EDIT: I made some minor changes and corrected some parts that didn't make sense. I also attempted to make it a tad bit less dramatic, but I guess that's a lost cause. At least no one had complained about the dramatic parts—yet.
A/N: So this is a story based on Last Kiss by Taylor Swift. Last Kiss is one of my favourite songs, and it was just begging to be written into a story of some sort, so I finally just sat down and wrote it. Though it's ridiculously dramatic, this is how I see the song in my head. I hope you guys like it :o)
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Facebook, or the song Last Kiss. All rights go to their respectful owners.
...
Last Kiss
I still remember, the look on your face
Lit through the darkness, at 1:58
The words that you whispered, for just us to know
You told me you loved me, so why did you go . . . away
Away
Laughter could be heard all throughout the small shack he had taken her to, and Kairi kicked the blankets off to get away from his tickling assault.
"Stop it! Stop it!" she shrieked, another peal of laughter bursting through her lips as he caught hold of her and trapped her in the embrace of his arms.
"Make me," Sora growled before attacking her again, and she burst out laughing all over again. Kairi struggled to get him to release his grip, but all to no avail.
"Sora—ha ha ha—stop—stop it!" she gasped through giggles. She weakly grabbed at his hands, but he swiftly dodged her, keeping his hands well out of reach of her own. Still laughing like mad, Kairi struggled to reach her own hand up to his tender spots, to where she knew she'd have him paralyzed into laughing, and, as she knew he would, he predicted her move. She knew she wouldn't get away with attempting to tickle him, that he would shift so that it was impossible to reach the spot on his right side. So, as soon as he got distracted enough to protect himself from assault, Kairi quickly darted to the left and flipped them both over, so that she was no longer held captive underneath his body.
Now, instead of him towering over her, she straddled him at the waist and grabbed his hands, pulling them over his head and pinning them there.
"Gotcha," she said, smiling brightly. Her face was flushed with laughter, and her eyes sparkled with happiness.
"Not for long."
Kairi looked at him, confused, and, in her confusion, Sora seized her hands, breaking the firm but weak hold she had on his wrists. She yelped in surprise as he flipped them back over, so he was again trapping her in the circle of his arms.
"I win," Sora said smugly. Kairi looked up at him, a playful fear evident in her eyes. She began trying to wriggle out of his grasp, moving inch by inch to the edge of the small bed.
Sora, realizing what she was doing, grabbed her before she could move to escape. "Oh, no you don't!" He tried to pull her closer to him, but she wrenched back, trying to get free, sending them both tumbling off the edge of the bed in the process.
Both of them laughing hysterically, they fell onto each other in a tumbled heap on the floor, Sora breaking the fall for her by rolling under her so that she landed on him. Kairi was giggling in delight, not noticing as Sora's laughter ceased.
He touched her face, and she finally looked down at him, her violet eyes meeting his in silent communication. His finger traced down her cheek, circling around her eyes and running along her nose. The back of his fingers grazed the tender spot behind her ears, and she shivered slightly at the tingle of heat his touch brought her.
Without saying anything, he pulled her mouth down to his, kissing her softly, his lips only barely adding pressure to hers. He was touching her as though he was afraid that she might break in his arms, that she might crack if he added too much pressure. He weaved his fingers through her soft, red hair with such delicacy that it made her shiver deep within her core.
When he pulled back, he did it reluctantly, but the look in his deep blue orbs showed her that he had something he had to say to her, something that had to come out.
As he stared into her eyes, she waited, and he made sure that she was listening before whispering the words that made Kairi want to leap with happiness, that made her want to dance with glee, that made her want to shout out to the heavens in ecstasy.
"I love you."
Three words. Three words that made Kairi want to burst with happiness and spread her arms and fly. She wanted to say so much to him, she wanted to tell him about how happy he made her, wanted to thank him for walking into her life, wanted express how much she adored him. How could you put all that into just three words? But it would have to do for now.
"I love you too, Sora."
