Hey everyone, I feel awful about how long I left this story without an update. Please accept my sincerest apologies. Along to the next chapter, this one may be a bit shorter than the other ones to ease us all (including myself) back into the story. Please enjoy!
'Carry on, carry on, as if
Nothing really matters.'
~Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
Xion
Xion hadn't expected to be seated at Ventus' table, assuring some random woman that she was not, in fact, sleeping with said male. She hadn't expected to not leave as soon as she woke up. But here she was, quietly seated at Ventus' table, listening to the woman-Aqua-talk animatedly with Ventus. Her hair was dyed so bright a blue it almost hurt to look at her. Xion had hoped that she could quickly slip out after she told Aqua that she wasn't dating the blue-haired woman's best friend, but alas, Aqua had placed her hand on Xion's shoulder, much to her horror, and insisted that Xion not have to leave right away. This had been just about the worst scenario possible that could have stemmed from her crashing at this guy's house. She hated people, and they generally seemed indifferently inclined to stay out of her way. The fact that Aqua was going against what a normal human being would act like towards Xion annoyed her greatly.
"So tell me, Ventus, how have you been? It's been a while!" Aqua inquired with a smile. Ventus shrugged and replied with a smile, "Well, I've been pretty decent. That job I told you about over the phone, I started last week. So now I'll have a little more money coming in." Aqua nodded thoughtfully and joked, "So you're working at a bar and at a church, what a classy combination!" The two laughed together for a moment before Aqua glanced over at Xion and asked, "So, Ven says you don't have a name, is that right?" Xion nodded and Aqua continued, "Well that's too bad. You look like an Ivy, can I call you Ivy?" Xion fought the urge to gag and nodded again. Ivy? Really? "Alright then, what do you do, Ivy?" "Huh?" "What do you do for a job?" Aqua clarified, and Xion thought about this. "I am in the marketing business." Aqua nodded thoughtfully and replied, "That sounds interesting. I'm a bouncer at a club. It's really quite fun."
Xion really didn't care what Aqua did, but the fact that she was talking to a bouncer did amuse her slightly. "So how's that?" she asked in spite of herself. The blue-haired woman smiled and said, "Oh, it's pretty entertaining most nights. I get to find guys trying to do scumbag-esque things to girls and kick them out. It's pretty awesome, actually." Xion bitterly thought that she would have liked a bouncer around for the past four years. It would have kept her out of several situations she'd rather not have to think about. Ventus was smiling at his friend and asked her, "Did you check the times at the airport for when the flight from The Islands gets in?" Aqua nodded, and checked her phone, "It'll be here in about twenty-ish minutes." Ventus nodded and continued, "Speaking of which, how was your flight?" Aqua smiled at her friend, "Well, it went pretty smoothly. I got to talking with the guy seated next to me, what an interesting guy. He was meeting an old friend for dinner too." Ventus smiled, "How fun."
The two friends turned to Xion at the same time and Aqua asked, "You want to come to dinner with us? It's all on Ven tonight!" "Hey!" Ven protested, but he was laughing with Aqua. Xion started to shake her head but Aqua stopped her, "Oh nonsense, you're coming with whether you want to or not." Xion tried to keep from glaring at the woman.
The restaurant was a fancy pasta place with an open salad bar and a live singer. Terra, Aqua and Ventus' friend was just taller than Aqua, about 6"0 and had long brown hair. He seemed so relaxed around them, but Xion could tell that he was the untitled leader of the bunch. Terra had lived on the Destiny Islands strip for the past two years and was in the construction business. That was the information that Xion collected before she stopped caring. She twirled her spaghetti around on her fork over and over again while the three chattered around her, occasionally asking her a question or telling her something about the other. They seemed so happy just babbling on about nothing. There was no urgency to finish up or any sadness that they would only all be in town for the week. They all just seemed this uncomfortable level of contentedness that made Xion squirm in her seat every so often.
Eventually, the friend bade each other goodbye with plans to catch up more the next day, and Terra told Xion that it was a pleasure to meet her with a shake of the hand. She nodded and agreed, and climbed into the back seat of Ventus' car. Once the three were back at Ventus' house, Xion insisted she had to go, but Ventus and Aqua would hear none of it. "Oh come now, Ivy, do you have any place to go?" Ventus asked quietly, and when Xion hesitated, he continued, "Please stay one more night, I won't bite, I promise." She sighed and told him, "Fine, but I do need to meet with a friend, I may be out late." He nodded, "That's fine, just try to come in quietly when you do, I'm not a heavy sleeper." He said with a smile.
So Xion went out that night and did her usual dealings, collected a fair amount of cash, and bought more bandages. And when she crept back into Ventus' house at nearly three in the morning, she locked herself in the bathroom and put those bandages to good use.
