Author's note: Here's the next one.
v.
Three weeks following Roxas' initiation into the punk scene at September Alley's skate bowl, the fifteen-year-old decided to introduce his closest schoolmate, Naminé, to his new friends. It was much to his surprise and unexpected relief that the sweet-natured girl with the crystal blue eyes had gotten along really well with the guys at the park, especially Sora. Not that Sora was all that unlovable—the guy was pretty darn friendly to everyone, really—but it was almost as though the immediate bond formed between him and Naminé was similar to that of a bond shared between siblings. Sora seemed to exude an 'older brother' aura when around the quiet girl.
And Demyx got along with Naminé like they'd been old childhood buddies, which, for all Roxas knew of Naminé (which to this day was not a lot) could have very well been true.
But perhaps strangest of all was how Naminé and Zexion treated each other. It seemed like the two of them had some deep-seated respect for one another. It was bizarre and unexplainable. But Roxas supposed that if he'd tried asking them about it, they'd be just as puzzled and perplexed about the whole phenomenon as he was. They were unconsciously doing it. And Roxas guessed that what they had forged between them could not easily be described by mere words alone.
The day Naminé agreed to meet Sora, Demyx and Zexion at the skate park was the day she skipped school for the very first time.
She didn't regret it.
vi.
"So. You live on Winchester Street, huh?"
Sixteen-year-old Roxas turned to find a stranger standing behind him a few feet away along the path leading up to his lawn. The blond boy stared with startled eyes, though he supposed the stranger's eyes seemed just as startled as his were. Or maybe it was just the light from the orange sunset playing tricks on him. Either way, Roxas, house keys still in his outstretched hand about to unlock his front door, gave the stranger a thin smile.
"Yeah, I live here. What's it to you?" Roxas called back.
The stranger gave an immaculate shrug. "I just… It's just that I live three doors down and I've never once seen you before. Like, ever. You're a new face."
"Yeah?" Roxas glanced back at his unopened door, then back at the stranger. He seemed to make up his mind about something and pocketed his keys, then walked over to the stranger with pursed lips. "Well, I've been living here for years. Kinda weird how we haven't seen each other along our own street, huh?"
"You're telling me." There was a hint of a smirk dashed with a pinch of mirth from the stranger's voice.
Roxas mentally assessed the guy standing in front of him. He was a lot taller than Roxas, but somehow Roxas knew he wasn't very much older. He had a rigid posture and a beautiful face, almost like his features were made of porcelain or fine china. His hair was unusually long for a guy. And undoubtedly silver.
Roxas stuck out his hand, expression friendly, if not neutral and neighbourly.
"I'm Roxas."
"Riku."
As they shook hands, Roxas noticed that Riku had a really firm handshake. So much so that Roxas almost had to wince.
Almost.
Following their extremely brief introduction, they talked for a short while about nothing in particular before Riku said something about having to go check on his sick mother back home who was suffering from a terminal illness. That was when Roxas found out that Riku's mother didn't have very long to live. Not that he knew what to say to his newly-acquainted neighbour about it, really.
He supposed Riku figured that too. Which was why he was turning away to leave.
But just as Riku started to walk away, Roxas blurted out something that he'd wanted to ask the very moment he'd laid eyes on the silver-haired boy.
"Hey. Have you – have you ever been down September Alley?"
Riku stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to look Roxas squarely in the eye.
"… Why do you ask?"
It wasn't Roxas' imagination. Riku's voice no longer had its cocky, arrogant edge. It was almost cautious. Wary.
So the blond swallowed once and licked at his bottom lip nervously before answering.
"Well, uh. I've got some, um, some friends there."
In the short silence that followed, a crow had landed somewhere to their right—Roxas could see it in his peripheral vision—and the black creature had started to peck at the grass on the lawn.
"Friends." Riku echoed, and his face had clouded over in the span of a second. "Yeah. September Alley. Heard of the place. I know the kind of people who hang around that area. Drop-outs and useless nobodies, right? You're one of them?"
