(Big, long A/N): Yeah... This one's a bit... 'different.'  As in, normally I don't write horridly depressing things (Please, just look at my personality, sheesh), but what can I say?  The mood struck me and the idea was there. 

Sooo, yes.  This one will live up to its R rating (unlike WIWYL, which I've decided to bump down to PG-13) without a doubt, though it probably won't involve much in the way of, ah, graphic things.  Though there will be some sexual situations, it's more geared towards what the entire storyline involves.  T___T  Angst in the future.  Lots and lots of it.

I was considering making this Leon/Cloud, but until I dunno.  I just figured the storyline fit Riku and Sora so much better.  Guu... Someday I write another pairing, I swear.  I'll also get back to OftB very, very soon.  I just got this idea and had to punch it into my computer for safe-keeping.  The idea is also based off of the movie Thirteen, so along with Kingdom Hearts and its characters not being mine, the overall idea of the story isn't mine either.  T__T  I simply took the ideas, put them together and made with the flowery words.  Well, okay, I did do more then that.  Sheesh, I'm not that awful.

Rather then having another long a/n at the bottom of this chapter, I'll also take this time to update the news regarding WIWYL's upcoming online-mange version.  Its start-up date had to be pushed back, sadly, due to the fact that I'll be gone on the spring band trip during that time.  It looks more like it'll get around to be putting up May 1st or so, if I'm lucky. 

Thanks goes (yet again) to my wonderful beta-readers: Chiiku (Okri) and Krey (Lady Kaiba….. Prof. Mapleoak…. The girl of many names.  ~__~)  I'd also like to announce the arrival of my third beta-reader, Daine!  Let's hope I don't scare any of my dear betas off, since I need them to survive.  *nods sagely*  

Enough of my babbling.  Here's the fic.

~Ori

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Pretty Little Boy

'Getting Closer to Satan'

            "Hey, Sooooo-raaaaaaa!"

            "Whaaaaa-aaaaat?!"

            Selphie giggled, hooking her slender thumbs through the belt loops of her denim skirt as Sora jogged towards them, a floppy-eared puppy leading the way.  As always, Sora's hair was somehow magically held up into his trademark spikes, even from the morning's jog.  Leaning over and resting his hands on his knees while he caught his breath, the brunette peered up at his friends, blue eyes catching the early morning sunlight.

            "Sora, we were about to leave without you!  If you don't hurry up, you know we're gonna be late," Kairi chided as she took the puppy's leash from Sora's hand.  Both her and Selphie were well aware of the fact that Sora only walked the silly dog because his neighbor was quite generous in paying him to do so, and Sora was always more then eager to make a dollar doing some odd job around the community.

            "Shit!  It's that late already?  Shit, shit, shit...." A shower of small curses followed Sora as he allowed Kairi to escort the dog back to its rightful home, Sora himself bolting through his own front door, ramming books, binders, and anything he could possibly have a chance of needing into his backpack.

            "Sora?  You haven't left yet?"  His mother's voice drifted in from the living room of the house.  "Cloud's been gone almost fifteen minutes already!"

            "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know!  I'm going as fast as I can!"  Rolling his eyes, Sora shouldered his backpack, trying not to wince at the strain on his back.  Honestly, someone should make the stupid things illegal for all the medical problems they caused...

            Bursting back through the front door after calling a hurried farewell to Bryna, Sora ran towards Kairi and Selphie, who stood impatiently waiting for him in front of his house.  The rest of Destiny Islands was waking up as well, the glare of the morning sun already causing the serene ocean to shimmer and glisten as the trio passed it on their way to the high school, moving as fast as their legs could possibly carry them.  By the time they had all reached their first period class, Sora, Selphie, and Kairi were panting from exhaustion and already eager to go home, if only to collapse on a much welcome bed.

            Sleep would be so nice...

            But no sooner had Sora slid into his desk did the bell ring and his teacher turn to address the class.  Wow, they'd really been cutting it close after all... Making a mental note not to spend so much quality time with cute and fluffy animals (It wasn't Sora's fault the dog was so adorable...), Sora listened with half an ear as the professor's bleak, monotone voice filled the room, holding the promise of another boring and uneventful day. 

