Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was during the final week of eleventh grade that Sora decided Mr. Highwind truly was the scariest teacher at Destiny High School.

“Study Hall is for Studyin’!” He spat, the stick he always kept between his teeth almost falling out. “Sit down and do your god damn WORK!”

He and Hayner sniggered as Roxas scratched his head sheepishly, returning to his seat quickly. The three boys were a recipe for disaster when it came to their shared study hall time, and Mr. Highwind had the right of mind to separate them when they needed it.

“Good job, Roxas,” Hayner quipped as the blonde sat back down next to him. “That vein on his forehead is gonna pop any second!”

Roxas waved a hand nonchalantly. “Ah, Miss Gainsborough will calm him down in no time. We only have five minutes left, anyway. Then there’s only one period left!”

“Finally!” Sora stretched, resting his head on his pencil case. “Just one more week and it’s finally summer!”

Hayner looked up to check if Mr. Highwind was glaring daggers at them, but luckily Zidane and Blank were distracting him with their own antics. “We gotta make this summer count before we head into our Senior year. Did you guys see the homework we already have for English? As if I’m gonna read three books by the end of vacation.”

“What do you expect when we’re heading into twelfth grade?” Roxas asked, opening his diary to check if he’d missed any list-minute homework due dates. “I’ll probably leave it until the last minute anyway.”

The bell rang and the boys grabbed their books, heading for the lockers wedged in the corridors of the Junior school building. Along the windows of the classrooms were thumbnail photos from their recent prom. The school had organised both a Junior and Senior prom, so the gang had experienced it for the first time. They found Selphie ogling the photos, still holding her books from math.

“Come on Selph, we’ve got English now!” Roxas laughed, poking Selphie on the sensitive spots on her side. She yelped and jumped back.

“I just can’t help it! The photos are taking sooo long to come in the mail!” She whined, following the boys and retrieving her English textbook from her locker. “It was the best night ever…”

The boys shared knowing smiles. The prom had really been their first ‘adult’ outing. The guys dressed up in tuxes while the girls wore fancy dresses with heels, and they had danced the night away. Nothing majorly dramatic happened that night (to Selphie’s great disappointment), but it was an enjoyable night for everyone. Even Riku and Axel, who were in the year level above, had joined the troupe for their group photos. The boys had taken some hilarious shots which everyone still laughed at as they walked down the school corridor.

The four students stepped into their English classroom, which was also considered their homeroom class. Kairi, Naminé and Olette were already sitting in their seats. Then, Pence and Xion trailed in behind them. This was the only class where all the friends were together, so Mr. Leonhart had a particularly tough job trying to calm their chatter.

Xion was giggling as she claimed a spot next to Roxas. “I still laugh every time I see that photo of you and Axel.”

Roxas scratched the back of his neck. “It’s not my finest look…”

Hayner laughed heartily. “Your expression is priceless! I’m so happy Axel made it his profile picture.”

“I already can’t wait for prom next year!” Kairi squeaked, clapping her hands together.

“I already bought my outfit!” Selphie added, and all the girls looked at her in confusion. “What!? It was on sale!”

“Let’s hope you still fit into it in a year’s time!” Olette laughed, opening her workbook as a few more students came in. This included Tidus and Wakka, who were laughing amiably between themselves.

“Ooh, I can’t wait to do heaps of shopping this summer!” Kairi opened her school planner, which was adorned with stickers. “What do you say, girls? This weekend?”

“Alright guys, settle down…” Mr. Leonhart drawled as he walked into the room. When the gang first met the stark-haired teacher in ninth grade, they were terrified of him, but now they knew he was a softie inside. They could have a laugh and a joke with the serious teacher, but he still managed to get work out of the class, even Hayner. Though, everyone was still too scared to ask where he got the scar on his face from.

Mr. Leonhart took the role and the class worked on the beginning of their summer vacation homework, since all of their schoolwork for the year was done. While the class were stuck into novel reading and practice essays, he brought their attention to a poster he started to unroll.

“So guys, has anyone seen this poster around the school yet?” He asked, and everyone looked up. It was a poster with Destiny Shopping Mall’s logo at the top, and a tropical beach background. ‘SUMMER WORK EXPERIENCE’ was written in big, bold letters.

The class hummed a vague response and shook their heads. Mr. Leonhart sighed.

“Of course not, you’re all too distracted by prom photos…” He looked pointedly at Roxas, and everyone laughed. “Well, you might want to pay attention to the poster now. This is a great opportunity for you guys to get work experience over the summer. Most of you are 16 now, so you should be thinking about getting some experience on your resume.”

Hayner sighed, wanting nothing more than to ride his skateboard and spar with the boys all summer.

“The shopping mall is partnering with the school to give students summer casual positions,” he continued, “so you won’t have to worry about working while studying next year. It’ll give you spending money over the summer… and also something to do instead of causing trouble.” He looked pointedly at Tidus and Wakka this time, who raised their arms up in innocent protest. “Well, it’s something to consider anyway. Every store has at least one position, so you’ll wanna snag it before it’s too late.”

Mr. Leonhart pinned the poster to the whiteboard and the class resumed their quiet banter, but Sora kept looking at the bold print. “You know…” He said thoughtfully, and everyone turned to him. “That actually sounds kinda fun! I dunno about you guys, but I’m totally broke.”

“I know I am,” Hayner nodded, and everyone looked around in agreement.

“I guess now that we’re getting older we can’t ask for money off our parents forever…” Kairi said, wondering just how much money her grandma must have given her over the years. “And it would be super fun for us all to work in the same shopping mall!”

“Hey, yeah!” Naminé looked excited. “We could meet up during breaks or after shifts! And we could go to the movies a lot since we’ll already be there!”

“Plus, Riku already works there. How hard could it be?” Roxas gave a lopsided grin.

“That sounds really fun!” Selphie looked extremely energetic, her brunette hair bouncing up and down as she nodded with vigour. “Okay, but we all have to do it! It’ll be so much more fun that way! You guys in!?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the group spent the rest of the lesson talking excitedly about earning money and meeting up for summer fun. When the bell rang at the end of the day, they all grabbed an application form from Mr. Leonhart and scrambled to study hall to fill them in.

It was a strange sight indeed to see a bunch of sixteen year olds in the study hall after school, and Riku couldn’t walk past the building without taking a peek inside. He leaned over Sora’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “Oooh, finally gonna join the workforce, huh?”

“Ahh!” Sora jumped at Riku’s voice and turned around swiftly. “Riku, don’t do that!”

Riku smirked as Xion tore her gaze from her application form to look up at him. “That’s right, you work at Traverse Groceries!”

Hayner snorted. “Yeah, he’s a check-out chick.”

Riku rolled his eyes. “I’m a check-out dude, thank you very much. Anyway, I’m impressed. You guys sure you’ll be able to last the summer?” He pulled a cheeky grin.

“How hard could it be?” Pence shrugged. Riku just chuckled and crossed his arms.

“You’ll see. Shift work ain’t easy, kids,” he raised his eyebrows and smirked.

“You’re only a year older than us,” Roxas reminded him, but Riku stood a whole head taller than himself.

Riku relaxed his arms. “I’m kidding, you guys will be fine. Plus it’s nice having spending money for the summer. Let me know if you’re down for a movie night sometime.”

“Definitely!” Kairi giggled, smiling up at Riku. She didn’t notice Sora pouting slightly at this exchange.

Riku watched in amusement as the gang filled out the form, occasionally asking him for help with the finer details. There was a buzz of excitement in the air that was simply infectious; even Riku was looking forward to seeing his friends at the shops during the summer.

“Let’s see… ‘Store preference…’” Kairi mumbled to no-one in particular. “What store should I work at? Oh my gosh, I’ve always wanted to work at the cute juice bar!”

“Ohh, I love that place!” Selphie piped up. “The paopu smoothie is to die for!”

Kairi quickly wrote down her choice. “How about you, Selph? Let me guess… Final Mix?”

“You know it!” The brunette girl beamed, writing down the name of her favourite clothing store. “I hope we get discounts as a casual!”

“Where are you going to work, Roxas?” Xion asked, leaning over towards the blonde boy.

Roxas thought for a moment. “Hmm… maybe at Oblivion?” He said thoughtfully, knowing most of his wardrobe was from the popular surf shop.

“Ooh, I’ll go for Trinity!” Xion piped up then, quickly writing down the name of the stationary shop.

“Hey, isn’t that just next door?” Roxas asked curiously.

Xion feigned ignorance. “Oh, it is! I didn’t even realise! We might be work neighbours!” She giggled and the blonde boy laughed along with her.

From across the tables, Naminé bit her lip, slightly jealous at their exchange. Olette snapped her out of her thoughts. “Nam, what store would you like to work at?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kairi quipped, “The art store of course!”

“Oh, Dearly Beloved! That’s perfect for you, Nam!” Olette clapped, and Naminé looked bashful.

Everyone excitedly wrote down their preferences, most of which were retail shops. Riku watched on with amusement, wondering if having these Juniors around would change his work environment for the better or not.

 x-x-x

The last week of school always dragged on, but the anticipation of finding out about their new summer jobs made the week drag even longer. By Friday’s English double period, the gang were slumping in their seats, exhausted from the heat, and ready to leave school behind.

“Why can’t you guys be this subdued all year?” Mr. Leonhart joked with a serious expression. “By the way, Wakka, no breakdancing during class next year.”

“What!?” Wakka jumped up in his seat, appalled.

“Anyway, we’ve only got a few minutes until it’s summer vacation, and you guys already know what you need to do. And you better do it, because you might have me again next year,” he warned, and several of the students pretended to be upset or gag at the prospect. “Ha, ha, very funny. Alright, those of you who applied for Destiny Shopping Mall’s summer work experience, your letters have arrived.”

“They WHAT!?” Selphie jumped up, and soon the other teens were pushing their seats back and following her to the front of the class. “You could have told us at the start of class, sir!”

Mr. Leonhart smirked. “And miss those reactions? No way. Have fun over the summer, kids.”

They each took their letter in turn and ripped them open. Selphie jumped up and down and squealed.

“Yes!! I got into Final Mix!!”

“I got Boost Juice!!” Kairi jumped up and down too.

“Alright, Oblivion!” Roxas fist-bumped the air, and Hayner concurred his place in the surf shop. The boys high-fived each other.

“I got Trinity!” Xion exclaimed. “I’ll be right next door to you guys!”

“Naminé, did you get into Dearly Beloved?” Kairi turned to her blonde best friend.

“I did!” She said quietly, but she couldn’t conceal her excitement. “Wow, most of us got out preferences! Olette?”

“I got into Twilight Sunset Café!” The brunette girl beamed.

“Hey, me too!” Pence jumped in. “Maybe we’ll get to learn how to make drinks?”

“Or eat cupcakes all day!” Olette laughed, and Hayner rolled his eyes.

“Those two are serious sweet tooths,” he sighed. “Hey Sora, where did you get into?”

Sora looked up with a dreamy sort of look in his eyes. “Uncle Scrooge’s Ice Creamery…”

“Oh boy…” Kairi sighed, “You’re gonna be twice your size by the end of the summer, aren’t you?”

Sora just stood with a glazed expression, dreaming of all the ice creams he could taste test over the hot days of summer. The gang left him in his own little world.

“We all got jobs!” Selphie exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement. “This is gonna be the best summer ever! Let’s start planning how we’re gonna spend our money!”

“Shopping, of course! We’ll already be in the right place!” Kairi winked to the girls.

“And the movies!” Pence added.

“We can go to the beach and shop along the boardwalk!!” Olette clapped her hands together in excitement.

“Let’s see…” Xion said, scanning the letter further. “Our induction is on Monday! No rest for the wicked, huh?”

Their excitement was interrupted by a throat clearing itself. They turned to see Mr. Leonhart staring at them with a smirk on his face. “I hate to break up all this fun, but the bell has gone, guys. Don’t spend all your money, okay?”

The teenagers looked embarrassed, having been so caught up in the news that they hadn’t heard the bell go or realised the rest of the class had left. “Oh my gosh, it’s summer!!” Selphie shouted. “Let’s go, let’s go!!”

“See ya, sir!” Hayner waved as he and the others followed an excited Selphie out the door. The halls were filled with other excited teenagers ready to run out the door. Lockers were being emptied, giant bags were being hauled, everyone was shouting and throwing things about, and Mr. Highwind had given up on behaviour management for the day, waving a tired hand and heading into the staff room.

The girls quickly grabbed their bags, having cleaned out their lockers throughout the week. The boys, however, left all their textbooks in their lockers until today. Poor Sora couldn’t even lift his bag onto his back, it was so heavy. He dragged it down the hallway, wishing he had muscles like Riku.

Summer’s glorious warmth met them as they left the study hall, the sounds of the entirety of Destiny High School’s students clamouring to leave and the smell of mowed grass in the air. Sora took a deep breath, knowing the summer ahead of them was going to be a good one.

x-x-x

Chapter Text

x-x-x

9am may have been the earliest that Roxas had ever been awake on a summer holiday before. He trudged to the entrance of the shopping mall, the seagulls already flittering around in the growing summer heat. He barely waved to Naminé, Pence and Xion as he strode up to them, his eyes half closed.

“Mornin’…” He yawned, slumping against the cool exterior of the shopping centre.

“Your hair is abysmal,” Xion giggled, reaching up to ruffle his blonde locks. “At least you made it on time!”

“Remember when Roxas slept in for seventh grade camp? He had to chase after the bus,” Pence laughed and the girls giggled together. Roxas was too sleep-deprived to care about the embarrassing memory.

“Look, Hayner’s here. Make fun of him instead,” Roxas said quietly, closing his eyes.

Behind Hayner trailed Sora and Kairi, and soon Selphie and Olette joined the group. Selphie could barely contain her excitement as she skipped into the shopping mall, welcoming the gush of the cool air conditioning.

“This is it! Our first jobs!!” Selphie skipped backwards so she could face her friends, but soon bumped into someone. “Oof! I’m sorry- hey!!”

Before her was a very cheeky looking Riku, clad in his work uniform and crossing his arms. “It’s only day one and you guys are already in my way. Geez.”

“Hey, Riku!” Sora waved, and the boys shared a fist bump. “What time are you working til today?”

“Til 3. I’ve got a lunch break around 12 if you guys wanna meet up in the food court,” he winked, then quickly waved and headed off in the direction of the large grocery store. “Later! Don’t mess it up, Selphie!”

Selphie immediately pouted. “Big bully!”

The nine teens eventually made it to centre management, where they were lead into a large multi-purpose room. They entered excitedly, wondering who else from their school might have joined them in this experience. There were lots of students they didn’t know, but there were a few familiar faces: Tidus and Wakka, Zidane and Blank, Garnet and Eiko, Serah and Hope, and even some students from twelfth grade, like Aqua and Yuffie.

Everyone sat quietly as the management team went over the orientation meeting, including answering questions about the program. The jobs would run until the last week of summer holidays, which everyone was excited about. Soon, one of the managers took everyone around and dropped them off at their new job locations.

Kairi couldn’t help but giggle as she watched Sora step into the staff room at Uncle Scrooge’s Ice Creamery, staring at the menu in awe. She felt somewhat concerned when not only Roxas and Hayner, but Zidane and Blank bounded towards the surf shop. Those boys were bound to cause some trouble if they were working together.

Speaking of trouble, Tidus and Wakka were next, sauntering into the Sports supply shop with an air of energy that rivalled Selphie’s. Xion had already left, having headed into the stationary shop with Aqua. Kairi gave a hug to her best friend as she watched the blonde girl enter the art shop with Garnet closely following. She couldn’t even so much as wave to Selphie before the girl made a beeline for her favourite fashion store, with Serah and a younger student joining her. Olette and Pence headed off to the café, excited by the sight of all the fancy machines. Finally, it was Kairi’s turn – the Boost Juice bar.

“Guess we’ll be summer work buddies!” A voice called out, and Kairi turned to see Yuffie standing behind her. She was a girl of short stature, but her energy could rival Selphie’s any day. Kairi couldn’t say she knew the girl well since she was in the year level above, but Yuffie was definitely well known in the school and she looked up to the bubbly girl. “Kairi, right?”

“Yep! I’m sure we’ll have a great time, Yuffie,” Kairi smiled, and the girls shared a little giggle. They stepped into the small juice bar in the middle of the walkway, ready to learn all the secret recipes to their favourite summer treats.

x-x-x

“Alright! This is gonna be awesome!” Hayner said excitedly, slapping his blonde friend on the back. Zidane and Blank shared his excitement with large grins as they waited by the service desk of the surf shop. This shop was perfect for these four regular beach-goers; t-shirts, shorts, swimmers, sunglasses, surfboards, boogie boards, towels, drink bottles, designer Oblivion labels – everything a teenager needed for a day at the beach.

“You guys my summer casual kids?” They heard a voice from behind a counter and turned to the owner – a young man who looked to be in his early 20s. He had dark, spiky hair, which parted in the middle and framed his face. He wore a dark blue t-shirt that sat firmly against his chest, with a name badge that read ‘Zack Fair – Manager’. He was well-built and clearly athletic, which earned Hayner’s instant respect.

“H-Hey!” Hayner jumped a mile, in awe of this extremely sporty-looking man. Roxas chuckled and Hayner muttered a “Shut up…” to him brashly.

“Well, hello to you, too!” The man replied, giving the boys a good-natured nod. “You’re my Destiny High recruits, right? It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Zack and I’ll be your boss man.”

The boys shared names and pleasantries as Zack showed them around the shop, including the storeroom out the back and a set of lockers to place their personal items.

“You guys will get to do a bit of everything – customer service and stocking items. Don’t worry, it’ll be a piece of cake once you learn the ropes!” Zack smiled as he led the boys back to the front desk, where another employee was serving. “But I won’t go easy on you guys even though it’s your first job – you gotta commit to it!” He gave a cheerful wink and chuckled, indicating he wasn’t as serious as he seemed. “Right, let’s get you guys started. I’ll show you how to ring up the customers.”

“Wow, this is the real deal, huh?” Roxas let out a breath of excitement as he watched Zack put a customer through the computer system.

“This is called the POS system, or ‘point of service’. This is where you’ll serve your customers – sell them things, look up items, run returns, join the loyalty card, all the fun stuff,” Zack explained, going through all the buttons the teens would need to know to get through their first shift. “Right – who wants the first go?”

x-x-x

“Ahh!!” Kairi squealed, jumping out of the way as what should have been a paopu-flavoured smoothie splatted on the ground behind the counter. Yuffie doubled over in laughter beside her.

“Thank goodness we wear headbands, eh girls?” A woman chuckled, her long stark hair tied up in a high ponytail. She was wearing the Boost Juice uniform with a shiny badge that read ‘Tifa Lockhart’. “Don’t worry; you should’ve seen the mess I made after my first shift here. You just gotta make sure the machine is set like this…”

Kairi huffed as she watched Tifa fix the machine for her. “This is way harder than I thought it would be!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get there!” Yuffie winked with a thumbs up. “Besides, learning the secret to the island’s greatest smoothie shouldn’t be so easy!”

Kairi chuckled and had another go at the machine once Tifa had fixed it for her, and the rest of the mixture was combined into a delicious-looking drink – finally! “Okay, I think I can handle this…”

“Good,” said Tifa, cracking her knuckles, “because we haven’t even gotten into our famous boosters yet!”

Yuffie and Kairi glanced at each other with wide eyes, only just realising how convoluted the smoothie world really was.

x-x-x

“Heh, heh, here comes the squad,” Riku chuckled to himself as he watched his eleventh grade underlings head towards him in the food court. “And just as I was about to enjoy my lunch.”

It seemed the Destiny High work experience crew were all let out for lunch at the same time, though a few people were missing. The surf shop duo were chatting animatedly with Sora, and Olette, Pence, Xion, Naminé and Selphie trailed behind.

“Riku!!” Sora plopped down next to the silver-haired boy, eyes wide with excitement. “Having a job is the best! I learned how to serve customers and make fancy ice cream sundaes!”

“Better join the gym now, buddy,” Riku snorted, about to bite into his sub when Hayner slapped him on the back.

“Dude, Oblivion is an awesome dig. We get to stock the store together and go on those huge ladders!” He bragged, looking over at Roxas as if for confirmation that he wasn’t lying. “And we get the cutest customers!”

“Huh!?” Olette spluttered, having been in a state of quiet contentment upon completing her morning orientation until now. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Yeah, are you saying only the pretty girls go into surf shops?” Selphie leaned towards Hayner with an evil look.

“N-No!” Hayner stuttered, looking defensive. “I’m just sayin’…”

“Since when were you interested in girls…?” Olette muttered under her breath with a bit of venom, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of Kairi and Yuffie hooting with laughter as they approached the table.

“Guys, this is Yuffie!” Kairi introduced, her Boost Juice headband still around her auburn hair. Yuffie gave an energetic wave.

“You don’t need to introduce me to this crazy lady,” Riku rolled his eyes, “I already put up with her in math.”

Yuffie poked her tongue out. “You know I make that class way more fun!”

Yuffie and Kairi sat with the others, still giggling. Naminé eyed Yuffie carefully, but said nothing.

Everyone began to share stories from their first morning of real work. Olette and Pence already had coffee stains all over their clothes from their morning at the café, while Xion was asking Roxas if he has seen her at all during the morning shift. Selphie explained how she was working with a few girls from their school; Eiko, who was a bit younger, and Serah, who was in their year level. She also gushed about her amazing new manager who had the best sense of style. Naminé also spoke of her new friend Garnet, who they knew was Eiko’s friend. Several conversations were happening at once around the crowded food court table, and Riku just sighed, munching on his sub and wondering how long the excitement would last before they realised how hard retail could be.

x-x-x

By the time their shifts ended at 3 o’clock, the friends were utterly exhausted. They decided to head home instead of their plans to hang out afterwards. Kairi and Naminé were almost home, walking together along the quiet streets.

“Oh my gosh, apparently Sora passed out as soon as he got home,” Kairi laughed at her phone as they walked. Naminé leaned over and saw a text from Pence.

“Trust him,” Naminé laughed, a little flatter than intended. “So, you got along well with Yuffie today, huh?”

“Yes! She’s so funny, and even though she acts childish she’s totally mature,” Kairi’s eyes lit up as she spoke, exactly what Naminé was afraid of.

“That’s great…” Naminé trailed off, a tinge of worry in her voice. “Hey, we should organise a sleepover soon with the girls! Our summer tradition, remember?”

Kairi gave Naminé a sly smile. “We definitely should, but I wanna vamp it up this year.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yuffie said she went to a sleepover at Aqua’s last year, and all the guys were invited too. You know, like Axel and Riku and all them. We should invite our guys too! And bring some of our new friends along. You should invite that Garnet girl you work with!”

Naminé nodded in thought. Their group had always hung out together, but the guys had never slept over with them before. The thought of snuggling up in a sleeping bag next to Roxas made her tummy do flips. “That sounds fun!”

“I know! I think we’re ready to spice our events up like that,” Kairi said devilishly, looking back down at her phone. Naminé hoped that Yuffie wouldn’t be a bad influence on her – she could be a bit hyper when it came to parties and boys. Still, she was excited for what these new social opportunities would bring… as long as she and Kairi remained best friends.

x-x-x

Mall Worker Guide

Chapter Text

x-x-x

Riku began putting the money into the till for the morning shift. He looked up to see his co-worker, Lightning, bringing up the bags for the float.

“Hey, did you see the throngs of teenagers joining us yesterday?” He laughed, knowing Lightning’s little sister was also joining the summer work experience program.

“Like watching kids play,” she sighed, popping the bags into the back drawer and helping Riku with the tills. “Serah’s working at a clothes shop with some nice girls, so I’m not too worried. If she was working at that Oblivion place, I would have castrated those boys by now.”

Riku chuckled. “Come on, she’s gonna be in the eleventh grade soon. You can’t protect her forever.”

Lighting hummed a vague response before facing up the displays near the front counter. “I have a feeling there’ll be a fair bit of entertainment around here.”

“By entertainment, do you mean drama?” Riku snorted, closing the till and cracking his knuckles, ready for the morning customers.

“Hey, we won’t cause any drama!” cried out a familiar voice. Riku and Lightning turned to see Kairi, holding her handbag and feigning a pout.

“Oh please, bringing Selphie here was a recipe for disaster!” Riku teased, and Kairi hit him lightly on the shoulder. “So, you scored the early morning shift at Boost?”

“Yeah, but Yuffie’s on too, so it’s not so bad,” Kairi smiled. “Hey, why didn’t you ever introduce us to her? She’s really cool!”

“Exactly,” Riku said as he double checked the till, “she’s way out of your league. Now get outta here, I got customers to serve!”

“So rude,” Kairi rolled her eyes. “Well, have fun, guys!” She waved to the two older students before walking towards her own workplace.

Lightning smirked. “See what I mean?”

Riku nodded thoughtfully. “Things could get interesting.”

x-x-x

Naminé arrived for her second shift at Dearly Beloved. She had already made a mental list of all the art supplies she wanted to buy by the end of the summer, and that list grew every time she entered the store. She was greeted by her new co-worker, Garnet.

“Good morning,” she smiled pleasantly. Garnet came from a fairly rich and well-off family, which showed in her mannerisms and grades. Still, she was fairly shy and naïve, much like Naminé, so she got along well with the stark haired girl.

“Morning, Garnet!” Naminé said cheerily, and the girls dropped their bags out the back and put on their cute art aprons. “I hope it doesn’t get too busy today, I still have no idea how to put a purchase through!”

