It's been about a month since Riku and I started dating. The school seems to be used to it by now, and everyone seems to treat me like one of the "popular" kids now.

It's so weird.

Riku and I have been really good. Every day together is like old times, only better – for obvious reasons. We see each other every day, and even though I would think that Riku would get annoyed with me being all clingy, he's not. Actually, most of the time, he's the one initiating it. It's pretty cool, actually. I mean, I know Riku says he's been in love with me since we were kids, and I believe him, but somehow being reminded just how much he loves me is really amazing.

I mean, this is Riku we're talking about. He's perfect, in every way, and the fact that he wants some scrawny, super energetic kid like me? It's unbelievable. I've talked to Roxas about it a couple times, and he just thinks I'm being an idiot – which I don't doubt. But I don't know, how am I supposed to act? I've got the guy I've been wanting for years, and all I want to do is keep him close to me at all times and never let go.

Jeez, I sound like a girl.

Roxas and Axel seem to be good, too. I know they haven't had sex – yet, but Riku told me he's not sure how much longer Axel can last. I knew Axel was basically the gay whore of the school until Rox, and I guess it's the longest he's gone without having sex or something. Though, to give the redhead some credit, now that I know what sex is like, I can't imagine going long without it.

Mmm, sex, I thought, secretly smiling to myself.

Riku had just dropped me off from his place. It was only Tuesday, so I couldn't spend the night unfortunately, but I did have dinner with his folks again. I even got to loosen up a little more with them too, like how I was back when Riku and I were kids. Since both his parents are fine with us being together, it's definitely much easier to be relaxed in their home. They're even okay with me spending the night all the time! It's awesome.

As for my mom, Riku and I had told her about us being together about three weeks ago, and though I didn't think she would be pissed or anything, her reaction was a little shocking.

"Finally!" my mother said, dramatically throwing her hands in the air. "Do you realize how long I've been wanting you two to tell me?!"

"You knew?" I almost yelled.

"Well…not exactly, but I had my suspicions. I mean, honey, you two are just a tad obvious."

"I told you she'd be okay with it, Sora," Riku said, and I could just hear that smirk in his voice.

"I expected her to be okay with it, Riku. I didn't expect her to know!"

"Well, now you know hun," my mom said, wearing a slightly smug smirk.

"Does…does dad know?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I figured you'd want to tell him yourself when he comes back."

My mom, of course, was right about that, and dad did finally come home about a week later. He had some business thing, and it required him to travel a lot.

Mom, Riku and me told dad after he'd settled in, and he didn't seem surprised at all. He even said that he'd had a feeling since we were kids.

So, with both sets of parents out of the way, and being all out at school and all, Riku and I were completely free to act however "gay" we wanted. I personally didn't want to get on anyone's nerves, so I normally wasn't a big fan of making out in public, but we held hands and hugged and stuff. Riku didn't seem to mind, anyway, especially since I didn't even make out with Kairi in public or anything. I just find it rude when people do that, whether it be a straight couple or gay.

Riku and Axel came at the same time to the house the next day, it being a regular routine with all of us now.

"Hey Sor," Riku said as he walked through the door, opening it himself. Mom said he could do that now.

"Hey," I said, grinning at my boyfriend immediately from my spot on the couch.

"Roxie-poo!" I heard Axel say to my twin. And knowing Roxas, he probably just rolled his eyes.

Riku sat down next to me, pulling me in for a hug and kiss, which I happily returned.

"Missed you," he said after pulling away, though not far.

"You saw me yesterday," I mumbled into his chest.

"Yeah, but when you spend the night, I never have to miss you."

"Ugh, you guys are way too sugary sweet," I heard Roxas say.

I just stuck my tongue out at my twin. "You guys are going already?" I asked.

"Yeah, Roxie wants to make out without an audience," Axel said, before my twin elbowed him. "Ow, hey! Rox!"

"Shut up before I do worse," he said, though by the tone of his voice, I knew he was blushing – which meant that actually was the reason they were leaving.

"Alright then," I said. "See ya' at school!"

