Misconceptions by Felix Catharsis

Summary: Roxas never said he was Sora's best friend, and Sora never said that he'd be able to keep their relationship strictly platonic. Unbidden emotions bloom, and a friendship wavers on the brink of existence. Tell me – what is the truth, and what is a lie? SoraRoxas, RikuSora

Rating: PG-13 to Light R

Pairing(s): Sora/Roxas, Riku/Sora

- - -

Chapter One

The Great Willow Tree

I don't remember how I got talked into this.

We were enjoying a nice afternoon meal by the gentle riverside flow of the Academy's river. I had ham and cheese, and Sora had his gargantuan salami-mayonnaise-lettuce-tomato-cheese-pickles-mustard sandwich. Tidus and Wakka came and joined us, and then...

Well, then Sora recalled the large, looming, omnipresent presence that the Great Willow Tree always presented from where it stood by the northern bank of the Academy river. I don't know how he managed to recall it from our conversation of Mr. Strife and his summer reading assignments, but he did, and in no time our little group had traipsed over to the foreboding black trunk of the Great Willow Tree.

In a great surge of pride and rebellion that he was renowned for, Sora shed his shirt and began making his way up the rough bark of the tree's great trunk. He reached one of the outermost tree limbs in no time at all, and had stood at the start of it, a hand levered against the tree's trunk for balance, and a complacent grin on his handsome face.

"Hey Roxas! C'mon, you need to see this!" he called, one arm waving wildly.

"No, I don't think I do." I replied, measuring the distance between Sora and the shallow bank of the Academy river below. If he fell then, he'd break more than a limb. "Get down from there. You'll die if you fall," I insisted.

"Don't be a pansy, Roxas!" Sora taunted, laughter compounding his tone.

"Yeah, don't be a pansy, Roxy!" Tidus added from beside me, and I couldn't prevent myself from glaring at him in turn.

"Then you join him, Tidus," I said, taking a hold of his slightly muscular arm and pulling him towards the tree's trunk. It was almost funny how he flailed about in defiance, a wild look of panic on his face.

"Hey man. You know I'm scared of heights," he said, struggling to keep his tone even.

"Do I?" I said sarcastically.

"Roxas!" Sora interrupted, beckoning me to join him for the third time.

Growing tired of Sora and his constant pestering, I glanced contemptuously at Tidus and Wakka one more time, and started up the coarse trunk of the willow tree. Unlike Sora, who was a much greater athlete than myself, I struggled to reach the tree branch where he stood smiling excitedly down at me. My hand curled around his ankle as I scrambled to the top, my breathing harsh and uneven.

"I knew you'd join me," Sora remarked, laughing. He placed a warm hand on my shoulder and squeezed, sending an odd wave of tingles down my spine. Hurriedly, I brushed his arm off and ignored the baffled look he gave me in reply.

"So we did it. Are we heading back down now?" I asked, anxious to avert his attention.

Sora processed my question with the incredulous quirk of his eyebrow, and laughed again, the sound cutting through the humid summer air pleasantly. "Are you kidding? Now that we're here, we jump!" he said.

"What?" I blurted, staring at him, and then down to the shallow bank below us. "Are you mad?"

"Nope. Just excited," Sora said, and without further dillydallying, he took several light steps out to the end of the tree limb, saluted, and flung his body out into the air. Panicked, I crawled out after him, only to be relieved when he plunged into the deeper part of the water with a sound splash.

Below me, Tidus and Wakka whooped loudly. Sora reemerged after a few short seconds of being underwater, shaking his spikes free of excess droplets. He grinned up at me after doing so, and waved, signaling me to join him.

And so this – this is where I left of. This is where I struggle to recall why I even let myself get talked into this. This is where I curse Sora and his frivolity, this is where I wonder why I befriended such an unrestrained and rebellious person.

This is also when I obey him faithfully, and take a running leap out into the hot summer air – and land safely in the cool expanse of water below.

Upon resurfacing from my brave expedition, I coughed loudly, and blew the water that clogged my nostril out of my nose. Sora was beside me laughing and patting me on the back, babbling about our magnificent feat and how the other sophomores in our year would revere us as heroes.

I ignored him as he continued to talk unendingly, the sound of rushing water filing my ears. I'm safe, I thought. I made it out okay. With this in mind, I interrupted Sora mid-rant with a mirthful round of laughter, and he in turn stared at me, his facial expression one of mild bewilderment. This eventually dissipated completely, and elation reclaimed his visage with an eager grin.

He tackled me into the water then, the sound of his laughter the only thing I'd heard before plunging underneath. "I knew you'd like it!" he said triumphantly as we resurfaced, and I had no right to deny him as I glanced over at the Great Willow Tree, marveling at the height at which it stood, and how we lowly sophomores had managed to defeat it.

- - -

As we began to make our way back to our dorms, Sora launched into one of his famous rants about Hollow Bastion's rules, and how ridiculous some of them were. "You must wear uniforms at all times," he said, his tone mocking and humorous. "Well, I know for sure that we've all broken that rule once or twice – who showers with their uniform tie on, huh?" He pondered this for a moment while I laughed, carding a hand through my still-damp locks.

"You never know, Sora." I said, glancing idly at the great dome gym in the distance, "I've heard that Riku – Mr. Future Valedictorian – showers with his tie on, in order to keep himself from tarnishing his perfect permanent record."

Blinking at the odd blush that suddenly overtook Sora's tanned cheeks, I watched patiently as he fiddled with the ends of his damp uniform polo. He recovered after a minimal amount of time, and flashed his trademark grin to reassure me that everything was alright.

"Yeah, I bet. Riku's weird like that." he said, and there was no teasing tone about it.

"Of course," I replied, my tone flat and unaccusing. If Sora wanted to hide things from me, I was fine with it. He could expect the same of me, should the question of my loyalty as his best friend ever come up.

Breaking into a fast paced jog as the evening meal bell rang in the distance, Sora glanced back at me, and gestured with the hurried waving of his arm. "C'mon, slowpoke! We'll be late for dinner!" he called with a smile, his teeth gleaming radiantly in the fading sunlight.

Sighing, I gathered what energy I had left, and took after him. "Wait up!"

- - -

End Note:

Well, hello fellow readers and writers. I'm back from a prolonged absence, and I have a new story for your reading pleasure. It's loosely based on John Knowles' A Separate Peace, and if you have read the book, I'm sure you'll be able to identify which character is who. :)

Anyways, next chapter you can expect some angsty Roxas and some oblivious Sora. There'll also be the entrance of Riku and a few other characters. Stick around if you want to read about 'em, because I can assure you that it'll be interesting. Like, love triangle/jealousy interesting. Mhm.

Feedback is appreciated and encouraged!