Chapter 21: Boiling Point
Roxas felt his head lurch forward, followed by a dull pain in the back of his head. He inhaled deeply and cracked his eyes open. Where was he? The room was dark, save for a sliver of light that crept under the blinds of a nearby window. He stretched his limbs and hissed as his back ached in pain. He realized he was sitting up. He turned his head around.
He fell asleep next to a bed. Judging by the foot hanging off the end, it was Naminé's. Did she kick him awake?
He shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. Naminé didn't stir at all as he stumbled toward the exit. He picked his phone up from the floor and quietly closed the door behind him. A hand quickly flew to his head. He felt dizzy, like he hadn't gotten much sleep. He checked his phone, which confirmed his suspicions when it showed the time. It was nine in the morning. He slept for a grand total of two hours.
He began to recall the events from the previous night. He went to Naminé's room because he couldn't sleep. The long conversations that followed that moment did nothing to fix his problem. Naminé was the one to remind him about work, and that wasn't until they realized they had talked until the sunrise.
He trudged his way to the bathroom to clean himself up. After using the toilet, he noticed Naminé's iPad sitting on a shelf. He took it, but his progress was blocked by a passcode. He frowned and tilted it against the light. He barely made out the fingerprints and turned the screen back on. Based on his findings, he entered a possible combination: 9444. He smiled when it unlocked. Lucky guess.
The first thing he did was, naturally, find a way to gloat. He turned on the camera and took a picture of himself in the mirror, sticking his tongue out for added effect. He replaced her background with the new picture right after. The next thing he checked was the internet. His luck continued: Naminé probably didn't anticipate anyone getting into her tablet, so she didn't take the extra step of caution.
Her profile was easy picking. It didn't take Roxas much time to decide what he'd do. Finished with his devious deeds, he contemplated his next course of action. He had reset his alarm to wake him up half an hour before work, but Naminé kicked him awake half an hour early. What would he do with that extra half hour?
His next idea struck as his stomach grumbled angrily. His grin widened, and he turned the camera on once again and switched it to video mode.
Naminé slowly woke up and stretched in every direction. She let out a long yawn before opening her eyes. Despite the long night, she felt like she was well-rested. As she untangled the sheets around her body, her hand struck something solid in the spot next to her. She moved a pillow aside and was surprised to find her iPad sitting on her bed. Didn't she leave that in the bathroom last night?
She picked it up and turned on the screen. Everything seemed to be in order until she unlocked it. The picture hidden behind the applications made her burst out in laughter.
"How in the world did you unlock this?" she asked aloud. She changed her background back to normal, but decided to leave the picture intact. Before she closed her photo album, a few videos caught her eye. She opened one of them.
It was a video of Roxas looking for breakfast. "Day two, fifth hour. My search for edible sustenance continues with no sign of success. As the minutes wane, my body begins to weaken…"
Naminé's hand flew to her mouth as she giggled. Surely he was being facetious. He couldn't have been serious, unless he actually expected to find food in random drawers or even in the dishwasher.
His mockumentary ended with the discovery of pie. Naminé swiped the screen to the next video. She started it immediately, but only found a video of Roxas eating. As she tapped the screen to bring up the menu, Roxas spoke.
"Is this thing on?" The video temporarily filmed the countertop. "It was recording this whole time? Oops."
Naminé giggled as she watched him set the camera. Eventually the picture steadied. He probably found a way to prop the thing up.
"I'm guessing you were watching me eat the whole time. Who's the creeper now?" He took another bite of pie before continuing. "I've taken the liberty of eating your pie as payback for waking me up earlier than I wanted to be. And by the way, this thing is delicious."
Naminé waited expectantly for something insulting to follow, but the compliment came unattached. She smiled.
"Oh, I also accidentally ate like, all of it." Roxas held up the pie tray, showing only a single slice left over. "And I finished your milk too. You might want to do some grocery shopping later. Just saying."
Naminé groaned. Where in the world did boys get ridiculously massive appetites?
"I'll be leaving these dishes in the sink for you. Don't forget about them!" Roxas flashed the camera onto the sink to confirm his words. "I bet you're still sleeping. Remember in the car yesterday when you said you didn't want to fall asleep in front of me? Well, you kinda did, so now it's time to do something creepy." Roxas flipped the camera around and slowly pushed open the bedroom door. He trained the camera on her sleeping form. "See, I would've gotten some extra sleep like you if you didn't kick me in the head."
"I kicked him in the head?" Naminé asked aloud. "Nice!" She bit back a smile and congratulated herself.
"I'm ninety-nine percent sure you talk in your sleep. I swear I heard you say 'ahoy' at some point. What are we today, I wonder? Perhaps a pirate?" Roxas chuckled. "Wake up, captain!" he whispered from the door. "Er, first mate? Navigator? Cabin wench?"
Naminé saw herself stir on camera.
"Oh. It's that kind of dream!" Roxas snickered behind the camera. "Time to back out slowly…"
"What an ass." Naminé rolled her eyes. She was most certainly not dreaming about being a pirate— much less a cabin wench— and she was sure she didn't talk in her sleep.
