Part Three

Sora didn't let me off the hook after that. Maybe it was to make up for all the time we've missed or maybe he was worried that I would do something drastic (I don't blame him, I'd be worried too) but the next day when school started again, he followed me around and made sure I attended most of my classes. (Guess Naminé and Cloud figured out about my ditching scheme.) but I didn't mind... or care...

I felt like a zombie walking along in a mass crowd of happy faces and ignorant minds. I don't know how many times I wished to be just like everybody else... But I shouldn't think this way...

The ongoing battle of memories went on in my mind, even if no one could see, even if no one cared-it never stopped its endless repeat. I needed a distraction, something funny! Something interesting, weird, crazy-I don't know-anything to keep my sanity at bay!

And as if on cue, something interesting, weird and crazy happened that kept myself preoccupied.

It all happened during homeroom one day when Mrs. Novack had finished attendance and allowed the rest of the class as a free period. The rest of the class broke off into groups with their friends; words of gossip, advice, secrets all flowed through the air like usual. I slouched uncomfortably across my desk, my arms hanging off the corners of my desk and my chin pressing against the cool top. My eyes stole a glance in Sora's direction, spotting him pull out his vibrating cell phone in order to reply to a text. (No doubt from Riku.)

That's when something else caught my attention. Something bright red, short and girly. My eyes instantly flew toward a corner of the room where I saw Kairi strut her way—mini skirt flicking dangerously around her thighs—and stopped right in front of Hayner, Tidus, Wakka and Pence. The noise level in the class chose that moment to rise, drowning out all possibilities of their conversation but what I saw shocked me in awe-and wiped my frantic mind completely.

It was so damn simple too. In a few steps, she approaches, strutting her hips and flashing as much thigh as possible without seeming too whorish. Next, she bends a little, cupping her hands against her legs and squeezing her chest for a possible cleavage shot. Then she says something, they laugh, she laughs, she flicks back a few strands of ruby hair and casually does the same thing to Hayner. This is where it gets shocking, upon contact, she makes another comment, this time running her hands through his golden locks then down the side of his right cheek, to his jaw line, then his chin. At this point, the guys are shocked silent, all of them—except for Pence—practically leaning in closer for a better view, their eyes bulging wide with anticipation. And out of nowhere, Kairi plants a soft, chaste kiss on Hayner's lips. It's only five seconds long. She pulls away, smiles sweetly and walks away—leaving four incredibly shocked boys behind.

My jaw practically hit the desk.

"You know if you leave it open like that, you're gonna catch flies." Sora commented with a quick laugh, but I don't reply. As much as he hates it, he knows I won't. And even if I could, I'm too shocked to reply. No, scratch that, I'm freaking HORRIFIED.

My eyes continued to follow Kairi, only growing even wider when a distraught Olette confronts her. The look on her face is enough to break anyone's heart: her eyes are wide, glassy, her fists clenched tight and if I'm not mistaken—she's shaking.

I can't help watching, I always thought Kairi had a crush on Sora and I know I'm not wrong. Kairi does have a crush on Sora. I have no doubt that this is all a trick to make him jealous, but it's wrong—what Kairi is doing is wrong!

I could still hear Sora in the background trying to catch my attention, even going so far to wave a hand in front of my eyes, but I'm out of it - I'm eating this up in a desperate attempt of avoiding the horrid memories gnawing in the back of my mind. I'm not the only one who saw either, Naminé and Selphie are right by Olette's side—their arms crossed, frowns formed, eyes glaring—they look like two cats ready to unleash bitch fury in thirty seconds if Kairi didn't come up with an explanation. Kairi's the only one who doesn't look ashamed for what she's done.

Olette's mouth started moving. Again I can't hear what they're saying (That's starting to piss me off.) but whatever it is, it doesn't bode well because the next thing I know, Kairi snaps back, fingers pointed, lips moving in rapid rant and Olette looks more and more heart broken by the second.

In a matter of seconds, it's over. Olette dashes out of the room just as the bell rang. And I'm left hearing Marluxia's warning ringing in the back of my mind.

-x-X-x-

In history, I'm too jittery for my own good and Mr. Thatch's lecture about some war nobody really cares about wasn't making me feel any better, so I whipped out my cell phone the moment it was safe to and sent a text Hayner's way.

Wth! I thought u liked Olette?!

My text startled him—literally making him jump two inches off his chair—before he whipped out his phone and shot me a nasty glare. I smiled apologetically.

He sighed, letting his thumb fly around the number pad faster than mine usually does and snapped his phone shut quietly the moment his message was sent.

Seconds later, my phone vibrated: Rly? U ignore the rest of us 4 2 wks and the only thing u say 2 me is if i like olette? wth?! Not cool. & 2 answer ur question, yea i do.

I figured they'd be mad, but they would be disgusted if they ever knew the reason.

Then why did u let Kairi kiss u?!

Again, my text message startled him, only this time he didn't jump as much as he did the first time. One look at the message and his whole expression changed from shock to embarrassment and then to shame. He didn't waste time to reply.

who wouldn't want 2 kiss kairi? she's hot.

It was a lame ass reply and I knew right then that Hayner wasn't happy about Kairi's kiss either.

Kairi's not hot.

"You're only saying that because you're gay." He muttered, a smirk quickly overshadowing his shame.

I shot him a disapproving frown and texted again: I'm not gay.

"Fine. Bi."

Not bi either!

At this, he rolled his eyes but the amusement was still there. "Fine, you're gay for Sora."

"I'm not gay!" I snapped loudly, surprising Hayner and everyone else in the damn classroom to silence.

My hands automatically clamped against my mouth, my eyes shooting a nasty glare at the snickering blonde beside me. Mr. Thatch stared at me; eyebrows arched in curiosity, chalk still raised to the board.

"Thank you for re-establishing your sexuality, Mr. Uchiyama, but if you don't mind, we're discussing history not the classifications of human orientation."

Mr. Thatch isn't normally a strict teacher, actually he's a pushover, but the moment someone offends what he loves the most, he's on the defense and this was one of those moments. I shrank in my chair, bowing my head in shame as he turned his attention back to the blackboard. The moment I knew he wasn't looking at me, I shot Hayner my most threatening glare possible.

He only laughed.

-x-x-x-

Biology was the same.

Olette had been absent from class, which is shocking since she's never been a day absent in her life—even Pence hadn't shown up to class either!

Now things were starting to get serious. I had no doubts that Pence was probably looking for Olette but for her and him to be cutting one class meant serious business. And endless distractions for me.

The moment we gathered in partners for lab, I whipped out my cell phone when opportunity arrived and started another voiceless conversation.

I know what you're trying to do and it's not gonna work

Kairi sat next to me; cerulean eyes focused intently on the lab practice in front of us, hands tipping the odorless, colorless liquid gently into the vial of green liquid when the familiar vibrate sounded from her pocket. She set down the test tube and slipped her hand inside, pulling out the ruby red cell phone and read. When she finished, she glanced my way-I was already glaring by then-and snapped her phone shut before she returned to the lab.

I was already making way for my cell phone for another text message interrogation when Kairi slipped another test tube into the rack and sighed.

"Did he see it?" She asked almost as quietly as a mouse.

I shook my head in reply.

She winced at the gesture until another heavy sigh escaped her lips. "I wished on that comet, Roxas. I wished that Sora could return my feelings and love me the same way I love him, but it's been two weeks since then." She bit her bottom lip in consternation, her glassy blue eyes finding their way back to my own. "So far nothing's changed since I kissed him."

I want to tell her that reimu is just a comet, a stupid piece of frozen rock that's floated through space for years. It doesn't grant wishes; that's only a family superstition. Yet that's not what comes flying out of my mouth: "That's a selfish wish Kairi."

I slapped myself mentally—that's the second time in a day! What the hell is wrong with me?!

Her face contorted in anger, her eyes turning to ice. "I know it is," she all but hisses like a venomous snake. "I hate myself for wishing like that but what can I do Roxas? Wouldn't you do the same if you've loved someone almost all your life?"

I bit down on my lip to prevent myself from speaking again. I can't take any chances anymore. I've been too careless.

I whipped out my cell again and texted as fast as I possibly could and pushed the phone into her face: If I loved someone I couldn't be with I'd wish for them to happy! with or without me!

Kairi's eyebrows furrowed, not in anger, but in confusion. I had no doubt that she was wondering why I was wasting my time texting when it was easier to just say it out loud, yet her anger overshadowed her puzzlement and she huffed.

"So if Sora told you he was in love with Riku, you'd let him go?"

tck, tck, tck, tck!

Like that would ever happen!

She scoffed, violet-blue eyes rolling in disbelief as her anger quickly transformed into suspicion, a slender eyebrow arching upward on her forehead. "And why wouldn't it? How do you know he's not already in love with Riku?"

Damn it she has a good point. How don't I know that? Again, I bit my lip.

Riku isn't gay!

The red head snorted loudly, her eyes already rolling for a second time. "Neither is Sora, but that doesn't stop two people from loving each other." She shook her head in disbelief, making me feel like I just missed out on an important fact of life, but the very thought of Sora and Riku being together left my stomach squirming.

Even my mind started retreating into the dark grasps of hopelessness and fear.

I couldn't let that happen.

