Must…finish…"Jump"…before…school…starts…guh. *head clunks into desk* Well, I'll try to at least make it to Ch. 30 before school begins.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

I only own this story. Enjoy!

Xxx XXX xxX

The medical wing took up half the sixth floor of Building C, and had state of the art equipment. Said equipment, however, was apparently unnecessary to fixing up a dislocated shoulder so long as you had somebody around who knew their medicine—at least, according to the nurse.

"Hold still, dear…one more moment…"

Naminé whimpered and turned green for a moment as her shoulder shifted back into its socket. For a moment it felt as if her arm had been torn clean off her body—

Click.

"There we go."

She unclenched her teeth and sagged in relief as the pain faded—not quite gone, but almost. "Thanks, Ms. Farron," Naminé smiled, gently working her shoulder around.

The pink-haired nurse smiled back. "You're welcome, Miss Miyamoto," Nurse Serah Farron replied. "You and Mr. Heartilly had better return to your classes now."

"Yes, Ms. Farron," Axel said, motioning for Naminé to follow him out the door.

All seniors were supposed to assist the office staff for one period; as such, there were quite a few students that saw the blonde and the redhead together. Two boys filing grade reports gave Naminé and Axel confused looks as the two strode past to the elevator.

"You think they think we're together?" Axel commented in an amused tone.

"No," Naminé replied coldly.

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that…"

All Axel got for his trouble was an elbow to his stomach. The redhead just laughed at her puny attempt to hurt him.

"Now you're asking for it," he cackled, grinning mischievously.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back—

And then she was squirming and laughing in his grasp as his fingers found and ran along her sides.

"Ax—Axel, s-stop, seriously—!"

"Say uncle!"

She had never known she was that ticklish and she obviously wasn't prepared for Axel's sudden offensive, but to her credit, Naminé lasted two more seconds before giving in.

"Okay, okay, uncle, uncle!" she yelped.

Axel was laughing as he released her and she collapsed to her knees.

"You're such a wimp, you know that?" the redheaded traceur chuckled, ruffling Naminé's hair.

"And you're a dirty fighter," she grumbled, knocking his hand away from her head. "I mean, tickling? Come on! I do that to Roxas!"

The redhead smirked. "It's not dirty fighting—it's simply tactics."

She inhaled sharply.

Tactics.

Isn't that what—?

…

Seifer's smirk was unchanged. "Because unlike other people, I actually use tactics in a fight," he said, and then he nodded at Rai.

…

And where he—he—

…

Seifer smirked. "I have," he replied. "About the proper use of tactics, that is."

…

Where…he…he killed Roxas.

He killed Roxas.

He killed—

Reality came back with a rush as the noise of Axel's shouting filled her ears. Naminé awoke with a start to find herself in the redhead's arms.

"—miné, are you okay? Naminé, say something, dammit!"

Axel looked down at her with something akin to horror in his eyes. "Naminé, are you okay?"

His yelling was not helping the pounding in her head.

"Stop shouting, I'm fine," she mumbled, rubbing her forehead.

He rocked back on his heels, relief evident in his deep green eyes. "Well, good," Axel laughed somewhat nervously. "You had me worried there for a second, kiddo."

"What…what happened, anyways?" she asked, sitting up from the elevator floor.

"You passed out."

The answer was so straightforward, so blunt, that Naminé's mind couldn't quite wrap around the idea that she'd fainted from spacing out. "I passed out? You're joking."

"I usually am, but this time I'm serious," Axel said. "You started mumbling something about tactics, and then you started spacing out, and then you collapsed."

She'd fainted because of one nightmare. One nightmare.

Naminé began laughing at herself. She was even more pathetic than she'd thought—passing out over a bad dream? She'd never passed out once in her entire life, but now she was fainting at the drop of a hat. So damned pitiful…

He frowned in concern. "Naminé? Are you okay?" he asked again.

She just kept on laughing.

The elevator dinged to a halt and the doors slid open to reveal Larxene, who was holding a stack of binders. The traceuse stepped inside and quizzically arched an eyebrow at Axel.

"Axel? What're you doing here, and why are you with Naminé?" she demanded.