"What time is it anyway— what? Oh shoot, I'm gonna be late!" He fumbled with the camera for a bit before training it on his face. "I'm going to hide this now, and hopefully you won't discover this until you're done pooping." Roxas's lips curved into a knowing smile. "That's right. I know why you keep this thing in your bathroom. Someone's a good multitasker! I'd add that to your list of special skills: drawing something while taking a dump. Oh yeah."
"I'm going to kill this boy," Naminé resolved.
"In the lucky event that you do find this thing and prevent all your first-world problems, I leave you this last hint: make sure to check your status online. Oh, and change your lock passcode. Oh, and ice cream later today at… seven, I guess. Don't be late." The video abruptly ended.
Naminé sat still, staring at the screen. Oddly enough, she felt extremely happy. As dumb as he was in the video, it left a warm feeling behind. She felt great, and her reflection showed a smiling girl staring back at her.
Why did such a silly video make her so happy? "I don't understand this guy," Naminé said to herself. She lightly slapped her cheeks, hoping to shake the light feeling. Besides, she had a few things to do. He obviously never intended to hide her tablet from her, but wanted her to watch the videos. Why would he lie about that? It had to mean something, and Naminé thought she had the right idea.
She'd have to sort through fact and fiction. Leave it to him to start her day like that. He'd always kept her on her toes in the past. Of course he'd make her hit the floor running from the moment she woke up. On the bright side, she had her own adventure to complete. Naminé threw off her covers and walked straight to the kitchen.
The first thing she did was check the sink. Did he really leave his dishes? Maybe he was nice enough to actually clean up after himself.
"And… he left them for me. Awesome." Naminé shook her head. That was too optimistic of her.
The next thing she checked was the fridge. Did he leave her other pie intact? He did manage to eat nearly a whole pie for breakfast alone. Naminé pulled the door open and scanned for damage. Not only did she find one of her pies untouched, but she also found the milk jug. Unfortunately, whatever was left in it wasn't enough to fill a whole cup. It was pointless mercy, and Naminé would've preferred he finished it. Maybe that was his plan all along. Was he that sinister to leave her without enough milk for a bowl of cereal though? She had her doubts. It probably just turned out that way.
What Naminé didn't find in the fridge was the remaining slice of pie from the video. She checked all the shelves, but it wasn't hidden anywhere. What happened to it?
Naminé unlocked her iPad and searched for more video clues. When she found none, she checked the recently used apps and discovered that he opened the notes section. She followed suit and found a message inside.
The pie was too good to leave behind, so I stole the rest of it for lunch today. But I left you some milk, so that's nice, right?
"Hardly," Naminé answered. Still, she was happy to hear he liked the pie so much. Perhaps she'd make another one of the same ingredients just for him. She had to go grocery shopping anyway.
Just as she was about to move on, she remembered Roxas's last hint. She opened her browser to find it on her profile page. Great. What'd he write this time? Whatever it was, it attracted a lot of attention. She scrolled down the page.
Roxas is the funniest, sexiest, classiest, smartest, and awesomest person alive and I can't wait to see him again!
"I see 'humble' didn't make the list," Naminé mumbled. Instead of deleting her status, she turned off her iPad and set it on the table. What was the point? The damage had been done, and her friends had to know she wasn't the one to write it anyway.
Besides, it wasn't entirely untrue.
"Roxas? Hey, Roxas! Wake up!"
Roxas lifted his head and hissed when his eyes took in the bright lights. He blinked twice, looking into the concerned eyes of is coworker. "Olette? What's up?"
"I should be asking you that! Are you all right? You fell asleep sitting up."
"I did?" Roxas looked around. Sure enough, he was sitting in the middle of the reception area. It was a good thing Olette was the one to find him. "Oh, sorry! I guess I'm more tired than I thought."
"Had I known you would've fallen asleep, I wouldn't have asked you to wait!" Olette handed him a small food case. "Here's your share. Will you be okay driving home? You can take a coffee home if you need to."
"I'm sure the brownies will be enough," Roxas said with a smile. He opened the container and took a bite. "Delicious. Thanks, Olette!"
"Try not to overexert yourself, all right?" She ruffled his hair before returning to the back room.
Roxas chose not to correct her and reveal that he stayed up late with Naminé. If his lack of sleep didn't negatively affect his work, then the reason for his sleepiness was irrelevant.
The drive home was pretty boring. Roxas was sure he had never yawned so many times in a single car ride, but at least he didn't fall asleep. He busied himself with his thoughts and began to wonder if Naminé found his videos. Did she watch them? How did she react? He really wanted to know if she found any of it funny. More importantly, was she mad that he took the rest of the pie with him? It wasn't his fault, really. It was too good. He was practically obligated to eat the rest.
She probably deleted the status update he left for her. It wasn't hard to figure out that someone wrote it for her, but he thought it was clever. When he finally pulled into his driveway, he checked his phone. A grin spread across his face when he read a message from Naminé. She claimed that she didn't dream about pirates. Not only did he think that was untrue, but he also received confirmation that she watched the video.
He noted Xion's car when he opened his already-unlocked door. "Xion?" he called out.
"Upstairs!" she answered.
Roxas kicked off his shoes and ran up the stairs. Xion sat atop his bed, controller in hand. "Thanks for waiting," he said sarcastically.
