~Twilight Central~

~Chapter 4~

AN: Again, sorry the last one was so short but it was setting everything up for this chapter and the later ones! ^_^ Yay for secrets starting to come out. And I'm hoping everyone can forgive me for being so late with this! I'm in a new state for the summer to work and having just gotten here I've already got a job as a hostess and it's killing me. Second day of TRAINING and they're already leaving me alone for long periods of time to seat peeps and figure out how to work the machines by myself. Ugh. But I love it.

Since Wednesday Sora had learned a few things:

1) Roxas had serious issues. After what happened Wednesday he skipped the next two days of school.

2) Riku seemed happier without Roxas around.

3) Kairi, for all that she only actually wanted to talk to Sora in class, was actually super sweet and not exactly your stereotypical cheerleader.

4) Kairi hadn't been lying when she said Demyx came from money.

The last one was proven by the amazing party Sora was standing in the middle of. Damn... Impressive was an understatement. There were even a few college kids around and, surprisingly enough, even Zexion, Sora and Naminé's math teacher, had shown up. Okay, that was mildly creepy but no one seemed to mind. Maybe that was why everyone was so well behaved in his class; he was just that cool.

The whole student body seemed to have fit itself into Demyx's house, including Roxas, excluding Riku. The slim blond boy had made it to the party but hadn't actually approached Sora yet and the silver haired football player hadn't even mentioned the fact that Kairi had gone without him. That pretty brunette was sticking close to one of the kegs Demyx had gotten so she could flirt with all of the guys who came to get beer. So much for being his buddy for the night. Then again, Sora was avoiding beer at all costs tonight. It was not tasty at all and took too long for him to feel anything. The few times he'd had anything to drink at all he realized he liked mixed drinks far more. Hell, he just liked liquor more than beer.

No matter his preference for alcohol, he wasn't drinking tonight. He wanted to keep all of his senses about him mostly because he wanted to wait for everyone to get drunk enough so he could pull the information out of them. Yes, his brilliant, master plan for figuring out all of these secrets was to make sure they were all drunk enough to not care about what they told him.

Seeing a blond figure across the large living room Sora tried to make his way over to his friend. Pushing people aside he tried desperately to see where Roxas went. He had to talk to him and since he hadn't been in school or answering his phone the past few days this was his first chance. Living room, to the kitchen, to the dinning room, to the stair case, Sora followed Roxas by catching glimpses of his blond hair, his blond hair and someone else's shoulder length brown hair. The guy leading him was almost as tall as Axel, maybe Demyx's height. A bad feeling in Sora's gut told him the guy Roxas was following was one of the guys on the football team that hung out with Riku.

But why?

He was reaching the top step as a small blond head ducked inside a door. Running up to the door he tried the knob but of course it was locked. "Shit," he muttered. Did he knock and ask to talk to Roxas or should he just walk away? Decisions, decisions...

"Mmm... Roxas..." Sora could hear the moan clearly through the door. It set his nerves on edge and sent his mind into those dark thoughts he'd been trying to avoid. He wanted to never think of that, of Roxas pouncing on him in his kitchen, again. He didn't want to ever see Roxas like that in his mind's eye. They were friends and friends didn't think of friends like that. Hell, he even wanted to do something to keep Roxas from hooking up with random people for something small they've said. If he could just do or say something to keep Roxas from jumping on everyone he'd be happy, it would make him a good friend.

Sora clenched his fists. They obviously weren't wasting time; Sora could hear soft moans and pants of a much higher octave ringing over much deeper grunts. They came in time with each other, in a rhythmic beat that made clear exactly what they were doing. And Sora couldn't interrupt that.

Storming away he went back to the party downstairs. Music still bumped around him and people mingled, all talking and laughing like everything was perfect. Kairi was flirting with one of the seniors quite happily from her position by one of the kegs.

It hadn't bothered him before, but for some reason, after seeing Roxas whoring himself around it really bugged him that she was basically emotionally cheating on a guy as cute as Riku. Yeah, maybe he was a dick, but he was a really attractive dick who did actually have a nice side. He didn't deserve to have Kairi flirting with every guy there. If Sora could just have a chance with him...

