A/N: So we're kind of jumping week to week with this thing, timeline wise.

Roxas POV

The first day of school after the long weekend was an interesting one. Or at least, art class was amusing. I sat down and Namine strolled over happily.

"Hey Roxas," she smiled, sliding into Seifer's seat across from me. He was late so she sat down, flattening her white dress over her legs. "How was your weekend?"

"It was okay," I yawned, stretching out across the table. "It was a bit awkward with Riku's parents around." My tee-shirt sleeve slid up as I said this, revealing a small collection of light bruises from my fight on Friday. They were mostly healed, but still slightly noticeable, especially to Namine, who questioned them immediately.

"What happened?" She asked, in almost the same tone Yuffie had had when she asked.

"Got in a little argument with someone on Friday," I laughed, pulling my sleeve back down so it covered the bruises.

"With who?" She asked, still using that motherly tone. I didn't answer immediately, my eyes darting to where she was sitting. It was only for a split second, but she seemed to catch the idea.

"It really wasn't a big deal," I laughed again, but nervously this time. The bell rang and the last few stragglers snuck into class, one of them being Seifer. He looked like he was in worse shape than I was. Namine stood up very politely, but I could tell there was something different about the way she did. I didn't want her to say anything, but she made a bee line for him, catching him while he was getting ready to sit down. He looked nervously over her head. Even with the fact that I had a boyfriend, I wasn't going to lie, she was very attractive.

"Hey Namine," he mumbled, making an attempt to step around her. She stepped gracefully in front of him, her flats clicking on the tile floor. I leaned around my desk so I could catch the whole scene. I watched as a dark smile crept on her lips.

"Seifer, I heard there was a fight on Friday," she purred lightly and Seifer smiled too, but in a much more cocky way.

"I kicked the kid's ass," he sneered.

"Yeah, Roxas," she spat, not breaking her hard gaze with him. "I saw,"

"I guess I did a good job then," he grinned, and I could feel myself getting angry. Namine took a step forward, her head not even coming up to his shoulder. Still, Seifer took a step back.

"I'm going to have to ask you to not do that," she growled darkly, "Ever again. You see, I may be a girl, and I may be smaller than you, but I could easily make your life a living hell." Everything about her tone made me believe that that'd be easy for her. Seifer seemed to be getting the same vibe.

As much as I didn't need a girl, especially one as fragile and tiny as Namine, to stand up for me, I had a lot of respect for her after that. And I even convinced her to come with me that weekend to meet some of my old friends. So, on Saturday the two of us sat on one of the benches in the train station, waiting for them to arrive.

Namine seemed a bit nervous, which was out of character for her. She was picking nervously at the fringe on her dress. I looked at her curiously.

"You okay?" I asked, tilting my head to look at her face, which was hidden behind a curtain of blonde hair. She nodded.

"Meeting new people is always a bit odd. Makes me a bit nervous," she explained.

"You seem fine at school." I pointed out, and she shrugged.

"That's different. I've known the majority of those people for at least a few years." she explained, folding her hands in her lap. I nodded.

"Makes sense. But don't worry, it'll be fine. They're all nice, and you and Olette should get along pretty well. She reminds me of you a bit." I assured her, patting her lightly on the back. She smiled and stood up. "The train from Twilight town is coming in," she stated, seeming slightly more relaxed after my pep talk. We waited at the platform until Hayner, Pence, and Olette stepped off the train and walked over to us. Hayner was the first one to reach us, Olette close behind, and Pence bringing up the rear, almost like they were racing. And I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

"Hey guys!" I grinned, giving Olette a hug, and smiling at the other two. I took a step back and waved my hand towards Namine, who had her head down. "This is Namine." I grinned, introducing her to the other three. She smiled sweetly and greeted each one. They introduced themselves, her and Olette already talking like they were friends. She looked over and I smiled, as to say she had nothing to worry about. We started walking to the pizza place, which conveniently was only a few blocks away from the train station. We walked for a bit in silence (with the exception of the girls) before Hayner finally spoke up.

"So Rox, is Namine your girlfriend?" Hayner winked, elbowing my side. Before I could even reply, Namine was struggling to hold back her laughter.

"N-no, we're just good friends," I explained, much to Hayner's dismay.

"That's too bad, she's cute," Pence chimed in.

We made it to the restaurant after a few minutes of walking and chatting. It was a buffet style restaurant, so we just paid our way and got what we wanted. I couldn't help but laugh at Pence's attempts at flirting with Namine.

