Here’s a Fact:

I’ve always hated the cold.

I can’t explain it, really, because I have no reason for it. Nothing bad ever happened to me during cold weather, and I was even born in February, so, I guess I should like it. Love it even.

But… I don’t.

It’s the summer I love.

The heat; that melts the snow.



I. November Fog:
a. Ready Yet? Fly.

“Roxas! Hey, Roxas! Get up!”

“Mn… Wha? What time is it?”

“It’s time for school, Roxas! Time for school!”

A low groan escaped the blonde’s mouth from under the covers as he curled his legs up to his chest, trying to keep the cold morning air that coated his bedroom out and away. A second moan was forced out of him as he felt another heavy body jump down on top of his chest.

“Get off Sora!”

His brother just laughed. “I told you, you need to get up!”

Roxas paused for a moment, thoughts slowly coming back to his head, like tendrils of steam. They recollected themselves into water droplets, which rained down information into Roxas’s head.

“…There’s no school today--“

“Exactly!”

“Then why’re you getting me--”

“It’s the first day of vacatiooooon!”

Roxas rolled his eyes and laughed lightly as he sat up, causing Sora to tumble off of him and onto the floor. The brunette quickly caught his footing though, and stood up with a shining smile.

“We can’t sleep the day away! Come on Rox, we have to make use of all this time to do nothing while we can!”

True, Sora and Roxas were twins, but they couldn’t be more different. Each had their own group of friends whom they preferred to hang out with, and obviously different times of the day they preferred to wake up.

However, they did still love each other, as most brothers do. And despite their differences, they did still like to hang out with each other on occasion, like today.

November break was only four days, including weekends, so it really wasn’t that much of a break. Roxas figured that that was the reason for his brother’s over excitement as he slowly slipped out of the warmth of his bed.

Or at least I hope that’s all it is. I don’t think I’m in the mood for meeting new “friends” today. I mean, the new couple next door was nice and all, but I wish he would understand that I’m not as social as he is.

Roxas yawned and stretched his hands up over his head, preventing himself from shivering when he felt the chilling air surround his body. He opened his eyes to see Sora sitting on his bed again, staring at him with wide blue eyes and a smile on his face.

“Uh, Sor… Do you mind?”

“Do I mind what?”

“I need to change.”

“Oh right!!”


Just So You Know:

I live in a perfect household.

I have a twin brother, my father, Cloud, has a well paying job, and my Mom, Aerith, gets to stay home with the two of us. Both of them have always been supportive in whatever we do. Whether it was when Sora joined the soccer team, and quit two weeks later because the coach was mean to him, or when I was seven and came home crying because my classmates teased me for being the only boy on the choir, they were always right there to tell us that we were okay.

I have good grades too, and in honors for almost all of my classes. Sora is as well, so we don’t even have any competition between us (even though he acts like a moron, there’s a genius beneath that thick skull of his. I think it’s what keeps his brain from getting harmed).

Seriously, my life is pretty fucking perfect.

Well, all right. So there is one small little detail that I left out. I have a weak heart, or something like that. I’ve had it ever since I was born apparently. Sora doesn’t, we’re fraternal twins, so he wouldn’t have all of the traits that I do.

He’s lucky for that.

It doesn’t really stop me from doing much, though. Sure I can’t play sports, like Sora does, or other physically straining activates, but it’s okay. I’ve never really been into them anyway.

…Except for Struggle… I’ve always wanted to play Struggle, but mom and dad never allowed me to, and they probably never will.

I plan on playing it someday though. It’s a small dream, but a dream all the same.


b. If You Think You’re Crazy, You’re Usually Crazy. If You Think You’re Sane, You’re Usually Crazy, Too.


The instant Roxas stepped outside, he wished he had grabbed a thicker coat. It was cold for November, or he thought it was at least. Everyone else found it normal.

“Wooow!” Sora exclaimed, looking up at the sky. His hands were outstretched, like he was trying to catch something. “Look, Roxas, look!”

The blonde looked up to the sky as well, his hands shoved deeply into the front pockets of his plaid, wool jacket, in attempt to keep them warm. His hands were always cold. It was, according to the doctor, due to his poor heart, and therefore, poor circulation.

