Wow.. It's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry about the long wait. Thanks to those who have stuck with me through out the whole story!

Thanks to: Roxine4Ever1794, Rose77, Some.Azn.Guy, aModestMouse, Ellie0223, roxas-kh, Twisted Madness, and Cloudrules11. For the reviews. You guys are awesome!

Chapter 13: Last Chance

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A car blasted it's horn at me.

I was walking down the sidewalk, minding my own business, on the way to Axel's place. I winced as the silver Lexus that honked at me pulled over close by. It drove closer and closer to me. I began to worry, until a huge mass of bright red hair covered my view.

"Roxas! Buddy, what's up?" Axel flashed a smile at me as he stopped his car. He flipped his red hair. Still grinning, he asked, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be at school?"

I sighed with relief before pausing to think about how to answer my redheaded friend. "...No. Axel can you do me favor?" I asked.

"Sure. What is it?" He looked at me, an eyebrow quirked.

"Can you... take me to your place?"

Axel blinked. His emerald eyes stared at me. "Sure, man. But why?"

"I'll explain on the way." I replied quickly, getting into the passenger seat of the redhead's Lexus.

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Axel's apartment smelled like old pizza and cologne. Magazines and candy wrappers littered the floor. A red beaten-up couch was placed in front of a stained, transparent coffee table. In front of the table was a large, old T.V set. A stereo system was set up next to the window. Axel also had a small kitchenette on the side of the room. Two doors stood next to the kitchenette, one probably the bathroom, the other Axel's bedroom. All in all, it was pretty homey. I flopped onto Axel's beaten-up couch, making sure to avoid the grease stains. "Axel, don't you ever clean?" I complained.

He ignored my comment and said. "So... Basically, you like this girl Namine and she likes you back, but she's going out with pretty boy Riku?"

"Pretty much." I replied. "But she's not going out with him. Just going to the damn dance with him."

"Which is just like saying she's going out with him." Axel snickered. I glared at him, but he had turned away and reached for a box of Cheese Nips on the coffee table. "So anyway, what are you going to do about it? I mean, you can't let Pretty Boy take your girl." He grabbed a fistful of Cheese Nips and shoved them in his mouth.

"That's the thing, she's not my girl!" I sat up and looked at Axel. My eyes widened in realization as I remembered the night Namine slept over. My face heated up, and I turned away from Axel. I decided to let that detail be kept in my head.

He shrugged, not noticing my red face. "Why not? I thought you said that your friend Omette-"

"Olette," I corrected him.

"Whatever. I thought you said that she said Namine liked you."

I sighed and hung my head. "I know. I'm just so confused. Why would Namine say yes to Riku if she liked me?" I stood up and walked over to Axel. "Girls are frustrating!" I exclaimed.

Axel laughed. "Tell me about it."

It was nice to have a friend like Axel. I could go to him whenever and he wouldn't mind. He took me in when I needed a place to go. And he didn't have any personal opinions to any of my friends. Axel was in his Senior year of high school. He was a slacker, though, so he didn't mind when I came to him and wanted to skip school.

After a couple of hours of watching sitcoms on the T.V, The spiky-haired redhead stood up and stretched. "Rox, I have to go. There's this one hot teacher in my last class, Biology, and I want to see her today. I even did my homework for her."

I groaned. "But Axel... what about me? Your not going to take me to school, are you?"

"Pfft, you should go. School is good for you!" Axel joked. After another glare, he added. "Okay, you can stay here if you want. I'll be back at around two thirty-ish."

"Alright, whatever." I grunted. Axel grabbed a black hoodie and opened the door to exit his apartment. Before he left, he said. "You know, Rox... Namine could be getting revenge by saying yes to Riku. Think about it. You asked Selphie, so she became jealous." I was about to yell the fact I didn't ask Selphie, but Axel slammed the door and yelled. "See you!"

I mused over what Axel said. It certainly did make sense. And it probably was the truth. But by now shouldn't she know I didn't ask Selphie?

I decided to continue watching the 80's sitcom on the T.V rather than think it over.

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Time passed slowly. Hours dragged by. Finally, the day turned into dusk. I stared out of Axel's window. Axel hadn't returned. I wasn't too surprised. I wouldn't be surprised if he was at the dance himself. Anyway, Axel had developed a slight ADHD problem over the years so I suppose it wasn't his fault.

Everyone must be wondering where I was. I wasn't at school. I wasn't at the dance. I honestly did not care anymore. Namine could have fun with Pretty Boy Riku for all I cared. I stood up and walked over to Axel's kitchenette. Getting a half gallon of lemonade out of it, I sighed.

No matter how much I denied it, I really did care.

I poured myself a glass of lemonade and gulped it down.

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It was around ten-thirty pm. I was flipping through channels but I didn't find any good shows. I knew I would regret just sitting here and staring at the T.V screen instead of going to the dance. I just knew it.

With what little determination I had, I had decided on what to do. No more running away. I was going to the dance to set things straight. I turned off the T.V and jumped up from the couch. I searched for Axel's cordless phone and found it under an empty pizza box. After wiping the grease off the phone and cursing Axel's messiness, I dialed his cell phone number.

It rang twice before Axel picked up. "Yeah?"

"Axel? Yeah, I need another favor."

"Another one?"

"Uh-huh. Get your ass over here." I demanded.

"Alright, alright. Jesus..." He mumbled and hung up.

Ten minutes later, Axel parked his car in front of the apartment. He honked twice and I ran outside to greet him.

