Woohoo! Normal chapter update time! :D I'm happy now XD

Okay, so I've been thinking this past week, and I've officially decided to make this story rated M. Not because I'm going to write any lemon scenes, but because of the language, and the fact that I suggest a TON of stuff later on. Especially after chapter 25... :P So, from now on, Is there and Elephant in the Room is rated M XD (no children, I will not write a sex scene. Don't even ask me too :P)

Anyway, I got quite a few reviews over the past week, which has made me extremely happy :) I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! :)

I have a few things to say to them (not everyone because the author's note would be too long), so starting with DeadlyToaster, I have one main thing to say; your user name is fucking epic! :D Hm... I think that's all I have to say XD

For the anonymous reviewer, L.L, I loved coming home from school after a horrible day of panic attacks and bitchy classmates and seeing 7 reviews in my inbox :) That really made my day, so thank you :)

And finally, to Awaiting Dusk; Ellie a sweetheart? O.o That cracked me up. I've never heard her described like that before. XD (you can have your own opinion, of course, but it still makes me laugh. She's not supposed to come off as a sweetheart XD) Also, I'm glad you like the whole "Sora and Kairi are happy and so is Riku thing." I'm so worried that people won't like it XD

Also, I've noticed a common theme in the reviews I've received: most people love chapter 10, and everyone likes the fact that most of the couples are straight... I find this interesting XD I don't know why, but I do XD I'm glad it makes you guys happy though :)

So... I think that's all I have to say, other than now that I think about it, Axel's not in this chapter at all... huh... XD

So, enjoy chapter 19, because I enjoyed writing it (at least the first part XD)

See ya next week! (also, please review :D )

~Sunechirei

Full chapter title: Don't fall in love unless there's someone there to catch you. Part 1 (that's right, there are two parts to this chapter :) )

"Roxas? Are you okay?" My mother was standing in front of me, blocking the television, which I happened to be watching. I looked up at her, annoyed that she was in my way.

When she didn't get an answer Mom leaned forward and snatched the remote out of my nearly dead hand, turning off the TV with it. I groaned, rolling over to my side, then sitting up, glaring all the while.

"What do you want," I grumbled, giving my mother the dead look.

Blowing a strand of hair out of her face Mom placed the remote on the coffee table, then walked over to the armchair that rested in the corner of the room and sat down, watching me.

"Roxas, ever since New Years, you've been acting... strange."

"Have I?"

"Don't act stupid, Roxas. I don't know what happened to you, but whatever it is, it got worse three weeks ago."

Well, of course it got worse three weeks ago. Three weeks ago, I had nearly slept with Axel, and I became very, very confused about what was going on with my stupid, fucking, goddamn hormones.

Did I like Axel? Or did I like Naminé? Was I gay? Straight? Bi? Or was Axel just screwing with me somehow and I really was incapable of love?

All of these questions were important, but when thinking about all this while trying to plan a Valentines dinner with your girlfriend, your brain tends to get fried. Note why I was mindlessly laying on a couch, watching TV.

"I'm perfectly fine," I lied, reaching forward to pick up the remote. However, a glare from Mom kept me from actually completing the action, so instead I sat back.

"I said, don't act stupid. What is wrong with you?" Mom shook her head, "You're turning nineteen in three days, and you're acting as though the world is going to fall apart."

"My world is falling apart," I muttered. It wasn't far from the truth, but you never tell those kinds of things to an overprotective, paranoid mother. They tend to... oh, what's the word, overreact.

Immediately after I said that, Mom was next to me, checking my forehead for fever, asking me random questions about how happy I am, and if I needed a therapist, or drugs, or anything else she could think of.

Groaning, I swatted her hands away, and stood up. "I'm fine. Just... confused about something," I told her. "I'm not depressed, and there's no way in hell I'm going to see a therapist." It was obvious she didn't believe me, which was stupid because I was telling the truth.

"Please, Roxas, what's going on?" For a second, I was tempted to tell her, but decided against it at the last second. She didn't need to know.

"It's nothing. I have something to do now, so will you stop pestering me?" My irritation was quickly rising as I pushed past her, not sure how she was going to react. Luckily, she just left me alone, allowing me to pass without another word. I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to me now.

Dad obviously noticed as well that there was something up with me and Axel, though now it wasn't awkward around us, just... quiet.

So, he decided to give me a few days off.

Well, more like a month, or... well, two weeks, I guess. He seemed to notice that I was depressed, so this is what he said to me;

"You're no use like this. Go home, figure out your problem, then you can come back. Got it?"

