Chapter Four: Joke's on You
The triathlon was halted once Sora (almost) drowned. Coach profusely apologized to the student residents for having never asked if everyone could swim in the first place. Although a stupid move, the Coach edgily said, he respected that the brunet was following orders. A true military spirit, acceptable at such a noble camp such as Hawkeye. Riku had to roll his eyes at the short, pointless speech. This isn't a camp; it's a teenage babysitting arena. He's more surprised no one has died yet, or gotten caught with weed or something.
Nick caught up to him after the little assembly, lake water soaked through his clothes and hair but looking very determined.
"So what is this about Sora being tied to a tree?" Crap.
Riku simply stares at him for a full minute, so emotionally and physically drained, even two-word sentences are hard to put together. "Uh…"
The blonde sighs, "Look, I'm going to friend…-disown you or something stupid like that but… can you at least tell me what happened?"
Riku nods, "But… I want to tell all of you; Roxas, you, and Luis. Since you guys have been helping me and all."
"Gees, this all seemed like simple practical jokes. Harmless. How did it get from hair dye to near starvation and drowning?"
"You're telling me…"
Sora slowly opens his eyes, groaning as his head impersonates a painful drum. The groan comes out like a dying whisper; his voice is hoarse. Trying to stretch, he whimpers again when he realizes almost everything is at least a little sore. What a drag. Human bodies are made of 70% water, but if you submerge yourself for more than a minute or two, it starts tearing itself apart. The irony would make little chemist Sora laugh, but it's too painful to be humorous.
He waits for someone to start talking to him, to gush over him about how worried they were, but not a sound is distinguished from the lonely room. He gazes about, shifting his eyes away from the ceiling. There are a couple notes on his bedside table, no flowers though. He thanks his lucky starts they didn't ship him off to a hospital; the camp symbol is on a poster the wall closest to the door. He hadn't been to the nurse-building once yet but he supposes that's where he must be. He faintly hears the soft patter of rain on the roof and the single window to his left, though the blinds completely cover the outside view. Once again, he thanks Heaven that he is inside, not out.
He sighs lightly, ribs sore from CPR and lungs still burning. Now thinking back, it was stupid to even attempt swimming in the first place. It wouldn't have been a big deal to just say he didn't know how. Perhaps he would have been ridiculed further but… No. He's still alive, isn't he? If he hadn't taken chances, nothing would have changed and he'd still be miserable. Of course, he's kind of miserable now, but he faced a fear. Made a Miracle. He figured out he doesn't want to die; he wants to live. He figured out he can do crazy things. I guess it was worth it.
He sits up slowly, brushing his hair with his shaky fingers. His stomach grumbles, why is it no one thinks to get me food? He looks around again; maybe Namine put chocolates with the notes? Then his eye catches on a mini-fridge, about ten feet away. Despite the pain pouring out of him with every move, much like the clouds crying outside, he instinctively scrambles toward it, pouting every step of the way. If this doesn't have food in it, I will be pissed. As he begins to open it, the door to the cabin swings ajar. The brunet freezes, stomach sinking in that he has been caught.
"Oh, you're awake. I'm so glad!"
Sora looks to the woman's voice, a tall brunet with bright blue eyes who is shaking out a purple umbrella. Obviously the nurse by her attire. If it weren't for her long, curly hair, it would be easy to say that she could be Sora's long, lost mother. But he isn't concerned with that; he gulps, glancing at the refrigerator again.
"I'm Nurse Aerith! Feel free to take something from in there, you must be starved," she says soothingly. Sora nearly moans in relief and violently swings open the refrigerator door. Meanwhile, she places the umbrella by the side of the side and closes it. "So how are you feeling?"
Sora is in mid-bite into a delicious (even when cold) blueberry muffin when he hears her. But through the dough-y, sugary mass he replies, "Terrible."
"Explain?"
"Lungs burn, body sore, headache…"
"Ah I see," she says knowingly. She paces over to the medicine cabinets by and above his bed. If she swung them out too far they would hit the window. But she has a similar dainty way of touching things like Namine, so she only partially opens one of the cabinets, and takes out a bottle of Tylenol. "Those symptoms are pretty normal, dear," she says, popping two pills into her hand, "They will probably all but disappear in another day or two."
