Half Past Hello
disclaimer: i dont own kh.
my story was deleted for some reason? so i added the disclaimer thingy on here.
Author's note: Idk what prompted me to write this. But I do remember reading a story where a woman found a lover from her past life, but it didn't last-it was closure. Also, I had a dream about a guy I didn't know. We were talking in my old bedroom and then he asked me what year it was so I told him. He then told what year he was from and I think he said a year centuries away. It was strange, but kinda cool? Anyway I'm writing this on my phone. What is it about the notes app that makes me want to write entire novels lmao.
I've had this in my drafts for ages (aka on my phone) since like March 20th 2023. Today (July 3rd, 2023) I was trying to think of good titles and thought up 'half past one' but that didn't make sense. Then I thought of Half Past Goodbye, and debated on that or Half Past Hello. Half Past Goodbye will always hold some fondness in my heart, but Half Past Hello is catchier. Idk when I'll update the next part, but I feel like this may be kinda long so hang in for the ride. Hopefully I finish this story and don't leave y'all hanging.
Also, this is just me being nostalgic and basically a homage to all the romance/humor fics on ffnet that I read as a preteen. I'm not sorry if this is the cheesiest thing you've ever read. The name reminds me of a kdrama or a webtoon or something lol.
xo,hanasinspring
Summary: Unfinished business is meant for the dead, right? When Naminé Hoshida begins dreaming of a mysterious boy with a sad smile, she thinks nothing of it until she runs into him at a bonfire. The meeting leads to an onslaught of memories that overwhelm her and Naminé isn't sure if her feelings for the boy are the memories talking or her attraction alone. If she pursues him will it lead to love or will it lead to closure and ultimately, goodbye? AU. Reincarnation. RokuNami.
1: The Boy
There's a boy in my dreams
His golden skin seems familiar
We don't touch, not once
But we talk and talk
He asks me what year it is
I tell him
He looks confused, so I ask him what year it is for him
He tells me
The year is different
Significantly different from mine
I remember waking up
And feeling as if my heart was shattering into tiny glass pieces
Maybe those pieces could be turned back into sand
And then I could rewind time
Like clockwork
Naminé Hoshida's eyes drooped lower and lower every passing second. This wouldn't be much of a problem if (A) she was not seated in the front row, (B) in the middle of a class lecture on the punnett square, and (C) about to drop dead.
From sleep, of course.
Naminé wasn't dying or anything.
Or least, she hoped she wasn't.
Her vision grew hazier as the white walls and ugly motivational posters and lame science memes blended in with Mr. Highwind plain shirt and jeans. He was a strange man with cropped blond hair and blue eyes and he always wore the same variant of outfits to school everyday. Naminé wondered if he ever played fashion games despite his lack of style. Did he rage quit if a client didn't like the outfit he put together for them? It was a strange thought that flitted through her sleep-addled mind, but it kept her awake.
She caught a whiff of Mr. Highwind's signature scent-black coffee and cigarette smoke-as he lumbered over to a poor kid trying to inconspicuously eat their way through a bag of beef jerky. It smelled awful; both the mixture of smoke, coffee, and the off-brand snack.
A series of giggles erupted from different corners of the room and a collective "oo" resounded off the walls as if they were back in 1st grade.
Naminé's eyes shifted to the window. Spring flourished, sakura blossoms swirling about in the warm breeze.
Destiny Islands was known for its tropical weather and assortment of strange fruit, but most tourists overlooked the sakura trees. The story of the paopu seemed much more romantic than trees that could be found in different towns. Still, a stroll with sakura blossoms falling to the ground on a beautiful spring day sounded like paradise.
A smile found its way to Naminé's lips. This was already supposed to be paradise.
Sleep slipped into her body once more.
"Don't eat jerky in my class now!" Cid bellowed from the back of the room.
A jolt ran through Naminé. If it weren't for the yell, she was certain her papers wouldn't have gone floating to the linoleum floor. Abashedly, she scrambled to gather her doodles and drawings up before anyone could get a good look at her art.
