First off, I'd like to say: Hi there, reader! Thank you for stumbling across this fic!

Ahem... Now then... I wrote this story for several reasons, (one because I happen to like (coughlovecough) the Roxas and Xion pairing), the main reason being that I've actually struggled with suicidal tendencies in the past. I wanted to write this to show how bullying does have an affect people, but more importantly to show that no matter who you are or what anyone tells you, your life is worth living.

The story is AU, so naturally they're personalities might be off. And excuse any grammar errors: Notepad doesn't have an correction feature and no matter how many times I edit everything, there are some things that just get by.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but if I did there would be a lot more Xion!

A Life Like Mine

Roxas clutched the piece of paper tightly between his fingers, scanning his eyes across the smal, thin sheet again and again. One line, three words - that was all that was written on the sheet but it was enough to mystify the blond-haired teen and send shivers up his spine.

Thank you, Roxas.

Roxas had found the note, if he could even call it that, folded neatly and placed in his locker. No signature, or any indication as to who wrote it, was included. As far as he knew, there were only two people in the school who knew his locker combination. Axel wasn't one for notes - the redhead would never leave something like this in Roxas' locker. No, this was more fitting of his other best friend who, as fate would have it, Roxas hadn't seen at all this morning.

Xion.

Roxas knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Xion had left this in his locker. And that scared him. Xion was a quiet girl who he had known since he was in grade school - first grade, to be exact. Scared and alone on her first day, Roxas was able to comfort her and ease her worries. "There's no better way to comfort someone than with Animal Crackers," Roxas would joke whenever the two relived that fateful day.

Xion had no trouble opening up to Axel and himself, but everyone else used her quietness as a way to bully the poor girl. Oftentimes, Xion would be on the receiving end of many cruel jokes and pranks by other teens, simply because she dressed darker or because of her extreme shyness. The bullies at their high school tormented her on numerous ocassions and would use whatever excuse they could to justify their actions.

"She needs to stop being such a freak!"

"Who cares about that loser? If she has a problem she should say something herself!"

Those people sickened Roxas to no end. After such torment, he would find the raven-haired girl crying alone on the same exact bench by the park after school (it was almost like her only little safe haven). Roxas would always wrap his arms around the girl, soothing her by telling her that "Everything is going to be okay," and "I'm here. They can't hurt you now."

Axel was there to help her as well. He would always deliver his own "special brand" of justice on Xion's tormentors, which usually involved the redhead beating them to a pulp. Roxas didn't know if what Axel was doing was right either, but he wasn't going to stick his neck out for the people who hurt his friend so badly. And of course, Xion's parents, as well as Roxas' own mother, would always try their best to help the girl as well, but nothing seemed to work.

Thank you, Roxas.

Roxas stood glued to that spot by his locker, simply staring at the note his friend had left for him. He had a terribly bad feeling in his stomach about what this might imply. All he knew was that he had to find her - fast. Not bothering to apologize to Axel, who he had rudely bumped into, Roxas ran as fast as was physically for him out of the school.

"Dammit, where would she be? There's no way she's going to be home," he thought aloud. With no other leads, Roxas ran to the only place he could think Xion would be and prayed that he wasn't too late.

Xion sat on the bench alone, bottle of her father's prescription pills in hand. Fitting, she thought. She was alone from the beggining and now she was going to die alone.

No, she corrected herself. She wasn't entirely alone. Her parents were always there for her, and they were the best parents anyone could ask for. They always supported her and helped her as much as they could. Axel was always there for as well, and she would never forget him. He was like the older brother she never had, "Or never wanted," Roxas would add jokingly.

Roxas.

Xion began to sob quietly. "No," she reprimanded herself, "I promised I wouldn't think about him. Not now."

Roxas was the most important person in her life. No matter what the situation, he was there for her in a heartbeat - always comforting her, making her laugh, brightening her day, and simply just being Roxas. Those moments where she felt worthless, where she convinced herself that she was lower than trash, Roxas was there to show her that she was more than that.

Truth be told, Xion loved Roxas but didn't have the heart to tell him.

"And now I never will," she added depressingly.

A simple note, a little sheet of paper, was all Xion left her best friend, the boy she loved. Even in her final words to him she couldn't tell him, so she hoped that a simple "Thank you" would be enough.

Tears started to roll down the girl's pale face. This is it, she thought. There's no going back. With shaking hands, Xion opened the container.

Just as she was preparing to down the whole bottle in one fell swoop, a nearby voice made her freeze.

"Xion!"

Though tears clouded her vision, Xion could still make out the blond hair and blue eyes of her best friend.

Roxas paused to catch his breath, relieved to have made it in time to, hopefully, save his friend from doing anything drastic. "What the... hell are you... doing?" He asked between gasps of breath.

Xion dared not look at him in the eyes, instead focusing her gaze on the ground. "R-Roxas... Why...?"

"Are you really thinking about killing yourself?" Roxas asked, though he knew the answer. He saw the bottle of pills in her hand and knew what she planned to do.

Xion continued to sob, but answered her friend's question. "Roxas... I can't t-take this anymore! Every day, t-they make me feel unwanted," she confessed between now-violent sobs. "I-I can't, Roxas. I j-just can't live like this anymore."

As the girl continued to cry, Roxas took this opportunity to sit down next to her and wrapped his arms around her small frame, just as he had always done. Xion grabbed his shirt and began to cry into it, mumbling something that Roxas didn't catch.

"What was that?" he asked quietly.

Xion sat up before repeating herself. "You're better off without me," she stated. "I'm just keeping you from being happy. I'm always making you worry, always making you have to drop everything for me. I just..." Xion paused to choose her words carefully before continuing, "I just want you to be happy."

Roxas didn't need to hear another word. He immediately embraced the girl again, stroking her back as he did so. After a few minutes, Roxas replied, "Don't you get it, you dummy? You make me happy."

The girl immediately broke from his embrace, a confused look plastered on her face. "B-But how?" she nearly yelled, her voice horse from her crying. "How could I possibly make you happy? I-I'm just a freak."

"You're wrong," Roxas simply stated. "That's just what those people want you to believe. I know who you really are: a smart, nice, and funny girl who just so happens to be my best friend." When Xion didn't reply, Roxas decided to continue. "I know it's hard, but you have to understand that not everyone in the world is like those bullies. Axel, your parents, and me too - we all know how great you are, and we'll never let anything bad happen to you."

"But-!"

"No 'but's. It's a fact. I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again. Okay?" Xion sat there, neverending tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Please, Xion," Roxas begged his friend, "give me the bottle."

Xion hesitated, thoughts flooding her mind. Could she really just hand them over? Was Roxas speaking the truth? Did he really care about her so much?

Wiping a few tears from her eyes, Xion finally gave in and handed over the pills to Roxas.

"Xion, look at me." The girl slowly turned her head towards the boy sitting next to her. "I love you, and I promise I'll always be here for you."

With that, Roxas placed a quick kiss upon her lips, too quick in Xion's mind. Nevertheless, she returned his smile and, for the third time that day, the two embraced.

"I love you too," the girl responded at last. At that moment, Xion was starting to understand - although there will always be people that will make her feel as though she doesn't belong in this world, she will always have those people in her life that will prove them wrong. Roxas would always be there for her, no matter what, to convince her that life is, in fact, worth living.

"Thank you, Roxas."

And just like that, the same three words that had filled him with so much dread that day now made Roxas smile, for he knew that Xion wasn't going anywhere.