A.N.- Hey guys, here's the second chapter! Something I forgot to include is that just for the sake of time in the story, the "play island" and the main island are the same place, if that makes sense. It would just take a lot to describe every time they left, you know? Also, I'd like to especially thank KittyKat1217 for reviewing! Enjoy

***Here's something important. Whenever the story is written in first person, such as "I did this, I saw that. I, me blah blah blah" the section is in Kairi's POV. I will write in third person from any other character EXCEPT Sora. I really like this because Kairi is the main character and because she has so much interaction with Sora, it leaves more to the imagination if you don't know what he thinks. But just writing from Kairi's POV would be boring, so you'll see me write in Selphie, Tidus, Xion and the others too.***

QUIET HEARTS (By Amy Stroup)

PS- ITALICS are flashbacks again!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

I woke up to my phone buzzing off the hook the next morning. I groaned and reached over to see I had 5 messages, more than half of which were from Selphie.

SELPHIE: What the fuck did we do last night?

SELPHIE: How drunk did I get because I don't remember a thing

SELPHIE: Is this a hangover? Please Kairi I've never been drunk what do I do

NAMINE: Have you heard from Selphie yet, I'm a bit worried how she's taking her first hangover

SORA: You better be up by the time I get there or I'm gonna have to break in through the window

I rolled my eyes as I fired back some quick replies, thinking back to last night. After we had taken one last swim, we decided it was best to get home before Selphie passed out on us. Tidus offered to take her home since nobody trusted Riku enough to do it, Roxas had already left early with Namine, and Sora lived the furthest away out of all the guys.

I was snapped back to the present by a knock on the door. I got out of bed and I ran downstairs, quickly running my hand through my bedhead to try and tame it. I opened the door and was greeted by Sora. He was smirking and he held up a bag from Cid's bagel shop. "I got the usual, but I think you should get ready first. I'm taking you out."

Selphie woke up with a pounding headache and the feeling that her stomach was upside down. She opened her eyes just to shut them immediately as the light sent shocks of pain through her brain. 'What the hell did I do?' She thought to herself, trying to remember why she was currently at rock bottom. She couldn't remember anything past starting the bonfire and she suddenly came to the conclusion she was hungover. She quickly texted Kairi, verifying her suspicions.

KAIRI: Selphie, we had a bonfire. You got very drunk. And yes you are certainly hungover. Drink lots of water and sleep it off, lemme know how you feel later!

Selphie groaned, disappointment seeping into her. She had never been drunk before. 'Well there's a first for everything.' She thought sarcastically as she stumbled out of bed and towards the kitchen. She got a glass of water and took some aspirin for the headache when a knocking on the door sounded through the house. She grimaced as the sound seemed to vibrate through her brain before she made her way to the door to open it.

Tidus stood at her door, his hands shoved deep in his pockets as he looked at the girl who was shielding her eyes shyly, her features etched with confusion.

"Tidus? How do you know where I live?" She asked, squinting at the all-star through the bright island sun. She groaned and retreated back into her house, opening the door wider to let him in. Tidus accepted the unspoken invitation and stepped in, glancing around as he stepped out of his shoes.

"Well I didn't think you'd remember, but I had to walk you home last night." He explained, scratching behind the back of his neck as he took in Selphie. To be blunt, she looked like Alice. Completely hungover.

"Oh wow. That's embarrassing." She said, plopping herself onto the couch. Tidus sighed and took the seat next to her.

"Sorry. I just wanted to check up on you. Last night was kind of rough." He said thinking back to the night before. On the way home, Selphie had mumbled drunkenly and incoherently the whole way before puking in some bushes and thanking Tidus before stumbling up her stairs and into her house.

"I wish I could remember how badly I embarrassed myself in front of you." She said, looking over at him and leaning back.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm kind of used to taking care of drunk people." Tidus said with a smile, referring to his jock friends.

"That's right. Which reminds me, why are you here?" She asked, meeting his eyes. Tidus felt suddenly nervous under her stare. "You're a jock and I'm a nerd so technically, we shouldn't even be friends." She said, letting a smile tug at her lips. Tidus felt his own lips curve upwards.

"Well I always thought that the status quo was dumb." He said shrugging and leaning back on the couch. Selphie automatically followed suit and tucked her legs underneath her. "Besides, I always thought you were pretty cool." Tidus said, trying his best to not sound weird or anything.

