Episode 5: Public Awareness Month
Ah yes. The title of this chapter refers to public broadcast of Namine's first ever episode. Originally, I was going to include a press conference scene early on, but I decided to scrap it for certain reasons. You may read now.
Genre: Romance/Humor
It was March 9, 2010 and that meant new episodes of Destiny Islands were coming back on TV! Only two episodes have been filmed in the hiatus, but the promos have been made based on those two. The editors have worked fast to get it done since the last episode aired back in December. Namine was nervous about the whole thing, wondering how she looked and acted on television, especially what will the viewers and critics think her. She was casted as a series regular and not some recurring character who came every so often during the season. She just did not know how to handle it all, but Roxas gave her wise words: just go with with the flow and don't give a damn what others say. It kind of helped, but at least it was something. As of right now, the two were filming in a residential area that involved his character following Namine for episode fifteen titled, "Eagle Eyes." It was about Roxas on getting to know Namine, but at the same time for her getting to know Sora. The plan he had in episode fourteen backfired where Roxas and Kairi finally felt comfortable in being together, and he sought out comfort in Namine, which explained the beach scene from before. In other news, Pence was being followed to make sure he stayed quiet while Olette was keeping Hayner a secret from him.
Namine got off the city bus and crossed the street, carrying her books and binder. She got to her house until Roxas suddenly showed up, stepping in front of her on her house lawn. "What the?! Are you stalking me now?" she asked him. "How did you find me?" she asked, looking at her surroundings.
"I followed your bus," he answered.
"Well it is very rude to just follow me without my consent… and flat out creepy," she snapped, trying to avoid him.
"Look, I need to talk to you," he told her. Then Roxas looked at his surroundings and noticed something. "Wait, why do you live here? It nowhere near Destiny Islands High, nor is it in the district."
"Like that is any of your problem," she stubbornly replied, walking up the steps of her front porch. She tired to get out her house keys, but ended up dropping her school belongings. Roxas came to her aide to pick it up. "Look, I appreciate you for getting to know me, but this is not what I had in mind." Namine gathered her things before he even had the chance.
"Yeah, but, why are you here?" he asked again. "You live in a different part of the island. Shouldn't you being going to a different school?" He heard her sigh.
"Out of all the schools, ours is the best one. Why should I be deprive of superior education if I don't look all pretty and rich? This outfit isn't even mines." A silence followed, but she decided to speak up again. "Roxas, I do not live in the glamorous world like you do. The West and East side are great, but the original one is best out of all three because that is where all the rich kids go. With rich kids means an immense quality of education, which means the school gets easy funding. Catch my drift?"
"How did you manage to get in?" Roxas asked.
"I used my cousin's address, so I could apply at the high school. They live in Paopu Knolls like you and the others," she answered. "Roxas, don't tell anybody of where I live. If they did, I would get kicked out of the school! Only you, Sora, and a few of friends know this."
"Sora? How does he know?" Roxas asked, being curious.
"Me and him… um, we had a sort of date together at the beach by the club the other day," she answered. "No, that's a lie. We ran into at the beach and talked. Well, he did and I just sat there to listen. Though I don't know why."
"You seem flattered by it," Roxas teased. Namine gave him a weak shove.
"Shut up," she smiled, fixing her hair. "Hey, don't tell anyone about this okay?"
"I won't," he replied. "I'm going to go now." Roxas turned around and left her front porch, but ended up hitting the leg of chair on the way, making him, Namine, and the crew laugh. "God dang it!" he shouted.
"Cut!" the director shouted. "We are done filming this episode. We'll cut the scene from there. Now everybody is free as of today. We'll just delete that last part," he laughed.
Namine felt relived as she walked down the porch. She saw everybody on set running around, putting some of the equipment away as she wanted to leave too. She made a big yawn and checked her cellphone. It read: 8:28 a.m. She couldn't believe that the only scene left to film for the episode was the scene she did earlier. It had to be done early in the morning huh, but it had to be done. She was amazed on how they manipulate the lighting. For example, if they were filming inside at a late hour, they would somehow make it look like it was daytime outside. She got her bag and water bottle on her chair with the staff congratulating her for her work. For a rookie, some thought she was good. Soon enough, a writer showed up.
"Here is the script for next episode," she said.
