You Don't See Me.

What did she just say?

She met a guy?

Wait, wait - you didn't let her finish her explanation. Maybe it's not what you think it is. Calm down. Calm down.

"Oh?" I tried to sound interested, "That's...good?"

"It is!" She exclaimed, "I was visiting the art gallery-"

"There's an art gallery?"

"There's a few, actually, but I was just visiting one close to my place," Naminé's tone was increasing in excitement as she delved deeper into her explanation, "And I met this guy who was there too, and we struck up a conversation."

"Uh...what did you talk about?"

"Art, of course!" She laughed, "We talked about tons and tons of art! He took me to a coffee shop just around the corner and we talked about it for hours - oh, Roxas, you don't have any idea how happy I was! I finally found someone who likes art in this darn city - and he likes the same kind of art as I do, too!"

I scratched the side of my head. "There's different kinds of art?"

She rolled her eyes. Oh no. "Of course there is, Roxas. There are different kinds of media - painting, sculpting, etcetera - and different historical periods and styles. Anyway," She flipped her bangs out of her eyes, and I winced for some reason, "Before I knew it we've been talking for four hours. Four hours in a coffee shop! I've never talked with someone about anything for four hours before!"

I forced myself to smile. "That's great, Naminé. This is a good sign."

She squealed. "Oh, I hope so," She smiled and hugged a pillow to her chest, "I'm seeing him again this Friday. I'm so nervous," She shook her head, "Do I have to dress up? Do I have to act a certain way?"

I ruffled my hair and sighed. She never seemed this nervous when I took her out. This was bad. "I think it's best to just act like yourself, Naminé. Like…" I shrugged my shoulders, "I dunno, act the way you do when you're with me."

She tilted her head to the side, and my heart wrenched painfully. "How do I act like when I'm with you?"

I laughed a little sadly. "You act like yourself."

Her eyes dulled. "That doesn't help at all."

"Sure it does - you're just you when you're with me. You're funny, laid-back, sweet," I shrugged again, "You shouldn't over-think, because when you do you end up acting...not like yourself, y'know what I mean?" I didn't know why I was giving her advice. Maybe it was because I loved her so much I just wanted her to be happy.

That sounded so freaking cheesy.

"Hm, yeah…" She tapped her chin with an index finger, "I suppose I am over-thinking everything. I still have time, right? It's only Wednesday - I have lots of time to figure out what to do!"

I smiled weakly. "So, what's his name?"

"Riku," Naminé answered almost immediately, "Riku Katutama. He has a degree in Art History and he works at an art gallery. He's an Expressionist - I've seen some of his stuff. Really cool."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry for not being an Art major in college."

Her eyebrows arched upwards and she crawled over to me, wrapping her thin arms around my waist and pressing her cheek against my shoulder. I stiffened at the contact. "I'm sorry," She mumbled against my shirt, "I didn't mean to demean you like that; I'm just excited that I finally know someone who likes the same things I do. I hope you're not mad at me." She pulled her face away from my shirt and glanced up at me with sad, beseeching eyes. I groaned.

Mad at her? How could I be mad at her?

"It's okay," I patted her head awkwardly, "I'm happy you found someone who shares your interests, really. I hope that date on Friday goes well."

"Are you sure you're not mad at me?" Her bottom lip stuck out a little, "You look kind of annoyed."

I laughed. "I'm not mad at you, Naminé."

She hesitantly let go of me. "Alright then, if you say so." She glanced downwards and timidly pushed the tips of her index fingers together. "I really don't want you to be mad - you're my closest friend, Roxas...I don't know what I would do without you."

Friend. I was her closest friend.

The one time I feel affection for somebody, I don't get any in return.

Now I remember why I've sworn off relationships in the first place:

Someone always gets hurt.

"I assure you that I'm not mad," I shook my head, "I really am happy for you, Naminé. I only look annoyed because it's been a long day."

"But you didn't look so annoyed before."

I thought fast. "Come here," I tugged her by the wrists and pulled her into me, hugging her as close as I could. She seemed startled at first, but she relaxed soon afterward and buried her face into my neck. I breathed in her hair and rubbed her back slowly with my hands, and I rested my cheek against the side of her head. We laid there for a long time - or at least it felt like a long time - not saying a word to each other. It was nice and torturous at the same time.

"I'm not angry," I whispered into her ear, "So don't think that I am, okay? I can never be angry with you."

She nodded against me. "Okay." She sniffled, and I could feel her fingers playing with my collar. "This...this isn't gonna change anything between us, is it?"

