A/N- I do NOT own Kingdom Hearts, sadly. Stephanie is an OC. Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think ^_^
Don't Say Goodbye
"Aw, c'mon, Pence! Get serious."
"I am serious, Steph! I heard it from a very reliable source!"
"Oh? Could it be the ice cream girl? You do spend an awful lot of time with her." Pence glared at the red haired girl, a furious blush on his face.
"That's beside the point! She hears all the gossip, so it has to be true!"
"What has to be true?" The girl fixed her hazel eyes on the boy who had just shown up with two others walking beside him. He had dark brown eyes and wavy blonde hair that stuck out behind him. The girl grinned at him.
"Hey, Hayner. Pence here was just fillin' me in on the latest outrageous rumors." The dark haired boy puffed up his already slightly large form in indignation.
"I'm telling you it's true!" Hayner glared at Pence.
"If I don't find out real soon what's supposed to be true I'm gonna beat someone with a struggle club."
"Pence says that someone saw Seifer and Fuu in an alley." Hayner shrugged.
"So what, Steph? They're both part of the "Disciplinary Committee". Everyone knows they hang out in alleys all the time." Stephanie smirked at the oblivious blonde and raised her eyebrows.
"I don't think you quite get it, Hayner. The person who supposedly saw them said they were together in the alley. Alone."
"Wha-?" Comprehension dawned on Hayner's face and he burst into hysterical laughter.
"Oh! Oh, that's rich! Fuu and Seifer!" He was sitting down now, his laughter making him incapable of standing. Olette, the girl with redish-brown hair and bright emerald eyes who had arrived with Hayner crouched down next to him.
"Hayner! Hayner breath! You're going to pass out if you keep laughing like that!" Rather than stop his laughter, Olette only seemed to make it worse. Shaking his spikey blonde head, the other boy who had arrived with Hayner and Olette walked over to stand next to Stephanie. Amusement glittered in his vivid blue eyes.
"I haven't seen Hayner laugh like that since he saw Pence trying to talk to Carline." Stephanie laughed and gestured to the couch next to her and the boy plopped down on it, watching as Hayner continued to laugh while Olette tried to quiet him and Pence sulked in the far corner of the "Usual Spot".
"So, Roxas, where were you guys? Me n' Pence've been here for almost an hour waiting for you. Usually everyone gets here at about the same time." Roxas grinned as he answered.
"Olette managed to drag Hayner shopping with her." Stephanie laughed.
"I can see it happening. She's already got him on a short leash. It's only a matter of time. What about you?" He shrugged.
"Heard the date for the struggle tournament had been decided. I went to check it out. It's in four days."
"Cool! I can't wait!" Roxas blinked at her in confusion.
"Are you that excited to watch it?"
"Watch? Who said anything about watching? I'm gonna compete! I've been practicing all summer!" Stephanie grinned and pumped her fist into the air. "So you guys better watch out! 'Cause I am so totally gonna take you down!" Hayner nearly chocked when he heard this before he started laughing again. Stephanie glared at him.
"We'll see who's laughing when I kick your butt, Hayner." Hayner was laughing too hard to respond.
Laughter. Laughter was echoing around her as the dream came into focus. It was just like any other day. She was sitting with the gang at the Usual Spot and laughing as Hayner was getting a lecture about his temper from Olette. But there was a huge difference between the real world and this dream. In the real world she could never act this way. If she did, well, she had already seen how the gang laughed at Pence when he talked to Carline, the girl who ran the ice cream stand. It would be all the worse if they found out because it was her and she was in love with…him.
Stephanie sighed contentedly as she leaned against Roxas, his arm loosely wrapped around her waist holding her close. It was only in dreams that she could fully express her feelings for Roxas. Feelings she'd had for him ever since they first met. She had been very careful to keep up her fake mask of a tomboyish disposition. She acted like she didn't care whether or not she ever had a boyfriend or if she spent her life alone, much to the confusion of her female classmates. Never displayed the fact that what she wanted more than anything in the world was for Roxas the think of her as something more than a friend. To think of her the way she thought of him.
She blinked when Roxas pulled her around to sit in his lap and wrap both arms securely around her waist. With a soft sigh he sat his head on her shoulder so he could still see the rest of the gang as they talked. A blush rose to tint her cheeks but she snuggled as close to Roxas as she could none the less. She closed her eyes and gave another happy sigh. But the next moment things changed drastically.
They were no longer in the Usual Spot and it was just her and Roxas. Darkness surrounded them as Twilight Town disappeared.
"Roxas, where are we?" But he didn't answer. She spun around to look at him only to see that he was running from some strange white creatures. He glanced back at her and there was pain in his eyes as he continued to run.
