Title: Tears on the Runway

Summary: Best friends aren't supposed to hurt you. Best friends are supposed to be there for you, care about you, and love you. What do you do when your best friend starts to twist the meaning of friendship into something much darker and more twisted? With every bruise, Kairi hopes she can fix him. But some people are too monstrous to be fixed. Can she be saved before he goes too far? SxK ; VxK

Warnings: Abuse, foul language, sexual content. Rated T for now, but rating may go up in later chapters.

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, and belong entirely to Square-Enix and Tetsuya Nomura. The only thing that belongs to me is the events of the plot, and how I have arranged them.

Song Used in this Chapter: 'Hunter Eats Hunter' by Chevelle.

xxx

How long should I feel like bait now?

Wide open, careful where the mind goes.

Moonlight, a superstitious glow.

If it's my time, well I'm going out alone.

I heard the door open and my heart stopped. That was him. There he was, standing in the doorway with his left hand on the bill of his snapback, adjusting it, and his other hand tucked into the front pocket of his black skinny jeans. His eyes were so blue that I felt as though I were sinking into the depths of a vast ocean, and his long, unruly brown spikes fell into his face in just the right way. He smiled that perfect smile, and I promptly dropped the box of Reno's things that was in my hands.

"Criminy, Kairi!" Reno dashed over, looking irritated. "That has my new PS4 in it!"

Blushing furiously, I apologized. "Oppa, mianhaeyo."

"Dude, I'm sure it's fine." Sora fixed his hat one more time and then came to help Reno gather up the things that had come spilling out of the toppled over box.

Axel came up the stairs outside the open front door of my brother's new apartment, carrying a small end table and wearing a big, goofy grin on his face.

"Only here for five minutes, and Sora's already dropping shit. So clumsy."

I opened my mouth to protest, but to my surprise, Sora interjected.

"Oh, you know me." His eyes met mine and he winked roguishly. "Clumsiest son of a bitch here. Here, dude." He handed Reno the box and then stood up and put his hands on his hips. "So what are we doing here? What's the status?"

It took me a long second to realize that he was talking to me due to the fact that I was still trying to overcome my shock at the fact that he had actually taken the blame for me (and Reno was probably never going to let me live it down, because he had a grin the size of the blazing sun aimed directly at me). I blinked rapidly and lamely said, "Huh?"

Sora raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. "The status. Meaning, how far along are we in the moving process. Like, what do you need me to do, Red?"

I tapped my chin and looked around. Right, this was why my brothers had me here. I was too tiny to lift heavy things even though my muscles were toned and strong from cheerleading, but I was excellent with my organization skills.

"Okay, so I labeled everyone's boxes accordingly," I started to explain, though all I could think about was how worried I was about my outfit. I had chosen to wear a pair of black yoga shorts and a white tank top. Not exactly my cutest choice. "Reno's electronics, clothes, and other stuff are in here, in the living room, and we're trying to work on moving them back to his room on the right so that we can get the furniture in here. Axel's stuff is already in his room, and the kitchen boxes, I'm working on unpacking those right now. You can just help Axel get the furniture out of the moving van and up the stairs because he's not exactly going to be able to move beds and stuff on his own."

Sora nodded and took off his hat. I felt my eyes go wide as he leaned down (hr was way over six feet tall) and placed in on the back of my head in a jaunty manner. He smirked.

"I guess I'll get to work. Thanks, boss." He turned and jogged down the stairs after Axel.

I had a mini panic attack and briefly felt like never washing my hair again and smelling the inside of the hat. But then I realized how insane that would be, so instead, I just pushed the hat down a bit tighter on my long crimson hair, and then went back into the kitchen to finish putting away all of the dishes.

Reno and Axel didn't have much, but everything they did have, they had bought themselves. My brothers had been saving money for nearly two years now, just so they could move out. They swore that it was nothing against our parents, but I had a feeling that it had everything to do with them. I could barely handle the publicity and other stuff that came with my father being in the public eye, and my brothers were probably just over it. They both had well-paying jobs, so I guess they felt like, 'why not just move out?' At least I knew I had a place to escape to if I ever did feel overwhelmed by my parents' expectations, or by the press coming after my family like vultures.

