Author's Notes: Thank you for keeping up with the story! I've gotten a few questions about the order of the story. If you would like to read about all of the characters' stories, "Life" will have the correct order.

Please let me know if anyone is just reading one or two of the stories whether through review or PM. That way I'll have an idea of how to update the stories or to just update "Life" instead of separating the stories.

The Other Side of the Fence: (Aqua, Vanitas, Terra, and Ventus side of the story)

Chapter 10: What The Heart Feels:

Aqua stared forward in class, concerned. She turned her head to the back of the room to see an empty desk. She didn't know where Vanitas could be. He would disappear more often now it seemed. After class was over, Aqua was packing her stuff when the teacher called her. After she finished, Aqua headed to her desk. "Aqua? Have you seen Vanitas?" Aqua shook her head, uneasy. The teacher gave a concerned look. "I thought you might be the one to know. He's missing class again and he hasn't shown up for any of the practices for the math team." Aqua's eyes traveled toward the floor. She couldn't hide her concerned. She thought things would be better this time around. The teacher sighed with her eyes closed. "Well... If you see him, please let me know. Just when I start to see an improvement in him..." she sounded disappointed. Many times, the same thought crossed her mind. Aqua wondered if she should go find Vanitas herself to see if he was okay...

Vanitas closed his eyes tight as he put his fingers to his forehead. The pain had already taken over him. He noticed the sun's ray filled the warehouse. He wasn't sure what time of day it was, but it didn't matter. Sleep would carry him away until his next mission.

"You keep drinking like that, you may never wake up again." Vanitas looked over from the couch and saw Xehanort sitting at his desk writing. He was surprised that he was already in the empty warehouse. "Alcohol is not the way to make you forget. You'll have to live with the mistakes you make for the rest of your life." Vanitas sat up a little. "This girl…She must've meant a lot to you for you to betray me."

Vanitas looked off to the side uneasy. "I shouldn't have…I'm sorry."

Xehanort waved his hand. "It's fine, but if you do it again, that'll be end of your life."

Vanitas sat up. He put his head down in pain. "What do you want me to do today?"

"Things have been kind of slow. Just rest for now. I doubt you can do much with that hangover."

"I'm fine," Vanitas's assured him.

Xehanort turned more toward him. "You don't look fine. Get over it. It's better that you learn now." He turned back toward his desk. "Go home and sleep this off."

Vanitas sighed. "I'm…not ready to go back."

"This isn't exactly the most comfortable place. Ah! You're afraid you'll run into that girl again?"

Vanitas lied back on the couch. It wasn't as comfortable as his bed, but still, his back could deal with it for now. "This is fine."

Xehanort stood up. "Suit yourself." He stopped beside Vanitas. "I have your word then? You don't plan on leaving us again?"

Vanitas looked down uneasy. "Yes…master…"

Xehanort walked away. Apart of Vanitas was still unsure about working for him again, but what else did he have? Soon, he turned his head as he closed his eyes. He fell back asleep.

"How are things with your brother? Has he been by at all…?" Aqua looked over at Ventus curious as she walked beside him.

"The last time he stopped by was a few days ago. He and my mom got into an argument about where he's been and what he's been up to, but Vanitas wouldn't give her an answer. She wanted to kick him out, but because she needs help, she didn't. He hasn't been back since."

Aqua looked down a little concerned. "Hmm…" In her mind, she was mostly sure she knew where he was. She thought about trying to find him again, but after what they've been through before, it would be dangerous to go back. "I'm sorry to hear that…"

Ventus smiled. "No worries. I'm looking for something I could do part-time to help out. Then we won't need Vanitas's help anymore." Aqua wondered how Ventus felt about Vanitas. She didn't think he would give up on his brother, but she was afraid that he would. Ventus waved toward her. "See you at practice tomorrow!"

Aqua snapped out of her thoughts and smiled a little as she waved. "See you tomorrow!" She watched as he walked to his house. Afterwards, she headed to her own. Inside of her room, she sat on her bed near the window and looked out. She still held out hope that she would run into him again...

Vanitas sat on the couch tired as Xigbar and Lexaeus stood nearby in front of Xehanort. After a few minutes of talking, the two walked away. Xehanort turned his attention to Vanitas. "Go home."

Vanitas looked curious. "There's nothing else you want me to do?"

