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Chapter Three
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Sora groaned as he ran a hand through his spiky brown hair. He then blinked in blatant confusion...this was not his room. He then wondered when he had gotten into such a comfy feeling bed. Was he not on a train? The brunette then heard soft chuckling, causing him to snap his head to the left direction. His blue eyes widened in apparent surprise.
There sat Riku on his bed, leaning out of his open window in top form, shirtless and currently green eyes fastened on the confused Sora on the other side of the room. He smirked and chuckled again, rolling his eyes.
The younger male blinked and quickly reached up to hold his head, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. The silver haired boy shook his head and propped his elbow up on the edge of the window ledge. "Rough day?" he asked slyly. Sora shrugged and slid off of the bed, feeling his headache begin to fade away with the cool breeze coming from Riku's window. He paused to eye his surroundings.
'That's right...I'm in the dorm now,' he thought to himself.
The walls in this room were a light black, contrary to the outside walls which were a bright, bright white. The floor was carpeted with a darker black and there were little stars everywhere. The outside carpet was a navy blue.
Riku suddenly laughed, "I wonder how many bottles of bleach they went through and used to get it THAT white."
"Huh," Sora looked at Riku.
"The walls outside, It took me forever to paint over the white in this room. I swear you can take out small armies with the whiteness of the dorm's hallway alone! It's not normal, I tell you! Maybe it's a conspiracy like everyone says...?" Riku pondered to himself about this so called 'conspiracy'.
"...huh?" Sora shook his head at his roommate’s rambling about the awkward whiteness of the hallways of the dorm. He made close to no sense--a conspiracy? 'I wonder who told him about that?'
Riku finally gave up on thinking about the whiteness. Thinking about it was making his head hurt. He looked back out the window and said, "You know, most of my roommates’ would actually be taking their time to check me out when I'm like this, seeing as I'm shirtless and all." He glanced over at Sora and seen that the younger male had resumed holding his head as if he had begun to get a headache, or the headache was having some crazy after effect on him. The elder male felt like he was being ignored and he was not used to that--not in the very least. "So, who's Roxas?"
That one question made Sora snap back to reality, "He's not any of your concern so mind your own business!"
Riku's now aquamarine eyes widened considerably. That was not something he had expected from someone who looked so timid and gentle. Sora had been so quiet coming in so Riku had thought that he could easily get his answer from the boy if he had asked with a bit of concern. He did not mean to make the boy snap at him, not at all.
Apparently Sora realized his mistake because he covered his mouth immediately. He did not mean to snap at Riku like that; after all, he had just met the guy a while ago. His face reddened from embarrassment and he waved his hands in the air in front of his face, obviously flustered, "I-I'm so sorry, Riku-san! I just...um...I'll go talk to Cloud now! Bye!" Sora stood up and darted to the door, but Riku beat him to it, having noticed Sora's mood immediately, and now stood in front of the door.
"Whoa there, calm down!" Riku said in a demanding tone. "Don't be so irrational!"
"I have to talk to Cloud!" Sora all but rushed out in a hurry. He did not want to be near Riku at the moment and did not know why. He wanted to be as far away from the silverette as quickly as possible, but he had no will in his small body to actually argue with someone, let alone fight anyone to make them move. He never had to stand up to anyone before because he was always with Roxas; the slightly elder male always had a reputation to break whatever touched Sora in a harmful way anyway.
Riku's eyes stared into Sora's ocean blue hues and searched for the answer to his questions. He was utterly confused as to why his new friend was trying to run away from him. He had forty two different questions and no god damn answers! When he found no answers and only fear and panic, Riku raised his voice in concern, "Sora, who's Roxas? It's not that hard of a question to answer!" He finally reached out and grabbed Sora's arm. The silverette jerked the brunette over to him and squeezed his arm gently, then rubbing his thumb over the clothed flesh.
Sora trembled violently before he opened his mouth and screamed for Cloud.
Said male was taking a nap when he suddenly jerked awake at the sound of his name being literally screamed as if someone were in excruciating pain. The blonde quickly ran out of his room, hair poking all at different directions, and made a grab for the handle of Riku and Sora's room. He twisted and opened it with a flick of his wrist before his bright blue eyes widened. "Sora...?"
It took Cloud one minute to get out of his room, but in the time it took him to arrive, Riku had gathered the smaller teen in his arms and was holding onto him with every ounce of strength he had. Sora's face was dug into the crook of Riku's neck and his arms were under Riku's and came around so that he was clutching the stronger male's shoulders for dear life. Riku's ponytail had loosened but was still intact.
"What...happened...?" Cloud muttered in confusion.
"Cloud, you need to get him to the infirmary or something," Riku said, not letting go of the brunette despite what he was telling Cloud. He was afraid that the boy would break if he did let him go.
The blonde nodded and walked over to them, kneeling down only to gather Sora up into his arms. "Come on, koi," he cooed gently. The brunette reluctantly released his hold on Riku and allowed himself to be carried away fro the sliver-haired male.
Riku caught a glimpse of the look on Sora's face and he felt a pang of something he did not recognize in his chest. He knew that he did not like the lifeless look on the brunette's face and he had only known him for not even six hours! He walked over to his dresser and opened it a bit too forcefully. His dresser rattled from the sudden abuse.
The silverette had never been one to let his controlled temper show, but when it did it needed to be taken care of immediately. He once snapped back at one of his teachers, but due to his peacemaker side he was able to handle that situation better than anyone else could have in his position. His anger was not something to be taken lightly.
He sighed and took out a black shirt. He was truly annoyed but even more confused. "Why did that kid have to break down like that," Riku asked himself out loud. He slipped the shirt on and left, obviously needing some time to think to himself.
--Scene change!--
"So, you're saying that you don't know what happened?" A gentle female's voice asked.
Cloud shook his head and stared at Sora, "No, Aeris. I thought about taking him to Zack, but...you know how that turns out. Anyway, I found him clinging to Riku like he was the last thing on Earth that would keep him sane!!"
"Well," Aeris began, "maybe he was remembering something he didn't like?" She suggested.
Cloud shook his head again, "Riku did something to him. I just can't place my finger on what could cause Sora to react so...I dunno. He even called for me!"
"Riku, Riku, Riku...," Aeris tapped her chin with her index finger skeptically. "Sephiroth's younger brother Riku?"
"Yeah," the blonde nodded, his face scrunching up at the name of Sephiroth.
"Well, Riku can have a short fuse at times..." the female brunette looked at Sora. Sora, would you mind telling me what happened?"
At the request of such a gentle voice, Sora looked up at her, "He just...asked about Roxas."
"Roxas?" Aeris questioned. She looked up at Cloud for answers but the blonde male avoided her gaze.
"It's not my place to tell you," he stated. Aeris' green eyes widened before she gaped at her best friend who stood close to Sora's side. Cloud always told her what was going on when she asked!
"Well, I suppose its okay...uh..." Aeris tugged on the hem of her shirt nervously.
The other brunette noticed this and he smiled reassuringly, "It's just...really personal." He did not feel that comfortable telling anyone about Roxas yet...not yet.
Aeris only smiled back, "It's fine...well, and you had better get back to your room. If Riku is still there, don't worry. There's really nothing I can do about him unless he hurt you physically. I'm sorry...no one told he that he had a short temper, did they?"
'But...he wasn't mad at me. He was just confused and wanted to know what was wrong with me...and about Roxas.' Sora thought to himself, his expression sad. He nodded though and stood up.
Cloud moved to follow Sora wherever he went but the younger male shook his head, "I’ll be fine. I'll get there on my own. I'm not a little kid who needs constant guidance anymore."
"...you sure?" Cloud asked, obviously afraid to let Sora wonder by himself. He was bound to get lost in such a large dorm.
"I'm sure," Sora smiled. He then left the room, emotions running high in his head and heart. As Sora closed the door to the infirmary however, he realized that he had no idea how to get back to his room. "Crap."
"Crap? You're supposed to say shit in this day and age! Ha, ha" a laughing voice said.
The scent of something burning suddenly hit Sora's nostrils and caused him to jump back at least five feet away from it. He did not like the scent of fire...but when Sora looked up, all he seen was a very bewildered redhead. The brunette straightened up and bowed several times, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to jump like that! I thought something was on fire..."
The red head shook his head, "Nah, it's fine. I get that a lot...well, not really. Usually someone says: "who burnt down the house or is Axel here?!" and I just laugh. Are you afraid of fire or something?"
"Well...not exactly," the brunette began. He hesitated and finally spoke, "I just have bad memories of fire. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did..."
"It's all right, I already told you that! Sheesh," he stared at Sora for a minute, taking in Sora's almost feminine like features. The slight curve of the other male's body was apparent with the black t-shirt he was wearing and the way his faded blue jeans slightly rode off of his hip.
Sora seemed to notice that the other male was examining him, but he made no motion to stop it. He just stood there and allowed the fiery red head to do as he pleased as long as he didn't touch him..."So...uhm..."
"Sorry!" He put his hands in the air. "Couldn't help myself..."
"No, it's fine..." Sora laughed. A red brow rose.
"You're not homophobic?" He asked.
"Nope, I'm bisexual so there's nothing I can say about my being homophobic or anything like that!" The brunette laughed again. "So, what's your name anyway?"
"My name's Axel. A-X-E-L: commit it to memory!" Axel said, pointing to his head. Sora laughed and nodded.
"Yeah...Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel..!" he responded, repeating himself fourteen times. The fiery red head laughed at him and ran his hand through his hair before he smiled lightly.
"I guess that's one way to memorize it...so are you going to leave me hanging or what?" He asked.
Sora quirked an eyebrow at the question, "What do you mean?"
"You name, number, room, classes, locker number, and the times you're available for a date!" Axel chirped, happiness dancing around his deep green eyes. He approached Sora and gave a friendly smile. "Well? Do I get a chance with you or what?"
"Uhm...well...my name is Sora Kitade. My room number is ten, I don't know when or what my classes are, I don't know my locker number yet, and I'm available all weekend!" Sora answered enthusiastically. He then gave a sad look and said, "I don't think I'm ready to start dating again though...I'm sorry."
"Then I'll wait for you. How does that sound?" Axel asked while worry showed on his face.
Sora smiled and nodded, "Well, that sounds--"
"--fantastic! But don't you think you should run along now, pyro maniac? Doesn't your boyfriend miss you?" A blunt voice cut through and an arm wound itself around Sora's shoulders, pulling him against a warm chest.
"Oh, hey Riku," Axel replied, not really interested in what the other male had to say. "I don't have a boyfriend right now...but it seems like you do."
"What? No! I'm not Riku's--"
"--yeah. He's my new lover. Just found him this morning," Riku interrupted and squeezed Sora's shoulder gently.
Sora was surprised but then he shook his head. He was going to stand up for himself for a minute there, really he was, but once again he was not strong enough to do so. Axel noticed though and he smiled lightly, "Well...I'll be seeing you two. It's club time!" He ran off and tapped Sora's shoulder before he disappeared from sight around the corner.
The brunette stared up at Riku and blinked in confusion, "Why did you do that?" He asked, obviously demanding an explanation. He then noticed that Riku had donned sunglasses, the dark shades covering his eyes completely.
"You don't want someone like Axel. He's addicted to fire--he's a pyro maniac, you know. He'll take any form of fire he can get. His favorite kind of fire is the one that involves you lying down and his moving his hips," Riku told the younger male.
Sora blinked and blushed, "I wouldn't have that with anyone on the first date!"
"Oh, but he'd find a way to still get a little release," Riku muttered.
"I'm not that kind of guy!! And you need to trust people more!" Sora snapped.
"Yeah, yea," Riku shrugged and dragged the boy away and back in the direction of their room.
Sora was surprised. He expected Riku to ask him about earlier, but the silverette did not say a thing about it at all. The younger male shrugged, however, and allowed himself to be dragged away by his enthusiastic roommate.
I'm the lie
Living for you so you can hide
Don't cry
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