Sora grabs a water bottle from the 'fridge and Aerith hands him the medication. He takes it instantly, praying the pounding in his head will go away shortly after.
"So how long have I been out?"
"Hmm… about a day or so. No surprise, though, it was quite a trauma."
Sora can't believe he slept that long. It's amazing how the body can go into recovery-shutdown mode so easily; the brunet didn't even dream, as if he had really died for that amount of time until his brain decided it was safe enough for him to come back. A day of his life he will never live. Depressing, or a blessing?
The nurse continues, "Well, whenever you feel ready, you can go. Just come back for Tylenol if the headache comes back. Go easy on yourself, don't get into trouble, but the best thing for your body right now is to get it normally moving again. It'll help the healing process."
Sora nods. "Oh, and one more thing." She looks at her watch. "It's lunch time right now, so you can probably get there in time for more food."
That's all he needs to hear. He can't even think about the once-threatening rain when he's so weak and ravenously hungry (the muffin really only made his stomach want more, the needy thing.) He takes his notes and shoves them in his pockets, checks his body for all his clothing, and then takes off in a slow, snail like manner.
The nurse told the truth; no one, not even the staff, is outside. Lunch is the only temptation that can goad everyone inside usually, even with rain. He follows the gravel path, wishing he had an umbrella until he stops at the lunchroom doors, realizing all eyes will be on him when he walks through. He contemplates his options, but every second he decides to stand there awkwardly results in heavy tummy protesting. He decides to listen to his very loud stomach. He can't trust his head anyway; it isn't making much sense.
He opens the doors quietly, and closes them softly. Normal chatter so far. Looking around, he sees all the teens in their normal tables, chowing down, oblivious to the content of their meals. Riku's table is full with his usual friends, so Sora supposes the silverette has explained everything. More thought on that later. Sora's own friends are still in the back, though Namine isn't eating at all (a scary thought) and Axel looks very sullen. Demyx seems to be trying very hard to lift the mood, but unsuccessfully. Are they worried for him?
Sora wants to fix their misery, but the smell of food, even half cooked, is too much for him to resist. He walks calmly past the front lunch tables, trying to pretend he's in the part of Assassins Creed Two where he has to blend in the crowds to avoid being attacked by Templars. For a couple steps, he feels as if he will make it. Cue the epic music. But, as usual, Sora's stealth levels are no more than negative one. He ends up tripping over himself and making a loud "eep!" sound. He manages to stand up straight at the last second, but just that small sound is enough to travel all the way across the noisy lunch room to Demyx's creepily accurate and bat-like ears.
The brunet sees him mouth "Sora…?" questioningly, scoping the room for him. And then, he catches sight of Sora's terrified face, partly scared from his near-fall, and partly from predicting all eyes on him.
"SORA!" Demyx suddenly screams out. Many tables look at the mullet-head as if he was schizophrenic, but Namine jerks her head up and Axel whirls around. "SORAAAAA~" Demyx continues, pointing and gesturing to come over there now with a huge, silly grin on his big stupid face.
Sora shakes his head, gesturing wildly to the lunch line, that he greatly, desperately desires a plate of half-plastic, half-fat food and that nothing will stop him from completing this quest of absolute necessity. He hears snickers from the tables around him. A couple girls are calling to him, asking if he's okay but most the guys are laughing. But, for once, it's in understanding, not mocking. Nothing stands between a man in his food.
When Demyx doesn't let up, Sora whirls around and marches (somewhat stiffly, for the soreness has not magically disappeared) to the food line, ignoring the stares and the questions that are throttled at him as he passes by. Scowling and crossing his arms, he attempts to look straight ahead in the line and ignore the questions around him.
And then he feels a pat on his shoulder. The brunet looks up; Axel. "You alright?"
"Yeah," Sora says, "Just unbelievably starving." The red head laughs, and claps him on the back again, causing Sora to cough in the classic, "you hit too hard" kind of way. Then the redhead turns to the cafeteria, most of the people within still looking at the distressed brunet, and says, "He's alright everyone, back to your business!" And so, everyone returns to their meal. Or… anti-meal. Axel's persuasion points, plus one!
