Torn Between You Chapter 1: Click For Love, a kingdom hearts fanfic

Torn Between You

Summary: "Ven…is that you? Or am I talking to Roxas?"

The blond man smiles almost deviously. "Does it matter?"

With a dull and unexciting life, Naminé Kawada has never had much luck in the romance department. Love seemed like a thing only meant for fairy tales, movies and books. So, she never would have imaged finding Mr. Right so soon. Then again, she never would have imaged Mr. Right to have a dual personality either…

Chapter One: Click For Love

Tap.

Tap. Tap.

Tap. Tap. Tap. CLICK!

ENTER!

'Is this really…all I have?'

"Hello~ anybody home?" chirps a singsong voice, rapping impatiently against the side of a small grey office cubicle.

The petite young woman residing in this cubicle sighs and rolls her eyes behind the thin frames of her glasses at the very well known disturbance. She stops typing for a moment, detaching her pale blue eyes from the computer's glowing screen before noiselessly shuffling out of her cozy grey office chair to greet said disturbance.

"Kairi," the young woman sighs irritably, "There's no door. You don't have to knock."

Kairi laughs carelessly at the remark. "I know but it's more fun that way, don't you think?"

"If you say so…"

"Aw c'mon Naminé, liven up, will ya?" Kairi whines with a pout, "You don't always have to be so uptight, you know."

Naminé pushes a hand through her platinum blonde hair and releases an exasperated sigh. "I'm not uptight. I just have work to do."

"Yeah, I know," Kairi replies swatting away the blonde's words with an air of nonchalance, "All work and no play—not that it would kill you to take some time off every once in a while. I mean haven't you wanted to… Oh, I don't know, relax a little bit?"

"I relax," Naminé counters weakly, "but I have to make sure I get all of my work done first." To prove a point, Naminé gestures down towards the towering stack of papers sitting precariously on her desk and sighs. "See? And I'm not even half way through yet…"

Seemingly unfazed, Kairi blinks down at Naminé before her lips pull into a vivid and rather oblivious smile. "So what? It's not like you can't wait until tomorrow to finish, right?"

"Kairi…" Naminé mutters sullenly, but, of course, the auburn haired woman prattles on completely ignorant of the blonde's quiet protests.

"Plus," Kairi persists, "A little procrastination is actually good for you! I always pump out my best work when I've got some stress weighing down on me."

"Kairi," Naminé interrupts more loudly this time finally earning the other woman's attention, "First off, procrastination is not good for you because stress is not good for you; it causes wrinkles and unnecessary panic." Naminé then briefly pauses to adjust her silver framed glasses before releasing another heavier, dejected sigh. "More importantly, however, I can't lose my job and you know that Kairi."

"But Nami~!" Kairi moans as her lower lip juts out childishly, "It's been like…forever since we've hung out and…I really miss my little sis."

Looking at her auburn haired sister's pleading expression, Naminé's pale blue eyes abruptly soften as a stab of guilt hits her fragile heart. "I…I guess leaving early one day wouldn't kill me," Naminé surrenders quietly. In her mind, Naminé knew it was a foolish thing to do. Tomorrow would be hell, but…Kairi was her sister and Naminé had always been a pushover when it came to her sister.

Kairi squeals happily, pumping her fist victoriously into the air. "Yes! Ooh, thank you Nami! This is gonna be so much fun! You won't regret it—I promise!"

A weaker smile penetrates Naminé's own face as she nods her head submissively. 'Anything for you Kairi.'

TBYTBYTBY

"You know Nami, you really should let me do some re-decorating in here. Your apartment just seems so…bland," Kairi observes as her violet eyes briefly flicker across the small expanse that is her sister's apartment.

Naminé, who is warming up a pot of tea in the kitchen, sighs but doesn't bother to look back at her sister as she quietly answers. "It's fine Kai…I'm fine with it, really." Kairi always criticized the blonde's apartment when she was over, but Naminé knew it was to be expected.

Kairi was a top notch interior designer after all. Picking out flashy wallpapers with celebrities, partying the night away in lavish mansions, flaunting around in the latest fashions—that was her sister's life. Her incredibly glamorous and exciting life that Naminé could only imagine having in her wildest dreams.

