"Sincerely, Nobody" by ladydemelza

Chapter 3!

Friendly reminder: this story is in the process of being updated from when it was originally posted. Thank you for your patience. :)

Normally, Naminé was calm. Having two somewhat spastic best friends, it was a miracle that she was able to stay this way. Any time Yuri or Kairi were upset, Naminé would close her eyes, take a deep breath, and hurry to help her friend smooth things over. Even the best of us have an off day… and that day had been the most off one that Naminé had had for quite some time.

To put it simply: she was losing it.

She hurried about her room in a complete frenzy, uplifting anything in her path. Her room, which had once been just as pristine and tidy as her manner, was now an unthinkable mess. Clothes were strewn everywhere, as well as shoes, CD's, and any other trinkets she might have had. As she dug through the now present piles, her heart was racing, and her brain was spinning so quickly out of control that she couldn't think straight.

I can't have lost it, she thought frantically. There is no way that it's gone, it's got to be around somewhere… if I could just remember where I put it…

Suddenly, with one great wave of emotion, she collapsed into a pile of clothes, and at last admitted to herself that one of her most prized possessions was indeed gone. Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks, now rosy with anxiety. Where would she even begin to look for what she had lost? By now, someone would have read it, and it would only be a matter of time before they figured out that it belonged to her…

The next morning, Roxas rose with new thoughts surging through his mind. All revolved around the girl who had written the diary. The only thing he could think of was meeting her. His mind had been focused on it all night long, and he had even had a strange dream concerning the mystery girl. In the dream, Yuri had confessed that it belonged to her, but as Roxas dug deeper into the mystery, he found that it wasn't Yuri's at all, and that it belonged to a girl who had just recently moved to another country. He went chasing after her, only to find that it was Yuri after all.

Pushing the dream from his mind, his thoughts again centered on the girl. There was, of course, one minor roadblock to finding her: how in the world would he find one anonymous girl within a class of nearly 700 students?

As he showered and readied himself for school, he began to formulate his plan of attack. He would first comb through the English club. Someone had to mention to their fellow club members that they had lost something so important. If that yielded no results, he would ask some questions of the staff in the office where the lost and found was kept. If anyone inquired there after the diary, he was determined to find out about it.

Before long, Roxas found himself in the back seat of Sora's car, with Sora and Riku talking about their female friends. As he tried desperately to tune them out as he thought about his plan, he couldn't help but catch small bits of their conversation.

"Seriously, something is going on with Naminé. It's been so long since she has been like this," Riku was trying to convince Sora.

"You didn't mention this yesterday," Sora said, giving Riku a pointed look. "How do you know?"

"I called her last night and she was really upset about something."

"What's your point?"

"I don't know. She's our friend, we've got to figure out—"

"Figure out what?" Roxas asked.

"Why Naminé is upset," Riku said.

"Is it really that important?"

"Not for you, you never talk to her," Riku said, "but it is for Sora and I."

"Yeah, why don't you talk to her?" Sora asked, casting a quick glance in the rear view mirror at Roxas.

"I do!" Roxas said. "Just not as much as you guys, because I never used to have any classes with her."

"Maybe Kairi and Yuri are mad at her," Riku said.

"It didn't seem that way yesterday—"

"You guys gossip too much," Roxas suddenly said, smiling slightly. "Oh, don't look at me like that, you know you do—"

Riku tossed his jacket into the back seat, and it landed squarely on Roxas' head. Roxas pulled it off and tossed it back at Riku. "You can keep that, I just thought I'd tell you the truth."

"Whatever," Sora said. "I just want to make sure our friend is okay."

As they pushed their way through the massive crowds of students towards their lockers, Roxas decided to take a quick detour to the spot where he had found the diary—maybe the girl would be around looking for it.

He waited for several minutes without any success. Just as he was about to leave to go join up with Sora and Riku again, he ran into Naminé.

"Hey, what's up?" he greeted her.

She smiled a little. "Not much, how about you?"

"Just… nothing."

"Oh," Naminé replied, glancing at the ground.

"Riku was complaining about the homework this morning," Roxas said awkwardly. "Did you have a lot?"

"Mostly reading," she answered, eyes glittering. "I don't mind doing that."

It was happening again – his thoughts felt like molasses in his mind. Something about the way she was looking at him made him feel like he just couldn't think straight. Just as he was about to say something he would probably regret, Yuri popped up beside them.

"Morning, Roxas!" she said cheerfully.

