Yay! Another chapter. Hope you like it. OH! And the chapters are sorta supposed to mean days. One day each chapter.
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Riku Walked into the dining hall where everyone was waiting. He'd asked Merlin earlier if his band could set up in here, and Merlin was more than happy. Riku and his band didn't play those hard rock songs about death and killing, they just played whatever came to their mind. And they'd happened to write down.
Riku walked up to Sora, who was still serving people, and tapped him on the shoulder, "Sora, can I move some tables so that Pence can set up the drums?"
Sora looked around and saw that a slightly chubby guy and a tall and handsome man were standing in the doorway, both were smirking, but they actually looked happy to be doing this. Sora looked back at Riku in a daze, and slowly nodded his head. He couldn't believe that RIku was actually going to play here! Yesterday, he'd wondered for a while if Riku would, but he didn't really think...well...he didn't know what he thought.
Riku smiled - he SMIRKED and pushed one of the empty tables away from the wall near the door. He walked up to the other table and kindly asked Auron and Cid to move, "Oi, wanna move?"
Cid and Auron looked up at him, then broke out laughing, picking up their food and going to sit with Cloud and Leon. Riku smirked. He pushed that table and then walked to the double doors leading to the lunch area, "Okay, Pence, Wheel 'er in,"
Pence nodded and went back in the hall. There was a slight commotion, then the doors opened again and in came a set of drums. Eight on the set. He set it right against the wall, and Hayner flipped around the electric guitar that was strapped to his back, "We're going to need a minute to set up,"
Riku nodded, then looked around, seeing the people's eager faces. He looked around, then back at Hayner, "set up mine will you? Thanks,"
Hayner stopped frozen when he was about to plug in the amp. Did Riku just...thank him? Hayner looked slowly up at Riku, and saw that the silver-head wasn't there anymore. Hayner shook his head in wonder, then walked over to Pence, plugging in the amp to the guitar, then to Riku's, "Pence, Riku just thanked me,"
Pence snorted, then tapped on the cymbal to see if it was alright, "Yeah, icy day in hell,"
Hayner shook his head, "I'm not kidding,"
Pence looked up at him, "No shit?"
"No shit,"
They both looked over as the doors opened and Riku walked in, carrying his bright maroon acoustic on his back. He looked at Hayner and Pence with a frown, then lifted his hand, acknowledging them, "thanks guys,"
Hayner looked at pence with raised eyebrows, then smirked while plugging in a microphone, "You owe me ten bucks,"
"Shut it, you made him say thank you," Pence said with annoyance readable in his voice.
---
Riku pulled up a chair from one of the disregarded tables and pulled his guitar onto his lap. He wasn't used to playing in front of people, but he'd make a exception. These people were really excited, and they wanted to listen to something NOW. He felt a presence behind him, but he didn't look, and he started strumming. This was one of his songs that he'd wrote earlier in the career. He smiled, actually smiled. (AN: This song is actually 'Sitting, waiting, wishing' by Jack Johnson)
/ I was sitting, waiting, wishing
You believed in superstitions
Then maybe you would see the signs/
His voice was deep, and almost nothing like his normal voice. He sung it out and loud, like he was taught to. He strummed hard on the guitar, playing exactly the right cords. He'd memorized this song much before, and still remembered it.
/But lord knows that this world is cruel
And I ain't the lord no I'm just a fool
Learning loving somebody
Don't make them love you/
He glanced around momentarily and noticed that he was slowly becoming the only sound in the room, and everyone was turned toward him. He looked back down at his hand plucking the strings with the pick, then up at the hand choosing the cords to press. He wasn't very good at playing the right string while not looking, but...right now he was on fire.
/Must I always be waiting, waiting on you?
Must I always be playing, playing your fool/
Now, Auron wasn't the man that usually liked songs. Heck, he didn't even like music. He probably hasn't heard a good instrument in the world. Cid probably too. But this song, it had strange lyrics, but the melody and the simple sound of Riku's voice entranced him. He didn't know what it was. And he looked over at Cid, and saw that the man was leaning forward, listening as well. This kid didn't have just any voice...it was a magical voice.
