Your reviews make me smile! Enjoy this chapter - where something very special is announced...

Namine huffed with her hands on her hips. She normally stood front and centre of the dance class, but today she was lagging back, feeling incredibly foolish. Everyone else was doing warm-ups and stretches with their dance partner, and right now her own partner was busy bashing a drumset. She sighed, doing the stretches anyway, and trying to memorise them so she could teach them to Roxas later.

She found she couldn't concentrate though, because when she thought about teaching him, she thought about what he'd said that morning.

I want to be a good dance partner for you, I do. I wanted to tell you that.

At the start of the year, Roxas had been distraught to dance, and as the weeks went on Namine knew he wasn't taking it seriously. But the way his voice quavered beneath the emotion of his words, the way he looked to the ground, and how his posture stiffened... it just touched Namine to her very core. He was willing to try hard, to take extra lessons, and to do something that didn't come naturally to him, for her. Not for any other reason but to try and make her happy and achieve her dream of a perfect dance grade. She wondered where Roxas had plucked that kind of strength, and marveled at how much he valued their friendship. She really was lucky to have a friend like him.

And that was all the more reason why she should go easy on him from now on. No more complaining - she and Roxas were in this together. And while Roxas was busy in all areas of his life, she knew he didn't have time for her silly match-making schemes. She grew nervous then, thinking about how she'd tell Kairi that she liked Sora. She couldn't wait to hear her auburn-haired friends ideas to get Sora to like her back. She was sure Kairi could help. Though she was nervous, she felt it was time to share her secret.

Namine smiled to herself. Things were finally looking up.

x-x-x

Kairi stepped out of the drama classroom, tugging on the sleeves of her school jumper. The days were slowly getting milder and the winds were getting cooler; Summer was over, and Autumn was slinking in.

"You can't be cold already, Kai?" Sora chuckled as he left the classroom, a script in hand. "Summer only just ended."

"It's windy today!" She whimpered, and as she said it the breeze picked up and almost lifted her skirt. She quickly tugged it down in embarrassment and giggled lightly.

"If you're this cold now, imagine what you'll be like in winter," Sora teased, not even getting any goosebumps on his bare skin from the wind. Kairi shook her head and marveled at how boys could never feel the cold.

"Winter at school is always horrible because the buildings create wind tunnels. And the school jumper is definitely not thick enough," She sighed as they headed towards their lockers.

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we're definitely summer kids."

Kairi lifted her eyes up in thought. "That's not to say I don't like winter though! At home, snuggling in a blanket. Winter's the best time for hot chocolate, and sitting by the fire, and cuddling with -" She stopped quickly, cheeks turning red, "Well, just cuddling in general."

"Who do you wanna cuddle with?" Sora teased in sing-song then, a lopsided grin to match, and Kairi smacked him on the shoulder.

"N-No one! Besides, there'll be no time for that this year. We have to work on our play."

Brunette locks falling into his eyes, Sora nodded with vigour, a warm smile appearing. "Yeah. Since we're the leads, we gotta work hard!"

Kairi stammered as she opened her locker. "You'll be great, Sora. You're perfect for the role."

"Hey, so are you!" Sora assured, placing a hand on the red-head's shoulder. "We make a great team, you and me."

Kairi smiled, locking eyes with the blue-eyed boy, and felt the breath hitch in her throat. "Yeah, we do."

They shared a silent, calculated moment, before Sora broke it away and grabbed his lunch. "Come on, let's go meet up with the others."

"Okay," Kairi perked up to her usual self, but still felt the flutter of nerves from his stare.

x-x-x

"Tidus! Wakka!" Mr. Caelum shouted, hushing the boys who were hooting with laughter at the back of the classroom. Tidus had an especially awkward and loud laugh, and it had disrupted the entire class from having the roll marked.

"Now that everyone is accounted for," The stark-haired teacher sighed, eyeing off the two boys, "We can start the class today with some very big news."

The class hushed then, wondering what the big surprise was. Selphie and Kairi looked especially excited, Selphie flapping her arms to shush the boys.

