of fries.

"Are you gonna finish your lunch Zell?" Selphie asked while snagging a fry out of his basket.

"I'm just pacing myself," Zell said, his eyes still red rimmed and watery.

"There's no shame in being beaten by The Doom Train," Selphie said. "You gave it your best shot." She motioned to the waiter. "Could we get a little doggie bag for my friend?" she asked.

Zell smiled a tight smile. He was scared she was going to make him finish the spicy monstrosity later at work just to show him that he should have listened to her warning.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to waste food. Totally gonna eat it later," Zell said, "at home." He tried eating some more of his fries.

Zell sat there while he felt his stomach let out a rumble. Uh oh. Zell didn't want to face any negative consequences from his lunch choice.

"Squall, it's great to see you drop by, but I think I gotta get going. I have to run an errand before I get back to work," Zell said. That chili was rumbling in his gut already. He better stop and pick up some antacids or he was going to be in agony for the rest of the afternoon.

Selphie swiveled towards Squall to explain. "Zell didn't listen to me and ordered the super spicy Doom Train chili dog." She leaned in close and whispered to Squall. "The next stop for the Doom Train is going to be Toilet Town."

Zell sat up and sputtered. "I'm just gonna get some antacids!" he yelped.

"Selphie," Rinoa said, feeling bad for Zell.

Zell felt that he had to explain. "I can handle spicy food, but that was a whole separate level of spicy," Zell said. "I thought my stomach was made of cast iron, but maybe it's not. Gonna get some chalky mint flavored goodness to ease the burning."

"Yuck, the white mint ones?" Selphie asked. "What are you, some kinda old lady?" She waved her hands in front of her face. "Trust me, get the colorful fruity flavored ones. They taste better and they work way better too."

Squall was worried that the two people that suggested this particular restaurant had such strong opinions about antacids.

"What brand are those?" Zell asked.

"I don't know the name, but I know what they look like." She suddenly hopped up from her stool and grabbed Zell by the back of his arm. "I'm gonna come with you and make sure you get the right ones. And don't even think about getting the generic version. Why bother doing something if you aren't going to do it right?"

"Selphie I don't..." Zell complained.

"I'm helping you!" Selphie protested as she wolfed down the rest of her hot dog. She slapped down enough money for the both of them before ushering Zell towards the restaurant's exit. "See you guys at the office soon," Selphie said with her mouth half full. She continued to bicker with Zell as they left.

Squall's heart rate picked up. Now that Selphie and Zell left, he was alone with Rinoa. It was almost like a date, except nobody had asked the other person out, they were each paying for their own meals, and Rinoa was unaware of his feelings for her. But otherwise it was a date. They were dining alone together.

A loud child ran by him while slapping him on the back with a hard plastic toy airplane. The child's high pitched screams zoomed off into the distance while he made blubbering airplane noises. Almost alone.

Rinoa looked across at him, feeling the distance between them. It was strange to eat with somebody with two empty bar stools in between them. She got up and stacked Selphie and Zell's red plastic lunch baskets. She shoved them off to the side to be collected by wait staff.

"If you don't mind, I'm just gonna get a little closer now that they're gone," Rinoa said.

Squall didn't mind.

"Sorry that Seifer was annoying to you at work," Rinoa chatted. "I've known a lot of guys who could be like that."

So Rinoa knew lots of guys? What guys? Was she talking about Angelo? Was Angelo an overbearing jerk like Seifer? How could she stand him? Why would she want to be with a guy like that? And what sort of people did she know back home?

"Yeah," he agreed, hoping she'd keep up a largely one-sided conversation. They sat in silence for a minute. As much as he didn't want to have to talk, he figured he should ask something.

"Do you miss home?" Squall asked.

Rinoa sat up straighter on her stool and her eyes looked up towards the ceiling. She let out a big puff of breath that made her bangs flutter. "Hmmm, I don't think I've even been here long enough to miss home. And this nice island setting is making me feel like I'm only on a vacation. It's so much more temperate out here and the beaches look great. The fact that I moved out here hasn't even set in yet. So I guess I'm not missing home." She tipped her head from side to side. "Yet."

But what about the people? Squall thought.

"People?" Squall asked, not looking at her, pretending that her answer wasn't of great interest to him.

"Ha! Getting away from a certain person was why I moved here," she laughed. Squall sat up slightly, shocked at her exclamation. "It was a great motivator to my career decision." She clicked her tongue against her teeth.

Abusive boyfriend? Squall thought. He looked over at her with widened eyes, not being able to hide a concerned look on his face.

