Strangers in black coats.

It was unusual how this was something Roxas remembered seeing in his dreams, despite how hazy most of them were. What it all meant, he wasn't sure. Dreams never made sense to him anyway– it was always a weird jumbled mess that would quickly be forgotten about as soon as he woke up.

The young man stared up at the ceiling as the warm morning sun beamed through the window. With his last school year finally coming to a close, the only thing stuck to his mind was summer vacation. Possibly the last one he would spend with his friends before they went off to pursue other stuff in their lives. They had to try to make the most of it.

Or in Hayner's words, go out with a ka-BOOM.

Roxas wasn't entirely sure what his friends had planned for the summer, but he was sure it would be a good time.

And maybe a not-so-good time.

Like the text Roxas received when he reached for his phone.

Hayner: DUDEE you gotta come to the usual spot ASAP! looks like someone thrashed the place

Roxas frowned at the message before quickly rolling out of bed to get ready and be on his way.

Several minutes later, the blond hopped off his skateboard and walked into a mess of ripped posters and broken glass bottles on the floor in their hangout area. Not that it was perfect before, but it was obvious someone had been there, and it definitely wasn't them.

"Geez, what happened here?" Roxas questioned with wide eyes.

Hayner flung his arms up, "I don't know! That's what we're trying to figure out!"

"Calm down, Hayner," Olette said, rolling her eyes as she swept up the pieces of glass on the floor. "This is why I've been saying we need to fix this place up. Anyone can just come right in if they wanted to."

"Olette's right," Pence nodded, "She's been saying that for ages."

"Well don't look at me! You guys hang out here too, y'know!" Hayner crossed his arms as he looked around the room. "I bet this was Seifer's idea. That jerk is always pulling crap like this."

Roxas stepped in to help clean up the mess and shrugged. "I wouldn't doubt it. The guy's always up to no good. And he just really hates our guts for some reason."

"It's a real shame," Olette sighed, "He has so much potential to become a better person."

Hayner snorted at her comment. "Yeah right, I'd like to see that happen."

"Hey, you never know. People can change."

"You got a crush on him by any chance?"

The girl scrunched her face and shook her head. "Ew, clearly you don't know my type."

"I don't knooow, you girls seem pretty mesmerized by guys with muscles."

Hayner jokingly flexed his arm to get Olette's attention. She playfully shoved him in return.

"Ha-ha, nice try Hayner."

Roxas watched them from the corner of his eye and chuckled. It was amusing seeing those two bicker from time to time. As odd as it sounded, it wouldn't surprise him if they somehow ended up together. That's how relationships worked, right?

… Yeah, he really didn't know much about that stuff, considering he's never been in one himself. So who was he to say how that stuff worked?

Must be nice, he thought to himself.

Roxas must've had a funny look on his face for a while, unaware Pence seemed to pick up on it.

"Whatcha smiling about?"

The blond snapped out of his thoughts and shrugged it off. "Nothing. Just uh… just wondering what we're gonna be doing this summer."

This caught Hayner's attention. With a grin, he walked over to Roxas and looped an arm around his neck. "Well, I'm still working out the details but trust me, it's gonna be great!"

Roxas snorted under his breath, gently shoving him away. "You still haven't made any plans?"

"Oh no, there's plans all right. We always gotta make room for the beach."

"Don't forget about the festival later in the summer," Olette added.

"Oh yeah, there's that too. See? Plans."

Roxas shook his head as he cleaned up what was left of the litter on the floor. The group of friends looked around the room, which was still in dire need of a makeover.

"Well, we could start by fixing this place up for once," Pence said, rubbing his chin.

"Great idea, Pence," Olette smiled.

Hayner let out a quiet groan but agreed with the others.

It wasn't the most ideal way to start the summer, but they still had plenty of time to make the most of it.

There were plenty of things Kairi had been excited about. Whether it was being around the ones she cared about, or accomplishing a task. Even summer vacation, which she had been particularly excited about this time around, due to having the idea of visiting some new places outside her familiar town. It wasn't anything major, just a small change of atmosphere. She thought it might help her get back on track.