            Well, almost.

            "...another week of learning and education..."

            Oh, gag me with a spoon.  Sora slumped lower in his seat, drumming his fingers idly against the cool surface of the desk.

            "...got an important announcement..."

            You've finally decided to pursue your life-long dream of becoming a nun?  Wonderful choice, Professor, I do commend you on your fine decision.  You've got your work cut out for you.

            "...to those less-observant of you, our newest edition to this fine learning community, Riku--"

            Huh?!  That was more then enough to wake Sora up.  He hadn't even noticed a new student when he'd come into the classroom!  Well, then again, Sora hadn't really been focusing on anything when he'd first barged into the 'hallowed halls of learning.'  Shaking his head to clear his mind, Sora glanced around the room for the new face.  It wasn't exactly hard to miss Riku.

            The silver haired teen had been assigned one of the best seats of the classroom.  Neatly tucked away in the back, right up beside a window, out-of-the-way and allowing any student to do nearly anything they wanted without the professor every (ever) even catching wind of it.  Sora also instantly took notice of the tight black turtleneck Riku wore, low slung denim jeans and plain silver chain hanging loosely around his neck.  Even from his own great distance from the new student, Sora had no trouble in labeling the apparently simple clothes as high-quality designer merchandise, judging by the vintage wash on the jeans and everything else he'd overheard Selphie and Kairi ever babble on about related to clothes.

            Cocking his head to the side, Sora struggled to get a better glimpse of Riku, who seemed more focused on what lay beyond the classroom's window rather then the twenty-some students inside of it who were currently gawking at him.  Tossing his silver hair over his shoulder, Riku slowly pulled his gaze away from the glass window, turning around and locking eyes with Sora instantly, causing the brunette to nearly jump in surprise.  He'd never seen eyes that color before...

