A/N: Okay, so I've written up to chapter 10. I don't want to post them all at once so I'll be posting one chapter each day. Is that all right with everybody? Since this one is mainly squared away I have to spend more time with Expect the Impossible because that isn't fully written. Thanks for understanding! I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Lies Bring Us Closer

Chapter 2: Sinking

After the day at the beach Kairi ran into Roxas more and more. It almost seemed like he was following her. Still, she always wore a smile and made sure to greet him kindly. To be honest, she slightly enjoyed his attention. This was mostly because he reminded her of Sora and she hadn't had genuine male attention in a while. Most guys that asked for her company only wanted one thing, the prize in her panties.

Kairi locked her apartment door and turned to see Roxas doing the same. She smiled and decided to greet him. "Good morning, Roxas," she almost whispered cheerily.

He turned and gave her a small smile. "Good morning," he murmured back. He seemed to have a shy nature.

"Would you walk down the stairs with me?" Kairi requested sweetly. Some company couldn't hurt. Roxas nodded and joined her at the top stair. Together they began the descent down the stairs. "So, where are you off too so early? I usually don't see you in the hallway when I go to work," Kairi asked.

Roxas stared at the stairs; he looked down. "Ah, I'm just going to go check on my job status at the hospital," he answered. Kairi couldn't ignore the disappointed tone in his voice. She imagined something wasn't going right for him. There was silence between them as they passed the second floor. Neither seemed to know what to say. "So, where do you work?" Roxas asked as they made their way toward the front doors.

"Oh, I work at a legislative firm. I'm just an office assistant. It's my day job," Kairi answered as they walked down the sidewalk. She was thankful they were going the same direction. She never liked walking alone. It only reminded her of how much she missed walking next to Sora. They always walked to school together every morning, and then, walked home together every afternoon.

"I think you could be more than that," Roxas quickly muttered as they continued down the street.

Kairi was flustered. He barely knew her and already seemed to have some sort of faith in her. Why was she so touched by this? "Nah, there isn't much out there for a twenty-four year old with a degree in English," Kairi answered with a small laugh.

Roxas stopped walking and turned to face her. Kairi couldn't help but see a trace of anger on his face. He seemed even more disappointed than he was before. "Kairi, trust me, you can be much more than just an assistant if you'd put your mind to it," he harshly whispered to her. She frowned. He sighed and shook his head. A smile crept on his lips. "I believe in you. And you should believe in you too," he added.

She was even more flustered. She didn't understand Roxas. He treated her as if he had known her all her life. "I'll try," she managed to muster. Their walk continued until they reached the turn Kairi needed to take to get to her office job. "Well, thank you for walking this way with me. I guess I'll see you later today at the beach?" Kairi asked curiously.

She couldn't help but notice the glow in his eyes when she said those words. When she took interest in him, he almost seemed excited. She couldn't help but smile. "O-Of course," Roxas answered hoarsely, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Kairi turned and crossed the street. She didn't dare look back, but she could feel Roxas's lingering stare. There was something about him that she liked; she didn't know what, though. It was almost like he was filling a hole in her heart with his presence. She shook her head and entered the building. No one could take his place. No one.

"Good morning, Kairi!"

She smiled and turned to face her co-worker, Selphie Tillmitt. She was also an assistant in the office. They often spent their lunch breaks together. They were distant friends in high school, but ever since Kairi landed this job they'd gotten much closer. "Good morning, Selphie. Did I miss anything?" she asked as she took her seat at her desk. It was across from Selphie's.

The brunette shook her head and took a bite of her apple. Selphie had the brightest green eyes and light brown hair that was always styled into a flipped bob. Selphie liked consistency. "Everyone's just getting ready for work," she explained as she began typing something into the computer on her desk.

"All right," Kairi answered. She typed her login into the computer and turned her attention to the monitor. She saw that she had an email message. Her heart nearly skipped a beat from the shock. The only person that emailed her was Sora, because he was the only person that had her work email. He'd stopped contacting her a while ago, though. She didn't know whether or not she should open her email. Kairi couldn't handle disappointment too well.

'What if is it Sora? He'd feel bad that I ignored him. You don't ignore someone you love. I have to check. I have to know,' she thought. Her eyes didn't dare move from the image of the envelope on her screen. Timidly, she clicked the image and opened her email. Surely enough, the email was from Sora. Kairi was frozen. 'He actually contacted me. Sora emailed me! I have to read it now. I can't wait.'

