Rhythmic Hearts

~Feel the rhythm of the music, feel the beat of my heart~

.:Kaiora:.

Part I: Initiation

He didn't know how long it had been, but it sure was a long damn time. He'd gotten there at half past nine that morning, and he'd been waiting for what felt like an eternity. His cobalt blue eyes scanned the hall, about thirty more people wishing to get the same opportunity he was. The seats were taken, so he was stuck leaning against the wall, one leg propped up behind him, his arms crossed. What could he do? He was too much of a gentleman to order someone out of their seat, no matter how long he had been standing there or how sore his feet were getting at this point. He needed them for the audition, and he prayed to the Gods that he wouldn't fumble when his time came.

Letting out a bored sigh, the young man reached into the pocket of his dirty denim shorts, the fabric brushing just below his knee as he felt around for his phone. His calloused fingers skimmed over the thalassa shell charm he kept with him at all times, believing it brought him luck. And it had, ever since he was fourteen, when he had tried out for another dance audition and got the part. He could only hope it would bring the same fate.

Finally finding his cell phone, he pulled it out, flipping it open to check the time. 1:04?! That was it?! It felt like so much longer to him, most likely because he was so pumped up for the audition. But who wouldn't be? Actually getting chosen for this would be big. Like, big-big. If he got this, he could actually make a better name for himself, have more gigs.

He lowered his head, his eyes focusing on his red and dark grey Garmont's as he ran a hand through his unruly brown hair. A quiet breath escaped his lips.

"Been waiting long?"

His head jerking up, his eyes met a matching startling blue. Blonde bangs barely interfered with the person's vision, though they ignored it. "Uh…yeah," he managed to speak.

The blonde leaned against the wall beside him. "Same." His eyes focused on the brunet to his right, a small smile forming on his lips. "Roxas," he introduced, holding out a hand. "And you are?"

"Uh, Sora," he replied, taking the hand held out to him with a firm grip. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Roxas let his eyes wander around the room, another person entering through the door that would decide their fates. "So, I'm guessing you're here for the audition?"

"Yeah," Sora confirmed with a nod. "Been here since nine this morning. Can't say I'm not getting anxious; I'd be bluffing."

"Ah, I got here a little after you did then," Roxas said, scratching his cheek. "It's been hours, though. I wonder how the judges sit there for that long?"

Sora shrugged. "It's better than standing, I'm sure."

There was a silence for a few moments, and Sora couldn't help but stare blankly at the white wall ahead of him. How much longer was this going to take? He wanted to get in there and finally show what he could do; he had been waiting for a chance like this since he even started the dance classes he took when he was ten. Ever since then the excitement for something of the sort had been building. And now that it was here, well, Sora had the temptation to jump up and down like a little kid tugging at his mother's sleeve when he saw a candy shop.

A feeling suddenly coursed through him, but it wasn't caused by his nerves or his thoughts. Glancing sidelong he could see Roxas staring at him. Turning his head completely, he furrowed his brows, head tilting to the side. "What?"

Roxas had a hand at his chin, a pensive expression written on his features. "Have I seen you somewhere?"

Sora's lips parted in confusion as he lifted a brow. "Eh?"

"Oh, I know!" Roxas exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "You were a backup dancer for the band D-Mix, weren't you? Yeah, yeah! You danced for them last summer when they toured here in Twilight Town, didn't you?"

The perplexed look that was etched on Sora's face quickly disappeared as he smiled, nodding. "Yep, that was me."

"Dude!" Roxas was grinning ear to ear. Sora could only guess that it was out of surprise. "That performance you guys did for 'The Beat' was awesome! What was it like to actually be able to work with them?"

Sora was quite amused and also confused at how thunderstruck this kid was being. Didn't he get offers like that too? "Um…it was a once in a lifetime opportunity at best, I guess," he answered, scratching the back of his head. "What, haven't you done anything like that before?"

Roxas shrugged, his hype slowly decreasing. "Nah, not as big as D-Mix. I danced backup for a pop group before, but that was it."

"Which one was it?"

"The Thirteenth Order," the blonde said with a nod.

"That doesn't sound very 'poppy' to me," Sora admitted. Roxas only chuckled.

