Hey, look at this! An update finally! Wheww! Hehe... so yeah.

First of all! Sorry this took so long. I was typing away with this chapter, when I noticed that it started to get a little long. I know I usually do pretty long chapters, but this was getting long (about 35 pages to be exact) and there was still a lot more I wanted to include so I could get up to a certain point. So, I thought a 40+ page chapter would be a little ridiculous, don't you agree? Plus, midterms are coming up *grumble grumble*, so I (unfortunately) have to devote my time to my oh-so-lovely school work. So, I decided to not make you guys wait any longer for an update from me, so I cut what I wrote so far up to about page 24-ish, which is still pretty long. But I thought it was a good cutoff point. Anyway, so here's the first half of what would have been a ridiculously long chapter. After this is posted, I'll finish up from what's left over, and then I'll post that, too. It should take less time, since it's already (technically) halfway done. Sound cool? Awesome.

Second of all! This is probably not going to continue how you all thought it would, and I'm sorry if you're disappointed in that. But, this is how I envisioned the story, and I'm determined to make it as realistic yet different as possible, with a ton of cute moments (both fluff and friendship) with a variety of characters. Like, seriously, this chapter has a crapload of new people. But, I digress...

I know I usually do review replies, but I've replied to all of you in a PM, so yeah. I mean, I usually do both for whatever reason, but I'm sort of in a rush to get this posted. I'm sort of thinking that doing both is a waste of time anyway, since I'm basically repeating myself. So yeah. Sorry! But, duty calls. Please just read it and please let me know what you think. About everything. And even if you don't, I appreciate that you're reading it. =]


Chapter Two: Speckles of Scarlet

~`.:The moment I first laid eyes on you
I knew I'd know you for a long time
It was like coming home
:.~`

----------

"I can't believe we're actually having this conversation," the boy says, chuckling animatedly.

"Ughh, I knew you'd laugh at me…"

"What's not to laugh at? The story's pretty funny if you ask me…"

"I'm serious. Dead serious. I've never met anyone like her before."

"You haven't even actually met her," Sora contradicts his cousin, Roxas. He stops the worked up blonde in his tracks. He himself is ambling down the hallway, looking for his locker.

"Th-that doesn't matter," Roxas stutters after a pause. "I can just tell."

"You can just tell?" the brunette repeats dubiously, half-listening, half-preoccupied with all of the 'first day of school' mixed feelings that everyone seems to get. Of course, the animated and happy-go-lucky Sora is always happy to see his friends every day. But when school steps into the picture… yuck.

Sora finds his locker, and promptly throws his stuff down next to it, reading the assigned combination and working on getting his locker opened. He may not be that particularly fond of school compared to summer vacation, but he still wants to make the first day as good as it can be by getting everything organized.

"Yeah, I don't know how to explain it, Sora. Gimme a break…" Roxas lets out a groan of frustration, banging his head while leaning against the locker next to Sora's.

Upon opening his locker and hearing his cousin's complaints, Sora feels a bit guilty. "Hey... sorry, Roxas. I was just kidding around. I didn't think you'd take this so seriously…" He looks Roxas straight in the eyes, half-smiling.

Roxas' mouth twitches into a smile automatically. It never fails; Sora's smiles are always contagious. "It's okay. I mean… I guess I can understand where you're coming from. I made it sound like I was obsessed with her or something—"

"You were practically stalking her, Roxas!" Sora blurts out, with no intention of being mean, but with intentions of trying to lighten his somber cousin up.

"Sora!" the blonde blurts out incredulously, casually shifting his gaze around to make sure no one heard.

"Roxas!" the brunette mocks Roxas, sending a cheeky smile his way. Roxas is hardly amused.

"Sora…" Roxas mumbles his cousin's name, almost like he's angry. He really isn't, though. More embarrassed than anything.

"What? Roxas, be honest with me here. You saw her at the park and followed her to her house. Is that or is that not stalking?" Sora laughs at the way he phrased the question, hoping to get his cousin to do the same.

Roxas is fully embarrassed now, but somehow Sora's 'jokester' attitude rubs off on him.

"Shut up."

"That's the spirit!" Sora commends his cousin for taking the situation lightly. Finally.

Chuckling a bit, Roxas continues, "Some cousin you are. You just wait! When you have girl problems, I'll take that opportunity to emotionally stab you like you're doing to me now."

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Sora takes a sideways glance at his cousin, closing his own locker.

If you could ever compare the two in one setting, Sora is the outgoing, friendly, and charismatic one; Roxas is the reserved, thoughtful, and (usually) composed one. Sora is the unmistakable, loud, eye-catching foreground while Roxas is the unnoticed, rarely smiling, but still just as wonderful background.

But put both together, and you have a fantastic painting; both together make a dynamic duo.

Now walking to Roxas' locker, which isn't too far away, Sora brings them back to the conversation, "Now, lets get down to business. You said you saw her in this school, right?"

"Right."

"And we've never seen her before?"

"...Right."

"And you don't know her name?"

"…"

"I'm guessing that's right?" Sora smiles at his cousin's shyness once again.

"Yeah, that's right…"

"Okay, well… tell me some things about her. Maybe we'll be able to find her later."

Roxas averts his gaze, ruffling some of his spikes around with a free hand. "Well… she's not amazingly beautiful. I mean, she is beautiful, but she's not one of those girls that get noticed just because they're pretty… kind of like Olette." Roxas pauses, smiling a bit at the mention of his friends' name.

Sora shakes his head. "Roxas, a lot of girls in this school are pretty. You're gonna need to tell me more than that."

The blond chuckles nervously. "Right! Well… she has blonde hair, blue eyes, and I know that sounds pretty typical. But, the thing that made me notice her the most is: she was just sitting there… drawing. She was so patient, staring at objects or even people for a long time. I couldn't help but watch her watching everyone else. She must have drawn like… ten drawings that whole time. She seems like the quiet type; shy, but not completely timid. Not to sound creepy, but I watched her for a long time, and didn't find out much about her."

"Oh…" Sora's practically stunned to silence with his cousin's thoughtful declaration of his feelings. He's about to say something when Roxas continues his monologue.