Bad thoughts. Very bad, pointless thoughts. Riku was dating a girl. That meant he had no interest in Sora like that. No hope. Don't wish for it. Don't think about it.

"Having fun, So-ra?" The sing-song way Demyx came up to Sora's side and said his name said he'd had plenty to drink already. Not enough to get him talking but enough to defiantly impair his judgment. Absently Sora wondered just how much more it'd take to get the loud-mouth to talk. One drink? Two? How was Sora going to get those next few drinks into the blond? He'd offer to do shots or something but he refused to do any shots.

"Yeah, this is pretty awesome Demyx." He tried to put in as much energy as he could into it and sound as excited as Demyx clearly wanted him to be.

Wrapping his arms around the smaller boy Demyx leaned down to put his face next to Sora's. The stench of the booze was so heavy on his breath it was almost suffocating Sora. "You can call me Demy." The low tone of his voice sounded so seductive and alluring. But the spell of his voice was broken when he let out a drunken laugh. "But only if you're going to sleep with me like Zexy does." So distracted by the way Demyx sang everything he almost didn't catch who the blond had mentioned.

"Who's Zexy?" Sora asked slowly.

"You know him, silly." A hand traced lazy circles on one of his shoulders. "You and Namy are in his class."

Demy...Demyx. Namy...Naminé? So, Zexy... "Zexion?"

"That's right! Isn't he amazingly cute? I don't know how I got lucky enough to get him into my bed. Sorry So-ra, I only like older guys. Oh there he is!" Happily releasing Sora from his hold he pranced over to the silver haired teacher. Almost completely stoic Zexion barely smiled at the blond who came over to him but the cold, emotionless look in his eyes did seem to warm up a bit. He even held out an arm to let Demyx settle into his side.

Roxas, Kairi and Demyx all had someone for the night it seemed which left Sora feeling mildly lonely. But there was always Naminé and Axel. Deciding at least one of them wouldn't mind having a buddy for the night he went off looking for them. Now one would think that even with the school's entire student body you'd still be able to find one of two people when they're all jammed together in one house, no matter how big it was. He even checked to the pool outside, though he couldn't imagine either of those he was looking for swimming with all of these people around.

The clock hit one am before Sora decided to give up. Everyone he was friends with had disappeared, probably off with someone else behind a closed door. Even Kairi was MIA. Just knowing that she might be off with someone else, cheating on Riku... He really couldn't stand it. For the first time that night he wished he'd had at least one drink as he pulled out his phone and dialed Riku's number. After a single ring he heard Riku's voice, "Hey Sora."

"Riku..." He didn't know exactly why he called, he just knew he didn't want Riku to be hurt by Kairi's actions. So did he tell him or let Riku find out on his own? "Why aren't you at the party?" Totally reasonable question.

"Not my scene," Riku said blandly. "But why are you calling? Is it not as much fun as you thought it'd be?"

"No it's really fun I just..." Well now he just sounded like some love sick loser. How to turn this so he wasn't lame in Riku's eyes? "Everyone's disappeared and I was just wondering if you really were here or not." That didn't help at all. He still sounded like a loser.

"Why don't you ditch the party?" The suggestion made Sora's breath catch. The chance to hang out with Riku... "You can come over here and we can find something more fun for you to do." His heart was pounding so hard he was praying Riku couldn't hear it. If Riku wanted to hang out with him, just him, maybe there was a chance. Or Riku was like any normal high school guy and just wanted to spend a night with his buddy playing games and watching movies.

Please let him want me. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan."

"Then I'll be over in ten minutes. Think you can wait that long?"

The teasing way those words came out made Sora smile. "I'll be fine."

"See you in a second." Click.

Happy beyond belief Sora tried to decide if he should have a quick drink to calm himself down a bit. As much as he wanted to he didn't want anything to blur the memories he was about to, hopefully, make. Who knew when he'd have a chance to spend more time alone with Riku.

