It's the day of the Island Festival; it's an annual event, where all the residents of the island gather on the shore of the main island and pretty much party from dawn to dusk. There're booths with games, tons of free shit, and food. Local bands come and perform on stage throughout the day, so there're lots of different kinds of music to listen to. Everyone gets decked out in their beachwear for the day and just lets go and has fun. It's a pretty great time.

It's about eleven in the morning, and I've just arrived. Most of the people here are kids in middle school and high school—independent enough to go out and fool around whenever and wherever on the island, without a worry in the world. I never thought I'd say it, but sometimes, ignorance really is bliss. Still, at least even college professors adjusted their schedules to accommodate for what is universally agreed upon as the biggest and most exciting event of the year. I used to get a lot more pumped about this and try to get here as early as possible to beat the even bigger rush that tends to happen later in the afternoon, but this year, I was not giving up a chance to sleep in, especially after all those countless all-nighters.

The weather is perfect today. Not a single cloud in the sky, and the sun shines down and illuminates the island as its light bounces off the sandy shore and reflects off of the blue ocean water. A lot of the booths are set up and ready to go. Food vendors are currently serving breakfast and brunch types of food; throughout the day, they'll switch up their menus or even switch off with other businesses to supply meals that match the context of the time of day. Man, I cannot wait for some stuffed lobster tails tonight. For now, however, a paopu smoothie and egg and cheese on a croissant will suffice. Other booths are set up with little games that you can play to win prizes, like Ring Toss, Whack-A-Moogle, Potion Bottle, and a bunch of others. Some stands also sell clothes and toys, and I'm sure there are other things, too. There are also some areas that are left wide open, so people who want to fool around and play ball games and the like but still want to be close to all the action have the option to do so. Right along the seashore, there's a huge stage set up, where all the singers and bands perform throughout the day, as well as program announcements and the annual speech towards the end of the day that comes from Kairi's dad, the mayor, followed by everyone's favorite part: the concluding fireworks show.

Speaking of Kairi, I wonder where she is. She and Sora are still only seniors in high school, so one would think that they'd have the energy to have come a couple hours earlier…

"There you are!"

I turn around to see my auburn-haired friend behind me. She's got her hair up in a ponytail, with a big white and pink flower tucked behind her ear and bangs pulled back. With the pink bikini top and that long purple skirt with slits pretty much all up her leg on both sides, I'm sure Sora's probably gonna be gloating like a dork at how…well, cute, I guess, she looks.

"Hey, Kairi," I greet.

"You're late," she retorts, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at me.

"Sorry, slept in. Don't give me that look, you're probably gonna be in the same position next year!"

"Yeah, sure," she smirks. I choose not to argue with her. This girl is one of the few people that I cannot and probably couldn't ever win an argument against, even if my life depended on it. It's a pretty admirable quality of hers when she's on your side, but just downright annoying when she's not.

"Where's Sora at?" I inquire.

"He's late, too," she sighs.

"What? And what's his excuse?" Sure, Sora is one of the laziest people I know, but even he perks up and gets on his A-game in order to get here as early as he can.

"When he was looking for a pair of trunks to wear, he found that all of his were cut up," she giggles. "Apparently, Haru was practicing her tailoring skills."

"Typical," I groan. Haru's a little sweetheart, but oftentimes, her shenanigans ended up just (unintentionally, on her part) messing up Sora's—and presumably the rest of her family's—plans.

"So, he went out shopping for a new pair," she explains.

"Hey, Kairi!" someone greets, with a soft-spoken, husky voice. It sounds familiar, but I can't quite place who it belongs to. I look up and—

Waist-length, thick, wavy black hair. Big, green eyes. A sun-kissed complexion. Plump, soft pink lips, turned up in an affectionate smile. And her curves. Damn. Who is this chick? It looks like she's been chatting with Kairi for a couple of seconds, and she's turning to say something to me…

"Riku, Kairi!" I break my gaze from mystery girl as I turn around to see Sora running up to us. When he finally reaches us, he puts his hands on his knees and starts panting. His new plain, navy swimming trunks still have the tags attached.