We had just finished eating and were getting ready to leave when Seifer, Rai, and some dude with dreadlocks showed up. I mentally cursed at them when they started walking over to our table.

"Oh hell," I mumbled.

"What's the matter?" Olette asked looking from me to Namine, hoping someone would fill her in. Hayner and Pence seemed slightly oblivious.

"Those guys who just walked in are total assholes."

"What's up, lamer?" Seifer sneered, leaning against the table.

"Back off, Seifer," Namine glared evilly, standing up. Seifer looked nervous for a second but shook it. I glanced over to see Pence and Olette looking rather uncomfortable, and Hayner was…checking Seifer out? I shook my head and looked again, this time he was glaring.

"Awh, little Namine thinks she's tough," he cooed; before glaring and lashing out to hit her. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Seifer's wrist before he could make contact and yanked him away from her effortlessly.

"You know, hitting girls is incredibly shameful." A tall man with light pink hair sneered. He let go of Seifer's arm.

"Whatever, Roxas can take her place," he glared.

"That's not a bright idea. Axel could be here pretty quickly," he laughed darkly, throwing his small silver phone up and down in his hand "Why don't you and your little friends just run along?" Oddly enough, they listened to him and begrudgingly left.

"Who are you?" Namine asked, smiling and sliding out from behind the table and looking up at him.

"I'm Marluxia, but you can call me Marly," he winked, "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"I'm Namine," she giggled lightly. Pence made a show of rolling his eyes at her awe struck display, but she didn't seem to notice. Olette seemed to be just as impressed, leaning her head on her hand and staring across the table to him. The rest of us almost groaned.

"So, how do you know Roxas?" Namine asked, not looking away from him.

"I don't," I spoke up. Namine looked over at me then back at Marluxia. He nodded like it wasn't a big deal.

"I'm a friend of Axel's," he explained, and even though the five of them looked confused, he still continued. "He's Roxas'-" I cut him off.

"He's my friend." I explained. "Well, more like Riku's friend. He lives in our building," I stuttered over the words, talking quickly; a failed attempt at trying not to sound suspicious. Marluxia raised an eyebrow at me, but shrugged it off.

"Right, well, both of them wanted me to keep an eye out since I'm always wandering around the town." He said, lying on the both part, no doubt. "In either case, I'm off." he bid farewell, turning to leave. He turned back to Namine and leaned down to her height to whisper something. She nodded in reply and he winked, heading out the door. She stood there for a second, before turning back to Olette, a huge smile on her face. I shook my head and was about to say something, but Olette almost pushed me down, trying to get out of the booth. She ran up to Namine and the two of them started giggling and talking a thousand miles a minute. I let my head bang down onto the table.

"Well, that was eventful," Hayner mumbled, getting up from the table too.

"Yeah, who was that prick, Roxas?" Pence asked, referring to Seifer I assumed. "He was a total ass."

"Some guy I have a class or two with at school." I shrugged, leaving it at that. Namine whispered something to Olette, who spun around.

"He beat you up!" She asked, almost yelling. I winced at the frantic tone in her voice. I shot a glance at Namine, who shrugged before looking back out the window of the restaurant, no doubt looking for Marluxia.

"It wasn't a big deal," I moaned. What was it with girls and this stuff?

"Besides, it looks like he got a few hits in," Hayner pointed out. I thought back to the fight. I didn't. But still, on Tuesday, he came in looking worse than I did. I briefly wondered who beat up Seifer. I made a mental note to find out who it was and thank them.

"Heh, yeah," I grinned, even though I only hit him once. Even after the weeks I had been here, I still wasn't completely familiar with the town. So, when the three asked where we could go to hang out, I stood there with no answer. Namine giggled, and jumped in front of the group.

"Well, I can give you all a tour." She giggled lightly. "I know my way around here pretty well." I nodded, standing next to her and turning to the group too.

"Are we all good with that?" I asked. And Olette nodded happily, and Hayner shrugged.

"Sounds good to me," Pence said in a distant voice. His pride was obviously a bit damaged by being shown up by some random guy, but it didn't stop him from staring at Namine constantly. She turned around, pointing straight ahead.

