Squall had awoken just a short while ago before taking a quick shower and slipping into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He sat at the foot of his bed with his head in his hands, trying to soothe his killer headache. Last night Seifer had managed to hook up their band with a gig at a popular club in downtown Deling. They had been performing all night, which was inevitably followed by some partying. Squall hadn't really wanted to participate in the party, but he sure did partake of the drinking. "I'm reaping the consequences now…" he thought with a groan as his fingers lightly massaged his aching temples. Once the pain had subdued considerably he got up and exited his bedroom. Upon entering the living room he was met by the sight of Zell and Irvine sprawled out awkwardly on the two couches and a grunting Seifer sitting in the lounge chair, rubbing his temples in a similar fashion as to how Squall had been doing only minutes ago.

"Good morning." Squall said sarcastically.

Seifer grumbled an incoherent string of curses.

Squall took a couple steps forward, accidentally sending a well-sized row of beer cans shooting around the floor while making a series of annoying metallic clinks.

Seifer glared at Squall, hands still on the sides of his face. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Squall mumbled an apology and carefully attempted to cross the room that was becoming more of an obstacle course.

After triumphantly making it to the other side he spied his leather jacket on the kitchen counter.

Seifer watched him as he shrugged into his jacket.

"Where are you heading off to?"

"Just going to go get some coffee. I'll be back in a bit."

"Alright, Later then."

His band mate stepped outside.

Seifer couldn't help but to smirk. They were fully stocked on coffee. He had known that guy far too long not to know what was going on, especially after his friend had been so heated yesterday after he had paged him to come over right away. He was headed out to something other then coffee, or rather someone.

He cringed as he felt the pain in his head return with a vengeance.

"Damn, this so wasn't worth it!" he groaned.

Squall was approaching a familiar crowded street. His eyes caught sight of a wooden sign that read: The Coffee House. He stopped in front of the large glass windows of the shop and found his senses overwhelmed with the strong invigorating aroma of fresh ground coffee. The pleasant scents helped to ease the remainder of his headache, but made him realize another discomfort. His heart was feeling tense. What if Rinoa didn't come by here? What if he didn't see her again? But then what if she did come? Would she find it pathetic that he would come all the way out here and wait just to hope that by chance he'd see her again?

He put his hand to the bridge of his nose. All this worrying was bringing his headache back.

His blue-gray eyes keenly surveyed the many people walking up and down the block. None of them were her. He waited for a couple more minutes, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, and slightly embarrassed with himself, he decided he may as well get a drink, so he entered the shop and bought a tall steaming cup of coffee. He walked out the doors and turned to head elsewhere when he heard someone call his name.

He turned to the direction of the voice and was surprised to see Rinoa Heartilly hastily making her way towards him. She was dressed casually in jeans and a light blue jacket. She wore her long raven hair down today, but strangely it seemed to be parted to where it covered most of the left side of her face.

"Hi, Squall." She said with a small smile.

Her voice sounded weak to him, and now that she was closer, he could see that her eyes were slightly red as if she had been crying. Something definitely wasn't right.

"Rinoa, what's wrong?" he asked her calmly.

She gave him a questioning look.

"Why would you think that?"

He smiled at her, gently putting his hand on her chin to make her look at him.

"Let's just say that acting isn't your strong point."

She gave him a weak smile and he could see her chocolate brown eyes slightly glaze with tears.

"Why are you hiding you face, Rinoa?" he asked her gently.

She tried to stammer an explanation "It's just that, well, yesterday…"

She gave up and watched him carefully brush the silky dark strands of hair out of her face to reveal her bruised cheek.

His eyes widened in alarm.

"Who the hell did this?" His voice was thick with anger. He was more than ready to make them pay.

Rinoa burst into tears and choked out between sobs, "It was my father! I got him upset-"

She shocked Squall by wrapping her arms around him. He awkwardly returned the act and held her close to him. He lightly rubbed her back while whispering, "It's okay, Rinoa. I'm here."

She buried her face into his shoulder and gave him one final squeeze before taking a step back. She wiped at her tearstained cheeks and gave him a brilliant smile.