"You've been working hard. I know you want to forget, but you can't just stay here. I need you in top shape and you won't be that sleeping here." Vanitas let out a sigh. After time and time again of Xehanort demanding for him to go home, he finally relented.

Later at sunset, Aqua returned back home tired after her practices were over. She stared toward the ground. It's been a few days since she talked about what happened with Ventus, but still had no luck catching Vanitas. She still thought about taking the chance to go see him, but decided against it for safety reasons. As she headed toward the fence, she looked over toward Vanitas's house. Suddenly, her eyes widened as her lips parted. She breathed in deep. She couldn't believe what she saw at that moment.

It was him...

Vanitas headed toward the door of his home with a brown bag in his hand. This was her chance to finally speak to him. As much as she wanted to speak, no words came to her. She wasn't sure why. She placed her hand against her chest. Why was she so hesitant? This was what she wanted. She wanted to know what had gone wrong between them and yet, it was as if she was holding herself back. Finally, she pushed herself and called out to him. "Vanitas!"

Vanitas stopped and stood still. She wondered if he would turn to look at her, but it didn't seem like he would. It was as if time had stood still then. For weeks, they hadn't seen each other but now, it was as if they haven't seen each other for years. It was still too much for him. He started unlocking the door to his house. Afraid, she called out, "Don't go!" Instantly, Vanitas stopped. He refused to look over at her. Aqua shook as her emotions got to her. Her fists baled at her side. She didn't know what she should say. The feelings of hurt and sadness she felt for weeks over their separation began to surface. She rushed over. He tried to close the door, but she placed her hands against it to stop him. "I-!" She looked down.

"Just come in." Aqua lifted her head up surprised. Vanitas still didn't turn to face her. His bangs casted shadows over his face. He tried to contain his emotions as well. "No one's home." Vanitas headed inside and left the door open for her. Aqua was surprised that he didn't put up much of a fight. Vanitas closed the door behind her once she stepped inside. He dropped down on the couch and placed his feet on the table. Uneasy, Aqua sat down beside him. The two sat in silence. Her eyes occasionally glanced at him, but he refused to look at her and only stared toward the bag he placed on the table. Neither one of them knew what to say first or express their hurt.

After a few minutes, Aqua looked at Vanitas out of the corner of her eye. "Where have you been…?"

His eyes looked to the side away from her. "Is that the first thing you wanna to ask me…?"

Aqua's eyes traveled to the floor. It was obvious something was unresolved between them, but what was it? Then, she turned her head to him. "Why did you leave…?"

When Vanitas looked over, he was surprised to see her sad expression. He wondered why she asked him that when he wanted to ask her the same thing. His bangs casted a shadow over his eyes. "I should be asking you that. Why didn't you just tell me you wanted to end this?"

Her eyes widened in surprised. "What?!" She couldn't believe it. "Me? You-!"

He pressed his lips together tightly. "I was right the whole time," he whispered. He had no choice but to face this problem head on. Anger seeped through his face. "You were the one that moved on! Not me! You should have just told me!"

She pressed her fist to her chest. "What? But I never-!"

Vanitas gave her a skeptical look. "Hm! You have a funny way of showing it."

"I never wanted to-!" Aqua tried to move in closer, but then her leg knocked over a bottle. She was about to pick it up, but then seen what kind of bottle it was. Her eyes widened in shocked. "Vani-…" Vanitas looked down to see what she found, but then looked away. He knew that he was going to yelled at for it. Aqua grabbed the bottle and stared at it for a little. Then, she looked at him. "You've been…" She took a few seconds to process before she spoke again. "When did you start drinking?" He refused to look at her. When he didn't answer, she got upset. "Why?! Why would you do something as irresponsible as this?!" she raised her voice. There was no response. It only made her more upset. Then she noticed the brown bag on the table. Vanitas noticed what she spotted. Quickly, the two leaned forward, but Aqua was fast enough to grab it with a slight head start over Vanitas.

"Give it back!" Vanitas demanded, angry.

Aqua reached into the bag and pulled out another large bottle of alcohol. She glared back toward him. "Are you drunk now?"

His eyes refused to look at hers. Aqua gave a frustrated sigh as she stood up and went into the kitchen. Vanitas looked surprised and then rushed after her. When he walked into the kitchen, he spotted Aqua pouring the bottle down the drain. "What do you think you're doing?!" He struggled to get the bottle out of her hand.