"Hey," he said, for once not totally unhappy that she was so persistent. "Oh, look, I gotta go…"

"There's ten minutes, we'll come along!" she said happily, grabbing Naminé's hand and following after Roxas.

He cast Naminé a glance of frustration. She, however, seemed to find this funny—she was fighting a smile.

During passing time from first to second period, Kairi, Naminé, and Yuri met up at their usual spot. Naminé was still kicking herself over the fact that Roxas had distracted her, and that Yuri had dragged her away from the first spot she was going to look for her missing item. She had wandered into the lost and found that morning, looking hopeful, but hadn't found a thing. Still down on herself about losing it in the first place, she was even more quiet and reserved than usual.

"I just don't get it," Yuri said. "Roxas will talk to little miss prim over here, but he runs away the second I turn up!"

Naminé wrinkled her nose at the 'little miss prim' remark. "I am not prim," Naminé said in her best impression of forceful.

"Yes, you are," Kairi immediately agreed with Yuri. "You're just polite. And yeah, I don't understand him either. I mean, you're gorgeous, and you're fun…"

And maybe a little too desperate, Naminé added in her head.

Yuri ran her hands through her hair. "Do you think dating Riku would make him jealous?"

"Don't," Naminé said shortly. "He is practically my brother, not to mention my neighbor, so don't you dare take one stride toward Riku."

"Fine, fine," Yuri said, shoulders slouching. "I won't, then. And I suppose Sora is definitely out of the question?"

"Yes!" Naminé and Kairi said together.

"I don't think the jealousy thing is a good idea," Kairi added.

Naminé silently agreed, but knew that Yuri wasn't used to either of the other two girls standing up to her, causing her to keep her opinion to herself.

"And why not?" Yuri asked, eyebrows raised.

"Just… because," Kairi answered vaguely as she spun around and headed in the opposite direction. "Better get to class, see ya!" Before Yuri could say another word, she had woven into the crowd and was half way down the hallway.

"What do you think about it, Naminé?" Yuri rounded on her. "Give me your honest opinion."

Naminé could feel the heat creeping up her scalp. The blush would soon reach her cheeks, and Yuri would notice. Naminé was known for her pale skin, and any type of blush at all revealed that she was hiding something.

"Well?" Yuri demanded impatiently.

"I… just don't know, Yuri," Naminé lied.

Yuri sighed, and ran her fingers through her long, black hair. "I guess I'll just have to think of another plan."

"Or you could always find another guy," Naminé said, not entirely sure why she had chosen to say something she knew would upset Yuri.

"No!" Yuri snapped. "I'll never give up on Roxas." She stormed away, leaving Naminé more alone than ever, despite the hallway crowded with other students.

Naminé couldn't help but notice the horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as the words Yuri had just said burned into her brain—she would never give up on him… Naminé trudged to class, feeling as though she had lost something very important. Oh wait—she had. She sighed, and resolved to continue her search for her missing item later. Right now, she had to hustle to class to avoid receiving a tardy.

That day, lunch period was the most awkward it had ever been. Yuri was purposefully ignoring both Kairi and Naminé and was doing everything she could to get Sora, Riku, and Roxas's attention. Neither of the girls who were being unceremoniously shunned could get a word in edgewise.

Roxas' thoughts were hovering around the diary—he was still debating whether it would be better to just turn it in. Even though he had ideas, the prospects were looking grim, and Roxas felt as though this was the calm before the storm. That strange feeling of foreboding—as though things involving the diary were about to get worse—is what got Roxas thinking.

He had to find who this belonged to, and he had to find her fast. Her life must feel off track without this, he smiled as he thought to himself. Guess I'll just have to work quickly…

Kairi didn't go home from school that day. Instead, she drove from school to Riku's house, which was not far away. She wandered up his driveway, schoolbag slung over her shoulder, and rapped sharply on his front door. He answered it a moment later, a hassled look about him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can we… talk?"

"Yeah…" he answered slowly, allowing her to enter. "What about?"

"Just… things," she replied, shrugging. "We haven't talked or hung out for awhile."

Riku turned and led her down to his basement.

Roxas' feeling of foreboding before had been almost a premonition. As a tall, petite girl with perfectly styled black curls pulled open the door to the main office of Twilight High, she smiled slyly to herself. The magic-like force that had seemingly drawn the group together back in grade school was not magic at all—it was destiny.

And Korin was about to mess with the destiny that had bound them together from the start.

Thanks for reading!

Love,
ladydemelza