After school the next day, Roxas dashed out of the school building, leaving his friends in a cloud of dust. "Gotthingstodoseeyouguyslaterbye!!!" he yelled back as he disappeared down the hill.
"He seems to be in a hurry," Olette coughed.
"He DID say something about meeting up with Namine," Pence pointed out.
"That explains it," Hayner shhok his head in amusement. But inside, he knew felt more of jealousy than happiness for his best friend. "Wanna go over to Market Street and buy some ice cream?" he offered his friends.
"Sure!" Olette and Pence jumped at the chance.
"Your treat, Pence," Hayner smirked and earned himself a groan from the shorter teen. He looked at Olette, who giggled and smiled at him. They had made up over at lunch and were back to being friends again.
Roxas arrived at the hospital and found Namine waiting for him, sitting quietly on the steps. He fixed her hair and walked up to her. "Hey," he greeted.
Namine looked up at him and managed a timid smile. "Hello, Roxas," she greeted back.
Whew...here goes.Roxas held out his hand. "Ready to go?"
Namine looked at his hand and then went back to his face. His expression showed a mix of sincerity and anxiety. "Roxas, you don't have to do this," she told him. "There are other options for me. It's not too late to change your mind."
"I'm sure of this," Roxas replied almost immediately. I can't let you go on without remembering me. His spirits lifted when he felt her hand take his. He helped her to her feet and smiled warmly. That's not what friends do.
"Alright then," Namine nodded and smiled back, a bit less timidly. "I trust you." She followed him to his condo building and stared in awe at it. It was all glass and inside chandeliers could be seen. Somewhat embarrassed, she stepped back a bit.
"What's wrong?" Roxas asked.
"Your condominium it's so...so..."
"Eheheh...yeah, I know. Axel didn't like to live cheap. Too much?" He saw Namine nod slowly and laughed. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it." The doors automatically opened as he and Namine stepped inside.
"How can you afford all this?" Namine blurted. Realizing her choice of words, she clamped her mouth shut. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay," Roxas chided gently. "It's hard to believe, but Axel sends me money now and then. He said he wanted me to stay in this place until I graduated. He's kinda like a brother to me."
"This Axel. He sounds very nice."
"Generous, too," Roxas stated proudly. "He can be a little obnoxious, but he's not that bad of a guy, really." He led Namine to the glass elevator and they slowly ascended. They stopped at the 4th floor and walked down the hallway. Once they arrived at the door all the way at the end, Roxas took out his keys. "Here we are," he informed as he inserted the key into the lock and turned the knob.
Namine watched as the door opened and revealed a large room. To her surprise, it was organized and clean. The tiles and counters were even spotless. "My goodness!" she gasped as she walked inside. Words could not express her amazement. "It's like a house! No- a mansion!" She took off her sandals and stepped on the snow-white carpet.
Roxas closed the door and placed a hand behind his neck. "Y-yeah...really? I had no idea..." He saw her approach one of his couches cautiously and couldn't help but be amused by that. "You can sit down if you want to." He took off his shoes and stepped on the carpet as well.
"Really? On this fluffy, white couch? Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He could've sworn he had just heard the blond girl squeal with delight as she plopped on the couch. "Make yourself at home," his voice echoed as he entered the kitchen.
Namine laid down on the couch and stretched comfortably, like a cat on a bed of catnip and flowers. "So soft..." she hummed and breathed in its scent. It was a familiar scent of faint cologne and winter mist. She closed her eyes and curled into a ball.
"Sleeping already?"
Her eyes jolted open to meet matching blue ones. They belonged to none other than her new room mate. Smiling in slight embarrassment, she sat up and straightened out her appearance. "S-sorry...I have a weakness for soft, white things..."
Roxas sat on the couch across from her and put his feet up on the coffee table. He grabbed the remote and turned on his plasma screen TV, eating away at his bowl of popcorn. Remembering Namine was now here, he offered the bowl to her. "Want some?" She declined. "Any show you wanna watch?" She declined that, too. "O...kay...then?"
"Please," Namine stifled a laugh. "Don't push yourself too hard just to entertain me. I'm having a good time just being able to spend time with you and get to know you better."
