I - oh god I don't even know. I was thinking the other day about Kingdom Hearts stories. And most of them make Roxas a skater and Namine an artist.. (is guilty of that too). So I was thinking, why don't I switch it up?

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure where this is going. It's just a little plot that erupted in my head. I'm currently working on a different story. An epic one. It's going to take me some time, so in the mean time I thought I'd dip into this story once in a while. I know right? Why don't you work on your other incomplete stories?

Well My Best Friend's Sister is... ugh. I just... no. I have no words. And writing SoKai for a long period of time makes me want to shoot myself so Love Always, Sora will be on a ridiculously long hiatus for now.

Another note. This story was based on my one-shot Miserable At Best. And I sort of stole the beginning dialogue from it. Heh. I stole from my own story. Classic.

Anway, Enjoy.

Skating Across Sketchbooks

"This is the last time,"

"Do you want this to stop, Namine?"

"This is the last time,"

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Roxas was having a very bad morning to say the least. His alarm hadn't gone off at the correct time, his back was sore from sleeping on the floor, and his younger brother was making a racket with his drum set in the next room.

He slammed his fist on the hard wooden floor in frustration, before slowly rising from his seat. Why was everyone out to get him? He didn't ask for much. So why did he have to be so damn unlucky?

Digging under his pillow, he pulled out his phone to check the time.

Stupid alarm.

Another mental tirade of his unfortunate life barreled through his head, as he angrily kicked the blankets off of him, and blindly searched for his jeans. He didn't have a time for a shower, which was very disappointing considering this was his first day at the lovely Twilight Town High School. It wasn't like he cared about his appearance anyway, but personal hygiene was another issue entirely.

He fumbled with his belt as quickly buckled it and straightened out his black jeans. Uh, torn jeans. He picked the wrong pair to wear. The blonde glanced down at the time again. 7:48.

There was no time to find another, so he continued his journey into completing his attire. It took nearly ten minutes to dig up a clean shirt – well a clean smelling shirt.

He ran a hand through his hair, not even bothering to glance in the mirror for reassurance. With a sigh, he walked out of his bare room, nearly crashing into the stack of boxes.

This was another reason this morning was already looking bad. He hadn't even finished unpacking the day before and half of possessions were still in the moving van parked outside. He would've left them all in there if his mother hadn't threatened to take away the promised studio in the basement.

Roxas hated it here – Twilight Town.

Bleh, sounds like some sick sitcom.

He missed his old home. His school. But most of all his friends. Friends that took him quite a while to obtain and keep. They understood him and they were like him, looking at the world through artistic lenses. And the fact that he had to start all over from scratch only served to piss him off even more.

He had seen the high school yesterday when they drove by it. He could tell it was a dump from the looks of it. And when a school was a dump, a budget for the arts was nonexistent.

Roxas walked down the hall, relieved to find his backpack slung over the kitchen chair.

"Roxas, did you just wake up?"

The blonde snapped his attention to find his mother watching him with a raised brow from across the table. A bowl of cereal laid out in front of her.

"No." He lied easily, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.

"You're not going to eat." She stated tiredly. Roxas's eyes darted towards the woman and took in her features. There were dark smudges beneath her once lively blue eyes. His mother had told Roxas and his brother the reason for their sudden departure was because of a new job opportunity. But the blonde knew his mother – and he knew the real reason they moved from Destiny Islands was to escape. Being in that town was a constant reminder of his mother's marriage and the perfect little family they had.

It pissed Roxas off to no end. He resented his father for up and leaving the family when they needed him the most.

"No." The blonde repeated, pulling the backpack tighter against his shoulder. "I'm already sort of late. See you later."

"Don't forget to drop Ven off." His mother called after him as he exited the kitchen.

Ven his younger brother. People said they looked exactly the same, Roxas begged to differ. He prided himself in the more attractive one.

The loud drumming stopped, once he opened the door. A practically identical boy looked up at Roxas with an irritated scowl.

"What do you want?" he sneered, hitting a drum stick to the symbol as if to emphasize his obvious distaste for the older boy.

"School, idiot." Roxas drawled, leaning against the doorway to give his younger brother an annoyed glare.

"I'm not a baby. I can go myself." Ven snapped, rising from his stool and walking around the drum set.

"Do you even know where it's at?" Roxas retorted, pushing himself from the doorway. Ven's scowl deepened. He stuffed the drum sticks in his pocket and mumbled incoherently as he followed his brother.

.

The brothers' relationship was – strained. Ever since their father had left, Roxas assumed the position of man of the family. He knew it bugged his brother, but how could he help it. The kid was barely in eighth grade. He hadn't even entirely gone through puberty yet. And he expected to lead the family?

Roxas laughed softly opening the front door.

If he could handle this little brat, he was pretty sure the day would've been a piece of cake.

Said brat was taking his sweet time getting his things together.

Roxas would've said something, yelled at him to hurry up. He didn't know what stopped him. Was it because he was in a completely unfamiliar neighborhood? Was it because he knew people knew he was… new? (Try saying that five times fast, he thought humorlessly).