“Snow…” Roxas whispered under his breath, a small, hardly noticeable frown forming on the crest of his brow.

“Yeah! Isn’t it awesome?! Maybe we’ll get a whole lot of it! It would be so pretty…” Sora rambled, still looking up to the grey sky with sparkling azure eyes.

“Mm.”

Roxas focused his attention on the road before them. The snow began to come down harder, and he shivered a little as he peered down the street.

I hope he bus gets here soon… I hate just standing by the side of the road. Roxas thought to himself as he watched Sora grip onto the “Bus Stop” sign with one hand and continuously spin around it, like a little boy. His eyes dully drifted back to the road again.

“Roxas.”

“Hm?” He spun his head around to look at Sora, who had stopped spinning when he had been addressed. “What?”

“What?” Sora replied back with equal confusion in his voice.

“You said my name.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Well someone did, and you’re the only one around, not to mention the only one who knows my name around here.”

Sora walked over his brother and patted him on the shoulder. “You’re hearing things.”

Roxas gave him a puzzled look, but then attempted to dismiss the thought entirely.

Huh… I swear it was a voice I’ve heard before too…



c. Bound for Nowhere.

Sora sat across from his brother, humming a little tune by Fall Out Boy that he had heard on the radio that morning. It was catchy, and he kept jamming his arms around like he was playing the drums. Roxas chuckled to himself, shaking his head lightly in amusement. Like plants in the sea, all the passengers of the bus swayed to one side as it rounded a sharp corner.

“Hey Sora…”

“Yeah?”

“Where are we going?”

Sticking a tongue out at his sibling, Sora just crossed his arms. A grin formed on his face as he pulled it back in, and then shifted his gaze to the streaming scenery that they were driving past.

Roxas mimicked Sora’s posture by crossing his arms as well. He leaned against the back of the seat, slumping down as a tired sigh left through his parted lips.

Why does he always do this?

The blonde let his eyes close. The bus continued to zigzag here and there, and he could feel his body be gently rocked back and fourth. He wasn’t even aware that he had fallen asleep until he felt a warm hand on his knee.

“Rox, get up. This is your stop.”

His eyes shot open, instantly staring down at his knee. He could still feel a radiating warmth coming from it, but the only person who was even somewhat close to him was Sora. However, it appeared that his brother had fallen asleep as well.

Roxas kicked Sora’s foot with enough force to stir him out of his light nap. The brunette instantly became alert, and he sat upright in his seat, eyes wide and darting around.

“Did we miss it?!”

“Miss wha—“

Sora’s eyes were glued to the window when he yanked on the little yellow cord above them, signaling the bus driver to stop and let them off.

Within less than a minute, the two boys were standing outside. About an inch of snow was covering the ground now, and only more and more was falling from the somber sky. Sora looked over at Roxas, a soft smile on his face.

“Thanks for waking me up then. If you hadn’t we would have totally missed our stop!”

“Uh… No problem.”

“I mean, it was like, seriously lucky!” Sora then narrowed eyes azure eyes at Roxas and tapped his chin lightly. “Saaay… You didn’t know we were getting off there ahead of time, did you?”

Roxas gave his head a small shake.

“Huh…” Sora kept his gaze on Roxas, along with a small grin on his face. “I guess we’re just lucky then!”

“Yeah…” Roxas agreed quietly. “Lucky…” He looked up to the sky. It was dull and grey, showing no sign of the sun, or anything that would even come close to resembling “luck.”


d. “Behooooold!”

Was what Sora said once the bus had pulled away. His arms were stretched out the side as he spun around to face Roxas.

“Rosenwood’s first official skate park!”

Sora then grabbed Roxas’s arm, yanking it out of the warmth of his coat pocket. He led the stumbling blonde down the thin pathway, which led to the gated construction site. Sora then pointed to a sign on it’s chain link fence.

“See! It’s gonna open on November 28^th! That’s just in a few days!”

