A/N: omg, we're so close to the end now… -cry-
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.
Chapter 17: Goodbye
Kairi was completely bundled up that Friday, waiting for Sora to come pick her up. She wanted to look her best, but it was a bit hard to considering that it was going to be only about thirty degrees Fahrenheit that night. Every other minute, Selphie was calling her to ask how everything was going, and as annoyed as Kairi got, she was sort of glad that Selphie was checking up on her- she wasn't usually into the whole dating thing, anyway.
Being the klutz that she was, Kairi had taken about 20 minutes getting the right amount of mascara on. The rest of it was a little bit easier, but she couldn't help stressing about if she looked like a clown with all of the artificial junk on her face.
She looked in the mirror one more time, and then down at her clothes. She was wearing jeans, as usual, a long sleeved shirt, and a big coat that her mother insisted on her wearing because of the cold. She would have ignored her mother's plea, if it weren't for the many days that she attempted to race Yuffie to school because of the low temperature.
The doorbell rang. Kairi excitedly ran down the stairs to look through the peephole to see who it was. She was a little bit disappointed to see it was only her mother, although she opened the door for her anyway.
"Hey, Mom... don't you have a key?"
"What, so you don't want your poor always working mother inside her own house that she pays the bills for? How ungrateful of you!" Her mother teased. "Oh, by the way," she moved aside, to reveal Sora behind her. "Your date is here."
Kairi wanted to pout and argue that he wasn't her date, but she decided to lay off. It would look kind of weird in front of Sora, anyway. She waved goodbye to her mom, and closed the door behind her.
"Hey..." She said shyly, almost in a whisper. "Where are we going, anyway?"
Sora laughed, and then gently took her hand. "You'll see. What would a surprise be if I told you?"
Kairi slightly tightened her grip on Sora's hand, letting him know that it would be okay. "But I'd like to at least know a little bit about where we're going..."
"No, it would ruin the element of surprise." He smirked playfully as they walked in the crunchy snow.
"Can't you give me at least one hint?" Kairi begged, and gave him the puppy dog look. Sora took this chance to gaze at the Christmas lights around him on the houses, and not look at Kairi's face. He knew that if he did, he would completely give it away.
"Look, Kairi... someone put a reindeer on their roof." He beckoned to a house far off in the distance.
Kairi squinted, her mind completely off the subject now. She moved her head to different angles and she still couldn't find it. "Where? Where? Where?"
Sora, still holding Kairi's hand, held it up, and pointed to the house that had the reindeer, which was getting much closer to now. "See it?" He smiled. At least this was getting her off of the original subject.
"Yeah, it's so beautiful... I love how everyone puts up their lights on the Island during Christmas... well, except for us. Mom never really has time and I don't have the physical capability." She giggled.
"I remember my dad would always put up the lights a day before the benefit concert that he always played at. I think it was his tradition for good luck... because that's how he met my mom. She was the head of the committee who organized it until I came along."
"Oh, Sora... don't you just cause trouble for everyone." Kairi teased. She smiled, and then looked at the building that they had stopped in front of. It looked... oddly familiar. She loved the way the lights were decorated, walked a little bit closer and let go of Sora's hand as if her body was taken over. Her hand fingered one of the lights, almost as if she was touching them to see if they were real.
"Isn't it gorgeous?" He asked, and put a hand on her shoulder.
She smiled, and pulled Sora into a hug. Now that she was sure that her feelings were mutual, her mind started wandering into the future. They could have a family together... just the two of them, and their cellos... her mind drifted off as she inhaled his scent.
"Um, Kairi? I'm enjoying this as much as you are, but people are staring. I think they want to go inside, and they can't." Sora winked.
She realized that they were blocking the entrance to wherever Sora had brought her. She blushed, hoping that in the darkness, Sora wouldn't notice. "Let's... go in, then. What's inside, anyway, Sora?"
Sora smiled, and took her hand once again. "I told you, you'll see. Close your eyes." He put his hands over her eyes, just to make sure she wasn't peaking. He then carefully led her inside, trying not to trip over her feet.
Kairi heard Christmas music when the door closed behind them. It was soft... and she wasn't particularly sure about where she was, although she could feel the bright lights of the room. "Sora? Can I open my eyes now?"
"Yeah." He moved his hands, and when Kairi opened her eyes, she took a look around before she was blinded by the beauty. The inside was more extravagant than the outside. The lights were placed in extremely well thought out patterns, and all Kairi could do was stare. She slowly spun around, taking a good look at everything around her. When she was done, she turned to look at Sora, who was watching her and smiling.
"Like it?"
"Yeah, it's beautiful." Kairi tried to keep herself from jumping up and down for joy.
"That's not all..." He took her hand, and opened the door in front of them to an auditorium. "We're staying for the concert."
Kairi squeezed Sora in a tight hug. "I'm so happy..."
He ran his fingers through her hair, and then sadly smiled. "Me too... let's go find a place to sit." The auditorium was quickly filling up, and Sora led her to the middle area and motioned for her to sit.
They both sat down quietly, and talked for a while until it was time for the concert to start. She gripped Sora's hand, not wanting to ever let it go. She had gotten attached very quickly, but she wasn't about to let it end so fast. The lights around them dimmed, and the music started.
