Author's Note: Okay, this is the first thing I've posted in a while. I really loved this story the first time I wrote it, but then decided about two weeks ago that it wasn't as good as it should have been. So I rewrote it in 3rd person point of view and gave some more backstory. Instead of the flashback that I had in the last story, I decided to just start my story with it. I really hope y'all like it, because I put my heart into this piece, especially because I thought it would be a good idea to post it a year after the first edition/the first story I ever put on to FanFiction. This is basically my one year anniversary piece. I hope you all like it! Please review. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but I do own Kairi's ugly pink minivan!
Year Since Lost
Sora did not have an enjoyable life. He was constantly beaten by his father, ignored by his mother, and left high and dry by some of his friends. He was alone, for the most part. He had some friends, but he didn't realize that they would always be there for him. One of them, however, stood higher up on his list than the rest, his best friend, Roxas. He was actually happy for a long time as Roxas helped him come out of his shell and meet new people. Sora then realized that his other friends cared about him, and learned that he wasn't alone in the world.
But that all came crashing down the day that Roxas died. It was a horrible day in Sora's life, and he didn't really know what to expect. He was, at that point, deeply in love with his best friend and didn't know why Roxas had to die. The moment he found out about Roxas being in the hospital, he rushed there as quickly as possible.
He slammed open the doors and rushed to the receptions desk. "What room is Roxas in?" He questioned loudly.
"What is the patient's last name, sir?" The receptionist asked tonelessly.
"It doesn't matter what his name is! I want to know where he is!" Sora yelled, extremely angry at the lack of help he was getting from the fat receptionist behind the desk.
"Sora," A voice sounded from behind him. He looked over and saw Roxas's mom sitting in a chair, waiting for him as it seemed. "He's been waiting to see you. He asked me to let you in as soon as you came. He knew you would," She smiled sadly, knowingly as she stood up and led Sora to Roxas's room. "Sora, I want you to know, I'm glad that Roxas has someone like you to love him. It means so much to me."
With that, she walked back down the hall, her tears falling softly to the floor as she walked. Sora felt his heart get heavy with sadness at the sight, but he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
A soft, "Come in," sounded back from behind the door and Sora walked in.
On the bed in front of him was the withered form of his best friend. His once bright, golden hair was dimmed in the fluorescing lighting of the hospital. His pale complexion was even paler, and his eyes, his bright blue eyes, were glazed over with a look of tiredness and pain.
"Sora," Roxas breathed, instantly smiling at the sight of his best friend. "I knew you would come. Sit over here, I could use some company."
Sora sat at the small chair next to Roxas's bed and didn't really know what to do. What do you say to someone who is going to die? "So… how are you feeling, Roxas?"
Roxas laughed softly, "Nice way to start a conversation, Sora," Sora blushed behind his hand to try and not let Roxas see it. "But to answer, I feel fine. They just put me on some pain killers, so I won't be feeling too bad."
Sora exhaled in relief. He didn't want to have his last chance to see Roxas ruined by Roxas's pain. He grabbed Roxas's hand and stoked it lightly, smiling sadly as he watched his friend stare back at him. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just staring into each other's eyes. Roxas reached up and grabbed a bit of Sora's deep brown hair and started rubbing it between two fingers.
"You have such soft hair, Sora," Roxas smiled as Sora blushed. "Rather like a girl's actually."
Sora was completely red. "N-no, it's-s n-not!" Sora sputtered, clearly embarrassed by the comment. "It's perfectly manly the way it is!"
Roxas rolled his eyes, "Sure it is, Sora. You can tell that to yourself to let you sleep at night." Roxas laughed at Sora's blushing face.
Sora followed suit a moment afterward, realizing how stupid he was acting. It made them feel better, laughing together as if nothing was wrong. That was, of course, until Roxas started coughing roughly. Sora instantly moved to help him, but a nurse came into the room and gave Roxas a glass of water and a few pills.
Roxas took the pills quickly and chugged the water down. "Sorry about that, Sora. I just forgot to take my medicine earlier. I'm probably going to fall asleep soon, but can you do me a favor?"
