Chapter 11: Volatility
Xion peered into Roxas's room, quietly slipping inside when she saw that he was still asleep. The bed covers rose and fell in a steady rhythm, hiding the figure comfortably resting beneath them. She tiptoed closer, standing a few feet from the side of the bed. She suppressed a giggle when she saw him: her best friend was a cuddler. The giant panda plush she won for him was trapped in his arms, pressed tightly against his chest.
Xion had to admit that Roxas was quite adorable when he slept.
"Well, time to ruin that." Xion said to herself before yelling a battle cry. She leapt onto the bed, attempting to emulate an earthquake. "It's morning, good morning!" Xion sang over and over.
Amidst the squeaking bed and Xion's obnoxious screaming, Roxas cracked his tired eyes open to see his best friend flailing on his bed. He groaned loudly. "Why are you waking me up?" The blond whined, burying his head underneath a few pillows.
Xion ripped them from his grasp. "Because I'm bored, Roxas! Entertain me!"
"It's… nine in the morning?" Roxas's eyes widened when he saw the clock. He fell back into bed, this time curling underneath the blanket. He brought his cuddle buddy with him. "Why are you doing this to me? I don't have to work today."
"Entertain me!" Xion threw herself on the lump underneath the covers. Roxas let out a grunt. "I see you're enjoying the panda. Have you named him yet?"
"It's a he?" The question came in a muffled voice below her.
"It can be whatever you want it to be."
"Well it smells like you, so that'd be awkward." Roxas shifted underneath the blanket, forcing Xion to readjust her position.
"I wasn't going to give it to you without washing it. That'd be gross."
"So… why are you here?" Roxas asked after a few seconds of silence.
"Riku had to pick up your brother 'cause they're doing that cleaning thing."
"What does Riku have to do with you being here?" He asked slowly.
"I met him for breakfast this morning for a date. It was actually at that café we always went to during the school year." Xion shrugged. She felt Roxas move again, this time to the end of the blanket. He threw it off, his blue eyes narrowed into a glare.
"Why would you do that?"
"Because he asked me out?"
"And you said yes?" The question left his lips laced with confusion and disapproval. Xion rolled her eyes.
"Of course I did. It was only breakfast."
"Well I don't like it." The blond said stubbornly. "If you need someone to hang out with, come here. What do you need Riku for?"
"Mornings, apparently." Xion replied smartly. "You were just complaining about me being here too early."
"Well then be normal and sleep in a little. Who goes on dates at eight in the morning?" Roxas grimaced, rubbing his face on the stuffed animal he held.
"We do." The conversation ended when Sora entered the room, already dressed for a long day outside.
"Hey! You're up, Roxas!"
"Unfortunately."
Sora gave his brother an apologetic smile— he was the one to let Riku and Xion in, after all— and walked over to the pair. "I think Riku and I are heading out soon. Are you guys coming with us?"
"I was planning on going back to sleep." Roxas mumbled. He hid under the covers once again.
"Will you get up already? As I recall, you have to be spending time with a certain someone." Xion grabbed Roxas's wrists and pulled him until he hung lazily over the edge of the bed.
"I'm already going to be spending my day with her though!"
Xion paused in surprise. "Really?" She turned to Sora with a did-you-know-about-this look.
The brunet shook his head.
Catching himself, Roxas quickly rolled back into bed. "Yeah. She… I offered her driving lessons. She's dangerous on the road."
"Uh-huh." Xion said slowly. She fiddled with one of the panda's ears. "How unlike you to offer someone free lessons…"
"It's nothing. I helped you and Sora learn how to drive too."
"While I concede the fact that you helped, I still can't get past the fact that you're helping someone you supposedly dislike." Xion said slyly. "Has something changed?"
"They went out to get ice cream together before coming home. Does that count?" Sora tilted his head.
"You got ice cream?" Xion asked excitedly. The body under the blanket squirmed, but remained silent. "You didn't tell me about that part!"
"None of your business." His reply was short, surely hiding an embarrassed face. "What does it matter? Nothing's different. She's still annoying."
"I think it's progress!" Xion threw herself on the lump she assumed to be Roxas and hugged it tightly. "Little Roxas is growing up!"
"Get off me!"
"I hate to interrupt the love fest here, but are you ready to go, Sora?" Xion and Sora turned to Riku, who stood at the door to Roxas's room with his arms crossed.
"Is Riku here now? Guess it's a party." Roxas grumbled just low enough for Riku not to hear. Xion pounded the lump under the blanket, earning a grunt of pain.
"He's a little cranky in the morning." Xion explained after seeing Riku's confused expression.
"I'd be cranky too if you woke me up like that." Riku observed. He turned to his best friend. "Kairi sent you a text saying she was ready to go."
"Really?" Sora checked his pockets, only to find that his phone was not on his person. He looked up at Riku just in time to catch the phone flying at him. He caught it easily. "Oh. Thanks for finding this."
"Yup." He turned to Xion. "Are you and Roxas coming with us?"
Xion looked at the lump beneath the blankets and shook her head. "I don't think so. You guys can go ahead."
Riku nodded. "All right. I'll see you guys at laser tag tonight." Sora got up to follow him out of the room, but they paused when Xion spoke up.
"Correction: you'll be seeing me at dinner tonight. Pick me up at seven?"
The boys blinked in surprise at Xion's forwardness. Riku nodded again.
"Uh, sure. See you."
"Bye!" She waved with a smile. Neither she nor Roxas moved until they heard the front door close.
"Dinner now? Are you serious?" Roxas threw his covers off in a huff. He appeared to be fully awake now.
"What? He offered. I declined before, but I changed my mind." Xion shrugged. She pushed off the bed, turning around at the door. "Oh don't give me that look. You don't own me."
"I don't, but I can still lock you in a basement somewhere." Roxas grumbled. The blond threw his covers aside and stretched. "You could prevent this event from happening if you call Riku and tell him that you can't go."
Xion shook her head, an amused smile on her face. "Shut up and get ready, Roxas. You have a driving lesson to give."
