Roleplay The College Chronicles (1x1 with aoi hoshi)

[aoi hoshi 3]

Naminé looked up at Roxas under the lights. His eyes were alight with excitement. She curled her fingers around his tighter and smiled out at the crowd.

 

“What did you guys win?” Sora asked. The score on the screen had more zeroes than he could count.

 

Naminé pointed to the machine still spitting out tickets. “I think all of those.”

 

“Looks like you have your pick of the top shelf,” Riku commented as he pushed through one last group of people. The crowd had started to disperse now, but a small cluster still lingered towards the front. ‘Must have put on quite the show.’

[Forever Love 82]

Lightning followed behind Riku, but someone nudged her, so she uncharacteristically stumbled into him. She grasped his bicep to steady herself, at the same time recognizing how firm the muscle was. Lightning, stop it, she scolded. She couldn't get wrapped up in a guy. It would get in the way of her training to protect this world. "Sorry," she mumbled, her fingers briefly trailing his skin as she dropped her hand. That was embarrassing.

 

Roxas squeezed Namine's hand briefly before letting go, pulling the tickets. Finally, after another minute of spilling out, he folded them together. "Aw man, look at all this!" he cheered. All of that for a dance game. "Good pick, Namine!" If she hadn't suggested it, they wouldn't have gotten all of these.

[aoi hoshi 3]

“I-It’s fine,” Riku stuttered, stiffening slightly from her touch as his heart raced; the sound the only thing he could hear until the rhythm finally settled into an irregular but slow beat. “You okay?” He had to stay calm. She was a friend. Just a friend.

 

Naminé clasped her hands together happily. “What do you want to get? You should choose since you got the high score.” There were an array of prizes sitting on the shelves. Stuffed plush, silly gag toys, and even electronics for the most ambitious players were on display.

[Forever Love 82]

Lightning nodded a little, but it was after she caught herself staring at the aquamarine eyes that stunned her the first time she saw them. "Yeah, I'm fine," she managed. She wasn't really, considering the feelings in her heart at the moment. But...that couldn't be right... She didn't feel these kinds of things, ever.

 

Lucky for them, the prize shelf wasn't too far from the game they just played. Immediately, Roxas found an electronic he wanted. "That drone looks pretty awesome," he thought aloud. But then he lowered his gaze to Namine. She was a little red in the face still, and her bangs stuck to her forehead a bit, but Roxas still found her....well, attractive. He couldn't deny that she was beautiful; he thought that from the moment he first met her in Twilight Town years ago.  "But we should split the prize. It's not fair for me to claim it all."

[aoi hoshi 3]

“Good. Uh, we should probably follow them,” Riku coughed. He wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, but the closeness made him nervous. He wasn’t used to being this close to girls in general. Kairi and Naminé but that was different. They were more like sisters to him. But Lightning...

 

Naminé tilted her head slightly and appraised the objects. Nothing really stuck out to her, but she did like the little plush bear sitting on the bottom shelf. It had a checkered pattern that reminded her of Roxas, and it was only a few tickets. “I like that one. The bear I mean.” She turned to him with a cheerful smile, “We should both be able to get what we want then!”

[Forever Love 82]

Lightning cleared her throat quietly and dropped her gaze. "Right," she agreed. She stepped past Riku to follow the others toward the trophy area while Roxas and Namine picked prizes. She still had a few tokens left. Maybe they could do one more game...to ease the sudden tension.

 

Kairi watched as Roxas enthusiastically picked the drone on the top shelf and also got Namine's prize for her. But she could only partially focus on it. Her hand was still in Sora's...and she wasn't sure what to do. Did she let go? He hadn't released her yet...so what did that mean? Maybe he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Um...

[aoi hoshi 3]

Riku watched her leave, uncertain what he should do? Should he follow her? Riku hesitated for a moment and decided to walk back towards the front of the store to wait for the others. Maybe she needed some space?

 

Sora looked at their hands from the corner of his eye. It was probably weird that he hadn’t let go, right? Should he now or was that too obvious? ‘I’d rather not let go...’ Sora thought to himself. Their hands fit perfectly together; two pieces of a puzzle. At the sight of their friends, approaching, however, Sora’s grip loosened absentmindedly.

