Disclaimer: I don't own anything except plot!

"So, you're telling me that your new ideal, "dream" guy, is someone who's blonde, rich, and intelligent? With green eyes to boot?"

Kairi nodded enthusiastically as the summer wind of the ocean breezed through her hair. "Correct!"

"So, you're basically looking for a summer fling." Sora chuckled deeply when Kairi assaulted him with a punch to the shoulder.

"I am not looking for just a fling. I'm looking for a great, caring guy who will just sweep me off my feet!"

"So, a fling," Sora repeated plainly, earning a glare from the redhead. He simply returned her glare with a smirk. "At this rate, I don't think you'll ever find the 'perfect' one. Wasn't your ideal type a guy who is silver-haired, athletic, and, I don't know, jock-like just a few months ago?"

"That was when I had a thing for Riku, you idiot."

"Uh huh." Sora was clearly not amused by the redhead's fickle taste in guys.

Kairi stood up from the bench they were sitting at and stretched her arms. Even though the sun was nearly setting over the horizon of the ocean, the weather was still blistering as the heat of the cement radiated through her sandals. Sora didn't stand up with her as he sat, legs spread apart slightly as he leaned back against the bench.

"You're kind of hurting my ego here," Sora said with a roll of his eyes. "Considering I was your first and only boyfriend ever. Funny how I never matched any of your ideal types that you're always blabbering your mouth off about."

"Gosh, I thought we agreed not to talk about this again," Kairi laughed, giving his leg a small nudge with her foot. "That was freshman year. We were young."

"Oof, freshman year. Brings me back. We're already graduating this year." Sora stood up with her, signaling that it was about time they went back home. Homework didn't write itself up. The spiky-haired brunet took his turn to stretch his toned arms, metal crown necklace glistening underneath the last red rays of the sun. "About to go to college and I still don't know what to do with my life."

"It'll come to you, sooner or later," Kairi assured, snickering as Sora tried to fix his unruly hair that got messed up from the breeze. "I'm sure it will."

The two walked side-by-side back to their houses, which were right across from each other. Having been neighbors since the dawn of time, the two had no problem randomly crashing each other's homes at any time of the day. Even in the middle of the night. It was just their thing.

"Won't your girlfriend get mad at you for just wasting your day away being with me?" Kairi giggled, bending her body a little bit to look at his face while they walked. "If I had a boyfriend, I wouldn't want him to spend time with a girl so much. I can't blame you though; I'm just that fabulous."

"Geez, just shut up already," Sora joked. He let out a hum before he answered her. "She's fine. She knows that that a tomboy like you will never be under my radar, so."

"Hey!" Kairi teasingly bumped her side into his, nearly ramming him into a street light. He simply stuck out his tongue at her. "This girlfriend of yours, though…"

"Yeah?"

"Dude, when will I ever meet her? When will I ever meet the fantastic girl who 'has a nice voice, is smart, and considerate'? Heck, when will any of us meet this mysterious girlfriend of yours? Even Riku doesn't know who this person is."

"We're in a long-distance relationship, of course you guys don't know her," Sora reasoned. "I promise you, if she ever visits, I'll introduce you to her. It's not like I'm hiding her from you or anything." Kairi, unconvinced, shook her head and sighed.

"You don't even give a name. Hey, what does she look like?" Kairi didn't notice how Sora got uncomfortable when she asked that question.

"Just your regular, average gal."

"Which is?"

"She has a nice voice, is smart, and considerate."

"You already said that before."

"She… has black hair."

"Wow, real specific."

Sora shot her an unappreciative look.

"She has long, black, and wavy hair," he continued, giving Kairi the details she wanted. "Beautiful hair as black as midnight."

"I didn't ask you to get poetic."

"You know what," Sora held his hands up in surrender, "I'm not saying anymore."

"Sora!" Kairi half-whined, half-laughed. "I'm sorry! I'm just bullying you a little bit. Don't take it to heart, mhm?"

