The Perfections of Imperfections

Chapter 4

Sora was never one to expect things. He would be determined, enthusiastic and hope till his dying day that things would turn out well but, for him, expectation was a sure way to set people (and himself) up for disappointment.

However, like the brunette had been increasingly doing over the past few months, Sora was contradicting himself. Prom was afoot and with such a big night, so many people and a sure to be after party which the full year would attend, Sora couldn't help but expect something. And, of course, this something included a certain someone: the same someone that had suddenly started appearing around Sora's school a lot more: Roxas.

Maybe, he wasn't suddenly appearing out of the shadows just to make Sora's day a bit more flustered, maybe Sora was only now noticing him. The teenager quickly shook that thought from his mind, he was sure he would have noticed Roxas if he knew him or not.

The brunette lazily flicked his sandwich packet and watched it dully topple over.

He listened to the amused chuckle from Riku who had watched Sora's small action of boredom and sighed as he threw his gaze around the common room, filled to the brim with every other noisy senior in the school, bar one (of course, Sora internally muttered).

What was it Roxas had against the common room? In the entire year and past few months Sora had been so fixated on the blonde, he had never once seen him in the common room. It wasn't that Roxas was in the lower year and not allowed in the room, Sora had slyly squeezed that possibility out of Kairi and confirmed that Roxas and he were in the same year.

But what wasn't to like about the common room? Nearly all the year was in the room at lunch so that meant you were never short of a friend, it was lively and always had music playing and everyone was together.

Sora's brow furrowed as a thought occurred him: maybe it was those points exactly that explained Roxas' absence from the room.

At the end of the day, in the two months and a half Sora had known Roxas in which he had several thrilling eye contact moments with the blonde, one conversation (if it could be called that) and a bump of shoulders, the brunette didn't know anything real about Roxas.

The small list of facts he knew about Roxas, internally taunted him.

Sora, then tried to muster up some sort of frustration and rebellion against Roxas, he knew he should feel annoyed and confused as to why he was even thinking of the blonde in the first place but, in all honesty, Sora was just exhausted by it now. He only wanted to know Roxas, be his friend, know lots of things (everything) about him and be able to say 'hello' to him when they walked past each other.

That would be enough. Sorta.

Another boring sigh slipped form the brunettes lips, Roxas had such a bad effect on him, if over thinking details counted as a 'bad' thing.

The brunette's eyes rolled over a prom poster and pointless expectations filled his mind once more. He wasn't even sure what he was expecting, he knew it wouldn't be an epic evening where everything would fall into place with Roxas, he just wanted… another brush of contact, meeting of the eyes, a light conversation, to see the blonde in a suit, a drunken hug at the party or more-

Sora choked on his cola. Spluttering and coughing till the tears were squeezing themselves free from his red eyes, the teenager cursed and cursed Roxas and his own strange thoughts over and over in his mind. Riku, in alarm, hastily stood up and roughly patted his friend a few times on the back as the shorter brunette continued to choke on his own shock.

Eventually, Sora's throat calmed and he laughed it off with his friends, but his heart did everything but calm. It was still pulsing feverishly in his chest, thumping in his ears whenever that out of the ordinary thought of Roxas and "more" sang in his mind.

Was that what he had been expecting at prom?

Sora's stomach fell, he felt ill with confusion and fright. Next the fever started, making a sweat enthusiastically break out all over him.

The teenager begged his heart to explain itself, make all clear and simple and he would understand, no matter how odd or strange or scary or complicated. He would go with it. Sora would do what his heart, himself, truly wanted.

But at the moment, everything was in a haze of night mist so how was he supposed to accept it if he had to squint to even try and see whatever he was looking for?

The brunette roughly stood up and stalked out of the room but the second the fresh air hit him, guilt got him a thousand times harder: he was making his friends worry, he must be. Acting this strangely all the time, being so thoughtful and quiet, basically looking ill all the time, he had to be setting off a peculiar vibe and his friends could read him like a book, so they would be worrying.

He could tell Riku and Kairi everything, Sora contemplated as he strolled in the sun, but then again, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to. The troubled teen felt almost possessive of Roxas, he knew other people knew the blonde but Sora felt like he knew a separate side of Roxas, a side he wanted to keep all to himself, like a child with an interesting secret toy.

Sora thumped himself down onto the soft grass, in hope to knock some sense into him (even if it was from his rear end). It didn't work.

What kind of person wants to keep another person all to themselves? Sora bitterly thought to himself. A nut-job, that's what kind of person, Sora.

The brunette stretched out on the grass and listened to his spine happily crack in return. Sora stretched his neck and peered at the upside down world he had come to face, thinking it still made more sense than Roxas.

"Sora!" Said boy suddenly heard from a familiar female voice.

Sitting up, he greeted Kairi and Riku as the plopped down beside him.

"Geez, Sora, I know the weather's nice but you don't have to be such a lazy bum." Kairi teased.

"The baby just needs his afternoon nap." Riku joined in, patronisingly patting Sora on the head, "He doesn't even know how to eat and drink yet without choking."

Sora shoved away Riku's hand away and whinged, "Quit it, I'm tired." Before lying back down.

