Humming, Kairi gently pulled strands of white-blonde hair into her grip and tucked them into a neat braid. It was just a little braid that would hang to the left of Namine's face, but it would help keep her hair out of her face while she was playing her flute. Meanwhile, Namine was making sure there were no chips or rough edges on her nails, filing them down so they were all the same length. Kairi's nails were already perfect and had been painted to match the green of her school uniform. When she finished with the braid, she left Namine to get dressed and went to the mirror to put on her makeup. The list of guidelines sitting on her desk claimed that no gaudy or brightly colored eye shadow was allowed, and only the minimum amount of blush was acceptable. Eyeliner was also restricted to avoid anyone having "raccoon eyes."

Kairi thought the rules were silly—no one at Kingdom High wore makeup like the guidelines listed as unacceptable—but she read them carefully nonetheless. It would be embarrassing to get in trouble for her makeup when they'd been preparing for this all semester. Only simple jewelry was allowed, and they were required to wear their formal uniforms to avoid anyone wearing too low cut of a shirt or too short of a skirt.

"Ready, Mi-Mi?" she asked, slipping on her shoes. The formal uniform consisted of a charcoal gray skirt that stopped below the knee, a white long-sleeve button up shirt, a button vest that matched the skirt, and a black jacket. The stitching in the jacket was the school's chosen shade of green, as were the tie and stockings. Their dress shoes were black.

Dressed identically to her cousin, Namine picked up her school bag and nodded. "Ready."

Together, they left their dorm and made their way towards the school, thick winter coats zipped all the way up to their chins and gloved hands buried in their pockets. The sun had already set, which meant it was even colder than the last time they'd ventured outside. Not that they were surprised. It was December, after all, and the campus had donned its winter cloak of sparkling white snow. Footprints wandered across the grounds from building to building because the sidewalks had yet to be cleared from the most recent snowfall. By the time they made it into the building, both girls were shivering and their teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"I w-wish the s-s-school was farther s-south," Namine managed to force out, and Kairi nodded her agreement.

It wasn't Kingdom High was particularly far north, it was just in a location near enough to the ocean in a place where cold currents and winds brought in an unusual amount of snow for the region. The water was cold even in the height of summer, which could be a great relief from the heat to the year-round residents. For the students, however, the summer weather made little difference considering very few of them would remain on campus between the spring and fall semesters.

Shrugging out of their coats, the two girls made their way into the Fine Arts side of the building and went straight to the music room. The hallways were filled with other students milling about, most of whom were dressed in their own casual clothing—only performers were required to wear their uniforms since the concert was optional. Most of their classmates were already in the music room when they arrived and were talking quietly amongst themselves as they waited.

"Choir first!" Mister Marluxia's voice called over the chatter only a few minutes later, and the students began to separate as the choir students gathered around their instructor and the band students hung back to stay out of the way. His usual warm smile in place, Marluxia waited for the students to settle down. "Warm ups!"

Kairi, in her place among her fellow choir students, participated in their usual warm up tunes, smiling all the while. This was one of her favorite parts of the first semester: the Winter Concert. First, the choir students would make their way to the auditorium and line up on the stage as the rest of the school watched from the rows of seats. There would be a short break once they'd finished all their songs, and then the band students would take over the stage for the remainder of the show. Afterwards, there would be food available for the spectators, and the back of the auditorium had tables and racks set up to display the art students' projects for the rest of the school to see. It was the culmination of all their hard work over the past few months and was the mark of the beginning of finals week, which meant Winter Break was only a few days away.

With obvious pride, Marluxia lined the choir students up before leading them out of the room. "Remember, stay quiet! We want this to be a good show!"

"See you in a bit!" Ariel whispered to Namine, wiggling her fingers at the blonde as she and Kairi left the room.

Giggling, Namine waved back before looking around at the remaining students; it didn't take her long to find who she was looking for. With her usual quiet tendencies, she moved to stand by the boy's side. "Hey, Demyx."

The blond junior jumped slightly then blushed. "Hi."

"Are you excited?" she asked, smiling gently, and the older student nodded.

"Yeah, mostly to finally be done with these songs and start on something new after break."

Namine knew exactly what he meant. Since they only had one performance a semester, they practiced the same songs for half the year, and that got boring pretty quickly. Mister Marluxia did his best to keep his students interested in the music by occasionally having a day when they got to pick whatever music they wanted, or even letting them try to trade instruments for a class, but even those things started to get dull after four months of the same ten songs. It was especially bad during the last month before the concert when Marluxia fussed over every single little detail.

"I hope he picks something with a faster tempo for the spring semester," she replied. "The slow songs are too easy."

