The General Principles of the Standardized Prom
by: startscribbling12
I don't think I have ever been this upset in my entire life.
So much heartbreak just thrust at me in a matter of minutes. Do you understand how upset I was? That night I cried more than I ever had. I sat on my floor and just bawled my eyes out as I sat with my feet in a bowl of hot water. I had to walk home three miles in heels. I called Riku a little while after that, telling him it was over, but he didn't seem too bothered by it. Kairi stayed with me for two days after Prom, and she was sweet enough not to share her stories about how amazing it was for her.
"Namine, I am truly sorry he was such a dirt bag!" She said, throwing an arm over my shoulder. I sniffed, holding our Prom picture in my hand. "Want to burn it?" She said with a sly smile.
Giggling, I replied, "Of course. We will throw an end of the year bonfire and we shall burn it then, okay?"
Handing her the picture, right behind it was the picture of me and Roxas. It tugged on my heart strings as I looked at it.
"That's the boy that will make you happy, Nam." Kairi said to me, and my eyes widened. "You have been best friends since diapers, and he understands your heartbreak Namine. Think about it. He went through the exact same thing, and yet he tried to make you stay. Why? Because that is what you would have done for him."
It made sense. Thinking back on that night, I know I blamed Roxas because I was angry, but it didn't occur to me that Roxas chased after not only because he was my best friend, but because he knew exactly how I felt. Standing up, I pulled my shorts down a bit before walking over to an empty frame, sliding the picture inside.
"This is what I want to remember. Not Riku." I said sternly, turning back to Kairi with a determined look on my face. Smiling at me, she stood and patted my shoulder.
"That's my girl!" She turned to the side before turning back to me. Did I even mention why she was here? You probably thought it was few nights after Prom, the way I have been talking, but it is actually the afternoon before Graduation. I was still upset, believe it or not.
I know, I am a baby.
"I think someone is here to see you." I raised my eyebrow before looking into my doorway and finding Roxas standing there. I have not spoken to him since that night and I sort of feel guilty for it. "I'll be downstairs."
He stepped towards me, no expression on his face. He was clad in a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt. His tie hung loosely around his neck, not fully tied. His hair was still an outstanding mess.
"Roxas…" I started, walking towards him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." I said, looking up at him.
"I know. You were upset. I was just trying to help, you know?" I smiled and let out an exasperated sigh.
"But, I also came to tell you to prepare." He said. And it wasn't in a joking manner either.
"For...?"
"You lost the bet." I resisted the urge to punch him right then and there. Was he serious? Was he really going to go through with something like that?
"Are you kidding me?! After all I have been through?!" I shouted at him with blind rage. Who wouldn't?
"A deal is a deal, Nam. It's only fair."
"How is it fair!? Are you really doing this to me?"
"Yeah…"
I took his arm and began to pull him towards the front door. Kairi was standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding a curling iron in her hand. It seems she heard the argument. My face was red with anger, but Roxas wasn't showing any emotion at all. Pushing him out the front door, I glared at him.
"To think I almost…you are such an asshole!" I screeched before slamming the door in his face.
"That was not cool." Kairi said, referring to Roxas. Crossing my arms, I stomped up the stairs so I could finish getting ready. He was the most inconsiderate asshole ever. This might be worse than what Riku did to me! Angrily pulling my nice white, satin dress of the hanger, I stripped out of my current clothes in a rush and slid on the dress. Stomping down the stairs, I pushed Kairi out of the bathroom and tried to apply my makeup. My hand started to shake and eventually my body was shaking, sobbing uncontrollably. I slid down to the bathroom floor, sobbing into my knees.
"Oh, Namine." Kairi said, putting down the curling iron and coming to my side.
"He is…is…" I cried. And I stayed like that for the next few minutes. I cried my eyes out. I cried out the pain of this whole week. Kairi didn't move an inch until I was done. I eventually told her I was okay and stood up. I slowly finished my makeup after that, only applying some mascara for the crying I was going to do later. Kairi finished curling her hair and slipped into her short, puffy pink dress. I pulled out both of our graduation gowns. They were just plain black. Not my favorite color, but it works well with everyone's outfit. As soon as we were ready, our parents took some pictures and drove us to the school together.
The graduation was to be held in the back of the school in the field. It was set up with a stage and rows of chairs. The area was surrounded in black and white flowers. I placed my cap on my head and linked arms with Kairi as we left our parents and walked over to our friends.
