Title: Every Time We Meet
Summary: Sora meets this mystery girl again, and learns a little about her over some festival magic, but the more he gets to know her, the more questions arise.
Pairing: Soriri
Rating: T for later in the story
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. Nor do I own Misery Business – that belongs to Paramore.
A/N: A different spin to what maybe some of you have read already!
Every Time We Meet, Part 1: A Summer Fling
Chapter 2: When Destiny Calls for it, It'll Happen
"Come on Sora, it's almost our last night here… would you please just try to have a little fun?"
He shrugged and kicked at the sand, "But I don't know if a festival is going to be fun going with you and Mom!"
"We're not that boring," his mother pointed out, her honey blonde hair ruffling in the wind as she walked, "I think it'll be fun!"
He smiled at them, even if he didn't feel like going to the festival. It was going to be a lot of expensive, tasty foods, and maybe a few rides before his mother would insist she leave the two alone because she was tired, but really she would be feeling queasy and find a garbage can to throw up in.
Sora rolled his eyes – it was his typical family, and though he loved them for everything they were, it was fairs were definitely not a place of love and companionship for the Carters. Lavender got her dress over a week ago, and they were still here, enjoying the beach and nice weather.
"Just look how beautiful it is!" Lavender breathed, running ahead in awe. It was truly beautiful… The sun was just now hiding behind the horizon line, and shot bright colors towards them, that faded from blazing pinks to pastel purples, until the night sky began to turn on its twinkling lights one by one behind them.
It was a definite advantage of Destiny Islands: the beach. These colors reflected off of the already glittering water, and the melodic sound of lightly crashing waves seemed to fit in perfectly with the themed music and chatter and children laughing.
"Hey Sora, I have a little surprise for your sister…" She beamed as she nodded up the path. Both watched as Leon, Lavender's fiancé, meandered towards them, looking as bored as ever, but at the same time, happy to see them.
"It's an absolute zoo down there," he commented a bit grumpily when he finally made it to them, "I've already scanned the whole place."
"Wow, way to be a buzz kill, Leon," Sora grinned at him, and the brunette rolled his eyes, glancing around.
"Where's Lav?"
"Ran ahead because the colors distracted her," Sora laughed, and his mother shook her head.
"Mrs. Carter, a pleasure, as always."
"Oh please Leon… It's Hailey, okay?" She winked at him, and took his arm, "While we try and find Lavender, mind being my hot, young escort?"
He laughed, and as they faded into conversation, their figures also faded away. So much for family time. Sora sighed, and figured he'd make the best out of his alone R&R. When he got back to Twilight Town, he'd be training full time for football. There wasn't enough time to relax.
Starting forward, he glanced around at all of the booths. There were kissing booths, and games, food stands and picture-taking places, rides every once in a while, and other random stands he didn't think possible to put at a fair. Shrugging, he decided to grab something to eat to begin.
"Next!" He moved up in the line towards the front, and opened his mouth to order his mouth-watering corn dog, until a flash of red caught his eye.
He whipped his head to the side, and watched a stage, with a big head of red hair waggling their butt all over stage. Instead of ordering, he ran forward, hope flittering in his chest. But as soon as he reached the stage, the audience laughing and cheering, this redhead turned around.
Electric green eyes stunned him, instead of the soft violet he had seen in the bridal shop. He put the mic up to his lips again, and laughed, asking the audience if they wanted more of the show.
They all screamed, and from behind the stage, a couple more people came on. There was a weird guy with a sitar and dirty blonde hair, another redhead with the same stunning hair and make up under his eyes, and then there was a girl. With crimson hair and violet eyes, she danced onto the stage with a guitar in shorts and a yellow halter top. The redhead he had originally seen put his arm around the girl, and began to sing into the microphone.
The others picked up the tune on their instruments quickly, the sitar, guitar, and drums, along with the tallest member's voice, carried music across the crowd. People immediately began to cheer, but died down swiftly so they could hear the song. Everybody picked up the rhythm and started to sway, including Sora, even though he hadn't realized he was doing it.
With a smile on his face, he watched as the four members of the band played into the crowd, until the redhead through Kairi the microphone. She grabbed it, and threw him the guitar, and they switched parts. She let them pick up a different tune, and then put the mic to her lips.
