I LIIIIIVE! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry again for the huge delay! I've honestly been stressed out of my brains these last few months with so many commitments – pro life tip, DO NOT do the summer semester at university. I died. Thankfully, I finally finished this chapter. Also, I lied – there's only ONE chapter left. So hold onto your hats! I hope you enjoy this penultimate chapter and feel excited for the upcoming finale!

x-x-x

"I seriously don't know how to be a human being."

Naminé was currently lying on her stomach on the Destiny High School theatre stage, her forehead resting in her hands. Kairi was dangling her legs over the edge nearby, going over her rehearsal script.

She shook her head dubiously at Naminé's remark. "It's true. You really don't." She laughed then, turning to her best friend. After drama class ended, she'd spotted a very pale Naminé walking past and dragged her in for a serious chat. The blonde had told her how she had been ignoring Roxas ever since their close call last week. "Naminé, you know there's an easy solution to this, right?"

Naminé let out a strained groan, then rolled over onto her back, shielding her eyes from the bright stage lights. "I know. I know I should talk to him."

"You already said you would, though."

"I said maybe! It's kinda scary asking your best friend out, y'know!"

"You've done it once before," Kairi said matter-of-factly.

Naminé sat up and turned to face her redheaded friend. "I know that too… but this feels different somehow. I mean, yes, Sora is one of my best friends, but it'd be like… asking Hayner or Pence out too." Kairi stuck her tongue out in a 'gross' fashion and Naminé giggled. "Exactly. Roxas is different… he's like your level of friendship. It'd be like asking you out. Only not as weird." Naminé sighed at Kairi's confused expression and lied back down on the stage. "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. All I know is that this is way different to what I felt with Sora. It feels more… real? I don't even know."

"Naminé…" Kairi sighed, then shimmied closer to the girl and smacked the stage floor near her ears. "Tell. Him. He likes you. You're clearly interested. What have you got to lose?"

"Everything!" Naminé shot up. "I know the same thing happened with Sora and it was fine. But that was only because he saw me like a sister. If Roxas and I broke up and we both felt that way… we could never recover. It's different once you've been together."

"Don't you think I'm terrified of that happening with Sora?" Kairi ask earnestly. "But that's the risk you've gotta take, Nam. I promise you, it's worth it."

Naminé sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You're right… I know you're right. At the very least, I have to tell him so I can finally look him in the eyes again. Every time I see him I keep reliving how close we were… and how he was looking at me… ugh, why was I so stupid?"

"You're both idiots. You belong together," Kairi said casually as she packed up her drama props.

Naminé faked a laugh. "Thank you for that. I will talk to him… It's just a matter of when. The festival is in just a couple of weeks. Then we've got our exams. Then I've got my dance exams. There's so much going on…"

Kairi sent a lewd smirk Naminé's way. "You know what really helps take the edge off school stress? Making out with your boyfriend," she winked. "You could have that too!"

Naminé rolled her eyes. "I really don't want to know, Kairi."

x-x-x

With two weeks to go until the Create Festival, the year 9 building's walls were completely covered in posters. High School Musical Jnr was the most popular event – Selphie had taken so many photos that there were about six different poster designs floating around, thanks to Pence's I.T. skills. The evening show was also an exciting event, and the running order had been posted up as well. 'So Stupid' would be the opening number for the night. Seeing this made Roxas' insides turn as he emptied his bag into his locker. He couldn't believe how much could change in one year – first he was dreading dancing, then he got to dance with Naminé, and he was getting better and better… and all of a sudden he'd ruined their friendship overnight. They were even supposed to have a private lesson this week, but he didn't even know if he should turn up for it. He sighed.

How can I show her that I don't mind just being friends? I can't just go up to her and say 'by the way, I don't like you or anything so don't be weird around me'… even though that would be a lie. I never want to dance again…

"Hey, shorty! You're looking sprightly today!"

Roxas turned to see his best friend once again bothering Xion. He was resting one arm on top of her head and she did not look happy about it, smiling despite her quirked eyebrows. Roxas smiled – fooling around with Axel always took him away from his worries. He grabbed his drum sticks from his locker and ran towards the two.

"Stop annoying her or I'll beat you up!" Roxas teased, pointing an accusing stick at the redhead's face.

Xion giggled. "Roxas, that's a stick."

"It's a drum stick, thank you very much," Roxas said matter-of-factly, "and I'm saving you here! You should be grateful!"

"Saving her from what? We're just having a friendly chat," Axel laughed, ruffling Xion's short locks.