After they left, I noticed Riku still looking at me.

"What?"

"I didn't see either car in the driveway," he said, his voice dropping suddenly lower. "Does that mean we're alone?"

My breath hitched, and I just nodded, before he grinned at me and pressed his lips to mine. He pushed me back against the couch, before settling completely on top of me as he kissed me.

I couldn't help but to groan into the kiss, immediately opening my mouth as his tongue probed my lips. The feel of his tongue against mine made me groan again and I wrapped my arms around his neck, my hands running through his hair as I pulled him closer.

"Mmm, Sora," he groaned against my mouth, lowering his lips to my neck and nipping at the skin.

"Riku," I groaned out, arching my neck towards him as I pulled his hair a little more. It didn't take me long in this relationship to figure out that Riku had a secret obsession with me pulling his hair.

"Do we have time?" he asked, before he started sucking on a sensitive part of my neck.

I gasped, before swallowing it down and looking towards the clock. "We've got forty-five minutes till first."

He growled against my throat then and I felt a shudder run through me. "And we don't even have to do a quickie," he said, his voice already husky.

"I think it'd be worth being late anyway," I told him, my hands moving down his back and already moving the hem of his shirt up.

He pulled away from my neck and I saw his cocky smirk adorning his face. "Maybe we just shouldn't go to school then?"

I just laughed, before finally pulling off his shirt and trying not to drool at the expanse of skin I was suddenly eye-raping. His body was glorious – simply magnificent. He was pale, almost like snow, and his abs were clearly showing, but not too much. He had that V-cut that everyone seems to be obsessed with on hips, and yeah, on Riku, it was godly.

"I have a test today," I told him, though I could hear in my voice, just how distracted I was.

"Boring," he said.

His lips were on mine again, and I immediately knew there was to be no more talking.

We were ten minutes late.

Riku pecked me on the lips, before we raced to our classrooms, trying to get there quickly. My classroom wasn't too terribly far from the entrance of the school, unlike poor Riku who had to run to the back of the campus.

"Sora!"

I recognized the voice immediately, and it was one of the only voices that could get me to stop immediately – which did lead to me tripping over my feet a bit.

When I righted myself, I looked towards my ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend, Kairi. Why was she talking to me, though? This entire month, she either ignored me or glared at me. Actually, it could have been a lot worse, so I'd take it happily. But still…I did miss when we were just friends. Her, Riku and I – it was fun when we were kids.

I didn't really know what to say to her, so I just stood there quietly, waiting for her to say something else.

She walked over to me, and I have to admit, seeing her looking awkward as I do was a little nice. "I've been trying to reach you, but I haven't been able to get ahold of you," she said.

"Ah…Riku, umm, blocked your…number." How do you tell someone that? Gawd, it's awkward.

"Oh, well…I guess I deserve that," she said, looking away from me. But within a few seconds, her head practically snapped as she was looking at me again. "Look, the reason I needed to talk to you was 'cause…something bad has happened."

"What is it?" I asked immediately. If she was telling me, her ex, I figured it had to be pretty bad. I also kind of figured it had to do with me. Why else would she want to tell me?

"So…Namine got kicked out of that boarding school she's been in, and no other school would take her I guess, so mom and dad decided to send her to…our school."

I knew my eyes widened, and they did it unconsciously. My body froze completely and I could feel how stiff I was. I was pretty sure that my mouth was open too, but I wasn't quite sure. Actually, I wasn't sure about anything. My mind went blank, and then all of a sudden thousands and thousands of thoughts were suddenly whirling in my brain.

"Wh-What?" It was all I could say.

She sighed, and I could read the guilt in her eyes. "Namine's here – she's in our first class, even."

Did I go to hell and not realize that I died? Namine being here…just wasn't possible.

"I'm sorry, Sora. I tried everything I could think of with my parents, but no school would take her."

I just didn't know how to respond. I was still frozen to the spot.

"Does she…does she know?" I was referring to mine and Kairi's breakup.

