Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or Kingdom Hearts. I wish I did, got it memorized?

Chapter one: A Chance Meeting

'Run,' was the only thought going through sixteen year old, Sora's mind. Hopping over trash cans, darting through dark alleyways, Sora ran as fast as his short, but lean, legs could go. It wasn't even 6 pm, yet he was already covered in bruises. Traverse Town may look like a nice place to outsiders; you only see the demons once you've entered the darkness and our main protagonist knew that litany well.

"Not again! Oh God, please not today! I'm already late." Sora panted, talking to himself, and clearly out of breath. 'Shit!' He inwardly cursed as he scrapped his already bleeding hand against the corner of a rough, red, brick building. He felt like he had just run a marathon and his legs were burning from exertion.

"Hey, you little bitch! Get back here!" The leader of the group shouted. He was tall, blonde, of medium build, and damn could he run. "You can't hide forever pipsqueak, y'know!," One of his followers taunted. Knowing they were getting closer and closer, Sora sped up. Just as he turned the corner, hoping to finally lose his pursuers,

"Oww!" An unknown silverette groaned as he and Sora collided. Confused turquoise scrambled to focus again as their owner ignored the slight pain he felt from the collision. Realizing the small brunet who ran into him was talking, he tuned in, but was only able to catch a small portion of his rant.

"I-I'm so sorry, but I r-really got to go!" Sora said checking behind him every couple words, but before he was able to start running again; the tall silver haired-boy grabbed him. He pushed Sora into a small little alley, behind a dumpster and some broken boxes.

"Damn, we lost him. Hey you! Did you see a little runt around here?"

'Oh no.' Sora thought as his body began to shake with fear, 'they've found me.'

But the boy surprised him, and for once; the surprise was a good thing. "Small and has brown hair?" The silverette asked, "Little asshole bumped into me and ran north." The boy pointed in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Sora took this time to catch his breath though his mind was still racing a mile a minute. His mind kept wondering back to the strange boy. Was he helping him? No, no one would willingly help him, more importantly; what about his strangely colored hair? Sora laughed quietly, hoping no one heard. Silver hair wasn't very common; however it was his blue- no his turquoise eyes that really stood out to him. Sora wasn't able to get a very close look, but he could tell that the boy was pale, slightly taller than Seifer, and much more toned.

"Thanks." Seifer, the leader of the group nodded, before turning to the others, "Come on! Let's get him!"

Sora had stopped breathing and didn't move a muscle, until a few minutes later when the turquoise eyed boy returned to where Sora was hiding. "Hey, are you okay? Sorry for calling you that. My name's Riku." Sora was speechless. No one had ever helped him like this before.

"I-I got to go! Um, thank you, Riku!" Sora snapped out of his daze and ran.

"Wait!" Riku shouted, "You're hurt!" But Sora didn't stop. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't. He was already late and his Stepfather might actually kill him this time; no, Sora wasn't that lucky.

Maybe the Gods were on his side today. When Sora got home his Stepfather was passed out on the couch and for now that was a good thing. Tomorrow was going to be hell, especially with his Stepfather's hangover, but for now he could continue thinking of the strange boy who had helped him. Sora quietly crept up the stairs, weary about the creaks they made, and walked into his bathroom to examine his cuts and soon-to-be bruises.

Strange wasn't the right word to describe this boy. He was different; unique. Riku was special, one of a kind. Is he insane? 'He has to be, no one would have helped me out otherwise'. The small blue eyed boy thought sourly and with a hint of sadness. He took off his shirt and began his almost daily routine of cleaning and wrapping his wounds. Today was especially bad and he groaned at the sight. Some of the larger and deeper cuts were beginning to puss as the area around them turned into painful-looking bruises.

Why had Riku helped him? Sora was a petite brunette with bright, sea blue eyes, and he still had his childlike features. Whereas Riku was full-grown, mature, with soft-looking silver hair and caring turquoise eyes that pierced Sora's heart . In short, Sora considered himself to be average, and Riku? Well, Riku was the very definition of beautiful. 'Wait! Did I just think Riku was beautiful? One, I just meet the dude! Two, I'm a guy and he's a g-guy. And well three, he will have forgotten me by tomorrow morning.'

Sora sighed, feeling self-conscious especially with his now wrapped injuries. When he finally snapped out of it, he changed into more comfortable clothing, a large plain white shirt and loose basketball shorts. He slowly walked to his bed and laid down, but couldn't fall sleep. His earlier thoughts left him confused, and he tossed and turned in his bed. "Could I really be gay?" He whispered out loud, his voice scared and gravelly from his screaming. 'Does it really matter if I am? I've… never really thought about it. I just can't let step-monster, Xemnas, find out, but it won't really matter as long as I keep it to myself, right?' Sora smiled softly, 'Riku.' And with that, the small, brunette fell asleep. And for the first time, in what seemed like forever, nightmares didn't plague his dreams.

Thanks for reading! I DO plan on continuing. The next chapter is already longer than this one and I am still in the middle of writing it! Please leave any corrections in reviews and I'll try to change them as soon as possible! :) -Kristin3