PROJECT: TEENAGE WASTELAND
X | duel of hearts
Outside, Selphie had set up an obstacle course that ran throughout the entire backyard in a circular fashion, all illuminated by strategically placed tiki torches. At the end of the course, the birthday girl, still clad in her pyjamas, shivers in anticipation for the upcoming battle. In the starting lineup, Sora, Riku, Hayner, Axel, Seifer and Tidus examine the course and its many phases.
After chugging three cups worth of drinks and flipping them rim down on a plastic table, they were to hop through a series of hula hoops, duck through three limbo sticks, climb a rope up and over a wooden wall, persevere through two sets of monkey bars side-by-side over the swimming pool, jump through five sets of hurdles, participate in a barbed wire crawl made from volleyball nets, and accurately throw a blitzball at a dunk tank featuring none other than Kairi herself. Sora's eyes narrow at the latter. He may have been overthinking it, but it seemed as if the course was fixed at the end in favour of Tidus in particular. Scattered throughout the sidelines of the course, teenagers chant for their preferred victor, most of which yell "Tidus!" over and over, causing Sora's heart to tighten in his chest even more.
"Participants, are you ready?" Selphie yells into her bullhorn as she approaches the middle of the starting lineup with a flag in hand. All six boys ready themselves and nod. "All right! As promised, the first one to complete the course and dunk the birthday girl into the tank will win one date! And as for rules… there are none! So do your best!"
"Oh boy…" Hayner says with a gulp when he catches Seifer smirking at the prospect of no rules.
"On your mark…" Selphie starts as she raises her flag. "Get set… go!"
The instant Selphie lowers her flag, the six are off, and the crowd chants "chug!" when they reach the table of drinks. The boys down their share in seconds, flip the cups accordingly, and head for the hula hoops where they hop through each of them with ease with the exception of Axel, who seems to have been pushed to his drinking limit and falls flat on his face by the time they reach the limbo section.
"Come on Hayner, you got this!" Olette cheers when she notices the gamer struggling with the final limbo stick. Beside her, Pence snaps photos of the entire event with an amused grin.
"I hate you both so much!" Hayner yells when he finally makes it through and heads for the rope climbing wall. While Sora and Riku take the lead, Tidus maintains a steady pace in the middle with Seifer not far behind, leaving Hayner in the back to fend for himself. The gamer grabs onto the rope, but before he makes it halfway up the wall, Seifer aggressively swings himself in his direction and kicks him down, causing Hayner to land on his back with a painful thud.
Sensing Seifer's violent nature, Sora, Riku and Tidus quicken their pace and hastily grab onto the monkey bars with Riku allowing Sora and Tidus to take the lead. Seifer and Riku end up climbing through the monkey bars side by side, and as expected, Seifer attempts to shove Riku aside, but the latter sees it coming and kicks Seifer into the pool who suddenly grabs onto his leg, bringing him down into the water with him.
"Riku!" Sora yells dramatically when his feet hit the ground first.
"Just go!" his best friend yells when his head resurfaces.
Sora nods as he begins to jump through the hurdles with Tidus by his side. With heightened determination, the brunet proves to be more successful at the volleyball net crawl and manages to reach the dunk tank first, locking eyes with Kairi when he has a blitzball in hand. He grips the ball, getting a feel for its weight as he'd never held one before, and chucks it at the target, missing by just a few inches and causing the crowd to 'ooh'.
Sora grabs another and tries again, missing by mere millimetres this time, but by the time he tries to grab his third shot, Tidus has already caught up with him. He throws his blitzball into the air, and Sora watches helplessly as the star player of the Zanarkand Abes readies himself for his signature sphere shot. After a deep intake of breath, the blond performs a perfect tumble before kicking the ball straight into the target and causing Kairi to fall into the pool of water beneath her.
Beneath the water's surface, the birthday girl hears muffled applause before resurfacing and pulling herself out of the dunk tank.
"Everybody bring your hands together for the winner of tonight's duel… Tidus Clearwater!" Selphie announces into her bullhorn, and the volume of the crowd's whistles and cheers increases tenfold.
She hands the victor a beach towel, and he accepts it graciously before walking towards the birthday girl and offering it to her. As the cheers die down and the tunes start back up again, Kairi accepts the towel from Tidus and wraps it around her body with a half-smile.