"Thank You, Squall."

"Oh, no problem." He replied, ignoring the heat rushing to his face.

He didn't understand why he felt so shy and awkward around this girl. It was totally unlike him.

He paused a moment before asking her, "Would you like to sit down and talk about this inside?" He motioned towards the coffee shop.

She nodded. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea, well…if you don't mind."

He gave her that smile which made her weak in the knees as he held open the door for her and said, "After you."

They had seated themselves at the booth they'd previously occupied the day before. The clatter of dishes could be heard along with the friendly chatter of the other customers.

Rinoa kept her eyes fixed firmly to her hands. She had hoped to meet Squall today, but she hadn't planned on being hit last night and having him discover her bruise. Now what was she to do? Strangely, when she woke up he was the first person she wanted to see. She needed to feel the soothing effect of his company. It surprised her when she found him in front of the shop. Had he been waiting for her? The thought made her smile.

They'd been sitting in silence for a while and she could begin to feel his gaze burning holes into her face.

"Is there something very fascinating about your fingers?" he asked her teasingly.

She gave a little laugh before responding with a short 'no.'

She glanced up into his eyes but quickly returned her gaze to her hands, which were clutching the coffee cup for dear life.

He watched her nervous antics with a hint of amusement before he hesitantly pressed on.

"Rinoa, talk to me. Tell me what happened."

The soothing effect of his voice temporarily melted away her fears.

She looked up into the piercing blue-gray eyes that she felt could see into her very soul. He has such a handsome face. She looked at the slanted scar near the bridge of his nose. Strangely it only seemed to add to the beauty of his features. She realized that she had hardly noticed the scar before because she was always drawn into his storm colored gaze.

He was leaning as close to her as the restriction of the table between them would allow. He was intently watching her study him, waiting patiently for her to speak.

She took a deep breath.

"Well last night," she began slowly, "I got in an argument with my father. We had been battling already for quite some time before, but well, everyday in our relationship is a battle…"

His hand was rested underneath his chin as he silently absorbed what she was saying.

"Anyway, He had been trying to run my life for me and made some important decisions without even asking for my consent. I was just so mad at him…I said some horrible things to him. I blurted out all the nasty things I felt inside and even told him that I hated him, and well he…"

"Hit you." Squall finished for her.

What Rinoa saw when she looked to him left her taken-a-back. His whole expression seemed totally composed, but his storm gray eyes were livid with an inner fury. She had been shocked at his angered reaction to discovering her bruise, but that had only been a small taste of his rage. Sure Rinoa was positively furious with her father, but she didn't want Squall to be filled with this kind of contempt for the man.

"It wasn't his fault about what happened though!" she tried to reason, "I was being really rude, and my father has been under so much stress lately! It was stupid of me to push him so much; the man was bound to break soon."

Squall didn't look very convinced. He was just staring blankly with that same dangerous look in his eyes, lost somewhere deep in his own ravine of thoughts.

Rinoa felt like a poorly patched emotional mess. She felt her cheeks begin to dampen as the waterworks turned on.

Her hands raced up to stop the floodgates. She was still busily wiping away the tears when she felt a pair of strong arms encircle her. The nice scent of cologne and aftershave filled her senses.

Her body gave a slight shiver as she felt his lips lightly brush against the soft skin of her ear as he whispered, "I don't know what all happened, Rinoa, but no one should ever hit you."

Rinoa tried to mouth the words 'I know' but her voice failed her, so she just nodded her head that was now resting on his firm shoulder.

As her tears subsided she felt him slowly release her.

She looked over to where he now sat beside her, his blue-gray eyes examining her expression.

"You feeling a bit better?" he asked gently.

She gave him a beaming smile.

"Actually, yes I am. Thanks to you."

For a moment she could've sworn she saw him blush.

Then she asked, "Are you feeling a bit better?"

He timidly looked away to the empty seat across from them.

"Yea, I guess I am…"

Rinoa slowly leaned towards his ear, whispering, "Are you blushing Mr. Leonhart?"