"Oh," she said. "That sounded kinda bad. I just meant that it was a relief to get away from my father." She shrugged her shoulders. "Stern overprotective fathers, you know."

Squall didn't know. That didn't sound like his father at all. He quickly had a flashback of being a scared little boy wearing water wings at the edge of a pool. While thinking of tentatively dipping a toe in the water he suddenly was pushed in by his shirtless and sunburned father. His father had laughingly cheered to, "just go for it!" as he flew through the air. He could still remember the cold shock and water being splashed into his face and up his nose. He was only a toddler and he didn't know he wasn't going to drown. He'd been terrified. Luckily his mother had enough common sense to give him water wings when he was near a pool with his impulsive father. She'd also been close by to rescue him as he screamed for help. He clearly remembered snuggling his wet face into the cool shade of her sunhat as she lifted him up onto her shoulder and out of the water.

"Friends?" Squall asked, willing the memory away.

"I still chat with my friends online," Rinoa said. "So I guess I'm not missing them yet. It's like I've barely been gone at all. If anything, it feels that Zone talks to me even more know that I've moved out here. He's such a worrier." She laughed.

She knows a lot of guys, he thought.

"And Watts never was the most talkative person, but he sends me pictures a lot."

And yet another guy. A guy who sends her pictures. Pictures of what? The best scenario Squall could think of was him sending shirtless bathroom mirror pics. And the worst case scenario he didn't even want to internally verbalize to himself. Doesn't she have any girlfriends?

"And it's not like I'm alone and cooped up inside. I have Angelo."

Yes, she had her boyfriend. Couldn't forget about that guy.

"Angelo loves walks," she said as she took another bite of her sandwich. "Really excited for them. Long walks on the beach." She took a sip of water. "All the time."

Ugh, Mr. sexy-name was a romantic? Squall hadn't envisioned that. He figured he'd be a rough guy who sat around watching sports while taking Rinoa for granted. If he was romantic, it would be more of a competition for Squall to win Rinoa over.

But maybe Squall could be romantic too. He tried picturing a romantic setting between himself and Rinoa. He tried and failed. The best he could picture was training Rinoa on how to make collated copies on the copier at work. Even if they managed to accidentally brush hands while pulling out a hot and freshly collated batch of copies, it still wasn't romantic at all.

He was not good in this department.

Squall started picturing himself taking a long walk on the beach with Rinoa. It wasn't original, but it was much better and definitely romantic.

And once again he was disgusted with himself. Not only was he plotting to steal Rinoa away, he was plotting badly.

Maybe he should just be quiet and stop thinking. He was very good at being quiet, but he'd never figured out how to make himself stop thinking.

He waited for his food to arrive, not knowing what to do or say. He stared at the chrome paper napkin dispenser in front of him. His reflection was warped across it's curved surface, making his face seem monstrous and distorted. He suddenly grabbed some napkins and started mopping up spilled chili dog residue like it was the most important thing in the world. Rinoa continued to nibble at her sandwich. He didn't know how she was making it last so long. His heart hoped she was doing it as an excuse to stay longer with him. He swallowed and heard it audibly and cringed. He hoped she didn't know how nervous he was.

"Hungry?" she asked him.

Squall nodded his head without looking over at her. He looked up and saw that his hamburger was finally arriving on the back of a toy train. While Squall was pondering what was the most manly way to remove a hamburger from a toy train in a children's restaurant, Rinoa pulled it out and set it in front of him.

"Cute, huh?" she asked. She pulled up a neon green pickle spear a took a little bite. "What are you waiting for?" Rinoa asked him.

"What?"

"We'd better hurry, so we can get back to work on time," she explained.

"Yeah," Squall agreed and he grabbed his burger and took a huge bite. He had to hurry, Rinoa told him so.

"How is it?" she asked.

Squall chewed his hamburger. It was cooked well, the meat was juicy. Lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, ketchup, and mustard topped it. Altogether it was a perfectly decent hamburger, but he didn't register that opinion because he barely tasted it. All he could think about was Rinoa. The way she was sitting there and looking at him curiously with her dark eyes.

How'd he get to this point? Why was he so scared of normal things like this? And more importantly, how could he repeat this scenario, but in a more ambient location?

As he chewed, he realized that his social fears may be unfounded, and that socializing wasn't so bad... if it was with the right person.

He swallowed.

"This is... pretty good," he finished.

End of chapter 9

Author's notes: I've actually been to a restaurant like this with my niece and nephew. Selphie would love it. (And I've been sitting on this chapter for a while. I wasn't sure if it was cute and fun enough to post, but I worked on it a bit more and here it is. There are more chapters to come. I have a few half finished chapters I'm working on too.)