"About time you got here," says Kairi, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Amaya, I thought you were gonna wait for me!" he pants, turning to mystery chi—

Amaya.

Oh shit.

I see it now: the same eye shape, the same curvature to their brows, the same skin tone, and the same way their lips curl up when they smile. This is my best friend's sister.

And holy shit she's beautiful.

"Sorry," she replies, apologetically, "I didn't realize you were still in the store until I was about halfway here." She begins to sheepishly twirl a strand of her long hair around her finger and digs her toes in the sand. The yellow cloth of her sarong wrap is tied at her hip, and it separates as she moves her knee forward. Matching red bikini bottoms to that strappy tank top she's wearing? Damn.

"Well, no worries, I'm here now!" Sora exclaims, perking back up. He turns to his girlfriend, and his face instantly turns crimson red. "W-wow, Kairi, you look…wow, you look amazing!"

"Thanks," she giggles, as he continues to shamelessly gawk at her.

"Alright," starts Amaya, "I'm going to go over and catch up with some of my friends over there," she gestures towards a few girls I kind of recognize from school standing over closer to the shore. "I'll see you guys around!" she beams, as she turns to walk in their direction. Her hair bounces behind her, and the ocean breeze makes her sarong sway slightly.

"See ya, girl!" Kairi calls back. "Aww, I love your sister, Sora, she came up to say hi to me! She's such a sweetheart!" Oh, of course she is.

"Yeah, and she loves you, Kairi," he replies. "Honestly, you might as well move in with us, my entire family adores you."

"Yeah, try talking to my dad about that," she giggles, as Sora blanches. "Alright, anyway, what should we do first?" she directs her inquiry towards the two of us.

"I don't know about you guys, but I am starving," replies Sora. "Since everything got so screwed up this morning, I missed breakfast!"

"Well, looks like a lot of the booths are changing over to their lunch menus," I observe.

"Hey, that means fresh food! You guys want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good," I reply. Kairi shakes her head, too.

"Alright, then, I'll be right back!" as he runs towards a booth that's in the direction of the shoreline. As I watch him jog over, she comes into my line of vision one more. Something funny must have just happened; she's chuckling, with her hand over her mouth and eyes crinkling. The wind keeps blowing her hair into her face, so she uses the other hand to keep it out of the way. One of her friends offers her something to tie her hair up with, and she gracefully accepts. I don't know, I kind of like it let down like that—

"Riku!" Kairi yells, as she swats me on the arm.

"What's up?" I reply, hoping to come off as casual as possible.

"I know that look," she smirks. Shit. "Who is she?" Shit shit.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I shrug, feigning innocence. But we both know it's a ruse.

"Come on, Riku. Stella's nowhere in sight, and honestly, if you were still giving her that look, I'd probably smack you right now." She crosses her arms and starts tapping her foot, as she anticipates me caving in. Definitely not letting that happen this time.

Before she can say anything else, Sora returns with a huge pout on his face.

"Something the matter, Sora?" Kairi asks, sounding worried.

"Ugh, remember that soup stand I accidentally crashed into last year? I really wanted some chowder, and the girl was just about to hand me my bowl, when the guy in charge came up behind her and swatted my hand away. 'No soup for you!' he yelled!" He throws his hands up in frustration. "Last year was Wakka's fault, anyway!"

"Aww, there are plenty of other options," she says comfortingly, as she pats him on the arm.

"I know, but their chowder is so good!" he frowns.

"I'll go over and get some for you," I offer. If anything, it'll get me away from Kairi's persistent prodding.

"Really?! Yes, I'll pay you back! Riku, you're the best!"

"I know," I shrug, as I walk over to the booth. I know I'm not looking at her, but I can feel Kairi glaring daggers at me, as I've coolly avoided the situation. Really, all I have to do now is make sure that I'm not left alone with Kairi. I mean, it's not like she's gonna tell my best friend that I think his sister's…pretty. In fact, it's not like she even knows it is Amaya. And she kept mum about the actual crush I had on Stella for, like, three years, so I'm pretty sure she can stay quiet about me making the decision that I find someone attractive, like, ten minutes ago.

