Chapter 15: Performance

"So," Kairi began as she nervously tucked a strand of auburn air behind her ear, "how are you doing today, Sora?" It was morning again. The sky had just lost its vermillion glow and was now settling into its familiar shade of blue. The wind whistled quietly, but there was little force behind it, so neither teen had decided to wear a jacket. 'Though if it did get cold…I wonder if Sora would…' Kairi's face heated up at the thought and she mentally reprimanded herself. She couldn't think like that. She and Sora were still just friends, and Kairi knew that she needed to put more focus into her mission. It had already been over a week, and Kairi had, had little to report to her Queen—something she also knew would not be as well received a second time.

Sora adjusted the strap of his backpack, forcing the weight to be more evenly distributed upon his shoulders. "Happy as I can be considering it's a school day, you?" Sora grinned his goofy smile and Kairi had to squelch the army of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Why did he have to be so perfect?

"I'm good, a little tired from studying last night, but…all in all, I'm doing pretty well," Kairi answered, hoping her own smile didn't betray how nervous she felt. It seemed ridiculous that, even after a week, she should still feel anxious, but…this was Sora! The boy Kairi had been in love with since she was literally five years old and was now, for once, talking to for more than ten seconds. This was monumental! And…and Kairi was afraid that she would mess everything up.

"Studying huh?" Sora replied scratching the back of his head with his free hand, "What class?"

"Philosophy," Kairi sighed as her voice slipped into a tone of defeat. She had spent nearly four hours studying for her philosophy test last night, and still felt like she knew nothing.

Sora winced, "Ouch, tough class. What do you even learn about?"

Kairi sighed, "Oh you know, we just learn about the different worldviews of great philosophers like Plato and Aristotle and then read thirty page packets that have like twenty questions each section…no big deal."

"No big deal?" Sora chuckled as he arched an eyebrow, "I'm sure glad I didn't decide to take the class…It's not required, is it?"

Kairi giggled as she noticed Sora's suddenly fearful expression, "No, it's not required. I just took it because it seemed interesting, and my Dad actually teaches philosophy at the university here, so…" Kairi trailed off, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Sora blinked at her incredulously. He must think she was such a nerd.

Then, however, Sora broke out into a dazzling grin and happily exclaimed, "Whoa! You must be super smart then!"

Kairi rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, momentarily forgetting to continue walking along the sidewalk as her cheeks heated up. "I-I wouldn't say I was super smart or anything…"

"You're taking philosophy, aren't you?" Sora shook his head and grinned, "I'd say that's pretty smart. My cousin would love to take a class like that."

"Roxas?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked before responding with a nod and laugh, "Yeah, he's a total nerd. Straight A's, AP courses…and not too shabby at sports either."

"Wow," Kairi breathed, "he sounds busy…" Kairi wasn't sure, however, what Naminé would think about her crush's academics. Naminé wasn't exactly an honor roll student herself. In fact, Naminé only cared about her grades if she was failing, and that was because she didn't want to endure summer school.

Sora abruptly broke eye contact, his voice lowering, "Yeah…he was."

Kairi wasn't sure what had happened, but the air around her and Sora, which had been lighthearted and happy a moment ago, had suddenly become thick with tension. It was then that Kairi also noticed that they had both stopped walking too. There was only the sound of their own breathing and the birds chirping in the sky that kept the moment alive.

"What do you mean…was?" The words unfurled from her lips apprehensively. She had a feeling he wouldn't give her a real answer, but Kairi couldn't help herself. It was imperative for her gain this sort of knowledge for Naminé, but…more importantly Kairi hated to see Sora so distraught. His eyes were downcast and the once vibrant smile that Kairi adored had been wiped clean off of his face. And…Kairi wanted to fix that so bad. She wanted him to smile again…for her.

The sad smile on Sora's face deepened, forcing Kairi's heart to sink further into her stomach and her own face to contort itself into a worried expression. "It's…nothing. He just doesn't do as much as he used to, that's all."

Kairi nodded and forced a smile onto her face. She knew Sora was hiding something, but she would let it go…for now.

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When Roxas arrived at school, the last thing he expected was to be interrogated at the front entrance. And, of course, by interrogated, what the blond really meant was a series of questions by his two new friends; Ven and Aqua.

"Is she any different?" Aqua had begun, her hand gripping Ven's arm as he carefully led her down the sunset colored hallway. Roxas did his best to keep in step with the duo, but, without a proper guide of his own, he still never felt fully in sync with either of his friends as their voices perpetually seemed to be just a little farther ahead then where he was.

