Five years ago…

It was Labor Day weekend. I was seventeen at the time.

"That'll be 24.16, hun."

"Thank ya, ma'am."

I stopped at a gas station to fill up my tank and get a coke, and I was on my way to the county fair that was a couple of miles down the road.

After paying, I returned to my truck to find my buds wrestling in my truck bed, causing my truck to wobble and make a creaking noise that I didn't like. Axel was pulling at Riku's long silver hair, Riku had his foot on Roxas's back, and Roxas was on top of the other two guys.

"What's goin' on here?" I yelled over the commotion.

"Tidus 'n Wakka started it!" Roxas said.

Back then, Wakka was the biggest fella in our group in both height and size. He had the stockiness and strength of a bull, and his red hair looked like it was licked by a cow. Tidus had the similarities of both Roxas and me—with the spiky hair, lean body, and what not—except both he and Roxas have blonde hair while I have brown.

"Ya take too long payin' fer some gas, Sora," said Wakka. He lifted himself from the truck bed, causing Roxas to topple over Riku and Axel. "Tidus 'n I were bored, so we picked on lil' spiky."

Tidus dusted himself off. "Riku got out from the front ta see wha's goin' on, but we all ended up in one big ol' pile."

"Wow. What fun, fellas," I said, rolling my eyes, "but we're goin' to the fair, so clean up yer shirts if ya don't wanna have the girls lookin' at ya like the pigpen was where ya last been."

"Awright, MAMA," said Axel. He slapped Riku in the rear. "Get back in the front of the wagon, silver surfer."

"Lay off the goods, ya ginger!" Riku retorted. He climbed into the shotgun seat next to me. "Wakka is too much of a jock fer us sometimes. Makin' us wrestle wit each other like we all some animals fightin' in one room."

"Y'all are fools, tha's what it is," I said. "Let's get a move on. Fair started an hour 'go 'n I don't want 'em runnin' outta fried chicken."

It took us ten minutes to get from the gas station to the fair because of two reasons: one, because we ran into a cow crossing, and two, because my truck doesn't go fast at all. I don't know why I still have that thing to this day.

When we arrived, the parking lot was completely packed with cars. Many of them looked as old and rusty as my truck while a few others were looking like they were brand new from the dealership, most likely belonging to the folks from nearby Memphis. With no spaces left, we drove into the field and parked next to a large tree hoping no animals would crawl into the truck. We found two squirrels mating with each other on the driver's seat one time.

The gravel was crunching underneath our feet when we were walking through the parking lot towards the fair. The sun was beginning its descent, so we were able to see some of the lights shining from the carousel and the ferris wheel. We could hear children screaming and people laughing from beyond the fence behind the ticket counter, and the ticket counter had two very long lines in front of it.

"Wonder where Roxy's lil' blondie is," said Axel. "Maybe she decided to ditch 'im 'n headed into the fair without 'im since we took forever in Sora's turtle truck."

"How rude!" said Tidus.

"She ain't like that, fellas," said Roxas. "Only known that girl fer a week 'n I know she wouldn't hurt the feelin's of a gnat."

Riku climbed on top of a nearby van and began to search the front of the fair. "I see her, y'all! Up there, middle of the ticket line!"

We ran up to her, ignoring all the people behind us grumbling about how we were skipping the line.

"Hey, Nam," Roxas greeted, giving her a hug.

"Hey, Roxas!" she replied. "And hello to you all! I thought you would have been here before me."

"Not in my truck," I said. "I had to fill 'er up along the way. Added more time to our travel."

Wakka sighed. "I don't get why they only got two lines runnin' for this fair. They get backed up er'ry year 'n make us folks wait too long ta get in!"

"That's why I had my sister get in the other line," said Naminé. "If she gets to the front of the line before me, I'll just move over there, and vice versa."

"Visa ver-wha?" we all said, confused. We didn't have a wide vocabulary at the time.

"Vice versa? You know, like flip-flop? It would be the same the other way around?"

We just nodded in agreement in response.

"All that matters is Nami gots a sis!" cheered Axel. "What she look like?"

