Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Roxas, Olette, Naminé, etc.
Author's Note: Well, I got (starts counting on fingers) twelve reviews for my last chapter! That is really great! No seriously, don't stop the reviews! I LOVE them! And when I LOVE something, I get inspired. And when I get INSPIRED I post more chapters. You see where this is going, right?
Warning: Who knows? Oh, wait...(checks through chapter) flaming Kairi! Bring a bucket of water in case of third degree burns!
Quick Author Babble: My exams went GREAT...except for geography and science. Have I mentioned how much I hate those?
Chapter 11: Weaknesses
Roxas didn't know what to think, exactly. He didn't know what he had been thinking when he kissed Olette. Chances were he wasn't thinking at all. And he couldn't think now, because he was trying too hard to think about what to think. Time to backtrack, he thought, and go over what he'd already done—he'd mindlessly beaten up Hayner, pretended he and Olette were dating, fake-kissed Olette, got slapped by Olette, and by now Hayner was probably dancing off to Naminé's house to tell her about his fake relationship with the green-eyed girl.
He slapped his forehead. What had he been thinking?
He knew, at the time, he thought if Hayner were to think he'd found someone else and told Naminé, it would save him the burden of breaking up with her. He'd also thought that Naminé would get jealous and realize Roxas was her only love, come prancing back through a field of flowers, leaving backstabbing Hayner in her dust. And what had he done for that? He'd lost one of his closest friends to his jealousy, his hatred, and his cowardice. She probably thought he was an uncaring jerk. She had reason to.
Roxas had taken her first kiss—wasted it on a lie. He knew Olette deserved so much better, but he didn't know how to apologize without her totally ignoring him. He considered telling Selphie, but then again she'd probably be enraged by what he did. She didn't seem like the girl who would let go of something as important as someone hurting her best friend, and would probably back Olette up one hundred percent. If he even found a chance to talk to her, she'd probably just kick him in the shin.
Roxas didn't know what to do. He'd lost two of his best friends in mere days. He had to stop it before he lost anyone else. But what was the core of the problem?
He felt a chill go down his back and gulped. He realized too late that Naminé was the cause of all this fighting. That blonde-haired girl, as sweet as she appeared to be, had a whole other side to her. Olette absolutely despised her, and probably hated her even more when she realized she had been cheating on Roxas. And if what Hayner said was true, then she was the one who acted upon her and Hayner's affair in the first place.
Roxas hadn't even thought about talking to Naminé the past few days. He had been too absorbed in himself, too enraged to think of confronting her, not even to break up. But now he saw what he had to do, and the confidence he had in his decision made him feel worried.
xXx
The bitterness of winter stung whatever piece of skin was revealed. Roxas could feel himself turning blue. He'd marched right outside as soon as he had gotten the chance, but his feet seemed to be moving on their own accord. Roxas was willing himself to go back, to not put him through this, but his body did not listen and kept walking in the direction towards Naminé's house.
When he started strolling up the flower-covered walkway, now peeping through the snow, he was in a panic. What if Hayner was there? What was he going to say? What would Naminé do?
Roxas rang the doorbell. He rarely ever rang the doorbell to go into Naminé's house. They'd been so close for so long that they just welcomed themselves into each other's houses. However, he did it today because he didn't feel he was as welcome here as he was a week ago, but mostly to buy himself time to think and calm himself down.
It bought him about three seconds. Roxas was still doing the "breathe in, breathe out" exercise when Naminé answered the door. He stood there, frozen. Naminé appeared to be just as shocked. After a moment or so of standing and looking dumbly at each other, Naminé managed to gather herself and glare at him.
"What are you doing here, Roxas?" she asked very directly, not even starting off their conversation with a simple "hello."
"We need to talk," Roxas replied, trying to sound just as serious as Naminé was, but he was so nervous he was sweating even in the below freezing temperatures.
"I don't want to talk," Naminé remarked sullenly, sounding very much like a sulky, little child who'd just been scammed out of a lollipop.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice this time."
Roxas surprised himself with how sturdy his voice sounded. Naminé looked just as shocked. Looking very uncertain, she moved aside as he swept in.
"Why are you here?" Naminé asked. "Won't Olette be mad?"
The name "Olette" seemed to slip off her tongue in an I'm-going-to-be-sick manner. Roxas admitted he bubbled just a little at that. Olette had done nothing wrong. If anyone were guilty, they were the two blond people talking to each other right then.
"No," Roxas answered truthfully. "If anything, Olette would be proud."
He smiled just a bit at that. At least Roxas had done one good thing for the brunette girl. Naminé, however, looked plain, flat out confused.
"I think we should sit down," Roxas sighed. "This is going to take awhile."
