Fixed the italic! =3 sorry for the long update, I was watching Amnesia: The Dark Descent playthroughs XD It's damn scary but the one who comments it while playing is FUNNY AS HELL! Check it out! His Youtube channel is PewDiePie XD
Reviews time! (There's a lot XD Oops.)
To the Poet's Raven: I'm so happy it hit 50 reviews! And yeah, I can't remember their names for my life, 'cept, you know, Lexaeus, Saix, Zexion, Larxene, Xemnas, Axel, Roxas and Marluxia XD And I also don't think Aerith will be appearing, but I'm not sure yet...
To Kirei Ryuusei: OMG another reviewer! Yay! To put it simply, twist after twist after twist =3 And I can't relly tell you where they go! That's a se~cr~et~ and giving it away would ruin the surprise XD
To Poseidon's-Princess: Maybe he will, maybe he won't. We shall see -DUN DUN DUN-
To PublicPandorum: Thanks! I'm glad you love the story thus far! And it'll be hard to feel better, but I'll do my best! Promise! ^w^
To il2swim57: Nuuuu... you're almost right! XD Then again, if you think about it and add two and two, it can become very obvious XD Nice guess, though. And mine ain't necessarily curable. Suffice to say I'm stuck with it XD
To Moe10: I know, right? I like to think I got his character down pretty well, but truth is, I don't. Glad you liked the chapter.
Throw me a stone if you want something to appear in this story, and I'll fit it in! Or, if you want a One-shot/story about a certain subject, let me know!
And by the gods I had such the amazing brainfart for a SoRoku fanfic. I have GOT to finish Fall Into Your Sunlight and Paper Moon before I can really start Saving Me, the brainfart I had, or Ash Like Snow, another SoRoku that Scarletnight13 requested XD
Paper Moon
Chapter Eighteen
Flowers that Bloom when it Rains
Roxas
"You do realize my arm is about to come out of its socket, right?" I ask him a little sarcastically as he pauses within the confines of the forest, half-dragging me with him. He turns around and seems to notice that for the first time.
"Sorry!" He lets my arm go, and I try to relieve it of the pain. "I'm just really exited!"
"What for?" I ask as he kneels in the bushes. He pushes some back and sticks his head in, obviously searching for something. I can see his shoulders move as he answers me, but his voice is muffled by the bushes.
He pulls his head back out and looks at me with eyes that shine brightly.
"...that I almost forgot about it again!" He finishes, smiling. I sigh and kneel beside him. "I'm glad I found them so quickly, too."
He reaches back in and gingerly returns with a golden flower in his fingers. He smiles, sitting cross-legged as he examines it.
"Every year there's always a new flower growing. Last year I forgot about them completely, mostly because we met." He flashes me the briefest of smiles. "Around this time of year we replace every single flower inside with flowers found in the forest. I used to come pick some, and I always keep one of the new ones for my own study. These flowers are rather strange, too."
"How so?" I ask, looking at the flower he holds as he offers it to me, the golden petals reflecting a gentle light.
"They only bloom when it rains, and it can be really hard to catch them in bloom, too. It rained last night, so it was easier than most years this time." He reaches back, his right shoulder jerking slightly as he seemingly struggles with something behind the bushes. "And last year, this one must have been the newer one." He holds up a sky blue lily to my face, leaves sticking out of his hair as he gingerly places a couple more in his lap.
I laugh, reaching towards him to remove one of the leaves.
"You got fluffage." I tell him, holding the leaf up for him to see. He grins.
"You wanna help me get the rest? There are a lot to get, mind you." I nod, and when we stand, he gives me the small packet of flowers. "Hold on to them, please. I'll do the picking, and you'll do the carrying."
"Fine by me." I shrug, following him through two trees. "How long until their petals close?"
