No excuses. I just suck. Sorry about that. I won't promise to do better. My life resembles a black abyss filled with classes, work at the paper and making endless designs and taking countless pictures. I apologize.
So, this chapter. Not much to say. Riku kinda gets the shaft in terms of words from his point of view. Opps.
I imagine about two or three more updates. Probably two and a mini epilogue. Woo?
x.x.x…Wrong Number…x.x.x.
You're my (favorite) mistake.
x…X…3…X… x
Saturday night came and passed, almost as quickly as Sunday afternoon. Sora sat on his bed and watched the seconds tick away. It had been almost a full 24 hours since Kairi had taken his phone away from him and at least 16 since he had gotten it back in his possession. He sat on his bed, phone in hand, hoping Riku would text him. As badly as Sora wanted to text the boy, he couldn't bring himself to actually form words.
As he stared at the phone, it began to vibrate. He sighed as he realized it was only Axel calling. "Hello?" a hint of disappointment lingered in his voice.
"Hey, sexy. I'm bored, wanna watch a movie or something?" Axel said.
"Uh…well I'm kinda not up for much movement, and I really should be wrapping presents…" it wasn't that Sora didn't want to hang out with his friends, it was that Sora wanted to sit around and feel sorry for himself for a while. Sometimes he liked sulking. Sometimes he thought he was crazy.
"I'll come over there. I'm reeeally bored…"Axel's voice sounded different than usual. Usually, Axel was peppy and rambunctious, but now, he seemed a bit—calm.
"How can you be bored?" Sora found a pencil from his nightstand and twirled it in his fingers. "Isn't Roxas over or something?"
"Well, not exactly," a silence came over the conversation. "Can I just come over?"
Sora took in everything that was going on. After a few seconds of assessing the situation, he concluded that Axel needed him at the moment. Sora, who liked to feel needed, responded, "Yeah, just come up to my room. Bring Superbad."
"Thanks, Sora. See you soon," Axel hung up with phone without a goodbye.
Sora was getting nothing but a bad feeling from the entire situation. He knew there was a problem and he knew he would be stuck in the middle of it. His mental capacity was about full and he definitely couldn't handle his two best friends fighting.
As his mind ran through all the possible problems the couple could be having, Sora's phone vibrated. He flipped the phone open and smiled as he read:
"Did you die? I haven't heard from you since yesterday."
Finally, after hours of debating whether or not to text Riku, the decision was made for him. If only all life decisions could be made as easily. His thumbs flew over the keyboard as he typed, "Sorry. My friend stole my phone and wouldn't let me text. Long night. What's up?"
Sora, who had never got dressed that day, decided to stay in his pajamas. It was only Axel coming over. Besides, Sora now had better things to do. He turned on the stereo and sprawled out on his bed. After a glance to his phone, he concluded that he had about 15 minutes before Axel would arrive. Plenty of time to have a decent text convo with Riku.
Meanwhile, Riku was doing much the same. Sundays were his usual day off of work. He spent them with his art or a good game, but tonight Leon was coming over, without Cloud. Apparently, Cloud had taken off to New York for Christmas. Riku didn't mind. At least he would have someone to hang out with.
The silveret looked at Sora's response. He had hoped that Sora wasn't ignoring him. Riku had hoped that something like a friend stealing a phone had happened. He didn't feel like being left out. "I'm just sitting at home. No work today."
"Really? Nothing to do on your day off?" He liked talking to Riku. Even if it wasn't really "talking," Sora felt like he had a friend. He hoped one day he wouldn't feel awkward while texting Riku. Sora still felt like he was at that stage where he was interrupting Riku's existence. Then again, Riku was texting back…
"My friend Leon's coming over later. His boyfriend is in NYC or something. We'll probably play Halo." Riku's text read. Sora mentally smacked himself. Of course Riku had something to do. The guy seemed cool enough, and he had an amazing job. Sora re-read his text. He paused as he soaked in the fact that Riku had friends who were gay. His mind wondered for a moment as he realized if Riku had gay friends, there was a slight possibility Riku could be gay himself. Sora then realized it had been quite some time since he had Riku anything and quickly responded with, "Yeah, Axel's coming over. I think he's having problems with his boyfriend. I'm really not up for drama."