Naminé sighed in relief as she finished placing the dishes in their correct places. The blonde woke up well before Sora and Riku came by to pick up Kairi. At her sister's request, Naminé prepared breakfast for everyone. However, Riku declined any food offered to him, citing an earlier breakfast as adequate fuel. As such, Naminé had more leftovers than she anticipated. She cooked for another boy, after all.
The sound of the doorbell rang through the house before Naminé could put the lone plate of breakfast food in the refrigerator. She immediately checked her outfit: Sora told her that Xion and Roxas were on the way, and Naminé made sure she wouldn't be caught in her pajamas by that time.
Satisfied with her attire, Naminé quickly made her way to the door, unlocking and pulling it open without checking. Her assumption proved to be correct.
The first thing that greeted her— besides Xion's wide smile— was a boyish groan. "Ugh, why are you awake?"
She blinked. However, before she could retort, Xion held her hand up and stepped into the house. "Ignore him. He's cranky this morning because he hasn't had any breakfast."
"I'm sleepy too, so can I go home now?"
Xion ignored him and pulled him inside. Naminé stepped aside, closing the door after they passed. "Well, thank you for bringing him to me. Now I have to deal with him too." Naminé rolled her eyes, getting a laugh out of Xion.
"That's what I do: dump my burdens on other people!" Xion clapped her hands together with a giggle. "Now that I've established that, I would like to follow it up with a request."
"I'm going to sleep, 'kay?" Roxas turned on his heel, but felt a hand hold him in place.
"I don't think Naminé gave you permission to sleep in her bed." Xion reminded. Roxas looked at Naminé before returning his gaze to his best friend.
"Well I'm not going to sleep in Kairi's room. I'll feel bad for sleeping in a bed that's made."
"Is your bed made?" Xion turned around to ask Naminé.
"Absolutely."
"Well, now I don't feel bad because it's Naminé's." His smirk was short-lived as Xion dug her nails into his shoulder.
"As I was saying," the words came out strained, most likely due to the amount of force her fingers were exerting on her poor friend's skin, "I was wondering if you had anything to eat for this child."
Naminé couldn't help but smile. Xion seemed to control Roxas so easily. "I have leftovers." The struggles immediately ceased; the mention of food seemed to pique his interest. "I don't know how they'll taste now, but Riku didn't eat anything. I think it'll be enough for him."
Roxas immediately deflated. "Wait, I'm getting Riku's leftovers? I'd rather starve."
"They're not his leftovers. He didn't touch them. And if you're not going to eat, I'll probably end up throwing it away."
Roxas didn't say anything; instead, he walked right past the girls and made his way into the kitchen.
Xion eyed her friend just to make sure he wasn't up to anything. When she saw him pop a plate in the microwave, she returned her attention to Naminé.
"So what will you be doing with the rest of your day?"
Naminé motioned Xion to follow her to her room. "I don't really have any plans. I'm doing chores for now, but besides that… nothing really. Why do you ask?"
Xion grinned. Time to try that door-in-the-face technique. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come with us to laser tag tonight. I mean, it's supposed to be just a few of us since paintball leaked to the group, but I don't think anyone would mind you around."
Naminé lifted her laundry basket, resting it on her hip as she stood in thought. "Uh, sure. I wouldn't mind watching."
"I was thinking more along the lines of playing." Xion grinned mirthfully. She followed Naminé to the laundry room. "Three on three is fun, but we only need to try that once."
Naminé shook her head. "I don't know… I get tired pretty easily."
Xion didn't drop her smile. "I guess that's okay. Will you at least come and watch us though? Sora, Riku and your sister are going against me, Roxas and Axel. I think you'd at least enjoy spectating."
Naminé smiled back. "I really don't have much else to do. Why not?"
"Great!" Xion cheered, both over the fact that Naminé was going and the fact that her persuasion technique actually worked. "It won't be until much later since it's a lot cheaper that way. I'm counting on seeing you there!"
"Are you leaving already?" Naminé turned around, closing the washer. "I thought you were going to stay a bit longer."
"Yeah, I gotta go to the hospital to visit—" Xion paused shortly, "— some patients. I volunteer there. There are a couple regulars there, so…"
"Regulars? Are you talking about injury-prone people or something?"
"Let's go with dialysis." Xion nodded. "Take care of Roxas for me."
"You're leaving him here?" Naminé asked quickly, almost worriedly.
"Yeah, I think I will. If you want him out of your hair as early as possible, you could always drive him home." Xion teased before walking off. "Roxas! I'm taking your car!"
"Huh?" Roxas grunted with a mouthful of food.
Naminé ran into the living room, following after her aloof visitor. "Xion!"
"I'll see you later, Naminé!" With that, Xion slipped out the door, leaving Naminé alone with Roxas.
The blonde slowly turned around, holding in a groan as she made eye contact with Roxas. The corners of his lips slowly twitched upward.
"What?" Naminé shifted, feeling insecure under his gaze.
"You cook surprisingly well for someone who has a personal chef to do it for her."
"I think you just complimented my cooking." Naminé fought down a smile.
"And I think I'm right in suggesting that you stay in the kitchen." Roxas shot back.
"Keep that up and you'll never taste my cooking again." Naminé approached the table, taking the seat directly across from Roxas. "I didn't really have to do anything to make that."
"You're a natural." Roxas finished the last of his blueberry pancake, obnoxiously flexing his jaw as he chewed. He held the empty plate out. "Well, I'm done."
Naminé narrowed her eyes. "What do you want me to do with it?"
"You're the hostess, I'm the guest." Roxas reasoned. "Give it a thought and you'll realize I'm right."
Naminé grudgingly took the plate from Roxas, glaring at him for smiling cockily. She placed the plate in the sink and left it there: she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of watching her clean up after him, even if it pained her to leave a dirty dish in the sink. When she turned around, Roxas was nowhere to be found.
"Roxas?" Naminé looked around the kitchen. She cautiously turned a corner, half-expecting him to jump out and scare her. He wasn't there. Naminé turned around and called his name again. Walking into the living room, Naminé looked left and right into the hallways that led to the bedrooms. All the doors were closed.
Naminé narrowed her eyes. If this was his idea of a prank, then the obvious conclusion was that Roxas sucked. How could he possibly disappear completely during the second she had her back turned?
