oooookay so its been a REALLY long time since i last updated i know i know, and im soooo sorry, hah its not like anyone reads this story anyways...okay bad joke but still, this one took me some time to write, 7086 words actually,alot longer than the last chapter, i just felt like i had to make it up to you guys. so as an added bonus...FREE STEAMY HOT FRESH BAKED COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! everyone who reviews by the way sorry but with so little reviews...i lacked motivation, okay okay enough meaningless rambling, ONTO THE STORY

and i do not own kingdom hearts or any song i used in this yada yada yada.

I Thought Things Were Normal Again

Chapter 15

The Voices In The Hallways

Holy shit…holy fucking shit. How in the hell is this happening? I mean…Aerith?! I was more than surprised at first when I saw her even though I didn't show it but dear lord…this only makes me wonder who else could be here…Leon? Yuffie maybe? What about the rest of the organization XIII cronies? What if they never really faded? What if Xemnas unleashes some sort of army on the school? I mean…I just cant believe this crap is happening all over again. All the nobodies' some bodies are my teachers. And the most evil bastard of all just happens to be leading them…don't worry Sora…just play it cool. I'm sure if Aerith is here then Leon and Yuffie should be here too…and if you're lucky then no one will notice you…just keep it frosty…heh it IS kinda funny though…This all started happening when I Thought Things Were Normal Again.

I looked one more time back down at my schedule at the black fine print that read 'twelfth period art with Mr. Ansem'. oh no…oh dear god no. wasn't it enough that I even had to come back to this hellhole? wasn't it enough that I had to have her and him rip what little of a heart I had left? And WASN'T IT ENOUGH that I had already been through this once before? Heh I wish it was but…I guess not. And then I remembered… I'm back. After a year of being gone…I'm finally back. I looked at the clock on the far wall that read 7:05 and blew out a sigh while shaking my head.

"fuck…" it's all I really could say right now but it's all I really needed to. Fuck for the familiar faces I'll be running into all day. Fuck for the future…fuck for the past…fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

Class wouldn't start for another half an hour so I decided to do some exploring to refresh myself. So with a shift of my beanie on my hair to shade my eyes, and a readjustment of my backpack I continued onward with my head down as to avoid any sort of attention.

While I scaled the stairs to the second floor I began to feel uneasy from the barrage of glances from the passing students, piercing through my skin to my very core as if prying deep into my soul, seeing through every aspect of my being. The dagger sharp glances thrown at me with every passing person -be it a teacher or a fellow student- were more than enough to cause a bead of sweat to cascade down the side of my face, tracing along my anatomy only for it to drip down to the floor in an ever ending suicide. And to make even it better, they just kept on staring with the occasional-

"hey was that…?"

Or

"was that…Sora?"

Or even the, "oh my gosh its him!" from the off chance group of girls passing by in hordes like an army of bumble bees.

My lips tensed together harder and harder as I walked down the hallway with my eyes still glued to the floor, trying my hardest to keep silent in order to give them no further initiative to run up to me and scream a hello in my face, or bum rush me with hugs and high fives. I knew that this was going to happen…but I guess it was inevitable for the fact that I was so popular back before the storm, however badly I may detest the fact. I may have been happy and glad that I had so many friends back then, but as of right now this very moment…I wish nobody even knew I existed…

The awkward glances kept coming and coming until I rounded a corner and-

OOMPH!

"ow"

"oh…sorry" I said not daring to lift my eyes off the ground. While not daring to peel my eyes from the floor, I noticed it was now littered with books, binders, and loose papers.

"oh, no, it's okay, I wasn't watching where I was going."

hmm…a feminine voice…full of pep and cheer. With slight hesitation I lifted my head up only to see…

"(GASP) oh my gosh! Sora!" and just then my eyes locked with a pair of rather pretty emerald green ones. I tried walking the other direction but she caught me by the arm and turned me around. I painfully tried to put on a smile and slowly brought my eyes back to hers.

"(sigh) hey selphie…"

And before I knew it she had caught me up in a bone crushing hug. The second one today.

