Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I have plenty of AMVs, courtesy of Youtube, and I now have an Axel plushie due to the most awesome friends EVER…but no rights, sadly…

Don't panic!

Forest Creatures is still running. I just couldn't resist the inspiration for this one…why am I writing two stories at once, though, seriously? I must be insane.

Oh well! Hope you enjoy.

If someone – anyone – had given me some advance warning that my life would drastically change in a twenty-four hour span…no, less than that, within a single instant, I probably would have laughed. Or assumed the worst. I'm a worrier – it the type of thing I do, you see.

After jumping from terrorising conclusion to the next, if that person were to have calmed me down and tell me that no, it wouldn't be really a bad change, I'd still be sceptical. Probably more than a little curious, too.

It really wasn't a 'bad' change. Just…different. And possibly illegal. If not, outlawed…but I honestly don't think any authorities would believe me. That was a little strange, after all…what kind of criminal turns himself in, when the victim is just so…

Um. I'm getting ahead of myself. I tend to do that a lot, as my brother will so-eagerly tell you at the drop of a hat. Roxas seems to like making fun of me. A national pastime, he calls it.

It's a wonder why I still love my twin…

And now I'm getting off topic. See, I warned you…I really do that pretty often. I'm just that kind of guy. Any of my friends are quick to tell anyone else how bubbly I am…air-headed, maybe a bit slow on uptake, a terrible liar and still a bit childish…

All of those are vicious lies, by the way…

But they also say pretty nice things. Most of which I really don't deserve. Don't get me started on Kairi – the way she talks about me you'd be convinced I'm some kind of angel.

Actually…Kairi was the one who started it all.

"I have this friend I want you to meet."

Those words would alter the entire course of my life. Head cocking a bit to the side, chestnut spikes grazing my shoulder as I did so, my lower lip stuck out a bit as my brow furrowed cautiously – a habitual expression when I was suspicious. And I had reason to be.

When locking eyes with the sweet-faced devil known as Kairi Uchida, her longish garnet hair curling around her smiling heart-shaped face, violet-tinted eyes wide and innocent, one has to be on guard.

Seeing as the two of us had been friends since, oh, say…exiting the womb, I knew which expressions meant I was in mortal danger, and which ones were 'looking out for my best interests.' Strangely, the latter always turned out more potentially lethal.

"Friend?" I repeated cautiously, gathering up my books clumsily in my arms – they just didn't seem to want to stick around, making desperate attempts at suicide plunges to the floor. "What kind of friend?"

"He's in university," her eyes practically twinkled. That was another thing about Kairi – she liked 'mature' men, and never seemed capable of directing a glance at the many young hopefuls at our own school. Not that I couldn't understand that; aside from our tiny clique, I really couldn't stand many of the people around Radiant Gardens High School.

I've never been a big fan of teenagers. By the end of one sunny, dragging semester, I would be off, though…graduated at long last.

Kairi was still chatting amiably – it was always hard not to listen to her. It wasn't in an irritating way, don't get me wrong…she was just very easy to take notice of. When she spoke, she caught attention and usually held it. "I really think you'll like him, Sora. He seems like just the best guy friend. He's competitive, like you, and athletic, like you, and smart, like…well, sort of like you…"

I glared. Or attempted to, with devastating results. Kairi squealed and practically leapt at me, arms wrapping around just my head. "Aw, you're so cute when you try to glare!"

Sadly, that was a usual reaction. And not just from Kairi.

"Anyway," she continued as she released her possibly crushing grip on my cranium. I was relieved – I didn't want it to implode or something. It was possible that she could have shattered my skull and punctured my brain or something. "He's a bit coarse, but he's really nice enough. You can tell from the way he treats total strangers. He's really good at everything, too – he cooks, he cleans, he repairs things…really multitalented. His roommate at HBU practically can't get by without him."

So he was local. Hollow Bastion University was the nearest one to the city…not surprising, if he was an acquaintance of Kairi's, and a recent one. I figured I would have heard about this multitalented wonder-man if she had known him any earlier.

"So…"

Here came the bomb. I could tell because her eyes got just a little bit wider and she tilted her head just so to the side.

"I want a double date! Is that okay?"