"Yeah, yeah, Miss. I-want-my-guys-blonde-and-rich."

This earned him another punch to the shoulder.

"Well, I hope I get to meet her soon! She sounds awesome," Kairi smiled, eyes twinkling like tiny stars. Sora returned the smile with his own tiny one.

"Sure."

When the two parted to go inside their respective houses, Kairi immediately darted upstairs, took her earphones from her drawer, shoved it into her laptop through the socket, brought it over to her bed, and called Namine and Selphie through video chat. Immediately, doing their duties as good best friends, the two girls picked up within three rings.

"Girl, what's u—"

"Ahhhh!" Kairi shouted into the mic the moment her two best friends picked up. Namine and Selphie visibly winced on camera from the glass-breaking scream that came from the redhead's mouth.

"If you're going to blast my eardrums tonight, then I'm out," Selphie hissed, rubbing her ears tenderly. Namine groaned in agreement as she put one of her previously dislodged earphones back into her ear. Kairi only smiled apologetically before her face morphed into one of pure distress.

"Guys, it's about—"

"Sora, yeah, yeah. What's new?" Selphie deadpanned, unamused as she watched the redhead draw out a long and exasperated sigh. Namine was better as a small smile graced her lips. Kairi's sigh turned into a very loud groan as she thumped the back of her head against the wooden frame of her bed repeatedly.

"He told me more about his girlfriend today," Kairi reported, another sad sigh escaping her lips as she recalled the conversation they just had. "She just sounds so amazing."

"Okay, she can sound amazing, but does she even exist?" Namine questioned with a raised eyebrow. This wasn't the first time this topic got touched upon. Selphie excitedly slapped her desk with her hand.

"I second this notion! Girl, he can say whatever the shit he wants, but pictures or no proof."

"But they're in a long-distance rela—"

"So being in a long-distance relationship means you don't have phones and cameras? What is this, the nineteenth fucking century?" Selphie cut in, not having any of Kairi's nonsense. "You can shove a stick up my ass and I'll still believe his girlfriend's fake." Ignoring Selphie's vulgar ways of saying things, Kairi rubbed her face with both her hands, confused on what to think.

"Ugh, you guys just don't know," Kairi argued. "I just know. He's my best friend after all, and he wouldn't lie to me about these types of things. Why would he?"

"Whatever floats your boat, Kairi," Namine replied to the girl in denial. Selphie in the background only clicked her tongue in disappointment at the whole situation.

"If only you didn't break up with him in freshman year, you wouldn't be whining and crying like this like a little kindergartener."

"Things were different back then," Kairi tried to explain, but both her friends weren't having any of it.

"You missed out on a load of hot sausages, Kairi, I'm sorry," Selphie continued to chide. Kairi knew Selphie was getting into her phase, and no one stopped the brunette once she was in it. "Kill me for being stating the truth, but I can confidently say that Sora is the hottest and, dare I say it, sexiest guy alive. At least in our school. And you completely missed your chance, Kai Kai. He was head-over-heels in love with you, yet you just had to break his poor heart like that. And now you're telling me you love him now?"

"Selphie, you're getting a little bit too harsh here," Namine intervened, fearing the heated brunette. "Kairi has her own side too, remember? If you just forget about who he is right now and remember how he was back in freshman year…"

"Can you blame me? He was just so immature and… unromantic back then," Kairi defended herself. "And we were young too… We weren't ready for a relationship."

"And you'll never be ready because you missed your chance. Kairi, I love you and all, and you're really pretty—don't get me wrong—but Sora dated Yuna after you, literally one of the prettiest girls to get popped out of the womb, and at the end, he was the one who broke up with her! An angel!"

"Your point is?"

"Your aiming for something high here, pal."

"I'm not aiming for him or anything… he has a girlfriend, remember?"

"I can call my teddy bear my boyfriend and somehow make the whole school believe that I actually have a real one," Selphie continued to roast Kairi like no tomorrow, earning snickers from the blonde who was just listening in the background. "I swear it's just a tactic he uses to avoid girls asking him out. Taken man means no-no."