"Yeah," she said. "I told her back when she was still at that school – I even thought that it would make her like you less, but…you're all she's talked about."

I gulped. Gawd, I was scared. And Riku couldn't save me – not in this class period, anyway. But…well, I didn't need him to save me, but I wanted him there. Riku doesn't mind being mean to people, but I do. And even to someone as…crazy as Namine, I can't be mean.

"I'm sorry, Sora…I mean, I even told her you were gay, but she doesn't seem to believe it or care."

I breathed in deep, before letting the air out. There was nothing I could do about it, so I had to deal with it. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I would have to at some point.

"It's not your fault, Kairi," I told her. And it really wasn't. I believe her when she says that she did whatever she could so Namine wouldn't come to our school. Kairi didn't like Namine either, although for her own reasons. "Thank you for…warning me."

She smiled, though it was a sad smile. "I know I haven't been fair to you, Sora. I know I blew off the handle with you and Riku."

"No, Kairi, I was the one who-"

"No, Sora, really. I mean, yeah, you're still in the wrong for what you did, but…" She sighed. "I should have known that you couldn't really be mine. I knew how Riku felt about you, and you were obvious about your feelings for him. I was too selfish, and I am sorry for that."

"Kairi…"

"I'm gonna' need some time, Sora. But, I do want us to be friends again. You, me and even Riku if he'd forgive me. We had fun as kids, remember?"

I smiled, and she smiled right back at me. "Yeah, I remember. I want it like that again too."

Her smile grew. "Thank you, Sora. But…like I said, I'm gonna' need some time…"

I shook my head. "No, take all the time you need," I told her.

She continued to smile. "Wanna' walk to first together?"

"Yes please," I told her, not willing to face Namine alone. I had almost forgotten about the whole situation.

So from there, we walked to first period. I missed a good chunk of it, but I honestly think that talking to Kairi was worth it. I wanted to text Riku, but I didn't think he'd remember who Namine was, and he wasn't much of a texter during classes. Plus, I'd see him for second, and I could explain, well not everything – there wasn't enough time for that. But, I could at least fill him in on some things.

When we walked inside the classroom, the teacher was giving me a disapproving look and saying something about being tardy. But I couldn't even focus on that. The second I walked into the room, I felt eyes on me, and they were all I could focus on. So when the teacher let me go to my seat, I finally got to see the eyes of Namine, staring directly at me.

Her eyes were identical to Kairi's – probably because her and Kairi were twins. The difference between them though, was that Kairi's eyes were normally bright and happy, whereas Namine's were dark and almost devious. Whenever I looked into her eyes, I always felt like she was plotting something. I sounded paranoid, I know, but since I knew Namine's history, I doubted I was wrong.

I hadn't seen Namine in two years, and it had honestly been nice while it lasted. She was the only person I could ever say that I truly hated. Of course, that didn't mean I could be mean to her. It was kind of impossible for me to be mean to anyone, honestly.

She didn't sit near me, thankfully. The teacher let her sit with Kairi, since they were sisters, and I sat in the back. The back was definitely cozier. The back row only consisted of me and some jock, who pretty much left me alone.

I watched the clock for the rest of the period, even though I could feel eyes on me the whole time. I knew who it was, and I really didn't want to make eye contact with her. The second I did, she'd smile her cutesy little smile and I'd feel too guilty if I didn't do the same.

The bell rang quicker than I thought it would – maybe luck was on my side today?

I rushed out of that class – well, I attempted to.

Instead, I actually tripped, over Namine's bag. I had to hold back a groan as I rubbed my head, before looking up at her and seeing her feign worry.

"Oh my gosh Sora, I'm so sorry," she said. The 'worry' in her voice was a good trick.

"It's fine, Namine," I told her, getting up on my own and unconsciously grabbing her bag on my way up. "Umm, here." I gave her the bag.

"Aww, thanks Sor," she said, smiling now.

"Yeah, sure," I said. "Well, I gotta' go, ah, my boyfriend is-"

"Where's your next class?" I said the room number. "What a coincidence! That's right next to my class. Could you show me the way?"

