---
"And that's why," Sora was saying, "I don't eat dairy anymore."
Roxas was hastily checking his cell phone messages as everyone cracked up at Sora's joke.
Inbox: 5
Unread: 3
1st Message, From Olette: Hey, Rox. Just wondering if you were enjoying the party, since Hayner said you were planning on stealing Namine away, and I was wondering if that had happened yet. Call me.
2nd Message, From Namine: Hey, Roxas. I was thinking… and are you going to the prom? Because I—
The message ended in static and a big crackling noise.
"Perfect," he snapped. Everyone looked over at him.
"What's perfect?" Kairi asked, peeking over his shoulder and causing him to snap the phone shut.
"Nothing, I was just, listening to my messages and one of them got cut off." He tried to look innocent.
He looked over at Namine, but she was turned to the wall. Maybe she knew he had heard…
"Well, we're going to play Truth or Dare now," Kairi said matter-of-factly. "Nami, get a bottle, everyone form a circle!"
Roxas watched as everyone scrambled to make a circle. He sat on the right side.
"Kairi?" he asked. She looked over. "Why do we need a bottle again?"
"We pass it, and whoever gets it when the music stops, Sora asks truth or dare," she explained, looking at her cuticles.
Namine sat down on the other side of the circle, with a root-beer bottle. Selphie was standing by the stereo, her finger on the play button.
"GO!" Kairi bellowed, making Roxas jump frightfully, and Fall Out Boy's A Little Less Sixteen Candles began.
The bottle was thrown from person to person, and the music stopped when the bottle landed on… Namine.
"Oh, hehe, it's me!" she said, giggling. "Okay, Sora, ask me!!"
"Truth or dare?"
Namine looked thoughtful, then—
"Dare me, sucker," she said, grinning.
"Okay Nami," he said, looking around the room. "I dare you to… lick the carpet."
Namine's nose crinkled up in disgust.
"The carpet?No way, man!" she exclaimed, shaking her head.
"Rules are rules," Sora said, looking defiant but he was smiling too.
"Uh," Namine said, looking at the white carpet. "Are there like, any loopholes in this?"
"I'm pretty sure there are no loopholes, the game is just made that way," Roxas replied.
She gulped, and lowered her head. Roxas watched closely, and realized that she had licked the air just above the carpet.
He decided, that since Namine needed to learn to trust him, he was not going to rat her out.
"Whoo, Nami!" he said. She blushed.
Selphie started the music before he could say anything else, so the bottle was thrown. When the music stopped, it fell right at her feet.
She picked it up, and looked at it reproachfully. Sora had that hilarious look on his face again.
"Truth or dare?" Sora asked, rubbing his hands together.
"Truth," Selphie whispered, her knuckles turning white as she clutched the bottle.
"Okay. Who's the first person that you kissed?" he asked.
Selphie's eyes flew open.
"Um. Well, I guess that would be, a… personal… sort of—RIKU, okay?!!!" she screamed, and turned the music back on as everyone cracked up. It was sort of fun, Roxas had to admit.
Okay, scratch that last—the bottle had reached Roxas. He gulped, knowing Kairi's cerulean eyes were boring at him.
"Truth or dare?" he heard Sora say, but he did not look up or anything. It was embarrassing.
"Dare," he said. Roxas never welched on a dare, no matter how extreme it was.
"O-key, I dare you to…" Sora's blue eyes searched the room. ,"Kiss Nami."
Roxas's jaw dropped. NAMINE!!?? They wanted him to kiss Namine?!! Not that he wasn't please about this, but, c'mon! KISS HER!?!? In front of everyone, too. Well, at least he knew for certain that Sora and Namine were not a couple, but that didn't really help much.
"Ah," he said. "Do I…"
"Yes," Namine said immediately. "You have to."
Roxas was surprised at how fast she answered.
"Um…" he inched slightly closer to her. Before he knew it, he had pecked her quickly on the cheek and it had been done with.
"There," she said. "Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?" she looked happy about it.
Roxas backed off, and sat back in his spot. What.. wow, that was fast.
Namine looked blank throughout the rest of the game, and Kairi looked anxious. But when it ended, Sora clapped his hands and brought them all back earth..
"'Kay, thanks for coming," he said simply, smiling.
"You mean that's IT?" Namine said, shocked. "I thought there would be more to it than that."
"Nope," Sora said. "You can all come back tomorrow, though—my mom told me to wrap it up."
Roxas picked up his black bag from the corner, and Namine got her white one. They looked at each other, and he nodded happily.
The walk home was a simple thing, with the sun setting and the two of them talking about what had happened at the party. It was a lot of fun, too…
It was after an hour of walking that Roxas realized that he had no idea where he was. He looked at Namine for guidance, but she looked bewildered also.
"Have any clue where we are?" she asked vaguely.
"Nope, no clue," he said truthfully. They were out in the middle of a big field, with little dandelions from time to time. It was quite nice, really, but Roxas wanted to get home.
Namine plopped down and picked up a dandelion.
"They say that if you blow on these and make a wish, it'll come true," she said mistily. Roxas watched as she blew the little thing to shreds.
"What did you wish for?" she asked.
"I can't tell you," Roxas said, even though he hadn't really wished.
"Oh. I see." She grinned.
They sat there for a long while, watching as the sun finally set itself.
Beginnings of stars shimmered against the musical coloring, making an affect that dazzled them both.
"Wow," Roxas said as it reflected in his eyes. "Do you…"
Namine looked at him, her smile leaving.
"Namine, do you like… Sora?" he asked her, holding hi bated breath for the much-anticipated answer.
"Sora?" she asked, as if it was the most appalling thing she'd ever heard. "No WAY. I've heard creepy crap before, Roxas but… SORA?! Seriously!"
Roxas looked down at the ground, embarrassed. He shouldn't have asked her in the first place.
"Ah," she said, comprehension dawning on her. "Can I prove it to you?"
Roxas raised an eyebrow, looking slightly deranged.
"Prove it?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Uh, um, how?"
His question lingered in the air for a few seconds, but then she grinned athim again, and like clockwork, her beautiful voice filled the sky.
"Woke up early this morning, made my coffee like I always do
Then it hit me from nowhere, everything I feel about me and you
The way you make me crazy, baby you're so amazingSeven days and seven nights of thunder
The waters rising and I'm slipping under
I think I fell in love with the 8th world wonder
(At this point, Roxas was grinning from ear to ear. Love..)I guess that I'm just falling deeper into something I've never known
But the way that I'm feeling, makes me realize that it can't be wrong
You're love's like a summer rain, washing my doubts awaySeven days and seven nights of thunder
The water's rising and I'm slipping under
I think I fell in love with the 8th world wonder
It's only been a week, but it's coming over me.
It's making me believe that you're the one for me
Seven days and seven nights of thunder
The waters rising and I'm slipping under
I think I fell in love with the 8th world wonder
I think I fell in love with the 8th world wonder
I think I fell in love with the 8th world wonder
I think I fell in love with the 8th world wonder
Roxas smile didn't fade away as it usually did, but it stayed planted on his face. His ear stung in the air from the piercing, but did it even matter?
Namine loved him. That was all that mattered.
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