Miss Gainsborough smiled with delight at the excitement in her students. "As you all know, the new year 9 program has lots of exciting changes, such as larger class sizes and two teachers. But the best new addition of all is the new learning program each class will undergo. Before I reveal it, though, I want a show of hands as to who has ever been to Twilight City?"

Immediately, most of the class put their hands up. Twilight City was the heart of the town, but it was about an hour away from the Destiny Islands area. Hayner, Pence and Olette all raised their hands, having been born and raised in the city. The three of them had grown up together before their families moved to a more quaint location. Namine too raised her hand. She had been lucky enough to have gone to the city when she was nine to see the Twilight City Ballet perform. She still smiled at the memory and had even kept her ticket. Of course, most of the class had also been to the city because the year 7 camp was a week-long city excursion. Roxas remembered rooming with Sora and sneaking down the hotel hall to scare the girls.

"Excellent, almost all of you!" She smiled, her large pink bow fluttering as she nodded with excitement. "My next question for you is... if there was anything you could change about the city, what would it be?"

The students looked from one to another, unsure if they should answer, and Miss Gainsborough smiled.

"That's the purpose of our new year 9 assignment, called 'City Centre'! You guys will be getting into groups and coming up with a hypothesis to test. For example, you could choose the hypothesis, "There are too many fast food locations in the city". Then, within your group you will aim to prove or disprove that hypothesis."

"She lost me on hypothesis," Hayner whispered to the others, and the group snickered.

"How are you going to do this? Well, for a week, the entire class will be travelling to the city to conduct their research. The first way we'll be doing this is by public surveys. You'll come up with a survey about your hypothesis, and having 100 members of the public answer them."

"Oh no..." Namine slouched in her seat. She hated talking to strangers and always stumbled on her words.

"The next step in proving your hypothesis is to conduct interviews with professionals. For the example of the fast food chains, I would try and get in contact with a fast food manager, a health food expert, or anyone else I thought would have a valid input."

"Even worse..." Namine covered her face, and Kairi patted her on the back.

"You can also conduct your own studies if you wish. For example, you could count the amount of people that go into a Burger Shack compared to a Wholefoods outlet! At the end of the week, you'll gather your information and present your findings to the class. But don't worry, City Centre isn't all about this hypothesis. We'll also have lots of daily activities and fun things to do to explore the city and learn more about the Twilight district."

"Yes!" Sora said in a hushed whispered, doing a mini fist-pump. Everyone agreed; a fun week in the city with an assignment did sound a lot better than classroom learning.

"We'll be doing a fitness class, checking out the markets, partaking in a scavenger hunt..."

"Aw, a scavenger hunt!" Hayner perked up then, thus far having zoned out at the prospect of doing work. "We have to beat Seifer!"

"Easy," Roxas agreed, and the two boys bumped fists.

"... We'll be going to the radio station, the sports centre, and we'll be seeing a show!" Miss Gainsborough clapped her hands together, clearly excited. Namine wouldn't have been surprised if she had come up with the whole City Centre idea. "Any questions?"

"How big are the group sizes?" Tidus asked quickly, excitement in his voice.

"We'll be limiting the group numbers from a minimum of three to a maximum of six."

"No!" The girls hissed. Combining their group, there were eight people. They would have to do some splitting up.

"When will this week be happening?" Vanille asked from the other side of the room.

"9 Yen Sid will be the third class to go, so we'll be going towards the end of term 2."

"It's gonna be cold..." Kairi sighed, already feeling chilly at the thought.

"How are we getting there? Do we stay overnight?" Garnet asked, a quaver to her voice.

"No, we'll be catching the train every morning and coming back every afternoon," Mr. Caelum answered, "So be sure to grab your train tickets in advance to avoid being late. We'll be leaving pretty early."

The boys immediately sighed at the prospect of early mornings, but they were no stranger to the trains. Namine shifted though; she got terrible travel sickness.

"Alright, let's begin by forming our groups and coming up with our hypothesis! There'll be no two the same, okay?" The brunette teacher warned, and people started to stand up and walk around, forming their groups.

"What should we do?" Pence asked, and everyone shifted to face inwards. "Wanna split up into groups of four?"

Before anyone would answer, Tidus and Wakka had sauntered over to their seats, looking excited.