"You know what it is? Right before she got up, I could've sworn her gaze slid over to me for a second and she smiled. It was so hesitant and natural, not like anything I've ever seen before. I mean, there were no 'fireworks,' but it was just a smile. You know, the type of smile that's barely there, but it took my breath away. I just wanted to get to know her. Just because of that smile. So I followed her…"

Sora raises his eyebrows at his cousin, who complies, "Okay fine I stalked her. Wow... following someone because of a smile. Heh… I must sound like a complete fool, huh?" Roxas looks up at his cousin, surprised to see a warm smile on the brunette's face.

"No, not a complete one, anyway," Sora relates his anticipated joke, but then grows immediately serious. "Wow, that's so… sappy, Roxas."

Roxas laughs sarcastically. "Thanks, Sora… you're a big help."

Sora stops his cousin from walking, placing a hand on his shoulder. "No! I'm serious! That's like something I would say. I mean, according to Riku, I'm a total sap."

"That's because you are a total sap, Sora." Roxas laughs wholeheartedly now. "No, you know what? You would have said something totally cliché, like… 'her smile outshines the sun' or something."

Sora pouts, vaguely recalling himself thinking such a thing about a girl he met over the summer. He wonders how she's doing, or what she's doing right now...

He soon shrugs it off, saying, "So what if I am? Being sappy isn't a bad thing."

"I didn't say it was."

"Then why did you act offended when I said you were being sappy?"

"Because I thought you were trying to be offensive!"

"I think you're being overly-sensitive."

"You're being underly-sensitive."

Silence…

Both cousins are staring at each other, and then…

Laughter.

"Underly-sensitive? I swear, Roxas, you crack me up!"

"Yeah, I don't know… stuff like that just comes to me, I guess." Roxas shrugs, laughing much more quietly than his counterpart.

Sora sighs happily, in a better mood than he was a few seconds ago. Sure, he knows he may be a bit of a 'sap,' but he doesn't necessarily like how people tease him for it. He knows they're just kidding, but… sometimes, things like that get to him. Just a little.

"Sorry for being overly-sensitive," Roxas apologizes, raising his eyebrows.

"And I'm sorry for being underly-sensitive." Sora smiles in return.

"Now, could you possibly try to stop messing around, and help me out?" Roxas asks, finding his locker and working the combination into the lock.

"Yes, possibly," Sora complies, still with a smile attached. Despite the fact that he's been teasing his cousin, Sora is very determined to make this work for Roxas, no matter how challenging it may be…

Sora muses about the failed attempts of getting Roxas to admit his feelings for Olette as Roxas finishes gathering his things, closing his locker.

"What'cha thinking about? You have that thoughtful look on your face…" Roxas questions his cousin, mounting his already too-heavy backpack on his shoulders.

"Nothing really. It's just, I always thought you and Olette would end up together."

Roxas grimaces. "Aww, come on, Sora. Why would you say that? I... I don't like Olette anymore, okay?"

"Yeah, of course," Sora immediately agrees with his cousin, but can't help but shake the feeling that Roxas isn't being completely honest with himself.

"I'm pretty sure she likes Hayner anyway…" Roxas adds indifferently, rolling his eyes at the name. "Honestly, he's my friend and everything, but sometimes he can be so immature."

Sora doesn't really know Hayner very well, so he just shrugs the comment off, changing the subject. He's never been one for drama anyhow. "So, you're pretty determined to talk to this 'mystery' girl, aren't you?"

Roxas hangs his head in shame. "Pretty stupid, isn't it? I can't help it though; she keeps invading my mind like some sort of… psychological terrorist."

Sora laughs at his cousin's witty comment. "Hey, don't sweat it. Since we haven't seen her around, that means she's probably new here. So if you see her, you should invite her to eat lunch with us and our friends or something. That'll be a good icebreaker."

Roxas nods. "Good idea. Thanks for the help, Sora."

"No problem, Roxas. Sorry for teasing you. I just can't help it sometimes!" Sora waves his hand, walking backwards towards his homeroom. He doesn't turn around until Roxas chuckles and waves back, turning towards his own homeroom himself.

----------

"Hi, umm… my name's—"

"Naminé, right? Oh, we've been expecting you! How are you liking Destiny High School so far, dear?" the kind office lady bombards the unsuspecting girl with overwhelming friendliness.

"Um… it's… it's nice. It's really big. I almost got lost getting here," the shy girl admits sheepishly, smiling softly.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Another office lady steps in the conversation. "Let me look up your schedule; I'll call someone in your homeroom and ask them to show you around for today, how does that sound, deary?"

"Oh… um, that'd be really helpful, thank you," Naminé thanks the almost-too-sweet office ladies with another smile.

A third lady steps up to speak to Naminé. "Excuse me, dear, but I'll introduce myself and my co-workers. I'm Flora, this is Merryweather, and the one talking on the phone right now is Fauna."

"Pleased to meet you all," Naminé says politely again, straining to smile this time.

Naminé's an overall nice girl, but there are limits for even the sweetest of all people. And besides, she's a teenager; she's allowed to be a bit impatient with certain things. But, she knows that these three mean well, and she wants to make a good first impression on everyone in this school. So, even though their attitude bothers her a little, she still knows when to be polite.

"Oh, what a sweet girl," Flora comments while walking back to her desk.

Naminé only has to wait a few seconds before Fauna declares, "Alright Naminé, someone's coming over right now to help you get to your locker and your homeroom. Is there anything else you need, deary?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you." Naminé bows her head slightly.

She sits down in one of the chairs against the wall, examining her schedule. Her schedule is pretty standard for someone being a sophomore like she is: there's algebra II (honors), English (honors), history (honors), and biology (honors). Well, maybe besides the "honors" part. Naminé's very studious for someone of her age. She has some extra classes as well: choir, gym, lunch, an art elective, drivers' ed, and study hall. Overall, she's pretty pleased with her schedule.

Naminé has to smile knowing that she has a bit of an advantage over the average new student: she actually knows people already; she's made some friends. She just hopes that she's in at least some classes with those friends that she's managed to make over the summer. Maybe even a class or two with that strange boy that she met that day… he goes to this school, right?

The office door swings open, revealing a pretty girl with brown hair and startling emerald eyes. Those eyes are searching the office for someone, until they land on the new student.

"Olette?" Naminé says her name out loud, like she can't believe her wish has actually come true.

