Roman Numeral

The school's brochure advertised the student center as having "Many diverse choices of food from all around the world!" though that just meant fried chicken, American-made Chinese food, frozen sushi, and a Starbucks. The options were not endless and they definitely were not diverse. When the students had ten or twenty minutes between classes, trying to rush through traffic to the nearest sub place or pizza joint was not possible so the college raked in the cash every year from the student center in addition to other on campus dining services for the dorm students.

At least the layout was as spacious as shown in the pictures. There was a large hall with many chairs and tables. On the far right wall stood the food court. On the left was a wall of windows where students looked out to the courtyard with a fountain and sitting grass area.

There were two students sitting at a table together lost in the crowd. The chubby brown-haired boy had an idiosyncratic black headband holding up most of his unkempt hair. He wore a red jersey tank-top over a black baggy t-shirt and sported lazy blue jeans. He was idly sipping soda while staring at his companion in front of him.

His friend had slicked-back, voluminous blonde hair. His outfit was more complex, but matched better. Like the other, he wore a black t-shirt with a strange design on it but contrasted with a green military vest that he coordinated with camouflage baggy shorts. It was the beginning of their school year, and he thought it was just too hot for anything else.

"So, why are you wearing jeans?" The blonde asked his friend in front of him. He reached out for one of the over-cooked French fries and twirled it around in his fingers for a moment before quickly shoving it into his mouth.

"Hayner, I don't look good in shorts. Trust me on this," he replied with a laugh. They had been good friends since high school and never once did he wear shorts. It certainly was an odd question. "But anyways," he continued, "I do have a question for you. Why did you get the master bedroom, again?"

Hayner smiled at him and finished swallowing his fries.

"We decided bedrooms by rock, paper, scissors. Even Roxas agreed to it." This would be their first time not living in the dorms. Rock, paper, scissors seemed like a fair call; It was simple, efficient, and there was no cheating. Pence had argued it was luck, but Hayner had told him that was the point because if they did something like a skateboarding race then Pence had no chance. He had no choice but to concede.

The brunette sighed. He was right. They played as their parents waited to move things into the apartment. Hayner won and chose the master bedroom, Roxas won the second round choosing the remodeled attic that he turned into a bedroom, and Pence was stuck with the small bedroom.

The attic was twice as big as the master bedroom, but Roxas was only allowed half. They set up their electronics, bean bags, a TV, and some other shared belongings on the other side, calling it their "gaming station." Roxas didn't mind really when he could lock them out past a certain time. Most of the new apartment rules were agreed upon last week.

In the student center, Pence and Hayner quietly ate their food, awkwardly avoiding conversation until a young girl with a smile and oddly styled, brown hair walked past their table. "Olette!" Pence yelled out somewhat loudly, causing a few other students to look up from their meals. Embarrassed, he moved his out-stretched hand that had been waving at her to rub the back of his neck - a nervous tick he picked up from Roxas.

Olette waved back at them before she pointed towards the sushi bar across the room. "She's getting food first," Hayner told his friend turned back towards Pence, who was still staring at the back of the girl. She was dressed in her usual attire; some boyish shorts and an orange tank top. He knew Pence saw her differently. Pence saw her in a blue Cinderella gown. Or, perhaps, lacy underwear.

"Sometimes I really am pathetic." Pence sighed in disappointment and rest his plump cheek into his large hand. "Yeah, you waved. Who the hell waves?" Hayner laughed, offering the rest of his fries. "Hear eat up. It always makes you feel better."

That was insulting. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The usually relaxed Pence was filled with anger. "Are you calling me fat?"

"Dude, that was not what I meant. You know that." Hayner grimaced. His friend was never upset over something so simple. He wondered if there was something else wrong. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Both boys relaxed at the table. Despite his outburst, Pence grabbed the fries anyways and placed one in his mouth. "Sorry about that. Let's change the subject."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. They looked across the court to see Olette third in line to order her food. There was still some time. One of them had to break the awkward silence.

