something-shot;; sokai

I do not own.

poll winner, thank you very much.

I feel guilty for not updating for so long, this is a quick snack to keep the hunger at bay.

Originally intended as a one-shot, but it's a bit long for that...so expect maybe one or two more chapters :)

enjoy.

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B L O S S O M

truth&dare

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"Say," Namine began thoughtfully, chewing on a strand of blond hair as she directed her speech at her auburn friend, "What would be your perfect kiss?"

Kairi, said auburn friend, glanced towards Namine, her eyebrows crinkling.

"That was sort of random, Nam," Kairi commented, returning her focus to the photos she was idly flicking through. Namine shrugged in response, her gaze resting upon the photo Kairi was currently studying, which showed a group of young teens, laughing as they huddled together around a brightly decorated Christmas tree, eyes shining with happiness.

"Just, since I've started dating Roxas," Namine spoke, blushing lightly as her boyfriend's name rolled over her tongue, her eyes falling upon the blond boy that held her close in the photo, "I've wondered if there was one way he could kiss me, that would be perfect, what would it be?"

Kairi raised her eyes to Namine's thoughtful expression, putting the cards of captured memories to one side, shifting her position on the leather sofa so she could observe her friend more comfortably. "And?" Kairi questioned curiously, "What is your perfect kiss?"

Light hues of pink blotched Namine's pale face as she hesitated, her rosy lips opening as she began to speak softly, her eyes flicking over random objects in the spacious yet cozy living room they currently resided in.

"I think...well, I don't know, but I've always had this burning desire to be kissed in the pouring rain," Namine admitted wistfully.

"So cliché!" Kairi giggled, "But also really romantic!"

Namine broke into a smile, chuckling softly before the curious expression returned to her face. "What about you?"

Kairi pulled her face. "Does it matter? It's not like I have a boyfriend like you do...I've never even kissed a guy!"

Namine arched her perfectly shaped eyebrows, her lips pursing. "So? It doesn't mean you can't fantasize!"

Kairi rolled her eyebrows, returning to her observation of the photos. "Yeah, whatever...I don't believe in fantasies, they just build up false hope."

Namine pouted. "Kairi, stop being such a party pooper!" The fifteen year old exclaimed, snatching the photos from a sighing Kairi and dumping them out of her best friend's reach. "There is point, because you're bound to get a boyfriend soon...and anyway, it's fun!"

Kairi scoffed. "Me? Getting a boyfriend soon? As if! The only guy that's shown any interest in me in that way is Hayner, and we all know what he's like."

"That is so not true, and you know it!" Namine denied, her tone arguing. "Practically every guy you meet drools after you! And anyway, what about a certain someone else?"

Her eyes widening slightly, Kairi worked to retain a normal composure as she foretold what was coming next. "What certain someone else?" Kairi replied flippantly, her clasped hands giving away the nerves that had now overcome her.

"Kairi," Namine huffed, "Do I really have to say it? I think we both know very well what – or should I say who – I'm talking about."

"Actually, Namine, I have no idea," Kairi retorted coolly, refusing to meet the blond's disbelieving blue orbs, who rolled her eyes at her friend's stubbornness.

"Okay, fine, we'll have it your way...how about a certain...Mr. Kagayami?" Namine teased, enjoying watching the ill-concealed blush spread over her friend's face.

"W-what?" Kairi spluttered, consciously aware of the rate her heartbeat had increased to at the mention of the boy's name...or surname, as it was. "R-Riku? Pah! As if I could ever like Riku!"

Namine giggled mockingly. "Suuure! So why are you stuttering and your face red as a tomato and that stupid smile on your mouth?"

Kairi pouted, burying her face in her hands. "Shut up! Am not!"

Namine's laughter subsided on the outside, but continued softly in her own mind as she knelt to her friend's level, peering under her arms to try to catch a glimpse of her expression.

"Kaaiirii," she simpered sweetly in a sing-song voice, "There's no point denying what is already known!"

Namine smiled as inaudible sounds protruded from under the clasped arms, but she got the main gist of what message the auburn-haired girl was trying to convey - "I do not like him!", being the general idea.

Namine sighed, defeated. "Fine, whatever you say. But could you at least tell me what your perfect kiss would be?" Namine begged, praying for some sort of response from the stubborn red-head.

