'Don't want no one to ache; Oh, to be drunk and forgetful. To get out of
this unscathed; Oh, to be free and inhuman.'
Sora suddenly noticed that Riku had subconsciously grabbed his hand. He blushed slightly and looked sideways at the other. "Maybe we shouldn't be holding hands just yet." He whispered, barely audible.
Riku smirked and released him, letting their hands fall limply. "Sure." They continued down the jammed hallway in companionable silence. Sora smiled to himself. If they weren't conspicuous, maybe they could keep this up. But then there was Kairi to deal with. Kairi. Dammit.
To tell the truth, he'd be thinking about dropping her for a while. His lethargic tone on the phone the previous night was part of a boredom act he'd been putting on for her. Maybe if he weren't entertaining enough for her then she'd leave on her own. But judging by her attitude, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He wished he could hurry up and find a way to get rid of her. If he didn't, all the emotions boiling up in him - fear, guilt, love, lust - would explode in a blind fury/panic and ruin everything. Sora wasn't good at keeping secrets, and this was eating away at his very heart, as it had been for years.
The pair entered the classroom quietly and took their seats in the back. The four friends sat in a sort of L shape: Riku in the very back, Sora in front of him and Kairi in front of Sora, with Tidus sitting in the next row on Kairi's left.
Kairi plopped down in her seat, sitting sideways so she could see Sora. He was looking a bit depressed, thinking about everything. Kairi wore a look of concern and placed her hand on her boyfriend's cheek, causing him to look up at her. "Sora, sweetie, you look upset. Are you okay?"
"Me? Upset? Nah, don't be silly. Breakfast just isn't agreeing with me, that's all." He forced a fake smile, hoping she'd let it go.
She did. "Okay. Just, tell me if anything's wrong, all right? Lately I feel like you've been hiding something from me. I'm here for you if you need to talk, Sora. I love you." She kissed his nose and turned around as Ms. Lalani started to call the class's attention.
'I love you.' Sora mentally flinched at the words. He wondered if she really meant it, or if she merely thought she did; a confusing teenage lie. He sighed quietly, opening his textbook to the ordered page.
World War II: Holocaust. Fun. Not that he didn't think that it was a horrible tragedy, but they'd learned about it every year since sixth grade. Every year the same thing: discussion, notes, horrible video of mentally disturbing images. Oh, and Anne Frank. It wasn't the Holocaust without Anne Frank. He usually zoned out during these lectures, tired of hearing 'Jewish this' and 'German that', but today he actually decided to listen. Maybe if he concentrated on schoolwork, he wouldn't go psycho over the whole him- Kairi-Riku love triangle.
"As you know, the Holocaust claimed the lives of thousands of Jews in Hitler's attempt to create an Aryan race," Ms. Lalani started. Sora slumped down. It had started. "But Jews were not the only ones who were sent to concentration camps. To further purge society of those "der Furher" deemed unworthy, people with dark skin, the physically and mentally disabled, and homosexuals were also tortured and killed."
Sora leaned forward and then back rather abruptly. That was a bit of a shock. His mind was usually in la-la land long before the other persecuted groups were mentioned. He hung his head, somewhat in shame. He was on the same list as the mentally handicapped. Perhaps this /was/ some sort of mental affliction? If it wasn't in itself, the side effects were enough to cause one.
He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and immediately knew it was Riku's. He briefly wondered if Riku was ashamed as well, but dismissed that thought and knew that his friend was only trying to comfort him. He heaved a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling with the movement. The hand began to massage him gently and Sora leaned into it. He tilted his head far back to look at Riku upside-down. 'Thank you,' he mouthed silently, smiling. Riku smiled back, ruffling Sora's hair a bit before the younger boy sat back up.
Sora sat in a depressed stupor for the rest of the lecture, barely noticing the withdrawal of Riku's hand. He sighed reluctantly as a worksheet was passed back. 'I /hate/ these things.' He thought, staring down at the page of at least twenty questions which each required four-sentence answers. Thankfully, though, Ms. Lalani didn't mind if the students worked together, so Sora turned sideways in his chair, laying his paper on Riku's desk. They usually worked this way, since Riku was a bit of a history buff. Tidus moved back a seat and Kairi took the empty seat behind him so that they now sat in a square.
"Alright, let's see, 'What was Hitler called by the German people and what did it mean in English?'" Tidus lazily recited. All eyes shifted to Riku and he couldn't help but smirk. Oh, how they looked up to him.
