Sora went to sleep as soon as he got home, regardless of the earliness. waking up a little earlier than he would have liked.

His eyes opened as soon as the light peeked in his window. "Mm," he murmured, closing his eyes and turning onto his side to avoid it. His hand moved forward, grasping but finding nothing. He opened his eyes in confusion. "Riku?" he called, to no one, he soon realized. "Ah," he breathed, surprised at himself.

Curling forward, he hugged his arms around himself. Is that weird?, he chuckled dryly.

"I'm just worried," he declared, rolling over until his feet landed on the cold, wooden floor.

Quickly splashing water in his face and throwing on a mismatched outfit, he ran out the door.

Armed with all of Riku's favorites from the bakery, Sora gripped the bag tightly for courage, pressing the doorbell.

Nothing, he noted, minutes passing. Looking down, he noticed that the bag had been horribly mangled from his clutches.

His head drooped forward, unable to withstand the weight of being ignored.

"Riku," he breathed, eyes twitching from the threat of tears.

"K-Kairi," he supplied, clenching his eyes shut and focusing on her smile.

"I'll go see Kairi," he resolved, running off.

Riku groaned, being once again roused by the buzzer. Not like I'd been asleep anyway, he sighed.

Sitting up, he made no attempt to tidy his unruly hair.

He's out there, waiting, again.

What time even is it?, he wondered, looking at the clock. His eyes widened. This is pretty early for him, he smiled, but quickly forced the corners of his mouth down.

Is shutting myself away really working?, he thought hazily.

His body ached, his stomach was empty and his head was cloudy.

This is no good, he sighed, grabbing the bag from the table.

Opening it, he took out a stale, star-shaped pastry. My favorite, he registered sadly, bringing it to his mouth. It wasn't as soft as normal, being day-old dough, but the almond filling gave a welcome respite to his dry mouth. Closing his eyes, he imagined sharing it with Sora. The boy's thankful smile made his heart ache.

He put the pastry back down on the table, his hand grazing the paper as he did so.

Kairi heard a knock on her door from the kitchen, just as she was about to make breakfast.

"Hm?" she wondered aloud, making her way there.

Upon opening the door, Sora practically leapt in, out of breath.

"Sora?" she called to the boy now sloped and panting. "Did you run here?"

"Ha," he breathed, followed by an even breathier "ha". "Just a morning run."

"But you hate running," she remarked.

"Oh, um," he bent down to remove his shoes, bounding up to greet her. "I brought breakfast!"

She blinked at both him and the paper bag. Both looked like they had seen better days.

"Sora," she began.

He looked at her with a smile so brittle, she held her breath.

"Let's go sit down," she cooed. "I'll make milk tea."

Sora fidgeted with his hands down at the sides of his chair, while his feet flopped in the air. He focused on their motions. Up, down. Up, down.

Kairi swiftly brought out one, large colorful plate for the sweets, followed by the mouse teacups. Cheerfully, she filled them to the brim with a milky black tea.

"What kinds did you get?" she wondered, sitting down and removing them from the bag carefully. There, she found a lavender moon, a custard ball, an almond star and a mango sun.

"These are what Riku's always eating for breakfast," she remarked.

Sora quickly grabbed the sun, stuffing his mouth full in one motion.

Kairi forced her mouth to resemble a smile. "Sora," she began.

He didn't face her, exaggeratedly pretending to chew.

"How's Riku?" she hazarded. "You went to see him, right?"

Chew, chew, chew.

She waited, eyebrows furrowing. "Sora."

Sora's head dropped from her stern tone. Feeling her stare bearing into him, he swallowed the pastry whole, washing it down with the chilled tea. Gulp.

He faced her, exhaustion worn into his features.

"Sora," Kairi continued. "How is he?"

"I don't know," he sighed, looking away. "He won't answer."

Kairi sat up, walking to her phone. "I'm going to call him."

"But, he can't answer the phone," Sora said, exasperated.

She cocked her head. "If he picks up, that means he's there."

Sora hung his head. "Oh, yeah," he breathed, ashamed to meet her gaze. "That's true."

She dialed, waiting. Her face was stern when she hung up. "He didn't pick up," she stated.

Sora squirmed, unsure of what to do.

"Sora," Kairi called, pulling him up and feeling his hand twitch in response.

"Talk to me," she pleaded.

"I," he stuttered, his expression pained. "I'm really worried about Riku," he cried.

She pulled the broken boy into a hug, patting his back as he quaked with whimpers. "Why didn't you talk to me about it?" she coaxed him.

"I," he sniffled. "I don't, know what talking," he took another hurried breath. "Would do."

"It would help you feel better," she reassured him.

"I can't feel better, until, until I can talk to him," he breathed.

"Come on, let's go to the couch," she offered sweetly, leading him there as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

He practically fell down, his body leaning limp against the plush cushions.

"Sora," Kairi called, shaking his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry to ask about it, but we can't really avoid this topic anymore."

"I'm sorry," Sora stated lifelessly, too tired to cry further. "I didn't," he shuddered. "I didn't want to think about it."

She smiled sadly, leaving her hand on his shoulder. "So that's why you've been coming over so much lately."

He shook his head, turning to her. "No, I," he exclaimed. "I like being around you, Kairi."

Kairi's features hardened. "Sora, I like you," she declared.

"I like you, too," he smiled weakly.

