Meh…the first few paragraphs of this chapter probably make no sense at all 'cause there was nothing thrown in before them. I was having a bad bout of writer's block while trying to think of a way to start this, so I pulled something out of my ass. It's not pretty, as would be expected of something pulled out of my ass…

WARNINGS: naughty language…yaoi…

Disclaimer: The characters and worlds of Kingdom Hearts belong to Disney and Square Enix…

"…From my laboratory in the castle East
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

(They did the mash) They did the monster mash
(The monster mash) It was a graveyard smash
(They did the mash) It caught on in a flash
(They did the mash) They did the monster mash…"

—"Monster Mash" Misfits…

Chapter Eight:
Monster Mash…

I felt like I was drowning. It was hard to breathe and my eyes were starting to water. The people that surrounded us closed in, and I grasped Roxas' arm in a death grip, afraid to let go in case we got separated. I heard him wince, but he didn't say anything. Cheers and jeers roared around us as Roxas led the way through the crowd, shoving people aside without so much as a backwards glance. Any normal day I would have been apologizing as we walked, but I didn't care about the others at the moment. I just wanted out.

I almost fell to the ground and kissed it when we were free. Almost. Instead I collapsed against the wall of nearest building and closed my eyes, trying my hardest to keep my breathing deep and even so I wouldn't lose all of my control.

"It would have been nice of you to remember that you were claustrophobic before we went in there," Roxas grumbled.

I opened my eyes and smiled at him sheepishly. "You were excited about it. I didn't want you to be disappointed. And besides, you knew I was claustrophobic, you ass!"

He rolled his eyes and frowned. "Well, I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with again, okay? I want to have fun, but not at your expense."

I sighed and nodded, letting my eyes slip closed again. "I really wanted to go down there, too, though. We couldn't see shit while we were sitting in the bleachers."

"And was it any more fun down in the pit?"

I shook my head and heard Roxas laugh. I sighed. Every year during the Pumpkin Festival there was a fighting tournament called the Struggle. Every jock in the school would sign up for the contest and battle it out on a platform in the town's square until only one was left. The winner of the Struggle would be the heartthrob for the next year, until the next year's Struggle and that winner took over his position. But, while their reasons for engaging in the tournament were ridiculous, it was always entertaining to watch some of the jocks get the shit beat out of them with foam baseball bats.

"Well…what're we gonna do now?" Roxas asked.

I shrugged and opened my eyes again so I could survey the area around us. Game booths and trailers full of delicious, super fattening food were scattered everywhere. Scary looking carnival rides were in the center of the field.

"Let's go ride the Ferris wheel," I muttered. There wasn't much else to do and it was one of the only rides we hadn't gone on earlier in the day.

Roxas nodded and led the way. The line for the Ferris wheel actually wasn't that long, seeing that it was one of the more boring rides they had to offer, so we were climbing into the carriage and taking off over the field in a matter of minutes.

Being the smartass that he is, Roxas threw his arms into the air and let out a sarcastic scream when we were halfway to the top. "This is awesome!!" he shouted. "Wooo!! Good idea, Sora!"

I punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Shut up. At least we're not down there." I looked down at the crowd of people and shuttered. The line for the Ferris wheel had grown in length since we had gotten on. Too many people.

Roxas laughed. "Why are you so nervous about tight places anyway?" He leaned in close until my back was pressed into the wall. His smirking face was inches away from mine.

"Uh…shouldn't we talk first…?" I coughed, a sweat breaking out across my brow.

He laughed and shook his head. "Why talk when we can get straight to it?"

He started in on me slowly, the same smartass smirk on his face the entire time. I could feel his breath ghosting across my throat by the time I gathered my wits and shoved him away. He laughed and fell backwards into the opposite wall.

"You are way too easy to fuck with, Sora!" he choked through his laughter.

"Hey!! I thought you said you didn't want to have fun at my expense!" I pouted and glared at him.

He shrugged. "That was just too good to pass up." He sighed and wiped a tear from his eye. "But you never answered my question. How come you're so nervous about tight places?"

I shrugged. "Does it really matter? I'm claustrophobic. Oh no! The world's gonna come to an end!!" I put a hand on my forehead and pretended to faint.

Roxas laughed. "Did you forget that you're going to a party tonight? With music…and dancing on a crowded dance floor with lots and lots of horny, sweaty people? What're you gonna do if Riku asks you to dance or something. Are you gonna say no because you're a big scaredy cat?"