The line's not too long. There're about five people ahead of me, so the wait shouldn't be too lengthy. Let's see, Sora wanted chowder. I'm just gonna assume shrimp chowder, since that's his favorite. Chowder's—damn, 200 munny? Yeah, that boy better pay me back.

"Oh, Riku!" Dammit, just when my mind started wandering in other directions…

"Oh, hey there, Amaya," I greet her, rather nonchalantly. I think so, anyway.

"I meant to say hi to you earlier, when I was talking to Kairi, but when Sora got here I totally forgot!" she says, playing with that strand of hair again. It hangs loose while the rest of her hair is now up in a ponytail.

"No big deal," I reply, and I spin right back around. No way I'm going down this road again. Nope.

"What're you gonna get?" she asks, from behind me. Goddammit.

"It's for Sora, he likes shrimp chowder."

"He's making you get it for him?"

"It's not that big a deal." I could explain last year's dilemma, but honestly, it's probably best if I keep this conversation as short as possible.

"Aw, well, if anything, you don't have to do that! I can get it and bring it over. And then maybe lecture him on being too lazy." I hear her giggle a little at the end.

"Um, okay, sure," I say, scratching the back of my neck and definitely not turning around to look at her. "Thanks," and I walk away, looking straight ahead. I mean, I feel a little bad giving in that easily—that honestly was really sweet of her to offer—but, I'd honestly rather just not deal with this kind of stuff right now and enjoy myself.

Sora looks confused when I return. "Wait, where's my chowder?" he inquires.

"Amaya was in line, too. She offered to get it," I reply. I glance over at Kairi; she's not making any subtle gestures or anything at me. Looks like she doesn't suspect a thing, yet. It's gotta stay that way.

"Oh, okay!" he grins, completely accepting the situation. "Okay, then, so after I eat, whaddaya guys wanna do?"

"Games, of course!" Kairi chimes in.

"Alright, what am I kicking your asses at first?" I smirk, as I crack my knuckles.

"Oh, get real, I totally beat you at Whack-A-Moogle last year!" Sora retorts.

"Yeah, 'cause the machine stopped working," I sneer.

"Did not!"

"Alright, fine, if you're so confident you won, let's see you try doing it again this year."

"Hell yeah! Let's do this!" he cries, pumping his fist.

"Sora." The voice is soft, but stern. Well, here she is again. Eyes on the ground, Riku, eyes on the ground.

"Sweet, thank you so much, Amaya, you're the best!" he replies.

"Well, it wasn't a big deal, but I can't believe you made Riku go get it for you," she says, firmly with a hint of concern in her tone. "I worry about you Sora, you can be a little too lazy for your own good sometimes."

"What? No, you've got it all wrong! Riku offered," he explains. Oh, shit, well this is awkward.

"…Oh." I hear her say. I look up to glance over at her, and I can see her gaze has shifted towards me. Our eyes meet, hers wide with confusion, and I force myself to look down again.

"I thought it might be funny," I shrug. Goddamn that was probably one of the most dumbass excuses I could have come up with. Great, now no one's talking. This is awkward.

"Or, it looks like you're just lazy as he is," I hear her snigger, cutting the uncomfortable silence. Damn, now that was salvation if I ever experienced it. "Well, it is like they say, birds of a feather do flock together." I peek up at her again; she's got this big, heart-warming smile on her face, hands on her hips. Now those are hips that don't lie…wait, what? Eyes back on the ground now, Riku.

"Well, Kairi did tell me that you got here pretty late today!" Sora interjects.

"Still got here before you did," I smirk as I look up at him, arms crossed.

"You're both hopeless," Kairi sighs.

"Alright," I hear Amaya begin, "I'll probably be bumping into you guys again throughout the day! Enjoy your chowder, Sora. I'll see you around, Kairi and Riku!" Ugh she just said my name. Dammit, now I'm turning into some sort of fifteen year old girl—

I feel a light pressure on my side.

"Kairi, you call that a punch?" I mock, raising a brow as I look over at her.

Oh, shit.

That smirk. She knows.

"So, what's the plan of action, huh?" she asks.

