NOTE: For the italicized part of this chapter right at the beginning, I strongly reccomend listening to Invisible by Clay Aiken because that's what I listened to when I wrote that. The rest of the chapter you can listen to anything dance or pop-ish like Cascada's newest album or Breathe Carolina or Cobra Starship. Those are just suggestions. You don't have to listen, but I think it adds to the effect. :D Okay, you can go read now.

Ten
A Slightly Better Situation

He was playing out the last quarter of the game with Axel when he turned to me and shot me a heart-stopping smile. I blushed and gave a half-assed wave back. I had always enjoyed watching him play basketball since he was so passionate about it; it lit a match under him and got him up and moving like nothing else, like no one else did. Watching him was fascinating and from the first time I watched him play when he was only in fourth grade, I was hooked. But now things were different. He was a smooth operator now; so smooth he got my sister on his arm.

I sighed and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I flipped through the contacts list until Roxas's name was highlighted. I hit 'edit', then started looking for a new ringtone for him. I couldn't keep it on Red Dress anymore. It was starting to break my heart. At that moment I knew I had to pick something that actually fit the situation I had gotten myself into.

I settled on a song, changed the ringtone, and a forlorn, worn-out smile stretched across my face tiredly. My eyes drooped at the corners and you could tell I was sad. But no one was paying attention.

Clay Aiken, I couldn't have said it better myself.

"What would it take to make you see that I'm alive? If I was invisible and I could just watch you in your room; if I was invincible, I'd make you mine tonight. If hearts were unbreakable and I could just tell you where I stand I would be the smartest man. If I was invisible. Wait…I already am."

-(NC)-

I throw my fist in the air as the final buzzer beeps, echoing throughout the gym. They had to go into double overtime and holy shit was it the most exciting game I have ever seen played by high school students. Man, was it ever exciting. Everyone is still cheering over the victory and watching the two teams give condolences and congratulations. My mind has been fucked.

MINDFUCK!

I jump off the bench like it burned my ass and bolt onto center court where Axel and Roxas are. They're talking about how awesome the game was and how happy they are that they finally get to go to the semis and maybe win the tournament this time. Axel is the first to notice me and a smile lights up his face. He opens his arms for me and I willingly fall into his embrace. I stand on my toes so I can wrap my arms around his neck and hold onto him tight. He hugs me back and I laugh when he squeezes me a little too tightly.

"That was awesome. Congratulations," I say directly into his ear. I can smell the sweat on him and still, instead of hating it I find it very sexy. It's manly.

Axel pulls back. We stare at each other for a minute before I notice he keeps glancing down at my mouth. I blush. Oh my gosh he's so going to kiss me again. Holy shit. What if he does? I don't know how to kiss well! He just stole my first kiss earlier today! What the hell am I supposed to do?

GAH!

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO KISS!

In my frantic mind I'm freaking the fuck out, but in reality I'm still calm and collected. My face is more-than-likely beet red and that's more-than-not embarrassing. Then I explode when Axel kisses me.

It's not shy, not innocent, not anything like I would kiss because I'm a fucking n00b. No, it's full of excitement and heat. His whole body is hot from the game and his lips are no exception. Shocked, I can't respond for all of two seconds before realizing that—oh shit—I'm supposed to kiss back. I end up moving my mouth against his and I feel him smiling into it.

He lightly eases out of it and gives me one last butterfly kiss. His stunning jade eyes seep into my mind as they pierce through the barriers of my soul. I can feel him trying to read me, trying to get into my head.

It's real unnerving how it's actually working.

Am I really that weak?

He winks at me. "Not bad for a newbie," he says.

I flush. "You can still tell I'm new to this though."

He shrugs and buries his face in the crook of my neck. I think I hear him inhale my scent, which is probably way better than his right now. Out of nowhere he stops. He holds me away at arm's length and looks me up and down skeptically.

"Why're you wearing Roxas's clothes…?"

Damn it. Forgot about that. How the hell can I make up a fantastical excuse about how I tried killing myself in my uncle's pool then woke up in Roxas's house and stole his clothes thanks to the help of his distant twin-cousin-something-something-removed, better known as my best friend from New Hampshire who never had the mind to tell me that his cousin is the guy I liked since… like… forever?

How the fuck do you come up with a story for that?

"Naaaaaami," the whining of Sora interrupts the awkwardness. He comes up next to me and grins like a stupid idiot. "And who's thiiiis?" he asks, eyes dancing menacingly the way his do when he tries to look Cheshire.