A few moments silence, and then – Namine silently thanked the Gods as squinted indigo eyes appeared above the unraveling arms, one eyebrow raised.

"Nyeh," was the only sound that came from the lips that were still pressed against a clothed arm, violet eyes remaining nonchalant and unfocused.

Namine smiled, prompting her best friend to release what hidden dream lay inside her stubborn yet innocent mind.

"...well," Kairi began unwillingly, "I guess – wait, this has nothing to do with Riku though, okay? This is merely something I think would be...cute."

Namine nodded reassuringly, her expression eager as she motioned for Kairi to continue.

Said girl's voice took on a softer tone as she wistfully spoke, "My perfect kiss would be...being kissed in the snow."

There was a pause, before Kairi found herself cringing at the quiet, yet high pitched squealing noise her friend was producing as a result of her hesitant yet sure answer.

"Kairi, I never knew you had it in you to be so cute and cliché and romantic!" Namine squealed, "I can just picture it now! You and Riku, stood on the porch, kissing as the snow falls delicately around you..."

Kairi blushed furiously, shoving Namine lightly, embarrassment forcing her to resort to violence. "Namine!" Kairi groaned, "Shut up!"

In reply, Namine laughed, beginning a chant of "Riku and Kairi", to which Kairi had no other response other than to block the noise out by covering her ears with her hands.

Kairi prayed for a distraction to save her from this some-what pleasant torture, and this distraction came in the form of the doorbell ringing loudly, cutting Namine off, giving Kairi an excuse to bound to her feet and escape from her prison cell.

Pulling the door open enthusiastically, Kairi smiled in relief at the sight of her friend, thanking the God's it wasn't Riku to witness the embarrassing ordeal.

"Sora!" Kairi greeted merrily, pulling her long-time friend into a quick hug. "What brings you here?"

The brunet boy grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as pink tainted his cheeks, unnoticed by his red-haired friend.

"H-Hey there, Kai. I was just wondering...if you wanted to go to the park with me?" Sora asked hurriedly, stuttering slightly, "As in, with me, Riku and Roxas. A-and Namine can come too...?"

Kairi grinned, desperate to be around other people, in front of whom Namine would never dare to embarrass her so. The idea of seeing Riku also appealed to her greatly...

"Sure!" she agreed brightly, flashing Sora a smile, "Let me just go get Nam!"

Sora nodded, grinning happily in response to Kairi's positive answer.

"Nam?" Kairi called out, attracting the flaxen-haired girl's attention. "Want to go to the park with Sora, Riku and lover-boy?"

Namine nodded eagerly, her face lighting at the mention of proclaimed 'lover-boy'. Kairi smirked, rolling her eyes. "Thought so."

The two girls pulled on their shoes, before joining Sora on the front porch, inhaling the sweet aroma of the fresh morning air, the sunlight illuminating their relaxed faces, the soft breeze fluttering through their hair.

"Ready to go?" Sora grinned, glancing at Kairi foremost, before unwillingly redirecting his gaze to her blond companion.

The girls affirmed this statement, and the trio headed off down the quiet road, chatting casually amongst themselves, Kairi occasionally meeting Namine's teasing, suggestive glance, Sora oblivious.

Upon reaching the park, the three friends spotted Riku and Roxas stood by the swings, laughing at some joke one of them had just cracked. Kairi and Namine instantly smiled, each of them hurrying towards the object of their affection, Sora left trailing behind them dejectedly.

"Roxy!" Namine squealed, jumping on her boyfriend and giving him a tight hug, which he returned with just as much force, whispering a soft greeting in her ear.

"Hey you," Riku greeted Kairi coolly, unknowingly being glared upon with jealousy by a certain brunet. Kairi blushed, smiling timidly at the platinum-haired teen.

"R-Riku," she nodded quietly, biting her lip, hearing her heart beat loudly in her chest. "How are you?"

"Now that you're here, I'm perfect," Riku smirked, causing a simmering Sora to boil with envy, as Kairi merely tittered with infatuation to his flirty reply.

"So," Sora interrupted the two pairs loudly, coming purposefully between Kairi and Riku, "What do you guys wanna do?"

"I have an idea," the usually quiet Riku piped up immediately, his aqua eyes glinting, "Let's play truth or dare."

