Gale: Here it is!
Xino: Sorry it's late. Gale's in the middle of her own finals week at college, so she didn't have time to finish it over the weekend like she promised.
Sonshi: Actually, we should all be sleeping right now. Be glad we stayed up until 4am to finish and post this.
Gale: She's just grumpy cause she's sleep deprived. Regardless, I hope you like Chapter XV!
Xino: Gale doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of their respective characters!
XXX
Monday.
Pencils scratched on paper, keys clicked on computers and pages turned. There were no other sounds. No one dared to disturb the silence that hung over the library for fear of disturbing the countless other students studying there.
Occupying a corner of the huge library were Sora, Riku, Namine, Kairi, Roxas, Jim, and Ariel. Both Kairi and Ariel wore headphones and were lip-syncing along to the songs they would be performing. Roxas poured over his calculus notes while he chewed on the end of his pencil, his book propped against Sora's legs, which were stretched over the blonde's lap as his brunette twin typed away on his laptop. Riku sat on a different couch next to Jim, a boy Sora and Roxas had met briefly during P.E., and they were both filling out study guides for their history class.
The seconds ticked away slowly as the students committed every ounce of focus they possessed to studying for their upcoming exams. Unlike regular high schools, Kingdom High's midterm exams were very similar to semester finals. Regular classes were held on Monday, while Tuesday through Friday, regular class times were replaced with exam times in order to give students more time to study and to give teachers more time to prepare and grade the exams.
Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours. Papers shuffled and books were traded in and out, but very few words were spoken.
Finally, Sora couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something; he hated just sitting there. Besides, he thought better when his feet were moving.
Setting the laptop aside, the brunette sophomore sat up and stretched with a groan, his back popping. He swung his legs off Roxas' lap—the blond didn't even blink as he lifted his book to keep it from being thrown to the floor—and stood. His body felt stiff and sluggish so he stretched more, working out all the kinks and knots that had formed in his muscles.
"Riku," he murmured, stepping over the backpacks that littered the floor and stopping in front of the silver-haired boy. "Let's go for a run. I'm going to fall asleep if I sit in here much longer."
The older boy finished the sentence he was writing then nodded, putting his things in his bag. Sora smiled, waiting as Riku stood and stretched. Quietly, they left the library together, leaving their friends to continue with their studies, and went to change into their sweats to go for a run.
Their departure was noticed but not commented on or acknowledged. Even Kairi was too busy memorizing her solo to think, once again, that she thought they'd make a great couple.
As evening drew nearer, Ariel and Jim quietly took their things and went their own ways, so that only Kairi, Namine and Roxas were left, now sharing a single couch. It wasn't until Roxas' stomach gave a loud, unhappy growl that the blond realized how hungry he was, and broke the silence.
"You guys wanna go get dinner?"
Namine looked up from the notes she was reading and smiled. "Yes, please. I'm starting to get hungry."
Kairi nodded in agreement, taking off her headphones. "I'll text Riku and Sora to meet us as the mess hall."
Within minutes the three friends had packed up their belongings and were walking to the cafeteria.
"I hope you're right about the ice cream, Roxas," Namine said at one point as they set their bags down at their usual table.
"It'll be fine," he assured her, a confident smile brightening his face.
Rubbing her temples, Kairi closed her eyes. "Let's not talk about midterms while we eat, okay? We'll never relax if we do." The two blondes nodded in agreement, and together the three friends went to get their food before the lines could get too long.
XXX
"Hurry up, Riku! They're already eating!" Sora yelled, buttoning up his shirt. They'd showered in the locker room after their run, and now Sora was nearly dressed. Riku was still in the shower.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on," came the exasperated reply, and Sora rolled his eyes.
"Like I'd take my pants off for you."
Riku was suddenly glad he was still in the shower and not where Sora could see the blush that darkened his cheeks and neck. "That's more likely than me dressing up as a cheerleader for you," the teal-eyed boy countered, reminding Sora of their workout the previous day.