The artist continued laughing like a madwoman.

"She dislocated her shoulder, Ms. Branford told me to escort her to the med wing, and then she started spacing out before she fainted. Then she wakes up and starts laughing like some random nutcase."

Larxene nodded. "Right…"

"I'm not kidding!" Axel protested.

Naminé drew her knees up to her chest and began rocking and forth. Her laughter was now muffled and intertwined with choked sobs.

"I never said I doubted you," Larxene said.

"Thank you for your trust," Axel replied. Then he gestured towards Naminé. "Now will you help me calm this poor girl down?"

Upon which said 'poor girl' stopped laughing. "I'm okay now."

Xxx XXX xxX

"Where were you?" Riku hissed as Naminé slid into her seat. "It's been a half-hour since class started!"

She was uncomfortably aware of Roxas staring into her back.

"I dislocated my arm," she mumbled.

Riku's eyebrows shot sky-high. "What!"

"Quiet," Naminé hissed. "Yes, I dislocated my shoulder. You don't need to know how."

Her brother shut his mouth but not before shooting a glare at the traceur behind her, as if Riku had known all along what had gotten her injured in the first place. It wasn't like her older brother didn't already have a bone to pick with Roxas, but still.

"Did you have something to do with it?" Riku growled, glowering at the other blond.

Roxas glared right back. "What's it to you?"

"I swear, if you were the one who did this to Naminé—"

"I ask you, why would I attack her?"

"I don't know! Maybe you were trying something perverted with her!"

At this, light pink dusted both Roxas and Naminé's faces.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naminé half-shouted, grinding her teeth together. "Why do you think that Roxas would try something perverted with me?"

Mr. Leonhart cleared his throat. "Do you have something to share with the class, Miss Miyamoto?"

"No."

"Good. Now shut up and listen to my lecture."

The classroom rang with sympathetic chuckles as Naminé shrunk into her seat, her face burning cherry red. For a second Roxas looked like he was going to start teasing her, but then he closed his mouth and returned his gaze to his desk.

Wait a second—

The teacher smiled. "Leonhart, eh?" Ms. Branford remarked. "I'll tell him to excuse you, Miss Miyamoto, but could you tell him"—the teacher leaned in and her voice became a conspiratorial whisper—"that she does like him back?"

Naminé's lips curved into a mischievous smile. She raised her hand. "Mr. Leonhart?"

"What now?"

"Ms. Branford told me to give you a message."

"And what would this message of hers be?" Mr. Leonhart asked dully, although his hand instantly crushed the piece of chalk to dust.

The blonde's smile had twisted into a shit-eating grin. "She does like you back."

An ooooh drifted through the room even as Mr. Leonhart palmed his forehead. "You couldn't have waited to tell me this until after class?" he ground out.

"Who is it you like, Mr. Leonhart?"

The teacher blanched. "Uh…"

"Is it Ms. Kisaragi?"

"Is it Ms. Gainsborough?"

"Is it Mr. Wallace?"

Another ooooh.

"Good grief," Riku groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Yaoi fangirls. What have you incited, Naminé?"

The shouted speculations grew into a whirlwind of accusations, inquiries, and (quite) a few blackmail threats before Roxas spoke up.

"It's Ms. Lockhart, isn't it?"

The quiet, confident declaration turned everybody's heads to the boy behind Naminé. The blonde shrank into her seat again to make it obvious to everybody that she had not said that.

"It's Ms. Lockhart, isn't it Mr. Leonhart?" Roxas said again, the barest hint of a smirk curling one corner of his mouth. "Don't lie to me. I've caught you staring at her several times."

A third ooooh, accompanied by a few snickers. Mr. Leonhart looked like he was wishing the earth would open up and swallow him, but Naminé couldn't blame him.

Roxas narrowed his lapis eyes. "Come on, out with it."

The trigonometry teacher gritted his teeth before exhaling. "Yes, I have a crush on Ms. Lockhart," he growled. "Now all of you shut up before I get angry. You're not going to like me angry, I'll warn you now."

Everybody instantly quieted.

