Chapter 7

I woke up late and immediately remembered that today was the ball. I groaned and slowly sat up. I noticed Riku was already up. I stepped into the bathroom and got changed into my usual jeans and t-shirt. When I came into the living room I saw everyone except Riku and Aerith quickly eating and then disappearing out of the house. Aerith was cleaning up everyone's breakfast while humming a song and Riku was just sitting there, looking deep in thought. I noticed that he looked like he hadn't slept in months. Could it be because…? Nah…it had to be something else.

"Good morning, Jen" Aerith said. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

Aerith nodded and went into the kitchen. Riku still hadn't noticed me. Or at least he didn't look at me. He was just staring at his plate like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Interesting plate?" I asked him. He looked up at me and then looked at his plate again.

"Very"

"Okay then…" I said slowly. He sighed.

"Look Jen. I need to tell you something-…"

"I got your tea!" Aerith said walking in with a tray. Riku sighed again.

"I gotta go do something" he said, sounding very depressed and walked away as I looked after
him.

"What's wrong with him?" Aerith asked.

"Dunno…" I said trying to think of something that could be wrong with him. Then I shook it off. "Anyway, do you need help with the party?"

"Now that you mention it, I could use some help with the decoration."

"I'm on it!" Aerith told me where I needed to go and what to do. She also told me that there already was a girl helping out and who was surprising someone tonight. I just hoped it wasn't Riku. So I went to this room they called a 'ballroom'. Basically it was just a big bar, but they moved all the chairs and tables to the side so there was where you could dance, and when you got tired you could sit at the side. As Aerith had mentioned there was a girl with red hair and blue eyes standing on a ladder, trying real hard to hang up some big blue thingy. I had no idea what it was supposed to be, not that I really cared.

"Need some help?" I asked. She looked down at me.

"Oh! Yes please." I grabbed another ladder and helped her hang it up. We decorated the place with some more blue and white things. We got to talking and time flew by. By the time we were done the place looked absolutely beautiful. Just then Aerith came in.

"Wow! It looks amazing, girls" She said looking around.

"Thanks! We worked real hard on it." The girl said.

"Well, you did a great job, Kairi"

"Kairi? As in the Kairi Sora talks about all the time?" I asked.

"That's me. Does he really talk about me that much?"

"Yeah. He's totally in love with you!"

"eh… we should get dressed. We only have an hour left." She said quickly, trying to cover her blush.

"An hour is enough for me." I said. We quickly walked back to the house, because Kairi told us she needed her time for make-up and stuff. Unfortunately, when we arrived, Sora saw Kairi. So the surprise was kind of ruined. But it was fun to watch Sora run up to Kairi and kiss her. I decided to give them some privacy and went into my room. I pulled my dress out of the closet and put it on. It really was a beautiful dress. It was a black, strapless dress that went to just below my knee and had a little split. I put on a necklace with an emerald stone that I had since I was a child. I also put on my shoes that were also black. Lastly I put up my hair. Then someone knocked on the door.

"Jen? Are you ready? We gotta go!" I heard Yuffie's voice yell. I opened the door and saw Yuffie in a dark green dress, Aerith in her pink dress and Kairi in a red dress that matched her hair.

"Whoa! You guys look great." I said.

"You don't look to bad yourself." Kairi said as we walked out the door. On the way to the 'ballroom' we talked about how weird it would be to see the guys in suits. When we arrived the guys were standing next to each other talking each wearing a black suit. Kairi cleared her throat. They looked at us and it was like their eyes would pop out. But I noticed that someone was missing.

'Riku's not here' I thought. Yuffie, Aerith and Kairi walked up to their 'partners' and were lead into the room. I slowly followed them. When we were inside I asked them if they knew where Riku was.

"No. He said he would come later." Sora said.

"Oh…okay." A slow song started and they all left to dance. Even Yuffie and Squall. I sat down and looked around. There were a lot of people. I didn't even know there were these many people in Traverse Town. A guy walked up to me and asked me to dance, but I refused. I felt alone and someone I also felt like there was something wrong with Riku. He wouldn't just not show up at something Aerith had worked so hard on to organize. It just wasn't like him. So I stood up and was on my way out when I heard Sora call me.

