Yeah okay, so I don't own any of it. D: Namine, Kairi, Olette, Roxas, Sunset Hill. none of it. it is quite depressing. and again I frown. :( ok, well, sorry it took me so long to update the last chapter, my internet wasn't working.
Chapter 6:
"Bye. Thanks for coming. It was um... a lot of fun." I smiled as each of my friends waved me off, all piling into the cars of their parents. I watched them all leave, and just as I was turning back to the door, I heard the familiar sound of wheels on the concrete. I tried not to pay attention to the sound, and began to turn the knob, but then, it just stopped. My smile slipped away.
"Namine," He said. "Can we talk?"
I turned slowly around to face him, my grip increasing potentially when I saw the sorrowful look in his eyes. I inhaled deeply, preparing to turn him down, but all I could say was "Always." and smile just a little bit.
His skateboard was behind his back, and he held it tightly with both hands, looking uneasy as he stepped up to my porch. His eyes went from my hand to my face; I hadn't released the doorknob. Against my will, my fingers uncurled and my hand fell to my side, I fell into the nearest chair, sitting loosely, without bothering to hide my discomfort.
He took a deep breath, and began suddenly, lacking any comforting starter words. "Namine, I didn't have any real reason to break my promise to you, and I feel really bad about it, but" He squeezed the bottom of his shirt tightly in his fists. He hadn't yet sat down. "I'll do it again, so it's better you just don't hang out with me anymore, at least not alone." I waited for him to say something more, to elaborate his decision, or laugh and say that he was kidding, but instead, he turned and began to leave.
"No, Roxas, wait," I said, involuntarily, and extended my arm, pointlessly. He wavered a bit, and turned back. I lowered my hand, embarrassed. "What's this about all of a sudden?" His cheeks tinted pink.
"I–"
"I mean," I stood up, and he took a small step back. "Doesn't that seem a little overboard?" He shook his head, but I kept on. "You blew me off to hang out for one day, it isn't the end of the world, you know? It's not like it meant anything." I waved the air with one hand, smiling despite myself. After all, I was being partially honest. Regardless of what Hayner had said on the phone last night, our plans really had meant nothing. To Roxas. I was willing to put my feelings aside for him. He looked like I had slapped him and he didn't speak right away.
"Yeah. You're right. Sorry, I was being... overly dramatic." I smiled at him, and it was obvious his return was forced.
"So, you're reason. What was it? You didn't have time to tell me when Riku picked us up."
"Can I, well I mean, instead of telling you, can I make it up to you?" I drew back, slightly.
"What do you mean?" I asked, cautiously.
"Meet me somewhere tonight." I eyed him suspiciously. I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up a silencing finger. "And I'll actually be there." Silently, I willed him not to promise, and it seemed he got the message. He turned and left with no more details about anything. Confused, I went back into my house, where a few minutes later I would receive a text from a certain blonde haired boy. And I don't mean Hayner.
sunset hill. midnight.
Sunset Hill. I reread the name again and again. Everyone knew that Sunset Hill was just a great place to hang out. During the day. At night, however, it was completely different. I had heard that you couldn't go with someone to Sunset Hill at night without it turning into something more. It was said that true love began there. I rushed upstairs, threw my bedroom door open, and frantically began... to raid my closet.
When the contents of my closet were scattered mercilessly on my floor, I settled for a nothing special light blue, halter top dress. I looked at myself, front and back in the mirror, constantly making minor adjustments for when I would change back into the dress later tonight. I finally perfected my image, and frowned at it. Why was I trying to impress him after what he did to me?
I groaned and stepped out the dress, slipping back into the more casual clothes I wore today, and slumped downstairs. It was still before noon. My dad was at the table, but he wasn't reading the newspaper like usual. He looked irritated.
"Hi, daddy," I began, swiftly kissing him, like always. "Where's mom?"
He sourly sipped at his coffee. "In the living room."
"I see," I managed to sound uninterested enough as I poured myself a glass of orange juice. "Anything special in the news today?"
