Chapter 15: Dance, Baby, Dance, Like the World is Ending
Riku's memory of the night before is foggy when the sunlight and the shuffling noises around him goad his turquoise eyes into opening. As though a dream, the silveret can feel the details slipping away the more awake he becomes. Certain of its legitimacy, he holds onto the gist of those moments, ever hopeful that Sora's thank you is only the first step toward a path of love. His heart beats faster and heavier, remembering Sora's embrace… Maybe it's just the morning vulnerability, but the silveret can't help but succumb to a blush.
He sighs, sitting up and reaching into his pocket for a hair tie. He isn't sure if he's ever felt so… flustered? Smitten? It's unnerving, unmanly even, for him to be affected so, yet even if he could change it he wouldn't. He couldn't trade in these feelings for the world. Even though the simple hug was just that- a hug, I mean, even guys share friendly hugs every once and awhile, right?- Riku cannot resist the hope and fantasies that confirm there could be more in the future. But how to get there? The silveret knows it would be unwise to question the brunet's actions from last night, but time is still running out.
The silveret looks around, deciding time is of the essence. The redhead in the bunk across from him is still asleep, though tossing and turning restlessly, indicating that it must still be early but not early enough to sleep again. "Tsk," Riku mutters, cursing the theft of his night owl habits. He glances up. Roxas, in the bunk above Axel, is asleep as well, drooling a bit. T.K. seems to be gone, however, but that isn't unusual; he usually wakes up even earlier than Axel and takes off to find Ventus. But with everyone either sound asleep or gone, Riku finds himself at a loss; what should he do? He could go back to sleep, but then he'd be rudely awakened by Axel not even an hour later. He could wait for them… but that would be incredibly boring. He could also go get breakfast in peace for once, and catch up with everyone later.
He reluctantly stands, slips on his vans, and heads out of the cabins. The camp grounds are very quiet, but full of life and color, as though Spring is giving a brief greeting. The bright and crisp green grass, the pink horizon fading up into yellow and then the bright blue of day, and the light quips of birdsong all are enjoyed evidence as Riku passes through to the cafeteria. The silveret looks back over the grounds to appreciate it before going in, knowing that he'll never have such a sight when he returns to the city. Maybe this is why Sora is such a morning person, he wonders.
Once inside, Riku soon finds that he is luckily not the only one awake; the kitchen is running at full speed, food set out ready to be grabbed. The silveret snatches a banana, some off-brand cereal, and a muffin before sitting by a bulletin board on one of the walls. At least now he has something to read.
Most of the posts are inconsequential and the words seem to slip in and out of his mind like soap from a frantic hand, but one does catch his eye. In the middle of the whole thing, covering up other posts, is a wide, blue piece of paper proclaiming to all who can read: "Hawkeye Dance this Tuesday 6 pm! Casual dress. Dancing, games, food, and prizes." Initially, Riku rolls his eyes; he remembers the dance from last session. He and Roxas had skipped out while Nick and Luis had gone to dance with the girls. Riku didn't go then because he was too worried and guilty about Sora, who at the time was still recovering from nearly drowning.
Suddenly putting two and two together, Riku realizes Sora didn't go to the dance then; he might not have even known it had happened. He wonders if the brunet would like to go this time; he wouldn't dare ask him in date-form, but maybe they could go as buddies. Play the silly games, listen to the terrible pop music and complain, try to win the prizes. All in all, it could be a light-hearted and fun night, and maybe even an opportunity for Riku to further restore their closeness. That alone makes the idea worth coming to fruition! If he could convince some of the others to go with them, it would be less awkward as well. It could be exactly what they need.
He checks his phone for the day's date; shit. Today is Tuesday. It seems as though his instincts earlier were correct; time is of the essence indeed. He checks the time, and waits impatiently for the others to join him in breakfast.
Sora's conversation with Axel made his dreamland worse. If Riku was a pest before, he's a parasite now. Instead of a soft smile or a playful punch in the shoulder, dream-Riku was kissing his cheek or interlocking their fingers together all through the night. To say the brunet, who is usually most calm in the morning, woke up flustered would be an understatement. Maybe he can blame Axel for giving him these ideas in the first place. His brain must have taken the liberty to process them vividly in his sleep. That lends itself to some excuse, but the fact remains that his dreams were romantic with another guy.
