A/N: Good day you guys! I am TERRIBLY SORRY for my long absence. I've been busy for the past two months, that's why I wasn't able to post an update on this story. After high school graduation, we went for a vacation in the U.S., then when I got back home, I fixed my papers for college. I'm really sorry you guys, I promise that I'll try really hard to update quickly. Hehe.

Review Reponses:

KingdomHeartsKeyBladeMaster: Bullying totally sucks! Actually, I was bullied as well during my early years in middle-school. That's one of the inspirations that compelled me to write this story. I do hope that you're okay, and don't worry! People bully you because they have nothing good to say about themselves. Thanks for the compliment! I promise to try and not disappoint you with this story. :)

kuntalviv: Thanks for reading! Math is really my cup of tea. Good to see that you enjoy it too. :)

Sin's Punishment: I already answered yours...hahaha! :)

lioncousin: Thank you! Yeah, Roxas does tend to be the star. Well this won't be a smooth road for him, I can guarantee you that! :)

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who faved and reviewed this story! Anyways, I've decided to mix it up this chapter. You guys'll see. :) Happy reading! Oh, and please, read and review!

The early rays of the sun peeked through the navy-blue hued skies. The light posts started to dim, as the bustling town prepared to face a new day. Stores started to open, engines started to run and food started to fry.

It was the opening hours of yet another eventful day. And for a certain flaxen-haired teen, it was the best part of her day.

There she sat, along the balcony outside her bedroom. She had her gaze casted downwards, towards her beloved sketchpad. Her face scrunched in concentration as the sound of pencil lead wafted through the early morning breeze.

She would steal occasional glances at the picturesque sunrise that seemed to enthrall her with every milisecond. She worked professionally, efficiently and accurately. Her work was so superb, that some might even mistake her for a national artist. That's how good she is.

After doing some polishing on her sketch, she leaned backwards and admired her work. She just had to smile. She indeed did an excellent job.

With a sigh, she dusted off her sketchpad and closed it. She averted her gaze forward, to the rising sun that always captivated her. She was immediately transported to what felt like another world. She was teleported to a world of peace, a world of tranquility, a world of serenity. The young blonde couldn't help but smile at the feeling.

School just started again. She never saw it coming. She was having too much fun over the summer that she forgot that school even existed. Oh how she missed those days. Waking up at eleven in the morning, drawing various sights, writing short-stories, reading novels, chatting with her friends, sleeping at three in the morning, et cetera. She already felt nostalgic even if school just started yesterday.

She wished that she could just stay in her room, sit by the railing on her balcony like what she's doing at the moment and draw all day long. Unfortunately for everyone, all good things come to an end, and she is no exception to the principle.

From the appearance of the rising sun, she deduced that it was close to six in the morning. Regretfully, she pulled herself up and made her way to the showers. It was going to be a long day for her. After showering, she wore her school uniform and proceeded to the dining area.

As usual, she was the second to wake, just after her mother who was fixing breakfast for the lovely family. She helped her mother prepare while they waited for the other half of the family. Minutes later, her father would arrive and greet the both of them. Even more minutes later, her elder twin, all ghillied up and ready, would finally fill the last chair of the dining table.

"So, how was the first day of school?" The father of the household asked.

The elder, auburn-haired girl answered first with a smile. "It was great dad! I got to see all my friends again! Oh, and I made some new ones too."

The bubbly girl's parents couldn't help but smile at her response. "That's great honey. How about you, Naminé? How was your first day of school?"

"Eh, nothing special. Just hung out with our friends, like Kairi said." The blonde answered without looking up from her plate.

"Is something wrong dear?" Her mother asked gently.

This time, Naminé looked up from her meal. She shook her head vigorously and furrowed her eyebrows comically in reply. "No mom, I'm fine."

"Okay hun, just trying to make sure."

"I know mom. It's just that you should start looking after yourselves instead of looking after us. We can handle ourselves you know?"

