You Belong With Me [1/1]
Title: You Belong With Me [1/1]
Author: alovelyvampire
Pairing: Riku/Sora
Rating: PG-13. For sure this time.
POV: Third Person
Summary:
Disclaimer: Gah. I have no money. And I’m just exhausted from full-time education. Do you think I’d have the energy to run around after Sora when he’s hyper, or stop Riku from being so moody? I don’t think anyone has time for that.
Author Notes: Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. This is old.
Beta: The ever-so-lovely bubblegum_miley. Seriously, she’s awesome. I really love her, she does such a phenomenal job!!! =D
Warnings: Alternate Universe. There’s a few sexual references. And knowing me, there’s prolly some swearing. But that’s just what we get around here, isn’t it?
“Kairi, you know I didn’t mean it, you know I was kidding!… You didn’t? Oh… I’m sorry…”
Riku rubbed his temples as Sora continued to apologize and make amends to his girlfriend over the phone. This wasn’t something new--this happened quite often, actually. It was always some smart remark that Sora made, meant to be funny (and Riku would gladly admit that it wasn’t funny. In fact, it was a bit cheesy), and Kairi took it the wrong way and made a huge deal about it. And Sora always begged for her forgiveness. Something that drove Riku crazy.
It’s not that he hated Kairi. Exactly the opposite. She was sweet, and kind, and a great friend from the day she washed up on the island. It’s just…when her and Sora started dating, she wasn’t the same. She became cold to Riku, and annoying. It was like…she was jealous of Riku, or something. Like he might steal Sora away from her. Which was something he wouldn’t want to do. It’d hurt both Kairi and--eventually--Sora. Hurting either of them was very high up on his “Things Not To Do” list.
But…Kairi had a right to be worried about Riku and Sora spending too much time together. While he wouldn’t want to steal Sora away, he’d definitely like… to be his boyfriend, Riku supposed. But he knew he had absolutely zero chance when compared to Kairi. She was everything a girl was supposed to be--pretty, cute, spunky, wore all the right clothes, didn’t get in trouble, had brains--and she was also everything a girl aspires to be. Like Cheer Captain. And Riku… wasn’t. He was a “bad kid.” Even though he got semi-good grades (mostly B’s), he tended to give off a… not-so-great vibe. Like he could be trouble if anyone pestered him enough.
Riku noticed that he had been zoning out for quite a while. Sora was still on the phone, and by the sound of the conversation, things hadn’t changed one bit. Thinking was starting to give him a headache, as was Sora’s pleading voice. Riku tapped Sora on the shoulder and waved goodbye. Sora nodded, attempted one of his usual electrifying grins, and waved back. Riku smiled grimly and walked out of the door. Even though he tried to block it out, he could still hear Sora say, “But, Kairi…you know I love you, that was mean…”
Riku sighed unhappily. He slipped out Sora’s back door and easily scaled the right-side fence into his own backyard. He had climbed both up and down that fence too many times to count, just because him and Sora spent so much time together since… forever, practically.
Riku quickly went inside and up the stairs into his room. He looked out his window to see if Sora was in his room, but judging by the blackness, he wasn’t. Their houses were positioned just so that if you stared out of Riku’s window, you could see Sora’s window facing it. They used pads of paper and enormous Sharpies to write notes back and forth when either of them were grounded from their cell phones, or just didn’t want to talk aloud. Riku smiled as he thought of the crazy conversations the two used to have when they were little. Back when things were easy.
Riku walked over to his stereo, and glanced through the CDs that were stacked one on top of the other on his dresser. Deciding he was in the mood for something a bit… different, he popped in The Used and smirked as the screaming and guitars kicked in. Kairi hated this stuff, Sora thought it was too depressing, but Riku loved it.
A sudden light to Riku’s left made him look up, and he saw that Sora’s lamp was on. The brunette himself was standing there, hanging up the phone, a weary look on his face. When he looked out saw Riku staring at him, he gave a small smile and a wave. Riku practically dived for the notepad laying on his bed, and searched a bit for his Sharpie before realizing it was on his window sill. Scribbling quickly, he held up the paper for Sora to see. You okay?
Sora’s smile grew a little, and he sat down on his own bed, picked up his pad and pen, and wrote back. Yeah. Sick of drama.
Riku sighed heavily. He was sick of it, too. I’m sorry.