Garnet giggled. “Don’t worry, we’ll both get there eventually.”

Naminé smiled, enjoying the pleasantries they shared. Still, she felt a little sad that they hadn’t developed the banter that Kairi and Yuffie seemed to share. Maybe a few more shifts and they would develop some fun inside jokes…

Their job for the morning was stocking new art supplies, so they got to work unpacking boxes. They even had to get the ladder out to reach the high shelves. Naminé was holding the ladder while Garnet climbed up to grab a box. Just as she reached it, an unwelcome voice reverberated in her ears.

“Mornin’, sunshine!”

Garnet sighed, looking down to see a familiar head of golden hair. Zidane winked when they made eye contact. “Wow, you’re more athletic than I give you credit for, Dagger. I think I’m falling for you.”

Naminé’s eyes widened at the blatant flirting, but she looked up to see Garnet’s weary expression. “Zidane, please. Enough.”

“Aww, don’t be shy, babe!” Zidane gave her his best pouty face. Blank made a gagging expression several feet behind him and Garnet giggled slightly at the redhead.

“You’re going to be late for your new job. You don’t want to be fired on the second day, do you?”

“Not when I get to work at the same place as you all summer!” He said cheekily, then blew her a kiss and sauntered off. Both girls heard Blank mutter a “You’re full of shit, you know that?” as they walked towards the surf shop.

Garnet climbed down the ladder with the box, then stopped at Naminé’s shocked expression. Naminé knew Zidane was a flirt and often scampered around Garnet, but she hadn’t realised how forward he could be.

“Ignore him, he’s always been an incessant annoyance,” Garnet laughed, putting the box down.

“Can I ask what the Dagger thing is all about?” Naminé asked, having never heard this nickname.

“It’s really not worth explaining,” she sighed, but she had a wry smile on her face. Naminé wondered if Garnet may be falling for his charms, just a little bit. “He’s just being silly. He can be really sweet when he wants to be. He just likes to show off.”

Naminé couldn’t help but notice how Garnet smiled when she spoke about Zidane. She had seen them hanging out before, but Naminé assumed he was just joking around. “I totally get it. The guys in our group can sometimes become show-offs too. I hope Zidane doesn’t teach Roxas and Hayner his ways…”

Garnet laughed. “Isn’t Hayner repulsed by girls?”

Naminé had to give Garnet credit; she paid more attention than the blonde originally thought. “He used to be, but yesterday he mentioned that all his customers were cute…”

Garnet shrugged. “They’re getting older; I suppose they have to mature sometime.”

They grabbed some of the boxes and Naminé smiled, already feeling better about her new friendship with Garnet. Plus, this didn’t make her feel any less close to Kairi – she knew she should stop worrying about Yuffie.

x-x-x

“Eeeek, look at this dress!!” Selphie shrieked, placing it against her body. “I love seeing all the new stock!”

“Less shrieking, more stocking!” Their manager, Lunafreya, called out from the counter cheekily. She was a beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair, and she was very kind-natured.

“Will that fit me!?” Eiko joined in with the shrieking, looking through the sizes.

“Maybe in a year or two,” Serah quipped, and Selphie laughed along. Eiko pouted angrily.

“I’m only a year younger! Sheesh!” She crossed her arms childishly, showing her naivety. “Besides, I want to start dressing older like you two!”

“Why’s that?” Selphie asked, genuinely curious. “I like your cute style!”

Serah scratched her chin thoughtfully. “This wouldn’t be about a guy, would it?”

Selphie gasped in excitement. “Oh my gosh, do you have a crush on an older guy!? That is sooo cute!!”

Eiko’s cheeks flushed a deep red and her eyes widened. “H-Hey!! I’m not that easy to read, am I? Aww, he’s never gonna like me!”

Selphie gave her a dubious look. “Sweetie, you have us as friends now. We can totally set you up! Is it a guy in any of our classes?”

“We can give you great advice,” Serah nodded warmly, “and tell you which guys not to like!” She giggled.

“Well…” Eiko brushed her foot about nervously, looking down. “It’s a guy in eleventh grade. He’s really cute and kind… and blonde…”

Selphie gasped. “Is it Roxas!?”

“No!”

Serah hummed suspiciously. “I know who it is! He’s a bit of a player though, isn’t he?”

“Oh, you mean Zidane?” Selphie asked, and Eiko threw her hands into her face in embarrassment. “Bingo! Yup, he’s cute but a total player.”

Eiko dropped her hands and her mouth twisted into a half-smile, half-grimace. “Yeah, but he totally drops the bad-boy act when he’s being himself! He can be really nice and sweet… He only flirts around his buddies.”

“Hmmm…” Selphie crossed her arms thoughtfully. “It wouldn’t be hard to get his attention… I bet we could match-make you two!”

“Really!?” Eiko’s eyes lit up in excitement.

“We’re working at the same shopping mall, we could definitely make it work,” Serah added. The three girls giggled together and began making plans for how to set the two up.

“Girls,” Lunafreya called out with a tease, “don’t make me regret hiring teenagers!”

x-x-x

“Order up!” Pence called out, handing over a mocha whip and an iced latte to Olette.

“Thanks!” Olette took the tray and dropped the drinks off at the table. “Enjoy your drinks!” She said cheerily as she headed back to the counter. “I think we’re getting a hang of this!”

“I know, right?” Pence nodded happily, giving the coffee machine a pat. “This baby can make anything!”

“Uh oh…” a boy nearby them muttered, carrying a very large tray of dishes. The mountain of plates and cutlery began to teeter.

“Watch out!” Olette jumped forward and managed to catch the falling cups. “Hope, you don’t need to take this much stuff! Pence and I have your back.”

The boy, Hope, looked around at the pile of dishes with a blush on his face. His silver hair had traces of cocoa and coffee grinds. “S-Sorry, I just wanna help you guys out…”

“We’re in this together!” Olette smiled, taking half of the dishes from his pile. “We share the load.”

“Right!” Hope nodded, helping Olette to pack the dishes into the dishwasher.

“You’re in the same year level as us, right?” Pence asked as he began concocting a vanilla blend. “I’ve seen you hanging out with Serah and Lightning.”

“Yeah,” Hope nodded, “I’m in Serah’s class with Zidane and all them. You’re with Sora and all those guys, right?”

“Yup!” Olette nodded. “This work experience thing is great for getting to know more people!”

“I didn’t think our friend group could get much bigger…” Pence laughed nervously, knowing their group was larger than average.

“The more the merrier,” Olette nodded, and Hope smiled back at the two. He seemed quite shy, but Olette knew she herself could be quite shy at times. She was actually surprised at herself for taking on the role of the more confident, helpful friend. Maybe this job would help her grow?

x-x-x

“Watch out!!” Blank called out, trying to tame the out-of-control trolley he and Zidane were supposed to be maneuvering.

“Yikes!” Zidane shouted, and the two clumsy boys crashed their trolley into a surfboard display. The pile of surfboards fell on top of the two, and they yelped rather effeminately.

Roxas and Hayner doubled over with laughter from the service desk, knowing their two friends were attracting quite the audience, including some of the cute girls Hayner was talking about. Zack came out from the manager’s office and sighed.

“Get a hold of yourself, kids,” He ordered as the two boys struggled to escape from the pile of stock. “You’re going to clean this up immediately.”

“Yes sir,” Zidane and Blank said in unison, rubbing their sore backs.

“Then you’re gonna give me 50 squats for messing around,” he added before heading back into his office. Zidane and Blank shared shocked expressions, while Roxas and Hayner laughed even harder.

Zidane pouted, embarrassed. “Laugh all you want, guys, after 50 squats I’ll be reeling in the ladies!”

“What was that?” a familiar voice asked from the doorway. Xion had popped over from her shop next door. “Oh my gosh!”

Roxas laughed even harder and Hayner nodded proudly. “Don’tcha wish you worked with us now, Xi?”

“If I wanted a few extra bruises, sure,” she said with raised eyebrows, watching Zidane and Blank grudgingly clean up the mess. “Never a dull moment over here.”

“Nope,” Roxas said distractedly, taking photos of the two boys.

x-x-x

“I’m exhausted…” Sora sighed as he hunched over his table. Riku just chuckled.

“Knew you wouldn’t last two shifts,” he said slyly, munching on his hot chips. The crew had met up for another lunch break.

“Look who I found!” Roxas shouted as he headed over with Xion, Hayner, and a familiar redhead.

“Axel!” Naminé smiled, greeting their other twelfth grade friend. Axel and Roxas were childhood friends, and he and Riku were in the same class.

“Hey fam,” Axel waved, wearing his flaming red work shirt from the spicy food stand in the food court. “Finally earning that dosh, eh?” He dropped a bag of prawn crackers on the table and Sora instantly perked up.

“Man, I love all of us having jobs!” He mumbled as he munched on a cracker. The others quickly joined in as Axel sat down.

“Geez, Riku, this place is really gonna liven up now!” He joked with his friend, wiping his sweaty brow from the cooking. “Now we have to babysit.”

“Ouch!” Xion quipped, thumping Axel on his side. “If anyone’s immature here, it’s you!”

“Shhh, eat your crackers and hush,” Axel teased, earning another thump. “Gosh, kids get cranky when they’re tired!”

x-x-x

The gang slowly got used to the grind of regular work hours, and soon it was already Saturday. After everyone had finished their weekend shifts, they met up at Agrabah Bazaar, the popular arcade near the movie theatre, for a night of fun before the movies.

“Hey Sora, y’know that pedal thing down there? It’s called an accelerator, old man!!” Hayner quipped as he sped around the corner of the virtual racetrack, turning the wheel quickly.

“Ha!” Sora laughed, leaning over to try and steer Hayner off-track. “Who’s slow now, grandpa?”

“You cheater!” Hayner shouted, leaning over to try and knock Sora’s foot off the pedals. “Try to stay in the lines, gramps!!”

“Get off the road, jackass!” Sora laughed, and both boys were in hysterics as they tried to drive. Olette and Xion were cheering behind their seats, while Roxas and Pence were joining in on the shouting.

“Boys…” Kairi rolled her eyes as she turned back to watch Yuffie and Riku verse in a match of a virtual dancing game. It was neck-and-neck, and she was watching with amusement. “This was the best idea to celebrate our first week of working!”

Somehow, the entire group and their coworkers had joined for a night of games, dinner and a movie. Garnet and Eiko were nearby playing a button pressing speed game, with Zidane and Blank cheering them on. Naminé and Selphie were chatting with Axel by the prize stand, wondering what Axel should purchase with his tickets (he dominated every game). Hope, Serah, Lightning and Aqua were watching Tidus and Wakka in a heated basketball hoop match (Wakka was winning). Kairi smiled, loving how big the friend group was getting now that they had jobs and were branching out more.

After a delicious and hectic dinner at the famous grill place next door, the teenagers headed into the theatre to watch the movie – an action-packed superhero movie (with a bit of romance and wit thrown in to keep the girls happy). Naminé tried to make a tactical move to sit next to Roxas, but he was wedged between Hayner and Xion. She settled in next to Kairi and Garnet sat on the other side, only to be joined by Zidane. Naminé gave Garnet a sideways glance and they shared a giggle. Naminé wondered if Zidane might try to pull some cliché movie theatre stunts, but to her surprise he sat and watched the movie the entire time.

‘I wonder if anyone will be together by the end of summer…’ Naminé thought to herself. She knew there was definitely some romantic tension in the air, and with her own crush on Roxas, it was hard not to get sucked into the excitement of a romantic summer. ‘Just maybe…’

x-x-x

Chapter Text

x-x-x

Lunafreya could only shake her head with a smile as the three work experience girls were doing anything but being diligent workers. They were currently huddled up near the changing rooms, going through copious amounts of dresses, crop tops and shorts.

“It has to be sexy,” Selphie murmured as she tossed a shirt that was deemed too ‘safe’.

“Selphie!” Serah half-laughed, half-cringed, “she’s only just finished Tenth Grade! Can’t you have a bit more couth?”

“Hey, if we’re going to make operation-get-Eiko-a-hot-boyfriend, she’s gonna have to dress it up a bit!” Selphie put her hands up in defense. Eiko nodded wilfully besides the brunette girl.

“It’s true, Zidane probably still thinks of me as a younger girl because of the way I dress. I like my style, but… I need to dress older if I want to get his attention.”

Serah sighed. “I guess you’re not going to change your mind… just be yourself though, okay? In the end it’s your personality he’ll love most.”

Eiko let out a giddy shriek. “Oh, I hope this works! I just know it – Zidane is the man for me!”

Selphie plucked out a beautiful pale blue dress that revealed a bit of stomach in the middle, with a strap tie at the top. “This is perfect! Go try it on!”

Eiko gasped and quickly took the dress. “You’re the best, Selph!” She pulled the curtain across the changing room.

“So what’s the plan?” Serah asked, carefully placing the other clothes onto the returns rack.

“It’s simple! Eiko will take her break and go to the surf shop, you know, to browse! And hopefully Zidane will be serving or something and that’ll be Eiko’s chance to flirt!”

“But I don’t know how to flirt!” They heard Eiko’s voice from the other side of the curtain. She emerged then, the dress very flattering on her petite form.

“It’s perfect!” Serah clapped her hands together with glee. “You look so beautiful!”

“Hehe, thanks!” Eiko blushed, giving a little twirl. “So, what should I say?”

“Compliment his appearance, like his hair or something,” Selphie said thoughtfully, tapping her chin, “then, touch his arm as you talk to him, you know, playfully! Then ask if he wants to hang out after work! It’s foolproof!”

“I can do that!” Eiko nodded happily, jumping up and down in excitement.

Serah sighed again. “Selphie, how is it you know all this?”

Selphie bit her tongue slyly. “I may not have a track record when it comes to boyfriends, but I have my sources!”

“Youtube?” Serah asked quizzically, and Selphie pulled a ‘caught-in-the-act’ face.

“That may be one of them, yes…”

Eiko paid for her dress and Lunafreya allowed her to take her break. She walked through the shopping centre with butterflies in her tummy, hoping Zidane would love the outfit. She giggled as she remembered that Zidane had the most beautiful blue eyes, just like her new dress.

She headed into Oblivion, where she could see Blank stacking some boxes and Roxas was working the til. He waved as she walked in.

“Hi Roxas,” she greeted shyly. “Um, is Zidane around?”

“He just headed on his break,” Roxas explained, and Eiko noticed him eyeing her up and down slightly. The outfit was definitely working! “I think he was headed for the food court.”

“Thanks!” Eiko said quickly, heading out. As she entered the food court, she could see Naminé and Garnet sitting together eating their lunch, and Axel was busy grilling away at his take-away restaurant. But where was Zidane…?

“Ah-ha!” Eiko whispered to herself, catching his blonde locks amongst the crowd. He was standing with Sora, clearly waiting in line to get their lunch. Eiko sucked in a breath, hoping Sora would catch the hint and let them have their moment.

“Zidane!” She called out, but it was so noisy he didn’t hear his name. As she got closer, she noticed Sora grabbing the bag of food while Zidane got the drinks, some very large frozen sugary treats. She had almost caught up to them.

“Zidane!” She called out again, but the two boys turned away from her as they looked for a seat. “Oh, sugar! It’s too noisy!”

She quickened her pace and was almost close enough to reach out and grab the two boys. They slowed down to scan for a seat, which was her opportunity to grab their attention. “Zid- ah!!”

In the blink of an eye, Eiko found herself falling forwards – she must have slipped on something, she thought numbly as she lost her balance – and landed right into Zidane. The force pushed him forward and he let out a ‘woooah!’ as the sugary frozen drinks were launched into the air, the bright green concoction landing squarely on –

“Ahhh!!” Eiko shrieked, the cold icy drink spilling onto her, dripping green sludge onto her beautiful blue dress.

“Eiko!?” Zidane sputtered, still shocked from the unexpected shove. “Oh man, I’m so sorry!”

Eiko’s face turned beet red and she couldn’t even look at her blonde crush – she was completely embarrassed and knew what she had to do.

Run.

“H-Hey, wait!” Zidane called out, but it was too late – the petite girl was running as fast as her slippery feet would carry her, towards the bathrooms. “Oops…”

“Oh, man… It was just an accident…” Sora tried to placate the blonde, who looked very guilty. “We’ll check up on her later.”

“Yeah…” Zidane sighed, knowing the best thing was to probably leave her alone to get cleaned up right now. He felt terrible.

Poor Eiko had tears in her eyes as she ran back to Final Mix, where a change of clothes and two caring co-workers were waiting.

x-x-x

Roxas looked up from the til to see Sora and Zidane return from their break. He quirked a brow at Zidane’s expression. “What’s up?”

“Did Garnet reject you again?” Blank sniggered from where he was kneeling, facing up the stock of sunglasses.

“As if,” Zidane waved a hand, but he still looked forlorn. “I knocked into Eiko and my lime slushie went all over her.”

“Ouch,” Roxas grimaced, “she was looking for you too. It seemed pretty important.”

“Aw man, now I’m an even bigger dick,” Zidane sighed, ruffling his hair.

“I have just the thing to perk you up, though,” Roxas winked, and Blank stood next to the blonde with an agreeing nod. “Look behind you.”

Zidane and Sora turned to see Hayner, half hanging off a work ladder and talking to a customer. She looked to be a bit older than them, maybe Lightning or Yuffie’s age.

“Hayner’s first attempt at flirting,” Roxas chuckled, “He’s never been interested in girls til now.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Zidane asked, having been into girls since he could remember.

“He always thought relationships were ‘icky’,” Sora explained, “and he only ever has time for sports. But I guess our Hayner is growing up!”

They watched on as Hayner rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, clearly trying too hard. The girl raised her eyebrow in a not-very-hidden grimace and sauntered off, leaving a very embarrassed Hayner behind. He then noticed the four boys staring at him and went beet red.

“Need some tips, lover boy?” Zidane asked, and they all cracked up with laughter.

“Sh-shut up!!” Hayner shouted, quickly going back to stocking the shelves and avoiding eye contact. The boys continued to hoot with laughter until Zack came out from the storeroom.

“Does someone need to do some more squats?” He asked with a grin, but the guys knew he was dead serious.

“No, sir!” Blank said, but his voice was tinged with laughter. Sora waved goodbye to his friends, half-wishing he had also signed up for Oblivion.

x-x-x

“The squad’s getting smaller,” Riku commented as a few of his underlings sat down around him. Axel was on his phone, Olette, Pence and Hope were chatting, Kairi and Yuffie were gushing about their weekend plans, and Tidus and Wakka were shoving food in their face.

“Their breaks don’t align anymore, thank god,” Axel quipped without looking up from his phone. This earned a whack from Xion, who was just sitting down.

“And here I was being so nice and bringing you a friend!” The stark haired girl joked, sitting down next to Aqua.

Axel looked up and made a fake grimace. “Ew, I hate Aqua, why would you do this to me?”

“Asshole,” Aqua smirked, reaching into yet another bag of prawn crackers. “Thank god you’re pretty."

Axel gave a lewd wink.

“Here are the drinks!” Naminé called out as she and Garnet arrived at the table. They dropped off slushies, soft drinks, teas, coffees and drink bottles. The gang tended to tag team so that they could snag a big table in the busy food court.

“Alright Pence, let’s see if they deliver the goods today…” Olette lifted up her café latte and took a sip.

“What’s going on?” Naminé asked, sitting down next to the brunette.

“They’re coffee snobs now,” Riku commented, picking up his energy drink. “Nothing is good enough for them.”

“Mm-mm!” Olette shook her head. “Not true! This one passes my test!”

“This mocha is no good,” Pence shook his head. “Such a shame.”

Hope laughed beside them, feeling a little weird in this new group dynamic and unsure of what he should say.

“Don’t ever try one of Axel’s drinks, then,” Aqua laughed, and Axel threw a prawn cracker at her head.

Kairi leaned forward towards Aqua. “Say, Aqua… aren’t you dating that Terra guy?”

“Yeah,” she nodded with a knowing smile. “It’s been pretty great.”

“You’ve been dating since around exam time, right?” Riku asked, straining his memory as if it’d been years.

“Just before exams started,” Aqua said shyly, hardly believing it herself.

Axel snorted. “Must’ve been hard to concentrate on studying after getting together with him!” He stuck out his tongue teasingly and Aqua just rolled her eyes.

Kairi nodded, enthralled by the conversation. “So, how did you guys get together? If you don’t mind me asking,” she added, not wanting to sound nosy or immature.

“Not at all,” Aqua smiled, “As you know, he’s on the football team and I do cheerleading, so we see each other a lot. We flirted back and forth after practice… then one night he kissed me.”

There was a round of “aww”’s from the girls, followed by a few “blech”’s from the guys. Kairi had a dreamy look in her eyes, which Yuffie definitely noticed.

“You thinkin’ about someone there, hun?” She teased, poking Kairi in the shoulder.

“No way!” Kairi laughed, “I just think it’s romantic. And okay, maybe I’m a bit jealous.”

“Your time will come,” Aqua gave a small wink to the redhead. “But you have to get out there. That’s why Riku and Axel here are still single. Spending all day in their rooms like dorks…”

Riku rolled his eyes, and Axel threw another prawn cracker at the blue-haired girl. Xion looked a bit sheepish then, being a fan of games herself. She played an online game with the two older boys as well as Roxas and some of the others. She'd stay up for hours, even fighting sleep just to battle and chat with a certain blonde...

x-x-x

Meanwhile, Eiko was back in her cute overalls, her blue dress currently in a plastic bag ready to be taken home and washed. “I can’t believe this happened…” she sighed as she took her handbag out of her locker. She’d managed to finish the second half of her shift after changing, thanking the gods that Zidane hadn’t stopped by.

“It’ll be okay…” Serah patted her on the back sympathetically, throwing her own handbag over her shoulder.

“It’ll be like a funny story when you’re finally dating!” Selphie added, already ready to leave. “Like at your wedding one day! I’ll make it sound very cute in my speech, just saying.”

Eiko managed a small smile. “Thanks, guys. It still sucks, though. Now he thinks I’m childish and clumsy.”

“Don’t say that!” Serah said as they left the store, waving goodbye to Lunafreya on the way. “He’ll just think it’s cute – uh, oh.”

“What?” Eiko asked, but she followed Serah’s gaze down the laneway – Zidane was coming this way! She quickly hid the slushie-ridden dress bag behind her back.

“Hey, girls,” He greeted warmly, his smile making Eiko’s heart skip a beat. He looked pointedly at her. “Listen, I’m sorry about earlier. Are you okay?” He asked, genuinely apologetic.

“Oh, don’t be sorry! It was my fault,” Eiko stammered, her hands firmly behind her back. Serah and Selphie eyed each other carefully in their peripheral vision.

“Well, I still feel bad, so here,” Zidane smiled, holding out a small handful of flowers, clearly hand-picked from the shopping mall’s gardens outside. “I hope these cheer you up.”

Eiko couldn’t help but wear the biggest grin and allowed her heart to skip another beat. Zidane – giving her flowers! “Th-thanks,” she said quietly, quickly shoving the dress bag into Selphie’s hands as she took the stems.

“We should hang out sometime,” he smiled. “Anyway, I gotta go. I’ll see you ladies tomorrow?”

“Sure, we’re on shift again,” Serah nodded, since Eiko was pretty much speechless.

“Cool, see you then!”

Zidane gave a little wave and sauntered off, leaving three very excited girls. When he was out of earshot, they let out some very girlish squeals.

“It worked!!” Selphie jumped up and down, and Eiko gushed madly.

“He wants to hang out!!” Eiko looked up at the older girls with admiration. “This is the next step! Oh, I’m so excited!”

“See, he knows how great you are, with or without slushie all over you,” Serah laughed.

x-x-x

Back at Oblivion, the boys were experiencing the afternoon slump. Full from large take-away lunches, they trudged around the store, stocking shelves as slowly as possible. Luckily there was a lull in customers, so Zack didn’t force them to do any lunges for their lack of energy.

“I’m so tired,” Hayner drawled, leaning on the POS desk. Roxas was leaning against a display, Zidane was sitting on one of the ottomans near the shoes, and Blank was sitting on one of the ladder steps. The atmosphere was definitely heavy with summer tiredness.

“Hey guys – woah…” Xion walked in to see the unenthusiastic foursome. “What’s gotten into you lot?”

“Food coma,” Roxas quipped, “Axel keeps giving us free food.”

“Which we gladly take, by the way,” Zidane added, “It’s sooo good.”

Xion shook her head at the lazy boys. “Come on, you work in a surf shop. You need to be peppy and tough!”

“Mneagh,” Hayner made a noise, while Blank waved his hand lazily.

“You won’t win any girls’ attention with that attitude,” she added slyly, trying to make eyes with Roxas.

“Tell that to lover-boy over there,” Zidane chuckled, and Hayner narrowed his eyes.

“Stop calling me that!”

“Hayner? Since when do you like girls?” Xion laughed, and the brunette boy’s cheeks flushed madly. “Last I knew you thought we had cooties.”

The other three boys laughed, and Hayner uttered another “Shut up!” before retreating to the store room.

“Aw, now I feel kinda bad…” Xion grimaced, but Roxas shook his head.

“Don’t worry about him, he’ll come around.” The blonde shrugged. “Are you on break or something?”

“Well, not technically, but it’s quiet right now,” Xion said shyly, wondering if she was stopping by a bit too often. “I just like hanging out with you guys!”

“Well, maybe we could hang later, go play basketball or something?” Roxas asked, and Xion’s heart gave a small jolt. “We can get all the guys to come along.”