"Well, we are twins—"

Axel shot his hands to the air. "They similar in beauty! And sixteen!"

"What you tryna say 'bout my girl?" Roxas grumbled. "Tryna bark at her like the dog you are? And you is nineteen! Go find a woman, not a girl!"

"Nah, I ain't a girl stealer, 'specially to my bud! 'N I can get any woman I want. Watch me someday 'n learn from the best."

"How come you came to your grampa's by yourself last year?" Riku asked Naminé. "If you gots a sis, why she not come wit you?"

She sighed. "It's complicated."

"Well, my ma always taught me to never leave a miss by herself," I said. "Where is she? I'mma keep her company."

"That should be here over there," Naminé answered, pointing to a redheaded girl whose back was turned to us.

Wakka and Tidus looked lost. "She ya twin?" asked Wakka.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Why ya hair two very different colors?"

"Lookin' like mine," said Axel, glancing at his hair.

"How I look, Riku?" I asked, turning to my best friend.

"Like a boy straight from the chicken farm," he said. He pushed me a little. "Now, get over there!"

I started to make my way over to the redhead. When I got closer, I was able to see from her halter top that she had a suntan line on her back. Her red hair stopped right at the base of her neck, and she had skinny legs coming out from her jean shorts. I was about to say hey when I felt something splatter on the front of my shirt.

"Sora!" I heard a familiar voice call beside me. "I been callin' yer name, yet it took somethin' to hit ya ta get yer attention?"

I looked down at my shirt. There was a tiny barbeque stain on it.

"Aw, c'mon, Hayner!" I whined back. "I got a white shirt on!"

"Lick it off!" Hayner responded. "I was kind in the first place tryna say hello, but you was ignorin' me."

"You should chuck some mud at his camo pants or put a bug in his blonde hair, let it crawl all over his spikes," suggested the brown-haired girl next to him. "Make 'im pay!"

"You betta hush, Olette!"

"Where's Pence?" I asked.

"I made 'im go throw away the barbeque I was eatin' after I threw the sauce at ya," Hayner answered. "Boy needs some exercise, anyway. Sittin' around munchin' on cheese and potatoes all day wit his mum."

"Y'all wanna meet up later? Got the guys wit me and Nam."

"Awright. River by the railroad when it gets dark."

I bumped fists with him. I tried to get the new stain off my shirt by licking my thumb and rubbing it on the stain, but all it seemed to do was spread it. It did fade a little, though.

I got behind the redhead and tapped her shoulder. When she turned to me and stared with wide, sparkling violet eyes, my heart was going skippity-doo-da. She had a perfect complexion, and the slightly red lipstick she wore stood out on her lightly bronzed skin.

"Can I help you?" she said. Her somewhat proper voice told me that she was from a place up north, just like Naminé.

"Er, um, yeah," I stammered. I was too thrown back by her nice face, and it took a while for my brain to catch a grip on reality. "Uh, I mean, no."

She smiled. "I wouldn't be much help to you in the first place. I'm not from around here at all. I just got here yesterday morning."

"Really? I been here all my life."

"You live in a very nice town."

"You Naminé's sis?"

"Yes. You know her? I'm here visiting her and my grandfather."

"Yeah. I'm a friend, 'n I'm her fella's cousin. She just told us you was here in the other line, 'n I reckon a young miss shouldn't be all alone." I put my hand out to her. "Name's Sora."

"It's nice to meet you, Sora," she said, shaking my hand. "I'm Kairi."

What a beautiful name, I thought.

"You'll meet the rest of the guys later," I told her. "We all run wit Nam."

"She told me that almost all her friends are male." She paused, looking at my chest. "What happened to your shirt?"

Dang, she noticed. "When I was walkin' to ya, a bud of mine threw barbeque sauce at me 'cause I wasn't payin' attention to his words. Tried lickin' it off wit my thumb, but it ain't work."

She giggled. I liked hearing that. "Anyone could've told you licking doesn't work!"

"Nam says she from Connecticut. You from there, too?"

"Yep! Born and raised there. New York is our next door neighbor."