Sora looked taken aback; Kairi bit her lip nervously; Roxas and Namine nodded enthusiastically; Riku smiled mischievously. "Let's go for it then!"

The five of them sat on the fresh cut grass in a circle, Riku placing an empty water bottle in the centre, which both Kairi and Sora eyed nervously, the former of the two licking her dry lips, the latter wringing his hands nervously – neither of them had a particular fondness of the game, as they were both worried of their secret crushes being revealed.

"So, who first?" Roxas asked excitedly, leaning closer into the circle in anticipation. Namine glanced at her boyfriend, smiling softly as she linked her fingers with his.

"I'll spin first!" she declared, leaning towards the bottle and sending it in a rotating motion with a flick of her fingers. The bottle spun round, round, round, grasping the attention of all five who surrounded it, all waiting for the final moment...

"I guess it's me," came Roxas's excited response to the bottle head landing on him, "I pick truth."

Namine grinned. "Who do you love most in the whole wide world?" she asked teasingly, leaning towards him with a smile on her face.

"Hmm..." Roxas pretended to think about it for a few moments, causing Namine's smile to be replaced with a pout. "I'm going to have to say...you," he smiled, bending forwards to drop a light kiss on her nose, causing her to giggle and flush.

Kairi cooed at the cute scene before her, looking upon the couple with admirable eyes, daydreaming of her and Riku replacing Namine and Roxas in the scene, before she was snapped back to reality by Sora's voice, who was observing the newly spun bottle.

"And it landed on you, Kairi! Truth or dare?" he asked, cobalt eyes boring into her.

"Um...truth," Kairi chose unwillingly, anxious to face up to whatever embarrassing dare the group would more than likely think up for her.

A thoughtful expression made it's way to the blond skaters' face. "Truth...um...right, here's one Namine asked me the other day then. What would be your perfect kiss?"

Kairi giggled as her and Namine exchanged amused glances, the boys looking upon them curiously.

"What's so funny?" Sora asked, obviously crestfallen that he had been left out of the joke, even though it wasn't just him – it seemed none of the boys had any idea what the girls found humorous about this simple question.

Kairi shrugged. "Just, that Namine already asked me this question earlier today," she explained.

A devious smirk made it's way to her blond friend's face. "Yes, and do you remember what conversation arose upon me asking this question?" Namine supplied, keeping her eyes on her friend's flushed faced.

Kairi cleared her throat nervously, inwardly begging none of the boys to pursue Namine's suggestive rhetorical question.

"What's this?" Sora asked, ever curious. Kairi shot invisible daggers at him, whilst finding the time to praise Riku for being so perfect and staying silent when times called for no response.

Rolling her eyes at Sora, Kairi shook her head, dismissing the question. "My answer is...being kissed in the snow," Kairi admitted ruefully.

Namine cocked her head at Kairi, raising her eyebrows to suggest that she wasn't willing to let Kairi off so easily about her statement. Kairi ignored her, instead turning to face Roxas, who had begun speaking as a result of Kairi's answer.

"...really romantic, but don't you think it's maybe sort of unrealistic?" Roxas asked, Kairi only tuning in to what he was saying half way through his sentence. She still managed to catch the actual question though, and primarily shrugged in response.

"I guess...I mean, it never snows on the Islands...or any other area close by, for that matter. But hey, what can I do? A girl can dream. The question was the most perfect kiss, not the most realistic kiss."

Roxas smiled. "Whatever you say!"

"I didn't take you for one to fantasize over such cliché scenes," Riku commented quietly, smiling lightly. Kairi's face heated as she struggled to think of a suitable response.

"I...I-well, I suppose..."

"Who cares if it's cliché?" Kairi was interrupted by Sora, who cut into her quiet muttering, "It's romantic, that's what matters."

Kairi rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed that he had ruined her one-on-one conversation with Riku. "Roxas has a point though...it is unrealistic, so what does it matter if it's romantic if it can't happen?"

Sora shrugged. "It's not entirely unrealistic."

