Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. Square owns all the things to do with FF8 apart from Rinoa she's training my dog and Selphie is under my bed eating candy, they are mine.
Hey there, I've just completely fixed this chapter so it shouldn't have any mistakes in it, yay for me. Read and Review please.

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Angel's Wings

by Elf Dragon

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I turned my head, quickly searching my surroundings. Dark figures moved at the edges of my vision and nothing seemed to make sense. It looked like I was in a darkened cave. A shadow leapt out of the darkness towards me. "Help me!" I cried, and closed my eyes. The shadow swept through me, leaving a cold feeling in my very bones. I opened my eyes, but the shadow had blurred into darkness again. I tried to stand, but I was paralyzed. "Help me… Squall..." I whispered.

"Rinoa, I'm here," came a voice. Squall burst out of the darkness and kneeled next to me. I smiled weakly. Squall cast Esuna on me banishing the cold from my body and helped me to my feet. "Come on," he said. There was a bloodcurdling scream… a shadow dove… sword shining… aiming for me. Squall dived in front of me… sword plunging into his chest… he fell to the ground. "R.Rin.Rinoa," he coughed as blood trickled out his mouth. My tears fell, shining red in midair.

"Squall! Noooooooo!" I screamed, lurching up from my bed.

I shook myself. "It was just a dream," I whispered, fumbling for a glass of water. My throat felt tight and sore, but the water helped. I lay down again, trying to sleep, but my thoughts just kept running around inside my head.

"So this is what it is like when you think too much," I murmured. The clock said 11:00… 12:00… and I was still awake. "That's it, I'm going." I stood up, got dressed, and walked out the door.

Life in the garden was good. Squall was happy about his new room - it had a TV and more goodies. I'd made sure I got his old room, so I was happy too.

Slowly I walked to his door, knocked lightly, and then opened it. Squall was half-asleep on the couch with a book on his lap. "Rinoa? What's the matter?" he asked, watching me carefully.

"I can't sleep," I said.

Squall blinked to wake himself up. "Come here," he said gently, and patted the space next to him. I crossed the room and snuggled into him.

He smiled. "Now try to sleep." I leaned against his shoulder.

"What's that?" I asked, staring at the book on the floor.

"A book," he laughed.

"Oh, very funny. The name, please?"

"It's called Great Leaders. It has stories about how they handle their groups and made decisions," he replied. I sat up.

"Squall, you do know that we're behind you all the way?"

"Yeah, I know." He hugged me.

I gazed around the room. Everything was always so neat - SeeD uniform hanging up, books stacked neatly, desk calendar actually up to date. Speaking of which… "You are taking me to the dance tomorrow, and you will dance with me, right?" I asked in a challenging voice.

"No way! I'm dancing with Shiva!" He smiled. "I actually have to do a speech for the new SeeDs… but even that wouldn't let me escape, would it?"

"No one escapes me - I'm just too cute. I hope you still dance as well as you did last time," I said, and yawned.

"Whatever." He gently stroked my hair. With one last sigh of contentment I closed my eyes and slept.

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I ran madly through the halls. Where in the world is Zell? I can't finish the decorating without him, I thought crankily, and he's not getting the hotdogs I promised if he doesn't work.

"Hey Irvy, you seen Zell?" I asked, seeing Irvine in the cafeteria.

He looked up and smiled. "Hi Sephie! Uh, no, sorry, can't say I have," he said. He looked down at the ground and scratched his head. "Um… about tonight… do I have to wear a tux? I mean, the hat doesn't go with it." I glared at him.

"No hat! You will be in a tux, and I don't care how much you grumble!" I stormed off.

Irvine smiled to himself. She's cute when she's angry.

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I woke, feeling very peaceful. Squall was still asleep, with his arms holding me gently against him. His light brown hair hung down over his eyes. I gently brushed it back, and his eyelids slowly opened, revealing his pale blue eyes. He smiled, and took one arm from my waist to rub his eyes. "What time is it?" he asked.

I got up to look at the clock in the kitchen. "Well, didn't we sleep in! It's 12 o'clock," I smiled.

Squall looked very surprised but was too busy trying not to yawn to speak. "Um, I have to get ready for tonight," he said, slowly getting up. He made his way to the kitchen. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Some toast would be nice, thank you," I answered sitting down at the table feeling the sun on my skin.

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"Bye, Instructor Trepe!" called one of the many Trepies. I smiled back at her and sat back at my desk to start the very slow process of marking the tests.

A hand gripped my shoulder. I recognised the gloved hand with a fireball on it, and immediately flipped him.

"Ow! Quistis, I'm your friend, remember?" Zell whined, getting up.

"That was your fault," I commented, not looking up from my work.

"Well, I came to remind you that you have one hour to get ready for the dance." He smiled to himself, looking through my file cabinet. He pulled out a heavy looking folder with "Zell Dincht" printed on the front.

"Zell, put that down! In that is every little thing you have done wrong!" I sighed. Why did I tell him that?