"I never been anywhere outside Tennessee. Me n' Riku crossed into Mississippi once, but that don't count 'cause we was there for only ten seconds 'fore we turned around."

"You've only been here in Colliersville?"

"Uh huh. Prob'ly goin' nowhere else, too!"

Kairi was silent for a moment. I thought I said something wrong until she said, "You're not missing out on much. You're fine where you are."

"What you mean? The city is where all the money at."

"That's not really what I mean, but look! We're almost at the front of the line."

"Oh, I betta tell the guys!" I look over to the other line, but I noticed they were gone. "Wha? Where'd they all go?"

"They probably got to the front before us and we didn't notice."

I clenched my fists. "Rude! Coulda said somethin' to us!"

"It's all right. We'll be going in there shortly."

It took us another couple of minutes to get to the counter and get our tickets. We didn't say much during that short wait, only going as far as wondering what kinds of booths were going to be in the fair. I was constantly thinking about how Kairi was my kind of pretty, and I promised myself that if she were to ever be in a kissing booth, I'd be the first in line and would stay there until somebody had to literally kick me out of the booth. I was very physically attracted to this northern girl.

We entered the fair and found the boys and Naminé standing outside the bathrooms. Upon seeing them, I ran up to Riku and flicked him in the head.

"Why you gotta do that for!" he cried.

"Y'all went up ahead 'n ain't say nothin'!" I said. "Y'all made us wait!"

Tidus wrapped his arm around my neck. "Well, it looked to us that you wouldn't mind if we left ya there with the missy. Ya should be thankin' us fer bein' so considerate."

"All we was doin' was talkin'!"

"Leave my cuz alone, fellas," Roxas butted in. "Besides, it's the first time he was talkin' to a girl, anyway!"

All the guys started to snicker and jab at me. I was glad that Naminé and Kairi went into the bathroom and weren't hearing what the guys were saying about my lack of communication with females.

…

The sun was beginning to disappear, bringing out the sailor's sky. Naminé and Kairi had earlier split off from our group so that Naminé could show her sister around, and Roxas had tagged along with them just to be with his girl. Axel, Tidus, Wakka, Riku, and I went around the fair and hit all the small rides except for the ferris wheel, and we ended up at our friend Aerith's booth, who 'til this day makes the best fried chicken in the world.

"How're my favorite boys?" she asked us sweetly, giving us each a sizzling piece of her fried chicken.

"We good, Miss Aerith!" we said in unison.

We walked throughout the fair and had Wakka try the strength contest. He swung the hammer down as hard as he could, but the glowing bar went only halfway up the pole. We then had Axel, who had the skinniest arms among our group, give the contest a try, and to our surprise the glowing bar went all the way up to the top. He won himself a stuffed teddy bear, and we made sure Wakka was going down the walk of shame.

Riku and Tidus wanted to go back on this ride called the Scrambler that turned the riders around and around in a fast circle, but I wasn't too keen on getting dizzy again, so I broke off from the guys and walked towards the fountain that was in the middle of the fair. I pulled a coin out of my pocket and wished for nothing in particular but to have a good time, then I tossed it into the water. When the coin sank to the bottom, it landed on heads.

Behind the fountain was the ferris wheel. It wasn't a tall ferris wheel (the top was probably only fifty feet off the ground), but the flashing lights made it seem like the best ride in the fair. When I got closer, I spotted a familiar head of red hair standing by herself away from the line.

"What you doin' by yourself?" I asked her.

Kairi jumped in surprise. I did come up from behind her, after all.

"Jeez, Sora! Give a girl a warning before you come out of nowhere," she said. "I'm waiting for Naminé and Roxas. They're riding the ferris wheel."

"They ain't invite you?"

"I'm not the one to interrupt."

I grabbed her hand. That surprised her as well. "Then will ya go wit me?"

She looked down at our hands, then back up to me. A faint blush was forming on her cheeks, and she seemed hesitant. Without waiting for an answer, I dragged her into the line.

When we were next to get in the cart, I felt someone pull my left ear. It was Naminé.

