Hey everyone, sorry to have such a large break in between the previous chapter and this one, but my life outside of my computer has been demanding my attention. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.

'"If you love her", I said,

"you'll love somebody else someday."'

~Sylvia Plath, 'The Bell Jar'

Roxas

Roxas awoke the next morning to a stale taste on his tongue and a woman next to him. He looked over at the blonde haired beauty beside him, recollecting his night, before deciding that he had not done anything stupid to his dear friend, for which he was grateful. He watched the absolutely stunning creature beside him dream, admiring the way her lips curled up ever so slightly. Her hair fell in messy tangles around her pale face, and though he tried his best, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander down, over her shoulders, the way her breast stood out in his silk tank top, her thighs peeking at him from underneath grey shorts. She was, he concluded, the most glorious being to walk the earth. And while his mind and body somewhat disagreed on what he wanted to do with her, he knew that he could not survive without her again.

Roxas arose from the bed and stretched his arms above his head before tip toeing out of the room as discretely as possible. He'd hate to awaken her and have to explain that he'd drunkenly climbed into bed with her. No matter that his need to feel her next to him had not been a sexual inclination, but one of an utter need to know that she was in fact there, next to him. It was so surreal to him-that she was here, and she was, to his knowledge, happy to see him. God knows, he'd be horrified to see himself now. Roxas stepped into his bathroom and splashed some cool water onto his face. He'd gone days without drinking before, of course. He'd spent some nights not under a haze of fermented plants. But the thought of not being able to drink a magical little potion and feel better for a few hours sent his stomach tumbling. It'd been so long since he could remember a time where he'd had fun outside of a drink.

And that was what stopped him in his tracks. With his face towel halfway to his nose and his chin dribbling water. He really couldn't recall a time in which he had had genuine fun since…well, since high school. And that struck him as obscenely pathetic. He'd always carried a slight distaste for those who had peaked in high school, their glory days while they were still teenagers. He shuddered at the thought that that could be him. He scrubbed the water off his face in a hurry, and glanced at his pink eyes in the mirror before hustling out of the bathroom and through the living room where Axel slept on his sofa to the kitchen. Roxas took a deep breath, and glanced towards the doorway to the room the love of his life was sleeping in. This was for her. But what if, asked a voice inside his head, she does not love you? He paused for a fraction of a second, before concluding that he could always resume his old habits if she rejected him.

So, with a heart banging against his rib cage and a cold sweat on his brow, Roxas flung open the door to his refrigerator, and pulled out the first bottle of liquor that he could focus on. A half empty bottle of Captain Morgan. He shakily made his way into the living room, and popped open the window leading to an alley below. He took a deep breath, wound up, and chucked the bottle out the window, and watched the bottle fall and last on a patch of grass, and burst open. "Yes!" He cheered, thrusting his fists up into the air. He ran back into the kitchen, and retrieved a bottle of Fireball. He then sprinted over to the open window, and threw to bottle at hard as he could. He didn't wait for in to hit the ground, he simply ran back into the kitchen, grabbed as many beers as he could carry, and threw them, one by one, out the window. The glass shattering on the concrete below echoed up and into the apartment.

With a start, Axel jerked up, looking around in a daze, "What the hell…" he mumbled. "Axel, come help me!" Roxas exclaimed, throwing the last of the beer bottles out the window. "What the fuck are you doing?" Axel questioned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I'm getting rid of it. I'm getting rid of it all!" Roxas called as he returned to the kitchen and appeared a moment later with the remnants of margarita mix. "Um…buddy, did you fall and hit your head last night?" Axel asked, standing up and stretching. "No! I just decided that it was high time that I need to be happy." Roxas replied in a hurry, before tossing the margarita mix out of sight. "Jesus Christ, Roxas, you're crazy!" Axel exclaimed, sauntering to the window and surveying the trash below, "…but I think you're a champ for doing this, come on, let's get the rest of the stuff!" Roxas smiled up at his best friend, and for the first time in a long time, recognized how lucky he was to have friends such as this.

