Riku hugs the toilet as he lets out a low groan into it. His voice reverberates against its marble structure, giving him more of an un-earthly feeling.

"Sora!" Riku whines very groggily as he lets out another horrible groan that echoes throughout the whole apartment. "Are you home? Where are you?"

When he nears no reply, he only groans once more, each one getting louder and louder. Feeling like absolute shit, Riku questions why he does this to himself. Where's Sora when you need him? Riku realizes how he's so dependent on his dear best friend and wonders what he would do without him. It's all because of him that Riku still has all four limbs attached; so many times has he saved him from doing the stupidest stuff ever when drunk.

Couldn't save you this time, buddy, his inner consciousness mocks.

Another groan into the toilet.

"You messed up this time, Riku Solari," he croaks. He weakly holds a hand up to his cheek and lets out a very, drawn-out sigh. "I've been hit by woman, but not that hard." The night was blurry for him, but the most distinct thing he remembers is the way a certain raven-haired girl burned holes into his very being as if he was the most blasted thing in the universe. He pulls himself up and goes over to the sink to wash himself up. "What a tomboy…"

~.~.~

Sora watches as Kairi twiddle her thumbs instead of looking at him. Her calm and collected image instantly breaks the moment he announces his leave, only to be replaced with extreme nervousness and caution. To prove her point, she unlocks her phone and shows him her screen.

"I'm literally doing nothing on my phone. I'm just scrolling through it just to scroll," she exposes herself to him before tossing her phone to the side as if it the most unimportant thing in the world. Not wanting her phone to just slip through the cracks of the sofa, he reaches past her and gently takes it within his grasp. He doesn't notice how Kairi backed away from him when he got extremely close for a moment.

"It's fine," he softly says as he puts her phone back onto her lap. She pulls a few strands of hair behind her ear, refusing to look him in the eye. He gives her a weak smile. "It's good to know that I'm not a complete bore."

"You're not. I'm the complete bore," Kairi immediately responds. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

"And I'm not pissed about anything," she continues to explain. Sora is taken aback—did she read his mind or something? "I'm just a little bit tired."

"That's why I wanted to leave so that you can go back to sleep," Sora replies, feeling the awkwardness evaporating very quickly between them the more she speaks. "It's late, you know."

"But… I—never mind."

"Hm? Don't be scared to say what's on your mind. Or else we'll never be saying anything, will we?" Sora encourages with a light laugh. He looks at her with patience as he waits for her to say what's on her mind. He feels like a weirdo—why does he suddenly feel happier?

"I haven't seen you all week," she says quickly as if spitting it out that fast would make Sora understand her without having to actually articulate it. He raises an eyebrow, a bit slower than usual tonight since he's ready to hit the bed any second.

Kairi sighs and plays with her fingers a little bit longer. "A week is long, you know." She couldn't bear to have Sora stare at her as he eventually understood what she is hinting at, so she covers her face with her two hands and bumps her head into his shoulder to hide away from him. "At least don't leave feeling upset with me."

"I never said I was upset with you, idiot," Sora chides lightly, finding her little head bump onto his shoulder kind of cute. He was honestly getting slightly irritated at how quiet it was between them to the point of questioning the status of their relationship, but he was never upset with her as a person. Rather, he finds himself so easy with the way his mood instantly lights up the moment the redhead speaks more than five words in her sentences.

"You sounded like you were though."

"Did I? Sorry about that," he apologizes for the nth time that night. He hesitates to put his hand on her head and reciprocate her action by hugging her simply because he feels too out of place to do so. Kairi might've been able to move fast, but not him. To compensate, he just places a hand on her blanketed shoulder. "I won't leave feeling upset then."

"So are you leaving now?" She pulls her head up from his shoulder and gives him a look that nearly resembles a small puppy. Sora gulps, but before he could completely formulate a thoughtful answer, his mouth is already open and spilling things out without his consent.

"I'll leave whenever you want me to."

