Chapter 26: Happy Birthday…?
"Mom…?" Roxas croaked, desperately wishing that he could embrace his mother but knowing that any misstep could damage his mother's already broken body. Larexene stood beside her brother and father, face devoid of emotions but eyes glistening with tears that she refused to release.
"She's going to need some time to recover," the doctor stated quietly, "we had to do an emergency surgery since the bones in her legs were nearly shattered…"
Cloud bit back a wave of shock, his voice hoarse. "S-Shattered?"
The doctor nodded solemnly and walked over to the foot of Aerith's bed to pick up her clipboard. He flipped a few pages, pushing his silver frames further along the bridge of his nose. "The impact her legs suffered was not light, though she was incredibly lucky not to have been struck any higher on her body. She would have lost her ability to walk forever if it had hit the spinal cord as hard."
"Will she have to…do any sort of rehabilitation?" Cloud asked softly as his eyes flickered over to the bruised speckled face of his lover and the tendrils of chestnut that peeked out from underneath layers of bandages.
"I believe so," the doctor answered with an audible sigh, "she'll have to use a wheel chair for at least a few months until we can start physical therapy, but once that's started, it will probably take a good year or so for her to fully regain the ability to walk."
Cloud could only nod, allowing the whirring of machines and the uneasy breathing of his wife to fill the room. Larexene waited only a moment before the soft noises became too much.
"I should probably," Larexene swallowed the lump in her throat and turned away from her family, "get going…I promised I wouldn't be late to work tonight, but um…" she quickly hugged both her father and younger brother, "tell me if something happens with Mom, okay?"
Roxas smiled weakly, "I have your number Lar." Larexene nodded, stealing one last glance towards her mother before quietly exiting the hospital room.
More silence enveloped the room, minutes turning into hours. Cloud hovered protectively over his wife's bed, clasping the hand that was entangled with a rainbow of wires gently. Roxas sat in the chair near the door, and smiled bitterly to himself.
"It worked Mom," he whispered as a few stray tears landed on the tile floor, "she loved the bracelet and we're back together again…"
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Naminé lifted her glittered infused faux eyelashes to the mirror. It seemed like an eternity, but in just a few minutes, her birthday bonanza would erupt and Naminé would absorb every ray of spotlight that her body could hold.
The venue, which Naminé had personally selected, was perfect not only because her parents would not be anywhere near it, but because it was decorated exactly to Naminé's extravagant tastes.
White and blue icicle chandeliers hung in the center of the banquet hall, casting hazes of colored light in the darkness and illuminating the DJ stationed near the stage with a plethora of handsomely stocked swag bags on the white glistening tables that Naminé had made sure were well lit with strings of glowing icicles.
There were a series of tables that encompassed the obscenely large dance floor and each table centerpiece was an elegant waterfall chandelier that shifted its glow from soft white to pale blue. Roses and lilies of the same color palette were also arranged around the chandeliers and every guest would be treated to a glow-stick to further enjoy that night's entertainment.
Naminé was sure her parents weren't going to do it, given the recent fiascoes, but as it turned out their anger did not interfere with the desire to be the best. Instead of merely hiring Ayumi Hamasaki to perform, Mr. and Mrs. Misaki had managed to nap Japan's biggest pop star, Utada Hikaru, for the night. The two females would arrive sometime while the DJ was playing, to perform a setlist of their most famous songs.
To say Naminé was excited would be an understatement. "It's really happening," she whispered to herself with wide eyes, "Sleeping Sky is the most fabulous and expensive hotel in Twilight and I'm having my birthday party here just like I always wanted…"
She adjusted the jewelry, a diamond necklace inlaid with her birthstone, and dusted the satin blue fabric of her cocktail dress once before assuring herself that the sapphire rhinestone hair clip was still nestled neatly on the curled hair tendrils of her side bun. "Now all that's left is my grand entrance…" Naminé nodded to herself, planted a smile on her lips and moved towards the set of ivory doors leading to her party.
