"Alright Roxas, clock out!" Cid shouts from downstairs.

I finish organizing the boxes on the second floor and climb back down to the first. I see Noel, the only other guy that works here, leaning against the counter, talking to Cid. I don't know much about Noel. He can kinda be a dick but he's cool. I walk up to them.

"All boxes are done" I tell them.

"Awesome. Now I don't have to do shit" Noel gloats.

"Not so fast. You gotta start unpacking those supplies and sweep the chimney" Cid tells him.

"The chimney?!"

Cid chuckles.

"I'm just fucking with ya. But you gotta unpack those boxes"

"Fuck you Cid"

"Only one fucking me is my girl Kennedy" he shoots.

"You have a girl?" I ask.

Noel and I look at him intently.

"… No" he admits.

"Oh… well I'm gonna head out now" I tell them.

"Alright, see ya Roxas. And good luck on your date" Cid tells me.

"You got a date? With who?" Noel asks.

"Kairi Hikaru"

"Nice! She's a babe"

I just smile.

With that, I head out. As I make my way to the bus station, I give Kairi a call to set up a time for tonight. Damn, it's gonna be so weird going on an actual date. After a few rings, she answers.

"Hey!"

"Hey lovely. Just wondering what time you're free for tonight"

"Actually, I need to talk to you about tonight"

I slow down a little.

"Alright, what's up?" I ask, trying not to sound hesitant.

"My group for chemistry is working on a project tonight and they need me there"

"Oh" is all I manage to say.

"I'm really sorry Roxas"

I'm bummed, but it's understandable.

"It's fine"

"Can we reschedule for another night?" she asks.

"Of course"

"Great! You just get off work?"

"Yeah, I'm heading to the bus station"

"Alright. Well, I'm gotta go get ready to meet up with the group. Talk later?"

"Sounds good"

We say our goodbyes and hang up.

Well, I guess the pressure of a date is off my shoulders. Wish I was able to see her today though. Fuck, what am I gonna do today?

I sit at a bench at the bus station, waiting for it to arrive. My mind starts to go off many directions. My classes, Kairi, everyone back home, Olette… fuck, I know it shouldn't bother me but it does. It really fucking does. She blames me for everything. It's not my fault… but it really feels like it. What's really going on with her? I need to talk to someone.

I pull out my phone, scroll to Pence's name, and call. After a few rings, he answers.

"Yo!"

"Hey Pence, how's it going?"

"Just getting off work. You?"

"Same"

"Nice. Calling due to boredom?" he asks.

I chuckle a bit.

"Yeah, something like that"

"What's up?"

I sigh deeply.

"It's kinda lame and you're probably gonna give me shit for it"

"Is it about Olette?" he asks.

He knew me way too well.

I nod my head even though he can't see me.

"Yeah"

"Roxas, you know it's not your fault, right?"

"I know. I'm just concerned about her"

"I am too. She was our friend"

She was our friend. And we grew apart. All because of me too.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends" he says.

"You think you can check up on her?" I ask.

"I don't know Roxas. I-"

"Please. For me man. I just really wanna make sure she's fine"

"She's clearly not" he says.

I sigh again.

"Please Pence"

Silence for a moment. The anticipation was killing me.

"Alright. I'll stop by her place later tonight" he tells me.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it"

"Sure"

=0=

Inhale. Exhale.

I'm lying on my bed, smoking a joint. I've been feeling a bit off ever since New Years. Olette has just been on my mind, especially today for some reason. I'm just worried. She said she takes pills now. Fucking pills! She always hated the idea of taking pills for anything unless it was a headache.

Then there's Kairi. Everything has been good between us so far, but I'm still not sure what we are. I'm not even sure what I want. Do I want to just keep doing what we're doing or do I want to take it further. Make it official.

Inhale. Exhale.

I look out the window. It's starting to get dark. I like when it turns dusk. It's got this nice mellow vibe to it. Not sad and not happy, just mellow.

Fuck, why is this so fucking complicated? It shouldn't be this complicated!... Could also be due to the fact that I'm pretty baked right now. But baked or not, this is all still complicated… I say complicated a lot.

Suddenly, the door opens. Tidus and Wakka walk in and shut the door.

"Smells great in here!" says Tidus.

"Hell yeah" I say, passing the joint to him.

He takes a hit.

