Chapter 6: Functional Groups
"Wow, I really needed this."
"You and me both, Naminé."
Kairi and Naminé sat at one of the larger tables in the restaurant, waiting for a few more friends to show up. After spending a week and a half in Destiny Islands, the girls thought it'd be a good idea to meet up with their female friends. Talk had been going on and on about how they all needed to hang out, so Kairi made the arrangement for a Girls' Day.
But that wasn't the only reason. After an extremely tense dinner the previous night, Kairi recognized the possibility that either she or Sora might lose a sibling if they continued at the rate they were going.
The redhead looked at her twin, who seemed content with whatever she was doing on her cell phone. Kairi closed her eyes, retreating to her thoughts and memories of what had transpired the night before.
After Naminé's reassurance, Kairi took her seat at the table between Sora and Selphie, one her closest friends. Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka— a trio that were more Kairi's friends than her sister's— were invited to have dinner at their house. Kairi thought it'd be a good idea to finally start meeting up with her other friends. Nothing against Sora or Riku, but she didn't come to vacation here for the whole summer just for them.
Also at the table were Riku, Xion, Roxas, and Sora. The group sat in the backyard patio. Not only did the weather cool considerably to allow for the pleasant dinner, but it was also the only table that would comfortably seat nine people.
Maybe Kairi should have seen it coming. Naminé was acting rather calm, considering the fact that Roxas had entered the house with his brother and immediately asked if Naminé's cooking would kill everyone.
And the tension was rather tangible when she walked through the sliding glass door. The smile on her face was most certainly a facade, and her chipper attitude as she distributed the spaghetti should have been unnerving. It wasn't until Naminé came out with the rest of the food that the tension reached a peak.
After serving everyone, Naminé made one last round on the table and paused near Roxas. "Oh, you forgot your meatballs." Naminé dipped a serving spoon into the bowl in her arms and unceremoniously dumped them on his plate. "Most guys typically have two. I can see why you'd be an exception though."
Roxas glared at Naminé before coming up with a response. He made an obvious glance at Naminé's chest (much to the disgust of everyone at the table) before saying, "Oh. Most girls your age have two as well. So don't be stingy and help yourself."
A wave of "ooh's" quietly murmured around the dinner table. Naminé, however, sat down with a confident smile. She looked at Roxas one last time before digging into her own plate of spaghetti. "I'm sure you'll like the meatballs, Roxas. Not only did I make them myself, but I've heard from many sources that you enjoy the feel of them in your mouth."
"Oh, they're here!"
Kairi heard her sister's excited words and turned around in her chair. Sure enough, some of their friends had showed up. The sisters stood and hugged their newly-arrived friends, Aqua and Olette. The older of the two, Aqua, wiped imaginary dirt off her baby blue t-shirt before embracing each sister. An excited shrill of greetings went around the quartet.
"It's been so long since I saw you, Naminé! Why didn't you come over spring break with your sister?" Olette released the blonde from a hug and pouted.
"Do I really have to tell you the reason for that?" Naminé rolled her eyes. The brunette giggled, carefully tucking her brown skirt underneath her legs as she sat.
"Oh, don't tell me you and Roxas are still fighting!" Aqua hung her purse on her chair and folded her arms on the table. "You guys are like children."
"Are you kidding me?" The owner of a new voice made everyone at the table look up. Selphie briskly walked to the end of the table, sitting down immediately without a greeting. Nonetheless, the girls smiled at the sight of their familiar friend. "You should have seen the two last night at dinner. It's a good thing you don't need knives to eat spaghetti."
"No way! You invited Selphie to dinner but not us?" Aqua looked at the sisters, feigning hurt.
"Don't give me that. You said you were busy." Kairi said before looking around the table. Five of them had shown up by now, with Xion the only girl missing. The redhead smiled to herself as she noticed the outfit of each girl: Aqua, as usual, came dressed in shorts and a t-shirt; Olette dressed more maturely than last year in an orange blouse and brown skirt to match, and Selphie wore her signature yellow sundress.
Some people don't change. Kairi thought with a laugh. The gang was together again.
"What are you laughing about?" Naminé asked her sister suspiciously.
Kairi shook her head. "Nothing really. It's just nice to have everyone together again. No boys either."
"Hey!" Selphie snapped. "There will be no mention of the b-word today! Let's get through a conversation without mentioning anyone with a pee-pee. Are we clear?"
"With you at the table, clearly boys will be mentioned at least seven times throughout this lunch." Xion laughed as Selphie almost jumped out of her seat.
"Don't sneak up on people like that!" Selphie pressed a hand to her heart, eying Xion until she took her seat at the table. It was then that she noticed the rest of the girls giggling to themselves. "And thanks for the warning, ladies. I see how it is."
"We couldn't resist." Aqua shrugged. The oldest of the group looked around, confirming everyone's presence. "I think everyone's here. I guess we can officially say that this meeting has officially begun!"
