I continued staring down the path she had taken back home, wishing I could will her back to me for even just a second or two more. A handful of cold water smacked across my face and I spluttered. Riku was sitting there looking super smug again. As if he even did anything! Well...I suppose I can at least give him credit for keeping Selphie at bay. That couldn't have been easy.
I wasn't really even sure what to say. Everything felt so unreal around me, like I was walking around in that fuzzy stupor after too long of a nap. Except...better.
Riku cleared his throat to try and get my attention again. "Smile any wider and you'll give yourself a headache."
"I can't help it..."
He yanked me backwards by my hood and I dropped down to the dock next to him.
"I'd ask you how it was, but you'll probably just end up rattling off every single synonym for fantastic until I stop you."
"It was more than fantastic..." I breathed out, flopping down on my back, arms stretched up above my head. "Why did it take me so long to do that!? All that time I wasted..."
"I have no idea. You're a total mystery sometimes."
It must have been written so obviously on my face when we finally brought our boats back up here and met up with him again. I didn't even have to say anything before Riku had already jumped on me to teasingly wrestle me around. I'm glad he seemed genuinely happy about it, too.
Laughter just bubbled up from inside of me and I couldn't stop it. I could still remember how she felt: so soft and warm, slightly wet...but in a completely good way, all saturated with her flowery intoxicating scent that poured into me, hypnotizing me. I thought if I just kissed her once it would relieve that urge to get closer to her, but it felt hungrier than ever now.
I needed more.
I needed more of her indescribable sweet, yet slightly tart taste on my tongue. The light tickle of her hair against my face, her breath warm against my cheek, when she giggles against me and I can feel it through my whole body…
Everything about it felt good. Really good.
Another handful of water splashed down onto my face. Some went up my nose this time and I spluttered, sitting up to cough it out.
"Come on, lover boy. It's getting late. If you're just going to lay there daydreaming I'm going to go home."
I sighed, turning my eyes back to where Kairi no longer was. "Sorry..."
He laughed and clumped me on the back for at least the fifth time tonight. "I suppose I can give you a pass tonight. Though, I do have one question."
"Hm?"
"If anyone asks, am I allowed to say that you're dating, now?"
I felt that bubbling happiness swelling back up inside of me. "Yeah...yeah, I guess we are!"
"Don't get too excited. Having a girlfriend is going to be a lot of work."
"I don't even care! It's the best work." I jumped to my feet and felt like I had so much extra energy I had to spin in another circle.
"You say that now..."
He's probably just jealous that I've got to experience all the joy that a kiss could be. I gave him a sneaky smile and knew immediately he figured out what I was thinking.
He shoved me away from him, trying hard not to smile himself. "You'd better appreciate how lucky you are to have a girl like her."
I crossed my heart solemnly with my finger. "Trust me, I know!"
"Don't mess it up." His tone all at once was quite serious, his eyes flashing at me dangerously.
I faltered, not expecting the sudden shift at all. "R-right…"
"I mean it, Sora. You'd better be good to her. Don't do anything stupid."
His protective side was showing. I just shook my head and gave him a shove back. "Hey, come on. It's me!"
"...yeah, exactly the problem."
I narrowed my eyes and puffed out a blast of air at his face indignantly. He ruffled my hair in response.
"In all honesty, I'm both relieved she picked you, but I can't help but still be a little...concerned because of that, too."
"Uh-huh...and what's that supposed to mean, exactly?"
He stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Before you get too insulted: I'd much rather her date you than anyone else. You two are a good fit. I know you'll give her the respect and care she deserves, and she's got the right saintly patience to deal with your crap. Besides, if you do mess anything up I know I can always kick your butt."
"Hey!"
"But I am concerned because, let's face it, you kind of just stumble your way through things most of the time. And things are no doubt going to get complicated now and again."
I frowned. "Great pep talk..."
"I'm not trying to discourage you. Just so we're clear: if a problem does happen, I'll do what I can to help."
"You always do!"
His eyes flashed at me again. "Sora, that doesn't mean I'll necessarily be able to fix it. That's why I need you to be extra careful. I don't want you two falling apart over this."
I knew he meant well, but I couldn't help but feel like he was being a little ridiculous. What could possibly happen? "Riku, I'm glad you're looking out for us. I'm definitely going to take this seriously. When it comes to her, she's..."
He followed my eyes and we both began to stare in the direction of her house. "I know. I'm not doubting you. I just thought it needed to be said."
"Besides, even if dating her doesn't work out, she'll always be my friend."
He laughed, to my relief. At least he wasn't being all weirdly threatening anymore. "Coming from you, I don't doubt that." He gestured with his thumb in the direction of his own place. "Were you going to sleep over tonight?"
"Nah, I should go home...my mom's probably worried."
"Are you going to tell her?"
I tipped my head back and forth. "Well...you know how she is about keeping secrets..."
"Yeah, she's worse than you."
"So...I'm going to try to keep it quiet for at least a few days. Until we can tell Kairi's parents at least."
Riku scoffed. "...we? Good luck with that one. Doesn't her mom freak you out? Why not let her just do it?"
"I dunno. I just felt like I should be there..."
He rolled his eyes and started off down the path. "It's not like you're getting married..."
"That's exactly what she said! I just don't see what's wrong with wanting to give a good impression." I mean, what could it hurt, right? Something about hiding from it and making Kairi deal with telling them just felt...wrong. Her dad was already crazy protective as it is. And I know he always preferred Riku over me...
I was hoping maybe if I told them myself I could get at least a few points in their favor.
"Sora, they already know you pretty well. I mean, remember the time you ate too much cotton candy after the school festival and got sick in their-"
"Whoa! Stop! Why would you remind me of that!?" I smacked my hand into my face. I really regret that day. So, so much.
"But I suppose it would show them you are taking things seriously."
"Exactly!"
"Alright, then. I'll make sure to keep it under wraps at my house then, as well."
I knew he'd have my back with this, as irrational as I am sometimes. "Thanks."
"But you'd better act fast. I doubt Selphie is going to keep her mouth shut long."
Speaking of Selphie, I never did get a chance to see her tonight. She was already gone by the time Kairi and I got back to the mainland. It made me almost wonder how Riku had managed to scare her off. "What did you two talk about today, anyway?"
He waved his arm dismissively. "Not much. I mostly had to keep wrestling her binoculars away. Got another earful about what a jerk I am, too."
He was joking about it, but I could tell he still felt really bad about everything that happened. Hopefully it doesn't take as long as usual for him to forgive himself. I hate seeing him so miserable, but his humility borders on infuriating sometimes. We started drawing closer to where our paths split and I slowed, feeling a bit apprehensive about leaving him. Maybe I really should just stay over at his house tonight. Part of me felt super guilty that she chose me in the end, especially knowing that he used to like her too.
"Hey, Riku? Um...are you gonna be okay wi-"
He clicked his tongue and prodded me in the chest. "I already talked this over with you...how many times? For at least half the entire trip back out here..."
"I know, but..."
I needed to be sure. Completely sure that I wasn't going to be hurting him by being with Kairi. If there was even the slightest possibility that he was going to be hurt by it, well...I'm not sure what I would do, but I certainly wouldn't want him to have to hide it.
He gripped my shoulders and shook them slightly, staring right into my eyes. "Sora, you trust me, right?"
I nodded.
"Then believe me when I tell you: I. Am. Okay." He released me. "I am happy for you, happy for her. I think it's going to be one of the best things to happen to you and I'm glad I can be here for you."
