Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.
A/N: I don't really have an author note at the beginning of this just cause the one I had before really didn't make sense with the one that I have now. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I worked my butt off to get this one out. I tried really hard but be truthful with me. If you don't like it, tell me why and I'll do way better on my next one! Thanks. Enjoy!
And now for your reviews:
From Phase 05: Meet Me
Evilgoddess1990: Hehe. In this twisted world of mine, things are getting a bit weird. I looked back on this story and thought, "man, this is like a mini soap opera kind of thing." I'm glad you still like it with all of the weird drama.
Mandeth: I'm glad that you laughed at the part where Riku wonders why he ever liked My Chemical Romance. I don't really mean to slam them and I though that too many people would be pissed off after what I wrote but I really didn't care. I always wonder why people like them. I never thought they were anything great except for their "I'm not Okay" video. But then again, I can't stand to hear Evanescence and… dare I say, Green Day. (everyone freaks out) I know it's like sacraligeous. But when you hear them sing "ooohhhhh oooohhhh OOOHHHHHHH" five million times a day for Boulevard and just can't run away from their songs repeating, it gets a bit scary. But I'm glad that you like the story. I'm still wondering if people still do. Heck, if there was one person who cheers like I do whenever there's a review, that would totally make it all worth it.
And for your second review, I'm not that good of a writer. (cries) I'm telling you, I read some of the fics on here, by some of the newer writers nonetheless, and I just huddle up and cry! I really need to get better! And I'll write a lot more and update faster soon, I hope.
Phantom Wings: Thank you for worrying about me and my braces I have been going back and forth to the doctor's for them and I'm just a little tired of having food constantly still in my teeth. But people say I look cute with them so it's all good! And I'm gonna try to update this chapter more.
Crowvii: Do you really dance for joy for this story! That is so freaking awesome! I'm gonna cry happily in my corner now! I made someone dance!
Ayeshagirl: A Leon/Seymour scene would be awesome. I mean they really hate each other so much. And surprisingly enough, other people think it would be great to see them fight too. I'm a bit surprised.
Super Yam: Well Sora will figure something out soon, but I can't really tell you what. I don't wanna ruin it and frankly… I don't know what will happen. This whole story was actually supposed to be only like four chapters but I guess it went it's own way. We'll see how this works.
Crimson Chain: I really hope Sora learns to fully love and accept Riku's feelings too. But will he? Hmm… I don't really know…
Summerlea: I kind of have to agree with you. I like writing the Leon/Cloud parts more. Cause I basically tried to make their conflict a bit more mature and… well… deeper than Rikau and Sora's little petty and childish squabbles. I mean they are still pretty young, so they will be a bit dramatic over everything. But Cloud still is a bit secretive and self-destructive in his own feelings. So it's a bit interesting.
RaineArilan: No, you can't kill off the twins! At least not Zenith. They're both hot too! I really need to get my sketches of them out on some kind of page or something. Cause their designs are pretty good if I do say so myself. Hahaha! Well I'm glad that you really like this story. One of the best RxS ones? It was probably halfway true in September if you squint a little. Now a lot of the stories that are out or really mind-blowing. Thanks though!
losthimagain: Zen is the hot blonde jock that came during the second semester and is there to cause havoc and has his eyes set on making Sora his. Or does he? Haha! Well yeah, he's hot and I just finished a sketch of him that I have to post at sometime. And I don't know if Sora will end up choosing Riku. We'll have to see! Seriously, I really don't know. It's just going how it wants to go.
yllom21: I'm glad you think this is wonderful! I hope so! I try hard to get this thing to work and I think it's crap but I'm glad that you like it! A lot of people like the Riku/Vincent scenes. They have a really close friendship and it's great to write, I'm trying to incorporate the most loved secondary relationships in the next chapter so hope you stay around to read it!
Kira666: Haha, I like your ending smiley. It's cute. And another Riku/Vincent vote. I really need to get to putting in the scene! I'm getting horrible at this. Maybe I'll just make a whole chapter based on them, a little interlude kind of thing between the plot. Cause Riku/Vincent and Sora/Tidus have a lot of votes.
Phase 06: Tempt Me
It was the weekend and Sora threw himself onto his bed. "Yet another week and Riku still hates me. Don't I have all the luck," he sighed as he closed his eyes.
"Don't worry about it Sora, the guy is bad news anyway," reassured Tidus as he continued to study, for once.