Roxas entered the living room that he knew so well. Naminé reluctantly followed. He plopped down in a chair. Naminé carefully took the farthest seat away from him.
"You cheated on me," he said bluntly, a second after she sat down, "with Hayner."
He inhaled deeply and watched Naminé's face carefully, wanting to see her reaction as he said the next few words.
"My best friend who would never do anything to hurt me unless he was obliged to. My best friend who would never lie to me unless he was told to by someone he cared for more than me."
Naminé's glassy eyes were widening with every word he said. Her pale face was frozen.
"He told me…you were the one to act upon him first," Roxas continued in the same, neutral voice. "That you led him into the relationship you now share."
"Roxas…" Naminé began, ready to argue against it, but Roxas gave her a stare that silenced her.
He didn't want to hear any more false stories, especially from her, the queen of deceit. For once, he wanted to talk and her to listen.
"I'm sorry to tell you your effects worked a little too well," he said, his voice getting a little irritable. "It's not the fling you hoped it was. Hayner's in love with you. He told me himself."
Naminé turned white as a sheet at the news, but she didn't dare speak again.
"What? You can't tell me you weren't expecting it? Do you have any idea how seductive you can be, Naminé? How deceiving?"
He hated how his voice was cracking. He took a moment to close his eyes and clear his throat from any overemotional build-up. If there was anything Roxas wasn't, it was emotional. It was the perfect time for Naminé to speak, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything, as she was wiping tears off her cheeks.
"I also came here to say…" Roxas continued, his voice once again solid, "me and Olette aren't dating. In fact, anything Hayner told you he saw us doing was a façade and totally against Olette's will."
Roxas decided not to mention the hugging was indeed very real. He decided it wasn't the time, if there ever was a time.
"But…why?" Naminé choked, finally finding her voice.
"Because," Roxas muttered, "I'm an idiot. I'm stupid, cowardly, and jealous. I thought maybe I wouldn't have to break up with you this way, and if not, you'd be jealous and come back…"
"Oh, Roxas…" Naminé said, looking like she was about to break into tears again.
"You're my weakness, Naminé," he sighed. "I love you, and I'm always going to love you, and neither of us can do anything about it."
His eyelids lowered, masking the wetness in his eyes.
"But this is wrong," he continued. "I can't do this and pretend everything's alright. My best friend has feelings for you. You're cheating on me. I've lost two friends in the past week. I just can't do this anymore, Naminé!"
Roxas hadn't meant for his voice to rise, but it did on its own. He looked at Naminé, trying to detect any emotion, and got far too much for comfort. Tears were leaking down her face. But of course, what was she supposed to do? Jump up and cheer?
"Well, that's all I wanted to say," he remarked after a long moment of silence. "I'd better be going."
He stood up and made his way to the door. He put his hand on the doorknob and felt a weird sensation come over him—he suddenly had this feeling it would be the last time he opened Naminé's door, the last time he'd be in her house. It wasn't a good feeling. He felt sort of empty and confused.
"Roxas, wait!" Naminé cried, suddenly racing into the foyer, golden locks flying around her in a rush.
She ran right up to him, blocking the door, from him leaving.
"So that's it?" she gasped. "It's over?"
"Yup." Roxas said the worst possible word to show emotion. "Make Hayner happy for me."
He felt hollow when he said that, but both he and Naminé knew he was being as honest as ever. This was the way it was supposed to be. Naminé stood there stubbornly for a second, still blocking the door, until finally she released a defeated sigh and moved out of the way.
Roxas promptly entered into the winter wonderland, relieved it was over, that it had all been said and done. He took a couple of strides down the walkway, still feeling battered and confused, his happiness and relief slowly fading, going down the drain. He was alone now. There would be no more letters that made him grin ecstatically. There'd be no more melodic laughter in his ears. Nothing.
"Roxas!"
Naminé called his name yet again, her voice echoing through the quiet, snowy street. Roxas turned to see her on her porch, clinging to the railing and peering at him.
"Make Olette happy for me too!" she cried.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she was gone, running back into the house, perhaps in tears. Roxas stood there for a long moment, mouth hanging open bizarrely. What was that supposed to mean? Hadn't he just explained everything was fake? Besides the hug, of course. Was Naminé really that dense? He felt like he was back in Hayner's house again, Roxas wondering how long Hayner had been such an idiot.
He gave one, fleeting glance to the flowery house before disappearing down the street.
xXx
"Roxas!"
Kairi yelped in surprise as she saw Roxas skulking down the street, looking beaten and miserable. Roxas hadn't seen her in forever. He'd been too busy hating his life to visit her or Sora.
"Hi, Kairi," Roxas murmured.
He felt sort of guilty at the stare Kairi was giving him—the where-in-the-world-have-you-been stare.
