Disclaimer: The Kingdom Hearts characters are obviously not my creations. Although I do like to think of them as my babies. This is not the same, I swear! A girl can dream!

--

Sora loved the way everything felt surreal after a concert. The flashing lights. The sticky smell of sweat. The roar of the crowd outside. He should have been an actor. He passed a mirror as his agent hurried him down the hall. His face was slick with makeup and sweat. The door opens. And his smile is plastered to his face once more. Girls come oozing through the door like a disease, screaming his name and other incoherent things. Inside Sora is gagging. Outside Sora is laughing, and pleasantly signing autographs. The problem with being an actor, was that Sora would lose himself in his characters. As a pop star, it was easy to differentiate between the two. There was Sora, and there was him. That sickening little sugar-toothed fairy that made girls swoon. As long as he lived, Sora swore to never become that. To never lose himself in the image that everyone thought about him.

Minutes later and Sora is being pushed out of the hallway and into a limousine. His agent slides in next to him and begins babbling away at his schedule. He looks at her. Her hair is limp and hanging in her face. Her eyes show weariness and exhaustion. It isn't easy keeping up with the stars. He stares at her as she flips hastily through her papers, never looking at him. They're all the same. They never look at Sora. Because they know. They know he isn't all they've expected him to be. And within a month they all resign. But there's always another bimbo, hungrily waiting to seize the seat next to Sora. He remembers them all showing up, their makeup done and their clothes appropriate, but revealing all the same. He remembers them gushing over his latest single and how handsome he looks in his video. Most vividly, he remembers them droning on about his "wonderful personality" and how there's no one in the world like him. At this point he laughs good-naturedly, but deep down inside it's filled with malice and hatred, and assures them that indeed there is no one else like him. And so they leave, thinking that he is perhaps a bit cocky, but a good guy all the same. Within a week they all realize the mistake they've made. Sora is shaken out of his thoughts by his agent who is tugging at his jacket sleeve roughly.

"Sir we're here."

He yanks his arm away and waits for the driver to get out and open his door. His agent blushes lightly and gets out herself, through the other door. Jacque, the limo driver gracefully opens his door and lowers his gaze. Sora smiles. Jacque is the only one he likes in this god-forsaken town. State. Country, even.

"Thank you, Jacque."

Even as a cold-hearted asshole, Sora always remembers his manners. Oh yes, he'll politely tell someone they look like a whale. He will hold open the door for an elderly old woman, but leave it as soon as she gets to the door. He will kiss a woman's hand, before spritzing his mouth with listerine and wiping his lips with a napkin. He realized he was a Class-A asshole. But he also realized no one could do anything about it if he was a Class-A gentleman at the same time.

It was a chilly afternoon. Sora wrapped his faded leather jacket around him more tightly and quickened his footsteps. Behind him he could hear the "clackity clack" of Agent Whatsername's hideous high heels. High glass doors opened instantly as Sora's boots hit the top step of the high-class building. He stopped to take in the building in a disinterested manner. The gleaming floors, the sparkling chandelier - everything was so perfect. No, too perfect. He made sure to scuff his boots on the floor as much as possible while flashing a charming smile at the young woman at the front desk. She smirked in response and looked him up and down. Hm. A possible candidate for...later activities.

Whatever thought he was about to delve deeper into, abruptly stopped as he was unconsciously led to a door in the back and into a dark room. As he walked in the lights turned on and there standing in front of him, was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on.

--

Riku inwardly rolled his eyes. He was a pretty easy guy to get along with, but if there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was that obnoxious, nasal voiced air-head, Sora. He strutted into the room like he owned the place, yet he was now in rocker territory. Not his little cupcake pansy land pop star world. He tiredly ran a hand through his silvery locks and sighed. Whatever. He would just have to deal with the little brat for a few weeks and then he'd be off the boy's chest for good.

