This chapter isn't going to move the plot along that much. I'm going to focus on character development so that their actions will make sense in the chapters to come. I figured out what's going to happen, finally. There will probably be another 10 or so chapters.

I'm going to spend the next two days writing. My laptop is going to Texas for 2-3 weeks to get fixed. I'm hoping to get around 5 chapters done and saved on my flash drive. I'm also hoping that my boyfriend's computer has open office so I can update this here story through there...

Disclaimer: Do you think I own these fictional characters? Because I don't. I do own a laptop with a possessed disk drive that randomly opens.

Loveless Lies

Chapter 7: Know Your Roots

Riku had no idea what was going through his friend's head. He held Sora close to his chest, hoping one day he would understand the boy again. The past 20 minutes had taken the clear picture of his best friend and turned it into static.

"We should probably go upstairs. Axel and Roxas probably are assuming we drove off a cliff or something," Sora said. His blue eyes looked up to Riku's green. The silver haired boy didn't hear the other's proposition. He was lost in a sea of uncertainty. Who could blame him? The one person he thought he knew the best, he actually didn't know at all.

Sora shrugged and nuzzled his head against Riku's chest. The brunette fell asleep within seconds.

Sora and Riku had been friends since they both could remember. On Riku's third birthday, his parents moved their family three doors down from Sora's. They had moved from the city to quiet Destiny Island's due to the Riku's father's newfound fame. His dad, Sabin, was a part of the once popular rock band, Medieval Triad.

The two met at a playground a few days later where the boys' mothers instantly became friends. The boys saw each other quite often from that point on.

Riku had always been the abrupt and loud, defensive half to Sora's energetic yet quiet, passive personality. Sora was a happy kid with great parent's while Riku was mysterious with parents that were on the verge of failure.

As the two boys grew older, their different home situations grew more complicated. By Riku's 10th birthday, his mother had enough with Sabin's lack of involvement in the family and major involvement with his band. Instead of taking the logical route, kicking Sabin out and then divorcing him, she took off without a trace. Leaving Riku alone with his 14-year-old brother Marluxia.

Riku didn't take the news well. If Sora hadn't been there for his best friend, Riku would have ran away from home to find his mother. Sora convinced his friend that Riku's mother still loved him, she was just lonely because Saldin was never home. He tried his best to convince Riku that he had nothing to do with his mother's disappearance.

The same week, Sora's mother, Mina, had a heart to heart with Sora. Mina explained to Sora that she wasn't in love with his father, she was in love with a woman named Terra. She told Sora that she was divorcing Locke, but he would see his father every other weekend and during the summer.

Sora didn't quite understand the changes that were happening in his household, but that didn't change his personality. He was still the happy Sora that had his best friends, Riku, Kairi and Roxas, to rely on.

The two boys' broken family life brought the best friends closer. Riku and Marluxia would often stay at Sora's. Mina and Terra didn't like the idea of two preteens staying by themselves. She got Marluxia and Sora involved with fencing while Riku insisted on taking guitar lessons to be like his dad. Sora. an only child, finally had the brother's he had always wanted.

So much has changed since then, thought the silver-haired boy. He pulled his lover close to his chest as he drifted back into the past once again.

Marluxia dropped out of school by his 16th birthday. He had gotten mixed up in a gang from Traverse town. Mina wouldn't have her son and Riku mixed up in gangs. She told Marluxia he wasn't allowed back into her house. Marluxia turned his father's peaceful home into a violent drug house. It wasn't until Mina got a call from a very scared Riku around midnight one night that the truth about Marluxia/Riku's situation was known.

Mina and Sora walked the short walk to Marluxia and Riku's house. The house was fully lit and loud music poured out the open windows. Outside sat a crying Riku. The moonlight shown down upon the small boy's silver hair and onto his face, illuminating the tears that soaked his cheeks. The closer Mina got to the boy, the more she realized just how bad off the boy really was.

A dark purple bruise flourished over Riku's emerald left eye while scratches and smaller bruises covered the rest of his pale skin.