"Sorry I haven't talked to you in a while," he apologized quickly. "I haven't found the time."
"How could you not the find time?" Kairi snapped, suddenly fiery. "This is where you live, for Pete's sake, and Sora and I have only been at Selphie's house, a street down from yours!"
"I know, I'm sorry, it's complicated!" Roxas's words were falling over each other.
"Really?" asked Kairi, crossing her arms. "Tell me what happened then."
Her eyes were screaming death. A red gleam passed over them for a second.
"I broke up with Naminé."
"But...but...why?"
Kairi's violet eyes were boring into him, eating him alive. He'd forgotten that Kairi didn't know what happened, or even Sora for that matter. They were sort of on the sidelines, too busy with whatever else they do to really pay attention.
Roxas didn't really feel like explaining. Instead he simply looked up at her.
"Do you know where Olette is?" he asked.
Kairi glared at him piercingly, but it only lasted a second when she released a soft sigh.
"I don't know."
Roxas looked down at the ground, disappointed that Kairi didn't know anything. He looked up at Kairi accusingly, wanting to put the blame on somebody else.
"Well, how do you expect me to know?!" Kairi yelled venomously. "The only people who've been talking to me are Sora and Selphie, while you and Olette are off in your own little world with Hayner and Naminé!"
Roxas wasn't sure what to say to that. He'd be pretty mad too if everyone was ignoring him. Of course, Kairi must've survived. Sora wasn't one to not talk.
"Hey, what's with all the yelling?"
Speaking of the devil, the brunet boy came walking up right then, holding two coffee cups from the local Starbucks. He had this look of confusion yet peace with the world, and his eyes were on Kairi. He handed her one of the coffee cups with a jovial laugh.
"I know you're getting lonely, Kairi, but yelling at yourself..." Sora said, handing her a coffee cup with a teasing grin—a bold move, considering Kairi was rather murderous right then. "Don't you think you're getting a little...huh?"
Sora suddenly noticed the blond boy standing beside Kairi. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Hi," Roxas said with an awkward wave, hoping desperately that Sora wasn't going to yell at him like Kairi did.
"Roxas?"
Sora blinked a couple of times as if trying to wipe the shock away from his face. Then it vanished and was replaced with a welcoming smile.
"Well, that makes more sense," he said, nudging Kairi. "I thought you were going a little insane there for a moment, Kai. You should've told me you were planning on talking to us today, Roxas, or I would've gotten you a coffee."
He had a slightly mocking tone, but it was way better than Kairi's response.
"DON'T YOU GO BEING NICE TO HIM!!" Kairi flamed, pointing a finger accusingly at Sora. "HE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE VANISHED FROM EXISTENCE THIS PAST WEEK!!"
"Hmm..." Sora considered this statement as if Kairi had been talking in a calm manner. "Kairi's right. Where've you been, Roxas?"
"You know, around," Roxas replied with a shrug.
"AROUND WHERE WE WEREN'T!!" Kairi screeched.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! How many times do I have to say it?"
"You don't have to apologize, Roxas," Sora remarked.
"YES, HE DOES!!"
"No, he doesn't."
Sora threw a very serious look to Kairi, something that Roxas would never think he'd build up the courage to do.
"Roxas grew up here. He has a lot of catching up to do. He sees us everyday at TU. Think about it rationally."
Whoa. "Rationally." Roxas didn't even know Sora knew what that word meant. Was this truly the same Sora that he had insult contests with everyday? Of course, Sora had to have some smarts to get into such a top university.
"Catching up?!" Kairi barked. "More like breaking up! Roxas broke up with Naminé today!"
"He what?"
Sora turned to look at him with this sort of vacant shock on his face.
"Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy!" Roxas cried defensively, feeling he was losing Sora from his side of the argument. "It's Naminé's fault! She..."
He caught himself. Did he really want the whole world to know that he was so uninteresting that Naminé cheated on him? That Naminé was disloyal? That Hayner was a horrible best friend? Of course not.
"See? He can't even build anything in his defense!"
"Calm down, Kairi. He's just not ready to talk."
"Or he has nothing to say!"
Roxas was getting slightly irritated with Kairi.
"Can you please get her to shut up?" he snapped at Sora.
Beforehand he would never ask Sora do such a thing for fear of personal safety. But today it seemed they switched roles, and Roxas felt it was safe.
"GET ME TO SHUT UP?! YOU HAVE SOME NERVE!" Kairi screamed.
"Kairi, quiet down..." Sora said softly.
"I AM NOT GOING TO QUIET DOWN! IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO DO ANYTHING YOU SAY, THEN YOU ARE SADLY MIS..."
Sora gently put a finger to her lips, silencing her and causing her to turn a laughable shade of pink.
