Chapter FOUR

Possible ideas for Naminé's birthday gift:

- A new sketchpad - feels like a cop out at this point
- A horse stuffed animal
- I'd get something for her DSLR but I don't speak camera
- Maybe a nice frame?

Shit what's Naminé's favorite color?
What cake does Naminé like?

Conclusion: I'm such a bad friend :(

The scoreboard numbers flip to display 10-25. Our side of the bleachers groans disappointedly, but the raucous cheers from the other half easily drowns us out. I glance at my side, where Naminé is dutifully aiming her camera at our team, the Tremblay High Bears. Honestly, our loss doesn't come as much of a surprise. Eld Academy's known for their athletics program, probably among the best of all the Destiny Island schools. Plus, our girl's volleyball team sucks.

Hey, just keeping it real here.

"How'd you end up drawing, like, the shortest stick?" I ask, jumping to my feet as Naminé grabs her equipment. "You could've at least taken photos for the boys. There's a sophomore who spikes like he wants to make a hole in the ground." Watching my bestie struggle with twice the usual amount of belongings, I grab her tripod for her.

"Oh, thanks," she mumbles, adjusting her camera's strap around her neck. "The yearbook editor lumped different seasonal sports together, so if I wanted boy's soccer, I had to take girl's volleyball too."

"Ooh, boy's soccer, huh? Do you wanna see anyone in particular?"

To Naminé's credit (and probably experience from years of enduring my teasing), she blushes but composes a smooth reply. "Roxas and Ven are on the team."

"Roxas and Ven, huh?"

Naminé grins sheepishly. "My friends, Kairi. Like you."

"Hey, I didn't say anything."

"But you did."

I swat her on the arm playfully. "Quit being such a sass and gimme back my best friend!" Naminé laughs, clutching her camera protectively as we file out of the gym and head towards the parking lot.

The sun has begun its dip towards the horizon, but most of its brilliance is shrouded by a big fat cloud. Eld Academy's located on the eastern part of Destiny Island, a good twenty-minute drive away from our school. On the occasional times I've accompanied Naminé to take yearbook photos for varsity games, we usually take the bus back with the team. But sometimes, like today, plans go awry.

"Pizza on me today!" the girl's volleyball coach hollers, instantly arousing cheers from the entire team. I think the girls joined the sport more for the camaraderie. Exercise and the (very) occasional win are just bonuses. Oh, and the coach is a really nice person.

"Naminé, and...Kairi right? You two should come too! It's just a few blocks from here."

See? She offered food! What a nice person.

I'm usually the last person to refuse food, but unfortunately, the setting sun's given me other ideas. "Sorry, ma'am. Naminé and I are heading out."

"Oh, okay. Make sure you get home safe. Thanks again for the pictures, Naminé! Could you send me today's photos as well?"

"Of course!" Naminé smiles. "Have a good dinner."

The team boards the bus, headed towards the nearby pizza parlor. Naminé glances at me curiously. "Are we headed to the train station?"

"Let's take a detour," I suggest, checking my phone's map for the correct location. "Yeah, should be a ten-minute walk. There's a great view nearby."

"Oh, for the sunset?" As usual, my perceptive bestie catches on real quick. "That's a good idea, Kairi."

Her offhand compliment makes me smile. "Let's go before the sun actually sets."

We walk in relative silence, balancing our bags while pacing our breaths. I'd forgotten about Naminé's equipment, so climbing the hill is quite exhausting. But reaching the top makes everything worth it. East of Destiny Island is quite mountainous, and with our higher elevation at the top of this hill, we can see quite far. Far enough.

"Oh my god," Naminé breathes at the gorgeous view. "Can you give me my tripod?"

I hand the equipment over and let Naminé do her thing, fiddling with the settings on her camera. Meanwhile, I bask in the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the twilight ambience, and a warm feeling of satisfaction. It's a hard feeling to come by these days. I feel like most of the times, I'm either too busy trying to get something done or regretting doing something I shouldn't have. But now, for just a moment, I can enjoy the present.

Huh. Who would've known sunsets make me philosophical?

"Turn around, Kairi," Naminé whispers, her soft voice zipping through the air. I twirl around to realize her camera's aimed at me.

"Did you just take my picture?" I exclaim. Hastily I rearrange my bangs and smile again. "At least give me a warning! Okay, I'm ready."

