Little too Late
--- ♠ ---
Roxas's cerulean eyes took in the urban street as the automatic doors of the Sunset Station whirled open in front of him. He grinned at the scenery before him – it had been too long. The last time he had been in Twilight Town had to have been at least six years ago. The first thing he noticed was that the sun was just starting to set against the horizon, casting large shadows across the cobbled Terrace below him. A light breeze wafted across the open plateau, rustling his blonde spikes ever so lightly. He sighed; making his way down the stairs to the cobbled Terrace, back in the good old days; him and his friends would spend their time hanging out on Sunset Hill.
He shook his head; this wasn't a sight-seeing trip.
It was far from that.
He sighed, taking his first steps onto the cobbled Terrace, the memories flooding back to him. He shook his head ruefully.
"Nothing ever changes here."
The quaint town seemed to have remained the way that it was since the last time he had been down the cobbled roads.
In six years, nothing had changed.
His mother would laugh when he told her that, she thought he'd get lost – she was half right, he could easily be lost in his memories – but the town remained unchanged.
For that, he was happy.
He hadn't wanted to leave Twilight Town when his mother sprung the good news onto him. Roxas's mother's dream had always been to be an anchorwoman for a large news studio. That was her dream job. Six years ago, she got exactly what she wanted. Channel fifteen – the news station from Radiant Garden; the capital of the Alexandrian County – had seen her on the local station. They had been impressed, and had offered her a job in their news station – a news station that reached a minimum of twenty thousand homes across the county. Of course, the money would be pretty hefty as well. His mother had been so excited – she had dreamed of a job like that forever. She sold their house in a blink of an eye, and with the help of the commander-in-chief in Radiant Garden, had managed to secure a home a block from the news station.
Roxas's footsteps echoed against the cobbled street, his hands shoved deep into his coat pockets. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the streets were lined with couples. Sunset Terrace, once sunset had managed to hit, turned into a couple's only territory. Roxas and his friends used to come down here anyways, mimicking the goings-on of teenagers, believing that could never happen to them.
How wrong they had been.
Olette . .
Now, that had ended pretty badly.
They were fourteen at the time and had been dating a little over a month. They were inseparable, they went everywhere together – they were just like the couples that hung out around Sunset Terrace. Hayner and Pence used to always make fun of them for being one of the teenagers. They just shrugged it off, playing it up even more to gross the two other boys out. One night when they were watching the sunset at Sunset Hill, Roxas told her the news.
She hadn't taken the news too well.
They both has said things they didn't mean, things they would regret, and then they walked away angry with one another.
That had been the end of them.
And, that's why Roxas was walking around Sunset Terrace at this time of night. When he had arrived, he had gone to visit Hayner and Pence, now each others roomies in College. During their conversation, they had mentioned that Olette had moved to Sunset Plaza last year to pursue her dream of professional dance.
However, from the look the two of them shot at one another, there was more to the story, but they wouldn't say anything.
Roxas had shrugged it off; they had told him where Olette lived now. All he had to do was find her, it couldn't be that hard – Sunset Plaza was relatively small. When he was leaving though, Hayner had caved, telling him where to find the brunette.
"About this time of day, Olette's probably at Sunset Hill . . ." Hayner trailed off, throwing a glance at Pence.
The black haired boy nodded. "Just don't get your hopes up, Roxas."
Roxas pondered Pence's words, what exactly did he mean? Furling his eyebrows together in confusion, he shook his head as he started up the steep hill.
Pence's words continued to repeat in his mind with each footstep; just don't get your hopes up, Roxas.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, Roxas froze.
There, sitting on the bench at the top of the hill, was Olette. Her chocolate coloured hair cascaded down her shoulders, a pale hand pushing her bangs out of her eyes. A smile appeared on his features, she was just as beautiful as he remembered her. The light of the fading sun that cascaded across her features, made her stand out a bit more, his heart hammering in his chest.
She was beautiful.
His cerulean eyes continued to stare at the brunette, taking in how much the past six years had changed her. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing. Draped across her shoulders was long, sleeveless white trench coat, the material pooling on the ground beneath her.
He couldn't see the rest of her, but he knew that she was just as beautiful.
Then, he saw him.
He was sitting next to her, his blonde hair glinting in the setting sun, as he smiled brightly at her, whispering something in her ear. Olette laughed, tossing her head back slightly, her chocolate curls bouncing with the movement. The male, he noticed was holding her small hands in his.
It made Roxas' heart drop.
He knew that man.
Seifer.
