Kairi awakened with an unrelenting migraine to the sound of pots and pans clanking in the kitchen. Her head pounded even more as she lifted herself up on the couch.

"Oh, you're awake," Roxas said, setting a pot on the stove.

"Good morning," Kairi greeted, followed by a yawn. She flinched from the pain and sudden introduction of light to her eyes and fell back over, landing right on her phone.

"Naminé went to a church service, so you're stuck with me."

"On a Saturday? That girl could live at the church for the rest of her life and be satisfied."

"Are you saying she's not happy with me?" Roxas teased.

"Not at all. Roxas, how did I end up here?"

"You got really drunk last night. I was actually pretty surprised to find you, of all people on my couch." Roxas knelt in front of her and examined her face. "How do you like your eggs?"

"That's okay. You don't have to make me anything." Kairi scrambled to her feet as she held her phone in one hand. She clumsily looked around for her belongings, clutching her head as she grimaced from the merciless headache. 'Maybe I should ask Naminé to pray this dang hangover away for me while she's still at church...'

"You're not leaving here without a proper breakfast. Naminé may be your best friend, but I know you, too. You're going to stop at the first Starbucks you see. At least let me save you some money. By the way, you should probably check your phone."

"Huh? Why?" Kairi asked as she looked down at it.

"A certain someone was texting me after your little fiasco last night," Roxas said as he pulled the eggs out of the fridge. "It was kind of annoying."

Kairi gulped and scrolled over to her messages. There was a thread with Seifer that she had started. They had an argument over text about where she was and why she needed time with her friends when she had him, which she suspected was her reasoning for going out in the first place. Next, was Naminé's thread, and then right after that—clear as day, was her entire conversation with Sora.

Panic rose within as she reluctantly clicked it. At first, it seemed pretty normal; a few misspellings here and there, but nothing too bad.

She then suddenly gasped, throwing an unaware Roxas off guard.

"I called him cute?!"

"Apparently, and although it's not that big of a deal to any of us, to Sora, an entire window of opportunities was opened."

"Oh, gosh… this isn't good. This isn't good at all…"

"You have some explaining to do on Monday."

Kairi came into the kitchen and plopped down at the table. "I can't."

"Scrambled?" Roxas guessed, cracking the eggs against the counter and smoothly pouring them into the pan. "Because, you know, that's what your brain is doing right now."

"Yeah, I'll take that. Thanks."

"Coming right up!"

Kairi sighed, slumping her shoulders as her head fell and planted itself onto the table.

o-o-o-o

Getting out of bed that Monday morning was a struggle. She'd been on his mind all weekend.

It wasn't even the fact that she was kind of, sort of flirting with him, that was bothering him. Nor was it that she hadn't messaged him back since that night, either. It was the fact that Kairi Hikari, the quintessential embodiment of a pure heart, was spending her Friday night drinking to her heart's content.

'Who was she there with? Did she get home safely? Why hasn't she contacted me all weekend?'

It just wasn't normal for someone like her, but then again, Sora was merely a co-worker now.

'A friendly co-worker,' he moped. 'Alright, I need to cheer up. It's a new day.'

And there was one thing that always brightened his mornings.

"Amaya!" Sora knocked loudly on Riku's bedroom door, ignoring the giggles and muffled growling sounds coming from behind it. "Amaya, make me some happy pancakes! Pwease?"

This must have killed the mood behind the door, because after some shuffling, Amaya, clad in what looked like one of Riku's flannels, opened it with a sour look on her face.

"Really, Sora? Really?"

Curling his lips together, he nodded, giving her his best 'puppy-eyed' stare. "With the vanilla icing smiles and everything. Pwease?"

"Oh! I want some happy pancakes!" Riku interjected from the bed as he held the covers over his chest.

"Why are you hiding your Greek God chest?" Sora asked. Modesty was not even in Riku's vocabulary, much less a characteristic of his.

"Only Amaya deserves to see the beauty that is my chest," Riku said, pulling the covers up higher and turning his head. "Quit acting like you know me."

"Aww, did Amaya give you cooties?"

