EDIT (5-20-2013): Wow it's almost been a year since I wrote this and I can't believe this got a number of faves despite the uber cliche-ness and amateur-ish writing. ;7; thank you for the support everyone. I hope to write more about these two in the future ;7;

June 14, 2012

Yay! It's finally here! Hope ya enjoy this! I spent all night making it (since I messed up bad on my last draft on this). I stayed up 'till 1am (Actually VanShi Day is over here already... Sigh. I was too late.)

You may be experiencing some OOCness. Sorry. I lack in characterization powers. And plus, it might be a little rushed. But still, I rather liked writing this. xD

Vanitas 101

Riiiiing!

And that was the bell signaling that the first period classes were over. And at the very moment when 2-B's Chemistry teacher left the room, all of the students sighed in relief, one of them screaming out "GOD IS A GOOD MAN!" at the thought of finally being able to relax. Well, at least for only a few precious minutes until their next class but still. Chemistry was always the main cause of a huge migraine, but it wasn't because of the lecture. the one at fault was actually the teacher himself giving the lecture. Sure, Mr. Vexen would teach them about chemicals and all that stuff that were deemed as useless and completely unnecessary in the future, but it was his way of teaching that bored everyone to death.

As their momentary freedom reigned on, all the students in that very class were either chatting with their friends or horse around like the jokers (or idiots, it wouldn't matter either way) they were, especially the class clown Sora, who was currently trying to do a tableflip while still sitting on his chair. Everyone was up and at it, except for the quiet Xion, her sapphire blue eyes darting from left to right on each page. She was concentrating so hard on her book, determined to keep reading on undisturbed until the last page of the book.

Unfortunately, that peace was short lived.

"Hey Xion, you're pretty close with Vanitas, right?" Even though frustrated at the fact that her concentration was killed, said girl immediately looked up from her book at the mention of her charcoal-haired best friend Vanitas, and her own gaze was met with a striking pair of blue almost similar to her own. Shimmering long, blonde locks hung limply on her shoulder as the girl tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear. Naminè had a very shy and small smile on her face, yet it was the same smile that made a certain silver-haired boy fall in love with her. Of course, the blonde girl doesn't seem to know that little yet already obvious fact since she's said to be as dense as a brick wall.

"Well yeah, I've been with him since the beginning, literally." Xion stated in an as-a-matter-of-factly voice, closing her book since she had lost her page and, feeling a little too lazy at the moment to bother looking where she left off, neatly shoved it in her school bag. "Why do you ask?"

Naminè shifted nervously as she looked from left to right, making Xion raise an eyebrow. Seeing that the other students were quite distracted, especially the black haired boy mentioned since he was caught up in an arm-wrestling match with his rival Ventus, Naminè made a gesture for Xion to come a tad bit closer. Her curiosity growing bit by bit, Xion slightly leaned in for Naminè to whisper words that only both of them could hear: "I want to talk to you about something urgent. Meet me at the back of the gym when lunchtime comes around."

Before the girl could ask what it was about, Naminè quickly strode over to her seat, leaving Xion with a questioning look on her face, as the bell rang throughout the school. As Xigbar, their teacher for second period, stepped in the classroom, everyone immediately went over to their seats, afraid of the pirate-like teacher for his way of detention whenever he caught students making any sort of ruckus; noise being one of the most likely factors to get you in a year of detention.

"Alright! Now everyone shut up and get to your seats!" Mr. Xigbar's voice boomed, causing everyone to jump slightly from their seats. Seeing how nervous his students were, the one eyed teacher couldn't help but chuckle with a smirk on his face. "Man all of you are so easy to scare, especially little gold fish there." The one eyed man smirked at Ventus, the blonde giving him a quick glare back. "Okay, class is starting you little runts! Now let's begin with…"

And at that point, Xion had shut out all noise from her hearing and started to think. What did Naminè want? Usually, if it was Naminè personally requesting someone to meet her privately, it was usually urgent, since Naminè is their ever responsible class president. So if Naminè wants to talk with Xion about her best friend slash school trouble maker, it did not seem like a good sign at all..

