Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Roxas, Olette, Hayner, etc.

Author's Note: This was fun, fun, fun! I don't know why, but I happened to have a hard time writing this chapter, but the ending seemed to escape me, and I realized, wow, this was fun!

Warning: Rude language is contained in this chapter.

Quick Author Babble: FACT: Did you know that the original title of this chapter was My Good Ol' Ex-Best Friend? Well, it was, but then I changed it!

Chapter 9: Oranges and Old Wounds

Roxas was outraged, horrifyingly angry, frustrated and every bad feeling under the sun. His blue eyes were so threatening that they were almost shooting sparks. Every footstep he took seemed heavy, as if he'd just transformed into the Hulk. He wouldn't be surprised if he had, actually. He was that mad.

And why was he this mad? Oh, no important reason. It just happened that his best friend that he'd known for practically forever happened to be having an affair with his girlfriend who he'd loved ever since he'd met her. Oh, yeah, it was absolutely nothing to worry about.

Hayner had never been that friendly—he enjoyed pranking Roxas, fake beating him up, and gloating in his face when he won any game they'd been playing. But this competitiveness did not push the two friends away from each other—as a matter of fact, it seemed to pull them closer, always eager to show the other one up, no matter what the consequences.

But Hayner had never gone this far. In fact, he'd never gone a mile away from this far. He may not have been the smartest of the group of friends, but he wasn't stupid. No one was stupid enough to realize Roxas and Naminé weren't dating. Besides, Hayner had always been supportive of this idea—he was the one who had convinced Roxas to ask Naminé on their first date, actually. And now…nowTHIS?!

What the heck was this? What category of lowliness did this fall under? Betrayal? Jealousy? Thievery?

Roxas wasn't exactly an expert on this "friends' loyalty" stuff, but he was sure if someone were to rate what Hayner did, he would fall off the charts.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears. Tears of rage were blurring everything in front of him. His breath was tearing at his lungs. Perhaps, if he just laid there on his bed for long enough, he would die and all this suffering would end.

If only life were that easy.

After logging off the computer, he'd been laying there, thinking—thinking about how much he hated Hayner, thinking about how this possibly could've happened, thinking about what he was going to say—what he was going to do—tomorrow.

Roxas didn't usually let his emotions get the better of him. He was not that kind of person. By people who didn't know his name, he was usually called "that quiet guy who sits in the corner" or "that boy who barely talks." But this time, he had this strong urge to grab Hayner and kill him with his own, bare hands.

How could Olette possibly hide this from him? This was the question that bothered him most. He thought Olette was his friend. He thought he could trust her. Everyone trusted Olette. She was kind, helpful, and had that comforting scent of oranges that Roxas had strangely grown attached to.

But that was beside the point.

The point was that she had played as big a part in this as Hayner. She had hidden the turning point in Roxas's life from him. Why? He didn't know. But for whatever reason, she was lying, and it couldn't have been for Naminé's sake, because she'd said a countless number of times she didn't like her. And for Hayner, she barely knew him. She obviously thought of him as a jerk then.

Why not say anything?

Roxas groaned. His head was hurting like crazy. He just needed to sleep. Then he'll figure out what to do in the morning.

And, if he was lucky, he'd die before then.

222

Before his mother had even wished him a good morning, Roxas was out of the house, storming down the street. Snow was clouding his vision and the blankets of white were up to his knees—such terrible weather. Like Roxas cared.

He was plenty warm from the red hot anger running through his veins. His first destination: Hayner's house.

Well, his only destination. But to be fair, he'd probably spend a lot of time there. So, it counted as quite a few destinations in his opinion.

As he approached the walkway, he wondered what to say. He was going to yell. And scream. And most probably strangle.

He rang the doorbell. He waited five seconds. His plan was to burst inside and yell, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH NAMINÉ??" Well, maybe not. Maybe he should act normal and then ask him as they sat at the table, making him all nervous and then beating the crap right out of him.

The door opened to reveal Hayner's, as always, mischievous-looking face. It turned out Roxas's fists acted faster than his words—the next thing he knew, his fist was connecting with Hayner's nose.

