Esa Chica

I: The Cabin Across The Lake

Strange things usually happened when Riku allowed Axel to drag him anywhere. Things that could possibly scar a man of very manly status for the rest of his life happened when Riku let Axel drag him out of their cabin at midnight, to go see some blonde kid across the lake. Riku snorted when Axel told him where they were going, the redhead already buckling his life jacket and handing one over to his frowning companion. If he were to be completely honest, Riku didn't want to attend the party. First of all, it would be a bunch of people he had never once seen in his life, and second…well Riku just hated people in general. He especially hated the way Axel nagged at him about getting some 'action'. He would damn well have sex when he wanted, not when the stupid, freakishly tall man he called his best friend told him to.

"All those kids are tools," Riku scoffed, taking the life jacket and putting it on anyway. Riku had learned long ago that it was just better not to fight against the redhead's neurotic ideas and just go alone with them, though seldom were the times when Riku didn't complain every step of the way. He watched Axel climb into the boat, looking like the scaredy cat he was, and Riku just didn't understand why the man went through all this trouble just to get some ass. The redhead hated getting wet, yet he was risking falling into the pitch black water for absolutely no reason. Or well, Riku thought so anyway. If you'd ask Axel, he'd make this all seem like some noble journey.

"Shut up Riku, you haven't even left the camp site since we got here," Axel picked up a paddle, settling himself onto a little bench and watched Riku with round eyes, begging him to just get in the damn boat "Come on, have some fun! This is our graduation trip!" With a groan of resignation, the silver haired man jumped in, making the little boat sway crazily and Axel squawked, grabbing onto the sides with an iron grip. "Fuck, be careful!" The man glared viciously while Riku laughed, tossing the paddle into the water and splashing his friend. "Fuck off Riku!" Axel tried with no avail to block the water droplets as they went straight for his body like little heat seeking missiles. The way Riku saw it was that if Axel was dragging him somewhere where he'd be more uncomfortable than a fat man at a muscle man contest, he'd make the entire trip there a living hell.

And make it hell he did. For most of the ride Axel struggled to move the boat on his own, Riku just sitting there to add dead weight and strain to the other man's muscles, his head thrown back as he star gazed. When Axel finally had enough, and threatened to make Riku eat the end of his paddle, the man finally gave up and decided to actually help. This made the remainder of the trip go by a lot quicker and in no time they struck land, the boat coming to an abrupt stop. Quickly and without wasting anytime, Riku stripped off the life jacket and tossed it back into the boat, leaving the job of docking it to Axel.

The other side of the lake was pretty much the same. Sand, grass, trees, cabins. There was nothing to see here that couldn't be enjoyed on their own side, yet Axel insisted on coming here. With a sigh, Riku turned in the direction of loud, booming music and his eyes fell upon quite a grand place, not so much a cabin but more along the lines of a mansion for hicks. He stared in awe at the hugeness of the house as Axel came up to his side, slapping his arm to get him out of his daze. "This is the place, come on, let's go inside!" the redhead was way too enthusiastic about this for Riku to feel even remotely safe. In his book, anything Axel enjoyed was automatically crossed off his list of good things in life.

At the door, they were greeted by a tiny blonde, his face an emotionless slate and Riku tried to fight off the heebie-jeebies. Axel smiled brightly down at the blonde and that emotionlessness vanished at the sight of the redhead, a teasing smirk making its way onto the blonde's face. That was Riku's cue to get the hell out of there before he was caught in the whirlwind of flirting Axel was about to spew from his big mouth. With as much grace as 100 kilometer winds, Riku snuck away from the two and ventured off deep into the house. He could hear Axel saying some snide comment about him, but he ignored it. Let the man show off for his little mate, after all it's what big, dumb primates did.

There were a lot of people packed into the house and the man wondered just where they all came from. Surely not this many teenagers were out camping, right? Whatever the case, Riku didn't really give a damn. At this moment in time, all he wanted was for someone to hand him a beer. So, he walked aimlessly, searching the large house for the kitchen. There was just too much people to make this an easy task, bodies pushed up against every wall and filling every hall way.

Personally, he was more of the outdoorsy type. It was the whole reason he agreed to come camping with Axel for their graduation trip in the first place. He wanted to get away from his cramped house and over bearing brothers and just enjoy the gifts of nature. At no point did Axel mention crashing parties and meeting people. Riku was not good at either of those things. He couldn't crash parties because he usually liked to blend into the crowd, never one to be loud and obnoxious while Axel was practically that way since his mother popped him out. Meeting people was another problem entirely. Riku was anti-social to say the least. He did not like people and once the people got to know him, they usually didn't like him that much either, it was usually just girls that stuck around even after he'd said all he could. He was a little rude and very sarcastic, his sense of humor something that only the people that had known him for the greater half of his life understood. None of his girlfriends ever thought his jokes were funny. In Riku's eyes he wasn't mean, he was just very blunt and honest. Was that so bad? Clearly it was, because he had no friends except for Axel and of course his stupid pet rat, Mickey. He'd never understood why Axel bought it for him, but reluctantly he'd gotten attached to the little rodent.

