Impossible to Ignore.

Okay, so maybe avoiding Naminé was harder than I thought.

When I stepped out of my car the next morning the first thing I heard was the click-clacking of heels hitting the pavement. I slowly turned around, and my eyes widened when I spotted Naminé walking in my direction, white-blonde hair and dark eyelashes and all.

"Good morning." She greeted sweetly, flashing me a small smile. I swallowed nervously and gripped my briefcase. She was wearing a grey skirt that stopped just above her knees, a thin white button-up that could've been somewhat see-through if not for that black sweater vest - wait, wait, wait. Stop looking at her like that!

"'Morning." My eyes shifted around for a few seconds. "Uh, I guess...I guess you're gonna use the, er-"

"Elevator?" She laughed softly, and my cheeks felt uncomfortably hot for some reason, "Yes, yes I am going to use the elevator. I'm guessing you are too?"

"Yeah," I mumbled, relieved I still had my voice, "Well, er, what are we waiting for? Let's use the elevator." I gestured for her to walk ahead of me, and she giggled again. We waited for the elevator in silence; I rocked back and forth uncomfortably on my heels and watched her from the corner of my eye. How was she standing so still?

When the doors slid open I made sure she went inside first. "How gentlemanly of you." She smiled at me as I followed her in.

There were thirty-six floors to go through before we got to our destination, which meant we had approximately seven or so minutes to ourselves. Seven unavoidable minutes.

Dammit, Axel.

"So," I hesitated, nervously pushing my fingers through my hair, "Are you from around here?"

"Nope," Her lips popped, emphasizing the 'p', "I just moved from Twilight Town a week and a half ago."

That somehow sounded depressing to me. "Oh...er, well...how are you finding it? The city, I mean."

"Well, it's bigger for one thing," She shrugged, "Noisier too, but it's a nice change. With all of these things happening at once it gives me lots of inspiration."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Inspiration for what?"

"Oh, I draw and paint and stuff on my spare time," She replied nonchalantly, "I went to school for it - art's kind of my thing."

I gave her a shy smile. "If it's really your thing then why are you working as an assistant in an office? Shouldn't you be...I dunno, an artist or something?"

She fell silent for a few moments, and I suddenly felt guilty for asking. I was about to take it back when she raised her head and blinked at me. "What about you? Did you always think you were gonna become a high-end business exec?"

"No," I answered slowly, not sure where she was getting at, "But-"

"Exactly." She smiled that sweet smile of hers again, and when I blinked back in confusion she giggled. "Some things just turn out a bit differently than what you expect, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing."

I dropped my gaze to my shoes. "Yeah, I suppose so." I mumbled. My eyes traveled to her heels, then to her ankles...then her legs…was there a skirt length policy for workplaces…?

"Roxas," I glanced upwards, "We're here." Her head was tilted towards the open doors. She was either ignoring my not-so-subtle ogling or she was one of the most oblivious people I've ever met.

I gulped again. "Oh. Sorry...I'm a little out of it." I let her go first. I made sure to match my pace with her, however, just in case my eyes decided to, er, wander.

"Oh?" She looked at me from the corner of her eye as we made our way past the secretarial desk, "Did you eat breakfast?"

"Of course I did," I answered somewhat indignantly, "I always make time for breakfast."

"Hm…" Her desk was situated just beside Xemnas' office. Her front wall and door was also made out of glass. She placed a dainty hand on the titanium handle as if to push the door open, but she lifted her head to smile at me one last time. "Well...maybe you're more of a lunch person."

I blinked. "Lunch...person?"

Her smile widened by just a fraction, and she nodded once. "Yes, a lunch person - maybe you start feeling it during midday."

I raised an eyebrow. "Feel what?"

"Y'know," She fluttered her hands, "It. That point in the day where you finally wake up?"

I chuckled. "Ohh...yeah, I think I get where you're coming from now."

Naminé laughed, and my chest did that weird twitching thing again. "I'm pretty sure you'll get it once noon comes around." She finally pushed her door open. "I'll be sure to check up on you then."

Great...another opportunity to interact with her. This wasn't boding well. "Y-yeah, I'll be expecting you." I waved and spun around unsteadily, shaking my head the entire walk to my office.

The moment I booted up my computer I noticed I had a new email - it was from Axel.

I saw that. You're losing this, Roxas.

