Sorry for such a long chapter gap. I had so many ideas, but I didn't know what to write.
I didn't disclaim for the past few chapters, but obviously I don't own the characters.
But, since I don't have many reviwers, again, this goes to twilite-soul14, because even one review helps a writer keep writing.
Anyways, this chapter is in Sora's POV. Because I said so.
Chapter 4: Sora, Like the Sky
"Confusion is just another form of not knowing."
...oOo...
"So, what would you like, miss?"
"Uhmmmm... Perhaps a date with you, Sora." ...How did she know my name?
I looked down at my namecard. Hi, my name is Sora! I groaned.
"What is this, the second not-quite marriage proposal today?" Riku yelled over to Yuna, who giggled.
"I count the second ask-out, and the marriage proposal was already at three, Riku," corrected the brunette. Riku rolled his eyes.
"Hey, I hear you guys, you know! I'm not deaf!" I shouted, startling the rather pretty, middle-aged woman who was leaning against the counter, uncomfortably close to my face.
"Anyways, I don't date old ladies," I said coldly to the woman, "so if you don't want something to drink or nibble as you drive, then I'd request you to leave."
The woman winced as though my words had slapped her, and, huffily, she said, "Well, fine. I was hungry, but now you've gone and ruined my appetite." And she left in a storm.
But my tale starts after the school bell rings.
-oOo-
"Riku!" I yelled, panic-stricken. "Slow - DOWN!"
Have you ever seen a crazed sixteen-year-old, driving a silver convertible at about twice the speed limit, thrashing about in the traffic, always a few millimeters - or less - away from swerving into another car? I swear, that guy has never attended a good car drivers ed class.
Riku only laughed in response.
God, he has issues. Intense, intense issues.
Anyways, as we sped through the traffic of the crossroads, with me praying that I'd be alive by the end of this crazed ride, I mulled through the amount of homework we had. It wasn't much, but I didn't like homework. Not at all. Naminé was the smart one, not me.
So, as we screeched to a stop in front of the more classier apartments (ours were just easy-rent, cheap places), I was muttering about mad drivers and homework that shouldn't have existed in the first place.
"Did you enjoy the ride?" Riku asked, smugness intoxicating his smooth voice.
Did I ever mention how reeling his voice is? ...Not that, I like him that way, but you know...
"...Hellooooo? Earth to Sora? Do you exist in that empty head of yours?"
Woops. Never leave him unattended.
"Of course I do," I snapped, hauling my heavy pack over my shoulder as we exited the convertible. "And yes, that was one of the best rides I've had in a long while - if I wanted to get my head rammed through the windshield."
"You sound like your witch of a sister," he smirked.
"Her sarcasm is getting to me..." I muttered.
We entered the building, and Riku guided me toward the elevators. The inside was smooth and suade, with a sort of homely feel that had a touch of sophistication. Apparently Riku's parents had the money to get this type of apartment.
"Wow, this place is..."
"Crap." Riku said flatly. "Everyone who lives here are either high-class asses or prissy old bitches, my parents included."
"What about you?" I teased.
"Heh, it depends on who you talk to." he grinned. We stepped into the elevator as it slowed down and opened at our level.
"Soooo... You don't like your parents, do you?" I said, slowly. I didn't want to probe his temper, which was rather an easy thing to do. Riku didn't respond automatically, but punched in the five floor number, and the doors closed and I felt the elevator rise.
"...Not really. My mom's decent, though. I do like her a lot, but lately she's come down with an intense fever, and my dad's all pissy. Not that I ever liked my dad in the first place." Riku said bitterly. I gulped.
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"Nah, it's okay. I don't mind. But if my mom dies, I might as well run away from home." he sighed, hitching his backpack higher onto his shoulders, as though he already had plans of escaping. "My dad's not abusive in physical terms, but he can sure whip your pride. And grounding me is his favorite pasttime."
"...Oh. That must suck," I replied, trying to make him feel somewhat better, as he was no longer performing his trademark smirk.
"Yeah. It does. A lot. I can hardly get out of the house without being barricaded by questions from him," he muttered.
"Um..."
"Oh, am I making you uncomfortable? Then let's get away from the topic of my father," Riku said, smiling again.
"Yeah, so, um, today's homework..."
"You suck at Algebra, don't you?"
I stuck out my tongue.
"There's no need to be mean," I said coolly.
"Yes, but I seem to recall that you recently got a D- on that pop quiz..." he said, his smirk playing with his features again.
"Well, it was a pop quiz!"
"That's no excuse."
"Oh, shut up."
"Or what?"
"Or I'll sick Naminé on you when she's deprived of her coffee."