"I - I challenge you, Kairi Uchida!" What the hell am I thinking?! "I'll prove to you that Sora is not in love with Riku!" Inside I'm panicking. Panicking because for the third time in a day, I've broken silentium within only two classes. I've become too comfortable, this has to stop!

Confusion flashes on Kairi's face briefly but soon, her eyes are burning passionately with determination and an expression washes of her face that tells me she's going to get serious.

"Roxas Uchiyama," She announced suddenly, "As a firm believer in true love, I accept your challenge and will prove to you that the only person Sora will ever love is me! This isn't over, Roxy." she accentuated my nickname teasingly just as the bell rang, signaling the end of Biology.

We glared at each other—more like she glared—before cleaning up the neglected lab equipment.

I have no idea what I'm thinking anymore.

Transition time after Biology was considerably longer than the first two classes of the day because that was when Lunch A began (the school is crowded enough to have three different lunch periods.) So as usual, I made my way to the Algebra classroom—the designated meeting spot Riku had chosen for us—until I spotted a certain determined red head eyeing me from down the hall.

I cocked an eyebrow, curious and—to be honest—a little amused at what she was about to do. The moment our eyes locked, she gave me a quick grin before trotting over to speak with Riku and Sora, the duo hanging out in front of the classroom like always. I stopped only a few feet away; I just had to watch this.

The moment Kairi got close enough, Riku gave the girl a dashing lady-killer smile—the one that works on everyone else but the girls in our group—but Kairi doesn't notice. Instead she tapped Sora on the shoulder, causing him to spin around curiously—only to smile when he realizes its Kairi—and just before he opens his mouth to greet her, she grabbed a hold of his face and reeled him in for a kiss.

Something stirs inside me, the same sickening queasy feeling I felt back in the Biology room settles in the pit of my stomach. It's uncomfortable and adds more to the troubling thoughts that have been dying to run ram pet in my head since Halloween, but I refuse to let it. I refuse to let my guard down for anything, especially something like this.

Something else sparks to life inside me, burning deeply in the beating organ that is my heart. It isn't uncomfortable this time, quite the opposite, but it's giving me an urge to do something I wouldn't do normally... It would be too risky otherwise, but the fire makes it feel okay. My body's just begging to show Kairi Uchida once and for all that Sora Leonhart was not in love with Riku Morikawa!

Just my luck, she pulled away.

And I sealed the distance between us.

"Kairi what are you—"

She cut him off, her eyes glancing over to mine with a small smirk on her kiss-swollen lips. "Roxas." She greeted me.

I returned the gesture with a quick nod, my lips mimicking her snide smirk.

Sora's eyes widened in horror the moment he realized I was there. They widened as big as saucers once he realized that I had also seen them kiss—again. Panic flashed across his face.

"Roxas I—"

Without a word, I grabbed his shoulders, pushed him forcefully against the wall and pressed my lips against his.

I didn't miss the look of repulsion etching into Kairi's face or the sudden quirked eyebrow of the silver haired second year beside us. Inwardly, I grinned at my triumph, and focused the remainder of my thoughts on giving Sora the best damn kiss in his life.

My tongue slipped across his lower lip, silently, yet eagerly begging permission for sweet entrance into his mouth. He complied hurriedly, lips departing enough so my tongue slipped inside. I gave him my all, summing up all the passion I could muster and directed it into our kiss, tongues clashing for dominance, tasting the sweetness of each other, soft lips pressed against soft—everything that Kairi's little kiss lacked, I gave. So much so that by the time I finally departed, Sora lost his balance and slipped to the floor with his face burning red and his eyes in a daze, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

Riku looked amused and confused, but Kairi looked far from it. She was pissed, furious, outrage, anything—she was on fire.

I couldn't help but flash her a grin.

I laughed, waved them goodbye then disappeared inside the classroom. It was the best distraction I could ever come up with.

But it was too short for my liking. The memories were creeping again, flashes of flesh, pinches of pain, distant panting, gasping, breathing, screaming - "ROXAS!"

I jolted in my seat, startled eyes gazing around until they fell on ocean blue in front of me. Sora stared back at me worriedly, those dangerously soft lips of his forming into a slight pout. To think just a few minutes ago his lips were all mine.

"Did you hear me? What was that kiss about? First Kairi kisses me out of the blue and then you! Is there some sort of 'kiss Sora day' I'm not aware of?"

I rolled my eyes at his confused, frantic ranting but kept my mouth shut. Even if I was willing to talk, there was no way I was going to tell him about the challenge. I don't think he'd take the whole idea of winning his love through a game too kindly.

One of his sighs brought me back to reality. He stared at me, those deep blue eyes of his peering intently into my own, as if he were trying to figure me out in very much the same way he did back in September when we first met.

"You know," He began after a few seconds of silence, "I kind of wish there was a 'kiss Sora day'." - What? - "Then maybe it wouldn't bother me so much." He sighed, his eyes quickly glancing toward the door for any sign of our teacher. "It doesn't make any sense to me. You spent two weeks avoiding everyone and the last few days acting like a… like a zombie and now suddenly you do something like this?" He paused, his attention turning back to me with a new level of seriousness in his eyes. "Whatever is going on, I plan on finding out. Whether you want me to or not."

He spun back around in his chair, avoiding my attention throughout the rest of the class period. In all the while, I could only wish him all the luck in the world.

-x-X-x-

When the bell for lunch finally rang, the game of distraction - the game of proving to Kairi that Sora was not in love with Riku began again the moment we stepped into the half empty cafeteria.

Sora took off for the lunch line, leaving me alone to sit with a strangely sullen faced Riku. Instantly, the conversation Kairi and I had this morning played back in my head like a broken record, as if I needed more bad memories creeping from my subconscious.

" How do you know he's not already in love with Riku?"

Maybe Sora might not be in love with him, but what about Riku?!

And almost as quickly as the thought came, the sweeping paranoia that strived to rampage through my mind swept over me like a wave of water. I was in desperate need for another distraction.

My cell phone came flying out of my pocket the moment I sat down at the table. I was ready for another cell phone interrogation with Riku when said second year suddenly snatched the phone from my clutches with a growl and slammed his free hand on the table to steady himself from the sudden movement.

"Stop the texting already!" he snarled, snapping my phone shut. "You have a voice so use it!"

He situated himself back in his spot, his fingers still clutched around my phone while his agitation subsided almost as quickly as it had appeared. One look at my bewildered expression sent an exasperated sigh my way and he said, "Hayner and Kairi told me about your texting conversation. I don't know what your problem is with talking normally but I need to talk to you about something important. I refuse to talk to you if you plan on using your cell phone."

Two can play this game!

I shrugged my shoulders at the second year and looked elsewhere, suddenly spotting the red head I was looking for approach Sora from behind. When did she get to the lunch room?!

"Roxas, I'm being serious. I need you to do something for me." Riku's words sounded from behind me but I ignored him, favoring in watching what Kairi had up her sleeves this time.

They were talking; Kairi was casual, a smile on her face like always while Sora looked almost cautious and nervous just being in close proximity to her. He even gave her a feeble laugh. She pretended not to notice.

"Roxas," Riku started again, this time letting his frustration known through his tone of voice, "I need you to ask Sora out on a date for Friday."

I tried. I really, really tried to pretend I hadn't heard, that what he said just went through one ear and out the other, but I couldn't. I tried so hard to fight the sudden impulsive desire to wheel around and hug the second year for even suggesting that I should take out his best friend for a date. I tried so hard to prevent myself from cracking a smile or questioning if Riku is actually giving me permission, or that he isn't in love with Sora in any way.

I tried. I really, really tried.

Yet, silentium's strength over me grows weaker by the day. So when his words finally sank in, by impulse, I spun around in my chair so fast I felt my spine crack in three different places and screamed, "YOU NEED ME TO DO WHAT?!"

Silence fell into the half empty cafeteria. My sudden outburst even stopped Naminé, Pence and Olette right in their tracks, their own bagged lunches clutched tightly in their hands. Riku, being the ever so cool and collected second year that he made himself out to be, only raised an eyebrow (making me feel like an even bigger idiot for embarrassing myself).

Why is it that every time I speak, it has to be through an outburst?!

"Ah, sounds like home." Naminé smiled.

Before Riku or I got the chance to question the other, Sora returned to the table with Kairi trailing behind him and Hayner, carrying his own tray of lunch, following soon after. Everyone sat themselves down into their usual spots, only this time, Hayner sat beside Olette with his cheeks dusting pink. They smiled shyly at each other, trading off their drinks before focusing all their attention into their lunches. Their little moment didn't go unnoticed to Naminé of course.

"I'm really happy you two decided to get together," she beamed at the blushing duo, "You guys look cute!"

At that, Sora suddenly tore his attention away from his lunch and flashed a bright smile. "You guys are together?!"

"It's about damn time," Riku grinned, "you finally manned up Hayner?"

"Like he had a choice!" Naminé suddenly huffed, "If it weren't for Kairi's kiss this morning, Olette wouldn't be eating with us."

At this Pence laughed, "Yeah, no kidding." But the rest of us weren't laughing.