Am I bewitched? Sora never thought he would utter such a cliché phrase ever in his entire romantic life. Sure, he'll say things for his friends to give them a little boost in their day, but not like this.

"Really? Then stay longer."

Sora meekly nods.

Kairi lets out a hum of satisfaction as she faces forward on the sofa, readjusts the blanket around her, and unexpectedly squishes next to his side. She puts her head onto his shoulder as if it's the most natural thing to do and lets it rest there. They jump from zero to one-hundred in intimacy levels real quick as Sora stays rigid as a rock. This girl is really, really, assertive. It should've been a red flag, really—the way she's used to doing these types of things. It makes him wonder what kind of relationships she has had before. It also makes him wonder whether or not she even gets nervous doing these types of things. This causes the mystery surrounding her to only intensify. He should've stayed away. He could be getting played for all he knew. She could've just been some sort of minx—Sora feels bad for even thinking this thought for a second—but he straight up doesn't care.

I'm stupid.

He feels like a completely different person when he's with her. Sora isn't sure if that's a good thing.

"How was your day?" comes the typical question Sora begins to dread. Before he could repeat the same answer he gave her just earlier, she continues. "There seemed to be a lot more going on than just an 'I guess.'"

"Oh?"

She makes it sound like she knew what happened.

"I became friends with Riku last week. Online. He sent me a friend request," Kairi says in short phrases to make sure Sora understands what she is hinting at. When he doesn't, she grabs her phone once more and shows him what she is talking about. When the story opens, Sora is quick to react.

"Okay, let's not watch this," he says with a half-hearted laugh as he takes her phone and shuts it off. For some reason, he is embarrassed to let Kairi see how he is with his friends. He was laughing pretty obnoxiously in the video also—he doesn't want to witness it himself. His mind does a speed-run through the events of tonight and cringes when he thinks of all the stupid drinking games they did. I hope she didn't see everything.

"Why not? Is there something wrong with it? Well, I already saw the whole thing."

Of course, she would see everything.

"Nothing's wrong. It just feels… odd."

Kairi lifts her head off his shoulder to look him in the eye. "… How so?" Kairi pauses for a moment. When Sora thinks it's his turn to speak, Kairi speaks up once more. "I mean, I get it. If you don't want to tell me things." A small pout forms at her mouth.

"No, that's not it," he interjects, sensing how things could've potentially gone downhill once more. He plays with the cuffs of his sleeves since he doesn't have anything else to do with his hand. "It's just…"

"It's just?" the auburn-haired prods.

"I'd rather you form an impression of me when you're actually with me than through online," Sora admits, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Being with my friends… doesn't do me justice."

"Oh? Why not?"

God damn, she's asking so many questions now, Sora exasperatedly thinks to himself. Now he wonders whether or not he likes the previous silence or this mini-interview he's getting right now.

"I would like to know how you're like with your friends, no? For obvious reasons," she continues.

"I guess." Sora was too embarrassed to admit that his friends brought out the worst in him. No, they didn't bring out the worst in him actually—they brought out things that his… girlfriend shouldn't see. Like that obnoxious ass laughter. But he doesn't argue with her any more since she seems pretty firm on this subject.

"You're worried about impressions? Haha, that's funny," Kairi laughs. Sora notices how her voice is rich. It isn't too high, but it isn't too deep either—it's at the right level of warmth and pitch. "Don't worry about those kinds of things."

"I won't worry about them after I make a few good impressions first," Sora hesitantly shoots back. He doesn't want to acknowledge it, but he fears getting into an argument with her. Kairi seems to be the type that wouldn't back down without a good fight.

"Again, I don't think you need to worry about that," Kairi says with a yawn. She covers her mouth with a hand to hide it before she flashes a medium-sized smile and shows her straight, pearly whites. "I already have an impression of you. Many, actually."

"I like how you didn't specify whether or not they are good or bad impressions," Sora points out, not assured by anything she says.

"What if I said they're both good and bad?"

"Well, it's time to fix the bad, isn't it?"

