It was 4pm on a Friday afternoon. School was out for the weekend, everyone was skipping home on their merry way to begin their weekends with cheer.

All except for Trepe and Almasy who had been issued with afterschool detentions for 'getting up to no good' in the girls bathroom.

"You will scrub every desk and table, AND wash the windows as punishment! No one is leaving until I am satisfied with the level of cleanliness" said , in his usual grumpy voice. His eyes roamed from Seifer to Quistis and narrowed.

"I'm going to have some coffee in my office…If I even hear one peep out of either one of you…I will make you both do this for the next six months! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?"

Quistis and Seifer nodded in union, and he left the empty classroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

Over fifty desks and chairs awaited them.

Seifer cringed a little inside, wondering exactly just how bad this 'punishment' was going to be. Was Quistis going to find the nearest pointy object and dissect him like an insect for getting them both into this mess? There was no woman that could make him feel as insecure as she did. But damned her if he was going to show it!

I need to keep my shit together… I need to start thinking with my brain instead of thinking with my friend that lives in my pants… erghhhhhhh I don't want to fucking clean all of this shit damnit! Seifer's mind wandered.

He stole a glance of Quistis, who had wordlessly sauntered over to the windows and opened them up allowing the afternoon breeze to float in through the room. He watched the strands of her golden blonde hair 'catch fire' in the light of the softly setting sun as she gazed out of the window. With her creamy pale skin, dark lipstick and black smeared eyes, she almost looked like a fallen angel of sorts, standing there with those pouty lips.

Avoiding her eyes, he picked up his silver bucket, and wandered slowly over the sink and began filling it with warm, soapy water, deciding it was best to just get to work and get this shit over and done with.

The minutes passed like hours as he set himself to work, scrubbing desk after desk…chair after chair channelling all of his frustration into the tedious hard work. The longer he worked, the more tired and confused he became, It had been over an hour and Quistis still hadn't said a single word or even looked at him.

Why hasn't she whooped my ass yet? No yelling…no screaming…WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?

After finishing off polishing the final chair, he threw the rag he had been using into the wet bucket and huffed: "Quistis are you ever going to talk to me again? Please just give me a heads up, because I'm going out of my fucking mind over here!"

Her eyes finally met his. And not in a way that he had expected them to, her expression was that of a frightened child as she sank to her knees on the floor. "I'm sorry…" she rasped, her voice gentle and slight.

He rushed over to her side and he sat down beside her. She nearly collapsed into his embrace, and started sobbing quietly in his arms. "I'm…sorry" she repeated, quaking in his arms. Seifer carefully took her face into the palms of his hands, guiding her eyes to meet with his, as black tears streamed down her face.

"Hey- hey there" he whispered softly, trying to soothe her, "Tell me what's going on Quis…"

"I'm so sick of everything!" she exacerbated, "I think I might be going insane Seifer. I really did think I was in love with Squall for the longest time…" she mused. "He was everything I thought I ever wanted, good-looking, shrewd and charming… I spent so long throwing myself at him, trying to make him want me, I would have got down on my knees and-"

She looked at Seifer, his expression was a mixture of jealous and hurt, but she had to get this out.

"He never wanted me. I have been acting like a pathetic fool…I'm embarrassed…I hate myself. Seifer I have been so blind…"
"I'm so sorry" she muttered almost weakly, before going limp in his arms and closing her eyes in exhaustion.

He shrugged out of his heavy leather coat and wrapped it around her tiny shoulders, and stroked her hair and she lay against him, snuggling into the warmth of his jacket and clinging to him like a needy child. Seifer sighed inwardly, Hearing her say all of that hadn't been easy to listen to, Seifer had always felt second best to Squall in so many ways. But maybe this was Quistis finally letting go. He'd never seen her so vulnerable and open before.

Seifer looked around him, the classroom was as clean as it was going to get, and he carefully got up supporting Quistis in his grasp. "Let's go home Quisty, you're tired" he whispered in her ear, she groggily opened her eyes and nodded.

