If it Never Happened

Chapter 15: Venus

Venus' eyes were wide and the blues of them sparkled like the sea she sailed upon. The sky was wide and opened to the beauty of its breathed in deep, the air smelled so fresh, and slowly let it out. She had needed this vacation, this break to just relax and be herself. For too long she'd true to fit in, be something she wasn't...and now that she was so close to family, to the familiar, she could finally feel at ease.

As the ferry pulled in Ven held the sun hat on her head to keep it from flying away. Her long blonde hair tickled her bare shoulders. She wore a white frilly top and a knee length black skirt, and strappy sandals with flowers on the ankles.

"Wow it's been forever since I visited…" She walked down the plank, and admired the town. Setting the bike against the dock rail she spun around enjoying the playful sea breeze whipping at her face and hair.

"Hey Roxas!" A voice spoke from behind her and Ven whipped around to look at the small group of teenagers. A blonde boy broke from the pack and rushed toward her. "Great to see you in our part of town. You look nice."

"Oh thanks but… I think you have-" she started to protest but the boy hooked an arm around her and put an ice cream in her hand. She stare at it with innocent surprise and delight. "For me?"

"Yeah. You showed some wicked impressive moves on the surfboard yesterday. You and Vanita are cool in my book. If you ever decide to toss Terra aside we should go out sometime."

"oh well I…" She blushed but then blinked in surprise again. "Did you say Terra?"

"Hey Hayner! Stop flirting with the girl before Terra finds out and beats you up!" Pence shouted across the docks.

"Ah he's got a point… still we should hang out. Sora has my number so be sure to call me, okay?" He jogged off after his friends.

Venus watched after them a bit dazed and flustered. Roxas sure was popular, she thought. Last she'd heard from her she'd been dating a boy named Axel and hope come to find out she was dating her and Vanita's childhood friend Terra...and it seemed that Hayner kid also wanted to date her.

"She used to be so shy just like me. I'm glad to see she's coming out of her shell at least." She giggled and since it was there ate the ice cream.

~Meanwhile~

Vanita toweled off her hair after taking a swim in the indoor pool. The beach was nice but sometimes you just wanna look at a beach and swim in a pool. She put on a robe, tied it tight around her damp suit and eyed the open doorway to the library. Spotting Terra she couldn't resist slipping in and breathing over his shoulder.

"Whatcha reading?"

"101 ways to kill annoying ex girlfriends." He replied and closed his book. She eyed the title and smirked.

"A romance novel? You surprise me."" She walked around and plopped onto the sofa across from him.

"I shouldn't…" Terra tapped his book on his palm. "Despite what you think I'm not heartless."

"I don't think you're heartless, Terra." Vanita's face went cool and serious and she sat up straight. "I think you're stupid, and a jerk who doesn't know how to convey his feelings properly… but I never thought you were heartless. I've seen too many good sides of your personality to come to that conclusion."

"Now you surprise me." He countered and sighed setting the book on the coffee table in front of him. "You need something?"

"No… just killing time." She sighed.

"Can't find anything better to do than bug me huh?" He lounged and tapped his fingers irritably on the arm of the chair. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"Axel has to help out at his uncle's shop. Sora's on a date with Riku, and despite having recently found some easy ground with her, Roxas and I don't really get along on our own."

"Why don't the two of you get along? I would think that with Roxas sharing a lot of traits of Venus that you'd be just as protective."

"She's my cousin so I am protective… but Roxas makes stupid, selfish decisions and she wallows in it pathetically which makes me irritated. I can protect my family from other people, but I can't protect them from themselves. Both Roxas and Sora get into enough trouble on their own without my having to add to it."

"If I recall you got into plenty of trouble." Terra said with a half smirk.

"That's different." She smirked back, a little flirtatiously. "I did it on purpose for the attention and fully knowing what I'm getting into. They're doing it blindly and without knowledge of consequences."

"All the more reason you should get along and set the example." He pointed out, and reminded her why she'd found him so attractive by smiling affectionately. "You're no role model… but you have your moments."

