Well, for all of you out there who've been waiting, here's part 2 of my wonderful Valentines day chapter XD It's funny. I actually wrote this chapter on Valentines day O.O Man, that was a while ago! XD
Want to know what's sad? I only have 11 chapters left of this to write :( I mean, you guys get a ton more chapters, but I'm going to be done with this story really soon... What am I going to do with my time? o.O
Anyway. To answer some people's questions and talk about reviews:
Melodious Echo of Oblivion: Thanks for the long review :D I do like long reviews, but I really only want to know what people think of the story XD I'm glad you love this story :D
To Awaiting Dusk: Well, if you think Ellie and Riku are adorable, then just wait until Riku's first chapter XD And yes, I do update regularly. Every Saturday, on the dot :P Actually, it's more like Friday night for me, but... XD
813 i love you 813: Roxas' birthday in this story is actually the day BEFORE Valentines day XD February 13th :P Also, it's easy for me to update on time. I'm over ten chapters ahead in my writing :P
For SuttaFox; The chapters are usually around 6 or so pages, but chapter 19 was about 5, so... XD As for Cid; there are about 14 different Cid's in the Final Fantasy games. The one I used in this chapter was from FF IV. And I made up the necklace with the help of some friends. I want it as a necklace though XD And yes, you do get to learn about how Tifa and Cloud met. I actually just wrote that chapter a few days ago XD It's an interesting story. And what Axel does? Well, that my friend is a wonderful mystery :D
L.L: No, the shop keeper isn't Scrooge :P I have no Disney characters in this story.
*sigh* That's all for now XD I noticed a common theme in your guy's reviews: the necklace. I think it's going to be interesting to see how you guys react to this chapter :P
Anyway, I have one thing to say. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS CHAPTER SINCE THE MOMENT I STARTED THIS STORY! XD You'll see why :D
So, as always, read, enjoy, review, and I'll see you next week :D
~Sunechirei
Full chapter title: Don't fall in love unless there's someone there to catch you (Part 2)
My birthday was fucking awesome!
I mean, normally things are boring and pathetic, but I guess for my nineteenth birthday the people in my life decided to make things wonderful for me. Kinda. I think it was more the fact that I actually heard from my three so-called best friends who each called me early in the morning to wish me a happy birthday. The conversations went something like this;
"Happy birthday Roxas! Sorry it's so early, but I have class in a few minutes so I wanted to call you before I had to leave."
Olette sounded abnormally perky, especially since it was five in the morning. I had a feeling she was enjoying her classes. "Hey...," I replied, yawing widely.
"Oh! I probably woke you up. I feel so bad now!"
"You don't need to. I have to get up early anyway," I sat up and rubbed my eyes, stifling another yawn as Olette rambled on about how I shouldn't be getting up early so often, especially not on my birthday. I didn't have the guts to tell her I'd been pretty much ditching work for the past few weeks so I could deal with my love life. I knew she'd be upset with me.
"So, Roxas, I hope you enjoy your nineteenth birthday. I'm sorry I didn't get to come home for Christmas and New Years. Some of my friends took me out so we could have some fun out on the town."
I wanted to laugh at her enthusiasm. "That's great, Olette. It's probably better you didn't come home. Weird things happened..." That was putting it really lightly. I didn't want to tell her I might be gay, or the reason why that was the case.
"Weird things? Like what?"
Sighing, I grabbed my clock checking the time, then said, "I thought you had to get to class?"
"Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me. Happy Birthday, Roxas!"
"Yeah."
Her conversation was probably the most normal of the three I had, but I was expecting that. Pence called second, about ten minutes after Olette, but his was brief.
"Hey Rox. I know it's been a while, but med school isn't as easy as some people made it out to be, so I've been really busy." Of course. I was expecting that as well. I don't know why Pence thought it would be simple... I told him it was fine though, and I was glad he was having fun, to which he snorted. "Si a la dreta. Diversio."
I blinked, confused about what he said. The only problem with living in another country; they started speaking another language. I never found out what he said though, because the phone got cut off.
It was after that I decided to get up. Of course, while I was in the shower, Hayner called, so I missed it, but he left me an... interesting message.