“Yeah, that’d be fun!” She smiled, but deflated slightly at the mention of the other guys. What she wouldn’t give for a little one-on-one time… “Count me in.”

“If we can muster the energy…” Blank sighed, slouching on the ladder’s edge. “I’m beat.”

x-x-x

Chapter Text

x-x-x

Naminé grinned to herself as she put a pristine pack of watercolour pencils on the hold shelf, with a sticky note that said her name. She couldn’t wait to take the newest item in the store home at the end of the shift.

“You should put your artwork online, Naminé,” Garnet commented as she checked the till beside her. Naminé had shown some of her paintings and sketches from her phone earlier. “You’re really talented.”

“Oh, thanks,” Naminé said shyly, standing up. “I’m not that great, but I do love it.”

Garnet nodded and returned her attention to the till, but Naminé noticed her vacant expression. “Hey, is something wrong?”

“Oh, it’s just… my mother isn’t well,” Garnet managed a strained smile, “I always worry about her when she’s sick. But she’ll be okay.”

“I’m sorry… let me know if there’s anything I can do,” the blonde girl offered, patting Garnet’s shoulder. The stark haired girl gave a genuine smile this time, grateful for her new friend.

“Thanks. This isn’t the first time she’s worried us like this – oh, look who it is!”

Naminé followed Garnet’s gaze, where she could see Kairi, Yuffie, Zidane and Blank walking towards the shop entrance. Kairi looked extremely excited as she bounded up to the desk.

“Save the date, ladies!” She exclaimed, and Naminé couldn’t help but notice that her red headed best friend was sounding more like Yuffie every day. “I’ve decided that my big summer party will be in two weekends from now!”

“Woohoo!” Yuffie fist-pumped the air, and Zidane matched her enthusiasm with his own.

Naminé clapped her hands together. “Yay! Your parties are always the best!”

“It’s gonna be even bigger this year, everyone’s invited!” Kairi explained, “You both have to be there. Anyway, just wanted to let you know! We gotta get going to work!”

“Don’t work too hard!” Yuffie winked, and the two girls kept walking towards the juice bar.

“Don’t you two need to be heading off too?” Garnet smirked in the direction of Zidane and Blank, her arms crossed. Naminé smiled – just the presence of the blonde boy gave Garnet new energy, a different girl from the upset teenager a few moments ago.

“Wish I didn’t have to go, babe,” Zidane shook his head in fake sadness, and Blank gagged behind him. “But I was wondering if you wanted to catch up on our breaks later?”

“We catch up every day, Zidane,” Garnet pointed out, and Blank coughed behind them, raising his eyebrows at her. Clearly she wasn’t getting the hint.

“I mean just the two of us,” he chuckled, “like… a date!”

Garnet flushed madly at this notion, her cheeks notably pinker. “A date!?”

“C’mon, please?” Zidane pulled his best pouty face. “You owe me one, remember?”

Naminé eyed Garnet curiously, but Garnet seemed to falter under this reminder. “… Fine.”

“Okay, it’s a date!” Zidane winked, and he and Blank sauntered off towards the surf shop. “Make sure you take your break around 12!”

Garnet huffed, turning to put on her art apron before the store officially opened.

“Um… can I ask…?” Naminé asked tentatively, and Garnet faced her with a wry smile.

“It was a silly bet he came up with… if he won the school Struggle Tournament I would go on date with him. I thought Hayner would beat him…” She sighed, regrettable, “but he pulled it off somehow. It’s just a lunch date though, I’m sure nothing will come of it.”

The blonde girl pursed her lips with a smile, and Garnet eyed her warily. “What?”

“You… like him?” Naminé asked in an almost teasing tone. Garnet’s cheeks flushed once more.

“N-No, of course not. We’re just friends. It’s just like… an inside joke, I suppose.” She fidgeted with the pocket of her apron, looking away. “Kind of like you and Hayner and the others, right?”

Naminé laughed. “None of those guys blatantly flirt like Zidane does. But if you say so!” Naminé teased in sing-song, wandering off to stock some shelves.

“Naminé! It’s not like that!” Garnet whined, chasing after her. The two girls shared giggles as Garnet tried to catch her, and Naminé felt a rush of happiness that she and her new friend finally had a real connection – no more awkward small talk, this was what real friends did.

x-x-x

“Have a great day!” Xion smiled as a young girl and her mother went away with their new stationary. The shop hit a lull, so the stark haired girl made a beeline for the store entrance, trying to take a peek at Oblivion next door…

“Ah-ha!” Aqua grabbed her shoulders and Xion jumped for dear life, shrieking. The blue haired girl laughed.

“That’s not funny!” Xion exclaimed, but she was smiling. “Why did you scare me like that?”

“Because I’ve caught you red-handed,” Aqua crossed her arms, and Xion gave her a puzzled look. “Oh please, don’t go acting innocent. Every shift, you compulsively look over at the surf shop. You visit every chance you get!”

Xion flushed red, looking away. “I just like to check in with the guys, that’s all! They’re my friends!”

“Mmmmhmmm,” Aqua drawled, circling around Xion to force the girl to look at her. “I’ve seen that dreamy look before, because I had that same look when I watched Terra on the football field. You like one of them!”

“A-Aqua! Shh!!” Xion tried to cover Aqua’s mouth, knowing any of the boys could be within hearing distance right now, on the other side of the wall. Aqua backed away.

“Do you deny it?” She asked with a sly smirk.

Xion faltered – there was nowhere to hide. “I… I…”

“I knew it!” Aqua clapped her hands together. “C’mon, don’t be shy! I never would have gone for it with Terra if Yuffie hadn’t encouraged me. I’ll help you out!”

“Didn’t Terra kiss you first, though?” Xion asked, quickly greeting a customer as they walked in.

Aqua giggled knowingly. “Honestly, cheerleading practise finished way before football did. I stayed late so many times, it was painfully obvious. Like the way you’ve been acting for the past two weeks! Sooo, who is it?”

“N-Not telling!” Xion crinkled her nose, embarrassed. “I don’t know if he likes me, so…”

“I didn’t know if Terra liked me,” Aqua shrugged. “Don’t be shy! I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Xion hummed a vague response. She hadn’t told a single soul about her crush on Roxas, not even Axel, who was like a big brother to her. “Can I tell you later?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Aqua winked, and sauntered back to the service desk where a pre-teen was waiting to purchase a sparkly pencil case. “Either that or I’ll guess who it is!!”

Xion covered her face in her hands. Aqua was good. Too good.

x-x-x

“So, where are we going?” Garnet asked, following Zidane through the automatic doors, where there was a generous expanse of grass and gardens outside the shopping mall. There were benches, paths and even a fountain to make the complex even more inviting for shoppers.

“I figure it’s too noisy in the food court for a proper date, so let’s have a picnic!” Zidane announced with a flourish, carrying a bag containing their lunch. “Here looks nice.”

They sat on a bench that overlooked a hill leading to the outdoor restaurants, with the fountain sitting neatly as the centerpiece. He handed Garnet her lunch and they began to dig in. Garnet couldn’t help but admit that her heart was hammering in her chest – was this a real date? Did he think it was a real date? And more importantly… did she want it to be a real date?

“Aren’t you glad we’re finally doing this?” Zidane asked with a smile, but it wasn’t tinged with his usual cheekiness. Garnet couldn’t escape his gaze.

“I guess…” she fumbled awkwardly, focusing on her lunch. She was thankful for the finite amount of time they had, with only a thirty minute break. “I still can’t believe you beat Hayner.”

“Yeah, that hurt him pretty bad,” Zidane chuckled. “I felt bad for him, but it was worth it for this time with you.” He smiled again, that genuine smile that send her stomach into knots.

She eyed him carefully this time. “Why do you keep trying, Zidane?”

He looked down with a chuckle, then met her eyes again. “Isn’t it obvious? I like being with you, Dagger.”

Garnet felt the pull of her lips, but she tried not to smile too wide at her nickname. “It’s so hard to tell whether you’re joking or not most of the time.”

Zidane rubbed the back of his neck, looking, dare she say it… embarrassed? “Sorry, I know I get carried away… let’s just enjoy this time away from the others. No funny stuff, I promise.”

She nodded, half enjoying the ambiguity of it all, and they shared pleasant chatter as they ate. They talked about school, friends, Kairi’s party, plans for the future… and then…

“Are you okay?” Zidane finally asked, eyeing Garnet carefully. Garnet looked away from the fountain she had been staring at.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she shook her head, but Zidane kept his concerned gaze, so she explained. “My mother isn’t well right now, so I was just thinking about that.”

“I’m sorry…” he said with a genuinely remorseful tone. “Is there anything I can do?”

Garnet shook her head. “We can only look after her and wait. She’s pretty down, so I try to cheer her up any way I can.”

“Oh yeah? How do you do that?” Zidane asked, curious.

“Well…” Garnet became embarrassed, now, wondering if she should share this more private aspect of herself. “I sing to her.”

Zidane’s eyebrows rose up in interest. “You sing? I’d love to hear sometime.”

Garnet smiled wryly, looking away. “I’m not that good, really… but I do enjoy it.”

Zidane waited expectantly, and Garnet finally looked up at him. “Can I hear it?”

She bit her lip, unable to keep her gaze on his, but nodded reluctantly. She started to hum a gentle melody, a simple tune with elongated notes. Zidane sat as still as a rock while she sang, completely mesmerized.

When she finished, he wore a calm smile. “No wonder that makes your mother feel better. You sound beautiful,” he finished, almost reluctant to use the word.

Garnet smiled bashfully, then let out a small gasp. “Oh gosh, what’s the time!? We must be late!”

Zidane checked his phone, but waved a lazy hand. “Eh, what’s five minutes?” Garnet was ready to leap out of the seat, but Zidane took her hands in his own. She felt her cheeks flush immediately. “Thank you. For sharing your song with me.”

“Oh… t-that’s okay,” she stammered, then quickly released his grip to stand up. “Come on, we’re going to get in trouble!”

“Don’t you know I’m a natural rule-breaker?” Zidane laughed, but followed her request. They ran back towards the shopping mall, laughing giddily at their mistake, and Garnet felt a warmth inside her chest that lingered for the rest of the day.

x-x-x 

“We’ve got liquid gold comin’ in hot!” Pence called out as he and Olette entered Oblivion, holding a container with four drinks. They dropped the drinks at the counter, where the four Oblivion boys jumped at the afternoon pick-me-up.

“Thanks!” Zidane grinned, taking his chocolatey blend. Blank picked up his fruit smoothie, while Roxas and Hayner went for their coffee options.

“This better be as good as you say, Olette,” Hayner swirled his cup suspiciously, having wanted a simpler option, like an energy drink.

“I want you to see how good I’ve gotten!” Olette poked her tongue out at the brunette. “You’ll love it, trust me!”

Roxas had already taken a sip and was nodding thoughtfully. “It tastes pretty good! I mean, I have no point of comparison, but I think it’s good.”

Hayner took an unwilling sip, and he tried to hide the fact that it actually tasted pretty good. “Mmm, not bad…”

“He loves it,” Blank elbowed Hayner in his side, sipping his own smoothie.

Zack came out of the office then, pumping a few squats as he watched the boys. “Back to work, slackers!”

Blank, Zidane and Hayner dispersed, and Olette and Pence stayed by the register, which Roxas was manning. “We won’t get in trouble?” Olette asked the blonde tentatively, but he shook his head.

“Zack is pretty chill. But when he asks you to do squats, he’s dead serious. You can hang for a bit. Besides, you might get to see a little show!” Roxas gave a lopsided smirk.

“Ohhh, I get it,” Pence chuckled, but Olette looked between both boys curiously.

“What? What show?” She asked, and the boys sniggered again. “Come on, tell me!”

“Here’s a perfect opportunity to watch,” Roxas nodded his head towards the entrance, and Olette followed his eyes. Hayner was greeting a customer, a girl about their age. She had straightened hair and wore a cute crop top that showed a bit of stomach and high rise skinny jeans. Definitely not the type of girl that would normally hang out with their crew.

Blank sauntered up beside the desk, putting on his best 'documentary' voice. “Here we see a teenage boy in his natural habitat, trying to flirt for the third time. Let’s see how he goes.”

Roxas and Pence covered their laughter, while Olette watched on in horror. Hayner was rubbing the back of his neck, looking dreamily at her, and showing her the latest women’s trends. And though Olette could tell the girl thought he was a total dork, she still felt a strong pang of jealousy.

“The teenage boy attempts to woo the girl by trying to look sexy,” Blank continued, earning a snort from Roxas and Pence. “But the girl is not buying this at all.”

The girl must have finally decided that Hayner was out of her league, because she stuck up her nose and walked off, clearly unimpressed with his desperation.

“Another failed attempt at impressing the ladies,” Blank finished his imitation, and the three fell into fits of laughter while Hayner went back to stocking, turning beet red.

“Isn’t that hilarious?” Pence turned to Olette with tears in his eyes from the laughter. “Never thought I’d see Hayner flirt!”

“Yeah, me neither…” Olette tried to sound upbeat, but her tone fell flat. She knew the boys had mentioned his new ‘hobby’ before, but she didn’t think it would be quite like… this.

“Pence, we’d better get back to the café,” she interrupted the boy’s chuckles, tugging on Pence’s shirt.

“Aww, I guess. See ya, guys. Thanks for the entertainment!” Pence laughed, following Olette out.

“Anytime,” Roxas waved, “Showtime’s are 11am and 2pm every shift!”

x-x-x

“One Paopu smoothie with an Energy Lift Booster and one All Berry Bang!” Kairi smiled, passing the drinks to her two favourite boys in the world.

“Thanks, Kai!” Sora took his Paopu flavoured drink. “This’ll get me energised for my shift!”

“You mean five hours of eating ice-cream?” Riku teased, taking his Berry drink.

“Says the man with the pink drink,” Sora teased.

Riku smirked. “By the way, that booster you got will help those itty bitty muscles of yours grow any day now.”

“Take your drinks and scram!” Yuffie called out from her blender. “You’re disturbing the other customers!”

Kairi laughed, feeling like such an adult in this work setting, having easy banter with friends old and new. She could hardly wait to graduate high school now.

“So are you guys excited for our annual summer party?” Kairi asked the boys as they sipped their drinks.

“Not if this one is coming along,” Riku eyed Yuffie with a fake glare, and Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him.

“It’s gonna be a lot bigger than last year,” Sora agreed, “Your poor grandma,” he smirked.

“She loves it,” Kairi shook her head, “you know how she gets.”

“Last time we came over she made about 20 batches of cookies,” Riku laughed, and Sora had a glazed expression at the memory.

“There’ll be a lot less cookies this year,” Kairi laughed, “but definitely lots of yummy food and drinks. I can’t wait!”

“It’s still ages away,” Sora said with a slight moan. “Two weeks in the summer is like an eternity!”

“And yet summer will be over before we know it,” Riku shrugged with a wise tone.

“Get outta here, depressos!” Yuffie cried again, throwing a dishcloth at Riku’s face.

“Yuffie,” Tifa piped up from the back with a warning tone, “you just broke about three OH&S rules.”

The boys chuckled as they scampered off, leaving a very embarrassed Yuffie behind.

x-x-x

Eiko huffed as she leaned against the service desk at Final Mix. It had been a few days since she’d had that magical conversation with Zidane, but he still hadn’t asked her to hang out.

“Cheer up, buttercup!” Serah chimed as she wandered past Eiko with a handful of clothes. “It’s only been, like, two days!”

“You should ask him to hang out!” Selphie called from atop the ladder, where she was dressing a mannequin sitting on the shelf. “Then you have the control of where to go.”

“I couldn’t do that!” Eiko flustered, clutching her cheeks. “I could barely speak the other day! And I don’t know what a good idea for a date would be…”

“Uh, helloooo?” Selphie hopped down from the ladder and pointed an accusing finger. “We work at the biggest shopping mall on Destiny Island! The possibilities are endless! Movie dates, dinner dates, beach dates…”

“Coming from the voice of experience, of course,” Serah giggled, and Selphie puffed up her cheeks.

“You haven’t had a boyfriend yet either, Serah!” The brunette pouted. “I’m just saying that there’s heaps of options for a dream date. And you should word it so that he can’t say no. Like, ‘I got tickets for this movie tonight and you’re coming!’ kinda deal.”

“I don’t know…” Eiko fidgeted with the POS computer, looking away. “I guess I could do that…”

Just then, Naminé walked into the store with a bag full of Dearly Beloved goodies she must have picked up after her shift. “Hey girls! Ready to go, Selph?”

“Oh shoot, my shift is over!” Selphie’s hair bounced as she retrieved her bag from the lockers out back and returned to the front. “Naminé, don’t you think working here gives us heaps of options for date destinations?” She asked bluntly, and Eiko covered her face again.

“Uhh, I guess?” Naminé looked quizzically around at all the girls. “It certainly is for Zidane, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Serah asked cautiously, not liking where this was going.

“He took Garnet on a date at lunchtime, just to the gardens outside for lunch. It was pretty cute,” the blonde girl smiled, but her face fell when she saw everyone’s mortified expressions.

“Are you serious!?” Selphie cried, looking between Naminé and Eiko. “I thought he was always just kidding around!”

“So did I!” Eiko pouted. “And I thought Garnet was slow to Zidane’s moves. I can’t believe they went on a date!”

“Wait, who likes Zidane now?” Naminé questioned, and she got her answer when Selphie and Serah looked straight at Eiko, who proceeded to blush madly. “Ohhh. Well, I don’t know if it was a ‘real’ date or anything… Garnet keeps saying they’re just friends, but…”

“So there’s still time to get between them!?” Eiko piped up with renewed vigour. “I could be the girl that actually reciprocates his feelings!”

“Maybe…” Serah said carefully, but exchanged a glance with the other two girls. “Naminé, you keep tabs on Garnet, okay? If she does have feelings for Zidane, we shouldn’t be meddling in anything. Right, Eiko?”

“I guess…” Eiko pouted. “But if she thinks they’re just friends, then I still have a chance!”

Naminé wore a mixed expression of confusion and amusement, and simply nodded. “I’ll try.”

“Thanks, Naminé!” Eiko cried gratefully, thinking of all the ways she could win Zidane’s heart.

x-x-x

Chapter Text

x-x-x

Riku stared blankly ahead, unable to enjoy his grilled chicken wrap in the face of his Eleventh Grade underlings finally beginning to understand the grind of working.

“A customer yelled at me because we were out of sea salt ice cream…” Sora whinged into his slurpie.

“Oh my gosh, people get so crazy about a cup of coffee!” Olette piped up, waving her hands defensively. “I’m sorry if your coffee wasn’t exactly 85.7 degrees!”

“They get crazy if you forget soy milk even though they didn’t specify it in their order,” Pence rolled his eyes.

“Some customers don’t even say hello, they just demand stuff!” Kairi added, shaking her head. “It’s like, I’m good too, thanks for asking!”

“And lord forbid if there’s an item out of stock,” Naminé sighed, “It’s not like I do the ordering, lady, calm down!”

“Oh my god, same! It’s not my fault we ran out of your size in this dress that’s unavailable at every other store on the island!” Selphie waved her hands up in defeat. “Geez!”

“Or when the POS system is slow and they’re trying to hurry you up,” Roxas drummed his fingers against the table, “It’s not my fault the computer isn’t working!”

“And would it kill those kids to put things back where they found them?” Xion said with wide eyes. “You literally JUST picked it up, put it back on the same shelf, child!!”

The comments rang back and forth in a steady rush of whinging and wailing, and Riku could only continue to chew, knowing this day would come eventually. He had to admit that venting was the best way to get those angry customers off your mind, but having ten people at once ranting was a bit too much to handle.

“Kids, kids, relax! Uncle Axel’s got ya back,” Axel placated the crew as he plopped down a helpful supply of prawn crackers, spring rolls and wontons. “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

“So where are the snickers at, then?” Pence laughed as he grabbed a spring roll and happily munched.

“Just eat, kid.”

And it worked – the gang chowed down and their full bellies calmed their work-induced rages. Riku nodded at Axel with an impressed expression. “You’re good.”

Axel waved his hands up in the air. “It’s a gift, man.”

“Anyway guys, plans for my party,” Kairi suddenly announced, once again her usual perky self. “You guys can crash for the night if you want, we’ll have mattresses out in the rumpus room and there’s my bed too.”

“Reserved for who, exactly?” Riku teased, and Kairi flicked his nose. The silver haired boy noticed Sora’s embarrassed expression in his peripheral vision.

“And we have the couches too. Or the patio furniture outside. There’s your reservation, Riku.”

There was a chorus of ‘Ooooh’s’ and even a ‘Buuurn!’ from Axel, but Riku waved it off.

“I’ll bring some mattresses too,” Naminé added, and Kairi nodded.

“Thanks! Yuffie is bringing a ton of stuff too, we’ve planned it all out,” the redhead beamed.

“Oh…” Naminé looked away. Planning for sleepovers and events had always been their thing, so knowing Kairi had spoken to Yuffie before herself made Naminé feel…

“I’m not jealous. Kairi’s my best friend and always will be,” Naminé thought as she blinked quickly, trying to focus on the conversation again. For a moment, she noticed Riku eyeing her carefully, but he looked away.

“… try and make sure you don’t have a shift the next day so you can stay up late,” Kairi continued, “It’s on Saturday night so hopefully nobody has any Sunday shifts.”

“Sunday’s are the best day to work! Time and a half, baby,” Axel winked, rubbing his thumb and fingers together. “But I’ve worked on less sleep before. Count me in!”

“There’s no stopping this guy,” Roxas shook his head in disbelief. “Welp, back to the grind!”

“Like a true workman ready for retirement,” Riku joked, earning himself a light push from the blonde boy. “Not too much heavy lifting, okay, grandpa?”

Some of the gang stood, ready to end their break and return to their respective shops. As Naminé grabbed her handbag and began to walk away, she felt a light touch on her arm from Riku.

“You okay?” He mouthed. Naminé felt a rush of embarrassment – was her disdain that easy to read? She nodded with a smile, and when Riku seemed placated by this she quickly hurried back to Dearly Beloved. 

“You’re sweet, Riku…” She thought to herself as she re-entered the art store, putting her worries about Kairi out of her mind.

x-x-x 

From inside Trinity, Xion could hear the constant laughing of the boys next door. The pull she felt to poke her head around was getting stronger by the second, but she knew a certain upperclassman was keeping a watchful eye on her, trying to figure out the mystery crush. Xion sighed, rearranging a stack of pencil cases while watching two little girls choose between a unicorn and a flamingo notebook. She heard a distinct “Check this out, Hayner!” and knew it was Roxas. She wondered what they were doing…

She turned around and saw Aqua hanging up some stickers on a high shelf. The store was pretty quiet at the moment. Just a little peek…

Xion pretended to be facing up the rack of pens at the front of the store, then quickly ducked her head over to look into Oblivion’s entrance. Roxas was also near the entrance of his own store, showing Hayner some new stock from a cardboard box. The blonde boy glanced over to where Xion stood, and gave her a warm smile. She smiled back and gave a small wave.

“Ah-ha!”

“EEEEEK!”

Xion jumped and swivelled back to see a very cheeky looking Aqua, arms on her hips and eyeing the stark-haired girl carefully. Xion grabbed her chest.

“You gave me a heart attack, Aqua!” Xion took a deep breath, already afraid of what she was going to say next. Luckily, a mother and her son were waiting by the register to pay for a new backpack. “Ooh, saved by the customer!”

“Hey!” Aqua tried, but Xion had already greeted the customer. She giggled, knowing she’d caught her friend red-handed.

Xion rang up the customer, and immediately felt the strain when Aqua stood beside her, waiting for her turn to speak. How she wished a hoard of customers would come flooding in! But none came, and to her dismay Aqua wore the craftiest grin.

“I know who you li-ike!” Aqua teased in sing-song, and Xion covered her crimson cheeks.

“I said I’d tell you later!” Xion whimpered, but Aqua just shrugged.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. And you weren’t exactly subtle, girl!” Aqua laughed.

Xion felt her insides squirm with embarrassment. She buried her face in her hands and gave a tiny shriek, but she felt Aqua’s hand on her shoulder.

“You’re so cute, Xion. Come on, I would have guessed it anyway. You and Roxas grew up together, right? Axel told me you three were inseparable.”

Xion looked back up, and Aqua’s mature expression put her at ease. “Yeah… the three of us went to elementary school. We have so many memories together… and even after our friend group got so big and Axel made more friends with people in his own year group, Roxas and I have remained just as close… but…”

“It’s not enough, is it?” Aqua asked, and Xion nodded. “I felt the same about Terra. We were friends forever, but I always wanted something more. And it turned out to be everything I ever dreamed of.”

Xion bit her lip. “But wouldn’t it have happened by now? There are heaps of pretty girls at our school, and in our group…”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but Roxas hasn’t had a girlfriend before, right?” Aqua tilted her head, and Xion shook hers. “See? He might be afraid of ruining the friendship, like you. Or maybe he hasn’t even thought about it. Boys are kinda slow like that.”

Xion giggled. “Even Hayner is starting to like girls now. I feel like it’s going to start a trend…”

Aqua scratched her chin thoughtfully. “I have to admit, a lot of people in my year level have started dating. Must be the age. So, this is your chance to get with him before it’s too late!”

The black-haired girl smiled at Aqua’s support, thankful for an outgoing co-worker. “But… I don’t know how.”