"Oooookay. Changing the subject, then."
I smiled in victory.
"So, Destiny Dreams. What's it like, working there?"
"I thought I already told you?" Riku raised an eyebrow. "Memory relapse, perhaps?" The elevator doors opened and we stepped out. Riku lead me down a few halls.
"You could always tell me again..." I pouted. I saw Riku fight an inner battle with his logic, and apparently the logic lost.
"Um, so, yeah. Paine is a total bitch, but she knows how to crack jokes, I guess. K.K. is completely insane, and laughs perhaps too much - but if you have a crush, she'll be able to tell instantly."
I somehow gulped at this. Then I mentally slapped myself.
'You're Kairi's boyfriend! No Riku thoughts! Riku thoughts BAD! Very bad! Bad for health, bad for...'
"...and she's pretty nice, you know, total down-to-earth sort of gir - hey, are you even listening?" Riku snapped.
"I'm listening! I'm listening very closely!" I said, distracted. Damn conscious!
'What do you mean, damn me? I was the one that stopped you from taking that beer bottle!'
...Leave me alone! I can... I can like him... If I want...
"...'Rrraaaa...? Soraaaa! Hello? I called you a complete bonehead? Shouldn't you be, I dunno, all pouty and all that shit now?" Riku waved his hand in front of my eyes. I jumped, and landed on my butt.
"Ah, I see. Incapable of even standing now." Riku sighed, offering his hand. I slowly reached out to take it, and getting bored, he grabbed my arm and hauled me up rather gently to my feet.
"...T...thanks..." I said weakly.
"Anyways, we're here." Riku motioned toward the door - number 145 - which he had unlocked when I was in the battle with my damned conscious.
'I am so not damned.'
Go bother someone else and leave me alone!
"Um, Sora? You're scaring me now with your lack of response. You can come in, you know." Riku's voice brought me from out of the hole. I blinked twice.
"...Or do I need to carry you?"
"N-no!" I yelled, and shoved past him inside. My heart was hammering. Why was that?
"...You're are so creepy." Riku muttered, and brushing past me, he slipped the door closed. "Anyways, this is my humble abode. Like what you see?"
I see you. And I like that.
'Get your mind out of the gutter! You pervert!'
But... I...
"Um... 'Kay. No reply. Well, either you really hate it, or you're shocked speechless. I mean, your home wasn't all that different from this dump, you know..."
"Oh, shut -"
"...Riku..." a creepy, weak voice floated into the room, and I fell silent. Riku perked instantly.
"I'm coming, Mom!" And ignoring me, he left the room and entered what seemed to be a bedroom. I followed, numbly.
What I saw made my throat clog up. A frail, thin woman, young in appearance, lay in a soft, feathery bed, nothing but a nightdress and quilt covering her pulsating body. Her long, chestnut hair splayed out across her sea of pillows and partially blocked her face. But she was still attractive, somewhat like my own mother. Riku was by her side, clutching her right hand in his own two strong ones.
"Look, Mom, it's a friend of mine," Riku said, hearing my clumsy entrance. He motioned for me to come closer. I did so.
"How... Nice." It seemed talking was a challenge. But the woman tried, and she suceeded, and she offered me one of the most fragile smiles anyone has ever manage to give me.
"My name's Sora, ma'am." I came over to the bedside and kneeled, like Riku.
"Sora... like the sky." she said, and her voice grew stronger. I saw Riku smile sadly. "...Yes. Your... eyes. They match... the sky." She momentarily closed her eyes, then opened them. I felt my heart throb for this poor soul.
"Riku... Take care of him. Take good care." she smiled, and I blushed. What was she talking about?
"I will, Mom." Riku said softly, and put his lips to her fingers. She giggled, then punctured the trail of soft mirth with a string of rough, raucous coughs.
"Go," she said weakly. "Go finish... homework. Or something."
"But -"
"I... will be... fine." she said, and closed her eyes. She seemed to fall asleep almost instantly.
Riku got up, and once again, gave me his hand. I gripped it tightly, and he lifted me up, and we left as quietly as we could manage, closing the door after us.
"I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I said, curling up on the couch, gripping my legs. I rocked back and forth, tears blurring my vision.
"...It's okay." He smiled forlornly at me, and brushed away a tear that was rolling down my cheek with his thumb. I felt warmth surge my skin. "C'mon... Let's do our homework."
I nodded.
-oOo-
We didn't exactly laugh and joke around as we finished the Algebra homework that was due for tomorrow. I couldn't find the heart to.