Naminé makes a combination of an exasperated sigh and amused snort. "I wanted a candid. But anyways...3, 2, 1! Aww, that's cute."

"C'mon, let's take one together!" I exclaim, beckoning for her. Naminé nods, setting up the timer on her camera and squealing as she dashes over. For some reason, timed photos always make her excited-nervous. Me too, for that matter.

"How many seconds?" I ask as my arms wrap around a laughing Naminé. "Hey! Stop laughing and look at the camera!"

"Oh, I didn't check if we're blocking the sunset!" Naminé realizes.

I latch onto her before she can leave. "It's okay. Just stand here!" I position her on my side, tilting my head towards her. We're ready for the picture when a gust of wind blows by, messing up my hair. "Great," I groan, quickly trying to comb through the mess.

"Your bangs," Naminé says, pointing at her own.

I brush aside a stray strand. "Thanks." I look at Naminé, whose hair is somehow still perfect despite the wind. How? Oh, except…

My laugh makes Naminé blush self-consciously. Which isn't my intention. "I'm sorry, I just - there's a leaf in your hair!"

"Huh?"

"Right there!" I point at it, but Naminé's hand completely misses the mark. "Here, don't move." I carefully pick it out, holding it in front of her to show her. "Actually, it looked quite nice. You had a woods nymph vibe going on. Maybe I should put it back."

"No!"

I laugh, dropping the leaf to the side.

Naminé pauses, turning towards the camera. "I think...we missed the timer."

"Oh shit, I thought we still had time!"

"I set it on 10 seconds this time…" Naminé heads back to the camera. "Yeah, we missed it. Aww, but this is cute! Look at this!"

I follow after her and check out our picture. Oh dear goodness. "Why's my right eye look bigger than my left? And is that a double chin?"

"Kairi! You're laughing, that's all. You're actually really good at distracting people for candids."

I frown. "Yeah, getting other people into the mood for candids. I always look weird in my candids."

"Kairi."

"Look at you! Smiling with the sun shining from behind like you're an angel or something."

Naminé laughs, swatting me playfully. "Okay, I'll choose a longer timer. Hopefully there's no wind this time."

Naminé quickly prepares the camera's settings. "No laughing!" I tell her sternly. With a wide silly smile on her face, she nods. We have ample time to smile at the camera in silence and get a good picture. Naminé checks on it and with her thumbs-up, we're good this time.

Naminé wants to take some more photos, so I put my stuff down and get comfortable on a nearby rock. Watching the sunset is nice. Somehow, it's just mind-consuming enough that I don't think of useless thoughts.

Naminé eventually comes to take a seat next to me. "How'd you find this place?" she asks.

"My mom. She loves exploring east Destiny Island cause there's always nice unknown spots like this."

"Yeah, it's really nice here." Naminé pauses, inhaling deeply. "By the way, thanks for coming with me today. I know you're not interested in volleyball."

I shrug. "Had nothing better to do anyways. And I didn't want to start studying for the math test tomorrow."

"Oh god, I totally forgot we have a math test tomorrow."

I snort. "We're such bad students."

"We are," Naminé echoes.

Our small talk dies down momentarily, but it's comfortable silence as we bask in the dying sun's rays.

A thought occurs to me. "Are you going to Fall Formal?"

"Maybe. Are you?"

"...no, I don't think so. I don't have anyone to go with."

"You can go by yourself!" Naminé insists.

"That's true...yeah, I don't know why I said that. I mean...I think I don't really wanna go to couple-y events like that. Not yet."

"Oh…" Naminé's voice dies down. "I guess...it hasn't been that long."

I frown. "Yeah. Five months. Shouldn't that be long enough time to get over someone? I mean, I am over him. Mostly." I sigh wearily.

"There's no such thing as a standard for this sort of thing," Naminé consoles gently. "Just go at your own pace. If you don't wanna go to Fall Formal, then don't. We can do something else."

"But you should go! What if someone asks you?"

Naminé makes a face and laughs. "Who's gonna ask me?"

I stare at my best friend, wondering if she's fishing or really that clueless. "Uh, Roxas? Ventus? Half the boys in our grade?"

"Roxas and Ven are friends, Kairi," Naminé stresses for the nth time. I make a face so she knows I'm not convinced but I don't say anything to the contrary. "And I'm not that close to anyone else in our grade."

"Maybe a senior then," I muse.