Riku snickered at Sora's response. The silveret remembered how his and Sora's friendship started a few days ago over a mix up with Axel. He also remembered how Sora had called this Axel character sexy. "Oh…yeah. He's the one who was sexy. Think they broke up?"
Sora shifted uncomfortably. The thought of his two best friends breaking up didn't sit well with him. "I hope to God not. I think my whole world would crumble." It would. He would explode if he had to choose between Roxas or Axel as a friend. He shook his head, pleading that they hadn't separated.
"I know the feeling. Cloud and Leon have been together for like 5 years. You know, you calling this dude sexy all the time's probably confusing the shit out of him." Sora read the words and literally laughed out loud.
"You obviously don't know Axel and I very well. Roxas and I are second cousins. He would never take me seriously. He sees me as practically family." Sora wrote to Riku.
Riku read the words. He wondered how someone could be so blind to what was going on. He had just met Sora and he had already caught on. Riku shrugged and decided it was something Sora had to figure out on his own. "Well, I hope for the best. Ready for Christmas?"
"Not in the least. Have to go to my grandma's all night tomorrow. Have to wrap until I die tonight. You?" The thought of Christmas made Sora shudder. He loved the holiday, just hated the preparations. He knew his mom would have him up all night baking and wrapping and cleaning and decorating. The prospect of Axel being here to alleviate some of the Christmas hell actually seemed quite inviting now.
"It's not a big thing around my house. We just got eat at my aunt's and that's about it." Riku wished he had plans other then working, hanging with Leon and cleaning. It seemed like that's all he could do. Here he was, almost 19, living at home with no social life. That's when Riku decided what his next text to Sora would be.
Just as Sora received Riku's text, the brunet heard Axel downstairs conversing with his mother. Sora wanted to talk to Riku, but knew if he was caught texting the boy with Axel in the room…well, it would not be a pretty sight. "Axel's here. I'll text you later."
Riku read the text and took a deep breath as he typed as quickly as he could: "Want to hang out sometime this week, maybe?"
Sora looked down at his phone and up at the approaching Axel. The brunet shoved his phone into his pocket and ran to the bathroom. He could get at least minute or two of privacy in there. He read Riku's text and smiled. Sora had wanted to meet Riku. It was kind of weird talking to someone you've never met… "Sounds good. I'll be at the mall tomorrow around 2 to shop. Is that good?" Sora had always heard that when meeting someone for the first time, one should meet them during the day at a busy place, and the mall Christmas Eve was about as busy as a place gets.
"Yes. I work until 1. Meet me at Chapel Hill in the food court. We'll work out the details later when you have time," Riku was happy to get that out there. He needed friends that didn't want in each other's pants and meeting at the mall couldn't be that bad of an idea. At least he knew people there if Sora turned out to be some creep.
"K. I have to go. Axel's here. Text you later." Sora powered off his cell. If Axel noticed the device so much and light up he would take it and ruin everything Sora had built. He exited the bathroom and walked to his room. There sat Axel on Sora's bed, except the man didn't seem like himself. He was wearing pajama pants and a hoodie that was too big for his build. His normally perfect red hair lay in shambles.
Axel looked at Sora and managed a smile, "Hey." No rude remark, no weird sentiment, nothing. Just a hello.
Sora took a seat next to his friend. "You're not ok." Sora didn't waste time questioning. He knew something was wrong.
"Wow, get right to the punch don't cha?" Axel rubbed the back of his neck. Axel saw Sora looking directly at him. The red head took a deep breath. "Roxas…broke up with me."
"What?!" Sora's voice shrieked. "I mean, why…no…Are you lying to me?" He mentally cursed Riku for even mentioning the idea of his two best friends breaking up.
Axel sprawled himself out on Sora's bed and nodded. "Yes, he broke up with me, and why," he chuckled. "Why is a whole other story."
