A/N: Hi again, so that's everything up to date, I actually finished chapter 2 a couple days ago, and working chapter 3, which will probably be uploaded by the end of the month. I do hope you enjoy reading this story so far.
It's going to be a slow burn as I'm gonna gradually introducing more characters into the story, establishing relationships and giving hints to things, and switching between Neku and Sora's POV until they interact together.
Please enjoy this new chapter.
Neku arrives back home, the silence broken by the sound of him unlocking the door. Closing it behind him, he switches on the hallway lights, now on his back was a fancy looking backpack with several zippers and compartments. His eyes half opened glanced around his surroundings as he heads towards the living room. He removes the backpack and tosses it to one side of the couch, then takes off his jacket, and kicks off his trainers, making himself more comfortable as he crashes on his comfy sofa.
He sighs, content and more relaxed, leaning back. Rummaging around his pocket, he pulls out his phone to check the time, and it reads: 02:15 AM. Fuck, it was much later than Neku thought, this job dragged on a little too long for his taste and he could've done without the hassle, but there wasn't much he could do about it. This lifestyle was forced upon him after all, and he was far too deep to change his life now. It was going to be a long time before Neku could ever put this life behind him and find a better one.
With that in mind, he gets up from the sofa, he wants to be more comfortable in his bed and sleep, rather than just and heads towards his room. It was a fairly large room, the walls were a midnight blue shade, the curtains were another darker color, fully closed to make sure no light got in. To the opposite end of the entrance was his bed propped against the wall, a large size, a long thick purple blanket with a black lined pattern at the end, and there were a total of four pillows. There was a small dresser placed right next to the bed.
To the left side was his closet, and a large desk with a computer, some stacks of paperwork and a few spray paint cans, and other art tools, and a small lamp that was switched off. To the right side was nothing but a small collage of photographs stuck to one spot of the wall, it was too dark to see the images.
Neku closes the door behind him, using the light from his phone instead of turning the lights on. Walking over to his bed, he begins to undress, removing his shirt and pants, leaving him only in his socks and boxers, his blanket was thick and very warm so too much clothing and he would boil. He places his phone on top of the dresser, setting his alarm and climbs into bed, he opens his dresser taking out a pair of worn out purple headphones and a MP3 device, putting them over his ears and turning the device on, choosing through his playlists.
Once he gets more comfortable, he closes his eyes listening to the sweet melody. Relaxing it lets the troubles and everything else in the night fade away with the beat. This was his sanctuary, these four walls, the music was his own space away from everyone and everything that could possibly bother him. Eventually, he falls asleep with his headphones on, his expression was a peaceful one as he lays there…
A couple days later, and it was miserable. The sky was completely gray, clouds covering any hint of blue, the distant booming of thunderclaps that was getting closer, and the light shower of rain falling over the city that was gradually increasing. Sora stares out his window, the glass was covered by raindrops, the quiet tapping of each one hitting against it. This was another change he had to get used to, back home the weather was always sunshine with less rain, here in the city it was quite the opposite, rain and storms were a weekly occurrence.
When it was raining like this, Sora didn't feel like doing anything, only leaving his apartment when it was necessary for things like work, or classes. Thankfully he didn't have to attend either one, he was gonna stay in his bed for a while before he actually got in, but there were no real plans for him today. Before he can lose himself in his daydream, a notification from his phone gets his attention. It was a message from Kairi, he recognised the pink heart emojis beside her name, and began typing a reply to her.
Kairi: Morning! ?ᅡᅠ
Kairi: How's the weather over there? ;)
Sora: Morning, and it's another wonderful day… ? ゚フᄃ?
Kairi: Well it's clear skies on my end!
Sora: I'm so happy for you ?
Kairi: Riiight… So do you have any plans today?
Sora: nope. Just gonna sleep all day, I don't have any assignments to finish thankfully, so it's gonna be a quiet weekend.
Kairi: I see. You should've mentioned you had a free weekend earlier, you could've come over for a visit. We're going to have a little house party tonight as a part of some people from our campus.