Now it was Sora's turn to blush. Since when had their jokes taken on such a flirtatious nature? Shaking his head, he finished dressing and put his things in his bag just as Riku shut the shower off and came up the short set of stairs, a towel wrapped around his waist. Sora almost stared.
Beads of water still glistened on the older boy's skin, and his wet hair was pushed back out of his eyes. His body was sculpted and toned, muscles clearly defined after their workout, and he held himself with a confident ease that Sora knew he'd never be able to duplicate. Completely comfortable to be in nothing but a towel, Riku went to where he'd left his bag and began to dry off with a second towel before getting dressed.
Sora's ears turned red as he focused on tying his shoes. Oh my god, Riku's hot. His fingers froze, halfway through the process of tying his left shoe. What the hell? Why did I think that? Confused and surprised with himself, the brunette finished with his shoes then put on his jacket.
"Ready?" the other boy asked, finger combing his still-wet hair and brushing it back out of his face. He smiled slightly at the small, confused frown on Sora's face. "Something wrong?"
"No." The brunette picked up his bag and walked past Riku without looking at him. "Let's go eat; I'm starving."
"You're always hungry, brat," Riku teased, following him. He waited for a response, but didn't get one, which was strange. Was something wrong with Sora? Normally, he'd turn red and protest that he just had a high metabolism because they worked out so much, but for some reason he remained quiet. Worried but not wanting to seem nosy, the silver-haired boy didn't say anything else as the two silently walked from the gym to the mess hall. He did his best to act normal when they sat with the others and ate, even though Sora remained unusually quiet.
Towards the end of their meal, however, once they'd all finished eating and were simply talking amongst themselves, Sora seemed to shift attitudes and turned to Kairi with a determined look on his face.
"Kairi," he said, in a serious, quiet tone that was strange coming from the normally carefree boy. Silence fell over the table as each of the friends turned to look at him, including Kairi.
"Yes, Sora?" the redhead replied, blinking at him, her elbows propped on the table and her hands folded in front of her.
"Will you go out with me this weekend?"
Roxas grinned.
Namine put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile.
Riku sat silent and statue-like in his chair, eyes locked on his empty plate.
Sora didn't dare move, staring at her intently as he waited for her response, completely oblivious to his friends.
Kairi smiled and nodded. "I'd love to, Sora. That'd be great."
Relaxing, the brunette boy sat back in his chair and smiled. "Great! Cause I went into town last night after dinner and Yuffie told me I got the job. I start tomorrow, so I thought I'd use my first paycheck to take you out."
"Congratulations, Sora," Namine said quietly, smiling. "What are you going to do on the date?"
"Uh…it's a surprise," Sora replied, hoping no one would catch the hesitation in his voice. To be honest, he had no idea what he and Kairi were going to do, but he didn't want to seem unprepared even though asking her had been spur of the moment.
Riku smirked. "He doesn't know."
"I do, too! It's just a surprise!"
Choosing to interfere before a fight started, Kairi touched Sora's shoulder. "I'm sure whatever you have planned will be perfect, Sora." She smiled as he blushed. "Just let me know what time you want to leave, kay?"
Sora grinned, pleased. "Sure!"
And, just like that, the conversation resumed as normal, save for Riku. Sora spoke with his usual enthusiasm, making the others think that his previous quietness had been in preparation for getting up his nerve to ask Kairi out. Riku didn't think so.
He wanted to, but he didn't. The two boys had spent far too much time together for Riku to so easily forget the brunette's silence. Even when Sora was pouting he wasn't that quiet, and it never lasted for so long. Something else was on the boy's mind. Riku was almost hurt that his young friend didn't trust him enough to tell him what it was.
XXX
Tuesday.
"All right, Namine, you're up."
Her flute and sheet music held tightly to her chest, Namine stood from her seat next to Ariel and went to the front of the room where a chair and music stand were ready. She carefully avoided looking at her teacher, but she knew he was smiling at her. He was always smiling at her, and it made her happy, even though she knew it shouldn't.