I groan and slap my forehead. Axel raises an eyebrow at this. He introduces himself as, "Axel. Got it memorized?"

Sora nods. "Nice to meet you!" He sounds like a giddy adolescent Hannah Montana fan right now and it's making me want to throw up and laugh at the same time. Can't decide which would work better.

I look past Sora to see Roxas and Kairi together. My mouth forms an O. So that's why he's being overly hyper… He's trying to ignore that.

By 'that' I mean Roxas with his hands on Kairi's hips, placing a kiss on her lips that she returns tenfold in the whorish way that she would. A growl erupts from the base of my throat and I just about go over and punch her fucking lights out, but I don't. I have more class than that.

Not really, but a girl can dream.

I remember Axel still doesn't know who Sora is and introduce them. "Axel, this is my best friend from New Hampshire, Sora. He's apparently Roxas's distant cousin."

Axel nods knowingly, giving Sora a queer 'wtf' look. "Right…" He smirks and suddenly catches Roxas's attention. "Hey Rox!" he yells, releasing me. In the two seconds before Roxas looks over, he whispers something to Sora who grins and has a diabolical gleam in his eye. Roxas looks over. "We made up a cheer for you!"

Roxas looks afraid. Very, very afraid. His face pales in horror.

"Ready?" Axel asks Sora. Sora nods.

In unison in the gayest way I have ever seen. "1-2-3-4, get a room and close the door! 5-6-7-8, Roxy wants to FORNICATE!"

…

…

"HAHAAA!"

An obnoxious laugh much like Sora's comes out of me and I double over, clutching my stitching side. I can't… stop… laughing! It sucks that the joke is about Roxas and Kairi and not Roxas and me, but for whatever reason it's way funnier to see her mortified than me.

Maybe I should forgive her. This is torture enough for her.

Said bitch retorts, "Well maybe we will."

Axel laughs and jogs over to them, kissing my cheek before leaving me and Sora to keep giggling like idiots.

On second thought…

Sora and I are both taking heaving breaths in attempts to calm down. After like, three minutes we finally do. I give him a look. He gives me a look.

And we're back to square one.

"This isn't so bad, is it?" I ask him with much difficulty between outbursts.

He shakes his head. "Nah, it's not… If this is just the game, imagine the party."

"Oh sheeee-it it's gotta be damn good to match up to this weed-smoking."

"Shush!" he hisses, covering my mouth with one hand and holding onto the back of my head for support with the other. I blink at him. He whispers, "Want to know a secret?"

"Whufff?" I try to ask through his hand.

He releases me and twirls in a huge, epic circle. "I just saved a bunch of money on car insurance by switching to Geico!"

My eye twitches. "Leave it to you, Sora. Leave it to you."

"Leave what to me?" he asks innocently, stopping on one foot and wobbling as he tries to balance. "Whaaa! I don't wanna faaaaall!"

I roll my eyes and smile one of those 'you crazy kids' smiles and stand next to him, ready to catch him in case he falls. "You won't fall now. And leave it to you to know exactly where to buy the weed."

He narrows his eyes and waggles his eyebrows. "I have my sources…"

I mutter, "Obviously."

"Hey!" Roxas yells at us. Sora and I both whip around attentively to face him, Kairi (ick), and Axel. Sora stumbles a little and I have to hold him up so he doesn't collapse drunkenly. "You ready to go? We have an after party to go to."

I stand straight up and pretend to act like a proper lady. I even talk in a stupid British accent that sounds so fake coming out of me. "Are you ready to go, my dear?"

Sora mimics me, only as a guy. Because if he was pretending to be a British woman I'd be very afraid. "Of course I am, milady." He offers me his arm and I latch my own around it, smiling at him fondly. He returns the gesture and plants a goofy kiss on my cheek.

I laugh and wipe my face vehemently. "Eww, Sora! That's gross!"

"You're mom's gross," he replies, sticking his tongue out at me. He shoves me a little and I shove him back. I can only think of the Family Guy episode where there were fake adds interrupting for "Shoving Buddies" and "Slowly Rotating Black Man" because who doesn't love Family Guy?

-(NC)-

"Whose house is this again?" I ask whoever feels like answering from the front seat of the killer Benz Roxas bummed off of his mom for the night (apparently). Sora, Kai, and I are in the backseats much to my displeasure because I don't like being next to her, but luckily I'm in the middle protecting Sora from her so he's alright. Axel and Roxas are up front with Roxas driving and Axel fucking with the radio.