"I think so…I mean, "Roxas shook his head, "She didn't humiliate me in the lunchroom, which was nice…I guess."

Aqua smiled and momentarily lifted her cloud tinted eyes towards the beige ceiling blindly. Several outdated lighting fixtures were implanted into the ceiling, some flickering erratically, some broken beyond repair, and others blasting waves of light nearly as bright as the sun. Of course, being blind, both Aqua and Roxas were unaware of the light except for the abnormal amount of heat that it provided.

"That's great news, isn't it Ventus?" Aqua beamed eagerly and Ven, with a slight blush, mumbled his agreement as his grip on Aqua's arm tightened nervously. "I'd say," Aqua continued, "You're even making wonderful progress! Naminé never shows kindness to people like that, even boys that she's liked. So…she must like you alot."

Roxas blushed and nearly stumbled as he processed the blue haired girl's words, "I-I…I don't know about that…I mean I guess she would have to like me a little bit—"

"She likes you and you like her," Aqua declared boldly and Roxas' heart nearly stopped as he tried to quiet the ocean haired girl's voice.

"I don't like her," Roxas hissed, wishing he wasn't blind so he could cover her mouth, "I mean…I like her…just not that way. She's my friend."

Aqua's smile widened, as they veered around the corner, "For now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas huffed, though he was perfectly aware of what she was implying. It was the same implication he had been fighting against for a long time now. 'She's just my friend,' Roxas mentally reminded himself, 'And…besides nothing would ever really work out between us…even if I wanted it to.'

"Oh," Aqua said, as her voice was suddenly filled with a secret mirth, "You'll see."

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'I can't believe it's only like the beginning of October…School's already so~ boring,' Naminé sighed as she secretly pulled out her sketchpad. She was in chemistry class now and their teacher, Mr. Akita, had started another one of his lectures. Naminé rolled her cerulean blue eyes, 'Snorefest! I'd rather be shopping right now…or being with Roxas.' A smile then crossed the blonde's features as she thought of her crush. She wished they were in more classes together. She hated only seeing him at lunch and music class. It was torture!

"Pst…Hey Naminé," An annoyingly familiar voice whispered from behind the blonde. Inwardly, Naminé wanted to bang her head against a wall, but, of course, she refrained and merely released a tired sigh before turning around.

"What do you want, Riku?"Naminé hissed as quietly as she could. She so could not get another detention, especially because of Riku.

Riku, however, seemed oblivious of his queen's temperament as he flashed her, his overly confident trademark grin, "Not too much. I was just wondering if you were doing anything on Wednesday, since, you know, it's an early release."

Again, Naminé had to force herself to keep cool. She hated Riku's constant advances. Sure, she still wanted to keep him in the dark, but…maybe she was becoming alittle tired of pretending to flirt with him. Stowing her sketchbook back into her Gucci purse, Naminé avoided eye contact with senior as her voice coolly responded, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I've already made plans for Wednesday."

"With who?"

"Roxas," Naminé quickly lied. She hated using him as her excuse, but…he had been on her mind all day so…he was reasonably the first name she could possibly think of.

Riku glowered, "Him?"

Naminé pulled out a nail file from her purse, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the silver haired teen, "Do you like have a problem with that or something?" Was it even possible that Riku didn't like her King?

"I just…," Riku started before releasing an irritated sigh, "Don't think you two should be spending so much time together…that's all."

Naminé wanted to laugh. Since when did Riku know what was best for her? He only cared about her because he thought she was hot. Turning around in her seat, Naminé merely flipped her platinum hair and replied in her usual Queen voice, "Whatever."

Naminé didn't care what Riku said. She was going to see Roxas as much as she wanted.

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Sometimes, Naminé wondered why she had even decided to take music class. It was mega boring. Glancing around the room, Naminé stifled an eye roll. Would it really kill the school to repaint the walls? Naminé couldn't stand the fluorescent yellow paint. It always gave her monster headaches. Moreover, the décor was hideous. Honestly, why did they have to have the faces of old dead guys plastered on the walls? The music notes painted onto the walls were annoying, but they at least suited the room better.

"Someone needs to like redecorate," Naminé mumbled to herself as she stealthily pulled her sketchbook from her purse. Naminé briefly glanced around before she started; making sure her friends weren't paying attention. After all, she couldn't have them knowing about her art hobbies; it would kill her reputation. Naminé spent a few minutes outlining her ideas, sketching fluidly until the voice of her crush abruptly shattered her concentration.

