DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I do not own the Kingdom Hearts series. Trust me, if I did, a lot of those "close friendships" would be a LOT more that simply "friendship." I also don't own any song, book, movie, or game that I may mention (in the title of the chapter or in the story) unless I specify that I do. Which means that I don't own the song "My Immortal." That belongs to the wonderful Evanescence.
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FLASHBACK (^*^)"Don't forget about me, OK?" I asked.
He just laughed his beautiful laugh and said, "How could I ever forget about you, Roxy? You're my best friend. I'll call you every day and complain about how much life on the road sucks."
I laughed at his statement. He climbed into the van with all of his things and the rest of the band and began to shut the door. Demyx had already started driving when Axel shouted something back to me, but I couldn't hear him.
That was about three years ago. Axel had just graduated and his band, Castle NeverWas, had just gotten signed. They had recorded a CD while they were still in school, but their label called them off on a tour soon after. Yeah, he called me every now and then, but he didn't keep his promise.
He forgot about me.
To everyone else, my life was perfect; the perfect girlfriend, perfect family, perfect apartment, and full ride scholarship to Twilight University. I was a journalism major and Naminé was an English major. We were in nearly every class together.
To my brother, my life sucked.
"Why are you even with her?" Sora asked me one day while we were out.
"Well," I began, "she's smart, and nice, and-"
"I know all that boring stuff. I mean, why are you with her at all? We all know you don't love her," he countered.
"And this 'we' consists of…" I asked.
"Riku and me, of course!" he exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. His opinion matters, yes, but Riku and I still don't see eye to eye. Maybe I pranked him one too many times after he started dating Sora…
"Naminé is, well, I guess safe would be the word," I replied sheepishly. Sora gave me a look that screamed IDIOT!
Well, it was sad, but true.
"Roxas, honey, you might want to go get some food soon. Your kitchen's empty," Naminé said, leaning around the doorframe. Apparently she had tried to surprise me with dinner for two, but in my apartment, ramen, Hot Pockets, and LeanCusine were the three main food groups.
"Thanks for the memo, Nami. I'll go tomorrow," I said just to appease her. I had tons of my usual microwave feasts, so I had no real reason to go. She just wanted to complain because she's used to having catered meals by the world's top chefs. Her dad was an editor at a high-end book company, so she had the world on a string.
"So, there's this great band that's coming to town soon. You'd love them," Naminé continued. "I think we should go to their concert. Daddy can get us front row seats."
"Sure, sounds great," I replied. Maybe Sora had a point. Why was I with Naminé?
"Yay! I so get to dress you for the concert, though. You don't exactly have their style," she added.
I continued to simply agree with whatever she said. I was too lost in my own thoughts to care.
Turns out that would bite me in the butt later.
The day of the show arrived, and Naminé came over early to make me her human play toy. She left my hair in its normal spiky state, but surprised me when she raided my closet.
"Who knew you ever had clothes like this!" she exclaimed, pulling out a pair of fitted, shredded, black jeans that I hadn't worn in months.
Two hours later, I was locking my house and getting weird looks from my neighbors. Yeah, I did change my style when I went to college, but it's not like they haven't seen a teenager dressed in black before. It was just a tee, jeans, and skater shoes. No big deal.
We climbed into Naminé's car, and, for once, I got to drive. Everyone wants to drive her car at least once. I mean, who wouldn't? It was a freaking Aston Martin Vanquish: a sleek, black coupe with V12 engine, 0-62 in 4.4 seconds, and a top speed of 196 mph. It was the Bond car from Die Another Day and the keys were in my hands. That had to be a sign that that night was going to be great.
Naminé gave me directions to the venue, which happened to be the old Bastion Theatre in downtown Radiant Garden. This band had to be good: only the best played at the Bastion.
As soon as we walked inside, I began to really get psyched. I hadn't been to the Bastion in three years. It brought back so many memories, but I shoved them back. No need to wish for the impossible, right?
"So, gonna tell me who's on tonight yet?" I asked. Naminé just shook her head and lead me to our seats: front row center; the best in the house, if you're one of those "right there with the band" people.