"Hey, Roxie! Long time no speak, eh? You're finally nineteen. Congrats. Now, I know I said I was going to come back every now and then, but man is my school interesting. I'm actually passing my classes. By myself. You should be proud of me. Say hi to Axel and Naminé. See ya."
That was a fun message to receive.
But naturally, the best part came when I walked downstairs.
And was blindfolded, tied up, and dragged outside. I knew it was Riku and Sora who pulled this off, as no one else I knew could move so quickly, so quietly. I'm sure Axel could probably have done it as well, but... you know.
So anyway, I was dragged out of my house, shoved into a car, and finally, my blindfold was taken off, though I wasn't untied. I was right, of course, that it was Riku and Sora who kidnapped me, but I was surprised to see Ellie and Kairi were there as well.
"What the hell?" I questioned, struggling against the ropes that bound my wrists.
"Morning Roxas. It's probably better if you don't struggle," Kairi said with a laugh, placing a hand on my arm. Ellie turned around from the front seat, a grin on her face, and added;
"You also shouldn't question what we're doing." A sneer littered her face. "Just be glad we're going out of our way to do something for your birthday." How they knew it was my birthday was something I didn't want to know. I figured Ellie knew as the lawyer, but it was possible Sora had something to do with it.
He seemed to know absolutely everything about the company, and I still didn't know what he did. However, another thing I didn't want to know, was where the hell they were taking me, and how they got out of work for the day.
Normally, everyone worked on Sundays, me included, so I didn't know how it was possible for them to...
"Don't think about it, just go with it." From next to me, Sora laughed and patted my head. "This is a good thing."
A good thing... right... How was being kidnapped by workmates when you were supposed to be at work something good? That didn't make any sense. Then again, most people would walk into our office and walk out needing therapy because the office was so fucking crazy. Sometimes I wondered how I survived the days there. Then I remembered that I really don't...
But, I shut my mouth and let Riku drive, still confused as to where these psychopaths were going to take me, but really I didn't want to question it.
So, none of this sounds awesome right now, but when we arrived at the place we were going, I knew this was going to be fun.
Ever heard of Laser Tag?
Well, that's where I was taken and I was so glad I had decided to wear black that day.
I won't really go into detail, because if I told you everything that happened to me while in that dark room, with fake guns, going against two extremely competitive guys, it would take a long, long time. But we played for about six hours straight, and needless to say, I was completely and totally exhausted after that, though I'm sure Riku and Sora could have continued playing for the rest of the day.
By the end, Riku had come out on top by about a thousand points, much to the disappointment of Sora.
"Goddammit! Why the hell do you always beat me?" Sora fell to his knees after seeing the results, and Riku just patted him on the head.
"Because I'm better than you. Duh."
I'm pretty sure if Kairi hadn't hugged Sora and told him he would beat Riku at something, the two would have dragged the rest of us back into the room and demand to play another round. As fun as that would have been...
After all that, Kairi and Ellie bade us goodbye for some reason. I think they were going to take the bus home so they could get ready for tomorrow, but I was still being dragged around by two crazy guys. It wasn't that bad, though, as we went to an arcade and played old school video games and what-not. I knew Riku and Sora were competitive, but until that day, I had no idea just how competitive they were.
First there was Laser Tag, then there was some kind of epic battle to see who could get the most points in every game. I didn't bother participating, but it was entertaining to watch them go all out.
In the end, I figured today could have gone a lot worse, but I was still confused why they did this. So I finally asked. Sora and Riku laughed as the three of us climbed into Riku's car.
"It's not every day you turn nineteen," Riku explained, "I mean, sure, it's not as special as when you turned eighteen, but we didn't exactly know you back then, so we're making up for it now."
That made sense, I guessed, but, "Why?" I asked, leaning forward.
"Because," Sora said with a grin, "you're our friend, right?"
Finally, it was Valentine's day. Now normally, I never wanted this day to come, but ever since I'd found out how amazing it was to help mend the problems in for couples, I'd been waiting impatiently for it.
