Disclaimer- I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters. Square Enix does.

A note- So many of you got the right play! I decided not to email the first chapter early just because it took me so long to finish it, and because you all basically figured it out. I did make it kind of easy...

Another thing. This chapter was going to be twice as long, but with exams coming up at the end of the school year I haven't had time to finish. The next chapter will be long, though, and all chapters after that as well. (I basically have this fic planned out, and it has a plot!)

A chapter overview- Embarassing pictures! The play rehearsels! SNOW!

Sora's POV

It was Thursday now, eighth hour, and I was attempting to indulge myself in a 'field assignment' by heading outside and looking for something nice to take a picture of, amidst the cold weather and that other stuff...

What kind of nice picture had snow in it?

It was late November and we already had three or four inches of that vile, white substance on the ground; usually we didn't have this much of it until right before Christmas. Snow was sacreligious to my idea of a perfect world, and I wanted it to melt, disappear, turn into water and evaporate or at least do something other than lay there like that and slowly push me towards the edge of my sanity. Yes, I have limits too. Kairi was giggling at me as I kicked at it.

"We should move somewhere warm," she suggested, snapping a picture of my desperate attempts to rid the world of cold. It certainly wasn't going very well. "So what happened with you and Riku last night?" Homework. That was what happened. But I expected she would interpret an answer such as that to be boring, so I gave a sarcastic reply.

"It started with us talking, then we got high, he kissed me first, we made out, had se-"

"Sora!" She squealed, covering her ears and closing her eyes in a disgusted manner as if to rid the oncoming images forcing their way into her mind. I don't think she realized it was meant as a joke. "I thought you were more responsible! What would your parents think? Do they know?" I sighed. Kairi, sometimes you can be such a blond. "I hadn't thought Riku would get to you so soon..."

"Kairi, I'm just kidding," I said, worried about some of the comments she was making. I was tentative about telling her off; she also could have meant them as a joke. "Besides, Riku and I would never-"

"So you don't like him..." I don't know if it was just me, but something in her voice sounded hurt.

"I didn't say tha-at!" I whined. What she must have thought about my emotions for Riku was the exact opposite of what was actually true, and I really didn't want her telling Riku I hated him, when actually, he was my main infatuation. "What I mean is, Riku would never uh... Go out with someone like me. I must have been a pain for him to listen to while I tried to help him with his geometry." I think I flushed. Actually telling Kairi I liked someone was degrading, even if she was the closest friend I would ever get. "He probably thinks I'm annoying." She giggled. "What?"

"You go ahead and keep thinking that if you'd like. It all adds up to the element of suprise in the end." I didn't know what 'suprise' she was talking about, but she looked happy, so I didn't think it was bad.

"You know, Kairi, that would make part of a nice poem."

"Huh?" She looked up, scarf trailing in the snow as she inspected the smile on my face. I let the camera drop around my neck, and I pulled out a pen and a small notebook from my pocket. From there, I began to write. "What's that?" Ignoring her question, I started humming a song to myself. "Sora! Come on, tell me!" I kept going. She stood up, retightning her scarf as she tromped towards me and attempted to lean over my shoulder and see what I was inscribing.

"No, Kairi..." I sang with a smile on my face. "I'm not done yet." Her arms fell at her sides and she stuck out her lower lip, pouting playfully. I laughed at her. Kairi always seemed so excited when I wrote, interested more than I'd originally thought possible. Was it possible? "It'll take me a while."

"Read what you have then!" I 'hmmed' to myself, fakely and sarcastically as I tried to get her angry, which took a lot. "Please?"

"Fine, fine...

Think along the wrong ideas if you'd like

Incorrect musings lead to the element of suprise"

"Now I get it!" She said thoughtfully, sounding proud of herself. "I'm happy my words can be inspirational just as much as the next person's can." I smiled, waiting for her to say something else that intrigued me. I loved to mold words, transform and disguise them, put them into sentences with a rythmatic structure so I could astound everyone else.

"Well Kairi, I would certainly hope your words are inspirational, now that you need to write songs that touch peoples' hearts..." She giggled a little, in obvious agreement. I knew it was true. She wouldn't have to step it up much, because her voice already would inspire millions.

"Very nice."

Very creepy. Kairi and I turned to face that familiar sounding voice just as the final bell rang. I heard Kairi give a sigh as she began to think of someway to scold him for not being where he was supposed to be, but all that popped out of her mouth was, "How long have you been skipping?"