"I appreciate your support for my lackluster love life," Naminé comments, "but what I wanted to say was I'm here for you." Quite predictably at this point, a healthy blush punctuates her words.

My heart warms a little. "Aww, you're so cute Naminé." She squeaks when I envelop her in a hug. "But really, if someone asks, please go to Fall Formal with him."

"What about 'sisters before misters'?"

"Why not both?"

Naminé laughs. "You're right, I guess. Then you have to come with me, just to make sure I don't humiliate myself."

"Please, Naminé, if anything, you're gonna have to chaperone me." I barely stifle a chuckle. "Remember that time we chaperoned for Mrs. Avila's class - "

"...and that boy peed in his pants?" Naminé finishes my sentence and we burst into giggles. "I had no idea what to do!"

"Me neither! I felt so bad for him, all the kids were laughing!"

"Oh my gosh, wait, do you remember that kid with the glasses and overalls?"

"The one you played favorites with?"

Naminé rolls her eyes. "Anyways, I was going through my stuff recently and I found the card they all signed at the end of summer camp. I reread it, and he wrote he'd come find me again next summer!"

"Naminé!" I shove her playfully. "You stood him up! You spent that summer in Radiant Garden!"

"I know, I felt really bad for a minute!" Naminé exclaims, chuckling. "But he probably didn't even remember he wrote that."

"Or maybe you broke his heart."

"Kairi!"

"Just like you broke Axel's."

"Kairi!"

I laugh aloud, cause Naminé's pouting and it's so fun to tease her.

"Remember," Naminé begins, and I smile cause I like this nostalgia game we're playing, "when you thought Axel was in a gang?"

I slam my hands on the ground. "He is!" I pause. "Was? I don't know if he still is, but he most definitely was!"

"Kairi! Just cause they chose that name - "

"I mean, who calls themselves an Organization and assigns numbers to all their members?"

" - just a low-key club!" Naminé exclaims. "I've actually gone once."

"What?" When did my bestie become such a badass? "When? How come I don't know?"

Naminé pauses for a moment. "I think it was freshman year? Axel dragged Roxas and I didn't want him going alone. It was pretty chill. They just played cards and some pool." I'm still staring at Naminé, processing the fact that she went to a club. Before me.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Um, it just didn't come up…?"

"My god, Naminé. Next thing I know, you'll be engaged when I didn't even know you had a boyfriend."

"Kairi." Naminé frowns. "Of course I'd let you know."

"Good! I expect many updates on your life."

"Okay. By the way, can we have Japanese for dinner?"

"Update duly noted, duly appreciated. Hey, I remember you used to not like Japanese food?"

Naminé laughs. "Oh, I almost forgot. Yeah, when I first moved over. I wasn't big on seafood but it's everywhere on Destiny Island, so…"

"I remember in middle school, when they passed out lunchboxes at the field trip and you told the teacher you didn't eat fish."

"Oh my gosh, I was such a brat!" Naminé laughs. "I guess I was a picky kid."

"Still are, you mean."

"Not everyone eats everything and anything like you, Kairi."

"Hey! I'm just saying, that's my first impression of you. I think that was...6th grade? Were we friends then?"

"No, I think we got close when I found out you watched - "

"Oh damn, what's that show called again?"

"You don't watch it anymore?" Naminé exclaims. "Not much of a spoiler, but Kara and Robert get married in season 6."

"Fortress!" I remember. "Shit, finally? I think I stopped in the middle of season 2. I was getting annoyed with the 'will they or won't they,' and the crimes were getting a little repetitive."

"True. I just wanted to see Kara and Robert get together." Naminé laughs. "I remember we'd watch the episode when it came out Thursday night and spend the entire Friday English class talking about it."

"Oh my god, yeah! Mrs. Gates hated us!"

"Well, she gave me an A."

"What? That old - well, she was middle-aged I guess. She gave me a B+!"

"English class was so easy in middle school," Naminé reminisces. "I hate Honors English. We have timed essays once a month."

"At least you got in," I grumble.

"I feel like it was completely arbitrary. Like, whether or not the teacher liked what you wrote. You're definitely a better student than some of the people in my class."

Naminé's really good at boosting my self-esteem like that. "English class in general is a pain," I complain. "I just don't see the symbolism and all that shit. And what's the point anyways? I can't wait until college."

"Then it's no more math classes for me!" Naminé cheers.

"Screw chemistry!"

"Goodbye physics! But...what are you gonna study?" Naminé asks.

