Well, I knew I was going to get behind from exams, but now that I'm done I'm hoping to get a few out before I start working. I still feel bad, though, so: much apology, many sorry, wow. On a different note, I'm contemplating whether or not to change the story summary, possibly to a line (or lines) from the story. What do you guys think; is it worth changing or is it fine the way it is. It might just be me, but I'm finding it somewhat uninspiring and awkwardly worded (thanks, 144 character limit…).
Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one
Years Gone By: Part I
The days seemed to go by quickly now that Sora had found a reason to go to school – assuming he didn't have work, of course. Other than the odd time when they didn't run into each other, Sora had been hanging out with Kairi almost every day. For a while, he was afraid that she might start getting irritated with his clinginess, but she gave no signs that she disliked his presence. If anything, she seemed to enjoy having him around more than he did of her.
"So, when are you gonna bone this chick?" Riku asked, frustrated that the wind on the roof was preventing him from lighting his cigarette.
"First of all, I've only been talking to her for a little over a week," Sora responded. "Second, and I know I've said this before, I'm not looking for a relationship with her."
"Pfft, who said anything about a relationship?" the silver-haired teen chuckled, finally managing to get a flame from his lighter. "This is the perfect time to do something, anyway: You haven't known each other long enough to be emotionally attached so nothing will happen after you get the deed done."
"I think that only applies to you, Riku," Roxas laughed from the other side of Sora. "Besides, maybe Kairi is actually butt-ugly or imaginary and Sora's just too embarrassed to tell us."
"Get real," Sora groaned, swatting at Roxas' head, only to miss by an inch. "She's totally real; you even saw her way back the first time I met her."
"Only her back; I wasn't going to spook her as she was sneaking out, so I just watched her leave."
"Well, that proves she's real!"
"Really ugly?" Riku jeered.
"Ugh, honestly, go to hell, both of you."
Roxas and Riku both laughed, high-fiving each other while Sora fumed against the fence. It was just like them to act like jerks when it came to girls. Well, not so much Roxas, but definitely Riku. Sora knew he should have expected this, but somehow he always held out the false hope that they would act like respectable human beings.
The rooftop door squeaked open, but Sora didn't bother turning his head to see who it was. With these two cutting class with him, it was more likely to be an angry counselor than anyone else.
"Whoa, babe alert," Riku muttered to Sora, lightly elbowing him in the side. "Check her out; I bet she'd make you forget all about your ugly girlfriend."
Without even thinking about arguing with him, Sora sighed and reluctantly glanced over to the entryway. Of course, when he noticed who had stepped through the doorway, it took all his willpower to hold back a smug grin from forming on his face.
"You should get her to come over here," Sora feigned disinterest. "I bet even you couldn't get a hot girl like her to talk to you."
"Tch," Riku scoffed, standing straight up and getting ready to walk over to her. "Roxas, I hope you're ready to watch you brother get shown up."
"No need," the blond said, "she's already walking this way."
Surprised by his statement, both Sora and Riku looked over to see that the girl was, indeed, walking their way. Riku gave Sora a smug look and quickly tossed his cigarette butt on the ground, crushing it beneath his foot. Sora was still trying his best to contain his own smugness from showing through.
"Hey, hey, how's it going?" Riku said coolly as she came within speaking distance.
Casting Riku a confused look, the redhead brushed off his greeting and smiled right at Sora. "Hey, I thought you might be up here!"
"Heh, that's mean, I go to class sometimes," Sora chuckled, ignoring the stupefied looks from his two companions. "You could've texted me if you wanted to know what I was doing."
"I guess, but that wouldn't have been as fun as searching," she said before adding, "except it still wasn't that fun, since you were in the first place I checked…"
Before Sora had the chance to say anything else, Riku cut him off. "W-Whoa, hey, Sora, buddy, you gonna introduce us to your lady friend?"
Sora gave Riku and Roxas an unimpressed look. While he wanted to blow their minds by explaining that this was Kairi, the girl they had basically been calling ugly, their complete lack of tact or restraint bothered him. They were practically drooling over her while she stood right there, hearing everything they were saying.
Rolling his eyes and giving Kairi a smile that read 'can't be helped', Sora turned his companions toward Kairi and began the introductions.
"Guys, this is Kairi, the girl I've been hanging out with for the past while, and the one you accused of being ug–"
"No way, this can't be her!" Riku growled at Sora. "No girl this hot would want to hang out with a lame-ass like you!"
