A/N: HOLY PAOPU PUFFS PEOPLE! Look at that gorgeous cover photo, done by the one and only TwilightIsn'tLiterature! (I'm gonna cry forrealz) GO CHECK HER OUT! You'll also notice that I changed the rating, but for different reasons than you might think. Anyway, here I am with the 7th chapter to Chandelier! Please leave a review at the end!

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Seven.

o-o-o

It took a few minutes to calm Kairi down and stop her from making any irresponsible decisions, such as calling Sora and explaining to him that she was alone in a car with me and Riku saw it. Yeah, that would sound really great to him. He may have trusted me to look after her or whatever, but there was a certain line that I couldn't cross when he wasn't around. After we headed over to the plaza just outside of the University Center, we decided to go our separate ways.

"Thanks for coming with me," Kairi said as she stared at the ground and held the papers close. "I hate that the picture got ripped…"

"I'm sure that you can request another copy," I reasoned, but I understood why she was upset about it. "By the way, as much as I hate to say this, Kairi, I don't think that I can accompany you to every single appointment. It will start to look suspicious on my part. I already received several sketchy looks from the nurses today, and Riku… well…"

"…I understand."

"We also have to keep these outside class meetings to a minimum, unless Sora is around or something."

"Yeah." She paused as she tapped her foot several times on the pavement. "Well, I'm… going to go. Sora's waiting for me."

"Hold on," I said before she could leave. I pulled an empty folder out of my briefcase and handed it to her. "Use this; that way, you won't have to hide them like that."

"Oh, thanks," Kairi said as she started putting the doctor's papers inside. With that, she managed a smile and waved before heading off in the other direction. I waved back and strolled over to the University Center. A few cameramen were packing up when I got inside. President Eraqus and Aqua spotted me right away. He didn't look too happy. Once he was done talking with one of the reporters, he came over to me.

"Ventus, where were you?"

Did I really have to explain this?

"I tried telling you that I couldn't make it, but you wouldn't listen." Aqua gave me a sympathetic look. As much as I knew that he was expecting me to be there, my priorities were elsewhere this morning.

"What did you have to do that was possibly more important than this?"

"Uh, I had to take my niece to the doctor," I lied; surprised at how quickly I came up with that. He had no reason not to believe me. Sighing, Eraqus just shook his head and walked off, leaving me there with Aqua. I knew he was disappointed with me, but I did try to tell him. If anything, it was his fault for not listening, but I wasn't one to put blame on others. I shrugged at her and we started heading toward the Communications building where our classrooms were. The past few hours stuck to my mind like super glue, but I tried to put on a smile. Luckily, Aqua wasn't questioning me about it this time.

"I had to fill in for you. I didn't mind doing so, but Eraqus was having trouble because he really wanted you to be the one to talk to the reporters."

"I had other obligations. I tried telling him that. He should have asked me sooner."

"Yeah, but you know how he is. When he's excited about something, there's really no way of getting out of it. I'm on your side, though. I hope your niece is doing okay."

"Y-Yeah, she's fine. She just had an ear infection but they gave her medicine and whatnot."

I really hated lying to her like that, but I figured that I would have to start getting used to doing it.

Wow, I sounded terrible.

"So, are you going to the International Night?" Aqua asked as we entered the building. "They'll have lots of yummy food."

"I wouldn't miss something like that," I chuckled.

"You should invite your friend, if he's free," Aqua said with a wink.

"I could just give you his number. I'm sure he would be delighted to hear from you," I half-way joked. I didn't like being the middle man in anything. Taking myself out of it sounded really nice right now.

"I can't call him out of the blue! That would be too weird." She giggled and blushed a little. We arrived at my classroom. I had to prepare for my afternoon class pretty soon, so we said our goodbyes and I went over to my desk and sat down.

What a hectic last two months, and yet, it's felt like so much longer. I sighed heavily as I settled into my chair.

Reflecting on the last few hours was something that I didn't welcome lightly, but it definitely consumed my mind when I was alone. I could only imagine how Kairi was handling this. Despite everything, we had created a precious, human being that would enter this world by the end of the year. I would have to put on a façade for everyone around me, simply to avoid ridicule, but what about her? She physically carried the weight. I wished that there was something I could do so that she didn't have to put up with all of the crap that was yet to come, but other than being occasionally supportive, I couldn't think of anything.