"If you say so," Roxas grinned sheepishly.
After a few moments of silence, Namine began to speak again. "Could you, Roxas, promise me one thing?"
"Hm?"
"Promise me...you won't fall in love with me."
Roxas' eyes tore from the TV screen. He bent down and coughed, pounding on his chest to get popcorn out from his throat. "Wh-what the heck?" He coughed again. "Where did THAT come from all of a sudden?!"
Namine brought a hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry, did I surprise you?"
"Nah, shit!" Roxas finally stopped his coughing. He let out a long sigh to relax himself. "I'm alright now... So uh, what's with that 'fall in love' thing? Are you serious about that?"
"We won't be able to be together if that happens."
"Why not?"
"Are you implying that you WILL fall in love with me?"
Roxas' face turned into a bright shade of red and he looked away. "N-n-no!" he fussed. "I'm just...just don't go saying things like that out of the blue! It might scare people and..cause them to choke..." He put his bowl of popcorn down on the table, having lost his appetite. Glancing up, he saw Namine smiling at him. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," Namine mused.
"What's that smile for?" Roxas pushed on.
"Nothing, I said. Why? Is it wrong to smile now?"
"No it's just... You're weird!" Roxas stood up and walked up the spiral stairs. He reached the upper platform and sat on his bed. Apparently, that was his room. "You're room is just over there," he said, pointing to a door a few feet away from him.
Namine hesitated for a moment, but made the decision to climb the stairs to the platform. She approached the door Roxas was referring to and peeked inside.
Roxas rolled his eyes and walked up behind her. "Just go in." He gave her a nudge forward.
The blond girl tripped on her own feet, but kept her balance by holding onto the door knob. After shooting Roxas a small glare, she walked inside. "Oh...wow..." she cooed. The bedroom was very spacious. It was completely, aside from the sheet-less bed and nearly-bare nightstand. The wallpaper was completely white and so was the floor.
"Sorry if it's so...boring." Roxas rubbed his side, slightly nervous. "Axel didn't want to make it look so crowded after he left. He thought I'd end up reminiscing with myself or something."
"He seems to really care about you," Namine teased as she neared the bed.
"AGAIN," Roxas spoke rather loudly, receiving the devious hint behind Namine's remark. "He's like a BROTHER to me...and vice-versa." He observed as Namine trailed the empty walls with her thin fingers and came up with an idea. "Hey, I've got some wallpapers in my room. You wanna use some of them? Just so that your new room won't look so...stripped."
Namine seemed to gleam at the idea. "Do you...um...have one that comes in baby blue?"
"It just so happens that I do. Be right back." Roxas left the room momentarily and returned with a roll of baby blue wallpaper. Realizing the awkwardness of possessing such a feminine color, he quickly said, "Olette had this as a leftover from an art project I helped her on and told me I could keep it- despite my protests."
"Of course," Namine nodded and took the roll into her own arms. "Thank you."
"Do you err...need any help putting that up?"
'It's alright." Namine placed the wallpaper roll next to the bed and then laid down on the mattress. "I will work on it tomorrow. Right now, I am exhausted." She gasped to herself when she felt something cool and soft rest on her body. Opening her eyes, she realized that she now had a thin blanket on her. "What is-"
"Just in case," Roxas cut her off. "Since it's summer, it's usually hot at night. But y'know...just in case.."
Namine embraced the material lovingly. "Roxas, I don't know what to say," she sniffed. "You...you've been nothing but kind to me. I don't know how I can ever repay you. Oh, I'm so happy right now!"
Roxas blushed lightly from her words and headed back to the door. "Umm...yeah...don't sweat it," he stuttered. "Just get some good sleep and I'll see you in the morning....thing...yeah." He closed the door and threw himself on his bed, burying his flushed face into his pillow. Stupid!
Namine turned towards the open window, watching the sun set below the horizon. "Promise me, Roxas," she whispered and drifted off to sleep.
Hours passed. It was now 8 pm and Roxas found himself still awake, although, very close to the world of dreams. 'Promise me you won't fall in love with me.' Those words haunted him. Every time he thought back about them, his heart would unexplainably race. He ignored the feeling and covered his face with his blanket. "Promise..." he grumbled.