If It Never Happened
Author's Note: This is going to be a short chapter, I was going to include this in the previous chapter but it made that particular chapter too long. So instead I made it a totally separate chapter and stretched out a few things to elongate it. Enjoy!
Chapter 14: Reconciliation
Sora pat Donald and Goofy on the head as they hugged her tight expressing their worries with big bawling tears. Having been distracted with their girlfriends further down the beach they'd been unaware of the precarious situation and felt guilty for not being able to help.
"I'm okay you guys, really, I'm not even injured. I just got the breath knocked out of me, that's all." She tried to comfort.
"You seriously need to stop with these daredevil acts, Sora." Hayner scolded, arms crossed. Beside him Pence and Olette stood with worried looks of their own."You're lucky Vanita got to you so fast or you could have wound up in the hospital again."
"Ah she would have been fine, Riku was right behind me." Vanita grumbled rubbing an ache out of her shoulder. She was sure she pulled something darting through those waves so fast. "Only reason I even went out to save her was because if she'd gotten hurt it would have been my butt on the line. I was told to keep you from doing anything reckless."
Sora went blue in the face and she sat in the sand bowing her head.
"You're right… I'm sorry." Sora apologized but Vanita waved her off.
"Ah don't worry about it. Important thing no one is hurt right?" She put her hands on her hips smirking. "So enough with this sad and bleak atmosphere, we came here to have fun. So let's make the most of it!" Vanita pumped her fist and had majority of the group cheering in agreement.
"Nicely done, leader." Axel pat Vanita's shoulder as the group split up into various activities.
"Well someone had to lighten the mood. I want to make sure everyone is having fun or this will have been a complete waste of time."
"Everyone seems to be having a good time…" He glanced over at Roxas and frowned seeing the sad pale expression on her face. "Well almost everyone. Sora's accident must have shaken Roxas up."
"Right…" Guilt crept up on Vanita and she rubbed the back of her neck. Axel's happy expression had immediately soured seeing Roxas unhappy, and it left her feeling like a bitch for making it that way. "Some things never change I guess… Look Axel, can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Axel shrugged. "What about?"
"If I had a way to break up Terra and Roxas… would you be okay with it?"
"Huh?" Axel glanced over at Vanita in surprise. "What do you mean? I thought the whole point of us going out was so I would get over her."
"That is the point… but do you really want to get over her, Axel? She obviously means a lot to you, and I know Rox-"
"Look, Vanita," Axel cut her off with a stern look. "I came to the conclusion that even if Roxas wasn't in a relationship with Terra she wouldn't want to come back to me. She made that perfectly clear the other night when I told her I decided to date you." He took her shoulders looking in her eyes. "No matter how much I want to be with her… I don't want her to be unhappy."
"I see… you truly do love her, don't you Axel?" Vanita smiled warmly. "I'm quite jealous of that, I admit."
"Hey don't forget you're the one I'm with now. I can tell you it isn't a hardship." He stroked his hands over her skin. "You're spirited, and have a bit of a mean streak… but I can see where your loyalties and heart truly lie."
"My heart huh?" She snorted and pulled from him tossing her hair carelessly over her shoulder. "You say some really strange things, Axel."
"Maybe… I guess what I'm trying to say is I like you Vanita. I want to see where our relationship can go because I can tell you while I do still love Roxas, being with you makes me happy. That's what counts."
"Really?" Vanita's smile bloomed sincerely. "That's actually quite sweet of you to say. I really enjoy spending time with you too Axel."
"Good… so no more talk of break ups or past relationships okay? From now on we focus on the future, and what lies ahead of us." He wrapped an arm around her. "What I see is a couple of footlong hot dogs."
"You read my mind, I'm starving!"
~Meanwhile~
Roxas sat under the shade of a big umbrella and pulled her legs to her chest. She watched Vanita walk off tucked under Axel's arm. Vanita was right to say all those things to her. She'd been such a fool for blaming her foul mood on Vanita. She'd made her choice, she'd decided to give Axel up… and keeping him from dating or worrying about him was just gonna put tangles in both of their relationships.
She needed to commit herself completely to Terra. She needed to let Axel go and get on with his life. No matter how much it hurt, and how much she regret letting him go, she had to face the path she'd chosen.
"Terra…" She stood up, her eyes searching for him. She frowned noticing he wasn't around and immediately sat back down sighing. "Guess I'll just wait for him to come back. I wonder where he could have gone."