“I’ll help you,” Aqua offered. “Try to hang out with him one-on-one as much as you can. I know it’s hard with the giant friend group, but like you said, you guys have a history. Is there something you guys used to do a lot as kids?”

“Mmm…” Xion thought for a moment. “Axel, Roxas and I used to get ice-cream every Friday after school. Our moms would take us. And every now and then we go just the three of us to the shop down at the boardwalk, after a day at the beach or something.”

Aqua nodded. “Ice-cream, that’s perfect! Axel will totally understand if you want some alone time.”

Xion grabbed her cheeks again, emitting another embarrassed squeak. “I can’t! I would freak out!”

Aqua slung an arm around her eleventh grade friend, and gave her a wink. “You can. If you really want it, that is.”

The statement hit Xion hard. “I do want it, but…” she nodded.

“No buts!” Aqua interjected, but Xion still looked as nervous as a kindergartner on the first day of school. “Okay, what else? Any other hobbies you two share?”

Xion twirled the short stubs of her hair, deliberating. “Well, this is kind of embarrassing, but… a bunch of the guys and I play this online game all the time, and sometimes Roxas and I are up playing and chatting for hours.” Her cheeks flushed at the admission, but Aqua didn’t seem phased.

“Then there you go!” Aqua said warmly, and pinched Xion’s cheek. “You’ve got the foundations. Late night conversations are where the real action happens. It would definitely be easier to ask him out over messaging, right?”

“Maybe…” Xion considered, and Aqua patted her on the head cheekily.

“I expect full updates every shift!” she called out as she went to tend to a customer.

“Yeah, yeah…” Xion sighed, rubbing her cheek. She couldn’t help but feel a tiny glimmer of hope within her. Would this be the summer when things finally changed…?

x-x-x

“Order up for table five!” The chef at Twilight Sunset Café hit the bell and deposited two plates on the hatch ledge.

“Can I please have two lattes and a soy tea?” Hope called from behind the register.

“Excuse me? Can someone come clear this table?” A customer lingered by a mug-littered table, trying to catch Olette’s attention.

“Coming, right away, absolutely!” Olette called back to each in turn. She flicked some switches on the coffee machine to start the lattes, then grabbed the full plates and swooped through the café, depositing them at table five with a cheerful “Enjoy!” and a handful of utensils before pivoting, sweeping up the dirty plates. By the time she got back to the counter, fresh expresso was dripping into the mugs, herbal tea was steaming, and Hope was staring at the brunette with admiration.

“Wow… you’re amazing, Olette!” Hope stammered, taking the drinks and passing them to the customers with his own cheery send off. “We’ve only been on the job for two weeks. How’d you learn so fast?”

“Olette is like a sponge,” Pence quipped from his perch at the counter, on his break and sipping a chai latte. “She soaks up every new skill quickly, ever since elementary school.”

Olette smiled bashfully. “Thanks, but I’m not that skilled. I’ve just been enjoying working here so much, so learning the ropes has been easier!”

Hope looked slightly worried, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wish I learned that quickly…”

“You’re doing great!” Olette placated. Hope was definitely a little clumsy (he had dropped orders more than once since they began) but he always tried his best. He was also painfully shy, so talking to customers didn’t always come easy to him. Olette wasn’t really used to guiding a boy her age, having been surrounded by confident (or over-cocky) guys up until now. It was refreshing having a guy around that didn’t presume he was the best at everything, but Olette knew Hope should give himself more credit.

“Thanks…” Hope gave a half-smile, standing beside Olette behind the counter.

“Say Hope, are you coming to Kairi’s party?” Pence piped up, looking up from his phone.

“Um…” Hope hesitated, unsure if he was even invited to the big summer party. He knew Lightning and Serah were going for sure, but he hadn’t received a formal invite.

“You should come, Hope!” Olette nodded, and Hope looked up at her. “Come on, everyone’s going! You should meet all our other friends.”

“Really?” He looked up hopefully, his silver locks dusted with chocolate powder falling over his eyes. “I mean, that’d be great!”

Olette gave a knowing grin. “You don’t have to be so shy, you know. We’re friends!”

Hope nodded, a little more confidently this time. He knew Olette and Pence were being kind to him, but he always felt like the ‘tag-along’ friend to every lunch break or outing he went to with everyone. Now, he finally felt like he was part of the group.

x-x-x 

“Would you like to add a $20 pair of sunglasses to your purchase today?” Hayner asked the woman at the counter, who was buying a towel and a pair of shorts.

“Now!” Zidane whispered from the other side of the store, and Blank pressed the button on the new wireless headset Zack had given them today. He blew straight into the microphone.

The noise that emanated from Hayner’s earpiece was so loud, even the customer heard it. “Ahhh!!” He shrieked, a little more effeminately than he’d care to admit, and the two boys fell into a fit of laughter from the back of the store. “S-Sorry about that! Here are your items…”

“What the hell was that?” Roxas asked, coming out from the back and rubbing his ear. He saw Zidane and Blank laughing manically behind the t-shirt stand, and muttered “Bingo…”

“These headsets are the best!” Zidane laughed, watching Hayner turn pink with embarrassment as he rung up the next customer. He then pressed the button again and whispered, “titties.”

Hayner’s face contorted as he tried to serve the next customer.

“Moist.” Blank said next into the headset, and they saw Hayner’s mouth twist this way and that, trying not to laugh.

“Nipple.”

“Hayner smells like ass.”

Zidane and Blank continued to whisper profanities and silly phrases into their mics, giggling like girls between each one. Hayner was turning more crimson by the second, his voice shaking as he tried to converse with the customers. Roxas watched on, bemused. He almost wasn’t going to say anything, but decided it was too good to pass up.

“You two do realize that Zack is wearing a headset too, right?”

Zidane and Blank’s faces fell. “Ah shi-“

“Busted!” Zack came out of the back and made a beeline for the two troublemakers. “Drop and give me 20!”

Hayner finished up with his customer and looked over to see both boys doing push-ups, and it was his turn to laugh. “That’s what you get,” he spoke into the headset, and the boys groaned from the other side of the store.

“Alright, time to clock off,” Roxas took off his headset, stretching with a sigh as Zidane and Blank finished up their push-ups. “See ya tomorrow, guys!”

Roxas and Hayner grabbed their wallets and keys from their lockers and started heading out of the store. They headed next door to Trinity, where Xion was just saying goodbye to Aqua.

“Ready, Xi?” Roxas asked, and Xion gave Aqua a hug before catching up to the boys. He noticed Aqua pulling a strange, teasing expression, but he thought nothing of it.

“Good shift?” Xion asked, and Hayner snorted with indignation.

“Hard to get anything done with Tweedledee and Tweedledum in there,” the brunette rolled his eyes, but he was wearing a smile. “You?”

“Not bad,” Xion hummed, remembering her conversation with Aqua. She couldn’t believe the older girl had revealed her secret! She glanced up at Roxas with a shy smile, remembering Aqua’s advice. “So, you guys up for going online tonight?”

“Sure thing, I’m sure everyone’s up for a match,” Roxas nodded as they walked towards Uncle Scrooge’s Ice Creamery, ready to pick Sora up. When they reached the store, Sora was ready and waiting. “Hey, Sora. Ready to play tonight?”

Sora bounded towards the three with yet another mini cup of ice cream, today’s flavor of the day being mint choc chip. “If you’re ready for me to kick your butt, then sure!”

“Oh, it’s on!” Hayner declared. The four teens kept walking through the mall, picking up their other friends who had finished their shifts for the day. Since only some of the teens had cars, they tended to tag team and travel together.

They picked up Kairi from Boost Juice, who looked a bit frazzled after the blenders had a meltdown that afternoon. Then they headed for Dearly Beloved to pick up Naminé. Selphie was heading home with Serah today, and Olette and Pence were working later, so it was just the six of them tonight.

“Xi, Hayner, you coming with me tonight?” Roxas asked as they headed out to the carpark.

Xion nodded happily, but Naminé bit her bottom lip. She looked up at Sora. “You’re good to take me and Kairi?”

“Sure!” Sora smiled his trademark grin, and they walked through the sea of cars. It didn’t take them long to find their cars, because something was a bit off today…

“Oh my gosh, who did that?” Xion laughed, pointing. Sora, Roxas and Riku’s cars were side by side, and all of them had their windshield wipers pointing up in the air.

“Bloody Axel,” Roxas sighed, pulling the wipers back down where they belonged. The girls giggled as they helped to fix Sora’s car.

“Shall we leave Riku’s as is?” Sora laughed, then unlocked his car door. “Poor guy taking the late shift.”

“I’m sure he’ll log in later tonight, knowing him,” Roxas shrugged, opening his own car door.

“Quick, let’s beat these guys!” Sora ushered his two female compatriots inside his car, and they giggled as Kairi rushed into the front passenger seat and Naminé headed into the back seat.

“As if you could beat us,” Hayner scoffed, scurrying into the back seat while Xion took the front. Roxas and Sora both put their windows down on this balmy afternoon, and revved their engines.

The girls couldn’t help but giggle at their antics. “Hey,” Roxas lifted his chin up at Sora, pretending to be from the ghetto. “Let’s drag.”

Sora revved his accelerator in reply, and Kairi and Naminé felt into a fit of giggles. Roxas pulled out of his parking spot first, and Sora followed him behind. When they got to the roundabout, Sora went into the other lane and pulled up beside him.

Kairi looked over to see Xion giggling and Hayner pulling the finger at them. “Ohhh, big talk, Hayner!”

The teens laughed – Roxas and Sora would never put them in any danger on the road, but they took advantage of the quiet streets and sped alongside each other, taunting each other.

Roxas then turned up his radio, which was playing an offensive rap song, and blasted it as he revved past Sora.

“Boys,” Kairi rolled her eyes, and Naminé giggled in the back. Sora chuckled too, returning to a normal pace along the road.

Back in Roxas’ car, the radio was turned back down and Roxas returned to a safe speed, but he was still way ahead of Sora. “Knew we’d beat ‘em.”

“Duh, of course he’d let you win with two girls in the car,” Hayner laughed.

“By the way, how’s your flirting going, Hayner?” Xion asked, and Roxas burst into laughter.

“Ha, ha, very funny. What’s wrong with getting to know the customers?” Hayner said defensively, folding his arms in the back seat. “I’m sure you get cute guys coming in.”

“Not really,” Xion shook her head, “mostly kids and preteen girls buying back to school supplies.”

“Xi has all the cute guys she needs right here!” Roxas laughed, and Xion looked up at him with blush. “And by guys, I mean just me. Hayner’s not cute.”

Hayner pretended to go for a punch and the boys laughed. Xion knew he was just kidding around, but she couldn’t help but feel like he was implying something here. Her heart gave a jolt.

“You won’t be so hot when I beat your face in,” Hayner teased. Roxas rounded the corner and pulled up at Hayner’s house.

“See ya online soon!” Roxas waved, and Hayner jumped out. Roxas continued on towards Xion’s house. “So it’s been good working with Aqua?”

Xion nodded. “Yeah, she’s great. She’s been super helpful and friendly. She never stops talking about Terra, though. It’s very cute.”

Roxas nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. “Kinda like Zidane, he won’t stop talking about Garnet. They even went on a date the other day.”

“Really? How cute!” she exclaimed, twirling the short stubs of her hair. “Seems like lots of people might get together this summer.”

Roxas hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, seems like it’s on a lot of people’s minds. Can’t believe we’re nearing the end of high school.”

“I know…” Xion trailed off, wondering what the future held for their group. Would they stay friends? Would they drift apart? Axel and Riku were heading off to college soon, and she had to wonder if the trio’s dynamic would ever be the same after that.

Roxas pulled up next to Xion’s house, and smiled over at her. “Am I picking you up tomorrow?”

“If it’s not a bother, that’d be great!” Xion nodded as she hopped out of the car.

“Never a bother,” the blonde smiled warmly, and Xion felt flutters. “I’ll see you online in a bit, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Xion smiled as she closed the car door and waved as Roxas drove down the street. She bounded inside, saying hello to her parents before heading to her room to turn on her laptop. When she logged in, Hayner and Sora were already on. They were causing a riot in the group chat already and Xion joined in, taunting the two boys.

About ten minutes later, she saw Roxas log on. She loved that this game allowed multiple chats – the gang would always have one big group chat, but sometimes she’d chat one on one with her favorite blonde boy.

She took a deep breath, remembering Aqua’s advice, and initiated a private chat with him. She normally didn’t – she’d wait until he took the first move, which wasn’t very often. She knew Aqua was right – she’d have to take initiative if she wanted anything to happen.

They chatted and played, and Xion found herself laughing out loud more than once at the shenanigans in the chat. She loved playing the game, but she loved the banter even more. Eventually, it was well into the night and people started to log off. Sora was always the first to log off, loving his sleep more than anyone. Axel logged off next, then Hayner, then Riku, until finally she was just chatting with Roxas as they level grinded.

It was just your typical late night gaming chat, but Xion was beaming. She felt somehow accomplished for taking the chance to talk to Roxas alone, and it was easier than she’d expected. She couldn’t wait to tell Aqua tomorrow.

The night grew longer, and Xion was fighting sleep just to stay up and talk to the blonde.

roXas: alright, I guess we better head to bed. Got a long shit tomorrow

roXas: SHIFT

roXas: I MEANT SHIFT

xion.i.: HAHAHAHAHA

xion.i.: If you say so

roXas: god dammit it

roXas: night, xi!

Xion wavered over her keyboard, biting her lip, then decided to try something new.

xion.i.: goodnight roxas :) x

She squealed into her hands, hardly believing she allowed herself such a casual x sign-off, but then another message popped up.

roXas: :) x

Xion squealed again, this time with joy. He returned it! It seemed like such a small development, but her tummy did flips and she flopped back on her bed, smiling giddily. She sighed, thankful that Aqua had given her the courage she needed. She knew she’d be initiating many more one-on-one chats in the nights to come.

x-x-x 

Serah hummed a gentle tune as she fixed up the racks on the sale section at Final Mix, a smile adorning her features. She couldn’t help but smile even wider as a certain memory popped into her head. She allowed herself to get lost in the memory, and grinned widely.

“Serah?” Selphie piped up from the ladder she was standing on, realigning the rows of shoes on the shelves. Serah reawakened from her daze and looked up at Selphie. The brunette haired girl smiled devilishly. “Why are you so happy today?”

“Oh, no reason…” Serah smiled, but she couldn’t contain the glee in her face, and Eiko came over as well.

“’No reason?’ Something must have happened!” Eiko pointed an accusing finger at the pink haired girl. Serah couldn’t contain the suspense any longer.

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, I mean, I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, but…”

Selphie jumped down from the ladder. “Oh my gosh, what happened!?”

Selphie and Eiko looked even more excited than Serah did, and she could only chuckle “You’re not allowed to get your hopes up either! I might have… met a guy.”

“WHAT!?” Both girls shouted, causing several browsing customers to look their way. Serah shushed them and dragged them towards the changing rooms.

“Shhh!” Serah giggled, unable to contain her joy. “I was at the beach the other day by myself, just for a swim and a walk… and this guy started talking to me and, well… he’s pretty amazing!”

Suddenly, Eiko and Selphie started spouting a million questions all at once in quick succession, and Serah could only laugh.

“What’s his name!?”

“How old is he!?”

“Does he go to our school?”

“Is he like, muscular or stocky?”

“How tall is he?”

“Did you kiss him?”

“Does he have a beard?”

Serah told them everything she knew about Snow Villiers, the boy from the beach. He had sandy blonde hair, and he was very tall and muscular. He was already in college, and was hanging with his friends on the beach when they met.

“We’ve been texting all day, too,” Serah said, almost in a daze of happiness, “and we’re planning on meeting up this weekend.”

“Oh my gosh, you are so lucky!!” Selphie slapped her hands to her cheeks. “He sounds amazing!”

“You have to tell us everything, okay!?” Eiko jumped up and down in excitement. “Tell us when he kisses you!!”

“Oh my gosh, you should bring him to Kairi’s party!” Selphie suggested, “Kairi won’t mind!”

Serah giggled, ushering the girls back out onto the floor, lest Lunafreya catch them slacking off. “If all goes well, maybe I’ll ask him.”

Eiko just about had stars in her eyes. “One of us may actually have a boyfriend! And if I can finally hang out with Zidane, that might make two!”

Selphie huffed. “Hey, don’t forget about me!!”

The girls giggled and got back to work, while Eiko continued to dream about what it would be like to be with Zidane. She still hadn’t found the courage to ask him out yet – what she really wanted was for him to initiate something. After all, he was the one who had said they should hang out sometime! She decided to put it out of her mind for now, getting back to serving a customer. 

x-x-x 

Kairi wiped her brow as she clocked out on the computer. “Another shift done and dusted!”

“I don’t think we’ve ever made that many smoothies before! What a rush!” Yuffie sighed, wiping down the bench. “Hey, did you get that party playlist I sent you?”

“Yeah, I made Sora listen to it on the way here this morning!” Kairi giggled, remembering their morning jams during the drive to work. Sora made her laugh so hard with his out-of-tune singing. “I think it’ll be perfect for the party!”

“You’re welcome!” Yuffie flicked her hair playfully, pulling off her headband. “You need a lift home? Riku’s taking me today.”

“Nah, Sora will take me home too,” Kairi explained, grabbing her handbag and waving goodbye to Tifa as the two girls left the juice bar. They began heading towards Traverse Groceries to meet with Riku.

“Say Kai, you and Riku have been friends since you were in diapers, right?” Yuffie pondered, popping a stick of gum in her mouth.

“Yeah, and Sora and Naminé too,” Kairi nodded, grabbing a stick that Yuffie offered. “We grew up together.”

“Ever had a crush on either of the boys?” Yuffie asked slyly, winking mischievously.

Kairi rolled her eyes. “What if I did? Which one would you want me to go for?”

“Duh, Riku!” Yuffie shrugged, as if it was no competition. “You two would be super cute together. I’ve always wondered, you know, but I could never get it out of him.”

The redheaded girl laughed as they got closer to the grocery store. “Welp, I’m not telling either. You’ll just have to guess for yourself!”

“Hey, no fair!!” Yuffie wailed, and Kairi only laughed harder as she waved to Riku, who was just walking out of the store. He gave a good-natured nod, then looked over at Yuffie’s pout. “What’d you do this time? Flood the store with all the smoothies?”

“No! Kairi won’t tell me her secret!” The stark haired girl poked her tongue out at Kairi, then turned back to Riku. “You mind waiting a sec? I wanna grab some snacks.”

“Sure,” Riku nodded, and Yuffie quickly ran into the store. He turned back to Kairi with a more serious expression. He had noticed that Kairi and Yuffie were getting closer, and he was worried that Naminé was getting left out. Her expression the other day in the food court had spoken volumes. “So, you and Yuffie are pretty close now, huh?”

“Yep!” Kairi nodded happily. “She’s so funny. The other day she did the best impression of Terra, I could barely breathe I was laughing so hard.”

Riku gave a half-hearted smile. “I’m glad you’re getting along, but don’t forget about your other friends, okay?”

Kairi gave him a dubious expression. “What do you mean? Are you getting jealous, Riku?” She elbowed him teasingly.

Riku scoffed, returning to his playful self. “You wish.”

“I could never forget about you, Riku. Or any of the others.” Kairi assured with a warm smile. “My friends are more important to me than anything in the world. You know that!”

Riku swung an arm around her and ruffled her auburn locks, laughing. “Yeah, I know, I know. Just checking.”

Just then, Sora came bounding up, on his way to pick up Kairi. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy as he watched Riku teasing his crush. He’d been dealing with this rivalry since they were kids, but it never got any easier. “Hey! You heading home too, Riku?”

“Just waiting for Yuffie,” Riku said, and just as he did the short girl came bounding over with her bag of goodies. “For someone on the track team, you sure are slow.”

Yuffie belted him on the arm. “I was going to share my snacks with you on the ride home, but now I’ll keep them allll to myself.”

Riku rolled his eyes, then waved goodbye to Sora and Kairi. “See ya next shift.”

Riku and Yuffie headed off towards the rooftop carpark, while Sora and Kairi headed for the outside parking lot. Sora glanced at the redhead, who was still smiling from the earlier exchange. He had to wonder if there was anything more going on with her and Riku. He gave a small sigh, wondering if he should just tell her how he felt – before it was too late. 

x-x-x

Chapter Text

Naminé finished ringing up her customer, giving a cheery “Have a great day!” as they left with their new art supplies. She turned to Garnet, who was fixing up the sketch pad display. “Pretty busy today, huh?” Naminé sighed, thankful for the lull.

“It makes the shift go by so quickly!” Garnet concurred, standing up and stretching.

“So, have you hung out with Zidane again since your date?” Naminé tried to sound casual and not like a curious child, but she was definitely intrigued – especially now that she knew Garnet had competition.

“Not really, but we’ve been chatting a little bit here and there…” Garnet said slowly, brushing her dark hair out of her face. “I still can’t tell if he’s serious half the time. He’s always making vulgar jokes or sleazy innuendos.”

Naminé hummed thoughtfully, unsure if she even had any advice for Garnet. It’s not like she’d ever been in a similar situation - Roxas wasn’t anything like Zidane. “I’m not sure either, but didn’t you say he drops that act sometimes?”

“He certainly did while we were on our date,” Garnet nodded, brows furrowed in thought. “I have to wonder about that boy… But I can’t deny that he’s my friend, so I’ll put up with his shameless antics for now.”

Naminé smiled, wondering if Garnet would take a different tune if she knew Eiko was head over heels for the blonde boy. Would she get jealous, or shrug it off? “I don’t think we should write him off just yet.”

Garnet smiled warmly at the blonde haired girl. “No, I think he’s good value at the end of the day.” She chuckled, then looked down when she felt her pocket buzz, and she picked up her phone. “Oh – I’m so sorry, I know I shouldn’t take this, but it’s the hospital-”

“It’s totally fine!” Naminé waved her hands. “It’s quiet right now. Take it!”

Garnet nodded graciously, then headed towards the back room to take the call. Naminé hoped her mother would be okay. She’d been in hospital for several weeks now. The blonde girl marveled at Garnet’s independence through all of this - her father had died many years ago, so she was fending for herself while her mom was sick.

Garnet returned, wearing a concerned expression. “No good news yet, but at least she’s not getting worse.”

“I’m sorry. I hope she makes a recovery soon,” Naminé offered a hug.

“Thank you so much for your support. It hasn’t been easy, but working is a good distraction.” Garnet looked down at her phone and held it up for Naminé to see. “And messages like this.”

Naminé leaned forward to read a message from Zidane. “’Shift has been good so far, watching Hayner flirt is hilarious… Don’t worry though, I don’t need to flirt with any customers when I’ve got you, babe’. Wow. He’s so…” The blonde searched for the word she wanted.

“Blunt? I know,” Garnet rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t help that he sends about ten of these a day.”

Naminé chuckled. “You know, even though he jokes and teases, a part of my feels like… he really cares about you.”

Garnet thought for a moment, her lips curving into an innocent smile. “A part of me thinks that too… but then again, I’ve been pretty sheltered my whole life. I don’t want to be too naïve and get caught off guard.”

Naminé nodded. “Sure, better to be safe than sorry. Just see how it goes.” The blonde girl wondered what she might say if Eiko asked her about their relationship status… In all honesty, she really thought Zidane and Garnet would be a great couple. She’d just have to wait and see…

x-x-x 

“Did you know Serah has a boyfriend!?” Selphie cried in the backseat of Sora’s car, her eyes wide. “She just met this guy on the beach, and bam! Now they’re all lovey dovey!”

“That’s romantic!” Kairi called from the front seat, flicking through the playlist Yuffie had prepared for her. “Have you seen him?”

Selphie nodded. “Just a photo, he’s pretty hot. Blonde, tall, super beefy. His neck’s probably the same width as Serah’s thighs, for crying out loud!”

Kairi giggled. “Well, he’s welcome to come to the party if Serah wants. The more the merrier!”

“Are you jealous, Selph?” Sora teased from his perch in the driver’s seat, pulling into Destiny Shopping Mall’s car park.

Selphie pursed her lips. “Well, duh! Where’s my summer romance? I am not graduating high school without having at least one romantic experience!”

Sora rolled his eyes. “It’ll happen when it happens.”

“Finding the perfect person is worth the wait, right Sora?” Kairi looked over at the brunette just as he shut the engine off.

He smiled back at her, wishing she knew what was on his mind. “Right.”

“Uuuughh.” Selphie grunted, opening the door. “We aren’t in a Disney movie, you know.”

“You’ll be fine, Selph. My party’s next weekend, so you can let loose then!”

Selphie finally smiled. “Yeah, yeah. Feel free to invite every cute guy you know, okay?”

The afternoon sun belted down on the teenagers as they walked across the carpark. “You guys working til close tonight?” Sora asked.

“Yup,” Kairi nodded, “late night shopping shifts are the worst. Are you good to take us home?”

“No problem,” Sora nodded and Selphie patted his brunette spikes.

“What would we do without you, Sora?” She giggled.

The three teens walked into the shopping mall and headed to their workplaces. Selphie left first, going up the escalator towards Final Mix. Sora stopped next, heading into his ice cream shop. By the time Kairi found her way to Boost Juice, Yuffie was just putting on her headband.

“Ready for the evening rush?” She asked, looking pumped.

Kairi nodded, knowing late night shopping was always hectic. “No party planning tonight! Let’s do this!”

x-x-x

Midnight finally rolled around, and the doors to Destiny Shopping Mall were closed. Cleaners started making the rounds, and each shop had about half an hour to count the tills, pack up and go home.