Sometimes, Naminé even found herself becoming jealous of the red head's extraordinary success—especially as she toiled away at her dull, unexciting corporate job. The blonde always quickly shook it off of course, but there were still moments where Naminé wished she could be more like her sister—Fearless, Outgoing and maybe even a little bubbly if that meant she could pursue her real dreams. But…Naminé knew that could never happen. The blonde woman was far too shy to chase after any dream.

"Hmm…Well, you should at least let me do something about your drapes," Kairi says with a dissatisfied frown.

Naminé rolls her eyes at the comment but says nothing as she places the pot of tea on the coffee table and takes a seat beside her sister. Kairi immediately seizes one of the porcelain cups and smiles as she breathes in the familiar aroma of her favorite chamomile tea. "You know, no one makes tea quite like you do Nami! I mean even when I was over at Yuna Sazuki's place, the tea was never—"

"Yuna Sazuki?!" Naminé blurts, the porcelain cup in her hands almost falling to ground. "You mean the famous singer right? That Yuna Sazuki?"

Kairi nods nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed by her sister's reaction. "Uh-huh. I met her at while I was at a party a few months ago, and she asked if I would do the honor of designing the inside of her and her husband's new home (it was incredible by the way, and Yuna was such a sweetheart)."

"So…," Naminé deadpans with a sigh, gently setting the floral painted tea cup onto the coffee table, "long story short…you did do the interior designing for their house and now you're friends with one of Japan's biggest pop stars?"

"I'd say that sums it up pretty nicely!" Kairi says with a bright grin. "Though…I think you did miss the part where Yuna and I went to one of the local clubs, and I met an amazing guy!"

"Amazing guy?" Naminé repeats skeptically. The last time Kairi had met a guy in the club, that guy had been Seifer and well…he didn't turn out to be quite so 'amazing.'

Kairi nods her head, oblivious to her sister's dubious expression. "Yeah, his name's Sora Strife. He's the high school's new swim coach apparently, and lives with his younger brother in one of the apartment complexes downtown."

"Sounds like a keeper…" Naminé murmurs, still unconvinced.

"Oh, I think he is," Kairi says with a devilish smirk, "You'll have to meet him the next time we go to the club."

Naminé stiffens at the word 'we.' "Kairi, I'm not going to the club with you again. Remember the last time I went with you? That man—"

"I know! I know! He tried feeling you up, but this time will different."

Naminé eyes her sister warily, knowing the redhead had concocted some kind of evil scheme behind her back. "How?"

"Well~," Kairi chirps in a sing-song voice, "I might have set you up on Destinies-Intertwined..."

Naminé gasps and points an accusing finger at the red head. "What!? You did not sign me up for an online dating service!"

"Except I did," Kairi says cheekily.

"I can't believe…," Naminé exhales a breath of annoyance, "Okay, yes I can believe that you would do something like this, but Kairi, you know I hate those types of things...They always end up pairing you with some one hand, fairy obsessed freak, and I am not dealing with another Captain Hook."

Both women shudder, but Kairi springs up and clasps her hands together beseechingly. "Please~ Nami! You can even change anything you don't like about your profile if you just let me help you find someone."

"I hate that look of yours," Naminé mutters darkly, but her resolve quickly fades into resignation. 'Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give this another try? I mean…what do I have to lose?'

Kairi drags her sister into the artist's bedroom, and Naminé sits at her computer desk with her fingers poised as she prepares to type in the ridiculous name of the online dating website. "What was it called again?"

"Destinies-Intertwined," Her sister answers gleefully. Naminé punches the correct letters in and allows Kairi, hovering over her shoulder, to enter her username and password.

"Why did you say my username was the blonde_mystique752," Naminé grumbles unappreciatively, "that sounds like some kind of stripper name..."

Kairi pouts and crosses her arms. "I thought it was sexy…"

Naminé rolls her eyes, but ignores her sulking sibling as her eyes glide across the glowing screen. Kairi had actually been very accurate with her profile. Her interests were few, but there was enough listed to give the essence of her personality, and the dislikes were good too. Everything was good except… "Kairi!" Naminé hisses in embarrassment and slaps her sister's arm that was leaning on the desk.

