Chapter 13: A New Alliance

Previously: Naminé blinked, fighting back her surprise at the raven haired girl's sudden defeat, "Like I said, that's where we were going, now ah…c'mon Roxas, it's time you met the best of Twilight High."

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It was strange. Roxas remembered being popular before. He remembered the stares of envy and constant displays of admiration. The blond even remembered the air of confidence that had most often radiated from him. Yet, this attention now—this popularity seemed poisonous. The eyes that burned into his back were uncomfortable, and each step he took seemed to reverberate endlessly in his head. He no longer felt the surge of satisfaction that came with their gazes—in fact, he hadn't felt that way in a long time.

Yet, the blind boy had become accustomed to this lack of control, and even liked the idea of having relinquished such a deadly part of himself. After all, it had made his life much simpler. Arguably, it made his life more fulfilling even. He was no longer tied to the cruel hierarchy in the same way so many others were. He no longer was forced to unjustly mock and jeer at those who were simply misunderstood. He was free and liked the person he had become because of it.

The blind boy momentarily closed his eyes as he continued his pace down the aisles of the cafeteria, 'Ugh…Why did I ever enjoy this? Ever since I've been here, I can feel people giving me these stares, and…I don't like it anymore—not since the accident…' For a moment, Roxas could feel his body tense. In his mind, he could still see the bright lights, could still hear the deafening sound as the tires screeched—as they tried to stop. The memory stung fresh, but, deep down, Roxas knew things were better this way. After all, if he hadn't lost his sight, how could he possibly help Naminé? He would have been useless. No, he would have been just like her. Shallow. Self-Centered. Conceited. He would have been the exact opposite of what she needed.

Admittedly, Roxas had, then, realized that his blindness, though at times a burden, really was a gift. Roxas smiled at the thought inwardly as his mind began to drift to his blonde companion. He could feel her hand, her grip as she held forcefully onto his wrist. Little Naminé would never have been so aggressive. She had always been shy and unsure of herself. This Naminé, however, was different. This Naminé was in charge. Again, an inward smile played at the blond's lips. Yet, this smile was filled with irony and amusement, and Roxas had to mentally restrain himself from bursting aloud in laughter.

Naminé, however, seemed to notice the subtle change in his expression as she wearily cast her gaze sideways to look at him, "What?" Her voice held no contempt, but the blond could easily detect his companion's slight worry.

"Nothing," Roxas replied smoothly, but the smile he had been trying to hide from her quickly grew on his lips. 'It's just so…ironic that we were so alike…that's all.'

Naminé nodded her head, "Cool…um so like here we are," the blonde girl made a large gesture towards the table, as her usual queen façade slipped into place, "guys, I want you to like meet Roxas."

Roxas swallowed, and the flame of amusement in his mind abruptly fizzled as several pairs of invisible eyes locked onto him dangerously.

In his head, the blond could only muster one thought, 'Oh boy…'

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The whole table stared up at the blond from their seats. Some gazes filled with admiration, some with boredom, excitement and, of course, jealousy (Riku). Roxas, his eyes to the ground, nervously pulled at the collar of his shirt and internally tried to stifle his erratic heartbeat.

'Why am I so nervous...? Naminé's here….and I'm sure Sora is too.'

In fact, the brunette was very much present. Then again, how could he not be? Someone had to look after his cousin and besides…Sora wouldn't miss a chance to be around Kairi—even if it meant dealing with the ice queen herself. Sora would bare it. Yet, as Sora watched Naminé's cold and demanding gaze flicker across their table, he secretly wondered who would make themselves the first scapegoat and introduce themselves. He knew Olette was much too shy to say anything. She always was. Riku wasn't going to step up the plate either. God forbid he actually put aside his jealousy issues (Sora didn't understand, however, why Riku would even be jealous) and say something nice to his cousin. Though, Sora did hope Kairi said something. She was intelligent and was probably the only one, excluding himself, who actually did care about Roxas.

Kairi, however, stayed silent and left the first introduction up to Naminé's biggest suck up and conspirator, Selphie.

"Hi Roxas! It's like so great to finally meet you!" Selphie beamed as a perfectly plastic smile grew on her lips, "I'm Selphie by the way."

Roxas didn't look up at the bubbly brunette, despite her close proximity, "Thanks…"

Selphie gave a mini eye roll at the lack of response, but luckily Naminé didn't notice. She simply looked at her crush and secretly grinned.

'He's so cute! I knew this would go well…he'll make the perfect king…'

Kairi's voice cut in next, gentle but slightly cautious as though choosing her words carefully. "I'm Kairi…I uh…hope you're enjoying…things here so far."

