Quistis leaned on the rail as she watched the stars twinkle in the night. It seemed only yesterday she was training her students to become seeds. Now she was aboard a flying Balamb Garden, watching the night sky. She was exhausted from the day’s battle with dessert monsters. Squall had wanted to collect magic from the creatures; she helped keep the monsters asleep while he drew powers from them.

She sighed. Thinking about Squall elicited mixed emotions she could not understand. As his teacher, it had seemed wrong to have personal feelings for him. She tried to ignore it but his presence always made her heart skip. She shook her head to clear away the thoughts. She wasn’t supposed to be thinking about these things. He’s never going to pay attention to you. Not now that Rinoa is nearby.

“Having a hard time sleeping?” Quistis jumped at the sound of Squall’s voice.

“You startled me.” She turned to see him leaning on the door. He took two steps and placed himself beside her. He stared intensely at the sky as Quistis pried her eyes away from him to look at the moon.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He seemed to take in the breathtaking scenery illuminated by the moons light. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Quistis looked at him sharply. She wanted to shake him and yell at him, to tell him that she was beautiful too. Instead she walked quietly away. Heading for the entrance to the Garden.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Squall had grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. Quistis wanted to cry out and fling her arms around him. Damn it! Stop thinking that way!

“I’m just tired. I’d like to get some rest now.” She tried to smile at him as he released her arm.

“I’m sorry if I overworked you. Just tell me if you don’t want to go into battle. I’ll understand.” She nodded her head and quickly left the balcony. Quistis made her back into the dormitory and shut herself into her room. She flung herself into her bed and shed some tears on her pillow before finally falling asleep.

Squall cursed. He knew he shouldn’t overwork any of his crew. But he was desperately trying to store enough magic to use against Seifer or any of their enemies for that matter. He was tired and frustrated from the waiting and preparing. Yet he could not get himself to sleep. He could not get Rinoa off his mind, which bothered him, the most. She acted like a silly girl who did not take anything seriously, somehow he actually felt like smiling when she was around.