She sat there, her hands clamped together out of pure nerves. She sat in the stuffy living room with her mother and her mother's friends. It was two days before Christmas, and yet Alexandra was stuck here with her mom at this stupid party her mom threw every year in celebration of the upcoming holiday. And, to make matters worse, she was forced to wear a frilly pink and white dress and black high heals, including her hair being in a elegant bun. She would have preferred to be at her friend Connor's house in her usual T-shirt with her faded and ripped jeans, hanging around and listening to music, but that obviously wasn't going to happen, and she had to deal with it. She hated being stuck in this stuffy room with a bunch of 30-year-old women and their absolutely annoying and preppy 13-year-old daughters. She was 13, too, but didn't like these girls in the least. They didn't mind sitting here in their cute little dresses and heals, chattering away about school, fashion, and her all time most hated subject, boys. Alexandra, or Alex to almost everyone, was a bit of a tomboy, not going so far as to be really tough and rude or even like sports all that well, just to the point that she didn't like boys, fashion, makeup, or any other girly stuff most girls her age liked. She was into sitting around with her best friends, Connor and Jamira, and playing video games and watching anime, among other things. Unfortunately, her family was semi-rich, and so was all her mother's friends, so all the girls here tonight were all overly polite, stuffy teenage brats who had never been turned down for anything in their lives.

Alex sighed heavily and quickly glanced toward the clock in the corner of the room. It was only 7:15, which meant she still had another hour and forty-five minutes of what was in her opinion pure hell. She then looked to the left of her to all the other girls, about 10 of them, all chattering away in small groups. Alex was surprised when someone tapped lightly on her shoulder. She looked over to see what they wanted.

"My, don't you look pretty tonight, Alexandra?" said one of her mother's friends, lightly grabbing hold of her cheek. Alex managed a weak smile, although as soon as the lady backed off, Alex scowled deeply, feeling a definite hate for that kind of attention. Small strands of blonde hair fell against her face as the bun came a small ways undone. Suddenly, one of the girls sitting beside her spoke to Alex, making her jump a little.

"So, do you have a boy friend yet, Alexandra?" she said, flipping her short red hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah, like that'll happen," Alex said, knowing full well that she was being a little rude, although it was none of this girl's business to pry.

"Oh, I see," the girl sitting on the other side of her said. "You're some sort of tomboy, right?"

Alex's patients was almost at an end, when she was suddenly saved by someone pulling her hair behind her… well, it was better than the current conversation, anyway, thought Alex. She looked back to see a child with curly locks of jet black hair and dark blue eyes, looking purely terrified with her eyes focused of the floor, a few strands of blonde hair held in her small hands. Alex recognized this girl as Sara, the shy and meek 8-year-old daughter of her mother's best friend, Melissa. Even though Alex usually hated small children, she had always had a soft spot for this scared looking little girl.

"Yeah, kid?" Alex said, standing up off the sofa and bring herself level with Sara.

"Sissy, I don't know anyone here. I don't like being alone," Sara said quietly. Sara had always considered Alex as an older sister to her, so she started calling her sister, to which Alex didn't really protest. Alex had secretly always wanted a little sister anyways.

"It'll be fine, Sara. I'm sure you can find someone to play with," Alex said, smiling kindly. "What about Alaysia?" She pointed towards another child with long brown hair and brown eyes.

"But sissy, what if she doesn't like me?" Sara said, her small frail hands shaking. Sara was just now old enough to come to one of these parties, and didn't really know anyone there, including half of the adults.

"I'm sure you two will get along," Alex said, trying to convince her to go make a new friend, something in which Sara was none too good at.

"Well…" she said nervously, although Alex knew that she had gained Sara's trust. "I guess."

"Good for you!" Alex said encouragingly. Alex smiled for pretty much the first time that evening, watching Sara wander off.

"Now, back to the nightmare of all nightmares…" Alex thought, standing up just to take her seat again on the sofa. The girls were having a discussion about what seemed to be some romantic legend. Alex was bored and decided to listen in on their conversation.

"…So, I heard that if a guy gives you one, you'll wish will really come true!" a girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes said excitedly.

"Wow, really? How romantic!" one girl squealed happily. "I wish my boyfriend would do that!"

"What on earth are you two talking about…?" Alex said, her curiosity taking over.

"I heard that if a guy gives you a special colored pearl and you make a wish on it, it will really come true!" the red-head beside her said.

"Oh, really?" Alex said, obviously bored. She had never believed in these ridiculous legends, believing they were probably made up by some hopeless romantic, or something stupid like that.

"Yes, really! I think it's true, and I would just love a new outfit!" one girl with long orange-red hair said.

"Heh, that's so like them," thought Alex, sighing while frowning. "They're always so selfish. I've got to get outta here."