/I sang your songs I danced your dance
I gave your friends all a chance
But putting up with them
Wasn't worth never having you /
Jack liked classical music, he didn't like rock all that much. He had his own opinions, and nobody even tried to stop his thoughts. He didn't like rap, nor country, nor rock, nor foreign. He liked classical. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Gershwin, Haydn, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, oh the list goes on! But...this song struck him as odd. He didn't want to listen to it, thinking that the lyrics were strained out and strange. But he found himself listening to the voice more than the lyrics. He thought that Riku had a great voice. More than even some of the opera he listened to.
/Maybe you've been through this before
But it's my first time so please ignore
The next few lines because they're directed at you/
Namine will surely have to tell Kairi about this! Kairi just so happened to like these kinds of songs, and Namine did to. She was more just enjoying the thought of having a concert! Woo!
Aerith thought that it was enchanting. He swept around one's ears like a dance. An elaborate waltz of notes and vocals. It blended and mixed with everything that it was, it befriended the air and sent it right to your ears. It was like this song was meant to be heard.
Tifa looked at Riku, then smiled, putting her chin in her hand. Good song.
/I can't always be waiting, waiting on you
I can't always be playing, playing your fool /
Saix didn't speak much. He didn't speak if not needed. And right now, he would say that this song reached...out. It wasn't the best song he'd heard, but heck, it was better than a lot of other songs. He smiled a little, tapping his head a little. Catchy.
Seifer would take his beanie off to this song. And he didn't take his beanie off to anything. Nothing. But this was a good song. He'd say, that it was his favorite song for the day. He changed songs everyday. It was a good and great honor to be on Seifer's favorite list.
/Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting/
Ansem was astatic. He just plain couldn't believe it! First: he learned that the main singer of The Melting Of Tyme was working at his homeless shelter, THEN: he brings the band to the place, and NOW: he's playing a kick-ass song! This couldn't be a better day! Well...it would be better if, just maybe, he'd get an autograph from the band, but knowing his luck, he wasn't doubting it! Ahh, this was a good song.
Sephiroth listened, his hands rested on his forehead, his eyes closed. To anyone else, he looks like he has a headache. To himself, he's listening to a thing people think he's not interested in. But, oh, is he.
/ Well if I was in your position
I'd put down all my ammunition
I'd wonder why it had taken me so long
But lord knows that I'm not you/
This reminded Mickey of Minnie. She liked these kinds of songs, the rock song but it's mellow and light. Yeah, He's not saying he doesn't like it, it's just it reminds him of her. He doesn't particularly like things that remind him of her. So he doesn't particularly like this song. But RIku singing it, and he likes Riku as a friend, so...I guess he'll like it.
Yuffie didn't know what to say, other than: I KNOW A FRIKKIN POP STAR! OMGWTFBBQ!
/ And if I was I wouldn't be so cruel
Because waiting on love
Ain't so easy to do /
Axel didn't know that this kid had it in him. Axel snuck a look at Roxas, and saw that the kid was mildly smiling and tapping his head. Axel smiled and looked toward Riku. Okay, Riku wasn't SO bad. Heck, Roxas wasn't either. But Axel still wanted to sue whoever made Roxas a cop. Oh, if Axel had a quarter for every time he heard that said to himself.
Anyway, the song was alright. Not as great as some Axel had heard.
/Must I always be waiting, waiting on you?
Must I always be playing, playing your fool/
Riku hummed at the end, then stopped. The song was over. He looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him, spare Cloud who was staring at nothing.