Her brow raised curiously and she smirked at him.

"Are we having a moment?"

"Don't get used to it." he told her and rose when the doorbell rang. "I still find you irritating."

"Okay…" she got up and followed him towards the front room. "The old man is at a meeting, are you expecting anyone?"

"No, but it could be a delivery or…" He peeked out the window and raised a brow at who he saw. "Huh… that's weird, it's Roxas. I wonder why she's here. Did we have a date?" Terra rubbed his chin and shook his head. "No… must be just a drop by."

"A woman doesn't need an excuse to come see the boy she's dating." Vanita pointed out and leaned against the stair banister. Terra opened the door, and the teasing comment she had planned slipped away. "Uh Terra that's-"

"Hey beautiful, whatcha doing here?" Terra pulled in the cute blonde and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that had her giggling.

"It's good to see you too Terra." Venus giggled and held her cheek blushing. "It's been awhile."

"What do you mean we just-" Terra trailed off as he assessed the girl in front of him. His mouth dropped open and his heart did a quick jerk in his chest. "V-Ven?"

"Hi Terra." Venus' smile was sweet and warm, and brought back so many memories. "It's so good to see you. Vanita!" She brushed by him running with arms open to engulf her sister in a hug. Terra's eyes followed her, the shock lingering on his face even as he closed the door.

"Venus…" Vanita hesitated, her eyes swimming with emotions before wrapping her arms around her to return the hug. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, of course." She pulled back eyes wet. "I also came to apologize. I-"

"There's no need!" Vanita quickly told her, eyes going hard. "There's also no need for you to come see me during your break. You should be at home, I can't believe mom let you come."

"Actually…" Venus shifted uncomfortably. "Mom doesn't know."

"Y-you… you snuck out of the house?" Vanita looked completely surprised and then pissed. "Damn it, Venus. She's going to blame me for this you know. She's gonna think I coerced you into coming."

"You didn't… and that's exactly what I'm going to tell Mr. Xehanort. I'm going to explain everything to him." Venus assured wringing her hands nervously, her blue eyes bright and hopeful.

"Explain what? What's going on?" Terra closed the door and Vanita gave him a withering look.

"It's none of your business…" Vanita snapped and grabbed Venus' hand. "Come on." She dragged her upstairs. Terra scowled and slowly followed them up sthe steps. When Vanita slammed the door, he pressed his ear to the door, and listened.

"I'm gonna get dressed, then you're going to our Aunt's house." He heard Vanita tell Venus.

"What? Why? Why can't I stay here with you?"

"You're not staying at all." Vanita whirled on her sister. "Damn it, Venus. You shouldn't be here. I told you to let me serve my punishment in peace."

"You're not the one who should be getting punished, Vanita. I'm the one that super glued Seifer's jockstrap. I'm the one who set off the fire alarms, and painted on the bathroom walls."

Terra's eyes widened when he heard this and he pressed closer making sure he heard correctly. Venus? Pulling Pranks? What the hell was going on?

"I know that and I know why you did it. You made friends with the wrong people and because of that you started acting like an irresponsible little kid, and making stupid decisions." Vanita scolded already stripping down. She ran fingers through her damp hair cursing.

"I know…" Venus pouted and sat on her sister's bed. " You and mom always shielded me from bullies, and hardships because I was never brave or strong enough to face them on my own. I'm oblivious on how to act with other people, and I always question how to speak, think, and even dress to fit in so I could make real friends. Because of that... I don't know who I am anymore."

"I know exactly who you are. You're my sister… you're sweet, innocent, and beautiful." Vanita said honestly. "You get perfect grades, like junk food, you love to read-"

"No, no, no! Don't you get it Vanita?" Venus sighed exasperatedly. "That's the kind of person everyone wants me to be. You, Mom, even Terra and Aqua… everything they like about me is just the pure innocent shell I've put around myself to make people like me." She stood up and paced. Wrapping her arms around herself she let out a shaky sigh.

"Venus…" Vanita took her shoulder and turned her sister to look at her. "That's just stupid. You know who you are so why are you questioning it? What's really going on?"