Now, of course I didn't actually care about such things as mushy romance, but if I could make things right with Naminé, then all would be well. Well, other than the fact I still had to talk to Axel about kissing him, then allowing him to jump me, but that was a whole other issue I didn't really want to think about.
After all, a girlfriend is important and should come first, right? Future business partner are important, but not for a while. Or, at least I'd hoped so, because I ran into Axel at work the day after my birthday, so Valentine's Day.
It was really awkward, because we hadn't spoken, or seen each other at all after I left on my little hiatus from work.
Two and a half weeks ago.
But of course, I should have been expecting things to go... strangely between the two of us, especially after what happened. Well, I figured that now would be a good a time as any to deal with the situation at hand, even though I wanted to put it off. I still couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, I might like Axel just a little bit.
To tell him I didn't would... well, hurt. I guess.
"Hey Roxie! Happy Valentine's Day!" Axel exclaimed when he saw me, though there wasn't nearly as much enthusiasm in his voice, or his actions when he trotted over to me and ruffled my hair. A light blush painted my cheeks as his hand made contact with my head. What could I do to make this better...?
"Hey... um..." I glanced over at Axel, who was standing with his back to me, fussing with something on my desk. "Look, I kinda need to talk-"
"No time. Gotta run. My cousin, Demyx, has some kinda issue with a... um..." Axel turned around, thinking for a second before continuing with, "a friend. Yeah... Anyway. Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day, and I'll see ya later!" He pinched my cheek, which was highly annoying, before running off and down the stairs.
I watched him, completely and totally surprised at his reaction. It wasn't like him at all to brush something important off like that, or, at least it'd never happened before.
Oh shit! He's pissed at me!
Why the hell did this always have to happen to me? First Riku hated me, then Naminé was mad, and now Axel was acting as though I were a piece of slime. This couldn't end well at all. I mean, the last time something like this had happened-
"Roxas! There you are! I was looking for you!" A warm arm slipped around mine, and a head rested against my shoulder, so I looked down to see Naminé there, smiling up at me with her gorgeous blue eyes. "You father said we don't have anything else to do for today," she flirted, threading her fingers in with mine.
Wow. Out of work early. That never happened.
Well, I guess it actually did happen sometimes, but not very often. "I'm glad he did," I said, smiling, "I'm guessing he's only doing that, though, because he wants to spend time with my mom."
Rolling my eyes, I added, "This holiday is such a day for couples." The two of us laughed together as we headed towards the elevator. I was practically lost in complete bliss; after all, my girlfriend was acting normal and happy again.
The only issue was that there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, telling me this was a bad idea, that I should have run after Axel, but I ignored it as the elevator doors closed.
"You know, Roxas, I'm so glad you're feeling better," Naminé declared suddenly, clutching my arm closer to her.
Confused, I sent her a questioning look. I wasn't better, though she probably didn't know that. I'd learned it was a good idea to hide your pain from your girlfriend; they don't worry that way.
"Well, you've been missing from work for the past few weeks, and every time I've called you, I thought you were dying because of how sick you sounded. It worried me," she continued when she noticed my look.
A pain in my stomach reminded me of how horrible of a boyfriend I was. I shouldn't have done that to her, but what's done is done, right? I could only make it up to her somehow.
Leaning down, I pecked Naminé lightly on the forehead, before whispering, "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to worry you." I didn't have to see her face to know she was smiling.
"Alright. I'll believe you. For now." She giggled, but there was a hint of something in her voice, something that made me worry greatly. Was it sadness? Fear? Worry?
Damn. Why couldn't just one day; just one day, go right for me?
The rest of the ride down the elevator was a quiet one, mainly just the two of us, standing hand in hand with each other in silence, enjoying the nice, simple atmosphere. Well, I think that's what Naminé was doing.
I, on the other hand, was trying desperately not to flip out at the silence, and tell Naminé everything that had happened between me and Axel (well, not everything... some of those things we did three weeks ago... I doubt she wanted to know), and apologize, beg for her forgiveness.
It was a very trying time for me.
But finally, the door opened, releasing me from all horrible thoughts of confessing, and the two of us walked out like everything was normal. Oh how I wished everything was normal.
"So," Naminé said after a time, "do you have any plans for tonight?" Of course I had plans. What did she take me for? Some kinda loser boyfriend who didn't bother planning anything for his girlfriend for Valentine's Day? That hurt, but only slightly, as I figured she was just trying to find out what I was going to do.
But naturally, I wasn't going to tell her everything. "Well," I began, wrapping an arm around her shoulder's, "I was thinking about just, you know, staying home tonight, playing video games, crap like that," my teasing tone caused her to smack my arm playfully. "Hey, hey! I'm just kidding. I do have something planned for you." I smiled. "I just hope you like it."
"Wow! This is amazing!" Naminé spun around in a circle, arms extended as she stared up at the night sky. Even though it was chilly out, the two of us were out in the field near the outskirts of Radiant Garden, wearing only light jackets.
"Is it?" I asked with a smirk, sitting on the blanket I'd brought with a little sigh. "What's so amazing about it?" I could guess what she was talking about, but I figured I would sound more interested if I asked her about it, rather than just assume.
I'm guessing I was right about that, because she sat down next to me, eyes alive with wonder and happiness. It'd been a long time since I'd seen her so happy; actually, I couldn't remember a time when she'd looked so relaxed and carefree.
It made me smile.
"Well, it's been so long since I've seen the stars this clearly! Really, not since I lived on Destiny Island with Kairi."
"Really?" I asked her, my arm snaking around her shoulders, pulling her close to me, mostly for the comfort of her being with me, but also for the warmth. February wasn't exactly the warmest month of the year. Of course, I made sure she couldn't feel the small velvet box that rested in my pocket, as that would give away the fact I'd gotten a present for her.
Let me tell you; it's not easy hiding something from a woman.
But Naminé didn't even seem to notice anything strange about tonight, as she continued to talk about her life on Destiny Island, all the times she watched Sora and Riku try to kill each other over the stupidest things, when Selphie broke the school's alarm system and had to get a summer job to fix it, or the time Naminé watched over Kairi and Sora's first date, just to make sure nothing bad happened to them.
It was relaxing to listen to her stories, though two things confused me; where did Naminé live before Destiny Island, and why did she move?
"Hey, Nami," I ventured, interrupting one of her strange stories about a contest between Riku and Sora. She looked up at me with wide eyes, surprised by my sudden intrusion.
With a sigh, I asked her my two questions, hoping I wasn't prying too far into her life, as she never seemed to like to talk about it. A jolt of fear attacked my stomach when the excitement in her eyes vanished, and the warm body was pulled away from mine.
Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit! Never ask questions like that. Never, never, never, never! I mentally scolded myself, wishing desperately that I could bash my skull in for being so stupid. It was completely obvious Naminé didn't like talking about her past before Destiny Island, but I just had to pry, had to ask. I would never had done this any other night, but I guessed the confusion was finally getting to me.
"I-I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, "I didn't mean to get all in your business. I mean, you can just ignore my question and act lik-"
"No, I'll answer you." Her voice was barely over a whisper. "I feel as though you deserve to know a little bit about me." She laughed nervously, her hands writing together as if she were trying to rub all the skin off them. "But, it's going to be a little hard for me to talk about it. Kairi's the only one who really knows anything, and that's just because she's my cousin."
Comfortingly, I placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "It's fine. Take your time."
Despite what you may think, I really had no idea what I was doing. I'd never met someone who was scared of talking about their childhood, well, other than Axel, but he's a nut-job, so that's to be expected. Basically, I was just winging the whole, "I'm here for you, go ahead and tell me whatever you want," crap. I just hoped it didn't turn around and bite me in the ass.
"Well," Naminé said after nodding at me, "I guess I should start with your first question; I was born in a city pretty far away from here called Oblivion." Oblivion... that was a cheery name... Why would anyone call a city that? Almost like she had been reading my mind, Naminé giggled and continued. "It was named after a castle that was built to obliterate all their enemies. Don't take the name the wrong way, though. It's actually a really nice town. But the people..."
She trailed off for a second, before laughing and continuing, "Kairi was born there, you know, so it's where our mother's grew up." I froze. Kairi had told me she was born in Radiant Garden. Why was Naminé telling me something completely different? "See, Kairi's mother was ten years older than her sister, my mother, but even so, the two of them were really close." Naminé swallowed thickly, and I could tell this was upsetting her.