From the beginning of the concert, the music seemed familiar to Kairi- like she had heard it before. When she poked Sora and asked him about it, he just said that they were regular Christmas tunes, nothing too special. But there was still something that intrigued her about how familiar they sounded, and the order they were in. As excited as she was before, she soon became a bit bored. She felt herself nodding off, fighting to stay awake, and letting her head rest on Sora's shoulder.
"Kairi, the best part is going to start soon..."
She shot up, and now sat up straight. A man in fancy a suit walked onstage, up to the mic. "Now, here's our final song, Silent Night."
Kairi could feel her eyes widen as a cellist walked up onstage. Now, everything hit her like a ton of bricks- this was the same concert that her parents took her to when she was little- the concert where she fell in love with the cello. She watched every movement of the cellist onstage, edging farther off her seat with each note. By the end of the song, she had almost fallen off her chair and barely noticed it.
"Sora..." She felt his fingers wrap around hers. "Thank you..." she giggled. The lights had come back on, signaling that the concert was over. She didn't want to get up from her seat- it had been the night of her life. Never would she imagine that Sora would bring her here.
Sora was grinning from ear to ear; he knew that Kairi would love it, but he hadn't realized that she would love it this much. He felt completely happy inside, happier than he had ever felt before. "You're welcome, Kairi... I'm so glad that you liked it..." When she looked at him, he could feel himself falling into the state of peacefulness that he always did when he was around her.
Kairi could also feel herself falling, but she stood up, and helped Sora up, bringing him out of his state. "Come on... let's go look at the lights outside again..." she squealed out of happiness.
"Okay." He felt his heart lift with the rest of his body when he got up and they walked outside into the cold air. He felt her shiver and snuggle against him when they sat down on the bench outside.
He continued to stare at her features while she stared at the lights. He loved this side of her; the side that would always be a kid. He let out a little chuckle when she finally turned to look at him.
"What's so funny?" She poked him.
"Nothing, it's just that you're so... kiddy and cute."
"Are you calling me immature?" She playfully glared at him.
"No... because your music shows that you most definitely are not..."
During their short conversation, he could feel himself inching towards her, a little bit closer with every word. He wasn't sure when would be the right time... but now seemed perfect. He captured her lips in hers in a short and sweet kiss, letting go almost as fast as he had taken them.
Kairi was amazed. She hadn't expected it to happen so fast- not that she wasn't glad about it. It was just... surprising. What was she supposed to say?
Sora felt nothing but sheer bliss inside... until after a few minutes rolled by; he realized that there was something that he had to tell her. His expression changed, but Kairi didn't notice, since her mind was back on the lights. She wanted to stay here forever, next to Sora, and feeling the music from Silent Night radiating in her heart.
"Kairi." His voice was different now; what had happened? Did she do something? She wondered; then turned to look at him, and his expression was completely different from the last time she did. "I... we need to talk." He could feel his own voice shaking.
What had happened? Just a few minutes ago, they had shared their affection more than before... was it going to be over so soon? She could feel her own smile turning upside down, and her fingers fumbling. "Wh-what's wrong?" She shakily asked.
Sora was searching for the words to say. He knew that he had to... or else someone else would have to do it for him, and he didn't want that. "Do you remember when I told Selphie that I was going to stay here one more year before I went to Julliard?" He was now visibly shaking.
"Y-yeah?" Kairi now knew what he was going to say, she was just praying that he wouldn't.
"I... I have to go there to finish my school year, or else they're going to give my scholarship to someone else. I'm... I'm leaving tomorrow." He put her hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry..." he whispered.
Kairi could feel tearing building up in her eyelids. It's all a nightmare, she told herself... it's not real; it can't be happening... he can't be leaving so soon! "Sora..." she cried. "Don't leave..."
Sora pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry; Kairi... but I can't do anything about it. Julliard was my dream..." He could feel himself arguing inside. What had happened to her coming before his cello? Did he just suddenly stop caring around her?
Kairi's response now was to sob. Sora hugged her tighter. "I..." he stopped speaking.
"What?" Kairi's voice was now harsh. "What can you say now that you're leaving, and won't do anything about it?" She fought her way out of his grip, and dashed away from him. "I'm going home alone."
"No, you're not." Sora caught up to her quickly, and pulled her into another embrace. "Please, Kairi... just pretend that everything will be okay for the rest of tonight... please... I didn't mean to hurt you so much..."
Kairi couldn't help but listen to him. She let the pieces of her heart rest inside of her, as they chatted while they walked to Kairi's home. Her heart was breaking into more pieces with every joke that they laughed together at, with every sentence spoken.
When they had finally reached her home, Sora pulled a large envelope out of his coat. He held it out for her. "This is for you... don't open it until you get inside." When she didn't reply, he added, "Kairi, I'm always with you. I'll come back to you, I promise!" He watched her walk in, and then continued to his home.
Kairi threw the envelope on her desk in her room. What could possibly make up for what he had done? She let herself cry and cry, until all of her tears were gone. She walked into the bathroom, and realized that she had a vertical line of black running down her face. She angrily washed it off.
Afterwards, she glared at the envelope, wondering what was inside. He had obviously planned to tell her the bad news this evening, but hadn't expected her reaction. She carefully opened the envelope, her anger seizing when she saw what was inside.
There were two pages of music taped together, and obviously worn with the edges ruffled. The title said, "Silent Night."
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