Author's Note: Sorry for the little hiatus. I haven't been real busy but I wasn't motivated to write. I'm kinda still not, so this chapter is shortish. I'll try not to take 2 months to write the next update ^.^

Chapter 23: Moving Out

Kairi and Sora still attended the family event, though tensions were running high. Sora made it clear he wanted to leave directly after the party. They made small talk with everyone else in attendance, keeping up a façade that nothing was going on between them. The last thing Kairi wanted was to derail the party by letting anyone know what was going on with them. She considered her options to herself as she chatted with the members of her family. After what had just happened, though, she knew she didn't have a choice. There was no coming back from what she'd done. She'd known, deep inside, that what she was doing was wrong. She'd done it anyway.

Did that make her the bad guy? She didn't know. Her heart ached. She wanted to blame Sora. If he'd never changed, if he'd never developed his despicable habits, if he'd asked her to marry him…well, she'd never have looked twice at Riku again. At least, that's what she told herself. What she did know for certain was she'd be moved out of Sora's place by the end of the following week.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by her father's gentle grip on her arm. "Come here, I need you for a few minutes." He led her inside the house. On the kitchen table was a large canvas painting of a tree. It had no leaves painted on, only branches. Surrounding the canvas were different colored paints and colored pencils. Sora also stood there at the table, seemingly focusing on the painting as hard as he could to avoid looking Kairi in the eyes.

"This is a gift we're giving to your grandparents for their 50th wedding anniversary," Kairi's father explained. "A family tree. I just need you kids to stick a thumb print on a branch and sign your name." He gave them both a pat on the shoulder and headed back out into the party.

Kairi dipped her thumb into the purple paint and added her print. When she was finished, she looked up at Sora, who still stood silently, staring at the painting, arms crossed over his chest.

"Um…you don't have to do it. If you don't want to," Kairi said slowly. "I mean, if it's weird for you. No one will notice if yours is missing." She winced after she said that last part. It sounded harsh. "What I mean is, there'll be so many prints on it I think no one will look at it and see that you didn't sign it."

He said nothing back to her. He stayed posed the way he was for another couple of minutes, and the awkward tension was practically making Kairi itchy. Finally, he looked away from the painting and directly into her eyes, his gaze defiant and somehow cold and burning at the same time. Without looking away from her, he slowly reached forward, dipped his thumb in blue paint, and added his print to the painting. When he'd washed the paint off his hand, he exited the house, having never said a word to her.

Kairi swallowed hard. He was making a statement, a challenge. He was letting her know that no matter what she did, she'd never erase him from her life.

XXXXXX

Kairi contacted her mother at her first opportunity to convey that she was going to need a place to stay. Her mother accepted her without a moment's hesitation.

That night, she set herself up for sleep on the couch. Neither she nor Sora needed to explain anything to Roxas—he could tell what was going on just by the vibe between them when they returned home.

As she settled in on the couch, prepared for a sleepless night, Roxas approached her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I just…I didn't ever want us to end on bad terms again. But I guess I've messed that up."

Roxas just stared at her wistfully. "I'm not gonna ask you to explain yourself," he said, "but I want you to realize, if you haven't already, that you broke his heart."

"I know," Kairi whispered. "He broke mine, too, Roxas."

Roxas laid a hand on her arm. "I love you like a sister," he said. "But…Sora's been my best friend forever. I have to…I have to be loyal to him. I hope you understand."

For the first time that day, Kairi shed a tear. "I know. You don't need to apologize. I hope we can be friends in the future. All three of us."

He patted her comfortingly in response and retired to his room for the night.

As she predicted, falling asleep on the couch with all the thoughts swirling in her head made sleep impossible. It seemed like she'd barely fallen asleep when the blaring kitchen light came on, stirring her back out of sleep. She groaned irritably and sat up to locate the source of the disturbance.

It was Sora, getting a pot of coffee going.

She checked her phone for the time. Even with her lack of sleep, it seemed way too early. And she was right. The clock on her phone read 7 A.M.

"Why?" she moaned helplessly.

"I'm opening the store this morning," Sora replied shortly. I have to be there in an hour."

Kairi flopped back down, groaning loudly again.

"You can go sleep in the bed if you want," Sora said, sounding less gruff and more sympathetic this time.

"No, that's okay," Kairi said quietly. Something felt wrong about going in and rolling herself in the bedding that he'd just been sleeping in. She stood up and stretched. "I guess I should go ahead and start packing my stuff. I have to work later tonight so I won't get much time to do it after class."

She glanced in Sora's direction as she said it. He had his back to her, but she didn't miss how his shoulders stiffened.