She shook her head. "No, Sora," she corrected him. "I like you a lot."

He blinked, taking long moments to take in her words. His eyes widened.

"Oh," he breathed.

"I've waited for you to say it, all this time," she smiled sadly. "I really thought that when you two came back that, that, finally, we could-"

"I like you too," Sora interrupted, a snarl masquerading as a smile upon his lips.

"Do you?" she asked, looking down sadly. He tilted his head, staring at her unsurely.

"I knew, you know," she breathed, facing him. "That you've been avoiding things by hanging around me."

He moved to open his mouth, but no sound came out.

"I've known you two for as long as I can remember," she smiled bitterly. "I know when you're acting differently. And you both have been different since coming home, but, two days ago was," she sighed. "Something I haven't seen since I first came to this island."

Sora could only look on, listening.

"You two were so close, and I was lonely," she uttered. "I wanted to be near you. And when you seemed to want the same," she smiled, reminiscing. "I was so happy. We were like that for what felt like forever."

"But," her smile faded. "It feels different now."

Sora spoke up. "Nothing is different," he asserted. His face took on a fearful expression. "I haven't, changed."

Kairi smiled at him. "I can't tell you what you feel, but," she continued. "I know what I feel."

He tilted his head, prompting her to go on.

"Being around you makes every interaction so scary," she breathed. "And yet exciting all the same." She put her hands together over her heart and closed her eyes thoughtfully. "There's this disruption in my heart." Her expression was serene. "I wonder, what did that action mean? What did that word mean?" She opened her eyes, smiling at him contentedly. "I overanalyze everything that happens between us."

Sora gulped.

"Sora," she called, resolutely. "You said before that you don't have to think while you're around me."

He shook. "I mean, isn't that good?" he asked. "That means our relationship is so solid that we can both be ourselves?"

"That's friendship, Sora, yes," she explained to him gently. "I'm talking about love."

"L, love?" he stammered.

"Yes, that's what this feeling is," she nodded. "Sora, what do you feel?"

"I've always liked you," he blurted without thinking.

She responded with a frown, which caused him to shrink back in surprise. "What's wrong?", he asked, voice hushed.

Kairi's eyebrows creased, her tone melancholic. "Hearts can change, you know," she murmured.

"No, I," Sora stumbled. "I-"

"Did you notice?" she asked, interrupting his flow. "I've been touching you more," she reached out to take his hand in hers, clutching it firmly.

Sora nodded. "I", he paused. "I did notice." His hand didn't move.

She stared at it for long seconds before moving on. "You don't push me away, but you also never return the action," she observed flatly.

"Huh?"

"You don't hold my hand back," she smiled dejectedly.

His features creased.

"Sora," she carried on, not wanting to hear what he had to say. "I've been holding back around you."

He faced her, uncertainty plain to see.

"I'm actually kind of jealous of how close you and Riku are," she muttered.

"What?" Sora balked. "Riku and I never talk about stuff!" he exclaimed. "I want to talk to him like I can talk to you," he stated sadly.

"Come on, Sora," she forcibly chuckled. "You didn't talk to me about this," she mumbled quietly. "And, you of all people know that hearts are different."

He stared at her.

"Riku has difficulty talking about his feelings, but if you notice," she smiled. "He shows them with his actions."

Sora's eyebrows furrowed.

"If you want to talk to him," she continued. "You first have to try and notice his heart." She removed her hand from Sora's, placing it over her own once again. "Notice what he's saying without words, too."

Sora looked down, mulling it over. "Notice what he's saying without words…"

The red-headed girl nodded. "He's very honest with his actions," she chuckled. "It's cute."

"C, cute," Sora stuttered, a blush coloring his cheeks.

"Sora," she called, snapping him out of his delirium.

"I need you to think about your own feelings. Once you've done that," she softened her expression. "Maybe we can talk about this again."

He kept looking down, hesitating from her gaze, but nodded slowly in recognition.

"Good," she breathed, adding her usual energy back into her grin.

"Now," she stood up. "You should go check on Riku."

Sora moved to get up, but his face was locked in bewilderment. "Are you sure?", he asked. "You look like you're sad."

"I'm okay," she lied.

"Okay," Sora agreed, taking Kairi at her word. His face perked up. "Don't you want to come too?"

"I doubt he wants to see me," she sighed.

Sora looked down. So she knows.

"Hey," she called out to him. "Don't look so down." He stepped back when that familiar finger was wagging disapprovingly in his face. "You have an amazing girl who likes you," she huffed. "So you better not dare be sad."

Sora's expression unfurled, and he gave her a soft grin. "Yeah," he breathed. "I won't."

He put two of the remaining three pastries back into the bag, and slipped on his shoes.

Before leaving, he turned to her, plastering one final grin on his face. "Thanks, Kairi," he offered, running off.

Kairi waved, but he was already gone. After closing the door, she slowly made her way to her bedroom, opening her box of treasures from underneath the bed. There, she found the sparkling star charm. Tilting it in her hands so that it caught the light, its shimmers brought her back to that sunset evening.

"Don't ever change," the younger her told the boy who just left. His smile reassured her that he would never try to.

"But you did," the her of now couldn't help but say.

She let her smile fall, feeling suddenly that this space was much too big and lonesome for any one person.

The boy with brown tufts was running as quickly as his legs would take him.

Kairi, she, he thought despite himself. She likes me.

How do I feel?