Roxas counted the money in the till, ensuring the correct amount was ready for tomorrow. He put the rest of the money in a bag and brought it over to the trolley Hayner was currently manning, ready to take it to the safe in the back. “That was a crazy shift, huh?”

“I barely got away for my break!” Hayner began pushing the trolley, and Roxas opened the door to the back. Zack was waiting at the safe, where he deposited the money and locked it up.

“Great work tonight, guys!” He fist-bumped the two boys, then the three of them gathered their things. When they were out of Oblivion, Zack pulled down the roller door on the front of the store and locked it up. “Don’t stay up too late playing games tonight, got it?”

“As if you’re gonna go straight to sleep,” Hayner quipped, and Zack looked guilty for once.

“I may or may not be heading to the gym after this,” He said sheepishly. “You guys want me to walk you to your cars?”

“Nah, we’re meeting up with some of our other friends and walking out together,” Roxas explained. Zack nodded and wished them goodnight, then headed for the rooftop carpark. Hayner and Roxas went through the store to pick up their friends. The security guards were beginning to put up the gates, blocking off different areas.

“We better hurry,” Hayner said, looking at his watch. It was 12:36pm. Xion was already waiting from them outside of Trinity. They walked through the store, picking up Selphie from Final Mix, Naminé from Dearly Beloved, Sora from Uncle Scrooge’s Ice Creamery, Olette and Pence from the café, and finally Kairi, who was sitting atop the bench at Boost Juice. “About time!” She jumped down energetically. “Was that a crazy night or what?”

The throng of teenagers walked through the dark shopping mall, until they reached Traverse Groceries. Riku was leaning against the wall, scrolling on his phone. “Ready, guys?” He asked, swinging his car keys around his finger.

“I am,” Pence yawned, “what a night! Every man and his dog wanted a coffee tonight!”

“Did you see the line at the cinemas?” Kairi asked, “There were so many people! And they all wanted smoothies!”

“Late night shopping will do that to ya,” Riku shook his head knowingly. “C’mon, let’s go home.”

The ten teenagers walked through the quiet complex, heading for the first floor entrance. Most of the lights were off, but some were on so the cleaners could see. Every store was dim, with a roller door or gate to barricade it.

“I hate it when everything’s closed. It’s so eerie!” Olette walked close to the others.

Hayner scoffed. “C’mon Olette, you’re not actually scared?”

“You get used to it,” Riku shrugged. “This one time, Lightning and I were closing and-”

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. It reverberated through the building, and the power shut off completely. Several of the girls shrieked and screamed, and Sora felt several hands grab onto his at once.

“Ahhh! What happened!?”

“Where are you guys!?”

“Who’s grabbing me right now!?”

“Shhh! Calm down!”

Riku’s voiced seemed to placate the spooked teens. Slowly, they started to identify each other’s limbs. It was pitch black.

Sora tapped a hand holding his arm. “Who’s this?”

“It’s me,” Kairi said quietly, latching on tight. Sora felt his heart race faster.

“Can I ask who’s clinging to my torso?” Riku almost chuckled, and he felt around for a head. He tapped on whoever was latching onto him.

“Don’t mess up my hair!”

“Selphie,” Riku sighed, “I should have known you’d be the only person to worry about your hair when literally nobody can see it.”

“I’ve got you, Nam!” Olette said, patting Naminé’s arms.

“Is that you, Xi?” Roxas asked, feeling a hand circle around his arm.

“Yeah…” She said quietly.

Hayner was crossing his arms, but nobody could see. “Geez, maybe that was a car hitting a power box or something. It was pretty loud.”

“What do we do?” Pence asked, fumbling around in the dark. He bumped into Naminé and Olette, and they both let out tiny shrieks. “Sorry, that was me!”

“I guess we just wait?” Sora asked, still holding onto Kairi’s arm. She had moved closer to him, now; he could feel her breath on his shoulder.

“Hang on,” Riku squinted in the dark, grabbing his phone from his pocket. Selphie was still clinging to him, her arms wrapped around his waist. “Selphie, you’re fine. Quit choking me.” He turned on the torchlight of his phone, and it illuminated a little ways ahead of them. “Get your phones out, everyone.”

Everyone turned on their own phone lights, and the path immediately ahead of them was lit. They walked slowly, nearly bumping into multiple displays, until they made it to the entrance. The streetlights outside illuminated the annex, so they put their phones away.

Riku went to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. He pushed the red emergency exit button, but the doors still wouldn’t open. “Damn! The backup power must be out, too.” He turned to the others and shrugged. “Guess we just have to wait.”

The teens headed to the wall on the side of the entrance. They squished up together, shoulder to shoulder, and waited. They could see their cars in the deserted car park, tantalizingly close. About 30 minutes passed as they chatted quietly, and still the power didn’t return.

“Hey, this would be a great setting for playing murder in the dark,” Hayner laughed.

“No way!” Olette shook her head next to him. “What if we scream and one of the cleaners thinks we’re being murdered for real?”

“If we’re gonna play games, we should play seven minutes in heaven,” Selphie suggested with a smirk.

“Grow up, Selph,” Riku teased, and Selphie smacked him on the shoulder.

“C’mon, I’m bored! Let’s play something!”

“How about just hide and seek?” Pence asked. He checked his phone; it was after 1am.

“I’m in!” Selphie put her hand up. “Anyone else?”

There was a general chorus of approval amongst the energised teens, although Olette and Naminé were a bit averse to the idea.

“Alright, no going past Traverse Groceries or Uncle Scrooge’s Ice Creamery, that’s the zone,” Hayner pointed, though they couldn’t see much ahead of them in the dark. “We can use our phones to find a hiding spot, then shut the light off. The seeker can use their phone light to find us. You’re only caught if you get tapped. Sound fair?”

Riku was chosen as the first seeker. He turned to the face the entrance doors. “You guys got 1 minute. I’ll call out when it’s time. Go!”

The nine teenagers scrambled off, holding their phones up to light the way. Kairi and Naminé stuck together, holding hands and heading towards the beauty shop. They giggled as they fumbled through the dark.

“C’mon,” Roxas said, grabbing Xion’s hand and leading her. Xion felt her heart hammer in her chest and they headed towards Riku’s workplace.

“Let’s go!” Hayner whispered, and Pence and Olette followed him.

“Oh, no, you guys are not leaving me!” Selphie shrieked, chasing after the three.

“Guess I’m on my own,” Sora cracked his knuckles, heading off to find a spot.

Riku held his hands to his mouth. “Ready or not, here I come!”

The centre went dead silent. Riku held up his phone and began to walk forward. His steps were pronounced on the marble flooring, so he tried to tip-toe quietly.

Naminé and Kairi were hiding behind a sign in front of the beauty shop. They giggled and whispered and shushed each other as they heard Riku’s footsteps coming towards them. Naminé regretted her earlier disdain at playing the game; this is exactly what she and Kairi needed to rekindle their relationship. Just the original gang, hanging out and having fun - no Yuffie. She couldn’t help but feel that this was meant to happen. “Shh, he’s coming!”

They heard the footsteps get louder, then stop. The girls hitched their breath, holding onto each other for dear life. Then…

“EEEEK!” Naminé shrieked, feeling a hand on the top of her blonde locks. She just about shoved Kairi aside. “Kairi, run!!”

Kairi laughed as she ran, and Riku just missed her, swiping at the air next to Naminé. He heard her footsteps get further away and chuckled. “What a nice best friend you are.”

“Teamwork is the only way to do it,” Naminé shrugged in the light of Riku’s phone. “I’d rather be a seeker now, anyway. Being caught is way too scary.”

Riku smirked. “You’re safe with me,” he said in an almost teasing tone, but he reached down and grabbed Naminé’s hand. “Let’s find these hideaways.”

Naminé pulled out her phone with her free hand, her heart hammering slightly at the touch. She wished she had run off with Roxas; holding hands with him in the dark would have almost rivalled having fun with Kairi. “Let’s get them!”

On the other side of the entranceway, Roxas and Xion were hiding behind the large table in the middle of the walkway. It was a solid table with a thick pillar holding it up, so Riku wouldn’t be able to see them under it. They crouched down beside each other, Roxas still holding Xion’s hand.

“If he comes this way, we can circle around the table,” Roxas explained in a whisper, looking at the stark-haired girl with a smile before turning off his phone light.

“All that camping online finally taught you something,” Xion giggled, and Roxas scoffed.

“I don’t camp! That’s Sora’s strategy,” he poked out his tongue at her, but then realised she couldn’t see it. They suddenly heard footsteps. “Shh!”

They could see the light of two phones in their peripheral. Riku must have caught someone. They hoped each person wouldn’t circle around each side of the table. The footsteps came closer, and Roxas squeezed Xion’s hand, indicating they should move. They slowly shuffled on their toes and used their free hand to help manoeuvre themselves around. It was just as well, because Riku and Naminé were checking around the right side of the table as they skirted to the left.

“Not here,” they heard Naminé whisper, and the footsteps continued onward.

Roxas heard Xion breath a tiny sigh of relief, and chuckled slightly. “Great teamwork, Xi.” He squeezed her hand again, since they couldn’t see each other.

“Now we wait for them to give up,” Xion barely managed, her voice quivering at every squeeze. His hand was warm in hers, and she could feel herself starting to sweat. She felt embarrassed now, half wishing he’d let go. They squished up shoulder to shoulder on the other side of the table, and put their backs to the wood, relaxing a bit. Roxas didn’t let go. Xion could feel her stomach doing flips.

They listened intently, but there were no more footfalls or lights illuminating around them. Xion felt her whole body flushing hot at their proximity.

“So we know Naminé’s been caught,” Roxas whispered then, close to her ear. Xion shivered at the vibration of his body. “Place your bets, who’s gonna be next?”

“Umm, I think Kairi,” Xion whispered back, turning her head in the darkness in his general direction.

“I reckon Sora,” Roxas chuckled. “He’ll probably knock something over and blow his cover.”

Xion giggled quietly, but her mind was on repeat – we’re still holding hands we’re still holding hands oh my god…

Meanwhile, Kairi was running blindly in the dark. When she was sure Riku hadn’t followed, she turned on her phone light. Her heart hammered for a moment as she looked behind her, but Riku wasn’t there.

“Pssst!”

Kairi turned, trying to find the source of the whisper. She suddenly saw Sora’s brown spikes blossom from over the top of the newsagent’s stand. It was in the middle of the walkway, and several stands of calendars walled him in. He ushered her to join him.

She smiled, quickly jumping behind the stand and joining Sora on the floor, sitting next to him. “This spot is genius!”

“I know,” Sora winked. Kairi was reluctant to turn her phone light off, but did so. She wriggled closer to him so she could feel his arm next to hers.

They sat in silence for a while, but when no footsteps came they slowly started to chat in hushed whispers.

“Remember when we played this at the park in middle school?” Sora joked beside the redhead, feeling her shoulder vibrate against his as she giggled.

“Yes! It was so funny when Hayner fell in that bush,” Kairi giggled. “Gosh, that feels like ages ago.”

“Nothing much has changed,” Sora whispered, listening carefully for any footfalls.

“Mmm, I feel like things are starting to change this summer,” Kairi explained quietly. “With working, and making more friends, and our last year of high school coming up… It feels different, doesn’t it?”

Sora hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe…”

“You sound worried, Sora,” Kairi teased, bumping her shoulder into his slightly. He gave a small half-laugh.

“I guess I never really thought about things changing.”

“Well, maybe it’s for the better, right?” Kairi whispered, trying to look at him, but seeing nothing but black.

Sora tried to smile in her direction. “As long as the most important things don’t change, then I’ll be happy.”

“Hmm? Like what?”

“Like… you and me.”

“You don’t want us to change?” Kairi sounded genuinely intrigued.

Sora hummed. “More like… I always want us to be friends.”

Kairi giggled slightly. “We will be, Sora. But that doesn’t mean things can’t change…”

Sora cocked his head to the side at this. “What do you mean…?”

Kairi was about to speak, but suddenly a bright flash of light beamed upon the two teens, and a booming “FOUND YOU!” reverberated around them. Kairi screamed, clinging onto Sora, and Sora yelled out too.

“Gotcha!” Selphie laughed. “The four of us were found in five minutes. Teaming up wasn’t the best idea, huh?”

“Teaming up? You followed us like a puppy dog!” Hayner crossed his arms. “We wouldn’t have been found if your leg hadn’t been hanging out!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Olette laughed, her hands behind her back. Riku looked triumphantly over Kairi and Sora.

“Now we just gotta find Roxas and Xion,” he said, determined. At that moment, the mechanical sound of lights turning on boomed throughout the shopping mall, and light returned. The teens blinked, then smiled. They were free!

Roxas and Xion came back from around the corner, happy with their title as the hide and seek champions. The emergency door working again, the teens dispersed into the car park. Roxas took Xion, Olette and Pence home, while Riku offered Naminé and Selphie a lift. Sora opened his car door and Kairi and Hayner clambered inside.

“Okay, it sucks I have to work tomorrow when its 2am right now, but that was so much fun,” Kairi laughed from the front seat as Sora tooted at Riku and Roxas to say goodnight.

“It would’ve been better if Selphie found her own hiding spot,” Hayner pouted in the back.

“Stop being so competitive,” Sora laughed, turning right down the main street towards their homes.

Sora dropped Hayner off first, then continued on to Kairi’s house. He pulled up into her driveway and turned to her.

“Thanks, Sora. I think Yuffie’s picking me up tomorrow, so you can enjoy your sleep-in,” she smiled.

“Heh, thanks. I can pick you up anytime you need, Kai. I’d even give up my naptime for you.”

“Coming from you, that’s pretty serious,” Kairi joked, then leaned forward to hug him. “Night, Sora!”

“Night…” Sora watched as Kairi bounded inside and closed the door. He sat there for a moment, thinking back to their conversation earlier.

“What’s going to change?” Sora thought to himself, wondering if what he was thinking matched what Kairi actually meant. The question niggled at him well into the night as he drove back home.

x-x-x

“Hey-hey, here comes the midnight mall-crashers!” Axel laughed as a few of his eleventh grade friends joined him at the food court table. “Is it true you guys got caught by the cleaners and got kicked out?”

“No way,” Sora laughed, sitting down with his sub. “Who told you that?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that I decided to tell Yuffie what happened and she has a wild imagination,” Riku put his hands up in defense, and the short-haired girl beside him stuck her tongue out.

“I only told others what you told me! By the way Riku, I heard two people totally made out during the hide and seek game. Is that true?"

”What!?” Several of the friends exclaimed.

“That so did not happen,” Olette shook her head, looking between herself, Pence, Selphie and Hayner. “We would have heard about it.”

“Or would you?” Yuffie teased, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

“We didn’t see anything,” Kairi looked at Sora and he shook his head.

“Let’s ask Roxie,” Axel said, picking up his phone and texting said boy. “He says he’ll be around for a snuggle shortly.”

“Stop being weird,” Xion thumped the fiery redhead. “And nothing happened! I was there with him.”

Soon, Roxas joined the table with Blank in tow, and he too denied the allegations.

Yuffie sighed. “Seriously? I don’t believe you guys. I think someone’s being very good at kissing and not telling.”

“Quit trying to spread drama, Yuff,” Riku teased, digging into his fried rice. “I think you should be banned from coming to the party. You’ll cause too much trouble.”

“Trouble, moi? Never!” She laughed with a wink. Kairi giggled beside her.

“It’s still pretty wild, being stuck in the shops that late and choosing to play hide and seek,” Axel laughed, demolishing his spaghetti.

“Would you slow down?” Roxas laughed, cringing at his best friend slopping the sauce everywhere.

“It’s too good, Rox,” Axel shook his head, licking his lips. “It’s a saucy, well-lubricated meal.”

“Ewww, stop being disgusting!” Xion wailed, and Axel looked her square in the eye.

“These are some moist meatballs, Xi. Balls. Moist balls. Tasty balls.” This earned him another thump, and he just laughed.

“Shouldn’t we sue the shopping mall for having a malfunctioning emergency button?” Pence asked, sipping his coffee.

“Eh, it was fun,” Roxas laughed, and everyone chorused in agreement. Yuffie pouted.

“No fair! I missed out!”

“Thank god,” Riku snorted, and it was his turn to get thumped now.

x-x-x

Aqua and Xion were in the storeroom, grabbing boxes of pencil cases and stationary to replenish the shelves. “No way! He grabbed your hand first?”

“Yep!” Xion smiled, grabbing the small box that Aqua handed her and placing it on the trolley.

“First the private chats online, now this? Xi, I think he likes you,” Aqua looked at her with a suggestive expression, hopping down from the ladder.

“Don’t get my hopes up!” Xion flipped up the lock on the wheels, then pushed the trolley out to the main floor, Aqua following her.

“So, how long did the hand-holding last? Was it only while you ran to your hiding spot?”

“Well, no…” Xion stopped the trolley and began opening the boxes with a safety knife. “We kept holding hands while we were hiding behind the table. My hand was starting to sweat.”

Aqua gave her a ‘are you dumb?’ look, and Xion rolled her eyes. “Aqua, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything!”

“Alright, if you say so…” Aqua picked up another box and opened it, placing the pencils in the correct pots. “Just be prepared for advances. You should ask him to join you for lunch today. And remember, spare no details.”

“Mmhmm,” Xion hummed, pretending to be annoyed, but she was secretly enjoying this conversation. It was true, she didn’t want to get her hopes up, but things were feeling… different. She picked up another box and opened it up, finding a stack of sticker packs inside. She headed for the rack near the entrance of the store, and as if on instinct, poked her head into Oblivion. Hayner was up on a ladder, and he said hey to the stark-haired girl. Roxas was on the register, serving a customer. He made eye contact with Xion and gave her a quick wink while serving.

Xion smiled back, then quickly tore her gaze away from the blonde and back to the sticker rack. Oh, the things that boy did to her…

x-x-x

“Hey Zack, can you grab me a black short sleeve wetsuit jacket in a medium?” Roxas asked into the headset as he stood in front of a customer. Zack quickly replied and emerged not ten seconds later with the required garment. “Geez, that was fast!”

“I don’t work out for nothin’!” Zack winked, doing a few squats before heading back into the storeroom. Roxas finished ringing up the customer and stretched his arms out. Just then, Sora came in with six ice cream sundaes in a carry container.

“Order up!” Sora smiled, dropping the sundaes at the service desk. Hayner, Zidane and Blank quickly came over from where they were to grab their ice creams.

“Thanks, Sora,” Roxas said as he took a big gulp of his sundae. “Just what we needed! It’s so hot today.”

“Tell me about it,” Blank sighed, wiping his brow. “Is the air con even working today?”

“It’s always cool at my workplace,” Sora teased, eating his own ice cream.

“Hey, Yuffie told me some pretty wild stuff about your adventures the other night,” Zidane piped up, eyeing off the three boys in front of him. “So who ended up making out?”

“Nobody!” Hayner said defensively. “Geez, why does everyone believe what Yuffie says? We just played hide and seek.”

“I heard you guys split off when you hid,” Blank raised his eyebrows, “as in boy-girl?”

The three boys went quiet. It was true that some of them had split off as ‘couples’, but it’s not like it meant anything…

Roxas scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Maybe…”

“Who’d you run off with?” Sora questioned, then. “I went off by myself, but then Kairi found me and we hid together.”

“’Together’, eh? Get up to any mischief in the dark?” Zidane winked, and Sora turned a deep shade of crimson.

“N-No! Nothing happened, we’re just friends.”

Blank and Zidane turned to Roxas. “So who’d you run off with?” Blank asked.

“I mean, I went with Xion…” Roxas looked a little nervous, concentrating on his ice cream. He thanked the gods she wasn’t looking over from Trinity right now like she had earlier.

“And? Anything juicy happen?” Zidane stared with wide eyes.

“Didn’t you guys hold hands?” Hayner exclaimed, and the two teasing boys let out an array of ‘ooooohs!’.

“Just so she could keep up with me!” Roxas said defensively. He decided to side-step the fact that they kept holding hands right up until the lights came back on.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else going on?” Sora asked, genuinely curious. “I mean, you guys have been friends since you were in kindergarten.”

“So have you and Kairi,” Roxas quipped, frowning.

“Somebody’s getting defensive!” Hayner elbowed the blonde. “Do you seriously like Xion?”

Roxas gave Hayner a half-frustrated, half-bemused expression. “I never said that! Why is the attention on me all of a sudden?”

“Come to think of it, whenever she visits she makes a beeline for you…” Blank said thoughtfully, swirling his ice cream with his spoon. “Maybe she likes you too?”

“I wonder what Axel would think?” Sora added, tapping his chin.

Roxas sighed. “Guys, Xion and I-”

“Hey, slackers! Since when did I say you could have an ice cream break?” Zack exclaimed as he pushed a trolley from out the back.

“I got one for you too, sir!” Sora gave his award-winning smile, offering Zack his own sundae.

Zack stared at it for a moment, pouting, then smiled and took it. “Alright, just this once. But you gotta work and eat, alright?”

Zidane and Blank quickly returned to restocking the sunglasses, while Sora kept hovering around the registers with Hayner and Roxas for a moment.

“It was fun hanging out with just the original crew last night, wasn’t it?” Sora smiled, finishing off his sundae.

“Yeah, it was,” Hayner nodded, “I like hanging with everyone else, but it was… I dunno, refreshing?”

“And it wasn’t even planned,” Roxas smiled, gulping the rest of his ice cream when he saw a slew of new customers coming in.

“Roxas, you’d tell us if you had a crush on Xion, right?” Sora smirked, and Roxas furrowed his brow.

“I can’t unsee it now,” Hayner quipped, “you watch, the next time Xion comes to visit she’ll go straight to you.”

Roxas rolled his eyes. “Get back to work, you guys.”

“Avoidance, a classic sign!” Sora pointed, and Roxas swatted the brunette boy away. “C’mon, you can tell us!”

Hayner and Sora kept poking and prodding Roxas, and the blonde finally cracked. “Alright, alright!” Roxas chuckled, catching his breath. “I’ll be honest, since the start of the summer I’ve been… thinking about it. I dunno, I’ve always seen her as my childhood best friend along with Axel, but lately it feels different. We’ve been chatting a lot online…”

“What, on the server?” Hayner asked. “Is that why you’ve been playing less?”

“I guess,” Roxas shrugged, “and even last night, when we were hiding together…”

“So you DID make out!?” Sora’s eyes grew wide, and Roxas quickly shushed him.

“NO! Nothing like that! We may have kept holding hands, though…”

Hayner pulled a half-smirk, half-cringe, and Roxas had to wonder if Hayner was as ready for a relationship as he claimed to be.

Sora chucked his empty ice cream container in the bin and brushed his hands together. “I wonder what Xion thinks…”

“What I think about what?”

“AHHH!” The three boys jumped at the sight of the stark-haired girl, standing with her arms behind her back and innocently looking up at them.

“U-Uuhmm, about how Sora didn’t get you an ice cream!” Hayner pointed an accusing finger at the spiky-haired boy.

“Aww, I forgive him! Kairi got me a smoothie earlier so I’m good.” Xion smiled, and Roxas let out a sigh of relief.

Sora laughed nervously. “Thanks, Xion. Well, I better get back to work!” He quickly side-stepped his way out of Oblivion, but not before giving Roxas a wink. Roxas rolled his eyes again.

“Yup, back to work!” Hayner slapped Roxas on the back, then returned to straightening out the t-shirts. Roxas scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Sorry about that. What’s up, Xi?”

“Nothing much, I just went on my break,” Xion smiled nervously at him. “I was wondering if you were going on yours now?”

Roxas hoped Zack wouldn’t mind him taking an early break. “I can check, but I should be able to. Hang on.”

“Okay,” Xion nodded, and Roxas ran out the back. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the moment he began to see her differently, but this summer had definitely changed his perspective on one of his oldest friends.

x-x-x 

Xion propped her pillow up against her bedhead, getting more comfortable. She’d been playing online for a while, and Axel was dominating every game. The other boys were harassing him in the chat and Xion was giggling quietly in the light of her laptop. She didn’t have a shift tomorrow, so she was thankful she could stay up late without worrying about being a zombie at work.

flamingaxel: gotcha again losers

roXas: i swear you’re cheating

sorasky: team attack!!

haynergd: rematch! gonna slaughter you this time!

darkriku: don’t blame us for resorting to ganging up on you

xion.i.: watch out axel!!

Xion smiled as she joined in the next match, and Axel’s character seemed to falter under the joined forces. By the end of the match, he had well and truly lost.

flamingaxel: whatever, I’ll kick your asses tomorrow. Got work in the morning. Later haterssss

darkriku: oh shit I have the morning shift. Lightning’s gonna kill me. Night guysss

haynergd: hahaha idiots

sorasky: bye guys!!

roXas: of course he bails the second he loses

xion.i.: sore loser :)

With that match done, Xion returned her attention to her chat with Roxas. She had gotten into the habit of messaging him every night, and he seemed to be reciprocating the chat happily. She hoped he was enjoying her company and not just being too nice to say otherwise. When they chatted, time flew by and it was always really late by the time they were the last two to log off.

roXas: good game today!

xion.i.: was super fun!!

roXas: have you got work tomorrow?

xion.i.: nope, you?

roXas: nope! Hey, I have a weird question for you

Xion’s heart thumped in her chest. What was he going to ask? Why would it be weird? She remembered what Aqua said about how late night conversations were where the ‘real action’ happened.

xion.i.: what’s that?

roXas: I was thinking of heading out for a night drive, just for fun. Wanna join me?