It's always wonderful to know how much your father loves you. At home, of course, he wasn't so... strict, but he still seemed a bit irritated with the way I was acting. It wasn't my fault, of course.

Depression wasn't exactly something I wanted to have, not that I did, but absolutely everything in my life was falling apart, and I didn't know what I was going to do about it. That tends to make a person rather... sad? Annoyed? Frustrated?

But Axel was only one of my issues. A big one, but not the main one right now.

Naminé had been acting strange.

This was normal, of course, but still really annoying because I, once again, had no fucking idea why she was acting strange. Maybe she'd figured out I'd pushed myself on Axel, or she'd picked up on the fact that I wasn't actually sick, my excuse to everyone at work, and she was angry at me for not informing her of this.

I didn't want her to know, of course, though I did feel bad for keeping all of this a secret from my girlfriend.

I mean, if she found out I was only lazing around as if I were a sloth, there was a huge chance I would be killed.

I didn't want to be killed.

Living was nice.

Most of the time.

Right now, however...

"Roxas." Mom caught up to me quickly, "I know there's something bugging you, and I have a feeling it has to do with Naminé."

I stopped walking, looking down at my mom with eyebrows raised.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look. I'm your mother, and I'm not an idiot."

I knew that, but still, the fact she was able to deduce I was having relationship issues at the moment... that's serious ESP stuff. Either that, or I was extremely readable, like an open book, which is what Axel and Ellie had told me not long ago.

Maybe I should work on hiding my emotions better...

"I told you Mom, I'm fine." By the look I was getting, it was clear she didn't believe me. "Look, I'm having some issues with Naminé, but that's not something you need to get involved. Okay. If I want advice, I'll go to dad," I muttered, holding up my hands defensively. Mom just laughed.

"Alright then, go to Cloud for relationship advice. Make sure to have the mental hospital on speed dial," Mom said, giggling slightly.

Sadly, she was right. I'd tried asking my father about relationships before and he went on a long tangent about something really random that made no sense and had nothing to do with girlfriends.

"Roxas, I know you're like your father when it comes to relationships, but please, don't hesitate to talk to me about these things. I'm your mother. I'm supposed to help you." She placed a hand on my arm, smiled encouragingly, before heading off up the stairs.

I watched her leave, hesitating slightly before calling out, "How did you and Dad meet?" It was like time had frozen. Mom wasn't moving, her hand clenched around the railing. Slowly, she turned around.

"Um... what?"

Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms and repeated my question. She was nervous, I could tell, but what reason would she have to be nervous? If I remember correctly, the two of them met in college because Mom knew one of Dad's roommates. What's so nerve racking about that? Of course, it was possible that Dad was just making something up, which is one reason I wanted to ask.

"Well... you've met Angeal, right?" I sighed. This was the exact same story as what Dad told me.

"Okay, okay. Never mind. That's what Dad said," I told her, holding up my hand. For some reason, she sighed, but seemed like she wanted to run away, never have this conversation again. Did she have this reaction when I've asked her before? Was there something I was missing about my parents?

I was quite desperate to know these things, but they would have to wait. Other problems had to be settle first.

My parents and their issues would always be around for me to deal with; Axel and Naminé may not be, especially if I screwed the next few days up. I had to somehow convince Axel that the night in that hotel in Twilight Town was a mistake, and I was just confused, but I wanted to be better friends with him so that the two of us would actually get along and not argue over the stupidest things.

Not only that, but I somehow needed to get Naminé to believe me when I tell her there's nothing going on with me and Axel, while convincing myself of that fact as well.

Nothing was going my way recently.

It was pissing me off.

The cold February air nipped at my nose as I walked the streets of Downtown Radiant Garden. Despite what people thought, Radiant Garden wasn't entirely a metropolitan city. There were small sections of it that revolved around family life, or vendors, and if you knew where to go, there was even a place where you could barely see the skyscrapers in the center of the city.

Downtown Radiant Garden was one of those places; a small suburb near the edge of the city where small shops littered the streets, selling the strangest things a person could find anywhere. I loved going there when I needed to think.

Like at that moment.

There were only three more days until Valentine's Day, so naturally, I needed to find something for Axe- I mean Naminé. Naminé. I needed to find a present for Naminé. However, I didn't know what I should get her.

Chocolate would seem too cliché, earrings would as well, Naminé didn't wear bracelets, or put her hair up. I discovered that it's very difficult to shop for someone who you're not really sure you love.

Wait, what am I talking about? I'm totally in love with Naminé! I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the thought that I didn't like Naminé. She was my girlfriend, someone important to me, and I needed to show her that, even if it was going to be with some kinda stupid card, or something I say.