"Whole day," Riku replied, giving that same smirk he always did. "I didn't come any earlier because I didn't want to get either of you two angels in trouble." From next to me, I heard Kairi give a snort.

"That was very nice of you," Kairi replied, looking around. I think she suspected Axel was nearby. "So you came to see...?"

"Technically, a lot of people, but I was invited to the try-outs by Roxas." I felt a twinge of jealousy hit me as he said that name. Roxas and Riku. I wasn't sure exactly which one was making me so angry, but either way, I think I was scowling. "What's wrong with you?" Great, now I had Riku turning his attention to me.

"Nothing. I should get home," I replied, quickly and shyly and coldly as I stepped towards the door. I wanted to avoid all conversations with him.

"But... Sora, we promised Naminé we'd go see her too!" Sometimes, I really wish Kairi would just learn to shut up. It wasn't that I didn't want to see Naminé. The real reason I didn't want to go was because Riku would be there, and if for even one split second I did anything embarassing in front of him, I would never forgive myself. "You said yourself earlier that your parents didn't care how late you would be." I finally gave in, sighing and internally cursing at my situation.

"Alright, fine," I replied, kicking a chunk of ice away from the door as I pulled it open. It slid across the paved sidewalk and hit at Riku's feet, a few pieces shattering off the main and going every which way. They tried to make their escape, only to be halted by the piles of snow that were frozen to the ground. That was how I felt; like I was trapped in a situation and there was no hope of getting away.

Kairi must have seen my current frustration and how I was trying to vent if off, because she gave me several sympathetic looks on her way to the door. Riku was close behind.

It was amazing how absolutely oblivious he was to everything, or at least I thought he was from the way he walked past groups of staring students, not a care in the world if they saw him here at Locania instead of back in Ashland where he supposedly belonged. From helping him with his homework, I had initially decided he would do alright here if he ever transferred. Riku was smart, but he didn't show it. I wish he would have.

"What part was Naminé trying out for again?" Kairi asked, fidgiting with one of the many zippers that lined her jacket. It really was a strange design.

"Victoria," I answered monotonously. Now I definately had Kairi's attention. She stood there, having randomly stopped in the middle of the hallway, and plainly just glared at me. Her gaze was scolding me for being so despondent to the fact that Riku was there, and that he probably noticed my faltering actions just as well as she did. "What?" Now I was trying to sound annoyed.

"What's your problem today?" Ugh. I hated when she forced me to reply to questions she knew I didn't have an answer for. "Angry about eighth hour or something? I know you hate photography, but you're going a little too..."

"Aw, leave the poor guy alone. Can't you see he's upset about the weather? We are supposed to get a blizzard later." Riku was... Defending me?

"All the more reason I need to get home. My parents are most certainly not going to let me go walking around in a blizzard by myself, and they won't want to drive through huge piles of that sickening white substance the rest of you have come to know as snow." In all honesty, I wasn't sure my parents would care much if I walked through a blizzard. They probably wouldn't care about anything I did. I could have drown myself and they would not have cared, honestly.

"I could always walk you home." Riku's suggestion made me feel very irritable all of the sudden, and my defenses imediately went up. My brain began to form all of its best excuses as I tried to reply to him.

"No, that's okay... I wouldn't want you going out of your way for someone who's as insignificant as I am." I heard Kairi's sigh and Riku's failed attempted to say something nice (or sarcastic) in return, and I was quite pleased that the three of us had finally reached the auditorium. There weren't a whole lot of people there, but I imediately spotted Naminé down in the front, talking to Roxas quite casually as she showed him something out of her sketch book. I think that if she wouldn't have been trying out for the play, she would have done an excellent job on the scene arrangements, particularly the backgrounds.

"Naminé!" Kairi called. I hope she hadn't distracted anyone else practicing their lines as they waited for their audition. She went running towards the two blondes at a nice-paced speed, and I was far too lazy to sprint after her, not to mention there was still a huge camera strapped around my neck.

"You and Naminé must be good friends." I nodded at him, afraid to say anything that might be used against me either now or at a later time, and that was just about every word, english or something foreign, in the history of man-kind. His gaze settled on me again, just as it had two nights ago when I hadn't spoken much and he had become concerned.

The weird sea-green color of his eyes held my attention quite well. "Maybe we should..." He motioned towards the front, and out of nervousness, I found myself nodding again.

