Hook And Sinker.

I wasn't in the mood to go to work for the rest of the week.

I really didn't want to see Naminé's chipper face. I didn't want to hear her singsong voice. I didn't want to look at the way there was a slight spring to her step.

If I didn't have such horrible timing I would've been the reason why she was so happy, but noooooo…

"Gee," Axel frowned once I explained what happened last night, "That's...that's pretty harsh, man."

"Harsh?" Demyx snickered, "That's an understatement, dude."

"Pretty much." Larxene agreed.

I groaned and clutched my head in my hands. "What am I doing with my life? Everything's revolving around this girl...a girl I have no chance with! Why am I wasting my time with her?"

"Because you've told us numerous times before that it's impossible to fall out of love with her, even if you tried…?" Demyx answered uncertainly.

I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, that's it. I'm stuck in this vicious cycle forever. I'm doomed to live a life full of rejection and low self-esteem. I'll forever be living a lie, a life tainted with miscommunication and-"

"Oh boy, he's getting poetic," The redhead stood up and walked over to my chair, where he began shaking me by the shoulders, "Snap out of it, would you?"

I did what I was told and stood stock-still. "I'm okay now."

Larxene shook her head before shoving a sliced peach into her mouth. "Why do you always go all Edgar Allan Poe on us when you hit rock bottom?"

I shrugged and thunked my forehead against my desk. "I don't know."

My male best friend smirked. "He's a musician who writes his own songs, that's why." I raised my head to look at him; he had his arms crossed and was leaning against the side of my desk. "Look, man - just because they kissed and made up doesn't mean all hope is lost. Riku already told you they've fought a bunch of times before. Why should this be any different."

I frowned and ran a hand through my hair. "I guess…"

"Plus, she's in a better mood now so wouldn't it be the perfect time to talk to her?" Axel suggested, and my frown deepened.

"I dunno...I mean, I left the jar on her doorstep last night. She had to have gotten it by now. Wouldn't she have confronted me about it, or something?"

"What if she didn't know it was from you?" Demyx asked.

"She had to know," I countered, "She was the one who gave me the jar in the first place! No one else makes those paper cranes except for her!"

"Romeo's got a point there," Larxene pointed out, "There's a bunch of those little things scattered around her desk."

"See?"

The redhead sighed. "Alright, well...hm." He tapped his finger against his chin. "There's gotta be an explanation for all of this."

"Yeah," I snorted, "She's just playing around with my feelings because she knows she can."

Larxene raised a blonde eyebrow. "Sometimes I'm not even sure whether you love or hate her."

I threw my hands up in the air. "I love her of course, but sometimes I just can't help but feel like she's using me or playing around with me."

"She definitely can't be playing around with you," Demyx scratched his head, "I mean, no one would be this cruel just for fun...unless they're Larxene."

She gave him a too-sweet smile. "Thanks, pumpkin."

Axel patted my shoulder. "Well, just don't act too bitter tomorrow. We're hanging out with Riku, remember?"

I banged my head against my desk again. "Thanks for reminding me."

He laughed. "It's not like Naminé's coming - well, actually...now that they made up I guess we'll never know for sure until the time comes."

"Thanks."

When I got home that evening Salty had his head poking into a box of cookies. This cat…

"Every time I catch you doing something it's always because you're sneaking something to eat," I muttered as I pulled his head out of the box, "Geez, Salty…" I brushed the crumbs away from his face and placed him on the floor. "You know, you should be cherishing your young years. When you get older your metabolism's gonna get worse and you'll regret eating all that food."

Salty merely meowed and reached for my legs. I rolled my eyes.

"Never mind…"

When I reached my room I half-expected another ambiguous gift from Naminé but I came up empty. My shoulders dropped in disappointment when I only found my lone blue paper crane on my nightstand, and I sighed heavily as I made my way over to my bed.

How could she sneak into my house, leave me a jar full of paper cranes and still manage to ignore me when she sees me?

Out of all the mixed signals she's ever given me this one was the worst.

