Chapter 2: The prince and a Nobody


I stared blankly at the piece of paper I held in my hands, the love letter Kairi had asked me. I wasn't sure myself. Should I give it to her so she could confess to her beloved crush? Or should I throw it into fire so it would burn into black ashes and no one would read it? And then I might just said that someone was picking on me and tore it up into pieces before threw it to the nearest river. Seifer would be a good character for my little lie. Kairi definitely would understand. She would, no she should understand because she was my best friend. Best friends should understand about each other, right?

Well, but because she's my best friend, I couldn't do that. I couldn't lie to her. I might be selfish, but I wasn't selfish and bad enough to do that to her.

Oh God, this time I felt like being a good person, as I was, was a curse. I hope I could be such a bad, heartless person so I wouldn't think about other people's feeling, Especially Kairi's feeling. The only thing I would think about was me, myself, my own feeling. It was simpler that way. I hate complicated things.

Damn with me being a nice friend or something. If I had a choice, I would like to be selfish once in a life time so I could have anything I like for myself. Damn. I kept cursing myself as I shoved the letter into my postman bag before closed the zipper shut. I would give it to Kairi as soon as I see her. Damn me and my good girl attitude. Damn.

-X-X-X-X-

Kairi and Roxas had been going out for over a month now. And just like what I said before, they looked perfect together. Everyone at school saw them as a cute couple. Of course, Kairi was a princess and Roxas was a prince. They were made for each other. Prince and Princess was a great thing to see, but Prince and Nobody? Nah, that won't do.

I was hanging out with Kairi and her boyfriend at the Sandy Café today. It had become our usual place for hanging around. Yes, our. Not their, but our. Not them, but us. The point was I always hang around with them. And should I write it with capital letters? ALWAYS, got it?

Yes, I might seem as an obstacle for both of them, but no, because Kairi was the one who asked me to accompany her whenever they're going somewhere. If you asked why, that's because "I feel really nervous if it was just the two of us," I quoted from Kairi's saying.

Well, it wasn't I didn't like it. In fact, I enjoyed it since I could see him everyday. And who knew? Maybe he'll get to know me better and start to fell for me instead of Kairi. After all, through all this one month, I had become his best friends. We became more opened to each other. He talked to me in a carefree and friendly tone of voice, not in a sweet, polite tone like he usually used. I enjoyed that a bit. Although deep down I knew that I wasn't the one he sees. I wasn't the reflection you could see in his eyes. It was Kairi, his girlfriend, his little princess, not a Nobody like me.

-X-X-X-X-

The bell hanging above the café door rang as I pushed the door open, giving me some spaces to come in the shop. "Welcome," I heard a voice greeting, most likely to be one of the waiters. I nodded nonchalantly, not really paying attention to the person.

I walked over to my usual place, the table on the corner of the café, where most people wouldn't notice. I put down my post-man bag on the coffee table and sat on the cream-colored couch, letting my body rest on it.

"May I have your order, Miss?" Another waiter came to the side of my table. He handed me the menu. I observed the menu for a while. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered to look at the menu if it ended up I would order the same thing every time I came here. It was kind of a habit, I guess.

"Hot chocolate and lava chocolate cake, please," I ordered as the waiter took a note of it. I handed the menu back to him.

"Please wait for a minute, Miss," he said politely before then took off to the counter.

I took out my notebook, a mechanical pencil, and an eraser from my bag then put it all on the nicely-furnished wooden table. I opened the notebook and flipped some first pages until I reached a blank white page. I picked up my pencil and started to write on the page, letter by letter, word by word, carefully and thoughtfully, getting distracted in my writing.

"This is your order, Miss. Sorry for the waiting." I suddenly heard someone's voice, some familiar voice.

I looked up from the page to a very familiar blond boy. He looked down at me with his cerulean eyes, getting wide-eyed as soon as I faced him. "Namine?" The boy called my name.

I stared dumbfounded at him. "Roxas?" I said disbelievingly. "W-What are you doing here?" I tried to control my tone so it wouldn't sound rude.

His surprised look took over with his usual gentle smile. "I'm working here. See?" He gestured at the apron he's been wearing, written on its green surface: The Cosy.

"You work here?" I repeated his sentence as if I tried to get it registered to my head. It sounded more like a question, though.

His smile grew wilder. "Do I need to repeat it for you?" He teased.

I stared at him for a minute. "But I thought… you are…" I stuttered, mentally ruffling around my mind, searching for a proper word to say.

"What? Popular guy? The smartest and most handsome guy at school?" He complimented himself, giving me a cocky smirk.

I pouted at the way he said it. It was as if he was the best guy you can find in this whole world, or was he?

