Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any part of the series.
Author's Note: First, I would like to thank everyone who gave me reviews: GreenOpalus for reading and reviewing both my stories, MonMonCandie for not only reading and reviewing, but also for helping me develop Squall's character, for Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly for never failing to read and review my story, and for Cerulean Crystal for reading my story and giving me one long review which also helped me. :3
But most of all, thank you all for not getting tired of reading "The Mr. Arrogants". *hugs*
I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. ^^
Squall and Seifer were entitled with four days of service for the school library, as a punishment given by the Disciplinary Office for the fight they made the day before. Squall, annoyed with the piece of paper in his hand that indicates the time and venue of his 'detention', was sitting on his usual corner at 3-A's classroom. This wasn't the first time he got a detention, though it has been a while before he had one again. The last time was worse, he can still remember how he worked for the Principal's office for two hellish weeks with his then classmate Cloud when they were still in their first year high school. It was hard not to fight with him when they were under much supervision of their school's Principal. He reminded himself that this one he will be having right now should be better, since he'll be working at the library (practically the only place in the school he's fond of) and he'll be with his friend Seifer, who acted like nothing happened the day before.
"How many hours do you have?" Squall's blonde friend who gave him the cut on his forehead, in which he retaliated with by punching Seifer twice on his stomach, asked casually as he sat beside his detention buddy.
"Ten hours." Squall plainly replied.
"Same." Seifer waved the same piece of paper Squall was so irked about. "Whaddya say we just skip lunchbreak to work and get this over with?" The blonde one proposed, obviously not very keen working for the library.
Squall waved his hand in a 'whatever' manner. "Works for me."
"What?!" Zell, who were watching them nervously this whole time, gave the two a confused look. "You were just beating each other up before, and now you were all like buddy buddy as if nothing happened!"
"Chill Zell, you should at least be glad they made up. Besides," his brown haired Irvine, who was sitting in front of Seifer and Squall, took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. "they've always been like that. Fight, then shake it off. Get used to it"
"But there's something else one of them should do." Quistis, who just got in, approached her two friends. Squall and Seifer gave her a muddled look.
"You know I was talking about you, Seifer." She then gave the blonde one a serious stare, accentuating her point.
"What?" Seifer asked.
"Apologize to Rinoa." Quistis replied with much demand in her voice.
"Like hell I'll do that." Seifer, obviously uninterested, looked away from his rosy blonde friend and waved his hand to shake the matter off.
"And like hell I'll forgive you for almost hitting me that night." Quitis crossed her arms at her rebuttal. Seifer frowned at it. She knew Seifer fancies her for quite a long while, though she barely returns the favor. Still, he was being persistent, until Quistis realized that any of her actions against him is his weakness.
"Apologize to her, and I'll forget about it." Quistis attempted to make it as a deal with Seifer.
"Why are you being so insistent about apologizing to 3-B's new girl? Why bother?"
She sighed. "Squall never wanted to involve us in his fight with Cloud, we just got ourselves into it because we're his friends." Quistis sternly explained. "I know we're enemies with Cloud's gang, but it doesn't mean we should involve their other classmates as well, especially Rinoa who tried to protect our friend Selphie, whom you also almost hit, despite knowing that she belongs in 3-A."
Seifer still did not let his eyes reach Quistis'.
"Hey guys! What's the meeting?" Their cheerful brown haired friend who finally arrived, noticed how her friends gathered at Squall's corner, thinking it could be about the fight.
"Squall and Seifer got detention... and Quistis was trying to make Seifer say sorry to Rinoa." Zell lazily oriented Selphie.
"OH! Yeah Seifer! You owe us alot of apology!" She pointed herself, Irvine and Quistis.
"Then SORRY!" Seifer finally faced his friends and reconciled without a hint of sincerity.
"No Seifer! We'll only forgive you if you apologize to Rinoa! She's the one who needs your apology more than we do!" Selphie squealed with demand to Seifer as she bent her face closer to his. Seifer grumbled.
"I'm not gonna do this. Squall?" He turned to his seatmate, hoping that he would back him up. But Squall only looked at him for a few seconds, then turned away.
"Damn you."
"C'mon Seifer!" he felt Selphie's hand grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his chair. He pulled his arm out from her grasp, but Quistis held his shoulder tightly and began pushing him out of the door.
"If the same thing happened to me," Quistis murmured at Seifer. "I know you would like Squall to do the same."
Seifer did not need anymore explanation. He knew exactly what she meant.
