Roxas decided I really needed a job. It has been at least four months since we have met, and I was still that unemployed wreck he met talking about the weather. Therefore, he decided to help me a get a job.

"After all, that's what friends do, right?" Roxas asked.

I nodded, smiling. "That's what friends do."

And so, he took me around our city, applying everywhere – and I literally mean everywhere. The thing was that "everywhere" just didn't seem to like me at all, even the fast food places. Teenagers in high school can get jobs like those, and I can't? Unbelievable.

"How can this be happening? I was sure Burger Queen would definitely at least want you as their mascot instead of that black-haired kid with the creepy yellow eyes," Roxas muttered to himself. He sat down on a bench outside of the store I just applied to in the mall. "Let me see your resume."

I handed the printed out the resume I had with me. Roxas shook his head as he looked at it, obviously disappointed. "There are two d's in address, Naminé," Roxas pointed out. "February needs two r's as well. Don't put exclamation points either because it kind of makes you look...not bright?"

"Gee, thanks, Roxas," I sighed. "Do you think I'll ever find a job? During my school years, I just studied art and design, and now I can't sell a single painting I've made. I can't even get a job as a mascot now!"

Roxas sighed. "Don't give up, alright? Someone is eventually acknowledge how hard of a worker you are. You always try your best, you're committed, you're funny, and you're..." He then shook his head. "Um, anyways, art isn't a stable career choice anyway. Didn't you have a part time job at least during college? Those books aren't all that cheap, and there's also tuition to be payed."

"I had a job as a waitress for a while, but I was no good at it and quit as soon as I got out of college. I tried to make it as an artist then. A lot of my college stuff was payed by the insurance though," my voice became quieter.

"Insurance?"

I shook me head. "It's nothing, really. Come on, let's go back to my place and check up on Kairi. I let her use the car today so she should have drove home from work already. Ooh, maybe she's out with Sora today? I think he should have finished up catering for that party about an hour ago."

When Roxas and I entered the house, we saw Kairi staring at her phone, utterly silent. As I sat down next to her, Roxas proceeded to go use the downstairs bathroom. Several seconds passed before Kairi realized I was sitting next to her. She seemed surprised to see me, and instantly, a forced smile appeared onto her face.

"Good to see you, Naminé. I thought you guys would have been out a bit longer. Aren't you two supposed to be looking for a job? You're still unemployed," Kairi said. She stood up, her smile not disappearing. "If you'll excuse me, I really need to go use the restroom."

She walked toward the restroom that Roxas had just entered. Softly, she knocked on the door, calling upon Roxas's attention. I watched as Kairi's hand gripped onto her phone tighter, almost crushing it to pieces.

"Roxas, can you get out now? I really need to go," she said.

From behind the door, Roxas answered, "Sorry...I kind of need to take my time right now."

Kairi ran her fingers through her hair, pulling some behind her ear. She let out a small sigh. "Ladies first, right? You kind of have to let me come inside."

"Woman, I don't have to let you in. First come first serve."

Kairi grabbed the door knob and started shaking it violently. "Roxas, let me in. My freaking god, let me in! Open the damn door!" Both hands were on the door as she kept pulling on the knob.

"For the love of God, I'm pooing! Do you honestly expect me to get up right now?"

"Yes, now let me in!" Kairi shouted, becoming agitated. "I really need to get inside there right now. Just...Roxas, I will murder your family if you don't let me in right now!"

"Go ahead! Let me poo in peace."

I got up, coming closer the bathroom door. "Roxas," I hissed angrily. "Don't be so mean to Kairi right now, alright?" To Kairi I added, "And how bad do you need to go? Can't you hold it in a bit? Aren't you forgetting the restroom upstairs as well?"

Kairi turned to me with an expression that looked so...vulnerable. She seemed to have suddenly remembered about the bathroom upstairs and sprinted to go use it. I followed her upstairs, watching her slam her fist onto the door.

"The door is stuck," she yelled.

I come closer to her. "Kairi, it's okay. You can use the bathroom after Roxas is done."

Kairi turned to me, and what I saw had shocked me. Tears were falling from her eyes, endlessly creating a puddle of salty water. She grabbed onto the front of my shirt with both hands and pulled me closer as her head faced the ground, crying loudly. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around her.

"T-the bathroom is the only place..." she sobbed.

"The only place?"

"It's the only place I'm allowed to cry."