He coughed nervously and tried to stammer out some impossible excuse, but was failing miserably.

This only made Rinoa begin to giggle even more.

"I-I…Whatever…" he muttered before he looked over to her with playfully narrowed eyes.

"You know what, Rinoa?"

"Yes, Squall?"

"You're the Meanie!"

Rinoa doubled over in laughter. Squall just watched her laugh, a look of contentment on his face.

There was a small beeping noise as Squall's pager went off.

Rinoa looked to him expectantly.

"Damn. Déjà vu…" he muttered as he took the pager out from his pant pocket. He read the new message from Seifer. It read: So when do we get to meet your mystery girlfriend?

He frowned as his mind easily pictured Seifer's snickering face.

"Do you have to go again?" Rinoa asked him.

When he looked to her chocolate brown eyes he saw genuine worry there. She doesn't want me to leave. He couldn't help but be delighted by that.

"No" he said, "That was just Seifer being an ass."

A relieved look flooded her face, but she quickly covered it up with a smile.

"Are you guys good friends?"

Squall gave an evil grin and smirked.

Rinoa made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We'll he's my best friend and best rival, I suppose."

Rinoa just looked at his evil smirk and contemplated on what the best rival part meant.

He laughed at her confused expression.

"Hey, stop the snickering, King Meanie!!" she yelled at him.

"Now, now, Rinoa, There's no need for name calling." He called back in a mock serious tone.

She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him defiantly.

"Cold, Rinoa…So cold."

She grinned in triumph.

Suddenly she remembered something.

"Oh yea, I forgot to ask, Why did u have to go so suddenly yesterday? Was there an emergency?"

"Nah, no emergency. We got an important gig at a popular club here in Deling. There was a real big turn out. A lot of big wigs too."

"Maybe you'll get signed soon." Rinoa said excitedly.

"I don't know if we will. There's a lot of other talented bands in this city."

"Of course you will, Squall, you're band's amazing! You've got wonderful talent!"

"I'm glad you think so."

He sounded genuinely pleased.

Rinoa blushed cherry red. "I do."

"Actually" he began, "We're performing a show at the Deling Amphitheater tonight. I was wondering if you'd like to go."

He was beginning to make her nervous with the intensity of his gaze as he waited for her answer. She felt like she was hearing her voice from someone else when she heard herself stupidly reply, "Really?" Duh, he means really! Her mind scolded to her.

He just gave a warm chuckle.

"Yea. You'll have a backstage pass of course. I don't want you getting trampled." He added jokingly.

Rinoa smiled. "I'd love to go."

He nodded to her and looked to his phone for the time.

"Actually I should probably be heading to the theater soon so I can get there a couple hours early. We have to practice and help get the stage set up for the performance."

He stood up and Rinoa thought for a second that he was just going to walk off and leave her when he turned to face her and asked, "Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure I would." she said.

He helped her up and they left the coffee shop and strolled outside.

"I parked my ride a couple blocks away, but it's a short walk."

She nodded before asking out of curiosity, "What do you ride?"

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of his small smile.

"You'll see."

In a short while they reached a street packed with cars.

She watched him curiously as they walked to see which vehicle he'd stop at. To her surprise he stopped at a big, shiny, very expensive looking, black motorcycle.

He turned to her and gave a proud grin.

"Wow" she said, "How in the world did you get the money to afford this?"

This made Squall's grin grow bigger and slightly wicked.

He said one word.

"Seifer."

"How did you get him to do that? Blackmail?"

Squall gave a smug look.

"Let's just say he learned to never make a bet with a Leonheart."

He got on the motorcycle and revved up the engine and helped Rinoa get onto the back.

She was hesitant to wrap her arms around his middle, but once the cycle sped into the street she clutched him for dear life. Once she did, she couldn't help but notice how solid his abs were against her arms. She thanked Hyne that he couldn't see the massive blush on her cheeks.

He sure likes to drive fast!! She wrote off in a quick mental note as the scenery speed by in a blur of colors.