"Why can't you just be direct with me," I muttered to no one in particular as I flipped the paper crane over in my hands, "Just tell me you don't want to see me ever again. Get it over with. Stop pulling me around. I'm not a toy…"

A soft mewl alerted me from my reverie and I caught Salty making his way over to me. I gave him a sad smile before lifting him onto my lap. "You miss her too, don't you?" I scratched behind his ears and he closed his eyes. "It's not my fault she's being so confusing. I mean, she has a boyfriend. Her and Riku have been going out all this time and the only way I find out is when he makes this sappy confession at a party. She never tells me anything."

I heaved a sigh and lifted the rest of my body onto my bed. I let Salty lie on my chest. "I don't know how I managed to get myself into this mess. It's her fault for being so, so...likable. Bah, women…" I slowly rubbed the top of Salty's head. "Why did I even bother…"

The night dragged on (I really didn't do much except whine to Salty, who ended up falling asleep five minutes in), and by the time it was Friday afternoon I was so drained from my bad mood I was ready to drop dead.

"Can someone please tell me why I'm seeing Riku today?" I groaned as the usual trio traipsed into my office.

"I really don't know, to be honest with you," Axel frowned, "But it's kinda too late to cancel plans now. Sorry."

I pushed my fingers through my hair. "Let's just make this short and sweet, okay? He's the last person I want to see right now."

"Hey, no biggie," Demyx grinned, "We're just meeting him for dinner and that's it."

"You're lucky you guys are going," Larxene grumbled; she turned to momentarily glare at Axel, who was absentmindedly rubbing his arm, "It's all your fault."

The redhead leaned into his palm. "Everything's always my fault."

I saw Naminé a few times today but as usual she pretended I didn't exist. It only made me look even less and less forward for tonight.

Axel and Demyx accompanied me home, and once we got there we got straight to getting ready - except Demyx, who grew fond of Salty very quickly.

"You never told me you got a cat!" The dirty blond exclaimed as Salty jumped onto his lap, "Wow, he's a tiny one."

"Yeah," I raised my voice a little since I was still in the bathroom dying my hair, "Apparently he's a little smaller than other kittens his age but it shouldn't be that bad. I like him small, anyways."

"Why? Is it because you use him as a cuddle buddy at night?" Axel snickered, and when my face turned red he laughed louder. "Poor cat. I bet he doesn't even know he's being used as a substitute."

My cheeks heated up again. "A-a substitute for what?" When Axel's laugh only grew louder I rolled my eyes.

Twenty minutes later I stepped out wearing navy blue skinny jeans, a red, black, blue and white plaid flannel shirt and my usual black fedora and black glasses. Axel was hitting Demyx over the head, forcing him to stop playing with the cat so he could get ready.

"Y'know," Axel said as Salty crawled onto his lap, "You don't have to go if you really don't want to."

I shrugged. "Like you said it's too late to change plans. Plus," I reached underneath my hat to ruffle my hair, "My hair's already red. Might as well."

When Demyx was finally ready (half an hour later) we took his car to the restaurant. It just so happened to be a ten-minute walk from Naminé's house…

"Hey!" Riku was waiting for us by the front of the restaurant. He pulled Axel - Jacques - in for a one-armed hug and shook me and Demyx's hands. "Great to see you guys. Naminé's waiting inside."

Of course. "N-Naminé's here?" I spluttered, and Riku chuckled.

"Yeah, I know...surprise, surprise. We managed to patch things up yesterday," He explained as he led us to our table, "So it's all good."

Axel playfully nudged Riku's elbow. "Ah, so...you guys made up, if you know what I mean?"

My eyes widened in alarm, but luckily Riku laughed it off. "No, no - I'm old-fashioned when it comes to that. We kept things PG-13."

Demyx huffed. "Bo-ring."

Huh...I figured they would've had a hot night of make-up sex or something. Doesn't that always happen after a bad fight?

So I guess she was still a virgin…

I shook my head quickly. Hopefully nobody saw the crazy blush on my face.