It already has. "Of course not. Why would it change anything?"

She shrugged and rolled around in my arms so that she was lying on her side. "I dunno...aren't you supposed to be wary of him, or like...insanely jealous or something?"

I cringed on the inside, but I chuckled anyway and squeezed her small body. "You watch too much TV, Naminé."

"Korean dramas, to be exact."

"Whatever." I sighed and rested my head against hers, and I listened to her breathe. It was comfortable lying together like this, and I hoped somehow that Riku would disappear and that Naminé would realize just how much she means to me so we can spend every day lying like this, but I had to be realistic.

This guy seemed perfect for her - at least from what she told me so far. They already caught onto something with the whole art business and whatnot. It's only natural that when they see each other again on Friday they'll find more things they have in common, and they'll start dating and I'll have to meet him since I'm assuming the role of Naminé's 'best friend'. I'll have to approve him, to see if he's worthy of dating my best friend or not.

Best friend.

That swore off any chance of a relationship whatsoever; everything between us was platonic. I couldn't tell her how happy she makes me when I see her smile or hear her laugh, because she would either misinterpret it in a friendly way or find me to be an incredibly awkward person. Best friends don't tell each other stupid things like that.

I had to get over this now. Naminé and I were best friends and nothing more. I had no chance with her. The best I could do was support her and make sure this Riku fellow doesn't hurt her. If he did...well, he'll have to answer to me.

"Roxas?" I looked down; Naminé's face was still pressed against my shirt.

"Yeah?"

"Y'know what'll make us feel better?" How did she know I wasn't feeling great?

I kind of already knew the answer so I got up, pulling her up with me. "I'll get the Nutella."

"You know me too well." She grinned. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the kitchen, and I laughed quietly.

I guess I had to make the best of what I had, even if I was hurting on the inside.

--

"No." Axel stared at me with dull, this-is-ridiculous eyes.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to let this happen to you." He stood up from the leather chair and absently tugged on his tie. "The first time I see you going gaga for a girl, she doesn't return your feelings. This isn't right."

I shrugged and tried to concentrate on my computer. "Well...that's the way the-"

"NO - the cookie will not crumble this way. It's not gonna crumble at all!" The redhead spread out his arms, "This broad's been hangin' out with you almost every day since you first met, leading you on and all that, only to shaft you in the end? C'mon, man! You can't give up just like that!"

"But what else can I do?" I asked exasperatingly, "She met this guy who likes all that artsy fartsy crap, and she's going out with him this Friday. They've already hit it off and it's obvious they're gonna hit it off some more once they go out." I shook my head. "Trust me, Axel, I'm fine with being the best friend."

"Well, that's great for you but I'm not fine with it." Axel jerked his thumb towards himself, and I rolled my eyes. "You're being too selfless, Roxas. You need to claim what's yours!"

"Isn't the best kind of love a selfless love?"

"Have you been watching chick flicks? 'Cause I only hear that kind of crap in chick flicks, and they almost always misinterpret real-life relationships! If you want the girl you can't just expect her to realize you've made a bunch of mistakes and wait for her to come back to you!" Axel ran his hands through his red spikes, "You have to fight to get her back!"

I sighed and leaned into my palm. "So...what do you suppose we do, then?"

My best friend cracked his knuckles and snickered deviously. "We break 'em up."

I rolled my eyes. "They're not even together."

"Yet. They're not together yet, but it's likely they will be," Axel pointed out, "So we should keep them apart for as long as possible so it'll lessen the chances!"

I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Axel…"

He gaped at me in disbelief. "What? Do you not want to get the girl?"

"I do," I sighed, "More than anything...but at the same time she trusts me. I can't go around sabotaging relationships and expect her to still think of me as her best friend."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the side of my desk. "But you don't want to be her best friend."

"I know, but it's the best I have right now and I'm trying to live with it." I rumpled my hair. "She needs me to support her, Axel. I'm not going to make her unhappy just for my own personal gain."

"What if she doesn't know what'll make her happy? What if this is just a puppy-love crush? I mean, so what if the guy likes the same art as she does? There's probably billions of people out there that do! That doesn't mean they're all meant to be with her. Besides, don't opposites attract?"

"People who share the same interests attract too." I pointed out, and Axel groaned and smacked his palm to his face.

"You have to stop thinking about what she wants, Roxas." He turned around and slammed his hands on my desk, staring me dead in the eye. "What do you want? Tell me right now." He pushed my laptop closed.