"Riku is not bad news, it's that Zen guy. Seriously, he's planning something. He's also been hitting on me since he got here!"
"Oh you're just being paranoid, the guy is totally straight," said the blonde as he waved Sora off. This made Sora glare at him.
"He's been trying to get at me for two fucking weeks! He's even openly grabbed at me, during practice!"
"Well you know how jocks are. He's probably just kidding. Now if you excuse me, I need to study for Bio," said Tidus indifferently as he scratched his forehead with the capped end of his highlighter.
This was really annoying Sora even more. Tidus really was prejudiced against Riku after all and he didn't know why. He had only caught them in the bathroom of the theater over a month ago and was practically condemning him to hell. But if Zen openly grabs his ass and hugs him randomly during practice and even randomly kisses his cheek and call him cute in public, Tidus totally says that he's just paranoid!
'The world is out to get me, I know it.' Rolling onto his stomach, Sora decided to try to do something productive and take a nap for once. After two whole weeks of chasing after Riku and receiving the cold shoulder from him and Vincent he needed to take a rest for his own sanity. Frankly, it was the longest two weeks that he had ever been through. Running away from Zen and chasing after Riku, all under the watch of Tidus and his own girlfriend Kairi, and having to pay attention to classes while trying to keep up a smile, it was all hard work.
Knock… Knock… Knock…
"Oh great, here they are to take me to the loony bin," moaned Sora as he buried his face into the pillow. Tidus simply tossed his book to the side of the bed and walked over to the door.
"Chill out Sora, you're not crazy yet."
He heard the door open. Who the hell wanted to come over now? Kairi and Selphie went to the spa and Riku wouldn't dare come over when Tidus was on the watch, even if he didn't hate him.
"Look Sora, there's someone here to cheer you up!" he heard Tidus say encouragingly as he let the person in and close the door.
"I don't want to be cheered up. Life is hell," he grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Oh come on Sora, it's not like you to be so miserable."
'Holy fuck!' thought the brunette as he slowly turned around to see a pair of cocky aqua eyes peer back at him.
"Maybe he's hungry," suggested Tidus as he shoved his hands into his pockets casually.
"Well we could go and get some burgers if you want, my treat," said Zen, sitting on the bed next to Sora, rubbing his cheek affectionately. "Besides, I like the cute Sora a lot more."
At this, Sora then shrieked and bolted off of the bed and slammed his back against the door, cowering wide-eyed against it while pointing an accusing finger at him.
"Like hell I'd be anywhere alone with you!" he yelled. This however, made them look at him like he had just sprouted another head.
"Dude Sora, what the hell is your problem?" scolded Tidus in annoyance. "Zen came over because he's worried about you and you freak out like this? Maybe you are going crazy."
"B-B-But did you not see that!" asked Sora disbelievingly as he now felt cornered by them. Was Tidus that blind to not see open flirtation like that?
"What, I'm always a very touchy person, everyone knows that," rebutted Zen with a mask of confusion.
"And even I call you cute Sora, there's no reason to act like this. Especially since you seemed so fine to spend time with Riku."
"Yeah that's true, Riku is pretty confident in himself. It looks like he's going out with that gothic guy, they always seem to be together."
Sora glared at them. How could they talk about Riku like that? Sure Riku and Vincent were really close but that's because they live together and Riku even assured him himself that Vincent was into older women anyway and a relationship between them would be impossible.
"Riku is not going out with Vincent and why are you guys always so negative towards Riku anyway? It always seems like you two are always out to get him, especially you Tidus," asked the brunette, giving them a suspicious gaze.
Tidus just looked at him and then shrugged, averting his eyes; he knew that he couldn't really tell him why. He could tell that the blonde was too afraid to lose his friendship if he told him that he had caught them and blackmailed him to keep away from him. But Zen, on the other hand, had a different a mask of indifference on his face. What was he thinking about? Why did he target him when he knew that he only had eyes for Riku? And Kairi of course too.
"I apologize, I didn't think you'd be that upset. I'm sorry," said Zen humbly, a bit too humbly. Tidus nodded in agreement with the other blonde. Sora just raised an eyebrow and cautiously slid back up the door, standing against it. Something was up, he could feel it.
"I guess I can forgive you. Just don't talk about Riku like that again, he doesn't deserve it," muttered the brunette as he glared to the side. He guessed that he should go with him to get something to eat, after all, if he could get him to apologize like that so easily, then he probably could deal being around him for twenty minutes. 'But that's all,' he thought, grabbing his wallet and shoving it into his pocket.