A grin widened on Roxas’s face. Skateboarding was one of the things he loved to do most. Although is parents disapproved, it didn’t stop the blonde boy from going about and doing it. He was one of the best skaters in their class too. Him and a junior named Seifer were constantly in competition with each other.

“Yeah, Sora… That is great.” He looked over at his brother with a soft smile, and then winked. “You’re off the hook for waking me up early this time, but don’t think you can get away with it every weekend.”

Sora just stuck his tongue out in return.


e. It’s Important to Plan Ahead.

Roxas and Sora both sat on the curb of the road, in the snow. It was just passing noontime, although you couldn’t tell because of the thick, grey clouds that continued to hang overhead. Roxas heard Sora’s stomach growl, and the brunette flopped onto his side.

“Uuun, Roxas… If the bus doesn’t get here soon… I think I’m gonna staaaarve…”

Roxas just laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Oh quit being such a drama queen. It’ll be here in…” He looked down at his watch, which had the numbers in Roman numerals, and was attached to a checkered strap. “Twenty-five minutes.”

“Uuuuuugh!”

Roxas just rested his chin in his palms, and continued to scan the road for the large blue and white bus that would take them back to their house. The normally black pavement was now a light shade of grey, as the snow continued to coat it. “You know Sor, the next time you plan to drag me out on one of your outings… Check the bus schedule first.”

Because today was Friday, a work day, the number eight bus, which was the only one that went passed their house, ran at seven in the morning, one in the afternoon, and then eight at night. It was meant to take people from home, to work, and back home again, during the so called “off season.” During the summertime, the busses ran every half an hour, everywhere.

But since it was November, they didn’t.

“Roxaaaas… Will you make me a sandwich when we get home? One with turkey and cheese and more turkey and more cheese, and lettuce and…”

But Roxas wasn’t paying attention to his brother as the snowfall suddenly increased around them, instead, he was listening to a conversation of voices coming from… Well, he didn’t know they where they were coming from. That’s why he was listening. He recognized one of the voices the slightest bit, but he didn’t know how. The other one seemed to just drone on and on. It almost sounded… Lifeless.

“Get rid of him? Wait a second, isn’t it a bit early for that?!”

“It’s an order. Why are you hesitating? Aren’t you the one who dealt swift, merciless judgment to those who turn their back on—“

“Roxaaaaas! Are you listening to me?”

Snapping out of his trance, Roxas stared at Sora with wide eyes. His hands gripped his head, tightly tugging at his blonde hair.

Sora was standing up now. He leaned over to look at Roxas, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I was telling you all about this amazing sandwich! Doesn’t it sound good Rox—“

“He hasn’t turned his back on us!”

“Rooxa—“

“Shut up!”

Roxas shot up from where he was sitting, taking in deep breaths as he stumbled a few paces into the road. Sora’s wide eyes followed him in shock.

“W-Was it something I said…?”

“Don’t hear it?! Two voices! Two men!”

“He’s just not able to come back yet!”

Sora tilted his head, a worried expression forming on his face. “What’re you talking about…?”

“Shutupshutupshutuuuup!” Roxas continued to grip at his hair, his head now pounding as a migraine set in.

A car horn honked in the distance, and it was then that Sora pushed him down to the ground and out of the road.

Everything went silent.

f. Warmth.

When Roxas and Sora entered their house, they were greeted by a gush of warm air and a blazing fire. Cloud was hunched over in front of the fireplace, slowly feeding it more bits of paper to keep it roaring up.

Once he heard them enter, he turned around and smiled.

“Welcome home kids. We were just starting to wonder where you were.”

Sora gave his dad a warm smile, but it quickly faded when he saw Roxas walk away to his room.

In all honesty, he was worried about his brother.


It Shouldn’t, But It Does:

I really need to stop thinking about it.

I mean, it probably wasn’t even there.

Or maybe the heater just went on. It could have been near my knee. That would solve the mystery of the heat I felt. And some heaters tend to make weird noises, so that could explain the voice I heard too.

And as for the side of the road, it was probably just the wind.

See, Roxas? It’s nothing. You’re putting too much thought into things. As usual.


…So why won’t that voice leave my mind?