I walked along the pavement to school that early Friday morning. I wanted to get a head start to school that day so I could ask some of my new teachers about the curriculum. The week had flown by pretty well. Kairi had partnered up with me in every class we had together and we would go to the Pine Star all the time for lunch. When we had free time, I would draw her a pretty picture or something she would like in return. We became quick best friends, and I found that we would tell each other almost anything. The only thing that I hadn't told her is that I was adopted. That was just something I didn't really want to share with anyone right now.
"You mean you can't open it?" Kairi asked me when I ran into her in the hallway at school.
"No. There isn't any key that goes with it. It depresses me because I really wanted to be able to paint without getting yelled at by my parents. They think I will make a mess if I do it in the house." I told her. Kairi nodded in thought as she held a bobby pin in her mouth to pull up her bangs.
"It's like a mystery!" She proclaimed once she was done.
"Well obviously."
Kairi started to walk towards our first class together and she went along to tell me her ingenious plan on how to find the key.
"We can do research and such! They said the key wasn't turned in with the house, right? We can find the original owners and voila!" Kairi laughed.
"It's not that big of a deal. We don't have to worry about it right now." I said, and Kairi huffed but agreed as we sat down at our desks.
"Good morning!" I looked up to see a very happy Ventus standing in front of my desk. Raising an eyebrow, I replied to him.
"Morning. What is with the happy attitude?" I asked him.
"Ven is a morning person in general." Kairi grumbled. He put his hands on my desk before he spoke again.
"I wanted to ask you something." Being a very shy and quiet girl, there was only a few scenarios running through my brain at the moment. He was going to ask me for either something along the lines of homework, or ask me to go somewhere. Usually, for someone like me, it was the former.
"Okay, what?"
"You don't know much about the city, right? How about I show you around the islands tonight?" He proposed.
"Oh I don't—"I started to say, but Kairi shot up and cut me off.
"She would love to!" She answered for me.
"Great! I'll meet you after school then." He smiled before walking off to talk to his other friends across the room.
"Kairi! I am busy!" I whisper shouted at her. I was pretty irritated that she would answer a question like that for me.
"Doing?" I got quiet and didn't reply. "Exactly. Get out and meet some boys. Ven is a particularly fine one if I do say so myself."
I sighed before leaning my head in my hand and listening to the teacher talk as I doodled. I already learned most of this stuff at my old school so I found no reason to pay attention. On the paper, I was drawing the view from the shuttle bus that I see every morning. It was something I had in my head since I moved here; I just never had any time to draw it.
Towards the middle of the teachers' lecture, the classroom door opened and in strolled Roxas. He was acting like coming in halfway late into class was no big deal and had his hand in his pocket.
"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Hewes." Mr. Nakamura said. "What is your excuse this time?" Roxas looked over to the teacher with the most bored expression I had ever seen and answered him.
"Car repairs."
Some people in the room giggled because you could hear the sarcasm in his voice. He was toying with the teacher and he was enjoying every minute of it. The two went back and forth with smart remarks and frankly it was getting annoying. I could tell no one wanted to speak up and take part in class again because they didn't want to suffer Roxas's wrath on them. It was fairly reasonable to be afraid of him. He gave off a bad vibe.
"Hey. Can we, you know, continue with the lesson instead of listening to you argue with Mr. Nakamura, Roxas?" I finally said, getting fed up with the constant bickering. Roxas turned around with an irritated expression on his face. I could feel the tension in the room after I said that and some people looked fairly shocked that I spoke up. "Please?"
Roxas looked at me for a little longer. "Whatever." That shocked me. I thought he was going to say some smart ass remark to me and continue with what he was doing, but he just complied and sat down in his desk a few rows away from me.
Now that was shocking.
"I hear that you told off Roxas." Sora said to me as we walked from Kairi's parents' restaurant. I rolled my eyes at him and groaned. Why were people making it sound worse than it was?
"I didn't tell him off. All I said was that I wanted him to sit down because I wanted to continue the lesson." I replied to him. Sora nodded, but for some reason it looked like he didn't believe me. Kairi was walking next to Sora, seemingly in deep thought.
"What's wrong, Kai?" Sora asked the auburn haired girl. I was wondering the same thing since she had been quiet most of the walk back to school.
"I was just thinking about that key, Namine."
"Again?" I sighed. I don't know why it interested her so much. It was my room.
"Yeah. Mind if I stop by tomorrow and look at the door or something?" She offered as we slipped through the back side of the school. I particularly hated doing that since my shirt would always get caught on one of the vines coming down from the side of the school.
"Me too!" Sora shouted, beaming at me.
"Fine, whatever. I don't know what you are going to accomplish." We walked into the lunch room just in time for the bell to ring. Students were getting up and throwing away their trash by the time we got through the double glass doors. "I'll see you guys later." I waved the two off and began to make my way to the arts department of the school. It was one of the only classes that I looked forward to.
As I rounded the corner, my face collided with something hard, and I groaned, rubbing my nose out of pain. "Sorry." I said to the person that I unfortunately ran into. I couldn't help but think how embarrassing that must have been.
