“I thought you were...”
“I thought you were...”
Namine tapped her foot impatiently.
“So you’re telling me you thought KAIRI was ME?”
Roxas nodded, then looked at his feet not believing what had happened.
“WE were supposed to meet here so Kairi how did YOU end up here? Did you listen in to our plans?”
Kairi shook her head tears forming in her eyes.
“No... I was drunk and came in here to sleep... I thought... I thought Sora had come in to check up on me...”
Namine laughed spitefully.
“Check up on you? Is THAT how Sora CHECKS UP ON YOU?”
Kairi shook her head.
“I’m sorry...”
Namine’s face was reddening with rage.
“You’re sorry... YOU’RE SORRY?! Not as sorry as you WILL BE when I tell Sora! You’re lucky I’m mature enough to leave here without beating the hell out of your slutty ass...”
Roxas got up off the bed to try and hug Namine but she pushed him away.
“Stay the hell away from me Roxas...”
With that she left them sitting on the bed.
“Roxas I swear I didn’t know it was you! I thought it was Sora... You feel... Alike...”
“I know... I know... I was convinced you were Namine... You two even sound alike...”
Kairi sighed when a thought sprung to mind.
“Did you... Use... Something...?”
Roxas shook his head slowly.
“No... Namine’s on the pill... Aren’t you?”
Kairi paled and her voice reduced to a tear filled whisper.
“No...”
Namine was walking in a temper.
“Fucking stupid Kairi slut bitch!”
Sora moved quickly off Riku...
“Someone’s coming...”
Riku nodded and pulled his towel around himself again.
“Maybe we should separate?”
The brunette nodded slowly unsure of what to do...
“Hey... What happened between you and Kairi anyway?”
Sora took a deep breath realising what he had just done would look like...
“Well?”
The brunette tried not to look into Riku’s eyes.
“I caught her in bed with Roxas... But that’s not why I did what I did!”
The silver haired teen’s heart fell to the pit of his stomach.
“You... You used me... To get back at Kairi...?”
Sora shook his head rapidly.
“NO! I’ve been thinking about you since our kiss...”
Riku was no longer registering anything.
/He used me... He knew I liked him and he used me.../
He made brief wide eyed eye contact with Sora and then wandered, completely floored by this new finding into the forest.
“Riku wait!”
Sora followed him but Riku pushed him away.
“Just leave me alone Sora... I’m so hurt...”
Sora continued to follow him and shouted as loudly as he could.
“RIKU! That’s not it! I’ve been thinking about you nonstop! I don’t care who hears me and who knows! You have to understand I gave myself to you because I wanted to not out of revenge!”
These words echoed through the trees...
Onwards and outwards the distorted echo travelled and reached the ears of Namine who wasn’t very far from them...
/Sora...?/
Namine wandered further into the forest following these echoes of Sora’s protests...
Until she stumbled upon Riku and Sora together in a small clearing...
Staying well hidden she followed her gut feeling and instead of telling Sora what was going on she observed them and listened carefully to what they were talking about.
“Riku... Do you really think I would be capable of something like that? Do you really think I could use you? We’ve known each other forever...”
The silver haired teen kept his eyes on the ground.
“I don’t know Sora... I’ve seen a few people do things I wasn’t sure they were capable of here...”
The brunette sighed heavily in frustration.
“I’ve told you what happened... I saw her in bed with him yes...”
Namine’s eyes opened wide.
/He knows?/
“But I’ve been thinking about you since we kissed before that!”
Namine’s hand went up to cover a gasp that threatened to escape.
Riku shook his head.
“That kiss was stupid... I shouldn’t have ever went near you and if you were thinking of me after that then tell me this... How come you fucked Kairi on the beach the day after?”
Sora’s eyes opened wide.
“What the fuck? How the hell did you even know that?”
Riku sighed heavily.
“Axel and I were on the beach near the spot where you guys got down and dirty we left as soon as we got a chance without disturbing you...”
The brunette was stunned.
“Were you... Spying on me?”
Riku looked over at Sora with hurt in his eyes.
“SPYING ON YOU!? I was there to make sure Axel was okay! In fact you came down AFTER US!”
The brunette shook his head.
“You could’ve let us know you were there or something...”
Riku grit his teeth.
“I didn’t want to talk to you after our kiss especially since it appeared that you’d chosen Kairi over me... Seems I was right too...”
Sora’s eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t want to be gay Riku... I have enough going on without realising this too!”