 

Naminé showed her friends the small plush. “We cashed in our tickets,” She chirped. When they got back to the dorms, she would have to put him on her nightstand. Naminé didn’t have many possessions, but there were a few treasured items she liked to keep close. Remind her that she was her own person now.

Edited August 10, 2018 by aoi hoshi

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi felt Sora's hand loosen when Roxas and Namine came over. Oh... She loosened her grip as well and then finally pulled away, linking her hands behind her back. "Aww, cute!" she cooed at the bear. Roxas had the box for the drone tucked under his arm, a proud grin on his face.

 

"Are you sure it's okay that I got this? It took nearly all of our tickets," Roxas said to Namine, lifting his free hand to rub the back of his neck. He felt kind of bad for getting something so pricey.

[aoi hoshi 3]

“I thought so too,” Naminé replied before looking back to Roxas. Her face was soft as she placed a hand on arm. “Don’t worry about me. I got exactly what I wanted. I like little trinkets like this.” She also loved seeing how excited Roxas was over his drone. It was adorable.

[Forever Love 82]

Roxas smiled with a nod. "Okay, if you're sure," he agreed. Inside, his heart heart fluttered at her touch. He would never admit that, though, especially to Sora. His friend would never let him live it down. 

 

Kairi turned her head and saw Lightning eyeing some prizes too. "You gonna get anything?" she called over, attracting the RA's attention. Hard to believe Lightning was their RA. Small world.

 

Lightning shrugged. "I don't know. I've got enough tokens for another game. I might be able to get more tickets." She put a hand to her hip and looked to the boys. "Go get Riku. We can all play one together, if you want."

[aoi hoshi 3]

“I’m sure,” she affirmed with a nod. She hoped they could do something like this again. If Roxas wanted to of course. As they made more friends here at college, it was possible he might not want to spend as much together...

 

Sora saluted her Lightning and went to go grab Riku. “Lightning wants us all to play one last game together!”

 

Riku raises a brow, but didn’t question the request. ‘She must be feeling better...’ he thought.

 

“What game will we play?” Naminé asked once Sora rejoined with Riku in tow. She couldn’t do another dance session. Her legs already felt like jello.

[Forever Love 82]

Lightning tilted her head slightly in thought, eyes darting around the area. She located a game that required six players. "Racing?" she asked, looking back to the group. She figured that might work...

 

"Hell yeah!" Roxas agreed, spotting the game Lightning had found. He was totally up for racing...and sitting down. Sitting down would be great.

[aoi hoshi 3]

“I’m up for a little racing,” Riku said, stealing the seat next to Lightning’s, “I gotta warn you though. I’m pretty good at these kinds of games.” The Grid had given Riku a good deal of racing experience and in some pretty high pressure situations. ‘Stupid mantis...’ The overgrown bug has almost killed him during his trip through the sleeping worlds.

 

“Me too!” Sora added and took the machine on the end. He had similar experiences as Riku, so the brunet was confident in his ability to win as well.

 

Naminé picked the seat beside Roxas and held the steering wheel firmly. She has never played before, but it couldn’t be too hard, right?

Edited August 10, 2018 by aoi hoshi

[Forever Love 82]

Lightning took her seat, feet finding the pedals. She lifted an eyebrow at Riku, and then looked down the line at Sora. Kairi took a seat beside him, between the brunet and Riku. Roxas took the other end, leaving Lightning next to Namine. "This may be your redemption," she said to her silver-haired companion. "I'm not that great at these." Guns were her specialty, specifically gunblades, but that was a conversation for another time. Racing was out of her league.

[aoi hoshi 3]

“I’m sure you’ll get good quick,” Riku joked, “Just keep your eyes on the road, and you’ll be fine.” Though he wouldn’t lie and say that he liked being able to show off a little bit (for her). It was also a pleasant surprise to go up against Sora since he knew the brunet probably shared in his torture from the Grid.

 

Sora watched the screen’s countdown, revving his race car before abruptly hitting the gas. The race car screeched, tires leaving fading skid marks on the digital road. He passed Riku’s car and released a devious cackle. “Eat my dust!”

