The first one came on a Tuesday. It didn't seem right, Sora thought, for it to come on a Tuesday. He had three long nights of homework and three mind-numbing days of school before he could spend a healthy day melting his brain in front of the TV, avoiding anyone who called, pretending it didn't hurt….

The second came that Friday. Sora supposed that was a bit fairer seeing as he wouldn't have to face his friends until Monday, but still, he had hoped for at least a little more time to recover. It wasn't supposed to come for another four days, anyway, so Demyx wouldn't bother him about it. He could spend the weekend blissfully question-free, practicing the bridge of that one song on his acoustic or watching stupid YouTube videos or finally figuring out where his AP Environmental Science book had gotten to. Hell, he could laze around and finish that entire manga series Kairi had loaned to him (he still couldn't figure out why Kairi had done it, but he was grateful anyway—he spent so much money on comic books that he cringed at the thought of buying a twelve-book series for ten bucks a pop.)

Twelve mangas, no textbook and one tricky guitar part later, Sora still felt like shit.

Things didn't get any better the next week. Wednesday was a big day, and Sora went into it grinning at everyone and tossing good luck wishes like used tissues and came out faking weak smiles and congratulating people half-heartedly. He had to squeeze the words out like that last bit of toothpaste that stares at you from just inside the tube, almost at the rim but not quite, mocking you.

He gave himself a swift mental kick. When you start comparing life to a used-up tube of toothpaste, either things are really dismal or you need to stop waxing poetic and grow some balls.

And then there was Demyx. Of course his spring break started Wednesday. Of course Sora was going to pick him up from the airport right after school on Thursday because Demyx was a douche and had gotten his license suspended. (It was totally that weird Larxene kid's fault, Sora knew it, but Demyx wouldn't tell him anything.) And yeah, hanging out with Demyx was usually great—seriously, Demyx was the only one of his friends who didn't call him a pansy when he ordered a hot chocolate at Starbucks—but Sora needed time. Sora needed space.

"Soooo? Am I gonna see you around next year or what, pipsqueak?"

Sora most definitely did not need that.

The spiky-haired brunette drummed his thumbs against his steering wheel as he navigated the twisting airport exit street (he hoped it was the exit, anyway.) Demyx eyed him expectantly. After a moment's thought, Sora turned up the volume. His iPod chose that moment to switch to an irritatingly loud DragonForce song, so he turned the volume back down. He peered at his friend out of the corner of his eye, looked back to road, chewed his bottom lip. Nearly missed the right turn labeled "Exit to Atlantica Avenue."

"RGU rejected me, Dem," he said finally.

Sora could almost imagine he heard an audible thud as Demyx's jaw hit the floor (or car carpet, anyway.)

"Dude, no way! You're like… smarter than me an' shit. No way," Demyx said, putting his bare feet up on Sora's dashboard. "Jebus. I'm sorry, man." There was a moment in which they both appreciated ZP Theart's vocal abilities, followed by Demyx tentatively asking, "So… how 'bout the rest?"

Sora let out an earnest sigh. "U of HB, Pride Lands College, Traverse Town University, and U of DI all rejected me, too," he muttered. He scratched vigorously at the back of his head, temporarily flattening a few spikes in the process.

Demyx stared at him stupidly before asking, "What's left?"

"Leonhart."

"Well you hafta get in there," Demyx assured him. "They'd kill babies to get their hands on a kid like you."

"With my luck, I'll end up at Destiny Islands College," Sora mumbled. DIC was the local community college. It was also where all of the idiots at Sora's high school who had never gone to a day of class in their lives would end up. Just where Sora wanted to be.

"Nothin' wrong with that," Demyx said defensively. "Axel goes there, y'know."

"Axel once lit his own hair on fire."

"In his defense, Seifer spiked the punch pretty bad that night."

Sora snorted. "He also lights his socks on fire at parties."

Demyx considered this carefully for the remainder of the wildly flailing guitar solo screaming out of Sora's speakers. Then he opened his mouth, shut it, tugged at a piece of his hair, wiggled his toes, turned towards the car window and said, "Let's get smoothies."

Sora couldn't help but grin widely.

oo000OOO000oo

Smoothie Planet was wildly popular with the students of Destiny High, and Sora had no problem with that. He liked his peers, and, well, he liked people on principle. Sure, college was bound to come up every time he talked to anyone now, but he still liked people. They made him laugh. They kept things interesting.

When they were Demyx, they stole his smoothie.

"Give that back, dumbass," Sora demanded, laughing. He swiped at Demyx's hands.

Demyx dangled the disturbingly orange drink just out of Sora's reach. "Jump, Shorty!"