Sighing a bit, I finally managed to wrangle my lock into place, closing off the near-vacuum-sealed locker shut. "Kairi, I don't do dates…"

"Ah, but it's not technically a date of any kind!" Kairi held up a finger, as if making a life-altering point that would change my entire perspective of life itself. "It's me, you, Riku, and probably Namine all hanging out together. I couldn't even tell you who's dating who. You know I'd ask Roxas, but he already claimed extra shifts at work, so…"

Damn Roxas. Damn him to the deepest pit of whatever dark place existed after death. 'Hell' seemed a little harsh, since he was still my brother, but even so.

I would get my own revenge. I would ensure that he was out of our shared apartment by the time this not-date rolled around and into his tacky pizza-delivery uniform. Extra shifts would do him good, anyway. We desperately needed the added finances.

Sighing, my shoulders slumped slightly. There never was much point in arguing…and besides that, I was a pushover and I knew it. "When?"

Kairi giggled, obviously delighted in my acquiescence. "Oh…five o'clock tonight."

The books spilled out of my arms.

"I thought you didn't date."

"I don't," I mumbled, tossing out yet another reject from my closet onto the floor. "You could be of some help, though. You stuck me in this mess."

Cerulean eyes identical to my own narrowed into a smirk, but it was the only part of him that shifted – otherwise, his near-neutral expression remained devoid of emotion, lips tilted just barely into a smile. I generally preferred that expression to any other, simply because usually if it wasn't that, he was angry. Or annoyed. Or vexed. Or any variation thereof. Roxas wasn't a very happy person, not normally…a lot of people take it personally, but I'm used to it. I value the times where he's upbeat a lot more because of it.

He's just stressed. He wouldn't be as much, if I had a job, too…but the difference between us is that he can hold down an over eighty average in high school without studying. I barely scrape sixties.

Roxas insists I concentrate on academics before I even consider a job.

"You could have turned her down," Roxas shrugged slightly, hands running gingerly through flaxen spikes as he straightened his uniform – tacky. The orange really brought out his blue eyes, making their glare all the more fierce, but still shapeless and a little less than comfortable. I maintained that they had deliberately given my twin pants a size too small.

"I could not," I sighed miserably, maybe only pouring on the drama a little thick. "She's impossible to say no to…"

And she had blackmail pictures of me dating back all the way to two years old. I still don't know how she had kept them for so long. Actually, I wasn't sure how she'd even taken them in the first place – a two-year-old Kairi wandering around with a camera wasn't too strange an image, but the idea of her somehow knowing what would be excellent blackmail for years later was a bit disconcerting.

"Good luck, then," Roxas snorted, the lack of sympathy truly touching my heart. "At least it's only Kairi and Namine. If it were Selphie, she'd be all over you…the worst those two do is coo over you and treat you like a little brother."

That was nearly as bad. Apparently, my expression displayed just that, and my twin sniggered at my plight. "Maybe they'll both be fawning over this university guy, so you'll be basically left alone and you can do things your way."

Pay for myself, decide for myself…those were good options. I've never been really the type who liked sitting back and allowing everyone to do everything for me…

"I'd better go," he rolled his eyes slightly. "Pizzas to deliver and all that. Don't stay out there too late having a wild time without me."

The sarcasm dripped nearly so much that I worried it would leave stains on the carpet.

Going as casual as possible, I spent the next fifteen minutes picking and choosing how to appear just that casual. You know, like I had put no thought whatsoever into what I was wearing or what I looked like.

I'm a bit self-conscious.

Given the warm weather, still sunny and dry – it wouldn't get dark until perhaps eight o'clock, and I hoped it wouldn't take that long – I chose black shorts, loose and baggy and falling a bit past my knees, the simplest white shirt I could find, and a black hooded sweater for later. It got strangely cold once the sun started to set.

I hadn't imagined I'd feel so underdressed when I arrived.

It was ridiculous to feel that way. No one was wearing anything out of the norm – Kairi in her pink denim skirt and fitted t-shirt, Namine in her simple white dress…

And him. Just looking at him should have been the tip-off. Some kind of sign that no, when I woke up tomorrow my life would not in fact be exactly the same as every other day I woke up to.

The sun caught strands of silken silver in ways that made it shimmer like diamonds. I had to wonder if it was real hair, and not just strands upon strands of closely compact crystals…with the slight breeze, though, making the long tresses fan out over his broad shoulders, I knew that wasn't the case. I almost couldn't see his eyes through his bangs – and hey, I almost didn't want to. His hair could be wherever it wanted, and block whatever it seemed to from sight…it was dazzling.