Let's get this straight (ha, pun): Sora has no problem with anyone being homosexual, heterosexual, bi-sexual, lizard-sexual, transsexual, or even the color purple. The brunet happily agrees with the philosophy that if they like it and it makes them happy, well then they can go for it. Even so, Sora has no idea- hasn't even thought of, more like- what his preferences would be. Even the morning after Sora thought Riku had kissed him, the brunet had simply dismissed the questionable event, resisting confrontation to such a ridiculous topic. It never occurred to the brunet that Riku would, or could, think of him that way. After all, romantic involvements, like many other social aspects of his life, have been retarded: his crushes have been nothing but that; crushing. Thankfully, his sexual endeavors are a bit more colorful; he can pick either hand! And there describes his dynamic love life. He can't say that he has looked at girls sexually more than guys, but either way is rare. Sora accredits this not to some error within himself, but rather the lack of opportunity. He hasn't been close enough to anyone to take a step further, or to even desire such a change.
Well, he can list excuses for his romancelessness on and on; long story short, Axel's thought provoking confession has- for some unknown reason- aroused some sort of desire for romance, as displayed by his dreams. Maybe because he is closest to Riku, he has associated the silveret with those desires by some neuron-mishap? Or maybe Sora's comparisons of Axel and Roxas versus him and Riku have led him to question his sexuality? Can't he choose this sort of thing? But what if he likes Riku that way? What in the world would he do? What if Riku didn't like him back? BUT what if he doesn't like Riku at all and this is just going to give him a headache? He doesn't know how this crap works!
And what of his actions last night? He doesn't know what came over him to embrace Riku and thank him. Sure, the silveret deserved it for many reasons, but corresponding to his new-found overall confusion, he isn't sure if that means something.
"Sora, you okay? You look kinda pale..." Xion asks suddenly, peering down at him; she must've just crawled out of her bunk, for she is still wearing a tank top and pajama pants.
He examines her for a moment. Nope, no sexual attraction whatsoever; it's Xion after all. But there is something else about her that is bothering him, practically begging for his attention.
"Yeah, Xion, thanks…. Just had a bad dream."
"Ah," she says sympathetically, "I hate those. Mine are always weird, like someone else's memories(1). Creeps me out sometimes."
Sora nods, "Yeah, mine don't make a whole lot of sense either…"
"Eh, just shake it off," she says kindly, "Usually if you start thinking about other things, the memories of them go away, or at least the details."
Oh yeah. Simplicity; that's what wanted his attention. It'd be quite simple to forget the dreams, and give the sexuality question an "I don't know" answer. And that's okay, right? Whenever love happens for him, well, it must be meant to be then; thinking about it won't send the love of his life on express shipping as if a package. Hell, even Axel said it was okay to "not know". So it's okay. Well, Axel also advised that he find some sort of thing or person to attach himself to, but that can wait until he is more awake, functioning, and willing to face this daunting task. Right?
Sora's stomach growls, reinforcing his hierarchy of current needs. She giggles, hearing the gargling sounds emitting from her friend. He giggles back.
Satisfied with this conclusion, for now, the brunet finally replies, "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Xion. I think I'mma go get breakfast…" He smiles at her, and after she smiles back he stands, checking his current attire for decency. Satisfied with that as well, he leaves the cabins to head to the cafeteria for breakfast, equally looking forward and dreading to see Riku again.
It doesn't take long for other friends to trickle into the cafeteria. Ventus and T.K. are first to come in, chipper and happily in conversation. The silveret gestures a greeting to them and they reply, passing him to get food. They join him at the table soon after. Surprisingly and yet unsurprisingly, Sora enters next, looking a mixture of anxious and hungry.
"Good morning, Sora," Riku greets as Sora comes closer to his table.
"G'morning, Riku," the brunet says nervously, "Uh, this isn't our normal spot."
Riku frowns, but allows Sora's discomfort to avoid questioning yet. "Yeah, I woke up early and sat here to read the board." He points to the cork board behind him and Sora turns.
"Oh," he says, mildly astonished, "I didn't even know that was there…"
"You okay?" the silveret asks, unable to hold back his concern.
Sora looks back to Riku, eyes a little widened perhaps from the surprise appearance of the bulletin board or Riku's worry. The silveret hopes it is the later, but stays quiet until the cherub teen responds.
"Oh, uh…" He looks around uncomfortably, unable to meet his friend's turquoise eyes, "I had some weird dreams last night." He scratches the back of his head and half smiles, almost apologizing for his obvious ambiguity.
The silveret looks skeptically at him, but before he can press the matter, Roxas appears behind Sora.
"Morning," he says grumpily, "Is anything in the breakfast line good?"
"I dunno, I just got here," Sora says, happy to have a new conversation, "I was about to go though; you want to go in line with me?"