The brunette sobbed heavily and ran off in the opposite direction that Riku was standing in.
Namine watched as Sora ran off...
Her eyes went back to Riku who was just standing there alone still and silent...
Axel was wandering through the forest still tipsy.
“Riku?”
His eyes were heavy with tiredness and he wanted to do nothing more than sleep.
“Riku! This isn’t funny... Can you come out so we can go back to the camper van? I have clothes for you...”
He walked out from behind a tree and was thrown to the ground by Sora who ran into him.
“WOAH!”
“Shit! Sorry Axel...”
Axel got up off the ground and took a good look at Sora.
“Eh... Are you okay? You look like well, crap...”
The brunette wiped his eyes half wondering if he should ruin whatever he and Riku had going on out of spite...
“Well... I caught Kairi in bed with Roxas...”
Axel was in utter shock.
“Fuck... Really? What the hell was that about?”
Sora shook his head...
“I just don’t know... Then I went looking for Riku...”
Axel could feel his heart begin to quicken almost as though he was readying himself for news he was sure was going to break his heart.
“And then what happened?”
He tried hard to keep the fear from his voice...
“Well...”
The redhead was on the verge of shaking the information from the young brunette.
“I found him... And we... Well we...”
Sora was arguing with himself.
/Do I say it... Or do I fake something.../
“We kissed...”
The redhead felt his heart twinge...
/This isn’t as bad as it could be and you know it.../
Sora sighed.
“Then one thing led to another... And we... We had sex...”
The redhead drew breath in quickly like he had just burnt his hand on something really hot, Sora noticed his obvious pain and instantly regretted saying anything.
Axel stood up immediately and trying to keep his voice steady he passed Riku’s clothes on to Sora.
“Hey... If you see him again could you pass these on to him please?”
Sora nodded slowly not even thinking about it.
Axel walked slowly away towards the camper van.
/What have I done...?/
“WHAT? You’re not on the pill!”
Kairi shook her head crying now.
“No... Me and Sora always use condoms...”
Roxas stood up and paced the room.
“Okay... Okay... The next hospital we pass we’ll go in and get the morning after pill...”
The girl nodded crying now.
Roxas went to her and embraced her.
“It’ll be okay... You’ll be okay...”
Kairi nodded and sobbed hard.
“But what if it’s not...? Sora won’t stay with me I can guarantee you...”
Roxas shook his head.
“I just... I don’t know...”
Both teens sat saying nothing thinking about what the hell they were going to do about this, Roxas looked over at Kairi.
“Look at me, it’s going to be okay...”
Kairi nodded.
“Okay... I believe you...”
“It’s going to be okay...”
He hugged her gently.
/It has to be okay.../
Sora walked back to where he had last seen Riku...
He was sitting below a tree barely moving...
“Riku...”
The silver haired teen didn’t look up.
“Axel... Gave me these for you...”
Riku looked up slowly.
“You saw Axel?”
The brunette nodded feeling guilty.
“And?”
Sora sobbed.
“I told him what happened...”
Riku took the clothes out of his hands and started to dress quickly.
“What exactly did you tell him?”
Sora sobbed harder.
“That I found Kairi sleeping with Roxas and that I looked for you... And that we kissed and had sex...”
Riku felt anger build up inside him.
“Then what happened?”
The brunette’s eyes were full of tears.
“Then he walked off... He looked... Upset...”
The silver haired teen took a deep breath and sighed.
“We need to find him, now...”
Sora nodded he didn’t know exactly what was going on but he was very frightened.
“Okay...”
Axel strolled back towards the camper van.
/Okay... So nothing was really going on between you and Riku right...? Someone’s heart always gets broken on these holidays with friends... May as well be mine right? Hell it’s not like it’s even a full heart... So many parts have been broken off now... I doubt it even vaguely resembles one.../
His chest felt heavy...
/So do I wait and see if this pain leaves? Do I go home? Or do I.../
Axel’s mind started wandering off down dark trails that led to even bleaker and darker places.
/I could make it look like an accident.../
His green eyes started to take in the world differently...
Tree boughs were a place to hang himself...
Sharp edges and branches were things to impale his wrists on...
He took a few breaths and calmly went inside the camper van and sat down silently.
Namine started to walk back towards the camper van now wondering about what she’d just heard.
/Why were they talking about Axel...? Did Axel and Riku? Hell I didn’t even know Riku was gay... Did anyone? I wonder why they have to find him?/
Then she remembered Axel’s drunken episode...