"So you won," she tells him.
"So I did," he answers with a shy, but charming smile at what his victory entails. He then begins to lead the redhead to the fire pit in the backyard to dry up, the party music fading in the distance.
"You know we… don't have to go through with it," Tidus says.
"Hm?" Kairi hums when they reach the circular fire pit. She immediately outstretches her hands to bask in its warmth and sighs in pleasure at the feeling.
"The date, I mean," Tidus specifies while scratching the back of his head. "I know that I won, but I don't want you to feel forced to go out with me if you don't want to."
"Oh," Kairi says, hoping that the dim lighting would conceal her oncoming blush. She expected a lot of unexpected scenarios over the course of the summer, but choosing to go out with a star athlete (one that just broke up with a pop sensation, no less) was certainly not one she had in mind. "I appreciate you giving me the choice, Tidus. That's very kind of you."
"Of course," he says with a nod. Kairi's eyes then drift onto Sora, who appears to be helping Riku out of the water, and for a brief, fleeting moment, she can feel his disappointed eyes burn into hers.
"U-um," Kairi stammers upon returning to reality. "I hope this isn't too much trouble, but do you mind if I think about it? I'm afraid I can't give you a clear answer - not tonight, at least."
"Of course. Take all the time you need," Tidus offers.
"There's just… a lot to consider," Kairi reasons.
"No, I get it," Tidus insists. "I know this all seems so sudden, but if it's any consolation… I really have been interested in you since we met. This isn't just me looking for a sudden fling or anything."
Kairi blushes at the sudden confession but stands her ground. "Tidus, you and Yuna Riel broke up just last week. You're moving a little fast, don't you think?"
"Yuna?" Tidus questions with raised eyebrows. "There's no need to worry about her, Kairi. We've been growing apart for ages. Please don't let her affect your choice."
It's not just her, Kairi thinks as her thoughts drift onto the boy she had just been dancing with moments ago.
"All right, but I would still appreciate some time to think about it," Kairi reiterates.
"I totally understand," Tidus says. "Until then, uh… do you want to exchange numbers?"
Kairi then begins to feel her pockets but recalls that she'd left her phone with Olette before the duel.
"Tell you what," the birthday girl answers. "I'll give you my number, you text me your name, and I'll reply back when I have a response for you. Sound good?"
Tidus readies his phone in agreement but raises an eyebrow in suspicion when he begins typing her name down.
"You're not going to give me a fake number and leave me hanging, are you?" he asks teasingly.
Kairi giggles at the accusation. "Of course not. Besides, you know where I live."
"That I do," Tidus recalls as he types her number down with a chuckle.
By the edge of the swimming pool, Sora watches the two silhouetted figures from afar with crossed arms while Riku dries up beside him.
"Sora, I know that look," Riku warns as he runs his hair through a towel.
"What look?" Sora asks, his gaze on Tidus and Kairi unfaltering.
"That's your meddling look," Riku specifies. "What are you thinking?"
"That I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure she doesn't go on that date with him," Sora answers bluntly.
His best friend merely sighs. "Sora, Kairi's a smart girl. I think you should stay out of this."
Sora defiantly shakes his head in disagreement.
"Suit yourself," Riku says defeatedly. "But don't say I didn't warn you. Meddling could only make things worse."
"Doing nothing will make things worse," Sora argues as he watches the two with clenched fists.
All at once, their agreement about ground rules the night before becomes irrelevant. He couldn't possibly let Kairi fall into the clutches of Tidus Clearwater. He'd have to lure her back in, and to do that, he'd have to play hard ball. Sora's eyes then narrow as the flames from the fire pit reflect in his irises. Now that he really thought about it, Kairi never did return the ancient rite of the spit shake that night, and he was never one to follow rules anyway.
The following day at breakfast, Kairi nearly spits out her food when Sora shows up to serve her with most of his uniform shirt unbuttoned and smelling as if he just doused himself in the body spray that she warned him not to wear around her.
"Good morning," he sings as he leans down far too close for Kairi's liking. She gets a good whiff of his scent and feels her knees grow weak. Riku merely rolls his eyes at his best friend's childish antics as he serves the rest of the household in proper attire.