"Naminé!" Olette practically screams her name, too full of excitement to care about how loud she's being. Olette runs over to greet her friend with a hug, giggling embarrassedly when she realizes how rash she's acting.

"I'm so glad we're in the same homeroom!" Naminé exclaims, truly happy for the first time since she woke up this morning.

"Me too! Come on, let's go! We can compare schedules on the way!" Olette's beaming with happiness.

It doesn't take long for them to see that they share a few classes together, which isn't surprising. Olette is just as serious about academics as Naminé is; in fact, even more so. While Naminé is in all honors classes, Olette's taking a few AP courses.

"How come you have 'Drawing and Painting I'? That sounds like my kind of elective!" Naminé frowns slightly.

"I don't know; the scheduling is so random. I'm sure you'll be able to get it next quarter! Just make sure to sign up right away." Olette nods cheerfully.

"Yeah, that's true. This school is so weird; at my old school, they gave out the schedules a few weeks before school started, so you could drop a class if you wanted to. If this school did that, I wouldn't have been worrying about whether or not I had any classes with people I know."

Olette nods. "True, but this school wants you to take the class at least once, just to try it out, before you go and drop it. If it turns out you don't like a class, you can talk to the Guidance Counselor, and she'll try and find you a new elective to fill up that time slot."

Naminé sighs quietly, not exactly used to the school's way of running things just yet.

"Don't worry; you'll adapt. Hey, it looks like we have lunch together! Wanna sit with me and my friends? We have a huge table, so you'll make a lot of friends really quickly!"

"Umm… alright. Why not… " Naminé's not too keen on meeting a lot of people at once, but if Olette's there, she knows she can handle it.

At least… she hopes so.

"Great! Let's get to homeroom!"

----------

"Hi, my name's Naminé," she repeats for what feels like the millionth time already, even though it's only first period: her algebra II class. She's getting anxious from everyone staring at her, but she's extremely grateful that she has Olette in this class. It breaks off some of the awkward tension that she can't help but feel when literally everyone's eyes are on her.

"Thank you, Naminé," the teacher, Mr. Leonheart, replies curtly. "Pick any seat you want. If you're any trouble, then I'll move you."

Naminé nods nervously, sort of perplexed by the man's gruff attitude. She searches for Olette and (immediately feeling relieved) finds a vacant seat in front of Olette, who is seated all the way in the far right corner.

Naminé also notices that Olette's sitting next to a boy with blonde hair. Naminé also can't help but notice that the boy's eyes are practically glued to her own face.

"Is there something on my face?" Naminé wonders, baffled as to why the boy would be staring at her so anxiously. She walks over towards the beginning of the row, stealthily checking herself in the small mirror that's tacked onto the wall.

Nope, nothing on her face. That's weird…

Naminé walks down the row, taking a seat in front of Olette and shooting the brunette a small smile. She wouldn't let the whole thing bother her for now. It's not like she has to get to know him.

Speaking of which, Roxas is currently sitting diagonally from Naminé, internally freaking out. He just had a conversation with Sora about this girl, and all words of advice are filtering out of his head, only to be replaced by gibberish and nonsense that he can't even comprehend.

"Naminé…" Olette whispers, tapping the blonde on the shoulder. Olette is, of course, oblivious to Roxas' discomfort. Not that this is much of a surprise; Roxas is trying his best to not look nervous on the outside, something he's very good at. He's always been good at concealing his feelings, looking composed practically 24/7. While he is normally composed, sometimes something like this happens, and he has to pretend.

"Yeah?" Naminé turns around, making eye contact with Roxas for a split second before giving her full attention to Olette.

"This is my best friend, Roxas!" The boy in question feels a bit crestfallen at the two words but neither girl notices it. "He's a bit of a weirdo, but don't worry, he's a great friend. Right, Roxas?" Olette turns to face him and smiles sweetly.

"Hey! Thanks a lot, Olette…" He laughs slightly, looking Naminé in the eyes, saying, "Don't listen to her; I'm not that weird!" and ruffling his spiky hair out of habit.

"Could've fooled me…" Naminé thinks, laughing internally at her remark. "Well, he doesn't seem so bad. Maybe he was just staring at me like that because he thought I was looking at him and not Olette. Or he's just as bad with meeting people as I am. Yeah, that makes sense…"

"My name's Naminé. It's nice to meet you, Roxas." Naminé holds out her hand, and Roxas obliges, letting a small smile touch his lips.

Naminé's breath hitches in her throat slightly. Why does he look so familiar…? And that name, Roxas… why does she feel like she's heard that name before? It's not exactly the most common name...

"You, too, Naminé." Roxas doesn't say much of anything else. Not that he usually would anyhow, being the taciturn person that he is. But, there's probably some other reason as to why he isn't as well. At least, he feels like there is. It's probably just nerves…

There's a lull in the conversation, but Olette picks up the slack.

"Roxas is one of the people that'll be sitting with us at lunch today. I figured it would be good for you to meet as many people as you can before then, so you don't get too overwhelmed. I know how shy you can be, Naminé."

"Thanks for understanding, Olette." Naminé smiles brightly, truly grateful that Olette can sympathize with her.

Naminé locks eyes with Roxas for another second before turning around to listen to the teacher. She decides to forget about the minor mystery for now, and ask questions later. She and Roxas have probably never even met, but there's just something so familiar about him, a connection so hard to explain.

…But it's something.

----------

"Class! Class! Settle down!" a frantic teacher with a mullet tries to calm the hundreds of students who all happen to be in choir. Naminé is one of the very few listening to the teacher, mainly because she respects authority and she doesn't have this class with either Olette or Roxas (although, she'd much prefer the former), so she's just sort of sitting in her own world, being her normally shy and un-talkative self.

But, to be completely honest, it's mostly the latter reason that's keeping her quiet. She's just too shy for her own good.

It takes a few minutes, but the class finally calms down. In moments time, they're more or less listening to the teacher ramble about how it's a new year and he's glad to be back, and…

Naminé's sort of zoning out in her chair, which is pretty comfortable. Choir class takes place in the auditorium, so it's not surprising that the chairs are comfortable. The chairs are arranged and designed like how they are in a movie theater, the way the bottom part of the chair goes down only when you sit on it, and goes right back up again when you stand up… that kind of chair.