"Thank you…Kairi," Roxas replied softly, but this time a smile graced his features, "So far…things here are great."

Kairi smiled in return, "I'm glad."

Watching the exchange, Naminé forced herself to gently bite her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling. Kairi was definitely getting some brownie points for that…maybe even a new pair of Chanel sunglasses too. Yet, Naminé knew herself well enough to recognize the need for a quick distraction. Another genuine smile and people would become suspicious—mutinous even. So, Naminé did what any queen bee would do in her situation, she took complete control of the situation. Reluctantly releasing her companion's hand, Naminé gracefully closed the remaining few feet between herself and the rest of her court. Her back now to Roxas, the ice queen smiled coolly and placed her well accessorized hands on her hips.

"Roxas," Naminé looked back at the blond and made a small head gesture, "Come closer; I'll introduce you to the rest of my friends."

"S-Sure," Roxas nervously replied. It was only a few feet away. He had done much worse. He had gone up stairs for heaven's sake! However, the invisible burring gazes and loud chatter from the entire student body didn't help with the blind boy's concentration—at all. He couldn't even hear himself think. Yet, Roxas knew, if he wanted to keep his own pretense up, he would just have to suck it up and move.

Roxas released a sigh, and began his agonizing pace towards the table, 'Here goes nothing…' The blond's steps were cautious, but he made sure not to stall. He could hear voices all around him, but did his best to concentrate on the subdued whispers ahead of him. The voices he recognized.

One of these familiar voices, Sora watched anxiously as his cousin struggled forward. He was nearly beside Naminé now, but Sora continued to worry. One wrong move and his cousin was screwed. Sora let out a small, frustrated growl, "Why can't he be faster?"

Beside him, Sora heard the cynical voice of his silver haired best friend, "I dunno Sora…Maybe your cousin is a bit…slow?"

Sora shot the silver haired boy a deadly glare, "Shut up, Riku."

Riku rolled his tropical eyes, "What? I know he's your cousin and everything Sora, but c'mon the kid can't even walk over here properly. He's slow."

Although tempted to tell Riku where to shove it, Sora merely looked down at the floor and scowled, "Whatever."

"Whatever," Riku mimicked but look of triumph dominated the senior's face. Sora never could beat him, could he? Riku then glanced back towards Naminé, his beloved queen. She was so hot, the perfect trophy for a star athlete like himself. Most importantly, however, she was rich and hot—just like him. Riku began to smile at the thought, but the smile was wiped clear off his face when he finally came beside her. Inwardly seething, Riku secretly glared at the boy.

Why Naminé liked that loser? The tropical eyed boy had no clue. He was a freak (not that it surprised him too much, he was Sora's cousin after all), and he had stolen what had rightfully belonged to him. He was a socially awkward weirdo and the thought of having Roxas as a king thoroughly disgusted Riku.

"And this is Riku, he plays with Tidus on the school's blitzball team." Riku's head snapped forward at the sound of his queen's voice, completely attentive.

"I won the MVP title last year," Riku added as he smirked condescendingly at the blond.

Roxas nodded his head, though it appeared forced, "Cool…"

Naminé looked from Roxas to the rest of the table for a moment before finally taking her seat at the head of the table. Glancing at her crush again, Naminé patted the seat beside her, "You can sit next to me today."

"Okay," Roxas smiled as he hesitantly followed the scent of Naminé's perfume. She was very close to him, and Roxas felt, for a brief second, his hand pass over her shoulder before finding its way to empty plastic seat next to her. Roxas tried to keep his cool and pretend nothing had happened as he eased himself into the chair. However, Naminé had been very aware of this accidental contact. In fact, a small blush had even tinted her cheeks. No one at the table appeared to have noticed though.

In her mind, Naminé breathed a sigh of relief, 'Time to get down to business.'

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"I've only been here a couple of weeks," Roxas answered, "But I actually lived here when I was younger."

Selphie, the person who had questioned the blond, nodded avidly and beamed at the blond. "That's like so~ awesome!" From the corner of her jade colored eyes, Selphie snuck a glance at Naminé. She wanted to gauge her reaction. Naminé's lips turned upward into a satisfied smirk. Inwardly, Selphie grinned sinisterly. Naminé was so easy to fool.

"Play any sports?" Riku asked, and the other jocks looked up to their potential king with a renewed interest.

Roxas swallowed, but managed to keep his smile intact, "I used to play soccer a couple of years ago, but haven't really gotten back into it since…"

"Hmm..," Riku smirked, "interesting."

