Twilight Academy

Author's Note: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters except my own! Thank you for the reviews everyone! Enjoy and please review!

CHAPTER FIVE

Night came fast that night. Namine was in the bathroom, taking a shower. I was already in my tank top and shorts, getting ready for bed. I'd be sleeping on the couch that night, well probably for a couple of nights, depending on Namine's health and how the Nano's were reacting.

I was making my bed on the couch when I heard the bathroom door open and out came Namine, wearing a white night gown. It made her look even more like a china doll.

"Feel better now?" I asked, smiling. Namine nodded, toweling her white blond hair. "Yeah I do," she said, laughing in her musical voice. "I feel normal now." I raised a brow, grinning. "Define normal." We laughed at that, feeling like the old childhood friends we were, before her sickness started.

Namine yawned. "Someone is tired," I said, watching as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I am a bit," she answered. "Are you sure you don't mind me taking your bed?" She looked at me, her blue eyes staring at me. I shook my head. "Nah, no worries," I told her, placing my hands on her slim shoulders and steering her towards the bed room.

"You need sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for you," I said, opening the door for her. Namine sighed as she got into bed and pulled the blankets up. "Thank you, Rose," she said, looking at me. "You're a good friend."

I rubbed the back of my head, sheepishly. "Hey, I try," I said, grinning. "Good night Namine. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night," Namine said and snuggled into the blankets, closing her eyes. I smiled and closed the door, making my way to the couch. I plopped down on it, pulled my blanket over me and went to bed.

/

"Wake up Rose!" Hayner yelled in my ear.

Eyes snapping open, I jumped, literally, off the couch and landed on my stomach. "Ow!" I yelled loudly. Loud laughter erupted behind me. I shifted unto my side to see Hayner, Pence, Olette and Namine standing behind me, laughing their butts off.

"Good morning!" they said together, still laughing. I glared at them and mumbled, "Good morning," as I got up slowly, rubbing my sore gut and walking past them. I headed into my bedroom, got some clothes and went into the bedroom to take a shower. Once I was clean and wearing my clothes, I headed out to the dining room to see the table was set.

"Sleep good?" Namine asked from behind me. I turned to her, nodding. "Yeah I do," I said, feeling fully awake. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good," Namine said, smiling. "I bet your hungry but we gotta hurry. We only have an hour before the sign-ups for the contest start and I want to get there before there's a line." I nodded, biting my tongue hard enough to taste blood. I wanted to be happy for her and cheer her on but I was…miserable about the whole thing.

Hayner nudged me in the back, sensing my gloomy mood. "Hey, today is going to be fun," he said, smiling like the goofy kid he was. "Today we celebrate Namine's good health." His message to me, Calm down Rose, it's okay. She may decide not to go through it and if she does, be happy for her. Remember, she's your friend and she needs you to support her.

I sighed and put on a smile as I sat down at the table with Namine. The others soon followed and we started to eat breakfast. Breakfast that day was blueberry pancakes with sausages and orange juice.

"What have I missed in school?" Namine asked, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"Not much," Pence said with a mouth full of food. He stopped when he saw that we were all laughing. Pence blushed slightly and swallowed his food before continuing. "Just the usual life at school, nothing new. Amanda starting her usual fights with Rose."

Namine turned her gaze towards me. "Again?" she asked, sighing. "Rose, you got to stop getting into fights or else they'll kick you out of school."

I snorted, "Not my fault if they don't keep tabs on Amanda. They'll keep tabs on everyone else but not her?"

"Rose, I know your upset with her and you did break her nose but you gotta learn to keep your anger in check," Olette said. "Isn't that what Master Splinter had been teaching you?"

I nodded. "Yes, he has," I said, taking a sip of my juice. "But it takes time."

"But it was funny as hell though," Hayner laughed and stopped when he saw the glares he was getting from Namine and Olette. "Uh…maybe it wasn't all that funny…"

Pence and I shared a look, grinning. I finished my breakfast and stood up. "Well, if we want to make it to the signups, we better head out now. We still have school, remember?" I grinned.

The other's groaned as they finished their food, brought the dirty plates to the dishwasher and filled it. Namine put the soap in and closed the door, pushing the button to start it.

We grabbed our backpacks and headed out the door. "At least today is warm out," Olette said, sighing.

"Yesterday was warm, too," Pence pointed out. "We were just too busy being inside most of the time to enjoy it."

"So true," Hayner said. "The only times we're allowed out is for training or gym." He walked beside Olette and Pence.

I nodded in agreement. "I know and they're always telling us that we need to get our exercise." Pence smirked. "You don't need exercise Rose," he said as he poked me in the gut. "Your plenty skinny enough." I swatted his hand away, laughing. "Geez thanks," I said. We were in town than, walking towards the castle that was a short mile away from the Tram Common. The castle was in the distance but not matter how far you're away from it, it's still breathtaking. A wrought iron fence and gate surrounded the castle's walls. Tower's rose from the great walls, some wider than the others. The roofing was the traditional grey but it complimented the pure white stone walls. There were stained glass windows and regular glass windows in the walls. The stone gargoyles sat on their ledges as if they were guarding it. The guards stood at the entrance, watching people enter through.

Namine smiled as she stepped through the gates with us behind her. There was a line up a head and it was filled with women from the ages of fifteen to eighteen. Namine, if she won, would be the youngest wife in history. She is only fifteen even though she looked younger than that with her porcelain doll features. She turned toward us, smiling nervously, "I know this is the just the sign up but I'm so nervous."

"You'll be fine," Olette said smiling, cheering her up. "All you have to do is get in line and you'll be on your way." Pence and Hayner nodded in agreement. Hayner nudged me when Namine looked at me for reassurance. I smiled. "You'll be fine Nami," I reassured, using her childhood nickname. Namine beamed at us and skipped towards the line.

Hayner squeezed my hand, reassuring me and let it go. I turned to look at him, my smile not reaching my eyes.

"No this sweet," a voice said icily. Turning around, we saw a young girl with golden blond hair, fair skin and the deepest blue eyes ever. She was real pretty and we had a good guess that she was from the High Class. She wore a designer dress that bunched at her hip and flowed loosely at a curved around her legs. It was a light color blue that matched her sandals. Of course, Hayner and I knew who she was.

"Hello Princess Mable," I said coolly.

Princess Mable smirked cruelly at us. "If you think your little friend can make it, than she is in for disappointment," she laughed. "Now I have to go, I don't want to be late for my afternoon with Prince Seifer." She smiled and strutted away.

"You know her?" Pence asked his eyes wide in surprise as he watched the princess enter the castle.

"Unfortunately," Hayner muttered under his breath. Olette shook her head. "Wow, she's not nice at all," she said. I snorted a bit, "No she's not." Anger boiled inside of me. I knew for certain I wouldn't be able to hold back my anger if she had tried anything funny with Namine's chance at the contest. If only I had known how much trouble my anger would get me into.

To Be Continued…