"S-Sora," Kairi stammers, her face noticeably getting redder. "What are you doing?"
"Oh nothing," he answers innocently while presenting her with a silver platter of his freshly baked cookies, otherwise known as one of her ultimate weaknesses. "I did, however, wake up early this morning to bake you these. Hope you like them."
Kairi narrows her eyes at the delicious cookies and turns to face Sora with gritted teeth. "I appreciate the gesture, but I thought I told you not to bake around me."
"Did you now?" Sora asks, feigning ignorance. "Sorry, I must have missed that."
"Dibs!" Hayner yells while immediately going for the cookie platter.
"Sora, what are you doing?" Kairi repeats in a hushed tone.
"What do you mean? I'm not doing anything," Sora answers with a shrug. He then begins fanning himself as if the room had gotten ten degrees hotter. "Is it just me, or is it really hot in here?"
"Please don't," Kairi pleads, knowing where he was going with his act. To her right, Naminé lifts a napkin to cover her eyes, and to her left, Olette nudges her suggestively.
Much to Kairi's dismay, Sora successfully follows through with his plan and unbuttons his shirt entirely, tossing it aside and exposing his lightly toned muscles and all their glory in the daylight.
"Ah, much better," he says while flexing.
On the other side of the table, Axel nods his head approvingly at Sora's power play while Roxas drops his utensils in defeat.
"One normal breakfast," he murmurs while clutching the sides of his head. "I just want to have one normal breakfast…"
"Sora, please put your shirt back on," Kairi says through gritted teeth.
"Why?" Sora asks with a haughty, attractive smirk. "Do you not like what you see?"
"May I be excused?" Kairi asks desperately and out of courtesy. When she realizes that she isn't back home and that no one could possibly stop her, she immediately gets up from her seat and makes her way out of the dining room. When Sora retrieves his shirt from the ground, he immediately runs after her.
"All right, is anybody else going to unexpectedly strip, or are we done with this morning's shenanigans?" Roxas asks.
When Axel jokingly raises his hand to volunteer, Roxas immediately shuts him down.
Outside in the hallway, Sora catches up to Kairi just as he gets his shirt back on.
"Kairi!" he hollers while running after her retreating figure. "Hey, Kairi!"
He suddenly stops dead in his tracks when she unexpectedly stops her angered strides and turns around to face him with a frown.
"What the heck was that about?" she asks. "You pretty much broke every rule in our agreement back there."
Realizing that his plan may have backfired, Sora suddenly feels guilty for making her upset.
"Well I just…" Sora starts, although ashamed. Now that he thought about it, he may have been wrong, but she always did deserve to know the truth. "I thought that by exhibiting all the things that you found physically attractive about me, you'd, well… decide to stay away from Tidus."
And Sora knows he really messed up when Kairi begins to laugh maniacally at his logic before gracing him with her sickly sweet smile.
"This is what all that was about? Tidus?" she asks incredulously. "Sora, I can't believe you'd stoop this low."
"I… I'm sorry," the brunet confesses.
"Don't you see, Sora?" Kairi asks, her eyes half-lidded with tears from her laughing fit from earlier. "I don't find you attractive solely because of those little things mentioned in our agreement. You're most attractive when you're yourself, and right now, you're not being yourself. By doing these ridiculous things, you're not bringing me closer to you. You're just pushing me away even more."
The sudden realization hits him like a hammer in a game of whack-a-chocobo.
"Kairi, I'm sorry," Sora repeats. "I was desperate. It was dumb and I didn't think it through."
"No kidding," she admits. "You know, Tidus actually gave me the choice to go out with him or not, and to be honest, I was leaning towards saying no. But considering how you're behaving… maybe I will say yes."
"But Kairi—" Sora starts.
"Don't 'but Kairi' me," the redhead pleads. "We made that agreement to make things easier for us this summer, but all you've managed to do is make things even harder, and I'm tired of it."
"So what?" Sora asks hoarsely. "What happens now?"
Kairi runs a hand through her hair with a sharp intake of breath. "I'm going to go out with Tidus, and you're going to stay out of it."
"Um… are you sure that's the best idea?" Sora asks carefully.
"Sora," Kairi warns. "If you don't mind, I actually want to start enjoying my summer vacation without any unexpected twists, and if that requires some new company, then so be it."
