So, not dead. More drama happened as usual in my life, yadda yadda. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this long-awaited update!
Funny how a two-hour time limit to finish setting everything up for a party could make people lose their minds. At least in Kairi's eyes.
Selphie was directing on where to place what and inspecting them for any imperfections. Kairi had to stifle a laugh at the sight of Sola being the one doing most of the running, a big part because her and Selphie being in sync over the decorations, all while still dressed up in her cocktail dress. Kairi and the other girls were tempted to jump in and help but Sola and Selphie just kept waving them off. Because of that, Kairi just reviewed her stage setup with the other girls' help.
Honestly, it felt like in the short time they had their backs turned, Sola and Selphie had turned the usual well cared for backyard, into a scene straight out of the cliche teen movies. Complete with fairy lights strung among the shrubbery, a buffet and drink table with a black tablecloth and white lace on top, and white plastic lawn chairs placed in key locations in addition to the regular lawn chairs. Not to mention all the decorations matched perfectly with the makeshift stage situated in the back.
"Wow," was all that was said while Sola and Selphie stood proudly.
Olette hummed as she glanced at her wristwatch while the other girls congratulated the two on their decorating.
"Yuffie should be here with the cake at any minute," she said. "That's all that's left before the guests start arriving."
"Oh, have you seen it?" Selphie grinned. "It looks absolutely gorgeous!"
"You bet it is!" Yuffie announced as she and Sora entered the backyard.
"And it's heavier than I thought it would be," Sora said, rolling his shoulders before collapsing into one of the lawn chairs.
"That's what happens when you commission a two-tier cake for about twenty people."
"That'll be enough right?" Olette frowned.
"No need to worry," Selphie replied. "We just have to portion it out right. Besides, if anyone tries to raise a fuss, we can send Sola to deal with them. You know how she gets when people mess with cakes as a baker herself."
The young girl in question smiled wickedly while making stabbing motions. Kairi merely let out a long sigh and facepalmed.
"Please don't encourage her," she said. "I don't want to deal with any blood at my cousin's sweet sixteen."
Everyone else started laughing with Kairi soon joining in. After that Naminé soon showed up and stood there in awe when she saw the backyard. Everyone rushed over to wish her a happy birthday as Sola ran to the front door to let the incoming guests in, directing them to the backyard. And pretty soon the party was in full swing with people chatting, lounging, or playing some of the yard games they had brought with them, and enjoying themselves while music was playing on the outdoor speakers.
An hour in, Kairi, Sola, Xion, Selphie, Sora, and Riku got everything ready for Kairi while Olette and Serah kept Naminé distracted. After one last check that everything was ready to go, Kairi, Sola, and Xion stepped up on the stage while Selphie whipped out her phone and got into a good position to start recording. Kairi grabbed the mic as guests began directing their attention towards the stage.
Once she saw Vanille and Selphie give her a thumbs up and Serah turning Naminé to face the stage, Kairi smiled and addressed the crowd.
"Is everyone enjoying themselves?"
She got cheers and whoops in response.
"Thank you, everyone, for coming to celebrate my awesome cousin's sweet sixteen! Happy birthday Naminé!"
All the guests momentarily redirected their attention to Naminé and chorused a happy birthday as well, making the blonde's face flush, hands on her cheeks as she smiled towards the ground. Kairi waited until they were done to continue.
"And here's one of my gifts to you, hope you enjoy it!"
Kairi lightly tapped her foot as the beat started, aware that Xion and Sola were tapping along with her.
My head spins round and round
I can't remember what I did last night
(Did last night)
I can't recall a thing
It must have been over a stupid fight
(A stupid fight)
Oh no what you say
Don't stop anyway
What you say
What what you say
Ah ah don't you dare
Hah Hah I don't care
What you say
What what you say
During their practiced dance routine, Kairi could make out the images of various guests dancing along. Some of which included Naminé, Yuffie, Serah. She even caught a glimpse of Selphie trying hard not to dance since she was still recording. Something that Kairi did find a bit odd since Olette had a video camera set up to record everything fine, leaving her to happily dance along without any worries about ruining the recording.
Kairi just shrugged it off as she continued to perform.