However, he had to admit, Sora was a good looking kid. He was lanky, but you could tell there was definition behind those layers of clothes. His skin was tan and flawless, and he was dressed in a leather jacket, jeans and combat boots. For a Britney Spears wannabe, he had some style at least. He noticed that Sora was staring directly at him with large sapphire eyes. He raised an eyebrow at the kid who quickly looked away. He watched as Sora was introduced to some of the producers and directors on set. They all spoke to him with respect in their voices and Riku couldn't figure out why. This kid probably was as bad a singer as all the rest. Those damn pop singers and their high tech machines that had to edit every note that screeched out their voice box. Oh he could feel a migraine coming on.

"Kairi?"

A pretty red-head looked up.

"Yeah Ri?"

"Could you get me a coffee?"

She straightened up. "Sure thing."

"Thanks babe."

He settled back into his seat only to find that Sora was staring at him again. This time he raised both eyebrows. The kid, yet again, looked away but this time a slight blush graced his cheeks. Riku hated to admit that he was horribly turned on by this.

"And over here we have your partner in crime. Well Riku don't be such a clod. Get off your ass and greet the shrimp will ya?" Riku laughed and arose to his feet. He felt satisfaction as Sora seethed behind the director. He must not be used to such casual talk, the stupid prat.

"I'm Riku. Just Riku." He said, sticking out his hand.

Sora gaped at it for a moment before regaining his composure. "Sora. Just Sora." He grasped the other boy's hand tightly and smiled at him.

"Right, now that we're all introduced - hair, makeup. NOW!" The director bellowed and soon after random gay men and artistically challenged women came out to greet them. Sora was led to the hairstylist's room while Riku was steered toward the makeup. A bald man with emo specs came into the room looking bored.

"The usual Riku?"

Riku sat for a moment. "No, do what you want Leo. I trust you."

The bald man's eyes lit up. "You got it!"

--

Sora wanted to hit something. No. He wanted to kill something. No! He wanted to kill someone. These infested...people were pulling and tugging and snipping away at his hair like it was some bush that needed trimming. He knew rock stars needed to be taken care of before they went on stage, but for so much effort they still turned out looking like poor men taken out of a homeless shelter. He chuckled to himself and winced as a knot was yanked from his scalp.

"Zo much hair, yes?"

"Sorry?"

"You have zo much hair Zora, yes?"

"It's Sora you foreign idiot. Now just shut up and do your job."

"Zat eez enough young man! You are zee worst of zee worst! You come in here and want your hair done, yes? Zen you shall seet and be quiet!" The woman angrily shoved her hands into a pair of gloves and commenced spraying Sora's hair.

"What the hell are you doing to my hair?" He managed to ask between coughs.

The woman smacked him in the back of the head with the can. "There ees no swearing een my room, yes?" She spun his chair back so that he faced the mirror and his eyes widened slightly. He had never looked so good in his life.

His usual and famously spiky hair had been tamed and was now sticking up in expert places. The tips of the spikes had been dyed blue. But he noticed that this wasn't the I'm-such-a-lameass-I'm-gonna-dye-my-hair kind of blue. It almost looked natural. And that's what Sora was all about. All natural beauty baby. Snapple didn't have shit on him.

"You like, yes?"

Oh he loved. But of course, he was not one to satisfy others. They satisfied him. "It's okay I guess."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Thanks for all your help uhhh..." Sora trailed off reading her name tag "Bertha." He gave her a warm, fake smile before his agent came in to usher him out of the room.

Flash! Flash!

The little dots died away only after a moment and Sora saw the paparazzi flashing away at him through a window. He inwardly rolled his eyes. The paparazzi. What a sorry excuse for a job. Could you just imagine coming home from "work?" "Hey honey! I'm back from stalking celebs and trying to catch them in their underwear!" Sora snorted. He would love to be the child of a member of the paparazzi. But then again, most of the sorry people below him worshipped the paparazzi for getting those juicy pictures that started up the gossip. Ahh, rumors. There wasn't one thing Sora hadn't heard about himself in those pathetic Star magazines. He was asked about a different rumor every time he had an interview. Truthfully, the rumors only made Sora laugh. Something made up by the people below him, was certainly not worth his time.

