Fan Number 61

by a quirky little tune

"A what?"

With his sandwich halfway to his gaping mouth and uneven thick slices of banana slipping from their niche in between the bread, Sora Hikari made quite the sight. His lips parted and closed several times, unintelligible syllables stumbling off his tongue.

"There's a—a –?"

"A Riku Fan Club, yes." Kairi Kokoro sat across from her friend, her chin resting in a small cupped palm while amusement shaped her mouth into a charming smile. She sipped contentedly at her Tropical Fruit smoothie, watching as the flustered brunet resumed chomping thoughtfully on his lunch.

"Like… like a real fan club?" Sora's lips pursed curiously.

"Yeah, one hundred percent legit – or as legit as you can get in high school, anyway. I'd been hearing strange things about this rumored club ever since you guys came back, but I always thought they were exaggerations. You know how girls like to joke around about marriage and fan clubs and bearing the fruit of so-and-so's loins," Kairi explained flippantly, motioning toward her right cheek.

Sora mimicked her movements across his own face, slim fingers touching a blob of wayward peanut butter. He quickly wiped it off with his napkin, a slight furrow appearing on his forehead. "What made you realize that it's real?"

Smiling prettily, Kairi twirled her smoothie cup between her hands. "Well, when I went to the mall's food court today to get lunch, I saw a whole bunch of students from our school cramming into this one store. It's that new one, you know, where you can take a photo and make it into a t-shirt or a keychain or something?"

Sora nodded distractedly.

"I went to go see what was going on and there were two girls and a guy – probably the leaders or something – standing up front of the mob at the counter, negotiating prices. Apparently, they had scored a picture of our Riku and were making actual membership cards and other goodies with his face on it." Kairi crinkled her nose, brushing some of her loose red hair back behind her ears. "And poor Riku looked horrible in that photo – it was a candid shot and half his body was blurry while his mouth was wide open…"

Kairi continued to mutter about the lacking photography while Sora fiddled with his juice box straw. It refused to puncture the plastic hole, the angled tip of the straw beginning to bend as the brunet tried repeatedly to jam it through. He sighed, his mind tuning Kairi out as his thoughts wandered to what she had just told him.

He knew Riku had always been a popular guy, even when they had been growing up. Actually, at first, a lot of the boys had taken to picking on Riku because of his long hair and pale skin, but their teasing had soon grown to admiration (and in some cases, dislike) after Riku had finally got sick of their "lame tries to make him less cool" (he had played several practical jokes, outraced the two fastest boys on the island at the time, and brought many kids to their knees during wooden sword fights). And the girls… well, the girls had always liked Riku, appreciating the fact that he had never thrown mud at them or pulled on any of their pigtails (the only one he had really messed around with was Sora, actually, though Sora himself never really understood why he had been treated so differently).

As the years had gone by, childish awe and giggling had turned into real respect and hardcore crushes. Even after being absent for two years, Riku had effortlessly gained all that back and more from his peers without so much as a word to any of them.

Before their adventures, Sora had oftentimes found himself jealous of Riku's spotlight. The silver-haired boy wouldn't even try to make friends, yet they all gathered around him as if he were the super magnet and they were the paper clips. Sora had always bristled in the hallways whenever he had seen Riku in the middle of some huge, laughing group, surrounded by admirers.

Sora idly smiled at the childishness of it all, knowing why Riku's popularity had bugged him so much, yet now unable to feel any of the past resentment.

It wasn't that no one had liked Sora; in fact, it had been the exact opposite. Practically the entire Destiny Islands' population knew the brunet and had enjoyed his bright company, always ready to give a smile or a wave when they saw him around town (they all still smiled at him whenever he passed by, but there was now an edge of uncertainty in their eyes, as if they could feel how different Sora was from them, how strong he had become).

But at 13 or 14, all that had mattered to Sora was that Riku seemed to beat him in everything. In games, in sword fights, in races, in school, in age… Sora was loveable and unique, yes, but Riku was special, talented, and he was an admirable figure. The whole island seemed to place him on a pedestal of some sort. The competitive part of Sora, the part that had dominated his relationship with Riku at the time, found that friendship was yet another area in which Riku was beating him in, and wasn't that just infuriating?

Now, though… now, things were different. After facing so many obstacles and searching for the truth, their understanding of one another had become almost scary. Very rarely were they not in sync; somehow after everything, their friendship had come back unbroken and even deeper than before.

Their friendship... Sora bit his lip, trying hard not to let any worry or blush spill onto his face. It was true – their friendship now was much more mature, built on a base of stronger ties than just mere rivalry. As kids, they had been the best of friends. As young teens, they had lost sight of each other and could have very well drifted apart forever if they hadn't been drawn into the other worlds.

But friendship wasn't even the end of it. Sora could feel his own feelings changing every day, evolving into something he wasn't sure he wanted; nothing was the same anymore, and Sora would almost rather go adventuring again to save the multiple universes than staying in high school and face his own complicated mess.

