Title: Love On A Rotten Day

Author: Slashapalooza

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.

Author's Note: Love is in the air... And I know a lot of you hate me for Riku's poor missed opportunity and the whole ruining of the date thing. Trust me, you're gonna hate me for a lot more than that. Just not this chapter. ::smirk::

Addendum: ::faints:: U-Uzumaki-sama reviewed m-my story! EEEEE! UZUMAKI-SAMA, IN ALL HER GREATNESS, REVIEWED MY STORY! OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! ::cough:: Sorry. I just, like, worship her stories. Also, Uzumaki-sama, I'm really sorry! I knew the name sounded familiar… I was trying to think up a name for Sora's mom and 'Seiya' popped into my head and I thought '…Why does that sound so familiar?' but then I shrugged it off. I didn't mean to offend you at all and I'm totally sorry! But, ohmigosh, you're reviewing to my story! Now I know I'm doing a decent job. ::squeals and goes off to dance::

News: I got the name 'Seiya' for Sora's mother from Uzumaki-sama's awesome stories, which you should go read, because she is the QUEEN of the RS Fandom. That is all. ::static::

Replies:

Insanehikari (I'm very sorry. That being said, I love that song and I love Ashlee Simpson. I was actually writing the story while listening to that song, as a matter of fact.), Haven-Hikari (I've got nothing on you, huh? What about chapter four, missy?), Koharu-chan (Go eat pocky! Now!), Tama-Kitsune (Alright. ::whispers:: Spoiler: Sora's gonna fall in love with Riku this chapter. Or start to, anyway), xxphatxbaybeexx (Yes. Yes he is. And he is also plotting my eminent doom), ChibiNekoSakura (::smile::), The Writer, you fools (::blush:: I'm not that good! Really! If you want to see talent, check out the stories on MY favorite's list. But thank you so much!), RyuichiFreak (Super pissed doesn't even BEGIN to cover it), Greenarrow-Resurrected (Luck, luck, luck!), Shadow-Angel-of-Silence (No, I didn't make the skin. That came with the site!), greyspark (Riku isn't a virgin. ::cough cough::), and Mujyakina-Hitokoroshiya (I've heard of that movie! Ryan Phillipe is so hot).

Thanks to:

XxX Chains XxX, Ren, Lindsay, MariQ, Risky-reaper, Bubble sealer, Soft Willow, addmoose2004, kuramasgirl13, cammy-world666, Dark Angel Kira, Kumori Sakusha formerly Saelbu, Ivin Artemis Draconis, Queen of the Paperclips, Uzumaki-sama, EC-Chan, lymerai, Griever Weapon, LovelyRikaru, Minamotogirl, severedwing, Riku's Heartless Angel, Chiyosuke, voidsenshi, Fire-Bubbles and LiLi-Sama.

Dedication:

This story is dedicated to Kari, who did my biology homework for me (I mean… Helped me with it...) and therefore extended the chapter length to 20 pages!

Date Begun: January 4, 2005

Date Posted: January 9, 2005

Chapter 8: And My Hair's A Mess, Even When It's Straight

Damn elephants, was the first thing Sora thought as he awoke. His vision was swimming and he could barely make out anything about the room he was in, not to mention there were goddamn elephants river-dancing inside his head.

He groaned and reached a hand up to wipe his eyes, wondering why his entire body felt like lead. He blinked his eyes again until he could properly focus on the white ceiling above him.

Wait a second.

His ceiling wasn't white. His ceiling was blue, just like the rest of his room.

Sora sat up in a flash, instantly regretting it when his head began to swim and he felt his breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the last three days coming up. He stumbled out of the bed and onto the floor, not able to hold his food down long enough to try and figure out where the bathroom was.

Once he was finished, he made a face. "Ugh…"

Sora sat down on the floor next to his mess, looking around wearily. Where was he? What happened? Why couldn't he remember anything about last night? The only thing that surfaced in his memory was the hungry, lustful look on Riku's face when the older boy had seen Sora's outfit.

He couldn't remember much after getting in the car and driving away from his house.

He swallowed, trying to soothe his parched throat as he tried to think through the river-dancing elephants. Stupid elephants. He was willing to bet they were fat and ugly and pink and wearing tutus and tap shoes, just to spite him.

Sora sighed. He needed to focus.

He shoved himself to his feet, wobbling only slightly, and looked around the room. It was relatively clean and very familiar to him. A chair was drawn up by the side of his bed and he saw a pile of clothes folded and resting on the edge of the bed.

