Chapter Text
“Earth to Sora! Soooooooora!”
A finger jabbed against his forehead was enough to snap Sora Strife from his daze. His confused expression was met by his childhood friend Kairi’s annoyed stare: her mouth pulled into a thin line and her eyes narrowed. She sat directly across from Sora at their shared table, three books and a notepad splayed before her, and her chin rested on her propped up arm. It was like any other typical weekday where the two met around noon for lunch: discussing their classes, ranting about some weird new trend, or catching each other up on family matters.
Though it usually ended with Kairi picking on Sora for how often he ended up lost in thought.
“Uh.” Sora’s eyes darted back and forth before he offered a meek smile. “...Yes?”
“Geeze, Sora! You don’t have to be such a literal airhead,” she teased and her expression instantly simmered. She turned her attention back down on her book. “I asked you how your classes have been, silly. I feel like all the teachers lied about college. I expected tests and tests and tests, but everything’s been...easy so far?”
“Pfft. I warned you not to spend your whole summer studying,” Sora replied with a shrug and scratched at his temple. “It’s only been two months since you left Traverse High. It’s not like you were gonna be swamped with like a hundred tests on your first day.”
She rolled her eyes and sent a brief, skeptical glance up. “Yeah and waste my free time doing nothing and being lazy like you? It’s way better to be prepared, Sora.”
“Hey! I’m not that lazy, Kairi!” Sora feigned an offended gasp and dramatically pressed a hand to his chest.
“Oh? You’ve been taking classes for a year now and you’re still procrastinating on picking your major.” She pulled the pencil tucked behind her ear and began to jot notes on her pad.
“Well, I don’t have a way with words like you do, Miss Poet. Even Roxas thinks it’s smart I’m getting my general study stuff out of the way first.”
Kairi thrusted her pencil in Sora’s direction, in a playful manner. “One: poetry is just a hobby for me and you know it. Two: your twin brother agrees with everything you do anyway.”
Sora shrugged and strummed his fingers on the tabletop. “I dunno...I just want to make sure whatever major I pick, it’ll be what I really want. Now that mom and dad finalized the divorce…” his voice trailed off as a sigh escaped his throat. Sora hunched on the table, dropping his chin onto crossed arms. “It’s made me rethink a lot of stuff I was so sure about…”
“Oh,” Kairi muttered and all traces of her teasing tone deflated. She frowned, blue eyes observing him sympathetically. “How is your mom doing?” she asked as she reached for Sora’s arm and gently squeezed it.
“Mom’s...Mom. She’s still working for the post office during the week, but she actually started travel agency work during the weekend. She says hi, by the way.”
“But...Two jobs?”
Sora glanced up, recognizing concern in Kairi’s voice. He shook his head side to side and placed his hand over hers. “Nah. It’s not like that. I think Mom just wanted to distract herself. I mean...Cloud’s still helping out with things and Roxas has his internship at Ansem Corp. Besides, they might not be in love anymore, but Dad and Mom split all the finances in half and tried to keep things as easy as possible for the divorce.”
Kairi nodded in understanding, but she didn’t reply. They spent some time in silence, listening to the chatter of their classmates in the cafeteria. From their table near the back of the room, Sora spotted his brother’s childhood friends--Hayner, Pence, and Olette--having their own social gathering. It didn’t surprise him too much that a majority of the college freshman were all graduates from Traverse High, as he had been too. It was the closest college from the high school and smack dab in the center of the city.
A sudden ping from Kairi’s pocket disturbed them from their thoughts and Sora watched as she scrambled for it. He spotted the familiar silver flip phone and its decorative stickers; he remembered each and every single one of them--the faded heart that he gave Kairi in his freshman year, the pink and black flannel square from her old art teacher, and the Mickey Mouse silhouette from the Disney World trip last year. The soft and calm piano melody of the ringtone lasted for a few seconds before Kairi answered.
“Hello, Naminé.” She smiled and paused for a reply. “Yep. On my lunch break right now. Did you want to meet up later?”
Sora’s eyes lit up in excitement and he perked up. He mouthed a slow ‘ who is that? ’ and leaned forward intently.