Hayner lowered his eyes shamefully, the apples of his cheeks glowing a darker shade of pink. Olette on the other hand shrugged it off, acting as though she hadn't heard what Naminé said at all, but Riku and Sora suddenly eyed the blushing red head with shock.

"What the hell Kairi?! First Sora, now Hayner? Who's next then-Roxas?!" (Don't drag my name into this!)

"Of course not!" The girl huffed heatedly. "It's not your business who I kiss, Riku!"

"Yeah but-"

"I thought you knew about Olette's feelings for Hayner?!" Sora gaped. "You could have hurt her feelings, Kairi!"

"This isn't about that!" She blushed suddenly, "Sora, I just wanted you to-"

But her words were never got the chance when Riku quickly interjected, "You shouldn't waste your time Kairi. Sora's already taken!"

"What?!" came the chorus of voices around the table, even Sora seemed shocked by this.

"By who?!" Kairi cried, already shooting out of her chair with eyes glazing in tears. "By you?" She pointed accusingly to the silveret. (Dark paranoia crept steadily back into my mind…)

But he shook his head, silver locks of hair moving silkily around his eyes as he shook. "My heart belongs to someone else…" He sighed, his expression softening briefly before his eyes suddenly found their way toward mine. "Everybody knows he's dating Roxas."

Silence descended on the table again, only this time, it was broken by the sound of Riku's incredibly convincing lie: "I'm surprise you didn't know Kairi. Roxas was just telling me how he was planning on taking Sora out this Friday."

That sonva-

Kairi blanched. "What?"

Sora quickly turned my way, his own cheeks oddly red: "you… spoke…?"

And then, the interrogation began:

"I'm so proud of you onii-chan!" "He didn't text this time?!" "Wow Roxas! You're taking him to the carnival?" "You spoke to Riku but not with me?!" "You planned this from the beginning didn't you?! I should have known from the start!"

The voices joined in volume, but the subject was lost amidst the speaking. First it was questions about how I was going to surprise him, where was I taking him, why on a Friday. Then it transformed into talk of the carnival that was going to take place that very same Friday. The conversation turned to argument, the volume rose again and again until everyone was striving to be heard over the other.

No body at my table noticed the prying eyes of neighboring tables that stared at us with amusement and curiosity, or even agitation for making such a ruckus. But of course, seeing that he's a popular second year, Riku noticed the straying glances and quickly jumped to his feet, slamming his palms on top of the table for the second time that day. In an instant, we were silent again.

"Stop with the arguing already. If Roxas wants to take Sora out to the carnival this Friday then let him! We shouldn't get in the way young love." I swear the corner of his mouth twitched at his own words. "Speaking of which, I think we should do something together on Friday too Kairi."

Naminé, Hayner and Olette suddenly perked at that, their own eyes instantly falling Kairi's way expectantly. For a moment, I had the weirdest feeling that I missed something important; something that Riku had said apparently got their attention. And then it struck me-this is what he wanted to talk about with me. He wanted all obstacles out of his way so that Kairi would have no choice but to agree to go on a date with him! How sly.

Too bad Kairi found the loop hole: "Good idea. We should all go to the carnival too."

"So you can eavesdrop on their date?" Olette scoffed with a role of her leaf green eyes, "If you and Riku are planning on going to the carnival, then Hayner and I will too!"

"Well that's not fair. Naminé and I don't have dates." Pence frowned at the prospect of having to go dateless. He looked over toward Naminé; half expecting to see the dejected look on her face but to his surprise (and mine) Naminé focused blue eyes intently on her pudding. She looked like a girl trying to hide something.

"Oh man," Pence suddenly groaned in realization. "Don't tell me I'm the only person without a date for the carnival?"

My twin gave him a sheepish look and said, "Sorry Pence." (Since when did Naminé get a boyfriend?!)

"Wait a minute!" Sora suddenly jumped to his feet, joining Riku, Kairi and Olette as the only four standing (surprisingly enough, neither of them heard the little exchange between Pence and Naminé). "What's this about a carnival?"

"Have you been living under a rock?" Hayner frowned, giving Sora a look that even made me feel like an idiot. "It's been the talk of the school since last week!"

And thus the arguments began.

-x-X-x-

The Carnival, I didn't notice before, not with all the turmoil of memories rampaging inside my head bringing me closer to the brink of insanity - and Kairi's pursuit on Sora keeping me distracted the whole week - but Hayner was right. The news about the carnival had been circulating through Twilight High that there were even posters and flyers plastered onto walls, taped onto lockers - mostly Sora's - and littered all over the school hallways (I even slipped on one).

It sounded like a good way to keep my mind off things, especially now that my game of distraction with Kairi was reaching its end.

It was safe to say that Kairi hates me. If she didn't before then she does now. Whether she truly loathes my existence or is scorned by the fact that I was right and her selfish wish would never come true—it doesn't matter because right now, all I see is that she hates me. The last few days was proof enough…

Even though everyone whined and complained that the week wouldn't fly fast enough, to Kairi and me, this week was over in a blink of an eye. And maybe to Sora too, who had to go through with all the torment. (I feel a little bad for making him go through this…)

Kairi had spent most of her energy trying to capture Sora's attention. None of her attempts ever worked. Thanks to me.

For some stupid unknown reason, I, Roxas Uchiyama, challenged Kairi Uchida into a game of winning Sora's heart. My plan was just to prove to her that he wasn't in love with Riku-(but the voice in my head keeps chanting 'distraction, distraction')-and damn it I'll get Kairi to admit defeat even if it kills me! Or worse, even if it means...

I rather not think about it.

The day we started this game, we were locked in a kissing battle. I call it level one.

Whenever either of us spotted Sora, we instantly latched our mouths against his, kissing him completely breathless until he either fainted from the lack of oxygen or pushed us away. Having the most classes with him, this worked to my advantage (but my mind kept screaming, warning me to be careful, to watch my back, to be never caught-) He never pushed me away once and I always kissed him until he was panting for breath or on the verge of fainting.

Kairi wasn't too lucky. Riku always interfered and if it wasn't him, it was Sora always running off and hiding until the coast was clear. She took out her revenge on me at gym during that same day. (Kairi's spikes in volleyball hurt!)

On Tuesday, Kairi went to level two of our game: gift giving.

She showered him with cookies, baked chocolate, candy, homemade sea-salt ice cream (Okay I was jealous of that) and whatever her girly mind could come up with. (I wasn't even sure how the heck she managed to find the time to bake all those sweets!) He'd accept everything; of course, he was too polite to say otherwise. (Riku wouldn't stop ranting every time she gave Sora something though.) He got sick before lunch and spent the rest of the school day stuck in the infirmary from eating too many sweets.

Me, I didn't bake him cookies or chocolates or any sickeningly sweet confections. Oh no, I got lucky. Tuesday just happened to be the day a highly anticipated video game would be released. So right after school, I bought him the new Ultimate Delusion XIII video game, bought him a newly released CD of his favorite band and even opted to sing him something.

That sealed the deal.

She got her revenge the very next day.

On Wednesday, with everyone growing anxious about the carnival that Friday, level three of Kairi's "Get Sora to Fall in Love with Me and Not Roxas" game took it another step further: flirting. (As if our game wasn't obvious enough).

Seriously, FLIRTING?! Ugh, what a fun day that was…especially since silentium kept my mouth glued together the whole day.

Kairi was an expert in that category. She could be subtle and innocent one minute then impish and naughty the next. She took pride in her ability and even managed to woo the brunet at one point in the day, but Riku came to the rescue. He picked a fight with the red head, which he lost miserably but by the time Kairi finished lecturing the second year about how her business wasn't his, Sora was already long gone.

Maybe if I wasn't so stubborn, I would have thanked him for his help but I didn't want him rubbing that in my face later. Again, I kept my mouth shut.

On the last day of the game, Kairi took level four a little too far: touching. As in, groping and… God only knows what she was planning for level four! We never got the chance to fondle Sora, only because Riku—who somehow magically-thankfully-heard about our game and talked some sense into Kairi and smacked some sense into me. (Seriously, did he HAVE to hit me so hard!?)

The rest of our friends managed to find out too. Sora spent the majority of his Thursday dealing with taunts from both Hayner and Tidus, the all knowing giggles from Naminé and Selphie, the cautious stares from Riku, probably making sure that nothing else happens, and Pence, who only patted the brunet sympathetically on the back during gym.

Then, before we knew it, Friday finally arrived. It was time for the carnival.

-x-X-x-

"Whooaaa! Check out the Ferries Wheel!" "Hey did you bring enough money for cotton candy?" "Let's check out the game stands!" "Kairi, how can you enjoy the rides if you can hardly bend down without flashing your underwear?" "It doesn't concern you, Riku. If I want to wear a mini skirt I will."

It's been a while since the six of us hung out like this. It almost felt like old times and it would have been just like old times if it weren't for the lingering paranoia that kept eating me inside. We had all gathered in the Usual Spot then left for Tram Commons where the carnival had been spread out, making the usually calm Twilight Town oddly festive. From the core of the town, all the way out toward the outskirts-and even the Sandlot-we could see decorative lights, rides, booths, banners and smell the delicious barbeques cooking throughout the town.

It was almost shocking how something as big as this could have slipped by me. Well, I guess I had a reason, but how could Sora not notice half the town decorated like this?