"Yes, and they're highly contagious."

Sora looked on in disgust.

"Fine, I'll make happy pancakes," Amaya cut in, causing the two supposedly grown men to squeal with delight. "As long as Riku prepares the lunches and you clean up."

"Fine," Riku grumbled as he jumped out of bed.

"Amaya, you practically live here now, don't you?" Sora asked as he followed her into the kitchen.

"Yeah, and strangely, Dad doesn't mind at all. I really thought he hated Riku."

"Oh, he still does, but it's just a more refined hatred at this point."

"Your dad loves me and he knows it," Riku said, pulling a shirt on while trailing behind them. Amaya began digging through the cabinets to find the ingredients she would need to make the batter. "I was just misunderstood."

"Right," Sora rolled his eyes. "Very fine choice in… occupation, Riku."

"Bitch, where did you think I got my money?"

"I don't know, stripping? Drugs? Hire-for-kill?"

"We all know I don't need to show off my body to get dough. Just take a look at this face."

"It is a cute face," Amaya nodded, stirring the ingredients in a large, plastic bowl. Riku paced back and forth in the kitchen, gathering his thoughts.

"See, Sora, you're more of a pancake, and I'm a waffle."

"I'd love to hear your reasoning behind the eloquent metaphor."

"Waffles are just pancakes with abs, thus, like me. Think about it. If your S.O. were to pour some syrup all over you, would they be turned on by the result? Pancakes are plain and boring. Waffles, though, have defined characteristics. Watching the syrup trickle through the cracks of my heavenly abs is a wonderful, mouth-watering sight."

"Syrup! Oh my God, we need to try that sometime!" Amaya interjected excitedly.

Riku grinned at his girlfriend's approval, and then turned back to him. "You know what it is, Sora, that has made me so successful?"

"Your innate desire to feel as if your rocking body gives you some sort of empowered stature in society?"

The room was still and silent, the only sound audible being the sizzling of the pancakes on the griddle. Riku stood deep in thought, before shrugging his shoulders and bowing his head in resignation.

"You got me, man."

"So, Sora," Amaya interrupted as she flipped over the batch that was cooking with the spatula, "What happened this time that you so desperately needed happy pancakes for?"

Riku slightly raised his hand, whispering, "Oh, pick me, pick me!" Of course, he was ignored.

"Well, I wasn't expecting an intervention, but…"

"I know! Please, Amaya, let me say it!" Riku begged as he brushed up against her backside; she, however, did not give in to his antics.

"I think I know why," Amaya said, stepping aside and causing Riku to stumble.

"You do?" Riku and Sora asked in unison. Amaya nodded as she moved the pancakes over from the griddle onto a plate. She was forced to slap Riku's wandering hand away from them before going over to her brother, who was blinking rapidly in confusion.

"Give me your phone, Sora."

"What? Why?"

"Just freaking give it to me before I force you to."

"Psst, Sora, don't do it!" Riku warned, arms waving frantically in the air.

"Riku, prepare lunches or I'll kick your ass."

"Yes, ma'am." Riku shivered in fear as he hurried over to the fridge and began doing as he was told.

The man was whipped.

Sora reluctantly handed his phone over. Amaya smiled sweetly as she took it from him. Her features suddenly darkened as she raised it into the air and chucked it against the wall. A loud crack was heard as the heap of now-scrapmetal fell to the floor.

"AMAYA!"

"Warned ya. I saw that one coming from a kilometer away." Riku placed a mysterious tin container into Sora's bag.

"Now you're switching to the metric system?!" Sora yelled, baffled as he picked up his broken phone.

"Really? You stopped moping to point that out?"

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Sora admitted, then crumbled once again from the loss of his phone. "Amaya, why would you do that?! What if someone calls me and I need to talk to them? What if Kairi calls?!"

"Get over it." Amaya placed the pancakes on the table, now complete with the frosting smiley-faces. "Shut up and eat your happy pancakes, and stop thinking about her or whether or not she's going to call. This moping has gone on practically all weekend, and it's getting ridiculous! Either talk it out with her and get it resolved, or stay in your room and jerk off to your Playboys! And speaking of, who the hell even orders those things anymore?"