A strangely tranquil, boring period of time sets over the camp for Sora and Riku over the next two weeks. Well, it at least seems to the silverette (now actually a silverette again) that the brunet is getting along just fine. Having ten times the friends Riku has probably ever had, much less met in a general population, Sora is much more active with the guys, though increasingly more giggly and non-masculine. Yet somehow, he has maintained his respect from even the most macho of teens. It must be his charm, Riku muses. If one has it, it can take you to places no one could normally reach.
His own unique charm has helped him too. The guys have stopped idolizing him and he much prefers it that way. He likes working behind the scene, and he often does. He's been given a camera and a clipboard, a piece of paper, and a glorious pen to tally the sport games' scores. Now that his hair is back to normal as well, his personal friends have been less ashamed to be around the poor fellow. The only thing he would change, perhaps, is the awkward yet mutual avoidance between himself and Sora, the cute boy that he's been saving for the past month. To be frank, he isn't quite sure whether it would be better to watch on at a distance and not bother him for fear that it would upset him, or try to become a friend to him. What harm could it do? But that's the thing, Riku has no idea. His playing God nearly cost Sora his life, but the silverette can't help but hope and believe that maybe they have more in common than they thought. Even Roxas has been urging him to talk to the brunet. The tempting idea has been growing and festering for a full week, more incessant every day now that the first half of camp is coming to a close.
That brings him to an even worse dilemma. After the first "semester" (as he likes to think of it) of camp, he will have to start all over. See, MOST kids only go for a month to camp Hawkeye. Learn a little discipline, make friends, learn sports, get a little fitter, miss mom's home cooking, and then go back home to their miscellaneous locations across the whole damn United States. But Riku? Oh no, he's stuck the whole summer. He'll have to make new friends, get settled in all over again. And quite frankly, he isn't up for the amount of effort that will take. Not only that, everything with Sora will have been for naught, because the little adorable thing will be gone and he won't even know the boy's last name.
Godda- … Goshdarnit.
"So, you have my address?"
"Of course."
"And my phone number?"
"I have that too, Namine…"
"Okay…" she's still sniffling. "Axel, Demyx; what about you guys?"
"Pah, you wouldn't want to hear from jerks like us, right?" Axel jokes, trying to make the teary-eyed blonde feel better. "I do!" she says, hugging Demyx extremely tight. He makes fake choking sounds to emphasize her grip.
They stand in their little group at the front of the camp, just under the shadow of the big, wooden arch that says in threatening blood red letters "HAWKEYE CAMP". Most others are in similar shady places, huddled together in their miniature mess of emotions, saying goodbye to each other.
"You know," Axel says, trying to change the subject to something less mushy. Is that a tear in his eye? "I don't think I actually got 'disciplined' here or anything. All we had to do was smile and pretend we liked sports and then we could do whatever. Seems misleading."
"Hey, I'm not going to complain," Demyx says, patting Namine's back lightly.
"I'm not either, I'm just saying it was all point-"
"Axel," a deep voice calls. They all look up and the red head turns, already scowling at the tall, gruff man. "It's time to go."
"Already? I didn't think you'd miss me."
"I didn't."
"Sheesh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Axel mutters, sheepishly ruffling the hair at the back of his neck. Then he turns back to Namine, Demyx, and Sora. "I guess this is where I make my leave. You all have my numbers so… Well, goodbye." He seems to be at a loss of words, torn between showing emotion in front of his (possible) uncle, and showing that he has some sort of emotion for the three standing before him. The atmosphere is too tense. He clears his throat and turns, waving his hand in an offhand farewell. They all mutter goodbye, secretly planning to text him a mushy goodbye later. Harry Potter was upset when he didn't get Ron and Hermione's letters, so they are pretty sure the redhead would be upset without a text or two as well.