"Axel, stop!"

Roxas laughed at Xion's poor attempt to bat Axel away. "I still have my weapon, you know."

Axel rolled his eyes, but luckily for Xion the bell went at that moment. "So guys, Riku and Terra are away today for some leadership crap, so do ya mind keeping me company?" He pulled a mock sad face to gain some sympathy.

"Hang on, let me get out my tiny violin," Roxas joked, earning a giggle from Xion.

"You hurt me, Roxas. Just for that you have to hang out with me. Alright, see you guys later!" He waved as he ran off.

"He's really not bothering you, is he?" Roxas turned to Xion. She shook her head with a smile.

"I mean, he's not the type of person I'd normally hang out with, but he's funny," she assured. "And you're here to save me when he gets out of line, so it's okay."

Roxas smiled. "Good. Well, I guess I'll see you later then." He headed back to his locker, wondering how ditching the gang would go down, especially with Hayner. He still remembered that one time in year 7 when the brunette boy thought he was hanging out with Seifer… it took a lot of grovelling to convince him he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But maybe giving Naminé some space to breathe would be a good thing.

x-x-x

"I got our tickets to the show!" Selphie ran up to the group, waving a pile of tickets in her hand. "Best seats ever to see our favourite couple perform!"

"If you guys are going to kiss, please tell me now so I can sell my ticket," Hayner droned, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"Honestly Hayner, they kiss all the time and you're fine with it," Olette rolled her eyes, and Hayner almost looked shocked at her brash comment, before crossing his arms and pouting. Olette did well to ignore him. "I can't wait for the show!"

"I'm starting to get nervous," Kairi held her hands to her cheeks, but she was smiling. "I can't believe we go on in less than two weeks!"

"And then we get to see these guys dance!" Sora laughed, pointing to Naminé and Selphie. "Hey, where's Roxas?"

There was a collective shrug from everyone around them, until Pence looked up from his laptop to speak.

"I think I saw him hanging out with Axel and Xion."

"Aw, I wanted Xion to hang out with us today!" Selphie whined, looking disappointed. Naminé couldn't suppress a chuckle, knowing Selphie wanted another girl in the group. "I guess I'll give her ticket to her later."

Naminé hummed vaguely, wondering why the three had left on their own. She thought it was wonderful that Xion was making her own roots now that she was more comfortable at the school, but she had to wonder… was Roxas avoiding her now? She really had to speak to him before their friendship completely crumbled.

When the bell rang, Naminé rushed to her locker to see if the three might have returned. To her delight, Xion was already there gathering her science books.

"Naminé!" She waved and walked over to the blonde. "Sorry, I hung out with Axel and Roxas today. Axel was lonely without his friends."

"Oh, that Axel," Naminé quipped with a smile. "He can't last five seconds without Riku and Terra."

"I was going to ask if you wanted to join us, but I didn't see you," Xion added. "Would you like to come with us at lunch?"

"Oh-um, I'd love to, but I really need to talk to Selphie about our dance today," Naminé said quickly. She wasn't the best at improvising so she mentally patted herself on the back.

"That's okay. I can't wait to see your dance," she smiled warmly. "I'll see you in art!"

Xion seemingly skipped away. She seemed to be in a very good mood. Naminé was glad she'd helped her find her niche. She turned back to her locker, but she couldn't see Roxas anywhere.

I have to talk to him. Maybe at our next private? Yeah, that might be good…

Thoughts of the last private returned, but this time she simply wore a quiet smile, letting the excitement override her nerves. It felt good to let these new feelings about Roxas just… exist. She was so used to squashing them down, but simply feeling them made her realise how naturally they came to her. It was like… she was questioning why she hadn't felt this way the whole time. She felt her cheeks heating up again and shook her head.

Calm down Nam, you're not going out yet…

Naminé headed for class with a similar skip in her step.

x-x-x

"And five, six, seven, eight! Concentrate on keeping those legs straight and those toes pointed! The judges will be watching you carefully!"

Naminé sucked in a breath as she pushed herself to straighten her back leg, elevating it as high as she could. In just two weeks, she and the rest of her class would be taking their dance exam. In two weeks, the create festival would begin. In two weeks, she, Selphie and Roxas would be on stage. And in just two days, she was meant to have an afterschool practice with Roxas.

In two days she may very well have a boyfriend.

"Eep!"

"Careful, Naminé!" Stella called out with a concerned tone, as the blonde girl almost slipped over during her turns.