"Well... given the temperature... we have a few hours - give or take three - to get as many as we can." He says, shooting me a smile over his shoulder as we step into a small clearing with rows of white, blue and orange-petaled flowers. He kneels beside them and begins gently pulling at them. "There's more than I remember."
"That's a good thing." I say as I sit down beside him. He piles up the stems ever so higher on me, putting one on the top of my head just for kicks.
Sora
In the morning we drop off at the Cul-De-Sac-ish road that leads to the immense building looming in front of us, the glass doors both inviting and looking like they'll swallow us up. Roxas lets out a low whistle, standing beside me like he said he'd be on the day of the Opening Ceremonies at my old school.
"This is your school?" He asks as we walk up the steps. He's carrying the violin's case with him in one hand, and he thanks the man who opens the door for us, letting us walk into the well-polished hallway, the white floor looking almost mirror-like and opening wide to a large fountain with angels trickling water into it, the water crystal clear.
"It used to be." I say with a smile and a little laugh. I motion for him to follow me down a red-carpeted floor, in a slightly narrower hallway. French doors appear here and there against the walls.
"Impressive." He says, nodding. I shrug and nod to one of the teachers I pass, who returns my nod, he doing the same to Roxas. Soon after I open one of the wooden double doors that leads into the auditorium, closing it behind us. He follows me as we walk down the slightly sloped path, where a stage is being set up, technicians looking at the lights. Someone see's us as we go up the steps, and he waves at us frantically.
"Whose this?" A blue-haired seventeen year old named Zexion asks, looking up from his book, clapping it shut and raising an eyebrow. Roxas tilts his head to the side.
"This is Roxas." I say, smiling. "He's gonna be playing with me in my two plays."
"Wait, two?" He turns his head to look at me, an eyebrow raised.
I just smile widely at him.
"Ah, so this is the guy I heard the girl in charge of the ceremony speaking about." He turns around momentarily to snap something at a light technician. Another teen, with longer blue hair than Zexion, runs up to stand in front of me, gasping slightly.
"Hey Sora! How've you been?" Saix asks. I smile.
"I've been doing really good."
"This the guy you wouldn't stop talking about?" He looks at Roxas, who looks more and more confused.
"Yep!" I nudge Roxas with my elbow. "You gonna say something?"
He seems to think it over a little.
"Nah." He dodges me when I try to smack his arm. "I'm kidding." He turns to look at the two blue-haired teens. "Nice to meet you."
Zexion turns to snap something at someone again, turning back to us a moment later.
"The first half is starting in five minutes." He says, gesturing to the crew cleaning up various tools and setting up the instruments, adjusting small defaults here and there. "Both of you, get ready. Sora's first act is the opening."
"What's the second, then?" He asks me as we walk to where the piano is. I sit down in the bench, swiveling in it.
"The closing act." I smile at him as he takes out his violin. "It'll be fun, I promise." He flashes me a smile as someone takes his case and puts it behind the curtain.
"I know." He smiles just as the voices on the other side of the closed curtain quieted down, leaving way to a girl speaking into a microphone.
"I'd like to welcome you all to Sinshare. We'll be giving you a performance of various talents as a welcome, and I hope you enjoy the show! For our opening act, please welcome Sora and Roxas Hikari!" Clapping ensued.
I see Roxas raise an eyebrow at the last name, but he shrugs as the curtain opens. I turn to the keys, fingers poised redily over them. Once the curtain was fully pulled back, Roxas and I began at the same time.
Roxas
I kept quiet during the break time, Sora sitting beside me as we enjoyed the lunch break. His friends, whom I've been told are called Zexion, Saix, and some girl named Olette sit with us at the circular table, and I watch my hands on the table, lost in my thoughts.
"Hey Sora?" The girl asks after a short pause in their conversation. He looks at her. "I'm honestly surprised to hear that you're still without a girlfriend. I would've thought that by now..." She then looks at me. "I'm sure your brother here isn't, though."