Seeing Riku smile like that is pretty rare. One look and it's obvious he's telling the truth. I felt myself beaming again from that absolutely unending fountain of joy I felt pouring through me. Before he could stop me, I wrapped him in a huge hug, pinning his arms down under mine. He spluttered out in shock and before he could fight it I had already released him and was running back up the path towards my house.
"See ya tomorrow!"
He was grumbling something at me, but he was smiling still.
There's no way I'm getting any sleep tonight.
She was just so...perfect. Delicate and perfect. Sometimes I felt like I shouldn't touch her in case she shattered under my clumsy fingers. But at the same time I knew she would tease me for thinking something like that; especially since I know she's a lot stronger than she looks. She can definitely kick my butt at tennis, that's for sure.
There was also something, I dunno...exciting, about watching her play the game out there. She gets this indescribably beautiful determined look in her eyes, and a light flush in her face, not to mention that adorable smile she gets when her hit follows through. It's even better when she scores a point, though—she does this little celebration hop and...ungh, I really like that uniform.
I want to run over and kiss her right now but she probably wouldn't be too happy about that, considering the entire tennis team is here. I waited at the edge of the field, trying not to get hit by rogue tennis balls, also trying not to be too obvious about where my eyes were choosing to focus. I know Kairi doesn't want our relationship to be the center of gossip at school, but I'm still confused if that means I should be keeping it a secret as much as possible or not. I really hope once we tell her mom things can get a little more open. Trying to be subtle about how I feel is really, really hard.
I smacked my cheeks a little, trying to wake some sense up into my head. Just hearing her voice makes me feel fuzzy. Not to mention the fact that she sits so close to me all day during school. Every time she stretches I can see that little bit of skin at the nape of her neck and I just want to lean over and...uuugh, stop thinking about her! I'll never get a clear head this way!
It was like kissing her that one time opened a whole floodgate of things I had been holding back for so long. I felt frustratingly out of control all the time.
Thankfully it seemed like practice was wrapping up. She skipped over to where I was, and started packing up her bag. I lifted it up for her and handed her the water bottle to hold instead. She put it up to her lips and sipped it eagerly, thanking me.
Great...
I frowned. I'm jealous over an inanimate object again…
She laughed and shoved me a little. "What's with that face?"
"It's nothing." I certainly wasn't going to tell her what I was thinking about. "You just need to go get changed, right?"
"Yeah, I would, but apparently some girls spotted a snake wander in the locker rooms and I don't particularly want to sit around waiting for them to chase it back out. I'll just get washed up at home."
My heart skipped a beat. "So...you're going to wear your uniform a bit longer?"
She pursed her lips, analyzing me carefully. "Mm-hmm. Any particular reason you look so happy about that news?"
I tried adjusting my face to normal. "N-No..."
She giggled. "You are a terrible liar. Anyway, I need to help you with your work today, right?"
She said this a bit loudly like she was trying to hint at something and I was a little confused. We didn't really have a lot of homework today, actually. And none of it was really that hard… I saw her sigh and she leaned forward to whisper more quietly to me.
"It's a good excuse, don't you think?"
Oh! Right! I guess we really are going to try to tell her parents today. I swallowed. Why did I insist on this again? I kind of wish I could take it back…
"Don't get so nervous..." She reached out to take her bag out from my hand, but lingered a bit, giving my fingers a soft squeeze.
Somehow she was always able to calm me down.
We started down the road towards her house and I playfully swung her racket around. It's so different compared to swinging a sword. Though I suppose it does use similar arm muscles. She smiled at me.
"You always put way too much force into it. That's why the balls always end up blasting through the fence."
"They just need to make the court longer..."
"Or maybe you need to stop seeing the ball as an enemy to clobber and more as an extension of the force you put behind it."
I shrugged. "Bad habit, I guess. I swing without really thinking."
She laughed and snatched the racket back from me. "And that's exactly why you're banned from using the school courts."
I glanced back over my shoulder towards the tennis area, noticing that there didn't seem to be anyone around at the time. Maybe we could finally be alone for a little while…
I slid a bit closer to her side, crossing my arms so I could subtly brush the back of hers with my hand hidden under my own elbow. I felt her shiver a little and she tapped me playfully in the chest with the end of the racket.
"Not until we are a bit further away from school."
Definitely not the answer I wanted to hear, but I guess I understand. I started pressing my speed a bit along the path, glancing back at her. She smiled, and decided to match my slightly increased pace. Before she could fall in line with me, I started going even faster still, breaking into a slight jog.
"Hey!"
She did a little skip trying to close the gap between us but I kept myself just a few steps ahead of her, increasing in speed every time she got close to reaching me.
It wasn't long before we were both running, crossing the river into the residential districts. She was starting to fall behind a bit more and she called out to me slightly exasperated.
"This isn't fair! I have all my stuff!"
I slowed, circling back. I reached out to grab her bag from her but she dodged to the side and wrapped her hand around that stupid uniform tie I had to wear, using it to yank me off the path into a small cluster of trees.
I never liked that tie before, but having her use it like her personal handhold to pull me where she likes is certainly an interesting perk. She backed herself into a tree and dropped both her racket and bag to the ground, still urging me forward by my neck.
She didn't need to say anything for me to understand what she wanted. I eagerly grabbed her, relishing every single moment of that sweet, tart, dreamlike taste of hers. It was hands down the best thing ever. I pressed closer to her, changing my target of focus to the soft skin on her neck. She shivered and gave me an incredibly coy protest. Something about being sweaty.
"I don't care about that, I've been wanting to do this all day."
I felt her sigh into me and my whole world spun.
Her mom stared at me from across the table. I fidgeted and started rustling through my bag, trying to look busy, but every time I glanced back up she was still staring me down.
"B-busy day at town hall today?" I tried to start any kind of small talk, desperate to end the silent burn of her eyes.
She pursed her lips and nodded at me, still staring.
Kairi, please finish up your shower and get down here soon...
Hmm. Showering...maybe right now she was all...sudsy and, oh no.
I swallowed and tried as hard as I could to scrub any thoughts of Kairi out of my head as fast as possible. I stared down at the physics paper I had yet to complete as part of my makeup work, hoping that might help my brain switch topics. Right! Let's see, we've got the second law of thermodynamics and...h-heat transfer…plus the basics of e-elastic c-collision…
I groaned inwardly. Yeah, that's not helping me at all. Her mom was really eyeing me now. I gave a weak laugh.
"P-Physics makes me feel dumb." I winced. Oh man I did not just say that, did I? How stupid and weird. She's going to think I'm an idiot.
She shrugged at me and sighed. "Is that so? I heard from Kairi that you were surprisingly not too bad at it."
I relaxed a bit in relief. "It's...easier than some things. Not sure why."
"Maybe because simply observing how things operate in the real world is a very clear, concrete thing to do. It involves very little theoretical guesswork if you have the right numbers..."
"Y...yeah, I guess so..." Whatever that meant.
She tapped her fingers sharply across the top of the table and I gulped again. Why is it that everything she does always seems so threatening? One at a time, her fingertips thunked down, her nails clacking against the wood.
"So...other than school work, how is your life going? Kairi seemed so awfully worried about you a while ago then suddenly I'm not hearing about a single thing"
"O-oh, well that's uh...she was probably worried because Riku and I had a misunderstanding about something and she thought I was mad about...it."
"Oh dear. Cleared up now, I imagine?"
"Yeah!" I tried to smile up at her perkily, but her eyes crushed me back down.
"I was just curious because I had heard a very strange thing from Kairi the other day. And she was asking quite a lot of questions about boys. Then, of course, there was that rumor floating around the office..."