"I guess," he mumbled in response. "I…uh…I asked my mom to come over later, too. She can help."

It was Kairi's turn to stiffen. "You want her to help pack my stuff while I'm not here?"

Sora flinched. "I didn't mean anything bad," he said quickly. "I just—I thought you might want the help. It's just awkward for you to be here, and I know you feel the same way. So, the faster we can get it done, the better…right?"

It made sense, but she was still slightly offended. She had a feeling Sora and his mother would have started packing her stuff later even if she hadn't said something about it, and that didn't sit right with her.

"I guess you're right," she finally said, her voice cold. "I'll try to get out of your hair as quickly as possible."

She saw Sora turn toward her and she could tell something along the lines of "that's not what I meant" was forming on his tongue but she stalked off toward the bathroom before he had the chance to say it.

XXXXXX

"What's up, Tiger?" Riku's affectionate greeting as he slid into the seat next to Kairi made her heart flutter.

"Oh, nothing," she said nervously, though that was far from the case.

"You figure things out with your man?"

Oh. Right. She'd forgotten that her last face to face conversation with Riku had been about her failing relationship.

"Sort of," she mumbled, moving her fingertip in a circle on the tabletop. "I mean, we've broken up. I'm moving out of his place." She was surprised to feel a tiny spark of excitement as she revealed the information to Riku. If she were single, he was free to make a move, if he wanted to. She found herself hoping he would.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You'll be okay. And I'm here, if you need me."

"Thanks," she smiled over at him and subtly nudged her chair in his direction. "That's really sweet."

"I try sometimes." He smiled back at her.

After class was over, they walked to their cars together.

"Say," Riku said, "this might make you change your mind about thinking I'm sweet, but I gotta."

Kairi stopped walking. "Huh?"

She was taken completely by surprise as she felt Riku's warm hand on her backside, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Those shorts you're wearing. They're just—" Riku paused and made a chef's kiss gesture. "—magnificent. I'm good now. It's out of my system."

Kairi blushed, unsure of how to respond. She wanted to be angry at him for putting his hands on her without permission, but she couldn't deny she kind of liked it. She couldn't deny that she wished he'd do it again. She decided to be bold.

"It's okay," she said. "I really didn't mind it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

She nodded shyly.

"Well, I feel privileged. An opportunity men would kill for."

"N-no, they wouldn't," Kairi's face was on fire at the implication. "That's just not true."

"They would," Riku said firmly. "You're gorgeous, Kairi. You don't see how they look at you. I do."

He knew all the right things to say.

"Thanks," she said lamely.

Riku changed the subject. "So, what's your opinion on movies with CGI monsters? Like think Jurassic Park, Godzilla, that kind of thing."

That seemed random. "They're okay," Kairi said. "Kinda cheesy though? They don't do a real good job at making it seem realistic. You'd think it would be scarier."

"So…not a fan?" Riku waggled his eyebrows. "That's a real shame you know, cause there's a new Jurassic Park movie coming out next week. I was gonna ask if I could take you, but I guess if you don't dig those movies, I'll have to go by myself."

Kairi was speechless. It hadn't occurred to her that this was the move. Wait, was he really asking her out on a date when she hadn't even moved out of Sora's place? Truthfully, she wasn't even mad about it. She was excited. She looked forward to seeing him in class that morning, and she had dreaded the end of the class period knowing that it would be another day and a half before she saw him again. She no longer had any doubt in her mind, she was already falling hard for Riku.

"W-wait," she stammered. "I didn't say that I didn't like them…I—I want to go. To the movie."

Riku grinned at her, flashing perfectly white teeth. His eyes glinted in the sunlight, too. In that moment, he was the most beautiful man she'd laid eyes on.

"Well then," he said, "pick a place you'd love to have dinner at, and we'll call it a date." He winked and turned and strode across the parking lot to his car.

She could've died on the spot.

XXXXXX

Kairi skipped returning home in between class and work. When she finally got back to the apartment after work, she saw Heidi's car parked next to Sora's. She groaned. The last thing she wanted was to come face to face with Sora's mother. No doubt he'd have told her everything, and Heidi was not good at keeping her thoughts to herself.

She finally resigned herself to her fate and made her way up to the apartment. Near the front door were a few boxes neatly organized with some of her things. Heidi was nowhere to be seen, and Sora was seated on the couch looking as though he'd been waiting for Kairi to appear.

"Where's your mom?" she asked tentatively.

"I asked her to take off so I could talk to you," Sora said nonchalantly. "Roxas took her to get something to eat."