Then, the two friends finished cleaning out Roxas' fridge, tossing out bottles of beer, rum, and other obscure drinks, some of which Roxas had no idea how he'd obtained. After they'd rid the apartment of alcohol, Roxas glanced up at Axel, and the red head stared down at his best friend, and the two men broke into laughter. Breathless, joyful laughter, the kind that comes with relief and the feeling that you can fly. And in that moment, Roxas did feel as if he could fly. They laughed with one another for a moment, before Axel's eyes roamed, and locked onto something behind Roxas, and the red head widened his eyes. Roxas raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?" before turning, and with a tumble of his pulse, noticed the petite blonde woman standing in the doorway of the living room, a look of complete puzzlement on her angelic face. Roxas felt his heart beat fly through the roof, and he shakily greeted, "Naminé, hi! Um…" He cleared his throat and asked with his pulse roaring in his ear, "So, how long have you been standing there, Naminé?"

Riku

When Riku awoke the next morning he was greeted by the lights of a hotel bathroom beaming down on him with the force of the sun, it seemed. He groaned and sat up, acutely aware of the throbbing in the back of his head. "Dear God, Riku, what did you do to yourself last night?" he thought aloud, rubbing his head as he slowly heaved himself to his feet. He examined his reflection in the mirror, and groaned. He looked just about as terrible as he felt. Riku sighed and stripped himself of his clothes, and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water beat on his neck. Once he'd finished showering and secured a towel around his waist, he left the bathroom and examined the hotel room. What a mess he'd made. He scowled at the pillows, papers, and shoes scattered about the room, and set to at least pick up a little.

Riku began with the papers littering the floor. What on earth had he done last night that needed paper so much? He glanced around the room, his bed, the hotel desk, the night stand…and then he remembered. Riku gasped and reached for the receipt, a phone number scrawled onto it, barely legible, but still there. He felt a lump rise in his throat, and he smiled. He was going to find her. He just knew it-he could feel it! He dropped the towel from around his waist and dressed himself as quickly as he could manage. This was it. This was the day he would find her.

With shaking hands and ragged breath, Riku cradled the phone in his hand and dialed the phone number, trembling the entire time. He held the phone up to his ear, gently, as if he would break it if he held it too tightly. One ring. He fingered the phone's cord, wrapping it around his thumb. Two rings. Perhaps Aqua was out. Three rings. She wasn't going to answer. Four rings. He'd have to wait even longer. He considered putting the phone back. And then, the click of someone answering. "Hello?" A woman's voice asked, and Riku felt his insides soar. "Yes, hello? Is this Aqua?" he stammered, clenching the hand that was not holding the phone into a tight fist. "Yes, who is this?" she asked timidly. He breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled widely. He'd found her.

"Aqua? It's me, Riku! The man you met on the plane? I'm here in Twilight Town; I'm looking for my friend I told you about…I think she might be in trouble. I need your help." He exclaimed breathlessly. There was a slight pause, and then, "Riku, I'm sorry, I had a long night last night, and I'm still a bit out of it this morning, but you want me to help look for your friend? Twilight Town is a huge city!" Riku breathed out a puff of hair and ran his free hand through his hair, "I know, believe me, I know. But Aqua, I love her. I really do love her, and I'm afraid she's gotten herself into some pretty deep shit, and I just…I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try to help her. I know it's a big city, and you probably just want to see your friends and stay away from fucked up guys you meet on airplanes, but I need your help."

There was a terrific silence for a good long while, and Riku thought for sure that she was going to turn him away, and that he would be stuck back at square one again. Then, Aqua took a deep breath, and said, "Riku, I'm actually in a bit of a pickle with my friends…it seems I've stepped myself into a bit of a love triangle, and I haven't the slightest clue what to do. I need to get away, and I think this would be the perfect opportunity. I'll help you out." Riku felt as though he would cry tears of joy, "Thank you. Thank you so much, you don't know how much it means to me that you're helping me out!" he exclaimed, smiling again. Aqua chuckled, "No problem, Riku. Why don't you come on over, okay? The address of the house I'm staying at is 113 Lunar Way." Riku jotted the address down next to Aqua's phone number, and nodded to himself. "Thank you so much, Aqua. I'll make it up to you, I promise! I'll buy you dinner or whatever you want!"

