Author's Note: I just feel the need to say thank you thank you thank you to those of you who reviewed. They really made me smile. Nothing says appreciation like a review, right? I lurrrrrrrve you guys! Hope you enjoy the chapter (and I hope I don't make Kairi seem like a biatch. I really tried to avoid that.)

This chapter's theme is 'Gotta Stay High' by New Radicals.

Slight warning: some language.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4:

Gotta Stay High

I saw your eyes
Fell back to yesterday
—One lonely child
Until you let me stay
I had no one on my side
The dam has broke
—My soul is spilling all over your hands—
Take a look in my eyes
There's something about your pushing me
—Pulling me—
That's saying:
"Don't go away."

He could hear voices as soon as he slipped inside the open french doors.

"—loves him too, or did that never occur to you?" Roxas?

He ventured further into the house, out of the patio and into the hallway. His feet made no sound as he stepped through. He leaned over the banister slightly to listen in on the conversation.

"Did it ever occur to you that Riku's my friend?" Kairi cried, "I want him to be happy!"

"This may have escaped your notice, but he's not been happy for a while now." That was definitely Roxas. Curious, Sora drifted down the stairs, intent on the conversation, flattening himself up against the wall.

"That's not fair." Kairi's voice said softly, wearily. "You know, it makes me feel awful, seeing that look in his eyes. It's absolutely heartbreaking. You have no idea how much it hurts. I love Riku, too!"

"It shows." Roxas' voice replied, sarcastic.

"I want him to know, it would be so much easier if he knew, but it's not my right to tell him and it's not your's either."

"So you're going ahead with it anyway?"

"I can't wait forever. I... I deserve to be happy too, you know? Oh, don't look at me like that, Roxas. I've found someone that I love and want to spend my life with and that's not something I feel ashamed of." Kairi's voice hissed, there was an undertone in it that made Sora's toes curl in his shoes. Abruptly he stepped into the room.

Kairi gasped his name. The two of them had been standing in the kitchen with the island between them.

"How long have you been standing there?" Kairi asked, and it alarmed Sora to see tears glistening in her eyes.

"Not long." He lied with very little ease, the shake in his voice and the unsteady pace of his sentence made the falsehood obvious. "Hey Roxas, I didn't expect—"

"I was just leaving." Roxas said. His voice sounded hollow to Sora's ears, completely void of emotion. But Sora knew that tone of voice, and he was certain that inside he shook to the very core with it. But why? Sora didn't understand.

That night Kairi proposed.

Memories.

He could see them clearly now, as though gazing though an objective lens. Looking back, they felt like another person's life entirely. These were the far, cold reaches of a time that no one but Sora had access to.

How could he have forgotten that conversation? No, he didn't forget it. He just never drudged up the memory.

The memories came in pieces… random and out of place.

He pulled out a huge bottle of cheap wine and came back out onto the porch and settled down beside Riku. "Here."

"What, no glasses?"

"What says celebration better than necking from the bottle?"

"Classy." Riku replied, dryly. "You know, if you were going to make an effort, you should have bought a more expensive bottle." He took the bottle though his eyes never left Sora as he lifted it to lips.

"We're can't all be rich bastards like you." Sora grinned into the mouth of the bottle.

"True." Riku shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away from Sora, staring off into the distance. What he was looking at, Sora had no idea, all he could see was rain and lots of it. He shifted uncomfortably and opened his mouth, unsure of what he was going to say. "So… why did you leave the engagement party?"

Inwardly he cringed. That was definitely not what he had wanted to say. Riku said nothing and Sora felt a spark of hope that he hadn't heard. He knew that that hope was just a lie, that Riku was just assimilating what he had said in the drunken fog of his mind.

"Because I was bored."

Apparently he was far too gone for rapid witticism.

"You liar. There was way too much happening for anyone to be bored. Even you." Sora kicked at a puddle, spraying Riku with an onslaught of muddy water. The motion brought an amused smile to his face and left him the victim of a furious glower.

Riku stared down at his wet attire with disgust. "You could at least try to act your age," he growled and drew in a controlled breath.

"Really? And I should be taking advice from you on how to act," Sora used his hands to make the quote marks, "my age?" He chuckled lightly. "I'm your age, you asshole! Maybe you need to start acting your age instead of like some boring, bitter old man."

"If I'm so boring then why are you here?" Riku demanded, frustration radiating from him in thick waves. "Shouldn't you be at home with your fiancée?" He spat, glaring darkly into the bottle. Sora eyed Riku uneasily as he took another deep swig of the wine. He wanted to know what had happened to upset his friend so severely that he had stormed out of his engagement party the other night, and yet, despite his curiosity, he found himself reluctant to voice it. Sora somehow sensed that if he did he would be entering the yawning chasm of whatever Riku was falling through.

