[AU: Absorbed]

[Sora X Ventus]

Sora stares off into space, sighing occasionally. Beside him, Riku nudges the brunet's arm. "Hey, are you even paying attention to the professor?" the silveret questions with a quirk of his eyebrow.

But his best friend is shaking his head. "…No, not really…"

Riku rolls his eyes. He whispers, "You should be. I doubt Professor Ansem is going to repeat himself especially for you, Sora."

Sora sighs harshly, coupled with a reluctant groan. "I know, I know," he whispers back, "But I can't help it."

"Why not?"

Sora doesn't hesitate. He points to the front of the room, at a blond-haired boy sitting between a brunet and a girl with blue hair. "That's why not."

Riku follows the invisible path with his eyes until he spots the blond. "Him? You mean Ventus?"

"That's his name?" Sora murmurs, and a smile splits his mouth, revealing white teeth. "Cool name. Suits him."

Riku smirks. "Humph," he grunts smugly, "So you have a crush on Ventus. Interesting."

A blush blossoms on the slightly younger college student's face. "Wh-what? N-no, I don't…"

"Sora, I've been your friend since we were in Kindergarten together. Whenever you blush and stutter like that, and we're talking about a person, I know that you're crushing on said person."

Sora's head droops in defeat. "You're right," he admits in a mumble. "But I can't help myself. I feel like… I have this connection to him, you know?"

"Then why don't you talk to him after class?" Riku suggests, ever the initiative-taking type. He jerks his head in Ven's direction without breaking eye contact with his friend. "I'm sure that whatever 'connection' you feel will present itself if you talk to him. Who knows? Maybe he likes all the same music as you, or loves all the same movies."

"Yeah, but… what if he's not… you know…"

"Gay?" Riku offers with a bored tone. Sora can never say his own sexuality aloud. Riku understands, though; it's not extremely popular to be homosexual. Still, he doesn't mind that Sora likes boys. Riku is happily dating a ruby-haired girl named Kairi, so as along as Sora doesn't hit on him and definitely won't steal Kairi away, Riku is at ease with it.

"Y-yeah. And what if he is, but he's dating that brown-haired guy next to him? He sure is friendly with him," Sora mutters, embarrassed. He glances down at his notes, only half-taken. The other half sports doodles of Ventus, mainly back-views and side-views, since that's all Sora sees during class when he draws. He's quite the artist… in that cartoonish, anime-style way.

The silveret places his hand on Sora's shoulder in consolation. "You won't know until you try speaking to him," he reminds.

Sora straightens in his seat and nods his head firmly. "Yeah, you're right! I need to be open-minded. I'll do it! I'll talk to him today. I usually see him and his two friends hanging out at the cafeteria on the street level of the dorms. I'll just walk up to him, and say, 'Ventus, I –'"

"What about me?" the blonde suddenly says. Class has ended, and he was simply walking past the pair toward the exit when he heard his name.

Riku blinks in surprise. His eyes slowly pan over to Sora, who is blushing furiously and gaping up at Ven. He stands abruptly, and begins to stutter, "U-uh, well, you see, I-I was wondering if… um…"

The silveret spots the tall brunet friend of Ven (Riku thinks he's heard the name 'Terra' in passing) walking back through a crowd to see what's keeping his younger friend. Riku realizes in a flash that he has to save Sora before things get too awkward.

"Sora wanted to know if you'd like to hang out with him sometime, maybe for hot chocolates at the café downtown? – Sora doesn't like coffee, you see," Riku blurts out, and as he glances quickly at Sora, the brunet gives his best friend a mouthed, 'thank you.'

Ventus smiles and looks over at Sora as he adjusts his hold on his textbooks. "Really? I don't like coffee, either. Sure, I'd love to hang out with you, Sora."

And as Terra grabs Ven and starts walking away, the blond hastily scribbles his cell phone number onto a Post-It note and hands it to Riku, who's closer. He waves goodbye, and minutes later, the pair is walking outside into the courtyard.

"Oh my gosh, I have Ventus's number!" Sora squeals like a teenage girl. He turns to Riku and gives a little bow. "I can't thank you enough, Riku. You really saved my butt in there!"

"Yeah, I pretty much got you a date, so you're in debt to me for at least a month. Starting with buying me whatever I want for lunch today."

Sora laughs. "Deal." He sighs happily. "I'm just glad that you can tell when I'm absorbed in something, and know how to help me out. I think I'd be lost without you around, Riku."

The older boy snorts. "Got that right."