"I've been here for a while. Someone worked an hour over without telling me." Xion paused the game. "You look exhausted, by the way."
"That happens when you get about two hours of sleep." Roxas dropped into his computer chair and hung his head back.
"Why in the world did you get only two hours of sleep? I thought you were going to get home before midnight."
"That was the original plan, but we stayed a lot longer."
Xion looked skeptical. "So you didn't get home until what? Seven?"
"We got home around one or two in the morning," Roxas answered after a slight delay. "I'm gonna shower. I smell like pet shampoo."
Xion sat up. "Why did you only get two hours of sleep then?"
"Because we talked."
Xion shifted uncomfortably. What was with these cryptic answers? "And by 'we' you mean you and Naminé?"
"Yeah." Roxas disappeared into the bathroom. The shower turned on seconds after.
Xion sighed and fell back onto the bed. Why was he being so distant? Maybe he wasn't doing it on purpose. He was tired, and he probably wasn't in the mood to talk too much.
Xion paused. That didn't sit well with her. He was exhausted, yes, and maybe not in the mood to talk. The fact that they stemmed from a night of talking, however, was what bothered her. What, did he talk himself out with Naminé? She could hardly believe that. Not only did that seem implausible, but it also wasn't fair. And did they really just talk the whole time? Roxas wasn't exactly the kind of person to talk for hours on end.
Jealousy bubbled within her. What in the world did they talk about for five odd hours? And why was his time with Naminé taking a toll with his real best friend? Xion crossed her arms. She'd have to wait for Roxas to get out of the shower, and then pray that Roxas would tell her everything.
He emerged minutes later with only his underwear on. With the towel hanging over his head, Xion shamelessly took him in by the eyeful. Her stare didn't break until he dropped onto his bed, arms spread wide and eyes closed.
"Has my bed always been this comfortable?" he drawled.
Xion got up and crawled closer to him. She lifted his head and placed it in her lap. "Yes, but any soft surface would feel good given the amount of sleep you've gotten." She ran her hands through his damp hair and massaged his scalp, making him hum in delight.
"I'm not that tired." He couldn't finish the sentence without yawning. "I'm just… I need to rest my eyes."
Xion swallowed her disappointment. Today was supposed to be her day with him. She didn't even get the full day, and by the looks of it, she'd get a lot less since he needed sleep. "You sure had a long day, huh?"
"Yeah… yesterday was pretty awesome. Best trip by far." Roxas giggled.
Xion continued to comb through his hair with her fingers. Did he just giggle? What in the world? "What made it better than other Disney trips?" Best trip? He had more fun than he did with her and Axel?
"I don't know. Maybe because it was so spontaneous, you know?" He sighed and smiled.
"Hmm." Xion narrowed her eyes. "You mean to say you had a good time with Naminé."
"Well I did," he admitted. He then chuckled to himself. "She's absolutely fearless, which I wasn't expecting. She was willing to ride every in the park."
Xion scoffed. Since when was that a big deal? She was the exact same way and Roxas never noted that about her. All of a sudden it was an accomplishment? Please. "That's cool, I guess. She'd make a good theme park buddy."
"And a great road trip buddy," Roxas added much to Xion's annoyance. "You should definitely go on a trip with her one day."
"Mm. Sounds like my kind of party," she mumbled sardonically. "Why'd you guys stay up so late? You really had that much stuff to talk about?"
"I just couldn't sleep." Roxas shrugged. "I guess I was still wired from the trip, so I went to her room and we just stayed up and talked about stuff. I think you two would get along. You're actually really alike."
"Imagine that." Xion breathed in slowly. Roxas seemed to lay off the Naminé-worshipping, so she busied herself with Roxas's hair again. She didn't know what to do with that information. Should she be happy that Roxas likes those personality traits in both her and Naminé, or was it bad that he found it more attractive in the blonde? Xion knew Roxas never gushed about her that way.
"Xion?" Roxas blinked slowly before snuggling into her lap. His hair tickled her legs.
"What? You falling asleep on me?"
"Quite literally, yes." He closed his eyes and relaxed. "Is it normal to eat nearly a whole pie for breakfast?"
Xion raised a brow. "Um, what?"
"Do pies make you sleepy? I ate like all of Naminé's pie this morning. It was so good, Xion. I couldn't stop eating it." Roxas chuckled guiltlessly. "I even took the leftovers to work. She's really good at baking."
Xion inwardly groaned. "That's great, Roxas. I'm really happy for you."
"Next time she bakes, I'll save some for you." With that, Roxas dozed off.
Xion watched his chest rise and fall in a slow rhythm. She smiled sadly. She sat still for a while, idly brushing Roxas's hair from his face. His face was completely relaxed, and she was sure he'd be asleep for hours to make up for the lost time. She didn't want to wake him up either: not only would he be a bit cranky, but he had work the following day. He needed to catch up on his sleep somehow. She allowed a few more minutes to pass before carefully removing herself. She tucked a pillow where her lap used to be and threw another one next to his arms. He quickly latched onto it and hugged tightly.