"Thank you very much," Namine kindly replied, accepting it. She then noticed she had two copies in her hands, which meant she had to give the other to Roxas. Namine went to her trailer, which only had her, to get out of her outfit. The Namine on the show had a different fashion style than her own. What she wore was expensive brand names like Chanel and Marc Jacobs thanks to her cousins lending it since the school was high in fashion. Plus, her cousin only owned those kinds of brands. The real Namine wore more casual outfits that she thought she looked and felt comfortable. She changed and back to her original outfit that she came with, which were black skinny jeans with a baby blue off the shoulder top with blue and white strips. She gathered her stuff and walked out to see Roxas down below the steps. "If it isn't Roxas," she said walking down. "Came to swept me off my feet or something?" she said being skeptical, but was joking around.
"No," he responded. "But I'm here to take you somewhere before Olette's party for the premiere of your first episode!" He seemed thrilled.
"Ohh… my first episode! How thrilling?! Asking me out on a date are you to this oh-so fabulous party?"
"Do you have to keep asking questions Namine?" he asked her. "It's really starting to annoy me. I'm the one who drove us to work after all."
"True." Namine started walking down the steps and said, "By the way, me and Olette decided to throw the small premiere party for me at my house, so can you take me home because I want to rest there all day till then."
"Can I come with you and hang out there? I haven't been at your house since that near death experience of yours that one day," he mocked, which she rolled her eyes at and gave him a yes. The two started to leave the set and headed for Roxas' car to get to Namine's house.
Once they arrive, Roxas left his car on the street near the house and followed Namine inside. "Helllooo," she called out while opening the door. "I'm back from work." Then she turned to Roxas. "Listen to me. I sound like an old house wife."
"Come on, we teenagers usually say that when come back from somewhere," Roxas told her.
"Heh, you're right." Namine continued into her house to find her parents, but not one of them was in plain sight and the house was big enough for your voice to be echo. "Huh, guess they actually went to work when I was gone." Next thing she knew, she made a big yawn. "Man, I am so tired. I'm going to get some shut eye," she told her dirty blond friend. "Nig—I mean, morn—nah that doesn't work. Later," she last added before heading up the stairs.
"Hey, what about me? I am your guest and you should be treating me," Roxas pouted.
"Help yourself to whatever," Namine said. "I'm going to take a nap." Roxas then suddenly yawned. "Yawns. They're contagious."
"Mind if I join? I'm tired too from work," he groggily said, feeling his eye lids closing already on its own.
"Sure," Namine accepted, but stopped and look down on him from the railing. "Just not in the same room 'kay? I barely know you."
Roxas raised his eyebrow and went up the stairs. "And if I did know you for a long time, you would let me sleep in the same bed as you?" He immediately saw Namine's cheeks turn red. "Haha, why you blushing for?" he asked, amused at her reaction.
Namine did her best to hide shame away after his question. "Sicko," she harshly replied. Roxas laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Just sleep in the guest room and you'll be fine." She entered her room and closed it.
"Geez, I was only joking," he said.
~ Our Life is Not a TV Show or Maybe ~
After long hours of sleep, Namine slowly woke up and noticed it was already the afternoon. She looked over her bed to check her clock and it read: 12:27 p.m. Scratching her head, she got out of her bed and went inside her bathroom to use it, but not for the toilet. She turned on the sink to wash her face and splashed some water to clean it. She did for a minute and dried it with a towel.
"Hey—!" Namine screamed and started throwing random things in the bathroom at the burglar, ranging from shampoos to toilet paper.
"Get out of my house you pervert! I have a black belt in karate and I can beat you up to oblivion!" She stopped when she noticed that the person wasn't fighting back. "Huh?" She took a closer look and noticed it was Roxas underneath the pile of items she threw as he twitched in pain. "Ahehehe… sorry Roxas. You scared me." After helping him out, they went downstairs for lunch. "Soo… I'm sorry again for earlier. I sort of forgot you followed me back home."
Roxas held an ice bag over his head, sitting by the island in the kitchen. "You're gonna pay for this one day," he harshly said. "And you won't expect it."
"Ooo, I'm so scared," she gasped in a bogus way. "Bring it on because I'll be ready whenever you are." She wasn't scared at all.
"What are you looking for anyway?" Roxas raised his voice, but groaned shortly after because it caused a headache in his brain.
