DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS!
September part II
There in the middle of the page, sure enough there was a picture of Sora. It was a full-body picture of him standing in the middle of the road like it was that morning, but instead his back was turned, but his head was turned so it had a curious look to it. The picture itself was in black, greys and whites but the only thing other than that was his eyes, which were the exact shade of blue.
"Ehh? That's really me…" Sora gawked. "My eyes… how did you…?" Lifting up one of his hands, he touched his fingertips to the skin just under his eye.
Naminé smiled, thoroughly enjoying his reaction. "I remember them well." She closed the sketchbook. "Anyways, I'm hungry. Let's eat."
Sora's stomach growled loudly and he scratched the back of his head. "Haha, I have no objections about that." The blonde laughed softly and walked with Sora to the blanket, where everyone was waiting. The group happily chattered with talk of past years together and summer vacation, but Naminé simply stared at her uneaten apple and sandwich, head bowed down quietly. She honestly didn't have much to say at all.
For the first time that day, she'd taken the time to acknowledge just how much she had changed in one morning. Was it right for her to be doing this? Sitting, talking with people she hadn't known for more than ten minutes. Personally she was perfectly fine with hanging around Kairi since she didn't seem to mind, but she felt self-conscious. Just earlier that morning she had promised that she wouldn't get too close to anybody and try to stay low. She'd thought that having to drive Sora to their school was bad, but here she was totally ignoring her little self-pledge. Maybe her dad was right, that it was okay to go to a school like this, but she felt so out of character. What happened to her? Was it the people? Or was she not being herself? Could it be that she'd changed so people would like her? Wait, but what was her true self even like? Was this it?
"Naminé?" A hand waved in front of her face. "You there?"
Hurriedly she snapped out of her trance and looked up. "Huh? Oh, sorry." Kairi took her hand away with a warm smile.
"Aren't you going to say anything? I did just introduce you to all my friends." The redhead laughed.
She felt her cheeks warm up. "Sorry, I zoned out."
"No problem. Name's Tidus." Said boy poked a confident thumb into his chest with a big grin. There was something about him Naminé liked, so she smiled back.
"I'm Roxas. I think you were in my music class with Olette. You're really great at the violin!" The other blonde smiled too. Naminé had seen him; he played the guitar just as well as she could play the violin. She smiled her thanks.
"Riku," The silver-haired boy said. "But you already knew that. You were being a klutz in art class."
She felt herself blush deeper. "But you already knew that."
"Leave her alone, Riku," Kairi scolded, but she was smiling too. "She's endured enough of your abuse for today."
"And I'm Sora. We got off a little rough this morning." He scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "But you're really great at art."
"Yeah, it's so nice to meet you all." Something happy fluttered inside her chest. There were so many different people here, different from what she expected. "By the way, why are you all here? What's your talent?"
"I play guitar and act." Roxas replied.
"I act too." Tidus said cheerily.
"I'm a flute player." Olette nodded.
"I sing, and dance a little." Xion said quietly.
"I wanted really bad to be an actor, so here I am perfecting myself." Sora smiled widely.
"Play piano." Riku seemed to be saying little as possible, occasionally taking sips from his energy drink. Naminé had to admit she was a bit surprised. Someone like Riku, enrolling a performing arts school for his talent at piano…
"I sing, act, and play piano. I think of Riku as my fellow rival." Kairi laughed. Wow… she was here for all that? "What about you, Naminé?"
"I play piano and violin, and I'm in here mostly for art. I'm not good on stage." She tried to smile although she was nervous.
"Oh, so that's why you always have that violin case and sketchbook with you," Sora cocked his head.
"Yeah," She clutched her sketchbook a little tighter to her. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them." When nobody talked, she laughed awkwardly. "I sound pretty stupid, talking as if they're living things."
"No, it's cool." Tidus shook his head.
"That's what got you here." Xion said with a small smile.
"Of course they're important to you!" Olette nodded.
Riku stared into the distance nonchalantly. "Isn't it difficult having to juggle all that?"