"Let's just go before I get pissed off again," said Sora as he opened the door.
"Come on you guys! You've gotta eat something! After all, you both have been doing nothing but sulking these past two weeks and we need to be in a good mood when Yunie comes!" cheered Rikku encouragingly as she dropped a tray of food with a clatter in front of Riku and Vincent. The jock just looked at it with disgust, feeling his empty stomach cringe at the sight of something grilled in fat. There was nothing healthy on the whole tray except the pickles but Rikku just got them for herself.
"Don't feel up to it," muttered Riku with a passive sigh as he shoved the tray closer to Vincent, hoping he'd eat it so it could shut up the annoying blonde.
"Why you little-!"
"Don't push them Rikku, if they don't want to eat, they don't have to. Besides they probably are fasting to keep up their figure or something weird like that," said Zenith casually as he leaned back into the booth, sipping on his chocolate milkshake.
"Shut up Zenith," said a very annoyed Riku. The blonde just shrugged and ate some of his fries.
"Don't get angry at me, go yell at my brother."
"You know what, I don't know why you're sulking Vincent. It's not like you're heartbroken or anything," sighed Rikku as she finally decided to give up on them. The ebony haired teen just shrugged.
"I'm mostly bored, nothing much really. And the mood at the room isn't very uplifting either. So that's it basically," he replied coolly, making the blond girl smack her hands upon the table, leaning over it to him angrily.
"So you're saying that I was all worried about you for nothing!"
"Well, I really do appreciate the gesture."
"That's not the point! I hate you so much right now!" With that, she grabbed his burger and took a big bite to prove her point with a peeved glare.
"Ooh, I'm shaking in my little black boots," breathed Vincent as he folded his arms. Riku just chuckled slightly. It seemed that every time they were even around each other, Vincent and Rikku would always bicker about the simplest things. But thinking about it, it would be weird if they just simply got along. It would be creepy without them chasing after each other swinging fists.
"Well Riku, at least you have to eat. Sulking about Sora won't fix anything," offered Zenith. Sadly enough, even though his brother was a cocky asshole who was trying to steal his boyfriend, Zenith was actually a pretty good guy. It gave him someone to talk to while the fighting in the background ensued. Plus the guy was intelligent so that brought a new thing to the group since they all were too carefree, horny, or drunk to come up with logical sense.
"I guess, no use in starving myself right?"
"Pretty much, unless Sora is a necro."
This made Riku laugh a bit, throwing his two other friends off of their argument. Zenith was right, even though everything was killing him in the inside, it didn't mean that he needed to be killing himself on the outside. Well at least he felt that he could start on the fries since cold fries really suck and are basically ruined. Burgers could basically be reheated anyway.
"Wow, Riku is… dare I say, eating?" asked Rikku with a playful girly grin. The jock just opened his mouth, grossing her out.
"Sure looks like it doesn't it," replied Vincent, earning a chuckle from the other male at the table. Rikku just closed her eyes and futilely tried to prevent herself from gagging.
"That's fucking gross! That's probably why he doesn't want you!"
"Bite me," said Riku casually as he leaned back into the booth, sipping on his soda. Suddenly Vincent took on an emotionless expression.
"Uh, Riku?"
"Yeah Vince?"
"Are you feeling better?" he asked in an unusually serious tone. Vincent was normally emotionless every now and then but he never was this serious unless something was happening. That, or when he felt embarrassed or awkward.
"Um, yeah. Pretty much so. Why?"
"Then don't look up," stated Vincent sternly, making the two blondes look at him in confusion, including Riku.
"What do you mean by-?" started Rikku as she turned to look behind her but then quickly turned around, shock displayed across her whole face. "Yeah, don't look."
This made him raise an eyebrow. What was making them get so nervous about? And why couldn't he look?
Then he looked up. Across the restaurant there was none other but Sora and Zen standing side to side, actually looking relatively comfortable around each other. But, to the eyes of someone like Riku, it seemed a bit too comfortable to be simply lunch between acquaintances.
"Uh, Riku? Stop staring at them, you're gonna look desperate or something," pleaded Rikku as she waved her hands in front of her friend's face. He simply ignored her, focusing his glare at the back of the brunette's head while Sora casually made his order.
The rest of his friends at his table just looked at each other, hoping someone had something to say to break the tension in the air.
