Disclaimer: I don't own KH, or it's beautiful characters. So, suing me will get you just about nothing.

A/N: Wow, you guys are fantastic! I didn't expect S.R. to become this popular so soon, but boy am I happy. This chapter deals a bit more swearing towards the end, and a little reunion between foes. Who is it you ask? Well, you'll find out soon enough. Thank you guys, enjoy!

Shattered Reverie

Chapter 3

Distracting the Voices

Sora couldn't explain the odd, comforting feeling following his conversation with the older man, Marluxia. Perhaps, it was simply the fact that Sora was talking with someone new, someone who wouldn't know anything about him. With the status he held, everyone at the academy knew of him and what had happened to him the previous year. In some part of Sora's mind, it was that known fact that kept him away from the academy. He thought that returning to school could somehow fix things, but things didn't go as planned. When the nightmares began consuming his dreams, people's eyes and whispers would follow him around as well. He never told Riku about it, but he wasn't sure if not telling him meant that Riku didn't know of it. Then again, Riku had the tendency to be able to know what he was thinking. But, with Marluxia, that feeling of dread to know everyone was watching or talking about you was gone. Sora still wasn't sure of it himself, but for a while there during lunchtime, he felt at peace. His concentration broke when he heard Riku walk away, his long silver hair swishing endlessly against his back.

"Riku?" he called out, missing the comforting hand once placed on his shoulder.

There wasn't a response as he turned towards his boyfriend, his taller frame already off in the distance.

"Riku!"

He sprinted after him, eventually stopping him by placing himself in front of him to halt his stride.

"Where are you going?" Sora asked with absolute sincerity.

There was a flicker, a small flicker of anger in Riku's eyes that Sora was not expecting to see. For that split second it was there, and the next the usual soft tone in those aqua-colored eyes was back. They looked longingly at Sora, making him feel safe and secure. But it was that same feeling of being safe that forced Sora to look away.

"His little savior."

"I'm taking off."

But it didn't come from Sora. The brunet watched as Riku walked past him, bringing a hand up to the back of his neck and pulling him close for a very brief kiss. Leaving a cold chill on his lips, Riku took off in the direction of the student parking lot.

"What…what was that?" Sora wondered. "Wait, is there something wrong?"

Riku simply smiled at Sora before disappearing into the halls, leaving Sora feeling at a complete loss. After standing there for a few moments longer, the brunet simply heaved a sigh as he marched back the way he came. He had a few more classes before the day was over, and the minute they were he'd go find Riku. Perhaps, by then, whatever was bothering him would have gone. But the scars from the dreams, the voices and what they said just couldn't escape his mind. Sora leaned against the wall right before his next class, struggling to deal and comprehend with his own feelings and worries.

"Could he have gotten tired of watching me? But I'm independent, I live on my own, I don't need anyone to protect me. I'm fine on my own. He doesn't have to be around me for me to be okay. But…then why did he seem mad? Maybe…maybe he IS getting tired."

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. After all, how long could someone tolerate countless nights of sleep deprivation and having to deal with a babbling fool like himself? A frown caressed his lips.

"I don't need a savior, I'm fine on my own. I don't…I don't need him to worry about me. Those voices don't know what the hell they're talking about."

With a saddened expression touching his features, Sora opened the door to the classroom and met with the perturbed look on his teacher's face. Not bothering to speak to him as he walked in, the teacher simply carried on with the lesson with Sora making his way to the back. School felt so incredibly insignificant at that moment.

X

A flustered expression lay on Riku's face as he chucked his book bag into the backseat of his white Audi. He knew he was annoyed, perhaps even pissed off by the little snippet that Marluxia said oh so joyfully as he walked away from Sora.

"Nice seeing you again."

Riku gripped the steering wheel roughly as his teeth bit into his bottom lip. In all reality, it shouldn't have bothered him. So what if Sora met a new friend? So what if Sora just happened to already know the good looking, 21 year-old college student from Twilight Town? So what if he just happened to look at HIS Sora with those violent violet eyes? Okay, so he was jealous. But he had the utmost right to be annoyed. He was Riku, and as everyone in the academy knew, you didn't mess with his significant other.

