Alright, short AN because I feel like I should say something. Something important. Something I've been wanting to say for the entire time I've written this...

Hm... what was it again? I don't even remember O.o

But yeah. Chapter 22. Roxas being a whiny brat. As always...

Oh! And in the last chapter, Namine was... um.. over-exaggerating a bit. Roxas isn't actually gay... it's hard to explain -_-

Please enjoy, review, and you'll get another chapter in one weeks time :P

~Sunechirei

Full chapter title: Agaflafafleegaflaga ishganishganaganaga agaflagafleegaflaga biiiirdie(have fun pronouncing that :P Kudos to Withnospaces for your random chapter title which still cracks me up... even though you never read the chapters on here... Also, sorry about the fact that it's all broken up... the chapter won't let me post it otherwise :( )

I opened the box for the millionth time, observing the necklace with sad eyes. The beautiful blue crystal still shone, mocking me in a million and one ways, and the dove wrapped around it was too happy for my liking. I shut it again, letting out a sigh, and placed it on my desk. Getting rid of it; that would be wonderful.

Desperately, I wanted to shove it in the garbage can, watch it fall to the bottom, hoping the necklace would break, but every time I was about to, something stopped me. It may have been the fact that I spent money on it, or that it was too pretty to get rid of, but it might have been the fact that every time I tried, a tiny voice in the back of my head told me not to, that there was someone else I should give it to.

Stupid thing.

Slowly, I reached for the velvet box again, my hand trembling slightly. If I did get rid of it, two weeks ago wouldn't seem so bad. Sure, Naminé had been a complete and total... I mean, she had dumped me harshly, giving back the present I tried to give her as if nothing were wrong.

She didn't even seem affected by the fact we'd broken up, even though I thought she actually liked me. I guess she didn't. Maybe she was just messing with my head, making me fall for her then stabbing me in the heart.

Why would she do that?

I hadn't done anything to make her want to break up, or, at least not something she knew about. Not to mention the fact that Axel had been ignoring me since that night in Twilight Town.

No, not just ignoring me, completely and totally avoiding me! Dad wanted to make our relationship less awkward? Well, he failed miserably, and now Axel and I didn't want to be anywhere near each other. Actually, I wanted to be near him, but that was a different story.

Just thinking of this made my face flush, and I placed my head on my desk, desperately wanting to scream in frustration. The way Axel's hands had moved against my bare chest, his kisses, the heat of his body... just the memory of then made me feel hot inside.

Maybe that was why Naminé cruelly dumped me. Maybe she knew I had strange feelings for Axel, maybe she'd seen how embarrassed I got around him. That would make it my fault! Damnit!

"Watcha' doin'"

"Holy shit! Don't kill me!" I jumped back in my seat, clenching the back with desperation as I stared at the door where Sora was leaning against the door-frame, laughing so hard he wasn't making a sound.

That guy scared the crap out of me, and now he was laughing at the fact I actually had emotion. Feelings. You know, the things my brown-haired co-worker seemed to lack. Other than amusement, that is.

"That... was... ab... solutely... perfect!" Sora collapsed onto the floor, clenching his stomach as he laughed, but I just growled, sweeping the box into my pocket so Sora didn't see it, or ask questions about it. He was such an ass...

"Leave me the fuck alone," I hissed, pushing back in my chair to stand up. "I'm in no mood to deal with you."

Truthfully, I didn't want Sora to notice that I was embarrassed, but more than that, I didn't want him to know I was thinking of Axel while my face was red. That would lead to a never ending line of teasing that would probably follow me for the rest of my life. Especially if Sora told Riku, which he probably would.

Again, he's such an ass.

"I'm sorry," Sora whined, reaching up to grab my pant leg as I walked by him, "You were just so funny I had to laugh. Are you really so paranoid that you thought I was going to kill you?"

I said nothing, just kicking Sora's hand away, causing him to burst into another fit of laughter. I was not paranoid about being killed, but I'd been through some really messed up things, one of them thanks to Sora and Riku on Halloween all those years ago, so hearing his voice wasn't exactly pleasant for me.

