Fan Fiction ❯ Trials and Tribulations ❯ T&T (3) ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: MercuryGoddess 
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.17.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.1K | Visits: 561 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.17.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.1K | Visits: 561 | Status: Completed
Author Notes: Your reviews are really helpful! Keep em' up. I just wanted to let you know where this story is going. It will span over all Sora's years of high school (even when Riku graduates) and I might even make a sequel to display college! Note the might because it really depends on you guys. If you want a sequel when I'm done with this story, then I will by all means make one!
Special Thanks To: RcA, rikuandsoraforever, Heather Christi, myredraincoat, SupaSaiyajin, Little Blossom, and Kairi099, onlyHAUNTED and my Mediaminer reviewer YaisaKitty!
Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would be filthy rich right now!! So, get off my back!!
Warnings: This is a yaoi, or to plainly put it male x male relationships! If you don't like it, don't read it!! I don't want to see flames on this subject because I plainly put my warning here!
Reminder:
"..............." Means talking
(...............) Means author notes
*..............* Means an action
~..............~ Means thinking
'...............' Means past sayings
>.............< Means a place
^..............^Means a small voice in head
Trials and Tribulations
Chapter Three
Part One
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
~Damnit! Who put an alarm clock in here?~
Sora shifted in the large hospital bed, facing the dreaded alarm clock that continued to beep. Grabbing it, he decided to calmly turn it off and place it back on the nightstand beside him. Turning back around, Sora settled himself back under the blankets...until a bright light illuminated the room. "Sora, honey! It's time to get up!"
Sora groaned and faced the feminine voice behind him. "Mom!" he whined, throwing the covers over his head and pouting. "Why do I have to get up at the same time as school? Can't you let your hurt little boy get some rest?"
His mother let out a dry laugh and set down the books she had in her hands on a nearby table. "Because, my hurt little boy, you need to further your education. That's why. By the way, Riku is coming later today."
Sora involuntarily winced when the name Riku escaped her lips. Ever since the incident - which happened to be a week ago - Riku hasn't visited him. Tidus took over the job of bringing Sora his homework. To be truthful, it hurt. A pang of guilt settled deep within him when he found out.
'I'll be the shoulder you cry on, Sora. It's time you stop crying alone.'
Closing his sapphire eyes, Sora tried to shrug off the phrase that haunted him every night in his dreams. ~Should I trust him...?~
"Sora? Sora, what's wrong?"
In response to the calling of his name, Sora looked at his mother, whose worry shown with brilliant clarity in her own sapphire eyes. "Did something happen between you and Riku? He hasn't been here in awhile."
Sora smiled weakly. "No, mom. Nothing happened."
His mother looked at him with skepticism, but decided to leave the subject alone. "Well Sora, sweetie, I have to go to work so be sure to eat some of my casserole when Tidus and Selphie bring it later. Oh, and start studying. You don't want to be behind, do you?"
"No, of course I wouldn't mother. That would be a horrible thing," Sora said mechanically, earning him a playful slap from his mom.
"Alright, I'm off then." She leaned over and placed a small kiss on Sora's forehead. Walking out of the room, Sora's mother turn around one more time. "If you need anything, call me on my cell phone."
Sora nodded and began to get off out the bed. Rushing quickly across the icy cold floor, Sora closed the door of the bathroom behind him and began to peel off the hospital gown. "SORA! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT BATHING BY YOURSELF?" a raucous voice pierced through the door.
Sora slapped his hand on his forehead, put a towel around his waist and opened the door slightly. "Joyce, I can bathe myself!"
The woman called 'Joyce' wagged her finger at the teenager. "It's my job, hun. Now let me in!!"
Sora struggled to keep the door from opening from the rowdy woman. "Joyce...I said...STOP!"
"I'll bathe him, Joyce. You can go ahead and leave."
Sora immediately stopped struggling as a deep rich voice flittered through the air, resulting in the door bursting open. He quickly reached for the small towel on the verge of falling, then looked up. The object of his dreams was currently standing in the middle of the room, a smile adorning his features. Joyce squealed as Riku walked closer to Sora. "Well, if it isn't my sexy silver-haired god!"
Riku's eyebrow seemed to twitch, but he never let his facade down. "Hello, Joyce. You're looking splendid today."
She squealed once more and attached herself to Riku's arm. "Why thank you! I'll let you bathe him just because you are so damn cute!"
She gave him a seductive wink, but not before pushing up her breasts and straightening out her uniform. Walking out of the room, Joyce closed the door behind her. Riku let out a deep sigh, running his hand through his hair. "You owe me big, Sora."
Sora blushed once more, his eyes fixated on the silver-haired boy before him. "Yea...umm...what are you doing here? Don't you have school?"
Riku looked up with a smirk on his face. "I didn't feel like going. My dad doesn't care so he called me in sick."
Looking downward, Sora let out a small 'oh'. Silence passed between them. Riku took off the leather jacket he had on and set it on the bed. "Well, what are you waiting on? Let's bathe you!"
Like a fiery inferno, Sora's face lit up. "Uhh, b-bathe?"
Riku looked at him in mock disbelief. "You didn't think I was kidding, did you?"
If possible, Sora's face brightened more. "W-well, I-i, uhh.."
"Sure you didn't!" Riku walked passed him into the bathroom and began to run the water. He turned around and looked at Sora's face, which went from crimson to a deathly pale in seconds. Riku laughed and dipped his hand in the running water to test the temperature. "I'm kidding, Sora. We'll save that for another time, eh?"
Sora turned crimson once again and looked away from Riku's teasing stare. Riku laughed once again and turned off the water, then headed out of the bathroom. His face soon turned serious as he turned around and glanced at Sora. "After your bath, I want to talk to you. Ok?"
