Gale: Here it is, as promised!

Xino: The moment you've all been waiting for! Sora and Kairi go on a date!

Sonshi: I don't understand why it's supposed to be so interesting. We all know what's going to happen.

Gale: Sonshi, hush. The readers don't know everything you know. Anyway, enjoy!

XXX

Freedom. Pure, unadulterated freedom to do whatever he wanted for the whole weekend.

Time for a nap. Dropping his bag on the floor, Riku removed his tie and kicked off his shoes, glad for the chance to finally relax. Like usual, he intended to spend the weekend following exams holed up in his dorm relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet. With a sigh, he climbed up into his bed and burrowed into the mountain of pillows and blankets that turned his bed into something that greatly resembled a nest.

All he wanted was to sleep, but half-formed thoughts continued to plague the silver-haired boy, keeping him from completely relaxing.

He didn't want Sora and Kairi to go on a date. Even though he would never admit it, he very strongly disliked the idea of his two friends dating. It wasn't even because he was jealous—because he mostly defiantly was not jealous—it was because he knew Kairi didn't like Sora that way.

Grumbling to himself, Riku pulled the blankets over his head in an attempt to block out the thoughts. It didn't work, and he found himself wondering why Kairi had said yes in the first place. She was still trying to get Riku to admit he liked Sora, and he was still insisting that he didn't. Every time he was alone with her, the redhead brought it up. They couldn't even work on homework in the same room without her making a comment. So why did she say yes?

There had to be a reason. He knew Kairi too well to believe she'd said yes because the date would be fun. That girl always had an ulterior motive, but what was it this time?

Is she…trying to make me jealous? The thought actually made him laugh out loud. There was no way she would actually try that. That couldn't be it. Kairi wasn't desperate enough to make him admit his feelings to manipulate Sora, at least, he didn't think she was. Regardless of the reason, Kairi was going on a date with Sora, and Riku was definitely not pleased about it. Not one little bit.

XXX

"Just clean the window display and you can go home, Sora!" Yuffie's cheerful voice drifted from the back of the store. Eager to be done, Sora finished arranging a collection of decorative daggers then grabbed a rag and dusting spray from the cupboard. The window display was a pain to clean because he had to be careful not to knock anything over, but after a week of working for Yuffie, it only took him another fifteen minutes to dust it and put his cleaning supplies away. Through the window he could see the sun setting and it only served to make him more determined to finish and clock out for the day.

"I'm all finished, Yuffie!" he called, putting on his jacket and writing down the time on his hours sheet. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Have a good night, Sora! Don't forget your paycheck!"

His jacket zipped up tight, Sora grabbed the envelope holding his first paycheck and walked out of the store into the chilly evening breeze with a grin on his face. It was going to be a good night. He refused to let it be anything less than good and was going to do everything he could to make it great.

When Sora made it back to the dorm, his cheeks tinged pink from the cold wind, Roxas was lying in bed reading. They barely had time to exchange greetings before Sora was gone again, towel and shower caddy in hand as he headed off to the bathroom. Less than ten minutes later he was back in his room, having quickly and rinsed himself of any dust or dirt, and was combing out his thick brown hair. The clothes Roxas had helped him pick out sat ready on his bed, and he wasted no time in getting dressed. After wearing his school uniform of slacks, dress shirt and tie for so long, the jeans and t-shirt were strange and unfamiliar against his skin.

Posing, Sora turned to Roxas. "How do I look?"

The blond boy considered his twin for a moment before grinning and nodding. "You look great, Sora." Relieved, Sora smiled and relaxed, looking around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Once he'd convinced himself that he had everything, he put on his coat and left, waving goodbye to Roxas with a nervous yet excited smile.

A breeze tugged at his coat and chilled his still-damp hair as he crossed campus to the sophomore dorm where Kairi stood waiting for him, a hat pulled down over her ears and a coat buttoned from her knees to her chin. Sora smiled and offered his arm, which she took, and the two started down the sidewalk towards the edge of campus.

"I'm sorry it's so cold," Sora apologized, worried that she might be upset. "But the restaurant will be warm."

Kairi smiled sweetly, blue eyes twinkling. "It's okay, Sora. I'm just glad to go out with you." She slipped her hand into his, squeezing gently, and Sora blushed, pleased with her response.

"I'm glad you said yes."

And together the pair left the grounds, on their way to town to enjoy an evening out.

From his window, feeling more like a stalker than he liked, Riku watched them leave with narrowed eyes. What the hell was Kairi doing? If she was so convinced that he had a crush on the kid—which he did not—then why was she going out on a date with him? These exact thoughts had kept him from taking his nap a few hours earlier, so he'd decided to wear himself out in order to finally get to sleep.