"Jacques, Mateo!" Naminé's tinkly voice filled my ears and my breath hitched when I spotted her bounding from her seat and scrambling in our direction. After hugging Axel and Demyx she turned towards me, and I couldn't help but notice how bright her smile was. "Ventus," She leaned in for a hug, and when I could smell the rainy scent of her hair my heart wanted to explode, "I'm so glad to see you." The silver bracelet was back on her wrist, gleaming underneath the lamplight.

After not being with her for a week her mere presence was overwhelming. My insides felt like they were swelling with helium and my head was ready to pop off my shoulders. I sort of missed this feeling.

I nervously tugged on my collar. "I-I'm glad to see you too." I noticed her eyes lingering on me for a moment, and then she suddenly burst out giggling. My face grew warmer. "Um, is there some...s-something wrong?"

She quickly shook her head and gave me a soft smile. "Sorry...I sorta drifted off there." She grabbed my sleeve and hauled me over to the table, forcing me into the seat across from her. "How have you been?"

I didn't know I was fidgeting until Axel punched my thigh. "U-uh, pretty good I suppose. And yourself?" My eyes flitted over to Riku, who was busily conversing with Demyx, "I-I see you and Riku...erm, fixed things."

I was surprised when she gave me a grim smile. "If that's what you want to call it." When Riku moved to sit beside her she returned to her sweet disposition, which I found even more surprising.

From the way they were acting yesterday in the rain I figured things would've been back to normal between them...

The dinner wasn't anything special, really; we just carried on with casual conversation and whatnot. Naminé kept oddly quiet for the majority of the time, though, and I couldn't help but feel worried. There obviously was something I was missing from last night, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I mean, they freaking made out in the rain. Wasn't that the ultimate makeup method or something?

"Ah!" Naminé pushed her chair out, and everyone's heads turned towards her; somehow she managed to knock over her wine glass, and it spilled all over her part of the table. A few scarlet droplets managed to cling onto her dress. She cursed under her breath and stood up quickly. "Sorry guys, I'm a bit of a klutz today. I'll be right back...hopefully I'll be able to clean this up." She hurried to the bathroom.

Riku stood up as well with a confused expression etched all over his face. "Er, I should check up on her." He scurried off too.

Demyx, Axel and I exchanged baffled looks. "You told us they made up last night." My redheaded best friend said with one fiery eyebrow raised.

"I'm pretty sure they did," I scratched my head, "Last time I checked swapping spit in the rain equals making up, or something romantic-related."

"Naminé wasn't saying much," Demyx pointed out, "It seemed like something was bothering her."

"Maybe to Riku everything's alright, but to her it isn't." Axel frowned. "Y'know how women are."

"Do you think we should follow them?" I suggested.

"Nah," The redhead leaned back in his chair, "Give 'em a few more minutes."

Demyx reached over to Riku's side of the table and forked one of his pot stickers. "Oh well - more food for me."

Fifteen minutes later we finally decided to see what was going on.

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't take fifteen minutes to scrub off a wine stain…" Demyx muttered as we rose from our seats.

"It's really hard, actually," Axel replied, "But even so, Riku's been gone for awhile. They're most likely together somewhere."

We heard angry voices coming from the next room, and we exchanged looks of alarm. "That must be them!" I hurried down the hallway.

Sure enough Naminé and Riku were at it again. They stood within inches of each other, hollering at each other's faces. Demyx, Axel and I hid behind the wall but made sure our heads poked out from the doorframe a little so we could see what was going on.

"What's gotten into you lately?" Riku hissed, "You were fine just yesterday!"

"Was I, Riku?" Naminé countered, "Maybe you should actually bother to pay attention to your surroundings instead of just looking at the surface of things!"

He threw his arms up in the air. "I have no idea what you're talking about-"

"Exactly!" She accused acidly, "You never know what's going on with me anymore! You don't even take the time to catch up with me! All you really care about is your art and your career. You don't realize that there are other important things in your life too!" Tears began to brim her large blue eyes, and my chest ached for her. "You didn't even notice how much you hurt Sora and I until I pointed it out to you…" She tore her bracelet off and whipped it at him. "This is the last time I'm giving this back to you."

