Chapter Two — Roxas Hikari
Exiting the classroom, I shook off all of the violent stares stabbing into my back. I was a void, an emotionless being, resisting hate and welcoming good. Now hateful beings, begone! Leave me and my 'Gift' alone! Leave!
I entered Biology chanting quietly in my head, my normal thought process having gone AWOL as I erased my feelings. I noticed a seat in the back crowded by girls, so, as a precaution, I completely ignored it, taking the seat in the front row, closest to the door. An easy escape, if needed.
Being the bored teenager I was, I just sighed and leaned into my palm, staring blankly at the board, letting my mind wander. Many grudge-holding girls thumped me (hard) on the back, cackling evilly like the little witches they were.
I imagined them in black ragged clothing with big noses and warts to ease the pain of being hated.
The teacher came bursting in, drunk, might I add, shouting names at a random order and stabbing his finger at the table crowded with lovesick girls. They whined, shuffling off to random seats, continuing to chat as the teacher took a swig from his 'water'.
"Alrighty, Class. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, I like rum, and I've got your seatin' charts. Savvy? All yous come up here and take -hic!- one," he called in a loud voice, swaying slightly. He fell into his chair, watching as half the class trooped to the front and grabbed the piece of paper. I waited until there was an opening before sliding through the mob and going for the kill. I glanced at the paper, which held tiny drawings of desks with names written over them, and maneuvered over to the third seat in the third row from the front. Sighing, I buried my face in my arms and waited for the noise to die down.
"We meet again," a very familiar male voice murmured, and I heard him slide into the seat in front of me. Slowly, as if sleepy, I lifted my face and opened one eye, peeking at him.
I almost did a double take, completely shocked at who I saw. It was him! The boy from the memories, the boy in my future! He was smiling kindly, even though it didn't reach his eyes, which were a dark shade of beryl, a color that didn't get any kind of justice in my drawings. He wore the same blue and white school uniform as everyone else, but also wore a checkered bracelet and two rings, all black and white. His hair was a spiky mess, pointing mostly to the left. Just like the drawing. It was a bit frightening at first, but then my heart skipped a couple beats and I started to internally panic. I couldn't break away from his gaze, his warm, yet chilling soul-seeing gaze, and I could practically hear the growling coming from the other half of the female population. I blushed ferociously, embarrassed out of my wits, finally gaining the ability to tear away and stare down at my hands, letting my hair fall into my face.
"Hey, are you alright? You're kind of spacey," the boy remarked, a bit worried. I closed my eyes, not believing his tone; instead, I closed my mind off and began focusing in the last ten minutes of his life before he sat down next to me.
Recount the experience, recount…
He walked in, sat down. The girls flustered, he was trapped. Mr. Sparrow walks in, he got up. Grabs seating chart, sits in front of me…closing in on what I'm looking for…
"It's that girl from earlier…the one that's different. Should I talk to her? Yeah, maybe…"
"Ok, this is getting kind of awkward…she's staring at me… but she doesn't recognize me? She has such pretty eyes…"
I flushed again in embarrassment, shaking the memories out of my head. My eyes were pretty to him?
"Hello? Are you in there?" he called, and I opened my eyes to see the hand waving in front of my face. My blush worsened, and I heard the snickering from the girls around me.
"She can't even talk to him, the loser."
"I guess she did care. It's not like she has a chance."
If my face could get redder, it did.
"S-sorry…I blank out a lot," I lied nervously, bravely lifting my gaze up to meet his again. He smiled, this one reaching his eyes with a curious glint.
"No problem. I'm Roxas," he introduced. Roxas. Such a nice name, for such a pretty face—
Oh, wait! Oh my goodness, I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. Roxas Hikari, one of those Blitzball people who transferred here! The one I met in the hallway, the one who helped me out. He was talking to me? Freaky, strange, abnormal little me? What were the odds?
"Nice to meet you, Roxas. I'm Naminé," I said softly. He seemed to be testing it in his mind, before grinning; this time it didn't reach his eyes. He was being cautious, even if I was different from the other love-struck girls his age. I was a test to him, a guinea pig for his little experiment. He was using me to see if he could open up to people; if they could see the real him instead of the picture on a magazine.
"OK, class. I'll give yer a study break. Goo' night," Mr. Sparrow called, already slumping in his seat with his hat cocked over his eyes. Everyone stared at him, shrugging as we all heard the light snores escaping his lips. The girls around Roxas immediately swiveled in their seats to converse with him, but he was still facing me, straddling the back of his chair and staring with a curious gaze. I looked away, nervously putting my biology book away. It was silent between us, me staring at anywhere but his face, and him ignoring the conversational attempts brought on by the other girls and refusing to look away. Finally, I turned, a tad bit irritated.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I blurted in annoyance. I gasped at myself in my head, mentally slapping myself silly for such a rude comment.
