Authors Note: i really really want to thank those of you that reviewed and put me in your author/story subscriptions! it really means a lot to me :) thanks to xD . .umi, soluvepink, lnsane, milk bones and BlackButterfly9 for leaving reviews for this story!
oh and just a note, a lot of the characters tend to be ooc, so sorry if you don't like oocness! there are some swearing in this chapter too, just a heads up. also, there are some ideas that are borrowed or are similar to 500 days of summer- of course, this story isn't going to be a re-make of that movie! anyway, onto the story!
CHAPTER TWO:
A bus rolled into the borough of Twilight Town, dropping off a blonde haired girl by the name of Namine Strife. With nothing but a suitcase to accompany her, she stepped off bravely into the streets of what she would now call her new home. After news of her father falling into a coma, Namine was sent to live with her older brother, Cloud. Although the doctors informed her that the chances of her father waking up were unknown, Namine had faith in her father. It might be weeks, months, or years, but she was certain that he would someday wake up. Until the day he did, Namine swore to herself that she would do everything in her power to become the woman he always wanted her to be.
The next day after her father was put into the hospital, a co-worker from her father's company gave her a journal that belonged to her father. He explained that it was meant for her to read when she was a little older, but with the special circumstances, he decided that now was the right time for her have it. The journal, she discovered, was compiled of things for her to do. The list wasn't about the chores she had to do, but rather what he wanted her to accomplish in her lifetime. A few of the things included in the journal were for her to get accepted into Radiant University, which she was still working on, and taking over the company when he died- Cloud passed up that chance when he offered, so her father decided that she would inherit the company instead. Although many of the things on the list would have to wait until she grew up a little bit more, there were still a few things left on it that she could accomplish now. One thing that she had her heart set on accomplishing on the list was to fall in love.
Sixteen may have been to young for love according to some, but Namine truly believed that love had no limitations regardless if you were young or old, rich or poor. That being said, it was no mystery that Namine was a hopeless romantic- although she preferred to leave out the word "hopeless". Her strong belief of love stemmed from misconstrued remarks made by her grandmother, who was long gone now. As a child, she would sit and watch movies-romantic movies, of course- with her grandmother who would say all the time to her that love was the only thing that could make one happy. From that, Namine believed that she would never truly be happy without finding her soul mate.
Taking in a deep breath, Namine started towards a creme colored apartment building- the place she would now be staying in- and prepared to start her new life.
It had only been two weeks since she first arrived in Twilight Town, but Namine was determined to get to school on her own. The first week of her arrival was meant for her to get settled in and get to know her brother again, who she hadn't seen or heard from since the day he left for college three years ago. It felt odd to Namine to see that the boy who used to run around town breaking the rules was now going on to major in something he once had a dislike for- law. Then again, a lot of things could easily change in three years.
The second week of her arrival was spent getting school supplies and of course, shopping for new clothes- which Cloud excused himself from. Cloud never liked shopping, especially with a girl. He explained that when guys shopped it only took them a ten minutes tops, if there weren't any lines, to pick out right fitting clothes and get back into the car. But when girls went shopping, something that only took a few minutes to do, became a quest for them that lasted for hours. To relieve her brother of his suffering, Namine reassured him that she knew her way to the boutiques, which she did. It was the matter of finding her way back home that was the problem. After wandering aimlessly around town for hours, Cloud finally found her and picked her up. The mission had been a fail, but Namine was now determined to show Cloud that she was now perfectly adjusted to her new home.
One of the things about Namine was that she didn't want people to see her as someone who needed to be helped all the time. She was stubborn and refused to get help from anyone unless she really, really had to- which she hoped she would never have to since she preferred to be able to help herself out. In an essence, she was stubborn. It was a quality that, according to her grandmother, warded the boys away from her. But Namine insisted that her soul mate wouldn't find it unappealing and would instead find it charming that she couldn't be swayed in what she believed in, which was the way she defined the word, stubborn.
At the sight of a red colored building with a long drive way for parents to drop of their kids, and Zanarkand's flag raised high above the school, Namine let out a breath of relief. She knew she could make it to school on her own. Instead of rushing to get into the building, like she should have since she was now five minutes late for class, she decided to walk nice and slowly in order for her to be able to take in the feeling of triumphant. Although it was completely unnecessary, considering the fact that Cloud already believed that she could make it to the school on her own. It was remembering how to get home, was what Cloud was worried about. Namine's problem in maneuvering around the town was that she claimed that all the apartments looked alike.