Fingers trembling, she set her music on the stand, ignoring the chair. "Um, I will be playing 'White Nights in Satin,' composed for flute." She tried to keep her voice steady.
"Whenever you're ready." The smile Mister Marluxia gave her then was encouraging, and she felt herself smile back shyly.
Namine lifted her flute to her lips, took a deep breath, and began to play. Instantly, the music calmed her, steadied her hands and lent strength to her lungs. Her fingers moved almost instinctively to play the notes her eyes drank in; she knew this song, had spent hours on it, and nothing was going to stop her from doing her absolute best. It was silent save for the music she created.
As the last note faded, and Namine lowered the flute, she couldn't help but smile. It was perfect.
"Nicely done, Namine," Mister Marluxia complimented as the shy girl picked up her music from the stand and returned to her seat. She mumbled a thank you.
"You're next, Demyx."
Unable to help herself, Namine looked over to where the muletted boy had been sitting and watched him walk to the front of the room, his saxophone and music ready. She wondered how he could stand being in the same room with Marluxia, after what she'd seen. Then she looked away and took out the physical science notes she'd brought with her, forcing her mind to focus on school. She wished midterms were over already.
XXX
Miss Larxene watched with cold eyes as the students filed in and took their seats. A stack of exams sat on her desk, next to extra pencils should anyone need one. She waited until silence had fallen before picking up the papers and passing them out.
"You have two hours to complete your exam," she stated as she walked between the desks, lying one test face down before each student. "Cheating will result in a zero percent grade, no exceptions. There are extra pencils at the front of the room. Calculators are allowed."
As she passed her favorite redheaded student, she let her hand brush against his arm.
"If you are unable to finish your exam in the allotted amount of time, speak to me afterwards. If you have a legitimate reason, we will schedule a time for you to finish your test."
Larxene crossed to the other side of the room, handing out the last row's tests. "However, if you are unable to finish but do not have an explanation, you will not," she all but slammed a test down on the desk of her least favorite blond to emphasize the word, "be allowed extra time."
Finished distributing the exams, Miss Larxene returned to the front of the room. "Are there any questions? None? Good. Your two hours begin now." With that, she sat at her desk and watched very closely as her students flipped over their tests and began working. There would be no cheating in her class; she would make sure of that.
XXX
Wednesday.
During the last ten minutes before the exam, Riku was reviewing his notes in the small lounge near the science labs. He'd studied for hours already and was confident he knew the material, but that didn't stop him from glancing just to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Beside him, Sora was lounging in his own chair and staring at the ceiling.
"Shouldn't you be studying, Sora?" he asked, a little irritated at his friend's seeming indifference.
"No. Why?" came the careless response.
"So you don't get banned from sports because of low marks."
Sora sat up and grinned at the silver-haired boy. "Is that why you spend so much time on homework? You don't want to get kicked off the school's athletic team?"
"That's exactly why."
Shrugging, Sora lay back again, tucking his hands under his head. "I'm not really big on schoolwork. That's always been Roxas' thing."
"I wonder why that is." Riku's response held just a hint of sarcasm, which Sora was quick to catch onto.
"What do you mean?" he demanded, sitting up again.
"I was just thinking that since Roxas is the smarter twin, you must not see the point of trying in school."
An angry flush colored Sora's cheeks. "He isn't smarter than me!"
"Really." Tone, expression and movements calm, Riku put his notes away and stood, his bag in hand. "Then why are his grades always so much higher than yours?" He began walking away towards the classroom, forcing Sora to scramble to catch up.
"Because he likes reading and books and things."
"And you prefer to run around outside getting all sweaty to prove you're faster than everyone else."
"You make it sound like a bad thing, but that's all you do!"
"Wrong." The older student stopped and faced the brunette. "I like to read. I take notes in class and always have my homework done on time. I study. Sure, I'm an athlete, because I love sports, but I'm also a student who cares about his grades. But you, Sora, if you don't care about school like you claim, well, then you're little more than a body with no brain. Or you're lying about not caring about school, in which case, you're just stupid."