Sora nodded weakly, then shut the door, leaning up against it. ~Riku's gonna kill me if he keeps joking like that with me...~
* * * * * *
"That dumbass got me suspended from school! He's gotta pay!"
Kado paced back and forth, occasionally sending one of his lackeys a glare. His long black hair swayed behind him; his fist clenched to his side while his teeth gritted. "Could you believe that?!" he spat out angrily. "Some little underclassman knocks ME over and I get pop wasted all over ME, but I get suspended!!"
"Well, uhh, you did beat the kid up pretty bad," one of his lackeys said from the couch. "You broke his ribs..."
"SHUT UP!" Kado yelled in rage. "I DON'T CARE IF HE WAS PARALYZED FOR THE REST OF HIS DAMN LIFE! HE GOT ME SUSPENDED!"
The lackey shut up immediately, cowering from the enraged look of his boss. The others flinched as well, trying hard to stay put and listen to the rest of their bosses' complaining. Kado began letting out slow deep breaths. "Calm down Kado," he whispered to himself. "You are the man, not him..."
The others remained silently as Kado pep-talked himself. A few minutes later, Kado had almost completely calm down and got back to the task at hand. "Let's jump him after school or something!"
"But wouldn't you get in trouble again?" another one of his lackeys spoke up for the first time.
"Not if the school doesn't know...."
His lackeys nodded in silent planning while a triumph smile spread across Kado's face.
* * * * * *
Kairi walked along the beach, lost in her thoughts and the tranquility emitted from the sound of the crashing waves. Those images of Sora completely shook her world apart: her friendships, her thoughts, even her way of life. After countless days of thinking, she finally realized that the haunting images of Sora's bruised and battered body was something she never wanted to see again. In spite of her friends' thoughts about Sora, she watched him everyday since the day he asked her out in middle school. The laughs still echoed throughout her mind, causing the pool of guilt to rise once again. No one deserves what Sora went through. He had been betrayed on more than one occasion; his closest friends stabbed him in the back. Including her.
Kairi sighed, then sat down on the hot sand below her. Tears filled her eyes as she curled up on the scorching sand. The fact that she was apart of the way he is now unnerved her. Sora used to be a cute, energetic ball of energy that wanted to explore the world and experience new things with his best friend. She was the best friend he wanted to explore the world with. They were inseparable; they needed the beach as much as they needed air to breath. Swimming, playing blitzball with their best friend Wakka - he moved away shortly after middle school - even training with wooden swords. They did it all and still managed to have energy to climb the paopu tree to watch burning stars shoot across the night. It seemed like a fairy tale; boy meets girl, boy befriends girl, boy and girl fall in love...
But it ended abruptly when Kairi developed and became popular...
While Sora stayed the same.
From that point on, their friendship went down from there.
Sighing once again, Kairi rested on her back, watching the seagulls soar through the clear skies.
~Sora...why did I cause you so much pain? Will you ever forgive me?~
The mere thought of Sora treating her like she treated him sliced through her heart like a jagged knife. She wanted to hear him laugh whole-heartedly like he used to and she wanted to see his trademark smile...
But most of all, she wanted to see that mischievous twinkle that shown with spectacular clarity in his sapphire eyes.
She will probably never be able to see that again.
Kairi buried her head in between her knees as soon as she sat up. "I'm such a bitch..."
"Kairi? Hey, are you ok?"
Kairi lifted her head, craning her neck back to spot of owner of the masculine voice. A tall boy about her age stood only a few feet from her. His shoulder length light brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and his amber eyes held nothing but worry at the moment. Kairi weakly smiled at the boy who was seating himself beside her. "No, I'm not Taiyou."
Taiyou's eyes widened slightly from the blatant reply, but they soon soften as he watched the girl on his right. "Care to talk about it?"
Kairi looked up and sighed. "I...hurt the one I love the most."
Taiyou shifted his body so that he was facing her, a stunned look upon his face. "Love?"
Looking back at Taiyou, Kairi nodded. ~That's right Sora. I just realized this week how much I love you.~
Taiyou sighed and leaned down to lay on the sand, his arms resting above his head. "That's a pretty big problem."
"It is," Kairi sadly agreed.
Reaching for her hand, Taiyou looked to Kairi. "It's that kid who got beat up, isn't it? Sora's his name?"
Kairi gasped in shock. "How did you...?"
"I saw you crying in the school courtyard. I was going to say something but I decided to leave you alone." He looked to the ocean, sighing softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spy."
Kairi shook her head. "You don't have to apologize."
Silence passed between them. Kairi was lost in her thoughts while Taiyou was trying to figure out what advice to give her. After a few moments of silence, Taiyou acquired his advice. "Kairi."
Looking to her right, Kairi raised her eyebrows in silent response. "This is the only thing I can tell you: Try your hardest to make up whatever you did to Sora. If you don't, then you may regret it."
Absorbing the advice just giving to her, Kairi felt a smile forming on her face. She hugged Taiyou fiercely, hope dancing in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Taiyou. You're the best."
She ran off towards her house, scheming a plan to renew her ties with Sora. Taiyou stayed on the beach, consumed in his own thoughts about Kairi's situation. ~I shouldn't of told her that...Now she's going to focus only on him.~
* * * * * *
*SPLASH*
"Shoot..."
Sora stuck his hand in the now icy cold water once again to fish out the soap he had dropped. His thoughts were centered on Riku, causing him to be clumsier than usual. 'I want to talk to you. Ok?'