Anyway, Naminé's busy thinking about the last conversation she had with Roxas before this class, and finds herself feeling a bit ticked off. Not necessarily at Roxas himself, but what they had talked about…

"So, what class do you have next?" Roxas had asked her.

"Choir!" Naminé replied, kind of excited to be in a singing class. She was one of the top singers at her old school, but like heck she'd tell anybody that.

Roxas smiled at her excitement. "Good choice."

"Why? Are you taking it, too?"

Roxas chuckled a bit. "No way! I don't care if it's an easy 'A', I'm not wasting my time singing!" Truth be told, Roxas doesn't actually have a problem with singing; some people have even commended him on his exceptional vocal abilities. The truth is, he's just as shy and un-confident about his skills as Naminé is.

But he thought it didn't matter. After all, isn't it cooler for guys to not be into singing? He figured that if he acts 'cool', he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Naminé.

Unfortunately, his plan kinda backfired.

"Easy 'A?' What do you mean?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well… the only reason people take choir is because it's basically like a study hall. The teacher's such a pushover; it's unbelievable!" Roxas laughed at his joke, but his laughter soon died when he realized that Naminé wasn't joining in.

"So, I'm going to be the only person who actually wants to take this class seriously?" the girl asked him sadly.

Roxas couldn't muster up enough courage to speak. He hadn't expected the conversation to go that way…

"Never mind, Roxas. I have to go to choir." Naminé waved good-bye to him halfheartedly, brushing past him to enter the Auditorium.

When she was out of earshot, Roxas promptly scolded himself. "Stupid!" He slammed his head against a nearby locker, cursing under his breath. He stared at her retreating figure guiltily, trying to think up ways to regain what little friendship they had built.

"Ughh, and I thought this was a nice school. People shouldn't be allowed to sign up unless they're actually interested in the subject matter," Naminé complains to herself, thoroughly upset. She's worried that this will be a huge waste of time, just because people don't want to take it seriously.

The teacher has apparently finished his little 'back to school' speech.

"Well class, looks like we have some time left. I think we should all go up to the risers here in front of the stage and get used to doing the warm-ups and scales."

Many students groan, but comply anyhow. After all, when it all boils down, your teacher is your teacher, pushover or no.

Naminé walks over to the risers, standing in a relatively vacated spot, hoping to not be noticed too much. When she introduced herself to the teacher, Mr. Nine, he had asked her if she wanted to introduce herself to the class, too. He noticed her reluctance right away, and said she didn't have to if she didn't want to. Needless to say, Naminé already likes the teacher a lot, even though he seems a little lazy.

So, they're in the middle of doing scales when Naminé notices a whisper going through the entire group of students standing on the risers. She can't tell what they're whispering about, nor does she really care. Since she's the only one who really cares about this class, she's decided to try her hardest in it, not letting anything or anyone distract her from the music.

The warm-ups stop for a moment while Mr. Nine lectures about tone quality. Naminé is listening intently, but something in the corner of her eye catches her attention: two heads peeking up slightly over the row of chairs. One head is covered in slivery smooth hair, the other is covered in wild, spiky, brown hair.

It seems like two troublemakers have decided to hide in the space that the rows of chairs make. If you lay down in between any two rows of chairs, you're completely hidden to the people in front of you.

That is, unless you decide to be dumb about it and lift your head up, letting everyone see you.

Because of her determination to take the class seriously, Naminé doesn't really find the whole ordeal amusing in the least. However, her classmates think differently…

A titter of laughter emits from everyone after the two heads peek over the top of the chairs, except for Naminé's and the teacher's, of course. Naturally, a small escape of laughter from one person is nothing, but a bit of laughter coming from (almost) every single person in the choir is enough for anyone to notice something's up.

"Class…" Mr. Nine stops his lecturing. "What's so funny?"

No answer…

"Come on, I'm serious! If something's funny, let me in on the joke, too. I wanna laugh about it!"

Silence…

Mr. Nine sighs, frustrated. "Demyx!"

"Y-yes?" a nervous boy with an odd, mullet-like hairstyle and blue-green eyes answers to the teacher.

"What is everyone laughing about?" Mr. Nine asks patiently.

"I-I don't know, um… sir!" the boy named Demyx stutters in reply. Naminé notes that he looks quite a bit older than her; he's probably a senior, maybe even held back a year or two. But he sure isn't acting like an adult.

"I think you do. Now spill," the teacher demands.

"No! No! I really don't! I swear!"

"Demyx, remember what I told you. If you don't listen to me at school, I will…"

"No! No! Noooooo! Dad, please don't!" Demyx gets down on hands and knees, begging.

"Did he just say 'Dad'?" Naminé deadpans, immediately feeling sorry for Demyx. "Huh… poor guy. He seems to be so high-strung."

"Yes, Demyx. If you don't tell me, I'll take away your sitar! Now, tell me what's so funny!" Mr. Nine points at Demyx menacingly.

Feeling defeated, Demyx points to the general location of the two random, unseen people. "Over there…"

Mr. Nine nods curtly to his son, making his way down the rows of the auditorium, finally stopping at one.

There's a short moment of silence before two boys get up simultaneously and make their way to the risers, all the while being applauded by all members of the choir. Well… almost. Naminé is, of course, the exception.

But, strangely enough, she's not the exception because of her disapproval of the prank, but because she can't keep her eyes off one of the boys that's emerged from the row and is now making his way towards the risers.

The wild chestnut hair, the aesthetic sapphire eyes, the irresistible goofy grin, the always-friendly face, all of the features are there.

Is it…? Could it be…?

"Sora?" Naminé thinks ecstatically, with a fast heartbeat and rising temperature to boot.

Apparently, all of the reactions to the features are still there, too.

Naminé watches him smile a thanks to all of his applauding "fans," waving to a few like some sort of celebrity. It's just like meeting him for the first time all over again; his smile brings warmth into her heart that she just can't explain. That natural, nostalgic feeling of that one day so many weeks ago is coming back to her, and it takes all of her being to not lose grip with her thoughts.