"…"

"Hey, Kairi," Namine's gentle voice entered in, grabbing Kairi's attention. "You know… I don't like seeing you suffer with this one-sided crush of yours… And you're legit neighbors with him too. You're seeing him way too much, and it's hurting you. What about distancing yourself away from him a bit, hm?"

"Namine…"

"Just my two cents. You don't have to follow what I say, but I do believe a little bit of fresh air can clear your mind and get your emotions more under control."

Kairi sniffed as she hugged her laptop screen.

"I love you, Namine. You're such a sweetheart. No wonder Roxas just can't keep his eyes off of you." Namine simply blushed at this comment and giggled.

"You better love me too for always having to deal with your love problems," Selphie said, arms crossed on the screen indignantly. Kairi laughed.

"Of course, of course."

After talking about a few more things that weren't about Sora, Kairi decided to just sleep early and thanked her friends for being there for her before she ended the call and shut her laptop closed. Putting it on the small table next to her bed, Kairi climbed out of bed, changed her clothes, and went to the bathroom to wash up before she hit the blankets.

As she laid there and stared at her ceiling that was dimly lit by her night light, her thoughts went back to her handsome best friend much to her reluctance. The last thing she wanted to do before sleeping was think about him and his smile.

They had been best friends since middle school. It all started on that day where he tripped on a rock and fell on her, successfully squishing the cold bar of ice cream between their chests as they painfully landed on the floor. Of course, sixth-grader Kairi was not happy with her dirty clothes, and sixth-grader Sora felt so embarrassed that he simply just ran away towards the boy's bathroom without even saying sorry.

Yes, that was how their story started. Kairi couldn't remember exactly how they became best friends—they just did. Somehow hanging out with each other every day since that fateful encounter, the two became the pair that everyone knew as inseparable.

In freshman year, the awkward and hyperactive boy suddenly confessed to her at a park in front of a fountain during their little outing on Christmas Eve. It would've been perfect, with all the glistening lights and beautiful Christmas carols sung in the background, and so romantic if a brigade of seagulls didn't suddenly swarm the sky and landed a piece of poop right on her head.

But that was okay. The two simply giggled, cursing her own bad luck as their cheeks burned red and their speech became soft stutters.

That night, Kairi had her first kiss. It was light. It was fleeting. Just a small press of the lips. And it ended as quick as it came. But it sent a rush of feelings through her—feelings she never thought she could've experienced. With shy smiles and blushing faces, the two young teenagers lived their first love.

But she just had to go ahead and break his heart. Just because she thought he was too immature. Too clumsy in love. Not "perfect." Not the "prince" she imagined in her dreams.

Best friends. They returned to being best friends after they swore to just forget about it. Forget about their first love. Forget that anything had happened between them.

And then Sora just had to go and change. Became one of the most sought-out guys in the school. Became so tall, handsome, and caring. Became the guy that she was madly in love with. And she wasn't in love with him because he suddenly became the prince everyone wanted.

In her eyes, he didn't become a prince at all. He was still the same Sora, and it took her this long that she just loved him for who he is. For the cute, playful, and silly guy he was behind that cool image he managed to manifest over the years.

Just Sora Hikari.

"I'm so stupid," was the last thing Kairi said to herself before she turned off her night light and fell into slumber.

~.~.~

"So, babe," Kairi blinked confusingly as Vanitas, some jock on the football team, took a hand, placed it lowly on her hip, and pulled her into him. "You're looking real good today. How about going on a rendezvous with me after school? You said no the last time. You can't possibly say no again."

"Haha, Van, you're funny," she laughed nervously, putting a hand on his chest so that she could somehow politely push him away, but he sure was tight with his hold. She let out an "oh!" when he pulled her intimately closer to him. "Um, I'm busy tonight. Got, you know, those family chores we all gotta do."