"No," Naminé shook her head. "I don't find it all that difficult because it's what I love doing. And when you love doing something, it's worth it. It may be busy, but it is worth it." Her cheeks warmed again. What did she just say?
"Yeah, I get it." Kairi nodded her understanding. "I feel the same way. Sometimes it's not easy having to deal with acting, singing, and piano, but I have fun doing it, so it's fine for me."
Tidus laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Wow. Here I am with all the multi-talented people and I just act lines off a script."
Riku actually looked like something was tugging at the corners of his lips. "And I just smash keys on a piano with notes off a book."
"I broke my flute in half once." Olette chirped a little too happily.
Everyone laughed, even Riku smiled, and for the first time ever Naminé felt like she belonged. Their laughter fell silent after there was a loud thud from behind the door.
"Who's up here?" An angry, muffled voice demanded.
"Shit!" Roxas swore under his breath, but loud enough to be heard by the circle. Xion started to scramble hurriedly for her bag but Kairi grabbed her wrist tightly.
"What are you doing?" Xion hissed angrily.
"Be quiet!" Kairi put a finger to her lips. "If you make a big fuss and stomp around of course they're gonna hear you!"
"Then what do we do?" Olette whispered, biting her nails. The thumps were starting to get louder. Whoever it was, they were coming up the stairs, and fast. Roxas was already pale and hurriedly shoving his lunch back in the bag. Naminé quickly did the same, which didn't take long with only an apple and uneaten sandwich. But Riku looked perfectly calm, those teal eyes unwavering. Another artistic spark went off in her brain.
The silver-haired boy simply pointed next to the door. "Over there. If someone opens the door, they won't see us unless they walk out."
Kairi pushed everyone off the blanket and bundled it up, shoving it into her book bag. Everyone else tiptoed over next to the door, their short safe-spot. The thuds got even louder. Kairi told Tidus something before squishing in next to everyone else.
"You're stepping on my foot." Roxas whispered sharply.
"Sorry!" Kairi whispered back.
"We're a little cozy." Xion said.
"Just a tad." Olette groaned quietly. "Move over!"
How Naminé ended up squished between Sora and Riku, she had no idea, but whatever it was, she didn't like it. The second she felt her back against someone's chest, she turned to be face to face with a fairly irritated-looking Riku.
"I'm so sorry!" She whispered, starting to pull herself away. She could already feel her face going red.
"Just hush," Riku whispered back, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. Her back hit his chest again and their legs were touching awkwardly. "We have to stay close if we're not going to be seen."
Why was Riku getting all touchy? "R-right. Sorry." She could feel his heartbeat drumming through his chest to her back, and Sora's back was nearly pressing into her chest too. Awkward… Just then she noticed that Tidus wasn't with them.
"Where's Tidus?" She whispered fiercely, looking around.
"Shh," Riku hushed, tugging at her arm again. With a nearly silent squeak, the blonde stumbled even further into him, barely putting all her weight against him. "Kairi was just talking to him, so she probably has a plan." His breath was just hitting her ear and she felt herself shudder. Her knee bent, and a pained peep came from in front of her.
"Naminé, your knee is in my ribs." Sora whispered.
"Sorry!" She whispered back again. Then she heard a voice. Tidus?
"Principal Xemnas!" Tidus said cheerily. Tidus was an actor, wasn't he? Surely he could get through this. "How are you?"
"Cut the small talk, Tidus. What are you doing up here? You know the roof is restricted to all students." An unnaturally deep voice boomed.
"Sorry sir," Tidus kept chattering. "I know you won't believe this, but the wind blew and swept my papers up to the roof."
The blonde slapped her palm to her face.
Riku seemed to be intentionally leaning in now to make her embarrassed. "Hey, don't worry. He's an actor for a reason. Improv is important, right?"
She couldn't do anything but nod. Riku was too close for comfort. "Y-yeah." Looking over at Sora, he was crushed against Roxas and Olette, Xion awkwardly squished up nearly right against the door. Looking past Riku, there was the metal fencing. If he wasn't careful and fell backwards, he would fall all the way down.
"You're right Tidus, I don't believe you." Principal Xemnas said flatly.