Sora: Oh that does sound like fun… But I'm pretty comfortable right now…
Kairi: Okay, that's fair. If you're sure then yeah, maybe another time.
Sora: Yeah… Maybe another time ?
Kairi: Alright. We'll talk later, I'll let you get back to your "important napping" ? ゚メヨ?
Sora: ?
Kairi was sitting at the small table in her dorm's kitchen with her breakfast, she was staring at Sora's last message. The smile she had moments before when she started messaging her friend was now replaced with a frown, she has been worried about Sora for the last few months. He was hundreds of miles away in another city, and he was all by himself, practically all of their friends from high school had grouped off to colleges and universities together, and Sora was originally going to study with her, Riku and everyone else in their year. But his fight with his brother, and the argument he had with everyone had caused a rift in their group, with Sora distancing himself from everyone.
It was difficult to help or talk to Sora when he was far away, Riku was worried too but he was quite pissed with Sora and his behavior as well, while Kairi was being more sympathetic towards him. He and Riku were just as close if not closer but they were barely speaking since they started university. But they were always asking about each other, so Kairi was having to play middleman between them.
"Sora…" Kairi's voice is soft, quiet, and filled with concern as she gently strokes her phone screen.
Just then she catches the sound of the kitchen door opening, looking over to see Riku, his hair was a little damp from using the shower, he wearing a pale blue shirt with no sleeveless, and dark blue pajamas pants with star patterns all over them, and pair striped pink socks that clearly weren't his.
"Morning." Kairi greets her friend who responds with a yawn, giving her a weak wave of his hand, making his way to the fridge to start his breakfast.
"Long night?"
"Yeah, finishing two assignments, while trying to help Ven with his assignment."
"Oh another study date then."
"Don't start, it's far too early for me to disprove that, we just studied."
"Relax. I didn't say anything. Nothing at all…"
Riku begins making his plate. He starts by placing two slices of bread in the toaster, getting out a small frying pan he starts frying up two rashers of bacon, and an egg on a low flame, and while they were cooking he makes a fresh pot of coffee and finally he grabs some muffins in a tupperware box on the side and an apple. Kairi smiles faintly, she wasn't surprised, anyone could tell looking at Riku that he was a big eater, another that he and Sora share. Riku then joins Kairi at the table, sitting on the opposite side of the table. His eyes catch a glance of Kairi's phone, his eyes narrow.
"How is he?" Riku takes a sip from his coffee cup, he already knew that she was talking to Sora.
"He's…" She pauses for a moment, looking back at her screen and then to Riku. "He's fine. Doing okay."
Riku exhales slightly, under his breath, then takes a bite from his toast. "That's good." He says his tone and expression was very neutral.
"He has a free weekend, and I asked him if he wanted to come down for the party…" Kairi trails off but Riku of course already knows the answer to that.
"But he said no."
"Mhm." Kairi looks at her phone once, before placing it down on the table.
"There's no point in worrying over it. As long as Sora's fine then that's enough for me. We can't force it."
"I know but-"
"Sora made his choice Kairi, a very stubborn one. He's not ready to come see us. It's still fresh for him… So I'm okay with waiting." Riku takes a bite from his plate. "I know… I know you're worried about him, and you miss him. But the space might be doing him some good, maybe he'll grow from this."
"You miss him too." Kairi retorts back slightly, which earns her a small smirk from Riku.
At that moment the door swings open, Namine walks in wearing sky blue pajamas with a star pattern, pink slippers. Her attire seems a little childish but it was something she was comfortable with and she loved it. She was Kairi's sister, and she grew up with Sora and Riku. She was their third roommate here, this building housed a high concentration of students, many of them were accommodated in this neighborhood.
"Morning." Namine greets the two, before she makes her way to the table and without warning grabs a slice of toast from Riku's plate.
"H-Hey, hey, make your own plate." Riku immediately grabs his plate, placing it away from Namine's reach.
"Oh come on, don't be like that." She attempts to grab something else from his plate but he blocks her with his hand.
"No. Nope. There's plenty of food, bread's still out, everything's ready to be used. Leave my plate alone." Riku's tone was similar to a parent telling off their child, he enjoyed a few pleasures in this world and his food was one of them.