Once she was sure she was secure and wouldn't fly off the back of the bike and become road kill, she asked Squall above the rev of the bike, a question that she was very interested in finding the answer to.

"What did you and Seifer bet on?"

"Top Secret!!" Squall called back.

She could've bet her money that she heard an embarrassed tone to his voice.

This secret sounded like it must be very interesting.

"Aww! C'mon tell me! PLEASE!!"

They had arrived at the huge Deling Amphitheatre. Already there were quite a few cars there, hoping to get into the theater early for good spots. Squall drove around to the back entrance that was there for the musicians.

The rev of the engine died down as Squall put the cycle into park. He swung his leg over and climbed off before offering his help to Rinoa. She climbed off with extreme care. Squall laughed when she fell into him once she got to her feet.

"Ahh, Sweet Land!" She cried out against him.

"Are you implying something about my driving?" He asked, helping to steady her, but secretly enjoying the feel of her against him.

"Yes!" she told him. Grabbing onto his arm to stabilize herself, "And that is that, Hyne, You drive fast!"

He just chuckled at that statement, which inspired Rinoa to blow a raspberry at him.

"Let's head inside." He said to her, leading her into the theater, not bothering to unlink her arm from his.

Inside the building it was dimly lit. The walls were painted black, the floor a shiny dark colored marble.

She watched as a few dingy looking men gave Squall acknowledging nods, which he coolly returned.

"They must be roadies." She thought as she saw them haul in some hefty cases.

As they walked deeper into the theater she found herself clinging to Squall more and more. She felt very out of place in this dark building that was faintly stained with the pungent smell of alcohol. Squall, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly at ease as he led her further along with each long stride.

This side of the theater seemed deathly quiet until they neared a room down a small hallway. There was a variety of voices and laughter coming from behind its small door. Rinoa felt a sudden fear of entering. This place seemed like the set for some creepy horror flick. Yet Squall obviously felt nothing of that sort as he opened the door and casually strode inside with Rinoa slinking in behind him.

Immediately Rinoa noticed there were a lot of people in this room. The smell of alcohol drastically intensified. She had to fight not to make a face.

"Hey man!" A guy wearing a cowboy hat called to Squall. He had a beer in one hand and a girl in the other.

"Hey," said Squall.

Rinoa noticed how Squall suddenly placed a protective arm around her when the cowboy smiled and raised his eyebrow at her.

"This is Rinoa," Squall said, then to her, "Rinoa, this is Irvine. He's in the band."

Rinoa smiled and nodded a polite hello.

A blonde haired man with an interesting tattoo on the side of his face walked over to them. Rinoa thought she recognized him from the night at the concert.

"S'up, Squall!" he said while doing goofy air punches. Then he saw Rinoa and stopped abruptly before standing up straight so that he looked a few inches taller.

"Why hello there." He said in what he must've thought was a suave voice as he extended his hand out to hers.

Rinoa giggled. Squall just gave him a cold glare, which the man pretended not to notice.

"This is Zell." Squall told her.

"Hello Zell. I'm Rinoa, It's a pleasure to meet you." She greeted, shaking Zell's hand.

"Would you like a beer, Rinoa?" Zell asked, about to walk over to the cooler.

"N-no thank you!" Rinoa said too quickly. Zell gave her a funny look but just shrugged it off before he asked Squall if he wanted one.

"No thanks," he said, "I think I had enough yesterday to last me for another two days."

He rubbed his temple as if the mere thought of drinking brought back his hangover.

This made Zell laugh heartily before he went off to talk to some roadies.

Rinoa watched the attractive profile of Squall's face and wondered how often he must party with the band. She couldn't help but feel slightly jealous that he had the freedom to do that.

"Come here," Squall said to her as he led her through the roadies and groupies to a small unoccupied couch located in the corner of the room.

She sat down and he was about to follow suit when he saw a roadie carrying in something.

"Just one second," he said to her before walking off to the man.

He came back carrying a black electric guitar.

"That's yours?" she asked as he sat down beside her.

"Yeah." He said quietly as he meticulously examined the guitar and ran his long fingers over it tenderly like a lover.

