Fallen Angel

Chapter 3: Is it Love?

We spent most of our time together- we became inseparable. Because of each other, we became more outgoing, and grew some other friends. We all started to hang out every day after school. And when we were done, Namine and I would go back to one of our houses and do some schoolwork, and crash on the couch. We became the best friends the world had ever known- and everyone noticed it. They taunted and teased us lightly, because they said it was impossible for a boy and a girl to be just friends. But we ignored them, and went on with our lives. And everything was happy. And I didn't believe those kids- until two years later, when we were sixteen. By this time, we had both forgotten about our pasts, our incidents that brought us together- all that mattered was that we were together. 

It was a morning like any other for me. I woke up at 7 o'clock sharp, and looked in the mirror to see the same reflection I saw every day- messy blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and baggy clothes. I fixed my hair, or at least tried, and put on nicer set of baggy pants. I didn't have time for a shower today, so I grabbed a bagel and ran out the door. 

I ran into homeroom five minutes late. I probably smelled like sweat because I ran the whole 4.3 miles to get here, but I wasn't going to sniff my pits in front of the whole class. "Roxas! How nice of you to join us!" the teacher concealed her threat with a smile, as she said, "Please take your seat. I hope you have a tardy slip?" I handed her the required slip of paper. She looked at me disapprovingly, but checked me off on the attendance list. I sat in my usual seat, right next to my best friend. Alphabetical order did have its advantages. 

"Hey." She pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes, revealing a deep blue color that I knew only too well. A smile passed across her lips as I handed her a note. 

I couldn't find her broomstick anywhere. Ms. Slouge must've walked today. 

It took her only seconds to read the messy writing that would've taken Ms. Slouge a full minute to process. She wrote back,  

Or maybe she had Mr. Tuley drive her in today. I don't know what he sees in her. 

Now it was my turn to smile. I suppressed a laugh by biting my lip. The 'Slug' saw this tiniest of movements, and then saw the folded note in my hand. She put two and two together, and got a total of two detentions (given to me and Namine), and one soured mood. The bell rang for first period. We hurried to get out of the classroom, but were stuck at the end of an anxious line. 

A threatening tone called us. "Roxas and Namine? May I speak to the two of you for a moment?" We whirled around to see Ms. Slouge tapping a pencil angrily at her desk. After exchanging nervous glances, we walked up to her desk. "I know you two are 'in love'" She mocked the voice of a student, "but I will not tolerate any more of THIS!" The paper she held up was the note we had just passed. "Now get to class before I give you each an extra detention!" As we were rushing out, we heard her mutter, "Damn kids..." We both screamed with laughter as soon as we walked out of her class. 

When we had finally caught our breath, Namine looked at me. Her eyes were wet from laughing. "She thought we were in love!"I managed to choke out. I started off into another laughing fit. 

"Oh yeah..." Namine looked down at her shoes as she giggled nervously. Suddenly her eyes lit up. She lifted her head to look at me again. "What kinda movie are we watching tonight? I was hoping for a drama or a love story." 

"Whatever floats your boat." I nudged her arm a little bit, and she laughed. "Now get to art! You don't want to be in trouble, do you?" 

She smiled at me again. "Bye!" She turned around to go, but her feet didn't take another step. She faced me again. She leaned towards me and pecked me on the cheek. She danced away as she giggled. She must have been playing up what Ms. Slouge had said, for laughs I guess. I rubbed my cheek as I started towards gym. 

It was blitz ball day in gym. Blitz ball is my favorite sport in the world, but I wasn't paying attention today. I was thinking about Namine, (what she's painting, how she's feeling, and that kiss!) when a couple of guys walked up to me. I looked up to see that my best friends were standing in front of me.  

"Roxas, are you there?" One of them waved his hand in front of my face. I managed to focus my eyes to see who it was. It was Riku. "Hey man, are you alright? You seem... off." He frowned. Within seconds, his frown turned into a smile. 

"What?" I asked him, intent on finding out why he was smiling. Then I heard a scream that echoed off the gym walls. 

"BLITZ BALL!" I turned around to see where the voice was coming from just in time for the blitz ball to whack me in the face. It hit the floor at the same time as I did. Someone stood over me. I couldn't see who it was, but he helped me up. My vision was blurry, but I heard a conversation between Riku and... Tidus maybe? 

"What's up with him? He seems out of it today!" 

"I dunno. I just asked him but then YOU had to go and hit him in the face!" 

"Well excuse me for not being able to control this awesomeness!" If that was Tidus talking, he was probably flexing his muscles. 

"Let's get him to the nurse." 

"You guys, I'm fine." I interrupted, "I just feel a little dizzy..." My vision went black, and I hit the floor again.

I woke up in the Nurse's office. Tidus was sitting on the edge of the cot, and Riku was staring at a wall. As soon as he saw I was up, Tidus asked, "So Roxas, do ya ever think about Namine? Ya know, in that special sorta way?" The guys cracked up.  

My face flushed. "Of course not!" I wasn't lying- up until now, she had been my best friend and only that. The only time I had ever been infatuated by her was when I first met her. Things had settled down so quickly after we talked that day... what did we even talk about? I thought about it again. I could see why they'd tease me. I was always with her, sometimes holding her hand, hugging her when she was sad. I was sixteen now. I was finally old enough to understand we looked more like a couple then most couples did. And the more I thought about, the better it sounded. "Where did you come up with THAT idea?" I pretended to be insulted. 

"Well, you were daydreaming today man, so I just thought..." Tidus trailed off when Riku told him to shut the hell up. 

I didn't see Namine for the rest of the day. The seconds ticked by impossibly slow. They turned into minutes, which turned into hours. The day came to a happy end when I walked outside to see Namine smiling at me. 

She ran up to me, and held out a thick piece of oak tag. Another brilliant smile escaped from her lips. "For me?" She nodded as I reached for the paper. She jerked it away then laughed.  

"For later." She winked with her promise. It looked almost... seductive? She must still be thinking about what Ms. Slouge said. I laughed a little, then pulled Namine into a headlock. I gave her a light 'wet willy'. She bit my arm playfully. I pretended to be in pain, and let go. We both cracked up again. I looked up to see that the kids who were still here were staring at us. Apparently, we had made quite the scene.  

I casually put my arm around her shoulders. "C'mon." I looked at her pale, smiling face, "Let's go home." I smiled at the thought of us sharing a home, of us being together. I suddenly knew what had to happen. My smile only grew wider.