Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Namine felt two tears exit her closed eyes and immediately go into her sweatpants. She didn't care. She had given up hope that she would be able to handle this, because she couldn't. She didn't know what that meant for her future, and she didn't care about that either. All that she knew was that she couldn't handle it anymore.

 

Roxas only continued to look at her with his blue eyes, unsure of what to say. Was there anything he could say at this point? The news he had just received let him know that Namine had indeed suffered from his and Sora's absence, but...that only made him feel worse. He would have stayed behind if he could, but there was no possible way he could have.

 

Namine sniffled softly, a long breath leaving her lips after that. She was done with this. She was done with the stupid emotions she felt over everything that had happened. She was done worrying about the future. It didn't matter to her what happened anymore; things couldn't possibly turn out well in the end. They had in previous circumstances, but this time was different.

 

"Namine, I--" Roxas found that he couldn't say anything else; his sentence was just cut off. I? I what? Roxas couldn't come up with anything. What was he supposed to say? "I'm sorry"? That wouldn't get them anywhere...would it?

 

Namine left her despairing thoughts alone when she heard Roxas' voice, the noise breaking through her concentration. She lifted her head and set her chin on her knees, though she didn't look over at Roxas. That small action she had performed was enough to prove that she was listening.

 

Roxas searched within himself for something else to say, something more meaningful, but he discovered that he truly was sorry for everything she had gone through. "I-I'm sorry. For everything," he confessed, his hands loosening from fists as his expression took on a new look--one of vulnerability and honesty. "I'm sorry for what happened with Jeff and what happened to Ty, and that you were alone for so long..." Roxas let his sight fall to the floor, trying to figure out what else he wanted to say. There was more, he could feel it.

 

Too little too late, Namine thought to herself, hearing Roxas' words. She blinked at the thought, surprising herself. Of course she didn't really believe that; she would always be waiting for Roxas, even if he never came. That was her sad, pitiful life. She wasn't sure if waiting for him was a good thing or not; he had changed, and she wasn't sure if the Roxas she loved would ever be back.

 

"I...I'm sorry for leaving." Roxas knew that apologizing about that would pretty much cover all he had listed before. "If I had just stayed, everything would be better... Nothing would have changed." The boy closed his eyes at the last words. But then you wouldn't have gotten your memories back. You wouldn't have remembered who you are.

 

"You didn't have a choice with leaving," Namine pointed out, keeping her gaze forward as her chin rested on her knees. She couldn't identify her voice--she just sounded...drained. Weary. But at the same time, a bit apathetic. Like she had given up. And she had.

 

Roxas sighed softly. "I know that, and there was nothing I could do about it," he said. He ran his hand through his hair, opening his eyes to stare at the floor. "I guess...this was destiny." How messed up everything was, it wasn't just coincidence. This was fate, whether they liked it or not.

 

Then I'm not a big fan of destiny right now, Namine thought to herself, shutting her eyes. She couldn't believe how awful reality was. Things couldn't get much worse than they already were, and at this point, she doubt that things could get better.

 

When Roxas didn't get a reply, he looked up at Namine. She still wouldn't look at him? He fought against the annoyance wanting to come to the surface, letting his hand come back down to his side. He was getting an odd vibe now, and it started to make him angry. After all, he was running on a short fuse these days.

 

Namine opened her eyes, a tear running down her cheek. All was lost. Not even hope remained. She had tried to face this situation bravely, but she was only failing. Why bother trying any more? Obviously no matter how much she fought, things would never be alright. I climb, I slip, and then I fall, she thought sadly. It's a never ending cycle.

 

"What more do you want me to say?" Roxas asked, eyebrows furrowing. He wasn't getting any reaction out of Namine, at all. He felt like he was talking to empty air. He understood what she was going through and how upset she was, but he didn't know what to do...about anything. And that was frustrating Roxas more.

 

Namine shrugged her shoulders slightly, not showing much of a reaction to Roxas' darker tone of voice. "I don't want you to say anything," she responded. "There's nothing to say." Nothing could make her problems disappear and it seemed like nothing could make her feel hope again. Whatever. It didn't matter. Hope wasn't all that important. Oh, but what a lie that was.

 

Roxas blinked in surprise, his eyebrows coming together even more at her words. "Are you serious?" he said, his voice showing his obvious impatience, anger, and disbelief. "After all that's happened these last two months, and 'there's nothing to say'?" He shook his head slightly, remaining where he was. Roxas was beyond moving closer now; it seemed uncomfortable to move at all.

 

Namine furrowed her brows at Roxas' words, her heart aching at his tone. He wasn't the same Roxas she had known before. "If you have something to say, then feel free to say it," she replied, voice not showing much emotion. "But I've said everything and it didn't make any difference." She had broken down and sobbed her heart out in front of Roxas and he was still upset. Obviously what she said and felt didn't matter.

 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas asked, becoming still. He knew the words were sour and negative, most likely to make him upset. It was doing just that, actually.

 

Namine sighed, not looking over at Roxas. "It means I've given up. I don't know what you want from me, Roxas. If you want me to say something specific, then tell me so this can all be over with." I don't need any more stress, she thought mentally. Then again, what difference did it make? She was already past her breaking point, so she couldn't hurt much more than she already was.

 

Roxas felt his hands ball into fists at Namine's words, the boy stiff at the impact they had. "Given up, huh?" he said, his tone returning dark again. "Seems like I'm not the only one that's changed since I left." Namine wasn't his Namine anymore. The girl before him was...a stranger. She was treating him like one; she wouldn't even look at him.