Author's notes: Quick update! I was inspired suddenly, you could say it was fate lol. Coco Lee rocks. Her songs are great. Made me wanna write
Anywayz, this chapter...read it to know what happens! - No spoilers here hehe... except for.. maybe... umm.... naaahhh :P
go read!
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The first guest arrived. When the door was opened, Riku felt his heart jump out of his chest and he was sure he would have to step on it before it ran away.
There were a man and a woman, probably the parents, and a girl with long, blonde hair. She was beautiful, no doubt, but Riku disliked her at once. Why? Because of the following reason:
"Oh, hello! My name is Annica! I'm so happy to meet you! Say, can we go and make a tour around the house? I'm sure you can lead me around! Oh, I've heard so much about you but you're even cuter in person! Did you always look like that? What's with the silver hair? Ohh it's so shiny! You use hair conditioner?"
Riku zoned out after the fifth sentence and simply stood there, staring into space. First candidate – no chance.
The adults seemed to be starting a conversation and Riku thought he heard his mother asking about the girl's education and social status and what not. A lot of stupid things, he figured.
The second family wasn't much better, the girl was almost three times taller than him, seemed really mean and didn't look like a girl at all. He was almost afraid of her. Luckily she didn't have enough references to be chosen by his mother, so he was quite save on that one.
More and more guests arrived, all families with daughters, one uglier than the other. It surprised him how stupid some girls were and he wondered if all girls were like that. They constantly squealed about dumb things, rambled endlessly like they were on speed and the worst thing of all: they giggled. They giggled and it sounded creepy. Riku wanted to run away and hide somewhere.
So that's what he did.
Sometime after the threehundredandthirtysixth (actually he'd given up on counting after the first dozen of shocks) family had arrived, he excused himself, saying he needed to go somewhere. His parents didn't seem to care because they were too deeply discussing the potential of the guests, inspecting the girls like they were a piece of meat. And they kind of were.
Meanwhile Riku managed to sneak upstairs, running to his room as soon as he reached the corridor. He opened his door, jumped inside and shut it, cursing his mother for taking the key. He would have liked to lock the door but he wasn't allowed to do that and had no key for it.
The cell phone was lying on his bed. It seemed like it's new place, always lying in bed so he could talk to Sora before going to sleep. He went to it and picked it up, dialling his friend's number. He unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, hating how it choked him somewhat, and waited for Sora to pick up.
After the second ringing sound he heard a voice.
"Hello! Ryoko speaking!"
It surprised him and for a second he didn't know what to say. Ryoko? Sora's mother, right? He was frozen in place.
"Um, hello? Hi? Anyone there? Huh? Penguin?"
Riku blinked. Penguin? And before he knew what he was doing he started laughing.
"Riku!" the woman exclaimed and he was sure she was grinning. How did she know it was him?
"Well, no one else calls, honestly, and I remember your voice pretty well…"
Was she reading his mind? When he finally did say something, it wasn't really polite.
"I want Sora," he said, cursing himself after the words left his mouth. Great. Go call his mom and say you want her son. It sounded awful!
Ryoko just chuckled and sighed. "Yeah, wait a second, he's in the bathroom. Silly little Sora couldn't eat properly and had to stain his clothes…idiot," she mumbled in amusement.
Riku smiled at those words, wondering why the relationship between Sora and his mother was so good. They were like friends, always joking with each other… He also noticed how childlike Ryoko was. When she first answered the phone he thought it was Sora because of the way they spoke. They were similar in a lot of ways.
"So, how's life?" the woman eventually asked, tapping her fingers on the kitchen counter. Sora was still not done cleaning his clothes.
Riku was silent. "Umm…" He didn't want to tell her about the whole fiancée thing. It was…kind of personal.
"Anything I can help you with?" she then asked, feeling that something wasn't quite all right.