Sora shrugged. It’s okay. Sora nearly jumped a foot in the air a second later. Riku couldn't understand why until Sora pulled his phone out of his pocket. Riku rolled his eyes and flopped back on his bed, letting the screaming voices, overly loud drums, and screeching guitars take his mind to a place where his life really didn’t matter. All that mattered was the music, and the fact that he had to be alive to listen to it. This half-fantasy was the only thing keeping him alive these days--or so his rather dramatic side liked to think.
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“Sorry it took me so long, Riku. I just got up a half-hour ago when I got your message.” Sora came bounding out of the house and to the sidewalk where Riku was sitting, scuffing his sneakers and thinking at about ten-thirty in the morning, about four days after the incident.
“No problem, but geez! You think you could’ve slept any later?” Riku laughed.
Sora pouted. “Hey! If I remember correctly, you spent all of last summer not waking up any earlier than eleven in the morning, so you have no room to breathe there.”
“Yea, but I’m not exactly the sun like you are, Sora.” Riku smirked. “In case you haven’t noticed, you kinda light everybody up just like the sun does, and people need that. But apparently that’s not enough for you. You’d rather we all die of vitamin B loss…”
“The sun has vitamin D, Riku.” Sora laughed. “And yes, you’ll all perish without me. Better keep me happy, Riku, or you might just find yourself dying a pale, cold death.”
“Psh, that’s happening anyway, once Kairi finds out you’re spending today with me instead of her.” Riku smirked as Sora slapped him upside the head.
“That’s not funny!” Sora attempted to look mad, while he was trying to suppress his own laughter. He just ended up looking silly.
“It is so and you damn well know it.” Riku ruffled Sora’s hair. “Sora, you look like an idiot. I think you should just laugh and get it over with. You know I’m gonna win this argument…”
Sora’s eyes went wide as he looked at Riku. “I don’t like that look on your face, Riku… it’s scaring me, ‘cause it usually means I’m about to be--AUGH! Tickled! Riku--STOP! No!” Sora giggled and laughed as Riku kept on tickling him. “No, Riku, really--NO! Stoooooop!!!”
“Come on, Sora, it was fuuuunyyy….” Riku couldn’t help laughing softly to himself as he saw Sora smile in a way that he hadn’t seen for a while. Not since Kairi started acting all… drama.
“Okay, OKAY! It was funny! Now, STOP!” Riku paid no heed to Sora. “RIKU!”
Riku fully planned on keeping it up until a yellow convertible pulled up on the street next to them. Riku stopped.
“Finally! God, Riku, I swear…” Then Sora looked up. The smile on his face almost fell, but it became more… stiff. Like it wasn’t real. “Hey, Kairi.”
“Hi, Sora.” Kairi smiled at the two of them. “Hey, Riku.”
“Hey.” Riku nodded towards her. “What brings you to this corner of town?”
“Picking up my boyfriend to hang out with me today. It’s Saturday, after all. And I've hardly seen him all week!” Kairi gave one of her smiles that would make almost any straight boy melt. Riku figured out long ago that he was nowhere near straight, and Sora… everyone assumed he swung both ways, but no one really knew for sure.
“Oh, we’re hanging out today? Okay!” Sora smiled at Riku. “Some other day, okay?”
“Yeah, alright, you two have fun. And use protection.” Riku walked away from the two, one of which was sputtering and claiming they “didn’t do anything like that,” and the other was smirking, sitting in her car, waiting for Sora to jump in so they could go drive off somewhere where who knew what might happen. Riku knew better than that.
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“LET’S HEAR IT, GIRLS!” Kairi screamed at the top of her lungs as she lead the cheerleaders in another one of those annoying little rhymes that supposedly spurred the blitzball players on. Riku didn’t believe that. In fact, the only reason why he even went to these games was to cheer Sora on. Though he doubted Sora could hear him over the screams of about two hundred and thirty four other kids in the student body. But he cheered, nonetheless, if for no other reason than to watch Sora succeed at something he loved, and for the occasional times when Sora would look up in the stands--not the field, not the cheerleaders' place, but the stands--to see if Riku was watching. Riku always waved and smiled. And Sora’s own grin grew so big that many people worried he wasn’t paying attention to the game. But he always played better after that.