Somewhere in a quiet park sat two friends atop a picnic table. The normal sweltering heat of the Island was apparently on break; the weather was beautiful, complimented with a cool breeze and a bright sun. A paper bag filled with greasy goodness sat between the pair, and each would occasionally reach in and take something as they conversed. One word could describe the scene: chill.
"So where's Xion again?"
"I don't know. She said she'll come by after her vagina party is done."
"Her what party?"
Roxas rolled his eyes. "She said she was having a get-together with a bunch of girls today. No boys allowed."
"You don't seem very happy about that."
"Of course not." Roxas swallowed his food before speaking again. "Our best friend is back in town for the first time in, I don't know, half a year? I think she could've rescheduled or something."
"I don't mind. I'm sure I'll see her soon anyway."
"You're too nice to her, Axel." Roxas grumbled, stuffing a handful of fries into his mouth.
Axel's shoulders shook with laughter. "I think you're being a little critical. If I were to be more specific, I think it's because you don't like how she's somehow forced you to spend time with Naminé. How is she, by the way?"
"I don't want to talk about her."
"She's pretty attractive, right? I'd consider it." Axel took a bite out of his first burger. His eyes closed as he savored the taste of his fast-food. "I'm only five years older. In two years, it'd be perfectly legal for the two of us to date if we wanted."
Roxas's face scrunched in distaste. "Axel, you should probably shut up now."
"Don't be jealous, Roxas. You know I'm not being serious. I'm just trying to prove a point that an age difference isn't weird anymore when you get older. Aren't Xion's parents about six years apart? They weren't weird."
"Yeah, because they're more than twice your current age. I think it's still weird if you're twenty-one and you want to date someone still in high school."
"I think we're arguing over something we agree on." Axel said thoughtfully as he sipped his drink. The two fell silent, their voices falling secondary to enjoying their food. After a short while, Axel spoke up again. "Speaking of Xion's parents, have you seen them? They must be around fifty now. How are they holding up?"
Roxas shook his head. "Xion doesn't want people to see them. She visits them a couple times a week though. I only get updates, and they're never good."
Axel sighed, a somber appearance etched onto his features. "How's she handling it?"
"As well as anyone could handle it, even when they know they're most likely losing their parents within the next five years… not to mention the fact that her father is barely there." Grief swam within the younger boy's eyes.
"Does he remember her?"
"When he's aware, yes."
"Damn." The redhead slowly blew out in a low whistle. "She's strong. I'd have gone insane by now. Has she gotten tests done for herself? I looked some stuff up online about it and her chances aren't that great."
Roxas remained silent. When he had told Axel how Xion cornered him into the proposal involving Naminé, he refrained from mentioning what Xion had told him. He thought it would be best to hear it from Xion herself rather than through him. "I don't know. I think you'll have to ask her yourself."
Before the depressing conversation could continue, the sound of Axel's ringtone blared from his pocket. He pulled out his phone and grimaced at the name. "Tch. Great."
Roxas looked over to glance at the caller ID. "Who's Queen Bitch?"
"Who do you think?" Axel cleared his throat before accepting the call. "Hey baby… what? What's wrong with 'baby'? Fine, fine. 'Ay bitch. How you doin'?"
Roxas snickered at Axel's voice change. He must've been talking to Larxene.
"Yes, I know… you told me already. I'm with Roxas, so… relax. Larxene… hey, listen to me. Remind Demyx, not me… So we're clear? Good… Love you too, hoe." Axel hung up, a satisfied smile on his face.
"You're still dating that psychopath?" Roxas shook his head in disbelief. He met Larxene more than once, and his only impression was that she was rather… insane.
"It's not like I can avoid her. She's our manager of sorts and she gets us the gigs we need."
"Mmhmm. I'm guessing I should ignore the three years that you dated her before you and Demyx started performing?" Roxas asked slyly.
Axel ran a hand through his hair with a chuckle. "Roxas, Roxas… one day, when you have a woman that will drive you up the walls, you'll understand. Just take my word for it for now." He crushed the empty paper bag in his hands and pulled out a lighter. The older boy turned to his friend with a smile, "Can I do it?"
"I'd prefer you not attract attention to us. Set fires on your own time." Roxas hopped off the table and stretched. Axel sighed, putting the lighter away and shooting the trash into a nearby trashcan.
"You're no fun anymore." Axel mirrored Roxas's actions. "Hey. Demyx and I are going to be here in town for a while. The grand opening of Club Spades is tomorrow night, and Luxord asked us to start things off for him since he hasn't found an in-house DJ yet."
"You're going to be in charge of the music tomorrow night?" Roxas asked excitedly. "That's great!"
"It would be if our following was a bunch of high school kids." Axel laughed humorlessly. "We're not a big deal yet, Roxas. A total of about… four people will know who we are. You included."
