For the next month, Roxas and Xion occupied that grey area between acquaintance and friend. They would chat about grades, or exchange glances when Hayner did something stupid, but that was it when it came to socializing. Meanwhile, Namine and Axel had hit it off. They talked to each other almost everyday, would gossip about jerks at Drama Club, and helping each other with relationship advice.

"He's cute, hottie alert," Axel commented as Namine showed him a picture of her crush.

"They're cute, they prefer they," she corrected. "They're name is Riku Davidson, and they sit next to me in Wellness." She sighed as she examined the photo.

"How are people allowed to be this attractive?!" The blonde joked. They both started laughing uncontrollably before going back to the problem at hand.

"So, how do I flirt with them, because I have no idea." Axel scratched his head for a minute.

"You see, no one really knows how to flirt, they just make it up as they go. It's hard to tell you what to do because me and Saix grew up together, but I'd say get to know them. See what they're like and if they might feel similar, if not then you got an awesome friend, and those are hard to find. But I have a problem now."

"What?" Worry flashed through her blue eyes.

"Saix is jealous of all the time you're stealing from him, cutie!" Axel pinched Namine's cheeks.

"Ow, stop that!" She giggled and swatted his hands away. "The solution is obvious, bring him over so he can fall for my irresistible charm." Roxas almost groaned at how sickening sweet they were. It made it impossible to study for Bio, and he had a test in three days. At times like these he regretted sharing a room with his brother, at least next year he'd be off at college next year.

"Dinner's ready!" He heard his dad call. The trio ran downstairs to find that Mr. Osburn had fixed a lasagna and a plethora of fruit and veggies.

"Ugh, why does tonight have to be healthy night?" Roxas whined.

"Now Roxas, you remember we decided to give this a try, your mom is very busy and likes coming home to a meal like this." Mr. Osburn chided.

"Now, Axel's friend you can help yourself. I got some leftovers in the fridge if you don't like this."

"That's fine, Mr. Osburn" Namine was intently focused on anywhere but his eyes. The four digged and began to discuss the day.

"Hey Roxas," Mr. Osburn looked as if he just remembered something. "Cid got around to fixing your skate board, should be good as new."

"Awesome!" Roxas started to perk up a bit. Mr. Osburn turned to Axel then.

"And Axel, how's drama club going?"

"Well, we just recruited this little genius here," He pulled Namine into a side hug.

"I'm not… I'm not that great," Namine was hiding behind her bangs now. "I just like acting."

"Tch, now you decide to shut up," Axel teased. "I mean it Dad, I can't even get a word in most of the time." Mr. Osburn just laughed softly while Namine turned beet red. Before anymore could be said, the door opened and Mrs. Osburn came rushing in.

"Sorry guys traffic was horrible- oh hello!" She turned to Namine. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Kairi Osburn!" She held out a hand.

"Namine Kent," She mumbled and shock the hand.

"Oh, I don't recognize that surname, who are your parents?" Mrs. Osburn wore a gentle smile.

"I guess that would be Vexen. Do you know a Dr. Studer?"

"Dr. Studer…" Mr. Osburn rubbed his brown stubble. "Can't say I do," They continued chatting for a little while longer but then Namine noticed the time.

"Ah! I should get going! Thank you for the food Mr. And Mrs. Osburn."

"Thank you for coming over, feel free to anytime." Mr. Osburn gave an easy-going grin.

"And Axel, Roxas-" She turned to the brothers. "If you're not busy, do you want to get ice cream with me and Xion?" Axel immediately nodded, but Roxas hesitated.

"I don't know, I need to study for that Bio test on Friday," He wanted to aim for an A this semestar.

"Don't listen to my son's lame excuses," Mrs. Osburn pulled him into an arkward side hug, he almost dwarfed her. "He always needed to be given a push when it came to making friends. He's a charming young man, but so shy!" Roxas blushed, while Namine tittered.

"Ok. You guys come at 6, I'll give you my address tomorrow. And Axel you have to bring Saix, bye!" She slipped out as quiet as a ghost. Roxas waited til Namine left before asking,

"Why did you embarrass me like that?"

"It's true though." Mr. Osburn interrupted. "You need to live a little, goof off, have fun, that GPA will be gone one day, but memories won't," He moved to ruffle Roxas' hair.

"Relax, making friends is supposed to be fun." Everyone laughed at that, and Roxas decided to let it go. He liked the Kent's, tomorrow would be great.


Right on the dot, the Osburns arrived at 414 Sycamore Street at 6. It was an industrial looking place, more like a laboratory than a home.

"So do we knock or what…" Axel asked. Roxas just shrugged in reply. Before either could do anything, Namine burst out, dragging Xion along.

