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Chapter One

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Namine

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I wiped a bit of sweat from my brow as my sisters and I made our way off the marching band practise field, glad that we were done for the day. I loved band, but on a blazing hot day like this, it was more torturous than anything.

"Hey... Namine? Can I maybe talk to you for a minute?"

My heart began to pound wildly in my chest as I turned around to see Roxas Strife, the God of the trombone players, waiting for an answer from me. "Oh... Sure, Roxas. I'll catch up with you guys later," I told my sisters, falling back to walk with him instead. I had no idea what he could possibly want, but just his presence made my head spin. He was so attractive... And I'd been crushing on him since we first met.

"So-" he was cut off by the loud cackling of my sisters in front of us. I was sure they were mocking me somehow, knowing how much I liked him. Sometimes I hated being a part of triplets. There was nothing I could hide from them.

"Kairi, Xion! Get the fuck out of here!" I yelled at them, furrowing my brow in anger.

Roxas jumped a bit at my sudden outburst, but a smile crept across his face, "Uhm... Anyways..."

"Right. Sorry about them," I apologized, turning my attention back to his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Okay, so... shit, I don't know how to say this... I heard that you kinda like me, I guess? And you're really cute and all, so... Wouldyouliketogooutwithmesometime?" he spat out in a blur of words.

I blinked a few times, "Can you repeat that? Maybe in English this time?" I giggled softly, tucking my blonde hair behind my ear.

He sucked in a deep breath and repeated himself, "Would you maybe like to go out with me? Like, on a date?"

I had just opened my mouth to speak when, of all people in the world, Vanitas decided to wander over to us, "Rox, I'm pretty sure you should be teaching Tidus how to actually march, not talking to her..." he shot me a nasty look, raising a pierced eyebrow.

"Bite me, Van, we were just trying to have a quick conversation," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Whatever, bitch. I just thought that the section leader was supposed to, I dunno, lead the section or something. Tidus is going to ruin the trombones this year if he can't keep his feet in check."

Roxas scowled at Vanitas, "Back off, Van, or I'll shove that trombone so far up your ass you-"

"Like I said, I'm not going to sit back and let you ruin the trombone section. Just because I'm drum major this year doesn't mean I don't care about my section," the tall raven-haired teen sneered, turning on his heel and walking away.

"God, what is his problem?" Roxas rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall of the courtyard outside the band room.

I shrugged, "I have no idea, but I think the power of being drum major is going to his head."

"He's the one that should be dealing with Tidus anyways... That kid gives me a damned headache every time I talk to him."

"Freshmen... They're ever-so-wonderful," I quipped sarcastically, nearly forgetting what he'd asked me earlier.

Recalling what we'd been talking about before we were so rudely interrupted, Roxas cleared his throat, "So...?"

"So what?" I wondered, looking at him curiously for a second before remembering, "Oh! Right. Uhm... Why?"

"Why what?"

I chuckled, "Why do you want me to go out with you? We really haven't talked much before..."

"You're seriously giving me the third degree here? I thought you had a crush on me!"

"Doesn't mean I can't wonder why you suddenly took interest!"

He huffed, his cheeks flushing red, "I think you're really cute, and I like your personality... We do have practise together every day. It's not like I don't know you at all."

"Well excuse me if I'm a little caught off guard here... I just didn't think you even knew who I was," I told him, getting a little defensive. My sisters and I weren't exactly popular, and Roxas? He was one of the most attractive guys in school. Plus, he was a senior and we were only juniors. It just wasn't making sense to me.

"You're so damned stubborn... You're lucky I like that," he narrowed his eyes on me with a look of determination.

I quirked an eyebrow, "I'm lucky, am I? Aren't we just full of ourselves."

"Why are you making this so difficult?! I just wanted to ask you out, damn it!"

"Prove that you really like me," I shrugged, putting a hand on my hip, "Make me believe that this isn't just some prank you and your friends are pulling on me."

He growled in frustration, crossing the distance between us in one stride. Pulling my face up to his, he pressed his lips against mine in a sweet, dizzying kiss. My knees turned to jelly as heat surged through my veins, blurring my mind and forcing him to hold me steady on my feet. His lips tasted like rootbeer and mint, and it was a taste I wouldn't soon forget.

Letting go of my chin, Roxas stepped back with a devilish grin and watched me stumble on my feet to regain my composure, "You okay, doll?"

"Apparently I shouldn't play with fire..." I breathed, steadying myself and blushing furiously. If this was a prank, he was a damn good actor.

"Do you believe me now?"

I took in a deep breath and nodded, "Yeah... I believe you."

"So you'll go out with me?" he looked hopeful and adorable.

"I'm not sure..." I teased, grinning slyly as I watched his face fall.

I could tell that he wasn't used to girls putting up such a fight against him, because he seemed to be legitimately frustrated now, "Damn it, Namine, I just want an answer!"

"An answer to what?" I cocked my head to the side and played dumb. I was being a pain in the ass on purpose. I needed to test him... to make sure he wasn't fucking with me.