We trudged down the incline of the rather large area, me keeping to myself a few feet behind Riku (which meant I was staring at his ass) until we came to Kairi and Naminé, and where Roxas was preparing himself to audition for the part of Victor. There was no doubt in my mind he would get it; Roxas was the best at acting.

"Kairi, come on... You really should." I had no idea what Naminé apparently wanted or thought Kairi should do, but I wouldn't permit myself to ask. I had taken an oath of silence now that Riku was around.

"I'm no good at acting, just singing," Kairi replied, blushing at the thought that people actually wanted to hear her voice that badly. "Besides, I'm sure there are already plenty of other people here who would love to have the part of Emily." So that was where this was going. "And I'm busy with the new band."

Roxas turned to smile at her, adding, "She is the most important member..." Then his eyes went to Naminé, who he also blessed with a look of happiness. "Naminé believes that my simply untouchable talent should not be limited to merely playing the percussion-based instruments." I hadn't known so many words were even in Roxas' vocabulary, but then I realized who else he was staring at-- He was trying to impress Riku. Ugh.

"Don't sound all conceited about it," Naminé replied, glaring only playfully at Roxas while folding her arms across her chest. "I'll have you know I suggested this because I think it would be a nice change in scenery from those deafening instruments."

"Alright, so why are you trying out? To keep me in line?" Roxas shot right back at her, waiting for her to admit she didn't know why.

"Well, of course. Someone has to, and since the rest of your band, except Kairi, seems to be trying out as well, I'm going to have my hands full with the three of you!" Naminé replied as a matter-of-factly. I could tell already that Roxas was amused with her answer. "And if you'll please excuse me, they require my own 'untouchable' acting skills on stage." She stalked off, Kairi giving a giggle in response.

"So Roxas, up for a challenge?"

Roxas apparently didn't understand the hidden meaning behind Kairi's innocent question, or why she was motioning to Naminé's reatreating form as she headed up to the stage for her audition. Instead he stared at her, confused. "Yeah...?" Maybe he thought she was referring to the acting bit. Kairi giggled. "What's so funny?"

"Good luck," Riku said with a laugh, patting him on the shoulder as they called Roxas up for his own audition. The blond skipped a step as he made his way to the top of the stage and over towards the door behind it. Giving the 'rock-on' sign, he disappeared into the room.

"He'll do fine," Kairi suggested. "They all will." Riku gave a sigh of boredom, almost as though he wanted us to thank him for trying to be so patient. "Nothing to do now but sit and wait."

Taking the hint, Riku collapsed into one of the fold-out chairs, neck leaned on the back of the object and arms hanging limply down from his side like a rag doll's. He closed his eyes and started humming to himself. Kairi sat down beside him, smiling and staring at me, waiting for something or another to happen. I just stood there and averted my gaze to the three girls who had piled into the auditorium together.

I knew one of them because of the brown sort-of-spikey hair and the strangely mis-matched eyes and by the friendly tone she carried whenever she spoke to someone. Her name was Yuna.

That reminded me that Tidus had always had this huge crush on her. Tidus who was the most popular kid in our school, Tidus who was good at everything, Tidus who looked like Roxas, Tidus who was the student Council president, Tidus who could get any girl (or guy for that matter) he wanted... Except Yuna. I wouldn't have been evesdropping on the brunette and her friends, but some portions of their conversation just so happened to catch my un-divided attention.

"Yeah, why is Riku here?" A blond with a high ponytail and a few smaller braids giggled to herself because of Yuna's question and went red in the face as she stared at the lazy form of a person I knew as Riku.

"He's got my name!" She said excitedly, almost squealing.

"Calm yourself," The third girl interjected in a less-than-excited tone. Her hair was short and grayish brown, and she had red eyes. I recognized her from a veterinary clinic on the other side of the town; she must have been doing volunteer work or something. Kairi wanted her job. "Go ask for an autograph later, after the auditions. Maybe he's waiting for one."

"Aw, phooey. It'll take a matter of seconds for someone with my charm to..."

"Rikku, he's a bad influence," The third girl declared quite finishingly. Yuna sighed as Rikku, who sure enough did share a name with the Riku I had become acquainted with, began to whine and pout, settling herself down in a chair to mope. After that all three were silent.

"Here comes Roxas..." Naminé followed along behind, quite suprisingly. "And Naminé," Kairi added. When they reached us, she stood up, happily questioning, "So how did it go?"