Alex decided that maybe, with enough luck, she could sneak out of the room without anyone noticing her. She slowly stood up and slipped off her high heals, so as not to make noise on the hard floor. She slowly walked, trying not to be noticed that she was going towards the door. She thought she was in the clear, so she turned around, only to be face-to-face with a boy with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Oh, sorry…" Alex said, looking towards the floor to hide the blush that had slowly formed on her cheeks.

"That's alright," he said, also looking away. "Where are you in such a hurry to?"

"No where," Alex said quickly.

"Oh, really? I was just going outside for a while. You wanna come?" he said, holding out a hand for her to take if she wanted to.

"Um… sure," she said, grabbing the boys hand, but only to be polite, so she told herself.

They stepped outside into the cold winter air around them, as Alex shivered slightly from the soft breeze blowing. She had forgotten to take her coat outside, and her ridiculous pink short sleeved dress looked completely out of place.

"Hey, do you mind if I go inside for a minute?" she said, already halfway back to her front door.

"No, not really. It is your house," he said, smirking. "Oh, and your name is Alex, right?"

"Oh, yeah," she said, turning around hastily. "And you?"

"Roxas," he said, smiling.

"'Kay," Alex said, smiling as she closed the door. She quickly ran past the living room and up the stairs to her bedroom. She quickly took off the annoying frilly pink dress and slipped on a shirt and her favorite pair of jeans, her ones that had small rhinestones on the pockets… ok, so she wasn't a complete tomboy, she did like things like rhinestones, glitter (to some extent), and even an occasional bow in her hair, if she was in a what she called "girly" mood. She slipped on her sweatshirt, one that was gray with dark blue around the edges and had a high collar… it was actually made for a guy, but it was loose and comfortable, so she didn't care. She also, for reasons she didn't feel like explaining to herself, pulled on a small choker necklace with butterflies hanging off it. She ran back downstairs, all in about a time period of 5 minutes. She didn't like taking a long time to do things like that.

She walked out the door, only to find Roxas pacing around, obviously growing a little impatient. Alex giggled slightly, alerting Roxas of her return. She stood there, her hair down so that it was blowing with the breeze. Roxas stared at her for a few seconds, before he shook his head in an attempt to clear it.

"So, what do you wanna do now that we're out of there?" Roxas said, looking around.

"We could go for a walk, or something," Alex said, since that seemed to be the only thing to really do, well, that or go back to the party.

"Ok," Roxas said, grabbing her hand and half dragging her to the sidewalk. Alex was dumbstruck; she had never had a boy hold her hand before…

"Wait, wait, wait! Why am I getting so nervous?! I don't like boys like that!" she thought frantically. "Roxas is my friend. Nothing more."

"Alex, are you ok?" Roxas said, worrying about her extended silence.

"Oh…um, y-yes, I-I'm fine," Alex said, her blush coming back to take over her face again. She just hoped that he would mistake it for the winter chill.

"So, um… how old are you?" Roxas asked , trying to start a conversation between the two.

"13. And you?"

"I'm 14."

"Oh, alright."

It wasn't a very eventful conversation; he had to find some way to make her say something. He didn't know why he felt that strange need, but it was there, so he tried again to strike a conversation again, a little more successful this time.

"So, what's your family like?" he said, looking over at her bright red face, figuring it was the wind, which had grown a little harsher since they had come outside.

"Oh, it's alright. It's just me and my mom," said Alex, although she was a little quiet. "What about you?"

"It's mainly me, my parents, my little sister Namine, and my twin brother, Sora," Roxas said, casually looking around. Secretly, though, he was worried about how she had grown quiet when she said about her family. He decided to interrogate further.

"So, what about your dad? Where's he?" Roxas asked, hoping he didn't ask something too personal.

She was silent for a minute before she finally spoke again. "I… don't really know," she said sadly. "He left my mother as soon as I was born."

"Why?" Roxas said, finally figuring something out about her.

"I… I think… it was because of me," Alex said, a tear swelling up in her eye, but she pushed it back. "My mother told me that when she had me, my father said he didn't want me, and left."

"I…" Roxas said. He didn't know what to say to her; he had always had a happy home, a good family, and yet this girl's life seemed so full of sorrow. He wanted to do something for her, but he didn't know what. After a few minutes of silence, he finally asked something that was on his mind for a while now.

"So… do you ever blame it on yourself…?"

"Sometimes," she said, looking away again, her bright blue-green eyes staring towards the cloudy night sky. "I don't know why he would've left. I almost feel as though if I wasn't ever there, he would never had left…"

"But it's not your fault! How could it be?" Roxas said, placing his hands on her small shoulders.

