Disclaimer: I do not own KH

Staring down at his bleeding knee, shock numbing the pain he knew he should be feeling, Sora sat on the ground where he had been pushed. Glancing up meekly, he wondered why the older boys always picked on him. It wasn't like he provoked them. Far from it, he went out of his way to stay out of their way. They just seemed to hate him for no reason.

From the way that they stared down at him angrily, he knew that he was in for it, knew that nothing would stop them from hurting him worse than he already was. He could already feel his eyes tearing up, but he refused to cry, refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing the power they had over him.

As a foot hit his middle, causing him to gasp, loose his breath, he wished that Riku was there. Riku would be able to stop them, Riku had always been able to stop them. He curled into a ball, his arms protecting his head, knees covering his stomach. The numbness that his shock had brought him was gone, and he bit his lip, hard enough that he could taste his blood, so that he would scream in pain, wouldn't give them the pleasure of hearing it, even though he knew that they'd keep at it until he gave in to the pain.

He was at the brink of unconsciousness, his vision slowly darkening, when he heard someone yell out, "Stop it! Leave him alone!"For a moment, he thought that maybe it was Riku, maybe he had come back from his family vacation a bit early. Even as they aimed a last kick at him, he lifted his head to look at the approaching figure.

His dark brown hair fell to frame his handsome face, his grey eyes stormy as they watched the boys run away. When he looked down at Sora, his eyes turned soft. He leaned down, carelessly running a hand through his hair. "You okay?"

Sora nodded, forcing himself to sit up. "I think so," he said, his voice shaky. He gave a weak smile, "I'm Sora."

The boy stood up and backed away. "Leon," he said before turning and walking away, leaving Sora sprawled on the ground, watching him with surprise.

Hidden

Sora watched silently as Leon entered the classroom, his blue eyes brightening at the sight of the seventeen year old. Even though the two hadn't talked in the eight years since the "incident", as Sora referred to it, Sora felt a pang of longing every time his eyes landed on the tall figure.

Entering just behind Leon, Riku said something to him before making his way towards Sora. "Sorry I had to cancel on you last night."

Sora dragged his gaze away from where Lean was sitting at his desk. "It's alright," he said, smiling. "I'm sure that whatever came up was important."

Nodding, Riku leaned against Sora's desk. "Leon had a bit of a problem."

A concerned look crossed over Sora's soft features. "Is he alright? Nothing bad's going on, right?"

"Of course not. He just needed my help with something.

"Oh…Okay." His gaze drifted back to Leon, admiring the way his long legs stretched over the top of his desk, the way his back arched as he leaned back, his shirt rising slightly to show off his muscled stomach.

"Stop drooling, Sora," Riku snapped. "Just because most of the people here are half-wits doesn't mean they're oblivious."

Grinning sheepishly, Sora looked back at Riku. "Sorry, bad habit. I just can't help myself sometimes. He's so…so…well, Leon."

Riku shook his head, giving a small laugh. "I swear I don't understand you sometimes."

The grin faded from Sora's face, replaced by a small frown. "I don't know how to explain it. He's different from everyone else. He's quiet, but not shy. He's strong, but not aggressive. There's something about him, something inside of him that I'm drawn to."

Riku faked a yawn. "You sound like a love-struck girl."

Glaring at him, Sora crossed his arms. "You don't have to be so mean! If it gets on your nerves—"

"The only thing that gets on my nerves is that you sit here fawning over him instead of doing something about it."

"What am I supposed to do? He doesn't even know I exist. I can't just go up to him and say 'Hey, you don't really know me, but you rescued me once when we were kids and I've kinda fallen in love with you.'"

"Why not?"

Sora stared at him in disbelief. "What do you mean why not? He'd think I was insane! A guy can't just walk up to another guy and admit that he loves him, especially if they don't know each other."

Riku glanced at Leon for a moment. "I don't think he'd believe you were insane. He might be a bit surprised, but I think he'd take it pretty well."



Sora smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm not like you, Riku. I've never been able to admit my feelings to people." He chuckled slightly. "Remember that time I tried to tell Kairi I liked her? I couldn't even get 'hi' out. She thought I was having a seizure."

"You were five," Riku said in exasperation.

"It was traumatic nonetheless! I'm just not confidant enough."

A sudden grin came to Riku's face, his eyes brightening suddenly. "What if I could make you confident? What if I could give you the chance you need to make Leon yours?"

"Right. And how does the Almighty Riku think he can accomplish that?"

"Easy. Just come over to my house around five," he said, pushing himself off Sora's desk. "I'll take care of everything," he added as he walked towards Leon.

"Riku, what are you thinking," he called after him, only to be ignored. "Riku!"

For some reason, Sora hadn't liked the way Riku had said easy. But he knew he would still go to the boy's house. After all, curiosity only killed the cat.