"oh my gosh I can't believe you're really here! Where have you been the whole last year? I mean gosh we've all missed you soooo much." she said with extra emphasis, " Especially Wakka and Tidus, but wouldn't you know? They've been driving me up the freakin wall with their constant competition and whatnot. (sigh) I guess they needed something to get their minds off how great of a competitor you and Riku were and…" she cut off and pulled away looking me up and down with her hands on her hips.

"hmm…Gosh you got tall." She lowered her arms and a small smile spread on her delicate features. Her emerald eyes were up to the brim with happiness. But then I took a quick glance at myself. wouldn't you know? I did get pretty tall.

"yeah…I guess" I said while rubbing the back of my neck and then she perked up again.

"OH! and Kairi, oh my freakin gosh Kairi" she started again shortly bouncing on her toes.

"Wait until you see her." she stopped and winked, " she's gotten pretty hot ifI do say so myself" she stopped again and softly elbowed me in the ribs.

"uh…yeah." heh yeah…the bad things is…I already knew that, but I just kept quiet to humor her.

"yeah and since I'm with her all the gosh darn time all I ever hear is 'I wonder what he's doing' or even 'do you think he remembers me?' And then the guys. Oh my gosh all the boys have been trying to get to her nonstop, but she's just so stuck on you ya know? I mean every day I would just sit on the side lines with my arms crossed watching guy after guy come up trying to ask 'miss princess' on a date." she stopped and made air quotes with her fingers.

"But all I could really do was just smirk while she turned them all down one by one. She almost caved in a couple times though…" she ended in a thoughtful manner while stroking her chin for added affect.

This was getting painfully unbearable. It was a wonder to me how Kairi could even stand being around this girl. I'm seeing her mouth move but all I'm hearing is just blah blah freakin blah.

"hmm…gosh Sora you're being awfully quiet"

Oh so you finally noticed huh? I thought to myself quietly.

"oh um…yeah I was just thinking…"

"oh I see…watcha thinking about?"

I turned my head away from her nosiness, but what did I really try and get out of that? She would only walk in front of my field of vision and place herself in the middle of everything. I had to lie, sorry Selph but today is not the day.

"oh umm…you know…stuff…"

"oh really? What kinda stuff?" she said with a tilt of her head.

"uh…you know…guitar…blitz ball…heh."

I wasn't really thinking about either of those things, on the contrary I was thinking of taking a nice large roll of tape and using the whole thing on her mouth. It may sound mean but you don't even know…

"OOOHHH! I never knew you played guitar" she lit up with a smile and clapped her hands together.

"will you play for me sometime? Please sora? Pleeeeeeeeeease?" she begged while pulling on my shirt and giving me the sad puppy eyes.

"(sigh) fi-"

"I'll even bring Kairi so you guys could hook up" she cut me off and winked. This girl is an enigma…so I sighed, rolled my eyes and shook a small nod yes. Her eyes grew big and she gave me another bone crushing, yet affectionate, hug. third one today.

"ooooooh thank you thank you thank you! Okay swing by my house this weekend, I'll throw a little party for you coming back" she stepped back and giggled a little bit.

"well okay sora, I gotta go, I have s'more stuff to do, so I'll see you around kay? Bye bye." she walked off with a small wave and I thanked every possible entity out there that that was finally over.

(sigh) finally…I don't know if I could take a full day of this. I thought to myself and began exploring the hallways once again.

--

Only five minutes into walking and the piercing stares started coming again by the boatload. I mean really, what was with these people? don't they have anything better to do than stare at me as if I were on fire? Apparently not…and then a memory occurred to me.

Flashback

I remembered Riku, Kairi, and I sitting at the paopu tree one day.

We all looked out towards the horizon that was painted with splotches of orange, blue, yellow, red, and gold. It was our tradition to end each day like that. But then Riku broke the silence of our thoughts and sighed while leaning against the tree with his arms crossed.

"it's always the same old thing…day after day…nothing ever changes around here…" he paused for a moment.