"We've been over this," Riku sighed. "The best issues are in—"

"Whatever. You're replacing my phone," Sora grumbled as he sat in his chair to eat his breakfast. "Thank you for the pancakes."

"That's more like it. Clean up this mess when you're done." Amaya nodded her head in approval as she went back into the kitchen to make more plates. Sora let out a dejected sigh and stared at his cracked screen, now deeming it hopeless that he would ever get any sort of response from her.

The frosting on the pancake melted, turning its smile into some sort of deformed frown.

'Oh, the irony...'

After he had finished eating and cleaning up everything in the kitchen, Sora went back to his room to get ready for work. Twenty minutes later, he was dressed, groomed, and ready to go. As Sora reached for his shoes by the door, Riku came up behind him, holding his lunchbox in his hand.

"Oh, thanks. What is it?" Sora asked as he slipped on his shoes.

"Sugar, spice, and everything nice. I also put in a little present to show you my love." Riku grinned, though Sora couldn't help but feel suspicious.

He blinked a few times before taking the bag from him. "Right. Well, I'm off."

"Come home soon, Ricky. I will be awaiting your prompt return."

"Alright, Lucy."

o-o-o-o

The class was unusually quiet this morning. As Sora set his briefcase down, he looked over the pool of students in confusion.

"Okay, who or what died?"

Marluxia was the first to raise his hand. "We're having a moment of silence. Shh."

"For?" Sora asked, ignoring the request.

"For Demyx's manhood. He just got served," Ven whispered. Demyx scowled at his classmates.

"Isn't that a daily occurrence?" Sora deadpanned.

"Yeah, but this was a different case. Demyx was trying to make fun of my mama, so I set him straight," Marluxia answered stoically. "Ain't no one gonna make fun of my mama."

Sora hesitated before speaking. "I'm starting class now."

"Don't you wanna know what it was—"

"If it had anything to do with David Bowie, save it."

No one said a word.

"What's on the agenda today, big bro?" Haru asked cheerily from her desk a few moments later, breaking the silence. Sora perked up, but right before he was about to start the speech that he was practicing all morning, he was interrupted by the door flying open and none other than Vice Principal Axel walking in.

"What now, Axel?" Sora groaned.

"Chill, man. I actually have a purpose other than bothering the hell out of you," Axel said, stepping aside to reveal the short, raven-haired kid behind him. Sora eased up a little.

"Oh, who is this?"

"New student. Name's Hiro Hamada or some shit. Let that one roll off your tongue."

Sora ignored the disrespectful introduction and outstretched his hand. "Nice to meet you, Hiro. I'm Mr. Fair."

Hiro shrugged, not acknowledging the introductory gesture.

"He came from San Fransokyo, which you all know is practically a world away, so make sure he feels welcome," Axel added, directing his attention to the class.

"We will. Hiro, there's an empty seat behind Ven." Ven raised his hand to signal to Hiro who he was.

"Whatever," Hiro mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking over to his seat. After dropping his backpack onto the floor, he kicked his legs up and lounged back in his chair. The rest of the class watched with a mix of curiosity and excitement.

Taking him aside, Axel glanced back from the new kid to Sora several times. "He's a little socially challenged, but his mom says he's going through a tough time, so, just keep your eye on him."

"You're actually worried about someone?" Sora asked in a whisper, a little impressed.

"His mom is hot. Hear she's single and heartbroken or something."

"Axel, go away."

"Alright, but don't hesitate to send him to my office if there are any, you know, problems that involve calling his mother," he said, winking as he made his exit. Sora remained in front of the closed door for a moment before turning back to the class.

"Anyway, Hiro, welcome to the class. You've missed about two chapters so far, so I'll give you a little time to get caught up. We're having an exam on Friday, but you can take it next week if you—"

"I don't need time. Already read the entire textbook. You do realize how outdated it is, right?"

"Oh, well, okay," Sora said, a little thrown off. "And, yes. That's why I have my own—"

"Oh, you must be Mr. Smarty pants, then, huh?" Braig teased.