"Kairi!" Sora shouted, running to us, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Are you two ready to graduate?"
"Yes!" Kairi shouted, and I just nodded. I couldn't trust my voice. I felt that I would cry if I spoke.
"It is unbelievable. It's amazing." Sora said, looking around at everyone we have grown up with. The smell of roses filled my nose as we stood there. So many flowers surrounded us.
"Sora, do you have any idea what Roxas is planning because I lost the bet?" I tried to ask like it didn't bother me. Sora seemed oblivious anyway.
"No, but I know he was up all night writing a speech or something of the sorts." He said just as the orchestra began to play the graduation song. I sighed and he gave me a tight hug, and Kairi a kiss, before he walked up to the front row of chairs. Kairi and I walked back a few rows before taking our seats. Even with the caps on, I could see Roxas's blond hair all the way in the front.
"It's going to be okay." She said, wrapping her hand in mine.
"I hope so."
The headmaster walked up to the stage and took the microphone. There was a brief applause before he spoke again. The orchestra was still playing in the background.
"This year for our seniors has been a tough one. With the loss of a friend, all the way to Prom, it has been a journey for all of them to grow up and mature these four years. Our seniors have seen the worst and best in each other, and have all been through joy and anger with each other. But you have to remember that this is just high school, and what happens here I guarantee you not many people will remember. And like Marc S. Lewis said, "The person who you're with most in life is yourself and if you don't like yourself you're always with somebody you don't like."" There was a giant applause to his small speech. The speech itself had no effect on me besides the quote.
The person I am with most in my life? Roxas.
The person I don't like the most? Roxas.
The person I care about most? Roxas.
I am so confused!
It began. He started naming off the names of the students in alphabetical order, turning the tassel of each student to the other side of their cap, showing they graduated. Knots were in my stomach, because Roxas was coming up next. Kairi waved to Sora, who waved back to her and Roxas's eyes landed on mine. My bottom lip was quivering and my hands shaking. And then—he flashed me a reassuring smile. A smile that made my heart stop beating for a minute. Why would he give me a smile like that when he is about to humiliate me at my own graduation?
"Roxas Aoki." The headmasters' voice sounded over the microphone. He walked up, had his tassel moved, shook some hands, and took his diploma with a smile on his face. And the next thing he did was rip the microphone out of the headmasters hand and walk to the front of the stage. "Mr. Aoki!" My hand shot out for Kairi's as I closed my eyes, awaiting the laughs.
"So—I'm not up here to give some fancy graduation speech. Hell, I'm not even supposed to be talking right now at all. I'm holding up all you guys from graduating and I'll tell you why. A few months ago, I made a bet. The bet was that my best friend, Namine Sato, was to prepare for Prom and attend it for an hour. If she did that, then she won the bet. But—sadly, she ended up loosing, on some horrible terms I might add." He sent a glare at Riku.
"Because she lost," He continued. "The deal was that I would stand up in front of you guys and humiliate her. I don't know if she will take this as humiliation or not, but I am going to do what I said I was going to do. Namine Sato is…" He stopped and I opened my eyes, looking at him with a pleading look. A smile appeared on his face.
"Namine Sato is my best friend. She is the girl who has seen me though thick and thin and has been there for me for whatever I needed. Me, on the other hand, I have joked and teased her and haven't been as nice as I should be to someone who has done those things for me. It took me a while to realize this, maybe even some of my friends realized this before I did, but I love you Namine Sato. And no, not as a best friend loves another best friend. But, I genuinely love you with all my heart. Was that corny enough for you, Nam? Because I could keep going." He smirked at me and my face was on fire. There were so many 'awe's' and 'that's so sweet' going around me right now. Sora was grinning his face off, as was Kairi.
But, me being me, I stood up in anger (was it really anger?) and marched up to the stage, pushing past all the people in line to get their diplomas and walked up to him. My face was ruby and I ripped the microphone from his hand.
"You idiot! That was so embarrassing!" Though the microphone was picking up everything I was saying.
"I could keep going. Namine Sato is beautiful! Namine Sato is the most amazing woman I have ever met! Namine Sato is---"
"Shut up!" I covered his mouth, and that caused giggles to erupt from the crowd.
"What? Don't you love me too?" He asked, the smile slipping from his face. I bit my lip and started to jump up and down a little bit.
