A/N: This is my second Squall/Rinoa one-shot. I haven't played Final Fantasy VIII, so please tell me if something's not completely right. I'm sure that billions of people have already written this scene, so I tried to give it something extra to make it still surprising and different from the other pieces. Plus, since it's almost New Year, I wanted to do something with fireworks. So voilà! Enjoy. ;)

~ Squall could divide them in three catagories. You had the totally hyper girls that couldn't stop talking, like Selphie. Some girls were the nosy types that never left you alone, like instructor Quistis Trepe. And then, there was this other group of girls that simply scared the hell out of him by just being around him. ~

Squall was still deep in thought, thinking of all the utterly exciting events that had just happened, when he suddenly spotted Selphie, the only girl who had become a SeeD today.

"HAH! Found you!" she exclaimed, cheerfully, jumping up and down.

Squall sighed quietly, the thoughts about the test that had changed his life drastically still fresh in his mind. He still wondered how it was even possible to have that much energy in your body, every single day. Where did she get it from? What did she eat? Or was it all in her genes?

Then, she stepped forward, once again interrupting his train of thoughts with her actions.

"Well, well? What do you think? My SeeD uniform!"

He didn't reply, but only looked at her new attire. It consisted of a black blouse with dark blue shoulders that echoed the design of the sailor-style collar. Attached to the collar were two gold trimmed material "wings" that hung over the chest; a maroon tie was also worn with a metal clasp possessing the SeeD logo. The ensemble was completed with a straight skirt cutting off just above the knees. and the black knee-high boots.

He would never admit it out loud, but it actually looked good on her.

"You should get changed, too. We have that party to go to," she reminded him.

Right. The inauguration party that Squall didn't exactly look forward to. Well, that was an understatement.

He walked into the other room to get changed into his new uniform.

He looked in the mirror at his reflection. The male uniform had a standing collar buttoning down from top-to-bottom. The collar was part of a black tunic with gold trim and maroon cuffs. Pants were straight leg and tucked into his black knee-high boots. A black Sam Browne belt was worn with the tunic and a blue and silver designed shield was worn over the shoulders. The shield tappered to a double point at the back.

When he walked into the room again, he saw that Selphie still stood in the same place. Apparently, he had been waiting for him all this time.

"Heeey! Lookin' good!" She didn't wait for a reply (not that Squall would have given any) and cried, pumping a fist in the air, "Alright! Let's hit that PAAH-TAY!"

With that, they both walked out of the room, their footsteps echoing through the not so empty corridors.

Everyone they met seemed to be excited and full of cheerful enthousiasm for the inauguration party. Actually, Squall was the only one who stood out against the other students of Balamb Garden. He didn't care for parties or dancing, and more importantly, he wasn't interested in girls. They were just...not his cup of tea.

Squall could divide them pretty easily in three catagories. You had the totally hyper girls that couldn't stop talking, like Selphie. However, he didn't mind it that much. Most of the time he just tuned out.

Some other girls were the nosy types that never left you alone, like instructor Quistis Trepe. She wanted to know everything of him at the point that it was getting very annoying. Squall didn't try to show that, because he was her instructor.

And then, there was this other group of girls that simply scared the hell out of him by just being around him. Period.

He shivered lightly at that last thought.

As he entered the ballroom, Squall could hear in the background the rather boring music the orchestra was playing, along with laughter and the buzzing of talking people. He had to admit that whoever had decorated this huge room, had a good taste. Everything looked spick and span, from the big table with drinks and other food, to the beautiful garlands that consisted of white lilies. They almost looked real in the lighting.

Nevertheless, he already knew that this was going to be a long and boring night, because nothing exciting would happen. He hated dances and this one brought dullness to a whole new level.

Squall sighed. There wasn't much choice to escape this, for unfortunately, it was an obligatory occasion.

As Squall was standing lonely under a pilar, leaning against the wall and watching the dancing couples swirling around, he saw how a waitress with short, dark brown hair, skillfully walked past the aformentioned pairs, almost as if she was dancing, too. She was dressed in a blue, long-sleeved blouse, a black bow tie, a short black skirt and black, high-heeled boots. Her thin, black panty only accentuated her long legs.