"We understand that you desire freedom, dear. Kids your age start to deny help from their parents, since they think that they can already handle themselves. We know that you two are responsible enough, without a doubt. However, that doesn't mean that we won't continue to look out for you girls." Her father chimed in,

"That's right! We both know that you can handle yourselves, but you're still our babies!" Her mother added cheerfully.

Naminé was ecstatic to hear those words from her parents. Sure, it sounded corny and lame, but under the hood, her parents only cared for her and her sister. She couldn't have been any happier in under anyone else's wing.

"Aw, thanks mom, dad. It's just that we feel like you're focusing too much on us. You should ease up a bit too. Enjoy yourselves and all that."

"We enjoy taking care of you two, dear. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine."

"Well, the same goes for us! I mean, it kinda works out that way, right? Especially if you have a bubbly, nosey, hyperactive, super-energetic and amiable twin." Naminé answered, mumbling the last part of her dialogue.

"Hey!" Kairi snapped playfully. "At least I socialize!" She fired back as she stuck her tongue out at her little sister.

Naminé rolled her eyes and scoffed in reply. Their parents laughed at their childish display. Soon, the lovely family finished eating breakfast. After exchanging kisses, their father drove Naminé and Kairi to school before heading off to work, while their mother started cleaning.

The drive to the twin's school was a silent one. Kairi had her back against her seat with her eyes closed and earphones on, Naminé had her gaze on her window as she admired the everyday sights, while their father just kept his eyes on the road, occasionally stealing glances at his precious daughters.

Five minutes later, they arrived at Twilight Prep. The twins unbuckled their seat-belts and grabbed their bags while their father grabbed a few bills from his wallet. After grabbing a handful, he turned to his kids.

"Here you go, don't overspend now!" Their father warned as he handed each of them their daily allowance.

"Thanks, dad." Kairi said and pecked her father on the cheek before heading outside.

"Thank you, dad." Naminé did the same and headed out as well.

As their father drove off, the twins started making their way to their lockers. Just as they stepped-foot in the hallway, they already felt a plethora of eyes on them. It's as if everyone in the area surveyed them with keen stares. As much as the twins were awkwarded out, they played it cool. They just continued walking, ignoring the barbaric stares of the boys and the envious stares of the girls.

Eventually, they reached their lockers. Both couldn't help but sigh, finally, the whole staring contest was over.

"What was going on back there? Those guys looked at us like we were walking slices of pizza." Kairi said, a hint of uneasiness in her voice.

"I know right. I seriously have no idea. Maybe there's something on our faces?" Naminé responded.

Much to Naminé's amusement, her sister hastily pulled out her phone tapped the screen to access her camera. Since her camera was in selfie mode, she was able to see her face immediately. She started turning her face in all sorts of angles, checking for a possible cause of earlier's staredown moment.

"My face is perfectly fine." Kairi said as she checked again.

Naminé cracked up, unable to resist her twin's behavior. "What are you laughing at?" asked Kairi.

"I was just kidding, you know?" Naminé replied between fits of laughter.

Kairi rolled her eyes as she tucked her phone back in her pocket. "Very funny, Nami. I'll see you later. I don't want Miss Collins to get on my back again. She got really upset when I showed up late yesterday."

"Okay, later then."

Naminé rummaged through her locker as her sister left. She took out the books that she'll need later and inserted the ones that she'll need before recess in her bag. After closing her locker, she turned and saw a face that made her heart beat erratically.

There, lazily leaning against his locker, eyes closed, was a young boy that she so adored. Naminé loved everything about him. His chocolate-colored spikes that stuck out like javelins, his cerulean-hued eyes that always resembled the skies, his athletic frame, his boyish grin and his cute, absolutely cute face.

Naminé sighed dreamily at the sight of the beautiful boy before her. What she'd give to be wrapped in those strong arms. When her fantasies died down, she noticed something different about her dream boy. He seemed to be restless, as if he didn't get a second of sleep the previous night. He had dark rings under his eyes, his shoulders were slumped and his face didn't have its usual glow.

Naminé unconsciously made her way to him. Her brows automatically furrowed in concern as she got a closer look at him. He looked more horrible than he really did, though she couldn't deny that he was still undeniably adorable.

"Uhm, Sora? Are you okay?" Naminé asked gently.

Sora lethargically opened his eyes and faced Naminé. Naminé couldn't help but blush under his gaze. Sora gave her a tired smile, much to the blonde's utter delight. "Hey, Naminé. Yeah, just tired."

"Really? Just tired? You look bushed." Although he looked half-alive, Naminé couldn't help but think that Sora was still unequivocally attractive.

"Nah, I'll survive. How about you? D'ya get enough sleep last night?" Sora asked as he ran a hand through his brown mane.

The gesture seemed to have heightened Naminé's attraction even further. She really is a lovesick puppy when it comes to Sora.

"Yeah, I got plenty, actually."

"Well that's good. At least someone's fully-charged." Naminé giggled at his words. Everything he did just seemed to make him cuter in her eyes.

Unknown to Naminé, Sora was having the same exact thoughts. Naminé was undeniably attractive, every boy would recognize that fact at first glance. Any boy who wouldn't, is either blind, or isn't even one. Just catching a glimpse of her angelic face or her baby blue eyes is enough to send any teenage boy's hormones into overdrive. Sora, of all people, was of course aware of that subjectively-constitutionalized law.

From the moment he laid his eyes on her, he was drawn to her for some ineffable reason. He doesn't know what it is that makes her special or why he even looks at her in such ways. He simply can't point a finger on it, but there is definitely something about her that sets her apart from everyone else.

One may say that it's because of her looks, but Sora knows better. He knows that he is not drawn to the beautiful young blonde simply because of her other-wordly looks. No. It's something much more than that. Whatever that may be, he doesn't know. But then again, it's not like he's complaning.

"Anyways, why don't we head to class? Don't wanna be late now, do we?" Sora urged, still smiling.

Naminé flushed and smiled. "S-sure. Let's go."

"So, how was your first day at school?" Sora asked as they started walking towards their first class.

Naminé stared at him comically. "Really, Sora? You're going to ask me that? I've been studying here with you since kindergarten and you're going to ask me that?"

"Woah, someone's acting all defensive."

"I'm not being defensive!" Naminé snapped playfully. "I'm just being radical!"

"Well, okay, . I was just wondering what you were up to yesterday. Sheesh, no need to rest your finger on the trigger all the time, Nami."

Naminé blushed at the nickname. She found it incredibly sweet of him, even if it wasn't a romantic reference...or so she believed.

"Okay, fine, I get the picture. For the record though, yesterday was just another day. Nothing mind-boggling really happened." Naminé answered with an insipid tone.

Sora frowned at this. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, everything's good." Naminé replied, trying to shrug it off.

"Nami, stop being so pretentious. If something's wrong, you know that I'll be here for you, right? But I can't help you if you won't allow me to."

Naminé tried to conceal a smile. Her dream boy just said that he'll always be there for her! She couldn't stop the butterflies that were harassing her stomach at the very sound of his words. No wonder she fell for him so hard. She blushed badly at her current, helpless state.

She sighed, knowing that she shouldn't hide anything from someone so kind(and handsome). "Fine. I miss hanging out."

Sora stared at her in disbelief. "You miss hanging out? With your friends? Nami, you see them everyday! How can you possible find that inadequate?"

Naminé rolled her eyes. "It's not like that. I mean I miss going to places with them. Like going to the beach and watching the sunset or simply shopping with all of them."

"Wow, you miss those times pretty fast. It's only the second day of school Nami. Besides, you can go to the mall during the weekends with them. Just call them."

Naminé sighed again. "I know, but it's not like I hung out with them the entire summer. The last time we got together was about a month ago. I didn't see them anymore for the rest of previous month."

Since Sora harbored feelings for the young blonde, he suddenly felt compelled to cheer her up. So he did.

"Okay, I understand. Since you won't stop moping about it, why don't we hang out on Friday night?" Sora invited.

Naminé immediately blushed. Did the boy whom she secretly admired ask her to a...date? Sora seemed to have read her mind, for his cheeks heated up as well. Since he didn't know that she likes him, he tried to sound inconspicuous.

"A-as friends I mean." Sora stuttered.

"Oh..." Naminé trailed, concealing her disappointment. "Sure."

Sora inwardly did a victory dance. "Great! I'll pick you up after school."

Before the duo knew it, they already reached their classroom. The two sat beside each other on the front row before setting their things down their desks. They arrived just in time, for a few seconds after tidying up, the teacher arrived.

"Good morning, class!"

All the students rose from their seats and spoke. "Good morning, Professor Merlin."

Sora cringed at the sight of the seasoned professor. He barely got any sleep last night, and chemistry wasn't exactly the best thing to start his day off with. He sighed as he faced the inevitable.

Throughout the whole session, Sora found himself constantly entering and exiting the dream world. He stayed awake the first ten minutes, then fell asleep. Naminé had to shove/slap him awake from time to time. Luckily for Sora, Merlin didn't catch him sleeping. Everytime Merlin would look his way, he would be pretending to listen.

When the class finally ended, Sora sighed in relief and stood up.

"What was with you back there, Sora? Did you sleep at all last night?" Naminé inquired worriedly.

"Uhh...yeah, of course I did." Sora lied, but Naminé saw right through it. She gave him a stern glare. "Okay, I didn't. Well I got about three hours of sleep, so I guess I still did get some shut-eye." Sora confessed as he raised his hands.

"Why? What happened?"

Sora stared at her, mentally debating on whether he should tell her or not about what happened. He decided to go with the former. She is his friend anyway.

"I'll tell you during recess period. Come on, let's head to our next class."

"Fine. I'll hold you to that!" Naminé exclaimed.

Sora chuckled. "Of course. Come on."

Eventually, recess came along. The two teens surveyed the cafeteria for a vacant table. When they found one, they immediately conquered the said table. It was a small table, like it was meant for only two people. The coincidence embarrassed yet thrilled both at the same time.

"So what happened yesterday?" Naminé asked as she unwrapped her sandwich.

Sora had finished unwrapping his and took a bite before answering. "We were searching for our youngest brother."

Naminé took a second to process what Sora just said. His message wasn't exactly easy to fathom with since his mouth was full. "You have a younger brother?" Naminé blurted out without thinking. She immediately regretted the deed, for the fear offending her long-time crush. Honestly, Naminé thought that the Helterbrands only had three children and that Sora was the youngest. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound offensive."

Sora smiled sadly. "It's okay. Yeah, I do. A younger twin, actually."

Naminé's eyes widened. "You have a twin too?"

"Yeah. His name's Roxas. He looks just like Ven, it's just that his eyes are brighter."

For some reason, Naminé's interest grew. How come she never noticed Sora's twin? "I see. How come I never see him with you?"

"To be honest, I don't know either." Sora replied, sounding very sad.

Somehow, Naminé felt guilty about bringing the topic up. But she was really concerned about Sora's health. She cared for him...deeply. "Oh. So why did he disappear yesterday?"

Sora sighed again. "Well, it went something like this..."

An exasperated sigh escaped from the blonde's lips. He turned to his siblings sharply with a glare. "Where the hell is he?" He asked with an impatient tone.

Some more worried glances later, Sora turned to his elder brother with furrowed brows and shrugged. "I dunno. He should've been here by now."

"Weren't you supposed to be with him since you have the same classes with him?" The eldest questioned.

Sora scratched the back of his head before he answered. "Well, I was, until I was enveloped in a circle of screaming fan girls."

Vanitas just rolled his eyes at his brother's reply. "Sora, next time, if you can't make a legitimate excuse, just shut up."

Sora stared comically at him. "Excuse? Seriously? You think I'm making it all up? I've been surrounded by fan girls the minute I stepped foot on the hallway. You guys were there too. Or was I just hallucinating?"