"Family chores? How busy can you get?"

"I—"

"She's lying. She's busy with me."

Kairi felt Vanitas release his close hold on her as an arm wrapped itself across her neck near her shoulders and pulled her away from the jock. Instantly, she could recognize who it was just by the scent of his clothes. Because she wasn't facing him, she couldn't see how Sora's eyes flashed dangerously at Vanitas.

"Hikari, always cockblocking me with the girls, aren't you?" he said with a small and playful smirk. Sora smiled back before sticking out a tongue.

"You can touch anyone but my best friend. Lay off."

Vanitas chuckled and raised his arms up in defeat. "Whatever you say. The last thing I want to do is get on your bad side," and the raven-haired boy left just like that. Kairi took this time to turn around and remove Sora's arm off of her.

"When did you ever gain the power to give people permission to touch me?" she mused as she raised an eyebrow. Sora stuffed his hands in his pockets before he shrugged.

"Shoot me for saving you from an uncomfortable situation." He shot her a quizzical look, which she returned with a roll of her eyes.

"I had that situation completely under control."

"Pfft, oh yeah. Definitely."

Kairi blew at her bangs, not wanting to argue about a simple matter like this. However, she didn't expect him to say what he said next. "Did you return back to liking jocks?"

"Huh?"

Sora rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Never mind."

"Hey, wait! Are you heading home? Dude, we live in the same direction, don't walk off without me!"

Because it was a Friday, they had to do what they did every Friday: binge-watch movies. This week, they picked Kairi's house.

"You say you're not spoiled, but there's a freaking plasma HD TV in your damn room," Sora said as he scrunched up his face in jealousy. "I wish I had such a nice TV in my room. All I got is a bed and a table with a few shelves for books and trophies." Knowing every inch of this house like its his own, Sora made himself at home, propped up the pillows, and flopped right onto Kairi's bed. She tried not to show how visibly hot she got when a rather lewd thought entered her mind.

His scent is going to get all over my bed.

It wasn't any better when his shirt rode up just a tiny bit from the movement, exposing the faint yet toned abs he had underneath. "Please, let's not watch stupid chick-flicks this week. Save those for your girlfriends on another night."

"Hey, they're my favorite," Kairi hissed, offended at how he just dissed her choices in movies. Kairi went over to his side and naturally grabbed her plush dog to hug. Sora reached over and tried to grab the remote from her, but she was quick and held it away from him. "Romantic films are the best. They're just so perfect." She let out a dreamy sigh while Sora only groaned.

"Disgusting."

However, he gave up in his attempts for a thriller movie and let Kairi have total control over the remote. Giggling happily, Kairi picked a random movie, turned off the main lights, and switched on the night light for the movie effect.

"Are you sure your girlfriend isn't going to get mad at you for doing things like this?" Kairi asked again as she comfortably laid her head on his shoulder.

"I like how you keep asking," Sora chuckled. "She's fine with it. She knows we're like blood-brothers, so. Or blood-sisters. Whatever keeps you asleep at night." Your scent is definitely not going to let that happen. Kairi felt a pang in her chest, something that happened every time she just heard him talk about his girlfriend. Because he somehow always managed to brother-zone her. She made a mental note not to dig that kind of hole for herself.

Namine and Selphie always told her that it wasn't normal for best friends of opposite genders to just sit on the same bed all comfy and snuggly when watching a movie. Kairi used to ignore what they said. To her, it was normal. It just showed how close she was with Sora.

However, these thoughts might have to change soon. The more her love for him grew, the more she became conscious of him. Movie nights weren't even for the movies anymore—they were nights where Kairi tried her hardest not to let her feelings get exposed. It was hard to pay attention to the movie when his scent just wafted teasingly underneath her nose while their light physical touches drove her insanely mad.

This was their last year together, Kairi realized. Soon, they would graduate from high school. Go to college that could potentially be far from one another. Meet new people. They'll move on with their lives. Things wouldn't be the same anymore—things would change. They wouldn't forget each other at first, but life would get too busy for them to ever continue being the best friends they were. Each would grow to have their own job, their own home.