"Sorry I'm late, again," Roxas said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Everyone in the class watched him from their surrounding seats curiously, and it was obvious that the blind boy was uncomfortable with their stares. He really wished he could at least see them. It would make things at least a little less…awkward.

Ms. Yoshida tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her and cast Roxas a sympathetic look, "That's okay…I understand that it must be tough for you not to get lost and everything." Roxas tried to smile, but knew his face had slipped into a grimace. He knew she was trying to be indirect with her words, but…Roxas still felt paranoid. What if someone figured it out?

"Thanks, I'll go take a seat."Ms. Yoshida nodded and Roxas carefully made his way across the room to one of the front seats.

Xion grinned and playfully poked him in the side, "Hey, ready for the performance today?"

Startled, Roxas jumped slightly and blinked, "Huh? Oh…yeah, I'm ready."

"What piece are you performing?"

Roxas smiled slightly, but still remained facing towards the front of the classroom, "Prelude in sharp C minor by Rachmaninoff."

"Rachmaninoff, huh? Sounds pretty intense," Xion said returning the smile as she unclasped the hook of her flute case. "I've never played anything by him before; you must really know your stuff."

Roxas chuckled and rubbed the back of his head shyly, "I'm pretty good I guess. I've been playing for a long time though."

From her seat in the back, Naminé watched the exchange between the two teens with immense distaste. Why did Xion always have to sit by him? Couldn't she be a freak someplace else? It didn't seem that hard, even for her.

"Are you like gonna go and sit by him?" Selphie asked as her jade orbs watched the two teens with false interest, "You know freak girl isn't gonna move."

Naminé's lips pursed as her French tipped nails drummed lightly on the top of her plastic seat, but didn't say anything in response. 'If I go down there…I can't look desperate…I have to have a reason.'

"Maybe," Kairi interjected, sensing her Queen's apprehension, "You can act like you're sharpening a pencil or something and then just…suddenly notice them?"

Naminé's blue eyes shot up to Kairi and her perfectly glossed lips pulled into a small smirk, "Sounds like a good idea, Kairi. Ms. Yoshida can't get all bent out of shape about a pencil." Of course, Naminé would never reveal her true reasoning. It would spoil her reputation.

"Here's a pencil…if you need it," Olette said quietly from beside Kairi. Naminé's gaze flickered back to the brunette, having almost forgotten she was there. Not that Olette minded. She didn't like being noticed.

Gracefully, Naminé plucked the orange pencil from Olette's hand and flashed the brunette a small appreciative smile, "Thanks Lette." Olette merely bowed her head and nodded shyly. "You girls stay here," Naminé ordered as she began to descend the steps, "I might be a while."

Selphie beamed obediently, "You got it! We'll be right here until you get back."

Naminé didn't turn around, but she nodded her head in affirmation as her cool blue eyes locked onto her targets.

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"So, how does Ms. Yoshida normally pick who goes first, anyway?" Roxas asked once Ms. Yoshida had finished announcing that they would begin performances in the next ten minutes. It wasn't that the blond was nervous about playing. He knew his piece and everything, but…he just wanted to knowwho went first so he could mentally prepare himself.

Tracing her fingers across the cool surface of her flute, Xion merely shrugged at her companion, "She normally just picks a name from a hat…so, I guess it's just random."

"Random?" Roxas sighed, "I was hoping for a little more forewarning than that."

"Nervous?"

Roxas shook his head, "I'm not nervous. I just like being able to—"

"Hey Roxas." Roxas' eyes widened at the sound of the familiar voice, but he didn't turn around.

"Naminé," Roxas greeted with a warm smile, "What's up?"

Naminé smiled and gracefully seated herself beside the blond boy, ignoring Xion's glares of protest, "Not much. So, like how are you doing?"

"Pretty good. Xion and I were just prepping for our performances today," Roxas answered turning his face to towards hers since he could now smell the expensive perfume that wafted from the blonde girl's body.

"Performance?" Naminé asked with a bemused expression, "What are you talking about?"

Xion snorted, "Figures that you wouldn't know." Naminé narrowed her eyes into icy slits, but Xion only smirked coldly in response. "We're talking about today's performances for music class."

"We all have to perform a piece of some sorts," Roxas added, unaware of Naminé's sudden discomfort. Since when did they have 'performances?'

'I can't go today!' Naminé thought angrily, 'I don't even have anything like prepared.Though…it's not like anybody else will be ready.I hardly ever see anyone practice in this class.'