Hopefully he would let them leave. It had been a long, hard day.

It was getting cold. Night was beginning to fall, and the Balamb sky was slowly being stripped of all its colours and turned black. Squall sat in his car, gulping down whiskey from a flask and smoking a cigarette with the windows rolled down, feeling completely lost. The things he was feeling inside were starting to hit him pretty hard, everything felt wrong.

He missed his mother and wished badly that he could go home and see how she and his sister were coping living with that pathetic excuse for a man Gray. But he knew it wasn't an option right now. He missed being in his room back at home, his own little world where he could just lay on his bed and listen to music, or do some drawings when inspiration struck him. He missed having his own space, and felt guilty for constantly being in Zell's room, mopping around on his couch. Lately, he had been resorting to sitting out in his car for hours; it was all he felt he had left.

He knew in himself that things couldn't remain this way.

Today had been a weird day. Squall sighed leaning back into the car seat and closing his eyes, he recalled the events of the day. He hadn't gone to school, but instead gone someplace else and made a huge commitment and life changing decision that he hadn't told anyone about yet, not even Zell.

Squall had gone to visit the headmaster of the Balamb Garden, to make an application to enrol and begin training as a military student at the end of the year. So should he pass the exam, he would be training with a world class military academy to become a mercenary and eventually a combat specialist.

It seemed to be the only answer to his situation and earning a decent salary might mean he would be able to get his mother a place of her own and the choice to stop working at that shitty damn bar remove that asshole from her life once in for all.

But it also meant that soon he would be thrust into a very scary world.

Squall gazed into the rear-view mirror and barely recognized the man staring back at him. His usually untameable brunette locks were gelled back away from his face in a sleek style. Instead of wearing his usual band T-shirts and torn up jeans ensemble, he was dressed in a formal shirt and pants that he had worn for the interview.

He swallowed down some more whiskey and his mind started to drift at ease a little as the alcohol began taking its toll.

Looking out of the window he chuckled to himself realizing where he had decided to park the car subconsciously. 2 houses down from the Caraway mansion. Feeling a little frisky and adventurous he stumbled out of the car, and took a leisurely stroll towards Rinoa's enormous house. It was a massive building; white pillars supporting the upper balcony and the windows were decorated with intricate stained glass designs. As he staggered closer to the path leading up to the front of the house, he couldn't help but notice the fragrance of the rose bushes that edged the trail to her front door.

By this stage he was concentrating damn hard just to put one foot in front of the other and keep his balance. He looked up towards the window that he knew was Rinoa's bedroom, and without giving any thought to the possible consequences, he picked up a tiny pebble and hurled in at her window.

'tap'

And then two more. 'tap, tap'

If he were to throw them any harder, the windows would surely break.

His eyes remained fixed on the window, his stomach churned with hope and fear all at the same time.

Rinoa…

He waited, and nothing.

Just as he turned and began making his way back to the car, he could hear her window swing open.

"Squall!?" her confused voice rang out from the upper window. He spun around at the sound of her voice. His eyes felt heavy and his stomach slightly nauseated from the alcohol. "I'm sorry…I don't know what I was thinking…Rinoa…" he mumbled trying to keep his eyes focused on the beautiful girl standing in the window in a white night dress.

"Just wait there a minute…I'm coming down, I'll meet you out there in a second!" she said as loudly as possible without actually yelling.

Rinoa tip-toed nervously from her bedroom and down the spiral staircase towards the front of the house. The last thing she needed was to rouse her father from sleep and have him discover Squall Leonhart standing in the front yard of the house. She cringed at the thought as she disarmed the alarm system and walked out the front door, closing it very carefully behind her.

As she walked over towards him, she suddenly felt silly, dressed in a very old-lady-like night gown, so long that it was almost scrapping along the ground as she strolled. She folded her arms across her chest as she reached him, the closer she got, and she couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked. His hair swept away from his face, revealing his clear blue eyes in the night sky. Something about him seemed different.