The blonde first checked the hallway that led to the far wing of the house. She opened every door and peeked inside, but Roxas was nowhere to be found. She then eliminated every other hiding place: the laundry room, the bathroom, and the garage were all clear. She was that she locked her studio too, so that only left her room.
"Of course." Naminé groaned. Roxas would go to her room for the sole reason that she didn't want him anywhere near it. She quickly approached her door, steeling herself for the possibility that he might be waiting for her to enter. Again, Naminé was met with silence. Instead, she found Roxas in her bed. He apparently took it upon himself to sleep wherever he pleased.
"I don't remember giving you permission to even come in here." Naminé drawled as she walked to her bed. She planned to kick him out, but paused when she found that he was actually asleep. The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. He must've been really tired if he fell asleep within moments of hitting the bed.
A small smile made its way to Naminé's face. She couldn't bring herself to shove the sleeping boy off her bed. Instead, she pulled the opposite side of the blanket and tossed it over his resting form.
"You better fix my bed when you wake up." Naminé whispered with a smile.
The door of her bedroom closed with a quiet click.
"Have you seen Sora anywhere?"
Kairi stopped what she was doing and gave Riku a hard look. "You mean you sent him back?"
"Yeah, like twenty minutes ago. I was already done unloading the boat."
Kairi wiped her forehead with her wrist, releasing a long sigh. She and her friends thought the best time to clean Play Island was before noon, a time when the air was cooler and the sun didn't shine as brightly. Kairi, however, forgot how hot it got regardless of time: heavy lifting plus warm weather equaled scorching heat and dehydration.
Sora either fainted somewhere— highly unlikely— or was hiding out in a cooler spot.
"Typical…" Kairi stared at her handiwork for a few seconds before returning her attention to Riku. "He's probably hiding somewhere. What do you say we take a short break and look for him?"
Riku glanced down at the bonfire circle they made. A few more bricks to raise the wall of the fire pit would suffice, but walking from the boat to the circle with heavy loads in hand really took its toll on him.
Sora could put the finishing touches on. After all, he and Kairi did the bulk of the work.
He smiled at his friend. "Lead the way. I trust your Sora senses." Riku teased as he walked over to Kairi.
"Oh stop." Kairi shook her head. "Let's check the shack. That lazy bum better had found something else to do." Kairi led Riku to the shoreline, avoiding the hot sand higher along the beach.
Riku easily kept up with her. "You alright, Kairi? You've been doing a lot of lifting."
Kairi smiled over his concern. "I'm fine. All this lifting is easy work when you have two boys helping."
"Sora hasn't done anything though."
"I know, but you do as much work as two guys anyway." Kairi teased. "In all seriousness, my biggest concern is my tan. I better not end up with ugly lines." Kairi tugged at the strings of her bikini top.
The tall boy rolled his eyes. "Why are girls always so worried about that?"
"Because it's a legitimate concern! What do you have to worry about? You don't have to wear strapless dresses or tube tops or anything that makes you look stupid. You guys can tear your shirt off and you're good to go." Kairi motioned at Riku's topless forms. "Society and its standards…"
"If you want to walk around topless, by all means…" Riku wrapped his arm over Kairi's shoulders and shook her teasingly.
Kairi threw his arm off, wiping the sweat off her. "Ew! You know that's not what I meant!"
"What did you mean then?"
"I'm talking about how guys don't have to worry about tan lines. You guys never wear shorts shorter than your swimming trunks, so it's never a problem."
Riku raised his shorts, noting the slightly lighter skin of his upper leg. "I suppose that's true, but I can easily rectify that by wearing my Speedo briefs."
Kairi grimaced. "Oh gosh. You actually own a pair?"
"Swim team, Kairi. These muscles didn't magically appear you know." Riku flexed jokingly, getting a giggle out of the redhead.
"Really? I thought you were born with a six pack and biceps of steel." She poked his chest. "But seriously, do everyone a favor and ditch the swimming briefs."
"I wear it for the ladies, Kairi."
"That's disgusting."
The pair walked along the watery sand until they reached the shack. Sprinting to the front door, they quickly slipped inside to avoid burning their feet. Sora was nowhere to be found on the first floor. Kairi looked around the small room with a smile. The familiar salty smell blowing in from outside filled the empty shack.
"It seems to get smaller and smaller every time I come in here."
"At least Sora cleaned it up a little." Riku observed as he walked around. He tested the lone ladder that led to the upper floor. "Think he went up?"
"Probably." Kairi replied absently, gazing out the window. "Do you remember the games we played as kids? You two would always make me wait upstairs and watch from the window as you two raced to me."
"We were knights on a quest to rescue a princess." Riku slowly walked over and stood next to Kairi.
"I recall you always beating Sora."
"I don't know…" Riku dragged his last word with a smile. "I think he won the last one."
Kairi, oblivious to what Riku actually meant, merely giggled. "Good for him. He used to get so worked up when you guys competed."
"We still do if you put us on opposite teams. It's much better if we're on the same side." Riku peered up the small opening in the roof. "Why don't you go check upstairs?"
"Too scared to climb the old ladder?" Kairi asked with mirthful eyes.
"I'll check somewhere else, thank you." Riku pulled the door open, using extra force when it stuck. "I'll have this fixed by tomorrow too."
Kairi looked upward, inspecting each rung of the ladder carefully. When she decided that all of them would hold her weight, she firmly grasped the sides and stepped onto the first step. She confidently climbed up, earning only a wooden moan on the second highest rung.
She pulled herself up, using her arms to lift the rest of her weight onto the floor. She sat in the middle of the room and looked around, smirking when she found Sora's sleeping figure on the far side of the room. As quietly as possible, Kairi crawled her way over until she knelt directly behind him.
Despite her many options and ideas, Kairi sat still for a moment, awed over Sora's ability to fall asleep anywhere at any time. She mused to herself, entertaining thoughts that her boyfriend might actually be narcoleptic. Was it safe to wake a narcoleptic up that quickly though? What if he really did suffer from the affliction?
Or maybe he was just a lazy bum. That was infinitely more likely.
"Wake up, Sora!" Kairi said airily. She shook him for extra waking power.
