Forever Lullaby
VII Cry
Chapter Rating E10+ mild language
Disclaimer Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix and Disney
A/N SO sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been sick and sort of depressed lately, and suffering from a horrible writer's block. And I also apologize if this chapter really isn't up to par.
000---000
"So he kissed you?" Kairi was grinning ear to ear, though I expected nothing less. I continued rummaging through my closet, barely taking a look at an article of clothing before deciding it was too gay and throwing it over my shoulder. Heat rushed to my cheeks at this reminder, but it was my fault for telling her in the first place. "I knewit!"
"Yes," I stumbled out of the closet and sat next to Kairi, the bed squealing in protest. Kairi leaned against my poster smothered wall, smiling up at me in a diabolic-planning-way.
"And you have to be tested if you're gay?" Kairi placed her pinky on the side of her mouth, much resembling Dr. Evil. The moonlight played on her skin, making her look pale, but exceptionally pretty. If I thought a girl was pretty, then that meant I was straight, right?...but Riku's pretty. "That's really obvious and all, but I'd like to see what he'll do."
"I don't want to know." After the little incident in Starbucks, I avoided the subject carefully, though Kairi easily picked up that I was bothered by something. So, being the damn sensitive person that I am, I gushed out everything that'd happened in one, long breath. Now, she relentlessly guessed what particularly sultry things Riku was sure to do to me, especially ones that would get us all kicked out.
"…and then he'll lick you right where it–"
"KAIRI!"
"What?"
"STOP IT." I huffed, pushing myself off the bed and storming to the closet. "I've got no good clothes!" I almost screamed, yanking the hangers along the bar, ignoring the screeching sound that was sure to make me deaf.
"That's why…" Kairi yanked me beside her again and pulled out her book bag, "I brought these!" She pulled out a bunch of dark clothing and displayed them out on my bed. "Try them on."
I stepped into the bathroom with a funeral tune playing in my head, or it could've been Kairi; either one drives me insane. I stripped off my shirt, ignoring the mirror vain – in my eyes, I wasn't anywhere near eye candy, but Kairi insisted that I was, and that it was weird for a boy to judge himself like that.
Shaking my head, I continued with the abnormally strenuous process of stripping out of my loose, comfy clothing into skin-tight, extremely uncomfortable leather. I never liked leather, either from innocent cows being murdered for fashion purposes or from the no breathing room factor, and these pair of pants only added towards my growing dislike of leather. I let out a harsh breath after buttoning – my fingers aching afterwards. With the pants barely fitting over the slight tub of my stomach, I took notice of the irritatingly itchy hem. I'd get Kairi back for this, especially for the pinching in the butt.
"How're ya' doing?" Said Kairi called through the door, and I had the sudden urge to slam it on her face. It'd be a nice wake up call to 'Miss Stylist'.
"Horrible, bad, miserable, anything that is a synonym with: I REFUSE TO WEAR THESE." I could hear Kairi groan on the other side, saying something about how whiny I was. The doorknob turned – I swear I locked it – and she wrenched me out of the room, tugging me by the wrist to my closet and opening the door. She grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me to look into the mirror. "…I don't like it." I said miserably, moaning and turning away.
"You don't?" Kairi pouted, "But you look so…so…SO HOT."
"I guess hot's definition was once again warped by our society." Ah, so I was being a bit dramatic, but it wasn't like Kairi understood what I meant.
"No idea what you mean, but you seriously look great!" Kairi turned me around again, "Dude, I think Riku won't be able to resist you."
"Great, just what I wanted." I turned my eyes away from the mirror, and since it was rather smudged, I don't think I would've been able to completely see my reflection either way. Kairi pounded on my shoulders, giving a defeated sob. She was always a great fake crier, and by the way her shoulders were shaking, she almost convinced me. I gave in. "Alright, alright. I'll give it a look." I let my eyes skim over my blurry figure, taking in the black attire for the first time….I didn't look half bad…a little bit like a wannabe rocker dude, but not half bad. "Fine, I'll wear it, but if Riku jumps me…I'm blaming you!"
"Hey, hey! You'll have to blame your parents for giving you those sexy genes!" Kairi grinned and lifted her head – no traces of tears. Why wasn't I surprised? She crossed my room, almost skipping, and sat on my bed, patting the spot next to her. I frowned and followed her, hoping this wouldn't be another one of her Dr. Phil slash Opera talks. Unfortunately, it was. "Sora, I have something very important to tell you."
"Whaaaaat? I plopped next to her, jumping a little when she laid her head on my shoulder.
"I am your father." She grinned up at me, something she did very often. I was used to it; the first time we met, she was grinning like I was her knight in shining armor, which I sort of was, because I'd punched Tidus for teasing her. It was in kindergarten and I was big for my age, but that never really caught on with my middle school days. Or my high school days. Or any other days of my life.
