Hopelessly I'll Love You Endlessly
AN:I promised myself that I wouldn't dwell too long for the party, so I plan to get that all finished in this chapter. In all honesty, I wanted to get it finished last chapter, but by the time I was still writing the end part, I realised that it was twelve pages already and that they needed to be posted then before I made one chapter seem like a weeks worth of pages all strewn together.
Chapter Three
Piece of Pie
I think… I think I might be drunk.
It was bordering one in the morning, and people were still dancing, including myself, like there was no tomorrow. I felt the need to grab a drink either every time Kairi made an attempt to talk to me, or when I kept thinking about Riku. Not all the drinks I had were alcoholic, although, the majority of them were.
To satisfy the vast mainstream of people's cravings, we played all sorts of music. There were slow songs, fast songs, rock songs, rap songs etc and I danced to them all. I couldn't help it, it was like I was the puppet and the music was my master, using its strings of alcohol to force me to dance and nearly lose all rational thought. I wasn't drunk, not yet, but who knows what would happen if I saw the wine redhead or thought about teal eyes.
This is his entire fault when I think about it. If it wasn't him for being in my dream then out of sheer dumb luck appearing in the same room I just so happened to be in, then he wouldn't be consuming the space I reserved for thoughts in my head. I would be able to help Kairi, congratulate Selphie and Tidus and celebrate with Wakka, speaking of which, I haven't seen any of them for a little while now. I shrugged it off, deciding that they were all probably having fun somewhere else.
Dance music has always been the floor filler no matter what, so it was only natural for people to start swarming in once some song about the 80's by some guy called Calvin Harris entered the scene. That's when I finally decided that it was all too hot for dancing, and felt as though I was going to hurl. There are two entrances to the living room, one was through the hallway, and the other was through the dinner room, and seeing as the latter was the closest to me, it was the one I pushed past several teenagers to get through to quickly. From then on, I ran past the dinner room to the kitchen and was just about ready to hurl my contents into the sink, but thankfully that it was nothing more than a gag reflex.
I splashed some water on my face to cool me down, and surprisingly enough it did, but I still felt like I needed to get out, I needed to get away from people. I was dreading going outside only to be met with more couples making out and what not, so I decided to go to my dad's office to calm myself a little bit. As I walked though the hallways, people were already falling asleep and passing out, nearly blocking my path completely. They're going to have one killer hangover in the morning, that's for sure. As soon as I reached the office, I could hear an assortment of shuffling and muffled voices.
'Not again.' I thought as I reached the door handle. I think we've established that I'm not as straight forward as I would like to be, so I opened the creaking (although it couldn't be heard over the music) door slowly, hoping that whoever was in there would see the door open and stop their antics before my eyes saw them.
Unfortunately they didn't and that didn't surprise me. Though, what did surprise me was who was in the office and what they were doing. I could feel my pupils dilate tenfold in shock as my eyes widened at the sight.
A-Axel and Roxas…Together… and were…mak- making out!
Roxas was pushed backwards onto my dad's desk with his fingers running through that red mane of spikes with one hand, whist the other was wrapped securely around Axel's slender waist. The blonde's eyes were shut and I was just so glad he couldn't see me. Axel had both his arms wrapped tightly around Roxas, neither one of them pulling apart for air.
It made me feel sick. Not because he was making out with a guy, but because he was my brother, and I never need to see my brother like that again. Perhaps they're more wasted then I think I am, they must be, since they've only known each other for two days, well three now, and are already making out with each other. But I know Roxas; he would never do something like this so voluntarily. Not unless he was under the influence of alcohol.
I quickly closed the door and just as quickly walked in the other direction. Too many things have happened to me today, and I guess it's all finally catching up with me. I needed to get out, I needed to get now! The front door was the not only the closest form of exit, but the easiest as there was hardly anyone strolling about. Nobody saw me exit, thankfully, and I started walking off in a direction that seemed almost foreign to me due to the lack of light and concentration on my feet.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't one of my best choices to walk outside in the night with a little bit of alcohol in my system, but I have very good reasons to, and I needed somewhere I could go to think properly, well as proper as I could.
I allowed my feet to lead the way and not before long, I found myself situated with the smooth rough texture of the sand gently caressing the heel of my feet whereas the moist texture of the sea was gently pushing forwards to stroke my toes, and then pulling back again to repeat the same action. The air seemed chilly and solemn, too different from what it's usually like in the mornings or when there is a group of us hanging around. But it's not different in a bad way I guess; it's quite soothing.
