Author's notes: Sorry to keep you waiting! But as a little comfort, this chapter is a lot longer than it was supposed to be.
Maybe that's why it took so long to type ^^ ...or the fact that I've been too busy reading...
anyway here's the third chapter...we also meet Sora's mother here! Neat, huh?
um...ok.. hope you like it!
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"Hmpf..."
Sora let himself fall backwards on his bed, trying not to hit his head in the tiny space. Why in the world did he get bunk beds? It wasn't like he had siblings or friends who would sleep there. It only caused him to hit his head all the time because there was so little space.
But that was probably just because the beds had been there ever since they moved in and his mother had no money to buy new ones. There wouldn't be any space anyway. His room was a closet, or so he thought. It must have been a closet before. There was barely room for the bed, which was standing against the wall on the right. There was only a narrow space between the bed and the desk, which was standing against the opposite wall. The distance couldn't be more than 3 feet. And as if the room weren't full enough there was also a dresser, small but still taking too much space.
The door covered the bed half way when it was open. So every sane man would have kept the door close to get a little more space. However, keeping the door of such a small room shut was very unwise. Sora wasn't claustrophobic at all but it was impossible to spend too much time in this room with a closed door.
Sora sighed as he looked at the small alarm clock on his desk. It was almost past 9 p.m. now. His mother still wasn't home although she promised to come back at 8 to bring some dinner. Through the small window he could see that it had started to rain. Sora smiled. He loved rain. For some reason he always wanted to run out into the cold rain. Maybe because his father had often taken him out into the rain when he was still alive.
His thoughts suddenly fixed on that particular memory, when he was barely 4, a little kid. His father was carrying him on his shoulders, spinning around while the heavy rain descended on them. They had laughed and laughed and his mother had been calling for them to come in before they caught a cold. They had ignored it, of course, and kept spinning and running in the rain until his mother followed them, joining them in their fun. Sora loved to remember those things, those little happy moments of his childhood. Things were different now.
His father was gone; his mother was working all the time, trying to pull them through. They didn't even have a laundry machine and Sora had to wash all his clothes with his hands. Not that he had many clothes. They were too poor to buy fancy clothes with brands and all. He never wore such things and he remembered being mocked by other children for it. Everything had changed. Sora felt a little sadness come over him but he promised himself not to cry because he didn't want to be ungrateful. He had a good life. At least his mother was still with him and she was the greatest mother one could ever get. And also, he had found people whom he liked, in his new school.
Blushing slightly, Sora rolled over to his side as he thought of Riku. Riku, that perfect boy. He hadn't been able to think of anything but him for most of the afternoon. He even caught himself writing the boy's name on his desk like a lovesick schoolgirl. It was embarrassing he acted this way and he felt really stupid like this. He vowed to himself to get that under control because he wanted only one thing from Riku. He wanted to know him, to have him trust him so he could also trust Riku. He wanted someone to share his time, maybe. A friend.
The sound of keys being flung across the shabby kitchen counter jerked Sora out of his thoughts.
"Mom!"
She was finally back! He heard her footsteps, light and soft as always even though she was weary of her work. She came home late and left early in the morning. He always wondered how she could work like this.
He stormed out of his room into the living room to see his mother shake her hair like a puppy, drying her wet hair. The rain outside had come pouring down before she reached the safety of their home and of course she hadn't had an umbrella. He saw her cursing silently to herself, eyes weary and tired.
However, as she saw Sora her expression immediately changed. She was suddenly smiling brightly, eyes glistening with the usual happiness and mischief she always had. Her hair looked natural, she never had to comb it. Brown like his, shoulder-length, curly when it was wet, making her look like a little girl. Actually she always looked like a little girl. Many people had asked Sora if she was his older sister. They were often thought to be orphan siblings and Sora had to smile at that. His mother looked as young as she acted.
"Hey, hey, Sora! Guess what! I got us a fancy dinner tonight! You see, I've been working late tonight to earn some extra money since the people gave me great tips tonight!" She stretched and yawned, then walked over into the small kitchenette.
"We've got peanuts and some curry powder. I think you know what this means!" She beamed at Sora and clapped her hands.
Sora chuckled. Yes, this was what they called fancy dinner. A bowl of rice with a little curry sauce and peanuts. It was delicious all right but one might have thought of other things at the mention of 'fancy dinner'. Nonetheless, Sora was happy and his mother seemed to be it, too.
They prepared their food together while his mother talked about her day. She had found another job, aside from the one as waitress. She would work day and night to get more money.
