A brunette male was laying in his bed, clearly out of it. His alarm was sounding off, yet it didn't even manage to make him budge. He seemed so relaxed. It was as if he was thinking he was still on his school break. A light smile was on his face. He appeared to be dreaming of something, but of what? Likely the usual. That was to be expected.

"Sora, get up! You have school today!" A warm, yet mature female voice sounded from the nearby staircase outside the open door to his bedroom unexpectedly.

A loud groan sounded from the teen, clearly awake now. However, he most definitely didn't want to be. His body moved to where his his stomach laid against the mattress, pulling a pillow from under his head to lay over it.

"Mom," he said, voice muffled by the mattress and pillow combined, "it's still summer! Let me sleep!"

Footsteps were heard close by, getting even closer with each step. The voice only followed.

"Sora, you know school starts today. The break is over."

"Can't I just skip school today?"

His mom chuckled. "No, you can't, Sora," she said simply. "Now come on, get up." A hand touched his shoulder, lightly shaking him. He tried to pull off an act that he was still asleep, despite the fact he acted very much awake some moments before.

"Now you get up before you miss your breakfast."

It appeared the mention of breakfast woke the rebellious boy. Finally, he shoved the pillow off his head, revealing a hilariously spiky bedhead. Strands of hair stood up in all places as Sora brought his body to sit up, letting out a loud yawn.

'Alright, alright, I'm up," he said, beautiful sapphire orbs close to being hidden by squinting eyelids. A necklace of sort dangled from his neck, a silver chain keeping hold of an amazing crown charm. It's appearance was simple, yet it still held a great beauty to it.

His mother smiled, lightly chuckling, at the sight of her son. "Get dressed, Sora," she said, still chuckling as she was unable to keep her eyes from his hair. It was absolutely crazy. Just how could he cope with his hair in such a state?

"Your uniform is in the bathroom," she said, managing to stop her light laughter before finally walking out, leaving the brunette behind to give him his privacy.

Sora let out a loud sigh, his back crashing to his bed. Just why did the vacation have to end? It was only a sex-week vacation, which was a tad saddening. But, at least there would only be nine weeks of school until the next vacation.

But, another downside was that there was vacation homework and studying to do.

Wait...

"Oh, crap!" Sora's legs swooped up, feet quickly landing on the floor as he stood up, suddenly beginning to run for the bathroom. He quickly put on his uniform, running out of the room afterward and heading down the stairs. He snatched his nearby bookcase, darting for the kitchen.

"Do you have a pencil!?"

Just as his mom was setting up a plate of food down with his breakfast ready, the teen had already slammed his rear on the base of the chair. He moved the plate to the right, his other hand pulling out an algebra book willed with twenty-fine percent completed homework. On the table, thankfully for him, there was a pencil nearby. Quickly, he grabbed it.

"Oh, nevermind," the brunette said with a loud sigh in relief. "I have one."

In the corner of his eye, he could see his mom's arms cross.

"Sora," she said in a disappointed tone, "what have I told you about doing your work at the last minute?"

"I know, I know," he said in reply, his left hand writing legible answers his tired mind was just barely able to construct. In the process, his right hand brought food to his mouth, chewing and swallowing it in a flash before getting more. He heard a sigh from his mom's direction and had a high feeling he knew what she was going to do now.

"Well, I guess I can't change habits. I hope you do well on your coming tests."

This surprised the male teen quite a bit. His hands came to a halt, his neck slowly turning as if he were a robot that hadn't had any oil for some time.

"No scolding?" he asked, astonished.

"Oh, believe me. A grounding from your computer and cell phone maybe in the very near future if your grades don't come up."

Sora shuddered lightly in intimidation. Having a lack in technology was no high school student's wish, and he didn't want to be the first to actually want such a thing. Then he'd wonder what the heck is wrong with him.

With a light, shaky voice, he quickly said, "Alright, I get it."

His mom smiled. "Good," she said. "Now don't forget you have an hour before you need to walk for school."

Sora suddenly yawned. "I know, I know," he said as he continued to shove what was left of his breakfast in his mouth. His eyes reverted back to his homework. "I usual do, since you wake me up so early."

"And it's apparently a good thing, too," she said in reply. "This occurrence shows it."

"Oh be quiet," he said with a light sulk, his homework only having a couple blank problems left. "I know. Technically, though, I was the one who made the idea."

She laughed. "I don't think so," she said, grabbing a nearby bento box and placing it next to his work. "Last I checked, it was your father."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, eyes lightly rolling as his pencil wrote the last variable in his book for the homework. At least, he hoped.

"So, do you know when your friends will be coming?"