"You're seriously playing this game with me right now? I should just walk away and forget about this."

I stuck my tongue out, "Well fine then, now I'm not going to say yes."

He grumbled as I called his bluff. He wasn't going to walk away. "I'll kiss you again," he bartered, stepping towards me.

"I don't care. I'm still not going to say yes."

I squeaked as he suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and pinned me against the wall of the courtyard, his breath right in my ear making my head spin, "You know you want to..."

"Fine! Yes!" I pushed him away from me, shaking my head to bring myself back to reality.

A smug grin crept across his lips and he stepped back, "Good. Gimme your phone."

I pouted and pulled it out of my pocket, handing it over to him so he could exchange our numbers. I still wasn't sure what had just happened.

"I'll see you at the meeting," he handed it back to me and strolled into the bandroom, leaving me there dumbfounded.

I grabbed my baritone and turned to walk into the band room, immediately coming face to face with Xion, "What the hell just happened? Kairi and I saw him kiss you!"

"I... I have no idea..." I followed her inside, "I think he just asked me out."

"Holy shit!" she screeched, making me cringe, "Kairi, Riku, come here!"

Her boyfriend and the third of my sisters came bounding over. "What's up babe?" Riku asked her, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"Get this... Roxas just asked Namine out. Roxas!" she squealed in excitement.

Kairi just looked shocked, "Wow... I didn't think he even knew who any of us were."

"Right? I'm still kind of afraid that it's some kind of joke..." I sighed, finding him hard to trust. "It seems like something him and Axel would pull on someone like me."

"Ohh, give him a chance... They're actually not bad guys," Riku defended them. "Besides, if they try to fuck with you, I'm going to kick their asses into next week."

I still couldn't help but worry. Roxas was notorious for sleeping around the color guard, and I felt like a lot of the guard girls were going to be pissed if we did end up dating. But was I just another conquest for him?

"Nami...?" a hand waving in front of my face brought me out of my thoughts, "We've got to go, we have the section leader meeting."

I followed Xion and Riku outside again, where we'd be meeting with the band director. I was the baritone section leader, and she was the leader of the low woodwinds. Kairi played flute, but she didn't make leader this year. Riku... I don't know why he was following us. He wasn't a section leader either, he just played tuba.

On our way back out to the field my eyes settled on Roxas again as he and Axel seemed deep in conversation. He was probably telling the tall redhead every single detail of what had just happened, and they were probably laughing at me. I wish I could have trusted them.

...

Xion

...

Sometimes it amazed me how douchey trumpet players could be. The second that Larxene, the trumpet section leader, saw Riku on the field she nearly had a fit. "Get the fuck out of here, Riku. You're not even a section leader!"

I scoffed and grabbed onto his wrist, keeping him by my side, "Seriously, does it even matter? He just wants to hang out."

"This meeting is for section leaders only," she snarled, "Go back to the band room and wait for her there. I'm pretty sure you can handle twenty minutes without your weird girlfriend."

"Excuse me?" he stepped towards her, "You wanna talk about my girlfriend again?"

I rolled my eyes and pulled him back, "Let it go, babe. I'll see you after the meeting."

He grumbled and stormed off the field, muttering creepily to himself about how bitchy Larxene was. I didn't even care... I knew I was weird, but I just embraced it.

As I joined the group, I could immediately sense the tension between Roxas and Namine. He was staring at her pretty blatantly like he wanted to join her, but she was trying really hard to pretend she didn't notice. I felt kind of bad for her... she'd been crushing on him forever, but I could see why she didn't trust it. My sisters and I just weren't the kind of girls he typically went for. (Basically, we weren't braindead.)

Riku and I had been together since middle school, and he was just as weird and dorky as I was. I still don't know how I managed to attract someone as hot as he was, but hey... I wasn't about to fight it either. He was truly my better half.

The band director finally joined us for the meeting, starting to squawk about how we were going to make this year the best in band history. It was the start of our third year in band, which always began in late June with a few scattered practises before the week of intense band camp coming up in July. We used these couple practises to work on marching technique and actually marching and playing music at the same time. It was really targeted at the freshmen, but all practises were mandatory for everyone.

I wasn't even sure why I tried out to be a section leader this year... The band director had kind of pressured me into it because I was the oldest of the low woodwinds, but I honestly could have cared less about the whole "better the band" thing. I didn't want to be an example for everyone to follow. I wanted to fuck around with my friends and have fun. Plus, these meetings drove me nuts. Riku and I were supposed to be hanging out after band, but the director sprung this suprise long-ass meeting on us at the last second.

"Jeez, Xion, could you have looked any more bored?" Namine asked me when the meeting finally ended and we were allowed to leave.

"Oh whatever... You know I didn't want to be section leader," I mumbled, "Besides, what was up with the weird vibes between you and Roxas? He asks you out and you can't even stand near him at the meeting?"

She blushed deeply, "I've never had a boyfriend before... I don't know how this works..."

