Italics indicate people's thoughts, mainly Kairi's.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 3: I'm Runnin' Back for More

Kairi opened the door to her house and stepped inside. The aroma of dinner filled her nostrils and she was instantly lured into the kitchen where her mother was waiting for her.

"Hey dear," her mother greeted, "how was your day today?"

"It was fine, mom," Kairi answered. "What are you cooking?"

"Oh nothing really, just a little recipe my mom taught me ages ago. I'm just trying to see if I remember it."

"Well whatever it is, it smells great."

Her mom smiled and turned back around to tend to the cooking. Kairi took this opportunity to run off to her room. She dropped her bag on the floor and belly-flopped on her bed. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine that boy, the one who used to hang out with her and Riku. With nothing doing, Kairi opened her eyes, rolled on her back, and was staring at the ceiling.

What is the deal? Argh, this is so frustrating. Why can't I remember him?

Kairi groaned and jumped out of her bed. She opened one of her desk cabinets and pulled out a pink, padlocked diary. After working the combination, she turned to a blank page and began jotting her thoughts down. She wrote about tomorrow's concert, the letter she sent, and about the mysterious boy. To tell you the truth, the majority of her diary entries were about that boy. She wrote down everything that reminded her of him. She tried to dissect them to find something/anything that would jog her memory. The results were negative. Nothing came up.

Kairi heard mom call for dinner. She locked up her diary and placed it back in the cabinet. Then she ran downstairs.

She grabbed a plate and sat across from her mother. Her mother placed a spoonful of food on Kairi's plate and told her to eat up. At first, Kairi tapped the food with her fork. She wasn't really hungry. She wanted to sleep more than anything else.

"What's wrong hun?" her mom asked, "Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really. I'm just really tired and plus I'm really nervous about tomorrow's concert," Kairi answered.

"I see. Well at least try to eat a little bit. I don't want you to go to bed without something in your stomach," her mother said. "Sleeping without eating isn't healthy." (A/N: My mom says that a lot) She knew Kairi wasn't feeling like herself lately. Call it a mother's intuition, but she knew something just wasn't right. Kairi's smile wasn't as cheery as it used to be.

"May I be excused?" Kairi asked. Her mother eyed her plate and saw that it was nearly empty (so much for not being hungry). Only scraps and bit and pieces remained. She gave Kairi a small smile and nodded her head. Once Kairi was gone, her mother put the plate in the sink and shook her head. I hope my baby is going to be alright.

Once in her room, Kairi slipped into her pink princess pajamas and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. After her sleeping preparations were complete, she turned off the light and slid under her covers to get some shut eye. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

The following day, Kairi awoke to birds chirping. The sun was shining though her room and illuminated her surroundings. Kairi sat up, rubbed her eyes, and checked her clock. Great, it's only 8:30. The concert's at 6pm. I have the whole day to myself.

She hopped out of bed and stepped into the bathroom to tidy herself up. She zipped back into her room and pulled out a pink outfit which looked like a mini-dress with zippers and a black belt for style points. (A/N: I hope I described it fairly correctly. It's hard being a guy and having to describe women's clothing.) She ran down the flights of stairs and headed into the kitchen to eat breakfast. After that she slipped on her shoes and was just about to head out the door.

"Mom," she called out, "I'm heading out. I'll be back later on."

"That's fine Kairi. Make sure you come back early because your concert is tonight," her mother warned.

With that being said, Kairi stepped outside and walked down the steps of her porch. She looked around, figuring out where to go. She looked out toward the island and let out a sigh. She wanted to go there but she couldn't. She had to remember first. Then it hit her, probably he answered her letter and wrote back. She headed toward the beach and stood at the exact spot she was in yesterday. She checked for the bottle but she couldn't find it.

Huh, it's probably not here yet. I guess I can wait a little bit longer.

Kairi's wait was soon interrupted when Tidus showed up next to her.

"Hey Kairi," he greeted, a smile plastered on his face, "what's up?"

"Oh, hey, Tidus," Kairi replied. "I'm just doing some thinking."

"Yeah? About what?" Tidus asked.

"Nothing really," she answered back.

"Well if you're not too busy, the group is going out to eat lunch at Islands. Hopefully you can come," Tidus said.