He may have grow a little taller, but he hadn't changed all that much. His blonde hair may be longer now – it looked like it could rival Riku's long hair. He seemed to have finally disposed of his black hat, but his black sleeveless shirt clung to his body, showing off the muscles he had built up through the years.
Roxas rolled his eyes, Seifer was all about showing off.
He hadn't seemed to change that aspect of his personality.
Roxas felt a pang in his chest as he watched the two of them interact . . . the way that Olette looked at Seifer . . . she used to look at him like that.
He didn't want to see anymore.
Turning on his heel to leave, Roxas sighed, shaking his head. Olette wasn't his anymore. She had moved on . . . but, he hadn't.
Crack.
Roxas froze, casting a glance down.
A stick . . . it was a stupid, broken tree branch.
He felt his pulse quicken, surely they would have heard that and knew that he was there now. He shook his head, as long as he got back to the Terrace, they would never know. He could simply fade into the background, disappearing from her memory once more. His feet beat down on the old, beaten path, breathing heavily. Upon reaching the Terrace, he doubled over slightly, trying to regain his breath.
He heard the crunch of gravel and stone behind him. Inwardly, he wanted to curse himself.
"Roxas."
He cringed; Seifer.
He turned around slowly, his bangs falling into his cerulean eyes. Seifer stood no more then a foot away from him, his eyes narrowed as he glared out through his bangs, arms crossed over his chest. Roxas laughed awkwardly.
"Hey there Seifer, long time no see, right?"
Seifer shook his head, his blonde bangs hiding his eyes from view. He pushed them roughly away. "Not long enough," he muttered darkly. "What're you doing back here anyways? Thought town life wouldn't be your cup of tea anymore," Seifer paused, casting a glance back up the hill. "We just got over the fact that you left."
Roxas paused he knew who Seifer meant.
Olette.
"Olette's over me?"
Seifer nodded; eyes hard. "She is." Did it sound like Seifer was gloating? "It's about time; she's getting married in a few weeks. She's been clinging to your memory for the past six years Roxas. No letter, no visit – you moved on."
Roxas felt a lump in his throat. Olette and him had had such a large fight before he left for Radiant Garden . . . he had thought Olette was serious. She had told him never to contact her again. He followed her wishes; he didn't bother writing . . . he didn't want to feel her rejection.
Boy, he had been dead wrong.
"Who is she marrying then?"
Seifer glared at him momentarily. "You're looking at him."
Roxas looked at the blonde, speechless.
Seifer shook his head. "You really messed her up. She's been going to the Sunset Station every day, looking for you. She might not have voiced her thoughts; but somewhere – somehow – she still loved you."
"But . . . she was marrying you."
"IS," Seifer barked, glaring daggers at Roxas. "She's marrying me, lamer. You've been replaced."
Roxas moved to quickly bypass Seifer, but the blonde merely grunted, pushing the smaller teen backwards.
"You're not needed here anymore . . . you're nothing more then a memory, someone from the past. I made her choose – me, or a dream of some guy who left without her, with no communication in the past six years. She chose me over you, and then, we had to forget."
Roxas fought back a shudder at Seifers' cold words, his heart plummeting. "How?"
Seifer smirked. "We went down to the beach . . . I told her to bring all those gifts you had given her. She had so many pictures of you two together, it was kind of sickening, you guys weren't even together that long. She also brought along some stuffed polar bear you won her at that traveling fair . . . enough stuff, lamer? We – well, I – created a bonfire," the colour drained from Roxas' face. Seifer smirked slightly. "You understand what happened then, Roxas. She cried at first – she couldn't do it. I helped her out though; I tossed in a few photos, then, tentatively started as well. She couldn't get rid of the bear – first date memorabilia – so she kept that."
Roxas took in a deep breath, frozen to the spot.
"She scattered you to the wind. She's moved on with her life, she doesn't need you anymore."
Roxas nodded slowly, shoving his hands down into his white jacket. Inwardly, he cursed himself. Why did he listen to Olette all those years ago? They were both angry and said things they didn't mean, but she saw past that, while he . . . while he lived in the past.
"You're lucky, Seifer," Roxas said, turning away from him. "You better treat her well, or else I'll be back."
Seifer nodded, eyes narrowed. He watched Roxas start down the path to Sunset Terrace, and shaking his head, started back up the path to where Olette sat.
"What was going on?"
Olette asked as she picked herself off the bench and moved to Seifer's side, her arms around his torso, briefly touching her lips to his.
"Nothing," Seifer responded, running a hand through her chocolate locks. "Just someone trying to steal you away from me."
Olette grinned, leaning her head against him as he led her back towards the bench.
"Oh, I thought, for a moment there, I heard Roxas . . ."