I again held back a groan, before putting on a fake smile. "Yeah, sure."

"So nice of you," she said, still smiling. She looked her arm in mine, not even asking permission, as we left the classroom and headed towards our classes.

Thankfully it didn't take long, and we arrived at her room.

"Here you go," I said, immediately unlooping our arms. I could already hear the rumors of things people would be saying, and I didn't want any more attention.

She looked back at me, that fake smile still plastered on her face. "Thanks again Sora," she said, though she didn't walk in like I thought she would. "So…which ones your class?"

"That one," I pointed to the room to the right of hers.

"Ah," she nodded, and I could practically see the wheels in her head turning, trying to keep the 'conversation' going.

"Sora!"

Thank God almighty! Boyfriend is getting it good next time.

"Hey Riku!" I said happily, turning to run over to my boyfriend and away from the blonde.

I hugged him immediately, practically shoving my head into his chest.

He laughed. "First period that bad, huh?"

"Look ahead," I said in a quiet voice.

He heard me, thankfully, and looked in the direction of Namine.

"Riku?" I heard Namine question. "Oh! You're the old childhood friend, right? So nice that you two are friends again."

"Yeah," Riku said, and I could hear the confusion in his voice.

"We're actually together, Namine," I said, rotating my face so that Namine would be able to hear me. "I thought Kairi told you?"

"I thought she had meant that you two were simply friends again." Now she was feigning shock.

"No, we're together," Riku answered. "Anyway, it was nice meeting you Namine, but class is about to start, and I'd rather Sora and I not be late again."

"Likewise, Riku," she said. "I'll see you guys later."

And that, thankfully, was that.

"So she's Kairi's twin sister?" Riku asked as we walked from my fourth period.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm not shocked you don't remember. You never met her and Kairi hardly talks about her."

"How come?"

"Namine's…not the nicest person. She and Kairi are very different."

He rolled his eyes. "Kairi's not exactly a sweetie either, Sora."

"No, she's fine," I told him, before realizing that I hadn't had the chance to tell him about Kairi. "Actually, Kairi apologized."

"When?" he asked. I could hear the shock in his voice as we walked into the cafeteria.

"Before first. I ran into, and she warned me about Namine. And she told me she wanted it to be like before, when all three of us were friends."

"I don't know Sora," he said, looking down at me, and I could see the worry in his eyes.

"She said she still needed time, Riku," I said, sticking my tongue out at him. "It'll probably be a while, and by then, hopefully you'll be over it."

"We'll see," he said, leading us to a line. "Back to Namine though."

I sighed. "Right. Well…Namine's bounced through private schools left and right, getting kicked out of all of them. Kairi's parents always make sure it's a school with dorms, too, because Kairi is…actually afraid of Namine."

That surprised him. I wanted to tell him everything, all of the secrets, but there were too many people…and there were too many things that shouldn't be said in public. What Namine has done…to Kairi and me.

"I need to tell you in private," I told him.

He nodded, and dropped the conversation, though I knew we wouldn't be finished. We'd either talk at my house, or we'd go hide for lunch.

We got our food, before walking over towards the normal table, where Roxas, Axel and Seifer were already sitting.

"Hey guys, we're gonna' sit alone today," Riku told them, before grabbing my hand and pulling us out of the cafeteria. He didn't even give them time to respond.

We walked until we reached some bushes on the side of one of the buildings, an area that people rarely came to.

"Spill," he said.

"So…first things first, I guess." I sighed. "Kairi and Namine had another sister, which made them triplets. The family doesn't really talk about her much, which is why they just call Namine and Kairi twins. Xion was her name, and she died before Kairi and her family moved here. It actually was the reason they moved here.

"Basically, Kairi, Namine and Xion were just playing outside with a ball, and Namine threw it out into the middle of the street. Xion went to get it and got hit by a car. Their parents say it was an accident of course, but Kairi swears that Namine did it on purpose."