"I'm not stupid!" Sora protested as the two walked into the classroom and took their seats. "I studied for all my tests!"
"Then prove it. If you can get higher marks than me, I'll take back what I said."
"You're on."
"Quiet, you two. The test is about to begin," Vexen's stern voice said from the front of the room, preventing any further conversation. Sora turned away from Riku, determined. He was going to make Riku take back what he said if it was the last thing he did.
XXX
Zexion, unsurprisingly, was the first student to finish his exam and walk out of the computer lab. The other students wouldn't be far behind, but that didn't matter. He'd had the fastest times for every requirement, he thought, and he was confident he'd aced the test. In fact, he almost wished Professor Xigbar had made it a little more challenging for him, though he knew his classmates didn't find the test format as simple as he did. Really, what was so difficult about Professor Xigbar telling the class which program to run, and each student's computer timing how long it took for the student to complete the program?
To the blue-haired senior, the experience had been as simple as being told to tie his shoe or button up his shirt.
When Axel left the classroom, however, it was obvious he'd had a much harder time with the exam. Zexion chose to be merciful and didn't tease his friend, even though he was sorely tempted. There was no time to make Axel feel worse when there were other exams to be studied for. Zexion intended to ace them all.
XXX
Thursday.
One by one, Kairi's classmates went to the front of the room and performed their solos. She sat in the back, patiently waiting for her name to be called. Part of her wished she could have gone earlier in the class and gotten it over with, but the rest of her didn't care when she was called up.
Finally, Mister Marluxia called her name, and the redhead stood. Straightening her shoulders, she walked to the front of the room and turned to face her classmates. Then she smiled gently and began to sing.
XXX
Axel half ran to his English IV classroom, his midterm paper tucked safely in his bag. All he had to do was turn it in, then he could go back to his room and study for his Chemistry exam. Within moments, he was striding into the classroom while taking out his printed and stapled paper. Professor Lexeaus didn't even look up when Axel laid the paper on the stack with his classmate's and left the room again. The teacher was far too busy grading the papers that had already been turned in that day. He didn't bother telling the redhead that his paper was technically ten minutes late—he didn't care one way or the other. There were too many papers to grade to bother.
XXX
"Are you sure this is right, Roxas?" Namine whispered as she put the light blue-ish green mixture in the freezer. Coach Xaldin would taste the ice cream in the morning, after it froze overnight.
"Yes, Namine, I'm sure," he replied, not for the first time. He was busy washing the dishes they'd used, and moved over when Namine joined him at the sink to help. "Stop worrying so much."
"I'm sorry; I just really want to get a good grade."
"So do I. We did everything right, okay? There's nothing to worry about."
Together they dried and put away the dishes.
"I guess you're right, Roxas," the blond girl admitted once they'd finished cleaning up and grabbed their bags.
"Of course I am. Now, let's go study for our history exam with Sora."
She nodded, and the pair left the classroom, not the first to finish but glad that they weren't the last, either.
XXX
Friday.
It was silent as Professor Luxord handed out the exams in Kairi's history class. Her eyes followed him around the room as her thoughts wandered to what she'd done during her last detention with the stern teacher, and a small smirk appeared at the corner of her mouth. It had been much too fun to tease him.
She watched him make his way back to his desk, examining his slim physique, and couldn't help but wonder what he really looked like under his usual formal attire. When the strict teacher sat at his desk, Kairi flipped over her test and read the first question.
1. In what year were the first cave paintings discovered?
Kairi smiled. She knew the answer, and wrote it down quickly before moving on. The next question proved to be as easy as the first, and she quickly made her way through the first page. However, the farther she got into the test, the more difficult the questions became.
At least I studied, she thought after finishing yet another question. Otherwise, I'd have no hope of passing this.
The seconds ticked by and she continued diligently, determined that this test not outsmart her.