Xion wanted to slam her head against a wall. Why did she have to find that so cute? Life would have been so much easier if stupid things like that didn't make her want to gush. She certainly wouldn't have been feeling jealous over Roxas's growing relationship with Naminé too. Part of her loathed what her friendship became. She never thought her life would play out like a cliché chick flick. What sucked was the sinking feeling that she wouldn't get the happy ending those girls got.
So many people liked to assert that the best relationships come from dating a best friend. None of them gave her advice on what to do when it looked like a bad idea each passing day.
Roxas cracked his eyes open, only to bury his face into a pillow. He groaned. It was still bright outside, and his windows allowed the light to spill inside. He breathed in, trying to gather his thoughts. When did he fall asleep? How long was he out? He rolled over and again opened his eyes. The last he recalled, he was resting on Xion's lap. Where did she go?
"Xion?" he called. His voice came out hoarse, so he cleared it before talking again. "Xion, you here?" No answer. Sighing, Roxas fell back into his bed. She probably left as soon as he fell asleep.
Before Roxas closed his eyes again, he heard his front door opening. He sat up and, upon realizing that he wasn't dressed, threw on a pair of shorts folded on his computer chair. He heard his door open behind him.
"Roxas? You're awake!" It was Xion. The smell of fast food wafted toward him, and his eyes locked on the small paper bag clenched in her hand. She held her car keys and drink tray in another.
"Yeah, just a few seconds ago actually." Roxas cleared his throat, hoping to shake off his grogginess. "I see you went ahead and got yourself some food."
"Not just for me!" Xion grinned widely and walked over to the computer desk. She pulled out half the bag's contents and handed him the rest. "Your parents went out to dinner while you were asleep. They invited us, but someone was knocked out."
Roxas sat atop his desk and allowed Xion to take the chair. "Thanks. And you could've woken me up."
"You needed the sleep."
Roxas didn't realize how hungry he was until he began eating. It only took him a few minutes to get through half his meal. He made the effort to slow down and actually talk to Xion. It was better for his health to pace his consumption of something so unhealthy anyway.
Roxas found out that Xion busied herself with the same game she was playing when he walked in. He was skeptical that he slept through it all, but eventually believed her when she insisted on turning on the game and showing him the save file. Was he really that tired? He didn't feel like it anymore, but maybe that was the result of sleeping so deeply for hours. The conversation continued and turned, and Roxas began describing the events of the previous day. He made sure to leave out any embarrassing details when recounting the Tower— Xion didn't need to know that he grabbed anyone's hand in fear— but made sure to describe everything else in its entirety.
He strongly insisted that the next time they went they would have to ride the teacups.
"Were Sora and Kairi awkward at all?" Xion asked when Roxas recalled the last few moments at Disney.
"I didn't think they were. Kairi's all worried about leaving early, so she's been sharing her time with Riku too. I wouldn't know. I kinda talked with Naminé the whole time," Roxas said with a shrug.
"I see. Were you guys invited to stay up there with them?" Xion spun her chair around and took a long sip from her drink.
"Yeah, but by the sound of the sleeping situation, we'd end up sleeping in the same room. I think she wanted to come home too."
"Yet you ended up at her place anyway."
Roxas thought for a moment and chuckled. "Yeah, funny how that happened. I even ended up sleeping in the same room!"
Xion spun the chair around again. "Hilarious."
"That sounds bad, doesn't it? I ended up falling asleep on the floor at the foot of her bed. It was pretty uncomfortable." Roxas looked down at his food. He ate really fast. It didn't really surprise him that he ate a whole pie by noon.
"Why didn't she give you something to sleep on? Sounds kinda mean to me," Xion quipped.
"I was supposed to sleep on the couch, but I went to her room 'cause I couldn't sleep. I don't think either of us intended to stay up the way we did," Roxas said.
"How spontaneous of you!"
Roxas shrugged. "I didn't think we'd have so much to talk about." He laughed to himself.
"Well, after about sixteen years of feuding, I don't think it should be that much of a surprise. Did you guys talk about how mean you guys were to each other at all?" Xion questioned.
"Nope!" Roxas shook his head and threw himself onto the bed. "Now that I look back on it, it was more a conversation on what we had in common. I swear she watches just about every TV show we watch."
"Awesome," Xion said with a slow nod.
"Thanks again for the food, by the way." Roxas sat up to throw on a shirt. "And sorry for falling asleep on you. I didn't drool on your lap, right?"
Xion giggled. "No, you didn't. And apology accepted. We still have the rest of the evening to hang out, right?"
"That's true. What time is it anyway?" Roxas checked his reflection and ruffled his messy hair.
"It's nearly eight. When was the last time you ate?" Xion gathered the trash as she spoke.
"Around noon. It's been eight—" Roxas suddenly paused. Ice cream! He told Naminé to meet him for ice cream at seven! "Wait, it's eight?"
"It's ten minutes to eight, so pretty much." Xion raised a brow. "Why?"
Roxas darted into his bathroom. "You up for ice cream? I'll pay."
"Now?" Xion walked into the hallways and stopped at the door of the bathroom. "You're still hungry?"
"A little," Roxas admitted. "I guess I'm in the mood for ice cream at the downtown parlor."
"Why do we have to go to the downtown parlor when there's one less than ten minutes away?"