"I bet you were like totally amazing though," Naminé said as her typical queen bee smile flitted across her features. 'He is beyond hot…Soccer player? Yes please!'

Roxas grimaced slightly at Naminé's words, but tried to hide it with a wide smile, "Haha uh…I wouldn't say I was amazing, but I could play."

"What position?" Tidus asked.

"Um…I don't really…ah remember," Roxas lied. He didn't want any sort of invitation.

At the end of the table, Riku snorted and muttered under his breath, "Water boy." However, unbeknownst to the silver haired boy, Roxas had heard the snide remark.

"Oh! I remember now," Roxas slapped his forehead in fake recognition and smirked slightly, "I was the lead striker."

Naminé's own smirk widened, "Really? Hmm," Naminé looked over at her entourage in satisfaction, "Here that girls, a striker."

"Hot," Selphie gushed.

"That's…," Kairi smiled hesitantly, "awesome." Olette merely nodded her head affirmatively. She didn't want people to notice her.

"I think," said Tidus, "You'd make a great addition to the blitzball team here. It's not too different from soccer and I bet you'd do great, right Sora?"

Everyone, excluding Roxas, turned their heads to look at the brunette. In his mind, Sora was banging his head against a wall. "Well…I don't know. I mean—"

"I can't," Roxas interrupted abruptly as all of the pride that had once infected his body quickly dissipated. 'Me and my big mouth…'

Tidus frowned, about to speak, but Naminé cut in before the sandy haired blitzball player could utter a syllable. "What do you mean, you can't? I think you should, you'd be like so~ amazing." She didn't mention her true intention, however. She wasn't needy.

Roxas nervously cast his eyes off to the side, unsure but uncaring of where they landed, "I just have a lot of other…things to do. I'm sorry, Naminé. I would if I had time." The last part was a lie, but Roxas refused to reveal his true reasons. Naminé's court and even the rest of her subjects bit back surprise as they cast weary glances at their queen. She was sure to explode. It was inevitable. Nobody defied Naminé and got away with it.

Naminé, herself, cast her chilling gaze across the cafeteria a minute, for once, feeling…unsure. She didn't want to hurt Roxas…she really didn't, but what would everyone else think if she showed any ounce of compassion? Naminé sighed, knowing what she had to do.

Her heart raced, but she was able to keep her voice calm and devoid of emotion, as she examined her French manicure, "Whatever, it's like too late in the season to start anyway. I mean don't practices begin in like the summer?" Naminé's eyes flickered over to the captain of the team, Tidus for confirmation.

"Um…yeah," Tidus agreed swallowing back his shock, "They do…and—"

"There's no more room on the team anyway," Riku added a smirk of victory evident on his face. There was no way in hell he was going to have him on the team.

"See? No big deal," Naminé said nonchalantly, "And besides with no sports in the way, maybe we could hang out?"

From beside Naminé, Roxas smiled, "Sounds good to me."

The rest of the cafeteria went silent for a moment. Naminé was never this generous, and yet everyone seemed to know, their queen hadn't turned over a new leaf. She was only showing kindness to him because…he was the king.

"Naminé seems to like Roxas a lot," Tidus commented with interest, "do you think she'll—"

Riku interrupted with a snort, "Over my dead body. She wouldn't pick him over me anyway."

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"Going soft? You really think she's going soft Selphie?"

Selphie smirked and reclined further in the chair. The old teacher's lounge really did make the perfect headquarters for them to use. The school had even left all of the old appliances and furniture. "Totally, that stupid boy toy of hers is making her into a complete loser. I can already tell."

"So," began another girl as she continued to file her nails, "when do we strike?"

Selphie's eyes flickered over to girl who had just spoken and smirked malevolently, "Soon. We just have to wait. "

Selphie's two conspirators looked to each other and exchanged smirks. Oh, they were so~ ready to dethrone Naminé.

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By the time the school day had ended, Roxas was more than eager to be outside. Sure, he wasn't thrilled to go home, but, after a stress filled day at school, he was happy to finally be outside. The sun was still shining after all, as was evident by sudden warmth the blind boy could feel on his face. Roxas wasn't exactly sure where he had ended up outside, but had done his best to stay, somewhat, near to the building's entrance—considering Sora needed to be able to find him and all. More importantly, however, he had been able to distance himself far enough from the oncoming swarm of students exiting, and Roxas was very grateful for that. Admittedly, their chatter was still a distraction to the blond, but, as the blond quickly learned, it was easy enough to tune out.

'Wonder where Sora is? He's usually here by now,' Roxas thought as he eased himself down onto the grass, 'Maybe he had some sort of—"

"Hey Roxas!"