Turning away from the window and going back to his lofted bed, Riku continued the pull-ups he'd been doing before receiving Kairi's text. As he lifted himself off the floor, he realized that her plan was exactly what he'd suspected earlier. She wanted to make him jealous.

"Little flirt," he grunted, continuing his workout. His phone sat on his desk, still displaying the message she'd sent him.

Don't you wish you were me? Look out your window ;)

So he'd looked out the window just in time to see her leave with Sora. Even from a distance, he could see that they were holding hands.

Riku finished his pull-ups and dropped to the floor, stretching his arms. If Kairi thought she could make him jealous and get him to confess his feelings for Sora, then she was dead wrong. He wasn't about to confess feelings that didn't exist.

"I don't like him," Riku told himself, not for the first time. "He's a friend and that's it. I don't like him."

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Sora—Riku actually enjoyed being around him and thought the younger student was a great friend—but he wasn't interested in liking anyone. He was much too busy with his schoolwork and sports to worry about liking someone, especially since he needed to keep his grades and stats up in order to get into a good college based on something other than his parents' money. Riku was tired of being just another rich kid to the rest of the world. He was an athlete and a damn good one at that—he wanted to be known for his abilities, not his parents' wealth. If he could get an athletic scholarship to a big name school, then he'd finally be his own person in the world, not just at Kingdom High.

Dropping to the floor, Riku began a set of push-ups, keeping his breathing in time with the motion of his arms. He wasn't going to let Kairi and her silly schemes get in the way of his goals.

XXX

Roxas watched in fascination as Namine's pale hand curved across the paper, a thin, dark line tracing the path of her pencil. He'd been watching her draw for the last ten minutes and he was still just as intrigued as when she'd first opened her sketch book. She wouldn't tell him what she was drawing and kept most of the picture covered with her free hand, but he found himself watching all the same. Every line made him more curious about what the picture would turn out to be, but he refrained from asking. She would show him when she was ready and until then he would wait in silent anticipation.

Her narrow shoulders rose and fell as she breathed, sitting beside him, her white-blond hair brushing against his arm. His homework lay forgotten by his feet. They sat in near silence, listening to their breathing and the sound of Namine's pencil on paper. Outside the wind grew stronger, starting to whistle and howl; Namine leaned on Roxas' shoulder, still drawing.

The blond boy waited for butterflies to erupt in his stomach or something, but nothing happened. He didn't feel anything other than a companionable warmth, even with the tiny girl so close to him and sitting on his bed no less. As he attempted to discover what that meant, Namine set down her pencil.

"Hey, Roxas?"

"Yeah?" Roxas turned to look at Namine just as she looked at him, an action which caused their noses to brush and their lips to press together. For a moment they both froze, shocked, then Roxas pulled away and sat up, his cheeks flaming. Namine looked down at her sketchbook, a dark blush coloring what little of her face was visible behind her hair.

"I-I'm sorry," Roxas stammered, more embarrassed than he'd ever thought was humanly possible. Could he die of embarrassment? He almost wished he could, and Namine looked like she felt similarly.

"It's okay," she mumbled quietly, fiddling with her pencil. Had that really just happened?! Things like that only happened in movies and books, not real life, and definitely not to her. She'd just kissed Roxas. On accident, sure, but it still counted. But where were the sparks she'd read about, the jittery excitement, the attraction? She had to like Roxas…he was perfect…so why didn't she feel anything other than embarrassed?

Awkward, Roxas picked up his homework and climbed down from his loft to sit at his desk and work. He felt bad about kissing Namine when she hadn't wanted him to.

It was silent as the two embarrassed teens did their best to pretend nothing had happened. Several minutes later Namine held up her sketchbook to survey her work and was surprised at what she had drawn. What had started out as a sketch of a character in a movie she couldn't remember the title of had turned into a rather detailed portrait of Mister Marluxia. It didn't surprise her as much as it maybe should have.

Namine didn't voice her thoughts out loud, choosing simply to turn the page and begin a new sketch. It wasn't the first time she'd drawn the teacher, but that didn't mean she was any less confused by it. She'd seen him doing less-than-admirable things, yet he appeared in her artwork more often than anyone else she knew.

He's a bad man, she told herself sternly, sketching a bird she'd seen outside the office building earlier that day. Stop thinking about him.

But she couldn't, even though she tried, she couldn't get the young teacher out of her head.

XXX

With relief, Sora and Kairi escaped the cold into the warm restaurant.

"Phew! Is it always this cold out so early in the year?" the brunette asked, rubbing his hands together to warm them. He wished he'd brought gloves along.