In a flash, classes were over, and it was lunch time already. Xion, not feeling hungry after thinking over her situation, quietly sneaked out of the cafeteria to meet up with Naminè a bit earlier than expected. "Man, let's just get this over with..." Xion groaned, growing even more nervous at each passing minute. As she continued to walk hastily at the back of the gym, she fails to notice a pair of golden eyes watching her intently.

"You're early." A voice beside Xion stated bluntly, making the raven haired girl look up. There stood the blonde Naminè, a small giggle coming from the girl's mouth.

"No, you're just late." Xion replied with a smirk as she stood up, brushing the dust off her uniform with her hands, before a troubled expression found itself up on her face. "Now what kind of trouble is he in now? Did he beat someone up? I'll go confront him and bug him to stop being such a-" Suddenly, Naminè erupts into small giggles, making Xion raise an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"It's how you're constantly pining over Vanitas." Naminè replied modestly, her words sending a rush of red on Xion's face. "It's adorable really. I guess I picked the right person for the job."

Xion's bashful expression quickly turns into a confused yet suspicious look. "What job? Nams, you know I don't like breaking a sweat."

"Um..." Namine's expression suddenly becomes quite shy as she averts her gaze and looks down. "I... kind of... really... like Vanitas."

A pang of jealousy and confusion hits Xion's chest. What? Naminè likes Vanitas? Xion always thought that Naminè had liked someone, and her suspicions were on Riku, but she never expected it to be Vanitas.

And if Vanitas did like her back, Xion would feel definitely be heart broken.

But still, it wouldn't be a surprise if he did - or already - fall in love with the blonde girl. Naminè was a beautiful and responsible student, and Xion was merely an ordinary girl whose best friend was, admittedly, a stupidly cute trouble maker. "And..?" Xion asked nonchalantly, resisting her urge to cry from all this.

"This might be a little embarrassing but..." Naminè gulped before biting her lip. "... Could you tell me... about him and all that…?"

"Oh" was all Xion could say after seeing Naminè blush. She must've been real into him, even though both of them rarely ever talk. Biting her lip, Xion thinks about her decision to tell Naminè on whatever could've helped her with Vanitas, and thought about refusing. But then... would some normal, raven haired girl, despite knowing about him since forever, even have a chance on getting Vanitas to like her?

'Maybe... she's good for him,' Xion suddenly thought as she looked at the timid girl again, who seemed quite nervous and kept looking from left to right. Imagining her and Vanitas together seemed like an unlikely sight… but still.

Thinking it over again for a straight five minutes of awkward silence, Xion sighs in frustration and shakes her head. "Alright fine. But I'm doing this for Vanitas."

"Oh cool!" Naminè squealed, unable to help herself at all. She grins sheepishly and straightens herself up. "So let me see… I kind of want to know um… just the basics and all that.

'I'm so regretting this later.' The girl then takes the deepest breath she could manage before she starts to speak. "Vanitas Fair. Adopted son of Tifa and Cloud Strife. His birthday is on-"

"Um, sorry to cut in Xion but..." Naminè spoke softly as she stopped Xion from speaking, making sure that she didn't sound rude. "... as class president, I already know some of his personal info. Well, except for the adoppted part. Could you just... explain something else like... well his first acquaintances before you?"

Xion cringed after hearing the blonde's words. Of course. Vanitas, being... well, Vanitas, any info the school had about him that he thought would be too personal was probably removed or deleted by none other than him. He liked it better to be more... 'hidden,' would be his preferred use of words. "Oh... Um, yeah! I know! I was just messing with you! And that info was sort of the basics for me." Xion, for the sake of her life, lied as she put on a fake smile and nodded. "Well, let me see..."

