I had forgotten about Sora.

I set up my first date ever—and forgot that my little brother was staying over. How could I be so stupid?

There he was, grinning and swinging a suitcase as I stepped out of the bathroom. My hair was wet and glued to my forehead and I was wearing one of my favorite outfits. What a mistake.

"Your favorite vest!" Sora half screamed. "Where are you going?!"

My apparel included jeans, a white t-shirt and a black vest, which was clearly tipping Sora off to my intentions for the evening. He was a sweet kid, and was the only person I have ever really been close to. I loved him a lot (don't tell him), finding it hard to stay mad at him for more than five minutes. That doesn't mean he can't annoy me; Sora acted like a little kid most of the time, running around and being too excited. He had mature moments, sure, and his knack for calming people down and listening without judging had come in handy several times. But I sure as hell didn't want to see him right now.

And yes, this was the vest I wore to almost every important event ever.

My brother was clinging to me, demanding answers.

"Get off—get—"

I shoved him aside. "So?! Are you going to a PARTY? A DATE?" His voice lowered. "Church?"

I laughed. "Why did you say that like it was a curse word?"

"Cause you don't like church!" he said happily.

"I'll cancel, hold on." I strode over to my bed where my phone was laying.

"Cancel? No! Go to your thing!" Sora insisted. "I can play Xbox!"

"Don't you do that enough at home?" I asked flatly.

"But Axel has different games!" He was already over there, flipping through Axel's collections.

"You shouldn't touch his stuff."

Sora pouted. "Where are you going?"

"Uhh, a frozen yogurt place."

"Can I go?" he gasped.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Can I go?" Axel appeared, grinning.

"HI AXEL!" Sora yelled.

"Hey kid."

"I'm seventeen."

"Are you?" Axel laughed.

"Can you watch him?" I cut in, gesturing towards my brother.

"I'm SEVENTEEN!" Sora exclaimed.

"I know, I know, but I forgot to do your paperwork and I don't wanna get in trouble." I was supposed to fill out papers saying I would have an overnight visitor—and anyhow he was supposed to be escorted while on campus.

"Where are you going and for how long?" Axel asked. "I had plans."

Plans. I can imagine what his plans were. "Frozen yogurt, less than two hours. Ok?"

"Hmm…" Axel crossed his arms over his chest as if heavily weighing the pros and cons. "Are you gonna bring us some frozen yogurt?"

Sora's expectant eyes landed straight on me. These two were a force to be reckoned with. "Sure whatever."

"I WANT STRAWBERRY!"

"Sora, no need to yell."

"Sorry," he bowed his head.

"Chocolate," Axel flashed me a smile, ruffling Sora's hair with one hand. "He'll be nice and safe while you're gone."

I grabbed my stuff, staring at them for a few seconds wondering whether I should believe that statement or not. "No alcohol," I hissed quietly. Axel danced closer to me, nodding his head, while Sora sat on my bed, swinging his feet around.

"And," I added, "if anything happens to him, I'll kill you."

I expected Axel to look scared, but he took it in stride, seeming to understand. Strange.

"Sora," he called. "Wanna play with me?"

The Xbox was already on. Shesh. I was stepping out the door when I heard Sora's panicked voice, "Wait, I wanna know who Roxas is—"

I was already gone.

Naminé was waiting at our decided meeting place, right in front of the main dining hall. "Hey," I called out.

She gave a small wave. Today she was sporting a white tank top, jean jacket and straight skirt. "Hi Roxas," she greeted.

We walked the few blocks to the frozen yogurt place; the inside was painted in bright, pastel colors, and the whole place was self serve, meaning you'd pay depending on how much your food weighed. We both got vanilla, something that made Naminé smile. I decided to add Oreos to mine, watching the crumbs pile on while she got some graham crackers. A bored girl stood at the checkout, wearing a white apron and a blank look.

I insisted on paying, and we sat in a plush booth with our desserts.

"Are you a freshman?" I asked, slipping the plastic spoon into a hunk of ice cream.

"Yeah, you?"

"Mmhmm, wow this is really good."

"It is."

After a long paused, I asked, "Do you live around here?"

"I live on campus, and my family is about fifty minutes away."

"Oh cool. So I've been meaning to ask why you like art so much."

Naminé looked up at me, her eyes shining as if she had been asleep until now. "Have you ever seen something so full ofmeaning? It takes you to a memory and you have no idea why?"

"Uhh..well I guess music does that to me," I shrugged. "I am addicted to music."

She nodded. "I love drawing. To create something!"

"I wish I was that passionate about something," I laughed.

"I..uhh.." she blushed.

"Yes?"

"Ok to be honest, I saw you the first day of class and I really wanna draw you," she said in an embarrassed rush. "And I, uhh, drew a few sketches but it would be better if you were right in front of me."

Stalker? Did I pick the one creepy girl?

I said, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, sorry, I…I really like drawing."

"I noticed."

"So would that be ok?" she squeaked.

"What did you wanna draw exactly?" I managed, my head full of white robes…

"Your face."

"Oh, ok sure."

Before I could stop her, a notebook was out and her pencil was dancing across the page as she studied me.