Pence took the initiative. "So, I'm curious." Hayner rose his eyebrows, daring his friend to continue. "What happened over the summer with Namine? I know you told me that you two were dating, then something happened, and she angrily walked out, but what's the real story? Roxas definitely told me something different. "

Hayner reached across the table and started to shovel fries into his mouth with an embarrassed flush rising to his formerly-pale cheeks. He had a feeling this subject would come up. Damn Roxas. If he had only kept his mouth shut this conversation would not be happening.

"Hayner?" Pence whispered quietly.

"Goddammit," Hayner said loudly with a mouth full of fries, slamming his closed fists onto the circle table. "Roxas is dead to me." Across the table from him, Pence covered his mouth to try and hide his smile. It always amused Pence when his hot-headed friend got so wound up.

Hiding his face in embarrassment and perhaps shame, he put his head in his arms and his fingers in his hair. He pulled at his blonde fringe to keep his hands busy. "It was at Olette's party over the summer. Namine asked me out the weekend before at the end-of-the-year party. We went to see the school's fireworks and snuck onto the top of the dormitory." Pence nodded and grabbed another French fry. "Well, we went out on dates a few times. Movies and stuff. Of course, we made out when she came over. She had that job babysitting for her aunt, so that took up a lot of time. When we were both invited to Olette's party I knew she asked to stay over so I thought... you know," he hinted. Hayner looked up at Pence snacking on his food, looking utterly clueless.

"I thought we were going to have sex," Hayner whispered to the Pence after he had carefully picked his head up from the table. His hands clenched and unclenched nervously until the brunette responded. "Duh." He laughed, gently pushing on Hayner's head to get out of his private space. This had to look weird to Olette. Looking over Hayner, he noticed she was ordering her food now and wasn't paying any attention to them.

"Right, anyways." Hayner slowly adjusted himself back to a sitting position and dusted imaginary dirt off of his jacket. "She had a few drinks, I didn't, and we were making out on Olette's bed. We were pretty ready. Then Namine took off all her clothes in front of me but her underwear. Then when she and I were making out," His voice quickly changed to an annoyed speech and his eyebrows pinched. "The bitch got really pissed and threw Olette's fucking alarm clock against the wall just because I couldn't get it up."

Breaking out into sudden laughter, Pence didn't even notice that four large upperclassmen at the table adjacent from theirs were giving them confused looks. Hayner was flushing pink again and irritably crossed his arms over his chest. He turned away from Pence to hide his embarrassment. He frowned and snapped his eyes closed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Namine shrieked heatedly, awkwardly reaching across the unclothed boy underneath her to grab a hold of the nearest thing. It was a clock.

Hayner felt like time stopped in that moment after she chucked it against the wall, shattering it. He didn't know what to do and grimaced underneath her.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to do anything because the half-naked blonde had grabbed a hold of the blankets on top of him, quickly wrapped them around her feminine shoulders, and darted out the door.

It had been haunting him for two months considering it had only happened the third week into the summer. It was probably his fault, he thought. They were only dating for three weeks and knew each other for nine after Roxas introduced her to him. It was certainly too fast, but he felt the pressure from his friends every day.

"What's so funny?" Olette cleared her throat, interrupting the laughing. She stood in front of the two students holding a brown tray with a plate full of sushi and a plastic coke cup. Beside her was a petite girl with short dark red hair, and was wearing much more interesting clothing in Pence's opinion. She had picked out a light, pink lace v-neck tee over a white low-cut tank top and a tight black skirt.

When Hayner looked back at his friend, he was thankfully not laughing anymore but staring at the two girls. His inner Hayner was face palming. "Sit down, ladies."He chuckled somewhat nervously hoping Pence didn't bring it up.

Olette smiled at Pence again before she sat down with her tray on the table between Hayner and Pence, using the other hand swiftly to grab a metal chair at the table behind them. She used her ankle to pull it up as Olette took the opposite seat.