Minutes passed and were soon replaced with hours with the amount of time I stayed on the beach. The sky turned from a midnight blue to a blood struck red as the time went on. I stared mostly at the separate Islands where we used to play when we were younger. Wakka and Tidus would always play Blitzball from morning to night; Selphie would sometimes cheer them on or sit by herself and write poetry on the edge of the bridge. Kairi would occasionally sit and stay with Selphie and they would talk about… whatever it is girls talk about, or she would try her damned hardest to get either mine or Riku's attention. Rarely did she succeed as we were too fast for her to catch up, and because we were born on the islands, we knew all the best hiding places, much to her dismay. I sure do miss those days, but I know that there is no point in dwelling in the past when I've got the future to look out for. In a couple of weeks we'll be leaving that solemn school and reuniting with our best friend: the summer vacation.
This year's summer vacation was going to be different though.
Tidus and Wakka are going to this Blitzball camp for four of the six week vacation. That leaves me with two females, one of which will be lamenting the fact that her boyfriend is gone for the majority of the vacation whilst the other will be trying to claim me. Great, this is just great. What's more, by the end of vacation Wakka would be leaving us to attend college at his birth place: Besaid. Wakka came to Destiny islands with Lulu when he was six and we were five. Some girls were picking on Selphie, at the time, and Wakka stood up for her, instantly gaining our friendship in return. You mess with one; you have to deal with us all.
It's going to be weird without Wakka, but we all knew that this fateful day was going to come; I guess we just didn't anticipate that it would happen this quickly. With only three more weeks at school, we better make them the best damned three weeks. There's no way Wakka is leaving here with morose memories and a boring time. I wonder if Roxas would be devastated once Axel goes. Okay maybe not devastated, but something along those lines. Like I've said, I know it's only been two to three days, but already they seem to be really close, and I'm not just judging on what I saw earlier; the two seem to have a special connection.
Drowning in my thoughts, I'm not quite sure how but I found myself leaning against the coarse surface of huge rocks and allowed the morning wind to lure me softly into sleepy state.
: :
Riku.
Riku stood on our old time favorite Papou tree, his back was turned towards me as I stood on the rickety bridge that led me to him. "Riku?" I whispered. It was supposed to come out as a shout, or a call, but all I could manage was a whisper. My vision was vaguely blurry and no matter how hard my hand tried to clear my sight, nothing worked. I could see a huge dark cloud arriving; bringing its thunder and rain as it rapidly approached us. "Riku!" I tried again, but this time nothing came out.
I could hear the storm just waiting to pour its injudicious contents around us and only then decided to run for Riku, alerting him of what was to come. I decided that it was futile to try and shout so I gave up on that focused all my attention on the oblivious silverette. Once I reached the land where Riku was, I called out his name. "Riku, what are you doing here? Can't you see that there's a st-"
"What is it that you want Sora?" he cut me off, though his voice didn't sound irritated or uncouth, it sounded…lustful.
Almost immediately shock and hope shaped together as one big emotion and took form inside me. Just what was Riku trying to achieve? "Riku…I…" I stopped the second he turned around. Aquamarine eyes locked onto mine, I could just see the desire that filled them.
"Well Sora?" Although we were at a distance, I could see that smirk, which used to be reserved for me, on his porcelain visage. He had one silver brow raised and his eyes seemed daring. He wore nothing but a long black leather coat and black trousers. The zip of the coat was undone, divulging his pale skin yet brawny torso to the hostile harsh weather.
I took a step forward and he jumped backwards of the tree, his continuous gaze never leaving mine as he did so. As soon as his bare feet touched the ground the rest of the islands disappeared into darkness and the blurriness was being deteriorated by the shadows. Our favorite Papou tree dispersed with the rest of the world and all there was left was me and Riku. He folded his leather-clad arms over his chest, and turned his face away from mine. "So, I guess you don't want me then?" he asked, breaking the silence. Not only did he sound sad, but a little bit playful as well.
I tried to move, I tried to speak, all to no avail. The force of this dark surrounding was pulling me closer underneath to its murky abyss and there was nothing I could do. It was cold and scorching my legs until everything from my waist down felt numb and was forced to join the rising shadows. My eyes shut tightly in fear as I struggled to free myself from its grip. They only opened once my body felt free from its confinements and I was finally available to breathe.