I do recall now, the smell of the rain
Fresh on the pavement, I ran off the plane
That July ninth, the beat of your heart
It jumps through your shirt; I can still feel your arms
Her foot tapped impatiently, teeth gnawing on her lower lip as she craned her neck in an attempt to peer out of the window, eyes raking through the mob of people as much as the small, round window would allow. Every fibre of her being longed for one thing only: Sora's warm arms wrapped around her, his cute goofy smile brightening his face as she clung to him.
Kairi barely acknowledged the evident feel of the air swirling around her face as the doors opened painfully slowly; she barely noticed the refreshing salty taste of Destiny Islands on her tongue; she didn't pay attention to the distinct difference in the atmosphere—all she could focus on was the fact that she didn't feel like she was home yet. The only thing she could feel was the need to see Sora—to hear his silly, happy laugh and look into his deep, sapphire eyes.
Finally, finally, people started filing out of the doors. Kairi practically shoved people to the side so that she could break free from the stiflingly plain inside of the plane.
When it was her turn to step down the stairs, Kairi just about ran down off the ramp and past the people, shoving away anyone in her path and ignoring any curses flung at her. Her eyes scanned the faces of the people, jumping from one person to the other, searching for the only one that mattered.
Kairi's heart began to drop as she kept on searching, eyes involuntarily and irrationally starting to sting.
She was just about to give up when a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her waist from behind and pulled her against a muscular chest. A small cry escaped her lips as those same arms lifted her up into the air and spun her in a full circle.
Kairi didn't need even a second thought to recognise the familiar, comforting feel of Sora's arms finally wrapped around her after so many weeks of separation.
A giggle erupted from her throat when he put her down—with her back still facing him—and started nibbling on the bare skin on her neck.
"Welcome home," he whispered against her neck, his breath tickling her and making goosebumbs rise on her skin.
"It's good to be back," she sighed dreamily, leaning back into Sora's warm embrace. The surrounding world around her faded until she could no longer see the people passing them by, no longer hear the buzzing of voices in the airport, no longer feel the occasional passerby accidentally bumping into them. Nothing existed except her and Sora in that moment.
Sora's breath once again blew onto her skin as he chuckled. "It's getting impossible to sneak up on you," he whispered, his mouth now placing small butterfly kisses behind her ear.
"Nice try, though," Kairi quickly responded with a smile, twisting in his arms so that she was now facing him.
One look at Sora's ocean blue eyes felt like a kick to the gut to Kairi. Her breath blew out of her lungs in a gust, a sudden aching making itself known somewhere near her heart. She had missed him more than she'd realized.
The look on his face showed her that he was feeling the same, and Kairi wasted no time to wrap her arms tightly around Sora's neck and pressing her lips softly to his in a chaste kiss.
"I missed you," she breathed after pulling away. He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
"You're back now."
Kairi smiled. "I am. And I'm not going anywhere ever again."
And she meant it. The trip to Twilight Town had been amazing, but it had been as long and lonely as it had been exhilarating. The three week visit to her distant cousin, Naminé, who lived in Twilight Town, was something she had been looking forward to for months, but leaving Sora behind was one of the many things she detested.
And now that she was here, nestled in the circle of his embrace, Kairi couldn't help but feel that this was where she belonged, this was where she wanted to be.
"Come on," Sora eventually said, pulling them out of the perfect bubble they had gotten themselves lost in. "Let me take you home."
Kairi smiled, wanting nothing more than just that. "Okay," she said.
He slung an arm around her waist after picking up one of her bags, and the two of them made their way to the exit of the airport, nestled in each other's arms.
With her head resting on his chest, Kairi could hear Sora's heart beating steadily through his white cotton T-shirt. The sound was music to her ears.
She smiled contentedly to herself, knowing that he didn't really need to drive her anywhere; she was already home.
And now I'll go, sit on floor wearing you clothes
All that I know is I don't know, how to be something you'll miss
I never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever name on my lips
Kairi stared out of the window where she sat on the window seat of her small room, tears streaming down her face. Rain splattered down on the roof heavily, erasing all sound besides the pitter-patter pounding down against the closed window. Her clammy forehead was pressed against the cold glass, her eyes staring down into the dark street.
