Final chapter.

Thank goodness it's over. I was getting sick and tired of this story. It sucks, but I don't have the time or effort to revise it and perfect it. Atleast you can see how much I've improved. :)

Anyway, let's get down to business. Sorry for the wait, yadda, yadda, yadda. My excuses are on profile if you want to look. MOVING ON.

Thanks to everyone who took their time to review. Many, many, many thanks to those who had reviewed and stuck with me throughout this whole story. I can't express much love I have for you guys! So thank you so much!

Chapter 15: Finale

Panting, sweating. More panting, more sweating.

Namine's hand squeezed mine tightly as we ran together. It seemed as though we had been running for hours. I had no idea she had this much stamina.

I also had no idea where we were going.

I just allowed her to pull me in any direction she wanted. I was too tired, mentally, to think anyway, so it worked out. My brain was crammed with thoughts and I was working on getting them out. But just as I about to forget one thing, another thought would appear and I'd mull over that. Suddenly, I visualized Sora. My half-brother gave me his wide, cheesy grin. Then I thought of his best friend. Riku. Riku, Riku, Riku. What was to become of him?

And just like that, Namine halted. Breathing heavily, she bent over and rested her arms on her knees, looking like a runner who ran four miles. For all I knew, we could have.

I sat down on what I guessed was grass, huffing as well. I wiped some sweat off my forehead. I looked around the area where Namine had led me too. We were on a hill, I could figure that out. Strange looking shapes were below us. The darkness of the sky made all the shadows look ghostly. I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of it all. Then it hit me.

The park.

"It took that long to get here? I thought we ran a mile or two," Was the first thing I could say as I sat down on the grass. From the looks of it, we were somewhere near the middle of the park.

Namine laughed softly but stopped herself. Sighing, she sat down next to me. "It was the only place I could think of."

I mused over that. "Hmm..." I noticed running seemed to have calmed her down. She wasn't as angry as she was before. It was my turn to sigh, though, as I lied down against the grass. "We... I need to clear some things up." I said quietly.

"Yeah, we do." Namine replied quickly, focusing her blue eyes on me.

"First off, I did not ask Selphie to the dance. She assumed I'd say 'yes'," I told her.

Namine kept her gaze on me. So I looked back at her. Finally, she smiled weakly. "...Really? I mean, I probably shouldn't have reacted like that. Riku, he just asked me and so I said yes because I thought you and Selphie were going together. Oh, this is all my fault!" She cried, clutching her head.

"No, no, it's my fault. I skipped school twice to avoid you. I should have told you and Selphie straight out and fixed this mess. Sorry," I finished rather lamely.

"I apologize as well." Namine said, and we both smiled. I was so relieved. It was like a huge mass of heavy rocks or something had lifted off me. I reached over and hugged her without thinking. "Besides," She hugged me back, laughing softly, "It's hard to stay angry with you."

But I wasn't done explaining. I had to tell her how I felt. I let her go and breathed out. "And I wasn't fooling with you that night when we were at my house. I..." I lost my train of thought. I felt my face heat up from embarrassment.

But Namine understood. She smiled, and even in the darkness, I could see her smile and her blush. "I know. And I like you too, Roxas."

I smiled back at her as she scooted closer to me. "So you don't like Riku?"

"As a friend, yes. But only that. And you and Selphie are just friends too, right?"

"Of course." I replied instantly. I sighed with relief. "Man, that was hectic. I am so glad this is all over and you understand." I knew what I had to do at that moment. I shunned myself for saying the last sentence. Because now would be the perfect time to do what we both were waiting for. And by saying that last sentence, I was buying time.

"Yes," she agreed. "But it's over so we can move on." She smiled and faced me. A moment of silence passed over us. We locked gazes with each other. Now or never. And if I did it now, I could prove my loyalty to her. Everything would clear up with this... kiss.

So I leaned in.

I closed my eyes.

My heart was beating a million miles per hour.

I half opened one eye and peered at Namine. She had closed her eyes as well. She was waiting.

And, only hesitating for a fraction of a second, I kissed her.

And I thought I died and went to heaven. I hate to be that cheesy, but it really did feel like that. Not only was Namine the very first girl I had kissed, her lips were soft and warm against my colder ones. I wanted to deepen my very first, perfect kiss, but I knew I had to stop. After all, it was only our first kiss.

It felt like ages before we pulled away. I had enjoyed every moment of it, and I'm sure she did too. We stared at each other awkwardly and exchanged nervous smiles. Namine then rested her head against my shoulder. "That was...perfect." She whispered as she closed her eyes.

I looked at her and felt pleased. Happy. Satisfied. Not heartbroken, anguished, or angry. But content. I wasn't angry or envious of Riku. In fact, I was planning on talking to him later. And Selphie. I was going to have to get chewed out from Axel, but this was definitely worth it. I would speak with Sora, tell him I was sorry for running away and that I should have listened to him. And maybe I would even forget about Cloud for awhile. For once, in a very long time, I felt very content. And I felt as though in the future, things would only get brighter. I was feeling perfect. Perfect, just like the kiss.

--End.

OH GOD THAT WAS SO CHEESY.

But whatever. Atleast I'm done. I don't really want to make an epilogue so you guys can use your imagination on what happens next. Oh, and if you have any questions that weren't answered, just let me know through a PM.

I think this chapter came out terribly. I'm sorry, but I do. It's so damn short. And I'm sorry. It got really cheesy too. I hate the ending because it's way too happy. I didn't intend to do that, but I guess it's tolerable. Next time, I'll plan better. I hope.

And yes, the kissing scene was terrible. Don't even get me started. I've never described kissing before so it was hard.

Thanks for reading this story, and I'm sorry for leaving for so many months.