"Actually yes," He picked up the untouched newspaper from the table and flipped a few pages into it. "The headline would be something like," He pretended he was still looking for the article. "Daughter has secret meetings with boy," He grumbled. I nearly spit my juice out as I laughed. My father looked back at me sourly, his thin eyes even thinner as he gave me a death glare over his shoulder. He was so silly when he tried to be mad, and it was all the more comical that he didn't realize.
I wiped my smiling lips with a napkin that I promptly threw away, and walked back over to the table. I took the seat across from my father. "Daddy," I said. "Tell me about this scandal in the news." I could see him pressing his lips into a thin line to suppress the smile that he fought back.
"Well, it was a lovely family. A beautiful mother, and a brilliant, handsome father," My smile widened with humor. "The daughter was just as sweet as any other, though nobody suspected her to be a deviant trouble maker."
"Oh, do continue," I urged jokingly, resting my chin on the fist made by my right hand.
"As well I should. You see, Namine, this daughter told her father, very specifically, I might add, that she would not be alone with a certain boy, who was only a friend of a friend," I raised my eyebrows. "And that said 'friend of a friend'," He quoted with his fingers. "Was doing no more than teaching her to skateboard. Now, the father, innocently passing by an open window, saw his daughter with a boy, whom he had never seen, let alone met. As he continued on his way, seeing only from peripheral vision, and not listening in, he found that the two were speaking so loudly, he could pick up small pieces of conversing, though he never stopped." I fought to contain the hysterical laughter that built inside my chest as my father lied through his teeth about his actions. "He overheard and pieced together that the two were clandestinely rendezvousing that night. He, being the kind man he was, tried instead to speak to his daughter, rather than foil her covert operations, however, his daughter made no move in point to try and explain her motivations to her father, or–"
I couldn't take it anymore, and I suddenly burst out laughing. He eyed me, disgruntled, and I managed to muffle my crack up to a mere giggle fit. When I finally had the control to speak, I did. "Daddy, please, you make this girl sound like a spy, or something. Maybe, she had motivations that she was uncomfortable discussing with her father, and maybe, she hadn't told him that she wouldn't be alone with the boy, but rather, insisted that she would not that day and that she was responsible enough to take that action. And maybe, her father did not ask for explanation or reason of her actions, nor did he ask what her plans for the evening were. And perhaps she would have told her father what her intentions had been, had he not 'tried to speak with her'. And maybe, daddy, this girl should be very, very angry that her father eavesdropped on her conversation."
"Ah!" He nearly shouted, and I jumped a little in my seat. "You did not listen to the story! He was not eavesdropping, he was passing by!"
"Daddy, please! You are the nosiest person around! Why else would you be the editor of a newspaper? And my conversations are none of your business. If I wanted you to know about them, I would have told you, but you overreact to every little thing I do, so sometimes, I just have to keep secrets from you, and–"
"Am I to believe, through what you have just told me, that you are in a situation quite similar to the girl in the paper?" I gawked at my father for just a moment.
"Then am I to believe that you were not insinuating something by the story you told me?" I asked in just the same tone.
He narrowed his eyes to tiny slits, and we stared at each other, silently for a moment, until we both began to laugh, and finally re-composed ourselves. He turned so he sat sideways in his seat, and motioned for me to come over, opening his arms. I stood and walked around the table, sitting on his lap, and he hugged me. I hugged him back. He felt warm, and he smelt like a mix of his black coffee and some other, minty scent. He inhaled softly and blew out his breath over my hair.
"Oh, my Namine. I have a hard time accepting you growing up, so I pretend you don't have to. This sudden interest in boys is not taking so well to me."
"Um, daddy?" I said, in a questioning tone. He grunted softly to show that I had his attention. "It's... not exactly sudden." He tensed for a moment, but with another deep breath, he was relaxed again.
"So tell me, is it that Roxas boy?" He sounded defeated, like it really was too much for him.
"Yes." I answered truthfully, pressing my face into his shirt, a if to hide my embarrassment. Like I had said, it was uncomfortable talking to my father about it.
"And did your mother know?"
"Yes."
"Does he know?"
"I... I'm not sure."
"Well, this boy is your friend, correct?" he began again, after a short pause.
