"That's why I decided on the yellow because I had to, you don't even know."

"Uh-huh." Kairi is only half listening to Selphie as she rambles on, once again, about the process she went through in choosing her prom dress. The other half of Kairi's brain is preoccupied with finding her trigonometry homework tucked somewhere in her blue folder. She can't blame Selphie's enthusiasm, however. With prom being one month away, everyone is prepping, getting what they need, planning the details. It's the student body's favorite topic.

"Do you need to get yours fitted?"

"Hm? Oh. No. Thankfully not." Kairi knew her dress was the one because it fit like a glove the second she slipped it on. "Where is it?" Kairi mutters to herself. She was certain it was the blue folder. Maybe not? She reaches inside her locker to grab her green folder instead.

As she does this, Kairi looks to Selphie and gives her another smile and nod to show she's still paying attention despite it not being all of her attention. When she does this, she catches a glimpse of the students behind Selphie as well. Specifically, a group of guys a little ways down the hall, gathered outside of Room 104. She spies a familiar splash of blonde hair and blue eyes.

It's funny, Kairi hadn't really thought of Roxas as someone she could consider—romantically, that is. Sure, she always knew he was attractive, but it was always more of an abstract observation. He and his twin brother Ven have been the subject of many a girl's giggling and admiring gaze. But Kairi had always been so dead set on Sora, getting him to notice her, that she was blind to the charming pair of eyes set within the rest of his handsome features.

In other words, Kairi's own eyes are now open to the realization that Roxas is very, very cute. And she is the one going to prom with him.

Selphie huffs. "Kairi? Are you even listening?"

"What? Oh, sorry. What was that last part?"

"What are you looking at?" Selphie turns around to inspect what's got Kairi's attention. A cat-like grin spreads across her face. "I see." The bell rings before Selphie can say more.

Kairi turns back to her locker and grabs both the green and blue folders and tucks them in between her books. Her trig homework is in there somewhere, she's sure. When she turns back, the same group she had been looking at earlier is passing by. She looks away at first, but when Roxas, trailing at the back of the pack, throws her a smile and a small wave, she can't help but smile back. She hopes the passing is brief enough that he doesn't see her cheeks turn red.

"I see what's going on here," Selphie says as though on the cusp of solving a mystery.

"We're going to be late for class." Kairi starts walking, but Selphie will not be brushed aside.

"I totally saw how Sora was looking at you!" Selphie practically squeals.

"What?" Kairi whirls around, stopping in the middle of the moving student body—not exactly a smart move, but Kairi is too surprised to notice them pass by. Had Sora been looking at her?

"When he walked by, he totally smiled at you!"

"Oh. Right." She really hadn't noticed Sora, let alone if he had smiled at her. Kairi had been preoccupied.

"And you were totally checking him out earlier."

Kairi bites her lip, not really feeling like telling her gossip-happy friend that she had been admiring someone completely different. It's not like it's a big deal or anything, but it's only been a few days. Besides, it's not something that needs to be broadcast to the whole school.

Selphie gives a quick, side-hug to Kairi. "Don't worry. He'll see how great you are eventually!"

Kairi is grateful there is an excuse to end this conversation. "The second bell will ring soon. We have to get going." She reaches her class and lets out a relieved breath as she takes her seat.

A few hours later, after Kairi has finished changing into her cheer uniform, she is heading from the locker rooms to the gym when she spots him. His back is to her, but it's definitely him. She isn't sure how people can mix up Roxas and Ven. Sure they're identical, but the way they carry themselves, their expressions, even the energy they give off is totally and completely different. Like now, Kairi can tell it's Roxas by how his shoulders are set.

Kairi breaks away from the other cheerleaders to head his way. Axel, who Roxas is talking to, notices her approaching, and grins at her. Roxas turns to see who has his friend's attention and smiles too when he sees her. Kairi feels her heart pick up speed.

"Hey, guys," she says. She's thankful for the pompoms in her hands to keep her from fidgeting.

"Hey," says Roxas.

"Sup, princess," Axel says with a smirk. "Got enough pep for practice?"

The classic Axel teasing calms Kairi's nerves some. She knows what to expect from him, a familiar comfort. She puts her hands on her hips, still with her pompoms, making a comical sight, she knows. "I'm a cheerleader, Axel. Pep is in my blood. They wouldn't have let me on the team without it."

