::Try Again::

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"It feels so empty." Naminé shivered, not because she was cold, but because she felt like she was cold. The large apartment did not currently feel welcome to her, and the discomfort was making it harder to enjoy being back home.

But the empty room was only a small part of it.

It was different that nobody answered her. Not like she expected anyone too; being by herself. But subconsciously she was still expecting a reply.

The previously-furnished room around her only held her small couch now, right under the window. She trudged over to it in her slippers, encasing herself in its comforting cushions, and pulling a grey pillow onto her lap. She looked out of the window. The sky was not a normal Twilight Town sky. Usually when this happened Naminé would hasten to draw the different backdrop settled behind the buildings. But today she didn't feel like drawing, especially when the subject matter was so upsetting. Though Naminé often craved rainy weather like she did the day Cloud had come, right now all she wanted was something familiar. Something Twilight Town.

And right now Twilight Town was not pulling through for her.

A large black cloud rolled right over where she was looking, and promptly let loose all the rain it had that was stored inside. This lasted for several minutes. Naminé sighed as she watched the cloud climb up against the dim grey sky and disappear out of sight, just in time for another one to swoop in.

She stood, feeling cold in just her thin long sleeved shirt and jeans. With added force she slammed the window shut and sat back down on the couch, looking about the almost barren room.

Her eyes caught the place in the corner where, resulting in a large round stain on the carpet, Kairi had spilled Naminé's favorite perfume; just because it happened to be sitting there and she knew it would make Naminé mad. Kairi frequently found ways to make Naminé mad, sometimes just for fun. Naminé rarely lost her temper completely, which is why Kairi had sometimes done ridiculous things to ensure Naminé would almost always be as upset as she was.

Her eyes drifted over the next window a ways beside her. She recalled that rare December day where a very small amount of snow had formed outside. Kairi was marveling the town from the window, having never seen such a thing at Destiny Islands. Naminé had caught a glimpse of icicles that morning, and had even warned Kairi many times she was standing there. However, the both of them still spent the night in the hospital with Kairi in stitches and a rather ridiculous medical bill.

Naminé smiled as she remembered the time when Kairi had slammed the front door much too hard, leaving a golf-ball sized dent in the wood frame. Neither of them had ever bothered to get it fixed, so the chipped and peeling figure was still there. Naminé looked at it whenever she left the house these days.

And then something unpleasant came over Naminé. She had been feeling it for the whole week since she had been back, but it was only a small pinch on her heart. As she actually took the time to think about Kairi, though, the pinch grew in size and persistence. Now as she put her hand on her chest she felt her scar hurting, though not enough to distract her from the pain she was feeling inside. Tears started rolling down her face as fast as she could hastily brush them away.

Kairi was gone.

Naminé stood, slumping up to the mantle half-heartedly. She grabbed Kairi's parting present to her from the prior day and turned it over thoughtfully in her palm. To be honest, just the concept of Kairi giving Naminé a gift was almost unimaginable. However, it was mutually deemed appropriate considering the circumstances, and Naminé really didn't mind. In fact, it had all the sudden become one of the most treasured items Naminé owned. She loved to hold it often. It made her forget other things on her mind like the apartment, the shopping the undoubtedly would have to do in the near future, and gradually approaching college days. Ughh. She wish she hadn't reminded herself. School started next week, and this time she would be going alone.

Suddenly the door opened behind her. She turned around slowly, looking up from her hands.

Roxas dropped a large book bag near the place where the old oak table used to be. It fell to the floor with a reverberating thud, filling the empty air throughout the room and making Naminé jump.

"I'm almost positive that can be fixed." Roxas knelt on the ground, scrutinizing the large scratch now etched into the pergo.

"Don't worry about it." Naminé sniffed.

Roxas stood, shoving his bag towards the wall. "What's wrong?" he frowned.

"Um." Naminé shoved her fingertips in the corners of her eyes where tears were beginning to well up. "Nothing."

He didn't buy this for a second. "Hey." he put his arm around her shoulder and steered her towards her couch.

"No. I'm fine." she insisted, and tried unsuccessfully to pull from his grasp.

He was much stronger than she was, which she should have remembered, but never did. He grabbed her by both wrists and dragged her back. "Naminé."

She clenched her hand tighter until her knuckles turned opaque. "Roxas, I'm fine." she yelled.

"Then why are you crying?" he raised his blue eyes, flopping the blonde spikes.

"Well." Naminé inhaled. "You're just so ridiculously annoying that it makes me... really emotional sometimes."

"Mmhm." Roxas nodded and sat down beside her. She put her legs on the armrest, leaning on him.

"And," she sighed. "It's terribly bleak outside."

Roxas looked confused. "No, it isn't." he frowned.

And there was that ridiculous annoyingness.

She looked outside to see that he was, undoubtedly, correct. The sky had cleared up incredibly fast sometime after she'd last looked. Now the underlying hue was not a murky, soiled grey but a perfectly serene light blue, speckled with a smattering of tiny white clouds. It appeared as if it was an ocean, washing over the town with a cleansing blue mist.

