[Chapter 5. I worked on it all last night. I wasn't quite sure how I wanted it to turn out, but I think this is what I wanted. Hopefully, everyone will like it. Enjoy!]

As they rapidly approached his home, Sora's nerves began kicking in. Riku reeled him in, holding his hand tightly. It comforted him when Riku touched him. When he was protecting him.

"Let me go in first," Sora insisted.

A flash of fear showed in Riku's eyes.

"Please. It'll be fine. Just let me see if he's here."

Sighing, Riku nodded. Summoning up his courage, Sora peeled his back his front door, straining his ears to see if he could hear anything. The house remained silent. Sora motioned Riku to follow him up the stairs into his room.

As he searched through his drawers trying to find some clean clothes, Riku wandered around his room curiously.

He gazed at the walls, the floor, the bed, then went into the bathroom. "What the hell," he heard Riku gasp. Sora had already taken off Riku's shirt, exposing his tan skin and wounds. He whipped his head around.

In Riku's hands was the blood-soaked towel he had pulled from the waste bin. Riku threw the towel back into the trash, cursing vehemently to himself.

Sora tried to ignore the longing feeling he had towards Riku. He tried to make himself believe that Riku had really liked him, but his words kept coming back to him, taunting him. "You're my best friend."

"That was a lot of blood," Riku commented sourly.

"There were a lot of cuts."

He nodded slowly, his piercing gaze staring down Sora's small torso. Sora pulled himself back to reality as Riku's voice sounded again. "Well, aren't you going to get ready?"

"Oh…right," he mumbled. The walk to Kairi's place was a silent and slightly awkward one. Neither boy seemed to be able to strike up a conversation. Sora could only watch as Riku's arms swayed, wishing that his were interlocked with them, but now that obvious danger had evaded them, Riku seemed to keep to himself.

By the time they reached Kairi's house, which was nearly on the opposite side of the island, both boys had sweat beading down their brows.

"She better be here," Riku growled, as they walked up to her front porch. He rapped his knuckles on the door once, twice, then-

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi threw the door open, making Riku stumbled backwards. She grabbed Sora's neck and pulled him into a fierce hug. "I was so worried about you! Are you okay?"

He nodded, catching Riku's weary eye.

"What happened?"

"I guess when I fell, I hurt myself more than I thought…and I didn't want you to worry," he added.

"What do you mean?"

He lifted his white t-shirt, showing Kairi the bruised ribs. "Riku thinks they're broken."

Kairi gasped, her eyes flitting from his face to his waist. "Oh, Sora! I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's nothing. It's not important."

Riku stiffened beside him.

Sora shifted from foot to foot. "So…now what?"

"We could go swimming again."

"I won't be able to," Kairi said softly. "I'm helping my mom cook for some guests." She rolled her eyes. "You guys go ahead. But thanks for letting me know you're okay!" Swiftly, she kissed his cheek. Sora blushed. "I gotta go now. See you tomorrow!"

"That wasn't half bad," Sora commented as he stepped back into the sand. Riku walked right by him, his facea agitated.

"Riku?"

He whirled around, his face contorted with anger. "Why do you keep saying that, Sora?" he demanded.

"Saying what?"

Riku put his hands on his shoulders. "Saying that you're not important!"

"I-I didn't mean it," he stuttered, quivering under Riku's glare. "I'm sorry," he added in a meek voice. Riku sighed, his face suddenly looking sad. "I didn't mean to make you angry."

Riku shook his head. "I'm not angry at you, Sora. Just…your situation. Just don't say things like that, okay?"

Sora nodded and Riku dropped his arms. "So is there anything you want to do?"

"I…" Sora trailed off, kicking the sand with his foot. "I think I need to go home."

"Why?" Riku's anger seemed to have boiled over again.

"Because…I just should. He's going to be looking for me sooner or later anyways." He glanced up to look into Riku's eyes. The silver-haired youth shook his head in disagreement. "He-he can't start getting suspicious that anyone knows."

"Sora, don't!"

