Enjoy! Reviews appreciated!

Chapter 2

The ferry ride turned out to be quite pleasant, it was calming to watch the waves splash against the side of the boat and to have the wind in your face. Sora leaned farther over the edge of the railing and squinted at the black dot in the distance that was growing bigger every minute. There it was. Destiny Islands. A place he thought he would never return too. It made his insides squirm just thinking about what he would say when he first saw his friend's faces. Hey, sorry I never got back to you. The letters..er..got lost in the mail. Pssh…yea that would go over well.

He got up from where he was sitting and headed for the small concession stand in the corner of the deck. He ended up ordering a single scoop of black raspberry ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. It was his favorite. He plopped down in his previous seat and continued to eat it quietly. He failed to notice however, the pair of eyes that were watching his every move from a couple rows down.

Feeling slightly uneasy all of a sudden, like somebody was boring holes into the back of his skull, Sora looked around the deck of the ferry. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he returned his attention back to his desert.

After what seemed like over an hour but was probably only twenty minutes the ferry slowly stationed itself in the dock and the ramp was pulled down to the pier. He wiped his fingers on his jacket and threw his napkin into the trash bin. The floorboards creaked under his feet as he walked over to get in line to exit the boat. Somebody bumped into him, sending him stumbling a few feet. The person was obviously in a hurry and didn't acknowledge his apology or turn to glance at him. Sora only caught a glimpse of silver hair beneath the black hood. He furrowed his brow as he made his way down the ramp. I hope the people who live on this island now are much nicer than that guy, he thought.

Once he reached the bottom the sight he met was something he never expected. I know these faces! Before him stood Waka, Tidus and Selphie. Selphie was holding a large white sign with Welcome home Sora! Painted across the front.

"Hey," said the blonde who stepped forward. Tidus had changed a lot. He towered over Sora by a couple of inches and his hair was covered with red highlights. If it weren't for the uneven pant legs, Sora would have never guessed it was him. "Long time no see, buddy."

Wakka came up and slapped him hard on the back. "Back from the grave, ya? We thought we would never see you again."

Sora smiled sheepishly. Wakka wasn't the least bit different, that blitzball gear must be molded to his skin.

"Oh, leave him alone Wakka! He just got here," said Selphie. She carefully lowered the sign to the ground and engulfed the brunette in a warm hug. "I'm so happy you came! We missed you so!"

She let go of him and stepped back, eyeing him up and down. A broad smile found it's way toher face. "And you've grown so much!"

Sora looked down at his feet, feeling himself blush. "Er..thanks."

Wakka and Tidus tugged him away from the admiring looks from his friend and began walking with him towards the foot of the pier.

"Don't mind her," Wakka said. "She's been acting kind of desperate lately because of a recent break up. She'll to get her hands on anything that's male and walks on two legs."

Sora laughed lightly and turned to see Selphie trying to catch up with them. She must of just snapped out of that odd trance she was in. Why she was acting that way? Sora had no clue.

"So, what have you been up to these last two years?" Tidus asked as they reached a bus stop and sat down together on a blue wooden bench.

"Nothing really. Just, ya know, school, sports and stuff," Sora replied.

"How do you like the island you're living on now?"

"It's all right. It's a little bland living there because there's not much to do," He stared around at the light green palm trees and at the many beautiful flowers that populated the area. "I forgot how much I missed this place."

It was true. He had missed it, this island truly was his home with its quiet community and peaceful atmosphere. He didn't realize it until now, but, looking at his friends who were smiling eagerly at him; he had missed them too. Even though he held a two-year grudge with them he could immediately feel that melting away. A feeling of calm and content came over him as he continued to talk with his old pals about the life he led now. And he appreciated the fact that they never once brought up how he never responded to their letters.

After several more minutes a small bus rolled up to the curve and a man hopped out to usher them in. The four of them took seats in the very back of the bus; Tidus and Sora in one, and Selphie and Wakka in the other. Something dawned on the brunette once the bus started moving.

"Hey, where's Kairi?" he asked.