"There isn't a line," Roxas says bluntly, "But yeah. I'm starving."
"Bring me back a muffin, Roxas," Riku requests, "Chocolate." He would ask this of Sora, but the brunet can barely stand to look him in the eyes; unwilling to push his luck, he chose his other friend.
"Okay," the tired blonde agrees, "But just this once."
"Thanks." And the two walk off, but not before Riku can manage to give Sora a sympathetic-slash-worried look. Sora responds with a genuine smile sprinkled with a little guilt to assure Riku nothing is wrong. It at least relieves the silveret of some worry, and so he moves his attention to Axel who is uncharacteristically quietly sitting at the table.
"You're awfully quiet," Riku comments, gazing at the mellow Axel.
Axel pulls down his lower eyelids. "I'm soooo fucking tired."
Riku chuckles, "Oh?"
"Didn't sleep well."
"What is it with everyone getting shit for sleep today?"
Axel shrugs, "Don't ask me, I can't control my dreams. If I could, I'd wake up with a boner every day."
Riku nearly face-palms. "What?" Axel continues indignantly, gauging the silveret's expression, "I bet you would too if you could."
"You're delusional."
"And you're in denial!" The redhead huffs, pouting as he lays his head down onto the table. "And I'm hungry." He sniffs. "Roxy probably won't even get me food."
"Tsk," Riku replies, "What is he, your mother?"
"Close enough," the redhead grumbles, "Go away, bully."
Riku laughs again and is about to continue the banter when Sora and Roxas come back.
Carrying a wide array of edible, sugary objects, they plop themselves into their seats and the food onto the table. The brunet ends up handing Riku a chocolate muffin due to Roxas' immediate battle with Axel over who-gets-what from the pile. Contented with the muffin, Riku watches in amusement as Sora, Roxas, and Axel bicker over the remaining food the two brought. Sora ends up with two muffins, a banana, a fruity pebbles cereal one-serving box, and a milk. Roxas takes about the same amount and content, trading a banana with a nut bar; Axel takes the last muffin, banana, and milk, pouting despite substantial victory.
As though pre-planned, as soon as the four have settled down, Ventus and T.K. come back, mysteriously joined by Xion. The silveret hadn't seen her go into the cafeteria, but he might have been simply distracted when she arrived. And thus the party seemed complete, despite Chris's absence; he usually sits with his other friends for meals anyway.
Mostly idle chatter fills the first five minutes, so the silveret turns back to Sora.
"So what were your dreams about?" he asks, curious to expand the conversation from before.
The brunet gives Riku a significant glance, implying that he will reply once he finishes chewing. He takes his time, seemingly formulating an answer as he eats. Swallowing thickly, Sora replies nervously, "The details are fading now…"
Riku raises his eyebrows, aware that the brunet is reluctant to talk about it. He decides that is fine, but he must face the consequences for it. "Oh," he says, arrogantly, "I bet it was about me."
Sora immediately turns bright red, looking as though caught. "W-what? No!" He sputters, trying to find some other, more convincing words to say.
Riku chuckles, enjoying his embarrassment. "Yeah, you're right…. If I were in it, you'd remember it," Riku concludes teasingly.
After gaping like a fish for a few moments, the brunet pouts. "Psh, get over yourself…" The silveret is undaunted by his remark, for there is no conviction in it.
"I'll try, just for you," the silveret concludes sweetly. Sora turns a darker shade of pink.
"Go suck an egg."
Suddenly, over the PA system Coach's voice fills the cafeteria. "Good morning, kiddos." The Coach's voice is still gruff but jovial; he must be bringing good news. "Just a reminder of the dance tonight in the cafeteria." Bingo. "6 pm; look at the bulletin board for more details. Oh, and today is a free-roam day, but no loitering in the cafeteria while the staff are setting up the dance. You guys have been a great group for three weeks now; let's be on our best behavior to end the camp on a good note. Have a good day, Hawks!" And the PA shut off. Due to the excitement of the upcoming dance, his cheesy pep-talk is mostly overlooked. The noise level in the cafeteria immediately and significantly increases as the girls excitedly begin planning and gossiping. Already, Riku can tell this dance will be more of a "big deal" than the last, but nonetheless, Riku asks the group, "You guys wanna go?"
"Meh, sounds lame," Axel immediately replies.
"I wouldn't mind," Xion inputs, contradicting her redheaded friend.
"It'll be fun, though! T.K. and I are going. You could go with us, Xion." Ventus says happily. Roxas groans, "Ugh. Well, if Ventus goes, I have to go too."