"…Kairi," Sora continued, "this is Roxas, my brother. This other guy is just some pervert that you don't need to remember."
"Got it," she replied, smiling at Roxas.
"Oh, come on, man, you know I was joking," Riku laughed, sliding right up against Kairi's side. "Anyway, I'm Riku, and if you're looking for a good time, I can show it to you. You're not gonna get anywhere hanging around with Sora, so now's your chance to see how a real man works his magic."
"Wow, you're pretty forward, aren't you?" Kairi giggled, the slightest hint of malice lacing her voice. "It's a shame that I'm not into jerks. Besides…"
There was a pause as she sent a suggestive look Sora's way, causing him to blush. Both of the other guys also looked at him, wondering what that look could have meant, though each of their reactions was rather different from the other's. Sora had somewhat of an idea what she was thinking of, and he prayed that she wouldn't say anything about it.
"…Sora and I have already kissed."
She said it.
Fortunately for the brunet, neither Riku nor Roxas reacted much to this news. Instead of getting into a frenzy over how he'd managed to get a kiss from her, they both seemed to blow it off like it was nothing.
"Big deal, we already knew about that," Roxas said with a shrug.
"Besides, that was, like, way back in the winter," Riku added, continuing to push himself up against Kairi's side.
"Actually–"
Sora braced himself for what would be an inevitable attack from his friends.
"–we've done it a couple times this week. Yesterday was the latest one."
Silence. Sora watched as both Roxas and Riku stood there frozen like statues. Kairi, in her bubbly obliviousness, gave a teasing smile to Sora. It was hard to tell whether she had planned to put him in a tough situation or if she had simply thought that he would have told them by now. Any regular guy would brag about getting to first base with a girl as attractive as Kairi, but given the people he was dealing with, Sora hadn't really planned on telling them, at least not until much later.
As both statues slowly cranked their necks from Kairi to Sora, he could practically feel the tension in the air begin to suffocate him. It was tough to decide if Roxas' look of admiration and disbelief was as bad as Riku's expression of jealousy and 'I'm gonna kill you'. Honestly, Sora still couldn't believe that Xion actively wanted to be in a relationship with him.
"Ehehe…" he chortled uncomfortably, trying to fill the void of silence. "Well, um, it's fairer to say that she kissed me… I was caught by surprise every time."
Why he had chosen to say that, Sora would never know, but the moment the words passed his lips, he instantly regretted it, as the expressions on their faces only worsened. Dealing with Roxas bugging him about it at home would be easy; trying to get Riku off his case for something like this…well, the word 'difficult' just didn't seem to cut it.
"I don't really know what's going on," Kairi said, feigning innocence that was too cute for Sora to get angry at her for, "but this is getting…weird. If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna steal him away from you."
Without giving any of them a chance to react, Kairi quickly latched onto Sora's wrist and began pulling him away, leaving the other two to watch as they simply walked off. Rather than leading him to their usual spot above the roof's entrance, Kairi opened the door and brought Sora back inside. Once there, she pulled him off into the alcove next to the doorway.
"I guess I should have thought that through a little better," Kairi giggled, letting go of Sora's wrist. "Staying outside with them there would have been awkward, but I forgot that it's the middle of fifth period and we can't get spotted skipping."
Shaking his head and letting out a breathy chuckle, Sora leaned against the wall. "Eh, don't worry about it; this is better than letting those two interrogate me. Really, though, you could have left out the fact that you've been kissing me."
"Aww, you don't like it?"
"It's embarrassing…"
Kairi laughed as Sora began to blush. Since it had happened a few times now, he no longer bothered trying to make her stop, but the sporadic smooches weren't getting any easier to deal with. In all fairness, he didn't dislike them – not at all – but the spontaneity of it all was more than someone like him could deal with. What made her want to kiss a plain guy like him, anyway? Or was it the fact that he was so plain and unsuspecting that made her want to mess with him all the time? He had to admit, another guy with more personality might not be as fun for her to tease.
"A-Anyway," Sora continued, trying to steer the subject in another direction, "what should we do now that we're here?"
"We could kiss," she said in a mischievous yet nonchalant tone.
"Or we could…"
"Kiss."
"Besides that, if you don't mind."
She giggled again, but didn't push it any further. Humming to herself, she sat down against the wall. "Sometimes I take naps when I'm skipping, but that doesn't really seem like something you do with two people. What do you usually do?"