"Ha! I knew you would be here!"

He dragged his eyes away from the dashboard to see Kairi standing by the passenger seat door. With her usual purse under her arm, and her long burgundy hair currently sporting some curls, Kairi smiled at her longest and dearest friend.

"Where are you going?"

It was the millionth time he had been asked that today. "I'm not in the mood to be here right now, so I'm leaving."

Kairi immediately narrowed her eyes at him. "I just saw Sora walk into Ms. Aurora's class, he's not ditching today so why are you?"

There was a moment where Riku contemplated the question. "Just because Sora isn't ditching doesn't mean I can't leave whenever I want."

Kairi crossed both arms against her chest. "Well, that's how it's been going on these last couple weeks. Don't think that we haven't noticed your absence. Riku, what the heck is going on with the two of you?"

If there was one thing he needed at the moment it was not Kairi's annoying questions. He pressed the button on his door to slide the window on the passenger seat up, but Kairi was not going to be having that.

"Don't you dare Riku, I asked you a question!"

He looked away. "I don't want to talk about it, leave it alone."

But before he could argue further, Kairi quickly opened the door and sat herself down in the passenger seat with both dark blue eyes staring at Riku very carefully.

"Get out Kairi, I'm not in the mood."

"No," she responded.

"I'm not kidding, get out of my car."

"Not until you talk to me," she said placing a leg over the other thereby signaling she was going absolutely nowhere. "I've already had a chat with Yunalesca and she wasn't much help, so I've got no other choice."

Riku scrunched his face up in anger. "What the hell were you doing talking with my mom? What have you been asking?"

"Well excuse me Riku, some of us have been worried if you haven't noticed. We're known as a little something called "friends". Maybe you've heard of us, we're the ones sitting around wondering what the hell is going on with you guys."

There didn't seem to be a quick comeback following her words. Riku let his forehead rest against the steering wheel as Kairi watched him with keen eyes. "It's not really complicated, it's just really tiring."

"Then I'd like to hear it, I promise not to tell the others if you don't want me to, but please don't shut me out."

She heard the doors click shut with Riku turning the car on. "Fine, but not here. I'll take you to where we've been going."

Kairi nodded and adjusted the seatbelt across her chest. Within a few moments they were zooming past the academy gates with the sun shining brightly overhead. The wind was pleasant today; just cool enough to balance out the warmth of the sun. They didn't really talk until they reached the pier overlooking the ocean, the flying formation of tropical birds diving into the waves in search of prey. Riku got out with Kairi following not far behind. The silver haired youth perched himself on the metal railing as the wind caressed his face, soothing the worries momentarily. Kairi settled herself close by and allowed the breeze to bestow its caring touches as well.

"It started right after school started," Riku began, not waiting for Kairi in the slightest and a slight edge to his voice. "We thought things were okay, that everything had been left in the past and that Sora could at last feel at peace. But not long after classes started Sora began having nightmares. I can't possibly explain them, since I don't even know what he goes through every night, but they consume his sleep. I noticed something was wrong after a while and decided to sleep over a couple nights. When I realized how horribly it affected him, I felt that I needed to be there for him."

He looked out at the waves, the surface shining brilliantly with the sun's rays. "I started staying at his place every night, for as long as I could without worrying mom. She didn't mind though, she knew where I was and never questioned me whenever I came home."

"That's exactly what Yunalesca said." Kairi thought, taking in every little word Riku was saying.

"In a way, that made things just a bit easier. If I had to tell her about what had been going on, I know she would be worried. And the last thing I want for her is to be worried, especially now that she's engaged to Vincent."

"What?" Kairi said with large beaming eyes and not caring that she had interrupted. "Yunalesca's engaged? Since when, how did Vincent propose, and why didn't you tell us sooner?"