He cracked a smile to the loud shouts from the paparazzi before his agent mumbled something and pushed him into the makeup room.

And there he was again.

Dressed like he didn't care about his style, but you could still definitely see he did care, in black jeans and a black t-shirt. A strange bald man was carefully putting weird symbols around Riku's eyes and cheekbones, which in Sora's opinion, only enhanced those emerald orbs of his.

He was beautiful - to put it lightly. Sora had never been so attracted to another person. He was open with his sexuality, he didn't really care what he got as long as they were hot. Of course, the paparazzi had a field day when they caught him making out with some guy. It just wasn't as...juicy for them if it was a girl.

But this boy...he was so different. It seemed like he did everything without effort. Everyone in the studio was laughing and joking with him. How could he stand all those...people treating him just like everyone else? But, he admitted, it seemed nice. Having others joke with you like you were pals. Everyone in his studio ran away from him at the first chance they could.

Sure, he was envious. But most of him was infatuated.

"Okay! Are we all done in here? Good, let's get Sora into makeup and someone PLEASE do something about that rat's nest on Riku's head!" The director had come in, barking to the hairstylist.

"Hey what's wrong with my hair?! It's my signature item man!"

"Riku it looks like it hasn't been washed in days. Someone get him a rinse and dry PRONTO. Yeesh, it's called Herbal Essence man!"

Sora snorted with laughter. He would have made a sly retort, but suddenly those electric eyes had turned to meet his gaze and he was shut up instantly. Next to him, his agent muttered something about wishing she had the power to do that. Sora's eyes narrowed.

"What was that?"

The color drained from her face. "N-nothing! Nothing at all!"

"That's what I thought." He smirked as he was pushed and shoved into a chair. The bald man leered over him, inspecting his face.

"You have great skin. I'm not going to do anything except put some powder on you, and maybe a dash of eyeliner - your fans will love that."

Sora smiled sweetly. "Thanks. Go right ahead."

It was just so easy for Sora to guide people into the palm of his hand. A little flash of his teeth, maybe a sweet word here or there, and soon they were practically asking to wipe his ass. His house was littered with gift baskets filled to the brim with senseless things he would never need. He didn't even know why he kept the things. Perhaps, he thought with a sense of dread, he was becoming too...soft.

"Well now that Riku's looking like a clean man, let's get to the shoot, shall we?"

--

An hour later, and Riku was exhausted. He had been worked to the bone this evening, listening to and complying to all of the crazy things the director had told him to do. For the first time in a while, a pop singer and a rock singer had come together to form one of the most powerful duets to date. It had all the characteristics of a rock song, but the director felt something edgy would make it a great hit. And that's when he saw the billboard for Sora on top of a skyscraper. "This is what we are looking for!" His director had exclaimed and frantically began dialing numbers. Riku figured that Sora had only agreed because it meant more money for him.

Today, they had shot the first in a series of things. The director wanted photos plastered everywhere, informing passerby about the worldwide release of the song. Next they would be recording the song, and soon after, making the video for it.

Today, had also been awkward. The director continued barking things at Riku and Sora as they stood in front of the cameras that made Riku have the decency to blush. He found himself doing provocative things to the younger boy that he had never done to anyone in his life. After the shoot, he overheard Sora asking the director why Riku had been, quote "practically dry humping" him for most of the shots. The director only laughed and ruffled Sora's hair like he was 12. In Riku's opinion, Sora had every right to ask a question like that and honestly, he wanted to know the answer as well.

After the makeup had been taken off his face, Riku sidled over to the snack bar in the back. He grabbed a bit of everything and plopped down in one of the squashy chairs near the set. Gnawing on a carrot, he watched as Sora slipped into the room unnoticed, watching everyone with a dark look on his face. His eyes wandered over to the computer, which was now digitally enhancing Riku's eye color and Sora's cheeks. He glared at the machine as a faint blush now graced his cheeks. Riku shuddered slightly. If that had been a human, it certainly would have ran crying at the sight of his glare. Suddenly Sora's eyes were on his own. Instead of looking away however, his eyes softened slightly before a cold glaze overtook them as his agent called him over.