Naminé's whole face went aflame as she righted her body. "Whoopsies!"

Stella shook her head sympathetically, then turned to change the player to the next exercise.

"What were you thinking about?" Selphie said quietly beside her with a cheeky grin. "It looked like you were thinking of someone special!"

"I-I was not!" Naminé stammered, feeling her ears turning red.

"You totally were! You had this goofy grin on your face like Sora gets when he sees Kairi!" Selphie laughed as Naminé pouted. "Come on, you'd tell me who you like, right?!"

"I was just being clumsy as usual, Selph," Naminé tried, but Selphie was having none of it. Luckily, Stella began playing the next exercise and there was no time to dwell on the matter. Naminé couldn't help but let the dizzying feeling inside her stomach settle into a pleasant buzz. She was actually looking forward to talking to Roxas about this. About them.

"Good job, girls! Okay Naminé, can you please explain what a chassé chainé is?

"O-Oh, um, yes! It's the ah… c-consecutive turns travelling in one direction, connected by a step, together, step."

Close one.

Naminé took a moment to breath. She really had to concentrate on her other commitments right now. Between this, the concert, the festival, and not to mention school exams… well, Roxas could wait for a few more days.

x-x-x

The next morning arrived in a particularly unordinary fashion. Naminé arrived at her locker and, as was the norm these past few days, Roxas wasn't there. She sighed, wondering if waiting until tomorrow to talk to him was too risky. She'd called Kairi last night and told her how she was finally going to do it, and even Kairi thought she shouldn't wait. But Naminé liked the idea of talking to him during their private; it was such an intimate time between the two blondes, and she wanted it to be somewhat special. Plus, she couldn't back out of it that way.

Naminé gathered her books as the bell rang and walked towards her maths class – until she finally spotted a certain blonde boy. He was standing in study hall with Xion, casually chatting away.

Naminé was going to make sure this worked.

"Hey, you two!" She called out. Roxas looked like a deer in the headlights, but Xion waved kindly at her.

"Hi, Naminé. I was just telling Roxas how excited I am to see you all dance!" She said with her usual tiny smile.

"Yeah, it's starting to get a bit nerve-wracking, but I'm excited," Naminé nodded. "Roxas, I'll see you tomorrow for our private?" She asked, and she hated how she could hear the tentativeness in her voice.

To her delight, Roxas' eyes lit up like a child's at Christmas. "Oh- yeah. I'll be there." He looked surprised, but also… nervous?

"I'll see you both later," She smiled, and began walking away. Just as she exited the building, she felt tapping on her shoulder. She half expected to see Roxas behind her, but she found Xion staring nervously up at her.

"Um, I wanted to thank you again for everything you've done for me. I couldn't have made friends with you guys without you," she smiled gratefully.

Naminé couldn't help but smile. "Oh, it was my pleasure, Xion! You're a wonderful friend to have. Although," she began teasingly, "you've been hanging out with Roxas and Axel way more than me these days!"

Xion giggled. "I know, it was so unexpected. They're both great. But I'd love for you to join us as well." She hesitated for a moment. It seemed like she had more to say, but the bell rang and she decided against it. "I'll see you later, Nam!"

"Bye, Xion!" Naminé waved as she watched the stark haired girl skip away. She herself felt like skipping, too. She was finally going to say something to Roxas. It was consuming her every thought and she could barely concentrate. Last night's dance lesson was testament to that fact.

In fact, she barely concentrated through maths either. It didn't help that Roxas was in the stupid classroom to begin with. He was sitting next to Sora, happily chatting away. Naminé caught herself staring more than a few times. She half expected Kairi to be teasing her, but even her redhead best friend had her head down, studying hard for the exams. The blonde girl sighed, knowing she couldn't let her grades slip for something as silly as this. Even when she had a crush on Sora, she could always concentrate on her work at school. This, however… this was all-consuming.

After snack the gang had homeroom, where they worked hard on their persuasive essays. Naminé couldn't help but think that she should've written a persuasive essay to her past self, telling her to stop being silly and just talk to Roxas. Argh, she couldn't concentrate!

By lunch time, Naminé was banging her head against her locker in frustration.

"Hard day?" Sora asked as he walked by the blonde's locker. He offered the girl some of his sea-salt flavoured crackers, but she shook her head.

"I don't think I can survive until tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

"My private with Roxas."

"Oh yeah!" Sora's eyes grew slightly wider. "Roxas told me about that. He was relieved you don't hate him."

