[A/N: Wow, it's really been a while since I updated this story! I apologize, I guess I just got bored of it (what can I say, I have some long-term commitment issues). But anyway, I'll try my best to update when I'm feeling motivated. Plus, reviewing helps everything along as well, so please consider doing that. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Now, on to the story...]

Chapter Twelve

Kairi was a train wreck the rest of the week. It was hard not knowing about Sora, and it probably would have never bothered her if Vanitas hadn't told her. Now, everytime she looked at Sora, she would wonder, 'What's wrong with you?'
It wasn't easy, but she couldn't let Vanitas get to her. For all she knew, he could be lying through his teeth. But something told her he was being honest.

Restless hours turned into days, and soon it was Friday afternoon. She was at Sora's house going over some ways to make sentences more interesting, but she could hardly concentrate.
"Kairi?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like I'm some alien specimen or something."
"I... I am?"
"Yup."
Kairi blushed. "Oh sorry. Guess I'm kind of distracted."
"Does my face distract you?" He grinned.
"W-What? N-No, why the h-hell.."
Sora laughed. "I'm JOKING. It's alright, I'm guessing you're just waiting to get home, watching the clock, so you don't have to spend an extra second with boring old me." He teased.
"Oh come on Sora. You're not THAT boring." She smiled.
"Hey!" Sora gasped in a fake tone.
They laughed, then Kairi said, "Alright, I want you to try writing something."
"Try being the key word there." Sora replied grimly.
"I think you're better than you give yourself credit. Just do your best."
He took a deep breath, picked up a pencil, and started writing. As Kairi watched him concentrate, she noticed that the more focused he was, the more his brow furrowed. It was actually kind of adorable, just like the rest of him.
"Uh, how long do you want it to be?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Then I think I'm done."
Kairi picked up the paper.
"Please don't read it out loud, it's kind of cheesy."
She began to read.

'Our minds have wandered, our paths have crossed. And yet, our happiness isn't as vibrant as it could be. We both know the one thing that's kept us apart for so long, but we still aren't as we should be.'

Kairi's heart raced. Was this about her? She kept reading.

'Even now, as we spend our days together, something is holding us back. It's fear.
Fear keeps us from being completely happy, and completely together. If fear was not there, there'd be no doubt that we'd have each other right now, forevermore.'

For one of the first times in her life, Kairi was speechless.
"I...I..."
"It's stupid, isn't it?" Sora muttered.
"N-No, it w-wasn't. That was a...amazing."
His eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"I finally get it! I get it Kairi, I get it!" Sora jumped up and down on his bed.
Kairi laughed. Then, to her surprise, Sora stopped jumping, got off the bed, stood facing Kairi, then pulled her in for a hug.
"Thank you Kairi." He whispered.
For the second time that day, she was speechless. Then she slowly wrapped her arms around him.
"It was no problem. I'm glad I was able to help." She murmured.
As soon as they separated, Sora said,
"This calls for a celebration!"
"Oh yeah, what kind of celebration?"
Sora grinned. "Ice cream."

"Y'know, I just don't get it."
They were walking around the park, eating ice cream.
"What don't you get?" Kairi asked.
"People. It's like, why do you judge others so much that they can't be themselves? And when they try to be unique, and we shut them down, they're mad about it. Talk about hypocritical." Sora replied, taking a tentative bite of his ice cream.
"Where did that come from?"
"I dunno. These days, we're all stuck in this box of how everyone should live their lives, and it's going to make for a scary future."
Kairi nibbled on her ice cream. "I guess I never really thought about it." She mused.
"I just want the world to be able to accept people's differences, y'know?" Sora stood up to throw his ice cream stick away.
"Just look at those three." he said, pointing to a group of girls. They all had matching outfits on, and their hair was each put up in the same side ponytail.
"There's just no individuality left in the world." He sighed.
Kairi stood up, tossed her ice cream stick away, then joined Sora back on the bench.
"I can tell you've been thinking about this for a while." She commented.
"You can?"
"Does this have anything to do with what you wrote today?" There. She said it.
Sora looked startled. "Well, I..."
His phone rang. He answered, talked for a few minutes, then hung up, looking relieved.
"It's Riku. Apparently Seifer got into some kind of trouble, and we need to help him out of it, as usual."
Kairi frowned. He was about to tell her something that could've lead to the discussion she wanted to have. But it was too late, he was already gone.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Kairi let out a frustrated scream. Boys were such complicated creatures.

Saturday came and went, with no major events (except her brother getting his head stuck in an empty fishbowl). She sent Ventus another email, hoping she would be able to reach him. His phone was still off, which really worried Kairi, and he wasn't answering his emails or responding to his IMs.
'Ven, what the hell happened to you?'
She was half tempted to call his mothers phone, but she knew he'd get embarrassed if she did that, so she refrained. She was looking forward to shopping with Xion and Namine, so she could talk to them about Vanitas and Sora.

Sunday arrived shortly, and she met up with them at the mall. Kairi told them about her concerns while they were eating lunch in the food court, after the
"Do you seriously believe what that asshole told you?" Xion asked.
"That's just it. I have absolutely no idea what to believe anymore." She replied.
"You shouldn't take his words seriously. I mean, it is Vanitas we're talking about. You should trust in Sora before him." Namine added.
"I know, but it's just been bugging me so much..." Kairi sighed.
"That's exactly what he wants, so don't let it."
"Namine's right. Just get through these two weeks, then have an awesome time with Sora at the dance. Not to mention you'll miss your opportunity to wear that gorgeous dress if you skip it." Xion smiled.
Kairi peered into the large white box to look over her purchase. Inside was a soft pink strapless dress she impulsively bought after trying it on. It fit perfectly, and her friends refused to let her put it back on the rack. She smiled, knowing that even if the dance was terrible, she would at least look good at it.
"Honestly, when Sora sees you in that, I think he'll drop dead." Xion grinned.
"If that's the kind of effect it has on him, I think I'll return it." Kairi frowned.
"You'd better not," Namine warned.
"Yours is the prettiest out of the three of ours. You'll make the rest of us look like wallflowers."
"Oh hush. Your dress looks beautiful on you. Roxas will love it, trust me." Xion assured her.
Namine had chosen a sky blue dress with spaghetti straps, and it was really long so it flowed behind her. Kairi thought she looked like a princess when she saw her wearing it. Xion's dress was short and striking, a deep shade of violet and had only one strap. She also looked stunning in her dress.
"I think we all made pretty good choices." Kairi mused.
Now all she needed was to not make a total fool of herself in front of the entire school.
'Two more weeks. You can do this.'