A/N: I am terribly sorry for the lack of updates on my account as of late. College has proved to be far more dangerous than I could have ever predicted. For all those going into college next year, ye be warned! It makes high school look easy. Work harder, not smarter! That's the best advice I could ever give. Now onward with the chapter!

Chapter 7: Subject of Abuse

Sora frowned as he did math on a piece of paper, working as fast as he could with a simple scientific calculator. Why was he using a scientific calculator, one might ask? The cash register was broke, and they had spent a few hours trying to fix it but to no avail. Riku's mother had put in an order for a new one, but it wasn't to get to the café for another day.

After he finally finished all his work and double checked it, he cringed. He hadn't done his addition right a few times, and failed to give proper change, and on occasion, didn't charge the right amount. All in all, he gave out about ten free drinks. Math was never Sora's strong point, especially under pressure during the early Saturday mornings. Those trying to make the drive home from third shift stopped in, and those working first shift or going to their 9-to-5 jobs stopped in. Busiest part of the day, and Sora had to put forth more effort in today than he did the past month because of the broken register.

Riku tossed his rag over his shoulder and it landed somewhere on a caffeine machine somewhere in the back of their work area. "So Sora," He began, both staring at the broken cash register. "What now?"

"I, for one," Sora felt taunted by the damned machine. The blank screen and all it's fast-calculating glory were put to waste due to a failure in the stupid thing. Sora walked up to it and tried to press the open button, "think it needs some harsh loving." He smacked it, but all that was heard was a loud clang.

"Sora, that's called an abusive relationship." Riku laughed and went back to his machine and began cleaning it. "Come on, just do it by hand, how hard can it be?" Riku walked over and looked at his notebook and saw that it was already filled with four pages. "Oh… wow." Riku flipped through a page and he put the notebook back down. "All that..?"

"In only two hours." Sora confirmed. Resting his head in his arm on the counter, Sora watched the door hoping to see a certain red head walk in. Despite how real the dream was last night, he did not go on a Dinner cruise, nor did he confess to Kairi, and he definitely didn't kiss her. Damn his luck. He wondered if Kairi had a similar dream that night. It'd be pretty cool if she did. "Say Riku, what time is it?"

"Eight-forty. Why do you wish to know?" Riku asked back, the latte machine cleaned entirely, and he was moving towards the pastry shelf to sweep out some crumbs. Before he started swiping, he had a sly grin. "Ohh… you're waiting for Kairi, aren't you?"

"S-so what if I am?" Sora muttered, looking away as a blush stained his cheeks. "I can't help it I like her."

"Oh, here she comes… wait." Both Riku and Sora looked outside, and both of them shared the same look of confusion. Riku cleared his throat, "I… do think that's another guy, Sora."

Sora looked outside as they were both approaching. The guy had spikey blond hair similar to Sora, but not identical. He had a skateboard in hand… oddly enough, that was one of Sora's favorite pass times as well. The way he was acting… they could have been twins. "Oh… damnit, curse my luck!" Sora rammed his head on the register. "Kairi's a sucker for blondes!" He hit his head on the cash register again, a bit harder this time.

"Uh… Sora, I don't think-"

Sora interrupted Riku, "No it is! I can't compete with a blonde! Blondes always have more fun! I'm just a brown haired loser who has a hopeless crush!" He smacked his head again, harder than the second time.

"Dude, it's definitely not what you-"

"It's over!" Sora smacked his head and the register hard this time and the familiar 'ka-shink' sound emanated from the contraption and smacked his chin. "Oh. Hey! I fixed it!" Sora jumped for joy, seeing the screen working, and watched as Kairi and the blonde walked in. "Hey-"

"Hey Sora!" Kairi greeted enthusiastically, completely forgetting the blonde skater she walked in with… almost. "I met this guy at school last week, and we became pretty good friends. He's been looking for a job and I told him to try here…" Kairi looked hopeful, "And my mom also told me to get a job, so we both came here to apply."

"Did someone say they wanted a job?" Riku's mother popped out of the kitchen.

"I did." Kairi replied happily, looking at the older (than them, anyway) lady. "Roxas and I are looking for jobs, and were wondering if you had any openings."

Riku's mother had a sly grin on her face as she noticed Sora's blush. "Why yes, we do! I have just the perfect spots for the both of you!" She was looking at both Kairi and Roxas. "Assuming you two have the skills I need. Tell me, Kairi," she leaned in and whispered into her ear causing her to blush and nod her head. "Perfect! I want you to man the second register when it gets here."

"Wait…" Sora replied, "They haven't been interviewed, and I thought that was a replacement-"

"I ordered two." The mother replied hastily. "And how hard can it be to push a few buttons."

Touché, but that was a devastating blow for Sora's self-esteem. So his job really was just unskilled labor he spent a month perfecting. Maybe he should focus on his studies more. "But what about Roxas?" Sora turned around to see him already instructing Riku on how to clean the machines even more properly. "Hmm… well, we always didn't have time to clean the tables…"

"Exactly, Sora!" Riku's mother exclaimed, tossing them both a uniform. "You two are hired and start at nine!" Sora looked at the clock and saw it was eight-fifty. The mother had already disappeared into the kitchen. "Riku, Sora, make sure to show them the ropes properly!"

Sora looked at Kairi and blushed. "Well, looks like we're business partners from here on out…" Sora sighed and pointed towards the bathroom. "Get changed, we got a few things to show you."

Both teens popped out, Roxas first, and Kairi second. Sora had to admit, Kairi wore the uniform well. White with a pink apron that opposed his navy one, plus she wore khaki pants that hugged the right areas and showed the perfect areas… well perfectly, at all angles. "Alright Riku, who are you gonna train?"

"Roxas, you're with me. I'll show you the tricks." Roxas nodded and walked next to Riku as he began showing him all the machines and their names, as well as how to clean them, use them, as well as a few other thankless tasks that needed to be done.

That meant he was with Kairi. She smiled warmly at him and he smiled back at her. "Alright, I'll show you how to work the cash register then… it's a lot harder than it looks, I swear!" He walked over and showed her the simplicity of the machine.

"Well… seems easy enough." Kairi mused. "After all, how hard can it be?"

Sora smirked. "This register has a lot of little quirks. It's older than dirt. For example." Sora punched in a pastry then a small cappuccino, then tried to open the cash register. "If this happens, just do this:" Sora smacked the side of it, but instead it read error. "…what?" Sora asked, hitting it again.

Kairi giggled. "Is this what you meant by 'harder than it looks'?"

Sora nodded, "I will swear on my life this thing developed an attitude." He smacked it again and the screen read 'Quit hitting me and read the manual.' Kairi giggled and he felt his cheeks go hot in embarrassment, "Come on… it normally opens up…" He hit it again and it read error. "Please?" He asked the machine, and pushed the button again. This time, it opened. "See? Temperamental." Sora then tried to close it and something snapped, and the register got stuck open.

Sora sighed in defeat, and picked up the notebook and pen. "Tell me Kairi, are you good at math?"