"I… I don't know what to think anymore, Roxas…" Alex said, her eyes now focused on the ground. They had stopped walking. She tried to push the tears back, but one escaped, then another, and then a few more, until she couldn't stop herself anymore. She buried her face in her small hands, lifting her blue-framed glasses over her eyes. Roxas pulled her over to him and held her against him. Her head rested on his chest, still crying, although since Roxas held her, her crying slowed down a little. Roxas heard muffled sobs from the distressed teen. He held her head with one hand, the other wrapped around her waist. His chin rested atop her soft blonde hair. Both her hands were wrapped around him in a tight hug.

When her sobs slowed and she finally stopped altogether, she pulled away from Roxas. She was very independent. She hated having to except help from others, let alone let them see her in such a weak state. She looked a little sour, but it wasn't towards Roxas; she was upset with herself. She was mad that she allowed herself to break down in such a ridiculous manor.

"Alex… are you mad at me?" Roxas said, looking at her with concern etched in his handsome features.

"N-no, Roxas, I'm not mad at you, don't worry," Alex said, just barely managing a weak smile. Roxas was able to immediately see through her. He could tell she was sincere when she said she wasn't mad at him, but she was obviously upset with herself, and he hated it.

"Alex, it's alright. Stop blaming yourself for all this. You're only making yourself unhappy… well, you and me."

Alex looked over at Roxas when he said that.

"Did he say that he cared about me…?" she thought. "Do I maybe… do I like him as more than a friend… no way, that can't be! He's a nice guy, but I don't want to like guys like that yet… I'm not ready to be in love…" with this last part, she sighed aloud. Roxas noticed she didn't look angry anymore; more like she was confused and upset.

"Alexandra, whatever it is that's bothering you, I want to help you. You can talk to me, you know?" Roxas said, trying to comfort her. Alex just looked away. It was silent for a minute before she spoke up.

"Roxas… I'm sorry, but I need to go home and think about some stuff. I don't mean to be rude but… there's too much going on right now," she said quietly. "I promise I'll talk to you, as soon as I have this figured out myself." With that, she took off down the street. She was about 5 blocks from her house, and she ran the rest of the way home, leaving Roxas looking with a mixture of confusion and sadness.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I can't do this…" she thought, running as fast as she could.

She quickly ran inside her front door and quickly ran up to her room, avoiding the living room as so to avoid an interrogation from her mother as to where she had been for the past 30 minutes. She flopped onto her bed gratefully. She didn't realize until now how tired she was. Then again, she had just ran 5 blocks. She kicked her old sneakers off and put her face onto her pillow. She closed her eyes softly. She remembered the feeling she got when Roxas held her; the way her heart beat so quickly, how she felt so calm and happy, yet so nervous and jumpy, how she felt she wanted to just stay there forever. Her eyes snapped open. She looked at the clock. It was 8:00 now. She would hopefully be able to avoid her mother's questioning. She closed her eyes again, except this time, she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Alex felt someone tapping her shoulders lightly. Her eyes fluttered open. She looked around; it wasn't morning, her windows were open and it was still dark out. She looked over to see that it was her mother tapping her.

"Alex, since when have you been up here? I was looking for you after the party," said her mother, a woman with long blonde hair and soft hazel eyes. Good, she didn't know she had gone out when she wasn't supposed to.

"I, um, got tired and decided to come up here to sleep for a while," Alex said. It was technically the truth, she just left out the part about her sneaking out.

"Oh, alright then, dear," her mother said kindly. "Oh, someone left something for you, Alex. His name was Roxas, I believe."

"Roxas?! Did you say Roxas?!" Alex nearly yelled, falling off the side of her bed.

"Oh, do you know him?" her mother said smiling. "He asked me where you were. I told him I didn't know, and he told me to give this to you." Her mother held out a small, messily wrapped package.

"Um, thanks, mom. Now, do you mind? I want to go back to sleep," Alex said, although she didn't say it in a 'you're annoying me' kind of way; more like a 'I need to be alone for a while' tone.

"Of course, dear," her mother said, quickly giving her a hug before leaving.

Alex didn't really have any intention of going back to sleep; she just wanted to be alone when she opened it. She carefully unwrapped it to find a small necklace with a note wrapped around it:

Alexandra,

I don't really understand why you ran away earlier this evening. I just hope I didn't do something to upset you; I wouldn't want to hurt you, no matter what. I just want to know you're alright. You're a really nice girl, and you're really sweet, too. I don't know if I can do anything to help you except to be there when you need me. And I promise I'll do just that. Your mom invited my family to come over for Christmas, so I'll see you then.

Roxas

She could tell it was written quickly, but she also knew he meant every word. The necklace wrapped inside slid out onto her bed. She quickly grabbed it and examined it. I had a shiny silver chain and a beautiful pearl, encased in what looked like a heart-shaped case with little bars on the side so that the pearl within could still be seen.