Kairi flinches. "Ow! What was that for?"

"What was that for," Naminé snaps, "just look at what you put on my likes section!"

"What? I just put art, puppies, classical music, and se—"

"Don't even say it!" Naminé wails and buries her face in her arms.

A devious smirk suddenly appears on Kairi's lips. "Oh, you mean sex on the beach?"

"Yes! I mean…that!" Naminé exclaims, but her voice is muffled.

Kairi laughs, and Naminé, confused, withdraws from her enclave of humiliation, to scowl at her older sister. "W-What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Kairi says with a laugh still bubbling in her voice, "it's just that sex on the beach is a drink Nam. People order it at the bar all the time; get your head out of the gutter."

"Oh…," Naminé squeaks, "Well, still this whole thing is stupid. No good guy will ever want me. I might as well just marry whatever creepy serial killer I'm doomed to be with now…"

"You're so melodramatic," Kairi sighs, "but it will work out Naminé. Just trust me."

Naminé exits from the website, but doesn't respond to her sister's encouragement.

TBYTBYTBY

"Another one?" Naminé asks herself in exasperation before putting another of Kairi's left over candy wrapper into the trash. "I love her, but sometimes…it amazes me that I'm the younger sister."

Naminé picks up a few more odds and ends until she feels satisfied with the level of cleanliness in her home. Then, unceremoniously, she plops down onto into her desk chair and allows her nimble hands to glide across the keyboard of her computer. The blonde checks her Facebook account (Kairi, of course, coerced her to make it), answering any notifications and messages that accumulated since she had last logged on. Once she is done, however, Naminé's mouse hovers over the search bar. 'Should I check it…? I know it's stupid to hope, but maybe Kairi's right. Maybe this is the way to meet 'Mr. Right'…"

The keys on the keyboard click again as Naminé types out the website's address. The link is the first one on the list, and Naminé hesitates again before clicking it. The obnoxious pink background and images of happy couples almost makes Naminé retreat, but she forces herself to enter the username and password Kairi had left on a hot pink sticky note near her keyboard.

Her profile pulls up instantly, and Naminé wants to slap her sister upside the head because clearly the red head had changed her profile picture since she had last seen it. Instead of the simple headshot that originally filled the digital square, a cutesy photo of Naminé at the beach (wearing her blue and white flowered tankini) showed up.

"Kairi…," Naminé grumbles, and moves her mouse to change the photo until she sees a bright red notification beside her profile picture. Curious, Naminé clicks on it. The new page loads quickly and reveals a potential match. No picture is immediately visible of the individual, but the message is enough of a distraction for the blonde woman.

Hey, my name is Roxas Strife. I read your profile and you seem like a really cool girl. If you'd like, my band is playing at the Midnight Sun on Saturday and I would love for you to come see us. We could talk after and maybe even make plans for coffee later?

Naminé reads the digital letters again and again as if to make sure they are still there. Was this really happening? "I bet he's going to look super creepy though. I mean he seems nice, but…I never end up with nice and good-looking guy." Naminé draws in a sharp breath but clicks on his profile anyway. Her eyes are closed tightly in preparation for the most hideous and extremely creepy looking man to ever grace her computer screen, but when she opens them, an audible gasp slips past her lips.

This man was gorgeous!

His skin is lightly dappled with a tan, his eyes are an oceanic blue...a strong, well chiseled physique and sun kissed hair that defied gravity with its softly spiked tendrils.

Naminé didn't know what to do. Her fingers hover uncertainly over the keyboard and a part of her wants to exit out of the page and never look at it again, but there's another part of her that wants to take a chance—wants to see if this 'Roxas' is the one.

"Anything is possible I suppose," Naminé mumbles to herself, "but…what if it doesn't work out?" Hastily, she picks up her phone and dials Kairi's number. The red head picks up almost instantly as if imbued with some kind of telepathy.

"Yes?"

"I got a message," Naminé explains curtly.

