Chapter Seven

Namine

Everything

September 1, 2014, 8:19 a.m.

I don't think I slept for more than 5 minutes at a time through the night, and most of my food remained untouched. Dinner had sounded good initially, but when Roxas actually came back I had no appetite left. I could see him shifting around in the uncomfortable chair in the corner, and I knew he hadn't slept a wink either.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a low groan sound from Axel's bed. He was awake… finally.

"Fuck…" he mumbled as I rushed to his side. "What happened…?"

"Axel… you were in an accident…" I told him, "You wrecked your bike… don't try to move."

Roxas perked up and came to his other side, "Axe… buddy, you can't scare us like that…"

"I… hurt…" he said softly, looking up at both of us. "I don't remember anything…"

"You know who we are, right?" Roxas asked him, looking worried.

He nodded a little, "Yeah… but the last few days are kinda fuzzy…"

"What's the last thing you remember?" I wondered, taking his hand in mine.

"Putting the ice out for the party… everything after that is just black. Nothing."

I looked up at Roxas and saw him about to open his mouth, so I yanked him by the arm into the hallway, "Be right back, Axel…"

Roxas pulled his arm away from me, "What the hell?!"

"Do. Not. Tell him. Don't tell him about that night. He doesn't need to know. If he remembers on his own someday, whatever. You will not tell him what he did."

"Namine…"

"No!" I cut him off, "Axel deserves a second chance. Don't say a word, Roxas."

He grumbled a little, then nodded. "Fine… I won't say anything. But Namine, I really think you should be honest with him."

"Noted," I said, heading back into his room. "How're you feeling, sweetie?"

"Can you get the doctor in here? I'd kind of like to know what happened…" he said, "And raise my bed so I can sit up a little?"

I took the little remote and lifted him into a sitting position, pressing the button to call the nurse. She came in shortly and I asked her to let the doctor know he's awake.

"I'll send Dr. Mavers right in."

All of the doctor speak went right over my head, but basically it was going to be a long road to recovery for Axel. He would need a lot of therapy to walk again, and he might need skin grafts to cover his road rash. He wouldn't be able to return to school right away, but he could keep up with his classes online.

Axel needed me more than ever right now… he needed both of us.

TIME JUMP: December 23, 2014, 4:43 p.m.

I wrapped my arms around Axel, giving him a big hug from behind. "Having fun?"

"Of course I am, darling," he smiled at me, turning in his wheelchair to face me. "It's almost Christmas, and I'm going to be out of this chair soon. Plus, I'm with you. Couldn't be any happier."

I leaned down and gave him a kiss before standing up and smoothing down my little red dress. His parents were throwing a huge Christmas party with a ton of their friends and business associates and they let Axel have a few friends over as well. It was definitely classier than Axel's last party, though I was sipping on some champagne.

"Roxas!" he exclaimed, his stronger than ever best friend approaching us in a snazzy red dress shirt and black dress pants. He even had a cute black tie. "You made it! I'm so glad you showed up."

"I wouldn't miss the chance to spend Christmas with you, man!" Roxas exclaimed, giving him a friendly pat on the back. "When're you getting out of this thing anyways?"

Axel groaned, rolling his eyes, "Like… three more weeks or some bullshit. They still don't think I'm strong enough to put weight on my leg."

"I mean, the thing is practically bionic with all the steel they used to rebuild your skeleton," I joked, "Shouldn't you have like superpowers or something?"

He swatted at me, "I fuckin wish… this wheelchair is fucking bullshit. I've been sleeping on the couch for months."

Roxas snagged a couple of glasses of champagne from one of the waiters (yes, waiters) and handed Axel a glass. "Let's toast to Axel's health. He's finally coming to the end of a long road."

"Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves… I still need to learn how to walk again," he mentioned, but he held his glass up anyways, "Ah, what the hell… to me!"

We all clinked our glasses together, giving a little cheer.

Things since the accident have been… weird, to say in the least. Without having Axel at school for the past few months, I'd really bonded with Roxas. He wasn't a jerk anymore, and he seemed like he was always in a good mood now. Honestly, we've become nothing short of best friends.

Axel did come back to school last month when his burns finally healed properly, and it just made every day a bit brighter. His goofy presence, even from a wheelchair, was something unique and adorable that seemed to make everyone around him smile.

"So what're you two doing for Christmas?" Roxas asked us, sitting down on the couch next to me so we could talk with Axel on his level.

"Well, Christmas day is reserved for my parents, but I was hoping we could have a quiet little Christmas Eve together at my place," I said, grabbing Axel's hand. I had a big surprise for him… And I'd checked with his doctors to make sure I could give it to him.

Roxas smiled, "That's wonderful… I'm going to be with my grandparent's house on Christmas Eve and my parents on Christmas day."

"Sounds fun!" I chirped, leaning into him playfully. "Ooh… I see appetizers. Be right back."

I got up to search for some food, but something vibrated in the pocket of my dress.

luckyXIII: Merry Christmas, Rosie.

paintingwithroses: Aww, hey.

pwr: Merry Christmas Sammy.

lu: You at that big party?

pwr: Yeah, it's actually really fun.

lu: I bet you look fantastic in that red dress…

pwr: I never told you my dress was red…

lu: Lucky guess? It is Christmas.

pwr: All right, weirdo… Hmmm… lemme guess, are you in green?

lu: Nope! Red shirt, black tie. Switching it up.

pwr: Funny, that's what my friend is wearing.

pwr: Are you sureeeee we don't know each other?

pwr: Cause you're an awful lot like Roxas.

lu: Oooh, he has a name.

lu: What if I wasss this Roxas guy?

pwr: Well that'd be awkward as fuck. I'm about to bang his best friend.

lu: You're gonna sleep with him?

pwr: Tomorrow night… it's his Christmas surprise.

lu: Can he even…?

pwr: I already talked to his doctors. He's cleared.

lu: Well damn. Have fun I guess.

pwr: See why you wouldn't wanna be Roxas? Haha

lu: Well yeah, that would suck what with my lovin on you and all.

pwr: You're so strange, Sammy… I don't get how you can listen to me yammer on about Axel all the time and still be in love with me.

lu: The heart wants what it wants. Now get back to your party!

pwr: Merry Christmas, weirdo.

lu: And a Happy New Year, doll.