The idea sounded quite good to Kairi and since nothing was going on at the moment, (the bottle hasn't arrived yet), lunch sounded swell.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be able to make it."

"Alright, that's great. We'll be meeting there around one o'clock. I'll see you there." Tidus slipped his hands in his pockets and strolled off.

Lunch at Islands

"Hey Kairi," Wakka said waving his hands in the air to get her attention. Everyone was already here making Kairi the last to show up. "Our table's over here." Wakka led her to the table at the far end of the restaurant where Tidus and Selphie were looking at the menu. Kairi took a seat next to Selphie.

"Glad you can make it Kairi," Tidus said from across the table.

"Yeah," Selphie added, "It's a good thing you're here. I thought I was going to be the only girl here."

Kairi let a small laugh and opened her menu. She flipped to the burger/sandwiches section. The Tropic Sandwich looked really good but the Island Burger with a slice of pineapple stuck in the middle looked just as appetizing. After a few minutes of contemplating, she decided to go for the Island Burger. Tidus ended up getting fish and chips. Wakka ordered the pot roast melt, and Selphie got the grilled salmon filet.

"So Kairi," Wakka started, "The concert's tonight, ya. You ready?"

"I guess. I mean, we practiced really hard so I'm guessing everything will turn out ok."

"We're all going," Selphie added, "we'll be there to support you."

"Thanks guys."

After lunch, Wakka and Tidus decided to head to the arcade across the street, leaving the girls by themselves.

"Well, Kairi, what do you want to do now?"

"I was going to head to the beach to see if he sent something back."

"Oh, you mean, he didn't get it yet?"

"No, I don't know if he did. I checked this morning but it wasn't there."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I keep getting this feeling that the bottle is back already. I don't want to miss it."

"I'll go with you then."

The girls made it to the beach with ample time to spare. They scanned the coastline but the bottle was nowhere in sight. Kairi felt her heart drop; she couldn't take it anymore. Why is it taking so long?

"Hey Kairi," Selphie said, shaking Kairi from her thoughts, "I don't think it's here yet. You should probably try again tomorrow."

"Yeah. Well anyways thanks for your help."

Kairi headed home to get ready for the concert. She hopped into the shower while her mom laid out her clothes on the bed. Kairi got out, dried her hair, and wrapped a towel around her body before stepping out. Once in her room, she changed into her concert attire: a white dress shirt, (A/N: Do girls wear dress shirts?), a black skirt that ran a few inches above her knees, and a black jacket to keep her warm.

"Kairi, I'll be waiting in the car for you. Don't take too long. I want to get good seats," her mom called from downstairs.

Kairi hustled downstairs and pulled out her black shoes. She laced them on and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Everything was set. She locked the door and jumped in the car.

The concert went off without a hitch. No windows were shattered and everyone loved the performance. This concert was probably one of the best in a while.

Kairi exited the auditorium and was waiting at the bottom of the steps for her mom to bring the car around. However, she was suddenly stopped by a loud shriek.

"Kairi! You were a-ma-zing," Selphie squealed at the top of lungs. She gripped Kairi in a deathly bear hug.

"Ouch. Thanks a lot," Kairi said, feeling her body go numb. "Selphie, you can let go now, you're killing me."

"Oh haha. Sorry."

"Yeah man, great job," congratulated Wakka, "you guys were great up there, ya know."

"It was definitely better than the last concert," Tidus remarked. A small chuckle escaped his mouth as he recalled last semester's event.

"Mrs. Stephens was really happy too. I don't think she'd be able to live with herself if something went wrong tonight," Kairi stated.

Kairi's mom pulled up and Kairi gave her friends a wave goodbye before stepping into the car.

"Hunny, you were great up there. I am so proud of you."

"Gee, thanks mom. I'm just glad it's over with."

Once at home, Kairi changed into her nighties and went to bed. Hopefully she would have better luck tomorrow.

Everyday I watch the tide roll in
Stay until it rolls away
Though nothin's on the shore
I'm runnin' back for more

Ha. Well this is the end of chapter 3. Four will be up soon and I'm currently working on it as we speak. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this fic so far.

Rock out, party hard, live hardcore