Riku shrugged. "No…I guess not. It's just…just…" Should he tell her? She seemed trustworthy but what would it matter? Telling her wasn't going to change anything…
"You know, I'm an adult. I know I don't seem like it but I am! And if there's a problem, I can take care of it. Sora's had a lot of problems and I helped him…so if you ever need help…"
This made him smile. Ryoko was sure nice. She didn't even know him very well but was still willing to help? What kind of person was she? He had never met anyone like that before. Excluding Sora, of course.
"It's just that…I'll be engaged to someone soon…" he muttered, wondering what she would say about this.
"Ah! Sora! Sora, come here, it's Riku!" was the woman's reply and Riku could hear Sora's voice over the phone. His mood changed immediately from anxious and depressed to utterly happy just because he could hear Sora complaining about the stains not going off his clothes.
Ryoko told him she would take care of it later and he should just go answer the phone now. And that he did.
"Riku?"
Riku moaned. "Sora! Finally!"
It made the other boy blush and he chuckled slightly. "What's up? You sound…strange…" He smiled.
Riku chuckled, too and he wished Sora were there to hug him. Talking on the phone was nice but having Sora here would be so much nicer.
"Sora, you gotta help me…"
He told the boy all about the horrible things going on in his house, about the stupid girls and his parents and his worries. He told Sora everything he could think of, ranting without even stopping to breathe. And when he finally did stop, Sora was immediately ready to answer.
"Come over to my place! You can stay here for the night! Mom says it's all right!" It all sounded so easy when he suggested it. Well, it wasn't just a suggestion, more of an order the way it sounded.
Riku shook his head. "Sora…it's not that easy…" He heaved a long sigh and lay down on his bed, clutching to the receiver. He could hear Sora's breathing now and it was just as though he was with him. If he closed his eyes and concentrated enough, it was almost as though he was right there…
"Then I'll come over. I know the way," Sora suddenly said, jerking Riku out of his imagination.
"What?"
Sora smiled. "You said I could come whenever I want and that's what I'll do. I wanna see you now and I'll be there before you can say apple pie."
Riku blinked. Sora was going to come over? NOW?
"But—"
"No buts, Riku. As I said, I'll be there…"
"Apple pie," Riku suddenly said, turning to the balcony almost subconsciously. Then he snorted. "You lied," he added, smirking as he heard Sora's sigh. He was sure the boy was rolling his eyes right now.
"Ok, maybe not before you can say apple pie…but really fast. You just wait."
Riku considered this for a while. Then he shook his head. "No, Sora…you can't. I beg you not to come."
He stopped then, holding his breath in fear he had said the wrong thing. Begging Sora not to come to him, it was like the greatest rejection one could utter. But it was important… his parents couldn't see Sora. He didn't want to lose him.
Sora was silent, it almost seemed as though he had left the phone but then Riku could hear the soft breathing again and he closed his eyes. He began to breathe in the same rhythm as Sora, unintentionally, and they remained like that for some time.
"I wish things were easier…" Riku whispered, almost inaudibly, almost to himself. But Sora heard it, Sora knew it was meant for him to hear it and he felt the impact it had on him. He let the things Riku had told him replay in his mind. He had told him that girls were flooding his home, all of them being a potential fiancée. Riku was going to be engaged. Riku, his Riku was going to be engaged.
Sora blinked. Had he just thought of Riku as his?
"We'll pull through, right?" Sora murmured, trying to smile so Riku could hear the hope in his voice. He had learned that trick from his mother. Always saying 'we will pull through' and smile. Then everything would get better. It was encouraging. Encouraging yourself and everyone else. It always worked.
And it did seem to have the right effect on Riku, for he smiled.
Opening his eyes slowly he stared at the ceiling, pressing the receiver tightly to his ear, wanting to hear everything on Sora's side. Sora's side. He wanted to be there. It seemed like he was in another world, another dimension. And he wanted to be there, so badly. He didn't want to be in this world, his world. He wanted to go to Sora.
"I'll always be there for you," Sora suddenly said, completely sober and serious. He sounded as though he meant it. Riku knew he meant it.