Really, she chided herself, I need to invest in a sketchbook.
Good fortune saved Naminé that day as all her fellow classmates were far more invested in the throwdown between the beef jerky kid and Mr. Highwind.
She shuffled through the lined papers before reaching the end. Hidden beneath her numerous doodles was a boy drawn out on proper sketching paper.
He looked golden—hair, skin, demeanor. If she could use one person to describe the sunset, it would be him. She couldn't leave him in black and white and so he became an array of colors amongst her other pictures. Stacks of doodling paper engulfed her drawing before she meticulously placed everything back in her folder.
She ran a finger across the paopu sticker placed in the center of her baby blue folder. Part of her debated on whether or not to add more stickers just as Mr. Highwind and the kid went out the door and to the principal's office. Naminé didn't think it was that serious an offense, but Mr. Highwind was, well, Mr. Highwind.
It was another typical Friday at Destiny High.
"You guys going to the bonfire tonight?" Kairi Sakamoto flipped her silky red hair, violet eyes brimming with mirth as she talked to her posse.
They were all pretty. Too pretty. Naminé felt a knot settle its way into her stomach as she caught sight of their laughing faces a few seats away from her. Xion Sato; captain of the girls volleyball team and bassist in her own band. Selphie Tilmitt; resident gossip and casual newspaper editor. Olette Hillbrooke; designated overachiever and president of the student council. Lastly, Kairi Sakamoto; ringleader of the elite and first chair violinist.
"Of course! Do you think he'll notice me?" Selphie prattled on about her "secret crush" but Naminé was certain she had a crush on any half-decent looking guy within a 12-meter radius.
"I can't wait for the s'mores and paopu juice. And I'm sure he'll notice you in your new dress, Sel." Naminé saw Olette from the corner of her eye, skimming through her color-coded notes.
"And I'm ready for the chaos. Guess who's coming?" A mischievous grin spread across Xion's face.
"No." Kairi gasped. "You're joking."
"I'm not. Pinky promise."
The four girls squealed.
"You gotta keep us filled in, Xi," Selphie said, popping a piece of gum into her mouth. "I'm part of the newspaper, y'know. And," she added, leaning in close, "I'm thinking of starting my own blog."
Naminé, for what it was worth, had great hearing and knew how to look at people without them knowing. It was an essential skill for people-watching.
The girls continued to talk, this and that about makeup, and oh did you hear the latest drama? She didn't deserve what happened. He's definitely cute. Stuff like that.
Class ended without Mr. Highwind returning and thankfully, it was 7th period.
Naminé was out the door in seconds.
If it weren't for what happened next, her life would have taken a completely different course. She knew that with certainty.
"Hey." Seifer Almasy was leaning against her locker, a smirk on his arrogant face. He towered over her before leaning in to say, "Wanna come over to my place? I heard girls like you are pretty wild in—"
"Seifer," Selphie said saccharinely, "do I have to teach you this lesson again? Because I have my nunchucks riiiiggghhhttt here." She patted her sunshine yellow backpack, embroidered flowers and all.
How the hell did Selphie Tilmitt smuggle a weapon onto school property?
Also, was that really the one thing she should be worrying about right now?
A pair of hands pulled her back. It wasn't until they were in front of her that she realized it was Olette and Kairi. Xion stood next to Selphie, her hands concealing what Naminé presumed to be another weapon.
"Y'know girls might actually fall at your feet if you weren't a moronic asshole barely passing his classes." Kairi's hands were on her hips.
"Ohh, I'm so scared. What are a bunch of puny girls like you gonna do to me?"
"Want another scar for that face of yours?" Xion asked. Her voice grew low and Naminé swore Seifer started to sweat.
"We have enough evidence to get you kicked out of school. Then you can start your long and prosperous career of living off of Mommy and Daddy." She heard the smile in Olette's voice.
It wasn't long before Seifer was storming off to who-knows-where.
"Hey, you okay? It's Naminé, right?" Kairi smiled. Four pairs or eyes were on her and Naminé wasn't sure how to react so she nodded.
