Riku Kania had never been a people person. He didn't like animals much either, but if he had ever had to choose, he would have gone with the animals. You could never get to know anyone anyways. People were always making up stuff, about themselves and other people.

That was the only thing Riku really couldn't stand- the way people told lies. The so-called toughest guy in school? Riku had caught him crying in the boy's bathroom over a paper cut. The girl who told everyone a sob story about how her parents were getting divorced? That had been two years ago, and her mom and dad still visited the school holding hands and calling each other sugar sweet pet names. She had tried to cover it up by saying the fights only happened at home, but even a blind hobo could see that her parents loved each other. Still, everyone believed her. They gave her extra attention, like she was a charity case.

Naturally, Riku tended to avoid socializing. But not as if other humans were some kind of plague. It was more like a magnet- south and north didn't attract.

The silver haired teenager didn't mind. He'd survived without people for years, just him. And Riku absolutely hated it when other students came to him at lunch, all smiles and pity-filled glances, and asked him to sit with them, just because he sat alone.

But you couldn't go through your whole life like that, right?

--

Riku maneuvered his way through the crowded hall, a bored expression etched into his features. Talking, laughing, shouting swirled around him.

Suddenly, a loud crash, enough to make Riku jump, sounded over the chatter. Everyone looked around to see where it had come from.

A boy wearing a ridiculous looking blue beanie was pushing another boy, a blonde wearing camouflage, up against a locker. More specifically, Riku's locker. The two glared at each other heavily.

Ignoring people's calls and jeers for them to fight, Riku stepped around the group that had formed in a semi-circle around his locker. Just as the boy with the beanie raised his fist, Riku spoke.

"Excuse me."

Seemingly shocked, the boy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're blocking my locker." Riku said, as he hoisted his backpack higher onto his shoulder. They stared each other down, Riku and the stranger with issues, calculating.

Lunging, the boy took a swing at him. His face was contorted with rage. Riku dodged, and his fist soared past with the boy's body following soon after.

The blonde got up, and made a move towards them, but someone reached out of the crowd and yanked him away before he could move. Not that he would have, with Riku's fierce glare.

Riku knew that beanie-boy would come back for revenge, so he watched out of the corner of his eye as he turned the dial on his locker.

Turns out he was right. The boy jumped at him again, but Riku slid out of the way before he even touched him.

A tanned brown haired boy materialized beside beanie-boy, along with a short, silver haired girl.

"Seifer, you should just leave, you know?" The boy advised, flashing a nervous look in Riku's direction.

"Agreed." The girl nodded shortly.

Seifer looked as if he might argue, but after considering Riku, he shoved his way through the crowd to leave. You could audibly hear the other students sigh in disappointment.

Riku, cool and collected, returned to opening his locker. As the door swung wide with a metallic clang, the teenagers in the hallway began to move again, now that there was no roadblock.

People were all the same.

--

"Thank you."

Riku frowned, head whipping up. He'd been staring thoughtfully at his lunch a second before.

"Huh?"

A brunette boy stood in front of him, hair spiked up, a blue lunchbox clutched in his hands. He swallowed nervously; like he was talking to God or something. Riku found the motion amusing.

"For…for before. That boy was my friend." The brunette explained, pulling out the chair so that he could sit down across from Riku.

"I didn't do it for him," Riku said dismissively, returning to his turkey sandwich. He expected the exchange to end at that.

"I know, I just…wanted to thank you anyways." The brunette boy began to unzip the lunchbox. "Um…I'm Sora, by the way."

"I see," Riku replied, and he would have left it at that, but he couldn't see any harm in telling Sora his name. "Riku."

Sora nodded slowly, his mouth full of what smelled like bologna sandwich. Chewing, his blue eyes avoided Riku's green pair.

"Why are you always alone?"

Riku's eyes narrowed sharply. But Sora only looked honestly curious, none of the fake pity the others had shown. He even continued to eat, as if he didn't really expect Riku to answer the question.

"No reason."

"Oh." Sora blinked, unbelieving. "But there has to be a reason. There's a reason for everything."

This kid actually thought that what he was saying was true, 100%. Riku could see it in the innocently stubborn way he glanced up, and frowned slightly.

"Why is that?"

Sora's eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated hard.

"You see? There's not a reason why you believe that." Pointing out this fact, the silver-haired teen took a sip from his juice pouch.

Sora frowned, then said, "I guess there isn't, is there? It's still true though." Hastily tacked on, like those four words were said in his dying breath.

"If you say so." Riku conceded, not wanting to fight over something so trivial. And he smiled, just a little, for the first time in years, at something another person had done.

:::::

Well, here's my latest Soriku! :D I hope you enjoyed. If you see any mistakes, please tell me so that I can fix them.

This story is for CynTeeny15 on deviantart, as a request. The people on deviantart got it a little earlier than you guys, because fanfiction decided to be mean. -_-

Part two will be coming out as soon as I finish it. ^.^