"Right!" She announced, taking a step forward. "Then away we go." She began to walk. I laughed a bit at her attitude but we all followed. We walked through the town, Namine pointing out buildings as we went, explaining what they were. After a while, we stopped by a park and chatted for a while longer, before we decided it was time to go. Hyaner, Pence, and Olette's train would be here soon, so the five of us headed back. Namine and I said our goodbyes, Namine making sure to get Olette's number so they could talk more. We waved as the train took off and stood there for a few moments after it left.

"Ready to go home?" I asked, turning to her. She nodded and gave me a quick hug.

"Thanks for letting me tag along today," she said happily, "it was nice to meet them."

"No problem," I replied, heading towards the exit. The two of us walked quietly, Namine looking over at me every now and then, giggling.

"Roxas," she asked quietly, "Can I ask you something?" She seemed serious about this, and I began to get a bit nervous.

"Um…Sure, Namine," I said awkwardly, expecting the worst.

"Well, don't get offended…" She started tilting her head away from me, to avoid my gaze. A smile broke over her serious face. "But… you never did tell me who gave you that hickey and that's just not something a guy gets, so…" She paused again, and I blushed a bit. "You have a boyfriend, don't you?" She exclaimed, finally getting to her question. I turned away, now utterly red, and walked a bit faster.

"Uhh, Namine, that's…" I couldn't think of any way to explain it without lying flat out. I'd feel guilty lying to her, but more guilty about lying about Axel. I didn't seem to need to answer.

"Oh my god! You do, don't you?" She squealed, jumping with excitement. I raised an eyebrow, a bit curious to why she wasn't more…negative about the situation. "That's so cute!"

"It's not that big of a deal," I mumbled, watching her excitement. "Just let it go."

"Wait…" She exclaimed, and I sighed. She was figuring out too much, too fast. "That man with the pink hair,"

"Mar- something," I suggested.

"Marluxia. Well or Marly…" She swooned, her voice becoming distant and dreamy. She shook her head and returned to the situation on hand. "Anyway…He mentioned a boy. Axel, I think. It's him isn't it?"

"Namine," I pleaded. "Can we keep this a secret for a bit? Please?"

"You don't need to be embarrassed about who you like, Roxas." She chided.

"No, it's not really that," I sighed, starting to walk away again. "It'd look bad for him to be dating a stu-" I stopped myself from finishing the sentence, and hoping she hadn't heard me even start it. I turned to see if she was following but she seemed to be thinking over what I had just mumbled.

"Student…That would make him…and the name does sound familiar…"

" Just stop thinking about it," I demanded, speeding up, but she followed.

"It's that track couch! The red head! OH MY GOD, HE'S LIKE FIVE YEARS-" I clasped my hand over her mouth before she finished. Her eyes turned mischievous, and I could feel her mouth curl into a smile under my hand.

"Please don't tell anyone." I begged, letting her go. "And it's only like four years and a few months." I looked at her, waiting for a reply. "How do you know all this stuff anyway?"

"I'm a girl, and your friend." She stated. "I know everything."

"Right…" I rolled my eyes. "Let's just head back."

"Well…" she started, and I raised an eyebrow, "I was actually going to walk over to this flower shop." She explained, pointing off in the direction I assumed it was in. I shrugged.

"Fine," I sighed. "Have fun." I turned to see her already walking in that direction. She waved goodbye.

"I'll text you!" She called, and I nodded, before heading home. The walk wasn't that long, considering we had gotten most of the way there already. After getting into the building, I headed towards the elevator, thinking. Maybe Namine knowing wouldn't be such a bad thing. I was sure I could trust her.

The doors slid open and I casually walked down the hall, and as I opened the door, an angry looking Sephiroth stomped out. He didn't even stop to say anything, and I assumed it was because he probably didn't see me. Uncle Sephiroth was taller than my father, making him much taller than me. He walked straight towards the elevator I'd just come off of, not even turning around as he went in.

I raised an eyebrow and walked into the room. I looked around at my brother and Riku, who looked extremely pissed, "Uhh…why is he here?"

"Don't worry about it," Riku seethed, clenching his fists. Sora's eyes were a bit red, possibly from crying and headed towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"I can't really, not worry about it with Sora like that." I pointed out. Riku whipped around and shot me a dirty look. "Never mind." I turned around and headed back into the room and shut the door. The two of them were starting to be a lot more secretive, but the apartment usually had a pretty comfortable atmosphere. But now it was a lot more tense and hostile. And I had a feeling Sephiroth had something to do with it.

A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter! As always, we love reviews. :)