"Well, I figure someone has to give you attention when you're acting like an overgrown baby." He smirked, that sounded like something Kairi would have said to him had he done what Riku had done.

Riku's reply was immediate and stinging.

"Can't you ever take anything seriously and not invalidate it?" He snapped.

"I don't do that-"

"Yes you do," Riku interrupted, and it sounded like he was holding back most of the resentment he was feeling from reaching his tone. "You can't take anything seriously. Everything has to be a big joke to you. If someone ever tried to tell you something important you'd just laugh it off."

There was an aura of anger surrounding Riku, but Sora ignored it. "There's no need to be so jealous." He taunted, awaiting some sort of response.

The widening of Riku's eyes threw Sora off completely.

Apparently he had not been expected to say that. In all honesty, he'd never even considered the possibility that Riku could be jealous. But, judging by the horrified expression on the other's face, perhaps the assumption wasn't too far off.

Sora grinned. "You are jealous," Across from him, Riku was growing increasingly tense, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "Who would have thought? The great Riku Secretan, jealous of little ol' Sora Strife?" He snickered. It was only meant to be a slight jab, but he found himself wanting to push Riku's buttons. He wanted to get a reaction - any reaction but that cold, impassive expression…

"Jealous of you?" The man actually scoffed at his words, "No. I'm definitely not jealous of you."

And then he laughed.

It seemed obscene coming from his mouth - that laughter which was so thick, and ugly, like nails on a chalkboard. It made bile rise in Sora's throat. He had expected some sort of comeback, some sort of insult thrown, like they did in the past. Maybe a 'shut up moron,' or 'whatever, you idiot.' Riku was supposed to mock him and call him names that only served to further infuriate him, not…

"You are so stupid!" Riku said between rib cracking peals of laughter. "Jesus Christ! You are so fucking stupid!"

And just like that, Sora's good mood was gone. He should have questioned the ease with which a single person could dampen his spirits – with one word, even. He gritted his teeth, mentally trying to calm himself down. He knew he shouldn't care in the least for Riku's opinion of him but it was undeniable then that he was offended, that his pride had been hurt; and even though he shouldn't care, he did – cared enough to want to know why.

"Why are you being such an asshole?" Sora questioned, finally unable to keep the question in.

"The same reason you are a complete moron." Riku said, suddenly apathetic - collected. It was amazing how little time it took for him to gather himself into that ball of blankness that nothing could get into. His whole countenance became suddenly cold; chilly as ice splayed over December roadways. "Now leave me. I want to be alone."

To Sora, the statement just... didn't click. It wasn't because the idea was particularly complicated or revolutionary, but simply because part of him refused to see it. Because of this, a strong frustration welled up from inside him and produced an unexplainable amount of anger alongside it.

There was a heavy emptiness in the air that neither confirmed or denied the statement—yet, it was undeniable that there was something tugging at Sora, pleading him to stay, begging him not to leave.

"You're lying."

He refused to let go.

They locked eyes; angry-lost against cold-deadly.

"You're lying. You don't want that, nobody ever wants to be alone. and I can't let you want that because... because we're... "

"We're what?" Riku's eyes were bottomless, sucking him in, relaxed and yet exhausted at the same time. "Needy? Pathetic?"

"Because we're friends."

Riku's blue-green eyes regarded him and Sora swore he caught the barest flicker of emotion in them. Just a flicker, but one that certainly existed. And then, all too suddenly, it was gone. His pale lips constricted into a thin line, eyes adopting the appearance of lifeless, green marbles; then he laughed that horrible little laugh again, dry, raspy and painfully barren of anything humourous.

"God, I hate you for what you've done to me."

Blue eyes promptly cast to the other, who now stood looking as still and worn as the corroded buildings around them. "Me?" Sora gaped, "What have I got to do with any of this? What did I do?" He felt his heart sink as he noticed how the other man suddenly closed off. Had that been the wrong thing to say…?

For a long time Riku said nothing. Instead he took another swig and stared moodily out over the village, his eyes were starting to narrow in on the landscape. Sora felt a growing trepidation as he observed the solemn gleam that had appeared in Riku's eyes.

"Nothing. You just don't understand." He said eventually, his expression almost depressed. "You never understand."

Suddenly disheartened, Sora let his own eyes wander to the trees, evading the dull glaze of his companion's stare.

It had definitely been the wrong thing to say.

Aerith was already bowed over a steaming skillet on the stove when Sora entered the kitchen on Friday morning. He made his standard 'good morning' rounds and plopped down into one of the four chairs at the table.

"Good morning," His mother chirped, poking at the eggs in the pan. "You're up early. What's the joyous occasion?"