Her lights were switched off, the small apartment room enshrouded in darkness. Kairi didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore.
The memories flowed into Kairi's mind as she huddled up in the oversized cotton T-shirt, the same one he had been wearing a year ago when she had come back home from Naminé's. It still smelled like him.
She stifled a small cry of pain when she thought of his smell, but buried her face in the fabric and breathed it in nonetheless.
Barely a week had passed after he had left, when Kairi opened her dresser, finally—after days of sleeping and crying—ready to face the world. While she had been searching for something to wear, she found piles and piles of shirts and boxers that belonged to . . . him, that she had slept in and worn around the house countless of times before, but had forgotten to give back.
And then she broke down crying again.
It had been two days since then. She hadn't seen any of her friends for a long time. Right now, she was wearing his oversized shirt and an old jacket he had loaned her a long time ago. She wore it whenever the opportunity presented itself ever since he had given it to her.
I do remember, the swing in your step
The life of the party, you're showing off again
And I roll my eyes and then you'll pull me in
I'm not much for dancing, but for you I did
"Oh, come on, Kairi, it'll be fun!" Sora said as he dragged Kairi behind him. She tried to pull back, shaking her head and opening her mouth to say something, but he silenced her by saying, "Do it for me, please?"
She hesitated. "But, Sora, I don't do parties. You know that! Please don't make me do this," she begged.
Sora paused for a second, watching her. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, he pulled her closer to him, so that her body was welded with his, his lips at her ear.
"What are you doing?" Kairi asked cautiously. She was fighting a shiver when she felt his teeth on her earlobe; she didn't want to show any sign of resignation.
"Convincing you," he replied. "Now shush."
Kairi was about to say something, but stopped short. This should be interesting.
"Please?" he whispered.
Kairi was about to chuckle at his very non-original plea, but the laugh got stuck in her throat when she felt Sora's tongue grazing her earlobe. She couldn't stop herself from shivering this time.
"N-no." Her voice was shaking. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she was suddenly uber-aware of the closeness of his body.
Sora's lips travelled from her ear along her jaw line, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses in their wake. He stopped right under her jaw.
"How about now?"
"Uh-uh."
He moved so that his face was level with hers, kissing her cheek and moving closer and closer to her mouth till his lips were just about to brush the corner of hers, when he stopped.
"Now?"
Kairi shook her head, afraid of how her voice would sound. Her body was trembling, her face flushed with desire and embarrassment. Thank God the streets weren't busy in that particular part of town.
Sora was now nibbling her bottom lip, gently pulling on it and putting the barest amount of pressure of his teeth on the soft flesh.
"Please?" he whispered. "For me?"
Kairi pouted. "You're mean."
Sora chuckled, sending a blast of minty breath over Kairi's face.
"No, mean is being seduced by me."
"Fine!" Kairi almost yelled. She tried to subtly hide her shaking hands by shoving them into the pockets of her sweater. Her breath was shallow and her heart was pounding, but she tried to hide the quiver in her voice. "Fine, I'll go in there, and I'll pretend to have fun. And then, on the way home, I'll torture you."
Sora grinned and pecked her on the lips. "That's my girl."
Kairi refused to say anything as he dragged her with him to the entrance of the local bar, the Usual Spot, as they all called it, where all of their friends were probably already waiting for them. Someone in their class was throwing a party there, and her friends had been trying to get her to go for a week now. It hadn't worked, so Sora had finally just grabbed her and dragged her all the way to his car and practically forced her to get in.
She was determined to show him how much trouble he was in, but, if he noticed, he didn't comment.
When they entered the bar, Sora quickly scanned the people around them, searching for their small group of friends. The music was blaring, and the bar was packed with people, but, in a matter of seconds, they spotted Yuffie, who was waving her arm over her head at them, grinning. Across from her was Riku, with Tidus next to him. Nestled beneath the latter's arm was Yuna, Tidus's girlfriend, grinning at whatever silly thing Tidus had told her.