Roxas made eye contact with the mirror. "Downtown is nicer at this time though! And sorry, I didn't realize a longer car ride with me was undesirable."
"You're being dramatic." Xion rolled her eyes. "Tell me when you're done putting on your make-up. I'll head to the car when you're done."
"Better go down right now then!" Roxas brushed past her and turned into his room. "Could you get rid of the trash?"
"Already on it. I have your keys!" Xion was walking down the stairs moments after.
Roxas frantically searched his room for his phone and wallet. He silently hoped that Naminé wasn't mad at him. As soon as he found his stuff, he called her. "Hello?"
"Hi, Roxas!" The sound of her voice put a smile on his face. "Any reason why you're calling me while I'm busy?"
"You're busy? Doing what?" he questioned without missing a beat.
"None of your business," she answered.
"Of course. Did you forget about ice cream tonight, by any chance?" He closed his bedroom door and ran down the stairs.
"Ice cream?" Naminé's tone dropped off as she realized what he was talking about. "Ice cream! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about that!"
"Don't sweat it. I slept through seven, so had you remembered, you would've been alone. I'm heading there now with Xion, so I suggest you do the same." Roxas walked around his house in circles. Where were his car keys?
"Yeah, definitely. I just need to get ready."
"I'll see you there then. And drive carefully, Naminé. Don't worry about rushing over." Roxas slapped his forehead. Didn't Xion say she had his keys? She definitely did.
"Don't worry, dad. You're not important enough for me to risk my life for."
"Ice cream is, though."
"For you, I suppose. I can survive without it," Naminé joked. "Bye-bye, Roxas."
As soon as he hung up, Roxas made his way outside and hopped into the driver's seat of his car. Xion handed him the keys.
"Someone wants their ice cream, huh?" Xion smiled and opened her window.
"Naturally," Roxas replied. "It's only the best thing in the world."
Xion tapped her fingers on the door and shifted in her seat. "So… why are we waiting here?"
"We're waiting for someone," said Roxas. A small grin appeared on his face.
Xion furrowed her brow, but didn't say anything. Roxas was being mysterious for no reason again. She ignored it and looked around the car. The dark interior was nearly spotless, save for a few coins sitting at the bottom of a cup holder. What was with boys and their cars? They always managed to keep it so clean. Unlike her car, there wasn't a stray receipt or napkin or straw wrapper. Despite the different cleaning habits of Roxas and Sora, they managed to keep their car in a very pristine condition.
Xion looked down and noticed something hiding in the door compartment. She pulled out the small paper, only to realize it was a picture of Roxas with Naminé. Something was written along the bottom in permanent marker. "Roxas," she tapped his shoulders and flashed him the picture, "what's this?"
Roxas's eyes widened. He took the picture out of her hands and laughed. "When did she manage to sneak this into the car?"
"You mean Naminé?" Xion frowned. When did that happen? And why did they look so surprised?
"Yeah. Naminé and I won a contest at this parlor and got free ice cream for a week. This was a few days ago. I guess she left this here last night." Roxas handed the picture back.
Xion stared at it. "What's with the date?"
"It's our fake time together. It was hilarious, really. We had to pretend to be a couple, and then the host asked us how long we had been dating. She looked at me, I looked at her, and we gave two different answers. I ended up saving our asses by making it seem like we knew exactly how long we were dating," Roxas recalled.
"You said you were dating for nearly three and a half years and no one suspected you of lying?" Xion said in disbelief. "Weren't you guys at each other's throats?"
"For the sake of free ice cream, no. I actually tricked her into playing with me, I think. Oh well. It was fun, we won, and it's something we can laugh about now." Roxas sat back with a smile on his face.
Xion put the picture away. "So the person we're waiting for is Naminé, isn't it? The reason why you wanted to get ice cream so badly is because of her."
"What? No, I genuinely want my free ice cream. I just told Naminé to come along too since she won too." Roxas stared at her for a moment. "Are you okay?"
Xion widened her eyes and put a grin on. "Hmm?"
"You look… angry. Are you mad or something?" Roxas wore a look of concern.
"I'm not angry," Xion clarified. "I'm just… I don't know. It's been a while since we last hung out."
"It's only been a few days!" said Roxas with a chuckle.
"I guess…" Xion rubbed her arm. "I honestly still would've preferred it be just us."
"Oh…" Roxas's shoulders drooped. "Well, we have today and the rest of summer. Naminé and Kairi are leaving soon too."
Xion perked up. "You brought that up earlier today when you were talking about Kairi. What do you mean they're leaving early?"
"Well, their school ended before ours, so they start before us too. Not only that, but their father wanted them to go home a few weeks early. It explains why Sora, Riku, and Kairi went to Disney all of a sudden," Roxas said. "I think they're leaving the week after next."
"Oh. Is that why… you know what, never mind." Xion didn't want to know the answer. "And you're right. We have today and the rest of summer."
"I think that's her!" Roxas suddenly exclaimed. He pointed to a car coming up the street. He turned to Xion. "You have to see her parallel park. She— hey!" He turned back to see that Naminé drove right by the open spot in front of him and pull into the parking lot across the street.