"Yeah."
"I always see you drawing in class. And your notes always look so well-organized and cute," Olette said. "We're sorry about Seifer. He's such a pig. Honestly, I don't know what happened. He wasn't always like this."
"Yep, hopefully he doesn't show his face at the party tonight." Selphie smiled as if she hadn't just threatened a boy with her nunchucks. "Oh! Are you coming to the bonfire?"
The only word that left Naminé's mouth was, "Huh?"
"Yeah, you should come. It's a lot of fun," Xion replied, a gleam in her eyes. "We could help you pick out an outfit and then head out."
It was all a daze after that. She found herself in a light blue summer dress paired with the sandals she always wore on nice days, but then again, most days were nice on Destiny Islands. The dress was ... something else.
Cute, yes, but she wasn't quite comfortable with the amount of skin it showed, which, to be fair, wasn't a lot. Maybe if she was in the privacy of her own home, sure, but Naminé wasn't used to the staring.
Naminé crossed her arms in an attempt to cover herself more. Something about wearing even slightly revealing clothes in public resulted in heightened heart palpitations and burning cheeks. She could blame it on the setting sun or the weather drop or even the fact that she forgot to bring a jacket. (Oh, how she regretted leaving her jacket at home.)
The throngs of drunken teens reminded her why she never went to parties. Not that she was ever invited to any. Too many people, too much noise, too much drama. Or maybe she hated parties because she never quite fit in with any group and usually found herself in the corner, too afraid to talk to anyone or ignored by everyone when she did try to contribute to the conversation.
The girls surrounded her in a feeble attempt to make her feel included. It didn't work.
Then, she saw him, golden skin and all.
When their eyes met—a spark, a flicker, something, shot through her. He smiled.
Familiarity almost had her in tears.
Selphie nudged her arm and wiggled her eyebrows. "Someone caught your eye?"
"Hm?" Naminé's cheeks were stained red as she attempted to form an intelligent and articulate response, neither of which came to her. "He, uh, just looks familiar. That's all."
"Y'know, usually guys say that when they're hitting on a girl. Not the other way around," Kairi chimed in.
"He's coming this way," Olette whispered.
Xion started making kissy noises to Naminé's dismay. Really, they should be more mature than this. The girls fell back. Probably to go watch them from afar in one of the bushes or something.
"Hey, I'm Roxas."
"Naminé." She extended her hand and when he took it, the contact sent chills through her body. That was not the strange part, the strange part was the memory that came from the touch.
"Tell me, would you ever go back? Or do you wish we met under different circumstances?"
"I wish we had more time. Then I could have loved you more."
Naminé wasn't quite sure if Roxas felt it too, given his smile. She let go of his hand. Despite being near the bonfire, she shivered.
"Cold?" She avoided eye contact, instead turning to look at one of her classmates attempting to swallow as many marshmallows as possible.
"Oh, uh, no. Not really," she answered.
"You're shaking."
Silence.
"Naminé."
She looked up, meeting his electric blue eyes for the first, or perhaps, it was better to say for the first time in real life.
This was freaky. It's not like she could explain or show him her drawings and he would understand. So, she kept her mouth closed and kept shivering.
"Want my jacket?"
An unintelligible string of words left her mouth before she could deny his offer. His jacket was already around her shoulders and it was surprisingly warm.
"T-Thanks... Roxas," she said. Naminé wasn't used to referring to people by their first name. It was a bad habit she needed to break, but referring to people by their first names felt so awkward and foreign to her. So instead, she would ask questions directly without a name in sight unless it was a teacher or an adult.
"No problem." The return of his easy smile sent Naminé's stomach into a flurry of butterflies.
They had only just met and he was offering her his jacket? What did that mean? Before she could think on the topic more, she heard a number of excited screams before Kairi, Selphie, Olette, and Xion raced past her and Roxas. The mystery person from the conversation Naminé had overheard was here.
She and Roxas turned.
Riku Tanaka; resident movie star and casual heartthrob stood a few feet away from them.