As he made his way to the front door to wait for Riku, the laws of the universe came into play: he found Axel and Naminé. He tried to stay hidden behind people so they didn't see him, but his extra precautions were pretty unneeded; heads huddled close together like they were discussing a secret, Sora wanted to go over and talk to them. Now might be the last chance he had to try to get any information from them tonight. But then they'd ask him about where he was going and they really seemed to hate Riku so... No. He'd talk to them later. Besides, getting information out of them while drunk didn't mean they trusted him. Wouldn't it be so much better to have them tell him while sober? It would be a sign of trust and respect and... And he just wanted to go hang out with Riku. Yep, that was really it.

Outside the night air was cold against Sora's skin. The fall was slowly turning into winter and the air was one of the first signs of it. Soon there would be snowball fights, hot chocolate and heavy jackets. Ew. Another reason Sora wanted to go back to Destiny Islands. But... home didn't have a sexy football player pulling up in a black hummer to pick him up. "You gonna stand there all night or are you going to actually hop in?" asked Riku teasingly through the open window.

Trying not to smile like an idiot Sora ran over and jumped into the car. Taking a breath to calm himself he tried not to moan at the smell of the car. Football, cologne and Riku; it was a heady combination. "Thanks," he said looking at his shoes. "The party wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be."

"No problem. You sure no one will miss you for the rest of the night?"

Taking another breath Sora tried to act normal and look at Riku directly but that just made him lose his breath again. Just in a black tank and shorts that had managed to work their way up his legs from sitting in the car, every part of Riku seemed to beg for Sora to touch. Well, Sora's body was begging him to touch that exposed skin. "No one will. They're all busy." Even to his own ears his voice sounded a bit tight. Not good. "But aren't you a bit chilly?"

Glancing down as if he just noticed what he was wearing the older boy shrugged. "Didn't think to grab a jacket. I was too busy saving you." The teasing tone had returned. Putting the car back into drive Riku pulled out of Demyx's crowded driveway and drove down the street.

"And thanks again for that," said Sora.

"Well, you are making my night more interesting," Riku admitted. "Since Kairi's at the party with everyone else I didn't have much to do." His words said he did in fact mind that his girlfriend was at a party without him. His tone said he couldn't give a rats ass.

Licking his lips Sora tried to work up the courage to ask Riku why there was such a contradiction in him. He hadn't asked anyone else anything tonight, so why not? Besides, he hadn't even considered Riku. Just because he wasn't really friends with the same people Sora was – more like enemies actually – that didn't mean he didn't know what was going on. As strange as this new high school was, gossip must spread like wildfire even here. "So why weren't you at Demyx's party?"

"I already told you, Sora," Riku said as if explaining something basic to someone who just hadn't been listening. "Not my scene."

"You say that, but it seems like it's more than that." A small bubble of fear formed in Sora's chest. What if Riku got pissed at him for poking around in his affairs? But they were friends so they should be able to talk, right?

Pulling up into the garage of a very modern looking house with large windows everywhere Riku got out and slammed his door a bit harder than necessary. Sighing Sora followed him, hoping he didn't completely ruin his chances. Inside the house everything looked just as modern as the outside. White marble kitchen counter tops and stainless steal gave the kitchen a high-tech look. Black leather couches gave the living room a very chic look. Stained mahogany wood tables and matching chairs looked elegant against the backdrop the windows provided. It was such an amazing house.

Taking his shoes off at the door, Sora kept a few steps behind Riku as the older boy lead him downstairs into the basement. Ignoring Sora's last comment Riku said, "My parents are divorced. This is my dad's house and he's out of town for the week for business."

Even the basement was all elegant and pristine. A large couch that could easily sit five people was stationed across from one of the largest TVs Sora had ever seen. Flopping down on the couch Riku pulled a blanket over himself. Unsure of where to sit, Sora perched himself on the arm of the couch. Silence stretched out for a while before Riku finally sighed and turned to Sora. "Okay, I'll answer a question for everyone you answer."

Sora was shocked. That was more than he'd gotten from anyone else. "Sure. Will you answer first?"

The look on Riku's face said he would rather not answer at all but he would at least keep his word. "Those guys hate me and it would just cause a scene. As much as I like the spotlight I'd rather not publicly kick Axel's ass again."

"Again?"

"My turn," Riku corrected with a slight tsk. "You're gay, aren't you?"