"Morning detention?" Cloud muttered from the head of the table, eyes riveted on the Daily Sun newspaper.

"You're always so pessimistic," Sora answered, "Can't I just be up because I love the sunrise and want to get a fresh start on this bright new day?"

Cloud bestowed him with a flat look.

"Whhhaaat? I don't have detention!"

The globs of bacon and eggs in the pan began to sizzle warningly as Roxas emerged from the stairwell.

"God, you look horrible." Their alarmed mother voiced, putting her other hand on his brow to compare temperatures. "Do you feel sick anywhere? Does your stomach hurt? Are you coughing?"

Roxas batted the affectionate hand away irritably. "I'm fine, Aerith."

"Well, you don't feel hot." Aerith affirmed, crossing her arms and staring at him as if he was a puzzle to put together. "But there's something wrong. I know it. Are you getting enough sleep?"

Sighing, Roxas lifted his head, only to balance it on his palm. "Maybe I didn't get enough rest last night…"

"Whatcha readin' about, Dad?" Sora inquired across the table.

Cloud's blue eyes lifted from the newspaper and briefly flitted to Roxas' hunched figure. "The recent crimewave in Twilight Town. A bunch of delinquents are supposed to be behind it. They've been dubbed 'The Organisation' by the tabloids. What a nuisance."

"I've never heard of them." Roxas stated.

"Hmm. Maybe you should ask Zexion or something," Sora suggested, "Riku said he's into darker things." He snickered, "You should see some of Roxas' new friends Dad, they're so dark and scary-looking."

"You're the one hiding things." Roxas grumbled ambiguously. Abruptly Cloud turned his human-lie-detector gaze on him that gleamed as threateningly as his .600 Nitro Magnum.

"What?" Sora's voice cracked. Roxas wasn't going to expose his old porn collection was he? To his parents? More importantly their parents?

Ignoring him, Roxas went on, "What about that Axel kid, huh? He's a delinquent if I ever saw one."

"Oh I don't know," Aerith said, "He seems like such a nice boy. A little... energetic perhaps, but nice."

"If by 'energetic', you mean disobedient and destructive, then, yes, he's very energetic." Roxas grumbled quietly.

"Speaking of, he's not been round here recently, are you two still getting along alright?"

Sora felt his eye twitch. 'Getting along' was definitely not the proper term to describe their unstable and incredibly weird relationship. "I don't know…" He confessed, sighing into his folded arms. "I think he's maybe kind of mad at me for something…" It had been almost three days since their last encounter and not one sudden appearance of the red-haired boy had occurred.

"Elbows off the table, Sora." Aerith commanded as she distributed a plate of bacon and eggs to the three males sat around the dining room table. "So who's detention with today?"

"Sephiroth."

"AHA!" Aerith suddenly cried, smacking the young brunet square on the nose with her spatula as she gesticulated widely. "I knew it! Sora Strife, you can keep nothing from me."

Suddenly there was an intensity storming the azure eyes of his father as they honed in on him. His mother had told him that Sephiroth and Cloud had been the best of friends once – a fact that Sora couldn't even begin to phantom, considering his father practically radiated hatred whenever Sephiroth's name was dropped.

"Is he bothering you, Sora?"

Sora smiled back in a meaninglessly innocent fashion. "No, not really." Not anymore than usual, anyway.

"Well, there has to be some reason why you're up." Aerith pressed, her index finger lightly tapping against her bottom lip as she thought, "If it's not Sephiroth then… Riku?"

Sora groaned, burying his head in between his arms.

"I knew something was bothering you. Have you two been fighting again? What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything—he just…UGH!" Sora cried, wringing his hands exasperatedly. And, without thinking, he allowed his inner frustrations to spill out. "There's someone who really likes Riku, and I think they may be right for each other, but…"

Aerith's face almost exploded at the cheeks. "Ohhh, wait. I see. Do I happen to know this person we're talking about?"

"Yes, you do, but I don't want to discuss it."

"Ah." The smile lit the room. "Sora, you know that I love you, correct?"

"Of course."

"And you know I would love you no matter what you choose to do?"

"Well, except if you joined a gang." Cloud interjected, his gaze drifting to Roxas who, in turn, responded with an irritable scowl. "Then you'd be disowned in a matter of seconds, maybe sooner."

"-And you do know I hold no prejudice against any people of any kind, correct?"

"Except for gang members." Cloud reiterated with a pointed look at the youngest Strife. Roxas looked ready to strangle something.

Sora nodded curtly wondering where on Earth this conversation was going. "Yes, Mom. I know."

Aerith cleared her throat and began to idly wipe the spotless kitchen surface. "And well, you know that if you happened to bat for the—the other team, that I, no, we would completely and whole-heartedly accept you, correct?"

