Disclaimer: I suddenly acquired the rights to KH, and then I woke up. Seems it was only a dream and I still don't own.
Comments: Black Juju Thanks for the review. Yes, Sora can be harsh at times. This is a Riku chapter. The game they play in this chapter may seem pretty stupid and not that much fun, but I couldn't think of anything else right now. (Actually, it sounds like a really boring game, but my imagination died on this.)
Chapter 3 The Other Side of Town
Silver hair blew lightly in the wind as it whispered passed. The young man raised his hand and pushed the fly away strands behind his ear. This was the kind of night he enjoyed the most. When the full moon was shining down as if it was trying to beautify the world underneath it. A world that had long ago lost the beauty it had once held. But on a night like tonight he could forget the ugliness that had consumed the world around him. If only for a little while.
He looked up as he heard footsteps approaching him, silently cursing whoever was daring to spoil his enjoyment of the night. The footsteps continued until a young man with blond hair stepped out of the shadows, the moon gracing him with its light. The one with the silver hair smiled, his curses from moments before dying down as he saw who it was.
"I figured you would be here, Riku." the blond spoke. His voice carried lightly in the wind until it reached the ears of the other.
"Why were you looking for me, Roxas?" Riku asked. Riku watched as Roxas shrugged his shoulders.
"No reason. Just bored I guess." Roxas said as he turned to look at the sight Riku had been looking at just minutes before. It really was beautiful. They were standing on a cliff, one that they jump off of into the water down below when the weather is right. The moonlight was being reflected off of the smooth surface of the water. Roxas understood why Riku liked it here on nights like this. There was a certain peacefulness around that didn't seem to be present any other time.
"Bored, huh? So you thought you would come find me?" Riku said. He didn't bother to put on the smirk his face usually held, knowing Roxas probably wouldn't be able to see it anyway.
"It seemed like the thing to do." Roxas replied as he lifted his arms in a stretch above his head. He hated being bored. And it was very easy to be bored on this side of town. Roxas had been convinced for a long time that this side of town had been made with old people in mind. There was nothing fun for younger people to do. The only thing there was was the cliff they were currently standing on. But it wasn't fun at night or when it was cold.
They had a movie theater, but they never played much worth seeing there. And when they did, Roxas usually didn't have the money for it anyway. Then there was the mall. When they were younger the mall had been a place to hang out and have fun, but they were older now, the appeal had died long ago. There was one club that they some times went to, but more and more younger people were starting to go there which left the ones there age wanting very little to do with it.
They spent most of their nights, when they went out, wondering the streets. Which usually ended up with a visit from the cops and a warning to stop causing trouble. Not that that stopped them. There were nights that they made a game out of how many times they could get these police visits before they got into serious trouble. Their record so far was 8.
Sometimes when they had the money, since none of their friends had a car yet, they would go to the other side of town. There was a lot more to do over there. There was three clubs to go to. They hadn't seen many younger people at them. Seems on that side of town the younger ones still had places to go besides the clubs. They played better movies over there too. Not that they had actually went to the movies on that side of town. Even the mall had better stores.
"Let's do something. I hate being bored." Roxas said. Riku shrugged at the suggestion. He hated to be bored too, but what could they do? He was quiet for a while. Roxas knew he was thinking of something to get rid of their boredom.
"Let's play a game." Riku said after several minutes. Roxas looked at him and grinned. He loved Riku's games.
"And what will the game be tonight?" Roxas asked.
"We'll call the guys to meet at my place. I'll explain the rules then." Riku said, turning towards Roxas with a somewhat evil smile on his face. The smile made Roxas grin more. He knew what it meant when Riku smiled like that. This should be fun.
They made their way back to Riku's house, calling the friends that they normally hang out with along the way. The others agreed to meet the two of them and would be there soon. Riku and Roxas had not been there long when the doorbell rang signifying the arrival of the first of their friends. Roxas opened the door to see Seifer standing there. Seifer lived down the street from Riku. Seifer entered the house and Roxas looked towards the street to see Zexion stepping off the sidewalk into the yard. Great that only left Leon and Cloud. After Zexion had passed him going into the house Roxas shut the door. The other two lived a little further so it would take them longer.
Seifer had made his way to the kitchen. Opening the fridge he pulled out a soda. Riku didn't mind, they had all been friends for a long time and always did that at each others house. After taking a long drink he grabbed another one for Zexion and went back to the living room. Zexion caught the can that Seifer threw to him and nodded his thanks. The two then sat down waiting for the others.
"Who else did you call?" Seifer asked.
"Just Cloud and Leon." Riku answered as he sat down on the couch opposite of Seifer.
"Not Tidus?" Seifer asked.
"No. I figured we would play this game in pairs. I know Tidus likes our games, but Wakka always complains. He won't play the one I have in mind, so that would leave us one short if Tidus came." Riku explained to the other three. Seifer nodded his head in understanding, before going back to his drink.