Kairi squeals and Naminé has to move the phone away from her hear until the high pitched sound dissolves. "I knew it! Is he cute? Did you message him back?"

"He's…attractive," Naminé admits, "but…I haven't sent him a message yet. He wants to meet up at the Midnight Sun since his band's playing there on Saturday."

"I don't get it. An attractive guy wants to meet with you and you haven't replied to him yet?"

"But…What if it doesn't work out?" Naminé asks in a weak whisper

"Ugh!" Kairi moans and Naminé knows her sister is rolling her eyes. "You really need to stop with this whole 'someone like me is never going to find the right guy' thing. I mean, this guy could be the one and you're letting fear stop you from finding out? You have to give him a chance Nam."

Naminé sighs. "I guess you're right…"

"You guess?" Kairi snorts.

"I know, know. I'll…reply to him right now."

"And…?" Kairi prompts.

Naminé sighs again. "And tell him that I'd love to meet with him on Saturday."

"Good girl! Now, I have to go, but I'll talk to you later. Love you!"

"Love you too…" The lines goes dead and Naminé stares at the glowing screen before moving her fingers back to the keyboard. Hesitantly, she types out a response and hits the send button. A confirmation screen pops up, alerting Naminé that her message has been successfully sent. She exhales shakily.

TBYTBYTBY

"I look ridiculous," Naminé mutters miserably and tugs at the silky fabric of her skin tight obsidian colored dress. Her gold bangles clink against her wrists as she does this, but Kairi grabs onto her hands and stares into her eyes as though to instill confidence through osmosis.

"You, my little masterpiece, look amazing," Kairi says firmly, but there's a smile playing at her cherry lips.

Naminé nods but still looks down, her platinum hair acting as a flimsy curtain of defense. It never ceases to amaze the blonde how confident her sister is, but by the same token, how could her sister not be confident, especially with how she looked tonight? Kairi always liked to make a statement and her curve hugging, hot pink cocktail dress did just that. No jewelry wound around her neck, but chunky rings and bracelets sufficed as extra attention grabbers.

"Seriously, Nam. You look amazing, so stop worrying already and let's go get our grooves on!" Kairi encourages and Naminé finally cracks a smile as she follows her sister out her apartment door and into the lingering dawn skies.

TBYTBYTBY

Music blares so loud from the speakers scattered throughout the club that Naminé is sure her eardrums will bust at any second. There is a faint layer of smog sitting in the room and the amount of cheap perfume that wafts from several women's bodies is enough for Naminé to audibly gag. She wants to leave but Kairi pulls her hand excitedly towards two unoccupied bar stools. Naminé sits rigidly and watches as a couple dances, their bodies practically melding together as the tempo of the song picks up.

"Isn't this great?" Kairi beams over the cacophony of noise. She asks the wandering bartender for an appletini. He slides one across the mahogany counter and casts Kairi a flirtatious wink. She giggles and sips her drink.

"Depends on what you mean by great…"

Kairi pushes her sister lightly. "Don't be such a Debbie Downer. Just relax and enjoy."

Naminé sighs and continues watching couples grind with dull blue eyes. She glances at her watch after fifteen minutes, but the music sinks into the walls soon enough as the club owner steps onto the stage. He's a portly man with very little hair poorly combed over his shining head.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, for your entertainment tonight, we have a veteran band. Welcome The Band That Never Was onto the stage!" The crowd releases deafening cheers and Naminé isn't sure how, but she thinks her heart is beating louder.

She watches as the musicians walk onto the stage. A red haired man comes out first and sits at the flame painted drum set in the back. His jade eyes glint mischievously as he gives the crowd a rocker sign with his finger and twirls his drums like a pair of chakrams.

A grinning man with a sandy blond mullet enters next. He holds his sitar like a seasoned professional as his fingers glide across the instrument, creating electric rifts. A dour faced young man comes after him and stands at the keyboard. He doesn't smile but flicks a strand of blue-gray hair from his eyes superciliously.

Finally, two young men step onto the stage with guitars. They seem to be brothers judging by their similar facial features and as the brunette approaches the center of the state, Kairi whispers into her ear excitedly, "That's him! See? The brunette one is Sora."