"So why exactly are you telling me this?" Roxas opened the passenger's side door of his friend's red sports car and hopped in.
"You and Xion have a couple friends, right? Get the word out. The more packed, the better." Axel smirked as the engine roared to life. "Club Spades needs to be filled to capacity so Larxene won't complain about it later. She thinks it isn't worth our time."
Roxas laughed, shaking his head in pity. "Your prime motivation seems to be her happiness. That's cute, Axel. Really."
Axel playfully shoved the boy and chuckled. "Happiness? Please. I'm just trying to keep her from yelling my brains out."
Naminé swore her face was starting to hurt from all the smiling she was doing. She forgot how much she missed everyone at the Islands.
The conversations had been relatively tame since Naminé needed to be updated over the past year's events. Aqua was going off to college after this summer, and apparently Olette was on the brink of assuming the number one spot in her class. Selphie seemed to have all the gossip typed somewhere on her phone, as she'd occasionally look at it and remind someone to tell a certain story.
The current topic left Naminé in pain. Her entire midsection was aching from the laughter, and a few tears even managed to escape as Selphie's storytelling was relentlessly hilarious. The only one who didn't seem to find anything humorous was Olette.
But that was only because the joke was on her.
"No joke," Selphie held her hands out to signal the girls to quiet down a bit. "You tried to play it off, Olette, but did you really expect me to believe the reason why Hayner's shirt was off was to check for bug bites? Please. You were totally getting frisky in a hammock!"
"I told you we're not like that!" Olette crossed her arms, her face tinted with scarlet. "And enough with Hayner already. I thought we weren't going to talk about boys."
"Fine. I'll drop it. But don't think this is over, honey. It won't be until you admit it!" Selphie smiled devilishly and took a sip of her water.
"I forgot how funny you were." Naminé coughed once, fanning her face in an effort to cool herself. "You crack me up."
"Well we missed you too, Naminé." Aqua piped in with a smile.
"I'd hope so." The blonde took a long gulp of her drink. "So I've been wondering…"
"Yes?"
"If this is our official girls' lunch," Naminé raised both of her hands and pointed to the end of the table. "Why is Riku here?"
Everyone at the table turned to look at the lone boy at the end. Riku looked up, mid-food-steal, and smiled. "Hey, ladies."
All the girls looked at each other before bursting into laughter. "How long have you been here?" Xion asked between gasps.
"This is too weird…" Kairi wiped a tear from her eye.
"Long enough to hear the story about Olette. I never knew you were so… open about your relationship with Hayner." Riku let out a low whistle and shook his head.
"Oh my gosh, we aren't dating!" Olette groaned in frustration.
"That just makes it worse."
"Selphie's a liar." Olette stuck her nose in the air defiantly. "I refuse to say anything else on the matter. Hayner and I are just friends."
"Yeah, friends with benefits…" Selphie muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. She was rewarded with a good laugh from the group.
"Selphie, you act like you haven't done anything weird right now, but as I recall you were hot for teacher all year." Riku pulled the closest plate— which happened to be Xion's— and began eating what was left.
"Okay, fine. Unlike Olette, I'm owning up to this. Not to mention that I'm not afraid to say it!" Selphie stood up, commanding the attention of the table. "I, Selphie Tilmitt, think all our male teachers this past year were hot!" A group cheer went about the table, followed by the laughs.
"I think I'm the only one left out of the loop." Naminé leaned forward onto the table, waiting for someone to fill her in.
"Selphie was totally hitting on all our male teachers this past year. She's going through a phase, is all." Aqua waved her hand dismissively.
"It's not a phase, Aqua! I just have a thing for older guys. Our teachers just happen to be good-looking and intelligent."
"I thought we weren't talking about boys?" Kairi looked around the table for support.
"We're not." Selphie said. "We're talking about men." While half the girls laughed, another group groaned.
"I remember how you always went to Mr. Leonhart for after-school tutoring… you're so bad…" Olette shook her head in mock-disgust.
"Don't be jealous, Olette. I know you were after that history award, but you can't win everything."
"Apparently." Olette rolled her eyes. "Especially with you chatting up all our teachers like a suck-up."
"She was really that bad?" Naminé whispered to Aqua.
Selphie, who heard Naminé ask, immediately spoke up. "Naminé, you don't understand. I was really that good. If you saw our teachers, you'd know why I act like— wait a second; I have them here on my phone!" Riku's laughter rang above the groans of the girls. Selphie handed Naminé her phone, displaying a picture of a blond teacher. "That's Mr. Strife there. He would take attendance before every class began, and guess who would intentionally remain silent so he would call my name again in that silky voice of his?" Selphie pointed to herself and mouthed 'me,' causing every girl to laugh at her antics.
"Wow, he's kinda cute," Naminé agreed with a nod.
"You've just got a thing for blondes, Nam." Kairi stuck her tongue out at her sister.
