Chapter 5

Mother Knows Best

"Sora, look at me," Riku said. Sora did not. "I know it's hard, but at least you told me. Now you won't regret keeping to yourself.

"Regret keeping it to myself. Now that I told you, it is worse. It hurts worse because now I know that we could have had a relationship together," Sora said.

"I know it seems that way now, but you will still be thankful you told him-"

"Just leave me alone. You are not helping me. If I look at you now and every other night, I will never be able to forget you," Sora said.

"Forget me?" Riku asked.

"Yes. The only way this pain will stop is if I forget every single thing," Sora said.

"Hmm. Have you ever considered doing something about it. Why not remember me and fight to keep me."

"What can I do?" Sora asked, still avoiding looking at him.

"You will have to figure it out. I can't help someone who simply wants me to vanish from his memory," Riku said. Sora awoke with a mild headache.

"Oww," Sora said as he massaged his head. He wanted to pretend like everything was okay. He wanted to pretend that he was going to go to school today and say hi to Riku and maybe meet him by the lake later. He could not pretend, however. It was final. He could not bring Riku back.

He walked to his dresser and opened it. The clothes were scattered everywhere from when he looked for a bathing suit for... Sora breathed in as he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. He grabbed jeans and a shirt, not caring what he was wearing. He wanted to get the day over with so he could come home and cry himself to sleep again.

Sora walked from his room to the bathroom. He saw his swimsuit in the tub. Riku must have worn his pair to the airport. It must have looked funny. Sora let out a small chuckle. It felt good for a minute to think about Riku. He took a shower and changed.

"Sora!" his mother called as he stepped out of the shower. "Are you up?" He did not feel like talking.

"Yes!" he said angrily, feeling annoyed with her for even assuming he was talking to her. He walked down stairs and saw she had made pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, and toast. A pathetic attempt to win him over, he assumed.

"I'm not hungry, actually," he said with a hint of attitude at the end. She eyed him carefully.

"Honey, I know it is hard, but you have other friends. I could not make a decision like that. I am not his parent. Try to understand."

"I understand. I understand that you don't care," Sora said feeling angry.

"Sora, I know you are mad. But I had to do what was right. If it was under different circumstances, I would have been glad to let him stay, but running away from your parents is not a good thing to promote," she explained as she filled his plate. Sora rolled his eyes. She pushed the plate towards him.

"I said I was not hungry," he said, wanting all the food she made to go to waste.

"Eat," she said seriously.

"No-"

"Eat!" she said with a warning tone. Sora ate his food.

After he finished he tried to sneak out the door to avoid riding to school with him mom, but she caught him.

"Good. You're ready. Let's go," she said.

They got into the car and Sora immediately turned the opposite direction from her and stared out the window.

"Honey, please stop this. Being angry at me is only going to make your day bad. It's Friday. Maybe we can do something over the weekend. See a movie or something," she suggested.

"Doesn't sound that exciting," Sora said just loud enough for her to hear.

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Because you will be there," Sora said. She yanked the car to the right and pulled over on the shoulder of the road, then came to a screeching halt.

"Sora," she said, somehow keeping her voice steady and calm even though she was furious. "That is enough of that. How dare you insult me because I made a decision that was morally correct. I am truly sorry Riku is gone, but insulting me and launching personal attacks at me is not helping anyone. I know that you think I am the bad guy, but think about his parents. They would have been worried sick without him. A mother can't just let her baby stay with someone while they go live somewhere for the rest of their lives. Don't you understand that. So for one second, stop thinking about you and start taking consideration for the people around you."

She put the car in gear and took off faster than she was intending. The arrived at the school after a long silence that made Sora feel worse about the situation. He did not intend to say that to his mom. He understood her position, but it still seems like she could of done more.

"Mom?" Sora asked as he began to get out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be like that."

"I know," she said smiling. "You'll be fine. Just go talk to someone about it. You will feel better. I'll pick you today too, so don't walk home." Sora shut the door and hesitantly walked into the school. He went straight to class without grabbing anything. They never did a lot on Fridays, which was great because Sora was planning on sleeping through every class.

"Hey, Sora," Tidus said from behind.

"Hi," Sora said awkwardly. He looked happy considering what happened. Then again, Sora did not do anything.

"What's up?" Sora asked, sounding happy than he was. He was getting good at that.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I acted the other night. It was crazy. I just thought the whole life changing decision should not have been done so quickly. I mean, I think if his parents really would have talked to him and others about it, they would not have done it," Tidus said confidently.

"Maybe," Sora said.