            Riku had to force himself not to smile at the brunette, instead drawing his lips back into a seductive smirk and raising a silver eyebrow at the boy across the room from him.  As expected, Sora's eyes widened, he flushed, and snapped his attention back to the front of the room where their professor had already begun moving onto that day's topic.  This might be interesting... There was no doubt that the smaller boy was cute, to say the least.  Maybe...  Hm.  Riku disregarded the thought and shifted his eyes to look back out the window, listening to that morning's lecture with only half an ear.

~~~~~~~

            Riku, Riku, Riku, Riku.  That was all Sora seemed to be able to think about.  And it wasn't just Sora, either.  Everyone had seemed drawn towards Riku because of his looks alone and only more pulled in if they were one of the few lucky enough to manage to get a few words out of the boy.

            On of the few which Sora was not.

            Try as he might, Sora hadn't even been able to speak to Riku, let alone get the other boy to speak to him.  Not only did Sora not consider himself worth Riku's attention, seeing as the silver haired teen already seemed to have over half the school at his beck and call, but Sora was also hearing about it from Kairi and Selphie who had managed to get a word or two in with the mysterious new student.  And those few words were not making either girl very happy at all.

            Bitter, sarcastic, and rude was all anyone was able to get either girl to say about the school's newest edition, and Sora's friends narrowed their eyes any time he'd brought Riku up in conversation.  No matter how much he tried to badger the exact words of the conversation out of Selphie and Kairi, neither girl would budge and Sora was left in the dark.  As always.

            Sighing, Sora brought his attention back to the present, which had him sitting in the dimly lit kitchen, slab of clay in front of him just begging to be molded into something.  Well, who was Sora to deny the clay's wishes?  Smiling as the cool, slick substance slid under his fingers, Sora caressed and kneaded the gray mass until it was easily pliable, but even then he had no idea what he was making.  He rarely ever did, but he saw the clay as a quick release from whatever the day had dished out to him.

            "Ooh, that looks nice.  I can see your creativity just lighting up this room even as we speak, Sora!"

            Scowling at the lumpy mound of clay cupped in his hands, Sora refused to acknowledge his older brother, instead only responding with a growled, "Shut up, Cloud."

            "No, I'm serious.  That's real flare your piece has there!"

            "Shut up, Cloud."

            "It represents the deep, profound sense of self you've got, and I'm sure there's some hidden social undertone's deep within its muddy surface."

            "Shut--"

            "Gooood evening my wonderful children!"  Bryna grinned broadly as she entered the kitchen, dropping her small purse on the small kitchen table.  She was still dressed in her work clothes --the black skirt and white collared shirt of a waitress-- even as she opened the cupboard and pulled out a large can of ravioli, setting it on the counter.  Both Cloud and Sora had grown accustomed to eating at almost nine at night, when Bryna got home from her second job.  It was ridiculous, really, their mother having to run both an in-home hair salon as well as waiting tables in the evening in order to support two sons.  But she never uttered even one word of complaint, instead taking it all in stride and doing her best to show her boys that they could make the best of anything.

            Sora groaned at his mother's perky nature before wrapping his clay in a damp paper towel, obviously not going to get any further work done on his sculpture in the near future. 

            "So how was your day?" Bryna asked as she removed the microwave dinner from their flimsy cardboard packaging, studying the directions on the back of the packaging as she leaned against the counter.

            "Boring.  Uh, but Zell put a cherry bomb in the toilet.  Other than that?  Boring."  Bryna just laughed at that as she opened the microwave, placing one of the microwave dinners inside and jabbing the buttons of the microwave, rewarded by the mechanical whirring sound of the old machine starting up and heating the food inside of it.

            "You, Sora?"

            "Oh... Um...  There's a new student in my grade."

            "Ooh!  That sounds like fun!"

            "Yeah... Uh, hey, Mom?"

            "Mm?" 

            "I need new clothes."  Sora turned his attention towards the table as he cleaned up his clay supplies, acting as though there were nothing out of the ordinary about his request.  Usually, Sora and Cloud did back-to-school shopping at the beginning of the year and --with the exceptions of holidays and birthdays-- that was it for their splurging on clothing.  Bryna raised an eyebrow at her son's request, Cloud following the motion as both of them surveyed Sora, who still seemed intent on cleaning the kitchen table.

            "What's the matter with the clothes you have, sweetie?" Bryna asked as she smiled and removed the first TV dinner from the microwave, handing it to Cloud with a nod before placing another dinner in the microwave and pressing more buttons to start it up.

            "Nothing, but..."  Sora chuckled nervously, turning to look at his mother and flashing her a grin.  "Come on, Mom.  I look like a dork."

            "Well, if the shoe fits..."  Cloud swallowed his words along with his food as Bryna shot her eldest son a scowl before turning back to Sora.