The blonde ignored her sister's comments. "Are these the only two teachers you were after?"
"Whoa, heck no. Have you seen Mr. Villiers? He's a total hottie. I sat in the front row every day and volunteered to do everything. He thought I was a math genius. I was for him." Selphie sighed dreamily. "And oh my gosh. This guy is tall too. So every time he had to use the lower portion of the boards, guess who got a good view of that sexiness? I did!" Selphie sang.
"Yeah, Mr. Villiers definitely had a cute butt…" Aqua nodded in agreement. The whole table turned to look at her. "What? I'm serious. Is there a double standard? Selphie can find teachers attractive but I can't?"
"I just never took you for a girl to like older guys." Xion said slyly. "What, with that whole Ven thing and all." Aqua threw her head back with a groan.
"What Ven thing?" Naminé asked a little too eagerly. She coughed and cleared her throat. The gossip girl in her was starting to come out.
"Ven's in our grade." Olette clarified. "He was practically the class hero— among the boys, at least— for dating Aqua since she's two grades ahead of us. And if my knowledge is still valid, you two are still dating?"
"We're breaking up, if you must know." Aqua said with a shrug. "We both knew this was coming, and we were never that serious anyway. I told him before we dated that I wasn't up for the whole long distance relationship thing."
"Aww. You two were so cute together." Selphie stirred her water with a straw, a disappointed look on her face. The table fell quiet, the result of a subject quickly going somber. Riku cleared his throat, hoping to get the conversation out of the rut.
"So… we've talked about the teachers and one of the guys. What does everyone think about the other guys in our little circle of friends?"
"Are you asking if any of us are interested in you?" Kairi raised a brow, smirking at her best friend.
"I don't need to ask, Kairi. I already know you all want a piece of this." Riku flipped his hair dramatically, getting a laugh out of the girls. "Let's start with Hayn— wait, that's Olette's property." Again, all the girls except Olette laughed. The latter merely covered her face in her hands. "How about Roxas?"
"Roxas?" Kairi repeated. "I think we can all agree that he's cute."
"Cute?" Naminé asked doubtfully. "Annoying is more like it."
"No, I agree with Kairi." Olette nodded. "Roxas is cute. He's nice too, once you get to know him. But maybe I'm biased. I'm closer to Roxas than Sora, after all…"
"I think Roxas is actually the better-looking one out of the twins," Selphie opined. "But if I were to compare… Sora's got a trump card on Roxas that makes me lean toward him."
"What does Sora have that Roxas doesn't?" Riku challenged.
"A heart?" Naminé offered quietly. Kairi looked at her sister warningly. Luckily, no one else heard.
"I can't say for sure, since I've never kissed Roxas." Selphie bit her straw. "But Sora? Wow. He's not my type, and I'd definitely tap all our teachers before him, but that boy can kiss."
"Hell yeah he can!" Xion slammed her fist on the table with a giggle. "He's such a pro!"
"Now that I can agree with. Best kisser I've ever had." Aqua looked around the table to find everyone staring at her again. "Oh my gosh, it was a dare! Let's keep the cougar jokes to ourselves! Carry on!"
"Anyway," Olette said with a nervous giggle, "not like I have anyone to compare against—"
"Oh please."
"— but Sora unexpectedly swept me off my feet."
"Okay, wait. Wait just a second!" Kairi interrupted everyone. "Has everyone at this table kissed Sora or something? How does everyone know that?"
Naminé's brow furrowed. Was that distress in Kairi's voice?
"I would like to clarify that I haven't kissed a boy… and liked it." The girls laughed at Riku's comment. "Jokes aside, I haven't. But Sora's built up a reputation at our school for being a really good kisser. The guys like to call him a man whore, but Sora can get some if he wanted. He sure gives me a run for my money."
"Most of us have kissed him on account of dares," Xion clarified before Riku stressed Kairi further. "And I've only kissed him once."
"I'd kiss him again if he looked more like Mr. Leonhart…" Selphie murmured.
"So has every girl kissed him here then?" Kairi almost snapped. Naminé recognized the annoyance hidden beneath the smile of disbelief. Was Kairi jealous?
"I haven't… but you probably guessed that." Naminé's hand slowly fell from the air as Kairi stared her down.
"I think so." Selphie narrowed her eyes at Kairi. "Why? You jealous, Kairi?"
The redhead, unfortunately, was too transparent. A blush crept onto her face when the attention was turned on her. "N-No way. Sora can kiss whoever he wants. I don't care."
"You're jealous." Selphie said with finality.
"Am not!"
"Group vote! Raise your hand if you think Kairi is jealous." Selphie looked around the table. "It's unanimous. You're jealous."
"Naminé!" Kairi hissed.
"What?" the blonde slowly dropped her hand with a sheepish smile. "You're making it super obvious, Kai…"
"I think we all just found out Kairi's secret!" Riku instigated the group. "Why would Kairi be jealous, I wonder?"