Speaking of which, the brunet beside me examined the crowd of people all smiling, laughing and just having a good time when he suddenly tilted his head slightly and asked, "You think they turned the Old Mansion into a haunted house?"

I whipped out my cell phone and was about to reply when a tanned hand quickly grabbed the phone, blocking my view of the screen, ultimately preventing me from texting at all.

"Roxas," Sora sighed, wiggling the offending object right out of my hands. "Why don't you just talk to me? I'm right here."

Kairi giggled, shooting me a scathing glare that reminded me - more like warned me - that our little game wasn't over just yet. If anything, I knew Kairi had one more thing up her sleeve. I just wasn't sure what.

"So Naminé," Kairi began, suddenly ignoring my presence all together as we began our exploration through the crowds of people. "I thought you were going to bring a date along to the carnival?"

That's right; I hadn't gotten the chance to tell Cloud about Naminé's secret boyfriend! How the heck did I forget that?!

At the mention of it, Naminé's pale cheeks flushed pink shyly, her blue eyes quickly darting away from Kairi's curious gaze as a mellow sigh escaped her lips. "I wanted him to come today, but you know how third years are." She gave an impassive shrug. (Third year? My sister's dating a third year?!)

Our group was slowly dispersing. With Sora and Riku running off to challenge each other at a game booth nearby - and with Hayner and Pence deciding it was time to try out the carnival food - it was just me, Kairi, Olette and Naminé. We came here on dates yet somehow I'm left with all the girls and my sister. Would this be considered luck or seriously bad karma? (On the bright side, it kept Kairi distracted.)

"Naminé!" Kairi and Olette gasped in unison, but it was Olette who finished first: "You're dating a third year?"

"Since when?!" the red head cried. I could practically see those violet-blue eyes light up in interest.

Naminé flashed her friends a sheepish smile, probably feeling a little embarrassed talking about a topic as personal as this. She ignored my gaze all-together or my presence in general since both Kairi and Olette were hovering close to her in order to hear all the "juicy" details. Me, I wasn't hovering. I just wanted to know whether or not this secret boyfriend existed.

"Well I've known him since middle school. He used to be onii-chan's tutor so sometimes he would come over our house after school." - Something dropped to the pit of my stomach at that. Why does that sound so familiar…? - "We met again at the Halloween party last month." She smiled, her cheeks flushing pink once more. "I didn't think he remembered me but-Roxas watch out!"

Wait, what-?!

My sister's warning came a little bit too late. One minute I'm standing behind Kairi and Olette, the next I'm smashing roughly on the ground, scraping my palm and wrist in the process.

"Oh no! I'm such a klutz."

The blood in my body froze over like ice. That… sickening voice igniting my scars a flame. I didn't want to look up because I knew . . . ("Onii-chan are you okay?!")

I didn't want to take that pale bony hand stretched out in front of me because I knew . . . ("Are you hurt?")

I didn't want to move-to breathe-to even exist at that very moment because I knew Larxene's figure was towering over me, green eyes observing, pink lips smirking… (Always watching…)

"Now, now, don't be a stubborn boy." She cooed, bending over slightly so that her pale hand grew closer toward me. "You're not hurt are you?" I didn't need to see her face to know those sadistic poisonous green eyes were gleaming in delight. Like they always were whenever it came to me. Larxene always loved my pain . . .

"Roxas!" (Oh God please don't let him see this!) "What happened? Are you okay?" Sora flew to my side in no time and even helped me to my feet despite Larxene's out stretched hand.

"What's going on here?" Riku's voice questioned from somewhere behind the brunet. I guess they were done with their game . . .

Sora's ocean blue eyes examined the expression on my face, his own brows furrowing in concern. I guess he could sense my despair - then eyed Kairi, Olette and Naminé for answers when his eyes finally fell on Larxene, concern quickly transformed into curiosity.

She quickly flashed him that sickening falsetto smile of kindness and opened her mouth to explain. It would only take her a few seconds to come up with a lie - something along the lines of me standing in her way when it was she who purposely forced me to the ground. She was a good liar, just like . . . back then (Don't think, don't think) and just like now.

Silentium's hold was dissolving again. Even with Sora's hands resting on my shoulders, even with him so close in proximity, knowing she was here ready to spin another endless bout of bull crap-again and again-NO! Having her being here, having her so close to Sora, to my friends, my sister-having her anywhere near around those that I cared about had my fear transforming into rage.

Before I even realized it, the strings of silentium snapped.

"Well you see-"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." I interjected, suddenly feeling all eyes fall on me. No doubt she wasn't expecting me to speak in front of her. I could almost feel her unexpressed anger boiling within, but I didn't care. Her anger couldn't compare to my rage.

"But your hand-"

"I think," I started again, feeling adrenaline and rage rush through my veins as I turned to face the woman who had terrorized me and haunted my very dreams. (In all the while, I could see Kairi, Olette and Naminé watch us in confusion and interest. I had a feeling Sora and Riku were doing the same.) "You owe me an apology."

Larxene's falsetto smile twitched at the sound of my voice, even her eyes flashed in shock before she caught herself and kept her act in place. Green eyes narrowed ever so slightly, it was hardly noticeable to the others but I knew better - Larxene Gray was seething for vengeance. "Hmph! don't make me laugh with such an insulting request." She turned away from the rest of us; her eyes glancing over her should at me in warning. "You should watch where you're standing next time!"

At her words, Naminé's expression changed to outrage. "You should watch where you're going!" She snapped hotly. "You ran into him!"

My sister's words were ignored entirely, just like everyone else in the crowd. The only thing that mattered to Larxene was what she would do to me the moment she got the chance. Her green eyes were enough to voice the unspoken thoughts swirling in her mind.

People who break their promises should be punished.

My rage suddenly fizzled to smoke.

I'm an idiot! AN IDIOT! Why did I even talk back?! Why did I even THINK of breaking silentium?! Why did I let myself walk into my own death sentence?

"Roxas! Slow down! Where are we going?"

She'll tell him what I did! She'll tell . . . he'll find me again . . . they'll, they'll - No, I don't want to think about it!

"Roxas!" Sora's voice snapped me out of my rampaging thoughts. Everything that happened suddenly caught up with me again.

I broke out into a run the moment my panic set in, it just happened that Sora decided to chase after me. We ran through crowds, knocking into some people, jumping over obstacles and avoiding what we could when my feet carried me toward one of the biggest rides throughout the carnival: the Ferris wheel.

My feet automatically stopped in front of the looming ride, eyes watching the rainbow of colors swirl and blink in a hypnotic pattern, lighting up the surrounding buildings and the various faces around us. Sora finally appeared by my side, resting his weight against his knees as he bent over for air. "J-jeez, what were you trying to run away from?"

Everything. My mind answered for me, but I bit my lower lip in restraint, still feeling the faint strings of silentium lingering in the back of my conscious. "Sora," My voice startled me. My lips were moving on their own accord. "I have…" the strings of silentium tightened its hold around my throat. "Do you want to ride the Ferris wheel with me?"

He didn't give me a verbal reply - his vibrant smile answered enough.

-x-X-x-

The height of the Ferris wheel wasn't anything compared to the Clock tower. From the clock tower you could see the whole town, how far it extended the moving dots of people from down below and the red setting sun in the distance. Being on the clock tower was special on its own but there was something about the Ferris wheel that felt comforting. We couldn't see very far, not like the clock tower, but we could still see the setting sun in the horizon.

Sora sat in front of me with excited eyes watching the horizon and the occasional balloon floating by. When we finally reached the top, the Ferris wheel paused, rattling the gondola slightly.

"I think we're at the top." the brunet muttered, taking one good look of the setting sun before sitting back against the seat, his eyes suddenly growing serious. The comfortable atmosphere between us suddenly turned to tension. I knew what he was going to say. "Something happened back there, right? With Larxene. Please tell me."

I felt the strings tightened then wavered because this was Sora. There was something about the look in his eyes that gave me courage and comfort. And for once in my life, I didn't feel afraid.

"In my third year of middle school, one of my teachers signed me up for a tutoring program. They would assign us someone from the high school according to how well they were doing in class." I licked my lips for a moment, casting blue eyes toward Sora only to find him watching me with intense eyes. "I was assigned to a second year with high marks. And with his help, I managed to get outstanding grades, enough to get into Twilight High but when summer came around…"

The strings tightened again, my throat instantly going dry that I had to cough.

Sora slipped out of his seat and found a place beside me. Tanned hands made their way to mine, encasing them with comforting warmth. I found courage through his touch. So I went on.

"My tutor found me interesting, I guess. So when I told him that I passed my classes, he invited me to his place to celebrate. I didn't have a lot of friends back then-" Sora's grip on my hand tightened, but remained silent as I went on. "So I was really excited to be invited anywhere, let alone somebody else's house. That day I decided not to tell Naminé and Cloud where I was going because I thought that maybe they would want to come. Or Naminé at least."

"When I got there, I was surprised to see his girlfriend waiting for me. My tutor only mentioned her a few times… but he invited her over to celebrate with us."

I stopped, not because I wanted to but because Sora's hand fell away from mine. I watched them grab a hold of the edge of our seats and tightened, as if he were bracing himself to hear something that could ruin his day. Maybe he was right. This wasn't something a person should say during a carnival.