Xxx XXX xxX

"You fainted because of that nightmare?" Xion asked. The traceuse sounded just a bit incredulous. "Wow…"

"My sister's quite the wimp, isn't she?" Riku said. "I remember when we watched Return of the Jedi when we were kids. She was paranoid that an unmasked Darth Vader was going to break into her room and she couldn't sleep for a month."

"His face was scary!" Naminé protested, shuddering at the memory of Vader's horribly mutilated face. "All those bloody scars and burns and it was so pale…"

"It was ugly, not scary," Xion laughed. "Hell, even Sora wasn't afraid, and he was screaming like a little girl when we watched freaking 300."

"Shut up, you," Sora grumbled through a mouthful of pasta.

The four were seated at the 'parkour table', as Naminé had come to call it. Axel and Larxene had texted that they were still doing office work and wouldn't be able to come to lunch, and Zexion was volunteering at the Building C library. As such, the table built for eight and normally crowded with nine (as of Riku's arrival) had less than half its normal occupants.

That didn't stop it from being just as lively as usual, though.

"Seriously though, it was just a nightmare," Xion said. "Just put it past you and try to forget about it."

"I know, I know," Naminé sighed, poking at her fried rice. "I'm trying, but I'm not even halfway there. I mean, how would you feel if you saw your crush getting knifed?"

At the mention of the word 'crush', Riku glanced at Xion.

"Then let's try to take your mind off of it," Sora suggested, grinning mischievously. "Had a wet dream yet, Naminé?"

All three stared at the brunette boy. He shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

"You killed it," Riku sighed, shaking his head.

"Really, Sora?" Naminé sighed, shaking her head.

"Why are we sighing and shaking our heads when we could be dissing him with everything we've got?" Xion asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naminé considered for a moment. "Good point."

"You're such a pervert, man," Riku smirked. The platinum blond boy leaned forward. "Got a thing for my sister, do you?"

"Look who's talking," Sora retorted.

Xion glanced at Riku even as the elder Miyamoto turned beet red. Sora just smirked as Riku began spluttering denials and exhortations for Sora to shut up or be executed.

"So you really do have a crush on her," Naminé smiled. "Why don't you go on and tell her, Riku?"

"I don't have a crush on anybody!" her older brother declared.

"Bullshit," Sora chuckled. "You were looking at her rack just now."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. She hadn't noticed that, but she knew that Sora was not one to lie. And it might be better to add in an observation she'd made herself of Riku's wandering gaze.

"I caught you looking at her legs, too," the blonde said.

"Did not!"

"Did too. You probably spent a good hour in your bunk after that too."

"And what the heck is that supposed to mean?"

The artist was very much enjoying dissing her older brother. It wasn't often that she got the best of him—it was usually him who mocked her. The utter confusion on Xion's face was somehow also rather satisfying for Naminé.

She smiled demurely. "Well, make what you will of that."

"Shut up," he growled.

"That's a taken line," Sora remarked.

"Since when was 'shut up' a so-called taken line?"

"Ever since I said it the first time in this conversation."

Riku began spluttering again. "You—you can't copyright a phrase!"

"Says you."

Ah, good times, good times…almost like back before—

There he was.

Naminé stood, wide-eyed, as Roxas stepped inside, glancing nervously around the cafeteria. He hadn't been especially talkative in the earlier periods, and he'd leaped out the window the instant class ended during second period, but he was here. He was back.

Xion glanced from 'Roxas' to Naminé's joyful expression. The traceuse tried to shout a warning, tried to calm down her friend before the blonde realized that—

"ROXAS!"

The boy whirled around, his lips parting in an 'O' of shock.

"Naminé, no! He's not—"

—just as Naminé stopped dead in her tracks. This guy wasn't Roxas.

"Um, hi?" the imposter said awkwardly. "I'm Tidus, not that Roxas kid…"

She took a step back, trying to hold in her tears. He'd left her. Again.

"TIDUS YOU SONOFABITCH GET BACK HERE SO I CAN—oh hi there, Naminé," Yuna said cheerfully, skidding to a halt next to a cowering Tidus. And then she saw the blonde's expression. "Naminé? Is there something wrong…?"

The earsplitting, barely human shriek of rage, of pain, of grief, of cruel, cruel despair, made everybody in the cafeteria stare in shock and horror at the half-sobbing blonde girl who had made it.

