Interlude I: A burst of hope

Rie Household/ Xion's Room:

Her heart was pounding against her chest, Xion could feel its palpitations as her blood coursed throughout her veins at a galloping pace, painting her pale skin a light shade of pink. Clutching her favorite bunny plush close, she squealed into its soft and worn fur. Rolling around her bed, if anyone had seen her, they would assume that she was in love.

She was.

After Sora had dropped her off at home, she immediately ran to her room and let out a happy scream. The goofy smile was glued to her face as she replayed tonight's events over and over again.

Xion had always harbored deep feelings for the spiky haired boy. Sora Hio, her first true friend, but who soon morphed into her first crush…and now first love. Blushing, she gently held the delicate necklace, counting the three stars at least a thousand times as she kissed the tiny charms.

The young girl felt as if her wishes were coming true. She couldn't remember the amount of times she had wished for Sora to return her feelings. Ever since they had met, she had wanted to form something special with him.

[reverse time, let's go back to the day that started it all]

-About 3 Years Ago…-

"Well if it isn't Xion." Snickers were heard throughout the halls as the shy girl ducked her head, playing with the ends of her backpack. Biting her lip, she stupidly looked up to see the person teasing her only to regret it. It was Serah, the most popular girl in 11nth grade. She twirled her pink hair and popped her bubblegum, chewing it as she considered the lowly freshmen.

"Ugh, she's wearing that ratty looking hoodie again, does she not know how to dress?" Serah's friend nudged her as they both let out a laugh.

Keeping her tears at bay, Xion knew that she should have been used to comments like this. Quickening her pace, a sudden slam against a locker caused her to jump. "Not everyone has the money to dress like a spoiled brat like you, Serah!"

Wait, someone is actually sticking up for me?! Gulping, she saw a boy around her age with wild spikes as his hair. His blue eyes darkened angrily as he pushed up his glasses and stood next to her. Serah huffed and crossed her arms. "I can't believe someone as lame as you is related to Roxas. You're just jealous because you're considered a 'nerd.'"

He shrugged, placing a hand on Xion's shoulder, making her blush. "Judge me all you want, but at least I don't let other people's opinions change the way I act."

Rolling her eyes, Serah popped her gum again and walked away. "Save your lecturing for someone who cares."

With her dramatic exit, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. Biting her lip once again, the young freshmen felt completely embarrassed. Not only had this guy stuck his neck out for her while she remained meek and quiet, but she had probably made him late for his next class.

Rubbing his head, the boy turned to her and gave her a cute smile. "Hey, so you okay?"

Gulping, she nodded in response, feeling a bit too overwhelmed to speak. "T-thank you, you k-know, for doing that."

He let out a laugh and scratched his head. "Don't worry about it, I was getting tired of Serah looking down at you all the time, I should have spoke up sooner though." He sighed, and she was about to tell him that it was all right, that he didn't have to stick up for her in the first place, but his smile was just too serene and beautiful. "Just because she looks good, doesn't automatically make her a good person." Letting out a laugh, he held his hand out to her. "I'm Sora by the way, Sora Hio."

Smiling a tiny smile, she held out her own hand. "And I'm Xion Rie."

"Cool, let's be friends from now on." Letting out another airy laugh, he placed an arm around her, nearly knocking off her glasses. "Let me know if you're ever teased again, and I'll be happy to give 'em a mouthful in your defense."

[return, to the present…]

Sighing dreamily, there was no way Xion could ever forget that smile. It made her feel special, like she was important to him.

"But…does he like me enough to see me…as more than just a friend?" Gently, she played with her necklace. She had never seen Sora flirt with any of the girls at school, nor had any of them flirted with him. Call it selfish, but Xion felt a bit relieved at that fact. "Less competition is always a good thing right?"

She had always been too afraid to confess, mainly because she didn't see Sora treat her any differently than as just a friend, until today.

Blushing, she played with her necklace again. Maybe this was a sign. Since Sora had gotten her this necklace and placed it over her neck, she remembered seeing his eyes soften just a bit. It was because of that one action that caused a burst of hope to surge through her veins.

She now knew she had the courage to confess to him tomorrow and not be afraid.

With her resolve strengthened, she nodded and stood, going over to her laptop to type her journal entry. Booting up the slender machine, she felt that keeping her thoughts in the safety of her computer seemed much more private and safer than keeping her thoughts in notebook with a flimsy lock. She prided herself in the fact that no one could guess her password, which made keeping a journal in her computer a lot safer.

Quickly typing in her password, she immediately opened a new Word document and began typing:

xx-xx-20xx

Tonight was amazing. I just got back from hanging out with Sora and Riku. But that's not what I wanted to type about. You see, Sora, being the dorky Sora I know and love, chose to see a gory horror flick, which I am not fond of. About 15 minutes of the movie had passed, and I already felt myself getting sick. My heart was racing, and I could feel the blood drain from my face.

I knew I wasn't going to make it. So I ran out of the movies.

Long story short, I kinda ruined my friends' night with my weak tolerance for gore. So they agreed to do something else for my sake. At that moment, Riku's girlfriend called and he had left to answer the call, leaving me alone with Sora.

Yes, you heard me. ALONE. WITH. SORA.

So you could just picture my excitement, I had tried to confess to him earlier, but faaaiiiiilllleeed. Sora decided to help me feel better, so we walked around the mall until I reached that cute store, Clair Boutique. It was there that Sora bought me a necklace I had my eyes on. Because of the necklace, I feel brave enough to go through with what I am planning.

This is what I am now promising myself. The first thing I do when I see him tomorrow is that I'm going to confess. FOR REAL THIS TIME. I want to be with Sora so much, I can only pray that he'll feel the same.

WISH ME LUCK!

~Xion~

~End Interlude I

Yay, first update in 2013 for this story!

I apologize for the long wait, as it took me some time to find a proper way to write this part of the story –w- as I mentioned before, it's different from what you reader's have read, because I'm actually taking on Xion's perspective in the Third Person. I will keep this format to keep this story a little fresh and interesting by using this format: Five chapters in Sora's POV and the next chapter after in Xion's.

With this format, you readers can see that this story does not merely involve just Sora's budding romance with Kairi ;3.

Welp, that's all I gotta say! Thank you so much for being patient, I apologize for any mistakes, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!

[Do not own Kingdom Hearts, just this plot]

PS: I know Serah is very OOC in this, but, her prettiness made her fit the mean girl stereotype for this AU story, so I'm sorry if I made any Serah fans upset, trust me, I love her too, she's my fave FF girl :x believe it!