I felt my heart stop and I froze. Was it possible she already figured it out? And if so, here I was, alone, about to get devoured.
She continued, her eyes flashing. "It seems common knowledge around your high school that Riku tried to kiss my little girl at the festival and she turned him down. Your...fight with Riku wouldn't have been because of that? Or, was it something else?"
I had no idea how to answer this question, so I decided to just try and dodge it the best I could. "T-That's funny! It's crazy how high school rumors can end up as town office gossip like that!" I laughed unconvincingly.
"Well, quite a few of your classmates' parents work there. And of course, I know it's true because Kairi confessed that much to me already."
"Oh."
"But I still can't help but feel I'm not getting the whole picture. You wouldn't know anything...else, would you?"
"A-about Riku and Kairi? Not really! Just that they managed to work things out and everything is all okay now!" I spluttered this out as quickly as I could, hoping she would drop the issue.
"Hmm...so it's definitely not Riku, then?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"It's not Riku: the boy my little Kairi has been getting all giddy over." She gave me a twisted smile and I couldn't tell if it was meant to be a threat or not.
But one thing was clear: she definitely knew. Or...suspected strongly, I guess. I was still in full panic mode, but couldn't help but smile a little when I thought about what her mom had said.
"S-She's been...g-giddy?"
"Absolutely floating."
Well that was a nice boost to my confidence. Still...I can't keep dodging her questions forever. I might as well just come out and say something. If it gets really nasty I can always just jump out the window.
I shakily shut my folder of papers and looked at her mom. If I can fight the legions of darkness, I can do this.
"So, the truth is...Kairi and I, uh...we're-"
The door to the kitchen clacked open and I halted immediately. Kairi was standing there, giving me a calming smile and I felt all my panic wash away. Sure, she wasn't really wearing anything special: just some lounging pants and a t shirt, but she looked absolutely beautiful. She gave a confused eye towards me, but before she could ask and before I could even begin to explain, her mom was already out of her seat wrapping her up in a hug.
"Oh sweetheart, I'm so happy for you. Growing up so fast and getting her first boyfriend!"
"E-eh…?" Kairi peeked out over her mom's arms at me and I blinked back at her in confusion.
"I know he certainly isn't your father's first choice, but if he makes you this happy then neither of us can really argue against it. At least you picked a nice sweet one who will be easy to keep under your thumb."
She whispered something else in Kairi's ear and she turned bright red. "M-mom?! That's..."
Kairi released herself from her mother's embrace and mouthed over towards me. Did you tell her?
I shook my head no, somewhat hesitantly. I didn't, really. Or...did I?
"Oh, it's fine. I had my suspicions and just needed to weasel a confirmation out of him."
"But I-" Her mom scurried over and wrapped me in a hug this time. Wait...her mom is hugging me? Has she ever hugged me? I've never seen her so...cuddly. I froze, not sure what to do. She lowered her mouth down to my ear and mumbled to me in a very low voice.
"I'm very watchful, you know."
She pulled me tighter and I glanced at Kairi hesitantly.
"Mom, are you threatening him?" She put her hands on her hips in frustration.
Her mom released me and waved her hand nonchalantly through the air. "Of course not. I'll leave the threatening to your father."
I sagged in my chair. Great…
"Mom, you don't have to be so worried. It's Sora, after all..."
I guess that was a compliment?
"Yes. But after all he is a boy. A love struck, hormonal teenage boy."
"Mom!"
I shrank further down into my chair. This was so, so, incredibly awkward. I could see Kairi was getting really embarrassed too. Why did I think telling her mom was going to be a good idea again? Maybe because it wasn't fair to make Kairi handle all of this on her own. I shakily cleared my throat and sat up a little bit.
"Uh...if it helps you feel any better, we've already discussed some rules and stuff about different things and if Kairi puts a restriction on something, there's no way I'd ever-"
Her mom clapped loudly and pulled out an envelope hidden underneath the fruit bowl. I could see there were two, but she only grabbed the one, handing it swiftly over to me. "I had a feeling one of you two would try to date my girl at some point so I prepared these in advance."
I took the envelope, noticing that it had my name neatly written across the front in very rigid, plain writing; leaving no hints about who it could be for. I assume the other was written up for Riku in case she had picked him instead. "Thanks...I guess? What is it?"
"New house rules. Kindly memorize them and put them into practice immediately."
"Huh?" I opened the envelope and withdrew a ridiculously long paper, numbered with bullet points well past the forties. "H-how many rules are-"
"Seventy-six."
I blinked back at her, speechless. How can someone possibly write seventy six new rules and expect me to also somehow remember them all? Kairi took it from me and scanned it over herself quickly.
"These are...really specific. How is he possibly supposed to remember all of this?"
Yeah, exactly!
"I certainly expect a transgression or two when first starting out. What I care more about is the effort put behind it."
I glanced at a few of the numbered items I could read from where I was sitting.
Rule 17: If neither Kairi's mother or father are at home, Sora is strictly forbidden from coming inside. Rule 18: If he is already invited inside but both parents must leave for errands i.e shopping, Sora is no longer welcome to stay. Rule 19: Whenever Sora and Kairi are together in the home, for schoolwork or otherwise, they must leave all doors open to ensure consistent check-ups are possible.
It was undoubtedly going to be a bit frustrating, but nothing too ridiculous, I guess. "...I'll try my bes-"
Kairi held up a hand to stop me from agreeing right away, taking the list back. "Hold on. Mom, there are a few things here that I don't agree with. I mean...rule 7, Kairi is not allowed to go to the island together with Sora without a suitable chaperone present!?"
I sat up in alarm. "Wait, what?"
"That island is far too remote to trust two teenagers together."
Kairi shook her head furiously. "But that's our—we've always gone there."
"And that's certainly going to change."
"This is ridiculous. Mom, I understand you wanting the best for me. I also understand that you can control what rules you set while we are in this house, but trying to impose restrictions like that is just cruel. You need to trust me and trust him, because there is certainly no way we aren't going to find ways to be alone together. Taking away our childhood is not protecting me." She stomped her foot in frustration.
I expected her mom to get angry, but she just clicked her tongue and took the list back, glancing over it. "I suppose I can trim a few things here and there."
Both Kairi and I both breathed out a sigh of relief in unison. While it seemed like Kairi had already made some good points, I figured it couldn't hurt to say something else to help the issue.
"I just wanted to say one thing, if I could..."
Her mom nodded over to me, somewhat distractedly still staring at her list, scribbling at it with a pen.
"I know that you've never believed half of the stuff that happened during those times that we disappeared before, but you've always at least seemed to accept the fact that the three of us will always do everything we can to protect each other."
I saw Kairi smiling at me, and I continued. "And, well...I think you know how much that trust between us really saved us when things got really scary and difficult. I obviously don't know everything about how relationships work but that connection and trust is really, really important to me. I wouldn't ever do anything to risk losing that."
Her mom set her pen down and stared at me over folded fingers propping up her chin. "I suppose that is very true..." She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, slowly letting it out. "You have always been a very kind, sensitive child."
"He's still the same way." Kairi quickly and gently brushed her fingers against the side of my arm.
"Yes, well, I...suppose I am being a bit irrational and assigning too much suspicion simply due to his gender. For that I apologize."
"I-it's fine...you just want to keep Kairi safe." I definitely wasn't used to his mom apologizing to me.
"Then we are on the same page. I'll loosen the rules, but as a compromise would you two please do your best to be responsible?"
Kairi agreed promptly. "Of course. Besides, if Sora does do anything wrong, Riku will be right there to smack some sense into him."
I laughed a little. "Yeah..."
