Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

"Yeah. Nathan came up with idea," Kairi said softly into her phone, though her voice still held enthusiasm. "You don't have to go, but we really would like you to come. We haven't seen you in a while."

Roxas ran a hand through his hair, seeing his house up ahead. "I don't know, Kairi..." Smoothies didn't sound good to him right now, not with the mood he was in. But what else was he going to do? All he had been doing for the last week was sitting in his room and going for walks. And we? Roxas highly doubted that Nathan missed seeing him; after all, things hadn't been very happy-go-lucky when they met each other.

Kairi turned from the window as she held the phone to her ear, heading back into the living room, where Nathan was sitting on the couch. "I know it's sudden, but I really would like to see you. It's been a few weeks, you know?" she said, genuinely sad. She really did miss Roxas; things were different ever since he and... Well, since they left. She wanted to get things as close to normal as she could again.

Roxas stopped walking when he reached his porch, sighing softly. For Kairi's sake, he would go; he didn't want to make one more person's life worse like he had done previously. Plus, what else was he going to do? "Alright, I'll be there," he said softly. He heard Kairi's enthusiasm before he hung up, smiling slightly. She hadn't really changed while he left, at least. Just her relationship had. At least it wasn't personality, unlike him. Roxas ran a hand through his hair and entered his warm house, now having plans later on in the day.

 

Later that afternoon...

Namine approached the smoothie shop, having a feeling that Kairi and Nathan were already inside. The walk had taken a little bit longer than she had expected due to the snow, but she was sure Kairi wouldn't hold it against her. Actually, her friend was lucky she was being social at all, considering how awful everything had been lightly. The blond girl sighed, pushing open the door to the shop.

 

Kairi already had a smoothie in front of her, courtesy of Nathan, who had insisted he bought hers for her. She was grateful as she took a sip, things quiet for the moment between them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, considering it wasn't that way with Nathan and there was another open-mic session going on today in the smoothie shop.

 

Namine heard the bell above the door ring as she walked into the warn shop, getting out of the frigid winter air. She scanned the area and then noticed Kairi and Nathan immediately, seeing that at least Kairi already had a smoothie. Namine took in a breath and then forced a small smile as she headed over to that area.

 

Nathan caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He tore his gaze away from Kairi and toward the door, seeing a familiar blonde making her way toward them. He gently nudged Kairi, and when she met his green eyes, he motioned with his head toward Namine.

Kairi followed Nathan's gaze and instantly smiled. "Namine," she said softly, though the happiness was in her voice. It was good to see her friend after the last week or so. They didn't hang out much anymore.

 

Namine felt her weak smile widen a bit at Kairi's tone, the girl realizing that her best friend really was happy to see her. "Hi Kairi," she said with a small smile. "Hi, Nathan." She saw the chairs were set up in twos, Kairi and Nathan sitting close together on their side and the other two chairs across from them in the same manner. Namine didn't think about the implications of that as she sat down in a chair across from Kairi, the girl taking off the purple hat she was wearing now that she was inside.

 

"Hi," Kairi said, smiling at her best friend. She caught Nathan nod his hello toward the blonde across from her, but she instantly started conversation. "I'm glad you could make it." And she was. Namine was like a sister to her, though they had a much stronger bond. It was nice to see her again.

 

Namine nodded slightly, bringing up a hand to tuck back a strand of hair that had gotten moved because of the hat. "Sorry I'm a little late," she said, those being the only words she could think of. "The snow slowed me down more than I thought it would." It really had, but at the same time, she hadn't been in that big of a rush to get there and be with other people, even if one of them was her best friend.

 

Kairi nodded slightly. "It's alright," she said. "We didn't have a very easy trip here, either." She looked at Nathan when she spoke, instantly meeting his green eyes. He smiled weakly at her.

"I've never been a big fan of snow," Nathan said then, contributing to the conversation at hand. "I've lived in warmer weather for most of my life." Back at his original home, things were warmer, and not much snow came every year. New York was definitely different.

 

Namine shrugged slightly, folding her hands in her lap. "Snow is nice, as long as there's not too much of it." It was pretty, and it had a way of making her stare in awe whenever it was falling out of the sky. "I have to say, though, after Hawaii, I'm ready for some warmer weather," she said, laughing slightly.

 

Kairi found her small smile growing. "How was that, by the way?" she asked. They never got the chance to talk about it, and Kairi was awfully curious as to what another state in this world was like.

Roxas turned the corner on the sidewalk, almost to the smoothie shop. He was late, but he didn't think Kairi would mind. It was just smoothies, right? Nothing extreme happening...not these days.

 

Namine looked up at the cieling, trying to think of a way to say it. "Tropical," she said simply. She looked back down at Kairi, her eyes meeting the blue directly across from her. "It was pretty warm and nice and beautiful. But...but I was sorta wishing I was at home." She looked down at the table, her voice getting a little softer. "It's been a little over a year since my grandfather passed away, and I was constantly wishing I could go see him, you know?"

 

"Yeah..." Kairi replied gently, offering Namine a soft smile. "But I'm sure he was happy to see you enjoy your vacation all the same." Kairi had met the kind man once, and it was obvious that he wanted the best for his grandchild.

Roxas saw the smoothie shop just across the street, and he looked both way before making his way through traffic. The air around him was bitterly cold, making him wish he was inside his warm house. Hopefully the shop was the same.

 

Namine looked up at her best friend, hearing the gentleness behind her voice. "Yeah, but that doesn't take away the pain of missing him," she responded softly, a sad smile on her lips. Nothing could ever fill the gap in her life that was made because of her grandfather's death, and she had come to accept it. Well, she accepted it most of the time, anyway.

 

Kairi felt her smile soften at her friend's words, wishing there was something she could do. She turned her head and looked at Nathan, silently asking him for help.

Nathan nodded faintly at Kairi and switched his gaze to Namine. "How about a smoothie?" he asked lightly, breaking the small silence. "My treat." He was already pushing himself from the table, standing up from his chair.

 

"Um, yeah, sure," she said, lifting a hand to tuck back some hair. Namine shifted her gaze to Nathan as she spoke, saddened that Kairi wouldn't help her by listening to what she had to say. The topic change had been so sudden, that it had taken her half a second to come up with a polite response.

 

Nathan nodded, smiling slightly. "Great. Be right back." He then headed toward the counter to order Namine's smoothie.

Kairi followed Nathan with her eyes before turning back to her best friend, concern shining in her violet-blue orbs. "Namine... Are you alright?" she asked softly. She was surprised at how much more open she felt with Namine when Nathan wasn't nearby; she guessed it was good that he was gone.

 

Namine avoided Kairi's gaze directly, looking at the table a little bit. "No," she answered quietly, being completely honest with Kairi for the first time in a while. She was far from being alright, for multiple reasons. She felt like she lost her best friend to Nathan, though she wasn't about to admit that. Besides, compared to her other problems, that one was pretty small.

 

Kairi frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side in worry. "...You can tell me anything, you know that," she said softly so she wouldn't be overheard, but with the music act going on, her voice wasn't as loud as she thought.

 

Namine looked up, seeing the concern in Kairi's bright blue eyes. She nodded slightly in response, though she allowed her bangs to stay in her eyes a little to try and hide her sadness. "Yeah, I know," she confirmed, smiling weakly.