I wasn't even dating this girl and here I was worrying about her a little too much. It wasn't because I suddenly had feelings for her, no, it was because I was a part of the reason this was happening to her. I felt so sorry for her, even though she was the one that put us in this mess. That's right, I was an unwilling participant, obviously. She basically raped me.

Shuddering, I tried to stash that little detail in the back of my mind. There was a double standard when it came to guys being raped, and I didn't want to even think about it. Also, I couldn't take legal action against her, because it would only come back to bite me and ruin any chances for that unborn child to live a normal life. I think I was more stressed about the aftermath of it all, rather than the action itself.

So, did that mean I didn't mind? No. It was rape. R-A-P-E. I just wasn't going to hold her accountable. Maybe I was crazy, but it was the only solution that I could come up with right now.

I dreaded whatever outlandish thoughts were spiraling around in that air-filled head of Riku's, as well. He definitely had the space to allow such things to linger; that, or they could have evaporated by now and he could have completely forgotten about it, but something told me that wasn't likely. The look he gave me upon seeing me in the driver's seat was nothing short of inquisitive.

I looped around to my initial thought. I was all over the place. I guess that was what stress did to me. 1.70cm, faintly distinctive fingers and toes, merely eight weeks old. This fetus had a beating heart and was critically dependent on its mother. It would only to continue to grow as time pushed on, whether we were ready for it or not. The image appeared in my head, causing me to gulp.

I really wished it was Namine instead. Even though she couldn't possibly have children on her own, that would have made this situation so much easier, and I would have actually been excited for it. I had created this small life form that resided so contently within the chambers of its mother's womb, and all I could do was think of how much I regretted it or what sort of lies I would have to tell in order to ensure that it came into a world that it fully deserved...

I suppose that there was no use in crying over spilled milk.

I'm going to be a father.

How I was going to go about this was an entirely different story. I couldn't wait for the day to end. When I went home that day, I went straight to my room. I had to justify my fears with back-up. Just like there was a Student Handbook, there was also a Teacher's Handbook that I stashed away in my bottom desk drawer. I've only read it once in my academic career, and since then it's just been collecting dust. I had to make absolutely sure of what would legally happen to me as a professor of the university if people found out that I impregnated her. I checked the table of contents and flipped to the corresponding page.

'Student-Teacher relationships.'

Gosh, this was scary. I stared at the page for moment. I didn't want a relationship with her, but it still fell under the sexual category, even though it was a one-time thing. People wouldn't care what my reasons were; all they would see was a young, pregnant college student that was seemingly abandoned by me. I started skimming over the fancy words that could have just as easily been said in a simpler way until I arrived at the answer I was looking for.

'Any sort of consensual romantic or sexual relationship between a teacher and student directly or indirectly under them is forbidden and may undermine the professional relationship that the instructor is required to uphold in a classroom setting. This includes any sort of instructing, evaluation, supervising or directly/indirectly determining their academic performance in the University. Such actions violate this policy and the instructor is prohibited from entering a romantic and/or sexual relationship with this student.'

Directly under? So… if she's not my student anymore, then it's okay? She wasn't even my student when all of this happened…

I'm so confused…

Wait, her name was probably already on my roll by then, since she came the day after. I continued reading through the policies. It even gave examples, but none of them pertained to my particular situation.

'Revelation of any sort of relationship will result in termination of the instructor from the university.'

Well, there you have it. Shutting the book, I sat back in my chair and sighed heavily. Even though it said nothing about pregnancy, I felt like that would be even worse. So at least, for this semester, I had to make sure that nobody found out. It was a close call with Riku, but I needed to be way more careful from now on. Just being seen with her too much could raise suspicion among others, no matter how respected I was at the university. Her being in my car was bad enough and actually violated some sort of policy. Riku probably didn't know that, but he obviously wasn't blind. At least when Sora was with us it made it look a little better, but nobody saw us anyway.

Gah, even after she stops taking my class this will be a problem, because people will consider the age of the child…

Do people really pay that much attention, though?