My back was pressed down against the black sand and my blue orbs scanned helplessly around the twilight ridden sky. There were no clouds, no moon and no stars, it was as though everything had been deprived of light and eternal darkness was forced to take over. Even the air smelt and tasted like tainted innocence, and it was obligatory to take it all in. I rose from the ground, my hands and feet molding the sand as I did so. I could hear myself breathing heavily and the evidence was shown as grey fogs releasing itself from my mouth and nose. Not even the black waves, that were tenderly bashing themselves against each other, could be heard.
"Is this what you want Sora?" That enticing voice came from behind me. I could feel his hot breath dramatically at the back of my neck, but as I turned around to see my cloaked dreamer, he was not in sight. Instead what I was met with was the cave where he and I hung out in every chance we got. "Sora?" It was barely a whisper, but audible enough for me to hear, and surprise surprise, it came from the cave.
I didn't have a clue as to what Riku wanted, and in my head I kept on battling out if I should give in to him by going in. Who would it satisfy more? Why is he doing this to me? Why do I feel even lonelier once his voice left me than what I did before?
Before I had a chance to answer my own questions, the sand beneath me started falling and falling into nothing. I moved quickly and jumped forward, landing on my hands and knees in front of The Secret Place. Cursing a few words that were incoherent to me, I walked into the cave and I swear I heard him chuckle. Not before long, I made my way through the long dark tunnel and entered the mouth of the cave.
So was Riku.
The long leather jacket had been discarded elsewhere and he stood with both hands conveniently propped on each hip. His eyes seemed to glow in the dark, yet they were dark themselves and his trousers hung dangerously low on his waist. His face was void of all emotion except his eyes. Even in this shadowed room I could see that they still held their depth and intensity. As soon as he saw the nervous look on my face, he took one step forward, which caused me to take one step back. Then it was back again: that devilish smirk was placed on his face. I wanted to glare, Gods how I wanted to glare, but it didn't come, instead my nervous expression faded, leaving me with a blank face.
Riku seemed amused, and then the smirk turned into a smile. These games he was playing with my mind were getting me fed up. What is his goal in all of this? To torture me? Does he hate me this much?
His amused face turned skeptical, then back to amused. I think he read my thoughts because he then said "Don't worry Sora; I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled what seemed to be a genuine smile and held his hand out for me to grab.
Without even thinking I began running towards him. My body, obviously having a mind of its own, acted without my brains permission and instead on my hearts. My hand was a few millimeters away from his and the second that they touched he reached forward more eagerly and pulled my hand onto his. With our bare fingers enlaced with one another's, he used his free arm to wrap around my waist and pull me closer. I gasped at the surprise of contact but was happy nonetheless. My chin rested atop his shoulder as both hands were now around my waist and he was slowly rocking us side to side. "How do you feel, Sora?" he whispered in my ear before gently pulling us apart to stare me deeply in the eyes.
"I…"
: :
Light splashes of water started hitting me in my face and became the cause of my sudden awakening. I groaned inwardly at the loss of subconsciousness and opened my hazed eyes, only to be met with sparkling teal as I did so. "Riku?" I asked. My eyes immediately traveled downwards to make sure I had nothing embarrassing going on with my body. Thankfully I didn't. I didn't even need to have a mirror to find out how shocked my face was. It was like a deer caught in the headlights of a fast moving truck.
His eyes radiated concern, and as usual I found myself drowning in them, until he called my name that is. "Sora, are you okay? How much did you have to drink last night?" I think he whispered, but it sounded more like a scream to me. My hand immediately went to my head to try and stop the intense throbbing and brush a few strands of messy locks away from my view. I know it seems cliché and all, but as I squinted my eyes away from the suns powerful rays, it surrounded Riku and he honestly looked angelic. Wait a minute – the sun? Just where was I? "Sora?"
Yet again, his luscious voice brought me out of my trance, "I'm…I'm fine. I just need some water or something." I lied. I needed air; Riku was too close for comfort. Hands that were currently in my lap, traveled their way to the ground, molded the sand and steadied themselves so I had some sort of leverage to rise up from the ground. Oh, so that's where I slept last night, I don't even remember coming here. I shakily got myself up from the ground, Riku did too, and the action made me feel nauseous. Almost instantly I doubled over and spilled the contents of yesterday onto the sand. Riku leaped out of the way in time and was at my side in seconds, patting my back in a soothing manner. Once I believed I had been completely ridden of sickness, I stoop up properly and looked at Riku, embarrassed and apologetically. "Sorry about that." I said sullenly, taking a new interest in the ground beneath me.