"It's just… I felt so… free. Doing all those things with Lock Shock and Barrel made me feel bad but at the same time it was enjoyable because I could laugh with them. Running away from home was the most exciting thing I've ever done and i did it all on my own. It was rebellious and adventurous and just... fun." Venus turned to her sister smiling. "You know?"

"Yeah," Vanita admitted with a sigh, "I know that feeling… but I also know the consequences of it. You don't have to pull crazy stunts to have fun Venus."

"I know." Venus looked out the window of Vanita's room… down at the sea. "The moment I stepped onto the island I saw these teenagers hanging out at the docks and eating ice cream. I've always wanted to be like that. I wanted to be a normal teenager with friends, eating ice cream, having adventures, and laughing about stupid stuff." She looked down at her hands guiltily. "I just… don't know how."

"I guess... No, I KNOW that's my fault." Vanita shook her head when Venus started to protest. "No, it's true. You wouldn't have rebelled and made false friends if I had let you be your own person… let you make friends and be open. You ended up doing exactly what I was afraid of, and making so called friends who used your innocence and oblivious nature to take advantage of you. That's why I took the blame… why I accepted the punishment. I felt it was time we had that separation."

"Vanita…" Venus' blue eyes filled with tears. "You've only ever thought of my well being. I can't fault you for that."

"I can… everybody told me what I was doing was possessive and overbearing but I didn't listen. I got into fights, and trouble so I could get all the bad attention and you wouldn't get punished. I dated every guy that showed interest in you so you wouldn't ever feel heartbreak. I pushed away any potential friends you could have made because..." Vanita clenched her fists at her side. "I just… wanted to protect the only person who's ever really mattered to me. I knew sooner or later you'd pull away from me and I wouldn't be able to protect you anymore. I'm sorry, Venus, for being so selfish."

Venus smiled and brushed tears before hugging her sister tightly. Terra had heard enough. He backed away from the door and headed to his own room, his head dizzy with all this new information.

"There's nothing to apologize for. I think sometimes we need to be a little selfish." Venus pulled back when Vanita laughed.

"I don't want to be selfish anymore. Like you I just want to make friends... have fun."

"Then let me stay. We'll spend the rest of the summer just having fun." Venus held up a pinky and Vanita smiled hooking hers through it.

"Okay...you win. Let me get dressed then we'll go find Sora and Roxas. They'll be glad to see you."

"I can't wait to see them. Aqua too. I see Terra hasn't changed much. He's still as handsome as I remember him. Are you holding up alright? You guys didn't exactly split on good terms."

"We're fine, he's not as big a jerk as I made him out to be he's just...particular I guess. He's looking for the perfect woman and I'm just not it." Vanita started taking clothes out of her closet.

"Does he think Roxas is?" Venus asked, flopping on the bed, cupping her chin in her hands and kicking her legs up.

"How do you know about him and Roxas?" She glanced back over her shoulder.

"One of the teens on the dock thought I was Roxas and gave me a gist of their relationship. Hayner I think his name was. He's got a crush on her."

"Hayner? Really? Oh that's so precious...and at the same time annoying. I don't understand why she had so many admirers. Axel, Terra, and now Hayner?"

"Maybe they just find her attractive." She flushed and fluffed her hair. She hadn't meant to compliment herself in the process but that's how it came out.

"Well sure she's pretty, but she's so..."

"So...what?" Venus smiled teasingly.

"So...angsty. That's not quite the right description but it's close enough. She's... " Vanita drummed fingers against the closet door as she leaned on it. "She's the kind of person who denies herself what she really wants or needs because she's afraid of the circumstances afterward. Sora is someone who follows her heart and just leaps straight into something no matter the consequence, and because of that Roxas has seen the negative impacts of it and denies herself that joy and thrill. She wants to be the rational twin, but she's rational to the point of misery. She's settling for things she shouldn't settle for and it's irritating to watch."