Mina called Sabin. She demanded he came home or she would get children services involved at once. Sabin, for once in his life, left the tour to help his sons. He had been gone for so long, being home felt surreal to him. He saw what Marluxia had done to his house, all the drug paraphernalia, beer cans and a fucking gun. The gun threw the aging rock star over the edge. Sabin sent Marluxia to rehab and quit his band. It was a wake up call to Sabin. The shreds once known as his family needed him. He had to grow up sometime.

Marluxia escaped rehab, never to be seen or heard of again, just like Riku's mother. Even though Riku had his father back, the 12-year-old couldn't take having another person he love leave him. He didn't want to get close to anyone. The boy grew distant from everyone. Everyone except Sora, that is.

Not that he didn't try to abandon the brunette. Sora just wouldn't have it. He would find Riku, no matter how hard he tried to hide. Sora talked and talked with a smile plastered on his face, even if Riku never spoke back.

On his 13th birthday Sora threw Riku a surprise party. He wanted to show Riku that everyone actually liked the boy. It was the first time Riku had hung out with anyone but Sora since Marluxia left. He was expecting the brunette to stay by his side, like he had for so long.

But he didn't. Sora ran around talking to everyone. He did pay attention to the birthday boy, but Sora was a people person. Riku was a jealous person, or at least he was at that moment.

Riku noticed Sora talking to Kairi in the kitchen. Just as Riku was about to attack the smaller boy and insist on practicing wrestling moves, he saw the redhead kiss the brunette on the cheek.

Jealousy, anger and hate ran threw the preteen's eyes. He didn't know why, but he wanted to pummel the girl and take back his Sora.

Riku had never thought he was gay up until this point. Who would at such a young age? But the feelings he had when Kairi kissed Sora's cheek made Riku realize that girls would not be his thing.

He didn't tell Sora about his feelings towards him, or guys in general. Instead, Riku turned into quite the manwhore by the time he turned 15. He indulged in countless meaningless relationships that rarely lasted more than a few weeks. Sora tried to tell Riku that he couldn't make up for lost family relationships by having as many girlfriends as humanly possible, but Sora didn't get it. No one did, except Roxas.

Roxas happened to be standing in the same room when 'the kiss' had happened at Riku's 13th birthday party. Riku needed someone to tell his feelings to, and it couldn't be Sora. He didn't want to scare his best friend away, so he turned to Roxas. Roxas had told Riku that Sora should know and needed to know about Riku's sexuality and feelings, but Riku wouldn't have it. It took Riku five agonizing years to conjure up the guts to tell Sora his feelings.

"I should have told him sooner," Riku whispered to himself. "I could have had him years ago."

"What?" said a sleepy-eyed Sora.

"Nothing. We should head up."

Sora slid off of Riku. He had always known Riku had cared for him, he just never thought he had cared for him.

Riku walked over to the driver's side of the door and opened it for the teen.

"Why thank you good sir," Sor giggled.

"You're quite welcome," Riku said. He pulled the smaller teen into his arms. I'm actually happy. He played with the brunette's permanitly spiked hair. Sora shifted his body so he was looking up at Riku. Blue eyes locked on green, where they stayed, unfaltering, for quite sometime.

"I'm positive they think we've died," Sora finally interupted.

"Naw, they're probably 'busy,'" Riku said while using air quotes on the last word.

Sora shuddered, "Don't ever say that. I do not need a mental picture."

Riku took this opportunity to make his new lover as uncomfortable as possible, "Oh Axel! Touch me! Ohh oh OHHHH.."

"Stop it!" sure enough, there was the famous blush.

"You know you want it," Riku teased.

'Well, yeah, but... I mean!"

"I knew it, " Riku took the smaller teen's pouting lips and placed them against his own. "Let's go inside."

Both boys head towards the apartment complex hand in hand. Riku buzzed Axel's apartment and the two headed into the elevator.

Sora pressed the button for the eighth floor."Roxas and Axel are going to love this one. What will they think when they see us together?"

"About damn time," Riku smiled.

Sorry for the abrupt ending. I'll have another update in the next couple days. Def. before my laptop goes to Texas. The next chapter will probably be construed around Roxas and Axel finding out about the couple. It may leak into graduation practice and Sora's convo with Kairi. Although, as you may be noticing, my muse takes me other places than what I plan.

Lemme know if you like it so far

--Em