I seriously have to get better at not writing two chapters of a story with a ton of enthusiasm and then having to delete it because I ran out of steam. This is my story that I vow not to erase, even if everyone on the face of the planet hates it. (Oh God, I think I've just jinxed myself) Ah well, I know someone out there will enjoy this, so please, dear reader, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

The six of them sat at a round table in the back of the pizza pub in absolute silence. Although it sounded like a party was going on around them, that one circle of individuals was stone silent. The red haired female kept taking sips of her ice tea, hoping it would keep the tears at bay. The petite blonde girl to her left was staring forlornly down at her hands, folded tightly in her lap. She blinked several times a minute. The raven haired woman sat with her arms crossed and her jaw clenched, determined not to show a single sign of emotions. The silver haired man seated across from her displayed a similar show of no emotions. Although he clutched his glass of soda tightly, as if he wanted to break it. The shorter blond man was zoned out, glaring intently at a napkin holder in front of him. The only one showing the least bit of emotions was the brunette boy, who let his eyes become misty and allowed his voice to quiver when he'd bid his goodbye moments before.

It was the summer in between high school and college, and tonight was their last night together before the brunette would leave for college in a different city. The blonde girl was studying art on the other side of the Destiny Islands. The raven haired girl was going to a small college in Twilight Town. The blond boy was taking a year to travel. The silver haired man was going to Radiant Gardens on an acting gig. The red head was staying here, and was going to go to a community college. The Brunette would go to a business college in Radiant Gardens. They were all moving in separate directions, and they felt it. They knew that once they left that table that they all would be pushed and pulled different direction, away from one another and towards a new life. The problem with that was they didn't want their new lives to start yet.

The brunette cleared his throat and glanced around the table, waiting for someone else to speak. When it was clear that no one else would, he spoke up, "I suppose we'll see each other again, it's not like we'll never be together again, right?" Even as he said it he knew that nobody was really listening to him. The blonde girl spoke up in her tiny soprano voice, "Not like this. We'll never be together quite like this again." The red headed girl put her face in her hands and started to sob softly. The brunette reached out to her and placed a hand on her back in a comforting gesture. The two blondes glanced at each other and traded sad smiles. The blonde boy reached out and hugged the blonde girl. She embraced his touch and allowed a tear to fall from her thick eyelashes. The silver haired man placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder and glanced around the table, savoring the look at his friends. The raven haired girl clenched her jaw even tighter and looked away as the few tears that managed to escape from her eyes rolled down her pale cheeks.

The six individuals at that table knew that from that moment on, they were no longer children, they were adults. And being an adult meant handling these things carefully. The dinner didn't last longer than thirty minutes after that. The brunette waited until everyone else had left the table, and he laid his head in his hands. He considered everything that he'd done in the past few months, from the moment he received his acceptance letter into that college until this very night, he pondered every moment. He wondered if he'd done enough in those last few times they had all gotten together. He came to the conclusion that he had done everything right, and that this was an inevitable part of becoming an adult-losing some of the people he cared about most. He cringed and regretted all the times he'd wished to be an adult as a child. Being an adult wasn't worth this. But it was done now; tomorrow he would be in Radiant Gardens, settling into a dorm with a stranger.

The man slowly exited the Pub and wandered to his car. He clung to the one thing that he'd said that night that had offered him any sort of hope. Perhaps they would all see each other again in the future; maybe everything wasn't lost after all. He prayed and hoped with all his might that the six of them would meet again. That would be the thing that would get him through college, he decided. The thought of his friends would keep him working hard, waiting for the day when he'd see them again. For a moment, he even believed it, but only for a moment.

Five Years Later

Sora finished signing his name and smiled at the pretty woman behind the counter. He was, essentially, bargaining his whole life for this move. But he had begun to not value his current state of life very much. It was an endless parade of money and material riches. This plan that he had would, if successful, expand his business to the growing suburb of Twilight Town and the remaining islands in the Destiny Island strip. Sora would need at least four new managers of these locations, and he'd promised the only two men of higher importance than himself, Ansem and Mickey, that he would have five managers by the end of the month, in roughly three weeks. It was a gamble, for if he failed his company would begin to slip and financially lose quite a bit. It was a far stretch, but Sora had faith in his friends, even if he didn't know the exact locations of all of his friends. He still had belief in each and every one of them.