"You'd be surprised. There was this one guy with pink hair—the bassist—and he was one of the weirdest people I've ever met at a gig." He crossed his arms as he focused on the floor for a second. "Some obsession with flower petals or something."

Sora stifled a laugh. "What?"

Roxas merely shrugged. "Beats me. But hey, it got me a recommendation here, so it works."

"Wait a second," Sora blurted, waving his hands back and forth to stop the blonde from talking. "You were recommended?" Roxas nodded with a small smile. "Lucky!"

His laugh chimed through the hallway. "It shouldn't be that surprising. Some of the people here are probably recommended by their creative arts school, or at least an agent." There was a short silence, and Roxas blinked. "Wait… Nobody put in a good word for you?"

Sora shook his head, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Nah. I'm here on my own. Always have been."

"And you still don't have an agency, even after performing backup for D-Mix?"

"Nope."

"Wow, I'm surprised. You were awesome in that, man!" Roxas commented, earning a cheesy grin from Sora. "Anyway, I'm sure you'll do fine here. This audition shouldn't be too harsh."

"Aren't we auditioning for a position for some cover band or something?" Sora asked, head tilting again.

"I think so," Roxas said. "The girl singing, though, is supposed to be pretty popular."

"Huh?!" Sora cried, pushing himself off the wall. "A…girl?! That's it?!"

"You didn't know?" Roxas questioned, one of his blonde eyebrows arching. Sora shook his head, his eyes wide. "Huh…"

"All of these people are auditioning for a position to dance backup for one chick?" Sora asked in a quieter tone, considering a woman was calling the next person up. "I only heard it was for a cover band, not a cover artist."

Roxas smirked. "Your sources must be weak. This girl means business; she really wants to reach stardom." He leaned in slightly, speaking in a softer tone. "Plus, I heard she was hot."

This news caused Sora to blush. For what reason, he wasn't sure why. But he ducked his head to try and hide it from Roxas. "Heh. Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough, right?"

"Yeah."

"Sora Carter?"

Sora jerked his head in the direction the voice came from, and his eyes met the hazel irises of the woman with a clipboard in her hand. "Yes?" he asked politely.

"You're up," she said with a small smile. Sora nodded before grabbing the red and black duffel bag sitting next to him on the floor. After pulling it over his shoulder, his sight locked on to a fist held out in front of him. Looking up, his eyes settled on Roxas.

"Good luck, man," the blonde told him with a warm smile. Sora grinned and knocked his tan knuckles against Roxas's.

"Thanks. You too." And with that, he turned, approaching the woman at the door before being led into the room.

-

S

-

"So how do you think you did?"

Sora glanced over at the blonde walking next to him before focusing his eyes on the sidewalk ahead of him again. He stuffed his hands in his shorts pockets, shrugging. "I'm not one to be cocky, so I guess I did alright."

"Sora, you were smiling when you came out," Roxas stated. "Apparently you must have done better than that."

Sora smiled sheepishly but agreed. "Yeah, maybe." Roxas laughed softly before they both walked into a burger place, sitting down at a booth. Since Sora moved to Twilight Town a year ago, he hadn't really met anyone; he was either dancing or working to pay rent. Either way, he never actually became friends with someone that could handle the same schedule. Luckily for him, he met Roxas, who he became friends with already. The way they teased each other and were so laid back around the other, people would think they had been friends for years.

So here they were, at a burger joint to fill their empty stomachs after not eating for the last six hours. After ordering, a comfortable silence hung between the two.

Sora couldn't help but play the scene back again in his mind. As soon as he walked through that door he was greeted by three judges, all of them appearing pleasant after sitting in the same changes for the last six hours. They asked him some questions—why he felt he would be good for a part, what previous experiences he had, etc.—before letting him freestyle to a mix they had already in the stereo. After about a minute of showing them what he had in him, Sora stopped and noticed the small smiles of approval they had etched on their faces, which drew one from him in return. He was told that the results would be shown tomorrow morning around noon as to who actually made it, and after leaving that room, he couldn't help but get this warm sensation in his heart that he would be one of them.

