Crowned
Hearts Chapter Eleven
By Blue Dragon
The day I met you
made a change I finally found compassion My heart was right within
your range My heart had known no passion
We laughed and talked
and would always smile Our hearts were light with bliss We'd only
part for a little while But yet to share a kiss
All I want now
is to stay with you But now my heart's still and lonely I only hope
you loved me too My angel and my only.
Riku felt a wave of
party when he went into the wonderful gym, where he looked upon the
brilliant lights and decorations that was what he had been dreading,
but now wanted to dive into. He was no in Crowned Hearts, and the
girl of his dreams by his side.
Of course it was traditional
at these dances to formally introduce yourself to anyone you didn't
know and to mingle in on certain sides of the room divided by
gender.
The room had no light, and therefore was black with
only lights from the disco ball and occasionally from the posted
lamps. Mr. Barzhad was the D. J., but was of course supervised by
staff because he made continuous attempts to put in songs from 'The
Bouncer'.
The doors opened, and both Riku and Lisa turned away
from the currently empty dance floor to find Sora, Tidus, Wakka,
Lulu, Selphie, and Kairi in a friendly group.
Sora looked at
Lisa and smiled.
"Hey. You must be Lisa. I'm Sora"
The
group introduced themselves except for Lulu who decided at the last
minute that she would let her stoic attitude get in the way of any
socialization.
Riku looked on at the right side of the room,
boys' standby section.
"Guys?" he prompted.
They
broke socialization and Tidus Wakka and Sora joined Riku's
position.
"This is where we 'mingle', some weird custom.
The couples will be ready to dance in like, five minutes," Riku
explained to Lisa.
"Okay, I look forward too it" she
said with a smile that partially hypnotized her partner.
Lisa
left to the left side of the room, answering questions that Selphie
and Kairi were asking. Lulu was scarcely visible due to her
completely black dress.
When Riku sat down at one of the
marble table he was bombarded with questions from his male
peers.
"Whoa, I didn't know you were that
involved."
Riku looked at Sora strangely.
"What
are you talking about?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Tidus,
Wakka, you guys saw the way they looked at each other. It was like
Riku was glowing!"
"Really?"
Tidus and
Wakka nodded their heads.
"Maybe it just seems weird
because we've never seen Riku that happy?" Tidus
suggested.
Riku only shrugged his shoulders. The plain truth
was that that was probably the reason. He put his head on the table
and had a neutral look.
"See!" Wakka pointed. "You
around her, you glow. Otherwise your just big ol' rock hard Riku
again. What is it about you?"
Riku really didn't feel
like answering, but gave it a shot.
"You guys ever wonder
why I'm not always as happy as you? Sure I'm happy sometimes, but not
always. And one reason may because of a hole that developed in my
heart after a while when I got older. Lisa is like something that
fills that. That's why being around her makes me happy. And I hope
that being around her more and more can permanently fill the
hole"
Riku's friends just blinked for a while.
"Whoa
man, dat's deep" Wakka finally said.
Riku
shrugged.
"Well in that case, it sounds like the best
thing that ever happened to you, buddy. I'm happy!" Sora held up
his hand for a high-five.
Riku hesitated, smiled, and then
slapped it.
The time for music had come, and the performers
lined up for a series of slow and fast dances.
"They sing
three songs every year, the last one is a hit. I'm saving my energy
for that" Riku stated.
As it turned out, previous
arrangements had already been made.
The first performer, Faye
Wong, began a song called Eyes on Me. Riku sat down and listened to
the whole thing, hoping that it would keep his mind off of what was
only two songs away. This had seemed like the actual climax in
Crowned Hearts that he had been afraid to reach.
"Where
are you from?" Selphie asked Lisa.
"The Sunny
District of the islands, the eastern area"
Sunny District
was on the opposite side of where Sora and his friends lived.
"And
you met Riku on the beach? That must have been cool" Kairi
casually tried to make conversation, to ease the mood.
"He
probably didn't notice it, but he looked lonely, and pretty sad. But
he didn't talk that way, it was as if he felt some way that even he
wasn't conscious of"
Selphie and Kairi exchanged worried
glances. Lulu remained sober.
"Do you think Kairi and I
haven't been paying much attention to him? He did seem a little sad
about not having a girlfriend, now that I look at it. But he's been a
bit happier, and more willing to do fun stuff after he met
you."
Lisa was flattered to hear that she was doing such
things. Then she remembered what would happen on the dance floor and
the feeling was nullified.
The next singer for middle class
students named Rikki stepped up to the stage when Faye finished. Her
song was in Japanese. Suteki da Ne was a song perfect for the middle
class lovers of Destiny Islands High School.
"I'm
tempted to dance right now," Tidus said, shifting in his
seat.
"Don't worry, the very last song is meant for us,
the upper class," Sora said.
Riku lost all signs of
anxiousness and began to look happy. He was actually starting to feel
good that he could have a good long dance, and get this over with. He
could go right back to his normal life. He had even forgotten about
the announcements of the Crowned Hearts of the dance.
Rikki
finished, and the final diva stepped up to the podium. The youngest
of them all, Utada Hikaru.
Tidus, Wakka, Sora, and Riku along
with about twenty-five others walked over to the other side across
the center floor, which was once again empty.
In a flurry
girls that had their dates were being asked to dance. Riku's friends
had gotten it over with. Now his heart pounded in his rib
cage.
"Lisa?"
She smiled, stood up and took
his hand. Simple and Clean was the song, the mood was clear. It was
to be a slow five-step dance.
Sora gave him a thumbs-up as he
prepared to dance with Kairi. It was almost time.
Riku put his
arms around her waist and she put hers on his neck, sending a
familiar tingle of electricity through him.
The diva began her
lyrics that Riku soon knew had been perfect. He noticed the scent of
white roses on her very white clothing.
He was now looking
into her eyes as he slowly danced, with her looking back at him. It
was then; Riku knew he had to say something.
"Lisa. After
this, I want to see you again. I really like you, and wanted to ask
you to be my girlfriend."
At first, Lisa looked as if she
were happy. And then her hazel eyes glistened with tears.
"Why
did you have to say that Riku?"
The two hadn't noticed
that they dancing in the middle of the floor.
"Did I say
something wrong?"
She gave a sad smile.
"You've
shown you truly care. Now my purpose is filled"
"What!"
"Riku,
I'm not who you think I am. Your friends could only see me because
your thoughts and wish for love made me real"
"What
are you saying?"
"Riku, I'm not real. I'm only a
part of you. The part of you that aches for affection"
"But
I can feel you! My friends saw you!"
"It is
rewritten. Now they don't remember me ever existing. As a matter of
fact, they only see you dancing with air now. Soon I'll truly be
gone. I'm so sorry."
Everyone stared in pity
at poor Riku, who was dancing with air, he was so
lonely.
"Lisa!"
"Riku.
Look"
She was disappearing.
"I can ask them
about you!"
"They won't remember. You have proven
you could love, now I have no choice. I want to stay with you Riku,
but I-"
Slowly she peeled out of existence and
disappeared in a shower of crystal shards that disappeared just as
Utada Hikaru finished her song.
"I can't lose you!"
he yelled into the sky.
"Is he talking to God
or what?" Jerris asked.
Riku fell, unable to
control the tears. It couldn't end that way. He could even still
smell the perfume on his shoulder. The white rose.
In anger he
ran out of the gym to an unknown location, sounds of sympathy
following.
Mr. Barzhad got to the podium.
"Ladies
and gentlemen, Riku and his non-existent date have been voted
'Crowned Hearts'"