"No, he said, opening his bookcase and placing the bento inside. "They usually come by about... um, five minutes before I would usually leave." He had never been too good on timing, and so wasn't so sure if he was right about how long it takes his friends to come by and walk to school with him.

Much to his surprise, he and his mom heard the sound of the doorbell outside.

"Hello," a voice sounded that brought a suddenly blush to the brunette's face. "It's Riku Kojima. I'm here to pick up Sora for school."

Riku.

Only recently had he realized his mind was treating him as if he were more than a friend. He remembered when it began clear as day.

When Kairi taught him how to see that "Ansem" was, in fact, Riku under a... curse of sort. When he fell to his knees, overjoyed and crying.

"I looked everywhere for you!"

The words rang through his ears like crisp, modern music.

What was an even greater indicator was that, when he had been leading Riku to the water in the Land of Darkness, his hand...

"Sora, are you alright?"

"Huh?" Immediately, he was pulled out of his subconscious.

"Are you alright," his mom repeated. "You're as red as a peach."

Sora's eyes blinked, surprised. "H-huh?"

She sighed. "Nevermind. I'll get the door." And with that, she began her way to the front door. When she opened it,she was greeted by a tall teenager, surprisingly only a year older than Sora. His hair was still growing after a haircut from some time ago. Silver-colored bangs were just barely unable to hide his turquoise eyes, skin faintly lighter than the norm.

"Hello, there, Riku," Sora's moms aid with a smile. "Where's Kairi?"

"She's decided to wait for us over near her place," he said simply.

"Oh, alright," she said. "Anyway, Sora is almost ready. You know him, always doing his work at the last minute. He should really learn a few things from you."

"I can hear you!" Sora yelled, grabbing his things from the kitchen as he walked to the door, only to find him.

He struggled to suppress any red from coming to his face, his eyes locked on the older teen. Just why did this have to happen? It had only gotten worse since he and Riku had gone to become Keyblade Masters. Well, he got the title, which he envied him a little for it, but that wasn't the point. The whole time he went around the universe, the Spirits as his allies, he just couldn't get Riku out of his head.

Just then, his old spirit friend, Meow Wow, popped out of nowhere. It's white, fuzzy, chubby cheeks making its yellow plus-esque eyes in black circles look even more adorable. Its tongue was sticking out like a dog's, as usual, which brought its species name to confusion. Unfortunately, only Riku and Sora could see him, much since with their experiences with the Dream Eaters beforehand.

"Oh, hey, little guy," he mouthed faintly to the strange animal, hoping his mother wouldn't notice of the strangeness. On the inside, he was relieved that his attention was reverted away from Riku. He didn't want to come of as weird.

He heard Riku laugh – a bit surprising, since he always seems so serious – which unfortunately brought his eyes to look up at him...

The brunette said nothing, despite his pants being in clear night. What the hell was wrong with him He was going to turn seventeen in the next several months. He seriously needed to get a hold of himself.

"W-what's so funny?" he asked, lightly turning his head away from seeing the teen.

"Oh, nothing," he said with a light chuckle, still in his somewhat deep voice. It sure fit with his skinny, yet secretly muscular figure.

Sora remembered what he wore on the day Destiny Islands was destroyed. Although he had been surrounded by darkness, his muscles from his bare arms popped out as his gloved hand stretched out to him, wanting him to go with him.

"Hello?" A hand waved in front of his face, surprising a pair of sapphire eyes.

"Wha...?"

"You sure you're feeling okay?" Riku's hand came up to his forehead as he knelt down to where Sora was, his face surprisingly close.

Sora was unable to stop his heart from skipping a bear. "I'm perfectly fine, Riku," he said, face beginning tot urn red.

The silver-haired male gave off a serious look, clearly showing he knew he was lying. "You sure?" he asked. "You look a bit red."

"A bit" was an understatement.

"I'm fine," Sora said, annoyed as he gave a light sulk.

A smile crept onto the older teen's face, head lightly shaking as he brought his hand away from his forehead. He brought himself to stay up, not seeming to realize something. Sora didn't, either. Maybe that was a good thing, or maybe not. You can never truly figure it out until the outcome occurs.

"C'mon," he said, "Kairi's waiting for us."

"Oh," Sora said, clearly having not realized Kairi hadn't been here with him. "Okay."

"You two have a good day at school."

"Thanks, Mom," Sora said as he gave a wave with his hand that didn't hold his bookbag.
See you later."

With that, he easily slipped on his school shoes, and walked out if his house, on his way to get Kairi, and go to school with the one he's been close to ever since he was a kid.

Maybe they could talk sometime about things. No, that'd make things way too suspicious. But, his inner confusion and curiosity was getting the better of him, urging to know just what Riku thought of him. But, was that going to be a good thing or not? He wasn't too sure.