"Sora!" she yelled. "You could've waited to tell me you were going to take Kairi!"

"Aw, c'mon, I ain't do nothin' wrong!" I said.

"She was in panic mode fer the past five minutes, cuz," said Roxas. "She thought Kairi ran off somewhere and got lost."

I heard Kairi laugh behind me. "Don't worry, Nami," she said. "We'll be with you in a bit."

"We'll wait for you by the fountain," Naminé replied. She then went to whisper something in Kairi's ear, which caused the redhead sister to quickly push the giggling blonde away.

"I see you, cuz! Getting' down already," I heard Roxas whisper into my ear. I pushed him away, too.

We got into the cart and sat on opposite sides. On our way up, it felt a little awkward because Kairi was looking in every possible direction but at me. She was playing with her hands, and it was a common occurrence to see her slide back a loose strand of hair that fell in front of her face.

"Kinda fidgety, ain't we?" I said, leaning back.

"Um, a little," she answered. "I'm not very good with heights, and—well, never mind."

"C'mon, spill."

She blushed again. She paused before saying, "It's nothing. I'm just nervous I might fall."

"Aw, you ain't gonna fall. You'll only fall if the cart went like this!"

I grabbed the sides of the cart and started rocking back and forth. Kairi immediately latched onto the railing, screaming and laughing at the same time.

"What are you doing!" she yelled. "You might break this thing!"

"I'll only break it if I do this!" I then rocked the cart side to side.

"Sora! Stop! Stop it right now!"

I stopped. The cart continued to swing with the momentum I gave it.

"I'm about to have a heart attack," Kairi gasped. Her hands were still gripped onto the railing.

"Just breathe, Kairi. You gonna be fine. I ain't swingin' it no more."

I looked over at the fountain. Everyone was standing there watching, including Hayner, Olette, and the chubby Pence. They were all laughing at us.

"Now they know Kairi's a fraidy cat," I said.

"What? I'm not!" she claimed.

"Then let go of the railin'!"

"No way!"

"Then you're jus' provin' what they see."

She must have realized that since she glanced at the fountain and saw them watching. She looked up at me.

"You're not going to rock it again?"

"I promise."

She slowly let go and returned to her seat. Suddenly, she burst out laughing.

"How exhilarating," she said.

I had no idea what that word meant, so I just smiled.

…

The day turned to night, but the fair was still at full swing. All the lights were on, transforming the fair into a light show at the edge of a field. There was live music being played in the center of the fair, and many of the people were dancing in circles.

Our group and Hayner's trio hopped over the fence at the back of the fair and ran through the forest towards the river. We all, except for the girls, were racing to see who would get to the river first even though we knew that Wakka would win. Riku would sometimes pull ahead, but Wakka had that last burst of energy to leave us all in the dust.

The river is always a spectacular sight to see. The water is calm and clear, the crickets never stop chirping, and at night the moon reflects off the water's surface. On our side of the river is the pier Riku and I built with our fathers when I was twelve and he was thirteen, and on the other side of the river are railroad tracks. The fish like to jump out of the water and create small ripples.

When we reached Wakka at the end of the pier, we followed our tradition by tossing the loser into the river, which always happened to be Pence. We then stripped of our shirts and followed him in. The water felt cool on my skin after being out in the sun all day. When we got too cold and felt tired from treading water, we swam to shore towards the girls. Roxas naturally made his way to Naminé with Axel, Tidus, and Wakka in tow, Hayner and Pence went straight to Olette, and I found myself going to Kairi with Riku behind me.

"Shoulda came in the water wit us!" I said to her, shaking my hair like a dog. She backed away and started giggling. "It feels great!"

"Maybe another time," she said. "I don't have the proper clothing on."

"Ya don't need any! Just take off the top stuff then hop on in!"

Riku then thwacked me in the head. "You stupid? She a girl!" he said. He turned to Kairi. "How long you gonna be in Tennessee for?"

"For two months," she replied, "or until whenever my parents decide to come get me."

"Why can't ya stay here like Nam does?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, since ya new to this town, wanna come out 'n tend to the horses wit me 'n Sora tomorrow? We can pick ya up from yer grampa's."