"No, Its okay," I could see that he was looking at me through the corner of my eye, but I was still too embarrassed to look at him. When I showed no sign of being convinced or making eye contact he chuckled a little bit at my stubbornness. "Honestly Sora," He said as he put my arm around his neck and smiled warmly back at me. "Looks like I'll have to walk you back."
"Thanks," I muttered. It's not like I wasn't happy to see Riku, and be as close to him as I am now, but first of all: I felt like crap. Secondly it kind of surprised me that a) he was here on the beach the exact same time I was, and b) acting like there was nothing wrong. He was going on as though the past three or whatever years hadn't happened. Or maybe I was thinking about this too much.
We began to walk at a slow pace, the suns harsh rays nearly blinding me as we walked. From the beach, it would be about ten minutes at most to get back to my house. It wasn't until Riku started leading me down a longer and completely different path that I was getting a bit worried. My arm had abandoned his neck long ago, but as we walked through an alleyway I tensed up and Riku could tell. "Relax." He said once he saw me stop dead in my tracks. "We're going this way for your safety. The suns probably not helping right now, and if we were to walk through the market, you'll only throw up at the smell of oily things from café's and meats."
Riku was right. Just the thought of smelling all those things had me cringing and feeling all nauseated again. My arms immediately gripped my stomach and I doubled over yet again, just waiting for the contents to pour out and spill over. When nothing happened, I slowly stood up properly and Riku was looking at me with concern replacing his usually smug face. "Sora?" I grunted as a response. "Its not that far from my house, do you want to get an aspirin or something? No ones in so you don't have to worry about what they'll say to your dad or anything."
Okay, had I entered some time warp or an alternate universe? Riku – my ex-best friend, the guy who is constantly tainting my innocent dreams and the one who hasn't spoke to me in Gods know how long (minus yesterday and today) - was inviting me back to his house? Just what was going on here?
I looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and sickness while he continued to stare at me with those lucid eyes of his. My mouth opened to speak but was abruptly cut off by the vibrating in my back pocket. I took out my phone and before I had a chance to flip it open, I had seven missed calls and eleven unread text messages. All by Roxas no doubt. The vibrating didn't stop so I flipped open the phone and clicked dismiss. Roxas could wait. "I'll have that aspirin if that's alright with you?" My only response was a nod and we started walking again.
Riku's house was about five minutes away from the alleyway. I recognized the overly large gates and extravagant front yard instantly. Not a lot has changed over the course of all these years. Now if anyone thought that I was rich, they should meet Riku. His large family is known all over Destiny Islands for being great entrepreneurs or being powerfully inclined at the jobs they tend to. In fact, if it wasn't for my dad and his dad being not only being great lawyers, but best friends also, then I doubt me and Riku would've been as close as we were. Sadly though, Riku's dad passed away, along with his mom, in a car crash when Riku was only fourteen, leaving him in the care of his older brother, Sephiroth, and their three cousins: Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo.
Riku lived in a six bedroom mansion in the upper end, such as myself, of town. Everything from the outside in was molded to perfection and brought back a series of memories as I stepped into the foyer. Riku led the way to the kitchen and I followed suit. "Take a seat and I'll get you a drink and an aspirin."
"Thanks." I murmured and obeyed without another word between us. I lowered my head onto the glass table in front me, feeling amorous to the coolness it was giving my head. Not long after, I opened my eyes to a clear blue glass which fizzed from inside. I raised my head and took hold of the glass; Riku sat opposite and watched my every movement with concern. I raised the glass to my lips. "This is the last time I drink," I swore before downing the disgusting beverage all in one go.
Riku smiled then chuckled at the look on my face once I had finished. If there's ever any drink I hate more than water, its water with an aspirin. Moments passed without a word to each other and complete evasion of eyes. I tapped nervously on the side of the table whereas he just sat with his arms folded and looked around the room. Too much time had been wasted in nothing but silence. Silence that would have to be broken, by me no doubt.
"Are you hungry or anything?" He suddenly said, proving my inner thoughts wrong.