"I don't deserve you…" he muttered weakly, wondering how Sora could be so nice to him all the time. Ryoko was the same, as he had noticed before. They were just…what were they? Angels? Riku remembered seeing movies and reading books about people like Sora and his mom. They were angels in disguise who had come to earth to help those who needed it.
"I care for you and that's all that mat—"
He was cut off by a knock on Riku's door. He could hear it through the phone.
Riku jerked at the sudden noise. "Shit."
Sora listened closer, wanting to hear what was happening at Riku's place. The silver haired boy was stock still, daring not to breathe as he clutched to the receiver. 'No, don't. Not now. Please.'
Another knock. Then a voice.
"Riku. I know you're hiding in there. Riku."
He gulped. Turning his attention back to Sora, he took a deep breath. "Sora…I gotta hang up. I'll call you later, though."
Sora was about to protest but Riku hung up before he could even open his mouth.
"Damn you…" the brunet muttered, frowning in worry. His mother frowned, too and patted his head.
Riku rushed off his bed and went to open his door. Strangely enough his father had been decent enough not to enter his room before he opened up. At least he knew how to leave him a little privacy.
"Son, I can understand this is really uncomfortable for you but you need to come down. Your mother seems to have found a really nice girl and she wants you to meet her." The man put his arm around his son in a buddy-kind of way to show his sympathy. Riku realized how little he hated his father. He had always blamed his parents for everything but now he noticed how understanding his father actually was. It was his mother who was evil. Why did he marry that woman anyway?
Suddenly, a thought entered the boy's mind. Could it have been a forced marriage? Like the one he had to go through now? Was he going to marry a girl like his mother, having to live with her, having to have a child with her whom his wife treated as badly as his mother treated him? Was this all going to repeat over and over again?
"Get out of your thoughts and of this room, son. You're gonna meet a really nice girl. Even if you don't want to marry her, you'll like her."
The man scratched his head and scrunched up his face curtly. "I do wonder how she got here, though…she's not one with many references…" he hummed to himself, putting a hand to his chin while he thought. Then he shrugged, mumbling to himself, "Well, probably they've got connections."
And social connections she had.
When Riku went downstairs with his father his eyes fell on the girl his mother was talking to.
And he gaped.
Eyes met, a smile, a wink, a blush. Riku didn't know why he was blushing or why this girl was winking at him but he was sure as hell shocked out of his mind when he saw her and realized he recognized her.
Slowly, mechanically, he walked towards her. Frowning all the while, he inspected her.
A simple, light blue dress. No fancy ribbons or flowers. A simple dress. What the hell? And she passed? What was his mother thinking?
"Riku? There you are. Finally." The woman rolled her beautiful dark eyes. She yanked her boy on his arm, towards the girl. "Greet our guest."
The girl smiled gently and held out her hand. "Hello. I'm Kairi, nice to meet you."
Another wink. A confused look.
"What?"
He felt his mother smack him. "What was that? Is that how you greet people?!" she shrieked before her husband patted her arm to shush her.
Riku was confused. He looked at his father, then at Kairi, then at the crowd. He thought of Sora, of school, of Sora worrying about Kairi being all alone. He looked at Kairi again.
"Riku," he simply said, taking and shaking her hand.
She nodded and smiled again. "Your mother is such a nice person," she airily announced, tilting her head slightly to the side. Riku was tempted to snort but held it back for the sake of his cheek. He didn't need to get slapped by his mother again.
"So, now, go and talk to her," the woman instructed as though she was instructing a servant how to serve the food. She ushered the kids away to discuss other things with Kairi's parents, who were standing a little away from them.
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"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I have no clue!"
"What do you mean you have no clue?"
"My parents dragged me here saying this is my big chance! What's going on anyway? I figured they shouldn't know we're classmates, seeing as your mother hates you associating with us lowlifes."
Kairi's tone was slightly sarcastic and it sounded more honest, better than the fake voice she had used before. She was sure a good actress.
"How did you pass anyway? With that dress…" Riku muttered, gesturing up and down.
The girl blinked and looked herself over. "What'cha talking about? I look great!" she declared, giggling slightly.