"One, you aren't dating yet. You've got to actually go on a date first. Two, quit acting like you're terrified of the guy. Like Riku said, he's actually a pretty decent person."

"He's just so intimidating..." she groaned, "The guy looks like a damned Greek God... I'm just some mousey little nerd."

I laughed, "Nami, we're in band. We're all nerds, including him."

"This isn't how I expected the year to start out..."

"Hey, at least it won't just be another boring school year!" I chirped, running up to Riku in the parking lot and attacking him with a kiss. "Mm, ready to go?"

He chuckled, "Damn right I am. I grabbed your bag for you. Are we taking your car?"

I nodded and headed for my Dodge Caliber, ready to get the hell out of here. I liked band, I did... but the fact that we competed made it super hardcore, and I wasn't always up for that.

...

Kairi

...

I sat in Namine's car waiting for their stupid meeting to be over. We weren't going to be able to carpool anymore if the director was going to keep calling surprise meetings. I'd wanted to save the gas by riding together, but I was exhausted and ready to leave.

I watched as Xion and Riku made out in the middle of the parking lot, resisting the urge to gag. She's always been completely boy obssessed, and sadly it seemed like Namine was going to be wrapped up in Roxas now. I hated to admit it, but I was slightly jealous. We all look mostly the same, so you'd think guys would be attracted to all of us, right? I guess not... Namine has that whole happy-go-lucky, cheerful blonde girl thing going on, while Xion has more of that punk rock, rebel style thing going for her. Meanwhile, I'm just kind of ...there.

So that people could tell us apart, we'd each picked a different hairstyle and color. Namine, of course, had platinum blonde hair that fell down past her shoulders gorgeously with a heavy bang that fell in her eyes. Xion had a black bob style that fit her well, coming down to her chin with a bit of a stacked effect in the back. Mine was a simple red color, layered and falling just above my shoulders. I wore a side bang that tended to fall in my eyes, but I usually pinned them back somehow.

Finally Namine made her way out to the car, apologizing profusely as she buckled in. "I wish she would at least schedule the meetings so we'd know..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll probably just start driving my own car out here," I told her, brushing it off. I still couldn't believe that we were fortunate enough to each have our own cars, but we were also trust-fund brats. Our parents were loaded with money, so we pretty much got whatever we wanted.

"So... What do you think about this whole Roxas thing?" she asked me.

I shrugged, "I dunno, Nam... I get why you'd be excited, but I also get why you're scared. He hasn't really given us a reason to trust him yet."

"Should I just go for it? Give him a chance?"

"Do what you want... You know we'll always be here for you if he decides to pull anything," I assured her.

She nodded and groaned, "God, I'm so tired... I just want to go home and take a nap..."

"Same here... But I have a feeling that Xion and Riku are going to be keeping us up."

"Ugh... They're going to get caught by dad sometime and it isn't going to be pretty..."

And surprise, surprise... When we pulled into the driveway, Xion and Riku were making out in her car. Could they seriously not even wait until they got inside?

I gave Nami a look and she smiled, picking up on what I planned to do. We each snuck up on either side of her car and counted to three, rapping on the windows loudly and effectively scaring the shit out of both of them. But the look Xion gave us was absolutely terrifying and we both bolted, dashing inside and making it half way up the stairs before she caught us.

"Hold it!" she yelled, looking furious, "You two idiots could have broken my windows!"

"She's just pissed 'cause we cock-blocked her," Namine laughed, just irritating her more.

"Ugh! You guys suck!" she squealed, grabbing Riku by his hand and dragging him into her bedroom.

I couldn't stop laughing as I retreated into my own bedroom, hoping that the happy couple could keep it down long enough for me to get in a decent nap. But what I saw when I looked out my window had me wide awake and incredibly interested in what was happening next door.

Apparently we had some new neighbors moving in, and one of them was an incredibly attractive brunette. He looked about our age, probably a junior or senior, and he was carrying some boxes into the house shirtless. Damn, did he have a good body...

Maybe this year wouldn't suck for me after all. At least we had some eye candy next door now. He'd never go for me, of course, but... if he was gonna walk around without a shirt on, I could at least catch a good show every now and then.

...

A/N: So I'm literally bringing this story back from the dead. My best friend and I wrote this back in 2008, if you can believe it... It hadn't originally been a Kingdom Hearts story, but I've obviously adapted it to fit my current obsession. A lot of this is based on my friend and I, namely Namine and Xion. (Yes, Xion is the character we modeled after me... I was a weird kid in high school.)

I don't expect much interest in this... But if you do happen to like it, let me know! I always love reviews. I'm kind of banking on the fact that a lot of you are band kids as well, but again... Not expecting much. I just bought a new laptop, and I found this ass-old story on my old one when I was moving the files over, and I couldn't help myself from re-writing it.

The original is like 75 pages long in Word, so... Expect a ton of chapters with this one. And expect a lot of drama. Again, I wrote this in high school, so... it's gonna get weird. Hopefully in a good way.

Thanks for reading!

Simply Rexene