I rolled my eyes and punched him again, except not so playfully this time. I didn't care how many people were at the party, I was going to dance with Riku if he asked me to. What point would there be to go if I was just going to stand against a wall the entire night? I wasn't a wallflower. I had a date, and a very sexy one at that. And who knew how many real wallflowers were going to be fawning all over that sexy date at the party. I couldn't let that happen.

The Ferris wheel stopped briefly at the top before we made our decent and started down toward solid ground. I guess the operator knew that Roxas and I weren't dating and didn't need the extra time to swap spit at the top.

We wandered around for a little bit after that. We bumped into Kairi and Selphie and hung around with them for a bit. It was interesting. Selphie got on my nerves a bit with her incessant ramblings about nothing, but other than that, it was pretty fun. We played carnival games. I won a big, pastel green elephant in the ring toss game. Selphie pouted when I wouldn't give it to her (she'd played the game over thirty times during the course of the day and hadn't won anything), but I wanted to keep it for myself. Call it childish or girly or whatever, but I wanted to add a touch of something that was mine to the room Leon had given up for me.

Sooner than I could have imaged, five o'clock rolled around and Roxas and I said our goodbyes to the two girls. I didn't think that we needed three hours to get ready for the party, but Roxas said that it was better that we had extra time to lounge around than to be running around when Riku and Axel showed up. I have to admit that he did have a point. But before we left, Roxas pulled Kairi off to the side and had a small conversation with her. I saw her glance briefly at me while they were talking, but the glance was gone soon enough that I didn't pay any attention to it. After a couple of minutes, Roxas returned to my side and we left the town square.

Once Roxas and I were alone on the sidewalk, I decided that it was finally time for me to get some inside information on he and Axel's relationship. I had been patiently waiting for him to bring it up for long enough.

"Hey, Roxas…"

"Yeah."

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye with a furrowed brow. He was walking beside me with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets and a thoughtful look on his face. I sighed.

"What's going on between you and Axel?"

He froze for a minute but had already caught up his pace by the time I noticed. "There's nothing between us, why?"

I laughed. "Well…you were curled up in his lap when I woke in the hospital, for one. And you're all ooey-gooey one minute and throwing death rays at him the next. He really cares for you, I can tell. How can you say that nothing's going on?"

He sighed and shook his head. "You don't know the whole story, Sora."

"No, I do. I read it. Well…okay, so maybe I don't know the whole story, but I get the feeling that you're pissed off because he killed you, no matter what his reasons were. And you won't listen to him explain them." He opened his mouth to talk but I silenced him with a look. "I can tell just by looking at you that you care for him, maybe even love him, but you're too pigheaded to suck up the balls and talk to him."

"I never thought you'd be talking to me about getting the ba…guts to do something," he said with a laugh. I laughed too. I didn't fail to notice how he'd almost adopted my crude humor. "And maybe I will talk to him someday, just not now. I'm still pissed and hurt. It makes me wonder what he would have done if I hadn't have been dying."

I rolled my eyes. "You would have lived happily ever after and run along into the sunset holding hands, duh!"

He laughed. "And you and Riku? Have you read or remembered much about your time together?"

"I've read a bit, but my dreams are more vivid than anything I've read." I cursed my pale complexion as I felt a blush rising to my cheeks. "He's really sweet and kind in them. But I've been having the dream of him dying over and over again for the past week or so now."

"Do you remember what happened after that?"

"I think I dreamt about it," I muttered sadly.

He sighed. "You killed yourself. You were so distraught with grief over losing him that you jumped from a cliff." He sighed again. "But he never really died, Sora. He's a dark seraph. He was whisked off to some place in Kurai and taken care of, but they told us that he died because they wanted to get rid of us."

I opened my mouth to complain, but he silenced me by raising a hand.

"Though they cared for us in the beginning, we were nothing but a nuisance to the people of Kurai because we made their best warriors freeze when they caught sight of us in battle. You were seen as Riku's Achilles heel of sorts, and I was seen as the same for Axel…"

His voice trailed off until he finished in something that could barely constitute as a whisper. I cautiously glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and saw that the thoughtfulness on his face had given way to emptiness. His eyes were glazed over and unblinking.

"Roxas…" I whispered.