"Roxas!" Stephanie chased after him in the darkness, trying to catch up with him. After what seemed like hours he stopped running and waited with his back turned to her as she got closer to him. She came to a stop behind him and doubled over trying to catch her breath.
"R-Roxas! Why were you running away? What's going on?" She straightened up just as he turned to face her. Her eyes widened when she saw tears in his eyes. A warm glow surrounded him and he started to fade.
"NO!" No sound escaped him but she could clearly see his lips forming the words "I'm sorry….goodbye." Stephanie dove towards him, hands outstretched to grab his arm but before she could reach him he faded completely and burst into a thousand glittering orbs. She caught one of the golden spheres and held it to her heart. Tears ran down her face as she fell to her knees clutching the orb. Before long it too disappeared, slipping through her fingers to fade into darkness.
"…no….ROXAS!!!!"
Stephanie's eye flew open as she bolted upright clutching at her heart. She took huge shuddering gasps as she tried to calm the pounding of her heart beneath her trembling fingers.
"just a dream….just a dream." She sighed and ran a hand through her sweat drenched hair as she kicked her feet over the edge of the bed and stood up. She glanced over at the clock and groaned. It was three in the morning. She sighed again and walked out of her room. She wandered around her dark house for a while, trying to shake off the dream without much success. Finally at about five in the morning she made it back to her room and collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep instantly. But it was no relief. The dream she had tried to escape replayed in her mind for the rest of the morning, haunting her.
Riiiiiing, riiiiiing, riiiiing, riiiiiiing, riiiing…….RIIIIIING!!!!!
"Alright! I'm up! Geez" With a groan Stephanie dragged herself out of bed and down the stairs to answer the incessant ringing. She picked up the cordless phone and hit talk, holding the phone to her ear.
"Yeah?"
"OH MY GOD! STEPH! WHERE ARE YOU? WE'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU FOR HOURS!!!!!" Stephanie held the phone at arms length and glared at it drowsily. With a sigh she placed it back at her ear.
"Hayner, you called my house phone and I answered it. Where do you think I am?"
"……Home? But why are you home?! You're usually the first one up! Do you realize it's ten thirty?!"
"Do you realize that there's this thing called a lousy night's sleep? Yeah, had one a those." She started pacing around the kitchen, a habit she had when she talked on the phone.
"Well, anyway, you gotta get down here! We gotta clear our names!"
"ugh, what are you talking about?"
"Hello! People are blaming us for-"
"Yeah yeah hold on. This sounds like something I need to be awake for. Let me grab a soda." She pulled the fridge open and dug around on the bottom shelf for a cola and popped it open. She took a huge swig from it and leaned against the counter.
"Alright, tell me again what it is we have to clear our names for?"
"Stuff's been stolen around town and Seifer's been goin' around tellin' everyone we're the thieves! We gotta clear out names! And beat up Seifer while we're at it!"
"Yeah sure. Look, I'll meet you guys at the Usual Spot in a few minutes."
"But-!" Stephanie hung up before he could finish.
Ten minutes later she was skateboarding down market street and her eyes narrowed when she saw that almost every shop seemed to be closed.
'Odd, is it a holiday?' She shrugged and turned into the back alley where the 'Usual Spot' was. She picked up her skateboard and pushed aside the green curtain covering the gape in the wire-mesh fence and stepped into the Usual Spot.
"Steph! It's about time! What took you so…man, what happened to you? You look horrible."
"Gee, thanks. It's nice to see you too, Hayner." She muttered sarcastically as she plopped down on the couch with a yawn. It wasn't until he said something that she noticed Roxas was already sitting there next to her.
"You do look kinda bad. What happened?" She shrugged.
"Nothin' much. Just a bad night's sleep. Now, why are we here again?"
"STEPH! I explained all this to you on the phone! Weren't you listening?!"
"Hayner, I was half asleep when you talked to me, you're lucky I remembered you called." Before Hayner could completely lose his temper Olette explained.
"Well, things have been stolen around town lately and everyone think's we're the ones that stole it."
"What a load of bull."
"Yeah, and Hayner thinks Seifer's the one who's been telling' people that. So he thinks we should declare all out war on him." Roxas said with a sigh. Stephanie shrugged and looked over at Roxas.
"Does kinda sound like something' Seifer'd do, though. Maybe he did spread that rumor."
"Let's get him!"
"Maybe we should catch the real thieves first. That'd clear our names. Then we can deal with Seifer, right?"
"Good idea, Roxas! I'll get the camera!" Steph shook her head with a smile as Pence ran over to the table on the far side of the room.
"Oh no! They're gone! Our ___ are gone!" Pence made an odd sort of chocked noise and clutched at his throat. Steph raised an eyebrow at him.