"I would say 'NOOOOO' very dramatically, but I actually wouldn't mind that." I put my head on hers, feeling conformability spread through my chest, although I couldn't really breathe with the constricting shirt.
"Aw, Sora." Kairi said sympathetically, closing her eyes. Her smile drooped a little, but only a little. "You can't completely hate your pa."
"I do." I closed my eyes as well. Scarce memories of my parents crossed my mind, and with no reality to block them out, I felt my stomach clench painfully. They weren't all bad memories, not all the old ones, but the fresh ones stuck, and those were the ones I hated.
"Sora, Sora, our poor little emo kid." Kairi tched-tched. Sometimes I wanted someone who I could talk to seriously, but, then again, I'd probably be in some emotional rut. I glanced at the time, groaning at the long wait. An hour to go, with nothing to do but sit there and talk.
000---000
MTV solves lots of problems – dating slip ups, music video needs, and the fantasy of unrealistic views on humanity that all teens crave. Also, it's a great way to pass time, and, once I took a periodic check on my watch, I found that an hour had passed by without a word slipping from either of our mouths.
"Riku should be here any minute." With that said, I leaned over and pressed the power button. The TV snapped off, the horizontal line proceeding etched in my eyes.
"Yup!" Kairi brushed past me with her purse with a teasing smile. "We coulda just drove there, but your dateoffered to pick us up!"
"Do you always have to state the obvious?" I briskly exited the cramped apartment and leaned against the bricked wall. Couples passed by us, merrily laughing like they were the only ones there.
"About Riku being your date or how he's picking you up?" Kairi stood next to me, her arms casually folded. I shrugged, looking down the road for the car we saw at Starbucks. I couldn't be completely sure that it was Riku's, but I was becoming a little anxious. Riku seemed to have a thing for being 'fashionably' late. It only confirmed my suspicions that he was homosexual. I wanted to believe he wasn't, even if he had kissed me, but I was admittedly drowning in denial. I would rather just be friends, no matter how attractive he was. I always believed myself to be straight, and then suddenly he steps in and completely messes with my views in life. It didn't make sense to me that a person I hardly knew could do that; Kairi couldn't even do it and she'd been my friend forever.
I suddenly noticed that my heart was at a rate that was anything but healthy. I took a deep, steady breath, closing my eyes to calm my nerves. Just as my heart rate decreased, the familiar sound of a revved engine blasted through my brief tranquility. As I'd expected, the same midnight black car from Starbucks was parked in front of us, honking a tune that sounds like something from Marry Poppins. Riku sat in the driver's seat and Roxas, to my total surprise, was sitting in the back with an I-don't-want-to-be-here-look written all over his face. A crazy haired guy with tattooed tear drops sat next to him, his arm snaking around his shoulders before it was brutally punched.
Riku leaned over and opened the driver's seat door, motioning for me to come in. I glanced at Kairi, who gave me a wink before sitting next to Roxas. I looked back at Riku's earnest face, feeling my throat tighten. I crossed the threshold of fate – although it was really a murky puddle – and slid next to Riku, who grinned at me with satisfaction. I offered him a smile that probably resembled something like 'get the hell away from me', but it really wasn't.
"Are you always this late?" I asked rather feverishly, letting out a squeak at the VROOM.
"Woops. Forgot to put it in drive." Riku clasped the shift, pulling it back a notch. I looked away, willing myself not to roll my eyes, though I could see Kairi and Axel snickering through the driver's mirror, and Roxas smiling. Actually smiling. From then on, I knew this would be a strange night.
"I thought you wouldn't come." I watched the shining gravel roll under us as we pulled out, then disappeared when we whisked forward. Something crunched under our tire, and when I looked back to see what it was, a half cracked smiling face of a garden gnome grinned at us.
"Were you that worried about me?" Riku asked, glancing at me just in time to almost ram into a tree. "I'm starting to worry now." I mouthed a 'sorry' at a driver Riku had abruptly pulled in front of. He flipped me off. "You're a horrible driver."
"You're starting to sound like Roxas." Riku gestured at the blonde, who scowled. "I'll pull over if you want to drive." I looked around the freeway, and, seeing that the only way he could pull over would kill us, said a quick 'no thanks.'
Silence. The wheels rolled over the road in a rubbery kind of rhythmic tune, but that was the only thing that followed, other than Axel muttering something to Roxas and receiving a halfhearted punch. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, watching the traffic slowly dwindle away, leaving only the lights of passing streetlamps.
"Cool get up, by the way." Riku said, glancing down at me, which isn't much of a feat for someone at least two feet taller than you. "I didn't notice it before."
"I'd rather you didn't…" I replied vaguely, continuing to stare out the window.
