I am so sorry for the wait! But I made it extra long to compensate!!! And, seeing how it's 11:00 at night, I'm going to do the warnings NEXT chapter, because when I'm sleepy, I'm eligible. (what? see what I mean!!! Illegible? S.P?!?)

Reviewers: (This way is so much easier!)

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: (Wow, are you psychic?!? Good call on the Sora thing. Thank you!!!)

Undeniiable . xx: (Yay! A Sora! At least somebody got my comparison! Your feeling...it may be correct...)

pichu10176: (Lol, the power of three will set you free! I know...I'm kinda deeply disliking math this year.)

Nathali: (Ha, yes. Lol, I love cliffys.)

Tysonkaiexperiment: (Do I still get the cookie? Lol, here's the update.)

Okay guys, I have to tell you now, Riku and Sora's meeting in this won't be explained thoroughly until it's Riku POV, because for some reason, I can describe it better with him. But don't worry, this will have some minor Soiku interaction, and some Roxas...hee.)

Enter Sora:

Okay, no I didn't die. But before you call me a drama queen, just know that I could have! I started to hyperventilate, something that I have been deemed cured of, I'll have you know, and then the wheezing started. And then I knew I had to get outta there.

I shoved past the hordes of people and made a mad dash down the hall, only turning back once to see if Axel had managed to escape in the chaos.

What I saw made me stop dead in my tracks. Axel Akito, my friend, Axel Akito, was laughing with an unidentified silver haired boy. I glared at the red head, willing his body to catch on fire. Wait a minute, I bet he'd like that.

Grr…just wait until Roxas found out about this.

That's right, I thought as I walked more leisurely to my homeroom, If Axel thinks he and Riku will become best friends forever, he's got another thing coming.

Then I promptly fell on my face.

1st Period

Tidus was staring at me.

I mean, really, really staring at me. His navy blue eyes were wide and searching, and his silver blond hair was glistening in a way that only meant one thing.

Tidus…was curious.

Now normally one being curious isn't necessarily considered a bad thing, but when it comes to Tidus, it's never anything to be proud of. The boy is unrelenting when he wants something explained to him, and that usually happened a lot. Honestly, I can't see how the ever impatient Wakka is best friends with him.

But anyway…the fact of it was, he was staring at me. And if Tidus was staring at me, he wanted something. And if Tidus wanted something, it would not end well.

Tidus finally noticed me noticing him and opened his mouth to say something, but to my relief, our teacher, a creepy guy named Xaldin, entered the room, brushing his shaggy braids out of his face and clearing his throat.

Talking ceased and almost immediately silence reigned. No one wanted to piss off the blue eyed time bomb.

Frowning slightly, Xaldin picked up the chalk and scribbled down a couple of words on the board, not seeming to notice all of his students cowering in fear. Tidus was chewing on his pencil like crazy, the guy sitting next to me was praying quietly in a state of panic, and I was trying very hard to fight the constricting of my lungs and the tight, dryness of my throat.

Finally, Xaldin turned around, raised an eyebrow at us, and sat at his desk, sipping on his morning triple espresso. My eyes wandered to the words on the board.

It read:

This is the second week of school and I already have thirty students failing.

Until you get your grades up, and for some, your grace,

I blushed furiously.

I will not be teaching you anything at all.

Why try if you are not going to succeed? Instead I will assign a three month long project for you all.

Check the school website for details.

Until then, this will be a free period.

-Xaldin

Tidus and I both looked at each other at the same time. What? Xaldin was notoriously known for giving out the toughest assignments in the school. If we weren't going to be learning anything or doing class work, this assignment must mean business.

But at least we got a free period out of it. Tidus immediately made his way over to my desk, slapping the hands of some of his team mates from soccer, the swim team, and blitzball on his way there.

Now Tidus is a very complex individual. He is the captain of the blitzball team, but he plays soccer and swims to become better at it. Yet…he hates basketball and football. Don't ask me why. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like Tidus, not to say that it isn't possible, what with his naturally obnoxious voice –think Naruto- and his annoyingly natural tan. But if I had to describe him in one word, it would have to be spirited.

"Is it true? Is Riku really back?" Tidus wanted to know. I looked up slowly. He was perched on my desk, with a carefully constructed neutral expression on his face, toying with the shell necklace Yuna made for him. I smiled, thinking back to when Tidus had a major crush on Riku. Then I frowned. Why would that make me smile?

"Yeah, he's back. But maybe you should just go ask Axel, since they seem to be such good friends now." I fumed. Huh…I must be hanging around Roxas too much. That whole sentence had Roxas written all over it.

Tidus just shrugged and hopped off of my desk. "Sure, I will."

I refrained from rolling my eyes. Tidus was so literal sometimes. I watched him walk back to his desk before turning back around in my own. I curiously gazed over to where Xaldin was sitting. He was staring straight at me, blue eyes to blue eyes. My first instinct was to immediately look away. But then I noticed something. His eyes looked sad.

I turned away then, burying my head into my arms. That made two of us.

