Scarlet here again.
This is just a warning: this chapter sucks. I've been trying to make it better in the past few days, but I just can't do it.
Anyways.
Thanks to twilite-soul14, the only reviewer I have.
Disclaimer: All Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy characters (c) their respective owners.
Chapter 2: Extravagant Beauty
"You came back for me. That's all that matters."
...oOo...
I hate mornings.
Obviously, most other teenagers do too – why the hell would they want to start school at 7:32 A.M.? It's so early that it's unnatural.
Fortunately, we lived close by the hellhole. A thirty-minute walk or a 10-minute bus ride, depending on when we were done with packing.
This morning, however, was not an early morning. By the time I still frolicking about in dreamland, Sora had put it, he was already fully bathed, dressed, fed, and all packed up and ready to go. Do you know how rare that is? Normally I'm the early riser, and he's the one who's still snoring in bed. I guess I was just exhausted.
Now I know how Sora feels almost every day. We somehow managed to reverse our roles, and instead of me watching Sora frantically hurry through the house, snatching all his scattered notebooks and binders, half-dressed and not even washed, it was me who was competing against the clock.
It's not a pleasant experience, though I bet you know the feeling.
Of course, we couldn't walk to school anymore being late as it was, so we had to wait for bus, which wasn't exactly the most enjoyable thing to do, since Sora was still pissed off at me, and had his back turned to me the entire time. I felt a little lonely.
Loneliness wasn't all I was going to feel by the end of this week.
-oOo-
Riku and I, for lack of better term, have become friends. He's nice in his own way, sarcastic at all times, and highly competitive. It's weird, though. He's grown to be insanely popular in only two days, yet he wants to befriend his own guide, who always seemed nonexistent to the eyes of the "accepted." Normally, if the guide were nothing but an impudent wimp (ha ha, like me) and the new arrival immediately rose to such a high level of popularity, only a few words would be exchanged throughout the first week, and then they would just go their separate ways. It's so unnatural that Riku and I just became friends, just like that.
However, Sora is beginning to dislike him. Do I really need to say why?
It was lunch on Friday, with Halloween being on the coming night. Naturally, Kairi would wander over with Rinoa the airhead again, and invite Riku to the Halloween dance that the high school is sponsoring later that day.
"So, um, Riku, would you like to come with me to tonight's Halloween Party?" Kairi inquired politely, smiling.
Riku glanced at me. I shrugged. Then he glanced back at Kairi, and said, "I'll join you as long as you invite my friend Naminé here and her brother."
Rinoa snapped back, as though he had just whipped her pride.
"Invite those two geeks?" she hissed, creating such an ugly emphasis on the word those that I winced. "They'll do nothing but ruin our – and your – reputation! It's best to stay away from people like them."
At this, Sora, who had been eating silently, stood up, and marched over directly into Rinoa's face. He was a head taller than her, so she actually shrank back.
"Oh yeah? We're geeks, huh? Look in the mirror and you'll find a bitch staring right back. And you know what? I don't care if you think of my sister and me as geeks. But I'm surprised Squall actually has the patience to deal with a moron like you."
Then he strode right back over to our table, sat down, and began chewing mechanically again on his slice of pizza.
I looked back at Rinoa, who seemed frozen in place. Her vain expression was no longer there; instead, her face was occupied by a look of such pure shock and indignity that I wondered whether she would start crying or not.
I glanced over at Kairi, and I found her staring at Sora in such wonder that I almost began to laugh.
Then Riku began to speak, slow and calm. "I'll go with Kairi and my two 'geek' friends here – but not you, Miss Heartilly. You're nothing but an embarrassment to humankind."
This snapped Rinoa out of her reverie, who snapped, "Fine! Fine! You'll go with those two freaks! C'mon, Kairi!"
"But, I-"
"No." Rinoa hissed, and dragged Kairi after her. I felt horrible for my ex-best friend; she was being treated like a slave. But that could not compare to what Sora had just done.
"That was amazing!" I said, meaning every word of it. The look on my face must have been priceless.
Sora just shrugged.
"Dude, I have to admit, that was some quick thinking," Riku smirked.
"Shut up," Sora replied coldly. Riku looked slightly taken aback.
"Why does your brother dislike me this much?" he muttered.
"Have you not seen what he looks like with Kairi around?" I asked incredulously. And I thought this guy was smart!
Riku raised an eyebrow. "When have I ever made a 'move' on her?"
"On Wednesday!" I nearly screeched. "At last period! Sora saw you flirting with h-!"
"Flirting? I was talking to her about her friend Rinoa, that was all."
This caught me off guard.
"You… were?"
"Of course. I was flirting with you on note-passing during that first day because I already knew we would be connected in some way, you being my school guide and all, but I don't flirt with a girl on first sight," he said, disgusted. I looked down, embarrassed. Sora seemed to perk his ears. Then he turned to glance at Riku.
"Is that… true?" Sora asked in a low voice.
