The Ironic Things in Life

Disclaimer: Didn't own it last time I checked.

Just thought I should explain this cos I haven't used it in the previous chapters.

"..." - speech

'...' - thinking

Italics - for dreams or flashbacks

---

When Rinoa Heartilly had woken up that morning, she had never expected to be holding the item that was in her hand at that moment; the letter.

Rinoa read through it again, making sure that she wasn't imagining things.

"No, it can't be," she whispered, tears springing to her eyes again.

Rinoa was walking towards her bus stand in a daze. She just couldn't believe what was happening.

She ignored people that she bumped into. Her mind was elsewhere.

"How could this happen…?" she wondered out loud.

Her head filled with the sound of gun shots and screaming; things she didn't want to remember.

With an insignificant wail, Rinoa collapsed onto a brick wall. She didn't have the energy to go to work. She didn't have the energy to do anything.

After all this time, she had managed to brighten up her life in Galbadia, but now things were going downhill.

"Why is this happening to me…?"

For, the letter that was in Rinoa's hand was about something that she wished she had never done. Something that she was about to be punished for.

Her past had finally caught up to her.

-----

Squall stared at Rinoa from where his car was parked.

'It's happened at last,' he thought to himself, 'She's turned into a psychopath.'

But when he studied Rinoa closely again, he could tell that she was just very upset.

'I wonder what happened this time….maybe she broke a nail….'

Squall tapped the steering wheel of his car, still studying Rinoa. Her dark hair had fallen down her graceful porcelain neck, and Squall felt drawn to her in a strange way.

He shook his head, as if to force himself from looking at her.

'What the hell is wrong with me…?'

Just as he said that, Rinoa stood up. She stumbled as she took a step forward, and Squall realised that something wasn't right.

Quickly, he got out of his car and crossed the street to where Rinoa was swaying dangerously.

"Um…are you ok?" he ventured to ask her.

Rinoa's ears perked up at the familiar voice, and she momentarily focussed her dark eyes onto him.

"Y-you…pig….ge-…away…"

Rinoa swiped weakly at Squall and then fell into his arms in a faint.

Squall looked down at the girl, terrified out of his mind.

'Oh god, what the hell am I supposed to do now?'

He looked down at Rinoa again.

'Er…she's not dead, right?'

-----

Squall knocked furiously on the apartment door, wondering where the hell Irvine and Seifer had gone off to and died.

There was an unnerving burp on the other side of the door, and Irvine opened it.

Irvine's eyes widened at the sight of the young woman in Squall's arms. Squall pushed past him into the apartment and hurried to his room.

Seifer choked on his drink when he saw what was in Squall's arms.

"What the…?"

"Irvine! Bring some water!" Squall ordered from his room.

As Irvine quickly grabbed a glass from a cupboard, Seifer sauntered over to Squall's room.

"What did you do to her, Leonhart?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

Squall glanced up briefly.

"Nothing! She just fainted on top of me!"

Seifer realised that Squall's voice was shaking.

"Here, here!" Irvine cried, running into Squall's room with a glass of water.

Seifer failed to move his foot from Irvine's path and Irvine fell on top of Squall, spilling the water over Rinoa. Squall, in turn, fell on top of Rinoa.

"Irvine! Will you get the hell off me!"

As Irvine struggled, his feet twisted on the edge of the bed sheets, Rinoa gained consciousness.

-----

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Rinoa screamed.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Squall screamed.

"What are you…get the hell off ME!" Rinoa shrieked.

Squall was too stunned to realise that Irvine had gotten off him ages ago.

"You PERVERT! You HARASSER!" Rinoa yelled, hitting Squall all over the face.

"Calm down! I'm just trying to help you!" Squall shouted.

"GET….OFF!"

With a boost of energy, Rinoa pushed Squall away with as much force as she could conjure, which caused him to tumble onto the floor.

Squall jumped to his feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded.

Rinoa placed her hand furiously on her hip.

"What the hell is wrong with YOU?"

Rinoa stood there, glaring at the guy who had already caused so much trouble in her life. She couldn't believe that he had tried to have his way with her. The nerve!

Seifer snickered, causing Rinoa to turn sharply in his direction. For a brief second her eyes widened.

'It's him!'

"Seifer…?" she asked, as if barely believing that he was standing before her.

Seifer shrugged.

"Surprise….?"

Rinoa ran into his arms.

"Seifer, get me out of here!"

Seifer stared down at the petite woman, and then glanced at Squall who was glaring at both of them.

He grinned.

Squall wasn't angry or upset. Nor was he offended or pissed off. He was jealous.

-----

Rinoa lay tossing and turning in her bed that night.

Her mind was still focussed on the contents of the letter. After a while, she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

"Rinoa!" a young man with brown hair called out.

"Run, Rinoa!" another young man, wearing a beanie, shouted.

"Wait!" Rinoa yelled, "Wait for me!"

"Run, Rinoa!"

"I...can't! Wait!"

"Hurry, Rinoa!"

Gunshots fired in the background.

"Don't leave me…please…"

"Rinoa! You can make it!"