            "I... guess.  If you really think you need clothes..."  Cloud shot his mother a look of disbelief, his full mouth being the only thing keeping him from blurting out the unfairness of everything.  Sora always got what he wanted... stupid kid.

            Sora's grin only widened, revealing more pearly white teeth as he embraced Bryna in a tight hug, giving her a quick peck on the cheek as thanks before bustling out of the kitchen, cradling his clay materials in his arms and whistling an upbeat tune, disappearing up to the second floor of their small house, oblivious to the jealous glare Cloud shot at his back.

            "Christ, Mom.  Pamper the little brat much?"

            "Cloud!"

            "I'm serious.  He doesn't need new clothes."

            "Oh come on.  I've definitely spoiled you every once in a while.  Don't get all bent out of shape just because it might be Sora's turn for once."  Choosing not to retort to his mother's slightly-less-than-true comment, Cloud simply narrowed his eyes and shrugged, stalking off towards the basement, where his own room was.  Bryna sighed as she found herself with one still-frozen microwave dinner waiting for Sora, the other heated one in her hands for herself.

            Teenagers.  They only grow moodier as time goes by.

            And as time went by, both Kairi and Selphie weren't oblivious to the slight changes in Sora's wardrobe.

            "Holy crap, Sora!  Where did you get those pants?!"

            "Oh.  My.  God.  And look at his shirt!  Sora, you've been holding out on us!" 

            All Sora could do was smile at his friends and sigh inwardly.  The added attentions of his two best friends were fine, but it wasn't exactly what he'd been aiming for when he'd gone out over the weekend and bought all the clothes he had.  Even though Tidus and Wakka, of all people, could do nothing but compliment him mindlessly on his outfit all Monday morning, Sora felt like crumbling to pieces when he received not even a glance from Riku's direction.

            Wait a minute...

            Sora hadn't even realized he'd wanted to attract Riku in the first place.  He'd just thought that when compared to the silver haired sex god of the school, Sora didn't seem like much of a catch.  So he'd seen no harm in simply livening up his clothes a little bit to try and even the odds.  No sense in having Riku bombarded with hordes of people he hardly paid attention to...  But by the time lunch had rolled around that afternoon, Sora hadn't once been able to catch Riku's eye and the brunette was more then just a little put-off by the whole thing. 

            "Hey, Sora!" both Kairi and Selphie chirped as their friend sat down across from them, situated next to Tidus and Wakka.  Sora smiled and waved in response, feigning interest in his food so as not to receive any questions.  It was always better to just do a little acting rather then having to confront people outright about a thing.  Especially if the people he'd be stuck confronting were girls.  No, it certainly didn't even help matters that Sora couldn't understand why not having the new student look or talk to him was making him so depressed. 

            The whole thing just made no sense at all.

            After several moments of listening to Tidus and Wakka prattle on mindlessly about some blitzball tournament or another, Sora switched his attention to listening in on Kairi and Selphie's conversation, which just happened to be on what swimsuits the girls were planning on buying for the upcoming spring months...  Not much of an improvement there.  But Sora couldn't help but stir uncomfortably in his seat, suddenly puzzled.  Huh... It felt as though something was... weird? 

            Glancing up from a lunch he'd barely even touched, Sora's eyes met with Riku's for the second time, once again from across a crowded room.  There was no mistaking it; Riku was looking straight at Sora and shot the boy another small smirk as blue eyes met aqua-marine, both boys holding the other's gaze, determined to be the last one standing in a competition which had gone undeclared.  Sora, however, having never been one for staring contests, blinked after a moment and was alarmed to find that he was no longer looking at Riku when he opened his eyes again.  Shaking his head and looking once again, Sora saw a familiar body with a head of silver hair gracefully making its way through a crowd of people, headed towards the hallway.

            "Um, I'll be... right back," Sora said, without looking at anyone from his table.  It wasn't exactly as if anyone would notice his absence for a few moments anyway.  There was no doubt in Sora's mind that his friends cared about him very much, as did many people in the school.  It was just that Sora didn't seem to quite fit into the perfect mold of any one particular group, his cheery and outgoing nature causing him to seem more of a social butterfly then he really was.

            Without another word, Sora soon found himself in the hallway of the school and just managed to catch sight of the heel of Riku's (most likely expensive and trendy) shoe disappearing around the doorway into the boys' bathroom, Sora quickly following behind.  Did he have the slightest idea what he was doing?  Hell no.  Sora just felt compelled to suddenly take on stalker-like attributes and follow the boy who seemed to have been pointedly ignoring him ever since Sora had been caught staring at him on Riku's first day there.  It wasn't like Riku owned the school.  What right would he have to tell Sora not to follow him anyway?  Besides, Sora could just happen to need to use the bathroom right when Riku did too.