The sleeping boy released a slow groan. "Just ten more minutes…"
The redhead rolled her eyes. "You're sleeping on a hard wood floor. Why do you even want ten more minutes?"
"No, I didn't fail that test." Sora replied sleepily. He slipped right back into the dream world.
Kairi raised her brow, not knowing what to make of his response. Maybe he never truly woke up. "Sora, come on! Wake up!" Kairi threw herself across his body, her abdomen resting across his own. Sora woke up with a wonderfully winded feeling.
"K-Kairi…" Sora complained, drawing a few large breaths.
Giggling in her success, Kairi quickly crawled over Sora, making sure to press her whole weight on him before settling on the other side of him. "I'm surprised that worked!" She hovered over his face with a wide smile.
"Have you ever tried to sleep without breathing? It's impossible." Sora rolled onto his side, facing Kairi. "I woke up to see you, not to do work."
"Well I came here to get some things done, so if you work, you get to see me!" Kairi shrugged as if there was no choice to be made. "Win-win situation for both of us."
"I'm not going to work if I don't have to. Exhibit A: my girlfriend is currently right here in front of me, half-naked, hot, and sweaty. I'm not working either. Wouldn't you say I succeeded? This is win-win for me." Sora waggled his eyebrows in amusement.
"You called me your girlfriend." Kairi said in surprise.
The smile on Sora's face dropped slightly before becoming even wider. "I haven't before? That's strange. You are my girlfriend after all." Sora snaked an arm around Kairi's waist and pulled her to him. "Isn't that right?"
"Yeah…" Kairi said quietly. She rested her weight on Sora, using one of her hands to stay balanced.
"Mmhmm." Slowly, Kairi drew closer and closer to Sora's face. "You never called me your boyfriend."
"You should already know that you are."
"Got that right." Sora smiled, running a finger down the side of Kairi's face. "This is perfect, isn't it?"
A smile slowly made its way onto the redhead's features. "I suppose…" she slowly stroked Sora's face before abruptly pushing away. "But it's not."
Sora frowned in disappointment. "Why not?"
"Well for one thing, you turned on the romance rather fast. There's a motive behind that."
"I can't kiss you when I want?"
"Was that what you were going for?" Kairi pressed a finger to her chin in thought. "I would have kissed you too if I knew you weren't trying to grab a couple extra minutes of sleep."
"I wasn't—" Sora cut himself off when Kairi gave him a hard look. He sighed in defeat, but smiled mischievously. "Fine. I was trying to get you to stay here with me for a while. Can you blame me?"
"We're supposed to be working, Sora."
"But wouldn't you rather be sleeping here with your boyfriend?" Sora complained. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
"If only everything went our way…" Kairi muttered as she stood. Her hand shot out, waiting for Sora to take it. "Come on, you lazy bum. No more tricks from you. It's time to get this over with."
"Can I at least get a kiss?"
"If you stand."
After a short pause, Sora reluctantly took Kairi's hand and picked himself up. He looked at Kairi expectantly, only to receive a peck on the cheek.
"There you go!"
The boy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist. "I was thinking more along the lines of—"
"You won't be getting one unless we're all done with things here." Kairi gave Sora a squeeze before separating. "Is that motivating enough? The sooner we finish things here, the better!"
"You drive such a hard bargain."
"Oh please. Get those garbage bags there and take 'em to the boat. We still have quite a few things to clean up!"
"And this is what I get for being nice to him." Naminé stuffed her pillowcases into her washer, a look of clear annoyance etched onto her face. Roxas managed to wake up after two hours and appeared to be well-rested for the driving lesson.
That lesson would have started if he hadn't drooled all over one of Naminé's pillows. And since it was part of a matching set, Naminé had to wash it all at the same time. The wash would clean her sheets of his germs anyway, which were clearly less desirable than regular germs.
"Naminé, I just did you a favor!" Roxas called from outside the laundry room. "Do you like puppies and horses?"
"Yes, Roxas. I also happen to be in the mood to talk about it too." Naminé replied impatiently. His good mood was starting to irk her.
"Well, I just added that to your lists of likes on your profile! Oh, and you're also part of a new group that advocates the legalization of bestiality."
Naminé threw her head back and groaned. What did she do to deserve this? When did she ever do something that warranted this torture?
"Help me…" Naminé whined, stomping her way to the living room. Roxas lay cozily on the sofa, her tablet situated horizontally in his hands. "Give me that!" She snapped.
"Hey!" Roxas unsuccessfully tried to take the device back.
Naminé turned on her heel, walking into her bedroom. She gritted her teeth when she read over Roxas's actions.
You are now a fan of butts, more butts, booty, dat ass, junk in the trunk—
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Naminé pinched the bridge of her nose He had the tablet for two minutes. Two.
"If you don't like any of those things, you might want to clear your status…" Roxas said cheekily. "You are, after all, announcing that you like the smell of your own farts."
"Why must you always do this?"
"Well if you gave me more time, I would've looked at all the cool features on that thing." Roxas replied shortly. "Are you done with your laundry yet? I'm bored."
Naminé slowly flexed her jaw. He was probably doing this on purpose. He knew he was irritating her, and he was just pushing the envelope in typical Roxas fashion.
"Why don't we start the driving lesson now then?" Naminé placed her tablet on her bed and pushed Roxas out of her room. She quickly closed the door.
Roxas stretched his arms above his head, yawning loudly in Naminé's face. "I don't really feel like it."
"Get in the car." The small girl ordered. Roxas blinked once before silently heading off to the garage. A sigh escaped the blonde's lips. Listening: that was progress right there.
To her relief, Roxas was sitting in the passenger's seat of her car by the time she entered the garage. After opening the large metal door, Naminé entered her car with a sigh. She looked to Roxas expectantly.
He only stared back. "What?"
"Do you have anything to say?"
"No." Roxas frowned. "Should I?"
"Isn't this a lesson?"
"Well, yeah." Roxas scratched the back of his head. "I kind of figured that you knew what to do before taking the car out of park."
"Oh." Naminé pressed her lips together, buckling in and starting the car. She adjusted her mirrors, remembering that Roxas was the last person to drive it.