Practically salivating at his fresh opportunity, Axel suddenly interjects, "I could keep you company, Roxy." Roxas groans again, "I don't need double duty of babysitting…" but he doesn't reject the idea. Axel and Riku grin similarly in the high chance of victory.
The silveret turns to Sora, "Well, since they are all going, wanna go too?"
Sora doesn't seem opposed to the suggestion, but rather bewildered at the rapid turn of events. "That sounds fun… but… why wasn't there a dance last camp?"
Ready with a response, Riku replies, "There was but you were… uh… absent for that day."
"Oh… was it…?" The silveret nods and the brunet's face falls. "I can't believe I missed that."
Reassuringly, Riku rebounds, "It's alright, Sor; neither your friends nor mine went... But now we can go together." Riku sends a soft smile to his friend.
Sora blushes for the umpteenth time, muttering, "O-okay… Sorry for making you guys worry."
Riku wraps his arm around his cute brunet's shoulders and gives him a half-hug. "You don't worry about it." And he lets go, understanding the precarious balance between friendly and awkward.
Suddenly, Axel interjects, "I guess we're all going then!" He smirks at Riku knowingly. "But what the fuck are we going to do with ourselves until 6?"
The group ends up lounging about in the hallway/deck leading to the cabins, a wise location choice due to the shade and the general isolation. Most other campmates resorted to picking a sport, but of course the notorious group couldn't resist a day absent of strenuous physical activity.
Sora allows himself to be roped into watching Riku play another Kingdom Hearts game, Dream Drop Distance. Back against the wood between two of the cabin doors and legs outstretched, Riku clearly positioned himself so that another person could sit by him. Sora being the only other person (that the brunet knows of) that enjoys KH, he assumes that the silveret is aiming for his companionship.
"Riku…?" Sora struggles to see his friend's game screen from his awkward spot next to him, shifting in every direction to acquire a better view.
"Hmm?" The turquoise eyes stay on the 3D screen, following Aros as he dashes back and forth to hit the new, cute enemies that emerge in this particular game.
"I-I can't see."
There is a brief moment of silence in which Sora waits for Riku's answer, broken by the soft shuffle of clothes. Without a word, Riku daringly lifts his arm on Sora's side of him and hooks the brunet into scooting closer and leaning on him. As if imprisoning the cherub male into his arms, Riku reasserts his hand onto his game playing device, resuming his virtual onslaught as if this were completely normal.
"Is that better?" The question is both teasing and sincere; Sora, taken aback (as usual), blushes but nods jerkily. "Y-yeah, thanks," he replies despite the fact that his whole body has tensed. Wherever Sora is in contact with Riku seems to be hotter than normal, and yet he can't bring himself to move away. That doesn't seem like a very reassuring sign to him. Hesitantly, but unsure what else to do, the brunet rests his head onto Riku's shoulder, uncomfortable and yet more comfortable than he's ever been.
Is this what people in love call butterflies?
Riku is grateful that Sora just happens to be on the opposite side of his heart. A few inches closer would unmask the adrenaline rush that came from his rash actions. Riku has no trifles with initiating things he wants to happen, but still he is not used to being so bold. And again, he is so glad that Dream Drop Distance courts Sora's eyes more than his face could at the moment; he doesn't think he's blushing but if so he doesn't want to risk being caught.
Trying to enjoy his brunet's closeness while also maintaining action on his game, he mashes buttons and throttles through whatever he can. After a few minutes, to his relief, a cutscene begins and he's allowed to relax a little bit. Knowing Sora is watching the little screen intently, Riku uses the time to look around; put his head back on mother earth.
Of course, a huge contrast of red and yellow catches his attention. In the corner where the wooden railing meets a wall of the cabin building, Axel and Roxas are jointly playing Uno with Xion and T.K. Riku can't help but tsk in jealously; the redhead has somehow convinced Roxas to sit in his lap. The image is somewhat laughable due to the disparity between Axel's long and skinny body versus Roxas's short and more compact one. Axel has not only rested his chin on Roxas's skull, but has also comfortably wrapped his arms completely around the two of them to hold their cards.
Axel, seemingly tamed, lays down a card and says quietly, "See, aren't you glad you have to be nice to me now?"
Roxas scowls and turns his head to the side away from the redhead, causing Axel to lift his chin slightly and look down to the disturbance. Of course, the blonde is blushing. "I should have set a time limit on that stupid bet."
Axel smiles triumphantly. "Probably," he says, "But that's no fun."
"You have a sick style of fun."