"My mom's recipe box," Namine answered, rummaging through various items. "She has a ton of recipes in that box and we need to eat lunch. My stomach is growl—found it!" She grabbed her mom's recipe box, which was the size of an average size of an Oreo bag and laid it on the island. "So what do you feel like eating mister? My mom is a great cook and practically have everything you can think of in this magical box," she happily said. "And since you're my guest, I'll have you choose a random card from this box." She pushed the recipe box in his direction. Roxas looked at her and then at the contents of the open box.
"So much decisions," he said, thinking which one to pull. He placed his fingers on it and made it look like it was walking. "I'll take… this one!" He pulled it out and showed it to Namine, without knowing what it was.
"Really? You had to pull that out? That's not even lunch," Namine said, not wanting to make it. Roxas raised his eyebrow and turned the card around to know what she was said. It was a recipe for red velvet cupcakes. "We can make that later. Pick again." Roxas pouted inside and laid the card on the side for now. He rummaged through the box again and picked another card, showing it to Namine. "I bless you. My favorite dish. Now let's make some chicken stir-fry with noodles!"
"That sounds a lot of work," Roxas complained.
"Hey. Stop trying to be Mr. Hot Shot and cook like normal people. It's gonna be worth it. I'll tell ya that much." The doorbell ranged and Namine walked to answer the door. She opened it to see Olette and the others waiting outside.
"Surprise!" Olette screamed, hugging Namine. "We are hear to set up your premiere party and only your fellow cast mates will be allowed inside. So I made the boys carry the goods." Namine glanced past her to see Sora, Hayner, and Pence carrying countless bags.
"Isn't it a bit—?" Namine immediately had a plan in her head. "Come in! Roxas and I are gonna start making lunch!" she forced, reeling them inside quickly.
"Here you go," Kairi bluntly said and shoved a bucket of ice cream in Namine's hands, walking off into her house and saw Roxas looking at a card. This made her boil inside once again because he was already here, alone with Namine. It sicken her. "I see your house has look better than the last time I saw it."
"Yeah, it's our stuff from our old house."
"Oh is it? Forget what I said earlier then," Kairi coldly replied, taking a seat on the couch and texting on her phone.
"What are you guys making?" Olette wondered, taking the card from Roxas as the guys put the bags on the island. "Chicken stir-fry? With noodles?! Yes! I'll have some too!"
"What? I heard noodles. Can I have some too?" Pence asked as his stomach growled. "I'm starving! We had to leave the store quickly and we couldn't stop at a nearby McDonalds."
"Hey, can I have some too Namine? That would be really great," Hayner pleaded. It had only been a minute and they were all making requests. It made her think they were all used to people doing things for them, such as cooking. She was going to need some assistance where the sudden idea she had earlier come into play.
"Ok. You guys can have some… if you help make it with me," Namine bribed. "If you don't help, you don't get any." This made everyone in the room grunt at her. "What? It's not that hard. This isn't Namine's Café, so you better help me or I'll make you pay me to do it."
Kairi raised her hand to ask a simple question. "Can I pay myself to help?"
"Sure?" Namine replied, thinking how stupid it was.
"Then I'll supervise."
"Then no," Namine quickly rejected. "Have any of you guys cook at meal before?" A silence crawled into the kitchen when her co-stars looked away, scanning the house, except her. Namine couldn't believe not one go these people have tried to cook until she saw Sora slowly raised his hand. "Sora?"
"I kind of made that dish. With my mom of course, but I was little," he told her.
"Well, at least you did it before. I'm ashamed that your other friends never cooked before," she shouted, looking down on them. "Then can you get the chicken out Sora? And Roxas…" She stopped to see him eyeing the food the other brought in. "If you eat that, then I'm gonna make run to the nearest Walmart to replace them." Roxas whined and packed the snacks away. "Now get the noodles from that cabinet that you just grabbed from." Again, he groaned and went back. "Stop acting like a baby and be glad to be helping." She soon looked at Hayner, Pence, and Olette. "You three… unpack the groceries because we're going to need the island."
"Wow, you remind so much of your mom," Sora told her, getting a bag of frozen chicken from the fridge, and paused for a moment, recalling a memory.
