Chapter 14: Possibilities

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

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Xion stumbled backwards, nearly falling to the ground. Her lips parted, but she remained silent as her suddenly widened eyes looked to the blond, the object of her affections, with an expression of utter shock.

Roxas swallowed, feeling his friend's stare burning invisible holes through his head, as a weak smile flitted across his face. 'I knew I shouldn't have said anything…now she won't even want to be friends anymore…'

The blond began to lift himself up off the ground. Her silence was enough of an answer. However, as Roxas started to draw away, he felt a small hand abruptly wind itself around his wrist. Xion.

"How long?" The question quickly and quietly tumbled from her lips, the raven haired girl was at a loss—what else could she say?

A bitter smile washed across the blind boy's face as his clouded eyes darkened sadly, "A little over…a year now. I think."

"So you weren't always…?" Xion trailed off, as the last words caught in her throat. She just couldn't say it, could she?

"No…I wasn't always…," Roxas drew in a hesitant breath. People were beginning to stare, their prying gazes beginning to burn several more invisible holes through his head. Roxas wasn't stupid. He knew people wanted to know why he was talking so intimately with someone outside of Naminé's circle of friends—especially another girl. In his mind, Roxas wished he could see Xion's expression. Her voice didn't seem to quake, but…Roxas knew it could easily be an act—Xion was an actress after all.

However, for once, the raven haired girl made no attempt to hide her expression. Xion Yamazaki was nearly paralyzed with shock. She didn't know what to think, but, at the same time, Xion knew she couldn't let him go. She couldn't lose his friendship, and, besides, Roxas would explain things, right? It's not like he could keep her in the dark anymore—She knew his secret. Moreover, Xion thought to herself, as she finally released her hold of his wrist, it wasn't as if he could run away from her now.

"Are you…okay?" Xion forced the next question from her lips, but her companion didn't respond. Puzzled, Xion moved closer and watched the expression on his face closely. Other students passed by, whispering. Roxas visibly flinched at their voices, and Xion, looking at her friend, was abruptly struck by realization. 'The other students…he must not want them to know—but why?'

"Hey…," Xion began, lowering her voice to a soft and almost inaudible whisper, "We could talk at my house if you want? Unless you're busy or something because otherwise we could always—"

Roxas quickly eased himself up from the grass, the anxious expression seeming to dissipate, "That sounds cool, but I'll need to call Sora and tell him first…and my mom." Roxas knew, after all, how frenetic his mother could become when he didn't come home on time—well ever since the accident anyway.

Xion only gave an awkward nod, but refrained from asking the obvious: How are you going to call either of them if you're blind? The blond, however, seemed unperturbed at the problem as he pulled out a simple, slim and keyboard-less cell phone from his pocket. The obsidian haired girl wasn't entirely sure what she expected him to do with the electronic device, but, again, Xion decided not to verbally express these concerns.

Roxas brought his cell phone closer to his face, "Call Sora." Xion arched an eyebrow, but, soon enough, she could hear the phone begin to dial. In her mind, Xion slapped herself upside the head. She forgot certain phones were able to respond to voice commands.

"Sora?"

"Roxas…? Oh, crap! We're supposed to go home now right?" Sora let out a guilty sigh. He would forget about taking his blind cousin home. "Hey, look I'm really sorry. Coach had us come to the gym after school and I—"

Roxas cut his cousin off before he could dig himself into an even deeper guilt hole, "It's fine Sora. Trust me, I get it. I was actually calling to tell you that I'm going over to Xion's house tonight so I won't need a lift today."

On the other end, Roxas could hear his cousin release a sigh of relief, "Okay, good. I didn't forget about you though…I just got a little…sidetracked, that's all. But, uh you told your mom, right? You know she'll freak out and call the cops if you don't tell her where you're going."

"I was going to do that after I called you, but, trust me, I know. After what happened this past summer, I'd rather not see what my mom would do a second time if she thought I was lost," Roxas said shaking his head at the memory. His mother really could be insane at times.