Rinoa peered at the instrument and studied the silver painted shape of a lion-like creature.

"What's that creature supposed to be?" she asked.

He leaned the guitar over so she could see it better.

"This is 'Griever'. It's a symbol that's been passed down through my family."

Rinoa reached her hand out towards the symbol, and when Squall showed no resistance, she lightly traced Griever's silver outline with her index finger.

"Do you think it looks scary?" she heard him ask.

"No," she said, admiring the creature's detail, "It think its…kinda cool."

When she didn't hear him respond she turned to face him and was surprised to see him giving her a breathtaking smile.

She was still trying to recover her breathing when she heard a man's voice say,

"Hey Puberty Boy, time to set up the stage."

Rinoa watched Squall's face slip into an aloof rock star expression.

"Yeah, Whatever." He said, standing up with his guitar.

Rinoa stood up and looked at the tall, blonde, green-eyed man before them.

He had a scar on his face matching Squall's except that it went in the opposite direction.

"So this is the girl." The man said, giving her a scrutinizing look as if he were trying to place her face.

"This is Rinoa," Squall said, "Rinoa, this is Seifer."

"Pleased to meet you." Rinoa said to Seifer, feeling nervous at his penetrating gaze. What's his problem? She wondered.

"Have we met before?" he asked her. "It feels like I've seen you before."

The realization slammed into Rinoa at full force. He must recognize that I'm the general's daughter! He probably saw my face in the tabloids! What if he tells Squall?!

Quickly she blurted out. "Umm no, I'm pretty sure we've never met before. Perhaps I just remind you of someone."

"Maybe." Seifer said. His eyes still on her.

Right when Rinoa felt she was going to suffer a panic attack if he didn't stop staring at her Squall spoke up,

"Come on, let's go set the stage so we have time to tune the instruments."

"Yeah, alright." Seifer agreed. He walked away to the stage.

"I'll be back soon," Squall said to her, "Just stay put here for a while, ok?"

"Ok, I'll be here."

She watched him disappear into a different room. Sitting back down on the couch, she watched all the groupies and roadies mingle. She felt alienated by her being the only one not decked out in rock star threads.

A woman sitting next to the bunch of sleazy groupies clinging to Irvine and Zell was watching her.

She had long sleek blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a skin-tight dark red dress; the lacy front of her black bra was openly displayed. Rinoa watched as the woman walked over. The woman had on long lace up boots that clinked with each step she took on the tile.

She stopped right in front of Rinoa and looked down at her, her icy blue eyes holding a look of utter disdain.

"What's your business with Squall?" She asked.

"He asked me to come and watch his show." Rinoa said. "We're friends."

The woman gave a cold smile.

"Well, honey, you better not expect to become anything more than a friend to him."

That struck a nerve.

"And what makes you say that?" Rinoa said with a bit of an edge.

"Well, for one, you don't seem like your anything like him," she glanced at Rinoa's bright blue jacket. "And two, he's already got someone around who's much better."

Rinoa raised an eyebrow. "And who would that be?"

The blonde gave her a smug look.

"Who else do you think?" she said as she pointed her index fingers at herself.

Could Squall be interested in someone else? She worried. No, Squall wouldn't fall for someone as conceited as this.

"Someone who's a badass like Squall," The woman continued, "Needs more of a woman to look after him."

With that being said, the woman gave her a cruel smile and walked away, the clinks of her boot's tall heels sounding more and more like daggers stomping into Rinoa's morale.

Rinoa disliked how the woman kept on watching her no matter where she sat in the room with those cruel blue eyes. She couldn't take it anymore, so she left the room and went into the dark hallway that Squall had led her down. She rested against one of the halls darkened corners and hated how the woman's words made her heart feel heavy with doubt.

Am I good enough for Squall? She's right; I'm nothing like him. He's so free and amazing…and I'm just a girl who's lived her whole life locked up in a fancy cage…

The door clicked open as Zell stepped out into the hall. Spying Rinoa, he walked over to her spot in the corner.

"Hey Rinoa, what's wrong? You looked upset when you left."

