Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora blinked twice in surprise, both at Kairi's spoken words and her apparent knowledge of what he had been thinking of earlier. An awkward/embarrassed chuckle left his lips, his cheeks turning red as he looked to the ground.

Namine felt a small smile appear on her lips when she heard Sora's soft chuckle though she didn't understand why he laughed. She figured that something else was going on here, but she didn't need the details.

Sora looked up at Roxas and Namine, remembering that the two were standing right by him and Kairi. "Wow, it's hot!" he exclaimed, bringing up a hand to fan his reddened face. He realized he was especially warm because of his embarrassment, but it indeed was very hot out.

 

Kairi chuckled, close enough to see Sora's rosy cheeks. But she did agree--even in her tank top and shorts, she was burning up. The day at the pool hadn't gone as planned, so they would have to resort to something else to cool down. "How about we all go to my house?" she suggested, looking from Sora to her blonde friends a few feet away.

Roxas smiled, glad for the comic relief and the suggestion. He could feel himself sweating a little under the summer heat. "Sounds good to me," he agreed lightly.

 

Namine nodded slightly. "Sure," she said with a smile. It would feel great to get out of the heat; she hadn't noticed just how hot it had become since they left the pool.

Sora ran a hand over the back of his head, his smile disapearing. "Actually, I gotta get home," he confessed. "I, uh, forgot about something. I gotta take care of it." That wasn't the truth, really. He didn't know why, but he felt like he still wouldn't be the best company after what happened. "You guys have fun though, okay?"

 

Roxas shrugged, but smiled all the same. "Alright, man. We'll see you later then," he said. It was too bad that Sora couldn't join them, but he obviously had something to do.

Kairi let her eyes fall on Sora again and her smile dimmed some at the news. "Okay," she finally said, a little saddened that he wouldn't be able to come with them. After what just happened, she really wanted to be with Sora. But she understood that he had something to attend to.

 

Sora offered his friends one last smile. "See you guys later," he said warmly, feeling as if he wanted to leave right away before they questioned him about what it was he had to do. He gave Kairi a light kiss on the cheek before he crossed the street and headed toward home.

"Bye," Namine said with a small smile, though she felt a bit confused. Whatever it was Sora had to do, it must have been important for him to rush away like that.

 

Roxas watched his friend go, lightly waving with the lift of his hand on Namine's shoulder. After Sora was across the street, he turned his attention to Kairi, who was still looking after her boyfriend.

Kairi smiled at the gesture, despite the small feeling of doubt she had. She didn't know why she had it, but she did. However, she brushed it off, facing her friends after a few seconds. "Let's go guys," she said with a smile, waving them to follow her.

 

Namine nodded and took a few steps forward, heading in the direction Kairi waved them in.

In a few minutes, Sora was at home. He had taken off his swimsuit right away and put on shorts before he headed down to his basement, seeing his punching bag set up. He had never gotten a chance to take out his frustrations physically, so he was going to have fun with this.

 

In just a few moments Kairi was leading Roxas and Namine toward her porch, digging her key out of her pocket. She wasn't sure what they would do, but she was looking forward to the air conditioning inside.

Roxas walked a step or two behind Namine, looking up at Kairi's home. He couldn't remember the last time he had been here. It sure has been awhile, he thought.

 

As soon as Kairi put her key into the door, Namine suddenly remembered something, her eyes widening. Ty! She hadn't fed him or let him outside in a while...she needed to get home and check up on him right away. "I just remembered...I gotta go take care of Ty," Namine said in a concerned tone of voice. If Ty had an accident in the house...ugh, she didn't want to think about that.

 

Kairi had just put her hand on the knob when she heard Namine's explanation. She turned her head to glance at her friend and noticed the worry on Namine's face. "You should go then," she insisted with a nod. "It's okay."

Roxas nodded in agreement. He didn't have a pet, but he was so close to Namine that it kind of felt that way sometimes. He could only wonder what was going through Namine's mind right now.