I had no idea why Kairi was crying, but I held onto her tighter, trying to give her comfort and stop her tears from falling. I've never seen Kairi cry in front of me or anyone since the day I met her. She always came off as a girl who, despite what happened, didn't let it get to her and continued to work hard. A crying Kairi was definitely new.

Roxas came upstairs, scratching the back of his head. "Err...the restroom is free now, so...yeah."

I shook my head. "I think Kairi's staying here." I looked down at Kairi and spoke softly. "How about we call Sora? I'm sure having you boyfriend here would definitely help you, right?"

"No!" Her voice was sharp. "Sora...he can't know about this, so please, don't tell him anything. Don't make him come over. Sora can't see me."

After tucking Kairi into bed, Roxas and I stood outside her bedroom. I turned to him, very confused. "Why does she not want Sora to come? He's her boyfriend, for crying out loud. Did we fail at getting them together? Oh my."

"Maybe she doesn't want Sora to see her cry because it would be the first time?" Roxas suggested.

"Why would it be the first time? They've known each other since they were kids."

Roxas shrugged. "Maybe Kairi isn't comfortable crying in front of others, especially Sora. After all, she frantically tried to go to the bathroom to cry. How often does she suddenly leave to 'use the restroom' or something?"

I thought back to all the years I've known her. She had often suddenly left the room for various excuses, and when I told her she was strong, she strongly disagreed. Even at the convention, she left to use the restroom and never returned, and I later went to the restroom and heard sobbing.

"What could Kairi even be crying about?" I asked Roxas, like he knew the answer to every question life has to offer.

"You know her better than I do. Dig through your memory and find that answer."

Now he's acting like a fortune cookie. I tried to recall what happened before Kairi would suddenly leave, saying she really needed to use the restroom. Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks that feel from the sky. Kairi was always on her phone, talking to someone from work. She had been promoted recently as well.

"Oh my gosh," I said out loud. "It's her job; that's why she's been crying her eyes out, Roxas!"

Roxas nodded. "The very thing you still need to get. Your cellphone is ringing by the way." He pointed to the device in my pocket that was vibrating.

I quickly pulled it out of my pocket and answered the call. "H-hello? A-ah, is that so? Okay then. I really hope I don't disappoint you! Three o' clock it is then..." I pressed the end button and shoved the phone back into my pocket, grinning.

"Did you get the job?" Roxas asked me, almost smiling.

"No, I get to go in for a interview!" I squealed excitedly as I jumped up into the air and embraced him "I'm so happy I could just die right now. I have to get changed right now and fill up the gas tank and...!"

Roxas stared at me, twitching slightly as he tried to push me off. "You...are touching me. Every single time I'm with you, you just have to touch me! How old are you again...?" He shook his head. "Anyway, what about Kairi? Are you just going to leave her to me while you run off to your interview? You are really Kairi's best-est friend forever-est then."

I quickly let go of Roxas, my face red. "Sorry!"

Roxas sighed and then opened the door to Kairi's room, confusing me quite a bit. As I called at his name, he shut the door behind him as he went to my best friend. I wonder what he was going to say to her.

I waited outside the room as Kairi and Roxas talked, hoping he was able to cheer her up. As I leaned against the door, it occurred to me that Roxas only talked to me. I had sort of envisioned that after we got Sora and Kairi together, we'd be good enough friends, and he and I could go around meeting new people, but we still haven't moved much from who we were when we met. He hasn't even had a one-one conversation with Kairi or Sora yet. I must have been lousy at this.

I fell over as the door behind me open, my head landing right in front of Roxas's feet. I looked up to see his face looking down at mine with an expression that showed confusion and "I don't even want to know vibes."

"You look like a pervert who is trying to look up a girl's skirt right now, Naminé."

I quickly sat up and faced him. "I'm not pervert! I wasn't trying to look at you inappropriately! Don't think wrong of me!"

"As much as I'd like to play the 'Naminé is ten-eight on the hot/crazy scale" game, but I actually need to do something now," Roxas said, heading downstairs and out the door.

"Hot/crazy scale?" I repeated to myself. "I...don't get it all."

I would later learn that Roxas had meant I was an eight in hotness and ten in craziness.

I looked at the clock and saw it was nearing three, and if I wanted to make it to the interview, I should leave the house at that moment. But, with one look at Kairi's room, I knew that I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't regret my decision.