There was an elaborately bejeweled chaise awaiting her at the set of doors and Naminé climbed onto the blue cushion with little effort, positioning herself so that one leg dangled precariously over the side. The four attractive models, decked out in winter themed costumes, she had hired to carry the chaise into the party grunted audibly as they lifted her into the air and Naminé waited as she heard the entrance song for the circus troupe fade into Sky Ferreira's Obsession—Naminé's cue.
She nodded to the four men and they began to haul the chaise through the ivory doors. All the students at Twilight High (yes, Naminé had even deigned to invite the losers) cheered, flailed their arms excitedly and whistled as Naminé passed them. The blonde, in turn, blew kisses and smiled in satisfaction as her eyes secretly sought veiled grey.
The circus troupe stood towards the stage and when Naminé descended from her floating throne, she beamed brightly at her guests, her soprano voice ringing as the chorus of her entrance music melted into the walls. "Thank you all so much for coming! I hope you all have a fabulous time and be sure to pick up your gift bags from the DJ."
The students roared their approval and Naminé nodded to the circus troupe who proceeded to continue their routine of backflips, walk overs, juggling, fire breathing and acrobatic dance.
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Nearly an hour into her party, Naminé strayed away from her band of admirers to enjoy a glass of homemade fruit punch. The snowflake ice sculpture with her initials sculpted into the cool surface emanated a soft blue beside the ruby colored bowl, causing a small satisfied smile to grace her lips as she scooped up a glass of the red beverage.
"Umm…Happy birthday, Naminé…" a soft voice said from behind. There was a quiet chorus of agreement after the voice that had spoken and Naminé plastered on a plastic smile as she turned around.
"Thank you Molly," Naminé said.
"It's Mia…," Mia corrected quietly, but Naminé didn't hear. "It was um…really nice of you to invite us—" Mia gestured to the two girls clad in matching green dresses beside her. "I thought you were still mad at me for your blouse…"
Naminé swatted Mia's words away, the synthetic smile still intact. "Water under the bridge my dear, now…I have to go find my boyfriend so, enjoy the part ladies." Naminé waved goodbye, turned away from the trio and rolled her blue orbs as she took out her phone to text Kairi.
Have you seen Roxas?
-Naminé
The red head, who was already at the party, texted back almost instantly.
Yeah, he's sitting over by the DJ booth.
-Kairi.
Naminé thanked her friend via text message before quickly (well as quickly as her five inch stilettos would let her) walking over to her boyfriend. She covered his eyes, her breath tickling the hairs on his neck. "Guess who?"
Roxas smiled, grasping her hands between his. "Happy birthday."
Naminé pecked his cheek, the charms on her bracelet jangling noisily as she pulled her hands away. "You don't seem to be enjoying the party."
"Now I am," Roxas retorted smartly, earning him another kiss—this time on the lips. "You're wearing the charm bracelet?"
"Of course," Naminé responded, brandishing her wrist so that charms jangled nosily. Roxas smiled, but Naminé noticed a crack in his mask. "How's your Mom?"
Roxas sighed. "Alright…still recovering but she's actually conscious at least half of the time…"
"And Vanitas?" Naminé prompted gently.
"He's…" Roxas shook his head, "at the rehabilitation center. Cops found drugs on him and Tifa begged for a chance at reconciliation…"
"So, she's not suing you anymore?"
"No," Roxas answered, "She's been visiting Mom every day and—wait, this is your birthday party. We shouldn't be serious. We should be dancing even though I can't dance to save my life."
Naminé giggled, the heavy atmosphere around them lifting. "Okay, well we should go to the front of the stage. Ayumi and Utada are going to start soon." Roxas offered a verbal agreement and allowed his girlfriend to lead him to the stage.
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"Is it me, or does this place seem stuffy to you?" Hayner complained, picking off a shrimp and dipping it into cocktail sauce.
Pence rolled his eyes sarcastically and hesitantly dropped a glob of caviar onto his plate. "Why do you have to try and find something wrong with the party? Can't you just admit that you're enjoying yourself?"
"Pence," Olette looked pointedly at the raven haired boy, "This is Hayner we're talking about. Of course he's going to find something wrong with the party."