"Really?" Selphie asked, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

"Oh yeah. You know when we were kids I was so jealous of your jump roping skills." Tidus said, smirking at her. She threw her head back and laughed before clutching her head. Still, she smiled at him and shook her head.

"Well you had a right to be. I was pretty awesome if I do say so myself." He couldn't explain it, but he was just drawn to her. He wanted to get to know her and talk to her. There was something about her that he had always kind of liked. She just drew all his attention like a magnet. He wasn't sure what it was but he knew this was the start to figuring it out.

(A.N.- Just a quick note the only time I have ever played video games besides KH is when my boyfriend forces me to play COD Black Ops and I typically have like a 1:20 kill ratio or something, so sorry if all of this is completely wrong)

"Damn it Riku, I was on a kill streak!" Xion yelled over the headset as she watched the screen splatter with blood, signaling she was dead. She heard Riku's deep rumbling laughter on the other side as she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry Xion, I just couldn't resist. You were camping out like a noob!" He said, still chuckling as her man was revived. Her anger was renewed and she had a solid three kills in the first minute, letting off her steam. "So, you called an emergency gaming session at nine in the morning because...?"

"Last night! You were there, remember?" Xion explained as her focus on the game softened and she thought back to last night. She couldn't help but get her hopes up. He had looked so relaxed and happy across the fire. In fact, she hadn't seem him look so calm for as long as she could remember. His eyes seemed to have been shining brighter, and he was actually smiling more lately. She knew what had caused the change too but before she could think about it, her train of thought was interrupted.

"You lied about getting to second just to test him didn't you?" Riku asked, sighing. Xion couldn't help but feel embarrassed as she remembered her little white lie in truth or dare. To be honest, Xion had never actually kissed a guy besides stupid Spin the Bottle games.

"Well, yeah. Come on, you're my therapist dude, you should know the furthest I got to bases was during softball season." Xion said, her smile quickly being replaced by a frown. "Besides, you asked it remember?"

"You know you're lucky to have chosen me as your confidant or else I wouldn't have shown you an ounce of mercy." She could practically hear the smirk in his voice as she rolled her eyes- a habit that was frequent during all their conversations. She sighed as the game ended and Riku was about 3 kills ahead of her. She started a new round and picked up where she left off as they waited for the connection to go through.

"But anyways, I was thinking... who do you think he likes?" That question had been the only thing on her mind for the past 12 hours. She desperately wanted an answer but at the same time, she was terrified to know. There were no signs that it was her, but then again there weren't any signs that it wasn't her either. She knew she couldn't analyze it without being biased, so of course she turned to her trusted love expert. Riku had a way of reading people and if anyone had a closest estimate, it was him.

"Xion..." Riku said, hesitating. Xion had stopped caring about the game a while ago and let herself walk into enemy zones, not caring when her screen was covered in blood every other shot. "Do you really want to know my opinion, or do you just want to hear what I know you do?" Riku asked. Xion bit her lip. Of course she wanted him to say her. But the truth was the truth, and whether Riku knew the answer or not, he probably at least had a good idea.

"Riku, please... I just want your honest opinion. Who do you think Roxas likes?" She asked, her heart speeding up at the sound of his name. She had been completely infatuated with the boy for as long as she could remember. Everything from his blond spiky hair to his blue eyes to his mysterious persona just drew her in. She felt like she really knew him, being that they had been friends way before the group even started. Granted, they weren't exactly friends anymore, but for some reason Xion couldn't let it go.

"Xion..." There was an unusually long pause and for a second she thought he had left. "I don't know." She knew right off the bat that he was lying. "It could be anyone." He said quickly, trying to back up his lie. Xion rolled her eyes and focused back on the game, picking off an enemy soldier who had stupidly ran across the ship deck without surveying the area.

"Alright. Well if you ever get a clue, will you tell me?" She asked, even though she knew he already had a suspect in mind.

"...Yeah. For right now though, I'd shoot that amateur camping behind the counter." Riku said before blood splattered her screen. Xion let Riku's lie go, but Roxas still remained in her thoughts.

"Oh, you're so on."

Namine woke up to the familiar scent of sandalwood and citrus (1), breathing in the scent deeply as she felt her senses waking up. The first thing she saw as she grudgingly opened her eyes was the pale yellow wall that lay ahead of her. She hummed contently, feeling slightly well-rested before she remembered where she was. A smile lit her face as she sighed lightly, turning around.

She was met with a pair of bright, shining, cerulean eyes staring at her with an overwhelming sense of adoration. She watched as the corners of his lips flipped upwards immediately, his hand reaching up to brush the strands of her flaxen hair out of her face. His hand then grazed against her cheek as she leaned into his touch. She felt his other arm wrap around her waist and pull her straight against his body, the scent of the boy next to her that she found herself so familiar with encasing her every nerve. His lips then pressed gently against her forehead before her eyes closed in bliss.

"Nam." He whispered as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He heaved a sigh as he held her tighter, not wanting to let go. But after glancing at the clock, he knew if he didn't leave now he wouldn't get home in time. "Namine." He whispered again, leaning back to look directly in her eyes. "If I don't leave now, I might not get the chance to come back." he said, running a hand softly through her light blond hair.

"That's a worthwhile risk if you ask me." She murmured as she burrowed herself deeper in his chest.

"Nams, I'd love to stay here with you for the rest of the morning, but if your parents come home to this, they're gonna assume the worst even though all we did was sleep in the same bed." He said. At that, she looked up and he found himself leaning down to capture her lips. He felt his heart rate shoot up as her lips pressed against his, soft but steady. Her hands held onto the front of his shirt as she tugged him closer and he felt his resolve diminishing with every second. 'God the things this girl does to me'

Namine on the other hand, couldn't form a single thought. Her mind buzzed as she leaned into the kiss. To think, after five months kissing him was still like the first time. He pulled away not too long after to her disappointment. She frowned as she watched him sit up and swing his legs over the bed. "Wait." She said, reaching her small hand and placing it on his arm, grasping it lightly. She felt his warm skin underneath as he turned around to face her.

"You'll come back when you can, right?" She asked. She already knew he would. He just chuckled lightly and bent down, pressing one more kiss to the top of her head.

"I'll be back as soon as possible. I promise, beautiful." He said before getting up and tiptoeing across the carpet. He lifted the window and looked out at the dark sky that was currently turning into shades of pink, purple, and blue. He turned back to see she was already settling back into bed, clutching the covers up to her body as she watched him with half-lidded eyes. He smiled at her one last time before slipping out the window.

She closed her eyes before rolling to the other side of the bed- his side of the bed- and trying to find that comforting smell that was purely Roxas.

"So what made you decide to sacrifice your precious sleep routine today?" I asked, biting into the delicious chocolate doughnut with Paopu icing glazed on top. Sora grinned and looked over at me as we made our way around town.

"Well, that would be you of course." He teased lightly, nudging into my side making me walk off balance. I smiled as I bumped him back.

"So where are you taking me out to then?" I asked, throwing the empty bag from my breakfast out as Sora turned the corner and I followed. After I had gotten ready, he insisted that he was taking me somewhere and that he wasn't going to tell me.

"Kairi I already told you, it's a secret." He whined. I just smiled at his childish complaining. As mature as Sora was, he had his fair share of moments. "Besides, surprises are sweet." He said, shrugging. I suddenly got nervous as his arm brushed mine and his eyes found mine. "Don't you think so?" He asked, his voice full of question. I tore my eyes away from his, concentrating on the pavement and telling my heart to take it down a few notches.

"Uh yeah, they're really sweet. And thoughtful." I said, trying to get my mind off of how I was just feeling. I shook my head as if that would help (which it didn't) and looked at where we were going. If he wouldn't tell me, maybe I could guess it. I immediately realized we were by the baseball fields and the island park. My mind flashed back to all the times our friends and I would come down here. There was one in particular that played as I saw the red baseball dugout, the paint worn and chipped after years of rain and wind damage.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sora asked. I blushed as my eyes met his and nodded. He sighed and ran a hand through his spikes.

"Rikku, it's raining! Why are we here?" A young boy with brown spiky hair and shoes that were a bit too big for him asked. There were eight young teenagers all about the age of 13, sitting in a newly painted baseball dugout as the rain poured on the conrete outside.

"Because Sora, it's almost the end of summer! We need to have as much fun as possible, don't you guys agree?" The bubbly blonde asked, throwing her arms around the two people she sat between. The short-blacked hair girl on her left just rolled her eyes as the boy with spiky blonde hair shrugged out from underneath her arm. He looked almost identical to Sora.

"I agree with Rikku, we haven't done anything fun this summer guys." Another boy stood up, he was the tallest one there.

"But Cloud, by staying out here we have a large risk of getting the cold or the flu." The girl with light brown hair countered, nervously twisting a strand of her hair around her finger.

"Selphie's right." The boy with moppy sandy hair beside her stuck up for her.

"Really Tidus?" Cloud asked with an eye roll. "What do you think Kairi?" He asked, turning to said girl. She blushed, the shade of red on her cheeks matching the claret color of her hair as she shrugged.

"I don't know." She offered, swinging her legs back and forth. "Sora?" She asked. All heads turned to the mentioned boy.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to do something. But we'd better make it quick so nobody gets sick." The suggestion seemed to please the majority of the teens. "Anyone got any ideas?" He asked, looking around at the circle of friends.

"How about Truth or Dare?" Cloud asked, sending a smirk at Rikku. Said girl jumped off the ledge she was perched on and flitted to the center.

"What a great idea." She exclaimed. "Anybody want to go first?" She asked, looking at her friends like they were gazelle's and she was a lion, ready to pounce. Nobody offered to go first. They knew Rikku was merciless and had a knack for embarassing everybody. Besides that, none of them really wanted to be there. Well, except one person who had it all planned out

"I'll go." Cloud said, stepping up to Rikku with a smirk on his face. "Give me the best dare you've got." She sent him a knowing smile before innocently glancing around the circle.

"I dare you to... kiss Kairi."

I felt awkward just remembering that day. It was the day our group changed forever. Of course Namine came along the next year and Riku came the year after that, but they were just the original eight. I knew why they left, of course. It had always been a rule, a spoken one nonetheless, that that kind of thing was off limits. We had all made it when we turned 12 and teenage hormones kicked in. None of us wanted to cause any drama with all of that, and to this day the no-kissing rule held firm.

Sora was always the leader, and he decided it was best that Rikku and Cloud were "kicked off the island" after that day for breaking the number one rule. I didn't disagree either. We actually all voted unanimously. Those two were always up to something together, and they always wanted to do things that were kind of wrong for 13 year olds to do, like sneak into Atlantica(2) after closing hours. Needless to say, we got grounded a lot less after that.

"I still think I made the right decision to this day." Sora said, reflecting back on the incident.

"I know you did." I said. I looked over at him to see he was smiling down at me.

For some reason, my body could not find a normal reaction around Sora. Sometimes, it was just this surge of warmth and comfort. Other times, I'd be edgy and jumpy. I didn't know why. It's like, when it was just Sora and Kairi like it's always been and nobody was acting strange or asking weird questions, it felt natural to be around him. Nothing was wrong. But the way things have been lately, sometimes I'd get nervous that he'd catch on to how I felt and it would ruin our friendship. So of course I'd act unusual.

Suddenly, Sora stopped and looked off down the road before turning back to me, taking something out of his back pocket.

"Do you trust me?"

"So how've you been lately?" Tidus questioned Selphie. He had managed to get her to sit down and eat a measly slice of toast for breakfast when he realized the two of them hadn't had a real conversation in a long time. The only things he knew about her was that she was at the top of their class and that she was not used to being hungover

"Where should I start, it's been a good five years or so since we've had a conversation this long." She said with a teasing smile as she sipped her glass of water. Her hangover was slowly but surely dissolving.

"Uh, you're right. I guess anywhere. What are you planning to do your senior year?"

"Well, I'm taking A.P. Chemistry with Mr. Merlin, A.P. Worlds Studies with Ms. Jane, A.P. Physics with Mr. Fair, and A.P. French but the teacher is new. I think his last name is Lumiere something or other. The teachers wouldn't really let me take more than four A.P.'s. Oh, and I'm hoping to tour Hollow Bastion's campus this summer. Ms. Jane's father is on the admissions board and she said I have a high chance of getting a great scholarship there." Selphie rattled off the speech she's had prepared since the second semester of junior year started.

Tidus was beyond impressed. The only other person in the whole school taking that many A.P.'s was Olette and Selphie was right behind her in class rank. But Hollow Bastion(3)? That was the best university possible.

"That's amazing Selphie! That's actually incredible. You've always wanted to go there." He said, remembering a seven year old Selphie that wouldn't stop talking about how one day, she'd go to college in the castle.

"Yeah, I've worked really hard for this. What about you Mr. Star Athlete?" She asked, nudging his shoulder. "How's high school been for you. I bet girls are all over you, being captain of the blitzball team and all." She said with a teasing smile.

"Well I'm not doing bad. My life revolves around sports though so there's no time for a relationship, not that I want one. The one bad thing about sports is that I don't really have a lot of study time, you know? I manage to stay eligible and it's not like I'm failing. Coach Phil and Coach Herc are kind of hard on me sometimes. But they're great, don't get me wrong. They've pushed me to become this athlete and I already have lots of schools scouting me so I'm thankful." He admitted.

"Wow. The pressure must be a lot sometimes." Selphie said, giving Tidus a sympathetic look. He just shrugged.

"Sometimes." He wasn't going to lie. Being expected to carry the team to a victory could be a lot. Being expected to motivate the team and get them to the championships and the playoffs was even more. And on top of that, he was in three different sports and a starter and leader on all of them.

"So how are your grades?" Selphie asked. She didn't want to pry but she had a feeling they weren't exactly high honor roll material.

"I have a C average." Tidus said shyly. Just as Selphie suspected.

"Tidus, I know you're busy with sports during the school year, but I think I can help you." She said, scooting closer to him. "Do you have sports a lot during the summer?"

"Just about once a week, why?"

"I can tutor you, if you'd like. I mean, I've helped Pence, Simba, and lots of others." She just wanted to help. And heck, if she could take Simba from class sleeper to class officer than she could surely help Tidus at least get honor roll and 3.0 GPA "It'll even be like sports. Once a week." She really wanted to see him do good.

Tidus thought about it. He sure could use the extra edge and the help. Once school started he'd be drowned with practices until sunset. And besides, it was Selphie. He really trusted her not to make fun of him when he struggled with something. He looked over at her and gave a smile and stook out his hand.

"Sure, it's a deal." He said. She beamed back at him and shook his hand. "I've got practice Tuesday mornings."

"And I've got tutoring on Mondays and Wednesdays, so how does Thursday sound?" She asked.

"Perfect. And... uh thanks Selph." He said, using her old nickname. She felt her smile grow wider at the sound of it. "Well I just came to check on you but it seems like you're feeling better. We should catch up like this again sometime." He said as he got up to leave. And he really meant it. Selphie was so open and relaxed, she was so easy for him to talk to and he really liked it.

"Definitely. I'll see you later." She said as she watched him leave. She hadn't expected Tidus to still be so... Tidus. She always thought that all the jocks were all so immature and self-absorbed. Sure, Tidus was boyish, but it was a different kind of boyish than immaturity, she just couldn't quite but a name to it yet. She was just happy to be getting an old friend back

"So are you going to tell me why you suddenly just had to have ice cream." Riku asked, watching as Xion contently nibbled her sea salt ice cream. She just looked up at him innocently and put on the clueless face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said dumbly. Riku just rolled his eyes. He knew exactly why she told him to meet her at Destiny Dairy. She wanted to know what he thought. And he sure as hell wasn't going to tell her. Personally, he thought it was obvious. He had been suspicious but last night merely put the stamp of verification on it.

"Look Xion, I lied." He received a smirk in satisfaction but he continued. "But I just... I don't think it's my place to tell you who Roxas likes. Or at least, who I think he likes." He said.

Xion hated it when Riku made sense, she really did. She knew whatever he thought wasn't set in stone and she knew that if anything she should just confess her feelings for Roxas already and get the cold hard truth from him. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted to know the truth, but more than anything she wanted to hear that she wasn't just a love-sick desperate girl with a crush. And she was one hundred percent terrified of not knowing the outcome. She sighed and looked at Riku sadly. "I hate it when you're right."

"But I will give you this. Last night he admitted there's a girl. It's something, evidence if you will." Riku said, being a smart-ass. "You know, you could easily just forget about him and move on." Riku said. He had been fighting with himself for awhile now. The last thing he wanted was to see Xion hurt. That girl was tough as hell, but he knew heartbreak defeats even the strongest people. But at the same time, she was already hurting. In his opinion, love sucked. But was it really love? Riku didn't think so. And he knew that the sooner Xion could accept that the two of them just didn't have the connection she insisted they did, the better off Xion would be.

"I just... I don't know what to do." Xion said. Even her favorite ice cream couldn't cheer her up.