I made up my mind then, just to spare him the trouble of carrying a burden that wasn't his but before I got the chance to tell him, his voice stopped me from speaking.

"Your tutor," he began, his grip tightening again. "It was Marluxia wasn't it?"

My eyes widened at the sudden shock. "W-wha-h-how did…"

The brunet shook his head, brows furrowing in anger. "At the Halloween party when I tried getting Kairi out of the bathroom, there was a window that faced the front gates. So I checked to see if you were still there…" Sora suddenly turned his face toward me, his usually cheery face distorted in anger with tears on the verge of spilling. But he didn't dare cry, at least not yet. "I saw him hit you! And you didn't even put up a fight. When you started avoiding us and you stopped talking… I put the two together. Please tell me, what did he do?"

"I'll show you." I whispered, lifting off my seat and began to pull away my shirt until my back was bared to show the world.

Sora's silence grew heavy and for a moment, I thought that maybe he was repulsed by what he was seeing, at least, until something warm touched the disfiguring scar. By reflex, my body flinched under contact but to my surprise my scars didn't burn with pain or prickle as a foreboding reminder. All I could feel was Sora's fingers.

"H-he did this to you?"

I shook my head. "Larxene did. When I arrived to his apartment, Larxene gave out the lemonade and slipped something into my drink. Before I knew it, she stripped me bare and together they…" Not even as the memory of that horrid day flash before my eyes did my scars burn. They remained for the first time in my life nothing but scars. "Anyway, when they had their way with me, Larxene decided to mark what was theirs. I spent most of my summer hoping they would never find me again, but they always did."

The gondola suddenly shuttered, slowly snapping me out of my reel of memories. I lowered my shirt again the moment Sora pulled his hands away and tried to face him when pairs of arms wrapped around my torso. I felt him draw close, his body pressing against mine when his voice suddenly whispered beside my ear.

"They will never hurt you again Roxas. Not as long as you have me and our friends by your side." His hold around me tightened. "I promise you that."

They will never hurt you again Roxas. Not as long as you have me and our friends by your side.

It's already been a few days since Sora said those words, but I can still hear them clear as day in my mind.

Not as long as you have me…

His voice kept repeating, like a broken record on an endless rewind, but it doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me at all. It wasn't like my nightmarish memories that re-play in my mind's eye whenever it wanted; it wasn't a constant horrifying reminder of something I so desperately wanted to forget.

It was nice.

It was comforting.

It was Sora's promise to me.

But most important of all, it kept silentium at bay.

"I can't wait for homecoming! I'm so excited!"

Selphie's overly chirpy voice suddenly derailed my train of thought, sending it crashing into the back of my mind. The world around me refocused again, rudely reminding me that I had once again dazed off in the bustling cafeteria during the wait for the rest of the usual posse.

"Homecoming?" Riku quirked an eyebrow as though it were the weirdest thing he had ever heard coming out of Selphie's mouth. Not that it wasn't impossible; Selphie had said weirder things before. "I don't remember Twilight High having this many events before. Back in my first year, all we had were stupid Valentine dances and school festivals."

That's right, how could I forget about Homecoming? It was the next big event on Twilight High's agenda. Well, official agenda, since the Halloween Party was more of a private senior thing and the Carnival was completely coincidental-wait a minute. Wouldn't this be the first official high school event ever? That explained the strange noise volume in the cafeteria.

That also explained what the hype this morning was about. Most of the girls in our class were so excited, they spent majority of their free time going on and on about secret crushes and love confessions and whatever the Hell-I couldn't make sense of it. Even the guys in our class were a bit pre-occupied.

It was just a dance! What's so special about a dance?

"So Naminé, are you going to introduce us to your mysterious boyfriend at the dance?" Selphie grinned slyly the moment my twin had finally joined the table.

Something dropped to the pit of stomach at Selphie's comment. That's right; I never got the chance to interrogate Naminé about her boyfriend. I spent the majority of my weekend re-playing Sora's words in my mind that everything else didn't matter anymore-not even the possible threat of Larxene's revenge for my defiance.

Naminé flashed a sheepish smile, a bright pink blush dusting her pale cheeks suddenly.

Selphie's grin grew more mischievous and she leaned her torso across the lunch table toward me—instantly earning the attention of Sora, who had only just arrived with Kairi in tow.

She beckoned me closer, arching her index finger in a come-hither motion. I complied, drawing my face closer toward her until she cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered into my ear, "Namy's got a secret l-o-v-e-r."

"Not for anything Selph, but I already knew imouto had a boy-" Wait. LOVER?! "YOU'RE HAVING SEX?!" I screamed, slamming my palms against the lunch table and shooting right off my chair.

Half of the lunchroom fell silent and turned toward our table, but I was completely oblivious to their curious stares. My attention focused intently on Naminé, who was bright red in embarrassment and hid her face behind her hands.

Selphie fell back in her chair, giggling, laughing—generally enjoying the whole fact that I'm too freaking shocked to understand that my younger-by-three-minutes sister has a sex life that not even Cloud and I knew about!

The rest of our table fell silent; all eyes focused on me curiously, all the newcomers (which included Pence, Olette and Hayner) having absolutely no clue what we were talking about.

"Have you told Cloud about this?!"

That got her attention. Naminé suddenly flew out of her seat; her hands pressed on top of the lunch table like mine, her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Don't tell him onii-chan!" She cried. "What I do with my love life is none of your business or Nii-sans!"

Silence fell between us, our cerulean eyes locked onto each other in a stare down.

I can tell she doesn't want me to tell, but finding out that my own twin was involved in that way with a third year behind my back when I still hadn't gotten the chance to ask Sora out—even after Kairi's little game—was scary enough. Besides, what if her boyfriend is a total creep!? As her older brother, isn't it my job to evaluate and make sure that he's man enough for my little sister?

Yeah, I think so.

Naminé's eyes widened in realization, reading the decision that flashed within my eyes. I jerked into motion, pushing the chair back violently and dashing toward the door before anyone in the table could realize it—she was right behind me as usual.

"ROXAS DON'T YOU DARE!" She screamed.

Everyone at our table quickly followed us, Pence already whipping out his portable camera—sometimes he took random pictures of us, don't ask why. He always said it was for memory purposes.

I burst through the cafeteria doors, my eyes quickly scanning the cold, grassy lawn for any sign of spiky blonde hair or a mane of chocolate brown. Whenever I saw Leon, I would find my brother that was usually how it worked. And just my luck, I found Cloud hanging around the bike rack with his other friends—Leon included. Automatically, my legs began to move.

"CLOUD!" I yelled as loudly as I could, which was surprising enough.

"ROXAS STOP!" My sister screamed behind me.

"CLOUD!" I frailed my arms wildly around, hoping it would grab his attention. "CLOUD! CLOU—uwaahh!"

My sister rammed herself behind me, her whole weight forcing me down to the solid, cold ground. I felt her fingers snake into my hair and force my face straight into the grass, muffling my yelling. I flailed against her weight, trying hard to get her off but she kept me firmly down with some unknown weight. I had no idea she could be that heavy.

"Sorry nii-san!" She yelled to Cloud, probably waving him off in hopes that he wouldn't approach us.

I guess it didn't work—her grip on my hair grew tight. Cloud must be coming over.

"Don't kill him, Naminé." It was Sora's voice. "I didn't get the chance to ask him out yet."

"Like that matters," Olette's voice this time. "We already know you two like each other."

Hayner suddenly snickered—looks like everyone caught up to our chase. "Yeah, the whole school knows you're flamboyantly gay for Roxas."

"Hayner!" The brunet cried and said blonde replied with a soft "oof" which could only mean that Sora smacked him somewhere.

"Hey Cloud!" resounded the girls happily, Selphie with a dreamy sigh, Kairi and Olette with casual smiles and my sister in a tone that only made her hold on my hair tighten more.

"Imouto, are you trying to be an only twin?"

"Never nii-san! I love Roxy too much." And yet she pushes my face further into the grass. Love you too Namy.

"Naminé," Pence sounded weird, maybe a little concerned. "He's not moving."

I only stopped resisting since I knew it wouldn't have gotten her off, but Pence gave me an idea. Playing dead might actually work.

"Is he okay?" Selphie's usual cheer made way for worry.

"Is he even breathing?" Hayner sounded almost as concerned as Pence and I could even imagine a frown on his face.

"Roxas?" Sora sounded small and almost disbelieving.

"Onii-chan?" Naminé nudged my head. "Onii-chan?"

When silence greeted them, the atmosphere swarmed with panic.

"Oh my god!"

"Somebody call the nurse!"

"Forget the nurse, get Aerith!"

"Somebody get a phoenix down!"

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" Naminé urgently slid off my back and forced me over—I held my breath for extra effect.

"DON'T GO INTO THE LIGHT ROXAS!" Sora wailed the soft rustling of grass made me think he fell to his knees.

"Quick Sora! Give him CPR!" Riku yelled with such a convincing demand that I could have almost believed he was being serious, but the damn bastard was joking.

"That only has a 22% success rate!" Olette, the ever so smart one cried.

"Roxas!" Cloud's voice sounded beside me, he must be kneeling—now is my cue.

