Namine's POV

And so I stood, at the door of Kairi's, watching Roxas run off into the distance. Once I peeled my eyes away from him, I went to knock on the door. It opened before I could do anything.

"Hi! I'm Kairi! Sora just texted me, I know the whole situation. Come in, come in!" She welcomed me inside, springing up the stairs and showing me to a room.

"So." She clapped her hands together. "We'd better get started." She gave me a tour of her expansive closet, filled with dresses of every color. We each pulled a few.

"I don't know what looks good on me. You're the expert here," I explained to her. I looked at our picks: drastically different. Mine were very simple. Hers were…. extravagant. To say the least.

"Hmmm…" she said, examining my choice outfits. She eliminated two of my picks on first sight. The other three she held up to my body, muttered things to herself, explained how different cuts flatter different people. I wasn't really listening.

"Here," She said, handing me two of her choosing and three of mine. "Go try those on in the bathroom."

After an hour and a half, we narrowed it down to two: one of mine and one of hers.

"Hmm," she said, scrutinizing them. "You have a good eye." She shrugged. "I don't know. They both look adorable on you. Whichever you like." I looked down at the two dresses in front of me. Hers was a poofy, whitish-pink dress with a tulle skirt and satin top.

"I think with this one, I'll look too much like a bride," I said. She nodded. "I agree. Well, the blue one it is then." She took the pink dress from me and stashed it in her closet. "Go get dressed so we can do your hair and makeup. It's only two hours to the party, you know!" I obediently started getting changed in her attached bathroom.

"So, how do you know Roxas?" Kairi said through the door. "I want to know all the juicy details!"

I blushed. "There are none. I'm his penpal, that's all. We're best friends."

"Mmmhmm…. Isn't he cute though? Everyone at school crushes on him. He doesn't have a girlfriend though… yet."

"I don't think of him like that. We're friends. That's all."

Liar.

SHUT UP, MIND!

"Oh. Okay." She sounded a little disappointed. "But, you know, if you want that to change, I can help. Parties are the best time for hooking up."

"Oh. Thanks, but I don't think so." I zipped up the dress and walked out. She immediately sat me down in a chair and started on my hair and makeup.

"Ready?" She said, two hours later. She spun me around so I could see myself.

"Wow," I said, pretty much wordless. I looked the prettiest I had ever seen. And I don't really consider myself pretty. At all.

"I look… older!" I said, staring at my reflection. "Is that even me?"

Kairi nodded, looking like she was going to cry. "I'm a miracle worker."

"Hey!" I said.

"Kidding!" She retorted, laughing. She glanced at the clock.

"Crap! I still have to get you shoes!" She wailed like it was the end of the world. She dashed to her closet and started rummaging through wildly.

"Catch!" She called from inside. A pair of silver strappy sandals flew at me. I caught them and put them on in a rush.

"Wait… aren't we already late?" I said, looking at the clock. It read eight fifteen.

"It's called fashionably late, dahling," She said, laughing. "If you get there too early, you look strange." She paused. "Have you ever been to a party?"

I shook my head. "Not really."

She wrestled on a pair of shoes. "C'mon, let's go!" She flitted downstairs and I followed. We began the short walk to Roxas'.

When we reached his house, I looked at the decorations. The house had been covered in streamers, and there was a blue and white balloon arch in front of the door. A sign said, "Happy Sweet Sixteen Roxas." There must have been over a hundred people by the door alone.

As soon as we arrived, Kairi was saying hello to everyone.

"Hey, Kaylie! Oh, you brought Andrew too! How sweet!" She was hugging people. I just stood there, awkwardly. She started talking to them and greeting more people. I stood on my tiptoes in order to see over the crowd. I was looking for Roxas.

"Hey, Kairi, do you know where Roxas—" I turned. She wasn't standing there anymore. I searched the sea of faces for her to no avail.

Figures. I thought about talking into the shell, but I didn't want to bother him. Don't interrupt his fun. I pushed through the crowd of people inside his house until I reached the back porch. I walked, not really knowing where I was headed. My feet took me to the beach. The moon had risen. It was only half-full.

It was only then I noticed someone else on the beach. I strained my eyes to get a closer look. My eyes widened in surprise as I walked over to him.

"Roxas? Why are you here?"

"Hey Nam. Parties just aren't really my thing. My family organized this." I realized he was wearing a tuxedo. Tie and all.

"Oh." We both looked at the moon for a minute.