Kairi immediately stuck her tongue out and spun in her seat, back to Sora. “Yeah, we can compare our art history notes. How about the Starbucks across campus?” Another pause for a few seconds as she tucked strands of her bangs behind her right ear. “Yay! Sounds good. See you then!”
He waited until Kairi turned back and his grin only grew wider. “Ooooh? And who’s this Naaaaminaaaaay? You made a new friend already?!”
“Believe it or not, Sora, I can have a social life outside of you.” Kairi swept her auburn hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.
“What? I have plenty of friends too! Sheesh, Kairi.”
“Besides me?” Kairi teased and turned her attention back to her school book. “Or any of Roxas’ friends,” she added before Sora could reply, leaving him with his mouth gaping open.
“Um...Leon?”
“Your older brother’s ‘not boyfriend’?” Kairi shot back with air quotes but didn’t bother to look at him.
“Speaking of--” Sora leaned closer on the table, waggling his eyebrows “--Roxas said he saw Cloud and Leon totally holding hands and making out a few nights go. I dunno why they keep denying that they like like each other.”
“Ha. It’s cute that everyone knows they’re dating, except for them. They’re pretty clueless.”
“Maybe Cloud has commitment issues,” Sora muttered and pulled at his wristband. “He might be scared that he and Leon could fall out of love.” Like his parents had.
“Yeah, you’re probably be right,” Kairi agreed and paused with her notes. She turned her phone over, glancing down at the time, and slipped it back into her pocket. “Alright, I’ve got to go. Literature is calling me.”
“Are you sure it’s not just Naminé again?” Sora asked, giving a not-so-subtle wink.
“Oh, hush.” Kairi gathered her belongings quickly and shoved her books into her denim satchel pack. “I was going to let you meet her, but not if you don’t behave, Sora.”
“Awww! No, no,” he whined pathetically and clasped his hands together. “I’ll be good. Let me meet Naminé!”
“I’ll think about it,” Kairi teased and tousled Sora’s spiky hair. She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and waved. Before Sora could say a word, she was several paces away and halfway through the cafeteria.
As he saw his friend disappear into a crowd of their peers, Sora realized he was being watched and his goofy smile shrank away. He got a glimpse of the other student blatantly staring him down and Sora self-consciously looked away, fiddling his fingers around each other. From what he could see from the corner of his eyes, it wasn’t someone he recognized. The other student was sitting alone in one of the wall booths, teal eyes peeking out from his bangs and his mouth pursed in a frown. He had long silver hair--definitely a unique color for someone around Sora’s age--and was oddly...dressed up? Many of the other students, like Sora, wore extremely casual jeans and tees, but he looked like a business professional in a dark grey blazer, white button up shirt, blue slacks. Maybe he was a teacher aide or a tutor?
Sora nibbled on his bottom lip and casually pushed himself up from his seat. He made his way to large exit doors, but remained calm. It wasn’t like high school, where judgmental peers hated your guts every chance they had. He ignored the student, who was still watching him, as he passed by the booth. The last thing he’d want to end the week with was a fight...
He slipped out of the cafeteria and glanced around. The main entrance to Traverse University was a mere ten feet to the right--the golden doors weren’t exactly hard to miss--and the teacher’s lounge was directly across the hallway. Through the glass walls, he could see chancellor Yen Sid’s office door, but he didn’t stand around for long when he heard the cafeteria doors open. Sora kept a slower pace, looking only to avoid a conflict and not run for his life, as he made his way to the Humanities Wing hall.
The university’s layout was divided in eight sectioned areas: Art and Design, Business, Engineering, Humanities, Medicine and Healthcare, Science and Math, Social Sciences, and finally the General Education and Test Prep. And each wing had relevant classrooms located up and down its halls. All in all, it wasn’t too difficult to navigate once someone memorized the section of their specific field.
Sora could hear the persistent footsteps following behind him. Curiosity got the better of him and, against his better judgement, he came to a halt.
“Hey.”