Aqua looked at him upset. "I'm not letting you poison yourself with alcohol!" The two continued to struggle. Finally, the bottle slipped out of both of their hands and crash on the ground. It broke into several pieces. Vanitas grabbed on tight to Aqua's wrist, upset and pulled her close. Without thinking, he leaned over and pressed his lips against hers. There was the slight taste of alcohol on his breath. She wanted to argue against it, but she got caught up in a kiss she had longed from him. Vanitas grabbed her arms, pulling her toward him. He closed his eyes tight. He had missed her so much. He wanted her to be his again. Small moans escaped from her lips. He leaned forward as she leaned back against the kitchen sink. "Wait…No…This isn't…" she tried to speak between kisses. It was hard not to give in. With every bit of strength she had, she pushed him away. Both of them began breathing hard. Aqua shook her head with her eyes closed. "This isn't the way to solve our problems between us."

Vanitas breathed out frustrated and walked out of the kitchen. Aqua wasn't sure what was going through his mind. She looked down toward the broken pieces of glass on the ground. She grabbed a broom and dustpan from nearby and cleaned up. She didn't want anyone else to find out about him drinking. After she was done, she stepped back into the living room where she saw Vanitas leaning his chin on the back of his hands as his elbows were pressed into his knees. A sad look came to her face. "You were the one who broke your promise. You said that you would never go back."

He frowned toward her. "I broke it because of you."

She looked surprised. "How? What did I do to-?"

"Terra…" he answered.

"What?" She was confused as to why he thought something was going on between the two of them. Vanitas remained quiet as he stared at the ground. "What gave you the idea that I rather be with him than you?"

"I saw him give you something and you never mention it. Then the two of you seemed really friendly with each other and wanting to spend time together." He breathed out a little. "Then there was that dance…"

Aqua's eyes lifted in surprised. Her guess was right. At some point he was there, but when? Inside she was worried about what he could've saw. Her eyes lowered as she fiddled with her fingers. "Vanitas-."

"I saw you kissing him." Anger welled inside of him as he said it. He could still see the image of them in his head.

It seemed her concerns were right. "When did you…?"

"Ventus told me about that stupid dance and said that you were asking about me." He glared toward her. "I wanted to see if I was wrong about the two of you."

"You are! It's not what you think!" She sat down beside him. She placed her hand on his knee which caused him to look over. "I don't remember him giving me anything…"

Vanitas remembered it clearly. "It was a red box and afterwards, you told him you would see him that weekend."

Then, she looked surprised. "Oh…! Now I remember." She gave him a concerned look. "I forgot all about that. I was sure that it was something his parents made him get. I never even opened it. Right now, it's just sitting in a drawer somewhere." Aqua smiled a little. "But whenever you gave me something, I would open it right away because what you gave me really mattered."

In her eyes, he could see her sincerity, but still had doubts. "What about him?"

Aqua looked down as she thought. "After you left me alone, I was really sad. Terra noticed and he asked me to go with him so I said yes. I wanted to go with you, but you never asked." She shook her head. "But I never expected what happened next! I didn't expect him to kiss me."

Vanitas looked suspicious. "Did you want him to?"

Aqua shook her head as she quickly responded. "No! Never! When he kissed me, it caught me off guard."

"Did you kiss him back?"

Aqua shook her head. "No. In that moment, I just froze… but after that, I left and I went looking for you-" She pulled out her necklace from her shirt. "because I found this. I always kept it by my side."

Vanitas sighed silently as he looked toward the ground. He still felt unsure. She placed her hands together as she felt a little nervous. "I care about you a lot more than him. I only have feelings for you and you're the only one I want to be with." Vanitas looked over at her. He stared into her eyes to see if she had really meant it. Silence crept between them. Neither knew what the other thought. Afterwards, he stood up and walked passed her. Aqua sighed as she looked down. She thought that she didn't get through to him. "I'm sorry… If I could take it back, I would. I just want…things to be right with us again." Her head lowered as she held her hands together in front of her. "I don't want you to disappear again…"

Then, his hand came into her field of vision. Her eyes traveled upwards to see him stand in front of her as he was held his hand out for her to take. "Come with me," he said softly. She was curious as to why. but she trusted him. She grabbed his hand as she stood up. He walked and took her with him. Once he headed upstairs, she really wondered what he was up to at that moment.

Thanks for reading! Next update might be a little late because KH3 is coming out and I will be playing!