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It was Valentines’ Day night. Riku sat in the dark in his living room. The Tv was on, playing some Horror movie on SyFy, but he wasn’t really watching it. His laptop sat on the coffee table, open to his tumblr, but he had abandoned it a while ago in boredom. With his parents gone to a charity banquet, and Sora out of town at his cousin Roxas’ house, Riku found himself with little to do.
He got up to pee from boredom.
When he got back, he sighed and began to clean up after himself. He crumpled up his empty chip bag and grabbed his empty water bottles and meandered into the kitchen to throw them away. He opened the fridge and stared into it, leaning against the door. There was nothing in there he wanted. He wasn’t even sure why he was looking. Again, he sighed and closed it.
Riku fell back onto the couch and tried to get interested in what ever movie SyFy was playing. It was something about a giant animal and had some old washed up actors from a decade ago. He decided he didn’t care and started to channel surf.
His phone lit up, buzzing against the glass table. Riku glanced at it, but decided to ignore it. A few moments later, it buzzed again, and he sat up to check it.
2 new snaps.
From Drea?
The picture was mostly dark, but he could see it was a selfie. She was holding a handful of those fake plastic spiders left over from Halloween and had a mischievous grin on her face. The black bar text read, “My bro fell asleep in my bed.”
Riku smiled and shook his head, tapping the screen to activate the next snap. This time it was a video. The camera was shakey, and he could hear Drea giggling. There was an older boy sleeping in a bed. He looked baby-faced, and had a blonde mullet. Riku assumed it was Drea’s foster brother.
“OH MY GOD, DEMYX! WHAT ARE THOSE?!” She screamed, tossing the fake spiders all over him. The boy woke in a panic, rolling out of bed and jumping around, swatting at himself to get rid of what ever was on him. He shrieked and jumped in circles as Drea cackled.
“What! What!! What’s on me!! Wha…. DREA!!!!” The camera shook as she started to run and the video ended. Riku began laughing as a third snap pushed to his phone. Opening it, he nearly died. It was an out of focus selfie, her face cropped strangely. Riku could tell she was still running, because behind her was her brother, red faced and crying.
“he;s sooooo99o msd!!”
It was full of typos, but he understood what she meant. He swiped the screen to bring up the chat.
“lmfao you’re so mean!!” He typed.
A video response. She was panting, her back against a door. “DREA! I SWEAR TO GOD! DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!” Demyx screamed in the background from the other side of the door. Drea was silently shaking with laughter, tears streaming down her face. Her cheeks were red, and she looked like she couldn’t breathe.
“Worth.” The black text read.
A chat popped up, “So, eventful night for you as well?” She asked.
“Nah. Parents out of town. Watching some riveting SyFy movie. You know, the usual.”
“Wanna meet up? I will literally die if I don’t get some taco bell in me in the next 20 minutes.”
Riku looked up at the clock. It was only 7:30. He looked at himself. He needed to put some pants on, but he was pretty sure he could go for some Taco Bell, too. “Meet you at the one on Lake St?” he asked as he got up to put some warmer clothes on.
“You betcha.”
A few minutes later, Riku stepped into the cold February air and locked his front door. Lake Street was about a 10 minute walk, so he put in his earbuds and shuffled his music before tucking his hands in his jacket pockets and starting out.
The taco bell of choice was pretty empty when he arrived. It was one of the old models with the white-plastic interior and the seats that had that colorful 90’s party cup pattern that looked straight from that show Saved by the Bell.
Drea was perched on the metal corral by the registers, swinging her feet back and forth as she chattered with one of the crew members. Riku recognized the girl behind the counter from school, but couldn’t really place her name. The bell tied to the door jangled as he entered, catching their attention.
When he met Drea’s eyes, she smiled and waved. “Hey!” Riku felt his cheeks grow warm despite the numb tingling from the winter air. Growing warm, he unzipped his puffy blue jacket and tucked his gloves away into a pocket.
“Hey.” He smiled. Her nose was red, so he guessed she had just arrived as well. Her little black booties clicked on the linoleum floor as she slid off the metal railing and onto her feet. She was wearing a green and white cardigan and skinny jeans, and Riku thought she looked adorable.
She stepped forward and hugged him, snaking her arms between his back and his jacket. He felt his ears burning as he hugged her back. “Thanks for coming out.” She grinned, stepping away. He managed to shrug pretty nonchalantly as her hand found its way to his. Her fingers were cold, but he didn’t mind.