Riku rolled his eyes. "No ribbons. No pendants. No flowers. You look too normal to be one of the wannabe fiancées."
Kairi blinked at that. "Huh? Wannabe fiancées?"
Reaching out to take her hand, Riku led Kairi into a corner where they could talk more privately about this. He couldn't believe how relieved he suddenly felt, knowing that at least one sane person was in this house. Well, if you could count Kairi sane…
"You mean I'm gonna be forced to marry you?!" she suddenly shrieked, finally catching on what was going on.
He nodded. Then clamped his hand over her mouth to prevent her from more hysterical shrieking. He blushed as he remembered what Sora had done when he shut him up. It brought a tingling sensation with the memory and he licked his lips as he sunk into his thoughts.
Kairi was still mildly horrified by the news. She hadn't really thought this was the reason she was here. Her parents had dragged her here. She had come home from school, ready to go play some tennis (she played tennis in her free time while in school she was cheerleader to be popular), when her parents suddenly dragged her out of her room, and into those clothes. It was the best they could find. Kairi didn't have many dresses. She had skirts, yes, short skirts that you could stretch. Things to wear for playing tennis. Trainers, she had. Tops she had. But no dresses. No fancy, ribbon adorned dresses for dinner parties. So they took the best they had.
A plain, light blue dress. And it fit her.
As they arrived at Riku's mansion, she immediately wondered what this was all about. How come she was invited to one of those exclusive dinner parties? She knew her parents had their connections to get free tickets for concerts and stuff but she never thought they would get an invitation from this family. The richest family in town, probably in the country.
"Don't get me wrong but I really don't want to marry you," Kairi suddenly said.
Riku, who was still in his thoughts of Sora, barely registered her voice. He did turn to her, though, as she tugged on his hand. Close contact wasn't his thing, so he scowled at the hand. She let go off him sheepishly and sighed.
"You're strange," he remarked as he thought over what she had said. She didn't want to marry him?? Wasn't it every girl's dream to marry this Riku? This perfect, god-like, precious thing?
"Hey, hey, just because I'm not one of your groupies it doesn't mean I'm strange!" Kairi crossed her arms and pouted, reminding Riku a bit of Sora, however Sora was much cuter than Kairi. No offence.
"It's just that…" she began to twiddle her thumbs now, looking down at her feet. Was she blushing? And was that a shy expression on her face?
"I…I already like someone else, you know?" she quietly murmured, looking with her beautiful twinkling eyes.
Riku was paralysed. Not because of her eyes. They were beautiful but not paralysing or mesmerizing. Sora's eyes were all that but Kairi's – no. He was, however, paralysed and surprised about the fact that Kairi liked someone. She actually liked someone that way and she had just told Riku. And it wasn't Riku.
"Who?" he found himself asking, feeling strangely anxious all of the sudden. Who could it be? Not him? Who then? Tidus, maybe? There were rumours and she did hang out with Tidus and Selphie lately…
"I…I can't tell you…" she stammered, shaking her head repeatedly.
Riku frowned. "Why not?" He was stubborn now. He was curious now. He needed to know.
"Is it Tidus?"
Kairi shook her head. What? Riku frowned. If it wasn't Tidus then who was it? There weren't many boys Kairi could like… Or maybe it was someone Riku didn't know. Then again, he knew a lot of people, being school's representative and all…
"Do I know the person?"
Kairi shook her head. Then she nodded. "Let's stop this!" She hastily declared, looking pointedly over Riku's shoulder. His mother was approaching.
In a matter of seconds, her a whole attitude changed and she was smiling that fake smile again, ready to talk in that airy voice as before.
"Now, how is it going?" the woman politely asked, smiling coldly at Kairi. No matter what she did, her smile was always cold. However, she seemed to like Kairi for some reason. It was strange.
"Oh very good, thank you. We are slowly getting to know each other, isn't it so, Riku?"
Riku wanted to vomit when he heard her talk like that. How well could Kairi act? She was switching personalities just like that. She was almost like…himself.