"It's like this!" Roxas said, making a dramatic movement with his hands for show as he brightly smiled at the red-head. "I got the part of Victor!" He paused. "Alright, no applause as I can see... And Naminé!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her in front of himself, lucky the girl was only up to his chin in a heigh comparisen. Roxas put his arm around her and she gave a shy smile as blush lit up her cheeks. "They gave her the part of Emily, because they think that she has a lovely singing voice." Kairi all of the sudden looked very impressed.

"We should let her join the band!" Kairi blurted out. No second thoughts about that statement. Roxas nodded, turning to look at Naminé again.

"Your voice is really good." I saw her blush even more at that. "We can discuss this with the rest of the band at practice tonight." All of the sudden, Naminé, to me, looked a little confused. "You are coming to practice tonight, blizzard or no blizzard. We'll get you home somehow... Or at least I will."

"I'll help!" Kairi declared, throwing an arm into the air in excitement. "Are we going then?" Kairi asked, grabbing her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder and almost knocking Riku out of his chair with the impact. Roxas nodded as he put his arms around both girls at once, leaning towards the exit where we all needed to get to.

I'm not sure Riku's letter had been telling the truth when he claimed Roxas was gay. I just didn't see it.

"See you later, you two!" Kairi said happily, waving and allowing herself to be led by Roxas to the exit. When Naminé pushed the door open for the group of three, I could see a heavy snow beginning to fall and I cringed.

"Oh my Goddd..." I moaned, shoving my face in my hands as I continued to whine. Riku laughed at me, and all of the sudden I felt the urge to disappear... "Shut up," I said, suddenly trying to laugh with him. Thank God for mood swings, I guess, though I'm not so sure you could call that a mood swing.

"You want me to walk you home?" I considered his offer very carefully. If I walked home with Riku, there was the possibility I could screw up and completely say the wrong thing, but if I walked home by myself, chances were I would end up in a snowbank, alone and cold just like I was when I was three.

"Yeah, that would be nice," I replied, standing up and realizing I had never returned my camera. Screw it.

"Don't you need to take anything home?"

"Are you, by asking me that question, suggesting you don't believe I have the concentration to finish my homework in study hall and at noon hour?" He shook his head, probably a little taken aback at my sudden attempts to defend myself. Well, this was about schoolwork. He should have known better. Schoolwork was the only thin I ever got defensive about... And maybe Kairi, every once in a while.

"You have so many of the higher classes that I just figured..." I was glaring, and Riku seemed to recognize he'd overstepped his boundaries. "Never mind."

The two of us were silent as we pushed open the twin doors leading outside. The quiet state was worrying me a little. I hoped I hadn't overstepped my boundaries by yelling at him, even though when I observed Riku walking through the snow next to me he didn't seem like he cared much.

Examining him had been a big mistake. Now he was looking at me, smirking again while I turned away. I felt my face heat up and I knew I was probably blushing. Even if he saw that, he still didn't stop staring at me. How awkward...

I decided to fight back, turning to him with what I hoped was an unreadable expression, and his smirk transformed into a smile. "Isn't this pleasent?" He asked me, facing forward and closing his eyes. I caught myself staring at all the pretty, disfunctionally-shaped snowflakes gathering in his silver hair, catching on different strands and melting away as though they'd never even existed...

Wait a minute. Had I just referred to snow as 'pretty?' And furthermore, why could I not stop looking at him...?

"Are you pretending to be mute again?"

"No," I said, making up my mind to play oblivious. "Just trying to ignore how miserable watching the snow fall makes me feel." Another snowflake hit my face and I gave the sky an evil look. Riku laughed at my crazy antics, dragging at hand through that gorgeous, silver hair right before he flipped it. My eyes widened.

"If you hate the cold so much, why don't you just move somewhere warm?" This question that he seemed to share with Kairi made me contemplait why I hadn't asked my parents to take me somewhere else. I was pretty desperate to go somewhere that had never caught a glimpse of snow, never had to deal with all of the provlems it caused.

...But I guess I couldn't just leave. I did have too many friends I wouldn't abandon, especially Kairi. She was great vocally. A band had finally discovered her talent, and at this moment she was probably rehearsing some inspirational, world-changing song. And Naminé-- She was an artist. There were so many different things she could do with that talent, like illustrait books or create character designs for video games and movies. Not to mention she was good at singing too...

But where was I going in life?