“Who’s your friend, Drea?” The girl behind the counter asked, her short black hair poking out from under her hat. Her name tag said Yuffie, and Riku suddenly remembered her from an old math class a few semesters back.
“I’m Riku.” He introduced himself, “I think we had Algebra II together.”
The girl shrugged, “I never pay attention in math class, so I wouldn’t know, honestly.” She admitted. Riku returned the gesture, affirming her. “So anyway, what can I get you guys for your ROMANTIC Valentines’ Dinner?” She stressed the sarcasm in romantic and Riku mentally slapped himself.
It was Valentines’ Day. Crap, he should have taken her somewhere nice. But, she suggested this, so it was okay, right? Besides, they weren’t even dating, were they?
Drea laughed, “At least we get to go on a date tonight. You’re stuck working.” She teased. Wait, so was this a date?, Riku wondered. He should have dressed nicer. She was dressed really cute, and now he felt like a slob. He hoped to God he didn’t have cheeto dust on his shirt.
“Yeah yeah, whadda’ya want?”
Crap, he hadn’t even looked at the menu. What did he want to eat? He started to panic.
“How hungry are you?” Drea asked him. It took a second for him to register what he said, and when he turned to answer, she was staring at him, and he felt like an idiot. She smiled softly. Great he was botching this.
“Uh, I mean,” He started, “I’ve been snacking, but I could throw down.” Oh my god what were those words that just left his mouth. Now she probably thinks he’s a pig that just eats all the time. When was the last time he had gone to the gym? Three days ago? She could probably tell.
“Oh, good. I could probs eat our combined weight in tacos right now.” She put a finger to her lip in thought. He began to panic a little. She shifted her weight on her feet and was slightly leaning against him, and Riku felt butterflies explode in his stomach. “Wanna split one of those 12 packs?”
The words were automatic as they let his mouth, “Yeah, sounds good.”
“Two drinks?” Yuffie asked, and Riku nodded. It didn’t occur to him that when Drea was stepping forward, she was stepping forward to pay, until the transaction was complete and Yuffie set the plastic cups on the counter.
“What do you want to drink?” Riku came back to Earth and looked at Drea. She had her cup to her lips and was shaking his in the air at him.
“What? I.. Did you pay already?” He asking and she raised an eyebrow. “I meant to treat you. I’m sorry.” He apologized. She grinned and laughed.
“Dude it was like seven bucks. Don’t sweat it.” She chuckled, pressing her cup to the dispenser to fill it with Baja Blast. He filled his drink as well and sat down across from her at a booth. They sat quietly until Yuffie brought their box out to them.
“Oh my gosh, yes.” Drea cheered, “My body is so freakin’ ready for this.” she practically tore into the wrappings on the first taco she could reach and wolfed down two or three bites. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, “Sweet nectar of the gods.” The girl groaned around mouthfuls of shredded lettuce and tomato cubes.
Riku laughed at her. She smiled back at him, her mouth full and eyes squinted. “You dork.” He laughed, “You have sour cream on your face. Here.” He leaned forward and wiped it off with his thumb before eating it. He saw her blush, and his mouth grew dry.
“Thanks..” She said when she cleared her mouth. He shifted in his seat and accidentally brushed his leg against hers. He apologized, pulling away immediately. They ate in silence, awkward and heavy. He was pretty uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to invade her personal space.
When they were full, he threw their trash away. “So.. uh..” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking away. She finished her drink and chunked it in the trash. “Wanna.. go for a walk?” She smiled and slipped her arm between his.
They set out down the road, away from his house. She started telling him a story of when she and her foster-brother went to a summer camp and she filled his sleeping back with ice cream. He laughed, despite himself. “Oh gosh, it was so gross.” She admitted. “Like, it melted and got all sticky. The head of his cabin got soooo mad at me.” Her hair hit his jacket as she leaned her head towards him and laughed.
She smelled like cinnamon and clove.
“I was on toilet duty for the rest of summer after that.” Drea laughed. “It was a fair price to pay.” Riku laughed. He realized it had been a long time since he’d laughed so much. It felt good. It felt really good. “Jeez it’s getting colder by the minute...” She mentioned off-handedly, and Riku looked around.
The streets weren’t crowded, but they weren’t deserted, either. It was close to 9, so most people were either still at dinner or at a movie, or what ever people did when they went on Valentines’ Dates. Riku wasn’t sure. He’d honestly never been on one. Or many dates at all for that matter, come to think of it. He and Selphie had gone to the movies once, but it was juvenile and they were too embarrassed to even hold hands.