"Well, you did ask to come over…," Sora slightly pushed Axel over so he could sit on the bed. He thought about putting a comforting arm around his friend, but he decided Axel wasn't the type for comforting arm hugs. "Axel, you guys have been dating since…I don't even remember. Something had to happen."
The redhead turned and faced Sora. His eyes looked different; they were focused on Sora. "There's been something happened, for a while now," another sigh. "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes, of course I do," Sora nodded. "Roxas is my cousin and you're my best friend. I'm sure I'll find out eventually, but I'm kinda wondering why you're not bawling on the floor right now. I mean I would be if it had happened to me…So yes, I really want to know."
"Just, don't think differently about me, OK?" a hint of worry lingered in his eyes.
"Of course not," Sora said.
Axel sat up and pushed himself to the edge of the bed. He let his legs hang over the side and kicked at the ground. "It's been going on for a while, like I said. I guess I never realized how much it bothered him…or how much it really meant to me." He stopped speaking.
Sora debated whether or not he should interject, but he decided to keep quiet. Axel didn't often confide in him, in fact he didn't often confide in anybody, but Sora knew this was one of those things you needed to discuss with someone close to you.
After a minute or two, Axel continued. "You know all those times I would…I guess you would say flirt with you?"
Sora froze. He suddenly knew exactly what direction this story was going in. "You don't actually…"
"Yeah," Axel was rather calm and not looking at Sora. He stared at the ground. "I mean, I didn't mean anything by it at first, but I guess Roxas thought I did. He talked to me about it before. He told me to stop, but I didn't. I was just messing around.
"Then this Riku kid came out of nowhere. I was talking to Roxas earlier about the whole thing. He kept telling me to shut up about it and it wasn't any of my business, but I couldn't stop. I was just worried about him turning out to be some pedo.
"Then Roxas kinda blew up. He said he was sick of hearing me whine about it and flirt with you. He just went off. I don't remember everything he said; it must have been a lot of built up stuff. In the end, he said that if I liked talking about you so much then I could just date you."
Axel finished. Sora sat. It was an awkward moment. Sora didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure what Axel actually thought. Did Axel like him? The idea raced through his mind. He couldn't date Axel, or not date him for a while. It would piss off Roxas. Sora stopped that train of thought and started a new one: Why the hell am I thinking about dating Axel?
The whole situation bewildered the high school senior. A few minutes ago he had never considered Axel as anything more than Roxas' boyfriend, and now, now he was considering dating him.
Before things got even more confusing, Sora had to ask, "Do you want to date me?"
Axel looked up and met Sora's eyes. He smiled. "I don't know," he said, "but I do think you're cute."
Sora shook his head and he placed it in his hands. "OK, fine. Then do you like me, I mean, as more than just friends?" He muttered something along the lines of "Roxas is going to kill me."
Axel picked up on Sora's quiet muttered. "He's not going to kill you. He said he figured out that I liked you and vice versa a while ago. He just didn't want to kid himself anymore. Oh, and yes, I do like you as more than just friends." Axel's green cat-like eyes glanced over Sora's body and he snickered. "I guess I have for a while and just didn't realize it."
"This…this isn't happening," Sora whispered.
"Oh, but it is," Axel scooted closer to Sora, only inches from the boy's thigh. "So, do you like me, as more than friends."
Sora shot up and shook his head. "No! No! No! I don't. I mean, I do like you somewhat, and you're not bad looking, but Roxas..."
Axel lifted his finger, placed it on Sora's lips and silenced the boy's words. "That's all I needed to hear, and besides, he's family. It's a rule; you can't hate a family member forever."
"But isn't it also a rule to not date an ex of a family member?" Sora asked blindly.
Axel snickered, "So, you want to date me?" He tugged at Sora's small waist and pulled him close on the bed.
