Chapter 1: Of Unrequited Love and a Bully
Twilight Town/ Iri Household:
Gentle beams of sunlight flitted across the young girl's face. Feeling the warmth touch her pale lids, she opened up her light sapphire eyes, smiling at the sight from her window. The sky was painted a gentle mixture of gold, orange, and pink, indicating that the day had just begun. Sitting up from her comfortable bed, Naminé stretched her slender arms. Today was the first day of her sophomore year at New Dawn High, and she hoped that things would be different this year.
Kicking back her light blue comforter, she took quick steps into her bathroom and proceeded with her daily morning routine, giving herself a pep talk as she brushed her teeth.
Today will be the beginning of something new.
This year, I will find happiness and love and will not be in my sister's shadow.
Rinsing her mouth, she gently dabbed her light pink lips with a small towel. A small frown began to form on her innocent face as feelings of doubt began to consume her. Thoughts of her beautiful, perfect sister began to invade her mind, making her whole body shake with envy. "Who am I kidding? As if I could ever live up to Kairi…"
"Namiiiii! Kai! Hurry up or else you'll be late for school!" Hearing her mother's demanding tone, Naminé let out a small groan. "COMING!"
~Five Minutes Later~
Kairi was already down at the table when Naminé descended the stairs. Her sister gave her a small wave. She wolfed down a piece of paopu pancakes with her left hand while texting in her right. Her mother stood at the stove with her blonde hair tied in a bun. Upon seeing her daughter's entrance she smiled and tilted her head towards the counter. "Morning Nami, your breakfast is on the counter and you have a letter in the mail today."
"There's a letter for me?" A look of confusion crossed Naminé's face as she set down her bag on the counter. Kairi voiced out her exact thoughts as she picked up the yellow envelope. "Are you serious, Mom? Who even writes letters anymore?" She sat next to Kairi and turned the envelope. Taking a bite of her pancakes, Naminé stared at the front of the envelope and sure enough, there was her name printed in front of it. No address, just her name.
"Maybe it's from Olette?" Naminé offered as a possible suspect for the author of the letter. "You know how she is, she likes to be unique." The blonde shrugged and folded the letter into the pockets of her skirt. "It's probably nothing too special." Grabbing a bottle of maple syrup, she drenched her plate of hot cakes with it and proceeded to eat.
Kairi let out a giggle. "You're so funny, Nami!" She grabbed on to Naminé's slender shoulders and gently shook her with a look of excitement in her violet eyes. "I bet it's a love letter."
At her sister's ridiculous statement, Naminé choked. With much effort, she swallowed the piece of pancake that had been temporarily stuck within her throat. "Kai, you are such a hopeless romantic." She rolled her eyes at her sister while she pouted. "And you, Nami, are a total bore."
Before she could reply, the doorbell interrupted her as Kairi jumped up from her seat. "SORA!" She skipped happily towards the front door and opened it with eagerness. "Hey Kai." Naminé heard his sweet voice and felt her heart twist.
"Good morning Sora, come on in, I've just made a fresh batch of paopu pancakes."
Sora stepped into the kitchen with Kairi holding his arm. "Thanks Mrs. Iri." Naminé's heart began to race as Sora's sky blue eyes met her longing gaze. "Morning Nami, ready for our first day of school?"
Naminé gulped as she nodded. "Y-yeah."
Losing her appetite, she dropped her fork and picked up her plate. Before she could witness Sora and Kairi's overly public display of affection at the dinner table, she set her plate on the counter and picked up her bag. "I'm off to school."
"Ah, Naminé, are you sure?" Her mother's concerned gaze followed her form as she put on her school shoes. "Why not wait a bit longer so that Sora and Kairi can go with you? You still have 45 more minutes."
"It's fine," Naminé pushed the door open, giving everyone a half-hearted wave. "You know me, I like to get a head start, see ya later!" Without giving her sister and Sora a chance to reply, she sprinted out the door and into the streets of her small town.
When she was far away from her house, she let out a sigh. Knowing that she was still early till classes began, Naminé let her mind wander as she took the long way to school. She and Kairi had been close friends with Sora ever since they were young. Along with Sora, they often played with his best friend Riku and twin brother Roxas.