Sora blinked, his eyes widening at her voice. When she said she played the guitar, she had failed to mention that she could sing. He listened on, as the whole band went crazy. People broke into cheers as one more came onto the stage. He was blonde, still with electric green eyes, as the two male redheads, and he came in with the bass.
Either they were really just that good, or many of the people in the audience knew them. But as he looked up at the girl singing, he realized, maybe it was a bit of both.
Whoa, I never meant to brag, but I've got him where I want him now, Whoa it was never my intention to brag, to steal it all away from you now!
The band hit a point where all were moving back and forward with the beat at the same time, instruments hitting a note, and stopping, and repeating the process. The effect had the people in the audience going crazy.
Things slowly got quieter as she put the mic back to her lips, and her eyes lit up in the performance brighter than Sora's own, when he played football.
I watched his wildest dreams come true, and not one of them involving you… Just watch my wildest dreams come true, not when of them involving –
The band broke into a blazing noise, and she threw the mic back at the redhead and waved to the audience. Each instrument had its own little solo as she took her guitar back from the tallest guy, and began playing, fading into the background once more.
A couple songs later, their time on stage was over, and the redhead began talking to the crowd.
"Thank you everyone for watching yet another one of our crazy shows!" He winked at a couple of girls standing next to Sora and they went berserk, "Remember, you heard the lovely voice and guitar skills of Axel and Kairi Porter tonight!" He laughed as everyone cheered, "Not to mention the amazing, and kind of weird, talent of Demyx Borail on the sitar, Reno Porter on the drums, and Alex Porter on the bass! I hope you all enjoyed!" He winked at a few different girls this time, but their screams were drowned out from the eruption of cheers from the crowd.
"Just one more thing!" He tacked on, "We got to, you know, promote the festival and all that jazz in order to play here each year… Don't forget to try your luck with the drinks at the drink stands," he winked, "You might get a special papau fruit in your drink that will keep your future intertwined with whoever you share it with!"
Girls giggled as he winked once more, "This is the legend, for those of you who don't know, that this whole festival is based off of… So good luck! And enjoy the night!" Everyone cheered once more as they got off the stage, Kairi grinning at her brother as they moved.
"Kairi!" Sora yelled before he even realized what he was doing. But his voice was swallowed in the crowd, and she didn't turn around.
It was either go with his gut, and follow her, or let her go. That was silly… why would he follow a girl who he had just met, as though they had something together? It was really rather stupid. But Sora recognized the feeling in himself. It was the same when he played football, when he told his mom they needed to leave and try to find his father, and when Leon told him he was going to propose to Lavender… All of his intuition had always been right.
He actually laughed out loud then. What did this have to do with intuition? It was a girl who he met once, and enjoyed the company of. As if he hadn't met a girl like that before… It was ridiculous. It meant nothing…
He turned to leave, to find a different booth to hold his attention before his mom finally sought him out.
"Sora!" He turned, and surprise overtook him. Kairi was bounding towards him, eyes sparkling, Lavender and Leon behind her.
Blinking stupidly, he turned fully around as she skid to a stop in front of him, "Hey! I didn't think I'd see you here!"
"Kairi?"
"Well duh!" She grinned, "I bumped into Lavender and Leon when Axel and I were leaving the concert! You never told me Lavender was getting married to Squall!"
His eyes narrowed at the name, but for the first time Sora'd seen, he kept his mouth shut about the name.
"How do you know Leon?"
She smiled and tilted her head, "Didn't you know that Lavender and Leon met at this festival? Leon and Axel went to high school together," she laughed, "though I guess they both took way different paths as they thought they would!" She smirked.
He walked closer and took a better look at Axel. "I can't believe I didn't recognize you!" His eyes lid up as he laughed, "You're in almost every high school picture of Leon's!"
Axel laughed and turned to him, "Dude, seriously?" He chuckled, and that soon turned into a booming laughter. Kairi turned and grinned at the two as Lavender started in.
Suddenly, Sora felt very out of the loop. Lavender smiled at him and nodded when she caught his eye. He knew what that look was for. But again, without thinking before speaking, he said it.
"So Kairi, how about you show me the cool parts of this place!" She turned in surprise, but soon, her expression changed to a challenging one.
"Alright, Sora!" She laughed, "You're on!"
