Summer Blues

Chapter One: High Compartment

It was the sunlight glaring at my closed lids that woke me up. I blinked, trying to focus, and noted the slight stiffness of my body, as if it had been in a somewhat uncomfortable position for a period of time. I yawned, blinking, trying to gather my thoughts. The sun was still glaring.

I stretched my arm and pulled down the shutter that closed the small oval window, and I realized where I was. Up in the air, in an airplane. Licking dry lips, I rolled my shoulders, feeling the tension in them starting to fade, just as a voice rang through the aircraft.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We will be landing shortly at Radiant Garden. Please fasten your seatbelts and inform the staff for any discomfort. Thank you for flying with us."

Again, I yawned, then reached down to buckle my seatbelt in place before sitting back and letting my eyes close again. My thoughts drifted to the reason why I was on a plane again, and I smiled, feeling excitement. My pen pal of two years, Kairi Koichiru, and I had finally decided that we were going to meet up. My parents had allowed it, since she'd invited me for the duration of summer vacation, and I was hyped about our meeting. I was finally meeting my friend. Over the course of two years, we'd gone close through letters, emails, and greeting cards, and it was so nice to finally be able to see the face behind the words up close and personal.

Absently, I tugged at my hair, the way I did when I was thoughtful, and strained to hear the sound of the wheels touching solid ground. Obviously, the engines were too noisy for that, so I gave up and waited for the captain's voice to be heard.

I didn't have to wait long; soon enough, the captain was giving instructions about getting bags from the overhead compartments and whatnot, and I tuned him out after the first word, already familiar with the procedure.

I proceeded to try to reach up to the compartment, only to find that I was too short. I huffed in annoyance, setting myself back down. Earlier a steward had been kind enough to help me with my bag, but unfortunately, no one was within asking range. Of all the rotten luck. I looked up at the compartment, willing my bag to fall out so I could catch it (which was totally pointless).

"You won't get your bag by just staring at it, you know," said a voice to my right, amused. I shifted my position to look up at him and exhaled a puff of air. He was half a head taller than me, with blond spikes curiously slanted in one direction. More importantly, though, he had height enough to reach that compartment.

"Well, you could help me…" I told him, smiling ruefully.

He laughed, and it was a sweet sound, quite pleasing to hear. Wait, why am I noticing this? Get a grip, Nami, I chided myself, scoffing in my mind.

"I could," he agreed. He seemed to ponder that for a moment. I waited with a tilted head, and he seemed even more amused by my silence. Then he shrugged and said. "Well, it wouldn't hurt."

He set his own duffel bag down on my seat and reached up the compartment to grab my carry-all, a big white beach bag that I had painted myself. He handed it to me, then hefted his own bag onto his shoulder, grinning at me.

"Thank you," was all I could think to say, blinking once or twice at the surprising blue of his eyes, as blue as the deep ocean. Wow. If I wasn't careful, I'd start crushing on a random stranger. The thought made me chuckle quietly, and he looked at me inquiringly.

"What's so funny?" he asked amiably. I mean, I barely knew him.

"It's nothing. We should probably get out now." I motioned around, and he seemed to notice that we were one of the last few on the plane. He laughed.

"Right."

LINE BREAK

"So, what's your name?" he asked, once we had gotten off the aircraft, choosing to follow me to the baggage claim, seemingly intending to get his own luggage.

I looked at him like he was crazy. Why ask a random girl her name? I bit my lip, then mentally shrugged it off. It wasn't like he was a creepy stalker or something, right? …Right? Oh, whatever. "Naminé. And yours?"

"I'm Roxas."

Roxas. I tested it out in my mind, and found that the sound of it was as amusing as his laugh. I wanted to kick myself. Thankfully I was saved from this with the arrival of my own cream-colored luggage bags, and I turned to Roxas, ready to leave. "My bags are over there." I gestured to my luggage. I smiled up at him. "It was nice to meet you, Roxas. Thanks again."

"Sure," he replied easily. "See you around, Naminé."

I shouldered my bag and turned away, partly because of my excitement at being finally here to meet Kairi, and partly to hide the slight blush dusting my cheeks at the sound of my name being spoken by him. Which was irrational, I reasoned, since I'd just met him. I hurried over to claim my baggage, and started to walk to the exit to see if Kairi was already there.

She was not, so I killed some time by pulling out my sketchpad and plopping down on a bench near the exit. I took a look around, glancing at people, wondering what to draw. I loved working on strangers. It was so fulfilling to capture someone's current preoccupation, especially if you didn't know them at all. You'd be able to look at them with a critical eye, and this habit also allowed me the unusual pleasure of trying to figure people out. It was an amusing quirk that made me quite happy.

Unfortunately, right now, I couldn't find anyone interesting enough to draw; not that man in a business suit at Cinnabon, typing madly away at his laptop (overworked excecutive, I guess); or that little girl tugging insistently on a woman's skirt, pointing to a rack of lollipops and candies, looking pleading (well, now, that's quite obvious, I chuckled); not even the lady in the beige overcoat, who, despite the apparent heat, didn't mind drawing her coat further closed as if it were chilly (maybe she's ill?). No, none of these people intrigued me like they usually would've done. A different face was in my mind.

Quickly I set to work, drawing the contours of his face, frustrated when I couldn't get his hair right. I eventually figured out it would be best if I did a fast upward stroke, which seemed to work quite well, and I had just started on adding shadows and shading when a voice broke my reverie. I looked up.

"Naminé!" It was a girl with vibrant red hair, waving at me frantically, and I paused my drawing when the realization dawned on me. It was Kairi. It was Kairi!

She stopped in front of me, catching her breath. "Kairi!" I cried, happy to see her.

"Hey, Nam!" She grinned, her bright blue eyes flashing. In retrospect, I guess that to other people, we looked very much alike, enough to pass as sisters even. I laughed at this, and reached forward to hug her on instinct. She laughed along and hugged me back, apologizing in my ear profusely.

"Sorry, woke up late, dragged my brother here…"

I pulled back and snapped my sketchbook shut, shoving it into my bag, and stood up. "Kai, it's okay, really. I wasn't very bothered, don't worry."

"You sure?"

"Positive." I smiled again. "Now let's get out of here?"

"Thought you'd never ask." She grinned again, took hold of both my luggage bags and rolled them toward the exit, motioning for me to follow. I laughed once, and moved to follow her. I can just tell I'm going to enjoy my stay.

A/N: And there it is! The metaphorical bomb has been dropped. I got this idea out of random, but I'd just bore you if I told you all about it. Heehee. Forgive me if they're OOC (and if they are, you're welcome to include that in a review)! I hoped you enjoyed reading that first bit as much as I enjoyed writing it. XD

Thank you so much! Reviews are much appreciated, but please, please, no flames. ._." Over and out!

-Hikari