"No, I don't have one either." I tell her, which is the truth. Sora taps my shoulder, and I turn my head to look at him. An unspoken question hangs in the air between us, and I nod. He smiles in return. From the corner of my eyes, I can see the three of them watching us intently.
"Alright then..." She says slowly. "Then how about a boyfriend?"
We both turn our heads to look at her stimultaneously, a little surprised at her question. Zexion pretends to be engrossed in his lunch, and Saix seems to have sudenly found a small dust mote stuck to him that repulses him.
"Why do you want to know?" I ask, honestly surprised. Sora, on the other hand, laughs slightly.
"She's just that good, Rox." He laughs. "She's pretty good when it comes to how people interact."
He tilts his head to the side in confusion.
"It's obvious!" She says, looking right at me. "You two are an item, right?"
She's lost me. Item?
Sora laughs to himself again.
"She means to ask if we're together." I make a sound of comprehension, and Sora looks to her. "Took you a while."
"Well, he's so goddamn quiet." She huffs. "He barely says a word."
"Sorry." I say, scratching the back of my head.
"Alright then! To prove to me you're not lying, I want to see a kiss."
Sora echoes the sigh that escapes my lips. Shrugging, he says:
"She's not gonna let this go." He says, stretching his arms over his head. To get it done and over with, I give him a light peck on the lips, which makes him pout as I cross my arms and look at her.
"It doesn't convince me~" She sings. "Sora, show him how it's done!"
Not having to be told twice, he holds my chin with one of his hands, fingers gentle on my skin as he kisses me more fully, which seems to gain her satisfaction. I shut my eyes and melt into it moments before he pulls away from me, grinning. With an exclamation Saix points to something at Sora's throat.
"Look!" He laughs, making us look at him in confusion. "Someone left a mark~"
"Get your mind outta the gutter!" We both snap at him and Zexion, I instinctively pulling the collar of my shirt up to hide mine. They notice. "Oh like that's never been done to you." I retort just before they speak their thought. They snap their mouths shut. Sora laughs near my ear.
"Don't let his shy persona fool you. He's very perceptive."
Olette simply laughs it all away, bent in two on her seat.
~~(^m^)~~
The familiar melody goes through the room as the final act of the day starts, Sora's fingers playing gently on the keys, a drummer and a guitarist to my right, waiting for their cue. The drummer, soon after Sora and my notes rise, begins a gentle beat to the base, and the guitarist does so too, low-key notes that just weave through everything. Smiling Sora begins a song he wrote somewhat for this occasion. (A.N.: This song was thought up while I was trying to fall asleep, and I find it fits. It doesn't exist, though =( Too bad)
"Why do you stay
Because I told you to?
Why do you try
To erase all of my lies?
Why do you cry
That you want to take away my pain?
Well please don't look back,
Because we're running through.
So why do you stay
Because it's me?"
The beat goes up a notch as I smile, eyes closed and just listening to his voice as he sings those words, the audience silent. It's as if everyone is holding their breath.
"The light I try to reach has left
All alone now, in distress.
But shining you always whisper
'Don't you cry; the sun can't die.'
It's dark in those eyes you look at me
With a smile that holds promises you kept.
I'll extend my hand to wherever you go
So long as you let me know.
"Why do you stay
Because I die inside?
Why do you try
To get me to run away?
Why do you cry
In the middle of the night?
Why do you stay
Because it's me?
"I can't see my own reflection
It shadows my life likea thousand lies.
I'd stay alone all my life
If it meant I could protect the world.
But you keep telling me to look up high
That everything's gonna be alright.
But not today, you say, not today
It's the day your thoughts melt away."
Then the beat entirely changes, headed to a more intense-type sound.
"The sun will rise again, you say
But only once can you shine through it.
Don't you let that light fade away
And I'll shadow your steps with a smile."
It then calms down some before the last verse.
"So why don't you tell me
You're not going away?
Why have you stayed here
Despite all my regrets?