Sora's eyes widened. Weren't those… the clothes he'd been wearing last night?

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screeched, dropping to the floor and crawling away from the bed in a panic. He knew it! He knew Riku couldn't be trusted! And what did he get for actually beginning to like that white-haired phony?

Sora whimpered. "I can't believe he raped me!" He looked down at himself for the first time and saw that he was dressed in nothing but his red-and-black-checkered boxers.

Another scream loud enough to break the sound barrier erupted from Sora's mouth. Then he groaned.

Screaming Elephants Bigger Headache.

Sora clutched his head and whimpered the loss of his precious innocence, rocking back and forth in a little ball. How on earth was he going to make it out of the house, past the boy who'd raped him in the first place.

His eyes trailed around the room craftily. He was on the second floor of Riku's house, he knew, so climbing out the window wouldn't be very smart. There were no trees around he could use to aid him.

Besides, he didn't too much fancy going outside in nothing but his boxers.

He looked at the clothes so neatly folded on the bed and cautiously headed towards them, as if expecting them to blow up at him. He stumbled a bit, mind still hazy from his first hangover. He needed to get his clothes and get out. Get clothes, get out. Get clothes, get—

"Sora, what're you doing out of bed?"

A third scream left Sora's mouth as he flipped around so fast he almost got whiplash. He tensed, seeing Ayumi wince at the noise, and noted that his headache was now ten times worse.

Overloaded, the boy fell back onto the bed with a groan.

"Oh, you poor thing. This is your first hangover," Ayumi said with a sympathetic sigh. She walked over to Sora, evading his lunch on the carpet, and watched as he peeked through his fingers to stare at her.

"Uh…" Sora said, his voice slightly hoarse from the screaming. "In order to be… having a… ugh… hangover…. wouldn't I have had to be..." He paused to keep his lunch down again. "Drunk?"

Ayumi smiled. "And, so, what exactly do you think is happening to you right now?"

"…Punishment for something I did in a past life…?" came Sora's reply. He couldn't find the energy to pout when Ayumi broke into laughter, so he turned on his side and buried his face into his pillow. "What happened?"

Ayumi glanced at the mess Sora had made on the floor and frowned. "We'll talk after I scrub that stain out of the carpet before Riku comes home and sees it." She saw Sora's entire body tense up at the name 'Riku' and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Uh…" Sora began weakly, his voice muffled by the pillow. "Uh… where'd Riku go?"

Ayumi stood up, still eyeing Sora suspiciously. "He went to the pharmacy to get you some pills to take care of that headache."

"You mean the elephants?"

Ayumi laughed. "You poor, poor thing. Hang tight, Sora. I'll be back with some soap, water, and disinfectant, and Riku will be home not long after that."

She stepped out the door the next minute, so she missed seeing Sora gulp and whimper helplessly.

-

Riku examined the bottles of pills in his hands.

Advil or Viagra.

He chuckled evilly to himself, putting the Viagra back on the shelf and dismissing all thoughts of slipping it into Sora's food. He was in a fairly good mood, despite the… events of last night that still had him dying to use those chain belts to tie Sora to his bed and…

Teach him the wonders of the human body. Yes, Riku thought with a nod. And how every action leads to a certain reaction.

He chuckled to himself again and grabbed the Advil, walking up to the counter and whistling happily. Now all he had to do was head back to his house and then he'd get to see his adorable, if not incredibly frustrating, Sora.

He didn't bother to dwell on just when he'd started referring to Sora as 'his'.

Riku dug around his pockets for some money as the little bell rang, signifying that somebody was entering the store. He looked up, then smiled. "Hey, Kairi!"

Kairi quickly located Riku and beamed as she jogged over. "Riku! How's Sora doing?"

Riku took his bag from the cashier and shrugged his shoulders. "He was still asleep when I woke up and Mom sent me out to get him these pills to help with the headache. I'm kind of worried." At Kairi's amused look, he frowned. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." Kairi said innocently. "I'll just grab my stuff and then I'll head over to see Sora with you." Riku nodded, his frown deepening when Kairi skipped away, singing, "And love is all that I can give to you, Every Sora needs a Riku-poo, Two in love can make it take his heart but please don't break it, love was made for Sora and Riku!"

He twitched. "Kairi, could you not sing?"

Kairi looked at him innocently, then beamed and nodded, looking extremely amused. Riku rolled his eyes, flipping through a girls' magazine, more out of boredom than anything else.

