Remember when I said, waaaayyyy back, that I wanted "Masks" to last ~30 chapters? Now I think it'll have to be cut down to 17 or 18 chapters, as 30 is not realistic. Which means that my first story is already two-thirds done. *sniffles sadly*
But hey, five or six chapters remain—I won't be leaving you guys any time soon. And then there's "The Wanderer", which WILL run at least 30 chapters. Add that to yet another story idea I've thought up and I've got plenty of typing to do.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.
I just own this story. Enjoy!
I ambled down the street, unsure of where I was going; only knowing that my emotions were locked in one heck of a war.
I felt guilty about pushing away Vanitas, and hatred at myself for becoming so vulnerable to the past.
I felt anger towards Roxas. What he'd done had deprived me of a chance to be happy.
I felt sadness as well, for some reason. Even more confusing was that it came up every time I thought about Roxas.
But most of all, I felt as if I had somehow failed. I didn't know why, either.
Kairi and Xion might be able to help. I pulled my phone from my pocket and accessed the address book, calling Kairi first. She answered on the first ring.
"Hello?" she said.
"Kairi, it's me. Namine," I replied.
"Oh, hi, Namine! What do you need?"
"Listen, ummmm…do you mind if I come over to your house for a bit?" I asked.
"Why not? I'd love to have you over!"
"Thanks so much, Kairi."
"You're welcome. See ya!"
"See ya."
Next I dialed Xion's number. I waited for a full five seconds for her to pick up.
"Yeah?" Xion asked gruffly.
"Hey, Xion!"
"Hi, Namine. What do you want?"
"Can you meet me at Kairi's place?" I asked.
She hesitated. "Ummm…well, I've got…an engagement. Sorry."
"That's okay. See you tomorrow!" I chirped, hiding my disappointment.
"Alright, see ya."
I sighed and hung up, before heading to Kairi's house.
Kairi's dad was a criminal attorney and her mom a doctor, so her family was pretty well-off and it showed. My house looked like a country cottage next to hers. Nevertheless it was barely a ten minute's walk from my house.
By the time I got there, a light rain had started. I didn't mind; as I've said before I like rain. It soothes me. Somewhat.
Kairi opened the door when I knocked. "Hi, Namine!" she squealed, hugging me.
I tightly hugged her back. "Hi, Kairi," I managed to get out before completely breaking down.
"There, there," she crooned. "Let's get you inside."
For once, Kairi's mother, Tifa Strife, was home. She was usually out treating some random emergency victim.
Tifa took off her reading glasses and looked up from her newspaper. "Hello, Namine," she smiled warmly. "How are you?"
"Hi, Mrs. Strife," I replied. "I'm doing fine."
Tifa frowned. "Don't lie to me," she commented. "You have emotional pain written all over your face."
I broke down again. "I-I d-don't know what's wrong with me," I bawled. "I think I hurt my boyfriend, I feel like I failed, and I-I—" Fresh tears burst forth.
Mrs. Strife embraced me, gently rocking me back and forth like my mom would if she'd been here.
Once I stopped sobbing Tifa released me and walked over to a pot on the stove. She took out a bowl and poured some soup into it. "Here. Maybe some food will help your nerves," she said.
"Thank you," I sniffled, taking the bowl. Kairi handed me a spoon.
In between swallows and the occasional tear, I told them how I was feeling, how I felt about everything happening, and how life in general sucked for me at this time.
"And the sad part is, I don't even know why I'm crying for Roxas, or even talking him at all!" I said.
"But why do you not like him?" Tifa asked curiously.
Kairi took over. "Namine doesn't dislike him, she does like him a bit," my friend explained. "She's just a bit scared of him because of that one time in the girl's locker room."
"I'm hooked. What happened then? Namine, do you want to hear this?" Tifa said, nervous about my fragile emotional state.
I had to talk about it. I had to deal with it and move on; otherwise I'd stay like this for the rest of my life, unable to so much as hug a boyfriend.
"No, I can hear it. I'll tell you what happened," I said forcefully, leaving no room for argument.
Tifa nodded sympathetically. "OK. Stop if you need to, alright?"
"O-Okay. So, to start, this happened last month, after PE," I started. As I continued I slipped into a flashback…
"Namine, have you seen my cellphone anywhere?" Kairi asked me.
I racked my memories while pulling on my shirt. "I think I saw you put it into your backpack somewhere."
"Really?" she said, checking her backpack. "I did?"
Before I could assist her we heard a loud, high-pitched, distinctive scream. Fangirl-class.
I immediately clapped my hands over my ears in agony.
"Roxaaaaaaasssss!" a crowd of girls hollered. "Heeeyyy!"
"Hello, ladies," a familiarly suave voice replied to them. Its shirtless owner sauntered into me and Kairi's row. Kairi swooned at the eye candy. I didn't.
"Lookin' fine today, Namine," Roxas grinned.
"A senior saying that to a freshman. How cute," I replied sarcastically. "Pervert."
"Don't you dare say that to Roxas, bitch!" a voice shouted.
"Yeah! You don't deserve him!"
"You don't need her, Roxas! I'm all you ever wanted!"
As usual, I ignored the abuse barraging my ears. I was more interested in why the guy was here.
"How'd you get in this time?" I sighed again. Roxas may have been a star on the basketball team, but that didn't automatically grant him the right to visit the girls' locker room.
"I have my wayssss," he answered, slurring that last a bit.
As he stepped closer I saw something was off about him—his usually graceful steps were choppy, with a stumble every now and then. His eyes, somewhat bloodshot, looked as if he'd just woken up, and didn't blink at a regular pace. His cheeks were flushed.