He finally gave up struggling as they approached 3-B's classroom.
Tifa, Rinoa, Yuffie and Yuna were all gathered on the floor near Cloud's chair, playing a game Yuna just introduced to them called "Sphere Break". It was quite a confusing game for Rinoa, especially that it required her to use some of her mathematical skills, which she is quite bad at.
Tifa and Yuffie were so far leading the game, with the shorter haired girl winning.
"Multiple of...." Yuffie, rolling a coin in her hand while thinking of her next move.
"Hurry up Yuffie, you're running out of time!" Tifa reminded her.
Rinoa and Yuna were suspensely watching them, both actually nervous about Yuffie's winning move. Cloud, who was sitting near them, watched them amusingly while his seatmate Zack was also getting tensed with Yuffie.
"Hurry!" Cloud's black haired friend shouted at Yuffie as he began drumming his fists on his desk with anticipation.
Suddenly, they all heard a knocking on their door. They all looked up.
There, standing bravely at 3-B's door, is 3-A's Quistis Trepe.
"May I speak with Rinoa please?" She tried to ask as nicely as possible.
Rinoa turned to her friends and only saw their surprised expression, except for Tifa who was frowning, and Cloud, who was back to his expressionless state while looking out the window.
"Yeah, sure." Rinoa stood up and noticed that Tifa followed suit.
"I'm coming with you." Rinoa sensed the security Tifa wanted to give her when she spoke, immediately understanding how she felt about Quistis' appearance. So she allowed Tifa's accompaniment.
As they approached the door, Rinoa noticed that Quistis has someone else too, and it quite surprised her to see that it was Seifer, while Tifa's frown turned to glare as she did not like what she was seeing. But Quistis remained calm.
"There's nothing to worry about." She assured to Tifa, who was still cautious with the blonde girl. "Seifer here came to say something." Quistis then turned to Seifer. So did the two girls with similarly black hair.
It took a few seconds before Squall's blonde friend finally turned to face them.
"I'm sorry." He said with a hint of sincerity that cost him quite alot of effort.
Tifa's face relaxed, and was surprised to see Rinoa still blankly staring at Seifer. A few seconds have passed and Rinoa has not said anything to Seifer's forced apology. 3-A's blonde brute too seemed to be waiting for the raven haired girl's response, but he wasn't getting anything either. Quistis and Tifa exchanged confused looks.
After what seemed like forever, Seifer figured that nothing's going to happen. He turned around and aimed to head back to his seat beside Squall and his other friends. Then, Rinoa who suddenly got back to her senses, let out a soft "Wait." while trying to reach Seifer with her hand. Quistis noticed it and pulled Seifer back in front of Rinoa and Tifa.
"I'm sorry." Rinoa shook her head and giggled. Seifer got even more annoyed at her for laughing at his apology. But knowing that saying anything wrong to this girl at the wrong place will lead to another fight. He simply gave her an irritated perplexed look.
"It's just that..." Rinoa continued. "It's nothing. What happened was nothing, really." She then met with Seifer's eyes. "I already forgave you before you know it."
Seifer's expression eased. He was taken aback with Rinoa's answer. He did not expect someone like her to forgive him so easily. Then again, she did not even hear what he said the day before that made Squall fight him. Though she might've already expected the worst that can happen behind her back, knowing what she got herself into the moment she became a student of his section's rival class. Still, she took it lightly, brushed it off and moved on. And, just like that, she forgave him.
Now, it was he who wasn't able to respond. Not even a nod. He simply turned around and took off.
Quistis, in behalf of her admirer friend, thanked Rinoa gratefully. She then looked at Tifa, who nodded at her, and surprisingly, she nodded back. For the first time in two years, they were able to communicate without hostility, even through a simple gesture. She then turned and followed Seifer, and for once, was proud and happy for what he did.
A few feet away before they reach inside their classroom, Seifer stopped and waited until Quistis reach his side.
"I like her." He said with a grin. Quistis eyed him curiously. "I know now why Squall punched me in the face."
His blonde company chuckled. "I know."
"Next time," Seifer finally continued walking. "tell him that if he wants to get laid with her, he has my full support."
Two and a half days have passed since Rinoa last saw Squall, and she was beginning to wonder about his sudden disappearance. She would find herself searching the cafeteria for him, but in vain. However, his whole gang is present at their usual table, except Seifer.