"WHAT THE (A/N: This fic is rated K+), ROXAS?!" Hayner yelled, covering his bleeding nose with his hand.

"DON'T YOU THINK FOR A SECOND YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BE MAD AT ME!!" Roxas screamed, voice reaching top level. "WHAT, YOU THINK IT'D JUST BE FUN TO HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH MY GIRLFRIEND?? JUST GOT UP ONE DAY AND DECIDED, 'HEY, WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO MAKE OUT WITH NAMINÉ TODAY'?!"

Hayner turned three shades whiter.

"Oh…uh…" he stuttered, his voice shrinking, "it's…it's really complicated, Roxas…"

"YEAH, I'M SURE IT IS, BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHEN MY BEST FRIEND GOES BEHIND MY BACK AND TAKES MY GIRLFRIEND!!"

"Roxas…lower your voice…please…God…" Hayner said exasperatedly, looking nervously at some wide-eyed neighbors walking across the street.

"I AM NOT GOING TO LOWER MY V…" Roxas began, when Hayner tackled him and covered his mouth with his hand and pulled him inside.

Roxas kicked backwards. Hayner howled in pain and let go of him. Roxas just looked down at him, yelling swear words he had never used before. (Were some of them even in existence before? He was losing track.) But no one was stopping him. He was not going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

"To be fair, Roxas," Hayner croaked from the floor, "you never really were much of a ladies' man. I, on the other hand…"

He moved to get up. Roxas kicked him down again.

"Smart," Roxas snapped. "Real funny."

Hayner looked up at him with wide, brown eyes.

"I get it, you're mad," he said, putting up his hands in surrender. "I would be too."

"OF COURSE I'M MAD!" Roxas flamed, nearly kicking Hayner again, but the camouflage clad boy had already jumped up.

How could he possibly not be mad? Had Hayner always been this much of an idiot? Or had Roxas just been stupidly oblivious?

"Roxas, Roxas!" Hayner took a few steps back so that he was three meters away from the enraged, blond-haired boy. "Calm down! Just let me talk for a second!"

"Let you talk?!" Roxas yelled. "This isn't court, Hayner!"

"Just a second, please, listen!" Hayner pleaded.

Roxas stopped, even though a voice inside him was yelling at him to not give him a chance—to just beat the crap out of him, let him die right there if he had to. But no, he stopped. Not for Hayner's sake, but for his pounding heart and the pain tearing at his lungs.

"You have no idea what it was like when you left, Roxas," Hayner stated slowly, obviously choosing each word with caution. "It was…not easy. You know how Naminé gets when she's upset…It was a nightmare."

Hayner seemed to pause, clearly thinking of how he should say the next thing—make it easier for Roxas to hear. But it was beyond that. After he was done talking, there was no saving him, no way.

"Naminé wanted us—Pence and I—to be with her all the time. Sometimes I'd get phone calls from her at two in the morning. She was worried, always thinking about you…me and Pence didn't have a moment of peace."

He took a deep intake of breath.

"Well, the more time I spent with her, it seemed to get easier for both her and me. Sometimes, even it was just for two minutes, she would stop talking about you. I hoped, maybe, she was getting better. Moving on. You know."

"Meaning moving on to you," Roxas said dryly.

"No, actually, I was worried. After awhile I'd developed a little…well…liking to Naminé, I guess you could say…"

He stopped at Roxas's glare.

"But I thought it was natural!" he cried defensively. "I thought, possibly, because she'd been my friend for so long, I was bound to get attached to her…not like…like what you had with her…"

"Had?"

"I meant have! Sorry, slip of the tongue! Heh, heh…"

Hayner gulped at Roxas's expression, which was, currently, stone cold.

"Well, Naminé started to separate from Pence and started talking to me more…I thought more than healthy…But when she was with me, she didn't talk about you. It wasn't 'Roxas, Roxas, Roxas' all the time. Suddenly it was what was on TV last night, the new shop that opened in the mall, whatever."