"Of course," Riku responded quite angrily. "What did you think I do, ask her out or something? Do you all take me for a ladies' man with no brain or cares for other people?"
"…No…" Sora muttered, ashamed.
Then I smacked him on the head.
"You are such an idiot!" I scoffed. "How does one confuse consoling with flirting?" Sora winced and touched the injured area.
"I… Well, it… It sounded like flirting to me, since… Kairi was giggling and all that…" he mumbled, looking down, fondling his fingers in his lap.
Riku then did a very weird thing; he put his right hand under Sora's chin and lifted his head. Sora slowly, cautiously lifted his eyes, as though afraid of facing Riku's wrath, but got only a telling-off.
"Next time, don't confuse a comforting conversation with a flirtatious one, 'kay? Or I'll sock you a good one," Riku said, all anger gone, replaced by his wonderful half-smile.
And, there it was again. Sora's blush. But this time, it was accompanied by his retort, "I'll fight back!"
"Aw, aren't you so cute," Riku smirked, and Sora looked away.
What the hell? Weren't they just mortal enemies five minutes ago?
"You people are weird," I sighed, and then, as though agreeing with my statement, the school bell rang.
-oOo-
The Halloween Party. It was one of the most long-awaited parties of the year, second after the Winter Dance.
Since Riku had graciously invited Sora, Kairi (I wonder what excuse she'll use on Rinoa-the-airhead?), and me along, I was getting my costume ready. I had been working on it since August. It doesn't seem a long time, but I spent most of my free leisure time on it.
I was an angel.
No, not by looks – I was seriously dressed up by an angel. I had a thin golden halo suspended by an almost invisible wire that was clipped to an angelic blue headband with silver embroidery. I wore a white-and-blue tunic that reached a foot above my knees with many stitched silver designs, and a silver belt that had little silver chains dangling down the length. I wore high-heeled white sandals that had many straps going up my legs.
But the wings were the highlights. I had bought each individual feather and dyed the tip blue and silver, and spent hours and hours on making a framework for the wings. Needless to say, they were breathtaking.
Now, I don't mean to brag or anything, but I loved that outfit. It had taken me so long to complete, and finally, it was done. All I had to do was add a touch of make-up (silver nail-polish, shiny blue-tinted lip-gloss, and a thin layer of mascara) and I was complete.
Now to see what Sora was.
I knocked on the bathroom, and within a few minutes, Sora was out.
What was he? I couldn't tell.
He had what looked like an evil pumpkin mask tied to his head so it hid his right eye, and the tips of his spiky brown hair were dyed black. Little fake-but-realistic fangs poked out from beneath his lips. Protruding from his black-and-white jacket were two small devil wings, colored a dark violet, and he wore these huge, white sharp-fingered gloves with grey Xs on the front. Suspending his pants was a black-and-blue belt with a silver buckle, and he own really poofy black pants that were tied tightly with red ribbon. ((A/N: You know, his Halloween Town outfit?)) In his right hand was a key-shaped sort of sword, except it was colored black and the blade looked more like a bat than a key. A little pumpkin was attached to the end with a chain.
"…Woah," was all I could manage.
"So, um, do I look good?" Sora asked, a little nervously.
"Good? More like awesome," I smiled. It was true. I bet, compared to him, I'd be inferior.
"Um, so, let's go meet up with Riku. He said he'd be waiting in the parking lot of the school," Sora said, heading toward the door.
Before we could leave our quaint little apartment, however, our mum came out of her room. We both stopped mechanically.
"Wait, would you like me to drive you?" she asked, almost timidly. The crash had shaken her so deeply that asking her to drive us just about anywhere was like seeing a blue moon.
But Sora knew this time,
"Oh, no thanks, Mom," Sora said automatically. "But… Can you pick us up tonight? Around twelve o'clock?"
"Y…yes." she replied. "…Have fun…"
"See you later tonight," we both responded, and though Sora was already out the door, and I turned around and gave her a comforting hug before following my twin. I think there was a sad smile on her face before the door closed and we were making our way down the stairs and finally out into the fresh air.
"Mum is so… quiet these days," I sighed.
"Besides the crying," Sora said quietly.
"Yes, besides that." I smiled forlornly. We both knew Dad's death had snapped her heart in half. Before she had been a wonderful mother, and was both clever and kind. But she never wanted to lose her one and only in a car crash at such a young age.
We walked the rest of the thirty minutes in silence. I wondered how I would feel if Roxas just suddenly died in a car crash…
Pretty horrible, I bet, I thought, fondling the hem of my tunic. I couldn't even begin to imagine what Mom felt when Dad just…departed this world.
Pretty soon, we saw a lone black-hooded figure leaning against a sleek silver convertible in the parking lot of the high school. The lot was filled with the cars of those who were sixteen or over, since they could drive and all.
Then the figure faced us, and beneath a weird half-jacket-half-cloak, Riku's eyes peered out.
"Oh, hey guys," Riku greeted us.
