Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters! They all belong to the people of Enix!

A/N: Implied shounen-ai... yeeeep.

Pretty Little Boy

By: Freekiwi

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Chapter Two

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Sora kept his head down as he walked the halls of his highschool. He didn't want to see Riku or his friends again, he wasn't looking forward to this day. One good thing though... Cloud was walking him home today.

His mother had scolded him, just like he had expected. And she had cleaned him up as best she could, but his eyes were still black, his face still bruised and his lips still cracked and cut. She was furious with him, Sora's mother, because Sora refused to let her call Riku's mother.

And the brunette had a reason, he wanted to confront Riku on his own. Later on though... not now.

Sora sighed, he walked out of the doors of his school. The day was now over and he hadn't seen Riku or his friends all day long. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling Cloud had threatened one of them or something... though Riku didn't seem like the one to back down just because Cloud said so.

"Hey..." Cloud said as he touched Sora's shoulder.

The brunette smiled at the blond, muttering a little 'hi'. Both then walked down the sidewalk and past the bus which Selphie and Kairi were currently boarding. Sora waved to the two girls as they walked past the bus.

"Why didn't you just take the bus home..?" Cloud asked, wrapping an arm about Sora's shoulders.

Sora smiled a bit, "Riku rides the bus..."

Cloud nodded, "well.. Yesterday he didn't."

The brunette sighed.

•§•

"How was school?" his mother asked once Sora was safely in the house. She had the day off and that Sora was thankful for, he was still shaken from yesterday and didn't feel like staying home alone.

The brunette probably would've asked Cloud to stay if it weren't for his mother. Hell, he felt like asking Cloud to stay just because he didn't want to be alone at all.

Sora opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the doorbell. The boy scrunched his eyebrows together, they hardly ever got visitors. And when they did, it was usually one of their neighbors or Kairi and Selphie.

Sora shrugged and stood up to answer the door. He figured it was probably one of the neighbors or something along those lines.. His mother followed him at a distance, scared for her son after he had been so beaten. It was a motherly instinct to be worried.

The brunette opened the door and gasped a bit, stepping backwards.

His mother said nothing, but he could tell she was glaring at the boy who stood in the doorway.

Riku.

Riku stood at the doorway, an apathetic look on his beautiful features. He moved a strand of silver hair from his face and placed it behind his ear. The older boy had his gaze cast down to the ground, not wanting to look up at the boy he had beaten up or his mother.

Sora looked at his mother, his eyes telling her to go. Riku wouldn't try to beat him up in his own house and it wasn't like Sora would go outside with him. Plus, he could scream and she'd come... though the brunette didn't think it'd get that drastic.

His mother walked away, back into the kitchen. She'd fix dinner or something... something to take her mind off of her son and the bully that had hurt him. She knew... she knew Sora knew what he was doing.

Both stood there, Sora looking at everything but Riku and Riku still staring at the floor. Neither wanted to face each other... the younger boy defiantly didn't want to face the bully. Not now, while he was still hurt and shaken...

"I'm sorry..." was all that Riku could think to say. It was a long-shot, Sora probably wouldn't forgive him.

"Why?"

"Why what?" the older one asked, looking at the other boy now.

"Why... why did you beat me up?"

Riku shook his head, "I... it... it doesn't matter..."

"No, it does." he walked over to Riku and grabbed his wrist, pulling the boy inside. Once the silver haired teen was inside, Sora shut the front door and leaned against it.

Riku turned around and faced Sora, a hurt look upon his face.

Sora glared, Riku shouldn't have that look, Sora should. He was the one that got beaten up, he was the one in pain, he was the one who had just innocently walked through the park to get home. It was he who should've looked hurt.

"Why?" the younger boy repeated in a harsh tone. He was surprised at his own bravery, maybe he felt safe in his own domain.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Just... I'm sorry, ok?"

"Is Cloud making you apologize? Did he threaten you? Why did you beat me up? Why!" Sora was shouting now. He wanted... no, he needed to know. "Was there a reason for it? Did you just want to hurt someone younger and smaller?"

"No! We did it because..."

"Because why!"

"Because you're pretty!"

There was a moment of silence in which Riku glared softly and Sora just stared wide-eyed. That... didn't make sense... they beat him because he was pretty? Sora didn't think he was pretty... by all means, Riku was so much more than he was.

"..what?" came the brunette's confused reply.

"...because you're pretty... we beat you up because you're pretty..."

Sora stared down at the floor, biting down on his lower lip. He was... pretty? Since when? He was scrawny and odd looking, his eyes big and wide and blue and his hair all spiky and bouncy. His skin was always slightly tanned and his finger nails were all bitten down. Since when was he ever pretty?

"Riku... you... you're so.." the smaller boy paused, "you're so much more prettier than I am.. You're not pretty, you're beautiful... it doesn't make sense. Why would you beat me up? You're so much better looking..."

"No... see... this is why I didn't want to tell you." Riku's reply was a bit harsh, he was embarrassed. "I got my friends... as well as myself.. To beat you up because you're pretty. And it's like you don't notice it. Every day at school, you have girls following you, wishing to be with you and it's like you never notice. I've seen guys lust over you... and it doesn't matter how gorgeous I am.. I had to work to be like this..."

Sora didn't say a word.

"Sora... you're not just... pretty... you're perfect. Your teeth are all shiny and straight, your eyebrows are all clean. You have a great personality and you get all A's.. I know you get A's... Kairi tells me."

"You..." Sora took a shaky breath, "you didn't beat me up cause I was pretty... you beat me up because you were jealous... of me..?

Riku looked rather ashamed, "yes... I was jealous... and I thought if we beat you up, disfigured your face or hurt your spirit or crushed something inside you... that you wouldn't be everything everyone wants.."

The brunette wanted to tell Riku to get out, leave, and never come back. But he couldn't, he just couldn't find it in him. Riku was... apologizing for hurting him. He was admitting to being jealous...

"I... I forgive you... for beating me up.."

Riku smiled gently, "I really am sorry... I just.. I dunno.. You were so perfect and you never noticed it. It annoyed me... so I thought if I got some of my friends to beat you up, then maybe people wouldn't like you so much. Like.. Maybe you couldn't protect yourself.."

Sora smiled a bit weakly, "I can't protect myself..."

Riku shrugged and smiled a bit, "anyway..."

"Yea... um..."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Sora shifted off of the door and Riku cleared his throat... the air between them was clear, but Sora doubted they'd ever really be friends. Deep down... he still felt hurt.

And then Riku did something neither expected, he hugged the younger boy to him.

Sora was a bit surprised at first and then slowly wrapped his arms around Riku. This was nice.. Just for now anyway.

-Fin-

Aww.. How... sickeningly sweet... barf... I wanted it to be kind of sad, buuut that just wasn't happening. So.. This story is a two-shot. Thanks for reading it, now review it.