Finding the kitchen proved to be a lot more difficult than he originally thought and slowly the urge to drink a nice cold beer left his body and he ventured out a large door. Luckily, it led him into the backyard of the house and not into some labyrinth of rooms and what not. There were only two other people out there and Riku was about to leave until one turned and spotted him. Great, he thought, now they're going to talk to me and I'll be stuck out here.

"Hey! I've never seen you before…you're not crashing the party are you?" The girl with burgundy hair asked and laughed happily, tugging her friend over by the arm. The other girl had short, brown hair, all tousled and messy. Riku thought she was kind of cute, while the other one's pin straight hair was tied away from her face. The silver haired man didn't know if she was Asian or if the pony tail was tied too tight. Regardless, she was pretty hot too. Not so bad, he thought as he shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. Oh how his mom hated this response. "No matter…Would you tap this shit?" The girl grabbed her friend and basically shoved the tiny girl into Riku's chest, both of them making some sort of sound when their bodies crashed. Riku looked down as wide, terror filled, blue eyes stared up at him and he smirked.

"I guess," Riku responded lazily as the girl backed away, a bright blush turning her head into a giant replica of a tomato. The redheaded one was much curvier than her friend, yet Riku couldn't tear his eyes away from the seemingly very shy girl. He'd always been the type to ogle the hotties, but something about this girl was beautiful in a completely different way. She seemed to be very self conscious, rubbing her arm constantly and staring straight at the floor. The other girl, the louder of the two, slapped her friend on the arm.

"See! I told you So!" Her smile was bright, looking like she'd just won the lottery and the other girl just lifted her head to roll her eyes, not saying anything vocally. Her body language however, said that she was not at all happy to be standing there under the too-bright porch light in front of some stranger, while her friend asked him if he'd take her to bed. Riku couldn't help but chuckle, making the brunette glare at him before her friend started to walk away from them. "I'll be back, I'm gonna go get some drinks! You two stay here and chat!" and before either of them could disagree, she had already disappeared behind the large door Riku had just come through.

"So…" Whoever had said silence was golden had obviously never been in this situation before. Riku felt awkward for the first time in his nineteen year old life. He had never really had to speak to girls; the ones he had dated in the past always seemed more than happy to do all the talking. He never really listened to them though, all their stories rather boring or just another means to try and impress him. This girl however, just stood there not saying anything, staring off into the distance. It was almost as if she didn't care that Riku, who would say he was rather attractive, was standing there patiently awaiting the onslaught of one-sided dialogue. It kind of irked him, the way she was just ignoring him.

"So, what?" Finally, some recognition! The tiny girl's voice wasn't as high-pitched as Riku had imagined in his head, already he had been preparing himself for squeals piercing enough to make your eardrums bleed. In fact, her voice wasn't high pitched at all; it was rather smooth and boyish. Riku found that, in a strange way, it was rather adorable.

"Are you always this talkative?" He asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest, really not knowing what to do with the dangling limbs. The brunette shrugged her shoulders, before looking at Riku. She wasn't spasming over his looks or anything; she hadn't even asked to braid his hair. To say this was a first would be nothing but the truth and to say it slightly caught the man off guard would be nothing but the truth as well. All the women Riku had met in his life had always had a strange affinity with his long hair, even some men seemed to want to run their fingers through it, granted not one of those men had been straight but that was besides the point. It was odd to finally meet a female that didn't like him. He figured she was probably a lesbian or something.

"Well when with strangers, yes," The girl's voice had a bite to it and Riku finally realized what it felt like for someone to be completely disinterested in you. In retrospect, almost all the people Riku spoke to lost interest after an onslaught of rude comments and sarcastic remarks, but at first they were usually tripping over themselves to keep conversation flowing. It was strange, but he found himself wanting to actually talk to this girl.

"Then let's not be strangers, hm?" He smiled, hoping that it would work its magic on her and get the girl to show some interest. Not to say he was conceited or anything, oh heavens no. Riku was the humblest of them all, or maybe not really. He guessed one's ego would eventually grow, after years of people feeding it, so his self love was justifiable. Regardless, his smile was what usually sealed the deal on anything. Adults and teenagers all the same, swooned at the sight of his pearly whites. The very same smile had gotten him out of so many jams; he figured it would work in this situation as well. "I'm Riku Fernandez. Yeah, I don't look Spanish, I know." He watched the girl blink, staring at his outstretched hand for a few seconds before breaking out into a smile herself, laughing and grabbing his hand. They weren't as soft as girl hands usually were, and it was a refreshing change. Those flowery smells and mucky creams girls usually wore gave Riku a headache, so feeling a hand that wasn't lathered in gunk was nice.

