I gave up on my summary-pasting.
"Hey, um, Namine," Olette waved politely as she approached the blonde-haired girl, sketching something on her sketchbook, "is it okay if you drop by Tidus' school to tell him that I won't be able to cook lunch for them?"
Namine raised her eyebrows curiously, but upon seeing the brunette's pleading eyes, she obliged. "Okay, thanks, and tell him that I'm sorry."
"Sure, sure." Her friend replied, closing her sketchbook, "but what for?"
"Ah…detention."
"D-Detention?" Namine was taken aback by her friend'ss reply. "B-But why?"
"I sort of got into a tussle with Roxas. But it's okay; I can do my work, study and maybe think of tomorrow's meal!" Olette chirped merrily, reassuring her friend.
Namine grinned. "So…detention with Roxas Strife?"
"Yeah, something like that."
The blonde's eyes sparkled wildly, and Olette rolled her eyes. "You're not thinking of drawing the two of us together now, aren't you?"
A giggle escaped from her lips. "N-No!"
"…I hope so."
"You kiss her and then you get detention. Classic, man, just classic." Axel laughed teasingly, elbowing Roxas fervently.
"I'm not laughing." The blonde-haired boy glared menacingly at the redhead, who simply continued to grin.
Demyx smiled softly. "Weeeell, I'm just glad she didn't kill us. She's a tough lil' girl!" He nervously scratched his head, before stroking in place his mullet-styled hair.
"Whatever, Dem." Roxas spat, as he shoveled his spaghetti into his mouth feverishly. His thoughts wandered to his kiss with Olette. Dammit.
But then…somehow, it feels sort of…nice.
Wait, did I just call it nice?!
Roxas scowled at his now empty bowl, before crying out in anger, banging his head on the table and covering his face (or shame) with his blonde bangs. His two friends eyed him curiously. Axel dismissed it as 'he just expected his first kiss to be from a more…respectable girl', while Demyx decided not to say anything, choosing to play with his own hair.
Olette sighed, clutching at her empty stomach as she watched Namine nibble on her sandwich. Kairi, another friend of hers (though not as close as Namine and Olette together; they've been friends for 10 years and counting) was looking forlornly at her sandwich.
"Olette, you SURE you can survive without lunch?" Kairi asked, and Namine looked up from her sandwich to glance at Olette.
"Sure, sure. I do this all the time." The brunette assured the girl, and Namine nodded her head.
"Yep. The Iron Fist can handle severe hunger." The blonde joked, nudging Olette, "but if you want something anyway, I have a cereal bar!"
"Nah-!"
Kairi snatched up the cereal bar and tossed it to Olette carelessly. It was about to land on the ground to its crushing doom, when the brunette quickly but gently swerved the bar into her hands effortlessly. She smiled triumphantly, and Kairi gaped in surprise. Namine simply continued to nibble her sandwich.
"Kairi, meet Olette, your princess of fighting."
Marluxia was a very strange man, with long violet hair, prominent curvy hips, extreme make-up and what seemed to be an inflatable chest, for there was a string falling out of his shirt sleeve. He was wearing a tight black sleeveless shirt that showed off his massively built arms, and he was constantly flicking his hair behind him as he struggled to read his book.
The worst part was that Marluxia was the detention teacher.
As Roxas nervously reported to the man, Marluxia let out a small squeal of delight. "Why, hello, Roxas. A pleasure to see you today in detention!"
He smirked flirtatiously, and Roxas squirmed in his position. Axel, who was outside watching the scene, burst out laughing madly.
"Y-Yes, sir."
"Ooo, talk about kinky." Marluxia grinned, leaning forward. The blonde could only manage a polite smile.
"Well, we'll have some FUN togeth-" the man was abruptly cut off by Olette, who barged into the room hurriedly.
"Ah, er, sorry Mr …"
"Call me Marley, gorgeous." Marluxia smiled, as he gestured for the duo to sit in front of him.
"R-Right."
As Marluxia continued reading while sneaking occasional glances and winks at Roxas and Olette, the blonde tugged nervously at the hem of his shirt, and he scribbled something down on a piece of paper, before passing it to Olette.
He's so gay. (A/N: Roxas' words will be underlined; Olette's will be italic!)
The brunette raised her eyes quizzically, before breaking into a small smile. She pulled out her Biology textbook from her bag as a safety precaution (besides, she told herself, I haven't read up on it) and scribbled an answer.
Yeah. I have to admit that. 'Marley' says it all.