Kairi

She preferred it when people referred to her as an 'exotic dancer'. It sounded more respectable. At least more respectable than the alternative name. During the past five years she had completed a year and a half of community college and been recruited by a local club after they witnessed her performing a dance routine during the half time of her community college's basketball game. Even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, she both loved and hated her job. She loved the feeling of being wanted, even if it was just for a moment, on stage, she loved the attention she got, as she was normally the crowd favorite. But she hated the reason why those people liked and wanted her. She hated the fact that so many men shouted out to her on stage because she was sexy. She wanted to be loved for more than her body, and she feared that she would never gain that respect from anyone. But even so, she still carried with her a small glimmer of hope that she always kept in the back of her mind. A hope given to her by her best friend.

Roxas

He carried himself with confidence. He appeared to everyone around him that he was completely assured of himself and was capable of any task set before him. He'd barely made it through three years of college, only staying in because he could run in track there. After his travel year he could never get himself to focus on anything. That is, he couldn't focus on anything outside of the explicit activities he indulged in every weekend. He had acquired the alcohol easily, and the rest just seemed to fall into his lap, the parties, the blacked out nights where he would wake up feeling completely empty, the girls he's begun to see as just countless, blurred faces. He knew very well that he'd get too old for this life eventually, but until then, he was content with working two jobs and living paycheck to paycheck. He didn't know how long his job would last or how much longer he would continue to live the way he did, but one thing way certain: Roxas was empty inside.

Naminé

After Naminé had finished her four years of college with nothing more than a minor in education, for she loved children, especially the younger ones, she had found herself a small house, a dog, and a job assisting a first grade teacher. She found her work fulfilling enough; she had an enjoyable job, a dog to keep her company on particularly lonely days, and a house she adored. But the girl was terribly lonely, and longed for human interaction, but try as she may, she could not find another soul to connect with her the way her friends from high school once had. She hadn't had a date in two years and the only man she would take on a date with her wasn't coming back. She'd given up looking for him around the time she stopped dating altogether. So instead of making memories, the dear girl sat by her fireplace or on her porch each evening and daydreamed of a life much grander than her own. Some nights she even caught herself believing in that dream. And she never could quite shake that small sliver of hope that held onto her every night she thought about giving up on her life altogether.

Riku

He prided himself with the fact that he could coax any available girl into letting him be their escort. His friends had bet on it, and he had won, of course. That was one of the perks to being an escort. He could sell whatever act he wanted his customers to buy, and he could do it well. Even though he'd been kicked out of acting school didn't mean he wasn't any good. He knew he was one of the best, even if his occasional bad decisions got in the way of people seeing that sometimes. His job got him by just fine in the small apartment he kept in order, and he had enough friends and bets to keep him busy for the most part. But sometimes, when he allowed himself an afternoon to himself, which he very seldom did, or while he was lying with a sleeping woman in his arms, he'd realize that he wasn't as happy as he thought he should be. He'd realize that he missed his normal life before he became an escort and he'd realize that the woman in his arms was a stranger and that he had only ever wanted one woman in his arms. But that woman would never lie in his arms, not tonight, not ever. He'd lost hope in her a long time ago, just like he'd lost hope in himself a long time ago. He was nothing; he was an act for whoever he needed to please that day. The only person he hadn't lost hope in, was an old friend of his, a boy who he hoped had ended up with everything the brunette had ever wanted.

Xion

She liked doing her deals behind the old church. She found it bitterly ironic that a drug deal could occur behind one of the most holy placed around. All her responses would ever be to requests would be 'meet me behind the holy house'. In the back of her mind she knew it was wrong, and she knew that she shouldn't be doing this, but she really didn't have anything else to keep her fed and in an apartment. Even if she did wake up with enough energy to find a real job, all she had was a minor in English. That wouldn't get her very far, and she reminded herself of that every day with a sharp edged rock she scraped across her skin each morning. Xion had given up on the world while she was still in high school, but then she had friends, people she cared about, to keep her grounded. Now her head was up in the clouds and she hardly cared anymore. All she wanted now was for her friends to come back and save her, and try as she may to flush that hope out of her, she could never quite rid herself of it completely. And that both overjoyed her and infuriated her.

Alright, I'm hoping you guys found that enjoyable to read, and I do hope you'll review for me or favorite or follow. Whatever you want to do. I hope you all have a wonderful day!