~Why does he make me feel this way?~
Unplugging the drain, Sora watched the water swirl in spiral patterns down the drain. In reality, he was just killing time. Somehow he knew what the talk would be about and avoided specificity with Riku is difficult. The growing desire to tell him of his past was increasing as well as his feelings for him. It was frightening; you work so hard to put a wall up between you and other people and then someone comes along and without really trying their hardest starts to crack your wall. Yes, he did miss being able to confide in someone, but no, he didn't want his trust shattered again. He was naive when he befriended Seifer and the others after Kairi betrayed him. He thought he could mend his broken heart by getting people to replace her and look at what it did to him.
Deceit.
Betrayal.
Besides, what would he think? Would he try to help? Or is he like everyone else? Comes, uses you to their pleasure, then leaves?
Rejection.
Abandon.
Sora sat on the toilet, covering his face with his hands. ~They're all the same. Come to you with helpful words and advice, then leave as soon as you have given them your all.~
Hurt.
Pain.
~I'm not going through that again! I won't!~
Sora quickly dropped his towel and grabbed a fresh hospital gown from the small cabinet across the bathroom. Also snatching a hand towel, Sora towel-dried his hair, then stepped out of the bathroom, his face set in determination.
Riku rose from his spot in the large lounging chair as soon as Sora stepped out of the bathroom. His keen eyes noticed the determined look on Sora's face and raised his eyebrow in questioning. "Sora...?"
Sitting in the hospital bed, Sora covered himself completely with the heavy blankets and looked Riku in the eye. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
Taken aback, Riku sat back down. "Well..."
~Tidus and Selphie told me what happened to you and Kairi.~
"I just wanted to say sorry if I scared you that day..."
Sora stared at Riku in disbelief. ~I got worked up...for nothing?!~ "That's it?"
Getting up, Riku cast his eyes downward. "Yea...that's it."
He walked to the door. Sora followed his every movement, confusion clouding his sapphire eyes. "Riku...you didn't have to apologize for that..."
Turning around, Riku gave Sora a small smile, then opened the door. "In fact, it was the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me..."
Riku stopped mid-step, silently listening to what Sora had to say. "It's not everyday that someone comes along and all of a sudden cares for you when they just met you..." A dry laugh. "Of course, that's probably normal, but I haven't encountered it since I have a habit of befriending cruel people."
Turning around fully, Riku instantly spotted the tears that cascaded down Sora's cheeks. Although the younger boy was gazing at the sheets, Riku could see the betrayal shining with clarity in his eyes. ~There's something else I don't know...~
"Why am I telling you this?" Sora asked more to himself than Riku. "There is no reason to open myself to anyone. I mean, why do people do that anyways?"
Riku walked over to the bed and sat down next to Sora, pulling him into a soothing embrace. "To cope with the things they have to deal with alone."
The phrase just uttered from Riku struck Sora like a rod of lightning. Even though he still didn't fully understand - and probably never would - it made sense: People are afraid of dealing with things alone. There are only a select few times where solving problems on your own is necessary, but with everything else....
Sora looked deeply into Riku's caring sea-green eyes, enthralled with the way they twinkle differently with each emotion displayed. Right now, they sparkled brilliantly, showing deep worry and concern. His pale chiseled face and luscious pink lips only added to the growing desire that burned deep within him. Unconsciously, Sora leaned closer to the older boy, capturing his lips with his own. Riku seemed shocked; from the way his muscles tense and his breath seemed to stop, he certainly was. But Sora's mind was hazed over in a tranquility that he hadn't experienced since elementary; and he was addicted to it.
Sora wrapped one arm around Riku's neck and the other around his waist, deepening the emotional kiss although Riku still had yet to respond. He dragged his tongue across the said boy's bottom lip and to his surprise, the lips of his desire parted slightly. Making the decision not to stop, Sora plunged his tongue into Riku's mouth, exploring its damp depths. At that very moment was when Riku then started to respond, battling Sora for dominance. He soon won, for he caused Sora to lie on his back while Riku kissed him passionately. Hands wandered over forming muscles and sensitive areas, causing the boy on the bottom to shiver in delight. A small moan escaped his lips, initiating the faint but noticeable rubbing between the two boys. Riku - his mind halfway clouded in lust - broke away from Sora. He looked guiltily to his side and sat up completely. Sora followed suit, breath still coming in short intervals from the pleasure he just received. "Riku..."
"I should go now," Riku stated, as if something was keeping him distant. "You need your rest."
He got up from the bed and walked over to the door. "Riku...I'm sorry," Sora sighed. "I just..."
He drifted off. To tell the truth, he didn't know what just took place here. The moment between them talking and kissing was pretty blurry right now...
"You don't have to apologize, Sora." Riku whispered.
With that, Riku left the room. Sora watched the door in silence, hoping he would come back. But somehow, he knew Riku wasn't going to come back probably until tomorrow. It hurt; that obvious revelation. He wanted to see Riku every hour, every minute, hell even every second of the day. Sora curled up as much as he could into a ball without hurting himself, tears stinging in his eyes. Yes, he had just done what he promised himself he wouldn't do. Fall in love.
* * * * * *
The week went by relatively fast. Riku took his job back as "The Homework Retriever" which was a huge relief on Sora's part. They acted as if nothing happened, chatting with each other about anything and everything except either of their pasts and the kiss. Both boys acted as if nothing happened so well that it almost seemed like nothing actually happened. But the dreams at night were always there to remind Sora and leave him with a huge problem in the morning. Nonetheless, Sora kept his inner anguish inside and put on the same carefree and happy mask he used whenever he was dealing with something emotionally painful. It seemed to work; at least on Tidus, Selphie and his parents. But for some reason, Sora felt that Riku knew about that mask. Little did Riku know that Sora knew about his mask also; the calm, cool, collect face he had on almost everyday. He was struggling to remain nonchalant about the accident almost as much as Sora was.