Vanitas ignored his smart comment and scoffed. "Don't give me that crap. You know what Roxas has been through. Do I have to remind you what happened to him the last time we, or specifically, you left him alone in school?"

Sora cringed at the memory. All of the sudden, a wave of guilt washed over the young brunette. Vanitas was right. He shouldn't have left Roxas on his own. There were no excuses. He left his younger twin alone in a place that is considered to be Roxas' personal torture chamber. He couldn't help but slump his shoulders and avert his gaze towards the pavement at his clumsiness.

"If you weren't so caught up in your fan girls, then Roxas wouldn't have been missing right now." Van continued as he reached to grab his younger brother's throat.

Since Sora hung his head low in shame, he didn't see Vanitas' incoming hands. However, Ventus did, and decided to take things into his own hands.

"Stop it, Vanitas." Ventus spat out as he greeted Vanitas' hands with his own. "Arguing won't get us anywhere. Give it a rest. Let's just go and find Roxas."

Vanitas glared at him. "Oh, look who's talking. As if you did anything to prevent all of this from happening."

"That's the point. I didn't do anything to stop the bleeding, but that's why I'm making up for it by dragging your arrogant butt along."

Ventus' words only angered the eldest child further. "Why you," Vanitas started as he prepared to unleash a barrage of curses at his younger brother.

However, before a word even came out of his mouth, Ventus halted his impending wrath. "Are you coming or what? We don't have all day. Roxas is missing and you're still thinking of some ways to humiliate Sora and me. Are you going to keep racking your brains or are you going to help us find our missing brother?"

Vanitas just growled and kept his mouth shut.

At this, Ventus sighed in relief. "Good. Now, where to start?"

"Why don't we check out Market Station? He usually loiters there by himself."

"Good point," Ventus smiled "let's get going."

"We ended up scouring all of Twilight Town until nine o'clock, but to no avail. We decided to return home and just tell our parents about it. When we got home, our parents immediately confronted us about his whereabouts. Just when Ven was about to answer, someone knocked on the door. It turned out to be him. We were all frantic when we saw him. Our parents tried to tell him how worried they were and we tried to tell him how dumb he was by running off like that. He just brushed it off, kissed our parents on the cheek and went to the bathroom. I tried to confront him again before he slept but he was already asleep by the time." Sora explained.

"Wow, talk about stress." Naminé said as she shook her head.

"You said it."

"But that still doesn't explain why you only got three hours of sleep last night."

"I wasn't finished yet."

"Oops, sorry."

Sora chuckled. "Nah. So I lied down my bed and thought about him. About what made him run off, about what I can do to make sure that he never does it again, about how can I make him realize that I'll be there for him, et cetera. Before I knew it, it was already two in the morning."

In some eccentric fashion, Naminé's attraction towards him strengthened. She never knew that Sora could be such a sweetheart. She knew that he was caring, but not very caring. "Aw, you really love him, do you?"

Sora gave her a crooked smile. "I...I guess I do."

Naminé furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't like his expression and the way he spoke. She had a hunch that he was hiding something, but didn't decide to pry any further.

"Why don't we just eat? Class starts in a couple of minutes anyway." Sora said.

"Okay."

The two ate in peace. After finishing their meal, they threw their trash and prepared to part ways.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later. Kinda sucks that I won't see you for a while." Sora remarked, blushing slightly.

Naminé blushed as well, but more prominently. "Y-yeah."

"Later then!" Sora bade. For a moment, he hesistated. Should he, or shouldn't he? He mentally muttered an "oh well" and did something that shocked both of them. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek. When his mind registered what just happened, he turned his heels and scuttled away.

Naminé was left glued to the spot, her cheek still tingling from the kiss that Sora gave her. When she recovered from the shock, she smiled. She may have a chance after all.

A/N: So there's chapter 3! Hope you guys enjoyed! Please read and review! Oh, and don't hesitate to ask as well! It definitely means a lot! Have a good day y'all!