Kairi waved back at Yuffie when she saw them, her resistance weakening the slightest bit as she considered that this might actually be fun.
Sora made his way through the crowd, dragging Kairi with him by her hand. When they stopped at the edge of the table where their group of friends were, Yuffie jumped up and hugged Kairi.
"Hey, Kai!" she said cheerfully. "You came!"
"With help," Kairi grumbled, but smiled and hugged her friend back. It was impossible not to be happy around Yuffie. Her bubbly energy was contagious.
"Hi, guys," Yuna said, smiling kindly and openly at the young couple. Tidus grinned widely and waved, nodding at the two of them.
"Hey, Sora," Riku said. "Hey, Kairi."
"Hi," Kairi greeted them. She looked around for a second, before asking confusedly, "Where's Vincent?"
Vincent was Yuffie's boyfriend, even though he was slightly older than her. They had been dating for two years now, having hooked up about one year before Sora and Kairi got together.
"He hasn't shown up yet," Yuffie groaned. "He said he might be late because of some sort of delay, but he said he'd be here."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll come, Yuff," Riku said reassuringly. "Maybe he's stuck in traffic right now or something."
"I hope you're right," she sighed. Then she perked up and looked at Kairi. "Hey, Kai," she started, "The winter dance is coming up soon. You coming?" She smirked, knowing what was about to happen.
"Well, you know," Kairi started, about to tell her that she was staying the night in. The whole group knew that she didn't go out much, but they had started to count on Sora to get her to go with them everywhere.
Which is why, at that precise moment, Sora's lips landed on hers, cutting off what she was saying immediately.
She didn't get enough time to react before he was pulling away again.
"Sora!" she said, glancing at her friends, blushing furiously.
"Consider it done," he told Yuffie, ignoring Kairi completely. "You'll take care of getting the tickets? I think I can organize a ride for us somewhere."
Yuffie smiled. "Sure thing." She turned to Yuna. "Yunie, you'll take care of the outfits?"
"Yep," Yuna said cheerfully, smiling.
Yuffie nodded excitedly. "Riku and Tidus, you guys can pay for the drinks and snacks. Kairi, you can fix me and Yunie's hair and make-up."
Kairi's mouth was gaping like a fish. All she wanted was to curl up with a nice book that night, and now she had the entire night already planned out for her within a matter of seconds.
"B-But guys!" she tried to protest.
"Oh, come on, Kai," Riku teased. "Are you really going to be a spoilsport now?"
"Yeah, sheesh," Tidus chimed in, "don't spoil our fun for some random book. No wonder it took you so long to find a boyfriend."
"Tidus!" Kairi exclaimed. Her face was getting hot. She knew this trick. They always guilt her into doing things, and, when they do, the five of them would always end up sleeping in a cell until their parents would pick them up, so she had eventually put her foot down and just said no.
And then came Sora. Now she could never say no.
But she had to try.
"No way. You guys won't do it this time. I'm not going anywhere on that night. I swear, I'll—" She stopped short when she felt teeth nibbling on the skin of her neck. She shuddered as she realized that, while she had been ranting, Sora had moved bury his face in her hair, and was now breathing his warm breath into her ear.
She turned her face into his chest, letting her crimson tresses fall over her flaming face.
"Sora," she gasped, "what the hell are you doing?"
"Well," he whispered, his lips right at her ear, "I won't get to spend an entire night with you at the dance, so now I'm making up for the time we're going to lose."
She tried to push him away, but he was much stronger than her. She could feel Yuna, Yuffie, Tidus and Riku's smug gazes and her, and that only made her feel more embarrassed.
"Stop it!" she tried to tell him, but her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she doubted he could even hear her.
"Will you go to the winter dance with me?" he whispered.
"Yes!" she said loudly, trying to cover up the tremor in her voice. "Yes, I'll go with you! Just stop doing that in front of our friends!"
Instantly, Sora pulled away, and, as soon as she was released from his spell, Kairi buried her burning face in her hands, not looking to see her friends' probing gazes. She felt so exposed at that moment.