"That certainly was an adventure," Sora chuckled, "…though; I think we could have done without the police escort."

"Yeah… the ten cop cars bringing me back home from the park, less than fifteen minutes away from my house, was not needed," Roxas replied rolling his eyes.

"Haha, well it was still fun."

Roxas snorted, "For you."

The brunette began to laugh again, before abruptly quieting down. Roxas snickered quietly, knowing Sora had been caught by his blitzball coach. "I know, I know. Just…let me say goodbye real quick—"

"Bye Sora." Roxas smiled and pressed a button on the phone, one he had memorized, ending the call.

Xion smiled at the exchange, her expression betwixt discomfort and amusement as she hesitantly took a step towards the blond. "Gonna call your mom next, then?"

"Yeah," Roxas replied with a small smile of his own, "I better get on that." Again, the blind boy brought the electronic device closer to his face, and again the device followed his orders as the phone began to dial once more.

"Roxas sweetheart, is that you? Is something wrong? Did Sora forget to pick you up again? I knew I shouldn't have let him be in charge of your—"

"Mom, I'm fine" Roxas moaned irritably. She was already going into panic mode—great.

Aerith continued on, taking no notice of her son's words as her voice began to rise an octave, "He's so irresponsible at times! It's probably a miracle that you've been able to make it home-"

"MOM!"

On the other end, Aerith stopped, but Roxas could still hear his mother's nervous shuffling. Roxas sighed, knowing she was waiting for him to speak, and, hopefully, console her growing fears.

"Mom," Roxas repeated again, this time calmly, "I am perfectly fine. I was just wondering if I could go over to my friend Xion's house for a couple of hours tonight…that's all."

"So…You're alright then? You're not hurt or anything?" His mother's voice came softly on the other end, no longer frantic.

"No," Roxas sighed into his phone as he weaved a hand through his hair, "I'm perfectly fine, but would it be alright if I hung out at my friend's house for a little bit tonight?"

"You don't have homework do you? I know it's a Friday, but I don't want you to get behind in your studies. And, will you need a ride home? You know money's a bit tight now…," Aerith's voice became slightly sullen as she said this, but Roxas could tell she was at least attempting to hide it.

"I just have a little math homework and a book to start reading for English, so nothing too huge. And…I'm sure Xion could give me a ride home," Roxas replied, feeling slightly rude that he hadn't even asked Xion if she was able to give him a ride home.

"Well…," Aerith sighed onto the other end, "I guess that's alright as long as your home before ten."

Roxas smiled, "Thanks mom. I'll see you later than."

"Alright sweetheart."

Click. Roxas pressed the same memorized button again, before slipping the phone back into his front pocket.

"So, wanna hit the road then?" Xion grinned, extraordinarily happy that she and her crush were finally able to spend some quality time together—alone. She didn't try to think too hard about his lack of sight—or her growing anxieties on how it would affect their relationship. It would, after all, suck the fun right out of their time together, and that was Xion didn't want to happen. This was her chance to become closer to Roxas, and make sure that he liked her more than Naminé.

"I'm all good," Roxas replied mirroring her grin, as he lifted his backpack from the ground, "Let's go."

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"So...a year, huh?" Xion asked as she poured herself another cup of coffee. The two teens were currently sitting on the couch in Xion's living room. They had spent nearly two hours talking about everything else, but they had avoided this topic, along with a few others, for as long as Xion could bear.

Roxas raised his own cup of coffee to his lips for a moment, feeling the warm liquid make its way down his throat, before he decided to speak. "Yeah…it happened last September—sophomore year."

Xion nodded her head and let out a small breath as she braced herself for his next reaction. Her small hands gripped both sides of the coffee cup and her eyes looked down into the tepid brown liquid, as if strangely afraid to meet the blind boy's eyes—not that he could see her, but still. "What…what exactly happened to you. I mean how did you…go blind?"

