SWEET MOTHER OF... T . T Note to self: When Word asks you if you want to save a document, always click yes. ...Oh, just read the A/N at the bottom of this chapter. Bah.
Warning: Language! Bad language in this chapter. Yep. Proceed with... expectancy of ... bad language. o_o; Duh. But on a more serious note, the events which happen in this chapter I do not support at all. I'm merely trying to make the situation seem as real as possible, and it has to be known that not everyone on the band would be willing to accept what Riku and Sora have with open arms. But all will end well! It always does. Read on!
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One for the Band - Chapter Ten
'Rain Magnets'
Sora floated through the remainder of his weekend in a dreamy haze. There was absolutely nothing for him to worry about whatsoever, with no color guard tryouts on his mind and with the knowledge that Riku was his, Sora felt he could take anything and everything the school week could possibly decide to dish out to him. Haha! Give me your worst, Quistis! I'll take it, no problem! Even as the brunette confidently paraded into the high school that Monday morning, he still felt everything was absolutely perfect, Riku walking beside him as he made his way towards the band hall, preparing to go into its depths for the very first time.
As usual, the main hallway was crowded, so following Riku into the less bustling atmosphere of the band hall was a more then welcome event. On top of which, Sora was delighted to find that the color guard was stationed their own set of lockers at a far end of the band hall, back by the door which led out to the school's blacktop. The band hall itself was just as it always was, upperclassmen lounging around on the floor, some seated on top of lockers, everyone smiling, laughing, and overall just having a good time surrounded by their friends in their second-home.
"So-ra! Heeey!" Yuffie waved the younger boy over from her own seat beneath her locker, the rest of the color guard seated on the floor in much the same fashion, Selphie and Kairi sitting on top of the lockers above her. The two younger girls grinned and greeted Sora in much the same perky ring, convincing Sora that indeed Yuffie was rubbing off on her younger charges. That thought alone would probably have been enough to send Sora running were it not for the two things of that particular moment. One quite obvious one was the fact that Riku was there, trumpet case in hand, raising an eyebrow at some ridiculous question Selphie was posing to him (no doubt about Sunday's Secret Place incident). The other not-so-obvious reason being the sudden presence of Quistis in the hallway and the cold stare she gave him as she stormed over, popping Sora's bubble of pure happiness with one fell swoop.
"Sora, Paine, Rikku, I need to talk to you three." The three mentioned color guard members raised an eyebrow at their captain, none of them possessing the undying respect and devotion they were usually expected to have. If anything, the sheer fact that it was Quistis telling them something would normally have had them turning their attention elsewhere, but something seemed different about this. Quistis didn't seem to want to speak to them to make their lives a living hell... She let off I-actually-have-something-really-important-to-discuss-with-you vibes, and both Paine and Rikku knew that when things got that serious, things were generally bad.
"I assume none of you know what the hell it is I'm getting at," Quistis hissed to them under her breath as she pulled them all down to the far side of the hallway, back by the tail end of the rows of lockers. "I'd suggest that the next time you decide to go grinding with your hot new boyfriend Sora, you not only pick a place less populated, but you pick a costume less you."
Sora's eyes widened as Quistis continued. "Practically half the entire school knows about what you were up to this weekend because everyone goes to the Split Key on Fridays, Sora. Do you realize what you've done?" ...No, Sora couldn't really find a problem with things once he was presented with the question. So what if people at school knew what he did over the weekends? Obviously he wasn't the only one who had gone clubbing... possibly the only boy who was grinding with another boy... But who cared? Sora was perfectly fine with people knowing about his new relationship, figuring that if they had a problem, they could ensure that they got over that problem with time. So in response, Sora merely blinked back owlishly at Quistis' demanding gaze.
Narrowing her eyes into a death glare, Quistis turned around and tugged a large piece of paper down from on top of one of the lockers, where it'd been lying face down. Flipping the poster face up, she held it in front of Sora, Rikku, and Paine, the three reading the words of the poster.
Or rather, the somewhat mutilated words.
Obviously, the poster was meant to be a section banner, seeing as the walls of the band hall were adorned with them, several hanging up over the different sections of the marching band (some for the saxophones, some for the tubas, trombones, trumpets, etc.). It only made sense for the color guard to have a banner as well, seeing as they were sort of like their own section of the marching band. ...Only...
Letters that had once formed the words, "Go Color Guard!" now had a strategically place 'A-Y' added to the array, instead reading "Go Color GAYuard!" Rikku let out a squeak of dismay, her hand instinctively reaching out towards the poor poster, it having been Rikku herself who had made it earlier in the year. Quistis narrowed her eyes at the three she'd gathered before her, returning the poster to lie face down on top of the lockers where it had been earlier.