Kairi took off her hat and shook out her hair. "Not usually, but it's supposed to be a really cold, snowy winter."

"Cool! We can have snowball fights!"

Smiling, the redhead tugged on one of the boy's spikes playfully. "Always seeing the bright side of things, huh, Sora?"

"You bet! Now, let's see if this place measures up to its reputation." Taking her hand, Sora led Kairi to the front desk. A pretty woman with chin-length brown hair smiled at them in welcome.

"Hello, and welcome to King's Catch! My name is Yuna, what can I do for you this evening?"

Sora smiled back. "Table for two, please!"

"Right this way." Grabbing two menus, Yuna led Sora and Kairi to a small table set up next to a window overlooking the restaurant's outdoor seating, giving them a view of the garden.

In an attempt to play the gentleman, Sora pulled out Kairi's chair for her, and pushed it in when she sat before taking his own seat. Yuna handed them their menus.

"Your waiter will be here shortly. If you need anything, he will be more than happy to accommodate you."

"Thank you," Kairi said politely, twinkling up at the waitress. The woman smiled, nodded, and walked away.

Sora looked around in interest. "Fancy place. Have you ever eaten here before?"

Yes, Kairi had in fact eaten at King's Catch many times. However, she wasn't about to tell Sora that, because then he'd want to know why she'd been there, and she didn't want to tell him that it had almost always been on a date. She worried that he would feel like he had to outdo the boys she'd been with there previously, and she didn't want him to feel like it was somehow a competition.

"A few times, just to change things up a bit."

Satisfied with her answer, Sora began inspecting his menu. It was a seafood restaurant, so needless to say, his options were fairly limited. That didn't mean there weren't plenty of dishes to choose from, but Sora usually preferred burgers or pizza over fish. As he was contemplating his options, a tall man with choppy blond hair and suntanned skin walked up to their table, carrying a small notepad and pen and wearing a plain white apron.

"How are we doing tonight?" he asked in a friendly tone, smiling down at the two teens.

"Great!" Sora replied enthusiastically, making Kairi smother a giggle.

The man chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that. My name is Tidus and I will be your waiter this evening. Can I get you anything to drink while you decide what you would like for dinner?"

"Just water, please," Kairi told him, and he quickly wrote it down then turned to Sora, who was checking the menu to see what drinks were available.

"I'll have chocolate milk."

Tidus nodded and wrote it down. "I'll have those right out to you." Smiling again, he turned and went back the way he came.

Kairi settled in her chair and smiled across the table at Sora. "What are you going to get?"

"Um, I think the lemon shrimp. You?"

"Crab legs. They're delicious."

The look on Sora's face was horrified. "You're getting what?"

Giggling, Kairi tucked a few stray bits of hair behind her ear. "You know, crab legs. They boil the crab and arrange it on a plate, then you use these nut-cracker things to break open the shell, and you pull the meat out to eat it. They give you butter to dip it in, too."

Her explanation did little to settle Sora's mind. He didn't know if he'd be able to handle watching her crack open a crab's shell and eat its insides. The whole process sounded like a horror film. But he didn't want to criticize Kairi's taste in seafood, so just smiled and nodded as if he understood.

"I am curious, Sora," the redhead began, resting her elbows on the table and folding her hands under her chin as she leaned forward, "as to what made you decide to ask me out."

A light blush colored the sophomore boy's cheeks. What was he supposed to say? He'd asked her spur of the moment with no planning or previous desire to do so. He liked Kairi, she was fun to flirt with and he was glad she'd said yes, but he didn't want to be her boyfriend. "I just thought it would be fun to go out. After the craziness of midterms, I really wanted to get away from the school and do something different."

Kairi hid her relief that she wasn't going to have to explain to the younger boy that she didn't like-like him. "I see." At that moment, Tidus arrived with their drinks and took their orders before once again disappearing into the depths of the restaurant, and a comfortable silence fell over the small table. Sora took a large gulp of his chocolate milk, getting it all over his upper, lip, and Kairi giggled before using her napkin to clean it off.

Sora blushed. "Thanks."

"No problem." She set her napkin down and smiled at him, twinkling. "So, Sora, if you don't mind me asking, is there anyone special you've got your eye on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like anyone? Enough to seriously date them, I mean."

Immediately, Sora remembered when he'd seen Riku coming out of the shower in a towel, and felt his cheeks getting warm. "N-no, no one."

"Aw, come on, Sora, you can tell me," she wheedled, but he shook his head, refusing to say anything more on the subject. Not wanting to ruin their friend-date, Kairi chose not to push the issue and picked a new topic.

"So are you looking forward to the Masquerade?"