"It was 'der Furher,' which meant 'the Leader.' Honestly, guys, haven't you paid attention at /all/?" His smirk turned into a grin.
"Yes, but we know you pay closer attention." Kairi smiled back at him.
"Not really. I just remember this stuff. After all, we've learned about it /every year/." Riku returned.
"No, you're just a genius." Sora smiled playfully, trying to pull himself out of his bad mood.
"And you're an idiot." Riku smiled, ruffling Sora's hair again.
"Hey! No I'm not! Laziness is a choice." Sora laughed, batting Riku's hand away.
"Are you two gonna flirt all day or are we actually going to get some work done?" Tidus sighed.
"No! We shall continue to flirt! Riku, have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are in this harsh fluorescent lighting?" Sora said with an over- dramatic tone.
"Why thank you, love. Did you know that you are perhaps the most attractive boy at this school? Next to me, of course." Riku said in the same playfully dramatic voice.
Sora sighed wistfully, reaching out to hug his secret boyfriend. "I love you!"
"I love you too!" They loosely embraced, Tidus and Kairi snickering next to them. Kairi let out a mock gasp.
"Sora! I thought you loved me! How long has this been going on?" She giggled.
'If you only knew,' Sora smiled mentally, the checked his watch. "About three minutes." The four of them laughed quietly, then toned it down when Ms. Lalani shot them a disapproving glare.
"So, anyway, question numero dos." Tidus refocused them on the worksheet.
None of this seemed strange to them. Riku and Sora regularly joked about being a couple. Sometimes Riku and Kairi joked that they were together, or Kairi and Tidus, or - well, it was just a game they all played. It comes with being friends since /forever/. When the bell rang, the group hurried to finish the last question before depositing their work on Ms. Lalani's desk. Now they would head their separate ways to their elective classes. Sora had Drawing and Painting II, while Riku had Driver's Ed (though it wasn't like anyone on Destiny Islands really drove. It was a status thing. The school would've been better off offering a boating class). Sora was incredibly tempted to kiss Riku goodbye when they were about to part, but everyone would see, so he didn't.
The pair waved goodbye to each other as Sora entered the nearly empty art room.
'Truth is a whisper and only a choice. Nobody hears above this noise.'
Sora suddenly noticed that Riku had subconsciously grabbed his hand. He blushed slightly and looked sideways at the other. "Maybe we shouldn't be holding hands just yet." He whispered, barely audible.
Riku smirked and released him, letting their hands fall limply. "Sure." They continued down the jammed hallway in companionable silence. Sora smiled to himself. If they weren't conspicuous, maybe they could keep this up. But then there was Kairi to deal with. Kairi. Dammit.
To tell the truth, he'd be thinking about dropping her for a while. His lethargic tone on the phone the previous night was part of a boredom act he'd been putting on for her. Maybe if he weren't entertaining enough for her then she'd leave on her own. But judging by her attitude, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He wished he could hurry up and find a way to get rid of her. If he didn't, all the emotions boiling up in him - fear, guilt, love, lust - would explode in a blind fury/panic and ruin everything. Sora wasn't good at keeping secrets, and this was eating away at his very heart, as it had been for years.
The pair entered the classroom quietly and took their seats in the back. The four friends sat in a sort of L shape: Riku in the very back, Sora in front of him and Kairi in front of Sora, with Tidus sitting in the next row on Kairi's left.
Kairi plopped down in her seat, sitting sideways so she could see Sora. He was looking a bit depressed, thinking about everything. Kairi wore a look of concern and placed her hand on her boyfriend's cheek, causing him to look up at her. "Sora, sweetie, you look upset. Are you okay?"
"Me? Upset? Nah, don't be silly. Breakfast just isn't agreeing with me, that's all." He forced a fake smile, hoping she'd let it go.
She did. "Okay. Just, tell me if anything's wrong, all right? Lately I feel like you've been hiding something from me. I'm here for you if you need to talk, Sora. I love you." She kissed his nose and turned around as Ms. Lalani started to call the class's attention.
'I love you.' Sora mentally flinched at the words. He wondered if she really meant it, or if she merely thought she did; a confusing teenage lie. He sighed quietly, opening his textbook to the ordered page.