He shook his head and finally blinked, the action wiping some of the numbness out of his expression. "No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have broken the rules. I got so used to being able to talk to you about things that I let it slip out. I'm sorry."

"Shut up!" I muttered and elbowed him playfully in the side. "And don't go getting all blah and depressed on me now. We've got a party to get ready for, remember?"

He nodded weakly, and my halfhearted smile gave way to the frown it really wanted to be. This was going to be wonderful, I could just tell.

o-o-o-o-o

I had always bought my clothing with three simple rules in mind…

Rule number one: I refused to buy anything that was too preppy. If I put on the clothes and looked like I had just walked out of a shoot for Calvin Klein or something, the clothes went back on the shelf.

Rule number two: nothing too baggy. I didn't want anyone staring at my boxers all day. I had no self-esteem but I still had some dignity left and I wanted to keep it.

And rule number three: nothing too tight. I liked to breathe. Breathing meant that I was alive. If my pants were so tight that they restricted my movement…I most definitely wouldn't be able to breathe.

But Roxas seemed to be thinking otherwise. Though we had been together while shopping for the costumes, we hadn't tried anything on outside of the costumes in Horner Novelty. And those white leather pants definitely looked big enough when he'd held them up in the store, but now that they were on me… Let's just say I was just a little bit uncomfortable.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror with disgust, and not only because of the pants. I had yet to put my shirt on, which left pretty much nothing to the imagination because the pants were so damned tight. I had managed to gain some weight and I looked healthy, but the pale white scars that were scattered here and there across my flesh stood out like a sore thumb to me. It didn't help that my right forearm was still wrapped in the stupid bandage and would stay like that for the next few weeks.

Roxas laughed and pulled me from my thoughts. It took all of my willpower to not turn and glare at him. As it was, I was doing a pretty good job of glaring at him in the mirror.

"Don't be so uncomfortable, Sora. You look hot!"

I caught sight of his hand quickly moving down to smack my ass, but I turned and caught it before it could make contact. I pressed my back against the wall and crossed my arms across my chest.

"You are really starting to freak me out. First you try to kiss me on the Ferris wheel, and now you're trying to grope my ass…" I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Do you want me too or something?"

He shrugged and a suggestive look flashed across his eyes, but it quickly faded away as he broke down in laughter. He doubled over and pointed at me, his other arm held across his stomach.

I glared. "Fuck you."

"Yeah, no thanks," he said with one last laugh. He used his thumbs to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "Anyway, what's so wrong about what you're wearing anyway?"

"It's as tight as my freakin' skin, that's what's wrong!" I shouted.

He shrugged. "You'll be used to it by the time Riku and Axel get here."

Riku… Ah, yes. That's the reason why I was wearing these pants. At least, in Roxas' mind anyway. I sighed. My blonde best friend was the biggest walking contradiction I had ever seen and/or met in my life. He didn't want to go to the party with me because he was sure I would be off "fooling around with Riku," and then he buys me these leather pants that look like they're painted on because he was sure that I would go off and fool around with Riku.

I couldn't stop the smirk from forming on my lips as I thought of my own reason as to why I was wearing these pants. If I did end up going off to fool around with Riku (which I wouldn't), he would be alone with Axel in a black pair of the same leather pants. Gods knowing Axel, he would start humping Roxas' leg the moment Leon opened the door.

"Okay, that smile is creepy. You can stop anytime now."

I shrugged and grabbed the black button-down shirt from its place on the back of Leon's desk chair. I pulled it over my shoulders and quickly fixed the buttons. When I looked in the mirror this time, I could have gasped and vomited at the same time.

The look was preppy, yes, but there was enough of an emo touch to it that I could pull it off. The black shirt was tight across my chest, but it kind of flared out at my waistline. Thankfully, the sleeves were long enough and baggy enough to easily hide the bulky bandage on my arm. And the shirt contrasted perfectly with the white leather of the pants. I couldn't wait to slip into my boots and have the wings tied to my shoulders to complete the look.

Add the black eyeliner that Kairi was going to stop by and help us with in about an hour and it wasn't half bad. And I hated to admit that Roxas was right. The more I was in them, the easier it was to get used to moving around in the pants. I still hated them, though, just because of the fact that they made him smirk at me.

"What are you lookin' at?" I muttered.

He shrugged and smiled. "Oh…nothing too important."