Even if the two boys didn't want to act as if nothing happened and talk about it, Fate seemed to keep the boys from ever being alone. Tidus, Selphie, Joyce, Sora's mother or Sora's father were always in the room when Riku came, leaving the boys no choice but to act. Even Kairi decided to show up - which raddled Sora's thoughts even more - this week, on more than one occasion. She brought flowers, cinnamon-sugar coated pretzels (Sora's absolute favorite food), even movies for her and Sora to watch. Sora tried to figure out why, but again they were never alone.
Right now, Sora was back in school and not a single lesson behind thanks to Riku and Tidus. His teachers were being extra nice to him. Even Mr. Shin, the cold-hearted homeroom teacher, was being nice. As much as Sora liked the extra attention and kindness from his teachers, he seemed to get as much extra attention from the students. Except it was negative. Most of the students gave him dirty looks or talked behind his back in hushed whispers. It didn't really bother him at first, but as the amount of looks and whispers grew, his patience for them was beginning to diminish.
Sora walked down the crowded hallway, ignoring the comments about the 'dumbass who ran into the principal's son.' He was meeting Riku by his locker as he did everyday since he came back so that they could walk home together, maybe even get a bite to eat. Shifting his backpack to ease off some of the weight, Sora scanned the hallway in search of his silver-haired friend. Instead he spotted Tidus and Selphie, who were idly talking to two figures. One was a girl with long blue hair pulled into a ponytail and emerald eyes wearing a pink turtleneck and a yellow skirt. The other figure was a boy with beige hair that framed his face and emerald eyes, sporting a green turtleneck and blue jean. Sora approached them. "Hey guys."
Everyone turned to face the cinnamon-haired boy, smiles on their faces. "Hey!!" Selphie greet him enthusiastically. "How are you feeling? Better I hope. We missed you!"
"Selphie, you saw me almost everyday."
"Yea...but still!"
Sora laughed softly, then looked to the two strangers. "I'm Sora."
The boy's face instantly lit up with a welcoming smile. "Name's Zidane."
The girl put one hand on her hip, looking up and down Sora as if she was examining him. "Eiko."
Tidus cut into their introductions. "Sorry to break this up, but we gotta go." He looked as watch. "We don't want to be late."
"Yea, see ya later Sora!" Selphie waved as she walked away with the others.
Sora stood there a couple of moments. ~Where are they going?~
"Hey."
Sora turned around to see Riku packed up and ready to go. "Let's go."
Nodding, Sora followed the retreating Riku to the end of the hall.
*-*-*-*-
"Look! There he is!"
"Shut up, moron, do you want them to hear us?"
"Kado..."
"Duh, I was just pointing them out..."
"And that's ok, but did you have to be so damn loud?!"
"Kado...?
"What?!"
"They just walked passed us."
"IDIOT! Why didn't you say so?"
Kado and his tow lackeys jumped from their hiding space, running up to the unsuspecting Sora and Riku. "Hey, kid!"
Sora turned around to meet a punch in the face, causing him to fly backwards and stumbled into Riku. Kado's lackeys gathered around the two boys, spitting at them and mocking them. Kado lunged to attack Sora, only to have it blocked by Riku. After deflected Kado's attack from Sora, Riku stepped swiftly to the side, for Kado had ran towards him in an attempt to tackle him. Kado fell to the ground, but quickly recovered and lunged to attack. Riku simply dodged and kicked Kado in the back as if he were child's play. Kado turned around, newfound hatred burning in his eyes.
Sora tried as hard as he could to dodge Kado's lackeys. One of them was easy, only because of how stupid he is. The other was actually a challenge, having brains and brawn, which was definetly not a good combination for a bully. The tall lanky lackey lunged forward, fist outstetched. Sora jumped out of the way, rolling into a crouch. He soon spotted that Kado had directed his attention towards him again and jumped before the upperclassman dashed forward to tackle him. Wiping the thin sheet of perspiration off of his forehead, Sora crouched into his own fighting stance, eyes attentively darted across the area for any surprise attacks. Riku was soon beside him, stepping in front of him to protect him. While one small part of Sora was flattered, most of Sora boiled with anger. ~Does he think I'm some kind of child? I can take care of myself!~
With new anger fueling him on, Sora ran forward, increasing his speed for his attack. ~I'm sick of everyone's pity!~
Before Sora struck, Kado realized that he couldn't dodge, so he created a barrier with his arms.
~Sure, I've been hurt, but that doesn't mean I became some weak little child!~
Sora jumped up and roundhouse kicked the older boy, surprising everyone there including Riku. Kado only reduced some of the pain, but the force caused him to fall back to the ground.
~I don't need pity, I don't need extra care, and I sure as hell don't need a bodyguard!~
Sora grabbed Kado by the collar, lifting him up off the ground. He stared into Kado's onyx eyes with pure hatred and annoyance.
~I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!~
Sora punched Kado in the jaw repeatedly until he fell back, hitting the ground in unconsciousness. He flew back into the mud face down. Sora walked over to Kado and kicked him repeatedly in the stomach. "Sora! Stop!"
Sora stopped mid-kick and turned around to Riku, who was surrounded by the unconscious bodies of Kado's lackeys. Shock with a blend of concern filled his keen sea-green eyes as he watched Sora walk away. "Wait, Sora!"
"You should leave, Riku. I can make it to my house without any of your help."
The coldness of Sora's voice caused Riku to instantly freeze. Never before had he heard Sora sound so emotionless . It was frightening to say the least. "What--"
"I know why you hang around me, Riku, and frankly I am disgusted. I'm not some damn charity case, ok? I can take care of myself."