She loved Sora ever since they first became friends. Although her feelings were not as complex then, she knew that she always felt happier whenever the cheerful brunette was around. Sora was like her own personal ray of sunshine, lighting up her world whenever she felt sad and troubled. She sighed and felt her heart give another painful twist when she pictured Sora and Kairi together. If only we could go back in time and play as children. With no care in the world and feelings that complicate the matter.
Naminé smiled at the memory of the five of them playing. Riku was the eldest of the four of them and often led them on imaginary adventures across Twilight Town while Roxas was the one who observed everyone as they played. Hmm, now that I think about it, Roxas was a bit of an odd one. Naminé admitted that she wasn't too fond of Sora's brother. Whenever she tried to get close to him, he would often tease her, calling her 'Ugly' as he pulled at her hair in order to make her go away. Throughout their years of growing up, Roxas and Naminé never got along.
The memory made her burn with embarrassment. She quickly shook her head, quickening her pace as she hoped that Roxas would not be in any of her classes this semester. Whenever she saw him in the school hallways, he would always glare at her and go in the opposite direction of where she stood. She truly believed that was a sign that he hated her.
"Hey, Naminé, wait up!" She jolted in surprise upon hearing her name being called. Turning around, she saw a familiar boy with a head of silver hair run towards her. "Riku." She smiled and waited for him to catch up.
The boy stopped and smiled down at her with amused aquamarine eyes. "What's up?" His chiseled face had attracted the whole female population of New Dawn High and she silently hoped that none of them would catch them together. She didn't want to deal with his rabid fangirls on the first day of school.
"Not much, just needed to get away from the house for a bit." She gave Riku a forced smile as they both walked towards their school. Riku's expression was apologetic. "Sora and Kairi?"
The flaxen haired girl nodded in response, twisting her fingers with her gaze downcast. "Yeah…"
Seeing Naminé's sad expression, Riku placed his hand on her hair, messing it up as she groaned. "Riiiku, okay, okay, I get it, no sad face! Now let go of my hair!"
He laughed, "You better stop that now, and don't worry too much about finding love." His gaze softened as he proceeded to smooth out her hair. "It'll come to you."
She couldn't help but blush at his soft tone. "Thanks Riku."
Riku chuckled. "No problem." She felt his fingers brush against her cheek as she blinked in surprise. What-
"Watch out!" A voice broke through Naminé's thoughts as she searched for the source of the voice. Her eyes widened when she saw a boy on a skateboard flying towards her. Before she could react, a heavy weight landed on her torso, knocking the wind out of her as she fell over. OH NO OH NO OH NO! Everything seemed to slow down as she and the boy proceeded to land on the cobblestone street. She anticipated an immense amount of pain to come over her body as her head hit the street, but the pain never came.
The boy quickly reacted and pulled her closer to his chest, turning over so that he would take the hit as they both landed. With her head still buried within the boy's chest, she heard him let out a groan as Riku came towards them.
"Roxas, Naminé, are you guys okay?"
ROXAS? At the sound of his name, Naminé picked herself up. He lay beneath her with his piercing azure gaze on her. "Glad to see that you're okay, Ugly. Now get off of me."
She quickly got off of him and muttered an apology. Not daring to see his face, Naminé shut her eyes.
"Hey, you should have been more careful, Roxas." She felt Riku's hand on her shoulder, reassuring her that she didn't need to feel bad for the reckless skater.
Roxas got up from the ground and picked up his skateboard. "Whatever, if you two had just moved out of the way then no one would have gotten hurt." He walked away, ignoring Riku and Naminé's bewildered gaze.
When he was away from hearing range, Riku shook his head. "Forget about him. Roxas has been acting like a jerk for a while now. Let's just get to class."
Naminé sighed and nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're right."
Seeing Roxas's form a few feet in front of them, Naminé gently chewed on her bottom lip. Why do you hate me so much?
Author's Note: I apologize for any mistakes and I hope you enjoy this new story :)