"it's as if we're just caged animals… Set to a routine each day, not able to see what's on the outside world." he stood away from the tree and stepped to the edge of the smaller island while facing the sunset, becoming brilliantly lighted in the oranges and yellows.

"but I know…someday…someday soon" he paused and looked back at Kairi and me.

"we'll leave…" he turned back towards the horizon and continued.

"I want nothing more than to leave this cage…to be free…with us three, there's nothing we cant do." within that sentence he rose one of his hands and clenched it to a fist.

I lifted my head slightly and looked at kairi. The look on her face was full of concern. But I'll admit, she looked amazing in the sunset, even back then. And then she spoke.

"you've been thinking a lot about this haven't you?" he turned around and smiled a soft smile towards her. I noticed a gleam in his eyes.

"yes…no…maybe. Ever since you came along I've just been thinking why we're here…on this island. And if so, then our's is only a piece of something much greater…right?" he looked at me. I shrugged.

"I dunno" he looked back out at the sunset.

"exactly"

I sat up from my laying position on the tree and took a good hard look at him. His icy cold eyes were screaming for something. Poor riku…in my mind I was always trying to figure out what you wanted. But then it came clear to me…you always wanted someone to love…so in that aspect you decided to take the one that I loved for yourself isn't that right…? You dirty son of a bitch. Is that what you wanted as a change? To break my heart in exchange for yours? For me to die inside while you live with one full of life? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED RIKU?! TO GET BACK AT ME?! YOU SAID YOU WERE ALWAYS JEALOUS OF ME! IS THAT YOUR KIND OF PAYBACK YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH?! IS THIS HOW YOU WANTED IT?!

I snapped back to real life with my gut filled to the brim with anger and hatred. So much that I even felt like throwing up. So much that my head began to swirl in a mix of colors and emotions and I couldn't think straight.

"ah!…uuugh…hhhnnnn" I knew people were looking at me but I didn't care. Let the bastards look as much as they want. I grabbed my head in agony and stumbled through the hallway screaming-

"AHHH! RIKU! WHERE ARE YOU YOU BASTARD?!"

I stood up still doubled over while leaning against the locker to my left with my hand still clutched to my head in painful agony.

"RIKU! DON'T YOU FUCKING HIDE FROM ME! I'M COMING FOR YOU, YOU SHIT FACED COCK SUCKER!!"

I took the hand that I was leaning on the locker with and pummeled it deep into the cold steel, bending and breaking it with every hit until my fist began to drip blood red. My blood felt cold as steel, and I was in the mood for a massacre. And as I proceeded with the glances still piercing into my skin, I turned the corner and walked a few steps into the branching off hallway. And you'll never guess who I saw at the other end. A head of long silver hair and a pair of icy aquamarine eyes. The bastard himself. Did I fail to mention that he was also rather popular back before this whole ordeal? Well I noticed he had a little posse of old friends behind him as he walked towards me. Tch, like that scared me. But I knew it scared him. I walked up to him slowly with a twisted smile while I watched him hesitantly step each step, carefully walking as if trying not to set off a floor of mousetraps. And to make it even better, I saw him gulp and a bead of sweat flew from his temple, down to his chin, and down to the floor ending in a nice, barely audible drip.

we stopped a good three meters from each other and a crowd began to form around us. I didn't bother to notice, for my main objective right now was revenge. oh sweet sweet revenge…heh, you will be mine.

"you're one dirty, cheap, rotten, pile of shit you know that?…" I narrowed my eyes and spat at him while softly nodding at each adjective. He made a face that screamed that he was appalled and incredibly hurt at the same time. I scanned my eyes across the ever growing crowd while my ears picked up traces of "oh my god" and "what's going on with these guys?" and even a loud obnoxious yell of "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!"

"But…but sora-"

"don't even start you dirty son of a bitch!"

There was a large "ooooooooo" from the crowd.

"BUT SORA I--OOMPH"

Before I realized it I had flown full force at him and landed a heavy punch right across his jaw and laid him out on the floor. He looked at me from the ground with tears in his eyes while holding a hand up to his jaw in disbelief. Oh you better believe it Riku, it really happened.