Sora grabbed his fallen backpack and proceeded on home, leaving a bewildered Riku behind.
* * * * * *
Finished! Constructive criticism welcome. Please review.
~MercuryGoddess~
Special Thanks To: RcA, rikuandsoraforever, Heather Christi, myredraincoat, SupaSaiyajin, Little Blossom, and Kairi099, onlyHAUNTED and my Mediaminer reviewer YaisaKitty!
Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would be filthy rich right now!! So, get off my back!!
Warnings: This is a yaoi, or to plainly put it male x male relationships! If you don't like it, don't read it!! I don't want to see flames on this subject because I plainly put my warning here!
Reminder:
"..............." Means talking
(...............) Means author notes
*..............* Means an action
~..............~ Means thinking
'...............' Means past sayings
>.............< Means a place
^..............^Means a small voice in head
Trials and Tribulations
Chapter Three
Part One
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
~Damnit! Who put an alarm clock in here?~
Sora shifted in the large hospital bed, facing the dreaded alarm clock that continued to beep. Grabbing it, he decided to calmly turn it off and place it back on the nightstand beside him. Turning back around, Sora settled himself back under the blankets...until a bright light illuminated the room. "Sora, honey! It's time to get up!"
Sora groaned and faced the feminine voice behind him. "Mom!" he whined, throwing the covers over his head and pouting. "Why do I have to get up at the same time as school? Can't you let your hurt little boy get some rest?"
His mother let out a dry laugh and set down the books she had in her hands on a nearby table. "Because, my hurt little boy, you need to further your education. That's why. By the way, Riku is coming later today."
Sora involuntarily winced when the name Riku escaped her lips. Ever since the incident - which happened to be a week ago - Riku hasn't visited him. Tidus took over the job of bringing Sora his homework. To be truthful, it hurt. A pang of guilt settled deep within him when he found out.
'I'll be the shoulder you cry on, Sora. It's time you stop crying alone.'
Closing his sapphire eyes, Sora tried to shrug off the phrase that haunted him every night in his dreams. ~Should I trust him...?~
"Sora? Sora, what's wrong?"
In response to the calling of his name, Sora looked at his mother, whose worry shown with brilliant clarity in her own sapphire eyes. "Did something happen between you and Riku? He hasn't been here in awhile."
Sora smiled weakly. "No, mom. Nothing happened."
His mother looked at him with skepticism, but decided to leave the subject alone. "Well Sora, sweetie, I have to go to work so be sure to eat some of my casserole when Tidus and Selphie bring it later. Oh, and start studying. You don't want to be behind, do you?"
"No, of course I wouldn't mother. That would be a horrible thing," Sora said mechanically, earning him a playful slap from his mom.
"Alright, I'm off then." She leaned over and placed a small kiss on Sora's forehead. Walking out of the room, Sora's mother turn around one more time. "If you need anything, call me on my cell phone."
Sora nodded and began to get off out the bed. Rushing quickly across the icy cold floor, Sora closed the door of the bathroom behind him and began to peel off the hospital gown. "SORA! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT BATHING BY YOURSELF?" a raucous voice pierced through the door.
Sora slapped his hand on his forehead, put a towel around his waist and opened the door slightly. "Joyce, I can bathe myself!"
The woman called 'Joyce' wagged her finger at the teenager. "It's my job, hun. Now let me in!!"
Sora struggled to keep the door from opening from the rowdy woman. "Joyce...I said...STOP!"
"I'll bathe him, Joyce. You can go ahead and leave."
Sora immediately stopped struggling as a deep rich voice flittered through the air, resulting in the door bursting open. He quickly reached for the small towel on the verge of falling, then looked up. The object of his dreams was currently standing in the middle of the room, a smile adorning his features. Joyce squealed as Riku walked closer to Sora. "Well, if it isn't my sexy silver-haired god!"
Riku's eyebrow seemed to twitch, but he never let his facade down. "Hello, Joyce. You're looking splendid today."
She squealed once more and attached herself to Riku's arm. "Why thank you! I'll let you bathe him just because you are so damn cute!"
She gave him a seductive wink, but not before pushing up her breasts and straightening out her uniform. Walking out of the room, Joyce closed the door behind her. Riku let out a deep sigh, running his hand through his hair. "You owe me big, Sora."
Sora blushed once more, his eyes fixated on the silver-haired boy before him. "Yea...umm...what are you doing here? Don't you have school?"
Riku looked up with a smirk on his face. "I didn't feel like going. My dad doesn't care so he called me in sick."
Looking downward, Sora let out a small 'oh'. Silence passed between them. Riku took off the leather jacket he had on and set it on the bed. "Well, what are you waiting on? Let's bathe you!"
Like a fiery inferno, Sora's face lit up. "Uhh, b-bathe?"
Riku looked at him in mock disbelief. "You didn't think I was kidding, did you?"
If possible, Sora's face brightened more. "W-well, I-i, uhh.."
"Sure you didn't!" Riku walked passed him into the bathroom and began to run the water. He turned around and looked at Sora's face, which went from crimson to a deathly pale in seconds. Riku laughed and dipped his hand in the running water to test the temperature. "I'm kidding, Sora. We'll save that for another time, eh?"
Sora turned crimson once again and looked away from Riku's teasing stare. Riku laughed once again and turned off the water, then headed out of the bathroom. His face soon turned serious as he turned around and glanced at Sora. "After your bath, I want to talk to you. Ok?"
Sora nodded weakly, then shut the door, leaning up against it. ~Riku's gonna kill me if he keeps joking like that with me...~
* * * * * *
"That dumbass got me suspended from school! He's gotta pay!"