Roxas inhaled sharply at the question, but kept a smile firmly in place. He didn't want to make her feel any worse than she already did. It was odd. Roxas knew he would have to tell someone what had happened eventually. He had often even planned on what he would say, but right now he felt terrified. Ashamed even. The accident had been accident, but how it had happened was an entirely different case.

"Well," Roxas began with a sigh, "I was at this party…"

~Flashback: 3rd Person~

"Sooo~ you like skateboard too?"A girl with bouncing red curls, nearly ten layers of makeup, and a skirt, that was a little too mini, happily exclaimed as she nearly clung to Roxas' arm.

The younger blonde chuckled and smiled cockily, "Yeah, I even won this big contest last week."

"That's so hot!" Another girl, nearly identical to the red head, gushed.

Shrugging, Roxas brought a red plastic cup to his lips and let out a satisfied sigh as he felt the cold liquid slide down his throat. It was nearly midnight now, but Roxas had no intention of going home. After all, this was the one of the biggest parties of the year, and he was Roxas Strife. He needed to be here.

"I try."

Both girls giggled in response, and took a few sips from their own plastic cups. The two girls may have been seniors, but it was obvious, by their starry eyed expressions, that the two popular girls were utterly infatuated with the blonde—one of the many reasons, of course, that they had invited him to their party.

"Well, you totally, don't like need to—you're like sooo~ amazing!" The red head grinned widely, as her words began to slur from the alcohol she had been drinking. Her friend happily agreed, and, again, Roxas couldn't help but feel smugly satisfied at their reactions.

"I wouldn't say I was amazing," Roxas' blue eyes flickered over to the two girls, "Maybe…experienced, but amazing? I'm not so sure if I'd qualify."

The red head's friend giggled, drunk, and nearly fell as she walked across the freshly mowed grass of her front lawn. "Show us then."

"Show you, what?"

"Your moves," The red head responded this time, "You got your board, don't you?"

Smirking, Roxas went to the front door and held up a checkered skateboard, "Right here." Both girls giggled again and clapped excitedly as they watched the blond boy skate onto the nearby street. Roxas should have been more careful. He should have thought twice before showing off, but his mind was in a haze. He had been drinking and wanted to impress a couple of cute senior girls.

"That's called a kick flip," Roxas smirked gesturing to his skateboard triumphantly. Neither girl responded. Roxas eyed them both carefully, "What?" Within seconds, both of their expressions had gone slack. Roxas felt his heart beat stop as he heard tires screech across the pavement in a desperate attempt to stop. Hot white lights blared from behind, illuminating the teen's frame. The red headed girl let out a blood curdling scream. Roxas' world went black.

"They…they said I was really lucky—that I should have died on im-impact," Roxas continued the story, his voice quaking slightly as the memories, once heavily locked away, came flooding back, "I-I stayed in critical condition for nearly a week. No one could wake me up. I had lost too much blood and hit my head pretty hard." Roxas paused, inhaling sharply as he momentarily closed his eyes. Xion remained completely silent, giving her friend a moment to recollect himself.

"B-But when I woke up…I…I couldn't see anything. I heard the people in the room—my family—but I couldn't see them. Everything was dark. I remember wondering if I was having a nightmare, but the doctor told me otherwise. He said I had damaged a critical part of my occipital lobe when my head hit the pavement, and that the loss of sight was…permanent."

Xion swallowed, whispering, "B-but why…why are you here then? Why come here?"

"No one treated me the same. My friends either ignored me or made into the local charity case. Some of them…even bullied me for busting up the party and," Roxas let out a frustrated grunt, shaking his head, "…I just couldn't take it anymore. I begged my parents to move, so over the summer, we finally did. I just did home schooling for the rest of the year, while adjusting."

"I see…"

"You want to ask me something else, don't you?"

"Yes," Xion confessed miserably as her hands trembled, "Why…why won't you tell anyone—at school I mean? I don't understand why you don't just tell everyone that you're blind."

Roxas let out a long sigh, "It's Naminé."