/This probably won’t be good.../
Zexion and Marluxia were making their way back to the camper van from a crazy night of drinking and sex.
“Zexion...?”
The young teen turned his head to his older lover.
“Uh huh?”
The pink haired man smiled.
“I’m just wondering...”
Zexion turned to Marluxia smiling.
“What is it babe?”
The pink haired man took in his young innocent lover.
“Ah it’s nothing...”
/There’s no way he could be with someone else... Right...?/
Riku and Sora returned to the camper van out of breath to see Axel lying down with his headphones on relaxing on one of the sofa’s flipping through a magazine.
“Hey Axel...”
The redhead looked over his magazine and nodded at them.
Sora cocked his head to the side in confusion and whispered to Riku.
“He seems okay...”
Riku caught his gaze again and could see the clear hurt in his eyes.
/He’s not okay... Not at all.../
Marluxia and Zexion arrived back to the camper van smiling.
“Is everyone here?”
Axel shook his head and pulled one of his headphones away from his ear.
“Still waiting on Namine to get back...”
Roxas ears perked up at this.
/I hope she’s okay.../
Namine walked into the camper van a few minutes later and took in Axel’s calm demeanour.
/Huh... He seems okay to me.../
She caught Roxas eye and sat as far away from him as she could manage which happened to be next to Axel, he moved over to let her sit down...
Marluxia turned around from the steering wheel and looked around.
“Roxas you here?”
“Yeah...”
“Namine?”
“Here.”
“Sora?”
“Yup.”
“Kairi?”
“Yeah.”
“Axel?”
The redhead didn’t even take his eyes from his magazine and simply raised his hand.
“Riku?”
“Yeah I’m here...”
“Zexion’s up here with me and I’m here... Okay cool that’s everyone... Right someone shut over the side door and let’s get going...”
Riku stood up.
“Uh... Do you want me to drive today? You did all the driving yesterday and I stopped drinking pretty early...”
Marluxia nodded.
“Sure that’d be awesome... Thanks Riku.”
The silver haired teen nodded.
“Sure thing...”
Zexion climbed out of the front seat not wanting to be near Riku and he started the engine...
Silence dominated the vehicle...
All that could be heard was light music escaping from Axel’s headphones...
After about an hour of sheer silence Riku turned to the silent occupants of the vehicle.
“Uhm... Will I turn the radio on or something?”
A few grunts and approvals escaped the occupants.
“Okay...”
Riku hit a button that turned the radio on.
The saddened dark voice of Gackt filled the vehicle with the song ‘Lapis-Prologue’.
Kairi sat staring at her shoes the wind was lightly blowing her hair, she knew she was crying and that everyone could see her crying...
But she didn’t care...
/What if we don’t stop at a hospital within three days? Will I be able to raise a child alone...? What will I tell Sora? Will he ever forgive me? Will he even listen to me...?/
Roxas sat looking across at his beloved girlfriend, who avoided his gaze or shot him hardened glances.
/I could cope if I got Namine pregnant... I could, I know I could I love her... But... Kairi... I don’t love her... Getting with her just because of one mistake... That would be stupid... It would ruin both of our lives... I love Namine.../
Sora sat alone looking out the window.
/How do I tell Kairi that I’m gay...? Do I even tell her that I’m gay or... Do I just end it? Do I hurt her with the details of what happened with Riku...? Do I say I’m just breaking it off because... Of what happened with Roxas?/
Namine sighed as her thoughts raced around her head.
/He’s a prick and she’s a bitch... They both betrayed me... Don’t cry Namine... Stay strong... I can say I need to use the bathroom in a bit and they’ll have to stop somewhere... Then I can cry, fix my makeup and come back, no one will even think I’m upset.../
Zexion sat looking around at everyone in the camper van with their sullen faces.
/It looks like Riku and Axel aren’t talking... Hmmm... Maybe I can offer comfort and get in on another little fling with Axel.../
Marluxia followed his boyfriends gaze in Axel’s direction.
/I am not imagining things... He looks at him a lot... He went after him when he went missing... But then shows little or no concern for him... What the hell is going on?/
Riku looked back at everyone silently avoiding each other’s gazes not wanting to share what was on their mind...
/I wonder why Axel is so... Calm? I thought he’d be really upset... Did he expect this from me? Has he calmed down since he found out? Maybe he just didn’t care about me as much as he did about Zexion...? What the hell do I do about Sora?/
Axel looked unseeing into the magazine he held in front of his eyes...