"It's not like I work all the time, you know, so don't worry. I'll work from 6 a.m. till afternoon, then I'll come back and bring dinner. Of course I won't be there to eat with you because I'll have to leave at 7 p.m. to the other job. I'll come back at midnight, or maybe later. I know it sounds like a lot of work but I'll make it!" She made the victory sign with her hand, grinning cheekily at Sora to emphasize her words.
Sora only nodded and smiled. Once she set her mind on something she wouldn't let it go.
They ate in silence then and Sora wondered if he should tell her about his day. She hadn't asked yet, normally she would ask. She seemed too busy devouring the food to really think of anything to say.
Eventually, however, she looked up from the feast.
"So, got a girlfriend yet?"
Sora nearly choked on the rice as he heard that question. He coughed and tried to clear his throat while his mother laughed.
"Now, now, don't be so surprised. I'm sure the girls are swooning over you! You're such a handsome boy," she cooed, smiling very affectionately, very motherly at him.
Sora shook his head to say 'not really' and his mind came to rest on Riku again. The girls were swooning over Riku! Not over someone like him. He had seen the uninterested glances they threw at him before going back to staring at Riku in awe.
"Riku..."
He hadn't really meant to say it but it slipped and although it was only quietly, his mother heard it.
"Riku?" She smiled knowingly, although she didn't know. She didn't know that Riku was not a girl but a boy of whom Sora was jealous yet got really interested in. It was such a weird feeling he had but he was sure of one thing: Riku wouldn't leave his mind.
Dropping his hands into his lap, Sora stared at the food in front of him. He sighed, pouting unconsciously and dug his right hand into his pocket. He often did that when he thought, it was habit he had picked up from his father.
He suddenly raised his eyebrows at the feeling of something brushing against his fingers. It felt like a piece of paper. He frowned and pulled it out to see a little folded sheet in his hand. When had that come in there? He remembered exchanging those little notes and messages with Kairi and a few with Riku during the lessons but he hadn't put them into his pocket, had he? He unfolded it, completely unaware of the fact that his mother had gotten up and was standing behind him, curiously looking over his shoulder to see what the note contained.
There were a few numbers on the paper. In fact, it seemed to be a phone number.
"Interesting......"
Sora jumped at the voice and snapped his head back to see his mother behind him.
"Lemme see." While Sora was scowling at her for surprising him like that, his mother quickly took the number out of his hand and inspected it.
"Very neat handwriting, yup. Doesn't seem to be a girl's, though. It would have been easier if there were an actual sentence written because you can see the character of the person through the handwriting of letters. Numbers are okay, too, though. Hmmm let me think... this person's got to be really unsure of themselves. Probably seems totally confident to others but in reality it's the opposite. And…and…" she paused to look closer, then glanced at Sora and then back.
"This person must like you a lot."
She grinned and patted Sora's head in pride.
"I told you you're handsome! And even if it's not a girl, all the better it's a boy! I mean, every boy can find at least one girl that likes him. But to have a boy to like you, that's an honour!"
There she was being stupid again, Sora thought. Not that he minded, though. She was only trying to be nice but she seemed to have her weird phases when she would ramble about strange stuff... he didn't even want to know what it was about.
But what did she say? Not a girl? Then it wasn't Kairi's number? He had just decided to believe it was Kairi who wanted to give him her number and forgot or it accidentally slipped into his pocket as she tried to give it to him. Something like that, he thought.
But his mother said it wasn't a girl? The only one who had given him those little papers was Riku. But Riku?
'No way...' Sora thought. It couldn't be, because Riku wasn't interested in him. Not enough to give him his phone number, right? He had heard from Kairi that he flirted with everyone just for the sake of it. He wasn't really feeling anything for anyone, just playing with them.
Sora understood. Riku probably never had friends due to his whole attire. He was like some superior being so maybe the other people never saw him as one of them. It angered Sora somewhat as he thought of it. Both the fact that no one cared to know the real Riku and the fact that Riku played around with other people's feelings. He even played with Sora's.
He suddenly bit his lip, remembering their meeting after school when Riku had been overly seductive. It was simply impossible not to melt when he acted like that. He then remembered something else. Riku had been very close to him, so close that he could feel his breath against his cheeks but that was beside the point. Riku had been close enough to slip a note into his pocket without him ever noticing! It could have been him, after all.
Meanwhile Sora's mother gone back to eating and eventually finished, washing up everything. Sora still sat at the table, not moving. Why in the world would Riku give him that little note? And was it really his phone number? Or maybe it was just some kind of joke, something he played, did with everyone.