World War II: Holocaust. Fun. Not that he didn't think that it was a horrible tragedy, but they'd learned about it every year since sixth grade. Every year the same thing: discussion, notes, horrible video of mentally disturbing images. Oh, and Anne Frank. It wasn't the Holocaust without Anne Frank. He usually zoned out during these lectures, tired of hearing 'Jewish this' and 'German that', but today he actually decided to listen. Maybe if he concentrated on schoolwork, he wouldn't go psycho over the whole him- Kairi-Riku love triangle.
"As you know, the Holocaust claimed the lives of thousands of Jews in Hitler's attempt to create an Aryan race," Ms. Lalani started. Sora slumped down. It had started. "But Jews were not the only ones who were sent to concentration camps. To further purge society of those "der Furher" deemed unworthy, people with dark skin, the physically and mentally disabled, and homosexuals were also tortured and killed."
Sora leaned forward and then back rather abruptly. That was a bit of a shock. His mind was usually in la-la land long before the other persecuted groups were mentioned. He hung his head, somewhat in shame. He was on the same list as the mentally handicapped. Perhaps this /was/ some sort of mental affliction? If it wasn't in itself, the side effects were enough to cause one.
He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and immediately knew it was Riku's. He briefly wondered if Riku was ashamed as well, but dismissed that thought and knew that his friend was only trying to comfort him. He heaved a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling with the movement. The hand began to massage him gently and Sora leaned into it. He tilted his head far back to look at Riku upside-down. 'Thank you,' he mouthed silently, smiling. Riku smiled back, ruffling Sora's hair a bit before the younger boy sat back up.
Sora sat in a depressed stupor for the rest of the lecture, barely noticing the withdrawal of Riku's hand. He sighed reluctantly as a worksheet was passed back. 'I /hate/ these things.' He thought, staring down at the page of at least twenty questions which each required four-sentence answers. Thankfully, though, Ms. Lalani didn't mind if the students worked together, so Sora turned sideways in his chair, laying his paper on Riku's desk. They usually worked this way, since Riku was a bit of a history buff. Tidus moved back a seat and Kairi took the empty seat behind him so that they now sat in a square.
"Alright, let's see, 'What was Hitler called by the German people and what did it mean in English?'" Tidus lazily recited. All eyes shifted to Riku and he couldn't help but smirk. Oh, how they looked up to him.
"It was 'der Furher,' which meant 'the Leader.' Honestly, guys, haven't you paid attention at /all/?" His smirk turned into a grin.
"Yes, but we know you pay closer attention." Kairi smiled back at him.
"Not really. I just remember this stuff. After all, we've learned about it /every year/." Riku returned.
"No, you're just a genius." Sora smiled playfully, trying to pull himself out of his bad mood.
"And you're an idiot." Riku smiled, ruffling Sora's hair again.
"Hey! No I'm not! Laziness is a choice." Sora laughed, batting Riku's hand away.
"Are you two gonna flirt all day or are we actually going to get some work done?" Tidus sighed.
"No! We shall continue to flirt! Riku, have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are in this harsh fluorescent lighting?" Sora said with an over- dramatic tone.
"Why thank you, love. Did you know that you are perhaps the most attractive boy at this school? Next to me, of course." Riku said in the same playfully dramatic voice.
Sora sighed wistfully, reaching out to hug his secret boyfriend. "I love you!"
"I love you too!" They loosely embraced, Tidus and Kairi snickering next to them. Kairi let out a mock gasp.
"Sora! I thought you loved me! How long has this been going on?" She giggled.
'If you only knew,' Sora smiled mentally, the checked his watch. "About three minutes." The four of them laughed quietly, then toned it down when Ms. Lalani shot them a disapproving glare.
"So, anyway, question numero dos." Tidus refocused them on the worksheet.
None of this seemed strange to them. Riku and Sora regularly joked about being a couple. Sometimes Riku and Kairi joked that they were together, or Kairi and Tidus, or - well, it was just a game they all played. It comes with being friends since /forever/. When the bell rang, the group hurried to finish the last question before depositing their work on Ms. Lalani's desk. Now they would head their separate ways to their elective classes. Sora had Drawing and Painting II, while Riku had Driver's Ed (though it wasn't like anyone on Destiny Islands really drove. It was a status thing. The school would've been better off offering a boating class). Sora was incredibly tempted to kiss Riku goodbye when they were about to part, but everyone would see, so he didn't.
The pair waved goodbye to each other as Sora entered the nearly empty art room.
'Truth is a whisper and only a choice. Nobody hears above this noise.'