Sora shrugged and slid his back down the wall so that he was sitting beside her. "Most of the time I'm with one of those guys, but since we can't go back out there with them, I'm not sure what there is to do…other than going back to class…"
Both teens looked at each other and made some kind of disgusted expression at Sora's suggestion. With only this last week of classes before exams, neither one of them saw the use in going to a bunch of review lessons that they wouldn't pay attention to anyway. Of course, cutting the entire week would probably get them in loads of trouble, so they still had to show up, if only for attendance.
"Hey, I just thought about something," said Kairi. "Who's your prom date?"
Taken aback by the sudden question, Sora was unable to stop his cheeks from burning up. "O-Oh, well…you know, just some girl… I doubt you know her…"
"Heehee, you don't have a date."
"I totally do!"
Lightly punching him on the shoulder, Kairi laughed. "No need to get so embarrassed, Sora. Lots of people go solo, but I'm betting you got turned down, judging from your reaction."
"It's not like that," Sora grumbled, slightly turning his face away from her. "I just didn't bother asking anyone. I don't exactly have a ton of female friends, anyway. Honestly, I haven't decided if I'm even going to it."
Out of nowhere, he suddenly felt a tight squeezing on his face, followed by his head being forcefully turned towards Kairi. The redhead had one hand held surprisingly tightly around his cheeks while she gave him what he could only describe as the most serious and stern expression she'd ever given him. Apparently, prom was a big deal for her.
"You can't be such a lame-ass, Sora!" she exclaimed in a tone reminiscent of Riku. "You're going to skip out on one of the biggest events of our high school lives just because you don't have a date?"
Tugging her hand off his face, Sora rubbed his cheeks and shrugged. "It's not just that; tickets are expensive. If I'm only going to have an okay time, then is there any point in shelling out a decent chunk of my paycheck?"
Bopping him on the head, Kairi groaned at his reasoning. "That's no excuse, Sora. I already know that you don't spend your money on anything fun, so you should have a whole bunch saved up. How about I promise a dance with you if you show up? Not a bad deal, hey? You get to see me all dressed up and fancy and you get to dance with me!"
"Won't your date be upset?" Sora chuckled. "And, by the way, you never told me who your date was!"
Kairi waved off Sora's demanding tone and continued ranting on. "If he gets mad because I'm not clinging to him for the entire night, then that's his problem. Unless you're dating someone, you can't expect to hog them at a dance. Anyway, he goes to a different school, so I doubt you'd know him."
"You sure you're not just pretending to have a date?"
"Pfft, I wouldn't sink to that level if I didn't have a date," she teased. "Besides, he's more like a friend of a friend. I don't really feel like explaining the whole situation, but it's sort of as a favour to her that I agreed to let him be my date. Oh, that reminds me! She's coming too, so I could always set you up with her!"
Sora cocked his head back and raised an eyebrow before a smirk slowly formed across his lips. "Well, if she's anything like you, I think I'll pass."
"Rude," the redhead laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. "She's actually, like, the complete opposite of me, so you're in luck. You probably won't hit it off with her like you did with me, though."
"Uh, yeah, that only happened because the two times that I've met you, you were unconscious for some reason or other and then you ended up forcing me into some kind of…interesting situation."
"You know, I still don't believe that whole 'sniffing your face' thing."
As they laughed about their past meetings and the plans for prom, the last bell of the day rang, which was quickly followed by Roxas and Riku re-entering the building and walking past them without noticing they were there. Once the boys were out of sight, Kairi and Sora got up and started making their way down the stairs. With all the talk of prom and the realization that it was right around the corner, Sora now felt like he was on some kind of time limit, even though he still hadn't decided whether or not he was going.
Once they had reached the first floor and exited the building, Kairi suddenly jogged ahead a few steps and turned around, pointing a finger right at him. Hoping that nobody else would pay too much attention to the inevitable scene she was about to cause, Sora gulped and waited for her to do her thing.
"Sora!" she said loudly, which, to his embarrassment, caught the attention of quite a few people. "You had better buy a prom ticket by tomorrow, okay? I swear, if, after everything we've talked about, you decide not to go, then I'm going to punch you in the head and pull your hair and…and…and I'll bite you on the ear!"
Sora could only try to hide his face as the random passersby commented on what she'd just announced.
"Isn't that a bit abusive?"
"Shit, he's trying to stand her up."
"Whoa, what a babe!"
"Other than getting punched in the head, I'd let her do those things to me all night long."
Glancing up to see her grinning, Sora could only wonder how she remained so oblivious to her surroundings. Either that or she had learned to transcend the feeling of shame, which consequently meant doubling his own. As she turned around and waved to him while running off, the brunet could only stand there and wait until she was out of sight and the comments had been drowned out. Really, what planet was that girl from?!