Sora nodded fervently. "Yeah, Roxas, I'd do anything for you."
Roxas smiled lightly at the words of his best friend. "Can you please stay until I wake up?"
Sora smiled sadly. "Of course I will, Roxas."
Roxas smiled dazedly as he began to fall asleep. His deep azure blue eyes closed and his light breathing stabled out into a pattern. Sora couldn't help but smile at the picture of his friend sleeping. He was overcome with sadness, however, when he remembered that he was going to tell Roxas about his love for him. It wasn't fair.
Sora looked at the sleeping boy and silently wondered if he could taste those lips before Roxas woke up. It would be better that way. That way, if Roxas didn't like him the same way, he didn't have to upset him. Sora quickly looked at the door and saw that it was closed and the window was covered with a small curtain that ensured privacy. He inwardly smiled and turned back to Roxas's sleeping form.
Sora slowly leaned in and looked at Roxas's handsome features. His pale complexion was marred by the humanizing freckles that graced his cheeks and nose. His golden hair flopped down over his forehead and shone like silver in the white light. His eyelashes were all neatly shown and his eyebrows were arched in a peaceful, sleepy way. Roxas's lips were the most enticing part to Sora at the moment. They resembled rose petals in the way that they were smooth looking, pink, and full. They looked downright delicious in Sora's opinion.
He lowered himself closer to his best friend's face and felt Roxas's hot breath on his face. His sweet smell was intoxicating and Sora closed the gap between their lips quickly. His lips ghosted over Roxas's before he pulled back up. He took in a deep breath and leant back down for a second try. He pushed his lips back to Roxas's and applied some pressure, but made sure that he didn't wake him up. Roxas's lips were like heaven to Sora. They were soft and smooth, and the touch felt so right in Sora's mind. He closed his eyes in bliss and pulled back up.
He opened his eyes quickly and saw the azure blue eyes of his best friend staring back into his deep ocean blue eyes. They were filled with a brightness and happiness that Sora couldn't describe. Roxas wanted it.
Roxas smiled softly and pulled Sora back down to kiss him again. Sora gasped in surprise as his best friend attacked his lips with a fervent passion that Sora had never seen in him before. When they had finally pulled apart the two boys were gasping for breath. Roxas gazed into Sora's eyes and smiled before pulling Sora into a warm embrace.
"I love you, Sora," Roxas whispered into Sora's ear.
Sora's eyes were filled with tears and he smiled with a great happiness. "I love you too, Roxas."
Roxas smiled, "Don't ever forget that, Sora."
Sora's tearful eyes started weeping even more. "Don't say it like you're saying goodbye."
Roxas sadly smiled with a knowing look in his eyes. "Promise me, Sora," He demanded gently holding out his pinky finger.
Sora looked at the finger and shook his head, tears freely falling now. "I promise," He responded grasping the other's pinky with his own and shaking both hands downward.
Roxas breathed out slowly and was quickly brought back to the world of sleep. Sora watched over him for a few moments before something happened. The heart rate monitor connected to Roxas started beeping out of control and a nurse quickly rushed into the room. A doctor and several other nurses followed in quickly afterward and Sora was forced out of the room.
He looked around the hall outside of the room and quickly saw that Roxas's Mom was waiting outside the room, crying for all she was worth. Sora walked over to her and gave her a hug, whispering lies that both of them knew to be lies into her ear.
Moments later a doctor walked out of the room and spotted the weeping mother being held by her son's best friend. He was sincerely sorry for the loss that they had. He walked over to them and knew that they had already guessed what happened. He patted Sora on the back and led him and Roxas's Mom out to a special room used for those who were grieving for a loved one. He explained what had happened, and that Roxas had a rare heart disease that was undetected for years. He told them that Roxas was, according to the information the hospital had about the disease, supposed to have died years before hand.
"He was supposed to die about seven years ago. It was a miracle that he lasted this long. Miss, you are his mother, do you remember anything that could have possibly happened seven years ago that would have caused this?" The doctor inquired.
