What Are the Odds?

"Ahh… Tis no better fate than to bask in the presence of so many fine male specimens."

Xion looked to her left at Selphie, the brunette practically melting as she gazed upon the 'many hot guys' that were sitting in the booths around them. Ignoring her, for this was a common occurrence that she need not concern herself with; she turned to Kari and Olette, who were sitting across from her. "Does she really need to do this every time?"

Olette shrugged empathetically, way too used to Selphie's actions to really do anything. Kairi chuckled, a complacent grin on her face. "C'mon, Xion, you know how Selphie is. I'd be worried if she didn't gawk at every hot guy that walked by."

Xion sighed, placing her elbow on the table and leaning her chin on her hand. "I know, but she's supposed to be in love with Irvine, right? Why doesn't she just tell him how she feels?"

Selphie, unfortunately, chose that time to tune back into the conversation, casting a glare towards Xion. "It's not that easy, you know. You can't just walk up to someone and confess you love for them!"

Xion cast her gaze down, avoiding Selphie's piercing stare, mumbling uncertainly under her breath. "I don't think it's that hard…"

Selphie pursued her lips defiantly. "Fine, if you think it's so easy, then how about you try it!"

Snapping her head sharply to the side, Xion gaped at Selphie with incredulous eyes. "Excuse me?"

Selphie crossed her arms over her chest. "You heard me. I dare you to walk up to a guy in this restaurant and declare you undying love for him. Oh, and I get to pick the guy."

"Why should I?"

"How about this," Kairi leaned towards them, diffusing the situation, "if Xion wins the bet, Selphie has to finally tell Irvine her feelings."

"What do I get if I win?"

Kairi turned to Selphie, considering. "You get to make Xion do whatever you want for the rest of the weekend."

Selphie grinned at that, a maniacal gleam in her eyes. Xion furrowed her brow. There wasn't really a lot she was getting out of this bet, but she really did want Selphie to tell Irvine how she felt. The brunette had harbored her secret crush for years, and, if the long looks Irvine gave Selphie when he knew she wasn't looking were anything to go by, the boy reciprocated her feelings.

It would make both of them so happy, and all she had to do was put aside her pride for a few minutes…

"I'll do it."

Selphie squealed, clapping her hands together happily. Kairi and Olette shared a look with Xion, probably guessing her reasons. Olette was able to mouth a silent thank you to her before Selphie grabbed Xion's arm, gaining her attention. "Alright then, I have the perfect guy for you to confess to." She gestured to one of the booths on the other side of the restaurant, sitting by himself with his hood covering his face. "See loner boy over there? Yeah, he's the lucky guy."

Not really caring at this point, Xion scooted out of the seat and began walking over to the boy, Kairi and Olette wishing her a hasty "good luck!" over her shoulder. Of course, while she was maneuvering past some of the tables, Xion could feel her hands start to swept, her body betraying her as her nerves kicked in. She tended to avoid confrontations such as these, and she wished that this time was no exception, but it was for a good cause. Selphie and Irvine deserved to be together, and all she had to do was go through one minor embarrassment to accomplish that goal.

Putting aside her pride, Xion tapped the boy on the shoulder, a cute smile on her face. "Excuse me, but I saw you from across the room, and I was wondering if you might want to go out on a date with me."

The boy tilted his head toward, face still hidden by his sweatshirt's hood, before lifting up a hand to remove the hood from his face. Xion froze, mouth going slack and eyes widening as she took in the spiky red head that was smirking at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. "Axel?"

Axel's smirk only grew as he leaned around, waving a lazy hand towards Selphie, Kairi, and Olette - who no doubt looked as shocked as she did - before turning his attention back to her. "So, you saw me from across the room and just had to ask me out on a date? I never thought you had it in you, Xion."

The black-haired girl in question blanched, fumbling over words as she tried to get out a response. Before she could become coherent enough to form a sentence, though, Axel grabbed one of her hands and brought it to his lips, placing a sound kiss on the back of her hand before standing up, placing a few bills on the table as he watched the last remains of her malfunctioning brain fell apart through half-lidded eyes.

Ruffling her hair, he sauntered towards the door, stopping only to glance over his shoulder at the when he reached them. "Oh, and I'll be around on Friday at three to pick you up for our date. Have fun explaining to Sora, Ventus, and Roxas why their little sister won't be available." With that, he departed with a lazy wave in her direction.

Xion continued to stand there, working to put the pieces of the pile of mush that was her brain back together. When she was finally able to do so, only one coherent thought was able to resound in her brain.

Out of all the people she could have met, she had to meet up with the one she secretly had feelings for?