"Are you okay?" I asked concernedly. "You don't look so good…"
Roxas abruptly collapsed onto the bench. Kairi and I jumped, startled.
"Careful!" Kairi warned, reaching a hand out to steady him.
He brushed her hand aside and looked at me. "Hey, Namine, I want to tell you something," he giggled, hiccupping.
I frowned, now really worried about his condition. "Okay," I agreed. "What is it?"
"Lean in," he said, beckoning for me to get closer.
I bent down and turned my head so that my ear was directly in front of his mouth.
"So tell—ahhhh!" I cried.
He'd just licked my ear. And not just a quick lick, either; he had actually gotten his tongue into my ear canal.
I instantly recoiled, disgusted. I frantically wiped at my ear, feeling his drool dribble down the side of my face.
"Ewwww," I complained. "What the hell, man?"
He chuckled again and suddenly rose up, putting his nose to within an inch of mine. I drew back again, my cheeks flaming a brilliant ruby at the distance between us.
"Uh, Roxas?" I said with a raised eyebrow. "Personal space?"
He moved in even closer, sighing as he did so. I took a step back to avoid falling over.
What he did next was totally unexpected.
Roxas wrapped his arms around my waist and slammed me against the lockers behind us. He smothered his lips into mine in a fierce, oppressive kiss.
I cried out, my voice muffled by his lips, and desperately hammered at his chest with my fists. Roxas wasn't fazed, simply hugging me even closer, pinning my arms against his body.
We toppled to the floor, Roxas taking the impact with his shoulder. He rolled, getting on top of me while I was stunned, and taking advantage of the drop in my defenses to snake his tongue into my mouth. I gagged as the tip of his tongue rolled sickeningly along the roof of my mouth.
Mercifully he eventually released my lips, letting me breathe, but what he did next was even worse.
Roxas began moving on top of me, forcing himself onto areas he wasn't allowed in, trespassing me. He licked my neck, making me shudder as unwanted and unpleasant sensations rushed through me.
Some still rational part of my mind suddenly realized through my sheer terror that my mouth was free.
I screamed and screamed and screamed. My bloodcurdling shrieks lashed through the air, resounding off the walls.
Kairi's expression morphed from slight envy to frightened horror as she comprehended what was happening.
She beat and pulled at him, yelling for help. The combined strength of five girls eventually dragged Roxas off of me.
By that time I was a crying, sobbing mess, curled up into a fetal position.
Tifa was aghast, to say the least. "He—he tried to rape you?" she asked me, shocked.
"Yeah," I choked. The tears came roaring back, and I hugged my bowl, bawling.
Kairi silently embraced me, leaning her chin on my shoulder as I cried into hers.
Once I was done she quietly crooned, "It'll be fine, Namine. You've managed to acknowledge that it happened. You should be able to move on much faster now."
"Okay," I sniffed. "Thanks, Dr. Kairi." My deadpan sarcasm never failed me.
Her eyes widened. "AHA!" she shouted triumphantly.
"What?" I said, sitting up, confused.
She pulled my head around, revealing a dull red mark on the base of my neck. "You have a hickey!"
"W-WHAT?" Listen, I-I can explain!" I protested, jerking my head out of her grip.
"You were making out with Vanitas, weren't you?" she cooed teasingly.
"I was not!" I denied, puffing up in outrage.
We continued to trade verbal fire, and Tifa laughed when she caught sight of the hickey.
Do you know why Kairi is one of my best friends? She can always make me forget about anything bad happening.
For the rest of week Vanitas and I were on awkward terms, eager to once again be back to each other, but unsure of how the other would react. At least that's how I felt.
But on Saturday, Vanitas surprised me with a phone call.
"Hey girl," he greeted. "Wanna go clubbing tonight?"
"What?" I said. "R-Really? When?"
"Tonight, I said," he chuckled. I could imagine his grin.
"Can I bring my friends?" I asked.
"Sure!" he said. "Only girls, though…"
I laughed. "Pervert," I teased.
"You know me," he replied. "Always on the lookout…"
We said goodbye and hung up.
I was literally bouncing up and down with excitement as I found Aqua sitting on the couch reading a book.
"Aqua, Vanitas asked me out," I squealed. "Can I go? Pleasepleasepleaseplease…"
"Again? Where?" she inquired, lifting her eyes from the novel.
"A club!" I practically screamed.
"No," she replied bluntly.
"What! Don't you trust me?" I whined.
"I do, but I don't trust its other patrons," she answered, this time without looking up.
"Come on," I wheedled. "I'm going with Vanitas and my friends!"
Aqua looked at me again, her face uncertain. She considered for a moment. At last she gave in.
"Fine," she grumbled. "But screw up, and you're grounded until you're eighteen."
"YAY!" I shouted. "Thank you!" I squeezed my thin arms around Aqua in a massive hug.
As I bounced back to my room I could hear Aqua moan, "Mom is gonna kill me…"
Don't worry Aqua; Namine is dead too if Lightning finds out.
How was the delivery of the *ahem* violent scene? Keep in mind that I am a guy, and that I'm essentially inventing girls' reactions based on personal knowledge, hearsay, and logical deductions, plus a fair amount of half-assed guessing. I also haven't outgrown blunt description, as I thought I would.
But I want YOUR opinion on this chapter! How was it? Great? Good? Bad? Horrible? Unfit to be classified as writing at all?
ANY and ALL REVIEWS welcomed with open arms! Just click that lovely tool below the story!
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Amy Cahill09
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Thank you, one and all!
Next time: VanitasXNamineXRoxas: ENDGAME.