Squall swiftly looked away from them when he caught himself staring at them. She held a silver-colored tray in one hand on which balanced three glasses filled with champagne. The woman was coming his way.

She stopped in front of him and nodded at him as a greet. Then, she took one of the filled glasses and handed it to him.

"Here you are," she said.

Her voice was friendly and very pleasant.

Squall took the glass from her and nodded curtly. She smiled at him, her big and dark eyes shimmering briefly. When she walked away, her pumps making the familiar "tick-tacking" noises, he could still smell her intoxicating perfume.

Squall was standing like a statue all the time, but he had to move when he took a sip from the liquor. This drink was pretty much the only good thing about this party. Honestly, all the sounds around him were getting pretty annoying by now.

"Yo!"

Zell came running up to him, seemingly with a lot more energy than ever. Oh Hyne, that never promised anything good. Of course, he liked the guy, but he was a bit too...bouncy for him. Zell stopped in front of him and waved.

"S'up Squall? Heh-heh. I guess we're both SeeDs now, huh?" he asked, as he rubbed his right hand on his pant leg, probably in an attempt to clean it.

He extended that same hand towards Squall, who merely blinked.

"Put it there, man."

Squall just stared at it. He ignored him, averting his gaze, and took another sip of his cool drink. Zell quickly withdrew his hand, when he saw that it his friend didn't bother to shake hands with him. Zell laughed, heartilly. Squall didn't know whether it was out of sheer embarrassment, or because he thought it was funny.

"Hah, even as a SeeD, you're still the same," he said.

Squall looked at him again when he said that.

"Well, that's typical of you."

Typical of him? Did he just imply that he knew him better than anyone? Whatever. It wasn't like he cared, anyway.

"See ya!" Zell cried, enthusiastically, with another gesture of his hand.

As Squall took another sip again, not because he was thirsty, but more because he was bored, Zell ran away again. He almost collided into Selphie, though. That was when she decided to say something to Zell.

"Oh...hey, Zell. Wanna join the Garden Festival committee and…" she started, but Zell quickly interrupted her, already knowing what she was going to ask.

"Sorry, I...ahh... Just remembered something! G-Gotta go. See ya!"

He had run away, before Selphie could even think of stopping him.

"Hmmmm…"

By the looks of it, she had noticed too how panicky he had sounded. Even though Squall couldn't see her, he could tell that Selphie was frowning, meanwhile looking around to speak to someone else she knew. When she spotted Squall standing lonely in the corner, she came running up to him, deciding to take this chance.

"Squall! Hi! Wanna join the Garden Festival committee? You can help out whenever you have time."

She had clasped her hands together, in a silent prayer. Squall stayed quiet, pondering over her question and weighing down the pros and cons against each other.

"...Please?" she begged, her shimmering, emerald-colored eyes becoming the size of saucers and her lower lip quivering slightly.

It almost looked cute. Squall suppressed a sigh. It looked like he couldn't say no to this girl. Besides, if his training was asking too much time, then he could always quit, right? Plus, there was nothing to lose if he said yes to her.

"Sure, you seem to be putting a lot of effort into this," Squall replied, making a small gesture with his left hand.

As long as he didn't have to go to any parties, he would be totally fine with it.

Selphie's remarkable eyes widened instantly.

"REALLY? Woo-hoo!" she jumped in the air, excitedly, and pumped her fists in the air, as if she had just won the lotery.

"I know we'll be busy with a lot of SeeD stuff, but let's work hard on the Garden Festival, too. Bye!" she said, waving at him, before she walked away again.

Squall was all alone again after Selphie had gone, probably to get more members for the Garden Festival committee. The only think Squall could think of, was to look at the beautiful night sky above him.