"Well, whatever. I'll just come up with something to do," Naminé said as she nonchalantly examined her nails. Roxas' eyebrows furrowed together in concern. Didn't she even care that she would fail?

"Typical popular," Xion muttered underneath her breath, but, luckily, Naminé didn't hear her.

"Alright class," Ms. Yoshida interrupted after a moment, "It's time to start our performances. I don't think we'll be able to get through everyone today, but we'll at least get started." Ms. Yoshida walked to a table that was pushed up against a wall and picked up a small black hat. "Now, I'm going to pick a name from this hat and whoever gets picked has to go first." There was quiet flood of murmurs in response and Naminé held her breath in anticipation as Ms. Yoshida opened the piece of paper. She could not go first. "Roxas Strife."

Instinctively, Roxas' head shot up, "M-Me? Oh…I mean, sure."

"Do you need a few minutes to prepare or are you ready to go?" Ms. Yoshida asked her tone holding an almost imperceptible amount of concern as she looked down at the anxious blond.

"Yeah…I could use a few minutes, if you don't mind?" Roxas answered with a sheepish grin. No one in the room said anything, but it was clear that they were curious. Several of the students whispered to one another creating an almost buzz like sound in the room. Without turning his face, Roxas whispered quietly to Xion, "How far am I from the piano?"

Xion arched an eyebrow in confusion, "How farare you?"

"Yeah, like how many steps would you say?"

"Fifteen…maybe sixteen, I guess."

"Good," Roxas said nodding his head. He could handle fifteen or sixteen steps. "And…the piano bench is just straight ahead, right?"

Xion nodded, "Right."

"What are you two whispering about?" Naminé asked, flecks of irritation permeating her once happy tone. She hated seeing them talk like they were hiding something.

Roxas shook his head and quickly replied, "It's nothing…just something about the piece I'm performing, but…I should probably go up now." Roxas stood up and began walking towards the front of the room. His steps were slower, but he still tried to appear normal to his peers by removing the hesitancy from his movements. 'Thirteen…fourteen…and fifteen…I think I made it,' Roxas thought with an internal sigh of relief. He was now in the center of the room, standing next to the piano bench. The cold ebony colored wood lightly touched his leg, and Roxas waited a brief moment before he pulled the bench out and sat down. The keys of the piano were already exposed, and, as Roxas set his fingers down, there was a slight chill of elation that ran through his spine. Roxas inhaled sharply, but no one in the room said a word. They were watching with hungry eyes. It was the moment that either Roxas would be lauded by his peers, or it would be the moment where he would be ridiculed by them.

Releasing a composed breath, Roxas simply closed his eyes and allowed his fingers to descend gracefully onto the keys. Naminé's breath nearly caught at the melodious array of fluid notes.

'I can't like…believe it!' Naminé thought to herself in astonishment, 'He's so…good!' Not that Naminé had expected her crush to be…horrible, but she really hadn't expected him to be this proficient either. The melancholy notes produced by the boy's dancing fingers was haunting, but it also produced a feeling of nostalgia in Naminé as well. It almost felt like the song was trying to awaken a lost memory. The feeling wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but it did create a feeling of growing discomfort in the pit of her stomach. 'I wonder what I'm even trying to remember?' Naminé shook her head and glanced over at Xion. She was smiling happily up at her King and Naminé instantly felt disgusted. Why did Xion always have to make her feel this way? Even when they had been children, Naminé had always been put off by the raven haired girl. But, it wasn't her fault. Xion Yamazaki, in Naminé's eyes, had always had the ideal life. She didn't live in a mansion, but she was wealthy enough to go on vacation each year. She wasn't the most popular girl in school, but she had plenty of friends. She didn't look like a model, but she was edgy and boys liked that. She had good, fun and loving parents. Xion was even musically gifted, and that was something that Naminé didn't have. It was the one advantage that Xion had that Naminé didn't in their competition.

'And, if I have to perform today…I'll only make a fool out of myself while Xion ends up impressing Roxas,' Naminé thought grimacing inwardly. She couldn't let that happen. Naminé would not lose to Xion. She would not humiliate herself in front of anyone, especially Roxas.

After Roxas had finished playing his piece the entire class applauded his performance. Naminé happily clapped from her seat in the front and smiled widely as her crush quietly resumed his seat beside her.

"That was like…amazing," Naminé complimented with a happy smile. Her heart was pounding as she waited for the next name to be called, but made sure the anxiety was well masked.

