One With You
A FFVIII Fanfiction by: Kayla Martin A.K.A Kei A.K.A Re-Fantasy-Goddess
I do not own any of these characters, only the storyline. Review and such. I would appreciate no Rinoa bashing. It seriously annoys me.
Chapter 2: A New Day
The next morning, Rinoa woke to the sound of birds chirping, cars coming and going and people going about their daily business. She turned to stare out the window that rested in the wall near her bed. Everyone seemed impervious to her pain. Then again, no one else knew. The woman sighed and pulled the comforter over her head. She hadn't wanted this. She never was any good at being alone. She heard her blue cellphone vibrate against the glass of her nightstand and she groaned. Angelo peeked out of the covers to stare at the object, rustling the blanket and shifted them off of Rinoa.
With a traitorous glare at her very large 'puppy', she twisted around onto her stomach and grabbed the device as Angelo jumped from the bed and pranced off into the kitchen to eat. Rinoa flipped open her cute phone and stared at the text message. It was her best friend, Quistis Trepe. A woman she had known since kindergarden. The blonde female worked at a nearby college by the name of Galbadia Institute, working as a professor and being damned proud of that fact.
Meet me at SB, I heard what happened. It read. Rinoa felt tears well up in her eyes again but forced them away. Who had told her, she thought. Seifer? She doubted it. Rinoa shoved up and nearly tripped on her way off of her large bed. She walked to the bathroom, ignoring the reflection that would show her puffy eyes from crying all night, and jumped in the shower.
She made sure to make the water hot so the steam would relax her eyes and clear away the red splotches from her face. She refused to cry again as she shampooed and conditioned her hair. She grabbed her poof and began washed her body in cocoa-butter wash. Once she was done rinsing, she stepped from the shower and toweled off. Rinoa wrapped the towel around her and stared into the mirror above her sink. It was mostly misted over from her bathing but she could see that she no longer looked as if she'd been crying. Not really.
She sighed as she left the room and walked through the hall to reach her room. Angelo was there, head resting on his paws and watching her. Rinoa smiled sadly at him.
"Love you too, puppy." She said, turning to her dresser and throwing on a blue skirt, a black tank top and a long blue coat that reached to just above her ankles. With a halfhearted wave to Angelo, she walked to the apartment door and shoved her black boots on before leaving. She locked the door behind her and shoved the keys into her coat pocket.
The apartment hall was nice, typical for an apartment complex. She walked by multiple doors that led into her neighbors homes, many being her friends seeing as Rinoa tended to be outgoing and sociable. She reached the elevators and took one to the lobby, skipping the stairs that she usually took. Once the elevator bell dinged and she reached the lobby, the man at the front desk immediately smiling at the woman. She waved at him as she stepped from the building, frigid air immediately hitting her in the face. At least I don't have to worry about color being in my cheeks, she thought absently.
The woman turned left and began her trek down the icy street, weaving through the crowded sidewalk. When Quistis had messaged Rinoa earlier, she had asked to meet at SB which was actually the local Starbucks, their favorite hangout ever since they were teenagers. She made her way there now, intent on acting nonchalant about the whole breakup, all the while hoping Quistis wouldn't see through her façade.
Rinoa walked by the Garden Corporation where she worked. She'd been offered a job as a journalist just out of college by this corporation and loved it. The place was incredibly well known and she'd been shocked by the unexpected offer but accepted it without a second thought. She was happy that Quistis wasn't the only one of them that was well off.
Rinoa finally reached the Starbucks. She stopped just outside the door and took a deep breath and swept a hand through her hair as she walked in. The heated air blew over her as she spotted Quistis, the beautiful blonde seated by the window. She wore pink, as usual and maroon glasses framed her lovely eyes.
Rinoa made her way over and pulled out the chair across from the blonde, seating herself. Quistis looked up as she snapped her phone shut, smiling at Rinoa sadly. The blonde scooted a coffe over to the brunette that she had previously ordered. Rinoa lifted it to her lips and sipped. Caramel latte, her favorite.
"I heard…" She stated. Rinoa's eyes jerked to her sympathetic ones. Confusion crossed the brunette's face as Quistis looked away.
"From Zell. The boy has such a big mouth." She answered.
"Lovely." Rinoa hissed out, bitterly, as she leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. Zell was Seifer's brother and he was someone that couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Quistis forced a smile.
"Hey, at least he didn't cheat." She said. Her attempts at trying to cheer Rinoa up were completely useless. The woman bristled, turned her head and glaring out the window.
"That we know of." She seethed. Quistis leaned back slightly, shock gently laced in her features. After a moment, the blonde shook her head and stood.