"Look Kairi, I tried to be your friend," Sora says, "I tried to be supportive, I really did, but I can't let you do this."
"And who are you to decide what I can or can't do?" Kairi challenges when she begins to turn her heel.
"Your best friend," Sora reminds while following her. "Best friends let each other know when they think the other is making a mistake, and I think you're making one right now out of impulse."
"You're one to talk," she returns. When Kairi is nearly out of his grasp, Sora immediately reaches out for her and desperately takes her by the wrist.
"Kairi, please," Sora pleads, misty-eyed.
"Let me go, Sora," Kairi says, her words resonating within him both physically and emotionally. Sora tightens his grip on her as he thinks back to the first time he held her hand in his and both the joy and relief that came with it.
"I can't," he says weakly, the memory refusing to recede.
Kairi's eyes soften at the confession, but she manages to keep her head straight. Sensing his discomfort, she decides to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Look Sora, I appreciate everything that you've done for me," she says softly, "and I appreciate you looking out for me, but this is something that I have to decide for myself, and I think that it's finally time for both of us to let go and accept that this is all we'll ever be."
Sora raises a weak hand to clasp it around her wrist. "You can accept it, but I won't."
Kairi sighs and lets her hand fall loosely back to her side. "Sora, I don't want to be a bitch to you, but the way you're acting is bringing out the worst in me, and I'm afraid that if you can't be supportive of my decisions, then… then we can't truly be friends."
When Sora refuses to budge, Kairi slumps her shoulders and fishes out one of the best friend coupons he'd given her for her birthday from her little crossbody purse.
"Here, take this," she says before leaving him entirely. "I'm done talking about this."
Sora groans defeatedly as he reads the not-so-fine print that he'd written himself.
Skip one argument, he reads, valid for one time use only.
After cashing in the coupon and mentally telling himself to let it go for the time being, Sora hangs his head in shame and starts to think that listening to Riku's advice may not be such a bad idea after all.
After Kairi sends her potentially cataclysmic response to Tidus, she turns around to find Riku opening the balcony doors behind her.
"Am I too late?" Riku asks as he approaches her with his hands in his pockets. "Has the deed been done?"
"I'm afraid so," Kairi answers while pocketing her phone.
"So why'd you do it?" he asks, testing her.
"Sora and I had an agreement, Riku," Kairi explains sternly, "and he went ahead and broke all the rules."
"So that justifies you going out with another guy?" Riku challenges. "You're willing to let some new guy come between your friendship with Sora?"
"Why are you both ganging up on me?" Kairi retorts. "Aren't best friends supposed to be supportive of each other's decisions?"
"Not if they don't approve of said decision," Riku answers with his arms crossed. "You know this will break him."
"You're one to talk," Kairi says. "I don't approve of your womanizing, but you don't see me saying anything about it."
When Riku pauses, Kairi knows she's caught him off guard. The redhead then turns away from him and walks to the edge of her balcony. She rests her hands on the stone railing and admires the view of the resort as well as the feeling of the summer air tickling her cheeks.
"Tidus is the founder's brother, Riku," Kairi explains. "Perhaps he can be that friend that shows me a different side of the island; the side that won't let my past come back to haunt me on a daily basis; the side that will actually let me enjoy my summer vacation for once."
"Friend?" Riku repeats incredulously. "That's an interesting term to use considering that you're going on a date with the guy."
"It's not an actual date, Riku," Kairi reasons. "We're just hanging out."
"You know as well as I do that you're not stupid enough to believe that, Kairi," Riku warns. "You know he'll want something more soon enough."
"Yeah, well, so will you," Kairi mutters to herself, recalling the way he looked at Xion when he lifted her off the ground during last night's beer pong tournament.
"What was that?" Riku asks with skittish eyes.
"Nothing," Kairi answers when she turns to face him with a sweet smile and her hands laced behind her back innocently. "It's nothing. Just… trust me, okay? I'm making this decision, and should there be any consequences, I'll deal with them myself. I'm a big girl now, Riku."
"Sure you are," Riku says, unconvinced by her actions. The two are then distracted by a familiar ding from Kairi's phone.
"It's Tidus," the redhead says while reading the text. "Great... pick you up at 7 p.m. tonight… dress casual."