"This is the first driving lesson between Naminé and me. If you are watching this, then I am either dead, in a coma, or laughing along with you. If it is in fact the second, then pull the plug if applicable. I never really liked any of you anyway." Naminé looked over to see Roxas talking to a small camcorder, holding it so that both of them appeared in the shot. "Oh, look! She's looking at the camera. Say hi, Nami— hey!"
Naminé snatched the camcorder and quickly popped the batteries out. She threw them to a corner of the garage.
"Those were fresh batteries!" Roxas whined.
"Are you serious right now? What has gotten into you?" Naminé glared at him, her eyes narrowed to slits. "You're supposed to teach me how to drive, not video log the whole thing like it's some kind of joke!"
"Well it would help if you actually started driving." Roxas growled before pushing the gear into reverse. Naminé huffed, but quickly backed out of the garage and turned out of her driveway. "Turn on the air. I'm hot."
"Where am I supposed to go?"
"Drive around the neighborhood. I don't care. Just drive."
Naminé shifted the car into drive. "Where and when does the lesson start?"
Roxas looked up before shrugging. "I dunno. Just drive. Let's go! Take that foot off the brake!"
"Where am I supposed to drive?"
"Anywhere!"
"I'm not moving until you tell me!"
"Yeah you are." Roxas reached over and pulled Naminé's leg off the brake. The car bounced forward before coming to an abrupt stop as Naminé pressed her foot against it quickly.
"Hey! You can't just lift people's legs like that!"
"I just did. Now drive!"
"Where?"
"Are you the one teaching this lesson? No, you're not! So stop talking and start driving!" Roxas shot back. Naminé glared at him, her gaze unwavering, before slowly relenting and lifting her foot off the brake. They began moving forward.
"I'm not doing this again." Naminé snapped as she made a turn that would lead out of her neighborhood. "You're an awful teacher."
"I think you're just a bad student. I'm not the one with an illegally-obtained license here. You are."
"Well you are doing nothing to help me drive. In fact, you've been doing nothing but making it worse." Naminé retorted angrily. She turned onto the main freeway. "See? And now I'm here and I don't know where to go."
"Well I guess you better drive somewhere." Roxas crossed his arms, his face set in a stoic stare forward.
"This is ridiculous." Naminé complained. She veered into a turning lane, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't cutting anyone off. "This is such a waste of gas. You're supposed to be helping me."
"Then follow this road." Roxas replied shortly. He then flipped the air conditioning off. "Open your window."
"Why? It's hot outside."
"We'll save gas this way, since you're so concerned about that." Roxas brought his own window down, simultaneously opening the sunroof. "If you get hot, just drive faster. We'll get more wind that way." Roxas said with a cheeky grin.
"Great." The driver rolled her eyes. "It's either break the law and be comfortable or drive in this ridiculous heat."
"The light's green." Roxas pointed out. "Hurry up. The sooner we get to the park, the better."
"Are we going to practice in the parking lot or something?" Naminé stole a quick glance at Roxas, hoping to get something concrete out of him.
"Oh. Something like that. Sounds good." Roxas nodded.
"Are you serious? That wasn't already in your plan?"
"Who plans stuff like that?" Roxas's brows furrowed. "Just concentrate on driving."
The pair fell into silence as they made their way to the coast. Apparently they chose to drive at a time of heavy pedestrian traffic: large groups of people walked by at every light and crosswalk, dressed in their suits and work uniforms. Naminé had almost hit a woman had she not noticed Roxas hitting the air brakes well before the intersection. Amazingly enough, her instructor managed to keep silent. She was both relieved and disappointed at the same time.
When they finally reached the park, Roxas pointed to a small parking lot across the park. For the most part, the lot was empty; only the row closest to the park had cars that were adjacently parked.
"Park there." Roxas nodded in the direction of the empty row of spaces on their left. Naminé brought the car into the spot, parking after straightening her wheel.
She looked to Roxas expectantly. "Well now what?"
"The lines of these parking spaces are rectangles. You only parked correctly if your wheels are aligned outside the rectangles. Do you think you parked correctly?"
Naminé shrugged. "I figured it didn't really matter since we're the only car in this row."
"Check then." Roxas opened his door, looking down. Naminé did the same, delighted to see that she was well outside the rectangle.
"I'm fine on this side!"
"Not on this." Roxas closed his door. "Back up and do it again."
Naminé repeated the process, parking a few spaces down. Her second attempt placed the car a little to the left this time.
"Do you understand what you're doing wrong?" Roxas raised a brow when Naminé messed up her fourth attempt.
"I'm not parking in the lines."
"You're either undershooting or overshooting the spot. This time, I want you to widen your turn by turning right slightly, and then bring the car in."
"All right…" Naminé released a sigh of frustration as she backed out of the parking space. Keeping Roxas's words in mind, she pulled to the right slightly before parking the car. Almost dreadfully, Naminé opened her door. She smiled when she saw that she was just inside the parking spot. "I'm clear on this side."
"This side too." Roxas announced as he peered out the window. "I knew that would work."
"Because you're an elite driver, right?"
"Something like that." Roxas grinned confidently. "Let's try it from a different side so that you're turning right into the parking spot instead of left."
Naminé repeated the same procedure, sweating slightly from the heat that flowed into the car. Right before she parked, she widened her turn and pulled the car in. Her first attempt was a success.
"Yes!" She cheered. "I think I have parking down."
"Look at you, getting all cocky because you can park. You're supposed to be able to do that before you get your license, you know." Roxas teased.
"Don't rain on my parade. This is progress. I'm getting better."
"Which speaks volumes about my teaching skills, don't you think?"
"I'll give you credit when I feel confident in my driving skills." Naminé shrugged. "Can we put the windows up already? It's so hot outside…"
"Go ahead." Roxas turned the air conditioning to the highest setting. "Speaking of confidence, I think that's something you're missing. Half of your driving problems would disappear if you were a little more confident."
"What are you talking about?"
"Think about it." Roxas held up a hand. "Do you remember having any problems before we fell quiet?"
"Wasn't there that one time— huh. No… no, I guess I didn't." Naminé realized slowly. "How?"