"Oh." Kairi stared at her feet. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I was doing some thinking." Sora stood up and stretched. "I started to think maybe I am being unfair. About you, that is. I started thinking…that, I guess…if marriage is what you really want, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad."

Kairi looked at him incredulously. "Don't get like this on me now," she said frantically. "I already made this decision, Sora. I've already prepared myself for it."

"And I've decided I don't want you to not be in my life," Sora said firmly. "I'll do whatever I have to do to keep you in it. So, if you want to get married, let's get married."

All she could do was stare at him in disbelief of what he was saying.

He moved closer to her. "I don't have a ring for you, but I can get one. Just give me a couple months to pull the money together. But I'm serious. Marry me."

"Sora…I…" She was completely aghast. Just a few months ago, she'd wanted this more than anything. Now, she felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. She had already suffered through months of heartbreak and had pulled herself together. She was ready to be done with Sora, and she was ready to be with Riku. Why did things turn out this way? She couldn't even shed a tear.

She shook her head. "I can't."

The confident expression Sora had worn on his face during his proposal disappeared. He fell to his knees. "How? Why? I thought…I thought this was what you wanted."

"It was," Kairi said, speaking gently. "I did want this. More than anything."

Sora's facial expressions went from shock to horror and finally to sad, and his eyes watered as he processed what she'd said. "It's…you're saying it's too late, then?" He wasn't able to fight the oncoming tears and they started spilling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Kairi…I'm so sorry. But you mean it? It's too late? What happened?"

He was choking on the words as he struggled to get them out, and Kairi felt pangs of guilt as she witnessed the heart of the boy she once loved break right in front of her.

"You loved me…right? How can you just turn those feelings off? Just like that…and you're not even upset." He squeezed his eyes shut and jammed his palms against his eyelids as if trying to block the tears from escaping. "I must look like a giant asshole, crying like this and you're not even sad. I don't get it. That's fucking cold."

Kairi threw her hands in the air out of frustration. "What do you want me to say? This is a result of you and your actions. If you'd proposed to me properly a year ago, we wouldn't be here right now, having this discussion. You made me feel like I wasn't good enough, like I'm not worth you committing the rest of your life to. Like I'm just filling your need to have a girlfriend until the girl who's actually perfect comes along.

"So, yeah, it is too late, Sora. I waited on you to be ready for so long, and you just kept treating me like I wasn't that important to you. So here we are. I'm not in love with you anymore, and I don't want to marry you."

Sora was so stunned by her outburst that he'd stopped crying. He was quiet for a moment as he seemed to consider her words, and then she saw something click in his head. An expression of pure anger formed on his face.

"This is about him, isn't it? I thought maybe I was being unreasonable this weekend, that you were just catching up with an old friend and that I could let it go. I didn't think you would actually take it this far."

"This has nothing to do with Riku." It was only partially a lie. "Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm interested in him. But I fell out of love with you long before now. If I hadn't, then I wouldn't have…" Kairi's hands balled into fists and she paused briefly. "…I wouldn't have fallen for him if I still felt the same way about you."

"Well then, go ahead. If that's what you want, go be with him." The words he was saying were friendly at face value, but his body language disagreed. Sora was now a terrifying vision, his tear streaked face red with anger and his teeth gritted and bared like an angry dog. "If I ever, ever see him…I will beat his ass."

Kairi scoffed. "Sure, tough guy." All the sympathy she'd had minutes ago evaporated. She'd never enjoyed Sora's look at me, I'm a badass side and it wasn't going to do him any favors with her now.

She turned away from him, intending to move the boxes he'd already packed to her car. She didn't feel like sleeping there. She'd had enough of the drama for now, and there was a peaceful bedroom waiting for her at her mother's house.

He made no move to stop her. He just stood there, still as a statue, as he watched her carry the boxes out and down the stairs. He made no effort to assist her.

She made it out of the apartment complex without any further conversation with him, and Roxas and Heidi hadn't returned from dinner yet. When she arrived at her mother's house, she found it unoccupied, as her mother was working late that night. She was relieved to have time to herself, that she wouldn't have to explain her early arrival before morning.

As she settled in to unpack her boxes into her room, her phone buzzed. She danced over to it excitedly, hoping it was a text from Riku. He would usually text her this late if he were bored.

It wasn't Riku. It was Heidi.

I don't understand. He offered u everything u wanted.

Kairi considered answering the text and explaining, but she was tired and she didn't want to. She didn't owe his mother an explanation. She was an adult and it was between her and Sora. Heidi didn't need to know everything. Satisfied with this conclusion, she set her phone face down and ignored the message.