"Nice dress" he smiled playfully.

"Oh shut it! I'm sure I look like a total idiot right now" she blushed. "So why are you here Squall? You know my dad would probably kill us both if he knew you were here."

"I tried calling but, your house maid said you weren't allowed to come to the phone" he said shifting from one foot to another.

"I'm here because I miss you Rinoa"

"I just had to see you again" he said offering her a sad smile that melted her.

And with those words she could no longer hold back from the over-welling of emotion she felt inside. Closing the distance between them she stood on her tippy toes and crushed her lips against his. God, she had missed him, even though the situation between them was a complete rollercoaster, never knowing where things would lead them from one day to the next, she couldn't deny her feelings for Squall Leonhart.

His mouth tasted of cigarette and liquor, but she couldn't stop herself.

He kissed her back with equal fever, his hands gently cupping the sides of her face. He was a little taken by surprise by her assault, but he felt like his entire life up until this point had been some sort of cruel waiting game.

He deepened the kiss, tracing the inside of her mouth slowly before breaking it. He grabbed her and crushed her tightly in his embrace. "Say you'll be mine Rinoa!" he pleaded.

"Please…no more games. Just you and me."

She looked up, her soft brown eyes meeting with his. This couldn't be wrong, no matter what her father or anyone else had to say, there was no denying the electricity between them. She nodded briskly, "just you and me" she agreed, and with that his pressed his lips to hers once more.

The next minute, Rinoa released a shrill scream as the automatic sprinkler system activated and began blasting them with freezing cold water.

"HYNE DAMNIT!" she gasped as the water infiltrated through her thin nightgown soaking her to the bone. She squealed again at the icy assault of water. Squall put his fingers against her lips, "Shhhh, your dad is gonna come out here and chop me into bits!" he growled.

He pulled her quickly down the garden path lined with perfect rose bushes, the sprinklers still attacking them as they went. No wonder they looked so idyllic, considering the deep soaking of water they must have been receiving every night at midnight.

He led her over to the car, and by this time they were both laughing hysterically at the situation. "I'm- I'm so sorry! I totally forgot about the sprinklers…My dad is obsessed with his rose bushes!" she managed to say between bursts of laughter.

"I'm obsessed with you" he murmured, almost darkly.

Squall examined her face, radiant in the pale glow of the moon. The drops of water trailed down her creamy skin and her damp dress clung to her body. She was beautiful. His hands gently pushed her raven hair from her neck so that he could kiss her delicate skin. He kissed her softly and felt her body relax against his; a gentle moan escaped her lips as his advances became slightly more aggressive. His hands roamed her body, the thin fabric of her gown the only thing that separating him from devouring her entirely. She didn't make any effort to stop him either. She grabbed fistfuls of his wet shirt and pulled him closer. He couldn't help himself. He wanted her so badly. And now he was finally able to touch her, he wasn't so sure he would be able to stop himself.

He swallowed and tore himself away from her, "Rinoa…You should go back. I don't want to get you in trouble…and honestly, I don't know if I can stop myself from doing what I want to do to you if we keep going" he said.

"I can't go back Squall"

She looked at him, her own eyes glazed with lust. "Don't stop" she said, taking his hand and placing it on her chest, so that he could feel her heart racing. She watched him squeeze his eyes shut, trying to control his want for her, as she pressed her body against his once more. In that moment, she felt as though if he were to leave, she would disintegrate into nothing. "Don't ever stop…" she spoke softly against his neck.

"Rinoa…"

"Please" she held his face in her hands, forcing his eyes to meet with hers. "Squall, you know we can't stop now. It isn't even possible" she whispered. In his heart he knew, she was right. The heat of this moment was impossible to pull away from. He could feel she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Needed her. More than his next breath.

Without another word he opened the passenger side door and helped her in. Pacing around to his side, he got in, started the car and sped off towards the Balamb hotel.