"Right. Actually, a crow flew down and stole it from me. You know how crows are."
"Tidus, I'm not letting you leave until you tell me why you're here."
"Fine with me."
Naminé snickered quietly with Sora. Now all they had to do was wait until the Principal left, and then they could all leave. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Riku's arms wrap around her.
"What are you doing?" She whispered harshly, squirming slightly in his grip.
"You won't stop wiggling around." He replied.
"Why are you getting all cuddly all of a sudden?" She asked as gently as possible although she was resisting every urge to hit him.
"I figured this would shut you up for a little bit so don't go thinking that we're friends. I still think you're a klutz." The blonde let out a defeated sigh. Riku had that resistance-is-futile tone in his voice. To think that this tough silver-haired boy would do something like this…
"Tell me why exactly you are blocking me from the door. I opened it to find you standing right there. Isn't that peculiar, Tidus?"
"Not at all. I told you that I came to get my homework back."
"And where is this homework you lost? Why don't I come out there and help?"
Sora and Olette started squirming while Naminé looked up to Riku, pleading with her eyes. But his teal eyes seemed narrowed in thought themselves. Without a word, he pointed up to the air vent. Oh no. Where they going to have to go all secret agent style? She looked back up at him with a look of disbelief, which he seemed to read properly.
"Relax, we'll fit. This is the biggest air vent in the building." He whispered in her ear. Naminé felt herself blushing at his breath just hitting her ear, but snapped back to reality.
"Where does it lead?"
"Anywhere away from here and that's all that matters for right now."
"It's too high," She whispered back. "We'll never be able to reach it. And we don't have enough time."
"I'll boost you guys up. Surely you don't weight too much. And I'm sure that Tidus can buy us enough time."
"Oh my gosh Principal Xemnas! Haven't you heard? Aqua and Terra are nearly a couple! Maybe they just need that extra 'oomph' to get it kick-started." Tidus chattered on. Naminé fought the urge to laugh by remembering that they had to get out of there. With a silent sigh she turned her head back to Riku, who hadn't let her go yet.
"Riku, give me a boost. I'm going to take off the cover and go first. I'll signal you when you can come in, but help the others first. Can you get up here on your own?" Naminé told him, and the silver-haired boy nodded. Lacing his fingers together, the blonde stepped up onto his hands as gingerly as she could, and he noticed how gentle she was being.
"Idiot, it's fine to put your weight on my hands."
"Oh." She said intelligently, doing so but only putting on some. Leaning against the cold wall, she reached up and struggled to get the vent cover off without making too much noise. She looked down at the silver-haired boy.
"Hey, does this thing come off?" She asked as quietly as possible.
"Yeah, but you have to pull it harder than that. The screws already should be a bit loose." Riku told her.
"Tidus, I'm not interested with the romantic affairs of any of our staff here at Destiny Waves. Now move out of the way."
"Maybe if you added a please and did a little dance." Tidus said cheekily.
Olette and Xion looked horrified, Sora just looked plain confused. Naminé knew she didn't have much time.
"What? I'm not going to amuse you by doing whatever you tell me to." Xemnas said.
"Then why do you expect me to do the same?" Tidus asked innocently.
Tugging harder this time, she yanked the cover off. It made a loud noise which Tidus covered up with an overdramatic fake sneeze. Nice save, she thought, and looked down at Riku.
"Oh, bless me!" Tidus said cheerily. "Allergies are starting to kick in, Principal."
"Lift me up a little higher." She whispered, and he obediently obeyed, stretching his sturdy arms up all the way. Reaching her hands up into the dark vent, she placed one foot on the wall and kicked up, doing the same with the other foot. When both her feet were sticking out of the vent, she quietly whistled the signal to Riku and proceeded to crawl forward.
"Because I am the Principal of this school, Tidus Murakami, and it's my job to guide students in the right direction. And it's your job to do as I say because I have authority over you."
"What if I don't think that you're guiding me in the right direction?"
"Then we can figure something else out."
What am I doing, Naminé thought to herself. My original plan was to stay low and now I'm crawling in an air vent on the first day of school. What am I doing… What am I doing!?
