Sitting . Under . Falling . Stars

I've been watching a slow thaw come around.
I've been waiting in the cold and hazy blue.
I've been driving alone out to the edge of town.
I've been thinking too much of you.

Last snowfall left splinters, and some winters never end; neither wane nor wear.
And sunshine is like lovers, and some summers just pretend; only warm the air.
It's that I'm tired of the feeling here. It's too near to death, it's too jobless year-round.
It's not the weather in the city or the highway moan.
Not the streets or the buildings, neither wooden nor stone.
Every reason to leave this place behind, why I should be alone,
Are made of flesh and bone.

December 9th

Tears stained her pale cheeks as she clutched to the wheel, driving with no destination in mind. Her teeth were clenched, and occasionally, she would snarl and a few more tears would escape from her glassy eyes. Xion wasn't a fully licenced driver; she had her G1, which permitted her only to drive with someone who was a fully eligible driver. She didn't care.

It was 8:30 in the morning, and she had taken her moms car in a fit of frustration. She hardly slept after she walked home from Vanitas', and woke up hung over and pissed off. She couldn't tell if she was more mad at Vanitas for kissing her, or mad at herself for liking it.

She was reaching the edge of town, only one person in mind. She stopped thinking about Vanitas- she didn't care about him. There was only one person who she wanted to be with and that was Riku. She knew she couldn't have him.

She bit her lip until it bled, just as she was coming up to the highway. She really did not know where she was going. She was aware that she was being irrational, and how much trouble she'd get in if a cop pulled her over... But in the moment, she wasn't too worried about it. She drove for another half hour before she reached a public trail that was basically in the middle of no where; there was a small gravel patch for parking, and a green sign that pointed towards a boardwalk that lead into the forest. She decided that this would be a good place to stop.

Amaya cooed softly as Sora cradled her in his arms. He smiled warmly as her tiny hand wrapped around one of his fingers.

"You're so cute, but I do wish you'd let me sleep a little longer." He grinned, poking her in the nose. She looked confused.

"She's gotten bigger, hasn't she?" Kairi smiled, walking up behind him and gliding her hand across his shoulder.

"Yeah, and her hair is getting longer."

The couple grinned at each other, before looking down at their baby who was slowly but surely falling back asleep. Sora placed her in the crib, wishing that he could go back to sleep himself. But he had plans for the day; him and Kairi had a discussion about it, and they decided that it was definitely time for one of them to get a job. Of course, Sora was the one to take it. So he planned on going downtown that day and handing out resumes.

Once Amaya was asleep, they lay down on the bed beside each other and sighed, exhausted.

"She certainly knows how to tire me out, that's for sure." Kairi laughed. "I'm just thankful for your mom. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be able to get an education for a while."

"Yeah, she's really helping us out... I feel bad though, definitely need to get a job so she isn't the only thing supporting us financially."

"For sure." They dozed off into silence for a moment, zoning out on the ceiling. "You know, it's almost Christmas..." Kairi mused.

"I know. I can't believe it's been a full year since the last one... So much has changed." Sora took her hand into his. She smiled, watching his fingers dance with hers as he fiddled with them. He looked up and met her eyes, and with a cheesy grin said; "I love you."

She couldn't contain the beam that crossed her face, and the blush that tinged her cheeks. "I love you too."

Xion found a good spot at the edge of a cliff and sat on the bench, admiring the view that ourstretched her. She could see trees for miles, all with glistening snow that reflected the brilliant morning sky. It was painted with a pure blue, with nimbus clouds that passed by slowly. Looking at such a sight, one normally wouldn't be crying, but this was not Xion's case.

She missed him more than words could describe.

She thought that maybe she was starting to move on with life, hanging out with Axel and them all the time... Finally being able to laugh, smile, and genuinely mean it. But when Vanitas kissed her, all it did was remind her of all the painful memories.

She remembered every detail of his face; the way his face crinkled when he smiled, and how strange she always thought his eyes were. They were kind of like the color of the sky, only more beautiful. Most people would say that there was nothing more wonderful than the brilliant sky, but she could argue that.

Xion glanced down at her phone for the first time since she'd taken the car; five missed calls, six text messages. Five texts from her mom, one from Vanitas. She hesitated to read them, but she did anyway. Of course, all the calls were from her mom, who was freaking out. Her texts were all basically the same; "Xion, get back here with my car right now, you have no idea how much trouble you are in!"

And then Vanitas' simply read: "Hey." For whatever reason, she chose to answer him back with the same simple reply. Almost instantly, he replied: "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she wrote back. "why?"

"Jeez, I was just asking." When she didn't answer, he texted her back a few minutes later. "So I didn't mean to come on to you like that last night, I kinda got carried away." She didn't answer again. They both had iPhones, so she knew he was seeing that she read his messages. So of course, he answered again. "Will you come over later or something so we can talk, maybe?"