Only after Sora turned around, did he realize he was dwarfed by the white-haired stranger. He was looking up at the teal eyes, a head taller than him. After a few seconds on silence and awkward stares, Sora canted his head to the side. “Hey?”
The other student quickly broke eye contact and frowned. His eyes darted back and forth before he lifted his hand, and with it, a very familiar red and black Mickey Mouse pen. The very same one that Sora bought from the Disney World gift shop and always carried it on his person. “I...uh...You dropped this when you came in the cafeteria.”
“Oh!” Sora gasped and happily took the pen. “Thank you! I had no idea it fell out of my pocket.”
The other student’s expression softened and he nodded. “You and your friend seemed busy...I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Well, I'm glad that you aren’t mad at me,” Sora murmured as he tucked the pen away; he made sure to pat his pocket down in assurance. A dual wave of shock and relief washed over him--one for the fact that Sora had actually lost his pen and didn't notice, the second for its swift return.
“Mad…?”
“Yeah! You were kind of glaring at me in the cafeteria. Heheh.”
“Sorry…I didn’t realize it.” The white-haired student turned his head and avoided Sora’s gaze. To Sora, he looked very uncomfortable; how his brows bowed against his eyes, his hands balled into fists, how his mouth kept scrunching up. “I didn’t want to lose sight of you.”
“Nah, it’s no worries. I’m Sora by the way!” Sora’s hand shot forward eagerly and he flashed a toothy grin.
“Riku,” the other student quietly replied and hesitantly reached for Sora’s hand. After a gentle handshake, he relaxed and tension disappeared from his face. “Riku Tremaine.”
“Nice to meet you, Riku Riku Tremaine,” Sora declared as he folded his arms behind his head and leaned to the side. After he was given a confused blink and cocked eyebrow, Sora only giggled. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Anyway, whatcha studying here?”
“I’m a business major, but I do most of my classes online,” Riku replied and shrugged. “This semester I have some classes that are campus only.”
“Business, huh? Well, you’re definitely dressed all businessy and stuff.”
“Uh...thanks?” Riku glanced down to his attire and brushed off his sleeves. He paused, pulled at his left sleeve, and stared at his wrist watch. “Sorry, Sora, but I have to go.”
“Aww, did I scare you that badly?” Sora asked with a chuckle.
“No n-not at all!” Riku shook his head fervently, waving one hand in a reassuring manner. He took a few steps past Sora and glanced down the hall. “It’s work. Nothing personal.”
“Ah, I see!” Sora nodded, the smile never leaving his face. “Thanks again for giving me my pen back. It’s my favorite one.”
Riku paused and looked over his shoulder, as a brief smile of his own appeared. “You’re welcome. Just try not to lose it again..”
“Good point.” He watched as Riku gave him one last nod before he walked off. But before Riku could disappear entirely into the sea of students traversing the hall, Sora stood on his tiptoes. Some of the passing students gave Sora a funny look as he waved his arms back and forth and jumped up and down in excitement. “Wait, Riku! Riku!”
Sora saw a flash of silver hair as Riku immediately spinned around, his teal eyes skimming through the crowd for Sora. “Yeah?”
“Have lunch with me and my friend tomorrow!” Sora cupped his hands around his mouth.
Riku blinked in several beats as he gawked at Sora. He looked confused by Sora’s request and his mouth opened and closed several times as he searched for a response--as if he was truly caught off guard; as if it was the first time anyone had ever asked him. Eventually, as the two gazed at one another, Riku’s head slowly moved up and down and he gave Sora an affirming nod. “Ok,” was his response before he continued on walking.
“Cool,” Sora called out and gave two thumbs up. He briefly wondered on the nature of Riku's job and how hard a business major's classes could be, but decided there would be time to ask Riku about it later. Sora whipped out his phone and eagerly pulled up Kairi’s contact info. With his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth, Sora’s fingers practically danced back and forth on the keypad.
Ha! Made a new friend too. In your face. :P
It wasn’t long before his cell vibrated with Kairi’s reply.
It only took you a whole year to make a friend. Nice~
Sora rolled his eyes and made his way to his Algebra II classroom. “She says it like it’s a bad thing.”