"I don't know. Maybe because you were bitching at me the whole time." Roxas chuckled. He stopped when he saw that the driver didn't find his joke as funny as he did. "Whatever. Point is, I kept you slightly distracted. You were distracted so that you weren't thinking about getting into an accident, but at the same time, you were focused enough to drive safely."
"So I need to be distracted to drive safely? That sounds backwards."
"Yes, but you're also a distracted driver. What do you think about while you drive?" Roxas asked, hoping to pick her brain.
Naminé pressed her lips together in thought. "I'm trying not to run into anyone. I'm trying to remember to check my mirrors every now and then, and I'm hoping that nobody notices how nervous I am behind the wheel." The blonde wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "Guess I am a little distracted…"
"It's a good intention, but you do a crappy job with handling it all." Roxas shrugged. "Just drive a little more confidently. Come on. I want you to park in between those two cars." Roxas indicated the only spot in the lot with cars on either side.
Keeping Roxas's words in mind, Naminé drove over to a more crowded area of the lot. She repeated the parking maneuver Roxas had shown her, but stopped when the front of her car looked like it was about to hit another car in the spot next to hers.
"Am I going to hit that?" Naminé asked as she peered over the dashboard. She looked awfully close to making contact.
"I don't know. Are you?" Roxas asked with the slightest of smiles.
"I think I am."
"Wrong!" Roxas reached over, turning the wheel as far as he could. "Take your foot off the brake." He ordered soon after.
"Are you sure?" Naminé asked worriedly. She wasn't convinced that she'd clear it.
"Yes. Trust me."
The driver tilted her head with a sardonic smirk. "See, that sounds really simple if you don't apply the context. You might as well have said 'pretend the past sixteen years didn't happen' in its place."
"Just do it." Roxas chuckled. Naminé, with an agonizingly slow rate, lifted her foot off the brake. Their car seemed to easily slide into the spot. "Told you."
"How did we get away with that?" She seemed almost amazed that they didn't hit another car.
"Instinct, I guess. It would help if you were familiar with your own car. And maybe a little confidence too." Roxas added with a shrug. "Just saying."
"It looked like I was going to hit the car! Better safe than sorry, right?"
The boy grunted derisively. "Better to be right."
"That pretty much explains why we don't get along."
"What?"
"Never mind." The driver rolled her eyes, biting her lip to keep from giggling. "What's next?"
"We're doing that again, of course." With a sigh, Roxas placed his elbow on the armrest of his door and leaned against his hand. "Try doing this with a little more faith in yourself. Don't second guess unless it looks close."
"Easier said than done…" Naminé mumbled. The car backed out of the spot. The driver took one round around the parking lot before retreating to the same spot, this time turning from a different side. Again, Naminé stopped when she was halfway inside the spot. "I don't know…"
"Look at it. Can you turn the wheel more? IS your car small enough to make this turn tight enough?"
Naminé inched forward a bit, hoping to see how tight her turn was. It didn't help. Try being a little more confident. "I think I'll make it." She eased the pressure on the brake.
"No!" Roxas shrieked. The car came to quick stop as he pulled the emergency brake. "Are you insane?"
"What did I do?" Naminé looked to her instructor, confusion painted all over her face.
"You're not going to make that! Did you not listen to my questions?"
"I thought you were telling me to have a little more faith in myself!"
"Yeah, but not when you're blatantly wrong!" Roxas pointed to the front of the car. "Does that look like it'll go forward without hitting this car?"
"It looks exactly the same as last time. I made that." Naminé said stubbornly. "How do you know I won't make this one?"
"Do you wanna bet on it? Park the car and watch what happens if I move up a little more." Roxas argued.
"Fine, fine." Naminé released the emergency brake and reversed the car. She easily slid into the spot with a forward direction. "Then I'll just do that every time."
"I don't think you would have passed your driving test with that." Roxas calmed a little, sinking into his seat. "I think that's enough for today. Turn off the car."
Naminé had no idea why they were actually parking, but she obeyed. "Aren't we going home?"
Roxas unbuckled his seat belt. "Not right now. I didn't have you drive me to the park for just driving lessons."
Having long finished their island cleaning tasks, Kairi, Sora and Riku sat at the edge of their mini island. As kids, they'd always refer to the rock as 'the baby island,' characterized by the lone palm tree that insisted that growing horizontally was all the rage back in the old days. Unfortunately, it would be the societal equivalent of "that one person who tried to start a trend and failed to convince anyone to tag along, and therefore looked extremely noticeable in the crowd." Still, Kairi and her friends made the tree their own. The bent palm was their territory on Play Island.
Maybe the misfit palm had something going for it after all.
"Instead of seeing who can catch the bigger fish, why don't we change it so that it's about who can catch a fish?" Kairi groaned. She lay across the trunk of their tree, watching Riku and Sora waiting patiently for a bite. The two boys sat on the edge of their little rock, backs to Kairi and feet dangling over the edge.
"You'll scare away the fish if you keep talking." Riku hushed.
"We've been here for thirty minutes already!" the redhead whined. "And it is so freaking hot. Can't you guys do this on your own time?"
"I thought we were all going back a couple hours before laser tag." Sora turned around to face his girlfriend. "Or did I miss something?"
"That was before I knew it was going to get this hot." Fanning herself with a notepad, Kairi pulled herself into a sitting position. "I finished my list a while ago. I'm pretty sure Selphie alone could bring all this stuff."
"Not the food. I'm telling you, Kairi, that is not enough food for everyone." Riku chided, reeling in his empty line.
"How is this not enough? You mean to tell me we're going to need more than ten boxes of pizza?"
"At least fifteen. The more food the better. Plus, with everyone drinking, food is a good thing." Sora shrugged.
"Hopefully it doesn't end up on the sand by the end of the night." Riku chuckled. "More food means it's harder to get drunk, as long as you're eating a lot." Riku turned to Kairi with a smile. "Unless, of course, you want everyone to get wasted."
"You caught me." Kairi said sarcastically. After looking over her list for the umpteenth time— she made a small edit on the number of pizzas to buy without telling either of the boys— Kairi grew tired of playing the waiting game. It was time for this stupid show match to end. "Hey boys, anyone catch anything yet?"
