*SORA*

The banana peel went flying as Hayner tripped on it. Yuffie and I silently giggled and high-fived.

Hayner stood up and yelled, "AND WHOSE WHACKED-UP IDEA WAS THAT?" while Olette, Pence, and Roxas tried very hard to not burst into laughter.

Yuffie and I took off, hoping Hayner wouldn't chase us. When we finally decided we were safe, we stopped to catch our breath. Once we had, we burst into hysterical laughter that made it hard to breath.

"That was a good idea, Sora," Yuffie said, smiling at me. "We should pull pranks together more often."

We. Together. I liked the sound of that.

"Sora, is something wrong? You're all red," Yuffie pointed out.

"Uh, no, nothing's wrong," I lied. What's wrong is that I think I'm getting to like you… a lot.

Ever since Kairi and I had stopped talking, I had started to hang out with Yuffie. She was nice, tomboyish, and had a sense of humor.

She was also really pretty. She had short, black hair, like Xion, and striking violet eyes. She was taller though, so we were about the same height.

She was different from Kairi in almost every way, which I liked. The only similarity was when they laughed, it sounded exactly the same. Kairi loved to laugh, and so did Yuffie, so it upset me.

"Really?" Yuffie teased, still talking about my red face.

"Yes!" I said loudly.

Yuffie checked around the corner for Hayner, then said, "We're safe now, for sure."

"Good!" I said, relieved.

"What are you two doing? You should be going to class. It's bound to start any minute now," a teacher said as she walked by.

"Yes, ma'am!" Yuffie replied, grabbed my arm, and pulled me away. She was well-known by teachers as a model student, though she seemed like a mischievous troublemaker in my opinion.

"Yuffie, you can let go now," I said, stumbling, trying to keep up with her.

"No, not until I make sure you're not ditching!" she said firmly, making me stare in wonder. Suddenly, I heard the high heels clacking on the hard floor, and realized the teacher was following us.

"I won't, I promise!" I pleaded with her, putting on a show for the teacher. Yuffie caught on quickly.

"Yeah, right, liar! I won't fall for that again."

"I swear, this time I won't!" I dragged my feet on the floor, slowing her down.

"That's not going to work with me, you know. You're so pathetic." Yuffie sighed, but secretly flashed me a smile.

We had actually arrived at our classroom, so Yuffie let go, but stared at me, and mouthed, "Good job."

"Thanks," I mouthed back.

I honestly loved spending time with Yuffie. She had a great personality, and knew how to find the fun in things, like making a show out of it when you're followed by a teacher that thinks you're ditching with your lover. How could I want anything else?

"That was hilarious, Sora!" Yuffie exclaimed after class, talking about our show for the teacher that followed us.

"Thanks. You were amazing at that," I complimented her.

"Thanks for catching on," she winked back. I grinned in response.

We were walking to lunch now. Sometimes, we walked in comfortable silence, and this was one of those times. I was staring at the floor while I walked.

Suddenly, I slammed into someone. I stumbled back, muttering, "Sorry." Then, I looked into the person's eyes.

Kairi's bright blue eyes stared into mine. She didn't seem angry. She seemed sad. We stared at each other for a while. Other people walked by around us, but Kairi and I stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. I realized Yuffie was watching as soon as Kairi ran off, shouting Riku's name.

Yuffie looked hurt. I realized that, to her, it seemed like I had picked Kairi over her.

"Yuffie, do you want a candy bar today? I'll pay!" I offered, hoping to cheer her up.

"Sure," she smiled, quickly erasing the hurt from her face. That's who Yuffie was. She was happy, and quick to hide her pain in order to make others happier.

Once we had sat down, I gave Yuffie the promised candy bar, and we began to eat.

"Do you miss Kairi?" Yuffie asked suddenly, out of the blue.

"Yes," I replied, without thinking. I had meant to lie, but the truth had slipped out of my mouth.

Yuffie smiled sadly before saying, "I thought so."

"Yuffie…" I wasn't sure what I was going to say, I just wanted her to be happy. I hated seeing her like this.

"It doesn't matter. I figured so."

"It does! Because I'm not friends with you just because Kairi won't talk to me. I truly do love to hang out with you and be around you. I like being your friend, okay?" I said, it all coming out really fast.

"Really? Because, there's no need to lie to me, Sora," Yuffie said, obviously bitter.

"Really. I couldn't care less about Kairi. Right now, I'm friends with you, and that's what matters, right?" I put a big smile on my face. I cheered up immensely when Yuffie smiled right back.

"Yuffie, what's wrong?" I asked when she came to our meeting spot in tears. It had been a few days since what had happened at lunch.

Somehow, through her tears, Yuffie explained that people had been endlessly teasing her since school had started, and it had gotten worse. I had seen this teasing occur; people would use many inappropriate words. Yuffie tried to laugh it off; I tried to get into a fist fight. In the end, Yuffie talked me out of it, so both of us stayed out of trouble.

Apparently, Yuffie had yelled at them, and a teacher had gotten her in trouble instead of the other kids.

Instinctively, and because I didn't know what else to do, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, hugging her. I wanted her to feel safe.

Into her hair, I whispered, "It'll be okay, Yuffie. I'm won't let them hurt you."