Her mom came back around and gave Kairi a much more comforting hug this time. "You've grown up so fast, both of you..."
Kairi hugged her mother back gently. "Um, about dad…?"
"Don't worry about him." She gave me a little wink. "But, Sora, you might not want to come around to the house for a few days. If that's alright?"
"Uh...yeah, I guess?" What am I going to do, argue with her? I don't want to come anywhere near this house for like...at least a whole month.
Her mom pulled back and, still with her hands on Kairi's shoulders, gave her a suspicious look. "So...I'll be asking you some more...private things a bit later. Until then I suppose I should let you two get some work done."
Work? Oh, right. Physics. Yay…
She gathered up her papers and gave a small wave before heading towards the door, glancing back at me as she left. I couldn't quite tell what meaning was behind the look she gave me.
Once she had gone, Kairi abruptly turned and hugged my arm tightly. "You did really well."
I scratched the back of my head with my free arm. "Nah...I think you were the one who did most of the talking. Sorry I didn't manage to wait until you got back, she just started asking me all this stuff about you and Riku and then suddenly it was about me and I didn't want to just lie about it..."
"Like I said, you did just fine. I should have been a bit faster getting back down here."
She let go and I took my seat again behind this daunting stack of work I really didn't want to think about. "Yeah, why did you take so long anyway?"
Huffing, she pulled a chair closer to me and sat down. "You might not understand this but sometimes it's hard to figure out what to wear."
"Why is it hard? You'd look fine in anything, even in just a towel." I said it without thinking and froze, kind of regretting it. "Uh, I mean..."
Luckily, she didn't seem to be too mad. "Oh? And how would you know what that looks like?"
I didn't really have an answer for that one. I couldn't just blurt out something like 'oh, I dunno, I just pictured it in my head and it was really nice'. To be honest it really did just slip out. She saw me struggling and flicked my forehead.
"I'm just kidding, you goof. I know what you meant. And, thank you." She pulled over her own book bag and got out the papers. Luckily it was just a days worth of make up work, but it was still annoying. At least I wasn't having to do it alone. I smiled over at her and she leaned in a bit closer to me.
"Hey, Sora? I was just thinking...would you like to come to Ikebana with me tomorrow? I...wanted to ask you ever since you told me you had been studying them, and..."
Her flower arranging club? I definitely wouldn't be any good at something like that. Before I could answer she quickly interjected again.
"I don't expect you to make one! I just thought maybe since you had been putting in all that effort to learn some flowers, maybe I could show you what it's like to put an arrangement together. Or...maybe that's not interesting at all...sorry, it was a silly thought..."
It was almost painfully obvious that she was just really excited to share her hobby with me. I guess because she had it in her head for so long that neither Riku or I would be interested in it she hadn't ever considered inviting us to join her before. I guess that was why I learned all those flower names, though—might as well give it a try.
"Sure, I'll go. I'll even try it out too, but you'll have to promise me you won't just throw me out there without any direction."
She practically squealed and jumped out of her chair, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. I tried to ignore the fact that her chest was pressing into the side of my head but that was essentially impossible. Luckily she let go pretty quickly and bounced back to her chair, her face flushed with excitement. "Sora, this is...I'm so happy! I've been wanting you or Riku to come for the longest time!"
She made no sense sometimes. "Then why didn't you ask?"
"I didn't want you to be bored..."
"Hey, I can't guarantee that I'll like it, but I'll give it a fair chance. It's important to you, after all."
She just looked at me with such happy eyes, I really wanted to kiss her again. But knowing that her mom was probably lurking just outside made me second guess doing that right now. I only just managed to get back into her good graces; I don't want to mess it up again. Kairi must have been feeling the same way so she kicked off her slipper and gently rubbed her sock against the back of my leg. Trying to tease me, huh? Two can play at that. I grinned at her and pushed myself a bit forward so I could easily reach under the table and rest my hand on her knee.
She pointed down to the papers in front of us. "Time to study heat transfer. That's funny timing, isn't it?"
"Just a bit." I squeezed her knee and she giggled, pulling away a little.
"Hey, that tickles!"
"Oops, sorry about that..." I said, making it very clear that I wasn't actually all that sorry.
She gave me a teasing, warning look then moved her leg back so I could return my hand to where it was. "You watch it, buster."
I still could barely believe how much things had changed. But none of it was bad. It almost felt like because the two of us were both so happy, nothing bad could ever happen again.
I examined the assorted piles of flowers, absolutely lost.
"But...which ones are good?"
"They're all good. Just pick what you like." Kairi waved me back towards the stack with what I assume were meant to be encouraging words but her advice didn't really help at all.
I frowned at them, trying my hardest to ignore the crowd of girls in the club giggling and casting glances over at me. I can't tell if it's just because I'm maybe one of the first guys to come visit the club or if it's because I'm doing something horribly wrong and don't realize it.
Well, might as well dive in since there's nothing I can do about either of those things. I raised my arms and jokingly twiddled my fingers over the stack of flowers, eliciting more giggles from the club. She said to pick three to start with, so…
I dumped my choices down on the table in front of her and she stared.
"I've definitely never used those three together before."
I slumped a little. "No good?"
She shook her head and smiled, lying out all the other supplies on the table. "No, I'm saying it's going to be a fun challenge. Let's give it a try."
As she set up her work space, I noticed what felt like someone staring intently at me, refusing to look away. I glanced around the room and noticed one girl in the club in particular sitting alone in the back who I definitely recognized. Oh! Ophelia, right? I hadn't seen her at all since before the festival. I noticed she had her eyes locked firmly on me and I offered a cheery wave, but she quickly looked down at her shoes.
Hm? Was she mad?
Kairi clapped, having just finished setting all the stuff out. "Okay, we have two sets of everything so I'll make one first and you can watch. Then you can try."
"Sounds good to me!"
"But first, let me explain all the tools here..." Kairi was clearly excited, moving from object to object, picking it up and putting it back down again like she couldn't decide where she wanted to begin.
I waited for her to gather her thoughts, and then she launched into a very enthusiastic explanation of everything on the table. Her passion was inspiring.
When she was done with the basic lesson, she laid all the flowers out in front of her and puzzled over them for a moment, almost as if she was trying to piece the arrangement together in her head first. She was really cute when he concentrated like that. I pulled a funny face right next to her, wondering how long it would take her to notice. It was maybe twenty seconds or so, but when she did she burst out laughing and shoved me a little.
"Silly, I'm trying to think here."
"And I'm trying to give you a challenge, remember?"
She suddenly leaned forward like she was going to kiss me. I panicked and pulled back, considering we were surrounded by her club mates right now. She quickly realized her mistake and flushed, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Sorry, I'm just so excited I wasn't thinking..."
I tried to brush it off and gave her a shrug. "Hey, it's fine. I'm glad you're happy."
Though, this did make me wonder if maybe she would rescind the whole 'no affection at school' rule at some point. It had barely been a week and the two of us were already almost slipping up several times. It was also incredibly frustrating to deny her a kiss when I knew she wanted one. Ugh...I wanted to invent an excuse to duck into an empty classroom with her for a few minutes. I wonder what sort of excuse I could possibly give for that? 'I forgot my bag?' No...I'm carrying that with me. 'I forgot my pencil?' No…that's a bit too unbelievable.
I noticed a shadow pause over the two of us and I looked up to see a girl in the club I didn't recognize with really curly hair staring down at the two of us intently. I greeted her cheerfully but she just stared blankly for a minute before turning to Kairi.
"Hey, so...Mei and I were just wondering: are those rumors about you and Riku true?"
