I wanted to go home.

I was at a popular bar in Twilight Town, trying to meet some new people. At the moment, I was talking to a this lazy blond guy who was telling about his band while sitting in a booth with him, sipping shots. Honestly, he and everyone I talked to didn't interest me enough to hold a real conversation. Well, it might not have helped that I kept mentioning the weather.

"And we're going to be playing soon at the..." he continued.

"...this weather is really something right? Clouds and...clouds," I mumbled, trying not to show lack of interest.

The man leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "You're bored aren't you?"

I scratched my head. "It was so much easier with Roxas. I'm not good with talking to new people, but I seemed to sort of know what to say with Roxas because I had the feeling I could relate to him, you know? You...whatever your name is – I'm sorry, I stopped listening to five seconds after you started talking – I can't picture us as friends. I can't picture anyone at this bar as my friend, and that annoys the hell out of me."

"Demyx," the blond repeated. "It's Demyx." He then looked up at the ceiling, emptying the shot he held into his mouth. "You really like this Roxas, huh?"

I choked my on drink, staring wide-eyed at Demyx. "Me? Like him? No. No, no, no. No. No, no, no, no, NO! I don't like Roxas that way. No, no."

"Really? Twelve no's?" Demyx looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "Why don't you at least tell me why you're here and not hanging out with him? Is he too busy tonight or something?"

"He's too busy all the time. Roxas is always spending time with Xion now. I know I can't be the only person he can hang out with, but she can't either!" I sighed. "I don't know what to do at all. He's able to still find her interesting, yet I find everyone else boring. Um, no offense."

"None taken," Demyx replied nonchalantly. He then looked at the door in the front of the bar. "Hey, what does Xion look like?"

I shrugged. "Short black hair, blue eyes, kind of my height but maybe taller, wears all black, and all. Why?"

"She's behind you right now."

I didn't know what to say to Xion when I first met her. She seemed very shy, and I didn't want to greet her first, leaving an awkward silence. We were at the mall, not really planning to buy anything really, when she came up to us and greeted Roxas.

"Naminé, this is Xion, someone I knew from high school," Roxas explained hastily.

"Someone you knew? I think we go a little farther than just that," Xion told Roxas, smiling slightly.

Xion looked like she was in her mid-twenties and it made sense for her to know Roxas in high school. I wondered what he was like in high school and if Roxas was also so...Roxas. Now I'm using his name as an adjective. Great.

Xion turned to Roxas and she held his hand. The thing that bothered me the most was that he didn't freak out and push her away one bit, though he seemed a bit uncomfortable. "How have you been, Roxas?"

"Fine, I guess," Roxas replied, shrugging. "I've been doing okay since I left school. I ended up going for a career as a mailman because I don't have to interact with too many people, until recently that is."

"Hm."

Xion then looked at me, trying to read me like some textbook you really want to throw down into the toilet. I already didn't like her.

I didn't see Roxas for a week because he was spending his time catching up with Xion. I tried to come off as very calm, collected, and indifferent when Roxas told me he couldn't hang out because he needed to talk to Xion alone...again.

"Me? Upset? Pfft, no! No, no, no. I'm perfectly fine with this because you need to time with Xion. After all, it's been so long since high school right? I am perfectly fine with everything. In fact, I'm going to eat a bagel. You should eat a bagel later too! Bagels are nice. I bet if I asked them to hang out instead, they'd happily come with me before I gobble them down, am I right?"

"...are you okay?"

Xion sighed as we talked at our group gathering to see the new action movie that came out recently. She was coming with Roxas, but last minute, he bailed saying he was busy or something. Thus, with Sora and Kairi are in couple-mode and sticking together, I was stuck with Xion. I should have postponed getting Sora and Kairi together.

"Naminé, I really hope you're okay with my one-on-one sessions with Roxas. I feel that they are really needed to bring full closure on past events. Sometimes, things get a little intense, and I've noticed once I bring up you, he seems to become a bit uneasy."

"I'm not quite sure I follow," I admitted. "It's fine that closure needs to be found, and I think it's completely understandable."

"If you want, we could have one-on-one sessions as well. From what I see, you're also a person who might want to see me," Xion told me.

...is a one-on-one session a euphemism for something? Get your mind out of the gutter, Naminé! I quietly answered, "No thank you."

I wanted to talk to Roxas instead.

I entered the bar in hopes of finding someone new to hang out with, only to meet the oddest bunch of people I've ever seen. Sadly, I don't think I met anyone who I wanted to be friends with. In front of me was a man watching video on his phone, smiling stupidly.

"What are you watching?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"My wife is doing the dishes, and she recorded it for me to watch."

I looked over at the screen, my eyes wide. "Who are those two naked people?"

"Mr. and Ms. Dish."

The man next to me with long black hair styled into dreadlocks began telling me of the most recent thing that happened to him after I asked how he was doing. I seriously regretted trying to start up a conversation with him now.

"Blood. Everywhere. We're all thinking the same thing: what do we do? We might have just killed a guy, and without him, we're still lost in that wasteland. He was the only one who knew the directions to the castle anyway," he continued.

My eyes were stuck on the lunatic in front of me. "Did the police ever see you guys about the whole 'killed a guy' thing?"

