The Journey or The Destination?

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The music was loud and booming against the walls, which were lined with drunken teens writhing against each other with the rhythm. Needless to say the living room was packed as well most of the hallway. The kitchen had pretty much become a bar with three kegs, one already empty, and a fridge pretty much loaded with coolers and beer. One or two girls took up the rolls of bartenders,



making the drinks at the far counter and they made them strong.



It was here Demyx felt in his element, among his fellow hormonally charged adolescences. On a night like this anything was possible, it all depended how much liquid courage you could drink and by the looks of it, there were plenty of courageous people about.



The blonde grinned as he scanned the room feeling giddy with a beer in one hand and leaning on the banister of the staircase. Although he knew he would be going to bed alone to night, because sleeping with sixteen year olds didn’t sit with him well, the idea of prancing around drunk appealed to him.



But before he would soak his brain he’d thought he’d check up on the hostess and his brother, maybe even see who this mystery arrival was. Releasing himself from his perch, Demyx moseyed down the few last steps and through the crowd in search of the group, who usually stuck together. When you found one of the lot you were likely to find the rest of them not too far away.



Weaving through the crowd, he saw a familiar pair of heads a small ways from the centre of the crowd, one strawberry and the other blonde. Bingo. After dodging a couple of teetering girls, who were singing obnoxiously to the music, he approached Kairi and Namine with a smile.



“Ladys,” He said, coming up from behind them. The two girl turned to him with matching smiles of their own, silly from the alcohol.



“Demyx!” Kairi cried, wrapping her arms around his middle and almost toppling them both, “You came!”



The blonde boy openly laughed, “Yes I did. And I see you guys are enjoying yourselves.”



“Yep!” Namine chipped in, her face bright and mirthful, a bright blue bottle in her hand, “You?”



“Always,” He replied, taking a step back from Kairi in fear of being clobbered again and dropping his beer. That wouldn’t be fun.



“Hey…” Kairi said, looking the other up and down, “Where’s that other guy…? The hot one…”



“Hey!” Demyx said, quirking a brow and pointing to himself, “I’m right here.”



Namine and Kairi both laughed outright, slightly dampening Demyx’s feelings.



“No, no,” Kairi said pointing a finger at him, “The tall guy… with the crazy red hair.”



“Oh, Axel.” Blonde brows furrowed, bemused. Not only was he being compared to his friend but the other had decided to ditch, not wanting to be ‘susceptible to attack’. He mentally rolled his eyes before continuing, “He couldn’t make it.”



The red headed girl pouted cutely before taking a beer can to her lips and taking a few sips. Namine giggled and patted her friends arm before saying, “He’s too old for you anyway.”



Abruptly Kairi turned to Namine, “He is not! He’s Dem’s age! Right? How old are you Dem?” She then whipped her attention to Demyx who blinked.



“Uhm… I’m eighteen?” Demyx said confused, not really sure where this conversation was actually going.



“See? Only two and a few months.” Kairi said, nodding her head in affirmation, “I have a chance.”



At that point Demyx was close to bursting in laughter, if only the poor girl knew what was happening in the other red head’s life right now…



Namine sighed with a smile at her friend’s silliness then turned to Demyx, “So what are you up to right now?”



“Looking for my fellow off spring, where is he?” He would have asked ‘have you seen him’ but knowing his brother wouldn’t stray that far from his friends made the question silly. Sometimes it helped to have a wallflower for a brother.



“Oh!” Kairi piped up and grabbed his arm, “You have to see this!”



Suddenly Demyx was pulled through a wall of teenagers, with Namine on his heels, infront of a low coffee table. One the far side of it, he saw his brother sitting with a bottle of the same bright blue as Namine, only he was much more sober, and two individuals sitting on either side of it staring each other down.



The one on the right side was obviously Sora, from his slighter stature and spiky mop of hair but he couldn’t say he knew the other. He certainly looked older than his brother and his friend, maybe even his age.



“Hey,” Roxas said over the table. It was then he noticed his younger brother had a pad of paper and a pen in his lap and a bottle of vodka on the table opposite of the blue bottle. Demyx quirked a brow.



