Bittersweet Melody: by hikari-aozora
Bold: parts of the chapter's song
Italics: a thought or flashback
Underlined: emphasis on words
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the KH, KH2, Disney, Final Fantasy Characters, etc, etc, that i may have used, blah, blah, blah. I hate disclaimers.
(A/N: okay, so I lied. next chapter. but this is like a turning point. it's kinda short cuz ... well, if this fanfic were a CD, it's more like an interlude. think of it that way. ok yeah! and there will be 13 story chapters, from the way i have it planned out now, and at least one more with the title song in it XD not a story chapter but i'm gonna put it in there anyway. oh yeah, and the last story chapter's kinda like an epilogue. kinda.)
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Connected
Sora closed his front door behind him. Kairi's party had been a lot of fun, and after the way his had turned out, he really needed to let loose ...
They hadn't ended up eating the cake. They'd ended up throwing it.
The brunette laughed out loud as he remembered the look on Riku's face when he'd personally scooped ice cream down his shirt.
Then he gulped thinking about what Riku was going to do to get back at him.
Sora stared down and examined himself. Miraculously, he had managed to dodge all the flying bits of chocolate cake and the occasional chunk of vanilla ice cream. In fact, the only way he had participated in their little food fight, besides the incident with Riku, had been when he'd smashed a bit of cake into Kairi's face ... in turn triggering the crossfire of dessert ... and he'd managed to get most of the cake off his hands, though they still felt a little ... sticky.
Oh well. That didn't matter. He felt much better now.
Even when I stare, fascinated
And I've been satisfied
Smiling to himself, Sora began walking briskly from the door to the stairs, calling out as he started, "Mom, I'm home!"
"Oh, good! How was the party, dear?"
Sora cocked his head to one side as he walked. He'd expected her voice to come from farther away ... say, the kitchen. But, no, and as he walked by the doorway to the living room he peered across the room and over the countertops, and sure enough, she wasn't there.
I notice
He turned his head in the other direction as he came to another doorway, the entrance to the dining room, and flashed his mother a smile as he passed by. "It was fun."
I find
"I'm glad you had a good time."
"Mhmm."
He had one foot on the bottom step and his left hand on the railing as he stopped. He stared intently at the wall, thinking. ... What?
I make sure
He shifted into reverse, walking backward until he stood in the entrance to the dining room, staring at the scene he had just witnessed. Yep, there was his mother, sitting at the far end of the table, her hands clasped and resting neatly on the table's surface. Her lips were curled into a small smile, and she seemed happy.
I look up
But Sora knew better.
I notice
There was something in the way she was looking at him, eyeing him keenly, like she was studying him ... preparing for something. But what? There was something about how wide her eyes were opened ... how still she was sitting ... how often her fingers twitched.
I compare
"Uh ..." He raised an eyebrow at his mother, turning fully to face her. "Something ... up?"
She snapped out of her seemingly frozen position to gesture to the chair at the opposite end of the table, giving him a frightening smile in the process.
I despise
"Why don't you sit down, honey?"
Sora hesitated for a moment, shrugged, and slid down into the wooden chair. Slouching down, he crossed his arms over his chest and grinned stupidly. "Okay, so ... What's up?"
I get confused
His mother slumped over just a tiny bit as she let out a sigh, looking him dead in the eye. She opened her mouth to speak ...
And Sora's heart began to race.
"Sora ... honey ..." she began, and her face fell. "We need to talk ..."
I've been abandoned
Tick ... Tick ... Tick ...
Sora, who had been pacing back and forth shot a glare at the wristwatch he was wearing, as if daring it to tick, just one more time. Go on, do it. See what I care. He watched as the minute hand clicked to the 12, the hour hand to the 8.
... Tick ...
That's it.
Sora ripped the watch off his hand and hurled it at the wall, ignoring the SMACK and the cracking sound that followed. He just couldn't take it anymore. It was as if every little thing was driving him insane.
He could still here her voice in his head. Her words sounded over and over again ... those words ... and that certainly wasn't helping the situation.
So because we are all
Connected to everyone
The boy growled. It was just so ... frustrating!
"Sora ... honey ... We need to talk ..."
Why? Why?
He kicked the end of his bed as hard as he could, and a searing pain followed. But he couldn't care less. Why should he?
When you think about it
"Mom ... what is it?"
Was the world out to get him?
Because right now, it sure as hell seemed like it.
He stomped his other foot as hard as he could on the floor, clenching his fists in the process. He thought he had solved this problem! Did they know the lengths he had gone to, just to prevent this from happening?
Had they any idea ...?
"I-I got a call today ..."
It's already too late
And everything had been so perfect.