~Elsewhere~
Terra leaned on the phone booth, sighing into the receiver.
"Listen Aqua, I'm not asking for much, you're better at dealing with Vanita than I am, just find out what the hell her deal is." He insisted.
"I have better things to do with my time then to pick a fight with another of your exes, Terra. If Vanita is giving you trouble then-"
"That's just it, she's not. Aside from some choice words we had when she first got here she's been acting like a perfect little saint and it's grinding my gears. Something's up with her and I want to know what."
"Then ask her yourself. There's no way she'd ever talk to me about it, and I'm not going to interfere in your life." Aqua retorted. "I've had enough of that from personal experience."
"You're Venus' friend too aren't you? Aren't you curious as to why the two of them have been separated. The whole story of a prank sounds too minor, and I know there's more to it. You should see her, acting nice to Roxas, making kissy face at Axel, scolding Sora like a mother hen. It's weird."
"You're right that does sound strange…" Aqua said after a brief moment of silence. "... and completely unlike the Vanita we knew back in junior high. Have you tried calling Venus, and asking her?"
"No… I don't have the courage for that. Besides I get the feeling Venus would just take Vanita's side. Despite some of the things Vanita's done, Venus has always held a strong bond with her." Terra thumped a fist on the booth. He heard someone call his name and sighed. "I gotta go. I'll call you again when I get back to the house."
"Fine… I'll find out what I can and talk to Venus myself. Still I think we should at least try and give Vanita the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions. People change, Terra. Relationships change… it could be Vanita just wants to make some friends."
"Maybe… I'll call you later." He hung up the phone sighing. "Venus…"
~Back with Roxas~
Vanita approached her holding a soda out before sitting on the blanket next to her.
"Here… a peace offering."
"Thanks…" Roxas accepted it, but instead of drinking she pressed the cool can to her temple. "I'm sorry for acting like a bitch."
"Ah don't worry about it, I had it coming after all the mean things I've done to you in the past." Vanita took a swig from her own can and watched the waves. "I'm also sorry, for blowing up on you earlier. I know you're just trying to protect Axel's feelings. I just… I don't understand why you let him go when you clearly still have feelings for him."
"He scares me." Roxas admitted finally opening her drink and sipping at it.
"What do you mean?" Vanita looked at her curiously. "Did he hurt y-"
"No, absolutely not, he'd never hurt me like that." Roxas took a shaky breath. "He frightened me with his emotions. We're still teenagers, young and adventurous and looking towards the future. Yet Axel was already talking about being together forever, getting married, travelling to other worlds and exploring. It sounded so big and so huge I really thought he was joking..." Roxas rubbed her arms. "I got angry, and told him he shouldn't be treating our relationship like a joke. When he told me he was serious I got even angrier."
"You got angry because the guy you have feelings for wants to spend eternity with you… pfft you really are an idiot." Vanita took another long swig of her soda and two pointed the can into the trash.
"You don't understand, Vanita. When he told me he was serious I got angry because I was afraid. It was that kind of thinking that got Sora hurt, that put her in the hospital. Sora's always been a reckless dreamer, someone who jumps into things without a second thought. After what happened to her I told myself I'd never make that mistake, I'd never be stupid enough to throw my life away, and now here was Axel talking about running off after High School, travelling the world with me, wanting to marry me, I wanted to smack him!" Roxas put her hands in her face. "Why do the people I care for the most have to be so stupidly reckless? Why do they have to go and get themselves hurt and dream carelessly like that? I don't understand."
"Why do you have to be such a stick in the mud?" Vanita tossed back at her and stood up. "I agree acting carelessly can get you hurt, or worse… but playing it safe isn't good either."
"Ever heard the expression, better safe than sorry?" Roxas scowled.
"Better to live than to regret." Vanita countered. "Dreams and fantasies are what make life fun! You can't just toss away your emotions and play pretend, life doesn't work that way."
"I'm not pretending. I care about Terra, I chose to be with him because I like being with him." Roxas explained but Vanita shook her head.
"No… you chose Terra because he has a game plan for his life. The perfect athlete, good grades, a strong solid head on his shoulders. No unrealistic dreams or fantasies. Pffft you don't know him at all."
"What? Are you saying you do?" Roxas stood toe to toe with her cousin now. Vanita was happy to see color back in her cheeks and fight in her eyes, but the words fired caused an uncomfortable squeeze around her heart.