Zenith just sighed and rolled his eyes. It was his brother doing this again, causing havoc wherever he went. Throughout all of his years of going to the same school with him, Zen would always be the person making a racket and breaking hearts, leaving a bloody brawl in his wake. And all of those years, Zenith was always misunderstood and even blamed for the things his brother did, making his life not that much easier to get through.
He watched from the corner of his eye as his brother passed him, eying him threateningly. He knew what that meant, he didn't want Zenith to interfere in his own game of seduction which probably meant that he had wanted to be alone with the brunette in some dimly lit area. However, the blonde just grinned back mischievously. 'Two can play this game.'
"Hey Sora!" called Zenith, causing the previously oblivious brunette to look down at them.
"Huh? Oh, hi Zenith, Rikku, Vincent." Sora then paused as his eyes fell onto Riku, lowering sadly. "Hi Riku."
To everyone's surprise, Riku scooted out of his seat and placed his hand on the small of Sora's back, guiding him to sit down with a welcoming smile.
"Come on Sora, sit with me," he said, giving a quick glare back at Zen who glared back. Zenith just quietly laughed to himself, making Rikku look at him suspiciously. She was about to ask what was so funny but Vincent tapped her ankle, shaking his head.
Sora gave a slight smile and took his seat between Vincent and Riku, happy that maybe things between him and his lover could not be as bad as he thought. Zen however just sighed and sat next to his brother, folding his arms as he leaned back into the seat. Zenith smiled as he watched his brother, he was getting frustrated and didn't want to show it.
Riku put his arm over the side of the long padded seat, making Sora blush slightly, scooting in closer. Vincent looked to the side at him and then picked up a random cold fry, trying to ignore the open display of affection with a frown.
"So," started Rikku, trying to break the ice. Everyone seemed to be still locked in their trances and trains of thought so she tried again. "HEY!" she screamed, slapping her hands onto the counter.
"God Rikku, you don't have to be so fucking loud," muttered Vincent as he ate yet another cold fry. Zenith rubbed at his left ear while his twin just glared at her. Noticing this, she stuck her tongue out at Zen.
"Don't you glare at me like that! Only Vincent and Riku can glare at me, definitely not you… you big meanie!" remarked Rikku, earning a teasing pout from Zenith.
"What about me? Can't I glare at you too?"
"Of course you can! It's just that I can't even imagine you glaring at me. You're not a jerk like the zombie and the love sick idiot over there," she said, earning a glare from Vincent. Riku was too busy rubbing his hand up and down Sora's arm and holding his own private conversation with him to notice.
"Um Riku? I think she was talking to you too," said Sora, making the silver-haired teen glare at her with an icy gaze.
"See! Now that's a glare!" she exclaimed with a grin, making Zenith clap jokingly.
The cashier called out Sora's number, making Zen's ears perk up.
"Sora, our food is ready," he said, holding his hand out for the receipt. Sora just nodded, reaching through his pockets until he found the crumpled piece of paper.
"Don't worry Zen, I can get it," said Riku casually, taking it from the brunette. The blonde looked at him with an icy expression.
"No, I have it. Besides, its our order so I don't think there is any necessity for you to do so."
Riku just chuckled and leaned back against the seat cushion, his lips curved in a catlike grin. "Okay. Besides, someone needs to stay here with Sora right?" he said, sliding the receipt across the table, stopping perfectly in front of the now enraged blonde. Zenith grinned as his brother took the paper and rigidly walked over to the front counter. Once he was out of hearing distance, Rikku giggled.
"Oh my God Riku, that was some serious balls right there."
"I say that you beat him at his own game this time," critiqued Zenith with a grin, giving the jock a thumbs up. Riku just lounged against the seat with his arm around the confused Sora, as content as a milk-fed cat.
"What?" asked Sora, raising an eyebrow at what they were talking about.
"Oh nothing little Sora, don't want your mind to explode," said Zenith teasingly, making the brunette pout.
"Hey, are you calling me stupid?" Sora said in his most threatening voice, seeming more like a wet kitten than anything really to worry about. Riku just smiled, giving the brunette a quick kiss.
"Just don't worry about it babe," he said, making Sora just roll his eyes. Vincent did the same as well, sinking back into his chair, now giving up on the fries.
Cloud sighed as he walked back home from work. It had been two full months since Squall had left and yet again he waited eagerly for the end of his shift in hopes of the brunette standing there, waiting for him as usual. Yet again, however, he was only greeted with Clara, trying to give an extra special smile since yet again Squall wasn't there.