"I think I get what you mean." Venus sits upright on the bed. "Like when we were about to go into middle school. Sora and Roxas visited us for a few days and Sora cut her own hair because it was so hot. She absolutely hated how it looked and cried over it. Roxas had been talking about getting her own hair cut for the new school year, but because of how upset Sora was with her haircut she procrastinated."

"Exactly!" Vanita snapped her fingers grinning. She knew Venus would be on her side. "Then I got so sick of watching her play with her hair, make excuses, and whine I set one of her pigtails on fire. She got her haircut right after and the crisis had past."

"You didn't have to be so mean about it… but I understand why you did it Vanita. You may not like them, but family is important to you. They may not notice or understand but you've always looked out for us, not just me. You shield me, you lecture Sora, and push Roxas' buttons… you're not just my big sister, you're theirs too. One day they'll come to see that and we'll all be closer for it."

"Maybe…" Vanita finished changing. She had on jeans and a blank tank top and she tugged her hair up into a long tail. "Anyway. Let's stop mulling over that stuff. You're here to have fun, so let's go have fun. I'll introduce you to Sora and Roxas' friends. There should at least be a few out on the little island."

"That sounds like fun." Venus grinned. "Maybe Sora and Roxas are with them. I can't wait to see them."

"Roxas might be, but I'm pretty sure Sora won't. She's got a date with Riku and from what I hear…" she bounced her eyebrows at her sister. "They're gonna be preoccupied ALL day."

~Meanwhile~

Sora tugged on the skirt Roxas had shoved her in and fidgeted as she waited for Riku by the beach. Despite having been together for a few weeks this would be their first official date. They'd decided on the bus out to the beach the day before that it was about time they had one. Sora wanted it to go well, wanted to make it special. She wondered just what Riku had planned, he had seemed excited, and just as nervous as she was. The thought of it made her smile and she bounced in her shoes impatiently.

She looked down at her watch sighing a little. He was running late, and wondered if he got the days mixed up, or if he was still mad at her about the surfing incident. He would tell her if he decided to change his mind, wouldn't he? Or was this his way of teaching her a lesson? The more she fretted about it, the more nervous she got.

"Riku…" She held her heart looking around frantically now. "You wouldn't just stand me up, would you?"

"Sora!" Riku's voice called out from behind her. Sora turned towards the water and she gasped with delight at the sight of Riku aboard a sailboat. He stood at the bow waving over to her as the two crewmen pulled the boat into the dock.

"Riku!" She hurried out and over to the boat. "What's all this?"

"Our date…" He motioned to the picnic basket laid out on the deck. "A romantic picnic boat ride around the island."

"Riku!" Sora's eyes were bright and dazzling. "This is-"

"Come on, we can relax here." He looked to the captain and his skipper who waved. "They'll take care of the boat and us. We just need to relax, eat, and enjoy the scenery." He turned back to her and held out his hand. "Shall we go?"

"Yes!" Sora didn't hesitate and she let him help her onto deck. Immediately she rushed out to the front of the ship as it set sailed and started smoothly coasting around the island. The bright smile and excitement had Riku letting out a breath of relief.

"Thank Goodness."

"Hmmm?" Sora glanced back at him. "What is it?"

"I was worried…" he told her with a small frown. "When Vanita had to pull you from the water I was worried you'd lose your love for the ocean."

"I couldn't… even if I'm a little afraid of it sometimes… I can't forget all the wonders and joys the ocean holds." She walked to him grabbing his hand. "We're both islanders, Riku. We were raised on the sea. It's a part of who we are, the good and the bad."

"I know." He tucked hair behind her ear. "I just want to make sure you never forget that. So I'm going to make sure to show you those joys and wonders as often as I can."

"Riku…" Sora held her heart, love filling her eyes. Riku said nothing more, instead he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her soft and warm. The moment was so serene and yet Sora felt the lightning impact inside her. She would never forget this day, this moment… this boy.

"I love you, Riku."

"I love you too, Sora."

~On Shore~

Roxas watched her sister and Riku leave the docks and her heart sighed just a little with envy.

