An Invitation

Bloodshot eyes stared at a blank screen.

It was the same routine: wake up, eat, stare, sleep, rinse and repeat. He couldn't move forward, not when his brain was as empty as the screen in front of him. His name was Sora Hikari, also known as Tetsuya Nomura, his pen name. He was handsome, with big blue eyes, round cheeks, and wild brunet hair. He was clad in a pair of gray sweats and a plain white tee.

He authored a series of books called The Keyblade Chronicles. It was about a hero who journeyed across multiple worlds to fight against the forces of darkness. It was a great success, selling millions of copies to a generation of young readers. Two books had been released so far and he was working on the third.

Progress was slow. He had been cursed by every author's worst nightmare: writer's block. His screen displayed no words, no sentences, no paragraphs—only an insertion point—a blinking line that mocked him. He wanted to write, but his mind was gone, replaced by a desert of rolling tumbleweeds.

He pushed his chair back and started spinning, the wheels creaking as his eyes circled the room, searching for some kind of inspiration.

"This is pointless," he muttered, sinking into his chair. "I'll never finish this."

Knock, Knock!

Sora stopped and looked at the door.

Knock, Knock!

Let the distraction in or continue staring at insertion points? He settled on the former, got up, and opened the door, revealing a blond man dressed in a business shirt and dark slacks. He carried a box of donuts in one hand, coffee in the other, with a bundle of mail between his teeth. It was his cousin, Roxas.

"Some 'elp 'ere?" It was hard to speak with mail in his mouth.

Sora laughed and reached for the donuts but Roxas dropped the coffee tray. Sora caught it before it hit the floor, but one of the cups popped open and splashed his shirt. "HOT!" he yelped, recoiling from the heat.

"Crap, I'm real sorry about this!" Roxas apologized, spitting out the mail. "Let me help you!"

"It's fine. I can take care of it myself." Sora walked into the kitchen and used the sink to dampen his shirt.

Roxas settled on the couch, abashed like a child who had spilled his milk. "Sorry, I thought you had it."

Sora returned to the living room with a wet shirt. "Remind me not to partner up with you in the company relay race."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."

"What are you doing here anyways?" Sora asked. He grabbed some napkins and rubbed it against the stain on his shirt.

"What, I need an excuse to see my favorite cousin?"

"I'm your only cousin here in Twilight Town," Sora countered.

"And that's why you're my favorite." Roxas glanced around and noticed the laptop. "How are things around here?"

Despite his vigorous technique, the coffee stain didn't diminish. "Same as always."

"No progress, huh?"

Sora scrunched his face in irritation; he didn't need the reminder. "What about you? Shouldn't you be at the office and, I don't know, work?"

Roxas grinned and leaned back, setting his feet on the coffee table. "Everything's taken care of. I'm more worried about you. Shouldn't you be on the computer and like, I don't know, write?" He thought he was so clever.

"Can't get blood from a turnip. I need inspiration." It had been a full year since The Keyblade Chronicles 2 was released onto bookshelves. Sora enjoyed a three-month break before the publisher asked him to write another sequel. That was nine months ago, and he had written a grand total of ten pages since. It was a bad situation, but given his previous success, he was allowed generous deadlines.

Roxas wasn't impressed by the excuse. "I'll let you in on a little secret: there's no better inspiration than a girlfriend."

Sora groaned. "Not this again."

"Hear me out! You asked why I wasn't at the office, right? I'm taking a break. I just hired a new manager and her name's Xion. She's really good. I have all this free time thanks to her. She's adorable, smart, and funny too. I think she'd be good for you."

"If she's so great, why don't you ask her out?"

Roxas sighed. Sora always had to be difficult. "Because I'm already going out with Naminé."

"Makes me wonder why you keep searching for nice girls when you already have a girlfriend," he said sarcastically.

"I'm doing it for you."

"No thanks, I'm good."

"You expect me to believe that? I haven't even told you the best thing about her."

"And what's that?"

He paused for dramatic effect. "She looks like Kairi."

Sora stopped, made a show of thinking about it before frowning, and resumed rubbing his shirt. A few seconds passed before he tossed the useless napkin away. He headed for his bedroom.

"Hey, did you hear me? Where are you going?"

"To get a new shirt." He slammed the door shut.

Roxas shook his head tiredly; another attempt to get Sora a girlfriend shot down. It was an on-going project of his and the reason for it was simple: to repay a debt.

When Sora moved to Twilight Town, he introduced Roxas to Naminé, a friend of his from high school. Meeting her was the best thing that ever happened. They hit it off and became a couple. He learned from her that the only reason Sora left Destiny Islands was to get away from a girl named "Kairi." Kairi was Sora's best friend but he was secretly in love with her. He was devastated when she hooked up with his other best friend, Riku. Roxas felt sorry for his cousin, hence, the beginning of project "Find Sora a Damn Girlfriend."

Roxas took matters into his own hands and reached out to women he knew. It wasn't hard to sell Sora since he was the successful author of a famous book series. Too bad every introduction he made ended in failure. It wasn't for lack of female interest; Sora sabotaged himself at every turn, ruining any chance of starting over.

Although he had never met Kairi, Roxas decided that she was a bitch. To see Sora reduced to a hermit who wasted his days slaving over a keyboard was depressing. When Roxas saw pictures of her for the first time, he had to admit, she was hot. He could see why Sora would fall for her, but his opinion remained unchanged; she was still a bitch—just a hot one.

Roxas stuffed a donut in his mouth and looked over the apartment. It was cramped. Couches and chairs were placed at haphazard angles, making it impossible to walk a few steps without hitting a piece of furniture. Leftover take-out and fast food bags littered the floor, forming a nice crunchy carpet. Sora lived by himself and rarely had visitors. Since he was a multi-million selling author, it didn't make sense for him to stay here. He could easily afford a much nicer place. Roxas told him to upgrade many times but the writer was too stubborn.

Roxas checked the mail lying on the floor; it fell from his mouth earlier. He picked it up and started sorting them. Fan mail, fan mail, fan mail, huh, what's this? His eyes widened as he saw the sender's address.

Sora reentered the living room wearing a new shirt and eyed the colorful card in Roxas' hands. "What's that?"

"It's nothing," he said nervously. He was obviously hiding something behind his back.

Sora got in close and reached behind his back. "Gimme that." He stole the card easily and his eyes went to the sender's address, "From Kairi and Riku." He froze.

"You still want to open it?"

Sora stood there and stared at the words. The letters were raised and printed with a swirly flourish. The card was colored in soft hues of pink and purple. The font was elegant with all sorts of fanciful curves and loops and the material of the card was stiff, glossy, and high quality. How much had they spent making the invitations?

"Um, Sora?"

"I-I don't know," he admitted.

"It might be better if I read it first."

"Fine." Sora shoved the card into Roxas' chest.

He opened it slowly and examined the words. A flurry of emotions crossed his face, making Sora nervous.

"Well?"

"You sure you don't want to meet Xion?" Sora glared. "Fine, it says…" He hesitated.

"It says what?" Sora's patience was running out.

"It says...they're getting married."

Silence.

"Are you okay?"

No response.

"You're scaring me, Sora."

His mouth moved but no words came out.

"H-how do you feel?"

Sora left through the front door.

SLAM!

He was gone.

Roxas sighed. He felt bad for Sora, he truly did, but something like this was a golden opportunity. It was time he learned to move on. Roxas pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Yeah, Naminé? Can you come over to Sora's? He just got the news."