"You just get off work?" he asks.

I nod.

"You look a bit down man. Everything cool?" Wakka asks me.

I sit up.

"Yeah, just thinking about some bullshit" I tell him.

"Right. We heard about your lady troubles back home"

They heard?

"Namine?" I ask.

"Kairi actually" Tidus answers.

He passes the joint to Wakka, who takes a hit.

"Figured"

Tidus sits on the rolling chair and rolls in front of me.

"Why is it every time you have an issue it always involves a female?" he asks.

I chuckle a little.

"Probably 'cause I can't keep it in my pants"

Wakka passes the joint back to me.

"I'm starting to think you like the chaos" Tidus comments.

Inhale. Exhale.

Was that true? Did I love the chaos? No way! Only crazy people love chaos. I'm just trying to get by in school and get my shit together. I have no time for any of this.

"Nah, not at all" I assure him.

"You know what you need man" says Wakka.

I look up at him.

"You need to go out"

"I was planning on it, but Kairi had other plans"

"So come out with us"

"To do what?" I ask.

I pass the joint to Tidus.

"I'm not sure. There could be a party going on tonight. We were just gonna wing it"

"I am not going to a party for a while after what happened at that frat house" Tidus exclaims before taking a hit.

"I have to agree with him on that" I add.

"Fuck man, I don't know then"

Tidus passes the joint to Wakka.

"Why don't we just chill out in the courtyard and figure it out there?" Tidus suggests.

I shrug.

That doesn't sound too bad. I could even skate around a little bit, which I haven't done in a while. It could help get my mind off of shit.

"I'm down" I tell them.

=0=

I land a pop-shove-it and cruise a little bit while Tidus and Wakka sit by the café tables, blasting "Bowl for Two" by The Expendables on one of their phones. This was really helping me out. I don't remember the last time I actually really chilled with these guys. We're all just so busy now. We barely have time for anything.

I cruise over to them.

"The weather is perfect right now" I comment.

"I know. Perfect smoking weather. Wish I brought a bowl out" Wakka tells me.

"That'd be cool. I'm already pretty stoned though"

"There's never a thing as too stoned"

I chuckle.

This is better than going to any party. Chilling with friends and jamming out to good music. The song switches to "What You Know" by Two Door Cinema Club. I cruise around a little more.

"Roxas?"

Tidus, Wakka, and I turn around and see Serah, Shiki, and Lulu walking towards us.

"Well look who it is" Lulu comments.

"Hey!" I say.

We all say our hellos and they sit at the table we're at. I'm still on my board cruising around the spot a bit.

"You don't wanna sit?" Shiki asks.

"Not really" I chuckle.

"So what are you three up to?" Lulu asks.

"Just hanging around. Needed to get this guy out the dorm" Wakka says, pointing at me.

"Why's that?" Serah asks.

"He's just been studying a lot" Tidus lies.

Come on Tidus, come up with a better excuse than that!

"Yeah okay" Shiki says, causing everyone to chuckle.

Everyone is chatting up about school and work and everything else going in their lives. Everyone except me. I don't really have much to say that's going on with me. I just go to classes and work, nothing special. While everyone else is talking about their future careers and goals, I just cruise around and fuck up on skate tricks. I almost feel like I'll never do anything after college. But I try to ignore those thoughts for now. I just focus on the breeze.

After some time, I'm cruising by the steps and Serah walks over to me.

"You're pretty anti-social tonight" she points out.

"I'm just high"

"You're always high. Doesn't stop you from talking"

She had a point there.

I hop off my board and sit on the step. She joins me.

"How've you been?" I ask, starting conversation.

"Fine. Just school and bullshit"

"What bullshit?"

"Just family stuff"

I nod.

"Wanna vent?" I ask.

"I'm fine"

"You sure? It helps. I'm like an expert with family issues"

She smiles.

"Alright. On one condition"

"Shoot"

"You tell me what's going on with you after"

"What do you mean?"

"Roxas, I may not have known you for long, but I can tell when something is off with you"

I look down, then back up at her.

"Fine, deal"

She sighs.

"My dad is in jail" she starts.

Though I'm a bit high, I try my hardest to focus on her.

"He got arrested for assault"

"Shit really?"

She nods.

"He was hitting my mom"

I can see this was hard for her to say.