"It's Crotchy's house," Roxas responds, informing me that we're going to the house of John Crotch—Crouch.

Dammit. I can't even call him by his real last name anymore. I mean, what kind of last name permits you to be called Crotch? I have a relative named Chris Cruise so when the family members that don't like him talk about him they say Piss Crotch instead.

"Right then…" I fall back into the leather seat and tilt my head back, starting at the ceiling of the car. Sora does the same.

I turn to look at him and catch him staring crestfallenly at Kairi. His eyes are teeming with tears and I feel so bad for him. I reach down and hold his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He mutters a thank-you.

We pull up to this upper-middle-class home that's located right here in the burbs and there's already music pounding from it. Cars are lined up going down the block and I'm like, holy shit there are a lot of people here. People my age are sitting on the hoods and trunks of cars smoking, drinking, and all that fun stuff. It really is a party. Lights are on and I'm surprised that no cops are crashing it since these people live only three blocks away from the police station, which is right by the middle and elementary schools. This house is on the same road as Roxas's, I notice.

I also notice that even though I'm so close to my grandmother's house, where I'm supposed to be staying, I feel so far away because I don't want to go back. I want to stay with someone else. I don't want to deal with my grandma Maleficent telling me how inferior to Kairi I am and I don't want to deal with Kairi and her constant texting of Roxas when he's not with her. I just don't want to be around them anymore.

We all file out of the Benz, Sora being the jumpiest and most excited out of the five of us. Lord knows that no one in New Hampshire can throw a good party.

He asks Roxas what the address of the place is. Roxas tells him and Sora pulls out his cell. I wonder why he does it, but it's so weird I can't help but ignore it. Axel comes up behind me and slings an arm around my waist.

He says loudly over the music, "I'm going in ahead of you, okay? There are some people I want to see. Can I introduce you to them a little later?"

Aw. How cute. He wants to introduce me to his jock friends. Wonder how he would feel if I told him I really don't want to meet them because I don't care. I just shrug in response though and nod halfheartedly. As if I can every put my whole heart into anything anyway.

"Are you sure?" he asks, eyes filled with guilt.

Nice to know a guy actually cares about how a girl feels. "Yes, I'm sure," I reassure him, rubbing his shoulder blade. "Besides, I want to bond with Sora."

"Oh yeah, what's the deal with him?" Axel asks, shiftily glancing at Sora with a strange look in his eye that may be confusion, may be disgust. If it's the latter I won't hesitate to kick his ass because nothing comes between me and Sora.

If I crossed my fingers I could say, 'We're like this.'

I fold my arms and narrow my eyes at Axel. "He's my best friend."

"Well yeah, I know that but…"

"But what?" I snap a bit too snappily.

He winces. "Are you sure there's nothing else going on."

My eyes pop wide and my jaw drops. I start chuckling, which evolves into laughing. "Y-you think something's going on b-between me and Sora? Sora of all people?"

Axel raises an eyebrow at me.

"Of course not! For fuck's sake, we've gone to large sleepovers together with our friends! He's helped me pick out underwear!"

"That sounds like 'something else' to me…" Axel mutters.

I sigh… groan… whatever. "Honestly, Ax. Don't worry about it." Yeah, if anything you should be worried about Roxas. Dude already has my heart no matter how much I hate him.

-(NC)-

"Sora, why haven't you gone inside yet? It's like, sixty-something degrees out here." I sit down next to Sora on the sidewalk and watch him as he intently stares down the road like he's waiting for something. "Dude, Prince Charming doesn't ride up on asphalt."

He sticks his tongue out at me then returns to waiting impatiently. I only know because his foot is tapping to the music and whenever he gets tapping, he's not happy. "I'm just waiting for someone."

I'm a little taken aback by that. "I thought you didn't know anyone in Ohio. How could you be waiting for someone?"

"Well…" he sighs and smiles pleasantly like the Sora that isn't mopey over Kairi. "You know how I said I brought some friends with me?"

I nod. "Yeaaah…?"

"They're kind of your other best friends…"

My jaw hangs open. My friends are here? In Ohio? And I get to see them? I grip Sora's shoulders tensely. He looks shocked but smiles. "Please, please tell me you're not joking, Sora."

He nods in the direction of a red Volvo that's pulling up to Crotchy's house. "See for yourself," he says. He leaps to his feet, takes both of my hands, and pulls me up with him.

Joy swells up in my chest. I don't think I've ever been this excited in my life. I start bouncing when the lights go off and the car parks. The first person that comes out is from the driver's seat and it's none other than Riku, followed by Xigbar from the passenger spot and Demyx from the back. Tears overflow from my eyes and I cover my mouth with one of my hands and cry.