"So, is Riku okay about everything. I guess he left yesterday. I mean-"

"Can we just not talk about Riku?" Sora asked. Tidus looked confused. Sora walked away from him and entered his home room class.

"Morning Sora," Rikku said. She was looking more clothed than usual. Apparently she was tired of being called a slut. It made Sora think about how cruel kids could be. If people were to find out he liked a guy, it would probably ruin his life.

"Good morning R...Ri...R...Good morning, he could say it. It felt weird. She eyed gave him an awkward look.

"You know, you should not dress the way people want you to dress. You should dress the way you want to dress," Sora said.

"I wish I could, but...you know, it really is just that one girl. As if she has room to talk. She is dating three guys. And I here she has caught something from each of them having sex, the stupid whore," Rikku said. Sora was surprised to hear this. He did not gossip much or hear about it very much either.

"So Riku left," Rikku asked.

"Umm...yes," Sora said quietly as he sat down next to her.

"That is a shame. I would give the same advice to you about liking him," she said smiling.

"What? What are you...What?" Sora said, unsure if denying it was going to do anything.

"It's okay. I'm not going to blurt it out or anything. I can see that in people. It is not hard to tell really. By the way you look at him. The way you talk when other people are around, embarrassed and shy. And the way you talk to him when it is just you and him," She stated.

"How do you know how me and him talked?" he asked, feeling slightly stalked.

"I have gym with me. See what I mean. When he gives you undivided attention, you are not even aware of anyone else. Typical symptoms of crushing...and the fact I saw you two skip gym and run into the forest," she laughed. Sora did too.

"Well...so you don't think I'm weird or creepy?" Sora asked.

"What? That would be pathetic. Why should people ostracize someone for loving someone? Isn't that awful? To be criticized for loving? That's the world we live in I guess. We have all been molded so much into what is right and wrong in someone else's eye, only a few can break few and really accept things on their terms. Sora, I think you are great," Rikku told him.

"Thanks. Anyway, he is gone so it really doesn't matter," Sora told her.

"Is that what you think or is that what you feel?" Rikku asked as she stared intently into his eyes. She truly wanted to help him.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Well, your brain is telling you that logic tells you it can't be done. Don't listen to your head, it is full of impossibilities. Your heart can break through impossibilities. You know what I think you should do?" She asked.

"What?"

"Tell your mom. I bet she could help-"

"She is the reason he left," Sora told her.

"Oh?"

"Yes. She refused to let him stay because she felt it was wrong," he said. People started to come in now.

"Well, I still stand by what I said," Rikku stated as she turned in her desk. Sora thought about it. He could not tell his mom this. It could ruin their relationship, not to mention, make an awkward mess out of things. He sighed.

"Morning class. I thought we would have a class discussion about gossip and lies today," the teacher stated as he sat on his desk. Sora closed his eyes. This was not going to help things. He did not want to talk about this, but his teacher made people participate. Everyone had to say at least one thing. "Volunteers? Rikku, as expected."

"I think gossip is one of those things everyone does accidentally. I think we have got so used to doing it, when we do it, we can't even identify that we are doing it. I also think it never stops until it really does damage to people. But even if that does occur, it still comes back. I think it is also awful that in high school, gossip is so bad it changes people. It changes how they feel, to how people want them to feel and how they look, to how people want them to look," Rikku said.

"Strong words. Good-" the teacher complimented.

"Is that why you're wearing a shirt. To hide you are a slut," the snobbish girl in the back said. The teacher gave her a warning look. Sora felt his temper expand so fast it made his face light up.

"She isn't the one who has a disease from fucking three guys at once you cock-sucking whore!" Sora yelled back her. She had an evil glare on her face as everyone gasped and stared her.

"Sora!" the teacher yelled in disbelief.

"I had every right to defend her, you sure as hell weren't going to say anything," Sora said.

"You are just pissed off because your friend moved," the girl spoke up.

"Yes, I am pissed off. And it is people like you that piss me off because you find it funny to target people that are not like you. Conforming to every little thing. You people don't feel anything do you? If your friend moved, would you even care?" Sora asked her.

"If it was boyfriend, maybe. Is Riku your boyfriend?" she mocked him, finding herself extremely funny. Sora stared her straight in the eyes, as though preparing to attack her.

"What if he his?" Sora asked, wiping the smirk off her face faster than she could come up with something ignorant to say. Everyone stared at him like he was some kind of monstrosity. Everyone, but Rikku, who smiled.