1998
Sora and Namine were in Namine's room, playing with their toys. She had Woody while Sora had Buzz Lightyear. Actually, they had most of the Toy Story gang in the room that they acted some of the scenes from the movie. "You! Are! A! Toy!" Namine shouted, trying to mimic the character's voice, and imitated the hand gestures from the scene. Sora was supposed to follow, but the ended up laughing. The scene always got them. "I like Woody!"
"And I like Buzz Lightyear! He can fly!" Sora plunged the toy in the air with his arms. "To infinite and beyond!"
"Namine! Sora!" Namine's mother shouted from the kitchen. "Come please!"
"Coming mommy!" Namine screamed, putting down Woody. "Mommy is calling us. Race ya?" Namine dashed off as soon as Sora put down his toy and ran off to follow her.
"Hey! No fair!" He walked in on her and her mom to see something cooking on the stove. It smelled delicious as it filled the air. He saw Namine hold her hand up on the higher chairs and joined her. "What you making Miss Hamasaki?"
"Chicken-stir fry with noodles! Namine's favorite! Wanna open the noodles?" she happily asked.
"But I always do that!" Namine whined, getting mad at Sora for stealing her spot.
"Don't worry honey. You can help me with the chicken," her mom assured her.
"Yay!" Namine raised her hands in joy.
Present Day
"I do? Thank you," Namine contently put it. "Wait… you hardly seen my mom." Sora snapped out of his thought and froze on the spot, not turning to face her. He naturally brought up something that she didn't know since she can't seem to remember him. Kairi on the other hand heard it and knew all about Sora's connection to the blonde. She loved to watch the boy squirm at his sudden slip up. She smirked at herself, making an evil laugh, but she did it out loud without realizing it, and it made everyone stare at her.
"Uh Kairi… you're creeping me out with your evil laugh again," Roxas said. "Do you need medicine or something."
"N-no! Just cook damn it!" Luckily for Sora, Namine seemed to have forgotten about her question and he wiped himself of relief. And so, Namine, along with Roxas and Sora, cooked for the gang. Of course, there was a few mishaps. Roxas covered the boiling pot with noodles and it nearly overflowed while Sora almost cut his fingers from slicing the boneless chicken thighs on the cutting board. Namine felt she had to watch the two boys at all times or something bad might happen. Her mom would be furious if they destroyed the kitchen. Despite it all, they managed to make it and lay it in the middle for everyone to grab on a nice plate. "Food is ready! Come and get it!" Soon enough, her co-workers rushed towards her direction with their stomachs growling from hunger. "What do you say…?"
"Thank you Namine," Hayner, Pence, and Olette all said.
"Yeah. Thanks," Kairi bluntly put it and walked away with her food to take a seat in front of the television. "Can't the clock go any faster? I want our show to finally air on TV."
"Kairi, it's only one o'clock," Olette told her, browsing through the channels. "We should have like… have a movie marathon. I wonder what's on because there's too much re-runs right now."
"I know what we can do!" Kairi got up, thinking of a great idea, to her it was anyway. "Let's read the new script! Oh wait… I already did. Let's review it!" Everyone in the room except Namine whined at the idea because they have been working non-stop since everyone got back to work. "What?! It's best you get it now and worry less about it later! Besides, we can easily memorize our lines." She then stared at Namine. "Well, most of us." Namine chose to ignore her spiteful remark at her as the red head continued. "It is episode sixteen and it is called Here We Go Again."
"Oh boy, why does this title make me worried ?" Olette questioned. "I'm betting it's another crazy love story."
"Yes, yes. We know about this love square, but it's just to entertain the viewers." Kairi explained, knowing the cast hates those kinds of storylines.
"As much it is fun to film for the show…" Namine scoffed before continuing on. "I've been following it since the beginning, but once the high school years started, the show wasn't the same when it tackled love so many times. I remember it used to tackle real issues before. Then it went to a love triangle between Olette, Selphie, and Hayner at the beginning of freshman year. Saix, Axel, and some other girl, which was the weakest one after that in the same year. Oh wait… there was the messy love triangle between Zack, Aerith, and Tifa last season." Her cast mates were amazed that she remembered all of these storylines. "Do we really need to bring it in when the show's power couple finally got together? Yes, there is hint of interest, but it shouldn't be like that. We should focus more on Sora and Namine's new fond bond."