Kado paced back and forth, occasionally sending one of his lackeys a glare. His long black hair swayed behind him; his fist clenched to his side while his teeth gritted. "Could you believe that?!" he spat out angrily. "Some little underclassman knocks ME over and I get pop wasted all over ME, but I get suspended!!"
"Well, uhh, you did beat the kid up pretty bad," one of his lackeys said from the couch. "You broke his ribs..."
"SHUT UP!" Kado yelled in rage. "I DON'T CARE IF HE WAS PARALYZED FOR THE REST OF HIS DAMN LIFE! HE GOT ME SUSPENDED!"
The lackey shut up immediately, cowering from the enraged look of his boss. The others flinched as well, trying hard to stay put and listen to the rest of their bosses' complaining. Kado began letting out slow deep breaths. "Calm down Kado," he whispered to himself. "You are the man, not him..."
The others remained silently as Kado pep-talked himself. A few minutes later, Kado had almost completely calm down and got back to the task at hand. "Let's jump him after school or something!"
"But wouldn't you get in trouble again?" another one of his lackeys spoke up for the first time.
"Not if the school doesn't know...."
His lackeys nodded in silent planning while a triumph smile spread across Kado's face.
* * * * * *
Kairi walked along the beach, lost in her thoughts and the tranquility emitted from the sound of the crashing waves. Those images of Sora completely shook her world apart: her friendships, her thoughts, even her way of life. After countless days of thinking, she finally realized that the haunting images of Sora's bruised and battered body was something she never wanted to see again. In spite of her friends' thoughts about Sora, she watched him everyday since the day he asked her out in middle school. The laughs still echoed throughout her mind, causing the pool of guilt to rise once again. No one deserves what Sora went through. He had been betrayed on more than one occasion; his closest friends stabbed him in the back. Including her.
Kairi sighed, then sat down on the hot sand below her. Tears filled her eyes as she curled up on the scorching sand. The fact that she was apart of the way he is now unnerved her. Sora used to be a cute, energetic ball of energy that wanted to explore the world and experience new things with his best friend. She was the best friend he wanted to explore the world with. They were inseparable; they needed the beach as much as they needed air to breath. Swimming, playing blitzball with their best friend Wakka - he moved away shortly after middle school - even training with wooden swords. They did it all and still managed to have energy to climb the paopu tree to watch burning stars shoot across the night. It seemed like a fairy tale; boy meets girl, boy befriends girl, boy and girl fall in love...
But it ended abruptly when Kairi developed and became popular...
While Sora stayed the same.
From that point on, their friendship went down from there.
Sighing once again, Kairi rested on her back, watching the seagulls soar through the clear skies.
~Sora...why did I cause you so much pain? Will you ever forgive me?~
The mere thought of Sora treating her like she treated him sliced through her heart like a jagged knife. She wanted to hear him laugh whole-heartedly like he used to and she wanted to see his trademark smile...
But most of all, she wanted to see that mischievous twinkle that shown with spectacular clarity in his sapphire eyes.
She will probably never be able to see that again.
Kairi buried her head in between her knees as soon as she sat up. "I'm such a bitch..."
"Kairi? Hey, are you ok?"
Kairi lifted her head, craning her neck back to spot of owner of the masculine voice. A tall boy about her age stood only a few feet from her. His shoulder length light brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and his amber eyes held nothing but worry at the moment. Kairi weakly smiled at the boy who was seating himself beside her. "No, I'm not Taiyou."
Taiyou's eyes widened slightly from the blatant reply, but they soon soften as he watched the girl on his right. "Care to talk about it?"
Kairi looked up and sighed. "I...hurt the one I love the most."
Taiyou shifted his body so that he was facing her, a stunned look upon his face. "Love?"
Looking back at Taiyou, Kairi nodded. ~That's right Sora. I just realized this week how much I love you.~
Taiyou sighed and leaned down to lay on the sand, his arms resting above his head. "That's a pretty big problem."
"It is," Kairi sadly agreed.
Reaching for her hand, Taiyou looked to Kairi. "It's that kid who got beat up, isn't it? Sora's his name?"
Kairi gasped in shock. "How did you...?"
"I saw you crying in the school courtyard. I was going to say something but I decided to leave you alone." He looked to the ocean, sighing softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spy."
Kairi shook her head. "You don't have to apologize."
Silence passed between them. Kairi was lost in her thoughts while Taiyou was trying to figure out what advice to give her. After a few moments of silence, Taiyou acquired his advice. "Kairi."
Looking to her right, Kairi raised her eyebrows in silent response. "This is the only thing I can tell you: Try your hardest to make up whatever you did to Sora. If you don't, then you may regret it."
Absorbing the advice just giving to her, Kairi felt a smile forming on her face. She hugged Taiyou fiercely, hope dancing in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Taiyou. You're the best."
She ran off towards her house, scheming a plan to renew her ties with Sora. Taiyou stayed on the beach, consumed in his own thoughts about Kairi's situation. ~I shouldn't of told her that...Now she's going to focus only on him.~
* * * * * *
*SPLASH*
"Shoot..."
Sora stuck his hand in the now icy cold water once again to fish out the soap he had dropped. His thoughts were centered on Riku, causing him to be clumsier than usual. 'I want to talk to you. Ok?'
~Why does he make me feel this way?~
Unplugging the drain, Sora watched the water swirl in spiral patterns down the drain. In reality, he was just killing time. Somehow he knew what the talk would be about and avoided specificity with Riku is difficult. The growing desire to tell him of his past was increasing as well as his feelings for him. It was frightening; you work so hard to put a wall up between you and other people and then someone comes along and without really trying their hardest starts to crack your wall. Yes, he did miss being able to confide in someone, but no, he didn't want his trust shattered again. He was naive when he befriended Seifer and the others after Kairi betrayed him. He thought he could mend his broken heart by getting people to replace her and look at what it did to him.
