13

Don't give up on me now. This is one of the more important chapters in relation to the story.

When Riku and Namine finally returned back to the movie theater Sam, Sora, Selphie and Demyx were waiting for them outside. It was a difficult journey to get the doped up Namine back but he did after she put her arm around his neck in a non-aggressive headlock for balance. Riku calculated how long they might have been waiting, he figured about twenty five minutes if they got out immediately when they left. Even if they didn't he would still have to tell them where he and Namine went. Not to mention Namine might flip out and then that might need explaining as well.

He went with the ignorant approach. "Hey guys!" He walked up to them and they all turned around surprised.

"Hey. Where did you go?" Riku's mind scrambled for an excuse as time ate through precious seconds.

Halting between words, Riku concocted his answer, "I went to show Namine around town. Our movie ended sooner than yours did, and we didn't feel like waiting." Namine nodded slowly to Riku's benefit.

"Okay," Sora said picking a piece of popcorn from a half full bucket, "let's go back to Pence's house."

"Can't. Our ride is picking us up soon," Selphie said.

Demyx followed up with, "Yeah. I had fun though. Good times."

Happy to have the attention off of himself and Namine, Riku walked agreeably behind Pence and Sora as they talked about the zombie movie that he somehow got everyone to see. Sora was hilarious, always making expressions with his hands and accurate sound effects.

"Remember the part when he stabbed the shears through that Mexican guy's head? That was crazy awesome!" He was like an obnoxious 12 year old kid. People made a point to steer clear of him as they passed on the sidewalk.

Pence nodded and went along with the conversation trying obviously to find a way out by making some connection to a real life experience. It was a shame that Pence did not know many people who were sheared through the head. But eventually he found a loophole. "That redhead who drove the tank was cute huh Riku? Oh yeah you weren't there. What movie did you see?"

Riku at the time was holding Namine by the arm to keep her from dragging on the ground. It looked like they had suddenly become a couple. Pence cocked his head to the side and looked at Riku who gave him a look that said 'Don't ask'. Pence was dying to make a joke about this but refrained from doing so for Riku's sake.

After Riku told him about The Cylinder he brought up a different topic. This reminded Namine who unbeknownst to her current mode of transportation, Riku, was actually paying attention. She was just was having difficulty vocalizing her opinions, not due to her shyness but thanks to the 375 milligrams of diphenydramine running through her system. But after a stumble she managed to ask if anyone had a phone.

Her voice was slow and slurred and caused the three boys to nearly stop in their tracks. Pence had one and quietly offered it up to her. Dialing her parent's house phone took two tries but finally it worked. Thankfully no one asked any questions.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Namine. Hey, Honey, what is it?" Namine's mother responded with a light voice.

"Do you mind if I spend the night at one of Riku's friends' houses tonight. I'm really tired." Riku wondered if her parents knew if Namine was trying new narcotics on a whim.

"Oh sure go ahead. Just brush your teeth."

"I will."

"I love you; call me in the morning, alright?"

"I will. Goodnight." She hung up and handed Pence back his phone.

Everyone arrived at Pence's in a short amount of time. Namine seemed a little better by the time Pence reached for his hidden key under the door mat. Riku very was happy to have her back. When he walked in the door and up to Pence's room Riku felt like he should talk to Namine about everything that happened in the theater and before. When she felt a bit better and when they were in a private place he would tell her about how his mother had gotten into drugs of all sorts as a way of coping with his dad's death.

I'll just tell her about why it's not good for her. And that will get her to stop.

Riku noticed that Pence's Dad had migrated to his bedroom upstairs. Namine waited outside for Riku to come in and then stopped him from before saying anything. She caught on quick to expressions she knew what he was thinking about.

"I'm fine. I really am. I'm just out of it." Her voice still seemed to have to push the words out of her mouth, but her eyes were nowhere near as dilated. "I know what I'm doing. The lethal dose of that is three times as much as I took."