Shock. Complete shock. Wasn't that a bit blunt? Shouldn't there have been a few questions to lead up to it? "Yeah..." the brunette mumbled. His face felt hot and he tried not to look guilty. It wasn't anything to be ashamed of, but with Riku questioning him it seemed like he had been hiding a dirty little secret. Clearing his throat Sora looked at the oversized TV. "So why don't you seem to care that Kairi's at a party without you?"

"We've got an interesting relationship. Currently she's cheating but she always comes back to me." Anger, hot and powerful, burned through Sora in an instant. So much for Kairi being a kind person. Riku, asshole he could be, deserved so much better than that. Riku, the guy he had a small crush on, deserved so much better than that. Yes, it was no longer just lusting after the older boy. He really did like him. It wasn't an all consuming like, but he did have a crush on him for sure.

"If she's cheating why are you still with her?" The question was blurted out much more loudly than Sora had intended. His face was heating up yet again.

"My question, not yours. As upset as you're getting, you like me, don't you?"

"No! I don't!" Sora rushed to deny it. He couldn't tell Riku. Wasn't that one of the most basic rules of the high school flirting game? Never let them know you liked them until you knew they liked you.

Riku stood up with a bit of a grunt and walked over to Sora. He had a perfectly blank look on his face that hid everything. Not sure what he should've been expecting – of course he knew what he was hoping for – he was not prepared to be knocked over onto the couch. Letting out a yelp of surprise Sora cringed at the awkward way he landed on his shoulder. "What the hell?"

"Don't lie." Two simple words and Sora knew he Riku saw through him completely. How sad.

Yet it was almost a relief. It was almost nice to not have to hide anything. But how did Riku feel? He couldn't be upset about it otherwise he wouldn't have invited Sora over. Unless he wanted to beat the shit out of Sora. Oh no...

"Yeah, I like you," Sora mumbled. He pushed himself back up to a sitting position but refused to look Riku in the eyes. "Happy?"

Riku swatted him in the head like a large dog knocking over a puppy. Toppling back over Sora just stayed down, staring at the space in front of him. "I'm happy and counting that as your question."

"That's not fair," Sora mumbled unhappily but secretly inside he was freaking out. Riku was happy that Sora had said he liked him. Happy! Wasn't that a good sign? Didn't that mean that Sora at least had a fighting chance against Kairi? Could he maybe even get Riku to like him back?

The heat of Riku's gaze was burning through Sora. The idea of looking up into those eyes was terrifying. If they saw through him so clearly what if they could see what he wanted? Would Riku know what he wanted when he himself wasn't quite sure?

But how could he be sure? It was a shock enough that he'd been able say that he liked the older boy; he'd never taken a moment to think about what the next step was beyond a confession. While he wanted nothing more than to kiss Riku he wasn't sure that would be well received. Yet he had no reason to think it wouldn't be considering Kairi was cheating on him. Perhaps he was doing the same to her. Sora wouldn't mind being the "other woman" if it meant he could be with Riku. And from there things might change so Riku would be with him and him alone.

Having a fantasy was so nice.

"It is fair. You're the idiot who ask a question on your turn that you didn't mean to." Sora pouted but still wouldn't look up at Riku. "You're so shy and unsure... You're a virgin aren't you?"

More from shock than anything else Sora looked up at him. "What the hell kind of question is that?" As much as he tried to put anger into his glare he knew it was pointless. Those turquoise eyes wouldn't let him lie. "Yeah, so what?" Even if he couldn't lie, no way in hell would he give up his pride over this.

"I'm tempted to count that as your next question," Riku said, lowering himself down to the couch to perch above Sora. Legs on either side of Sora, one arm on each side of the brunette, Riku had him trapped. Eyes wide Sora kept his gaze locked on Riku's. "But I won't."

"Great..." So close, just an arms length away. It was difficult, keeping himself in check so he didn't try anything right then. Hell, he still didn't know how Riku felt. "Then my question is, do you like me at all?"

The slightest curl of Riku's lips sent a shiver up Sora's spine. The look in his eyes was purely predatory. Anyone with any sense would've pushed him away once they saw that look but Sora wanted to pull him closer. He wanted their bodies pressed against each other for the heat. As if this was a dream, lips were slowly lowered down towards Sora's own. He could feel his heart beating faster than ever and wanted to lift his lips to those coming down towards his. But he waited. He wasn't still completely sure this wasn't a dream.

