Pre A/N: So I was at home and I thought… Well. What the hell. This chapter has been rotting on my computer for MONTHS by now – and I'm not sure why. So I thought: "Hey, if there's a chance someone out there will enjoy it, why not post?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom hearts or any of its characters. This is the last time I'm doing a disclaimer becauseif you haven't gotten the message by now, frankly, you're retarded. XD
Winning in Third Place
Chapter 2
Riku jerked into consciousness, flying up from the tangle of his bed sheets and yelping as the immense hangover from last night caught up with him and pounded itself into his skull. Groaning, Riku collapsed back into his pillows and cradled his throbbing temples. Groggily he wiped a large amount of dribble from his chin and sputtered, "I'm never drinking again."
The phone rang. That must have been what had woken him up. Riku flopped out of his bed and shimmied across his carpet, without standing he groped the small end table next to his lounge chair and grabbed the phone, he pressed the light green 'talk' button and grumbled into the receiver, "What?"
Static rumbled on the other line before Riku heard Sora's detached voice, "Riku? RIKU! Where did you go last night? Kairi and I were looking all over for you!" Riku didn't reply; he didn't quite feel like enlightening Sora about the wonders of curling up to your toilet for three hours straight. "You really had us worried," the younger boy continued.
"Sora," Riku slurred into the phone. "What time is it?"
The other line remained quite for a moment before Sora answered. "Well, my watch says is nine forty-three." There was no mistaking the sheepish tone of his voice.
The white-haired teen let his jaw drop open, "What? Sora, you were completely hammered last night. How are you even awake right now?" And more importantly to Riku, why was his stupid friend keeping him awake, too.
"Well, last night when I got home my head really hurt so I went to get some aspirins, but instead I found this really great hangover stuff and I took a few and now I feel great!" Sora spoke the full sentence in one breath before huffing and adding, "Oh! And I think they have caffeine in them too because I mean WOW! I feel like running a marathon!" Riku blinked and pulled the phone away from his face, checking to make sure the bubbly voice on the other line really was his best friend. He listened as static rumbled from the phone and Sora's voice was carried to his ears. "Yeah, so I was lying around and watching T.V. when I remembered that the ice-cream truck comes down our street at ten; want to come and get something with me?" his friend asked.
"Not really…" Riku replied, letting his body sag back into his wonderfully fluffy shag carpet and nearly passing out then and there.
"Please!!!!!!!" Sora hitched his voice up a pitch and penetrated Riku's hazy mind. "We used to get ice-cream all the time when we were younger! Remember?"
The older teen grunted into the phone and buried his face in the carpet, enjoying the feel of the coarse threads against his cheeks. "Will you hang up the phone and let me sleep for another fifteen minutes if I go?" He asked, words distorted by the fabric under his face.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I'm hanging up right now and I'll drop by your place in fifteen!" Sora made a disturbingly high-pitched squeak right before the line went dead. Riku dropped the phone without bothering to turn it off and yawned as he snuggled into the carpet, letting his head rest on his forearms. The boy was reasonably sure he was dressed, though in truth he didn't care considering no one was awake before noon on his street. With that thought in mind Riku inhaled and let his eyes flutter closed.
What felt like five seconds later, the annoying voice Riku had just gotten rid of was trying to penetrate his skull again. "Riiiku! Wake up already!" the sixteen-year-old furrowed his brow as what felt like the toe of a tennis shoe buried itself between his ribs. He grunted and rolled over, forcing his eyes open and grimacing as sunlight flooded his senses. Sora stood next to him, a goofy grin lighting his features as he bent forward and continued to nudge Riku with his foot. "C'mon man, if you don't hurry up we won't be able to get any ice-cream." Riku didn't even want ice-cream, but he still grabbed the hand Sora had offered and used it as leverage to pull himself off the floor.