Their own family.

Kairi's heart sank. How could she ever face the day she actually saw Sora's beloved partner?

This wasn't good for her heart. Maybe she should take Namine's advice. Give herself some space away from him. That way, she could continue living another day without doing something rash like jumping on him or irrationally confess her love to him because of a sudden spur of the moment. That wouldn't be good. Even she knew her limits.

"Gosh, you're being fidgety," Sora's voice broke her train of thought. He sat completely up and faced her, eyes curious as a small frown creased his forehead. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, what? Um, no, of course not." Way to sound convincing. Sora, without ever leaving his eyes from her face, reached over her, grabbed the remote, and lowered the volume of the TV.

"Do you want to talk?" he offered. Kairi shook her head.

"Really, nothing's wrong," she continued to persuade, smiling to make her look more believable. However, it started to falter when Sora's soft gaze continued to be trained on her. It was as if he knew. It was as if he knew that he could just melt her away just by looking at her.

It was painful, really. Painful that she ruined everything between them just because of her immaturity. Not because of his, but hers. Painful that her once two-sided love became a one-sided love, all because of her. You reap what you sow, I guess.

It was painful just pretending that she was fine, that she wasn't madly in love with her best friend.

Sora Hikari, you devil.

The last thing she ever wanted to do was start crying right in front of Sora because of her messed-up emotions. Her arm immediately covered her eyes, shielding herself from Sora's observant gaze.

"I'm okay," she sniffed as she half-laughed, half-cried. "Gosh, this movie's really getting to me." For a second, Kairi was glad that the movie was coincidentally showing a sad scene, but this hopeful thought of being able to trick Sora vanquished when his serious expression never went away.

"Kairi Anne Lockhart," Kairi shivered involuntarily at this; he only used her full name when he was dead serious about something. "If you don't tell me what the fuck is wrong, I'll seriously be angry with you." There he goes, pulling her heartstrings like that again because of how honestly caring and sincere he was.

"Stay away from me," she demanded when he was about to grab onto her shoulders and pull her in for what she assumed to be a hug. "Don't touch me, Sora." She knew that if he touched her, she would just become a pool of nothingness. A flash of hurt crossed his features, but he nevertheless respected her wishes and moved away from her.

"What is wrong, Kairi?"

"I swear, it's nothing!" she claimed. She wiped the tears away from her eyes. "You know, I love romantic movies and all but sometimes, they just make me feel lonely." She wasn't completely lying. Any romantic reminder of anything just made her sad. "I think you know this already, but all my friends already have a boyfriend that really loves them and cares for them. Call me petty, but I just can't help but feel envious. Namine with Roxas, Selphie with Tidus, Xion with Riku. Everyone just looks so happy."

"Kairi, I hope you understand that you don't have to have a lover to be happy," Sora tried to tell her, but she shook her head. Inside, she knew he was right. Having a lover didn't define her happiness, but she was still unhappy. She wasn't unhappy because she was single; she was just unhappy because her love could never become true.

"Don't even try to tell me that, Sora," she growled. "Like you're the one to talk. Who here is the one who's had a girlfriend for the past year and a half?"

"About that—"

"Sora, I've been thinking about this for a while," Kairi swallowed the lump forming at her throat. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to separate from whatever friendship they had. But for her own emotional and mental health, she realized that it was something that was necessary. "Maybe we should stop being so… close."

Kairi was too preoccupied with her emotions to realize how panicked Sora was starting to get.

"Wait, what? What are you trying to say?"

"It's probably easy for you since your girlfriend already knows we're nothing," Kairi couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "But for me, it's different. When people see you and me together, they don't even dare go near me because they're just that intimidated by our close friendship. To others, it… looks like we have something going on, even if everyone knows you have a girlfriend. And it's probably kind of too late to start now, since we're about to graduate in a few months, but I would like to, you know," Kairi cleared her painful throat, "start dating again. Meet new people. Expand my bubble."