Cloud and Leon arrived shortly after. After everybody was situated Riku started to explain tonights game to them. These games were nothing new to any of them since they had been doing this type of thing for a while. In a town with nothing fun you had to make your own fun. And none of them was afraid of getting in trouble. Out of all their friends only Wakka was.
"I figured tonight we would do something different than usual. We'll divide up into teams of two. Roxas and I, Cloud and Leon, and Seifer and Zexion. That should be fair. Let's see which group can get the most valid phone numbers. No making up your own. I don't care if they are girl or guy phone numbers. Each number must have a name with it."
"That's it. Just phone numbers. Should be easy enough." Seifer said. None of them had a problem with the requirements. They were all quite popular, so no team had any clear advantage over the others. This was anyones game.
"And what does the winning team get?" Cloud asked.
"Each team member can make one demand from both the losing teams. Doesn't matter what it is." Riku answered.
"What is the time frame?" Leon asked.
"Well it is 8:00 now, be back here at 11:00. That should be plenty of time. Oh, one last thing. The numbers are for the team so if both members get the same persons phone number it only counts once."
"Fine, let's get started." Leon said. The six of them exited the house and the teams went their separate ways. Each having different ideas of where the best place to go to get phone numbers. Riku had allowed for so much time knowing that they would all be walking to where ever they would be going and he wanted to give time for that.
"Where should we go first?" Roxas asked.
"I was thinking we would hit up the movies first. Probably one getting out soon. We'll have better luck at the club if we hit it a last." Riku explained, his plan for the evening going through his mind.
"Then after the movies, we head to the mall. Sounds good." Roxas said, understanding what Riku was getting at. One had to know the time frame that each place would be at its busiest. Usually they avoided the places at those times, but with a game like this one they would have to go there then.
Riku had been right. When they arrived at the movies one had just let out. There were a lot of people walking around either leaving or going to the movies. It didn't take them long to get some phone numbers. After they had gotten about fourteen Riku decided it was time to move on. People were starting to become suspicious. They made their way to the mall picking up a couple more numbers on the way. Once there they walked around to all of the places people liked to hang out. After about an hour they left there and went to the club.
This was the busiest time of night for the club. Riku and Roxas separated. They made their way around the dance floor drawing attention to them, stopping occasionally to flirt. Riku was very good at this type of thing. He only had to flash his seductive smile and girls were throwing themselves at him. But he knew that that did not mean they would win. The other groups were good at attracting women as well. Girls seemed to love the way that Leon was quiet and mysterious. Cloud, people just flocked to him naturally. Seifer had the bad boy thing going for him. And Zexion was like Leon. Roxas had his award winning smile and eyes that made others want to get close to him. So they all had their advantages.
"Riku, I'm surprised to see you here." a female voice said from behind him. Riku turned around to be greet by a large small from a girl that was once his friend, Kairi. The two of them had been friends for a long time, but that stopped about a year ago when she confessed she had a crush on him. She had called it love though. Riku had calmly told her he wasn't interested in her in that way, but she had refused to give up trying to win his love. So Riku had put some distance between the two of them.
"I thought you hated this place because there were to many younger kids. So why are you here now?" Kairi asked, moving closer to him.
"I do hate this place. I'm only here for a game." Riku told her. Kairi knew all about the games that the group played. She use to participate in them herself. She smiled again.
"What is it this time?" Kairi asked.
"Collecting phone numbers." Riku answered, knowing there was no reason to lie to her about it. She would know if he did anyway. That was something that bother him about her, she always seemed to know when he was lying.
"I guess Roxas is here for that reason too?" it was a combination of a statement and a question. Riku nodded. "I'm sure you won't have any problems beating him, Riku."
"I don't have to beat him. We are doing this as teams. Roxas and I are on the same team."
"Oh, and the other teams are who?"
"Seifer and Zexion, and Cloud and Leon. Pretty evenly matched." Riku explained.
"I'd say. Good luck. And Riku, if you ever get tired playing games, you know where to find me." Kairi told him, smiling once again as she turned around and walked away. Riku shiver at what she had said, knowing what she meant by that. That wasn't going to happen. The last thing Riku wanted was a girlfriend like her. Someone that would always be bothering him to tell them that he loved her. Those were three words Riku had swore he would never say and mean.
Riku parents had separated after many years of fighting the previous year. He had watched as his mother cried day and night. He had watched as his father got madder and madder. They both had claimed to love each other, and yet they were both in pain. He had decided back then that love was something he didn't want anything to do with. His parents weren't the only examples that he had. He had seen countless people, even his own friends suffer because of love.