"So you thought that this was your big chance?" Roxas snapped. "When she stopped talking about me, all of a sudden you could move onto her?"

"Sorry to rain on your little 'Hayner is the cause of everything' parade, but she moved onto me," Hayner replied.

At this back sass Roxas could feel anger racing through his veins. He seized Hayner by the shoulder and pushed him into a wall.

"Liar."

It was quiet, yet threatening—almost like a snake hissing.

"You're just angry because I gave her everything, and you gave her nothing."

Hayner said it in the teasing manner he used when they were kids and Roxas had just lost in a game of hide-and-seek. Roxas half-expected him to stick out his tongue.

"Shut up, Hayner!" Roxas had never been very good at insulting people.

"Why should I? What's the point? You're already mad as hell at me! I might as well have some say!"

"You don't have much to say, do you?" Roxas snapped. "Because you know Naminé went for you second! Because I was there for her first! You're just the person who was closest at the time! You were just convenient! You're like her anti-depression drug!"

Roxas was suddenly kicked back as Hayner's shoe connected with his stomach. He found himself lying on the floor, dazed, Hayner hovering over him.

"Shut up, you don't know anything!" Hayner shouted.

"I know a lot more than you do!"

Hayner picked him up and shoved him into a wall.

"No, you don't! I love her, Roxas! You treat her like dirt, like she's nothing but gum on your shoe…"

Another curse word escaped Roxas's lips. Like Hayner knew anything about what he felt. Hayner didn't know his boundaries. He knew nothing about what real love was like. Nothing.

Another slam echoed through the air as Hayner was once again pressed up against a wall.

"That's not love! That's betrayal! That's desperation! She doesn't love you, Hayner! If she actually loved you, she would've realized it a long time ago!"

"Hayner, are you home?" a soft voice asked from the foyer. "The door's open…"

Roxas was alarmed. What would this person think if they saw this whole scene playing out? Hayner, however, didn't seem to hear.

"SHUT UP!!"

He pushed Roxas sideways into the opposite wall. Roxas screamed out in pain as his broken arm hit it hard. He collapsed. Everything was blurry. Was he crying? He hoped not.

"Roxas!"

The same voice that had spoken in the foyer rang in his ears. But it was shriller, panicked. How bad did he look?

"What the heck is your problem?!" a higher voice was screaming.

"Roxas, can you hear me? Roxas?" the voice was speaking to him at what felt like a distance.

Roxas nodded, words catching in his throat. Even the slight gesture seemed to rattle his brain—pain seared through him. He took a deep intake of breath. And suddenly he smelled it. Oranges. At the scent he could picture a girl with bright, green eyes and dark, wavy brown hair tied into braids.

"Olette?" he muttered. "Is that you?"

"Y-Yeah," she replied shakily. "Can you stand?"

"I…"

He cringed as another sear of pain flashed through his head.

"I…"

Even the already blurry picture in front of him was darkening.

"Roxas? Roxas! Can you hear me? Rox…"

His eyelids closed unwillingly and he could hear the voices growing distant until he couldn't hear them at all.

222

Colorful dots broke through the darkness behind Roxas's eyelids as sunlight pierced them. His eyelids trembled before they finally allowed themselves to open. He blinked a few times to get the colored splotches to stop obscuring his vision. As he looked around, he realized he was on a bed in a room covered with posters, blue walls surrounding him. He was in his bedroom.

"Roxas!"

A voice greeted him instantly. He looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes lock with his blue ones. Olette looked worried, more worried than Roxas had ever seen her. There were trails of once cried tears on her cheeks, and even now her eyes seemed to be glinting wetly.

"Are you okay?" she asked nervously. "Your arm…"

Roxas looked at his right arm, which had been released from its cast and was lying, numb, on the mattress. The scar from the basketball net was dark now, but everything surrounding it was covered in a brown bruise.

After many long moments of silence, Olette burst into tears and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Roxas!" she sobbed. "If I had told you earlier, this wouldn't have happened! I don't know what I was thinking, I'm sorry…"

"It's…okay, Olette," Roxas said, patting her awkwardly on the back with his good hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm acting like an idiot…"

She sat up and wiped her eyes.