"That's good." Riku's drug lecture was held off for now. They walked inside where Sora was arming a Mentos and Diet Coke bomb while Pence was in the bathroom. Sora turned and gave a devilish grin to the two and then Namine walked up to the refrigerator for some ice water. She picked up a clean looking glass from the counter and held it to the auto filter on the front of the refrigerator. She drank it all without moving her feet and then filled another glass.

"You look really tired." Sora pointed out. "No offense."

"No, just thirsty," she said in between gulps.

It was about eleven o'clock and Riku, Pence and Sora weren't even tired in the slightest. Namine was nodding off but it was only because of the Benadryl which was wearing off with time. The four were watching an episode of some cop show when a topic came up.

"I saw Kairi coming out of the theater. Did you see her?" Pence initiated the conversation casually.

"Yeah." Riku was touchy about this topic but continued on because he was not concerned about anything at the moment.

"That was a lame answer," Pence said wishing for more gossip, "Well, did you talk to her?"

"Yeah, I saw her in the room that we saw the movie in." Riku spoke slowly because he wished for the issue would dissipate, "I said hello."

"I also saw Roxas coming out," Sora mentioned.

"Yeah, I saw him too."

Sora understood that it was a delicate matter that need not be brought to light while Namine was in the room. So he stayed quiet until conversation arose again and all four were laughing about the dramatic occurrences on the TV.

At around 12:50 Namine was wide awake and the others were getting more tired by the minute. In fact Namine had secretly taken a caffeine pill about an hour ago, one of the many assorted pills she had in her purse. So as the clock shifted from PM to AM she became less of a bystander and transformed into the life of the party. Riku was not very tired, unlike the appearance that he put on. He often had trouble sleeping but never was diagnosed with Partial Insomnia. He used this time to talk to Namine about the pressing matters at hand.

"Hey," he whispered as she got out of the bathroom from brushing her teeth. "We need to talk."Riku was serious but not in a menacing way at all.

"Okay," Namine relented. "Tell, Pence thanks for the toothbrush I hope he doesn't mind I opened one from under his sink."

"He'll be fine with that."

They went downstairs to the living room where there were no potential eavesdroppers.

He got right to the point, "Is this your first time trying to get high?" She wasn't surprised by his forwardness; she had been expecting a similar question all night, but still took a moment to answer.

"No," she shook her small head, "But it's not bad for me."

"Are you kidding? Those damn sleeping pills are the same kind that my mother took when she was trying to kill herself!" Riku was angry now but still he whispered, he didn't get angry often and didn't know how to express the emotion well.

"Why, would she ever want to do that?" Her eyes looked to the floor. "I am so sorry."

Riku's eyes fogged up and he began to cry. "I don't want something like that to happen to anyone else."

His thoughts traveled back to 9th grade when he came home and found his mother leaning sloppily on the toilet seat, puking and sputtering and crying in her sick demented dreams that had been summoned by the Benadryl. He dropped his bag and ran to her side. He turned her over and checked her quivering pulse. He ran outside to a neighbor's door for a phone since his house didn't have one at the time. His knockings were unanswered until finally someone answered and handed him their phone. The ambulance arrived shortly and they pumped her full of physostigmine to save her from permanent brain damage.

Namine wrapped her thin arms around him, not much for protection or warmth but the gesture was all that was needed. Riku clutched her back and sobbed into her shoulder to halt the noise from reaching upstairs. She pulled him away for a moment and pushed her face close to his so that their noses and cheeks touched. His cold tears transferred to her cheek and her tears transferred to his. Riku felt better once more. "Thank you," he said and looked at where he had rested his head, "Sorry." Her shoulder had a noticeable wet spot where his eyes were.

She responded with a loving kiss on the cheek. She said goodnight and scurried upstairs to where she and Pence had prepared a bed for her. Riku sat there for a moment.

This may have taken a while to type out and I'm sorry about that but please tell me what you think of it.

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