Another girl, Mei I guess, came darting over. "Yeah, fess up!"
Kairi snipped a leaf off one of the flowers and sighed. "No. Absolutely not."
"Rumors? What rumors?" I tried asking, but the girls still barely glanced at me.
The girl, whose name I still didn't know, leaned closer over the table. "Well, cuz Selphie has definitely been suggesting that you have a boyfriend now."
I froze. Kairi put the small trimming scissors down and looked at the girl who was standing there, waiting, twirling her hair on her finger. I wonder if that's why it was so curly. "I'm sorry but I'm really not comfortable discussing my private life..."
"Oh, come on. You've turned down just about every guy in our entire grade, and half of the others. Who else is even left? I have to know!"
"I have to know, too!" Mei bounced up and down on her toes.
I crossed my arms in frustration. So, not only did Kairi have to deal with all these guys, but apparently no one ever thought I had a chance with her? They all automatically just assumed she would get with Riku? Way to make a guy feel bad…I opened my mouth to say something but thought better of it and shut it again.
"All I'm going to say is, I did not kiss Riku. I am not dating Riku. And he definitely did not get depressed or angry about it." Kairi answered tersely.
"Then why did he storm out of school that Monday? Huuuh?"
"Probably the same reason he leaves school all the time. He and Sora have things to take care of."
They turned to look at me, almost as if to confirm that was true. I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Hmm...Monday?" I pretended to consider this for a moment. "Right, yeah...he did come meet me. We had a lot of stuff to sort out. Busy day."
"Pft. Whatever." They looked thoroughly disappointed and left with a huff. Kairi smiled over at me and gave me a subtle wink. Once the girls were far enough away, she leaned over and whispered to me again.
"I'm sorry about that...you aren't upset, are you?"
I wasn't quite sure how to answer. I wasn't that bothered by the idea that she was attractive to other guys. I mean, I get it. I was mostly just upset that I had no idea she was dealing with all that drama all the time. And...that everyone just writes me off like that. What am I, a stooge?
She ruffled my hair lovingly. "Just remember: at the end of the day, who did I pick? That's all that matters, isn't it?"
I nodded, smiling at her brightly. That's definitely true!
"Hey, Sora, would you mind grabbing me a towel from over by the sink, please?"
"Oh, sure, no problem."
She thanked me as I went over to try and quickly fetch what she'd asked. As soon as I stood up I noticed Ophelia also abruptly stand and charge over towards the sink so she could reach it before me. Maybe she was worried I needed help finding something? However, instead of offering advice or help she just cut right in front of me and stood there, washing her hands incredibly thoroughly. Huh. That's odd. Maybe she just really hates dirt.
I opened the small cabinet next to the sink and tried pulling out only one towel but they were all stuck together so I had to unfold a few and refold them back. The entire time she was standing there, putting more and more soap on her hands. I was starting to suspect if she was even washing her hands at all. It seemed like a really inefficient way of doing it.
"Uh...you okay? You didn't cut yourself, did you?" I glanced down at her hands just to check to make sure she wasn't trying to clean up an injury or something and accidentally bumped a bit into her arm.
She yelped and jumped away, surprised by my touch, splashing water everywhere. I fell back in surprise, but she managed to get some all across the front of my shirt. Her eyes widened and she stood frozen, looking absolutely mortified, trembling and everything.
"I-I'm s...so s-sorry..."
I quickly raised my hands and smiled as gently as I could at her in hopes it would help calm her down. "Hey, it's no problem, it's just some water. Besides, it's my fault."
"N-no, I..."
I laughed a little. "That's a pretty good defensive attack move, you know. Just too bad some of it got on you, too. You alright?" She nodded and I handed her the towel I was originally going to bring over to Kairi. "Here, you can use this if you need it. I'll get another one."
"Thank you..."
I fiddled with the towels again then finally brought one back to Kairi who was sitting there smiling at me. "Smooth moves champ." Her eyes shifted and focused somewhere behind me, suddenly looking sorrowful.
I took my seat and noticed she was staring over at Ophelia, who was still standing at the sink, staring at the water as if she was in a trance.
"What's wrong?"
Kairi hesitated and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Sora, what do you think of her?"
"Oh. She seems a bit shy, a little lonely, but nice..." I trailed off, noticing that Kairi was definitely upset about something.
Ophelia also looked pretty embarrassed still about the water thing and she shuffled out of the room, probably to go clean herself up in the bathroom.
"So..." I was hoping to draw more out of her. She hadn't really answered my earlier question.
Kairi watched Ophelia go and she sighed heavily, wringing her hands together in her lap. "Sora, she...oh, I feel awful about this...I didn't even think about it when I invited you here, and..."
I tilted my head with a frown. "What is it?"
"She told me a while ago that she had a crush on you."
Before I could react, she quickly slapped a finger over my mouth to keep me quiet.
"Before I realized how I felt about..." She glanced around the room to see if anyone was listening. "Before I realized you-know-what, I gave her...dating advice...about you."
She switched from just a finger to clamping her whole hand down over my mouth as I almost shouted out again in surprise. It came out muffled and the curly haired girl glanced over, rolled her eyes at me and turned back away. What's her problem, anyway?
Kairi removed her hand and I did my best to remain quiet.
"I feel just terrible, like I built up her hopes just to snatch what she wanted away before she could even...oh, this is so..."
A few things suddenly made a whole lot more sense to me. Is that what Riku had meant by a 'trap'? I guess that's also a big reason why Selphie had pushed to get me out of that weird situation with her and the decorations, too. Wow, I was being pretty dumb about that, wasn't I? And...hey! I bet she was trying to kiss me that time, too! I don't even know what I would have done if she had...
But still, frustrations at myself aside, Kairi was looking pretty dejected right now.
"Kairi, that's not your fault...you said you didn't know at the time, right?"
"Maybe I should have. When she asked me I felt so devastated at the thought of you dating...someone else..." She avoided my eyes and I tried really hard not to smile.
She got jealous! Over me!
She shook her head and stood up from the table. "Sora, I should go talk to her again."
I frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It's the right thing to do. I'll be back soon, okay? You just work on your flowers. I'd love to see it when I get back."
"But, don't you think I should-"
"I can handle it!" She rushed out the door after Ophelia and I could only give her a half-hearted wave before the door slid shut behind her.
I stared down at the pile of flowers in front of me. "Okay, I guess..."
I know once she set her mind on things like this it was going to be pointless to talk her out of it. But I really wasn't sure her going alone was a good idea. But I'm not sure how I could even help. Girl talk usually confused me. Maybe I'll wait a few minutes and then go check up on her.
Right, until then, let's give this arranging thing a go!
I glanced over at the one Kairi had half made, but hadn't finished, trying to do my best to follow at least some of the basics. I tried balancing some of the flowers against the other but it just wouldn't stay where I wanted it to. Just when I thought it was starting to stand up right, the door to the art room slammed open. The sudden sound jerked my hand forward and sent the arrangement clattering to the table.
Ophelia came storming into the room, ripping her bag off the chair and turned to leave. I stood up, expecting Kairi to come in after her but there was no sign of her. Ophelia's face looked absolutely furious.
"Hey, Phi, what's going on?" One of the other club girls tried to reach out to her but Ophelia just pushed past her out to the hallway.
I ran out after her, more worried about where Kairi could be. I rounded the corner I had seen her disappear behind and found the two of them. Ophelia was storming angrily over towards Kairi, who was looking really panicked and worried.