Lips stopped just barely touching Sora's. "Kiss me," Riku commanded. Hot breath on his lips made Sora close his eyes and breath in. His last reservations gone Sora lifted his head up and pressed his lips against the older boy's. It simple contact made the brunette's heart flutter. His hands came up to run up Riku's chest and wrap around Riku's neck.

Quick, kisses were mixed with slower ones. For what seemed like hours but couldn't have been more than just a handful of movements they kept the kisses lights and simple. Then Sora felt something wet press against his lips. Opening his mouth he flicked his own tongue out to meet Riku's and let his in. The older boy's slipped into his mouth and with a surprising dominance he took over their kiss. It was nothing like the gentle kisses they first shared. This was so raw and powerful, it made Sora's insides shake. Never one to just let anyone dominate him Sora pushed his tongue into Riku's mouth. Clearly surprised to find Sora actually fighting back Riku's lips turned up into a slight smile. He let Sora attempt to gain control of the kiss for a while before taking control back. One of his hands freed himself from Sora's arms and pinned them above Sora's head. Growling against the older boy Sora tried to free his hands but they were held in such a way it hurt if he moved them.

"What the hell?" Sora growled. "Let me go."

"Don't think so. You're too eager." The most annoying, arrogant smile graced Riku's lips but made Sora still want to keep kissing him.

As if fate said the kissing was over Sora felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Riku let Sora free one of his hands and reach into his pocket to grab his phone. Flipping it open he grimaced at the text he read. Wht happnd 2 u? was the text he got from Axel. So they finally noticed he was missing.

"Who is it?" Riku asked, lowering himself down to breath into his ear.

Sora wanted to ignore the text and go back to kissing Riku but he kept his sense and answered Riku's question, "Axel."

Pulling back the look on Riku's face was dangerously blank. "Axel?" he asked to clarify, as if he could've misunderstood. "What does he want?"

"He just asked where I went." The older boy sat up and crawled off of Sora entirely.

Standing next to the couch he ran a hand through his hair. "I should take you back."

"But why?" Like most every day, Sora was confused. Weren't they having a good time? Why did he have to leave? What was with Axel and Riku?"

"Unless you want to be the reason the past is brought up you can't stay here." Holding out a hand to help the brunette up he pulled Sora up and took him upstairs and into his car. The drive back to Demyx's was terribly short and silence. Sora wanted to ask him a million things but couldn't. No one ever answered his damned questions. What had happened that kept them all so silent? Shouldn't high school kids be horrible gossips? Of course when he needed them to be annoying gossips they weren't.

Parked in front of Demyx's mansion Riku couldn't look at Sora. "I'll see you Monday," he said quietly.

"Whatever," Sora said as he climbed out. He was getting pissed now. He wanted to know everything. Everything no one would tell him.

Back inside the house, the party still raged on. No one had passed out yet and everyone seemed more drunk. People were hooking up left and right. It was like a giant mouth orgy, one Sora was sadly not a part of. Sora walked through the house, trying to find Axel. He could've texted the red head, but didn't want to. He wasn't fussed with the time it was taking to find him. Eventually he made his way to the basement where people were playing beerpong. On one side of the table were Axel and Demyx, the other side were Hayner and a brunette football player, the one who Roxas went upstairs with, Leon.

Walking over to Axel, Sora cheered for his side. "There you are, you little punk," Axel said with a laugh. "Where'd you go."

"Just went to see Riku," said Sora with a shrug.

The smile fell from Axel's face and an anger entered his eyes. "Why that asshole? Don't tell me you have a thing for him too?"

"Does it matter if I do?"

Abandoning the game, Axel grabbed Sora's shirt and dragged him upstairs and outside. Very few people were outside and those who were were happily attached to someone else's mouth. "Did you really go visit Riku?"Axel asked, pinning Sora against the side of the house.

"Yeah, so what?"

"He's an asshole, Sora! A complete douche bag without a heart."

"He's not as bad as you all think!" Sora yelled right back. "He even likes me too!"