I had all of these advanced classes and college-prep courses and extracurricular activities and what for? I could go to college all I wanted with the money my family had, but what if I turned in an application, got called for an interview, and then they didn't want me because I was too anti-social? Then what? Would I be stuck in a photography class my whole life?

Oh that's right. My photography assignment...

The camera was still around my neck, and I was still outside, so really there wasn't anything stopping me from taking a nice picture... Except that snow sucks.

Then I noticed Riku's head tilted up towards the sky as we walked along, snow beginning to fall harder and all over the two of us. A bright idea came to mind.

There he was, looking so oblivious, so sweet and pure looking with his face towards the sky and the melting snowflakes glistening in his hair... He looked like an angel. Something was making me feel sure that this was the perfect opportunity for a photo, even if it wouldn't be good enough for my photography assignment; I wanted it anyway. His eyes were still closed. Riku didn't see me as I raised the camera, pointed it at his face, and snapped a picture, but he did hear the click.

"Hey, what..." He seemed confused, maybe a little startled even, but I was too busy wallowing in my pride and happiness to notice him. "Sora...?"

"Thank you for your patronage!" I said cheerfully as I smiled, gave a little wave and jolted off in front of him, heading for my house at a joyful stride and gigging the whole way. I was just about home free, but then something grabbed me by the shoulders...

And pulled me on the ground, into the snow.

My camera was yanked from my neck, but not in a mean way. It was more like Riku was laughing too hard and not realizing how rough he was being when he pushed me back into the snow, holding the camera and just dying- Dying of laughter.

"Smile!" He said, putting an arm around me as he held the camera out in front of us. I wasn't sure just how happy I could have possibly looked when I was sitting in that wet, disgusting snow, but I did as I was told, (and I was quite happy about the situation, to say the least) and he snapped a photo, one I knew I would be proud to have sometime in the near future. I want Kairi to develope that, now.

We were both still laughing. I was holding my side because it was beginning to hurt to breathe, when he basically put the camera down, wrapped both arms around my neck and pulled me down into the snow just a little more. It was cold, and wet... But I think all of the blushing I was doing was warming me up.

"Hey Sora..."

"Hmm?" My hair was getting wet and it was about to be sticking to my face...

"Would you maybe wanna do something with me tomorrow night? Like hang out?"

Definately.

"Yeah, sure," I replied, trying not to sound too desperate. My cellphone rang. "Sorry," I said, silencing it as I continued to talk to him. I took a look at the caller ID to see that Kairi was calling, probably making sure her room at my house was available this coming week while her mother was away. It would be. My parents did love her, after all... "Just Kairi. She's staying over for the next week."

"Is she going to be coming along too, what with the band practice?"

"Probably not," I mused, shoving the phone into my pocket and hoping it wouldn't get wet from the moisture that was snow soaking into my pants.

"Shit... I'm supposed to be at work," He said suddenly, getting up and leaning down to grab my hand, pulling me up with him. I felt my face redden at the touch. "Sorry about that. My manager's going to kill me..."

"Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. My house isn't that much farther away."

"Sorry anyway..." He said. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Don't skip," I replied, hoping he'd take my advice seriously.

"I won't." He turned, giving me a little wave as he walked off. I returned the gesture. I was about halfway down the street when I heard him call my name. When I turned around, he was basically... Well, right next to me, if that was possible.

"What-"

He hugged me. That was what.

"See you tomorrow!" He said, suddenly cheerful as he took off running in the other direction.

"Yeah, alright!" I called, smiling and tightening the camera around my neck. I was not going to lose that picture.

A/N- A few fun notes... Or just informational, if you will.

First of all, no blond offense with the Kairi thing in the beginning. If I start to use blond jokes in any of the following chapters, please don't give me bad reviews. I'm apologizing for it ahead of time because I know how some people will take offense to them.

Second of all, it has come to my attention that Sora may be just a bit misunderstood. He's going through emotional problems right now. Give him a hug and tell him everything will be okay. (Cuddles Sora)

Third, Sora finally spoke out for himself! Yes, his homework is important to him. Riku needs to learn to accept that.

Fourth, you maybe wondering why Sora is defending Kairi sometimes. It's simply because they're like siblings, not because he's in love with her or anything. This fic is a pure RikuxSora fic, I promise you!

An Episode Five preview (!) - Sora and Riku go to a little party. Introduction to Leon and Cloud. Selphie shares a letter with Sora. Band practices and Play practices! It should be out as soon as I can get it out, but with work and with exams it might take a little longer. (I tend to write in my study hall)