He smiled weakly, running a hand up his arm. "He proposed last month when mom went up to Holly City for a party celebrating another company he and Sora's godfather Cid had opened. I couldn't go because of school, so it's needless for me to say why Sora couldn't go either."

"That's so cute, I can't believe it. I wonder why she didn't tell me when I talked to her yesterday?"

Riku huffed a disapproving breath at this. "She still hasn't told Selphie's mom. So, if she hasn't told her best friend, why would she tell you?"

Kairi stuck her tongue out slightly. "Sorry for being curious. But, do you think Baralai will take it okay?"

There wasn't any hesitation on Riku's part. "He knows what he did to us was unforgivable, he'll never be able to get over that nor will we. But he is happy for my mom and wants the best for her. So, whenever she plans on telling him it's her choice, but I can safely say it won't be too big of a deal. They've been on good terms, so I'm not worried."

There was a lingering moment of silence as their conversation slowly directed back to the original subject. Kairi let out a cough. "So…how bad are these dreams of Sora's?"

"Nightmares you mean?" Riku corrected, shaking his head. "Horrible. He wakes up thrashing every morning. Sometimes screaming. It tears into me, knowing that I can't do a damn thing to make it better. So, I just hold him and whisper comforting things. It's the best I can do. One thing I know for sure. It's that woman that just won't leave him alone."

Kairi let out a small gasp, realizing he was talking about Sora's deceased stepmother Beatrix. "Oh god…that's awful."

"I know," Riku said softly. "Even though she's fucking dead she won't leave him alone."

"Have you thought of therapy? Maybe that could help him."

Riku shook his head, throwing strands of silver into his face. "That's the first thing I suggested, but he won't go near one."

Kairi rested a hand on his shoulder as she brought her head against his arm. "I'm so sorry Riku, I wish there was something I or the others could do for you guys. But, remember something," she said with complete honesty. "Don't feel like you're alone on this, we're all here, if not them then me. It's not fair for you to hold this burden on your own."

He squeezed Kairi's hand gently. "Thanks, I'll keep it in mind."

The two friends stood at the pier for a while longer, their conversation eventually leading into more lighthearted topics. Kairi even managed to bring a smile to his lips as she laughed.

"So, do you think you're going to be able to deal with Mr. Vayne's new pet?"

And that smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Don't remind me."

Kairi could read his face and knew something else seemed to be up. "You might as well tell me, since your face is so easy to pick apart."

He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "There's nothing to it. I just think it's a waste of time for him to be there. Mr. Vayne's already a pain to deal with, I don't need some prick college student making it worse."

"You'll be in college next year Riku, don't be going off on something you'll be."

The silver haired teen gave a chuckle. "Oh believe me, I'm not going to turn out like that guy."

"Well," Kairi dragged out, "at least you'll turn out cute like he is."

"Oh shut it," Riku said rolling his eyes as Kairi burst out laughing. "If anything I'm better looking."

"That's right Riku, just keep talking like that, don't let that guy get to you. He's no threat."

Still, the thought of Marluxia hanging around Sora made his fingers clench up into fists. "Well, if we're done here, why don't we head back? If we leave right now we can make it to last period."

Kairi looked at him with sarcastic eyes. "Oh yeah, cause that's exactly what I'm looking forward to. Let's do something, just you and me. You still owe me for not showing up yesterday. How about you buy me a latte and we call it even?"

Riku shrugged, "Fine by me."

Clapping her hands with glee, Kairi scurried off towards the car with Riku a few strides back.

"He's no threat." Riku kept telling himself.

X

Final period had been let out, with Sora, Selphie, and Hayner being the last to leave. They made their way around the crowded halls, their stride evenly matched as they walked.

"So are we going to go or not?" Sora heard Selphie say to Hayner standing on her right.

"Only if you want to, I mean, it's not like we really have to go."

Sora felt slightly out of the loop, then again, whatever they were talking about was something he might have known if he had only been at the courtyard a bit more often. "What are you talking about?"