Moments later Riku found himself being pulled through the door of his room and out of his house. He sluggishly moved his feet in rhythm with Sora's as colors bled by his peripheral vision and made him dizzy. Riku trained his eyes on the concrete and watched it speed by while the younger boy pulled him into the street with disturbing ease. As abruptly as he'd started Sora halted, forcing a surprised and slightly disoriented Riku to slam into his back. "Umph!" he groaned as he wrenched his hand from Sora's and sneered, "Give me some warning next time." The younger boy only nodded before concentrating on the large white truck that was approaching them from down the street. Riku could hear the soft chiming melody that sounded from the horn atop the truck, as a child he had looked forward to this song every morning. A nostalgic happiness laced through his chest as the truck stopped in front of them.
The driver of the truck looked morbidly obese as he lumbered from his chair and shuffled into the refrigerated part of the car where the ice-cream was. An instant later he hiked up the small aluminum flap on the side and let the two boys consult a menu of flavors. "What'll it be?"
Sora's eyes gleamed as he inspected his options. He hadn't changed at all, except now Riku didn't have to pick him up so he could see over the counter. "I'm thinking chocolate," a smug smile filtered over his features, "and make it a double."
"Ohh! Aren't you being adventurous?" Riku said sarcastically before looking up at the heavy man and ordering a single dipped vanilla cone. The man scrapped their ice-cream out from two different boxes and then handed it to them. Sora grudgingly paid for both and the boys watched as the truck restarted its child-friendly theme and plodded down the road.
They stood awkwardly for a moment before Sora spun towards his friend and exclaimed, "Wanna go eat on the dock like we used to?" the boy didn't wait for an answer as he swung in the direction of the beach and started off. Riku shook his head and followed.
The two erupted from the trees and stumbled into the sand, Sora in the lead and Riku following behind. The younger of the two held his cone lovingly as he yelled over her should, "I bet I can get there faster then you!" he started running at full speed towards the rickety wooden dock they had spent so many days on. Riku scoffed at the challenge and doubled his speed, intent of putting his smaller friend to shame. Neck and neck, the platinum haired boy stuck his tongue out and took the lead, leaving Sora to sputter and force his muscles into over-drive. "Don't think it'll be that easy!" he yelled as he sprang from behind Riku to in front of him with ease, "Eat my dust!" the boy added as they both clattered up the wooden steps. Riku pushed forward at the last second and the boys lurched onto the first plank of the deck together. "I win," Sora said, his chest heaving as he gulped down a lungful of the salty tropical air.
"It was a tie." Riku gasped, his own chest burning as he tried to breathe evenly. Sora snorted indignantly and began to amble towards the end of the dock. The friends sat down together, letting their legs hang off the side and swing in the open air. "This brings back memories…" Riku thought out loud, bringing his cone to his lips and licking at the sweet vanilla scoop. Sora nodded, letting his own tongue wander over the creamy chocolate mound he held. The summer heat floated around them and began to prematurely melt their frozen treats into sticky messes. Riku held his cone carefully, making sure the lightly colored dribbles of ice-cream did not manage to drip onto his fingers where it would inevitably dry and make everything stick to him.
Sora apparently didn't think so far ahead. He held the cone in his fist and tried to catch the drips of chocolate with his mouth before they hit his hand; whenever he missed he merely licked the sticky substance off his fingers before it could dry. Riku took a bite from his cone, chewing it appreciatively as he watched Sora entertaining himself with his silly little game. The older teen swallowed and stated, "You look stupid doing that," making the other pause, his coral pink tongue still touching his thumb. Azure eyes trained onto Riku's face, as if searching for something under his skin, but only managing to make the boy thoroughly uncomfortable. Riku turned away after a second and cast his gaze towards the horizon; he watched Sora shrug from his peripheral vision before the boy went back to lapping chocolate off his fingers.
Things were quite as Riku munched on his cone and Sora made a mess of himself; they both enjoyed the warmth of the sun as it spread through the sky and sparkled over the aqua waves. The younger boy finally finished his cone; he sucked on each of his fingers before wiping his cheeks on the back of his hands to make sure all excess splotches of chocolate were removed. After his grooming session Sora turned to his friend, the same examining look twinkling in his eyes. Riku, who had managed to keep his ice-cream from getting everywhere, did not acknowledge that he could see the younger boy staring at him; something about the way Sora was gauging him put him on edge. Finally the brunette cleared his throat, forcing Riku to glance at him. The calculating glint was still there.