"You were saying?" Xion got out of the car with a smirk. She waited with Roxas for Naminé to cross the street. As the blonde approached them, Xion couldn't help but feel insecure. Naminé was wearing a simple white dress with sandals. It made her thin body appear curvy in all the right places, and she seemed to glow under the light of the setting sun. How could any guy ignore that? Xion felt like she was underdressed in her t-shirt and denim shorts. Suddenly she began to regret wearing even sneakers. Should she have dressed more feminine? How was she supposed to get Roxas's attention when he was around a girl like Naminé?
"You drove right past an open parking spot!" Roxas said with a laugh when Naminé was close enough.
"Did I? I just went toward the first spot I saw, which happened to be in a parking lot," Naminé responded with a giggle.
"You're never going to learn if you never practice!"
"I won't have to with all these parking spaces around. Quite frankly, I'll probably never have to parallel park." Naminé turned to Xion and smiled. "Hello again, Xion!"
Xion smiled and waved lamely. At least someone remembered that she was there. "Hi. Don't mind me. Continue to banter to your heart's content."
"Well I'm done here. You ready to go, Roxas?" Naminé began walking toward their destination.
Roxas was hot on her heels. "I was going to ask if you wanted to wait here a little more since it was so fun, but you seem to have made up your mind."
Xion followed both of them. If she didn't understand the gravity of their relationship, she sure did now. Roxas followed her around like a puppy, and Xion couldn't help but feel disgusted by the way they seemed to talk to each other. It was a flirtatious teasing, and she had never seen Roxas act so interested in someone. Naminé seemed to command his eyes, and her laugh put a smile on his face as if it were a reflex.
In her analysis, Xion noticed a little too late that Roxas was about to make contact with a street sign. "Roxas! Watch—"
Too late. Roxas smacked his face into a speed limit sign. While Xion ran over to make sure he was all right, Naminé doubled over in laughter.
"Roxas, are you okay? You need to watch where you're going!" Xion got in front of him to check for damage. Thankfully, Roxas appeared to be fine.
He rubbed his nose before laughing with Naminé. "Yeah, I realize that now, thanks." He looked over at Naminé. "Thanks for the warning!"
"I was— I wasn't—" The blonde couldn't even get a sentence out.
Xion rolled her eyes. It wasn't even funny. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Xion. Man, that's embarrassing." He trudged on and walked alongside Naminé, trying to get her to stop laughing.
Xion silently fumed. Why was she laughing so much, and why wasn't Roxas bothered by it? He wouldn't have acted that way just a week ago. Since when did they get all buddy-buddy with each other?
There was no line inside the parlor, so all three were able to order at their leisure. Since Naminé seemed to be pondering her choice, Xion went first and ordered a sea-salt ice cream. Roxas ordered the same thing. As he paid for Xion's, he turned to Naminé. "Why don't you try sea-salt this time?"
Xion looked back, and for a moment she met Naminé's eyes. The blonde turned to Roxas. "If you insist… one sea-salt ice cream please!"
Xion didn't understand why a simple order pissed her off so much. Was Naminé ordering that ice cream to impress Roxas or something? She obviously never tried it before, so why now? Xion looked at the ice cream in her hand. Was Naminé trying to match her or something? There had to be a reason why Naminé chose to get sea-salt ice cream today of all times, and Xion couldn't help but think it had to do with her.
Roxas, on the other hand, beamed over the order. Anyone watching could have assumed that the simple ice cream order was as momentous as the delivery of his firstborn.
"Try it!" Roxas urged.
Xion wanted to slap him. No, Roxas. She was planning on holding it the whole time.
"It's… it actually tastes salty!" Naminé exclaimed.
Xion wanted to slap her too. No, Naminé. They named it sea-salt ice cream for shits and giggles. It was actually supposed to taste like chocolate.
While the other two marveled over the taste of their ice cream, Xion ate silently. She sent an icy glare Naminé's way, but the blonde was too busy laughing about something Roxas said that wasn't all that funny. Was that all it took? Xion thought Roxas was better than that. Hell, if she knew all she had to do was laugh at everything he said, they probably would've been dating by now. Well, maybe not. She'd have to incorporate a few of the hair flips Naminé seemed to do every couple seconds. What was that all about? Was there something crawling in her hair or something?
The two teens continued to exchange their awfully flirty words and jabs. If she wasn't eating something so good, Xion was sure she would've thrown up. Did they act like that when they pretended to be a couple? No wonder why the ice cream people didn't suspect them. They matched disgustingly well together.
That was probably what bothered Xion most. Roxas and Naminé had a lot of time to get to know each other, and since they had so much in common, they discovered how easy it was to get along. When she wanted them to be friends, Xion knew a close relationship— romantic or not— would follow. She just wished it wasn't so… gross.
"What are you doing after this?" Roxas asked. It took Xion a moment to realize he was talking to Naminé.
"I have nothing planned, so I guess I'll lock the house down and watch a movie," Naminé answered. "Why? Do you want to come over?"
"He can't." As soon as the words left her mouth, Xion wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and hide.
"He can't?" Naminé asked skeptically.
Xion inwardly groaned. Why did she say that? It was no use now. She had to give a reason. "He has to work tomorrow, and given the fact that he's gotten about five hours of sleep since you had him drive to Disney with you, I think it's safe to say that going over someone's house and driving late are both bad ideas." Xion exhaled. That was a good excuse.