"I…I didn't say that, but…" Sora didn't know how to answer the question. He thought about all the times he had fake flirted with Axel. He guess there had to be some subliminal undertone he didn't mean to throw in there, but now, now he kind of wanted to know what it would be like the actually have someone call him a cutie and mean it. "I guess we could. When you're ready. You and Roxas were together for like years…"
Axel grinned. "I'm ready now, cutie."
Axel pulled himself across the bed so that he was obscenely close to the brunet. Sora tried to scoot away. He really, honestly didn't know what he wanted for the other, but he knew that Roxas would not approve of this situation. Sora was too nice for his own good. He should have said no. He should have told Axel that he wasn't the man for him, but he didn't.
So, Axel's arm wrapped around Sora, pulling the boy in. Sora briefly tried to back up, but submitted to his fate. Axel grinned as he took his ex's cousin in to his body. He closed his eyes and his lips met Sora's.
It wasn't the best kiss. That should be known. It wasn't Sora's first kiss, which should also be known. But it was a kiss. And Sora did feel something in the kiss.
As Sora's lips willingly lingered on Axel's, the brunet thought about the possibility of many kisses in the future. He leaned in a little and enjoyed the final seconds of the brief kiss before Axel quickly broke it off.
Before Sora could question the abrupt ending Axel said, "Sorry, it's just a little weird."
"I understand," Sora said and he scooted away from the redhead.
"No, don't go," Axel pleaded as his hand went out to pull the brunet closer. "I just, I can't believe I'm saying this," he shook his head from side to side. "Maybe we need to take this slow."
Sora nodded. Axel got up from the bed and messed with the PS2. When he returned to the bed, Sora claimed his place against Axel's chest. As the opening music and credits to Superbad played in the background, Sora went over the events that had just unfolded. They seemed surreal and slightly out of place, but regardless, they were the facts.
Sora's best friends had broken up. Sora's cousin's ex had admitted his attraction to the brunet. Sora proceeded to kiss said ex. Sora is now dating said ex.
And Sora also had a meeting with a man he never met tomorrow at 6 p.m.
x…X…3.5…X… x
Riku was proud of his first move to meet Sora. It had taken quite a bit of effort to hit send, but the result was what he had hoped it to be. He thought about what Sora would look like; how they would act with each other. Maybe they could shop and then play some Rockband. Riku smiled. Something told him that Sora would be a good friend.
He didn't wait for Sora's text. He knew the boy had company. Instead, Riku set up his 360 for Halo 3. Leon would be over any minute and would most likely want to kill some pixels. When Cloud was out of town, Leon always wanted to kill something.
Riku sighed as he checked the battery life on his controllers. How he longed to have someone to miss. His life seemed to be moving too quickly. It seemed like yesterday he was starting high school, and here he was half way through his second year of college.
Silver hair shook from side to side. He had to stay positive. If Riku showed the slightest sign of depression, Leon would ask for an explanation, something Riku wasn't willing to hand over. Besides, he was meeting a boy tomorrow afternoon.
Riku was smiling when Leon entered the room.
"Well look at you," Leon chuckled. "Happy to see me?" Leon walked over to Riku's bed and took a seat in an over-sized chair next to it.
"Psht, you wish," Riku friendly punched Leon's shoulder. "Let's kill some pixels."
And that was it. Riku's Sunday. The two didn't talk much. It didn't bother the silveret in the least. He something preferred silence. Hours passed. Chips were consumed. Beverages inhaled. Riku wasn't aware of how late it actually was until his phone buzzed in his pocket.
Riku paused the game to read the text. "Hey. So tomorrow? How should we do this?" Riku looked at his clock. It had been five hours. Time flies when you're not paying attention.
"Aw, come on," Leon was obviously agitated by the lack of action. "Tell your boyfriend we're busy."
Riku laughed, "Where have I heard that one before? And he is not my boyfriend." Riku worked on his text back to Sora. "Well, I'll probably be there with Leon. I have silver hair. If that helps to find me in a crowd."
"Sure, sure," Leon laughed. "So, what's going on with that kid, anyway?"
"Just a friend. Still haven't met yet..." the corners of Riku's mouth formed an evil grin. "So, Leon. About tomorrow..."
