Chapter 4: Ice Cream! ((youtube: watch?v=N2lPTj8rSBY))
Memo: Has anyone else noticed that the second Kingdom Hearts is revolved around ice cream and skateboarding? lol
two weeks later
your pov
You sit in bed, hitting the insides of your ankles together. One more week of this place.
Suddenly Roxas pokes his head in the door.
"Hey, Kenz-"
"ROXAS!" you shout, grinning. "Guess what? Guess what? HURRY UP AND GUESS!"
"Uh, I dunno. You won the lottery?"
"I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE IN A WEEK!"
Roxas smiles. "Really? That's awesome!" He walks over and sits on your bed.
"So what are you here for today?" you ask.
"Nothing, really. I just came to visit you."
You smile. Roxas is a pretty nice kid.
"Hello, Roxas," Aerith says, appearing in the side door. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Aerith," he says, nodding.
"I heard you, um, heard the news, huh?"
You giggle and shrug.
"Yeah."
"Well, feel free to do whatever, okay?"
"Uh, sure."
Aerith smiles and leaves the room. Roxas turns to you.
"She means I can leave my room now," you explain, looking at your nails. "I'm allowed to walk around and stuff." You look up at him. "You want to...?"
"Okay," he replies, nodding. You jump out of bed and follow Roxas out of the room.
"So, you even get to wear normal clothes now, huh?" he asks.
You sigh a little. "Well, sort of..." You tug on the sleeve of your long sleeve shirt. "Truth is...I'm...afraid to really wear...revealing stuff, y'know?"
Roxas nods. "That's understandable. But hey, it's an improvement, right?"
"Sure is!" You walk along the large hallway, looking out the even larger window. "Roxas, thank you for telling me about my brother. But...do you know anything about my parents? When I go home..."
"..." Roxas lowers his head. "I'm sorry, but...they're dead too."
"Oh." You sigh and shove your hands in your pockets.
"I'm sorry...your mom died of a stroke...your dad..."
"He...got pretty messed up then, didn't he?"
"...Yeah."
You bite your bottom lip. "So that means...I can't leave..." You swallow hard. And you were getting so excited for nothing...
"No, I can't let that happen, can I? There has to be another way...I've got it!" Roxas says, smiling.
"What is it?"
"Would...would you want to come live with me?"
"C-could I really?" you say, hope returning.
"Yeah, if that's okay."
"Wow! Sure!" You grin. "Thank you so much, Roxas!"
"Not a problem. Besides, this way I know you're staying out of trouble, right?"
You giggle. "Right."
roxas's pov
So Kenzie will be staying with you... It might be like having Namine at home again...but come to think of it, not really. Kenzie is different. Really different.
The two of you walk along the hallways, then come to a window. Outside, across the street, sits a small diner. A couple is eating ice cream, laughing about something. You glance over at Kenzie. She looks...really sad.
"I wish I could be normal," she whispers, turning away from the window and leaning against it.
"You will be again," you say. She crosses her arms. "I swear you will be."
"Not really, though," she mumers, glancing over at the couple, who are now just exchanging a kiss. "I'll always have those memories in my head."
"Well, that's true...but you don't have to let them control your heart."
Kenzie looks up at you and smiles sincerely. "You sound like a singer."
You laugh. "I try, I guess."
She laughs as well, then looks at her watch. "We should probably get going. Aerith will wonder where we went."
"Okay," you say. You both start to head back to her room when Kenzie laughs suddenly. "What? What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing. I just had a random thought," Kenzie giggles. "Wanna hear it?"
"Sure."
"I really want some ice cream now!"
You both laugh, causing other patients to stare in amusement. "That's pretty random, but it could be worse."
"Really? How so?"
"You know Hayner? He's waaaay open. Really random guy."
Kenzie giggles softly. "Yuffie's pretty random, too. Actually, I think you're the only one who's not."
"Hah, well, you just keep on thinking that."
"Well, you have yet to prove me wrong."
"You hardly know me."
"On the contrary. I know you best. Better than Aerith or Yuffie."