The Cookie Monster hat is taken from my head by Sora. He combs through my hair with his fingers once and gives me this amazing smile and I want to cry onto him but there are too many people around in this black night illuminated by lighters, a bonfire, and streetlights for me to not humiliate myself by sobbing.

Sora then says, "You're prettier without it." And I know he's talking about the barrier I use a hat for; the way I use it to hide myself.

A squeal explodes from Demyx and he bolts from the car, scoops me up in his arms, and spins me around merrily. "Aw Naminé, it's so good to see you!"

Too shocked to say more I just tell him 'ditto' and hug him back briefly. He's torn off of me suddenly by Xigbar, whose hair is still up in his trademark ponytail and he re-dyed it so he could keep that funky gray streak in it like the freak he is.

He throws his arms around me like a little girl would do to Nick Jonas. "Kiddo, it's been too long."

"I'm not a kid," I mutter, patting him on the back.

He snorts. "As if you're not…"

And then he's pulled off of me and dragged away by the collar by Demyx who lectures him about interrupting epic hugs. They get into this cheesy argument that I find absolutely wonderful and familiar. Finally, Riku steps into my view. He's standing far taller than me now and I feel like a goddamn midget compared to him. He's probably taller than Axel. And he has way more muscle than either him or Roxas. Yep, that's Riku for you: 100% doable on any day of the week.

What I wouldn't give to give him my virginity right fucking now.

Not really. I'm kind of almost taken and that would be slutty.

…Okay, I don't care. It's Riku. He's a babe. And he's straight!

My face turns bright red. Seeing him looking so… sexy is very tempting. He's wearing these faded blue baggy jeans and a yellow tank top that shows off those delicious arms.

It's hard to believe I don't like him like that. It's purely lust. Purely, purely lust. If it meant I could go with Riku in a desire-driven relationship for a while, I would drop Axel in a second because after this summer I won't see him until the next time I'm in Ohio. Riku is always around and nothing can ruin our friendship so why not try, right?

That sounds so nice right now… just throw Riku up against a car and kiss him like I've wanted to for ages but couldn't because I was still a kissing virgin. Now I have a full eight hours of experience.

Not that it makes much difference.

Riku cups the side of my face with one of his large hands and strokes my cheek with his thumb. "You look so different…"

I smile and hold the wrist of the hand he's touching me with. I find myself tracing circles and enjoying this strange intimacy. It's like there isn't a huge, bumpin' house party going on to my right/his left and it's like there aren't a shit ton of people around that could be watching.

This is what I call the "Riku Effect." It works on ninety percent of females and sixty-four percent of males and it is dangerous.

"I could say the same to you," I tell him.

He tilts his head and long silver waterfalls of hair cascade past his shoulders. "Something's different…" He smirks. "You got your first kiss."

HOW DOES HE KNOW THESE THINGS?

I flush. "Heh… Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You say that as if I'm not a total sex god. I am jealous though." He purses his lips and his eyes crinkle in the corners like he's smiling, but he's not. Maybe he's more aggravated. "I thought I was going to be your first kiss," he teases. He winks.

I push his hand off of my face and laugh, whacking him on the arm. "You snooze you lose, oh mighty god of sex."

Riku smiles fondly and nods in the direction of Crotchy's house. He calls over his shoulder, "You guys ready to go in?"

"Fuzz yeah!" Demyx woops, swaying his hips in a very feminine way.

Xigbar elbows Dem in the side like he's embarrassed and nods. He gives us both thumbs up. "I'm game."

Sora is the last to—wait a second, where's Sora? He's not outside anymore? He probably just went in ahead of us because he got bored of the touchy-feely sentimental moment. But these are his friends, too… I wonder if he's okay.

Me and my posse of two bad-asses and a flamboyant homo (guess which is which) head up to the door and are greeted with the stench of alcohol and cigarettes and extremely loud music that currently sounds like The Dressing Room by Breathe Carolina.

I take a whiff of the gross air and smirk.

This is definitely where it's at.

A/N: As a present for the lovely amount of updates, you gorgeous people, I did back-to-back updates and just wrote this entire chapter today from start to finish, making this the second longest chapter written. Sorry for delaying the drama; that's coming next. I had to give these parts of the story.

And I know you all love seeing Sora, you... chicks ;)

So. Opinions? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Porn?

...what was that about porn? o.o

Wiff luff, Scotttty