Sora looked up into his mother's flushed face. "I don't play baseball, Mom."

Roxas tched. "Are you always this stupid or are you making a special effort today?"

"What your mother is trying to ask you is this:" Cloud gazed impassively at him. "Are you gay?"

"WHHHAATTT?"

For the next several minutes Sora tried to convince his parents that just because he hadn't brought a girl home or really pointed out any 'hot chicks' while shopping, that that didn't mean he was suddenlygay. He failed to notice, at this time, how his mother's face dropped or how Cloud smirked. He followed the conversation up by stating that he did not believe that love was limited to a particular gender before realising there was only five minutes until he was supposed to meet Kairi and Riku. In the process of rushing, he tripped and met the floor, and took a moment to moan/curse the morning before he got up to continue his pursuit of the door in a more careful, albeit panicked rush. As he stooped to collect his schoolbag he witnessed his parents exchange a suspicious look and, while it unnerved him, Sora couldn't quite find it in him to be wary.

Besides, what underhanded motives would his parents have for questioning his sexuality?

As the door closed behind Sora his parents shared a covert glance.

Slowly, carefully, Aerith said, "So he's… bisexual?"

Cloud slowly folded the paper neatly and placed it aside, he leaned forward, eyes dead serious. "I'll raise you 50 munny."

"You're still betting on whether Sora's going to choose Riku or Kairi?" Roxas asked incredulously.

"Uh-huh. You want in?"

Roxas took a deep breath and prepared his long, thoughtless, meaningless speech. He had no idea why he was even attempting to talk to them; he knew that nothing he said would get past their shield of immorality. "You two represent the selfish, moral blank, lazy cynicism and sneering, ironic take on the world that encapsulates everything wrong with a generation. It's no wonder Sora turned out such a fruitcake. I'm intrigued to see what you're going to do next. Really. Maybe you'll ring Grandad and tell him you think he's a boring twat," A new pain was added unceremoniously to his already tender head as Aerith whacked him with her spatula. His father uttered an unconvincing "Watch your language."

"So you're not interested? Oh that's a real darn shame sweetie," Aerith murmured softly looking slightly dejected, though Roxas didn't miss the way her eyes narrowed manipulatively for a split second. Ha. She'd have to try a hell of a lot harder to play him for a fool. He wasn't Sora - he didn't have that inherent habit of believing in the good in everyone. He knew their games and tricks. "Aunt Tifa, Uncle Zack and Uncle Cid are in now, not to mention most of the neighbourhood, so the sweepstake total is… it's… what's the word I'm searching for, honey?"

"Gynourmous."

Roxas raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Normally Cloud didn't use made-up words, but when he did it was generally because there were no words in the English dictionary that were sufficiently descriptive. He glanced sideways, "Exactly how much are we talking here?" Aerith leaned down to whisper the reply in his ear. Brilliant blue eyes widened impossibly. "And that's…?"

"The amount split between the winning side, yes."

"Ok. 50 munny on Kairi. There's no way Riku's got the balls to tell him."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Who's to say it'll be Riku confessing?" The blond cast his mother a sidelong glance, "Well, I know looks don't make the man but Riku's a hot one. You can't deny it. Seriously, you can't! I mean, objectively speaking of course." Roxas' eyes narrowed over the rim of the honey-coloured coffee mug. "What, you don't think so?" She asked sheepishly.

Rubbing his nose fiercely, Roxas glared at his guardian. "He's a mopey, arrogant, stuck-on-himself asshole with a god complex. And for god's sake, he doesn't look nice, he looks like an ice queen!" Roxas scowled just thinking about that infuriating smirk he always wore, the pathetically sad eyes and the emo boy hair, but there was only one real reason Roxas disliked the boy, and it had nothing to do with the aforementioned factors. Gripping his pencil, he heard the faint sound of it bending from the pressure of his quenching hand. As the pencil snapped in his merciless fingers, he imagined Riku's neck in its place.

"So Roxas…" His father's voice cut through his internal hate crusade, "You enjoy the odd gamble?"

"Yeah, sure." Roxas answered offhand and took a long gulp of coffee. He scowled when it didn't taste as good as he'd anticipated and irrationally felt it was somehow Riku's fault.

"Oh really? Well that's interesting." Cloud continued to survey him coolly, a small piece of hardly-comfortable silence passed over the room. "You are aware that gambling is often associated withgangsterrelated activities?"

Roxas had reached the peak of his admittedly very limited patience. "You know, I always thought you were just really good at your job. But you really are an asshole, aren't you?"

Cloud smirked behind the cover of his paper, "They go hand in hand, son."

"You're late."