Roxas's Mom, who was still overcome with tears, didn't speak but gave a wide, tearful look to Sora. Sora didn't understand what was happening, but realized that both of the adults were staring at him. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves and sniffled.
"Yeah, that was the year that Roxas and I became friends," Sora whispered sadly.
The doctor furrowed his brow and looked down at Sora. His eyes became wide and sad when he realized what had happened. "Well, that's it then. Roxas was fighting this disease for you, Sora. You kept him alive for seven years longer than he was supposed to live."
The day of the funeral was cold, harsh and unforgiving. It wasn't the kind of day that people would love to be outside on. It was cold, but no snow fell. It never did. It was the kind of day Roxas would hate, just because it could snow but it didn't.
"It should be snowing," Sora mumbled angrily as Roxas's Mom pulled into the funeral home. "Roxas liked the snow."
Roxas's Mom smiled sadly, knowing that Sora wasn't angry at the weather. She had been keeping him at her house for the last few days. She had finally decided that Sora had been mistreated and that he should live someplace that would provide him with a loving and supportive backing.
"I know Sora. I know," Roxas's Mom replied softly as she walked to the door. She led Sora inside and placed him in the front row of seats, right before the casket. It was a seat of honor, but Sora was afraid. He didn't want to be there. But that wasn't even the worst part of it either. He had to speak.
"Do I have to speak? I'm really not good in front of people, and you know as well as I do that this isn't going to be easy for me," Sora stated, obviously nervous about the predicament he was in.
Roxas's Mom nodded. "Funerals are for the living, Sora, not the dead. This is for us to say goodbye to him. We all thought that it would be a good idea for you to do this. But, if it makes you feel better, you aren't going first."
Sora's eyes lit up. "Who's going first then?"
"Roxas's other best friend, Naminé."
"Who?" Sora asked softly as the priest came up towards the front of the funeral home. Roxas's Mom shook her head in reply as the priest started to say a blessing over Roxas's body.
After the priest was done preparing Roxas's body for burial, he turned to the audience. "Now, before we let this body rest we are going to let a few people speak about Roxas's life and the things they remember about this amazing man."
After he stepped down, a small girl, about five four, walked up to the microphone. She was skinny, but not to the point of looking unhealthy. She had bleached blond hair that went down to the back of her neck and bangs that were covering her face. Her deep blue eyes were wide and were glistening with tears. Unlike everyone else at the funeral, her wardrobe was completely white. It consisted of a small, simple white dress with spaghetti straps and light blue sandals.
She took a deep breath and started, shakily. "Roxas has been my best friend for several years, and I know that this loss will always be with me forever. He was the only one I trusted for a long time, and when we were back in preschool together, I remember him promising me that he would be with me. When I moved away, Roxas always kept in contact. He was always sending me letter, calling me, and keeping me company through the writings he sent. I will never forget how he always told me what was on his mind. I will miss him deeply and I hope he will watch over all of us."
She started crying and thanked the people listening with a slight bow before she walked down from the small stage. Roxas's Mom was crying but turned to Sora and pushed him up and onto the stage. The people gave a small, sad chuckle and waited as Sora brought himself together. He took a deep breath and began.
"Roxas saved my life. He was my best friend for the longest time, and he saved my life. My life had always been… complicated. He was the rock of strength that I held on to. One day, I remember, I was bleeding really badly, almost to the point of death. Roxas was walking by, I guess he was going to ask me to go to the arcade or something, and saw that I was hurt. So, he called the hospital and stayed with me every second until I left. He was so courageous and I could never ask for a better friend.
"He was always there for me, and not just me, everyone he met. He was just so genuine with everyone that I don't know who he wouldn't help. He once beat up a guy who was trying to hurt someone and, after he realized the guy was hurt badly, brought him straight to the nurse to get better. I have never seen anyone who was kinder or gentler than Roxas was. I'm going to miss him. We all will, but we just have to stay strong. For Roxas."