"They checked your blood before letting you on the team? Hardcore. What next, swearing an oath and signing a lifetime contract?"

"No, but they did do a pedigree check on me."

Roxas's snorts and tries to hide it by rubbing his nose. Axel barks a laugh. He always appreciates a good verbal sparring session. "Touché. To what do we owe the presence of the pedigree princess? Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"

She should. She's going to be scolded because she can already hear the warmup music playing. But in a minute. "Actually, Roxas, I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Roxas turns to Axel. "I'll meet you at the car."

Axel raises an eyebrow at him then at Kairi. "Yeah, alright. See ya around, Kairi."

"Bye, Axel." Kairi waves her goodbye before turning back to Roxas.

"What's up?" he asks. He has his hands in his pockets, looking casual which Kairi envies. For whatever reason, she's nervous to talk to him about anything regarding prom.

"About your tux. We—are we still going to go pick it out?"

Roxas nods. "Yeah, to match, right?"

"Right. Ok, great." Kairi feels a little relieved. It's still the plan. "I was going to say I'm free on Wednesday. Are you available to go with me to the rental place then?"

"I'm free. Should we go right after school or do you have practice?"

"Nope, no practice. Should we meet there?"

"Yeah, sure, or I—if you want," Roxas rocks a bit back and forth on his feet, "I can drive you. Ven and I share a car, but I can get it that day."

"Are you sure?" Kairi asks.

"Yeah, it's no problem."

Kairi feels her face spreading into a smile. "That would be great, thank you! I know which car it is, I can just meet you in the parking lot."

"Sounds good."

"So, I'll see you then?"

"Before then too." Roxas shrugs. "School and all."

"Right." Kairi takes a few bouncing steps back, still beaming at Roxas. "Bye, Roxas."

Roxas smiles too, his usual small, cute smile, and brings up one hand to give a small wave. "Later."

The lingering giddiness Kairi feels is worth the scolding she gets for being late.

Music filters through the car radio. Axel taps his fingers against the steering wheel as he waits. It isn't too long until he spies a familiar blonde mop-head making his way over. What's unfamiliar is that goofy grin on his face.

Roxas opens the car door and plants himself in the passenger seat. "Ready," he says, as if he is completely oblivious to his friend's curiosity.

Despite his passenger being ready, Axel does nothing to actually get the car in motion. "So…what did the princess want to talk to you about?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing," Axel repeats. "Interesting. 'Nothing' has never come up between you two before, at least never in the context of needing to talk to you alone."

Roxas shrugs. Axel notes that he has yet to look him in the eye. "She just wanted to ask me something."

"About what?"

"About Wednesday."

"What's on Wednesday?"

"We have—look, it's nothing. Are you going to give me a ride or do I have to walk home?"

Axel rests his elbow against the steering wheel, rests his cheek against his palm, and dons a cheeky smirk. "Depends on if I get a straight answer. Pretty princess cheerleader wants to talk to widdle Woxas all alone? It's a big step for you."

Now Roxas does look at his best friend but only to glare. "Very funny."

"Come on, it's a little strange. Are you two even friends?"

"We're friends!"

"More like friends-adjacent," Axel says. "You two are friends because you have friends in common. It's a secondary friendship."

Roxas crosses his arms and leans back in the seat. "Can we go already?"

Axel holds up his hands in surrender. "Alright, you got it." The redhead knows his friend well enough to know to drop the subject and let him talk when he's good and ready.

Thankfully, "good and ready" usually means within thirty seconds of awkward, pointed silence. Roxas cracks quickly with those he trusts. Axel is proud of the fact he is one of them. As far as he knows, it's only him and Ven on that list.

"We're going to prom together."

Axel doesn't mean to, but he laughs. He shouldn't because he doesn't want to break his friend's trust in him, but what he just said catches him so completely off-guard that he can't help it. He stops it within a few seconds, yet the damage is done. When Axel glances over, Roxas's face is bitter.

"Aw, come on, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to laugh. But—seriously? You aren't pulling my leg?"

"No, I'm not," Roxas says.

Axel waits a few seconds. "…Well? Aren't you going to tell me how that happened? Did she ask you to prom just now?"

"What? No. We agreed to it on Friday."

"Friday? This past Friday?"

"Yeah."

Axel briefly sifts through his memories of the weekend. "Wait a minute. When on Friday?"