Especially when he was asking what I was doing while thinking about nearly sleeping with Axel and feeling absolutely amazing during it.

Alright, if my face was bright red then, I didn't know what could make it become that color.

"Whoa! Wait, Roxie! Get over here! I need to talk to you!" I continued to ignore Sora, heading towards the elevator.

"Go away," I muttered, ignoring the footsteps that followed me, completely underestimating how fast Sora could move. In less than two seconds, he was next to me, grabbing my arm in a steely grip.

I tried to pull away, shocked, seeing as this guy was my height, but about fifty times stronger than me. At first I became scared, thinking he was like Axel, wanting to... molest me or something, but he was just grinning like a madman, so that idea went out of the window quickly. The fact that he had a girlfriend also helped...

"Come on, Roxie." Sora laughed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help cheer you up!"

Cheer me up? He wanted to cheer me up? Why would he want to cheer me up? How did he know I needed someone to help me be happy again? I'd worked so hard to keep everyone in the office from noticing how depressed I was ever since that little- Naminé, broke up with me. I didn't act sad, I talked to people, did my work, came to work every day... what more could they ask for?

Then again, I guess the fact that I kept to my office, avoided Axel, and I didn't hang around after work anymore might have tipped them off...

Trying to pull away again, I let out a sigh and was extremely tempted to kick Sora, but I figured he would retaliate against me... Chances are, he was stronger than I was. I'd seen him spar with Riku before, and trust me, that's not something you would want to get in the middle of.

I don't even know how Kairi could have dealt with the two of them for all those years without getting hurt or going insane...Wait, she kinda was insane. I mean, look at who she was dating!

"Look, Sora, I don't need to be cheered up. I'm fine," I said, but Sora just rolled his eyes and let go of me.

"Anyone who's fine after getting dumped has mental issues."

….How did he know that? I hadn't told anyone, and I don't think Naminé did either. Well, she might have told Kairi and Ellie, which would be why Sora knows.

Damn women...

"I'm fine." My response was really delayed, which of course didn't go unnoticed by Sora, and he just laughed, patting me on the head. I shoved his arm away.

"You're obviously not fine, Roxie. Now come on, talk to Sora."

Oh, I wanted to murder that son of a bitch. He was treating me like a kid! Me, his eighte-nineteen year old boss. Obviously he could care less that the fate of his job was in my hands. Come to think of it, I didn't even know what Sora did. Him and Axel...

"Why does it even matter to you?" I muttered, blushing at the thought of Axel. Dammit. Luckily, Sora seemed oblivious to my painted cheeks, and let out a laugh.

"Normally, I could care less," wow, he was mean; I had no idea, "but Riku's been complaining to me because Ellie's been complaining to him about how depressed you've been. Want to know something?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, "I don't like being complained to."

If he didn't like being complained to, then why was he complaining to me? That didn't make much sense at all.

Slowly, I pushed his arm off me, and glared at him. It was weird, glaring at someone who was actually my height. Both Hayner and my father were taller than I, and Axel... well, he's a lot taller than I am. I mean, a lot. I think he's six-three or something like that. But Sora was my height. Five-six. Average height...

"Go, away, or I will hit you," I warned, my voice slow and quiet, trying to sound more threatening than I felt. However, all this did was spark a smile on Sora's face.

"Hit me? What do you think that'll accomplish? I'm a hell of a lot stronger than you, you know."

"You don't know that," I protested, which was true. Though there was no doubt Sora was stronger than me, he had no idea. I mean, he'd never seen me fight before, or run, or anything! For all he knew, I was the strongest guy in the world.

But, "Actually, I do know that." I was very curious to hear how he'd figured it out, "Don't you remember? I've seen Axel pin you down before-" I bit my lip, trying not to react to that memory, "-which means he's stronger than you are. Well guess what? I'm a lot stronger than Axel is."