This particular game was important, or so Sora said. Something about championship and scholarships… Riku always kind of tuned Sora out when he started talking about sports. Outside of fencing, sports just weren’t his gig. He’d much rather be at a concert or just hanging out, than be running around a field, or swimming in the water, earning points he didn’t care about, or proving his "team was better than the other ones,” as Sora loved to say.
Riku just watched, jumped and cheered when everyone else jumped and cheered, and screamed Sora’s name when he scored a point, or blocked another person, or did anything that made everyone excited. He had gotten used to it over the years, and could almost follow a game--if he wanted to. It was after the game, however, when things started to get interesting.
Soaking wet, Sora clambered out of the water, wearing the biggest smile Riku had seen on his face in about two years, and went to give Kairi a hug. But for some reason, she didn‘t look at him. Flat-out ignored him, by the looks of things. Riku pushed and shoved past people to get close enough to hear what was going on, but it was too loud, and there were too many excited fans trying to get closer to the team. Riku watched as Kairi turned toward Sora, a nasty look on her face. She said something, then turned away, talking to Wakka instead. Wakka looked shocked, though he chatted with her anyway.
Riku couldn’t take it any longer. He practically swam through the crowd to Sora, who was quickly leaving. Even though he was the star player of the team, he was successfully worming his way to the locker rooms. Riku followed as close as he could, and lost him only a few times. Upon reaching the heavy door, Riku shoved it open to find a tearful Sora staring down at his towel like it might give him an answer as to why his girlfriend was so rude to him.
“Sora…" Riku wasn’t sure what to say. What could you say during this kind of moment? She’s not good enough for you? You can do better than that? No. Riku wouldn’t say that. He took a deep breath and put his hand on Sora’s cold shoulder. “Sora, you’re worth more than being treated like that. You know that. You’re the sun, remember?” Sitting down next to him, he pulled his friend into the manliest hug he could manage in the situation.
“I know, Riku…” Sora’s voice was surprisingly steady. “I just… don’t know what to do now. I mean, she didn’t break up with me... are we still together? If we are, can we still be friends? Wha--”
“Sora!” Riku stopped Sora’s rambling. “Sora. No, you two aren’t going out anymore. No matter what she says, don’t take her back. You deserve better, Sora. As for being friends, who knows? Only time will tell. Until then, however…” Riku smirked. “You’re stuck with me. Put on your shirt, we’re gonna go celebrate. You just won!” Riku paused for a second. “At least, I think you did. I’m pretty sure.” A shrug. “You know sports aren’t my forte.”
Sora giggled. A small giggle, but an expression of happiness nonetheless. Riku released the breath he hadn’t noticed he’d been holding. “Yeah, we won. Maybe I’ll get a scholarship to a really nice school! Better than Destiny Community, anyway…”
“Psh.” Riku pushed his friend in the direction of his gym locker. “You’d get into any college you wanted. You’re smart, remember?” Riku smirked as he dragged his now-clothed friend to the local burger place for some milkshakes, where Riku was sure he’d be forced to listen to a play-by-play of the whole game. Not that he minded. He liked Sora’s voice, after all.
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Riku stared at the mirror, all done up in a suit, his mother continuing to fuss over his neatly-done hair. “Riku, you’ve got to let me do something with it besides letting it hang down.” Her lips pouting out in the slightest bit, she pulled the silver strands up in a high ponytail. “Look, if I did it like this, you’d still have a few strands--”
“Mom, no, I’d rather not.” Shaking his head slightly, his mother let the hair fall out of her hands and back around his shoulders. “It’s just prom, it’s not like--”
“What do you mean just prom? This is an important event of your life!” She smirked. “Besides, tonight, you should really tell Sora how you feel about him.” His mother was the only one who knew how he felt for Sora, but not because he told her. She just guessed. Mothers were good at that sort of thing. “I heard him and Kairi broke up. It’s sad, but it’s good for you.” She smiled at him.
“Mom, I don’t want to be the rebound. Besides, they’re going to the prom together, so I think they’re together again.” Riku sighed, slumping in his mom’s chair in front of her vanity, his head in his hands as he stared at the almost-miserable teen reflecting in front of him. The only reason he was going tonight was because Sora practically got down on his knees and begged him to --just in case Kairi freaked out on him again. Riku still hadn’t figured out why Sora didn’t call it quits with her after that night--but Sora was just too nice. At least, that’s what Riku thought.
“Hmm…” Riku’s mom hummed. “You know, if you ask me, Sora’s head over heels for you. But you’re not asking me, so I’m not saying anything.” She smiled at her suddenly brightened son.
“You really think so?” Riku’s heart had a little bit of hope. His mom noticed everything, and there hadn't been a time where she was wrong about Riku or one of his friends.
“Yes, I do, honey, now hurry! You’re gonna be late!” She ushered him out the door, tossing the keys to her car--her nice, sleek, black car--and Riku’s grin grew.
“Okay, Mom, I love you. See you later tonight!” Riku nearly laughed out of excitement. He wondered where it all came from--but figured it didn’t matter. Sora liked it when Riku got excited, so excitement was a good thing right now.
Pulling up to the school, he saw Sora waiting for him out front. Waving to his best friend, he searched the parking lot for a place, and surprisingly found one right up front. There were large words in chalk on the ground, and Riku laughed as he read, “Riku’s Parking Spot. Park Here, And Die” A skull and crossbones was sloppily drawn underneath it, with Sora’s signature just below that. He parked, then clambered out of the car toward his best friend.
“Riku!” Sora laughed as he gave his friend a hug. “Are you ready for the most important night of every teen’s life?”
“You mean the day I turn eighteen? Yep, totally psyched.” Riku smirked as he dodged a smack from Sora. “But right now, I’m focusing on prom night. Where’s Kairi?”
Sora shrugged. “She went inside when I told her I was gonna wait for you. I think she’s mad at me because of that, but oh well. I think I’m gonna break up with her soon, anyway.” Sora smiled devilishly. “I really don’t love her like I used to anymore, anyway. I’ve kinda… fallen for someone else.”
“Really? Who?” Riku noticed that Sora looked innocent with those eyes. Innocent, and oh-so-easy to hurt. Riku didn’t want anyone else hurting Sora--especially after Kairi.
“Riku?”
“Yeah, Sora?”
“What would you say if… I told you that person was you?” Sora looked scared. So awfully, terribly scared. Riku wondered why. It wasn't as if he would get mad at Sora or reject him! No, quite the opposite was guaranteed to happen. It wasn’t until he felt the bad vibes coming from his best friend that he realized Sora was thinking the worst. And since Riku’s mind wasn’t capable of making his mouth form the words he wanted to say, he made his lips do something else. He softly kissed Sora’s cheek.
An enraged scream came from behind the two. They whipped around to see a furious--gorgeous, but furious--Kairi, her face one of shock. An awkward silence fell across the once-inseparable trio, as they all stared at each other, wondering what would happen next. And Riku wasn’t quite sure what happened, but all of the sudden Kairi was sobbing, dragging both of them into a hug, apologizing a million times over for all the things she’d done, and then Riku and Sora were assuring her everything was fine, and Riku still wasn’t sure what was going on, and then they were taking Riku’s ride out to the Paopu fruit tree, overlooking the ocean, and there Kairi apologized again. All three of them made a pact--one to assure that if anything like this happened again, it wouldn't get in the way of their friendship.
And then they caught up with each other. Even though they’d been close, there was still so much emotion and events that had been shoved into the back of their minds--and now all that stuff was brought to the front. They ended their “prom night” laughing like they were again ten year olds--when nothing in the world mattered except waking up the next day to be with their best friends again.
Riku dropped Kairi off at home first--since her mom was the most likely to freak out if she was home late. And because Riku wanted to talk to Sora a little bit.
“Sora?” Riku turned off the engine when he got to a side street about a block away from their homes.
“Mm-hmm?” Sora’s eyes shimmered in the streetlight, and Riku realized just how much he missed that happy look on his face.
“Erm, about what you said… in front of the school…” Riku looked down at his hands on the steering wheel, where he was picking at the covering his mom had on it. Sora noticed, and put his hand over Riku’s to make him stop.
Then Sora sighed. “You’re not about to make a huge issue out of this, are you? I thought that kiss pretty much guaranteed that you were my boyfriend, and that we wouldn’t have any awkward conversations about it. Or any drama. I’m sick of drama.” Sora rolled his eyes and squeezed Riku’s hand a little bit. “Does that sound right?”
“Nothing could sound more so.” Riku smiled and kissed Sora--for real this time, on his lips!--, and all was right in the world.
Author: alovelyvampire
Pairing: Riku/Sora
Rating: PG-13. For sure this time.
POV: Third Person
Summary:
Disclaimer: Gah. I have no money. And I’m just exhausted from full-time education. Do you think I’d have the energy to run around after Sora when he’s hyper, or stop Riku from being so moody? I don’t think anyone has time for that.
Author Notes: Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. This is old.
Beta: The ever-so-lovely bubblegum_miley. Seriously, she’s awesome. I really love her, she does such a phenomenal job!!! =D
Warnings: Alternate Universe. There’s a few sexual references. And knowing me, there’s prolly some swearing. But that’s just what we get around here, isn’t it?
“Kairi, you know I didn’t mean it, you know I was kidding!… You didn’t? Oh… I’m sorry…”
Riku rubbed his temples as Sora continued to apologize and make amends to his girlfriend over the phone. This wasn’t something new--this happened quite often, actually. It was always some smart remark that Sora made, meant to be funny (and Riku would gladly admit that it wasn’t funny. In fact, it was a bit cheesy), and Kairi took it the wrong way and made a huge deal about it. And Sora always begged for her forgiveness. Something that drove Riku crazy.
It’s not that he hated Kairi. Exactly the opposite. She was sweet, and kind, and a great friend from the day she washed up on the island. It’s just…when her and Sora started dating, she wasn’t the same. She became cold to Riku, and annoying. It was like…she was jealous of Riku, or something. Like he might steal Sora away from her. Which was something he wouldn’t want to do. It’d hurt both Kairi and--eventually--Sora. Hurting either of them was very high up on his “Things Not To Do” list.
But…Kairi had a right to be worried about Riku and Sora spending too much time together. While he wouldn’t want to steal Sora away, he’d definitely like… to be his boyfriend, Riku supposed. But he knew he had absolutely zero chance when compared to Kairi. She was everything a girl was supposed to be--pretty, cute, spunky, wore all the right clothes, didn’t get in trouble, had brains--and she was also everything a girl aspires to be. Like Cheer Captain. And Riku… wasn’t. He was a “bad kid.” Even though he got semi-good grades (mostly B’s), he tended to give off a… not-so-great vibe. Like he could be trouble if anyone pestered him enough.
Riku noticed that he had been zoning out for quite a while. Sora was still on the phone, and by the sound of the conversation, things hadn’t changed one bit. Thinking was starting to give him a headache, as was Sora’s pleading voice. Riku tapped Sora on the shoulder and waved goodbye. Sora nodded, attempted one of his usual electrifying grins, and waved back. Riku smiled grimly and walked out of the door. Even though he tried to block it out, he could still hear Sora say, “But, Kairi…you know I love you, that was mean…”
Riku sighed unhappily. He slipped out Sora’s back door and easily scaled the right-side fence into his own backyard. He had climbed both up and down that fence too many times to count, just because him and Sora spent so much time together since… forever, practically.
Riku quickly went inside and up the stairs into his room. He looked out his window to see if Sora was in his room, but judging by the blackness, he wasn’t. Their houses were positioned just so that if you stared out of Riku’s window, you could see Sora’s window facing it. They used pads of paper and enormous Sharpies to write notes back and forth when either of them were grounded from their cell phones, or just didn’t want to talk aloud. Riku smiled as he thought of the crazy conversations the two used to have when they were little. Back when things were easy.
Riku walked over to his stereo, and glanced through the CDs that were stacked one on top of the other on his dresser. Deciding he was in the mood for something a bit… different, he popped in The Used and smirked as the screaming and guitars kicked in. Kairi hated this stuff, Sora thought it was too depressing, but Riku loved it.
A sudden light to Riku’s left made him look up, and he saw that Sora’s lamp was on. The brunette himself was standing there, hanging up the phone, a weary look on his face. When he looked out saw Riku staring at him, he gave a small smile and a wave. Riku practically dived for the notepad laying on his bed, and searched a bit for his Sharpie before realizing it was on his window sill. Scribbling quickly, he held up the paper for Sora to see. You okay?
Sora’s smile grew a little, and he sat down on his own bed, picked up his pad and pen, and wrote back. Yeah. Sick of drama.
Riku sighed heavily. He was sick of it, too. I’m sorry.
Sora shrugged. It’s okay. Sora nearly jumped a foot in the air a second later. Riku couldn't understand why until Sora pulled his phone out of his pocket. Riku rolled his eyes and flopped back on his bed, letting the screaming voices, overly loud drums, and screeching guitars take his mind to a place where his life really didn’t matter. All that mattered was the music, and the fact that he had to be alive to listen to it. This half-fantasy was the only thing keeping him alive these days--or so his rather dramatic side liked to think.
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“Sorry it took me so long, Riku. I just got up a half-hour ago when I got your message.” Sora came bounding out of the house and to the sidewalk where Riku was sitting, scuffing his sneakers and thinking at about ten-thirty in the morning, about four days after the incident.
“No problem, but geez! You think you could’ve slept any later?” Riku laughed.
Sora pouted. “Hey! If I remember correctly, you spent all of last summer not waking up any earlier than eleven in the morning, so you have no room to breathe there.”
“Yea, but I’m not exactly the sun like you are, Sora.” Riku smirked. “In case you haven’t noticed, you kinda light everybody up just like the sun does, and people need that. But apparently that’s not enough for you. You’d rather we all die of vitamin B loss…”
“The sun has vitamin D, Riku.” Sora laughed. “And yes, you’ll all perish without me. Better keep me happy, Riku, or you might just find yourself dying a pale, cold death.”
“Psh, that’s happening anyway, once Kairi finds out you’re spending today with me instead of her.” Riku smirked as Sora slapped him upside the head.
“That’s not funny!” Sora attempted to look mad, while he was trying to suppress his own laughter. He just ended up looking silly.
“It is so and you damn well know it.” Riku ruffled Sora’s hair. “Sora, you look like an idiot. I think you should just laugh and get it over with. You know I’m gonna win this argument…”
Sora’s eyes went wide as he looked at Riku. “I don’t like that look on your face, Riku… it’s scaring me, ‘cause it usually means I’m about to be--AUGH! Tickled! Riku--STOP! No!” Sora giggled and laughed as Riku kept on tickling him. “No, Riku, really--NO! Stoooooop!!!”
“Come on, Sora, it was fuuuunyyy….” Riku couldn’t help laughing softly to himself as he saw Sora smile in a way that he hadn’t seen for a while. Not since Kairi started acting all… drama.
“Okay, OKAY! It was funny! Now, STOP!” Riku paid no heed to Sora. “RIKU!”
Riku fully planned on keeping it up until a yellow convertible pulled up on the street next to them. Riku stopped.
“Finally! God, Riku, I swear…” Then Sora looked up. The smile on his face almost fell, but it became more… stiff. Like it wasn’t real. “Hey, Kairi.”
“Hi, Sora.” Kairi smiled at the two of them. “Hey, Riku.”
“Hey.” Riku nodded towards her. “What brings you to this corner of town?”
“Picking up my boyfriend to hang out with me today. It’s Saturday, after all. And I've hardly seen him all week!” Kairi gave one of her smiles that would make almost any straight boy melt. Riku figured out long ago that he was nowhere near straight, and Sora… everyone assumed he swung both ways, but no one really knew for sure.
“Oh, we’re hanging out today? Okay!” Sora smiled at Riku. “Some other day, okay?”
“Yeah, alright, you two have fun. And use protection.” Riku walked away from the two, one of which was sputtering and claiming they “didn’t do anything like that,” and the other was smirking, sitting in her car, waiting for Sora to jump in so they could go drive off somewhere where who knew what might happen. Riku knew better than that.
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“LET’S HEAR IT, GIRLS!” Kairi screamed at the top of her lungs as she lead the cheerleaders in another one of those annoying little rhymes that supposedly spurred the blitzball players on. Riku didn’t believe that. In fact, the only reason why he even went to these games was to cheer Sora on. Though he doubted Sora could hear him over the screams of about two hundred and thirty four other kids in the student body. But he cheered, nonetheless, if for no other reason than to watch Sora succeed at something he loved, and for the occasional times when Sora would look up in the stands--not the field, not the cheerleaders' place, but the stands--to see if Riku was watching. Riku always waved and smiled. And Sora’s own grin grew so big that many people worried he wasn’t paying attention to the game. But he always played better after that.
This particular game was important, or so Sora said. Something about championship and scholarships… Riku always kind of tuned Sora out when he started talking about sports. Outside of fencing, sports just weren’t his gig. He’d much rather be at a concert or just hanging out, than be running around a field, or swimming in the water, earning points he didn’t care about, or proving his "team was better than the other ones,” as Sora loved to say.
Riku just watched, jumped and cheered when everyone else jumped and cheered, and screamed Sora’s name when he scored a point, or blocked another person, or did anything that made everyone excited. He had gotten used to it over the years, and could almost follow a game--if he wanted to. It was after the game, however, when things started to get interesting.
Soaking wet, Sora clambered out of the water, wearing the biggest smile Riku had seen on his face in about two years, and went to give Kairi a hug. But for some reason, she didn‘t look at him. Flat-out ignored him, by the looks of things. Riku pushed and shoved past people to get close enough to hear what was going on, but it was too loud, and there were too many excited fans trying to get closer to the team. Riku watched as Kairi turned toward Sora, a nasty look on her face. She said something, then turned away, talking to Wakka instead. Wakka looked shocked, though he chatted with her anyway.
Riku couldn’t take it any longer. He practically swam through the crowd to Sora, who was quickly leaving. Even though he was the star player of the team, he was successfully worming his way to the locker rooms. Riku followed as close as he could, and lost him only a few times. Upon reaching the heavy door, Riku shoved it open to find a tearful Sora staring down at his towel like it might give him an answer as to why his girlfriend was so rude to him.
“Sora…" Riku wasn’t sure what to say. What could you say during this kind of moment? She’s not good enough for you? You can do better than that? No. Riku wouldn’t say that. He took a deep breath and put his hand on Sora’s cold shoulder. “Sora, you’re worth more than being treated like that. You know that. You’re the sun, remember?” Sitting down next to him, he pulled his friend into the manliest hug he could manage in the situation.
“I know, Riku…” Sora’s voice was surprisingly steady. “I just… don’t know what to do now. I mean, she didn’t break up with me... are we still together? If we are, can we still be friends? Wha--”
“Sora!” Riku stopped Sora’s rambling. “Sora. No, you two aren’t going out anymore. No matter what she says, don’t take her back. You deserve better, Sora. As for being friends, who knows? Only time will tell. Until then, however…” Riku smirked. “You’re stuck with me. Put on your shirt, we’re gonna go celebrate. You just won!” Riku paused for a second. “At least, I think you did. I’m pretty sure.” A shrug. “You know sports aren’t my forte.”
Sora giggled. A small giggle, but an expression of happiness nonetheless. Riku released the breath he hadn’t noticed he’d been holding. “Yeah, we won. Maybe I’ll get a scholarship to a really nice school! Better than Destiny Community, anyway…”
“Psh.” Riku pushed his friend in the direction of his gym locker. “You’d get into any college you wanted. You’re smart, remember?” Riku smirked as he dragged his now-clothed friend to the local burger place for some milkshakes, where Riku was sure he’d be forced to listen to a play-by-play of the whole game. Not that he minded. He liked Sora’s voice, after all.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Riku stared at the mirror, all done up in a suit, his mother continuing to fuss over his neatly-done hair. “Riku, you’ve got to let me do something with it besides letting it hang down.” Her lips pouting out in the slightest bit, she pulled the silver strands up in a high ponytail. “Look, if I did it like this, you’d still have a few strands--”
“Mom, no, I’d rather not.” Shaking his head slightly, his mother let the hair fall out of her hands and back around his shoulders. “It’s just prom, it’s not like--”
“What do you mean just prom? This is an important event of your life!” She smirked. “Besides, tonight, you should really tell Sora how you feel about him.” His mother was the only one who knew how he felt for Sora, but not because he told her. She just guessed. Mothers were good at that sort of thing. “I heard him and Kairi broke up. It’s sad, but it’s good for you.” She smiled at him.
“Mom, I don’t want to be the rebound. Besides, they’re going to the prom together, so I think they’re together again.” Riku sighed, slumping in his mom’s chair in front of her vanity, his head in his hands as he stared at the almost-miserable teen reflecting in front of him. The only reason he was going tonight was because Sora practically got down on his knees and begged him to --just in case Kairi freaked out on him again. Riku still hadn’t figured out why Sora didn’t call it quits with her after that night--but Sora was just too nice. At least, that’s what Riku thought.
“Hmm…” Riku’s mom hummed. “You know, if you ask me, Sora’s head over heels for you. But you’re not asking me, so I’m not saying anything.” She smiled at her suddenly brightened son.
“You really think so?” Riku’s heart had a little bit of hope. His mom noticed everything, and there hadn't been a time where she was wrong about Riku or one of his friends.
“Yes, I do, honey, now hurry! You’re gonna be late!” She ushered him out the door, tossing the keys to her car--her nice, sleek, black car--and Riku’s grin grew.
“Okay, Mom, I love you. See you later tonight!” Riku nearly laughed out of excitement. He wondered where it all came from--but figured it didn’t matter. Sora liked it when Riku got excited, so excitement was a good thing right now.
Pulling up to the school, he saw Sora waiting for him out front. Waving to his best friend, he searched the parking lot for a place, and surprisingly found one right up front. There were large words in chalk on the ground, and Riku laughed as he read, “Riku’s Parking Spot. Park Here, And Die” A skull and crossbones was sloppily drawn underneath it, with Sora’s signature just below that. He parked, then clambered out of the car toward his best friend.
“Riku!” Sora laughed as he gave his friend a hug. “Are you ready for the most important night of every teen’s life?”
“You mean the day I turn eighteen? Yep, totally psyched.” Riku smirked as he dodged a smack from Sora. “But right now, I’m focusing on prom night. Where’s Kairi?”
Sora shrugged. “She went inside when I told her I was gonna wait for you. I think she’s mad at me because of that, but oh well. I think I’m gonna break up with her soon, anyway.” Sora smiled devilishly. “I really don’t love her like I used to anymore, anyway. I’ve kinda… fallen for someone else.”
“Really? Who?” Riku noticed that Sora looked innocent with those eyes. Innocent, and oh-so-easy to hurt. Riku didn’t want anyone else hurting Sora--especially after Kairi.
“Riku?”
“Yeah, Sora?”
“What would you say if… I told you that person was you?” Sora looked scared. So awfully, terribly scared. Riku wondered why. It wasn't as if he would get mad at Sora or reject him! No, quite the opposite was guaranteed to happen. It wasn’t until he felt the bad vibes coming from his best friend that he realized Sora was thinking the worst. And since Riku’s mind wasn’t capable of making his mouth form the words he wanted to say, he made his lips do something else. He softly kissed Sora’s cheek.
An enraged scream came from behind the two. They whipped around to see a furious--gorgeous, but furious--Kairi, her face one of shock. An awkward silence fell across the once-inseparable trio, as they all stared at each other, wondering what would happen next. And Riku wasn’t quite sure what happened, but all of the sudden Kairi was sobbing, dragging both of them into a hug, apologizing a million times over for all the things she’d done, and then Riku and Sora were assuring her everything was fine, and Riku still wasn’t sure what was going on, and then they were taking Riku’s ride out to the Paopu fruit tree, overlooking the ocean, and there Kairi apologized again. All three of them made a pact--one to assure that if anything like this happened again, it wouldn't get in the way of their friendship.
And then they caught up with each other. Even though they’d been close, there was still so much emotion and events that had been shoved into the back of their minds--and now all that stuff was brought to the front. They ended their “prom night” laughing like they were again ten year olds--when nothing in the world mattered except waking up the next day to be with their best friends again.
Riku dropped Kairi off at home first--since her mom was the most likely to freak out if she was home late. And because Riku wanted to talk to Sora a little bit.
“Sora?” Riku turned off the engine when he got to a side street about a block away from their homes.
“Mm-hmm?” Sora’s eyes shimmered in the streetlight, and Riku realized just how much he missed that happy look on his face.
“Erm, about what you said… in front of the school…” Riku looked down at his hands on the steering wheel, where he was picking at the covering his mom had on it. Sora noticed, and put his hand over Riku’s to make him stop.
Then Sora sighed. “You’re not about to make a huge issue out of this, are you? I thought that kiss pretty much guaranteed that you were my boyfriend, and that we wouldn’t have any awkward conversations about it. Or any drama. I’m sick of drama.” Sora rolled his eyes and squeezed Riku’s hand a little bit. “Does that sound right?”
“Nothing could sound more so.” Riku smiled and kissed Sora--for real this time, on his lips!--, and all was right in the world.