She was surprised to see the gentle concern on his face.

"I well-" she began.

She didn't know if she should say anything about the blonde woman. What if she was his friend?

"I saw Quistis talking to you." He said. "Was she talking shit?"

"She pretty much told me to stay away from Squall." Rinoa told him in a quiet voice.

"That Quistis is a cat!" Zell scoffed. He looked to Rinoa's confused face. He put his hands on her shoulders and said,

"Look here Rinoa, don't listen to anything that chick says."

"She seems to be really into Squall…You don't think that Squall…"

"Don't worry, Rinoa, Squall doesn't want anything to do with Quistis."

"How do you know?"

"Trust me, Squall doesn't even want her at a gunblade's length near him. She's like the plague to him. She's only around 'cuz Seifer has a thing for her."

Hearing that helped to put a load of her worries at ease.

Rinoa flashed Zell a small smile.

"Thank you Zell, that helped a lot." She paused, "I must say though…I'm kind of surprised that you're so nice to me- not that I don't appreciate it!"

"I can tell that Squall likes you a lot. And he'd be damn pissed if I let him loose you because of someone like Quistis."

He was trying to look tough, but even he couldn't resist returning Rinoa's beaming smile.

They both jumped at the sound of the door opening quickly.

"Rinoa," Squall said, "I was wondering where you went off to."

In moments he was at her side.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'm fine!" she told him.

He looked doubtful, so she gave him her best reassuring smile.

The door creaked and Irvine popped his head in.

"Hey guys, it's time to hit the stage!" he yelled.

Squall and Zell nodded.

"Shall we?" Zell said, dramatically sweeping his arms to point towards the room.

They began walking and Rinoa instinctively reached to grab the arm of Squall's jacket, except now he wasn't wearing it so his cool skin met her hand.

She blushed and looked up to Squall, but he didn't seem to mind.

He led her past another two rooms. When he opened the final door she heard the deafening shrill screams of a massive crowd. All that separated them from the crowd was a large red velvet curtain. Squall brought her to the side area where all the people lucky enough to have a backstage pass were.

Rinoa recognized some of the groupies standing with her. Unfortunately one of them was Quistis. She was eyeing Squall like a predator to her prey.

"Good Luck, Squall." She said to him in a silky seductive voice.

Squall just nodded coolly. Not looking like he really cared.

"Hey Quistis," Seifer said, "Why don't I get a good luck or anything? Don't you find the lead guitarist sexy?"

Quistis smiled and gave him the finger.

Seifer gave a satisfied smirk.

"I love you too."

A stage man motioned to the band that they had two minutes until the curtain was lifted.

Rinoa could feel the band's heavy adrenaline like electricity. They were charged up like warriors about to plunge into battle.

She couldn't help but notice how cool and collected Squall was, even though he was about to face hundreds of screaming fans. He looked to her and she saw something that up until now had been hidden in his eyes.

He's nervous…this is a really big show for him. He might even get signed here.

The crowd's roars grew even louder as it was only moments till curtain time.

Rinoa had been so worried that she wasn't good enough for Squall, but now as she looked into his eyes, she could see how much right now he needed her at his side.

"Squall, you're going to be wonderful, I know you will be!" she said.

Then, even to her own surprise, she stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss that landed on the corner of his mouth.

At first he looked taken a back but then he gave her a heart-melting smile.

The stage manager yelled something that was indistinct in Rinoa's ears, but it made Squall quickly dash over to center stage and pick up the mic.

The curtain rose, revealing the myriads of fans' faces staring up at the lit up stage.

Colored lights that seemed to appear out of nowhere began to flash and dance on the stage.

Squall brought the microphone to his lips and yelled out to the crowd,

"Deling City, are you ready to rock?!"

The crowd whistled and screamed.

Then Seifer yelled, "I don't think you heard the man, he said… Are you ready to rock!"

The crowd's response was deafening.

"Yeah, now that's more like it!" Seifer hollered, beginning to strum his electric guitar. It awoke with its metallic screams.

The rest of the instruments joined together in harmony.

