It all started with stupidity. Stupidity, and a bet.

And now, here I was, sitting at a table, with a large bowl of steaming macaroni and cheese and a large bottle of extra-hot hot sauce settled in front of me. I had a silver fork clutched tightly in my hand as I stared the dish down. I would not lose this bet.

Now, I know there's that question: What was the bet? Well, it all started earlier today, this morning.

Sora and I were sitting on the beach of our island, watching the sunrise, clouds lazily rolling by, and listening to the waves crash against the shore. We didn't talk, since there really wasn't anything to say.

"Hey, Riku." Sora said, poking me in the arm with a stick he found and breaking the silence.

I glared at the wooden limb and pushed it away from me. "Yeah, Sora?"

"We haven't had any competitions for a while now."

I raised an eyebrow, looking questioningly at the brunette beside me. "Where are you going with this?"

Sora pouted. "You say that like it's a bad thing!"

"Typically, when you get ideas like this, it is." I grumbled.

"ANYWAYS." Sora said, crossing his arms, "I want to have another competition. How about... an eating competition!"

I shook my head. "Sora, don't you remember? The last time we did that-"

"It's decided then!" Sora exclaimed, cutting me off and standing up. "We'll have an eating competition. There's no backing out, Riku!"

I frowned. "I have to do something I didn't agree to?"

"Yep!" Sora said cheerfully, parading down the beach towards the docks. "I won't let you get out of it, either."

I reluctantly stood and followed him, brushing sand off of my pants. "Sora, this is a bad idea..."

Said person scoffed, turning to me and raising an eyebrow. "You're just scared. You don't want to do it 'cause you're scared! I'll bet you twenty dollars that I'll win this."

And that did it for me. "In that case," I said, determination in my voice, "You'd better empty your pockets, Sora. Because I'm going to win, whether you like it or not."

Sora only grinned at me as we climbed into our boats. "That's the spirit, Riku! Now, we should ask someone what we should eat for the competition!"

And so, we asked the first person we could find: Wakka. Huge mistake on our part. Of course, Wakka was high on sugar at the time, so when we asked him, we got this:

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"You heard what I said. Mac 'n cheese and hot sauce. Every other minute, we add one cup of hot sauce. Whoever can finish their food without drinking anything wins." Wakka said simply.

"That's insane." Sora said, then paused. He slowly began to nod, rubbing his hands together with glee. "I like it."

"Sora." I said seriously, shooting him a deadpan look. "You're the insane one."

"Eh, whatever."

So, again, here I am, sitting at the kitchen table in Sora's house. The macaroni and cheese sitting in front of me is in such a great amount, it'd be impossible to finish in under ten minutes. In that ten minutes, four cups of this hot sauce will be added. I stared at the bottle, which I knew would be my impending doom. It was extra-fiery, extremely-hot hot sauce... the stuff that's so hot that restaurants only use it for show.

"Well, let's review the rules." Wakka said, picking up two measuring cups and a timer. "One. Every other minute, one cup of hot sauce will be added. Two. The first person to back out or to run to the sink in agony loses. Three. No water, no soda, no juice, no nothing. Just you, the hot sauce, and the macaroni. Four. When more hot sauce is added, the competitors must stir the mac 'n cheese before they can continue eating. Finally, the prize for the winner will be twenty dollars from the other competitor. Do either of you want to forfeit? Now is your last chance." When the room remained silent, Wakka nodded curtly and said, "Alright then. Begin."

Instantly, Sora and I started eating. literally shoveling food into our mouths. There was so much, I had barely made a dent before Wakka told us to move our forks so he could add the first cup of hot sauce. After the sauce was poured, I hastily stirred my food before scooping another forkful into my mouth. I'll admit, the moment the food touched my tongue, I almost gagged. The sauce was insanely hot, hotter than anything I've ever had before. I swallowed what was in my mouth before sucking in a huge breath and diving back in.

We went like this for almost half an hour, the food getting hotter and hotter. Just when Wakka was about to add another cup of hot sauce- I had lost count of many he added- Sora stood, stabbed his fork into his bowl, and made a mad dash for the sink. I only watched, slack-jawed, fork halfway to my mouth, as Sora turned the cold water on full blast. He shoved his face under the stream, trying to get every drop he could into his mouth. He sighed with relief after a minute or two, turning off the water and grabbing a towel to dry his face.

"Alright," Wakka announced, "Riku is the winner!"

As soon as this was said, I found myself up out of my seat. Copying Sora, I stabbed my fork into my macaroni bowl. Instead of dashing to the sink, though, I took the more... regal approach. I calmly walked over to the cabinet, pulled out a glass, and walked over to the sink. I turned the cold water on and filled the glass to the brim before bringing it to my lips and chugging the whole thing in under thirty seconds.

"Wakka, Sora," I said breathlessly, putting my glass down on the counter. "We're psychos."

"But that was fun, right?" Sora asked, reaching into his pocket and digging around with a dejected look on his face. I forgot about the prize.

"If losing the feeling in my tongue is fun, then yes, I has a spectacular time." I said simply, then added on, "Sora, you know I'm just kidding. That was a spicy competition."

"Don't make puns, Riku." Sora said dejectedly, handing me twenty dollars. I gladly pocketed the prize as he said, "That's my job. Yeah, it's cheesy, but so what?"

I simply laughed. "Well, cheese is good."

"Only in some cases." Wakka grumbled. He then grinned, and said, "But, you guys! That was an awesome competition. Next time, I want to join in, not just be the ref."

I laughed. "Maybe next time, Wakka. Maybe next time."