Riku was slowly seeing his mother rot away. Soon, we both knew, she would die. That was worse than my dad just suddenly dying. To know the one you love will perish is nothing like a surprise. It's worse. I didn't know the woman well, but I could feel Riku's concealed despair. He didn't want her to depart so soon.
"...Sora?"
"...Yeah?" I murmured, tossing my bag aside.
"You've been quiet. Too quiet. You don't have to feel bad for me." Riku said. He knew that I knew.
"It's just that..."
"I know. Your dad." He sighed, then smiled. "When she's gone, I can still live."
Then, he smirked. I felt alarmed.
"Do you have to be so serious and gloomy?" Riku whined. "It's getting scary."
"But... Your mom is..."
"Ignore her in her state. She may not live, but it's not like she doesn't love me." Riku shrugged, though I could tell losing his mother was more than that.
"But, anyways, we should... I dunno... Do something now?" he muttered.
"I'm tired." I declared. The meeting of his mom, the driving, the insanely hard Algebra homework... I needed a nap.
"Go ahead. Claim other side of the couch." Riku said lazily, and I finally felt the upturing of my lips and glomped him. Well, he had decided to sit on it, and I couldn't resist myself...
'You're a naughty, naughty boy. And how just do you go from all deeply depressed to hyper?'
One word: Riku.
"I said the other side!" he yelped.
"But this is comfy tooooo," I whimpered. I was blushing, yes, and my act was uncalled for, but I wanted... some sort of pillow, anyways.
"...Gah, whatever. Take a nap. But I swear I was never used as a mattress before," Riku grumbled, relaxing. I snuggled into his fortress of warmth, and let a calm dream take me.
-oOo-
So, that's what happened at Riku's apartment. A whirlpool of emotions, if you ask me.
"...Sora, you daydream WAY too much," Riku said disdainfully. "There was all that daydreaming at my apartment, and now you've gone and done it again."
"Oooooh, he came to your apartment?" K.K. said, interesting. Then she cursed as she spilled a small amount of burning hot coffee onto her foot.
"Yeah, and I bet they had a gay little romp, didn't they?" Yuna giggled, throwing K.K. a towel. Riku scowled at them, but I tried my best to hide my blush.
"Aha! I knew it!"
Obviously, I failed.
"I just took a nap on him, that's all," I confessed. Riku shot me a glare that quite plainly said 'traitor.'
"On him?" Paine suddenly perked. "You're a sick kid, you know that?"
Yuna and K.K. were both laughing hysterically. Riku sighed.
"It was only a nap," he said defensively.
"You two would be so cute together," Yuna teased.
"Why don't you pose for us now?" K.K. giggled.
Riku slapped his forehead.
"Customers," Paine said dully, indicating the new arrivals. They had just witnessed practically everything from the part that Riku had accused me of daydreaming too much.
I greatfully turned back to the counter, and found two pairs of blue eyes looking back.
Naminé and Kairi.
I felt my heart stop.
"Um, hey bro." Naminé smiled rather nervously. "I went to Kairi's house, and since we finished our homework, we decided to come visit you."
"Is it true, what you said?" Kairi inquired, a hurt look in her eyes. Her voice quivered.
"K-Kairi," I said weakly.
"Uh oh," K.K. said, looking at Riku with a stern look in her eyes. "You took a move on Sora knowing he had a girlfriend?"
"What? He was the one who jumped on me, not-" Riku started indignantly.
"But you're still guilty."
Kairi sighed, and everyone - even Paine - looked at her.
"Look, Sora, if you're gay, you could've just told me. I would have understood." she said sadly.
I looked at my girlfriend, trying to find the right words but coming up with nothing. Then I glanced at my sister, who had the strangest combination of emotions on her face; exasperation, pity, but a great deal of "I-thought-so" attitude.
"But, it's okay. I'll just look for someone else," she sighed. She wiped away a hidden tear, and turned to leave.
"Wait!" I cried, and throwing open the counter door, and scrambled toward Kairi and brought her into a hug. She gasped, but then cuddled up against me, and I kissed her. Just like that. In front of everyone. Her lips were as sweet as ever, but this time, they tasted a little bitter to me. I didn't know why.
And then we broke apart, and Kairi was really crying now.
"Do you love me? Or are you gay?"
"I..."
"Don't tell me now." She was actually smiling through her tears. "I can wait." And the two left.
I felt a tingling sensation in my fingers and lips. I turned back to look at my coffee-shop mates, and all of them - except for Riku - were staring at me, at a loss for words.
...oOo...
I think this chapter was rushed, but I tried making it funny, and at the same time, angsty. D: Me and my strangeness.
So, just who is Riku's mother? (: I'd like you to figure out yourself.
Review, please.
-Scarlet-chan