"Yet another damn night," he sighed as he walked down the shore side road that they always took.
The water glowed softly against his face as he wrapped his arms around himself, tilting his head to the side with a sigh. It was one of the colder nights the last one before spring would fully come.
It was on a cold night like this when Squall had taken him to the Djose fair that many years ago.
"Hey Leon, look at all of the games here! And the lights, they're so bright!" exclaimed Cloud in awe as his eyes took in everything around him. The bright yellow bulbs blinked off in the distance as the blonde felt himself become giddy in excitement. There were so many things that he wanted to try and so many foods that they were selling that he had never even tasted yet.
Leon just stood to the side, a calm smile upon his lips as he watched his friend make his way over to the funnel cake booth.
"I want to try this. Have you had it before?" asked Cloud, turning back to his friend. The brunette smiled and nodded his head, looking to the menu sign.
"A long time ago, with my mother when I was little." His eyes then clouded in thought, making the blonde frown a little. It was the yearly carnival and he didn't want his friend to be sad, not at a time like this.
Looking back to the sign, he bit his lip in concentration, trying to figure out how in the world to order the thing. There were so many different types of fruit and toppings to choose from and he didn't even know what they looked like.
"Um, I don't know how to order this Leon," he said, nudging his slightly taller friend in the shoulder gently. The previously torrential brunette blinked out of his daze and looked at him, momentarily forgetting where he was.
"What were you saying?"
"I don't know how to order," said Cloud in a low whisper in embarrassment, his cheeks reddening slightly.
Leon just smiled and put a hand on his shoulder as he placed the order, paying for it against Cloud's wishes. "It's my treat," said the brunette as he sat them on a bench to the side, holding the hot and sugary treat on a plate in his hands.
"It looks really good," said Cloud as he eyed it carefully. The mass of fried cake batter was lightly sprinkled in snow-like powdered sugar and drizzled all over with strawberries, the juice seeping into the goodness.
"Well dig in, it's great," said Leon, taking a bite out with his fork.
Taking the other fork into his hand gracefully, he looked at the funnel cake in curiosity and tentatively poked at it, raising the eyebrow of his friend.
"What are you doing?" asked Leon, watching Cloud frown and poke at it some more.
"I'm trying to eat this, what do you think I'm doing?" he spat as he furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't help but feeling frustrated whenever he couldn't do something that other people would have considered easy.
Leon sighed and ripped off an extra gooey piece with his fingers. "What do you think you're doing?" asked Cloud while backing up, not wanting Leon to see him blushing. He had been trying to keep his feelings for him a secret for the past few months but his friend's sudden change in attitude towards him made it even more difficult to hide the redness that would constantly creep into his face.
"You're not going to be able to eat it that way. The forks are too flimsy," Leon replied, lightly nearing the treat to his friend's lips with an unusually playful expression.
Remembering that day, Cloud smiled. It was one of his favorite memories. Sitting with Leon on the Ferris wheel, leaning his head against the brunette's broad shoulders and just staying like that for the rest of the night was the best thing he could have ever hoped for. But he was gone now, gone because of his insecurities and lingering feelings for someone else.
"You bastard," he muttered as he balled his fists at the recollection of the man that stole his heart. Yet again, like those many nights before, he had taken everything from him, all that he loved. His town, his mother, his heart and body, even Squall was taken by him too, by a man that hadn't shown his face for four years.
Closing his eyes, he felt the empty sinking feeling in his heart. He was gone; he left him for a woman he met in the Golden Square. The bastard did nothing to stop Cloud from crying or even comforting him in the slightest bit as he simply dressed and left into the warm summer night.
"I hate him." Those were the only words he could say at that point. Because of the monster that stole his heart, he had to break the heart of the one person that stayed with him and cared for him with tenderness and respect. And because of his stubborn heart that didn't want to let go of the one he longed for, he stupidly allowed Squall to simply walk out of the door and out of his life.
Walking up the driveway to his front door, he sighed, trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes. He didn't remember when he had first started crying but he didn't care, no one was there to watch him. The realization of that made him want to cry even more, blurring his eyesight as he fiddled with his keys, trying to unlock the door.
As he entered his empty house, he closed the door and leaned against it, putting a hand to his downcast face as he silently began to cry. He was a fool, an idiot. Why did he harshly reject Squall's feelings when not so long ago he was madly in love with him? He had security with him; he was taken care of and treated as if he actually lit up someone else's life instead of walking in the shadows of another's. So why did he allow him to leave, why did he deny Squall the chance to love him, if even just a little?
