Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Jeff's lips turned up into a smirk once again. "You don't scare me, Roxas," he said, his tone holding the same darkness. "As long as I have your precious girlfriend, you're all talk." Roxas said it himself; he wouldn't attack Jeff as long as he had Namine. And he obviously wasn't planning on letting her go any time soon.

 

Roxas smirked slightly. "I don't scare you, huh? Is that why you're using my girlfriend as a shield?" he said, tilting his head to the side slightly in mock-wonder. "Only a coward would resort to doing that. If I didn't scare you, Jeff, you would fight me and not hide behind your victim." He motioned to Namine with a jerk of his chin, but even glancing at her made him tighten his fists in worry.

 

Jeff furrowed his brows, the smirk disappearing off his lips. Alright, so Roxas had a point there. But he had a point as well--one that he could prove at a moment's notice. He brought his free hand down and gripped underneath Namine's arm to keep her upright as he prepared for his next move.

Namine's eyes widened when she felt Jeff kick her behind the knee, forcing that leg to give out underneath her. A cry left her lips, though it was hindered when she felt Jeff's arm against her windpipe. I can't breathe! she thought frantically. She mentally tried to get herself back up on both feet again so she could get her head out of Jeff's arm a bit and get some air, but the move had left her paralyzed for the time being.

 

Roxas stiffened, eyes widening and smirk disappearing. His hands instantly came out of fists, arms going out to his sides slightly at the action. "No!" he cried without thought, his sight stuck on Namine in shock. After a second he fixed his eyes on Jeff, glaring at him. "Let her go!"

 

Namine was still slumped over slight in Jeff's grasp, though she was upright enough to be his acting "shield". She tried to bring up her other hand to pull Jeff's arm away from her neck in an effort to get air, but he roughly pulled her arm back further, twisting it in an uncomfortable position. Can't breathe! she thought again, warning signals flashing in her mind. She was running out of oxygen quickly, and there wasn't any way to fix that problem!

Jeff glared at Roxas evenly, his eyes showing his evil intent. "You and I both know I'm not going to do that any time soon," he said darkly, eyebrows furrowed. He was unaware of Namine's lack of oxygen, the teen focused on his showdown with Roxas.

 

"You actually enjoy this?!" Roxas asked, his voice rising in alarm as he motioned to Namine with one of his hands. "You find it funny to torture an innocent girl because she doesn't want you the way you want her? Get it through your head, Jeff. She's never going to want you! With the way you're treating her, why would she?" Roxas glared at him with his teeth showing slightly as he ground them together, flexing his jaw in anger. Stop it, he internally begged. Let her go.

 

"If I can't have her, nobody can!" Jeff hollered, finally losing his temper. He wasn't just doing this for revenge; he was also doing it to drive a wedge between Roxas and Namine. Ruining their relationship would be perfect for him, because he despised both of them. He hated Roxas for being the person Namine loved, and he hated that Namine didn't love him. He couldn't even force her to love him by force. It had worked before, but not with this girl. She was too strong.

 

Roxas's eyes widened slightly at the outburst, blinking once. His sight darted to Namine and he felt himself begin to panic, his heart beat increasing. "Jeff, let her go!" he ordered loudly, glancing back at the jock. He took a step toward him in alarm. "Let Namine go!"

 

Namine heard Roxas' voice, the tone of his voice full of alarm. And something told her it wasn't because of whatever it was Jeff said. She felt her mind cloud as the lack of oxygen got to her, everything turning black as she passed out.

Jeff grunted, just about to say a witty comment when he felt Namine's legs give up from underneath her. He pulled his arm away from her neck and wrapped it around her arm, keeping her upright without much of a problem. It was the surprise that really set him off guard, though. What--?

 

Roxas instantly became angry. "Put her down!" he roared, his eyes wide in alarm and worry. "Just let go of her, Jeff!" If he weren't holding Namine right now, Roxas would have jumped on him for what he did to her. But Namine was unconscious!

 

Jeff looked from Roxas to Namine, seeing that he had apparently held her too tightly along the neck. Whoops...He looked up and saw Roxas only a few feet away and he made another rash decision. He pushed Namine towards him and then made a break towards the back door, opening it and then running outside before he had a chance to see if Roxas even caught Namine. He didn't care; he just had to get out while he could.

 

Roxas took a quick stride forward, his arms catching Namine and holding her against him firmly. The boy turned his head in time to see Jeff leave, but he didn't care about him anymore. Not right now. He needed to take care of Namine... Roxas turned his head to look down at her unconscious form, a look of pure concern washing over his features, making his anger vanish.

 

Jeff leapt over the fence of the backyard and then kept running once his feet hit the ground. He didn't hear any sounds of pursuit, so he assumed that Roxas had elected to take care of Namine before taking his vengeance. He's too kind, he thought to himself. But then again, that was the reason he was getting away from this unscathed, so he wasn't going to complain about that.

 

Roxas hugged Namine to his body, finding himself sinking to his knees slowly with her in his arms. He looked down at her in worry, lifting his hand to brush her hair back from her face. As he did so, he noticed that there was something red against the skin of his arm now. Namine's blood. It must have gotten on him when he caught her. The boy closed his eyes and hugged Namine tightly to him. "I'm sorry..." he said, finally getting out his apology, "...for not being who I used to be."

 

Namine stayed still in Roxas' arms, not even aware that she was in that place. All that she knew was that blackness was surrounding her, and it had been overwhelming. But as soon as she was out of Jeff's vice, the oxygen had begun to return to her mind, and her body was now trying to bring her back into consciousness.

 

Roxas opened his eyes to look down at the girl in his arms, his sight somehow blurry. That was when he noticed the wetness in his eyes. He shook his head, frustrated. No, he wasn't going to cry. But if I was the old me, none of this would have happened. I would have protected Namine, not put her in harm's way.

 

Namine couldn't recall if she had passed out before or not. Either way, she felt completely strange coming out of it. For one thing, it was taking a while. Even though she could breathe again, the only sense of reality she had was that there was a ringing in her ears. And that noise probably didn't even come from reality. She didn't know where it could have come from, and she didn't have the energy to ponder it.

 

Roxas kept his hold on Namine, one arm supporting the back of her neck and shoulders while the other was wrapped around her waist, keeping her in his lap. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, fighting the urge to release his emotions. Roxas never cried unless it was necessary, or was that the "old" Roxas? The new Roxas...he didn't cry about anything. He didn't cry when he lost his best friend or didn't get to pursue his ambitions in the past. So why should he cry now? Because he's worried about somebody he truly cares for. The voice made Roxas bring Namine closer, the tears in his eyes growing.

 

Namine thought she felt her body move, though she could have been mistaken. Her head was still spinning despite the fact that she had sufficient oxygen. Perhaps it was trauma from the situation that had just happened. That must have been it.

 

Roxas finally opened his eyes, looking down at Namine's face. "How could I have let him do this to you?" he said, his voice wavering and his anger at himself coming through. "If I hadn't been so stupid...I could have prevented you from getting hurt." He felt his lip tremble and he squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head a little in the other direction as he fought the tears that wanted to spill from his eyes. But he lost; a tear escaped from behind his eyelid and trickled down his cheek.