Roxas looked baffled, as if it was the first time he'd ever failed a quiz. "I'm sorry," he said, looking away.
I had thrown the rude comment at him and he was apologizing? "No, No, I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind," I said quickly, hoping to get back on good terms with him. He glanced back up at me through his lashes, obviously a little hurt, and I gave him a reassuring smile, although it felt like I was reassuring myself.
A girl beside Roxas spoke up.
"Hey, Roxas? Why are you talking to the freak?" she quipped, sending a sneer my way. I sighed and bowed my head. Thanks for ruining my chance at my future.
"It's rude to call people freaks," Roxas sniped back, defending me. My eyes shot up, surprised. The girl who spoke, a brunette with wavy brown hair, scoffed.
"But she is one. I bet she's brainwashing you into defending her with those stupid little magic tricks," she spat, glaring daggers at me. For once, the insult gave a hard blow to my self esteem, and I flinched. So I was a brainwasher now, huh?
"Selphie, it's not nice to call people freaks, and she's not brainwashing me. I'm talking to her out of my own free will," Roxas spoke coolly and evenly, his gaze hardening. I noticed this, and I stared at the argument silently.
"Why?" the girl, Selphie, whined. By now, half of the class was listening, all eyes on the three of us.
"Because I want to. I choose my own friends."
I looked up in utter disbelief, staring at Roxas as if he just confessed for murdering my mother. Friend? When was this established between us? We had a light, short conversation that could have made us not so acquainted acquaintances, but friends? That was downright odd.
The rest of the class agreed with me. Whispers broke out in murderous clusters, spreading through the room and eventually into the hall, where people in free period had stopped to eavesdrop. Those people had scurried along, most likely to dish the details to their friends.
Time started freezing for me as I tried to comprehend. Roxas Hikari. Boy in the drawing. Same person. Friend. The bell ringing. Walking into my next period. Spacing. Lunch.
"Naminé? Hey, Naminé!" Kairi's high soprano voice rang, pulling me out of my reverie. I smiled and walked over to her table, noticing the short black haired girl sitting next to her.
"This is my sister, Xion. She's actually adopted, but she's still my little Xi-Xi," she sang, introducing me. The raven haired girl shot an innocent pout to Kairi before holding her hand out. I shook it.
"Pleasure," I murmured, taking the seat across from them. Some laughter was heard from behind me, as expected.
"That's her? The one Roxas defended? She's a stick! Probably anorexic. He must have felt bad for her," they sniped, leering as they walked past. I closed my eyes and ignored them, sticking my foot out for the one who spoke. I gave a triumphant smirk when the toe of her heel caught on my ankle and she fell forward.
"Good one," Kairi whispered, watching the girl huff and walk away in embarrassment. I grinned.
I did notice the lack of girls surrounding the football team in the lunch line, and looking around, I realized why. Roxas, Sora, Hayner, and Riku had yet to arrive. I shrugged it off, deciding to enjoy the quiet.
"Where's Riku?" Xion asked her sister quietly, folding her hands anxiously in her lap. Kairi shrugged, stabbing a piece of macaroni.
"Beats me. Probably getting rampaged," Kairi answered. I pulled my abandoned lunch tray closer to me and played with the milk carton. Curiously, I looked Xion over, only to notice that she was biting her lip and glancing around the room as if we were all psychotic.
"Xion, are you alright?" I asked her quietly. She jumped in response, giving me a small smile.
"Yeah, sorry. I was doing it again, huh?" the raven haired girl asked, looking at Kairi. She nodded, moving on to her pile of squishy French fries.
"What's wrong?" I found myself asking.
"Xion was kidnapped when we were seven. Bad experience. Can't really trust people," Kairi said between bites. I nodded, sending a sympathetic look towards the smaller teenager. She shrugged in return, continuing to look over my shoulder to the door.
When her eyes lit up, and the entire cafeteria's peaceful silence was interrupted by mad squealing, I knew that the four 'superstars' had entered the building. Despite my better judgment, I swiveled around in my seat, staring past the throng of girls to see the four very tired boys pulling fake smiles, autographs, and pictures as they entered the cafeteria. Poor them. But not my problem.