The car ride back to the house was silent for the most part as Roxas drove Sora over there. Roxas kept his eyes on the road the entire time as Sora glanced at Roxas every few moments, curious on where Roxas was taking him.

"This is the road we take to get to Kairi's house," Sora pointed out.

"Yeah, it is."

There was silence once more. Sora sighed and looked out he window. "Is this about Naminé or Kairi? I won't forgive you if you hurt either of them."

"It's about Kairi."

This caught Sora''s attention. He whipped his head to look at Roxas now. "Is she alright? What's wrong with her? This has to be serious if you're taking me here out of the blue like this."

"She's sad, and I think she'd be less sad if you were by her side. Kairi's been crying her eyes out over a work overload. Apparently, ever since she was promoted, she's been working ten times more than before and it's killing her. You need to talk to her," Roxas informed Sora.

Sora's eyes widened as he heard this, looking down as Roxas finished speaking. "But I'm no good at it, talking to someone who is crying...I can say 'it'll be alright' and all, but what do I know? It never seems to make them feel any better." He sighed. "I'm horrible at dealing with people when they start with the waterworks."

"So?" Roxas said, not seeing the problem. "Kairi doesn't need someone to tell her everything will be alright and that work is going to get better for her. She knows that she can quit her very, very well-paying job anytime if things ever got too hard. She needs someone to sit down and listen to the crap she has to put up at her job and finally let all that rage out. She's been keeping it all in for so long because of you, you know? Kairi knows how much it makes you feel uncomfortable when somebody cries."

"How exactly do you know all this? Did you read Kairi's mind or something?" the brunet asked, eyebrow raised. "Oh my god, you're an esper; that makes so much sense now!"

Roxas's sweat dropped. "Seriously? How does that make any sense at all?" He sighed and parked the car in front of the house. "There's a thing called 'talking to girl' too, you know. Well, I didn't actually really need to talk because she was just screaming all that and sobbing on how she didn't want you to come. That's why I had to bring you immediately. As much as I'd like to listen to Kairi rant and cry, I think a boyfriend should take the reins."

"That doesn't make much sense to me at all," Sora replied. "Why bring me here when she told you not to? She might actually want to be alone."

"Girls lie," the blond stated. He then lifted his arm and pointed toward Kairi's room on the second floor. "Now get in there."

Sora smiled and nodded, running into the house. "You're a good friend, Roxas!"

Roxas sat back in his car, surprised at what Sora just said to him. A small smile appeared on his face as the brunet disappeared from his view.

Sora opened the door to Kairi's room quickly, slamming it. He looked around the room at the butterfly wallpaper, giving off vibes that a young girl lived in the room. He found the redhead curled up in a ball on her bed, the covers being completely pink with blue butterflies. He sat next to her, silent as she sobbed.

"S-sora...please go away. Please don't look at me. I'm really sorry," she sniffed. "Just wait until tomorrow, and I'll be smiling again. When the sun comes up tomorrow, I'll be the happy Kairi you like instead of this mess."

Sora stared at her. "You think that just because you're feeling emotional and depressed enough to cry, you think I don't like you anymore? Okay, maybe if I had to choose between the two Kairi's, I'd choose Happy Kairi, but really, I'm perfectly fine with this one. You're still my girlfriend."

"You hate it when people are like this," she said as she buried her face into her knees even more. "This Kairi would make you disgusted, and you wouldn't even want to be near this wreck. You'll break up with her for sure."

"Is that what you think?" Sora asked, falling back onto the bed to lie down. "Hm, I still like both Kairi's very much, and I don't want to break up with either of them. Heh, it sounds like I'm two-timing." When Kairi didn't give a response, Sora repeated the last word even louder. "Two-timing, two-timing, TWO-TIMING!"

Kairi whipped her head to look at Sora, glaring at him. "Oh my god, I heard you the first time! You better not to be two-timing on me or you'll definitely wake up somewhere in Atlantica!"

"Your face is no longer hidden! Success!" Sora cheered. "I guess I'm still doing a bad job at this comforting thing because it seems I'm the only one who is happy right now. It's strange, normally, I'd be feeling super awkward and uncomfortable, but it's different now. Maybe cause I'm older now than that ten-year-old who left your house without even saying goodbye. Boy, wasn't he stupid to keep running away every time you'd cry?" He took in a deep breath. "Tell me about work, Kairi."