"Roxy, you're sick?" He pretends to look shocked and worried. "Let me nurse you to health!" Axel tightens his grip around the blonde, squishing him from all sides. Xion and T.K. laugh at their antics, laying down their cards.
"Poor Roxas," Xion giggles. T.K. pretends to shoot them with his fingers, exclaiming, "Starry Heaven!"
"Ax- Urgh! What! No! Let me go!" He squirms in his arms, fighting to break free. However the redhead merely laughs, giving in to his request by loosening his grip. Xion giggles again, "I think you got lucky, Roxas."
"Oh, he has," Axel replies, sending Xion a cheeky smile. She smiles and shakes her head.
Roxas scrambles to fix himself, face burning red and unable to reply to Xion. Surprisingly, he doesn't remove himself from Axel's lap, but rather amends his ruffled clothes. "Goddamn you…" he mutters to Axel, finally settling down.
Axel, completely unphased, lays down another one of their cards to continue the game. As T.K. formulates his next card to play, Axel looks down to Roxas again. Of course, the blonde is glaring up at him but instead of intimidating the offender, Roxas's anger merely eggs Axel on. In one last daring and teasing move, Axel gives Roxas's forehead a peck from his lips. "You're just too cute." Anyone not listening directly to them wouldn't hear his near silent comment, but Riku's near-bat ears just happen to catch it. Roxas hears it as well; instead of his usual tantrum, his glare disappears, replaced with an amazed stare.
T.K. plays, and Xion looks through her cards. "Why green? Ugh!"
Xion's voice brings Roxas out of his stupor and the two potential lovers break eye contact. He resumes his earlier position and looks at their cards. When Axel reasserts his chin onto the blonde's head, Roxas points at a card and the redhead nods.
Xion lays down a color-changing card and says, "I pick yellow. Your turn, guys."
Suddenly, Riku realizes how long he had been watching those two hooligans and glances down to Sora almost in a panic. However, he soon realizes that he wasn't the only one watching Roxas and Axel; Sora's stare is still on them, a perplexed and yet curious expression on his face. The silveret wonders how much Sora sees, and his opinion on it. If only he could talk with the brunet alone—all these things left unsaid are no longer necessary. Riku wants to bridge all the gaps and understand him, but with so little time the silveret wonders if such a feat is possible for the two of them. At least he can try. He's got to establish some connection to the brunet that will guarantee Sora will not forget about him after camp ends… The more potentially romantic the better, for it is a lot harder for Riku to express such sentiment over long distance.
Sora, finally done staring at the ketchup mustard couple, glances back up to Riku with conflicted eyes. Riku meets those eyes, saying everything and yet nothing at all. The brunet can only hold the connection for a few moments before turning back to the DS screen.
"The cutscene ended," the brunet says quietly.
"Yeah, sorry." And he resumes the gameplay.
At roughly six the group makes their way to the dance. Sora thought about changing into something more presentable than his sweaty shirt and shorts from today, but none of the others ended up switching garments so he let the idea go. Only Xion seemed to have the same thoughts, but she voices the opinion too late as they are walking to the cafeteria.
"Ah, damn, all the girls actually brought dresses? Man, I could've worn one…"
Ventus, ever the optimist, replies, "It's okay Xion, you're still pretty!"
From beside him, Riku's voice adds, "Not only that, we aren't sure if Coach knows you are a girl or not. If he has noticed, I think he's taken a blind eye. Wearing a dress now would probably force his hand to relocate you."
Xion takes a moment to consider. "Yeah, you're right… but thanks guys!" Her pout transforms into an appeased smile, and she continues on in a near skip. However, Sora finds himself puzzled and unable to smile along.
Riku's comment causes Sora to wonder what Riku's sexuality might be. The question comes out of nowhere to Sora, but with the recent thought processes it's easy to see where the inquiry stemmed from. Like before, what if Sora happened to like Riku, and Riku didn't like him back? That'd be awfully awkward. But, aside from that, Riku hasn't shown any interest to girls this entire camp and yet, he still seems to have a knowing air, whatever that means. At any rate, all the girls seem to "like" him. So do guys for that matter, but the brunet isn't sure he'd be able to tell between liking and "liking" (A/N: For any of you who watch Fairy Tail, insert Happy's 'l-l-l-l-liking' in there. You're welcome). And then again, all the girls seem to like Sora too (or they did last camp). All this speculation reaches nowhere, and the question remains: Has Riku been in a relationship before? Does he have a type?