My hand instantly shot out in the direction of Cloud's voice, fingers wrapping around the soft fabric of the plaid blue tie and pulled him down close to my face, his ear hovering above my lips.

"Imouto's sexually active." I whispered, loud enough for him to hear, but quietly enough so that Naminé couldn't hear us.

Just then, Cloud's face, which had been stricken with momentary panic and confusion, became completely stoic.

I sat up on the grass, finally silencing the panicking group around me and glanced back at Cloud and Naminé.

"Roxas!" Sora cried, throwing his arms around me. "We thought you were a goner! If you died before homecoming, I would have had to come and drag you back from the afterlife!"

"Is that all you see me for?" I muttered with a roll of my eyes. "A date for homecoming?"

"Idiot, I wouldn't want to dance with anyone else but you."

"Naminé."

Cloud's solemn voice ended our conversation and we all stared back at the two blondes staring eye to eye.

"Cloud?"

"Is that true?"

"What is?"

"You know what I'm referring to." He sounded utterly serious; it was three times more serious than the time he almost killed me. "You have a boyfriend." It was a statement, not a question.

Naminé didn't hesitate. She nodded her head, blue eyes flaming with determination and stubborn pride. She wasn't going to back down on this—I could feel it in my gut.

"Yes nii-san, I have a boyfriend." –cue the sudden gasps from the rest of our group—"We met back at the Halloween Party."

Cloud's eyebrow twitched exactly the same way mind did. That explained why I hadn't seen Naminé during the party.

"He's a third year?" Our eyebrows twitched in unison.

She nodded confidently. "His name is Marluxia, nii-san."

My breath caught in my chest. I didn't think I heard her right, but somehow I knew.

Instantly, my mind flashed back to the Carnival, Naminé's words ringing within my ears: Well, I've known him since middle school. He used to be onii-chan's tutor so sometimes he would come over our house after school. We met again at the Halloween party last month.

I'm such an idiot. I should have known. I should have KNOWN!

Without realizing it, my hand stretched out to Naminé's shoulder, forcefully—without meaning to—spinning her around so that she could face me properly.

"Marluxia?" I repeated the name, hardly able to conceal the wince. I hated the way his name sounded in my mouth. "Marluxia Ikeda?"

She nodded.

She. Fucking. Nodded.

My grip grew tight around her shoulders.

"Marluxia? The third year with the pink hair?" Hayner cocked a curious eyebrow, picturing the man's menacing face in his mind. "I thought he was going out with that french blonde girl, um, L—something."

"Larxene." Olette added with a nod.

"Yeah! Her!"

"I heard they broke up a while ago." Pence rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't like him." Riku shook his head with a frown. "He gives me a bad vibe whenever I see him around."

They went off, chatting, talking—they went off in conversation talking about the very man that ruined my life.

Sora was the only one who remained silent, his own hand resting gently against my shoulder. He was telling me he was there, like I knew he would be, but he was holding me back too. He didn't want me to run, he didn't want me to hide—he didn't want me to kill my sister for being so fucking oblivious.

My grip grew tighter again, nails digging into the cloth fabric of her white uniform.

She winced.

"Onii-chan—"

"Are you sleeping with him?" I asked, quietly but still loud enough for her to hear.

"I—onii-chan—"

I cut her off again; blue eyes glaring spitefully back at hers. "Are you sleeping with him, Naminé!" It came out more as a demand than a question. Whether it was true or not, I wasn't going to let my little sister go through the same horror that I went through.

She stared at me in silence, her brows furrowing in disbelief, like she couldn't believe that I was asking her such a personal question. But I wasn't going to back down and she knew it. The next thing I knew, she lowered her head suddenly, rubbing her right arm in the same way she did whenever she was embarrassed about something. She didn't need to say anything, I knew what that signal meant.

"Naminé—!"

It was Cloud who cut me off: "I won't allow this."

She looked between us, as if disbelieving what she was hearing, but her shock quickly turned into fury and she swatted my hands away from her.

"You can't tell me what to do! Neither of you!" She snapped at us, jumping to her feet. "I don't care if he's older than me, I enjoy being with him! He makes me happy!"

"That doesn't matter—"

"He's USING you Naminé!" I interrupted loudly, too many emotions swirling in the pit of my stomach.

"Ridiculous! Why would he use me?"

"So he could get to ME!"

"Not everything's about YOU Roxas!" She cried, her eyes shimmering with tears.

"You have no idea what this is about!" I shot to my feet, over towering her by two inches. "Marluxia knows you're my sister, Naminé! He's only dating you to get back at me!"

"NO!" She yelled, frantically shaking her head with her hands pressed against her ears. "That's NOT TRUE! I don't believe you!"

"Roxas! Naminé!" Cloud called, but we didn't hear him.

I didn't notice it before, but the rest of the group had backed away from us, yet stayed close enough to hear. Various on lookers glanced our way, some hearing bits and pieces of our yells while others heard nothing at all.

Leon stood at bay, ready to jump into action if need be, just like the rest of Cloud's friends were. They watched us from the bike rack, all eyes jumping from speaker to speaker, hearing but understanding nothing of what was going on.

I didn't care. Neither did Naminé. It was only her and I at this point.

"Fine!" I hiss angrily, my fingers flying toward my tie. "I'll show you proof Naminé! I'll show you what your fucking boyfriend did to me!"

"Roxas!"

I ignored Sora's pleads and ripped off my tie—flinging it carelessly on the cold ground—then moved toward the buttons. I didn't wait to unbutton everything, the first three buttons I reached, I pulled off my uniform—and the white tank—then spun around to Naminé.

She gasped audibly, hands flying toward her mouth, face growing pale.

I can only imagine how it looks under the sun. When in my room, the lights weren't always bright enough to see the full extent of Larxene's knife. It was probably worse now than what I'm used to seeing.

"Is that enough proof for you, Naminé?! Your boyfriend's handy work isn't pretty!" I slipped my tank back on, feeling subconscious under the reality of the situation and spun back around to face her.

She was mortified, horrified, shocked—whatever word fit her expression at that moment—she looked completely unlike my usually angelic, innocent sister.

"Snap out of this Naminé! He's got you under his spell, he's just using you in the same way he's used me. You're nothing but a stupid pawn to him, don't you realize that? He doesn't love you-he's only in love with himself, nothing else!" I cried, reaching out a hand toward her, but she slapped it away, her pale hands clenching into fists.

We stood that way, all eyes focused on us, the atmosphere tense. But neither one of us wanted to say another word in fear of Naminé snapping.

She never did. She never said a word. She couldn't say a word. She only shook her head and ran.

She left us there, standing around awkwardly with silence enveloping all of us. Olette and Selphie took off after her, no doubt the two planning on trying to console whatever raging emotions Naminé tried to hold back and make sense of the situation. But everyone else, me, Sora, Cloud, his friends, my friends-we all stood around, waiting, watching.

Waiting for somebody to speak. Waiting for an explanation.

It was Cloud who first broke the silence, demanding answers from me, demanding the story I should have told the day it happened…

So I did. I told my story, from the beginning to the very end.

When I finished, I hardly realized it, but somehow through my story Sora's hand managed to snake into my own, giving me a reassuring squeeze with every word I spoke.

She stopped talking to us too, my twin. It was the first time I saw silentium on someone that wasn't me. It was unsettling. Here she was, my once so jubilant, bright eyed innocent imouto no longer speaking, no longer happy. She avoided us-our friends, Cloud, me-throughout the whole day until school ended; then she only ignored Cloud and me.

She ate dinner in silence, saying nothing unless mom asked her usual set of questions: how was your day? What did you learn? etc…

After that, it was like we didn't have a sister.

The next day wasn't any different. She ate breakfast in silence, changed in silence, and sat alone on the bus in silence. Naminé kept her cold shoulder to everyone she knew-and it tore me up inside. I hated myself for letting this happen, Naminé is my imouto! I'm supposed to protect her, not hurt her. Not like this, even if it was meant for her well being, but knowing that fact didn't make it hurt any less.

"I can't take this anymore," to demonstrate my point, I dropped my head against my desk; reveling its cool surface. "Naminé's silence is killing me."

"Now you know how I felt." the brunet beside me chuckled, though his laugher subsided almost as quickly as it began. "She really likes him, doesn't she?" he frowned sadly at the thought.

I couldn't help but to agree. I felt bad that my sister had to fall in love with a creep like Marluxia. Hell, I almost wish her secret lover was Riku instead. Whoa, whoa, no way! On second thought why can't my sister just not date at all? There's nothing wrong with being single forever!

"Why couldn't she date Pence instead?" I muttered, sitting back up straight in my chair. "He'd make the perfect boyfriend for her."

At the mention of the rounded brunet, we glanced toward the other side of the homeroom where Pence was currently trying to break through Naminé's cold shoulder. But he, like everyone else before him, was ignored. Watching him turn away dejectedly made my heart tighten in grief.

This was outrageous. Marluxia wasn't even here and it still felt like his presence was around us. How long does he plan to keep stalking me? How long does he plan on taking away everything I love? What he did to me was one thing, but getting involved with my sister is another thing completely! Who next-Sora?! Not on my life.