I swallowed hard, but I retained my indifferent facade. "I just want her to be happy, whether it involves me or not."

My best friend rolled his green eyes. "You're lying."

"How am I lying?"

"Because I can see it. You want her to be happy with you and not with that Riku dude, and you don't want to admit it because you don't want to look like a bad person." Axel straightened up and shook his head. "Look, man, I'm willing to help you out and all but it's only if you want to do this. I'm not gonna force you into anything."

"I don't want to do anything," I muttered through gritted teeth, "I'll be fine, Axel."

"Whatever," He scuffed the floor with his shoe, "Don't say I didn't ask, though." He ruffled his hair and left my office.

I blew out a short puff of air and flipped my laptop open again, trying to concentrate on the report I had been spending most of the morning on. As I typed I realized that I had to forward this to Naminé when I was finished so she could fax it, and then I thought about how she wanted to come over tomorrow night so I could help 'prep her up' for the big date on Friday.

Everything I did seemed to involve her.

I groaned and rubbed my face tiredly, trying to rid myself of any Naminé-related thoughts but nothing seemed to be working. Axel's words drove into my brain:

"You want her to be happy with you and not with that Riku dude."

Stop lying to yourself; you know you want her to yourself. Screw this Riku guy; you had her first!

I hated how the voice of my conscience sounded suspiciously like my best friend - my male best friend.

I wasn't going to ruin Naminé's chance of a happy, fulfilling relationship just so I can be happy too; not only was that childish but it was just absurd in general. It was also cruel and selfish. I didn't want to do that to her. I didn't want to hurt her.

My conversation with Axel continued to bother me well into the evening, long after I finished work. I was now in my apartment, eating dinner by myself. I gazed longingly at the empty seat across the table, and I sighed before shutting myself up with a forkful of pasta.

The apartment always seemed so barren whenever Naminé wasn't here. At least with Sora's kids there was a sense of relief because they would drive me crazy to a point where I wanted them out, but with Naminé I never wanted her to go. Sure, her superhumanly-strong addiction to Nutella was a little daunting but nobody was perfect, right? Besides, Nutella wasn't so bad…

I had to distract myself. I was over-thinking this.

Naminé was my best friend. I had to be happy for her. I had to support her.

After cleaning up in the kitchen I trudged over to the TV room and mindlessly flipped through the hundreds of channels, sighing when I couldn't find anything interesting to watch. The flickering images from the screen glared on the shiny surface of my guitar, and I turned to face it. I immediately shut the television off and grabbed my guitar; playing music was a good distraction.

I strummed the strings and hummed along to it, absently fingering chords and plucking random melodies that came to mind. I really needed to find my songbook.

The thing about playing a musical instrument: you're always bent on playing your part perfectly so you set your mind to playing and nothing else. If you try to think about something else you screw up. That was exactly what I needed at the moment: a complete, one-way distraction from Naminé.

I continued playing for a few more hours, but the more I played the more I found my mind drifting off for some reason. It was probably because I haven't played in so long, so I had nothing to really work on besides wracking my memory for songs I used to know how to play. It was either that or I was letting Axel get to me.

My fingers were beginning to hurt. I sighed and placed my guitar back on its stand, leaning back against the foot of my couch and ruffling my hair. Not even playing music was enough to pull me away from Naminé. I rifled through my CDs and popped a random one in; thirty seconds into the song I had to stop playing it because it reminded me too much of her. I tried playing other songs, but I kept thinking of her whenever I skipped to a new track.

This was bad.

I groaned and pushed my fingers through my hair. I never wanted someone this much before - and in such a short amount of time, too. This definitely had to mean something if I, a previously non-believer in love and who swore to never get involved in a relationship, is now hopelessly pining for a girl I'll never have. It had to be something if I managed to befriend and fall in love with someone in the span of two and a half months.

I absentmindedly reached into my pocket, and my fingers brushed against my phone. I remembered Axel's words, and I sighed as I fished out my phone and dialed his number.

This was going to bite me in the ass later on, I could feel it...

--

A/N: Well, most of you kind of already figured out who the 'mystery guy' is so I guess it wasn't much of a surprise, haha.

Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, favourited and alerted this story!

Chapter Inspiration: Strange and Beautiful by Aqualung.

Naminé's endless rambling about Riku was inspired by Landon Pigg's Falling In Love at a Coffee Shop.

Some of the songs that reminded Roxas of Naminé were: Owl City's Vanilla Twilight, The Cranberries' Linger and The Cure's A Letter To Elise.