Riku ran a hand through his hair, which fell back into his eyes that particular way that drove teenage girls mad, but Sora was not a girl and knew that it was a sign of agitation.

"I know, and normally I'm so regular. I think…" Sora eyed his friends gravely. "…I think I'm pregnant." The other boy laughed and gave the brunet a small, playful shove so that he knocked shoulders with the giggling redhead.

"Hey, hey, you know what you two looked like? You looked like a couple in one of those anticipatory shots in romantic movies all huddled close together, like that." Sora teased.

Kairi and Riku exchanged glances. Kairi stuck her tongue out and spoke in a teasing voice. "You jealous?"

"How could I not be?" Sora continued with a leer, "You were making lovey eyes at each other, whispering sweet nothing's in each other's ears..." He paused and unwittingly his face scrunched up at the thought. "Actually, please don't ever do that. I mean, it'd just be weird."

For some reason they both laughed at that and their laughter made Sora want to laugh with them, warm and infectious as it was. He found himself smiling stupidly at their mirth but he couldn't help but feel he somehow the butt of their joke. "What?"

Riku and Kairi shared a look. "I don't think there's any danger of that, Sora."

The three of them strolled their usual route towards Shermer High and after a while in which Kairi and Riku talked (whined/complained/bitched) of school committee duties and their homework load Riku cast a sidelong glance at a suspiciously quiet Sora that should have been more wary.

"Yes?"

"I haven't asked the question yet."

"Yes."

"Is the answer?"

"What?"

"Is yes the answer?"

"Is the question."

"But is yes the answer?"

"I don't know, is it?"

"Take a gamble."

"No."

"No is the answer?"

"No is the answer. Yes is never the answer."

"So no is the answer?"

"No is the answer."

"So if I were to say, you aren't going on a spanking hot date tonight, then your answer is no?"

"Date?" Kairi asked, in an alarming half-squeal, "What date?"

Riku crossed his arms warning indifferently, "Sora, I keep a roll of duct tape in the top drawer of my desk. If you keep talking, you'll find out why."

"Between Riku and Selphie." Sora's face beamed at Kairi. Riku sighed, rubbing his temples with two long fingers.

"Okayyy," Kairi drawled, clearly unconvinced, "Jokes asides, who were you really talking about?"

Sora blinked. "I wasn't joking."

Kairi looked towards Riku, who (begrudgingly) nodded in confirmation.

Silence.

More silence.

Kairi burst out laughing.

"Be serious!" She giggled, 'serious' sounding something more of 'see-hee-hee-heeeerious' due to her undying laughter. Selphie? Selphie and Riku? Good Lord! It was all too much!

"I am being serious!" huffed Sora with his arms crossed. Kairi's lighthearted giggles bubbled away when she noticed the positively deadly glare Riku was casting her. She was laughing while he was in the midst of a crisis! The least she could do was act sympathetic.

"Come on Riku, please?" Sora continued, eyes widened as they looked into teal green eyes. Riku felt his stomach churn at the pathetic plea. He quickly engaged Kairi in conversation before Sora wheedled him into doing something he would regret. Sora scowled at Riku's reaction, but it didn't surprise him. Thus far all his attempts to approach Riku with the subject of Selphie had been thwarted, every time he so much as mentioned her Riku adopted all the characteristics of a social butterfly. If Riku liked Selphie so much why did he keep changing/avoiding the subject when he asked him about her?

Retard.

Hiding his emotions wasn't going to make their relationship any better.

Sora spun around suddenly not noticing Riku was moving to walk around him from behind. Riku narrowly avoided the collision, somehow managing to make the move look both dramatic and casual at once. "Idiot. Watch where you're going."

"You're the one that can't walk properly, asshole!" Kairi cuffed Sora roughly on the head. "Ow! What did you do that for?"

"Is that how you're supposed to speak around a lady?" inquired Kairi with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Lady?" Sora echoed, rubbing his head gingerly, "Who's a lady here? As far as I know, ladies are supposed to be all quiet and proper and keep their hands to themselves. You're practically a man."

The smirk on Kairi's face became strained and her eye twitched at his words. "A… man…?"

He paused in his rambling at her tone of voice, grinning sheepishly when he noticed the look on her face. He immediately clapped his hands together and bowed in a stance of forgiveness. "I'm sorry! Please don't hit me with your manly fists again!"

Riku's eyes rolled skyward, "You're such a wimp." It was then that Sora caught sight of Riku's brown schoolbag; blue eyes glimmered with resolve.

He had an idea...

Riku should have noticed the split second where Sora's eyes narrowed manipulatively, but he only saw the indignant expression that followed. "At least I don't look like a porcelain ladyboy!"