"Sora… you're so lucky." She hugged herself. Roxas knew her sister had found the real thing, had found real love. More, Roxas knew Sora was the kind of person that once she found something precious she'd never let it go, no matter what happened.

"Unlike me…" She admitted frustratedly. Why was she being so indecisive about this? Why did she have to pick and break apart everything? Why couldn't she just enjoy being with Terra? Why did Axel's happiness bother her so much?

"Am I not… happy? Is that it?" Roxas hugged herself sighing and she lowered her head. If that's the case… then why? Terra was a wonderful boyfriend. Handsome, protective, romantic…

You don't know him at all

"I do!" She mentally argued with Vanita and grit her teeth. "I do know Terra. He's athletic, smart, driven, goal oriented… he likes…"

Sports? He should since he was on several of the teams. He liked music she was sure… but what kind? She knew he loved to eat… but what was his favorite? What was his favorite color? His hobbies? Did he like to read, and if so what genre?

And his goals… she knew he was determined to go to college with a sports scholarship but whta did he want to study? What was he really passionate about? Did he enjoy being with her? The few times they went out he seemed distracted, distant… Roxas started to frantically pace running fingers through her hair.

"Damn it… Damn it… DAMN IT!" She grabbed a rock and tossed it into the water. "What's wrong with me?"

"You okay there Roxas?" Axel's voice caught Roxas off guard and she whirled around to face her ex. The panic and inner tirade had sent her face flushed. Her blonde hair was windblown and her eyes were threatening tears.

"Axel… do you know Vanita at all?"

"Hmm?" Axel raised a brow. "A little now that I've spent some time with her. Why?"

"Tell me about her… from your perspective, what's she like? What do you like about her?"

Axel frowned. He wasn't sure what this was about… but he jammed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"I like her because she's fun to be with."

"Huh?" Roxas was caught off guard with that comment. "That's it?"

"Well no… but that's the gist. She's adventurous, challenging, enjoys extreme sports, cars, and rock music. She's pretty flirtatious and affectionate… likes to touch and kiss me as if it's as casual as a handshake. Then there's her body which is… you don't wanna hear this."

"No, you're right, I don't." Roxas huffed out a breath and crouched hugging her knees. "I'm a horrible girlfriend."

Axel scowled and walked close to crouch down with her.

"Why do you say that?"

"You've only known Vanita for a few days and you know her better than I know Terra whom I've dates for weeks." She buried her face in her knees. "Vanita is right, I don't know him at all… i don't think he even really likes me."

"Roxas…" He stood her up and made her look at him. "What makes you think he doesn't like you? He wouldn't date you if he didn't like you."

"Maybe at first but things have changed… he's distracted and distant and I can tell he forces himself to smile around me. I'm not fun to be around. I'm a stick in the mud!" Roxas bat away tears.

"Hey…" he took her hands. "Stop that… you're not a stick in the mud. You just think too much, is all. I always enjoy spending time with you Roxas. You're curious, and you have a unique perspective on things. You love to surf and skateboard, you're smart and you're great at designing things. You're the one who made my band's poster didn't you?"

"Well yeah but-"

"You're not giving yourself enough credit, Roxas. If Terra has lost interest then that's his folly, not yours… Aside from Sora, I know you better than anyone… and i love you just the way you are."

"Axel…" Roxas sniffed and she wiped tears away. "Why-"

"Stop picking it apart… It's just fact, Roxas." He hugged her and lay his head on her hair. "You're fine the way you are. If Terra can't see or want that then he's an idiot."

She was the idiot, Roxas realized as tears just fell down her cheeks. She clung onto Axel and cried into his shoulder. Neither of them noticed Aqua watching a few feet away, or the look on fretful her face.

"This isn't good… I'd hoped you'd be the one to finally help him, Roxas." She sighed and turned around. "Guess the only person who can help Terra get over Venus… is Venus."

~Ask Briry~

Briry: Long time no see faithful readers! This chapter took a little longer to compose then I'd hoped, but i had some tweaks to make and plot holes to cover.

Next Chapter: Friend, lover, sister, cousin