Her thoughts were interrupted when a hand latched onto her ankle. Turning around and opening her mouth to scream, she saw Sora's face instead.
"Hehe, sorry. Just thought I'd let you know I'm in now. Olette and Xion are up next. Oh, and Kairi too. Riku's last."
She nodded. "Yeah. I know." There was a short pause. "Do you know where this leads?"
The brunette shook his head. "No clue. But we gotta get out of here before lunch ends or we're in trouble."
She gave a short laugh. "Aren't we already?"
"Oof!" Xion's voice echoed from behind her. Looked like she was in too.
"Whee!" Olette was in too, a thud echoing from behind again. Did Riku throw her in or something? She wondered for a minute if he would be okay, but Riku was the tallest. Maybe even the strongest. She'd just have to see.
"Geez, that was rough." Kairi's voice came in too. Two more thuds echoed from the back. Riku and Roxas were in.
"Are we all here?" Naminé asked.
"Mm-hmm. Tidus should be fine; detention comes naturally for him." Kairi said.
"You already know." Sora laughed quietly.
"I'm here," Xion called.
"This is so cool!" Olette squeaked.
"Yup." Roxas said.
"Yeah." Riku said coolly.
So in the awkward line, they all started to crawl forwards to wherever the next vent opening was. It took her a while to realize that her butt was sticking up in the air a little too suggestively so the blonde tried her best to stay as flat as possible.
She shuddered. "Why is it so cold in here?"
"This must be one of the air conditioning vents." Olette said from the back.
"Great. So we're either going to be late, get found, or freeze to death if we don't make it out of here by the end of lunch." Naminé said flatly.
"Well on the bright side…" Sora tried.
Nobody said anything.
"Yeah, scratch that." The usually-cheery brunette concluded.
"How much time before the bell rings?" Xion asked.
There was a pause. Riku was probably checking his watch. "Five minutes."
"Hurry!" Roxas called and Naminé bit her lip and crawled faster. Crap. How long were these vents and where would they turn?
"How long do these go? We have to find an exit as soon as we can." Naminé asked.
"I have no idea. I've never been in here before." Kairi admitted.
"Not to point fingers or anything, but you do realize this is kind of your fault Kairi." Riku's voice echoed from the end of the line.
Naminé heard the redhead sigh. "I know. I was positive that nobody would come up here. All the staff was supposed to be at a meeting for the whole lunch period. I didn't think that Principal Xemnas would come up. I'm sorry, guys. I thought that a rooftop picnic on the first day of school would be great but all I did was get us stuck in an air vent."
"If the staff was supposed to be in a meeting that might mean that somebody saw us on the way up here." Roxas suggested.
Naminé frowned. "We should've been more careful."
"Who could have saw us? There are too many kids in this school for just one person to see where we were going, and if they did they probably wouldn't give two turnips." Olette asked.
There was a processing pause. She was right, in a way.
"It could have been Axel." Riku said. "He is one of the most popular guys in the school, a senior, and he and his cronies are always floating around and sticking their noses into everyone's business."
"How do you know all that? This is our first year." Naminé asked.
"He hasn't changed a bit. He went to the same school as we did." Riku explained.
Another processing pause.
"Seifer!" Kairi suddenly hissed. "That moron probably followed us and told Principal Xemnas."
"What's up with you and him?" The blonde asked her.
"I can't believe I dated a little snot like him." She spat bitterly. "He made me believe that he actually loved me, and he was as kind as he could possibly be. But later I learned that it was all a joke, a bet from all his stupid friends. If he could keep our fake relationship for a month, he would get paid for it." She seemed to force a laugh. "He lost that bet and now he hates me for finding out. But personally I don't mind what he thinks of me anymore."
"I'm sorry, Kairi." Naminé sincerely said. "But I thought you never liked him, not at all."
Another awkward laugh. "I didn't. It's just… it seemed like everyone in the world had someone to hold hands with. I wanted something like that. I wanted to be in a relationship so badly that I didn't care. I was an idiot."
"We've all been there." Xion comforted.