"I'm Sora, and I'm here against my will." Her smile was nice, even nicer than his and the man just couldn't stop staring at it. Her laughter was also nice, warm and filled with sincerity, like she was actually, truly happy. Riku liked the sound of it, having spent his life surrounded by people who were miserable most of the time. It was one of the main reasons he was friends with Axel, the redheaded man always joyful and having something to laugh about. This girl's smile seemed to say the same thing. She didn't appear to have a worry in the world.

"You don't like parties?" Riku took advantage and stepped a little closer, closing the large gap in between them and standing right beside the girl. She inhaled deeply before scratching at her hair, Riku noting that most of her movements weren't very feminine. He figured she was one of those tomboy type girls, and again the thought of her being a lesbian came up.

"Not the parties Kairi likes…they aren't the type I'd attend," She smiled a little wobbly at Riku, but that was probably because he was staring at her so intently. He was trying to figure out if she was straight or not, but something was telling him he'd have to ask. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, her friend, who Riku guessed was Kairi came back with three beers. She smiled at them as she approached, handing a bottle to her friend and giving the other to Riku. His wanting to drink had dissipated a while ago, but for the sake of hanging around Sora a while longer, he took it with a small thanks.

"So, did I miss the intros?" The redhead asked but Riku was too busy watching Sora. The small girl placed the top of the beer in her mouth, uncapping it with her teeth and spitting out little metal tab. Kairi went silent and Riku realized she was staring at her friend in horror. He wondered why, because personally he was amazed with the trick. The man could barely bite into ice cream without cringing; he wondered how Sora could bite the caps off beer so easily. "Sora, would you be more lady-like!" Kairi's voice sounded strained and her lips were a tight line, her eyes almost bugging out of her head. Sora seemed to have just realized what she had done and she blushed crazily, staring at Riku as if to apologize. The man was confused, not knowing why this was such a big deal.

"No, it's cool. That was kinda hot," he winked at Sora, making her blush even deeper and Kairi laughed a little nervously, though her eyes sparkled with something that made Riku fear for his life. It made her look devious and almost as if she had a hidden trick up her sleeve or something. Whatever it was, Riku couldn't really read too much into it, she was jumping into her own introduction. Riku's guess that she was Kairi had been right, he also found out they were at this party for a cousin of Sora's. Apparently, they had all graduated as well.

"I had to drag her here! You know, maybe she'd find a summer love," Kairi giggled, nudging Sora and the girl choked on her beer, spraying it all along the side of Riku's face. The man closed his eye tightly to keep any of the liquid from going in, his hand wiped most of the residue away before Sora had a mini heart attack and began to furiously wipe at his face. It appeared that she was going to take off her shirt to help dry him, but Kairi stopped her quickly, tugging the tight material back down onto her body. When he was sure no beer would drip into his eye, he opened it again and watched the two friends. Something about their interactions was odd to him, Kairi seemingly had to keep reminding Sora to be a girl and the other constantly apologizing though looking very frustrated.

"It's fine…no harm done," Riku was cringing on the inside, fighting off the urge to freak out because he hated the smell of beer and now it was all over his face and hair. Sora's sorrow filled face however tugged at his heart strings and made him feel guilty for causing the tiny girl grief. He smiled at her, hoping it would bring reassurance and make her own smile light up her tanned skin. "I happen to like it when girls spit on me," Riku shrugged, his eyes never leaving Sora's face until the girl started to laugh. Her friend Kairi laughed as well before throwing her arm over her friend's shoulder.

"Well Soso, it appears we've found your summer love!"

"Oh gosh, Kairi shut up! I don't need a summer love," Sora was blushing even more, though Riku didn't know how much darker she could get. He found her embarrassment endearing and watched her cheeks burn red with gusto. He didn't know much about summer loves as far as those went, but he did know a few things about flings and if he were honest, as he usually was, he wouldn't mind having one with Sora.

After all, Axel did tell him he needed to loosen up.

A/N: The Title means 'That Girl' in Español.
I don't know what it is, but something about Sora as a girl just makes me giggle. Don't worry though, this is Sora/Riku yaoi story...Oh shucks, I'll let you guys just find out wtf is going on as we go along! Just know, I blame Kairi.

I just couldn't help myself, I needed to write a Soriku story, seeing as they are my second favorite pairing (after Akuroku). I've had this story half written, just sitting on my hard drive for a while. Took some time, while in a very "I MISS SUMMER!" mood, and finished it up.
I must warn y'all though, this story isn't too high on my priorities list. I have Brotherly Love, Break Night and Just Between Us before this.
However, if enough people are actually interested, I'll see what I can do (maybe bump it up on the list -nudgenudgewinkwink-). I have lots of ideas for this!

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this and any of my other works (:

-Love, Sharmander.