"Squall," he whimpered, sobbing like a child as he sat against the floor, feeling like the smallest person in the world.
Suddenly, out of the blue, there was a firm knocking at the door, quickly silencing the blonde. Who would be coming to visit him at this hour of the night? There was no one that he could think that would come at this hour unless…
His heart suddenly skipped a beat and he felt as if he was going to fall into some kind of black abyss. What if it was Squall? What if he came back? But then the whole problem was, would he take him back? Would he beg for forgiveness and give his wounded heart to him like he should have all along? Or, should he simply let him stay out of the door and make him realize how hurt he was?
"Squall?" he asked excitedly as he opened the door, sad eyes lit up in hope. The long flow of soft silvery hair and the cold deep cyan of his eyes gave him the feeling as if some kind of phantom hand reached into his chest and pulled out his still beating heart for him to hear. 'No,' he thought. 'It can't be.'
Sephiroth looked at him with a bored expression, eyes swimming with riddles and deception. Leaning in closer to the wide-eyed blonde, he whispered icily into his ear.
"Long time no see."
"Hey guys, have you heard of eSlam?" asked Rikku as she hopped onto the side of the lunch table, swinging her legs over the side. Everyone around her just casually shrugged. "Oh my God! It's the biggest thing here now!"
"Let me guess, its some kind of place where you basically tell everyone your deepest and darkest secrets," sighed Vincent as he drank down more of his soda. At this, Rikku's eyes widened.
"How did you know?"
"I just thought of the stupidest thing that it possibly could be. Easy actually," he grumbled, earning a glare from the perky blonde. Riku just laughed as he watched yet another fight in the making.
"So essentially, you go on this thing and write something embarrassing about yourself? Why the hell would you want to do something like that?" asked the jock. Rikku turned her gaze to him and grinned, waving an index finger from side to side.
"That's the beauty of it. It's totally confidential; you don't even have to put your name down! Just putting it out there is so freeing, especially since you can read other ones and sometimes you find that other people are feeling the same as you do!"
Riku just shrugged and continued eating his sandwich, not really caring. After all, when it came to his darkest secrets, he always put it out in the open and the only one that he used to hide was now pretty public.
"I have nothing to tell."
"Oh come on Riku! You have to have something still left in that broody heart of yours," she teased, tapping at his chest playfully. Riku just glared at her.
"You all know everything that I feel. There's nothing to hide anymore."
Zenith raised an eyebrow. "You've never stolen anything? Or even cheated on a big test? What about family problems?" Riku just shrugged, still eating.
At this, Rikku deflated, looking at him with a confused expression. How could someone as mysterious as Riku have no hidden secrets?
"Hey Riku!" said Sora as he sat down next to the silver-haired teen, placing his tray onto the table. At the sight of the brunette, Riku's eyes lit up and he scooted his seat over so that Sora could pull a seat next to him. Vincent sighed and moved over to the side, deciding to watch the people walking by outside.
"Oh hey Sora. Riku's being all broody again," sighed Rikku as she took Vincent's bag of chips, shrugging when the raven-haired artist didn't show any sign of caring.
"They're just too upset that I don't have any big secrets to put onto that stupid eSlam site."
"Oh, I know that site," said the brunette casually, dabbling a little into the pasta that he picked up. Rikku's eyes lit up and she slammed her hands onto the table.
"Oh my God! Have you put anything on it yet?"
"Eh, not really. I'm still thinking about what to put," replied the brunette casually as he stabbed at a juicy piece of tomato. The perky blonde deflated and pouted, folding her arms with a huff.
"Anyways, Sora, the concert is coming up soon. Wanna go with me?" asked Riku as he tried to change the conversation. Vincent narrowed his eyes at a happy couple talking with their friends while holding each other.
"Oh, um… about that," replied Sora, looking at his lover guiltily. He didn't really want to tell him but he knew that he had to.
"Well, what is it? Are you going with Kairi? Cause if you are, that's cool. I'll just go with Vincent and everyone."
Rikku gave a worried look over to the brooding raven-haired teen. Sora shifted nervously, twirling his fork in his pasta.
"Well, I was kind of going with Zen instead. I mean, he's not really that bad and he kind of listens to me you know? And Tidus kind of forced me to when he asked."
Riku furrowed his eyebrows, trying not to be angry. "What do you mean 'he listens to you'? I listen to you all of the time."