"Amazing," Hayner let out. "I barely could remember all that because it was complicated. Although, you gotta admit. My love triangle was the most funniest one. Everyone's was so crazy and dramatic." Everyone in the room looked at each other and agreed with him. "We all thought Sora was gonna end up with Kairi."
"I do think it's nice to be out of the norm, but it was to be expected too," Namine added, eating some of her food.
"True," Kairi agreed, which Namine couldn't believe Mean Girl Kairi actually agreed with her. It must definitely be the end of the world. "The first couple of a new show don't last too long."
"What a nice observation girls because everyone knew that." Roxas patted Kairi on the back, and got slapped across the face. "Sorry for being sarcastic," he grumbled, rubbing the sore spot. "I was only kidding."
"I read that TV Guide listed us as one of the most anticipated finales of this year," Sora added. "I guess a lot is riding on Namine and the writers want to end this season with a bang."
"Our one hundredth is coming up and it just so happens to be the finale, so I can why," Pence added.
"Talk about pressure," Namine muttered under her breath.
"Did you say something Namine?" Kairi quickly asked, making the blonde slightly jump.
"Huh? I did? Must be my TV talking," she lied, trying to hide her comment. "I kind of wished I had something to say, but it comes up all gibberish."
"Well, yeah, but time isn't really on our side," Sora explained. "I thought it was, but I guess not. This is our only time for a break, but tomorrow we'll go back to filming and after that, we have a press conference to fully introduce you to the public. You've only done quick interviews."
"I barely could get passed the public eye and press without feeling all numb," Namine replied. "How do you guys do it?"
"It takes a while, but you'll eventually get used to it as life goes on," Roxas answered, patting her head like a little dog. "It was worse for us when we started because we were so young and starting out. Now we're older and wiser."
"I wouldn't add wiser to your abilities," Namine spatted, making everyone in the room laugh.
"Ouch! That hurts my feelings," he dramatically portrayed, acting as if his heart got broken.
"You had one?" the blonde sneered, but didn't mean it. Namine went along with Roxas because it was fun. It's hard to come across people like him without someone taking it too serious or not getting the idea at all. Although, back at home, Xion and Riku were like that too, but they weren't here in the islands with her. She missed being with her friends. Webchat wasn't the same as doing things in person, nor was Facebook. You could only do so much with social networking. "Anyways, let's take a look at the script then. I'm good at memorizing things."
~ Our Life is Not a TV Show or Maybe ~
There were only three copies. One was Namine's copy, another was Roxas who left it in his car, and the last one was in Kairi's bag, which didn't surprise anybody since she suggested the whole thing. The teens were in the living room in a circle while enjoying the food that they received. There were three groups based on the people who actually had it. Group 1 was Namine, Sora, and Olette since they were on the center couch. Group 2 was Roxas and Hayner, who were on the soft carpet floor near the coffee table. And group 3 was Kairi and Pence. Kairi actually loathed the idea of not being with Roxas, but didn't want to make a big deal out of it. She did however did enjoy the idea of her being with Sora, hoping it would push her towards him more. "So what do you guys think of this episode?" the red auburn hair girl asked.
"Like the other messy love stories we've done," Olette brutally answered. "I'm more interested in Pence's storyline. It's mysterious and engaging. The time he's about too confess to the crime, he gets threatened if he come forward."
"Nah, I like ours better," Hayner admitted. "We are struggling with possible pregnancy."
"I knew it!" Namine shouted, pointing to him, and the gesture made heads turn toward her. "Sorry, I sort of knew from watching earlier episodes. Ahehehe… anyways, I find it nice that Sora is seeking in comfort in Namine. It paves ways of a future relationship. Too bad Roxas is also after her, but denies and hides because he is also happy with Kairi. Cheater!" Everyone in the room laughed except Roxas.
"Haha," Roxas mocked. "It'll keep viewers interested. Sora is technically our main man. He narrates majority of the episodes and Namine is new and likable. Viewers are gonna love it."
"And that's they way it should be in real life," Kairi whispered, smirking at herself.
"Huh?" Namine heard her, but not clearly. By the time she looked at her, Kairi returned with a smile. "Okay, we've been doing this for a while now," she continued, getting her plate and the others. Sora was about to help her, but Roxas beat him to do when he took some of the plates from her hands. "Thanks Roxas. It's nice someone could help me."