I glared at him and started on the task of pulling on my boots. When they were all tied up, I straightened and watched Roxas with amusement as he pulled on his white button-down shirt. He'd already managed to squeeze into the pants and they looked just as painted onto him as mine did on me. They accentuated his feminine legs and the curve of his ass. I hoped that they looked at least half as good on me as they did on him.

"I'm gonna go sit with Leon and Cloud. Come out when you're done, okay?" I muttered.

He answered me with a grunt. I smiled and left him alone in the room to struggle with the rest of his wardrobe so I could at least spend some time with my brother before I had to leave. It felt strange to be around Leon so much, especially because I had barely seen him before. Though we lived in the same town, he was always so busy with classes at school that we couldn't see each other. Even now, he was at school or work more often than naught. Cloud was home more often and I really enjoyed spending random time with him.

Aside from the night on the couch, I hadn't been able to catch them in any kind of position that would prove my assumption that they were romantically involved. But that was about to change. It wasn't something big. They weren't making out or anything like that. They were just sitting awfully close together, too close for two guys that were "just friends." I froze for a second in the hallway and watched them with a smile on my face. Today was a great day, indeed.

I coughed slightly as I walked into the living room. Cloud jumped away quickly. I couldn't help but to laugh.

"You guys are so obvious!" I cried and pointed at them.

Cloud blushed and Leon glared. It only made me laugh that much harder. When I was finally able to catch my breath, I sighed and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"You're manic today," Leon muttered.

I smiled and shrugged. "Of course. What reason do I have to be sad? I'm going to a college party and my pants scream 'fuck me'!" I threw my hands into the air. "What could be better?"

Leon glared at me, and I noticed Cloud's eyes wander up and down my body. They both sighed and closed their eyes at the same time. When Cloud opened his eyes again, they wandered to the clock.

"Kairi should be here soon, huh?"

I nodded and checked the clock myself. It was six-thirty. "Yeah, in about half an hour. Riku and Axel will be here around eight."

"What's Roxas doing?" Leon grunted.

I laughed. "Getting dressed. He had to take time out to help me squeeze into these puppies," I slapped my ass, "so he's a little behind. I told him that I was going to spend some time with my brother and his lovely boyfriend."

Cloud blushed again and Leon rolled his eyes, moving closer to the blonde. Cloud shrank away from him at first but sighed and leaned against Leon after a sad look flashed across his steel-colored eyes.

"Aw, how cute!" I cooed and settled down into the couch next to Cloud.

"So it's a college party, huh?" Leon grunted. He didn't even attempt to hide the fact that he was trying to change the subject.

I nodded. "Yeah. It should be fun."

Leon sighed. "Just be careful, Sora. I don't want anything to happen to you. You don't need to be hurt again so soon."

"Meh…" I shrugged. "I think I can handle it."

I didn't fail to notice the way Leon's eyes flashed down my right forearm. His attention made it itch, but I knew not to touch it. Itching would only irritate the stitches and could cause the wounds to reopen and start bleeding again. I wasn't ready to return to the hospital so soon.

"Don't worry, Squall. I'll be fine. Riku, Roxas, and Axel will watch me like a hawk. I can feel their eyes burning into me whenever they're around as it is."

The older brunet rolled his eyes but kept silent. I smiled and pushed myself up from the couch to grab a drink from the fridge. I was parched and the Monster felt good as it ran down my throat. I hoped that it would give me an extra little boost so I could last the entire night without passing out on my feet. I had the tendency to be the lame-wad and get tired when things were just starting to get good. Roxas was finally leaving the bedroom when I walked back into the hallway and we went into the living room together, me secretly envying him the entire time.

To say that the outfit looked good on him would be an understatement. Just the pants, as described above, had transformed him into a living, breathing, walking wet dream. The shirt was loose, but tight enough to highlight the curves of his waist and spread of his chest. Like I said, I could only pray that the outfit looked as good on me as it did on him. We were built almost exactly the same, but low self-esteem kept me from thinking too highly of myself.

"Jesus. What are you two supposed to be? Man-whores?" Leon grumbled.

Roxas laughed and shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat, Squall…"

My brother growled as Roxas said his name, but let it slide. We had known Roxas since before Leon had decided to change his name. I couldn't help but wonder if he let Cloud call him Squall, or if he had to call him Leon like the rest as well. It was something I would have to ask about the next time we were alone.

"Just kidding, sour-puss," Roxas said. "You'll see when we get the rest of our costumes on when Kairi's done with all the frou frou stuff."