I shook my head, sighed then braced myself. "Why were you on the beach?" I asked dully, my blue eyes not leaving the table.
He cleared his throat; I could tell he was surprised by my question. "Well, I was out…jogging and I saw you on the beach."
I smiled weakly, my fingers tracing the outline of the cup. "You always were a bad liar you know."
"I guess I am." He copied my smile though his slowly formed into a smirk, "what does it matter if you knew?"
I looked him dead in the eyes, "I'll be getting the truth for once." I couldn't keep the bitterness from my voice, and to my surprise, his expression didn't change. If anything, it broadened. "And I think I deserve to know."
"I see." He rose from his seat and took the empty glass with him, allowing it to fall carelessly into the sink. "Well if it's an answer you want, a game we'll play." He stated smugly. He was up to something, I'm not sure what, but I found myself being subdued to his game.
"Fine." I said blandly, "Now, tell me why you were on the beach." It was more of a command than a question, but his attitude was getting me aggravated.
He sighed "I was on the beach because…" another sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, "I was on the beach because I followed you okay?"
"What!?" I half spoke half cried. "Why were you following me?"
He pinched his nose and closed his eyes tighter. "My name."
"Huh?"
"You were calling my name in your sleep." My eyes widened increasing huge at the statement, though Riku didn't move from his state. "Why?"
My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. What was I supposed to say? I have to think of something quick. "I erm… I" I paused and he looked up at me. Handsome teal bored into stunned cerulean. I sighed figuring that there was no way out of this; I knew Riku wouldn't let this drop. We were playing his game. His game: his rules. "I was having a nightmare." I answered.
"With me in it?" he seemed amused a little, causing me to glare.
"Why were you following me?" I asked, deliberately ignoring his second question, just as he did mine.
"Because… Because I was going to go to your little party thing," he sighed, "I got to your house about eleven and when I went to knock on the door I just couldn't." His gaze diverted from me to the left. "I was about to walk away but then I got talking to Zexion for ages, something about Axel or whatever. Anyways, we talked for ages, then he went in and I was going to head home, until I saw you that is," The whole time he was talking, I was just nodding in understanding. It kind of makes sense, I think I remember seeing Zexion arriving just as I was leaving. "You weren't even walking straight, so I followed you to make sure you were okay." He murmured something incoherent but judging by the way he was acting right now, it's probably best not to probe him too much. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Did I... Did I hurt you in your nightmare?"
I shook my head and then stopped at the incessant pain. "No," I answered truthfully. To be honest, I was a little confused by his choice of question, I was expecting something more – I don't know, something more Riku-y. "Why did you come after me?"
He got up from his chair, and held a hand out for me to take hold of and use for leverage. "Roxas would be worried, we should get you back." I took hold and allowed him to pull me up. "As for your question, I already answered it." He stared at me, as I eyed him briefly.
"As I said," I walked past him and made my way back the way I came, "You always were a bad liar." I opened the front door to his house and walked through. I could feel his footsteps run after me and he followed me as I made my way back home.
: :
I arrived at my house quicker than what I had expected. Probably because I was making sure I kept at least two steps in front of Riku at all times. So you can imagine the amount of conversation we had.
As soon as I reached the front of the house, I turned to face Riku. "Thanks for the aspirin and-" I used my middle and index fingers as quotation marks, "-'making sure I was okay'." I said as I mimicked his voice from earlier.
Riku smiled a genuine smile, nodded and turned on his heel, as did I. The second I reached my front door, I felt a pair of warm hands grip my shoulders gently whilst a strong body was pressed against my back and froze instantly. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "I did it…" He whispered breathily in my ear. I had to bite down hard on my lip to show no verbal sign of enjoying this. "…because, I still care for you Sora."
Then all contact was gone, leaving me to feel empty.
I turned around and managed a glimpse of him leaving. I wanted to call out to him, Gods how I wanted to call out to him, but I couldn't. The words didn't come as I was washed over with a sense of joy while I thought about his words. A small smile placed itself on my face and I looked like a goofy love sick teenager as I watched him walk away.
I didn't even hear the front door open. "Where -" Roxas shouted from behind me, causing me to jump and my smile to fade dramatically, "- The hell were you!?" I turned around and stared him blankly in his cold eyes. "I was going to get a search party ready and everything. Why haven't you returned any of my calls or texts?"