But she knows that she shouldn't be thinking of things like this. No, not her, not about Sora, of all people! She hardly knows him! She shouldn't care so much about how he makes her feel…

Even though he makes her feel happy, possibly happier than anyone else is currently capable of…

No! He can't. He doesn't. It's just not true. They hardly know each other; for goodness sake, they only met once, and that was for what? Five hours?

But, in those five hours…

Sure, it may seem sort of fairytale-ish; it may be a bit like what happens in those cliché movies, but Sora has somehow traveled so deep into Naminé's heart, he's practically built his own home there.

And it's a mansion.

But, she's acting silly. She has to get her mind off of this little daydream. She is, after all, sort of a stranger to him. He probably doesn't even remember her…

Naminé frowns slightly at the thought, but she's immediately pulled away from her thoughts when the applause stops and Mr. Nine's booming voice can be heard.

"Ah, Sora Matthews, you troublemaker. I'm glad you haven't changed!" Mr. Nine pats Sora's shoulder like an old friend. "But, I have to punish you for your misdeeds and all that good stuff, so… now you have to conduct the class for the rest of the period!"

Sora laughs wholeheartedly. Oh, how Naminé has missed that laugh of his. She doesn't realize it until just now, though, after it's been so long since she's heard it.

"Good one, Mr. Nine! You have a few jokes of your own, I see," Sora replies, trying to edge his way to the risers…

But Mr. Nine's grip on Sora's shoulder doesn't loosen. "No jokes here, Sora. Here's the baton," he says, handing the poor boy a baton.

"But! Riku doesn't have to do it!" Sora protests.

"That's because I like Riku more." Mr. Nine sends a salute to Riku, who returns it with a smirk on his face. "And, to tell you the truth, I'm sort of tired of conducting..."

Demyx gives his input, "Come on, Sora! Conducting isn't too bad. ...We're still buds, righ—?"

"Silence, traitor!" Riku cuts Demyx off, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"Hey! That's my line…" Demyx mutters, loud enough for everyone to hear. Most of the students roll their eyes at his comment, either confused or indifferent.

"His line? What's he talking about?" Naminé wonders absentmindedly, attention still mainly focused on Sora… and choir, of course.

Sora pouts, still not liking the injustice, no matter how slight of an injustice it may be.

Mr. Nine sighs. "Sora, it's not that big of a deal. There's only five minutes left of class anyhow. You should be grateful that I'm not giving you a detention, yeah? I'll even help you out by playing the piano. Come on! Come on! Just get it over with!" With that, Mr. Nine gently pushes Sora to the place where the conductor normally stands, and makes his way over to the grande piano that's off to the side.

Sora sighs in defeat, raising his two hands, the baton in one of them. Snickers scatter throughout the mass of students, but Sora stops them all by flashing one of his trademark smiles and proceeds to lead the day's scales.

Things are pretty easy for the conductor when it comes to scales; whoever's on the piano plays the pitch that people are supposed to sing at and the conductor just controls the tempo. So, this leaves Sora free to look at whoever or whatever he wants while he's waving his arms around. And he does just that.

Naminé can't keep her eyes off of him. Well, she's not supposed to since he's the conductor, but some small voice in the back of her head tells her that she wouldn't be able to look away even if he weren't the conductor. He's just so darn noticeable, like the type of guy you'd have to be blind and deaf not to notice.

As she continues watching him, she sees a lot of things. She sees him smirk to his friend Riku; she sees him chuckle at a couple of his other friends, laughing with them as they laugh at his expense; she sees him glance at the clock a few times, counting down the time until he can finally stop waving his arms around like an idiot…

And then, she thinks she sees him seeing her.

It's hard to tell whether or not he could be looking at someone right behind her, but it looks like a glow of recognition appears in his eyes… because he recognizes her.

It's hard to tell if it's really been there all along, but if Naminé would notice, she'd see that little spark light up in his eyes… the spark that only lights up around her.

It's hard to tell if it's one of his typical smiles (after all, he has so many of them), but it takes a lot to notice that right now, Sora's smiling a smile… that was only ever meant for her.

(Not that either of them would know these little secrets; they'll find out about them later on.)

"Naminé…?" Sora whispers her name, hardly believing what he's seeing. He's almost mistaken her for an angel again, but what angel would really spend their time in this virtual Hell called school?

His gaze is locked on her, and he can't look away… not that he really wants to. She hasn't changed a bit, and he loves it. He loves that his memories of her are still unchanged, and hopes that she is still unchanged as well.

It's all too soon before the bell signaling the next class rings, and Sora loses sight of her in the blur of hundreds of moving students.

----------

"Naminé! Naminé!"

The girl in question turns around and around, but can't find whoever's calling her. She's standing in the middle of the hallway, completely lost. Because she didn't share choir with anyone she really knew, she couldn't ask for directions to her next class. And everyone's walking by her so quickly; she has no idea where she is.

"Okay, calm down, Naminé. You just need to gather your bearings. That's all." Naminé mentally calms herself down. She finds a spot in one of the lobbies that's relatively empty and leans against a brick wall. She waits until the hallways clear up a little and makes her way towards the nearest person to ask where the tenth grade English room is.

And she would have succeeded in her little mission if someone hadn't rudely tackled her to the ground.

CRASH!

"Oww…" Naminé complains, sitting up, massaging her arms that she knows will have bruises by tomorrow. Sometimes she wishes that she wouldn't bruise so darn easily…

She would get up completely, but there's a huge weight on her back, preventing her from doing so.

"Get off!" Naminé pouts, trying to shoo whoever it is away from her. Within a few seconds, the weight is off of her. She gets up to a standing position when she's tackled again, but by a bear-hug this time.

"Wha-What the heck?" Naminé grits her teeth, getting annoyed and panicky. "Get off of me, please! I-I'm gonna be late for class…"

"Naminé, what have I told you about being mean to your best friend?" a happy, familiar voice whispers, filtering through her ears. The voice isn't only whispering into her ears, but into her heart as well, all the way down to the home in her heart that he's built himself.

"S-Sora?" Naminé asks incredulously. She turns around, and sure enough, there he is in all his crazy-haired, blue-eyed, goofy grinning glory.

"Naminé…" Sora smiles that smile, the one that's only meant for her. "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

Hmm… perhaps Naminé's built a home in Sora's heart as well.

"R-really?" Naminé asks, confused. Here, she thought he'd forgotten all about her, but he's completely proving her wrong.