I almost choked on a mouthful of Monster. "Frou frou stuff?" Roxas nodded and I shook my head. "No. I trust her enough to let her put a pencil around my eye, but I won't let her do anything else."

Roxas laughed. "Don't worry. We're not gonna wear lipstick or anything. I just want to look a little more Halloween-ish and less preppy."

I sighed, giving in. Yes, less preppy would be good. But I was already enough out of my comfort zone with the stupid pants. How much further was I willing to go before I realized what I was doing? And would it be too late for me to back out when it happened?

o-o-o-o-o

"Geez, Sora. Stop blinking!"

"I can't help it," I whined and tried my hardest to keep my eyes from fluttering shut, but they seemed to be working of their own accord.

Kairi growled and pulled away from my face, freeing my eye from her grasp. The stick of black eyeliner was gripped tightly in her right hand; so tightly that I almost thought she was going to break it. But she didn't. After a second or two, she took a deep breath and I watched as the tension went out of her jaw and shoulders.

"Will you let me try one more time?"

I bit down on my lip and nodded. "Sorry. I just don't want you to poke me in the eye."

She laughed. "You have more of a chance of me poking you in the eye if you're blinking and moving than you do when you're perfectly still. It'll only take me a minute to get it on and right. Can you stay still for that long?"

I nodded and stared off into the distance as she started in on me again. I did as she had instructed earlier and stared at the ceiling while she brushed the tip of the pencil beneath my eye. I wanted to blink, but I resisted the urge by biting down harder on my lip and tapping my foot slightly. When she pulled away from my other eye with a satisfied sigh, I blinked away the tears as quickly as I could.

She laughed at me when I was finished and grabbed a tissue so she could wipe away the tears without messing up the eyeliner. I let her do it. I really didn't feel like being blinded again.

When she was done cleaning up the tears, she grabbed a brush and little, plastic, circle thing with black eye shadow in it. That was easier to deal with and she was done quickly. When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized myself.

"If your skin was a little paler, you'd look like you were dead," Roxas joked as I stood and let him take the seat.

"Yeah, and why am I always doing everything first? Am I your guinea pig or something?"

He shrugged and looked toward the ceiling as Kairi started the task of putting on his eyeliner. He had obviously sat through it before, though I don't know where. He didn't blink and didn't even fidget until she was done with the eye shadow. He smiled when he looked in the mirror.

"Awesome, Kai. Thanks."

She shrugged. "Anything for my two favorite gay, little emo boys."

Roxas laughed and glomped her. I sighed and shook my head. Yeah, our secret was out and had been for a while, apparently. According to Kairi, Hayner or someone had seen Riku and me together after school on a couple of instances and had caught us in the middle of a rather...um...affectionate moment on one of those occasions. How they had decided on Axel and Roxas was a complete mystery since it was hard enough for me to envision their relationship.

But the only thing that mattered was that no one cared. None of them looked down upon us or called us cruel names. And Kairi had finally backed off, realizing that not only was I taken but that I didn't even swing that way. That was relief, though I can admit that I missed the attention I used to get from her. Selfish, I know, but I couldn't help it.

"So you're gonna be rockin' the house at a college party, huh?" Kairi said as she sat cross-legged on the floor.

We both nodded and she laughed, but she had that look in her eye. I groaned mentally. Great. A preaching from the mother hen of all mother hens. How I loved listening to her worry.

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay, guys? Don't drink too much and don't leave your drink just sitting around. That's how girls are kidnapped, raped, and killed, you know? Horny bastards put drugs in their drinks and drag them off into the night."

I laughed. "Oh, no. Not ecstasy!" I said with mock horror, throwing my hands in the air.

"I'm serious, Sora!" she shouted. "Leon obviously trusts you guys so be good and don't make me worry too much."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Yesh, Mommy. Will we get a toy for being good?"

"Maybe. No Happy Meals if you're bad, though."

Roxas let out a sarcastic scream of horror and collapsed onto the ground. Leon came barreling through the door a few seconds later with a look of panic on his face. He looked back and forth between the two of us, his breathing rapid.

"What the hell was that?!"

I laughed. "Roxas was being Roxas. Loud. Overdramatic. Nothing out of the ordinary…"

Leon narrowed his eyes and glared at the blonde who was pushing himself back up into the seated position. "Dammit, Roxas! I thought something bad had happened."

