A/N: One thing I need to say... THANK YOU to everyone who submitted wonderfully nice reviews for my first chapter! Seriously, you all made my day. :) Not to mention gave me the courage to continue the story with more confidence and inspiration. (Wow, cliche much?) Anyway, you have no idea how happy you all made me feel. So, enjoy the next chapter!
Don't Lie to Me: Chapter 2
A cold blast of winter air greeted Nami as she stepped out of the inn. Frowning, she zipped up her jacket and trudged through the thin layer of snow on the ground in her old converses. Winter had always been her least favorite season.
Forget-Me-Not Valley seemed lifeless this particular morning. No one was out walking—it was too cold for that. No one was outside at Vesta's farm across the river because no crops could survive the brutal weather. Nami didn't know what was going on at the new farm. All she knew was that some snobby city-girl came down to the Valley to work on it after it had been vacant for years. The new girl rarely showed her face around town.
"Hey, Nami!" A familiar voice called out through the silence. Nami didn't even turn her head, knowing full well who it was. Rock came walking down the road that led to the Villa, his usual cocky smile plastered on his face. "Aw, c'mon! Don't ignore me. You still mad?"
Nami sighed and waited for Rock to catch up with her, realizing that he wouldn't stop talking until she answered him. "I'm not mad, okay?"
"Oh, right," The blond boy laughed as he approached his friend. "I forgot that you're just sour by nature."
"No thanks to you," Nami retorted. "What were you doing at the Villa, anyway?"
"None of your business," Rock said playfully, quoting Nami from earlier this morning. "Actually, I was just seeing if Lumina was home…"
"Why don't you just leave that poor girl alone?" Nami shook her head slowly.
"Are you kidding?" Rock placed his hands on his sides defiantly. "She can't get enough of me!"
Nami couldn't help but laugh. It was a rare thing to hear, Nami's laughter. Only a few people could ever make her do it, and Rock had always been one of them, when he wasn't busy pestering her. Although neither one of them would admit it, they got along well. Rock and Nami were a good team, each one holding the right amount of playfulness and sarcasm.
"Well, now that you're in a good mood," Rock grinned. "Wanna go grab a drink with me?"
Nami glanced to the side and noticed that they were standing outside the Blue Bar, the only public refreshment facility that Forget-Me-Not Valley had to offer. She shrugged and pushed her blazing red hair out of her eyes. "Sure."
The bar was empty as well, but still carried its normal aroma of dust and alcohol. Muffy, the blond barista, greeted them on their way in like she usually did with all her customers. Nami always wondered why Rock never went after the easy girls like Muffy. It seemed to her like they'd be the perfect couple—both of them were asking for it. But Rock seemed to prefer to chase around Lumina, the straight-laced girl living with her grandmother at the Villa. Nami always wondered about things like that, but thought it were better if she didn't get involved in Rock's "love life".
"I'll have the Blue Punch," Rock told Muffy. Then he turned to Nami, waiting for her to order.
"Me, too,"
Muffy turned around to mix the drinks. Sighing, Nami reached into her pocket to take out some gold to pay for her beverage, but was stopped by Rock's hand which shot out to grab her wrist.
"It's my treat," He smiled. "Besides, you better start saving up your money, you know?"
Nami looked away, determined not to let Rock see her blush. "Thanks…"
He placed 100 gold on the counter just as Muffy placed the drinks in front of them. Rock gulped his down quickly, and Nami took delicate sips from her glass. The silence between them wasn't awkward—Rock was used to Nami not talking—but he still felt the need to say something that might strike a conversation. He was surprised, however, when Nami was the first to speak up.
"So Lumina wasn't home?" She asked, moving her Blue Punch around in her glass. Rock let out a breath and leaned an elbow on the counter.
"Yeah, she's visiting her uncle in the city today. But I stuck around," He smirked casually. "Gotta make a good impression on the family."
Nami finished off her drink. "Somehow, you making a good impression seems like an oxymoron,"
"An oxy-what?"
"Never mind…"
"Hey, what do you know about love, anyway?" Rock demanded, swiveling around in his stool to face Nami.
"First of all, I know a lot more than you do. And secondly, I really doubt you're "in love" with Lumina."