Kairi bursts out laughing, spooking the hell out of Sora. It is safe to say that he has and probably will never know what exactly goes through that head of hers—she's just too mysterious. Sora joins in the laughter meekly, not knowing what she's laughing about.

"You actually think there's something bad about you?"

Sora stops himself from letting out an embarrassing sound when Kairi suddenly wraps her arms around his neck and half-sits on his lap. Not wanting to cross his boundaries and touch her, he keeps his hands flat on the sofa. She's too touchy.

"Of course, I do."

"Why's that?"

"I think you know why."

Kairi isn't slow, despite it being darkly hours.

"I thought we already finished talking about that night."

"We might've finished talking about it, but I'll never forget about what I did. It was my bad." Sora looks away from her, feeling the shame coming back from the pit of his stomach as he gets reminded of his dumb actions. "Sorry."

"The more you're sorry, the more pissed I'll get. If we're still talking about impressions, I'm the one who should worry about them," she tilts her head to the side, questioning him with her big round eyes. "Isn't that right?"

Sora doesn't understand how there are no signs of embarrassment on her face as she hangs on his neck. No redness, no uneasiness, no nothing—she seemed more uncomfortable when they were farther apart. He isn't sure what the color of his face is, but he feels quite warm.

"Yeah?" he lets out dumbly. He fears that if his mouth says anymore, he'll start saying words out of order.

"I know you're doubtful of me."

"That's not true," he tries lying, but she obviously sees through him.

"We'll change that over time, won't we?" Kairi smiles.

"That's what I'm hoping for," Sora breathes. He wants her to let go of him and give him some room to breathe, but he doesn't want to be rude, so he remains still like a stone gargoyle.

"I don't like guys for no reason," she continues explaining. This statement peaks his interest, and he dares to ask his question.

"Then do you want to tell me a reason? Perhaps a few even."

"Maybe later. When I feel like it." And she lets him go.

Sora frowns. I'm totally getting played here. He feels like a pinball being pushed and tossed around at a dizzying speed, hitting and rebounding from walls infinitely. However, that isn't the worst part. The worst part is that he isn't complaining about this treatment. I'm bewitched.

"Thanks for your company," Kairi suddenly says, ending his stay just like that. "It's getting late. Get some sleep for once."

"Same could be said for you," Sora mumbles as he rubs the back of his head before standing up from the sofa. Kairi follows him up. He looks at Xion's door and sighs. "Tell Xion I'm sorry when she wakes up."

"Huh? What happened?" Kairi asks, a frown instantly forming on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Long story. I'll tell you later. When I feel like it." Sora couldn't help but use what she said against her as retaliation. Kairi's mouth hangs open by the slightest, not expecting that one.

"Your message shall be relayed," she deadpans after a brief second of silence. Sora doesn't feel too bad for being a little bit mean as he fishes his keys out of his pocket and walks towards the door.

"Message me," is all he says as he shoves his feet inside his shoes. He bends down to slip the rest of his heel inside before standing back up and giving Kairi a minuscule smile. "Good night. Sorry for the disturbance once more."

"It's fine. See you."

Before he gets to turn around and head out, Kairi grabs him by the crook of his elbow to lock him in place. Just when Sora thought he could peacefully walk out and leave her apartment with a cool mind, Kairi asks a certain question for a second time ever since they got together.

"Can I?"

He quickly understands what she is asking for by the tone of her voice.

"… Okay."

Sora closes his eyes as he lets Kairi kiss him. And just like before, it doesn't even last for half a second before she pulls away. She lets her arm fall back to her side as she takes a step backwards.

"Drive safely."

"Mhm. Bye."

When Sora enters his car, he places his forehead onto his steering wheel and lets out a quiet groan of frustration.

What exactly am I doing?

Update! I actually have a final tomorrow but I'm destressing, so here's a chapter! Ofc, it was supposed to be longer but haha yeah, school. *finger guns* Tell me what you guys think! Thank you for the support too :)) It's 3 a.m. (what a shocker), so I'm keep this short! Hope you guys enjoyed!

Peace