Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any part of the series.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! I'm pretty busy with school, and I don't think I'd be able to update the next chapter soon either... BUT, I PROMISE I'll do my best to updae as fast as I can... that's because I love all of you... *hugs for everyone* :3

So, this is Chapter 17! yey! hope you like this one! And many many thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this story! love you guys! *huggles* :3

Shinra's office in Deling City wasn't really far from Zone's Resto. It only took a fifteen minute walk for Cloud to get home, and a five minute drive for Squall and Rinoa. Squall told his girlfriend to call him as soon as she's done so he would be there to pick her up and bring her home.

The brunette surveyed the tall building from the driver's seat while they wait for Cloud to arrive, wary of the people inside it. Rinoa sensed the bother in him and held his hand.

"Squall, you worry too much." She said. The girl could still remember the argument (or verbal fight) back at the resturant between Squall and Cloud. Obviously, her boyfriend thought bringing her to Shinra was a bad idea, but she knew that she should be alright because Cloud will be there for her. Besides, he was the son of Shinra's President, what could possibly go wrong? It's true that Shinra may not have as clear reputation and was known or many foul plays. But then, it wasn't entirely Cloud's fault. He might just be an heir, but he had as much power as the infamous Rufus Shinra. He could fire everyone in the company once something bad should happen to Rinoa. Then again, it was definitely not enough to calm the brunette down. Even if his rival and his girlfriend's friend, who cared about her as much as he did, the blonde still WAS his rival, and Squall was nothing more than just his enemy; as a student from 3-A, as a SeeD, and as Squall.

He turned to his girlfriend, blue eyes meeting brown ones. He was unsure, of course, but she wanted this, and there was nothing else he could do but support her choice.

"Just, be careful." He reminded her, as softly as his voice can do.

Rinoa giggled. It sounded ridiculous, knowing that there was nothing to worry about because Cloud would be there for her. But she would agree and ride on with her boyfriend's plea to assure him that she would take care of herself. "I'll be careful." She nodded.

Squall smiled at her promise before his eyes suddenly darted away from hers to the window beside her.

"There he is." He said as a frown started to form on his face.

"Promise me not to worry too much." Rinoa said playfully and put on a not-so-serious-but-I'm-serious look.

"Yup." Squall nonchalantly said as he looked back at her.

"Pinky swear?" she said and held out her pinky.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled at her childishness. "Pinky swear."

Suddenly, she pulled his finger and hooked it with hers, with so much force that his body leaned forward and his face was centimeters away from hers. Then, Rinoa planted a quick kiss on his lips.

He tensed on his seat, oblivious and amazed by the surprise she just did. He remained startled for a considerably long time that the next thing he knew, his girlfriend had already vanished from the passenger's seat.

Cloud had been good in pretending that he was relaxed as he passed through the lobby and to the elevator that would bring him and his classmate to the suite. But with the glare that he'd been sending to almost everyone they passed by, it was obvious that he was still protective of Rinoa, even inside his own territory. Of course, the rumors of Shinra's dark activities did not exist for nothing; they sourced from truths and actual events that happened. In that building, anything could happen. Someone might just turn insane, kill everyone for being traitors and dominate the world for all he cared. But, he always, ALWAYS, made sure that Rinoa was never leaving his side.

Many of the company's employees had demonstrated evident resitance to look at Cloud's guest curiously and question who she was. They did not want to upset or anger their fearful boss' son, who expressed, though nonverbally, through his face that they better mind their own business. Even Rinoa, who was the only one nice enough to give those people smiles and waves of "hello", suddenly got scared of the blonde host. His lour can summon Diablo from the deepest pit of hell.

What was supposed to be a short travel inside the elevator from the ground level to the seventeenth floor became long and uneasy. Rinoa already felt sorry for the people they encountered on their way to the suite, even if they haven't done anything yet.

Finally, the lift came to a 'ding', and it opened, revealing a plain looking hallway.

"Over here." Cloud said as he lead Rinoa to a nearby huge door and held a blue card out of his pocket. He was about to slide it through an access device when he suddenly paused. His eyes turned to Rinoa.

"Rinoa, I have to warn you before you enter this room." His eyes suddenly turned as unsure as his voice. "The people I live with are... well... a weird bunch. So if they say something that might offend you or anything... just, ignore them. They don't mean it."

He waited until Rinoa nodded, who did instantly. Then, he finally slid his card to the machine, which served as his key to open the suite. And as soon as it did, Rinoa gasped at the beauty of the room.