"Kairi," Hayner identified the red head and gave her a nod when she sat. She nodded back at him before quietly opening the box of sushi.

The two boys had only known Kairi for a year when Roxas introduced her as Namine's sister. They were separated at birth when their mother gave them up for adoption. Pence and Hayner did not meet Kairi until their first day of college but easily became friends with her, much like Namine.

"It's nothing," Hayner quickly told the two girls before his friend could tell them their real conversation, which would embarrass him much more now that Namine's sister was around. Pence, however; did not seem to care or even realize this fact because his next words were, "Oh just that Hayner couldn't get it up when..."

Before the brunette could finish his sentence, the two girls started laughing hysterically. Hayner scowled and narrowed his eyes at Pence. There was a slight pressure in his chest that he often felt when he became angry prior to an explosion. Not this time, he thought. Reaching his hand across the table to swipe the fries from Pence, he shot him a smirk, then swatted the fries off the table.

Pence's face fell from amusement to confusion. "Oops," Hayner remarked sarcastically after the fries had hit the floor below his seat. There was no more confusion in Pence's face. The two boys stared intensely at each other from across the table while the girls' laughter subsided.

Kairi was the first to notice. She had already felt bad about laughing considering it was her sister, in theory, dealing with the embarrassment as well. She reached across the table and tapped Olette, still amused, on the hand to stop her laughter.

"Sorry, Hayner," Ollete chuckled and smiled over at him innocently. He could tell she was sincere but Pence was being strangely offensive to him. He wondered if it was to impress Olette. She was a nice and courteous girl, which was why they were friends with her. If that was his reasoning, he should have thought harder. But Hayner did not have to deal with his friends mistreating him. The easy option was to leave. It might not be the best and probably was slightly cowardly but that was beside the point.

When the two girls and Pence started casually whispering to each other about what he thought was more stories to embarrass him, Hayner jumped from his seat, screeching the chair against the floor. He winced at the noise. "Sorry, kids," He snarled. "I think I'm going to get out of here. I'm just here for your amusement anyways."

He quickly grabbed a hold of his empty lunch tray and avoided their gazes. He could only guess that Pence was angry, Kairi was confused, and Olette was offended. Just like he assumed, Olette protested, "Don't go. We were only joking, Hayner." But this time he had his own place to go back to. There was no awkward freshman roommate waiting for himplaying computer games all day trapped in the dark dorm. Roxas was probably there, he thought. Then at least he would have someone.

There was a loud thumping of bass reverberating off the walls. The room was pitch black except for a white strobe light flashing throughout the room, the ceiling was covered with glowing purple stars, and in the middle of the room was a spinning disco ball the size of a basketball. The loud music was a trance style of techno, probably mixed by some indie DJ that Roxas liked.

His room took a week to decorate and Hayner had to admit that it did look amazing. It was like his personal rave. It was cheap, too. The stars, the disco ball, and the strobe light cost mere pennies. The only thing that took him some time to save up for was the speakers, which everyone loved. Of course, the girls begged him to bring them. Kairi had said how "awesome" they would be for parties. Hayner argued that the neighbors would not think they're so awesome. Luckily, as long as it was before midnight, the neighbors would not complain.

Despite being four o'clock in the afternoon, he wasn't surprised the attic was completely dark when he opened the door. He rubbed the palm of his hand against the right wall until he felt the light switch, flipping it up. The stairs illuminated, but the room above was still dark.

Still dragging his hand against the wall, Hayner carefully climbed the dimly lit stairs as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. At the top of the stairs was a brown couch made invisible in the darkness, sitting next to a matching love seat, creating an L-shape. There was a mid-sized flat screen on a black stand four feet from the stairs. There were multiple gaming platforms underneath the TV, surrounded by the stereo system. It was the gaming station. Roxas had speakers in each corner of the room, two standing speakers by the TV, and two speakers on the head of his bed, and one near his closet. It made the room sound amazing. At the moment, half of them were all blaring loud trance.