"See? Olette understands," Hayner retorted smartly. Pence grunted in annoyance, and Olette stuffed a strawberry in the blond's mouth.
"Shut up and eat Hayner."
Hayner smirked and bit into the red berry. "Aye, aye captain!" The smirk on Hayner's face, however, rapidly faded as Selphie approached to pull his best friend away with a stink eye aimed right at him. Olette protested quietly, but Selphie ignored her and enclosed the brunette in a crowd of popular juniors and seniors.
"At least the food is good," Pence said with a weak smile.
Hayner grumbled angrily underneath his breath. "Yeah…"
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After Utada and Ayumi had finished performing, the DJ opened the dance floor and introduced the first song with a loud bellow. Some of the shyer guests fled from the dance floor, but some of the more audacious teens shifted gears almost instantly, their bodies swaying to the music as the winter lights cast shadows off both the walls and dancers below. Kairi and Sora were among these dancing teens.
"I don't think I've had this much fun in a long time," Kairi grinned, another bead of sweat dripping from her forehead as Sora drew her against his chest.
"Hey," he said with mock hurt, "I thought our Animal Crossing adventures were pretty fun. I mean we even danced together at Club LOL."
Kairi laughed. "True, but…" she paused as the next song, We Found Love (Feat. Clavin Harris), began to float through the speakers, "there…I can't do this." Kairi planted a tender kiss on his lips.
"True," Sora grinned, "that is very true." He then put his red headed girlfriend at arm's length, reluctantly. "Hey, I'm going to grab something to drink real quick, want something?" Kairi nodded, watching her boyfriend move towards the refreshment table before shifting her gaze to some of the other couples on the dance floor.
Terra, though disliking Naminé, was present with Aqua, gently swaying the blind girl to the music. It made Kairi happy to see the blind girl happy, but it also made her feel bad for Ventus, the boy who Roxas had tried to set up with the blue haired girl.
"Why so glum?" Sora asked upon his return with liquid sustenance.
"I just feel bad for Ven, that's all," Kairi said, taking one of the glasses from her boyfriend, "Aqua and Terra are having a good time and—"
"Ven's happily chatting up that purple haired girl," Sora finished and pointed to where the blond was talking animatedly with the lavender haired teen who was, surprisingly, smiling.
Kairi's eyes widened. "Fuu? But…she's normally so…not like that…"
"Ven is pretty charming," Sora said with a small shrug, "and he's not hitting on her like Seifer usually does."
"I know, but…it's Fuu," Kairi protested. No one ever went near Fuu—not even Naminé. The ruby eyed girl was, after all, the younger sister of Twilight Town's most feared gang leader, Paine. She was not just someone to go up and talk to.
Sora grabbed her chin, tearing her eyes away from the happy couple. "Who knows? Just let them be and dance with me." Sora offered a pathetic robot arm that caused Kairi to smile and surrender to the booming music.
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After dancing (technically swaying) with Naminé, Roxas had excused himself to go to the bathroom. He washed his face in the sink and pressed a finger to his temple in a poor attempt to stifle a budding headache. The party was fun enough, but the noise was intense and the crowds of people were almost physically nauseating. Though, Roxas was happy that his girlfriend was enjoying herself. It was always nice to know that she was happy.
"Is everyone enjoying themselves?" Naminé's voice asked, wafting into the bathroom from what was presumably the stage. Roxas heard an echo of enthusiastic screams respond and then his girlfriend's sweet laughter. "Alright, well it's time to move onto our next little event. Now, everyone with a red wrist band, please step onto the stage."
Roxas furrowed his eyebrows, turned off the faucet and moved towards the sound of his girlfriend's voice, curious.
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The teens with the red brand coiled around their wrists walked onto the stage. Some sprinted eagerly, others at a leisurely pace to soak in the rays of attention, and some more weary teens at a snail-like pace. The spotlights hammered onto everyone standing towards the front of the stage, and behind them a large, LED screen lit up. It showed the faces of the individuals, closing up on a certain frizzy haired girl and her two green clad companions.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Naminé smiled all too sweetly, "Girls?" Naminé glanced back at the row of cheerleaders behind the branded teens and they flashed wicked grins, nodding. "Okay, so…" Naminé started walking towards Mia, her stilettos clicking ominously along the wooden planks. Sweat dribbled from Mia's forehead and dripped from her chin. She was still smiling, but the knot in her stomach wouldn't stop growing. "Now that everyone is on stage, it's time we determine the winner. Envelope please," Naminé took the vanilla envelope from one of the football players.