2nd Period

"Sora, I said no. I will not help you hire a hit man to kill Riku!" Kairi exclaimed as we both sat in the lair of the beast, A.K.A., Dr. Vexen Heart's Chemistry class. I folded my arms and glared at her. What did she know about it anyway?

"Look, I know you're upset about Riku," Kairi sighed as we fished out our homework assignment while kids filed into the classroom, "but honestly, don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit?"

I turned away, a little annoyed. No. I didn't think I was overreacting at all.

Here's the thing about Kairi. She always has to analyze everything! What did it matter if I was freaking out just a little too much? The fact of it was, Riku was back, and my life as I knew it was over.

But of course Kai would never understand that. She still has no clue what Riku did to me, or didn't do to me, that night. And okay, I guess I can't blame her for that.

But I can sure as hell blame Axel for befriending him.

At that exact second, the second right before the bell rang, Roxas stormed into the classroom, ignoring the giggling girls behind him and plopped down next to us, with a majorly pissed off look on his face.

"Riku is back." He said simply in response to the confused looks on our faces. Kairi gave a little exaggerated sigh and threw up her arms.

"Honestly, would you guys just deal already?!"

"Honestly, Miss Tomura, would you guys just settle down already?!" Dr. Heart imitated. The class snickered while Kairi slumped down in her seat. The optimist never could take embarrassment very well.

"Turn the homework assignment in the proper bin while I take attendance." Dr. Heart murmured absently, typing furiously on his computer. I frowned. He sure was typing intently for someone just taking attendance. But whatever. It was none of my business. I don't know why I was so observant of my teachers today.

"Hey Kai, Rox, I'll take your homework up." I told Roxas and Kairi, scribbling my name on my paper. Roxas and Kairi looked at me expectantly.

"What's the punch line?" Roxas asked flatly. Kairi didn't put it quite so un-delicately, but she had that look on her face, like WTF is he talking about?

"What? I'm serious! The assignment bin is only like, five inches away!" I cried, pointing to the bin. A couple of kids were eyeing me wearily. Oh. OH…I understood. No one thought I could walk without breaking something!

Well I would show them!

Snatching Kairi and Roxas' homework, I strode up confidently, and slowly, to the bin in front of Dr. Heart's desk, pretending not to notice my classmates holding their breath, or my teacher watching me intently.

I carefully placed the three sheets of paper into the bin, and turned on my heel to get back to my seat. Everyone let out the breath they were holding.

Three things happened at once.

1. The door opened slowly and the smell of papou fruit and rainwater entered the atmosphere of the classroom- A silver haired boy graced us with his presence.

2. My foot collided with the leg of Kairi's desk and my shoe lash tangled with hers and suddenly she, me and the entire desk went crashing into Roxas.

3. Roxas, with his great reflexes, sprang up from his desk and dodged the flying colossal desk just in time. But the gravity of the force of his jump pushed him off balance, and he went tumbling straight into Riku's arms.

"Hey Roxas," Riku laughed hesitantly, grinning down at the blond in his arms, "I see we have Chemistry together too!"

There was a low growl, a shout, and a pow!

Lunch

Here's the thing: No matter how much I hate him, Riku will always be my best friend. I guess that's why I'm able to feel sorry for him, almost an hour later, sitting at my lunch table full of friends, as he sits at the table across from us, alone, with a black eye.

I tell ya, Roxas is not a force to be reckoned with.

Even now, sitting in the seat next to me, the little blond beauty is growling as he eats his bowl of Ramen.

"Stop growling, you freak." Kairi ordered as she sat down in the seat on the other side of me. A hard glare was fired in her direction, but she ignored it, instead choosing to direct her attention to the crowd slowly forming in a line next to Riku's table.

"Isn't that a shame?" She asked suddenly, tilting her head over to the sighing girls in the front of the line. I glanced at her quizzically. What was she talking about? I pried open a little tube of chocolate and peanut butter Gogurt, inhaling the sweet smell of artificial cocoa. Roxas shuddered.

An unnatural silence cut across our table as Kairi fiddled patiently with her school lunch (pizza…honestly who eats that???) and I slurped up my Gogurt happily. Finally, Roxas cracked under the silence, and couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine, I'll bite. What's a shame?" Roxas wanted to know. He paused as a shy little freshman boy with a yellow tie timidly walked towards him, shakily holding out a piece of index card. All three of us looked from the boy, to the paper, and back to the boy.

"Uh…" Roxas began hesitantly as the boy's knees began to give out. "Do you need something?"

That was it for the boy. He threw the card at Roxas' face and burst out of the cafeteria, streams of angry cuss words trailing behind him. Roxas picked up the piece of paper and examined the writing on the card. Then, his passive expression morphed into one of pure disgust, and he ripped up the paper in three pieces.

"Damn fuck buddies!" Roxas muttered angrily before storming out of the cafeteria. Kairi and I were silent. And then, in a joint movement, we both grabbed at the pieces.

"Ouch, Kairi, let me-"

"-get the pieces so I can-"

"-see what has Roxas freaking-"

"-get out of the way!"

"Move!" We both simultaneously shouted, but it was I who managed to grab hold of all three pieces. I happily pushed them together, accidentally smudging a bit of peanut buttery chocolate on the makeshift card. But I digressed. The card read:

Roses are red.