He was halfway through an article on how to tell whether or not you're in love with someone when Kairi finally came over to the cashier, carrying a handful of snacks and paper plates. Riku raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's that stuff for?" he asked, gesturing at the items.

Kairi looked at them, then at him, before her eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! I forgot to tell you, didn't I? Hee. My birthday's in two days."

Riku stared at her while she stood in front of him, scratching the back of her head sheepishly and grinning apologetically. "You can come to the party of course. Only me, Sora, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, Yuffie, and, well, now you are going to be there."

"How'd you get Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, and Yuffie to come?" Riku asked, watching her pay for her items. Kairi tensed up for a second before relaxing and smiling.

"They… volunteered. In fact, they insisted." She said in an overly casual voice. "Anyway, are you coming?" She smirked. "Sora will be there."

Riku tapped his fingers impatiently against the counter. "Kairi, for some reason, I get the feeling you are entertaining some completely untrue ideas that I have anything besides a deep, unyielding lust, and slight respect for, your best friend."

"I do not!" Kairi protested. "I just think you're in love with him."

She laughed at the groan that escaped Riku's mouth. They walked out of the store in silence until Riku spoke up again. "I'm not."

"You are. I can see it, Seiya sees it, even Ayumi sees it. You're blind to your own feelings," Kairi said, placing a hand to her heart. "Ah, love. Such a complex emotion. Sometimes love is an addiction, sometimes it hurts like hell, and sometimes you just can't get enough."

Riku glared at her. "I'm not in love with Sora, Kairi."

"Sure, sure. Now stop arguing and help me plan my party. Sora was supposed to, but he has this huge distraction called Riku Masaki's Sugar-Kisses." She ducked the arm that came out to whack her across the head and laughed.

-

The window? No, too dangerous.

The door? No, Ayumi was right down the hall and was sure to hear him.

Wait! He could go chameleon, sneak down the hall, blend in with the walls, run to the front door, turn intangible, and run headlong towards his house. Yes. Then he could leave the country and change his name to Fishy McBob.

Sora tried to move his arm and gave up. So much for that plan. He couldn't even work up the energy to do much more than groan and clamp his eyes shut even tighter. It'd been a hassle just to put his clothes back on.

But he had to get out of the bedroom before Riku came back and decided to rape him again. He was too young to be raped twice! He whimpered softly. Even if the rapist was sexy.

He heard the door open and close downstairs and panicked, sitting up in bed again, then falling off when he swayed from the exertion he was putting on his body.

Have… to… hide… he thought, looking around the room slowly. He could either hide under the bed or in the closet. He chose the closet, if only because he didn't quite want to know what kinds of creatures a rapist kept under his bed.

He managed to drag himself into the closet and pull the door closed just as Riku entered the room, Kairi right behind him.

The two were in the middle of an argument that ended the instant they realized that Sora wasn't in the bed. Riku frowned. "Mom said he was asleep in here. Where could he have gone in his state?"

"I don't know. Sora doesn't hold his alcohol well at all. He should barely be able to walk," Kairi added, setting a bag on the floor.

Sora's eyes narrowed. So she was the traitor! Did she even realize that her big mouth had led to the loss of his innocence?!

"Hmm," Riku murmured thoughtfully. "We've got to find him. If you were Sora, where would you hide?"

"In the closet," Kairi answered immediately. "But that's way too easy."

Sora breathed a sigh of relief and backed himself up further against the closet wall. He could hear them searching under the bed and talking to one another in low voices. He took a deep breath, shifting to make himself more comfortable, when his leg hit against something.

Sora picked it up, squinting at it in the dim light the crack in the door provided. A video camera? Sora hadn't pegged Riku as the kind of person to have the patience to film things. Unless that thing was himself.

Sora blinked before his vivid imagination came up with a very different reason for Riku to be using that video camera, among numerous other things including a partner, whipped cream, and handcuffs, and he squeaked, dropping the camera back into the bag he'd found it in.

The door to the closet swung open, revealing an amused-looking Kairi and a curious-looking Riku. Sora held his fingers up in the shape of a cross. "Back! Back, demon!"

"I thought we were past this stage," Riku said with a roll of his eyes, reaching out and pulling Sora to his feet with one swift tug. Sora struggled to get his arm out of Riku's grasp, but at the first sign of resistance, the grip tightened. "Sora, what is with you?"

"Kairi! Help!" Sora whined, continuing to tug on his arm. "Make him let go, Kairi! Make him go away!"

Kairi raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when Ayumi appeared in the doorway, carrying some dirty laundry. She blinked in surprise at the scene before her. At first, she looked at a loss for exactly what to say, but then she just looked at Sora and said, "What are you doing out of bed?"