It almost felt like there was no way out of this.

o-o-o

Kairi was late to class that Friday. I was in the middle of a lecture when she came in. She was her usual moody self, but I noticed something was wrong that went beyond her normal, emotional demeanor. Kairi sure did know how to go through all the motions, but something was telling me that today was a little worse than other days. She sat quietly in her desk and didn't look up. I noticed that Riku was watching me a little more, and it definitely made me nervous.

"Anyway, when Radiant Garden found out about this traitor," I continued as I tried not to focus on Kairi as the class dragged on. What was the matter with her this time? I wasn't sure why I cared so much, but for some reason, it was hard for me to see her like this. I started pacing around the classroom as I talked, purposely going up and down the aisles and acting as if nothing was wrong. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that her pale, white skin was adorned with a little more makeup than usual. She had some sort of purplish, bluish mark under her left eye that she tried her hardest to hide it with her hair as she kept her eyes locked on her notes.

Did someone… hit her?

"Mr. Ishida?" Pence called out, snapping me from my reverie.

"Uh, yeah?"

"What do you mean by intolerance?"

Intolerance? Oh, wait. The lesson. As I explained to him in more detail, I kept glancing at Kairi here and there.

Once the class was over, I debated on whether to confront her about the bruise underneath her left eye. It was clearly visible, and it really alarmed me a lot more than I cared to admit. Did Sora hurt her? It was crazy to even consider, but when that kid exploded in anger, there was no telling of what he was capable of doing. A faint bluish color shone whenever it hit the light, and I felt obligated to act. However, Riku stalled a little and waited for Kairi. I knew that he could see it too.

"Kairi, want to go to the cafeteria?" He asked.

"I'll meet you there," she said; her voice distant and apathetic. "Sora's coming."

"Alright, if you say so…" He stuck around a little longer before slowly exiting the classroom, not failing to glance back at me before disappearing into the hallway. An exchange between him and Sora was heard in the hallway. Kairi remained in her seat. After everyone else had left, I rose from my desk and took a few steps toward her.

"What happened? Do I need to lock the door to prevent Sora from coming in here?" Even if I didn't think that Sora could possibly do something like this, I could never be too careful. Apparently, he used to do petty crimes and whatnot, so that raised my concern. Kairi shook her head quickly.

"N-No. Sora didn't do this. He would never."

"Who, then?"

She didn't get a chance to respond just yet, because Sora came into the classroom a moment later. I supposed that Riku must have given him a heads up, because he rushed over to her desk and immediately inspected the bruise.

"Kairi, what happened?!" He shouted anxiously as I went over to close the door to allow them some privacy. I, too, was quite interested, obviously. I saw Riku looking back at me as I pulled the door shut, but tried not to pay attention to it. I looked back over to them and waited for Kairi to say something.

"I… told my dad."

Well, damn…

"So… he's hitting you again? What the hell?!" Sora yelled and in a failed attempt to control himself, kicked a desk behind him, then after a few breaths, gave me an apologetic look and moved it back into place before taking a seat on top of it. Um, okay then. Taking Kairi's hand in his, he brought it to his lips and kissed it softly as he stared intensely at her. I guess all of their problems had vanished at this point; he definitely forgave her a lot easier than I thought he would. He squeezed her hand tightly and seemed as if he was desperately trying to figure out what to do.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" He asked, a little calmer this time. Kairi shook her head slowly. We all stood in silence for a moment. I definitely didn't know what to say to this, but it really was sickening for a father to hit their own child. Also, Sora mentioned the word, again, so that was even more unsettling.

"He said… he hopes that I have a miscarriage," Kairi added chillingly as tears formed in her eyes.

That was just downright heartless.

"Geeze, he's a fucking prick. I can't allow you to go home," Sora said sternly, and actually, I agreed with him. "But… you can't stay with me, either. My parents wouldn't stand for it, even if they knew the reasons…" Sora ran his fingers through his hair frustratingly as he tried to come up with some sort of solution. "Would you mind staying at Riku's dorm?"

"No," Kairi answered quickly, then realized she needed to clarify, "I don't want to."