You will hear me when I come
When I pop my cherry gum
I will never stop pop
Never ever stop pop
You will hear me when I come
When I pop my cherry gum
I will never stop pop
Never ever stop pop
So oh oh oh oh oh
A taste so sweet
I can't get enough
So here we go
Oh oh oh oh oh
A taste so sweet
I can't get enough
I can't resist to show
I think that something is about to blow
(A-about to blow)
If pink will blue on you
You better move, there's nothing you can do
(You can do)
Oh no what you say
Don't stop anyway
What you say
What what you say
Ah Ah don't you dare
Hah hah I don't care
What you say
What what you say
You will hear me when I come
When I pop my cherry gum
I will never stop pop
Never ever stop pop
You will hear me when I come
When I pop my cherry gum
I will never stop pop
Never ever stop pop
So oh oh oh oh oh
A taste so sweet
I can't get enough
So here we go
Oh oh oh oh oh
A taste so sweet
I can't get enough
Ah ah what you say
No no anyway
Go go
Go go
Hah hah what you say
No no anyway
Go go
Go go
You will hear me when I come
When I pop my cherry gum
I will never stop pop
Never ever stop
(What you say)
(What what you say)
(What you say)
(What what you say)
You will hear me when I come
When I pop my cherry gum
I will never stop pop
Never ever stop pop
You will hear me when I come
When I pop my cherry gum
I will never stop pop
Never ever stop pop
So oh oh oh oh oh
A taste so sweet
I can't get enough
So here we go
Oh oh oh oh oh
A taste so sweet I can't get enough
*POP*
Kairi smiled and waved at the crowd. Laughing at the size of the actual bubble gum bubble Sola managed to blow and pop right as the song ended. Which, of course, left Sola with a face covered with popped bubble gum. Xion joined in her laughter as Sola flashed some peace signs to the crowd, signifying that she was alright while the two sisters left the stage to remove the gum.
"Hope you all enjoyed and happy birthday again Naminé!" Kairi waved before exiting the stage.
"Oh my gosh, that was great!" Selphie squealed as she tackled the girl into a hug. "And you should see the comments on the Livestream of it!"
"Livestream?" Sora asked as he came over with Riku, tilting his head in confusion.
Selphie grinned as she presented her phone to all of them. The three looked to see she had titled it "Birthday Performance by Sing Your Heart Out Contestant Kairi Toya" and Kairi's eyes bulged at the number of views the stream had gotten.
Riku let out a whistle and patted Kairi on the shoulder. "Not bad."
"Hey, this could help your chances in the competition actually," Sora smiled. "More popularity could help you later on."
"If you say so," Kairi mumbled. "But still, I didn't think I'd already been this popular."
"You're also forgetting your performance at the Song Royale about a month ago," Riku shrugged. "Some people are still talking about that too."
Kairi felt her face blush a bit at that memory. Truth be told, she still hadn't mentioned to Sora or Sola yet the events that day before heading to the Song Royale. Selphie just giggled and waved her embarrassment off, probably remembering the same thing. Thankfully the conversation stirred towards the party as they rejoined the others.
Eventually, Sola came back, face free from gum, with Xion, Olette, and Yuffie as they brought out the cake. Naminé's eyes went wide at the sight of it as everyone started to sing her happy birthday. After fidgeting with her hands as everyone sang, the blonde closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and blew out the candles. Cheers erupted from the crowd along with some popping some confetti poppers they had brought, electing some surprised yelps from a few guests.
While helping to pass out proportioned pieces of cake, Kairi chatted with Naminé and Sola. So far, the topic was the upcoming Sing Your Heart Out round that was at the end of the week.
"Thankfully Sola managed to help me out with my song choice," Kairi smiled. "Not to mention helping to make my outfit."
The girl in question smiled through a mouthful of cake.
"I can't wait to see it," Naminé grinned. "If it's anything like the performance you just did, I'm sure you'll get through to the next round."
"I hope so," Kairi laughed. "But I guess we'll find out, yeah? Oh, that reminds me, I gotta remember to tell Song on Onli. The last time we talked was before I figured out my song choice."
"Well, you can tell him now. Sora's right over there."