Reflexively, Roxas looked up before shaking his head, "What's up Xion?"

Xion grinned and sat down on the grass beside him, "Not much, what's up with you?" She wanted to start things out casually, and then she'd ask about lunch.

"Just waiting for Sora," Roxas answered.

Xion nodded, "I see, but wouldn't it better for you to be closer to entrance? Unless, this is like your usual spot or something?"

Roxas frowned. He wasn't that far away, was he? "Oh, we ah…we don't meet here. I just sort of wandered over, I guess."

Xion giggled at his response, "Fair enough, but um..," Xion paused pretending to be disinterested as she began to pull at the grass, "how did lunch go?"

"Lunch?" Roxas coughed slightly but nodded, "It went…well I guess. I met her friends and we just talked and stuff."

"Fun?"

Roxas chuckled, "Sort of. I mean I like hanging out with Naminé, but…," Roxas scratched the back of his head and smiled nervously, "all of those people."

"Not much of a people person, I take it?"

Roxas shrugged, "It would have nicer if there weren't so many, that's all."

"Hmm," Xion nodded in understanding before lifting herself off the ground, "I get that…But uh…hey, now that you're out of the Ice Queen's clutches, why don't we head over to the skate park? You like to skate right?" Xion smiled and held out a hand.

Roxas smiled nostalgically, "Sorry…I can't."

"Oh," Xion replied, and Roxas could feel her hurt as a wave of guilt quickly washed over him. The grass underneath Xion's feet crinkled slightly as she began to edge away, "That's…cool. I-I understand. I'll just leave you alone, then."

"Xion, wait!" Roxas abruptly jumped up and made a desperate attempt to grab her arm. Xion stopped and looked back, blushing as she noticed her crush's hand around her wrist. Roxas swallowed, as he fought against the voices in his head screaming in protest.

'Telling a lie wouldn't be that bad…would it?' Roxas shook his head, feeling another onslaught of guilt penetrate his heart, 'Xion's my friend…I know she wouldn't tell anyone…and maybe having her know would help?'

"Yes…?" Xion's responded, quietly.

Roxas swallowed, feeling a sudden hollowness in his stomach grow as the words slowly began to unfurl from his lips, "Xion…"

Xion's body stiffened at the melancholy tone in his voice. Something was wrong. Her lips felt dry but she felt compelled to speak, "What is it, Roxas?"

Roxas grimaced at the sound of her voice. She was worried…about him—about what he was going to say. A rush of guilt pounded through his veins for the brief moment he hesitated.

"Xion," he spoke in a low voice, "Xion…I can't go skateboarding with you because….because I'm…blind."

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AN: A little over 8 pages this time! I think that's one of the longest chapters I've done before for this story. I hope you all enjoyed. I made it extra long because I felt so bad for not updating sooner! Again, I'm always super sorry for not updating sooner…as usual my personal life has been a bit of roller coaster, and I have summer homework for my AP English class to do (plus my online creative writing class). I have the next few chapters outlined however (up to 17 I think) and am going to hopefully post a new chapter sometime this week.

Also, THANK YOU SOOOOOO much for allowing me to not only reach my review goal but surpass it! You guys are beyond amazing and I am incredibly grateful for your support! I don't deserve it at all!

Thank you as well to all who have read, reviewed, favorite, or alerted this story! You guys are AWESOME!

Review Goal: 205 (I'd love to see the 200 mark…:) As always, this is not mandatory, and I will update regardless. I just like putting it out there, ya know, and besides this story is too much fun not to write :D!

As for our story, Roxas popular! And he just seemed naturally sweet…and Selphie's starting to get some spotlight for her evilness as well as Riku…I hope you like that some of the other characters are getting attention too and…I told you there would be a surprise at the end ;)

One more thing! I really want to know where you think Naminé and Roxas should have their first 'outing'?

The mall (typical popular girl place to be…)

An Ice Cream Shop

The park

Review Replies:

Artism: It's finally here! Yeah, I've been trying to do that every chance I get. It does help:D Thank you and me too! Also thank you for your review!

NumberXIII: Aww thank you! I'm really happy to hear that! I'm glad the writing's okay though. I'm always so worried about how well it turned out.

Nobody: Thank you so much! I'm glad you think it turned out alright, and haha I always seem to write long and slow…but I'm happy you don't dislike that:D Thank you, I'm really trying to be realistic about her transformation and not go all Hollywood with it. Thank you once again! I hope you like this chapter!

Blackbutterfly9: Thank you! Happy to hear you think so! Hopefully and pretty much lol. Thank you again!