He could almost see Kairi's and Riku's eyes amusedly roll in sync with each other.

An evil thought then struck Sora and with a cat-like grin, he laughed, "How did you two love birds find me anyway?"

The silence that followed energised the brunette and he merrily swung his body up to see his work. Sora grinned at the blushes and glares he had produced from both his friends.

"Roxas told us where you were." Kairi muttered, suddenly fascinated with her shoe laces.

The brunette's smile dropped.

Roxas?

So…

Roxas?

Sora ignored the questions from his friends as he tried to understand the situation.

If Roxas had told them where he was then…

Roxas had seen him.

So… that meant…

He internally promised to answer Kairi and Riku in a minute.

At some point when Sora was daydreaming or something, Roxas had seen him.

And thought, that's Sora.

So then that meant…

Roxas had acknowledged the brunette's presence at a point.

The smile that met Sora's expression was one of the biggest he could remember having. His stomach was flipping and his heart peacefully thrummed in bliss. It couldn't be that easy, right? Something so simple couldn't make him this happy. But it did.

And Sora finally knew the reason: Roxas.

He had no idea how Roxas could do this to him but he could and did every time he met Sora's eyes and once the clouds and dust of nerves, fright, confusion and questions were swept away, Sora's heart had been telling him the answer all this time. It pulsed for Roxas.

Sora simply had to be Roxas' best friend.

He didn't know exactly why he had thought that 'more' thought or why just a millisecond of contact with the blonde nearly killed him but he knew he couldn't be without Roxas. This entire 'just wait and see if I see him and if I do, panic and be confused as hell' plan Sora was following wasn't good enough anymore.

He wanted to help and be a part of everything Roxas did and what better way to do that than being his best friend?

Sora reassured his friends of his health and held in the laughter that was building inside of his gut, it was just so simple!

Talk to Roxas, become friends with Roxas, have a peaceful sleep for the first time in months, live happily ever after. The end.

If something is easy in theory, it never means it will be just as easy done.

Sora noted/screamed this over and over and over and over in his mind to make sure he remembered it as he slowly and in a terror walked down a particularly long corridor and towards Roxas, who was walking towards the shaky brunette.

Now or never, Sora chanted to himself in a vain attempt to block out the pulses of adrenaline shooting through his veins at that instant. His palms felt moist as he clenched his fists.

What were the chances of this happening? In this huge school, filled with so many corridors, students, teachers, what were the chances of this happening?! Practically nothing to nothing. Although, there was a ridiculously high chance this would never happen again.

Now or never.

In a rush, cobalt eyes flickered up to Roxas and to Sora's sheer delight he met the half-grinning expression of the blonde. And then, nothing else mattered. The world felt as if it had frozen, everything could wait for Roxas, in Sora's opinion. The brunette immediately smiled back to the blonde and for a second the dust and mist of all Sora's whirlwind emotions cleared.

However, it was for a second too long because Sora suddenly heard himself say, "We should be friends."

Abruptly reality was playing in live motion again and Sora could hear all the little noises that echoed throughout the school that had disappeared at some point. The surprised brunette suddenly realised he wasn't walking anymore. When had Roxas and he stopped? Sora would give anything for that upside down world right about now. However, he internally huffed and then cursed himself afterwards for it: this meant they couldn't bump into one and another.

"You think?" Roxas asked, his eye brows raised in a light surprise, his head tilted slightly to the left.

Sora nodded, dumbfounded and listing everything about Roxas at that moment: from his left hand lazily hanging from his trouser pocket, the untied lace on his right foot and to a certain unruly strand of hair that swirled upwards and away from his spikes.

Roxas let his wide eyes peer up at the ceiling tiles for a moment, as though he was contemplating Sora's unexpected, embarrassing offer. Then, as his eyes met Sora's again, the corner of the blonde's lips curved into a slanted smile (Sora swallowed his heart, took a deep breath for luck too) and Roxas shrugged.

"Sure." Roxas amusedly laughed, "You looked quite worried there, what else was I gonna say?"

Hearing that his expression wasn't looking exactly normal, Sora whipped up a smile (that he knew still showed nerves) and unable to find his vocal chords, shook his head, shrugging.

"Right." Roxas drawled out then pursing his lips slightly with an self-conscious breath.

An awkward silence followed in which Sora frantically scrambled through his mind for something impressive to say. He had to make himself interesting enough to be Roxas' friend.

But, time was not on the brunette's side, because with a quick scratch of the back of the blonde's own neck he was beginning to edge around the silence-stricken brunette and saying, "I gotta go, running late."

"Wha? Oh, yeah, yeah. Me too." Sora finally managed to stutter but his voice never once picked a volume or tone.

And as quickly as it had begun, it ended, Sora made his way down the corridor and Roxas, the opposite direction, both in silence and (Sora hoped) both very aware of each other.

It was only when Roxas had turned a corner, Sora's mind could fully process what had happened, how stupid Sora had sounded and how to kick a poor wall in absolute frustration at one's self.

And get caught by a bitchy teacher.

Quite a quick update, no? _

Review PLEASE ^-^