Deceit.
Betrayal.
Besides, what would he think? Would he try to help? Or is he like everyone else? Comes, uses you to their pleasure, then leaves?
Rejection.
Abandon.
Sora sat on the toilet, covering his face with his hands. ~They're all the same. Come to you with helpful words and advice, then leave as soon as you have given them your all.~
Hurt.
Pain.
~I'm not going through that again! I won't!~
Sora quickly dropped his towel and grabbed a fresh hospital gown from the small cabinet across the bathroom. Also snatching a hand towel, Sora towel-dried his hair, then stepped out of the bathroom, his face set in determination.
Riku rose from his spot in the large lounging chair as soon as Sora stepped out of the bathroom. His keen eyes noticed the determined look on Sora's face and raised his eyebrow in questioning. "Sora...?"
Sitting in the hospital bed, Sora covered himself completely with the heavy blankets and looked Riku in the eye. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
Taken aback, Riku sat back down. "Well..."
~Tidus and Selphie told me what happened to you and Kairi.~
"I just wanted to say sorry if I scared you that day..."
Sora stared at Riku in disbelief. ~I got worked up...for nothing?!~ "That's it?"
Getting up, Riku cast his eyes downward. "Yea...that's it."
He walked to the door. Sora followed his every movement, confusion clouding his sapphire eyes. "Riku...you didn't have to apologize for that..."
Turning around, Riku gave Sora a small smile, then opened the door. "In fact, it was the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me..."
Riku stopped mid-step, silently listening to what Sora had to say. "It's not everyday that someone comes along and all of a sudden cares for you when they just met you..." A dry laugh. "Of course, that's probably normal, but I haven't encountered it since I have a habit of befriending cruel people."
Turning around fully, Riku instantly spotted the tears that cascaded down Sora's cheeks. Although the younger boy was gazing at the sheets, Riku could see the betrayal shining with clarity in his eyes. ~There's something else I don't know...~
"Why am I telling you this?" Sora asked more to himself than Riku. "There is no reason to open myself to anyone. I mean, why do people do that anyways?"
Riku walked over to the bed and sat down next to Sora, pulling him into a soothing embrace. "To cope with the things they have to deal with alone."
The phrase just uttered from Riku struck Sora like a rod of lightning. Even though he still didn't fully understand - and probably never would - it made sense: People are afraid of dealing with things alone. There are only a select few times where solving problems on your own is necessary, but with everything else....
Sora looked deeply into Riku's caring sea-green eyes, enthralled with the way they twinkle differently with each emotion displayed. Right now, they sparkled brilliantly, showing deep worry and concern. His pale chiseled face and luscious pink lips only added to the growing desire that burned deep within him. Unconsciously, Sora leaned closer to the older boy, capturing his lips with his own. Riku seemed shocked; from the way his muscles tense and his breath seemed to stop, he certainly was. But Sora's mind was hazed over in a tranquility that he hadn't experienced since elementary; and he was addicted to it.
Sora wrapped one arm around Riku's neck and the other around his waist, deepening the emotional kiss although Riku still had yet to respond. He dragged his tongue across the said boy's bottom lip and to his surprise, the lips of his desire parted slightly. Making the decision not to stop, Sora plunged his tongue into Riku's mouth, exploring its damp depths. At that very moment was when Riku then started to respond, battling Sora for dominance. He soon won, for he caused Sora to lie on his back while Riku kissed him passionately. Hands wandered over forming muscles and sensitive areas, causing the boy on the bottom to shiver in delight. A small moan escaped his lips, initiating the faint but noticeable rubbing between the two boys. Riku - his mind halfway clouded in lust - broke away from Sora. He looked guiltily to his side and sat up completely. Sora followed suit, breath still coming in short intervals from the pleasure he just received. "Riku..."
"I should go now," Riku stated, as if something was keeping him distant. "You need your rest."
He got up from the bed and walked over to the door. "Riku...I'm sorry," Sora sighed. "I just..."
He drifted off. To tell the truth, he didn't know what just took place here. The moment between them talking and kissing was pretty blurry right now...
"You don't have to apologize, Sora." Riku whispered.
With that, Riku left the room. Sora watched the door in silence, hoping he would come back. But somehow, he knew Riku wasn't going to come back probably until tomorrow. It hurt; that obvious revelation. He wanted to see Riku every hour, every minute, hell even every second of the day. Sora curled up as much as he could into a ball without hurting himself, tears stinging in his eyes. Yes, he had just done what he promised himself he wouldn't do. Fall in love.
* * * * * *
The week went by relatively fast. Riku took his job back as "The Homework Retriever" which was a huge relief on Sora's part. They acted as if nothing happened, chatting with each other about anything and everything except either of their pasts and the kiss. Both boys acted as if nothing happened so well that it almost seemed like nothing actually happened. But the dreams at night were always there to remind Sora and leave him with a huge problem in the morning. Nonetheless, Sora kept his inner anguish inside and put on the same carefree and happy mask he used whenever he was dealing with something emotionally painful. It seemed to work; at least on Tidus, Selphie and his parents. But for some reason, Sora felt that Riku knew about that mask. Little did Riku know that Sora knew about his mask also; the calm, cool, collect face he had on almost everyday. He was struggling to remain nonchalant about the accident almost as much as Sora was.