"You don't have to tell me more if you don't want to" I assure her.

She sighs.

"Thanks, I'm cool though. I'm glad he's behind bars now. I'm just worried how my mom is handling it, ya know?"

I nod.

She turns to me.

"Your turn"

I look down at my feet, thinking of the words to say.

"My issues aren't nearly as serious as that" I tell her.

"It's not a competition Roxas"

She's right. I'm just stalling.

"My ex blames me for her fucked up life"

"How come?"

"'Cause we fucked and her boyfriend walked in and that didn't seem to make their already rocky relationship any better" I explain.

She just stares at me.

"I mean, I know it's not my fault. Hell, she was the one that initiated it. But it still feels like my fault. She bitched me out the other day and just the way she looked at me and said those words. It won't get out of my head"

Serah rests her head on my shoulder.

"This'll pass Roxas. In time, you'll feel better"

"I know. I just wish I can make it right. Go back in time and prevent all this bullshit"

"Of course, that's normal. But time travel doesn't exist. We have to focus on the now"

Now…

Serah looks up at me, and I look down at her. After what feels like forever, she moves closer and starts kissing me. It feels nice. Comforting. She cups my cheek and pulls me in closer.

I pull away.

She gives me a confused look.

"Sorry, I um, can't" I slowly tell her.

She sits up.

"You seeing someone?" she asks.

"Sort of"

"Wow, that's a first for you. Turning a girl down"

I smirk.

"It's cool though. No hard feelings" she tells me.

"Thanks"

We sit there and stare off to the courtyard, watching a few students pass by, heading off to their dorm or some party. That's campus life.

"It's pretty crazy how we're away from home, huh?" she asks me.

I nod in agreement.

"It seems like something that would never happen for a while" I tell her.

She chuckles.

"Felt like we'd be stuck there forever" she adds.

"Well, we're out now. This is it"

=0=

After some time, the girls said they wanted to head to Lulu's sorority to hang out. They invited us, but I decided just to head back to the dorm. They tried convincing me to come but I just didn't feel like hanging out. Tidus and Wakka didn't mind though; more girls for them.

As I clutch my skateboard under my arm, I slowly make my way to the dorm. I think I might just watch something on Netflix to pass the time. Wonder if they finally added anything new.

As I get closer to my dorm room, I see a familiar red head standing in front of my door, knocking. I smile as I walk closer.

"Hey there" I tell her.

Kairi turns and notices me, smiling.

"Hey sorry, I thought you'd be in your room" she says.

"Just heading in now. What happened to your project?"

"Finished early"

I nod.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out now" she adds.

"Sure. I was just gonna put on some Netflix"

"Sounds good"

I open the door and we walk in.

"Where's Tidus?" she asks.

"At Lulu's sorority with Wakka"

"Of course. They gonna be there all night?"

I grab the Playstation controller and boot it up.

"Probably. They rarely sleep in their own dorm rooms"

"Interesting" she slowly says.

I scroll over to Netflix.

"How so?"

"Well, it just gives us the opportunity to get naked" she points out.

I turn to her and smile.

"Get naked, huh?"

She nods and motions me to move closer to her.

I put the controller down, walk up, and we start making out. We fall onto my bed and start taking each other's clothes off piece by piece. I'm in my boxers and she's in her thong.

"Lay back" she tells me.

I do.

She crawls on top, pulls my boxers down, starts going down on me and it's the best head ever. I swear I've never had it this good.

"Oh shit" I softly groan.

She's doing the whole twist-and-jerk motion as I grab the side of the headboard, squeezing it tight. She's going faster and I feel like I'm gonna come.

She stops and jerks me off.

"Don't come yet" she tells me.

"I can go again after"

"No, hold it" she says.

It's kinda hard when she's jerking me off.

"I can't" I groan.

"Just relax. Breath"

I do so, and it's easier to hold. Fuck this feels awesome! She's smiling, knowing she has control of me right now. She keeps jerking me and suddenly, she swallows me whole again, doing the whole twist-and-jerk thing.

Okay, I really can't fucking hold it right now.

"Fuck!" I groan as I climax.

She finishes and wipes her lips.

I take a breather, still kinda hard. I grab her and lay her on her back.

She giggles as I mount on top and start thrusting inside her.

She moans as I thrust faster and faster.

