A/N: Hey, guys... Sorry about not updating at all for the past week or so. I've been pretty busy and severely lacking motivation. I'm actually gonna ask something of you guys at the end of the chapter, but for now, just enjoy the chapter!
It was the beginning of another school day and as students buzzed through the halls, Roxas made his way to his first class of the day, Art. It was halfway through the second week of school and he'd avoided Naminé pretty well up until this point. He didn't share any other classes with her and by the time she or anyone else arrived at the art room, Roxas was likely already passed out at his seat.
Roxas always arrived to the school much earlier than everyone else. He didn't sleep very well. His head was too active at night to let him get much sleep. It was only when he arrived at the school and the sun was up that he could let himself drift off to dreamland. Even then, his sleep was always rudely interrupted by teachers and the like.
Some teachers didn't care that he slept because he always did pretty well on the tests anyway. Others would only get more frustrated and would reprimand him for it. Roxas hadn't received a detention yet this year, but he had a feeling if he kept going the way he was now, he would.
Still, Miss Smith, the substitute Art teacher, didn't seem to mind. In fact, she didn't really know what to do. The actual teacher, Mr. Rafiki, was on a leave of absence. Apparently he was off trying to deduce the meaning of life or something. In any case, Miss Smith, or Jean as she liked them to call her, had little to no art experience whatsoever, so art class essentially became a free period where Roxas could sleep in peace.
He rounded the corner and walked into the art room. Without really thinking, he made a beeline straight for his seat. It was in the back corner of the classroom right next to the window. The morning sun was soothing and warm. Roxas slept like a rock in this class. "Ahem..."
Roxas spun on his heel towards the source of the sound. Sitting in her normal seat at the front of the classroom was Naminé. She had a small smirk playing across her lips that made his heart leap. He masked his surprise with his normal stoic expression before responding, "Can I help you?"
"I've been coming to this class earlier and earlier every day only to find that you still beat me here and were fast asleep at your seat. So, I decided to wake up an entire hour early and walk in right when they opened the doors to the school, so at the very least I would get here at the same time. And lo and behold, I was here first," She was smirking and she had a challenging look in her eyes that distracted Roxas from the pounding in his chest. This girl would not get the best of him.
Roxas smirked, "Look, baby... If you wanted to spend time with so badly, you should've just told me. I'm sure we could have found a suitable broom closet to get to know each other." As Roxas finished, a blush overcame Naminé's features. Got her...
She scoffed, "Th-that's ridiculous. I-I would never..."
Roxas simply sauntered over and leaned in close, "Never what..?"
Naminé's eyes widened at Roxas's closeness and her blush deepened, "N-never... never..."
Roxas broke out in laughter and backed away, "Relax... I'm just messing with you." He laughed until he locked eyes with her and suddenly the feelings in his stomach returned, "But, uh... Why did you come so early?"
Naminé was starting to gain a little more confidence now that Roxas was further away, but now her heart was beating at a million miles per hour, "Oh... I was just wondering why you're always sleeping... This is art class and I've never actually seen you draw anything."
Roxas shrugged, "Well, to be honest, I'm not a great artist." He decided not to mention the part about taking art as a blow off class.
Naminé narrowed her eyes, "Then, why take art at all?"
"Well, isn't this where someone would come if he wanted to learn?" Roxas lied.
Naminé seemed a little surprised by the answer, but then she smiled, "Well, then... Why don't you come to this room after school tomorrow. You might just learn something." And with that, she turned towards the front of the classroom and more students started trickling in. Roxas found his normal seat and sat there for a while.
Roxas stayed awake as he mulled over what to do about the current situation. He could just completely ignore the entire thing and not go, but the Naminé would only pester and annoy him as to why. But if he did go that would mean spending more time with her, and he just couldn't bring himself to do that either... Her effect on him was unsettling and if he could avoid it, he would prefer to.
He ended up staying awake for the entire class, much to the surprise of the teacher and the other students. The bell rang and Roxas was about to leave when he noticed Naminé looking at him from the corner of his eye. He looked over at her and she looked away immediately with a slight blush on her face... Was it possible that he had some kind of effect on her, too?
Thursday came and in Roxas's last class of the day, History, he struggled to stay awake. History was one of those classes that he couldn't fall asleep in without getting in trouble. Roxas's eyes began to droop, but before they could fully close, he saw a tall figure looming in front of him, "Mr. Strife... Are you sleeping in my class... Again..?"
Roxas shook himself awake, "No, sir. Of course not..." Mr. Yen Sid was a very, very old looking man who wore a midnight blue suit and a blue tie with yellow stars and crescent moons on it. He had an impressive gray beard and hair that reached Gandalf levels of awesome. Still, his stony gaze sent nothing but fear into Roxas's heart because the old man seemed to practically ooze power and wisdom.
Mr. Sid nodded slowly, "As I was saying, the Ancient Greeks had many traditions that..." Roxas immediately felt his eyes begin to droop. Oh, god, why... "Mr. Strife!"
"I'm sorry!"
The class ended not long after that and Roxas barely escaped without a detention. He started to head for the school's exit, when he saw a flash of blonde hair. He looked over to see Naminé's retreating figure heading in the direction of the art room. Roxas's stomach clenched. He'd decided to not go, but now that the moment was actually here, he didn't know if he could bring himself to blatantly ignore Naminé's offer. He stood there for a moment contemplating what to do. What's the worst that could happen?
Roxas made his way to the art room and peered in. Naminé sat alone looking out the window. She had a sketchpad in her left hand and a pencil in her right. She was staring intently out the window at the sun-baked landscape. She was mindlessly chewing on the eraser of the pencil and she had a puzzled look on her face that Roxas couldn't help but think was adorable... Wait, what..?