I looked at him incredulously "Are you serious? You're worst than Kai-"
"Sora?" Her feminine voice interjected, making me close my eyes and prepare myself for the lecture. "We've all been worried sick about you." There was no denying the anger in any of their voices. "You better have a good explanation for not letting us know you were okay." She pointed her finger up and down several times in my direction.
I sighed. I could either tell them the truth, or getting my lying skills into gear. I opted for the latter but just as I was going to give them my false tale, Wakka came out with a pan of sausages and bacon. "Foods ready." He announced. Before I had a chance to react, the meaty smell flew its way up my nasal passages and caused me to vomit. Wakka shielded the pan away from me immediately whist being backed up by Kairi. Roxas on the other hand was not expecting it whatsoever and I accidentally got some on his shoes.
I am never drinking again.
: :
I woke up in my bed hours later. After I had apologized to Roxas and cleaned myself up and changed my disgusting clothing, I excused myself to bed. I remember a sneaky 'morning sickness' comment as I walked up the stairs earlier, probably by Axel. I knew for a fact that he, along with Wakka, Selphie, Tidus, Kairi, Olette, Pence and Hayner all spent the night here. The house was surprisingly clean and I felt kind of bad for not being here to help them clean up. It was my idea to hold the party at my house after all.
As I lay in bed, I couldn't help but think if Zexion actually did get a chance to talk to Axel. I wouldn't expect them two to know each other, they seem too different. I've never seen those two socialize in school, and I wonder what kind of state he must of found Axel and Roxas in.
I quickly shot the idea out of my head and made my way to the door. All that throwing up has sure made me hungry and has put me in the mood for some chocolate. My alarm clock was beeping silently on the floor by my toes. I picked it and up and mentally kicked myself for not breaking the piece of machinery when I had the chance. It was a little after seven o'clock in the evening so I can imagine the majority of them had gone home.
I went downstairs to find Roxas preparing a DVD for him and Axel and Kairi to watch. Great. God couldn't have left me with more of an awkward selection than this. I inhaled deeply before making entering the dimmed room and sat next to Kairi. "What are we watching?" I whispered to Kairi. We were both on opposite sides of the couch, just like Axel and Roxas on the other.
She shrugged. "Not sure, something to do with action though," She claimed. "Sora, would you help me make some popcorn?" She didn't even wait for my reply and rose from the chair with me following straight after her.
The kitchen was immaculate and I dare say more clean than what it was before the party. Those guys sure must have worked hard and the guilt was stirring around me in. Kairi placed the raw corn in the popcorn maker then turned to look at me. I sat down on the available stool and met her anxious gaze. "Sora, about last night… I didn't mean to… well it's not like… if you want we can pretend it didn't happen okay?" Her facial expression changed from worried to sad as she said the last part and she shielded her face by looking down at the ground.
"Kairi," I started, my voice sounded far off and it was starting to show how apprehensive I was to have this conversation. I don't want to lose Kairi as a friend, but I also didn't want to gain her as something more. The truth is the only way through this and I hope she understands that. "I'm flattered, honestly I am, I mean we're best friends… and I love you to." She looked at me with hope in her eyes. Greeeat. "But, more like a sister. I'm sorry."
Any sign of happy feelings that were shown on the wine redhead's features was completely shattered and replaced with dejection. I felt so bad just by looking at her. It feels as though I've ran over the cutest puppy. "Oh," She said sadly and focused on putting the popcorn in the bowl.
"We're getting hungry in here." I heard Axel shout from the other room; I rolled my eyes as Kairi began to walk back towards the living room.
"Kairi wait." I commanded softly, she obeyed and stopped, though, she did not turn around. "I really am sorry; I hope this doesn't change anything between us."
There was silence then a soft sigh released itself from her lips. "Its okay Sora," the wine redhead turned around with a smile on her face. I examined it for a second and when I found out that it wasn't feigned, I began to walk over to her. "I don't hate you or anything, and I could kind of tell you didn't like me back. I think this is all happening because everyone's moving on and finding someone, and I guess… I guess I wanted it too." I listened intently and nodded along with what she was saying. "Who better to have a relationship with then your best friend right?"
"Kairi, I will always be your best friend whether you like it or not." A smile made its way to my lips as she reflected hers back at me. "And don't worry about finding someone; I know a certain twelfth grader who is interested in you." My smile broadened at the look she gave me.