Everyone in the room chanted "For Roxas" and Sora stepped down from the stage. Roxas's Mom's eyes were filled with tears and they were streaming at this point. Sora couldn't help but join her. The priest got back up onto the stage and informed everyone the body would be lowered into the grave, outside, in five minutes.
Sora stood up and led Roxas's Mom outside and waited a few minutes to see the body lowered in the ground. If any eyes were still dry before then, they were streaming tears at this point. Sora looked over at the blond haired girl who spoke earlier. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she looked resigned with the fact that Roxas was dead. Like she was sad, but knew there was nothing she could do about it. Sora knew at that moment that she was stronger than he was. It wasn't too hard to figure out.
After the coffin was lowered and buried, most of the mourners walked back to their cars to get ready for the wake. The only people left at the grave were Sora, Roxas's Mom, the blond girl, and a silver haired boy and red haired girl that were standing behind the blond. The blond girl turned and looked at Roxas's mom and walked forward to give her a big hug. It was a sad hug, but Roxas's Mom cracked a smile.
"Thank you, Naminé."
Naminé smiled back, "No problem." She then turned to take a look at Sora. His eyes were the same azure blue that Roxas had, if not a bit darker. He had long brown spikey hair and smooth tan skin. "You must be Sora, right?"
Sora was taken aback a bit by her knowledge but nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm Sora. You must be Nam-"
Naminé interrupted him and knocked him over with a big tackle hug. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry," She cried into his chest.
Sora was confused but patted her back softly. "Uh… Thank you?"
"Roxas told me all about you. I'm sorry about what happened. I know what you were to him, and I know that he would be happy that you were here to see him off. I now declare that I will be your new best friend and that we are going to hang out tonight," Naminé announced boldly.
Sora was seriously confused. "Uh, what do you mean? I'm really confused at the moment. Did you say that you are now my new best friend and were hanging out tonight?"
Naminé nodded happily and grabbed Sora's hand. "Yep, and these are my friends Riku and Kairi." The red head and silver haired boy nodded at their names and sent reassuring smiles to Sora. "I have no doubt that you will all be the best of friends."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Sora asked softly.
Naminé smiled deviously, "Not at all. Now, let's get going. We have a lot to talk about." She dragged Sora by the hand to a bright pink mini-van and waved goodbye to Roxas's Mom who smiled and waved them on. She needed to stay a little longer to say goodbye.
Naminé nodded back and Kairi started the car and drove away with Sora, Riku, and Naminé all in the back seat.
Roxas's Mom smiled at the kids and looked back at the grave. "You have good friends, Roxas. I know that you've wanted these two to meet for a long time. I'm glad you told Naminé about Sora. She'll be a good friend to the one you loved. She's just like you. She's stubborn, bossy, and kind-hearted. She'll be good for Sora. Maybe she'll even take over your place. Ha, like that would happen."
Roxas's Mom knelt next to the grave and placed the flowers down, two blue roses and a red rose. "I figured your favorite color would be the color of his eyes. And we all know what a red rose means. I'll miss you Roxas. I hope that you reach heaven and are finally happy. I'll take care of Sora for you."
She got up and kissed the top of the gravestone. The freshly dug earth underneath her feet left footprints. She looked up at the sky and saw the snow falling down. It made her smile. "Thank you, Roxas. I know you did always love the snow."
Two Months Later
Sora looked up at the façade of the school above him. The school had decided to have a remembrance day for Roxas, and Sora was less than thrilled about it. He just saw the day as another thing to open up the wound. He sighed and walked to a big hedge of bushes and through it into a small, secluded courtyard. It was more commonly known as "The usual spot".
"You're late, as usual," Naminé announced looking around at Sora from the middle of the group of people standing around her. It was the usual people: the silver-haired Riku, the feisty red-headed Kairi, the gentle brunette Olette, the black haired Pence, and the blond haired Hayner. Everyone was smiling and laughing as Sora came in, obviously he missed a joke that they wouldn't repeat to him.