Mia tapped Naminé's shoulder nervously. "W-What votes?"
"Why these votes," Naminé gestured to a clear plastic box filled with folded papers.
"Shouldn't we have voted too?" Mia asked and the two girls beside her murmured their agreement.
Naminé snorted and flipped her hair. "That was the point, Molly," Naminé whispered to the orange haired girl snidely.
"But—" Mia began to protest but Naminé cut her off, flourishing the envelope as she tore it open.
"And our winner is…Mia Clark!" Naminé announced with great bravado. A couple of cheerleaders placed a cheap crown on the top of her frizzy hair and Naminé's face was contorted into a sickly sweet and yet sharp expression. "Congratulations Mia, you're our loser of the year! For your prize, I hope you enjoy honey." Naminé pulled away from Mia just as Selphie and another popular girl dumped a bucket of warm honey on Mia. The kids around Mia froze in terror, unable to escape the dousing of gooey substance gifted to them by a group of Naminé's cohorts. Nearly everyone erupted into laughter, pointing rudely as they jeered loudly.
Tears cascaded down Mia's cheeks, as she choked out. "W-Why?"
"I told you I would get you back," Naminé replied simply, "Now, why don't you enjoy the little show." Naminé looked up at the screen with a satisfied smirk, and Mia's eyes followed her gaze. A gasp immediately seized her lips and more tears came as she quickly fled from the stage, trying to block out the series of embarrassing photographs and videos of her dancing to the Cheetah Girls.
Naminé joined in the laughter of her fellow party-goers and high-fived Selphie who crowed out, "Revenge is sweet!"
"Tell me about it," Naminé said gleefully.
She was not aware, however, of her boyfriend standing in the crowd with an expression betwixt anger, betrayal and shock. Mia passed by him, filling his nostrils with a sickly sweet honey aroma. "Sora," Roxas ground out to the brunette, "Take me to the stage."
"But Roxas—"
"You saw what she did to that girl, to those kids…I may not be able to see, but I know what's going on. She put a damn crown on that girl, dumped honey on her and if that wasn't enough, is playing some videos of what I can only imagine are completely embarrassing videos of that girl," Roxas spat, then paused to take a deep breath. "Now, Sora…Take. Me. To. The. Stage."
Sora swallowed but complied, leading his cousin to the center of the stage. Naminé grinned obliviously and wound her arms around his body. Roxas grew stiff and pushed her away. Naminé's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What's wrong, Roxas?"
Roxas' lips quivered, but he forced them into a straight line. "I can't believe that I fell your little act…How could I have been so stupid?"
"Roxas…," Naminé desperately grabbed onto Roxas' wrist but he yanked away instantly. "What are you talking about?"
Roxas laughed bitterly. "Everyone warned me…Xion, Sora…but I didn't believe them. I wanted to see the good in you, I wanted to save the little girl I played in the sandbox with. Such stupid optimism on my part—"
"Roxas, please!"
"And you didn't even know…you were always too caught up in yourself to realize that your boyfriend was blind…," At this several people in the audience gasped, including Naminé, but Roxas ignored them, continuing to speak in a bitter tone. "That all those times I tripped or flung food, wasn't because I was clumsy. It was because I was trying to pretend I had my sight so that you wouldn't treat me differently—so that I could have a real chance to save you and not just your pity." Roxas shook his head angrily, voice dropping. "I even fell in love with you, but…" Roxas swallowed the lump in throat. "If this is the real you…then I don't want anything to do with you."
