A/N: Hiya! Yes, you've got a newbie on your hands. Get over it. Ha! Not my first fic. Just my first fic that has been finished and posted. Finally! Took me long enough. Enjoy the overall crappiness of this story and please review. Thank you!

A cool sea breeze blew through Kairi's crimson locks, her bright blue eyes gazing wistfully at the setting golden sun that was setting. She sat on the beach of her island, her legs drawn up, her arms wrapped around them, and her head resting on top of her knees. The pink tint of embarrassment had disappeared from her cheeks by now and she was more than thankful to finally be rid of it.

The blush. Not the embarrassment.

She assumed that would be with her for the rest of her life. Kairi was not stupid enough to think that what she had done would simply dissipate into the air, never to be seen again. She knew full well that from now on, it would always be there.

A sky of scarlet, orange and violet hung above her head, a single glowing star dancing in the continually darkening sky. It had to be past six o' clock. How long has she been sitting there? An hour? Three hours? She simply could not remember. And all at once, she realized that it really did not matter. Kairi couldn't care less if she ever left the beach. This was her retreat, her world away from the mobs of people that she was surrounded by every day .

A public beach was her hideaway.

Kairi ran a hand through her hair, her first major movement since she had sat down. 'How did I get myself into this mess?' she wondered. She found it somewhat disturbing that she knew the answer to her own question. She knew exactly how she got herself stuck in this mess.

And she regretted every moment of it.

Surely, she could have handled her situation a little better. But no. She decided to do things her way and be spontaneous. Now, she was afraid to ever go back to human civilization.

Yes, it seemed somewhat pathetic for Kairi to be upset over a statement she had made. It was just a sentence, a short one at that. It was hardly significant. But to her, the words that slipped out of her mouth were never meant to be said. She had been saving them for another day, another week, another year, any time but the one she had chosen. Her mouth had betrayed her mind and she was currently punishing it by not letting it speak further; Kairi could only imagine what else it had to say.

Taking a deep breath, she let her eyes wander across the shore, not looking at anything in particular. The leaves of a palm tree swaying in the wind, the lukewarm sand beneath her bare feet, the crystal clear water that lapped onto the shore- she saw it all. Kairi saw nothing out of the ordinary; everything was as it should be.

Almost everything.

She already knew what was wrong. At this time of evening, she was normally sitting on the other side of the beach with one of her friends. It was a routine, a habit she simply couldn't break. Today, however, she forced herself to move to the less populated area in order to avoid any confrontations. The last thing she needed was people asking her what had happened and what they could do to help.

A stupid mistake was what she had made.

"And a stupid girl is what I am," she finished, her voice just above a whisper.

"Don't be too hard on yourself."

Kairi blinked once, twice.

"Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yep."

She had asked her question out loud, too. 'Crap...well, at least I said that in my head...'

She felt her heart rate speed up as she heard footsteps coming toward her. She didn't have to look to see who it was. She already knew. It was everything she had been hoping to avoid. It was everything she longed for, but could not have.

It was him.

Kairi felt his presence beside her, her body frantically attempting to appear calm when deep within herself, a searing fire was burning out of control.

A fire called passion.

He sat down, his legs crossed over each other or, as some would call it, in Indian style. Kairi threw her gaze toward the ocean, the dilapidated shack, anywhere but at him.

The two adolescents sat in silence for quite some time, only causing the tension between them to build. Kairi could feel his eyes on her, though he said nothing. She began to feel anxious, hoping he would hurry and say something before she went insane and ran for the nearest asylum.

"Kairi, I..."

Kairi had a sudden thought. Perhaps he was a mind reader.

Unable to avoid it any longer, Kairi turned to face him, her sapphire orbs meeting his cerulean one.

Sapphire...Cerulean...

She wished she had not looked at him. His eyes were deep, almost hypnotic. His expression was a sympathetic, a sad smile playing on his lips. She already knew what would happen. He was going to apologize repeatedly, saying he was sorry and how he wished he could fix everything. How typical. Kairi knew that he had nothing to be sorry for.

"Don't be sorry. You don't have to be." She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "You shouldn't be."

He immediately shut his mouth. It seemed he was very timid in the face of nervousness.

"Sora?"

"Mm?"

"Would you do me a favor?"

"Anything. Anything at all."

Kairi sighed deeply, knowing the flush had, once again, returned to her pale cheeks. She bit her bottom lip momentarily before continuing.

A simple request. It was almost as simple as the statement she had made to him earlier that day. Yet, this time, it seemed so much harder to say.

Probably because she actually meant to say it.

Feeling that she was beginning to lose her nerve, Kairi quickly blurted out, "L-lie to me." She blinked rapidly, furiously fighting back the stubborn tears which threatened to fall from her beautiful eyes.

He hesitated, not fully comprehending what she had asked him to do. His eyes widened as he realized what she meant, another empathetic smile on his face. He opened his lips slowly, uttering each word slowly, making it last.

Hard as she tried, Kairi failed to stop the crystalline droplets from sliding down her soft cheek. The moonlight reflected off of her tears and, embarrassed, she hastily wiped them away, not wanting him to see. She was a second too late, it seemed, as he leaned over and wiped away one tear she had missed in her rush to be rid of them.

'His touch...I want it so much...but it's not mine to have.' Slowly, Kairi placed her tiny hand on his, which was resting on her skin. Gripping his hand tightly, she lingered in the sensation, having him close to her. She shut her eyes, blocking out the rest of the world, her mind becoming blank. Nothing else mattered but his touch.

It all ended to soon. Kairi wanted to hold on forever, but she knew better than to fill her head with childish dreams and fantasies. Sadly, Kairi let her trembling fingers pull his hand away from her. She didn't have the will to look him in the eye, but she did sneak a quick glance at his face. It was calm and understanding, just as she knew he was. Kairi dropped his hand in his lap and hurriedly stood up. The atmosphere was much too intimate for her. After whispering a sad farewell, she ran blindly into the dark of the night, a stream of tears flowing behind her and hitting the sand to be absorbed and never seen again.

--

"I love you, too."

Wow, that sucked. Oh well.

Did anybody get that? The last line was what Sora said when Kairi asked him to lie to her. Knowing that, you should have also figured that out that she had told Sora that she loved him. Yes. Three words of evil.

This has been sitting in my head for MONTHS but every time I tried to write it, it never came out right and I had to keep going back and deleting it all and starting over. I'm still not completely with this, but it's the best out of everything so far. Props for me! And besides, is any author ever completely happy with their work?

So, please review! Constructive criticism wanted and appreciated. Thank you!

-- Trish(Unmei06)