"But Kairi, I don't want you to—"

"I'm not staying with Riku!" She shrieked, surprising us both. Maybe she was stressed and upset, but that was a little bit of an overreaction. I guess I never gave Sora enough credit. Even though she basically tore his heart to pieces, he was still trying to find any way possible to help her. I didn't know if he was just stupid or a really great guy, but he obviously wasn't ready to leave Kairi in the dust. When he turned to me, I immediately knew what was going to come out of his mouth.

Hell no.

"No. Don't even think about it," I said before he could ask the question. He sighed and turned back to Kairi.

"It was a longshot. I guess I will try to convince my parents. They should be able to understand, right?"

Kairi almost seemed hopeful as she looked up into her boyfriend's eyes.

(Well, I just assumed that they were together again).

"Regardless, you're not going home except to retrieve your stuff. I won't let him hurt you," Sora promised.

How nice of him. As Sora held onto her books in one hand, he held her close with his other as they headed for the door. Before leaving, he stopped and faced me.

"Hey, Mr. Ishida?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to come to the cafeteria with us?"

Was he really asking me this right now? I was pretty sure that Kairi wasn't in any mood for social interaction, and frankly, I-

Kairi gave me the most pleading look I had ever seen.

Damn it. Once again, I found myself trotting behind them like a lost puppy. I didn't understand why I couldn't refuse these two. It was even worse for me to be hanging out with Sora; as if I didn't get the woman that you're hopelessly in love with pregnant! Regardless, Kairi seemed to want me there, so I felt like I didn't have a choice in the matter. We entered the University Center.

Great; and joining us from the far table is none other than Riku!

"Kairi, are you hungry? I'll get you anything you want," Sora told her as we all situated ourselves into a booth. Riku took a seat next to me and Kairi and Sora locked arms from across the table. She refused his offer for food and we all just sat there in an awkward silence.

"Alright, I guess I'll start," Riku voiced, actually sounding serious for once. "Kairi, I hope that you're okay. Sora will take good care of you."

"I don't want to talk about it," she shushed him, averting her eyes downward. Sora rubbed her back gently in support.

I needed to change the subject. My fear of being right next to this guy was getting to me and I wanted a distraction. I was sure that Kairi and Sora were looking for one as well, hence why they invited me here like this.

"So… Sora, remind me again what your major is?"

Of course I decide to go with the most mundane question ever.

"I have a double major in History and Business," Sora answered as he kept a close eye on Kairi. She probably didn't want to talk much, so I just turned to Riku.

"Yours?"

"Communications is my calling," Riku responded. "Kairi's doing the same."

"Oh," I said as I glanced over at her. Honestly, I didn't really know anything about her. In fact, what was her last name? I should look over my roll again.

"I've decided what I want to do, Mr. Ishida," Sora spoke up. "I want to be an awesome teacher like you."

"R-Really?" I asked, not really sure how to respond. Kairi kept her head down and Riku just watched the rest of the cafeteria. Sora managed a smile as he nodded.

"Yeah. I've realized that I really like helping people. You've inspired me to take that extra step."

Don't thank me just yet, kid.

"Sora, stop it," Kairi snapped. We all gave her confused looks, but I knew that she was definitely feeling the guilt from this. "You said you wanted to be an engineer or something."

"I know, but now I want to be a teacher," Sora repeated. "It just seems like it fits me more. Don't you guys think?" I shrugged in response, but I guess Kairi felt that this was a bad idea after all. She stood and scooted out of the booth before anyone could question it. As she hurried off, Sora went after her, leaving me alone with Riku. He moved to the other side of the table.

This was intense, folks.

"So, teach, is it true?" Riku asked. I gave him a wary look; I wasn't sure what he was referring to. "Is Kairi really pregnant?"

"Um, that's not my business, nor yours. I don't know."

Shouldn't he be more worried about her black eye?

"But, dude! She was in your car! It's a little weird, but whatever." Pouting, he leaned back and crossed his arms. "You think Sora knows?"

"Again, I don't know."

Eventually, he ended up shrugging it off. "Oh well. I guess I'll have to ask her myself on a better day. By the way, have you gotten around to that recommendation letter yet? I have to turn in the application by noon."

It took me a moment to process this. "Um, alright, I'll work on it now, then."