Even Cloud and Leon thought the song was good, but Cloud was still a big confused on what was going on exactly, but Leon was ready to the jump to explain, "There's a band here going to perform,"
Leon said, sitting next to cloud, having gone to just get something for a moment. Cloud reached up to the voice and reached forward until he felt his fingers on skin. He cupped the cheek and moved his fingers around, feeling the facial marks and features. He wasn't that good at voices, and he needed to know who it was by memorizing their face, "Oh, Leon, which band?"
"The one Riku performs in? He just played the last song, and he and his band are going to perform again in a second," Leon said, and his head unconsciously tilted into Cloud's touch. The hand of the sightless man lingered there for a moment, then he let go, smiling warmly, wishing deeply he could see everything, "That would be so great to see, you'll have to explain it to me later,"
Riku looked with a glance over at Cloud, and noted that the man still had one of those make-shift casts the doctors give you when they need to have schedule to have a real one put on. Riku was still a bit guilty about breaking Cloud's wrist (he can't believe he ACTUALLY broke it!) And he would do anything to make it up to his new friend. He didn't like to hurt people intentionally, no matter how much he hated people.
"Riku, we're ready," Hayner said, walking up and putting his hand on Riku's shoulder. Riku looked up at him and nodded, standing and walking over. He winked to Sora, who had been standing behind him the whole performance. Riku blushed a little and turned on the mike, but not too loud, they didn't want to blow these people away.
"Okay, we're going to do a new song," Riku said nervously, then picked up his purple electric guitar and put it around his shoulder, "thanks, it's called 'Stay home,'" (AN: the actual song is 'Stay home' by Self.)
Pence immediately started to tap on the drums, Hayner starting on the bass.
/I believe in self-assertion
Destiny is like diversion
Now it seems I've got my head on straight/
Pence continued, and Riku started strumming lightly.
/I'm a freak without provision
Seems I've made the right decision
Try to turn back now, it might be too late/
Hayner walked up to his mike, putting his lips to it. Riku smirked, and his tone changed lightly. He and Hayner started singing, their voices almost identical. Pence started tapping a slightly different tune.
/And it's off to the morning and back again
Same old day, same situation
The happiness is back as if to say/
Riku and Hayner held out the long note on 'say'. And Hayner cut off, strumming hard for the chorus. Riku hit the notes harder, getting the right volume for the chorus.
/I wanna stay home today/
(Hayner sung the in the back/Don't wanna go out/)
/If anyone comes to play/
(Hayner sung in the back again/Gonna get thrown out/)
/I wanna stay home today/
(Hayner sung the last back part in the chorus/Don't want no company/)
/no way,
yeah, yeah, yeah/
Riku actually smiled while he and Hayner sung out the 'yeah, yeah, yeah'. Riku calmed his guitar to a stop, and Hayner played the exact right notes, while Pence still tapped away like he was meant to play this part.
/A simple life's my cup of tea
I don't need nobody but me
What I wouldn't give just to be left alone/
He held out the word 'alone'. Well, he and hayner did. Hayner had said the last line with him, and continued to lightly pluck. Pence made a mildly large 'bam'. And Riku continued to sing,
/I wanna be a millionaire someday
And know what it feels like to give it away
Watch me march to the beat of my own drum/
They stayed in the same beat for a moment, but it changed again, like it did before the chorus. The boys playing were in their own world, their own dimension. It was only then and their music.
/ And it's over and over and over again
Same old day, same situation
The happiness is back as if to say/
They roared up for the chorus, Hayner slamming on his guitar, similar to how Riku was doing. Pence bashed hard on the drums, but not too hard. They were nearly going crazy, but still keeping the show and making a nice volume.
/I wanna stay home today/
(Hayner sung the in the back/Don't wanna go out/)
/If anyone comes to play/
(Hayner sung in the back again/Gonna get thrown out/)
/I wanna stay home today/
(Hayner sung in a quiet voice the last back part in the chorus/Don't want no company/)
/no way,
yeah, yeah, yeah/
This time, they continued to rock on like the chorus, while Riku sung in long words.