I cringed and immediately began typing.

No! I couldn't help it - when I got out of the car she was right there! I couldn't make a mad dash for the elevator or something; she'd think I'm trying to avoid her!

Seconds after I sent it Axel replied.

I thought that was your master plan.

I rolled my eyes.

I'm working around this, don't you worry. Oh, and for the record: I feel nothing.

I could almost hear my best friend laughing from down the hallway.

Oh yeah? "Oh. Sorry...I'm a little out of it." You're a horrible liar, man.

My eyes widened.

How did you hear that?!

Glass walls, Roxas.

Oh...right. I frustratingly ran my hands through my hair and flopped backwards against my chair; this was proving to be downright difficult, and this wasn't even the first day of the challenge!

My computer made a noise; Axel sent another email.

Oh, and for the record: she practically made the first move. She's gonna 'check up on you' during lunch. Y'know what that means…; )

My face flushed a violent red.

The. Walls. Are. Glass. I nearly broke a hole in my computer from jabbing my finger on the trackpad too hard.

Axel's next email nearly caused me to scream and overturn my desk.

Oh well - that means the rest of us get a halftime show!

--

I was dreading twelve o'clock. Every half an hour my eyes would dart to the time on the corner of my computer screen, and the closer it got to noon the faster my heart would beat. By the time it was almost twelve my palms were sweaty and my pulse was racing so quickly I feared I was going to get a heart attack.

Five minutes. Axel's newest email was taunting me; the bastard made sure to type it out in gigantic bold font. I growled under my breath and frustratingly ran my hands through my hair. Why did she have to be so nice, so likable? Why did I have to notice every single little detail of her whenever she talked to me? Why-

"Roxas?" Naminé's voice was slightly muffled against my glass door. I glanced upwards and eyed her standing patiently outside, and I sucked in a breath as I rose to my feet.

"You're early." I stated with an amused chuckle. I stepped to the side so she could walk in; she was holding a white lunch bag. How cute.

"Was I interrupting something?" She asked worriedly, and her brow furrowed.

I shook my head quickly. "N-no, no - sit down, please." When she did I moved back to my own chair. I eyed the bag conspicuously. "So...what do you have in there?"

"Your lunch, duh." She pulled out a sandwich encased in a clear ziplock bag. It looked kind of...empty.

"Er, what's in it?" I asked, leaning over my computer to see, "It doesn't look like there's a lot inside."

Naminé laughed as she unzipped the bag. "Just because there isn't a lot inside doesn't mean it's not going to taste good. Here." She gave half of the sandwich to me, and I stared at it.

"Nutella?" I raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?"

Her eyes narrowed, but judging by how she was still smiling she wasn't really offended. "Oh c'mon - everyone loves Nutella...unless they're allergic to it of course. You're not allergic, are you?" Her brow furrowed worriedly again.

"N-no," I mumbled, my fingers applying pressure to the soft bread, "It's just...out of all the good things you can have for lunch you decide to have a plain old Nutella sandwich? There's a great café just around the corner from here-"

"When's the last time you've eaten Nutella?" She asked warily.

I raised an eyebrow at the strange question. "Why is that so important?"

"Well, as a regular day-to-day Nutella consumer it's easy to spot the people who haven't eaten it in awhile." Naminé smiled again and took a bite of her half-sandwich. "So, how long ago?"

I placed my half of the sandwich on my desk and threw up my hands. "I don't know," I groaned exasperatingly, "I don't keep track of when I eat Nutella!"

"Oh, but you should."

I groaned again; this broad was weirding me out, but then again that was a good thing - as long as I wasn't attracted to her I was winning the stupid bet, right? "And why should I, pray tell?"

"Because," She paused to swallow another bite of her sandwich, "I find that people are happier when they regularly eat Nutella. It should be a doctor's order to eat at least a spoonful every day."

This was getting weirder and weirder. "And I'm guessing you eat Nutella every day?"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact I do." She grinned childishly. "See, you're all cranky and out of it - that's because you don't have a pick-me-up. For me, it's Nutella - and art, of course. You, on the other hand, don't seem to have one."

I leaned into my palm, slightly interested. "How are you so sure about that? Apart from our brief conversation on Monday this is the only time we've really started talking, and I haven't mentioned anything personal as of yet."