But Naminé doesn't see because all her mind is able to process is his existence. The way his lips move when he introduces himself and the band. The way he shuffles awkwardly and covers his eyes from the light. Naminé wants to say something to him, alert him that she was here. That she did respond and she wanted to meet him.

But no words could slip past her lips and even if they did, Naminé is sure that they wouldn't reach his ears. So, she just watches as he performs and allows herself to be tangled in the notes floating from his lips.

"This next song," Roxas says into the microphone, "is called Counting Stars."

(One Republic)

[Chorus]
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby I been, I been prayin' hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Yeah, we'll be counting stars

[Verse 1]
I see this life
Like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line
In my faces flashing suns
Seek it out and ye shall find
Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told

I feel something so right
At doing the wrong thing
I feel something so wrong
At doing the right thing
I could lie, could lie, could lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Naminé stands up, leaving her stool to weave herself into the crowd. Kairi follows and soon the sisters are swaying in front of the stage. Sora grins when he spots Kairi and Kairi makes a gesture towards her sister that goes unnoticed by the blonde woman.

[Chorus]
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby I been, I been prayin' hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby I been, I been prayin' hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be, we'll be counting stars

[Verse 2]
I feel the love
And I feel it burn
Down this river every turn
Hope is a four letter word
Make that money
Watch it burn
Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told

And I feel something so wrong
At doing the right thing
I could lie, could lie, could lie
Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly

Roxas looks out into the sea of faces swinging their bodies to the rhythm of his song and catches sight of Naminé. His lips curve upwards as another bead of sweat cascades from the side of his face.

[Bridge 4x:]
Take that money
And watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons I learned

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

When the band finishes, the audience applauds and whistles loudly. The men on stage, after thanking the crowd, drift behind the stage curtains and slowly descend from the high of performing.

"That…," Sora says in between gasps, "was awesome."

Axel, the red haired man, grins and pumps his fist in the air. "We owned that stage tonight!"

"I'd say we did pretty well," the dour faced man, Zexion, agrees quietly.

"Ah c'mon," the sitar player, Demyx, elbows Zexion in the ribs lightly, "We did more that 'pretty well.' We were AMAZING!"

"Hmm…If you say so."

"I know so! Right, Roxas?"

The blond musician doesn't look up from strumming his guitar but smiles. "I think it was a great show. I mean…I didn't even think that many people would show up tonight."

"I didn't think that many babes would show up," Axel says and peeks his head around the curtain to see several women dressed in skimpy club attire.

Sora laughs. "Is that all you think about?"

"Hey," Axel holds his hands up defensively, "I wasn't the one ogling the red head in the front row Sora."

"I wasn't ogling her," Sora flushes, "I just know her alright?"

"She's the girl you've been seeing, isn't she," Roxas asks, finally bothering to lift his eyes from the guitar.

"Her name's Kairi, and yeah, she's the girl I've been going out with. Her sister was in the crowd too I think. Kairi said she was bringing her."

"Sister?" Axel inquires with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle, "Was this 'sister' the curvaceous lady standing next to her?"

"Beats me," Sora says with a shrug.

Demyx and Axel continue discussing the babe pool, but Roxas jerks his thumb towards the direction of the bar. "I'm going to get a drink." Sora eyes him wearily. "Water," Roxas amends, "I want a bottle of water."

The muscles in Sora's body relax, and he pulls out his phone to help ease his boredom.

TBYTBYTBY

Naminé sips at her mimosa gingerly, watching her sister talk animatedly with a cluster of people who had recognized and admired her. Abruptly, the bar stool beside her screeches across the floor, and Naminé, startled, almost knocks her drink over.

"Sorry," she hears a low apology trail from the individual next to her. Naminé steadies her drink but shakes her head and turns her head to look at the man.

"It's no problem. I'm clumsy anyhow and—hey, you're him, aren't you?"

Roxas chuckles uneasily, "By him, I assume you mean the singer, right?"

"Yeah, that too but um…," Naminé averts her eyes from his and fidgets, "You're Roxas Strife…right?"