"I'm so sorry for you, Rinoa. You deserve better than him anyway." She said, grabbing her coffee and phone, which she flipped open immediately. Rinoa stared at her for a moment, not believing that she would leave so soon. The blonde turned her gaze away from her phone to Rinoa.
"I've got to go to work, I'll call you later though." Quistis explained, making Rinoa remember that her class started earlier. She was a professor after all. Rinoa slunk back in her chair as she sipped at her caramel latte. She sure was distracted, She noticed. I hope everything's alright at her job.
Rinoa walked through the glass doors leading into her workplace. The building was beautiful, modernly decorated and architected. She glanced at the woman at the front desk, who nodded politely at her, and took the elevator to the employee floor. Fellow employees were everywhere, all being busy.
Rinoa left the elevator when it reached her destination and made her way down the hall and to her desk. All the desks were separated by translucent glass walls that form miniature offices. Rinoa walked through her swinging door and sat in her computer chair.
After he visit with Quistis, she had gone back home to grab her work bag. Inside were the papers she finished two days ago, the papers she had to submit to the boss. It had been an extensive article and she had spent hours researching and rewriting it. Finally, she had been satisfied and placed them in a manila envelope. She pulled this out of her black bag and took a deep breath, readying herself. She hoped it would be adequate at least. She definitely needed this job.
Rinoa set her bag against the wall next to her desk before leaving. Once she left her 'office', multiple employees waved and said their greetings. She liked her friends at her job but she tended to stray from them while she was working, she couldn't afford to slack off as they did. She had just gotten this job a few months ago so she worried constantly about doing anything wrong, afraid she'd be fired.
Reaching her bosses door, which everyone called Cid, she knocked and waited. He called the brunette in shortly after. She opened the door and walked into the professional looking office. The back, behind Cid was completely glass.
"Hello, Mr. Cid." Rinoa greeted. A grin flashed across Cid's face as he motioned towards a chair across from him.
"Please, sit." He welcomed. She took her seat and waited for him to continue.
"Your work? Have you written the article?" He asked, looking at her through his thick glasses. She nodded and opened the folder, pulling out the papers and handing them over. Cid took them in his aged hands and began to read quickly. He scanned over them and made multiple nods and 'hmm' noises. She watched, biting her lip anxiously. A moment later, he set the papers down, and smiled at Rinoa.
The day was over and Rinoa walked from her building with a smile adorning her face. She'd done it, she'd written the article wonderfully and Cid had been very pleased; saying that he was glad to have hired her. She skipped happily for a moment, swinging her bag. Rinoa was incredibly proud of herself. The first big thing at her new job and she'd done right. Oh yeah, that's right! I'm the best! She thought giddily, almost saying it outloud. She glanced around, a hand to her cheek.
It was night, the sun having set about an hour ago, and people still walked the streets, though not as much as earlier. Of course, the brunette was so caught up in her own happy place that she didn't see the wall of flesh before she skipped right into it.
"Whoa!" Rinoa gasped as she fell backwards. She landed on the icy sidewalk, pouting as she noticed that her smacking into the man in front of her had barely jostled him. She winced at the pain in her backside as the man jerked around and stared down at her.
"…Are you alright?" He asked after a moment and hesitantly offered his hand. Rinoa looked up and froze. Good lord… she thought, taking in his features. I've never seen him before… She forced herself to move, taking his gloved hand. The man pulled her to her feet before picking up her bag and handing it to her.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking were I was going." She stated, smiling in embarrassment. The man raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently." He stated, making Rinoa blush heavily.
"I'm Rinoa Heartilly. Pleased to smack into you." She joked. She thought for a moment that amusement shown in his gray eyes but he didn't smile. She offered her hand.
"Squall Leonhart." He stated, shaking her hand after a seconds hesitation. He glanced away in thought before turning back to the woman.
"I've got to go. I guess I'll see you." He stated. Squall turned and began to walk away.
"See ya around." Rinoa said, starstruck. He must've still heard her because he waved back. She watched him go. Gorgeous with a capital G! She thought.He had layered brown hair, tan skin, gray eyes and a beautiful body. The only reason she knew that was because of his tight white shirt and black leather pants. A grin swept across her face. The best thing, she realized, was that he wasn't cold or impolite, though his words seemed to be, he was just shy, she noted.
It was in his eyes. Her mother had once told her that a person's soul could be read from their eyes and Rinoa knew it to be true. She smiled after Squall wistfully. She hadn't expected that the day after her breakup with Seifer that she'd run into someone like that but she wasn't complaining. As she turned to continue home, she hoped she'd see the man again.
Author's notes: So this is ch. 2. I hoped you enjoyed it. I know nothing all that exciting happened but you just wait. Anyway, I played with the idea of putting Squall's intro into ch. 3 but I'm biased, I love him too much! Review and such, ch.3 coming up soon!