Before Kairi had the chance to defend herself, one of the phones rang. Xion pulled her phone from her pocket and smirked. "Sorry, girls. I have to take this." Xion dismissed herself from the table, bringing the phone to her ear as she walked away.
Kairi didn't waste the opportunity. "Well, I think we're done here! What do you say we all pay for ourselves and get some ice cream across the street?"
"Ice cream sounds really good about now…" Aqua smiled at the thought.
The girls resumed their conversation, one without Kairi in the spotlight. When the checks came, each of the girls paid their part. Naminé was quick to notice that Xion had yet to return, but then witnessed something that caught her attention. Riku had taken her check and paid for it himself before silently leaving the table.
What was that? Naminé thought curiously. Her eyes followed Riku until he left the restaurant, disappearing as abruptly as he came. She left the appropriate amount of cash, tip included, before dismissing herself from the table. Walking outside, she made her way to the side of the restaurant, wondering where Xion and Riku disappeared off to. She stopped and hid around the corner where she saw Xion and Riku talking. Feeling rather nosy, she pressed her back against the wall and listened in.
"That's the second time you tried to avoid a date with me." Riku's voice was far from offended. In fact, it almost sounded like he was humored.
"You've been counting?"
"Of course. It would have been our fifth."
"Sixth, actually." Xion giggled. The two fell silent for a moment. Did they kiss? She immediately regretted hiding around the corner instead of behind a car. "You know, I canceled on my best friends today. You at least got to see me today."
"Does it matter? You left to answer a call from Roxas."
"Jealous, Riku?"
"What if I said I was?" Again, there was a short silence. Naminé was tempted to turn the corner and sneak a peek, but she wasn't daring enough to try. Eavesdropping alone was enough to make her heart pound.
"If you must know, Axel is the one who called me, not Roxas. He and Demyx are emcees and DJs for the grand opening of Club Spades. He wanted me to invite everyone to come since he thinks no one will show up." Naminé heard Xion walking around. Was she approaching?
"Well let's tell the girls then. I'm sure they'll want to go." The walking stopped. Riku must've stopped her.
"Good. So now at least ten people will show up."
"Xion." Naminé held her breath, noticing the drop in volume. "I think I can help with that. You need more people to come? Leave it to me. I'll get everyone going."
"What's the catch? If I have to go as your date, forget it. There's no need for you to ruin your reputation for me."
"Well then how about a date, since you're so adamant on keeping us a secret?"
"There's no us, Riku. There's never been an us."
"Well then what do you call the first fives dates we went on?"
Xion giggled, walking closer to Naminé's position. "Charity."
Naminé immediately pushed herself off the wall and took a few steps back. She nonchalantly walked forward as if she had just approached. Xion turned the corner and almost ran into her.
"Sorry!" Naminé apologized profusely. "I was coming out to look for you. All of us paid already and we're getting ice cream across the street. Wanna come?"
"It'd be my pleasure." Xion took Naminé's arm and pulled her to the entrance where the other girls had just appeared. "Hey! Sorry about the phone call. It was a little important."
"Don't worry about it." Kairi reassured. "You coming with us for ice cream?"
"Of course. Riku should be— there he is." Riku came around the side of the restaurant, having just finished something on his phone. When Riku joined the girls, they made their way across the street.
The ice cream shop they entered was small and empty, though the sudden surge in customers made it look like it was a faster day for business. One at a time, the girls ordered their flavors. Naminé settled on her favorite: cookie dough. She had never gone to this particular store, so her favorite was the safest choice. She arrived at the table to hear Xion inviting everyone to the club she was talking about before.
"So do you think you guys can go?" Xion asked hopefully.
"Count us in! You know I'm always looking for a party." Selphie said with a smile.
"I'm with Selphie on this one. Tomorrow night, right?" Aqua asked to make sure.
"Yup! Come at ten and invite all your friends." Xion turned to Naminé. "Are you coming too?"
All eyes fell on Naminé as they waited for her answer. "Um, I don't really think it's for me…"
"Aww, come on Naminé! We'll all be there! It'll be fun! It gives us a reason to get together too." Aqua looked at the blonde pleadingly.
"I know, but I'm just not that kind of person to go out and party…" Naminé rubbed her arm in discomfort.
"You'll be fine, Nam. Just stay close to me." Kairi shrugged.
"Please? Pretty please? It would mean a lot to me if you came, Naminé!" Xion folded her hands in front of her and begged with her eyes.
Naminé wanted to disappear on the spot. She didn't want to say no to all her friends, much less seem like a prude to Xion. But at the same time, she really didn't want to go. With a huge breath, Naminé offered what she could. "W-We'll see, I guess. I'll try."
"Yes!" Xion pumped her fist in the air in delight. "I'll take that!"