"I've had enough." my own voice startled me, having it come out in a low growl; it sounded too threatening to be my own. "I can't take this anymore!" On impulse, my body jerked off the chair, my hands slamming palm down against my desk, alarming a few curious students nearby.

Sora stood up from his own chair, his concern and alarm etched on his usually cheery face. "Roxas," he tried, his brows suddenly furrowing thoughtfully as his eyes looked intently into mine. We stood that way for a moment, our eyes locked, completely ignoring the commotion around us when unexpectedly, Sora grabbed my hand.

"Wha-?"

"Naminé is your sister as well as my friend. Whatever you're going to do, I'm with you every step of the way." He smiled warmly-oh god did my stomach just flip?

I gave him a smile of my own, adding a squeeze to our linked hands for reassurance when the class bell rang, signaling the transition to a new class.

"Today after school," I told him, neither one of us making a move to leave from our spots. "Everything ends tonight."

-x-X-x-

Tonight, I suddenly realized, was the night of the dance.

Homecoming was kind of like Prom, it was the first official event of the school year—third year parties don't count—and were usually considered one of the biggest events that could ever happen to the average teenager, besides graduating high school. Honestly?

I could care less.

I was only going because Sora wanted to go… and because Marluxia wasn't going to miss the opportunity of flaunting my little sister around like a prized possession!

We were more than thirty minutes late to the dance, mostly because I was so inclined in not going, but Sora wouldn't have it. He spent twenty minutes ransacking my closet for a presentable pair of shoes and a worthy set of clothes that could remotely pass off as a suit for the dance. Maybe if I hadn't had silentium plaguing my very existence, I would have bothered to go shopping for appropriate clothes for the dance when Cloud and Naminé did.

Sora and I sat at the group table, eyes scanning throughout the gymnasium-turned-ballroom for any sign of blonde, blonde and pink. Luckily for us, there was no sign of my twin or her date from Hell. Not even his little minion was anywhere in sight.

I admit I feel guilty that Sora can't enjoy the dance like everyone else. I don't pretend I hadn't seen him watching Kairi and Riku dance (more like dry hump) together or Hayner and Olette engaged in a make out session very discreetly in the darkest corner of the gym.

I know he feels left out of the fun—it hurts me to see him look that way—but…

"I'm sorry." I sighed heavily.

"For what?" He frowned curiously.

"For making you miss out in all the dancing."

He laughed softly, slipping his hand into my grasp under the table. He shook his head reassuringly, a soft smile appearing on his lips. "It's okay, I don't mind. As long as I get to be with you, I'm happy." He laughed again, his free hand scratching the back of his head nervously. "Wow. That sounded really cliché, huh?"

I smiled at him, taking the moment into my advantage and leaned closer to him, our faces only inches apart. "Maybe," I whispered, my fingers caressing his jaw line carefully but placing my thumb onto his chin. "But it's cute." My lips pressed against his, soft, loving, caring—everything I wanted to remind him that he is.

He returned the kiss eagerly, just as soft, but passionate and hungry. He doesn't realize how much of a tease he can be sometimes.

We pulled away almost breathlessly, eyes half-lidded with growing desire, lips still parted, beckoning, calling—but we don't drift closer for another kiss.

It's at that time Naminé decides to show up with Marluxia at her side. The two of us rise to our feet, eyes locked into hateful glares at the pink haired man.

Naminé never noticed us; her eyes were always looking the other direction. She was avoiding me; I knew that much, but it still didn't hurt me any less. My own sister took Marluxia's side over mine.

The third year glances our way, the bored look on his face quickly changing into a mischievous smirk. His grip around my sister's waist tightens. With a flick of his pink bouncy locks, he led her to the dance floor without so much as a word to us.

-x-X-x-

Homecoming became unbearably high in tension.

While the rest of the student body didn't really notice it nor really bother to care, my friends and I certainly did. We were all scattered throughout different parts of the gym, eyes wandering all over the bobbing heads looking for a specific pink haired man and a sleek blonde woman. So far, Larxene hadn't shown her face yet. I doubt she would, she was never really that social and Marluxia is only here to psyche me out.

It's his little game he likes to play with me.

There was one good thing about him showing up though—I can't believe I'm actually saying it—but if Marluxia hadn't been so inclined on dancing with Naminé, Sora would never have gotten his slow dance. We exploited it—a lot—all in the name of spying.

Two hours since the dance began and there still was no sign of Larxene. Marluxia's angel guise wasn't helping at all either. At this rate, I think I'm losing this battle of his.

"I'm going to the restroom." I yelled over the booming music.

After the fifth slow dance had finished playing, the whole group decided to sit around the table to feast on left over snacks that were left for us thanks to Pence's quick thinking. The others were breathless, laughing, chewing on chips and drinking punch, soda, water—whatever liquid was in their plastic cups.

Sora's blue eyes scan over to the dance floor, pin pointing Marluxia and Naminé before nodding his head in approval. That was something we came up with in the beginning of the dance. We told everyone to keep alert and to always have an eye on him in case any one of us needed to leave the gym. I guess that was my paranoia getting the best of me. If Marluxia could manipulate my sister at his will, I didn't want to risk him manipulating the rest of my friends either.

I slipped out of my chair and left for the men's room.

The locker rooms would have been easier, but Coach Phil thought that we might use it for more than just using the bathroom. He had them sealed off before the dance began.

Stepping outside of the gym, I realized one thing: the hallways were eerily silent. Usually there was at least one group of giggling girls dashing back and forth into the bathroom at dances like this, but the strange stillness told me that everyone that mattered was inside the gym.

I think I was the only one standing out here.

"Maybe I should have stayed in there." I mumbled to myself.

"That's the smartest thing I've heard you say," said a voice that made my blood freeze. "Guess who, Roxy?" She giggled; her voice sounded closer than before.

I jerked around quickly, facing the pale face of the sleek blonde haired Larxene. Shockingly enough, she was wearing a long slender black dress that hugged the curves of her body with spaghetti straps wrapped around her slender shoulders. If she weren't my enemy and probably not about to kill me in bloody murder, I would have complimented her.

Pffft-Over my dead body!

"Larxene." I growled viciously. "I knew you'd show up."

She giggled again, her eyes flashing that too well known sadistic gleam. "Oh Roxas, is that how you treat an old time friend?" She pouted so sickeningly sweet.

"Like hell you are!" I hissed. "If you want to play games with me then fine, but tell your boss to stop messing with my friends! Especially my sister!"

"Marluxia is not my boss, Roxy." She glared spitefully at me. "He and I are equal. He's not above me!"

The ends of my lips twitched into a crude smirk. Larxene was quick to anger, but she was so easy to manipulate. No wonder Marluxia had her around.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you following his orders? If he's not "above" you, then why did he ask you find me out here?"

I glanced into the dark gym, catching a vague sight of the table our group sat at—we made a point to pick the table closest to the door, but hidden by the shadows so that no one would recognize who we were. I can't tell if any of my friends can see me with Larxene, it looked like the whole table was abandoned. I just hope they left to call the cops.

Larxene's malicious giggle tore my eyes away from the empty table. She was looking at me with that look of hers, her hands slipping slowly out of view.

"I've been watching you. I've watched you slowly shed that pretty little mask we gave you. And for what? For some little spiky haired boy?" Her eyes flashed briefly with hate at the mention of Sora on her tongue, but it quickly melted away just like every other emotion of hers. "Did you forget your promise to us, Roxy? Did you forget what silentium meant, hmm? If you did then it's my duty to REMIND YOU!"

She lunged at me, sharp nails suddenly clasping against my shoulders and ramming my whole body against the nearest wall. The back of my head slammed against the hard surface, shooting pain throughout the rest of my body. She slammed me hard against the wall again, trying her best to rip a groan from my throat, but I fight it.

I won't give her that satisfaction anymore!

She threw me aside with amazing strength, watching me stumble backward to the floor. Through the blurry haze, I watched her lift her dress above her knee—for a second I panic—until she slipped the small knife from her stocking.

The very same knife she used to carve into my back.

Instantly, my back flared in unbearable pain—I fought back the urge to wince.

"You've broken your promise to us, Roxy." She laughed, stepping toward me. "And you know what that means? People who break their promises should be punished!"

"Because that's what Marluxia Ikeda did to you, am I right?" I snarled.

Larxene stopped dead in her tracks; her eyes flashing dangerously like the gleaming blade of her knife.

"What did you say?" Her voice was low and dangerous, like the low rumble of an upcoming thunderstorm.

"You heard me." I gave her a smug smile—I felt like a mouse trying to negotiate with a hungry cat—I never showed it once through my face. "You say Marluxia sees you as an equal, but you know what I see? I see his little minion trying to do all the dirty work for him because at some point, you were just like me! His little pawn. Where's your mark Larxene? Where's your silentium?"

"SHUT UP!" She screamed lunging toward me with her knife held high. "I'll teach you the TRUE meaning of SILENCE!"

My hands flew helplessly up toward my face defensively—a completely useless reflex but it made me feel a little better—before I heard the familiar sound of someone calling out.

A sudden screech pierces through my ears, the high pitch wail echoing down the empty hall for only me to hear, but something tells me that I'm not alone anymore.