"Soon." Sora insisted as he slowly turned the reel of his fishing rod. "I can feel it."
"Well reel in, guys. As referee, I'm declaring a sudden death match."
"Sudden death? That sounds way more violent than it should."
"Fine. Overtime… or something. Whatever!" Kairi grew flustered when the boys laughed at her. "It's a winner-take-all situation now since you guys are taking too long."
"What's the rush?" Riku raised a brow.
"I need to get home and shower." Kairi reasoned.
"You're going to be playing laser tag later. You're going to get all sweaty again.
"So I'll shower after that too. Point is, this heat is too much. It's time to end this match by declaring a winner or declaring it a tie."
"A tie? But I'm winning!" Sora complained.
"How are you winning when nothing has happened?" Riku challenged. "If anyone is winning, it's me."
"Are you kidding me? I bet I'm a lot closer to catching something than you are. I can feel it."
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Enough already!" Kairi interrupted their argument by stepping between them. "Reel in. One final cast to determine it all!"
The boys obeyed with a begrudging silence. Unknown to Kairi, shit just got real. The two boys glared at each other, hoping to prove the other wrong.
"You're going down."
"You're all talk, aren't you?"
"Lines ready?" Kairi ignored the banter and ran back to the tree. She didn't want to get caught by any of their hooks. "Prepare to cast in three—"
"Two." Riku counted off, his eyes trained in a fixed stare.
"One." Sora stared back with equal intensity, his arm bent at the elbow.
"Cast!" Kairi called. The boys simultaneously threw their lines out.
"My cast went farther." Riku said proudly.
"Good. You'll need the extra space and time." Sora grinned. Kairi noticed the boys fell into a silent concentration. They slowly turned their reels, hoping to tempt a bite. After a few moments, the tip of Riku's fishing rod twitched.
The taller boy sent a cocky smirk in Sora's direction. Just as he did, Sora's own fishing rod twitched. Sora smirked back.
"Oh great." Kairi mumbled under her breath. At the same time, both of their lines caught, quickly becoming taut as they each hooked a fish.
"Yes! This one is mine!"
"Let's see you talk after you see what I reel in!" Sora shot at Riku. The two boys skillfully reeled their catch, pulling and tiring the fish like they had done so many times before.
"Well? Where are they?" Kairi ran over, looking over the edge with eager eyes.
"Almost got it…"
"Here!"
The two boys brought their catch over the water at the same time. Neither of them looked at their catch as they declared their victory.
"I win!"
"Another win for me!"
"Uh, guys…"
"I reeled mine in faster!"
"That's because my cast went farther! Big deal!"
"Then that means I win 'cause I didn't have to go as far!"
"This is probably the saddest catch I've ever seen by anyone." Kairi cut in, pulling their lines in front of them. "Will you take a look at these beauties? You boys are too good."
Riku and Sora blinked in surprise They didn't expect the fish to be so…
"Why are they so small?" Sora asked, slightly horrified. He looked at Riku's fish as well. It wasn't any better.
"That… was a lot heavier than it looks." Riku finished lamely. He too looked at Sora's, coming to an immediate conclusion. "But I win. My fish is bigger."
Sora was quick to challenge. "Yeah right! Mine is way bigger than yours! Kairi, show him again!" The brunet turned to the redhead, only to watch her toss their small trophies back into the sea.
"Huh?" Kairi turned innocently, her hands now empty. "I thought you were done with those! My bad!"
"Aww, Kairi!" Riku and Sora ran over to the edge, looking at the water with disappointed frowns. "How am I supposed to put Sora in his place now?"
"I think you meant to thank her for saving you some embarrassment!" Sora pointed accusingly. "I definitely won that!"
"How about a tie?" Kairi only received a loud decline. She shrugged in defeat. "I tried."
"Well with this, my streak improves to ten." The taller boy crossed his arms proudly.
"Oh no you don't! I backed down last time because it was close, but not this one. I won that." Sora stomped his foot defiantly.
While the boys were arguing, Kairi shimmied out of her shorts and looked over the edge. Walking back to the bent tree, Kairi pulled her hair up and made sure her bathing suit would stay in place for the impact. "Boys?"
"Mine was like, twenty pounds!"
"Like that's believable! That little minnow was hardly an ounce!"
"Boys!" Kairi yelled loudly. The two quarreling friends turned to Kairi in shock.
"When did she do that?" Riku turned to Sora.
"I don't know." Sora said, his words turning into a jumbled mess.
"Come here. Now." Kairi beckoned the two with her finger. Riku and Sora would've gladly listened had she not looked so… angry.
"Did we do something wrong?" Riku looked to Sora with hopeless eyes.
"Am I in trouble?" Sora in turn looked to Kairi like a scared puppy.
"No. But both of you are fighting like a bunch of little kids. You guys are sixteen. Nobody cares how many fish you guys catch."
"Okay."
"So you two are coming with me." Kairi linked each of her arms in Sora's and Riku's. "We're all on the same team here. Let's go together."
"Huh?"
"What is she talking about—" Sora didn't have enough time to answer his question as Kairi pulled them off the mini island, leaping out with enough force to drag the two with them. They all hit the water with a loud splash. One by one, the friends broke the surface, each of them clearing the water from their eyes.
"That jump was a lot scarier as a kid, huh?" Kairi looked at her friends with a wide smile. "I remember how you guys would always have to convince me to jump. I never did it unless you both jumped with me."
"Well, look at yourself now." Riku laughed, treading the water fluidly. "You seemed to be just fine."
"Are you kidding me?" Kairi swam over to Sora, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'm braver than I was, but I still like to take you guys with me for the jump."
"You know that we'll gladly come to your side for help, but next time, a little warning would be nice." Sora turned himself around, facing Kairi. Clear drops of water fell from the tips of his hair.
"I thought a surprise was more appropriate. Now swim me back to shore!" Kairi ordered giddily.
Riku swam over to them, a glint in his eye as he nudged Sora. "Race you to shore."
"You're on! Kairi, can you—"
She shook her head, leaving no room for debate. "No. No more racing."
Sora gave Riku an apologetic look. "Sorry man. My lady has spoken."