The color of the sky was so dark that it looked like it was black, with some dark dark blue spots here and there, lightened by the full moon. Was it just Squall - or him having too much liquor - or did the moon look bigger and brighter than ever? It was almost magical. And as if that wasn't beautiful enough, there were stars shining everywhere, the one brighter than the other, almost as if they wanted to be better and brighter than any other star. It was breath-takingly beautiful.

Right at that moment, a shooting star flew across the sky above Squall, leaving a trail of slowly fading light in the sky.

His eyes followed it intently, as he thought, I wish there could be something exciting here. I'm almost dying out of boredom.

Squall's eyes travelled to the ballroom again. He saw a girl around his age standing all alone, watching the sky with the shooting star, too. She was obviously admiring its beauty. She had long, straight, black hair past her shoulders that fell perfectly around her heart shaped face. The girl was dressed in an ivory-coloured dress that didn't even reach her knees, and dito shoes. She had a bracelet and a necklace with a pendant, but he couldn't see what it was from that far.

Almost as if she had felt his eyes resting on her, she turned around and looked him straight in the eyes. She smiled sweetly and pointed to the sky with her index finger. Squall cocked his head to the side, wondering what she meant with that small gesture. The young woman dropped her hand, her beautiful smile never leaving her face.

Whatever solitude he had planned for the rest of his stay under the pilar was immediately shot to hell for the third time that evening, as she approached him. Her shoes were making almost the same sound as the waitress's shoes had done earlier.

Squall wanted to do something in order not to look that stiff, but found that his feet, nor his hands, did cooperate with his brains. At least now he had the time to notice that her large eyes were the darkest brown he had ever seen. They were just like dark chocolate, surrounded by long, soft and delicate eyelashes that looked like feathers. She was shorter than him, but that only made her look more cute. Her hair had two light brown streaks on the side. Somehow, she reminded him of an angel.

When she stood still in front of him, she examined him briefly. She glanced briefly at the newly formed scar on his forehead. Squall didn't look away.

"You're the best looking guy here. Dance with me?" she asked, putting her hands in her sides.

Squall's eyes widened slightly in pure shock. She wasn't being serious...was she?

He quickly took a sip of his drink to hide his surprise. Apparently, she took this as a no, thinking that the guy in front of her wasn't interested at all.

"Let me guess... You'll only dance with someone you like. Ok then..."

She crossed her arms, seeming to think of something. When she had found the solution, she clapped her hands together, being delighted and held her index finger in front of his face, obviously startling Squall with the sudden, unexpected movement. He visibly tensed. Hyne, how he wanted to back away, but since the wall was terribly in the way, not wanting to move, it was of no use. The young lady started to wave her index finger before his eyes.

"Look into my eyes... You're-going-to-like-me... You're-going-to-like-me..." she said slowly and clearly, making sure that Squall understood every single word.

Squall couldn't help but think that she had a nice voice as well.

Suddenly, the girl stopped trying to hypnotize him.

She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Did it work?"

Squall was at a loss of words by now. He could only stare at her, in awe. Yes, her magic spell had worked, more than he had wanted. He swiftly shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. It didn't help, though. Squall couldn't help but find her rather...cute. Not Selphie-cute, but just...cute.

"...I can't dance," he admitted.

"You'll be fine. Come on," she said, grabbing his left arm. "I'm looking for someone. I can't be on the dance floor alone."

As the brass and violins began to play another song, she dragged him along to the crowded dance floor. The young woman didn't seem to notice the hint of curiosity in his eyes. He had to admit that she had a point there, but as much as he wanted to help her, he knew it was a bad idea...unless she intended to cause harm to the other dancers on the floor. She seemed to be determined, though.

He briefly wondered in what kind of group he could place her. Maybe the type of girl that never left you alone...although he couldn't say he was that annoyed with it.

Squall quickly put his half empty glass on a tray that another waitress was holding. He really had a bad feeling about this. He didn't like dancing, and he barely knew the basic steps.

For someone who looked that petite and innocent, she really had a firm grip. The black-haired girl wasn't planning on letting go of his hand. Squall felt much like a moppet right now, being dragged everywhere, without having a say in it. He had to admit that she walked just as skillfully past the dancing couples as the waitress had done not too long ago. Maybe it was one of those things that only girls could do?