"See what happens with this? Honestly, between you and Rikku and now Sora and Riku, the entire school is going to be convinced that the color guard is all gay," Quistis spat, glowering at Paine. The crimson eyed girl only narrowed her eyes slightly in response, crossing her arms, though saying nothing, allowing Quistis to continue talking, well aware of the fact that the scene unfolding at the back of the band hall was drawing the attention of several other non-color guard members. Well, let it happen. It was Quistis who started it anyway.
"You might not have a problem with that, but I do because I'm straight! God, what's wrong with this school, with this guard?? I mean, you can just go screw any girl you like, but now we have to deal with having a guy on the guard, and a gay guy at that! Do you even know how much this is going to screw us over? We're not all like you people, you fag--"
The hallway went silence as Quistis suddenly found Paine with a tight grip on the collar of her sweater, a cold glare shooting out of her burning eyes. "You're done, Quistis. You're finished speaking for now. I think it's about time you accepted the fact that Sora is a member of the color guard, and as captain you are obligated to treat us all fairly and with respect. If you don't agree with that obligation, then perhaps you are not fit for serving the guard as a captain. Do you understand?" Paine's voice was barely audible, only being heard by the select few surrounding both her and Quistis. The color guard captain scowled as Paine released her, shooting the silver haired girl a scowl, but remaining silent.
Sora stared blankly at Paine and Quistis, before he realized that he heard something... Was someone... laughing? Turning around, Sora found the person snickering softly to be seated beneath the row of lockers dedicated toward the trumpets. The boy was older then Sora, probably a junior like Riku or a senior, with dark curly hair and... A really, really, annoying laugh. The older boy looked up, meeting Sora's eyes, and made a face of mock disgust.
"Ew, don't look at me, you fag! God, if you start hitting on me, I swear I'll beat your fucking brains out, you cock sucker!" the boy hissed at Sora. This caused several of the boy's surrounding friends to burst into laughter, as well as several other band members. Sora could almost feel the anger radiating off of Riku, who stood several feet away from his younger boyfriend, fists clenched tightly at his sides. The earlier outburst from the older boy drew glares came from some, harsh reprimanding words from others, and jeers from many as the once peaceful nature of the band hall suddenly took a turn for the worst.
"You don't have the right to talk to him like that, Kosha!"
"Whadda you know, fag-lover?"
"Hey, don't
talk to my girlfriend like that!"
"Like what? Like--
"Ahem." The hall returned to dead silence as they all uniformly turned to find Cid standing in the doorway to the band room, two figures behind him, leaning against a wall. Sora had passed both the older boys in the hallway several times before, but he had no idea who they were, nor had he even known they were in the marching band at all. No matter, if things kept up this way, he wouldn't really have been surprised if Quistis saw to it that he never spun a flag again. Once Cid was aware that he had the undivided attention of the band hall, even Kosha, he spoke in a rather cold tone, though he didn't raise his voice above normal speaking level, everyone able to hear his words clearly all the same.
"Alright, pay attention, because you all know I hate repeating myself. It's pretty damn obvious that there's some conflict as to what's goin' on with the color guard's new edition. If anyone has a problem with it, you take it up with your section leader and if they don't set you straight, then you all report to a drum major or me. We're a marching band, people. Not a narrow-minded gaggle of dithering idiots here to make someone's life miserable. That kid made the guard because he can spin a flag, not because I wanna be some goddamned revolutionary band director.
"Now whether or not you all choose to cooperate here is up to you. We can run through this like we do every year and have a great time along the way, or not, but you've gotta be the ones to decide. If you don't think you'll be able to hold back a snide comment at today's practice, then don't come. But if you're not marching out there this afternoon, don't expect to be marching at a competition." With that, Cid turned and disappeared back into the band room, the first bell of the day ringing almost as though on cue. The students in the band hall reverted back to quiet conversation, many of them standing up to leave to their first class already.
As much as Sora felt stunned and hurt, and all he really wanted was a hug of reassurance or something from Riku, he made no move to receive any consolation. That wouldn't help him in the end anyway. He'd just have to prove that he could handle whatever it was that people would dish out to him... He'd just have to hope he could handle it.
Sora tried desperately hard to focus on his classes for the rest of the day, but it seemed that everything had just dropped down from its previously happy state, leaving Sora thinking that his life had somehow been turned into a roller-coaster ride when he hadn't been looking. While he wasn't looking, he also got pelted with a blitzball several times over in gym as well as declaring 'blue' as an answer to a problem on the board in his geometry class. Yes, things were definitely looking pretty grim by the time lunch rolled around.
