first update of 2016, enjoy!

"So, how are things?"

He was seated in Aerith's office, thankfully having been called down to her office before the bell rang for lunch, though he would never admit how grateful he was for that. He had been directed to sit in one of her big brown leather seats and he couldn't help but enjoy how deeply he sank into the cushion. He noticed a framed photo of a dog displayed on her desk.

"What kind of dog is that?" he asked.

"What?" she followed his gaze to the picture, "Oh, he's mixed breed something. I guess I just never bothered to check what exactly. His name is Pluto, do you have a dog?"

"Too expensive."

Aerith nodded. "So, how're you finding the school year so far? Have there been any other incidents?"

"No," Sora shrugged, "Nobody really bothers me, or with me, I should say," he smiled wryly.

"Sora," she looked at him with that same look she had given him on the first day. "I know this is something you've probably heard a million times before, but opening up could really do wonders-"

He held up a hand. "Trust me, I know. My brother says the same thing."

"Roxas," she smiled. "How is he?"

"He's fine. He wants to have a party."

"A party?" she questioned.

"Yeah, a party. It's supposed to be tonight, at our apartment."

She considered this for a moment. "And how do you feel about that?"

"I don't know," Sora admitted, "I guess it's fine. I wonder where he gets the munny from, to pay for all the stuff we're using…" he trailed off.

"Do you think he's doing something illegal?"

"What? No! No…he would tell me that," he said.

Aerith looked at him for a long moment and he turned away, choosing instead to focus on a pebble lying on the floor.

"Okay…is there anything else you want to talk about?" she asked.

"I've been having this dream."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…I'm in a field and I'm walking, there aren't any landmarks or anything, no buildings, no trees, it's just a field that goes on forever…and I just walk forever."

"Hm," Aerith hummed thoughtfully, "What do you think that means?"

Sora shook his head. "I don't know."

Sora found himself walking away from home after the final bell had rung. He had, ever so often, found himself taking strolls through the streets of downtown Brooklyn. It wasn't so much the aesthetic of the borough that pleased him, that much he was certain of, but he found that he enjoyed the occasional solitary reverie. He took note of the gathering clouds and hurried along down the street.

"Hey! Sora!"

Sora cringed; he recognized the voice and had not expected it, his brief sojourns never led to actual encounters with other people. Nobody was supposed to find him here. Reluctantly, he turned to the source of the noise.

"Hey, Kairi."

"Hey," she panted, stopping for breath and leaning against a wall. He watched her, she was wearing the pink dress she seemed to always wear, adorned with an innumerable amount of odd zippers, her white top tucked comfortably underneath. It fit her nicely, Sora thought.

"Can I ask what you're doing here?" he queried, giving her a lopsided smile in an effort to appear affable.

"Well, I saw you walking this way and…I guess I got curious," she grinned at him.

"Yeah? Won't your friends wonder where you are?" he questioned, unable to keep the hint of hostility from entering his voice.

Her smile faltered a bit, but if his words had any impact, she didn't give it up easily. "No," she shrugged, "Do you mind?"

He shook his head. "Not at all," he began to walk and Kairi followed, quietly falling into step with him. They walked in silence for awhile. Not entirely uncomfortable, Sora noted.

"So," she piped, "are you excited?"

"Am I excited?" he repeated. She nodded. "For what?"

"The party," she said, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Now it was uncomfortable. "You know about that?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, "I was invited."

"You were?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah…" she tilted her head questioningly, "this wasn't your idea, was it?"

"No," he laughed sheepishly. "It was my brother's."

"Ah," she nodded, "well, he invited a bunch of people."

"Great, so much for a few friends," Sora sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry," she said, and she sounded genuine. "I was planning on coming, but if you didn't know-"

"No, I want you to come. It just honestly won't be much of a party, our apartment isn't exactly a penthouse suite," he said.

"That's okay," she smiled, "it can't be that bad."

Sora said nothing, not quite feeling the need to argue the point. He found they were walking along the riverside, the city was visible just across the water. Rarely had he ever been so close, and rarely had he seen such pristine houses and clean streets. He stopped walking.

"I think we went too far," he said.

"No, we haven't," Kairi shook her head, "I live right over there," she pointed to a nice looking white house facing them just down the road.

"Oh…I didn't realize we were here," he said.

"Where's 'here'?" she asked, looking at him inquisitively.

"The Gardens," he said simply.

"The Gardens?" she laughed. "You make it sound like it's some kind of…prestigious place."

"It is," he said, amusement playing on his lips.

"I don't see it that way," she said, stopping outside her patio. Kairi turned and looked him in the eyes and he struggled not to look away.

"So…I'll see you around?" she asked innocently. Sora knew what he had to say.

"Yeah, you'll see me around."

Sora hardly recognized his apartment when he entered. The place had clearly been spruced up; there was neither a speck on the walls nor a chair out of place. A long table had been placed near the window, holding numerous non-alcoholic beverages. He had heard the stories of parties that had gone wildly out of control and wondered how his brother planned on seeing this one through.