"Of course I don't hate him! In fact… I…" Naminé had decided, there and then. "I can't wait. I'm going to tell him."

"Huh?" Sora said through a mouthful of food.

"I'm going to tell Roxas that I… I'd like to see where things go with him."

Sora almost choked on his crackers. "Really!? Right now!?"

Naminé closed her eyes against the onslaught of crumbs, but she couldn't even be annoyed. The nerves were consuming every fibre of her body. "Wait, I mean, I might… I have to find him first. I don't know… Ugh, why am I so indecisive!?"

"Kairi said the same thing," Sora chuckled. "Just go find him. You'll know when you see him."

"Okay… yeah…" Naminé sucked in a breath, then made her decision. "Wish me luck, Sora."

She willed her jelly-like legs to move and they obeyed. Sora wished her luck as she strode down the hall, her world blurring. She headed towards the senior buildings where Axel normally hung out. She was sure Roxas would be there today.

x-x-x

Selphie came bounding up to the group at the beginning of lunchtime, positively beaming. She even jeté'd her way to the ground and giggled.

"You have way too much energy," Hayner said with wide eyes, but he looked quite impressed. The others laughed and clapped.

"Of course I do! It's almost time for the festival!" Selphie almost shouted. "We're getting our costumes in dance today too!" She looked around then for her dance partners in crime, and her face fell. "Roxas is gone again? And where's Naminé?"

The gang looked around, confused, until Sora piped up.

"Oh, I think Roxas is with Axel again. Maybe Nam is with Xion?" He scratched his chin in thought. This seemed to placate the excited brunette girl, but Kairi wasn't so easily fooled. She cast a glance in his direction and he caught her eye. He began winking at her with silly facial expressions and nodding like a bobblehead car toy. Kairi stared blankly at him in return.

"I need to speak to you," She said dully, and poked Sora on the cheek.

"Ooh, Sora's in trouble!" Pence laughed and the others joined in as the redhead dragged Sora away. They travelled to the corner of the year 9 building, out of sight. Kairi had a sudden flashback to earlier in the year when she and Roxas told each other their secrets. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"What's with the weird expressions?" Kairi asked, crossing her arms. "What do you know that I don't?"

"A considerable amount," Sora winked, earning a bop on the head. "Hey! It's gonna make you happy, y'know!"

Kairi cocked her head to the side dubiously. It obviously had something to do with Naminé. "You don't mean to tell me that Naminé and Roxas are…?"

He shook his head. "I bumped into her and she said she's going to find Roxas and tell him the truth right now!"

Kairi could've burst from the sheer relief. "Girl, finally! That's fantastic! I can't wait to hear all about it!" She clapped her hands together. "I wonder how it'll happen? Ooh, I wish I could watch! Wait a minute… do you know where she went?"

Sora shook his head. "No clue. You're not actually thinking of spying on them, are you?"

"Of course! It's our two best friends, after all! And I want a good story for the wedding," Kairi giggled, then dragged Sora off yet again. "Let's go find them!"

Sora sighed but willingly followed Kairi around the school. They started by trying the more secluded areas around the main buildings with no luck. On their way back towards the oval, Kairi saw a familiar group of boys sitting on the steps.

"Hey, guys!" Kairi waved and Sora followed her to greet Axel, Terra and Riku. All three boys were lazily slumped along the stairs in the growing summer heat.

"Eh…" Axel waved a hand moodily. Riku waved and Terra didn't even budge.

"Look at this sorry lot," Sora joked, kicking the bottom of Riku's shoes. "And you think I'm lazy!"

Riku sighed contently. "We've worked hard all year. A little rest never hurt anybody."

Kairi had no time for small talk though. "Axel, have you seen Roxas anywhere? He's not hanging out with us today."

Axel shrugged his shoulders with a measly grunt.

"Well, you're a big help," Kairi sighed, and before she could drag Sora off again Terra piped up.

"He won't answer you, he's really grumpy." He and Riku shared a smirk, and Axel grunted again.

"Why? What's wrong, Ax?" Sora asked.

"He's jealous," Riku teased slightly, earning a weak slap from the spiky redhead.

Kairi furrowed her brow, growing ever more restless to find Naminé. "Of who?"

"I'm not jealous!" Axel finally sat up in a burst of angry energy. "Xion and Roxas can do whatever they want, okay!?"

Kairi faltered. "Wait, they're together?"

Riku shrugged. "Axel thinks that Xion may like Roxas, so he's all bent out of shape," he explained, and Axel just grumbled.