Squall's voice rang above the music and he began the first verse,

"I Will be there I promise I'll be,

Waiting in our sacred place where we,

Find ourselves when we're lost in time,

I can only regret how long it took to make you mine"

His voice took on a seductive croon as he danced and swayed to the music. The crowd cheered him on, jumping up and down, throwing rock fists in the air. Rinoa watched Squall as he completely submerged himself into his performance. He struck cool rock poses on the amp, which excited the crowd, and then he resumed his savage dance up and down the stage. The song was nearing its end, and already he had worked up a sweat. His dark black t-shirt clung tightly to his toned chest, his dark brown hair sticking to his face. Three songs later, he still had the same great energy; the crowd was growing even wilder. People were crowd surfing and mosh pits were breaking out among the audience. This made Rinoa realize that maybe he wasn't kidding so much when he said she could get trampled. They had finished their last song and the crowd was screaming for an encore. Of course the band made them beg for it, even though they we're delighted to perform another song. Their encore was worth every second as each of the band members gave an incredible show. Finally the show came to an end and the audience hoot and hollered as the curtain dropped.

"Good job, boys!" Irvine yelled.

They all cheered for their success.

Rinoa walked over to Squall, who had just drained three water bottles in about a minute.

"See Squall, I knew you'd be wonderful!" She said. She gave him a big hug, ignoring his sweat.

"Yes, and it's all thanks to you Ms. Heartilly," he said resting his chin on the top of her head, "I think that you're my good luck charm."

"Wow, Squall, now that was the best performance I've ever seen you give."

She heard Seifer say.

She let go of Squall and turned to the guitarist with Squall's matching scar.

"Trying to impress a certain lady with your stage prowess?" he smirked.

"Screw you, Seifer." Squall said with a bite in his voice.

Seifer laughed and raised his water bottle up in a 'cheers'.

"Hey guys!" Irvine called. He walked in from an offstage room. "Some record executives want to talk with us!"

"Don't worry, I'll handle this." Seifer said as he followed Irvine out the door.

"Yea man! This is awesome!" Zell shouted. He crouched and threw three big air punches. "Man we're so gonna have the biggest freakin' party ever!"

He ran to where Irvine and Seifer went.

Rinoa turned to Squall. "Wow, so today may be your band's lucky night."

Squall smiled. "It might be." He looked around at all the groupies and fans that began to flood the backstage. "Come on, let's go before this place gets too crowded."

He led her through all the rooms and back down the dark hallway. It wasn't so scary to Rinoa now. In fact, now it felt rather comfortable with Squall beside her. Soon they were back to the band parking lot. Nighttime had descended and the city streetlights kept the city nearly as bright as day. Rinoa looked up at the sky and wished that the lamps weren't there so the night could be light up by the moon and stars like it was supposed to be. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle. Squall surprised her by putting his leather jacket around her shoulders; immediately making her feel much warmer.

"Thanks, Squall." She said.

He smiled and hesitated a moment before he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She leaned against him and was delighted by how warm he was. She giggled when he nuzzled his face against the crook of her neck.

"It's getting late. Shall I be taking you home?" he asked.

Rinoa frowned. She didn't want to be without Squall. Being with him today made her forget all her troubles. Also the thought of having to face Caraway right now didn't sit well with her. She didn't feel at all like lying about where she had been all day.

Squall watched and must've seen the sadness on her face.

"What's wrong?" he pressed gently.

"I don't want to go back home." She stated stubbornly like a child.

Squall paused before tentatively saying, "Well you could always stay with me tonight if you'd like. It's nowhere fancy but-"

"Really?" Rinoa asked. She'd be so happy if she could stay with him the whole night. She watched him give her an adorable crooked smile.

"Of course you can, Rinoa."

On a whim she turned around and embraced him. He laughed and held her back, his hand gently running through her jet-black hair.

"Let's head over to my place." He said drawing back lightly.

Rinoa nodded and let him help her onto the back of his motorcycle. As they were speeding down the road Rinoa smiled resting her head against Squall's back and thought to herself, "Could tonight possibly be any better?"