"Yeah. We all want to find that one person we fall in love with. But you just found the wrong person." Roxas added. Naminé had the feeling that Xion was blushing in irony.
"'Wrong person' is an understatement." Sora bluntly said. "We're talking about Seifer here. That's a whole different genre."
Everyone laughed softly and crawled until they reached a fork in the vents.
"Which way?" Naminé looked down both tunnels but they looked the same.
"Doesn't matter. The one that has a closer exit will do." Riku told her. So she turned left, and conveniently there was another vent opening in front of her. A stupid grin stretched up onto her face.
"Oh, finally!" She exclaimed. "Found it!"
"Really?" Sora asked. "Which room is it?"
She peeked through the bars. "The music room, and it looks empty. We better hurry." Shoving the vent door open, it fell to the ground with a metallic clang.
"Hurry up, I'm claustrophobic!" Olette cried, pushing at Xion's feet impatiently.
"Hey, don't push!" Xion scolded her. "Naminé, are you out yet?"
The blonde bit her lip. "I'm not sure how to get out without landing on my face."
"It doesn't matter! Get! Me! Out of here!" Olette shrieked, pushing at Xion's feet even harder and pounding on the walls, emitting deep echoes. With another rough shove, Xion slid forward and bumped into Sora who bumped into Naminé who bumped into nothing but empty space.
She forgot to scream as the falling sensation overtook her body. It lasted for about a second until she hit the ground hard on her back. Groaning in utter frustration, she was going to sit up until a streak of blue, white, and brown crushed her and knocked the wind out of her, flattening her to the ground again. Sora looked up at her with that same deer-in-the-headlights look, and then Xion fell on him, doubling the weight on her stomach. Then Olette, then Roxas, Kairi, and finally Riku.
"Everyone all right?" Riku sat up, making Kairi let out a pained squeak.
"Better if you all got off me." The poor blonde on the bottom of the crazed pile managed to wheeze out.
Hurriedly everyone scrambled off her and she rolled over onto her stomach with her arms out, one of them bent in front of her. A hand stretched down in front of her and she looked up to see a red-faced Sora sheepishly offering her some help.
"Sorry that I fell on you. Are you alright?"
Her blue eyes looked confused for a second and then realized that Sora was trying to help her. "Yeah, just a little sore." She took his hand and pulled herself up. "Thank you."
Riku checked his black watch again. "Less than two minutes left until the bell goes."
"Go, go, go!" Kairi cried, running with everyone out the door. As the redhead flung the door open, a man stood right in their path, and the group froze.
He was a tall young man, with blue eyes that were beautiful but sharp. One of the first things that Naminé noticed was that he was pretty muscular. The second thing that she noticed was how distinct that his hair was. His dark brown hair that hung to the base of his neck was styled uniquely into vertical spikes but somehow it didn't look strange to her. His bangs framed his face nicely too. A loose black tank top seemed like it had been messily thrown on, worn with a pair of black and white basketball shorts and orange sneakers. His skin was slightly tanned, and she felt her cheeks growing warm. She couldn't deny that he was just the slightest bit attractive.
The man crossed his arms. "Care to explain?"
Kairi's face was a bit flushed now too, which surprised the blonde a little. Kairi didn't seem like the type to get flustered. "Terra-senpai." This was Terra? The man that liked Aqua? But why was she calling him senpai? Wasn't he a teacher here?
"What are you doing here?" Olette asked. Xion had her head bowed down to the ground, hands clasped behind her back. Obviously she wasn't going to be saying anything anytime soon.
Terra looked up to the ceiling. "I heard weird thumps coming from the roof or something, so I decided to follow the sounds. And look at what I found here." He peeked his head into the door, seeing the open vent. At the sight he scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I should have known that it was you… always up to something. I don't know why I'm surprised."
"I'msorryTerra-senpaibutwehavetogo!" Sora burst out in one breath.
"Around now would be nice." Roxas added helpfully, rocking back and forth on his heels impatiently.
Terra sighed again. "I'll let you guys go this time, but after school you guys are coming to the music room and explaining everything. Now go."