She excitedly clicked on the message that was titled 'Kairi'. She was surprised to see it was actually fairly short. She eagerly began to read the message. As she continued reading, her smile dropped. The glowing from her eyes disappeared. Every fibre of happiness in her body seemed to evaporate. Kairi exited the window and left her desk chair. She grabbed her purse and began to walk toward the door.

"Kairi, where are you going?" Selphie called after her. But the brunette was too late. Kairi was already gone.

The red haired woman continued her walk all the way to the dock of the Main Island. She stared out to the smaller island in the distance where she used play with all her friends. The memories were now painful. She removed her boat from the dock and began paddling toward the smaller island. She didn't notice a certain blonde man following after her with a worried expression.

Kairi was completely blank. She was expressionless and emotionless. Not a single tear even threatened to fall. She felt completely empty. It was as if everything had been stripped from her. It was even a surprise she could function. She tied her boat to the dock of the small island and left her heels in her boat. She wouldn't need to look professional for what she was about to do.

She walked off the dock and began to lose the rest of her unnecessary items. She tossed off her suit jacket and it landed somewhere in the sand. She yanked off her pantyhose and left them wherever she stepped. She pulled off her suit skirt and also let that fall somewhere. She ripped off her button-down shirt and tossed that somewhere behind her. She was now left in her undergarments and a silky, pure white slip dress. Kairi was now standing on the shore; the water was whipping the tops of her feet. She slowly began to walk further in the water. This time she had no intentions of stopping.

"Kairi! No!"

She felt someone seize her arms and pull her back onto the shore. It was Roxas's voice. She frowned; it would be too painful to look at him. He sat her down on the sand and handed her the pile of clothes she had tossed away. Kairi only put the jacket back on. She sat and hugged her knees. She didn't bother to say anything to him. He wouldn't understand her pain. No one would.

"What were you trying to do? Kill yourself?" Roxas asked; his voice was dripping with concern. Kairi didn't even have to look at him to tell he was worried about her. "Kairi, you have to live. I don't know what's going on in your life, but you have to live," Roxas begged, "I can't let you end your life."

She chuckled morosely. "Life? My life is gone now. I gave it all to someone who didn't even care to protect it," she spat, "I have no reason to live anymore. My hopes and dreams have been crushed. All that I've ever wanted will never happen."

"I don't know much about hopes and dreams. But I do know you can always get more. Especially since you're you," Roxas answered. It was like he was trying to inspire her. She wasn't in the mood for inspiration. "Kairi, you have so much ahead of you. You could do anything you wanted. Don't let it end this way. You deserve better than this," he pleaded with her. It was now she dared to look at him. His cerulean hues were filled with worry. Her indigo eyes burned with defiance.

"You don't even know me!" Kairi suddenly screamed. She jumped to her feet and began to storm away across the sand. She staggered wildly as she continued fuming. "I just met you a couple of days ago and yet you have such expectations of me! I am nothing, Roxas, nothing! I'm not destined for some greatness. I'm just a girl who was left behind by the person she cared about the most. No one cares about me. I don't have any parents. While I was in high school I lived with the mayor's family. There's no one to care about me here. Or anywhere. I'm alone, so why does it matter if I kill myself? No one's going to miss me!" she shouted angrily. Her face was already wet with her frustrated tears.

"I would miss you," Roxas whispered loud enough for her to here. He stood up walked over to where Kairi was standing and hugging herself. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her against him as he continued to whisper into her ear. "I'm like you, Kairi. I have no one. No family, no friends, and no one to care about. That's why when I saved you from drowning that day; I wanted to be your friend. I wanted someone to talk to. I wanted someone to spend time with," he soothingly explained, "If you have nobody. I will be here for you."

Kairi shook her head. She wouldn't fall for false promises again. "No, you're just lying to me. You're going to leave just like he did," she answered angrily. Though she verbally refused, her body was already sinking into his grasp. She wanted comfort, she was just afraid of the rejection that came with comfort that wasn't permanent.

"I promise you. I'll be the best friend you ever had," Roxas swore as he tried his best to assuage her fears.

Kairi was quiet. She didn't know what to say to Roxas. No one had ever given her so much thought, so much attention. No one except for him, but that was years ago. Now, he didn't care about her at all. She wanted to be cared about. She wanted to be accepted. She couldn't deny that Roxas made her feel safe. She couldn't deny that there was something about their meeting that seemed natural. Besides the fact she had nearly drowned. She couldn't let this opportunity slip out of her hands.

"All right, Roxas. I'll give this friendship a chance," she choked out. She wiped the tears from her eyes and allowed herself to calm down in his arms.