Hello, everyone! It's me, Ayumi-chan!! My previous username was deleted, and I'm using this one (I lost "between darkness and light" that had over 120 reviews!) This story takes place a few years after Sora and Riku return home. Everything seems to be back to normal, but the drama is at an all-time high. Anyways, hope you guys like it!

…t e a r i n g t h e r o s e s…

Kairi sighed, tiredly shoving her hands into the pocket on her maroon hoodie. It was an unseasonably cold night, especially for Destiny Islands. Biting her lower lip, her mind wandered back to the events of earlier in the evening.

"So…Kairi, um…, I was wondering…do you want to go out with me?" Sora questioned, a small blush forming on his face as he sheepishly looked down at the ground.

"Oh! Um, sure…!" the red head replied back, trying to hold back her excitement. Sora looked back up, a huge grin written on his face.

"Really?! That's great! I was thinking about going to the movie theater later this evening, do you want to come with me?" the brunette happily asked.

"Sure! That sounds great!"

"So…I'll pick you up at around 8:00? Is that okay? The theater isn't too far away, we could probably walk there and back..."

"That's fine! See you then!"

The teenage girl frowned as she sat down on the wooden bench next to the bus stop. A few silver drops of rain had begun to fall, creating a few thin patches and puddles of water the concrete sidewalk lying in front of her. After getting comfortable (or, as comfortable you can get sitting on a cold, slightly damp bench), she looked at the watch on her left wrist.

'10:39…'

The bus came every half an hour, meaning she had just missed it…and, her curfew. Letting out another sigh of frustration, Kairi brought her knees up from the ground to her chest.

"I'm sorry I'm late!! I just lost track of time…I ran the whole way over here!" the young boy breathlessly said, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"It's no big deal, I'm sure we'll make it in time," Kairi replied back with a thin smile on her lips. Of course, they probably wouldn't, considering the movie started at eight twenty , and it was currently eight fifteen. Quickly shrugging it off, the two rushed off in the direction of the cinema.

'Finally, the bus is here..'

Grabbing her purse, Kairi headed towards the vehicle. It was fairly late at night, so there weren't hoards of people crowding the bus as there were during the day. After depositing two quarters into the plastic coin-box next to the driver, she sat down in a seat near the front.

"It's not showing?!" Sora repeated, eyes widening in disbelief, "That can't be right! I have the movie schedule with me!"

Digging into his left pocket, the spiky haired teen pulled out a wrinkled movie listing. His eyes scanned the page for a moment, as he looked for the right movie.

"See?! Right here, it says it starts at 8:20!!"

The movie theater employ glanced at the page for a moment, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"See?! Right here, it says Saturday, December 3rd! Last week." the middle-aged man said, mocking Sora's enthusiasm. The brunette panicked, looking around as the color draining from his skin. Eyes locking onto the "new" movie list (written behind the worker), he looked for another movie. However, there wasn't anything good showing for another hour or so.

"So...what now?" the young girl quietly questioned, breaking the awkward silence that had followed from the employ's words. Desperately trying to think of a substitute idea, Sora spoke up.

"Weren't Riku, Selphie, and Tidus going to eat at that new fast-food place ? Maybe we could go hang around with them...it's better than just wasting the evening doing nothing,"

Kairi frowned, the idea didn't seem very romantic. With a weak smile, she nodded in agreement.

"Okay! I hope they don't get mad for us dropping in...I think it's only a few blocks from here, let's go!"

Kairi zipped up her jacket and rested her head on the cold window. The metal bar going across the glass was uncomfortable, but she didn't care. A spot here. A dot there. Liquid crystal - her eyes traced the speckling dots of rain collecting on the glass. She shut her eyes.

"They aren't here..." said Kairi in a quiet voice. Sora sighed. Kairi felt like doing the same.

"Do you want to just get something while we're here?" asked Sora. Kairi could see a glimpse of red in his cheeks as his eyes fell to the floor.

"Sure." The girl tried to smile, but the nerves couldn't tense to make the fake curve.

The smell of fresh french-fries and sizzling hamburger patties filled their noses as they glided to a booth and sat down.

The brunette boy was starting to breathe heavily. He must have realized that this was all going downhill. "L-look, I'm real sorry about all of this..."

They hit a bump, which woke her. Only for a split second did she look around the warm bus. Her eyes grew heavy again. She saw the condensed raindrops on the window next to her begin to streak down towards the back of the bus, and eventually, onto the cold, wet road, where she felt like she wanted to leave these memories. She nestled her neck deep into her warm jacket collar and closed her eyes once again.

"No, no..! It's.. it's fine, really." Said the girl, looking up. Again she tried to smile. She tried to curve her lips and be happy. Nothing...

"Things just aren't going the way I had planned. I really am sorry," he said sheepishly. He picked at his thumb nail under the table. He was nervous. His stomach twisted into a pretzel.

"Er... I think we're just having a bad da--"

"Sora! Kairi!" said a voice not too far from them. Three people approached the nervous couple. They looked up and smiled happily.

Kairi woke up with a jolt. She looked out the window. Her cheek had a red mark on it from leaning against the metal bar on the window. Her right arm had fallen asleep. She looked out at the somewhat familiar passing trees and roads.

..she had missed her stop.