Naminé
The next day they had landed in Radiant Gardens and were waiting for a cab outside the airport. Sora had ordered the three of them Lattés, and Demyx was claiming their baggage while the other two waited on the curb. And Naminé was terrified. It wasn't enough that she was leaving the life that she'd been setting up for the past five years, but she was going to be reacquainted with her dearest friends from high school-one down, four to go. And the hardest one was about to be upon her. She'd always been…a little different around Roxas. They were good friends-though not as close as he and Xion had been-but she knew that after years of not even writing him, let alone seeing him, relations would be rocky. She was so scared of her not being good enough for him. She'd never felt good enough for him. Not that he'd made her feel inferior, of course, but she had always felt that she wouldn't be, well…pretty enough. She worried she'd be a disgrace to him now, that he'd have made it big and made some big happy life for himself and here she was, depressed, lonely, and doing nothing worth-while with her life.
She worried that she would disappoint. So when Sora and Demyx climbed into the cab without a care on their faces she hesitated for a minute. Why wasn't Sora worried at all? Roxas and he had been great friends, wasn't Sora just a little nervous about seeing his old friend again? Granted, Sora probably didn't feel the same for Roxas that she did, but she still had to wonder why he didn't seem anxious at all. Her heart only took off more as they made their way to the college he had attended. She'd only kept the address of where he lived on campus, and now she'd have to figure out if the office knew where he was currently. It was a long shot, but it was all they had to go off of.
As it turned out, one of the ladies working at the office had been exceptionally close with him, which made Naminé want to slap her. The lady at the office had given them Roxas' address without any further questioning, and after a few more minutes of the woman flirting with Demyx, they hailed another cab and were off to their new destination.
"Hey Sora?" Naminé asked from the front seat. "Yes?" he replied calmly. "What am I supposed to…what am I supposed say to him?" she inquired helplessly. She was met with a silence that made her want to burst into tears. After an uncomfortable moment, she heard Sora draw a breath and say, "To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm going to say…I'm nervous, too." "Really?" she replied. "Yeah. But listen, Naminé: You loved him. You still love him. I believe in the two of you. You guys will make it work. You'll be just fine, no matter what you say to him. I promise he'll be just as nervous. I know I would be if…if I were to come face to face with someone I loved."
Naminé didn't pretend to be clueless about who he was talking about-she knew he still loved Kairi, she knew he always would. But she didn't say anything to him. She simply laid back in her seat and close her eyes until she felt the cab slow to a stop. She opened her eyes and took in the small apartment complex in front of her. This was it. She took a deep breath, and stepped out of the cab with Sora and Demyx. Here went nothing.
Kairi
Kairi's nightmare was about to be over. Permanently. She's waited until she'd finished her shift at the club, and then bid Selphie goodbye. "Selphie, you've been such a good friend to me. Thank you so much." She said as Selphie was about to leave the club at around three a.m. Selphie had given her a weird look, but nodded and said, "Of course, you've been awesome." Kairi gave her a genuine smile, grateful for the girl's friendship. "Hey, Kairi, are you sure you're alright? You've been awfully strange the past couple of days." She said, stopping at the door on her way out. Kairi laughed and replied, "Of course! I've just felt a bit run down the past few weeks." Selphie nodded, and left the club without another word.
Kairi drove and drove and drove until she knew she wouldn't be near anything familiar. She picked a spot that was neat the sea, so she could still hear the sound of the waves crashing up against the shore. Her mind was swimming as she parked her car by the side of the interstate. For a minute she stared out the windshield at the dark abyss swallowing the car. Was she really about to do this? After all, she still had parents way back home, and maybe Sora would find her. Maybe she would get that happy ever after soon enough. But the very thought of him made her heart sink, and her eyes blur. She knew that if she waited any longer, she would only grow more miserable. It was pointless. Her life had become a big, laughable train wreck of feeling sorry for herself and being constantly reminded of how alone she really was. Her path had been decided. She was set on this rode. She just had to open the car door. She just had to step out and let the rest take care of itself.
So, as her tears pooled over her cheeks and dripped down her chin, Kairi stepped out of her car, and waited by the side of the interstate, listening to the lull of the waves until a pair of headlights came into view. She took a deep breath, inhaling the distinct smell of the salty sea, and once the headlights were close enough, she closed her eyes tight, and sprinted right in front of them.
Wow, that got dark really quickly. I didn't plan that, it simply came to me as I wrote. So sorry about that. I hope you guys will find it in you to review, because I could really use some assurance that my story is being enjoyed by you all. Please favorite, follow, etc. And have a great day!
Special thanks to the following: Tagabasa, Emo Unfaltering, Light-Sakura, Bookworm11114, and Megamewgirl (you reviewed on The Marvelous List of Summer Misfortunes but talked highly of this story. Thanks!) Thank you all for your nice reviews, I really appreciated them! Have an awesome day!