Stangely enough, despite his rival's absence at the cafeteria, Cloud was not present either. Come to think of it, she never saw him spend a minute in the cafeteria, nor his other friends Zack, Reno and Rude.
It was all paid for anyway now that she has a bigger circle of friends she get to spend some time with at lunchbreaks. Ever since that day Seifer came to apologize, Tifa and Yuffie began hanging out with her, along with Rikku and Paine. She found out that Tifa is actually Cloud's childhood friend. Both of them grew up in a small town of Nibelheim, along with another girl.
"I kind of forgot her name, she did not spend much time at Nibelheim with us. I remember though that she has green colored hair. She was kidnapped, and since then, her family went to a far place with her, away from our hometown." Tifa narrated.
Rinoa also found out that shortly after that girl was kidnapped, Cloud started to become silent and shut himself off from the world. "Not even I could get to talk to him." Tifa recalled gloomily. "A few years after, his mother died and nobody was to take him in. The next thing I know, he was outside his house with these other people wearing black suits, carrying his large bag. When I asked him where he was going, he simply told me that he will be brought to an orphanage. I never saw him since. Then, when I came to Deling City to study, I was surprised to see him here, and he's my classmate too! He told me that someone already took him in, but he never said who. I just figured that whoever that person is took good care of him, and I could see it through Cloud."
Tifa ended there. The rest, Rinoa figured, is history.
Yuffie's story was nothing as interesting as Tifa's. She was an orphan, and was brought up by her grandfather, who taught her about many "interestingly sneaky and useful" stuffs. Detecting the privateness of the subject, Rinoa did not bother asking what those things are, and thankfully, nor did Rikku.
Lunchbreaks are especially noisy with Rikku and Yuffie together. They're the life of the group. Often, they'll find themselves arguing about the simplest of things, and in the end, they'll laugh at the ridiculousness of it.
"Wolverines are doggies!" Rikku, debating with Yuffie, smartly stated.
"No, wolverines are actually squirrels!" Yuffie said defensively.
"Wolverines are weasels." Paine cut them in.
"No way!" both of her hyper friends yelled in unison.
"Actually, it's true, they are weasels." Rinoa, who read it somewhere in her father's books, supported Paine.
"Oh..." the two debating girls finally realized they're both wrong.
"Well, I'm close enough with squirrels."
"Nuh uh!"
Rinoa sighed.
Little does she, or anyone in her group know, that Squall was spending his lunch hours and a few more after dismissal, working for the library to speed up the consuming of the required hours that was given to him. With his friend Seifer, he was arranging piles of books to their proper shelves, taking records, all the boring stuffs you do in a library.
Today is the third and final day they will be working for the library. With one hour spent during their lunch break, they were left with only two more hours that they planned to do after dismissal.
"Mr. Almasy, can you put these books at the General Section please?" The librarian, a middle-aged lady wearing thick glasses, pushed a cart of books to Seifer, who obediently took it. The moment he turned his back from the librarian, he rolled his eyes expressing that he doesn't have much choice anyway.
She then turned to Squall. "Mr. Leonhart, please take over the table for 'Returning Books'." Squall doesn't know why the librarian always, ALWAYS, gives him that boring task of receiving books from people who borrowed, record them, and throw them to a pile of other returned books. Moreover, he finds it annoying when girls are returning the books. He'll receive endless giggles, flipping of hair, flirtatious smiles... Attention that he knew Irvine would've loved, but he never asked for.
But, as usual, he had no choice but to oblige.
He sat on the high chair, received books as usual, and wished he wore shades to avoid female students who kept on catching his eyes and giving him amorous glances.
"I heard about your fight with Seifer." A girl with long, brown hair wearing make-up told Squall in a cutesy manner. "Sorry about that." She tried to sound as concern as she could be, but her attempt to flirt with him overpowered it. Squall did not respond and only took the book from her to do the recording. The process was done, but the girl was still standing there, giving him a flirty smile.
Not again.
"It's okay now." He said plainly, as his way to indirectly shoo the girl.
"Thank you." She winked at him. Squall waited as she walked away and shook his head as he typed on the computer the number and title of the book she just returned.
"Excuse me." A familiar female voice called to him.
Squall looked up, and was startled to see those same angelic features and that long black hair. His annoyed frown began to soften at the sight of her.
"Oh! Squall!" Rinoa, who was just as surprised as Squall is, stared at him with her widened brown eyes.
"Hey." He forced a greeting.