Even now, if I looked out the front window in the kitchen, I could see a news van. The reporter was standing there with her cameraman, looking up at the house curiously. I shook my head in disgust. I hated the press.

As I grabbed a stack of plates, I forgot about the fact that my new boyfriend Vanitas had nearly broken three of my fingers on purpose the other night and dropped them all onto the floor. The resounding crash was loud, and the porcelain shattered into what looked like a thousand pieces, some of them cutting into my feet a bit. I jumped back, shaking my throbbing hand out and hopping on one foot as blood welled up from cuts on my toes. Tears filled my eyes and I cursed under my breath.

Reno appeared in the doorway, looking bewildered. When he saw what had happened, he gasped and jumped to action. Stepping around the mess, he gathered me up into his arms bridal style and carried me all the way to the bathroom. He set me on my rump on the counter and immediately started tending to the cuts on my feet.

"Oppa!" I whined. I hated when he picked me up and reminded me of how small I was. "What about the mess?"

"Don't worry about it," he growled. "I told you not to lift heavy things."

"Aigoo, it was only like four plates."

He shot me a look. "Yeah, four plates too many."

I frowned and gazed down at my fingers. Nobody had noticed how swollen and bruised they were, and to be honest, I'd rather Reno think it was my weakness that had caused me to drop the plates. I didn't want him to know about Vanitas's temper. He was just . . . Misunderstood. I don't think that Reno would take the time to see Vanitas's side of things, so it was probably best to just keep my bruises to myself.

I thought back to the other night, when it had happened. Vanitas had been ecstatic during the first week of our relationship, and hadn't done much more than hug me a lot and hold my hand everywhere. So it had come as a shock when he tried to kiss me, and since I had never been kissed before, I had reacted on impulse and pushed him away. As you can imagine, that was a big no-no. His face had literally erupted with rage, he'd grabbed my hand, and bent my fingers as far back as he could while he listened to me scream. The only thing that had stopped him from completely snapping the bone was the fact that we were tucked in the alleyway next to the restaurant we'd just come out of, and people had heard me wailing. He'd had to hug me close and tell the passerby that my mother had just passed away.

"Shit, Kairi," Reno suddenly said, snapping me out of my deep reverie.

"Huh?" I blinked owlishly. "What?"

"You've got a piece of it stuck in the bottom of your foot. I can't see it or get it out, but I can feel it."

I shrugged. I couldn't even feel it.

"I can get some tweezers, but it's gonna hurt."

Unfortunately for him and for me, I was used to pain.

"Go ahead," I said softly.

As he rummaged through the moving box that was next to me on the bathroom counter, Sora and Axel came through the hallway, pushing Axel's mattress on its side. They were both red-faced and sweaty, probably from moving things, and they both gave us weird looks as they went by.

Oh, crap. Ugh, I didn't want Sora to see this and think I was some weak girl who couldn't even lift a couple of plates. Which I was. Even though it wasn't really my fault. Either way, this was embarrassing.

"I'm guessing this is why half of our plates are in pieces on the kitchen floor?" Axel said, coming into the bathroom to inspect my feet. He wiped sweat from his brow.

Sora crossed his arms over his broad, muscular chest and leaned nonchalantly against the door frame. I couldn't help but stare at him sidelong. He was just so attractive . . .

"I guess I'm not the clumsiest one here then?" he joked.

Axel chuckled, "Nope, dude. Kairi will forever be the clumsiest person we know. She literally is always covered in bruises."

"I know," Sora said, and our eyes met. I felt my heart skip a beat.

Did he . . . Did he know?

I looked away, feeling a bit panicky. I wouldn't be surprised if he did know. Vanitas was his younger brother, after all. But what if he said something to my family? And honestly, if he did know what was going on, why hadn't he said anything yet?

"Ready, Kai?" Reno was kneeling down in front of me, holding my foot in one hand and the tweezers in another. "Like I said, it's gonna hurt."

I nodded, biting my lower lip. From some reason, I was glad I was wearing Sora's hat. I briefly reached up to touch the side of it. It was sort-of silly, but it felt a little bit comforting.