He shrugged and tried on his best sheepish grin. "I'm sowwy, Weon."

But my brother was gone, the door slamming behind him on the way out. Roxas laughed and fell back onto the floor. I smiled. It was funny. I never thought that Leon would ever be so edgy. It kind of hurt knowing that it was mostly my fault, though. If I had never almost killed myself, he would be the way he was before, and I would still be at home with Mom and Bo. I hoped that she was taking care of him. I tried to convince Leon to bring him over, but animals weren't allowed in his apartment complex. It was crap. He had agreed but didn't want to risk getting kicked out. A large, hyperactive Black Lab wouldn't exactly be the easiest thing to hide.

"What time is it?" Roxas muttered.

Kairi checked her watch. "Seven-fifty-two or something like that. Riku and Axel are gonna be here at eight, right?"

I nodded, and she pushed herself up from the floor. She stretched her arms toward the ceiling and yawned.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to go, then."

She smiled and I felt my heart go out to her. She was probably going to spend the rest of the night with Selphie or something like that.

"No, thanks, Sora," she said, catching onto my thoughts in that creepy way she always managed to do. "I think I'd rather watch horror movies with Selphie all night this time. We'll hang out sometime soon."

I nodded and stood to give her a hug. She embraced Roxas as well, giving him her customary kiss on the cheek, before leaving. The room suddenly felt empty without her presence.

"Time to put on our wings," Roxas said and grabbed my pair from where they were laid out on the bed.

They were harder to get on than I thought they would be. I figured that they would just have little elastic straps for us to put our arms in, but noooo… They had to be complicated. They had long, silky smooth ropes that had to bewrapped around our shoulders and crossed across our back. When we were all fixed, the wings hung comfortably from our shoulders. The bows we tied to keep them in place were hidden in the mass of feathers at the center of the wings; the excess string dangled down obviously, but it didn't look bad.

The sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the house and I glanced at Roxas, the first tendrils of nervousness starting to tug at my stomach. He smiled at me and pulled open the door so I could leave first.

Leon had let Riku and Axel in by the time we made it to the living room. They were dressed the same, but the robes looked different on each of them. The tight black leather made the felineness of Axel's body stand out more than it ever had. On Riku, the outfit made his skin look like it was made of pearls and his eyes stood out like the finest pieces of turquoise in the world.

"Ah, so your man-whores who go to church?" Leon said with a roll of his eyes. "Couldn't that be considered sacrilege?"

I sighed. "We're not man-whores, Leon. We're…" I furrowed my brow as I tried to think of something to say.

"We're two halves of the same whole," Roxas finished. He was smiling at me when I looked at him.

I looked back at Leon and swear that I saw something in his eyes jump, but they quickly went back to their normal emotionless blue-grey. I knew what I saw, though. Had he caught some sense of recognition in the words? Was it possible that Leon was wrapped up in the whole Akari and Kurai business too? I would have to scream if he was because then anyone could be involved. Cloud and everyone else… Anyone of them could be like us.

"And what are the two of you?" Cloud asked from his place on the couch.

Axel laughed. "We're really not sure," he said, though something in his voice belied his words.

Cloud caught it as quickly as I did; I could tell by the way his eyes narrowed just slightly and how his jaw tensed as if in anger.

It was time to go. I wanted to get out of the apartment before anything else happened that made me uneasy and fidgety. Thankfully, Riku seemed to catch onto my edginess.

"Well, are you guys ready to go?"

I nodded and embraced Leon quickly. "We'll be back. Roxas is gonna stay here tonight so he doesn't have to worry about walking home in the dark, alright?"

He nodded and I let myself be whisked out the door by Riku. It only felt like seconds before the four of us were in his car and we were flying down the road. Roxas and Axel sat in the backseat, and I couldn't help but notice that—like Leon and Cloud—they were sitting awfully close together. It made me smile. I only hoped that they would at least relieve some of the tension between them tonight without breaking into a fight first.

Riku drove with his left hand so he could hold mine in his right and the gentle pressure he applied onto it pulled me back into reality. We sped by homes, then the homes turned into businesses as we moved nearer to downtown. The businesses turned into bars…

Riku pulled up in front of one of the bars and threw his car into park. I gazed up at the large sign that declared that the bar was being taken over by Organization XIII for their debut concert/Halloween party. I felt something lurch in my gut at the band's name. It was so familiar, yet I couldn't think of a reason why. I remembered Roxas mentioning that he had turned a couple of his poems into lyrics so a band could use them, but I couldn't remember the band's name. Was this it? Or was it some other reason? It felt like a combination of them both.