To him love was some fairy tale word, nothing more. It was a word used to sell chocolates and cards on Valentines Day. A word that made people sputter nonsense that they didn't really mean. A word that people used to get people into bed. A word of convenience. That was all. He had never seen anyone that had said that word that really seem to mean it. He had never seen anyone that had spoken that word who's eyes had not betrayed them. Many people had said that they really loved him, but not any of them had shown it in their eyes.
He had no need for love, an emotion that only served to hurt. Why would he? He had more than enough people willing to sleep with him, that was all he need. Sleep with someone and be done with them. No need for good morning kisses or after sex cuddling. No need for whispering sweet nothings into the other's ear. Just sex. He could sleep with who he wanted without cheating on someone, he could look at and talk to who he wanted without a jealous girlfriend to nag him, or boyfriend. He was bi. Tidus and Wakka were the only members of the group that were straight.
"Hey, Riku, we should get going. If we leave now we should get to your house a couple minute before time." Roxas said, walking up to Riku.
"Alright, I'll be happy to get out of this place." Riku said, looking around in disgust. He couldn't complain too much though, the game had been his idea. They pushed their way through the crowd of people and made their way to the exit. A couple of girls had tried to stop them and pulled them back to the dance floor, but they pulled out of their grasp not even bothering to get their phone numbers. The two just wanted out of the place. They let out a sigh of relief as the cool air from outside hit them as they pushed open the door.
"Was that Kairi I saw talking to you in there?" Roxas asked after they had been walking for a few of minutes.
"Yeah. She wanted to know what we were doing there."
"Did she hit on you?" Roxas asked, kicking a rock as he walked.
"Yes. She hits on me every time she sees me in some way or another. The girl can't seem to get it through her head that it isn't going to happen. I am not suddenly going to fall in love with her, and then we will live happily ever after." Riku said.
Roxas laughed, "Aww but Riku, a girls gotta dream. She just dreams big."
"I don't give a damn about what she dreams about or how big it is. I just want her to stop flirting with me all the time. She seriously needs to find someone else to set her sights on."
"I agree, I agree. We get tired of her lecturing us on how we are a bad influence on you and how we all just need to grow up and find someone to settle down with."
"She does that?" Riku asked, this was the first time he had heard anything about this.
"Yes, she is really starting to sound like your mother or something. I mean hell, we are only 17, why do we need to find someone to settle down with now? And doesn't she realize that you're the one that usually comes up with these games."
"Not always."
"I said usually. I'm just saying I don't think we are any worse of an influence on you than you are on us."
"Probably not. And I'm sure she knows that, she still hung out with us when we first started these games. She knows a lot of them were my idea. I guess she just wants to blame all of you instead of me. Either that, or she hopes that if you all refused to play my games then I will stop and be her boyfriend."
"If that is what she is think then she is in for a rude awakening." Roxas said. He kicked the rock on final time before they stepped into Riku's yard, the others already there waiting for them.
"Yes, she is." Riku said, ending the conversation. Riku walked up and unlocked the door. He stepped aside and let the others enter before him. After everyone was inside he stepped in and pulled the door closed behind him. The group all made their way to the living room, sitting down. They had all done a lot of walking.
After sorting through the numbers they had received as a team, taking out any doubles, they counted them up. The totals were pretty close, but the game was won by Seifer and Zexion. Seifer decided that Riku and Roxas had to buy him lunch for a week and Cloud and Leon had to do his homework. Zexion said Riku and Roxas would entertain his crazy cousin, Larxene, for a day when she was to be in town the following week and that he would make his request of Leon and Cloud at a different time.
After all had been settled, everyone started heading home for the night. Roxas was the last to leave. He was not an any hurry, he lived next door to Riku so getting home wasn't a problem.
"I guess some of those girls will be disappointed when we don't call them." Roxas said, out of the blue.
Riku shrugged, "Probably, but who cares. And don't tell me you do, because I know you don't."
"No, I don't. Not really in the mood for a girl right now, but I could go for a guy. Too bad I didn't get any guy numbers that interested me."
"Yeah, too bad. Not that you don't know where you can get sex."
"That's true. I know all I got to do is ask and you'll be happy to oblige." Roxas said, smirking at the other. Riku looked at him and returned the smirk.
"Don't act like you wouldn't like that."
TBC
Okay, just to make this clear. The town they live in is pretty big. There are two sides to the town. Both sides has it's own school. The two groups, Riku's group and Sora's group live in the same town just on different sides. So Sora lives in what Roxas described as being the better side since it had more things to do. There is not a difference in the sides when you look at it from a financial viewpoint. Hope that clears things up a little. This chapter sets background and a little insight into Riku. It also shows how much they like to play games (the story title has games in it) but we're not talking board or card games. Next chapter another Sora chapter. Please review. Reviews are what inspire me, without inspiration my chapters take longer to write because they don't seem to come out very easy.