"No… I don't." Vanita's eyes flickered with hurt. "Despite coming from the same town, going to the same school, and dating him for a short time I didn't learn a single thing about him."
"Date… wait you and Terra-"
"I don't want to get into it. The point is you're right, I don't really know him. The only things I do know about him is he's very driven, very determined… and doesn't like to lose." Vanita hugged herself. "He and I have that in common."
"Yeah…" Roxas said numbly, still trying to process the fact she and Terra had dated once upon a time. "How come the two of you broke up?"
"Doesn't matter… you don't have to worry he doesn't want me... and I don't want him." Damn it, Vanita cursed herself mentally. Why did that last part feel like a lie? "I'm telling you now, Roxas. I like Axel… and if you're serious about giving him up then I won't hesitate to keep him for myself. He's the kindest, sweetest, and most generous guy I've ever been with. I'm going to enjoy my time with him, for as long as he lets me."
"Vanita…" Roxas started to speak but couldn't get the right words out.
"If you really want to know more about Terra and I then you should ask him… because I'm not going to give him the time of day." She turned and walked away leaving Roxas to stand ankle deep in sand and even more emotionally confused than before.
When Terra finally came back and wrapped an arm around her she tilted her face up. Though he smiled, she felt it was forced.
"Terra… how come you didn't tell me you knew my cousin."
"Hmm? Oh… so she told you huh? Guess that should have come from me." He let go. "It's history… we were only together for a few weeks. It's nothing worth mentioning really."
"Still…" it left her feeling uncomfortable. She felt as though he were hiding something else… something more serious.
"It doesn't matter, Roxas. Just because I live with her and we have history doesn't change anything. As far as I'm concerned she's only a distraction, nothing else."
"Alright… if you say there's nothing then I believe you. I still wish you would have told me."
"It's not like it's a secret. Aqua and I both knew her." He said with some discomfort. "We went to school together before Aqua and I moved to the islands."
"I see… well I guess that does make sense. The three of us got along pretty well and I suppose the fact you knew my cousins helped that. Things changed though when you and Aqua started dating." Roxas said sourly.
"Hey, enough about that. It's in the past Roxas. You're letting Vanita get into your head and bringing up baggage that needs to stay packed away." He rubbed her hair. "We came here to have fun, so let's have some fun."
"Right… you're right…." Roxas smacked her cheeks. "I can't let what she says get to me. I came here to enjoy myself and to be with you." She smiled up at him. Safe or not Terra was hers… Vanita may not approve but Roxas was content to life her life safely and peacefully with Terra. Nothing and No one could mess that up for her.
~Mainland~
Venus packed away her clothes in the backpack and glanced over her shoulder. She wanted to make sure her mother wouldn't walk in and find out what she was doing, so she double checked the lock on her door and took a deep breath.
She had to fix things… she had to set things right.
What a mess she'd made. She'd tried to make friends and in the end ended up getting herself in trouble. Vanita had taken the blame, had deliberately stepped up and allowed herself to be punished for acts she hadn't committed.
Why did no one see this gentle side to her sister? Why did no one see that Vanita may be stern, sarcastic, and all kinds of reckless, but she also had the kindest heart?
It was her that deserved punishment Venus thought with a small whimper. She was the jealous one, the petty one, the one who lied to everyone trying to fit in. Isn't that why she'd done as Lock, Shock, and Barrel had asked? Isn't that why she'd gone with them and pulled those mean pranks? She just wanted to be liked… wanted to make friends again.
"I can't let you take the blame for this, Vanita. I'm bringing you home, or at the very least I'm staying to share in the punishment! I'll explain the situation to Mr. Xehanort and then maybe he can convince my mother to forgive Vanita."
She closed her bag and checked her munny situation. She had enough for her ticket, food, and a hotel room if need be. Hopefully she could convince either Mr. Xehanort, or her Aunt to let her stay with them until this whole mess was resolved.
She climbed out her bedroom window and shimmied down the vines alongside the house. She gasped almost falling but managed to make it to the bottom without hurting herself. She grabbed her bike from the side of the garage, and after taking one wistful glance back at her house rode off.
She'd made her way down the road, through the town… and at the top of the hill looked out at the docks where she would await the ferry.
"Next Stop…" she told herself and adjusted her backpack over her shoulder. "Destiny Islands."
~Ask briry~
Briry: Again sorry for the short chapter, but that just means I'll have more time to work on the next one.
Next Chapter: Venus' Lament