"Riku, you don't have to do any of that…I want you to find your friend." Aqua said with a chuckle, and Riku sighed, "That's kind of you, Aqua…I've got to get ready. I'll be over soon, okay?" "Okay…and Riku?" "Yes?" Riku asked. "Your friend is very fortunate to have someone like you in her life. Most people aren't so lucky." Riku paused before thanking her one last time, and hung the phone up gently. He sat on the edge of his unkempt bed, and took in a deep breath. Aqua was wrong. Xion was hardly lucky. She did not have the friends that she deserved.

A wave of unease washed over him as he remembered once again what a poor job of protecting her he'd done. He'd always told her that he would be there for her, and now where was he? Roaming the streets looking for her because he'd ignored her for five years. Xion was hardly lucky. She deserved the best that life had to offer, and he'd given her none of that. He'd done nothing admirable or noteworthy for her in so long…for all he knew she could be dying, and he'd have never known.

He was the worst friend that she could possibly have. And, as Riku finished readying himself to look for her, he wondered how-or if-he could ever make it up to her. He doubted that he could.

Xion

Xion spent a majority of the next morning in bed, avoiding the rather awkward air that Aqua carried around with her. Ventus had returned from work the previous night, tired and hungry. Xion felt bad for the blonde fellow. Stuck in a love triangle the poor idiot didn't even know he was a part of. Ventus had read the note Aqua had left, and made a bowl of soup for himself before calling up Terra and asking if he wanted to have a video game marathon with him. Terra had come over and the two men were up until three, eyes glazed over and fixated on the X-Box game on the TV screen. Xion had eventually done a line in the bathroom and fallen asleep in the guest bedroom, only waking up when she heard the voices of Aqua and Ven chattering away outside her room. Xion had gotten up and walked into the living room to find Terra gone, and instead Aqua passed out on the couch, Ven draping a blanket over her. He'd mouthed the word, "Drunk" at Xion, and Xion simply turned back around, and slept until 10 the next morning.

Xion had made a cup of coffee for herself in the kitchen, and while drinking it, noticed that Aqua was no longer on the couch. Xion figured the strange blue-haired girl was up and at work, completely devoid of a hangover. But Xion still crept towards the room Aqua had been staying in, and, when she approached the cracked door, heard Aqua's voice, murmuring something. Xion flattened herself against the wall, and crept as close as she dared to the door without risking being seen. "…Twilight Town is a huge city!" she heard Aqua protest to someone. Xion furrowed her brow and pressed her ear to the wall. There was a silence for a while, and Xion peered into the room, and caught a glimpse of Aqua with her cell phone to her ear before she recoiled into the hallway again. After whoever was on the other line finished speaking, Aqua said, "Riku, I'm actually in a bit of a pickle with my friends…it seems I've stepped myself into a bit of a love triangle, and I haven't the slightest clue what to do. I need to get away, and I think this would be the perfect opportunity. I'll help you out."

Xion froze. She didn't breathe, she didn't blink, she didn't move a single muscle. Riku. Aqua had said Riku. She'd fucking said Riku. This couldn't be him. Surely there are hundreds of Rikus all over the country. But…what if it was him. What if it was her Riku? And Aqua was…getting away with him? Xion was so deep in thought she almost missed the next thing Aqua said, "No problem, Riku. Why don't you come on over, okay? The address of the house I'm staying at is 113 Lunar Way." He was coming here?! Xion's eyes widened as she realized that he would be coming here. She'd be forced to watch Aqua 'get away' with him. And she wasn't about to stand there and watch that happen.

So without staying to listen to the rest of Aqua's conversation, or reason with herself, she grabbed her duffel bag, stuffed as many cracker sleeves and snacks as she could into the bag, and sprinted out of the house.

Wow, first semester just punched me in the face. I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, that was a dick move! The next chapter will feature some RokuNami fluff, SoKai conversations, and Xion flashbacks. Prepare yourself. There will be cute, there will be progress, there will be disturbing memories. I can't wait. So I hope you all will review and favorite and follow and whatnot, and as always, have a fantastic day!

Special thanks to: Lucenthia, Lg, and 89niners-best-team-ever. Thanks for reviewing!