“Is it?” He asked. She felt so warm to him that he really hadn’t noticed. Or maybe it was just his constant blush. He tried not to think about it, but his hormones were acutely aware that her breasts were pressed against his bicep as they walked. “We can head.. I don’t know.. Back to my place or something?”
They had somehow made it to the town square, and all the windows had displays of gifts for people’s girlfriends. His parents were at a banquet nearby, raising awareness for a local charity or something. His dad was very active in the community due to a career in Real Estate, while his mom was a Mary-Kay Consultant.
Drea seemed to mull over the suggestion. She chewed on her lips for a second, then pulled out her phone. After she sent a text, she put it back into her jeans and nodded, “Yeah, that sounds awesome. Do you have any hot chocolate?”
“We can pick some up.”
Half and hour later, Riku found himself on his couch again, this time with Drea curled up next to him, each of them with their own mug of horrible pink hot cocoa with heart shaped marshmallows – a Valentines special edition packet. It tasted chalky, but wasn’t bad. Drea laughed that it turned their teeth pink.
They perched on the couch together, and Riku was surprised at how easily she fit against him as they lounged. When they had stopped at the gas station to get their drinks, they had rented a movie from Redbox, though he wasn’t paying much attention to it. Every so often, he felt Drea chuckle against his chest as he rubbed her arms slowly, and he felt at peace.
The credits were rolling before Riku realized the movie was over, and Drea yawned. “That was a good one.” She said quietly, looking up at him from his chest.
“Yeah..” He agreed in a whisper, meeting her gaze. After a moment, she leaned up and kissed him. He expected her to pull away after a second, like their previous kisses. But this one was different. This kiss felt.. private, sincere. The others were sweet, but had a buried chasteness.
She tasted like chocolate from their drinks, and her lips were slightly chapped, but it was soft, and ignited a fire in his chest. Once, twice, a flutter of kisses shared between them left him breathless. She pulled away gently and sat up, her green eyes shimmering in the light from the TV. Riku reached for her, pushing her hair from her face. “Drea..” He started, cupping her face. She nuzzled into his hand.
He was hesitant, picking his next words carefully, “What.. are we?” She blinked, looking at him for a second before realizing the intent of his question. Her gaze shifted downwards momentarily before she met his eyes again.
“What do you want us to be?” She asked in response. He understood then that he really didn’t know. He enjoyed.. what ever this was. The cute snaps, the tender familiarity between them, the way they were able to just be together in silence. He liked hearing her stories and their random adventures in the middle of the night.
“I… really like you. A lot...” he admitted. “I’d like us to stay.. like this.. uh.. If you know what I mean.” He found it hard to get his words to form like he wanted them to. His tongue felt like lead, and his mouth was dry. Nervous. That what he felt, he thought.
She took his hand from her face and cradled it, using her free hand to trace his palm. She gazed at it as she ran her index tip along his palm-lines. “I’d like that..” She glanced up at him with a coy smile. “You’re sweet, Riku. Probably the sweetest person I know.” He felt his heart soar into his throat. She kissed him again, tenderly, caring.
Her phone began to ring, blaring an electronic song Riku had never heard. Drea flinched in surprise before snatching it off the table. “Yeah?” She answered softly. “Oh, already? I didn’t realize what time it was. Yeah.. yeah, I’ll be right out. Thanks, Dem...” She hung up and slipped the phone into her back pocket before looking at Riku, “My brother’s here to pick me up.”
Riku feared as much. But he smiled softly at her anyway. “Okay..” He murmured and she took his hands in hers. “I’ll walk you out.” She kissed his knuckles, leaving a small fire under his skin in her wake.
“Nah, it’s good.” She shook her head. “Don’t get up, you look comfy.” She untangled herself from him and stood up. He couldn’t help but grin at her, and she leaned down and kissed him goodnight before retreating through the darkness and out the door before he could get up to help her.
Riku stood and went to the window, watching her get into a Camry that was parked in his driveway. It was dark, but the light in the car was on, and he could make out the driver was the baby-faced boy in her snap from earlier. When she was in and buckled up, Demyx backed out and headed down the street. Riku watched until they turned the corner out of view.
His phone buzzed.
“I’ll see you soon, yeah? Goodnight. Xoxo”
Riku clutched his phone tightly, a smile glued to his face.