His eyes widened in slight shock as he cradled the piece of jewelry in his hands. "Look, I said I was sorry. I talked to Sora about it last weekend and-"

"Do you really think a simple apology's gonna suffice?" Naminé laughed a bitter laugh and shook her head. "You let me believe you wanted to be with me-"

"And I do, Naminé," Riku was beginning to sound desperate now, "More than anything. That's why-"

"If you really wanted to be with me why did you suddenly decide to move to a completely different city without telling me beforehand?" She cried, "If you really wanted to be with me you wouldn't have done that! You would've talked to me about it! We would've worked something out!"

Several people who walked past them tried not to look, but I could tell they were stealing glances. I couldn't blame them.

"I already told you I wasn't moving for another year - isn't that more than enough time to work something out? Naminé, please." Riku was begging now. His hands lowered and his eyes softened. "I don't want to lose you."

"Lose me? You practically threw me away." She spat. "You threw Sora away too - the only two people who apparently mattered to you." She shook her head and swiped the tears from her eyes. "I have nothing more to say to you." She turned on her heel and walked towards the front door.

"Naminé, wait-" But she already slammed the door on his face.

"Ouch." I heard Axel whisper.

"Totally." Demyx agreed.

I frowned. "I should go after her."

Axel smirked at me. "Goin' in for the rebound, eh?"

I glared at him. "That's not what I meant, idiot." We made our way back to the table, and I noticed her purse hanging over her chair. "Plus, she forgot this."

"Huh, well...I guess that's a valid reason." The redhead rumpled his hair. "Okay, well...you go after your girl, then. Demyx and I will take care of Riku. Poor guy's probably shaken up anyway."

I smiled. "Thanks. I'll give you guys a call tonight."

Demyx frowned. "Wait...how are you gonna get home if you're not with me?"

I shrugged as I returned to the foyer. "I'll find a way, don't worry." I noticed Riku sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his face buried in his hands, and I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

I guess he sort of deserved it, though. What Naminé said was true.

When I stepped outside the first thing I noticed was how heavily it was raining. I didn't care how wet I was getting; the only thing I could think about was Naminé walking home in this terrible weather, in a horrible mood and in a thin dress. This wasn't good.

The walk to her place wasn't long but it was long enough to get soaked. I blinked through the wet gloom, trying to remember which way to go. I tucked her purse underneath my plaid shirt and jogged down the road a bit, hoping I was going in the right direction. I was the only person outside - well, at least that was what it looked like. Either that or the rain was so thick it was nearly impossible to see anything.

"Naminé," I called into the storm, "Naminé? Naminé!"

As I continued walking I couldn't help but feel angry towards Riku and what he had done to her. I figured a guy as perfect as him would have the brains to acknowledge the fact that she would be hurt by this. I mean, who wouldn't?

The person whom you thought was the one suddenly breaks it to you that they're moving to a different city. What do you do?

Sure, he wasn't moving for another year but that didn't mean Naminé didn't have the right to be upset. That was probably Riku's only valid excuse.

"Naminé? Naminé!"

I recognized her street, and I sighed in relief when I realized I really was going in the right direction. I ran further down until I reached her house; I found her just walking up the steps.

"Naminé!" I called as I scrambled up to her door, but the rain was pounding so heavily it must've been hard to hear me. She closed the door just as I reached her front steps. Me and my timing.

I knocked on her door. My fist was trembling from the cold rain. "Naminé," I called again, "Open up." No answer. She probably thought I was Riku again.

"I'm not Riku, by the way." Maybe that would help.

Still no answer.

I gritted my teeth. "Naminé, if you don't open this door I'll-" When she finally did open the door my eyes widened. "Uh…"

She was completely drenched from the rain, and her eyes were red from crying. Her platinum blonde tresses were plastered to her cheeks, which looked paler than usual. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "V-Ventus…? What are you doing-"

I pulled out her purse from underneath my shirt and shyly handed it over to her. "Uh, you forgot this." When she wordlessly took it from me I nervously ruffled my hair and turned around. "I-I'll see you-"

"Wait." She grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, and my pulse quickened. "You're not going back out there - not when it's raining like this." She turned to look at me, and I felt her eyes lingering on my collar for some reason.