Kairi finished her mini rant with a small flourish, her lips pursing slightly. She turned amused eyes towards Sora, breaking his train of thought and asking him mischievously, "What do you think Riku would do if he actually knew that people were stalking him to take weird, intrusive photos of him for their Riku Worshipping Altar?"

Sora chuckled, imaging his best friend's response, and was about to answer before a tray slammed down next to his bagged food, interrupting his response.

"I'm sorry, what would Riku do if he knew what?" Riku Karada himself dropped heavily into his chair, his eyebrow raised high and his strong arms crossed over his chest.

Kairi froze slightly at being caught while Sora, taken by surprise, pushed his straw so hard that it went in through his juice box and out the other side. Room temperature apple juice began to dribble from the impromptu hole and, pouting, Sora chucked his drink away. The roof of his mouth was so dry from his peanut butter and banana sandwich and he eyed Riku's unopened Gatorade appraisingly.

Riku pointedly moved his beverage to the far side of his tray, out of Sora's reach. His eyes concentrated sharply on Kairi, whose look of surprise had morphed easily into one of humor. Agitated, he ran a hand through his hair and demanded, "You –repeat what you just said. Hopefully, you said something completely different than what I think you said, and I've just had too many keyblade injuries to the head."

Sora grinned secretly while Kairi gave a boyish chuckle. She replied with a grin, "Nope, Riku, I'm pretty sure you heard correctly before. Though, if I were you, I'd still get my head checked anyway."

The silver-haired boy hissed slightly, ignoring the girl's jibe. "But who the hell would want to stalk me for crappy photos?" He blinked uncomfortably. "Who the hell would want to stalk me, period?"

"Apparently," Sora said quite seriously, "you've got a real, authentic fan club after your ass."

Kairi and Riku sent him a weird look and the brunet flushed under their gazes. "I didn't mean after your ass literally!" he huffed, sticking out his tongue. He paused, considered and then sheepishly admitted, "Okay, maybe some of them actually are – argh, you know what I mean!"

Smirking, Riku leaned back in his chair until the full implications of Sora's answer hit him. His lips quickly twitched downwards. "A… fan club? What the hell? I thought super famous celebrities got those, or hot anime guys or something. Not a random senior in high school."

"Face it, Riku," now Kairi smirked, finding the whole situation far more amusing than was probably healthy with Riku sitting so close by, "You're great 'guy material'. You've got the refined, gorgeous looks, a bit of a mysterious air since no one knows where you've been for the past two years, and a maturity that far surpasses that of any other guy in our school. Your name is at the top of everyone's list."

Sora mulled over Kairi's list and frowned. "Wait a second," he started slowly, "I was gone for two years, just like Riku, and I'm plenty mature! Why don't I have a fan club?!"

He glared accusingly at his redheaded friend.

Snorting, Riku flicked him on the forehead. "Stop complaining, silly. If you want, you can have mine. I don't mind. Really."

Kairi smiled almost apologetically at Sora, ignoring Riku. "That's true, Sora, but you're pretty… normal." Before the keyblade master could even ask, Kairi hurried to finish her thought. "And by normal, I mean that you don't seem like you're hiding anything. You're a very straightforward, honest person and people can't even imagine you doing anything like drugs or gangs –"

"Are you saying that that's what people think I've been up to all this time?" Riku looked annoyed, swinging his head ever so slightly to the left to jerk his long bangs out of his sea colored eyes. "Drugs and gangs?"

"You don't talk much, Riku, and your personality isn't as open as Sora's. So naturally, people have no idea what you're really like or what you're capable of." Kairi shrugged. "Plus, when people find their own lives to be boring, they jump at the first chance to make them interesting – even if it means they have to totally make stuff up about another person. "

Riku exhaled loudly, stabbing at his almost forgotten salad with irritation. "Whatever."

Sora was still frowning. "I could be bad ass if I wanted to be; I could totally join a gang. And I'm just as good looking as Riku is!"

Riku almost choked on the tomato in his mouth, sputtering laughter rumbling from his chest. "A gang? You?" He couldn't seem to say anything else, snickering uncontrollably into his hand.

He tried to compose himself but a wayward image of a gangster-Sora flickered into his mind and the effort was lost. It had been a valiant try.

Sora sputtered, pointing an outraged finger at his amused friends, "Yes, a gang. In fact, I could start my own gang – and, and I would totally be the number one thug in no time, considering how easily I can defeat any challenger on this island!"

Riku's laughter died down and the mood of the lunch table shifted completely.

"Oh?" Riku's eyebrow quirked, a smirk smoothing its way onto his face, "Oh, really? Is that a challenge, Sora?"

Kairi groaned as a familiar spark ignited in both males' eyes. She sighed and moved to throw away her trash, muttering "Boys," under her breath as she left. She purposely chose the trashcans across the room so as to give them some "guy time".

