Chapter Three

Namine

Date Me?

August 27, 2014 5:02 p.m.

"Namine? I think your friend is here!" my mom called up the stairs, causing my heart to skip around a little. Even if I didn't exactly feel the spark Axel did, I was still nervous to go on this date with him.

When I saw that note in my locker, I'm not gonna lie, I immediately wanted to say no. Somewhere inside me I still had hopes that I would meet Sammy some day and live happily ever after with him. But… I can't just stop living my life in the real world because of some guy on the internet. Besides… Axel is cute, and even though he's a little strange I can tell he's a good guy at heart.

"Coming!" I call, straightening out my favorite blue dress and sliding my shoes on. I didn't really think we would be going out literally right away, but… he seemed to eager to get to know me better so why not?

He was standing at the base of the stairs with my mom, making her look like a dwarf in comparison. They seemed to be getting along… he was making her laugh at the very least.

"Namine… you look gorgeous," he smiled up at me, his genuine grin making my heart jump a little.

"Thanks Axel… you clean up pretty well yourself," I teased. He did look rather handsome in a pair of black dress pants and a black dress shirt. He wore his red Converse as always, but… he tried, I guess?

He turned to my mom and gave a little bow, "I'll have her back before 11, not to worry."

"Just drive safely please!" she called after us as we headed out the front door. I always wondered what kind of car he drove, but we never seemed to park in the same lot… the school only has about a billion of them.

When he approached a motorcycle, my immediate reaction was to turn and run back inside, but something kept me walking toward it… even with my heart racing.

"This is… yours?"

He chuckled a little, "Well I'm not stealing it, if that's what you're implying," he joked, offering me a helmet. "What? I promise I'm a safe rider."

I gulped a little and accepted the helmet, fastening it onto my head as securely as I could before staring up at him. My head felt like it weighed a million pounds… and my heart felt like it was going to explode. "I just… get a little nervous about vehicles in general." I wasn't about to tell him all of that now though.

"The restaurant is right around the corner… I promise we'll get there safely," he said, straddling the bike. "Just hop on the back and hold onto me tightly. You're going to love it."

Most men wouldn't generally force their date into a terrifying, life threatening experience right away… but something about him made me feel better, and much to my surprise I actually climbed onto the motorcycle and hugged him tight around the waist.

Honestly, it wasn't as terrifying as I thought it would be. Actually, the ride was pretty fun. And holding onto Axel wasn't exactly awful either… the man radiated heat that was oddly comforting.

"So, was it that bad?" he asked as he helped me hop down and get my helmet off.

"Actually, no… I kind of liked it," I admit, smiling up at him. This was a bit of a different side of Axel… he was kind of being a sweetheart.

I was surprised again when we entered the restaurant. It was pretty nice, not really what I was expecting for a quickly planned date. I had been under the impression that maybe his family didn't have a lot of money, but he must be getting it from somewhere… and he'd never mentioned anything about a job.

"So, Axel… tell me more about yourself," I prompt him, hoping to find out more.

He was more than willing to oblige, "Well… I'm an only child but I have a cousin, Demyx, that I'm really good friends with. He's a junior at school with us, but I don't see him a lot during the day because he's always in the band room with his weird group of friends. I'll have to introduce you two sometime. Uhmm… I kind of grew up as a rich kid, though I really tried not to let my parent's money change me too much. I hope I don't come off as a bratty rich guy…"

"Not at all! I actually had no idea…" I told him, laughing a little. "Wait, so why do you steal a Pop Tart from Roxas every morning?"

He shrugged, "I hate grocery shopping."

"That's… interesting. So do you have any pets or anything?"

"Nah… but I've always wanted a pug. Ugly little fuckers… they're so awesome," he said, chuckling. "Do you have any?"

I shook my head, "No… I'm allergic to cats and we've just never had a dog."

"Ugh, you're lucky. Cats are assholes. My mom keeps trying to convince us that we need one, but I hate them," he said, grimacing a little.

"I actually agree. Totally not a cat person anyways."

He set his menu down and looked up at me, suddenly seeming very curious, "So what about you? Have any siblings or anything?"