Aware of the whispers and stares which followed him wherever he walked, Sora sighed, collapsing onto a chair at his usual lunch table. Only those closest to Sora and Riku treated the two the same as they always did, even Tidus and Wakka snapping back into their old attitudes once they got over the shock of discovering that two of their best friends were now boyfriends. Sora was relieved to find that Riku's anger from that morning had flickered out, instead replaced by something that vaguely resembled amusement. At one point, Sora felt like his head was about to split open from all the rumors and gossip about him he heard flying around the cafeteria and scowled at the surface of the table, feeling half the school's eyes on him as he ate his lunch. He supposed it didn't help that he was sitting across Riku, provoking even more rumors of some sort of intimate footsy, or some such stupid thing, and Sora finally threw down his apple in frustration.
"Honestly! What do they think I'm gonna do, just grab you and start ravishing you right here on the damn table?!" Riku raised an eyebrow at the younger boy's outburst as he sipped calmly from his soda. Removing the can from his mouth, Riku pulled his lips back into a smirk.
"Sounds good to me."
"GAAAH. Ri-kuuuuuuu...."
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It was all really quite simple. As the first drill practice of the year, not much was expected from the students and Cid made sure to point this out to them all over a loud speaker he'd had rigged up on the blacktop. The entire band stood out there, instruments either dangling from their hands or place neatly on the ground beside them, and everyone had a certain packet of papers they would all come to know and love as their drill charts. What the drill charts, Sora soon found, was what someone had decided would be an 'easy' way for the band to come to learn their marks on the field without needing one on one assistance from an older band member who was experienced in the marching field.
Sora felt like a fish out of water.
Thankfully, Riku pulled the younger boy aside before the practice started, ignoring the snickers it drew from the other band members, and walked him through the drill charts one by one. The walkthrough was only half as helpful as it should have been, though, since Sora was too busy ogling the silver haired boy's mouth as it spoke to him in a quiet voice, Riku's head bent over the drill charts. God, Riku's gorgeous. All the day's earlier problems seemed to melt away right then and there for Sora.
Riku, meanwhile, was trying to contain his laughter. He was well aware of the fact that Sora was hardly listening to a word coming out of his mouth, much more focused on his mouth itself. Hell, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure the younger boy out and Riku had an advantage to begin with, having known Sora practically his entire life.
"Alright, people! First drill chart, let's go! Starting from the top of 'Comedian's Gallop!' Let's go!" Band members hurried to comply with Cid's directions, Riku quickly telling Sora he was fourteen tick marks up from the sideline on the twenty yard line. The directions made very little to no sense at all for Sora as he nodded numbly, folding the charts up, sticking them in his pocket, and grabbing his flag. Now, if he could just find out where he was supposed to be...
Skidding into his drill spot several seconds before the music began to play around him, Sora blinked up at the two platforms which had been set up in front of the band. On each of the platforms stood a high school student, Sora instantly recognizing them to be the two boys who had been behind Cid during the speech he'd given the band earlier that morning. Now if I could only remember their names...
"Horns up!"
What? Sora tried not to look too confused, realizing he probably should've paid more attention to what Riku had been saying earlier. This was bad. From somewhere behind him, Sora could hear a lone member of the drum line pick up a beat with his sticks, tapping four times before the rest of the band began to play...
Thankfully, Sora had heard Riku say to start marching on the left foot, so that was one less problem. But one less problem didn't seem to help him all that much in the end. It wasn't just him either. The marching band was everywhere, going left when they were to go right, bumping into each other, stepping on one another's toes... Sora once caught a glimpse of Cid as he watched the band, the older man struggling to contain his laughter. Sora really couldn't see what was so funny. Wasn't Cid supposed to be--?
Crash.
"Ow! Sora, look out!" Kairi complained quietly as the two collided into one another. Thankfully, they weren't the only ones, so there was no way the mistake could be credited to any poor color guard skills Sora was rumored to have at that point. Actually, Sora was beginning to wonder if they were really just rumors... He didn't understand marching at all. The routine itself wasn't that complicated, and Sora had practiced it many times over with Paine and Rikku, but now that he was supposed to walk and be thinking of where he was going next... Sora was just plain lost.
Over and over again, 'The Comedian's Gallop' was drilled, over and over until almost the entire band was groaning each time Cid would declare, "Okay, from the first picture!" Finally, the band director called the torture session to an end with a chuckle, calling the band over towards him, taking on a somewhat more serious nature.