"(pant, pant, pant)" my breathing grew heavy from the adrenaline pumping through my veins at each pump of blood. And then my voice became dangerously silent along with the crowd around us.

"Is this how you wanted it Riku? Is this what you wanted? To betray your best friend, no, scratch that, EX best friend just so you could feel a little better about yourself? To cut everyone else down just so you stay on top?"

His face contorted as tears fell from his eyes drip by drip, leaving a trail of wetness upon each cheek.

"Sora…" he choked through his tears but started again.

"pl-luh-ease (hic) listen to me(hic hic)" but I rose a hand to cut him off.

"no Riku…there's nothing left for me to hear. You back stabbed and deserted me. You betrayed and defiled me. You knew I loved kairi, and you knew she loved me back." I stopped for a breath while the crowd gasped in astonishment and then I walked up to him and knelt at his side so my face was inches from his.

"so why did you do it?" from this close I saw deep into his eyes and I saw an old piece of Riku that I hadn't seen since before we came back to the island: sadness. It was clearly written all over his face from his tear stained cheeks, to his speechlessness. It was there, plain as day. I turned my ear toward him in a mock attempt to get him to answer.

"…? you don't know?" he remained speechless.

"mmhmm…well doesn't that make a lot of sense…? You kissed her and you don't even know why…"

Still he remained silent.

"so I guess…you did it just to piss me off? Heh heh…well my dear Riku" I paused and looked around at the crowd. Everyone was watching intently. Some girls had their eyes wide with shock with their hands over their mouths. Some guys had their brows lined in concern. I shut my eyes and listened to the steady stale breath of the crowd as one going in and out all the while noticing the air becoming thinner and thinner making it harder and harder to breath. I took all of this in in a matter of a few seconds and then dove right back into Riku's icy blue depths.

"It definitely worked…" I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled his face even closer.

"don't fuck with me Riku. You played with fire once and I let you get away with it. But next time I'll make sure to burn you alive." I let go and pushed him back further into the ground and stood up. And as if right on call, the bell rang for first period. I looked at the bell, then back at riku, pushed my way through the crowd, and walked away. But I swear before I got out of earshot I heard Riku mumble "I'm sorry…" it was a pity really… I almost regretted what I had just done…almost.

First period came around and I walked ever so casually into the classroom. Heck I even had a little hop to my step while I reminisced to five minutes earlier where I had unleashed hells army on riku. Aaaahhhh revenge was sweet. Room IX was a rather nice room…large with a wonderful arrangement of guitars in the far wall. But then I remembered…Mr. Myde. I had no idea if these somebody's were on the good side or the bad side but as of now I definitely had to keep a guard up. So without another thought I walked over and picked up an acoustic guitar. Fender…my favorite. I strummed a few chords to get the juices flowing and began to play. (/watch?vGk1BrKn8ci8 here's the url if you wish to listen along)

Leave me out with the waste

This is not what I do

it's the wrong kind of place

To be thinking of you

it's the wrong time

For somebody new

it's a small crime

And I've got no excuse

My voice rang throughout the slowly filling classroom, and I noticed a few stares coming my way.

Is that alright yeah…

To give my gun away when its loaded?

Is that alright yeah…

If you don't shoot it how am I suppose to hold it?

Is that alright yeah…

To give my gun away when its loaded?

Is that alright…with you…

More and more students entered the room quietly in order to listen to me. Each person was more quiet than a mouse and the atmosphere in the room became more and more dense. I kept my head down for the remainder of the song.

Leave me out with the waste

This is not what I do

it's the wrong kind of place

To be cheating on you

it's the wrong…time

And she's pulling me through

it's a small crime…

And I've got no excuse

And is that alright?…yeah

To give my gun away when its loaded?

Is that alright? Yeah…

If you don't shoot it how'm I supposed to hold it?

Is that alright? Yeah…

To give my gun away when its loaded?

Is that alright?…

Is that alright with you…

Is that alright?…yeah

To give my gun away when its loaded?

Is that alright?…yeah

If you don't shoot it how'm I supposed to hold it?