Nodding their understandings, the ragtag group made mad dashes to their next classes.
At the end of the day Naminé couldn't stop worrying. What would Terra make them do? It was the first time she'd ever done something so crazy and gotten in trouble for it. How was she ever going to explain to her parents? She opened her locker and pulled her phone out. She was probably going to have to tell a little white lie, but it was for a good reason. She wasn't going to let her parents know she'd gotten into trouble on the very first day.
Unlocking her white smart phone, she made a call home to her dad. After a few rings he picked up.
"Yes, dear?"
"Hi, Father. Listen, um, today I met a bunch of people who were interested in hearing me play. So do you think I could stay behind a little later after school today?"
"Yes, of course. What time should I pick you up? Do you want me to?"
"Um, pick me up in about an hour from now."
"Okay. See you then."
"Thank you Father. Love you."
She tapped the End Call button, and suddenly Sora popped up, making her jump slightly.
"Nice lie." He said, smile unwavering.
Her cheeks started to warm up. "I had to. Anyways, why are you here?"
"To pick you up." Sora brushed some dirt off his pants. "Terra said to go get you; everyone's already in the music room waiting for you."
"Oh shoot! We'd better hurry then. Do you remember which way it is?" The blonde asked.
"Think so. Hurry, follow me."
The brunette took off and down the stairs, but there were too many people pushing and shoving their ways through and soon she couldn't see her little beacon of light.
"Sora, wait!" She called, but to no avail. He was already gone and she was already lost. She sighed and took her first step down the stairs but she tripped on somebody's shoe. With a distressed wail, she rolled down the stairs painfully, the wind knocked out of her again. Rudely people simply stepped around her, her legs curled up as she lay on her side to get her breath back. Her book bag was nearly slipping off her shoulder.
"Hurt yourself again?" A teasing voice asked her. Looking up weakly, Sora had come back. The blonde sat up weakly.
"Gee, thanks. I think I may have twisted something though." She put a hand to her ankle, hoisting her book bag back up onto her shoulder and winced. "It hurts a bit."
Sora knelt down and slipped a hand under her and the other on her back. Lifting effortlessly, soon she was in his arms, princess-style. Her cheeks flamed as people stared and giggled.
"Sora, what the hell are you doing? Put me down! I can walk!" She thrashed around in his arms but he didn't let go.
"Nope! This is great practice for me! A part of my next play involves lifting up a girl like this. You're surprisingly light, though, so it'll do. Just hang tight until we get there, would you?" He answered easily, a big smile on his face.
She let out a huge sigh. "You do realize I can walk. I don't need to be carried, and especially not like a princess."
"I already told you it's just practice."
"Then can't you just practice with that girl? I can make it there on my own!" She argued stubbornly as they started walking.
"Well, you're hurt and I totally forgot to practice with her, so might as well, right?"
"No, you can't." She retorted, cheeks getting hotter as she used one hand to pull her skirt down. "Put me down, Sora. Now. Or I'll kick you where it hurts."
He gulped. "You don't mean that."
She shot him a glare as they turned around a corner. "Oh, I do."
Sora waltzed right into the music room without a worry in the world. Everyone was already there and Naminé could've sworn she was blushing all the way up to her ears when their eyes fixed on her.
"We're here!" Sora announced.
"Can you put me down now?" The blonde snapped.
"Would you two stop goofing around?" Riku flatly said. "We're supposed to be working."
"Terra-senpai isn't here yet, so we don't even know what we're doing yet." Kairi pointed out.
Xion shifted back and forth on her heels. "I'm nervous! This is the first real time I've ever gotten in trouble!"
Roxas scratched the back of his head. "I wonder what we're in for. I don't think it gives us a good rep to have detention on the first day of school."
Sora finally put her down. "I wouldn't call it detention, more of like… blackmail, maybe?"
Naminé bent down and rubbed her sore ankle. "What do you mean?"
He held his chin in thought. "Like… do this for me or I'll tell the teachers you were crawling around in air vents and have you suspended for the next two-and-a-half-weeks. You know teachers tend to do that."