"I'll tell you what, let's go to the beach." Riku suggested, standing up and walking towards his car. He didn't want to see Xion sad, especially over the same thing that had been bothering her since they became friends. "It'll help you clear your mind. It does for me, at least." He said, running around to the driver's side as she slid into the passenger's seat. Xion smiled over at Riku, her way of thanking him. He was always there for her, trying to take her mind off anything and trying to cheer her up. He was like a gay best friend, minus the gay part. He understood her and knew exactly what to say. You used to be able to say that about Roxas she thought to herself before immediately shoving that into the back of her mind.

The car ride was silent as both of their minds wandered. Riku knew where Xion's was. He held in a sigh as he felt his heart pang with guilt.

The signs had been building up since they got back from Christmas break. Something was... off. Roxas had started smiling, for one, which was very unlike what Riku had summed up of the broody blonde. And when he came up to Riku one day and actually started a conversation, he just knew something was up. There were tell tale signs on who the girl was every so often when they would slip up. Hell, if he wasn't so good at this shit, he would be just as clueless as the rest. But the nail in the coffin was last night. Roxas had admitted there was a girl. Sure, that helped.

But it was when he left with the girl. Sure, they had been friends for a while, some might even say close friends. Everyone knew that. But close friends did not hold hands, and they sure as hell did not kiss when they thought nobody was watching.

Roxas liked Namine, and by the looks of it, she liked him too. And Riku knew this would destroy his best friend.

Namine sighed as her thoughts flickered to last night. She couldn't shake the paranoid feeling that someone was onto them. Of course she felt it every now and then but this time was different. It seemed like hiding the fact that she was dating Roxas was getting harder and harder as the time went on, and he certainly wasn't making it any easier. He had managed to make sure they had more than half their classes together next year by sweet talking Ms. Bell(4) in the guidance department. He had admitted he liked a girl last night, and she was a terrible liar when it came to Riku's question. They couldn't do anything about it now but hope that nobody got too suspicious.

It was a mutual decision to keep their feelings a secret. They had their reasons, but they both shared one in particular that triumphed over all. It totally went against the group's "no kissing rule" to the tenth degree. If there was no kissing then Namine was pretty sure dating was also off limits. And it sucked.

She loved her friends, she really did, but she would give anything to finally be able to walk down the street and just hold his hand. It wasn't even kissing Roxas, or being able to give other girls a reason to back off that she wanted the most. As stupid as it sounded, she was dying to just hold his hand. It was such a simple gesture, but it spoke volumes.

Besides the fact they'd end up with the same fate as Cloud and Rikku, Namine also was afraid of how people would treat her. She wasn't ashamed of Roxas, of course not. Really, if it weren't for their friends, she was sure they'd be exclusive. But it was the fact that she was, well, her. And he was Roxas. People would think the two didn't quite match up. In fact, they already viewed their friendship as questionable, let alone their relationship.

For some reason, he was deemed "undateable". Namine rolled her eyes at that. He certainly was not, he was just guarded. She smiled as she remembered getting him to open up. And once he did, he never closed up to her again. She saw all of him, even the parts that he hid from everybody else. She knew things about him nobody knew, and that made her feel undeniably special.

And of course, their current situation was just the cliche "it's complicated" status. She knew he cared about her, and he wasn't forcing her to keep it hidden. They both knew it was for the best. Namine just didn't think it'd end up like this. Her thoughts were interrupted by the song coming from her phone as it lit up. She knew it was him by the song. She felt so girly for putting "All of Me" as his ringtone but it reminded her of him.

"Roxas?"

"Hey Nam." His voice was a light tenor and it danced through her ears so easily. She smiled at the sound of it. "I'll be back tonight, okay? I'm picking up Axel today to have a guys day." He explained.

"Sounds good, just give me a heads up." She already knew he would be back at the same time he had shown up for the past month.

"Alright." He said, chuckling knowing this too. "I'll see you later."

"Bye, have fun!" She said through the other end before she clicked the phone to hang up.

Over at his house, Roxas lay on his bead with his hands folded behind his head. It was crazy. Two years ago, he didn't even consider Namine much of a friend, and now she was his girlfriend. He shook his head as he got up and got ready to pick up his best friend.

Axel was coming back from Twilight Town University today and needless to say Roxas was pumped to spend some time with the fiery redhead. But he felt guilt settle in his stomach as he started his car and drove off towards the airport.