Sora sniffled pitifully. "Riku's trying to rape me again."

"Rape you?!" Ayumi asked in surprise.

"Again?!" Riku said, matching his mother's tone. Both stared at Sora as if he'd grown three heads. Now that Riku had dropped his arm in shock, Sora used the opportunity to fiddle his fingers.

"Well, what else could have happened last night? He obviously got me drunk and raped me and now he went to the store and got… got Viagra or something so he can rape me again!" Sora declared, pouting.

Kairi, Ayumi, and Riku stared at him in silence.

Seconds later, Ayumi and Kairi were laughing so hard that their sides hurt and Riku was looking at the ground, his bangs covering his eyes.

"S-Sora…" Ayumi said between fits of laughter. "Riku never tried to… HA… rape you! He even… even slept in another… heehee… room so he wouldn't be tempted!"

Sora looked at Riku, but the white-haired boy was on his way out of the room. Feeling suddenly guilty, he looked back at Ayumi. "He did?"

"Yes!" Ayumi snickered a bit more before regaining control of herself. "Riku was worried about you, you silly boy! He watched over you until he fell asleep and then he slept on the couch! First thing this morning, he checked on you, made you some soup, then went out to get you some headache pills!"

Kairi shook her head, grinning. "Geez, what goes on in that mind of yours, Sora?"

Sora looked sheepish. His mind wasn't on them, however. It was on Riku and the sad look that had been on the boy's face before he'd turned away and left. Sora felt horrible. How could he have thought that Riku – sweet, wonderful Riku – Would ever try and hurt him?

"I'm so stupid…" he murmured quietly, kicking at the ground with his shoes. He winced slightly, looking at Ayumi. "Can I get the pills now? I think my headache just got worse."

-

Once Sora's headache had been properly taken care of, and while he was battling the drowsy aftereffects, he headed up to Riku's tower.

It seemed odd to him that a sixteen-year-old should even have a tower in the first place, but, apparently, there was a little trapdoor in the roof at the end of the hall that pulled down into a staircase. The staircase led up to a small room, with a door that led out to a balcony. All of this was what made up Riku's Tower.

Or, as Ayumi put it, Riku's 'I'm an angsty, suffering teenager' pity palace.

Sora jumped up, grabbing the string and pulling the staircase down, walking up the stairs and pulling the door closed behind him. He didn't see Riku in the room, so he gathered that the boy was out on the balcony.

Sora took a deep breath and walked outside.

"Go away, Mom, I don't want to—Oh." Sora looked sheepish at the look Riku was giving him. The older boy turned back around to look at the city, his arms resting on the railing. "What do you want, Sora? Aren't you afraid I'll rape you?"

Sora twitched. And the guilt just kept on coming.

"Uh, no," he said sheepishly, stepping further out onto the balcony. "I-I just came to, ah, talk."

"So talk," Riku replied shortly, not turning around. "I'll keep my hands to myself."

Sora shuffled his feet, looking down. Riku was obviously pissed at him, and with good reason. "I'm really sorry, Riku. I just thought… I mean, you're always talking about how you want to sleep with me, and I couldn't remember anything, and I was in your bed and half-naked so I just—"

"Assumed I'm the kind of guy to rape people? Sora!" Riku finally turned around to face Sora. The younger boy gulped. Riku's eyes were blazing. "I would never take advantage of anybody like that, let alone you! When we do it, and, yes, I said when we do it, it's gonna be something you'll never forget as long as you live! I'd never, ever do something as low as to take your virginity when you weren't conscious enough to slap me!"

Sora fought the urge to crack a grin. This was a serious moment, not a time for laughing. He stared up at Riku apologetically while the older boy just glared down at him, breathing heavily from his tirade.

And then Riku was grabbing Sora's head and roughly dragging the boy's lips to his and Sora was melting and moaning and he was being shoved up against the door and Riku's hands were everywhere and he was so, so very warm—

And then Riku pulled away and stared down at Sora intensely before a brilliant smile flashed across the older boy's face.

Sora could only stare, speechless, his eyes locked with the ones that were sparkling at him so fondly from the face of the boy he lo—

Did he really? He couldn't… he didn't…

Sora slid down the door, still staring at Riku in shock. Riku's lips curled into a smirk. "See what I do to people?" he said arrogantly, tossing his hair and fluttering his eyelashes at Sora. The younger boy just continued to blink, staring at Riku.