"Nope. Right after that, we just left him there to bleed to death while we went to find the castle. Police haven't caught us till this day."

I scooted away from him and patted the counter awkwardly. "Well, I best be going right now. I think I need to make a phone call..."

"He was so annoying that I just stabbed him in the leg with a fork," the older woman went on, tossing her medium length blond hair back. "I swear I saw blood and...are you giving me a funny look? If you are, you're really annoying me right now."

Crap. "A-ah! No, I'm not!"

That was the night I'll forever remember as the night I was stabbed in the leg with a fork.

Xion sat down in our booth and shyly greeted me with a handshake. Demyx got up as soon as she arrived and left, saying he needed to use the restroom. Us two girls were now alone, creating an awkward silence resembling the one when we first met.

"Naminé, are you alright? Roxas and I have noticed you haven't been in the best of moods lately. I can definitely try to help you get over whatever is bothering you, and we can find solutions together as a team," she told me, looking me straight in the eye.

"Me in a bad mood? Me? As if," I tried to sound casual and uncaring. "So...why aren't you with Roxas right now? Can't really leave your boyfriend behind or he might get taken away by some bimbo."

Xion blinked once, her eyes showing much confusion. "Boyfriend?"

"Oh, I guess you two aren't back together yet. Sorry, I mean ex-boyfriend then," I replied.

Xion shook her head. "I'm nothing like that to Roxas. Is that the thing that's bugging you? I'm just friends with Roxas, Naminé. We knew each other in high school because I was the school's counselor. Roxas had to see me every week to try to overcome his problems from his old home. It took weeks before he would say anything to me, and he's still not as open to me when he's with you. I've seen the way he looks at you when you two talk. He trusts you."

I was in complete shock. "Eh, school counselor? How is that even possible? Aren't you his age? You look like you're in your mid-twenties!"

"I do? I'm forty-three, Naminé."

I fell out of my chair, obviously overwhelmed by this revelation. When I got up, Xion was smiling at me warmly. This time, I really looked at Xion. Now, I could see the traces of age on her face and the reason she seemed to hold a lot of knowledge. She had no ill intentions and simply wanted to be Roxas's friend, leaving me with no reason to be upset.

"Roxas tells me you're unemployed," Xion began. What, are you telling the whole world? "I don't think you'd want to work at a high school, nor do you have the education for it, but I have a friend who works at this advertising agency and they could always need some interns. If you work hard, you could be promoted and end up on their creative team. Roxas told me you majored in art and design in college, so why not go for it? After talking to them and showing them your updated resume that Roxas did, you got a job now."

My jaw dropped in disbelief. I thanked Xion profusely and apologized for the misunderstanding. Afterward, I took a cab to Roxas's apartment. I've never really been inside before, but I remember dropping him off there a lot. I retraced the steps he always took to find out which door was his. Finally, I knocked onto his door.

When I saw Roxas, he was dressed in dragon pajamas. I ended up laughing at him as he reluctantly let me in, muttering something about I should call him first before coming over. I noticed his apartment was very neat as if no one even lived there. Right, Roxas seemed to hate any sign of dirt, though he's been less obsessive about it lately. After I asked, Roxas showed me his dragon collection in his room. I've never seen so many unopened boxes of dragon figures surrounded by key chains, books, plush dolls, and more before. I saw the key chain I bought for him hanging on the wall behind it, placed in plain view and away from the clustered mess.

"Um, thank you, Roxas, for everything you do for me. I can't believe you helped me get a job just like that," I said. "You're really a great, great guy. Whoever gets you as her boyfriend is going to be very lucky."

"Boyfriend? Please, I don't think I'm even so to being ready for that. I barely can hold someone's hand without freaking out inwardly or outwardly."

"Yet you can hold Xion's hand so easily..." I muttered quietly under my breath.

Suddenly, I felt fingers wrapping around my hand, very loose at first but tighter as several seconds past. It was a warm feeling, traveling through my hand, causing me to look at Roxas, who held his face to his face to ground and away from me. He was holding my hand.

"Xion...and you are different – very different. I...I know I can trust you two. You're safe...you're safe..." he mumbled. "My god, it's so hot, like a fire burning my hand. This is why I hate being touched, other than that she comes to mind."

She? I was going to ask who she was, but I could already see Roxas struggling with this already. "It burns like a fire? Okay...then let's hold hands long enough till we're the same temperature, so it's not too hot anymore."

Roxas and I stood there in the dark of his apartment, holding hands. If I wanted to go anywhere with anyone or anything, I had to take baby steps. Maybe one day I could get Roxas to like me back.

A/N: This chapter feels kinda short. One of the unnamed people Naminé met at the bar will be in the next chapter. Want to take a guess? I'm still writing the next chapter, kinda stuck on the scenes where I describe Naminé at work. Next chapter will be about her first day and there's this subplot going on where Sora gets angry at Roxas.

Pfft, why must Xion be the girl who knew Roxas in the past trying to win him back? Can't she be the forty-three-year-old counselor for him?

Blargh, I need more writing inspiration. I feel brain dead. Next chapter will come out as soon as I figure out how to write Nami at work. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! :) See ya next time!