He grinned at her, about to speak, before she sped off past him, laughing and calling backwards about how she was already winning. He wasn't sure how it became a race, but immediately he turned and ran after her.
?
"So if you don't believe in marriage, do you believe in love?" It was such a random question.
They had been silent for a number of minutes, relaxing on the sand, watching the fireworks light up the sky. He glanced at her, watching the explosion of colors reflect off of her face. She stared straight up at the sky, as though she hadn't spoken at all, but the question still lingered in the air.
"I think so…" He nodded, "I've never been in love… But I think so…" He nodded slowly, returning his eyes to the sky.
"Are you leaving here soon, Sora?"
He laughed and glanced at her, "You know, I didn't think you'd be all depressed about it…" He pressed into her shoulder lightly, nudging her.
She responded with a light laugh and a small smile, "I like you…" she shook her head, as though embarrassed to say so, "I feel like we've known each other forever, and I couldn't even begin to think of when I would stop thinking of you when I leave…"
He wasn't sure exactly what that meant. "What do you mean?" He questioned out loud.
She laughed whole heartedly then and shook her head, "What am I saying? I think I'm just going crazy!"
"Who knows, maybe you're not alone…" He smiled a dazzling grin at her shocked face, then leaned back on the palms of his hands, watching with sapphire eyes as the sky lit up again. "I only have a little time left in Destiny Islands." He finally answered her question, but she felt no need to comment on it.
Banging and booming suddenly erupted in the distance and she jumped up, on her feet in no time at all, "The finale is starting! Come on!" She yanked him up off the sand and dragged him towards the water.
He finally ripped his hand out of her grasp at the very last second, "Are you nuts?" He asked, baffled.
She laughed and waded into the water until it was just a little lower than waist deep. The fringe of her shorts floated in the water, and suddenly many flares shot into the air at the same time. They seemed to simultaneously pop as reds, purples, blues, oranges, yellows, whites, and every other color he could think of engulfed the dark night sky.
But what captured him more than the fireworks themselves, was how she stood in the water, completely entranced in the explosion of colors. But they weren't just above her – they were below her as well.
Before he seemed to know what he was doing, he had taken out his cell phone and snapped a picture of the sight. It was a good thing his phone was high quality – it captured every detail perfectly.
Slipping it back in his pocket, he kicked off his shoes and joined her in the water, brushing his hand against hers. She blushed and glanced at him, and for a moment their eyes connected.
"You're different than a lot of girls I've ever met…" He found himself saying.
What was he doing exactly? He had only met this girl twice, and yet, he was saying the cheesiest lines in the entire book. The thought made him want to smack himself in the head. At least if he wanted to hit on her, he could have been smooth. But had that been his previous intention? Maybe not… he couldn't remember… All that mattered was their moment right now.
But as soon as the magic of the moment started, it ended again, and the lights faded to black, ending the show. Her face suddenly was overtaken by the peaceful dark of the night, and he couldn't see her anymore.
She laughed, and turned around, facing the sand. He mirrored her movements as they made their way to the shore. "Hey!" He called out, "Are you hungry?"
"I hadn't even thought about it!" she admitted sheepishly. Her stomach growled greedily, and she put a hand on it, "But I think it's telling me that it's hungry! Let's go!"
He nodded to her, and they set off towards a stand. "So what's good to eat here?"
"Their corn dogs are amazing," she nodded, "Mmmm, I can just smell it already!"
"Maybe it's cause we're next to the stand?" She rolled his eyes at the comment, but the smell was sucking him in. He recalled his earlier attempt to buy a corn dog, and thought how ironic it was that he was now back at the stand.
He ordered two and paid, much to her protest, and waited along side the counter.
"I'll have to buy something for the both of us then!" She giggled and bought a strawberry-banana smoothie.
"Waaaatch Ouuut!" They turned to see a stilted clown on a gigantic bike coming straight for them and the stand, "I can't control iiit!"
Kairi snatched Sora's arm and tugged him out of the way, just by a hair. The tire of the bike slammed into the stand, and though it did little to shake the people inside and their intense determination on the art of fair food, the shelves rattled inside the little trailer.
What nobody saw was the small fruit, hiding in a container on the top shelf, plopped into the smoothie, just before the man turned around. As soon as he did, he placed the cover on it, and blended… Nobody would even know about the star-shaped fruit that fell inside.