Roxas grinned, and his eyes flashed from mischief to that of sincerity, to Olette's surprise. He mouthed a 'sorry about today' to the girl.
I mean, about the kiss and all.
Olette cocked her head at Roxas.
You apologise?
Hey, I'm not such a badass guy, okay?
Sure. How's your eye?
Roxas rubbed his eye, wincing slightly. "I'm fine." He whispered.
Just then, Marluxia's head snapped up suddenly, causing the two to jump in their seats. "Anything that you would like to discuss with me?"
Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but Olette quickly replied, "We're discussing our Biology." She held up her book for him to see, "Yup, digestion to be more specific."
The blonde added on, smiling with ease, "So if you'll excuse us, we'll be at the back so you wouldn't be disturbed!"
He took Olette's hand gingerly, causing the girl to blush lightly, picked up his bag and Olette's before shuffling over to the back of the classroom, out of hearing range for teachers.
The duo sat down, and they smiled at each other warmly. "So…are you REALLY gonna study?"
"Yeah," Olette whispered, her head ducked down low to avoid detection, "but you have to let go of my hand first…"
"Oh, er, okay. Sorry." He uttered back, before letting go of her hand. Olette pulled it back, flexing her fingers.
"B-But," Roxas started, before Olette flipped open her biology textbook, "can you tutor me on, er, Geography?"
The girl raised her eyebrows. "Geography tutoring? I'm not THAT good, but…"
"GREAT! Uh, I mean, thanks. It's just for today's detention, you know. Besides," Roxas ruffled his own hair sheepishly, "I THINK there's a test on that, er, coasts or something."
"…That was yesterday. And there aren't any other Geography tests…"
Roxas smacked his forehead. "Why the HECK did I ask her to even tutor me?!"
"You know what? Never mind, I don't really wanna spend my time doing work." He muttered, before sinking down into his seat, wondering if he needed some mental check-up.
Olette didn't reply, as she opened her textbook, slowly leafing through the pages, studying every detail while taking down notes with her pencil, which she had conveniently tucked behind her ear.
The boy slumped back into his seat, examining the classroom. The tables and chairs were aligned rather neatly, save for the few tables that Roxas had shoved aside impatiently on his way to the back of the classroom. He looked up and noticed the notice-board, creatively decorated with flowers, trees, hearts…
In fact, there was one heart right in the middle of the two of them. Behind Olette was a huge towering tree, with countless leaves on its branches. It was as though Olette was leaning on the tree, studying Biology. "Fitting."
Roxas looked up and he saw a stray crown right above his head. He smirked contentedly.
"Prince, huh." He thought smugly to himself, stretching his legs and arms.
"Hey, Olette," Roxas whispered hastily, and Olette's head jerked up from her book, "there's a heart right between us. AND, I have a crown!"
He gestured at the crown behind him, and as he posed for the girl to see the crown above his head, she couldn't help but blush slightly at the heart.
"Right, so you're Prince Charming?" Olette asked sarcastically, her eyebrows raised and her thin lips pulled into a smile.
"Obviously, with my good looks and all." Roxas replied, stroking his gravity-defying spikes lovingly. He leaned back even more.
"Oh, how I would die to be your princess." The girl muttered ever-so sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She looked at Roxas and smiled softly.
Roxas felt his cheeks burn up suddenly. "W-Well," he tried to come up with a quirky reply, "Prince Charming here is, and will always be a bachelor with girls kissing at his feet!"
"Yeah, right." Olette muttered, twirling a strand of her hair casually, "I bet that someday, a girl will change that."
"In what sense?"
"Well, for starters, you'll want to marry her, you would die if you became a bachelor without her, and…" Olette glanced straight into Roxas' sapphire eyes, glinting with mild curiosity, "you'll be saying 'I love you' to her. You'll love her like a mouse loves his grain of rice."
" 'Jiu xiang lao shu ai da mi.' (A/N: That would be 'Just like the mouse loves his rice' in Chinese.) Heh," Roxas spoke in fluent Chinese, before he grinned, "But I would never do that."
Olette leaned towards him, her lips forming a huge grin. "I'll bet on it. You'll say 'I love you' to someone."
"Not a guy!" Roxas joked, turning to face Olette and leaning towards her as well. Their noses almost touched. "I'll treat you if I say that three words to a girl." He muttered, as he brought his face closer to hers. Their noses clashed, but Olette didn't notice.
"Sure. It's a deal." Olette agreed, as the two shook hands eagerly.
