Lame Chapter 2

Roxas noticed the days going by almost the same. He spent his days with Sora at school, learning all the same subjects as before, half trying and equally succeeding at the sports in Physical Education, and seeing the same things in the warm, muggy hallways that seemed to close up around him, like dreams of Larxene. After school, when it was time to study, was what he was really excited for.

"Roxas, snap out of it." Shaking his head, Roxas arose from his private reverie. He thought for a moment before responding.

"Sorry, lots on my mind. I don't mean to ignore you Namine, I was just thinking and I... Eh." Roxas shook his head once more to silence his own ramblings and focused up on the math assignment he'd been putting off until today. Of course, (f)x=1 if 0=3(2x-1)-5. But in place of that was a mess of a couple of scribbles where he messed up, not even trying to correct the repeated mistake. "So, If I work this backwards, you start with 5=3(2x)-1 then multiply through, then having 5=6x-1 you add one and divide 6 ending with one. Right?"

Namine shook her head smiling, catching Roxas off guard. "Roxas, if you already knew how to do the problem, why didn't you just do it earlier at home?" She giggled as he slouched in his seat and admitted her accusation. "I don't understand you, Roxas. You know what you're doing, yet have nothing to show for it until I'm here. Do... We need to talk?" She tried to talk as quietly as possible, the library seeming suddenly emptier now that she began to listen.

"Ah, ehehh... there's not much to-er- to really say Namine. I guess you just give me that boost of confidence." Roxas hadn't even made it halfway through his sentence before she gave him a look that cut through his very being. "Argh, it's just cause I don't like doing a bunch of work for nothing, and I wanted to be right-" this time, she didn't even hear the rest, rolling her eyes, she stood, grabbing one of her sketch pads from her bag, and sitting in the nearby window seat.

"Roxas, sit still, and hush. If you won't tell me what's going on, then I'll figure it out." Roxas knew clearly, she smelled his excuses. He sat, thinking for a bit, with not nearly enough nerve to admit to her something he himself isn't sure of. He remembered that sketch pad and knew what she was likely doing with it, and the hidden smile behind it put him in a state of total consciousness. He was being sketched.

The Destiny Islands sun was short ways off from the western horizon. The radiance and exuding warmth heated the top of the teens' heads as they finished their tri-weekly chore. The day hadn't been a short one, but Roxas wasn't complaining.

"Rox, I hope you know we have more bags to carry," Namine, sitting in the hatchback of the red school-van, warned her blonde shopping companion. "and after that, we go to the OTHER store for supplies, so don't push yourself. And I might get some hair-ties while I'm at it, tehe, maybe a nice comb...-" She continued giggling as she contemplated her micro-embezzlement of a few munny for hair-ties using the school's finance card.

Rolling his eyes and letting his hair fall over his face, Roxas acted as if he didn't hear a thing. To be more correct, never was there a time when he missed what his under-class friend-girl said to him. All he knew was the girl was wise FAR beyond her giggling years. He knew that for sure as he loaded up the last bags and got in the driver's seat. "Hey Nam, what do you think about the munny getting cut for our music and arts and stuff. I'm pretty mad, but I'm not really in anything like that, and I don't know how much it costs to do those things, maybe they were getting too much like the board said." He sat, wondering how he even felt.

"It's only right; but it's despicable. Nobody can be right when it comes to the arts, Roxas, you can only please so many people, and sadly, munny is what it takes to do that, but when everything's over, it is up to the artist to create art... That's the price of expression. But it's up to the society to give support to the artist, the price of appreciation. Following any logic concerning artists... well, you'll just have a positive, and a contradiction. If what we consider a 'positive' is not a true positive, nor a negative, then what is it?" She sat listlessly as Roxas drove them towards the next shop get more supplies.

"I don't have a clue, sorry Nam; there really isn't a right answer then, huh? Well, that's okay, maybe we can make a sort of comprom-"

"I know!" she suddenly burst out.

"You do?!" Roxas replied, eager to hear her answer to a long debated question in all high schools.

"Pink. I'll buy some pink hair-ties. No, blue, definitely blue. Goes better with the chrome on my new necklace."

Roxas could only sigh. Wise beyond her years, she sure was, but not so mature beyond them.

Soon, the van pulled into a near front spot of the littered parking lot, the sunlight finally diminishing from the now crimson-azure sky. The weary student shoppers arrived at the front entrance only a few minutes before the store's closing, receiving some dirty looks from the closing shift employees.

"Please, we only need a few things. Right there, I see some of them." as the employees turned to see what she was talking about, she strolled past them and back where the actual needed supplies were. Roxas chuckled and followed.
"Okay, we grabbed sugar from the market, and you already grabbed some plasticware?"As he walked past some colorful party decorations, he was reminded of something. "Namine, your birthday is the first day of break, isn't it? What are you planning to do?"
"I just wanna mini-vacation, really, nothing too massive."
"Oh, to where?"
"Everywhere!" She shouted, raising her arms high as she shouted. "Or... no where. I could vacation in town, take a tour trip of the continent, fly around the world. I don't actually care to be honest." She turned to him as he stood slightly confused by her sudden burst of words. "All that matters is I'm alone."