Or was it that blonde girl across the street who, unceremoniously, burst through her door with a skateboard in her arms?

"You better be going to school!" A loud yell called from inside. "If I get another damn phone call, I swear little girl!"

"I am going!"

The pale blonde girl scoffed, walking briskly towards the curb of her street. Roxas watched, partly hidden by the porch beam, as she paced back and forth on the edge of the street. Occasionally she would look down the road and scoff all over again.

After a few minutes the girl gave up entirely on pacing and set the board down. Her arms were loosely crossed over her chest and she was leaning on one leg. Subconsciously, Roxas felt his eyes look her over because well, he was a guy. And she was an attractive girl, from what he could tell.

She was wearing a dark violet spaghetti strap dress, showing off her creamy skin that contrasted quite nicely with the large blonde ringlets that spilled over her shoulders.

Her dress hugged her chest and flowed down loosely just above her knees. Her long pale legs were endless as he tried to search for her ankles.

God who was this girl?

His eyebrows pulled together in confusion, as she set her foot loosely on the skateboard. Now he wasn't an expert but weren't most skaters… well didn't most skaters not dress like that?

The girl straightened up and if Roxas hadn't been staring at her the entire time, he would've noticed a dark haired boy running towards her.

"Hey babe, sorry I'm late." The boy muttered out hastily, reaching down to press his lips against hers. The blonde responded immediately – almost too immediately and Roxas had to turn away embarrassedly. "My mom was just bitching."

The dark haired boy rolled his eyes, flashing her a grin. His attention turned down to the board at her feet.

"Oh good, you brought it! That stupid dick of a principle stole mine." The boy exclaimed, reaching down and picking it out from under her feet. Roxas glanced back at the still silent blonde. The scowl on her face softened when she saw the board disappear from under her foot.

Roxas felt his fingers twitch, drawing the shape of her now soft expression on the porch beam with his index finger. He didn't exactly have his sketchpad with him at the moment. His mother had insisted on sticking it in a box – and considering the fact that his possessions were still split up, he wouldn't know where to look.

The blonde's face froze over as she gazed up at the boy with a tight smile.

"You knew you were breaking a rule, Van." She answered. Her voice was soft, calculated and was definitely different than the voice she used to answer the mysterious voice inside her house.

The boy – Van? – shrugged his shoulder. "Yeah well… that guy needs to take that stick out of his ass."

The girl didn't respond, but rather reached down and tugged his hand.

"Come on."

Roxas blinked silently, peering across the beam to watch the couple away.

What the hell?

.

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The blonde sighed softly as she leaned against the brick wall, watching her boyfriend attempt to perform – as he called - a perfected kickflip. She knew he was only trying to impress the incoming freshman. Particularly the girl freshman. She knew her boyfriend was a bit of a charmer, that's what drew her to him anyway.

He was rather attractive.

A ridiculously cute, tanned face. Impish smile. Dazzling golden eyes.

He was too cute for his own good sometimes, the blonde thought, as her eyes followed his movements. Anyone who was a regular skater would have recognized he was trying to do an ollie anyway. The blonde huffed, crossing her arms over her shoulder and leaning more so into the hard brick.

Besides, it was pointless, considering the fact that everyone was inside their classrooms waiting for the late bell.

It was Monday and she was so not looking forward to this week. It was Monday! Her head still felt heavy from that party Saturday night. Why she listened to Vanitas was beyond her. She should've just stayed home, and babysat like she was supposed to. But it didn't matter anyway, because here she was standing outside school, watching her boyfriend stumble over his feet.

She huffed again, and clenched her hands against her arms. Her fingers were itching to snatch the board away from him. It was hers anyway. And if he didn't stop, she was pretty sure the school would confiscate it, just like they did his own board.

After much internal deliberation, the blonde lunged from the brick wall and walked towards the dark haired boy who, once again, clattered clumsily against her board.

"Yo, Vanitas, Namine!"

Her attention wavered when she caught sight of her best friend rolling in on his skateboard. Hayner pulled up and directed a small smile in the blonde's direction. She raised an eyebrow in response as she looked at his attire. Jeans and a sweatshirt – but what really got her attention was a black beanie gracing his usual gelled hair. It made him look like this one boy at school, a boy that Hayner detested.

She chose to ignore his appearance. It was too early in the morning for his sulking.

"Hayner." She greeted with a nod, returning back to her boyfriend. Finally he had stopped and walked over to them.

His tawny eyes found Hayner, before flickering back towards her. He beamed.

"So did you get some?" Vanitas asked excitedly, running a hand through his wild raven hair.

Namine loved her boyfriend dearly – or at least that what she'd like to think. He was an honest guy, had some motivation, and was good to her. Good to her, but not necessarily good for her. She hated whenever this question was asked. Because no matter how much she wanted to avoid the answer, she'd always wind up finding it.