Wakka scratched the back of his head. "I don't know." He turned to Selphie. "Where is she? Wasn't she supposed to greet Sora with us?"

"She was, but at the last minute she told me she had to go meet somebody."

"Meet somebody?" Tidus repeated.

"Yea, she didn't even tell me who it was."

Wakka made a sound of disapproval.

"Way to ditch your friends."

Sora was crestfallen. Kairi was the person who he most looked forward to seeing and now she didn't even care about him.

"Hey, don't let it bother you," Tidus said seeing his expression. "She hasn't been the most reliable person these days, but, I'm sure she has a perfectly good reason for not being here."

"Yea, ok," Sora muttered. He didn't want to start this trip off on a bad note, so he completely wiped his mind of her and smiled at his friend beside him. "Where are we going?"

Tidus looked to the front of the bus. "We're meeting up at Selphie's house to hang out for a bit before the party starts."

"You guys have to help me with the decorations, you know," the girl chirped in.

"Yea, yea, we will," said Wakka. He looked over at the brunette. "So, Sora, do you have a costume yet?"

"Sure do."

"Care to tell us what it is?"

He smiled at the eager look on his friend's faces. "You'll see."

"Aw, but Soorraa! I wanna know!" wailed Selphie. "I'll tell you mine!"

Sora shook his head and laughed. "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough," he paused. "That is if you can recognize me!"

He hoped nobody would recognize him. Namine swore it made him look like a completely different person.

"Oh, I'll find you," Selphie laughed. "It'll be easy to spot you with that hair of yours."

He tugged at one of the spikes. "Yea, I guess."

The rest of the bus ride was spent recalling memories of their times together before he had left. Sora was surprised at how much his friends remembered. He was especially fond of the memory of when he, Tidus and Wakka decided to give snowboarding a go and took surfboards down the roof of a house.

"And you were like, AHHHH!" Wakka laughed and widly gestured with his hands. "You broke your arm remember?"

"Yea, it hurt like a mother landing in that tree," said Tidus.

Sora smiled and rested his hands on the back of his head. He luckily didn't break anything but he came out of the experience with many bruises. "That was fun."

"It was," agreed the blonde.

"Hey you guys, I think this is our stop!" Selphie squealed as the bus slowed down to the corner of a street.

"Great!" Said Sora. He felt very giddy all of a sudden. All of the excitement building up inside of him for the day's upcoming events was overwhelming him. He got up from his seat and followed Selphie who had run down the aisle without waiting for them to catch up. As soon as he stepped off the bus a light breeze hit him in the face along with the fragrant smell of the nearby flowers. The sun winked at him behind the clouds, sending warm rays of light through the thick canopy of the trees. The whole scenery reminded him of a story book; it was perfect. He was going to regret it when the time came to leave.

Selphie lead the way to her house. Her skirt of her yellow sundress bounced around her as she ran ahead. "This way!" She yelled back at them. "It's not much farther!"

Sora had never been to Selphie's house before and the neighborhood he was walking through wasn't familiar. The whole place had a quiet charm to it with the large houses nestled among the trees and the many gardens in the front yards. The grass was a luscious green color and very clean cut. It made Sora think that if anybody even got close to a yard the owners would come running out with pitch forks and knives, screaming, "Touch the grass and DIE!" It all seemed a little bit intimidating.

Up ahead, Selphie skipped up some stone steps in front of a large white cape with red shutters. The house was definitely big enough to host a party and a pool could be seen out back.

"Nice," Sora commented as he walked up the driveway of the house.

"Seems like it could hold a circus, ya?" Wakka said and headed for the stone steps.

"Yea, it's really big. How many people are coming to this party anyway?"

"Too many to count," said Tidus from behind. "I don't even know half the people she invited."

Sora chuckled. "Well, ya know Selphie. Always the spontaneous one."

Tidus nodded his head. "And I believe there will be some people who she only met once but she invited them anyway."

The three of them finally reached the top of the steps and Selphie was bouncing in annoyance when they got there. "God, you guys took so long. You're as slow as turtles!" She opened the front door for them. "Kairi's here and she brought the person she was talking about."