Perhaps there was something more to the sugar coated lyrics in pop music. The next time he found himself at a CD store, he would be sure to check out Sora's latest album.

"Careful Riku, don't think too hard or you might hurt yourself." It was Kairi. In the midst of Riku's thoughts, she had sat down next to him holding a cinnamon bun.

"You never got my coffee."

She scoffed. "What am I, your slave?"

Riku and Kairi had been best friends ever since he could remember. She had been the one to encourage him to deepen his love for singing and music. She was there when he started his first band. She was even there, patting his back, as he was thrown out of his house for disgracing the family honor. After his parents had split, he went to live with his grandmother - a strong woman with a hatred for anything new and modern. Rock stars were at the top of her list. Of course, Riku still spoke frequently with his mother and father who passionately encouraged him in every way he could. When they weren't around though, it was Kairi who was his shoulder to lean on.

"Of course you're my slave. You sold your soul to me the day you offered me your ice cream."

Kairi laughed. "Well I didn't know that. I was only four years old, and thought it was the right thing to do."

"That's your fault for being innocent, not mine."

Kairi laughed again. "You're wicked, you know."

A comfortable silence fell between the two as they watched the crew packing up. Kairi noticed Riku's eyes following Sora as he argued with the men at the computer to take away the blush on his cheeks.

"I'm not a fucking pansy!"

"Of course you're not Sora."

"I do more Kung Fu than you will ever know!"

"We know that Sora."

"STOP TREATING ME LIKE A FIVE YEAR OLD, I'M PRACTICALLY THE SAME AGE AS GANDOLF OVER THERE!" Sora bellowed pointing at Riku.

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Gandolf?"

Sora blanched. "Well...well he has white hair...and well I dunno your hair just kind of resembles his..."

Kairi and the crew all burst into hysterical laughter. "That...has...to...be..." Kairi wheezed, "One...of the...greatest...nicknames...of all time!" She got to her feet and clapped Sora on the shoulder. "I love this kid!"

"I AM NOT A KID."

"Sure, sure I know you're not." Kairi waved him off, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

Sora made an angry growl and punched the wall. Everyone stopped laughing. There was a respectable sized hole in the wall.

"I am through with you morons." His voice had become eerily calm. Without another word, he spun on his heels and stormed out of the room.

A tense silence filled the room. Finally the director spoke. "We need him for this single to work. You there!" He pointed at Sora's agent. "You can get him back, can't you?"

She shook her head, hair falling into her eyes. Riku noticed that she would be very pretty if she took better care of herself. "Sora doesn't care what I say, I'm just his agent. You'll need someone better with words to persuade him to come back." Her voice was quiet, and she looked at the ground the whole time she spoke.

"What's your name, girlie?" The director asked.

"Namine, sir."

"Well Namine, as his agent you have a certain responsibility to uphold. Do you have any idea where he would have gone?"

Namine shrugged. "He's probably just outside waiting for his limo."

The director stared at her. Then he looked at Riku. "Go get him."

"What?! Why me?!"

"Because I said so, now MOVE IT!" He shouted while pulling Riku's arm out the door. A final shove and 'click' of the door meant that it was locked and that he would not be able to get back in until he had Sora. Damn it all, his cell phone was in there too. If this boy didn't go quietly, there was going to be hell to pay.

--

He hoped they would have to pay for that wall.

Sora was seething with anger, and to make matters worse, it was raining. The blue dye from his hair was now dripping down his leather jacket, some of the color seeping into the material. 'Great just what I need. A blue streaked leather jacket.' He angrily kicked a brick wall near the building and yelped with surprise. A brick had broken loose from above and almost hit him on the head.

"That's karma for you."

He whirled to see Riku standing impatiently, with his hair smattered in his eyes. If Sora hadn't been so angry he would have realized just how gorgeous the boy looked.

"Shut up, you don't know anything about me."