You stop, shaking your head. "No you don't."
Kenzie cocks her head, startled. "What...?"
"It's nothing. A lot of crap having to do with your brother's Nobody and my former other."
"I-I see. Well, that'll change, I hope. Right?"
"...Right." No. You couldn't ever...tell her those things.
You finally reach Kenzie's room. Kenzie lies down on her bed, smirking.
"Do you have to leave now?" she asks.
"Do you want me to leave now?"
"No. I never get any visitors, so it's kind of nice."
You nod and sit down. "So, what all do you know about everyone?" you ask.
"Well, I found out Cloud is Aerith's fiance..." She giggles and smiles as if to say "whoops." You laugh. "And Leon and Yuffie are best friends, but not dating each other. Leon has some girl named Rinoa or something like that. Anyway, Hayner and Olette are dating. Pence is a part-time photographer...and you? You were the best friend of my brother's Nobody. So doesn't that make you a Nobody, too?"
"It should..."
"Explain?"
"Not now. I'll save it for another time."
"Aw, c'mon, please?"
"Seriously. Not today. I'll tell you about that when I tell you about Namine."
"Agh, you're torturing me. Now I know a name but no face to match it."
"Sorry... So, what else?"
"That's pretty much it. The only other thing I can really add is that Aerith and Yuffie are shopaholics." She smiles. "Yuffie promised to take me shopping sometime after I got out."
"Hey, that gives me an idea. Why don't we have a party?" you suggest, grinning.
"Did someone say party?" a voice asks. Hayner enters the room, Pence following him.
"Yeah, how about it?" you say.
"A party for what?" Pence asks.
"For me getting out of here," Kenzie replies, smiling.
"Hey, you look way better now," Hayner says, smiling back. He walks over and places a hand on Kenzie's shoulder. She yelps and pulls away. "Maybe not!"
"Sorry," she says, frowning.
"Nah, that's okay. You'll get better! Yuffie and Aerith are the best." He gives her a thumbs-up.
"Yes we are!" Yuffie shouts, entering the room. Aerith follows her in, looking amused. "So party, I heard? Sounds good. Mackenzie, me and Aerith'll have to take you shopping!"
"Cool," Kenzie says, smiling again.
"Let's have at our place," Aerith says. "It's big enough to hold everybody."
"With plenty of elbow room!" Yuffie exclaims, giggling. Everyone nods. "Then it's decided. Mackenzie, after you get out, you're comin' with me and Aerith for a shopping trip. Everyone else, meet us at our place on Sunday at, oh, say..."
"Eight?" Aerith says.
"EIGHT!" Yuffie cries, throwing an arm around Aerith's shoulders. Everyone laughs and, one by one, exit the room.
"I probably ought to go," you say, smiling. Kenzie nods understandingly. "But before I do, I have one question: why am I the only one who calls you Kenzie?"
"Oh," Kenzie says, giggling. "Is that all? It's because that's what Lea called me. Got it memorized?"
You laugh, nodding. She sounded just a bit like Axel when she said that.
"Roxas. All right. Fight fight fight. Talk about blank with a capital B. Got it memorized?"
You hear Axel's words in jumbles of phrases.
"Roxas? You okay?"
You open your eyes to see Kenzie looking worried.
"Did I freak you out with the catchphrase? Sorry."
"No, no, it's okay. Not your fault."
"Well, see you next week at the party, okay?"
"Okay. Bye Kenzie."
"Bye Roxas."
your pov
You watch as Roxas leaves the room, shaking his head. It's true; you really didn't mean to freak him out with the catchphrase. It just kind of popped into your head. Then again, Roxas is kind of strange. He won't tell you some stuff that you're DYING to know. You figure, though, that when you move in, he'll tell you everything. If he doesn't, well, you'll make him!
You find it a little freaky. You're going to move into Roxas's house. But...it doesn't seem so scary the more you think about it. Roxas pretty much knew your brother, he's a lot like your brother in some ways...and he's nice...and, strangely, he's the only one who has touched you and you didn't flinch. It feels...right...