Roxas felt a crushing wave of disappointment as failed plans hit him. He sighed and smiled. "Alone eh? Guess I will be too, ahaha." His grin faded as she gave him a look.

He knew what it meant.

"I don't mean to sound... invasive?" he twisted his mouth up, trying out the new word he learned from her, she nodded that it was in the proper context, and he continued, "but since Sora and Kairi are doing their thing, Axel and Riku will be busy with summer jobs, and Hayner, Pence, and Olette will be on their abroad study trip... I was wandering what the chances were that we could hang out this break..." Defeated he blushed and continued, "like, maybe we could go somewhere together? I don't know, I'm being dumb." He couldn't look up, he knew she'd be looking at him like a no-friend reject.
Roxas heard her footsteps, she was going to just walk away, after he embarrassed himself like- no wait- the steps are going the wrong way! He could see her blue skirt from the edges of his hanging hair, her petite feet sitting in their white-turned-drawn-on converse. "Roxas, did you think I was that serious about being alone? Boy, you're a dense one. I meant that like, as long as a 'parental figure' doesn't come along and ruin the fun, I'd be happy to take my vacation then. Roxas Strife, I cordially and officially invite you on my vacation, here, in front of the potato chips as witness, do you wish to come along?"

Roxas looked up, extremely confused, then with a smirk, and finally a laugh, he took her now outstretched hand and kneeled/bowed, "I'd be honored M'lady." as he rose, he saw her take out her sketchbook. "Whatcha doin there? Don't we need to get going before these retail clerks get mad? I mean, really, they have nothing to lose."
"I'm gonna make a sketch to remember this moment, you think it's every day I invite my friends on a vacation to hearts know where? To do whatever knows what?" with great fervor she sketched, quickly and deftly, yet still very neatly, the scene. Roxas, in a kneel, potato chip guards flanking them as Namine handed over a letter saying invitation. Roxas suddenly felt self-conscious, like she caught his crush for her in the picture itself, it was that good!

"That's really good Nam, really really good. You literally took a few seconds to do that! And might I say, a very powerful image." He continued to compliment the drawing, hoping she won't mention the building blush or the blush she drew into the sketch.

"Ah, thanks, I worked hard to speed draw like that, but now it's really easy." she casually talked it off like nothing, and turned, holding her weathered sketchpad to her chest before putting it into a bag full of them.
"Wow, you have a lot of those sketchpads. But why are you still using that old one?" This gave Namine pause, she turned to face Roxas' curiosity.

"I like to put memories into that one. That's where they go." Was all the explanation he got before she continued to buy the weeks supplies. He followed and helped, all the while noticing that there were many tears he'd noticed in the old sketchbook. If it was a book for memories, why were so many torn out? The facts looked troubling. He knew he didn't want to be torn out.

All of that was less than a week ago. Now here, in the library, he knew what she was up to. He'd learned her Sketchbooks by heart, according to age and color.

In order of importance, he recalled them

4. practice: This one was red and newish

3. daily sketch: once a day she would sketch in her yellow book, a detailed scene from her day

2. "The Monitor": the blue book she drew in now. It was a book in which she drew a person as is to figure them out. He truly feared this one, in the off chance that she see his growing admiration of her. He'd been caught before, turns out, when he told her he was confident for a test he didn't study for. She saw right through him.

1: memories: the worn, white book that he's pretty sure he's only been in once, and one he never wishes to leave via a page tear. The place where things she wants to always remember are kept.

He could see her concentrate on his face, and knew he would soon have to answer to some crime, once she's solved it.

"Hmmm... you seem to be hiding some sort of feeling from me Roxas... what's on your mind, did you tell a lie to me?" she innocently inquired of him. He stuttered a no before she continued. "don't you dare move." she cut in before he could slouch over. "You might make me mess this up." Her teasing tone was enough to still him, before long, he was perspiring under her judgmental pencil.

"Namine, if I tell you, will you stop sketching?" he gulped nervously about what he just said. He knew there was no way out from here, and he was surprised to hear himself say what he said.

"I'm listening..."

"You want to know why I'm acting funny and never tell you 'what's wrong' or 'if something's bothering me'?" he continued, without giving himself time to overthink what he was saying.

"Well, yeah, Roxas, I care about you, and I hope you're okay. If I can help... then I'd love t-"
'SIMPLE AND CLEAN IS THE W-' "Hello? Yeah, can do. On my way, bye!"

"Uh.. Namine... I..."

"Sorry Roxas, Mini emergency, I've got to go, have this sketch, I was almost done, okay, bye." she rushed to grab her things, gave him a peck on the cheek, and left him sitting there, in a state of utter confusion.
Was he about to tell her his feelings? Did she figure it out? Who called her? DID SHE JUST KISS HIM? He needed a nap. He went home and did just that; all the while, more intriguing things were swelling for his now monotony-free life.

Meanwhile, Sora hung up his phone, high-fived his silvette and red headed friends, and snickered. all according to plan.