Even if the two boys didn't want to act as if nothing happened and talk about it, Fate seemed to keep the boys from ever being alone. Tidus, Selphie, Joyce, Sora's mother or Sora's father were always in the room when Riku came, leaving the boys no choice but to act. Even Kairi decided to show up - which raddled Sora's thoughts even more - this week, on more than one occasion. She brought flowers, cinnamon-sugar coated pretzels (Sora's absolute favorite food), even movies for her and Sora to watch. Sora tried to figure out why, but again they were never alone.
Right now, Sora was back in school and not a single lesson behind thanks to Riku and Tidus. His teachers were being extra nice to him. Even Mr. Shin, the cold-hearted homeroom teacher, was being nice. As much as Sora liked the extra attention and kindness from his teachers, he seemed to get as much extra attention from the students. Except it was negative. Most of the students gave him dirty looks or talked behind his back in hushed whispers. It didn't really bother him at first, but as the amount of looks and whispers grew, his patience for them was beginning to diminish.
Sora walked down the crowded hallway, ignoring the comments about the 'dumbass who ran into the principal's son.' He was meeting Riku by his locker as he did everyday since he came back so that they could walk home together, maybe even get a bite to eat. Shifting his backpack to ease off some of the weight, Sora scanned the hallway in search of his silver-haired friend. Instead he spotted Tidus and Selphie, who were idly talking to two figures. One was a girl with long blue hair pulled into a ponytail and emerald eyes wearing a pink turtleneck and a yellow skirt. The other figure was a boy with beige hair that framed his face and emerald eyes, sporting a green turtleneck and blue jean. Sora approached them. "Hey guys."
Everyone turned to face the cinnamon-haired boy, smiles on their faces. "Hey!!" Selphie greet him enthusiastically. "How are you feeling? Better I hope. We missed you!"
"Selphie, you saw me almost everyday."
"Yea...but still!"
Sora laughed softly, then looked to the two strangers. "I'm Sora."
The boy's face instantly lit up with a welcoming smile. "Name's Zidane."
The girl put one hand on her hip, looking up and down Sora as if she was examining him. "Eiko."
Tidus cut into their introductions. "Sorry to break this up, but we gotta go." He looked as watch. "We don't want to be late."
"Yea, see ya later Sora!" Selphie waved as she walked away with the others.
Sora stood there a couple of moments. ~Where are they going?~
"Hey."
Sora turned around to see Riku packed up and ready to go. "Let's go."
Nodding, Sora followed the retreating Riku to the end of the hall.
*-*-*-*-
"Look! There he is!"
"Shut up, moron, do you want them to hear us?"
"Kado..."
"Duh, I was just pointing them out..."
"And that's ok, but did you have to be so damn loud?!"
"Kado...?
"What?!"
"They just walked passed us."
"IDIOT! Why didn't you say so?"
Kado and his tow lackeys jumped from their hiding space, running up to the unsuspecting Sora and Riku. "Hey, kid!"
Sora turned around to meet a punch in the face, causing him to fly backwards and stumbled into Riku. Kado's lackeys gathered around the two boys, spitting at them and mocking them. Kado lunged to attack Sora, only to have it blocked by Riku. After deflected Kado's attack from Sora, Riku stepped swiftly to the side, for Kado had ran towards him in an attempt to tackle him. Kado fell to the ground, but quickly recovered and lunged to attack. Riku simply dodged and kicked Kado in the back as if he were child's play. Kado turned around, newfound hatred burning in his eyes.
Sora tried as hard as he could to dodge Kado's lackeys. One of them was easy, only because of how stupid he is. The other was actually a challenge, having brains and brawn, which was definetly not a good combination for a bully. The tall lanky lackey lunged forward, fist outstetched. Sora jumped out of the way, rolling into a crouch. He soon spotted that Kado had directed his attention towards him again and jumped before the upperclassman dashed forward to tackle him. Wiping the thin sheet of perspiration off of his forehead, Sora crouched into his own fighting stance, eyes attentively darted across the area for any surprise attacks. Riku was soon beside him, stepping in front of him to protect him. While one small part of Sora was flattered, most of Sora boiled with anger. ~Does he think I'm some kind of child? I can take care of myself!~
With new anger fueling him on, Sora ran forward, increasing his speed for his attack. ~I'm sick of everyone's pity!~
Before Sora struck, Kado realized that he couldn't dodge, so he created a barrier with his arms.
~Sure, I've been hurt, but that doesn't mean I became some weak little child!~
Sora jumped up and roundhouse kicked the older boy, surprising everyone there including Riku. Kado only reduced some of the pain, but the force caused him to fall back to the ground.
~I don't need pity, I don't need extra care, and I sure as hell don't need a bodyguard!~
Sora grabbed Kado by the collar, lifting him up off the ground. He stared into Kado's onyx eyes with pure hatred and annoyance.
~I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!~
Sora punched Kado in the jaw repeatedly until he fell back, hitting the ground in unconsciousness. He flew back into the mud face down. Sora walked over to Kado and kicked him repeatedly in the stomach. "Sora! Stop!"
Sora stopped mid-kick and turned around to Riku, who was surrounded by the unconscious bodies of Kado's lackeys. Shock with a blend of concern filled his keen sea-green eyes as he watched Sora walk away. "Wait, Sora!"
"You should leave, Riku. I can make it to my house without any of your help."
The coldness of Sora's voice caused Riku to instantly freeze. Never before had he heard Sora sound so emotionless . It was frightening to say the least. "What--"
"I know why you hang around me, Riku, and frankly I am disgusted. I'm not some damn charity case, ok? I can take care of myself."
Sora grabbed his fallen backpack and proceeded on home, leaving a bewildered Riku behind.
* * * * * *
Finished! Constructive criticism welcome. Please review.
~MercuryGoddess~