Hayner looked over at Sora. "A friend of mine from Balamb Garden High invited us to a party at his place, but we weren't sure if we were going to go."

"A party? On a weekday?" Sora said raising an eyebrow.

But he was met with a pair of raised eyebrows himself. "What are you talking about Sora, it's Friday afternoon."

The brunet had to blink several times for it to sink in. "Oh god, you're right."

Selphie glanced in Hayner's direction and met his equally worried look. "Are you okay Sora?" she asked putting a hand on his wrist.

He pulled away softly. "It's fine, I guess I just lost track of time."

The two knew it wasn't that simple, but further questions would only earn them unspoken answers and figured it wasn't worth the effort.

"So, would you like to come along?"

Sora looked up at Hayner. "What? But I wasn't invited, it's your friend, not mine. Plus, what about Pence or Olette? Maybe they'd like to go."

The dirty-blonde haired youth rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not their type of place. Also, I don't think it really matters. People are going to come even if they're not invited. Come on, maybe a party's all you need to get that attitude in better shape."

The brunet teen smiled weakly at this. "I doubt it, but I don't think it would hurt. I haven't gone out in ages either." Sora knew he would rather stay home and lounge around with Figaro attacking his toes, but the thought of music and dancing seemed too great of an opportunity to pass up. Having lived in Holly City for almost all his life meant clubs and music were a daily part of his activities, so it was nothing new to him.

"Alright, I'll go."

Selphie and Hayner shot him smiles as they walked. "Sounds good then, how about we come pick you up around 8? That should give you enough time to get all dressed up, but don't think you need to impress anyone. It's only Balamb Garden."

The three friends went their separate ways at the parking lot, with Sora getting into the lavish and leather decorated interior of his BMW. A thought immediately raced through his head and the next thing second he was dialing Riku's number. After about the first ring, Sora hung up and let the cell phone rest against his chin.

"No, not tonight. I don't need him to watch over me."

Throwing the phone into the passenger's seat, Sora quickly turned the ignition and was off, waving to Selphie and Hayner as he drove by with the proud engines roaring. Reaching into a compartment on the dasboard, Sora whipped out a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose.

"Just watch, he won't make it without his little savior."

Sora gripped the steering wheel, snarling at the taunts inside his head. "Fuck you."

X

With a sleeveless black shirt sporting the words "Liberi Fatali" on the front and ripped white jeans, Sora was almost ready for his friends' arrival. He rushed over to his nightstand and fumbled with a box full of bracelets, necklaces, and other odd pieces of jewelry he had collected over the years. Scrambling through the pieces, which by the way were also quite expensive, Sora found what he was looking for. Out of all the things he had, there was one necklace that seemed to outshine the rest. In a few, swift actions Sora had a dangling platinum crown suspended on a chain around his neck. He looked over at his reflection in a mirror on the opposite wall, his thin frame intensified by the tightness of the clothes. The brunet ran a hand or two through his hair, although doing so would do absolutely nothing for it. Figaro watched him the entire time with the occasional meow as his response to any question Sora threw his direction.

"You think I'm going overboard boy?"

A long meow was his answer.

"Didn't think so."

When he heard his cell phone ring he knew Hayner and Selphie were already there. He answered it and informed the pair he would be down in a few minutes. Grabbing a white jacket from his closet, just in case it were to get cold, Sora bid Figaro farewell as he disappeared into the hallway of the condominium building. The attendant at the front desk nodded as Sora walked by, offering his "good evening" before returning to a very exciting looking crossword puzzle. Outside the skies were devoid of any clouds and the stars were shining almost as brightly as the moon was. He smiled when his eyes fell on Hayner, his academy shirt gone and replaced by a simple red fitted t-shirt. Selphie, on the other hand, had her hair curled and was wearing a canary yellow halter-top with a beaded jean skirt. And even more of a surprise was Larxene sitting in the backseat waving enthusiastically in Sora's direction.

"Hiya cutie!" the blonde senior said when Sora got into the seat next to her. "I don't think I've ever seen you in clothes like this, I must say that I'm impressed."