Logic. He used logic... Sora was able to use logic to figure something out. This made sense? Riku, maybe, Ellie, definitely, but Sora? Using logic... that blew my mind away. Quite literally. I took a step back, stumbling into the elevator door. This seemed to irritate Sora, as he crossed his arms and glared at me.

"What," he growled, "am I not allowed to say something smart? Have a brilliant idea?" I wanted to shake my head, but I was afraid of what would happen if I did. "Well guess what, Roxie, I'm not an idiot."

I laughed nervously. "I never thought you were," I lied, "A klutz maybe, or a fool, but not an idiot." He raised an eyebrow, like he didn't believe me, which would be a smart thing to do, though not good for me.

"What ever," he finally mumbled, reaching over and pressing the elevator button. "I'm not here to interrogate you, I'm here to make you happier, because Ellie and Riku are annoying." His scowl turned into a grin as he stepped back, blue eyes traveling upwards to see what floor the elevator was on. Slowly, I stepped away from the elevator, keeping my eyes on Sora's every move. Who knew what he was going to do next...

What he did do next, I found to be very annoying.

He started humming.

Humming, of all things.

First logic, then humming.

Now, normally this wouldn't be so bad. If, I don't know, Ellie, had started to hum, I probably wouldn't have minded, but Sora... man, that guy can not carry a tune to save his life. He sucks so badly, that even just humming I wanted to rip out his vocal chords and make it so he could never sing again.

That's right, he was that bad. Even my dad can sing better than Sora, and my dad can't sing.

After a minute of listening to Sora's horrible music, the elevator door finally opened, and I escaped into it; kinda. Naturally, Sora followed me, probably making it his personal duty to make sure I was happy by the end of the day.

Yeah, like that was going to happen.

I was in no mood to be happy. Why couldn't Sora see that? Actually, the question I should be asking is why Ellie kept complaining about me being a downer. I mean, I acted normal around her, right? I didn't even see her that often! How could she even tell I was upset about something?

Not even Mom noticed, and she got on my case about everything. Then again, she seemed really distracted recently... Maybe she was-

"Oh my God! Shut up!" It was all I could take.

I turned to glare at Sora, who was staring back at me with wide eyes, his hands behind his head.

His blank stare made it obvious he had no idea why I was yelling at him to shut up, so I elaborated, "You can not, and never have been able to, sing, so shut the hell up, before I do something I'm going to regret!"

An awkward silence fell between the two of us. Not the kind that I had with Axel all the time, but one that basically said, 'you just fucked up. Sora's going to kill you now.'

I don't know which is worse.

Finally, a chuckle reached my ears. Sora was laughing at me. Again!

"You're so funny, Roxie," he shook his head as he said this, "I know perfectly well that I can't sing. I suck at it. Riku and Kairi have been telling me this since we were little." He shot me a cheeky grin, "Doesn't mean I'm not gonna sing, 'cause trust me; if there's a song I want to sing, I will sing it."

Will I ever get a chance to work with normal people? I wondered, leaning up against the back of the elevator, closing my eyes. Everyone I'd met so far in this business were insane in some form or another.

Just think about it; the first time I met Riku, he threw knives at me (well, technically at Hayner but...), Ellie gave me an alibi after I'd gotten arrested, Sora nearly crashed into me, and Axel, well... he was Axel. None of these people were normal.

My father has the strangest ideas about what people should work for him.

"Want to know a funny word?" Sora asked suddenly. I blinked, turning to him.

"Um... sure?"

"Just warning you," he said with a grin, "this word makes no sense. So good luck understanding it." I rolled my eyes and waved for him to continue, not really paying attention. "Okay, here goes; Agaflafafleegaflaga ishganishganaganaga agaflagafleegaflaga biiiirdie ."

My eyes slid closed, and my hand came up to rub my temples. "What. The hell. Was that?"

"I told you it was strange."

"Yeah, but not nonsense!"

"So? You didn't ask if it was nonsense!"

"How is this supposed to cheer me up?"

"I don't know."