Demyx and Namine's parents come next at about the same time twenty minutes later. The whole ordeal quickly becomes a big mess of tears and snot. Sora tries to keep his composure but soon him and Demyx are hugging like junior high school girls, crying that they'll miss each other and keep in touch. But no homo…. Which Namine quickly points out, saying "no homo" instantly makes it more likely to be homo. Instead of defending themselves, they wrap the small girl into a huge group hug and she laughs, louder than she had the whole duration of the camp. Demyx kisses her cheek and she blushes, but swats him away.
Their parents clear their throats, and they break it up. Chocked up, the brunet says, "Thank you guys, for everything." They nod, and Sora waves goodbye as they clamber into their separate cars, blue eyes still flooded.
Of course, Sora turns and leaves at the moment the cars disappear from sight, brooding on how two weeks without them will be hell. Camp may be over for them, but not for him. He's stuck for the whole summer, as he said before. He didn't realize that the camp wasn't normally one big session, but he supposes that the next set of kids will be easier to deal with, with his newfound confidence and yatta yatta yatta. And if they aren't, Sora has a feeling he'll know what to do.
As he heads back to the cabins to mourn his lost friends, he notices Riku's group over yonder, though already missing a member. The Mexican-looking one seems to have already left. Sora can't help but wonder what Riku told his group about everything, if he lied or was honest. He also begins to wonder… Could him and the silverette have been friends? Why haven't they spoken since the apology? The brunet can't help but feel that they would have been great friends, if they hadn't been so damn stupid. Sora was all caught up in self-pity and wounded pride, so assumptions made an ass out of him and the silverette. Perhaps they were similar. Perhaps they made the same mistake, except Sora was driven by this idea that he was "immune" to the Miracle, the chance that something would change him or that his life would change in a grand way. Of course, as soon as he doesn't expect anything, everything spins out of control like the first time riding a bike and letting go of the handlebars.
Sora can admit to himself, though, that he has been avoiding the silverette. The feeling seems to have been mutual, because even though Sora catches him looking, as soon as they make eye contact, they both turn away. Sora blushing, him… well, the brunet never got a good look. The brunet regrets his cowardice a little bit, like after he read "Much Ado About Nothing." The title says it all, essentially. But, still staring at the silverette's backside, he decides that there isn't anything to do about it now. It wouldn't make sense to talk to him after such a long time.
He makes a mental picture of the silverette though, something to keep from the person who saved his life. Broad shoulders and toned arms, only slightly hidden under the black jacket. Definitely something to remember him by, because who wears a black jacket in July? But even worse and more eye-catching, his long, beautifully silver hair hangs down to the middle of his back. If only Sora could see his face and eyes again without being creepy… and then he turns, as if Riku read his mind. Ah, yes, sea turquoise eyes, almond and stormy. Pale skin, strong jaw. A prominent, masculine noise but full lips. Maybe a little chapped, but from far away Sora can't tell. For an emo kid, he sure is beautiful. Not freakish at all. If his mind were a camera, he'd hear a click and a flash.
That night, around seven after all the other kids had been nabbed by their guardians, one of the staff members knocked on Riku's door. He had been texting and playing Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days on his DS when he hears it through his headphones. Disgruntled, he heaves out of his bunk and opens the door.
Standing before him are two people he is very surprised to see. First, one of the camp administrators; a girl, though he knows not her name, who is very abrasive and likes the color yellow. Second, a spiky-haired brunet with astonishing blue eyes who Riku himself had just happened to save a couple times a few weeks ago; Sora. Wait, why is he here? Instantly, Riku is embarrassed by his appearance; baggy pajama pants with glow in the dark skulls (it's dark enough that they can probably tell too) with no shirt, and hair in disarray from violently playing his treasured video games. He's even wearing his glasses; black, thin rims used to see things up close. A particularly vulnerable and homely stance to the usual, purposely edgy silverette.
But at least with his glasses, Riku can see Sora much more clearly than he could before. Before, he couldn't believe the brunet could get cuter, but when he is less fuzzy and viewed in 20/20 vision, the kid is simply angelic. Riku knows he must be staring; why has no one spoken yet? Sora's cheeks get redder, possibly from being stared at, or seeing Riku in such an odd state.
"Pack up your stuff. We have to do maintenance on the cabins over the next two weeks so you guys are getting one of the staff's quarters until the start of camp," the lady says, abrupt and snooty as ever.
Riku is too shocked and glazed to really comprehend, still staring at Sora in some strange stupor. "What?" he says weakly, his brain trying to link the snarky sounds with words he is familiar with. To this intelligent response, the administrator growls. "Uuuuugh! You, other boy, just stay here and help him. Your room is number nine in the staff's quarters' building." She hands him a key. "Don't lose that, there's only a few of them," and with that, she storms off, grumbling about how men are useless idiots.
"Hehe..." Sora laughs nervously, watching her walk away with relief and apprehension. When he turns back, the brunet looks cautiously back at the silverette, who is finally pulling his bearings together. He feels like he got sucked out of a T.V. show, which is doing wonders to his cool, collected composure. The brunet isn't helping. Since the woman was eerily similar to his mom on her period, it brought him back to earth. But Sora still speaks first, voice unsure, "I- uhh…" cough, "It sure is late, isn't it? Kind of rude to kick us out at this time..."
"You're telling me..." Riku grumbles, scratching his scalp in an irritated kind of way. "New room..." He realizes something, "How in the world did you even pack with that woman watching over you?" The silverette glares down the hall, wishing he had cherry bombs to throw into her room.
Sora, not following the taller man's eyes, shrugs and sheepishly points to his haphazardly put together suitcase, barely zipped all the way. The brunet giggles at himself.
Riku chuckles a little back, and clears his throat quickly, "So you're stuck all summer too? And here I thought it was just me." The cute brunet shakes his head, smiling. "No, uhm, my parents wanted a vacation, like a honeymoon thing, so they went to China. I could have stayed with my brother but they didn't want me to bother him in college." The brunet pouts.
"Ah," he isn't sure how to reply to that without sounding like an inconsiderate asshole. Riku puts his most polite voice and face on, subconsciously trying to convince Sora that he is a good guy and that none of last month ever happened. "My mom dropped me off for kind of the same reasons..." He tries to think of an excuse for his mom, but nothing really comes to mind, "I didn't have much control over her decision so I didn't ask for reasons." Which is somewhat true, though he put up much more of a fight at the suggestion of the camp in the first place.
"Well she sounds …nice," Does Riku sense eager politeness from him as well? "Though uh… do you need any help packing? We should probably get to that room before Larxene comes back."
"I'd prefer to call her the Bitch, so I won't remember her name." Sora laughs, agreeing. "Oh, but I don't really need help, just stick around for a couple minutes and I'll be out."
"Oh, okay," he says, slightly unsure but sweetly, moving to allow Riku to shut the door without being rude or alarming. A little hesitant to end the first civil and normal conversation with the brunet, he shuts the door softly and slowly. When it clicks to a close, his mind goes into overdrive.
So… Sora and I are sharing a room. I mean we're both guys but… It's Sora. Nervousness. Why is that a big deal? His sarcastic side replies, well you did almost kill him. Nooo big deal. Riku knows there's more to it, but he lets the remark slide with a healthy pang of guilt. At least it's all over and done with now, with a nice, red bow of forgiveness on top. It's not like the brunet feels guilty about dying his hair, so it would be silly to feel guilty about the mistakes he made. Err… well, let's hope the brunet doesn't hold grudges.
Thus Riku gathers his stuff together in a rush. It isn't much, but he takes the time to change into normal clothes. He doesn't really want to walk over to the mysterious and adult-occupied building without a shirt on and a pair of legitimate pants. By the time Riku re-opens his door, Sora has begun playing Sudoku on his phone, though he pauses the game and turns to the silverette when he hears the door.
Sora hands him a key. "She gave me two," he explains, "Uh, you ready to go?"
"Yeah," Riku confirms, pocketing his key, "Lead the way."
Sora had never been this close to the silverette… or at least, in a normal situation. Still looking slightly disheveled and wearing his glasses, Riku is appearing to be everything Sora thought he wasn't; down to earth in his glasses, able to be startled by in his ruffled clothes, human and imperfect by the tangles in his hair. To be frank, Riku is… attractive. The kind of guy everyone desperately wants to know and understand and love, to see them in the morning when they just wake up, to see them in their most vulnerable state and be the one to tell them that it's okay. Just the temptation and desire makes Sora want to put another foot between himself and the other teen; he's chased enough of these "types" to know that it's a path of regret.
But, Sora does know that Riku isn't exactly what he appears to be on any given moment. This is the man that saved Sora's life… There were probably other people who saw him struggling, but just swam on by. But Riku, the one who he had thought hated him, was the one to drag him out of the never ending lake. His negative conscience begs the brunet to look at the tree incident; what about his appearance there? What about the game? Although Sora agrees with himself that he cannot grant his immediate trust, he fights back these thoughts, telling it that he never got an explanation of what was really going on. Perhaps it isn't what it seems. He already got an apology nonetheless. It should all be ancient history. New slate. He may not be perfect, but forgiveness is something he is called to give, and with this beautiful, entrancing silverette next to him for the next two weeks… he isn't going to withhold his friendship now.
They reach the huge, light wooded building before Sora realizes his feet continued to walk without his conscious effort of it. Riku holds the door open for him, already in his inherent urges of small dominance. Sora isn't one to care about that sort of thing; he can lead, he can follow. So he walks past Riku, eyes and mouth smiling at the silverette in a friendly way.
"So where to now?" Riku asks, looking ahead at the closed office and the three hallways, one on the left and two on the right.
"Eenie, meanie, mine-y, moe…" Sora shrugs, seeing no directional signs. "You'd think they'd at least put totem poles with arrows to tell us where to go."
Riku laughs, "'As Coach would say, 'this is a noble camp, not just some hogwash kindergarten school!'"
Still at a loss of where to go, they guesstimate where their room might be and head down a random hall. To their luck, they find it about halfway down and shove the key in, noisily dragging their suitcases behind them across the wood floor.
The room is much like their cabins out closer to the wild woods, but larger and with less bunks. In fact, there is really only one bed (and, as they both notice longingly, not a bunk but a true mattress with sheets and a frame), but a couch has been added in a vacant corner to accommodate for two people residing in the room. One of the arms of the green couch holds up fresh sheets, folded and ready to go proudly. There's no kitchen, but a small plastic table with a mini fridge on it, only suitable for drinks and small snacks. Luckily, there is also a bathroom and shower behind one of the few doors in the room. The others are closets, one that seems to be meant for clothes, and the other for toiletries. A tall dresser serves as an entertainment center on the back wall, equipped with a large (but old) TV and a cable modem connected to it.
"It's like a beach resort for the woods," Riku says, gazing about nonchalantly. Sora merely nods, setting his stuff down by the table.
"So…" Sora says to the open room, "What now?"
"Hmm… Well I can connect my Playstation2, Xbox 360, or my Nintendo 64 to the TV."
Sora gapes at the silverette, amazed at this astounding news. "You… you brought all those? I'm pretty sure they're banned…"
Riku shrugs, smirking at Sora's gleeful bewilderment. "If you hadn't noticed, I don't like sports. But here's a fun fact I'm sure you hadn't guessed yet: I don't heed the rules very well."
Sora raises one of his eyebrows, not sure if he agrees with the silverette, and not sure if he should test the fact either. He never got in with the "rule breaking crowd" but here he is now, very determined to make this man his friend. Not only that, he's in a place where Miracles have been following him. All bad ideas, malevolent incidents, but all of them blessings in disguise. Maybe a couple rules can be broken. A couple more chances taken, intentionally. Just to see where he'll end up before he has to return to his normal life. What could go wrong?
Everything. And that's what he wants.
A/N: Ahh, sorry it took so long for me to finish this. It's a transitional chapter, really, so it was hard for me to keep interest in finishing it. Not only that, I've been playing a LOT of Xbox, hence all the references to games...
Well all that is over now! Finally, Sora and Riku can start their long awaited friendship. All the sexual tension of being in the SAME ROOM. You're welcome. Hehe :)
Please review if you have the time, I like knowing if there was a spot I could have done better, or a confusing spot, or, or, or... I love you guys! Thanks for reading!