Sora felt unusually anxious. That didn't stop him, however, from getting up to walk to the phone, dialling the number as it was written on the paper. He could hear his heartbeat; it was louder than the ringing sound he heard on the phone. One, two, three, four...no one picked up. He waited. Five, six, seven, eight. His heart stopped for a moment as he heard a clicking sound.
He held his breath without realizing that he did so.
His mother sat down on the couch in the living room, which was still very close to the phone on the wall next to the door. Their flat wasn't really big. The front door led into the living room, which contained a small kitchenette and 3 doors, one on each side of the room. The living room plus the small kitchen wasn't big, maybe 25m² at the most. The 3 doors lead into three rooms. One was Sora's room; the other one was his mother's room. Both really small, almost like closets. The third door led to the bathroom. So even as Sora's mother practically sat on the other side of the apartment, she could still hear her son talking on the phone.
A voice spoke on the other side of the line. Sora's breath hitched.
"Hello?"
It was his voice. Sora didn't know how to speak. Honestly, he had forgotten how to do it. He opened his mouth because he remembered it had something to do with it, but he couldn't remember what else he was supposed to be doing.
"Who's this?" the voice asked, sounding a little annoyed although Riku wasn't because he'd been the one to give Sora his number in the first place.
Finally, Sora seemed to remember the wonder of talking and he did. Or rather, he tried.
"Sss...a-aa..."
He winced. He shook his head and took a deep breath. Second try.
"It's...So--Sora."
Immediately, the tone changed and it seemed Riku was smiling although Sora wouldn't know just through the phone.
"Hey! I was starting to wonder when you'd call!"
Sora flushed and glanced at his mother sitting there on the couch, watching him in interest as though she was watching a movie. Well, this was probably the only thing she could do considering that they didn't have a TV to watch anything.
"I...uh..." The boy tried to steady his breathing and mind, wondering what he should say. Why had he called? He shouldn't have done it, he thought. He had nothing to say, or had he? But then again, it was Riku who had called. Not really, but he was the one who gave him the number. Ah, the number, Sora remembered.
"I found the number."
Well, duh. Sora smacked his forehead. How stupid could he get? And it was all because of this Riku. He hated him already. And then he didn't.
Riku chuckled and it sounded so sweet and sincere, a little unfamiliar Sora noted. He had heard him laugh today but it hadn't sounded like that. Or maybe it was just the phone that made it sound different. Sora didn't know...
"Well I guess you did," the boy on the other line answered.
Sora sighed as there was silence between them. He thought of how to say what he wanted to say. He just wanted to know why Riku had given him his number. Like that.
"Why do I have your number?"
He immediately regretted it. Why would he always say something stupid instead of what he was thinking? It seemed the words got mixed up in his head before they left his mouth.
Riku laughed. "I think it's because I gave it to you?"
Sora felt so humiliated but he also felt like laughing. And he did.
"I'm sorry... I meant...I meant...why did you give me your number!" Finally it came out right!
Riku stopped laughing and suddenly it was completely quiet. Sora almost thought he had said something wrong and bit his lip. He turned to look at his mother, who was still watching him with interest, trying to understand the conversation without hearing Riku's part. It wasn't hard. But Riku wasn't talking anymore. He wasn't even laughing or chuckling. But he was still there because Sora heard him breathe into the receiver. He cleared his throat, then and Sora awaited a response.
"I..."
Sora felt confused. Riku seemed like he was struggling to say something but he hadn't seemed like a person who would have such problems. The entire day Riku was being so full of himself and he had the right to it, of course, he was considered a God among the people at school. But he really hadn't seemed to be shy or speechless like now.
"Actually..." he was still struggling for words, it seemed. Sora waited.
"The thing is I wanted...I mean...I just..."
Sora took another glance at his mother and saw that she was mouthing something.
'Insecure' she seemed to whisper. But it could have meant anything because, really, Sora wasn't a very good lip-reader.
"I just wanted to hear your voice."
The blood shot into his face and Sora was sure he was as read as a tomato as he heard the final answer. The way he had just said it... His mother must have thought there had just been a love confession or something.
His lips were suddenly dry and he licked them absently, trying to think of something to say.
"Oh..." Was his only response. Then there was silence again and Riku didn't seem to know what to say.
Sora considered hanging up but that would have been rude. He should at least tell Riku he was going to do that but then he didn't know how.
After a while, Riku spoke again and Sora was relieved.
"Say something."
Okay, he wasn't.
"What do you want me to say?" What was with that boy? Riku seemed totally different on the phone and it was sure confusing. Sora didn't know what to say or do.
He heard Riku sigh. "I don't know...something...anything..." He obviously didn't know what to say either.