"I knew you couldn't resist me," Sora quipped. He was so smug that Kairi turned on him and smacked him hard on the shoulder. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"
"This is your fault!" she told him, trying with all her might to keep the frown on her face.
"Hey, I can't help I'm so ridiculously irresistible."
That was it. Kairi couldn't help it; she smiled and rolled her eyes. "One day, Daniels, I will be immune to your charms. Mark my words."
"Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?"
The group laughed. Kairi had almost forgotten that they had an audience. It was so easy to lose track of time with Sora and forget where she was, even after how long they have been together already.
"Oh, I love this song!" Yuffie suddenly exclaimed. "Hey, Riku, you wanna dance with me? Vince still hadn't shown up yet!" She pouted.
"Yeah, sure, Yuff," Riku said. Yuffie squealed and grabbed Riku's hand, dragging him away from the table, disappearing between the close-packed bodies, Yuna and Tidus following soon after.
Sora looked at Kairi and held his hand out to her. "Well? May I have this dance, ma'am?"
Kairi rolled her eyes at him again. "You're so corny, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, but you still love me," Sora said, grinning.
Kairi pretended to think for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. I do." Then she smiled widely and put on a very fake English accent, saying, "Well, then, sir, if you don't mind having your feet stepped on, I'd be glad to dance."
"Don't worry," Sora said as he pulled her from her seat. "I'll lead."
And he did. When he pulled her into his arms, it was as if the whole world had faded away, and they were the only ones there. Kairi felt like she was walking on air as they glided between the close-packed bodies. The song wasn't slow, but it wasn't that fast, either, and he kept them moving to the beat perfectly.
She found herself melting in his arms.
Honestly, she couldn't dance to save her life, but now, with her head resting on Sora's chest and listening to his breathing, his arms wrapped securely around her waist, Kairi felt like she could do anything if it was for Sora.
She'd follow him through fire, if she had to.
As long as she could just feel his arms around her.
Because I love your handshake, meeting my father
I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets
How you'd kiss me when I was in the middle of saying something
There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions
"Relax, Sora," Kairi told him as he slowly got out of the car. His back was stiff and straight, the hand clenched tightly around Kairi's growing white. His face was completely drained of blood, and he stared at Kairi's house with undisguised horror. "It's not like they're gonna chop you up and serve you for dinner."
"Easy for you to say," Sora muttered. "You don't have to meet my parents. I live alone."
"Yeah, see, I don't get that. You're seventeen—aren't you supposed to have a guardian or something?"
Sora glared at her. "Don't try to change the subject."
Kairi sighed. "My parents aren't that bad," she said, trying to make him feel better. "My dad's a teddy bear. He won't bite."
"It's not your dad I'm worried about," he said, turning his horrified eyes on her.
Before she could ask him what that was supposed to mean, the front door swung open. They had been slowly strolling toward the door, Kairi having to drag Sora to get him to move, and they were now face-to-face with none other than Kairi's mom, Aerith.
For a second, Aerith just stood there, her eyes immediately landing on Sora. The suddenness of her appearance left Kairi stunned into silence, and Sora's eyes were frozen wide open as Kairi's mom stared him down with a probing gaze, studying him with judging eyes.
Sora cringed under her pressing gaze. He started flicking his eyes away from Aerith, looking everywhere but her, but he could still feel two pairs of eyes burning into him.
Kairi cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Um . . . Mom, this is . . . Sora," she said distractedly, worried about how Sora was fidgeting nervously. She could almost swear that she actually saw drops of sweat dewing at the back of his neck. "Um, you know, the guy that gave me a ride home last week? The one I told you about?"
Aerith stared at Sora for two more seconds before finally breaking her gaze and looking at Kairi, a sudden smile breaking over her face.
"Oh, yes, Sora," she said, glancing back at him, this time studying with more interest. Sora visibly relaxed when she said his name, and Kairi smiled. "You're the one Kairi hasn't stopped talking about since you enrolled in Destiny High this semester."
Kairi laughed nervously when Sora looked at her, questioning. "Mom, he's the guy I told you about—the one I said that wants to meet you and Dad."