Sora felt his stomach flip. He was finally going to see Kairi! But would she treat him as nicely as the others did when they first saw him? He hoped so. They walked into the living room and his doubts immediately vanished when brown hair clouded his vision.

"Sora!" The girl screeched. "Omg! I can't believe it's you! You're really here!"

"Whoa, take it easy Kairi." Wakka smiled at the girl who was obviously suffocating Sora. "Don't want to give the guy a heart attack, ya?"

"Hey, Kairi," Sora said peeling her arms off and getting a good look at her. She looked like her old self except for her long brown hair that fell down to her waist and the short mini skirt and tight top that gave way to her feminine features. "How have you been?"

"Great," she replied smiling brightly up at him. "I am so happy you're here."

"Me too."

A small cough distracted everyone and Sora saw there was one more person in the room he hadn't noticed. The person was leaning up against the wall with their arms crossed and watching them from under a black hood. Huh, they seem familiar, Sora thought. Kairi's smile was blinding as she tugged the person forward. "You guys, this is Riku. He was the one I was talking about."

The boy peeled back his hood revealing long silver hair and a face that was to die for. Sora forgot how to breathe then and there. Aqua marine eyes shined with silent amusement at all the slackened jaws in the room.

"Hi, I'm Riku," he said. His low masculine voice sent a shiver down Sora's spine. "Nice to meet all of you."

Selphie, of course was the first to speak. "I'm Selphie," she said. "Kairi never told me how hot her other friends were."

Sora inwardly cringed. Did the girl have to be that forward? But Riku brushed it off and gave her a dazzling grin that sent her to her knees. "Pleased to meet you." A puddle of goo formed where Selphie had been standing.

Kairi rolled her eyes fondly and turned his attention back to the other people in the room. "This is Tidus, Wakka and Sora," she said pointing to each of them in turn.

Riku's pretty eyes ran over each of them before resting on Sora and nodding. Sora's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He could of sworn Riku had given him a small wink. The brunette ran a hand through his hair as a light blush creeped onto his face.

"All right, everyone," Selphie said now back to her full self. "Let's hop to it. Tidus and Riku, you guys go start setting up out in the back. Wakka, could you be a doll and fix up the sound system? And Sora and Kairi you guys get to work on the decorations inside the house." She started bouncing up and down on the soles of her feet again. "And I have to make some phone calls."

"What?" Wakka said. "You get the easy job Selphie!"

"Yea so," she said smiling and ran towards the stairs.

Everybody was left to their own devices and Sora found himself laughing and talking with Kairi like they were close friends again.

"Sora, you lazy bum," she giggled as she tried to help him untangle himself from the streamers. "The yellow goes in the kitchen and the black ones go in the basement."

"All right, I'll try to remember that," he said finally free of the evil rolls of paper. He grabbed the scotch tape and proceeded to tape a pink streamer over a doorway. He stretched out his hand for the rest of the streamer but Kairi wasn't paying attention. She was staring at him like she was in a trance, like the one Selphie was in earlier. He lowered his hand. "Why are you looking me like that?"

"Wha? Oh, sorry." She shook her head slightly and handed him the rest of the streamer. He reached up to tape it when he felt his shirt slip from his shorts and ride up, exposing his midriff. A small gasp sounded from behind him. He whipped around. "What is it?"

"Noth..nothing…" Kairi stammered. Sora raised an eyebrow. Was she blushing?

"Really, what is it Kairi?"

"I told you, it's nothing."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I've been getting those kind of looks all day. Is there something wrong with me?"

"Oh no!" She said, taken aback. "Nothing's wrong with you Sora, it's just..just.."

"Just what?" He was clearly annoyed now.

She closed her eyes then blurted out, "I just can't believe how cute you've gotten."

Sora stared.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out that way. But, just look at you Sora, you've grown so much since the last time I saw you and..and..well, you're really hot."

He buried his face in his hands. "Everybody has been telling me that lately," he mumbled.

"Well, it's true." She tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. "You're definitely not the Sora we remembered."