Sora grinned at Riku; both seemed oblivious to the girl's departure, caught up as they were in their battle of testosterone.

"You know it is," Sora said with much bravado, "Whatcha gonna do about it, Ri-ku?" He drew out the first syllable of Riku's name teasingly, hands braced on the table as he leant forward ever so slightly.

"I'll just have to show you who the real champion on this island is," Riku smiled mockingly, the ends of his bangs just barely touching the curve of his upper lip.

Sora snorted and retorted brashly, "And how are you gonna do that, pray tell? Because if I remember correctly – and I'm pretty sure I do – I was able to defeat you easily on all our adventures…"

"That's funny," Riku spoke casually, leaning back in his chair as if he hadn't a care in the world, "Because if I remember things correctly, I was saving your helpless ass from Xemnas at the end of our battle."

Immediately, Sora banged the palms of his hands down hard on the table, all cool composure gone. He went back to pointing accusingly at Riku, a dull flush conquering his cheeks and spreading down his neck. "Y-yo-you! That was unfair, I never asked you to help me! And need I remind you that I was the one who supported your stupid body across The World That Never Was after the battle?"

Riku's eye twitched, but he managed to keep up his cocky smirk, looking relatively unaffected. "You don't need to remind me – I remember quite clearly how you helped me right after I saved your ass and even got injured for your sake."

The competitive mood quickly evaporated. Sora froze and then slumped a bit, eyes swinging off to the side in a show of discomfort. Riku felt a stab of guilt and pursed his lips together thinly, placing his left hand on the brunet's right shoulder and pushing him back down into his chair.

"I… didn't mean to sound as if I regretted the injury," Riku told him seriously. The younger teen worried his bottom lip and twisted slightly in his seat to face his best friend.

"You shouldn't have gotten hurt because of me," Sora said quietly.

Riku flashed a genuine smile. "Silly, it wasn't a serious injury—"

"Your ribs were bruised pretty badly; you can't tell me it wasn't serious!"

The silver-haired boy sighed, shooting Sora a slightly aggravated look at being interrupted. "They healed within a few weeks with no lasting damage or breaks. So, since it wasn't that serious, as I was saying, it was a small sacrifice to help you out."

Sora opened his mouth to protest some more, but the intent look on Riku's face made him pause. Finally, he sighed loudly, grinned weakly, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I know. I guess I'm concentrating on the wrong part –"

"Damn straight."

"—Don't interrupt me, you jerk!" Sora paused mid-pout and then laughed lightly as he realized how quickly he had changed tracks. His goofy grin shifted into a brilliant smile. "But… really, Riku… thanks. For watching out for me."

"I've always got your back," Riku said honestly, expression clear and earnest.

Sora quickly began a new thread of conversation, trying to avoid an awkward silence after their bonding moment. "Hey, where did Kairi go?"

Riku blinked. "Trashcans?"

"But didn't she leave like five minutes ago?"

"I guess," Riku shrugged, "She's probably just talking to some friends." He picked up his fork to finish eating his salad.

Of course, only seconds later, the bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch period; students slid back their chairs and began throwing away their food while heading for the doors. Riku let out a sharp swear at not being able to eat most of his lunch and hurriedly stuffed the bagged snacks into his bookbag for later.

"Sora, my class is on the whole other side of the building – can you throw away my trash and put my tray back for me?" Riku was already standing, glaring as some unfortunate kid accidentally plowed into him.

Sora gaped. "What? No way! Throw your own stuff out!"

"It's your fault I didn't get to eat! I can't be late or Demmins will kill me!"

"That's your problem, you dummy! Don't blame it on me – you should take responsibility for your actions!" Sora rose to his feet, grabbing his bulging bag and hefting it onto his small shoulders.

Riku put a hand to his left side and gave a fake moan, pretending to stumble. "M-my ribs! Oh, the agony!"

The keyblade master felt his eye twitch. "Fine. Asshole. Get to class or I'll Blizzara you there." He grabbed Riku's tray and briefly saw his friend smirk good-naturedly before the older teen left with a quick wave.

Thanks to Riku, now Sora would be the one late to class.

"What an idiot," Sora muttered, but his words lacked any real heat. The tiniest of smiles played on the edge of his lips.

Wow, I guess it's lucky that the cafeteria was too loud for anyone to really hear their conversation, huh? Ehehehh... sorry 'bout that. And now for some notes:

First off, for those of you who didn't notice, I have changed my penname. I used to be incessant insanity, and am now a quirky little tune. Sorry for all the confusion and such!

Second off, I had to post this. I just had to. Do you know how long it's been sitting, innocently and lonely, on my hard drive? No, you don't. Pity the poor thing.

Third off, FFNet makes it damn hard for a poor girl to upload a document. I had to re-save and reformat this thing at least four times for the website to accept it. Tch.

Fourth off, please give leave some comments; I hope you enjoyed!

Thank you for your time,

*a quirky little tune*