Aerith grinned mischievously. "Right. That one. Well, Sora, it's a pleasure meeting you," she said, holding her hand out.
Now Sora was beaming, all traces of nerves ebbing away.
"Likewise, Mrs Roberts," he said, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Please, call me Aerith. All Kairi's friends do." When she released Sora's hand, she stepped to the side. "You two don't have to stand out there. Come on inside, Sora."
"Thanks, Mrs . . . I mean, Aerith."
Aerith turned on her heel, heading back down the hall she had come from.
Kairi grimaced internally. So Aerith had been watching them and deliberately opened the door on them. Great. That's just like her. Whatever.
With an exasperated sigh, Kairi grabbed Sora's hand and led him into her house, right on her mom's heels. When they entered, they were immediately met with the smells of food drifting toward them. The first door to the right led to the kitchen, which is where Aerith headed to as soon as the front door had closed behind Sora and Kairi. She started mixing some unknown sauce, smirking at Kairi when she glared at her mother.
With a roll of her eyes, Kairi squeezed Sora's hand and dragged him further down the hallway, toward the living room.
"Don't mind my mom," Kairi said as soon as she was sure Aerith couldn't hear. "She's always like that. Figures that she would buy a house where she could spy on me through the kitchen windows."
Sora chuckled. "She's alright," he remarked. "She seems . . . I don't know. Different. Most moms are usually so protective over their daughters."
Kairi snorted. "She is. You just haven't seen her yet."
"Hey, kiddo!" a voice suddenly boomed, coming from the living room, making both Sora and Kairi jump. Kairi knew, even before she looked up, that her father, Cid, was lounging lazily on one of the couches, his arms spread wide so that Kairi could hug him, like she usually did when she came home from . . . wherever.
But not today.
"Hey, Dad," she said from the entrance of the living room, not bothering to hide Sora's hand gripped in hers. His gaze immediately zeroed in on their hands, his cheerful expression slipping from his face.
"Dad, this is Sora," Kairi said, trying hard to ignore Cid's probing eyes. "He's the guy that just moved here from Radiant Garden. You've heard of him, right?"
Cid didn't answer; he just sat there, studying the two of them. Kairi bit her lip, getting a bit uncomfortable.
Then he sighed heavily and stood up from his seat on the couch. Every footfall seemed like an earthquake to Kairi as Cid came closer to the two of them, his face downcast and serious for a change. She shrunk back until she was almost hiding behind Sora, and could also hear him swallow hard nervously.
Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea after all, Kairi thought to herself. She could probably have stalled the first parent meeting with about two more weeks, right? It wasn't like they were officially dating yet anyway . . .
"You're Sora?" Cid asked, his usually joking and arrogant voice now low and serious.
Sora stuffed his free hand into his pocket and cleared his throat, not meeting Cid's eyes. "Um . . . Yes, sir."
Then he did something Kairi didn't expect: he laughed. "So you're the kid little Kairi here hasn't shut up about since last month, huh?" He laughed again.
Kairi could feel her face flushing as Sora looked at her, this time with amusement. She pressed her face into Sora's shoulder in an attempt to hide her flaming face; he was tall, so she didn't have to move much do just that.
"Dad," she groaned, wishing the flesh at her neck would cool down.
"Well, son," Cid said, ignoring the embarrassed girl completely and directing his amused voice to Sora, "Now that the Roberts' secret personal residence has been revealed to you, we are going to have to kill you."
"Dad!" Kairi exclaimed before Sora could react.
Cid laughed again. "I'm kidding," he told her, glancing at her briefly before looking Sora in the eye and holding his hand out to shake, grinning. "Well, Sora, welcome to this crazy family of ours." He paused, and then whispered dramatically, "Good luck to you, son. Hopefully you'll come out alive."
A smile started to stretch over Sora's features as he gripped Cid's hand firmly. "It's a pleasure to be here, sir," he said. "And I'm sure that I might live long enough to share the story."
Kairi rolled her eyes at how dramatic the two of them were being, her face still a slight pink after her embarrassment.