"But it was only just dark a minute ago..." she shook her head.

Roxas laid his feet on Naminé's cushion. "That was before I arrived." he smirked cockily.

She pushed his feet off of the fabric. But she didn't have anything to fire back at him this time. The sky really had changed when Roxas had come. Or at least, it was just another terribly irritating coincidence.

"What's in your hands?" Roxas looked down curiously.

She snapped her head back quickly and pulled her hands away. "Nothing."

He frowned. "Naminé..."

"It's not chocolate, I swear!" she insisted, reminiscing on Kairi's tiny, purple-wrapped obsessions.

He prized her small hands open with ease, to her dismay. He peered inside and smiled curiously, picking it up. "Where did you get this?" he asked.

"Kairi." at the name Naminé's eyes were moist once again. She blinked it away and took back her necklace. The present had been incredibly important to Naminé. Just the simple chain and the dainty silver bead had been enough for Naminé to distract herself from Kairi's absence, even if it was only for a moment.

"Actually I think I've seen her wear this." Roxas said.

Naminé nodded. "She never took it off."

Roxas brushed his hand underneath Naminé's eye, wiping away a tear. She nodded her thanks but his touch only made her more upset. She started crying softly.

"Naminé." Roxas hugged her and let her sob into his chest. "It'll be fine without Kairi." he tried to sound upbeat. "No more... no more death threats! And none of those parties! Though I did really like those..." he added under his breath. "And best of all, you have this place all to yourself."

This made her cry even more, completely soaking the front of his plaid shirt.

He frowned, remembering. "Oh. Sorry, Naminé. I know you hate being alone."

Saying the words made her imagine the worst. That dreaded night where her nightterrors had surfaced multiplied many times: it would be unbearable. Being by herself was her one and only true fear (aside from planes, of course).

She pulled back. "Yeah, well." she covered her face with her hands, and was silently grateful she didn't wear makeup like Kairi. She recalled that whenever Kairi cried it looked like she was dripping black tears.

"Hey." Roxas perked up, pulling her to face him. "How about... I..." he scratched his head. "Stay... with you?"

She looked up. "Stay here? In the apartment?"

"Or not." he hastened to add. "Doesn't matter. I was just-"

"No. I think that's perfect." she smiled.

"Oh. Wait, really? Wow. Okay, great." he smiled. "And I can drive you to school and stuff, since Kairi has the car."

At this mention of her cousin Naminé let it wash over her without a single tear. This time she was thinking about other things. "Wait, what do you mean?" she suddenly asked.

"Kairi took the car, dummy." he said. "Did you notice it's not out front anymore?"

Well, no. She hadn't.

"College." she clarified. "I thought you were going to Radiant Garden."

"I got accepted to Twilight Academy. Barely, though. Needless to say I will need help on my art projects." he sighed.

Naminé's mouth broadened into a smile unlike she had ever experienced. She felt the hole in her heart from many weeks before finally close, even without Kairi being there. She was reminded of this when she glanced out towards the sky.

"However." Roxas suddenly jumped up, sending Naminé head first into a pile of pillows. "This wall just won't do." he motioned to the surface of the wall facing east from her window couch. It was the largest and the most blank, with not a single piece of furniture resting on it.

"Well." Naminé got up too and stood next to him. "What color do you suppose we should paint it?"

He pulled up his diesel jeans, the sunlight streaming on his excited face. "Definitely purple."

"And blue." she added.

"Azure." he said thoughtfully.

She smiled. "Emerald."

"Yellow."

"And white." she nodded. "It needs a little less color." she looked at him. "Like you."

He smiled back at her, making her feel warm. She was reminded of how much she truly had missed him. After all, she remembered, she didn't love spiky blonde haired boys. She loved Roxas.

"And you need a little more." he bent down and put his hands around the back of her neck, kissing her softly. He broke away and they both stood there, staring outside at her most favorite place in the world. She smiled, knowing that Kairi was in hers.

At this Naminé sighed, finally forgetting Kairi and Sora. Cloud, Tifa, Selphie, Aerith, Leon, and everybody else. Forgetting that her house was empty or that the only presentable piece of furniture Roxas had in his house was possibly a bedside lamp. Forgetting about everything going away. About helping others while forgetting about herself. Forgetting everything but what she saw right now. What she saw when she took the time to look at the world.

She was glad she had tried again.

And this time, she wasn't going to let it slip away.


I have little excuse for not uploading. Except that, without over-detailing it, my Dad had to have emergency surgery. Needless to say I've barely been on the computer let alone on here. I'm so sorry guys :(

Anyway thanks so much everyone! Seriously, each and every one who reviewed has given me inspiration and initiative to keep going :) I hope to become a better writer so stay tuned and hopefully I will have another story sometime soon after I finish/edit ANAN. Love you guys and really hope you like the chapter!

~Lara