I don't think we've fucked like this before. I'm just forgetting all my bullshit problems and focusing on this. Giving it my all. And she's loving every second of it. She grabs my shoulders and starts digging her nails into me.

=0=

When we finish, we lay naked under my covers and watch Malcolm in the Middle. It's the episode where Hal and Lois try to figure out who should take the kids bowling and both scenarios play out.

"So, is this Netflix and Chill?" I ask.

She giggles.

"I guess it is"

Something to scratch off my bucket list.

"I haven't seen this show in a while" she states.

"Same. It's great though"

We sit in silence for a moment.

"I have a question" she tells me.

"Shoot"

"By any chance, and you don't have to feel obligated to say yes, would you wanna stay with me at Destiny Islands for the summer?"

I turn to her.

"You want me to stay with you?" I ask.

"Well, just for the first few weeks or so. I feel like it'd be fun. But again, you don't have to say yes"

I smile.

She wants me to stay with her. And to be honest, I'm fine with that. I'd like to actually explore the islands some more.

"Sure. I'm down" I tell her.

She gives me the biggest smile ever.

"Really?"

I nod.

She pulls me into a deep kiss, and I return it. We pull away.

"This is gonna be great! And I promise, no scumbag Riku"

"Sounds perfect"

Riku. That fucking prick.

"I swear the next time I see him, I'll knock his ass out" I say.

"You probably won't see him. He just disappeared after camp"

"I think Tidus mentioned something like that"

"Yeah, good riddance though"

I think back to the conversation me, Tidus, and Wakka shared at the football field that one night. How Kairi hadn't been the same. How the situation just shook things up for her. It's one thing for Tidus and Wakka to tell me, but I wanna hear it from her.

"Hey Kairi"

She looks up at me.

"How was camp after I left?" I ask.

The smile she had subtly fades.

"Boring"

"Just boring?"

She stays quiet for a moment.

"Yeah, I just, didn't really do much after you left"

I just nod.

I don't really know what else to say. I probably shouldn't have asked.

"It felt weird once you left" she tells me.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we were both hanging out all the time, and then suddenly you were gone. Everything escalated so fast"

"I figured it was a good thing I left. You know, with all the shit that went down"

"It was and it wasn't"

"How come?"

She sighs.

"I missed you Roxas. A lot. In the short amount of time we had together, I just felt so close to you. Then you left and it just sucked, it really fucking sucked. But, it gave me time to think. I thought about everything that happened and realized how dumb we were and just wish I had done shit differently. I felt terrible for the way I handled everything so I just cut myself off from everyone for a while"

I stare at her intently.

"After some time, I decided to focus on myself and fix all those issues I had. That's why I came here to TTU, to get away from all the bullshit back home. I guess you had the same idea" she tells me.

I smile.

She really has changed. We both have. It's crazy how much can changed within the span of a few months. I definitely don't feel the same from that time at camp.

"Hey" I start.

She looks back up at me. I see a single tear rolling down her cheek. I wipe it away with my thumb.

"Don't worry. We're past all that. We already forgave each other back at camp. We went through all that shit and here we are now, lying naked on my bed"

She giggles at that last part.

"Shows how far we've come"

She grabs my hand.

"I'm so glad you're in my life" she says.

"Me too"

We just smile and stare at each other. I really care for her. This girl is starting to become more important to me day-by-day. I would've never thought we'd be here right now but I'm so glad we are.

Suddenly, my phone rings, ruining this moment. I look over at the table and see Pence is calling. That's random. I answer it.

"Yo" I say.

"Roxas!" he almost screams.

He sounds worried as hell.

"Whoa, what's going on Pence?"

"Something bad happened"

I'm scared. My heart is beating pretty fast for some reason.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Olette"

My heart is beating faster. I give Kairi a quick glance and look away.

"What about her?"

"She's in the hospital man. She OD'd on pills. She's in a coma"

My heart stops. I feel sick to my stomach. I can't say anything. I can't move.

"Roxas? Roxas?" Pence calls out.

I still can't say a word. Everything feels hazy.

"Roxas?" Kairi asks.

They're both calling out my now, but I just can't say anything. I can't move.

=0=

A/N: And I'll leave it here. It took me a few rewrites to finish this one, but it was worth it. Things are about to get intense in these next few chapters. What did you think of this chapter though? Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

Until next time, take care!