"I don't think I can do that." She said. "I have stuff to do today, I'm really busy. I'll see you later." With that, she locked her phone and threw it in her side-pack. She wasn't about to check it again, no matter who texted her. Releasing an exasperated sigh, she stood up, brushed a few snowflakes off her pants and headed back to the car.

December 23rd

It was now Christmas break, much to everyone's relief. They all needed a good break off school, that was certain.

Sora, Roxas and Vanitas sat in Vanitas' living room, while Kairi made cookies in the kitchen. The redhead wished that she had a female accomplise, such as Namine or Xion, but neither of them were really an option. According to Vanitas, Xion hated him for some supposedly unknown reason and refused to come over, whereas Namine wasn't allowed there for obviously reasons. So she baked on her own, not really minding it though. Kairi loved Christmas. Sora offered to help her, but she declined, due to the fact that Sora was a monster in the kitchen.

Roxas hadn't really been out in a while, other than to school. He didn't want to throw away the year like he did the one prior, so he made a concious effort to at least be on top of his work. He didn't feel like socializing too much, though. And in a weird way, he was almost afraid to leave his house, worried that he may run into Namine. She lived too close to him for comfort.

"I can't believe Christmas is so soon!" Sora grinned toothily. "It's going to be Amaya's first Christmas, eh Kai?"

"I know, I'm so excited!" Kairi chimed from the kitchen.

"What are you getting her?" Roxas inquired.

Sora laughed and scratched his head. "Well I wasn't really sure what to get a baby girl, so I got her a pink rattle thing. I think she'll like it."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Vanitas was zoned out on his phone the entire time, seemingly uninterested in conversation. The other three all wondered why he even invited them over, but they weren't complaining. They liked the place, it was nice and relaxing, and gave them all a place to go to get away from their parents and/or responsibilities. Typically, Axel, Demynx, Terra and Aqua would arrive sometime soon, along with Ven who was grocery shopping. Since it was so close to Christmas, they were having a small christmas party. According to Vanitas, it wasn't going to be a drunk fest, but it was safe to assume that Axel, Demnyx and Terra would still buy an excessive amount of beer.

Kairi was living on the edge a little and brought a bottle of red wine. Sora got himself a six pack of beer, while Roxas and Vanitas got themselves a twelve pack each. It was Christmas after all, so they all tried to rationalize in their heads that they had an excuse to drink.

Kairi walked out of the kitchen holding a plate of chocolate chip cookies, which the guys instantly attacked. Even Vanitas got right in there. Kairi sat down next to Sora on the loveseat and kissed him on the cheek.

"So any word from Xion?" She asked Vanitas, who shrugged.

"I told you, she hates me. She's not coming."

"There has to be a reason." Roxas commented. "Xion wouldn't just hate you over nothing."

"I doubt she even does hate you." Kairi said matter-of-factly. "Xion is just emotional, that's part of the package."

"Whatever, I don't care." Vanitas sneered. "She won't even respond to my texts, so she can do whatever she wants." He went right back to staring at his phone. The others exchanged a glance that read whatever.

Kairi then got a text message herself, and saw that it was from Namine. She instantly felt back; Namine probably had no idea of the plans tonight, and wanted to hangout. Kairi hadn't hung out with her all that much, because she was always with Sora, who wasn't too fond of the blonde girl at the moment, plus Amaya.

"Hey Kai, what are you up to?" Namine asked. "If you're not busy, maybe we could hang out and make Christmas cookies at my place?"

Kairi sighed, more guilt setting in. She wasn't about to lie to Namine about where she was, but she didn't want to make her friend feel even worse. It's friggin Christmas. She thought, flustered. I should be able to spend it with everyone I care about...

She then turned to Roxas. "Roxas, I think that we should invite Namine."

A look of shock crossed his face. "What? No way!"

"Yeah, no way!" Sora unintentionally mimicked.

"Why not? It's not fair, guys. I know what she did was shitty, but it's Christmas... You guys don't even have to look at her."

"That's so awkward though..." Roxas said. "What if she says something or me? Or to Ven? She might get all drunk and start hitting on him again. I wouldn't be able to handle that."

"I doubt that would happen, I'll just tell her to leave if she starts drinking or something." Kairi crossed her arms over her chest. "You couldn't set aside your differences and ignore each other for ONE night?"

"I have no problen ignoring her," he retorted. "it's her I'm worried about. I don't want to talk to her about anything even if its just the weather."

"I'll have a good talk with her about that, then. Come on Roxas, you're just making up excuses. Just let her come for one night."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh my god, fine. Whatever then. Let her come."

"Just ignore her! Don't let it ruin your night. I just want everyone to come together and have a good time for the holidays. Hopefully Xion will show up too."

Roxas rolled his eyes once more and huffed, thinking whatever, though he knew that deep inside, a part of him wanted to see her too...

A/N: How many people are actually still reading this? :P Please leave a review if you are, I'm growing so discouraged by the lack of comments xD especially because my last two stories were so popular.

Either way, I hope you're all enjoying the story whether you review or not :)

Please review!