The redhead offered her closest friend on the island, Selphie, to tag along. Kairi could always count on her to keep her company when she needed it. They eventually ended up on a train that took them to a town further away from home.

"Twilight Town," Selphie read on a pamphlet, "I heard they have the best sea-salt ice cream there."

"Oh? I can't say I've ever had sea-salt ice cream before," Kairi smiled and looked out the window as they passed through the scenic area.

"Ooooh we have to try some! And we have to check out all the other shops," she grinned, turning to face her friend. "Maybe we'll find some cute new outfits to wear in the summer."

Fixing up the hangout spot was a much slower process than expected. Olette came to the conclusion that it would probably take a couple of days to tidy things up. And Hayner's occasional complaints didn't help much either, saying certain things were fine just as they are. Roxas and Pence just went along with it… or at least they tried to. They both decided to step out and get some lunch for the group when the bickering kept dragging out. Turns out maybe they were all just hungry.

It was already the late afternoon when they decided to call it a day. And what better way to end it than with some sea-salt ice cream? Roxas had to pay for it this time since he lost a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. No big deal though. He hopped on his skateboard and began making his way to the ice cream shop while his friends headed over to the clock tower.

Roxas carefully swerved around the people around him, briefly pulling off some small tricks. Whether he was showing off or not, he still found it pretty fun to do.

In an instant, he saw a flash of red just as the board was a few inches off the ground. Before he was able to react, his legs immediately went flying up, causing him to land on his back so hard, the air got knocked out of his lungs for a moment. It all happened so fast, he almost didn't notice a girl with long red hair hovering over him.

This was totally not embarrassing at all.

"Need a hand?" She asked, holding her hand out.

Roxas was still processing what had happened but he took the girl's hand and stood up with her assistance. Some people around stared at the two before they continued going about their day. Too embarrassed to make eye contact, he began dusting himself off as a distraction.

"That was a pretty hard fall there," the girl said, holding her hands behind her back. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Roxas shook his head, noticing his skateboard rolled off into a corner. "I'll probably wake up with a bruise or two in the morning."

The redhead smiled as she followed his gaze. She stepped away from him for a moment to retrieve his board. "So long as you're still in one piece."

Roxas finally found the courage to look up. Her friendly violet-blue eyes stared back at him. Maybe it was the world spinning around him moments ago due to his little incident, but seeing her close to eye level…

Wow, she's really pretty.

She gave him a small smirk and held out his skateboard. "I think this is yours."

The blond looked at the board and chuckled sheepishly before taking it out of her hands.

"Right, thank you."

Their eyes briefly met again until another feminine voice in the distance called out in their direction.

"Kairi!"

The auburn haired girl tilted her head slightly at the sound of the name before looking back at Roxas.

"Sorry, I gotta go. See you around again sometime..?"

Roxas felt his heart sink, but those last words were all he needed to hear to have a little bit of hope. He smiled at her and nodded.

"Yeah, see you around."

She gave him a little wave and disappeared into the small crowd of people roaming around town. Meanwhile, he couldn't help but stand there feeling dumbstruck.

… I really just busted my ass with a skateboard in front of a pretty girl.

The trio of friends continued to wait up on the clock tower as they watched the sunset. They fell in silence for a brief time until they heard footsteps approaching. The three of them turned their heads to see Roxas with the ice cream bars in his hands.

"Dude, what took you so long?" Hayner laughed, reaching over for the snack.

He passed the rest of the treats over and sat down on the ledge, shaking his head while avoiding eye contact. "Uh… just had a little accident."

"Showing off on your skateboard again?" Olette smirked.

"Maybe…?"

"Typical Roxas," Pence quietly joked.

The friends laughed, including Roxas. They were quick to change the topic after that, but the blond's mind remained stuck on the unexpected encounter he had with the auburn haired girl.

He really hoped they'll meet again.