Namine was halfway into the school when all of a sudden, something hard knocked her onto the ground. Rolling a few feet away from her was a skateboard. She turned to her side, having been sprawled onto her stomach the whole time, and glared at the boy lying next to her. The boy had spiky dark blond hair, cerulean blue eyes, and wore a white shirt with blue jeans- it looked as if he had just thrown on whatever he could find. The sprang to his feet and wiped the dirt of his jeans, not looking at Namine the whole time.
"Um, a simple sorry would be nice." Namine said, getting to her feet. She imitated him and began to search for areas with dirt on it.
The boy pinched his brows together, "Me? I was screaming for you to get out of the way from fifteen feet away!"
Namine recalled hearing a muffled voice calling out to someone. Apparently, it had been for her. "I didn't know you were talking to me."
"You were the only other person outside besides me," The boy quipped. He had a look of irritation on his face now.
"Well it should of been clear that I didn't hear you since I didn't get out of your way. Why couldn't you have just swerved around me? It's not like there's not enough room out here!" Namine replied, crossing her arms around her chest, she was starting to get annoyed with him. If there was one thing that she didn't like besides feeling like a damsel in distress, it was rude people.
The boy looked like he was going to say something but closed his mouth when the bell rang. "Whatever, I'm late for class now," He muttered as he picked up his skateboard and jogged through the school doors.
Meanwhile, Namine stood outside frowning at his retreating back. So much for sucking in all the glory, she thought to herself. Namine continued her way into the building, this time walking at a faster pace. Unlike the boy, she wasn't too worried about being late. She was a new student here, so the chances that the teachers would get mad at her were unlikely. She strode down the hall, pulling out the schedule the school mailed her from her jean pocket. According to her schedule, she had English first period. Namine groaned, she hated that subject with a passion.
After a few more minutes of roaming around the hall, Namine finally found room 221. The teacher was already beginning the lesson, which was something about the importance of literature in history. From this, Namine could already tell that it was going to be a boring first period. She opened the door and waited for the teacher to acknowledge her presence. When she didn't, Namine let out a cough.
"And that's why-" The teacher turned to face Namine. "Take a seat in the back next to Xion. Xion raise your hand!" She directed at a dark haired girl with short hair. The girl seemed to have just woken up. Namine made her way to the back and sat next to the girl known as, Xion. "Class, we have a new student with us. Her name is Namine Strife," The teacher continued. "My name is Ms. Belle, and we're all very glad to have you here. Now, I have to run down to the office to get you a book so for the meantime, you can just relax," She smiled and headed out the door.
Namine instantly became filled with nervousness. Normally, Namine wasn't one to be shy, but with all the looks people were giving her just now, Namine was starting wish that she was invisible."Don't worry, you get used to it," Namine turned to face Xion, who was stretching her arms out.
"You're new too?" Namine asked.
"No, but I was a new kid before. Of course, High School's different than in elementary school where everyone immediately crowds over you. In a way, this is a lot better than having to deal with everyone making a circle around you and basically interrogating you." She explained.
Namine chuckled slightly. "Is class always this boring?" As lame as the question was, Namine couldn't think of anything else to say.
Xion nodded. "But the good news is that the teacher's a total pushover. All you have to do is get the class to whine about not wanting homework and she'll give in."
Namine nodded. As soon as she was about to say something else, two boys crowded over them. Both of them were brunettes and wore identical grins on their faces. "Hey new girl, you're name's Namine right?" The one on the left asked.
"Yeah..." Namine answered cautiously. She didn't like the look on their faces.
"Well, I think you're the pretties girl in the whole class," The boy paused. "What do you say after class we go behind the bleachers and you know, get to know each other."
Namine felt like puking. "You're a pig," She said, glaring up at him.
The other boy laughed. "Sorry Johnny, she doesn't like you. But maybe she'll go with me?"
"You're both pigs. Now leave me alone, I don't want to talk to you guys. Ever." Namine replied.
The boy nicknamed Johnny chuckled. "You know, you were cuter when you didn't open your mouth."