That's a good question. All I know is what I don't want to study. "I don't know. Maybe biology. You?"

"Psych. I can't wait to take AP Psych next year," Naminé gushes. "You're still taking it, right?"

"Yeah, of course! Otherwise I have to take econ...and I just died a little inside thinking about it. But god, we'll be seniors then."

"Our last year of high school."

"Oh my god." I pause for a moment, a deluge of feelings washing over me. "I can't think that far ahead yet."

"If you think about it...there's still a year. A lot can happen in a year," Naminé points out.

"Yeah, that's true…"

Somehow, that feels like the right note to end on. The sun has set already, and the sky's rapidly growing dark. I jump to my feet. "We should get going."

"What time is it?" Naminé asks while checking her phone. She then groans.

"What? Do you have something to do?" I ask worriedly, wondering if I made Naminé miss her dinner plans.

"No, it's just…" She shows me her phone. "Five missed calls from my dad."

"Oh...well, he's probably worried cause it's getting dark soon."

"It's so annoying, he's always calling me to ask where I am." She pauses, and I wait for what else she has to say but she just stuffs her phone into her pocket without calling him back. "Anyways, let's go."

Naminé can get quite moody, so I decide to drop the subject. We descend the hill in silence and head towards the train station to take one back to central Destiny Island. The ride back offers an alternative view of the sunset that I admire and Naminé tries snapping photos of.

"Stupid window," she curses, tapping her fingers on the glass.

I chuckle. "Sorry this isn't a perfect world."

Naminé frowns. "I just want to take a photo. Is that too much to ask for?"

Such melodrama. Speaking of which, "Do you know when they'll let me know if I got in drama club?" I ask.

"Um, should be some time this week, latest next Monday. I'm not sure exactly, cause the officers are making the decision."

"Ugh, okay."

"Don't be nervous! I'm sure you got in," Naminé encourages cheerfully.

"I was pretty confident, but all this waiting's getting me anxious," I admit.

"We're really not exclusive at all," Naminé says. "In fact, we really need people cause a lot of seniors graduated from the club. I think they just like pretending they have a lot of power in their hands."

I laugh. "Yuna seems pretty nice though," I comment, recalling the drama club president.

"Oh yeah, they're all really nice people," Naminé hastily says. "I didn't mean to say anything bad about them…"

"Don't worry, I know. You've never said anything bad about anyone." I think carefully, trying to prove myself wrong. "Oh, except about me."

"What? When did I say something bad about you?"

"You called me overdramatic the other day!" I wail.

"What?"

"Remember? When you were checking out books at the library and we were waiting in line…"

"Oh. Kairi, I was just keeping it real."

Wha - did she - "You just...burned me," I gape.

Naminé smiles prettily. Which reminds me of that saying: that roses have thorns. "Did I? Like I said, just keeping it real."

My goodness. I'm too surprised to do much more than choke out a laugh. "Did you - I - I'm rubbing off of you." I wrap my arms around her, petting her hair. "I'm so proud."

"Kairi!"

"I knew you've always had it in you."

"Kairi."

I've already made it a mission in life to embarrass Naminé as much as I can, so I ignore her squeaks of protest. Hey, someone's gotta ruffle her feathers once in awhile to remind us all she's human just like us.

"You're finally embracing your inner sass queen."

"Kairi!"

I'm an incoherent laughing mess by now, but Naminé looks as composed as ever. She calmly crosses a leg over the other, using her hands to smooth out the wrinkles of her skirt. I just realize how tasteful her outfit is, especially compared to my t-shirt and jeans combo. Also, her on point makeup. And on point brows. On point life, even.

Yeah, my best friend's a little too perfect sometimes.

A/N: Idk about this chapter. I was rereading what I wrote and realized I've been relying too much on exposition to depict Kairi's relationships. Meaning I just sorta dropped the fact that Naminé was Kairi's bestie and expected you, the reader, to take it at face value. Hopefully with this chapter, you can kinda see how these two became and are friends. And #femalefriendship, so why not?

Plus, this chapter exists to help my story pass the Bechdel test. Never realized how hard it was till I started writing and all Kairi & Naminé talked about were boys.

Tell me what you think about Naminé! I wanted her to be more than just a shy wallflower (also cause that's a little boring to write about), but let me know if you think she's too OOC.

This chapter's a little dialogue-heavy and low on action, so I'll try to switch things up next chapter!