"Y-yeah!" Sora breathes out a laugh, immediately blushing when he realizes that he's sounding like a 'total sap' again. "I-I mean, you… we… ughh…" He hangs his head in embarrassment, partially trying to hide the speckles of scarlet on his face, partially trying to avoid her penetrating eyes.

Naminé laughs gently at his odd behavior, feeling that confused, woozy feeling all over again. She should be used to this wonderfully strange feeling by now; it's just as wonderful and strange as Sora himself. But, it's sure to go away in time. It has before, right?

Sora's head snaps up at the sound of her laughter. He thinks her laughter sounds wonderful, almost like bells…

But he pushes these thoughts aside for the moment, taking this opportunity to joke around with her, like they did on that day…

"What's so funny?" Sora asks her, almost accusingly. Nostalgia leads his mind away, back to the memory of their first real conversation that started with that same exact question.

Naminé remains silent, still somewhat at a loss for words because of this odd re-encounter with Sora.

"Aww, come on, Naminé! Don't tell me you're gonna be all shy and aloof again."

Naminé lowers her head, feeling slightly self-conscious now that he's pointed out her biggest flaw. "There's nothing wrong with being shy…" she says quietly.

Sora picks up on her small trace of insecurity, and acts on it. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it, okay? I just meant that…" he trails off.

Geez, what the heck does he mean? He's never been so tongue-tied in his life before.

"I just meant that… I mean, we got to be such good friends, right? You were opening up to me a lot; I just hope that hasn't changed…"

Naminé looks him in the eyes, smiling wistfully. "N-no, it hasn't changed, Sora. I'm just so surprised to see you again…"

"Yeah? M-me too…" Even though he can't seem to keep his eyes from avoiding her gaze, his smile never falters.

The two are wrapped in a comfortable silence, completely forgetting where they're at and what they're doing. The silence would have eventually developed into an awkward silence if the bell didn't ring, bringing the two back into reality.

"Oh, crap! We're late for class! Quick, tell me what class you have. I'll show you where it is before I go to mine, okay?" Sora touches her shoulder, trying to silently convey that he wants to help her out.

"A-alright." Naminé momentarily forgets the lull in their conversation and pulls out her schedule. "Umm… I have English with Miss Gainsborough next."

"Really? Me too!" Sora practically yells, eyes immediately brightening up, lips smiling wide from excitement.

Naminé can't help but smile in return. It's been said before, hasn't it? Sora's smiles are absolutely, wonderfully infectious.

"Lead the way then, Sora."

"Okay!" Sora declares excitedly, grabbing the blonde's hand in excitement.

Leading the way to the English classroom, Sora can't help but notice how warm and fuzzy he feels now that he's holding her hand. He hasn't seen her in what feels like years, even though it's only been about three months. He must be just nervous. After all, she's quite pretty. He'd be lying to himself if he said otherwise. And he's never been 'the confident one' when it comes to girls; that's Riku's forte.

So, what he's feeling now: the awkward churning of his stomach, the warmth spreading throughout his body, the stirring in his chest… it's all completely normal.

Right?

----------

"Sora and Naminé, I presume?" a kind-faced lady speaks as the two teenagers walk in the door. She has beautiful emerald eyes, and long, chestnut hair collected at the back of her head to make a braid that slides casually down her back.

Sora nods. "Sorry we're late, Miss Gainsborough. Naminé got lost." He rubs the back of his head bashfully with his free hand. The other one, Naminé notes with surprise (and glee), is still holding her own.

Miss Gainsborough nods and smiles politely. "It's fine. We were just talking about the curriculum. Feel free to sit anywhere." She gestures to the eight tables that are arranged throughout the room. From the looks of it, the tables can fit as many as six, but that doesn't stop a few people from squeezing in more than that, just so they can sit with all of their friends.

Sora nods and it's now that he realizes he's been holding Naminé's hand this whole time. Swiftly, he detaches their hands and makes his way over to a table. He sighs, almost sadly, already not liking the feeling of her warmth leaving his hand.

Naminé, however, has to go through the trouble of introducing herself to the teacher since she's new. So, she stops in front of the desk and mumbles a shy "hello."

Miss Gainsborough smiles warmly at the shy girl. "Hello Naminé. I'm Miss Gainsborough, but you can call me Aerith if you want. How are you liking Destiny High so far?"

"I like it a lot. Everyone is so nice. It's really big, though…" Naminé smiles sheepishly. She can never forget that detail about the school; it's because of the school's hugeness that she's gotten lost, after all.

Aerith laughs along with Naminé. "Yeah, it is pretty big. Don't worry; on my first day of working here, I got lost plenty of times. It just takes some getting used to."

Naminé smiles. She immediately feels comfortable around the teacher. Something about Aerith is so warm and motherly, like she's just naturally good at taking care of people and making them feel better.

"Well, Naminé. It's a pleasure to meet you. Pick any seat you like!" Aerith smiles once again, leaving Naminé to turn around to look for a table to sit at.

She doesn't spot Olette, but she still doesn't have to look very long for a seat. After all, it's hard to miss a boy and a girl, both whose hair stands out for different reasons, waving sporadically for her to sit with them.

Naminé cracks a smile and makes her way over to Sora's table. She sits next to Sora on the long end of the table. Naminé notices that the other person, sitting on the short end of the table, is a pretty girl with bright violet eyes and fiery scarlet hair.

"Naminé, right?" the redhead extends her hand, almost blinding Naminé with a smile. "I'm Kairi, one of Sora's good friends."

Naminé blinks a few times. Why does that name sound familiar…? Oh, Kairi! That's right! Sora had mentioned her...

The blonde shakes out of her own thoughts, shaking hands with Kairi. "It's nice to meet you, Kairi…"

Their meeting is cut short when Aerith begins addressing the class again. She talks a bit about the curriculum, vocabulary, and what books they're going to read for the year. She gives off the vibe of being a very laid-back yet still punctual teacher. Basically, as long as everyone's working and doing what they're supposed to, she doesn't mind being lenient. Everyone respects her because she respects them, so she's one of the favorite teachers at Destiny High.

With five minutes of class time left, she lets them talk amongst themselves while she sits at her desk and reads a book. This gives the girls time to continue with their conversation.