"It's you." The person just said that with no expression in his voice. Looking up, I was staring right into those hard blue eyes again.
"Roxas?"
"I am pretty sure that's my name." I glared at his rude attitude.
"Well—sorry for running into you, but I have to get to class." The air smelled of smoke and I wasn't really enjoying it.
"You think you are all big and tough, don't you?" He said to my retreating form. Turning around, I placed my hands on my hips.
"Excuse me?" I asked him.
"Most people don't have the guts to tell me off, let alone talk to me. I'm not too pleased with your attitude." He told me, taking a few steps closer to me.
"You don't like my attitude? Look at yours buddy." I shot back at him. "I don't know what your problem is and why you treat people like that, but you need to fix it."
"I don't have a problem." He said back to me, pulling something out of his pocket.
"That's your problem!" I pointed to the substance in his hands. He held it up and eyed it, raising an eyebrow. "That is so bad for you, and it is making you act like a jerk." I huffed.
"I don't see anything wrong with it. Why are you trying to pry yourself into my problems?" He wasn't making any sense to me. He started talking to me and being rude. I would have stayed on my side of the tracks if he hadn't pulled me over. He was making me act in a way I usually don't act. I'm a quiet, reserved artist and I like it that way. Roxas was making me the polar opposite.
"You make no sense, Roxas. I have to go or I'll be late." I sighed and walked away, gripping the handle of my school bag.
I sat quietly on the steps of the front of the school, waiting for Ventus. He was going to be showing me the hot spots of the city and told me to meet him here. I made sure that I called Jean and told her that I would have a ride home tonight since I almost guaranteed that I wouldn't be home until dark.
"Sorry I am a little late." Ventus said, running up with a hand behind his head. I stood, brushing off my skirt, smiling.
"It's no big deal. I haven't been here long." He smiled back at me and laughed. "Ready?"
"You bet." He walked me over to his car, which was actually pretty nice. The car itself was a slick black color, with a spotless shine. The inside had gray leather seats and it was very clean inside. "I hope you don't mind, but the place I want to take us is a bit of a drive, so we can sight see until we get there."
"That's fine." I replied as I looked out the window. On this island, all I could really see were houses and families. There were many children running around, playing on the side of the street with balls or riding bikes. There was a large lake here as well, but it wasn't as pretty as Middle Park. We crossed over the bridge to get to the middle island. I was getting pretty familiar with it. There were many fancy restaurants and stores. It was the place with the most high rises and shops. We drove by Middle Park and I smiled to myself.
"You live on this island, right?" Ventus asked me as we were driving by.
"Yeah, not too far from here."
"It's a nice island. Much better than mine." He commented as we pulled onto the expressway to take us to the left most island.
"Which one do you live on?" He got quiet for a moment, and then replied.
"Northwood Heights."
"You mean that really run down one?" I noticed how rude that must of sounded after I said it. "I'm sorry." I murmured.
"No, it's fine. It's true. It isn't a really good place, but I normally don't hang around home anyway!" He smiled big and turned his attention back onto the road.
We turned off the expressway and started turning on many back roads. The left most island was all industrial, but it had some nice restaurants. We pulled in front of a pizza shop which was fairly packed.
"Sorry if it isn't someplace nice or anything. When you move out here, you have to taste this pizza. It is the best!" Ventus laughed, turning off the car and helping me out the passenger side.
"I've never had pizza before." I said, clasping my hands behind my back.
"What? Really?" He asked me as he opened the door for me.
"Yeah." Ventus laughed heartedly at me before we walked up to the counter to order. I didn't really pay attention to what he was ordering. It was something along the lines of a medium cheese pizza. We sat down at a table in the far corner of the room. It was hard to even find a spare chair since so many people were packed into that place.
"Is it good?" I questioned, taking a piece of the pizza off the plate.
"It's amazing! You have to try it, Namine." Ventus told me. I eyed the food uneasily before placing it into my mouth. Chewing slowly, I tried to get the full flavor of the food. My eyes lit up in delight when I fully tasted the pizza.
"It's wonderful!" I exclaimed, eating a little bit more. Ventus just smiled.
We finished up eating at the pizza shop before he took me around and told me what each island was. The left most one had the factories and such. The middle was the home of entertainment, the right most one was the home for suburban families and schools. The upper island, Northwood Heights, was the center of 'dirty' entertainment and crime.
"What street do you live on again?" Ventus asked me as we turned off the expressway. I was starting to get cold because the sun was going down and I was still in my school uniform.
"Ah—Ruby." I said. The plan was that I would go home and change and come back out and go to his place so he could change. We were going out to see a movie after much begging and asking from him. My curfew wasn't until a few hours anyway. He turned down the street and I hopped out of the car, walking up to the front of my house and knocking on the door. I haven't been given any keys yet.
"I didn't expect you home this early." Jean said to me as she let us in the house. "Who is this?"
"This is Ventus Hewes. He was the one showing me around today. We were going to go out to a movie, if that is okay." I mentioned. It would be good just to leave out the part that involved me going to his house right after this.
"I guess that's fine. Nice to meet you Ventus. I'm Jean." He shook her hand and smiled.