Nodding, the lady left again to make some more small talk and to get more information on possible daughter-in-laws.
And so, the evening went by, Kairi had vanished into the crowd after awhile as Riku got dragged away by a crazy fangirl who was supposed to be another possible fiancée. One thing he knew, though. He was not going to marry a girl who bossed him around. She had dark hair, almost black was it. She was beautiful, no doubt. Fair skin and full lips. Actually, she looked a bit like his mother, when he thought about it. The same kind of beauty.
But she was such a bossy type. Dragging him around, telling him to do this and that. They weren't even engaged yet! They didn't even know each other yet! He was glad when he finally got away from her.
However, he only ran into another horrible thing that could have only been an accident rather than a human being.
One of the 'it's-my-way-or-I'll-cry' types. And cry she did.
Riku was exhausted to no end when the party finally ended. The guests left one by one, then in groups. It was getting late.
Kairi found a short time alone with Riku where she could hug him without being eaten by the rest of the girls.
"Sorry about this all," she whispered into his ear before she withdrew.
He shrugged and raised his hand to dismiss her. She smiled and nodded.
"See ya tomorrow," she quietly said, carefully keeping it secret that they knew each other from school. It wasn't like she was actually going to be engaged to him but it would just destroy the picture when his mother knew they were classmates.
Eventually even the last guest left and the servants came out to clean the mess they had left. Plates were to be washed, decorations had to be removed, they were busy.
Riku was allowed to go to his room, alone. His mother ignored him, as usual. Luckily (for Riku) and unfortunately for his mother, there hadn't been any clear result tonight. There was no fiancée as of yet. Riku's father gave him a nod to say he was dismissed for the rest of the day.
Rest of the day was good, he bitterly thought, it was midnight. He had to get some sleep because there was school tomorrow. And most important of all, he had to get out of those clothes.
When he reached his room, first thing he did was strip down to his boxers and spin around in his room a few times to feel the freedom. Freedom. Something he had not.
Wandering across the room (it was so huge and he cursed it right now) he finally made it to his bed and let himself onto it, sinking into the mattress. He nearly landed on the cell phone. Cell phone. He'd said he would call Sora later. Later was good, he snorted. It was midnight. But then again, they had a habit of calling each other at midnight. It wasn't the first time they'd do that.
Dialling Sora's number, Riku stretched and lay on his bed, spread out.
A few ringing sounds, then Sora picked up.
"I've been waiting," he said and Riku could hear the smile. With Sora, you could always tell he was smiling or pouting or frowning. It was so easy to picture him being there, in Riku's room…with him…
Riku wanted to tell Sora about Kairi, that she was one of the possible fiancées but then he found he couldn't. He was too exhausted to go through that evening again. All he wanted was…
"Let's pretend you're here…" he murmured, closing his eyes again.
Sora cocked his head with a puzzled expression "huh?"
Riku smiled. "Let's pretend you're with me… let me imagine you here…"
Silence fell between them and Riku breathed in and out slowly, relaxing for the first time this day. Sora cleared his throat after a while and Riku smiled again.
"Talk," he said, heaving a light sigh.
Sora hummed and mumbled something, something Riku couldn't quite understand, before he actually began to talk.
"Okay. So, I'll tell you about my day. I came home from school and then I had to do homework and when I was finished I made dinner because mom bought some stuff so we could cook. And umm… yeah while eating, I managed to get myself full of food… don't ask how…it's just…"
Sora then explained how evil food was attacking him whenever he was just trying to eat the thing and Riku's smile broadened with every moment. He could actually see Sora before him, wearing that shirt with the hood, that chain around his neck, the belt around his waist…
"What'cha wearing right now?" Sora suddenly asked, changing the topic instantly.
Riku's eyes fluttered open and he stared at the ceiling.
"Boxers," he blandly answered, kind of dazed as he had been pulled out of his imagination.
Sora chuckled. "Nothing else?" He didn't really expect that this was all.
Riku shrugged. "Nope."