"It's nice to finally meet you, too, Naminé!" Kairi says genuinely, immediately picking up where they left off.

The blonde tilts her head to the side. "What do you mean by 'finally' meeting me?"

Kairi laughs. "Oh, nothing really. Just, for a few days, Sora wouldn't stop talking about yo—" She's abruptly cut off by a hand over her mouth. Namely, Sora's hand.

Sora laughs awkwardly. "Oh, Kairi. What did I tell you about eating cookies for breakfast? The sugar makes you exaggerate things…" Sora grits his teeth on the word 'exaggerate' but he still manages to aim a nervous smile at Naminé.

"Oh, he's shy… kind of like me," Naminé realizes, feeling internally giddy at the fact that Sora was talking about her to his friends. "That's so… cute." Her eyes immediately widen at the thought. She chuckles nervously, trying to move various thoughts to the back of her head. Thoughts like how true that actually is.

"I don't mind if you talk about me, Sora. Just as long as it isn't anything bad." Naminé smiles easily, already warming up to Kairi and her energy. Something about Kairi and Sora being with her makes her feel carefree, and it shows. She usually isn't so comfortable with joking around with people she's just met.

Kairi roughly removes Sora's hand from her mouth, eager to talk more. "Nope! Nothing bad whatsoever. I can't believe you were able to put up with that job for the whole summer, though. I wouldn't be able to do it. Way to show dedication!" Kairi nods her head in approval at Naminé.

Naminé laughs at Kairi's enthusiasm, so similar to Sora's. It makes her feel at home. "Well, working at the Amusement Park wasn't too bad. Right, Sora?"

"Ummm… err…. right!" Sora agrees awkwardly. Naminé furrows her brow in confusion as to why he's being so hesitant. She looks to Kairi for an explanation.

As if on cue, Kairi answers Naminé's unspoken question with a laugh, "Sora never told you, did he? He got fired from that job."

"You what?" Naminé turns to face an embarrassed Sora, who rubs the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah, I got fired," Sora confesses quietly.

"Yeah, I know that already. Tell me why, you cactus-head!" Naminé thinks irritably, obviously disgruntled at the fact that the reason she hasn't seen Sora all summer is because he got fired. However, despite her irritation, she settles on asking a simple, "Why?"

"They caught me eating the ice cream… twice," Sora mutters quickly before burying his head in his arms on the table surface. He feels extremely ashamed.

Naminé can't help but feel a little smug. "Oh Sora, why didn't you just listen to me?"

Sora replies with a muffled "I don't know", which sounds more like "I ono", but it gets the point across. Naminé smiles softly at his childish behavior.

"They must have gotten suspicious when they looked at the ice cream and saw fork markings in it," Kairi picks up the conversation, laughing easily. Naminé chuckles a bit at her joke. Of course, that is a bit odd... only Sora.

Kairi continues, "Seriously though, I felt bad for him; he really liked that job. And you should have seen him when he realized he wouldn't be able to see you at work agai—"

"Kairi, really!" Sora's head shoots up, cutting Kairi off once again. "That exaggerating thing is a problem! A really bad one…" After glowering at the redhead for a few moments, he looks from her to Naminé and turns a bit red before he lowers his head, hiding his face in his arms once more.

Kairi giggles. "Isn't he cute when he's shy?" she teases, patting Sora on his head in a friendly way. She looks up at Naminé, expecting her to answer. Naminé swears she hears Sora grumbling, but his speech is too muffled for her to tell.

After a moment, Naminé nods, agreeing with Kairi.

"Yeah… he is."

Ever so slightly, Sora's head turns so that he's facing Naminé. She can make out one of his big, blue eyes, almost completely hidden under the mass of spiky brown hair.

At first, Naminé feels a bit nervous. Should she not have said that? Yes, of course, Sora is cute, but she didn't have to let him know that she thinks that about him! Oh, why did she have to be honest? Why did she have to speak her mind? He probably feels awkward around her now because she said that…

But, all worries fade away when she ever so slightly sees a small smile on Sora's face. Of course, his arms hide most of the smile, but that one little hint is all it takes for Naminé to melt on the inside. She's never felt so relieved. She's also realizing how she tends to go on about Sora's smile; it's almost annoying, thinking about it so often. But she can't help it; he smiles so much and they are so very noticeable.

Their little 'moment' is interrupted when the bell signaling the end of class rings.

"What class do you have next, Naminé?" Kairi asks the blonde politely. Normally, Sora would have asked before Kairi, but he's still in a slight comatose state because of his prior embarrassment.

"Umm… biology with Mr. Vexen?" Naminé says it like a question, just because the name reminds her of one of Santa's reindeer. But what was the actual name…?

"Lets see… there's Dancer, Dasher, Comet, Donner…" Naminé begins mentally listing the names of the reindeer in her head.

Kairi laughs, one of many that's been heard today. "Oh, that quack! He's so easy to provoke. He's always more or less in a bad mood, just because he's wanted the position for chemistry sooo badly for years! And…" Kairi continues to ramble as Naminé continues her little quest for finding out the name of that reindeer.

"Prancer, Cupid, Blitzen, and… there's one more! Ugh… what is it?"

"Naminé?" Kairi waves her hand in front of the blonde's trance-like face. "Are you even listening? You don't have to be worried—"

"Vixen!" Naminé shouts out loud triumphantly, completely interrupting Kairi.

Phew. That was a close one. If she didn't figure it out, it would have bothered her all day. This, if anything, shows Naminé's slight tendency to be a perfectionist. But it's actually kind of a good thing; it's one of the reasons why her works of art are so… well, darn near perfect.

"What now?" Kairi asks, giggling. Naminé's outburst causes Sora to break out of his vegetable-like state and stare at her in confusion, along with Kairi.

"O-oh…" Naminé stares at her feet, nervously playing with her hair. "N-nothing."

Sora and Kairi exchange confused glances. They shrug to each other and turn their attention back to the shy blonde.

Well, this sucks. She feels completely stupid now. She's not normally one to randomly blurt out things that make no sense. She's been acting uncharacteristically talkative lately… maybe her growing confidence has something to do with it.

"Sorry, Kairi. I wasn't paying attention. What were you saying?" Naminé looks up, feeling slightly self-conscious.