"Okay, okay. For those of you new to band, you don't know I always do this every year. I know you guys don't know what the hell it is you're doing, that's okay. But just study your drill charts and your music and we'll get started with the real practice on Wednesday! And..." Cid nodded with satisfaction, looking out at the body of students in front of him. "Good job today. Not drill-wise. But being a band. And..." Cid cut himself off, looking up at the sky which had darkened significantly since the practice session had started, cloud swelling up in the distance, promising rain to come. "Well, never mind all that! Ah, you guys know I'm proud of you. Now go on and get home before you all get soaked!"
Sora couldn't help but smile as he too realized that aside from the occasional snicker or whispered comment, he really hadn't had to suffer through quite so much at that practice. Riku had found Sora and made his way over to the younger boy, the strad held in his hand gleaming even in the smothered sunlight. The silver haired boy grinned, just as the first drops of rain began to fall from the sky, everyone except the two of them fleeing for the shelter of the building. Let the rain fall, it was alright by them. With the few seconds which passed between them, the rainfall increased, now a dull roar surrounding the two boys standing alone on the blacktop, both smiling like idiots.
Riku laughed, grasping Sora's hand with his, guiding the younger boy away from the blacktop, though not seeming the least bit hurried. "We have a bad habit of getting caught in the rain, huh?"
Sora grinned, resting his head on Riku's shoulder as they continued to walk towards the parking lot. "Mmm... I'm not complaining." Neither seemed to care that both flag and trumpet were sharing the rain with them, both Sora and Riku simply happy that the day was over.
"So I was thinking, it's about time I paid you back, ne?"
"Paid me back?"
"Oh, Sora, you haven't forgotten already, have you?" Riku looked down at the puzzled expression on the brunette's face, clearly visible even through the rain, and burst into laughter. "I can't believe it! You completely forgot!"
And naturally Sora remembered then. "Oh! No, no, no I didn't! Yeah! You need to reward me because I made the guard! That's right! So pay up, buddy!" Sora exclaimed, the boys having already reached Riku's car. Unlocking the doors and sliding into the driver's seat, Riku watched his boyfriend appreciatively as he slid into the seat next to him. Wet clothes worked very well on Sora... Riku made a mental note to remember that as he reluctantly tore his eyes away from Sora's ass, focusing on the road in front of him as he began to pull out of the school parking lot.
"Sooo, what do I get, hmmm?" Riku's green eyes widened. Was it his raging hormones, or had Sora just purred out that last sentence? Grinning, he responded with a simple, "You'll see" and continued to drive towards his house. Sora smiled triumphantly, leaning back in his seat. He'd finally gotten one up on Riku with the purring move. Why else would Riku be so riveted on driving now? Well, other then the fact that it was pouring rain and could be quite hazardous, but Sora didn't doubt Riku's amazing driving skills for a moment.
Several minutes later, as Riku closed the front door to his house, Sora wondered what other skills the older boy had. Inwardly gasping in shock at his own thoughts, Sora shoved them aside, trying to look at his boyfriend with as clean a mind as he could. But looking at Riku period was enough to scratch that idea. Both teens having run inside from the rain, they were soaked to the bone, rain dripping smoothly off of Riku's silver hair, clothes clinging to his body like a second skin. Riku caught Sora's stare and returned it, meeting the brunette's eyes more then willingly.
Sora's eyes fluttered closed as Riku leant in to kiss him gently on the mouth, his lips still wet from the rainwater outside. Running his tongue over Sora's closed mouth, the younger boy eagerly complied with Riku's wishes and parted his lips, allowing Riku to explore ever corner of that mouth, his tongue claiming it all his. Everything was so very slow, Riku's hands slowly sliding down to Sora's hips, his mouth slowly moving to kiss the younger boy's neck, and biting gently against the tender skin before gently kissing away any pain he could've dealt.
"Nnn... Riku..." Sora murmured, then gasped suddenly as his hips came into contact with Riku's. Even if the movement was quite by accident, the friction it generated sent a tremor like reaction racing through Sora's body, putting his senses into overdrive. Riku slid a hand up Sora's shirt, running his fingertips over the boy's slender chest, causing Sora to shiver against him. Biting Sora's earlobe, eliciting a small moan from the brunette, Riku smiled and--
The phone rang.
Snarling at the interruption, Riku glared at the phone on the wall. Sora moaned, though more in frustration this time then pleasure.
"Fuck! Can't I ever get anywhere without something getting in the way?" Riku stormed over to the phone, Sora leaning against the wall, grinning like an idiot.
