Warning: Mentions of yaoi, yuri, and hetero. Also, some swearing.

Pairings: Focuses on RikSor but other pairings are hinted

Disclaimer: I do own Kingdom Hearts. Not even the videogames. D:

Author's Note: Oh my goat! I got such wonderful reviews. I love you all!
Blah. Sorry for taking so long. School has taken over my life. There's more of my rant in the Author's Note at the end. ANYWAYS,

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it!

Three cheers for Chapter 2!

---Angst Ahoy!---

The boat ride was a silent one. Since Riku and Axel were the strongest out of the group, they paddled back to one of the bigger islands. They returned to the boat to the boat lending docks and jumped on the next ferry home. During the entire transition, they barely uttered a word. Anyone who made a small peep was glared down by Riku. It was one thing to be in a bad mood, but to take everyone down with you? That's going too far.

The group now stood on top floor of the ferry. The girls sat against the stairwell, whispering in hushed tones. Sora and Roxas sat on the floor and played a card game of war (it was one of the few cards games that didn't require any talking). Riku leaned forward on bar railings while Axel was not too far off with his back leaning against the railings. Axel's foot tapped impatiently. The silence got on his nerves.

"Axel, quit tapping your foot," Riku ordered. "It's annoying."

Axel turned towards him angrily. "Well I'm so fucking sorry, Princess." Riku turned to glare back at him. Axel continued, "What's stuck up your ass for far that's making you act like this? This was supposed to be fun. And you're ruining it with your superiority complex you recently developed. Whatever it is, get over it. It's pissing me off."

Riku turned his attention back to the ocean. He refused to answer.

The others felt appalled. For once, Axel was right. This trip was supposed to be fun and Riku ruined it. No one knew not what Riku's problem was and none dared to ask. Sora had some idea.

Roxas looked at Riku and then at Axel. Axel clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles turned white. He was upset and Roxas felt it as his duty to help his boyfriend. He cleared his throat. "Hey Axel, how about you and I head down to the food compartment? The ferry won't arrive anytime soon and I'm a bit hungry." When Axel looked at Roxas, Roxas shivered. The anger in those green eyes made even Roxas unconformable. He shook it off and stood up. He took a few steps before extending a hand. "Shall we?"

Axel glanced at the hand and took it with his own. "Sure," he muttered. They headed towards the stairwell as their fingers interlaced. Roxas made eye contact with Naminé and nodded his head. She nodded back.

"I'm going to go eat too," Naminé announced once the boys made their way down the staircases. She abruptly stood up. "Want to come with me?" She asked Kairi. Kairi simply nodded. Naminé extended a hand and pulled Kairi to her feet. They intertwined arms and started for the staircase. "Want to come with us, Sora?"

Sora perked up at the sound of his name. "Yeah, in a minute. I have to pick up all these cards."

"Do you want us to wait?"

"Nah, you go on ahead. I'll be down once I'm done."

"Okay, if you say so." Naminé felt uneasy leaving Sora alone with Riku. She couldn't put on finger on it, but one of them did or said something to the other and caused all this unnecessary tension. Yet, she wanted not to butt into their problems, at least not for now. She went down to the food compartment and mentioned nothing. It would only cause more problems.

After the girls left, Sora reached out to pick up the cards. 'Roxas could have at least helped me. Jerk.' He sighed. He glanced over at Riku. He noticed that his attention was still towards the ocean. It seemed as though Riku always found other things more interesting than those around him. "So," Sora began.

"Don't you dare," Riku said in a harsh tone. "Don't you fucking dare."

Sora felt a mixture of fear and shock. Riku was still upset. Sora swore he had male PMS. "What?" He said unintelligently.

"What happened at the beach…" Riku twisted his head and glared at the poor brunet. "Don't tell anyone. I don't care how much you want to, don't." Riku gazed back forward.

Sora nodded numbly although he knew Riku couldn't see him. He quickly collected the cards and tucked them in their case. He stood up hurriedly as he slipped the cards in his pocket. He stammered, "Riku I-" Sora's confidence deterred when the glare was back on him. He managed to say in a bold voice, "I thought you were better than this." He pivoted and walked to the stairwell.

After a few moments of the brunet's exit, Riku sighed shakily. He fell onto his knees. Sobs racked through him and tears stained down his face. 'I messed up this time.'

---Time Skip! Whee---

People thought of Sora as a hyperactive, naïve brunet that laughed at anything and everything. They thought the boy never felt sadness or anger. That he never have been hurt. And that was mostly true…until his best friend started to ignore him.

It started as little things like cancelled get-togethers and unreturned phone calls. Sora assumed that Riku was busy. But the little things gradually turned into bigger things. Riku avoided him in school and when Sora asked about it, he received a cold shoulder.

Sora still went on. He flashed practiced smiles. He laughed like he rehearsed it. He acted as if nothing was wrong.

However, the façade cracked bit by bit. Having his best friend pushing him away like this, it hurts. And it was over something stupid. Then one day, Sora broke down.

---1 1/2 Months Later---

(Summer's Sweet Smell Surfaces)

Sora rested his head against his locker. He let an exaggerated sigh much to the annoyance of his locker buddy.

"Come on, Sora. Buck up!" Rikku tried to cheer the boy up. Heck, everyone tried to cheer him up, but none has prevailed.

Without moving from his position, he muttered, "Riku still won't talk to me."

Rikku's heart went out to him. Having someone you held so close to alienate you like this. It happened so suddenly too. It used to be so rare to find one without the other outside of class. But now, it was a daily occurrence. She shook the thoughts away. "Hey, how about after school, we all go out for seasalt ice cream? How does that sound?"

Sora turned his head and looked at her through the corner of his eye. "Minus Riku?" He mentally cringed at his hopeful tone.

She grinned widely. "That's the spirit! Who needs plain old Riku when you can have the smarter, beautifuller, better Rikku?"

"Hey smarter one, 'beautifuller' isn't a word," a voice boomed down the hall. Sora stood up and glanced down the hall. A mop of red hair bounced amongst the crowd of students. The jumping wasn't really required as Axel is a lot taller than most of the student body.

"How could he have heard you from here?" Sora was slightly bewildered. Over the racket of teenagers and screams from the girls bathroom because Tidus dared Wakka to cross-dress, Axel managed to hear her from a good ten feet away.

"Because he has Dumbo," she mumbled before shouting. "Hey Axel! Why don't you mind your own business?"

"Since when have you been inclined to honor privacy?"

"Around the same time you cared about honor, you pedo-leech!"

"Roxas is still legal!" SLAP! "Roxas! Why must you be so abusive?"

Sora decided to take this as his cue to leave. He finished cramming books and papers into his backpack. He tiptoed away while he zipped up the backpack. He slipped past Rikku, who was yelling something about handcuffs and ice cubes. Sora really did not want to know what was on the perverted blonde's mind.

He managed to escape undetected as made his way down different corridors. His first class was in the farthest classroom from his locker. As he descended in the murky depths of school, the crowds began to thin. Soon, he was the only one in the hallway.

Sora was not afraid of being alone. He had grown used to it. His parents were always away on business trips and his friends had extracurricular activities to worry about. He used to spend most of that time talking on the phone with Riku. But of course, his only escape from the loneliness left him.

What he was afraid of, however, was the thoughts loneliness brought. Thoughts full of sorrow, anger, hatred, and of love.

Just the mention of love pulled on his heart strings. He loved his parents. He loved all his friends. He loved Riku. But he wanted that friendship to grow into something deeper. Maybe into that kind of love where you know that this is the person you would want to spend the rest of your life with.

But it was a fantasy. A mind game that Sora teased himself with. Wishing, hoping, dreaming that one way or another, he would end up with someone he could consider his special someone. He imagined how they got together, the first times, everything. 'But it is not real. That stuff is what it is: fiction.' He would remind himself. 'Keep dreams as they were meant to be. Just dreams. Nothing more and nothing less.' 'There are no such things called soul mates.' 'What if everyone had a special someone just meant for them? And those undeserving never get the chance to meet theirs? And if they did, they can never be together?' All these thought transpired in Sora's cranium at one point or another. Most ended on a depressing note.

Sora felt a tear cascaded down his cheek. It was too much for the heartbroken. He wanted to hide away. No one can see him crying. Not a single bathroom in sight. And there was probably going to be someone in there anyway.

He glanced around in blurred vision. He spotted an abandoned janitor's closet. He noted that the door was slightly ajar. He walked hurriedly to his desired destination. Once he was got there, he jerked the door open and slammed it behind him. He figured he could miss a few minutes of Pre-Calc with Dr. Merlin. He did not figure, however, that the door would lock behind him.

---Dad! Sora won't come out the closet!---

Author's Note: Whoo! Chapter two done! I'm so proud. I thought I would never get the chance to post this. X3 There is so angst in this, the humor killed itself. It will be a lot happier later. I hate making Sora cry. Heck, I hate making any character cry. But it needs to be done, for I AM BEOWULF. Yes, I saw the movie. And also read the book for English beforehand. I must say, the movie makes Beowulf a douche. But I'm a total Wiglaf-fangirl now. I squealed every time he screened.

I'll probably post Chapter 3 in two weeks or so. Christmas break is coming up and teachers are throwing quizzes and tests everywhere. In the next two weeks, I have three quizzes, and four tests. I only have five classes. WTF D: And a project and two labs. The only reason I was able to post this now was because school was cancelled 'cause of ice.

Stay tuned for another exciting episode of "I've Already Forgotten the Title". Rawr.