"Just fuck off, already. Can't you see she's not interested?" Xion piped up. She lazily examined her nails and waited for them to return to their desks. Of course, they didn't. Instead the two let out another chuckle and started to gang up on the raven haired girl.
"I think she's jealous," The other one said. "You can come with us too if you want and-"
What Xion did next surprised Namine. Rather than letting the boy finish the sentence, she threw her fist directly at his nose, causing him to jump back.
"What the fuck!" He exclaimed. He didn't bother waiting for an answer, instead he wandered out the door, probably to go to the bathroom to stop the nosebleed. His friend just threw Xion a dirty look before returning to his seat.
Namine continued to stare at Xion with awe. Although she thought that she could have handled the situation herself, she had to admit that Xion's way was a lot more effective. "Thanks," Namine said. "I could have handled it myself, but you did a good job too."
"Sure you could," Xion laughed. "Before you get to thinking that people around here are the nicest people on earth, I should warn you that half of the people here are complete douche bags."
"You don't need to tell me that. I already met one earlier today." Namine recalled her encounter with the spiky haired boy.
Xion shrugged. "I'm guessing you handled it the same way with those two guys?"
"He got annoyed and left, so I think I won that." Namine replied.
"If you meet them again or run into any other assholes, just skip right ahead to punching them. It's more effective, trust me," Xion said.
"If there's an opportunity, then okay," Namine said, though she hoped that there wouldn't be one. She had enough of dealing with assholes for one day.
Her second period class, calculus, had passed by slowly and painfully. She could tell that the others felt the same as well since she had nearly gotten run over by a group of students who were rushing out the door. Namine shrugged it off, and continued down the hallway for her next class, which was Chemistry. It wasn't a class she looked forward to, but it wasn't one that she would dread either. The reason of course was that science, next to art, was her best subject. Although it was true that she had fallen asleep numerous times during bio in her old school, Namine was very smart when it came to science. But for the sake of surviving the year without people asking to copy her homework all the time, Namine decided to keep that fact a secret.
Surprisingly, she had gotten to class earlier than the others. Mr. Vexen, the teacher, told her to sit in the back, which was where she was seated in almost all of her classes. It wasn't long until the others started filing in. While they took their seats, Namine began to doodle on a fresh page of notebook paper. She was almost finished when a pile of books were slammed on the table. Namine closed her notebook, and looked up to see familiar spiky blond hair and blue eyes. "What? you can't be in my class!" Namine said as if this were the most impossible thing that could possibly happen to her.
"Great...So you're the new girl. Here I was thinking that the new girl could actually not be annoying. But you proved me wrong," The boy responded, taking his seat, which to her demise, was right next to hers.
Namine shot him an irritated look. "You know, you're not exactly the best person to be sitting next to either."
The blond shrugged, obviously unaffected by her comment. "So what were you drawing back there?" He asked, changing the subject.
"Like I'd show you," Namine snorted. She turned to place her notebook back into her bag but the boy snatched it from her. "Hey!" She exclaimed, trying to get it back.
The boy flipped the page open and examined the picture of a knight riding a horse. Holding onto the knight's waist was what appeared to be Namine dressed in a princess attire. Namine blushed as the boy started laughing. "Wh-what's so funny!" She asked, grabbing the notebook from his hands.
"A knight in shining armor? Wow, you believe in that corny shit?" He asked her with an amused grin on his face.
"What do you mean by corny shit? It can happen," Namine responded once she regained her composure.
"Right..a knight's gonna come busting through the doors and whisk you away into a castle? Yeah, I don't think so," The boy replied.
"Obviously not, idiot," Namine paused to see if he took offense to that. Normally, Namine didn't call others idiots- unless it was in a friendly way- but this time she felt the need to call the boy one. "What I meant was that knights in shining armor do exist. Not in a fairy tale way, but in love,"
"Not in a fairy tale way? Isn't love a fairy tale?" He responded with a question.
Namine was starting to get annoyed again. She exhaled before answering. "Don't tell me, you're one of those kids that don't believe in love?"
"Nope. I know it exists, it's just that I think it's stupid," The boy said with a shrug. "I don't see a point in falling in love if it doesn't last."
"Love isn't stupid. And it does last-" She began to say.