/Rain, rain every day
Everyone would just stay away now
Come another day
Come another day/
It was the musical break, and Riku took a deep breath. He heard Pence slamming away at the drums, then a second later, he heard Hayner's small solo. While the musical break was going on, it was more like a background voice,
/I wanna stay home today
I wanna stay home today,
I wanna stay home, stay home, stay home, stay h-/
Riku slammed on his guitar, Hayner doing the same. He could nearly feel the ground shaking, and he almost jumped in the air like he'd seen so many rockers do. He was having such a good time right now, he almost laughed. ALMOST! He didn't. He was only lightly smiling.
/I wanna stay home today/
(Hayner sung the in the back/Don't wanna go out/)
/If anyone comes to play/
(Hayner sung in the back again/Gonna get thrown out/)
/I wanna stay home today/
(Hayner sung the last back part in the chorus/Don't want no company/)
/no way,
yeah, yeah, yeah/
Riku knew that they were coming to a close. He smiled, and they sang the chorus once more, then they slowly brought it to a end, slowly ending with Hayner. Riku waited, then breathed hard, putting his hand to his chest. He failed to notice the wild and crazy round of applause he was getting, and all he heard was the beating of his own heart. He couldn't believe that he just did that! He'd never done a show before, and this one, he didn't even have time to get pepped up.
"Nice job," Hayner said with a smile, then jumped up, slapping a hi-five with Pence. He walked to the middle of the lunch room, with Pence at his side and they went to talk to the fans they got. Riku watched, and didn't mind. He really didn't like attention, the whole 'hating people' thing. Riku sighed again, then felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw Sora there, and standing behind him was Cloud holding onto Leon's side. Leon had a hand around Cloud's waist, and he thought no one noticed. Cloud was smiling and blushing, looking forward at nothing,
"That was very good, Riku," Cloud said, then reached out his hand, "I'm sorry for asking this, but may I see your acoustic guitar?"
Riku was the slightest bit surprised by this, but he didn't argue, or show his surprise. He just smirked, standing, and grabbing it where he'd set it near the amp, "sure,"
Cloud took it as if it were a piece of valuable art, and then stared forward, his hands roaming over it. He smiled and then put his hand up to Leon, "May I sit somewhere?"
Leon took Cloud's hand and led him to the nearest table that was clear, his hand still latched to the blonde's waist. Cloud sat and marveled at the thing in his grasp, while he heard Riku get attacked by the people that failed to notice that Riku was here too.
"Wow," Ansem said, his eyes tearing up, his CD was clutched to his chest, and he held it out to Riku. He'd already got Hayner and Pence's autographs, and all he needed was Riku's, "Please, sign it?"
Riku saw the glittering hope in Ansem's eyes, and sighed. He grabbed it, pulled out a graffiti pen that he always kept (Just in case he needed to mark something). He signed in bug letters on the back, blew on it to dry it, and handed it back to Ansem. He'd made sure not to write over the other's. Ansem took it and shone, thanking him over and over.
Riku was patted on the back, congratulated, thanked, hugged, and even kissed on the cheek by Yuffie. Who demanded he sign her favorite game (Resident Evil 4) with the name Riki-kiki. Riku succumbed, and even put hearts over the eyes. That would make her leave him alone for a while, well...long enough for her to get bored of it. Which was a long time.
Riku was alone in the kitchen, spare Sora. And Cloud and Leon who were still fiddling with his guitar, but he knew they'd be a while. He looked down at Sora and smiled a tiny bit. Sora smiled back.
Riku was about to ask what Sora needed, when the boy reached up and lightly kissed him. But not on the cheek, on the lips. Sora pulled back, blushed and ran out of the dining hall. Riku stood flustered a moment, the raised a hand to put his fingers on his now tingling lips. He'd...never felt so weird before. His heart was racing, his mind was going blank, his feet were tingling, and his blood was running a mile track sprint in his veins. What was this? Riku didn't get it at all.