I awkwardly cleared my throat and her eyes returned to mine. "N-no, really...I'm alright. It's not that far of a walk back to the restaurant anyways. Jacques and Mateo are probably waiting." I pulled off my glasses for a bit to wipe the rain off the lenses.

"Then let them wait," She protested, "Or have them pick you up here. I'm not making you walk in this disaster." She turned around and jogged up the stairs. "I'll go get you a towel."

My hand reached underneath my hat to tousle my damp hair. "Er, okay. T-thanks." I awkwardly rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet for a few minutes before deciding to wander into the kitchen. I hoped she didn't mind.

It's only been a week or so since I've last been here but for some reason it felt like I haven't stepped foot in her house in years. The familiar homely feeling of her kitchen was a nice feeling, and it was nice to be here again despite the fact that she still wasn't talking to me.

I walked over to the counter and noticed how the paper cranes were missing. I wonder what she did with the jar…?

"Ventus?" Her voice came from the foyer, and my eyes widened.

"Coming-" I rushed out of the kitchen and nearly collided into her at the doorway. My face went completely red when I noticed how our noses were bumping. "Uh, I'm-"

She dropped the white towel in her hands and gently reached upwards to cradle my face. Her eyes were so big from this close, and I suddenly forgot how to breathe. She pulled me closer so that our foreheads touched, and she closed her eyes. Her back was against the wall.

What was going on?

"N-Naminé-" She hushed me and opened her eyes. She was staring at me strangely, like she was trying to figure something out.

Then, oh so slowly, she reached for my hat and pried it off. She twisted her thin fingers through my hair, brushing through it until the worst of the rain had shaken off. It stood up like it always did, and despite the fact it was a rusty red I'm pretty sure she knew who I really was at this point because she was giggling.

"Er-" I stuttered but she hushed me again. She lowered her hands to my glasses and pulled them away from my eyes. She stared at me for a good couple minutes, drinking me in.

"Of course." She whispered; I noticed the tears clinging to her eyelashes and I grew worried. She laughed again and tossed my glasses to the side somewhere.

She knew.

But for how long?

"I-it's a long story," I tried explaining myself but before I could finish my sentence she pulled me in and crashed her lips against mine. My eyes widened and my body felt like it was going through shock, but after a minute or two I grew used to the overwhelming feeling and grasped her waist.

The months I've spent pining for her, yearning for her, craving for her...it felt like it was all rushing out of me at that very moment, and I was so afraid it was going to end sooner than I wanted it to - well, actually I never wanted it to end...but that was besides the point.

The girl I loved was kissing me. She kissed me first!

We broke apart after awhile, but the minute my lips left hers I moved to her collarbone. I tasted her, trailing slow kisses up to the skin just below her ear. She moaned against the side of my head and I felt her fingers curling around my hair. I could hear the rain pelting the outside of her house.

"R-Roxas," She gasped, and I pulled away a little to look at her. She touched my forehead with hers for a second before taking my hand and leading me up the stairs. My throat was closing up from nervousness.

When we reached her room she pulled me over to the bed, and we fell on it together. I moved on top of her to capture her lips with my own, and she responded by groaning against me and arching her back so that her body touched mine. Heat pooled in the pit of my stomach, and judging by the pink hue spread across her cheeks she was feeling the same way.

"Naminé," I brushed the hair away from her eyes and gave her a swift kiss on the forehead, "I'm not gonna...make you do anything you don't wanna do."

She slowly nuzzled her head against my neck. "It's always been you," Her lips ghosted across my skin, "From the very beginning...hasn't it?"

"Yeah," I whispered, "It has. It's always been me."

She swallowed and looked up at me. Her eyes were bright and the blush on her face seemed more prominent. "Then…" She wrapped her fingers around my collar and pulled me closer, "Roxas, please…" She raised her hands to the sides of my head and kissed me again, and I happily complied.

The storm continued to rage outside.

A/N: Chapter Inspiration: You Got The Girl by The Tremulance featuring Lights.

Phew...about time, eh? Haha.

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