"I just thought…if I told you about Naminé…it would break your heart. I don't know. I know that's stupid and there's no excuse…"

Roxas felt relieved. So that was the reason.

"It's alright. I understand."

He looked around.

"Where's Hayner?" he asked, pretending to sound worried.

Truth be told, he hoped the boy was dying somewhere.

"He's at his house, steaming," Olette replied. "Selphie's trying to talk some sense into him, but so far no luck."

"Don't expect to get very far. Hayner's got a head made of stone."

Olette let out a giggle. Roxas felt comfortable with her there, instead of wanting to yell and scream as he did the day before. He glared at his hands, thinking.

"Olette, what am I going to do?"

Olette's eyes softened as she looked at him.

"I don't know," she replied in a whisper.

His eyes were fastened on her, pleading inwardly that she had some sort of idea—any idea at all. But she didn't say anything else, but appeared to be thinking.

"I love Naminé, but…but…"

His words seemed to leave him. He didn't understand the reason he did not want this relationship to last. He could hear Hayner's voice echoing through his head…

"I love her, Roxas!"

He let out a heavy sigh, his gaze once again falling to his entwined fingers, thinking. He didn't know why, especially after what Hayner did, but he wanted Hayner to be happy. Perhaps Naminé did prefer him, like Hayner said. If this was the truth, Roxas didn't want to be an obstacle.

But he loved Naminé, he did, so painstakingly much. He missed her everyday when she wasn't beside him. He'd known her—loved her—for as long as he could remember. How could he just give her up?

A pair of petite, pale hands wrapped over his. He looked up at Olette, who had a comforting smile on her lips.

"You'll think of something, Roxas, I know you will," she said. "You've just got to listen to your heart."

She gave him a hug and he hugged her back, breathing in that scent of oranges that was growing more familiar by the second.

"What shampoo do you use?" he asked.

The question had escaped him before he could stop himself. Olette looked plainly surprised as she pulled away. Well, it was a strange question.

"Citrus Breeze," she replied, bewildered. "Why?"

"Keep using it," was all Roxas said before smiling.

Olette laughed and nodded before getting up to leave.

What if eye for an eye?

Okay, so it is an absolutely GORGEOUS evening outside, so I had this overwhelming feeling to finish this chapter with a cozy ending, because…well…the atmosphere seemed perfect!

Right, review time!

Muffin: Favorite? Aw…you flatter me! Lol. I've never read Homerun. I'll read it soon, though, from what I've heard! It's hard to pick out the extremely good writing from the ludicrous amount of stories for Kingdom Hearts. The White Witch of the…East? South? Something? Sorry, I reviewed all your latest stories, I haven't been reading lately.

Midnight Hikari: Here's your update!

Keyblade Master of Promise: Does he? This is a lesson for all of mankind. Thanks!

Zestychicken2: Don't worry, Olette's all better. (Gasps at the language bleeps.) Let's not be hasty here! There's a lesson to learn from all this…I think. I'll try to update faster, but it's kind of hard for some reason. Thanks!!

Twighlight's Desire: Yes, I would be mad too. That's true, but still, he's his best friend. So…yeah.

Lunar Roxas: Thanks! It is unavoidable, but to be fair, he has an excuse.

Jcola0823: Thanks so much!

Bexmar: I know, I made Naminé EVIL!! Heh, heh. Lol, I understand. I like Roxette more than Roxiné, truth be told. Still, I like the idea, because it's representing Sora and Kairi, so yeah. Not exactly…well, HMTMKMKM didn't have much of a plot either, now that I think about it…I guess I'm winging it. Oh well. I'll think of something. Bye!

Akire-Otos: Thanks! (Frightened face) I updated, DON'T HURT ME! Don't worry, I won't send the police on you. Thanks!

Tooba-Chan: Um…today? Which is Sunday, April 20, 2008!

x: Thanks! Yay for being favorited!

Okay, guys, gonna go relax now. This evening's too lovely to pass up!

Read and review!

Ciao!