He reached the top of the stairs and curiously glanced over at the bed sitting adjacent to the couches with the white headboard pushed up against the wall. Roxas lay on the bed with his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling covered in stars. Hayner couldn't imagine he would be doing anything else. Making his way over, he carefully passed the TV and lightly sat down on the bed beside Roxas' head.

Roxas didn't flinch. He just turned his head away from the ceiling to look at Hayner with a smile. Hayner couldn't possibly hear if he was saying anything and quickly sat up on the bed to grab a small silver remote on the headboard. He turn the volume to a somewhat reasonable level and lay back down.

Hayner smirked. "Nice." He commented. "Enjoying your own little world? I'm sorry to disrupt it." His tone eased into sarcasm. It did not surprise Roxas, who was now lying on his back again. His eyes met Hayner's in the darkness and he slowly frowned.

"You're in a bad mood." Roxas said with a sigh, thinking this was probably leading to a hour-long rant about how unfair college was or how Hayner was annoyed with his family. Surprisingly, it wasn't. Which became very clear the moment Hayner opened his mouth again.

"And you're a jackass. I just came back from the union with Olette and Pence. First, it was Pence, then Olette, and of course Kairi had to join," He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Guess what the subject of choice was." Roxas shrugged in confusion. "Me. Guess what about me."

Roxas sighed again. He didn't know - or care. Hayner didn't really seem to get that. "Dude, I don't know," He interrupted angrily. He idly twirled the remote between his fingers to keep himself busy and avoided Hayner's gaze. There was no telling if this was something he actually did wrong or if Hayner was exaggerating. However, Hayner stared directly at him. With any luck, he hoped this would show his seriousness.

"About the party with Namine. You told everyone!" He shouted loudly and quickly stood up from the bed, throwing his arms in the air in defeat. His face was flushed red but hidden in the darkness. It was one thing to be humiliated by your friends but another to be betrayed by your best friend. Perhaps betrayal was too dramatic but it was hurtful, he thought.

The other boy immediately sat up, swung his legs over the bed to sit normally, and gently tossed the remote on the bed. He frowned at Hayner and replied, "No, I didn't. I told Pence. He told everyone. It was his fault, dude."

It took a moment to set in. It was probably true. Roxas was his best friend after all. Pence had been acting strange lately, wanting more attention for himself. He supposed it had to do with a few days Olette and Hayner had the summer before they came to college. It ended with Hayner telling her that she was better as a friend. Pence was bitter with jealousy.

"What?" Hayner choked out pathetically. He gently rubbed his right arm with his left hand and avoided looking at Roxas. This was pretty embarrassing. "I'm sorry, dude. I should have known. That fucking jerk. He will regret-"Roxas stood up and quickly threw his arms into the air. "Don't be ridiculous. Besides, he only told Olette. Namine told Kairi and I think she told some other people. Let's just forget it. I'm sorry."

He sighed heavily. Roxas was right. He was caught up in the moment. Pence was still his friend. Perhaps if he cleared things up for him that he did not have feelings for Olette, this would all go away. Maybe Pence would even ask Olette out. He smiled at the thought of his friend finally happy instead of having to hear about his unrequited love.

Roxas patted Hayner's shoulder as he passed him, walking toward the wall near the TV. He casually flipped the second switch on, revealing the rest of the room. The carpet was a soft plush blue color matching the light blue on the walls, but the ceiling was a dark blue color like the night sky. The rest of room was rather plain: a black dresser below the window, a shelf of Roxas' miscellaneous CD collection by the stairs across from his bed, and two bright colored bean bag chairs sitting at the bottom of his bed.

It suited Roxas, Hayner though: simple, yet unrefined. "No, dude. I'm sorry," He chuckled softly and turned around to face the other blonde. He could still feel the awkwardness in the room. "Let's quit this before it gets too gay." That made Roxas laugh.

"Definitely."

"Yeah, you didn't miss anything when we went to get food. How was the interview for the job, anyways?"

"Fine."