"I wanted to tell you…" Sora's voice sounded strained as he let his head sag into his chest. Riku's throat seized up. His legs suddenly felt like chunks of lead swinging over the ocean. Everything about this moment sent warning sirens off throughout his body. He knew that tone of voice; that was the tone Sora had used two years ago when his mother had been considering moving in land, it was the same tone as when he had ruefully informed Riku that he was going to be moved into AP classes, it was the voice he used every time something was coming between their friendship. The older boy was so busy panicking he almost missed his friends next words; "Kairi and I are going out."
Oh. So that was it.
Riku didn't understand why Sora was sounding so strained if that was all, without thinking he hopped from his place on the dock and shouted gleefully, "That great Sora!" anything to wipe that distressed look off of the normally happy-go-lucky boy's face. Sora looked shocked for a moment before a smile carved into his features.
"You mean it? You're not mad?" the brunette questioned, watching as Riku plopped back onto the dock and swung his legs over the side.
"Why would I be mad?" Riku asked, furrowing his brow in true curiosity.
Sora flushed, "Well, you know…" he intertwined his fingers in his lap and watched them intently, "With you and your girlfriend breaking up… you've seemed really off lately and I was just thinking you might get angry."
That didn't make any sense, but Riku nodded anyways. "Well, I'm not. You've wanted to ask Kairi out for a long time," he punched Sora playfully in the arm, "It's about time you got a girlfriend."
The brunette went even redder, if possible. He nudged Riku back before returning his gaze to the horizon, "Well, that's a load of my chest." Riku nodded, suddenly wishing he had gotten a double scoop so he had something to chew on. He let his gaze wander past Sora and over the ocean, the magnetic pull of its tides holding his attention so intimately that he didn't notice his friend stand until the boy was walking away and saying, "I promised Kairi I'd meet her for lunch, catch 'ya later."
'Later indeed.' Riku thought, the sour feeling from last night lacing through his chest as he watched the tide; he was going to be the third wheel from now on.
"What are your policies on sex?"
Sora and Kairi had met at the local Smoothie Shop. They sat in a secluded area at a small round table and sipped their drinks while discussing the different boundaries of their relationship. Sora had been at ease with the conversation up until Kairi had asked that particular question and sent him into sputtering speechlessness. Once he had recovered some of his literacy the boy sheepishly wiped up drops of the smoothie he had spit on the table and stuttered, "S-sex?" he paused to gulp the lump in his throat down, "Why?"
Kairi flushed, color staining her cheeks and spreading all the way to her roots until she resembled her strawberry drink. "Well," she stuffed the tip of her straw into her mouth and nipped at it thoughtfully, "We're just, you know, at that age, and I wanted to know how you felt about it." At Sora's awestruck face she quickly added, "W-we don't have to do it, I mean, just…" the girl was positively glowing.
Sora sipped at his own vanilla chocolate swirled shake as a million different thoughts swarmed his brain at once. What if this was some kind of test, or a girl thing where if he answered wrong she'd dump him. What if she was serious, what happened if she wanted to do it; did they jump in bed together with even going on a proper diner-date? Sora suddenly wished he had asked Riku to come along; his older friend would know the answer, he knew everything. The brunette quickly reprimanded himself, if he had asked Riku along Kairi never would have brought sex up: threes a crowd. "I… don't know. I've never really thought about it." Okay, that was a lie. Sora might be more innocent then most guys his age, but he was still a fifteen-year-old boy. He had entertained more then his fair share of fantasies about his redheaded friend - no, girlfriend. The word sent butterflies through his stomach.
"Oh, that's… cool. So, where do you want to go for lunch?" Kairi asked, gripping a stand of her cherry hair and twirling it around her fingers.
"Somewhere with lots of people…" Sora muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing!" the brunette slurped the last drops of his drink down and grinned comically.