Yet again, Sora knows so much about the silveret and yet feels as though he knows nothing at all. The brunet misses when it was just the two of them; it was so much simpler then. He could ask anything at any time! There was no one to hear, nothing to hide… Well, besides the alcohol. Despite Axel and Riku's use of it, Sora still cherishes the memory of that night. It was relieving to tell someone to truth about himself, even if Riku doesn't remember it now. Though Sora would bet that he does.
They need another night like that. They need to talk again, to each other instead of others; be within instead of without. And maybe… tonight could be that night. Sora knows that now is not the time to give up. It may still be complicated in his mind, but every day brings him one step closer to understanding. Surely it is no coincidence that tonight the camp is hosting a dance. Maybe Riku would be able to help with Axel's words, and as the redhead said, everyone needs help sometimes. If not, they can still 'bond' while playing all the games and they will be one step closer to having said conversation. All the pieces must be coming together for him! In the brunet's mind, it is not 'if' but 'when'. He isn't sure why he is so assured but… maybe he trusts Riku more than he thought.
Excited, Sora finally smiles and starts in a skip to the cafeteria, ready to start the night.
"I haaate pop music!" Axel complains over the repetitive sound, using a finger to pick inside one of his ears to emphasize his point.
"You hate everything," Roxas replies, rolling his eyes.
Axel pouts. "I do not…. Nami said that too…"
Sora, who had been walking next to Riku perkily, moves to push the redhead lightly, laughing, "That's 'cause you claim to hate everything!" His laughter fills the silveret with a soft contentment, as if he knows that this is the true Sora. Riku hopes soon that he will be a part of the reason he can be so lighthearted and hopeful.
Sora returns to his side and Roxas closes in again. "Don't pout, it makes you look weird," the blonde says, pretending to be annoyed.
The silveret gives an amused "Hmph," and turns back to his surroundings. Somehow, they have split the cafeteria into two parts; a dance-floor area on one side and a plethora of game centers on the other, ranging from fishing plastic fish in a plastic pool to the Guitar Hero station one would see in Dave & Buster's.
"So this is where our parents' money have gone," the silveret comments aloud, unsure where to start, "Aside from the booze, that is."
"If so, at least they put it to good use," Roxas replies, eyes longingly staring at the X-box station in which a few kids have already started a team death match in Call of Duty Black Ops.
"Looks fun to me!" says Ventus, nearly bouncing in excitement.
"It would be even better if someone had spiked the punch," Axel says mischievously, "Where is the snack table anyway?" Riku would be concerned if the redhead hadn't drunk all his alcohol already.
"I think it's right through there," Xion inputs, pointing to the back door.
Immediately, the redhead grabs Roxas's arm and leads him toward the back. "Food first, then X-box!" The leftover group can hear Roxas groan in annoyance, but unsurprisingly the blonde does not fight to return. Riku tsks in appreciation to Axel's theft of Roxas and Xion giggles at them, "That's Axel for you."
Sora joins in laughing too, "He'll probably eat everything, and then Roxas will be even more mad."
Xion nods, "I would go get some now while it's still there, but I kinda wanna dance. Wanna go to the dance floor, Ventus? T.K.?"
"Sure, lets go!" Ventus replies, excited. T.K. follows them, practically already dancing, leaving Sora and Riku conveniently to their own devices. To be honest, the silveret isn't very surprised.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Riku asks Sora, unsure and uncaring on where to start.
Sora's big blue eyes survey his options, excitement nearly excreting from them. With a big smile, the brunet replies, "Can you play Guitar Hero?"
"I used to play Rockband so… sorta," Riku replies encouragingly.
"Let's go then; I bet I can beat you!" Sora sends him a cheeky, confident smile and points his thumb to the station.
Riku sends back a determined smile, always ready to answer a challenge. "We'll see," he says, and allows the bubbly Sora to traffic him to the fake guitars.
Sora wasn't lying when he said he could beat the silveret. Guitar Hero had been his thing since junior high, having been given few game consoles in his lifetime. He wasn't insanely-good as in playing on Expert and yawning at the same time, but he could hold his own on most songs whether it be on Hard or Expert.
This particular set up is based after Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, which is perfectly fine to the brunet. Consisting of several of his favorite songs like Before I Forget, Cult of Personality, Knights of Cydonia, and Monsters, Sora is equally exhilarated to show off and curious to see how his partner (or competitor?) will fare.
"I'm not sure if I like the way you are looking at that thing," Riku comments amusedly, "You're only this excited about food."
"You're just nervous 'cause I'm gonna kick your ass!" Sora replies cockily, deliberately trying to goad Riku into competition.
"That's not going to happen," the silveret replies calmly, taking the left-side guitar and adjusting the strap to fit him comfortably.