However, she managed to continue, "Well, they were close until Kairi's mom passed away. She was two at the time, so naturally, our grandmother took her in, despite still having a fourteen year old daughter to raise as well."
Naminé took a deep breath and glanced up at the stars again, seemingly oblivious to the fact I was watching her intensely, absolutely curious about all of this. Especially since Kairi didn't seem to know any of it.
"This worked at first," Naminé continued, "but after a year, my mom got... well... raped, and became pregnant with me." Okay, I wasn't expecting that, but Naminé wasn't done yet, "After our grandmother found out, she and my mom got into a fight. I don't know what about, as no one will tell me, but Kairi somehow got caught up in it, and she hit her head, causing her memory to get... damaged, as my mom put it.
"So, scared for Kairi, our grandmother packed up all their things, and took off to Radiant Garden, leaving my mom alone to fend for herself. After I was born, my mom got sick, and my grandmother got custody of me, as well as Kairi. Then, she passed away, I was sent home to my mom, and Kairi to Destiny Island to be adopted."
The story didn't seem to be finished at first, but after Naminé said nothing else, I realized she had nothing else to say on the matter, and she was waiting for my reaction. But how the hell was I supposed to react?
It's not every day you hear about such a depressing past! Not only that, but she's not the only one with a horrendous childhood; I mean, Kairi was involved in this as well, Ellie and Axel were orphans... the next thing you knew, I'd be learning my parents grew up on the streets!
Was I the only one with a normal life around here?
"Nami," I finally managed to mutter, "I had no idea... I'm so sorry..."
My girlfriend shook her head before looking up at me with a smile, "It's fine. I'm not really affected by it... its just hard for me to talk or think about."
I felt as though asking more questions would just be rude, so instead I just reached around to the back of Naminé's head, and pulled her in for a light kiss. Really, I don't know why I did that, but it just felt like it was the right thing to do, and Naminé didn't seem to have any objections to it.
That was a good thing, right?
After kissing for a little bit, Naminé and I lay down on the blanket, completely silent, curled up next to each other for warmth. It was nice, I had to admit, to just be there, not thinking about what I should do about Axel, who I should ask questions, what I needed to do to get my relationship with Naminé back to normal.
There were no worries as we did nothing but relax, but I knew it couldn't last forever, and when Naminé told me she was getting cold, the spell pretty much broke.
The two of us headed back to my car, then back into town. It was almost midnight, so I wondered if my parents were worried about me.
Chances are, they were, but if they couldn't deal with the fact that their now nineteen year old son had a life of his own, then I seriously needed to move out. Already, I was considering this, but I was too scared to. Yeah, that's right; I'm a 'fraidy cat. Got a problem with that?
Again, there was silence as the two of us headed back to Naminé's apartment. After a quick peek at the woman sitting next to me, I noticed she seemed rather nervous and uncomfortable, like she was contemplating something important. It may have been what she told me earlier that night; it may have been something else.
Ends up, it was something else.
And that something else practically ruined my entire evening.
You see, after I walked Naminé to her door, I stopped her, smiling, and pulled out the box. Naminé looked genuinely surprised to see it, and she took it, a grim look on her face. I had no idea what that could mean. When she opened the box, her expression turned into one of horrified shock.
I began to get worried.
"Roxas..." she breathed, looking up at me. "It's... it's beautiful."
"When I saw it," I told her, taking her hand, "I immediately thought of you. It just... seemed to fit." A glimmer of happiness appeared in her eyes, but disappeared almost instantly. "Is something wrong?"
Slowly, Naminé closed the lid of the box, eyes shut. "Look, Roxas... I don't know how to say this... but I can't accept this necklace."
Eyes widened, and my chest felt as though it were being ripped in half. "What are you-" I began, stuttering slightly, but Naminé just shook her head, and pulled away from me, holding out the box.
"I'm so sorry, Roxas. But... I don't think we should go out anymore."
"You... you're breaking up with me?"
"I'm so sorry."