Roxas appeared to agree. "Yeah, I did fall asleep on her after work. And I feel fine now, but I don't know how I'll feel later," he explained. "You're welcome to come over my place though so you're not alone."
Xion gaped. Did he just say that? Seriously? Was he listening to her at all when they were waiting for Naminé in the car?
"Really?" Naminé looked up as she considered the option. Her eyes met Xion's for a split second again. "Sure, I'll follow you home."
What the hell was that?
That had to be intentional. There was no way in the world that was an innocent decision. It had to be a decision designed to spite her. It was such a… a bitch move! Xion looked right at her the moment before she said anything. Naminé had to have known that Xion wouldn't like that. And Roxas! Did he ignore her in the car, or did he magically forget what they talked about before he got all mushy over Naminé's charming presence? Xion was sure she said she preferred that it be just them. It was supposed to be two best friends hanging out.
"Well if you're ready now, let's head out. You ready to go, Xion?"
Xion didn't bother hiding her glare when she looked at Roxas. "Yes, let's get to the car right now. Better to be quick, right?"
Xion essentially stomped her way to the car, this time making sure to walk in front of them. Not only did she miss all the crap going on behind her, but they were forced to keep up with her quickened walking pace. When they reached the car, Naminé told them she had to stop at home before coming over. Xion was glad that something finally went her way. With Naminé making a stop, it gave her time to talk to Roxas.
She didn't waste a second. "We need to talk," she said as she slammed the door behind her.
"About?" Roxas was still smiling from his conversation with Naminé. He looked over his shoulder and merged into the street when it was clear.
"What you did just now. Why did you tell Naminé she could come over?" Xion asked.
"Why do you sound so angry?" Roxas asked defensively. "Am I not allowed to invite people over?"
"You are, but I told you I preferred that it just be you and me." Xion crossed her arms. She could feel the anger getting into her voice.
"Oh. Sorry," Roxas apologized sheepishly. "I forgot."
Xion groaned. "It was like ten minutes before you offered her! You forgot what I said in that amount of time? Seriously?"
"I already said sorry! And I can't just uninvite her. That's mean!"
"That's mean?" Xion screeched. "Mean? Are you kidding me? She's not heading in the direction of her house or anything. No, it'd be wildly inconvenient for her if you called right now."
Roxas glared at her. He had no idea where this aggression was coming from, but her attitude immediately set him off. "All right, what's your problem? All of a sudden you're flipping out on me and you didn't even give me a reason why."
"I did give you a reason! You freaking invited her over when I said that I wanted to hang out with you!"
"And we're going to hang out!" Roxas said in exasperation. "Just because Naminé's coming over doesn't mean we're not going to!"
"Really? How many words have you spoken to me since we left the car for ice cream?"
"You're blaming me for that?" Roxas asked in surprise. "You were the one who was quiet the whole time. Since when was I responsible for making you talk?"
Xion rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's what I meant. I wasn't referring to the fact that you were totally entranced by her the entire time or anything."
Roxas's eyes widened. "So you're jealous? Is that what it's all about?"
"I'm not jealous!" Xion retorted hastily. "I just think it sucks that you won't even spend your free time with me, your best friend!"
"Well then what the hell do you call this, Xion? We were getting along just fine until you suddenly exploded!"
"Oh my freaking— ugh!" Xion covered her face in frustration. "You're always like this! You never admit that you're the wrong one and even when you apologize, you make no move to fix anything!"
"How is this my fault?"
"Because you still don't have a legitimate reason for ignoring what I asked!" Xion yelled. "Just try and justify that without sounding like an ass."
"I don't understand why having Naminé around is such a problem! Xion, you were the one that wanted me to be friends with her in the first place, but now you're getting mad at me for doing just that. How about you try explaining the sudden change of heart? You think you're the only one confused right now?" Roxas slammed on the brake, causing the car to jerk forward. They skidded to a halt at a yellow light.
"No! I have a right to be pissed!"
"Well at the beginning of this conversation, I'm pretty sure you said you weren't mad. Guess that makes you a liar!"
"And I guess this whole thing makes you a douche!" Xion yelled back. "I just wanted to hang out with you, Roxas! Not only do I not get to do that, but you're about to give that time to a girl you just spent twenty-seven hours with! Twenty-seven hours, Roxas! Are you serious? You moved an entire work day for her. Not only that, you woke up early in the morning and stayed up an entire night with her.
"I don't get it. I'm your best friend, but when have you ever worked me into your schedule? Never. Then Naminé comes along and suddenly you're allowed to change your work hours, you're going on these surprise Disney trips, and you're sleeping over her place. Not only that, but your time with her affects your time with your other friends."
Roxas continued to stare forward, his jaw set and his face carved in a defiant glare. He remained quiet.
Xion took that as her cue to continue. "How do you think I feel now? I was perfectly fine getting less than half a day with you after work. I didn't care. I just wanted to spend time with you. But then you fell asleep— and the only reason for that is because she kept you up talking— and then you went and invited her over now. What am I supposed to think?"
