COLLEGE, MAN. But, in all seriousness, please don't be upset with me! I actually had a review tell me that taking my time would bear sweeter fruit, so hopefully this literary fruit will be exceptionally sweet to all of you! Heads up, though: I wrote this chapter from a slightly different point of view than my previous ones, but you'll know what I'm talking about as soon as you start reading :P. Enjoy!
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Dreamer Boy
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Chapter 7
"I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours." –Bob Dylan
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I wish he'd open up, Sora thought to himself.
Watching Roxas drive away after he confronted the blonde about his black eye, Sora shuffled his feet awkwardly as he made his way through the thinning crowd of teenage angst to his Kia. Thankfully, Xion had stopped crying and had at least changed the music to something more upbeat and Ellie Goulding-esque while she flipped through a magazine waiting for her twin to come back.
"Did you give that asshole what for?" she asked, imitating an old medieval general on a movie they watched the previous night.
"Calm thyself, knaive," Sora answered, mimicking the same character. "Roxas is not avoiding you; he seems like he's actually dealing with something pretty heavy."
Xion perked up. "Is he alright?"
"I don't really know, but I don't think I'm at liberty to say what I do know. However, I will say that until he's ready to open back up to you, don't chase after him. You know how hasty you always are when it comes to boys you like."
"About as hasty as you are when it comes to girls you like!"
Both twins laughed as the Kia quietly hummed to life, though Xion didn't catch Sora somewhat awkwardly trailing off as she returned to her juicy celebrity gossip. She's my twin, and it's like she doesn't even know…oh, what the hell am I thinking?!
Sora shook his head in protest, not letting those thoughts back into his head. He drove out of the school's parking lot, came to a stop at the first red light, and selected a song from his large archive of Paramore to keep his mind busy. Sora sang along, slightly altering the lyrics here and there, while Xion absentmindedly hummed to the melody. Though they were usually different in their respective tastes in pop culture, Paramore was one of the few exceptions that the twins actually agreed on.
Sora yawned and stretched his arms when they finally arrived at the station. Exhausted from Struggle practice with Riku and cracking down on Roxas, a long train ride soundsed like ..heaven to him. Xion looked up from her magazine as she got out of the car and shook her head while laughing under her breath.
The twins boarded the train when it finally arrived and made their way to the back of their car where larger sitting parties would typically sit so Sora could have space to lay down ("Lazy asshole," Xion muttered under her breath). Sora stuck his tongue out at her just moments before he drifted off into sleep…
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Hello? Is that you?
The figure that often occupied Sora's dreams didn't respond, but Sora knew it meant "yes."
Well then, who are you, and where are we?
Again, the figure didn't respond but instead gestured to the glorious sunset behind him. This sunset was unlike any Sora had ever seen on the Destiny Islands: even though it was setting, the radiant star still shone like it was midday, making the twilight a brilliant array of colours from cobalt blues and rich yellows to deep pinks and midnight purples. Sora squinted to get a better look at it and then turned to ask the figure another question only to discover it had disappeared. Upon closer inspection, however, Sora noticed that the figure had quickly but gently scrawled something in the ground before he disappeared.
Huh? 'Starts with an—'
"Wake up, you useless sack of crap!"
Sora completely fell off the seat he was lying down on. He rubbed the back of his head, groggily looking around for the source of his awakening when his eyes caught sight of Xion, whom he then shot an annoyed yet very groggy look.
Xion laughed. "Did I interrupt something?"
"Nuh, yuh di'in't innerrup anythin'," Sora yawned. "It was just my dream stalker again."
"I swear, he's been in so many of your dreams lately, it makes a girl think you're gay for him or something."
Sora's heart almost stopped, but before Xion could notice, he managed to retort with, "Even so, you have no right to criticize, lover girl."
Xion went to punch her twin, but before she got the chance, the squealing of the train's brakes signaled the end of their ride. The pair grabbed their respective things, exited the train, and headed for the trolley stop where, fortunately, there was already a trolley loading passengers. Once they were aboard, Xion asked, "Hey, would you want to go to Sunset Hill Saturday?"
Sora responded with a puzzled look. "You know I have the Struggle tournament on Saturday, right?"
"Of course. How could I forget with how much you remind me about it? I was thinking about after that."
"I guess that would work. I don't have work on Saturday or anything."
"Cool. Should we invite Blondie in case he's never been?"
"Ummm, Xion, in case you haven't paid attention lately, 'Blondie' is from Twilight Town. I'm pretty sure he's been to Sunset Hill at least once before."
Xion stuck her tongue out at Sora. "You catch my drift, asshole."
Sora stuck his tongue out back at Xion, sparking an all-out goofy face war between the two that caused one elderly couple on the trolley to laugh and another to scoot to the edge of the bench farthest away from the twins. Sora eventually won with a face reminiscent of Maleficent when she smiles that caused both twins to erupt into laughter.
Still laughing, Xion said, "So we gonna take Blondie or what?"
"I suppose we might as well," Sora replied. "Who knows? It might even relieve some of the stress he's evidently under."