Unlike the dull interior of the building, from the entrance of the lobby to the hallway of the floor they were on, this room was undoubtedly out of place. It was surrounded by white walls, not decorated much except for the wide, flat-screen television and a wide mahogany bookshelf. There were, of course, a few furnitures such as the modern looking couch at the middle of the suite, a few corner tables, some tall lampshades and there was even a small bar at one side. There are hardly closed walls for each part of the place, except for a bathroom and the bedrooms. The kitchen and the dining room were fashionable seprated from the living room by a long, marble counter.

What made it look even better were the occupants of the room.

At the counter sat a tall, muscular man in black clothing with long, silver hair and narrow green eyes that stood out from his smooth, pale skin, which easily seen features made the guest notice him first. Rinoa initially thought he was a woman, but is angular face and lean body made her realize otherwise and laughed at herself inwardly for suspecting so; he was a handsome man. There seemed to be stack of papers in his hands, surrounding a huge bowl of what seemed like noodles. Whatever he was reading seemed important, obvious on his concentrated expression.

Sitting at a desk near a window was another man, who seemed to be just as old as the one with silver hair. His spiky hair was black in color, which compliement his fair skin and blue eyes. He was in a sleeveless, dark blue shirt while typing something in front of a computer. He seemed just as concetrated as the other man. He too was a good looking figure.

And on the couch, in front of the large television sat a classmate of hers and Cloud's, Zack Fair. His head was resting over his folded arms as he was relaxingly fixed on the show, which seemed like a children's program about a kid who wanted to rescue the whole universe from heartless creatures and total darkness.

The first one to look up was the man behind the computer. His focused eyes turned into welcoming ones the moment he saw the girl with Cloud.

"Cloud," He greeted as he stood up from his desk and approached the blonde teenager. "back so soon?"

"Yeah, nothing much to do." Cloud replied. "Hey, Angeal." He greeted.

"Hey." The man greeted back. "Hmmm... this your girlfriend?" He nodded at Rinoa, who instantly blushed at his remark.

"No." A deep, husky voice said somewhere near the counter. They all turned to its direction to see the tall, silver-haired man looking at them with his piercing eyes. Rinoa shivered at them. "Cloud's girlfriend is inside the guest room." He plainly remarked.

"Oh." Angeal nonchalantly replied. "Forgot about that. Thanks Sephiroth."

"No problem."

Cloud shook his head, slightly embarrassed at how his supposed adult figures acted.

Angeal hummed curiously and looked at the girl. "I'm Angeal Hewley." He said kindly and extended his hand to Rinoa.

"She's Rinoa, a classmate of mine." Cloud cut in before his classmate could reach Angeal's hand and introduce herself.

"Hey!" Zack finally joined in and turned from his seat to face the small crowd. "She's my classmate too! Why do you always leave me out of the picture, Cloud?!" He complained. Then, his experession suddenly changed as he looked at Rinoa and wore a wide smile. "Hey Rinoa! Welcome to our crib!"

Rinoa finally giggled. "Hey Zack!" She waved at him.

Angeal huffed. "Well, Rinoa, make yourself at home. Just remember not to go to Genesis' room, that room at the end of your right, and you'll be fine."

"And my room." Sephiroth added.

"Yes, and his room, which is right beside Genesis'." Angeal quickly muttered as he smiled gently at Rinoa, who made a mental note NOT to enter any of the rooms, except the one Terra's in. "If you need anything, you can always ask any of us."

"Okay. Thank you so much." Rinoa replied. "I'll make sure I will."

"Good. I'll be at my desk." The older one replied.

Rinoa waited until any of them say something about her being present inside a supposedly confidential place. But after realizing that they never gave out a comment about it, she became uneasy. As she and Cloud approached the guest room, Rinoa leaned in closer to Cloud and asked her question before he opened the door.

"They don't mind that I'm here?" She asked in a whisper.

Cloud shook his head. "Guests are allowed in, as long as they don't know about SOLDIERs and other Shinra stuffs. Let's just pretend you don't." He murmured back. Cloud inhaled and held the doorknob. "Okay, Terra's inside. You ready?"

Rinoa nodded. "Ready when you are."

With that, Cloud finally opened the door and showed his classmate the green haired girl, who was sitting at the edge of her bed. She looked up, revealing her purple-gray-blue eyes, which widened at the sight of a stranger.

"Terra," Cloud called her reassuringly. "this is a good friend of mine, Rinoa."

The black haired girl nodded at Terra. "Hello."

"We're childhood friends," Cloud said, referring to Terra. "back in Nibelheim."