"You like Xion?" Sora asked, but his voice was lost under the sound of Kairi's gasp.

She launched herself towards Axel and shook his shoulders. "What!? Xion likes Roxas!? Where did they go, Axel!? You have to tell me!"

Axel pulled himself away. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because – because someone else likes Roxas and she's going to tell him right now!" She looked imploringly at the redhead.

"What? Who likes him?"

Kairi was running out of time. "Naminé, okay!? Those two have been back and forth all year and she's finally telling him today! So you have to tell me where they went right now or Roxas might change his mind! She's been really distant to him lately so he might want to move on with Xion!"

Riku and Terra looked utterly lost as Kairi's voice grew very high pitched, but Axel nodded solemnly.

"So that's how it is, huh? I always wanted the two blondies to get together." He sighed. "I don't know exactly where they are, but it looked like they were heading for the portables across from the theatre block."

Kairi gave Axel the fastest hug in the world. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sora, let's go!"

Sora sighed as his girlfriend went bolting in the other direction. He caught up to her and grabbed her by the hand. "Kairi, wait…"

"What!? There's no time to lose!"

"What exactly do you think you're going to do?" He asked, and Kairi stopped running.

"We have to tell Naminé about this! She might not find him and then it'll be too late!"

Sora thought for a moment. "Do you really think Roxas would say yes to Xion?"

"I don't know. But you heard him the other day. He thinks he has to get over Naminé so he's probably willing to move on at this point. We can't let that happen!"

She started running again, and Sora scratched the back of his head. "Yep, worst matchmakers ever…" He sighed, wearily following her.

The path to the theatre block ran right past the edge of the oval, where the others were still eating lunch. Kairi slid to a stop in front of them.

"Has Naminé come by here!?" She asked almost manically. The group fell silent in shock.

"Um… No?" Olette squeaked.

Kairi grumbled and ran off again. Sora soon followed after, awkwardly waving to the group as he went.

Hayner blinked. "See, I told you Sora getting a girlfriend would be bad. They've both gone crazy!"

"Something must be up…" Selphie said quietly, then got up to follow the two. She caught up quickly and ran alongside Kairi.

"Why are we finding Naminé?" She asked.

"Just find her! This is a matter of life and death!" Kairi shouted manically. Sora looked back at Selphie and shook his head with an embarrassed grin.

"Okay, now I'm curious!"

Sora and Selphie slowed down, but Kairi bolted on ahead. "Let's just say Kairi is trying to play matchmaker…" Sora said carefully, but he regretted it the instance Selphie gasped.

"Oh. My. GOSH. With who!? Oh, it doesn't matter! Olette! OLETTE!" She shouted back towards the usual spot, ushering Olette to come over. "HURRY! WE'RE GETTING NAMINE A BOYFRIEND!"

"WHAT!?" came the muffled sound of Olette's voice, who stood up and headed towards the duo.

"Oh boy…" Sora sighed, turning around to see that Kairi had disappeared. Why did girls get so weird about this stuff?

x-x-x

Naminé wandered towards the oval, having just been told by Axel that he didn't know where Roxas was. He was rather gruff about it, too, but Naminé knew better than to provoke the fiery redhead. She didn't know where to start looking for him. Perhaps he was showing Xion around some more? Where hadn't she been yet? She supposed the music and theatre block would be a good place to start.

As she walked across the oval, she spotted a flash of auburn hair rushing around the corner. Was that Kairi? She seemed to be in a hurry. Suddenly Naminé was reminded of every romantic comedy she'd ever watched as Sora, Selphie and Olette took up the rear, shouting between each other excitedly. She felt a sting of envy at the fun her friends were having, but she had to talk to Roxas before it was too late. She continued along the path of the oval until she came to the outskirts of the portable buildings. She was about to head to the theatre block, but quickly hid behind a tree.

She'd found him!

Wait, why was she hiding? She was trying to find him! Naminé internally slapped herself and re-emerged, heading towards the bench where Roxas and Xion were sitting. She hoped Xion wouldn't mind her borrowing Roxas for the rest of lunch – not that there was much time left. She walked towards them with purpose. She was going to tell him.

"There's something I want to talk to you about, Roxas…"

Naminé stopped. They hadn't spotted her yet, so she quickly hid behind the corner of the portable building. Xion's words were so serious and gentle… what was she going to say? Curiosity took over and Naminé listened carefully.

"What's up, Xion?" Roxas asked, concern in his voice. "Is there something wrong?"