She flicked a strand of hair behind her shoulder and giggled. "It's really easy to tell, y'know. Every morning you walk into your office looking like you've just come out from a wrestling match or something; you look so drained, so tired, and you hardly smile. When you're working your face gets all scrunched up-" She made a very amusing imitation of my 'working face', and I held in a laugh, "-like you're constipated or something. It's really funny...but sad at the same time." She paused for a second, reaching upwards to tug on her hair. "That just made me look like some kind of creepy stalker. I'm sorry if I'm scaring you."

I laughed; she partially just read my mind. "To be honest with you: yes, it kind of did make you look like a creepy stalker," I wanted to laugh again when her pale cheeks turned slightly red, "But that's okay. These walls are glass, so at least you have that as an excuse."

Her eyes lit up like the way a child's would on Christmas morning, and I wanted to laugh again. She was so adorable.

Wait, adorable?

No, that's not the word I'm looking for. I wasn't even looking for a word in the first place!

Likable. She's likable.

Likable Naminé. Not adorable Naminé. Likable Naminé.

I'm over-thinking this, aren't I?

I laughed nervously and finally took a bite of my sandwich; I've almost forgotten how amazing Nutella tasted. I felt like I was in elementary school all over again. "You seemed so shy when you walked into the meeting room on Monday. Now you're like a totally different person."

She coloured again and feebly tried to hide behind her half-finished half of a sandwich. "I'm usually not very good with meeting new people, let alone adapting to a new environment."

"You seem okay right now, though." I pointed out.

"I know," She mumbled, her eyes dropping to her lap, "But I feel...comfortable talking with you, like - I dunno - like you're someone I've known for a long time, or something. An old friend I've just happened to run into again."

"Uh…" I frowned, "We...we haven't met anywhere before, right?"

"I'm pretty sure we haven't," Naminé answered confidently, "But I just have that...that familiar feeling around you, y'know?" Her blush worsened and she gripped the hem of her skirt, "S-sorry if I'm making this awkward, it's...it's just-"

"It's okay," I smiled my best for her, "I'm actually very flattered that you feel that way towards me. It's comforting to know I can help a newcomer."

She beamed at me again, and that sickly fluffy sweet feeling piled up inside of me. Goddammit. "I think we should hang out," She suggested; I could already hear Axel and Sora teasing me about this later, "Somewhere that's not a workplace."

"Are you asking me out?" I said teasingly, leaning in a little just to see what her reaction would be like.

She leaned back, her eyes wide and her cheeks pink. "N-no, of course not! If I was going to ask you out I think I'd be smoother than that." She grinned cheekily, and I grinned back. "What about tomorrow night? Dinner, maybe?"

"That definitely sounds date-material." I sighed; dates just weren't my thing. Anything relationship-related just wasn't my thing. I should just tell her that upfront so I can get this stupid bet over with. "Look, Naminé, I-"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," She tapped her chin with an index finger, "So...I guess I really am asking you out."

My collar felt very tight for some reason, and I tugged anxiously at my tie. "Uh…" I fumbled, "O-oh...then, er," I don't date. I don't do relationships. I'm not attracted to you. You are not adorable. "S-sure, I think I'm free for tomorrow night."

She gave me that kid-on-Christmas-morning-look again, and my chest clenched together. "Great! I guess I'll see you tomorrow evening, then!" She bolted straight up from her chair, her smile still visible. She popped the last corner of her sandwich into her mouth. "Eat up, now - you're starting to look a little better from this morning, at least."

I took a big bite of my sandwich and gave her the thumbs up. "I'll pick you up around...say seven?"

She made her way to the door, but not without turning around to smile again. "Seven's perfect. I'll email you my address when I get back to my desk. See you then, Roxas." She closed the glass door behind her and walked away; I could still hear her heels clicking against the marble floor.

I felt like I had just inhaled three gigantic helium balloons. I collapsed against my chair, throwing my head back and staring straight up at the ceiling.

What the hell have I just gotten myself into?

Easy to avoid...huh, my ass.

My computer made a noise; I had mail. I leaned forward to read it.

You are so losing this, Roxas.

--

A/N: This chapter was inspired by two of the greatest things known to man:

Imogen Heap's Goodnight and Go, and…

Nutella =) Can you tell I've been craving some for the longest time?

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed so far! You guys are great =)