She looked around as Xion and Olette chattered away. Those two seemed close. "Isn't someone missing?"
The door swung open. Everyone looked. An ashamed-looking Tidus disdainfully stepped into the room. "I got caught."
"It was going to happen anyway, so what's so bad?" Riku shrugged.
"Don't be mean, Riku." Kairi scolded him. "But thanks, Tides. We wouldn't have made it out if it weren't for you."
He scratched the back of his blonde head and grinned. "No problem. It was a nice test." Naminé realized just then that Tidus was actually kind of cute with that smile on his face all the time. Quickly she brushed it aside.
Olette kicked the carpet. "Geez, when is Terra-senpai going to get here?"
Speak of the devil. He just happened to walk right in carrying a bucket full of paintbrushes and another bucket filled to the brim with light blue paint. Something in Naminé's stomach wasn't settling well at the sight. He placed several buckets of the stuff right in the middle of the room and left. No one spoke as he returned later with two ladders.
Terra crossed his arms. "Well? I'm waiting."
In ten minutes, everyone was up and painting the walls as they explained to Terra what they were doing. Naminé did like painting, but using the same colour and painting over a wall wasn't her idea of fun.
"…So we crawled up into the air conditioning vent and got away before Principal Xemnas could see." Kairi finished.
There was a pause in which all she could hear was the occasional squeak of the ladder steps and the brushes scuffing against the walls.
"Are we in trouble?" Xion asked worriedly.
"Well, technically you should be for breach of rules. Those air vents are off-limits. It could be dangerous if during class you disappeared in those and we wouldn't know where you are." Terra's tone was strict. "But…"
Riku looked over his shoulder from the ladder. "But what?"
"This time; only as a warning on the first day; I'll let you go. But I never want to hear thuds in the air vents ever again. Understood? Consider this your punishment."
"Thank you." Naminé said sheepishly, not sure what else to say.
"Awesome! Thanks a bunch!" Sora was the exact opposite.
"So, how's it going with Aqua?" Tidus grinned. The blonde giggled. What was up with that?
He turned around, but Naminé could've sworn his cheeks flushed. "Why do I keep hearing that? It's none of your business."
"Not even a hint?" Roxas teased.
"Get back to painting! You're lucky I'm not telling the principal about this." Terra snapped.
"You know what, Terra-senpai? You're not bad at all." Olette laughed.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing~!"
It took a long, long time and by the time they were done their arms were sore and the sun was setting. The group walked down the hallway to the main doors and Naminé tried to process exactly how crazy this day had been. But… she sort of liked it. Maybe things wouldn't be that bad here.
She let out a short shriek when Sora's arm was flung around her neck playfully. "So, Naminé! You gonna hang out with us tomorrow?"
"Uh… um…" She was at a loss for words.
"Yeah! Come again tomorrow in front of the library, okay?" Kairi smiled.
"This was fun." Xion said.
"Sorry for shoving you." Olette smiled sheepishly.
"We'll be waiting." Roxas laughed.
"So you better not forget!" Tidus grinned.
"Whatever." Riku looked out the windows.
For some reason she was tearing up, but blinked them back. Could it be?
She had friends now.
At that moment, Naminé heard her car horn honk from outside and perked up at the sound. "Oh! That's my dad! I better get going. Thank you all, really." She picked up the pace to a slow jog, her book bag thumping against her legs.
Riku waved back at the group casually. "Me too. See you tomorrow." And with that, he started running so he caught up to Naminé. He slowed down for a second and whispered something in her ear, just loud enough so she could hear and disappeared down the hall right after.
"Nice panties."
No way.
He wasn't talking about…
The white and blue polka-dotted ones with the light blue bow on the front?
The very pair she happened to be wearing today?
Her face flamed and blushed all the way up to her ears. He must have seen when he lifted her up earlier.
"RIKU!" She screamed, running as it echoed down the halls. "YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU PERVERT! RIKU!"
Just around the corner, she heard a laugh she never thought she'd hear.
Aw, how sweet. Wanna tell me how you thought of this? R&R for more months ahead! c:
