01.

"The most important thing is to enjoy your life— to be happy— it's all that matters."
-Audrey Hepburn

I met her the summer I turned nineteen, and had moved to the big city on my own. That year was the summer of complete freedom for me being away from my parents for the first time. It was only just recently I began to fade back to the memories from that summer with visits from a friend I had met the first day I arrived in the city...

Pressed the key into the lock, I opened the door to the smallish apartment complex. It smelled of freedom and freshly dried paint though the cracks in the wall were still difficult to hide. The dingy stairs creaked as I climbed a flight to my new apartment with my last moving box in hand. Swinging the door open, I happily put the box down and smiled into the dim apartment. This was my chance to be free and on my own, and I couldn't wait to get settled into the partially unpacked, one-roomed apartment. So it wasn't the Taj Mahal, but it was perfect for me and I was completely elated to be living on my own. A knock at the door pulled me from my content thoughts and I turned to see I had left it open.

"You must be the new kid," a lanky red head was leaning against the door frame with a devious glint in his sharp, emerald eyes.

"Do I look the part?" I shrugged and gestured downwards.

"Well first off, you left your door open," his head tilted towards the door, "Second, you have yet to ask me who I am and why I haven't left your apartment."

"Uh... Who are you and why are you still here?" my voice cracked a bit and I tried to shield my eyes from his intense green eyed stare.

"I'm Axel Yunioshi and you are my new neighbor," he chuckled, "You look a little young to be living out here on your own."

"Well... I am Roxas Shepherd and I guess I'm the new kid," I eyed him thoroughly as he strode past me and to my vintage writing desk.

He walked with such confidence, it made me feel somewhat inferior and I couldn't keep my eyes away. No, I don't like men in that way but he just had that way about him that drew my eyes to follow his movements. He was dressed in simple black jeans with a black and grey, striped sweater and white wife-beater that peaked out. His converse were a dingy yellow and they looked like they were about to fall to pieces. His thin spindly fingers reached into the box on the desk and pulled out a old typewriter.

"What's this?" he pressed a button and heard the click of satisfaction.

"My grandfather's... uh type writer. He gave it to me before I left," he ran his fingers across the keys before leaving it alone and wandering back to the door letting his eyes glaze the whole apartment.

"It's not great, but it's a decent place. Hope you like it," his devious smile crept back before he swung out of the apartment, leaving the door wide open.

Sighing heavily, I pushed myself towards the door leaning out to take a glance down the stairs. I could see light shadows dancing angrily through the fogged window pane. It appeared to be a woman ignoring a man yelling and waving his arms about from behind her as she searched through something, a purse maybe. Her hand reached up and pressed something beside the door and then I heard a crash from the apartment next door. Axel opened the door, while he buzzed her in and began mumbling furiously.

"Naminé, what did I tell you about buzzing me?" he glared at the young woman from the banister as I followed to see who he was yelling at exactly.

This was the first time I had seen her. She was truly spectacular when she pushed open the door, even though she practically stumbled in. Her platinum blond hair was pulled into a mess of curls on top of her head and she placed her large, white sunglasses atop the curls. The navy blue dress she wore fit her just snugly, ending above her knee just perfectly and a yellow belt accented the curves she obviously didn't have. In her hands, she carried a small blue purse and two very tall, scary looking high heeled shoes.

"I'm sorry Axel, I've lost that damn key again," she lifted her free hand from the door handle, "Slippery fingers." Her chuckle was light, almost like feathers, and even Axel had to hold hard onto his grimace.

"Make a new copy: soon," he turned on his heels and pushed back into his apartment, slamming the door.

"Yes dear," she shouted and then turned to her companion still standing outside the door, "It was lovely seeing you again Luxord, toodles." And with that she slammed the door in his face.

I smiled as she walked away from the door and past to the stairs, opening a door just below it. I heard a stumble and slam, then the door shut. She was another interesting person I was going be living near and I had one thought as I shut my door. I had to know who this creature was.