"What are you doing here?" She asked quizzically. Rinoa already knew that the library is the first place she can find Squall if he's not anywhere else, but she never expected to see him at the library's counter.
"Detention. I had to work here." Squall explained.
"Oh." Rinoa nodded. "Was it because of the fight?"
"Yeah." Squall nodded, and she nodded as she understood. What she doesn't know, though, is that the fight was about her, but Squall knew that it's better to stay that way.
"Well, I'm gonna return this book now." Rinoa awkwardly reached a thick, familiar book to Squall. He looked at the number to put it on records, then the title.
'Basic Psychology'
He realized that it was the same Psychology book he helped her get from the high bookshelf when he first encountered her. He looked back at Rinoa. She was looking somewhere else, but as soon as she saw Squall looked at her, Rinoa turned to him and gave him a smile.
Of course, Rinoa knew and she felt uneasy at first. But then, she realized there was nothing to be edgy about. It's just a book, she thought to herself. It's just my job to return a book.
Strangely though, the awkwardness made Rinoa blush a bit. It was more than a mere book to her.
It's funny how she had to return it to the same guy who gave it to her, and she felt uncomfortable about that. Actually, she finds it unusual that she felt uncomfortable anywhere near Squall, and she was afraid that she was getting a bit fidgety, trying to look somewhere else except Squall's eyes right after she gave him the book. She doesn't know why she had to avoid them, she just had to. But as soon as she noticed that he looked at her, she couldn't resist and was absorbed by his gaze.
And as soon as their eyes met, they had a mutual understanding that it was their book.
Then, probably out of her defensive mechanism to protect her from the discomfort of the situation, Rinoa immediately put on a smile.
"Is it okay now?" She suddenly blurted out, completely ruining the short moment.
Squall looked away and nodded. "Yeah, it's okay now."
After thanking Squall, Rinoa turned around and walked out of the library, like always.
The next day...
"Odin and Yojimbo are the same!"
"No they're not! Odin has a horse and Yojimbo has a dog!"
Yuffie and Rikku were arguing again on their way to the cafeteria, over the distinction between the two dieties.
"They only differ in looks and animals, but they have almost the same attack." Yuna said, in an attempt to end their another pointless argument.
"You guys go ahead and buy some food. We'll go reserve a table." Tifa told Rinoa and Yuna as she and the others headed for their usual table.
"How did you know about that?" Rinoa was ineterested how Yuna know so much about the heavenly figures.
"Well, I learned them back in Besaid. I studied the teachings of Yevon, the aeons known as the guardian forces, the fayth and-" Her eyes suddenly darted away from Rinoa and suddenly wore a surprised look. "Cloud!"
"Cloud?" Rinoa got confused.
"Yeah, Cloud! Cloud's here!" Yuna uttered excitedly.
"Really?" Rinoa turned to her left.
"Yeah." She heard a familiar voice answered. And as soon as she did, she saw everyone stared at her inquisitively. She knew before she turned to her other side that it belongs to no other person.
"Cloud!" Rinoa was quite surprised to see him in the cafeteria, and he's just right beside her too. He seemed to be glowering at something. Rinoa turned to see who or what it was, and realized that Cloud was looking at his brunette rival's direction.
"What are you buying?" Cloud suddenly asked as his curious light blue eyes turned and scanned the foods arranged in a line in front of them. The two other girls exchanged muddled glances.
"Err..." Rinoa turned to look at the available foods. "Maybe the chicken or the spaghetti..."
"Two of those please." Cloud pointed at the big plate full of fried chicken parts and another big plate full of spaghetti pasta.
Rinoa eyed him suspisciously. "What are you doing?"
Squall was sitting at his usual table with his friends, staring at his untouched mashed potato. He was a bit hoping that he'd see Rinoa anytime soon in the cafeteria and was slightly glad when he finally did. He watched her as she entered with Tidus' girlfriend, with a blonde one, and with some other girls he recognized from 3-B. He kept on observing Rinoa as she and the Besaid girl were separated from the rest of the group, who went to their usual table and sat on their chairs. Then, the moment he turned back at Rinoa, he saw an annoying sight.
Cloud was there, beside Rinoa, buying his lunch with her.
What the hell is he doing here...
His instincts told him to get up and leave, like he always does when he sees Cloud enter the same territory he's in. But seeing Cloud beside Rinoa and talking to her is a different case.
"Yo Squall! Cloud's here!" Zell pointed at his friend's blonde rival. Thank you Captain Obvious.
