Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

A few blocks later, they were just entering the cafe. The place wasn't extremely crowded, but it wasn't empty, either. It was pretty average to see this many people there--this place had legendary smoothies.

Namine followed Sora and Kairi, her soft blue eyes wandering up to the store sign. She recognized this place...without a doubt. And once they entered the cafe, her eyes immediately fell upon that table that they always sat at.

 

Kairi smiled once they walked inside the cafe. She loved this place, especially for their delicious strawberry smoothies. Her favorite, of course.

The smell of the fruity flavors impacted Roxas once he stepped foot into the small hangout. Not too crowded, but not completely empty. Just right. This place had good business, that was for sure. They'd been in here plenty of times ever since they discovered it.

 

Sora turned to his friends, speaking over some music so they could hear him. "Why don't you guys go get a table?" he started. "I'll get the drinks." There was no point in all of them standing in a line right by the door; it would get pretty crowded.

 

Roxas nodded. "Right," he agreed, his voice a little loud due to the music. He turned to the girls, motioning with his hand for them to follow him. "C'mon." He started toward their usual table, glancing around the cafe for a moment.

Kairi followed in silence, their table in her sight.

 

Namine tucked some hair behind her ear and silently followed the other two, though she somehow already knew which table they were going to.

Sora took a few steps over and got in line, knowing that he would get his friends what they usually got. He hadn't even thought to ask Namine what she wanted, but he was sure she wouldn't mind a strawberry smoothie. After all, that was what she normally got.

 

Kairi walked toward the table, grabbing a chair located on one of the four sides of the table. She took her usual spot, briefly glancing at Roxas and Namine as she sat down.

Roxas stopped for a second, acknowledging that Namine was coming up behind him. He stepped over, catching a glimpse of her before his sight fell on the source of the music. There was the stage, occupied by a guy around his age performing. He had always noticed people performing in here during the day before, but for some reason it caught his attention today.

 

Namine sat herself down at the table, at her usual spot. She hadn't even thought over which seat to go to; she just naturally went to that one. Her eyes wandered to the stage, and she saw that somebody was performing. And judging by the layout of the cafe and how people were sitting, it was an open-mic session.

 

Roxas shook his head, not understanding what it was that actually made him look over. He glanced down at his feet before looking at the girls, then the table. He pulled out a seat next to Namine, just like he always did when he came here.

 

Namine casually folded her hands in her lap, her eyes wandering around the cafe a little bit. She could see everything from her position; the stage, the counter where Sora was picking up their drinks, and a hallway to the rest rooms. The place was familiar to her, and she could recognize everything without a problem.

 

Kairi looked at both of her friends, who were silent. Usually they were so talkative, but she knew why they weren't today. "So...how did your guys's day go yesterday?" she asked over the music. They both left early that morning, and she was curious. Not to mention trying to start conversation.

 

Namine smiled faintly. She knew Kairi hadn't meant to bring up a sore subject--but the only reason it wasn't good was because of Jeff. And her nightmare, which she hadn't forgotten. Other than that, it had been a good day. "It was good," Namine said. "I took Ty for a walk in the park and then hung out with Roxas the rest of the day." Namine figured that there was no need to fill Kairi in on the not-so-good events, at least not at that moment.

 

Kairi's eyes flicked up at her friends. "Oh?" Things had been so...tense between them back at Sora's.

Roxas smiled slightly, nodding. "Yup. We were both drenched in rain water before we even got to my house," he added, chuckling once he was finished. He had to admit, the situation may not have been funny before that, but thinking about it now...it kind of was. They both looked ridiculous because they were so wet. But...Roxas remembered how cute Namine had been at the same time.

 

Namine felt her smile widen. She couldn't express how grateful she was that Roxas hadn't mentioned Jeff or her nightmare...that would have been completely awkward. She turned to look at him, silently giving him a look of gratitude.

 

Roxas felt a soft gaze on him and casually turned his head in Namine's direction. Sure enough, her eyes were on him. He recognized her expression sent a polite smile her way. Apart from the thunderstorm and huge blackout, a few things didn't need to be mentioned. Roxas guessed that was why Namine skipped out on some unfortunate parts of the day.

Kairi's periwinkle eyes darted back and forth between her two friends, a smile slowly spreading across her lips. She could tell by just the looks they were giving each other that they had a connection. They always had, from the very beginning. Even though the feelings w ithin them were probably hidden at this point, she knew that eventually they would come through.

 

Sora approached the table, curiousity building up inside him because of the way Namine and Roxas were looking at each other. Did Namine remember how she felt about him? Or was she just happy for some reason? The brunette chased away the questions, stopping by the table. "Got the smoothies," he said, setting his down in his spot first.

Namine turned her head at the voice, looking away from Roxas. Like any other time she found herself looking into Roxas' eyes, she was glad for the distraction. She didn't know what was going on with her, but looking into Roxas' eyes made her feel...head over heels. And she couldn't handle that emotional roller coaster yet.

 

Roxas turned his head, looking up at this best friend. He eyed the smoothies in his grasp, immediately knowing which one was his. He scratched the side of his head, ruffling his hair. Roxas was trying to focus on his smoothie, and not on the feeling stirring within his stomach.

Kairi's gaze lingered on her friends for a second before she looked up at Sora. "Great!" she said, her smile widening. She was looking forward to her smoothie.

 

Sora passed out the smoothies, first giving Kairi's hers, and then Namine. He looked her in the eye, but he wasn't trying to read her--she was sure she was going to get plenty of that in the next few days...or however long it would take for her to recover. So he'd just look at her like he always had, without letting her get any impression of his concern.

"Thanks," Namine said, gently taking the smoothie out of Sora's outstretched hand. She could tell that it was strawberry, which was her favorite kind. Apparently Sora knew her well enough to know what king of drink she liked...but that wasn't surprising. After all, these people acted like they were her best friends, and deep down inside, she knew she felt the same about them.

Sora nodded silghtly at Namine's word. "Sure," he said, looking to the blond boy beside her as he gave his best friend his smoothie.

 

Kairi held her smoothie in her hand, two fingers lightly gripping the straw as she took in some of the beverage. Mmm...strawberry. Her favorite. She glanced at Namine for a second before looking down at the table. It was coincidence that they liked the same kind, but that's the way things went with best friends sometimes.

Roxas lifted his hand. "Thanks," he told his friend, taking the smoothie from his grasp. Blueberry--one of the best. The boy sucked the flavor through the straw, smiling once he swallowed. "Man, I can never get sick of these things."

 

"Agreed," Sora said with a smile, pulling his chair closer to Kairi before he sat himself down. He reached for his blueberry smoothie and took a sip. It was funny how he and Roxas had the same favorite, and so did Kairi and Namine. He guessed that was just a natural connection. The girls were like sisters--no, even closer than that. And he and Roxas were the same.

Namine looked down at her drink when she took her first sip, the cool beverage tasting really refreshing. I can't remember the last time a smoothie tasted so good, she thought. She froze at the thought. You can't remember anything, she told herself, let alone the last time you had a smoothie.

 

Kairi laughed softly, looking at both boys. "You say that now, but I remember the first time you guys tried the Lemon Grass flavor," she said. "You swore you were never going to have another smoothie again." She smiled slightly at them, eyeing Roxas's expression.

Roxas made a face at the memory. "Ugh. That thing was just plain gross," he said, shaking his head. Gosh, that flavor was bad. He was glad he finally rested on something normal, like Blueberry.