"Braig, come on, leave him—"

"It's fine. He's intimidated that I'm four years his junior and that I'll still graduate before him. He'll probably be around for at least another two years, and then drop out and receive his G.E.D. when he's twenty-four… if he's lucky."

A soft "oooh" rang out from their fellow classmates, who were clearly impressed with the new kid.

"Listen, you little chump," Braig shoved his desk forward and hovered over the new kid's desk, "I run this joint, so you'd better back up."

"Actually, I—" Sora was interrupted yet again.

Hiro, unfazed by his towering nature, merely said, "You like picking on those smaller than you, huh? Bet it makes you feel really special."

Ven turned around and held his hand up, expecting a high-five, but Hiro just blinked a few times and stared at him.

"I don't like physical contact of any kind."

"Oh, sorry." Ven lowered his hand and faced the front, slumping in his chair.

"Well, that's too bad, because I'm about to give you a knuckle—" Braig held his fist to Hiro's face, but the boy continued to ignore his advances.

Hiro reached into his backpack. This alarmed Braig, causing him to be on the defensive. When he saw what Hiro actually took out, however, he was even more enraged.

"What are you going to do with that?!" Braig asked, both confused and upset. He examined the pair of seemingly inconspicuous red-framed glasses that were now on Hiro's face. Hiro pressed on top of the right rim of the glasses and looked up at him, his face souring.

"Your germs make me want to gag. They're swarming everywhere." Hiro coughed in an exaggerated manner as he reached into his bag once more to retrieve a bottle of hand sanitizer, which he poured into his hands and rubbed them together. He then shifted his eyebrows and waved his hand. "Shoo, be gone."

"Oh, snap," Yuffie chuckled. Laughter rang out around the classroom.

"Can you check power levels with that thing?" Ven asked excitedly.

"It is not a scouter."

"So, you're a DBZ fan?"

"I've seen a few drawn out episodes that could have been compressed," Hiro admitted. "And six of the movies."

"Neat-o," Ven replied, warming up to the new kid.

"Ooh, can you tell how much HP I have left?" Haru interrupted, but Braig was growing impatient.

"That's it!"

Sora stepped in between them. "Okay, that's e-fricking-nough. Braig, sit down. Class will resume right now."

"Damn, Sora," Ven said, amused.

"Pipe down you little punk."

"Fine." Ven grumbled and sank into his chair once more, but the thought of possibly having a new friend kept his spirits higher.

Braig grumbled to himself as he pulled his desk back into place and plopped down, not hesitating to glare at the smug-faced new kid who took off his glasses and put them back into his bag. Sora took a moment to count the sheep jumping over the fence in his head in order to calm himself before continuing.

"Alright, enough dallying, time to start the lesson. We're going to talk about abstinence, contraceptive prevention methods, and learn how to effectively deal with social pressure." Sora pulled the projection screen down and readied himself for the lesson ahead. Surprised not to receive any snide remarks from the class, he continued.

"As you go through your teenage years, you're bound to encounter many influences, good and bad. Your decisions will ultimately make up the outcomes, but receiving a little guidance on what to do in those high pressure situations may help a little along the way and prevent unwanted mishaps." Sora moved to the next slide. "Now, what does abstinence mean? Anyone?"

"Being a nun," Wakka shouted.

"Well, sort of, but, nuns are a little different. Anyone else?" Sora looked around the room and was kind of pleased to see Haru's hand rise to the air.

"It means you save yourself for marriage."

This was music to Sora's ears.

"Lame!" Tidus interjected. Yuna adjusted slightly in her seat.

"Which is a stance that you all should take, but realistically, I know that won't happen. Therefore, I will teach you how to have safe sex instead because that's what the curriculum calls for and I have no choice but to go along with it."

"Alright, bring out the rubbers. I'm a little low on supplies," Braig boasted.

"Yeah, you realize that you don't need them for masturbation, right?" Ven teased. Hiro smirked behind him.

"Shut it you little weasel."