"Hey guys! Wanna form a group?" Tidus asked, looking pointedly at Selphie. The girl rolled her eyes; she had grown up with these boys and although she loved them, they could be a bit much to handle sometimes. "Hey, I saw that, Selph!"

"I'm kidding, you guys are swell," She teased, and Tidus made a move to mess up her hair. "Hey!"

"How about two groups of five, then?" Roxas offered, and the group nodded in agreement.

"We bags Selphie, ya?" Wakka laughed, and Selphie wailed in feigned disappointment.

"I'll go with you guys, too," Hayner nodded, and Pence quickly followed suite with a "Me too!". Olette's face immediately fell, but nobody noticed amidst Selphie's despondent outburst.

"What!? I can't be the only girl on our team!" The brunette's hair bounced as she complained. "Someone switch with this bonehead over here!"

"Rude," Hayner poked his tongue out at the girl. Beside her, Olette was seemingly battling for a sentence to form.

"Um, I can swap with someone if you like, I don't mind..."

"My saviour!" Selphie hugged Olette around the neck, almost choking the poor girl. "You've been booted, Hayner."

"W-Well, it doesn't have to be Hayner," Olette could practically feel the sweatdrops forming. Roxas gave her a quizzical look.

"You mean you want to be in a group with that goober?" Selphie teased.

"Unlike you, Olette's a good friend," Hayner snapped back, and the group fell into laughter. "Whatever, I don't mind. You can have Olette. I see how it is."

"Thanks, Hayner!" Selphie beamed, but Olette only looked mildly pleased. Roxas guessed to himself that her plan had backfired.

"Alright, so it's me, Wakka, Selphie, Olette and Pence!" Tidus announced, and ushered them over to his table. "C'mon, guys!"

"Bye, you guys!" Selphie waved, and she dragged Olette over, with a worried Pence behind them.

"Do you think they'll get any work done?" Hayner sighed, and the others chuckled.

"I'm just worried about the girls. They're gonna have to carry those boys to a good score," Kairi shook her head, seeing Tidus and Wakka talk animatedly to the group. "At least the boys have good leadership skills behind them."

"Anyway, what do you guys think our question should be?" Sora asked.

Namine giggled. "Sora, a hypothesis isn't a question, silly, it's a theory to be tested!"

Sora scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Right. Science was never my forte, heh..."

"Twilight City is pretty awesome as it is," Roxas thought out loud. "Although there could be more skate parks..."

"Yeah!" Sora shouted in agreement, but the girls both shook their heads and he deflated.

"There's plenty of skate parks. Hmm..." Kairi pondered, "How about, there aren't enough gardens?"

"I dunno, that sounds kinda boring..." Roxas said, and Kairi glared at him. "I'm not calling you boring!"

"Ooh, how about there aren't enough childcare centres?" Namine offered, and while Kairi agreed, the three boys cringed. "Or not..."

"It's good, but it'd be kinda boring talking to childcare owners, y'know?" Hayner explained. "I wanna talk to someone cool, like a firefighter or a police officer!"

"Hey, that's a good one!" Kairi sat up in her seat. "We could say there aren't enough police in Twilight City!"

"Hey, yeah!" Sora nodded, "We could go to the police station for our interviews!"

"Cities are prime spots for crime, though I don't think Twilight city gets much of it," Roxas thought out loud, then added in a whisper, "it's probably all by Seifer!" The group giggled under their breath.

The group had decided on their topic. Tidus' group had gone with the teacher's fast food idea, and soon every group had their own idea to explore. The remaining time in class was spent brainstorming people to contact and questions for the public survery. Soon it was the end of the day, and the class clambered out, eagerly looking forward to their adventure in the city. They split ways to their lockers, but Namine, quickly plucking up some courage and last-minute decision-making, tapped on Kairi's shoulder, lagging behind the others.

"Kairi, can I ask you something about Sora later?"

Kairi stiffened, wondering if Namine could somehow read her thoughts. "Um, sure Nami. No problem."

"Thanks Kai," She smiled and waved, bounding towards her locker. Kairi sucked in a breath. Did Namine know about her crush? Was she going to confront her? Well, Namine was her best friend and could probably read her like a book. She smiled, wondering if Namine might have some advice for her.