"Where on Destiny," Kairi began unenthusiastically, "Did you get that idea from? Of course it's unrealistic. It never snows...I mean, we'd barely even know snow was real if that guy, what's-his-name, hadn't discovered Christmas Town. It's like...a myth, a legend or something around here. And here I am, wanting to get kissed in the snow, a feat that would barely happen in the sun, which is a daily normality here...so, in conclusion, yes, Roxas is right, it is unrealistic, it's a stupid fantasy that is never going to happen, however much I wish it may!"

Sora suddenly became very interested in staring at the ground. "I...well...I'm just saying...never say never, I guess," Sora mumbled under his breath nervously, a somewhat thoughtful expression on his usually goofy features.

Kairi rolled her eyes, turning away from the brunet, muttering inaudibly under her breath. "Whatever...my turn to spin now."

The group eyed the spinning bottle in anticipation, and watched with humor as it once again ground to a halt at Kairi, who groaned.

"What? Me, again! How's that supposed to work? I can't choose my own question, can I?!"

Namine shrugged. "The bottle calls the shots, and it chose you! It's okay, I'll ask the question instead!"

Kairi's violet eyes widened, her head beginning to shake at this statement, already fearing the worst. "I-I'm good thanks!"

Namine grinned evilly. "You have to do it, Kairi! Okay, the question is..."

"Wait!", Kairi interrupted wildly, "I choose dare, not truth!"

Namine's eyes turned into slits, her expression sour. "Fine. I dare you to kiss one of the boys..."

If Kairi's eyes were wide before, they were almost popping out of her head at this stage. "No way!"

Namine nodded, grinning. "Yes way!"

Glancing around the group unsurely, Kairi hesitantly asked, "Who would I have to kiss? And how?"

"Who...well, I'll leave that choice up to you," Namine smirked. "As to how...well, I think that will also be your decision to make!"

Kairi glared at her so-called best friend, cheeks warming in embarrassment.

Seeing no other option, Kairi glanced at each boy, weighing out her choices.

Roxas was a no – he was Namine's boyfriend, and kissing him would just be cruel. There was no way she'd do that to Namine, however much she hated her at that moment for coming up with such a difficult dare.

Riku was obviously her preferred choice – but Kairi was hesitant to choose him, for doing so would reveal how she felt about him, a feat she was not ready to perform quite yet. Also, she wanted their first kiss to be special, not the result of some childish dare in a game.

And so that left Sora. Breathing in deeply, Kairi eyed the boy, coming to a conclusion as to what to do.

Falling onto her hands and knees, Kairi crept towards him, a nervous smile on her face.

"Hey," she greeted lightly upon reaching him, not daring to look him in the face – if she had, she would've noticed the deep shade of red it had now turned.

"H-hey," he stammered in reply, his heart thudding wildly in his chest.

Shaking her head to shake off the loose strands of auburn hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, Kairi leaned closer to the brunet, very aware of everyone's eager eyes upon the two.

Sora, too, began leaning forward, his eyelids dropping, hiding the bright, crystal blue orbs, red still tainting his tan cheeks.

Just as their young lips were about to meet, Kairi averted her head, changing the direction she was heading in, instead placing a light peck on his soft cheek, before hastily pulling away, eyes immediately looking elsewhere as she shuffled back to her place in the circle.

"Go Kairi," Roxas chuckled heartily, eyes twinkling as he looked between the embarrassed redhead and the equally embarrassed brunet.

"Shut up," Kairi muttered, chancing a glance at the brunet, who sat gazing at the grass, one hand on the cheek her lips had mere moments before been touching.

Riku wolf-whistled quietly, laughing as an unamused expression came over Kairi's face.

Eager to move on and get on with the game, Kairi leaned forward, reaching out and sending the bottle spinning wildly, putting too much strength into the slight action. This caused the spinning object to be flung at Sora, landing painfully on his arm, which was fortunately still held on his cheek, saving him from a much harder blow on the face.

"Ow!" he yelped in surprise, rubbing the sore spot, a pout now on his face. Kairi gasped, raising a hand to her mouth.

"Oh my Gosh, Sora, I'm so sorry, I didn't meant to!" she apologized frantically, scurrying over to cradle his hurt arm. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Sora replied in a daze, staring dreamily at Kairi, who was stroking his sore arm tenderly.

Riku smirked. "You can stop staring now, Sora." Said boy started in surprise, quickly pulling his arm from Kairi and clearing his throat nervously.