Something inside Sora snapped at the memory. He yelled out in rage and ripped the sheets off of his bed, the posters off of his walls, cleaned off the top of his dresser with one sweep of his arm. A few things shattered, some others snapped, but why should he care? He'd be packing them up soon enough anyway.
Someday
He wasn't just angry. He wasn't just sad.
He was devistated.
"Argh!" he called out, and he punched his bedroom wall ...
Over and over and over again.
"No! No! No!"
How long had he been back? A few days? A few weeks? A few months?
It didn't matter. It wasn't long enough.
"Why?"
And with one last punch to his wall, he sank down to the floor, huddled with his knees close to his chest, his face burried in his hands. He did everything he could to keep from crying. He clenched his teeth together, pursed his lips, furrowed his brows, closed his eyes ... but ... it just wasn't fair.
His whole body trembled and shook as he tried his best to control himself, to douse the fire of rage that was building up inside him. There had been so many thing's he'd wanted to do, so many places he'd wanted to see again, so much he's wanted to accomplish now that he was back. But now ... "I-It w-wasn't supposed-d t-to ha-happen this-s w-way ..."
He sat in silence for some time, his mind running blank, just breathing deeply, until he found the strength to stand again. He sighed, running an ungloved hand across his face to dry it, a new mission in mind.
He needed to go somewhere.
He needed to be anywhere but here.
Until we reach the endless sleep
And so as he rushed out of his room, dashing down the stairs and leaping over the last five or so, he dug through his pocket for his cell phone. When he found it, which was by the time he had just stepped out of the house, he flipped it open and dialed, as fast as he could manage, his best friend.
"R-Riku ...?"
To discover the value of what we have done
The silver-haired boy was just stepping out of Kairi's house, having stayed behind to help her clean up. He shook his head. Lazy Sora ... backing out at the last minute when he saw the extent of their little charade. No matter. He never stayed to clean up a mess anyway. But he coudn't really be blamed.
"Bye Riku! And thanks again!" Kairi called from her doorstep as she watched Riku walk down the path that lead to the road. He turned and smiled, waving goodbye one last time as he began to stroll towards home.
Even when I stare, fascinated
And I've already been satisfied
He heard her front door click shut behind him as he turned onto the main sidewalk ... and then his phone rang.
I notice
Riku stopped abruptly, shoving a hand into his pocket to find that noisy, vibrating piece of machinery. When he finally grabbed ahold of it, he flipped it open and held it up to his ear, not even bothering to check who it was that was calling.
I find
"Yeah?" he answered.
"R-Riku ...?"
"Sora?" His eyes grew wide, hearing his best friend's shaky voice, and he took a step back. Then he steadied himself. "You okay? You sound upset."
I make sure
"Um ... y-yeah, just ..." He heard the boy sniff and take a shaky breath. He sure didn't sound okay. "You ... you st-still at Kairi's?"
I look up
Riku turned his head. He was still standing in front of her house, alright. "Yeah, why?"
And I realize
"It's j-just ..." There was a pause, as if the boy was searching for the right words. Then Riku heard him sigh. "I-I have to ... t-tell you something ..."
I've been abandoned
"Bye Riku! And thanks again!" Kairi called from her doorstep as she watched Riku walk down the path that lead to the road. She saw him turn, smile, and wave goodbye to her again as he stepped onto the sidewalk and headed home. She stepped back into her house, closing the front door behind her, not bothering to lock it, pulling off the latex gloves she had been wearing during the cleanup as she strode into her kitchen.
SNAP! One glove down.
She shuffled her feet across the floor, transitioning from carpet to linoleum.
SNAP!
She stopped. That wasn't the glove.
"Kairi!"
She spun on her heel and jogged back into the other room, back onto the carpet, stopping only when she saw a very disgruntled looking Riku in the doorway, one hand on the knob, clutching his cell phone in the other. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just sprinted back to her house. Something was up.
So because we are all
Connected to everyone
She leaned forward intently. "Riku? What is it?"
"Sora called," he spat out quickly, making Kairi's eyes widen. "H-He needs to talk to you." There was a pause. "Now."
Kairi held her breath, and she dared to ask. "W-Why couldn't he just ... tell me himself?" she said with a nervous smile. A knot was growing in the pit of her stomach. She had a bad feeling about this.
A really bad feeling.
Riku just looked at her for a moment, watching how she fidgeted with the gloves in her hand, his eyes reflecting pain ... worry ... guilt ... what was it?
Well, whatever the emotion, Kairi saw it all.
How ... how can I tell her?
"He ... h-he's at the docks," the boy stammered. "J-just ... just go!" He stepped out of the doorway.
When you think about it
Kairi froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She could only think about one thing ... What happened?
With that, she dropped the gloves in her hand, and she just ran, as fast and as hard as she could.
It's already too late
(A/N: gah, cliffies, don't you hate them?)