I froze for a moment… how do I answer that? "Well, I…"

"May I take your order?" the waiter saved my ass from that—at least for the time being.

We ordered our food and I hoped and prayed that he would forget his question. "So Axel, how long have you had your motorcycle?"

He faltered for a moment, but answered me anyways, "I got it last year over the summer… It was a gift for my 18th birthday from my dad."

"Ah, yeah… I keep forgetting that you're 19 already!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm an old man…" he grumbled, chuckling a little. I had to admit, his smile was rather dashing.

I shrugged and flashed a smile back at him, "So what if I like older men?"

His bright green eyes just lit up, and it made my heart skip a little, "Then that makes me the luckiest old man alive, I think."

"You really like me, huh?" I asked him, biting my lower lip softly.

He blushed a little and shrugged, "When I first saw you wandering down the hallway I think my heart stopped… You're just so beautiful, and then when you turned out to be so smart and such a good person, it just made me like you even more."

"So you don't usually ask people out after knowing them for two days?"

"Nooo, not at all… I kind of suck at asking girls out, honestly. Back when I was a freshman I had a crush on this girl all year, and by the time I brought up the courage to ask her out she was dating someone else," he explained, "So when I saw you… I dunno, I just didn't want to wait."

I guess it made sense… It was kind of flattering, actually. "Well, I'm glad you didn't. Lately I've been so caught up in stuff that I kind of stopped living in reality. It's really nice to be out and about having fun for once."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself," he said as our food finally came out to the table. Dinner looked absolutely fantastic, and tasted even better than it looked.

"Axel, this place is awesome… I haven't had food this good in a long time!"

He smiled a little, "Glad you think so… my parents own the place," he said, "Did you notice that the name of the restaurant happens to match my last name?"

"I… don't think I knew your last name, actually…" I admitted, blushing as I quickly looked around, trying to find a sign with the name on it.

"It's DiRosa," he said, laughing at my obvious failure. "The restaurant is called DiRosa's."

I giggled a little and nodded, "Lovely last name… Anyways, they must do really well in the business then!"

"Oh yeah, this is a 4-star place. They make more money than they know what to do with. But believe me, it took some trials and tribulations for them to build it up to this point."

"I bet… running a restaurant is really difficult," I said, looking around. Everything about the place was just warm and inviting. I could see why they did so well. "So do they actually work here then?"

He shook his head, "Nah, they both retired a few years ago. But my Aunt Sharon is the head chef, so she makes sure the managers are running it right."

"So, are you going to take over the family business one day?" I wondered, looking up at him.

"I dunno… I think they want me to, but honestly the thought of it just makes me cringe a little. I don't really like the idea of having my future all planned out for me. I'd rather make my own choices."

"I really respect that, Axel…" I told him, smiling softly, "For the longest time, my parents thought my sister and I would both become lawyers like them and start this big family law firm, but… I don't think they really care what I do now."

He nodded, "Oh, so you have a sister?"

My heart sank, and I took a deep breath and decided to just tell him. "Her name was Kairi… we were twins. She… she passed away over the summer."

I don't know what I expected him to do, but in half a second he was on my side of the booth giving me a tight hug. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Namine… I didn't mean to bring it up…"

"Axel, it's okay…" I told him, leaning into him a little. "You didn't know… It was a car accident. I've… I've accepted it, finally. I mean it's still weird that she's gone, but it doesn't hurt as much anymore." That was only half true. It would always hurt… but I at least wasn't crying every ten minutes anymore.

He sat up a little but stayed on my side of the booth, keeping an arm around me. We were pretty much done with our food anyways, so we were just stalling before the movie. "I can't even begin to try and understand how that feels, but if you ever need to talk about anything just… let me know. I'm a good listener, if nothing else!"

I chuckled a little, resting my head against his shoulder. "I might take you up on that sometime. But not tonight… tonight, let's just have fun."

"Agreed! Want some dessert? I can have my aunt make us her special molten chocolate lava cake. It's not on the menu, but it's fucking amazing."