"Hi," we replied in unison. Then, very casually, Sora asked, "So, where's Kairi?"
"Either she's not here yet, or her 'mistress' is keeping her from coming to us," Riku said, shrugging.
"Let's just go inside already," I muttered.
Before Sora could object, Riku put one arm around my shoulder and the other around Sora's, and we just automatically set off for the high school.
"But what about Kairi?" Sora whined.
"She'll find us if she's not here yet," Riku replied. I noticed that he looked a little ticked off at the mention of Kairi. Strange…
And then, through the school doors, down the hall, and into the cafetorium, and we were in the midst of cloaks and sashes and dresses and every animal imaginable. I felt out of place. Was I the only angel?
"I see her," Sora said suddenly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Riku grumbled, but I looked in the direction Sora pointed.
And I saw those familiar blue eyes underneath a fountain of auburn hair. My breath was stolen from me.
Kairi had on one of the most beautiful white and silver gowns I had ever seen in my life. Giant, glittery fairy wings fanned out from behind. Quite obviously, she was a fairy, and a gorgeous one at that.
I'm a girl and I admit that. One glance at Sora told me he was thinking what I was thinking, only multiply by a hundred and you wouldn't even get close.
"Kairi! Kairi!" Sora called out. Kairi turned in our direction, and finally, finally smiled at Sora. Not at me, or Riku, but at Sora. She hadn't done that in… I don't know, has it been sixth months already? Seven?
But as Kairi tried to make her way through the rampaging crowd that was dancing to the tunes, Rinoa gave Kairi a piercing glare that quite plainly said, Take one more step and you're outta my friendship list. But Kairi did, and huffing, Rinoa turned away.
"Sora!" she cried, and burst into his arms. He was knocked backwards into a few poor, unsuspecting victims.
Sora blushed deeply and looked down upon her extravagant beauty.
"I'm so sorry… I hurt you all this time, didn't I?" she whispered. I could barely catch her words.
"I… I missed you."
I backed up to give them some space. Though I could no longer hear them, they still stood together, in each other's embrace. However, I noticed that Riku had vanished, but his evanescence didn't worry me that much; losing anyone was an easy task in this environment.
How adorable, I giggled to myself, glancing one last time at Kairi and Sora. I thought I should just give them maximum privacy, and delved deeper into the raging crowds that were now jazzing along to a J-Rock beat.
I could barely meet it to the refreshment table without smashing into someone every three seconds. It was an infuriating battle, and I was only just winning. Finally, I squeezed into a small vacant space which wasn't so vacant, for I bumped again into someone else.
"Oh, sorry-" I looked up to see my victim, and stopped short.
It was Roxas.
He glanced down at me, and I felt my world shrink. Was he going to shove me away and call me a freak? Or yell that I invaded his personal space and then call me a freak?
I didn't get either. Instead a fuzzy pink spread across the expanse of his cheeks and all the way across his nose, as though he had just suddenly come down with a fever.
"I… I need to g-go," I stuttered breathlessly, then stumbled blindly back through the crowd.
He didn't move, nor did he call me back.
By the time I reached the opposite side of the cafetorium, I slowed down to catch my breath. What was wrong with me? Running away from the guy I liked…
"Very nice," a soft voice said nearby, and I jolted and swirled around. Riku stood in front of me, arms crossed across his bulky chest, a look of disdain upon his face.
"Shut up," I muttered, leaning against the wall.
"You don't get someone to like you by running away," he sighed. "You have to actually show signs of liking him. Running away is like sending signals of 'OMG get away from me,' you know?"
"I know!" I yelled, my normally meek temper flaring up. "I know, okay!" But then, I regained my temper, and logic took over. "Wait a minute, how did you know…?"
"Every time we pass him in the hallways at school," Riku explained slowly, as though I were a melodramatic toddler, "you stare at him for the length of the hall until he disappears out of sight."
I blushed.
"So what if I do?"
Riku gave a very dramatic sigh. "It's obvious you like him!"
My temper shoved me back under. "It's obvious you like Sora!"
Riku raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? Of course, we're friends and all, but you are implying…?"
I bit my lip. It was true; Riku and Sora appeared to just be friends, but I noticed Riku always seemed aggravated by Sora's pining for Kairi. I mean, there was nothing wrong with that; sometimes I was ticked off by his infatuation with her, but…
"Well… Have you seen them together yet?"
"…Who?" A weird look entered his eyes.
"Sora and Kairi. They ought to be making out by now." I shrugged.
Riku attempted to shrug carelessly, but seemed to have difficulty in doing so. "Yeah, I know."
I sighed, then left him alone in the bustling crowd to contemplate the meaning of Sora and Kairi's revitalized friendship.
...oOo...
Horrible ending, with a little cliffie. I'm sorry, I'll try harder to make this more enjoyable. X3;;;;
Riku faces a little jealousy that'll turn into a problem. Wuh-oh. ):
More Soriku in chapters to come, I promise. ;3
-Scarlet-chan