Authors Notes: Thank-you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, y'all are too nice! :D
Anyway, NEW CHAPTER!
DISCLAIMER. I do not own any of the Kingdom Hearts characters that I mention within this story. All credit and ownership goes towards Square Enix, The Walt Disney Company and the creators of Kingdom Hearts.
Eat My Heart Out, Chapter 2
My father stops the car and turns off the rhythmic engine, waking me from my subdued state. I open my eyes to see a wonderful looking house outside of the window.
"Is this it?" I ask sleepily. My father nods before stepping outside to retrieve my luggage. I look at the house's surroundings and notice that it's situated on a cliff which overlooks the vast, never-ending ocean. I also notice a few other houses dotted along the cliff, each one looking as equally extravagant looking as the next... How did he afford this?
I step outside and follow my father into the modern looking house. My father places my luggage down on the floor and turns to face me,
"It's nice, isn't it?" He smiles, "Go check out your bedroom, it's upstairs on the left." I nod uncertainly and start to walk up the staircase.
Although this house is stunning, with huge paintings and ornaments everywhere I look, it doesn't feel like home. Maybe it's because I've only lived here for 2 minutes, but still, I already miss our old house... And Xion and Aerith...
I sigh and open the door to my new bedroom, still feeling slightly upset about not being able to see them ever again. The sunlight blinds me upon entering. I blink as my eyes adjust to the brightness of the room and realize that it's nothing like I expected. The walls are light blue, my favorite color, and the room's surprisingly big as well. It also has a balcony which overlooks an isolated beach below. I walk onto the wooden platform and let my senses absorb the scene. The feel of the island air, the sound of the waves breaking against the rocks and the smell of bright beautiful flowers. It's almost like paradise.
I hear a knock at my door and turn around to see my father standing awkwardly in the doorway. The feeling of momentary euphoria dies. Of course it's him, who else could it be?
"What do you think?" He asks, smiling hesitantly,
"It's nice." I say, without any feeling whatsoever. His face drops,
"Oh... Well, Naminé should be back soon, she's out with her friends at the moment." He says. I nod and turn around, returning to the breathtaking scene in front of me. I hear the door shut and let out a prolonged breath.
What's his angle? Why is he being so... Strange? Normally he'd just leave me alone, but this new persona of his seems to want my affection... I don't get why though. He knows I hate him, and that I will go to my grave hating him. Not only did he mercilessly kill my mother, and send Ventus to jail, but now he's also separated me from Xion and Aerith, two of my favorite people in the entire world... Whatever he's planning to do to earn my forgiveness, I know that I will never forgive him...
I sigh and watch a bird fly into the magnificent, blue sky, wishing that I just could transform into one and fly away from all of this. I'd fly back to Twilight Town, back to Xion and Aerith, back to the life that I lived five years ago.. I don't want to live under the same roof as my father, or start a new school, because I'm useless at making new friends...
But I can't really do anything about it. I can't run away from home because I don't know where I'd go. And I can't stop from attending a new school because my father's already enrolled me... So I guess I'm stuck. Tomorrow I guess I'll just have to grit my teeth and cope with it...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Naminé's changed a lot since I last saw her. Not only has she grown a lot taller, and let her hair grow a bit longer, but she's also seems much more grown-up. I remember saying goodbye to her the morning I left for the clinic. She was so scared and upset because she didn't want to be left alone with our father for a long period of time. And as the taxi drove away, the image of her holding onto her teddy bear and running after us haunted me for months... But now the scared little girl I'd grown so accustomed to no longer exists.
"Where do you want this Roxas?" She asks, holding out a framed photo of me and Xion. I look at the photo for a second, remembering that it was taken when we were allowed to go out for a walk in the nearby woods. It was such a warm, wonderful Summers day and we had so much fun skipping stones and swimming in the lake...
"Um, just over there..." I say, pointing to somewhere random, knowing that if I stare at the photo long enough I'll start crying. Naminé nods and places it carefully on the dresser where red, orange and golden rays of the setting sun are resting peacefully. "So, how long have you lived here?" I ask,
"About three months," She replies,
"And what do you think of it?"