The trolley stopped across the street from a small row of market stalls to let the two elderly couples from before off and a few market-goers on. Sora looked out the window to see if the one couple was still on edge and noticed Riku's dad's car was driving right next to the trolley. The shiny Bentley's tinted windows didn't reveal the identity of the driver (though, given the car's brand name, Sora doubted Riku's dad would let anyone else drive his precious car), but Sora could make out most of Riku's face as the silver-haired boy slightly leaned forward in the passenger seat. Sora began to wave at him until he noticed that Riku was sporting a fresh fat lip and a bleeding nose. Judging by the finger he now noticed being waved from the driver's side and Riku's trademark bent neck of disappointment, Sora guessed that Riku had gotten in some sort of fight with someone who was clearly out of his league. He had no idea who would challenge Riku to a fight considering how many executive boards his dad was on, not to mention Riku's well-known reputation as one of the best Strugglers in the school. Nevertheless, here was his best friend, clearly the loser in some previous brawl.
"You see that?" he said to Xion when he noticed Riku's injuries.
"See what?"
But at that moment, the trolley started rolling again, and Xion was cut short of being able to see Riku's current physical state.
"Never mind, I'll tell you when we get home."
The rest of the trolley ride consisted of Sora pondering whom Riku squared off against and Xion practically drowning in whatever magazine she had brought along with her. It didn't make sense, though: the only person better than Riku at Struggle was Sora himself. Who would have the balls to try and take Riku on in a real fight, let alone come out victorious? Sora's self-inquiry came to halt as the trolley followed suit in front of their neighbourhood.
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Aerith was the only one who was already home by the time the twins had arrived at their house. She greeted the twins from the kitchen where she was preparing some pasta dish that smelled of garlic and Italian sausage. Xion returned the greeting and headed upstairs, but Sora was entranced and drawn into the kitchen by the pleasant aroma, hoping to get a taste of its source. Aerith, however, knew her little brother well enough to have a wooden spoon on standby ready to swat any hands that dared broach her dish as Sora entered the kitchen.
Sora's look of dreamy content turned to disappointment upon seeing the wooden spoon. "Hey, Aerith," he said in his token tone of voice whenever he didn't get the little things he wanted.
Aerith smiled at the familiar tone reminiscent of many days spent denying the adventurous young brunet various things he saw sitting in the aisles at the grocery store from his little seat in the buggy. Both Xion and Sora learned how to walk early, but Sora still for a long time preferred the buggy seat as it allowed him an up-close and personal view of everything on the higher shelves. Aerith lightly aughed as she could practically see the brunet, now sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, pouting as he futilely reached toward the saucepan on the stove.
Sora's face did turn into a pout when she started laughing, causing both of them to laugh even more. Once settled down, Aerith returned to her cooking, and Sora absentmindedly scrolled through the contents of his phone.
"Did you see Roxas again today?" Aerith asked.
"Yeah, but he seemed really on-edge about something. Not to mention, he had a real doozy of a black eye. I'd assume the kid actually won whatever fight he was in if he also wasn't acting so timid."
"Oh, my word! Do you think he was abused at home?"
"I dunno. I actually asked him if he was, and he said he wasn't, but he was clearly dodging the question. I mean, he was dodging every question I asked him, but you get my point."
"Well, I hope whatever his situation is gets better. Cloud doesn't mention him often, but when he does, he speaks of him lovingly and protectively. He clearly means a great deal to Cloud, so he thereby means a great deal to me as well. I hope you and Xion care about him greatly as well."
"We do, and that's why we're so eager to help him. If only we could crack that thick shell of his…"
"Don't force something like that on someone. When he's ready to tell you, he will, as long as you keep proving to him you're willing to listen and won't judge him when you do."
Sora perked up suddenly. "Oh, yeah, I just remembered. You didn't happen to see Riku's mom in your salon today, did you?"
Aerith looked puzzled. "No, why?"
"Because when we were riding the trolley, I saw Riku in the passenger seat of his dad's car, and he looked like he got the crap beat out of him, too."
"Good lord. Everyone seems to be caught up in violence nowadays. Do you think that his dad did it?"
"No, but his dad sure didn't look happy about it, though I'd wager that's because he would expect Riku to win in every fight he'd ever get into. Still, I'd also expect that of Riku, so I can't help but wonder who it was that beat him up, not to mention why."
"And this was after school?"
Sora nodded. "Yeah, he was still his flawless-looking, douchey self when he went off to his last class."
"Interesting. You'll have to ask him about it tomorrow."
"I intend on it."
The front door opened, and the distinct sound of Raine's high heels could be heard walking through the foyer. Sure enough, the siblings' mother poked her head around the corner with a cheerful "Hello!" to which she was greeted with in kind.
"That smells delicious, Aerith. I swear, the best decision I ever made was teaching you how to cook noodles. Your creativity has turned you into a master noodle chef."
"Then perhaps I should quit the cosmetology business and start taking the noodle industry by storm," Aerith joked.