Kairi smiles warmly at the girl. Despite the weird and random outburst, she finds herself becoming fond of Naminé already. "I was just saying how Sora and I both have biology next, too. And so does our friend Riku, so you'll be able to meet him!"

Naminé smiles, already feeling better. "O-oh. That's great!"

Kairi nods, happy that Naminé seems to be opening up. She looks up at the clock on the wall. "Oh, man! We better get going!"

So, they begin walking to the science wing. Their walk is filled with comfortable silence until Sora finally starts partaking in conversation again.

"Wait, how do you know Riku has bio next?"

"'Cause, I had history with him this morning." Kairi yawns at the thought. "Big yawn. History is the worst class to have in the morning. Mr. Zexion carries this big stupid book around everywhere, and his monotone voice is so annoying. He hardly even talks to the class, but when he does... wow."

"Done complaining yet?" Sora smirks, playfully teasing his friend.

"Not even close!" Kairi retorts back, yelling so loud that the sound nearly echoes off the walls. "It's his first year here, and he looks way too young to be teaching us. I'm seriously doubting his credentials." Kairi nods vehemently, pouting a bit.

Naminé laughs easily at Kairi's intense opinion of the teacher. She's starting to wonder if Sora's accusation of her 'problem' with exaggeration is actually true. "Is there anything about him you do like?" Naminé asks the redhead.

"No! Everything about him just irks me! I am irked by his existence. Even his stupid, flippy hair is annoying. Seriously, the only guy who can even dream of pulling off the 'hair covering the eyes' look is Riku."

"Aww, not even me, Kai?" Sora asks genially, swinging his hands up behind his head. Naminé internally laughs at how cute he is, just because he's asking the question.

Actually, that's not completely true. She's not laughing; she's giggling. Over his cute-ness, no less.

The realization kind of makes her a bit scared. Frequently admitting that her newest guy-friend is 'cute' is probably not the best idea, even if it's to herself. Must she keep reminding herself? They more or less just met, after all.

Kairi gives Sora's face a quick once-over. "Yes, Sora, I suppose. But you don't have nearly as much hair in front of your face as Riku does. Be happy with the hair you have, no matter how wild and gravity-defying it may be."

Kairi shifts over to Naminé, whispering, "He must go through hair-gel like crazy…" Naminé laughs lightly, covering her smile with a free hand.

"Hey! I heard that! And for your information, it's completely natural!"

"Sure it is, Sora. Sure it is," Kairi goads Sora even further.

In truth, most of Sora's friends know that Sora's hair is naturally like that. It's strange to think about it being natural, but it wouldn't be so soft and bouncy if he actually used that much hair gel. Kairi just enjoys poking fun at him for it, just because that's what best friends do. Constant teasing is a part of Sora and Kairi's daily schedule for each other. Naminé is just a silent observer in their playful banter.

"Kairi, I'd like to see you try and pull this look off." Sora chuckles, in a much better mood than he can remember being in for a long time. It probably has something to do with being able to see his friends for the whole day. He's especially happy because of the new additional friend (whom he's grown very fond of, he might add).

"Sora, in all seriousness, I bet you don't even run a brush through your hair when you get up. You just roll out of bed, maybe shake your head a bit, and it magically looks good. Be thankful that you can somehow make that porcupine-like hair of yours work for you." Kairi playfully sticks her tongue out at Sora.

"Actually, this is an improvement compared to what I have to wake up to. It's like my hair doesn't even want to be hair; it wants to be something cooler… like a dragon!" Sora gestures wildly with his hands.

Naminé laughs at his hand gestures and random dragon comment. Where the heck did he come up with that one?

Noticing her bell-like laughter, Sora glances at Naminé and immediately breaks into a soft smile when he realizes that she's laughing at his joke. The fact that he can make her laugh so easily just makes him feel… great, to say the least.

One self-esteem boost for Sora, coming up.

"A dragon, huh? Your hair sure dreams big!" Kairi pokes fun at Sora for the last time in a while, because they're finally approaching Mr. Vexen's room.

"Yeah…" Sora laughs lightly, touching one of the spikes that's standing almost completely straight up. "This one's the most troublesome…" he grumbles, but in a good-natured way.

Naminé laughs (once again) at his joke, and Sora (once again) feels a confidence boost coming on. It's so hard not to notice, the way he feels when she laughs. The way she shyly covers her mouth with her hand, the way her soft laughter reverberates through his eardrums… he doesn't understand why he loves it so much. He just does.

But, one thing's for sure. Just the sound of her laughter is enough to completely divert his attention, and that's something.

----------

~`.:You are so special
I hope that this makes you
smile
'Cause you
deserve every grin that you get
And you'll get 'em
alot from me :.~`


Hehe... so. Lots of stuff here. Some funny, some serious. Did anyone notice the reference to the game with Demyx's "line"? xD I thought it was kinda funny... Ooh. I bet some of you wanna kill me... first of all, I know some may not think Demyx should be a high school student, and Zexion shouldn't be a teacher, but it's just minor things. Besides, it's not impossible for someone who looks like they're in their twenties to be in high school. And it's not impossible for a new teacher to look too young. Sorry if it bothers you, but it's the way I think it'll work best.

Okay, so... don't be mad! I know what you're thinking -- Roxas/Sora/Naminé love triangles are so over-done. Believe me, I know. Keep in mind what I said before; this is sort of like a "trial" chapter. I want YOUR input on what you think about how it's going so far before I continue. But, keep in mind: I know exactly what I want to do from this point, and it'll be different from all of the Roxas/Naminé/Sora love-triangle stories (that I've read, anyway) thus far. There will be several different layers of conflict, both internal and external. Oh, it'll be different, trust me. If you're reading my other story, then you know that when I say "different", I mean it. At least, I'm pretty confident in that fact.

Ooh... one thing I definitely wanna know: how am I doing with characterization so far? Oh geez... I don't want so sound like I'm demanding reviews or anything. That's far from it. I mean, of course you don't have to review, but I care about your opinion a lot. It's almost stupid, how much I care xD. I just wanna know stuff! Like, if you laughed at all during this chapter, let me know! If you think this chapter blows, let me know! I wanna know everything; I'm nosy like that. x]

So yeah. You get the idea. ^_^