/So... At our next stop off... I’ll get painkillers... As much as they’ll sell me... I’ll hide them and buy something else... Then say I have a headache and ask.../
His eyes scanned the camper van...
/Kairi, Namine or Marluxia to get me another packet... That way no one will suspect anything.../
Namine stood up and walked to the driver’s seat.
“Uhm Riku? I really need to use the bathroom and...”
Riku looked at her and smiled and nodded kindly.
“I know what you’re like I’ll pull over at the next place we get to, okay?”
Namine forced a smile back at him.
“Yeah thanks Riku.”
With that she sat back down next to Axel.
Axel turned the volume back up on his headphones.
/Perfect... We’ll be stopping off to let Namine go to the bathroom... Almost everyone will leave because of what happened and how awkward it is in here... Hopefully I’ll be able to catch one of them alone.../
They drove silently for another hour or so then Riku called out.
“Hey there’s a garage up ahead... If anyone wants to get anything I’d advise you to get it now cause I dunno where the next garage will be... In fact I’m gonna fill up the van while we’re here...”
Everyone shuffled around and got their things together getting ready to get out and escape each other.
Riku pulled the van into the garage in front of some gas pumps, before he even switched the engine off the door was slid open and people were getting out.
Axel slid his headphones off his head and hopped out last.
Namine ran straight to the bathroom away from Kairi and Roxas and shut and locked the door and broke down into tears.
Axel checked where everyone was and grabbed a bag of cheese Doritos and made his way to the counter, he smiled at the girl serving him.
“Hi, could I get a box of painkillers? I keep getting these migraines and I’ve run out of my prescribed pills...”
The blonde girl smiled at him.
“Oh you poor thing! Here take these they work fantastic when I get migraines and uh...”
She lowered her voice so only Axel could hear.
“Other things...”
She laughed as realisation crossed Axel’s face.
“Oh! Okay thank you very much!”
He forced a laugh and handed the girl the money he quickly took his change and got out of there making his way back towards the camper van...
On his way he spotted Kairi he made his way over to her when Sora popped out of nowhere...
/Fuck.../
He saw Marluxia over the other side of the tarmac area outside the garage and started over towards him.
“Hey... Can I ask you a favour?”
The pink haired man smiled at him.
“Sure what’s up Axel?”
“Would you be able to run in there and buy me pain killers? I have this wicked head ache...”
Marluxia looked at Axel suspiciously.
“Weren’t you just in there?”
The redhead nodded trying to seem genuine.
“Yeah but when I tried to get them she started talking to me about her migraines and...”
Axel leaned in close to whisper like he was embarrassed.
“Period pains...”
“OH!”
Marluxia nodded and stifled a giggle and Axel handed him some money.
“Yeah sure I’ll go get them...”
Riku was watching Axel’s talk with Marluxia and wondered what was going on that they were chatting and laughing no less...
Namine was wiping her eyes clean and reapplying her make up in the bathroom.
/Now, no one will know any different... I am strong and I will be okay.../
Sora and Kairi were standing a few feet away from each other...
But were saying absolutely nothing...
Roxas was sitting alone looking off down the road...
Riku watched them with sadness weighing down on him...
He watched as Marluxia approached Axel and handed him something, Axel smiled and nodded and walked back to the camper van without even sparing Riku a glance.
/Okay... I have the pills... Now when do I take them...?/
Zexion left the garage shop and approached Marluxia with some chocolate hearts he had bought him.
Axel saw this and reaffirmed in his head that he was definitely doing the right thing...
Riku saw Axel’s expression become more relaxed as he saw Marluxia and Zexion kiss...
/What the hell has happened to him?/
Riku went to pay for the gas as everyone else trundled back into the camper van...
The silver haired teen looked at the chocolate hearts perched on the counter and considered buying a bag...
But truthfully...
He wasn’t sure who he would give them to...
So when he got back into the van he passed Sora a chocolate bar and threw Axel a new magazine which caught the redhead by surprise.
/What the fuck is this? Some sorry ploy to be friends?/
He stared at the back of the silver haired teens head and saw Sora climb into the front seat with him, he let the magazine hit the ground...
Riku looked around and saw the music magazine on the ground and the redhead paying absolutely no attention...
He sighed heavily and started the engine...
This was going to be a very long drive...
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