"That is fucking sick, you-"

"Shut up you heartless bitch!" Yuna yelled back, surprising Sora. The teacher was in awe.

"Fuck you. You some kind of fag too?" she asked.

Yuna stood up and walked back the girl's desk like she was prepared to break her neck. The girl gasp and attempted to hop over her desk to avoid her. Yuna grabbed her hair and threw her into the window, cracking it, but not breaking it. The girl fought her way up and tried to slap Yuna, who backhanded her across the face than followed it up with a punch in the nose. The teacher raced to grab her before Yuna could push her through the window. Rikku stood up and hopped over a row to finish the job. She swiftly kicked the girl in the stomach sending her threw the window.

"STOP!" the teacher screamed. "Office with the three of you!" He released Yuna and they all walked out.

Sora felt he was in an awkward position, being the cause of what happened.

"I did not mean to take this that far," Sora said.

"It is not your fault," Yuna said.

"Seriously, Sora. That bitch had no reason to talk to you like that," Rikku said.

"I think it was brave to say that in front of everyone like that Sora. You deserve to be admired, not made fun of. Thanks for backing me up, by the way," Yuna told Rikku.

"I just had to do it."

They all walked in the office laughing. Sora was feeling better about this. He had not expected anyone on his side. As they stepped in, they immediately stopped laughing after seeing the principals face.

He was a tall, elderly man that could raise his voice so high, it made you twitch.

"You all will be picked up by your parents and suspended all of next week," he said calmly before starting to yell. "How DARE you immerse yourself in a fight that defaced school property?" he yelled.

"Actually, immerse doesn't really make that much sense. Engage maybe-" Rikku corrected him.

"Do not correct me! YOU ALL ARE LUCKY YOU AREN'T BEING FORCE TO PAY FOR THAT WINDOW!" he screamed becoming red in the face.

"As if it cost that much. Knowing this cheap ass school it was probably-" Yuna started.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled.

"What do you want us to say?" Rikku asked.

"NOTHING!" he screamed.

"With all do respect, sir, I don't recall hearing the conditions of this argument," Rikku stated.

"THIS ISN'T AN ARGUMENT, THIS IS A...A...A" he said stuttering to find the work.

"Complete waste of time?" Sora suggested, feeling he might as well join in.

"NOOOOO!!!! AHHHH!!! DAMN KIDS!" He screamed as he went to his office and slammed the door. They all began to laugh.

"That was so exciting," Sora said. "I have never done that before."

"My mom will kill me, but it is worth it," Yuna said.

"My mom will agree with me," Rikku said.

They waited a couple of minutes for their parents. Sora's mom was first.

"See ya!" he said.

"Bye Sora," Yuna and Rikku said together. He walked outside and opened the door to the car to step in. His mom sat with a glare as though waiting for him to explain a difficult question.

"Hi mom," Sora said carefully.

"Hello Sora. My son who is not having a problem at school," she stated.

"It was not fair. I was only defending a friend. I did not fight anyone-"

"But why were you so confrontational?" she asked. "Something more than Riku moving is bothering you. I want to know, now," she said as though holding him at gun-point and waiting for him to speak a secret.

"Mom it is-"

"It is something, tell me and let me help!" she said strongly. Sora suddenly remembered Rikku's suggestion. He decided he might as well go for it, though he feared the result, nevertheless, he was feeling brave today.

"It is Riku-"

"It couldn't have been the fact he left because you were acting strange before that too," she said.

"No. It is Riku. It was always Riku. I really-"

"What do you mean. Did he do something?" she asked, not catching on.

"Mom, I love him," Sora said without hesitation. She actually did not give any odd reaction.

"Sora?"

"I love him. And when I finally told him, I figured out he loved me too. And now, it doesn't matter because he is gone."

"I'm so glad you told me honey," she said hugging him. "I though about it once, but I could not be sure. I had no idea you felt that way. I can't let this happen. This is not fair. You deserve to be with him," she said putting the car in gear.

"Mom?" he said, not understanding.

"If you love him that badly. You deserve to be with him. Separating you two from such a perfect relationship you have had since childhood. I won't let it happen," she said, speeding down the highway.

"You mean-"

"We are catching the next plane out of here to go to that island they are at. I will convince his parents to let me bring Riku home. Hell, I will pay for them to come and visit, but he will be on that plane with us on the way back. I will break the law to get him back here if I have to," she said taking this far more serious than Sora expected, which was shocking to him.

"Really!" Sora yelled in excitement. His mom was actually doing this. This was real. He would be reunited with Riku, that is, if his mother could persuade his parents to do so.