If there's one thing I learned from my parents as a kid, it's that it's crucial to let your partner know how special they are, especially when they're feeling as though you're looking at someone else.

Really, the only time in my life I'd seen my parents argue about something, not fight, just argue, was when Mom thought Dad was cheating on her. It took him two weeks to convince her otherwise. I don't really know why she freaked out about it so much, though. There's no way Dad would ever sleep with another woman.

I mean, I was watching TV with him one time, and there was this guy who was arguing with his wife, saying he loved her buy he needed to sleep with other women for some strange reason, and Dad turned off the TV, turned to me, and said, "Roxas, don't ever cheat on your spouse. It's just sick."

Maybe she's paranoid...

Anyway, back to searching for a present.

As I walked the streets, rubbing my arms to warm them up a bit, I glanced around, hoping there was some kind of shop that could help me. There seemed to be hundreds. Pink lace and frills practically lined the streets, inviting all slackers like me to come in and look around the wares.

Truthfully, those stores kinda scared the living daylights out of me. There was no way I would ever want to go in one of those shops, and I had no idea how any guy would want to. They just screamed g-

You know what; I'm not even going to finish that sentence.

Luckily for me, however, there was one shop sitting on the side of the street that looked completely normal. Well, other than the dark windows, abnormally snowy awnings, and a door that looked to be about two hundred year old, it looked normal. It was better than hearts and rainbows in any case.

The inside of the store looked about just as inviting as the outside, but I went in anyway, and was pleasantly surprised to see it was an old fashioned pawn shop. Clocks, canes, random trinkets, jewelry; this shop had pretty much everything. A smile spread across my face. I had a good feeling about this place.

"Can I help ya, boy?" I nearly jumped a foot at the sound of the crackly old voice that sounded behind me, and spun around. But no one was there. "Down here, ya blubbering idiot!" My eyes traveled down, and low and behold, an old man was standing there, coming up to only my waist, a cane in his hands and a pure white beard covering his wrinkly face. Hesitantly, I waved, laughing lightly.

The old man just rolled his eyes. "What do you want? This shop isn't around for litta' boys with rich daddies who want ta buy their way through life." This guy was starting to freak me out a little. I was wearing a ripped, black t-shirt under some random coat I'd bought last year, and cargo pants that weren't exactly... nice looking. Why did he assume my dad was rich?

But, the man didn't let me talk at all, instead pushing past me with a grunt. "Come on, boy. If ya want ta find sometin' for your girlfriend, I think I migh' have just the thing."

He beckoned for me to follow with one hand, and I became too afraid to not listen to him. We walked to the back of the store where the cash register was, and the man climbed behind the counter.

Suddenly, he was at my height, so I assumed he's scrambled up a stepladder or something.

"Not a talkative one, eh? Well, no worries. I can enough talkin' for the two of us," he hummed, pulling out a key from his pocket. Not saying anything, I watched as he opened the back of the cabinet, rustled around for a second, then pulled out a small box.

"What's that?" I asked in a quiet voice as he held it out for me. Slowly, I reached out and took it from him.

"Just open it, Sonny."

I obliged.

Inside the small velvet box was a silver chain, shimmering in the low light of the room, and at the end of the chain was a small, light blue crystal, white wings from a dove wrapped protectively around it. My eyes widened at the sight of the necklace, as I'd never seen anything so... well, beautiful, in my life. It was perfect for Naminé. I stuttered an "I'll take it," to the guy, but he just laughed.

"Now then," the old man grinned, leaning across the counter, "before you take that home, I should tell ya that it's special."

I raised my eyebrows.

"That gem is a one o' a kind, and it's the exac' same color as a type o' ice cream-" Ice cream? What in the world is so special about ice cream? "-that's only made in a place called Twilight Town. It's called Sea-Salt ice cream." I didn't exactly want to know why this was so important, but I felt it would be rude had I told the old man this. "This ice cream is known to have special... qualities ta it, ones that usually make a person realize just who's important to them. This gem-" he gestured to it, "-has those abilities as well. Whoever accepts this necklace, boy, well, you'll know just ho' important they are to ya."

Okay, it was obvious this guy was on something trippy. Special qualities? I wasn't in some kind of storybook; I lived in real life, and there was no such thing as magic in the real world. But to tell him that... well, it would be offensive, so instead I just nodded.

"Thank you, Mister..."

"Cid. Just call me Cid."

"Aright. Thank you Mr. Cid. I'm sure my girlfriend will love this."

"I hope she does."