But she couldn't help but let a smile grace her lips as she watched Sora and her dad shake hands, grinning.
And I'll go, sit on the floor wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don't know how to be something you'll miss.
I never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips
Ohhh . . .
The memories flowed into her mind, having no rhyme or meaning as they came and went. Every precious moment that she treasured, every memory he'd made with her, sent another wave of pain through her chest, making yet another round of sobs burst through her lips. But that didn't stop them from coming.
With a great surge of willpower, Kairi pushed herself up from the seat and pulled herself to her feet. Her legs ached from disuse, and they almost buckled beneath her. By force of will alone did she manage to stand upright, and stumbled over to her bed. The lights were still off, and there was no moon to light the room. Still, Kairi fumbled with her hand next to her bed, searching blindly for her laptop bag under her bed.
Finally finding it, she pulled it up in front of her and took her laptop out, flipping it open and switching it on.
It took only a minute for the desktop screen to flood light into the dark room. The sudden light hurt Kairi's eyes, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore.
Weakly, with next to no enthusiasm, Kairi did the one thing she hadn't done in months: She opened her page on Facebook.
The first thing she noticed was the millions of comments left by her friends: Ones from Selphie and Yuffie, Yuna, Rikku. Some were left by Leon, Tifa, Riku, Tidus, and even Cloud, though they were more . . . his friends than they were ever hers, aside from Riku and Tidus, and maybe Tifa. Doubled as many personal messages were left in her mail, thought these were more sent by Naminé and her parents, as well as Roxas, Naminé's boyfriend. Kairi didn't bother with any of those, and instead went to her list of friends, scanning the list for one person only: Sora Daniels.
She never found it.
Tears once again leaked down her face. A knot twisted in her stomach, and she felt like she was going to be sick. It took no more than a minute to sign out and delete her account. Kairi knew that it was something she would never even think of doing under different circumstances, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore.
Recalling her friend's login details, Kairi logged onto Yuffie's page, and searched for Sora on her friend list. She tried to ignore the stab of hurt she felt when she found it. She clicked on his name, and his page flashed before her. Without hesitation, she went to his photo gallery and scanned over the recently added pictures.
What she found made her heart clench with agony. She slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the cry that bubbled up in her throat.
All of their old photos have been removed and replaced by new ones, in a place she didn't recognize. His piercing eyes stared at the camera, a bright, dazzling smile beaming out at her. He was laughing, with his arm looped around the waist of a girl with short black hair. Her eyes were a dark blue that almost looked grey, and she had a happy smile on her face, one Kairi knew she had once had herself.
Other photos were of Sora and these guys she didn't recognize; one guy with shoulder-length hair that was—of all colours—pink (Kairi almost giggled at the sight, but soon reality crashed down on her once again); one was an emo-looking guy that looked so scary that she didn't even linger on him; there was a girl with short blonde hair . . .
More tears filled Kairi's eyes. He looked so happy.
So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep
And I'll feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe
And I'll keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are
I hope it's nice where you are
Without taking her eyes off the screen of her laptop, Kairi reached out her arm and grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table next to the bed, flipping it open and scrolling down her contacts. When she found the one she was looking for, she pressed the call button before she could stop herself and held the phone to her ear.
It rang three times before a very familiar voice answered, saying, "Kairi. How are you?"
"Hey, Riku," she answered. Her voice was scratchy from lack of use, and broke in the most strangest of places. "I'm dealing, I guess."
"I haven't seen you in two weeks. Yuffie is getting real worried, and Tidus tells me that you are all Yuna talks about. Where have you been?"
"Here and there," Kairi tried to say jokingly, but the tremble in her voice showed Riku just how much she was hurting.
There was a slight pause, where she could tell Riku wasn't sure what to say. Kairi knew that one word could break her in the fragile state she was in now, and that she shouldn't have put Riku in this situation where he could be the reason that she would be cut off from the world for goodness only knows how much longer. But this was something she had to do.
Gathering all her strength, she fought to keep her voice steady before asking softly, almost in a whisper, "How is he?"