"If I knew we were supposed to get all dressed up, I would've too." Riku gestured at the same cloak I'd seen him in at Starbucks. He didn't look bad in the taught material either. I bit down on my inner cheek after realizing I'd been staring at him a little too long.
"Oh yeah!" Kairi shouted, and I silently thanked her for distracting the guy, who seemed to notice the blush spreading over my cheeks. "Epic Movie and The Messangers are all sold out. In fact, everything's sold out, except for one movie."
"And what would that be?" Roxas asked in the most unenthusiastic voice I'd ever heard. I swear, he sounded like her answer would be his doom.
"Bridge To Terabithia" Kairi replied swiftly, smiling at all of our smug reactions. "It's not a kid's movie! At least, that's what I heard. Death and everything like that."
"But it's a Disney movie." I said, scowling. I never liked Disney, the singing scarred me for life.
"Disney's a bitch. I tried giving them a screenplay and they said no. A month later, it was out in theaters!" Axel said enthusiastically, the first time I'd heard him speak more than a couple of words, and also the first time that I realized his polar opposite personality to Roxas's. "Good thing they screwed up half of the script and only about four people actually went to see it."
"What was it about?" I asked, noticing Roxas rolling his eyes.
"A gay couple living through life." Axel shrugged his shoulders, taking up the weird habit of examining his fingernails. I always thought it was weird, anyway.
"And you gave this to Disney?" Kairi hit the other redhead over the head, her expression bemused. "Why did you give it to Disney?"
"Well, they said no because of it…and then turned it into a straight couple…in high school…and made all the trials they went through based on that the guy was a nerd and the girl was a super popular cheerleader."
"Sounds like high school to me." Riku said, looking over at me. "What was it like for you, Sora?"
"Like hell."
"Why's that?"
"Everyone thought I was gay."
"Same here."
000---000
We pulled into the packed theater parking lot a few minutes later, just lucky enough to take the last parking space before a van twice our size could take it. I let out a breath, feeling the same nerves that I always did before viewing a movie. I'm not sure why I always felt that way, but now it was even worse with Riku sitting beside me, turning his keys out of the car. He unlocked the doors and stepped out, and so did the others. I pulled myself sluggishly onto the pavement, closing the doors deliberately slow. Riku raised an amused eyebrow before hooking his arm in mine. I tried my best to ignore it, though I didn't bother to pull away. He smelled like cinnamon again, and it was a refreshing scent.
The three guys bought me and Kairi the tickets, although we had to pay for own snacks. Riku decided to share popcorn with me, and, following Riku's example, Axel offered to share some with Roxas, who declined in an instant. Kairi agreed to sit in between the two males and hold a big bowl of popcorn so the three of them could share. Roxas agreed.
The theater was packed, with only two seats available near the very top and three near the very bottom. I cursed fate as Kairi, Axel, and Roxas left me and Riku alone. I bit back a groan when he gestured gallantly to my seat, sitting in front of a tall man, which I silently thanked him for. At lease he could see over the shiny bald head.
Riku placed the popcorn on my lap, making sure to take a handful for himself, though it was with the hand furthest from me. I took a handful with the hand closest to him, making sure it was the greasiest kernels in the bunch.
"Do you have any studying to do tonight?" Riku inquired as he took a sip of his soda. He placed it in the armrest opposite of us, his other hand taking resting on the armrest in the middle. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, which were almost too tight to do so.
"Not tonight, no. I might get some done tomorrow." I stared up at the local ads, recognizing a Starbucks picture with Kairi sneaking herself some coffee, though I'm sure most people would think that since there was no one in the café, there must've been someone at the driveway.
"Not very proactive, are you?" Riku said playfully. "I imagine your apartment is a mess."
"Keep imagining, because you're never going to see it." I said a little harsher than I meant to, but I was still a bit bitter about the PDA embarrassment. I didn't like to act like that around anyone, but I'd been becoming a lot touchier lately, and I mean in the emotional way.
"Is that a challenge?" Riku snorted. I finally looked up at him, noticing a glint in his silver obscured eyes. He smiled at me, his nose wrinkling slightly. "I really do love a good challenge, unless you're just playing hard to get. That would be boring."
"Hardly." My hands constricted against my thighs, causing the pants to pinch my butt even more. I turned my nose to the screen, ignoring the delighted look written over Riku's features. For such a 'mysterious man', as Kairi called him, he was being completely obvious to his intentions.
The lights gradually began to dim, the muffled talking and quiet laughs following with them. I swallowed, praying that Riku would just look at the screen instead of me. God must've forgiven me for feeling a very, very slight attraction for another male – Riku looked away.
000---000
Fifteen minutes into the movie, and I felt boredom eating at my chest. It was interesting with some great acting, considering the actors' ages, but just barely bordering the storyline's plot. The night felt as if it was just bordering its on plot, though coming around at it at a very slow pace. It wasn't as if I was complaining or anything, I was glad, amazingly glad, that Riku hadn't done anything. Yet.