"Sora?"

No answer.

"Sora!"

Silence.

"Sora, answer me, or the hands start wandering again." Riku looked amused as Sora immediately stood up and gave him an indignant look.

The brunette scoffed mentally. In love with Riku? Yeah right!

-

"This one or this one?" Selphie asked, holding up two dresses. One was yellow with a rose on it and the other was blue with a daisy on it. Tidus raised his head off his hand and stared, bored, at the dresses.

"How about neither. Go naked," the blond said sarcastically, staring out the window. "Selphie, I don't really care what you wear. Just pick something. The party's not until tomorrow, anyway."

Selphie pouted. "Tidy, the whole point of going to a party is to look good, so what's the point if I don't look good? And, besides, you bought them both for me so you should at least have a say!"

This got Tidus's attention. "When did I buy those?!"

Selphie looked innocent. "When you were asleep and I wanted to go shopping and your wallet mysteriously disappeared…" she said vaguely, turning around to look at the mirror and holding one dress after the other up so she could see them. "I think I like the yellow better."

"How much did those dresses cost?" Tidus chewed out, sounding angry. Selphie didn't answer. "Selphie, dammit, how much of my money did you spend—"

"I love you Tidus." She turned and fluttered her eyelashes at him, giving him that cute grin that had made him start to fall for her in the first place. He sighed.

"Yeah, I love you too. Touch my money again and I'll break your fingers," Tidus warned.

"Not if I break yours first!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah! Bring it, you pint-sized punk!"

"I'm an inch taller than you!"

"And when I wear heels?"

"Shut up."

Selphie grinned at having won the argument and turned back to the mirror as Yuffie walked into the room. "Hey Tidus. Hey Selphie."

"Hi Yuffie! Come over here! Which dress brings out my eyes?"

Tidus promptly stopped paying attention again as Yuffie helped Selphie pick out a dress, shoes, and a hairstyle. What was it with girls and shopping? He rolled his eyes and stared out the window, seeing none other than Riku, Sora, and Kairi walking down the street in front of Selphie's house.

He watched in interest as Riku leaned over to whisper something in Sora's ear that made the brunette turn bright red and smile a bit.

"Hmmm," Tidus said thoughtfully. "Very interesting."

"Hey, isn't that Riku? We should call him in here!" Selphie said. Tidus watched as she flung open the window and managed to grab her before she started screaming and flailing.

"Selphie, don't! Look at them." He pointed at Sora and Riku, who were laughing at something Kairi had said while the girl merely looked sheepish. "Man, it looks like they're dating or something!"

Selphie shrugged. "So?"

"So, don't you think that Riku's getting too attached to Sora? I mean, what if he backs out on us. This isn't even about Riku anymore. It's about getting Sora back!" Tidus explained. Selphie glared at him.

"Why would you want to get him back for something that got us together in the first place, huh? Leave Sora alone and help me pick out some earrings!"

Tidus would rather have gotten a root canal, but he didn't say so. He watched as the trio turned the corner before humming thoughtfully to himself again. "Very, very interesting."

-

Kairi was having a freak-out session of the highest degree. She had snacks. She had music. She had… a lazy Riku laying on the couch and a very angry Sora sulking upstairs. Was it her fault that, in her excitement, she'd forgotten to mention to Sora that Riku was coming?

She, personally, didn't think it really mattered considering that, for all of Sora's complaining, it seemed to her that he was more upset over the fact that he hadn't had the chance to dress better.

She hurried to lay out all the snacks, giving Riku a glare as she passed the couch. "Can't you move or do something to help?!"

Riku gave her a bored look. "Like what?" He smirked. "I could go get Sora—"

"No way! Then neither of you would come downstairs for the rest of the night. I know what you do when you're alone together!" Kairi complained, her hands on her hips. "You'll probably tie him to the bed and have your wild way with him."

"Don't give me ideas," Riku said, smirking even more. Kairi sighed, throwing her hands in the air. Riku was absolutely impossible, as she'd discovered. He was also incredibly lazy. She wasn't sure if she could put up with him for much longer.

"You know what? Go to the kitchen and get a glass bottle. The first thing we're playing when everybody arrives is Spin The Bottle," Kairi said, rubbing her temples. A devilish grin spread on Riku's face as he hopped up and dashed off towards the kitchen.

That done, Kairi grabbed the pack of Chips Ahoy cookies from the table and headed upstairs. "Sora? Sora, where are you?"