Riku only raised a single brow, "I'm not the one who was a bridesmaid at my aunt's wedding."

"Rikuuuuuuu!" The brunet shrieked, eyes wide and arms waving about wildly, "You promised me you'd never bring that up again!"

"Hitler promised not to invade Czechoslovakia, Sora. Welcome to the real world."

Riku watched blankly as Sora continued to make a fool of himself, moving his hands in vague gestures of mortified shock. "Well, look who's calling me girly!" He exclaimed, "You keep a diary!" Sora triumphed at the way Riku's brow knitted – it seemed the stoic boy wasn't impervious to everything.

"It's a journal." Riku exclaimed indignantly.

"Hey! I keep a diary!" Kairi exclaimed, equally as indignant.

Riku took a moment to eye Sora critically.

"You know, you're right," He said. "You're not girly." Mocking people, Riku had always thought, was out of character for himself. Informing others of their stupidity had always seemed like an overly altruistic waste of time. If somebody were to walk across a splintery bridge in their bare feet he wouldn't bother to tell them a thing; if they got splinters, so what?

He paused, gaze lingering.

"Actually, you'd make a really ugly girl."

Sora spluttered in outrage as he wove through the student body, zigzagging around like a deranged bee. "I'm not girly and I'm not ugly either!"

—But somehow, when Sora did the same thing it was a prime opportunity to point out what a waste of air he could be, and then Sora would get mad. And it was...

It was fun.

"Walking spaghetti!" The brunet retorted – too quickly and with too much eagerness for the conversation to keep going where it was going. Riku paused, slowly adopting what Sora recognised as his 'are you a complete moron?' look. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, spaghetti boy. Al dente." The brunet continued pointing threateningly at his friend.

"I'm sorry, but are you saying I look like a piece of spaghetti?" Riku asked, incredulous.

"Yes I am, farfalline man. You vertical streak of... spaghetti."

"Hm. Well, farfalline is actually little bows of pasta, so it's impossible to be a little bow and a vertical anything…."

Not to be outdone by the other's sheer coolness, Sora retorted; "Shut up! You're such a… a… sucktard!"

Riku smirked. "Sucktard? What, thinking things you shouldn't?" Sora stared back blankly. Riku shook his head, wondering why he even said that. "Never mind."

"You seem different today Sora." Kairi said softly.

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"You're more…" The redhead paused, it was surprisingly difficult to put into words, "—lost in your thoughts than usual?"

"He's always lost in thought." Riku said, another mordant smirk crossing his lips, "It's unfamiliar territory."

Sora ignored the comment and adopted his most 'innocent' expression, "Speaking of losing something —where's your bag?"

Riku's head snapped up. He'd managed to completely forget about it, distracted by his argument with Sora. He looked to his left to the area his bag had previously occupied to find that it was no longer there.

How? Why? What? When? Where? Who?

"I'll make you a deal, Riku," Sora said with a superior smirk, "You go out on one date tonight with Selphie and I'll return your bag."

Riku felt like he'd just been shot at point blank. How the hell? What the hell? He stood there for a moment more, then it dawned on him. "You need to resort to holding someone's personal belongings hostage in order to get a date?" he said disbelievingly. Sora tauntingly dangled Riku's bag just beyond his reach. Oh-ho-ho! He liked where this was going. Power! Intimidation! "Well?"

Riku's face broke with displeasure; he hated losing. He could feel the bile raise in his throat at the thought of it. "Fine," He snapped, "one date."

Sora let out a loud whoop, completing the celebratory yell with a jump and a fist pumped high into the air. He'd just scored his (Riku's?) first date. Ever.

It almost made Riku soften to see him so stupidly happy. Almost. "Just because today was the first time you have ever, ever, ever successfully arranged a date does not suddenly make you Alfie." He ground out. "And I have a condition."

Sora paused in his victory dance.

"If I'm going to go on this date then I want a..." taser gun? restraining order? "… chaperone." Sora's grin only widened. Well, that worked out in his favour, he'd been planning to spy on them anyway, acting as chaperone simply meant he'd have an easily time of it.

"Why I'd love to, Riku." He said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"I can't believe you resorted to stealing his bag to get a date." Kairi laughed, "Do you know how wrong that is?"

"Stealing isn't so bad." Sora reasoned, "It just makes everything very cheap. Plus, you know how I feel about capitalism."

Riku sighed. That damn idiot.

"Yes, confused."

The day progressed with startling boredom, but Sora remained in high spirits and even secretly believed he didn't absolutely bomb his science test. Not an A by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely somewhere in the passing vicinity.

"You think I might've passed that science test, Kai?"