"… Are you trying to tell me that you don't want to be friends with me anymore?" Kairi finally noticed how hurt Sora was when his voice cracked horribly at the end of her sentence. Kairi widened her eyes—that wasn't what she meant.

"No! Of course not, Sora! Nothing's going to change the fact that you're my best friend," Kairi immediately corrected. "It's just that—well—space. I just… need space. A little bit." Kairi gave with a hopeful look. She couldn't tell any of his emotions as he simply just stared at her with a straight face. "I just… need time to think too. And I don't think I could do that with you around."

"You hurt me so much, Kairi," Sora harshly whispered, actually startling her a bit. "Are you really saying this?"

"Well—"

"All because you just want to find your 'ideal' guy? A boyfriend?"

Kairi laughed nervously, not understanding where he was getting at. Inside, she was getting so scared. There was a dark look in Sora's eyes that she was not familiar with. "I mean, I want to be like my friends too. I… want to find love, Sora." Because I can never be allowed to love you.

Sora opened his mouth, but no words came out. He then closed it, tightening his jaw as he stared at her with oceanic eyes that were swirling with rampant emotions.

She didn't know how it even happened. One second, she was just sitting there and staring at him, and in the next, she found herself underneath him as he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her onto the sheets of her bed.

"Don't do that to me. Please," Sora whispered, harshness evaporating to show his vulnerability. Kairi's eyes were wide as she felt heat spread from her neck and up to her face. Her heart hammered so thunderously in her chest that she could even feel it in her ears.

"Sora, I—I can't keep being with you like this. It hurts. It hurts because—"

"I'll do anything for you, so don't go looking for some random guy to be your boyfriend," he interrupted. Kairi didn't know what he was doing as he pulled his face closer to hers, resting his forehead against her own. "Because I can love you more than any other guy in this world can."

Sora pressed his mouth onto hers, capturing her lips into a searing and burning kiss. She gasped into his mouth, wondering what in the world he was doing.

"Sor—mmph…" Kairi couldn't speak as Sora smothered her with his entire being. The way she could smell the addicting scent of his clothes, the way she could feel their bodies pressed together between their thin summer shirts, the way the skin of their stomachs touched as their clothes rode up in their messy tangle.

Her mind quickly went blank as Sora hypnotized her underneath his spell. His mouth felt so hot as he kissed her so hungrily and desperately. Unable to resist him, all rational thought just flew out the window as she enthusiastically wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him closer, and kissed him back with just as much emotion, hands burying themselves into his soft and luscious hair.

It felt so right, crushing their bodies against each other like this. Their legs tangled together as hands wildly grasped onto each other, searching and wanting. Kairi became bold and flipped them over so that she was sitting on top of him. She didn't even have time to look at him before his hand reached behind her neck and pulled her back down to his mouth, unable to even allow one second of separation between them.

"Kairi," he groaned in between their kisses as her hand teasingly traced the muscles underneath his shirt. "You're beautiful." He completely lost it when she pulled at his hair with a soft tug. "I love—mmm," his confession got drowned out as Kairi silenced him with her soft and smooth tongue. Giving up on speaking, he simply wrapped his arms around her waist and indulged himself to her entire existence.

This was what it felt like, she thought lazily as she kissed the boy of her dreams. This was what it felt like to be in the arms of the one you loved so much. To drown in the ecstasy of love and lust, to know what it actually felt like to be intimate with the boy she had been in love with for all these years.

This was nothing like their kisses back when they were together. They were always innocent, short, and pure. The kisses they shared right now was anything but innocent, short, and pure. It was like a war of emotions, of unspoken desires as the two wrinkled the sheets from underneath them. It just felt so, so right, like two pieces matching up in a puzzle. This is it. This really is happening.

It just felt so right that Kairi almost forgot how she was kissing another woman's man.