The young woman stopped walking when she had found a nice, empty enough place on the dance floor. This caused Squall to bump into her, before he could stop it. He was starting to feel really nervous now. What was he supposed to do? He didn't even know all of the steps...

She was happy enough to help him, putting his right hand on her waist and holding his left hand gently.

"Here. Like this," she said.

After that, she placed her left hand on his shoulder and they began to waltz, or rather, they tried to. It wouldn't succeed, though.

As she took the lead, she said to him, "Just try to follow my lead. One-two-three. One-two-three. One-two-th-"

Squall did his best, really, but it didn't seem to be as easy as she said it was. His feet seemed to have a mind of their own, for they didn't listen to what his mind was pleading. Their footsteps were incredibly out of sync. He couldn't prevent from colliding into her again. She gasped, surprised, still holding firmly onto his left hand, which almost caused him to fall over her.

The young woman didn't give up, though, even though she knew now that the young man in front of her wasn't kidding when he said he couldn't dance. She smiled at him, bringing his other hand to his waist again, and there they went again.

"It's easy," she said.

She let go of his shoulder, doing a spin-out. Squall realized that a little too late and once again, they crashed into each other.

That was enough torture and humiliation for today, Squall thought, as he started to walk away, but the girl obviously had other plans. She quickly grabbed his hand, before he had taken three steps and pulled him back.

"Please, don't go."

At this point, Squall would've shown how mad he was, but somehow he couldn't stand the idea of shouting at this utterly persistant girl. She only smiled that sweet smile as they tried the last steps once again. Squall tried to follow her lead, counting one-two-three, one-two-three in his head, but it was of no use.

As expected, they crashed into another dancing couple.

The male gave them the most dirty look he could muster, as he said, madly, "Watch it!"

Just when Squall wanted to appologize, the girl stuck her tongue out at him. Then, she turned to her partner and smiled sweetly at him, tilting her head to the side as if to ask to continue the dance.

Squall had finally mastered most of the steps by the time the music changed its tempo and became a tad faster. This picking up of the song was the sign for the couples to dance faster, too. Their feet stepped in time, just like they should.

They broke apart, holding each other's right hand high in the air. They stepped into each other's place and twirled in synch, almost as though they completed each other in this dance. Like two lost souls that had finally become one on this dance floor. Their eyes never left each other as they spun around each other. This was followed into a series of other dance steps. He believed that he really started to get the hang of it.

It all happened so fast, and still...they managed to keep looking each other deep in the eyes.

Right on the moment that the song slowed down again, the two drew close enough to feel how fast their hearts was beating. Their bodies were pressed against each other, but neither of them wanted to break this contact. From the corner of his eyes Squall could see that they were the only ones who had stopped dancing.

As if on cue, the lights dimmed. Suddenly, flashes of fireworks seemed to fill every inch of the sky. Rather surprised, Squall and Rinoa both looked up at the sky, taking in this beautiful moment. Squall wasn't even realizing that they were still holding hands, or that Rinoa was looking up at him.

When she looked over Squall's shoulder, she saw the person she had been looking for all this time, before she had asked this handsome stranger for a dance. She gasped, gaining Squall's attention again.

She only winked at him, before saying, "Excuse me."

Before Squall could react, she had already slipped away from him, leaving him alone again. Squall watched her go, unable to move so he could stop her. He didn't even see to whom she was making her way over to.

So many thoughts raced through his head that it made him more and more confused (and disappointed!), not to mention that it gave him a terrible headache.

Wasn't it kinda ironic? She was the person he had spent most of the time with this evening, and yet, he didn't even know her name. Neither did she know his. That would be for another time...he hoped. Squall didn't want to admit it, but he sure wished he would meet her again.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. Please tell me what you think of it if you feel like it. :)

Merry Christmas everyone! :D

Also, this is my 5th entry for Bookaholic711's Project PULL.