Leon pushed his seat back a little, "Oh, hell no. You are not dragging me to meet some kid."
Riku laughed, "Aw, I thought you wanted me to be happy." Sora's reply finally came. "That works. I have brown hair...but I'll be with Axel. He's tall and has flaming red hair. You'll definitely see him." Riku nodded as if Sora could actually see his reaction. "Please, Leon. You have shopping to do anyway."
Leon groaned a bit, "I guess." The brunet shot Riku a serious glare, "Don't deflower him."
"Bwahahaha!" Riku clutched his stomach. "Deflower?! What are we in the 1920s?" Riku opened his eyes to be greeted with Leon's still serious persona. The silveret put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Leon, you have nothing to worry about."
After Leon nodded, Riku took the moment to text Sora back. "K. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Leon's over so I'll just text you when we get there tomorrow." Riku sort of winced at the idea of not talking to Sora for that long, but it would be worth it in the end.
x...X...4...X...x
The night and morning weren't important for Riku. Most of the hours were spent playing mindless, violent video games. The other short hours were spent sleeping or wrappng. 'Twas the season.
Riku pounded on the bathroom door, "Leon! Hurry up! I need to straighten my hair and we're going to be late."
Just as Riku was about to being a second wave of pounding, Leon opened the door, cell in hand. "Excuse me, love," he muttered into the phone. "Would you mind giving me some privacy? It's been days since I've seen him."
Riku pointed to his room, "Go in there. I need to get ready."
Leon sighed and walked toward the open door. Before he fully entered the room, he leaned his head out of the room. "And stop being such a woman. He's going to catch on to you."
A blush tried to form on Riku's cool skin, but failed. The straightener let off steam as it practically burnt his long, silver hair. Truth be told, he didn't need a straightener, but he liked to pretend. He flicked the switch on the device and looked at himself in the mirror.
Riku never thought he was beautiful. He never thought he was much of anything. In high school, girls gawked at him. In college, everyone ignored him. It didn't matter what form of education or work the man happened to be taking place in, the fact was, he felt alone. Friends were great, but there was always something missed.
He shook his head and tried to clear the depressing thoughts from their existence. Today would be a happy day. It had to be.
Leon, still talking on his cell to Cloud, opened the door to the food court. All around the two were busied parents, bags in hand. Cliché Christmas carols played over loud speakers. A fake tree stood firmly in the center of the court. Line stretched from each fast food restaurant.
Riku's head scanned the cafeteria for a tall red head and a brunet. They were no where to be seen. Feeling a little dejected, Riku glanced at his cell. No text. He glanced at the time. 1:50. Riku pulled Leon in the direction of the one and only open table that could seat four.
Instinctively, Leon sat across from Riku. The silveret paused for a moment. Usually, that would be OK, but he didn't want Sora to think he had to sit by him. He sighed as he crossed the table and sat by his friend.
"I miss you, too," Leon frowned a bit. "I love you." His frown receded a bit as he closed his phone. "So, where's this kid?"
Riku shook his head, "He's not a kid. He's 17 years old for chrissakes."
Leon waved a hand in Riku's face, "Whatever. Point is, loverboy is borderline late."
Riku's face grew a bit paler than usual as he checked the time. 1:58. He then remembered he was supposed to test Sora. The boy probably was waiting in a store or something, Riku decided. He flipped open the phone and texted frantically. "Hey. We're here. Just inside the food court. By the carousel. See you soon."
He held his breath as he waited for a response. Sure, it wouldn't be the end of the world if Sora stood him up. It wasn't like they were dating. It wasn't like Sora was gay.
The phone vibrated.
"We're walking across the parking lot. Sorry, Axel made me late."
And he commenced breathing. "They're in the parking lot."
Leon nodded and he continued his text. Those two can't go ten minutes without talking to each other, Riku thought with a tad bit of jealousy. Riku looked up from the table.
The doors opened.
A tall man with red hair passed through the doors.
His hand held a brunet's.
Riku's heart plumeted.