Violently ripping herself away from Sora, Kairi breathed heavily as she quickly crawled away to the opposite end of the bed, reality crashing back down on her like gravity. For a moment. She almost lost it. No—she did lose it.

"Kairi? What's wrong?" Sora asked, confused as he sat up. Kairi couldn't believe what she saw. His usually neat, spiky hair was a complete mess as it stuck out in all directions from all her rough handling. His breathing was a bit ragged as he caught his breath while his cheeks were horribly flushed. His red and swollen lips, a shameful product of their short make-out session, just confirmed their sin.

"What are you doing? I don't understand. I—no, we can't," Kairi started to freak out as she realized the severity of what they just did. "No, no, no."

"What's wrong?" he repeated, very concerned. Kairi gave him a delirious look, not understanding how the hell he was able to remain so calm and normal.

"Are you fucking right in the head, Sora?" she started screaming. "You just fucking cheated on your girlfriend, and you're asking me what's wrong? I—I will never be able to live this down." Kairi got off from the bed and started to pace, something she did when her anxiety levels were at an all-time high. Sora made the motion to follow her and approach her, but she pointed a very angry finger at him. "Don't come near me, Sora, just don't come near me."

Kairi hoped that he got the hint that she was just a complete mess right now. Literally. Looking at herself in the mirror, her embarrassment and shame couldn't get any worse. Her hair had its fair share in the mess they were just in. Her T-shirt was horribly wrinkled as her red cheeks flushed contrastingly against her pale skin.

"Kairi, how about you listen to me and—"

"You can't do this to me, Sora," Kairi cried, tears readily falling down her cheeks. "You can't mess with my emotions more than this. You can't make me love you more than this."

"You love me?" Sora dumbly asked, shock invading every single one of his features. Kairi angrily wiped her tears away before she finally said the truth.

"Yes! I love your stupid and inconsiderate self—I take that back, you're not stupid or inconsiderate. I'm just—I need—just leave, Sora," Kairi took a deep breath in before she exhaled and pointed to the door of her room. "Just leave and we can… talk later. Because I seriously can't look at you right now." She turned around and faced the wall so that she didn't have to watch him walk out of her life. All thoughts of salvaging whatever was left of their friendship went down the drain. With this unexpected turn of events, there was no fixing of anything. They could not return back to the way it was before. The both of them ruined it.

Kairi tried not to break down crying when she heard his footsteps slowly make its way to the door. She shut her eyes closed. If she thought she was heartbroken before, she had another thing coming because right now, she just felt so destroyed.

"Sometimes I wish you could just stop talking and listen to me."

Kairi stiffened as she felt his strong pair of arms wrap themselves around her waist from behind. He snuggled into the crook of her neck. "Kairi, I'm going to say what I've been trying to say this whole entire time. I don't have a girlfriend."

"What?"

He turned her around and smiled when he saw her wide and tear-ridden eyes. He took the back of his hand and used it to wipe them gently.

"Idiot. I don't have a girlfriend."

"Don't you dare fuck with me, Sora Hikari," Kairi spat, slapping his hand away. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"Kairi, I really don't have a girlfriend. I'm telling you the honest truth right here."

"Are you telling me you've been pretending to have a girlfriend for the past one and a half years? I wasn't born yesterday, you know!" Kairi tried to get away from him, but he didn't let her as he grabbed onto her hands and grounded her to stay standing in front of him.

"You know, it's not that hard to say and pretend that you have a girlfriend," he explained. "Kairi, I haven't shown you any photos of her. Do you know why? Because she doesn't exist."

"What? Then who is the girl you keep saying 'has a nice voice, is smart, and considerate'?" Kairi for an instant felt her suspicion shoot back up when Sora suddenly grew red again in embarrassment.

"That's just my GPS."

"The hell?" Kairi gave him the most morbid look she could muster as Sora gave her a sheepish look.

"GPS. I was just describing my GPS."