"But I want to be!" He said taking his hands away from his face.

She laughed at his obvious distress. "Don't worry, the Sora I knew is still in there but," she paused thinking. "You came with..er..extra benefits!"

"This is so embarrassing," he said staring at his feet.

"Don't be," she said and tilted his face up to look him in the eyes. "I like you just the way you are."

Sora smirked. "Is that a new pick up line, Kairi?"

He ducked the scotch tape thrown his way.

No sooner after he and Kairi finished, Selphie skipped into the room and ushered them to their next task.

"Selphie, are you sure everything will get done before the party starts?" Kairi asked as she was pushed into the kitchen.

"I hope so," she replied cheerfully, shoving Sora towards a counter full of food. "Everything is set up out back and all we need to do now is prepare the appetizers. I called a catering service for the main course."

Plates upon plates of little sandwiches and other delicacies covered the kitchen counters. Sora was especially fascinated with the mini hot dogs rolled up in what looked like tiny croissants.

"Hey none of that!" Selphie scolded as she slapped his hand away. "Don't eat any of that! All I need you guys to do is to set those plates out on the long white table outside, got it?"

"Yes sir!" Sora said in mock salute. "We shall not fail!"

"You better not, " Selphie smiled. "Oh, and get into your costumes soon. The party starts in an hour." She disappeared down the hallway.

Kairi tied her long hair back in a low pony tail and sighed. "Let's get this over with. My costume takes ages to get on."

Sora nodded and grabbed several plates at a time and headed out the screen door onto the back deck. The sight he met almost made him drop the food.

A huge white tent covered the whole yard and tiny white lights lined the edges. The railings of the deck were wrapped in streamers and pastel colored balloons contrasted nicely with the turquoise water of the pool. There were a cluster of small round tables and chairs next to the tent and accompanied by long white tables with already the main course set out to serve. But what really made Sora's inside squirm with excitement was the huge dance floor that laid out under the tent with a big crystal ball hanging from above. And not to mention the humongous sound system off to the sidewhere he could see Wakka working on from a distance.

Kairi stood beside him taking in the scene before them. Her eyes sparkled with complete awe and wonder.

"It's going to fantastic isn't it? I can't wait!"

"Yea, me either," Sora said as he adjusted his hold on the plate full of tomato, bazil and mozerella sandwiches. "I better get thse down there before I drop them."

They walked down the deck steps and successfully delievered the appetizers to their tables. On the way back they ran into Tidus and Riku. Literally.

Sora and Kairi had been absorbed in small chat when Sora tripped over one of the wires leading to the sound system and it sent him falling into Riku who was carrying a table with Tidus. The end result? Sora sprawled on the ground with Kairi and Tidus laughing their heads off. Luckily Riku had kept his grip on the table and didn't fall down too, but he smiled fondly at the brunette who was flat on his face, muttering curse words.

Sora picked himself up, humiliated that he had been so careless as to trip over a stupid wire. "Sorry about that," he muttered, brushing himself off. Oh god, his face was turning red again.

"That's quite all right," replied the silver-haired youth and flashed him a small smile.

Soralooked anywhere but Riku's face.

"Yea, no harm done buddy," Tidus added, grinning. "Let's hope you're not that clumsy out on the dance floor."

Kairi giggled. "He's not." She threw her arm around her friend's shoulder. "I remember him busting out some pretty cool moves back in the day. You can show them, right Sora?"

Sora stared at his feet. "Uh..yea.."

Tidus laughed. "Well, all right. But Riku and I gotta finish with this and then we'll meet you back at the house."

"Ok," Kairi said and dragged Sora towards the screen door.

A/N: Yea, yea I know. No rikuxsora in this chapter, but just wait! The parties next chapter and you won't be disappointed!

I'm also working on another story called Incognito, you can find it on my profile page. It's also yaoi but featuring Sora and BHK (ya know from KH2 that's yet to come out!) so please take a look at it. I'd love it if you did!

P.S. Anybody willing to be a beta? Otherwise just pound me about my grammar mistakes in your review if I did any. Thanks!