Xion parted from the girls after having ice cream and drove herself to Roxas's house. She was happy to see that Axel's car sat in the driveway. Hopping up onto the porch, Xion first tested the door to see if it was open. It wasn't. She walked over to a nearby flowerpot and stuck two fingers in the dirt; a key was pressed between her fingers when she pulled them out.
She entered the home quietly, hoping to surprise the occupants. Xion quietly walked up the stairs, dodging the two particular steps where the wood would creak and moan. She heard Axel and Roxas in the latter's room, quieter than usual. That meant one thing.
"Who's winning?" Xion hopped into the room as loudly as she could. To her dismay, neither of the boys were startled at all. They were, as she predicted, too engrossed in their game to even spare her a glance. Xion watched quietly, waiting for the match to be over. As health bars decreased, it was Roxas who jumped from the bed and cheered.
"Yes! Oh yeah! What now, Axel? What?"
"Oh sure, act like you're a big shot because you beat someone who was playing for the first time." Axel shook his head before tossing the controller away. Only then did he notice Xion. "Oh hey! When did you get here?"
"You didn't see me come in?"
"Can't say I did. Did you notice, Roxas?"
"Nope!" Roxas smiled at Xion, offering her Axel's controller. "Nice of you to finally join us. How was your estrogen seminar?"
"Fun. Riku actually showed up too."
"You've been hanging out with him a lot recently. Why?" Roxas waited for Xion to pick her character before picking his own.
"I can't hang out with other guys?"
"You can. But why Riku?" Roxas's face scrunched is distaste. The round began, and the blond immediately locked his eyes on the screen in concentration.
"I'm sensing some animosity. Are you jealous, Roxas?" Axel didn't get an immediate reply.
"No… I'm just… wondering what Xion sees in him…"
"You make it sound like we're dating." Xion rolled her eyes, but continued the on-screen fight with ease. "We're not. We're just friends. Besides, Riku promised me that he'd get the word out on Axel's night tomorrow. I don't think you'll have a problem filling up the place."
"Because Riku's so popular?" His question didn't come until the short break after he lost the first round, and not without distaste either.
"Thank him for me then!" Axel ignored Roxas's comment. "That'll make Demyx and Larxene feel better too."
"I will." Xion didn't bother to make eye contact with Axel as she spoke. "What did you guys do without me?"
"We ate. Talked. Came here to play a couple games. Roxas told me about that little thing you're making him do with Naminé."
"Yeah, it's been quite entertaining so far. Oh! That's right, Roxas! Eat it!" Xion jeered at her best friend after a crushing defeat. "Sorry, Axel. But yeah, things seem to be improving between the two—"
"Rematch."
"—and it's only a matter of time before they're actual friends." Xion explained.
"That's good." Axel folded his long legs beneath himself. "And we also talked about you. Have you gotten tests done?"
Roxas tensed, but didn't say anything. Xion didn't betray a single emotion and instead explained as straight as possible. "Both of my parents have it. That answers enough. Since that's the case, it'll hit me earlier than it did my parents. I'd say in twenty years, I'll be as bad as my father; he's not really aware anymore. My mom is a lot better off, but she doesn't have much longer either. But really, I'm good for the next ten to fifteen years or so."
"Is there any way to delay it? A cure or something?"
"We've discussed this, Axel. There's no cure. There are ways and medications to delay or suppress the symptoms, but those are only temporary fixes. My father can't live without assistance at this point, and the medications aren't doing much."
"There has to be something…"
"There's always hope." Xion shrugged. "Who knows? It's not too late for me. And what's the harm in living life to the fullest? I know my time is shorter than most, so I can fully appreciate every day I get. Ha! Nice one, Roxas. I think that's the first round you won in a while." Axel recognized the change of subject as Xion's signal to stop talking. It wasn't a discrete order, but rather a way of reading her. Xion wasn't very receptive to Axel's questions either, so she probably didn't want to talk about it.
But he didn't blame her. She wasn't here to talk about her disease with him. She was here to hang out and enjoy his company.
"Hey guys!" Sora appeared at the doorway, car keys in hand. "What's going on in here?"
"Nothing much. Just crushing Roxas at his own game." Xion answered with a shrug.
"This freaking bitch…"
"What was that, Roxas?" Xion smiled sweetly at her best friend.
"This freaking… itch. It's right on my finger. I can't play with my full attention…" Roxas muttered as he lost yet another match.
"That's what I thought." Xion then turned to Sora again. "Where have you been?"
"Here at home. But I'm going to Kairi's right now, so…" Sora looked back and forth between Xion and Roxas.
"Go ahead. We're hanging out with Axel tonight." Xion waved. "Axel, you up for a match against me?"
"I'm in the mood to bruise my ego, so why not?" Roxas handed the older boy the controller. "You got your butt kicked, Roxas…"
"Let's see you do better."