            Whatever excuses Sora had been busy making up for himself dissipated as he entered the boys' bathroom, suddenly finding himself face-to-face yet again with Riku, who leaned against the tile wall, arms crossed, looking incredibly bored.  He turned his attention almost lazily towards Sora as he entered the room, a small smile tugging at the corners of Riku's mouth.

            "Huh.  What took you so long?"  Well, there it was.  Sora had been waiting for Riku's voice to hit his ears and there it was.  If the brunette hadn't been sitting on the borderline of obsession before, he most certainly was then.  Riku simply had to have had the most gorgeous voice Sora had ever heard, deep and smooth, reminding him vividly of summer, rain, and running water for some crazy and seemingly random reason.

            Needless to say, Sora's heart felt like it stopped beating all together and the younger boy was left speechless for a few seconds before finally coming to terms with his mouth and getting it to function properly again.  At least, as properly as he could have it function under the circumstances.

            "I, ah... I didn't know you were expecting me or any--"  Sora swallowed as he noticed Riku move away from the way, circling slowly around Sora like a tiger sizing up his prey.  What the hell was he doing?
            "Cute shirt."

            Sora's eyes flickered up from the ground towards Riku, the brunette having to do everything in his power to keep his jaw from dropping.  Okay, so Sora did like the small black and blue t-shirt he'd picked out from his new clothes.  He liked it a lot.  And he most certainly liked it even more now.

            "Eh... um..."  Way to go, Sora.  Just make more of an idiot of yourself.

            Pulling a pen out of his pocket, Riku carefully picked Sora's hand up from his side, cradling it in his own as he uncapped the pen and hurriedly wrote across it, the tickling sensation of the pen ink on his palm hardly comparing to the shocking jolt Sora had experienced at the sudden contact with his... idol?  What exactly was Riku?

            Angel?  Devil?  God?  He had to be something celestial, for there wasn't any other way to place the feeling in Sora's nearly-trembling hand.

            "I'm Riku, but you already know that, Sora."  Was that a grin Riku had just given him?  Sora felt like he was going to die.  "Here's my number.  Call me sometime, okay?  Maybe tell me where you shop or whatever."  And with the cap of a pen, another of Riku's trademark smirks, and the click of the bathroom door, Sora was left alone to stare at empty air, where only moments ago had stood Riku.  That same Riku half the school seemed absolutely crazy over.  That same Riku who had just scribbled his number down on Sora's hand!

            Sora finally released his hold on his body, allowing himself to squeal with delight and jump excitedly around the empty bathroom, face radiating with a grin that could've outdone the sun by a long-shot. 

            That afternoon, Sora was having a hard time keeping himself occupied until five-thirty.  That had been the time he'd decided to give Riku a call... He didn't want to seem too desperate after all.  The last thing Sora wanted Riku to think of him was that he was just another drooling fan which would turn into a puddle of mush upon contact with the silver haired boy.  ...Although Sora had little doubt in his mind that he was indeed that drooling fan which would turn into a puddle of mush upon contact, that still wasn't the point.  He had spent his entire afternoon trying to contain his excitement, but Kairi and Selphie had caught wind of it anyway.  Knowing that neither girl was a big fan of Riku for some reason, Sora simply said that he was looking forward to continuing his work on his sculpture (which he'd barely even begun) and that the number printed neatly on his palm was for that of a French tutor (which he didn't need at all since he had a B+ in the class and was perfectly content with that.)

            When the digital numbers on the microwave finally read 5:28, Sora decided he would just round up and call Riku anyway.  So picking the receiver up from the cradle of the phone, Sora held it to his ear, locking it in place with his shoulder once he'd dialed Riku's number, studying his palm carefully to make sure he'd gotten it right.

            Ring.  Ring.  Ring.

            Maybe Sora had smudged one of the numbers accidentally...

            Ring.  Ring.  Ri--

            Or not. 

            "Hello, you've reached Vincent's Pizzeria.  How may I help you today?"

            Sora gaped...

            ...And then promptly slammed the receiver back down onto the phone cradle with a bang that echoed across the walls of the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~

            There was no doubt about it.  Judging from the wicked grin of triumph Sora had received from Riku the next day, the other boy was well aware of Sora's failed call.  Sora, meanwhile, was still in absolute shock.  On top of that, he was just absolutely livid that Riku would pull a stunt like that.  What had Sora ever done to that bastard anyway?!  It was easy to see how Kairi and Selphie could be so angry at Riku, even though Sora was still in the dark about what all had gone on between the three of them.  Not that it mattered though.  As far as Sora could see, there was nothing good about Riku other then his looks, and it was a well-known fact that those wouldn't save anyone in the end.