After a few minutes of waiting around, and helping out the clown, they received their food. Each took a bite of the corndog and let out a little moan. It was delicious!
"What'd you get us to drink?" Sora asked, excitedly.
Kairi took a small sip, and her eyes lit up, "It's even better than I remember it! Something about the taste makes this amazing!" She laughed as he gently snatched it from her, hungrily taking a gulp.
Sweet flavors slid down his throat, "Mmmmm…" His eyes closed contently, "That's amazing!"
"Strawberry-banana smoothie!" She said, as though he had asked once again what she had ordered.
Kairi took another swig of the drink, but then stopped, tilting her head and watching the brunette. She smacked her lips together quietly for a second, scrutinizing the taste of her drink quietly. There was something different… but she couldn't seem to pin the difference as she stared at the brunette.
He blinked at her in confusion as she watched him, before it finally struck her what she was doing, and she glanced away, embarrassed. He chuckled and took another bite of his corn dog, all the while taking a sip of the smoothie.
Sora then seemed to mirror her movements. He swore there was something not banana-y or strawberry-y about the taste of the smoothie as well… but just as with her, he couldn't pick out exactly what it was, as he focused on her.
"Let's play a game!" She suddenly broke from their private moment and jumped up, tossing her half eaten corn dog in the garbage. Her mind definitely moved to different subjects faster than him.
He laughed, following, "Okay!" Only, he wasn't as quick to throw away his meal.
?
"I won again!" She laughed, picking out a giant panda from the top shelf. The man gave it to her gently, and she held it up for Sora to see.
"I've just been letting you win!" He scoffed playfully, folding his arms, "I didn't want a stuffed animal…"
"Who says I did?" She teased with a wink.
He opened his mouth to make a smart reply, but stopped when he realized he had nothing to say. But then he opened his mouth again, and slowly shut it, resembling a goldfish. To this, she had to laugh out loud.
"You're weird!" She cried out.
He pushed her gently, and she returned the gesture, before running off ahead of him. "Hey!" He shouted, racing after her. They continued this game for a long while, before their hastiness had Kairi running into someone.
"Oof!" She grumbled as she fell on her butt, looking up at the one who had just knocked her down.
"Well hello, Kairi…" The voice sent shivers down her spin as she turned away. "I didn't expect to see you running around like a child…"
Sora jogged up next to her, "Hey Kai, you okay?"
"Who's this, you're new play toy?"
Sora's defensiveness began to kick in, and he glanced at the kid up and down, "Who the fuck are you?" He demanded.
"Tsk… Kairi always loved men with potty mouths…" He laughed at her hard expression as she stood.
"Answer the question," Sora stated menacingly.
"You haven't told your new lover boy about me? Kairi, I'm genuinely hurt…"
She rolled her eyes. Suddenly, a new, nastier side of Kairi was coming out as well. "Back the fuck off Riku…"
He blinked in surprise, "Is that really how you feel about me, Kairi? That's not what you said the last time we talked…"
She growled and shoved past him, only to meet a friend of his standing in her way, "Move." She demanded.
"And if I don't?" He snickered.
She felt Sora's stare on her back, but blocked it out when she punched the guy square in the face. He cried out like a child who skidded his knee and ran past him. Sora, with all of his intelligence, made a break for it as well.
He watched her tense form as she ran, but after a while of sprinting, when even he became tired, she slowly loosened up, slowing into a happy trot as she began to pass the many booths.
"Kai, what was that all about?" Sora asked gently. How could she let that go so easily? Wouldn't those guys come back?
She shrugged, "He just likes to harass me is all… I've punched that one boy more than one time in my life, it's not too big of a deal."
"Who was he?"
"Riku Almone and Jules Standaert."
He blinked in surprise, "Almone? He's a football player!"
"How'd you know?"
"He's like… my biggest rivaling competition for quarterback… and I'm his."
It was her turn to look surprised, and then switched to slightly uncomfortable, "Do you… know him?"
"Not personally, but I talked to him at a game once, helmet on and everything so I couldn't see his face – he was a fucking bastard."
A beam stretched over her face, "Good," and she shot him a look that said she'd say no more as she pranced away, him rolling his eyes and following her.
There were many secrets to this girl, and Sora was slowly finding out he wanted to know all of them.
?
A/N: I hope you enjoyed :)