"I really don't know what you're talking about," I shrug.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?!" Sora interjects, as he takes a spoonful of chowder. Looks like Amaya's gone somewhere else.

"Riku seems to have a crush on a certain someone," Kairi jeers. Goddammit.

"What?!" he exclaims, some chowder dribbling out of his mouth. "No, way, this has never happened before! Who is it!?"

"You, obviously," I scoff at him. I have the perfect distracting conversation twister in mind. I walk up to him and take his face in my hands, despite the thick, white liquid on it, and continue: "Ever since I first met you, I've always had these…feelings, I guess, for you. I know you're with Kairi now, but…I don't think I can hold them in any longer!" I shut my eyes tight and pause dramatically. "Sora, I am completely and totally in love with you!"

"R-Riku…I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner!" he cries, just as sarcastically and over-dramatically as me. "All this time, I thought you'd never return the feelings I had for you, so I had to settle for Kairi!"

"Well, we must right this wrong!" I exclaim, pumping my fist. "Sora, let's run away together!"

"You know," Kairi starts, sighing, "the sad thing is, this actually is believable."

"Aww, you know you're always gonna be my number one, Kairi," Sora reassures. He walks over to her and kisses her on the forehead. A huge grin flashes across her face.

"Gag me," I snort, rolling my eyes as I wipe the chowder on my hand on the side of Sora's trunks.

"Riku, these are new!" he whines, as he inspects the stain I've left.

"It'll go away when you go swimming. Also, you've still got those price tags attached on there," I observe.

"Oh, right, good catch Riku!" he replies, as he begins to yank them out.

"Sora, make sure you throw them out in an actual trash bin. Don't want to litter!" says Kairi.

"Right," he responds, as the tags come out. "Kairi, hold the chowder for me! Be right back!" He jogs over to the nearest trash can, several yards away.

"Alright, so you distracted Sora, but you can't distract me," Kairi interjects, as she puts the bowl of chowder on the ground. Ugh, when will she let this shit go?

"I really don't want to talk about it," I reply.

"Fine. But the last time you pulled this crap, you went out with a slew of all the wrong types of girls for three years, then finally grew a pair and tried to ask the girl out, only to find that she was dating some other guy while you were dawdling, and now all you have to show for all that wasted time is a shitty haircut."

"Ouch, too soon, Kairi," I wince. It was only last weekend when Lumina completely butchered my hair. Most people have been really nice about it, saying that they "like the change" and "it's always good to try something new!" I know it's all bullshit. And Sora and Kairi like to confirm that fact with some sort of insult every few hours.

"Just making my point," she shrugs.

I look over towards Sora, to make sure he's not close by enough to hear our conversation. Sure enough, it looks like he's still by the trash bin. He's chatting about something with Tidus; that should keep him occupied for a little bit.

"Alright, I'll admit, Amaya's…well, there's something I like about her, anyway," I state. "But, there are a few challenges with this."

"Like what?" inquires Kairi.

"Well, there's the most basic one: She is my best friend's sister. Kairi, I quote, Bro Code rule number 8: 'A bro will never ever get with a bro's biological mother or sister.' You don't mess with the Bro Code."

"That is the dumbest thing ever, and I am not just talking about the fact that you actually have that ridiculous set of rules memorized," she scoffs. "If you really like a girl, go for it."

"Kairi, I decided I was…attracted to her, like, an hour or something ago. I mean, I've known her pretty much my entire life, and she's never stood out to me like that before. For all I know, she might have just done her make-up really well or something today. Tomorrow, I won't even remember any of this stuff."

"Yeah, but—" she begins, but I interrupt:

"And then there's another big problem with this. Like I mentioned before, it's Sora's sister. Forget the Bro Code for a second. Look at my track record with girls. I've broken up with a lot of them. Sure, some of them were bat-shit crazy, but there were some nice, normal girls, too. I lost interest fast, which I know, is a dumb excuse, and I don't want to do that to Amaya. I don't want to hurt her, and make Sora take sides. It's not gonna be easy for him."