"Thanks…" Roxas replied sheepishly, "I practiced a lot so…I'm glad it paid off. But…um…" Roxas paused, lowering his voice "…are you alright? You seem a little off."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naminé asked fidgeting slightly as Roxas turned his face towards hers. How did he always know when something was up with her?

"I mean," Roxas answered as his lips pulled into a frown, "you just seem like you're not feeling too well. Do you need to go to the nurse's?"

The nurse! Why hadn't Naminé thought of that before! "Sick? Oh…Um yeah," Naminé said as she attempted to make her voice sound weary, "I think I might have to go see the nurse."

Roxas' eyebrows knitted together in growing concern, "You should go tell Ms. Yoshida then. I'm sure she'll understand."

Naminé nodded weakly, "I hope she will." 'Otherwise I'm screwed.'

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"Alright dearie, you let me know if you start feeling sick again, okay?"

Naminé smiled charmingly towards the plump white clad nurse, "Of course. Thank you so much Mrs. Noro!"

"It's my pleasure, Miss Misaki," Mrs. Noro smiled in return from the door as she gently waved goodbye to the blonde Queen, "Have a good day!"

"You too," Naminé called back before finally veering around the corner of the sunset colored hallway. It was two o'clock now, which meant that school would be ending in about an hour. 'And it means,' Naminé sighed, 'that I have to go to world history now.Ugh…how boring!'

Although, missing two of her classes did make it seem a little less horrible. Not that world history was a piece of cake, but a shorter day was a shorter day. More importantly, however, it still gave Naminé enough time to find Roxas and initiate her plan. The blonde queen nearly squealed aloud at the thought. If all went well, it would be their first outing together. Their first date!

'Now all I have to do is go to history class and after that…,' Naminé stopped mid-sentence as her eyes suddenly caught hold of him, 'Or,I could find Roxas first and then go to history class.' Naminé happily nodded to herself. That sounded like a good plan to her. In fact, it sounded like a much better idea than her first. 'Who needs history anyway?'

Flipping her hair and smoothing the creases on her purple scoop neck sweater, Naminé smiled coyly and approached the object of her affections who was currently attempting to pick his scattered items off the ground. Several students bustling through the hallway paused what they were doing and watched with vulture eyes as Naminé gracefully knelt down and handed Roxas his missing items. "Here, I think these are yours."

Roxas swallowed back his surprise but nearly fell over, "N-Naminé! Uh…Thanks."

"You're welcome," Naminé beamed. She retained her air of superiority, however, as she said this. Other people were still watching.

"But…anyway," Roxas shook his head, "Are you feeling better now? I was…I mean the whole class was worried about you." Roxas mentally swore to himself. How could he almost say something like that?

Naminé forced herself to remain cool, "I feel like much better, thank you for asking." 'Was he really going to say what I think he was going to say?'

"I'm glad," Roxas replied as his face relaxed and smile flitted across his face, "So…what class are you going to now?" Roxas pretended to look around, hoping he at least seemed natural.

"History," Naminé sighed in annoyance, "But…I was like wondering, since we have an early release on Wednesday, if you would like to do something with me?"

"Do something?" Roxas repeated. He wasn't sure what to think. This wasn't a date, was it? Roxas blushed at the thought and mentally slapped himself. He was being stupid.

Naminé nodded nonchalantly, "If you're not like busy."

"I'm not," Roxas quickly blurted, "I mean…that would be fine. I would like that. We could uh…go to the music festival at the park." Music. Yes. That was safe. Though…Roxas still couldn't help but feel like an idiot at his reaction. It's not like he's never been out with a girl before.

"Sounds like a plan," Naminé said, her voice holding a clear tone of satisfaction. This was great. Everything was set in motion and there would be no Xion to interfere. "We can meet up outside when school's over."

"By the front entrance," Roxas asked as he attempted to stifle the hope from his voice. He really would hate trying to figure out where he needed to go on such short notice.

Naminé shrugged and adjusted the diamond encrusted barrette in her hair, "That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Naminé's heels coolly clacked against the tiled flooring as she gracefully entered into the next corridor. An instant flood of whispers began once she had left, and Naminé smiled in satisfaction because she knew they were all talking about them.

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"Naminé darling, you're father and I are so glad to see that you're home!" Mrs. Misaki beamed with an overly excited smile the moment Naminé had come through the set of their mansion's French doors.

Naminé eyed her mother suspiciously as she gently set her designer school bag onto the marble floor. "Really, now why is that?"