"Go away, Kairi. I'm not speaking to you ever again," came Sora's stubborn voice from inside her bedroom. Kairi tried the door, only to find it locked, and sighed.

"Sora… I've got cookies…"

There was a pause before the door slowly swung open to reveal a glaring Sora who held his hand out for the cookies that Kairi was only too happy to give him. "You play dirty."

"I know," she said, beaming. "Now, why don't you come downstairs? I'm sure Riku misses you."

Sora gave her a flat look. "I still haven't forgiven you for that. Why didn't you tell me?"

"What are you so afraid of, anyway? That Riku's going to sneak into your sleeping bag while you're asleep and molest you or something?" Kairi said with a roll of her eyes. "Come on, Sora. If you don't come downstairs, then I'm going to have to put up with him for the next half-hour until people start arriving. You can't do that to me!"

"And I thought you said Riku wasn't so bad," Sora said with a grin, leaning against the doorway. "What will I be paid for my services? I mean, I'm the victim here."

Kairi laughed. "Sora! Come on! Riku won't try anything! Not while I'm here, anyway."

"…Are we talking about the same Riku?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow. He dodged the hand that Kairi tried to slap him with and laughed. "Alright, alright, I'm coming."

Kairi grinned, satisfied, and pushed Sora down the stairs ahead of her. The brunette held tightly to his cookies and walked into the living room, where Riku was idly spinning a coke bottle around. The white-haired boy looked up, grinning when he saw Sora.

"Sora! I thought you'd died! Now, come over here. I have something to show you."

Suspicious and wary, Sora headed over, sitting across from Riku and the bottle and setting his cookies down. "What?"

Riku spun the coke bottle, watching as it came to a stop right where Sora was sitting. He smirked. "The bottle landed on you, Sora. Now I get to kiss you."

"Nuh-uh!" Sora protested, holding up his shoe. "This is what it landed on. Pucker up!"

Ignoring the wrestling and shouts of protest that followed, Kairi turned to her check list. Tidus, Selphie, Wakka, and Yuffie should be along soon. They would be staying for the party and leaving by eleven. Riku and Sora were the only ones who would actually be sleeping over.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax. It was no big deal, having more than half of the Populars in her house. No big deal whatsoever.

Riku and Sora looked up from their wrestling match when they heard the steady rhythm of Kairi banging her head against the wall and groaning. They exchanged looks.

The night promised to be an interesting one indeed.

-

By the time Tidus and Selphie arrived, with Wakka and Yuffie right behind them, Riku was seated comfortably on the couch, watching Spongebob with Sora in his lap singing the theme song in a loud off-key voice.

Tidus raised an eyebrow at the two before his attention was distracted by Kairi, who said a cheerful, "Come on in!" and ushered the couple into the living room. There wasn't much decoration other than a table full of snacks, a banner that said 'Happy 16th Birthday Kairi' and three sleeping bags set up on the floor by the TV.

Sora, upon seeing them, scrambled out of Riku's lap and onto the floor, muttering something about being heavily intoxicated. Riku merely chuckled and stood, walking over to the group.

"Hey guys. Welcome to the party," he said, giving Tidus a high-five and smiling. Tidus grinned back, wrapping an arm around Selphie's shoulder.

"Hey. Looks like you and Sora are doing well," Tidus pointed out. He blinked when Selphie shrugged his arm off her shoulder, watching in confusion as she stormed over to Kairi and struck up a conversation. "PMS."

Riku chuckled. "Too much information, thanks. There's plenty of food and crap so make yourselves at home."

Yuffie grinned slyly at him. "I see that things with you and Sora are going well. You never saw him giving Tidus that kind of attention." She was conveniently ignoring the look of doom that she was getting from the aforementioned blond.

Riku merely smirked. "No one can resist the patented Riku Charm™ for long." He winced when a pillow connected with his head from behind and turned to see Sora giving him a look. Riku smirked. "Excuse me. Someone is dying for my attention."

Wakka, Yuffie, and Tidus watched as Riku walked back over to Sora and proceeded to tickle the living daylights out of the boy. Yuffie laughed. "They're so cute together!"

"Yeah, whatever." Tidus said, shrugging. "I'm going to get some food."

Wakka and Yuffie exchanged glances as he walked off. Kairi stood on the couch, clapping her hands together. "People, people. We will start with a special request game of Twister. Anybody who wants to play is welcome to play, but the game is mainly to settle a battle between Riku and Sora over who is more flexible."