"Can you prove that?" The boy asked her.
"Yes. Married couples that stay together until death!" Namine exclaimed.
"Until death. That's not forever," He replied. Namine stayed quiet, unable to think of any other argument. "Exactly. Love doesn't last. So stop being so stupid and quit all that 'knight in shining armor' bullshit."
Namine's hands balled into a fist and her temples began to feel hot. Him laughing at her drawing was one thing, but calling her stupid and then saying that what she believed in was just a bunch lies, was another thing. He didn't seem to notice the angry glare that she was giving him right now, since his attention was now focused outside the window.
"If you meet them again or run into any other assholes, just skip right ahead to punching them. It's more effective, trust me," Namine remembered the earlier conversation she had with Xion and exhaled. "Hey you!" She said getting his attention.
"What?" The boy said. As soon as he turned his head to face her completely, Namine mustered up all the strength she had and connected her fist to his cheek. Unfortunately, all the strength she was trying to summon was not the least bit effective in injuring the boy. Instead of wincing in pain or jumping back, the boy raised a brow at her. Namine bit her lip, punching his face hurt her more than it did him. She brought her fist to her mouth and began to blow on it, as if it were on fire.
"MS. STRIFE!" Namine's head whipped to face the teacher, who had an angry look on his face. The other students turned to face the back, some were trying to hide their laughter while the others who weren't sure of what happened merely looked in her direction. "There is no violence allowed in this classroom!"
Namine gulped. "Bu-but he's..he's not even hurt!"
"Hurt or not, you broke the rules of the classroom. Go to the office!" He yelled.
Namine lowered her head in embarrassment and stood up to leave. As she did this, she heard the boy snicker. Although she was tempted to try to hit him again, she knew that it would be better if she didn't. At least she would have some dignity left to leave the room with.
"And you, Mr. Hikari, go down to the office!" Mr. Vexen snapped his attention to the blond.
"What! Why?" He exclaimed, immediately jumping to his feet.
"Because, Roxas, you probably provoked her. She wouldn't hit you for no apparent reason. Now go to the office!" He raised his voice again. Namine smiled to herself. At least she wasn't going down alone.
The two walked silently out the door and made their way over to the office, which was near the Math's hallway. The boy named Roxas was fuming, Namine could tell. She was pleased and had almost forgotten all about her failure at attempting to punch him.
"So," Namine started, ending the long silence. "You're name's Roxas Huh? What an ugly name," For some strange reason, she thought that that was a good insult.
Roxas rolled his eyes at her. "They say that girls mature faster than guys, but you sure prove whoever came up with that idea wrong."
Namine shrugged. "Just so you know, I won this."
Roxas finally looked at her. "What are you talking about?"
"Remember our first argument this morning? Well, you left so nobody won. Though techically, since you did retreat first, I won, but for arguement's sake I'll just say that it was a draw. That was round one, the fight in class was round two. Since you got in trouble for no good reason, I won cause I was the one who got you in trouble," Namine explained.
Roxas blinked. "You are so weird," He shook his head as he realized that that was what he was going to have to look forward to seeing everyday of the year.
The two entered the office, where a man with long silver hair was seated behind a desk. It was Dr. Ansem, the principle of the school. He looked up at them from the papers he had been filing. "Yes? What can I do for you two?"
"Mr. Vexen sent us here," Roxas replied.
"For what?"
"Well, for Namine punching me- or at least attempting to- and me for 'provoking' her," Roxas explained.
Dr. Ansem looked back and forth at the two. "Are you hurt, Mr. Hikari?"
"Pfft, no."
"Okay then, instead of giving you lunch detention, I'll just have one of you sit here and the other sit back in the classroom." He reasoned.
"Bye," Roxas said, taking a seat in one of the chairs.
Namine glared at him before exiting the office. There was no way that she was going back there, she'd be ridiculed by the teacher and possibly the other kids as well. She gulped, she'd just have to roll with the punches. That was the advice her father always gave her everytime she declared something wasn't fair.
She entered the classroom again and hurried back into her seat. She felt a few eyeballs on her, but she ignored them. "I hope you've learned your lesson," Mr. Vexen called after her. "Now turn to page 316 in your textbook," He instructed the class.
