One deep breath and I understood why Naminé had wanted to come here so badly. The salty breeze that tousled my spiky black hair was refreshing and pleasant. The distant sounds of waves lapping against the shore made me want to stand there and listen forever. Somehow, they made me think of a childhood I had never had. I couldn't blame Naminé for leaving; with a place like this, I would never want to go back to the past. Especially the horrible one we had once shared.

Remembering I had a reason for being here and a time limit, I turned away from the beach and began walking into the town, headed towards an unknown destination.

I had no idea what my plan was. There was no way I would be able to find her in this place. I didn't know my way around, and I had no idea where she was. While trying to come up with a plan, I bumped into a tall person.

"Sorry," I muttered, ducking my head and trying to avoid eye contact.

"Hey. It's been awhile," the voice said. It sounded kind, so I looked up. It was a tall teenage boy with intense aqua eyes. It took me awhile to recognize him, but when I did, I was amazed. Of all the people I had bumped into, I managed to find the one that knew me; the one I had helped through the Dark Realm. The one that loved my best friend and the girl I was searching for.

"Can you take me to her?" I asked. Realizing how rude and eager I sounded, I added, "If it's convenient, I mean."

"Sure thing," the boy answered. "I just have to run a few errands, but you can come with me. Oh, I'm Riku. What's your name?"

"Err..." I thought of what lie I should come up with. I knew Naminé went by Nami, so I said, "Van. My name is Van. How'd you know it was me, though?"

"I'd never forget the voice of the person who helped me through such a terrible place," Riku responded.

"So, after she changed back, she moved in with one of my best friends, Kairi. They also live with a girl named Xion. Apartment 3B...ah, here it is," Riku explained as he led me to a door on an apartment building's front. I was itching to see my best friend, but I tried to remain calm.

Riku knocked on the door and a girl with jet-black, shoulder-length hair and stunning blue eyes opened the door. A girl with longer, dark brown hair and similar-colored eyes stepped behind her and exclaimed, "Riku! Come in!"

"Is Nami here?" Riku asked, stepping inside. I followed suit. The black-haired girl nodded, and went off to get her. She walked away from the door, down a hallway, where she disappeared inside one of the four doors.

The brown-haired girl came up and introduced herself as Kairi and the black-haired girl as Xion. I smiled and introduced myself in return.

"Who's here to see me, Xion? I was working on homework; this better be important!" I heard a familiar voice complain.

"I don't know who it is, just come look!" Xion said in return.

They walked down the hall, up to us. Nami recognized me immediately, but took no action to confirm to her friends that she knew me.

"N-nami," I stuttered awkwardly. Everyone was staring at the two of us, probably wondering how someone like her knew someone like me. There was an obvious difference between the two of us.

Finally, she broke the silence. She ran into my arms, and I gave her a big hug. I noticed how much different she looked as a fifteen-year-old instead of a child.

"Nami, you know Van," Riku introduced us.

"Yeah, I know...Van," Nami replied, smiling at me. "It's great to see you! What are you doing here?"

Xion and Kairi exchanged glances, which caught Nami's and my attention.

"I think you two need some time to catch up. Go take him to that diner with the really good coffee!" Kairi encouraged.

About an hour and several lattes later, we had learned more about each other. Nami was now dating Riku, who was a year older than her, making him my age. After she had gotten the mirror and changed ages, she had gone to live with Kairi and Xion because Riku's parents' memories of her had been erased. She was aiming to be at the top of her class, and make up for years of lost education.

She also learned that I had sixty-one days to be in the real world, out of the Dark Realm. Today, March 1, was the first day. I went back on May 1. I had earned these two months off after being a faithful servant to Maleficent, or so she thought, for so many years. I planned to spend it with Nami, to try to make up for some of the time she had been alone after I had been forced to join the dark army.

"Is that all, or are you two going to have another coffee?" our server asked.

"That's all. We'll be leaving soon, sorry," Nami replied, smiling politely at her. The server walked away, and Nami gathered her things.

"We really should go," she said, standing up. I nodded, and followed her out of the small diner.

"I guess I'll walk you home and then go to Riku's from there. His parents said I could stay with him until 'my family comes back to Destiny Islands'," I said, staring at my best friend. She still looked so fragile and doll-like and she still had some sort of delicateness to her that just made you want to protect her.

"You should enroll in school, just to see what it's like!" Nami exclaimed, completely changing the subject.

"You're still so spontaneous. It's good to know some things haven't changed," I laughed.

"Just try it!"

"We'll see, okay? Anyways, I need to go now. Bye, Nami! I've missed you!"

"This uniform is so uncomfortable and awkward!" I complained as I was walking to school with Naminé and Riku. Naminé just smiled, mocking me.

"You get used to it, I swear," Riku said. I nodded, hoping he was right. The button-up shirt was so stiff, and the blazer was too thick, even for the end of winter.