The look on Sora's face was so priceless. Blank, no smile, no frown, blue eyes wide, but not too much so, hair falling into his face, leaning against the back of the elevator.

I don't know why, but suddenly, I was laughing. Just, laughing. Maybe I'd gone insane, or maybe I just wanted to laugh because I knew somewhere inside that things would get better if I just laughed it off, got all the stress of living off my chest. Had fun. Another thing that was possible, however, was that Sora had been so ridiculous at that moment, that even though my life seemed to be falling apart, it was really fun to laugh at such an idiotic guy.

Maybe this was his plan all along, because suddenly, he was laughing with me.

Even after the door to the elevator opened and I headed out, knowing that I would have to deal with Naminé for a minute, I still felt giddy. Sora was an interesting guy, that's for sure. He continued to follow me, though.

We didn't talk, as both of us were trying to hold in our laughter so Naminé wouldn't think we were laughing at her. However, she wasn't the only one at the front desk.

Ellie was there too, talking to Naminé in a hushed voice, like the two of them were keeping a secret from the rest of the world. I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Women are such secret keepers and gossipers.

Upon hearing me and Sora exit the elevator, both women at the front desk glanced over at us, and almost simultaneously, their eyes widened.

I had no idea why they did that, seeing as there was nothing weird with the way I looked, right? Maybe the two of them were talking about me, and this was some kind of 'speak of the devil' moments.

That would actually be pretty hilarious. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

"Hey Ellie, hey Naminé. What's with the faces?" I don't know how Sora managed to ask that. He looked as though he were trying hard not to laugh as well. The two women exchanged glances.

"It's nothing, really," Ellie began hesitantly, and suddenly I became curious. What could they be talking about?

"Nothing? Oh come on!" Sora's hands moved to the back of his head again. "It's obviously not nothing." I was so glad Sora was the one talking. See, my eyes had met with Naminé's during this conversation, and the two of us just stared at each other for a bit, my hand going to the pocket where the necklace was.

Finally, she looked down, her cheeks painting a light pink.

While all of this was going on, it seems Sora and Ellie had gotten into a little joking argument. My eyes turned to them, and I suddenly wondered how Riku would react if I lied and told him his best friend was flirting with his girlfriend.

It would probably lead to bloodshed.

I didn't like blood.

So I just let it be.

Finally, Ellie laughed. "Has anyone ever told you that you guys could be brothers?" Brothers? With Sora? That was hysterical.

"Um... no?" I finally managed to say, clenching the box in my pocket tightly as Sora said, "How? We're nothing alike!" Which was so true. The two of us really were nothing alike. In fact, we were so different, that pretty much every aspect was opposite... how weird...

Ellie didn't seem to think this was the case, however.

"Nothing alike? Wow..." She shook her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked her, crossing my arms.

"You two are so much alike it's scary. Not only do you look similar, but you're also both complete dense, foolish, idiots who think they know everything. Both of you miss the smallest details about people and situations," she slapped her hand on the counter, "It's ridiculous!"

Dense, foolish idiot? I was not! The only thing I've ever failed to notice was that Axel was gay and liked me! Nothing else!

Wait... that's a pretty big thing isn't it?

I opened my mouth to protest again, but suddenly, the phone on Naminé's desk rang. Me, Sora, and Naminé all jumped, but naturally, Miss Elliot didn't. I don't know how she was never scared or surprised by anything.

"Yes Mr. Strife?" Oh great, it was my dad calling. "Roxas? Yes, he's here. Yes? Alright. Okay. Yes. I'll tell him." Tell me? Tell me what? I had a feeling this wasn't going to end very well. For all I knew, my dad wanted me to go on yet another trip with Axel. I wonder if he knew what would happen if he did. Hell, one more visit to a different city, and Axel and I could go all the way!

That actually didn't sound like a bad idea.

I closed my eyes, trying to both block out that thought, and not freak out as Naminé hung up the phone and told me, "Your father wants to see you."

Yeah. I was screwed.