Taking a sip of his Cherry Coke, Sora snapped out of his reverie. As much as he felt that he got a position, he couldn't be sure. Being overly self-confident about these things was never his thing. He'd run into someone that was before, though. Seifer, Sora mentally grumbled, just the thought of the blonde making Sora clench his fists. He was an unsurprisingly wonderful example of jerks when it came to dance auditions; and not leotard-tutu types of dancing, but hip hop, something Sora was highly skilled in.

He always thought he was better than everyone else. I bet it was because of that "oh-so-glorious" cape of his he always wore. Yeah right, Sora thought, his jaw clenching. Whatever. That was a year ago, and now that Blondie was out of town, moving because he was "too good for amateurs", Sora didn't have to worry about him anymore.

With a sigh, Sora rubbed the back of his head, his eyes subconsciously landing on Roxas, who seemed to be daydreaming. Sora bit back a laugh at the look on the blonde's face. "Uh…Roxas?" he asked, his voice strained, fighting the laughter that wanted to desperately erupt from his insides.

But the blonde only let a corner of his lips turn up into a half-smile, which caused Sora to bring a hand to his mouth. This was just too damn funny! What the hell was happening to his new pal?

"Roxas," he said again.

No answer.

Sora whistled, trying to gain his attention. "Yoo-hoo? Roxas?" he called, waving a hand in front of the boy's cerulean eyes.

Still nothing.

Sora rolled his eyes. He knew he couldn't yell at him since they were in a public diner, unfortunately for him; he really wanted to do it. Instead, he decided on simply snapping his fingers a couple times in front of Roxas's face. After the third snap, blonde hair finally shook.

"Huh?" Roxas uttered. Sora only smirked.

"Zoning out on me, Roxas?"

"Uh…n-no." Sora raised an eyebrow, smirk growing. Oooh. What do we have here? Stuttering?

Sora crossed his arms. "Who is she?" he asked in a knowing tone.

"What do you mean? Who is who?"

Sora could only stare with fixed eyes as the blonde messed with his straw; he wasn't a fool. The brunet knew all about this sort of behavior; his friend Wakka did it when they were in high school, back at Destiny Islands. "The chick," he said matter-of-factly. "What's her name?"

"…Nobody."

Sora sighed impatiently. "Ugh! Out with it, Roxas! You're practically blushing!" And, as Sora expected, Roxas brought his hands to his face, attempting to hide the redness spreading over his cheeks.

Too late, buddy.

"Roxas…"

Roxas dropped his hands to the table, giving up. "Alright, fine. Her name's Naminé," he answered, his blue orbs glancing up at Sora after he spoke before darting back to the table.

Sora smirked, bringing a hand to his chin. "Naminé, huh?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah. She's…beautiful—long blonde hair, amazing blue eyes, great figure… It doesn't surprise me that she's a dancer."

"She sounds nice," Sora commented, folding his arms on the table.

"She is." Roxas's lips slowly formed a smile. "She's great…"

"From what you know, right? You can't possibly know everything about her." Sora took a sip of his drink, its cherry flavor flowing down his throat.

"Yeah, of course," Roxas agreed almost immediately. "But, still…she made a very good first impression."

"How'd you meet her?"

"Actually…" Roxas smiled sheepishly, raking his fingers through his blonde spikes. "We ran into each other when I was on my way out. I mean, we literally collided with one another. It wasn't the best way of meeting someone, but it did the job."

"I see," Sora said with a nod. "Think she'll make the show?"

Roxas shrugged. "Quite possibly. I didn't see her in action, of course, but she carried herself pretty well. It looked like she was pretty prepared to me."

"Mm," Sora murmured.

"Did you see anybody that caught your eye?" Roxas asked with a suggestively raised eyebrow.

Sora gave him a look. "No. I'm here for the sole purpose of getting the part, not a girl." Just then the waiter came back with their orders, setting down the two plates of cheeseburgers and fries in front of the boys. As soon as the man left, Sora continued. "I'm just trying to focus on my future. I've been working for this since I was ten years-old."

"So, what's that been? Nine years?" Roxas asked as he dipped a French fry in some ketchup.

"Yup. How about you?" Sora bit into his burger.