"Well then!" Sora merely waved at everyone and left. "I'll see you guys later then!"
"Bye, Sora!" Xion called out into the hallway. "I hope you're ready to die, Axel."
"I was born ready, little girl."
Sora was looking forward to seeing Kairi all day. He was so disheartened when he heard that Kairi was going to be unavailable until that evening, but the time finally came.
To his surprise, Kairi didn't seem too excited to see him.
Sora found himself staring awkwardly at the walls of his best friend's room. Kairi had unexcitedly greeted him at the door before walking to her room and hopping on her laptop. And every time Sora attempted to have a conversation with Kairi, she replied curtly.
"How was your get-together with the girls today?"
"Good."
"Did you have fun with all of them?"
"Yup."
"… When are you meeting up with them again?"
"I don't know."
Sora raised a brow at Kairi, but she didn't even spare him a glance.
He definitely did something to make her angry.
"Okay, Kairi. What's up?"
"Nothing. Just surfing the internet."
"Kairi." Sora walked over to the bed and pressed his palm against the lid of her laptop, closing it slowly. "What's bothering you?"
"How many girls have you kissed, Sora?"
The confused boy blinked twice, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Um, what?"
"How many girls have you kissed?" Kairi repeated slowly.
A crimson tint appeared on Sora's cheeks. "What brought this up?"
"Answer the question."
"I…" Sora looked around the room, avoiding Kairi's eyes. "I don't know. I honestly don't remember, and I don't keep count." When he heard nothing, Sora slowly looked up to see Kairi glaring at him.
"Sora!" Kairi almost yelled. She crossed her arms and turned her back on him. "Sora, you're such a… a… Sora, you're such a freaking skank!"
Sora was even more confused than he was before. "Wait, what? Did you just call me a skank?"
"I did! And I'll do it again too! You're also a womanizer, a man whore, a gigolo, a… a…" Kairi paced her room furiously, her eyes shooting accusing glares at the boy sitting on her bed.
"Kairi, I don't know what brought this on, but… what did I do?" Sora stood and backed up slowly.
"What did you do? You only made out with every single girl in our group of friends! Not to mention a multitude of other girls! After all, how can everyone know you're a good kisser if you haven't been getting around?"
Despite Kairi's outburst and his own confusion, Sora couldn't deny that he was surprised to hear what girls thought of him. "Everyone thinks I'm a good kisser?"
Kairi deadpanned. "You are unbelievable. Go home. Come back tomorrow or something."
Sora quickly tried to save himself. "Wait, fine! Why are you angry at me? So I kissed a few girls—"
"A few?"
"Fine, I kissed a lot of different girls, but why are you getting mad at me for it?" Sora was exasperated.
"Because—" Kairi was left gaping, opening and closing her mouth without a sound. She couldn't exactly state her reason. And to Sora's credit, he didn't really know how she felt. Nevertheless, Kairi was stubborn. She wasn't about to admit defeat, so she was going to come up with plausible reasons. "Because you didn't tell me! Because I'm worried about you, and… and because you don't seem to think kisses mean anything!"
"Well that's not true!"
"You don't seem to express that with your actions! How would you like it if I went around and kissed a bunch of guys?" Kairi blinked. Now here was a way to tell him how she felt without actually saying so! "What would you think, Sora, if I did all that and didn't tell you?"
Sora shifted uncomfortably and sat on the bed again. "I don't know if I'd want to hear about all that stuff…"
"So you'd be okay with it if I went around and did that and just didn't tell you?" Kairi crossed her arms.
"Of course I wouldn't! I'd be worried about you! I'd think you were having some sort of problem and you weren't telling me!"
"Well now you know how I feel!" Not really, Kairi thought.
"That's different though! You know there's nothing wrong with me. If you don't already know, most of the girls I kissed were on dares! Those kisses don't mean anything." Sora tried to explain.
"So kisses are meaningless to you now?"
"No, Kairi." Sora stood up and ran over, grabbing Kairi's wrist before she could walk away from the room. "The kisses I shared with those girls are meaningless. And I'm glad that everyone thinks I'm such a great kisser—"
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Kairi tried to pull away, but Sora pulled Kairi into his arms and held her in place.
"But they don't mean anything to me." Sora rested his chin on Kairi's head, only just realizing the difference in their height. Kairi stood still, her arms hanging at her sides. "I'm sorry that hearing about my… kissing adventures bothers you, but if it makes you feel better, I'll stop doing that stuff. The guys will just have to find other ways to tease me when I lose a bet."
"Am I being stupid?" Kairi's voice was barely above a whisper as she remained motionless in Sora's arms.
"A little." He laughed when he felt Kairi trying to move away. "But I don't blame you. I don't exactly approve of you going around and kissing a bunch of boys, even if they are dares. I can't be hypocritical. Besides, you have a point. Kisses should mean something."
"They do mean something."