"Well he certainly works fast," Riku comments while heading back inside the castle. "Enjoy your date," he says, but although Kairi can tell the words are forced, her lips curve upward into the best smile she can possibly muster out of courtesy.
"Thank you," she tells Riku. He then leaves her in a contemplative silence, but one that sends a chill up her spine.
That same night, no more than half an hour before Kairi's date, Sora preoccupies himself by dusting the armour of a hollow knight sculpture in the hallway until his ears perk upward at the sound of hushed voices coming from the left wing lounge. With swift, quiet movements, he performs a dodge roll and peeks through the narrow slit of the door that was left open and makes out two figures talking on the couch, one female and the other male, but can't make out their identities. Figuring that they were of no importance, Sora turns his back to them until his ears pick up a new piece of information that they probably shouldn't have.
"Thanks for doing this again, Tidus," comes the familiar voice of none other than TV personality Selphie Tilmitt. At the mention of his arch nemesis, Sora immediately turns back around with narrowed eyes and clenched fists.
Inside the lounge, Selphie picks up a cup of iced tea and offers one to her companion on the couch.
"It's no problem at all, Selph," Tidus insists while accepting the beverage with a grateful salute. "I've learned a long time ago that publicity stunts come with the territory."
"Yes, but thanks to you, this is going to be the best season of Teenage Wasteland yet," Selphie says while clinking her cup with his. "Oh, I can see all the headlines now: Princess Kairi sets her sights on Tidus Clearwater."
"But you're certain that Yuna knows it's all an act?" Tidus asks for precaution. "I wouldn't want her to get the wrong idea."
"Of course she knows," Selphie assures. "After all, your breakup was a publicity stunt as well. She of all people understand the price that needs to be paid for fame."
What? Sora thinks as he presses his ear closer to the door.
"And what about Kairi and that persistent ex-boyfriend of hers?" Tidus asks. "What will you do if they find out about this arrangement?"
"Oh, there's no need to worry your pretty little head about that," Selphie says with confidence. "Besides, there's no need to get soft for them, Tidus. They're merely… collateral damage. We need to focus on the bigger picture here."
At the sound of clanging metal in the hallway, the two immediately rise to their feet and open the door only to find everything untouched and in its rightful place. After doing a quick scan of the area with skittish eyes, Selphie ushers Tidus back inside and ensures that both doors are closed shut before resuming their conversation.
Outside in the hallway, one of the knight sculptures twitches.
Upstairs in Kairi's room, Xion opens the door at the sound of urgent knocking.
"Sora?" the black-haired teen greets with confusion when the brunet stumbles inside dressed in knightly armour. At Kairi's vanity table, Naminé releases the redhead's hair while Olette removes a makeup brush from Kairi's cheeks.
"Kairi…" Sora whispers when his ex-girlfriend rises from her seat looking gorgeous as ever, dressed in a casual but flattering sundress with the sneakers he and Riku had bought her the night before. Suddenly, he forgets his purpose of waltzing into her room entirely, and his heart both swells and aches at the excitement he sees in her eyes. On one hand, he's happy that she's happy, but on the other, it pains him to know that the source of her happiness is another guy that isn't him nor Riku.
"You, um… you look beautiful," he manages while nervously scratching the back of his head. Xion, Naminé, and Olette giggle amongst themselves at his behaviour and sneak themselves out of Kairi's door, sensing that the ex-couple needed some privacy.
"And you're… in armour," Kairi points out, unable to withhold a giggle of her own. "Please don't tell me this is some knight in shining armour stunt you're trying to pull."
"Oh," Sora says while jumping back, just as if he'd just remembered why he had it on. "I, uh… I just wanted to tell you something."
"Well I certainly hope it's not to argue with me some more," she jokes while continuing to brush her hair. "I hope you'd at least stay true to your word about those coupons."
Sora deflates at her words and takes a mental step back to assess his actions. Could he tell her? If he did, he'd only risk resuming their fight from earlier, lose both Kairi's respect and trust in the process, and betray Riku's advice entirely (again). All signs led to no, and realistically, the only person his confession would benefit at that very moment was himself, and he couldn't be that selfish - not when his best friend had a shot at finally enjoying herself, even if it was only temporary. This confession, he decides, could wait.