My eyes widened and I nodded quickly, "Do it nowww! I loveee chocolate!"

He waved a waiter over and whispered something in his ear, then turned back to me, "It'll be out in about ten minutes."

"Sounds perfect," I said, sighing softly and sort of nuzzling myself against him. He was so warm and comforting…

I must have surprised him a little with that, because he was definitely holding his breath.

"Axel… breathe," I told him, giggling a little.

He let out a long exhale, his cheeks flushing bright red, "Oh… sorry… I, uhm…"

"Axel, have you ever had a girlfriend before?" When I first met him he seemed like the kind of guy who dated a lot, but now I wasn't getting that impression.

"Well… no, not really," he admitted, looking down at me with those intense green eyes of his.

I smiled a little, "That's cute… I've only dated one guy before… but he ended up being a total jerk."

"You seemed surprised by that… do I come across as a player or something?"

"Not a player, really… but someone who gets the girl a lot," I told him, shrugging, "But you're just full of surprises."

He laughed, pulling me closer, "Good ones, I hope…"

"So far!" I exclaimed, giggling a little.

August 27, 2014, 9:20 p.m.

"That movie was absolutely hilarious!" I told Axel as we walked out of the theater.

"Right? I couldn't stop laughing through the whole thing!" he agreed, wrapping an arm around my waist. "So hey… Do you wanna maybe take a walk around the block? I really don't wanna say good night just yet."

I shrugged, not seeing any harm in it, "Sure… as long as there's streetlights. I'm not the hugest fan of the dark."

He laughed a little, squeezing me, "I'll keep you safe… but there are plenty of streetlights too."

We started our walk, which was basically him walking in slow motion while I tried to keep up. He actually was doing a pretty good job at trying not to leave me in the dust.

"So… you had fun tonight?" he asked me, looking down with hopeful eyes.

"Of course I did… I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bit skeptical at first when you asked me out," I told him, deciding to just be totally honest, "I had been a little caught up with this guy I met online… We're really good friends and I was starting to get some feelings for him, but hell… I don't even know his real name."

He nodded, and I could tell he was a little bit surprised by that. "I've always thought long distance relationships were a bad idea. I mean, who would want all of that distance over something like this? We're right here together… I can look into your eyes, I can reach out and touch you, hug you… I could even kiss you if you let me."

That made me blush a little, and I suddenly realized how right he really was. This was, and always would be, so much better than just staring at a computer screen wishing I could be with Sammy. "So you wanna kiss me, huh?" I teased, leaning into him playfully.

"How could I not want to? You're kind of the perfect girl."

I scoffed a little, "Nobody is perfect… But I appreciate that."

"Well, you're perfect for me. Really, you're very different from the other girls at school… you don't have the same thought process as them. They're all obsessed with their hair and makeup and whatever new pop music garbage is out… All they worry about is whether or not they're dating a football player. But you… you have depth to you. You have a passion with your art. You've been through something more difficult than I can even imagine, yet you're still one of the kindest, most generally positive people I know. Plus, you're gorgeous. And not in a dumb blonde way, in like… a classic, just really pretty way. …And I'm rambling like a moron," he finished, his face flushed bright, bright red.

I was almost at a loss for words. Nobody had ever said such kind things to me before… especially not after knowing me for only three days. "I was totally wrong about you, Axel… I honestly thought this was going to be some cornball date that would just be awkward the whole time… and I really thought I was going to have to let you down with the 'I just wanna be friends' speech at the end of the night. But you have just turned out to be the sweetest guy… and this has been one of the best dates I've ever been on."

"Hey, I've been holding back my goofball side tonight to be romantic," he joked, chuckling lowly. "It's one of those things I can turn off and on when I need to."

"Apparently! You're like a whole new person compared to the guy I first met at school," I told him, "Though I know he's still in there too, just dying to say something corny."

He laughed, nodding, "I've bitten my tongue a couple of times… not that my little speech a minute ago wasn't embarrassing enough."

"It was sweet… It showed me how much you really like me," I said, stopping suddenly and turning to look up at him. "And made me realize how much I like you."