"They really are." Demyx shrugged, turning thoughtful. "Maybe I'll talk to Mister Marluxia about it. I'd like a challenge before summer."

The younger student didn't look so sure. "Is that a good idea? To see him alone, I mean?" the flutist asked quietly.

"Oh, I won't be alone. Zexion would demand to go with me." A fond smile lifted the corners of the junior's mouth upon mentioning the blue-haired senior. "Besides, Marluxia apologized to me back in October and things have been fine since."

"Good." Namine smiled, relieved to hear that things between her friend and their teacher seemed to have returned to a healthy student-teacher relationship. "Things are going well with Zexion?"

"Yeah! He's great. He's really protective and doesn't trust Mister Marluxia at all, but I understand that. I've never been happier," he confided, blushing again.

Namine giggled at how cute the older student was being—no wonder Kairi couldn't get enough of her matchmaker game, if this was the potential happiness she saw in the people she was trying to get together. "Is he here?"

Nodding, Demyx adjusted his tie. "He promised to sit in the front row."

"Aw, that's cute."

The junior's blush darkened and he looked down at his shoes, embarrassed. He was glad that Zexion had decided to come to the concert, especially since the senior had confessed that he'd never attended any of the school's concerts or shows. This would be his first one, and he was doing it for Demyx. In his head, he didn't think he was special enough for Zexion to do something he'd never cared for before, but he hadn't dared to voice that opinion. It wouldn't have been the first time Zexion scolded him for thinking down on himself.

X

Fidgeting with the paper program he'd been given, Sora tried not to squirm around in his seat. To his left was Roxas, then Axel and then Zexion beside the redhead. To his right was Riku. They were sitting in the middle of the front row—Roxas had actually counted the seats so he could sit in the exact center—and the lights had dimmed to signal that the performance was about to begin. He wished they would turn the lights back on.

This isn't happening. This is so not happening. There's no way.

He couldn't believe what was happening to him. It terrified him, but he didn't know what to do about it, so he just sat there frozen and tried not to betray how much he was panicking in his head. Wide blue eyes darted down and to the right then quickly looked away. He just knew that Riku was smirking and tried desperately to calm himself down.

Be cool, Sora. Relax. Deep breaths. He's just trying to freak you out.

Well, it was working, and Sora knew it, and Riku probably knew it, too, because Sora was trembling and there was no way that the older sophomore couldn't feel it. The moment the lights had dimmed, Riku had placed a hand on Sora's knee and had since proceeded to torment the brunet. It took everything Sora had not to let out a squeak when the hand slid higher up on his thigh and squeezed playfully. Finally, he managed to get his head straight and smacked the older boy's hand lightly so as not to draw the attention of everyone else.

Mischievous teal eyes turned to him and he glared back at his friend, deliberately grabbing the older boy's wrist and moving his hand away. Then he turned his attention back to the stage; less than ten seconds later, the hand returned, only this time it was alarmingly higher and had slipped between his legs to rub at his inner thigh. To his immense embarrassment, Sora felt a warm sense of pleasure slide up his spine at the touch and had to muffle a groan.

"Getting excited?" Warm breath tickled the brunet's ear as Riku leaned in close enough to whisper and squeezed the sensitive area he had in his grip. It was all Sora could do not to whimper and slide down in his seat a little as he shuddered.

"S-stop it…"

Another gentle squeeze. "Why?"

Trembling, Sora gripped the older boy's arm and roughly shoved Riku's hand back to where it belonged. "Because I don't want to be sexually assaulted right before my friends' concert," he hissed angrily, and Riku smirked.

"What about after the concert?"

"Not then, either. And don't ask about any other time because the answer will always be no."

Riku laughed quietly. "Aw, you're no fun, Brat."

The nerve of him! How dare he accuse Sora of not being fun, just because he wasn't willing to let the older boy grope him! Growling, Sora smacked the silver-haired athlete's shoulder then huffed and slouched in his seat, glaring up at the stage as the choir students appeared and took their places. To his relief, Riku behaved himself while they listened to Kairi and the others sing, and after the first few songs, Sora managed to relax again, though his thoughts continued to swirl restlessly.

He's getting really handsy lately, and flirtier than usual. He's been flirty for a long time, I guess, but lately…I feel like I have to be careful or he'll trick me into agreeing to something I don't want to do. And he won't stop touching me!

Admittedly, he didn't always mind the touching. When it was something simple like an arm around his shoulders or waist or a hand on his back, that wasn't a big deal. But rubbing his thigh, especially while they were sitting with their friends to watch their other friends perform in the school's winter concert? Not okay. Definitely not okay.