"I don't see why not. I'm not doing anything."

"Great! We'll getcha at noon." Riku slapped me on the back, causing me to cough. "Sora would enjoy some company other than me."

"Definitely," I gasped.

"Hey, you three!" Tidus hollered from the shoreline. "Ya missin' out on good skippin' stones! Get down here!"

Riku ran right over. I looked at Kairi, who seemed confused. "Ever skipped rocks before?"

"I've never heard of it," she answered. We then heard Naminé cheer. She probably beat Roxas in a skip.

"C'mon, I'll teach ya. It's easy!" We reached a spot next to Riku, who had already created a pile of skipping stones for himself. I snuck a few from his pile and gave a couple to Kairi. "Put your thumb on the bottom and a finger on top. Squat down a lil', then throw like a frisbee!" I thought mine skipped pretty far out, but then I saw Riku's go way past mine. I grumbled under my breath, but he heard me and bumped his chest like a victorious gorilla.

When Kairi threw, hers immediately sank. She tried again, getting the same results. "I don't think I'm going to get this right."

"Yeah huh! Ya throwin' it all wrong. Don't throw your arm downward. Keep straight!"

Again, she failed. And again, and again, and again. Riku was beginning to complain about how his rock pile was getting smaller.

"I can't do it," she huffed. "You make it seem so simple. I just can't get it."

"Here, lemme take over."

I practically hugged her from behind. I put my arms on top of hers so I could control her movements. Being so close to her, I felt my face heat up and my heart beat harder. I was hoping she wasn't feeling my heart pounding through my chest onto her back.

Stay cool, Sora.

"Loosen up a lil', 'n let go of the rock when I say go." I put her into position. "I'm gonna swing ya arm sideways real fast. Ready… Go!"

She released it at the exact point. The rock skipped several times over the water before dropping near where Riku's stopped. I quickly let go of her before everyone turned to us and cheered for Kairi.

"Yeah, sister!" yelled Naminé.

"Ya throw betta than Wakka!" said Tidus. He was hit in the head by a stone shortly after.

"See? Easy," I told her.

"It is simple!" she said back. She picked up a stone and threw it perfectly. It skipped over the water. "It doesn't go as far as when you helped me, though."

"It's 'cause I got that man power, ma'am." I flexed my arms. She laughed in return.

"Ma'am? Please, I'm nowhere close to being a ma'am. Not even a miss. Just Kairi is fine."

"All ladies should get that respect. Tha's what my mama always told me!"

"Oh, so you're a mama's boy?"

I cringed. I didn't like that title. "Now, hold on. I ain't say all that."

She laughed again. "It's all right, Sora! I'm flattered. But, from now on, I'm Kairi."

"Okay, Kairi." I smiled. I skipped a rock, colliding it with Riku's so that his would sink early. He cussed, and I mentally cheered. "Riku 'n I are comin' back out here tomorrow after we finish wit the horses. Ya more than welcome to join!"

"It depends on how late it will be by then. I don't want my grandfather being all worried about me when I'm not around Nam."

"Gramps knows us well, fer sure!" Riku chimed in. "He know he ain't got nothin' to worry about."

"We'll ask 'im when we get to the farm tomorrow," I said. "But it looks like Kairi will be wit us all day!"

"Kairi will be our new best friend after tomorrow. She ain't gotta clue who she hangin' out wit!"

She hesitated, seemingly nervous. She gave both Riku and I a once-over, looked over at Naminé, looked back at us, then smirked.

"Let's just hope I don't pick up your accent!"

For the rest of the night we skipped rocks and watched the train roll by. When I got home, I pulled out another coin from my pocket and remembered the one I tossed into the fountain. I flipped this one, and it also landed on heads. I thanked my luck for the good day.

-If any of you aren't familiar with the term "sailor's sky," it refers to a red sunset. It goes along with the weather lore: "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."
-Hope this chapter was enjoyable. I wonder how you all feel with the Kingdom Hearts characters having country accents.
-Leave a review if you'd like. They are greatly appreciated, but are unforced.