"With Tifa?" Rinoa asked curiously.

"You know Tifa?" Terra finally stood up and approached Rinoa shyly. Then, suddenly she felt embarrassed for cutting in. "Sorry. I jus-"

"No, no. It's fine." Rinoa gave her an angelic smile. "I remember Tifa saying something about you being close to Cloud back when you were kids."

Terra nodded excitedly. "Yes! Tifa was one of us until..." Terra trailed off, fighting a a sad expression on her face. "I was kidnapped." She said, still managing to keep her smile.

Rinoa nodded. "She said the exact same thing too." And she also remembered how Tifa sad about that incident upsetting Cloud, but she chose not to bring it up anymore.

"How is Tifa?" Terra asked.

"She's fine. She's a classmate of mine too. She's really doing very well." Rinoa replied.

"I'm so glad she is." The green haired girl sad with relief in her tone.

"Then, I'll leave you two." Cloud said, opening the door to his exit. He gave Rinoa one last look, putting his complete trust on her to help him help Terra.

His classmate nodded at him reassuringly, telling him not to worry about a thing. "Okay,Cloud. Thank you." Rinoa told him.

The moment Cloud left, Rinoa and Terra were already enganged in deep conversation, mostly with Terra's narration of her life after she was kidnapped in Nibelheim.

"My parents decided that Nibelheim is not safe for me anymore, so we had to transfer to another place where we can hide." Terra recalled downheartedly. "It was hard for me; I had a nice and happy life in Nibelheim, until Kefka found the place and kidnapped me."

"Why did he always kidnap you?" Rinoa asked curiously.

Terra stared at her company for another moment, unsure if she should show Rinoa the real reason why Kefka was after her so badly. Then, she realized that, if Cloud trusted Rinoa, then maybe she could trust her too. Suddenly, she flicked her finger and a ball of fire suddenly appeared. Rinoa gasped at it.

"See this?" Terra said, showing the flaming object on her hand. "Every female member of my Dad's family was born a mage, able to perform elemental magic. It had been years before another one was born, and it happened to be me." Then, for a split second, under Terra's command, the fire vanished. "I can perform fire, water, thunder, wind spells... and just recently, I found out I can do blizzard and gravity spells too!"

Rinoa suddenly shivered at the oddity of the girl before her. But Cloud trusted her on it. She couldn't let him down.

"I know, it's strange, and please believe me when I say I never wanted this." Terra continued. "This is the exact reason why I was always kidnapped; because Kefka wanted my powers. And he even planned to get a copy of my powers to create clones of me and make an army."

"Army?" Rinoa gasped. An army of powerful mages was potentially dangerous.

"Yes." Terra nodded. "That was why my father created a resistace group, to protect me against Kefka. Both my parents were part of that group, and they both died trying to protect me." Terra's face looked even more sad, but she pressed on. "The resistance tightened their security, but then, it also meant me being locked away from this world for all of the time." Terra looked down on her lap, loneliness written all over her face.

"This power, or some would say 'gift', had costed me almost everything. Back in Nibelheim, I thought I was free. It was the only time I experienced ever being happy. I thought I'd get that back when I came here to this place and saw Cloud, but..." She trailed off. "Even he did not want me to be free."

Rinoa shook her head. "That's not true." She then placed a hand on Terra's back and rubbed it gently, though warily, since she was clearly scared of the girl's powers. "Cloud was just being overprotective. I know, he had done something like that to me." The raven haired rolled her eyes at the memory of Cloud acting like her bodyguard during lunchbreaks before the Christmas holidays. "And seeing how he was to you, he cares about you, more than you know. He is just doing these things, like keeping you here from the outside world, just to make sure you're safe. Believe me, even he wanted to take you out and get some fresh air." Rinoa nodded, attempting to encourage Terra to agree. "But, maybe he's just afraid that something might happen to you again, knowing how Kefka wanted you so badly."

"Yeah, but, I couldn't see it in him. I don't think he understands me. When I talk to him and tell him about how I'm getting lonely in this place, he would always say 'no', as if he doesn't get it." Terra sighed. "How could he anyway. He's always outside."

She was stunned. Rinoa didn't know what to say anymore. "I know... Cloud's a silent one..." She sighed as well. "But, I know he understands you. Because if he doesn't, I won't be here right now, talking to you. So please don't think badly of him."

Terra lifted her feet to her bed and folded her legs. "I guess..."

"But you know..." Rinoa suddenly smirked intriguingly as she leaned forward and took a good look at Terra. "The man outside named Sephiroth, he called you Cloud's girlfriend."