The other end of the line went utterly still for a few seconds. Kairi was about to just give up and curl into ball and cry her eyes out again when Riku said hesitantly, almost sounding afraid, "I'm not sure. He . . . he hasn't talked to me much yet . . . but he's . . ."
Riku was struggling to choose his words. Kairi could tell.
Riku sighed. "He's not . . . doing too well," he finally said.
Kairi was afraid of how her voice would sound by now. A lump rose in her throat, and she struggled to swallow back the tears that filled her already-wet eyes.
He was probably just trying to make her feel better. He had no idea that she was looking at his photos right this second. He didn't know that she had already seen the little black-haired girl that looked so happy in Sora's arms. Riku had no idea that Kairi had called his number again and again, but it kept going to voicemail, and then, after a while, it didn't even ring at all anymore.
He didn't know that she knew he was lying.
"Kairi?" Riku's voice asked worriedly. Kairi clung to the sound of his voice so that she could attempt to compose herself before answering with, "Yeah, I'm here."
And before he had a chance to register the hysterical edge to her voice, she went on with, "I gotta go. I'll talk to you again later," and hung up.
Just as the line disconnected, Kairi let go of the tears she had been holding in with all her might and pressed her face into her pillow, and cried.
And I hope the sun shines, and it's a beautiful day
And something reminds you, you wish you had stayed
You can plan for a change in the weather and town
But I never planned on you changing you mind
When her eyes were aching and her head was pounding from crying, Kairi shut her computer off. She got up and clumsily grabbed one of the jeans she had worn a few days ago, and pulled it on over Sora's boxers with the Pokémon balls printed on. It was the one that he had been so embarrassed about when she first found it in his apartment in his futile attempt at cleaning the place before she showed up, around the time when they first got together. She had found it stuffed under an oversized couch pillow, along with a whole bunch of other dirty clothes hidden in all sorts of places.
When he saw her raised brow and the thing hanging off the tip of her finger, he had blazed red and grabbed it from her, this time trying to stuff it into one of his pockets.
He had looked so cute that Kairi burst out laughing—and kept on laughing for another half hour.
Since that day, she had declared it as her favourite, even after Sora had tried to burn it from existence.
Presently, Kairi almost cracked the barest of smiles as she recalled the memory—one of their moments together that was the closest to her heart.
With this in mind, she grabbed the guitar that Sora had bought her back when she had been halfway through her guitar lessons. She had always wanted one, and always complained that she didn't have enough money to buy her own.
Which is when Sora started to save tons of money, with the help of Yuna and Yuffie, and bought her one for her seventeenth birthday.
In the two years after that, Kairi had learned to play the guitar perfectly, and was soon writing her own songs and singing them at special occasions like weddings and parties and stuff like that.
Right now, she was placing her guitar carefully in its case and wrapping plastic around it, making sure that it was shut securely before grabbing an umbrella and going out into the pouring rain, her destination the park that was two blocks over.
There was no one else in the dark, wet street, which was good to Kairi. She didn't need to hide her pain where the endless rainstorm kept her locked away in her own private bubble.
So I'll go, sit on the floor wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don't know how to be something you'll miss
I never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips
"Just like our last kiss," Kairi's voice was soft and teary as she sung the words, her fingers strumming her guitar in a slow tune. With every word that she sang, a new memory came to the forefront of her mind. The rain almost completely drowned out her voice, the small space under the shelter she had sought in the deserted park not really doing much too keep her hair from getting damp and curly around her face.
"Forever the name on my lips," she almost whispered. "Forever the name on my lips . . ."
She was now struggling to keep her composure, her breath trembling and tears streaming steadily down her cheeks.
But she had to finish.
"Just like our last . . ."
Then, as she let out the last trembling line and released a shuddering breath, Kairi slowly and painfully let him go.
...
A/N: I hope it wasn't that bad. Some of these parts totally suck in my opinion. It was no fun writing the part of the party, and I'm not too happy with the ending, either. I hope you guys liked it, though :o)
Please be so kind as to leave a review on your way out :D