"What are you talking about, Pence?"
"Our ___from last year at the beach! They're gone!" She sighed in annoyance.
"Pence, are you messin' with us? Why don't you say ___?" Her eyes widened.
"No. Way. You can't say ___!"
"What? That's ridiculous, Steph. Here I'll show you. ____… ____! ARGH! I can't say ___!"
"Told you Hayner!"
"Shut up, Steph!"
"Stolen. And not just the ___ but the word ___! They stole it too!" Steph nodded.
"Roxas is right. But we need to figure this out. I'd hate to ask him, but do you think Seifer knows anything about his?"
"psh, yeah right. Seifer's not exactly a brain, Steph."
"Ya' never know. Miracles do happen, Hayner."
"Remind me why we're here again."
"Shut up, Hayner." Hayner glared at Stephanie but kept his mouth shut. He could tell she really wasn't in a good mood. That lousy night's sleep had really done a number on her temper. Seifer turned and noticed the group for the first time.
"Hey look at this. The thieves are checkin' us out."
"What'd you say?!" Hayner dove at Seifer but Roxas held him back.
"What's wrong with calling a thief a thief? Thief."
"Burglar."
"That was low, ya' know?" Stephanie sighed and rubbed her temples as Seifer's words were followed by the usual one-word monotone response from Fuu and the annoying unintelligent comeback from Rai. She stepped forward to the front of the group.
"Look, Seifer, we didn't steal anything. Our stuff's missing too. We don't want trouble, we just wanted to know if you knew anything about it."
"Of course I know something. I'm staring at the culprits right now. Only you guys would've stolen because that ___ was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers." Stephanie gritted her teeth and tried her best to keep her voice calm.
"Seifer, I'm warning you I'm in a really bad mood today. We didn't steal anything! And I will not stand here and listen to you accuse us of something we didn't do! Especially when you have absolutely no proof!" Seifer smirked.
"I don't need any proof because I know you did it."
"ARGH! I have had it!" Stephanie stomped over to grab the struggle club that lay abandoned on the ground and faced Seifer. He laughed when he saw the yellow handled blue club in her hands.
"You're not serious, are you?"
"Try me." She snarled. Seifer's eyes narrowed and he grabbed his own struggle club.
"You asked for it, runt." Seifer charged at Stephanie and she dodged out of the way, smacking him soundly between the shoulder blades as he went by.
"Get 'er ,Seifer! Ya' know?!"
"Take 'im down, Steph!"
"Gladly." Was the mutual response as they dove at each other again.
"Steph, that was awesome!" Hayner was practically skipping around the sandlot as he taunted Seifer, who lay soundly beaten on the ground at Stephanie's feet.
"Seifer's…not feelin' so hot, ya' know?!"
"Tournament decides."
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Stephanie mumbled as she tossed the struggle club off to the side.
"Hey, Steph, strike a pose!" She glanced over at Pence just in time to see the flash go off on his camera.
"Aw, Roxas, you were in the way." Stephanie laughed and went to take a step but she didn't quite make it. Her eyes slid out of focus as the world started to spin. A sense of nauseating dizziness filled her brain and she staggered, nearly hitting the ground before Roxas caught her.
"Steph! Steph, are you okay?!" Stephanie stood up on unsteady legs and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Must just be because I'm tired." But just as she was about to brush herself off and walk away a white blur slammed into her and knocked her down. The last thing she saw before tunneling darkness swarmed her vision was Roxas running after one of the white creatures from her nightmares.
Flashing images, silent clips of someone else's life. People she didn't know, people she did know, and one person very close to her heart.
'Roxas?' The blue eyed boy's face filled Stephanie's mind and it was like someone had turned up the sound and the silent clips now had voices with them.
Flash
Roxas was dressed in a floor length black coat walking through a dark city. A red haired man was leaning against one of the buildings, his arms crossed as Roxas walked past him.
"So your mind's made up?" Roxas stopped and answered the man without turning.
"Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."
"You can't turn on the organization! You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!" He was now standing up straight, his hands clenched at his sides.
"No one would miss me. We're Nobodies. We don't have hearts, we can't feel emotions." The red-haired man's posture changed to one of dejection as Roxas walked away. After he disappeared he whispered to the darkness.
"I'll miss you."
Flash
Roxas was back in the dark city, fighting with a silver-haired man with a black cloth over his eyes. Roxas was wielding a white, key shaped blade with wing-like designs on the grip. His opponent wielded a similar black key shaped blade.
"Why?! Why do you have the keyblade?!" Roxas glanced at his own blade and for a moment didn't answer.
"Shut up." He snarled and swung the weapon at the silver-haired man. He dodged and struck Roxas down.