Riku shrugged. "I'd make a joke about how whipped you are, but then I'd be making fun of your friendship."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Kairi placed a kiss on Sora's wet cheek. "It means that you always listen to what I say, Sora. Now come on! Swim me to shore like you used to."
Sora folded into a perfect breaststroke, water bubbling at his mouth. A small whine escaped from the water. "You mean I've always been whipped?"
"Pretty much." Roxas answered the driver's question. "You should see where some of the girls look when they talk to him. It's disgusting."
After spending an hour at the park, Naminé and Roxas drove home with the former behind the wheel. Roxas made sure to talk to Naminé the whole way back.
And it wasn't because he actually liked talking to her. He merely… valued his life. Naminé drove better— as best as she could, at least— when she had something to whine or complain about. Because that's all she did, really. Whine and complain and nag.
Or at least, that's what Roxas kept telling himself every time they found something to laugh about.
Regardless, Roxas's endeavor was nothing but successful. Save for a botched U-turn, Naminé made it home without scaring the little girl out of Roxas. It was both an ego-boost and slightly disappointing at the same time.
Home and safe, the teacher and student made their way to the living room as they waited for a laundry load to finish. Naminé insisted that they wait out the dryer cycle, citing a fear that the device might explode the one day they leave it running with nobody around. The time was thus filled with more idle conversation.
"Poor Sora."
"More like 'poor Kairi.' She's the one that has to deal with it."
"That's so gross!"
"It's only a rumor." Roxas snickered. "Sora just leaves himself susceptible to that stuff."
"What I want to know is how Sora's… package became the topic of the school. Did some of the boys in the locker room sneak a peek or something?"
"I doubt it. If you ask me, it's just a rumor to complement his kissing reputation." Roxas fell onto the couch with a sigh. How in the world did a conversation about overloaded washers turn into something about Sora and Kairi?
Oh.
"How vulgar…" Naminé shivered. She didn't understand how Sora could maintain that happy persona when so many people teased him. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that none of the rumors were really offensive. Being known as an amazing kisser isn't exactly something to be ashamed of, and most teenage boys she knew would be happy if their reason for fame was their large package.
"Ew. You're thinking about Sora now, aren't you?" Roxas looked at Naminé is disgust.
"What? No I am not!" Naminé blushed fiercely. She wasn't before, but now… well, tell someone not to think about a pink elephant and something happens. "I was just… wondering how Sora puts up with everything! And besides, Sora is Kairi's. We may be twins, but we're quite different."
"That I can agree with." Roxas grunted. He pulled out his phone and checked the time.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naminé narrowed her eyes. That accusatory tone of his never failed to get on her nerves.
"You and Kairi are light-years apart. She's nice, fun to talk to, easy to become friends with. You're also a lot louder than she is."
"Are you kidding me? Kairi's the one that gets all the attention for being the loud one, not me!" Naminé insisted. "And what are you talking about? I'm nice and easy to get along with too. Given, of course, that the person I'm talking to does not have the personality of a rock." Naminé flipped her hair back, throwing her legs over the side of the recliner she sat in.
"You know a person who has a personality like that? Clearly you're speaking about someone from your school. A teacher, perhaps."
"Oh, clearly." Naminé mocked with a smile. "You're brimming with charm and you brighten up whatever room you walk into."
"Wow. It only took you sixteen years to realize how awesome I am."
"I remember why I avoided your presence as much as possible." The conversation was interrupted by the single of the completed dryer cycle. Naminé immediately hopped out of her chair, with Roxas following closely behind.
"Hey." Roxas leaned against the door frame of the laundry room, crossing his arms. "You said avoided."
"Your point?" Naminé bent down to gather her clean sheets.
"It's past tense. What changed?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Naminé brushed past him and threw her belongings on her bed. "I remember you did your best to avoid me too. That worked for us."
"I have my reasons. Can't exactly tell you either." Roxas slowly walked over and helped Naminé fix her bedspread. "So what about yours?"
"I'm hoping to break you so that you make every effort possible to leave me alone." Naminé said with a closed-lip grin.
"You're lying." Roxas pointed out. "Besides, if that was your goal, then I'll be the one to break the news to you: you're failing."
"I haven't even been here for a month." Naminé shot back. "Let's see if you'll be saying the same thing by the end of this summer."
"If only that was your real goal here." Roxas flicked the bed sheet, spreading it out. "And even if it was, you're failing miserably."
Namine clicked her tongue. "You say that now… but I suppose we'll see, won't we?"
Roxas stepped up to the challenge, his eyes capturing hers with the same intensity. "I guess we will."
Redeeming Endeavor: Thank you so much to all of you who favorited or subscribed to LPA or myself! I'm really grateful that so many people are still subscribing to the story. Thank you so much.
I'd also like to point out some individuals who took the time to review and encourage me with steadfast dedication. Thank you, Dramamamapwnsall, PEANUT v1.2, BruHaeven, Lupus7, Spellbound a.k.a soragirl4ever, Handwritten, Draco Oblivion, ResoluteResolve, GreyPurpleBlack, Ash09, sora93kairi, TwinToshiro, Shan, Zoe the Hunter, LightSky, chibixbabe, Hegodart, Gear001, TalesOfStuf, elspoek1, Snazzy Elle, Topaz Tsubasa, Stonekipsta, Shire Folk, Gumi Harue, spadejackspade, Jagged girl, roxasXnamine-ftw, randomwriter19, Claymore Person, LoveLife45, Half-Dragon Hero, typewrite, ChocoIsu, Pink Star Art, Cool Haruhiism-follower, PatheticalyInLove/happy reader, Wishful-Thoughts, Yssa B, luckynumbereight, JCX, zestycrouton, Morgead'sgirl, continue (lol), PlushieBunny, TheCrazyAnimeFan, and Random Reader. I can't believe the amount of response I got. Thanks so much!
Chapter Data: Total Editing Time- 810 minutes. Word Count- 9,585. Ten Chapter Checkpoint: 115 favorites, 114 alerts, 286 Writing Time-5859 minutes (97.66 hours). True Word Count- 75,180.
Harmless Author Fact #11: I did IB in high school.
Take care, everyone! I'll see you around.