She tried reaching out, her voice pleading. "Ophelia, I'm so sorry I-"
Before I could even register the situation properly, I saw Ophelia's hand smack across Kairi's face, hard. She stumbled sideways into the lockers, clutching her face, absolutely shell shocked.
"Stop!"
I cleared the length of the hallway faster than I ever thought possible, watching as Ophelia raised her hand for another hit. I slid underneath, pressing Kairi up against the lockers momentarily to get a good grip around her before pulling her out of the way. Ophelia's hand crashed into the locker and she shrieked, hugging her hand close.
"So that's how it is, huh!?" She looked absolutely furious.
What the heck had even happened out here!? I ignored her for the moment and just checked on Kairi's face. I gently took her hand away from the side of her face and examined it closely. Her skin looked a little red, but she didn't seem seriously injured. She was shaking, looking stunned.
"She...slapped me..." She murmured softly, almost like she was saying it loud because she couldn't believe it had actually happened. It certainly didn't seem like something I would have expected her to do, either.
I felt Kairi hug close to my back as I turned to her attacker angrily. "Why would you do something so awful!?"
Ophelia had tears pouring out of her eyes and she pointed a shaking finger towards me. "You! You lied to me!"
"I-what?" I was dumbfounded.
"I thought you were different! That you wouldn't be like the others and..." She started choking on her own tears and I felt horrible. "Everyone always makes fun of me, plays jokes on me..."
"Ophelia, what are you talking about? I'm not trying to make fun of you! Who is doing that? That's horrible!" I wanted to try and help her, but I was worried she was going to attack Kairi again so I made sure to keep myself between them.
"D-don't act like you care! You're both heartless bullies just like the rest of them!"
A classroom door slid open and Quistis marched into the hallway, her eyes ablaze. "What is going on here!?" She turned to me, Kairi still shielded defensively behind me and she sighed.
"Takahashi and Kigasawa...why am I not surprised?"
What the heck was that supposed to mean?
Quistis placed a frustrated hand on her brow. "Though the lack of a certain Morizaki with you is unusual, I'll grant that. Unusual and...suspect." She focused her eyes on Kairi one more time and she frowned a little.
I'm not really sure why she's suspecting us just because Riku isn't here. We didn't even do anything! And he causes trouble all the time, too...
...At least her sudden appearance had somewhat worked to diffuse the tension in the hall. She turned to look at Ophelia who was still nursing her injured hand.
"And you're...Ophelia Laurent from B class, correct?"
Ophelia lowered her eyes, looking quietly sullen down at her feet.
Our homeroom teacher turned to me, looking...crosser than usual. "Now...who is going to explain this?"
Kairi straightened herself up and I nervously waited nearby in case she needed help. "I...it's my fault."
Whoa, wait a minute! "Kairi, hold on, you didn't do anything to deserve that!"
I'm pretty sure Quistis noticed the red mark on her face, the injury to Ophelia's hand and drew the correct conclusion from the two. "Ms. Laurent, I'm not in charge of your homeroom so I can't formally reprimand you, but I will definitely be making a report. I can't have you smacking my students around, no matter the reason. I'm afraid that's my job."
A job she definitely takes seriously...
Quistis put a hand on Kairi's shoulder and examined her face. "It doesn't seem too bad. Did you want to see the nurse?"
"N-no, I...I'll be fine."
Pulling away from her, Quistis gave me a very curt head nod. "Very well, I'll leave Kigasawa in your care. If need be, please make sure she gets the proper attention."
"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her. Don't worry." I nodded back and she gave me a very strange smile, bending down to whisper something in my ear.
"And I suppose the proper attention isn't always medical in nature."
"Huh...?" What did that mean? What was up with her today?
Quistis, now seemingly convinced that Kairi was alright, marched her way over to Ophelia and grabbed her by the arm. "As for you, young lady, I'll be taking you to the nurse first to get that hand looked at, then we can discuss what will be done with you."
I wanted to try and say something to her before Quistis dragged her off, but I really wasn't sure what to say. Once the hallway was empty again, I put my hand on Kairi's shoulder.
"What happened back there?"
Kairi's knees trembled and I saw tears starting to fill her eyes. She looked a little shocked still, but equally frustrated with herself. "I tried to explain everything to her, but...she said I mislead her on purpose..."
"But you didn't! I can completely understand her being disappointed about the situation, but she shouldn't be taking it out on you! You were only trying to help and never wanted to hurt her. How can she think you'd be that cruel to do it on purpose?"
Tears started rolling down her face and she brushed at them angrily, sobbing out something I couldn't understand. I rested my hand on her cheek a little, trying to comfort her in any way I could, but because of that stupid rule...
I glanced around quickly to check for anyone and pulled her around the corner into a small nook in the stairwell for privacy.
"Is it okay if I touch you now? Just a little?"
She looked like she was still trying to hold back more tears and could only wordlessly nod at me so I quickly hugged her against me, rubbing her shoulders until I could feel her stop shaking. She clutched at my chest, wrapping her hands around the cloth of my shirt. I heard her softly sniffle.
"I'm sorry...I must have gotten your shirt a little wet."
"It was wet already anyway."
"I feel like I've been nothing but a crybaby lately. It's awful..."
I know she hated crying. But I never thought tears made someone weak. It just shows that they have a lot to care about.
Her hands still clinging to my chest, she looked up at me, her eyes wide and misty from her tears. But she was still so, so beautiful. She lifted up onto her toes and sank her lips into mine before I could say anything in protest.
I should tell her to stop because we are in school, but I don't care at all right now. I immediately gave up any resistance and wrapped my arms around her. As soon as she pulled slightly away from me, I moved my lips over to her injured cheek and tried to will away whatever pain she had. I could lightly taste some of the salt from her tears and it sort of made me feel a pang of guilt over all of this. If only I had noticed Ophelia's intentions sooner...
Kairi still clung to me, her eyes closed, clearly still hurting.
"I know you feel bad about it, but she's taking her heartbreak out on you. Because even if you had known you liked me at that time, and refused to give her any advice, it wouldn't have affected the outcome, right? She'd still have to deal with me not liking her back. Because I still would have chosen you. It's like she's blaming you for the two of us dating but that's completely ignoring my feelings about everything."
I realized, if anything, Ophelia should be slapping me. I never intended to, but I guess maybe she could have misunderstood what I told her about liking my friends as something more. So, if she was mad at me for that, then I'd try to apologize. But Kairi definitely didn't do anything!
She buried her face into my chest and sighed. "She said I...seduced you. So she couldn't have a chance. Turned you against her."
The thought of that was so ridiculous it would have been really funny if Kairi wasn't so upset right now. "I kissed you first, though."
"She doesn't know that..."
"Well, she obviously just doesn't know you very well."
"I hope she will be okay. I just was so caught up in everything lately I didn't even think about her until today. How selfish..."
"Kairi, stop...you aren't selfish because you were enjoying being happy. This whole thing is a problem because I'm too dumb to see when a girl likes me."
She sighed into me again, shook her head and remained silent, her heart still seeming quite heavy against me.
"Besides, if you're considered selfish because you were too happy I must be like...the most selfish person ever, because I enjoy seeing you smile so, so much. I never want you to have to apologize for or regret good times. I wish I could do something to make you happy now."
Stupid rules...
I heard her mumble something softly into my chest but I couldn't understand it.
"Hmm? Kairi I couldn't-"
She jumped at me, kissing me again so suddenly that I stumbled back into the edge of the wall. What was she doing...? I half expected this kiss to be short like the others, but she only pressed closer. There was something about the softness, the feel of her wet lips, it made my head buzz. She smiled against me and I felt her gently nibbling, pulling. She was so much more intense about this than usual, and my mind was having trouble keeping up. It felt like my body was just reacting to her, pulling her tighter against me.