Hayner's smile grew as he dug into the back of his pocket and pulled out a baggie. The dark green substance made her lips quiver in disappointment. Sometimes Hayner wasn't good for her either.

"Sweet!" Vanitas exclaimed, doing a victory jump. "Let's crack some open before the bell rings."

Namine watched as her best friend fumbled with the baggie opening. Annoyance dripped throughout her body. One day. She couldn't have just one day of – of … well certainly not this!

"Where's Olette?" The blonde questioned suddenly, breaking Hayner's concentration. The beanie clad boy stopped his ministrations and gazed at his friend. Namine returned the gaze beseechingly, pleading with her best friend to just leave.

Hayner's hazel eyes narrowed in understanding.

"I think… well I think she's waiting out front. I'll go get her." He answered hastily, stuffing the baggie back into his pocket.

"Wait, wait, let me just roll up a joint really fast!" Vanitas demanded.

"Sorry Van, I got's to find my lady." Hayner said, before winking and riding off. Then again, Hayner could sometimes be the best friend Namine ever wanted.

She could sense his frustrated temper probably a mile away. Vanitas didn't really like her best friend. In fact he reminded her countless times of his distaste for Hayner. That whole friendly attitude was just a front.

Vanitas put up an act just to get what he wanted. Namine put up a front as well, gaining Hayner's trust in both of them. There was a reason the three of them always met whenever no one was around.

Hayner was a loser. The typical skater pothead. He was a bottom feeder in the social latter.

The blonde knew this, because she wasn't. She was the head cheerleader who was destined to date her boyfriend Vanitas the star quarterback. It was cliché. It was typical. But it was just the way it was. Vanitas wasn't really a skater. He only picked it up once he found out that Namine secretly had a passion for it. It was probably jealousy that she could do something he couldn't – something that wasn't obviously cheerleading. Regardless, it wasn't like she could freely skate around with Hayner and the rest of his friends. Her social life would be destroyed.

Sure, Hayner and she were best friends… in secret.

She was ashamed of him, and admitting that only created a deep feeling of self-loathing. Because she did hate herself sometimes. And despite how self-centered that may seem, she aimed to keep her reputation intact, even if it meant bringing others down.

Her eyes flickered in Vanitas's direction only to have her thoughts confirmed. His lips were tugged down into a tight frown and he was gripping the front of her board in an iron grip.

Not the baby.

She chewed her lip, planning out a strategy to subtly take her board back.

Her planning was short lived.

The sound of the loud shattering school bell broke her from her thoughts, causing her to stare around wildly.

"Whoa, chill." Vanitas said worriedly, as the blonde slunk back against the brick wall. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief. When she opened her eyes, a retort was building past her throat; however the sight of something unfamiliar made the words die out.

Namine prided herself in recognizing a face when she knew it, especially at this dump of a school. So when her eyes landed on this blonde stranger, it nearly knocked the wind out of her.

The stranger walked down with his back pack slung over his shoulder. The collar of his flannel shirt was ruffled, as if he just put it on, and he wore a wrinkled v-neck white t-shirt. His black jeans had a tear on his left leg. He took long strides, making the tear more noticeable. Honey blonde hair swayed gently in the soft breeze.

She watched him, as he suddenly looked up at her expectantly. Her stomach made an unexpected churned at the questioning look in the stranger's intense dark blue eyes.

Instinctively, Namine held on to the nearest thing, which turned out to be Vanitas's hand. The stranger slowed down in his step, and regarded the blonde with an almost demanding glare. His full lips pressed into a hard line at her lack of response. Lack of anything. Namine couldn't breathe.

She tightened her grip on Vanitas's hand. Immediately she felt her boyfriend tug her closer to him. She could smell the mixture of his cologne and tobacco on his shirt as she nuzzled the front of his shirt. Her eyes still remained on the curious stranger, who almost quite literally stopped in his tracks.

She felt her boyfriend's lips brush against the top of her head, which finally made the stranger look away. His dark blue eyes glared at the cracked cement. He passed the couple without another glance.

"Do you feel like going to class today?" Vanitas's voice brought the blonde from her trance. His voice was soft – if not a little bit lazy – and it reminded where she was and who she was with. The dark haired boy snaked his hands and rested lightly on her waist, rubbing smooth circles on her hips. It was soothing and she immediately calmed down.

"Yes." She answered quietly, leaning into him. Because she could. And moments like these – Vanitas being comforting – made her smile. She tilted her head to gaze up at him.

"What? Are you serious? Is there some kind of event going on?" He asked, wearing a frustrated expression. The blonde sighed heavily, moving away from the embrace. And he always found a way to ruin the moment.

"No. I just want to go." Namine said wearily. "Don't you have practice today anyway?"

Vanitas, grabbed her arm and tugged her back to him. His mouth brushed against her ear, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

"Maybe." He admitted in a whisper. "But I can actually think of something more worth my time."

"Oh."

The star couple wasn't seen for the rest of the school day.

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Yeah... I don't know. Reviews are love :D