"Yes—now can you get off the stage?" I tried to whisper, but just like before, the microphone picked it up.
"Nah—I'll keep going! Namine Sato is my best friend, my shoulder to lean on, the person I know I can count on, you are the love of my life, you're my one and only, you are my everything! Namine Sato , life without you is like a bunch of broken pencils! Pointless! Namine you—"
I jumped up and put a hand over his mouth as he tried to say even more. He was laughing as he tried to pry my hand off.
"Stop being so corny!"
"Only if you kiss me." My face turned bright red again as the crowd erupted into a shout of 'Kiss him!' and other things.
"Namine Sato if you don't kiss that boy I am going to kill you!" I heard Kairi shout from her chair. I gulped and looked at her, my face burning from the stare he was giving me. Sora was the next to pipe up.
"Jeez, Nami! Kiss him so I can graduate!" Sora laughed. I bit my lip and turned to look at him but I didn't have much time to react. He smashed his lips to mine so fast that I didn't even see it coming. Roxas placed his hand on the small of my back, crinkling up the black graduation gown that I was wearing. This wasn't like the other kisses we shared. This wasn't a kiss during spin the bottle that was awkward. This wasn't a drunken kiss that scared you shitless because you have no idea why your best friend just kissed you. This wasn't a kiss where your best friend was confused with his feelings.
No.
This was a kiss that was shared between two people who love each other. (YES I ADMIT IT.) It seemed—for lack of a better word—perfect. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead on mine while everyone clapped and cheered for us.
"Roxas?" I said to him breathlessly.
"Hm?"
"Can I you get done up here so I can graduate?"
Of course they wouldn't let us live it down.
My parents.
My friends.
People I never met.
I didn't hear the end of it.
"DAMMIT ROXAS! YOU SUCK!" I yelled in my kitchen. Everyone was over for a small get together; Roxas and Sora's family and my own.
"Why!?" He yelled at me from the living room. All the boys (as in Sora, Roxas, and Ven) were playing Halo 3 against Riku and the others online. (I wasn't too angry at Riku anymore.)
"Is your new girlfriend whipping you?" I heard Axel say across the TV. Dumb them and not making their voices go through the headsets only.
"Shut up!" Roxas yelled before he turned back to me, smirking. "Why do I suck?"
"Because, I haven't heard the end of it all day! That was so cute! So romantic! My baby is all grown up!" I growled.
"You love me."
"Go to hell, Roxas. I hate you." I said, though I had a smile on my face. I took a seat in the living room with the boys. They were all (besides Ven) still dressed in their dress clothes. Their ties were undone and shoes off. Kairi was sitting in her dress on the couch across from me. Ven stood up and tossed me his headset and controller.
"Play." He told me.
"What? Why?!" I whined, taking a seat between Roxas and Sora with the controller.
"Cause I don't wanna loose my score and I have to pick up Aqua." He muttered before walking out.
"Guys! Namine is playing for Ven now!" Sora yelled into the headset.
"Woo!" I heard someone yell across the TV.
"You guys are dumb." I said into my receiver.
"It's amazing you and Roxas aren't getting in on. I have been waiting for this day for like, ever. I mean, you are even kissing or making out?" Axel said and I laughed as I just killed him out of anger. "Damn."
"No. That would be gross." I said, running across the map.
"GROSS?!" Roxas yelled, staring at me with horror.
"Well—yeah. I can't picture going all lovey dovey with you." I giggled kissing him on the lips.
"Mmm. I disagree." He mumbled against my mouth.
"Get a room!"
"Seriously. I can hear it over the headset." I heard Riku complain.
"Suck it, Riku!" I yelled, murdering him with a headshot. I laughed like a maniac. (Maybe I was still mad.)
"Someone got owned." Sora laughed.
"Winner gets to bang Namine!" Axel's voice shouted across the TV.
"AH! I AM SO WINNING!" Roxas shouted next to me, shooting everyone on the map.
So..how was that?
Good?
If you want…I can make an epilogue…but for now it's finished.
I love writing relationships like this. Anyway, give me your feedback!
Also, the graduation song is actually Fantasia Alla Marcia from the Kingdom Hearts Two original soundtrack! It's pretty.
I loved your support with this! Tell me if you want an epilogue and also take part in my poll on the next page. And remember to check out Together with the Sundown Studios!