The following evening, Naminé had to work.

She was just an ordinary university student with the usual sky-high tuition fees and the very common student loan with which to pay them. And, like most other girls her age, she had a job where she worked hard to make enough money to maybe not have to use her loan for this term, and save some for a bit of spending and the rest for next term's fees. She was good at saving and good at working; she got three shifts a week at the store, more than most part-time employees, and she was one of the newest.

The bell above the door chimed ding ding as a customer walked in; for a moment, when she looked up, Naminé thought it was Roxas. Her heart skipped a beat, and butterflies rose in stomach only to drop away in disappointment when she realized it wasn't him. His hair was darker, not so blond, and his smile was different. The way he moved wasn't quite the same. She sighed, turning her eyes away and stared out the window, idly leaning against the cash desk and wondering what Roxas was doing right now.

She didn't know if he had a job or where it might be, what he might do, or if he had a girlfriend or siblings or...well, really, she didn't know much of anything about him. He was Roxas, and everybody knew Roxas, and everybody liked Roxas. But she, at least, didn't really know anything about him. Nothing about his hobbies or his dislikes, nothing about his family and very little about his friends; she didn't know where he came from, if he liked to travel, what he liked to eat. Nothing.

She knew his name, and not much more.

"Is something wrong, Naminé?"

She shook her head, not bothering to turn and look at Marluxia. "No," she said. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about all the work I have to do for school."

"You're coming up to midterms soon, aren't you?" he asked, walking around the counter and into her field of vision. His bright, bubblegum pink hair startled her for a moment even though she was used to it. He shifted the box on his hip so it was leaning more comfortably against him. "February is always a busy time during school."

She nodded. He stayed for a moment longer and then shrugged. He left her alone again, leaving to go and finish stocking the hair colouring products down Aisle 2. She wondered if Roxas dyed his hair. She thought not, but it was becoming harder and harder to tell sometimes. Some products were very good, and some people were very talented when they dyed their hair. She wondered what his hair felt like. Was it soft and silky, or smooth from copious amounts of gel?

Footsteps. Naminé turned around and smiled. "Hi there," she said quietly, her fingers dancing over the keyboard to sign into the computer. "I hope you found everything you were looking for tonight?"

The customer nodded his head enthusiastically and glanced up at her from his phone. For a moment, Naminé was struck by how similar his eyes were to Roxas's, in both shape and shade. "Yes, thanks," he said brightly, his voice lighter and sweeter than Roxas's. God, I'm seeing Roxas everywhere I go!

He didn't have many things: only a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, a six-pack of Pepsi bottles, and a couple of chocolate bars. "Do you need a bag?" she asked, automatically avoiding his eyes when she looked up again. He nodded again, but didn't glance up from his phone.

"Please," he said.

Naminé tore a white plastic bag off the rack beside her and gently pushed his purchases inside. The Pepsi was too heavy and would tear the bag, so she set them down beside it on the counter. "That's eleven-sixty-five," she said. "Debit? Swipe outwards, please."

It only took a moment for him to be approved and for her to hand him his bill and bag. "Have a nice night," she said politely as he turned and left the store, phone still in his hand, fingers dancing over it.

"You, too," he called over his shoulder with a silly grin.


A/N: Comments make me a happy writer. Thank you to those of you who have commented so far! I love hearing from you, and I love to respond, so please don't be shy. Thank you to those of you who have fav'd and/or alerted as well. It makes me happy to see there are some people who like this :)

On another note, I'm sure we've all known one or two people who don't really tell you about themselves; you want to get to know them but it's just so hard when they don't let anything slip. It's frustrating, isn't it?