Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

As he looked at her now, Roxas couldn't find any words to say. Somehow, he realized that a simple apology wasn't going to do anything for them. Roxas had messed up, badly. He accused Namine of cheating on him, when just the day before he felt so strongly for her that it made him think there was hope for him again. But now...even when he knew that he loved her, he wasn't so sure anymore.

 

Namine reached down and grabbed the book and pencil, putting them in her bag as she made a rash decision. She was going to see her grandfather. She needed to see his grave again, considering her time there before had been too short. She figured her parents wouldn't know the difference, and if they needed her, they could call.

 

Ever since Roxas left, things turned for the worst. He wasn't who Namine had fallen for, who Kairi became best friends with, or who Sora had been able to mess around with and just laugh about all the stupid stuff they did together. He wasn't that person anymore, and because of that, he hurt everybody he was around. He hurt Namine the most. The fact made Roxas lower his sight to the ground, not even paying attention to what was going on around him.

 

Namine stood up, holding her bag in her hand before she put it over her shoulder. She looked over the area in front of her for a few moments in silence, recalling things that she felt were better left forgotten. The fun memories that took place here couldn't occur again, and she was beginning to doubt she would have fun ever again with that group of friends. Everything was falling apart around her, and she couldn't do a thing to stop it.

 

Roxas finally looked up after a moment, seeing that Namine was no longer sitting in the bench. She was getting ready to leave, he recognized. Did he want to confront her anymore? No, he didn't. Today, he wasn't ready. He would have to sort through his own thoughts first, then he could clearly and meaningfully apologize to Namine. She deserved one that was heartfelt, not just thrown together. Roxas knew that.

 

Namine folded her hands in front of her, sad when she realized that she only wanted to visit her grandfather's grave because she hoped it would somehow bring him back to life. It wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen. It was impossible to get back what she had lost a little over a year ago. No matter how many times she wished it, her grandfather wouldn't be coming back.

 

Time to let her be. The thought ran through Roxas's head as he gazed at Namine for a few seconds longer, then turning around and walking along the path, his back to the girl's position. He guessed he would just go home. What else did he have to do these days?

 

Namine stood there a few moments longer, not sure what she was waiting for. She supposed that she hoped she would feel at peace looking over the nice, snow covered scenery, but nothing could bring her peace on a day like this.

 

Kairi picked up her phone and dialed Namine's number into her phone, knowing that her friend was probably home from Hawaii by now. As she heard the ring begin, she knew that Nathan had come up with a pretty good idea. They discussed it for the last couple minutes, but she found herself agreeing to it. Hopefully Namine would as well...

 

Namine heard her phone ring from inside her purse, and she reached a hand into the bag, pulling it out. She was a bit surprised when she saw who was calling, but not in a bad way. It was Kairi, and the redhead was like a sister to her, even if they weren't talking as much as they used to when the boys were around. She answered the call with the press of a button and lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

 

"Namine, hi. I'm glad I could finally get a hold of you," Kairi said into the phone, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "You haven't returned any of my calls... How're you doing?" She couldn't forget what her friend had gone through right before she left for her trip... That was probably why she didn't pick up when she called.

 

"I'm..." Namine bit her lip, looking down at the ground. There was no point in lying to Kairi, so she figured she would come right out and say it. "I'm not doing good. It's been rough lately with a bunch of stuff." She wouldn't identify her problem with Roxas, but if Kairi asked, she would say how much she was grieving over her grandfather. If not, then it would be left unsaid.

 

Kairi couldn't help but frown. "Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that." The sadness was evident in her voice, but she immediately covered it up with her next words. "Nathan had a really good idea that would get us out of the house. Would you want to go with us to get some smoothies? You can take your mind off stuff." She knew Namine didn't specify what was wrong, but Kairi wasn't going to ask. It wasn't any of her business.

 

Namine kept her eyes on the ground, aware that getting smoothies was something she and Kairi often did with Roxas and Sora. It would be strange without them, and with one of them being replaced by somebody else. Despite that, Namine knew her answer immediately. "Sure. When?" She felt guilty over not being in contact with Kairi over the past week, and she hoped to make it up to her with an outing.

 

"Does later on this afternoon sound good?" Kairi asked, glancing out the window of her living room. There was snow on the ground, but that wouldn't stop them from meeting up. Kairi hadn't seen Namine in what felt like a long time; she wanted to spend some time with her, even over smoothies.

 

Namine nodded, though she realized that Kairi couldn't see her. "Yeah, that sounds fine." That would give her time to stop by her grandfather's grave and maybe get in some guitar playing. That, and it would give her some time to compose herself, if that was possible.

 

Kairi found herself smiling. "Great! We'll see you then," she said. And by "we", she didn't just mean her and Nathan. They were going to invite one more person. Namine still seemed upset, and Kairi figured it was still a problem with Roxas. Hopefully by having them face-to-face with each other, things will go back to normal.

 

"See you then," Namine repeated softly, her tone not matching Kairi's cheeriness. "Bye." She flipped her phone shut and then stuck it back into her purse, turning to head for the cemetery. Once that was done, she would go home and then later, out to smoothies with Kairi and Nathan.

 

Kairi pushed the small red button to end the call after saying goodbye, then starting to dial Roxas's number. She wasn't sure if he would say no or not, either if she told him Namine was going or just to go with her and Nathan; Roxas didn't seem very fond of him the first time they met.

Roxas dug into his pocket, almost home. He saw it was Kairi and sighed. She was being pretty persistent with the calls these days. "Hello?" he said, the phone at his ear.

"Hey, Roxas. Is there any chance you'd be up to smoothies this afternoon?" Kairi asked, getting straight to the point.

Roxas blinked, arching an eyebrow. "...Smoothies?" he said, finding the invite a little random. The last time he had smoothies was months ago. And he wasn't in much of a mood to go out right now, even if he already was.

 

Namine kept her head lowered, walking through the snow-covered park. She wasn't sure what would happen this afternoon when she saw Kairi and Nathan; sure, he was a very nice guy, but the blond wasn't sure if he knew about Sora. And, if he did know, would he still be with Kairi or would he back off for Sora's sake. She didn't know, and she had a feeling those questions would never be answered.