Xion looked up and waved her arms frantically. "No, nothing's wrong at all! It's been wonderful here so far. I'm really glad I came to this school."

Roxas smiled. "I'm glad. I was afraid Axel had harassed you or something," he chuckled, and Xion looked down nervously. "So… what did you want to talk about?"

She's turning red… Naminé thought as she watched Xion fidget with the hem of her skirt. She could see Xion clearly, but she could only see the back of Roxas' head.

"I-It's hard to say…" Xion stammered, still looking down. Roxas tilted his head to try and get a better view of his expression, but her stark hair billowed down to hide her features.

"Well… is there another way you can tell me? Without words?" He offered. "Maybe a note, or… a gesture?"

"A gesture…" Xion said quietly, then finally looked up at him. She looked more nervous than ever. "I-I guess I could use a gesture. Um… close your eyes."

Naminé was gripping the side of the building so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She'd been in this position before. She knew that look of nervous anticipation anywhere, because she had worn it before.

No. Way.

She couldn't tell, but she presumed Roxas had closed his eyes, because Xion suddenly wore a panicky smile. She bit her lip, then slowly leaned forward.

NO. FRICKEN. WAY.

Naminé felt her insides turn to lead as she watched Xion close her eyes and lean in even closer. She saw Roxas jump slightly at the contact, but he didn't pull back. They stayed close for a moment – a moment too long. Naminé couldn't look any longer.

She ran.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't even know where she was going. Her vision was blurring and her legs were wobbling and her brain was fuzzy with anger, frustration, jealously and sadness.

She heard the chime of the bell. She heard the distant call of her best friend shouting her name. She thought she heard her say 'I finally found you!', but she wasn't sure. She kept running. She ran past a poster for the festival and remembered how she had to dance with Roxas. She didn't know how to feel anymore. She let the tears fall as she finally slowed down, unsure of her surroundings.

She felt empty and useless.

x-x-x

"Close your eyes…"

Roxas looked confused at first, but she did as Xion bid, wondering what sort of gesture she was going to make. He waited with his eyes closed. Nothing happened for a little while, and he thought of opening his eyes to see if she was okay – but then he felt a warm touch to his lips.

He jumped – out of shock or horror, he couldn't tell – but she pressed her lips more firmly to his and he didn't pull back. It felt so foreign, so strange… he thought of his conversation with Sora about kisses and how differently he'd imagined it. This is my first kiss, he thought dully, his ideas of kissing Naminé first flying out the window.

He seemed to think a hundred thoughts during that kiss, which really only lasted a few fleeting seconds. The first obvious point of call was that Xion liked him. She had taken quick initiative to let him know that, and he found that quite charming. She wasn't afraid to tell him how she felt – but of course, they didn't have years of friendship to risk.

Then, something changed. As she tentatively moved her lips more snuggly against his, his insides actually fluttered with nerves. What started as a weird, empty feeling was evolving into something more soft, more intimate. He realised that there was a girl who actually liked him. She was sweet and kind and interesting, and she was his chance to get over Naminé. He could start dating her – that would be a very strong sign to Naminé that he was over her. He could finally get over her!

Xion pulled away, and he opened his eyes. She was looking up at him with nervous anticipation and that small smile she always wore. The excitement wore off and in its place was sadness.

There was a major problem with this plan. Xion was sweet and kind and interesting… but she wasn't Naminé. And Roxas realised as he looked down at her smiling face that he wasn't over Naminé.

He realised he'd probably never get over her.

Xion must have seen the sadness in his eyes, because she too dropped her expression of hope. "Was that… not okay?"

Roxas sighed, wondering what to say and how Sora had ever dealt with this situation. "No, it was fine… it was great, even. That was really brave of you, Xion. Thank you for being honest with me."

He paused, and she returned to fidgeting with the fringe of her skirt. "…But?"

"… But," he started, looking her in the eyes. "I have feelings for someone else. I'm sorry…"

Xion nodded slowly, and the two sat in silence for a moment. Suddenly, the school bell rang. She looked back up at him with urgency.

"Roxas… can I ask who?"

x-x-x

Woohoo, just one chapter to go! I really wanted to make this story 20 chapters but it's just naturally progressed this way. I can't wait to post the final chapter! I hope you enjoyed this and didn't completely forget what's happened in this story so far :') I know that happens to me when authors don't update for ages haha! I'm sorry! The next chapter will be up super soon, I PROMISE. Much love lovely readers!

P.S. This is your last chance to vote for the next story I'll be writing! Poll is on my profile!