Namine pulled a book from the shelf at the corner of the room and flipped to the page. "Psst!" Namine looked up to see a boy with blond hair styled into a mullet. He had green eyes and grinned back at her. Namine prayed that he wasn't going to turn out like Roxas or the other two from English class.
"Yes?" Namine whispered back.
"That was pretty funny what you did back there! You actually made this class fun, even it it was just for five minutes," The boy whispered back.
"For you maybe. I made an ass of myself. Now everyone will know me as the girl who can't even throw a punch," Namine muttered.
"So? That's not that bad. It's better than being known as the dumb senior who couldn't even pass chemistry," He replied.
Namine smiled, "Really? Who's that?"
"Me," His smile dropped. "But whatever, I could care less. This is my last year in this shitty school anyway." He smiled again. "By the way, the name's Demyx."
"Thanks Demyx for being the first nice guy I've met in this whole school so far," Namine smiled.
"Not everyone's a dick. I know you probably think Roxas' is one, but he's actually really nice once you get to know him." He said.
"Really? I guess I'll never see that side of him then," Namine replied.
Demyx chuckled. "Give him some time, he'll warm up to you. He's like a little brother to me, I know him like the back of my hand."
Namine nodded, though she really didn't think that that was possible- Roxas warming up to her.
For lunch, Namine joined Xion and her friends Kairi, Olette, Selphie, Sora, and Hayner. After comparing schedules, Namine realized that she had Calculus with Hayner, Gym with Sora and Kairi, and art with Olette- though she explained that she was put in that class because all the other electives were taken.
"Man, I can't wait for gym so I could show you to the others!" Sora grinned excitedly. Namine, after spending a few minutes talking to him, learned that the boy was excited by a lot of things. Although she had to admit that it could get annoying, she also found it refreshing. There weren't too many people out there with the amount of optimism and lust for life as Sora had.
"Others?" Namine asked, finishing off the last of her spaghetti.
"Yeah, but they were being gay and wanted to eat out for lunch today," He explained. "You won't get to meet all of them, but our other friends have the same gym period as us. One of them is my twin brother, Vanitas."
"Twin? That's cool. So how do I tell you guys apart then?" Namine asked. She had always been intrigued by twins.
"It's not hard," Hayner said. "In eighth grade, Vanitas dyed his hair black and got gold contacts so people can't mistake the two. If you ask me, he went a little overboard. But looks aren't the only way that you could tell between the two; Sora's well...you know, a spazz- no offense, Sora. And Vanitas, he's kind of an asshole. But don't worry, you get used to him," Hayner explained.
Namine nodded, though she wasn't sure if she would like Vanitas or not.
"He's not really an asshole..." Xion muttered.
"Well, he did try to make everyone his slave when we were all in kindergarten," Sora grimaced at the memory. Despite being his brother, Vanitas still tried to make him his slave. "Luckily, Riku stood up to him."
"Riku?" Namine repeated.
"He's the most wanted by the girls in this school," Selphie informed her. "After that idiot, Vanitas, tried to be king of the jungle gym and get everyone to do what he said, Riku stood up to him for us. The two got into a fight that lasted for thirty seconds until one of the lunch ladies came over and broke it apart. Riku got in trouble but so did Vanitas so he couldn't rule the jungle gym like he said he would since they were both stuck in time out. The funny thing, though, is that that's how they became friends."
"Come to think of it, isn't that how he became like your best friend?" Olette asked Xion, who nodded.
"He's such a dick but I put up with him anyway," Xion replied.
"Yeah and he's my brother," Sora said, though Namine could tell that he really loved his brother regardless of the reputation he had. "Anyway, you'll also get to meet Riku, Axel, Tidus, Roxas, Zex-"
"Roxas!" Namine exlaimed.
"Yeah. You know him?" Sora asked.
"He's the jerk that got me in trouble with Vexen," Namine replied with a bitter tone. Two classes, Two classes that she had with him.
"Jerk?" Olette asked, confused. "He's so nice! What could he have done to make you so mad at him?"
"He,um, laughed at my drawing. And he said I was stupid for believing in love," Namine muttered, recalling at how angry he had made her.
"Oh," Kairi said. "He's got some strong opinions about love. He was really scarred by what happened with his parents."
Namine eased her expression. "Well, he should be more open minded instead of arguing with others about it."