"Oh my gosh, who?"
"Now Kairi, that would be taddling, and I for one am not a taddler."
"You so are, I remember that time when you 'accidentally' told my mom about me getting my belly button pierced."
I laughed and held a hand at her defensively, "First of all that was an accident!" I protested and tried to stop myself from laughing at the memory. "And secondly I had no idea your mom would react that way so blah!" I stuck my tongue out at her on the last words, and she playfully slapped me on the shoulder with her available hand.
We both broke out into giggles which were quickly interrupted by Roxas clearing his throat and leaning lazily against the door with his eyes closed and arms folded. "You know, we've been waiting for you guys to come in with the popcorn so we could start the movie right?"
"Yep," I answered cheerfully, causing my brother to roll his eyes and stand up properly.
"Roxas, will you take the popcorn and start the film without us. I've got something for Sora."
I looked at Kairi questioningly as Roxas nodded, gladly took the bowl, and turned back towards the living room.
Kairi smiled sweetly at me. "Come on, and don't look so scared."
Before I had a chance to protest, the auburn haired teen caught hold of my wrists and dragged me out of the kitchen. We passed the living room and went up the stairs towards my bedroom. "Not on the first date kiddies!" Axel called, which we instinctively ignored. It's like he's one of us already. We reached my bedroom door and opposite were a large mirror and behind it I kept my key for my bedroom. Kairi lifted it with ease and retrieved the key. "Since when did you know where I kept my key?" I asked as she started unlocking my door.
"Since you forgot to give me a birthday present the other year and I had to find to find a way to get payback." She opened my door and we walked in. "Do you recall a Halloween about seven years ago and a hand grabbed your foot from under the bed?"
My eyes widened at the memory. "That was you!?" I nearly shouted. "I was scared to go to bed for like a month." She couldn't stop giggling as she sauntered her way over to my desk where an elegantly wrapped pink box lay. "I'm serious; I had to top and tail with Leon. No one would believe me when I said that there was a monster under my bed." She laughed so hard that she nearly dropped the box; I nearly started laughing too, but tried to keep up the whole 'you-gave-me-nightmares-for-like-a-year' act.
"I'm sorry …I was young then and… I needed to get you back… you said… you said that you got me a gift… and you didn't!" She said between laughs. "So I had to get my revenge. And your reaction was priceless. You screamed so loud and ran so fast. I laughed so much I nearly didn't make it out in time."
"You are pure evil." I started darkly, which only spurred her on more. I'm never going to forget that day. The only one who believed me that day was… Riku.
"Sit." She commanded boldly and motioned me to sit on the bed with her head. I complied and sat next to her. "Okay, well, I don't know if you noticed, but later on in the party, Tidus Wakka, Selphie and I went up here to celebrate privately for a while." I opened my mouth to argue but was abruptly cut off by her dismissive hand. "Before you even argue, I tried to get you but you were constantly going to get a drink or switching directions." It's true. "So we came up here and equally shared this…"
She untied the black netted bow that was keeping it securely shut and opened the pink box. Inside were the remnants of an apple and cinnamon pie topped witch chocolate sauce swirling around the top in a zigzag notion. "Kairi, isn't this the…" She nodded enthusiastically. "How did you get it? I swear she stopped making them years ago."
"She did," she clarified, "but I managed to get her to negotiate. It wasn't cheap so you better be grateful." She smiled and offered me a clean fork from inside the box. Just as I was about to take the fork she held it back out of reach. "Now, are you sure you're not going to throw up on me? This is a new top and I'm not having it ruined by your insides." She said playfully.
I rolled my eyes. "Just as long as you don't pull anymore practical jokes on me, then we have a deal." She laughed and handed me a fork. There were two large slices left in the box, and I immediately started digging in. "Mmmm… It's been sooo…. long since we had this. How long… has it been?" I asked between mouthfuls. My half was disappearing fast whereas Kairi's…
"About eight nine years. I remember when we first had it at Selphie's fifth birthday," she smiled softly completely averting her gaze to the window, away from her nearly whole slice. "And the last time we had it was at Riku's fourteenth, the same year she stopped making them." Her voice sounded far off and on the verge of drifting off. She turned to look back at me as I was halfway between eating a second bite from her slice.
"Sora!" she smiled and started hitting me playfully, I nearly choked from laughing.
"Do you remember the real friend best friend policy?" I asked her proudly, playing her at her own game.