"No problemo," he happily said as they walk together to kitchen sink. "You know, we've been reading for a while now that it's almost time for our show to air. Nervous?"
"What?! It's almost seven o'clock!" Namine turned her head to see the windows and noticed that it was getting dark. "Quick! We need to wash these!" Roxas couldn't help, but giggle inside as she rushed to sink, safely placed the plates and turned on the water. She was truly a hardcore fan. He thought that she might have a poster of the cast in her room somewhere. He wasn't paying much attention until Namine shouted out for him and he rushed to her side. "Hurry!" Namine continuously scrubbed the dishes and didn't care about the mess she was creating with the water. She placed the clean ones in the empty sink next to the main one and ordered Roxas to put them on the dish rack. Roxas was trying to keep up, but wanted to slightly make her mad, so he took it slow.
"Man, my hands hurt Namine," he deluded, going at a slower pace.
"I don't care! Now go faster you slowpoke!" she yelled.
"Damn. You really are something," he lamely put it.
"It's starting!" Olette shouted.
"See! Rinse these and join us!" She left the last dish she washed with him and ran off to the living room and jumped onto the couch. "It's finally back! I've been waiting forever!"
"But you already know what happens…" Sora lapsed.
"I don't care! If you were like me, you know this stupid three month hiatus was the stupidest idea the network came up with!" Yep, she was still that number one fan. She didn't care what her co-workers thought of her because they should appreciate their fans since she was one of them. The recap segment appeared as Kairi's voice talked with the usual recap introduction: Previously on Destiny Islands. Namine was fangirling all over the place.
"Do you think this is what our other viewers do?" Pence whispered to Sora.
"Well…" Sora stopped to take a look at as her eyes were glued to the television. "Maybe it's just her and her friends."
Namine was glad for the recaps. It had been too long since the last new episode that she really did forget what happened in the mid-season finale. A murder occurred and Pence took a picture of it. The men found him and ended it there. Now, after the recap, the first scene continued directly from the suspenseful cliffhanger and he ran from the men. He was in a parking garage at night and continued to run. What made the situation worse was that the men were shooting at him.
"Oh man! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" He was distressed as head for the stairs. He knew the elevators wouldn't come in time.
"Run Pence!" Namine screamed, making everyone jump. "Oh my god! This is too good!" Roxas was still the kitchen rinsing the plates the blonde left for him and was containing his laughter. He didn't know why she would always easily entertain him. His thoughts were drifting far off to the point he wondered what it must feel like to be in a relationship with her. He brushed off those thoughts because he thought it would be bad for work. He only knew her for three months and should get to know her a bit more.
Back at the television, Pence managed to escape the parking garage and blend into a crowd of people. He kept trying to get away as far as possible while looking back to see if the men were still on his trail. He felt relieved and went inside a random store. The whole scene passed in five minutes and the opening theme played after Pence said, "What do I do?" Then it quickly cuts to the show's opening that simply included clips of old episodes while it played an upbeat theme as it showed the main cast one by one: Sora, Roxas, Kairi, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and finally Namine, who couldn't help, but scream into one of the couch pillows and thrashed around that she ended up hitting Sora in the face.
"Oh my god Sora." Namine attended him to see if he was hurt. "Did I leave a mark?" Luckily, there wasn't one and it was commercial break. Roxas came back on the scene and saw her focusing on Sora, which made him feel slightly jealous. He cleared his throat to make him noticeable. "Hey Roxas, you just missed it! It was so crazy!"
"Uh huh… I know. We all read it."
"But it's better to see it on TV with all the music and stuff."
"I know Namine." He went back to where he was seating before as everyone stayed in place to watch the rest of the episode. Namine felt so fluffy and ecstatic inside. Her dream had come true. She was part of one of the most watched teenage drama and she didn't have experience. She felt that it must've been fate and probably luck. She doubt it happened before other than movies, but in a one in a million chance, life intimated art for her, and she felt thankful to be a part of it all. And whether she knew it or not, which she doesn't, Roxas was glad she came along.
Before she knew it, time passed and it was already over. She was waving a goodbye to everyone, even though she knew she would see them tomorrow. The last one left was Roxas, but he wanted to have a small talk with her before he left the house. "So… what did you think of your first episode?" he curiously asked.