"They do," Sora agreed. "Though I think that's true only if they're shared between people who truly care for each other and truly want to kiss each other… I think kisses are a lot better when feelings are involved."
Kairi slowly extracted herself from Sora's embrace and stared at him. "I thought you just said that all those kisses were meaningless?"
"They are."
"So how could you have an opinion on something you've never experienced? How do you know kisses are better when feelings are involved?"
"Because I've had a kiss like that before." Sora grinned mysteriously. Kairi didn't break her stare. Does he actually—
A bloodcurdling scream shocked the two out of their staring contest. On the other side of the house, Naminé was shrieking like a banshee. Sora and Kairi immediately ran over to see Naminé whimpering in the hallway.
"Naminé, what's wrong?" Sora asked as he and Kairi ran over.
"There's a freaking c-cockroach in my studio! I swear it was chasing me!" Naminé furiously scratched her head. The nervous blonde released a small squeak when Sora slowly opened the door to the room. "Careful, S-Sora!"
"Naminé, it's not going to kill him…" Kairi muttered, trying to comfort her sister. Naminé was never one to handle bugs with poise and composure.
"Kairi, you wouldn't say that if you saw how huge it was!" the blonde shuddered. "The antennae were so long and it was as big as my palm and—"
"Okay, okay, I get it…"
"Whoa!" Sora gasped out before the bug darted past him.
The two girls screamed in terror as the large cockroach skittered around the floor, moving extremely quickly. A large shoe immediately slammed onto it; a sickening crunch accompanied the panicked shrieks of the girls.
"What the hell, Sora? Why did you let it out?" Kairi asked angrily. Here she was, trying to be the brave sister, only to react the same way as Naminé. Bravado went out the window when the damn cockroach rushed at her.
"I didn't let it out— oops!" Sora kept his shoe over the cockroach, seeing something that the girls wouldn't react well to. "Kairi, could you run to the kitchen and get me a few paper towels?"
"Yeah." Kairi gingerly stepped around the spot and ran into the kitchen, returning shortly after. "Here."
"Thanks. You two might want to turn around," Sora warned. He lifted his shoe and wiped the roach— guts and all— off the hardwood floor. After, he wiped the remains from the bottom of his shoe. "There. All done."
Naminé sighed with relief. "Why me?" she asked miserably.
"Because you were the one who insisted on locking that room off! That room hasn't been cleaned since I came here for break."
"I don't want to go in there anymore…" Naminé closed the door to the extra room and, for added measure, blocked the crack under the door with a towel she took out from the nearby laundry room. "Not 'til I clean it, at least…"
"Good call…" Kairi mumbled. Naminé retreated into her room, taking deep breaths in order to calm herself.
Sora looked at Kairi and smiled. The redhead shrugged, sighing in relief. "Guess that's done and over with…"
"Guess so…" Sora walked into the bathroom and flushed the roach remains down the toilet. He washed his hands thoroughly before leaving. "Hey Kairi…"
"Yes?"
"I don't know if anyone told you, but a bunch of us are going to the opening night of a new teen nightclub…"
"Club Spades, right?" Kairi led Sora into the living room and the two dropped into adjacent places on the sofa. "Xion told us today when we were with the girls. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I was sort of wondering if maybe… only if you wanted to, really, because you don't have to… and if you don't, that's fine too, because after what we talked about earlier I don't expect you to say yes. I don't blame you either, since I did a bunch of stuff and that clearly agitated you, but…"
"Sora."
"Would you like to be my date for tomorrow?" Per Kairi's unsaid request, Sora said what he had to. Kairi smiled in return, her heart skipping a beat.
She threw her arms around his neck with a giggle. "I'd love that."
Redeeming Endeavor:
I'd like to thank all of you who subscribe or favorite either LPA or myself! And I apparently have been missing this one, but HUGE THANKS to those of you who recommend any of my stories to your friends! Knowing that I give people something to share and talk about really makes me smile.
And who could forget those of you who take the time to talk with me? My gratitude goes out to Gear001, BlackButterfly9, Ash09, CosplayerMew, elspoek1, Draco Oblivion, typewrite, Hegodart, , VIII, PenguinObsessed, SingerOfTheNight, BruHaeven, Stonekipsta, sora93kairi, Chibiness-O-Yeahh, Zoe the Hunter, GoldPhantom and z-eion, Aaralynne, Claymore Person, 0Wishful-Thoughts0, Spellbound a.k.a soragirl4ever, roxasXnamine-ftw, noheartx, Shire Folk, Allied Forces, Dramamamapwnsall, and PEANUT v1.2 for your encouraging, inspiring, and kind words.
Chapter Data- Total Editing Time: 525 minutes. Word Count: 7,494. Five Chapter Checkpoint- 62 favorites, 61 alerts, 107 reviews. True Word Count: 25,399. Total Writing Time: 2,730 minutes (45.5 hours).
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