"Awesome! I'll meet up with you before then, k? Thanks!" Just before he was about to take his triumphant leave, he suddenly turned and gave me a super stern look. I'll admit, I was a bit intimidated by this.

"By the way, I'm watching you," he said, and then completed it with the gestures and everything. After a moment of bewilderment on my part, Riku simply laughed it off and hurried out of the cafeteria.

What the hell?

Riku, the airhead. I've never been more thankful for stupidity in my life. After my bullshitted attempt at a decent recommendation, I ended up going right back to my classroom and staying there for the remainder of the day.

o-o-o

I was having more and more trouble sleeping at night as time went on. Stricken with countless of endless possibilities, I was diving deeper into a bottomless pit of uncertainty. Everything I did nowadays seemed half-assed, and I was having trouble accepting that this will be my life for many years to come. I wasn't good at welcoming change, since I was so set in my ways. I think a few gray hairs had formed in the past two and a half months from all of the stress that I had accumulated. As I stepped into the shower, I stood, motionless for several moments before actually realizing I was there.

I'm going to be a father. I don't love the mother and I don't know what to do.

Now would have been a better time than any for Namine to answer me. I really needed her guidance right now, but she was more silent than ever.

I felt absolutely lost without her. Leaning against the shower wall, I finally realized that the water was cold and uncomfortable. What the hell was wrong with me? Was I that out of it? I really needed to get a grip. This was starting to take over my entire life. As I adjusted the water to a lukewarm temperature, I was strung back into my train of thought.

I needed a way…

I already figured that Kairi and I could not spend time together outside of class. I couldn't go to every appointment and I definitely couldn't give her any sort of special advantage over anyone else, but how could I do that when I was so focused on her well-being, and ultimately, the baby's? I guess I could write it off as just being worried about the baby, but I couldn't help but think that maybe I actually cared more about Kairi than I had originally anticipated. Again, it wasn't romantic in the least bit—it was because we had a connection now—a reason to be involved with each other.

Shit. This was exactly what Vanitas had strongly advised against. Tread lightly. As I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, I wrapped the towel around myself and then proceeded to finish up my morning routine before heading off to school for another restless day.

I guess I'll just have to go with the flow and hope for the best.

o-o-o
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A/N: A lot of accepting on Ven's part, huh? I've noticed that same of you tend to confuse him with Roxas, and even I do sometimes! XD So, it's okay. Anyway, what did you think of the rating change? What does it mean for the fic now? Only I know, but feel free to speculate. Please review and let me know what you think of the new and improved cover photo, again, made by Sophie-Lou93 on deviantArt especially for this fic!

Also, I have a small treat for you. These are some of the authors in the KH fandom that I wholeheartedly recommend! Please go and check them out and make sure you leave them lovely reviews! They definitely deserve it!

TwilightIsn'tLiterature: "I'm Not Supposed To Love You" and "The Consequence" are two of my favorite fics from this lovely lady. Not to mention she's super artistically talented! Check her out!

TheNotSoTalentedPoet: He has his own style that definitely can capture your attention when you read his fic, Noise Pollution. It deserves more than the few reviews it has received! Go give it a read! I've read it and I'm about to go and review it soon.

Princess-Xion: This chick is super amazing. Finding Hikari is finally complete, so go and finish that if you haven't already! Also, she has a new fic called Guardians that's pretty good so far! If you don't know already, her fics are a little more on the darker side, but they're really good.

Painted With a Palette:
She is so awesome and I just love her fic, Lover's Internal Quarrel! If you haven't read it yet, go do so! She has a wonderful way of describing things and her humor is very similar to mine! She's also just an awesome person in general.

Ethereallove15: I was INSTANTLY hooked on her newest RokuNami fic called Mistake Me! Like seriously, people, it's pretty good in my opinion. It's written a little differently from the fics I read before, but I can totally relate to it (except for some stuff, lol!) It's not rated M for nothing, just to warn you. Haha!

Also, have you read my collab fic with BlissfulNightRain yet? It's called Sex Ed and it's the hottest thing since French toast. Sora is teaching Sex Ed. That's really all I can say. We are slowly but surely working on the next chapter!

If you do decide to read any of these wonderful author's works, let them know that I sent you there!

Heart Station chapter 19: 30% as of 4/6/15

That's all for now!