Taking the first few steps on his trek home, Sora's lips curled up slightly, despite his embarrassment. Even as the source of all his headaches from her ridiculous antics, he wouldn't change her at all. Kairi was Kairi, and no matter what sort of hell she put him through, he was almost certain that he would come out still liking her (the keyword being 'almost').
Passing by a men's clothing store, he stopped to glance at some of the suits in the window. If he didn't want to get physically abused by Kairi, then he would have to rent a tux and buy his ticket. Just thinking about the amount of munny he would need for both of those made him cringe, but the idea of getting his ear bitten in a non-sensual way didn't sound so appealing. Sighing and continuing his walk home, Sora silently said goodbye to a large portion of his paycheck.
キングダムハーツキングダムハーツキングダムハーツ
The last two weeks of school flew by, and before Sora knew it, it was the morning before prom. His finals were over, and his wallet had reluctantly lost some weight, though he couldn't deny that Kairi was right about still having a significant amount saved up in his bank account. With the actual celebrations not taking place until nighttime, he and Riku were busy getting ready at his apartment.
"Man, I am glad those finals are over!" Riku sighed and adjusted his tie in the mirror. "Seriously, math yesterday was brutal. What'd you get for the last question?"
Trying to think back on what the question was, Sora scratched his head while trying to figure out how to fold his pocket square. "Uh…I think it was 68√5 + 14x. Why, what'd you get?"
"…3…"
"I don't even want to know how you got to that answer…"
Chuckling, Riku finished tightening his tie and began buttoning up his vest. "Eh, who gives a crap, anyway? Exams are done and now we get to let loose tonight!"
Despite agreeing to Kairi's convincing, Sora still wasn't sure that he wanted to go tonight. It would be a waste of his munny not to at this point, but this, along with commencement in a few days, were supposed to be like a final sendoff into the real world. While that would seem like a big stepping-stone and accomplishment for most people, Sora felt like he had already graduated his life as a dependent kid. After all, he was paying rent on his own apartment, working most of the time, and basically managing the way that he probably would for the rest of his life. If he had wanted a graduation ceremony, it would have been back when he first moved out.
"You still never told me about this chick you're supposed to be going with," Riku said and took a seat across from Sora.
"I would have if I knew who she was," Sora chuckled dryly, tucking the square into his jacket pocket after finally managing to get it right. "She's supposed to be one of Kairi's friends. I think her name was Fuu?"
"Asian girl, nice."
"You realize that our names are Asian too, right…?"
Riku ignored Sora's comment and continued. "Hopefully she's hot, but I'm kind of curious why you didn't ask Kairi. I mean, she's a total babe, and I know you keep saying you don't want a relationship with her, but asking her to prom wouldn't have meant much."
Sora responded nonchalantly as he put on his jacket and checked himself in the mirror. "Well, you already knew I wasn't even planning on going until recently. The only reason I am is because she forced me to, and by that point she already had a date."
Shrugging, Riku rummaged through his bag for a moment before pulling out a small black box. Turning to see what it was, Sora rolled his eyes as Riku pulled out a couple of Cuban cigars. The silver-haired teen offered one to Sora, who simply shook his head in response.
"Are you even trying to quit?" Sora asked as Riku put the extra one back. "Seems like you're smoking more than ever nowadays."
"Hey, now, this is different," Riku responded, twirling the fat, plastic-wrapped cigar around his fingers. "Cigars are celebratory, Sora. Actually, I was planning on slowing down after tonight. Something like three a day and after getting laid only."
"If you tell that to Xion, then you won't be getting any action for a long time."
"Who said I'd only be getting some from her?"
"I don't get how you can talk like that so easily."
"Said the virgin."
Sora shook his head and sat back at the table. It was true that Riku had slept around a bit, but he had also never cheated on a girl he was with. From Sora's point of view, it would make more sense to flaunt around the latter than the former, or at least for him not to make it seem like he would cheat. Technically, Riku still wasn't dating Xion, but it would be news to Sora if his best friend had actually gone through with having sex with a different girl.
"Moving on," Sora sighed, "what time do you have to go to Xion's? I doubt she would approve of you smelling like smoke, especially if the scent sticks to your tux."
"I should probably go in a few minutes," Riku said as he checked his watch. "You can relax, though; since you're not gonna smoke one with me, I'm gonna wait until we meet up with other people that are willing to do it. As long as we smoke outside, it won't stick as easily."