"Yeah, but you really don't try to understand me Riku, at least from my point of view. It's okay, I don't expect you to agree with everything I say, it's just that I need someone outside of this to talk to that's all."
At this Riku glared at the brunette. How dare he say such a thing? He was trying with all of his might to listen to him and understand him. If anything, he was neglecting his own needs!
Rubbing his temples with a frustrated sigh, the jock decided to end that conversation right there.
"Fine, go with him. I'll just go with everyone else. But I warn you, I have bad feelings about this guy, really bad feelings."
Sora huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's not about the whole locker room thing is it? I thought we got over it," said the brunette as he twirled his pasta into a tight mass of noodles.
"Well, you know what Sora, I'm not over it. But I shouldn't have expected anything less from you anyway. I mean, after all, you're fine about being with me behind Kairi's back so why not with him too?" said Riku, trying to calmly explain his feelings. However, Sora fumed, glaring coldly back at him.
"What do you mean by that Riku? I told you that it wasn't my fault." He then threw up his arms and stood up, gathering his things. "I should have fucking known that you wouldn't understand."
"W-w-wait! What's wrong? I'm just telling you how I feel," explained Riku as he stood up as well, making the chair make a skidding sound underneath him.
Sora just picked up his tray angrily. "You know what, he's right about you. You don't care about anyone else's feelings but yourself."
"What the hell are you talking about? I think that I'm the last one that should be accused of selfishness!" yelled Riku, finally loosing the grasp on his temper. At this, Sora stormed off towards the tray conveyer belt with an angry Riku in toe.
"Oh God, here they go again," sighed Rikku as she propped her chin on her hand. Zenith just shook his head.
"And all because of my brother..."
Sora sat the tray on the conveyer belt and was about to walk out when Riku grabbed his wrist.
"Ow! Let go of me!"
"Not until you start making some kind of damn sense!" he spat, glaring his icy eyes back at him. Sora just looked back at him defiantly. "All I have been doing these past weeks, hell, past few months, was nothing but kissing your ass, hoping that you might one day wake up and make up your mind. But you've been a childish little brat, complaining when you don't get exactly your way!"
"That's not true!"
"Well what the fuck was that just now? What have you been doing? Sooner or later you will have to choose one of us because this sneaking around crap just isn't working and its making me feel like shit being balanced with now two other people!"
Sora raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean two other people?"
"You know who I'm talking about. He's just trying to get into your pants but you just don't see it!"
"Now how does that ring a bell?" said the brunette sarcastically, folding his arms with an annoyed look on his face. "I seem to recall you being after me since you hit puberty, unless you told me wrong!"
Riku just paused, trying to calm himself down and start over. He knew that Sora was getting too upset to listen to reason but he couldn't believe how stupid the brunette was to simply believe that Zen had any kind of good intentions for him. Wasn't it obvious that he was only after Sora to use him?
Ever since the time in the locker room, he had been bothered at the slight thought that the blonde might be winning. How could he even think that he could possibly trick Sora into being with him when he himself had history with the brunette? Sure it wasn't a good history but one nonetheless. He had done nothing but cater to Sora and give him everything that he possibly could have asked for. He had given his heart to him willingly even though he knew that he hadn't loved him and waited patiently for his feelings to be returned in any simple way.
But it wasn't always that easy in life wasn't it?
"Fine."
Sora looked at him in confusion, his bright blue eyes wide and unsure.
"What did you just say?" he asked, not really understanding what had happened. Just a few seconds ago, it seemed as if they were going to chew each other out over who he was going with to the concert. Now he was dropping it as if it didn't happen?
Riku just sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "I'm just tired of chasing you Sora. Especially since I just keep getting nothing," he said frankly, looking off to the side sadly. It was true. After all of the years he had been pining after him secretly far and after he finally was able to have him solely for that brief moment, it was only now that he realized that he never truly had him at all.
He was always waiting for Sora to figure out his feelings and maybe start to love him. And also he had to learn the hard way when he first moved into the university that he was still with Kairi. That fact almost killed him inside. Wasn't he worth enough to be truthful with? Was he just some summer fling to him that he thought would go away when he wanted?
Looking at Sora, he just didn't really know anymore. Even though he had been cruel to him for most of their lifetime, he still couldn't figure out why Sora, someone who had been known to carry a great sense of right and wrong, would do something like this. Why would he feel so easy with himself when he was actively hurting two people that really cared about him and trusted him?