Not only was his relationship a secret to his eight friends and the whole school, but he couldn't even tell Axel. Roxas told Axel almost as much as he told Namine, and it felt wrong to keep this from him. But he knew he had to do it. As much as he loved Axel, the guy couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it. Roxas was sure this one was no exception especially since he talked to the rest of their friends quite a lot.

As he drove up the winding mountains of the island, he let his mind drift back to Namine. He felt so lucky to have her. At first, he pegged her as the shy and innocent, with nothing exciting that stood out. But the first time he spoke to her, like really spoke to her, he knew she was far from it. He just had to do a little digging. He laughed, remembering her stubbornness. 'If you dig, I'm going to dig too' she had said. He smiled as the memory flashed vividly. Her flaxen hair was braided over her right shoulder and she was wearing a white sundress with her tiny hands planted firmly in fists on her hips. He thought she looked cute at the time.

Now, he thought she was beautiful. Over all that time, he began to notice the small things. He noticed the way her eyes hardened and and narrowed as she drew in her sketchbooks, determined to create the perfect picture she had envisioned in her mind. He noticed how her eyelashes were naturally long and blond and that she didn't cover them in makeup to make them longer on a daily basis. He noticed that when she was lost in thought, she'd nibble at her bottom lip unconsciously. He noticed just how damn small she really was. He noticed how she balanced him out perfectly with her soft and gentleness, and he noticed that despite being small, she could be fierce. He noticed a lot of things.

And he hated keeping her a secret. He knew he had to though, he was there when they made the stupid rule. And granted, that rule probably saved him from some very awkward situations and he was thankful for that, but now it was currently holding him back from being able to kiss his girlfriend whenever he wanted. It was the same rule that allowed random guys to flirt with her without him being able to punch them in the face and not have an actual reason for doing it. Most of all, it was the stupid rule that forbid him from letting him put his hand on the small of her back, which was a subconscious habit he did to keep her safe and close. He gave up trying to count the number of times his hand had shot up to press against the small of her back, but immediately came back down.

As he pulled up to the airport and stepped out of the car, he tried to push that all off for just a while. The current status of his relationship didn't make him happy in the slightest but he wasn't going to let it ruin his reunion with his partner in crime.

"Roxie!" He heard a yell from across the parking lot as he saw a flash of red running his way. He chuckled and waved a hand over his head. This was going to be one hell of a summer.

"Sora, when I said I trusted you, I didn't quite agree to this." I was currently blindfolded and being carried piggy-back by my idiot best friend. I heard (more like felt) him laugh and I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Oh come on Kairi, it's just a little bit more." He said. He had insisted that I had to be blindfolded so the surprise was kept up until the last second. After another minute, I felt myself being lowered onto the ground. I sighed in relief and reached behind my head to take the cloth off.

"Thank God my arms were getting tired." I complained, struggling to untie the huge knot Sora had tied behind my head. "Hey, how many times did you tie this?" I asked. He just chuckled and replaced my hands.

"Kai, it's double knotted." Wow, that's kind of sad. "And your arms? I just carried you like half a mile!" The cloth was removed and I could see where he had taken me.

I gasped in surprise as I took it in. We stood in front of a wall on the less popular part of the beach that wasn't on the maps given to the tourists. To anybody else, it was a rock. But to me, to us, it was the most sacred and special spot on the whole island. "Our secret place..." I whispered, running my hands over the green leafy vines that covered the small crawlspace. I turned around to see Sora smiling stupidly, standing with his hands behind his head lazily. I launched myself into his chest with the tightest hug I could muster (You try clinging onto someone's neck for half a mile, it gets tough!).

"I just figured since we haven't been here in a while it'd be nice to take a trip down memory lane." He said, pulling out of my embrace and holding the vines to the side. I couldn't stop smiling as I lowered myself onto my hands and knees, crawling through into a bigger tunnel that was at least high enough for me to stand. Sora followed shortly behind, but when he tried to stand he busted his head against the dirt ceiling. I couldn't help but laugh as he rubbed his head and glared up at the dirt ceiling, hunching over to avoid any more damage. I reached over and gently ran a hand through his hair a few times in some attempt to help. "You know, I think this place got smaller." He said goofily.