"Somehow I don't think that'll make her feel any better…"
As usual, Riku simply shrugged it off, leaving Sora wondering once again why Xion actively chose to be with him. If he were a girl, Sora wasn't sure that he would like someone like Riku for more than a week at most. Luckily, that wasn't a problem he had to deal with, as he wasn't trying to hook up with a promiscuous girl, let alone with anyone at all right now.
The two boys continued killing time by talking and fixing up their tuxedos until Riku had to leave. With nothing to do, Sora slumped down onto the couch and flipped on the small TV in the corner of the room. Personally, he would have liked to stay in his regular clothes until he had to leave, but with Riku coming over to get ready in the morning and Roxas coming back home with their aunt and uncle later, he knew he would have to get ready. Of course, they hadn't told him when they were coming over, so he couldn't wait until the last minute to get dressed up.
As he mindlessly watched the random police drama on the screen, Sora wondered what Kairi might be doing right now. Most likely, she had probably been up early this morning and was still getting ready right now. She had never said if her parents came home to take pictures, but he could only assume that at least one of them had. After all, even though Sora only had his brother, aunt, and uncle, all three of them had taken off work and were coming over to do just that.
It was probably an hour, maybe two, before the sound of the lock turning caught Sora's attention. Turning off the TV, he stood up right as Roxas stepped through the doorway with Cloud and Tifa right behind him. With the three of them dressed semi formally, it seemed funny that they were all gathering in this small apartment instead of at Cloud and Tifa's house.
"Hey, looking sharp, bro," Roxas chuckled.
"Not bad, though you could've done something about that hair," Cloud jeered and set down a large envelope on the table.
"You two are too sarcastic," Tifa scolded lightly before turning to Sora and smiling. "You look very handsome, Sora."
"Heh, uh, thanks," Sora said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Other than the tie, I wasn't sure how most of this other stuff was supposed to go on."
"Mm, it doesn't look like you got any of it wrong," Tifa mused, circling around him to make sure everything was right. "If it makes you feel better, you clean up a lot nicer than Cloud does."
"Usually I'd argue, but today is about you so I'll let it go," Cloud chuckled. Walking over to pat his nephew on the shoulder, he softened his tone and expression. "Seriously, though, you guys grew up so quick. I know I said it when you moved out, but I can't believe that ten years have already gone by since we took you in."
"Me neither," Sora agreed, thinking back on the day that he and Roxas first started living with their aunt and uncle. Back then, he was just a scared little kid without a place he could call home, and now he was an independent man in the working world.
"Before we get too sentimental," Roxas butted in, "we should probably get these pictures taken."
"Right, right," Tifa said, pulling out a digital camera from her purse. "Roxas, go stand next to Sora; we'll start with you two."
For the next few hours, Sora strained his cheeks to pose for pictures with his family. He wasn't even sure how they managed to kill so much time; after all, there were only so many combinations four people could take pictures in. Still, he wasn't unhappy with the time they spent, as it was rare that the four of them got together for something other than a meal or holiday.
"You're flying solo tonight?" Cloud asked once they had stopped taking pictures.
"No, but it's sort of like a blind date," Sora explained, feeling a bit embarrassed by the situation. "One of my friends set me up with her friend."
"I still think you should've taken Kairi," Roxas sniffed. "I know you said she already had a date, but that's because you waited too long."
"She probably already had a date by the time I met her at school," Sora said with a shrug.
"Well, I'm still glad you decided to go," Tifa said, taking a sip of tea. "Actually, I was a bit worried when you first told us you weren't planning to. I thought you were going through some kind of depression or something."
"That's why you're a personal trainer and not a psychologist," Sora chuckled. Before anyone could say anything else, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Checking what the message said, he put the phone back in his pocket and slid his chair out a bit. "Well, Riku says he's waiting out front, so I should probably get going now."
"Have fun, hon," Tifa said, waving as he made his way to the door.
"Knock 'em dead, kid," Cloud added. "Also, this envelope is for you when you get back. Call it a grad gift."
Nodding to them and stepping through the door, Sora quickly made his way to the elevator and headed to the ground floor. Perhaps it was because he had been getting ready all day, or maybe it was because prom was now only a short time away, but Sora couldn't deny that he was actually beginning to get a bit excited for the event. If he didn't think about all the munny he'd spent on it, there were quite a few more pros than cons, one of the best ones being that he would get to see Kairi get all primped up.
"Yo," Riku greeted as Sora got into his car.
