Okay, moving along to chapter two! I'm starting to enjoy writing about this. I'm still indecisive on who's going to get with whom, but who knows what direction it'll go in.
Note: This chapter will be from Riku's POV, but it's still in third person. It'll start with the events of the first chapter, but since I plan for a longer chapter, the story is still going to move right along. When there's a ***, it means there is a POV change.
Riku walked along the beach in the hot, midday sun. Sora had said to him something about having to talk to Kairi instead of meeting him here, as they usually did.
That left him with a horrible feeling in his stomach, with his heart aching with jealousy.
"He likes her. He likes Kairi and there's nothing you can do about it," he muttered to himself. It didn't make the pain go away, but it cost him from being hurt by thinking that there was a chance that Sora would ever like him, and then having that hope crushed.
He sighed to himself, and started to feel a little down. He decided to see if Sora was done with his "talk" with Kairi, and maybe would have some time alone with him. At least he still had the position as Sora's best friend. He often told himself that it would be enough to have that closeness, but sometimes it wasn't. There were times when the realization hit too hard, every time he saw Sora with that look in his eyes whenever they'd bring up the subject of Kairi…
Kairi. He stopped in mid step. She was the cause of all of this. No, wait, she wasn't. It's not her fault how Sora felt about her. He shouldn't take his frustration out on her. She was, after all, his friend, and a very good one. If only Sora didn't like her! He wouldn't care if Sora didn't have feelings for him. Everything would be easier to deal with if he didn't have to watch Sora love another.
He sighed, and decided to stop thinking about it. He'd talk to Sora, and would at least feel like he meant something to him, as long as he didn't talk about Kairi for once. As he continued walking, he saw two people standing awfully close together. He shaded the sun out of his eyes, and saw that it was none other than Sora and Kairi.
::Don't look. Whatever you do, just don't look,:: he tried to think to himself. But he could not take his eyes off of them. He saw Sora lean over and tilt Kairi's head up. That same horrible feeling rose up again in his chest, as he watched Sora slowly lean over to try to kiss Kairi.
Suddenly, Riku had an idea. He would sneak up on them before they could do anything, and tease Sora about what he was doing with Kairi. Since he didn't really want to run into them in the first place, because he knew what Sora wanted to talk to Kairi about, he could take advantage of his current situation. At least he would have the satisfaction to delay anything serious going on between them, and it would only seem natural that he being Sora's best friend would tease him about that, especially if he was caught.
"So this is what you've been up to!" he yelled out.
Sora jumped, and looked towards Riku. His face was bright red, and his eyes were wide with shock. Riku dazed out for a bit, as he saw how adorable Sora looked when he was blushing, with those beautiful eyes peering at him, his pretty face…
Riku shook his head a little, and try to stay focused. He realized that Sora was trying to speak to him. Plus he shouldn't be thinking about Sora like that, since it was obvious that Kairi was now his girlfriend.
"Riku! Didn't see you there…" Sora muttered, as he put a hand behind his head. Kairi was looking away, and was also blushing. Riku grinned at Sora.
"Don't let me interrupt you, in whatever you two were doing," he said, while looking directly at Sora. He seemed to get the message from Riku, and blushed even more.
"It wasn't anything like that!" Sora protested.
Sora blushed (if possible) even MORE, and Riku could hear Kairi's giggle in the back round.
He twitched a little bit. That giggle irked him for some reason.
"Go on ahead, Sora. You don't have to tell your best friend what you were doing," he said more harshly than he intended. The cause was probably from him getting annoyed. He began to walk away, and saw Sora's hurt face. That made him feel worse.
He also caught the suspecting look from Kairi. A horrified feeling fell into the pit of his stomach. Did she know? Did she suspect anything? If she did, that would cause more problems. She was not as stupid as she let on, so she might be able to find something like that out.