"Oh it's—"

"You're quite right, Mr. Misaki. One can never truly experience pleasure until he experiences a hunt such as that. I mean—Oh Naminé, I see that you have finally arrived home." Naminé swallowed back a scream of rage. Slick blond hair. Conceited Smile. Arrogance beyond belief.

"Seifer," Naminé said forcing her tone of voice to be painfully polite. 'So,this is why Mother was happy to see me…should have figured.'

Stepping into the foyer, Mr. Misaki gave Seifer a hearty pat on the back. Naminé stifled her gag at the action. "Naminé, I believe you remember Seifer from the banquet?"

"I do," Naminé replied stiffly.

"Well," Mr. Misaki continued, "He is going to join us for dinner tonight, if that is alright with you?" Not that he was really asking. Naminé knew her father well enough by now.

'Someone please just kill me.' "Of course."

"Oh how splendid!" Mrs. Misaki exclaimed happily, "We'll make sure Arnold serves up an exquisite meal tonight for our guest."

"You don't need to go to such troubles Mrs. Misaki," Seifer shook his head in false humility, "I would enjoy any dish, really."

"Nonsense, my boy!" Mr. Misaki laughed and wrapped an arm around Seifer's shoulders affectionately, "You're practically family now."

Naminé's face paled. Practically family now.The words were like a sharp knife in her back. This suitor. This cretin could not be her husband.

"Shall we," Seifer asked holding out his arm. He was smiling, but Naminé could easily see through his mask.

"We shall." She slipped her arm through his numbly and followed her parents into the gardens.

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"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CLOUD!" Aerith shrieked angrily as tears streamed down her cheeks. The couple was in the living room, and ever since Roxas had come home they had been fighting. He had thought about escaping into his room, but he knew he would have made too much noise. So, he had opted for plopping down right by the front door.

Cloud rolled his blue eyes and snarled, "I wasn't doing anything!"

Aerith barked out a laugh, "You mean to tell me that all you and your ex-wife have been doing is getting coffee and 'talking?'" Aerith made quotation marks with her fingers mockingly, but the scorn in her jade eyes was evident.

"Yes," Cloud shot back angrily, "I do! I figured that my ex-wife and your best friend might possibly be able to give me a little advice."

"On what, Cloud?" Aerith put her hands on her hips, trying to remain strong, but it was clear she was breaking.

"Us, our family, our finances, everything!"

Aerith choked back a sob, "Why didn't you talk about it with me? Why her?"

"Because…you already have enough to deal with, but…,"Cloud shook his head and pleaded softly, "I'm not cheating on you Aer. I love you."

From his position near the front door, Roxas released a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Oh Cloud," Aerith finally conceded with an affectionate smile. A rare smile flickered across her husband's features and Roxas knew they were embracing when his mother said, "I love you."

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Okay, so I hope everyone enjoyed this long overdue chapter. It was nearly 5,000 words (a little over 12 pages) and was really jam packed with some important scenes. I'm also hoping that you liked the interaction between Naminé and Roxas and have begun to see more depth in the plot and Naminé's character. I'm really trying to ease her into a new persona without making the change too dramatic.

As for the lateness, I apologize. I literally have been doing Philosophy packets that are 30-40 pages and have 20-40 questions each. I've also been caught up with writing my short story for my Creative Writing course (which I just finished recently!). Plus, AP Government tests, AP English papers –shudders- it's all been so much. Moreover, guess who recently moved…again? Yup, I moved again earlier this year so that's another lame excuse for my lateness.

Anyway, I just have to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SOOOOOOO~ MUCH for all the reviews, alerts and favorites! I AM BEYOND AMAZED AT EVERYONE'S SUPPORT AND APPECIATE IT MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!

Honestly, I would have probably given up by now if you guys hadn't shown your support! In fact, I would actually appreciate it if you guys messaged me here and there to keep motivating me! Honest. I have a lot to do with school, but sometimes hearing directly from you guys helps me to find time for writing. It keeps me better aware of my stories so I'm not completely overwhelmed with just school work.

REVIEW GOAL: I'm just gonna put 240 and see what happens :D

Review Replies:

Nobody: Thank you. Character reactions can be difficult when it's dramatic, but I'm happy to hear that you thought it was well done! I'm not sure if he will. I've had him in other stories so…maybe? Thank you! It's always good to know the story's being enjoyed! Thank you also for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Victoria: Aww you are soooo~ sweet! I really wish you had an account so I could give you a proper message, but thank you so much! I'm glad you like it so far and haha I have no idea. Anything can inspire me really, but thank you again. I keep trying to improve my writing, and also I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll be working on How To Save A Life next! :D!