"Don't be mean, didn't you have to share food with your brother?" Namine takes a bite from the toast, before she takes his advice and begins to make her own breakfast.
"Excuse me, I had to fight my brother, Sora, and her for my snacks." Riku gestures to Kairi, who grins at him recalling all the times when they were kids stealing food from Riku.
"That's really mean, you can't expect to make more friends if you don't share." Namine was being a little sarcastic, so she made her plate consisting of toast, some muffins and a glass of orange juice, joining the two at the table.
"I've got plenty of friends and I didn't need to share my plate." Riku takes a bite from his bacon.
"So what's the agenda today? You know aside from the obvious." Namine asks, curious to know what plans they had for their party later.
Kairi chuckles at the two before, most mornings were like this and it was nice. The arguing and light hearted jabs and taunting was just a part of the routine of their friend ground. But, there was still a feeling that didn't sit right with her. This picture wasn't right. Not without Sora here with them. But it was like Riku said earlier, she couldn't force it and it wouldn't be forever, when Sora was ready he could come see them. She glances at her phone again…
Sora had been staring at his phone screen, focused on the last messages between him and Kairi. He was wide awake now, still in his bed, just pondering his thoughts. Wondering if he should've gone down to see Kairi and Riku, and everyone else, he didn't want to admit but he had missed them during these last few months. Honestly he wasn't even that mad or hurt anymore, well at least towards his friends, if anything now most of that anger was replaced by embarrassment due to his behavior, and his stubbornness, he wasn't willing to make the first move.
But he didn't regret his decision.
The space away from everyone did help him to grow up a little, be more adult and not be too dependent on his brother, or Riku and Kairi when it came to something difficult. He was determined to show Vanitas and everyone else that he could make it on his own, and so far he was doing okay. He hadn't completely isolated himself in the city, he had made some new friends like Tidus, and a few others from his classes. He had always been a sociable and popular individual, very outgoing and eager to do and try new things, but since being here alone in the city his demeanor was a 180 from his usual self.
And he knew it wasn't very healthy to be alone for most of the time. Only leaving his home for work, and classes, and he was always invited for events, parties, and other outings with his friends but he always turned them down or used the excuse 'maybe next time' or 'I can't tonight' as well as many others.
Sora sighs softly under his breath, he is now sitting up in his bed.
"This isn't healthy…" He says to himself, he could actually hear Kairi or Riku scolding him for moping about or not living life with fun and recklessness like he usually did.
"Okay, time to get up." Sora jumps out of bed, with no real plans he gets himself ready for the rest of the day.
…
"A party?" Neku just blankly stared at the flier Beat was proudly holding towards his face.
"Yeah man, it's gonna be great, it's at that new place in the west district, NEO." Beat hands him the paper.
"Uh-huh… I'm familiar with that place." Neku glances at the filer once more before placing it into his backpack.
"So whaddya say, you gonna come?" Beat's voice was filled with hopeful enthusiasm.
"I'll think about it, but maybe not. You know parties or clubs aren't really my thing." Neku wasn't fond of large crowds, flashing lights and loud noises.
"Ahh, come on Neku, this will really help me out if I get lots of people to show up, and I promise you'll have a great time, and you won't have to stay for the whole night."
Neku sighs under his breath. "Alright. I'll go but just for an hour, and-" He's cut off with Beat grabbing him and squeezing him into a big hug.
"Thank you bro! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Beat practically lifted Neku off the ground, the other was irritated by his friend's overjoyed reaction. |
"Get off." Neku pushes Beat's face away, pushing himself out of Beat's hold.
"S-sorry." Beat chuckles, rubbing the back of his head. "Got a little carried away…"
Neku straightened himself out, sometimes he wondered if Beat forgot how strong he was, or that Neku's personal space was sacred. But of course despite being friends for years, Beat along with others neglected that boundary, but he honestly didn't mind with his closest friends.