"I know; it's going to be a rough day you know? I had to prepare myself," Sora stated quietly.
"Sora," Olette began shakily, "It's been almost three months since Roxas died. Try not to think about it so much. We are going to Kairi's house tonight for that movie night." Olette smiled kindly and Sora's heart warmed a bit.
"Yeah dude, there's always a good time at Kairi's," Hayner smirked.
Kairi smacked him on the arm and smiled contentedly. Everyone started laughing and turned to go into the building. Kairi, Olette, Naminé and Sora all went to their first period class and waved goodbye to Riku, Hayner, and Pence. Once they were seated Naminé and Olette started talking about the potential movies choices for the night. Kairi was pretending to listen but was staring at Sora. Something seemed off about him today.
"Sora, are you alright?" Kairi whispered, trying to not let Naminé or Olette butt into the conversation.
"I'm alright, but, like I said, it's going to be hard. They did post a gigantic mural the size of a freaking minivan in the main foyer. That's going to be the highlight of my day," Sora whispered back. "And why do I have a feeling that someone is going to be following me all day?"
Kairi smiled mysteriously and shrugged just as the teacher walked into the room.
"Good morning class. Now today is a very special day. As you have all heard, today we as a school are going to be remembering your classmate, Roxas. I know many of you here are his friends and I would like to be the first to say the Roxas was a great student. He was an amazing person and the world will be a lot darker without him."
Sora's eyes were watering a bit at the teacher's words. It was still so hard for him. Other people didn't understand that he was separated from his true love. In Sora's eyes, no amount of time would be able to heal that wound. He knew that a day of remembrance wasn't going to help his situation at all.
He sighed quickly pulling out his notebook and copying down the notes, not paying attention to the fact that Kairi and Naminé were staring at him for the whole period, occasionally shooting glances at each other. The period went by quickly and Sora gathered his things and walked out the door to his next class. He noticed Riku leaning on a locker on the side of the hallway, and took notice that he was following behind closely. Sora rolled his eyes and turned into his English class, smiling brightly at the kind teacher sitting at her desk. She smiled back and nodded at Riku. Riku nodded back with a smirk and sat down at the desk right next to Sora's. It wasn't his normal seat and Sora shot him a look that said, "What are you doing?"
The teacher, who was normally a stickler about seating arrangement, didn't even acknowledge the fact that Riku was sitting in a different seat. "How did you manage to pull that one off?" Sora asked Riku as the class went off into their discussion groups.
Riku shrugged, "I didn't. Naminé talked to the teacher this morning. She said that it was necessary."
Sora's eye twitched. "I don't need a babysitter! In fact, I'm feeling fine today!"
"That's not what Kairi said. She said you said that you're going to have a hard day today," Riku smirked, catching Sora in his lie. Sora glared at him, but turned back to the front for the rest of the lesson.
After the class was over, and Sora was thoroughly sick of A Tale of Two Cities, he walked out of the class and, with Riku following, turned to the Chemistry hallway. Riku followed all the way to the door before Sora walked in and was greeted by Olette and Hayner. He smiled at them and turned to see Riku staring at him from across the hall. He shrugged at Riku and smirked. Riku turned and walked down the hall two seconds after with a small grunt.
"So, Sora, how are you doing?" Olette asked politely. "Are you ready for the movie night at Kairi's house?"
Sora nodded, "Yeah, I'm really excited. I really hope it isn't a stupid romance."
"I do too. Romances can be so stupid," Hayner agreed giving Sora a high-five.
Olette rolled her eyes and smacked them both on the arm. They all turned to the front as the teacher walked in a moment later. He smiled at them sheepishly and shook his blond mullet hair from his face. "Sorry about that, students. I had a meeting I had to go to. Now, I bet you'll never guess what we're learning about today!"
Sora, Olette, and Hayner almost fell over when they realized he was actually serious and had written it on the board. "Uh… Chemical Bonding?" Sora asked cautiously, just to make sure it wasn't a joke.