"Yes. He and a few other boys hang out with me, Kairi, Selphie, and Olette."
"How many other boys?"
I counted in my head. "Six other boys."
He took in a sharp breath. "Six. And your mother knows them all." It wasn't a question, so I didn't respond. "Because I overreact to every little thing you do," He repeated my words, and in his voice, they sounded much harsher than I had meant them.
"Would you like to meet them, daddy?" I asked on a whim, trying to comfort him. I didn't know if it would be too much for him to handle, or perhaps too much for my friends, but he smiled and agreed, and I stood up, kissing him once more, and turned to leave. "Daddy," I said, turning back for just a second. He looked up at me from the table. "Covert operations?" I said, gigging. He smiled, and shooed me away. I laughed, and ran up the stairs without finishing my juice or getting the distraction I had originally aimed for by coming down.
I flopped down on my bed, sighing loudly, and just laid there. The mattress was unbelievably comfortable after two nights of no sleep, and I slowly found myself drifting into unconsciousness, lighter and lighter, until I fell away completely.
"Mn..." I groaned lightly as I sat up in my bed, only to find that it was extremely dark outside. I sighed, and looked over at my clock.
12:08
I glanced over at the small red numbers one more time, and closed my eyes again falling back to the bed. In a matter of seconds, however, they flew back open, and I sat up so quickly, that I got a rush headache. "Ugh..." I moaned pressing my fingers hard into my temples. The second I recovered, I stood up, and rushed the short distance to my closet, where I undressed as quickly as I could, and stepped into the dress I had picked out earlier that day. Or yesterday, I suppose.
As quickly, and silently as I could, I grabbed my keys and ran down the stairs, opening the door slowly, and as I was closing it, "It's a little cold. Do you want your jacket?" My mother's voice asked softly from the kitchen. Crap!! I thought. I can't believe that I had forgotten the reason my mother always woke up so late, was because of how late she stayed up.
"Um... mom, listen,"
"If you do, it's in the closet. Make sure you lock the door on the way out." I couldn't believe my ears, but I didn't have to. I nodded, a pointless motion, and shut the door behind me, fumbling with my key as I rushed to lock the door. I turned, ready to run the two blocks that separated my house from Sunset Hill, when I realized.
It was pitch black. It was freezing cold. It was dead silent. My breath stuck in my throat as I stumbled a few steps forward. I wasn't sure I could make it. I took out my cell phone as a distraction, and watched the little light of the screen steadily as I walked slowly down the street. I kept imagining noises that I was too afraid to look up and focus on. Eventually, I noted on my cell phone that it was twelve nineteen, I made it to Sunset Hill. I looked up, expecting to see Roxas, when my eyes were met with nothing more than the blackness. I relayed our conversation in my mind.
"Meet me somewhere tonight, and I'll actually be there."
I blew out a puff of air as I sat quickly and flipped my phone closed. Twelve nineteen. Did he really not show up again, or had I just come too late?
"Namine," I started at the sound, and turned quickly. In the darkness, I could hardly make out his figure, but as he came closer, I knew it was him, not only by his voice. He crouched low beside me. "I was getting ready to leave. I thought you weren't coming."
"I'm sorry," I said, nervously. All the things I had heard about Sunset Hill were playing in the back of my mind, but were drowned out by internal screams at the thought of being so close to Roxas, and still I could hardly see him. Maybe, I thought with relief, that means he couldn't see me.
"You look a little red, are you feeling okay?" He pressed a soft hand to my forehead, and I froze on impact. "Namine?" He said after a while, removing his hand, and waving it in front of my face. "You there?"
"S-Sorry!" He laughed a little, and sat, closer to me than he had ever been.
"So Namine," My heart gave a squeeze as I looked over at him, finding that he was smiling casually over at me, leaning in just slightly. "You heard the legends about this place?"
---
will Roxas ever reveal his reason for standing Namine up?? what will happen on sunset hill?? are the rumors true?!?! its all so mysterious!!! yeah, okay, so again, another uneventful chapter. But the next one will be better, i promise!! after all, its namine, roxas, a romantic-legend bearing hill, and midnight. oooo:o) hope you enjoyed the chapter!!