Is that alright? Yeah…

To give my gun away when its loaded?

Is that alright?…is that alright…with you

Is that alriiiiiiight yeaaaaah

Is that alriiiiiiight yeaaaaah

Is that alriiiiiiight yeaaaaah

Is that alright?

Is that alright?

Is that alright with you?…no

I ended on a G chord and looked up only to see a full classroom along with a bunch of students who weren't even in this class. When I set the guitar down a got a huge round of applause and just continued to sit on my stool.

"PLAY ANOTHER ONE" and "MORE!!MORE!!" were the responses I got. Never woulda guess people liked my singing that much. But before I could pick up the guitar again, the classroom instructor, Mr. Myde, stepped in front of everyone signifying for silence.

"whoo man that was incredible. Nice piece, played originally by Damien Rice no doubt. Tell me kid, what's your name?"

shit… here it was…the very first moment of many that I would loathe this day. I lifted my eyes to meet his blue ones and attempted to speak, but the words were glued to my voice box.

"s…s-s-sora"

His eyes widened in shock.

"S-Sora K-Kurshek…"

He stepped back a step and almost tripped over his desk. Yeah his nobody was just as much a clumsy fool as he was. Hard to believe this guy was strong enough to stay alive from having his heart gone.

All eyes were on him as he attempted to steady himself.

"Oh…sorry. Name sounded familiar was all…aaaaaaanywho." he trailed off and stepped to the front of the class. Before he started talking I looked out to the still large crowd of people just in time to notice a head of burgundy duck out of the classroom alongside a head of silver…and what little emotion I had flared up into a volcano of rage. Unshed tears of hate built up and glassed over my eyes while my gut filled to the brim with anger. I was about to stand up and follow them out until-

"Well hello class." he began in a rather cheerful tone while clapping his hands together.

"As if you couldn't read the board, my name is Mr. Myde."

I sighed and rolled my eyes while placing an elbow on my thigh and my chin into my palm just letting the situation go. A few uneasy glances rolled my way and then back to Mr. Myde. He smirked and turned towards me.

"Hmm…? Do you have something to say Mr. Kurshek?" he raised an eyebrow at me and placed a hand on his hip. I rose both of my hands in mock innocence.

"No sir, nothing at all." and then I returned to my normal position still on the stool in front of the class. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"…Riiiiight…Anyways." He turned back to the class and started a speech.

"Welcome to honors guitar. I, your instructor, am here to lead you further into the depths of the guitarist world, all the while teaching you the true meaning of guitar. As guitarists, we live through the chord progressions, the solo's the riffs. We live through all of it. We breathe it if you will. So for this year, I hope not only to teach you about guitar, but I hope to give you something deeper than any lesson could provide." He ended with his arms outstretched as if prepared to fly away. His sleek black shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows accentuated his slim yet muscular body while he stood tall in his pair of blue jeans.

"You gotta be kidding me" I thought quietly to myself. While I looked around the class I noticed everyone's attention was glued to the man standing in front. Eyes from each direction planted onto him, scouring every aspect of his being without any regard for themselves. I noticed envy from a few guys, along with a few dreamy looks from a the girls and thought to myself "This is going to be a looooooong year." He stepped a bit to the side and motioned to the large shelf of guitars behind him that rounded the corners of each wall. Every guitarists dream was sitting there within that large rack and there were easily 500 guitars nestled gently in between each nook.

"As you can see, we were provided with a large range of guitars this year. From acoustic, to electric and everything in between from companies you've probably never even heard of. This year you will be allowed to choose which guitar you feel will carry you through the year. You may pick more than one if you feel you are capable in multiple areas. For example lets say…acoustic and electric." He looked at me from a side glance and smiled softly. Perhaps this guy isn't nearly as bad as I thought. Perhaps none of them are as bad as I thought. Perhaps the fact of a somebody having a heart eluded me. But now I see it clear as day. So with a clap of his hands together he eyed the rest of the class and signaled for everyone to stand up.

"So lets get started, shall we?"