"Get your head out of your ass Sora. He's saying whatever he think's you'll want to hear to manipulate you. Why do you think we hate him so much?"

"I don't know why! No one will ever tell me!"

Sighing, Axel released Sora. Hands shoved deep in his pockets he began pacing back and forth in front of Sora. For almost ten minutes he continued to do that without any sign of stopping. Suddenly he turned back to Sora. "Do you want to know?" he asked, voice deep with emotion.

"Yes." It was what he'd wanted all along!

Muttering something about the stupidity of kids Axel paced back and forth a few more times before he was ready to talk. Leaning against the wall next to Sora he looked up at the starry sky. "This all happened last year, right after school started. Naminé and Roxas had started hanging out with me and Demyx almost right away. Even Kairi used to hang out with us on a regular basis. Riku wasn't captain of the football team and didn't care about being part of the 'popular' group as much. All six of us hung out almost daily at school but Kairi and Riku never wanted to see us outside of school.

"We didn't care of course, they could do whatever they wanted. We all saw just how infatuated Kairi was with Riku and knew they'd be getting together soon enough, even though he wasn't as interested in her. That asshole was just playing her and still is. But Roxas decided he liked Riku too. Before any of us, he came out to Riku and Riku was the one to convince him to start secretly dating. He cared too much about his reputation to come out. Well, that's what he said. But he was just playing Roxas like he was Kairi.

"From first kiss to the first time they did it was only two weeks. For two weeks Roxas said he was in love and no matter what we said he was obnoxiously infatuated with the asshole. Then, like any other asshole, Riku showed his true colors. He used Roxas for his body then dumped him for Kairi within the day. I'm sure Roxas would've gotten over that but within a week everyone on the football team had heard Roxas was an easy lay.

"At first he said no and refused all of them. I heard Riku laughing about Roxas being a slut and we got in a fight that got me suspended from school. Of course, that would be the day some of the older football players decided to show their true colors as well. I'm sure you can imagine what happened when they cornered Roxas. And their awesome reason for doing anything was that he was a slut anyways.

"And Roxas just went along with it after that. He won't say no to anyone. It's like he doesn't care about what happens anymore."

From beginning to end Axel's voice had grown tighter and tighter. His body had slipped down the wall until he was seated. If Sora hadn't been staring at him the whole time he would've been sure Axel was crying. He sounded so completely heartbroken and defeated over a story that wasn't even his. The way he cared for Roxas was so deep and more than what one friend normally felt for another. "Axel..." Sora was unsure of himself; his voice shook slightly. "Do you like Roxas?"

After such a story other questions were expected. Other emotions. But clearly that was one thing Axel wasn't expecting. "Yeah," he said, a bit shocked. "I do."

"Then why not tell him?"

Axel cringed at the memory that brought up. "I did. It just didn't go over so well." Knowing what Roxas did to him, Sora could imagine how Roxas reacted to Axel's confession. But Roxas needed someone to care about him to get him out of this. Axel didn't seem to want to push him because he cared, but he needed to to help. Sighing, Axel looked up at Sora. "I just don't want to see you end up like Roxas."

Neither do I. He really didn't want to believe that Riku could be such an asshole, but hadn't he thought Riku was a bastard at first? If he put himself into the same mindset as before he could fully believe Riku would do something like that. And if so he deserved to be cheated on.

Still, he felt almost bad for thinking and feeling that way. Just an hour before he'd been kissing Riku, happily willing to ignore Axel. Maybe he would've even let Riku take his virginity as well had Axel not told him everything. But now he couldn't stand the idea or even kissing him again. He hurt Roxas that badly and for what? Feelings should never be toyed with and a person's body wasn't something to just be used.

"I can't believe I felt bad for him when he said Kairi was cheating on him," Sora said angrily. He also couldn't believe he liked him so much. It felt like bands were constricting his heart. Even though it hadn't been him, he felt betrayed.

"About that..." Axel pushed himself up along the wall until he was standing next to Sora. "I guess you should know that she's cheating on him with me..."

He could almost understand it; they'd been friends and now Axel wanted some sort of revenge but he would've just dumped her after one time then. He wasn't the same as Riku but still. "What. The. Fuck?"