"Riku, why are you being such a jerk?" She yelled loudly, her face starting to turn a light shade of red.
"I'm not being a jerk," Riku countered, irritation ringing through his voice. He pulled his silver hair out of his clear, aquamarine eyes and stared at the girl in front of him, her hazel/gold eyes aflame. "You're just being difficult, Jasmine. You've ALWAYS been difficult."
Jasmine gritted her teeth in anger, trying to hold her composure. She pulled her shoulder length black hair behind her ears and turned away from Riku, trying to hide the fact that her tan/light brown skin was even redder.
This wasn't their first fight. In fact, it had been one of many. But this one felt more severe than the others.
It was the day after senior prom and, up until now, it had been a perfect day. However, as usual, they collided over the simplest of things that triggered another argument.
The problem though? Their problems were more than the tiny, almost minuscule issues that seemed to trigger these fights. There was something bigger that deep down, neither of them were wanting to deal with.
"Riku," Jasmine's voice was softer now, almost barely above a whisper. "Tell me…do you love me?"
Riku froze on site and backed away from Jasmine, almost as if the question had frightened him. "Where did that come from?" He asked cautiously, already having his answer.
"Just answer the question," Jasmine was much calmer and clearly more deliberate. "Yes or no?"
A heavy silence filled the room and time seemed to stand still for the pair. Riku turned away from Jasmine, his answer ringing loudly in his head. Even though he knew what to say, Riku was unable to part his lips to utter the answer that they both needed to hear.
After what felt like an eternity, Jasmine sighed heavily and turned her back on Riku. Crushed, heartbroken, and confused, she stared intensely the door in front of her with tears streaming down her face. Her pride would not allow her to let Riku see her in such a state and she cursed herself, and him at the same time.
Unlike Riku, who had more than enough time at his disposal, Jasmine was faced with something crucial, something that would change the course of her life forever. All she wanted was an answer from him, the person she cared for most in the entire world. It didn't matter what it was, she just needed something.
However, after there was that continued stillness, Jasmine knew that she had an answer. And even though she had prepared herself for this situation, it still tore her apart from the inside out.
She inhaled deeply in an attempt to keep her voice from shaking. "Don't even worry about it," she said calmly. "It doesn't matter."
"Huh?" That was all Riku could manage. His mind was swirling, and his heart was racing. Her voice was so cold and so distant now. "What do you mean?"
Jasmine glanced over her shoulder and gave him an empty stare devoid of any emotion. "It doesn't matter. What we're doing? This is done."
And just like that, Riku's world seemed to crash around him.
"What do you mean?"
"This is a breakup," Jasmine clarified, the same emotionless tone in her voice still strong and true. "I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of the arguing. And I'm tired of not knowing where we stand. We've been at this for a while now and even though I still care about you, I can't just sit here in the dark anymore. If I had an answer, maybe this would be worth it. But I don't," she added darkly. "So, I have to make the call. This is over."
"Jasmine," Riku began slowly. A fear and panic that he'd never known before took hold of him. He could feel Jasmine drifting further and further away from him with each passing minute. "Don't you think this is a bit dramatic?"
At the word "dramatic", Jasmine felt anger take hold of her and she tried her best to suppress it. She knew that Riku was trying to take control of the conversation and steer it in a different direction. But she had to put her foot down this time.
"Riku," she began cautiously, "look at the way things have been going over the last few months. I don't think this is dramatic at all. I think it makes sense. Right now, we're not good together. I think it's best we go back to being friends."
Riku was at a complete loss for words. While he agreed that they fought more often, he didn't think that it was so bad to where they needed to end their relationship. After all, they'd been friends for years. Hell, best friends even. Jasmine knew things about Riku that not even his other best friends, Sora and Kairi, were aware of.
On top of it all, Riku had a sneaky suspicion that once this break up happened, the two of them would not be able to go back to being close friends.
Or even friends at all.
"Maybe we should talk about this later," Riku said finally, refusing to believe that Jasmine was dumping him.
She shook her head fervently and stepped aside. "No. This is over, Riku. It'll be better for us in the long run."
