Hi! This is my first fanfic, so please review and give me advice.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 1: Confusion and Regret

"I failed..."

That thought repeated endlessly through the mind of a fourteen-year-old with spiky brown hair, sitting on a dock watching the setting sun illuminate the sky. Blue eyes screwed up in anguish as he shook away tears at the thought of Kairi. Sora cradled his head in his hands and groaned. How could he have been so stupid? They were nothing more than friends and never would be. But, a whisper in his heart had led him to believe that maybe there could.

He shook his head. "I was so wrong..." he whispered.

Leaning back on the dock, he rested his head against the wood. The sun was creeping below the horizon, casting shadows. He would have to get home soon, or his mom would send searchers when it got dark.

Sora sighed and shrugged. So what if people came? He could hide anywhere on the island and people would never find him if he didn't want them to.

He closed his eyes in thought.

-flashback-

They were walking on the beach. "Kairi, wait here, I have a surprise for you!" Sora said, and ran around the next bend, disappearing form Kairi's sight. His destination was the best known paopu tree on the island. "This is it," thought Sora as he ran. "She'll know where I'm going, and if she waits, I'll know she likes me." He tripped over a tree root, his head hit the ground, and everything went black.

He jumped up and found the tree, scaling it quickly; he grabbed his prize and dropped to the ground. He sprinted back along the path and ran to Kairi, who was waiting. His heart leapt, than sank as he saw her expression. "SORA!" she yelled, furious. "What the hell are you pulling here? I waited for TWO DAMN HOURS and you never returned!" Sora was speechless.

"B-but I was only g-gone for ten m-minutes."

Kairi was livid. "You little- oh, I-I...I don't believe you. You were trying to pull a joke on me, I can tell. Oh, Sora, I didn't think you were like that!" She burst into tears and slapped him hard across the face. "Stay away from me! We're not friends!"

Kairi ran off sobbing. Sora gingerly touched his face, and as tears welled up in his eyes he ran blindly towards the water.

-end flashback-