"Okay, then!" Rock jumped out of his seat and stood, arms crossed. "If you can convince Lumina to go on a date with me, I'll…" He thought for a moment. "…pay your rent this month."
Nami's eyebrows went up, then stared long and hard at Rock. "What's the catch?"
"No catch!" He held his hands up in mock-defense. "I'll even pay you first since you seem so confident. But you gotta hold up your end of the deal."
Nami could tell this was a bad idea. Why was Rock being so generous? And since when does he have money? But she pushed all these concerns to the back of her mind. She had to do something to pay her rent, and if Rock wasn't joking, this seemed to good to be true. With a serious expression on her face, Nami stood in front of Rock, ignoring the dramatic difference in height. Then she held out her hand for him to shake and smirked.
"Deal."
--
Nami walked out of the bar in a good mood. For once, Rock's stupidity actually came in handy. She had little doubt this was a scam—Rock wasn't smart enough to think of something so conniving. Nami walked down the street, back toward the inn. It was probably a good idea to pay Ruby the rent now, just in case Rock decided to back out on the deal and wanted his money back.
The inn lobby was empty, so Nami peeked her head inside the kitchen where Ruby spent most of her time. That room was empty, too. Glancing around the inn, Nami's eyes stopped when she reached the door to Tim and Ruby's room beside the desk. Their door was always closed, and Nami rarely ever saw either of them go in there. Carefully, Nami gave three soft knocks to the door.
"Yes?" Ruby's sweet-toned voice called out from behind the door.
"It's me, Nami,"
Shuffling could be heard from the other side, and within seconds, Ruby appeared in the doorway, smiling. "Hello, Nami. What can I do for you?"
"Um, I have my rent today…" Nami trailed off.
"Oh! Goodness, that's wonderful. Come in for a moment, if you want," Ruby stepped back to make room for Nami to enter. Then she hurried toward her desk and shuffled through a stack of papers. "I have the payment envelope somewhere…"
Ruby's room was simple and clean. Her desk was pushed against the back wall, beside her large wardrobe. Her and Tim's bed was against the other wall, covered in neatly folded sheets and blankets. Nami couldn't quite place it, but there was something about it that reminded her of Ruby. For all the years Nami had been staying at the inn, she had never before been in her room.
"Maybe I left it out in the lobby," Ruby muttered to herself. "Excuse me for a minute, Nami…" She left the room to go search for her envelope, leaving Nami alone. She glanced around at the blank walls and leaned casually against the desk, knocking over a picture in the process. Nami picked it up, but froze before she could stand it back on the desktop.
A slightly younger version of Ruby smiled up at her in the picture. She was thinner, and had longer hair. On the other side was a younger Tim, without a moustache. He had a fuller head of hair, but looked about the same size as he did now. Between them was a small boy who looked about five or six. He was the spitting image of Tim, having the same relaxed eyes and the same welcoming smile. Nami tilted her head in confusion. Who was that little boy? And why wasn't Rock in the picture…?
"Here it is," Ruby said as she walked back into the room. Nami quickly placed the picture back on the desk where she found it, turning to face Ruby again.
"Okay, so here's the money," Nami put Rock's 250 gold in Ruby's palm. "Thanks again, Ruby."
"Of course, dear," She put her hand on Nami's shoulder. "We love having you here, you know. We would do anything in our power to help you stay."
"Oh…" Nami tried to hide her red face for the second time that day. Being sentimental wasn't a strength of hers. "…thank you. I should be going."
Nami hurried for the door, but paused when she reached the doorway. Then she turned around and genuinely smiled. "I like staying here."
With one final glance at Ruby and the picture sitting on the desk, she left the room.
A/N: I started having so much fun with Nami and Rock's dialogue in the first scene, I totally forgot that I actually had to start giving the story a plot. Haha! So then I added in the second part where Nami sees the picture and all... hence the abnormally long chapter. But at least now I can get the story moving toward where I originally planned it to go. Nami and Rock are SO much fun to write about together. But in my opinion, they wouldn't be good as anything other than close friends. They're so different, they'd never get along. I'm not a huge Rock/Lumina fan either, but I was trying to stay true to the characters, and Rock DOES like Lumina in the games... Now I'm rambling. ;) Next chapter on its way!