"Riku,"
Riku looked over to see Cloud standing there, Leon's arm still permanently on his waist. He was handing the guitar back, smiling sadly, "I've always wanted one of those things,"
Riku smiled a tiny, teeny, intsy smile, then pulled out his marker again. He wrote a big 'TYME -RN' on it, then pushed it back, "Keep it,"
Cloud's eyes widened and he just stood there, staring. He didn't know what to say. He actually couldn't see the thing that Riku wrote, and he actually couldn't play the thing! But...Cloud didn't know why Riku would do something like this. Didn't he really, really like this instrument? It felt like it was just barely polished, and it even smelled good. He couldn't believe that Riku was giving away something that was so valuable to him. Cloud didn't move, and he just pondered everything in his mind. He was so shocked that his mind was going into overdrive. No one had given him something so valuable. On second thought, no one other than Leon had ever given him anything!
Cloud felt his hands shaking, and he shook his head over and over, his voice shaking, "I can't accept this, I can't accept this, I can't accept this,"
He tried to push it back into Riku's hands, but found that the person that he was going to push it back to was no longer there. He clutched the guitar carefully and put his hand out, trying to find anyone, "I-I...I can't..."
Someone took Cloud's hand and tightened the grip on his waist. Cloud's eyes widened and he clenched the hand, "Leon?"
"Take it," Leon said, then lightly patted Cloud's injured hand lightly, "You deserve it,"
Cloud looked up at him and set the guitar down and hugged Leon tight. He latched his arms around the man's waist, putting his face in Leon's chest. He really thought he didn't deserve it.
---
Riku bit his lip as he fought the giant in the game. Yuffie had gotten bored of the signature, and asked Riku to fight yet another boss in Resident Evil 4. Riku didn't really mind, but his head just wasn't in the game. He was thinking too much about the kiss Sora gave him. He'd been kissed before, but it never felt like that.
"If you're gonna fail so many times," Yuffie huffed, grabbing the controller from him, "Than I'll beat it, Riki-kiki,"
Riku sighed and plopped on the couch, running a hand through his hair. Everyone had basically already gotten over the excitement from this morning. Jack was in the corner reading. The guys were out playing basketball. Yuffie was playing the game. Cloud and Leon were actually off in the library trying to gather books. And Sora was sitting next to him.
Riku flared in a blush at that last thought. He turned, flashed a look at Sora, then turned back. He couldn't believe that Sora kissed him that morning. It was a small kiss, but Riku couldn't help himself wanting more. He glanced another look at Sora, to find the boy looking back at him. He blushed five shades of pink, and looked away, to nervous to even look at the brunette. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked over to see Sora leaning over to look at him.
"Are you alright? Riku?" Sora asked, tilting his head to the side, his eyes wide. Riku blushed, and he backed away, trying desperately not to just blurt out how cute Sora looked. He quickly turned, and stood.
"I'm going to start on dinner," Riku said, then walked toward the door.
---
Riku's mother heard the door open, and she nearly went running toward the entry hallway. She smiled, clapping her hands in front of her chest, "How was the performance today?"
Riku looked up at her, and smiled warmly, a faint blush covering his cheeks. He didn't exactly know why he was smiling, but he just felt so happy. He looked up at his mother, "Great, mom!"
He just realized what he said, then went back to his scowling, "TV, holler when dinner's ready,"
She nodded, and Riku walked into the living room, his hands in his pockets. She looked after him in wonder, then walked into her kitchen, seeing her husband working at the table.
"Arthur, our son just smiled at me," She said, leaning on the counter, putting her hand to her forehead. Arthur didn't seem surprised.
"He smiled at me when I helped him get down that one old red guitar the guy from that one band, 'Organization 13', gave him," He sighed, then flipped a page of the newspaper.
She looked into space, then stated something that made Arthur smile, "Our son is really cute when he smiles,"
---
Just as a refresh, the first song is 'Sitting, waiting, wishing' by Jack Johnson, and the second is 'Stay home' by Self.