And it was nice seeing Beat with a happy demeanor, to strangers that didn't know him, Beat came off as this intimidating guy dressed in black, with a scary glare, the kind of guy you'd expect to find in a shady alleyway harassing people and breaking the law. But he had a big heart, a little dense and constantly putting on a tough act.
He continued to hand out fliers to some of their fellow students on campus, and to anyone who looked like they were down to party. He had gotten a job recently to promote events, and for every person who came because of him, he would get a commission, and it would look really good with his boss.
Neku didn't really wanna go but he did wanna help out his friend. To be honest, a small gathering or even a house party with 20+ people was doable for him, but hundreds of people packed in a space like a sardine can didn't sound enjoyable. But that was friendship, doing things for your friends even if they made you a little uncomfortable.
"So it's next Friday?" Neku asks.
"Yep, it starts from 10pm onwards, but I think it'll probably pick up around midnight." Beat explained as it would become active later on.
"Great…" Neku doesn't even hide the sarcasm in his voice.
"I take it you've already asked the others then?" He asks, assuming he had already asked the rest of their friends.
"You know it. Shiki says she'd go if I convinced you to go, Joshua said he would but you know, and Sho just flipped me off but I didn't hear a no." Beat's response earns him a small smirk from Neku.
"So I'm the only one who gave a definitive 'yes'. I guess your sales pitch still needs work." Neku teases him.
"Eyy yo, my pitch is on point!" Beat argues, lightly shoving Neku's arm.
"Oh hold on." Beat notices a group of students and rushes over to them while Neku watches on, he doesn't hear the conversation but sees his friend clearly trying to convince them to attend.
Neku suddenly gets a call from his phone, pulling it out of his pocket. His expression turns sour at the name, a small whine slips out of his mouth as he answers the phone.
"The fuck do you want?" Neku's tone is harsh, his expression is anger slowly building
"Ah, that's no way to greet me, pet…"
"Don't call me that, it makes my skin crawl. What do you want?" There was no hiding his disgust while the voice on the line chuckled softly.
"Straight to busy as always. Do you ever have fun, and I mean REAL fun."
"I'm hanging up now." He wasn't joking, as he was about to hit the end call button.
"Alright, alright, hold on a sec… You've got a new task lined up this week."
A small hiss escapes between Neku's teeth. "What is it?"
"Oh no, this is real sensitive stuff, the boss wants you to come in and talk…"
"When?"
"As soon as possible, darling."
"Fine. I'll be there."
"Can't wait to see yo-"
Neku immediately ends the call. His mood had been significantly dampened now. Frustrated, annoyed, pissed. These were just some of the words that came to mind. It wasn't like he couldn't tell them 'No' he didn't have much of a choice after all. He then notices Beat walking back to him, and quickly composes himself, trying to hide his frustration, he didn't wanna worry his friend.
"Hey, sorry man, I gotta go." Neku apologizes to Beat.
"Huh? What's up?" He asks the other, with Neku just sighing.
"Work…" He simply said and just like that a look of worry spread across Beat's face before getting serious.
"Ya need some backup?" He firmly asks Neku who looks at him, and then smiles faintly.
"No, I'll be okay. I don't wanna get you involved in any unnecessary problems." He assures Beat, though he did appreciate his offer but the last thing he wanted was to get Beat or any of his friends involved with those people.
"You sure?" Beat asks him one more time, and Neku gives him a simple nod. "Okay then… If you change your mind, gimme a call and I'll be there bro."
"I will. Don't worry about it." Neku smiles, holding his fist up for the other, Beat returns the gesture bumping fists with his friend.
"Alright. Call when you're done, okay." There was no point in arguing with Neku, and Beat understood that, but that didn't stop him from worrying over him.
"Ok… Hey, looks like you've got some potential clients over there." Neku points over to another group of students which catches Beat's attention.
"Oh shit. Right, thanks bro. Hey, we'll talk later!" Beat rushes over to the group, saying his quick goodbye to his friend.
Neku chuckles under his breath, once Beat's back is turned and walks away his smile fades away, replaced with a more serious look. He turns and begins walking towards his destination. He was dreading the interaction that was awaiting him, and he didn't have a choice but Neku made his peace with it. He hops on the bus, taking his seat at the back of the large vehicle, he grabs his headphones out of his backpack, places them on his head, and plays his music.
