Will You Trust Me?
The song ended and changed. It was still slow but this one was much more upbeat. Sora and Kairi exchanged glances and smiled at each other. Some couples retired and they were replaced by others but those two remained standing where they'd stopped.
"Do you want to dance to this song too?" Sora asked.
Kairi's smile widened and she was about to nod but another boy clearing his throat caught the attention of both of them. Sora looked at him in confusion. Kairi's eyebrows rose in recognition. Zexion had snuck up on them and was standing there with his hands behind his back, looking as though he was welcome to intrude. He was dressed formally in black trousers and oxford shoes, a black vest and a glossy, grey dress shirt that matched some of the darker streaks of his hair.
"Excuse me," he said politely, addressing both of them. "Would you mind if I had this next dance?" He extended a hand out to Kairi, gloved in black satin.
Sora was about to say something but Kairi cut him off: "No, not at all."
She looked at Sora apologetically and they let go of each other. Sora turned to Kairi and glanced at Zexion suspiciously through the corner of his eye. "Kairi, do you know this guy?"
"Yeah, he's a friend I met here," she answered, putting her hand in his open palm.
Zexion smirked at Sora's huffy expression. "Don't worry, I'm not here to steal her from you. I really am just a friend." Sora and Kairi both blushed at the implication that there was something more between them.
Sora still seemed reluctant to leave, so Kairi said: "Have you eaten since you woke up, or did you come straight here? Maybe you should see if there's still food left at the buffet."
The spiky-haired boy nodded and left the two of them alone, casting a doubtful stare at the silver-haired boy for as long as he could. Sora was certain that they'd never met but something about him was familiar in a very off-putting kind of way. As soon as he'd disappeared into the crowd, Zexion turned to Kairi and put his free arm around her back, high up to reinforce his claim of a platonic relationship. Kairi's arm rested on top of his to complete the open position and this time Zexion took the lead. Kairi honestly had no idea what dance he was doing but he wasn't complaining so long as she didn't trip or step on his toes.
"I thought you weren't going to be here," Kairi said out of the blue.
"What led you to make that assumption?"
"The tickets… from the bakery. You didn't take them."
"That's not necessarily an indication that I had no means of attending this ball."
Kairi blushed again but this time with embarrassment. Zexion had a way of making others feel stupid, even if it wasn't intentional.
"Did you know that this song is famous?" he continued. Kairi shook her head. "I used to hear it played a lot when I was a child. This band's version has a ridiculously extended intro but I recognise the tune."
Kairi was puzzled about what he meant until the male vocalist returned to the microphone and began to sing:
"Only you can make this world seem right.
Only you can make the darkness bright."
"Actually, I only came to the ball to see you," Zexion admitted.
"M-me?" Kairi said in surprise
"I can't stay long, I have to be somewhere quite soon but I came because I have a favour to ask you."
"A favour? What kind of favour?"
"You might be thinking that I have malicious intentions but I assure you that I don't want you to do anything bad," Zexion said in a low voice. "You're the only person that I can turn to now."
"Why me?" Kairi whispered.
"Because you trust me."
Kairi blinked. "Trust you? I… I don't think I do. I know what you are."
"And yet you still trusted me to save your friends and fight alongside you this morning," Zexion said, raising his visible eyebrow. "I suspect your trust may actually be delusional, since you were still calling me 'Z' the entire time. Would you like to prove me wrong?"
Kairi huffed. She didn't like being called delusional but at the same time there was a stirring of distrust in her mind when a Nobody was directly asking her for a favour. Zexion seemed to read her like an open book and offered a further explanation: "my life is going to change at midnight tonight and I am certain that I'm unprepared for it. If anything were to go wrong you are the only person who has the power to save me. If you are willing then you need to make the decision now. Just dance with me while you consider it."
The brass solo began in the song. Kairi bowed her head, looking down at their feet, which seemed to be moving by themselves. She smiled a bit at the thought of the soft ballet slippers she was currently wearing. When it became obvious to Patty that Kairi wasn't going to manage in the shiny stilettos that she recommended with the outfit Mir pointed out that the dancing shoes would be fine for the occasion. It's not like anyone would really see them under the floor-length hem of the white dress. Zexion stayed quiet, allowing her to be with her own thoughts for a few minutes. He wanted to be saved. She had no idea what that meant but based on the scenario he proposed he was leaving the decision of what that meant up to her. The story he was telling obviously had most of the information omitted but was that because he was trying to hide it or because there were so many people around? Kairi couldn't tell. As the vocalist started singing again, Kairi looked up into Zexion's face. His eyes were also blue but not like hers or Sora's. His were dull and blank like a sheet of paper. He could see her gradually making up her mind.
At the end of the song he reached into his pocket and took something out, holding it tightly in his right hand. Then he took her left and placed it over his right, unfurling his fingers and pressing her hand into his palm. There was something smooth, round and cold sitting there. Then, unexpectedly, he put his left arm behind his back, bowed deeply to Kairi and kissed the back of her hand. Her face went hot and red so fast it made her a bit dizzy.
"Thank-you for the dance," he said cordially, lifting his head to smile at her, "but I'm afraid that I must now take my leave. Fare thee well, princess."
He slid his hand away from hers. She got the message and curled her fingers around the orb. He nodded to her and briskly walked away, going back up the steps to exit the ballroom. Kairi held her clasped hand against her chest and watched him leave. She had no idea what he had just given her but she did know that it wasn't something that she could just uncover in front of a crowd. She made her way off the dance floor and found Sora standing by the buffet table with a plate of salad, rice and chicken. That must have been all that was left. He saw her coming back and smiled, swallowing a huge mouthful of poultry and lettuce before asking:
"So is he gone?"
Kairi gave him a strange look and Sora had the decency to put on sheepish expression. At least he realised what a rude question that was. She didn't bother to call him on it, though. She just nodded.
"Who was he anyway?"
"His name's Z," Kairi answered, looking down at her chest where her hand was still clenched around his gift. "I met him a couple of weeks ago when I was having trouble with ice skating. He's actually really nice if you get to know him."
"Really? I dunno. Something about him seemed weird to me," Sora said, shovelling more food into his mouth. Kairi just nodded, eyes downcast. Zexion wanted to be saved. From being a Nobody? Or was he in trouble? "Are you okay? Did he do something strange?"
Kairi shook her head and looked up with a fake smile. The doubtful look Sora gave her indicated it wasn't working. "No, I'm just feeling really tired now. I don't think I'll dance anymore, I want to go to bed."
"Are you su- hey! Kairi, wait!" Sora exclaimed, dropping his plate on the nearest table and running after Kairi as she dashed up the steps to the doors. "He did do something weird didn't he? What're you holding? Did he give it to you?"
"I told you, I'm fine. I just need some sleep."
She made it to the top and got to the doors, pushing them open in a rush to get through. As soon as she made it into the hallway she stopped in her tracks, staring dumbfounded at what was happening in front of her. Sora caught up to her, ready to question her more on her well-being but the scene in the hallway made him stop. He knew there was something weird about Z and it seemed that Riku thought so too.
I think this may be the quickest update ever and there's a reason. I was sitting down and thinking about it. I got way ahead in chapters and normally what I like to do with extra chapters is sit on them to ensure that I have a weekly update (although, as you know, that method isn't always effective). But then I thought NOPE, since it's getting really close to the end and I have some time off right now.
Glossary:
Open position: in dancing, it's when the partners in a dance are not standing flush against each other.
Only You: a jazz song, not actually famous but for the sake of this story, let's say that it is. The only version I know of it is the one by Louis Armstrong.