He could hear Sora choke then and he couldn't deny he was pleased by that. He smirked slightly, closing his eyes again. He drifted in his thoughts, thinking of various things…
"And you?" he heard himself ask, but it was all so far away. In his mind, he was with Sora, was embracing him, close to him.
"Well…I'm wearing that ridiculous panda pyjama mom bought my last Christmas." The brunet sighed in exasperation at his clothes, Riku could hear it. He could almost see it, too.
Then he tried to picture Sora with that pyjama.
"What does it look like?"
Sora made a sound of protest, which sounded awfully like a childish whine. "Don't ask! It's…it's…"
He said it anyway. Riku smirked.
"It's like a panda suit. No, not as bad as it sounds…but kind of… argh…you gotta see it to know what it looks like."
Riku chuckled. "I'd love to." And he meant it. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to see Sora in his panda pyjama. It must have looked extremely adorable. Riku couldn't help wondering what Sora would look like without that pyjama…….
"Keep your mind out of the gutter," Sora warned, surprising Riku a bit.
"What?" he innocently asked, although he had been caught like a child with its fingers in the cookie-jar.
"Nothing," Sora responded, shrugging his shoulders.
Riku sighed and turned to his side, curling up, receiver still at his hear.
"Hey, Sora…"
The brunet on the other side smiled. "Yes?"
Riku tapped his fingers on the mattress. "I…I have piano lesson tomorrow afternoon. I was wondering…if you wanna come with me. So we can see each other."
He didn't really expect Sora to say yes…but then he did. Why shouldn't he? It was just that he didn't know if that was such a good idea. Taking Sora with him into something that was part of his other life. It felt like leading two lives. The one he had when he was at home, doing the things his parents, no, his mother, forced him into; and the other one when he was with Sora.
"I'd love to!" Sora beamed and he was genuinely happy.
Riku smiled in satisfactory, for he had made Sora happy. "Good…" he murmured, feeling how sleep was taking over.
"Riku?"
His mind was starting to shut down.
"Hey, Riku?"
Drifting. Near the world of dreams…
"Ummm?"
Almost…beautiful sleep. Rest to recover from exhausting day…
He fell asleep.
Sora smiled when he heard the breathing get slower and even. Riku wasn't responding anymore, so he must have fallen asleep.
"Nevermind, then…" he murmured, kissing the receiver affectionately, hoping that Riku would somehow feel it. He wanted to hang up after that but found himself addicted to the sound of Riku's breathing and he half cursed the phone cord for being there. He wanted to go to sleep with the phone at his ear…
Eventually, however, his mother came strolling out of her room and patted his head.
"Time for bed, Sora. You'll see your sweetheart tomorrow." She kissed his forehead and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water.
Sora watched her, smiling a bit as he saw her gulp down the liquid. She was sleepy. She had probably been asleep already and woke up just now. He could tell by the way her hair looked. It almost looked like his, pointing into all directions.
"Night, mom," he murmured as she passed him.
"Night, sweetie," she replied, yawning sleepily. Then she vanished into her room. Sora followed her example and crawled into his bed.
He still remembered the day Riku had been here with him, in this bed. When they had been close to each other, laughed with each other…
Closing his eyes, Sora sighed once more, then yawned, and finally drifted off to sleep where he would dream of Riku, of course.
"Riku in boxers…" he mumbled in his sleep, turning to lie on his stomach.
Oh, what a fine thing to dream about…
– To be continued –
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Ending notes: Well, that was fluffy It came over me suddenly when I started listening to my old Coco Lee cds Thanks to Hikari-chan I thought of listening to them again and that seemed to have inspired me. Huzzah!
Hmm is it just me or do Riku and Sora get...dirtier? LoL. Not really... but.. the whole "what'cha wearing" stuff was kinda new. If you're really paranoid it could've sounded like the beginning of phone sex LOL.
But they're sweet innocent teenagers and friends, OK?! No dirty things here... they were just..being honest, as always. Curious, too.
So, tell me what you think about this chapter, ok? I'd really like to know how you liked it... I thought it was OK. nods
reviews are good for the soul :P