Roxas gave out a laugh, a carefree laugh. "Sorry, kidding. But surely, I myself don't think I was attractive or something. And even if I am, couldn't I work here?"

"I don't see that as a problem, actually." I shrugged, telling him the truth.

"Then, you don't have to be so surprised or anything, right?" He put on another teasing smile.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah." My respond only made him laugh more.

This was one side of him you couldn't see unless you become friends with him. And luckily, and to my thanks for being Kairi's best friend, I could see it. How he might look so serious and polite from the outer look, and changed to a very carefree and humorous guy when you got to know him better. I liked him more whenever I saw it.

But I knew I shouldn't. I should just let my feeling go. Because it was all hopeless, Roxas was Kairi's boyfriend. And to my unluckiness, Kairi was my best friend. I couldn't do that to my friend, not to her, not to Kairi.

"So," Roxas began the conversation again. "What are you doing here, alone?" he asked, giving an emphasizing tone on the word 'alone', as he put down a mug of hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate cake I ordered in front of me.

"Hey, me being Kairi's friend doesn't mean I always have to be with her, you know?" I said, shoving my things to my side so the coffee table would be left empty. "And anyway this place has been my place to be alone."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Nah, it didn't mean that I mad at you or something."

He gave me another soft smile. "By the way, what were you writing back then?" he asked, pointing at the notebook, which now on the couch.

"I'm writing a poem," I answered honestly.

Roxas gave a genuine look of interest. "Poem? Can I read it?"

I looked at his face. He surely meant what he was saying, so I picked up my notebook and gave it to him. He took it happily. He flipped the book open, read some first pages through. His eyes scanned at every line, at every word.

There wasn't really anything in that book. Actually that notebook was new, so there were only some short poems; maybe around four, or five if the one I'd been writing included. But he seemed to enjoy every poem I made, a big wide grin never left his gorgeous face.

After some minutes of reading, he closed the book. "You're awesome," he complimented.

"Eh?" I responded stupidly.

"You have such a talent to become a poet, Nam." He complimented, giving me a warm smile that almost made me wanna rose from my seat, ran in a circle, and yelled how happy I was, but thankfully, I sat on the coach still.

To tell the truth, being a poet never crossed my mind even once; I wasn't really interested in being one. I just loved to write poem and that's it. That didn't mean I would dedicate myself and my life only to write them. So praise like that shouldn't make any effect on me. But since that came from him, I didn't feel anything but delighted.

"Oh." Yeah, Oh, simple respond, wasn't it? "Really?"

"Yeah, really. I especially like this one." He leafed through some pages and stopped when he found a certain page. "Looking at the stars, bring me to my dreams, far above in the sky. The wave…"

"W-W-Wait. Stop!" I yelped and quickly snatched the notebook from his hands, preventing him from reading more. Actually, that one was a reflex. I held the book in my hands tightly; made sure it was safe before threw a glare at Roxas as my face blushed a bit due to my overreacting. "D-Don't read it out loud, you idiot."

"Aw. Why?" He whined, didn't look guilty even a bit. He curled his lips into an adorable pout. O-oh. Did I just day adorable?

My face grew red again, but for a very different reason this time. "I-I-I… it, this… uh…" Ugh, couldn't I just say even one proper word out? I gulped the nervousness down my throat and finally let out an understandable sentence. "J-Just don't. It's e-embarrassing." Yeah, embarrassing just like what I felt right now.

He looked at me with hopeful face. Uh, no, not that face. "Don't look at me like that." I snapped. I hated it when he gave me that look, because it for sure would make me lost. I finally could shake my head after a few minutes of got a hold of myself. "No." I stated once again.

He sighed and gave up. He put his hands in a playful surrender then smirked at me. "Okay, okay. I won't insist." He said, but his tone full of disappointment.

"But…" I trailed off. "…I-If you promise not to read the poems out loud, I'll let you read it."

His hopeful expression came over his face again. "Really?"

I nodded weakly, mentally cursing myself for being so easy give up just because of his cute hopeful face. "Yes."

He put his left hand into a fist then put it across his body, on his right shoulder. "I promise I won't read it out loud as long as you let me read it." He repeated my sentence, but from his perspective. I chuckled a bit, making him smile again.

I gave the book to him again and he read it all over again full of interest. I never knew he liked poems so much. "Are you new in writing poem?" He flipped another page.

I shook my head. "No. I have some books of my own poems."

Roxas suddenly lifted his head up and pointed his blue gaze at me. "You have?" He asked so I nodded as a respond. "Can I read it?"

"Eh?" was all I could say with a disbelieving.

"S-Sure." I finally stuttered. "I actually brought one of them he…"—re. I was about to finish my sentence when I realized: The other book I brought had the poem I wrote in Kairi's letter. Uh-oh.