My eyes snapped open in time to see Larxene cradling her injured hand, the knife discarded carelessly a few feet behind her. Her eyes shot up toward the figures behind me, fire blazing frantically behind those emerald eyes of hers.

"If you want to mess with Roxas then you're gonna have to mess with us first!" Cried a voice not too far from where we stood.

I knew that voice.

I craned my head around, eyes widening in disbelief.

Standing by the second entrance of the gym stood… my friends. Every one of them dressed in formal homecoming attire, but with eyes that screamed overwhelming hate. Even Naminé stood beside Sora; her eyes filled with outrage and glimmering with unshed tears. She held something tightly within her fist, something that looked like a cell phone. Her cell phone.

No words could express how I felt at that moment.

"Give it up Larxene! We've already called the cops." Sora growled

"Yeah! Better not mess with us!" Tidus sneered, followed by various other gestures of agreement.

"You're outnumbered." Riku added.

Larxene growled in agitation, her green eyes jumping from face to face and her hand gripping tightly to her injured wrist.

"That bastard!" She hissed venomously. "That-that-son of a bitch! He never mentioned anything about this. I'm out of here!" She cried; dashing down the hall before anyone could stop her.

I scrambled to my feet, eyeing my friends making their way toward me. I couldn't help the smile that slipped across my face. For the second time in my life, I truly felt what it was like to have friends deeply care for you as you did for them. It made me swell with so much hope and pride. Maybe things could look up?

Or I could just jinx it.

"Stop right there." Click.

I forgot about Marluxia.

Sora and the others stopped dead in their tracks, their faces paling to unnaturally white colors.

Something cold and metallic pressed against my head—a gun, definitely—and the person whose index finger rested on the trigger was none other than Marluxia.

I would have broken into panic, maybe, if it weren't for the weird look on Sora's face. His seconds of shock and horror melted away, leaving behind a small mask of indifference, but it was his eyes that caught my attention. His beautiful deep ocean blue eyes were filled with confidence, determination and a small hint of triumph.

It was then that I realized everything was going to be all right. There was a plan unfolding; I just had to make sure not to panic.

"If you don't want him to get hurt then do as I say," Marluxia sneered behind me. "Maybe I'll spare him the pain. Maybe."

That's when they did it. Sora and Riku glanced at each other in mutual agreement—completely destroying the atmosphere of spite that filled the hall. Every one—Sora, Riku, Naminé, Kairi, Hayner, Olette, Pence, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka—crossed their arms and glared.

I felt Marluxia stiffen behind me. He wasn't one to back down without a fight, but before he could get the chance to do anything—there was a loud crash from behind me. Marluxia's body instantly jerked backward followed by the sound of hard metal crashing on the floor.

I spun around instantly, wide eyes catching sight of Cloud already embracing me in his arms and Leon—along with their dates Tifa and a short haired brunette third year in a sky blue dress—stared down at the fallen body of Marluxia. Strangely enough, a blonde haired boy—he looked like a third year—stood by Leon looking as confused as ever.

Then, standing by the unconscious mass of black and pink that was Marluxia's body, stood a flaming red head with mesmerizing green eyes and triangular tattoos on the apple of his cheeks. He dusted off his hands, splinters and remnants of the chair he used to bash Marluxia's head in, flicked off above the unconscious man.

"I accept your apology, Axel." Said Cloud once he finally released me.

The red head laughed, rejoining his place beside his blonde haired companion. "Good. I always wanted to bash that guy's head in anyway." He grinned.

"The police should be here soon." Olette smiled. "Naminé called them in a while ago."

At that, I turned to Naminé, noticing the small apologetic smile gracing her angelic face. We stared at each other for a moment, the memories of our fight quickly dissipating in the vast darkness of our memories. Then, we hugged. Tightly.

She broke down in my arms, sobbing, crying, and clutching me tight like she used to do when she was afraid of the creepy things in the dark. I comforted her the same way I used to do…

I sang her a soft lullaby.

Sora couldn't stop grinning.

Christmas in Twilight High meant baking Gingerbread houses in Foods. Supposedly, Mrs. Potts said it was one of the hardest projects that we will ever do in her class. At first, I thought she was joking. What was so hard in baking gingerbread houses?

I was wrong.

Dead. WRONG!

We spent the whole month of December making, mixing, ordering and preparing for the big task ahead of us—baking gingerbread. Making them was easy; all we had to do was mix it until it turned into dough. It was everything else that was the hard part.

-x-X-x-

"So what's going to happen to Marluxia and Larxene?" Sora asked me the moment we were excused to finish our baking. (Mrs. Potts had us switch groups for this project, Sora, Riku, Hayner and I ended up in one group while Cloud and Leon ended up in another.)

Sora was in charge of baking the dough. He was meant to keep an eye on the clock and make sure our gingerbread "walls" for the house wouldn't get roasted to a crisp. Riku's job was to "construct" the house using the sticky, pasty thick icing cream we made a few days before and Hayner's job was to decorate. My job was to clean up everyone's mess.

So far I was the only one doing my job.

I shrugged at his question, caring less for the answer and focusing more on getting a stubborn stain out of the wooden spoon. I scrubbed the spoon relentlessly.

"What happens if they get bail?" Riku asked stealing a couple of Hershey kisses from our candy pile for the gingerbread house. "I don't know about Larxene but Marluxia can talk himself out of anything. What if he manages to get out of this too?"

"Don't know, don't care." I muttered, growing more and more furious with the spoon. "That won't help me get this stupid stain off—HAH!" Stain annihilated!

Hayner returned to our kitchen station, his arms overloaded with more bags of candy, when his face scrunched in distaste. He sniffed the air, brown eyes wandering around wildly before asking: "Hey does anybody smell something burning?"

"Huh?" Sora and I replied eloquently.

Riku's eyes suddenly widened, his attention falling straight at the-

"THE GINGERBREAD!" We screamed in panic.

Black smoke spewed out of the corners of the oven, a small flicker of fire could be seen through the black screen on the oven door. Sora wretched the oven door open, which made black smoke bellow out openly toward us and choked the very air we breathed.

There was a screech from a few wandering girls then panic. The first years in the classroom squealed, yelled, screamed—whatever the hell—all around the room until Mrs. Potts ran through the black smoke and sprayed the foam from the fire extinguisher all over the oven.

When the fire was finally put out, the smoke began to clear away, revealing the four idiots—us—that nearly burnt down the damn school. Sora's arms were wrapped tightly around me, his face only inches away from my own. Hayner cowered behind us, his blonde head poking out from Sora's side to watch the view and Riku—being the tallest of us—watched from all the way in the back, the three of us being his guards.

Nice Riku. Take shelter behind the first years.

Mrs. Potts glared at us, her hands on her hips.

We sighed in unison. "Sorry Mrs. Potts." I apologized. "We'll clean up the mess."

"Who exactly was in charge of keeping track of the time, dears?" She was giving us that Grandmother's-cookies-taste-like-horse-dung glare again.

My eyes instantly glanced over to Sora, who stiffened beside me. Hayner slipped out of view behind us, apparently he knew what that glare meant. Then my eyes traveled to Riku, the look on his face completely passive. Now that gave me an idea.

I returned my attention to Mrs. Potts, who was giving me a curious look when I opened my mouth and said, "Its Riku's fault, Mrs. Potts. He was supposed to tell us when to take it out."

"WHAT?!"

"Riku Morikawa! See me after school, young man!"

"But Mrs. Potts—"

"No butts!" She huffed and marched away, empty extinguisher in hand.

I smirked broadly. Revenge is sweet.

"Roxas, when this class is over, you're dead." Riku growled angrily, marching off with Hayner to get the cleaning rags.

Sora laughed suddenly. He snaked his hand into my own, intertwining our fingers together. "You know, when I told you I wanted to get to know the real you, I had no idea you were such a trouble maker."

I shrugged and gave him a small smile. "You owe me. If Riku is going to beat me up after school, the least you can do is make it worth wild."

Sora's smile widened brightly. "Don't worry about that! I'll make sure Riku doesn't do anything to ruin our date tonight." Strangely, his smile suddenly faded as though he had just remembered something that worried him. "You know, what if what Riku said was true? About Marluxia talking his way out of trouble, I mean. I don't want you getting hurt again."

"That won't happen," I said with more confidence than I felt.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because," the grip I held on his hand tightened and a small smile worked its way back across my lips. "Even if Marluxia does come back, I know I'll have you by my side. You, Cloud, Naminé, our friends-I'll be okay."

Sora mirrored my smile, returning the tight grip. He leant over my shoulder and planted a soft peck against my cheek.

"That's right. That was my promise to you. As long as you have us, you'll always be safe."

It was his promise-our promise. And Sora always kept his promises. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried, because I truly was, but Sora's words were comforting. They were always comforting. I would be okay. I knew I would be. Whether Marluxia managed to talk himself out of this or not, it didn't matter, because I had Sora by my side.

I would be just fine.

Nada: And that's that! All 14 chapters condensed into three parts, nothing added, removed or changed. Except for a few really irritating typos but that's pretty much it. If the switching of the tenses gets really annoying then I'll correct them but so far I'm gonna assume they're some what bearable to read through.

If you haven't already, go read the sequel!
And if you're a Silentium Veteran, know that you, my dear reader, are an inspiration.