#6, first kiss

Middle school girls ALWAYS made a big deal out of Valentine's Day. With this knowledge in mind, Sora came prepared.

That morning, he entered the hallways carrying a ring and a fake rose, the best his allowance could buy. He was slightly embarrassed that he couldn't get her anything better, but it was the thought that counted, right? Sighing, he looked around the crowded hallways to try and catch sight of Kairi, not spotting her yet. Sora had hoped he'd be able to give it to her in the morning, perhaps it would light up her day... Oh, he loved to make her smile.

However, he didn't see her yet, and time was cut short as the bell rang and herded them like clockwork into their classes. Grumbling, he made his way to his first class and set the gifts down under his desk, hoping he'd see her at lunch.

The next class dragged on slowly, as candygrams were handed out that period. All the girls looked so happy when they recieved theirs, and Sora wished that at that moment he had this class period with Kairi, just so he could see her face light up when she recieved his candygram. Oh well... at least getting it this period would let her know he was thinking about her.

Finally, it was lunchtime, and Sora seized his chance. Looking frantically around the cafeteria for sight of her, he finally spotted her and ran over. Blushing a bit, he hesitated about halfway there, as he noticed she was sitting with a group of her girlfriends. Great... Well... It's now or never.

Sighing, he held his head up (perhaps a bit too stiffly to be passed off as comfortable or confident) and made his way over. No turning back now, just gotta keep going. His heart jumped into his throat when he was close enough to hear her voice... Then sank right back down into the pit of his stomach when he heard her words.

"Really? He got you a promise ring? Wow! All Riku gave me was a kiss!" she said, sending all the girls into a giggle fit. Sora, however, did not laugh, and instead his heart shot straight up his throat and out his mouth.

"He gave you WHAT?" he blurted before he could stop himself, making many people stop and stare. Blood rushed to his cheeks as he flushed, looking around then back at her, noticing the perplexed look on her face. It went away quickly however, as she started to smile at him while the rest of the girls broke into more giggles.

"A kiss! Do you want one too, Sora?" she asked him, nodding. Sora blinked at her, then gave a childish and somewhat desperate nod, feeling his face grow even hotter. Words failed him though, but luckily she took care of that. "Okay! After your last class, meet me at your locker." Nodding, she gave a small wave and turned back to giggle more with her friends. Sora merely turned around and headed out of the scene, straight for the bathroom to splash a bit of water on his face. Idiot! And you even forgot to give her the rose...

The rest of the day seemed to move by too quickly for him, and finally the final bell rang. Shaking, he left his class and headed for his locker to meet Kairi, like he promised.

Butterflies flew into his stomach when he saw that she was waiting for him, hands behind her back and smiling widely. Oh no, oh no... Stiffly he walked up to her, lips twitching and trying to form words when finally he remembered the gifts.

"Uh... here, I got these for you..." he stuttered slightly, holding them out for her.

"Oh! Thank you! They're wonderful, you're so thoughtful Sora!" Smiling, she pulled a hand from behind her back and held out her hand for him to put the ring on, and he obliged, dropping it twice and earning himself more laughter. "Now for your kiss!"

Here it was, the moment of truth. Sora was at a loss, he didn't know what to do! She was leaning forward, moving closer and his face got hot once more. Then, suddenly, she pulled her other hand from behind her back and held out a small piece of aluminum wrapped chocolate.

"A... hershey?" he said, dumbstruck, then gave a nervous laugh. Riku hadn't given her a real kiss! Oh, he felt stupid now... "Uh... thanks!"

"I knew you'd like it!" she giggled, shaking her head. Though his face was still a bit flushed, Sora smiled too. That wasn't so bad! Until...

"Oh, and one more thing," she added, then suddenly swept down and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me, they belong to Square Enix. 8) Written for the 15pairings challenge on LJ.