Your eyes are blue.

But those aren't enough

To keep Axel with you.

Give it up. He's mine.

-Secret Lover

I frowned. Secret lover…? Who could Axel possibly be seeing that he's keeping from Roxas? Axel was crazy about Roxas! Kairi shifted the pieces towards her and scanned the card, her clear grey-blue eyes widening in surprise.

"But…I thought that, even though he fooled around, Roxas was the only one he was in love with? Who could this 'secret lover' be?" Kairi wondered aloud. I didn't know, but I knew one thing: this was strike two for Axel. I was just about to tell her this when four newcomers arrived at our table.

Newcomer one: Demyx Sunao

"Hey guys…you will not believe how sexy the new guy is!" Demyx exclaimed, slamming his tray down on the table. I cringed away from his tray, wrinkling my nose at the crispy chicken. Seriously…how in the world did they eat that stuff?

Demyx however, has never strayed away from food. In fact, the blond haired blue eyed Aquarius has never strayed from anything. He loves challenges, and is the best friend of Axel, the natural troublemaker…you know, other than Roxas and now…

Riku. That friend stealer…

I sighed. I didn't know why all of those girls were afraid to talk to him. Riku wasn't that sexy………..ugh. Who am I kidding? Riku was grade A top meat.

His hair was layered in feathery wisps, and his eyes were just glowing through those shaggy bangs of his. Those eyes…it was such a marvelous color of green at the moment. I frowned. That meant he was feeling sad…was it because of me?

Something panged inside of my heart, and I felt something ache in my chest. Kairi glanced at me, and out of the corner of my eye I could see her smiling knowingly at me. For some reason, that made me feel just a tad bit uneasy.

"What?" I asked her, expecting the worst. Kairi grinned wider.

"You know," She began, exchanging a wink with Demyx, "girls are nice and all, but I think the only thing Riku really wants is his Kiwi back."

"Kiwi?!" Newcomer two, three and four chimed at the same time.

Newcomer two, three and four: Rikku, Paine and Lulu.

"What is that-a pet name?" Paine monologued. That was the thing about Paine. She never really showed much emotion. No one ever asked why, it was just an accepted part of her. But the comments she did make were witty and sarcastic, and she was never awkward or at a loss of words.

"Yep. Riku used to call Sora that all the time." Kairi answered cheerfully. I pouted at her. Darn optimist.

"Sora, you look a little uncomfortable." Lulu observed, touching my arm. I lightened my pout a little bit. Lulu was one of Yuna's best friends, but they weren't the same. Yuna did things and acted certain ways because she was following her heart, whereas Lulu was more reserved, calculating and logical.

And finally, there was always the happy go lucky little sister of Axel: Rikku.

"So Sora-bear, are we going to have surfing lessons again after school?" Rikku asked, fiddling with her long blond braids. I smiled at her and choose to ignore the nickname. There was no point in arguing it; she would just keep calling me by it anyway.

Rikku took after Axel. She was a natural born trouble maker too, only she managed to snag the trust and companionship of all of her teachers, so she never got in trouble. That was one skill Axel never acquired. Rikku was also the other best friend of Yuna.

In fact, the four, Paine, Rikku, Yuna and Lulu, were pretty inseparable. It reminded me of Kairi, Rikku and I. Or at least…how we used to be.

I let my eyes wander over to Riku again. Axel was now present at his table, along with a shy looking Namine and a peppy Selphie. I resisted the urge to growl. All feelings of resentment for Riku came back.

So I see he had new friends.

I turned away from them and focused instead on what Kairi was talking to the three girls about.

"-So then I was like, 'Yuna, you dropped your pencil' and then she smiled, and then-" Kairi rambled. Lulu and Paine exchanged glances as Rikku began to giggle uncontrollably.

But I wasn't paying any attention to them. I was too busy analyzing this whole Riku business. Why did he come back then, if he didn't want to…

Oh.

Riku didn't come back for me. Riku just came back. I just happen to still be here.

Oh…oh god.

My lungs began to constrict and my throat started to get drier and drier. I tried to swallow, but the thought of Riku not wanting me was distracting me from the motion. The wheezing died on my tongue, and I began to choke.

"Sora!" Kairi was shouting, and Rikku, Paine and Lulu were gesturing wildly about something, but my vision was getting a little hazy and my ears were clogging up.

And then I heard him.

"Kiwi! Kiwi, please, breathe with me. For me. Please breathe for me!" Riku was whispering softly in my ear. On their own accord, my lungs heaved, and my throat instinctively swallowed before gasping for air.

Then I was suddenly swimming. No, drowning. I was drowning in a beautiful setting of aqua-marine and silver.

And the scent. It was everywhere. Rain water and papou fruit.

And then everything went black.

Honestly, this chapter wasn't as good as it was in my head. But that's okay, I guess, don't think it was horrible. And everything in this chapter is NOT pointless...if I mention something, it WILL turn up in later chapters. So keep your eye out for any foreshadowing if you choose to read this chappie again. smile!

Reviews motivate me! And they make me smile!!! Hint, hint?!