***
That night, Sora couldn't sleep. He had spent the whole rest of the day with Kairi, and while he enjoyed most of it, (especially when they got a little more romantic than usual ^.~) he couldn't help but feel terrible for Riku. He didn't even get a chance to talk to him. He hoped that Riku would still be outside on the island, since he had often seen him there. Sometimes, when the nights were too hot, he had watched him from his house. It seemed a little weird, because the only people you're really suppose to watch like that are the ones you love…and he was pretty sure he didn't have feelings for Riku. After all, it would be a little strange to like his best friend in that way. Plus, he was sure that Riku didn't like him in return…especially if he was so jealous that they had gotten together.
:: But what if he's jealous of Kairi? What if the reason he was so jealous today was because of you,:: said an annoying voice in the back of his head. Sora thought that was ridiculous, and immediately shook that thought off as he began walking out of his house.
But the thoughts of Riku possibly liking him kept returning. It did seem somewhat that he could have liked him. It was true that Riku paid more attention to him than anyone else he knew…even Kairi, and he even liked her! But it still made no SENSE that Riku would like him if he already had someone he liked.
But maybe, he thought to himself as he made his way outside, maybe Riku was just trying to be competitive with him, to see if he could make Kairi like him more. Or maybe he was trying to make Kairi like him instead of Sora, and then he would go after RIKU instead! The last thought was so ridiculous that Sora laughed to himself. There'd be no way that Riku would use Kairi to get to him.
He walked further out to the beach, and indeed, he could see the silhouette of Riku sitting on the oasis with the paopu tree growing at an awkward angle out of it. As he approached, he noticed how the silver of the moonlight (NOTE: I have no clue if there was a moon, but let's just pretend) enhanced his already silver hair, and made it look like it was glowing. A few strands of hair fell loose as a breeze blew towards him. His bangs shifted to the side slightly, and his brilliant green eyes were staring far away. The rays of moonlight shone on his beautiful face, and almost made him seem angelic.
"He's really pretty…" Sora spoke out loud, then let out a squeak and covered his mouth. That squeak got Riku's attention.
"Sora?" he asked, and looked over in the direction of where he was standing.
"How'd you know it was me?" Sora asked a little disgruntled about the fact that he had spoken out loud without thinking.
"I heard a squeak, and I knew it had to be you," answered Riku smugly.
"Thanks," Sora grumbled.
Riku jumped down from the oasis, and walked closer to Sora. As he approached, Sora's heart began to beat faster. He felt that all too familiar feeling in his stomach, the feeling he had whenever he was around Kairi…
Sora shook his head rapidly, in an attempt to chase away the feeling. Luckily, it did, until Riku spoke to him.
"So, what'd you come out here for? Were you not able to sleep?" he asked him.
"I…was…well…no…I couldn't sleep," Sora mumbled. His heart began pounding so hard against his chest that he thought it would pop out. Something about Riku's voice sent shivers down his spine.
"Are you all right?" Riku said, and leaned his head towards Sora's face. Sora blushed deeply, and was thankful that it was dark.
"I-I'm okay," he said, trying to make his voice steady.
Riku backed away, seeing that Sora was uncomfortable. He didn't seem pleased about this, but Sora was grateful that he did so. He didn't understand why he felt this way!
"Um, Riku? I really need to ask you something," Sora said.
"What is it?"
"Do you like me?" Sora asked, and then gasped. He hadn't a clue why he blurted that out.
"D-do I like…you?" Riku said nervously. He was usually never shaken up by anything, and Sora was surprised by his reaction.
"Woah! I mean, do you, um, like Kairi?" he asked, and hoped that his mistake would be forgotten, very quickly.
Riku seemed a little relieved too, much to Sora's surprise. Why was he acting so strangely?
"No…no I don't," Riku said, and took a deep breath.
Sora was in shock. He was almost one hundred percent sure that Riku liked Kairi. He thought that was the reason Riku became so jealous that afternoon.
His breathing became heavy, and he started sweating. He couldn't…he just couldn't…that can't be the reason…
Riku saw Sora's frightened expression, and put a hand on his shoulder. Sora jumped, but was still grateful for the friendly touch…friendly…
"You okay, Sora?" Riku asked with concern.
"I…I'm not sure…" Sora breathed…and then collapsed in Riku's arms.
~***~
Ending notes: I'm leaning toward SoraxRiku, but I'll see where the story goes. In the meantime, Sora needs to come out of the closet already ^^.