Warning: Health Hazard

Chapter Four

The music was loud and thumping, the crowds were loud and booming, Kairi was smiling her reassuring smile at Sora with her rose-petal pink lips and squeezing his hand as she dragged him up onto the unofficial 'dance floor', clicking her free fingers that weren't wrapped around her captive's wrist.

Of course, Sora wasn't really a captive – he was weaving throughout the random crowds of people willingly – but his eyes were darting about a bit, as if trying to plan an escape route if worst came to the worst and he had to do a Cinderella. Fleeing for turning into a pumpkin and all that lark. Maybe leaving a glass slipper artfully left on the beige, drink-splattered carpet?

"Don't look so worried," grinned Kairi, her strawberry shampoo-like smell multiplying ten fold as she pulled Sora towards her. "It's only dancing. Nobody's watching you."

Sora blushed as the loud, thumping'n'jumping 'RAWR'-like song faded to be replaced with a slow, soft track, a woman signing to a backdrop of pianos of bells.

He was with (the one-and-only) Kairi.

Kairi, Ms. Pretty & Popular.

Of course people were staring, whispering through cupped hands placed at ears, shooting envious/amused looks at the 'happy couple'. Wondering what Kairi was doing with Sora, somebody who was fathoms below her in the social pecking order.

Sora was known throughout the school – he was a happy, cheery, smiley sort of kid who made people feel happy as he passed them in the corridor. But he was also one of the kids whom nobody knew the name of, and when he was brought up in conversations he was always 'the sweet, clumsy kid – bit of an idiot… Hangs around with Yuffie and Selphie all the time…'.

There was nothing wrong with him, per say, and was no real reason why somebody like Kairi couldn't slow dance with somebody like Sora.

But it was a bit odd, all the same.

It just wasn't done.

"Heh… Nobody's watching… Riiiiiight," Sora muttered in a sarcastic sort of way. He wasn't trying to sound rude, but he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the curious looks that were searing through the material of his shirt. Well, maybe they were looking at that very interesting fly on the wall to the right of him, but Sora doubted that, somehow.

"They're just nosy gits," Kairi said in an offhanded way, putting Sora's hands on her hips. "Now you just sway, okay? Follow my lead'n all."

Sora nodded, mind smooshy, unable to do anything but comply with the girl's wishes. He knew eyebrows were being raised and giggles were being smothered but really… Why did he care so much?

Um, because the news would spread all around school next Monday, probably.

Not that they'd get his name right in any of the retellings, of course.

"So, er, why are you dancing with me anyway?"

A blunt question, but it had to be asked.

"Riku. He's a bastard."

"Who's R-"

"Not talking about him. Shut up and sway."

Sora sighed, and nodded.

So it wasn't his good looks and charm that had drawn her to him.

Riku had been stood outside the house for about twenty minutes, pondering his next move, roses in hand and a scowl on his face.

He could try to sneak again, hope some random kid he didn't know would answer the door and then try to pass himself off as a party guest, but he knew Kairi. Ms. Bitchy's Riku radar would pick up his scent from fifty miles away, and then she'd hunt him down like a dog. From then on it would only take a small push to knock him from the front door to the middle of the road, thus creating emo!like road-kill. Oh, what joy.

There was really only one way he could infiltrate the she-devil's home base, and that way involved a lot of shimmying up drainpipes with bunches of roses clenched in-between the teeth, then slipping into an open window.

It was stupid, but you all know the saying: people do crazy things when they're in love.

And Riku was in love, but it was sort of hard to tell that to his object of unsurpassed adoration when a large brick wall separated them.

And so, that was what he must do: scale up the side of the building, break into the nearest open window, track down his beautiful angel and pour his heart out to her.

Simple as that.

And, if worst came to worst, he'd only be arrested for attempted trespassing and spend all night in a cell until his mother came along with the bail (oh, the same!).

Or he'd fall off the windowsill and break his arm in five different places.

Or he'd actually get in, to find her with another guy.

Or he'd find her minus a guy, plus a pair of brass knuckles, a flamethrower, a shotgun, a T-Shirt covered in ammo and a 'die BITCH' expression on her face.

Yeah, but apart from those minor inconveniences, it'd be pretty easy, right?

Love'll prevail through thick and thin and all that shit…

So the only thing that stood in-between Riku and an early grave was the POWAH OF LURVE and a bundle of beaten-up roses?

God, he was sooo screwed.

Sora's head hurt a lot – it probably had something to do with the loud thumping music that was playing, the coupl'a cans of red bull he'd consumed and the fact Kairi was dancing next to him.

Kairi. Next. To. Him.

Looking amazingly gorgeous (but then again, she was Kairi) with her crimson hair bouncing about her shoulders in volum'd waves, eyes sparkling, twisting and turning, stepping and sliding amongst the crowds.

Sora, on the other hand, had more than made up for Kairi's performance – he was stumbling and slipping and loosing his footing for every complicated dance move his partner pulled, feeling like a constipated duck in a blue hat compared to her.

"Don't you love this band?!" shouted Kairi, feeling a tad bit sorry for Sora. She had DDR, and practised almost all the time. She wasn't a 'natural' dancer, she'd just been working at it for a long time. She had an unfair advantage, really.

"Um, yeah! They're… er… Brilliant!" screamed Sora, not having any idea who the singers (more like 'shouters') were. He couldn't even recognise the lyrics, not that he was focusing on them at all. Or the beat – it was painfully obvious by the way he kicked at everybody, completely out of time.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Indignant squeals and pounding music morphed into a background buzz, coloured lights blurred into each other, Sora's movements became wilder and only prompted more annoyed expressions and muttered insults.

Was it possible to get drunk off energiser drink?

Or maybe it was just short circuiting his brain and sending wave upon wave of stupidity to it. Complete with pitchforks and pointy objects. Or maybe people were just really, really idiotic/malicious, and were getting in his way on purpose – I mean, c'mon, Sora swore that girl's leg hadn't been there before.

And then, with much screaming and pin-wheeling of arms, the boy crashed into the ground, his last view of earth a worried face courtesy of Kairi and an eyeful of black-and-pink, skull-studded pair of converse.

He was so very graceful.

Fell like a ton of bricks, you know.

a.n: So Riku has a devious plot to break into Kairi's house, and Sora has just passed out in the middle of the dance floor. Disaster will shortly follow .

Xx skitts xX