Sora follows suit, taking the guitar on the right. He goes to the multiplayer tab and waits for Riku to input his guitar.
"So are we going to do a face-off or a co-op?" Sora asks.
"Let's start with co-op… Can you stand to have a non-competitive warm-up?" the silveret teases.
The brunet smiles confidently and wiggles his fingers, "Of course I can. Gotta warm up these fingers!"
Chuckles erupt from Sora's left side and he turns, watching as Riku laughs. Aside from the fact that Riku is laughing at him (presumably for something he said), Sora can't help but notice how handsome the silveret looks with a smile. Though beautiful in a dark sort of way when his face is absent of joy, with a genuine smile Riku transforms from the emo boy to the knight in shining armor. Sora nearly slaps himself for such a cheesy comparison, but despite himself he knows it is the truth. Riku has all the justice, pride, confidence, and mischief of a knight. Furthermore, he is most likely the epitome of every girl's dream.
After taking another infernal mental snapshot (one of many now), Sora smiles back curiously, "What? What's so funny?"
"You're just so…" the silveret pauses, shaking his head and chuckling softly a moment more, "Ridiculous, and oblivious to it."
Sora pouts, taking the silveret's statement the wrong way on purpose, "Hey, insulting me with compliments is not allowed here. I'm really going to kick your butt now."
"Pfft," Riku says, finally adding his guitar to the multiplayer setting, and smirking toward his friend, "keep dreaming."
Mid-song, Sora isn't sure how to strike up conversation again. Or rather, important conversation. It's the perfect time; no one is paying attention to them, no one is in line for the Guitar Hero game, and none of their other friends have come to bother them. And yet, the nervous brunet doesn't know where to start. Though he has rehearsed and imagined conversations between them all day, of course now all those ideas have high-tailed it out of his brain, giving him a clean, forsaken plate. He decides to simply jump for it.
"So uh…" Sora begins, swallowing hesitantly, "What do you think of Axel and Roxas?"
"Uhm." Despite his surprised expression, Riku takes a moment before replying, attempting to get past a few harder series of notes. "Well, that depends. What about them?"
"It's kind of funny how Axel was my friend, and Roxas was your friend, and now we've switched friends sorta." It's not a very direct start, but it's something.
Riku gives a bark of a laugh, "Ha, yeah. Turned out pretty good for them though. Well, at least for Axel." The silveret smirks in amusement, eyes still focused on the screen. Sora had convinced him to try a song on Expert with him, and is now struggling to get some Star Power to carry him through the solo.
"I'm sure Roxas secretly likes it or something weird like that?" Sora pries some more, aware of the answer to his own question.
Riku hesitates, seemingly unsure how to respond, "They have their own thing. I mean, I was going to mention it to you earlier, but I'm pretty sure they have some romance going on there."
"Ah…" Sora half-assedly pretends to be surprised, "Well that explains a LOT. Do you think it's weird?"
Riku snorts disbelievingly, "Is this a round-about way of you asking my sexuality?"
There is a weird moment of silence after his question. Riku's tone isn't an angry one, and that is what throws Sora off-guard. If anything, it emanates disbelief and even a hint of hope. But hope of what?
"Err… Uhm… well, kind of. Watching Axel and Roxas made me curious about you 'cause… well, I don't know why…" Sora is almost caught into babbling on and on, but is cut short by the mere lack of words and overwhelming sense of awkwardness.
"It's okay," Riku says, a little unsure himself, "I didn't think it was a question that would come up but… I really don't mind telling you. You are kinda my best friend after all."
Though the statement is a great honor and compliment, it adds to Sora's guilt. How could Sora ask that? Oh, how awkward. He didn't mean to put Riku on the spot like that…. Oh if only he could just rewind a few minutes and start over.
"I'm sorry," Sora admits, feeling blood rush into his face for a blush, "This is totally not how I wanted this conversation to go." He laughs nervously, and Riku laughs along.
"When do conversations like this go as planned in the first place?" Riku shakes his head. "Anyway, I'm inclined to tell you, I don't find myself attracted to girls very often, if at all. However uh… This is really cheesy so don't laugh… but I don't give myself a sexuality. Whoever I fall in love with is who I fall in love with, despite what they have in their pants."
Sora exhales a heavy breath he hadn't known he had been holding. "Wow, sometimes you freak me out."
Riku gives him a strange look. "Oh, no! I mean… we are so similar sometimes, it's scary," Sora tells him, making up for his questionably insulting comment. However, it is the truth. Isn't that just what Sora thought earlier? Love is love no matter who or what gender?