“Vodka?” The taller blonde asked, “I didn’t think you drank anything that didn’t have a fancy name on it.”



“Oh shut up, it’s not for me.” He sigh, gesturing to the other boys, “It’s for these guys. They’re matching shots. I’m score keeper slash bartender.”



As if just realizing Demyx was there, Sora turned to him and waved happily, “Hey Roxas’ older brother~!”



“Hey,” The other boy across the table nodded, “I’m Riku.”



“Ah,” Demyx said, raising his head in acknowledgment, “Demyx, I’m Roxy’s older brother.”



“Dem!” Roxas blurted, his cheeks turning a tad pink.



Sora laughed uproariously, pointing at his friend, “Roxy!? That’s awesome!”



“Shut up you drunkard,” Roxas mumbled, pouring the vodka into the two squat shot glasses, with a glare to his older brother, “It’s time for round four.”



“Who’s winning?” Demyx asked curiously, leaning down a bit with his hands in his pockets.



The boy named Riku scoffed, “Who do you think?”



Looking at the two it was easy to tell Sora was losing, his body teetering slightly with a face splitting grin.



“I am!” Sora yelled, pumping a fist in the air triumphantly.



“Sure you are,” Kairi giggled, plunking down on the floor next to Sora, “By a long shot there Sora.”



“Yep yep,” The brunette nodded happily.



“Okay.” Roxas interrupted, placing the two shot glasses in front of them, “Ready?”



“Mm-hmm,” Riku said taking up the shot glass with Sora following suit.



“Go!” Namine and Kairi yelled, and the two of them shot them back. When they had swallowed their alcohol Sora scrunched his face while Riku’s lips hardly twitched.



Demyx let out a low whistle, “You took that rather well.”



The sliver haired boy shrugged, “It’s like water.”



“Ew, how bad did the water get in Destiny Islands?” Sora said disgusted before taking a drink from Roxas’ bottle. The blonde didn’t seem to mind.



Namine giggled, “Figure of speech Sora.”



“Whatever,” Sora said then piped up, “Next round!”



Roxas nodded, taking the shot glasses back for a refill.



“I can’t believe Sora is like this in round four!” Kairi said, sounding disappointed.



“Well, he did have some beer before hand…” Namine mused, tapping a finger to her chin.



“This won’t end well,” Demyx chuckled then turned to Kairi, “What’s the prize?”



“Bragging rights, I guess.” Kairi replied before taking in more of her beer.



“That’s no fun,” The tall blonde said, pulling up a chair and slouching in it.



“Oh! Oh!” Namine jumped up and down in her place with her hand in the air like and anxious kinder-gardener.



“Hm?” Roxas turned his attention to the blonde girl as he placed the shot glasses in front of Riku and Sora.



“Winner kisses Roxas!” She cheered happily, clapping her hands. Everyone blinked at her for a moment, except for Roxas who’s face was nothing but a red oval with wide blue eyes.



“Oh my god…” Kairi said, in shock and awe, “Namine… I love you so much!”



The girls then shared a loud squeal of the fan girl variety, jumping up and down together. Sora and Riku looked at each other, then Roxas, then at the girls again.



“Sure!” Sora chirped, like the reward was a double fudge brownie, not kissing his blonde friend.



“If Sora’s okay with it, I don’t see a problem,” Riku shrugged.



There was a loud sputtering noise from the other side of the table after their easy agreement. Turning to look at the scorekeeper they saw a bright red face and wide eyes.



“Y-you--- Don’t decide these things yourselves!” Roxas squawked, before looking to his brother, “You’re my older brother! Protect me here!”



Demyx let out a long sigh, “Sorry Roxy, you’re on your own here. Besides, it’s about time you lost your first kiss.”



The taller blonde’s face took on a broad grin as his brother’s mouth opened and closed, at loss for words.



“Oh geez Roxas,” Sora said, rolling his eyes, “Live a little!”