"S-so...on with the game?" Sora laughed uncertainly, glancing around the circle apprehensively, keen to avert their eyes from him, to wipe their memories of any thoughts they were having on his feelings towards Kairi.

"Yeah!" Kairi nodded eagerly, leaning towards the bottle and replacing it to the centre of the circle. "So...um, I guess it's you Sora? Because it landed on your arm...that sort of counts!"

Sora shrugged, not particularly keen on playing the game, but wanting to appease the redhead who was smiling broadly at him. Sighing, he made a quick decision, deciding to steer away from any more Kairi-based embarrassment. "Um...dare."

Kairi nodded approvingly, obviously delighted at his choice. "Finally!" she said, elated. "I thought everyone was going to choose truth except me...that would just get boring!"

Sora's face lit, basking in the compliments Kairi was presenting him with, ignoring the fact that mere minutes ago she had been annoyed at him.

"Right..." Kairi began thoughtfully, lips pursed and eyebrows knitted together as she thought up a suitable dare to ask the brunet. "I dare you to-"

"Take his top off and run around the park!" Roxas interrupted, laughing as he watched Sora's face turn from excited to horrified in a mere nano-second.

"W-what?" Sora spluttered, turning bright red as he stared at Roxas disbelievingly. "You can't seriously expect me to do that...can you?"

"Sure I can!" Roxas contradicted, spreading his arms, his girlfriend nodding along in approval. "See, even Riku thinks it's a good idea!" he added, motioning towards the albino boy who's face possessed a humored expression.

Sora shook his head stubbornly. "No way!" he refused, "Anyway, it's not up to you, Kairi's the one who chooses the dare!"

All four who weren't said girl turned to look at the redhead, all with expectant, hopeful expressions, but three with very different intentions to the one remaining.

Kairi bit her lip in thought, eyes flicking between the two sets of people. After a few moments silence, she sighed, coming to a conclusion.

"Sorry," she began, "Making Sora do that would be very embarrassing..."

Sora nodded triumphantly. "See? Ha! Thanks, Kai!"

Kairi smirked. "...hence, why it would make a brilliant dare for him!"

Sora's face immediately dropped, his expression turning sour, as if he had just swallowed the juice squeezed from a dozen lemons all at once; the other three, however, grinned manically, praising Kairi.

"Go on then, Sora," Kairi grinned, smirking as the brunet glared at her, who made a mental note to kill Roxas in the slowest, most painful way possible afterwards.

"But Kairi!" he whined, only to be stopped by her finger to his lips.

"Nuh-uh," she warned, "You have to do this, otherwise it's the forfeit for you...and the forfeit will be to do the same thing...naked."

Sora's mouthed dropped open, beads of sweat forming on his already sun-heated forehead. Exhaling sharply, he muttered curses under his breath, standing as he looked from person to person, an expression of pure annoyance on his usually happy face.

"Fine," he spat huffily, "But I'll get you back for this – don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Ooh, I'm scared," Riku laughed quietly, at which Kairi responded by breaking into peals of angelic giggling. Sora glared at his silver-haired best friend, wishing with all his might that just once, Kairi may look at him with such adoration in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, amused. "Too scared? Going to chicken out?" Kairi giggled again, nodding along to what Riku was saying, as the anger built up in Sora's soon to be exposed chest.

"No!" Sora countered, "As if!" Determined to prove Riku wrong, and to show Kairi what he was made of – no pun intended – Sora hastily pulled off his red top, revealing his tanned, surprisingly toned chest.

And Kairi found that she could not stop staring.

Her unwilling eyes roamed over his developed muscles that she had no idea were there – they were always hidden underneath his baggy tops, giving her the impression that he was still the weedy young teenager he had been the previous years.

She found herself admiring his toned abs, his strong, flexed muscles, the way the sun shined behind him, rays creeping out from behind his shoulder blades, giving the impression that he was some sort of fallen angel...

What?! Kairi thought to herself wildly, shocked that such thoughts had crossed through her Riku-obsessed mind. Why the hell am I thinking of Sora in that way? He's my annoying, immature best friend...not some hunky guy I'm allowed to drool over in such a manner!

But, even though she knew it wasn't right, she could not deny how her heart fluttered upon looking at him, her face red, her clasped hands clammy.