"You'll see soon enough. It's going to start soon anyways. Besides, it's a band that used to be somewhat local," she replied. That told me nothing. Tons of bands popped up from the Radiant Garden area, and quite a few of them got signed.
I glanced around the stage and noticed something familiar sitting there. Axel's guitar, the one he spent an entire summer building out of bits and pieces he special ordered, was staring at me. I know instruments don't really stare, but it felt like it did. I didn't know if I wanted to stay anymore. I hadn't seen Axel in three years and we'd lost all contact. The way Naminé had dressed me, he'd recognize me instantly.
"Why didn't you tell me Castle NeverWas was the headliner?" I exclaimed.
"I wanted to surprise you," she said. She opened her mouth as if to continue, but she was cut off when the lights dimmed and the crowd roared.
"What's up Bastion? Been a while, hasn't it?" Demyx called out in his perpetually cheerful voice. It was now or never. Stay and listen to what was going to be a great show or run from the chance to see my best friend that washed his hands of me three years ago. I looked around me and realized that there were too many people blocking my path for me to get away.
Naminé looked ecstatic. I, on the other hand, probably had the same look on my face a deer does in the split second before the rushing headlights turn into a full-fledged car crash.
Yeah, I was making a big deal out of it all, but hey, I was still pretty pissed at Axel. He made all these stupid promises before he left, and he never once made good on them.
By the time I had finished my bitchy internal monologue, the band had already started their show. They had started with some of their older stuff: some of the songs that made me remember the days I had spent with Axel at their practices, laughing and generally having a good time. The rest of the crowd was singing along and dancing like teenage idiots. I was the one standing there wishing I wasn't.
Just when I saw my escape route, he looked at me. I can't say that Axel knew for sure that it was me, but considering I looked exactly like I did in high school, it would've been hard not to recognize me. His green eyes stared a hole through me, and all I could think about was getting as far away as possible.
"Naminé!" I shouted over the blaring music, "I can't stay here. I'm sorry. I'll call you later, OK?" I knew full well that she hadn't heard me (hence the confused look on her face), but I continued to push my way through the crowd. Once I made it to the back of the theatre, I ran for the door, and then found the nearest taxi.
"You're moping again," Sora said. I was, once again, laying on the couch in my apartment and making good use of the huge TV and surround sound system my brother had conned me into buying.
"Am not," I countered lamely as I flipped channels. So I was being a lazy bum in my own home. Sue me.
"Are too," he replied and he had a valid point. I was still in the same pajamas that I had worn for the last week, and I had been too lazy to even make a microwave meal, opting for take-out instead.
"It's Axel, isn't it?" he asked. My only response was to look away from the on-screen TV guide and glare at my brother.
"Yeah, well, how would you feel if your best friend left you for three years, then didn't even bother telling you he's gonna be in town? Not to mention I've been with Naminé for an eternity and she still doesn't know anything about me. What kind of girlfriend doesn't take the time to get to know the guy she's dating?" I replied lazily.
"The same one who's been calling you every hour since you walked out of the concert," Sora sighed as the phone rang, yet again. I grabbed it and answered just to get some peace.
"Nam, you don't have to keep checking up on me, you know," I said.
"Well, I dunno who this 'Nam' is, but man, answer your phone once in a while!" said the voice on the other end.
He was calling me? Axel was effing calling me?
I did the only logical thing that came to mind: quickly hang up the phone. What else was I supposed to do? I then promptly dropped it as if the phone were a spider. I hate spiders.
"I'm assuming that wasn't Naminé?" Sora said. It was more a statement than a question.
"Whatever possessed him to call me?" I hissed. I still wasn't too pleased with Axel, but something was telling me to forgive him. For three years, I pretended that I hated Castle NeverWas. Everyone that had known me in high school thought it was weird that I completely changed when I got to college.
If only they knew the full story.
Author's Note: Ok, so this is technically my second story on here. My first, Chase the Morning, just wasn't going anywhere. I was too lazy to write down my ideas, so the storyline just imploded. Anywho, I will try to keep this one going!
Reviews are the fuel to my passionate writing fire! Please send them!
Much love,
Ryley