Roxas spent two hours in his room deciding what to wear. He tried anything he could find in his closet. He went from a suit to even a male stripper outfit (which he found in his mom's 'special chest'). Why was Roxas so worried about how he looked? He was going on his first date.
Roxas spent most of his life meeting temporary friends. He realized very early that it was pointless to become close to someone. He moved a lot thanks to his mom, and he was forced to say goodbye to every friend he ever made. He had been all over the country. He never become "close" to any person because it seemed like a waste. Roxas didn't want to feel hurt when he left. At most, he'd have two friends -- none of them being a girl. That's why Roxas felt nervous about his first date with Namine.
Ms. Nozomu walked into Roxas's room unannounced, startling him. She opened her mouth to tell him some news, but she stopped once she realized what he was currently wearing. The stripper outfit. Roxas's face turned red.
"I-I-I CAN EXPLAIN!" Roxas stammered, beyond embarrassed.
"Just...return it soon. Ryoki and I will be needing that for our role-play tonight."
"Did not need to know that, Mom. DID NOT."
His mother giggled and left Roxas alone in his room. He tore off the stripper outfit (which had been...err...really easy to take off). He ended up wearing a green polo shirt and baggy jeans. He also wore a white name brand hat. On top of all that, he wore a large, white brand name jacket. Roxas slipped into black sneakers and looked at himself in the mirror.
"You look adorable, sweetie!" Ms. Nozomu squealed, opening the door for him to leave.
"I don't want to look adorable..."
His mother laughed. She then grabbed her purse. She neared the front door as well.
"I'm going on another date with Ryoki. He says he has something important to say to me. Make sure you have your keys so you can get in. I may be gone for a while," she told him.
"I understand. Have a nice time."
Roxas ran towards his car and hopped in. After a minute of warming it up, he drove toward the ice skating rink. He would being meeting Namine there.
"Roxas!" Namine called out to him, waving.
She stood at the entrance to the building in which the rink was at. Roxas ran to her, stumbling. She laughed as he approached. He apologized for being late. She told him all was fine. Roxas smiled and walked with her inside.
Roxas had offered to pick Namine up, but she had refused. She insisted she'd come there on her own. Roxas, unable to reason with her, let her do as she pleased.
Namine held her own skates in her hands and slipped them on once there were inside. Roxas went to rent out some for himself. Once he returned, they headed out toward the rink, leaving their belongings near in lockers provided.
On the rink, music was playing. Most of the songs were pop rock songs. Namine glided onto the ice quickly, showing much skill. Roxas struggled to maintain balance. He stood on his skates, frozen in place as he held onto the railing. He moved slowly near the edges, still holding onto the railing. Namine teased him for this.
"What are we? Gender switched? I thought a guy like you would be great at this," Namine laughed.
"PFFT!" Roxas sputtered. "Skating is sooo a girl sport. It's like expecting a guy to be amazing at cheer-leading. You don't usually."
"Let's throw away stereotypes for a moment. Right now, I'm Namine who's good at skating. You're Roxas who's not. I'll help you."
"I totally don't need your help. Thank you very much," Roxas said matter-of-factly.
Roxas moved forward a bit more, only to realize that there was no railing to hold onto for this part of the rink. The railing started again about six feet away. Roxas awkwardly tried walking with his skates toward it. Namine sighed. She had to motivate him. She glided quickly towards there.
"Roxas!" she called. "Let's race to the other side of the rink. If I win, you can't take me on another date. You can't talk to me anymore either!"
Roxas groaned. Namine had a playful grin and continued to move across the rink. He took in a deep breath. He was not going to lose to Namine. He'd be the victor. Roxas let go and slowly moved toward the center. He pushed one foot forward at a time, gradually speeding up.
Feeling even more confident, Roxas went as fact as he could. He neared Namine. Just when she was close enough to grab, Roxas fell onto the ice. Slipping backward, he fell on his butt. Roxas rubbed his hands together, which were now cold from slamming onto the ice. Once he looked up, he saw Namine. She skated towards him, bending down. She showed a look of concern.
"Are you okay? I'm really sorry you had to fall. It's my fault for making you go that far when you barely no how to skate..." she mumbled. "If Roxas got seriously hurt, I don't know what I'd do."
Namine then extended out her hand towards him, shyly. Roxas's cheeks turned red. He rejected her offer and stood up on his own. In reality, he didn't feel much pain from the fall. It was really minor. However, Namine seemed to show a lot of concern. Roxas finally noticed she was kept eyeing his burn mark from before. It was fading, but it was still visible. Roxas shrugged and shot her a smile. He gave her a thumbs up.
"Everything is alright!" he exclaimed.
Namine seemed surprised by his gesture, but she smiled soon after he did it. She nodded. Roxas took the fact she wasn't moving around the rink to his advantage. He quickly skated towards the other side of the rink. Namine blinked once, realizing she lost the race.
"I win. We get to go out again," Roxas said, smirking.
Namine shrugged. "I guess we do." She decided not to reveal the fact that she was planning to lose the race from the start. If Roxas hadn't fallen, Namine would have slowed down right before reaching the other side of rink, allowing Roxas to win.