Riku snorted. "I know you're an obnoxious little brat who throws a temper tantrum every time he doesn't get his way-" He broke off as Sora's hands closed tightly around his collar.

"I said," Sora roughly pulled him closer so that Riku could almost see the sparks dancing in his eyes, "You don't know anything about me." He pushed him back and turned on his feet in disgust.

"Alright, alright I'm sorry. I don't know anything about you, you're right." Sora's eye twitched as Riku caught up to him. "But come on man, they were all joking in there! They didn't know you were so..." Sora whirled on him.

"So what? Childish? Sensitive? Spoiled? Which adjective are you going to spew at me this time, Gandolf?"

Riku put his hands up in defense. "Hey chill out. I was just going to say serious!"

Sora snarled at him before continuing to walk. Moments later he heard the silver boy's footsteps in sync with his own.

"Soooo...where are you going exactly?"

Sora hadn't actually considered this. He never did. When he was angry, his body just did what it wanted to do. It was impulsive. He liked that. Nothing planned out or organized. Just living life and letting it happen.

"Don't know, don't care. Will you get out of my face now?"

Sora's footsteps faltered as Riku moved in front of him and stopped him with his hand.

"No. Time to back inside now where it's warm and filled with good food. Come on, they've got awesome coffee." And without another word Riku had grabbed his hand and was yanking him back into the building. Sora hated to admit to the electricity that spread through his body at Riku's touch.

Now they had reached the back room and Riku was rapping loudly on the door, swearing under his breath.

"Do you have the ki-"

"YES, I have Sora." Riku interrupted, glancing nervously at the brunette. Sora only stared coldly at the floor. There was a muffled yelp of glee and the door was thrown open, the director dancing in the doorway. "Come in, come in! Oh look you're all soaked. Come sit down!"

Sora nearly gagged. He sounded like his mother. Someone placed a warm mug in his hands and saw it was none other than his agent. She smiled at him, looking him right in the eyes. "Welcome back, sir." Sora stared at her incredulously before returning the smile. "Thank you, Namine."

--

After numerous apologies, the photos had been chosen and people were saying their goodbyes. Riku sat in a corner watching the action around him. Two stylists were arguing over a hairdryer, both claiming it was theirs, Leo was teaching Namine how to put on makeup, and Sora was laughing over a joke the director had just told him. At the moment, you would never know how much of an asshole Sora could be. He looked adorable, with his face glowing and his smile wide.

"I've seen that look before." Kairi said, coming over to hand him his cell phone.

"What look?"

She nodded her head at Sora. "You've got the hots for The Hulk over there, don't you?"

"Not a chance." But Kairi didn't miss the flush that came to Riku's cheeks. She smiled.

"Well then, not that it makes a difference," She rocked on her heels. "But I'm pretty sure he's gaga about you too."

Riku sniffed. "I don't care."

She shrugged and walked away.

But maybe Kairi was right. Maybe Riku did think the kid was absolutely heaven-sent with the most breathtaking eyes he had ever seen. Maybe Riku didn't mind being so close to the boy during the photo shoot. Maybe it had only been awkward because he had enjoyed it. Maybe Riku felt a pang of jealousy as Namine and Sora smiled at each other.

And then Sora's eyes locked with his. The sapphire orbs narrowed as he caught Riku staring at him. Riku hastily grinned at him before busying himself with his cell phone.

Yeah, he could definitely feel that migraine coming on.

--

Hey everyone! It's been a while!

To tell the truth, for a while this story wasn't even going to be posted. It's a very bittersweet experience writing this. I find it difficult to keep Sora being so mean when all I want to do is have him pounce on Riku for 10 chapters.

What does everyone think? It's a bit dark, but I'm having fun writing it despite how frustrating it can be and how much writer's block I've been getting. Jeez!

I don't know where this story is going exactly...or even if it will be finished. But I will be beginning chapter 3 as you read this because chapter 2 is already done! So that's at least 2 chapters right?

Thanks for reading, and if you've never heard of Bobdabuilder, you can check out my other story. It's actually finished so it may be a more satisfying read!

Thanks everyone! :)