Why can't I say
That I hold you so close to me?
When I'm too scared to say
What I truly want to say?"
I see Sora smile as the last verse comes up, the beat changing back to the rhythm, his smile spreading as I voice the last verse with him.
"And why do I stay
When all I do is hurt you?
Why am I trying
To become a shining light?
Because I can't bring myself to say
'I love you' today.
Why do I stay
Because it's you."
Cheers erupt as it ends, Sora swerving in his chair to look at me with a smile. I smile back at him, a woman's voice sounding through the speakers.
"One last time: give it up for Zexion, Saix, Sora and his (A.N.: Oh Olette, how you make me crack up - it's Olette speaking, by the way XD) boyfriend, Roxas!" Both of us snap our heads up and glare in her direction behind the windowed sound room. She waves at us.
To make matters worse - as Sora had told me on the way here - that most of the people here were either gay, bi, or lesbian, so it didn't really surprise me when they started cheering louder, screaming 'kiss him!' over and over. Sora rolls his eyes, sighs, putting a hand on my shirt and grabbing a fistful of it, still sitting on his stool as he pulls me to him, planting yet another one on me today. They cheer, and we both pull back to - immaturely, might I add - stick out our tongues at them before he kisses me again, hoots and aww's flying through the room.
Well, this is a day to remember. I think sarcastically. Sora laughs, like if he heard my thought, pulling away to get to his feet as the curtain closes.
It'll get better. He mouths quickly to me before everything became a blur of bodies.
~~(-w-)~~
"Hey, Roxas?" He asks as he steps out of the bathroom, towel-drying his spiky hair, which somehow manages to defy both gravity and water, still sticking up. I wonder sometimes if that's naturally spiked.
"What is it?" I ask as I finish writing in the last page of the leatherbound book he'd given me. I close it and smooth out the leather with my hand as he sits down beside me, smelling of soap and shampoo. Instinctively I lean onto his arm, his scent wafting around me.
"Thanks." He says with a smile, hands playing with my fingers idly. "For having come with me today, and putting up with everyone."
"It was nice." I sigh, smiling and closing my eyes. "Felt almost like if I was reliving a better highschool life."
"So you didn't mind what Olette did?"
"Honestly?" I open my eyes to look up at him, finding him looking down at me. "It didn't bother me a bit." He smiles at my words, a hand lifting my chin up as he brushes his lips against mine.
"Be happy she didn't ask for proof about these." He taps the side of my neck with a finger, laughing to himself. "Or, for that matter, tell us to strip and just take each other then and there." I look at him incredulously. "If she would have thought of it, she would have ordered it - locked us in a closet, even, until she was sure we had listened to her."
"She officially scares me now." I laugh nervously.
"Honestly now, I think it wouldn't have been so bad, in the end." I raise an eyebrow, but he just shrugs it off, giving me another gentle kiss. "I want to know." I say once he pulls back again.
"Guess." He lets the thought sink in, and I sit up, pushing his shoulder in the process, but not really out of repulsion - more out of embarassment, since it was a slightly embarassing subject for the two of us.
"Sora!" I sigh, shaking my head. "I'm stepping into the shower." I get up and glance at him, and I swear he's undressing me with his eyes. I stick out my tongue at him, making him smile at me almost impishly. As a joke he chuckles a few words.
"I'd go with you, but I've kinda already gone." I simply roll my eyes as he laughs, closing the door softly behind me. I lean against the door, a hand over my eyes as I pause a moment at the rather fancy bathroom's door.
It probably won't take that much longer. I think to myself, grabbing a towel and turning on the water before sliding my shirt off. I look in the mirror a moment, noticing my flushed face and my blonde hair going every which way. Eventually, we'll crack. Cerulean eyes flicker, looking back at me, eyes shining with life, unlike they'd been before. But I think I wouldn't have it any other way.
Until next time, my minions! XD Ignore that.