I realized when I slid my phone into my pocket how long I'd just been standing in the corner texting like a creep. Axel and Roxas probably thought I'd died or something. I grabbed a plate of food quickly and went back into the living room with them.

"Oh thank God you're back," Axel said, snatching some food from my plate. "Roxas had his nose in his phone the whole time you were gone."

"I'm checking my Facebook! I've got like twenty Merry Christmas messages!" he defended himself, putting his phone away.

I shook my head, "It's still two days till Christmas!"

"Yeah, but people get too busy to send them tomorrow and the next day. Either way, I'm done now," Roxas said, sticking his tongue out at Axel. "You're not getting a message."

"That's a bunch of bullshit anyways. I can tell you Merry Christmas in person right now! You've always been so into the internet… human interaction is so much better."

I giggled a little. He did have a point. Ever since I started dating Axel I spent less and less time on the internet. He kept me so busy that I honestly didn't even have time. I could barely message Sammy anymore.

Sammy… things have been weird with him lately. He's still in love with me, yet he almost begs to hear details about Axel. He's either insane or masochistic, and I can't figure out which it is. I mean, we've stayed good friends, but… I can feel us drifting a little.

"Roxas, Namine… I just wanted to say something to both of you while we're together," Axel said suddenly, bringing me out of my thoughts. "You two have been with me through everything… through the painful skin grafts, the multiple leg surgeries, even at school when everyone was staring at me like I was a freak. Hell, I kind of feel like I'm dating both of you. I guess I just want to say… thanks. I don't think I would have made it this far without you two."

"I… I think I'm going to be sick…" Roxas suddenly leapt to his feet, running to the upstairs bathroom away from the party.

Axel gave me a confused look, which I sent right back to him, "I'll go make sure he's okay…"

"Yeah… Roxas never gets sick. Maybe it was the food."

December 23, 2014, 5:29 p.m.

"Roxas…? Are you okay?" I asked as I approached the bathroom door. It was cracked, and all I could hear was him swearing under his breath.

"Go away, Namine… I'm fine," he said, splashing his face with cool water.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind me. "Do you need to talk about something?"

He was silent for a long moment, and then he exploded with anxiety, "I can't do this anymore… I can't keep lying. I thought… I thought I could make it work, but…"

"Roxas, you gotta fill me in here," I cut him off, trying to get him to look at me.

"I… Namine, I'm Sammy," he said, his voice trembling.

I felt like I'd just been punched in the stomach. "Please repeat that."

"It's me, Rosie. It's Sammy. I… I've been lying to you this entire time…"

My brain didn't seem to want to process this. "You… but… it's been months… You… How long have you known?!" I shrieked, whacking him on the arm.

"Fuck, Nami! I've known since the beginning…"

"You helped Axel ask me out! Why would you do that when we could have been together?"

He sighed heavily, "I didn't know until you'd already gone on a date with him. And then I couldn't bring myself to tell you. He was so happy… You were so happy… I couldn't ruin that for you guys."

"This whole time… Roxas, how could you do that to me? I loved Sammy. I… I loved you."

He froze completely for a moment, as if he was stuck in time. "You did…?" he managed to force out, leaning back against the sink.

"Well yeah, you moron. You knew that," I told him, huffing a little.

"You never actually said it…"

I laughed, throwing my hands up in the air, "I loved you! There, I said it!"

In a split second, Roxas has me backed against the wall with his lips on mine in the most intense, passionate, loving kiss I've ever experienced. Every thought in my head is screaming to throw him off, scream and run to Axel, but every beat of my heart urges me to kiss him back.

My heart wins my battle and I give in to his kiss, wrapping my arms around him and giving a soft little moan. That only seemed to spur him on more, and he deepened the kiss further. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it, and for a moment, Axel had completely left my mind.

"Namine, I love you…" he whispered, pulling away for just a moment. "I've always loved you."

I felt tears running down my face… when had I started crying? "Roxas… You know I can't be with you… This would break Axel's heart. I… I can't…"

He pulled me into his arms, and I could tell he was starting to cry as well. "I know, Namine… That's why I didn't tell you all this time."

"You let me fall for someone else just to protect your best friend… Roxas, you are the most selfless person I know," I marveled, still trying to comprehend everything. "I… I can't wrap my mind around this…"

He let go of me, sighing heavily again, "So you've officially fallen for Axel, huh?"

"I… was going to tell him I love him tomorrow night…" I admitted, looking down at my feet.

"I have horrible timing… Uhm… that kiss meant nothing. It was an act of insanity and nothing else. Go be happy with Axel… I'll step down as Sammy and just be your friend Roxas."

He was breaking my heart a little bit, but he was right… I needed to move forward and be with Axel. I had fallen for Sammy so long ago… He had always been like this little fairy tale in the back of my mind. Roxas was my best friend now, and Axel… I really felt like there was something strong between us. If there was any hope of Roxas and I ever being together… it was long gone now.

It felt like the closing of a book… like a new chapter of my life was about to begin. I needed that kiss. I needed to kiss Sammy once so that I could start over without that constant nagging wonder in the back of my mind.

I turned to leave the bathroom, but something inside of me made me stop. "Just so you know… that kiss meant everything."

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