I know that I'm not updating as fast as I used to with this story (even if it wasn't that fast, I still claim for this to be really slow), but I hope that I'll have daily updates or every-other-day updates with this during Spring break. We're almost at the end! I'm guessing maybe a good five or six more chapters to go... Even though I said that like, three chapters ago.
DISCLAIMER: NADA NADA NADA!
It was now six thirty. Sora and Riku were sitting at the kitchen table in a comfortable silence. While Riku was busy watching the sun slowly set in the horizon, Sora was blankly staring at the table. He was having yet another inner battle with himself.
So many different scenes were playing out in his mind: ones of him and Kairi together on the balcony, ones of her yelling at him for being the stupid idiot he was, and ones of him saying goodbye to her as he leaves for another journey. With each scene that he thought up, he would come up with one hundred "what if" statements. No matter how many times he tried to get his mind off of the party, he would inadvertently think about it again.
And since it was coming closer to the time of departure, there was no way he was going to get his mind off of it.
Noticing his friend's minor distress, Riku looked away from the sunset and put his full attention on Sora. He saw that Sora was tense in the shoulders, and that his eyes were glazed over in complete thought. He could hear him lightly tapping his foot on the floor and strumming his fingers on the chair.
"You got to take a chill pill, dude," Riku said after examining him.
Sora said nothing in response. He did not hear him, nor did he know that Riku was talking to him.
"Sora?" Riku frantically waved his hand directly in front of Sora's face. He did not even flicker an eyeled. "Hello—earth to Sora! Spiky-haired monkey! Keyblade Master! Porcupine!"
The name calling technique worked to no avail. Getting a little frustrated with his friend's daydreaming, Riku grabbed a strawberry out of the bowl that was still sitting on the table and threw it at Sora. When it hit, Sora automatically turned on like a mechanical robot.
"What the—?" Sora exclaimed, rubbing the spot on his head where Riku had hit. He looked across the table and saw his friend scowling at him with his arms crossed. "Aw, man. I zoned out, didn't I?"
"If it were possible to classify zone outs, then I say that you did a major zone out that time," Riku replied. "I had to physically hurt you to get your attention! You weren't thinking about the party, were you?"
Sora looked away in embarrassment. "I could have been thinking about it for a bit."
"It would help to stop thinking about it. Parties are meant for you to have fun! If you're going to think about any of the negative stuff that could happen, then you might as well not go. And if you don't go, then you'll probably lose the last chance that you'll ever get to tell her how you feel. I'm pretty sure that you don't want that."
"Of course I don't! It's just; all we're doing is sitting here waiting to leave for the party instead of doing something. It's building up all my nerves."
"Well," he looked at the clock, "if we leave now, we'll probably get to her house by six forty-five. We might even arrive a bit later, depending on how slow we decide to walk and what paths we decide to take."
"I'd rather get my legs moving than just sit around."
"Okay, then." Riku got up from the table, grabbed the presents, and started walking towards the door. "Go tell your parents that you're leaving. I'll be waiting outside."
After Riku had exited, Sora ran up the stairs and headed straight down the hall towards his parents' bedroom. He knocked on the door to let them know that he was coming in. When he opened the door, he found his parents having a pillow fight with each other.
"Riku and I are leaving now," he told them, feeling a bit awkward witnessing the pillow fight.
"Okay," Sora's mother yelled without letting her guard down. "Tell Kairi that we said happy birthday! Make sure to kiss her good, too."
Sora hastily shut the door behind him, hearing the sound of his parents' laughter and every strike of a pillow leak through the door.
-----
Trotting slowly through the neighborhood, Sora and Riku walked side-by-side on the sidewalk. They were soon reaching the end of the street that separated the average-income houses from the rich families. Since Kairi lived with the mayor, her house was the biggest one at the top of the hill that oversaw all of Destiny Islands.
Once they crossed the street, Sora stopped and looked up the hill in the direction of Kairi's house. It was almost intimidating him.
"I don't think I'll be able to do this," he muttered.
Riku halted a few paces in front of him and turned around. "What are you talking about?" he said. "Just treat this like any other party that you've been to."
"The only parties I have gone to were yours and Kairi's, though. Maybe some of Tidus and Wakka's, but other than that, I don't have much experience in the partying department."
"Oh, sorry, Mr. Anti-Party. But guess what? You're going to this one. You'll devastate her if you don't." He walked back, grabbed Sora's wrist, and dragged him along. "The amount of butterflies that grew in your stomach are not going to matter at this point. She's your friend, right? So, treat her like one. If any of this love stuff starts to bloom, then it's your call on what you're going to do. But I suggest that you treat her like the best friend she has always been for us."