Sora knocked anxiously on the rich oak stained front door of Riku's house. No answer, but that wouldn't deter him. More knocking, more waiting, and what felt like eons later the door squeaked open and Sora came face to face with his friend's frazzled looking mother. She wore a bath robe and her hair was in curlers; it was obvious she'd been up reading by the small paper back book she held at her side. Her worried expression turned to one of confusion and anger as she recognized the abnormally spiky head of her son's best-friend.
"Can I see Riku?" Sora didn't waste any time, he was on a mission.
Riku's mother looked back into the house; probably at the large wall-clock they have hanging in their entryway. "Sora, do you know what time it is?" She's easy to predict. Typical house-wife and full-time-mother, Sora had always liked her, she's the complete opposite of his own mother; a work-o-holic who comes home once a week and was the current reason Sora so desperately needed to see his best friend.
"It's twelve-fifteen. I know it's late but this is urgent."
She didn't miss the note of hysteria in his voice. Without argument she opened the door and stepped back, "I want you gone by twelve-thirty… and tell Riku to go to bed once you leave." Sora nodded and turned to thank her, instead catching sight of her book's cover: a shirtless man who looked disturbingly like Fabio cradling a naked dark haired beauty into his exposed chest. Immediately his conversation with Kairi sprang into mind, and instead of thanking her he rushed down the hallway and into Riku's room.
"Why is everyone so obsessed with sex?" Sora asked as he pulled the door open and stepped inside. He let the train of thought briefly distract him from the news his mother had given him; people really were going crazy. Riku… Kairi… it was like some kind of procreative disease was taking over everyone around him. Riku was lying on his bed and flipping through a magazine, the moment Sora burst through the door he gave out a surprised squeak and flipped off the bed, dragging his magazine with him and stuffing it behind his back.
"Why are you here?" he yelped, Sora didn't fail to notice that Riku was trying to discreetly shove the magazine under his butt.
"Wha'd'ya got there, Riku?" he asked, a suggestive grin melting over his features like butter. Of course, Sora already knew what it is; Riku steals from his father's Playboy collection every now and then, but its still fun to watch the ashamed blush that blotches over his friend's cheekbones when he gets caught. "Wow, people really are obsessed, huh?" he added salt to the wound.
"Seriously, why are you here…" Riku expertly changed the topic; you wouldn't have known he was embarrassed at all if it wasn't for the slight coloration of his otherwise perfect creamy cheeks.
As entertaining making fun of Riku was, Sora had bigger fish to fry. "My mom called, 'says she has to go on a business trip and that I've got to go with her." He flushed, "Apparently I'm not responsible enough to stay home. But…" he sent Riku a desperate glance, "You know how much I hate going on trips with her… and she said the only way I can possible stay is to convince your parents to let me stay here." Riku's head snapped up at that, he stared at Sora with a comical expression over his features until finally saying,
"You want to stayhere? Sorry buddy, but I don't think I can stand your company for any lengthened period of time." Plus you're a bed-hog, he added mentally. Sora pushed his lower lip out an imitated a pout before skipping across the room and literally jumping on his seated friend.
"Please! I'll be good, I promise!" Sora then threw his arms around his shocked friend's neck and added, "Super good! I'll clean your room and everything!"
"Tempting…" Riku said sarcastically while trying to untangle himself from the mess of limbs that he passed off as a best friend. After being poked in the eye twice by flailing body parts, Riku lost his patience, "Get off me!" He yelled and shoved at Sora's chest.
"Not until you promise to ask you mom!" the brunette replied, tightening his grip around the older boy's neck.
"Fine! Jesus, I can't breathe Sora!" Satisfied, Sora released his death grip from Riku's neck and scuttled across the carpet just in time to avoid the fist Riku sent after him. Sora collapsed onto the carpet and sent a glance at his silently fuming friend. Riku's face scrunched up in curiosity before he looked back at Sora and asked, "About that sex comment… What did you mean?"
Sora shot up from the carpet, eyes snapping open as he bounced to his feet and yelped, "Oh my god!" He waved his arms around energetically, "I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you!" the brunette jumped back towards Riku and stopped seconds from impact, instead bending down and staring his friend straight in the eye. "When I went to lunch with Kairi… She asked me my views on sex." Sora squatted back onto the carpet and slouched slightly, "It was mortifying, I had no idea what to say…" azure eyes traveled up to Riku's face, "I kept wishing I could call and ask you what to do." He placed the tip of his thumb between his lips and gnawed on the nail; a nervous habit he'd never outgrown. "Was it some kind of girl-test?"