And he knows that it bothers me, even if I pretend it doesn't. Bastard.

He glanced at the older boy, half expecting to see teal eyes looking back at him, but Riku was focused on the choir students and didn't even seem to notice the attention being directed at him. Silent, the brunet faced forward again and settled more comfortably in his chair. If Riku wanted to cause trouble, then he would just be on his best behavior.

It was too easy.

Smirking, Riku kept his eyes on Kairi as Sora huffed and shifted in the chair next to him and resisted the temptation to continue toying with him. The brunet really did make it too easy for him, getting all flustered at the simplest of touches. Riku hadn't even done anything to him, and the younger boy had been all but helpless. Watching him try not to make a sound had only encouraged Riku to see how far he could push before the younger boy became angry, and he couldn't believe he'd actually gotten Sora to whimper. As if that wasn't the most adorable fucking thing in the world.

All he wanted to do was get the brunet to make that sound again, but he knew Kairi would see if he tried anything while she was on stage, and Sora would definitely complain to her about it. No, it was better to maintain his distance and act innocent, at least for now. He'd have plenty of chances over Winter Break.

He looked at Sora out of the corner of his eye to see the younger student slouched in his chair, pouting slightly, and grinned. It really was too easy.

The lights came on again as the choir students filed off the stage and Sora sat up in his chair, stretching, then purposefully turned his back on Riku to face his twin. "I really liked that middle song, um," he glanced at his program, "'Nessun dorma.'"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, that one was really good. I'm impressed that they did something from an opera."

"It was from Turandot, right?" Axel interjected, and Roxas looked at him in surprise.

"Have you seen it?"

The redhead shrugged. "My mom took me to a version of it when I was little. I didn't want to go, but I liked it more than I thought I would."

Blue eyes lit up with interest and Roxas turned to face Axel more fully. "Where did you see it?"

Sighing, Sora slumped in his chair only to have Riku's arm snake around his shoulders. "What?" he huffed, not looking at the older boy.

"Relax, Brat. This is supposed to be fun."

Irritated, Sora decided that sarcasm was the best method for dealing with his flirtatious friend. "I am having fun. Especially when you were trying to grope me. That was a blast."

"Well, you know…"

Shit. He was doing that damn purring thing.

"I can keep doing it, if you really enjoy it that much," the older boy offered, and Sora rolled his eyes.

"No, thanks. I don't really think it's appropriate for my friend to touch me that way in such a public setting."

Riku grinned. "Another time, then." There was no response from Sora, and he sighed quietly. "All right, I'll stop, okay? Now quit sulking. You're killing my good mood."

They stared at each other for a few moments as Sora judged how serious the older boy was being; he nodded and sat up straighter. "Fine, as long as you keep your hands to yourself."

Making a pained face, the silver-haired athlete drummed his fingers on Sora's shoulder, his arms still draped around the boy. "It might kill me, but I'll try."

"Oh, you'll be fine. Don't be so dramatic," Sora admonished him. He decided he there was no danger in letting Riku's arm stay where it was, as long as the older boy didn't try anything funny. But he'd said he would stop, so Sora wasn't worried about it.

The older boy grinned again and settled back in his chair. "How are your studies coming?"

"Well enough that I'm gonna kick your ass in this bet!"

A laugh escaped him. "Dream on, Brat. You've never beaten me in anything before and I doubt that's about to change."

"I beat you in soccer!"

"That was a team victory, not you versus me, one-on-one. It doesn't count."

Sulking again, Sora folded his arms across his chest and glared at the floor. "You're just saying that 'cause you don't wanna admit that I beat you."

"And you're only pouting because you know I'm right," Riku countered, one silver eyebrow lifted. "Don't even tell me that you're sulking," he added when Sora opened his mouth to argue, and the brunet closed his mouth again, bottom lip sticking out even farther than before. Riku poked his lip. "Yeah, you're definitely pouting."

Sora smacked his hand away, only to be pulled into a headlock and have his hair ruffled by the older boy. His protests drew the attention of the other three students they were with, and by the time Riku decided to let him go, Roxas, Axel and Zexion were staring at them in amusement. Immediately, Sora's face turned red and he just knew what they were thinking.

"Do we need to leave you two alone?" Axel asked, his face perfectly straight. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"As if. They can get a room if they're going to flirt that much."

"We weren't flirting!" Sora protested, even though he knew otherwise. He just didn't like to admit it, especially when Roxas was giving him that look. Roxas and Axel shared a look.

"Yes, you were," they said at the same time, then laughed. With a satisfied grin, Axel leaned back in his chair and tucked his hands behind his head; out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zexion looking at him and winked at the other senior. So far, things were going perfectly.