"Yeah, that or you got taller." I suggested, making my way into the room. I felt my heart flutter with nothing but nostalgia as I glanced around the cave. Chalk drawings covered the wall, documenting our childhood. Sora soon stood beside me, looking around with the same sense of awe. "Wow." I said quietly, walking around looking at everything. One drawing in particular caught my eye as I walked over to it, kneeling down in front of it. It was the one that Sora and I had made when we were rather little and I felt the blush creep into my face thinking back to it.

We had believed in the story about the paopu fruit. Legend has it that when two people share the fruit together, their destinies become intertwined. Of course, most of the island natives didn't believe it. They waved it off as a marketing strategy to attract even more tourism. However, my grandmother always told me that she truly believed it, deep in her heart, and I always felt the same way.

"Heh, remember when Axel told us about it?" Sora said, referring to the legend as he plopped down next to me.

"Oh yeah. We rushed over here and drew this." I said, thinking back to the day.

"We also promised that... one day..." He said, trailing off and glancing over at me. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as his bright sapphire eyes stared right back at mine and my heart sped up. My mind blanked and I couldn't think about anything except the way he was looking at me.

His eyes were different. They were the same blue eyes I had come to fall for but they were laced with anticipation. He was the first one to break the stare and he immediately scrambled to his feet, nervously scratching the back of his neck. I felt my heart sink in disappointment. For what, I had no idea.

"Yeah, uh I just figured I would take you here to kind of make up for last night." He stumbled over his words but I still shook off our... moment and smiled at him. "I know I over reacted so I figured we could make a new drawing, you know?" He said as he shoved his hands deep in his pockets and looked at the circles he was drawing in the dirt with his foot. "Kind of like a new chapter." He said, his eyes connecting with mine again.

"That's really sweet Sora but I think you forgot something." I said, brushing off my knees as I got back to my feet and headed for the exit. He looked after me with a confused expression.

"What could I possibly have forgotten? I got up extra early and called Cid to make sure he had a fresh batch and..." I watched as his eyes lit up with realization. "Really?! Oh my God, how could you forget the chalk?" He muttered to himself as he pushed past me and crawled out of the vines. I gave one last glance back to the drawing before following him after.

"Don't worry Sora, I have a feeling we'll be back here soon."

A.N.- Okay so I want to explain some things. It's kind of long so feel free to disregard the following relevant (somewhat important) info if so desired:

(1)- Sandalwood and citrus is basically this really manly smell. I have candles from Bath and Bodyworks or whatever and honestly, it smells like my boyfriend so yeah, I wanted Roxas to smell like it. Nam and Rox are kind of based off my own relationship

(2)- Atlantica is a waterpark. It's like Dorney, Hershey, Six Flags, etc. Not Disney, because that is the holy grail.

(3)- Hollow Bastion is the equivalent to Princeton. Harvard and Stanford are too typical, gotta shake it up. But just think Ivy League, prestigous and what not.

(4)- Ms. Bell is Tinkerbell, NOT Belle. Just clearing that up

I kind of wanted to make sure that all the different viewpoints would be shown. All I originally had was the morning but at less than 3K words, I threw in the afternoon for you guys. And, I also wanted to make sure you really got to see at least a little insight to everyone's feelings. Sorry if I didn't do so good on certain characters, but all their relationships are developing differently. And I know specifically in Selphie/Tidus and Namine/Roxas's portions, I switched back and forth which is TEHNICALLY wrong, but I like it. Additionally, I'm sorry if it seems super fluffy and relationship-y but I wanted to kind of give insight to the relationships because that's honestly the new aspect in their lives. Like, they've all been friends forever, and of course they're gonna have friendship filled moments but their feelings are new developments despite the fact it's the beginning of a story. I hope that makes some sort of sense. And besides, I tried to split it like half and half so it's not so bad. I'm wondering, is there any specific characters you'd like to hear from?

Also I know it's kind of weird and that if anything Rikku and Yuna should be switched (going back to the background info) but like, I just know if Yuna was previously in the group then people would want her back in and to be shipped with Tidus i don't know guys, I just chose two charcters at random that wouldn't be weird to put in those roles like Aqua or something. They're not meant to be significant to the story line after the beginning picks up so bear with me

And yes I know the Rokunami (and considerably Sokai) part was more descriptive than the others but that's because Roxas and Namine are already together (secretively, of course) and because Kairi is the main character after all. This arc has lots of SOkai and Rokunami, the next arc will vary.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated, whether it's comments/concerns/suggestions or even constructive criticism. I hope you enjoyed it!