"Riku wait," said the brunette as the jock was about to walk away. He paused only for a brief second, his shoes slightly squeaking in protest, but he didn't care to look back at him. He didn't owe him that much.
It was a bit after dinner time before Vincent entered the dismal dorm room. Shifting his crimson eyes to the side, he spied his roommate sitting on his bed, back against the cold wall as he tossed a tennis ball against the other wall repetitively.
"I'm back," he tried, tossing his sidebag to the side. Riku just grunted in reply and tossed the neon green ball against the wall again.
The other teen just sighed, running a hand through his long black hair before going through his things trying to find something. Pulling it out, he looked it over again before he walked over to his friend, holding his hand out sternly.
"Here, I got this for you."
Yet again he received no verbal response as the ball continued its pace to the wall and back, a continuing hitting sound echoing across the room. It was starting to annoy him. Here he was, trying to cheer his friend up and only received the cold shoulder. 'Shouldn't I be the bitchy one here?' he thought with an irritated sigh, tossing the neglected CD onto the side next to his brooding friend.
"Fine, be an ass. I wasn't the one who broke your heart," he muttered, taking his black coat off to hang it up. As he did so, he heard a hard slam and then the sound of things crashing down to the ground. Turning around, he saw the lamp on his desk hit against the floor as a few more of his things scattered across the surface and falling off of the table.
"What the fuck!" Vincent exclaimed, rushing over to his table to pick up his pens and trying to shove his pencils and brushes back into the cups that they were previously in. "What the hell is your fucking problem!"
Riku just glared at him before crawling under the covers, rolling over to his side.
"I was trying to hit you," he muttered under his blanket.
The guy was confusing him. Why was he taking it out on him when he hadn't done anything wrong?
Picking up his lamp and rearranging it back onto the table, he cast a tired glance back to his moping roommate. It was practically a whole day since Riku and Sora had their fight but he had been acting like a zombie the whole time. Whenever he talked to him or anything he only received silence and a cold glare. It wasn't like the normal Riku he was used to. The jock was always talking to him about Sora or other things that had happened during the day or was admiring his artwork. At least the previous Riku, though a bit lovesick, was enjoyable.
He smiled at the thought, picking up his poor miniature red rose plant that Riku had bought him for his birthday. It was a cold fall night when Riku realized that it was his birthday, being very disappointed for him not reminding him. Vincent didn't care though, it wasn't like he ever liked his birthdays. Every time that he was home, he only received a small cake from his caretaker and some kind of sketchpad and pencils that she had scraped up money to get. But he was appreciative, it was better to be in a foster home than having to live in the orphanage again.
Then he sighed, looking back at his friend who lay fully clothed under the covers, probably trying to bottle up all of the emotions he was feeling inside of him. He didn't like seeing him like this, not being so teasing and sarcastic like he had become accustomed to.
Sitting next to his friend's quiet form, he placed an unusually comforting hand on the jock's shoulder. There were few times when he was actually remotely gentle with someone but he figured that this situation needed it.
Riku's body stiffened as the artist watched him with his eerie yet gentle eyes. "Just cry," said Vincent, earning a confused and slightly angry look from the jock.
"What?"
Vincent just placed his hand back to the side of him before standing up quietly his face returning to its original stoic look. He didn't want to really admit that he was really worried about him but he knew that it was pretty obvious.
Walking over to his clothes bin, he pulled off his shirt, not wanting to look at his friend. "You shouldn't hold all of your emotions in, it'll just destroy you from the inside," he sighed, pulling off his jeans and throwing them in the hamper. Climbing into his own bed in his boxers, he picked up a random hair tie and tied his long black hair up and away from his face in a loose ponytail.
"There's nothing to cry about."
"Hmm?" asked Vincent looking over to his friend. Riku just rolled over to face him, an angered expression apparent on his features.
"There's nothing to cry about. After all, I wasn't worth enough to him anyway. It was stupid," he sighed before closing his tired eyes, letting himself drift off to sleep, his friend watching over him in confusion before going to bed as well.
A/N: I had to get this out. I don't know how good this is. I don't even know why I'm starting to lose my focus in writing. I had really good chapters in the beginning but now they are getting kind of lackluster. I don't know why! Maybe it's cause I'm not so angsty anymore? Things have pretty much calmed down for me again. Eh, I'll just have to work harder. I will though. And the next chapter should hopefully be better than this one, I'm losing my touch, whatever it was. (cries)