I met his eyes and my breath caught in my throat, my heart pounding in my chest. I opened my mouth to say something, anything… but nothing came out. He smiled a little, "I really want to kiss you right now…" he mumbled, his eyes bearing into mine.

"So kiss me," I whispered, placing my hands on his chest and leaning up into him. He met me half way, and the moment our lips touched I knew that I'd made the right decision in going out with him.

Our first kiss was sweet, soft and lingering, but we had only parted for a moment before he pulled me back into a deeper, more passionate kiss that got my heart racing and made my knees weak. When he released me from that one, I was left breathless. "Wow…"

"S…sorry… I guess I got carried away," he mumbled, giving me a sheepish look.

I just laughed, shaking my head, "You don't have to apologize for kissing me like that… Just took my breath away is all."

"Now you know how I felt when I first saw you," he said, giving me a playful wink.

This night could not have gone more perfectly.

August 28, 2014, 7:25 a.m.

By the time I got to school in the morning, I realized that I hadn't talked to Sammy in about a day and a half. My internet had cut out last time and booted me off for the rest of the night, so I never got the answer to my question about how he felt about me. I knew the answer… but after my amazing evening with Axel I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it anymore.

"Did I mention last night how gorgeous you are?" Axel's voice suddenly flooded my ears as his arms enveloped me from behind. I closed my locker and turned to face him, leaning back on it as he settled his hands against it on either side of me.

"Only about twenty times," I laughed, poking him in the side.

He chuckled and brushed my hair out of my eyes for me, "You need to get your bangs cut… those big blue eyes of yours are too pretty to hide under your hair."

"I like my hair just the way it is!" I exclaimed, shaking my head to move them back over my eyes.

Axel just rolled his eyes, blowing on my face to move them again, then fixing the cowlicky mess with his fingers. "There," he said, looking all proud of himself. I went to push them back into their normal place and he caught my wrist with his hand, staring me down, "Leave them."

"Ugh! Mean…" I mumbled, grumbling I displeasure. He dropped my wrist and I fought the urge to immediately fix my hair, instead pouting up at him, "Kiss me then?"

He grinned, immediately turning into a goofball. "Well I dunno… I don't think I can…"

"Axel!" I giggle, whacking him on the chest.

"Ohhh fine…" he exaggerated, rolling his eyes as he leaned down to kiss me.

"Ah, perfect," a voice cut through our kiss, startling both of us, "And it begins…"

Axel groaned and turned around, revealing Roxas standing behind us. "Rox, you ruined my moment… not cool."

"Oh, 'cause the school hallway is the perfect place to have a moment," he said sarcastically. He seemed to be in an exceptionally bad mood today.

"Good morning to you too, Roxas," I said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at him.

He just grumbled a little, "We should get to class."

I opened my locker again and grabbed my books, wondering why he was in such a mood. "I think Roxas needs a hug," I commented under my breath to Axel.

Little did I know that he would take me completely seriously and lift Roxas off of his feet in the most intense bro-hug I'd ever seen, leaving me nearly falling over laughing. Roxas just looked even more pissed, though I could tell he was trying to fight back a smile. "Cheer up, Rox!" Axel commanded, setting him back down on his feet.

"Jesus Axel! Warn a person!" he barked, straightening out his t-shirt and gripping his books more tightly.

"What fun would that be? 'Just letting you know, I'm about to invade your personal space,'" he mocked in a silly voice. "Boring!"

Roxas just rolled his eyes and shook his head, "You're insane, I think. Namine, how do you like this guy?"

I shrugged, "I'm just dating him for more chocolate lava cake."

Axel sputtered a little, looking offended, "Hey! You told me last night that I was surprisingly romantic!"

"Yes, and you fell for it just like I wanted," I teased, leaning into him, "My evil plan for more cake is in effect!"

"Yeah, sure! See if you ever get any again!" he exclaimed, ruffling my hair up.

I laughed triumphantly, "Ha! You put my hair back in my eyes!"

He swore under his breath, looking all defeated. "I never win…"

"Get used to it, honey, I'll outfox you every time."