Naminé could practically feel her world unraveling. Mascara ran down her cheeks, but Naminé made no movement to wipe it away. Her heart was shattering into painful fragments, the bindings if her soul cracking under the weight of his words. How had she not known? 'Was he really that good at hiding it or was I just really too self-absorbed to notice? Or is that love itself just blinds people…?' "Roxas, I know this seems bad, but…" Naminé pleaded as more tears fell from her eyes. She reached out for him, unaware of the secret smirks plastered on Selphie and her clique's faces.
"Look, Naminé," Roxas stated coldly, "I may not be able to see like you, but I know what's beautiful and what's ugly. The girl I loved was beautiful, but this…this is ugly Naminé." His voice echoed through the space, and anyone who was still talking was silenced by the teen's icy words. Roxas sighed. "I'm going home. Sora?"
Sora popped up beside the blind boy, "You want me to call your Dad?"
"No…I'm going to call Xion. I know she didn't want to come to the party, but my Dad is still at the hospital with my Mom, remember?"
"My parents could—"
"It's fine Sora, just help me off the stage and I'll be out of your hair," Roxas said quietly, ignoring his cousin's protests as he pulled out his cell phone and exited the stage with Sora's assistance.
"Xion?" Roxas said wobbly.
"Roxas…? What's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be at the party?" Xion's voice responded, concerned.
Roxas smiled weakly. "You were right about her Xion. I'm sorry I didn't believe you."
This seemed to speak volumes because Xion only replied with two simple words. "I'm coming."
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The party venue was empty. People had left after Naminé, who was trying to rid herself of an audience to her mental breakdown, had gone into a frantic fit of rage. She had even thrown shrimp at lingering guests.
Kairi and Olette went home when Naminé refused to talk. Though…Olette hadn't even said anything. She just sent a text message to say that she was done being friends with Naminé and was going back to the video gaming nerd she was before Naminé plucked her from obscurity.
"A perfect ending to a perfect night," Naminé said sarcastically. She leaned her head harder against the black paneled wall, her eyes wandering to the untouched blue and white cake sitting on the table in front of her. The edible crystals gleamed brightly against the white piping and Naminé smiled bitterly at the fonda snowflakes and the burnt out seventeen candles that still glittered despite the wax dripping down its surface.
"Was it really that bad?" Naminé asked aloud, her mind relentlessly playing the words of her now ex-boyfriend. "And…how the hell did I not realize he was blind? A-And even if I knew, why did he have to assume I'd treat him differently? And…" Naminé sniffled as more tears cascaded down her cheeks, "What was he even talking about with the stupid sandbox? We'd never even met before high school…, right?" Naminé felt a sob lodged in her throat, and as the lights in the venue snapped shut, the blonde could only sit in the darkness contemplating what she had done.
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A/N: Wow, things really took a turn for the worst here, didn't they? But this is the climax I've been prepping you all for. Sorry if it seems a little short, but with the only two focuses being Aerith at the hospital and the party itself (which I hoped seemed pretty extravagant), there isn't as much to write without dragging things out.
The next chapter, we'll finally see Selphie's plan come to fruition, more drama with Naminé's parents, and some other little surprises.
I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter and are willing to stick around for the final two chapters (plus the epilogue).
Also, THANK YOU FOR HELPING THIS STORY REACH 406 REVIEWS!
I was so excited when this happened and hope that people will be willing to continue to read, alert, favorite and REVIEW!:D!
Review Replies:
X-blade025: About time, huh? It is nice, but I think regardless of a past friendship, things would still be pretty shattered since Cloud was just her boyfriend, he was her husband that she had a child with. I think there would be a lot of trust issues, sense of betrayal, resentment at the fact that Aerith ended up with the life that Tifa should have had. Haha, it's fine. Seifer does deserve a good slap and you'll have to see what happens to the wedding plans in the next chapter. Thanks, I didn't have to endure much of that type of stuff when I was in high school, but I try to portray things based on what I've read, heard and seen. Xion really does get the short stick here which sucks, but you never know, maybe she'll get a happy ending too:) Thank you again, I always appreciate you taking the time to read and review:)
KupKake: It would give them something to bond over, but I feel that the family has gone through enough already:) Good idea though and thank you tons for the review:)
Chickennugget: Thank you for the review!:D!