"Wow, wow…" Marluxia's eerie voice echoed through the room, sending a chill down the duo's spines. "So…is your DIPLOMATIC agreement over?"
"Uh..." Roxas trailed off, and when he saw Olette nodding her head furiously, he looked back at Marluxia, "Yes, sir."
"Ohhh, that 'sir' from you, Roxas, is music to my ears!" Marluxia said, his voice high-pitched to emphasise on it.
Roxas could only cough while Olette struggled to muffle her laugh.
"ANYWAY…" Marluxia waved his hand at the clock, and placed his other hand on his hip, "Detention's over as well. So, ta-ta!"
He strutted out of the room, his hips swaying. Olette and Roxas exchanged glances.
"He's gay, alright." Olette muttered, as the two walked out.
Olette and Roxas walked out of the school gate side by side, when Roxas saw his dad's car parked right in front.
Cloud simply glared at his son, but his face lit up at the girl beside him. He got out of the car, placing an arm casually over his son, and looked at Olette.
"Hello." He uttered, almost spat, and Olette tried to maintain her composure. If she was going to scream in panic, she would just kill herself some other time.
"Uh, heheh, hello Mr Strife." She smacked herself mentally, and she bought out her hand for a handshake. "I'm Olette. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
Cloud shook his hand with the girl, releasing Roxas from his half-hearted embrace. And…Cloud SMILED at Olette WARMLY.
"Same to you too, Olette." Cloud glared at Roxas with his you-will-explain-to-me-after-this look, before looking at Olette, "Would you like a lift?"
"Ah, no thanks, I have to pick up some groceries…" Olette trailed off when she saw her empty wallet. She sighed softly, rubbing her eyes, "or not."
What will be for dinner?!
She envisioned Wakka and Tidus, clutching their stomachs as they look around for scraps of food around the house. Her mother would be trying to get up to do something about it, but she would be dealing a huge blow to her condition.
Olette bit her lip, but she let a tear fall down. Roxas jumped. "O-Olette…"
The girl rubbed her eyes angrily. "I-I'm fine." She looked up at the father-son pair, the son with a confused expression, and his father with his cold, stoic look softening.
"Sorry." She bent her head in remorse.
"I…have a voucher that entitles a free day's trip of groceries from some grocery store nearby. I won it." Cloud offered, as Olette's face brightened up. He couldn't help but smile. "You can have it. I don't have a need for groceries anyway."
Cloud took out his wallet, a stylish-looking leather wallet with intricate designs, and fished out the voucher, before taking Olette's hand and placing it in her palm.
"Y-You sure? I mean, I can't really accept it from you." Olette whispered.
"Then…" Cloud looked at Roxas, and back at Olette, "accept it from Roxas, then." He nodded his head, keeping his wallet slowly. "Surely you can accept a gift from your classmate?"
Olette looked at Roxas, and then at Cloud. "T-Thank you, sir."
"Thank Roxas." He said, gesturing to the smaller blonde, "and please, Mr Strife would do. I'll drop you off at the grocery store; is that okay, Olette?"
"No need, S- I mean, Mr Strife. I'll need to check with my siblings and my mother on what they need."
"Then we'll drop you off at your place!" Roxas quickly added, to Cloud's surprise.
"But-!"
"You're welcome, Olette!" Sora, who had been listening all along in the car, wound down the window to tell her.
"So, Olette," Cloud started, as he sat next to the driver, "where do you live?"
Olette slid into the seat shyly, as Roxas sat next to her. She looked around the limousine. The seats were arranged such that the passengers were facing each other, and there was a small table in between the two rows of seats. Sora smiled politely, and Roxas mouthed 'it'll be alright' to her.
"Uh," Olette replied, "it's rather hard to find it, because normally you wouldn't expect such a house. It's on Oblivion Lane."
Cloud muttered an "okay", before firing rapid instructions in Italian to the driver. Soon, the limousine started its drive out.
Meanwhile, Sora decided to introduce himself.
"Hey, Olette, I'm Sora, nice to meet ya!" the boy stuck out his hand, and Olette shook it, smiling. "And as you know, that's Roxas, my YOUNGER brother!"
Before Olette could even smile in response, Sora started babbling about Roxas, "Roxas usually glares at the other passengers, so I'm used to introducing him right after me! And did you know that Roxas is younger than me by a few minutes? I was born minutes before the new year, and Roxas was born minutes AFTER the new year, so now we're in different grades! Isn't that AWESOME?"
Olette giggled. She felt Roxas nudge her hand urgently, and he slipped a note next to her.