“I live just fine!” As much as Roxas wanted it to sound tough and demanding, it came out as a whimper.



“Don’t worry,” Namine plunked beside him, rubbing his shoulder, “Sora’ll protect your chastity.”



“Yep yep!” Sora giggled before taking up his shot glass. Riku paused but then picked up his own, glancing slightly at the blushing blonde.



“Oh c’mon…” Roxas groaned, running a hand down his face. How did these things happen to him?









“Round nine!” Demyx called out, holding the ‘scoreboard’ in his lap and sitting on the previously empty side of the table opposite of his brother, who looked quite dashing at the moment.



The girls had gotten a little too enthusiastic about the event, so far Namine had taken out her hair ribbon and wrapped it under Roxas’ chin, tying it on top of the blonde’s spiky hair in a big lopsided bow. Kairi had found a spare pen and a sticky note, writing ‘prize’ in big swirling print and stuck it to Roxas’ cheek with an arrow pointing to his lips.



The blonde on the other hand looked far from amused, his brows furrowed and his face still blushing.



“I’m… I’m gonna beat you Riku…” The brunette slurred pitifully, swaying somewhat with his arms crossed on the table. The other only scoffed but it was obvious the drink had gotten him too, though the sliver haired boy was not swaying, his eyes looked glassy and his cheeks a little ruddy.



“Sure Sora.” He replied at the other’s drunken declaration before turning to Roxas with a sultry grin and a wink, “Pucker up.”



“This is so stupid,” Roxas grunted, averting his eyes but his cheeks reddened more so. It didn’t help that a few of the other partygoers had crowded around the table cheering one or the other on. Even Namine and Kairi had taken sides, Kairi for Riku and Namine for Sora. Both cheered loudly with their groups. No one seemed to be on Roxas’ side.



“Okay gentlemen,” Demyx declared, “Raise your glasses!”



Sora and Riku obliged, raising them up to their mouths at the ready.



“Go!” The entire group yelled, minus Roxas, and the two shot the vodka back and slammed their glasses down. After they had gulped the liquid back they held each other’s determined gaze for a few moments before Sora abruptly fell backwards, hitting the floor with a dull thud.



“We have our winner!” Demyx cried out, grabbing Riku’s wrist and pulling his arm up in the air at the same time as Sora’s crowd moved their attention to him as well as Roxas rushing to the fallen boy’s side.



“Sora!” Roxas called, “You okay?”



“Oh my god, is he dead?” Kairi asked frantically, lightly slapping the sides of the brunette’s face trying to revive him.



Sora groaned and his eyes slowly opened, his eyes rolling like loose marbles in their sockets. His blurry gaze fell on to Roxas and a lazy grin came across his face, “’ey.”



The blonde sighed in relief but the relief was short lived as tan arms wrapped around his neck and Sora’s face got closer.



“Gimme meh prizzzze,” He slurred, puckering his lips up for a kiss.



“No no no no,” Demyx said, planting his hand on Sora’s forehead and plunked it back to the floor, “You lost buddy, Riku gets it.”



“Awwww…” Sora groaned lazily then attempted sitting up but found his arms didn’t have as much strength as he thought and he tumbled back down. Everyone laughed as he pouted, mumbling something about his ‘stupid arms being rubbery’.



With some help from his supporters, Sora sat slumped on the table still pouting at his loss. Half-heartedly he glared at Riku who was grinning with pride.



“I win,” He said in reply to the brunette’s glare.



“Yea... yea…” Sora slurred, ”Dun rub it in…”



“I have to go to the bathroom,” Roxas blurted and turned tail to run but both Namine and Kairi caught him, each grabbing an arm.



“Nope!” Kairi laughed, pulling him to sit next to the ‘winner’, “You’re the prize!”



“More like his lips!” Namine gushed happily. The girls shared fits of giggles as they pulled Roxas down but he still struggled.



“But I don’t want to!” He whined loudly, “I didn’t agree to this! Let me go!”



“Y’know Roxy,” Demyx said from the sidelines, “You should have just left quietly instead of making an excuse. You would`ve at least had a head start.”