"It makes the clean up easier," Demyx added, ignoring the deadpanning stares from Sora and the rest of his classmates. Clearing his throat, Sora tried to put it behind him.

"I will not be passing out condoms, but I will tell you the best places to get them."

"That's not what they did in Mean Girls," Ven pointed out.

"Mean Girls was a highly inaccurate portrayal of high school life. Get pregnant and die? Come on."

"That's what you told me, big bro," Haru recalled.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Last week you said— "

"Anyway, you always have the right to say no to anything and everything that makes you uncomfortable. This is called consent." Sora eyed Tidus a little longer than usual, remembering the incident in the janitor's closet. "Any sexual act done without your permission, whether you are male or female, is considered sexual harassment, the most serious of which is called rape, which is defined as forced penetration."

"You can rape me any time," Rikku suggested, causing Sora's irritation to grow. If there was one thing that he didn't find funny, it was that.

"Rikku, that is not something to joke about. Do you realize what you're saying?" Not expecting the confrontation, she kept quiet. "This rape culture that you guys have going on… it's not cool, it's definitely not funny, and it's very degrading. It's a serious subject that has left countless victims scarred for life, and bringing it up in a light-hearted manner like this is quite disturbing to say the least. I will not tolerate those sort of comments in my classroom."

"I'm sorry," said Rikku, taken aback. Sora looked around the class to see whether or not his words had any effect on the rest of the students.

"I think you're absolutely right, Mr. Fair," Yuffie nodded in approval.

"I agree. Raping is horrible. Vani jokes like that all the time," Haru explained, disappointed.

"Yeah, I've been trying to talk to him about that," Sora grumbled.

"To put it simply, people are stupid," Hiro added.

"Thank you, and yes, some people are."

"No means yes and yes means anal!" Tidus blurted out, failing at stifling his laughter. Wakka joined in.

"Yes puh-lease," Marluxia blurted out ecstatically, making the two jocks feel very uncomfortable.

"Point proven," Hiro added.

Sora shook his head, proceeding to get back to the point of the lesson. They had lost enough time with the side-tracking already, as usual.

"Now then, if you are sexually active, there are ways to prevent pregnancy. Before going over condoms, probably the most common method of birth control nowadays, we'll talk about hormonal birth control, which is used by women. The most widely-used method of this form of contraception is the pill, though there are others, such as IUDs, uterine rings, and subdermal implants; many of these are available even for your age group. Now, I don't need to know who is on any of these. That's none of my business. Nor am I able to recommend or prescribe anything to you - that's a conversation you need to have with your doctor. I'm just here to tell you what options are out there."

Yuffie raised her hand. "Mr. Fair, is there a male version of birth control other than condoms?"

"Most forms of birth control are geared towards women, yes. Diaphragms, spermicide, cervical caps, and a plethora of other options are made specifically for vaginal is, however, a semi-permanent solution for men done through surgery called a vasectomy. It is extremely effective, and is in many cases reversible, too, if a man decides he wants to have more kids later - but, of course, you'd need more information from a doctor before deciding to do something that invasive. Birth control pills for men are also being developed, but there are currently is no form of hormonal birth control available on the market. There are amateur methods, such as withdrawal and a term known as outercourse."

"So, if you pull out, it's okay?" Demyx asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"If we're strictly speaking about the chances of getting pregnant, the answer is sometimes. A woman can still get pregnant by the pre-ejaculatory fluid. The best combination is when she is on birth control, and he is wearing a condom."

"Demyx would need to be super quick, considering his stamina only lasts about ten seconds," Tidus taunted.

"Probably less than that," Wakka chuckled.

"Shut up."

"Stop it, guys. Why do you always have to pick on him?" Haru interjected.

"Aww, thanks, Teach's little sis!"

Sora nodded in agreement. Before he was able to continue, Marluxia's hand went up. "Yes?"

"I feel like none of this applies to me. Could I be excused?" Sora sighed and shook his head.

It was going to be a long day.

o-o-o-o

Kairi set her coffee mug onto the table and sighed as she stirred it around. She was not looking forward to lunch today.