Xion blinked and blinked. Had she just read what she thought she read? Roxas… wanted to go on a night drive with her!?

She looked over at the clock in the corner of her laptop screen. It was almost midnight. Her parents had already gone to bed. She was still in her lounge clothes from that afternoon, so it certainly wouldn’t take long to get ready. She still couldn’t believe what Roxas had just asked. It did seem a little sudden, but she wasn’t going to turn down some one-on-one time with him. She timidly typed a response, re-typing it several times before deeming it to be acceptable.

xion.i.: sure! I’m not sleepy or anything. I’m ready when you are!

roXas: cool, I’ll head over now :) x

Xion’s heart skipped another beat. They had been continuing to use the x sign-off ever since she’d initiated it, but he had never used it first. But never mind that little development – Roxas was heading over… right now! Xion quickly jumped up and ran into the bathroom, giving her hair a quick tousle and her face a once-over. She wasn’t one to wear a lot of make-up, just a bit of powder and mascara on the odd occasion. She was wearing a simple summer romper in burgundy, and she threw on some flip flops to match. She tip-toed through the hallway with her purse and keys, and locked the door behind her as she waited on the porch. Her heart was hammering the entire time.

Ten minutes felt like an eternity, but Roxas finally pulled up into Xion’s driveway, the headlights illuminating her form as she stood up from the steps of her front door. She practically skipped to the passenger side and opened the door, greeting Roxas with a whispered “Hey!” and closing the door behind her.

“Hey,” Roxas greeted, smiling at the stark haired girl. “Sorry for the sudden invitation. Sometimes I go on little joyrides to clear my head, and I figured having a friend with me would be more fun.”

Xion smiled. “Getting your license really stretched your freedom, didn’t it?” She giggled, and Roxas shrugged.

“I guess. It’s nice to be able to go on little adventures whenever I want.”

“Well, thanks for inviting me,” Xion looked bashful, playing with the hem of her romper. “So, where to?”

“Wherever the road takes us,” Roxas smiled, reversing out of Xion’s driveway and heading down the street.

Xion couldn’t believe what was happening. It felt completely surreal – Roxas drove the quiet streets, and at first they listened to his music playlist and busted out some tunes – singing as loudly as their lungs would allow - and then they just talked and talked. It was easier to talk to him without his constant gaze on her, as he had to watch the road – her nerves eased and she slipped into her easy banter. When it came down to it, Xion was almost as chatty as Selphie or Kairi. She told Roxas about her shifts with Aqua, her adorable customers, her shopping trip with the girls, her study choices for next year…

“Say Roxas, do you ever worry about what comes next after high school?” Xion asked, looking over at Roxas’ profile, his blonde locks illuminated by the street lights as they passed.

“You mean college and stuff?” Roxas asked, turning a bend.

“Well, more like where we’ll all end up. I mean, Riku, Axel, Yuffie and all them are heading off soon… I just wonder if we’ll all stay friends if we’re not seeing each other all the time.”

Roxas hummed thoughtfully. “It’s definitely easier to stay friends when you see each other every day. But I dunno, I think with all our history we’ll be okay. Even if we go to different colleges, we’ll have birthday parties and Kairi’s annual summer party, of course.” He glanced over at Xion for a moment, a smile adorning his lips. “I think it’ll be okay.”

Xion nodded, feeling a bit more at ease. “You’re right. And we’ll make time for each other. If we go to different colleges, we can still go on drives like this, right?”

Roxas chuckled and nodded. “Right.”

They slipped back into easy conversation, until 2am rolled around and Roxas thought he better get Xion home. He pulled up into her driveway and turned to face her.

“Thanks, Xi. That was fun,” he grinned, undoing his seatbelt so he could face her. Xion did the same.

“It was fun! We should do karaoke sometime after those amazing performances,” she giggled, and he chuckled along too.

“I dunno if I should, but you could for sure. Thanks for the great chat, too. You’re really easy to talk to.”

Xion went a deep shade of crimson, but it was so dark Roxas couldn’t see. She looked down and smiled. “You too, Roxas.”

When she looked up again, Roxas was smiling. He leaned forward to give her a parting hug, and they said their goodnights. Xion hopped out, and Roxas waited until she was safely inside before driving away.

Xion crept back into her room and flopped onto her bed, staring up at the roof. What had just happened!?

That was the most amazing night!  Xion thought giddily, grabbing her phone to immediately text Aqua about it. They’d sang, laughed and chatted, just the two of them, in the middle of the night… it felt so perfect.

Xion didn’t sleep for at least another two hours, replaying the events of the night in her head and wondering what the next night-time drive would entail.

x-x-x

Chapter Text

“Red alert, I repeat, we have a red alert, Mr. Leonhart has just walked into the store,” Roxas spoke into his headset as he watched his scarred teacher mosey into Oblivion.

“What!?” Hayner spoke into the mic from his perch on top of the ladder, gazing over at the entrance. Sure enough, their brunette teacher was walking in, wearing his usual furrowed expression.

“Don’t let him see us!” Zidane whispered into the mic, and Roxas saw him hiding behind the surfboards. Roxas couldn’t exactly escape from his position at the registers.

“If he asks about the homework we’re screwed,” Blank added, thankful he was in the back storeroom with Zack. He could only imagine his friend’s expressions right now.

Roxas could see Hayner taking out his phone and zooming in on the unamused teacher. Mr. Leonhart made eye contact with Roxas and pulled a small smirk.

“Hello, sir,” Roxas greeted, and he could hear Hayner laughing into his mic. He tugged it out of his ear.

“Roxas,” Mr. Leonhart greeted with his usual dull tone. “I hope you haven’t been spending all your savings?”

“No, sir,” Roxas saluted jokingly, and he could see Hayner taking what he presumed was snapchat pictures.

“By the way, you can tell Hayner he’s got detention on the first day of school,” the scarred teacher smirked, looking Hayner’s way. Hayner quickly put his phone away and waved to his teacher.

Roxas chuckled. “No probs, Mr. Leonhart. Enjoy your summer!”

“Don’t get up to too much mischief,” he warned, before actually cracking a small smile (though his furrowed brows still made him look unamused) and took his leave. Roxas placed his headset back in his ear and pressed the button to speak.

“You’ve already got detention, dude. Busted!”

“What!?” Hayner called out from the ladder, and Roxas laughed. Zidane emerged from the surfboards, cracking up.

“You’re not even slick with your photo taking! I thought you were just bad at flirting,” the blonde laughed, and Hayner turned red.

“Psshht. I happened to almost get a girl’s number the other day.”

“She was feeling sorry for you,” Blank piped up, having returned from the storeroom with a trolley full of boxes.

“Was not!” Hayner retorted like he was in fifth grade.

“Oh yeah? I bet you twenty bucks you can’t get a girl’s number today.”

Hayner looked slightly worried for a moment, but this quickly dissolved into resolve. “You’re on!”

Roxas rolled his eyes, knowing the chances of his brunette friend actually accomplishing this was slim, but Hayner never turned down a bet when his ego was on the line. Hayner spent the next hour scouting the floor for cute teenagers doing their summer shopping, and didn’t hesitate to approach them.

“It’s like watching a kid trying to learn how to walk,” Zidane mused next to Blank. The two boys had their arms crossed and were leaning against the shelves, wishing they had a box of popcorn to accompany the entertainment.

“Looks like it’s break time!” Roxas smiled as he saw two familiar faces enter the store. Olette and Pence arrived with an assortment of drinks for everyone, as was the tradition lately.

Roxas told the two about how Mr. Leonhart had walked in, and the two teens laughed. He also explained about Hayner and Blank’s bet, and while Pence found this hilarious, Olette was less than impressed.

They looked over to see Hayner stepping down the ladder, talking to a girl about their age. Roxas watched carefully – Hayner normally picked the girls that were way out of his league, but this girl looked more approachable – she had medium length brown hair and was short in stature, wearing a blue dress.

“Huh, he might have a shot this time,” the blonde mused, and Olette looked at him in horror.

“What!? No way!” She cried, but when she looked back the girl was still chatting to him. Hayner was conversing with her confidently, nodding and smiling at her.

“Don’t say that, man, I don’t wanna lose twenty bucks!” Blank wailed, narrowing his eyes. “Mess it up, mess it up!”

But he didn’t. Hayner smoothly pulled out his phone and was clearly asking to exchange numbers, and she pulled hers out in return. They tapped their phones a few times, then hugged. Olette could barely believe what she was seeing.

“Holy shit, he did it!” Zidane gasped, pretending to wipe a tear as he latched onto Blank’s arm. “He even got a hug! Our son is growing up!”

“I don’t believe it!” Pence wore a shocked expression. The brunette haired girl turned around to leave, and everyone tried to act nonchalant and not like they’d just been staring for the past five minutes. Hayner sauntered up to them not a moment later, and smirked something fierce.

“Am I the man, or am I the man?” He teased with a toothy grin, and the boys clapped and hooted and jostled him around. “Your money’s mine, Blank!”

“Hey, a bet’s a bet! I can’t believe you actually did it!” Blank held his arms up in defeat.

“Are you gonna text her tonight?” Roxas asked, and Hayner shrugged.

“Probably, see where it goes.”

Olette had never seen Hayner like this before, and it made her sick to her stomach. Just six months ago, Hayner only cared about sports and his friends. Even listening to Selphie talk about boys grossed him out at the time, and forget about listening to Axel crushing on the senior girls. Hayner would grimace and stick his tongue out at such talk. And Olette was fine with that, because it meant he wasn’t distracted by other girls. She told herself she’d be patient until he finally saw girls in a different light. But now…

She was thankful for the arrival of the boys’ manager, because she was just about ready to leave without saying anything.

“Boys! C’mon, we’ve got work to do! 20 squats each!”

“Aww…” The four boys frowned, beginning their squats. Pence laughed and made a gesture to Olette that they should probably get going. “See ya, guys! Keep us updated, Hayner!”

Olette bit her lip, not even acknowledging the boys as they left. 

x-x-x 

Selphie smoothed out the clothes on the mannequin, nodding at her choice of fashion for the window display. She walked back towards the trolley, where Eiko and Serah were sorting through the new releases. “Have you girls picked out your outfits for the party yet? Only two days to go!”

Serah nodded, but Eiko pulled a panic-stricken expression. “I’ve been through, like, my entire wardrobe! I have no idea what to wear!”

Selphie chuckled at the younger girl’s panic. “Don’t worry, look where we are! We’ll find you something.”

“Thanks,” Eiko sighed, picking up some dresses and eyeing them carefully. “I take any advice I can get. Hopefully this outfit doesn’t get the slurpie treatment.”

Serah giggled. “Speaking of, have you seen Zidane much lately?”

“Barely at all!” Eiko sighed, “I’ve tried so many times, but we keep getting interrupted. I went there the other day and Blank dragged him away to watch Hayner do something funny, and then another time we were gonna have lunch but the guys from the café joined us!” Eiko slumped into the pile of clothes.

“Don’t give up,” Serah consoled gently, but Eiko whipped her head back up.

“Oh, hush! You have a boyfriend!”

Serah put her hands up in defense and Selphie giggled. “Eiko, come on! The party’s coming up, remember? That’s the perfect place to do some flirting!”

Eiko put her hands behind her back shyly. “I guess… so, what do you think I should wear? Another dress?”

“How about a cute skirt, or some shorts?” Serah suggested.

“Short-shorts,” Selphie raised her eyebrows up and down suggestively, and Serah thumped her.

Eiko giggled. “I’ll take whatever you girls recommend. I’d probably look like a grade schooler in any outfit I picked.”

“We got you covered,” Selphie winked, and they began folding the new clothes neatly on the new release table.

“Say Selphie, has Naminé got any more goss on the Garnet situation?” Eiko mentioned as they folded.

Selphie hummed. “When I asked, she said they hadn’t hung out again since that one time. I think you’re in the clear.”

Serah looked a little more concerned. “We don’t know for sure though…”

Selphie shrugged and raised her eyebrows. “They’re not dating, so I’d say it’s fair game.”

Eiko smiled gleefully, almost jumping up and down in excitement. “Oh, I can’t wait to see him at the party!”

x-x-x

“Tomorrow niiiiiiight!!” Yuffie called out as she entered the small juice bar, hopping up on the counter.

“Get hyped!” Kairi giggled, finishing up on the computer to clock herself in, passing the mouse to Yuffie. “You’re still coming early to help set up, right? Nam will be there too.”

“For sure!” The stark-haired girl nodded eagerly, punching in her login details. “Got the music, food, drinks, decorations, we’re set!”

Kairi nodded. “Grandma’s spending her weekend with my aunt, so the house is all ours!”

“Oh my gosh, does she know about the party?” Yuffie looked wide-eyed at the auburn haired girl.

Kairi giggled. “Of course! But she doesn’t know we’ll be drinking, so keep that on the down low for me.”

“Lips, sealed,” Yuffie mimed zipping her lips and winked. “So everyone can come, right?”

“Yup, nobody’s declined, and we even have some extras, like Serah’s new boyfriend and some of Axel's friends. I can’t wait!”

“Girls, you’re on duty!” Tifa cracked her tea towel like a whip against the counter top, smirking. “I can’t wait until this party is over so you two can focus.”

“We never lose our focus, Tifa!” Yuffie stuck her tongue out cheekily. “Let’s make some smoothies!”

x-x-x

It was Friday evening, the day before the big summer party. The golden sun sank into the ocean’s horizon as some of the gang enjoyed an evening swim. These were the lucky ones who weren’t working late tonight – Axel, Roxas and Xion were eating ice cream on the shore, Riku and Sora were racing each other from one end of the beach to the other, Hayner and Pence were placing bets on the winner, and Tidus and Wakka were splashing Selphie in the water.

“Poor Kairi,” Xion laughed, opening a snap from her redheaded friend, who was wearing a pouty face at the prospect of working. She sent back a selfie of herself, Roxas and Axel smiling happily, and wrote a teasing message back. Kairi replied with ‘jealous! don’t wear yourselves out before tomorrow!!’.

“Xion! Help me!!” Selphie cried from the water, shielding herself from the onslaught of splashes from the two boys she’d grown up with.

Xion giggled, finishing up her ice cream. “Looks like I’ve been summoned. Come and join us!” She turned to her two best friends.

Axel waved a lazy hand, licking his ice cream. “Can’t wear ourselves out before tomorrow, Kairi’s orders.”

“Lazy bum,” Xion teased, then ran towards the ocean. She leapt in front of Selphie and began splashing the boys back, and both girls giggled as the boys kicked and threw water in retaliation.

Roxas quickly finished his ice cream, planning on joining them, but just as he stepped forward a strong hand pulled back on his shoulder.

“What’s the rush, Roxie?” Axel teased. “They’re pretty evenly matched.”

Roxas wriggled free of Axel’s grip with a smirk. “C’mon, the girls need a little help.”

Axel shrugged doubtfully. “Xion can hold her own against those clowns. Besides, I wanna talk to you.”

“About what?” Roxas asked, growing impatient. He turned back to see Tidus chasing Xion around in the water, aiming a splash at her. She giggled and jumped, and her smile was infectious.

Axel tilted his head slightly, eyeing his blonde compatriot. Roxas looked back and saw the expression on his best friend’s face, and faltered. “What?”

“Come on,” Axel nodded in Xion’s direction. “As if it isn’t painfully obvious.”

“What!?” Roxas grew defensive, turning to fully face the redhead.

Axel rolled his eyes. “Your login info, for starters. You’ve barely been playing lately and yet you’re the last to log off every night.”

Roxas felt the excuse he was about to craft die in his throat, and Axel continued.

“Not to mention every time I visit your store, you have a special guest.”

Roxas narrowed his eyes. “If you mean Xion, she works right next door. And we’re best friends, duh.”

“Roxas,” Axel said, dead serious, and Roxas finally sighed and let him speak. “Seriously. You can tell me. You dig her?”

The blonde boy looked back out to the ocean, where Xion and Selphie were hugging each other and giggling, watching Wakka slip in the water and drag Tidus down with him. “If I did… would you be mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” Axel asked genuinely.

Roxas turned back, not liking how vulnerable he felt. “Because… the three of us have been best friends since we were kids. I wouldn’t change that for the world… but…”

Axel cracked a smile and threw an arm over Roxas’ shoulder. “You thought I’d be jealous or something?”

“I dunno,” Roxas grimaced, uncomfortable. “Maybe…”

“Listen, you guys are like my brother and sister. Well,” Axel stopped, realising how it might sound, “like, separate brother and sister. Not related. At all. But to me you’re both like my siblings. But separate. Brother from another mother. Sister from another mister.”

Roxas chuckled. “I get it.”

Axel laughed. “Anyway, nothing could change that. And seeing you two happy together would just make me happy. You got it?”

Roxas sighed, looking back out at the horizon. “It’s not like it’s serious yet. I don’t even know if… it only really started when school finished…”

“It’s cute, you’re in the flirting stage,” Axel teased, and Roxas grumbled slightly at this. “I love seeing my Roxie all embarrassed. But if you ever hurt my Xion, I will have to set you on fire.”

Roxas elbowed Axel in the stomach, but he just chuckled and ruffled the blonde’s hair. “As if. It might not even happen, anyway.”

“But… you want it to?” Axel asked sincerely, and Roxas scowled again, cheeks turning pink. “Go on, say iiiiit.”

A grumble, then a sigh. “Yeah, I do.”

“Aww, I knew it!” Axel continued to ruffle Roxas’ locks even harder, mussing up his perfectly styled spikes into frizzy heaps. Roxas tried to escape, but his older friend was too strong.

“Cut it out, Ax!”

“Alright, alright,” Axel let go of the blonde, then relaxed back. “Go on, go and play, kiddo. Papa Axel will be watching.”

“You’re so weird,” Roxas chuckled, but he patted his best friend on the back, then ran along the smooth sand to join the others. He waded into the water, launching a new assault on Wakka and Tidus, who were continuing their onslaught on the girls. “Get outta here!”

“Yay, we’ve got Roxas now!” Selphie cheered, claiming victory already. “You two should just give up now.”

“We’re not gonna lose to two girls and this scrawny guy, ya?” Wakka mused, flexing his biceps. Tidus laughed beside his comrade.

“Selphie, you keepin’ score? After this I’ll be in the lead!"

“You haven’t been in the lead since fourth grade!” Selphie pouted, sending a splash his way. The assault began, and the five teenagers charged at each other with splashes and waves.

“Ahh!” Xion cried, receiving a hefty splash from Wakka. She covered her face with her arms, but Roxas stepped in front and retaliated, pushing the water through his palms and onto the offending team.

Xion’s giggle sent tingles down his spine, and he turned back to her with a smile. He still had his doubts, and he still felt nervous… but a little part of him couldn’t help but swell with hope. 

x-x-x 

The big day finally arrived – Saturday made its grand entrance with one of the hottest temperatures this summer had seen, and Naminé fanned herself as she stepped up the path towards Kairi’s house, holding a bag of supplies. She knocked on the door and she could already hear music playing inside.

Kairi opened the door with a flourish. “Hey!! Are you excited?”

“So excited!” Naminé hugged her best friend and stepped inside. She was wearing a lilac wrap dress with lace on the trim, summery and feminine. “I love your outfit!”

Kairi was also wearing a dress, a bright floral print with yellows and blues, in a halter neck style. It revealed a cheeky triangle of stomach in the centre, and Naminé could tell it would twirl perfectly if Kairi were to spin (which she guessed would happen later on the dance floor).

“Yo, Naminé!” Yuffie waved from the kitchen countertop. Naminé was a bit taken aback at first, but greeted her cheerful upperclassman. Yuffie was wearing a trendy A-line shirt with a short printed skirt.

Naminé placed the bag of goodies she’d brought with her on the bench, but she quickly realised the place looked party ready. “You guys been setting up long?” She asked, feeling the sting of a long-time tradition falling apart before her eyes.

“A little while, yeah,” Yuffie smiled, nodding along to the pop music playing softly in the background. “What’d you bring?”

“Just some photobooth props and stuff…” Naminé trailed off, feeling her enthusiasm waver as she watched Yuffie sift through the bag.

“Oh, Yuffie bought that one too!” Kairi laughed as Yuffie held up the packet. “Welp, won’t hurt to have two!”

Naminé tried to smile along, but it felt hollow. She proceeded to help Kairi and Yuffie finish the setting up; moving furniture to make room for a makeshift dancefloor, setting up the trestle table for the food, and getting the trays ready to put in the oven. The sun was beginning to sink into the skyline, casting an orange shadow through the large windows of Kairi’s house, and the doorbell rang.

“Eeek! Let’s get this party started!” Kairi clapped, and she and Yuffie ran to the door. Naminé lagged back, standing awkwardly behind them.

“Hey!!” The girls chimed, welcoming Riku and Sora inside. “Surprised you’re the first one here, Sora!” Kairi teased.

“I’m not always late!” Sora smiled back, giving Kairi a hug.

“Sora was the keenest of beans,” Riku smirked, patting his brunette best friend on the back. “He wanted to leave earlier.”

“Riku!!”

Kairi laughed, moving to hug Riku. “Make yourselves at home, guys.”

Riku greeted Naminé next, ushering her to step forward for a hug. “C’mon, we don’t bite, do we?”

Naminé giggled, albeit flatly. “Didn’t wanna bombard you guys.” She mentally slapped herself for being so down – she knew she was being silly, and she was going to have a good time.

By the time the boys came inside, more guests arrived, and soon there was an onslaught of teenagers invading every space in Kairi’s house. Yuffie turned up the music, and everyone mingled, chatted and began to drink. Naminé felt like she wasn’t even at Kairi’s house – gone were the intimate friend parties of the past, this was a real house party.

The usual gang were here – Selphie went to help Kairi and Yuffie with the food, while Sora and Axel hung around like a bad smell, waiting for the delicious treats. Aqua was leading Terra around by the hand, introducing him to some of her new friends. Tidus, Wakka, Hayner, Pence, Olette and Hope were chatting in the main living room area and Roxas and Xion weren’t far off, grabbing drinks from the esky. Zidane and Blank had made their way to the garage with Eiko and Garnet, where disco lights had been set up. Serah and Snow were standing nearby, and a fuming Lightning was stewing some feet away. There were new faces, too – a girl with bright blonde hair, several guys with all sorts of quirky hair colours and styles, and two other girls who looked like polar opposite personalities.

Naminé leaned towards Riku, who was standing beside her. “So, do you know these people?”

“Some of Axel’s friends turned up, some co-workers too,” he explained, pointing to them. “That there’s Larxene, and that’s Dilan, umm… I think that’s Isa. The guy with the guitar is Demyx. Not sure about the others.”

“Trust Axel to have an even wider circle than Yuffie,” Naminé smirked. “What about them?”

“Yuffie’s friends, Rikku and Paine,” Riku nodded, “Not sure who that girl is. Lots of new friends to make, huh?”

Naminé gave a half-hearted snort. “I don’t see an advantage in numbers.”

Riku looked down at the blonde, eyeing her carefully. “I know what you mean. Give us a few close friends and we’re set, right?”

Naminé met his gaze and smiled, wondering how she got so lucky to have not just Kairi as a childhood friend, but Riku and Sora too. “Right.”

“Shall we get a drink?” Riku offered, and Naminé nodded. They headed towards the fridge. Axel was already downing a bottle of Elixir, waiting patiently for his bounty. Naminé had only ever drunk one other time, at Axel’s birthday party a few months back. The young teens were still very new to the whole drinking thing.

Soon the food was served, and the teenagers took their choices of hot snacks, chips, pizzas and a variety of BBQ choices. They sat and ate, chatting loudly and downing a few more drinks.

After the food was eaten, some teens headed for the garage to start dancing, while others stayed in the lounge area to relax and drink. Axel was leaning lazily against the corner seat of the couch, sipping his beer, while Roxas and Xion chatted with him.

“I’m gonna get another drink,” Roxas announced, patting Xion on the knee before heading to the cooler in the backyard. Xion sucked in a breath, then turned back to Axel to see him looking suggestively at her. “What?”

“You loooove him,” Axel teased, taking another swig of his drink.

“W-What!?”

“S’okay,” he waved a lazy hand as he spoke, “Papa Axel’s been watching. I think you two would be cute together.”

Xion’s eyes widened. Was she really that obvious? First Aqua, now Axel! “Ax, I… This isn’t just you drunk-talking, is it?”

“Please, I have a very high tolerance to alcohol,” he boasted, then readjusted himself so he was fully facing his stark-haired friend. “Seriously. I’m okay with it.” He felt a sense of déjà vu after his conversation with Roxas yesterday. He was secretly touched that both of his best friends were worried about what he might think. “Nothing would make me happier than seeing you two happy. So, you like him?”

Xion fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. “Maybe…”

Axel swung an arm around her, chuckling. “Ya cuties. You know how to lure him in, right? Do the ol’ basketball flirting the next time you play together.”

Xion pulled a confused expression. “What kind of flirting?”

“Oh, you know,” Axel stood, putting his drink down. “You get your hand on your knee, do the slow caress up the thigh while you’re waiting for the ball,” Axel mimed, and Xion giggled. “Then you do the neck swipe, you know, cause you’re all sweaty from playing. Just like, ahhh,” he pretended to wipe sweat from his neck, and Xion laughed. “And of course there’s the fringe sweat, you gotta whip that towards him,” Axel whipped his hair to and fro, and Xion fell into a fit of giggles.