"Nice you meet you too. I'll wait down here, Namine." He told me and I nodded, running up the stairs to my room. After I got to my room and closed the door, I stripped myself from my uniform. I pulled on a pair of black pantyhose and put on red dress with white floral print covering most of it. Then I pulled out a very large red, cotton sweater. I slipped my feet in black heels and pulled back my blond hair with a clip, letting my bangs and loose strands fall out.
I walked back down the stairs, pulling my small, black purse off the railing and grabbed Ventus's arm.
"Let's go!" I smiled, pulling him out of the house before he had any time to speak to Jean. I don't even want to know what they were talking about.
"You look nice." He commented as we drove to the upper island. I blushed fiercely.
"Thanks." I said in reply. The drive to his house wasn't that far. We just took the upper expressway and were there in a matter of 20 minutes. I looked out the window and Northwood Heights was indeed the place that they made it out to be. It was late at night and people were walking the streets. Some were in groups. There were prostitutes walking up and down to streets, calling to cars and getting in with some old man that was excited to score that night and get laid. Ventus's house was a little of a ways from that entire disturbing scene. It was a little apartment on the top of the hill that you had to drive up. It was a tiny little apartment, but it seemed homey in a way. I could now tell why he lived out here. It wasn't a choice. They just didn't have tons of money like I did.
"Sorry it isn't very presentable." He rubbed the back of his head as I followed him to his front door.
"It's quaint. I like it." I put on my best smile for him. He pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the front door. We had to walk up a flight of stairs before we got to his apartment door, which he had to pull out more keys to open that one.
"I'm home!" He called into the room.
"In here, dear!" A feminine voice called. Out came a woman with long brown hair that was tied in a long braid. She had a smile on her face and was wearing a kitchen apron. Her eyes held happiness as she walked towards us. "Who is this?"
"This is my friend Namine. We are going to go out to a movie." He mentioned. "I just have to get changed." He walked over to the side of the apartment and into a room before closing the door.
"So Namine, what island do you live on?" His mother asked me.
"The middle most one." I replied, taking a seat on the couch while she sat on the chair, wiping her hands on her apron. She nodded and was about to reply when the front door opened. In strolled in Roxas.
"You're actually home?" Mrs. Hewes said to Roxas, with some excitement and sadness. Roxas looked over at me. He was wearing light pale blue jeans, a black shirt with a navy blue plaid button up; but the buttons weren't closed. He was also wearing a black belt, and he had some colored bands on his left hand.
"Why are you here?" He asked me, annoyance in his voice. I kept my hands folded in my lap as I answered.
"I'm waiting for Ventus. We are going to a movie." I replied in my soft soprano voice.
"You guys are going to a movie?" There was some shock in his voice. I nodded. He walked over to an open window and pulled out a cigarette. Not pot, or any drug like that, but a regular cigarette.
"Roxas, you know I don't like you smoking, let alone in the house." She said with distaste in her voice. I scrunched up my nose at him, and he just rolled his eyes and turned and looked out the window. Ventus walked out of his room and I looked at his attire. He was wearing regular blue jeans, a gray shirt, and a leather jacket.
"You ready?" He asked me. "Hey Roxas." Roxas put up his hand, signaling that he acknowledged him.
"I'm ready. Goodbye, Mrs. Hewes." I said, bowing slightly.
"Call me Aerith!" She smiled as we walked out of the house.
It took a while to actually get to the theatre since we had to go back to the middle island. It was near Middle Park and it took a bit to find a parking spot. The lights on the street were on and lighting up the gardens that lined the sidewalks.
"What are we seeing?" I asked shyly. I looked up at him and he had a hand on his chin in deep thought.
"Do you mind a scary movie?" I shuddered, but nodded my head.
"That's fine. I'd love to see a scary movie." I smiled at him. We walked up to the ticket booth and Ventus kindly paid for my ticket. We were going to see George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead. It was some sort of zombie movie. We ordered a medium popcorn and two medium drinks before we walked and sat in the theatre. I was getting ready to pull my legs to my chest and curl into a ball. I was a bit scared.
"You okay?" He asked me. I turned and smiled at him.
"Perfect!"
The room got dark and the movie began. There were obnoxious teenagers sitting all around us laughing and on their cell phones. One thing that bothered me with these movies is that it was always dark in horror movies. Ventus was laughing during the movie because it was apparently very funny. I didn't think so.
"Did you see that?" Ventus pointed at the screen laughing.
"No, not really." I said, peeking through my hands.
After an hour of zombies trying to be actual people, Ventus and I climbed back in the car and he went to drive me back to his house. We talked for a while in the car, making small talk. He had me laughing a lot. We drove around Middle Park and the giant sphere of the planet in the middle of the pond was lit up, shining and spraying designs of water. It was gorgeous.
We got to my house and Ventus got out to walk me to the door. I held my purse in my hands in front of me. He had one of his hands in his pocket as we stood in front of my door. The porch light was on and I was fidgeting with my feet.
"I had fun." He said with a smile on his face.
"Me too." I said, pulling him into a friendly hug. "Ah—see you Monday." He nodded before I waved him goodbye as I walked into the house and up the stairs to my room.
Edited December 2013.