"Well, it certainly is a lot quieter than Twilight Town," She says. I laugh slightly, realizing how much I've missed Naminé. "And the scenery is beautiful. The school is quite nice as well."
"Is it large?"
"Kind of, but you get used to it. And, by the way, make sure you wear sunscreen when you go outside, otherwise you'll tan like a wotsit." She laughs. I smile and give her a "Shut up" kind of look. I do tan really easily...
"How did he convince you to move here though?" I ask, referring to our father. Naminé pauses for a moment and looks out of the window at the brilliant multicolored sky.
"Well... It wasn't easy to consider leaving everything behind, including all of my friends, but dad said that we'd start a new life here, and that things would go back to the way they were, you know, before everything happened..." She says,
"And you believed him?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows,
"Well, yeah... I wanted to start a new life as well Roxas, and he promised we would... And he's kept that promise. He's much happier living here than he was back in Twilight Town. I mean, he smiles a lot more, he laughs a lot more, he-"
"He killed our mother." I interrupt. Naminé stops and immediately turns around to face me with a surprised expression, before looking down at the wooden floor.
"Roxas... He's changed..." She says quietly. My eyes enlarge. What did Naminé just say? Did she just say that he's changed? Has she forgotten what he did to our family?
"You think he's changed?" I ask heatedly, "Naminé, he's the reason our mother died, he's the reason Ventus went to jail, he's the reason I suffered from an eating disorder, for two years!"
"I know," She protests, "But-"
"But nothing," I interrupt, "A person like that can never change!"
"Roxas..." She says,
"I mean, I can't believe you! How could you even think that?"
"Roxas..."
"He's a monster, a foul, evil-"
"Roxas!"
"What!"
"Fine, if you're going to be like this, I'm leaving." She says, storming out of the room.
"Whatever," I say exasperatingly, throwing my teddy bear at the wall. Naminé stops at the doorway and turns around,
"In a few days time, you'll see what I mean..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A high-pitched noise echoes throughout the school, alerting me from sorting out my locker. I quickly stuff the remaining contents of books, papers and pencils into the metal box and shut it before they can all fall out. I lock it and turn around to see a girl with magenta colored hair smiling creepily at me.
"Um... Can I help you?" I ask,
"Yes, you can, are you Roxas Sky?" She asks, looking at a piece of paper,
"Um... Y-yeah I am." I reply,
"Oh, yay! Nice to meet you Roxas and welcome to Papou Fruit High School!" She exclaims.
Papou Fruit High School? What a stupid name, I think to myself.
"I'm Kairi and I'm part of the welcoming committee!" She smiles happily, "I've been looking for you all morning! Anyway, I'm going to be your tour guide for the day." I smile awkwardly. I'm not really used to being around someone so preppy. And she's been looking for me all morning? I can understand why she had a hard time finding me though. I mean, apart from my distinctive hairstyle, I don't really stand out among the horde of students. I even purposefully chose clothes that would help me blend in; a grey hoodie, a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans.
"Have you got your timetable yet?" She asks,
"I think so..." I say, rummaging around in my black and white checkered bag, "Yeah, got it." I give it to Kairi and she takes a look at it,
"Oh good, you're in the same classes as me! Well, apart from Gym..." She says, "Anyway, we've got History first with Professor Vexen, follow me!"
I smile uncomfortably and follow her down the hallway.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
History was uneventful, since I didn't really pay that much attention in it. We were learning about the history of a place called Traverse Town, and everyone seemed pretty bored. I almost feel asleep at one point. And my mind started thinking about the fight I had with Naminé the night before. I still don't understand what she meant by "In a few days time, you'll see what I mean...", referring to our fathers "reformed" ways...
Geography was okay, since we got to watch a film and everyone just goofed around. I also met two of Kairi's friends; Tidus and Wakka, who seemed very nice and friendly.
However, Maths was difficult. We were learning about how to solve algebraic equations and the teacher, a man named Luxord, acted like we all already knew how to do it. Which I didn't. so I just looked confused the whole lesson.
