I randomly had this idea while I was walking home from uni, so I started writing it. Enjoy.

To quote a great writer of our generation, "Being in love with your best friend sucks." You wanna know how I know that that's true? Because I, Sora Hikari, am desperately, hopelessly, irrevocably head-over-heels in love with my best friend.

Her name (yes, my best friend is a girl, so sue me) is Kairi Hart, and she is absolutely perfect in every single way imaginable.

I'm not even exaggerating here. Picture, if you will, the most beautiful woman you can possibly imagine. Give her auburn hair and blue eyes and you've got the object of my affections.

What a stupid phrase that is. 'Object of my affections'. It makes your crush/partner sound like a chair or something. And Kairi is far from being a chair. Although it would be nice…

Dammit, Sora! Get your head outta the gutter! Now!

Anyway, being in love with your best friend sucks even more if she's dating your twin brother. And Kairi is doing exactly that. She's been dating my (technically) older brother Roxas for about six months now. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them and all, but…I just wish that it was me, you know?

Now my twin isn't a douchebag or anything (my older brother Vanitas is, though), but I know something Kairi doesn't: Roxas is in love with her sister Naminé. He has been for a long time. Kinda makes me wonder why he's dating Kairi in the first place.

Long story short, I'm now at the Island Markets, looking for the perfect gift for my secret crush. A necklace or something, maybe.

"The finest merchandise this side of the Destiny Sea right here, on sale today!" a voice broke through my reverie. I smiled to myself. It was my old pal Genie.

Genie was, of course, not his real name, but no-one knew what that was, so everyone called him Genie. Even Genie called him Genie. He was one of those guys that you couldn't help but like. An open, honest face covered in a short black beard, and he was fit-looking. He wore trademark gold bangles on his arms, and he was always wearing blue.

"Sora!" Genie shouted when he saw me. "My boy, my main man!" He peered at me. "What's got you so down, Sora?" He drooped slightly as he said it.

I laughed slightly at his antics. "Nothing much. It's just…"

Genie's eyes glinted mischievously. "Girl trouble?"

"How did you…?"

He tapped his nose. "I have my ways." I still shudder to think what those 'ways' were. "I have the perfect thing to help!" He rummaged through his boxes, muttering to himself as he did. "Ah-ha!" he shouted eventually, pulling out a glass bottle that contained a red liquid.
"What's that?" I asked.

"This, kid, is the patented Genie Wishing Tonic!" he proclaimed grandly. "Guaranteed to grant you one wish. All you have to do is drink it, and hey presto, one granted wish!"

"Any one wish?"

"Ah, no. There are a few provisos, quid pro quos etc. It can't kill anybody, it can't make anybody fall in love with anybody else, and it can't bring people back from the dead."

"Oh-kay…" I eyed the bottle suspiciously. It seemed too good to be true. Also, all I really wanted was Kairi, and how was this gonna help me?

Then again…

Oh, what the hell.

"How much?" I asked Genie.

The jovial peddler grinned at me. "For you, kid, no charge." He handed me the bottle, still grinning. "Go on, get outta here and try it out!" he ushered me off.

I grinned back at him and walked off, clutching the bottle in one hand.

Behind me, I could hear Genie was once again procuring his wares. That guy may be a bit of a crackpot, but you can't fault his commitment.

**KH**

After my mom laid out a delicious dinner (Chinese takeout, since you asked), I reclined on my bed, staring at the bottle of Genie's Wishing Tonic. I kept wondering about how this could possibly help me win over Kairi.

Then it hit me.

I opened the bottle and held it up to my eye level. "I wish I knew what Kairi thought about me," I whispered. I tipped the bottle and drank the tonic.

It was all I could do to not go into a prolonged choking fit. That stuff tasted horrible. I persevered, however, and drank the whole bottle.

I sat there for a while, not feeling any different.

Then my world blacked out as I collapsed onto my bed.

**KH**

When I woke up, I was on top of my quilt. I could remember distinctly drinking that tonic, then nothing. Shaking the cobwebs out of my head, I got up and came downstairs.

When I got into the living room, I saw Kairi and Roxas holding hands, watching my brother Ventus playing some game called Kingdom Hearts. That's a stupid name for a game. Who in their right mind would play a game with a name like that, especially when everybody's main weapon of choice is a giant key?