Riku shrugs, smiling again though Sora is unsure to what cause. "I think that's a good thing then, glad you approve." Riku's tone has turned teasing again, and the brunet is assured the silveret understood what he meant.
The song ends and Sora quickly chooses another, resuming their finger-tapping frenzy. Soon however, Riku picks up the conversation again. "Alright, I have a question for you then."
"O-oh, okay, shoot," Sora replies, unsure how he feels about the rebounded attention.
"Have you been in love with anyone?"
And again, Sora is relieved. He exhales heavily the breath he had held. "No, I… I've never gotten close enough to anyone to fall like that."
There is a pause in the song of notes so the brunet spares Riku a glance. He is confused to find that the silveret looks almost crestfallen. Maybe conflicted would be a better word. The brunet wonders what sort of response Riku expected, or wanted.
Unsure what else to say on the topic, Sora continues, "What about you?"
Sora's notes pick up again so he has to turn away. Soon after, he hears his friend's voice answer sensitively, "Yeah, I think I have." Sora knows he shouldn't be surprised but he is. Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, he asks again, "How'd it turn out?"
"I don't know yet, Sor, I'm still working on it." Working on it… meaning, he's still in love with someone. The brunet can feel his heart drop a bit, though he can't say why. Maybe there was a small hope that Riku did like him, though it probably wouldn't become anything. Why would he want such a thing? They all leave for their miscellaneous homes in about a week. Riku could end up going home to LA or Wisconsin or New York and never see Sora again. Any romance here would be pretty pointless, then, wouldn't it? Does Sora even want it?
However, despite his disappointment, the brunet is eager and curious. "Is it someone back where you live?"
Riku chuckles a little. "When did this become Twenty Questions?" When Sora doesn't take the question back, the silveret chuckles again and replies honestly, "No, uh… It's complicated."
"Oh," Sora says with finality. Riku's ambiguity is intriguing. If it's not someone from where he is from, does that mean he has a long-distance crush? Honestly Riku doesn't seem like that kind of person, but then again, what does Sora know? Maybe he is a fun person to text, or message on Facebook, or whatever the circumstance might be. But then again, Riku has been here the entire summer, without laptop and the brunet has not seen him text even once. Does that mean his love interest is at this camp?
Suddenly his heart soars, the newfound hope taking away the disappointment with the speed of light. After all, he said he hasn't been attracted to girls, so it's not any of the girls. Riku has only hung out intensely with Axel and himself, so unless there is something the brunet has totally overlooked (which is still a possibility, though admittedly unlikely) there is a high chance that maybe… possibly… Miraculously… Riku could be talking about him.
Of course, he can't say for sure, I mean there are other possibilities-
The song ends, and Riku immediately puts his fake guitar on the hooks provided by the machine. The sudden movement is enough to break Sora out of his rapid thought process.
"I didn't think it was possible, but my fingers are sore," Riku says, shaking his hands, "I think we need to try something else for awhile."
"Ah, darn, I was on a roll there," Sora pouts, disappointed that Guitar Hero must be put to rest for the night, and that the personal conversation therein has been terminated. There are so many other things he wants to talk about! More questions! If anything, their previous conversation was a completely different subject than what Sora had in mind. What of Axel's advice? What if Riku actually does like Sora?
"Sorry, Sor, I don't want my fingers to fall off. At least you won though," Riku consoles, giving Sora a lighthearted glare for defeating him in GH skills.
"Ha! Told you," Sora sends him a warm, self-satisfied smile. Even so, the brunet doesn't want to give up his thoughts yet.
But before he can say anything, Riku takes the upper hand. "Come on; let's go get something to eat."
Just the idea makes his tummy rumble. He wishes he had a pause button, so he could process everything that he has learned, and form some sort of game-plan before he does something stupid. But alas, his stomach calls urgently and the silveret beckons incessantly. Riku practically takes the guitar from Sora and hangs it next to his. Then, in a rushed fashion, Riku guides Sora away from the games and towards the food, bewildering the brunet with a warm hand on his back, lighthearted goading and a cocky smile.
Sora knows he has lost this battle, but he will not lose the war!
A/N: 1) Totally a reference to Xion in 358/2 days when she is given Sora's memories XD I am shameless.
Kind of a weird end to the chapter, but it is long overdue that I post it. Hope its any good. Finally some romance! I've been dying to get to this point. Really.
Will update again ASAP! Thank you for all you guy's support, its been an honor to have so many read ^_^ Please review if you can! :D So much love in your direction! (breaking the fifth ((its fifth, right?)) wall, oh dear...)
Until next time! Hannahble