"I don't know," Riku replied casually, locking his arms behind his head and leaning back, "Did she tell you what she thought about it?"
Sora shrugged, continuing to nibble his nail, "All she said was that we're 'at that age'."
"And what'd you say?" the older of the two asked, not bothering to open his eyes.
"I don't know; it was all a blur."
"Well, it sounds to me like she wants to if you do," Riku said, opening one aquamarine eye to watch in satisfaction as a scarlet blush sprang to Sora's cheeks and made him resemble a strawberry. The brunette buried his face in his hands and mumbled,
"I-I can't do that, I don't even know how to kiss so how the hell am I supposed to…" the rest of his sentence was too smothered by his hands to be comprehensible.
Riku stared quizzically at his friend, prompting the flushed boy to glance up, "What do you mean 'I don't know how to kiss'? I've seen you and Kairi kiss before, and you looked like you were doing just fine to me."
Sora dropped his face back into his hands, "Every time I've kissed her I've been drunk, I never remember a thing besides what you tell me…" He suddenly lifted his face slightly and stared in horror at his hands, "Oh my god! What do I do with my hands?!" the brunette cradled his head and rocked back and forth repeating, "I'm so screwed, I'm so screwed…"
Riku raised an eyebrow and resisted the incredibly tempting urge to say, you're so NOT screwed with that attitude. Even he had enough common sense not to stress his smaller friend out any more. "It's okay… Just ask Kairi to teach you-"
"NO!!" Sora screeched, dropping his arms from his head and shuffling onto his knees, "When I kiss her, I want her to be awed… Not to have to tell me what to do." He sighed, "That's just embarrassing."
"Okay, plan B." Riku said, running an inquisitive finger back and forth over his jaw. "Just ask a friend to teach you!"
"A... Friend…" Sora repeated incredulously.
The older teen drew his eyebrows together as if in deep thought before saying, "Yeah, a friend. You know; someone you'd be comfortable with."
Sora's stomach knotted itself together, clenching involuntarily as an array of emotions filtered through him at once. Was Riku… offering? 'No. Riku would never do that…' Would he? Sora fell back into the carpet and watched Riku closely, no hints of a blush, no awkward movements, nothing. He looked as if they had been talking about the weather instead of something intensely personal.
Someone I'm comfortable with…
But…
"I…" Sora began, butterflies squirming throughout his entire body. "I-"
"Sora." Riku's mother was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and her fluffy pink bathrobe slightly opened to reveal green pajamas. Sora's heart leapt into his throat, had she heard their conversation? "Its twelve thirty-three and you're still in my house." He took a moment to thank god.
"Right…" the spiky haired boy struggled to his feet and glanced back down at Riku, he was still leaning back against his bed and watching Sora with a foreign expression on his face. "Don't forget to ask." He reminded before walking towards the door, he stepped through and continued down the hallway without saying goodbye. As Sora opened the familiar oak front door, one thought circled through his mind.
The only person I'm comfortable with…
Is Riku.
Post A/N: AHHH! I seriously thought I would never finish this chapter. But Yay! We're finally uncovering bits of the plot, so clap for yourself if you've made it through my incredibly boring framework chapters! The real story (not that there's much of one) begins in the next chapter, so be happy!
Okay, I completely hate this chapter with every fiber of my being! Its pure evil and needs to be hit with a large wooden pole. The only things I even SLIGHTLY like are the last two lines, because they were a thrill to write and imagine. So yes, Questions to ask yourself while you wait for the next chapter:
#1 – Was Riku actually offering to teach Sora to kiss?
#2 – If so, Will Sora take him up on that offer?!
#3 – What's up with
the Sora and Kairi relationship?
#4 - Why the heck is this insane
author giving us weird questions to think about??
OKAY! Until next time.
(If I actually find my muse!!)