Giving up on marking the tests, I looked up and saw he had pulled out five of the folders and laid them on a desk. He was snickering at something he had pulled from the largest one. I moved around behind him to look over his shoulder, and saw Seifer's photo of a one-fingered salute. "I can't believe his folder is bigger than mine, and he's on the disciplinary committee! Look at this: he snuck out to see girls," he laughed. He placed it back in the cabinet and picked up Selphie's. "This stinks - running in the hall, singing at one in the morning. stupid goody two shoes. And there's no way I'll get any laughs from Squall's file." He stared at the puny little thing.

"Don't you have to get ready for the dance?" I asked, taking his moment of lost concentration to put all the files back.

"Hey, yeah! Thanks, Quisty, I forgot. Oh yeah, I was meant to give this to Nida. Can ya do it for me?" He dropped a note on my desk and ran off. I shook my head, picked up the note and left.

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"This is so beautiful," Quistis told me.

I smiled happily. "Thank you! Zell helped - though I had to bribe him. He's actually very creative." I took two glasses of wine from a passing waiter and handed one to Quistis, then Rinoa and Squall joined us - Squall in his SeeD uniform looking dashingly handsome and Rinoa in her white dress, practically glowing.

Squall nodded, smiling briefly. "Hello, ladies."

"Hi Squall! Hi Rinoa!" I laughed. "Time to Paaaaarrttaaayyyy!"

"Um, I'm going to sit down, sorry, bye," Squall said, sounding panicked, and left.

"You know you can't back away from dancing!" Rinoa called, also laughing. She turned back to us. "So where are the guys?"

"Well, Zell is eating - as usual - and Irvine is trying to get used to not wearing a hat." Quistis smiled, fixing up her uniform.

"So how'd you get Squall to come out to the real world for a little while?" I asked, pretending to be shocked.

"That's obvious, Selphie," Quistis teased. "She used a crowbar." Rinoa and I laughed.

"Hey, what ya laughing about?" Zell asked, fixing his hair.

"Nothing!" Rinoa and I chorused.

"Hey, um, Selphie, you know how I helped with the decorations and all. Can you let me on the committee? I really had fun and you don't have to bribe me." He seemed very nervous - almost knocking over a waiter when he grabbed himself a glass of wine.

"Of course, Zell. You know anyone can join! Welcome aboard!" I jumped up and down and hugged him.

"Now everyone, our Commander, Squall Leonhart will speak to you," came a voice.

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I walked across the stage to the mike as the audience applauded.

"Thank you, SeeD. SeeD - It's a strange word isn't it? A word that is both respected and feared. Being a SeeD may put responsibilities on your shoulders that you don't think you are ready for, but you will soon see it's for the best. The good of the world is in your grasp. Wear the name with pride, because SeeD are the protectors of the world. Congratulations to those that passed the test today. I hope you succeed in your missions. Good luck," I said, then walked off the stage.

Lost in my own world, I moved back to my seat and sipped on some wine. A familiar song played in the background but I was barely listening. Waltz for the Moon, I realised, smiling.

"Squall? Hello? Are you in the real world? You promised you'd dance with me," Rinoa pouted, waving her hand in front of my face.

Watching Irvine and Selphie dancing, I took her hand and bowed, "Coming, princess."

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We walked to the dance floor hand in hand, and danced as if it was completely natural to us. I glanced around the room - Irvine and Selphie were dancing, Zell was chatting to a girl and Quistis was talking to Nida. The song ended, and slower music began. I leaned on Squall's shoulder, letting the music wash over me as I listened to his heartbeat. As the last note ended, I reluctantly pulled away. I always felt safe with him.

We walked over to the rest of the group. Selphie apparently didn't like slow dances, and had started the group talking about how cute Squall and I looked together. Irvine walked up to Squall and whispered something in his ear. Squall went bright red and muttered, "Whatever." Everyone laughed. "I'm getting some air," Squall said, still looking down.

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We walked out to the balcony. What damn right do they have to tell me what to do? I thought icily, leaning against the edge.

"Squall, what's wrong?" Rinoa asked. She moved next to me and stared up into my eyes.

"…Nothing." I stared at the sky. Hyne, this is beautiful. I'm glad Nida got my note about landing at Timber, I thought. A shooting star crossed the midnight sky. At the same time, we both pointed up at it and laughed.

Rinoa leaned on my chest. "Squall, you won't leave me anytime soon, will you?" she asked, she twisted her head around to look at me.

"As long as both of us live, I'll be here," I said simply, gently brushing her cheek. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and reached into my pocket. "Rinoa, I, well… will you…"

"Commander!" Xu called. She walked over and saluted, apparently not noticing my glare. "I have a letter here for your eyes only - It's urgent." She handed over the envelope, saluted again, and left. I ripped it open and read it quickly.

I stopped breathing. The tears rolled down my face.

"Squall, what's wrong?" Rinoa asked, concerned.

"Laguna's dying," I whispered.

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Heh heh. this is my way of getting back at other writers for writing good stories and then leaving a cliffhanger. Um yeah so hopefully you've read this chapter and not just skipped right to the bottom so you can review now. Cya. Elf Dragon

Edited by Draic *_*