Unnoticed by Kairi, Roxas was observing her, an amused look on his face as he spoke up with a smirk, "See something you like there, Kairi?" he teased, winking.

Kairi's blush merely deepened, her pounding heart beating all the faster. "Sh-shut up!" she stuttered, averting her eyes from Sora's curious gaze. Chancing a glance at Riku, she found she was slightly hurt that a blank expression remained on his stoic face – not quite the jealous one she had been hoping for.

Letting out a gentle sigh, Kairi shook away the slight pain, returning her eyes to the brunet, who was now inhaling deeply, building up enough courage to continue.

"Go on then, Sora!" Namine encouraged brightly.

"You can do it!" Roxas added enthusiastically.

Huffing, Sora glanced around the deserted park, his face brightening as he noticed they were the only ones there. Flashing Kairi a quick smile, Sora quickly took off, circling the perimeter of the park with as much speed as he could muster.

Kairi found her eyes being pulled towards his bare chest, tracing over the way his muscles rippled as his arms pumped back and forth, the sunlight illuminating his tan skin, the sheen of light sweat covering him making him look all the more appealing.

"Wow..." Kairi mumbled to herself unconsciously, letting out a heartfelt sigh which attracted the attention of the blond girl seated beside her.

Smirking, Namine nudged Kairi between the ribs. "Looks like someone has a little thing for Sora!" she teased, giggling.

Kairi's eyes widened in horror, an uncontrollable blush spreading over her cheeks. "W-what? No I don't!" She protested, her arms flailing before her as she tried to convince Namine of the 'truth'.

"You're in denial! Ah, how sweet...young love!"

Kairi huffed at her best friend, pulling her over to one side to avoid attracting the boys' attention as she leaned forward and hissed in her ear. "Listen, Nam, shut up! I do not like Sora...he's like, my best friend!"

"Exactly! That's why it's all the cuter! And here I was thinking you were head over heels for Riku, when it turns out the one you really like is Sora!" Namine giggled, her hands clasping above her heart, blue eyes sparkling.

"No!" Kairi continued to deny, her voice raising as her annoyance grew. "Honestly, I have no feelings whatsoever for Sora...and I never will! I mean...he's Sora! He's silly, immature, funny...entertaining to be around, but not to actually date! You know very well that I like Riku...always have, always will! He's so smart, cool, sophisticated, mature...everything Sora's not! They're like exact opposites, and I just so happen to prefer Riku. So shut up about stupid Sora, will you?!"

A deathly silence met Kairi's ears as she breathed in deeply, closing her eyes to try to regain some control after her heated reply to Namine's statement.

After some of her self control had returned, the anger slowly seeping out, Kairi opened her eyes, to be met with the sight of Namine's concerned – and was that guilt? – expression.

Forehead crinkling, Kairi turned her head to see whatever it was that Namine was casting this pitying gaze at – only to be met with a sight she wished she hadn't seen.

Sora was stood behind her, face crumpled as he gazed upon Kairi, a look of pure torment upon his usually so happy face. His once so strong and upright posture was broken, his shoulders sagging, his arms hanging loosely by his side as his mouth opened slightly, as if he were trying to spit out words that just wouldn't come loose.

Taking in a sharp breath, Sora swallowed, sniffing slightly as he once more tried to force words out of his mute mouth. Kairi observed, her heart clenched, as she too tried to find the suitable words to say.

"Sora...?" was all she managed to release, her voice quiet as she gazed upon the saddened boy, a deep feeling of guilt and torment resting on her heart for some reason she couldn't quite place.

"I-I have to go," Sora managed to choke out, his voice broken, his cerulean eyes appearing empty, hollow, as if the words Kairi had spoken had dug deep into his soul, removing any trace of life.

Kairi shook her head softly, a confused expression on her face. "What, why?" she asked naively, not quite understanding the heartbreak Sora was currently going through.

Sora gave Kairi one last, fleeting glance, that in itself was the most painstaking, hurt, tortured look she had ever looked upon.

And for some reason unknown to her, as she watched him walk away, pulling his top over his head hastily, Kairi could swear she heard two very faint cracks – one coming from the departing boy; the other, from her heart.

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end.

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ah, the tortures of young love.

review if you want to read more :D

please? pretty please?

love love love you all!