Physics was the worst though. It was just incredibly boring, and the teacher, a man named Xigbar, shouted at me twice for trying to talk to Kairi. So I got annoyed and just doodled on his table for the rest of the lesson. I hope he likes rude drawings.
Anyway, it's lunch time now, thankfully. Although I've still got two more periods of Gym before this nightmare ends...
I sigh and grab a pasta pot and a carton of fruit juice, briefly checking the calorie count, before following Kairi over to a table in the center of the cafeteria.
"So what do you think of the school so far?" Kairi asks,
"Uh..." I reply. She laughs a little bit and sits down,
"Yeah, it's quite a handful." She admits. I nod and sit down next to her, noticing Tidus and Wakka eating their packed lunches opposite us. "But you get used to it," She continues, "I mean when I first joined I didn't think I'd be able to handle it, but-"
"But now she's a straight A student, president of the welcoming committee and one of the most popular girls in school." A boy's voice interrupts. I turn around and see two boys standing behind us. The taller one has light grey, almost white colored hair, and bright turquoise colored eyes that seem to hold an ocean of knowledge within them. Whereas the shorter boy has chestnut colored hair, which looks a lot spikier than mine, and huge cerulean colored eyes that seem to hold a sky of endless possibilities within them.
"Shut up Riku." Kairi retorts playfully,
"You know it's true," He smiles, "Anyway, who's the new kid?"
"Oh, this is Roxas!" She says,
"H-Hi..." I stumble slightly,
"Hey, nice to meet you Roxas, I'm Riku, and this bonehead next to me is Sora." He laughs. The boy called Sora punches him lightheartedly and smiles at me, revealing a perfect set of shiny, white teeth. Both of them sit down.
"So how was your Chemistry test, Riku?" Kairi asks, poking her lasagne with a fork.
"Meh, it was okay, I mean I could've done better but..." Riku's voice drowns out among the other conversations taking place in the cafeteria. I sigh and take a sip of fruit juice, realizing that I don't feel that hungry anymore.
"So where are you from Roxas?" Sora asks suddenly. I squeeze the carton of fruit juice in surprise, causing the contents to spill down my chin. Sora laughs.
"Oh," I say, feeling my cheeks turning red, "I-I'm from Twilight Town."
"Twilight Town..." He says slowly, as if trying to place it,
"It's about an hours drive from here." I say, wiping my chin with the sleeve of my hoodie,
"Oh yeah," He says, "I hear they sell the best ice cream, and I love ice cream! I've forgotten what it's called though..."
"Sea salt ice cream?" I suggest,
"Sea salt ice cream, that's it!" He says, grinning. I laugh at his excitable, childlike expression, his happiness is very contagious... "So why'd you move all the way down here?" He asks.
"Um... I-I guess my father just wanted a change of scenery." I reply,
"Oh right, that's cool," He says, " Destiny Island certainly is different from anywhere else in the world, and the surf's amazing!"
"You surf?" I ask, suddenly feeling more interested than I've been all day.
"Yeah all the time," He replies, "Why, do you?"
"No... But I'd love to learn. My older brother, Ventus, always promised he'd teach me but he um... Left for uh... College before he could." I stumble slightly,
"Oh right, that sucks..." He says sympathetically, "Hey! I could teach you if you want?"
"R-really?" I ask,
"Yeah, it would be fun. I mean, I taught Riku a few years ago and now he's almost as good as me." He says,
"Almost?" I question,
"Well, no one's as good as me." He winks. I laugh slightly and nod,
"Um, yeah okay, that would be great, thanks."
"Awesome, plus it'll give us a chance to get to know each other better," He smiles warmly, "How about we start Friday after school?"
I open my mouth to reply but all of a sudden the bell interrupts me.
"Oh, well there's the bell, what do you have next Roxas?" He asks, slinging his bright orange bag over his shoulder.
"Double gym." I say,
"Me too!" He exclaims. I smile and follow Sora out of the cafeteria, feeling slightly happier about things...
Okay, so there you go, the second chapter. I'm not necessarily happy with the dialogue between Sora and Roxas... I think Roxas uses way too many "ums" and Sora sounds a little boring...
Anyway, thank-you for reading, and remember to review!