Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

"Then do it," another jock encouraged Jeff, stopping on the pathway about ten feet away from Namine. "C'mon, man, prove that you won't let some punk guy beat you up whenever he wants."

"...Fine," Jeff spat, clenching his fists. He looked at Namine from the back, surprised she hadn't heard anything going on. But then again, he and his friends weren't talking too loudly. He curled his hands into light fists and started to approach her from behind.

Namine exhaled silently, still gazing at the pond and still completely unaware that others were watching her. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts. Seeing Roxas today was a guarantee, but after he was gone, there were no guarantees. Absolutely none. What would happen? ...Would she ever see him again?

 

Roxas lifted a hand, scratching the back of his head as he saw the park come into view. He approached the crosswalk and waited for the signal to change. He followed a few people across the street, passing in front of taxis and city buses before reaching the other side. He didn't bother following the sidewalk to get to the park path; he started cutting across the grass, knowing he'd reach his friends faster that way. They said they would be by the pond, and that was where he was going.

 

Jeff stopped halfway, suddenly thinking of Namine's protective boyfriend. He searched the area with his eyes, but fortunately for him, there was no sign of Roxas. He heard his friends snickering behind him and he turned to give them a harsh look, silencing them immediately. Once that was done, he faced the other way and started toward Namine again.

What if Namine never did see Roxas again? That thought pained her...a lot. She couldn't imagine life without him, and that was going to be reality very soon. But the question was, would it be temporary? That's what she really wanted to know.

 

Roxas felt his heartbeat begin to pick up, and he already knew that it was because he would see Namine. He rubbed the back of his head as he walked, staring at his shoes. Leaving her was going to be hard; that was one of his first thoughts the day before. He didn't know if he was ready for that yet, or if he ever would be.

 

Namine's eyes widened when she felt a pair of hands grab her and turn her to face the side. The hands stayed on her shoulders, but they weren't the gentle pair that she had grown accustomed to. Her eyes wandered upward and she saw a pair of eyes she'd recognize any day. "Jeff...?" she whispered, her eyes showing some fright and confusion.

Jeff nodded slightly and took a hand off her shoulder. Then, in a completely unpredictable move, he pulled back his hand and slapped her hard across the face, making the girl turn her head due to the impact. But he wasn't finished yet, and his friends watching from the path surely understood that.

 

Roxas's hand left his head and ran over his face as he groaned softly at the thought. He really had to stop thinking like that, or about that. Right now he needed to focus on making the next few days the best for Namine, and he was going to try as hard as he could. She deserved it--something good, after all the bad she had gone through lately.

 

Sora turned his head at the sound, his eyes wide when he realized what had just happened. However, his eyes became even larger when he saw what occurred next.

Namine felt tears appear in her eyes, her cheek stinging from the impact. Ouch! she thought, instinctively bringing a hand to the cheek. That hurt even more than the first one.

Jeff set his hand upon the one on Namine's cheek and turned her face towards him as he did something even more startling to the blond girl and to whoever was watching--He leaned down and kissed her, shutting his eyes when he performed the action.

 

Roxas looked up, but what greeted him instantly made him stop walking. His widened eyes stared at the scene in front of him. Namine...and Jeff?! Roxas grit his teeth together, his eyes narrowing angrily as he started moving again. No, he was no longer walking--he was running, sprinting. He wasn't that far from his friends to begin with, but he was closing the gap even faster now.

Kairi gasped, having heard the sound of something sharp. And that was when she noticed that it had happened to her best friend. Her eyes were wide, seeing another guy kissing Namine. What...?

 

Namine slipped her hand out from underneath Jeff's and brought up her other one, setting them both against the teen's chest as she pushed him off of her. A gasp left her lips as she stepped back to steps, eyes wide with shock and pain.

Jeff stood his ground, hands by his side now that he was no longer holding onto Namine. He smiled at the fact that she had pushed him off; he hadn't been holding on hard. After all, his friends hadn't said how long the kiss needed to last. "Thanks," he said with a smirk.

Sora furrowed his brows in confusion. Thanks? What in the world was that supposed to mean? Judging by Namine's expression, she had no idea what he was referring to, either.

 

As he grew closer to Namine and Jeff's forms, Roxas heard the guy's cocky comment. He ground his teeth together as he approached them, his footsteps slowing a little. He had the thought to just ram into Jeff with his shoulder, but he figured the guy deserved something a little more painful. And to the face. He jogged quickly toward the jock. "Jeff," he practically growled, hoping to catch the boy by surprise. That would make his next move even better.

 

Jeff turned his head at the voice, not quite recognizing it because of the depth of the growl. Unknown to him, though, something was about to happen that would let him know exactly who the person was before he even comprehended whose face that was.

Namine took another step back, her hand on her stinging cheek as her tears stayed watery. The tears were both due to physical pain and shock. Jeff just randomly walked up to, slapped her, and then kissed her? Seriously?

Sora stood up out of his seat, seeing that Roxas was coming in quick. The words "oh no" were all he had time to think before he saw what occurred next.