He cleared his throat and Naminé spun around. The pencil fell from her mouth and landed on the floor when she smiled, "You came!"
Roxas gave a bit of a half-smile. Was she gonna be this enthusiastic all the time..? "Yeah... I did... You wanna tell me why I'm here?"
Naminé ran up and grabbed his arm before pulling him the rest of the way into the room, "I'm gonna teach you how to draw!"
Roxas tried to ignore the tingling feeling he had when Naminé touched him and shook his head, "Woah, woah, woah... I don't wanna learn how to draw..."
Naminé stopped and looked at Roxas curiously, "What..? But I thought you said that you took art class so you could learn how to be an artist..?"
Roxas caught himself in his own lie, "Oh... Well, I, uh..."
Naminé's eyes narrowed, "You took art because you wanted an easy class, didn't you?" She let go of his arm and crossed her own.
Roxas held up his hands in defense, "Look, I can explain..."
She scoffed, "I can't believe this. I actually thought..." She shook her head, "You know what? Whatever... If you don't wanna learn, then I'm leaving." She began to walk past him, but Roxas grabbed her hand.
"Now, hold on just a second," Roxas was starting to get a little angry as well, "Why should I have to explain myself to you? I'm sorry I lied to you, but what business is it of yours why I took the class? And why are you so concerned with me and my art abilities anyway?"
Naminé blushed slightly, but her anger didn't lessen in the slightest, "I happened to take an interest in you because I thought maybe you might be a good guy, but I guess I was wrong!"
"You don't even know me! How do you know what kind of guy I am?" Roxas retorted.
"I know enough! You're just another jerk who doesn't appreciate art."
"Oh, yeah?" Roxas saw something out of the corner of his eye and he released Naminé. He walked over to it and picked it up. It was six-string, acoustic guitar. He slung the strap over his shoulder and walked back over to Naminé, "Would a guy who doesn't appreciate art do this..?"
He began to play. It was a soft melody with small little intricacies here and there. Naminé felt her anger begin to fade away as he played. She wasn't sure what to say, but then he began to sing,
"When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eye.
You're just like an angel.
Your skin makes me cry.
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world.
I wish I was special.
You're so fucking special."
Naminé was speechless. There was so much emotion and passion in his voice, but he still sang very lightly. His voice was velvety smooth and clear as a bell.
"But I'm a creep.
I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here."
He finished with a G chord and Naminé just stared at him. Every word he sang sounded like he actually meant them. Like he felt them. They were silent for a while before Naminé finally spoke, "Roxas..."
Roxas just shook his head, "I... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have-"
"No, Roxas... It's not your fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have assumed anything..." She looked at Roxas for a moment, "Is that... Is that how you really feel?"
Roxas avoided looking at her. Why did he play that song? Of all the songs he could've played. Why that one? "I don't know..." Roxas placed the guitar on a nearby table and turned fully away from Naminé.
She stood there for a moment or two before deciding to make a brave motion. She wrapped her arms around Roxas's midsection and buried her face in his back, "Roxas... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean for you to-"
Roxas turned around and looked Naminé directly in the eye. He was a little surprised at her actions, but he smiled comfortingly, "You didn't do anything wrong. It's fine."
Naminé looked up at him and blushed slightly, "Are you sure that you're okay?"
Roxas nodded, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
Naminé smiled sweetly, "Good. I didn't want to upset you." She paused, "I'm sorry for judging you so harshly."
Roxas's stomach was doing front flips because they were still pretty close to one another, "I-it's okay... I, uh... I was acting weird..."
Naminé continued to smile. Then, she realized that how close they were and pulled away. She was blushing pretty madly now, "S-sorry..."
Roxas scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's okay..." He repeated.
Naminé was now looking at her feet, "You're really good by the way..."
Roxas smiled slightly, "You think so?"
Naminé nodded before looking up at Roxas again, "Yeah. I do... I really liked it."
"Thanks..." They stood like that for a while: just staring at one another and neither saying a word. Those feelings were still there, but they were both starting to become a little more comfortable with them. Finally, Roxas spoke again, "Hey, so, maybe... Sometime... You and I could, uh..."
"Naminé," The voice came from the doorway. Both blondes spun around to see Mr. Wise, a math teacher standing there with a raised eyebrow, "It's time to go..."
Roxas looked at Naminé who was now blushing furiously, "Yeah. Sorry, Daddy. I, uh, lost track of time..."
"Daddy?" Roxas stood confused as Naminé began to collect her things.
Mr. Wise stepped into the room, "Yes... Naminé is my daughter. Is that surprising to you, Mr. Strife?"
Roxas looked up at the intimidating figure, "No, sir. Of course not. I just didn't know is all."
The older man simply stared down at Roxas while Naminé finished packing away her things, "Now, then. Let's go, Naminé. I'd like to get home quickly, so that I can start dinner."
"Of course, Daddy," Naminé stood next to Mr. Wise and he began to make his way to the door. Naminé looked back at Roxas and opened her mouth to say something, but then she changed her mind and scurried off after her father before either could say anything.
Roxas just stood there in the art room by himself for a little while after that. He pondered what just happened. What had he been about to do? Ask her out? That's ridiculous. He couldn't do that. That would be... Well, that would be ridiculous. No. He couldn't. So, the most conclusion now would be... To completely avoid her... Right? Of course... Perfect plan. Roxas would never talk to Naminé again.
A/N: So, this is the kind of writing I would like to do. If you like it, please let me know in a review. Honestly, I'm losing motivation to write this story at all. I need you guys to give me some feedback letting me know you're at least interested. I do have a one or two people that have reviewed and I really appreciate that, but with everything going on this story has been falling to the bottom of my priorities list. So, if you'd like to see this story continue, I would greatly appreciate some reviews to let me know how you guys feel about all this. Thanks!