Roxas eyes the woman beside him with growing interest and attraction, watching as her cheeks glow with a subtle ruddiness that exhibited her shy nature.

"Last time I checked," He responds with a small smile. The bartender waltzes over and Roxas asks for his bottle of water before returning his gaze to Naminé.

Naminé's heart thrashes in her chest as self-doubt begins to blossom in her stomach. He did recognize her, didn't he? Sure, Naminé wasn't wearing her bathing suit but he had to have at least glanced at her face.

"My name is Naminé Kawada," Naminé introduces herself and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear shyly. "I was the one you sent that message to on Destinies-Intertwined?"

Roxas furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "Destinies-Intertwined? Is that…some sort of dating site?"

Naminé wants to both crawl into a hole and strangle Kairi but she refrains as she attempts to keep her shaking from spreading further than her exposed legs.

"Y-Yes it is and…you s-sent me a m-message," Naminé stutters weakly.

Roxas blinks uncomprehendingly, but something clicks in the musician's head once he spots his older brother conversing with the Kairi. "Sora!"

The brunette swallows, pales and then smiles uneasily. "What's up, bro?"

Roxas, however, does not speak to Sora first. He looks to the red haired woman and points at her accusingly. "Did you have my brother set up an account on for me and send out a message to her?" Roxas moves his pointer finger to Naminé and she shuffles uncomfortably.

"First off," Kairi says, lowering his hand, "it's rude to point, but second off, yes I did. Sora and I were talking and we agreed that my sister and you would make a great match, so you don't need thank me but—"

"Thank you?" Roxas snorts but his eyes soften as he flicks his blue eyes back to Naminé. 'She is really cute and…I don't know…maybe it would be worth at least one more try to find someone…' "Actually…Yeah, thank you." Sora mouths a silent 'sorry' but Roxas ignores him as he walks back over to Naminé.

"So," he begins with a shy smile, "what did I write in this message?" Naminé looks at him uncertainly, but Roxas offers a prompting smile and she tells him the contents of the message.

"But you don't have to. I mean this whole thing was completely set up and—"

"How about the coffee place that just opened up, Beauty and a Brew. I heard there's even a book store attached run by the same couple who owns the coffee shop," Roxas suggests, surprising himself with how forward he is being and secretly fearing that it's his medication is wearing off.

"I-I'd love to," Naminé stutters and the two quickly exchange phone numbers before leaving the club.

Once outside again, Kairi teases her sister. "Aren't you glad I played match maker this time?"

Naminé's heart flutters in her chest and try as she might, can't chastise her sister without a smile on her face. "You really shouldn't have though. I mean he's probably only doing this because he feels sorry for me."

"Yes, and his checking you out was out of pity too," Kairi nods her head in mock approval, "It all makes sense now." Naminé shoves her sister lightly, eliciting an angry 'hmph' from the red head. "You really should be grateful Nam. I set you up with a gorgeous guy and from what Sora's said, his brother and you have a lot in common."

"Really? Like what?"

Kairi shrugs, "You're both shy and into that Sword Art anime and I dunno…probably other stuff too. I just can't think of more right now. My brain is a little fuzzy."

"Well maybe, if you hadn't drank so many margaritas, your brain wouldn't be so fuzzy," Naminé teases lightly.

"I regret nothing," Kairi sniffs before proceeding to almost walk into a pole. Naminé laughs, hope budding in her chest.

TBYTBYTBY

A/N: Remember when I said that there would be some trailers for new fics? Well, this is the first one I have had in my brain for over two years. I've edited and reedited it, so you guys get the well-polished version.

As stated before in other stories, I'm really trying to see what ideas are worth pursuing and which ones need to be scrapped, especially since this one would require some research into schizophrenia/multiple personality disorder. This story, if I did continue it, would range from 15-20 chapters so not super long but not super short. Pairings will probably include: RokuNami, Sokai, Haynette, a one-sided PencexNamine, Larxel, and probably some Cloti since I'm hoping to change things up a little bit if I do continue the story.

Please Review, alert and favorite if this idea is worth pursuing!