The teacher almost fell over. "How did you know that? Sora, are you one of those psychics that they show on television? I knew they were real! Axel owes me fifty bucks!"
The class was watching with amusement as the teacher actually fell over from tripping over his desk. Olette was the first to get up. "Mr. Demyx… do you need help?" She asked sweetly.
He waved his hand dismissively from the floor. "No, no, Olette. I'll be fine," he said, popping up from the ground and going into a lecture about chemical bonding. He was staring at Sora cautiously while the class was copying down the notes. His meeting was actually about the young brunet. The teachers at the school had a meeting to talk about the Brunet's odd behavior, and that it is most likely linked to the death of his best friend. They had even called in Naminé, who, for whatever odd reason, was very knowledgeable about her friend's life.
They all decided to talk to Sora for tomorrow, and that way, he could try and feel better with his friends. It wouldn't have been noticeable for the teachers, they barely knew him and he generally kept to himself, even though he has a naturally extroverted personality.
The bell rang not two minutes later, and Demyx was confused for a moment before yelling, "Do numbers four and five for homework!"
Sora left the class with Olette and Hayner, who said goodbye and left him with Riku, who was standing across the hall from the Chemistry room. Sora nodded at Riku and walked down the hall to Math, which was Sora's last, and least favorite, class of the day. He grimaced as he read the board, Pop Quiz today.
"Great, now I can fail a Math Quiz too. What a great day this is turning out to be," Sora said sarcastically.
Riku smirked and pushed Sora to his seat, before walking to the back of the room to take his seat. The teacher didn't say a word, but passed out the, rather large, pop quiz. Sora took a look at the intimidating three page quiz and sighed. He was going to fail. He took out his calculator and started working his way through the test. He was done with about three minutes left until the bell and looked back at Riku, who was staring at him intently, with an almost feral look in his eyes.
"This is going to be bad," Sora thought. "I hope he doesn't come after me. I just really want to get this over with."
The bell rang and Sora let everyone else get out of the classroom, leaving only Riku and him still sitting in their seats. He slowly got up, watching as Riku mimicked his movements, and walked to the door. He looked outside and the halls were filled with people. That's when he thought, "If I can get out into that crowd, they can pull me along to the exit."
He smiled to himself and jumped out into the traffic, leaving behind a rather confused looking Riku standing in the door. Sora was pushed into his locker that was, thankfully, free of all of his friends. He pulled out his stuff and pushed back into the surging river of students heading for the front doors. Once he got outside he moved with the crowd and pulled up his hood to try and not be noticed by his friends. He almost made it to the street when someone tackled him from behind.
"Gotcha, Naminé, I found him!" Kairi yelled from atop Sora. "Little sucker thought we wouldn't find him. Unfortunately for you, you're the only one in the school with that backpack."
The group walked over and picked up Sora: Kairi, Naminé, and Olette held his arms; and Riku, Pence, and Hayner held his legs. They carried him over to Kairi's gigantic disgustingly pink minivan and threw him in. Hayner, Pence, and Riku sat around him and kept him in place so he wouldn't escape while Kairi drove. Naminé and Olette were smirking in the middle seats.
"Thought you could escape, did ya? Well too bad for you. We've been planning this movie night for weeks, and there is no way in hell that I'm going to let you miss it," Naminé announced boldly. "Besides, we're watching Inception."
Pence and Hayner bumped fists and grinned. "I love that movie!" Hayner yelled excitedly, but shut up instantly because of Olette's intense glare.
Sora gave a fake grin at the moment, but Naminé and Riku saw right through it. "Wipe that grin off your face. It's not helping your case at the moment," Naminé snapped. "Now, let's get this movie going. Kairi's been waiting to see this for weeks."
"And if any of you ruin the ending for me, I will destroy you!" Kairi yelled demonically from the front seat. Everyone in the car looked scared. You didn't want to piss Kairi off. Bad things happened to those people.