"Hey guys!" All timidness Namine had displayed yesterday was gone. "Axel I gave you one job: where is that blue headed boyfriend of your's." Axel sheepishly ran a hand through his hair.

"Eh, he had some paper to write or something. Seriously he's almost as uptight about grades as Roxas is." Roxas resisted a smart comment and instead turned to Xion.

"I thought we were having ice cream at your house?" She had a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Oh we will, but first we have a surprise for you guys." The twins shared a silent message between them. Roxas had read about twins being telepathic, but he had never believed it til now.

"Come on, I'll lead!" Namine said. The three followed her through crowded sidewalks and busy streets til they came to what the locals called the Cloak Tower.

"So you see," Xion started. "Most people can't even enter the WTNW Skyscraper,"

"But…" Namine cut in. "Vexen is a researcher there so we have total access! You just have to see view from the top!" Before the brothers knew it, this time they were led through a series of stairways. Soon they were greeted to one of the most amazing sights they had ever seen. From the top of the Clock Tower, they could see all of Twilight Town bustling down below, and feel the old clock rumble below them. Even better, the sun was setting, the mixture of reds, oranges, and yellows perfectly complementing the view.

"Woah…" Gasped Roxas. He could barely believe his eyes.

"Who would have thunk these new kids would show us the sights of our hometown." The redhead wondered aloud. The sisters beamed with pride at their results.

"The best is yet to come. Xi, get them comfortable and I'll get the ice cream."

"Wait Namine, don't leave me alone- she's gone." Xion looked bitterly at were Namine had escaped to.

"Well we should get seated before my sister comes back," Awkwardly, the three try to squish together on the bench. Eventually they gave up and conceded to the floor, Roxas siting in between the two of them. A pregnant pause hung over the group.

"As you can see, I'm not good at this talking thing." Xion gave a self-decrepitating laugh. "What do guys want to talk about?"

"Well, what classes do you take?" Axel prompted.

"Oh, let's see" Xion started counting on her fingers. "First German II, then Human Geography, English II, Study Hall, Lunch, Geometry, Wellness, and then AP Bio."

"Wait you're taking AP Bio?!" Roxas couldn't hide his astonishment. Xion started to blush a bit.

"Yeah," she let out a nervous laugh. "Somehow I'm good at that stuff."

"I have a test on Friday for normal Biology, and I understand nothing. Could you tutor me please?" Roxas was practically on his knees.

"Of course!" She replied. Roxas had to keep from hugging her. "Oh thank you so much!" He shock her hand so hard that it almost fell off.

"Pfft, my brother's a total nerd, I think being in the presence of another is causing all these weird symptoms." Axel slyly slipped his insult in between their conversation.

"Shut up!" Roxas flicked the side of Axel's head. This turned into the universal game of "hey let's beat each other up."

"Guys, please don't fight…" Xion was clearly distressed by their rough-housing.

Roxas stopped, giving her a puzzled look.

"We're just messing around," He could see anything wrong with what they were doing.

"Wait you're not mad at each other?"

"Of course not! It's fun!" Xion let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, because when Namine and I get physical, something big is going on." Timidly, she jabbed Roxas' arm.

"So do you do it like this?"

"It's more like this," Axel shoved Roxas so hard he fell on Xion.

"Hey two against one isn't fair!"

"Deal with it!" Xion giggled and she pushed Roxas back to Axel. Soon it was all out war, elbows were flying, and everyone was laughing like a maniac. But everyone stopped when they heard a high pitched scream. They turned to see Namine was standing shell shocked, terror filled face.

"Namine!" Xion immediately got up and ran to check on her sister.

"It's alright Namine, we were just playing, nobody's mad and nobody's hurt." She cooed while rubbing circles in Namine's back. Tears slowly ran down her face.

"I thought… I thought you guys were fighting, and I'd lose my only friends…" Xion just continued to comfort Namine as the tears ran down her face. The Osburns stood awkwardly in the background. It hurt seeing Namine cry, but they could tell this was pain only Xion truly understood.

"We should probably get home," Axel said.

"No!" Namine shouted. "Sorry," Her voice lowered back to a whisper. "It's just the intern, Zexion, got us seasalt ice cream… and I wanted to eat it together and have some fun with you guys," She looked up and smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "So can we do that, please?"

"Of course we can." Xion answered for them. She glared at the brothers, daring them to break Namine's heart.

They sat down and started to eat. The ice cream was amazing, and after the tears dried, everyone was laughing and having fun, but Roxas couldn't get the image of Namine crying out of his head. What had happened to her to cause such an emotional reaction to rough-housing?