"Just don't bring it up around him, and I'm sure you won't get into fights with him about it," Hayner said. "He gets really touchy about that subject, so it's just best if you don't say anything involving love at all or else he'll start up a whole debate about it."
While most people would've understood those reasons, Namine had her own opinion on how to react to the explanation. Instead of letting it go and accepting his views on love, Namine decided on one thing: She was going to make him see her way.
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Kairi and Sora lead Namine to the gymnasium, where several groups of students were formed around the room. Kairi and Sora directed Namine to a group sitting towards the back of the room, where a onyx haired boy, a brunette, a red head, a silver haired boy, a dark haired version of Sora (Vanitas), and of course, Roxas, were sitting. While Kairi and Sora happily made their way over to the group, Namine trailed reluctantly behind them.
Kairi sat next to the onyx haired boy and scooted over to make room for Namine, as Sora introduced her to the group. "She's cool guys, so be nice."
The group of boys scanned Namine, making her nervous. Especially when a pair of turquoise eyes met hers. In that instant, she felt a hot sensation burning in her cheeks and her heart began to beat rapidly. Everything else except for her and the eyes that belonged to the silver haired boy seemed to be void around her. It was odd.
"That's Axel over there, he's a senior along with Tidus and Zexion," Sora said, pointing to the three boys sitting next to each other. Each one of them nodded, which was the guy way of saying "hi" as Namine put it. "That's Vanitas, Riku, and you already know Roxas."
Riku. She felt a blush creeping it's way onto her cheeks. She quickly urged it to go away, thinking of other unpleasant things. Just like the voice that interuppted her thoughts.
"Oh great, it's you again," Roxas groaned. "One class is enough with you."
Namine narrowed her eyes at him. "Exactly what I was thinking."
The red head with triangles tattooed under his eyes, looked at the two back and forth. "Roxas, don't be a jerk. Especially to girls."
Namine immediately liked him, Axel, she remembered his name.
"Yeah man, you're so mean to girls," Vanitas piped up. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you're gay." Roxas glared at him.
Tidus and the others laughed, including Kairi, although she tried to hide it. "You're mean to girls too, Van," Kairi said, coming to Roxas' defense.
"Yeah but he's mean to everyone," Tidus pointed out. No one else argued that fact.
"Hey Namine," Riku called to her. "Whatever the reason is that you punched Roxas, I'm sure he deserved it."
Namine blushed once more. She opened his mouth respond but Roxas interrupted her, "She hit's like a baby. It literally felt like nothing."
She glared at him, something she realized she did a lot of with him. "You're so irritating."
"And I'm so hurt by that," Roxas said sarcastically.
Luckily for Roxas and the group, who were forced to look back and forth at the two, Lexaeus, the gym teacher, blew his whistle. "Seniors, get to the bleachers! Sophmores make a line outside, Freshman line up against the wall, and Juniors go to the field!"
A chorus of groans escaped the students as they did what they were told. Namine's class filed outside of the building, and marched onto the football field. Another Gym teacher, Xigbar, waited for the class to quiet down before giving directions. Namine looked around the empty field and wondered what they would be doing.
"Today we will begin the day by running one lap around the field. I don't want to see any walking, you hear me!" He barked. The class muttered a yes before dispersing.
Namine groaned, walking slowly towards the start line. Just then, Roxas walked up to her, bumping his shoulders into hers. She frowned up at him, "What?" pure annoyance filled her voice.
"This is round three. You think you can beat me this time around?" A cocky grin formed onto his lips.
"I beat you the other time didn't I?" Namine quipped. "But this time, let's make things interesting," Roxas said nothing but motioned for her to go on. "If I win this, then you have to stop believing that love's stupid. Deal?"
"Alright, but if I win you have admit that it is stupid," He replied.
The two nodded their heads in agreement and got into a ready position, side by side, waiting for the whistle to blow. Kairi looked at the two with a worried expression. By the look in their eyes, Kairi could tell that neither one of them were prepared to lose. She tilted her head back, closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, and prayed. Although it was only her gut telling her, she couldn't help but think that this was just the start of something that would result in a disaster.
finally finished with this chapter! sorry if you got bored or thought that it sucks X( but review and subscribe if you liked it or want to tell me something about it!