"I started dancing when I was twelve, so around seven years." The blonde chewed his food before swallowing. "I'm on the same level as you: focusing on my dance career, and not really caring about anything else."

"Except for Naminé," Sora chimed in with a smirk. He eyed Roxas with narrowed eyes.

"N-No!" Roxas cried.

"Yes."

"No."

"I think so."

"I think not."

"Come on, Roxas!"

"Grow up, Sora!" the blonde retorted.

Sora stuck out his tongue before focusing on his food. "You know you like her," he mumbled.

"What was that?" Roxas asked, his tone defensive.

"Nothing!"

-

S

-

"Come on. C'mon… Sora Carter," he mumbled quietly, finger running down the list of names. He was one of the last to check to see if his name was on the list. He knew better than to run up right when it was posted; he'd learned that in his younger years—it saved a lot of pain. Especially physically. Sora's eyes widened when he stopped, seeing his name printed on the white sheet of paper. "Alright!" he cheered, throwing a fist in the air.

"Congrats, dude," Roxas spoke, leaning back against the opposite wall as he watched his friend celebrate.

"Thanks!" Sora cried, still stuck in his hype. He glanced over his shoulder at Roxas before turning back around, checking for his friend's name. "Hey! You made it too, man!"

Roxas laughed. "Awesome!"

"Yeah!" Sora cheered, slapping hands with Roxas, a loud smack reverberating through the nearly empty hall. The two grinned at each other, each of their smiles cheeky and from ear to ear.

"Congratulations, Roxas."

The boy started, whipping his head to his right. Sora copied the movement, his blue eyes falling on flaxen hair, a purse slung over the girl's shoulder. A soft smile was pasted against her lips, her light blue eyes gazing up at the blonde boy that stood a few inches taller than her.

"Oh! Uh…thanks, Naminé," Roxas said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "You make it too?"

The girl nodded slightly. "Yes. It looks like we'll be working together soon." As Roxas blushed a crimson red, she turned her attention to the brunet standing beside him. "Congrats are in order for you too…" she said, fading off.

"Sora," he said with a nod.

"Well, congratulations, Sora. I'm Naminé," she greeted softly, holding out a small hand. Sora took it, a small smile on his face.

"You too. Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure," she said, her soft smile widening ever so slightly. She let go of his hand, bringing it up to hold the strap of her purse. She looked from one boy to the other (still completely oblivious to Roxas's red face, Sora noticed). "I'm looking forward to working with both of you. I'm sure Kairi will as well."

"Kairi?" Sora repeated, tilting his head.

"Yes," Naminé confirmed with a nod. "She'll be partners with one of you, I'm sure."

"Oh."

Naminé smiled at both of them. "See you two on Saturday?" They both nodded in agreement and her smile grew slightly. "Great. Pleased to meet you, Sora."

"Likewise," he said with a polite smile.

The girl turned to Roxas, and Sora could detect the smallest bit of shyness on her features. "Nice talking to you again, Roxas."

"Y-yeah. You too, Naminé." Roxas smiled slightly, and Naminé's cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink. "See you around?"

Naminé nodded with a timid smile before turning and walking away, leaving silence to surround the two boys. Roxas waited until she left through the door to release the air held in his lungs.

Sora looked at him. "That was her?" he asked, bewildered.

"Uh-huh."

"Whoa, you weren't lying," he admitted. "Wha–? OW!"

Roxas glared at him, his hand still in a fist. "Don't even think about it." As he started toward the door, Sora gritted his teeth. A low growl came from between his teeth, the boy rubbing his shoulder as he followed.

-

S

-

The next three days went by quickly for Sora, and Saturday morning he found himself walking back to the building where he had auditioned earlier that week. Duffle bag occasionally hitting his leg as he traveled through the white halls, Sora ran a hand through his brown spikes. He was actually quite nervous, even though he wasn't exactly sure as to why he was. He told himself that he was just confusing his excitement with nerves over the fact that he that he had yet another gig…and the fact, of course, that he was actually going to get enough money to pay for two months of rent.