Roxas uncrosses his arms. Progress. Axel takes it. His friend can get defensive rather quickly. "Before I met you, Xion, and Namine for ice cream. Kairi was hanging out on the bleachers. She was…I don't know. She looked sad. I went over and asked if she was ok and found out she was bummed she didn't have a date to prom, so I asked if she wanted to go with me. It's no big deal."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You asked her?"

"Yeah…why?"

Axel reaches over and ruffles his friend's hair. Roxas slaps his hands away. "I'm so proud of you!" His voice takes on a choked-up warble.

"Stop it!"

Axel laughs and stops at a red light. He shifts in his seat to get comfier. "What's on Wednesday then? What did she want to talk to you about."

"We're going to go rent my tux. Kairi's coming to make sure my vest matches her dress—don't laugh."

Axel bites his lip really, really hard. "I'm not laughing," is his reply mumbled past his trapped lip. He takes a deep breath, gets himself together, and continues. "That's very gentlemanly of you, honoring the lady's wishes."

Roxas scoffs. He fiddles with the strap of the backpack at his feet before speaking again. "Do…do you know if there's anything else I'm supposed to do?"

"Hm? For what?"

"For being a prom date. I—well, I haven't been to prom before. You have. Is there anything else expected of me?"

Being a senior and having been to prom last year, Axel gives this question some actual thought. He can tell his friend needs an honest reply. Poor Roxas hasn't even dated before. Sure, he has admired girls from afar like the rest of the school's male population, but his shy nature has kept him from actually doing anything about it. Now that he has, Axel is honestly rather proud of him. Because of this, he will answer to the best of his knowledge.

"You should get her a corsage. You know, for her wrist," Axel says. "It's tradition for the guy to do that. And you should pick her up, drive her there and back."

Roxas nods along as the points are listed off, taking each one seriously.

"And hey, dance with her while you're there. I know that's not your thing, but you gotta. You asked her, that means you have to dance with her."

Roxas's mouth twists with displeasure, but he still nods, accepting this.

"That goes along with paying attention to her—talking to her, getting her drinks and food and all that. That's the basics. The rest is up to you. Just—show her a good time. Got all that memorized?"

Roxas smirks at his friend's unofficial catchphrase. "Yeah, I think I got it. Thanks."

Axel turns onto Roxas's street. He's dropping him off before Axel heads to his part-time job. He has one more thought on his mind. "Hey, so is this like a secret?"

"What? No." Roxas's face pinches in thought. "I don't think so."

"Alright, cool. It's just, you didn't tell me and the girls when it happened Friday. Neither of you mentioned it."

"It just happened. It's not like we were hiding—"

"You didn't mention it on Saturday either."

Roxas shrugs. "We aren't, like, dating or anything. We agreed this is—we called it an experiment as a joke because neither of us have had dates to prom before. It's not a big deal."

Axel parks in front of Roxas's house. He leans back in his seat. "Right, sure. I'm just wondering, is this something you two want people to know about now? If she wanted me to know, she would have talked about Wednesday in front of me, right?"

Roxas says nothing.

Axel kicks himself for putting that downtrodden look on his friend's face. He knows his friend's insecurities, he shouldn't have pushed, but Roxas does need to think about this stuff if he's going to prom with Kairi—the Kairi.

Axel honestly had no idea Roxas even had a thing for her. Kairi always seemed like this untouchable option to all of them. She's friend to all, girlfriend to none. A blazing beauty of a girl with a kind heart and general happiness that spills over with every smile she gives.

Not to mention, she is unofficially spoken for…sort of. It's no secret Sora is Kairi's favorite, has been for years, and Sora certainly seems to think she's great, has been one of her best friends since they were young. They've all wondered why he hasn't asked her out, but it's not Axel's business. Besides, he's not close enough to Sora to ask. It's just one of those things. Until now, it seems.

Quiet Roxas who likes skateboarding and sleeping late into the morning and sitting on the top floor of the town square's clock tower eating sea-salt ice cream—he is now Kairi's date to prom. People are going to ask questions and speculate. It's better that Roxas gets these questions now from his best friend in order to figure out how to handle them with the people in school who don't know him as well. They're sure to make less sympathetic assumptions.

"Maybe just mention it on Wednesday. She might have already blabbed it to the girl population of the school."

"Yeah, sure." Roxas opens the door and exits the car without looking at his friend. "Thanks for the ride." The car door closes.

Axel sighs. He watches his friend until he disappears behind the front door then puts the car in drive and heads down the road.