Chapter 2: Covers
It must be an unspoken rule for high school students to break into groups. There is too much diversity among the campers at Hawkeye for there to be specific cliques, but by the end of the first week there are generally two groups: the ones who like sports, and those who don't. More specifically, it splits into boys and girls. There are a couple people who intermingle with the opposite sex, but generally this becomes the unspoken norm except for those few daring individuals. As if it were pre-ordained to be this way, the camp administrators say nothing about it.
Sora ends up almost completely ignored by all the guys. This was to be expected; the camp administrator knew what he was doing when he put Sora in the last cabin. Even though Sora is tan, slim, and fit in all the right areas, the other guys dub him as scrawny nerd and use him as a scapegoat in dodge ball. So flippin' cliché. However, he manages to make friends with essentially the entire girl population, saying he's so adorable. He's every girl's prince charming in an entirely platonic way. Friend-zoned to the extreme. But, he couldn't care less. Why would he commit to someone that he, after this summer, will never see again? Not only that, the majority only seem to care about their hair.
But there are a few people that make it past his cheerful, happy-go-lucky, I'm-an-adorable-dumbass, façade (okay, sometimes it's not a façade but he's got some dignity!). A sweet, blonde girl named Namine introduced herself on the first day because he had been sitting alone, and she had nowhere to go, so why not be alone together? Quiet, and very insightful, he would complain to her about anything and everything, and she seemed to understand that it was just venting, not that he is actually pessimistic. Demyx came soon after Namine, a mullet-sporting music freak who couldn't leave his guitar behind, even for the sports. He'd sit down in the volley ball field if he had to (in the middle of a game mind you) to strum a David Bowie song instead of participate. Sora suspects he only joined the group to see if he had a shot with Namine, but he could be completely off target. The brunet will not play cupid at such a stupid place as this.
The last member of their mini-group is a tall, skinny-as-hell demon with upside-down teardrop tattoos on his face (each cheek to be exact). He's the kid you're mom begs you not to be. But with the way his eyes flash, something tells Sora he simply doesn't have a mom. Or anyone for that matter. His name is Axel, teenage smoking-drinking disaster extraordinaire. He picked their group himself, calling everyone else "self-centered, vain, stereotyping failures of humanity". Considering he called Sora a "frilly, gremlin-minded pussy" and Demyx a "rock-star hipster pothead" (at this point he turned to Namine, looked at her intently, and then turned away with only a nod of acknowledgement), Sora assumed that these names were compliments in contrast to what he really thought of "everyone else".
"Damnit, you guys are boring as fuuuuu-"
"Can it, Axel. You know you can leave whenever you feel like it," Sora says, highly annoyed with the red haired's bitching.
"Everyone else is worse. But come on, there's got to be something more goddamn interesting than this," he continues, gesturing to Demyx and Namine playing chess. Albeit it is amusing to watch Demyx fail terribly at the game and his exasperated outbursts whenever Namine graciously takes one of his pawns, Sora had to admit, he is getting pretty hazy. That's how hot, stifling, and flat out uninteresting the atmosphere is.
"It would be dangerous to go outside," says Namine softly, "It's going to rain soon."
Axel winces with a dramatic face of disgust. "Damn, I hate water. But there's still got to be something better. We don't even have to go outside." Sora lazily scans the lunchroom. They are the only ones still there, aside from a few janitors and cooks, jabbering away and crashing pans in the back where the kitchen dies a slow and miserable death. The floors are white tile with a plethora of black scrape marks from clumsily disassembling lunch tables, and the ceiling looks just as tortured; the pencils, holes, and paper airplanes are like red dots of significant cities on a world map.
The heat from a week ago hasn't let up even a little bit. Even in an air conditioned building, Axel has threatened to take off his shirt three times in the last ten minutes. Demyx has his looped through to look like a makeshift bra, and Sora is tempted to roll his and make it a sweatband. Namine, wearing her usual asylum-looking white dress, is fanning herself slowly with her hand. He can't imagine how the other kids are in the cabins or playing some sort of sports outside. Surely, they'll drop like flies after only an hour from dehydration.
"We could go swimming!" Demyx suggests, hopefully looking to each face, looking for any encouragement. Sora's stomach churns. Anything but that, please.
Right on cue, Namine reiterates, "If it rains, it might thunder, which comes from lightening. I don't like the idea of electrocution."
"You guys," Demyx complains dejectedly, "have no vision."
"Anyone got a deck of cards?" Sora asks, thinking of his back in his cabin, "That'll give us a lot more options."
"FINALLY," the anxious red-head gasps, "someone has an idea with potential!"
That's the closest to an actual compliment Sora will probably ever get from him.
On the flip side, the silverette somehow ended up as the guys' ringleader, or god, or something. No matter what he does, the guys think it's the best thing since sliced bread. Damnit, he came here to get away from people and go into a life-coma, not make friends and organize these testosterone-filled, high-strung monkeys!
He spent most of the first week trying to avoid everyone, though it failed miserably. He blames his silver hair; it's incredibly hard to hide when your head glitters like diamonds (don't even think about mentioning Twilight. He has fists and ultra-adrenaline rushes, and he isn't afraid to use them) with just one ultraviolet ray. And there are millions at this camp, like the sun decided to set up the tent and roast marshmallows with him. By about Thursday, he just gave in and started playing sports with the guys. It's not like he had anything better to do.
"Riku! I'm open!" his Cuban (or 'south of the border', as he preferred to be called) friend calls, beckoning him to pass the soccer ball to him. Quickly scanning the field for pros and cons to this action, he makes the decision and passes it, knowing that Luis isn't a dumbass and knows soccer like the back of his hand. Not to be racist, but most the 'south-of-the-border' campmates do. Unfortunately, most of them are on one team this time, and not his. They are losing, badly, but it's still a rough game for both sides.
Riku is overheated and exhausted, but he promised them that he'd finish the game before he took off to do… something. Even he isn't sure what he'll do. He's been itching to smoke, though he wants to quit. With all this exercise, it probably isn't a good idea to start up again since he'll need his lungs… Hmm. He couldn't figure out how to get any tequila or whiskey here either… The name is Hawkeye after all. A mental image of Hawkeye from the Avengers pointing a threatening arrow at his face fills his mind. He heavily sighs. This is definitely what his mom wanted; a vacation that would be rated PG. Fan-freaking-tastic.
"You're going to make us lose," a blonde streak says, running past him with unnatural speed. Roxas, another one of his more valued guy-friends, is definitely his pessimism buddy. Doesn't mean the twerp doesn't piss Riku off though.
"This game is going on way too long. I'm going to fucking collapse," Riku yells after him, annoyed. A couple of guys raise their fists and yell, "Huzzah!" in agreement, but the game continues on. The silverette barely contains his urge to roll his eyes.
But only ten minutes later, the main administrator, whom they just call Coach, walks up, and they pause the game. Either you respect him and everything is fine, or you don't and you die. No one has questioned this yet, for fear it's true. Six foot four and probably two hundred pounds of pure muscle, the guy isn't one you joke around with. Riku is sure Coach hates him, for being scrawny by comparison and complainative 24/7. He doesn't blame him, but it makes for a pain in the ass when he needs something. Empathy and sympathy were obviously not taught in his college courses. The rumor goes that the poor man doesn't even smile. It's hard to tell, though, with his bushy brown mustache covering his mouth.
"I'm glad you are out in the sun and exercising," Coach begins in his deep, gruff voice, "but we need to get everyone involved. Jefferson, you have my permission to go to the girl's cabins and get them out onto the volleyball field. Jarrett, you run around and get everyone else. Take a couple people with you and split up." Even though they have "permission" to do these things, they are orders not privileges.
Jarrett, much to Riku's current disliking, is one of his friends. Tall and well built, Coach took a liking to him on the first day. Although this is merely because he wears sports shirts and can talk about football and baseball without sounding like an idiot, Nick (his first name) is actually a decent guy. Riku and him mostly talk about video games, speak fluent sarcasm, and have a mutual agreement to not abandon each other for the sports games. The other guys attempt to make them team captains, but they refuse to be on separate teams. About everything else, they are opposite. He's the class clown, nerd-jock while Riku is the borderline emo kid with a healthy liking to metal and a maxed-out World of Warcraft account.
His attention returns to the situation at hand. Now that he thinks about it, it might have been smarter to pack clothes other than the color black; maybe then he wouldn't be so hot. But, he realizes amusedly, he doesn't have any other colored clothes.
Nick sends a significant glance to Riku, Luis, and Roxas. Reluctantly, Riku shuffles over to him and the others, and they set off to find the miscellaneous people to drag them into playing volleyball. It's like junior high all over again.
They are in the middle of a BS game when a small group of kids enter the cafeteria. The tallest is a dirty-blonde jock, wearing a college football team shirt and basketball shorts, followed by a slightly shorter, dark-and-curly haired Mexican (or just South American, if he turns out to be touchy about it) with a soccer ball in his hand. Two others enter in after them, one being a light blonde shorty wearing a white band shirt and some dark blue jeans. The last one ends up coming to the front reluctantly, as if he were talked into it. It's somewhat stereotypical with his appearance, as his whole attire is black, from his short to pants to shoes and socks. He catches Sora off guard though, first with his extremely silver and soft-looking hair, longer than his own mother's; second with his eyes. His face keeps screaming out that he's cold-hearted and uncaring, but his eyes say everything the opposite. A weird mix of grey-blue-green. Once again, Sora doesn't know how to feel about it.
"Hey, uh, Coach is rounding us all up to play a game of volleyball," the silverette says. "I think it's mandatory."
Axel groans. "I hate sand." Namine whispers, "You hate everything…" He glares back.
Demyx, more enthusiastic, replies, "Cool! So I'm guessing you got sent out to herd the cattle?" Sora looks at him, surprised; that's the smartest thing he's said all day. Unless… he really thinks they have to herd cattle. Sora can never tell with Demyx.
"Hmm, well," Sora says, dismissing the possible IQ blunder from Demyx, "I guess we have to go then! Do you guys need help finding the others?" Sora is surprised to find that he doesn't mind the thought of playing. Too many card games, he guesses.
The Mexican-looking one says, "Run fast! We need to check some of the fields." Never judge a book by its cover; he doesn't have a Spanish accent.
Namine stands, "I'll check the girl's bathrooms."
The jock-looking blonde one snorts, "Good idea. Thanks guys, we'll head over to the football field and get the other guys there."
"Hey!" Sora says, stopping them from leaving, "In case that scary Coach stops us, we need your names so we know who we were sent by."
"I'm Luis," the soccer-ball-holding one says.
"Nick," says the jock.
"Roxas," the shortie blonde grumbles. Having not said anything before, he thought it to be unnecessary, but he felt the others' eyes on him. Axel, having a look of peaked interest, nods. "Hm."
And lastly, the makeshift leader says, "My name is Riku. But don't strain yourself to remember it."
"Nice to meet you," Sora says with a smile. A couple smile back, but Roxas and Riku don't.
And then they leave, and the group disperses.
Once everyone finally gets onto the court, the Coach designates Nick and a very sporty brunette girl named Courtney as team captains (go figure). Sora waits to be picked by Nick, thinking since they have acquaintance, he'll pick him just because he comes to mind more easily (Psychology 101, thank you). But, apparently with Nick it's out of sight, out of mind. As usual, Sora ends up being in the last round of pick'ns. It's Nick's turn to choose, and his eyes meet Sora's. But then the silver-haired one (was his name Ruki? Or Ryki? Something like that) whispers in Nick's ear and his eyes shift away.
"Kid in the blue." Sora isn't wearing blue. Sora drops his eyes to the ground; it's stupid shit like this that gets to him. What is so wrong with him that he's always the last one? So what, he isn't masculine, but they picked the flamboyantly gay guy/girl (no one can tell which) before him! Tears rush to his eyes, and he knows crying will only make it worse. He isn't sure if it's because he's actually hurt, or if he's just so fucking angry that no matter where he goes, people treat him this way.
The sporty slut team captain says, "Alright, spiky haired kid, you're with us."
I've never been with anyone.
This game is bullshit. Riku thinks as he watches the ball jump from one side of the net to the other. The teams had been terribly divided because of Courtney, and over half of each team doesn't actually want to play. The whole thing has become a typical high school drama.
He overheard from a couple guys that they were going to try to sneak away with the spiky haired kid and "teach him a lesson" if he ended up on their team. There has been grumbling among the guys about how (uh… starts with an 'S'…) Sora is always with the girls, being told their secrets, given hugs, etc. The whole feud, that he knows the poor sap isn't even aware of, is juvenile but he doesn't want to get involved. He doesn't need to start or end any fights. Playing the good kid, remember? But the least he could do is get Sora on the other team. Though, by the look on his face when Nick picked the guy who looked like he might possibly have rabies, he might've made things worse. Hmm.
Of course, now the brunet in question is playing nicely, enthusiastically, and joking with all the girls on his team. Goodness, the boy is practically a girl himself… Wait, no. That's not it. He's a… hero. A complete, total happy-go-lucky, pure-hearted, the-world-is-a-field-of-flowers hero. Riku shakes his head, watching a clumsy girl on his team barely scrape the ball over the net. He hates those types. One day, they all have to wake up and realize life isn't so pretty. And they are always the ones who make the biggest deal out of it, when their perfect worlds are shattered. Maybe letting the guys rough him up a bit wouldn't be such a bad thing but… Well, that would take too much effort. He'll probably just let it happen and not get involved next time. His kindness has an expiration date and it passed about five minutes ago.
"What an ASSHOLE!" Axel exclaims, walking with Sora back to the cabins after the game.
"Will you just drop it?" Sora responds, exasperated. Now that he's worked off all that anger with revengeful happiness and enthusiasm, he's feeling a lot better; just exhausted. All the girls told him that he was great, and that he really saved the day, and that the team captains were just stuck up so… Well even though they were pity compliments, they did help. He doesn't want to talk about it anymore.
"I will not! Seriously, what was that dickhead's deal?"
"Axel."
"I mean, I know it's only game but the silver-face obviously had it out for you-"
"AXEL. This isn't the first time I got picked last, okay? I don't need your help or pity."
"Yeah, and I'm guessing you kicking ass in the game and being all smiley and shit was your version of revenge? No, man, that works with break ups, but not shit like this. This is disrespect between two men. You have to prank him."
"I have to what?" This is the most ridiculous speech the brunet had probably ever heard in his life. Granted, the red head got Sora's tactics right on target, but the pyromaniac lost him when he mentioned pranking. Wouldn't that just be stooping to his level?
"Prank him. You know, egg his cabin, put itching powder in his clothes, spike his drink with X… that's how we solve everything at home."
Sora does not want to ever go where he lives.
"Axel…" he starts, sighing, "I really don't want to turn this into a prank war. It's stuff that happens in books and T.V. shows."
"Granted, but they are completely possible. Do you want to be picked on the whole summer? You want to be the girls' personal baby boy? Do you want the guys to try and give you swirlies every time Coach looks away?"
"That won't happen," Sora mutters stubbornly.
"I bet you a hundred bucks that if you even wait a day, you'll get more shit if you don't get a move on."
"You may be right, but I'll wait till that happens. I'm not going to jump the gun."
Finally, Axel sighs. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."
The guys act sooner than Riku thought they would. At about two in the morning, (according to his wristwatch) he hears heavy footsteps across the deck outside coming towards his cabin. If they are trying to be surreptitious, they are doing a terrible job, but he realizes a moment later that it's not him they are after. If that Sora kid is asleep…
He told himself that he wouldn't get involved. This is always how he gets into fights by meddling in affairs that have nothing to do with him. Hate the daytime heroes, and then hypocritically becomes one himself. But, maybe these guys will listen to him… but they might not…
Usually, Riku can make a decision a stick with it, no problem. But the truth is, this time he really does want to change; not for his mom, but for himself. He just doesn't know how to make himself "better". In his opinion, if someone is in trouble, you help them… but that's how he got so messed up last year, so there must be something wrong with that, right? Even though that's all taken care of now, what is there to learn from it? Keep your head low, take it slow, and stand only for yourself? It even sounds selfish in his head. Riku sighs, but then strains his ears to listen.
The door across from him opens and a bunch of shuffling ensues. Silence. Silence. Silence. And then the door slams and he can hear Sora's muffled voice unmistaken from when he heard it earlier.
"Mmmrg! Hmm-mmg-mmf!"
"Shut up!" Riku hears a slap. Noisy shuffling and perhaps more struggling. Sora continues to fight with his voice, but it's just not loud enough to reach anyone. Not only that, most of the guys are probably in on it and either approve or don't care. Some are also asleep; if Riku weren't such a light sleeper, he probably would have slept right through it. Riku sighs again. Should he stop them or let it happen? Part of him thinks the happy brunet deserves a reality check, but another part of him, probably just his old conscience, wants to make sure he comes out alright.
Glaring at the boy's bunks around him, full of sleeping, useless teenagers, he punches a wall. A couple boys turn over in their bunks, but no one asks questions or indicates that they are awake. Riku stands, shuffling quietly around to look for his shoes, and when he finds them he puts them on. They are probably too far away now to even follow them.
But he leaves the cabin anyway, closing the door behind him quietly. Wearing all black like usual, the only thing he has to add for stealth is a black beanie to cover most of his hair. Hopefully the moonlight (a half-crescent) won't cause any of his hair to shine too badly.
He hears a crash in the distance and a loud curse word. The silverette rolls his eyes; these guys are extremely inexperienced with stealth, organization, bullying, pranking.. and the list could go on. Sora should count himself lucky… But then again, with his type, he probably doesn't know the difference. Has probably pissed his pants already.
Riku walks faster, paying no mind to the gravel crunching under his shoes. If the administrators weren't woken by those idiots, they certainly won't find Riku waltzing by. He follows the slight trail made by Sora's dragging feet (in some areas it gets iffy, most likely because of a renewed struggle) until he gets to the edge of the surrounding forest. They must be really commited, Riku thinks, 'cause they took him past the river.
So he continues until the shuffling and cursing and talking gets louder and louder. Then he sees them, in a clearing just wide enough for them with a large tree. They've tied Sora to it haphazardly, like he had been moving too much to make it any neater. Riku believes that, considering how flat out furious the usually cherub teen looks. His cheeks are flushed, and his usually blue eyes are shining like chlorine water in the moonlight. The way they glare daggers at the others, he's surprised they didn't give up already. But it could just be the lighting. However the brunet seems to have stopped fighting. Riku notices that he's breathing heavily; Riku must've just missed the main struggle. Four guys against one is rather unfair, the silverette thinks, but he doesn't move from his hiding spot behind a tree. He'll just look on and make sure they don't actually murder him or anything.
After several minutes of double and triple tying rope around the tree and Sora, the guys stop and stare at Sora for a moment, maybe a little surprised they had gotten this far or wondering what to do next. But then, one of them speaks.
"You must think you're so damn important. Got all the ladies as your BFF's painting their toe nails and shit."
Another one picks up, "You think they're all yours, that you're hot shit? No, they don't care about you at all."
"And you want to know why I know that?" Sora just stares at them, cold and completely unfeeling. He doesn't even blink. If duct tape weren't on his mouth, Riku is sure wouldn't be saying a word either.
The boys, standing in a line, wait for some sort of acknowledgement, but it doesn't come. One of them spits on the ground. "Well, I'll tell you why. You are going to go missing for a day. And no one will look for you. Hell, half of the people won't even notice you're gone. And while you're mysteriously absent, you'll think about your worth. Time to take off the tights and put your big boy panties on."
They take a couple steps back. "See you in a day… or two, if we remember."
"Hope you ate a lot of dinner."
And finally, they walk away. Riku backs up a couple trees, making sure he isn't seen. He continues to watch as they walk away, looking over their shoulders to make sure Sora doesn't magically escape. Stupid. Soon, they start running and crashing through the forest, laughing their asses off and quoting each other. They talk about being masculine and manly and then quote each other like a group of girls after a chick flick? Riku sighs. Despite how senseless this whole thing is, why does he feel like it's going to become a big deal? Hmm.
Riku looks away from the trail they created and turns back to Sora. He catches the tail end of his blue eyes rolling. The silverette continues to observe, closely watching as Sora takes a couple deep breaths, trying to calm himself, and looks around. The blue orbs stay concentrated on the ground, searching for anything he could maybe use to unbind himself. But there isn't anything. All the sticks of substantial size had been broken by their struggles and if there were anything, it is simply too dark to see. The shadows make everything seem bigger or smaller and Sora is never sure which is which. Not that he could reach any of it anyway.
Riku is impressed the kid hasn't broken down yet, but he continues to watch. He knows how long adrenaline can last. But the calmer Sora gets, the more he seems to get upset, which would normally be opposite but this is a special case. Riku can tell this is his first truly 'bullying'. Riku thinks about how the world really is and thinks this is definitely the dose of reality the kid needs but… Well, if those guys don't get him tomorrow, Riku will. Even a day is pushing it in this kind of heat. The shade should prevent anything like a heat stroke though. There isn't anything truly dangerous or life threatening that he can think of.
Just as he turns to leave, he hears a rough sniff. The silverette turns back. Even though Sora's face is hidden by shadow and turned towards the ground, the moon glints against the tears that fall. That's the break he was watching for. Pathetic. Having fully made up his mind, Riku walks away.
Sora's anger sparks once he sees the silver hair glinting as Riku walks away, causing his eyes to water and drop. It's the same goddamn guy. What is his problem? And why Sora? Axel was right. Apparently he must earn respect from these boys trying to acting as men, or they will walk all over anything they can get ahold of. Its people like them that make his blood curl. If he didn't meet people like the silverette all the time back at home, he'd take it personally.
Sora doesn't even care about being tied to a tree; technically the kidnappers could have done more. Before he was sure they were dragging him out to fight him, expecting Sora not to fight back. Of course, they wouldn't have succeeded with that plan. Sora took a lot of martial arts after turning eight. What bothers him is that they're leaving him there for a full day, standing, and he can't feel his hands. No one can stand all day.
Aside from their situational stupidity, their logic is just pathetic! They are jealous he can talk to the girls, so they give him a reason to go crying to them? Maybe they should try not being dickwads. Then he's sure the girls would get along with them just fine.
His thoughts get more and more spread out, picking a point and going off in a tangent. And then another point. And another. None of it makes sense anymore but all his hopes for this camp- to stay in the shadows, make a few tentative friends, and be normal and insignificant for once- have been shattered. The boys who tied him up didn't know that he already wanted to be what they told him he was; worthless. Just for this camp. But the fact that they went through all this trouble to "make" him feel this way proves that he's not nothing to them. A threat has a lot of value, depending on the degree and the offence. If they are going to truly keep him there for a full twenty four hours, obviously he has a high value.
This doesn't give him confidence like it ought to. Instead his attention is turned to the sky as it rumbles like a drowsy lion. So dark, even the moon has fled. But then he realizes it's the rain clouds that Namine had been worried about earlier today.
Are you kidding me right now? Rain? Now?
It doesn't take more than five minutes for it to start sprinkling. That's when the brunet truly starts to panic. Flashbacks.
Trapped. Can't move. Oh god, water rising. Where are-
"I'm sorry, Mr. Shaffer, for your loss. We need to-"
"It's just a small hurricane, son. We'll be staying here while it passes."-
Glass breaking. Pressure too much for the house. Hammers on the ceiling; it's just rain. It's just rain. It's just-
"Sora! Sora you have to leave and go get help!"
"But where? Momma where should I go?"
"Just go, baby, go!"
He had never heard his mom talk that way; panicked, scared. It had made Sora scared, so scared that he didn't think. He just left, like she had said, searching for help. Like there would be help in the middle of a hurricane that everyone evacuated.
Nothing can truly scare Sora, except being stuck in one place. Because it makes him helpless, hopeless. He can't even save himself.
The tears continue to fall as the rain falls maliciously, soaking his clothes and the rope. He knows it'll cause him to have rope rashes everywhere, but that's the last thing on his mind. The drops keep falling, as if each one were designated to trigger another memory that he doesn't want to see. His adoptive parents think he suffers from amnesia from all that had happened. If only they knew.
A/N: Whew. This chapter seems more like number two instead of one, but hey now theres more understanding of Sora's character (or... not) and Riku as well. They are definitely getting off on the wrong foot. Things will get better though, I promise. Writing and situation!
Thank you for all the reviews! I enjoyed them all immensely :) If you catch any typos I might have made, let me know so I can fix it. Tell me what you think please :3 I like knowing places I can improve upon and brainstorming ways in which to do that. Love you guys! Updates soon!
-muah- Hannahble
