Author's Note Hey all! . Yeah, I'm going against FF by putting a disclaimer again. But ya know, who cares. I'll edit it out if I start to get worried. x3 This chapter reflects not only Kairi's side and the truth of what happened, but also Sora's side. Hope you like it!

. . . t e a r i n g t h e r o s e s . . .

CHAPTER 2

A brunette grinds his teeth until his jaws and head ache. He rests his face in the palms of his hands and thinks. No. I don't want to think. The soft cushioned bed gives him temptation to sleep. I'm not tired... He looks up and searches around his bedroom. Something. Anything. I need to get my mind in a different place. He feels sweat drops begin to condense on his head.

He reaches for his dark blue jacket laying on his desk chair, swings it onto his body, and walks out the door. Down the hallway are pictures lined all the way down to the stair rail. They all stare at him - all of the happy faces. Smiling. Laughing. They're having a nice time there.

At least you tried.

He kicks the rail banister at the top of the stairs, then descends.

A warm body pushed Sora over to the wall next to the booth. A silver-haired boy turned and grinned playfully at him. "Thanks for the seat."

"Anytime..." he replied back, rubbing his wrist.

Delicate footsteps walked slowly down the dreary sidewalk. It seemed to go on forever. It stretched into a thin fog. A shiver rushed down the figure's spine. Its red hair was hidden underneath a light purple hoodie that had begun to speckle with darker shades.

Tidus pulled up a chair at the end of the booth, and Selphie sat down beside Kairi. "You beat us here! You guys are good," said Selphie, looking at her watch.

"You guys eaten yet?" asked Tidus, looking around a bit.

"No not yet." Sora said. "We just got here."

Her eyes watched the lines and creases in the sidewalk approach her as she walked, and then disappear into nothingness behind her. She sighed heavily. "No... No tears this time. You're fine. He's fine. It was just a bad day."

The small beads of rain blurred into crisp, silver lines, plunging into the ground; the dirt... Bringing it to a darker shade, a darker form: making it slippery and smooth, making it messy.

Kairi bit the straw of her soda while everyone else ate.

"And so Selphie went behind that big bush, you know, over by the cove? And she was over there, and so I went around the other way..." Tidus rambled on and on. "And that's when I jumped behind her and scared the living hell out of her!"

Everyone laughed. Almost everyone...

"It's not funny!" The blushing Selphie giggled, cramming a huge slice of pizza into her mouth. A small dab of tomato sauce gushed on her cheek. She didn't notice until after they were out of the restaurant, and it was frankly too hilarious for anyone to mention. Savor the moment.

"So, what brought you guys to the restaurant?" Riku questioned as they all walked towards a couple of benches on a common ground not too far from the fast food place.

Sora looked at Kairi in the eyes. A small glimmer gave a message to her, like an SOS code or sign language. "I'm sorry. Please, please forgive me. I'll do anything to make it up to you. Please just forgive me for what I'm about to say......"

"Kairi...? Is that you?" a voice in the distant drizzle and fog said. It sounded muted. But something about the voice sounded familiar. It sounded like someone she had been with previously that day...

"Oh, It was an accident, actually..I overheard you and the others talking about coming over here earlier, so I thought I'd drop by. Didn't expect to see Kairi here, though!" Sora lied, "But, kind of glad she came! If she hadn't, I probably would have left...didn't think you guys were going to show!"

Kairi's heart sunk, as she gave a half-hearted nod in agreement. The teenage girl stared down at the ground for a moment. Why had he lied like that? So, the date didn't exactly go as planned, was he ashamed of that? Was he ashamed of her?

"Oh really?" Riku said in return, with a small laugh. He ran his hand through his hair, pulling a few strands behind his ear. With a faint frown, he continued speaking.

"Well, it's getting late, I think I'm going to head home. You guys going to stay here longer, or are you going to head out, too? If so, I can give you a ride,"

"Um..you know what, I think I'd rather walk home..it's not too far from here. Thanks for the offer, though," the red head mumbled, quickly heading off in the opposite direction with her head staring down at the ground. Sora turned around as well, unsure whether or not to go after her. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder pulling him back.

"That was weird..." Riku muttered under his breathe, "Well, how about you? Your house is almost on the other side of town, do you want a ride?"

Sora's face turned a shade of pink, slightly flustered from Riku's actions.

"..sure," the brunette quietly said, looking over his shoulder at Kairi, who was already half way down the block.

"Sora?!" Kairi yelled in return, eyes widening. What was he doing out here?!

"You haven't gone home yet?" Sora questioned in a confused voice, "or, are you just..walking around?"

"Oh, um...the bus was running late..I just got off of it now, I'm heading home," the girl explained, "why are you here?"

Sora paused for a minute, wondering what to say. He was only taking a walk due to insomnia, but this would be a good chance to apologize for his earlier actions.

"I was heading over to your house to..say...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ruining your night, I'm sorry for running late, I'm sorry for the incident at the movie theater...I'm sorry for everything," the former keyblade master said, hanging his head low.

"That's not why I'm upset," Kairi argued, "why'd you lie to Riku and the others...?"

"I..um, I just...Riku, he...."

"What does Riku have to do with anything?"

"I didn't! I mean..I just didn't want them to know we had a bad date..!"

An long silence followed. Kairi sighed, looking away from Sora and down the street at her house.

"Goodnight Sora," the girl whispered, walking home. The teenage boy bit his lip, kicking a nearby bench in frustration. Nothing had been going right, it wasn't fair! He had lied only to save both of them from embarrassment.

..right?

He let out another sigh, beginning to turn around. But, before he could even take a step, he smacked right into a muscular figure.

"Ow! Hey, watch where you're going!" a familiar voice called, stepping back under a streetlight.

"Riku?!"

Foot Note Well, that was interesting. Small hints and speckles of shonen-ai were foreshadowed in this one, hope you guys liked it. I just love teasing my audience. . Thanks for the reviews, keep 'em comin'!