"You going to the party too?" Sora asked, not bothered in the slightest that she would be accompanying them.

Larxene, wearing a green sequined top with the letters "XII" on the front winked at Sora. "You bet! I'm not going to miss out on this party. I also happen to know the guy throwing it in the first place, so of course I was invited."

"Alright, so now that we're all settled, let's get going," Hayner interrupted before putting the car into drive.

The ride was rather uneventful, with Larxene and Selphie chatting amongst themselves with Sora looking out the window at the random buildings off to the sides. Hayner looked through the rearview mirror every so often, just making sure that nothing appeared wrong with his friend.

"You could have brought Riku along you know."

Sora played with the platinum crown around his neck, his fingers digging slightly against the pointy tips of the charm. "Couldn't get a hold of him, no worries."

Shrugging, Hayner didn't give it much more thought as they turned into a part of town Sora didn't visit all that often. It wasn't too much different than where he lived, although the houses were a tad bit smaller and the streets not so neat. He didn't care.

"Alright guys, I'm going to park out here and we can walk the rest of the way. I don't think there would be room up ahead anyways."

All together, the group removed themselves from the car and began walking towards a house off in the distance. Behind a pair of large black gates, a rather nice and expensive looking house stood bright with the lights protruding through every window. It dawned on the brunet that even though these people didn't go to Destiny Islands Academy, didn't mean they didn't have money. Then again, and this was him simply being a bit cocky, anyone compared to him was poor. Having billions of dollars did that to a person, despite all the good that his father Laguna had taught him as a child. Still, he appreciated what he had and didn't let his wealth get to his head. As they neared the house a pair of large looking men stood at the gates, with dozens of other people walking past them towards the sounds of the music blaring through the air. They didn't pay Hayner much attention, but simply nodded when they passed.

"Just some of the high school team football players," the blonde informed the others. "They know me."

Sora placed a hand into his pocket as they neared the house with the front doors wide open. Even though he was still standing outside, he could feel the heat pulsating through the doors against his face. It was such a familiar and comforting feeling that Sora couldn't help but sway his head the moment the song changed to something fast paced.

"You SO have to dance with me Sora," Larxene said cheerily dragging him into the house. The others were not far behind, and soon many enthusiastic moving bodies surrounded them all. There was a long series of stairs in the main room, with people covering every little inch. Despite not knowing any of the faces amongst the crowds, Sora didn't feel intimidated in the least.

"We're going to go find my friend," Hayner said rather loudly in Sora's ear in order to get it through the loud space. "We'll catch up later, have fun!"

Hayner and Selphie took off, leaving Sora to deal with Larxene at his side. "I guess I owe you a dance?"

The blonde senior smiled wickedly. "Totally."

She led them into the crowd and began moving to the pace of the music. Sora, being a natural dancer, quickly fit into the scene and moved rhythmically to Larxene's steps. He could feel the eyes of everyone around him, wondering who the hell he was. But Sora didn't care, at the moment he was engulfed by the comforting sounds of the music. All worries about his nightmares, the voices, every little thing was gone.

"My god, no wonder you and Riku don't get any sleep every night."

The brunet shot Larxene a glare and she quickly stuck her tongue out. "Kidding love, I'm kidding."

They danced for a while longer, with Larxene becoming bolder and actually touching against the brunet by the time the song finally changed. He laughed, not bothered by it knowing that Larxene did absolutely nothing for him.

"I guess I can't turn you, can I?"

Sora shook a finger at her, "Sorry, ain't gonna happen."

"Well, how about we get a drink?"

Nodding, the two walked into one of the many other rooms. Larxene swiped two red plastic cups and handed one to her dancing partner. "Cheers."

He took a sip and immediately felt a burn as the liquid sled down his throat. With a long sigh following the sip, Sora could already feel his cheeks getting red. "Vodka, should have known."

Larxene rolled her eyes. "Duh, what were you expecting, paupu juice?"

