Hello, my name is Riku Montgomery. I'm seventeen, a senior in high school, and for a good six months of the year, completely apathetic towards the world and everything in it.

I used to be really-well, no, I guess I never was, was I? Okay. Let's try this again.

I never really had a lot of friends but no one ever straight up hated me-or if they did, they knew I could kick their asses so they kept it to themselves. That being said, I've always been a bit of a loner-yeah, I have friends, and great ones at that-and never really put much thought into it.

Mostly friendship to me consists of casual conversations, the occasional hug, and not really going much deeper than that. It was better that way-be there, but don't invade people's lives. That's how it's always been. I'm a very private person.

And you know what? I was perfectly happy with that.

Then my mom decided one day to ruin my life-long dreams of spending another worthless year of my life staring at the oh-so-familiar beige/white walls of Simpleton High (actually called Singleton, but I'm convinced it was a typo). It was on that fateful Friday evening in the local Bob Evans, as I shoved blueberry crepes gracefully down my throat (because I really wasn't in the mood for them), that my mother, bless her, decided to announce to me ever-so ceremoniously; "When we get home, pack your things. We're moving to Utah."

I gaped at her, mouth opening and closing as if I were a fish for a good ten seconds before I shoveled a forkful of sugar-laden berries into the side of my mouth. "Ow, shit..." I muttered, holding my poor, abused and injured cheek before attempting (and succeeding in) eating the forkful of evil. After this stunt, I glanced back at my mother and fixed her with a cold stare and nodded. "So we won the house, then."

"You could be a little more excited, Riku."

"So sorry. I'm still coping from the fact that you're so thoughtlessly ripping me away from the love of my life."

"She's probably cheating on you."

"Oh, thanks, mom. That makes me feel so much better," I say, rolling my eyes and smirking. "My lovely Maple would never cheat on me. We're deeply in love. We've even started to discuss marriage and children together."

My mother, the lovely woman she is, snorted and spit her coffee back into the cup. "Okay, kid. Whatever you say. Just use protection, you wouldn't want to get termites."

"Oh, yes of course mother. Don't worry, we always practice safe sex."

She snorted again. Lovely woman, my mother. Really. "Any other mother would put you in the looney bin, Riku. I hope you know that."

"Well I'd never! My courtship with the beautiful Lady Maple is nothing but sane."

"Oh, forgive me. I didn't mean to offend you. I totally support your long-term relationship with the tree in our backyard," she said, rolling her eyes. "But we're not taking her with us, so you're going to have to break it off. Sorry, honey."

I shrugged. I wasn't really that torn up over moving. I know that my friends would flip a shit and start crying,-the pansies,- but in reality, I was looking forward to a change. "When do we leave?"

"Sunday night."

"Shit, man...Utah? That's like...the desert. How the fuck are you gonna live with all that hair?" Axel, my favorite ginger-who-wasn't, said as I broke the news to him Saturday morning.

I glanced over at him from where I sat under Maple, ceasing my quick sketch of a stick figure him fighting with a stick figure Xion over the heart of our mutual fun-buddy, Roxas. And by fun buddy, I meant Debby Downer. And by Debby Downer, I meant-

"Riku!"

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah. Sorry, you were talking?"

Xion scowled at me. "I was asking you if you'd ever even been to Utah."

"Oh," I said, continuing my doodle. "Yeah, it's...got a lot of melons."

Xion rolled her eyes. "So you haven't?"

"No, no, I have. Remember when my brother tried to become a marine? We drove all the way across the country. We went through and stopped in Utah both there and back."

"Oh, I see..." she said, looking forlorn.

I smiled softly. "Don't worry, chicka. In a weeks time I'll have replaced all you fuckers and never contact you again-"

Xion smacked me in the head and stormed off.

I glanced up at Axel. "Was it something I said?"

He rolled his eyes, and with a smirk, followed her, throwing a half-assed wave over his shoulder as his final goodbye.

He was under the impression that I wasn't serious and would still be here come Monday morning, when senior orientation was taking place.

Sorry, buddy. Not this time.

The drive from my childhood home (which I'd only lived in for six years) to my mom's recently received "dream home" took approximately three days. I didn't mind. I liked car rides. They were my absolute favorite.

When we got there, it was about four pm and frankly, I was kind of dreading the whole unpacking thing. Nonetheless, I started hauling my shit out of the U-haul truck, dumping it in the room my mother had designated as mine, and then hauling her shit into her room because my dad, bless his heart, was nearly fifty and despite being a body builder, was not capable of picking up their boxspring alone.

I was pretty strong. I worked on a farm during the mid summer dumping 80lb bags of various farm animal food into barrels. He didn't generally allow me to go to the gym with him (because he was convinced I was gay, though I have no clue what that has to do with it, whatsoever), so I did what I could to stay in shape. I think I did pretty well for myself, considering how well developed my body was.

Anyways...

After we had dumped all our crap onto the floor of the room they were meant to be in, we went to the local Denny's and ate disgusting fat soaked food.

Or, well, I did, anyways. They ate pancakes and shit like that. Ew.

It was there that I realized that I was going to love Buttfuck Nowhere, Utah, because the waiter was some ninnyhammer who couldn't walk right and dumped soda on me. Now, normally, people who get soda dumped on them by Denny's waiters are pretty pissed. Me?

Nah.

"Oh my god, ma'am, I'm sooooo sorry," the boy said, ripping napkins out of his apron and jabbing me with them.

I chuckled. "Don't worry about it, kid. But I'll have you know, I'm quite male."

The kid blushed redder than Axel's hair and started in on a whole new montage of apologies, which I again waved my hand at in dismissal.

"Chill out, kid. It happens."

"I feel really bad, though..." he said, biting his lip and pouting slightly, blue eyes wide.

He was cute. I'd give him that. "It's not a problem, really. I'm just glad it wasn't coffee or anything," I said, grinning.

"Quit flirting with the waiter, Riku," my brother, Yaag, said, rolling his eyes. He was plagued with stick-up-the-ass syndrome. It was a tragedy, really.

"Quit flirting with your mom, Yaag," I droned, earning a smack upside the head from said lovely good-natured mother and another from him. Whatever. I smirked and winked at the brunette, who was still standing there like the ninnyhammer he'd so far proven himself to be.

"Hey, Sor, quit standing there like a big dummy and do your job at your tables!" Some broad I didn't remember the name of but who was our actual waitress said, puffing her cheeks out and jabbing the poor brunette in the side. Once he flailed at her and left, she turned to us, smiling. "Sorry about him...he's such a ditz sometimes. Can I get you guys anything?"

"Um, a box, please," my mom said, smiling politely.

"Alright-y! And I'll bring you your bill, too, so sit tight!"

Well, she was kind of annoying. I expressed this thought once she was out of range, earning a roll of the eyes from my mother. In case you were wondering, my dad was sitting across from me staring blankly into the distance. He didn't talk much, and when he did it generally was a topic forbidden at the dinner table by my mother.

Sometime later, the auburn-haired girl came back with the bill and a box, told us to have a great night, winked at me and Yaag, and then walked off. Ew.

A/N: Here's the first chapter! I hope you liked it. (*is shot for not finishing his other stories* hurrdurr)

Yaag is a character in FFXIII. He's also a minor character in this story, so don't worry about him too much. Mostly I just used him because I didn't really want Sephiroth to be Riku's brother, and I didn't feel right breaking up Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, since I only really wanted Riku to have /one/ brother.

Soyeah.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me a review, if you want to.