Sora blinked. "Masquerade?"

"The Masquerade Ball on Halloween? You mean you don't know about it?"

He shook his head. He hadn't heard a single thing about a masquerade ball to celebrate Halloween. Kairi was quick to remedy the situation and enthusiastically told him about the different costumes people wore and the decorations and the music and the buffet table, her list went on and on. The more she talked, the more interested and excited Sora became. It sounded like a lot of fun, and he was sure Roxas would want to go, too.

"Well, what are you going as this year, Kairi?"

Smiling, drew her fingers over her mouth as if she were zipping it shut. "Spoilers. You'll just have to wait and see." Sora pouted at that, making her giggle.

They continued talking about the masquerade as Tidus brought their meals, their conversation moving onto how they felt they'd done on their finals, fall break that was in November, and eventually having to decide what they would do over winter break.

When at last it was time to leave and go back to campus, Sora was proud to be able to pay for their meals with part of his paycheck, and the two friends held hands the entire walk back.

"Thanks for taking me out, Sora. I had a really great time."

"Yeah, me too."

They stood at the door to the sophomore dorm hall, Kairi's hand still firmly held in Sora's. He mustered up the courage and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek; she blushed lightly, smiling at him.

"Have a good night, Kairi."

"Night, Sora." With a wave, she stepped inside and disappeared down the hall. Sora counted to ten before letting out a whoop of triumph and leaping into the air. He'd done it! He'd asked a girl out on a date and that date had gone well! And it hadn't even taken that much of his paycheck to do it. Whistling, the brunette boy made his way over to the freshman hall and up to his room. He was so focused on his victory that he almost didn't notice Namine as she passed him going in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Namine, how are you?" he asked, grinning that infectious grin of his. She smiled a little more shyly than normal.

"I'm okay. Good night, Sora." She continued on her way down the hall, hugging her sketchbook to her chest.

"See you tomorrow," he called after her before walking the rest of the way to his and Roxas' dorm. A wave of awkward washed over him the moment he entered. "Whoa, what happened in here? I feel like I just walked in on someone getting dressed."

Roxas just stared at him from his desk, his eyes telling more than words ever could.

"Dude, are you okay?" Sora shrugged out of his jacket and sat on his bed, watching his twin worriedly. He'd never seen Roxas look like that before.

Slowly, Roxas shook his head. He most definitely wasn't okay. He had—accidentally—kissed Namine, something he'd wanted to try, but felt nothing. Namine was the closest thing to a crush Roxas had ever had—why hadn't he enjoyed kissing her? Or was he too embarrassed to really experience the kiss?

"Roxas, you're scaring me. Say something."

It took him several moments to come up with the words. "Namine…and I…"

Sora grinned. "You and Namine, what?"

"Kissed…"

Almost instantaneously Sora was on his feet, hugging his twin in misplaced congratulations. "Way to go, Rox!"

Embarrassed all over again, Roxas pulled free of Sora's embrace, shaking his head. "Not good. Not good, Sora. It was an accident and…I didn't feel anything…why didn't I feel anything?"

Confusion replaced Sora's excitement. "What do you mean you didn't feel anything? Don't you like Namine? How did you kiss her on accident?"

In as few words as possible, Roxas proceeded to describe what had happened to Sora as the brunette sat and listened in sympathetic silence. When he finished, Sora stood and patted his shoulder.

"Tough break, Rox. I guess that means you don't like Namine, not like that. Just in case, though, maybe you should give it another try. You never know—maybe you were both too surprised to even notice if you liked it or not." His advice given, Sora changed into his pajamas and proceeded to get ready for bed, his good mood diminished but not destroyed by his twin's dilemma.

He felt sorry for Roxas, but at the same time, he wasn't really worried. He and Kairi had gone on a date and neither of them wanted to have a relationship with the other, so he figured as long as Roxas kept calm then he wouldn't have to worry about things being awkward around the blond girl.

Roxas sighed. "Yeah, maybe you're right." Following Sora's cue, he changed and got into bed, huddling under his blankets in order to shield himself from the aura of embarrassment that still permeated the room. He hoped it wouldn't still feel like that when he woke up, and that he would get a chance to get things back to normal with Namine soon.

"Good night, Roxas."

"Night, Sora."

The light clicked off.

XXX

Gale: All right, I'm ready to hear/read what you think!

Xino: Leave lots of reviews for us! We really like them!

Sonshi: Yeah. What they said.

Xino: Sonshi, you're just jealous because you like Riku!

Sonshi: I do not! Shut up!

Gale: Oh geeze, there she goes storming off again. We'll just let her calm down for a bit. I hope you liked it!