I'm looking at you guys, by the way.

"Hey guys," I said drowsily.

"Hey, bro," Ventus said, distracted.

"'Sup," Vanitas murmured from a couch.

"Hey, Sor." That was Roxas. Only he was allowed to call me that.

"Hi," Kairi said simply.

Then I suddenly heard her voice again, and this time her lips didn't move. You know, Sora looks pretty cute when he's sleepy.

I blushed at that, and thought back. Was Kairi…thinking that? How did I…?

Wait. The tonic! That stupid, foul-tasting tonic worked! I felt like jumping for joy.

Kairi tilted her head. What's up with him today? He looks so distracted. *giggle* That's kinda cute, too. Wait, why am I calling Sora cute? Must be because he's Roxie's twin *nervous laugh*. Yeah, that's it.

I raised an eyebrow. Kairi thought I was cute? Thank you, Genie.

**KH**

School started the same way it always did. Roxas went off with his soccer teammates, Riku, Hayner and Tidus, leaving me with Kairi, Olette, Pence and Yuna.

For the uneducated, Olette is Hayner's long-time girlfriend. They'd been dating since middle school, when Olette had randomly blurted, "I LOVE YOU, HAYNER PRINCETON!" in a crowded hallway.
Pence is Hayner's second best friend, just behind Roxas. He was an aspiring photographer, and so had a camera dangling from his neck.

Yuna is in the same boat as me. No, she's not in love with Kairi like me. She is, however, hopelessly in love with someone who has no idea of her true feelings. In her case it's Tidus, Roxas' other soccer buddy.

So this was our motley crew for the entirety of the school day. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I could talk to Yuna about my Kairi crush without getting teased (Olette and Pence tease me incessantly about it), and any time I spend with Kairi is time well spent, in my opinion.

One negative thing, though: Olette and Pence are English nerds, meaning they absolutely love things like Shakespeare, and debate it constantly. Though not eloquently.

"Macbeth!" Olette shouted.

"Hamlet!" Pence countered.

"Macbeth!"

"Hamlet!"

Yuna groaned into her hands. "Make it stop!"

I comically threw my face between Olette and Pence. "Titus Andronicus!"

They glared at me for a while, before nodding appreciatively and backing down.

What the hell just happened? I heard Kairi muse in my head.

"What they hell did you just do, Sora?" Yuna asked, almost mirroring Kairi's mental statement.

"They were arguing about which one of Shakespeare's plays is the bloodiest. Olette thought it was Macbeth, and Pence thought Hamlet. I cut them off with the real bloodiest Shakespeare play: Titus Andronicus."

"You know Shakespeare?" Kairi asked disbelievingly. That's kinda sexy. No! Stop it, Kairi! You're dating Roxas. Roxas. Remember? I blushed, not that she noticed.

"My mom was a bit of an English nut," I explained.

Olette checked her moogle watch. "Where are they? Their training session ended about ten minutes ago!"

"Though you're not keeping count, right?" Pence teased.

Olette stamped forcefully on his foot, and he whimpered in pain.

"Here they come," Yuna said, blushing.

Why's she blushing? Kairi and I both thought, before seeing Hayner and Tidus walking towards us. Oh. That's why.

Tidus was shirtless, his tanned skin out for the world to see. Hayner was more modest, wearing a shirt that kept his muscular arms bare. Olette tried, and failed, to keep her eyes off those arms.

"Where's Roxas?" I asked at the exact same time as Kairi thought it.

Hayner shrugged. "He and Riku stayed out at the pitch a little while longer."

"And I'd imagine that Riku's probably scoring with one of those girls," Tidus remarked, winking at Yuna, who blushed even harder.

"I'll go get them," I offered, and Kairi looked at me gratefully. I blushed again and ran off.

**KH**

I eventually got to the soccer pitch, and Riku was nowhere in sight. I spotted a blonde head on a nearby bench, and I ran to it. Must be Roxas. But why is he just sitting there?

When I got close, I discovered he wasn't just sitting there.

He was making out with Naminé.

Oh, shit.

Dun-dun-dun! CLIFFHANGER!

…

…Sorta.

Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW.