A trio of friends stood on a beach at sunset and admired their handiwork.
"So... How far do you think a raft will get us?"
Enquired the brunette.
The silver haired boy shrugged.
"No idea... If we have to, we'll think of something else..."
The dark haired girl nodded in agreement...
"Tomorrow we get supplies, but right now, how about we get some sleep?"
Sora stretched and yawned.
"Good idea!"
They agreed to meet back at the raft the next morning at dawn to hunt for supplies, the day after they would start their voyage to answer their question:
'Are there other worlds out there?'
Riku thought so.
The others weren't so sure, but Sora liked to try new things and anything that got him time to hang out with his best friends was always welcome.
Kairi on the other hand was Riku's shadow, wherever he was she was too.
Kairi walked on ahead of the boys across the white sands of Destiny Island.
Riku regarded Sora with an air of secrecy.
"Sora, come here..."
Sora walked back to Riku.
"What's up?"
Riku checked ahead to make sure Kairi wasn't looking back and handed Sora a paopu fruit.
Sora looked confused.
"Huh?"
Riku rolled his eyes.
"When you share a paopu fruit with someone your destinies become intertwined for eternity..."
Sora stared down at the yellow fruit in his hand, still unsure of what Riku was getting at.
"...And?"
Riku smirked a mischevious grin.
"I know you want to try it with Kairi!"
Sora blushed a bright shade of scarlet.
"Riku... Be quiet!"
But before he could retaliate Riku was already running across the white sand towards Kairi.
Sora shook his head and smiled to himself, then put the the paopu fruit in his pocket and ran after his friends.
The trio met as promised at dawn the following day to gather their final supplies.
"Ok Sora I need you to gather... Drinking water, coconuts and a seagull egg, Riku you're on gathering mushrooms and catching fish... Also we'll need to find a fishing rod just in case we need more food when we're on our journey!"
Both teens agreed and started their hunt to gather what they needed.
In a couple of hours all of their supplies were gathered and both boys were lying out soaking up the sunshine on the white sands of Destiny Islands...
Riku sat up all of a sudden, bored.
"Any ideas for what we'll call the raft?"
The brunette opened one eye lazily a thoughtful look on his face...
"Hmmm... If I were to name it I would call it... Excalibur!"
Riku considered it for a moment nodding to himself.
"Yeah its a good name, but if I were to name it I think I'd call it... Highwind!"
Sora sat up and dusted the sand off himself letting out an exasperated sigh and Riku helped him to his feet.
"The usual?"
Sora stretched...
"Guess so!"
They set up a race across this section of the island, Kairi was used to this behaviour at this point and waited impatiently at the finish line...
"So if I win... I get to be captain?"
Sora asked grinning.
The silver haired boy looked into Soras eyes.
"If I win, I get to share the paopu with Kairi..."
Sora's eyes opened wide with shock.
"You... what?!"
Kairi waved from the finish line.
"Ready? Set? GO!"
Sora sprinted with all his might, climbed, jumped and took every short cut he knew but somehow, when he came running towards the finish line, sure he'd left Riku in the dust the silver haired teen had beaten him to it.
He approached the finish line visibly upset but trying to put on a brave face, he handed the paopu fruit to Riku a smile plastered across his features.
"Well you won fair and square, I guess you'll be needing this..."
He smiled one hand scratching the back of his head clearly feeling awkward.
"Anyway, I should be getting home..."
With that he took off at a jog across the sand leaving Kairi and Riku behind him clearly not wanting them to realise just how upset he was.
"But... But it was just a joke..."
Sora kept running until he reached a place he hadn't visited in years.
The three of them hung out here a lot as kids but just stopped coming at some point.
They'd called it 'The Secret Place'.
This was where he and Kairi had made a promise to each other that they would always remain friends no matter what.
However given the events of the day and the fact that it was overwhelmingly clear that she only had eyes for Riku that promise was becoming harder and harder to keep. Lately she made him feel like he was more of a third wheel than their friend...
He sighed knowing it might be a promise he would have to break.
He leaned down looking for the pictures they'd carved of each other years before, his hand ran over the cold stone wall of the cave and tears started to run down his cheeks.
Riku felt bad over the joke he played on Sora and started searching for him.
If there was one thing he knew about his friend it was that he liked to be alone when he was upset, or rather he liked to be alone because he didn't like people knowing he was upset.
Unfortunately for Sora he hiding his emotions was not one of his strong points.
He looked in all the places he had found Sora before when they had a disagreement, the school, his house, the little island nearby that had a huge palm tree where they had made their spot to hang out for a time, but he was nowhere to be found.
Kairi never giving up an opportunity to get some alone time with Riku helped out.
"So what happened between you two to make Sora so upset?"
"Nothing really... Just Sora being a sore loser..."
Regardless of how close they were, he was not about to betray Sora's trust and tell Kairi about Sora's feelings for her.
Riku was baffled about where their friend had gotten to when a thought entered his head.
The Secret Place?
"Kairi you keep searching here, I've gotta go check one more place."
Kairi wasn't completely invested in finding Sora, she was taking part simply because it meant some alone time with her crush.
"Where are you going? Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"
Riku shook his head.
"I'm heading to The Secret Place, best one of us stays here in case he comes back."
Kairi nodded with a smile and a wave but she was secretly a little annoyed at Riku's concern for Sora and at Sora himself.
I just wanted some time with Riku to myself, but how am I supposed to get that when Sora's always around? He told me to stay here... But maybe he'll need help... How much trouble could it cause if we look together anyway?
With her mind made up she started after Riku towards The Secret Place.
Riku arrived at The Secret Place smiling at all the memories they had here.
He crawled through the door, his ears alerted to faint sobbing.
He called out gently;
"Sora?"
Sora ducked behind a rock wiping his eyes furiously.
"W-what are you doing here? Are you here to rub yet another victory in my face?"
Riku looked hurt.
"What? No..."
Riku sat down beside Sora.
"You know I like her..."
"I didn't share the paopu with Kairi."
Sora shook his head like he was trying to shake away confusion.
"What? Seriously? Why?"
Riku pulled the paopu fruit from his pocket.
"See? It was a joke... I was just trying to get a reaction... I didn't expect it to get this serious..."
Sora stood up clearly upset that Riku would do this to him, his face became serious.
"Riku... That wasn't funny... You know I like her... And if you did it and lied to me I'd never be able to trust you again... Losing my two best friends in one go..."
His hand reached absently to his chest.
"It'd break my heart..."
The silver haired teen stood up and gently placed his hand on Sora's shoulder.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you? Ok? It wasn't my intention to upset you... I was only kidding. I swear."
Sora shrugged his hand away.
"How do I know you didn't just... pick up another paopu fruit?"
Riku shook his head.
"I wouldn't do that to you... Anyway... I'm not interested in Kairi..."
Sora examined his face looking for evidence of a lie.
"Really? I'm not sure I believe you..."
Riku took a deep breath and crossed his arms.
"And why is that?"
Do I tell him the truth...? Or would it ruin everything...
"Well... It feels like we've been competing for Kairi's attention ever since we met her..."
Riku smirked.
"Is that so?"
The brunette crossed his arms.
"Stop playing around Riku... I know you like Kairi too..."
The silver haired teen looked Sora dead in the eyes.
"Who's playing around? I'm not interested in her."
Sora threw his arms up in exasperation stomping towards the entrance of their secret place.
"Stop it. I know you're trying to make a fool of me and it won't work!"
Riku grabbed Sora's shoulder forcefully turning him around.
"I'm not trying to make a fool of you! I'm interested in... In someone else..."
Sora looked at him unconvinced.
"Come on Riku... I know you're not into Selphie... So who else is there?"
The silver haired teen had been hiding his feelings for his best friend for over a year at this point, he wasn't sure if he looked too hard into some of their friendly interactions and saw more because he wanted it to be more, or because Sora felt the same way... But in that moment it was now or never.
He wiped a remaining tear from the brunettes face and in a single word let all the secrets he'd been hiding out in one fell swoop.
"You..."
Sora blushed, then nervously laughed.
"Come on Riku... Stop trying to embarass me..."
Before he knew what he was doing Riku pinned Sora against the wall of the cave and gently kissed his lips.
"I'm not trying to embarrass you Sora..."
Riku not sensing any resistance tilted his chin up and kissed him again.
Sora's was wide eyed, frozen, he wasn't sure why he was doing this, but kissing Riku felt... Amazing.
Sora's hands moved from the cave wall tentatively to Riku's back.
Riku was trembling under his hands.
How long has he felt this way about me?
Riku moved his lips down to Sora's neck kissing it whispering softly.
"You have no idea, how long I've wanted this... But I feared you didn't feel the same way..."
Sora pulled Riku's lips against his own again, he had no idea what he was doing but it felt too good to stop.
Riku's lips found their way back to his neck, a gasp escaped his throat.
"Riku!"
Their lips met again growing more fervent and heated by the second, Sora's hands tangled in Riku's hair as he felt his breath getting shorter and shorter...
A surprised gasp broke them apart.
"Sora? Riku?"
They pulled apart immediately, but she had already witnessed everything she needed to see.
"What the hell Sora... You knew... You knew I liked him!"
Kairi took off running from their secret place in tears.
"Kairi!"
Sora ran after her followed in hot pursuit by Riku.
"Kairi, come back!"
The brunette boy eventually caught up to her and breathlessly exclaimed;
"Kairi, please... Let me explain..."
Kairi turned angrily towards Sora.
"You let me make a fool of myself... You let me chase him like a love sick idiot while you two were sneaking off behind my back!"
"No it's not like that at all, this has never happened before... I..."
Kairi silenced him with a slap across the face.
"Sora... Don't ever speak to me again."
He reached up to his stinging cheek tears glistening in his eyes, Riku was sure his friends heart had just been ripped in two.
He had never seen him look so distraught, sunny Sora always saw the bright side...
Riku reached a hand out to Sora's shoulder which he shrugged off.
"Riku?"
Riku looked hopeful.
"Yeah Sora?"
"Please don't follow me this time..."
Riku stood silent watching his heart broken friend leave.
I've really messed up...
He strolled down the beach towards his home thinking of a way to make this up to both of them...
He wanted to reveal his sexuality to his two best friends far earlier than this and in a conversation rather than kissing one of them and being caught by the other...
He pinched bridge of his nose.
Riku you idiot.
Sora lay on his bed staring at the ceiling thinking through the events of the day.
He had cried so much that he felt numb.
Today has been so messed up... Riku likes me? Surely it has to be another joke right? But what happened in the cave... That didn't feel like a joke...
His fingers touched his lips absent mindedly, thoughts of earlier flooded his mind again, he blushed thinking about it and let his fingers fall back down to his chest.
Riku...Kairi was distraught sitting at her desk writing in her journal.
*Dear journal, I'm heartbroken. I feel like such an idiot... Today I caught my crush Riku, kissing someone else... To make this situation even worse the person I caught him kissing was my best friend Sora... I feel really confused... Neither of them ever told me that they... Were like that... I always got the impression that they were best friends and that maybe Sora had a crush on me, I guess I was mistaken... Sora obviously likes Riku... Maybe Riku felt sorry for him? I don't get the feeling that he likes men... What if Sora kissed Riku? I can't imagine Riku initiating it...*
She put her pen down trying to remember what she saw;
Could Riku have kissed Sora? I mean Sora was backed into the wall... Riku looked interested... No... It can't be... Sora must have wanted it to look that way surely? Riku can't be gay... There's just no way... Right?Riku walked up to his doorstep and took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm his thoughts down before having to face his parents.
It's going to be ok... Just act normal...
He cracked the door open and his mother called out to him.
"Riku honey? Is that you? I've made your favourite... Chicken dumplings! Come and grab a plate!"
Riku stopped on the stairs and glanced in at his mom.
"Thanks mom but I'm not really feeling too good..."
His mother looked up after him;
"Well okay... I'll save you some just in case you change your mind ok?"
"Thanks mom."
He walked into his room and let himself fall face down onto his bed.
How do I solve this?
About an hour later there was a light knock on his door.
"Yeah?"
"Can I come in sweetie?"
Riku sat up on his bed.
"Yeah sure."
His mother sat down on the bed next to him.
"Something wrong?"
Riku shrugged.
"Come on I'm your mother... I know when there's something wrong with my Riri!"
He smiled.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Riku shook his head.
"I'm still trying to get my own head around it to be honest..."
His mother put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"Well if you change your mind you know you can always talk to me right?"
He nodded.
"Thanks mom."
She looked around.
"Where's Sora and Kairi today anyway?"
Riku sighed.
"That's kind of part of the problem... We had a fight..."
She looked surprised.
"Wow... What happened? You guys never fight!"
He gazed at his shoes.
"It's uh... It's complicated... It's got a lot to do with Kairi..."
His mother grinned.
"You both like Kairi?"
No I like Sora who likes Kairi who likes me...
"Sora likes her... I think he's mad at me because she has a crush on me..."
His mother smiled.
"I'm sure you'll work it out, you and Sora have been best friends since... Well since you could understand what best friends were!"
With that she hugged him tightly and left him with his thoughts.
How do I make this right?
He pulled on a hoody and quietly grabbed his skateboard and left his house.
He threw it on the ground and hopped on when he was out of earshot of his house.
It was a clear beautiful night, he made his way towards the school.
He liked to practice tricks there when he needed space to think.
Kairi wondered more about what she'd seen, she wondered if Riku really had hit on Sora.
What if Sora didn't hit on Riku? What if Riku really does like... men? What if he did hit on Sora? Is Sora even into that?
Sora was still staring at his ceiling trying to make sense of what happened that day.
Do I try and explain what happened to Kairi? Do I go talk to Riku? Did Kairi mean what she said when she slapped me? I guess she's probably still pretty annoyed at me... Maybe I should give her some time to cool off before trying to talk to her... I guess... I'll go talk to Riku... If he's feeling as messed up as I am, I'd bet he's at our school...Sora picked up his phone off the bed and text Riku.
'Hey...'
His phone beeped almost immediately.
'Hi.'
'Can we maybe meet up and talk about this?'
Riku's stomach filled with a mix of butterflies and dread.
'Yeah, I'm at the school right now if you want to meet.'
Sora started feeling oddly nervous.
'Had a feeling you'd be there... Ok I'll be there shortly. See you soon.'
Sora stuck his head out the window trying to gauge the temperature, although their little island was warm during the day it got quite cool at night.
He hopped off his bed and pulled a hoody from his wardrobe, throwing it on over his t-shirt he quietly climbed out of his window.
He looked up at the clear night sky, head rushing with thoughts.
What am I even going to say to him? Am I interested in him? Do I see him that way? Was it all a big joke and I'm going to arrive and find him and Kairi there laughing at me?
He stopped and scratched the back of his head wondering if this was a good idea.
Riku is your friend, he's a goofball sure but something tells me he wouldn't joke about something that serious...
His stomach fluttered.
Do... Do I have feelings for Riku?
He was so lost in his own thoughts that he had walked on autopilot all the way up to the gates of their school.
He took a deep breath.
Talk to him straighten this whole mess out and everything can go back to normal... Maybe if I act like the kiss never happened everything will just settle down again...He walked towards the playground and watched Riku grind down a rail on his skateboard, music blasting from his headphones.
He approached slowly admiring his effortless skill, Riku spotted him and flipped the skateboard up into his hand.
He pulled out his headphones and ran over to him.
"Hey..."
Sora waved and started making his way towards the benches, Riku followed.
They sat down quietly side by side in awkward silence for about a minute.
Sora sighed and decided to take the plunge.
"Look about the whole kiss thing... If you were just screwing around with me, you did a good job... My heads been going in circles all day not knowing what to think... So if this was a joke you can stop now. Mission accomplished. Guess it doesn't matter if you shared the paopu with Kairi now either seeing as she hates my guts..."
Riku looked at Sora.
"Sora, this is no joke."
The brunette rolled his eyes getting angry.
"Give it up! Ok? It's not funny anymore... It never was!"
Riku stood up in frustration and raised his voice.
"It's not a goddamn joke Sora!"
Sora nodded resting his head back against his arms and closing his eye.
"You've made an idiot out of me one too many times Riku... Plus I've never ever seen you interested in a guy... Ever."
Riku growled.
"You want proof? I'll give you proof."
Riku sat down beside Sora grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him. Sora's eyes shot open.
He's really serious?!
Riku pulled back and gently laid one more kiss on Sora's lips.
"I'm not messing around Sora..."
Riku moved in for another kiss and Sora froze for a moment before closing the distance.
His hands found their way to Riku's shoulders, then around his neck, he wasn't sure about much in this situation, he just knew he wanted to be closer.
Riku pulled him up into his lap until Sora was straddling Riku, leaning down to deepen the kiss.
When they separated Sora was red faced, shocked and out of breath, he clambered off Riku, embarrassed that he'd ended up straddling him in the heat of the moment.
"Sora I..."
Sora gazed up still red faced.
Riku took a deep breath.
"I've wanted to tell you for ages now... I wanted to sit down and tell you how I feel. I didn't want to show you by... Well... Not right away anyway... If it was going to happen I wanted it to happen the right way... Not that the way it happened wasn't amazing... I guess I just wanted to know how you felt about... this."
Sora's face remained flushed and red.
"But I know you like Kairi..."
Sora looked towards the ground and sighed sadly.
"Well I'd kind of given up on Kairi to be honest..."
Riku looked toward his sad blue eyes.
"But why? Not over the fight today?"
Sora looked off into the distance his eyes glazing over.
"That, definitely didn't help things... But in her eyes, I can't compare to you. I don't stand a chance..."
Sora got up and started to walk away even more conflicted now than before, Riku wanted to go after him and tell him that Kairi was wrong, but he too was conflicted...
Was telling Sora the right thing to do?
Outside the school Sora ran into a rather flustered looking Kairi.
"Kairi! I know you're mad at me but please let me explain!"
The brunette girl shifted uncomfortably as though she was unsure if she should talk to him or not.
"Please?"
She made eye contact with him.
"Sora, that... That wasn't ok. That really hurt my feelings... You know I've liked him since he came here..."
Sora took a deep breath.
"I know you did... But it wasn't entirely my fault. I wasn't expecting what happened... I'm not even sure Riku was expecting what happened..."
He sighed.
"I'm not even sure what else to say..."
Kairi sighed and hugged him.
"Look I'm sorry for slapping you today. I hate fighting with you Sora. Let's just forget this whole mess... Ok?"
Sora pulled away from the hug and smiled weakly at Kairi.
"Yeah, ok..."
I'm not sure I can forget today... I'm not sure what's going to come from today... But Riku likes me and I think I could like him too...
Sora made to leave when Kairi stopped him.
"Oh before you go, have you seen Riku? I want to talk to him about today too..."
The brunette boy nodded.
"Yeah he's in there on the benches."
Kairi smiled.
"Thanks Sora! You're the best!"
Sora waved as he walked home feeling relieved yet uneasy about something.
He sent Riku a quick text
'Heads up Kairi's on her way in to talk to you.'
'Thanks Sora!'
"Riku..."
The silver haired teen put his phone away and stood up.
"Kairi..."
The brunette girl approached Riku and looked up into his eyes.
"Sora said he was in here talking to you a few minutes ago... I ran into him outside..." Riku's stomach felt uneasy for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Yeah? Did you guys talk it out? He was pretty upset over what happened earlier."
She smiled;
"Well I told him not to worry about it..."
Riku stiffened at her tone, she was acting seriously weird.
"He said you were 'talking' but when I came out looking for you two here that's not what I saw..."
She held up her phone and Riku's stomach dropped, she had taken pictures and videos of them kissing.
Riku narrowed his eyes and grabbed for the phone.
"Doesn't matter if you break the phone Riku... I have these backed up."
The silver haired teen shrugged beginning to walk away.
"Well I'm not ashamed of kissing my crush..."
The brunette girl smirked.
"Maybe you won't mind these up all over school... But Sora might..."
Riku stopped dead.
"Are you blackmailing me?"
Kairi looked innocent.
"I wouldn't call it that exactly... I'm just... Getting what I want."
"And what exactly do you expect of me?"
Kairi smiled sweetly.
"You're going to be my new boyfriend."
Riku shook his head.
"Kairi... I'm gay. Nothing's going to change tha..."
"Well then I guess the whole school will know about it too huh?"
"How can you expect me to do this to Sora? He's liked you since you moved here!"
"And what about me? I've liked YOU since I moved here... Then Sora suddenly decides if he can't have me he'll have you?!"
Riku rolled his eyes.
"Do you hear yourself? Do you have any idea of how crazy that sounds? Also look at the pictures you took... Does it look like I'm struggling... He may be on my lap, but I'm the one who put him there... I LIKE HIM. He only found out that I was serious about him today."
"You'd best be nice to me Riku and stop talking crap... Unless you want the entire school to know about your and Sora's little secret... I mean I'm sure you can handle yourself if people know you're gay... But Sora? He'll be eaten alive. They'll make his life a living hell, I'll make sure of it."
I don't care if people find out about me... But Sora's still figuring himself out... The last thing he needs is people ridiculing and bullying him over it...
Kairi could see she was breaking his resolve.
"You keep this to yourself and don't tell Sora and those pictures will never see the light of day... Deal?"
"Do you promise to leave Sora out of this if I do as you say?"
Kairi nodded her head.
"Absolutely."
Riku sighed heavily, he was finally able to tell Sora he liked him, only to have it ripped out of his hands by Kairi.
He offered his hand for a handshake which Kairi took.
"Deal?"
"Deal..."
The next day Kairi and Riku arrived into school together.
Sora spotted them across the playground and ran to greet them relieved that they were no longer fighting.
That is until something happened that made his blood run cold.
Kairi had spotted Sora running towards them and decided that some payback was in order.
She looked up at Riku and simply said;
"Ok showtime, kiss me."
Riku tried to look around to see why she was suddenly so keen in kissing but she grabbed his shirt and kissed him hard on his lips.
When Riku re-emerged from his kiss with Kairi he could see Sora retreating back across the playground.
Damn it... I have to play her stupid game for his good... Until I figure something else out...
Sora was hyperventilating.
He lied? I can't believe he lied... Why would he do that to me?!
He ran into the toilets and locked himself into a cubicle sitting on the lid of the toilet.
Why did I ever believe him? I should have known this was all some big joke...
He punched the wall only to end up in tears.
Riku you asshole!Riku's mind was on Sora, when Kairi made him kiss her he tried to pretend that he was kissing Sora just to make it bearable.
I hope he's okay, I wish I could tell him why I'm doing this... I'll come up with a plan... I have to...
Kairi had him doing things he felt stupid doing, like holding open doors, pulling out chairs and kissing her in front of her friends...
Telling her she's beautiful when he was very clear that he wasn't interested.
This charade went on for months with Sora witnessing their fake displays of affection daily...
At first his anger was palpable, but as the weeks went on it turned to sadness and then despair...
Then out of the blue one day, he just didn't turn up.
Riku had been keeping an eye on Sora as his behvaiour was indicating that he was not handling this well at all.
I wonder where Sora is? I know the last few months haven't been easy on him... I just hope he's okay...
He took out his phone, tempted to go against Kairi's policy of no contact but remembered the video and posters and put his phone away...
If Sora knew the truth he wouldn't be able to keep his cool and he'd give the game away.
Riku excused himself to go to the toilet, as he pushed the doors in his stomach exploded with butterflies.
"Hey Sora!"
He tried to sound normal and chirpy despite the horrible situation he was in.
Sora didn't answer him, he was in the middle of taking some kind of medication from his bag, he dropped them and they rolled across the floor and hit Riku's shoe.
The silver haired teen picked them up.
"What... What are these?"
Sora sighed and held out his hand.
"Give them back... I need them..."
Riku refused out of concern, the brunette looked up at Riku with a sigh.
"They're antidepressants..."
Riku surprised handed them back and apologised.
Sora popped one, took a sip of water from the tap and left the bathroom.
He's on antidepressants now?After school Kairi and Riku were walking home together when Riku had an idea.
"Hey Kairi?"
She looked up at Riku with a smile.
"Yes?"
"I'm really sorry, but I'm feeling quite sick all of a sudden... Do you mind if I head home and I'll catch you tomorrow?"
She looked concerned.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
Riku shook his head.
"I don't want you to catch it too..."
Kairi nodded smiling she was truly beginning to believe that Riku had actually fallen for her and was beginning to loosen the reigns a bit, which made it easier for him toget away from her.
"No worries Riku, I'll call you later ok?"
"Okay thanks Kairi."
Riku set off towards his own place until Kairi was out of sight, once he was sure that she was gone, he burst into a sprint towards Sora's house.
But when Riku arrived, he wasn't there.
I wonder where he could be...?
He took out his phone to text him only to find his battery had died.
Damn it!
If he could have text Sora they could have met at his house, but searching around meant he had to be careful where he looked, as he didn't want to bump into Kairi and mess up the trust he'd gained, he hated her at this point. But trust meant she believed his excuses and excuses meant more time away from her...
He had searched almost everywhere he could safely search without bumping into Kairi when he spotted him.
He was sitting out on the palm tree on the small island they used to hang out on, he had a book and a pen in his hands.
Riku approached him slowly.
"Hey Sora..."
Sora was unphased by his presence and didn't even look up.
"Hi..."
Riku sat up on the tree next to him, but Sora barely seemed to notice and continued writing.
"Look... I need to tell you something..."
Sora snapped his notebook shut took a deep breath and said in a steady voice.
"Neither you nor Kairi have uttered a single word to me in months... And now you need to tell me something?"
The steadiness in his voice set Riku on edge.
"Y-Yeah... It's important..."
The brunette hopped down from the palm tree and brushed himself off.
"We're no longer friends, you made sure of that so I'm not interested..."
Riku felt like he'd been slapped.
No longer friends? I guess I deserve that, if only you knew why I'm doing this Sora...
He walked towards the bridge that led to the island without another word.
Riku jumped up following him.
"It's really important!"
Sora resisted the urge to stop and listen and kept walking.
"Please Sora..."
He kept walking.
"I'm worried about you..."
Riku watched Sora leave and then made his way home kicking sand around wondering how he could possibly get through to Sora...
Riku wondered about how he could communicate with Sora without Kairi getting suspicious...
Wait... I'm an idiot, why didn't I think of this before?
The following day Riku arrived into school extra early.
He had written a note to Sora the night before, he knew exactly where Sora's locker was and that he switched books after every class, providing he didn't run into any of Kairi's friends, he figured his plan should work.
He pulled up his hood and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible moved down the first lot of corridors, ready to move or hide if someone appeared.
The hallways were painted different colours to make it easier for people to find their lockers.
Sora's locker was located in the cream coloured hallway.
He walked brisky through hallway after hallway, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, red...
Finally he was on the cream coloured hallway, he quickly walked towards his locker...
Only for his heart to skip a beat, Sora was standing at his locker...
Riku hadn't anticipated this...
He knew after yesterdays conversation he wanted nothing to do with him thanks to Kairi...
But if he could sneak it into his bag...
Riku hid behind the end of the lockers, he waited until Sora had his head buried in his own locker and walked up quickly but quietly and placed the note in his bag then slipped away into a hiding place.
Sora slipped the backpack off his shoulder and noticed the letter in his front pouch looked up and down the hallway then took it.
To Sora... Huh?
He unfolded and scanned the note.
Sora, meet me at the cave on the beach tonight at 10pm sharp. Come alone.
The note made him feel uneasy...
Come alone? I mean it could be a secret admirer... Or a murderer... I guess at this point either would be fine...
Sora packed the books he needed for his first class into his bag and walked off looking around him for the person who slipped the note into his bag.
But there was no one in the hallway except him.
Weird...
He walked briskly feeling a bit weirded out to the classroom where his first class of the day would be held.
Riku stepped out from behind a row of lockers, breathing a sigh of relief that he wasn't caught.
Now I just need an excuse to get away from Kairi tonight...He went to meet Kairi and kissed her hello as usual...
The memory of kissing Sora was so far out of his mind now, it wasn't working for kissing her anymore, he simply tried his best to hide his revulsion before being able to leave her and go to his maths class.
However he found himself unable to concentrate...
He spent the whole time wondering if Sora was going to show up tonight.
He thought about how good it would be to see him again. He wished he could kiss him again, but knew in his heart the odds of that happening were slim to nil. In a daze he scrawled Sora's name on his worksheet...
Kairi's friends of course ratted him out.
Kairi approached Riku at his locker between classes.
"What's this I'm hearing about you scrawling a certain boys name all over your worksheet?"
If I want to get out tonight I'm going to have to make this good...
He looked her dead in the eyes and said
"They're lying Kairi... You know you're the only one for me... I guess they must be jealous..."
Then he grabbed her around her waist and kissed her hard, like he would have with Sora given the chance...
Kairi grinned and giggled gliding easily in under his arm.
Perfect... She won't suspect a thing...
The rest of the school day was relatively uneventful, when it was time to go home Riku told Kairi that his parents were making him study for his upcoming exams.
She agreed that getting a good education would be important for their future together. He wanted to scream, but hopefully after tonight he wouldn't have to put up with it for much longer.
He arrived home excited for the first time in months...
I need to look my best... But this is a meeting to tell Sora the truth... But everytime we've met so far... You haven't spoken in months... He thinks you've completely betrayed him...
He sifted through his closet...
I guess I don't want him to be able to tell it's me immediately, otherwise he'll bolt...
If I can wear something he won't recognise maybe I'll stand a better chance...?
I mean he'll probably know it's me once I start talking but... Sora's easily frightened but also stubborn... He may not want to walk home alone even if he does hate my guts but he may try anyway...He chose his outfit, he decided dark colours would be ideal if he didn't want to be noticed, and for transversing a beach and a cave in the dark they'd have to be easy to move in. He made his selection and jumped in to take a quick shower.
Sora got home still toying with the idea of going.
Is it safe to go? Maybe... Maybe not...
Is it smart to go? Maybe... Maybe not...
Do I care at this point? Not really...
Do I have anything better to do? Definitely not...
I guess I can always head down to it and if I decide on the way to turn back I can...
Riku got out of the shower feeling better for having washed the day and Kairi's touch off his skin...
He wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom.
I wonder should I wear my good underwear, just in case...
Riku... You have broken this boys heart, get your head out of the damn gutter.
You're right...
But ...I'm going to wear them because they make me feel confident...
He dried off his hair and slipped into his clothes.
21.07... I'll leave at 21.30... That'll give me some time to get there and find a place shadowy enough that he may not see me or at least recognise me immediately...Sora glanced at the time on his phone.
21.40, I guess I'd better get going...
He closed his English homework, grabbed a torch from his closet and climbed quietly out of his ground floor window.
Riku skateboarded down to the beach and jumped off just before he hit the sand.
He was feeling more playful than he had in months just knowing that he might get a chance to have a proper talk with his best friend again.
He picked up the board and put it under his arm, carefully he climbed the few rocks that led to the cave, they fondly called 'The Secret Place'.
He had to crouch to get inside.
Wow, we used to be so small...
But once he reached the main chamber, he was able to stand up at full height again.
Realising it must be close to 22.00 now he pulled up his hood and hid his skateboard and waited...
Sora clambered up the rocks with his torch in his teeth.
He took a deep breath outside the cave...
Are you sure you want to go through with this?
He nodded to himself and crouched to get inside the cave...
He reached the main chamber and stood upright removing the torch from his teeth.
"Hello?"
A tall figure stepped out from behind a rock.
Sora felt intimidated, this guy was a lot bigger than he was, he was immediately on guard.
"W-Who are you?"
The dark figure stepped back from the light.
"That doesn't matter right now..."
Sora didnt move and kept his torch shining on this person.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"I've been sent here to give you some information on your friend Riku..."
Sora's face suddenly angry then sad...
"He... He lied to me and betrayed me. I'll pass, thanks..."
Before Sora could walk away Riku needed to think fast.
"Well it's really more information on Kairi and the blackmail she's using to keep Riku away from you..."
Sora stopped dead in his tracks and turned back around.
"What...?"
The dark figure leaned against a rock in a way that seemed oddly familiar, but he had never to his knowledge met this person before...
He sat down on a rock across from the tall teen.
"Well...?"
The tall boy cleared his throat.
"Not to alarm you but, perhaps you should see these pictures for a start, because these are where this whole mess started..."
Sora took the pictures in his hand and aimed his torch at them, he recognised the scene straight away.
A blush spread across his face along with a ghost of a smirk but in an instant it was gone and replaced with panic and worry.
"H-how did you get these? Who took them?"
The dark figure didnt move, he couldn't help but notice how Sora blushed and the momentary smirk that graced his features.
So maybe he doesn't completely hate my guts...
"Riku stole them from Kairi, unfortunately she has copies, they were taken by her using her phone..."
Sora felt somehow even more let down by both of his friends.
He stood up anger evident in his tone.
"Who put her up to it? Riku? One of her friends? Part of his big plan to make a fool out of me huh?"
Sora sat back down clearly upset, a lump fast forming in his throat...
They both fucked me over...
"I can't believe they both fucked me over..."
Large tears welled up in Sora's eyes.
"Riku didn't, it was never a joke to him..."
Sora wiped the tears from his eyes barely registering what was just said to him.
"And why should I believe you?"
The dark figure grew serious.
"Because right now, I'm all you've got..."
Sora bit his thumbnail nervously.
"Now are you gonna trust me?"
Sora wasn't sure, but he was curious so he nodded anyway.
"Are you gonna let me tell you the truth behind Riku and Kairi's relationship?"
Sora nodded.
"Are you gonna believe me?"
Sora nodded again.
"I have no choice but to believe you, they both seem to hate me..."
The word "hate" ripped through Riku like a knife.
I dont hate you Sora, far from it...
"Listen carefully then because I'm not repeating myself..."
The tall teen shifted his weight against the rock.
"That day after your... meeting... with Riku, you bumped into Kairi at the gates yes?"
"Yeah... How did you know?"
"Well after that she already had the pictures, she told Riku that if he didnt get with her she would put the pictures up everywhere... Riku didnt care about himself being outed, but he did care about you. He wasn't sure if you were comfortable with it yet or if you had told anyone, so he agreed to get with her providing she didnt release the pictures of you two and if her and her friends left you alone..."
Sora was distraught.
"I was horrible to him the other day... He really never liked Kairi?"
The figure shook his head.
"He wasn't attracted to her before, but he despises her now, hates being around her, hates physical contact with her... So far he's avoided anything beyond kissing her... Said he's saving himself for marriage."
Sora laughed at that.
"I can't even imagine Riku saying that!"
The dark figure grew serious again.
"He's said that if he could avoid kissing her even, he would... There's only one person he longs to kiss..."
The brunette shook his head in disbelief.
"So it was all true... He really does like me?"
The hooded figure laughed.
"Look at all he's been through, he's suffered a manipulation and blackmail to protect you... I think he adores you..."
Sora gripped his head in his hands tears spilling freely down his face.
"I have to go and apologise to him right now..."
He started to crawl towards the entrance when a familiar voice called him back.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Sora turned around only to come face to face with Riku.
"It was you?"
Riku nodded.
"I knew you wouldnt listen to me as me, so I slipped the note into your bag and hoped against hope that you would turn up. Kairi said she would make your life hell unless I got with her... Now my lifes hell... But you're safe... But unhappy..."
Sora sighed heavily.
"The pills huh?"
Riku nodded.
"Okay... Well I stayed in a lot after you and Kairi started, I didn't want to see you guys out together. She told me she hates my guts... She asked me how it felt to have you stolen from me... I told her that you and I were friends..."
Sora blushed a little not knowing if he should have said they were more...
"But pushing that boundary... I told her despite this, it was never my plan to take you from her and that I used to like her..."
Riku nodded a little too pleased to hear that Sora no longer liked Kairi.
"And what happened?"
Sora looked towards the ground and played with pebbles like he was trying to avoid a painful memory.
"Well she told me I was nothing, she said she never liked me, not even as a friend and that she only used my friendship to get to you... She told me I would never ever compare to you... She then grabbed my shirt, kissed my lips, and slammed my head back into the wall, they walked off laughing at me. I heard one of them telling Kairi that kissing me was her good deed done for the day... That hurt... So I was writing to try and get it out of my system... It didnt help enough... So... I started to consider..."
Riku leaned forward more afraid of what he was going to say next.
"Consider what...?"
The younger boy looked down and whispered the word like a sin.
"Suicide..."
Riku's expression fell.
"Why didnt you come and talk to me?"
"I was under the belief that you both hated me... I wasn't completely wrong either... Kairi does..."
"Who cares what she thinks? I've been hoping most days that she would walk out under a bus..."
He thought for a moment...
"If I knew she did that to you I would've pushed her... But, did they find you out? Or did you come to your senses?"
Sora shook his head.
"They found some plans... and notes in my bin, I don't know what posessed them to look at them, instinct maybe? But I guess its my parents doing that I'm still alive..."
Riku had tears in his eyes, he pulled Sora close to him burying his head into his hair.
"I'm so glad you didnt go through with it..."
Sora was a little shocked at Riku's reaction but hugged back, it felt good to be close to someone again...
Sora darkened pulling away from his embrace.
"The only problem is Riku, you have to go back to her tomorrow and I can't talk to you in school... She threatened to have me beaten up if I even tried..."
Riku thought for a moment.
"Did she anything about outside school?"
Sora shrugged.
"The message was loud and clear if I go near you, I'm dead."
Riku shook his head.
"Forget this, we're both sick of her. Let her show the damn pictures... I can lie and said I was kissing any random person... I won't let her or her friends hurt you... I promise."
Sora had a flashback of all those years before of him and Kairi carving themselves into the cave wall.
Do you promise Sora?
I promise...
Do you promise Kairi?
I promise too...
Sora suddenly angry picked up a rock and took it to the wall where he and Kairi had done carvings of eachother...
"You lied to me!"
He smashed the rock repeatedly into the cave wall until tears were running down his face and her face resembled nothing.
He dropped the stone loudly sobbing and stepped back...
Tears were running down his face...
Riku wrapped his arms around Sora and slowly led him out of the cave.
Sora shivered when the cold sea air hit him...
Riku pulled him closer...
"Better?"
Sora nodded, a small blush making it's way across his nose and cheeks.
"Its 23:30, I should walk you home..."
Sora was about to protest when Riku stopped.
"Look she's ruined several months of our friendship..."
He blushed a little.
"... And potentially delayed our relationship... I don't want to spend anymore time away from you... Ok?"
His face so certain so passionate, he just couldn't say no.
Anyway... He's so warm...
By the time they reached Sora's bedroom window, it was 23:45.
Sora turned to Riku, he had something he desperately wanted to say..
"Riku I'm really sorry for how I treated you... I feel terrible..."
Riku shook his head;
"I should've never got with Kairi, psycho or not you like her..."
Sora shook his head and said in a low voice.
"Liked her... Past tense... Over and done with now..."
Riku smiled.
"Really? What great timing.."
Sora looked up into Riku's eyes...
"Huh?"
Riku leaned in and kissed Sora gently on his lips.
"Because now I can do that and not feel guilty over it."
Sora stood wide eyed gazing at Riku...
I have butterflies in my stomach...
Riku kissed Sora's forehead softly...
"Goodnight... I hope we can do this again... Very soon..."
Sora nodded smiling, and whispered to Riku's retreating form.
"I hope so too..."
He climbed in through his window and left it open just a crack before changing out of his clothes, snuggling into his fluffy bedsheets and falling into a deep comfortable sleep.
Riku awoke the next morning smiling about what had happened the night before... But pained that after having his dream fulfilled of kissing Sora again he'd have to go back to playing pretend with Kairi...
He grinned to himself as he had a brief fantasy about saving 'Princess Sora' from a tall castle guarded by the big scary 'Kairi dragon'.
Sounds about right...
He dragged himself away from thoughts of last night and his fairytale fantasies and went to take a shower.
Sora awoke well rested, his thoughts immediately on Riku and the night before, then quickly turning to what school would be like today...
I'm going to be alone again... Even if me and Riku are okay... He can't speak to me in school... I'll have to watch him and Kairi... Maybe, maybe I can pull a sickie...?
He thought about this briefly before deciding to go ahead with it.
He rubbed his eyes hard to make them red and puffy...
Coughed to try and make his voice sound hoarse and at one minute to eight he put his head against the radiator in his room so that it would feel like he had a temperature.
Then lay back in bed looking pitiful and waited for his mother to come in and call him for school...
At eight am on the dot his mother walked in and felt his forehead.
"Oh honey, you don't look well at all... Here let me check your temperature... Oh you're burning up... I think you'd best stay home from school today... I'll call them, you rest up."
Once his mother had left the room ad he was sure she wouldn't come back in for a bit he text Riku.
'Hi Riku, I just couldn't face school today so I'm pulling a sickie. I'll just be in bed napping and watching cartoons all day! Don't be jealous! ;)'
Riku's phone beeped and he went to the bathrooms to check it, he didn't want to be spotted by anyone that might rat him out to Kairi.
'Hey Sora, I am jealous! But I could probably sneak away from Kairi a little later and drop by to make you feel better? ;)'
Sora flushed at the message.
I wonder what he has planned... I guess he's been stuck with Kairi he's probably...
He felt himself flush at the thought.
'If you can get away, I'd love to see you later on... Providing it's not going to cause problems with you and Kairi...'
Riku frowned to himself.
Fuck Kairi... Who does she think she is controlling me like this anyway...
'Don't worry about Kairi... I'll see you after school x x x'
Sora blushed at the kisses at the end of the message and fell back into his bed blissfully.
The day dragged on for Riku, all he could think about was seeing Sora later.
How cute he was...
"Riku?"
His laugh...
"Riku!"
"Huh?"
Riku was harshly snapped back to reality by his angry looking English teacher.
"Kindly try to at least pretend you're interested in this class..."
Students laughed around him, he nodded and tried his very best to ignore his wandering imagination.
Sora if I fail this class, I blame you...
He still couldn't help smiling at the thought of him.
Riku was piling books into his locker after lunch when Kairi approached him at his locker.
"So Riku, do you want to grab some food after school?"
The silver haired teen shook his head.
"Sorry, I can't, my parents are making me study, remember?"
Kairi nodded and smiled but she was getting irritated and suspicious about Riku's excuses.
The end of school finally rolled around and after a quick chat Riku kissed Kairi goodbye to get it over with and then took off, careless with excitement. She watched him suspiciously and followed him some of the way at a distance.
This is not his normal route home...
She pulled her phone out of her bag.
"Hey Selphie... Could you do me a favour...?"
Riku ran to Sora's as fast as he could but slowed down before he got to his window, he needed to be quiet so as not to alert his parents.
He tapped on the window pane.
"Sora... It's me."
The brunette opened the window and grabbed Riku's hand pulling him in, he landed on top of Sora in a heap and both teens laughed.
The laughter subsided and they seemed to realise the position they had landed themselves in.
Sora in nothing but his boxers felt somewhat exposed and pulled his arms self consciously across his chest.
Riku leaned in slowly and kissed him, on his lips...
Then his neck...
Then his chest...
"I want you Sora..."