Roxas headed towards Namine's locker, planning to walk home with her, but Sora quickly yanked on his shirt and pulled him out of sight. "Woah! Sora, what are you doing!?"

"Roxas, this is perfect!" Sora exclaimed, ignoring the fact he had nearly choked his best friend. "I can ask Kairi out during City Centre! We could split off to do interviews or surveys or whatever, and have a romantic lunch in the park, and then I'll tell her!"

Roxas looked stunned. A million thoughts ran through his head, but the biggest one of all rang through his mind repeatedly; he only had a few weeks to stop Sora from hurting Namine's feelings. All of a sudden, he now had a deadline. But he pushed this thought to the back of his mind, focusing on being happy for Sora. "That's... actually a brilliant idea, Sora. I wouldn't have thought of that."

"And that's why you're getting nowhere with Nami- mmph!" Roxas covered the spiky-haired boys' mouth.

"Shut up! Do you want the whole world to find out?"

Sora chuckled softly. "Sorry. But yeah - thanks! I can't wait! But don't tell Hayner, okay? I mean, you're the only person who knows about this... in case I screw it up or something."

Roxas softened. "You won't screw it up. You and Kairi are meant to be together."

They shared a warm exchange, and Sora patted Roxas on the back. "Thanks, man. I can't wait!"

x-x-x

"Okay Roxas, let's try that part again one more time."

Namine hopped over to the couch where she'd left her iPod, restarting the music. She moved back into position next to Roxas, and a catchy pop song burst to life once again. On the wooden flooring of Namine's rumpus room, she and Roxas repeated the short routine they'd learnt in dance. The blonde in question was rosy cheeked and flushed, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he worked to keep up with Namine. After practicing for an hour, he had memorised the piece, and Namine was pleasantly surprised.

Roxas had thought a lot about Sora's words, and decided to try and relax. Instead of worrying about embarrassing himself, he focused on the fact that he got to spend one-on-one time with Namine. Between dancing, they talked and laughed like normal, and when they danced, he could admire the way she moved so gracefully and easily with the music. He had stumbled a few times, if only because he was lost in the sight of her dancing to remember to dance himself.

She ran back to stop the music and panted lightly. "Good! That was so good, Roxas! You've improved so much in only an hour."

He beamed at her praise and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "If I did, it must have been because of you."

"No, it's because you made the effort," She pressed, not wanting him to take his hard work lightly. She still couldn't believe he'd said yes to the extra lessons, but she was finally confident that they could pull this off. "Okay, now that you've got the moves memorised, it's time to work on your form."

"My form?" He asked, a hint of worry in his tone.

"You can't just repeat the moves. You have to immerse yourself in the music, and make an emotional connection with the dance."

Roxas looked doubtful. "I dunno if I can make an emotional connection with The Black Eyed Peas."

Namine shook her head. "You'll get what I mean when you dance more. Dancing isn't just about exercising, it's about telling a story. Let's try it again."

After a few more run-throughs of the dance, Namine told Roxas to perform the piece alone while she watched. He looked incredibly ashen at the prospect, but just as he was about to make a number of excuses, Namine saw the clock and gasped.

"Oh - I'm sorry! I'm hanging out at Kairi's this afternoon. I didn't mean for the lesson to go so long." She looked apologetically at Roxas, who shook his head.

"I had fun. Same time next week?"

Namine nodded. "Great job today. Now work hard on those drums, okay?"

"Yeah," Roxas nodded, feeling all at once proud and elated. When they were together, just the two of them, she never mentioned Sora. He hoped this was a good sign that she could forget about him.

x-x-x

Kairi's deep auburn hair fell into her eyes as she leaned down to grab a stack of dvd's from the cabinet. She had a stockpile of classic chick flicks that the girls watched during sleepovers and girly catch-ups, especially over the summer. She popped the stack on the coffee table, along with some snacks and blankets. She and Namine had had this routine since they were little girls. Suddenly, the scent of brownies wafted through the air and Kairi smiled, stepping into the kitchen.