"I was… okay. For a first time actress, it was fine," Namine replied, being modest. "I was planning on taking some acting classes when I have the time to improve myself even though I still prefer art over this." Roxas raised his eyebrow. "D-don't get me wrong! I love being here and you know that. I just never considered acting as a career."
"Don't beat up yourself. Live your dream and this is what most people dream of doing."
"I know, I know. I'll get used to it right?"
"You will. I remember when I first came on the show. It felt weird because they were trying to get it to build some momentum since it was doing average when it first premiered. I can tell you that Sora didn't like me that much at first. Actually, he hated me."
"I can see why. He was the main guy. Sometimes he was put on the back burner and I hated that. And don't get me wrong, while I still think you are one of the greatest addition to show, I still prefer Sora. Anytime I do admit that you are, that's the fangirl inside me talking."
"Why thank you." Roxas flattered himself and Namine grinned, rolling her eyes.
"He is my favorite on the show. He's different from other male leads. Fragile and sensitive, yet he has a good heart and cares about other people. My kind of guy." That stung Roxas in his heart. He couldn't tell if she meant the character or Sora himself. He damned the idea with the names being the same as them. "Though I have to admit, you are my celebrity crush Mr. Tsukino." Those words brought him to joy, but a little sad since she said it was a celebrity crush. Probably for his looks.
"Did you ever wonder what I felt like to be in a love triangle?" he asked without thinking. There was an awkward silence between the two for a brief moment before Namine spoke up.
"Uh… I can't really answer your question. I haven't even been in a relationship. The closest I have is a crush on one guy."
"Oh, is it that Riku fella?" Roxas asked.
"Yeah, but I'm too scared to admit it to him." Namine felt distraught talking about this now, even though she mentioned it before, but never did elaborate much on it. Out of all people, she talked about it to Roxas, whom she barely knew. And she kept going on too. "Like most nice girls, I think of the worst. I mean, how can you admit your feelings without being put on a pedestal? Especially when your friendship is at risk. I can't risk it all when our beloved friendship has been built for years."
Roxas on the other hand did not want to give words of wisdom, yet he did to show he was a nice guy. "Sometimes you should go for it. It's best to know rather than to wonder before drifting into all these scenarios that may or may not happen. There is no perfect time and place to show your true feelings." Despite the fact that he was slowly taking an interest in her, he was afraid to admit it. He knew Namine wasn't feeling the same unless he does something to keep her mind off of this Riku guy.
"Thank you for telling me that," Namine kindly said. "It's nice to hear advice from others. Usually it's me giving advice to me and I don't know what I'm saying half the time."
"The ones who always give advice are the ones who need one the most," Roxas told her.
"You're right. They do." After that, no one said anything as another awkward ensued. The two looked away from each other, looking in different directions until the front door opened, startling the two, as it was Namine's parents.
"Hi dear," Namine's mom greeted, coming inside the house with her father. She noticed Roxas and said, "And hi to you too Roxas. How was your day?"
"It's been great Mrs. Hamasaki. Your daughter has been great to be around with."
"It's nice to see you two get along so well." Her mom winked at her once she was behind Roxas before heading upstairs. "Your father and I are going to bed now. It's been a long day at work." Namine scoffed while smiling of her mom's antics. Her father actually didn't care about the situation that much as he followed his wife.
"Your mom is really sweet," Roxas told her.
"Thank you. I wouldn't know what I would do without her. I love her too much."
"Well, I'll see you at tomorrow's filming in the morning. It may be early in the night, but you need to get some rest since we need to wake up early again." He walked to the door and opened it, but before heading out, he said one more thing, "Namine… if you need anything or want to do anything, I'm here."
"That's great to hear and I am very grateful of you." Soon enough, her cellphone started to ring in her pocket. She checked to see it was her friend Xion and knew she had to pick it up. "My best friend is calling and I can't pass this up. See ya tomorrow."
"Bye." Namine answered the phone while closing the door as Roxas headed on out. He walked to his car that was on the side of the road and was thinking of a plan on how to film more scenes with her. It would kind of ruin the whole aspect of Sora ending up with Namine in the show, but for a certain reason, he couldn't care less about it. He just wanted to close to her as much as possible to turn her celebrity crush into actual feelings.
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