Sora managed to pull his wrist out of Riku's grasp. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he sighed as he walked on behind him. "I really do need to chill out."
"You better do it quick. Kairi likes the real you, so don't pull off any fake stunts."
"I'm not going to do that!" Sora yelled, almost dropping the bouquet. "I know that I'm acting like an idiot right now because I got bit by the lovebug, but I'm not going to act like someone else just to impress her."
Riku smiled. "Good man! And 'got bit by the lovebug?' I don't know where you're coming up with these phrases, but I think you're getting soft!"
Sora slightly reddened. "It just popped into my mind, okay? And don't tell me that I'm getting soft. You're apparently being the romance expert here, not me."
"What's wrong with that? I can be as romantic-intelligent as I want to be. I'm still hard-to-the-core anyway, so that's not going to matter at all." He grabbed Sora in a headlock. "Besides, if a guy can score lots of beautiful ladies, then he's someone to envy instead of judging him to be a soft kind of guy."
"How come it matters with me? You don't know if I can score with any girls!"
"Because I said so," Riku declared, closing off further argument.
"That doesn't make any sense," Sora mumbled loud enough for Riku to hear, getting a small chuckle from his friend. As the conversation continued, Sora began to forget all about the party. He was now being the same, laid back, cheerful teenager that he was before instead of the nervous, lovestruck boy he was a few hours ago.
This reminded him of how he and Riku were back then before the whole mess of saving the worlds and becoming wielders of the Keyblade. They would always hang out with each other, whether it is just Sora and Riku, or Kairi included. Most of the time, they would be found on the children's island competing against each other. Other times they would be seen playfully arguing with each other, just like they are now. It was safe to say that they were slowly getting back to their lives on the islands instead of constantly fighting to stay alive.
But all of these memories were washed away by the faint sounds of music and partygoers having fun. Sora's mind was now being flooded with thoughts of the party once again.
After realizing that Sora did not laugh at their inside joke, Riku turned around to find Sora's face covered in worry. His eyebrows were creasing every step they took closer to Kairi's home.
"You really do have to chill," Riku said, making Sora focus his attention on him. "Going to a party with a face like that and stiff like a statue? That's not how it goes these days."
"Reality just sucks sometimes," Sora proclaimed as they reached the gates of Kairi's house. "One moment, I'm reliving what it used to be like before the Heartless appeared, and now I'm back to the worried little beetle that I am."
Riku raised his eyebrows. "'The worried little beetle that I am?'"
"That's what my mom calls me. I guess it rubbed off on me."
He laughed. "Whatever, dude."
Knowing that Kairi's house was protected by a secret code to unlock the gate, Sora and Riku did their usual routine of getting in, which was by climbing a tree and jumping over the gate. They already knew what the code was since Kairi tells the code to all of her friends, but they liked to make things difficult. Kairi would always scold them for not using the gate and risking getting hurt, but it would go out one ear and out the other with them.
As they got closer to the house, the sounds from the party got louder and louder. The only sound that Sora could hear was the crashing sound of his heartbeat against his ribcage.
Taking a step onto the porch, Sora drew in a deep breath and sighed. Riku rang the doorbell and stepped back, looking at Sora's face.
"Put your regular face on," he commanded, getting a goofy grin in response.
"I don't plan on messing things up tonight," Sora said confidently for the first time today. "I'll tell her how I feel, and no matter what happens, I'll always still be her friend."
Riku lightly punched him in the arm. "That's what I've been waiting for you to say all day." Footsteps were heard on the other side of the door. "You ready?"
Sora smiled with a confident look in his eye. "I'm ready."
As the door opened to reveal a stunning redhead, all of Sora's confidence seemed to melt away.
-Okay, I'm kind of stuck between making a sequel for this story or not. I'm more on the "not making one" side, but if things work out the way they do, then it might open up a path towards a sequel. It would be a little bit harder to do, but if you have any ideas, just let me know and I'll be able to work with whatever I get :)
-I don't know about you guys, but Spring break is here! Hope you all have a good one, and if some of you have already had it, then I hope it was good for you! I'll be staying home all week, so no traveling for me.
-The review button accepts comments, questions, concerns, and criticism. If you don't want to, then that's fine with me.
Next chapter: During Spring break! That's all I know for now.