"Touché," She said happily. "Looks like I'm gunna have to think of a way to make us even." A smirk plastered itself on her face.
"No Please!" I mock begged and before we knew it, we were laughing all over again.
After a few minutes once the laughter had died down, we had found ourselves lying top and tail on my bed. Kairi had finished off the pie and we were both staring at the ceiling lost in our own thoughts. What Kairi said earlier really struck something in me. The last time we had that cake was with Riku. Riku should be with us now, he should be here having parties and remising on good and bad times.
The lady who made the pie was someone called Yunalesca. She was a friend of my dad, Logan, and Riku's dad, Jared. Now, anyone who knows Yunalesca now would say she's a cold bitter woman who hates everything and anyone who crosses her path. They say that she loves creating sorrow in those around her and will end up alone. But those who used to know her well would know that certain events led her to think and say these things. She used to be mayor of this part of town and look out for it well, but quickly retired her job once Riku's parents died. At the time, when they died, Yunalesca's husband, Zaon, sadly passed away too only a couple of weeks before. It's like as soon as they all passed, a bit of Yunalesca died along with them.
She made her pies for us at parties and as celebrations. She always had a unique sense of flavor in all of them and they were the kind of thing you craved all the time, but appreciate that they only come a couple times a year. Like Christmas and birthdays; if everyday was Christmas or some type of celebration where you get everything you want, you would eventually grow tired and used to it, and in the end receive nothing. Its also one of those things that is better off with friends and family. That's why having it now still felt kind of wrong. If anything, out of all of us, Riku was most attached to Yunalesca, and her pies, so it's only fitting that he should be here right?
"Sora?" Kairi called me softly, "We should get back downstairs, Wakka and the others will be returning soon. Oh, and I don't want to give Axel any more reason to make any more innuendos." She said as she started getting up.
"I thought they went home."
"Nope. Selphie's using the bathroom in Roxas' room whilst Wakka and Tidus went to Axel's, with his permission of course, to use his bathroom so they could all get cleaned up. Don't you remember? Selph and I told our parents the whole weekend. Tidus' mom, and Lulu for that matter, thinks him and Wakka are at some camp thing."
"Won't they get caught? Won't Axel's parents notice? And why not my bathroom?"
She stood by the door and straightened herself out. "Nope, unlike us, Axel doesn't live too far from here and no where near where Tidus and Wakka do. Apparently they don't live with him and his house is available. And have you seen the state of your bathroom? Besides, she was afraid she'll wake you or you catch a glimpse of her…not at her best let's say." Point taken.
"So he lives by himself?"
She shrugged. "Who knows? All I know is the minute we're done watching their crappy 'I am Legend' film, The Devil Wears Prada is coming on!" She beamed, as we walked back to the sitting room.
Unfortunately, for Kairi and I, the comments from Axel were many, but we didn't care. Wakka and Tidus arrived fresh and clean moments after and Selphie had rejoined our large group of people. Due to the majority of boys, there was a large amount of protest the minute Kairi inserted a chick flick into the DVD player. If looks could kill, we would all be six feet under from the glares we got from the two females, which hastily shut us up with no further comment.
We spent the rest of the night watching films with Tidus, Axel and Roxas on one couch and Kairi and I on the other. Selphie had long since fallen asleep on Wakka lap on the floor, and it wasn't long before the rest joined her one by one subconsciously. Because I had already slept not that long ago, I was the last one up and ended up watching Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End all by myself. I couldn't help but think that this was the way that things were meant to be. All of us spending time with each other before college calls on some for a year, and we have to separate. Riku has no one. I don't see him hanging around with anyone at school, and I hardly see him socialize with anyone. His last few memories of high school can't be like that. I refuse for any of his to be like that, and now that I know he doesn't hate me, I'm going to get him back. He should be in the spot that is currently between me and Kairi.
I will get my best friend back.
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AN: This took me ages to write lol. Okay, I know the dream may seem random, but it will be significant to the story in a later chapter. I think lol. Just so you know, there's something going on in this brain of mine, and it has something to do with Zexion and Demyx and another for Cloud and Leon. But that is completely up to you my lovely audience if you want them to have quite a role in this. Send me a review okay? Speaking of reviews, thank you to those who have sent me reviews and private messages due to this story. They really do make me gleeful and push me to write more. So keep them coming XD.