He came to a halt when he spotted the door with a sign saying, "Cover Performance: Practice Room". Well, that was as obvious as it was going to get. Sora grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open. Once he stepped in, he noticed eight other dancers scattered in the room. Some were gathered by the mirror—girls, of course—checking their hair. Others were chatting or stretching on the light wood floor.

Sora readjusted the strap on his duffel bag and walked along the wall on his left, setting his bag down on the floor, out of the way. He squatted down next to his bag, unzipping it before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. Checking the time, he noted that he was five minutes early and then turned off his cell.

"Hey, Sora!" someone greeted.

Said boy turned his head, his blue eyes finding a blonde waving at him from the middle of the large room. Sora flashed a grin his way, watching Roxas as he approached before tossing his phone into his bag. Zipping it back up, he stood, turning to see that Roxas had already reached him.

"'Sup, man?" Sora greeted, knocking knuckles with the blonde once again.

"Nothing, actually. Just waiting for her to get here."

"Naminé?" Sora asked.

Roxas shook his head. "No, she's already here." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, causing Sora's eyes to look in that direction. And there was the blonde beauty, talking with a raven-haired girl and another brunette as she stretched. "I was actually talking about the artist who's supposed to be covering the song we have to dance to."

"Who is she?" Sora asked, his gaze fixed on Roxas again. However, the question went unanswered, for one of the girls squealed just as he asked. Sora peered around Roxas as said blonde turned around halfway to see what the ruckus was about. A girl about their age scowled and stomped her feet, her flipped out brown hair bouncing with the movement. She marched over to a boy who was chuckling beside a platinum-haired guy, whacking him on the side of his head of sandy-blonde spikes.

"Ow!" he cried, immediately bringing a hand over his new bruise.

"Don't ever do that again, Tidus!" the girl wailed, stabbing a finger at him. Roxas winced before turning his head back to Sora, who grimaced.

"That's Selphie. Don't ever get on her bad side; she'll haunt you, man." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't listening before turning back to a chortling Sora. "Anyway, we already have our partners. Unfortunately Tidus is paired up with Selphie…"

"And let me guess," Sora said with a smirk. "You're paired with Naminé."

Roxas rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "Yeah…"

Sora nodded, his eyes scanning the other couples. He blinked once he noticed something was a little off. "Uh, Roxas?" The blonde tore his eyes away from Naminé to look at his friend. "There are an odd number of people in here. Somebody doesn't have a partner."

"Oh, I know. One of the guys is paired with the artist," Roxas said, and Sora could have sworn there was a certain tone to his voice. It made him feel off.

"…Okay."

As if on cue, a woman with long brown hair walked into the room, wearing sweats and a tank. "Hey, everyone. Thanks for coming. My name's Tifa and I'll be your choreographer for the show." There was a blend of "hello's" and "nice to meet you's" throughout the room. Tifa smiled. "We're going to get started right away here, so I need you to pair up." She looked down at the clipboard in her grasp. "Here are your partners: Selphie with Tidus, Yuffie with Leon, Xion with Riku, Naminé with Roxas, and Sora with Kairi."

Everyone joined in the center of the room, lining up with their partners. But Sora could only look around, bemused. Was it just him or was something missing?

"Uh, excuse me," he called. The choreographer looked up, dark eyes meeting his blue.

"Yes?"

"Err…my partner doesn't seem to be here," he said, scratching the back of his head nervously. Tifa only smiled, tucking her brown hair behind her ear.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll arri—" The sound of a door opening cut her off, and everyone glanced in that direction. Sora's eyes suddenly locked on a girl stepping through the door, sunglasses covering her eyes and a large Gucci Sukey tote bag hanging on her arm. Aside from the accessories, she was dressed in white knee high sweatpants with pink designs on the sides and a black tank top, light blue Nikes on her feet. Tifa smiled. "Ah, Kairi. There you are!"

Kairi smiled sheepishly as she took off her sunglasses, revealing chicory eyes that nearly stopped Sora's heart. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized, tucking some of her ruby hair behind her ear.

"Don't sweat it. We were just getting started," Tifa explained as Kairi set down her—very expensive, Sora noted—tote beside the door. Once she stood upright again, Tifa continued. "Go ahead and stand beside Sora and we'll get started." Kairi looked along the line, obviously trying to spot just who he was. Sora raised a hand in the air, signifying that it was him she was supposed to be next to. She walked over, stopping beside him.