Roxas glared at his brother as he was plunked down beside Riku and none too gently either, causing his body to swing into the other’s lap. After getting over his slight loss of direction, Roxas looked up into mirthful sea foam eyes and flushed.



“First kiss eh?” Riku mused out loud, wrapping an arm around Roxas’ shoulders and drew his face in, “Cute.”



The blonde boy opened his mouth to protest but it was too late, the other boy’s lips had already slid over his. Roxas’ smaller body went rigid and he felt his face and neck warm up but his mind was blank of any thought, only the sensation of the soft dry friction against his mouth.



It took a few breaths for Roxas to realize the other hadn’t pulled away yet. Weren’t they just supposed to press lips then let go? But Riku seemed to have other plans as he discreetly swept his bottom lip over Roxas’, locking their lips.



The blonde couldn’t understand why but the simple motion make a ripple through his body and continued to do so when Riku did it again. With out realising it, he shyly swept his own lips against the other’s, making the ripple turn into a pleasant shiver.



Just as Roxas went to sweep his lips across Riku’s again, finding he liked this shudder, the taller boy pulled away. Slowly the blonde blinked his eyes open, not quite remembering when he had closed them, and looked into a grinning face.



It was then the whooping and yelling filled his ears and his blank thoughts turning into a rush of embarrassment and something else that he couldn’t quite name. It was an odd feeling, like being weak and giddy at the same time, completely covering in a queasy warm fuzz.



“Okay okay!” Demyx yelled out to the crowd, which was oddly all girls, making shooing motions with his arms,” Show’s over! Go back to your boozing!”



There was a lot of disappointed groans and a few encores but the crowd soon dissipated, leaving the six of them by the table. Three faces turned to Roxas and Sora with beaming smiles.



“Oh geez…” Roxas mumbled, pulling his hands over his face. He totally just kissed Riku. Holy shit. His face was on fire and his heart felt like it was doing the tango against his ribs.



“Wow…” Namine said, her face pink, “That was so…”



“Hot!” Kairi burst out, followed but a fit of laughter sounding a little like cackling.



“Way to go lil bro,” Demyx congratulated his brother with a pat on the shoulder, “But you may want to get off of lover boy there.”



The blonde boy jumped and slowly peeked through his fingers at Riku, who was still grinning coolly. With a muffled apology Roxas fumbled out of the other’s lap, face still heated. The platinum haired boy just chuckled good-naturedly.



“S’okay, You made a good prize,” Riku said, confidently, “Sorry for stealing your first kiss though.”



Kairi laughed loudly and slapped him on the shoulder, “You’re such a liar! Bullshit you’re sorry!”



“It’s not like Roxas was fighting him off,” Demyx scoffed, looking around the room and found his brother had disappeared, “Roxas?”



Riku chuckled,” Poor guy’s probably having an aneurysm from all that blushing.”



“Uhm, guys?” Namine’s soft voice broke through the banter and everyone turned to her, “I think Sora should be put to bed…”



Leaning over the table the group saw the small brunette curled up on the floor, half his body under the coffee table, fast asleep.



“Awwww,” Kairi cooed, petting her friends hair, “Isn’t that juss precious?”



Meanwhile, Roxas had fought through the mass of bodies and made it to the outside. Though it was summer the temperature outdoors seemed cooler, less humid and felt good. Slowly but surely he felt his face cool off until he was sure it was it’s original hue.



But even though he was no longer blushing, his heart still pumped speedily. Confused, Roxas put a hand over his heart and felt the dull thuds against his ribs, his concern growing. What was the matter? All he did was kiss Riku.



Suddenly his heart picked up the pace a bit and it made him jump. He looked down at his chest with a raised brow. Was he…?



Nope. No way. Roxas shook his head then ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. It had to have been because he lost his first kiss, and he was hell bent to make the morning-afters of his friend’s torture for it.



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See? I promised three whole chapters~~! xD



Now, don`t be a wank and click back to the main section before you hit the wee button over there to review me ;)