Hidden

Leon watched as Riku left Sora, the small brunette calling after him. "What was that about?" he asked as the silvered-haired boy approached him.

"Nothing," he answered. "Just apologizing for canceling on him last night."

"He mad about it?"
"Of course not. Sora's too kindhearted to get mad at me for helping a friend."

"And a lot of help you were," he said, scowling. "You kept making everything even worse. Now Mom's even more convinced that I'm gay. You shouldn't have blown me the kiss when you left."

"I was only teasing! Besides, you are gay. I don't see why you're trying to keep it a secret from her."

"Sure you don't. You're mom doesn't care one way or another. Mine, on the other hand, would try to set me up with every jerk her eyes land on. It's bad enough having to deal with the girls she invites over, she'd have even more fun with guys."

Riku laughed, running a hand through his hair. "True enough," he said, sitting down, backwards, in the desk in front of Leon, pushing the tall boy's feet to the floor as he did so. "But I think I'd prefer having a harem of hot jerks around me than a gaggle of squealing girls. At least you can rough the guys up if they get on your nerves too much."

Leon glared at him slightly, "Why did you push my feet? I was comfortable. And I don't want to rough anyone up."

"But you're so good at it," Riku chuckled, his voice lowering suggestively.

Leon's cheeks turned to a pink so light that no one but Riku noticed. "I thought we agreed not to mention that," he snapped.

"No, you ordered me not to mention it. I never said I wouldn't. I actually found that night quite…enlightening."

"Shut up," Leon hissed.

Riku just grinned. "I'm still wondering who that boy was. He seemed to really like those handcuffs. Were they yours? I'm thinking about getting a pair for myself."

Leon tensed for a moment, then all the anger drained out of him. "I have got to remember to lock my door from now on."

"That would be the smart thing to do," Riku remarked as the teacher entered the classroom. He turned around with a last remark, "Especially if you don't want me learning about your kinky fetishes."

Hidden

Sora stared around Riku's bedroom with wide, terrified eyes. From the grins on the small group that surrounding him, the small boy knew that he was going to regret this. Even Kairi, usually so sweet, had an insane glint to her eyes. Before he could take a step backwards towards the door he'd just come through, Riku and Tidus had grabbed both of his arms and threw him onto the bed.

"Where you going?" the blonde asked with a smile. "You can't be planning on skipping out on us. After all the effort we went through to get things set up just for you."

"But I never agreed to anything, so it's not really skipping out! I don't even know what you're planning!" he argued, panicking.

Kairi glanced at Riku. "You didn't tell him what you have planned? I thought you said he agreed!"

"He will agree. He's just being stubborn, as usual."



With a sigh, Kairi turned back to Sora. "We're gonna give you a makeover," she announced, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Selphie and I will take you shopping for some decent clothes first thing in the morning. No more of that baggy, swallow you whole stuff."

"And Riku and I'll teach you how to act," Tidus put in. "You know, make sure you don't make a fool of yourself in front of everyone."

Sora glared at them as he thought, Sure knows how to make someone feel better, not. What he said, though, was, "I still don't get what this is for."

Riku rolled his eyes. "I told you. We're gonna help you attract lover boy's attention. We're going to make you popular."

"Right," Sora said in disbelief. "Look, Riku, we both know that it'll be impossible for me to be popular. Look at me," he stood up, holding his arms up as if to give them a better view. "I'm too short. I'm not tall and elegant like you," Riku's eyes narrowed at being called elegant. "I'm not dark and handsome like Leon. I'm just average."

Riku looked at him for a moment before stepping close to him, their bodies almost touching. A slight blush reddened Sora's cheeks and he tried to take a step back, but the bigger boy took hold of his wrist, preventing him.

"You're anything but average," Riku said. "You're clumsier than most people. When you're around someone you know, your shyness goes away and you have a wicked sense of humor." His voice lowered. "All you need is to get to know him, get used to being around him. I can give you that chance, you just need to be yourself."

"If I'm supposed to be myself, why the makeover?" Sora snapped.

"Confidence. That's what I told you this morning, remember? We can teach you what you need to know, what we had to learn on our own." He smirked, "We can make you look like a model, give you everything you need to draw attention to yourself without you tripping over your own two feet. Of course, I find that aspect of you rather…endearing. I'm sure he will too."

Sora flinched, disdain written clearly on his face. "Endearing my ass," he muttered. "You're not the one who keeps getting mystery bruises."

Chuckling, Riku gave him a friendly hug. "Don't worry about it, Sora. We have everything figured out."

He hated it when Riku told him not to worry. It only made him worry about it even more…and most of the time he was right to worry. After all, Riku's plans usually ended up with Sora falling on his butt while Riku himself laughed in amusement. He was sure this time wouldn't be any different.


My first Kingdom Hearts story. I think I did pretty good. I can't wait to work on the next chapter. Review!