"We're here, children," Riku announced and climbed out of the car.

I mimicked him, quickly followed by Axel and Roxas as they climbed from the backseat. One of Roxas' wings almost got hooked on the seatbelt, but I quickly caught it and held it up so he could get out. It would really suck to ruin part of the costume before the party was even started.

But it sounded like it had already started. Fast-paced, techno beats poured from the walls of the building, making the street throb beneath my feet.

We started to toward the building together, but Riku grabbed my wrist and pulled me aside into the opening of an alleyway. Before I could have the chance to question him, his lips were on mine and I was melting into his embrace. He pulled away faster than I liked and smiled down at me.

"I brought you something you might recognize," he whispered.

I furrowed my brow. His smile stayed on his face as he stuck his hand in his pocket and brought it out in a fist. When he opened his hand, I almost gasped. Sitting in his open palm was a beautiful silver chain necklace. Glittering in the swirling mess was a very familiar crown pendant. I looked back and forth between him and the necklace for a couple of seconds before he laughed and carefully fixed it around my neck. I felt a surge of energy flow through my body when the pendant slipped under my shirt and connected with my skin, and I was suddenly energized and ready to go.

"Where did you find it?" I whispered in awe.

He smiled. "In my dresser drawer. I've had it for a long time now. I was just waiting for the right moment to give it to you."

I smiled and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Riku."

He laughed and kissed me tenderly between the eyes. "No problem. I'm just returning what's rightfully yours."

My smile grew, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the alleyway, toward the doors. A bouncer flanked either door, their arms crossed menacingly over their chests. Axel and Roxas stood to the side, waiting. Axel rolled his eyes when he saw us, but Roxas just smiled at me knowingly.

"They wouldn't let us in without the invitation, which is conveniently in your pocket," Axel muttered.

Riku shrugged and flashed the piece of paper at the two bouncers. They nodded curtly and let us through the doors.

It was pitch black at first, but when we walked through a layer of something that felt like lace as it drifted across my face, we were met with the sight of bright flashing lights and a dance floor full of sweaty people that gyrated to the loud music that poured from the speakers. A large stage was set up at the end of the dance floor. Guitars, microphones, a synthesizer, and a set of drums were set-up on the platform but I couldn't see the band.

"We've still got about fifteen minutes until they start," Riku shouted over the music.

I nodded and let my eyes wander over the crowd, suddenly starting to dread my decision to come to the party at all. There were so many people. I was starting to get dizzy just standing there.

I heard Roxas laugh beside me before he said: "Careful, Riku. He's claustrophobic. Don't let him pass out on you."

I glared at him as best as I could, which wasn't all that great in my beginning stages of panic. Riku squeezed my hand and shrugged. I looked up at him and smiled. When I looked back toward Roxas, he and Axel were gone. I looked into the crowd and could just barely see Axel's head of vivid hair weaving through it. I knew Roxas was gone with him.

"Wanna try at least one dance?"

I frowned as I surveyed the crowd again, but gave in with a shrug. What would one dance hurt? And if Riku sensed any discomfort coming from me, I knew that he would lead me away and to a place I could sit and calm down.

As Riku led me into the writhing crowd on the dance floor, I could feel the power in the pendant pulsing against my flesh.

TBC…
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A/N: Bleh… It took me forever to write this chapter. Like I said in my first A/N, I'm sorry if the beginning sucked. Actually, I'm sorry if the whole thing sucked. Heh heh. The only part I really liked about this chapter is the part where Kairi is helping them with their make-up (which is supposed to resemble Sora's make-up while in Halloweentown, btw). I like the end too. Sora's reunion with his necklace isn't for nothing. That little, silver crown is gonna play a big role soon…

To come:
the extent of Riku and Axel's secret is revealed…memories resurface…dates…awakening…

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I tried to reply to everyone last chapter, but all of my reviews and alerts were sent out of order when the bot was finally fixed, so I apologize if I missed anyone! I didn't do it on purpose, I promise!!! ::hugs::…

I apologize for any typos/grammar errors/whatever…I did edit this chapter, but knowing me there are probably still some typing errors...

Well then, until next chapter, adieu…