Something like a flash of annoyance ghosted across Roxas' face and the blond couldn't quite find the ability to bite back a scathing retort. "Yeah. Okay. I get it. I guess jocks like you wouldn't want to have anything to do with—what was it?—drop-outs and useless nobodies, yeah? Guess you're too pigheaded and morally upright to understand."
Roxas knew he'd crossed a line when Riku shot him a frigid glare and started to turn away to leave again.
"Look dude, I wasn't being seri—"
"Forget it, Roxas. I gotta go."
Roxas resisted the urge to yell out an apology and looked on helplessly as Riku strode off down the street, silver hair burning scarlet in the sunset. He felt strangely sick and empty all of a sudden.
"Well, guess I'll just… see you around then," Roxas muttered under his breath and headed back towards his house once more.
vii.
The cinema was packed.
"Man. How're we gonna get seats like this?" Sora grumbled from beside Roxas. "It's like Tuna Day."
"Tuna Day?"
"Canned tuna. You know."
Roxas was about to respond by saying that no, he didn't know, when Naminé stepped in between him and Sora. "Well, which movie should we catch?" she asked shyly, fingers clutching at her little sling purse.
"I dunno. But looks like every single movie's sold out. 'Cept one." Sora pointed at the display that showed the movie times. And the brunet was right. Every movie was marked 'Sold Out'. Except—
"Reno, huh?" Roxas mused.
"Oh. That lame-ass, independent sci-fi-slash-mafia flick?" Demyx waved a hand in the air. "I saw the shots. Actually looked pretty damn good."
"Is it just me or do you tend to contradict yourself, Dem?"
"Can it, bro."
Zexion shrugged. "Okay. Fine. What's it about?"
Demyx shrugged. "Uh. Like, the main character, Reno, is a member of some underground mercenary secret-service-type group. They're kind of an evil organization. Sort of. Like, you know, the mafia. When Reno figures that the organization's grand scheme is way too evil, even for him, he betrays them and defects to the other side. Like, as in the good guys. Or whatever."
The plot seemed lost on Sora, who then suddenly pointed in the direction of the life-sized movie poster for Reno and quipped up, "Hey, check out the Reno dude's hair."
Everyone turned to look.
"He looks like a complete idiot," Roxas commented dryly.
"Total douche," Zexion nodded sagely. "But you know, apparently his character's played by a real good actor."
Demyx bounced with a smile. "Axel Collins. Heard?"
Roxas and Sora shook their heads.
However, a puzzled expression found its way onto Naminé's face. "But his name does sort of ring a bell, though…" It looked as though the girl was trying to recall something important.
Roxas snorted. "Who cares?" he muttered disinterestedly.
"Epic hair though," Sora remarked, eyes shining.
"Right, right. Okay. So, looks like we're watching Reno, since that's the only show left," Demyx decided, not giving anyone the chance to argue as he briskly sauntered over to the ticket booth.
-
In the theatre, Roxas squirmed in his seat. Demyx poked at him in the side and told him to sit still. Naminé, holding the popcorn, whispered something into Sora's ear and Zexion just rolled his eyes at Sora's subsequent uncontrollable giggle.
"Would you two lovebirds like to cut it out?" Zexion hissed sourly. "The movie's about to start. And people are staring at us."
"Aw, when did you start to care?" Demyx teased his brother. "Aren't you Mister I'm-an-attention-whore-so-I-dress-like-an-emo?"
"I hate you."
"Yeah, bro. I get that vibe from you twenty-four seven."
"Real glad you do. Ecstatic, honestly."
Roxas sighed jadedly. As soon as the opening credits began to roll and a collective silence fell amongst the group, he promised himself to sit back and enjoy this moment of much-needed relaxation and enjoyment that came with watching a movie with friends.
But somehow, as the movie progressed, that relaxation and joy just didn't seem to want to come.
Roxas blamed it on his Sprite. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
Didn't really explain the feeling of emptiness, though.