"Hey, Xembar!" There was a knocking coming from the door as she rolled over in her bed, messy blue hair obscuring part of her face as she propped herself up on an elbow. "You awake in there?"
"Hm?" She rubbed her silver eyes some as she started to recognize the voice. "Oh, yeah. Come in."
The door opened revealing the vaguely familiar red head she had shared ice cream with and yelled at the day before.
"Hey sleepy." Axel chuckled. "Did you nap all day?"
"No," Xembar said with a yawn, "I went with Vexen earlier to do some testing and then came back here and decided to nap. I've been incredibly tired since yesterday."
The girl pushed herself from her elbow into an upright position before attempting to rub more of the sleep away from her eyes. The red head approached her bedside and sat next to her, shifting the weight of the mattress only slightly and catching her attention. Xembar inhaled and let out a deep sigh.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday." She said suddenly. Axel's green eyes widened as he looked to the girl with blue hair. "I-," She shook her head, her eyes dropping to her hands that fidgeted with themselves on the sheets, "I haven't interacted with people a whole lot in the last couple years. I didn't have a good understanding of how to interact with people to begin with and what little I did know of social interaction has done nothing but deteriorate since I lost my heart. That doesn't make what I did right and I hope that both you and, uhm," Xembar stopped for a moment and squinted trying to recall the boy's name, "Ordix, right?"
"Yeah." The red head nodded.
"I hope you and Ordix can both forgive me for both the way I acted and the scene I caused." She said. Her tone was mostly flat, but not in a way that suggested insincerity and rather that of someone who had spent a lot of their life keeping quiet. As if she didn't know how to fluctuate her voice.
"I understand." Axel said, still surprised by her forward apology. "And I forgive you. I think Ordix does too. Luckily he didn't seem too overly phased by yesterday. If anything just a little spooked. He's got a good head on his shoulders even with how young he is. He told me to tell you hi, so I can only assume he's forgiven you already."
"I'm glad." She said, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and stretching her arms up into the air. As she did this Xembar let out a large yawn. "I really thought that stuff would've worn off by now."
"What stuff?" Axel asked with heavy confusion.
"Oh," She laughed, "Before I went to kill myself yesterday I took some pretty heavy sleep aids. Didn't think they'd stick around in my system for this long though."
Axel's eyes widened in shock at how casually the girl was able to laugh at her actions.
"Sorry, sorry." She shook her head. "I know, it's not funny. But for some reason it makes me laugh."
Xembar stood from her spot on the bed and stretched some more.
"Know where I can get like an energy drink or something?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah," Axel said, still very confused by the girl's behavior, "The moogles have some potions they keep on hand in the castle. One of 'em is pretty much an energy drink."
"Sweet." She said. "Mind leading the way?"
"Sure." Axel nodded, standing and walking towards the door.
He lead her to the kitchen he had lead Ordix to the day before and opened a small fridge that had a variety of drinks. He scanned the shelves for a minute before picking out a small blue gradient bottle with a curved detail coming off the side.
"Here you go. Catch!" Axel tossed the bottle to Xembar who caught it with ease and examined it for a moment before taking off the cap. To Axel's amazement when she started drinking she tilted her whole head back and tipped the bottle fully upside-down, not returning to normal until the bottle was empty.
"Thanks." She said with a deep breath. "I feel a lot better now."
Axel continued to stare at her, his jaw seeming to seek the floor below.
"You okay there?" Xembar asked, leaning in close to inspect him.
"You- you drank the whole thing." Axel said. "In one go."
"Yeah?" Xembar said.
"I think I might be in love." The red head said.
"E-excuse me?" Her silver eyes blinked several times as she coiled away, her face seeming to become a combination of horror and confusion.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Axel laughed, a faint rosy tone seeming to cross his cheeks. "I'm kidding, don't worry."
He grinned at the shorter girl whose expression didn't change.
"Right..." Xembar sighed. "Thanks for the drink." She said, tossing the bottle into a garbage can and walking past the red head. "If you need me for anything I'll be around. Somewhere."
"Well, crap." Axel sighed. "Guess I messed that one up for myself."
He followed in the same direction Xembar had gone but knew of course that she was out of sight by the time he came out of the kitchen. Instead she was already much further into the castle, leading herself to the library she had spent some time in that same morning. As she opened the white door to allow herself in a Moogle kupo'd faintly at her.
"Oh, hello." She said politely to it. "I know I was here earlier but I thought I'd come find something to read, if that's alright?"
The creature made the same sound once more and bobbed it's head slightly in a way Xembar interpreted as a nod.
"Thanks." She said, walking further into the library. "I'll take care of anything I borrow."
Her silver eyes scanned all of the shelves in brief instances as she walked through the library, following the stairs on the left side up to the small balcony that made up the second floor. Along the back wall she found many scientific research books along with several empty slots between them. She looked in front of her and suddenly realized that she wasn't alone as a boy with blue-grey hair was standing a few feet away with a small armful of books. Just as she noticed him the boy turned, seeming to notice her for the first time as well.