Sora's face was just teetering precariously on the edge of a pout when something silver caught his eye from over Demyx's shoulder. The near-pout evaporated and was replaced by a look of confusion, then recognition, then indecision—

"What?" Demyx asked. He slurped patiently at Sora's smoothie.

"I know him," Sora said.

Demyx turned his head to look over his shoulder at the tall, silver-haired guy who had just entered with his slate-haired friend. "What, the shiny one or the emo one?" he asked. Sora snagged his smoothie back before Demyx could turn around.

"The shi—the tall one. Riku," Sora said. "Grody, Dem, you got my straw all slobbery."

"Then let's go say hi," Demyx said, and he was pushing Sora toward where Riku stood in line before Sora knew what was happening. Sora, however, caught on pretty quickly and turned right back around.

"I didn't mean I know him, Demyx, I mean I just know him," he hissed.

Demyx hit himself lightly in the forehead with the palm of his hand. "Well, golly, why didn't you just say so? Now I understand," he told his younger friend, rolling his eyes.

Sora sighed exasperatedly before explaining, "No, I mean… he's like, in Jazz Band, but I don't really know him. He's our piano player."

Demyx grinned wickedly and whispered, "Well guess who you're meeting today."

Sora noticed too late that Riku and his friend were walking in their direction because (of course) Sora and Demyx were still standing right by the counter where they had picked up their smoothies. And judging by the finger prodding Sora hard in the ribs, there was no way Demyx would let him get out of this one.

"H-hey Riku," Sora stuttered. Great. Had he seriously just stuttered? Could Sora manage to squeak out two words without sounding like a dork? He flicked his bright blue eyes away from Riku self-consciously.

If Riku was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Hey Sora," he responded, smiling with one corner of his mouth. His friend hung back behind his shoulder and eyeballed them warily. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Sora responded. He had stuttered. What the hell. Freakin' Dem—

"Being dragged around by me, mostly," Demyx chimed in. Sora wondered briefly if his blonde friend was just too stupid to be intimidated by the laid-back, awesomely cool… er, awesome coolness that was Riku. But Demyx blundered on unawares. "I come back to haunt him every time RGU's on break. I'm Demyx."

"Riku," said Riku by way of introduction. "You go to RGU?" he asked. He arched one silver eyebrow—he seemed impressed.

"Yep. Music major. I went to Hollow Bastion High before that, so you wouldn't have seen me around," Demyx explained. Still blissfully unaware of the sheer amount of cool he was staring in the face, he glanced at Riku's friend. "Hi."

Riku half-smiled again and hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans. "That's Zexion. He goes to Destiny High with me and Sora." Zexion gave a short wave of acknowledgment.

Sora felt quite distinctly that he was watching a game of verbal ping pong fly over his head, and this was one game in which he was sorely left out. He wondered if he should bother trying to say anything, but elected to ruefully rub the back of his neck and grin instead. It was easier than trying to think of something to say to his jazz band's piano player, anyway. Safer, too, he thought. Stupid stuttering.

"Riku, Zex," called out the freckly chick at the counter as she set two smoothies down. Sora choked back a sigh of relief.

"Well, we've got to go," said Riku. He held out a hand toward Demyx. "Nice meeting you, Demyx," he said, and the two shook hands (the blonde looking mildly surprised.) Riku then turned to Sora and, with a slight head toss (chin toss?), said, "See you around, Sora."

"See you tomorrow," Sora managed to say. He deliberately avoided watching Riku and Zexion grab their drinks and then exit Smoothie Planet.

"Bah, that wasn't so hard," Demyx told his friend. Sora was still staring determinedly at the blue tile beneath his left foot. When the brunette didn't respond, Demyx rested an elbow on his shorter friend's shoulder. "Right?"

"Sure why not," mumbled Sora. It was his fault, really, for letting Demyx convince him to go to Smoothie Planet in the first place. Oh, Demyx, with his remarkable ability to strike up conversations with complete strangers….

"It's not like he was a complete stranger or anything, Small Fry," Demyx said, rolling his eyes. "You said he's in Jazz Band, right? Besides, he seemed pretty cool. Actually shook my hand, didja see that?" he asked rhetorically. He nodded to himself before gnawing on the end of his straw thoughtfully. "Nice kid. Dunno about the quiet one, but Riku's a nice kid."

Sora shook his head in wonderment before wandering out the door.

Demyx looked after him, bewildered. "What? …Hey, Sor? What'd I say?" Sora couldn't hear him, anyway, so the blonde just shrugged and followed his friend out. He would never really understand that kid.