"Well my mom's home and she's watching me talk like it's a movie...the only thing she's missing is pop-corn." Sora didn't really know why he had said that but it seemed to have worked because Riku chuckled. Sora smiled at the sound. He wanted to say more but he didn't know what.
Then Riku cleared his throat. "Um, I have to hang up for now because my father's calling. But I...want to ask you something."
Sora felt his heart leap into his throat. What was Riku going to ask? "Sure," he answered, trying to sound casual. What in the world was he going to ask?
"Want me to pick you up in the morning? I mean...so we go to school together."
Heart attack. Sora heard his mother laugh at his antics, after all he was clamping his hand over his mouth and jumping up and down with wide eyes.
Then it occurred to him. He forced himself to calm down, enough to talk into the receiver again.
"But you don't know where I live."
Another time of silence. Was Riku just being calm and superior or was he embarrassed that he hadn't thought about this?
"If you tell me, I'll know."
Sora couldn't help but smile. "Okay...I guess. You know the playground next to our school?"
"Yeah."
"If you follow the road there you'll come to a convenience store."
Riku nodded. "Yeah I know that one."
Sora smiled. "Good, next to the store there's a row of small houses. The second one is ours. Don't be surprised at the size...it is a small apartment house, not a dog house."
Riku smiled at this and Sora could feel it somehow.
"Okay then, I know where it is. I've even passed there a few times before. I'll pick you up at...um...7:30?"
Sora sweatdropped. That early? But oh well, might as well, he thought. He had to get used to it that his school wasn't just around the corner. Not like his old school.
"Yeah, okay."
He nodded and gave a sigh of relief, happy that they had managed to talk about something without him stuttering around like an idiot.
For a while they were both silent again. It seemed a waste of money to let them stand there on the phone without talking at all.
"Well I guess I'll hang up now," Riku eventually said.
Sora agreed and readied himself. However, he found himself waiting for Riku to hang up first. He waited. And waited. And waited.
"You haven't hung up," Riku suddenly stated, sounding a little confused.
Sora pouted. "You haven't either. I'm waiting for you to hang up first."
Riku was silent, thinking over it. "But I'm waiting for you to hang up."
They both frowned. What now? Neither of them wanted to hang up and yet they had to.
"I count till three and then we hang up." Riku suggested.
Sora agreed but only before Riku counted to two, Sora stopped him.
"Wait! Do we count one, two and hang up at three or do we count one, two, three and then hang up?"
He heard his mother laugh again and turned to her with an annoyed look. She was covering her mouth, trying to look serious but he saw that she was laughing.
Riku sighed. "One, two, three and we hang up, ok?"
Sora nodded. They both counted, simultaneously.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three—"
Just as Sora was about to put the receiver back he heard Riku.
"Sora--!"
But it was too late, he had hung up before he could hear the rest of it. He frowned, wondering what he had wanted to say...but then again, it couldn't have been that important, right? Maybe he would just ask him about it tomorrow, when he came to pick him up.
He turned to his mother who stared at him with a grin. Sora sighed. She was going to make fun of him for the rest of the night because of that phone call if he didn't go to sleep immediately.
"Night." He turned and walked into the bathroom.
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Riku stood in his room, with the receiver still in his hand.
"I really like you, Sora..." he whispered, touching his lips in wonder after he did that. He put the receiver back and stared at the wall in front of him. What was going on with him? What was going on in him? He was glad Sora had hung up before he said something. He couldn't risk getting stupid in his presence. He had already made a fool of himself with this phone call. Telling him that he just wanted to hear his voice! How stupid could he be? Asking him if he could pick him up in the morning! Why was he acting so strangely?
'I really like you...' He frowned, then scowled. What was this Sora doing to him?
– To be continued –
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Ending notes: That was sure long. But I just couldn't find a good end for this chapter earlier.
So....what do you think? Ok, not much happened in this chapter but we got a little view into Sora's home, right? Because some of you suggested it. Are they too poor? Like is it kind of unbelieveable? I hope I did ok... I think there are people as poor as them. I know there are poorer people but I didn't want to make them seem like beggars or something. Just kind of broke at the moment.
And I wanted to mention that Sora had a happy childhood. A happy family. Oh yeah what do you think of his mother? She'll get a name eventually I think.
But is she all right? Not that she's important because this story will focus on Sora and Riku but I still want to make her nice to read.
Errr...ok...I rambled a lot today, didn't I?
Tell me how you like this chapter and the story and the characters and everything! If you think it sucks, tell me so I can improve it!
Ok, thanks.