"…"

"She… has a nice voice. And is smart 'cause, you know, she knows every single road here. She's considerate about how I get to work too and all, always trying to find the fastest route." Sora smiled weakly, nervous as Kairi continued to stare at him as if he came from a different planet.

"'Long, black, and wavy' hair?" This question made Sora turn even redder.

"I was just describing an imaginary person that was the complete opposite of you…" he confessed. "The girl I like… has short, red, and straight hair."

"… Selphie and Namine were right…"

Sora frowned slightly. "About what?" He started to grow concerned again when Kairi just started laughing. Before he could ask her what was wrong for the nth time, Kairi tackled into him, making them fall back onto the bed. He had to prop himself up by his elbows.

"Why?" she mumbled into his chest, heart suddenly feeling light as she hugged his mid-section. She buried her face into it, causing Sora to blush even more. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Pretended that you had a girlfriend."

"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Kairi looked up to see him smiling sadly at her. "About what?"

"I thought… you would be uncomfortable after we first broke up. Ex's usually don't stay friends, and I couldn't bear to separate from you. I just wanted to show you, or at least pretend, that I was over you… so that I could stay with you. I even dated Yuna to make it more believable, but realizing how I was just wronging her by doing that, I had to break up with her. You can't go out with half-hearted feelings like that."

"Sora…"

"When?" It was his turn to interrogate. His eyes searched hers, desperate to find the answers.

"When what?"

"When did you start liking me again?"

"Sora, I don't think I ever stopped loving you," Kairi confessed. After everything that just happened between them for the past ten minutes, there really wasn't anything to be afraid anymore. "I… was stupid. For not realizing that I loved you for you, not for some imaginary prince role I wanted you to play. I realized that too late after I broke up with you. And I've regretted it ever since."

"What happened to ideal blonde, rich, and intelligent guy?" Sora mentioned, smirking a bit as Kairi started to get her own fair share of embarrassment.

"I was just saying that stuff to say that stuff. My ideal guy… is someone with spiky, brown hair, sweet, and kind. Wow, just like you. What a coincidence, right?"

Sora smiled brightly at her as his eyes twinkled with immense joy and happiness. He sat up completely and pulled her up to hug her.

"I love you, Kairi. I've loved only you this entire time," he confessed, saying it all into her hair. She tried not to giggle at how much it tickled her. "If you give me—us—another chance, I swear I can make you happy. So don't go looking for a boyfriend."

"It shouldn't be you asking for another chance. It should be me, since I ruined everything in the first place," Kairi said sadly, returning his hug. "I… love you too."

"… Can we try again? I swear I'll make everything perfect this time. I swear I won't be immature like I was back in freshman year, and I'll be the most romantic guy you'll ever meet. Even though I might not have blonde hair or green eyes, I'll do everything for you, so—" he stopped talking when Kairi put a finger to his lips to shut him up.

"You don't have to do all those things to make me happy. The only thing that'll make me happy is… you being Sora Hikari. That's it. That's all I need from you."

"So does that mean we can try again?" Kairi giggled at how eager he was.

"Yes. Yes, we can try again. I would love to."

She let out a sound when he hugged her tighter.

"You won't regret it!'

~.~.~

When Sora and Kairi were seen holding hands at school, Namine grudgingly had to take out her purse.

"How much was it again?"

"Twenty bucks, baby, twenty bucks," Selphie said victoriously as Namine reluctantly slapped the dollar bills into the brunette's hand.

"I'm so bad at bets."

"Winning bets is just so," Selphie kissed the air as she stuffed the money into her pockets, "Beautiful." Namine made a face and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

Fluffy oneshot! Just a random idea that I had and whipped up in a day hehe. Please do review and leave your thoughts! Favorite too if you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Excuse the terrible pacing thougn, for I'm not used to writing oneshots! I'm just experimenting around with it :)

p.s. gps idea was totally from the kdrama "Pinocchio" for those of you who recognized it! Hehe

Cresciela