As the next few days went on, Xion and Naminè would talk in private about Vanitas, Xion remembering all the happy and funny times she's had with Vanitas, and Naminè getting to understand more about her secret crush (which, for some reason, Xion still doubted). It was always fun to talk about Vanitas for Xion, and it was getting harder for the raven haired girl to be angry at Naminè, since she was just so... well, interested in him. Thoughts of the blonde and Vanitas being together constantly dwelled in Xion's mind, and, along with that, continues to think how it would benefit both sides if they dated... And how heart broken she'd be if they ever did end up together.

"Sea salt ice cream?" Naminè questioned Xion after the raven haired girl explained one of the few 'for the win' moments of Vanitas. "He threw that at Mr. Vexen's head?"

"Yep!" Xion replied enthusiastically, throwing her hands up in the air. "And Vanitas was all like 'that's what happens if you give a god mindscrew!' So I guess now you know why both of them are in such bad terms."

"Wow, you must really enjoy his company." the class president smiles tenderly, catching Xion off guard. Suddenly, the blonde's expression becomes distant and curious. "Xion... My next question might be weird but would you mind if I asked why Vanitas is... well, Vanitas?"

"Oh." Again, said girl was caught off guard before shrugging. She didn't expect this question to come at her at all.

'I might be insane and probably going to be killed by Vanitas, but I might as well answer.'"Huh, well, Vanitas has had his persona for so long; I often forget he once used to be a lot like…" Xion searched for the right person to compare him to, before snapping her fingers and smiling gleefully. "Yes now I remember. He once used to be somewhat like… Sora."

"Whaaat? Really? Sora?"

Xion couldn't help but giggle at the blonde's reaction, and usually it was very hard to surprise someone like her. Then again, anyone would be surprised if the meanest kid in school was once some kind of jester. "Yes, just like Sora. He was quite a comedian, and everyone loved his cute little antics." Xion smiled fondly at the thought of her childhood memories, memories of Vanitas and sometimes even her joining in, at a few skits and dances he'd pull of for entertainment. But then, her smile suddenly fades into a troubled frown before she sighed.

"Then... One day though, a certain...'accident' happened." Thinking back to the day of Zack Fair's death was sad for the little raven haired girl. Xion knew for a fact that Vanitas looked up to him a lot. "That accident changed him a lot. And let's just say... ever since then, I've never seen him smile again."

"Oh my... I'm... sorry." Naminè apologized quietly, a look of guilt and sadness on her face. "I shouldn't have asked at all. It must have been quite an accident to do something as drastic as that to him, even if, admittedly, I can't quite imagine it happen to someone like him."

Xion nodded, and continued on. "Cold and aloof. That's how he is now. But... there are still times though, when I see a hint of the old Vanitas back." Xion looked away, almost trying to distance herself from reality, and nostalgia was starting to come over her. "Yes, Vanitas may be a well known trouble maker with a huge sense of sarcasm and all that, and I know he likes it that way. And I know for a fact that deception's one of his favored ways of messing with people. One word from him and you'll probably end up fighting with your best friend."

"You speak of it so casually as if it's no big deal." Naminè frowned, biting her lip again as her class president instincts kicked in. "I know Sora would never do that, so I don't see why it would explain the old Vanitas. Plus, shouldn't his methods of trickery be a huge problem?"

"Years of being with him have made me grown used to it. I try to stop him once in a while though, and, oddly, he sometimes agrees at my pleas to stop his ways for a short time," the raven haired girl replied with a shrug before a small smile creeps up her face. "But there was always one thing no one knows about him though is that he can be kind if he wants to. Sometimes he chooses to stop whatever bad thing he intends to do without me having to ask. Sure, I'd have to do favors for him in return of being good or whatever, but deep down, he can be... well, 'not difficult' if you ask me."

"He's always there for me, and he's never left my side. He's literally beaten up a guy who called me names, but he never admitted it and came up with some lame excuse instead. I can't even believe why I'm best friends with him. I'll admit though, he's an arrogant, deceptive jerk with vocal cords made from sarcasm itself. But even through all that, he can be a kind, shy idiot with a good heart. And that's why I..."