Sora grimaced at the thought of an angry Kairi. He turned the window and stared at the gloomy grey countryside. He knew that it was the kind of day Roxas looked forward to, the kind of day where it wanted to snow, but was just not going to. Riku was watching him pensively. Trying desperately what was going on through his brunet friend's brain. He really cared, even if he didn't show it much.
The car ride was quiet, except for the grinding of Olette's teeth while "Friday" was playing on the radio. She really hated Rebecca Black. When the group finally arrived they all piled out of the car and lifted Sora up and took him inside the house. After some struggling and some shouts of where he wanted to sit, they were all finally situated in front of the gigantic TV screen in the middle of Kairi's living room.
The movie was okay, but Sora didn't really understand what was happening the whole time. So about twenty minutes in, Sora just stopped paying attention and thought about what he was going to do later. No one else knew; he was sure of that. It was just going to be something simple. Not too complicated.
The movie, which was about two and a half hours long, wasn't as horrible as everyone thought it was going to be. Kairi was crying, but Olette and Naminé were doing a good job of shutting her up. Riku was watching from the corner, smirking as usual, and Hayner and Pence were just laughing on the couch. It was a normal kind of scene to see with these people.
"Kairi, it was a… happy ending… Why are you crying?" Olette asked calmly.
"It was just so beautiful!" Kairi sniffled in reply. Naminé slammed her palm to her face.
Sora watched affectionately from a distance as the rest of the teenagers were laughing at Kairi while Naminé chased her around the room. He was really going to miss everyone. "Hey guys, I really have to go. Roxas's Mom asked me to be home at seven," Sora announced. Everyone looked at each other briefly before nodding at him.
"See you later, Sora!" Kairi yelled and tackle-hugged him to the floor. Hayner and Pence jumped on next, followed by Olette and Naminé. Riku just watched from the corner, gazing at the brunet. Something was off.
Sora untangled himself from the pile of friendship and grabbed his coat and backpack. He waved once more before he walked out of the house. After the door was closed, he put his hand into his backpack and pulled out a letter addressed to Naminé. He walked to Kairi's car and placed the letter underneath the windshield wiper.
It was going to be really hard to leave them behind, but he had to. It was for Roxas. He walked calmly down the street, snow falling softly on the ground as he went. He wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around him, which was nothing, but paused once to see a single red rose blooming on a bush. It was definitely an oddity, especially because it was blooming during late February.
He went to the rose and touched the petals. They were very warm and soft. It was really weird for him to see the petals. They reminded him of Roxas. His lips were as soft as the petals, if not softer. He smiled, and realized that he had to do it. There was no backing out now. So he picked the rose and held it in his hand, not caring about the thorns that were making him bleed.
The walk after that was uneventful to say the least. The snow was still falling, and the roads were barren. No one was usually outside while it was snowing. It was a shame they weren't though. It was simply breathtaking.
When Sora finally reached his destination, about twenty minutes later, he was ready for what he was going to do. He stared at the gigantic metal gate that loomed in front of him. The façade's angels were staring at him, silently watching over him. He pushed open the gate and entered the cemetery. He walked down the small path to the left of the main road and went off into the forest and finally stopped at a, heartbreakingly small, grave.
He knelt down and placed the rose on the grave. "Hello Roxas. I thought it would be appropriate for me to say goodbye here. I know you wanted me to move on after you died. But I can't. I really can't. Your-Our friends have helped, but no one can replace you. You know?"
Sora sat in silence for a moment. "I guess you really are gone. I'm alone here, aren't I? I knew it. I've felt so alone since you've been gone. I know this has to end. I can't live like this much longer."
He stopped for a moment and zipped open his backpack. He shuffled around some papers and pulled out what he was looking for, a small black pistol. It was his father's gun, something that he was threatened with many a time. He placed it on the grave and stared at the name. Roxas, Roxas, Roxas, the name was taunting him. It was driving him insane. It was the only thing that was ever on his mind. Even after the person it belonged to was far from near. It was the funniest feeling to Sora. To be so close to the boy that he loved, yet so far. The only thing separating them was the cold earth, yet it was so much more than that. Life and Death were the things in the way.