"Just fine?"

"I got the job."

"You don't seem happy."

Roxas sighed and took a few steps back until he was leaning against the wall only a few inches away from the stairs. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head back to look up at his now clearly-lit ceiling. "I'm happy, I guess. I'm just bored with life," He told him, hoping that this didn't make him look stupid. He peeked at Hayner to read his expression.

It seemed that Hayner had sat back down on the bed. He had one leg relaxed over the other holding his foot, which was wagging anxiously.

"You're such a girl sometimes," He laughed playfully. "You have everything, Roxas. You have an awesome apartment, an awesome roommate," He pointed to himself with a smirk before continuing. "You could get any girl you want, pretty much, but decide to stay single. I respect that. Clearly, chicks cause drama. Anyways, I think the job might cheer you up. Did I mention it's an awesome job? You're working at a used movies, music, and game store. Everything amazing! You'll probably meet new people. I'm sure you're sick of seeing my sorry ass. Maybe a girl? I don't know. Why not Kairi or Namine?"

"Since obviously Olette is out of the question." Roxas commented with a matching smirk after Hayner was done with his rant. Even if he was the most hot-headed person he had ever met, Hayner definitely knew how to put things in simple perspectives when Roxas was caught up in his own thoughts.

Hayner smiled, randomly standing up from the bed and crossed his arms across his chest. He had a problem sitting still for a long time. Roxas knew this, which was why he was horrible at video games as well.

Both boys jumped at a light vibration in their pockets. Roxas and Hayner both quickly pulled out their cell phones. Flipping and sliding them up, they both saw they had a text from Olette. It read: "Hey boys, you were supposed to meet us at Heavenly Delight 10 min ago. Our ice cream tastes so good. Be jealous. Xoxo Olette."

"God, they could've waited," Roxas heard Hayner comment irritably before looking up to grin at his friend. When the other looked up, they both rolled their eyes sarcastically before quickly moving to make their way down the stairs to leave.

After a busy day, people cannot avoid the presence of ice cream: a dribble of strawberry on the glossy white tiled floor, piles of caramel sitting on the circular tables, a doorknob wet from the touch of sticky fingers, chocolate chips strewn across the countertop.

Another face in the crowd to the cashier was a red-haired boy staring curiously up at the menu. Beside him was a young mother with dark brown hair tied in a ribbon. When the boy asked for the largest ice cream serving, she denied him. Immediately, there was crying and shrieking that could be heard from the bathrooms in the back of the parlor. "I hate kids," Hayner said in a shrill voice as he entered the parlor. Roxas walked in beside him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Don't complain so much," Roxas whispered softly, glancing around the entrance trying not to feel so embarrassed. Hayner could be so loud sometimes. He always felt like people were judging them.

Hayner particularly didn't care and just ignored his friend before spotting Olette and Pence waiting for them at a table. It was against the windows across from the counter. They waved in unison, smiling. He wanted to punch that smile off of Pence's face, but he promised Roxas he would play nice. He told himself it was a stupid reason to be mad anyways.

Looking back over at his companion, he realized Roxas was already walking toward the counter to order. He quickly followed him and stood quietly behind him in line for the register. The screaming child was pulling on his mother's pink dress in front of them, who stood behind a tall man with short blond-hair. He was ordering his ice cream first which meant Hayner was only three- or four, depending on Roxas' mood- away from delicious happiness.

There were over thirty flavors of ice cream – everything from vanilla to coconut. After ordering, "Heavenly Delight" customers chose from twenty toppings to mix into their ice cream.

"Finally," Roxas said with a sigh when the child in front of them stopped crying. He glanced over at Hayner with a frown. Predicting Hayner's reaction, he added, "Yes, even I get annoyed sometimes." The other chuckled and watched the tall blond-haired man from before walk away from the counter.

When he returned to look in front of him, he now was staring into deep blue eyes of a black-haired girl wearing a white apron and a '50s-style diner hat. Her name tag read "Xion". Hayner quickly glanced around him for the lady and her child, but they were nowhere in sight.