"Roxas…" she said quietly, slipping on the necklace and closing the clasp. "…Thank you."

She remembered the legend she had heard the girls talking about downstairs.

"No way… it couldn't be true," she thought casually, but her interest got the better of her. She clasped the pearl tightly in her hands and closed her eyes.

"I wish…"

It was a 3 days later; Christmas Day.

Alexandra stood on the threshold of her front door, wearing a bright green and red dress with two bows tied in her hair, one red, the other white, and a pair of silver open-toed high heals. Her mother stood beside her, ready to greet her guest, which were supposed to be arriving any minute. It was to be a small gathering of her mother's closest friends, and of course, their families.

First was Melissa, her mother's best friend, along with Sara, wearing a small light blue dress and a blue bow, and Melissa's husband, Joey.

Next was a woman with bright silver hair and brown eyes, accompanied by her daughter, a red haired girl who Alex had seen at the party.

The last group was the one she was waiting for; Roxas's family. First, there was a woman with light brown hair and light blue eyes. She wore a bright pink dress and a pink bow to match. There was her husband, who had spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. Then there was a boy who looked about Roxas's age with spiky brown hair and also had blue eyes, like everyone else in the family. There was one more girl, with long blonde hair, wearing a simple white dress and, strangely enough, white sandals. Then there was Roxas, with his usual spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes, although he was the only one who wasn't dressed up for the occasion. He just wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Alex wished she were that lucky.

"Ah, Aereth, Cloud, how lovely it is to see you! And this must be Namine and Sora," her mother said happily. Roxas looked over at Alex and smiled. Alex returned his smile. Everyone went inside the living room to talk and greet each other; everyone except for two people, who stepped outside and started to walk down the sidewalk.

"So, how's it going?" Roxas said happily, noticing the smile she wore on her face.

"Oh, alright. How about you, Roxas?" Alex said casually.

"Fine. So, um, are you, um, feeling better?" Roxas said cautiously. He didn't want to make her upset again, but he wanted to know. He needed to make sure she was really ok now.

She took a minute to answer him. "Yes, I'm alright now," she said, smiling; only this time, it was a real one, not just one to hide bitter emotions. Roxas smiled kindly at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"So, what had you so down?" Roxas said.

"I… I was debating something in my own mind, I guess…" she said, a little quiet.

"Like what?" Roxas asked, stepping in front of her. Alex's face flushed completely; what would happen if she just told him…

"I… I had to know for myself… if I…if…I really… well…" her face was now turning red, and her started stuttering. She finally decided to just say it. "I had to figure out if I thought of you as more than a friend, Roxas…"

Now it was Roxas's turn to blush. Until he finally said something to her. Something that had been on his mind for days.

"Well… do you?"

"I…I…" she said, her heart racing. Roxas leaned in closer to her, resulting in her face turning an even deeper shade of red. His face was only an inch or so away from hers.

"Roxas, I…" she started, but was immediately cut off when she felt his lips lock with hers.

Her eyes were wide with shock, but she slowly leaned into the sudden kiss. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut as she wrapped her hands around his neck, his around her waist.

"Roxas, I love you, too," she murmured into his lips. She tried to break it, but he leaned into her, not ready to take his lips off hers yet. She accidentally fell over, although even that didn't break their kiss. Roxas was lying on top of her, still locked in their kiss. Secretly, Alexandra didn't mind at all. She no longer struggled to break free.

Finally, Roxas took his lips off of hers.

"Roxas, I love you. I know that now more than ever," Alex said, a soft smile on her face.

"I love you, too, Alexandra." Roxas said, giving her the same warm smile. Roxas got off top of her and held out a hand to help her up. They noticed when they stood up that it had started to snow. A few snowflakes clung to Alex's eyelashes, and there were some in Roxas's hair. Alex moved closer to Roxas. He pulled her to him, stroking her hair while keeping her warm.

They pulled apart and started back to Alex's home at last. They silently walked side-by-side, holding hands the whole way. Then, they finally stood outside the large house. Alex giggled and ran towards the house.

"Hehe, try and catch me!" she yelled, leaning over and playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

Roxas ran after her happily. When he caught up with her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. She could feel his hot breath on her ear.

"Merry Christmas, Alexandra."

Alex smiled and turned to him. "Yeah, you too, Roxas."

They both smiled and walked inside together, when Roxas said one more thing.

"So, what did you wish for?" She knew he was referring to the pearl she wore around her neck.

"I'm not telling, it's a secret!" Alex said happily. Roxas smiled at her and nodded. She didn't need to tell him anyways; it had already come true.

"Hehe, I'm glad my wish came true, Roxas. I'm so glad you love me, too," she thought happily, wrapping her arm around Roxas's waist like he was her.