"Where the hell were you?" I asked, getting in the Lexus.

"Sorry, Rox. Lost track of time. I was hanging with my other Senior buddies. So? What do you want?"

"Can you drive me to the school?" I asked.

"Huh? Sure, but why?" Axel scratched his head.

"Because I need to fix this mess." I replied as he started the engine and drove off in the direction of our high school.

"Okay! Now you're talking! Don't let Pretty Boy take your girl!" Axel cheered.

I managed a grin. Axel's optimism definitely helped raise my spirit.

After many red lights and stop signs, we finally reached our destination. I looked over at the dashboard. It was about ten minutes until eleven. I had time. We pulled up by the back, where the chaperones would let the teenagers out at the end.

"The dance ends at eleven, right?" I asked.

"I think so." Axel replied, drumming his fingers on the wheel. "Oh, wait they changed the time."

"What?" I raised my voice slightly. I didn't want to go in. My plan was to meet Namine as she was leaving. I wanted to catch her alone, so we could talk one on one. And I wanted to confess.

"Yeah, I think they changed it to eleven-thirty. Well, we could hang out here and wait for her." Axel kicked back and placed his leather boots on the wheel. He rested his head on his arms.

"I don't have time for this," I grumbled, opening the car door. "Wait for me, okay?"

The redhead sighed. "Fine. But don't take too long or I'll get bored."

"Thanks. I owe you one." I grinned, grateful for him.

"More like three," Axel retorted, pulling out what looked like a Game Boy.

I shut the car door and raced to the school's exits. I paused. I didn't really want to make a scene, and showing up very late would definitely cause one. So I ducked behind some stable cars and snuck my way to one of the side doors on the school. Nobody was 'guarding' the door, so I slipped in.

"Man, this school needs a bit more security." I grumbled to myself.

The gym was where the dance was taking place. The school usually had it's dances somewhere more professional, but they were experiencing 'technical difficulties.' So they just used the school's gym.

As I jogged down the hallway and neared said gym, I heard some rock music. It was being played very loudly. I winced as I slowly walked up to the double doors; the entrance to the gym.

Just as I was about to enter, the loud song ended and I heard an enthusiastic man start talking through a microphone. I peered in the door's windows.

It was the DJ speaking and he was saying something about the last song of the night. I shielded the light from the hallway with my hands so I could see the gym better.

Most of the students were dancing with one another. I saw Seifer and a girl who looked like Fuu, one of his lackeys. I also caught a glimpse of the back of Kairi's head. I saw other people I didn't recognize and students from my class. But I didn't see Namine or Riku anywhere. I was about to turn to find another window, but I caught sight of Olette and Hayner, they were paired up, hugging each other closely as they danced. Perhaps Riku and Namine would be near them….

My heart fell as Hayner and Olette disappeared in the crowd. I didn't see the two I was looking for anywhere.

I sighed in defeat and turned around. Maybe I'd run into Namine while I was walking out. No, that would never happen. That would be too easy. Like a movie. I wished, for once, my life was like a movie. It would make this a lot easier.

I sighed again as I headed out the front door. I guess I could have gone in, but I didn't want to make a scene. I wanted to speak with Namine alone. Not with the whole student body staring.

I rounded a corner of the hallway and stopped. I stood in the middle of the hallway, thinking of all the events I screwed up. "I'm so stupid!" I yelled at myself. I went over to a set of grey lockers and bashed my head against the metal. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" With every 'stupid', I hit my head.

My head began to hurt, so I stopped banging my head. I slid down until I hit the floor. I sat there, leaning against the lockers and rubbing my head, for a while.

"I'm so stupid," I repeated. I shut my eyes for a moment, thinking.

"Roxas?"

I looked up. A feminine shadow fell across the floor and I heard footsteps approaching me. At first, I thought it was Namine. My heart leapt. It fell when Kairi came around the corner.

"Roxas, is that-" She paused, violet eyes on me. "Roxas!" She knelt down beside me. "Are you okay? What happened? Why are you out in the hallway? Why weren't you at school? Why-"

"Kairi." I held up a hand to stop her. She did and blinked. "Listen, Kairi. Do you know where Namine is?"

"Yeah…she's, uh, in the gym…" Kairi trailed off, looking slightly nervous.

"…With Riku, right?" I finished her sentence with a moan.

"Well, yeah," Kairi said, looking at the floor." So, where were you? We were all worried about you."

"I was at a friend's house. Where's Namine? I need to talk to her."

"She's in the gym like I said, but I don't think you should-"

I interrupted her. "Sorry, Kairi, but I need to talk to her. It's important." I said and with that, I ran back towards the gym. Kairi didn't say anything to respond and I could feel her gaze on my back as I left.

I was so close to Namine. So close to telling her it was mistake, so close to telling her I didn't ask Selphie, So close to telling her…

I loved her.

I didn't truly realize it until I thought it. It wasn't just a simple crush anymore. I blinked. Then, with a new, stronger determination, I marched in the gym.

It seemed as though the dance just ended. Students were filing out. The lights were turned on. The DJ was gone. The sight of the back of a light blonde girl heading out the door appeared in my vision…

Namine. Here I go. This was the last chance to tell her how I truly felt. My last chance to fix whataver I had done. My last chance to tell her I was sorry about everything that had happened to separate us. With that final thought, I sprinted toward the girl that I loved to tell her the truth.

Done. Finally. Please review because I forced myself to get this done. Thank you.