Flash
Roxas was slumped over in a lab under some type of machine. A man with red wrappings around his face was sitting at a series of high tech computers, a man wearing the same black coat as Roxas was standing off to the side.
"What should we do with him?" The man at the computers didn't look up as he answered.
"We need to buy some time until Namine can restore Sora's memories. We will place him in a virtual town with false memories and a different personality. We must hide him from the Organization. When the time is right, we'll dispose of him."
"What a pity."
"It's the fate of a Nobody. He's lucky that I'm going to let him live in a dream."
Flash
Roxas was in Twilight Town. Stephanie watched as her life wasS seen from Roxas's point of view. He had no idea he was in a virtual town, or what he was. It vaguely registered in Stephanie's mind that if he was in the virtual town, it must mean that she wasn't real either.
Flash
Roxas had met a girl with white blonde hair, Namine. She promised to tell him everything if he went to the mansion. Stephanie watched as Roxas slowly discovered things she had already watched through his memories. Watched as he fought with Axel, the red-haired man who had at one time been his best friend. Now his orders were to take Roxas back to the Organization with his old memories restored or destroy him.
Flash
Roxas was sitting in the Usual Spot alone. He seemed…torn about something.
"I should leave now while they're at the hospital with Steph. It's not like they know I'm here anyway." Another scene flashed through her mind. Roxas walking into the Usual Spot going up to talk to Hayner only to find that Hayner couldn't hear him. He turned and walked right through Roxas. Leaving him anguished and confused.
"No one would miss me."
Flash
Stephanie's eyes snapped open and she jerked upright. She looked around to see Hayner, Pence and Olette sitting by her hospital bed. Their eyes widened when they saw her and all at once they tried to make her lay back down.
"Steph, you okay?"
"You nearly gave us heart attacks!"
"You need more rest."
"Where's Roxas?" They all looked at her in confusion. Hayner was the first to say anything.
"Steph, who's Roxas?" Her eyes widened and she looked own at her clenched hands.
'So all of it was true. But if it was true then that means…'
"No!" She dove out of bed and out into the hall, her friends shouting behind her to come back. Stephanie didn't stop running. If she stopped her worst nightmares would come to pass and Roxas would disappear, leave her like he had in her dreams.
She finally made it to the Usual Spot only to find that Roxas was already gone. She turned on her heel and ran to Tram Common to the hole in the wall that led to the forest and the mansion. Great gasping breaths tore at her lungs as she pushed herself to go faster. She had to get to Roxas before the man with the red wrappings could.
"When the time comes, we'll dispose of him."
'No! I won't let that happen!' She threw open the front doors to the mansion and ran inside, letting her heart lead her to Roxas. Several twists and turns later she found herself in the lab room where the computers where. But now all that was left were fragments of the destroyed technology.
'Roxas.' She kept running and came to a hall lined with capsules, only two of them had anything in them. Figures from Roxas's dreams. There was one door and she threw it open and ran into the white room beyond. One much larger capsule was in the center of the room, Roxas standing in front of it as it slowly opened to reveal a brown haired boy the same age.
"ROXAS!" He turned to stare at Stephanie with wide eyes. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, hiding her tear stained face in his shirt.
"Steph?"
"Please. Please don't leave, Roxas." She choked out, her voice smothered in tears.
"I'll do anything. Don't disappear, don't leave me." Roxas wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head.
"I don't have a choice, Steph. Besides, no one-"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY NO ONE WOULD MISS YOU!" Stephanie shrieked. She looked up into Roxas's eyes to see shock and confusion in them.
"I'd miss you, Roxas. I don't care if you're a Nobody and you say you don't have a heart! I love you. And being from this town, this virtual creation, I might not have one either. But it feels like it. I gave you my heart, Roxas. Does that make me a Nobody too?" She whispered the question, almost hoping the answer was yes so that she could be like Roxas and stay with him. Roxas, on the other hand, was too stunned to speak.
A light surrounded Roxas and he started to fade away. He gave Stephanie a sad smile and pulled her closer and rested his lips against hers. Tears ran down the red haired girls cheeks as she returned the kiss, her dreams coming true in the worst possible way. She was getting what she had always wanted, but at a terrible price. After a few seconds Roxas pulled away and whispered:
"If I had a heart, I would have given it to you, Steph. I'm sorry. Good-" Stephanie put a finger to his lips.
"Don't say goodbye. I'll find you again. I'll find a way." Roxas smiled and gave a small nod. Then, just like in the dream, he disappeared in a flash of glowing orbs. Silent tears flowed down Stephanie's cheeks.
"I promise I'll find you." She whispered. And just like Roxas, her body dissolved into a mass of glittering orbs.