"I wonder who he'll become friends with," Naminé said to Riku. "What if he becomes best friends with Axel?"

"I doubt that. Wait...no, I can see that happening," Riku said. He turned to face me directly and said, "At school, you do not repeat the name Hayner. It's sort of taboo. Do not ask why. Just don't mention it; pretend you don't hear it when people say it, okay?"

"What-? Okay," I replied, deciding I would need to take advice.

"Anyways, I'm off." Nami quickly gave Riku a kiss on the cheek and began to walk away. She called behind her, "Good luck!"

"Thanks," I muttered as I was hit with a flashback. Hayner had been in the hospital once, before Namine had even left the Dark Realm. I knew because I had visited him. He had just been hit in the eye with a baseball, but since then, something had happened. Hayner had died. And everyone must have still been reeling from the impact of death. Therefore, they pretended it had never happened. They acted as if everything was okay, to escape the fact that Hayner had died.

In math, I noticed a tenth grader sitting next to me, and she was pretty, but that was not what I noticed. I noticed the sad, distant look in her eyes. I quickly scribbled a note saying, "Hi, I'm new here. What's your name?" folded it, and passed it to her. She stared at the note for the longest time, and I was worried that she would think of me as strange, but eventually, she unfolded it and I watched her eyes scan the page. She slowly grabbed a pen and wrote a reply. She carefully placed it on my desk as if it was an important task that she needed to exceed in.

Her neat, small writing said, "My name's Olette. Yours?"

We continually passed notes throughout the class. She took her time and I tried to be patient and let her. I found out that she did exceptionally well in school, even though she hated it. She found out that I was best friends with Nami and that was supposedly why I had transferred here. The distance never left her eyes, no matter what she was doing - writing a reply or taking notes. She was just very upset.

After class, I was leaving when an eleventh grade brunette approached me. I was surprised to get any attention from anyone so soon.

"You were passing notes with Olette, weren't you?" the girl asked.

"Um, yeah. Who are you?" I replied, very confused.

"My name's Aerith. And you're new, aren't you?" she questioned. I felt like this was an interrogation.

"Yes...why?" I could tell she was beating around the bush, but I really wished she would just get to her point.

"You heard what happened to her, right?"

"No...What?"

"She was Hayner's best friend, and his date to the Valentine's Dance. It's very tragic. Just keep in mind that she is not looking for any guys right now. Anyways, I gotta go. I'll see you around, though!" And with that, Aerith walked away.

What was with her? Was she trying to keep me away from Olette? What do I do now? Okay, Riku said to ignore Hayner, so I'll do that. I hope that I won't run into her again...

"Aerith talked to you?" Kairi asked. It was after school, and Riku, Namine, Kairi, Xion, and I were over at the girls' apartment.

"Yeah. Is that a surprise?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. Aerith is popular and downright snotty. She only talks to people in either her social group, or ones she's interested in. And usually, the latter are included in the former. Do you want a soda?" Kairi answered.

"Yeah, thanks. I also talked to Olette. Well, not really. We passed notes. Is that a surprise, too?" I asked, actually wanting to know.

Kairi handed me a Coca-Cola and sat down on one of the two couches in their living room. Namine and Riku turned and stared at me.

"What?" I asked sheepishly, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, um, nothing," Naminé answered, and I could tell she was not supposed to have told me about Hayner.

The five of us continued to discuss my first day of school, but I could tell bringing up Olette had been a bad thing to do. They all seemed a little on edge, which had started when I mentioned Olette. However, I knew they were thinking of Hayner, not her.

Olette began the note-passing conversation the next day. This continued every day, and I was happy. It was an interesting, but nice way to make a new friend. We began going in-depth with our conversations, and by Friday, I knew that we were friends. Aerith also talked to me more often, and had even eaten lunch with me a few times. She kept flirting with me, and I tried to ignore it.

She was growing on me, but so was Olette. And so far, I didn't have a preference. Aerith was not snotty, at least, not around me. She was actually funny and not as high-maintenance as I thought she had been. Shows what happens when you judge a book by its cover.

Olette was a completely different story. However, I finally discovered the truth about her on Friday, after school.

She came up to me, tears streaming down her face. Not knowing what else to do, I opened my arms. She accepted my hug and began crying into my chest as I tried to soothingly rub her back.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, making sure to talk quietly.

"It wasn't an accident. It was not an accident like they all said it was. It was on purpose and I could have stopped it. This is all my fault. I did not pay attention to him. And I hate that I let this happen!" She managed to get out between sobs.

I quickly figured out what she meant. Everyone was pretending it had never happened for a reason. It was not that they cared about him -they probably did not. It was for a different reason.

Aerith's words came back to me. Olette was his best friend, and his date. "She's not looking for any guys right now." She had already lost one too many.

Hayner had committed suicide.

He was dead, and his best friend had to live with the knowledge that she could have stopped it.