"Jump, Rinoa!"

"NO! Zone, Watts! WAIT!"

With a start, Rinoa woke up. Sweat was pouring down her face and she had kicked her blanket off her bed.

Her memories were now haunting her dreams. They were things that she didn't want to remember; things that she wished she had never done.

She sighed and tried to get into a comfortable position, before drifting off again.

-----

Not far away, Squall Leonhart was having the same trouble. He couldn't get to sleep at all, and when he dared to close his eyes, the same image kept entering his mind.

In fact, the image had seemed to have etched itself into his brain. No matter what he thought about, it kept on resurfacing.

The image was of course of Rinoa in Seifer's arms.

'But why would that bother me so much?' he wondered.

'Why do I even care what Rinoa does?'

Squall rolled over on his side.

'She's completely crazy. What does she have against me? She's probably in love with Seifer."

Squall sat up abruptly.

He didn't know why that thought had caused him so much discomfort.

"What do I care…?" he muttered, before trying to resume his sleep again.

-----

"Morning, Rinoa," Zell said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Morning, good to see you fully clothed today."

Zell blushed, and hurried into his room.

As Rinoa headed to the lounge room, she saw Selphie and Quistis bickering.

"But, Quisty…"

"No buts. Rinoa won't like…oh, morning Rin."

Quistis flashed Rinoa a bright smile that was filled with guilt.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"What won't I like?"

Selphie bit her lip, and glanced at Quistis.

"Uh…nothing."

Rinoa looked pointedly at Selphie, who finally gave in to Rinoa's icy glare.

"Well, um…you know how it's my birthday party this weekend…?"

Rinoa nodded.

'How can I forget? Selphie stuck notes everywhere….including Zell's underwear…'

"Well, I was thinking of inviting Irvine…"

"What's wrong with that?" Rinoa asked.

Selphie played with the clasps on her yellow dress overalls.

"But then I thought it'd be rude not to invite Squall…"

"WHAT? You're going to invite him even after everything that he's done?"

Selphie flinched.

"But, Rin…"

"Rinoa," Quistis interrupted, "Just because you have some strange thing against Squall, doesn't mean that…"

"I don't have a strange thing against him! There's a reason for it!"

"Sure, Rin. Look, it's Sef's party and she can invite who ever she wants."

Rinoa crossed her arms.

"Fine! Why would you care about my feelings anyway? Go ahead and do whatever you want! I don't care!"

-----

Rinoa sat in the park, waiting for the one person that she could really talk to about her life.

She fiddled with her hair nervously.

'I hope I look alright. I wonder if he's superficial…'

"Hey," a husky voice said in her ear.

Rinoa's skin tingled as the young man's breath lingered on the bare skin of her neck.

"Hi, Seifer," she whispered.

Seifer took a seat beside her and studied the side of her face.

"Why'd you ask me to come here?"

Rinoa shrugged, trying to keep her tears inside.

"So can I go then?"

Seifer was half standing when Rinoa furiously faced him, about to yell insults. Then she realised that he was joking.

Seifer resumed his seat and observed the way Rinoa's flawless skin was accentuated by her rosy pink cheeks and rose bud lips.

Rinoa blushed when she noticed Seifer looking at her intently. Feeling shy, she tucked a lock of her black behind her ear.

"So, what's the matter Rinoa?"

Rinoa sighed.

She was enjoying the silence between her and Seifer. It made her feel secure, in a way.

"I guess I've just been feeling a little under the weather."

"How come?"

Rinoa shrugged, deciding not to cloud Seifer's mind with her stupid life.

"It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're here."

Rinoa looked up at Seifer, who put an arm around her shoulder. The bright green of his eyes were penetrating into hers, and she could think of nothing else but him.

Not far away, a young man with slate blue eyes was surveying the scene in the park, his eyes turning dangerously dark.

A/N: My major apologies for the lateness of updating. I was away on holidays...seriously! I know it's short, and doesn't live up to expectations...but I promise the next chapter will be loads better. I guess I was going through a lazy/depressed period and so was Rinoa... :p

Ok, here's a task for you guys; I want you to guess what the letter is about. Heehee, looking forwards to your predictions. And I'll update by tomorrow...I promise. :)

Now, when I got back from my holiday, I was extremely pleased by your reviews...thanks guys. :)

Dark Naruto: Thankies! I'll try to update every second day now.

Verdanii: Glad you think it's "neato" and that you like it. :)

Luis: Hehe, trust me; Seifer and Irvine are up to something good. More on that in the upcoming chapter.

o513o: Eeek, sorry for the little cliff hanger. I felt like being a little "mean". :o

Cerulean Crystal: Glad you like the storyline and the humour. This chapter is missing that humour, but more funny stuff in chapter 5 (hehe, Seifer & Irvine).

Sense of Life: Well, I cracked up cos of your review. Thanks! It's good to know you like my work. I've just been updating fast cosI had the basic idea in my mind so it only took me like a day or so to fix up tiny details and so on. :)

Thanks for taking the time to review...I really appreciate it. And as for you lazier ones who only read it and don't review... (coughs)...hit that review button right now!