We shouldn't be doing this...
Suddenly something incredibly warm and almost velvety pushed into my mouth and brought with it a spark of fiery energy. My tongue almost instinctively twisted around hers and I shuddered as the pleasure of it all filled me up inside.
I should stop. But...
I loved this. Every second of this. She was like the best candy ever and I wanted to taste it all, every last bit. With every rapid beat of my heart I felt warmer, this strangely unfamiliar twisting pressure burning at my core, begging for more.
I can't stop.
Unngh, this isn't fair! How can she make me feel so helplessly out of control so easily. I gripped her shoulders and fought back, giving her a taste of her own medicine with my own mouth exploring hers. But I'm still not sure who was in control now. Maybe we were both just locked together in free fall. I never knew this could feel so...
But she pulled away, leaving both of us nearly breathless. I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself, but it was so hard. All I wanted to do was go back to that wonderful place…
"Sora, um...I'm sorry for stopping, but..." She giggled softly into her hand. "You were making a bit too much noise."
"Wha...I was?" I didn't remember saying anything. I certainly was thinking things. Unless somehow she was reading my thoughts. But I already know she definitely can't do that, right? None of my tests ever worked before, but then she says stuff like that and makes me second guess it again.
She bit her lower lip, trying not to smile too brightly at me and I had to really fight myself to stay composed. "Yeah, you were being a bit...vocal."
"Wh...what did I say?" I was dreading the answer but I honestly couldn't remember, I was just so caught up in everything.
Her face reddened. "Y-you didn't exactly say anything. It was more that you were, um...making really...happy sounds."
Oh. I stared down at my shoes, feeling hotter than ever in my face. She pinched my cheek lightly, I guess to try and make me feel better, but it didn't really stop the embarrassment at all.
"Aw...it's okay. It was cute."
Did she just call me cute? That's...a good thing, right? I furrowed my brow and glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. "Cute like a baby animal or cute like-"
"Cute like a Sora is."
Well that doesn't help! I sighed and played with the ends of her hair, pinching it between my fingers and letting it slip out again. She smiled up at me and I returned it.
"At least you're feeling better."
She nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. "There isn't really much I can do about it besides apologize and not hold her anger against her."
"Maybe I'll say something to her once she's had time to cool off."
Kairi pursed her lips at me. "I'm not so sure about that...I don't want you getting slapped, too."
Remembering that, I reached out to give her cheek another kiss to make it feel better. Her eyes focused on something behind me and she stumbled backwards.
"There you two are."
I heard Riku's voice and immediately jumped away from her, tripping myself in the process. I nearly fell backwards down the stairs, but he gave me a shove to steady me as he walked up from behind.
"H-hey..." I stammered, hoping he hadn't seen anything. Or worse, heard.
"Something wrong? You said you'd be done around five and it's past five thirty already."
Kairi rolled her eyes. "Mr. Bodyguard strikes again."
"No. Just bored." He gestured over towards me. "How'd he do?"
I crossed my arms. "I didn't get to finish."
He raised an eyebrow at me, obviously understanding there was an untold story here.
Kairi tried to hide her disappointment. Clearly this wasn't what she was hoping for today. "We should hurry back to clean up. Riku, I can explain a bit later, okay?"
He shrugged and followed us back to the room. The minute the three of us entered the classroom, the gossiping chatter inside abruptly halted. One girl made an oohing sound and the rest broke into giggles.
They chattered among themselves while the three of us cleaned up Kairi's work station and gathered up our bags. I was a bit sad that I hadn't gotten to finish, but I resolved to come back another time. I gave a quick head nod back at the club and offered a quick thanks for letting me join in but they basically ignored me. No wonder Kairi doesn't come to this club very often. She goes because she enjoys the hobby, but I don't think she likes the social circles too much.
"Hey, Kairi! Sure you weren't off kissing Riku?"
She huffed and ignored the comment, pushing us towards the exit. Just before Kairi made it out the door, the curly haired girl came running over.
"Wait, before you go, what was up with Phi? Was it...boy trouble?" She fluttered her eyes in Riku's direction and he turned his head away.
Kairi glanced a few times between the girl, me and Riku before taking a deep breath. "Yes, actually. It was."
"What!?" She clutched at her hair and all of the girls in the room flooded over towards the sliding door.
Kairi gripped the handle of the door and shooed us out of the way so she could get through.
"Wait, but you need to tell us more!" I'm pretty sure that was Mei.
I saw Kairi glance back at me, and she smiled that sweet yet devilish smile she had when she was plotting something. "Alright, then, I'll just say this."
They leaned in eagerly and she cleared her throat.
"She's mad because I'm dating Sora now. Bye!"
She practically slammed the door shut and spun around on her heel, dragging both me and Riku away with her by our arms. "Let's go, you two."
After we made it a few steps down the hall I saw the girls in the club finally manage to yank the door back open and they were gathered together, staring wide-eyed at us. I gave them a cheesy grin and waved.
"Thanks again for letting me join today!"
Mei waved back blankly. Until we turned the corner, I could see their curly haired ringleader stammering in silence. Riku chuckled a bit and stuffed his hand into his pocket.
"You realize this means the whole school is going to know before the end of lunch tomorrow, right?"
It was a little impressive how fast rumors spread. Kairi released our arms and marched off quickly on her own.
"I don't care! I wanted to keep everything private but no one was going to leave it alone no matter what I said. Besides, now people won't keep putting Sora down right in front of his face."
I laughed weakly, catching up to her. "Hey, it wasn't that bad."
Riku yawned. "Well I'm glad you did. Now hopefully people will stop bugging me about you." He gave me a weak punch in the shoulder. "Just don't let it get to your head, Sora. Last thing you need is an over-inflated ego."
I pulled a face at him and kept walking. I guess this means Kairi and I are going to have to discuss our rules again to figure out what has changed, if anything. Hopefully it means I can at least hold her hand now and again. As much as I'd like open kissing permission, today was probably a bit of a fluke...
"So, you mind explaining to me what actually happened with this Phi person?" Riku finally decided to ask.
As we made our way out of the school, Kairi did her best to summarize, leaving out the whole...making out part. Oddly enough that was pretty much all I was thinking about. At least Riku seemed to agree that Kairi leaving the matter with Ophelia alone would be the best thing to do moving forward.
Once we got to the last split in the road before Kairi had to head off in a different direction, we all paused. I could tell she wanted to say something to me, but she kept glancing over at Riku and changing her mind.
He stretched and slumped his arm over my shoulder. "So, I figure since the two of you are probably going to be getting a bit harassed at school tomorrow we should maybe head out of town this weekend. Besides, you haven't even updated Roxas yet about you two, have you?"
I shook my head. "No, but there's no way he hasn't figured it out and told everybody already..."
Kairi gave me a look and I shrank a bit. "Oh come on, Sora. I've already told Namine, Xion and Aqua. I figured you'd at least get around to letting Roxas of all people know yourself."
"Well I tried to. It's just...weirdly hard to put into words. I'm not good with letters anyway, and I wanted to wait to see him in person is all."
"Great so it's settled?" Riku took his weight off of me, finally. He's annoyingly heavy.
Kairi nodded and bounced over to me, ruffling my hair. "You'll have no excuses, then."