 

Roxas pulled back his arm, his hand already having formed a fist. He took one more step for momentum, throwing his arm forward at Jeff's face as hard as he could. The sound of impact reached his ears, but the feeling did not--his adrenaline was far too high to note that the force he put into the punch actually hurt his hand.

Kairi gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth as she watched Roxas's actions. Her eyes wide, she saw his face. It was nothing but pure rage.

 

Jeff grunted, shutting his eyes at the fist. Yeah, he definitely knew who that was. And judging by the punch, he had been working out. Roxas. He lost his footing and fell onto his side, rolling down the hill a ways before he stopped himself.

Namine yelped in surprise, taking another step back. She turned the other direction the moment she saw the fury in Roxas' eyes, the girl not wanting to deal with that trial again. She shut her eyes tightly and bit down hard on her lip, her hand still on the area Jeff had slapped.

Sora's eyes widened at the punch, but he wasn't shocked. If Kairi had been in that position, he probably would have done the same thing. He focused on his friend at that moment, unsure of how things would go from here. Because of his focus, he was unaware of Jeff's friends splitting up and fleeing the scene.

 

Roxas grit his teeth together in rage, his eyes clearly showing it--their piercing blue color stared daggers at Jeff. He started forward down the hill, wanting to pummel the overconfident punk.

Kairi saw that Roxas was moving forward, and her heart instantly skipped a beat in fear. Roxas was irate. She glanced toward Namine, seeing that she didn't appear very well. But who would when something like that occurred? Kairi pushed herself up from the bench, running over to Namine.

 

Jeff brought himself to his feet, wiping a fist across his face. When he pulled it away, he realized he had a bloody nose. Actually, it was probably broken.

Sora charged forward when he saw Roxas' intentions, the teen making up the distance quickly due to his speed. "Roxas!" he cried, hurrying to reach his friend before he did something he regretted. "Don't do it!"

Namine felt the tears hovering behind her closed eyelids, and one slid down her aching cheek. She was in total shock over what had happened just a few moments ago with her and Jeff and what was happening now between him and Roxas. She didn't know the details except that Sora was going to stop him. Obviously that wasn't a good sign.

 

Sora's words reached Roxas, but they were faint to his ears. The anger coursing through him was blocking out everything--the cries from his friend, and the stares he was receiving from onlookers. He didn't see or hear any of it. Roxas continued down the hill, walking quickly on the grass toward Jeff's location. The creep was going to get it. And Roxas wasn't going to hold back.

Kairi approached her best friend, hearing Sora's cries and wincing slightly. She set a hand on Namine's shoulder before glancing at the boys. Roxas was advancing, and it didn't look like he wanted to stop.

 

Sora ran down the hill and performed a move Roxas had done a while ago at the pool. He wrapped his arms around his friend's torso and held him back, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the angered blond. "You don't wanna do this," he said in a low tone of voice.

Jeff set his footing and lifted his fists in self defense, but he made no move to attack Roxas before or after Sora held him back. He would only fight if he had to. If Roxas got his wishes fulfilled, he would be in a coma at the end of this. Or worse.

Namine looked over her shoulder slightly at Kairi but then turned her head back to face the other way, her head lowered as the tears simply dropped from her eyes without sliding down her cheeks. I can't believe this...

 

Roxas wriggled in Sora's grasp, his hands in fists as he tried to move out of his friend's grasp. He did want to do this. Very much so. "Let me go!" he practically growled at his friend, but his voice was higher, close to a shout of rage. He wasn't mad at Sora, but at the creep who dared to kiss his girlfriend, let alone touch her.

Kairi squeezed Namine's shoulder in hopes of comfort, her eyes glancing at her for a moment after Roxas hollered. With this going on, it was probably going to be hard to do that--be alright. Kairi's eyes darted back to Roxas, glad to see that Sora had a hold of him, but that didn't seem to make him stop; he was still trying to get to Jeff.

 

"Roxas! Get a grip!" Sora shouted in his friend's ear, hoping that would get him to think more logically. He grunted softly and shifted his grip on Roxas, getting a tighter grasp on him. He understood that Roxas wanted to attack Jeff at that moment, but he knew that he would regret it later. He knew exactly what it was like to be in Roxas' position.

Jeff wisely stayed where he was, prepared to defend himself if he had to. Unfortunately for him, it looked like he would need that, since Sora wasn't doing a very good job calming the blond teen down.

Namine bit down harder on her lip at the cries of her friends, the girl not daring to look over. She didn't want to see any of that, or hear anything of it. She just wanted things to be alright.

 

"Get your grip off of me!" Roxas cried back, his voice full of rage. Sora's words sunk in, but not enough for him to actually stop. He still wanted to punch Jeff in the face, again and again until the guy was unconscious on the ground. With that mindset, he tried again to get out of the hold Sora had on him. Nobody got away with kissing Namine after beating her as severely as Jeff did. Nobody.

Kairi winced slightly at Roxas's tone, her eyes briefly darting around to see that they had an audience; half of the people on this side of the park were watching. This was bad, very bad.