I felt Sora looking at me again, and I knew my cheeks were bright red.

"Let me use my phone light," Axel said, turning on the flashlight on his cell and holding it where it could shine ample light for Reno to see.

Reno promptly began to dig into my foot with the tweezers and I just about fainted. So maybe I wasn't as used to pain as I told myself I was. I hissed in agony and leaned back against the glass mirror, covering my face with my hands. It felt like my entire foot was aflame. I peeked through my fingers, saw that Reno's fingers were covered in blood, and I fainted.

You ever tried to hold your breath?

Well, here's a tip: don't follow through.

You feel the nightmares never end,

and now it seems it's coming true.

I awoke hours later, the sound of my cell phone vibrating in my ear. I blinked owlishly and sat up. It appeared to be that I was sprawled out on Axel's bed, and my phone was ringing on the bedside table. I glanced at the Caller ID.

My new boyfriend Vanitas, of course.

"Hello?" I mumbled with a yawn.

"Hey, you." He sounded uncharacteristically bright and chipper. "What's up?"

"Uh, nothing," I said, lying back against the pillows. "Just woke up from a nap."

"A nap? Hah, it's like eight. Why were you sleeping in for so late?"

"I was helping my brothers move and I dropped a plate," I explained, sitting up again so I could inspect my wounded foot. "I got glass in my foot and Reno had to help me get it out."

"Aw," he replied. "That doesn't sound fun. Too bad I wasn't there to kiss it better!"

I frowned. Why was Vanitas being so nice? Was it because we were dating now? Was it because I had actually answered on the first call of the night? Or was it because he was tricking me?

I soon began to suspect the latter when he asked his next question.

"So . . . Who helped you guys move?" Vanitas asked. I heard a snack bag crumpling in the background, followed by the sound of him crunching away at some sort of chip or cracker.

"Just me, Axel, and Reno." I don't know why I left Sora's name out. Sora was Vanitas's brother, so would he really get angry at me for anything? I glanced next to me on the bed. The snapback hat that Sora had placed upon my head was there, obviously having fallen off my head during my slumber. I hid a smile.

"Really?" Vanitas's tone was a little strained. "Just the three of you?"

"Yeah. Who else would be there?"

Vanitas munched away at his food for a minute and then he quietly said, "You know what I really hate?"

I couldn't help but feel relieved. He was changing the subject. Vanitas didn't usually change the subject when he was really mad, so this had to mean that he believed my lie.

"What do you really hate?" I asked, fingering the bill of Sora's hat.

"Liars."

The line went dead.

I stared at my cell phone, my hands shaking a bit. Of course. I should have known something was up. Gulping, I set my phone down on the mattress next to Sora's hat and turned myself so that I could get up. My foot still hurt, so I limped my way over to the door and opened it.

Axel was standing there. "Whoa!" he cried in surprised. "Just came to check on you."

"It's really hard to walk," I told him miserably, trying not to think about the firestorm that Vanitas would likely rain upon my head next time we were together. "I don't know if I'll be able to go to the next cheer practice . . ."

"Oh, that's not good," he grimaced. "Don't you have a competition coming up?"

I pouted. "Ne."

"Damn, that would be really shitty if you had to miss it." He shook his head. "Anyway, you ready to go home? Oma has been blowing up my phone, asking where you are."

I looked away. I didn't want to go home. Vanitas knew where I lived, but he didn't know where my brothers' new place was. As long as I was here, I was safe.

"Can't I just stay the night here?"

"But you have no clothes for school, silly." He ruffled my hair. "Sora said he'd take you home."

I blushed. "S-Sora?"

Axel raised one eyebrow. "Is that a blush I see?" he teased. "Don't you have a boyfriend now?"

"I'm not blushing." I pushed him aside and limped down the hall to the bathroom. I didn't want anyone to know how I felt about Sora, for one thing, and I also didn't want anyone thinking that I didn't have feelings for Vanitas. If anyone found out that I was only dating Vanitas to keep him happy, then Vanitas would kill me. Now, I didn't know this for sure, but honestly? I had no desire to find out.