Before Riku had the chance to get another word in, Jasmine was already gone, the only silence in the room coming from the heavy, haunting door slam behind her.
Naminé yawned, her mouth stretching to its limits as she sat in her car early one foggy morning. As she parked the car by the airport curbside, she pulled her shoulder length blonde hair into a low-hanging ponytail and slumped in her seat.
"Sleepy?"
She turned to her passenger, a young man in his twenties with wildly spiked blonde hair and royal blue eyes. He offered her a kind smile and handed her a travel coffee mug, its contents being her favorite morning drink: a hot green tea latte.
"A little," Naminé admitted, offering her companion a small smile. "I wanted to come early to pick her up from the airport. You know Jasmine is always on time."
The blond laughed and rolled his eyes, leaning against the passenger door, looking out for a familiar face. "I can't believe she's actually moving back."
Naminé mulled over the thought, happiness swelling deep within her. "I still can't believe she's moving back, Roxas. She's been gone for seven years."
"Have you told anyone?" Roxas asked curiously.
She shook her head. "No, I haven't. Though Kairi and the others wanted to know why I couldn't get breakfast with them today."
Roxas lifted an eyebrow curiously. "Why not? I'm sure Sora and the others will be glad to see her. I think it would be a good idea to give everyone a heads up. Especially you know who…"
Naminé inhaled sharply. There was one problem with her friend's arrival to the Destiny Islands – one that she'd been trying to best navigate since she got word that her best friend was coming back to the island.
"It's been so long, Roxas," Naminé began slowly. "I doubt Riku would be mad after all this time. Besides, they were in high school when they broke up. Riku doesn't hold grudges. I'm sure he'll be happy to see her after all this time."
Roxas scratched his chin, mulling over the thought.
"Hey, Nam…"
"Yeah?"
"Why exactly did they break up again?"
Naminé exhaled sharply, her fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly. "You know? She explained it to me once, but in honesty, I'm not a hundred percent sure about the reason in its entirety – apart from what you and I know."
Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'll ask her about it later. I'm taking her to get dinner later since you and the girls are going shopping." There was a brief, heavy pause between the pair. Not long after, Roxas broke the silence.
"You know Ven keeps asking about her," Roxas said in a hushed tone.
Naminé pursed her lips at the statement. "I'm honestly not surprised. She said they haven't spoken in almost a month."
"My older brother," Roxas began, "he's worried. He can't seem to get in touch with her."
Naminé smiled ruefully. "If there's one person who can disappear without a trace. Ventus should know that."
Roxas mulled over the thought of his older brother and Jasmine. Thinking about their situation, it made sense for Jasmine to disappear. And their given careers made it easy for that to happen. "True. But I wouldn't be surprised if he popped up. You know how he is."
Naminé laughed, thinking of Roxas' brother and his…behaviors. Nothing ever really surprised her when it came to Ven. She spotted a young woman heading out from the airport terminal, looking out towards the curbside pickup area. She was taller than most with tanned/light brown skin, elbow length black hair, and sharp hazel/gold eyes.
"There she goes," Roxas pulled out his cell phone, the time reading 7:30am. "She's right on time, as usual."
Naminé's smile spread from ear to ear and she was practically bouncing out of her seat. Roxas leaned over and kissed her cheek, causing the young woman to blush fiercely.
"Go on," he urged. "You're gonna fly out of your seat. Go see your best friend."
With that, Naminé jumped out of her seat and ran over to Jasmine.
Roxas watched from afar as Naminé ran to Jasmine and nearly jumped into her arms, causing the taller girl to drop her duffel bag as she returned the hug.
He loved watching the two interact. They were longtime friends who hadn't had a lot of time to grow together in their adulthood but now that Jasmine was moving back to the island, they could be together again.
Roxas slipped his hand in the pocket of his jeans, gently touching the velvety box he kept safe for months. He stared at Naminé lovingly, the secret he kept close to his heart threatening to spill out at every moment.
He quickly glanced at Jasmine and waved to her as she and Naminé headed for the car.
'I'll need your help with this one, Jaz,' he thought, his heart beating faster and faster with each and every moment.