She turned to say goodbye, but I quickly dodged my way past Riku and caught her at the wrist. She stalled, turning back towards me. I wanted to tell her to stay a bit longer, but I couldn't really come up with an excuse for it. More than that, I wanted to tell her how I felt about what happened between us today. To apologize for overstepping the line she drew out for me. I felt super guilty now. She didn't say anything about it, but I'm sure she isn't too happy about it. The problem was, of course, Riku was standing right there. I wasn't exactly comfortable discussing that sort of thing in front of him, so...I just stood there saying nothing like a weirdo.
"I'll see you tomorrow." She prompted towards me, gently.
"Y-yeah...um..." I let go of her arm, but she didn't pull away from me.
"If this is about earlier…?" She started, but hesitated. I could only nod a little at her. "If you're feeling guilty, don't. Both times it was me."
"But..."
She giggled and gave my hand a very quick squeeze. "I'm not upset. We can sort things out later, okay?"
I agreed, but still felt a bit unsettled. Maybe her mom was right and I was just a crazy out of control boy who needed reining in. I snapped back to reality in time to call out goodnight to her before rejoining Riku on the walk towards our houses. I kicked at some pebbles on the road in frustration and he strolled silently next to me. I knew he was going to ask. And he knew I knew. So there was no point in waiting for him.
"I..."
"You kissed her at school, didn't you."
I kicked the rocks again and grumbled. "Not exactly."
"Oh, sorry, she said she kissed you. Same thing, really. I'm still not seeing what the problem is."
"I said I wouldn't! It was one of the rules! The first one, even! I should have had more control over myself and just-"
"What were the rules again?"
"Um...rule one was no affection in public until she's comfortable with it, rule two is...uh..." I glanced at him. "...related to that. Rule three...I, uh can't tell you that one, either. The fourth rule...well...that one kind of doesn't exist anymore. And the last rule is...too embarrassing to talk about."
"Right...so based off of that wealth of information you just gave me, I still don't see what the problem is."
"The first one! That's the problem!"
"Sora, obviously if she kissed you she was comfortable enough, don't you think?"
Well sure, I guess...maybe. But I'm not entirely sure he understands. He wasn't there for that conversation with her mom…
He put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a tap so I would look up at him. "Look, I'm not claiming to know everything that goes on in a girl's head, but you are her first boyfriend. I think the spirit of her rule is basically that she wants to take things slow and that makes a lot of sense. She doesn't want to rush and mess anything up. I respect you a lot for taking her rules so seriously, but...relax."
That is so much easier said than done. "It still feels like I did something wrong..."
"Kairi is a reasonable person; you know that. She's not going to blow up at you over semantics. Just keep doing what you think is right, and check with her at the time if you are worried."
"Yeah...I guess that makes sense."
"Of course it does. Now, I can't say much about the second and third rule but since I figure they have to do with me I'll just let that go for now. I'll find some way to tease you about that last one eventually, too."
Ugh, sometimes I really hate that I can't keep any secrets from him.
"I do want to make one thing very clear, though. I honestly don't mind you two being affectionate with each other. Within reason, obviously. If you two wanted to hold hands or kiss or something don't feel like you can't on my behalf."
"But, um..." I paused, not really sure how to respond. How does he always figure out these things? Maybe it was just a lucky guess.
"It's going to be way more awkward if you two don't. You'll both just be standing there staring at each other, waiting for me to turn away or leave and then constantly jumping apart once I come back. Like today? You almost knocked yourself down the stairs. I would much, much prefer you two to relax and act a bit more naturally."
"...that wouldn't bother you?"
"What would bother me is if you two had a full out heavy petting sessio-"
"What the heck, Riku! Don't say things like that!" I smacked him in the arm and grumbled. "We wouldn't do something like that."
"Ever? Or just in front of me?"
W-what kind of s-stupid question...
He laughed at me again. "You are way too easy to rile up. Good thing it never gets old." He walked a few steps and noticed I was hanging back.
"What? Are you still convinced that me seeing you two show the slightest affection for each other is going to make me spontaneously combust?"
"I-I don't know..."
Before I could react he dropped his bag to the ground and clobbered me, pulling me back and forth while he pushed his fist into my head.
"How many times do I have to say this before it gets through that thick skull of yours?"
"Okay! Okay!" He still refused to release me.
"I'm not letting go until you promise me you'll at least hold her hand tomorrow walking to school."
"But-"
"At the very least. Come on."
"I can't—ow!" He yanked my arm, pinning it against my back.
"You'd better promise me. I can keep this up all night if I have to."
"I said okay, already!"
He hoisted me up a bit higher so I my feet were only barely on the ground, effectively trapping me in his grip. "Okay, what? Say it."
"I..." He really wasn't going to let go, was he? I sighed and gave up fighting it. He still had one of my arms locked behind me, the other wedged uncomfortably over his. "I promise. I'll do my best, okay?"
Nope, he still wasn't letting me go. He twisted my wrist a bit further and I winced. "Ow! That hurts!"
"Sora, I'm not kidding!"
"Okay! I-I'll hold her hand tomorrow." Another half twist on my wrist. "I promise."
"You'd better."
He unceremoniously dropped me to the ground and I stumbled a few steps, whirling back to face him. "Is it really a promise if you force it out of me!?"
Shrugging, he grabbed his bag back up off the ground and dusted it. "You wouldn't have said it if you didn't intend to try."
"I hate it when you do that..." I snatched my own bag up off the ground and stomped away from him.
"You're the one who refused to take the hint after the, what, seven or so times I already told you before."
"Well you...you're..." I gave an exasperated sigh and kept walking. "I'm just trying to do the right thing and you're acting like I don't listen to you or something."
"I'm not mad that you're thinking about me. Quite the opposite. I'm just trying to save you a ton of future headaches by making things as simple and transparent as possible. You're so easy going about pretty much everything, except her. And that's when you overthink things so much it hurts. The last thing you need is to be worrying about me at the same time."
"I'm sorry..." I halted. "Wait, why am I apologizing to you?"
"Because I might have been a little rough now, but it's going to save you pain down the road. So, actually, I just did you a favor. That's why."
"I hate that you're right all the time..."
He laughed and gave me a much more gentle knock on the head. "Not all the time. But enough to help you out, at least."
It still sorta hurt, but I couldn't help smiling at him a little. "Thanks, but I still argue I didn't really do anything wrong. I think I'm owed a little something for that treatment."
He narrowed his eyes coldly at me. "Oh? And what would that be?"
"I'll let you know when I think of it."
"This is against all my better judgment to give you an open slate, but fine; just as long as I still have some form of veto power."
"Yes!" I cheered and pumped my fist a little. I loved it when Riku owed me favors; it was the best. I noticed his uneasy face and couldn't help laughing again. "Hey, now it's your turn to relax. What's the worst I could ask for?"
"I'd rather not consider that..."
Darn, I was sort of hoping I could trap him into answering and hang that over his head. Oh well, maybe I'll get some ideas tonight. We got closer to the gate of my house and I slowed, feeling like I wasn't quite ready to call it a day. I still had a lot of stuff I wanted to talk about.
"You gonna come over after dinner?" I asked hopefully.
He considered this for a minute. "Sure, why not?"
I cheered again and he started off towards his house, tipping his hand briefly in my direction as a quick parting wave.
I called out after him, smiling."I really am glad you're looking out for me all the time. I guess I need it."
He turned back to me, shaking his head, looking quite genuinely happy. "It's definitely mutual."
"Aw..." I gave him a teasing grin before he looked away. "Are you saying you need me?"
I think I saw his eyebrow twitching a little. "You doofus..."
That's a new one. I can tell he's in a good mood when he calls me something stupid. As happy as I am now, I'm still kind of dreading school tomorrow, though. I have a feeling it's going to be a long afternoon...