"Sora's going to need to be flexible for what I plan on doing to him in weeks to come," Riku added helpfully, giving Sora a devilish look while the younger boy tried to catch his breath.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Kairi said with a cough. "Anyway, after Twister, we'll be playing the age old game – Spin the Bottle."

Wakka smirked. "That sounds like fun, ya."

"Figures you'd think so." Yuffie murmured under her breath, laughing. "Sounds like fun to me. I bet two oatmeal cookies that Riku wins Twister!"

"Five jellybeans on Sora!" Selphie added, jumping onto the couch excitedly. Tidus rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, but she refused to look at him. Kairi laughed and picked up the spinner.

"Get into position – Riku, get that perverted look off of your face – And… Left leg, green!"

Riku gave Kairi an innocent look and placed his left leg on green.

"Right hand, blue."

Sora bent over, placing his right hand on blue and completely oblivious to the fact that Riku's eyes were focused more on his lower anatomy than on the game board.

"Left hand, red."

Smirking, Riku bent over backwards and placed his left hand on red, earning a series of claps and whoops from their audience. Sora raised an eyebrow in response to Riku's challenging grin and smirked in return.

"Left leg, yellow."

Sora, the picture of innocence, stretched his leg over Riku's body to reach the yellow circle, chuckling evilly at the groan that escaped the white-haired boy's lips. Riku narrowed his eyes. It was on now.

"Right hand, green."

Riku thought a moment. The green circles were all the way down where his legs were and Sora was currently perched practically on top of him. How to get to the green circles…

Sora squeaked as Riku purposely shifted under him, crawling down and placing his right hand on green. Riku mourned the loss of his compromising position under Sora and glanced over his shoulder, chuckling at the vindictive expression on the boy's face.

"Left hand, green."

Sora grinned and copied Riku's earlier move, bending over backwards and placing his left hand on green, bracing his back against Riku's leg so he wouldn't fall. Riku glared down at him, but Sora merely gave him an innocent look.

"Left hand, blue."

Riku smiled and shifted, bending over Sora's body to reach the blue circle. He smirked, their faces mere inches away from each other. He smirk deepened when he realized that Sora's breathing was getting quicker.

"I hate you," Sora muttered under his breath. Riku just smiled in return.

"Right foot, red."

Riku gulped at the positively evil look on Sora's face. He went cross-eyed for a moment as Sora moved his leg in between Riku's and touched his toe to the red circle. Adding insult to injury, Sora shifted once, then twice, and finally settled down.

Riku gritted his teeth together. This. Was. Not. Fair.

He ignored the amused chuckle that came from Kairi before she announced, "Left foot, red."

Riku shifted, momentarily going cross-eyed again, before placing his leg over Sora's and his foot on a red circle. Sora was still grinning like there was no tomorrow.

Twenty minutes later, Sora fell to the ground with a squeak and Riku was named the champion. The brunette was not amused if his glare was anything to go by. "You cheated!"

"How so?" Riku asked, blinking innocently, even though his eyes looked anything but innocent.

Sora's cheeks turned pink as he accepted a cup of sprite from Kairi and took a sip. "You… you… you groped me…"

"Is it my fault that your butt was right there?" Riku mused, grinning. "I'll make it up to you tonight after Kairi falls asleep."

Sora had a choking fit.

Selphie and Yuffie clapped enthusiastically. "Good job, Riku!" they cheered, laughing. Wakka was laughing as well.

"You guys looked like you were… ahem…" Kairi said, gesturing with her hands. Sora was turning a very deep shade of red as he finally regained the ability to breath and set down his drink, dragging his sleeping bag as far away from Riku's as he could without leaving the room.

Riku smirked. "Twister is that kind of game, Kairi. Or maybe you just have a dirty mind."

The group began laughing again – all except Tidus who stood up, muttering something about using the bathroom before disappearing up the stairs. Kairi raised an eyebrow. "What's his problem?"

Selphie bristled. "Who cares? What're we playing next?"

"Uh," Kairi said, glancing the way Tidus had gone before shaking her head and continuing. "We were going to play Spin the—"

"How about Truth or Dare instead?" Selphie said shortly, cutting her off. "Somebody go get Tidus. We'll spin the bottle to decide who goes."

Seeing how obviously pissed she was, no one dared argue.

Riku brought Tidus back downstairs and they all sat in a circle. Kairi looked around at the tense atmosphere and sighed. "Um… I'll go first, I guess."

She spun the bottle, watching as it landed on Yuffie. "Truth or Dare?" Kairi asked.

Yuffie thought for a moment. "Um… Dare."