"Naminé?" Xion's voice suddenly became filled with jealousy. Of course it had something to do with the Ice Witch.

"Yeah, you see. We used to be childhood friends when we were little and—"

Xion's eyes became wide and full of hurt, "So! She's a complete witch! She's selfish, self-centered, conceited, air headed, arrogant—"

"Which is exactly why I need to help her." Xion merely released an annoyed sound and Roxas let out another sigh. "Look Xion, Sora told me everything. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I vowed to help her. But…the thing is, she's still my best friend and, trust me, I know that the person she is right now isn't who she really wants to be."

Xion snorted, "I'm sure she's not who she wants to be, but how are you even gonna help her anyway? She's Naminé Misaki. She enjoys being the 'queen' of the school."

"Be her friend, bring back the real Naminé," He replied simply. After all, the Naminé he knew was in there somewhere—she had to be.

"Ah."

"What?"

"Nothing," Xion replied and quickly took a sip of her drink.

"C'mon, what?"

Xion stared down at her cup for a minute before sighing, "You don't…like her, do you?"

"Whaaat?" Roxas yelped, as he knocked his cup of coffee on the carpet. Xion shot out of her seat instantly to go grab some paper towels. Roxas didn't answer her question.

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"So, will you and your lovely daughter be attending this year's Winter Formal?" Mrs. Hayfer, a rich and pompously dressed woman in her early fifties, asked.

Mrs. Misaki, to whom the question was addressed, laughed haughtily in response, "Why of course, Helga! Naminé and I wouldn't miss it for the world, isn't that right darling?"

Naminé smiled plastically and gave her usual robotic response, "Yes mother." It was the only thing her mother wanted to hear after all. Yet, Naminé knew her job when she and her parents attended any banquet, or, in this case, charity dinner. Her parents expected a pretty, well behaved doll, and that's exactly what Naminé was for them—not that she minded. She had learned disobedience wasn't the answer, and, besides, they were all finally together—which is all that mattered.

Picking up her spoon, Naminé scooped a tiny pool of soup and delicately put in her mouth. Her father rejoined their table after a minute, and Naminé silently continued to listen to the adults' conversation.

"No suitors yet, for your darling flower?" Mrs. Hayfer asked incredulously as she cast her, cat like gaze, over to Mr. Misaki. Naminé frowned, but didn't dare speak aloud. She would rather not face her parents' wrath by publically embarrassing them.

"Not yet," Mr. Misaki said as he ran a hand through his light blond hair, "though, Kyoko and I aren't too worried. We'll have our little Naminé off and married to a nice, wealthy man before she even turns twenty-one."

Mrs. Hayfer clapped her hands and smiled, "Splendid! Do you have anyone in mind at all?" Again, Naminé bit her tongue and kept quiet. She knew bringing Roxas into the picture would be a bad idea, and the thought of having her parents forbid a relationship with him, was too much for Naminé to bear.

"We have a few in mind, but we'll have to see who makes the best offer first. We don't want to have our Naminé married off to some unworthy cretin," Mrs. Misaki smiled and looked to her daughter.

Naminé knew her next line by heart, "Yes, Mother."

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A couple of hours passed, but Naminé was still as bored as ever. Her parents and their friends had continued on with conversations, laughed and, of course, hardly even acknowledged her presence. It wasn't unusual behavior from her parents, but Naminé still felt irritated nonetheless. She hated feeling like her parents' trophy.

"Yes, and this is my daughter, Naminé." The blonde's blue eyes shot up at the sound of her father's voice, and, internally, she groaned—another suitor. This one wasn't as ugly as some of the others had been, but Naminé still internally cringed away—feeling that there just wasn't something right about him.

The older boy's blue eyes met her own as he eagerly walked to over to her chair and kissed her hand, "What a beautiful girl, I only wish we had met sooner."

Naminé smiled tightly and pushed back a strand of blonde hair, "Yes. It's a shame, isn't it?"