"Grandma, you didn't have to bake!" She advised, but smiled anyway. Her grandma was known to spoil her friends profusely when they came over. When she held a Christmas party last year, her grandma had cooked an entire roast dinner for their little troupe.

"Nonsense, Namine hasn't been over in a while!" Her grandma placed the piping hot brownies on a cooling rack. "You've all been so busy with this school year."

Kairi had to agree. "Yeah, year 9 has been full of surprises so far. Sora and I got the lead in the production, then there's city centre..."

"My, you're all growing up too fast," The greying woman chuckled, poking a skewer into one of the brownies. "Ah, perfect!"

The doorbell rang suddenly, and Kairi's eyes lit up in excitement. "She's here!"

She rushed to the door to welcome the blonde in. After a welcoming hug from both Kairi and her grandma, Namine made herself comfortable on the couch while Kairi brought in the brownies.

"Fresh from the oven!" She carefully placed them between the stack of dvd's and her script for the production. Her heart gave a little jolt when she saw it; anything that reminded her of the fact she was leading with Sora made her heart thump with excitement and nervousness.

"I missed your grandma's cooking," Namine immediately took one. They were oozing with chocolately goodness, and she melted into the flavour. "Mmm! So good!"

"School's been so busy since swimming sports. We'll have to organise another sleepover soon," Kairi agreed, sitting next to the blonde and flicking through the movies.

"Yeah, before city centre starts," Namine added, her eyes daring over to the script. "Wow, you have to memorise all that?"

"Hm?" Kairi looked over to the script too. "Oh yeah, it's fairly long, but we've got a whole year to learn it."

"You and Sora are gonna look great up there," Namine smiled, though there was a hint of wistfulness in her voice. She wished she had the confidence to act, then maybe she'd be the one leading alongside him.

Kairi smiled bashfully. "I hope so. We're working hard." She paused then, debating, looking up at her childhood best friend. She hadn't mentioned anything else about Sora yet, so maybe she needed an incentive. She couldn't wait to finally tell someone about her crush. "Say, speaking of Sora..."

Namine perked up, and Kairi listened intently. "Oh, yes, speaking of Sora... there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Um... well... the thing is, I..."

I know you like Sora, Kairi was expecting, and she very nearly almost blurted out, "I do. I like Sora," but she barely got through the first syllable before Namine spoke.

"I like Sora. Like, I really like him."

Kairi froze.

In all of a split two seconds, Kairi went through a dizzying array of emotions. Shock. Disbelief. Jealousy. How had she not seen it coming? How had she not noticed her best friend had a crush on her crush!? This could not be happening. But in that two seconds, she also saw the love in Namine's eyes, the worry, the hope that Kairi would help her, and the excitement of voicing her feelings. She couldn't let her down... not Namine. Not her favourite person in the whole world... next to Sora.

In those two seconds, she made her decision. A decision she would most definitely regret.

"Really? I had no idea," She stammered, heart hammering in her chest. "That's great, Nam."

She didn't know why she was lying. She didn't want to hurt Namine's feelings, and she didn't feel it was her place to tell her. She'd had a chance to tell her, and she didn't. Why should Namine suffer because of her secret?

... But what about her own feelings?

Namine smiled. "Hehe, well... um, since you're so much better with guys than me, I was hoping you could give me some advice. I want to get closer to Sora without telling him I like him."

Kairi nodded slowly, wishing she could go back in time and beat Namine to the punch. What would Namine have said if she told her secret first? Would she keep it a secret? Her head was swimming and she felt dizzy and sick. "Of course I'll help you, Nami. That's what best friends are for."

Namine leaned forward and hugged her tight. "You're the best, Kai. I'm just, ah, he's so great and I want to be around him all the time." She pulled back and blushed profusely. "Every time I think about him, I get butterflies... I hope he feels the same way."

Kairi forced the best smile she could muster. "Sora would be so lucky to have a girl like you."

The rest of the afternoon was filled with brownie eating, movie watching and discussing ways to flirt with Sora. And for the entire afternoon, Kairi wondered if sacrificing her feelings for Namine's sake was the right decision at all. Wouldn't someone get hurt in the end? She couldn't fathom the outcome. Right now, she just wanted to be a good friend.