"I dare you to…" Kairi said thoughtfully. "Sneak across the street to our neighbor's house and grab a piece of laundry off their clothes line – without being seen, of course."

Yuffie smirked. "Easy."

They watched as the girl got up and walked out of the room and heard the door open and close. Wakka, Riku, Sora, and Kairi all raced to the window to watch, while Selphie stayed right where she was, glaring at Tidus, who shifted uncomfortably.

"I get the feeling you're… mad at me…" he said, eyeing her nervously. Selphie's glare didn't soften.

"What gave you that idea?" she asked in a low and angry voice.

"Why are you mad at me anyway? I didn't do anything!" Tidus protested, crossing his arms. Selphie's glare, if possible, got worse.

"Didn't do anything?! DIDN'T DO ANYTHING?! You—"

"She's coming back, she's coming back!" Selphie cut herself off and fell silent as the group returned to their seat. Yuffie re-entered the house, looking victorious.

"I did it. Except, the only thing hanging was underwear so…" She blushed and held up a pair of blue rubber ducky boxers. Everybody began laughing, with the exception of Tidus and Selphie.

"My turn, my turn!" Yuffie sang, spinning the bottle and watching as it landed on Wakka. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Wakka answered immediately, not willing to go outside and put his hands on anyone's underwear.

Yuffie grinned. "Who're you planning on asking to the dance?"

This question actually managed to break the steely glare Selphie was giving Tidus. She turned and faced Wakka, looking curious. "This I want to know. Who, Wakka?"

Wakka's ears were turning pink and he looked at the carpet. "Um… well… you know that brunette in Mr. Hotaka's class?"

"Yeah…" Yuffie said thoughtfully. "I think I've heard of her. Lulu, right?"

Wakka nodded. "I'm asking her."

Selphie and Yuffie exchanged glances, then collapsed in a fit of laughter. Even Kairi was laughing, knowing of the Goth girl that Wakka was referring to. Riku gave Sora an amused look while the brunette merely blushed and looked away.

Wakka coughed. "Anyway, my turn," he said as he spun the bottle, watching it spin once and twice before it landed on Selphie. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Selphie answered immediately, her eyes back on Tidus now that her amusement was over.

Wakka looked between the two and raised an eyebrow. "I dare you to give Tidus a big kiss to show him how you're feeling right now."

Selphie looked at him. "Kiss him to show him how I'm feeling, huh? No problem." Everyone watched as she stood up, brushing her hands against her dress, and stalked over to Tidus with a smirk on her face.

She dropped down in his lap, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and crushing his lips against hers. Tidus turned a very bright red and stared wide-eyed as Selphie continued the kiss until Tidus finally relaxed and kissed her back. He'd just slipped his tongue into her mouth with an evil grin spread on Selphie's face…

And she bit him. Hard.

"OW! DAMMIT!"

Selphie scoffed and stood up, watching in grim satisfaction as Tidus blew on his tongue, which was starting to swell. She turned on her heel and stalked back to her seat. "That is how I'm feeling. My turn."

Tidus looked at her, a scared look on his face, which she ignored. Selphie spun the bottle, watching as it spun around and landed on Tidus. "Truth or dare?" she asked in a neutral voice.

Tidus stared at her. "Um… truth?"

"How do you really feel about Sora?" she chewed out quickly. "Speak up! We're waiting! TALK MIHADA!"

Tidus twitched. "I changed my mind. Dare."

"Coward," Selphie muttered under her breath. "Fine. You want a dare? I dare you to…" She looked around at the circle of kids who were all looking at Selphie apprehensively. The girl was unpredictable. Her gaze landed on Sora, who gulped. Selphie smirked. "I dare you to show us all how you really feel. Kiss Sora."

Three people gasped in surprise – Tidus, Sora, and Riku.

-

Riku: WHAT?! Why wasn't I told about this?!

Slashy: Because you would have objected to it.

Sora: I don't want to kiss Tidus! He has Popular germs!

Tidus: And I don't want to kiss Sora! He's got Riku all over him.

Riku: ::smirk:: In more ways than one.

Slashy: Didn't need to hear that. Anyway, what will be will be. Que sera sera. Now shut up and pucker up, you babies.

Tidus and Sora: ::cry::

Slashy: Oh stop whining, Tidus. I was thisclose to having Selphie kick you in the balls for your cruelty, but then you would be in no shape to kiss Sora!

Riku: ::sulking in the corner:: My only consolation is that next chapter, I finally get some action.

Slashy: Emphasis on the word some. See you soon, lovely reviewer people!