"Oh, hi Sora," a voice greeted. He looked up to see Olette, one of his brother's friends coming down the hall. He had always thought she was kind of pretty; with her just-barely shoulder length wavy brown hair and fondness for Capri pants and tank-tops. The few times they had spoken had been courteous enough. He said nothing.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Fine," he replied. He hadn't forgotten how she laughed at his cafeteria mishap. "Where's Roxas?"

"He's in his room," she answered, pointing back down the hall.

"Thanks," he muttered, moving briskly past her and into his brother's room, where he found Roxas sifting through a drawer next to his bed. Sora shut the door behind him.

"Roxas."

His brother jumped upon hearing him, but relaxed when he saw it was him.

"Hey, Sora. Olette's just helping with the cleaning, Hayner and Pence are coming soon so-"

"What the fuck, Roxas?"

"What?"

"You invited Kairi? From school?!" Sora cried.

"Well…no, I invited Riku," Roxas confessed.

"What?!"

Roxas quickly backtracked. "Well-wait! Just listen to me, I know how it sounds…but I think this could be good…"

"Good?! How is this in any way good? Did you not see what he did?!"

"Yes, yes, I did. But I just figured if I got them to come-"

"Who's 'them'?" Sora interjected.

"You know…Riku, his friends. Those guys," Roxas explained.

"How is this…how did you even…" Sora trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Um…I'm kind of friends with…you know Naminé?" Roxas asked, rubbing the back of neck anxiously.

Sora shook his head. "I don't."

"Kairi's sister? Blonde?"

"I…" Sora thought back to that miserable moment on the cafeteria floor and remembered that flash of brilliant blonde, almost yellow, that he had witnessed and which had quickly been overshadowed by the crimson haired girl next to her.

"Yeah," Sora said. "I know her."

"Well, she helped me with this. Trust me, it'll be fine. If Riku starts anything, then he's out, I promise. Alright?"

It was a done deal. Sora knew further protest would do himself no good.

"Alright."

The slow, steady trickle of guests began filing in at seven, and for a short while Sora truly believed that they might actually get through this without any major incident. But as the trickle became a stream, and the stream a fountain, he quickly surrendered all hope. People were packed across the entirety of their apartment, the refreshments on the table replaced by beer coolers and bongs. Their refrigerator had been raided and emptied fairly quickly and the mass of people had spilled out into the hallway. Someone had brought multiple stereos and was blasting music. Sora could hardly hear himself ponder how the police had yet to be called on them over the buzzing of the crowd.

By eleven the party was in full swing, with people drunkenly attempting to dance and knocking over furniture in the process, a collection of young men in jerseys taking turns siphoning alcohol from a beer bong, and a haze of cannabis smoke pervading the apartment. To make matters worse, he had yet to spy Kairi in the crowd. He wasn't even sure if she had come. He couldn't blame her if she didn't.

In fact, he hadn't seen anyone he knew for several hours. He vaguely recognized some of the people from his school and from his position seated in the kitchen he could make out the outlines of others in the human sea that had become his apartment, but here he was truly lost amongst strangers. At the very least, he could pride himself on barring his room from the inside. He'd have an actual mattress to sleep on that night.

Someone vomited onto the floor next to him. He stood up in disgust and pushed into the crowd, attempting to carve a path to Roxas' room. He may not be able to stow away in his room, but Roxas was never one for thinking ahead.

After much effort, he pushed out of the crowd into the hall leading to their rooms. There weren't as many people here as in the living room, but it nonetheless surprised him how many people could fit into such a cramped space. As he expected, the door to Roxas' room was wide open. With a heavy sigh, he stepped over the people splayed out on the floor and into his brother's living quarters. The place was monumentally trashed.

He briefly considered leaving the apartment before he felt the fullness of his bladder pushing uncomfortably against him. He could, at the very least, hope the bathroom was in working order.

To his surprise, the bathroom door was closed. He knocked and received no answer. He turned the knob, but the door would not budge. The idea of someone inside lying dead against the door crossed his mind, and he felt his heart speed up in panic. He stepped back, conscious of the odd stares he was receiving from the people around him, and rammed his shoulder into the door.

The door swung open, revealing a very beautiful and very tearful Kairi. She started at the noise and looked up at him in wide eyed shock. He felt himself freeze, he didn't know what to do, he wasn't sure how to react, some people had cheered when he bashed the door opened and were now trying to get a look inside to see what the commotion was about.

Kairi sprung up and pushed the door shut, leaving them alone in his bathroom.

"Um…" Sora stuttered. Kairi looked at him with an indiscernible expression as he watched a tear slip down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled. She sat on the toilet seat and looked down at the floor. She was wearing a pretty maroon dress that sparkled and hugged her body in ways that made Sora's chest tighten when he looked at it.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Of course she isn't, he mentally chastised himself.

She looked like she wanted to speak, to reassure him that she was alright, but her face crumpled into an even greater frown.

"No," she spluttered.

"Hey, hey," he saddled up next to her, nudging her so she would allow him to sit beside her, to which she gratefully complied. Hesitantly, he placed an arm around her.

"Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as this party right now. I mean, someone just threw up on my kitchen floor," he joked.

She laughed through her tears. He realized how much he liked hearing it.

They sat together on his toilet, listening to the wild sounds of unbounded youth sounding out just beyond the bathroom door. Sora's pulse began to quicken once again as Kairi pressed closer into him. She was really warm; he could feel the heat radiating from her body and could smell the scent of mangos wafting from her hair.

"I didn't know you had a sister," he spoke finally. He felt his face heat up when she looked up at him, confusion evident on her face.

"I mean…Naminé, right? I didn't know…she was your sister," he finished lamely.

"Yeah," she said, sitting upright. He saw a small smile grace her lips. "She really went all out for this, which isn't like her at all, I mean, she told me about it and everything. She never stops talking about your brother."

"She doesn't?" Sora questioned.

"I think she likes him," Kairi noted. "I think he likes her."

"How did I miss this?" Sora asked, more to himself than anyone else. Kairi turned to look at him. If he weren't so befuddled he would have noticed how close their faces were.

"Sometimes people can't see what's right in front of them," she whispered. He stared into her red-rimmed eyes, still swimming with tears, and he felt the urge to wipe the gathering pools away. He restrained himself.

"What's the matter, Kairi?" he asked softly.

And then she was kissing him, her lips pressing against his and her body pushing against him and he felt his arms wrap around her and pull her closer to him and hers go around his neck pulling him closer and he could feel her mouth open and her tongue tracing his lips and he opened his own and it deepened and his brain was going into overdrive he didn't know what he was doing all he could do was feel and

There was a rapping on the door and they quickly pulled apart. He looked to the door, their flustered breaths filling the pregnant silence.

"Kairi? Are you in there? Look, I'm sorry about the drinks, okay? It was stupid; you don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

It was a girl. Sora looked at her quizzically.

Selphie, she mouthed. He recalled the green eyed girl that had passed notes between them in class.

"Kairi?" the girl called again. The two remained silent, and eventually they heard the sound of receding footsteps, melding into the sounds of music and laughter. Sora let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room, the toilet rattled along with the vibrations of the stereo and the coordinated footsteps of dozens of drunken teens.

"Sora?" he heard Kairi's voice calling to him softly, almost a whisper.

"I should probably go," he said. Kairi looked down at the floor, in shame, in sadness, he wasn't sure. He could hardly process what had just occurred; his thoughts were a jumbled, discombobulated mess. If he tried to speak any more he was certain he'd be reduced to a puddle of blubbering goop.

He briefly reached for her hand, and then retracted it. He wasn't sure what he was doing. He stood up and exited the bathroom, gently shutting the door behind him and once again entering the inferno that was his apartment.

No sooner had he exited than he heard a deep voice that cut through the jovial chatter like a cleaver.

"Sora! Just the guy I wanted to see!" it boomed. He turned to the source, only to witness Riku emerging from the crowd of people and walking towards him. Sora swallowed hard.

"Riku," he acknowledged uncertainly.

"I wanted to talk to you," Riku said, looking down at him. Sora noted sourly that the boy was a head taller than him.

"Okay, go ahead," Sora replied.

"Outside," Riku said, nodding his head towards the front door.

"What's wrong with here?" Sora asked. Riku took a step closer to him, staring down at him unflinchingly.

"Outside," Riku repeated, his voice dropping several octaves.

"I don't-"

Before he could finish his thought, Riku grabbed him by the arm and hauled him into the crowd. He fought, he pulled, and he strained against the other boy's grasp to no avail as he was dragged out the door and through the building, until he was pushed out the front double doors onto the cold moonlit streets.

"What is your problem?!" Sora snapped, glaring at the boy who was beginning to seem like a harbinger of terrible events. He rubbed his aching arm.

"Ask your brother," Riku responded monotonously.

"My…?" Sora realized they weren't alone. Roxas was against the wall of their building with two others (Wakka and Tidus, he recognized) standing menacingly before him.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, and he couldn't stop his voice from wavering.

"Come on Riku, you didn't have to bring him out here," Roxas protested.

"Yeah, I did," Riku replied dully. "Since you don't seem to understand the meaning of the word 'payment', I'm going to spell it out for you."

"What is he talking about?" Sora asked, looking hard at Roxas, who was giving Riku a look of pure hatred.

"Your brother owes me a lot of money, I was kind enough to give him some extensions, but that's over now," Riku said. "From now on you and your brother work for me, and you're going to pay back every last cent, get it?"

"I don't get it," Sora shook his head.

"Then maybe you'll get this," Riku said, and he sent his fist straight into Roxas' stomach. Sora heard his brother's pained shout and watched him double over onto the sidewalk. Wakka kicked him in the side for good measure. Blood dribbled out of his mouth and Roxas groaned, holding his abdomen.

Riku turned his attention to Sora and bent down so they were at eye level. Sora backed up into the wall.

"Monday. I want you out here by noon. Don't make me come looking for you."

The three boys walked back into the building. Sora stood still, legs frozen, unable to move as Roxas coughed beside him.

The sound of their apartment echoed in the night.