The other girl's eyes widened in disbelief. "What-really?"

Rinoa nodded vigorously as her smile widened.

Terra blushed and stretched herarms downward, showing her shy, conserved self. "But-I-I'm not Cloud's girlfriend..."

"Well, he wouldn't say that for nothing, would he?" Rinoa teased playfully. "And I see you're blushing!"

Terra gasped. "Oh!" she touched her faced with hands, as if covering her face. Rinoa giggled.

"Do you like him?" The black haired one asked.

"Wha-what do you mean?" The green haired one stuttered.

"Well, you know what I mean. You won't be blushing THAT badly for nothing either." Rinoa giggled.

"Am-am I supposed to have this funny feeling inside whenever I see him or think about him?"

"Yes..."

"And feel my heart hurt when he says 'no' or when he turns cold at me?"

"Yes!"

"And when I think I find him... well..."

"Cute?"

"Handsome?"

"Irresistibly gorgeous?"

"Yes."

"YES!" Rinoa exclaimed, her arms thrown sideways.

Terra gasped, her hands covering her mouth and blushing furiously. She turned away, shy about her resolution.

But Cloud's classmate did not let it go. She instead stood up and walked in front of Terra to face her. They can't stop now with their intese and exciting girl talk.

"Oh Hyne!" She squealed. "Since when?"

"When?" Terra uncovered her mouth and eyed Rinoa curiously.

"Since when do you like him?"

"Well..." Terra became fidgety, though not really as hesitant to answer, even if she should be. She felt like she could tell Rinoa everything and trust that she won't judge or tell anyone about it. "...for as long... as I... can..."

"Remember?" Rinoa finished it again for Terra when she noticed she couldn't say the last word.

The mage nodded.

Rinoa gasped in delight.

"How do you know all these?" Terra asked curiously.

"Well..." Rinoa stood up and turned her back on Terra. "Let's just say I have a boyfriend."

Terra gasped again. "Really?"

"Yup!" Rinoa turned around again as she put her hand up and showed Terra the plain, silver ring on her ring finger. "He gave this to me last Christmas."

"You're married!"

"No! We're not married..." Yet, she thought. But then, she wondered if it would scare Squall, so she did not ponder on that. "This was his Christmas gift for me."

"Oooh.." Terra stood up as well and approached Rinoa. She examined her hand. "It's beautiful."

"Hmm..." Rinoa put a finger from her free hand to her lips. "I'll make sure to tell Cloud to give you something too!"

Terra giggled. "Actually, he gave me something last Christmas."

"Really?" Rinoa said excitedly. Terra approached the dresser and pulled one of the drawers out. She then took a small box and opened it. She extended her arm to Rinoa and showed a silver necklace with a moogle pendant.

"Awww..." Rinoa delicately touched the moogle. "I never knew Cloud could be that sweet to give you stuffs like a moogle necklace!"

Terra giggled. "He knew moogles are my favorites. That was probably why he gave this one to me."

A sly smile suddenly formed on Rinoa's lips.

Terra looked at her suspiciously. "What?"

"Oh, nothing..." Rinoa exhaled, while raising her eyebrows, hey eyes darted upwards. It was a look as if she knew something but she wasn't telling.

"Oh, tell me! What is it?" Terra begged.

"Well, sorry. It's for me to know and for you to find out." Rinoa winked.

Terra laughed. "Hey! No fair!"

"One piece of advice though." Rinoa took the box rom Terra's hand and gently pulled the necklace out. She unlocked it and wore it around Terra's neck. "Always wear this necklace. I'm one hundred percent sure Cloud will love to see you wearing it."

Terra held the pendant with her fingers. "I've been saving it. I don't want to wear it out."

"Don't keep it. It will be a waste if you don't wear it. Always wear it." Rinoa replied encouragingly.

The green haired nodded. "Okay."

"Promise me, the next time I see you, you should still be wearing it." Rinoa said intently.

Terra nodded again. "I promise."

Deling High was back to its normal, ordinary status again, as the whole heated rivalry issue had eventualy died off during the Christmas break. Except, of course, between the two rivals.

They were issued with detention after the fight they made at the cafeteria days before the holidays. Both Squall and Cloud each had seven hours of detention instead of dreadful twenty, all thanks to the charismatic talents of Squall's father Laguna and his loveable humor, and Cloud's guardian Sephiroth and his hidden talent of automatically dazzling anyone, especially the school principal.

But nobody cared much about that. Not even the Squall or Cloud.