I frantically wiped my mouth off and patted my hair down. At least I was done with my food…

I awkwardly sat still for a few minutes, feeling slightly mortified as the bored employee gave us a weird look. Naminé was in her own world and I had nothing to do besides listen to the quiet pop music playing overhead.

Just as I was about to ask if she would be finished soon, the notebook was gone. "Thank you so much!" she gushed.

"You're welcome," I said, phased. "Do I get to see it?"

She was suddenly defense. "Maybe when it's done."

"Alright."

She might be crazy.

"Sorry," she added, "I just get so excited and…"

"It's alright. Maybe I'll write a song for you."

"Oh..thanks," she smiled. "You wanna do this again sometime?"

Will you show up at my door if I say no? "Sure."

"Ok!" Naminé grabbed our trash. I was still trying to figure out if she was nice and just quirky, or if she was actually a weirdo stalker. I guess I would find out after more dates?

Almost out the door, I had to rush back inside and grab the two ice creams for Axel and Sora.

"Who are those for?" Naminé asked as we walked back to our rooms.

"My roommate and brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Yep, a year younger than me."

"You're so lucky. I always wanted siblings."

"You can have mine."

We laughed and parted ways. Later she would send me a text asking if I had had a good time and I would reply with "yeah." It was at least 90% true.

I was horrified when I arrived at my room.

The horror quickly turned to white hot anger and I swore up and down that I would find a way to get Axel kicked out of school. Or at least make him flunk statistics (for the third time, I may add). This is why sharing a room was an idiotic idea.

What I found was this: Axel smoking a cigarette on his bed, Demyx and Sora camped out in front of the TV, playing some violent shooter game.

I had the pleasure of meeting Demyx a few days prior to this specific incident. He was tall, muscular, and loved his guitar more than he loved people. I learned that within the first five minutes after meeting him; pretty sure he had a name for it and everything. He was also strong (learned that within the first ten minutes), a bad influence, a jokester, and an avid swimmer.

Just imagine what Sora had learned in the past hour.

"Get out," I ordered, shaking from my anger.

"Hey Roxas," Axel said cheerfully.

"You're not allowed to smoke in here!" I screeched.

He looked down at his cigarette, as if he had forgotten about it, and promptly took a long drag, then crushed it in a tissue.

"Don't start a fire!" I added.

"Chill, Roxas. I forget the rules. I was supposed to be living in an apartment, remember?"

"How do you forget that?" My voice was rising in pitch and volume.

Axel shrugged. "Not my fault Demyx was too late to snag an apartment for us."

"That's not the issue!" I stormed in. "Why is he here?"

"Hi Roxas!" Sora finally beamed at me, before turning back to his game.

"It smells like alcohol!"

"Does it?" Axel asked, bored. His eyes finally glanced at me, and I saw him stiffen. "Oh shit, you're totally pissed aren't you?"

"You think!" I yanked the controller from Demyx, who immediately slurred, "What was that for?" His breath hit me like a brick wall. God that was strong.

Sora gave a whimper. "Roxas, we were playing co-op!"

"And now you're not."

Demyx staggered to his feet. "What's wrong, Roxas?" He made a grab for me but fell over instead, laughing.

"Why are you drunk?" My voice was too shrill.

"It's Friday!"

Axel stood up. "Demyx, maybe you should go back to your room?"

"But we were having fun!" Sora suddenly cut in, upset.

"Sora, don't you see that—"

Axel shoved Demyx between me and my brother, forcing him out of the room, and they disappeared. I sighed, collapsing on my bed. I should spray some air freshener.

Sora plopped down next to me. "Now I have no one to play with," he said sadly.

I gave him a look. "Don't you realize he was drunk?"

"He's old enough, isn't he?"

"This is a non drinking campus."

Sora squinted. "Well he wasn't doing anything bad."

"Drinking is bad for you."

"I know!"

"Good."

We fell silent for a little bit. The smell of smoke and alcohol still hung in the air, and the screen nearby read "YOU DIED." People outside were laughing.

"So, who'd you go and see?" Sora finally asked meekly.

"A girl from my class."

"What's her name?"

"Naminé."

"Do you like her?"

"Who knows."

We were quiet again for a bit. Then he spoke up with a, "Don't be mad at Axel."

I sighed.

"Really! Demyx was drunk when he got here—"

"I don't care, Sora."

"But Roxas! Axel totally tried to get him to go away, but he was sad, so he let him play games with me! It was really nice."

"He's gonna get us all in trouble."

"He was being nice."

"Ok, ok. What do you wanna do the rest of the night?" I changed the subject.

"So you're not mad at Axel?"

"Sora."

"Roxas." He gave me a funny face and I chuckled. This kid.

"What do you wanna do?" I repeated.

"Hmm….where's my ice cream?"

I glanced around before spotting it in our tiny half kitchen, sitting on the counter, melting. The door to our room entered into that area, where a mini fridge, a sink, and a few lines of tiles covered the floor. The bathroom was adjacent, and all that left was this bedroom.

"I guess I set it over there," I nodded towards it.

He didn't need to be told twice. The ice cream was gone within minutes, and after Sora fell asleep, I secretly threw Axel's away. Red-headed bastard.