Sora's gay with Riku. Just like Marluxia.
Roxas smirked, and Olette grinned. Sora glared at the two of them, and pouted at Roxas, "Tell meeeeeee!"
"I told her that you have this thing for Reeeeek-"
"YOU TOLD HER ABOUT RIKU?!"
"I was about to say Reeking Stuff. Since you smell all the time."
"...Right…ah."
Roxas elbowed Olette playfully.
Point proven, he's gay.
Yep.
Oh yeah, care to explain about groceries?
Olette looked at him forlornly, before shaking her head.
Not now; not ever, maybe.
Roxas frowned, but he didn't probe further.
As the car swerved into Oblivion Lane, Olette pointed to a run-down house, with the paint peeling off, and the gates slightly dented. "There's my house."
"…House?" Cloud questioned, eyeing the house. Roxas and Sora gaped at the state of her home, though Sora made it more obvious.
Olette ignored the three males. "Yes. Thank you very much for the ride, Mr Strife. I really appreciate it. And thanks a lot for the voucher too!"
Cloud nodded his head, before Olette opened the door herself. Stepping out of the car, she swung her bag behind her, and she waved gratefully to Roxas, Sora and Cloud.
Roxas and Cloud simply nodded meekly in response, though Roxas grinned at her after that, while Sora waved happily, "Byeeeee!"
With that, the limousine sped off into the distance. The brunette quickly leapt over the fence, gracefully landing on the disheveled garden, and she ran into her home.
"Home!" Olette announced, as waved the voucher in the air. "We can get our groceries for tonight for free! What do you guys want?"
"CHICKEN AND FISH!" Tidus cheered, as he wheeled Wakka into the living room to greet their sister. Tidus hugged his sister tightly, and Wakka patted her hand.
"We'll have a feast today!" Olette smiled, looking at the voucher. "And we can stock up our fridge!"
"Can we buy cookies?" Tidus asked innocently, his eyes sparkling with sheer glee. Olette nodded her head eagerly.
"Anything for my brothers." She whispered, clutching the voucher tightly in her hand, almost breaking down in happiness.
Cloud coughed, as he leered at Roxas from the mirror. "You have explaining to do, young man."
"Uh…Olette and I got into a fight."
"…You two were DATING?!"
"NO! It's not the oh-I-absolutely-hate-you-as-a-girlfriend sort of fight, it's the I-want-to-gorge-your-eyeballs-out sort of fight!"
Cloud rolled his eyes. "You got her in trouble or agitated her because you did something, didn't you?"
That was something Roxas couldn't say no to. "Yes."
"I KNEW IT!" Sora snapped loudly at Roxas, as the car pulled over in front of their grand house, where two servants gingerly stepped forward to help open the door. Roxas stormed out of the car, as his own personal servant (he never knew the guy's name though, preferring to call his servant with a snap of a finger) hurried behind him.
Sora leapt out of the car, and he skipped into the house, while his servant tagged along hurriedly. Cloud got out last, as he picked up his laptops, files and his briefcase, two servants were summoned to help him out.
Aerith was waiting inside, maintaining a bright smile as Roxas threw himself onto the sofa, sulking. He barked in French for his servant to get him a drink and to put his bag in the room, and the servant obliged quickly with a stiff bow.
His mother shook her head, her hair swishing to the side. "Roxas, you shouldn't boss them around like that…"
Roxas scoffed. "They were PAID to do this."
Aerith was about to reply, when Sora barged into the house. "Hiya Mum!" he chirped, hugging his mother voluntarily.
Cloud walked in, as he loosened his tie carelessly. Aerith giggled, and she stood up to peck him on the cheek, before helping him to…untie his tie.
"Oh Clouuuud!" Aerith pouted and she pointed at her cheek, sticking it out for Cloud. The man grunted, and he planted a stiff kiss on her cheek, whispering 'I love you' in her ear softly.
His wife grinned sheepishly, and Sora cooed. "Awwwww!" He looked at Roxas, and he stuck out his cheek, just like Aerith. "Roxas, will you do the honours?"
"…Is that supposed to be a joke? 'Cause I'm DEFINITELY not laughing here." Roxas hissed, as he slapped Sora's cheek away playfully. Sora whimpered, and Aerith kissed the brunette on the cheek. She stroked Sora's brown hair lovingly, and she strode over to Roxas, who reluctantly let her nuzzle his cheek with her nose. She kissed Roxas on his forehead, before standing up straight and clapping her hands.