Rinoa was uncomfortably walking down the corridors with her brunette boyfriend, who was not even holding her close to him, which she was thankful for. Before they arrived at school after he picked her up with his black convertible from her house, they both agreed, upon Rinoa's insistence, that it was best to hide their existing relationship from the whole student body and keep it a secret among their friends and to Cloud, though he was strangely the last person who should know about it. But since he already did, he was the least of their concerns.

Squall walked Rinoa to her classroom, though they attracted even more attention and triggered many mumbles and whispers. As ridiculous as it sounded, since they haven't done anything yet, it was understandable since the famous taciturn Squall Leonhart of 3-A was involved.

As they reached closer to 3-B's classroom, they could see two blondes waiting for them. One being Cloud, who was leaning at the room's doorway, obviously waiting for Rinoa, and the other one was the ever annoying Leblanc, who was attempting to chat with Cloud, but failing miserably. Her words were falling to deaf ears, for Cloud was eagerly focused on waiting for Rinoa's arrival, whom he knew was to be brought by her boyfriend before the brunette scoundrel would go to his own room.

"Squall!" Leblanc called, as she turned from Cloud and faced the other rival. Inwardly, she felt lucky for encountering both "her" boys. A smiled graced on her face, which made Rinoa shudder.

What made the scene even worse was the glare Cloud was giving Squall, despite being already aware that he was dating his classmate. But the protectiveness his ill-stricken look was attempting to surround Rinoa with was failing, since Squall was already her boyfriend.

But it didn't mean Squall felt completely victorious.

Cloud, no matter how he turned the world upside down, will always be Rinoa's classmate, Alpha, friend, whatever. And Rinoa will always be a part of his section's rival class. Rinoa was a world apart from him, in the school anyway, and Cloud had practically unwritten-but-understood rights over Rinoa for being her classmate. A sad and tragic thought for the two lovers. But Squall was not the type who would let something like that happen to him; he loved Rinoa and he despised the fact that they were being controlled by the fear of what people would think of them. He wanted to spend his lunch with her, invite her somewhere after school, and simply bring her to her classroom every morning, without being affected by rumors and hide from them.

"Squall, thank you." Rinoa smiled meekly at Squall as she whispered her thanks.

No, he didn't want to hide anymore.

Suddenly, before Rinoa could step a foot inside her classroom, Squall grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Then, too quickly for her to respond, he captured Rinoa's lips with his.

Yes, in front of many, many people.

The 3-A lot were nearly cheering for their cold and silent, but unpredictable friend. They were happy that Squall finally had her, the girl they knew he liked so much. The 3-B group was surprised, many gasps from the girls, especially Yuffie. Though they were neither negative nor positive reactions; they were just... baffled. Except for Zack, who heard everything from Irvine and already knew that Rinoa and Squall were together. And he believed that it was a good thing, to see at least a bit of peace between the two sections. Yuna too, like Zack, took the scene lightly and on a positive light, for she knew how Rinoa felt for Squall and was clearly happy for her dear friend. Her boyfriend, Tidus, also cheered for his long time friend from the room of 3-C, along with some of his friends from 3-D like Rikku, and Paine, who finally smiled. Cloud, for some reason, knew it was going to happen. Though still by the doorway, he looked away from the repulsive scene. It made him seething with annoyance and anger. He wasn't jealous; just pissed for letting his rival annoy him. And Leblanc, well, she was stupefied by her loss to a girl whom she had always bullied.

Rinoa's eyes were widened, surprised, but her body weakened and gave in to his kiss; too weak she couldn't push him away. Instead, she let herself remain like that with him, his lips brushing against hers.

Squall's eyes were closed, oblivious and unconcerned about the reactions of all those people around them. He didn't care, not anymore. He wanted them to know how much he loved Rinoa, and nothing could stop them, not even the rivalry or other people's futile assumptions.

When they parted, Rinoa was still stunned, and Squall chuckled at her sight. He thought she looked cute, with her face flushing and blushing at the same time. He waited until Rinoa was herself again, making sure she was alright.

He was expecting a slap, just in case, but in his relief, she gave him that same, beautiful smile he always adored before she stepped into the room. Evidently, she liked the kiss, even if she was too shocked to respond to his kiss. Still, he was glad anyway, that she took it well. He then headed to 3-A's classroom, where he was greeted with loud "hurrahs" and "congratulations" from his friends.

And so, the whole of Deling High already knew, that Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartily were dating, through Squall's brave and sudden declaration of love.

A/N:.... Nothing to say here. I just hope you all like this one! ^-^