"Are you done being a pessimistic bitch?" Kairi sighs, cocking an eyebrow up at me. "Like I said, the only other girl you've looked at like that was Stella. And you never got your chance with her, you blew that one. This is like…round 2, your chance at redemption. It's not like it's some sort of marriage proposal, you're asking her out on a date. Worst case scenario, knowing both of you: You guys don't find each other interesting or whatever, you call it quits. And best case: you guys actually become a thing."

Before I can respond to what she's just said, Sora returns.

"Hey, guys, rematch of Ultimate Frisbee tonight, right before the fireworks! Tidus just told me!" he exclaims.

"Sounds like a plan," I reply, coolly despite the pretty intense conversation Kairi and I had. There's definitely no way I can let Sora know about this right now. Or hopefully ever.

"Hey, Sora," says Kairi.

"What's up, Kairi?" he replies.

"Is Amaya single right now?"

OH. SHIT.

"Huh? Yeah, she's not seeing anyone right now…why?"

"I heard Tidus was interested in her," I suggest, attempting to come off as inconspicuous as possible. Sora's about to say something, but Kairi butts in:

"Har har. Very funny, Riku. No, the real reason I'm asking is because—"

I cup my hand over her mouth before she can say anything else. Gotta think fast, gotta think fast. Sora's not too easy to distract—wait, what the hell is this warm, wet shit I feel on the inside of my hand? Wait, this is Kairi's mouth…shit, is that her tongue?! Nope, don't let it get to you, don't let it get to you. Damn, this is gross.

"…Riku, do you like Amaya?" Sora slowly inquires. Damn. What gave it away? "I mean, you're acting pretty jumpy right now, and Kairi did ask if she was single for a reason, right?" Goddammit, I hate it when this kid actually uses his logic.

I don't reply to him right away. First things first, I remove my now soaking palm from Kairi's face.

"You're really unclassy for being the mayor's daughter, you know that?" I say, as I wipe my hand on her arm.

"Stop dodging the question," she smirks. I sigh. Now or never, I guess. I gotta choose my words really carefully.

"…something like that, I guess," I say.

Before he can react, Kairi grabs his arm.

"I need to talk to you for a minute. In private," she says, as she pulls him away.

And here I am, all by myself. With a bowl of chowder. I guess today certainly has been a little different, compared to the normal pace of the previous festivals I've been to. And by different, I mean downright annoying. I don't even want to think about the discussion Sora and Kairi are having right now. Or Sora's reaction to this, for that matter. Yeah, I'm just not gonna worry about that for now. Let's see, what can I do to pass the time…? I wonder if the band up right now is playing anything good right now; I haven't really paid much attention to the music so far today.

'What is this feeling

So sudden and new?'

Are these lyrics…really being sung right now?

'I felt the moment

I laid eyes on you'

Some sort of cosmic force is seriously trying to shit on me right now…

'My pulse is rushing

My head is reeling

My face is flushing

What is this feeling?'

"Loathing. Unadulterated loathing," I mumble, resting my face in the palm of my hand.

Alright, music's just gonna make everything worse right now. What else…oh, right, phone games! Why didn't I think about that sooner?

I pull out my phone and open up the app for 'Flappy Chocobo,' this ridiculous new game that's impossible to get a high score in. What better way to pass the time?

A/N: Hey guys! So...I split up the flashback even further cause it was getting super long xD. It SHOULD be over by the next chapter, but no promises. So I'm not putting a chapter limit on this.

Idk I really like this part of the story. I know it's filler, and it's becoming borderline crackfic, but I want to include Sora and Kairi as much as possible, plus it gives you a little more background on Amaya. And idk I think I'm funny, but then again that's totally up to you guys aha. Can y'all catch all the stupid references I've included?

And out of context, that Riku/Sora action is dirrrrrrrty 8D *shot*

As always let me know what you think! Fav if ya love it, follow it if ya wanna keep up and read more, and especially especially review! Keeps me motivated, and lets me know if I'm doing a good job or not.

SHOUTOUTS: ANP Productions(especially for that soup nazi reference) mystic moogle (for just being awesome) digimichael96 (cause you one of da coolest) and KittyKat1217 (cause everything you say makes me lol)

leave a helpful review if y'all wanna shoutout ;)