Sora turned his head in her direction, taking notice of how she was a few inches shorter than him. At that same moment, her periwinkle eyes locked with his cobalt blue, causing Sora to freeze. "…Hi," he greeted quietly, smiling warmly.

"Hi," she replied, a small smile gracing her lips. She then turned her attention back to Tifa, and Sora followed suit.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, we're going to go ahead and set you guys up in formation." She pointed to Yuffie and Leon, telling them to go stand in the back, ordering the same of Selphie and Tidus. She then demanded that Riku and Xion stand slightly ahead and to the side of Selphie and Tidus, directing similar of Roxas and Naminé, who now stood diagonal from Yuffie and Leon. "Now, Sora and Kairi, you two are going to be the tip of our pyramid formation. Come stand over here," Tifa calmly requested, pointing to where she was standing. The two followed orders, and looking at the reflection in the mirror, Sora noticed how the rest of the group fanned out on both sides of him and Kairi.

"Sora," Tifa called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "The judges decided that you were one of the most experienced dancers here, which is why you are paired up with Kairi." Sora nodded, looking over at Kairi, who was apparently deep in thought, focusing. "Now, we'll do the steps first, and then we'll work with the music."

So after about five minutes of teaching steps, the group danced to an R&B-hip hop mix, all of them successfully performing the moves. "Alright, great job everyone!" Tifa clapped. "Let's go again." She started the music once more. After a half hour of additional steps, Tifa let them have a break.

Sora walked over to his bag, reaching inside and pulling out his water bottle. He popped the cap and poured the cold liquid into his mouth, swallowing and wiping sweat off his brow with his arm. He flashed a smile at Roxas when he reached into his blue bag lying next to Sora's and grabbed the water from inside. "Tired yet?"

Roxas shook his head, the tips of his blonde spikes swaying slightly with the movement. "Nope. We're just getting started." He took a swig of his water. "You?"

"Not a chance," Sora replied with a smirk. After a short silence, he said, "The song choice is pretty interesting, though. No voices."

"Oh, there are voices. Remember? We're dancing for a cover artist. Of course the track doesn't have voices; she has to sing them herself," Roxas explained. Sora nodded.

"Oh. Right." He looked across the room, catching Naminé watching Kairi, who was working on some steps with Tifa. "So, how's dancing with Naminé?"

Roxas's cheeks tinted a faint pink. "Uh, just fine. Like I said, she's good. How about Kairi?"

Sora gave him a look. "What about her?"

"Oh, come on! I saw the look on your face when she walked in. It was just like this," he said, making a face that was strangely the exact replica of what Sora would look like if he wore the expression. Sora elbowed him in the side.

"Shuddup."

Roxas laughed, one arm holding the spot Sora's elbow had nudged. "Relax. I was just kidding."

"Yeah, yeah," Sora said, rolling his eyes before taking another drink of his water.

"Great job, Kairi," Sora heard Tifa praise, which received a smile from Kairi in return. Tifa approached her and started commenting on her moves and Sora tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Kairi—" Sora paused, reflecting on how the name sounded coming from his lips "—has her own solo?"

Roxas's dumbfounded expression caught Sora off guard. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?" Sora's eyebrows lifted in wonder. As music bounced off the grey walls, his gaze locked on the front of the room.

"Okay. Five, six, seven, eight!" Tifa counted, and the next thing Sora knew, Kairi was performing steps.

Kairi had a headset on, the microphone placed in front of her mouth as she danced. "It's so hot, I can't stop. The music fills the room. Vibrations, sensations; that beat goes boom, boom, boom."

Sora only watched, wide-eyed. His thoughts on why he was at the tip of the pyramid formation were cleared. The reason as to why Kairi was excused when she was late made sense. Tifa's comment as to why, because he was one of the most experienced dancers, was paired with Kairi dawned on him. Roxas's explanation suddenly added up.

Kairi...

She was the cover artist?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline. Song used in this part is Let's Dance by Vanessa Hudgens.

Part II due out: Friday

C&C