It sounded decent enough. "I'll see you later Riku."

The truth was, Sora was too confused to sit there with Riku for another day. His mind was so jumbled he didn't know what was fact or fiction. He knew that Riku considered him a friend. He didn't know to what extent. He needed time to brood over the past few days before he started chasing after him like a lovesick puppy.

He gave Riku no time to object as he headed towards back towards his house. Riku stood there for several moments, shaking with anger, watching Sora's back as he walked away. He could not understand his own feelings. Part of him wanted to take Sora in his arms and hold him and never let him go, never let another soul hurt him.

But the other half told him it was his protective instincts working overtime. Sighing, he let Sora have his way, knowing that if the boy got in trouble, he could easily climb out the window and go to his house.

Sora didn't notice that the front door was creaked open, or that there was a pungent smell when he walked through the doorstep. He was so deeply immersed in his own thoughts, he didn't notice anything until he walked right into it.

"Where have you been?" a gruffly voice asked. Everything froze. Sora's body froze, his mind stopped whirring, his lips forgot how to speak words.

"Out with that damn Riku kid again, and Kairi," he spat. Sora found his legs and shuffled around his dad, slowly. "Don't understand why they like you." He said you as if Sora was nothing but a pile of dirt. Sora's heart crumbled. "You're nothing but a pathetic, worthless kid. They don't even like you. The girl and boy."

Tears clung at the corners of Sora's eyes. The man scoffed. "Friends."

"They-do-to-like-me," he managed to gasp.

His father looked up. His eyes were red and swollen again. He smacked Sora hard against his cheek. Sora bit his tongue as he fell backwards, collapsing to the floor. His injuries twinged with pain and he felt blood in his mouth. Tears streaked down his cheeks.

"Don't talk back to me!" Sora cowered under his dad, shielding his face.

"What makes you think that anyone likes you?" He taunted. Sora shook his head, refusing to believe it. The man grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"You think you actually mean something to them?"

That struck a soft spot. Sora felt more pain well up inside him from those words than his back did. The man dropped him to the floor, leaving Sora cradling himself in fetal position, his eyes glazing over. He became nothing. Not a human being with feelings. Just a mass of space.

Of course he meant something to them. His vision fogged up. Trembling, he pushed himself to his feet and he ran out the door.

He ran, not knowing or caring where he was going. He was going to runaway from his problems. And his problems now included Riku. He couldn't rid his mind of his father's hateful words.

He ran, not stopping to catch his breath or to see where he was. It was only when he was on the brink of exhaustion, forced to crawling alongside the shoreline, when he stopped.

His breaths came in ragged heaves that sent a course of pain through his body. His ribs seared with pain, and the place where he had been slapped was stinging.

He lay there, listening to the sounds of the insects buzzing around, the waves crashing against him as the tide moved in. He knew he had to move to safer grounds, but his arms and legs could no longer support his weight. The sand felt bitterly cold against his heated skin.

Sora attempted to get up, but his arms collapsed, and he stayed in a heap of tears and depression as the waves lapped at his legs. He shivered. He deserved this. He didn't deserve to line and love. Happiness was no longer a word he comprehended. He tried again to get up, and fell, a sharp shell cutting him across his bruised ribs.

He cried out, knowing no one would hear him, as blood spurted from the wound. He felt dizzy and sick with the emotional pain. Physical pain became nothing but a throbbing sensation in the back of his head.

He laid his cheek down in the sand and closed his eyes. He was drifting farther and farther away into an endless ocean. The waves carried him until they could no longer share his burden and he began to sink into the dark depths of the unknown.

He felt something rough pull him from the blackness and engulf his shivering body into a warm embrace. This was where he belonged. Out of reach from anybody who could possibly hurt him. This was his safe haven.

Where he could be, and nothing more.

[So, that's it. Cliff-hanger, I know. I hope you guys like it. I'm not sure about the next chapter yet, but please don't forget to review for me! Thanks for everyone who has already read & reviewed! You guys are awesome!]