At those last words, Xion noticed that tears were running down her face, and she couldn't help but cry even more. She couldn't even face Naminè, who had a surprised look on her face. "D-Don't look at me." Xion sobbed, frantically trying to wipe away the tears on her eyes. "Y-You'll be good f-for him. It's for the best, y'know f-for you and him to get together. Now that's all I can t-tell you."

"Oh shut up and stop being such a wuss."

Hearing the mean yet somehow comforting words, Xion reluctantly raised her head up to see who owned the voice. And before she could even process who owned the familiar shade of ember eyes, lips were pressed against hers, and strong arms were wrapped around her waist. When the overwhelming feeling of emotions was over, she finally knew who it was.

"V-Vanitas?"

"Who else, idiot?" said boy scoffed, a proud, cocky smirk firmly planted on his face. He then faced Naminè and gave her a smug, satisfied smirk before throwing some kind of book at her, which sort of came out of nowhere. "Here. Glad you held the end of our deal. You can have your little doodle book back."

"It's not a doodle book!" Naminè countered sternly, her petite figure making her glare less intimidating than it was supposed to be, before facing Xion and giving her an apologetic look and slowly walking off. "It was fun doing this Xion, and I hope to do it again sometimes." Before she could ask what was going on, Naminè had left the two alone.

Still dumbfounded, Xion looks right at Vanitas's eyes again, still searching for an answer to her question. "What the heck just happened?"

"Long story short, I bribed the pres to make you admit this, but man I've been waiting for weeks to pull this off. Man she had to pull off that stupid 'slow and steady wins the race' line." Vanitas replied lazily, still holding Xion noticeably close to him and their faces still inches away from each other. "And as for you... One, you are an idiot for slipping the fact that I'm adopted. Two, I can't believe you made me wait this long to do that. You're lucky that I can't hate you."

"W-What?" Xion stuttered, heat rushing up her cheeks. "B-But I should be saying that! S-Shouldn't you be going after Naminè? You both deserve each other!"

"What? Me and that blondie?" Vanitas snorted loudly, clearly amused by all this, and puts on his signature smirk. "That's never happening you little brat. Let's say she just had a quick role to play in this. Besides she likes that stupid pretty boy Riku." And suddenly, Vanitas gave the raven haired girl a somewhat playful glare. "I thought I made myself clear already on who I liked."

"Huh? On what?"

"... You are so clueless."

And again, Vanitas had pressed his lips on Xion's again, pulling her even closer to him. And the girl somehow found herself kissing back, and even wrapping her arms around his neck. After breaking the kiss, they both stared at each other with blank expressions, Xion's face redder than a tomato, before Vanitas made a move to smirk again and licked his lips. "Sweet. You taste like sea salt ice cream. Guess I don't have to buy any of that anymore."

"Ah! What? No! You can't just kiss people out of nowhere!" Xion growled, her face turning even redder by the second. "Gah, darn it Vanitas! I hate you! You stole my first kiss!"

"Nope you don't. Admit it, you love me. And first kiss eh? I should fix that." he questioned smugly, drawing their faces closer again, and Xion didn't intend to note. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she actually liked kissing Vanitas.

Thinking that he'd kiss her again, Xion's eyes fluttered close, this time determined to not be surprised. Instead of warm lips on hers again, her forehead was flicked, making her eyes open and almost ended up stumbling on the floor. Vanitas smirked triumphantly at her as he said, "I knew it. You are head over heels with me. Man, if it was this easy, I wouldn't have stolen that blonde's doodle book and kissed you full on the lips weeks ago."

Xion couldn't help but smile at the yellow eyed boy. "You are such a jerk, you know that?"

And for the first time in what might've been years, Vanitas's lips suddenly formed a genuine smile.

And of course, Xion didn't even bother to resist smiling back. And she realized how much she had missed his smile.

Thank you for reading, and have a happy VanShi Day! Hope you drop a review!