That was pretty much the short version. When Kairi had told me the truth, she was crying and telling me every last detail, which was fine, but I didn't think Riku needed everything. He just needed to understand where Kairi's hate comes from, and that was the start of it.

"Did she?"

"Did she what?"

"Did she do it on purpose?" he asked me.

I looked into his eyes, before looking down and breathing deeply. "I don't know, but…it wouldn't shock me. The kind of person Namine is, she would do anything if she couldn't get something she wanted. She wanted her parents' attention, but she didn't get much because Kairi was the oldest and Xion was usually sickly, so she felt left out. So, I wouldn't exactly put it past her."

"You really think a kid could do that?" he asked me, and I could hear almost sarcasm.

"You don't know her," I said, and I could hear how raspy my voice sounded. I was close to tears. "She's done little mean things to Kairi here and there, like blame her for something she didn't do, push her, prank her. Lots of stuff, which didn't really affect me, but it did make me not trust Namine so much. I thought she was mean, but that was it. But then I actually met her, and she suddenly had a goody-goody act, which she would only have around me and her parents. I figured she had a random crush on me, which was a little weird, but I ignored it. I didn't think anything of it…until suddenly it changed."

"What do you mean?"

I planned on telling Riku eventually, since he had the right to know, but I didn't want to yet. But since Namine was here now, didn't I have that obligation? Nobody else would know except him, Namine and me.

I took a deep breath again. "Namine was visiting during Christmas vacation two years ago, which was normal, and I hadn't seen her the year before. So I guess she was super excited to see me, and hugged me and whatever. It was a little uncomfortable, because I knew Kairi hated it, but I just hugged her back and that was the end of it. But Namine was practically on me the whole time I was there, and at some point, it was just us at the house, because Kairi and her folks were out doing something.

"Namine and I were watching some movie, and she was cuddling me. I wasn't pushing her off, but I wasn't returning it either. I figured maybe she might like being around guys since her school was an all-girl school, so I didn't think anything of it. And before I even realized it, she kissed me. It was on the mouth and I panicked. I pushed her off and was gonna' leave, but…that was when she pulled the knife out-"

Riku grabbed me immediately and pulled me into him, and I realized that I was crying. I hated how weak I was from this stupid incident, but it really had freaked me out when I was fourteen.

"You don't have to continue," he told me, whispering in my hair.

"No," I said, shaking my head, but getting closer to him. "You need to know.

I took a moment to calm myself, wipe the tears and control my breathing. "So…she had the knife and I was freaking even more now, and she told me that if I even got past her, that she'd kill Kairi when she was sleeping. So…I stayed, of course. And she uh, she got on top of me, held the knife to my neck, and said that when she came back to town permanently, she was gonna' get me. That I belonged to her, and some other stuff I've worked on forgetting.

"But…that's why you need to get why she freaks me out, Riku. Kairi doesn't even know the whole thing. She knows something happened, but I refused to tell her. It was…I was ashamed, Riku. Namine's tiny, and I couldn't even stand up to her? What's wrong with me?"

"Not a damn thing," he said, holding my tighter. "It's okay, Sora. She was threatening your life, and Kairi's. Anyone in their right mind would freak out."

I sighed, glad that Riku was there and glad that he could calm me down so effortlessly.

"I hate her, Riku."

Hey guys! Thanks for bearing with me for so long! School has been a little ridiculous, but I finally got to update.

So, yeah, I want people to realize that I don't actually hate Kairi. xD I kinda' love her, so I wasn't planning on keeping her as a bitch. But I mean, come on, how would you react to your boy/girlfriend cheating on you? But she'll forgive him. (:

As for Namine, I can't stand her, so I have no problem making her the 'villain'. I've made this relatively conflict free, so here's our bitch, who will intermingle with the RikuxSora stuff, and eventually the AkuRoku stuff. At least, that's the plan.

Anyway, thank you again to those who bear with me! I am happy that people do still read this, even though I'm terrible at updating it. Dx I would hate to be one of those people who just abandon a fanfic. :/

So I beg, please review! Here's a bribe: The more people I see reviewing, the faster I want to update for people!