"Ssh..."
Sora retreated his arm and Kairi put a hand over her mouth.
"There," he said triumphantly. Roxas pretended not to notice how red he was. "You were saying?"
"Do you know where Olette is?" Roxas asked.
Sora crossed his arms.
"Hmm...my best guess would probably be the park. Olette's been hanging around there a lot lately."
"Great! Thanks!"
Roxas raced off toward the park.
"You okay, Kairi?" Sora's voice could be heard at a distance.
"Fine..." Kairi croaked.
Roxas let out a snigger. He wondered what would've happened if Sora had actually kissed her. Astonishing results, he'd bet.
xXx
Roxas entered the park. No one was there, not even children. The only thing that was moving was a single swing, the chain creaking ever so slightly every time it retreated.
Roxas walked over to the swing. What would he say when he saw Olette? He never actually thought about how to apologize.
He saw her. A girl his age swinging ever so slightly in a thoughtful manner. He gulped and took another few steps forward.
"Olette?" he finally managed to say.
The swing stopped rocking. The girl turned to face him, and his blue gaze was met with a lime green one that was definitely not Olette's.
"Selphie?" he cried, half-relieved, half-disappointed.
"Roxas?" Selphie said it with less surprise than him, but she still had this look like she was about to get into trouble.
Selphie, unlike Roxas predicted, did not get up and kick him in the shin. Instead she stayed uncharacteristically silent. Roxas did too. Finally, after a long time, Roxas knew that Selphie knew things about Olette that he didn't. Maybe she'd find the best way to apologize. Maybe she'd even tell Olette he was sorry.
"Selphie, how...?" Roxas began, but was immediately cut off.
"She likes marigolds," Selphie said, and she promptly got off the swing and left.
Roxas had half a mind to go after her, but he knew she wouldn't say anything else, and might actually kick him in the shin next time. And at least Selphie had given him a head start.
So Olette liked marigolds, huh?
What if I need to apologize?
Keyblade Master of Promise: Because I love being stupid! It's my favorite thing besides character death. Mwa ha ha. Oh, he's already dug the hole. He's just getting himself lost in it now.
Jcola0823: No, the last chapter won't be for awhile. I know, Homerun rocks!
Twighlight's Desire: Yay...not really. I would've slapped him and kicked him, but we are two very different people.
Muffin: Muffin?! I didn't even recognize it was you for a second! When did you change your name to "shakespeare sonnets."? That's really weird because I had to study Shakespeare for Art's Night. Turned out my puffy-panted friend invented the word "assassination." How cool is that? And I'm glad you enjoyed the fluff! And here's the update!
Bexmar: Oh...sorry. Didn't mean for it to collide like that. Stupidity! Yay! Insensitiveness! Double yay! Selphie! Triple yay! And whoa, you'd be quite a best friend. Lol. Yeah, Dark Ambition rocks with Roxettes! (Sort of rhyming)
Midnight Hikari: Yes, stupid...and I don't feel much like biting anyone's arm today...(cricket sounds) But thanks!
Zestychicken2: (Really bad Shakespearian) Why, I wonder, do people lose themselves in their dread? Thy answer lies before thee. (Normal voice) Quadruple thanks! I updated as soon as possible!
Blz1990: Thanks! I love reading ANYTHING well-written! Besides horror, murder, mature, overly romantic, blah, blah, blah...etc. Thanks!
Dark Ambition: (Releases uncharacteristically girly squeal) Can't believe you reviewed me!! This is awesome! I feel like Vincent Van Gogh just came up to me and told me what a great artist I am! Or Johnny Depp just congratulated me on how I'm so great at being a pirate! (Just kidding about both, by the way...ESPECIALLY being a pirate.) Haynami happened by accident. I hadn't been planning it until an evil surge ran through me. Mwa, ha, ha...And I love writing Selphie-style! I'm glad you like the characters! Lol, dummy head. Reminds me of "dumb nut". It's a phrase me and my friend Jacob like to use. Anyway, thanks, and Homerun is great! I can't wait for the next update! And no, my story doesn't even compare to yours. Thanks!!
Cheychey41: Thanks! It's been awhile since I've written fluff since my Soikai ended, so this is the result.
Tooba-Chan: Indeed.
Sukuta-san: Wow, thanks! That's really nice...and great! And I'm glad you liked HMTMKMKM!
I feel like...like...like I'm soaring through the CLOUDS! I got two reviews that I thought I'd never, ever receive this time—one from the one and only Dark Ambition, and one from Sukuta-san, who barely ever reviews! Yay! I feel like a celebrity!
Now all I need is Johnny Depp and my life will be complete.
Read and review!
Farewell, m'ladies and gentlemen.