A soft murmur vibrated through the classroom as each of the students hopped to their feet in excitement. Mr. Myde stepped to his desk on the side wall and peered intently into his computer.

"Okay I'll start calling names and you can go ahead and pick out a guitar of yours." he peeked up from his computer at the class for a moment before plunging back into the computer screen.

"Oookay lets see here…Madge Autral?" A boy with black hair jumped up and jingled from all of his chains. He was decked in a pair of red trips with a red and white flyleaf shirt. His long black hair waved in thick tendrils as he wiped it to the side with his black nail polished fingers…Tch poser. While name after name was called I slowly drifted off into the confines of my mind. In the real world I still felt my hand on my chin and my elbow on my thigh, but it was as if I were dreaming. Darkness…the beautiful darkness trapped within my mind and the pit of what I used to call a heart. Slowly I drifted further and further into my thoughts to the point that it felt I could walk around in my own head. I walked ever so slowly looking at the walls of my mind. Picture frames of memories planted on the walls going down a narrow, dimly lit hallway. And then I saw something. A black silhouette standing right across from me with something in its hand outstretched to me. It pumped every little bit while it oozed a red liquid that rode down the sides of its hand and down its arm in skinny little rivers. Its long black nails cutting into the sides of it, crushing it. If it were a living thing, it would have been writhing in pain and screaming for its life to end. Its sick black skin was like an endless abyss that you couldn't tell where it started or where it ended and its yellow eyes pierced the dark like light houses. Its mouth curled into a grin, baring a palette of sharp yellow teeth, giving off the stench of blood and death. I clenched my fists and summoned my key blades.

"Who are you?"

"Nothing…Everything…Truth…Lies…What do you want the most?" It sneered at me while drawing closer. Each step leaving behind a black smoky footprint. I crouched while it drew closer, preparing myself for attack.

"Stay where you are! don't come any closer." my dagger sharp glare stopped it a mere five meters from me. I heard a soft bum bum and took a closer look at the object in its hand. My eyes tore open in shock.

"What…oh my god what is that?!"

"this is your heart…our heart…the sole thing that binds us both in eternal balance of light and dark. My dearest Sora…embrace me, I will show you the true meaning of darkness." My glare softened to a slight gaze and I ever so slightly lowered my blades.

"Do you remember this morning? I was there with you. I was always there with you my dear Sora, you were never alone. I was that voice. But in time you will understand."

"Sora?"

My shadow held its hand out to me as it ever so slowly began to fade away.

"Sooooora?"

I stood with my feet planted in place as I watched the last wisps of its outline disperse into black tufts of smoke. And then I felt a hand on my shoulder shake me.

"EARTH TO MISTER ANGRY PANTS?!"

"Wha…?" I shot my eyes open and looked around the classroom only to see the line had gone down a considerable amount and those that were left were looking at me rather awkwardly.

"R-Roxas? What are you doing here?" I rubbed the last bit of daydream out of my eye and softly smiled.

"Uh…why else would I be in here?" he said, " I play guitar too ya know, I told you that before!"

"Oh…Yeah…" I rubbed the back of my neck and looked at the ground.

"SORA KURSHEK?" Both Roxas and I turned around at the calling of my name.

"Your turn to go pick out a guitar my young friend." Mr. Myde shifted his eyes to the guitar rack and softly smiled. This was going to be a long year…

--

The bell rung signaling the end of class along with the shuffling of feet on the floor on the way out the classroom. I grabbed my bag and swiftly walked out the door and down the hall side by side with roxas and stopped when he began to stammer softly.

"Um…Uh…Sora?" I turned around to find him with his eyes glued to the floor and twiddling his fingers.

"Um…Did…Did you really beat up…Riku?" he hesitantly brought his nervous eyes to my placid ones and I let out a soft smirk. I turned back around and began walking to my next period with him on my heels.

"The fucker had it comin'." I batted my hand and threw it off as if it were no big thing.

"But-But Sora! What did he even do?" I kept on walking but narrowed my eyes ever so slightly taking in every aspect of every living thing that walked past me.