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi realized quickly that this particular game made it so your seat vibrated if you hit something, which didn't take her long. She squealed in alarm, but otherwise tried her best to keep up with the boys. Of course, all three of them were in the top three places. Lightning stayed close to them, though. "Lightning, please win this for us," she begged the older girl. She heard her release a short laugh, which had Kairi chuckling too. The message behind Lightning's response was clear: Don't count on it.

[aoi hoshi 3]

Naminé’s seat vibrated again and the blonde flinched. How were they able to do this? This certainly was a harder game than she anticipated. She felt a little better seeing her best friend only a place ahead of her. “Yes,” Naminé pleaded, “We believe in you!”

 

Sora growled when Riku passed him again. “I’ll get you—Hey!” Sora’s eyes narrowed as Roxas’s car flew past with a hearty honk of the horn. “When did you learn to drive?” He revved his engine again and pushed the pedal harder to catch up.

[Forever Love 82]

"I was with you, remember?" Roxas retorted with a small laugh. Technically, he was with Sora--in his heart. How weird... That felt like another lifetime, and in a way, Roxas guessed it was. Now he had his own life, his own friends, his own heart. Strange, but amazing.

 

Lightning managed to drift around a corner and her car bumped into Roxas's, making her seat vibrate. "Snooze you lose," she commented with a smirk. Roxas's response was a small whine, making Lightning's crooked smile widen. Was she...actually having fun?

Edited August 10, 2018 by Forever Love

[aoi hoshi 3]

“Oh, right,” Sora chuckled, “I forgot about that...” He always thought of Roxas as his own person, so it was weird to think that the blond had once been in his heart...Distracted, Sora didn’t notice until it was too late that another racer had passed him. “Wait! What!?”

 

“You shouldn’t get so distracted,” Riku taunted, his eyes never straying from the screen. The final lap. He pushed down on the pedal and took a sharp turn. This would be interesting.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi squealed, narrowly avoiding Namine's car. She obviously noticed who was in front of her, Lightning one of them. "Lightning, go, go, go!" she encouraged, taking a sharp turn. Roxas cried out a "you're going down" to the group. Kairi didn't even care about winning; this was hilarious and fun on its own. They needed to come to the arcade more often.

 

Lightning glanced at Riku out of the corner of her eye. She was behind him, but if she tried hard enough, she could catch him. "Want to make another bet?" she asked him. She won last time, so if he beat her on this game, what happened then?

[aoi hoshi 3]

“I’m listening,” the silver haired boy answered, quirking an eyebrow. He was still in the lead, and there was less than a minute left. He could do this.

[Forever Love 82]

Lightning steered her car around another turn. "If I win," she began, her smile still present, "you have to use your tickets to get those mouse ears you mentioned. Then, you have to wear them to our athletics class for a day." That was her bargain. As for what he wanted from her, that was his choice.

[aoi hoshi 3]

That was what she wanted? Riku contemplated the proposal a moment and then nodded. His tone was casual as he spoke, and his hands even kept steady on the wheel as he dodged an ill placed traffic cone. “Deal. But if I win, you have to go on a date with me next Saturday.” Did he actually manage to ask that? Was this real? The shell shocked expressions on his friends’ faces confirmed it. He asked Lighting out.

[Forever Love 82]

Lightning froze, her eyes widening. She heard multiple crashing sounds, and without looking she knew they were Riku's friends crashing into obstacles on the course. Did he...did he just...? Lightning didn't know what to do. She forced her lips to move as she answered, "Deal." She just agreed...to a date. An actual date. She had been approached before, but after cat-calls and derogatory words thrown her way. But to actually be asked out on a date by someone, in an appropriate manner? Not once. Not ever. And now Riku...of all people...

[aoi hoshi 3]

“Get ready to pick out a place to eat,” Riku teased. He avoided her eyes as he said this, willing the flush from his cheeks to disappear as he took another sharp turn. Debris flew onto the road behind him. He had to win. Not just to avoid public humiliation. ‘But because I want to. I want to go on this date.’