"Well, well, look who it is!" Axel said, parading his way into the teacher's lounge and ruining Kairi's wish for some peace. He pulled up a chair off to the side and gave her a cheeky smile.

"Hello, Axel. How are you?" Kairi asked, bemused, keeping her focus on the mug.

"Someone is down in the dumps. Would it have something to do with a certain club on a certain Friday night and a certain text conversation that left a certain someone feeling very uncertain?"

Kairi's jaw dropped, dumbfounded as her eyes traveled up to meet his. "What?"

"Kairi, there's something you need to know, just in case you didn't already. I know everything that goes on in and outside of this school. That kid in class 2-B that threw up last Thursday? He ate a bunch of brussel sprouts and they didn't agree with his stomach. The one setting apples into lockers for the hell of it goes to you on a weekly basis. The hook up in the bathroom between Mr. Jester and the sixteen-year-old boy—"

"What?!"

"My point is," Axel said loudly, covering his tracks smoothly, "You can't hide anything from me."

Still a little disturbed, all Kairi could do was sit there and sigh once more.

"I can't face him."

"Well, you're going to have to. Here he comes in three, two…"

Right on cue, Sora walked into the teacher's lounge, lunchbox in hand.

"Oh, hey!" Axel waved. "Didn't expect you to show up!" Kairi glared at the vice principal.

"Why?" Sora asked as he went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He leaned against it and stared back at them with a smirk on his face. Kairi averted her gaze back to the mug.

'Act casual, Sora, be cool…'

"Oh, you know, you just usually eat lunch in the cafeteria," Axel responded nonchalantly.

"I just felt like coming here today, I guess. I can leave if I'm interrupting something."

"No," Kairi and Axel say in unison.

"Uh, okay. Mind if I sit here?" he asked Kairi, pointing to the empty chair next to her.

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean…"

Sora pulled the chair and plopped himself right into it. His heart raced, and the collar of his shirt suddenly felt constricting. He undid the top button to loosen it, keeping his composure. The room was almost uncomfortably silent; he reached for his lunchbox and pulled out the tin can Riku had packed him. The clanging of the metal was the only sound audible.

He needed to lighten up the stiff atmosphere.

"So, Kairi...you think I'm cute, huh?"

He couldn't resist.

"Um, about that…" Kairi replied, her eyes shifting in the opposite direction.

"I do," Axel interjected.

"I already get that shit from Riku," he responded, unimpressed.

"Sounds like you should start your own fanboy service."

"I don't think so. Hmm, speaking of Riku, let's see what marvelous thing he packed me for lunch." Sora opened the box, and a horrendous stench filled the room.

"Oh, God! What is that?! It smells like the foreskin of a thousand circumcised babies!" Axel gagged. Sora was too busy pinching his nose shut and preventing the happy pancakes from making a reappearance to respond.

"Quick, shut it!" Kairi begged. Sora did exactly that.

"It looked like gray slime! I am highly disappointed! What happened to pb&j?!"

"It was Surstromming… it's Swedish a food. Considered a delicacy among some elders. You don't find it in the everyday pantry, though." Kairi clarified, still trying not to throw up. "I never thought I'd see it again after that game of truth or dare…"

"I'm going to choke him with this stuff when I get home. What the hell was he thinking?!" He hurried over to the window and opened it.

After the smell aired out, the trio was able to resume their previous positions.

"Well, that sure was something else," Sora concluded. "Sorry, guys."

"Remind me to stab him," Axel said darkly.

"Noted."

Sora dug through his lunchbox, and found solace in the leftover Chinese food - chicken fried rice - Riku had so graciously also thrown in there. He opened it carefully, and upon finding it safe, he dug in with a fork. There was also some leftover nachos, as well as a slice of pepperoni and ham pizza.

"You've got the whole world in your hands, huh?" Axel remarked.

"Apparently. You guys want any? I don't think I can finish all this myself."

"No, thanks," Kairi declined politely.

"What, afraid to share food with me, now?" Sora quipped, nudging her shoulder. There was still an awkward tension between the two of them.