"Ah," I said a bit loud, faking my tone. "I forgot to bring it with me." I slapped my forehead on purpose. I looked at him. "Sorry. I'll bring it another time."—and I would make sure to bring different book, which definitely not this one.

He only gave me an understanding smile. "Don't worry."

"Hey, Roxas!" Someone suddenly called out for him from behind the counter.

Both Roxas and I turned our head to the source of the voice. "Yeah?" He answered to his co-worker's calling.

"Bring this to table three, will you?" His co-worker said, pointing at a tray of sweets on the counter.

"Okay." He shouted back before turned to me. "Sorry, Nam. I'll talk to you later. Anyway, I'll be waiting for it."

"I come here almost every weekend,"—since that were the only free days when I didn't have to accompany Kairi and his boyfriend. I informed him.

He smiled. "Okay, then." He turned around and walked over to his co-worker. "Catch'cha later."

-X-X-X-X-

Since the day at the café, every each day, I would come up to him, gave him one of my poem collections, and asked him for opinions. But the book—in which I wrote Kairi's poem—would never leave my bag.

Roxas and I had become closer and closer. It seemed like we couldn't be separated from each other. Sure, Kairi was coming along with us, but Roxas talked more to me than to her. We sometimes even forgot that she was there. I felt bad for her, actually.

A feeling of guilt sometimes came up to me. But I didn't cheat on her, right? Well, I knew I hang out with her boyfriend and he talk to me more than he did with her and all, but still, I didn't do anything except talking to him. It wasn't like I tried to flirt with him or anything. We were only friends. Roxas was my friend, and I hoped he felt the same, too. Yeah, I hoped he felt the same for me, as a friend, or did I?

-X-X-X-X-

I walked down the school hallway, passed by a few students, and finally arrived at my locker. Kairi was standing beside it, since she had gotten the locker right next to mine. She stood in front of her opened locker, gathering some stuff for her first class.

"Hey," I greeted her simply.

Kairi moved her head from inside the locker to me. That was when I realized something was strange about her. She looked at me, but it most likely a glare. Yes, she glared at me, something that she rarely—almost never—did.

She didn't respond me for some minutes, but after that she began, "Don't take him away."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. Did she just say something about taking someone away? Or was it just me and my imagination?

"What?" I responded back with a question, hoping she would give some explanation about what she said before.

She still gave me that killing sight. "Don't… Take… Him… Away…" She paused at every of her words, emphasizing her tone with every word that came out from her lips.

"Him?" I asked back stupidly. "Who do you mean?"

I seemed to get on her nerve as she started raising her tone. "Don't take Roxas from me!" She practically yelled at me, showing how emotional she had gotten.

Kairi was always such an emotional girl if I could say, but usually, it was in a good way. I meant, she was cheerful, happy-go-lucky, and all that, but she never got angry, angry with a really in front of it, really angry. Well, never until today.

"W-What? Why would I take him?" I was totally clueless about what she's talking about.

"What did you do to Roxas? Did you try to flirt with him or something?" she said with a threatening tone in her voice.

"What are you talking about, Kai? What had gotten into you?" I snapped at her. Her words started to get me irritated.

She didn't hear anything I said. Her anger had gotten over her, making her can't think rationally. "Oh, don't talk as if you were an innocent little angel, Namine. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I don't know anything about that damn thing you're talking, Kai."

"Don't play dumb!" She slammed her locker door closed with a loud bam. "Roxas has been talking about you for this last two days. It was always about you, you, you, and you."

"What?"

"What did exactly you do to him? You're trying to get his attention, aren't you?" She threatened again.

"I'm not."

"Oh, admit it, Namine. I knew you always have a crush on him, I knew."

Her saying made me shut up. She knew? Did she really know about it? But, since when?

"You… knew?"

"Yeah, I knew. And you still like him, right?"

"I…"

"Yeah, you do like him. And now you're thinking about taking him away from me."

"I… I'm not…"

"I love him, Namine. I love him a lot." Her blue eyes became teary and her voice shaking. "Don't take him from me. Don't, please." A tear escaped through her flushed cheek.

"Kai," I called her, concerned. I took a step forth about to comfort her.

"Don't come near me!" She shouted. "Don't come near me, Namine. You'll only hurt me more."

With that, she left, half running through the halls to who-knows-where. Some of the kids around us looked at me, some in confusion, and some in disapproving look. And for Kairi, they gave her pity look.

I was left alone in the corridor, knowing nothing except that I had lost my best friend. And the reason I know was because of one boy: Roxas McCarthy.

Author's note:

This one is a lot longer than the first, but I still hope you like it. And thanks A LOT for reading this.

For appleRbear, namixasfan, and Kit-Kat-Wafer, thanks for your reviews. THANKS. Many, many thanks. ^^