…
Sora was walking down the street, wearing a bright blue varsity jacket with yellow trimming, the number 82 on the back of the jacket. Underneath it was a lightweight red hoodie, with the hood down, just in case it rained again, a pair of dark coloured jeans and red sneakers with blue linings and a small yellow star on the left side of each shoe. He was holding a basketball underneath his arm, and a large sports bag was on his back. He was on his way to play with Tidus and some of his friends. It was killing two birds with one stone, basketball was one of his favorite pastimes and would be socializing some more, and it was fun. He was really committed to not moping around, and the last thing he wanted was to get out of shape.
He soon arrives at the sports center, he changes out of his jeans, jacket and hoodie, wearing a more fitted but casual attire, shorts and a blue shirt. They were playing in an indoor court like the one back at his old school, it had bleachers to one side, and two pairs of large doors on opposite ends of the large space leading to different areas of the center.
They begin playing a 3x3 round, with Sora, Tidus and his friend Wakka, and on the other side were three others who were looking for more people to play a round with, so it all worked out. The sounds of their shoes squeaking on smooth surfaces, the heavy ball bouncing up and down off the ground, various voices shouting, laughing and several footsteps running around. This wasn't their first time playing together as a team, they had been coming here at least once a week. Since Tidus had lived in the city for years, he helped Sora look around after he started working with him. Apparently this center was very popular, with almost every kind of activity for everyone.
Some time passes, and they take a break, another set of teams switch in to use the court. Sora was sitting with Tidus and Wakka on the bleachers, he was catching his breath, taking a large gulp from his water bottle. Tidus catches Sora's attention and during their conversation hands him a piece of paper that he examines, reading the big colorful text.
"So whaddya say, you wanna check it out next week?" Tidus asks, a small smirk forming on his mouth as Sora looks to him and then back at the flier that the other handed him.
"A party? Or a themed night at a club?" Sora summarized looking at the poster. "Where did you get this?"
"Oh this big guy in a skull hoodie was handing them out on campus. I think he goes there too, it's that new place that opened a few weeks ago." Tidus calls the tall guy who handed him one of these posters, he looked a little intimidating but he was very friendly and eager for people to receive one of these.
"It looks like it'll be a blast. Or a crowded, overpriced nightmare." Tidus is equal parts enthusiastic and skeptical about it, the club scene was still something they were all new to, he had been to a few with Yuna and her friends.
"I dunno, it's not really my-" Before Sora can even finish Tidus makes a loud obnoxious groan.
"Ah come on Sora, it looks like it'll be fun and everyone is gonna be going." Tidus throws his arm around Sora, while Wakka just shakes his head to the sides at his friend's actions to persuade Sora.
"Come on Tidus, knock it off." Wakka playfully kicks Tidus's back.
"What?! It won't be as much without him, and what's he gonna do on a Friday night, that isn't work or classes?" Tidus snaps back to Wakka.
Tidus was making a good point, Sora didn't have to do night shifts and he didn't have classes on the weekend. Recalling back to his earlier thoughts from this morning, he wasn't going to mope around and he was going to make the effort to socialize and go out more. And who knows, it could be really fun if he gave it a chance, and possibly meet new people.
"Alright, I'll go. I'm not much of a drinker but it could be a fun night." Sora smiles, his response pleases Tidus by the huge grin on his face.
"That's the spirit! You'll have a good time." Tidus raises his voice, giving Sora's back a slap.
"Whatever you say, but it's not, I'll probably never trust your opinion on something ever again." Sora says in a teasing manner, as Tidus looks at him.
"Hey, that's a little mean. There's a 50/50 chance it won't be fun. Besides, I'm usually right about these things. Trust me." He reassures Sora once again, as the three just laugh, continuing to make jokes.
Sora glances at the paper one more time. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad time, and it could be a lot of fun. And maybe he'll meet someone, but he wasn't too sure if meeting someone in a lively nightclub would be ideal for him. Or perhaps it would be more enlightening than he realizes…