"Naminé dear," Her father began with an avid grin, "this is Seifer Yamamoto. His father is the founder and current owner of Globicon Entertainment."

'Of course, he is,' Naminé thought to herself bitterly, "why else would I be talking to him, if he wasn't?'

"Oh really?" Naminé gushed, faking enthusiasm, "That's sooo~ cool!"

Seifer shrugged and cockily ran a hand through his silvery blond hair, "Meh, it's not that big of a deal. I mean that's always been dad's job."

"Well, it's quite a marvelous job, though…," Mr. Misaki paused and smiled widely in Seifer's direction, displaying a set of blindingly white teeth, "I do hope that your father's business is able to…stay in the family for a while."

If Naminé could have, she would have hit her head against the table. Her father was never very subtle.

Seifer laughed, and snuck a glance in Naminé's direction as his voice nearly reached everyone at the dinner, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Mr. Misaki. My father has already made me the sole heir to his company, and I would never sell such a profitable business."

Again, Naminé wanted to hit her head against the table, but, refrained, smiling plastically at Seifer. Oh, how she couldn't wait to go back to school on Monday.

"That's good to hear, my boy," Mr. Misaki laughed along with Seifer and Naminé could easily tell it was fake. Not that Naminé was surprised; her father had always been an excellent liar.

"Why don't we have a toast?" Mrs. Misaki interjected with a wide and clearly avaricious grin, "I think we already have much to celebrate this fine evening."

In her head, Naminé released a defeated sigh. Her mother never missed an opportunity to suck up, did she? The blonde hadn't even thought her mother had been listening to the conversation, but Naminé should have known better—anything to do with money was Kyoko Misaki's business.

Mr. Misaki and Seifer both exchanged grins and Naminé felt her mother elbow her demandingly in the ribs. Naminé brought up her own glass robotically.

"Cheers!" Her mother exclaimed and all at once the four of them clinked glasses. Naminé smiled weakly. There wasn't anything to celebrate.

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"Seifer was quite the young man, don't you think Naminé?" Her mother asked as they entered through the large set of double doors leading into their home. It was well past midnight now and Naminé felt exhausted. She had hoped that, since her parents hadn't mentioned Seifer the entire ride home, he wouldn't be brought up tonight. However, Naminé knew she shouldn't have held such high hopes. Her parents would always be her parents.

Naminé carefully guarded her expression as she answered her mother, "He seemed…nice."

"Nice enough to marry someday?" Her father asked without meeting her gaze.

Naminé swallowed and said nothing for a moment as she hung her coat in the closet. She knew what her parents wanted her to say. It was a word with one syllable—the one word that always made them happy.

"I…he's not really my type." Naminé ignored their gazes, afraid of the anger she would face.

Her father chuckled, "You never know, dear. He might be just the man for you." Naminé didn't verbally respond, but neither of her parents seemed to care—They were done with her tonight.

'Trust me, father,' Naminé thought as she silently made her way up the stairs, 'I do know.' Then, however, Naminé smiled as her mind drifted to a certain boy that was exactly her type.

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"I'm home!" Roxas called as he carefully came through the front door. No one answered at first, but Roxas could hear from the living room the faint sound of his mother crying. Sighing, Roxas attempted to feel his way over to her, but felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"Don't. Mom's just having another of her 'moments.' Leave her be."

"Lar—" Roxas began, but his older sister cut him off.

"I made dinner," She continued oddly quiet, "There's some leftovers, in the fridge, if you're hungry."

Roxas nodded mutely as he felt shock quickly invade his system. His sister never made dinner, not unless something was wrong with their parents. Roxas clenched his fists, resisting the impulsive urge to run over to his mother anyway.

"Where's Dad?"

Larexene removed her hand from her brother's shoulder, "In the kitchen, but, be warned, he's in a pissy mood."

"I-I'll just let him know I'm home," Roxas smiled weakly, jerking his thumb backwards. Roxas was well aware that he was probably gesturing towards the wall, but he also knew his sister understood what he had meant.