I reached for another handful of popcorn – most of it was gone by now – and felt soft skin that could only by discerned as Riku's touch mine. Barely, but the touch didn't leave. In fact, it began to sneak against my own hand at a horribly slow pace, as though I'd bite if he held it. I rolled my eyes and intertwined our fingers like a pro. Riku cocked his head at me for the first time that night, though I pretended not to notice. Oh, yes, I've held hands with many, many women before, most of those times being with my mother.
Later in the movie, I began to notice the molding of reality andTerabithia, and I was starting to catch on with the embedded moral lessons. As I was really beginning to immerse myself into the character's somewhat diverse emotions, I noticed my hand was prickling painfully. I looked down at it, also just noticing Riku's thumb lightly brushing over it. It was a vain effort; my hand had fallen asleep quite awhile ago.
I reached with my other hand to take some of the very few pieces of popcorn, and Riku moved at a pace faster than lightning itself. I blinked, feeling my other hand being held before my eyelids touched, and once they were open, paralyzing bright eyes stared into them, gleaming with an idiotic dubiousness. I tilted my head almost instinctively to the side, barely able to grasp the concept that Riku must've been just waiting for me to take a grab at the popcorn, which was the only reason he left some left for me. Moving my head to the side was, naturally, a huge mistake; I figured Riku took it as a sign to do the same, allowing his lips to brush against mine at their fullest.
I jumped backwards in my seat, but found large arms acting as a warm blockade, pulling me closer to Riku as I shoved against him, trying to find a way out of his trap. He smiled at me, his eyebrows knitted in a curious expression. He'd expected me to just melt into his arms, right then and there. It was a close guess, with his lithe features staring at me right on, as well as silken hair brushing against my cheeks – not to mention a spicy aroma – it was all I could do to swoon up against him. And I repeat, these were signs that I only had a very, very slight attraction to another male. If I had more of an attraction, my eyes would've trailed from his striking eyes to his even more striking physic – something between a swimmer and soccer player; muscular, but still sleek. But I didn't actually know about these things; Kairi told me. She was the only one who checked him out like that, and it was perfectly reasonable that she could! She wasn't a perfectly straight guy such as myself.
When Riku leaned in – spearmint gum lingered in his husky breath – I was starting to wonder about that last statement. I froze at the thought, completely immovable until tugged at my clasped hands, pulling that and me to his chest. I held my breath, stuffing my face into his chest. I didn't even want to look at him; his pure self was enough to say me being vulnerable is an understatement.
"You're so cute," He whispered, lips just brushing my earlobe. "but I thought this would be a challenge."
"Get off me, then!" It came out more like: geruffmleeeeeden!, but Riku got the gist of it. He let out an airy, sort of disappointed laugh and pulled away, lightly pushing me fully back in the seat. "Thanks." I said gruffly, trying in vain to fix my tousled hair. Riku reached over and combed his hands through it, lightly massaging my scalp. I felt a shiver and a blush run through my skin.
"I can give you a massage sometime." Riku suggested, his hand returning to mine. I stiffened, but I didn't want to give him reason to change his mind.
"As long as it's not…everywhere." I returned my eyes back to the screen, raising an eyebrow in confusion. At one point, they had been at a school, not an art museum. I blamed Riku for distracting me.
"I can't promise that." Riku began rubbing his thumb against my skin again, though I could feel it this time. His touch was warm and gentle, nothing like what he seemed to be. He paused; a question unasked hovered in the air, waiting for one of us to grab it. With some hesitation, he did so, "Do I scare you away?" "Huh?" I turned rolled my head against the scratchy seat and up at Riku. He was watching the movie intently, though distractedly.
"Nevermind." He reached over and turned my face towards the movie. I stared at him a moment before doing so. The characters were crying, yelling about something. I felt dread pick at my chest, though it was more or less only triggered by the scene.
A pause, then, 'You're friend, she's dead.' I bit my lip, immediately knowing who they were talking about. It was rather depressing, I liked the character, and, all at once, a choked sobbed emitted from almost every person in the audience. I felt one building in my throat, but I refused to let it out, especially since Riku was impassive through the whole scene. I glanced up at him, and, for a moment, a smile twisted across his face, then faded as quickly as it had come.
The rest of the movie hadn't improved, any happy moments squeezed out like water from a washcloth. I could still feel the tears start up at my eyes – they were hard to help, I hated death. It made me want to cry all the time, even if it was happening half way across the world. By the end of the movie, the bittersweet ending bit down at my chest, the pressure almost unbearable.
"You're allowed to cry, Sora."
000---000
...to be continued...
This was more or less a long filler chapter than anything, but I also want to develop Riku and Sora's relationship before delving right into it...
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