"…He broke my heart…" I heard the footsteps stop and I turned around abruptly to see him gaping at me in shock.

"Y-You-YOU'RE GAY?!" I smacked my forehead and continued walking.

"(sigh) No Roxas." I said over my shoulder. "I'm not gay." He fell into step with me and regained his composure eyes still slightly wide with interest.

"Oh whew, haha you had me for a sec there Sora, but really, what did Riku even do to you? Last time I remembered you guys were like best fr--"

"Well things have changed…" I cut him off lowering my eyes and my voice. "Everything's changed…" I walked a little faster not daring to let him see the tears welding up in my eyes. The thought of Riku's lips on Kairi's still burned a vivid image into my retina's.

"Sora?" I didn't answer. I turned a corner and began descending the staircase with Roxas still on my heels. I felt a hand on my shoulder and was whirled around to be face to face with him. He caught me…

"Sora…why are you crying?" He looked almost shocked. I turned back around and wiped my eyes taking in glances from a passerby every here and there and continued descending the staircase.

"I was on my way to Kairi's house yesterday." I began with a soft sob.

"Everything felt perfect in my eyes. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. But when I got there…Riku…" I stopped for the pain of the memory ripping me apart inside.

" Riku he…he was there already…kissing her…" I stopped abruptly and looked at Roxas. He remained silent for the rest of the walk until I got to my second period.

"Well Roxas…I'll talk to you later." I patted him on the shoulder and smiled softly at him and walked into the classroom.

"Uh Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…I have this class too ya know."

"Oh…" I shifted my eyes to the ground. "Well get in here then." And I ended with a smirk. It was a nice sized classroom, fit way more than cozily for a math class at that. Instead of desks there were rows of large luxurious recliners and a soft navy blue shag carpet. Quite comparable to a large living room with a mahogany desk in the corner.

"(whistle) Daaaaaaamn these guys sure didn't hold back this year. This is incredible. First the guitars and now this." And without wasting another second he went and plopped down into one of the chairs and became awfully comfortable. déjà vu just like at my house. At that memory I slapped a hand to my forehead.

"(sigh) Roxas Roxas Roxas…"

"Yes Roxas indeed…" I jumped as a deep voice grumbled behind me and a hand placed on my shoulder.

"Oh…(sigh) Mr. Ienzo, you scared me."

He smiled softly and gave a small laugh that could lift anyone's spirits. Complete opposite of his nobody.

"Yes my dear boy, it's only me." his easy look soon fell to seriousness and he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Sora…you, me, and everyone else here are in grave danger. Come meet me and the rest of the teachers at the end of the day in the parking lot." he stopped and looked at Roxas. "Bring the weird one too."

I furrowed my brow in confusion as he walked away over to his desk and into his computer. But how in the world did he know? He was right though…we are in grave danger. And just then I felt like someone was watching me. Two pairs of eyes dug into the back of my head until I turned around. I turned away quickly in disgust and went to take a seat before they could say anything. A large red mark from where I hit him stained his face like strawberry jam. And her light violet eyes shone mistily in the light of the classroom as she looked me over. I couldn't have imagined a more pitiful picture. A broken pair of my oldest best friends…Riku and Kairi.

She slowly walked up to Roxas and I with a quiver in each step as she waved Riku off.

"Sora…" the hurt in her voice was so apparent. But why did it start to hurt now? Of all the times, why did it begin to impact me?

"Sora…" she chocked. "I just really want you to know how sorry I am." I breathed out long and hard and cross my arms and turned my head to look out the window…but I was still listening.

"You have no idea how sorry I am do you?" I sunk in my chair as each of her words did the same into me.

"Do you know…how much it hurt me to see you like that?" I shut my eyes still intently listening to each of her words.

"What do you want Kairi?" My words were dull, boring all the amount of hurt I sustained over the days.

"It's just not the same Sora…" she wrapped her arms around herself and started sobbing.

"I l-love you (sniff) more than anything. And Riku he…He was just confused…he wasn't himself." silence grew over the last of her words and I slowly turned to her. She was still as beautiful as ever but…I can't do this again. I stiffened and turned back to the window.

"Just go away Kairi…I don't know you anymore."

"But…" she raised her voice a little. "What about that night on the beach? Don't you remember how perfect it was? Don't you remember how in love we--"

"KAIRI JUST GO!" I snapped at her with tears in my eyes.

"Please…just go…"

And with a defeated look I followed her with my eyes to the other side of the classroom where she sat down and cried…I'm so…so sorry Kairi. But I just can't do this again. You're better off without me, and so am I without you…Roxas slid off his chair and put an arm around my shoulder.

"It was a good thing you did my friend, she's better off without you…And who knows? Maybe it'll all turn out for the better, I mean there's plenty of other hot girls out there and I'm positive a ton of them will be more than--"

"Roxas just…please…leave me alone for a while…" He backed up a few steps with a sorry look on his face and shone a broke a broken smile and went to sit back down.

"It really was a good thing you did my boy…" Mr. Ienzo said as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"You'll be cherishing this for the rest of your life."

And with that, Math class trudged onwards in a blur, as did the rest of the day. The laughter in the hallways between each class was distant. The looks of every familiar face became foreign. The simple hallway layout became a maze. And time became a slug. I gained much help and support from Roxas but it proved to no avail…I was a mess. My thoughts were scattered across the universe as the shadows talked to me. To me it felt like darkness was my only way out and it just seemed so right. I Just couldn't go on with this pain that tore me apart each step of the way.

Chemistry was nothing new and Mr. Evan wasn't nearly as bad as his nobody…in fact none of them were as bad as their nobodies, all with a striking resemblance to boot. Mr. Aeleus, Professor Drulo, Mr. Dalin, Professor Amarlia, Mr. Ale, Mrs. Arlene, Professor Sai, Professor Braig, and Mr. Ansem all kind in their own manor heeded me with the same warning and request. "Be careful, we are all in danger, meet me in the parking lot at the end of the day." and each time I heard it, it pounded ever so deeper into my memory gland, we all really are in danger…Xemnas really is out to get us, and it came to me…I must save us all once again.

I walked to my locker with my mind still a blur and shoved all my books and binders in for the night. It closed with a chink and I leaned back against it as I sunk to the floor. Everyone around me seemed so happy. Couples were kissing. Teachers were done teaching. The nerds were nerding. The gangsters were gangstering. Everything seemed so correctly balanced but no…nothing was, and unfortunately for them all they would have to find out the hard way. The bell rang once again signaling the official end of the day and I rose to my feet and made my lonesome way down to the parking lot for the most important meeting of my life.

"Hey, you ok?" I turned around as a hand fell on my shoulder and I smiled softly.

"Yeah Roxas I'm fine, lets go, we have to get down to the parking lot and talk with the teachers."

"Oh no, not more teachers…" He groaned and smacked his forehead.

"Heh don't worry Roxas…teaching should be the last thing on their minds right about now."

"Oh thank God." he breathed out and wiped his forehead. "I thought it was some sort of after school session. I would have had to kill myself." He rose his hands and fake stabbed himself in the stomach and fell over.

"Haha oh Roxas…you're so weird you know that?"

"No Mr. Point-out-the-obvious-a lot I had no clue." he said sarcastically as he got up. I raised my eye impatiently as I stepped out the exit of the high school and looked around. On the far edge of the lot underneath a massive tree surrounded by their cars was a circle of teachers, no doubt mine and Roxas's. I saw Ienzo's lips move and all the teachers looked our direction as we came closer and closer.

"Okay…so what is this all about?" I said readjusting my hat on my head and my backpack on my back

They all looked at each other knowledgeably and turned their focus on me. Ienzo stepped forward.

"We know where your parents are."

(GASP) oooh how i hate to do this to you guys (and love it at the same time) but it just felt like it had to end right there. but oooh, the somebody's arent so scary, and the suspense is rising WHOOHOO its finally getting where wanted it to go, and i PROMISE from now on i will try and update weekly, so NENG, DIVINEROSE, and anyone else who reads this...please please help me get this around. i'll love you forever