When I turned back around, Kairi was jumping up and down in the bench, waving her arms around like a bird that couldn't fly. I stared at her strangely.
"Um…Kairi?" I tried asking, but she had climbed down and launched herself at someone.
"SORA!" she cried happily, and I turned around to see her hugging the brunette with gravity defying hair. Xion stood up as well, racing to the silver haired one, allowing him to snake an arm around her waist protectively. I sat there, dumbstruck, watching the happy couple that was on sugar start skipping around in circles. Xion and Riku returned to their seats.
"Aw, I missed you, buddy!" Kairi squealed, giggling as they tipped over dizzily. Sora gave a boyish laugh.
"I missed you too, Kai!" he chirped. They finally settled and sat back in their original seats, across from me.
I felt a giant question mark appear over my head, and I was certain everyone could see it. The girls who were glaring at me earlier were now glaring at Kairi and Xion, angrily whispering, writing death threats in their minds. I was still utterly confused, left with no explanation.
"Hey, Xion. Kairi." Oh, now that voice sounded very familiar…
"Hello, Roxas," Xion clarified quietly for me. I refused the urge to turn around, staring into my food without actually seeing it.
"Who's this?" the fourth and final voice that I assumed was Hayner, said, and I felt a large palm land on top of my head and start pushing me down. Squeaking in shock, I swatted the hand away, glaring.
"My name is Naminé, you twit. Don't touch me," I hissed. Hayner stepped back, lifting his hands up for protection. In the corner of my eye, Roxas glanced at me with that curious glint again.
"Ok, ok! Sheesh, it was a friendly pat on the head…" he complained, taking the seat next to me. Roxas took the other flank.
"Oh yeah, Sora, this is Naminé. I met her in first period." Kairi introduced. The one known as Sora gave a chipper smile and waved enthusiastically.
"I'm Riku," the platinum haired one who was holding Xion tightly said.
"Hayner!" the messy blonde who noogied me exclaimed, and I resisted the urge to punish him further.
"We've met," Roxas mumbled. I still refused to look at him, but I could feel the intense stare on my face.
Kairi and Sora were suddenly quiet, giving each other strange glances. Riku smirked in my direction, and Xion smiled. Hayner was the only one who remained unaffected, devouring his meal at mach speed. Frightened, I set my guard up and looked at the four of them.
"Why are you all staring at me like that…?" I asked, cautious. Kairi's devious grin broke loose, but she shrugged. Xion returned to staring at her food, and Riku just glanced away.
"Well, Roxas is staring at you. It's kind of weird, since he's never taken a liking to girls before," Sora sneered, and Roxas jumped next to me, throwing his unopened milk carton at his head.
"Shut up," he muttered. Sora and Kairi cackled evilly.
I on the other hand, was blushing like crazy and staring into my lap. Was it possible…? Could he actually like someone like me? Or was I still just his science experiment? I wondered… so I closed my eyes and shut off my brain. I entered Roxas's memories once again, narrowing them down.
That's the first time anyone's snapped at Hayner since Olette… so she is different…
Kairi! My god, I wasn't staring. I was observing. But, knowing her, she's gonna try and play matchmaker again… you know, Naminé's kinda cute when she's blushing…
My blush worsened even more. Why, why did he think such thoughts? Why was my mother right? Why, oh mighty God, why?
"Wait, you're 'Nobody Nami' right? Why do people hate you so much?" Riku spoke up, breaking the awkward tension. I lifted my head, shrugging.
"Some girls from my old school are holding a grudge against me," I mumbled. I knew it wouldn't be long until they saw through the lie, so I needed to create better reasons. Riku nodded in understanding.
"Well, they're gonna hate you more because you sitting with us," Sora said sadly.
"It's no big deal. I already got used to this kind of treatment, so no harm," I said, picking at my food and scowling in disgust.
"In class today, Selphie said something about brainwashing. What did she mean?" Roxas questioned. I stiffened; how was I gonna get out if this one? Think, think, think…
"Um…yeah…I'm not sure." Way to go, Namine. Beautifully delivered lie. Sarcasm is intended.
"Oh. Well they create some nasty rumors about you," Kairi whispered, and Xion nodded.
"But we'll be your friends!" Hayner finished. I looked at the large, strange group, smiling. It was the first time in a long time that I'd had friends. Even if Roxas was a slightly creepy emo-child, Xion was introverted, Riku was dark and menacing, Sora was a childish buffoon, Hayner was a cocky idiot, and Kairi was a scary overexcited fifteen year old, they made for a good bunch of devoted buddies who would stand by my side.
I've never had friends before.