"Where'd the kid go?" He whispered to Roxas as he slightly leaned into him, keeping his eyes on the weird girl, who was staring back. The rest of her outfit was a bright pink and his eyes hurt just looking at it. He couldn't even imagine working there.

Roxas rolled his eyes and gently pushed his friend away as he stepped up closer to the counter. "She took him to the bathroom when you were people-watching and angst-ing." He replied quietly before clearing his throat to order. "I just want a scoop of chocolate and raspberry."

The cashier smiled and repeated his order to him, pushing buttons on her screen to send the order. When she turned around to scoop him up the ice cream, Roxas scrambled through his front pockets searching for money. Hayner gave him a quick look and whispered "Don't look at me for money. You're the one with a job now."

Rolling his eyes at his friend, Roxas pulled out three dollar bills and quickly tossed them onto the cashier's counter. She was holding a white paper cup of two ice cream scoops and gently placed it in Roxas's hands. "Thank you," she said with a smile.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders at Hayner and stepped out of line, making his way over to the table with Olette and Pence. He wondered what the point was of coming to this place if Roxas did not even get toppings. He glanced up at the menu of choices. Rasberry, no. Chocolate, no. Vanilla, no. Suddenly, he smiled at one of the choices.

"Peanut butter. Two scoops." He ordered in certainty, proudly crossing his arms over his chest. The cashier showed no expression besides a smile as she quickly punched in the order. His eyes quickly scanned the restaurant again, noticing that Roxas had left the last spot at their table for him by Pence. Great.

He was still upset with Pence, but Roxas was right about not staying mad. They were his friends, and it was about three months ago, anyways. He didn't even see Namine after that. He was too busy with his summer job.

Sighing softly, he turned back to the smiling cashier holding out the ice cream to him. Hayner gladly took it and reached down into his pockets to pull out three dollars. Setting them on the counter with his free hand, he looked up at her and said, "Thanks." After all, having to deal with screaming kids, she probably has had worse days than him.

Hayner held onto the paper bowl of ice cream and slowly walked over to a large counter adjacent from the cashier. It was full of topping choices for ice cream in glass jars. There were only two other people using the counter, including the blonde-haired man from earlier and a small child. He frowned at the kid and set his ice cream down on the counter next to the blonde's.

"You're ugly," The brunette child said to him as he grabbed his newly-topped ice cream from the counter. He stuck his tongue out at Hayner before he could say anything and quickly ran toward his parents near the door.

He rolled his eyes at the boy and reached over the counter to grab a hold of a glass sugar shaker that was filled with sprinkles. He stared down at his ice cream, carefully holding the shaker over it. When he started to shake the sprinkles onto his ice cream, he felt a light nudge to his right shoulder that had been holding it.

In reaction to the sudden touch, Hayner jumped and accidentally dropped the shaker onto the counter. The contents inside spilled everywhere, ruining his ice cream. Immediately, Hayner grabbed the shaker again, setting it up so it would not spill more than it had already.

"Thanks, jackass!" He basically shouted at the man standing beside him who he had assumed bumped into him causing the spill. Looking up at his companion, his eyes met light blue ones that were narrowed angrily at him. He was yelling at a complete stranger after all.

The man shuffled in his grey jacket and snatched his own ice cream up from the counter, holding it close to him. His eyes bore straight into Hayner almost as if he was trying to figure him out. His blonde hair was slightly slicked back. He stood about a foot taller than Hayner.

"Aren't you being a little dramatic, kid?" He had the audacity to accuse Hayner of being dramatic with a smirk to top it off. Hayner did not take kindly to this. Without even thinking it over, he snatched the sprinkle shaker from the counter with his free hand and reached over to spill the rest of its contents onto the man's ice cream. It was an obvious invasion of personal space.