Roxas kept on a grin of triumph and skated over to her. "I don't suck at skating anymore. Beat that."
Namine skated more to the center and did a one foot spin. Roxas's eyes widened, as he was rendered speechless.
"I just did."
Roxas and Namine ended up going to the coffeehouse a few stores down from the rink. They sat at a table outside. Looking at the sky on that Saturday, it seemed to be eight at night. The air was cool and the wind softly blew past them.
"I had a great time today," Namine told him, sipping her coffee.
"Me too," he replied. "You have to say I'm pretty awesome for a guy who just learned to skate today."
"No."
Roxas sweatdropped. He opened his mouth to speak, but Namine spoke first.
"You were great," she said with a smile. "A faster learner than me."
Roxas had a look of determination now. "YUSH. We are going ice-skating next time and I'll improve even more."
Namine giggled. Roxas then proceeded to talk about their next date plans and how he would improve. Namine listened intently. To her, how Roxas was acting at that moment was like a child's behavior. She loved childish Roxas, but she knew that it would have to leave him one day.
"You're really excited, aren't you? Tell me, how much do you like me? To the point of love?" Namine asked him.
Roxas's eyes widened. "What are you saying? Uh...of course I like you -- I really like you. Not to love, I guess, but the more I'm with you, the closer I'm getting to love..."
"I don't believe in love," she whispered. "After all, we're just kids. Love doesn't exist for us."
"Romeo and Juliet were kids in love. They got a happy ending," Roxas protested.
"You never finished that story, did you? Romeo and Juliet are horrible examples of love anyway. They were stupid and reckless and rushed things way too much. Even if they didn't die and did run off together, they would never be happy with just each other."
"I thought what they did was pretty romantic. Wait, they die?!"
"See? Love doesn't exist. There's no such thing. If you try to seek love, you're leaving a world of bliss you've created. You're getting older and facing heartbreak and despair. I think it's better to stay within these safe confines. Within these confines, no one can ever hurt you."
"What are you saying? I'd expect you to be one of those hopeless romantics," Roxas said. "Yeah, love is painful sometimes. Marriage, these days, often end in divorce. But I think we meet the wrong people first, so when you meet the right person, you can appreciate them more. As we're getting older, we change and learn to how to live in this world."
"You don't sound like a kid. You sound like you're growing up," Namine commented.
Roxas froze. He shook his head. "Let's drop this conversation."
"I don't want to," Namine said. "You really are a little more mature you're letting on. You know all this stuff, but you don't like believing it. You're getting older, Roxas. You're going to become a man. When you do, you'll still be flawed. You'll still face hardships. They may even be more harsh than the ones you face in your teen years. But you won't be alone. All of those friends that you make along the way will help you. They are days where you think the worlds sucks and is out to get you, but your friends will take care of you. Roxas, you have to know how to let more people into your life."
"I get what you're saying, but why are you saying all this right now?" Roxas asked. "You're one big mystery to me. You don't let me know where you live, what's your phone number, where your class is, and all. I know you gave me a fake room that day. I need something from you, Namine."
"Roxas, I..."
Roxas turned around once he heard footsteps coming closer. He saw Hayner standing there with a bag of groceries. Roxas stood up and walked over to him. He greeted him, attempting to mend their friendship.
"Late night grocery shopping alone, huh?" Roxas said.
"Yeah. What are you doing in this part of town at night?" Hayner asked.
"Oh," Roxas blushed. 'I'm on a date with Namine."
Namine stood up and walked over to Roxas. She held an unreadable expression. Roxas gestured to Namine, trying to get the two acquainted. However, Hayner just kept staring at Roxas.
"Roxas, there's nobody there."
Roxas's body became stiff for a moment. He shook his head and pointed to Namine. "Of course there's someone there. This is Namine, the girl I'm on a date with. The girl I've been hanging out with when I ditched you guys. The girl I'm falling for."
Hayner looked at Namine then back at Roxas. "There's no one there. You're pointing to air!"
Namine sighed and turned around, running away. Roxas became distressed once she ran. He called out her name, trying to get her to come back. He then turned back to Hayner.
"Why would you do that?! She's right there. Don't treat her like she's invisible," Roxas shouted.
"There was no one there, Roxas."
"LIAR. She's there! I know it! She's here. I have to go get her!" Roxas yelled, running in the direction Namine ran.
Hayner watched as Roxas ran away, chasing something he knew he could never catch again.
Tiny droplets of water soon fell from the night sky. It began to rain.
A/N: I skimmed when I editing this chapter, so there might be mistakes.
So I'm writing the second to last chapter. I guess I can say I don't like how I made Roxas act in it. Eh. The last chapter will mostly be a denouement.
Been dead on story ideas. I do have an idea of telling a Namixas story through them both being interested in Sokai XD
Review Replies:
Sato Tadashi: Yup :P At least they don't have many accident now. Actually, I haven't decided whether I would have Hayner return Olette's feelings or not :P Eh, Roxas is pretty child-like in this story. But it goes with the message/theme I'm aiming for.
See ya next time folks!