"Jen? Where are you going?" he asked.

"I think something's wrong with Riku" I answered. He looked confused.

"Why would you think that?"

"I…don't know. I just…feel it, I guess."

"Alright then, let's go check it out."

"No that's alright. You really don't have to do that. Just go dance with Kairi. I'll do this alone." I said. He shook his head.

"No, I won't let you go alone. Kairi will be fine. But you on the other hand, with all those heartless around, I can't let you go by yourself. Riku would kill me." I nodded and walked out. We looked around the Third District first, but there was nobody except for some homeless people. Then we used that door to go to the First District. When we got there I saw Riku standing at the World Exit with…I looked closer…a really tall woman who looked a little greenish with a black robe on.

"Oh my god…" Sora said quietly. "That's Maleficent!" I gasped.

"Maleficent? But isn't she, like…evil? What is Riku doing with her?" Suddenly Sora ran up to them. I followed him and we stopped at a safe distance, just in case.

"Riku? What are you doing?" I asked. Riku looked in my eyes and I could hear myself gasping, but I didn't notice because I was too stunned. Riku's eyes were…black. I slowly stepped back. Maleficent smiled evilly.

"It's too late. He's mine…Again." She smiled triumphantly.

"No…" I felt tears forming in my eyes. Sora yelled and attacked her, but she blew him away with a force like it was nothing. I stared at Riku, completely stunned. Maleficent opened a black portal and grabbed Riku's arm.

"No!" I yelled and ran to Riku, only to be blown away by the same force. I flew into a wall and sank to the ground. I looked up and saw Riku disappear through the portal. I pulled up my knees and started crying.

'How could I have let this happen? Oh god! I'm so stupid! This was what he was trying to tell me!' That's when I finally realized it. But now it was too late.

"Jen? Are you alright?" Sora asked.

"This is all my fault! How could I have let this happen?" I sobbed. Sora kneeled down next to me.

"This is not your fault. Maleficent was too strong. But why? Why is she even still alive?" Sora stood up and offered me his hand. "Come on, we have to tell the others" I took his hand and got up.

"We'll get him back, Jen. I promise." We quickly walked back to the ballroom where the others were still dancing. But they stopped when they saw us coming in, all bruised and with red eyes.

"What happened?" Yuffie asked.

"Maleficent…she was here. She took Riku, damn it!" They gasped.

"I thought you killed her." Squall said calmly.

"I know. I thought so, too. But she's back and she's gotten a lot stronger."

"How can you stay so calm? Riku's gone! We have to get him back, now!" I yelled. I noticed people staring, but I didn't care. I turned around and ran away. I didn't know where I was going 'till I found myself at our room. I opened the door and stepped inside. I sat down on the bed. All Riku's stuff. I found myself starting to cry again.

"No! No crying. Crying won't get Riku back." I said as I wiped away the tears. "If he's under Maleficent's control then I'll just have to kill her. So that means…train! Everyday. Don't show any weakness…" Someone knocked on the door and entered. It were Kairi and Aerith.

"Hey, are you alright?" Aerith asked me.

"I'm okay. Do you know when they decided to leave?"

"I think they said in three days." Kairi said.

"Good. Enough time to train. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some tough days ahead so I need all the sleep that I can get." They looked at each other surprised but then nodded and left the room. I lay down and tried my hardest not to cry, but with Riku missing next to me that wasn't easy. But I had to get through this. I had to defeat Maleficent. For Riku's sake.

What is a flower that never blooms?
What's the night sky without it's moon?
If I'm the music you're the tune
Don't hear a sound here without you…

Again, sorry for the late update. I was a little busier than I thought I'd be. To tell you the truth, I wasn't planning on updating at all. But I was bored so...why not write another chappy! But if you guys would just REVIEW more, I might update sooner. For the ones that do update: Thanks so much! You make me write more chapters!
So...R&R peoples!

SilverHearts