"It's funny seeing you in a tuxedo," I said. "You look quite snazzy." I giggled. He chuckled.

"Well, it's strange seeing you in a dress. With legs." He half-smiled.

"Yeah. It's really weird."

"So…what brings you out here?" He asked.

"Well, Kairi ditched me in the first five minutes." I shrugged. "Whatever."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she does that sometimes. I'm gonna have to tell her off. She did a good job on your wardrobe though."

"Thanks." He murmured something to himself. I couldn't make it out. My heart caught in my throat. I sat down.

After a minute of silence, he said something that surprised me. "You look really beautiful tonight, you know. More than normal, I mean."

"Um, thanks." I blushed bright red. Breathe. Breathe. Seriously. OH MY GOD FREAKING BREATHE ALREADY.

I took in a breath and bit my lip. I looked away.

"Do you think you're pretty?" His question startled me.

"What?" I asked. I hadn't been expecting that.

"I said, do you think you're pretty?"

"I, uh…. No, I guess. Not really."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I guess I just don't have high self-confidence?"

"You should think you're pretty. Because you are." He looked at me. I couldn't bear to return the gaze. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And that is saying something."

I just wanted to change the subject. It was making me uncomfortable.

"Do we have to talk about this? It's kinda….weird."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure." We shared an awkward silence.

It was time for me to leave. I got up. "I think I should go," I said. I already started walking away. He jumped up after me. I walked a little quicker, but he grabbed my hand before I got far.

"Namine. Stay. Please?" He looked at me pleadingly. His eyes melted my heart. "You're my only real friend here."

"Don't you have Kairi?"

"Okay, you do have a point there, but let me rephrase: You are the only person right now in the entire world that I feel comfortable telling everything to."

"I…guess…." He sat and pulled me down too, never letting go of my hand.

After a little bit, I tried to pull away from his hand. I didn't want to, but a voice inside told me I should.

He looked at me a little sadly. "Are you mad at me?"

"What? Of course not."

"Well, you're acting different."

"What? I'm fine."

"Seriously. What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything! If anything happened, it was probably my fault anyway!" I said in self-frustration.

Why can't you just tell him you like him? It's so obvious.

His gaze bored into my head.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." I calmed down a little.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked after a minute.

"Anything."

"I…well, it's really weird to be saying this, but….I…" He took a deep breath. Roxas took both of my hands and turned me to face towards him. My heartbeat doubled in pace.

"I am in love with you, Namine."

I was speechless. "You….what?"

"I love you." He paused. " I'm sorry. Am I going too fast?" He looked straight into my eyes. "I don't want to make you scared."

I very nearly laughed. "Me. Scared of you?" I shook my head. "You're the sweetest person I have ever met."

"So… you're okay with it?"

"The truth is, Roxas….I have been feeling the same way about you for a very long time." I couldn't believe I was saying this. Could any of it really be happening?

"Thank god. I have been freaking out about this for so long…." He confessed. "I was afraid it might destroy our friendship." He intertwined his fingers in my hands.

"No," I said. Why could he even think something like that? "No matter what happens, we'll always be friends."

"Nam…" He called me by my nickname. "You know, I've been wanting to try something."

"Roxas," I said softly. "Do you mean…"

"I've never kissed anyone before," He said quietly.

"Neither have I."

"Well, I guess we can call this the first time." He started to lean in slowly. I nodded. I thought my heart was going to burst any second. A tempo this fast couldn't be good for my health.

Our foreheads touched, our noses brushed.

Hey, I'm not letting you do everything. I leaned forward and closed the gap between our faces.

The kiss was sweet and gentle. It came naturally, just like breathing. You didn't really have to know how to, you just kind of…did.

When it was over, I rested my head on his shoulder.

"This is the happiest moment of my life," I said, looking at his face. "I love you."

"I love you too."

We walked back to the party hand in hand. I spotted Kairi from across the room. She winked and gave me a thumbs-up sign. "GOOD JOB!" She mouthed. I blushed and laughed all at once.

After everyone had left, Roxas and I headed to the beach.

"I have to go," I said.

"Will you turn back into a mermaid?" He asked me.

"I think so," I nodded. "Something in my heart tells me I will."

He let go of my hand and kissed my cheek.

"See you next time." He was reluctant to let me leave.

"It's only a week, you know."

"I know… it just seems so long. Every day I'm without you feels like a year."

"You too. But know you're in my heart. Forever and always." I said.

"Forever and always." I swam away under the moon.

And so ended the best night of my life.