XXX
Taking his time, Mister Marluxia slowly made his way through the room, closely examining each project that was presented to him. He asked questions such as "what inspired this" and "why did you choose this medium?" Finally, he reached his favorite art student.
"And what have you prepared, Namine?" he asked, smiling as usual.
The blond girl blushed lightly and showed him her canvas, on which was a painting of a clearing ringed by trees. On one end, the trees were full of flower buds and fresh spring leaves with light green grass. As his gaze passed over the painting, Marluxia saw the buds blossom into flowers, then drop to the ground to be replaced by dark green, summer leaves. Then those leaves turned red, orange and yellow as Autumn arrived and soon the trees were bare, the ground around them covered in their brilliant leaves. The last part of the painting showed the trees and ground covered in snow with a pale blue winter sky.
Marluxia spent several minutes examining the piece, marveling over the smooth transition between the seasons.
"It's lovely, Namine. Where did you get the idea?"
"I always walk by trees like this on my way to town, and I love how they look in all four seasons," she replied shyly, pleased that he liked her work. "Do you really like it?"
The art teacher nodded, his dark-blue-almost-purple eyes meeting Namine's crystalline blue ones. "I do. It's beautiful."
Namine's blush darkened three-fold.
Suddenly remembering himself, Marluxia smiled again then moved on to the next student and fell back into his pattern of questions and compliments. Namine had to shake herself to get rid of the feeling of the pink-haired teacher staring straight into her soul. For a moment, she was almost afraid he knew…but no, that was impossible. He couldn't know, and she was never going to tell him.
Never.
XXX
This was it. The last midterm before the weekend.
"On your marks!"
They would finally get to sleep and relax. One of the most stressful weeks of the school year would be over.
"Get set!"
Muscles tensed in anticipation, ready, waiting…
"Go!" The whistle blew, a single, shrill note, and instantly every boy in the sophomore-senior P.E. class took off in a dead sprint around the track. They had to run one mile, which Coach Xaldin was timing. This was after pushups, sit ups, and soccer scrimmages. The boys were tired, but they didn't jog the mile. They gave it their all, panting, fighting for each breath, muscles burning with exertion.
Sora and Riku quickly broke away from the pack, racing ahead, locked in a private battle. Their strides ate up the distance, matching almost perfectly, arms pumping as the wind created by their own speed whipped their hair back.
They lapped the slowest of their classmates.
When at last they finished their mile, the two stood up straight with their hands clasped behind their heads and started stretching.
Sora grinned at the other boy. "Almost had you."
"Did not, brat."
Coach Xaldin chose that moment to interrupt. "Get to the locker room and shower. You're excused."
With a whoop, Sora and Riku jogged up the hill to the gym and showered. Sora was careful to not see the other boy without his shirt on. There was no telling what sort of things his brain might come up with, especially after his runaway thought last Monday. Instead, he chose to think about his date with Kairi later that evening.
"Are you ready yet?" Riku's annoyed tone broke into Sora's imaginings of how the date would go, and the brunette realized he'd paused halfway through getting dressed. He thought it was a little strange that the older boy seemed irritated when he should be happy midterms were over, but Sora wrote it off as Riku simply being tired and didn't say anything about it.
He hurried to finish dressing. "Yeah, let's go."
They left the locker room together, Sora whistling happily despite Riku's apparent bad mood. Midterms were over and he had a date with Kairi—nothing could ruin his good mood.
XXX
Gale: Well, what did you think? Does it sound accurate to how a week of exams really feels?
Xino: Let us know by leaving reviews!
Sonshi: And, as always, I encourage your flames as well.
Gale: One day, Sonshi, someone is going to flame our story, and you won't think it's funny.
Sonshi: Yes I will.
Gale: *Sigh* I swear, the voices in my head are so stubborn. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I apologize if it seems hastily written. It was also much longer than this until I cut some parts out, so I apologize if some bits are a little vague. Now, I'm off to bed for some much needed sleep. Chapter XVI coming this weekend! Toodles!