After a few moments, Kairi took a deep breath. "Sora, we need to talk."

Sora set his fork down slowly and looked over at her. Axel stayed put, resting his head in his hand.

This was about to get interesting.

"Um, sure," Sora gulped, nervous about what was to come.

Axel continued to remain. Kairi cleared her throat and glared over at him.

"I'm not here," he sang, waving her off.

"Axel, could you give us a moment?" Sora asked calmly as he fiddled his thumbs together.

"Fine, I'll stand guard, but you two better not be doing the diddily do when I come back in." Axel got up and walked out, shutting the door behind him. Kairi and Sora stayed at the table, neither of them knowing where to begin. After a grueling silence, Sora finally spoke up.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, first of all, I…" Kairi paused, "I wanted to apologize to you for my behavior this weekend. I said some things that I didn't quite mean, and it was completely out of line given the relationship that we have."

After a short pause, Sora finally posed the question that had long plagued him with uncertainty. "What relationship...do we have, Kairi?"

Kairi's lips quivered as she thought of her response. "I...wanted to talk to you about that too." Sora's heart raced as he braced himself for what came next.

"I...think it's best if we distance ourselves from each other for a while."

Sora's eyes widened as he looked up at her. "What?"

"I'm with somebody, Sora. I was afraid to tell you, because I wasn't sure how you would react."

Sora's gaze immediately hit the floor. "Oh, I see."

Kairi rose from her chair and gathered the courage to continue. "I really like him, and I want to make it work. So, you can do your thing, and I—"

"Kairi, stop." Sora stood and headed for the door. He turned once more to face her, sadness evident in his eyes; a conflict to the otherwise encouraging smile on his face. "This is all my fault, anyway. If you want some space, I'll give that to you. I'm so sorry for doing anything that has made you feel uncomfortable. I really do wish the best for you."

Kairi bit her lip, but managed to nod her head. "Thanks for understanding."

"Of course...Well, I guess I'll see you around." With that, he walked out.

She slumped back into her chair and wiped the tears that had suddenly formed.

'Did I do the right thing?

o-o-o-o
o-o-o-o

Author's Notes:

BlissfulNightRain: WE'RE BACK! I need to apologize on my end; a lot of stuff went on after the last update that kept me too busy to write this with my dear co-author! Please forgive us!

That being said, we decided to keep this chapter a little shorter than the previous two, to keep you guys on your toes for what's ahead! Hope you enjoyed this, and we hope to get the next update out for you as soon as we can! (School does start for me in about a week though so…)

Thanks for reading and for all your support! Please leave us a review and let us know what you think!

SoraxKairi7: Um, so, it took for freaking ever to get this out. So sorry. Can't be helped. Anyway, we hope you enjoyed this chapter, nonetheless. Please take the time to review! We have decided that there probably won't be more than twenty chapters in this fic.

BY THE WAY, BIG HERO 6 WORLD CONFIRMED FOR KH3! SO COOL, AMIRITE

Also, check out the recommended stories below, and tell those people that we sent ya. There are so many talented authors on this site!

Sex Sells by our good friend, Painted With a Palette, follows Xion, a high school student with a rather risqué way of making money…will it come back to bite her in the butt? The writing is absolutely hilarious from Xion's perspective, but the story also raises a lot of important issues! If you enjoy our fic, you better check out this one!

Helpless by Princess-Xion; this story has just started out, with only a short prologue out, but if you're in anyway familiar with her work, you know we're in for a crazy ride! A dark love triangle featuring some SoRiKai action and some amazing writing, you better read this one!

And because you love this story, check out some of our newer stuff we've been working on while we were away!

Chandelier by SoraxKairi7, a VenKai fic, featuring drama and mysteries with unreal twists and turns. BlissfulNightRain thinks this is her best work yet!

Taboo by BlissfulNightRain, a TerQua fic. Light-hearted in tone and full of comedy, following Aqua who is enamored with a much older Terra. Semi-autobiographical.

Toxic by BlissfulNightRain, a drama following the deteriorating friendship between Sora and Roxas. Semi-autobiographical.