"Shit," Xion hissed, rushing up. "Naminé, don't run—"

The artist darts out the door before anybody can stop her. Tidus and Yuna barely evade and a group of passing sophomores dive out of the way as she sprints for the elevator.

The sound of pursuit faded away after the first mile.

M: ER~

She'd tried to stop crying three times now and failed all three times.

Part of it is embarrassment that she mistook somebody else for Roxas. Tidus doesn't even look like Roxas; the face and the build are all wrong.

Part of it is shame that she screamed like that. Riku will never let her live this down. Xion will probably look at her with disgust.

Part of it is despair—why does Roxas not want to see her? She's asked this question to herself dozens of time over the last sixteen days, but she's got no conclusions.

So she just tried to sob away the pain.

Naminé wall-passed up to the first window and muscled-up at least three floors until she reached the roof of the building. Then she just collapsed onto her back and let the sun beat down on her. She didn't know where she was; only that she had run out the gates of ADBS and just wanted to be somewhere alone.

When she'll return, she doesn't know.

"Why are you doing this?" Naminé moaned, blinking the last tears away. "Dammit, Roxas. Just tell me why you're running away from me, why I haven't seen you for two weeks. Are we over? Do you still like me? What did I do to make you act like this?"

"To answer your questions…"

She jolted at the familiar voice, sitting up and glancing around. He was right there, leaning against the railing—she had no idea how he'd snuck up on her like that.

"What I'm doing has nothing to do with what you did. I way more than just like you. I hope you don't consider us over. The other questions…" He hesitated.

Before Roxas could go on, Naminé had pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Where the hell were you?" she whispers, clenching her teeth.

"Xigbar's flat," he replied. But his arms hung at his sides, not returning her hug. "He told me that I should at least try to stay in school, so I came back."

The revelation that he'd only returned to not fail out of high school crushed Naminé. She'd hoped and she'd wished that he would come back because of her…

"Oh," she mumbled, pulling away. "Okay, then…"

"Do you hate me?"

The question sounded so absurd and yet quietly serious that Naminé was caught off guard by it.

"What kind of question is that?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know I've put you through a lot of pain," he replied softly. "Now I wonder if you hate me for it."

How could she? Even now, when she should be angry with him or at least yell at him, his very presence was making her heart skip every other beat.

"Of course I don't hate you," Naminé sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I…I just don't know how to react to your coming back."

"Xion threatened to cut off my legs after the first time," he mumbled, but it was completely without amusement. "And Axel wanted to remove my knees, so there you have it."

She'd heard a bit about the first time Roxas had run away from Axel, but there was no way in hell she would ever do the things his best friends had threatened to do to him.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before he began laughing.

"Why are you—?"

She was cut off when he explodes.

"Goddammit!" he yelled, pounding his fists against the tiled roof. "I just completely fucked up an apology to my girlfriend. God fucking dammit!"

Naminé reached out to set a reassuring hand on his shoulder. To her relief he didn't pull away like she had.

"Roxas, it's not your fault," she said, and promptly wished she could take the words back.

He laughed humorlessly. "Of course it is," he half-snarled, half-sobbed. "I couldn't protect you from Seifer. I abandoned you when you needed me most. I left you hanging, I left you wondering when I'd come back, I left you wondering if I even still loved you…goddamn, I'm such a fucking screwup. I hurt everybody who cares about me because I'm not even brave enough to face my problems head-on."

The words come out of her mouth before she can stop them. "Then why won't you ask for help with your problems?"

She winced as Roxas's face twisted into a sad smile.

"Because I'm not brave enough to even do that," he mumbled. "I'm…I'm so sorry, Naminé. God, I'm sorry."

Naminé knew what he was about to do, but she didn't react quickly enough.

"Roxas, don't—"

He'd already vaulted the railing before she could finish.

"…go…"

Xxx XXX xxX

I have no idea if I just made Roxas a total, callous bastard or a sympathetic woobie. *sighs in frustration*

I also haven't a clue how this one turned out. It went from normal to funny to creepy to funny again and then to sad. So yeah...

Anyways, review please!