"I just really, can't. I can't," Sora cried as he brought the gun up. The cold metal made his fingers twitch. The gun was staring him in the face. He could almost hear it mocking him. He could hear it whispering to him.
"Do it, then you'll be with him again…"
Sora's eyes were flowing tears. The only thing that could release him from this cold sadness was the gun. He knew he had to do it. He knew. But, something was holding him back.
Fear. Fear was holding him back. The longer he waited. The more fearful he became. He shook his head and placed the gun to his temple. The metal was still cold, but whispered sweet nothing in his ear. He took one deep breath and whispered to the world and to his love.
"Goodbye… I'll meet you in Heaven."
"So, when exactly are you people leaving? I mean I love you all and everything, but I want to go to sleep at some point and having all of you here at eleven o'clock doesn't really help me with that," Kairi asked to the crowd of people sitting in her kitchen.
The rest of the crowd sighed and agreed that she was right. It was getting late and they needed to get home eventually. Kairi promised them all rides, luckily they all live like three minutes away from each other. Naminé was the first in her coat and happily called "Shotgun" while running to the car.
"Dirty Mexican!" Pence yelled afterwards, running towards the blond girl and the pink minivan. Naminé shrugged her shoulders and licked the tire.
"Uh, Naminé, that's gross," Olette called from the doorway. "At least pretend to act lady like."
Naminé smirked. "Never," she replied defiantly. She turned towards the minivan but stopped before she opened the door. Under the windshield wiper was a single white envelope. She picked it up and saw her name was written on the front of the letter. The handwriting was almost unmistakable.
"Sora…" Naminé whispered. She tore open the letter.
Riku and the others looked at Naminé for a moment as she read through the letter. Tears were streaming down her face as she read, leaving the others confused about what was happening. Riku was the first to react when Naminé finally put down the letter. He ran over to her and grabbed the letter from her hands.
"What does it say?" Hayner asked, quietly watching Naminé cry uncontrollably.
Riku shrugged and started to read the letter aloud. "Dear Naminé, I know you're probably with everyone else, but I have something to tell you. Please don't think that this decision was in any way shape or form your fault. It was mine. I knew that I was just prolonging the inevitable when I became friends with you. Don't get me wrong, it was a blast, but I could never let go like you could. You are so much stronger than I am. Everyone else, because I know you're reading this too, you all have been such good friends. I love each of you, but I miss him. I miss him so bad that you can't possibly imagine. By the time you've read this, I will be long gone. Please don't be sad. I'll finally be there, in his arms. Love, Sora."
"He's going to kill himself," Hayner said, breaking the silence.
Naminé wiped her tears off on her sleeve. "I know where he is."
They all nodded and jumped into the minivan. "Turn left on Rose Street. He's at the cemetery," Naminé yelled to Kairi who was speeding to beat the band. Luckily no one was on the road at eleven in the evening. The cemetery came into view two seconds later and everyone piled out of the car and ran through the already opened cemetery doors. They saw the footprints in the snow and followed them to the forest, where they knew he would be.
Kairi was the first to see him. There was blood everywhere. It stained the white snow red and everyone was crying. Naminé was on her knees holding onto Olette, who was weeping uncontrollably. Hayner and Pence looked in horror at the remains of their best friend. Tears were falling from their faces too.
Riku stood off to the side, looking at the body of the boy he had come to love like a brother. He cried too, but he couldn't let the others see. He had to be strong for them. He wasn't strong for Sora, but he could be strong for them. He walked over to Naminé and Olette and picked them up from the ground and gave them his shoulders for support.
"What can we do now Riku?" Naminé whispered. "What can we do?"
Riku grimaced at the tone. "We can't do anything now. He's where he wanted to be. He's with Roxas again."
Author's note: Thanks for reading. Please do me a favor and leave a nice little review. I would really appreciate it. Like not even kidding. (BTW's I'm sorry if the ending was a little rushed. I lost excitement after awhile.) THANKS FOR READING!