"Clothes get in the way all the time, Riku, but it doesn't seem to stop you anyway," Sora said with a snicker.
"Oh, you know what I meant..." Riku narrowed his eyes at the boy, who's grin only widened, and picked up the phone, putting the receiver next to his ear, trying hard to control his voice and not sound out of breath.
"Hello?"
"Riku, what are you doing molesting my son? I told him he had to be back for dinner tonight!"
Riku blinked. How did Bryna always know things like that? Putting the question aside for later, Riku tried to keep himself from sighing. Apparently the make-out session between him and Sora was going to have to wait. Again. "Umm, I'm sorry, Bryna. Sora didn't mention it." Riku narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend pointedly, causing Sora's facial expression to change from one of confusion, to one of realization, and finally a wince of dismay. Apparently Sora had just forgotten about the entire thing. ...Not exactly a surprise, though. Who wouldn't forget a simple detail like that after such a ... 'busy' day? "Do you want to talk to him?"
"That'd be good Riku, thanks. I'm glad that if he has to make-out with someone, it gets to be you!"
"Er... thank you." Riku tried to hide his smile as he handed Sora the phone and took the younger boy's place leaning against the wall, watching the scene before him. It was obvious there was some sort of argument in the making, one that Riku would bet his life-savings on Sora's losing. Sora could never stand up to his mother very well... It was just one of the things that made the boy the innocent little Sora he was.
"Mom?! Wha-- Uh... Yes....No!...I know, but... Aw, Mom, you gotta be kidd-- Mo-om! Please? ...Why? ...Yeah... I know, I know... "
As interesting as listening to Sora's phone conversation was, Riku was the type of person who was always coming up with fun, new ideas to make life more interesting for everyone.
"Yeah, I kn--Ah!" Sora gasped, suddenly feeling Riku's arms around his waist, the older boy's warm breath in his ear which wasn't covered by the phone, his fingertips slipping dangerously low past the waistband of Sora's pants. Oh yes, Riku was definitely going to be hearing about this later.
"Sora, are you okay, Sweetie?"
"Y-y-yeah, Mom, I'm... fine."
"Well good, because even if you were suffering from a first degree burn I'd still drag you back down here! You know I told you this morning that I'm having Sam over for dinner and I wanted you to meet him... We were going to go to the movies, but the weather's so bad, we're just watching something at--"
"Ah!"
"...Sora?"
"Fine, Mom, just f-fine!"
"Right then. Whatever. Just hurry up, you're already late as it is." Click.
Riku grinned. "What's that?"
Sora scowled. "We're having dinner with my mom and her boyfriend now. Way to go, Riku."
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(Yes... I said angst last chapter, didn't I? Well you had... umm... hardly any! ^^;; Really, when I was forced to rewrite the entire first half of this chapter, I somehow managed to lose track of most of my Sora-angst. Which I suppose isn't really a bad thing, since fluff is always good too. Now for the more important matter at hand...
Important, please read!: Yes, yes, okay, you've gathered that. Anyway, I'm planning on writing a fic especially for Valentine's Day. No, not your standard "Valentine's Day on Destiny Islands!" thing, more like a fic that's just supposed to make you go 'Aww!' So for those of you who like the fluff of this chapter, that'll be a day for you to look out for. Mostly, the fic is just for those of you (like me __) who are stuck home alone Valentine's Day evening and are in need of a good cuddly story. Now then, I need you all to tell me the pairing! I've got several story ideas already thought up, I just need to know who it is I'm writing about. Anyone you want, it doesn't have to be just Riku and Sora. ^^;; Though I've got this crazy feeling I'll get most people selecting that pairing... Whatever works, it's all up to you! So just drop me an email or leave your input in a review, whichever works best. XD Thanks!
Oh yes, and who can guess who the mysterious drum majors are? *grins* Any guesses? Anyone? Before I forget, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post. But the first half was deleted by accident when I told Word not to save the document's changes and... Yes. Ori was not a happy camper. But all's well now, because I have a three day weekend! Which means you may get two more updates before Tuesday! Wooow. And if not, you'll at least have one more. Then next weekend is a four day weekend, so expect even more updates! Oh the joy!
...I think I'm pushing the rating a bit for this fic... Oh dear. o_O
A sneak peek into chapter eleven... Sora and Riku finally come face to face with Sora's mom and her latest boyfriend. Oh the heterosexuality! Yes. Much fun to be had and morals to be learned! Such as why you don't go on a double date with your mother.
~Ori