They finished downing the rest of the mixed beverage and walked back into the main room. Once again the song changed and Larxene motioned for Sora to dance.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to find Hayner and meet his friend. It'd be rude of me to be here and not bother saying hello."

"Oh fine, just be sure to come back, I'll be here waiting," she finished with a wink.

Sora spent the next ten minutes or so wandering through the house, his goal to reach Hayner and Selphie, but managing nothing by the time he finished circling the area. He ended up finding Larxene already dancing with someone else and figured he wouldn't butt in. Moving his head to the beats of the pulsating music, Sora simply continued wandering around, his fingers playing with the crown charm around his neck. He picked up a couple more cups of vodka along the way, with his 4th cup tumbling nowhere near the garbage can when he finished with it. A slight buzz settled itself in the middle of his forehead, but not something to cause alarm.

"Well isn't it my lucky night."

Sora stopped his stride, the voice sounding horribly familiar and a shooting anger coursing through his veins. When he turned, dressed in a tight zippered hooded shirt, stood none other than a blonde haired teen he thought he would never see again.

"Tidus."

The teen shot him a smile. "I'm surprised you remember my name."

"It's kind of hard to forget the name of an idiot like you."

The blonde, with a string of other boys at his sides, shook his head. "Let's not get into name calling, I haven't done anything wrong."

Sora placed a hand at his hip. "Except throw a boulder through my car window. Last time I checked Tidus, something along those lines counts as wrong."

Tidus chuckled. "Oh, that? Come on Sora that was ages ago, a lifetime ago. Can't we just forget about it and move onto bigger and better things?"

The brunet felt a smile twist its way across his lips. "You're right Tidus, I have moved onto bigger and better things. I think you remember his name, Riku."

A flash of hatred burned in Tidus' eyes before he threw his own grin in Sora's direction. "How cute, so you've somehow managed to become more than a simple whore to that bastard. I applaud your success."

Sora scoffed, yet felt the anger course thicker through his veins. "At least this whore managed to get something you couldn't."

With that said, Sora turned his back and began walking away.

"Oh is that right? Cause I've always wanted to see my mother broadcast across every television screen in the country wanted for murder. Tell me Sora, are you enjoying your rise to stardom?"

The anger boiled over and before he knew it, Sora had Tidus on the floor with a fist in his face. It took several of Tidus' friends to peel the raving brunet off of him.

"You son of a bitch, you have not fucking idea what the hell you're talking about! If only you knew what I had to go through last year you would eat those words right up!"

Tidus nursed a split lip as a river of blood ran down his chin. "You're a fucking attention whore. You want everyone looking at you, pitying you, making you feel superior. Just because I don't go to the academy anymore doesn't mean I don't know what everyone says. Everyone's heard it and they're over it, so stop feeling like you're special and need everyone to fucking pity you."

Everyone around them was watching, with the music being turned down several notches. Larxene came sprinting in and took Sora's side, her hand coming up to touch at the scratch Tidus had managed to claw against Sora's face. "What's wrong Sora, what happened?"

Sora was looking at Tidus with pure venom in his eyes. He could hear the voices returning within his mind, each one just ready to point out and laugh at his expense.

"That's right, you're just a little attention whore."

"No wonder you can't do it without your little savior."

"And you thought nothing was wrong, my, my, were you so very wrong."

Larxene let out a yelp the moment Sora collapsed against her. "Sora! Sora! Wake up! Come on, don't be doing this on me!"

Tidus simply snorted and walked off, the trail of people tagging behind him. "It's just like I said."

Elsewhere, a silver haired teen felt a prick of ice shoot up his spine knowing that something wasn't right.

tbc

A/N: Don't worry you guys, it's not as bad as it sounds. Hope you liked this chapter, I sure did. Since characters I introduced towards the beginning of "Ironic Circumstances" kind of disappeared into oblivion, I thought it would be nice to re-introduce them again. Needless to say, it didn't really go well for Sora. Tidus is such a little monster. Anyways, reviews are met with lots of love! Till next time!