Hayner did not seem to care, however; because he set the shaker back down onto the dirty counter, smiling like an idiot. "What is wrong with you?" The stranger exclaimed angrily as he began shaking his ice cream to try and rid the sprinkles. He stared down at him angrily and took a step closer to the younger man.

Suddenly, the space was filled between them with another blonde and Hayner quickly took a step back in confusion. "I'm so sorry," He heard Roxas say to the man when he stepped in front of him. He extended an arm out in front of Hayner almost as if shielding him. He rolled his eyes at his friend coming to his rescue.

The man was surprised for a moment but then nodded. "It's fine. I understand some people get heated over such little things." He chuckled softly, changing his voice to a more playful tone.

Hayner reached out in front of him and gently pushed Roxas away, walking away from the counter toward Pence and Olette's table. He did not even care about his ice cream anymore. Today was upsetting him and if he stayed any longer, he imagined himself calling Roxas and the man some "not nice" names.

When he reached the table with his ice cream in hand, Olette and Pence were staring at him awkwardly. Olette placed a finger in the air and wiggled it as if saying "shame on you". He ignored it and reclined into the chair. They weren't there, he told himself. They didn't know how rude the older man was being.

Craning his neck to look behind him, he noticed that Hayner was walking toward them now and the older man was staring at them with a frown. He thought of sticking his tongue out at him but Roxas caught his gaze.

"Why can't you just play nice?" Roxas said amusingly to Hayner as he sat down in the chair next to Olette. Hayner gave him a quick sarcastic smile, then turned his attention to eating. His ice cream was already melting from him wasting time talking to the older man. If he wanted it to still taste good, he had to start eating it now.

Pence chuckled. "If he 'played nice,' I'd be worried he lost his mind," He replied back to Roxas, finishing off his ice cream. He had been glancing from Olette, who looked somewhat amused, to Hayner with the opposite expression. Sometimes he wondered if Olette actually found him funny or was just being nice. He sighed and decided to give Hayner a break. In retrospect, if he was not impressing Olette then he was being a jerk to his friend. "But I totally understand, dude." He added. "Teachers can be pricks."

Hayner shot him a look that said 'Are you on crack?' Roxas shrugged and Olette nodded her head. Were they all on crack, he wondered. He blurted, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Roxas wondered if Hayner really knew how stupid he looked sometimes. Being loud and shouting in front of other people, not to mention a spoon of ice cream hanging out of his mouth. He wanted to hide his face in his hands and shake his head.

"Hayner, that was a teacher," The blonde sighed, rolling his eyes. "If it was just some random guy, I wouldn't have just pulled you away or bothered to apologize."

Hayner snorted. "Yeah right. Why would they hire that prick?" He didn't believe Roxas. He was probably just trying to make him feel bad. Honestly, they probably all conspired for this to happen and make him look like the bad guy. Perhaps they even paid him. His thoughts started to run together.

Perhaps he was delusional.

"Professor Almasy, ring a bell?" He heard Olette say. She glanced up from her bowl of ice cream to meet his eyes and smiled softly. Olette was too sweet. She would never conspire something so evil.

"Dude, I had him for college writing." Roxas added, gently nudging Hayner beside him with his left elbow. He smiled at Olette, and the two then stared at Hayner, who looked lost in his thoughts. Roxas was too smart. He would never conspire something so stupid.

Pence finally broke his thoughts by tossing his spoon at Hayner. It bounced off Hayner's forehead into his bowl of ice cream, splashing some of the melted bits onto the table. The blonde glared up at Pence and gritted his teeth. Pence was stupid and evil enough, he thought.

Grabbing a hold of his half eaten ice cream cup, Hayner stood up from the chair and pushed it out with the back of his knees. He reached into his back pocket with his free hand to grab a hold of a folded up piece of paper. Unfolding it in half, he quickly glanced down at it. It was his school schedule for the next day.

11:00am – 12:15pm: Professor Seifer Almasy- Intro to Fiction Writing

His eyes widened to saucers. He was delusional. "Fuck," He muttered, slamming himself back down into his seat.