            Sora decided not to share the entire evil prank with any of his close friends and tried his best to revert back to his old cheery mask, laughing and joking at the lunch table just as he always did.  He wasn't even completely oblivious to the fact that more people seemed to be flocking around that table, though it was probably only because of Sora's sudden change in style.  And unlike Riku, Sora responded happily to anyone who addressed him and vowed not to pull any wicked stunts like the silver haired boy had done to him.

            Sora no longer bothered trying to make eye contact with Riku or anything remotely of the sort.  Riku was as good as invisible after the entire phone ordeal and Sora seemed to be in no hurry to change anything back.

            Little did he know...

            Riku was entirely puzzled by the whole thing.  He would have to have been the dumbest person on the face of the earth if he hadn't noticed Sora's lingering gazes the previous days and Riku had also admitted to himself that the brunette somehow managed to catch his interest as well.  But hell, there was no denying that Sora's new taste in clothing definitely was helping to bring out the boy's natural beauty as well as bring in several of his own die-hard fans.

            How very, very interesting.

            Something in his mind had registered Sora as what Riku would call a 'threat.' Hah.  The boy looked like the idea of swatting a fly would just flat out mortify him.  Hardly what Riku would normally expect of someone who seemed to suddenly be attracting as many people as Sora was.  But with the confident personality and warm smile he always seemed to have, it was little wonder that Sora had started drawing a gaze or two from Riku, even though the brunette was then determined to ignore him.

            Riku simply decided that something would just have to be done about that.  End of story, no questions asked. 

           So it was that Riku was found leaning against Sora's locker after school that Friday, the same bored look on his face, arms still crossed over his chest, looking as though he had better things and people to be doing at that moment.  It didn't take long for Sora to show up and the brunette was thoroughly surprised by the sudden visitor, though his stubborn nature kept him from even giving Riku a passing glance as he leaned over and dialed the correct combination, gaining access to his locker and switching between books he needed to take home and books he didn't. 

            Riku seemed perfectly willing to wait there all day, but he absolutely hated it when people didn't pay attention to him and Sora had no idea that he was pissing off the older boy to such extents.  Zipping his backpack shut, Sora stood up from the ground and closed his locker, turning to go.  He was stopped by a hand which suddenly descended upon his shoulder, turning him gently but forcefully back around to face Riku.

            Riku smiled.  "Sora."

            Sora scowled.  "Riku."

            The two boys regarded each other with the same expression for a few moments before Riku's smile turned into a smug expression as he resumed leaning against the row of lockers, suddenly seeming very interested in his nails, which, Sora noted, were perfect.  Honestly, was there but one thing about Riku that wasn't absolutely perfect?

            Oh, that's right.  That little thing called personality.

            "So I was thinking that maybe this weekend we could walk around the island?  You know, you could show me around if you're not too busy."  Sheesh.  Sora realized that on top of everything else, he would kill to have Riku's charismatic skills.  Not to mention that voice... Ugh, not again with the bastard's voice.

            "I'm sure you have plenty of people from your little fan-club who would be more then happy to give you a guided tour."  Hah.  So there, Riku.

            Sora, Sora, Sora.  You think that hurt me?  Pathetic.

            " Come on now, Sora.  You and I both know that those lackeys are just out for sex appeal.  They wouldn't know how to handle me.  Here, I'll just give you my numbe--"

            "Need I remind you of what happened the last time you gave me your number?  No, Riku.  I don't want it."

            Ouch.  O-kay, Riku was willing to admit that was just a little cold.  Then again, he did deserve it, so he just raised an eyebrow and smiled before holding out his pen towards Sora.  This would have to prove something...

            "Okay then, you give me your number and I'll call you."

            Sora was, needless to say, slightly taken aback by all this.  Did Riku really feel sorry for what he did?  Sora had never been one to hold a grudge against anyone, no matter what it was they'd done...  He certainly didn't want to start with Riku, of all people, but he'd been so mean!  Instantly, the though popped into Sora's head that he could always just fight fire with fire and write down a fake number on Riku's hand to have the other boy call and feel like a fool, just as Sora had done.  But...

            Even Sora couldn't help but smile slightly as he jotted out a few numbers across Riku's opened palm.  His phone number --his real phone number-- was now literally in Riku's hands and everything would be up to the other boy.  No pressure for Sora; none whatsoever. 

            Perfect?  Maybe.  It looked as though Sora would just have to wait and see.

................................................................................................................................................

            So what does everyone think so far?  …*looks around hopefully*