"Hey, looking good, Sora," Xion giggled.
"Whoa, Xion, you look great," Sora said as he sat beside her, genuinely impressed by how she looked in her long, dark green dress.
"Heehee, thanks."
""Great?" Sora, you mean she looks super hot, right?" Riku laughed, beginning to drive.
"That's exactly what I meant," he laughed along.
It wasn't long before Riku pulled into the parking lot at the event hall where their prom was being held. Taking a few minutes to find a spot in the crowded lot, the three of them clambered out of the car and casually made their way toward the entrance.
Sora checked his phone to see if Kairi had messaged him at all. While he wasn't expecting anything like a picture of her, he did want to know if she was here yet, especially since he didn't know how she looked or where he was supposed to meet her. Unfortunately, his phone came up blank, and she probably wouldn't notice her phone if he tried messaging her now. Sighing as he slid it back into his pocket, he looked up, scanning over the other people who were entering the building up ahead.
"You seem pretty anxious right now," Xion teased him. "Looking for someone?"
"Yeah, he's looking for the total babe that isn't his date," Riku laughed, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Xion.
"W-Well, she is showing up with my date, though," Sora stammered, though it was true that he was more looking forward to seeing Kairi than his mystery date.
Luckily for him, the search didn't take long, as the sound of someone calling Sora's name instantly caught the attention of all three of them.
"Sora!"
Looking over, Sora's eyes lit up at the sight of Kairi waving over to him. Simply seeing her, he felt his voice catch in his throat, and was unable to call back to her, so he had to settle for waving back. Her pink dress billowed out at her waist, unlike Xion's slim, wavy dress. From here, he was unable to see the necklace around Kairi's neck, but the glint it gave off in the sunset's light told him that it was probably pretty fancy. Her hair was also pinned up in a way that probably took her hours to get right, and overall, he was left in awe at her appearance.
"K-Kairi," he stuttered once they got up to her. "You look… Y-You look…"
"I think the word you're looking for is sexy," Riku said, earning another elbow to the ribs.
"Heehee, geez, you're embarrassing me," Kairi giggled and gave Sora the up-down look. "You look really good, Sora, sexy even."
Unable to figure out how to respond to her teasing, Sora simply dropped his gaze downward and blushed. Even as they laughed at his bashfulness, Sora couldn't seem to keep his composure long enough to look back up. It wasn't until Kairi put her hand under his chin and forced him to look up that he did.
"Come on, now, you don't want to look like an embarrassed little kid for Fuu, do you?" Kairi asked rhetorically, grinning all the while. "Perfect timing, too, here she comes."
Turning to look in the direction Kairi was facing, Sora spotted the two people that Kairi appeared to be waving to. One was a girl with lavender hair who was wearing a flowing, purple dress. He had to assume that was Fuu, as the other person was a guy, presumably Kairi's date. As they got closer, Sora suddenly began to tense up. Initially, he wasn't able to get a good view of the guy walking with Fuu, but now that he could see him, Sora wondered how he of all people ended up as Kairi's date.
"Well, well, long time no see, Gainsborough," he greeted maliciously, pulling out a box of smokes from his pocket.
As much as Sora wanted to leave right this moment, possibly taking Kairi along with him, he knew he couldn't do that. Working with him before he got fired had been bad enough (especially since that meant he was bad enough to get fired by Axel of all people), but Sora thought that he would never have to run into this guy again. He would have been content to maybe pass him by on the streets every once in a while without so much as a word to one another. Sadly, it couldn't be that simple, and to make matters worse, Riku seemed to be happy to have found a smoking buddy for the night.
Taking a noticeable breath and glaring right back at the taller teen, Sora put all his effort into keeping his voice from sounding too disgusted.
"Tch, yeah, it sure has been…Seifer."
Again, apologies for the long wait. It actually took me a lot longer to write this chapter than usual, mostly because I didn't know where I was going with it when I started. I wasn't actually going to bring in their prom this early, but I couldn't think of how else to fill in space until then, so it ended up coming in now. In any case, it should work fine, as there aren't any big events that I'm working towards until about two-thirds or three-quarters of the way through the story.
Next chapter is going to continue directly off of this one, and depending on the length or how things turn out, it may lead into their commencement as well, but I'll have to see how everything goes down. Regardless, if commencement isn't at the end of next chapter, it'll be the beginning of the following one.
Thanks to Drzhar, , Guest, DarkAceKirby, and xamsiras for reviewing!
Thanks for reading and please review!
–GengaJupite