Roxas smiled unconsciously, as his thoughts drifted to that day's unexpected kiss. He touched his lips and thought of Olette. His little fantasy was cut off when Sora smacked him at the back of his head. "HEY, Roxas, tired already?"
"…No."
"Right…DETENTION got you, huh?" Sora implied, as Aerith looked on, confused.
Cloud took off his jacket and tossed it to one of the servants. "About that; we'll discuss that later. Over dinner."
"Dinner will be served after you men bathe! Italian food tonight!" she quickly announced, before she shoo-ed them to their rooms to bathe. "And Roxas, we'll be hearing your little trip to detention!"
Olette and Tidus walked into the large supermarket, with Wakka in tow. "Woaaaah." Wakka gasped in amazement.
"Yeah…and it's all free here!" Olette whispered in response. She checked the terms and conditions listed on the voucher. "A maximum of…30 items. We can manage that. Okay, so what do you guys want for dinner?"
Tidus grinned, "Chicken."
"Fish." Wakka added, "Mum's favourite, y'all."
Olette picked up three cartons of eggs and placed them in the trolley, registering everything on the tattered notebook. Wakka wheeled himself over to Olette. "Okay, we'll settle our basic necessities first."
The brunette nodded, and she instructed Tidus and Wakka to pick up half of the groceries, and then pick out 5 other items. She decided to pick up the other half herself, saving one item slot for herself.
The trio parted ways, and Olette soon found herself breezing through all the aisles, picking up all the required food items. She chose the chicken and fish pieces carefully, and she swept them into the trolley, before moving on.
Soon, they finished collecting everything they needed, and they were soon armed with loads of plastic bags laden with their food.
Tidus skipped home merrily, as Wakka tried to balance all the plastic bags on his lap and around his wheelchair. "We can last for a week or so with this!"
"I haven't seen this much food in ages!" Olette exclaimed. They reached home, and they started unpacking all their groceries. The girl pulled out pots and pans and quickly cooked the fish and chicken, frying them to a perfect crisp. She garnished them with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of the lemon from yesterday's lunch. Then, she placed a fresh cabbage leaf on each of the four plates.
Scooping all plates up and balancing them skillfully on one arm, she then sent them flying onto the table with a simple flex of the arm. They landed on the table with ease.
Meanwhile, Tidus woke Mother up, before escorting her to the table. With his strong arms from playing volleyball (and captain of his school volleyball team, at that) he lifted his frail mother up with great ease. "Mum, we got you fish! It's your favourite!" Tidus exclaimed, winking.
She nodded her head meekly in response, as without a word she struggled to help herself to the chair.
"Ngh!" she lost her strength and Tidus helped her back. "T-Thank you."
Tidus gave her a reassuring thumbs-up. Then, the four settled into their chairs, before digging into the delightful meal, discussing about their day, adding on silly remarks, and recounting their funny moments.
Home.
"So, Roxas, how did detention come about?" Cloud asked, glaring at the boy, who simply gave him a blank stare.
"I got into a fight with Olette."
Aerith gasped, placing her hand over her mouth, "YOU'RE DATING A GIRL AND YOUR MUM DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT IT?!"
"I'm NOT dating her! We fought because…" The blonde looked down at his hands, "I…didn't give a proper apology. Olette; she came to see me about it and we fought."
Cloud growled, "You fought with a girl."
"I didn't land a punch!" Roxas retorted angrily, standing up and banging his fist on the table defiantly.
Cloud put down his fork, looking up at the boy. "Roxas. Sit."
Roxas growled, and he was about to yell back when Aerith silenced him with an extremely cold glare that caused even Cloud to jump.
"Roxas, do as you're told." Aerith hissed, before returning to her sweet-mum attitude.
The boy reluctantly sat back in his seat, frowning as he swallowed his food quickly. He finished his plate clean and he ran up to his room, choosing to hide in solitude.
Cloud glanced at Roxas' empty seat, placed his utensils on the table neatly, and he shuffled back into his room. "Work."
Aerith and Sora looked at each other forlornly. They fidgeted with their utensils and plates awkwardly for a moment, before the boy stood up. "I…have homework. G'night in advance, mum." With that, Sora excused himself from the table, stroding back to his room as well.
Their mother sighed softly, and she walked away from the table, to the living room, where she sat watching the television in solitude, while everyone else busied themselves with other matters aside from family.
Aerith frowned.
Home.
SECOND LONGEST CHAPTER!
REVIEW, man. Got it memorized?