 

Namine nodded softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry," she said sadly. "I really wish I could stay, but I have to go. I'll see you guys around," she promised, turning toward the walkway. She saw Roxas standing there and she gave him a peck on the cheek before she hurried down the path. Ty, if you had another accident...she mentally scolded him, though he was nowhere near her.

 

Kairi watched Namine go for a brief moment, a small silence between her and Roxas. She decided to break it once she looked at him. "I guess that leaves us two then," she said with a smile. "Come on in."

Roxas nodded with a small smile, secretly hoping nothing would happen to Namine on her way home and that she would be careful. He followed Kairi inside, shutting the door behind him.

 

Sora was just finishing another round of dealing with the punching bag, the teen panting as he sat down. He had to admit...he really enjoyed beating that thing up. It was better than holding back when he was fighting someone else, that was for sure. He frowned and punched the ground with a gloved fist, frustrated with how he couldn't forget what happened earlier.

 

Kairi led Roxas to the kitchen, offering him a seat on a barstool before she went to the fridge. She lightly tossed him a bottle of water, which he easily caught, before she grabbed one for herself. As she twisted the cap open, she checked the calendar. Kairi had a feeling she had to do something before this weekend.

Roxas took a few big gulps of his water, sighing in relief at the taste of the cool liquid flowing down his throat. When he heard Kairi gasp, his eyes immediately darted toward her. "What is it?" he asked, curious. The look on her face didn't show fear, so he didn't know what could cause her to seem so surprised.

 

Sora scowled and stood up, deciding that punching the bag would be better than dwelling on things. He brought up his fists and started again, hoping to leave his troubles behind. Once he got the anger out of his system, or was just too exhausted to move, he was sure he would feel better.

 

Kairi turned around, looking at Roxas. She smiled slightly, seeing the look on his face. "Oh, I just remembered that I planned to bake dinner for my parents before they got home this weekend," she explained, then pointing at the calendar. "They come in on Saturday, so I need to get everything I need to make the meals."

"Saturday?" Roxas asked, twisting the cap back on his bottle. "That's in a few days, right?"

Kairi nodded. "Yeah." She thought for a moment, tapping her bottle. She hummed in thought before looking up at Roxas. "Hey, Roxas? D'you think you could do me a small favor?"

 

Sora punched at the bag, sweat covering his bare chest. Come on, come on...he thought to himself, trying to channel his anger out in a healthy way. Okay, so maybe this wasn't healthy, but it was better than abusing another human being. And he could do this without regret.

 

"Sure. What do you need?" Roxas asked, and then he listened as Kairi asked him what she needed. Once she was done, he smiled softly and nodded. "Yup. No problem."

Kairi smiled sweetly. "Great. Thank you, Roxas." She walked over to a corner of the counter and reached into her money jar, pulling out the amount of money she believed would cover the cost. She walked across the floor and handed it to Roxas, who took it from her over the counter. "And could you do one more thing for me?"

Roxas stuck the money in his wallet and nodded. "Yeah, what's up?" he asked curiously, looking at her.

Kairi leaned her elbows against the counter, looking at the boy. "Do you think there's any way you can take Sora with you? He still seemed a little down when he left, and when you two are together you always find a way to make each other laugh. So I just figured--"

Roxas chuckled. "No problem. I'll have fun kidnapping him for you." He offered her a grin, making the redhead laugh.

 

Sora couldn't do anything else now. He stepped back and leaned against the wall, sliding into a sitting position as he gasped for air. He had to admit...he did feel much better. The anger was gone, but he still felt serious over everything. He silently exhaled and forced himself to stand up, the teen heading upstairs to get a shower.

 

Once the two came to an agreement on the situation involving Sora, Kairi made sure to hand Roxas a list before she escorted him out. After waving goodbye, she went back into the house to shower and get the chlorine out of her hair.

Roxas decided to head home before going over to Sora's, wanting to get out of his swim trunks. After a few minutes he found himself walking through his front door and going up to his bedroom to change. Once he was dressed in shorts and a light-colored t-shirt, Roxas headed right back out the door to go get Sora. Well, ambush him really.