RINOA'S HEART- A FF8 FANFIC

Rinoa sighed and looked around her small compartment of the train that Zone and Watts had managed to recapture after Galbaldian conquest and fix back up. She wasn't sure quite why she'd cut herself off from everyone from Balamb Garden, except for the occasional phone call with Nida. They had become friends in the last few days she was there, and he was worried about her. Rinoa's relationship with Squall was so screwed up that she didn't want to deal with it anymore. If she had been alone in the universe with him, maybe they would have been happy, but Rinoa couldn't stand being cooed over as the 'Garden's Cutest and Most Successful Couple'. It made her ready to puke. Every time Selphie said that about them she not only almost screamed, but almost hit Selphie over the head with whatever it was that was in her hand at the moment, from Quistis's base guitar to Irvine's rifle to Zell's T-Board thing. She thought Selphie would have been particularly distressed at that one. Another reason she didn't work out with Squall was that she'd never really wanted him in the first place. She had been looking for Seifer, that night when she danced with him, so Squall's full appeal never really sank in. Then, after she gave up on Seifer, she was in the company of two other hot guys, both of whom she was more likely to go after then Squall. And she didn't mean Zone and Watts. Zell and Irvine were both appealing to her and they had always been so. Zell's perfect fitness and the fact that he knew it, paired with his sharp sense of humor and vague sense of clueless-ness around girls made Rinoa just want to kiss him. And Irvine had always charmed her with the attention to her that Squall never gave her, and then his ability to be acting tough and all 'macho' or something while he told (most would say bragged but Rinoa didn't think so) about his battle conquests, adventures, etc and still not look like a stuck up jerk.
Pulling her out of her thoughts, Zone opened the door and threw her the cordless.
"Its Quistis," and with that said, he turned back to whatever he had been doing. Rinoa picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi Rinoa, how are you?"
"Not so bad, and you?"
"I'm okay. How are you and Squall?" That question made Rinoa want to scream. Quistis was doing one of the worst things she could- talking about Squall.
"WHY DOES EVERYBODY ALWAYS ASK ME THAT?!?!?"
"Well… he is your boyfriend."
"IS HE? YOU TELL ME, I DON'T KNOW. I just don't know anymore…" Rinoa broke down, almost crying. When she let her anger out like this, she always hit this low. Quistis knew it, because Rinoa had only shared the low with her. Quistis just wanted to help her, and to know how things were. Rinoa didn't mean to blow up at her best friend, she just wasn't happy with being an 'item' with Squall and wouldn't put up with being cooed over anymore.
"Rinoa, you have to make a decision here… are you two still together or what?"
"Like I said, I don't know. And I'd appreciate not being pressed about it. Bye." She hung up the phone. She had to leave this place, and soon. Just for the night, maybe to go out to the movies. Yeah, there was a theatre in Dollet that ran old movies. She'd read an advertisement for 'Death of the Sorceress', an old play that had been turned into a movie. It sounded good, even thought the title was a little close for comfort. She considered for a second wearing a silver wig, drawing purple lines down her face, and wearing a red dress with the lowest neckline imaginable (necklines DON'T show bellybuttons, thanks) and a set of black feathered wings into the show, then cracked up.
She decided not go to as a sorceress. It would be better if she wasn't even recognized as Riona. She wore a long black skirt and a white sleeveless collared sweater that zipped down the front, looking very much like Ellone, although she didn't notice that. She tied her hair up in a knot at the back, purposely didn't wear the chain with Squall's ring on it, and put on a little makeup. Deciding she was ready to go, she picked up a black purse and stepped out of her room, walked down the hall, and into the main compartment that had the door. Zone had Watts pressed up against the back wall and they were making out, like always. She stifled a laugh and left a note saying where she was going, not wanting to disturb the two guys. With that, she left.
She got a train to Dollet, then wandered around the city for a few minutes, looking for the theatre. When she finally found it, she slipped in through the crowd and purchased a ticket. It had an assigned seat number on it, and once she found the seat, she sat to await the show. It was an aisle seat on the left wing of the theatre, in the bottom back of a double-decked theatre, the top empty for renovation. She was sitting next to a guy in a cowboy hat who was listening to the babble of conversation on the other side of Rinoa so intently that he was turned away from her. She thought he looked familiar, especially once she saw the ponytail sneaking off his shoulder down his back.
"Irvine?" He turned and looked shocked.
"Rinoa! I didn't expect to find you here… especially not at this show. A little morbid for you, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess so. So how are you?"
"Not too bad, I just needed a break from Selphie's mindless chatter and Quistis's insecurities, why I'm here. How're you?"
"I'm okay, just a little stressed."
"Sorry to hear that. How's Squall?" Rinoa looked pained.
"You should know better than I…"
"Yeah, I know that. I was just asking. Hey, looks like the show's starting," he said as the lights dimmed. The theatre was not empty but not entirely packed, and the crowd was almost silent through the entire movie, which was not a comedy by any means. At the first point in the movie when the sorceress's life was threatened, for a better title would have been 'Murder of a Sorceress', Irvine reached into Rinoa's lap and held her hand. She smiled up at him for the kind thought on his part, but he'd always known what to do around women. She doubted that Squall would have held her hand like this unless she'd made him.
Once the lights were back up, she realized that she recognized one of the actors in the movie, defending Lilliah (the sorceress) as a knight in shining armor. He looked suspiciously like the president of Estar, Laguna Loire, who was Squall's father. She laughed mentally and decided to ask Selphie, the self-proclaimed official source on all information Laguna, or just to ask Laguna himself, whether or not he had acted in a movie of this sort.
Irvine, still holding her hand, helped Rinoa up and led her out of the theatre on his arm. On their way down to the train station, they gossiped about the relationships for a few moments, like that he had broken up with Selphie and was going after Zell's current girlfriend simply because she was unavailable and Zell was trying to get rid of her, and that Quistis was dating a 'Trepie', who she claimed nicer than she had expected, and that Selphie was hunting for a boyfriend to no avail. Somehow the topic switched to Irvine describing some training feats of his. She got lost in praising his abilities, and whether he was exaggerating or not, she didn't care. She was lost in his smile and in his eyes. She had just about worked herself to the point of grabbing him and kissing him right there, but she resisted the temptation and noticed that they had reached the train station.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," said Irvine with a overly dramatic tone. Rinoa giggled at Irvine's comment, and she blushed.
"Yeah, you're right. I hope to see you soon."
"Oh- if you need to reach me, I was going to go back to Galbaldia Garden to finish my training to become an official SeeD, not just an honorary one. If you
She hugged him gently and turned away, bought a ticket and stepped onto the train. She looked back out the window, but he was already gone. She sighed, she'd wanted to kiss him goodbye. She guessed she couldn't, because she was still with Squall. She'd been set up with Squall. She remembered that Zell and Irvine had prodded her into it, and she hadn't protested. Rinoa settled down into her seat in the empty train car, realizing it would be a long ride back to Timber.

-Quisty (aka Fira)