Kairi scooped her heavy text-books into her open bag, slung it over her shoulder. "I should think that you've…"

Sora cocked his head to the side as he watched Kairi's lethargic eyes suddenly sharpen to alertness. He turned around to see just what had enough caliber to widen his friends eye's and—his insides felt dunked in ice water.

Larxene.

Was he breathing? He wasn't exactly sure. His chest was slowly expanding up and down. His blood seemed to have converted into ice like a creek in the middle of winter, turning his limbs into useless, stiff slabs of meat. Her icy eyes surveyed him for a session of painful seconds, eliciting a cold, sinking feeling in his stomach.

Then she took a step.

…Another step.

…And another step.

...And another—

Sora gulped, dread leaking from his brain to this toes, circulating through him as surely as his blood did.

"What's with that look? You scared?" Kairi laughed."My God! You are! You're afraid of a dainty, harmless little lady!"

"I'm not afraid!" Sora screeched, though the crack in his voice rendered the denial ineffective. Dainty, little and harmless were three words he would not use to describe Larxene. "You just don't walk into the jaws of death - that's common knowledge!"

"The-the jaws of death?" Kairi stammered disbelievingly and laughed. "Exaggerating, much?"

"Shut up! She totally has it in for me!" Sora hissed from a cherry-red face. Well it was ok for her to laugh, she wasn't stuck in this pathetically unfunny situation with Larxene. Abrasive, cruel, foul-mouthed, obsessive, sociopathic Larxene. (And they put her in charge of guiding students into the right path? Go figure.)

"And I'm not afraid." Sora spluttered indignantly, "I just wish she liked me, that's all!" He trotted onwards, turning the corner and…

And, well, he wasn't exactly sure because a mind-numbing, hazy hot sensation slowly ebbed away all lingering hints of logic. Instantly, colours seemed more vibrant than usual and everything began to move in slow-motion, hazy and furry. His head, which also seemed suspended in this slow-moving delirium, turned inch by inch to face a tall, red-haired boy leaning in the crook of where the lockers met the wall.

Sora scowled faintly—he knew he would be very very very aggravated when this weird, dull feeling faded away. But it bothered him to find himself unable to howl indignantly about Axel appearing overtly at school and he was repulsed by the fact that he did not have a single ounce of control over himself, that he could not so much as even mummer a weak protest against while that heat seared through him, overwhelming him, as if to consume him completely. His mind remained in complete disarray, as the green stare rose slowly from the floor to meet his own gaze, those eyes cornered him, they swallowed and chewed him in their profound electric hue.

It was only an idea that came to him much later when he would be mulling over this that he would find himself slightly disturbed that he was unable to feel the frustration openly.

Kairi was, and had been, eerily calm through the entire ordeal peered quizzically down at him. How could she stand there so calmly, and so completely unaffected by the fiery haze that was currently wrapping itself around Sora's mind?

"Are you ok, Sora? You look unwell." Kairi stepped closer and brushed his tousled hair away to place a wan, cool hand to his forehead. Sora flinched at the touch - his friend seemed two degrees cooler than the average human being. He had no idea how many dizzying minutes or seconds had passed, he only knew that the edges of his vision were beginning to become fuzzy and distorted. His lungs screamed out for air. It was so hot he couldn't breathe.

"Strife."

Abruptly, the surreal sensation that had enveloped him dissipated. Sora stood waveringly on his feet, feeling the heated disorientation leaking from his brain.

What…. was...?

His gaze snapped to the crook of where the lockers that Axel's dark figure had occupied.

It was vacant.

"Strife."

But he was still around. Sora knew that. He didn't understand why or how he knew—he simply knew.

"Strife."

The sound of the Larxene's voice echoed through his head, returning Sora automatically to his wits. The welling bubbles of heat were beginning to pop and melt back into his stomach lining. Even through his hazy delirium he acknowledged their was something wrong with her voice. No, not wrong. Different. Where it usually seeped scorned and cruelty it was now-

"Oh, er, Larxene." He wheezed, almost flinching at the frailty of his voice, barely moving or breathing for fear of breaking the fragile, frightened silence hovering like a ghost through the near-empty corridor. "I… um… didn't see you there…" He trailed off as Larxene's eyes seemed to narrow a perilous centimeter with every word, an unfamiliar gleam in her frosty blue eyes.

I'm sorry Roxas! He thought miserably. You always said Larxene liked to rip little boys' limbs apart and drink their blood…but I always thought you were exaggerating!

"Sora's not feeling well," Kairi explained, "We were just heading to the nur—"

Larxene's eyes snapped toward Kairi, "Do I look like a mug? Have I got a handle? Am I made of china? Am I kept in a cupboard or on a small wooden tree? Would you like to put your lips on my rim?" She turned to Sora, leaning in closer, until her nose was almost scraping his—didn't she understand the concept of personal bubbles?