A record scratch played out in Kairi's head as her mind tried to process what Naminé said and what it was implying. Sora? Sora was Song? There was no way. After all, what were the odds? And yet, the more she thought about it, the more the puzzle pieces seemed to fit. Without really thinking, the redhead glanced over her cousin's shoulder to look at the brunet who was currently trapped in a headlock by Terra, who was casually chatting with Ventus and Axel, completely ignoring Sora's protests and struggles to get free.
Kairi turned her attention back to Naminé and Sola, who were both giving her a sly smile. "Wait, does he know?" she asked.
Sola shook her head. Kairi swirled her cup and stared at the brightly colored punch, seeing her conflicted face staring back at her.
"What? Don't want to go over and ask?" Naminé asked.
Kairi thought about this for a moment before shaking her head.
"No, I will. Just...not yet." Kairi looked back up with a small smile. "I want to keep him guessing a bit longer."
Sola gave a smirk as she signed, Oh yeah, keep Prince Charming guessing who his Cinderella is.
"T-That's not it!" Kairi protested, her cheeks heating up. "I just...where did you get an idea like that?"
Can't deny there's chemistry between you two, Sola replied with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
"Oh come on," Kairi huffed. "I just found out he's the same guy I've been talking to online. You're getting far too ahead of yourself."
"Well, going back to the original topic," Naminé said, rocking on her heels. "I still can't believe that what happened at my tenth birthday party helped you figure out what to do. Oh my god, all the years I tried to forget my embarrassment from that day and you use part of it for inspiration for your performance."
"Wait, what happened on your tenth birthday?" Olette asked, walking over with Selphie, Pence, and Xion trailing behind her.
"Party disaster?" Pence asked, filling his plate up with some more finger sandwiches.
"Mmm not exactly," Kairi snickered. "Turns out some of the invites got the wrong time printed on them so nearly everyone was late."
Naminé nodded. "And this one here," pointing to Kairi, "was the only one to show up on time. So after waiting an hour she makes the marvelous idea to just have a part between the two of us."
"Think of all the cake we were going to have to ourselves!" Kairi grinned.
"And for whatever reason my parents just let it happen. So queue half an hour later, the two of us are already in the middle of smashing the piñata open since we decided to go ahead and get started. Which of course led to some awkward explaining and oh, god, the awkwardness that lingered for so long afterward."
"Aw, that's hilarious," Xion laughed. "Glad that didn't happen this time, eh?"
"Oh, I definitely developed a small anxiety about making sure I tell people the correct time for stuff," the blonde chuckled. "Plus I still get to partially blame Kairi for it."
Said girl blew a raspberry at her cousin causing laughter all around.
The rest of the party was uneventful, but still enjoyable after that. Once all the guests left, Kairi and the others began the task of cleaning up, even having to shoo Naminé away from helping. Everyone had to send Sola to escort her out of the house and take a trip to Arts and Crafts Haven to indulge in new art supplies.
By the time they came back two hours later, the clean-up was done and everyone was just chilling out. Placing the bag of her new supplies next to her, Naminé sat down on the outdoor sofa between Roxas and Ventus. Kairi did notice the fact that Roxas barely moved while Naminé sat almost right next to him while Ventus made room. She even caught Ventus's raised eyebrows when their eyes met before the two gave a knowing smile to each other.
"Oh, oh! Kairi! Check it out! Miranda commented on the Livestream of your performance!" Selphie squealed, waving her phone around.
"Oh yeah? What'd she say?" Kairi asked.
"She said, 'Awesome performance. I'd expect nothing less from you after your stellar performance in the first round! Can't wait to see what you come up with in the second round! Best wishes!'"
"That's right, have you gotten everything ready for the second round?" Aqua asked.
"Well, Sola says we need to do some more fitting before my outfit is ready and I'm still working on the choreography. I got most of it down but still need a bit more work," Kairi smiled.
"At least the next Song Royale is coming up soon," Sora added. "That's always good practice and publicity."
"Then I guess we can all look forward to future performances by our rising star!" Selphie grinned, holding up her phone in cheer, causing everyone to laugh and cheer with her.
Finally, getting around to finishing it and getting the drama starting.