"Oh, sorry." He said, his voice seeming to carry a strange charisma in it as he smiled to her. "I didn't realize anyone else was in here. You're Xembar, right?"
"Yes." She nodded politely. "And you are?"
"Zexion." The boy extended a hand. "I help Vexen with research when I'm not on missions, so that's how I knew your name."
Xembar held her hand out to meet his, shaking it briefly.
"If you need anything let me know." Zexion said. "We both tend to be guilty of hoarding books from this section to ourselves, so if you're looking for something specific you can't find please let me know."
"Thanks." Xembar smiled. "That might be good to know later."
"Vexen says you've been wandering the worlds looking for your little sister. Is that true?" Zexion asked rather bluntly.
"Yeah," Xembar said, her eyes suddenly shooting away as they had the day before when she first met Vexen, "I just hope wherever she went she's safe."
"Well," Zexion sighed, "While I can't guarantee anything, we've been finding Nobodies at a faster rate. Maybe she could be one of the next ones to show up. Don't give up hope yet."
"Right." She nodded, feeling reassured. "I'm going to find her no matter what it takes. Thanks, Zexion."
"No problem." He said. "I've gotta get these books back down to the lab, but have a good night okay?"
"Yeah, you too. Thanks." Xembar smiled. She returned to scanning the scientific shelves for a few moments more before heading to the fiction section on the lower floor and picking out something that seemed like an easy and casual read. After she showed the Moogle which book she was taking Xembar exited the library and returned to her room where she eventually fell asleep with the book on her nightstand open to the last page she had read.
That night in her dreams she saw many things. She saw her beloved little sister who she vowed to one day find. She saw the parents who she hoped never to see again. She saw oblivious classmates and teachers, unaware of the burdens she carried with her. Perhaps most noticeably though, she saw a boy with eyes as blue as the vast sky. She didn't think she recognized him, however the thought crossed her mind that she hadn't taken much note of her classmates in the first place. Something strange was happening though. Occasionally she would look up and see the boy staring at her from a few seats away. Confused, Xembar shot him a look that seemed like it would stab directly through him. The boy simply grinned smugly and looked away before inevitably their eyes would meet again. As this repeated Xembar felt something in her chest begin to race. Her blood pumping with anger the more she caught him staring.
"What do you want?!" She snapped loudly, standing from her desk. Just as she burst out everything around her seemed freeze. The teacher stopped speaking. Her classmates stopped writing. The turning pages of books and texting hands beneath desks were paused fully. Everything had stopped except for the two of them.
"So it's true," The boy chuckled, "You too became one of them."
He stood and approached her by only a couple steps.
"Stay away from me." Xembar said, her voice seeming to shake. "I don't know who you are, but just stay back okay?!"
"You don't remember me?" The boy asked, disregarding the rest of her words as he stepped forward once more.
Xembar began to back up several steps down the aisle of seats as he grew closer.
"Well, that's fine I suppose." He smirked. "We'll meet again soon, little Sea Bream."
"W-what?" Xembar was now pressed against the back counter of the classroom, her silver eyes locked on the strange boy.
Suddenly he pressed a finger to his lips and made a shushing sound before disappearing before her eyes into a corridor of darkness. As he disappeared Xembar began to feel the world spin. She pressed her head into her hands as she fell to her knees, her thoughts racing as she wondered just who that strange boy was. Just as her thoughts began to consume her, sending her into a spiraling panic, everything went dark.
Xembar sat up quickly, looking around frantically at her surroundings. Everything had returned to normal and she was back in the increasingly familiar white walls of her bedroom inside the castle. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to shake the strange fear she felt from the boy in her dreams.
"Who was he?" She asked, staring down at her palms.
As she sat in bed trying to collect her thoughts there was a timid knock on her door.
"Um, Xembar?" It was Ordix's small voice that came from the other side.
"Huh?" She turned quickly to look in the direction of the sound.
"Are you okay in there?" The young boy asked nervously.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine! You can come in if you want." She said attempting to sound calm.
The door opened and the young boy entered still in his pajamas.
"Why do you ask?" Xembar asked.
"My room is right next to yours," He said shyly, "And I heard what sounded like yelling."
"Oh, crap," She said, running a hand through her own blue hair, "Sorry. I guess I just had a bad dream. I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's okay!" Ordix said nervously, "I was actually already starting to wake up, but I was worried!"
"That's really sweet of you." She smiled. "I'm okay."
Ordix was comforted by the sudden warmth in her demeanor and voice.
"I'm glad." He said. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"N-no." Xembar shook her head, attempting to keep her walls up just a bit. "I think I'd rather just forget about it and get on with my day. I should get showered and everything before I go see Vexen."
"Okay. If you change your mind I'll be next door, 'kay?" Ordix smiled.
"Thanks." Xembar nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
Ordix left, leaving Xembar alone once more. She stretched and began going about her morning routine, the image of the boy's face still in her mind as she did.