Ahahahah I admit, I was bored. Like, really bored. And I'm actually going against my own belief of Riku/Sora, writing this, but I think it's canon and it's kinda sweet for a guy to like a girl like that. Also this is based on the Finnish band Ultra Bra's song "Jäätelöauto" (Ice cream van), which you'll probably notice if you remember anything about the lyrics.

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Three... two... one...

Like any other day, it rings again, at the same time. The school bell. It always manages to ring at this time, and the story is always the same: The teacher hasn't noticed the flow of time, but his students have been staring at the clock or their watches or their cell phone clocks for the last fifteen minutes, watching the pointer move, counted seconds. And then the bell rings and everyone gets up faster than you can say "sea-salt ice cream" and leave the classroom before the poor teacher has time to realize what just happened. And his class couldn't care less.

So today, as well.

"Sea-salt ice cream", Sora says experimentally, out of a stupid habit. It's true – everyone in the class gets up faster than he can finish saying that. Or maybe it's just that no one really likes Xemnas's lessons – he rambles way too much. Ramble ramble ramble. But he also pays absolutely no attention to his students. Which is probably why the last lesson of Thursday is perfect for afternoon napping.

Sora whistles a simple tune as he leaves the classroom with his classmates, goes to his locker, jokes with a few friends as he packs his bag (and obviously takes the wrong books as he's not really paying attention to which five books he stuffs there), stops to tie his shoelaces and pull his coat on, and gets out through the front doors. Just like he would on any other day, except Thursday is always special. (Especially this Thursday.) To Sora, anyway.

He walks down the stairs, but instead of continuing on his way towards home, he stops and turns to look at the doors again. And waits. It's been snowing the whole day, and even now little white snowflakes flutter down slowly. Sora's cheeks are tingling and he's pretty sure they're red, and surely not only because of the cold. And the must be tons of snow in his hair by now, at least his shoulders are covered in the white matter. He makes a pathetic attempt to brush it off, but the movement is stopped by something stepping out of the school building.

That something walks down the stairs, alone, like every Thursday, says see you and bye-bye to people she passes, brushes some red hair behind one ear, and finally, after a long, long long wait gets down and Sora steps forwad.

"Um... Kairi?"

She turns, blinks, then smiles, tugging at the hem of her winter coat. "Sora! Hi."

Sora fidgets nervously but hopes that doesn't show and suddenly he's shivering, thinking something along the lines 'what the hell am I doing', but there's no turning back now, not like last Thursday or the one before it. No, today he's going to say it.

"Look, I was thinking..."

Kairi cocks her head slightly to the side, looking politely curious.

"Y'know the new café downtown?" There. Said it. Sora feels even more cold now and he feels sick and realizing that makes him even more sick: what if she says yes? He can't be sick then, he's the one who just asked! And he doesn't want to leave now, what's he supposed to say anyway? 'Oh sorry, I'm about to vomit in about 0.2 seconds and I really don't wanna stain the clothes of the girl I like so if you'll excuse me I'll be fleeing now and having a date with the toilet instead'. Nah, maybe not.

"Oh... Sora, that's sweet, but I can't right now. I have a dance lesson now." The smile she gives him is sweet, even apologetic, but it turns Sora's insides upside down. Damn. So that's why she was alone every Thursday. Still, he cannot turn away, not when that smile is so... alluring, it's almost taunting him, and there's snow in those eyelashes and in that silky red hair, and he doesn't doubt for a moment that Kairi is for sure the most beautiful girl in the whole universe. Well, this planet, at least.

"...oh." He murmurs something that doesn't make any sense, waving his hand. "I see."

"I'm really, truly sorry. Maybe some other time. But I have to go now, I'm kinda in a hurry, so- see you!"

And with that, Kairi is gone, running away from Sora, away from an invitation to a date. But she's probably had a million of those in her life, turning one down must be easy by now. And Sora feels like banging his head on the school walls, or maybe those unfortunate stairs that have caused him so many headaches during the years, anything at all- oh no, wait, maybe burying himself under the frozen ground would be good, and let snow cover the spot, and no one would ever miss him. Ever.

But then a tiny hope lights up in his heart. She did say 'maybe some other time'.