But his eyes were just as hypnotising. There had to be some kind of gemstone that could match them…too blue to be green and vice versa, they were a magnificent shade, a deep turquoise.

I'd read somewhere that turquoise symbolised ecstasy. I think it was Feng Shui.

What was more, he was tanned, built, and well-dressed in a zipped-up white vest, only done halfway up his muscular chest with a silver chain around his neck (both of which made his…well, actually, every feature more defined) and long, dark blue jeans that made him seem even taller.

He was taller than I was, easily. And older.

Okay, that was obvious, he was in university…

"Sora!" Kairi perked up, waving me over with one hand on a tanned, toned bicep. "This is Riku! Riku, Sora."

Just great. When he smiled, he displayed a dazzling white smile – why was he so perfect? I was going to feel completely inadequate around this guy.

Were all university guys like this? Maybe I needed to consider college instead…

"I've heard a lot about you," Riku's voice was smooth, rhythmic. If Kairi's voice was attention-getting, his was enough to stop a room full of people and get them staring. If his appearance wasn't enough to do that.

Hold it.

I guess this is a prime opportunity to point it out. I have always been a firm believer in appreciation. I, for instance, can admit that Kairi is a very attractive girl and still have no desire to touch her in any way that isn't a nice, comfortable, above-the-waist hug.

Girls do it all the time. So it was alright for guys to admit that another guy had a lot of assets. Riku was good looking. If that was, in fact, his car parked behind them, he was wealthy – I was no expert on cars, but the sleek ocean-blue convertible looked fast, new, and expensive. And as Kairi had already seen fit to tell me, he was multitalented.

So I could admit that he was really a good catch. I almost envied whichever girl was currently 'dating' him, unsure if it was Kairi or Namine.

Not that I actually felt any kind of jealousy…not over Riku…just that they had snagged someone so…

Well, if there was anyone like him – any girl – she'd be disgustingly out of my league, but I'd be damned if I wouldn't hope and pine like crazy. I was only a teenage male, what was I supposed to think?

Back to the moment, my expression had become taken aback. "What have you heard?"

Riku laughed. No doubt my guarded and wary tone had tipped him off as to just how much I trusted my now-angelic looking friend. "Nothing bad," he assured me, before his grin turn wry. "Or at least, nothing untrue…"

"You can't judge me, you just met me," I accused, and he laughed again. Such an entrancing sound.

…What? Like I said, appreciation. Nothing more than that.

I kept appreciating him throughout the night. It was nothing overly eventful, though I found out that yes, I was right; Riku was the owner of the car. Went to a movie, were kicked out halfway through for talking too loudly. Went to a restaurant, were treated especially well since every waitress seemed to be willing to bend over backwards for Riku. Probably literally, though maybe not backwards. None of us were oblivious to the looks and phone numbers were kept receiving, one slipped in with our separate bills. Riku was very reserved about it, which surprised me – any other guy I knew would have taken some advantage of it all. Or at least flirted back a little.

Maybe that was just a high school boy thing…

Dinner ended just when I wanted it to. Around eight o'clock – perhaps just a little bit after – Kairi declared that we were done for the evening. I hadn't expected that from her…I'd been convinced she would drag this on for as long as possible.

I should have been suspicious. At the time, I was grateful that Kairi seemed to have seen the light against this whole 'dating' thing, even if it was a group date. Or double date, where no one was sure who was going out with who.

Actually, I later realised that later, it had been a date, between two people, with two not-so-inconspicuous spies. There I go, getting ahead of myself, yet again…

When I got home that night, Riku having very considerately dropped me off outside my apartment building – last, he'd taken the girls home first – I had stumbled up to my room, taken one look at the clock, and crashed on my bed.

I wasn't even all that tired. I became really aware again at around ten o'clock later that night, when Roxas had come home, disgruntled and worn out. Tips must have been bad that night.

"How'd the date go?" he'd questioned, rather uncaringly.

"Not much to talk about."

I'd thought it was true. I didn't think anything extraordinary had happened.

So you can really only imagine my surprise in the morning, answering the door to find Riku, devastatingly gorgeous in his masculine way and carrying a single, overlarge black suitcase, wearing a broad smile and claiming he was going to live with me.