"You may answer that last question, Strife." She uttered, "The others were rhetorical."

There was a slippery quiet moment that glided like a fish through the room, the buzz of the florescent lights played like a soundtrack in the background.

Sora blinked, wondering if he'd misheard what had been said so… bluntly. Had he just missed something here? Maybe slipped into a bizarre alternate universe? Kairi caught his eye and shared a look that only confirmed to him Larxene had really just gone there.

"A Lion's mane." Larxene muttered rolling a strand of Sora's hair between her fingers slowly and deliberately. Really, what was it with these space issues? Didn't the counsellor understand common decency entailed a standard of at least eight inches of room between two people at any given time? "The King of beasts." Her voice was breathy as she whispered seductively in his ear.

Seductively? Sora almost fainted. Now this was beyond strange.

Blue eyes danced frantically. This is just not normal. Someone has got to do something. I can't just stand here doing nothing like Larxene's the invading Chinese army. He glanced sidewards for help but Kairi appeared to be incapacitated in a similar state of shell-shock. Oh god, it's got to be me.

He stepped back suddenly out of Larxene's grasp, and looked down at his watch, mocking surprise. "Oh look at the time! If we don't go now, we'll be late!" Ignoring the way his voice squeaked, he seized Kairi's limp wrist, and ambled onwards with sudden haste. "Come on! Faster! Faster! We can't be late!"

Kairi regarded the brunet doubtfully, "Are you having some sort of mental breakdown? You do realise you have Sephiroth next, right? "

"I'm just… eager to go to class. Do some lessons, gain some, uh… understanding and some time... not away from Larxene, just... without her."

Tidus made his way over to them, he grabbed Sora by the arm and twisted him, throwing an arm around his shoulders, laughing appreciatively. "You sly dog! Being chased by hot older women! Some people really do have all the luck!" He shoved into Sora and grinned a shit-eating grin. "But seriously, can you believe she just went off on one like that?"

"It is strange," Sora agreed dourly. Now this mind wasn't as drugged or disorientated as before he could recall what had happened more clearly. Axel had been there and it wasn't a coincidence. He remembered clearly that face, faultless and pale—smooth lines tracing a long, slim nose down to lips that were slightly thin, the slim jaw glued the face together and added a conceited, though graceful edge to his appearance.

Definitely not a coincidence.

Tidus' eyes widened in sudden realisation, "Ho shit. I almost forgot." He pulled a small crumpled note out of his pocket, "I'm supposed to give you this. Hope you don't mind, I read it."He glanced at Sora suspiciously. "What did you do to get landed with weekly counselling?"

Internally, Sora groaned. He was screwed. Like, completely.

And, quite possibly, literally.

"—I'm just saying, you don't have to be a paedophile to want to work with children."

Riku pocketed his hands and smirked, "But it probably helps."

As they made their way home later that Friday afternoon Kairi allowed herself to fall behind and watched as her two best friends hobbled away, bickering loudly. There were not many people on their walk home today, which was comprehensible being that it was at least 20 degrees.

"I spent many happy years in the scouts." Sora huffed.

Riku raised an eyebrow, "You told me kinky Leyton was all over you."

"Yeah, alright Leyton was a bit of a pedo. But it was old-style paedoing. Before it got such a bad name."

"You would say that. You think the best of everyone." Riku scoffed.

"That's not true," Sora refuted zealously. "Remember that creepy old man who lived down the street from us when we were growing up? The one I thought for sure kidnapped little kids and ate their hearts?"

Riku's footsteps abruptly discontinued, "Are you talking about my Grandad Xemnas?"

"Is that who that was?"

Kairi stifled a small smile at their antics. How both she and Riku had fallen in love with Sora was perhaps through their own carelessness; they knew that he was unmindful, that he was impulsive and brash; he didn't have a way with words and he certainly didn't have charm... but he had his charm. A force, an energy that was entirely his and it seemed to fill up the room that he stood as surely as it filled their dreams.

Riku rolled his eyes and continued strolling forward, "I've got a riddle for you."

The brunet indolently kicked a stray rock, "Oh yeah? Try me."

Sora, of course, was completely oblivious to the lure he held over them—

"How can you lift an elephant with one hand?" The question fluttered in the air for only half a second before Sora's smiling lips twisted in bafflement.

"What the—? Where would you find an elephant with one hand?"

Riku let out a long-suffering sigh and Kairi couldn't have stifled her smile if she'd tried.

—Then again, courses of true love never did run smoothly.

Note: At last! I squeezed in a bit of Riku and Kairi's relationship, finally! Can't believe it took me until chapter 4 to introduce such a MAJOR arc of this story!