“Axel, go home, you’re drunk,” she managed between giggles, and Axel sat down beside her.

“I may be a little tipsy, yes,” Axel admitted, and Roxas returned at that moment. He gave Xion one last wink before finishing off his bottle. “Welp, time for a refill! Have fun, kids.”

Axel stood and left, leaving Xion and Roxas alone on the couch. Xion internally shook her head, wondering what Roxas would think if he knew both Aqua and Axel were now rallying for the two of them.

In the backyard, Axel headed for the drinks and grabbed another Elixir. He stood next to Riku, who was conversing with Sora.

“Hey, who’s phone is this?” Axel asked, leaning against the banister. He pressed the home button, and a photo of all the girls popped up.

“Looks like Selphie’s,” Riku said, taking the phone. “Hey, it’s not unlocked! Smile, boys!”

Riku, Sora and Axel began taking copious amounts of selfies, doing extreme close-ups, including some juicy nostril shots. Riku made the photo of Axel’s nostril close-up her new wallpaper.

“Let’s hide it,” Axel suggested, and the three stifled their chuckles as they looked for a good hiding spot. Riku stuffed it in his back pocket, and the three returned to their nonchalant chatter.

x-x-x

“Truth or Dare in the living room, let’s go!!” Yuffie announced, parading through the house and out into the garage. “Truth or Dare!! You don’t have to play, but you’ll look like a loser if you don’t!”

Kairi rolled her eyes at her eccentric friend, but still the friends gathered in the living room. Axel’s friends voted to stay in the garage, but most people joined in a circle in the living room, some sitting on the couches, others lounging on the carpet.

“Alright, I’ll go first,” Yuffie rubbed her hands together devilishly. “Riku, truth or dare?”

Riku scoffed and shook his head. “Typical that you’d choose me. Dare.”

“I dare you to give Kairi a kiss on the cheek,” Yuffie winked. Aqua slapped her forehead and Yuffie put her hands up defensively. “What!? I’m starting it off tame! Can’t go wild from the get-go!”

Riku smirked at Yuffie’s antics, then leaned across the circle to give the redhead a quick peck on the cheek. There were a few ‘aww’s’ going around, and Kairi glared cheekily at Yuffie. Sora leaned back on his arms, trying not to let his jealously show in his expression.

“Right, let’s see…” Riku looked around the circle for the next victim. “Axel,” he pulled a gleeful grin, “Truth or dare?”

“Dare, baby,” Axel cracked his knuckles.

“I dare you to go to the last person you texted and confess your undying love for them.”

“Shit, that’s my boss, man!” Axel wailed, and everyone laughed as he pulled out his phone. “Okay, how’s this…” He typed as he spoke. “Hey Ansem, just letting you know that I love you man.”

“Make it more obvious,” Riku added, and Axel rolled his eyes.

“Fine. You’re the man of my dreams. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Hayner and Pence were cacking themselves with laughter. “Much better,” Riku chuckled. “Send it!”

“If this gets me fired, there’s no more free food,” Axel warned, but Roxas was already leaning over and pressed send before he could stop him. “Hey!!”

“Tell us what he says!!” Kairi managed through her laughter.

“Right, my turn,” Axel took one look to his right and smirked. “Roxie.”

“Truth,” the blonde said immediately.

“Oh man, you shouldn’t have done that, what with all the secrets I know about you…” Axel teased, and the blonde thumped him. “Is it true that you have a crush on someone in this circle?” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

Roxas sighed, knowing very well Xion was right next to him. “Yes.”

A parade of hoots and ‘ooooh’s’ went around the circle, and Hayner jostled him, begging him to reveal who it was. Naminé’s eyes widened, wondering who it could be. She bit her lip, a glimmer of hope swelling inside her as his eyes met hers and he smiled embarrassedly.

“Okay, can I pick Axel again?” Roxas asked Yuffie, but she shook her head. “Umm, Hayner.”

“Dare.”

Roxas smiled devilishly. “I dare you to call the girl whose number you got the other day, right now.”

Hayner’s eyes widened. “Right now!?”

“Yup.”

The brunette sucked in a breath, seemingly in a jam, and darted his eyes around the circle. “I haven’t called her yet!”

“Just do it!” Pence elbowed his best friend, “It’ll be fun!”

“Fine…” Hayner pulled out his phone, and Olette looked like she was about to hurl as he scrolled to her name in his contacts.

“Put it on speaker!”

Hayner furrowed his brow nervously, but did as he was told. The receiver picked up.

“Hello?” a girl’s voice chimed through.

“Hey, it’s Hayner, from Oblivion,” Hayner tried to sound suave, but there was a quiver in his voice.

“Ohhh!” A strange, elongated response. “Hi! Nice to finally hear from you.”

“Yeah, sorry, been busy working,” Hayner fake-laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “So, listen, I really, errr… thought you were cute the other day?” He cringed, and Olette almost thought she heard a snort from the line. “Um, do you wanna catch up sometime?”

“Sure, that sounds great!” The voice reverberated – it sounded like she was in a bathroom. “Listen, I gotta go, but text the details, okay?”

Before Hayner could answer, Axel shimmied himself closer to the brunette and drawled a “Hayner, come back to beeeeed!” in his girliest voice.

“Shut up, Axel!” Hayner swatted him away. “Sorry, you’ll have to excuse my friend.”

The girl laughed. “It’s okay. Catch up with you soon, okay?”

“Kay,” Hayner managed, and quickly hung up the receiver. He breathed a sigh of relief as several of the teens whooped and clapped for him. Olette hunched in on herself in her position on the floor, suddenly feeling like going home.

Hayner cracked his knuckles. “Rox, you’re an ass. Okay, let’s see… Tidus!”

“Daaaamn, Ansem replied,” Axel suddenly announced, reading the message on his phone. “’Don’t send me drunk texts, Axel. You better not be late for work tomorrow.’ Ha, he could totally tell! Guess you guys can keep your free food.”

When the laughter died down, Tidus finally chose. “Dare!”

Hayner tapped his chin, thinking. “Umm, I dare you to… do a corny dance move.”

Several of the teens groaned. “Dude, you are so bad at this,” Axel teased, and Hayner pouted. Tidus got up and managed to perform a pretty impressive break dancing move, then returned to his perch on the edge of the couch. “Selphie!” He said without hesitation.

Selphie glared at the blonde boy, not liking where this was going. “Dare.”

“Ooh, hoo, hoo, you sure?” Tidus teased, his tongue between his teeth. “I dare you to lick Riku’s face. Like, from chin to forehead.”

“Eww!” Selphie griped, but there was no getting out of it from the sounds of the excited teenagers around her. People poked and prodded her until she finally relented. “You’ll pay for this, ball boy.”

“Don’t play the game if you can’t handle it!” Tidus retorted with a smirk. “This is payback for pouring water in my pillow at fourth grade camp!”

Selphie groaned, then shuffled over to Riku. “Your face better be clean, buddy.”

“Even got fancy aftershave on,” Riku winked, and Selphie cringed as she went in for the kill. She stuck her tongue out and dragged it up the side of Riku’s face. Riku shut his left eye as Selphie passed it with her tongue, reaching his hairline and quickly retracting. The hoots and laughter could probably be heard from down the street.

“There. Better watch you back, Tidus,” Selphie spat, glaring at her childhood friend. “Right, let’s see… Zidane!”

“Truth,” Zidane said lazily, leaning his arms back on the ottoman.

“What’s the furthest you’ve gone with a girl?” Selphie asked, genuinely curious.

Zidane looked almost embarrassed, and both Garnet and Eiko leaned forward. Eiko was itching to know the answer, but Garnet almost mentally scolded herself for wanting to know such things.

“Hey, I don’t kiss and tell,” Zidane shrugged, smirking. “But I will tell you that’s all I’ve done.”

“Seriously?” Selphie looked almost disappointed. “I would have expected at least second base.”

Zidane smirked. “I know I’ve got a reputation, but I treat my ladies right, and I’d never rush anyone.” He winked at Garnet, and she rolled her eyes at him.

“Wow, that’s actually really nice, Zidane,” Eiko piped up, trying to grab his attention. Blank gagged beside the blonde.

“Alright, I’m going to ask the queen of truth or dare,” Zidane declared, looking pointedly at Yuffie.

“Truth!”

“Tell us the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done.”

Yuffie smirked immediately. “Okay, okay, I’ve never told anyone this, and don’t laugh, but when I was in ninth grade I kind of… wrote a love letter to Mr. Valentine.”

“Seriously!?” Riku laughed heartily, and Yuffie thumped him.

“What!? Girls can crush on their teachers! I was, like, 14! Anyway, my next target for the night iiiiis… Axel!”

“Pick someone else,” Axel complained, but Yuffie shook her head.

“Too bad! It isn’t your second turn in a row. Now choose!”

Axel sighed. “Dare.”

“I dare you…” Yuffie tilted her head and eyed Axel up and down. “… to shave half your butt.”

“Are you insinuating my butt is that hairy?” Axel smirked, but Kairi immediately ran into the bathroom to grab a razor. “Someone’s keen to see my ass.”

“C’mon, shave it off!” Hayner egged him on, and Axel stood up and turned, pulling his pants down so that his butt cheeks were showing. Garnet shrieked and covered her eyes, while everyone else laughed hysterically.

“You have no shame,” Yuffie laughed, taking the razor from Kairi. She began to shave down his right butt cheek, which wasn’t hugely hairy, but you could definitely tell by the end that one was smooth and the other wasn’t. “It’s a masterpiece!”

Riku ran up to slap his freshly shaven cheek, and Axel pulled his pants back up. “Done. You’re gonna pay sorely for that later. Hmm…” The fiery redhead looked around the circle with narrowed eyes. “Zidane!"

“Dare,” The blonde boy smiled idly.

“I dare you to rub your crotch and make a sex noise.”

“Pssh, he does that every day,” Blank teased, and Zidane just smirked at his redheaded friend. He boldly stood, clearly harbouring about as much shame as Axel, and seductively stroked up his groin, making an extremely exaggerated moan. He then shrugged and sat back down like it was nothing. Garnet had a fierce blush on her features, while Eiko looked over at Serah and Selphie with wide eyes.

“Right, Blank, you’re up.”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to give Selphie a lap dance.”

“Bro-”

“Why are we throwing me under the bus!?” Selphie cried, and everyone laughed.

Blank stood up begrudgingly, and Zidane winked at her. “C’mon Selph, you know you’ll love it.”

The redhead proceeded to give a vague lap dance to Selphie, but it wasn’t very enthusiastic. Selphie cringed and smirked the entire time, and Blank sat down with red cheeks.

“You’re paying for that later, you piece of shit,” Blank grumbled, looking around the circle. “Hmmm, Eiko!”

Eiko looked shyly down, wondering what Blank might ask. She secretly hoped he would ask her to kiss her crush or something. “Dare?”

“You have one minute to make Axel laugh. Poker face, go!” Blank called out, and Axel immediately pulled a bored expression.

“What!?” Eiko cried, disappointed, but she stood and walked over to where Axel sat. She pulled various silly expressions and poses, but Axel didn’t crack a smile at all.

“Totally bombed!” Blank teased. “You miss your turn!”

“Aww…” Eiko sat back down, pouting. Even Blank couldn’t give her an interesting dare that might lead to a great moment with Zidane!

“Right, Nam, you haven’t had a turn. Truth or dare?” Yuffie asked the blonde, and Naminé looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Um, truth?”

“Have you ever been kissed?”

“Um, no…” Naminé said shyly, and looked around the circle. “Olette?”

“Truth?” Olette shrugged, still not impressed with a certain dare that happened earlier.

“Do you have a crush on anyone here tonight?” Naminé asked timidly, not wanting to put Olette on the spot but not wanting to seem lame either.

Olette bit her lip. “Yes.” Another round of hoots and hollers, and Olette quickly looked for the next subject.

“Let’s spice things up a bit more,” Yuffie announced then, drumming her fingers together as if devising an evil plan.

“I already shaved my butt hair, how much wilder can it get?” Axel laughed, and Yuffie waggled a finger at him.

“Easy. You don’t mind, right, Olette?” She asked the brunette, and she shook her head. “Selphie, I dare you to make out with someone in this circle.”

“What!?” Selphie screeched, and several ‘ooooh’s’ went around the circle. “Why me again!?”

“Come on, it’s not hard! Any guy you like,” Yuffie teased, waving her hand as if she was showing off the prizes on a game show.

Selphie bit her lip, looking around the room and shifting nervously. “I can’t choose! It’s not like I like anyone here. No offense, guys.”

“Then you have to shut your eyes and spin to choose!” Yuffie pushed Selphie into the centre of the circle. “The closest guy to your finger!”

Selphie glared at Yuffie, but she was smirking, and Kairi wondered if she was secretly looking forward to this. She shut her eyes and slowly span, holding out a finger and pointing. Yuffie spun her shoulders around to speed her up, then let go so she couldn’t cheat. Selphie stopped.

A chorus of whoops and shouts reigned over the circle, and Selphie opened her eyes to see that she was pointing at a gap between Xion and Tidus.

“Tidus is the closest!” Yuffie exclaimed, pushing the brunette towards him.

“Ewww, no, I’ve known Tidus since kindergarten! It’s too weird!” Selphie cried, but Yuffie pushed onwards. Several of the teens starting egging her on or chanting for her to kiss him. She had no choice.

She looked at Tidus and he looked just as embarrassed, but just shrugged at her. “Let’s do it quick so they all shut up, hey?”

“You have to make out, it can’t be a quick peck,” Yuffie reminded, watching carefully. Selphie sighed, giving Tidus one last embarrassed expression before closing her eyes and leaning in. Tidus did the same, and their lips met awkwardly. They almost pulled back, but rearranged their lips snuggly and kissed a few more times before pulling apart. Everyone cheered and teased the two, and Selphie quickly crawled back to her spot in the circle.

“I hate you all,” Selphie pouted, and another roar of laughter went around. “Yuffie, I’d definitely pick you next if I could.”

Yuffie stuck her tongue out cheekily. “Right, only risqué dares from now on! But you can say no if you’re super uncomfortable.”

“Glad you have some semblance of caring,” Axel teased.

“Zidane,” Selphie chose, claiming her revenge. “I dare you to squeeze someone’s ass.”

“Anyone’s?” Zidane asked, then looked around the circle. “The clear choice here is the freshly shaven one.” The circle fell into another fit of laughter as Zidane went and gave Axel a squeeze. “Oooh, firm!”

“I work out, baby,” Axel winked, and Xion could feel her stomach hurting from all the laughter she’d done tonight.

Zidane looked around the circle for his next victim. “Terra,” he smirked, noticing he and Aqua were beginning to lose focus, looking into each other’s eyes. “What’s the most you’ve done with Aqua?”

A barrage of whoops went around the circle, and Aqua blushed madly. Terra looked to her as if waiting for permission, and when she didn’t shake her head he deemed it okay to say. “We, uh… haven’t done that yet, but we’ve done some… stuff.”

“More specific!” Axel called through cupped hands like a megaphone.

Terra rolled his eyes. “You know… foreplay.”

“What kinda foreplay?” Zidane said suggestively, tilting his head.

The brunette boy groaned, his girlfriend hiding her face behind his shoulder. “Do I have to say it? You know… hand and head…”

“Aqua!” Xion let out before she could stop herself, and Aqua looked mortified as she looked at her co-worker.

“Okay, who should I pick…” Terra looked around, but Aqua started to whisper in his ear. Everyone leaned forward, curious. “You sure, babe?” Terra asked, and Aqua nodded. “Alright, but I’m not getting the blame for this. Xion.”

“Me?” Xion piped up quietly, staring at Aqua with wide eyes.

“You have to kiss the person to your left, with tongue.”

The circle erupted with even louder roars of excitement, and Xion looked up at the person to her left – none other than Roxas. She whipped back to glare at Aqua, who winked at her. “Um…”

“You don’t have to,” Olette reminded, but soon Axel and Yuffie were chanting ‘Ki-iss! Ki-iss! Ki-iss!” and Xion felt the pressure mounting.

“You don’t mind?” Xion asked her blonde friend shyly, who looked embarrassed but shook his head.

“I’m fine with it if you are, Xi,” Roxas gave an awkward grin, and Xion bit her lip, feeling dizzy, and not just from the alcohol.

The whooping got louder as Xion and Roxas faced each other, ready to lean in. Naminé stared with wide eyes – she knew this was a part of the game, but she couldn’t stand seeing Roxas kiss another girl.

Xion hesitated, so Roxas took the lead and leaned in, capturing her lips. Xion smiled despite the raving audience around her, and kissed him back.

“Don’t forget the tongue!” Kairi teased, and Xion’s heart skipped a beat. This was her first kiss, after all, so just the sensation of her lips against someone else’s was foreign and new.

Roxas took the lead again, slipping his tongue inside Xion’s mouth. A chorus of ‘Woooooo!’s went around, and then Roxas pulled away, not wanting to do any more than was necessary. They smiled shyly at each other, then quickly turned back to face and circle.

“I’m impressed,” Yuffie nodded, “Good one, Aqua! Alright, I’m ready to go dance again!”

There was a general chorus of agreement, and the circle dispersed, some heading to the garage to dance under the lights, some getting more drinks, and some staying in the living room to chill and have a chat. Xion sighed a breath of relief, happy that was over.

“Uh…” Roxas managed beside her, “Was that okay?”

“Oh,” Xion looked up at him, feeling her head spin slightly, “Y-Yes, it was fine. Sorry to put you through that.”

Roxas shook his head. “That’s okay. It was… I mean, thanks for a great first kiss.”

Xion blushed madly. “You too…” She made a mental note to go and both yell at and thank Aqua later. 

x-x-x 

Olette plopped down beside Hope, who was sitting against a ledge in the backyard. “Hey.”

“What’s wrong?” Hope asked, raising his voice over the music from the garage.

“Nothing, just mad at a boy I know,” Olette sighed, twirling her finger around the rim of the bottle she was holding.

Hope eyed Olette carefully, unsure if he should pry. “Is it… Hayner?”

“How’d you know?” Olette asked, looking over at her silver-haired friend.

“Just a guess, from the way you talk about him…”

Olette sighed. “Do I really talk about him that much?”

Hope smiled. “He’s been your best friend for years, it’s not a bad thing.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Olette was running a million different thoughts through her head, and Hope was unsure of what to say next.

“It’s not like I’m mad that he’s suddenly interested in girls, that’s fine,” Olette began to explain, and Hope gave her his full attention. “It’s just… It feels unfair that for all these years he’s been oblivious to my feelings, and then all of a sudden he’s noticing girls? And he’s going for girls way out of his league. Who does he think he is?”

Hope stifled a small smile, knowing full well that this was 100% jealousy, but he thought better than to tell Olette that. “Yeah, that really sucks… maybe you should just talk to him about this?”

Olette narrowed her eyes. “Why? Clearly he’s not interested in me.”

“Come on, think about it,” Hope started, and Olette looked over at him, “you’re childhood best friends. He’s always seen you as a friend. He starts liking girls, but to him you’re still his best friend. It’s not that he’s not interested… he’s just never thought to look at you any other way.”

Olette nodded, looking back out towards the backyard, where Axel and his friends were dancing around with bottles in their hands. “You think he’d start looking at me differently if he knew?”

“Maybe… Do you think it’s worth a shot?” Hope asked.

The brunette sucked her lips in, thinking. She’d been in love with Hayner for as long as she could remember, and she knew there’d always be this rift as long as he was oblivious to her feelings.

“I think so, maybe,” Olette nodded, finishing her drink.

“Well… what are you waiting for?” Hope said gently. “Go find him.”

Olette smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Hope. This was really helpful. Especially getting a guy’s perspective.”

She stood up, going to look for the mousy brown-haired boy. She peeked into the garage, but he wasn’t one of the dancing bodies inside. She went into the house, and he wasn’t chatting on the couches. She headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms and bathrooms, and she finally heard his voice, barely above a whisper.

“Thanks again, Yuna. Sorry to put you through that.”

Olette furrowed her brow, confused. She followed the voice towards Kairi’s bedroom, where the door was open a crack. Hayner was on his phone in the dark room.

“I swear, I won’t make you do that again. I’ll tell the guys it didn’t work out. Well, you can’t meet them now!! You’re only visiting for another week, you’ll survive! Psh, you said you were happy to help. That’s what family is for, right?”

Olette’s eyes widened as she put the pieces together. Was the girl from earlier… one of Hayner’s family members!?

“Yeah, yeah, I owe ya one. See ya, cuz.”

“She’s your cousin!?” Olette suddenly burst through the door just as Hayner hung up the phone, and he screamed rather effeminately.

“Olette!?” Hayner turned to the brunette, quickly stuffing his phone in his pocket.

“I can’t believe you got your cousin to stage as your girlfriend!” Olette shrieked, and Hayner shushed her and shut Kairi’s door.

He sighed, looking guilty. “It’s not like I planned this, alright!? She walked into the store to say hi, she’s visiting from Radiant Garden. I had this bet with Blank, and… I didn’t wanna lose! I asked if she would pretend I was getting her number and she was all for it. Nobody’s met her before, so…”

Olette shook her head, hardly believing him. “You’re pathetic.”

“Huh!?”

“You’re so immature! Here I thought you were finally growing up, and now you’re pulling your cousin into your boyish bets. All to make it look like you know how to get girls!”

“Hey, it was just a silly bet, nobody got hurt,” Hayner put his arms on his hips, getting annoyed.

“That’s not true,” Olette spat, but immediately regretted her words.

“Why? Who got hurt?” Hayner asked, and Olette panicked.

“Well, maybe if you weren’t so oblivious to other people’s feelings, you’d know!” She scolded, crossing her arms. “But instead you’re off flirting with all the pretty girls.”

Hayner furrowed his brow, confused. “Since when do you care if I flirt with girls?”

Olette drew her lips inward. “I don’t. I don’t care.”

“Then… why are you mad at me!?” Hayner looked beyond confused, and it infuriated Olette.

“Because! I thought I knew you! And then all of a sudden you go skirt chasing like Zidane, and it’s like I don’t know you at all.”

“Hey, I haven’t changed. I’m still the same guy. I’m beginning to think it’s you that’s changed,” Hayner spat, growing impatient with this argument.

“Well, how would you know? You’ve barely spoken to me this summer, what with all your gallivanting.”

“Is that why you’re mad? Because we haven’t been spending time together? Olette, we hang out all the time! And in case you hadn’t noticed, we work now. We can’t spend every second together like we did in middle school. You’re not my only friend.”

Olette groaned out of frustration. She knew she was going in circles, and she knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what? You’re not making any sense, Olette.”

Olette had had enough. She shoved past his shoulder, opening Kairi’s bedroom door and storming out, leaving a very confused Hayner behind. 

x-x-x 

“Where the fuck is my phone!?” Selphie traipsed through the house, enraged.

“Geez, watch that mouth, Tilmitt!” Tidus laughed, and Selphie glared at him.

“Did you hide it!?” She asked, pointing an accusing finger.

“Not me,” Tidus held his hands up in defence, and Wakka did the same beside him.

“Grrr! It’s unlocked! I need it back!”

“Watcha hiding, Selph?” Riku asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. “Something you don’t want other people to see?”

“You have it!” Selphie bolted towards Riku, but he held his arms out innocently.

“Not me! But now I’m itching with curiosity.”

Selphie huffed, looking around, and Riku quickly passed the phone behind his back to Axel, who put it in his back pocket. Selphie whipped her head back to see Riku smirking and Sora stifling a chuckle.

“Okay, one of you has it! Give it back!” She demanded.

“Where are you manners?” Sora asked cheekily, and Selphie began searching the boy. “H-Hey, I haven’t got it!”

Axel smirked, taking the phone out of his pocket and passing it back to Riku. “I bet there’s nudes on it.”

“You!” Selphie jumped towards Axel, and while she searched Riku passed it back to Sora. “Where is it!?”

“Gosh, some of those text messages were wild,” Riku snorted, and he was the next victim to get searched.

“Stop teasing me! Just give it back!”

Sora went to pass it to Axel, but fumbled and dropped it on the deck. “Oops…”

“Sora, you clumsy shit,” Riku chided, and Selphie quickly picked up her phone.

“Don’t do that ever again! I swear…” Selphie was about to walk off, but she saw what her wallpaper had become. “Oh, that is it – you boys are dead!!”

The three boys laughed as they ran through the backyard, being chased by a tipsy Selphie, and unknowingly being filmed by about three other teens in the area, including Zidane.

“Too funny,” Zidane chuckled, Blank laughing beside him. Garnet was sitting nearby, too, sipping daintily on a can of soft drink (she’d never drunk before, and mother would kill her if she did). Blank went to get a drink, and suddenly Zidane felt Eiko sidle up next to him. “Oh, hey Eiko!”

“Hey Zidane,” Eiko began shyly, feeling her body temperature rising. “Having fun?”

“Best party I’ve ever been to,” Zidane exclaimed, scrolling through the hilarious photos he’d taken. “Check this out.”

“Oh my gosh,” Eiko covered her mouth at the sight of Axel’s bare bum against the glass of Kairi’s backyard door.

Zidane chuckled to himself. “Wanna look, Dag?”

Eiko furrowed her brow, but realised he was talking to Garnet. Since when did they have nicknames for each other? Eiko would have to bring her A-game now.

“No, thanks, I saw enough during truth or dare,” Garnet mumbled, wide-eyed. Zidane guessed she’d seen more scandalous things in night than she ever had in her entire life.

