As some of you may know, Peanut and I are crazy about Roleplaying, and it's clear, since this is the second one on this site that belongs to us. And we aren't even done with the first one! Regardless, that won't stop us from starting this new roleplay, Rude Awakening!

 

Kinda dark and mysterious title, eh?

 

As stated in the title, this RP is one on one, no exceptions. Please refrain from posting in the RP. Instead, follow us on this new journey!

 

Peanut, my amazing friend, let's begin!

Lightning nodded her agreement, looking over at Riku and smiling softly. It really was good so far. Hard to believe that he possessed so many talents. First he was Keyblade wielder, then an athlete, then an all around good guy...She was falling hard for him. So hard.

 

Celes saw the way that Lightning looked at her son, and it worried her. She still wasn't in favor of a relationship with them; thus far at this meal, Lightning had come across as awkward and harsh to them. The latter was thrown through accidental mannerisms and nervousness on her part. She was trying to be something she wasn't to impress her and Locke. "So, Lightning," she said, capturing the girl's attention. "Surely you didn't leave your father alone for Thanksgiving." She knew Lightning's mother had passed, but not her father. Where was he?

Edited July 10, 201213 yr by Peanut

Riku stopped cutting his piece of turkey, looking up at his mother. "...Mom," he said, his tone slightly holding warning. He gave her a look as if to ask, We just sat down and you're already interrogating? And on top of that, his mother was accusing her of leaving her family alone on the holiday. Lightning wasn't that heartless; if her father was still around, she wouldn't have come here.

 

Namine took a bite of a roll served with the meal, her eyes going from Riku to his mother, and then to Lightning. By Riku's reply, there had to be something they were missing here. He suddenly seemed....defensive.

Lightning lifted a hand to Riku, signalling that it was okay. Not really, but she didn't want to drive a wedge between him and his parents. She kept her chin held high, stuffing back any sorrow that could have appeared at the mention of her father. "He's not alone," she said, aware that Serah's conversation with Noel had halted when she overheard the mention of their dad. "He's with my mother."

 

Celes glanced over at Riku, genuinely confused. It wasn't that big of a deal that her father was with another family member; there was no need for him to get defensive. Lightning didn't seem bothered by the question on the surface. "Oh, I see," she said. "Riku didn't tell me you had a step-mother." That was what she assumed was going on, anyway.

Locke saw Riku glance away as if irritated, and his eyebrows furrowed. It was as if Celes's assumption was incorrect, but what did Lightning think? He looked to the pink-haired teen, swallowing his food. "Riku has neglected to mention quite a few things about you," he added, noticing the words earned him a heavy look from his son. They found out a lot when they talked with him last, and that wasn't the best conversation they'd ever had. Actually, they found out more about Lightning then than any other time.

Celes nodded faintly in agreement, glancing at Lightning. Her expression was unreadable, but it at least was calm instead of angry. There was more to her than what was on the surface though; Celes could tell that much. I'm sorry, Riku, but.. But she had to know more. "Are your parents separated, then, if your dad is visiting your step-mother? Do you only live with one parent?" She gave Lightning an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I just want to know more about you."

 

Are you really sorry? Lightning wondered. It hardly mattered. She wasn't going to stoop down to that level and bring more tension than there was already. "I don't have a step-mother," she said, glancing down at her food but still holding herself as one who had it all together. "My father is with my birth mother, whose music was played at the concert." Hopefully that would be enough information to get them to back off a bit.

Locke nodded in understanding, now aware of the girls' predicament. Lightning and Serah had lost both parents. "Wow, that must be very hard for you," he said, unable to believe that the two were living on their own. They had to be, or else they would be with their adoptive families today. "Sorry for your losses."

 

Riku glared at his food, eating in silence for the moment. But after his father spoke, he looked up at him. "This isn't the time to be discussing this, guys," he said then, voice tight but calm, as he usually was in these situations. "I'm sure Lightning and Serah appreciate the sympathy, but it'd probably be less awkward for all of us if you brought it up some other time." He looked at his parents pointedly, not meaning to come off as harsh. He was just trying to get things away from such a tense topic.

Lightning glanced up and saw Celes stare down at her food in silence, the mother beginning to eat again. Light wanted to walk away from the tension, but she knew Riku's parents didn't appreciate it when she walked away at the concert. Today wouldn't be any different. They may have felt pity for them now, but later, the judgement would come again. She was certain of it. She forced herself to have another bite of the turkey, though she wasn't hungry anymore.

Sorry, Light, Riku wanted to say, briefly glancing over at the girl before he began eating again. However, he kept his mouth shut for the time being. Clearly he'd said enough. Thankfully, Namine was kind enough to break the awkward silence.

 

"So...did anyone hear about Roxas's recital?" Namine asked, glancing around the table. "Apparently he's one of the most popular guys on campus." She looked over at her friend and smiled faintly, though she looked away after only a second. He hadn't even known she was there.