I rounded the corner to the bathroom and nearly smacked nose-first into a very tall someone's chest. At the same time, I accidentally stepped on my wounded foot wrong and cried out in pain. I nearly collapsed, but the certain tall someone wrapped one arm around my waist and held me close.

"I guess this is what happens when the two clumsiest people in the house meet, ne?" Sora chuckled, his chin-length bangs falling forward as he looked down at me. "Mianhaeyo."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," I mumbled back in Korean. "It's my foot . . . It still hurts."

"Nah, it's chill," he said in that unbearably sexy drawl of his that never failed to make my knees weak. "Need any help in the bathroom?"

I stared up at him, wide-eyed. Was he . . . Was he serious?

Just then, both him and Axel burst out laughing. Sora let go of me and brushed his hair out of his face.

"He's just messing with you, Kairi," Axel laughed. "Jeez, you're so gullible."

"Hurry up, you guys!" Reno suddenly hollered from the living room. "Oma is on the phone, and she's freaking out. She wants Kairi home now."

"You heard him," Axel said, patting me lightly on the rump. "Chop, chop."

I stuck my tongue out at him and moved past Sora to go into the bathroom. He still smelled unbearably delicious, and it wasn't helping me to stop blushing like a maniac. Just as I moved to shut the bathroom door, Sora grabbed the edge of it to stop me.

"Huh?" I stammered.

He smirked. "Sure you don't need any help in there?"

I think my entire body was bright red.

"I'm sure!" I squeaked out, beyond embarrassed.

It took everything I had in me to stifle my scream of excitement when Sora ruffled my hair, much like Axel and Reno usually did to me. It felt like he was a famous celebrity, and he was paying attention to me. Christ, I felt like asking for his autograph . . .

Feeling silly and utterly mortified, I slammed the door in his face and locked it. I heard him and Axel both laughing from outside, and I leaned back against the door, struggling to regain my breathing.

Why did I do that? Why, why, why did I slam the door in his face? If he didn't already think I was a naïve, childish freak, he definitely did now. Good God, I wasn't going to be able to look him in the eyes ever again.

I made to go for the toilet, but stopped and looked at myself in the mirror. A frown decorated my pretty feature and I sighed. I was trying so hard to lose weight, and the scale was showing me that I was succeeding, but for some reason, whenever I looked in the mirror, I just looked . . . Bigger.

My eyes filled with tears. I hated failing more than anything else on the planet. I was an excellent student, a phenomenal cheerleader, and a great friend . . . And I couldn't even lose a few pounds and look thinner? If I didn't shape up fast, Vanitas was going to notice that I was looking thicker, and he was going to get mad at me for not trying.

I looked away from my reflection. I knew what I was saying to myself made no amount of sense. If any of my friends or family found out I was eating less than 500 calories a day and sometimes not at all, they would think I was insane. My mother would be heartbroken, and my father would likely be horrified.

Reno called my name through the door. "Hurry the fuck up! Mom's really pissed off, and if you aren't home in a half-hour, then she's not gonna let you come over anymore!"

"Fine!" I snapped angrily, though it was more at myself than at him.

I looked at myself one more time and sighed again. I was going to have to do some research online. There had to be an even faster way for me to lose the weight. There just had to.

'You have to do this, Kairi,' I thought miserably as I went to the toilet. 'You have to make Vanitas happy, or he's just going to keep hurting you.'

Night, you're a friend of mine; another family.

Better not divide, any, armed with its beastly doom.

I'll beat this jackal down—this interference ends.

Send it back beyond.

xxx

Author's Note: You guys, I am SO SORRY for the long break I took, but I literally had the worst writer's block. I completely lost inspiration for writing. I quit my job, and then got a new job, and then I got FFX HD Remaster, and was playing that and just had no inspiration to write at all. Anyway, I hope you guys don't think the plot is moving too slowly . . . Just bear with me a couple of chapters, and then it will get cray (as my stories usually do haha). Anyway, thank you for your support and for waiting patiently for me to update! I love you all! I was going to keep writing review replies, but there was too many in the last chapter for me to do all the copy-pasting of the name and just . . . Just know that I appreciate your reviews, and from now on, I will reply privately to your reviews if at all possible. Thank you again, and see you next time!