"Okay…but then make sure you get some sleep…," Larexene paused before grumbling, "dweeb." Roxas smiled at the last bit, listening as the sound of his sister's footsteps slowly began to fade.

'She's finally starting to treat me a little more normally…I hope Dad's still in the kitchen though," Roxas thought to himself as he cautiously walked down the hallway. He did his best to avoid the living room as his mother's sobs were still evident, but, as he reached the kitchen, Roxas began to regret his decision.

"Damn it!" Roxas heard his father snarl from the kitchen, "Why don't we have anything to eat in this damn house?" Roxas flinched as he heard the refrigerator door slam shut. Yup, his father was in a pissy mood.

"…Dad?" Roxas nervously asked as he slowly began to veer around the corner.

Cloud Strife spun around sharply, and Roxas was lucky he couldn't see his father's disheveled appearance, "What!" Roxas flinched again, and Cloud, upon seeing who it was, cringed and quickly changed his tone.

"Sorry about that son," Cloud said with an apologetic smile, "I didn't see it was you, what's up?"

Roxas smiled weakly and cast his eyes off to the side, uncaring of where they landed, "N-Nothing really. I just wanted to let you guys know I was home, that's all."

"Oh," Cloud tried widening his smile, but knew he had already done enough damage. "Well, you should probably get to bed then…but, thanks for telling me. I appreciate it."

"No…problem," Roxas nodded his head as he slowly began to back out the kitchen, "I guess…I'm going to head off to bed now."

Cloud nodded his own head and ran hand across his unshaved face, "Alright…well, goodnight."

"Night," Roxas called back, but, when he finally did reach his bed, the blond found himself unable to sleep. He tossed and turned, but, for whatever reason, Xion's last question had refused to leave his mind. Roxas closed his eyes, the covers drawn over his body as his clock continued to quietly tick in the background.

'I couldn't really like her, could I?'

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A/N: First off, I am soooooo incredibly sorry. I said I was going to update within the week, and then it just didn't happen. I was super mad at myself, but with school approaching (August 29th…) I had to get started on my summer homework, and keep going with my online class. I'm going to be a senior this year, so I HAVE to earn this credit to graduate. Moreover, my summer homework has been sucking up time. I have to read two books and for one, write a two page paper on it, and the other I have to journal about every chapter. I also have had, of course, more personal issues arise within these past weeks. Things are getting better, but it's all a process, ya know?

AGAIN I AM SUPER SORRY! You guys are nothing but amazing and I was in utter shock that I even reached my review goal this time! So…THANK YOU, as always, for your reviews, alerts and favorites! I'm always, always, always appreciative! You guys keep me writing!

As for the story, I hope you all enjoyed the length! I wanted to make up for my tardiness by making it super long (the longest I've done for this story, actually). But, as we can see, things are getting more and more interesting. Naminé's character is, hopefully, showing more development in this chapter, and we finally have Roxas' accident! I wasn't sure at first what I was going to do, but I thought this would be the best scenario, considering his past personality. I'm also hoping the writing wasn't sucky? I always strive for quality in all my writing, but anyways…The next chapter will have some Kairi and Sora, and a scene in the music class.

Review goal (which, as always, is NEVER mandatory because I always keep writing:):225

OH! And I forgot to mention…THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR HELPING ME REACH OVER 200 REVIEWS!

One final thing, I decided that the first outing will take place first in the park, but there will be a transition into an ice cream shop:D!

Review Replies:

Yourfan23: Thank you so much! I'm happy to hear you're enjoying, and really? I don't know anyone like that personally, but I'm sure it's not the most fun thing to deal with. Also, thank you so much! I always try my best to write well enough so that everyone can understand the characters and enjoy the story! Thank you, again, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Thank you for the review too! :D!

Nobody: Aww! I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you, I wanted to create a little suspense, but I'm glad you liked it! Also, thank you for your review!:D!