The redhead's gaze softened and rested her head on her knees once more. "No. I'll bore you to sleep."

"Then it's better to sleep with your girlfriend beside you," he replied, grabbing Kairi by the back of her shirt and pulling her down to lie down next to him on the bed. Her body flopped onto the bed, causing a loud thud sound. "Now it's more comfortable to sleep, am I right? Tell me about work now."

Kairi stared into the Sora's eyes, more tears coming as she opened her mouth. "It really sucks. Ever since the promotion, I just...hate this. They all keep calling me and tell me I have to come in and help out, and every time I go in there, I feel like killing myself. There's so much pressure, and I started to forget to bring in my designs lately. There's more hours, and the pay is good and all but I'm not sure if I can handle it. I just want to change into someone else who can walk into that place without feeling the need to break down. I don't know what I..."

Sora hugged her tightly as she spilled everything to him, soaking his shirt with her hot tears.

After Sora pushed me aside to get into Kairi's room, I ended up going outside for a breather, seeing Roxas still in his parked car. I walked up to the male blond, asking him if he brought Sora here. He gave a sarcastic response that Sora flew here with his superpowers. I laughed and sat in the car right next to him.

"Thank you for everything you do for me, Sora, and Kairi. I really wish I'm able to do something for you that can even compare to what you've done for me. Maybe I could find a way to turn you into a real dragon," I giggled.

"Please, Naminé, I can't even compare to those majestic creatures. It would be an insult to them if I tried to become one," Roxas said in a very serious tone. And he calls me crazy. "Just...keep doing what you're doing right now, being a one-woman show everywhere we go. It's just awesome because some people pay munny to see that kind of stuff, and I get it everyday for free."

I rolled my eyes. "So...did you see Teenage Wasteland the other night? Can you believe how awesome their bands sound? Who do you think will win?"

"Definitely the Oathkeepers – they are entirely consisted of the Hikari household," Roxas replied.

"Huh, I think the Advent Children will win. It would be a better twist, and it would really be interesting to see how everyone reacts to that."

I don't exactly remember everything Roxas and I said or how long Sora and Kairi were in her room alone together, but I know the next day, Kairi came up to me looking happier than the night she got together with Sora and started yelling:

"I got demoted!"

I found it odd that she was cheering and felt happy to be demoted from her position in the fashion industry, but it was understandable considering how stressed out it made her before. She told us that there was a lot less pressure on her since she got demoted, and she could actually enjoy working and remember why she wanted to work in the fashion industry again. The four of us celebrated with drinks at a nearby bar, drinking till the end of the night. I ended up getting really drunk, so I don't remember all the details. However, according to Roxas, it went as:

"I love life," I said, after finishing another shot. "I just love it. It's so life-like, and it's fun. There's insurance for it too! Isn't it great? I mean, I love it and everything that's alive except that stuuupid bird who pooped on me when I was four. I love everyone. I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR. WHOO!"

"We love you, Drunk Naminé," Sora said, taking his phone out to record.

Kairi laughed. "Naminé, you're too cute! Don't wander off and get raped, okay?"

"This...is much better than anything on TV," Roxas said, putting down his shot.

I began to sing "Sanctuary" as loud as I could, standing up on our table. Apparently, I pulled a reluctant Roxas to sing with me, him freaking out for me to be touching him as usual. Still, he stood up there with me to make sure I didn't fall and hurt myself.

"Where fears and lies melt...what was it? Candles?"

It was needless to say I had a killer hangover the next day.

A/N: Argh. I hate this chapter. It felt rushed, despite it being maybe 1,000 words longer than an average one for me. So I hope you get that Kairi bottles up all her emotions so Sora won't leave her like he always did when they were kids. Things are a lot more prettier and awesome in my head XD Makes me worried I'll mess up on writing the climax and it'll turn out all bleh. Eh, that isn't for another seven or so chapters. Next chapter we meet Xion and a certain someone finally gets a job. There's a Roxas/Naminé too, along with a tiny detail on why Roxas hates being touched. I don't like the majority of the chapter until near the end though ^^;

When will chapter come out? I don't know O.O I delayed the release of this chapter because I spent a few days with my cousins and then a week with my other cousin, who is coming again later today to spend the night. She tends to use my computer while she's here, so I can't do anything like write or RP o3o Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you like it more than I do! See ya next time?