"One hundred gil." The cashier told Cloud.
Rinoa was rummaging her bag for her wallet when Cloud suddenly reached his hand to the lady behind the counter and handed her a hundred gil.
"Thank you." The cashier said before Cloud and Rinoa walked away.
"You paid for my lunch?" the raven haired one asked curiously.
"Yeah." Cloud nodded as he focused on their way to the table.
"Thank you." Rinoa gratefully said.
Cloud suddenly stopped. "Where's your table?"
"Right there, with Tifa and the others."
"Okay."
Everyone, except Yuna who joined her friends before Rinoa and Cloud arrived, was surprised to see 3-B's blonde leader. Even Paine, who gave Cloud a confused look, was startled at his arrival. They all stopped from what they're doing and stared at the pair who just came to join them.
Tifa was the first to speak. "Cloud, what a surprise!"
Cloud didn't reply and simply sat beside her. Rinoa followed and sat beside Yuna, across the strange, mysterious blonde.
"Glad you could join us!" Yuffie greeted Cloud, with a tone that demanded for an explanation. But Cloud did not look at her, nor replied. Not one was brave enough to ask of his presence, especially after seeing that he has not removed the frown on his face.
"Uhm..." Rinoa muttered. "Is something wrong, Cloud?"
"No. I just want to join you, that's all." He lied, but the usual plainess in his voice masked it.
"Oh..." Rinoa knew there's something wrong, but it's no use trying to get him to spill it. Not now anyway.
"Uh... Squall?" Quistis called to her brunette friend worriedly, who was sending deadly glares at the blonde guy sitting across Rinoa. His presence was enough to piss him off, but seeing him sit and eat with Rinoa brought him unexplainable fury that he showed through bending a spoon... with his hand.
"Dude, you okay?" Zell asked as he anxiously watched the poor spoon in Squall's hand.
"You can... let go of the spoon now." Selphie nervously told Squall.
Squall just knew Cloud was up to something. That blonde head knows he often spends his lunchbreak at the cafeteria, which is why Cloud barely sees the place. Never did they eat "together" at the cafeteria, until now. Moreover, Cloud acted as if Squall's a threat to his section's newcomer, shooting lethal glances at Squall, letting him know he's the reason why he's here.
"So, what are you gonna do about it, Squall?" Seifer chillingly asked his brunette friend.
"Nothing." Squall stubbornly answered as he returned to his mashed potato.
At the far back corner of the cafeteria, where people barely look, stood Zack and Irvine. They have been watching their friends exchanging glares ever since Cloud arrived at the cafeteria.
"Squall's getting pretty mad." Irvine observed.
"I know. Can't blame Cloud, he's just the protective type." Cloud's best friend shrugged.
"So you did tell him about what Seifer saw at the library yesterday." Irvine wasn't innocent with the issue. After Seifer told him what happened at the library when Rinoa went to return a book, he picked up his phone the first chance he got and told Zack, knowing it's a news he must know about.
Zack nodded with a michievous smile. He could still remember how Cloud reacted when he heard. At first, he didn't mind, but when he told him about the part when Squall actually talked to Rinoa whilst he never did with the other girls, as well as what Seifer have observed how Squall looked at Rinoa, it made Cloud pretty miffed. "I thought it might help."
Irvine grinned. "Well, it might, but with what's happening right now, we still have to see."
Zack shook his head. "Cloud's not jealous of Squall, if that's what you think. As far as I know, he still has not seen Rinoa that way."
The brown haired one only nodded intriguingly, as if saying 'we'll see'. He then turned to Squall's direction. "Actually, I'm pretty sure my Squall here is the jealous one." Irvine's grin got even wider. "That spoon in his hand showed it all."
"Yeah, first time I've seen him mad like that."
"So do I with Cloud."
Zack snickered, so did Irvine. The scene in front of them right now was the first time for everyone, even to Cloud and Squall. And it interests them, especially how the new girl, Rinoa, was able to change almost everything the moment she arrived at Deling High. They were hoping for the best, and they wish, more than anything, for the fight to end. They see Rinoa as their only ticket to it.
"Hey buddy," Irvine nudged at Zack. "tell me, how long 'til this stops?"
Zack turned to the table where Cloud was eating with Rinoa and her friends. Curiously, he observed Rinoa and smiled. "Soon, my friend. Soon."
A/N: Everyone who wants Cloud, shout "KWEH!". Everyone who wants Squall, shout "ROAR!".
:3