Besides, she told him to stay out of it, and stay out of it he would—verbally, at least. Physically? He had something else in mind for that.
"Um, no," he finally decides to say while straightening his posture. "I, uh… I just came here to tell you to enjoy your night."
Kairi's eyes soften at his words as she sets her hair brush back down. A few moments pass in silence, her gaze locked on his, and just when he thinks of awkwardly clearing his throat and walking away, she does the most unexpected thing.
She takes a few steps forward, and before he knows it, she has her arms willing wrapped around him.
"K-Kairi," he whispers into her hair. "Wh… I thought we said no hugging."
"I know," she murmurs into his chest, "but it feels as if we've just rekindled our friendship, and I think that's worth celebrating with a hug."
"O-oh… right," Sora agrees. He eventually wraps his arms around her waist and relishes in the familiarity of her warmth as she speaks.
"I know this is far from easy for you," she starts, "but it really does mean a lot to me that you're being supportive, Sora. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," he says while resting his head on hers. Until that very moment, he never realized how much taller he'd gotten since the last time they'd willingly embraced. Back when they were together on Destiny Islands, she was practically his height in heels.
"So, um… I should probably get going," Kairi says while pulling away. With a heavy heart, Sora releases her from his grasp.
"Yeah," he agrees while she gathers the rest of her belongings into her small purse. As she heads for the door, Sora opens it for her like a true gentleman.
"Why thank you," Kairi says with a playful curtsey.
"So… text if you need anything?" Sora asks before she reaches the elevator.
Kairi chuckles at the words as she presses the down button. "I think I can handle myself, but if it will help you sleep at night, then sure."
"Be home by ten thirty," Sora jokes when the elevator arrives.
"Yes dad," Kairi answers whilst rolling her eyes. She then enters the elevator but nearly collides with Hayner who's just about to exit.
"Have fun on your date!" the gamer exclaims just as the doors close. Sora merely twitches at the word.
"Hey, there you are!" Hayner greets when his eyes land on the brunet… and eventually his armoured attire. "You know what, I'm not even going to ask."
"Good choice," Sora compliments.
"So Roxas told me to come get you for band practice," Hayner explains. "The next challenge is to sing a song in another language and it's going to take him a while to get the hang of it, even with Olette's help."
Sora only looks at the gamer with a sly grin.
"Hey, as a gamer, you probably have a lot of tech-y equipment, right?" Sora asks.
Hayner merely brushes his shoulder at what he believes is a compliment. "You know it."
"Do you have binoculars by any chance?" Sora then asks innocently.
The gamer's eyes narrow in suspicion at the rather specific question. "Yeah... why?"
Sora only crosses his arms with a smirk and Hayner pulls on the collar of his shirt uncomfortably at the gesture. "We're… not going to practice, are we?"
"Nope."
tbc
A/N: This is what I like to call an in-between chapter: one that seems like a filler but really sets everything up for the next turn of events, which I'm actually very excited to write. It's always entertaining to write a jealous Sora while Kairi is on a date with another guy. And lo and behold, Selphie reveals her and Tidus' true motives! Perhaps he doesn't seem like Mr. Oblivious now, does he?
Now I will admit that this chapter had emotions running all over the place and arguments upon arguments, but I'm willing to let it slide simply because a) I just want to get to the fun that's in the next chapter, and b) they're teenagers. As I vividly recall, being moody is what they do! I'm sure this was something that was very prominent in the previous Teenage Wasteland, so I decided to resurrect it for a bit for nostalgia's sake. Did you think it was too much?
Now if you're wondering about the super swift update, it's because my sudden lack of sleep during my vacation has finally caught up to me in the form of a cold, and I've been sick for the past few days (which may possibly have something to do with the madness in this chapter lol). Best way to spend the time lounging on a couch? Writing, of course!
Special thanks to xxXSoraKairiXxx, skysailz, Painted with a Palette and Q-A the Authoress for reviewing the last chapter. I apologize if I missed or misspelled any pen names.
I hope you all enjoyed the tenth installment of Project: Teenage Wasteland! Please kindly leave a review to let me know your thoughts and/or feels (I certainly see the hits there, so I know you're reading!), I apologize for any grammar errors that I might have missed, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!
xoKyorii