“So, Zidane,” Eiko interrupted, and he turned his gaze back to the purple-haired girl. She smoothed out her lemon dress, the one Selphie and Serah picked out for her. “Remember when you said we should hang out? When do you wanna do that?”

“Oh, uh, anytime, I guess?” Zidane shrugged. “Feel free to stop by the shop anytime.”

“Okay…” Eiko nodded, not exactly happy with the answer she got. “So, um, I was surprised by what you said in truth or dare earlier.”

“Hm? About only having kissed?” Zidane questioned, and Eiko nodded. He shrugged again. “Like I said, I’d never force a girl to do anything. Besides, I’d want it to be meaningful.”

Eiko’s eyes widened. “Wow. I’ve never met anyone like you before, Zidane. I mean, most guys wouldn’t be that nice.”

Zidane smiled, but tore his gaze to Garnet. “Dagger?” He snapped her out of her thoughts as he approached her. “What’s wrong? You look dazed.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Garnet drawled, suggesting anything but.

“Do you have a fever?” Zidane asked, reaching to feel her forehead with his hand. She pulled her head back with a little yelp. “You’re fine. Hey, are you jealous?”

“Why would I be jealous?” Garnet glared at the blonde, and before he could answer, shouting could be heard from further into the backyard. The three teens stood and followed the shouts.

“You think you can just walk into our lives and sweep my sister off her feet!?”

Everyone gathered; Lightning and Snow were in the middle of the grassy backyard, and Lightning looked like she was about to beat this guy up.

“Is she drunk?” Hope asked Riku, who looked on with concern in his face.

“Yup. And mad."

Snow stared Lightning down. “Hey, your sister feels the same way about me. Why are you all bent out of shape?” He asked, holding his hands up as if to surrender.

“So what’s this about a promise ring!? You two just met!” Lightning spat, enraged. Serah came running up to her sister, then, and she did indeed have a small ring on her finger.

“Sis, calm down-”

But Lightning pushed her out of the way. “Since our mom died, I’m all she’s got! It’s always been the two of us! I will not have you steal her away!” She was beginning to slur her words.

Snow shook his head. “I’m not trying to ste-”

CRACK.

Everyone gasped as Lightning threw her first forward and punched Snow square in the jaw. He fell back, grasping his face and groaning. Serah shrieked, running to her boyfriend’s aid, and Lightning walked off, pissed beyond belief.

“Geez, this party is getting wilder by the second,” Axel called out, while Serah walked Snow to the bathroom to clean him up.

x-x-x

Despite the punch, the party bustled on in a positive fashion, with people blissfully tipsy, dancing away in the garage, nibbling on the leftover snacks, or just chatting in the lounge. Xion and Roxas were still sticking closely together, wedged together on the couch and chatting. Naminé was standing with Kairi and Yuffie, but she felt like the third wheel as Yuffie dominated the conversation. Riku came over then, an Elixir in one hand.

“Geez, there’s no sign of this party slowing down, is there?” Riku smirked at Kairi. It was almost midnight, but the energy was still extremely high. Some teens had even found their way to Kairi’s rumpus room for some D&Ms.

“Has this been the best night, or what?” Kairi grinned, her voice hoarse from all the singing she’d done on the dance floor earlier.

She and Yuffie kept gushing about the party, and Riku leaned against the wall, looking down at Naminé. “And how are you holding up?”

“What do you mean, ‘holding up’?” She slurred slightly, looking up at Riku.

“I get the feeling you’re a bit down tonight,” He said gently, tilting his head to get a better look at the blonde in the dark room.

“I’m fine,” Naminé tried to smile, but Riku could see right through her. “Things are just changing, that’s all. I guess I wasn’t prepared for it.”

Riku smiled knowingly, then looked back out at the crowd. “C’mon, let’s go dance.”

Naminé nodded, and quickly finished her drink. Kairi and Yuffie saw them heading back towards the garage and followed. Yuffie’s playlist was blasting popular pop songs, and everyone was singing along in the cramped garage, the disco lights illuminating their forms as they danced.

Naminé jumped about, finally feeling the buzz from the drinks she’d had, and sang as loudly as her lungs allowed. Other teens started to join, and soon she found Kairi, Selphie, Xion and Olette, and the five girls jumped around together, singing out of tune and laughing loudly. Everyone was pretty tipsy by this point, falling into each other clumsily and falling into fits of giggles. Naminé swore she even saw Axel making out with someone in the corner.

They blissfully danced for some time, with some people leaving and joining, and Naminé got lost for a while in the steady beats of the songs. She looked up at the rainbow lights, and they blurred her vision.

“Whoops!” Naminé bumped into someone, and it turned out to be Roxas. Naminé blushed madly. “Hey!”

“Hey,” Roxas smiled, steadying the blonde’s shoulders to make sure she was okay. “Having fun?”

“Yeah, heaps!” She smiled shyly, and just the sight of Roxas made her feel ten times more drunk. “You know, I feel like we haven’t seen each other in ages, even though we hang out all the time.”

Roxas scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, guess I’ve been tied up. I promise we’ll hang sometime, kay, Nam?” He gave her another heart-melting smile, and Naminé felt the loud music pumping inside her chest.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Naminé smiled, feeling the room spin around her, and she leaned forward a bit, unsteady. Roxas held her by the arms again, and she put her hands on his chest, partly to steady herself and partly because she could.

“You okay? Wanna go sit down?” He asked, and Naminé shook her head, clearly tipsy.

“No, it’s fine, I’m happy right here,” she smiled giddily, gazing into his eyes.

Roxas gave a nervous smile, eyes full of concern. “You sure?”

“Mmmhmm,” she sighed headily. Their faces were kissing-distance apart now, and her eyes were heavy-lidded as she gazed into his own. Suddenly, she gave into all her drunken instincts, leaning forward and capturing Roxas’ lips.

“Wooooo, two in one night, Rox!” A drunken Zidane called out, and several heads turned to the two blondes. A few more whoops went around, but Xion’s face turned ashen.

Roxas pulled back, and Naminé was still smiling giddily at him. “Okay, Nam, I think that’s the alcohol talking.”

“Nope, all me!” Naminé slurred, giggling.

Roxas smiled awkwardly, trying to disentangle himself from her grip, when there came extremely loud laughter from inside the house.

“OH. MY. GOSH, YOU GUYS!”

Kairi’s voice reverberated out into the garage, and several teens followed. They followed her voice to the hallway, where she had her hands on her cheeks, disbelieving. “What did you DO?”

They followed their gaze to the bathroom, where a mountain of bubbles was exploding from the shower. Inside, Tidus, Wakka, Axel and Riku were hooting with laughter, throwing the bubbles around. Axel was inside the shower, covered to his neck with the soapy suds. They were all obviously drunk.

“Why are there bubbles everywhere!?” Kairi exclaimed, and Selphie was already taking snaps on her phone of the bubble boys.

“What? It’s fun!” Tidus laughed, wading his way through the suds.

“They’re everywhere!” Kairi could hardly believe it, but laughed despite the huge mess this would make later.

The boys continued to play with the bubbles, making various shapes with the white suds, including funky hairstyles and inappropriate body parts. The party raved on well into the morning, until finally some of the teens were picked up or chaperoned home. Kairi couldn’t even keep track of who was staying the night by the time she crashed into her bed at 3 in the morning, her head buzzing with all the memories of the night. 

x-x-x

Chapter Text

Kairi rubbed sleep out of her eyes, flipping over the pancakes in the pan. It was already past noon, but the teens who had stayed for the night were only just awaking from their slumber.

“Ohhh my gosh,” Yuffie groaned, holding her head as she sat at the kitchen stool, “What a night!”

“Did you see Axel’s snap?” Kairi asked, holding up her phone. Axel had sent a selfie of himself at 9am in his work uniform, looking like an absolute mess.

“That’s what you get for taking the Sunday shift after a late night!” Yuffie shrugged, happily taking the plate of pancakes Kairi offered her. “Anyone else up yet?”

“Nope, Naminé and Selphie are still passed out on the mattresses in the rumpus room, Hayner’s on the couch, Sora’s on the floor of the rumpus room…” Kairi tried to keep track on her fingers, her voice croaking.

“Who else stayed? Xion?”

“No, Xion went home with Axel and Roxas. Pence took Olette home. Blank ended up driving Zidane and the other girls home. Terra and Aqua left early, wonder why,” she raised her eyebrows at Yuffie and the two giggled, munching on their pancakes. “Serah and Snow left after Lightning punched him-”

“Oh my gosh, that was crazy,” Yuffie exclaimed, her mouth full of doughy goodness. “And Roxas, did you hear? After he kissed Xion in truth or dare he ended up kissing Naminé!”

“And Axel making out with that blonde girl, Larxene?” Kairi added.

“And I swear I saw Selphie kiss Tidus later on, not during the game, like in the backyard.”

“Seriously!?”

“It was a great night,” Yuffie smiled contently, despite the headache. “Wait, what about Riku?”

“Uh, that,” Kairi darted her eyes back and forth.

Yuffie narrowed her eyes gleefully. “Where did he stay?”

Kairi leaned in closer to the stark-haired girl, whispering, “You can’t tell anyone... He somehow ended up in my bed.”

“He WHAT!?” Yuffie bounced up, full of beans despite her cracking voice. “Did anything happen!?”

“Shhhh!” Kairi covered her mouth. “I swear, nothing! I just went to bed, and when I woke up he was there. He probably just ran out of options and crashed in my bed.”

“Is he still there?”

“Is who still where?”

“Eeeeep!” Both girls jumped at the sight of Riku. He was wearing a pair of comfy trousers, and his torso was bare.

“Listen, I’m really sorry, Kai,” He immediately apologised, running fingers through his hair. “I don’t know how I ended up… there.”

Kairi shook her head. “It’s cool. Sora’s currently sprawled across the entire rumpus room, so you kinda had no choice.”

“What about the original plan of the patio furniture?” Yuffie asked suggestively, and Kairi bonked her on the head.

Sora walked into the kitchen next, ruffling his messy spikes and giving his famous lop-sided grin. “Hey, guys. Good sleep?”

“Looks like you slept well,” Riku teased, and Sora sat next to him. Kairi served them both up some pancakes, and Sora beamed at the redhead. “Thanks, Kai!”

“The perfect post-hangover treat,” Kairi nodded, then smirked as Selphie slinked in too, wearing her cute summer jammies. “Well, look who it is!”

“How’d you make out last night?” Yuffie snorted, and Selphie’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean?” Selphie croaked, also having wrecked her voice from all the singing last night. She gladly took a plate of pancakes from Kairi and began digging in, leaning against the kitchen bench. “I only kissed Tidus during truth or dare.”

“You sure about that?” Kairi asked, and Selphie looked confused.

“Well, I don’t remember much past the bubble incident…” She narrowed her eyes, searching her brain. “Then we went out into the backyard to watch the guys play blitzball, then Tidus called me over…”

“Yeeees?” Yuffie prompted, and Selphie’s eyes grew even wider.

“Oh my gosh! I didn’t!?”

“You did.”

“Whyyyy!?” Selphie wailed, her mouth full of maple syrup. “I don’t even like him like that! Stupid drunk Selphie,” she slapped her hand onto her forehead, cringing.

“Not as stupid as this idiot putting bubbles everywhere,” Kairi glared at Riku, who looked back innocently. “Grandma’s gonna kill me!”

“I promise, I’ll wipe the bathroom down,” Riku placated. “Besides, bubbles are self-cleaning, right?”

Kairi continued to cook more pancakes, filling up everybody’s plates and snacking on them herself. The next person to get up was Naminé, who had borrowed some of Kairi’s pyjamas. She yawned and thanked Kairi as she grabbed a plate of pancakes, finding her way to the couch. Selphie went to join her, since there were no bar stools left.

“So Nam, you and Roxas, huh?” Selphie piped up, and everyone turned to look at the blonde. Naminé blushed madly.

“I don’t know! I barely remember, to be honest,” She explained, her face growing hot. “I remember kissing him, but I can’t even remember how it happened… It was on the dance floor, right?”

Riku looked concerned, but Kairi was smirking. “You know, I always had a hunch you liked him. You should text him.”

“Oh my gosh, yes, be all ‘thanks for the hot kiss’!” Yuffie exclaimed, and Naminé shook her head.

“No way! I couldn’t,” she covered her face, and the others chuckled. “I’ll just… talk to him.”

“Keep me updated,” Kairi winked, and just then Hayner walked down the hallway, looking pretty miserable.

“Hey, you okay?” Sora asked, and Hayner shrugged.

“I’m fine, just a headache. Thanks, Kai,” Hayner gladly took the plate of pancakes. Truth be told, he didn’t have a headache at all – he was still thinking about his stupid fight with Olette. He still couldn’t figure out what she was mad about.

“Welp, I’d say that was a successful night,” Kairi sighed contently, grabbing her own plate and sitting down next to Hayner. “Thanks for the great time, guys!”

x-x-x

The weekend soon passed, and the hangovers were long gone. Roxas walked into Oblivion on Monday morning, refreshed and ready for today’s busy shift.

“Heeeey, it’s the stud!” Zidane called out as Roxas entered, winking lewdly at him. Blank and Hayner were snickering beside him.

“Guys, it’s not like that,” Roxas rolled his eyes, “I didn’t mean to kiss Naminé, she drunkenly kissed me. And with Xion, that was just truth or dare…”

“But you liked it, right?” Hayner raised his eyebrows, and Roxas groaned. The other boys laughed. “Relax, it’s not like you’re the only one who got up to trouble. Did you guys hear about Tidus and Selphie?”

The work shift was filled with gossip from the party between serving customers and stocking shelves, and by Roxas’ lunch break even Zack knew the whole story. Roxas grabbed his wallet and phone from his locker, then headed next door to Trinity. He hadn’t seen Xion since Axel dropped them off home after the party, and he knew he had some explaining to do.

Xion was on top of the ladder, rearranging the display on the highest shelf. She smiled when Roxas headed in, waving slightly. “Hey, Roxas.”

“Hey, Xi. I’m heading on my break now, if you’re free,” Roxas offered, and Xion glanced at her boss, who gave her the okay nod.

“Sure, I’ll just put this out the back.” Xion hopped down from the ladder and clicked the safety lock, pushing the ladder towards the back of the store. While Roxas waited, Aqua approached him, leaving the register.

“Did you have a good time at the party?” She asked with a grin.

Roxas nodded. “Yeah, it was fun. It was great getting to know Terra better, too.”

Aqua cringed slightly. “Yeah, sorry about the TMI moment, but I’m glad you guys got to know each other outside of school. Heading out for lunch with Xion?”

The blonde nodded, and Aqua gave him a knowing smile. “Treat my girl nicely, okay?” She winked and headed back to the register.

Roxas was taken aback slightly, not knowing what to say, but Xion came up at that moment. “Ready?”

“Yeah. Hey, let’s grab lunch and eat outside today.”

“Sounds great!” Xion smiled, and she followed him to the food court.

Once they bought their food, they headed to the grassy hill outside the cinemas, and plopped down on the freshly mown lawn. The sun was high in the sky, beating down on the two teens. Xion stretched out her limbs, enjoying the slight breeze that always traveled from the ocean.

They ate and chatted for a while, and when their meals were done Roxas took a more serious tone, turning to the short-haired girl. “Xion, I wanted to talk to you about what happened at Kairi’s… I’m sorry about the whole truth or dare thing. I’m sure that’s not what you imagined for your first kiss. I kinda feel guilty.”

“Oh, don’t feel bad!” Xion shook her head. “It’s fine. For what it’s worth, I’m… glad it was with you,” she managed shyly, drawing her knees up to hug them.

Roxas smiled at her. “Me, too.” The silence hung heavy over the two, and Xion’s heart thumped madly. “Also… about Naminé,” Roxas started again, breaking the fragile moment, “I want you to know that I didn’t kiss her. Well, I did, but she kissed me first. She was pretty out of it, so… it’s not gonna happen again.”

Xion nodded with a knowing smile. She was shocked at first when she saw them kissing, but when she saw Roxas push Naminé away the instant their lips met, she knew he hadn’t instigated it. She wondered whether Naminé was just so drunk she didn’t realize what she was doing, or if there was something more behind the kiss… “Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah?” Roxas asked, and Xion nodded again. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay.”

Xion eyed him carefully. Why was he telling her all this? The implication danced in her head, and she couldn’t help but feel something was shifting. A month ago, she would have been a giddy mess at such a conversation, but now it was more of a… comforting feeling. Of knowing the person you love is loyal to you… Xion blushed at her own thoughts. You’re not even dating yet!

“So, you up for a drive tonight?” Roxas asked. He’d never asked in person before, so Xion had never had to wait an entire day in anticipation before.

“Definitely,” She smiled, and she could hardly wait.

x-x-x 

“Uuuuummm, so when were you going to tell us about THIS?” Selphie interrogated Serah in the back room of Final Mix, holding up her hand to reveal a thin, silver ring on her finger.

“I can’t believe we had to find out about this from Lightning punching your boyfriend!” Eiko shrieked.

“Girls, calm down!” Serah placated, “It took long enough to calm my sister down after what happened. Just before the party, we were walking along the beach, and… he gave it to me.”

“So what, you’re getting married now?” Eiko asked, and the other two girls giggled at her naivety.

“No, it’s a promise ring. It’s like… saying you’re committed to another person without being engaged to them.”

“But you’ve known him for, like, two weeks!” Selphie cried, slapping her hands to her cheeks. “Is this guy for real!?”

Serah shrugged. “I know it’s crazy soon, but… it feels right. I just wish I could convince my sister that…”

“I’m sorry, but I think Lightning has a point this time,” Selphie shook her head, and Eiko nodded.

“I agree. At least date for a couple months first before buying a ring!”

“I know… but I already accepted it,” Serah sighed, looking down at the slender ring. It sparkled under the bright lights of the store. “I know it sounds crazy, but I want to spend every second with him! But it doesn’t mean I love Lightning any less.”

Selphie and Eiko shared concerned expressions, but sighed together. “We support you no matter what, Serah, but try not to rush anything else, okay?” Selphie warned.

“You girls are the best,” Serah smiled, leaning forward to hug them both. “By the way, Eiko, I’m sorry nothing much happened with Zidane at the party.”

“Aw, it’s fine,” Eiko shook her head, “There’s always next time! Besides, nothing happened with him and Garnet either.”

"You might be in the clear!" Selphie held her thumbs up. Serah looked a bit more hesitant about this, but soon Lunafreya found them in the back and reminded them that they were on shift. That would have to be dealt with another day.

x-x-x

“Stupid. Dumb. Blonde. Dipshit.” Lightning spat a word with every whack of the broken register. Luckily there were no customers around.

“Lightning…” Riku started, but he honestly took her side on this one. Serah and Snow exchanging promise rings this early in the relationship would cause a rift between any family, let alone two sisters who had no parents. “He’s not… all bad.”

“How do we know!?” She piped up, slamming the register with finality and grabbing an ‘out of service’ sign, whacking it down on the conveyor belt. “She’s only known him for two weeks! He could be a creep!”

“Do you really think your sister is that bad at sensing someone’s character?” Riku asked.

“I think she can be naïve,” the pink-haired girl said with certainty, following Riku to the back room. “And honestly, what does he have going for himself? He looks like a hobo.”

“That’s harsh,” Riku cracked a grin, and Lightning sighed. “Light, if he makes her happy, then you can’t really say anything. Can’t you just wait and see? If he turns out to be an idiot, I’m sure she’d dump him. This ring isn’t permanent.”

Lightning sighed heavier this time, pulling a grimace. “I hate when you’re right, Riku.”

“I’m here to help,” he shrugged, “Just don’t be too harsh on your sister, okay?”

“That’s my job,” she said sternly.

Riku said no more – he knew he’d hit a sore spot if he said what he wanted to say. You’re not her mother.

x-x-x

Pence arrived at Oblivion, delivering the afternoon pick-me-up for the four boys. They quickly ran over to devour their drinks, chatting with Pence during the lull.

“Hey, where’s Olette?” Hayner asked, though he had a hunch as to why she hadn't shown up. “She always comes too.”

“Er… She’s kinda… mad at you,” Pence said gingerly, sipping his latte.

“Why’s she mad at Hayner?” Roxas asked, and Zidane and Blank looked just as confused.

“Beats me. She wouldn’t tell me.” Pence shrugged, and all four boys looked to Hayner for answers.

“I don’t know!” Hayner shouted defensively, not liking the glares he was receiving. “She was saying all this stuff about my flirting and how I haven’t been noticing people’s feelings…”

“Woah, really?” Roxas asked, looking confused. “But we hang out all the time. Maybe not one on one, but…”

“C’mon, she’s clearly jealous,” Zidane explained smoothly, sipping on his smoothie. “She doesn’t want you to flirt with other girls.”

“Says the skirt chaser of the century,” Blank elbowed the blonde.

“Hey, the trick is to not flirt in front of the girl you like,” Zidane joked, earning another whack from Blank. "C'mon, you know I'm never serious!"

Hayner pulled a grossed out expression. “Olette? There’s no way she likes me like that. We’ve been friends since we were toddlers, that’d be way too weird. She’s like a sister.”

“Hmm, it would be a bit weird,” Pence admitted, rubbing his chin, “but we shouldn’t just assume how she feels.”

“She’d never like me,” Hayner scoffed, “I’m not her type. But maybe she’s jealous because I’m not spending time with her… should I go and see her?”

“Maybe not today,” Pence shook his head, “she’s pretty pissed.”

“Man, she hasn’t been this mad since I broke her Tamagotchi in fifth grade,” Hayner scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’ll figure it out. Could you tell her that I’d like to talk to her?”

“Sure,” Pence nodded, noticing Zack appearing in his peripheral vision. “Quick, disperse!”

The boys quickly scattered with their drinks before Zack could make them do squats, and Pence returned to Twilight Sunset Café. When he got back, Hope and Olette were working behind the service desk, making drinks.

“Hey, Olette…?” Pence approached her with caution, but she knew where he’d just come from and wasn’t interested. “Um, Hayner said he’d like to talk…”

“No, thanks,” She said calmly, assembling a drink for a customer.

“Alrigh, maybe later...?” Pence mumbled, heading out the back to retrieve his apron.

Beside her, Hope looked concerned at the brunette girl. “How long are you going to give him the cold shoulder for?”

“Not sure. I just don’t want to talk to him right now,” Olette explained, placing lids on the drinks and placing them on the tray.

Hope said no more during the shift. Pence left at 3pm when his shift ended, while Olette and Hope were working until 5pm. When they finished up, they walked together out to the car park, where Hope offered to drive Olette home. This suited Olette perfectly, as she usually hitched a ride with Sora or Roxas, and Hayner would normally tag along.

Olette wasn’t speaking, and Hope finally decided he needed to say something. “Olette, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but… Hayner technically didn’t do anything wrong.”

They stopped by Hope’s car and Olette leaned one arm against the roof, staring at Hope. “What?”

Hope gave a half-smile, looking regretful. “He’s just a guy who started liking girls and now he flirts with them,” he shrugged, “it’s not his job to know whether you like him or not.”

Olette sighed, knowing she was hearing the very words she didn’t want to, but needed to. “I know… I was just mad, and, okay, a bit tipsy, and it just… it hurts to see him doing that stuff.”

Hope tilted his head to the side, trying to catch her eyes. “I know it’s scary, but I think you need to talk to him about this. Tell him how you feel. He clearly doesn’t get it. And he wants to talk to you, so… you must be important to him.”

It was silent for a while, but Olette finally nodded. “You’re right. Thanks, Hope.” She finally cracked a smile, and they hopped in.

A few rows away, Hayner watched on while Roxas unlocked the car. He narrowed his eyes, wondering what the deal was between Olette and this new guy.

x-x-x

Naminé sighed as she flopped down on her bed, tired from her first shift back after the party. She opened up her phone to catch up on the day’s feed. A snapchat of Hayner dropping a stack of boxes, a shot of Olette’s coffee, a snap from Riku’s view inside his car…

Then, a message from Roxas popped to life on the top of her screen. Naminé instantly tapped on it. Roxas hardly ever instigated texts with her, and her heart was beating hard. She hadn’t spoken to him since the kiss…

Roxas: Hey, Nam. Just wanted to touch base after the party. Hope you pulled up okay, and I hope things won’t be weird between us after all that craziness :)

Naminé bit her lip, wondering what to write back. This was her chance to at least give him a heavy hint at how she felt. She crafted her message carefully.

Naminé: Hey! Thanks, I pulled up just fine, Kairi’s pancakes did the job :) I’m sorry I just kissed you out of the blue! It’s definitely not like me, so sorry I caught you off-guard.

Just typing the word ‘kissed’ sent Naminé into a spiral of squeals, and she waited with bated breath for his reply.

Roxas: It’s fine, we can forget all about it :) Maybe save a kiss like that for when you’re sober, and with someone you like haha

Naminé cringed. You’re the person I like! She screamed in her head. How could she save this conversation!? She tried one more time, hardly believing she was going to tell him how she felt over text...

Naminé: I like you, Roxas :)

Her heart thumped hard. How much more obvious could she get after this? She didn’t need to wait long for his response.

Roxas: Haha I know, I mean like-like! Anyway, I’ll catch you at the movies later this week

Naminé stared blankly ahead. Was this boy serious!? How dumb could he be!? She sighed, texting back a simple message, and falling down onto her pillow, groaning. 

x-x-x