"Oh my, I could never live with that," Raine replied as she admired her bob in her reflection on the kitchen window. "You do such a lovely job fixing people's hair, I don't know what I or any of the ladies in town for that matter would do without you."
Aerith beamed, not noticing that she was stirring the sauce a bit too hard and causing it go over the edges of the pan. Raine laughed and went over to hug her son. "How was your day, sweetheart?"
"Good, good," Sora replied while returning the hug.
Raine put her hands on her hips and pouted a little (making it very obvious which side of the family Sora's pout came from). "Now is that all I'm going to get out of you ever? C'mon, man, spill the deets, or whatever it is you kids say nowadays."
Sora laughed at his mother's attempt to imitate the modern teenager's lingo. "Well, I beat my hit record again during Struggle practice today."
"Oh, really? I'm so proud of you! I'm sure you'll go on to college and be a great Struggler just like Leon did."
"Thanks, Mom."
"Well, kiddos, I'm going to head upstairs and get out of these awful clothes. I don't know who in the fashion industry originally thought that the modern professional woman's attire should be stiff and tight, but I hope they get demoted so they don't make something like corsets the next big thing!"
Sora shot Aerith an awkward look as Raine left the kitchen, making her smile as she added meatballs to the sauce. Sora himself got up and left shortly thereafter to take his own possessions up to his room. The familiar, cool colour scheme immediately made him feel relaxed after such a long, confusing day. He lay down on his bed to appreciate the nice, relaxing feeling complemented perfectly by the now twilight sky gleaming outside his window…
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Oh, you're back.
The figure remained as motionless as ever, the glorious sunset from earlier still blazing brilliantly behind it.
What did you say earlier? It starts with a what? What is "it"?
The figure turned around and started walking into the sunset.
Wait! Come back! I have to know!
The figure kept walking, ignoring Sora's pleas. The closer it got to the radiant star, the more the figure's whole being seemed to fade into it. However, before it completely disappeared, Sora could've sworn he caught a glimpse of blonde where the figure's hair would be.
Sora stood awed by the figure's complete dissipation, alone except for the fading sun still casting a wonderful array of light into his vast, empty realm. He sat down to take it all in when he noticed that the figure's handwriting was still in the ground. Upon closer inspection, Sora noticed that more had been added to its message.
"Starts with an R, sleepyhead—"
"Oh my God, are you ever actually awake?"
Sora woke up to Xion digging her knee into his chest and forcing his eyelid open. The twilight had gotten slightly darker since he'd fallen asleep on his bed, almost matching the twilight from his dream. He gasped in pain as he realized how much his sister's knee was hurting his ribs and then wrestled her off of him until they were both sitting up on the edge of the bed.
"Mom's been calling for dinnertime for 30 minutes now. Dad's already home and waiting at the table with her and Aerith, so Mom had me come and get you. C'mon, sleepyhead, I'm hungry!"
Sora grumbled under his breath in annoyance, ignoring that Xion had called him the same name his dream figure called him. He changed into some sweats and an old Paramore T-shirt and went downstairs with his irksome twin to greet his father Laguna and eat dinner.
"I heard you broke your own hit record again during practice today," Laguna said while scooping some garlic potatoes onto his plate. "With progress like that, you'll be sure to uphold the family honour just like Squall did."
"Oh, stop that, dear," Raine interjected. "You know he prefers to go by 'Leon'."
"Hell, I wouldn't want to be called 'Squall' all the time, either," Xion whispered loud enough for only Sora to hear.
"Regardless," Laguna continued, "he's a fine example of a young Leonhart man, and I expect no less from you with the way you're going now. Now if you could only pick up that Chemistry grade…"
Sora sighed lightly as his father continued to rant. Laguna had always had this annoying notion that there was some kind of honour he and Leon were supposed to uphold as his only male heirs. Sure, that kind of idea might have been more applicable in his great-grandfather's time when he was running his own clockworks shop, but Sora didn't see the point of such a frivolous idea in modern times. The only kinds of honour he was interested in upholding was his Struggle reputation and his impossible-to-beat Pac-Man high score at Twilight Town's local CiCi's.
After Raine managed to get her husband off of his high horse, the family ate the rest of their meal in relative silence, heartily thanking Aerith upon finishing. Sora and Xion went back up to Sora's room to work on some Geometry homework, or as Sora called it, watch SyFy. The main character was leading an attack on some gruesome hexapod creatures, but Sora was paying less attention to the gore and more attention to the main character's light blonde hair. It was so similar to his dream figure's hair, but Sora was more transfixed on the nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him that he had seen that hair tone somewhere else as well. Struggling to remember as he was now struggling to stay awake, Sora lost more and more focus until he finally drifted off to the land of dreams for good this time, where the dream figure was again waiting, this time with a noticeable smile.
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SOOOOOOOOO, what'd you think? Should I do more? I would only ever do Sora and Roxas's points of view, in case that would be a concern. I've been thinking about doing at least one chapter from Sora's point of view for a while now, to be honest with y'all, but I just didn't think I had the story developed enough. Please let me know what you think in the reviews!