"Why is it such a big deal that Naminé comes over? You wanted me to be her friend, I'll still be around to hang out with you, and it's more fun with more people anyway," Roxas mumbled.
"More fun for you, Roxas! Am I not fun enough or something?"
"Xion, don't get started on that. I'm not inviting Naminé over because you're not fun. I'm inviting her because she's a friend— a friend you pushed me to make— and I think you should hang out with her too."
"Well I don't want to hang out with her right now! I wanted to hang out with you!" Xion said. Why wasn't he getting any of this? Moreover, why was he so insistent that he wasn't wrong?
"She's alone at home, Xion!"
"And she was perfectly fine the whole day, wasn't she?"
"Why are you so against hanging out with her? She's not even going to be here much longer! We'll have three and a half weeks or something to hang out!"
"Because you keep giving her all your attention!" Xion exclaimed. She knew she sounded whiny, but it was true. "I'm here too, Roxas! And I get it. She's a new friend and that's exciting. When you get new friends though, you're not supposed to ignore your old ones." Xion crossed her arms and bitterly added, "You probably like her."
The way she said it set something off. Roxas looked at Xion like she had thrown the worst possible insult his way. "What was that?"
Xion was a little intimidated from his glare, but she refused to back off. He was finally on the same level of anger, and she wanted him to feel every ounce of it. "You heard me. All it took was a little eyelash batting, a giggle at a joke here and there, and one of the million hair flips she did in the past half-hour. It only took a little feminine charm on her part."
"Do you hear yourself right now?" Roxas shook his head. "I can't believe you. I have never seen you act like this, Xion. Make fun of me all you want, I can take it. But do not— and I really mean this when I say it— do not talk about Naminé like that, especially 'cause you would and could never say it to her face."
His words pushed her to the verge of tears. "Of course you'd defend her. I knew you would. Why would you listen to your best friend? Why would you apologize for brushing me off at the chance of hanging out with her more? No, it's all about how mean I'm being to Naminé. You probably think she's innocent."
"I am not brushing you off!" Roxas yelled. "And so what if I like Naminé? Am I not allowed to like girls? Am I not allowed to talk to other girls just because you're my best friend? She's freaking leaving soon anyway! You can't wait that long? You don't own me, Xion. I'm allowed to hang out with whomever I want, when I want."
"You're an asshole, Roxas."
Xion couldn't hold it in anymore. Frustration, annoyance, and rage spilled from her body, and tears began to fall from her eyes. In a matter of seconds, she was a weeping mess. She tried her best to hold in her sobs, but her body shook uncontrollably.
Roxas swallowed hard. Much of his anger dissolved and was soon replaced by guilt. How did it happen? One second he was blind with rage, and the next he felt like he ruined someone. If there was one thing in the world Roxas wanted to avoid, it was making a girl cry. He never enjoyed it, not even when he and Naminé were fighting. The fact that he pushed his best friend to tears tore a hole in his heart. "Xion…"
She shook her head. "No. Leave me alone."
Roxas felt his heart drop in his chest.
The remainder of the car ride was filled with the sound of Xion's sobs. As soon as the car turned off in the driveway, Xion opened her door. She walked straight to her car, wiping her tears along the way.
"Xion, wait! I'm sorry!" Roxas followed after her. "Xion! Come on!"
Xion didn't spare him a second and parted with only a few words. "Have fun with her, Roxas." She got into her car and drove off, leaving Roxas standing helplessly in his driveway.
Once outside his neighborhood, Xion pulled into a parking lot and cried. She leaned on the steering wheel and furiously wiped her tears. She was angry, embarrassed, and sad at the same time. Was she wrong for feeling angry? Maybe it was her fault. If she never made Roxas befriend Naminé, none of this would have happened. She was dealing with the consequences or her own actions.
But given the circumstances, why didn't she feel wrong? She felt so justified— so in the right— about being angry. Was it wrong to want to spend some quality time together with her best friend? Naminé literally had more than a day with him. All Xion wanted was a few hours, and he couldn't afford that. When did her best friend become so distant? When was she replaced?
Just thinking about it set a heavy pain over her chest. She didn't want to think about it. Nothing hurt more than the thought of losing her best friend. This very scenario was the reason why she kept her feelings for him a secret. She didn't want to lose him.
Yet she felt like it happened anyway.
Her tears rolled down her face and dropped onto her lap, one by one. She took out her phone, highlighted a name, and stared at the number. Never before had she felt so low. She pressed the call button and waited.
"Hey, Xion! What's up?"
Xion sniffled into the phone. His voice had never been so comforting. "Riku… I think I screwed up."
Redeeming Endeavor: Huge thanks to those of you who favorited or subscribed to this story! I wonder if we can break 400 across the board.
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Chapter Data- Total Editing Time: 718 minutes. Word Count: 8,640. 20 Chapter Checkpoint: 13687 minutes (~228 hours). True Word Count: 161,887 prior to 7/21/12. 769 reviews, 288 favorites, 272 alerts, and 56,218 hits!
Harmless Author Fact #21: I used to play the online MMORPG Runescape in my early teen years! I logged on recently with a reader, so if you play and want to arrange a time to meet in-game, let's do it!
Thanks for reading guys. Take care, and I'll see you around!