"Roxas," Sora scolded lightly. "You didn't tell any of us there was a recital. We all would have come." He was supportive of his friend's music, after all. He was really talented.

 

Roxas smiled sheepishly, nodding faintly to Sora. "I thought it was going to be humiliating," he said honestly. He had expected that he would make a complete fool of himself. That was the last thing that he wanted his friends to see. So, he kept it a secret. But Namine clearly found out about it, since she was there. He saw her before he was attacked by all the beautiful women.

"Clearly not," Kairi said, pointing her fork at her good friend. "I heard you were on a few dates recently." She lifted an eyebrow at him, smiling faintly. Roxas had become quite the ladies man now that he sang in front of a crowd. Little did she know that her comment caused the only blonde girl at the table to duck her head a little more.

Roxas blushed, chuckling softly. "Those girls are crazy," he muttered, though he was sure those around him could understand what he said. He had gotten even more phone numbers since the recital. A lot wanted him to sing for them. But he wasn't quite ready for that yet. They heard him once, and it was a huge success, but he was still shy about the thought of performing personal stuff.

Namine sat in silence as the conversation continued, Noel jumping into it and giving his two cents. Naturally, it was taunting Roxas, but for some reason, Namine didn't find it very funny. In fact, the conversation alone made her feel a little uncomfortable. She covered it up the best she could though.

Roxas put up with the taunting for a little while, not that he had much of a choice. He noticed Namine was pretty quiet though. She had hardly spoken to him since the recital. Was there still tension from the restaurant incident? Regardless, he enjoyed the rest of the dinner, as did everyone else from what he could tell. It was a good get-together with friends.

A few days later

 

Riku pulled a shirt over his torso, having just gotten out of the shower after an early morning run. He was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, his usual attire when he planned on staying home for a while. The run had been for both exercise and for clearing his head, since he wasn't at all happy with the way dinner went the other day. Thanksgiving had been good as a whole, but his parents were who made the dinner awkward. He wouldn't forgive them for bringing something that personal up at the table.

Lightning wasn't surprised it was another rainy day. Normally storms were calming, but not today, especially since she ran through the rain to make it here to Riku's apparent. She was drenched and trembling, but the latter wasn't caused by the cold. She knocked on the door, her skin also paler than usual. That wasn't caused by the cold either. Not at all.

Riku heard the door from his room, and he walked down the hall and toward the door in confusion. He didn't know who could be here today, since he hardly ever expected visitors at all; no one ever dropped by. He opened the door, blinking in confusion when he saw Lightning. "Light?" he said, taking in her appearance. She looked...awful.

Light nodded faintly, folding her arms over her chest automatically. Not that she was angry with Riku. She knew who was responsible for putting her in this state, and it wasn't him. She didn't know what to say; she was speechless. Still trembling from rage and fright, but words eluded her. How could she explain this? She wished it was just a nightmare.

Riku stepped aside wordlessly, opening the door more so Lightning could come inside. His confusion remained on his expression, the young man not knowing what to say or do. Was she okay? It certainly didn't look like it.

Lightning stepped inside, aware she was dripping water on the floor. She stopped about two steps in and faced Riku. "A letter in the mail," she said in a hoarse voice. "Somebody nominated Serah and I for foster care." The letter said that Lightning wasn't a proper guardian, so they were going to be put into the foster system. They were going to be separated. ...She was going to lose her only family.

Riku just shut the door when he heard the last bit, and his eyebrows furrowed. "What?" he said, facing Lightning as he looked down at her. Foster care? Who would be stupid and cruel enough to do something like that?

Lightning didn't bother responding to the remark. She only continued on. "Very few know about our situation," she said, fighting her trembling as she gazed at Riku. "I already requested that Noel ask his parents. They didn't do this." There were only two other adults who knew about this and could cause this to happen. Riku's parents.

Riku exhaled a breath through his nose, his jaw flexing as he ground his teeth together at the accusation. "No," he said, shaking his head. "They wouldn't." His parents couldn't have done something so...cruel. He knew they were uptight when it came to Lightning, but they wouldn't do something like that to get her and Serah away from him, would they?

"They're the only ones, Riku," Lightning said weakly. She was sorry that she had to accuse them, but she did look into the other options before coming to him. Nobody else could have alerted the government to Lightning's "lack of proper guardianship." She was seventeen; she could handle this! She was doing a good job!

Riku closed his eyes briefly before opening them, looking at the girl before him. "Do you have the paper?" he asked her, voice low. He had to see the proof. He had to see the complaint against Lightning. He couldn't believe that something like this was even happening.

Lightning nodded, pulling out the folded paper from her jacket pocket. It was damp and crumpled lightly from her reading it, but it was obviously legitimate. Nobody would go through an elaborate prank like this. Maybe Zane, but he was out of her life for good now. Riku made sure of that.