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!

"If I don't start preparing for that now, we'll start off on shaky footing," Light disagreed, hands still hovering by the laptop. "I won't have that for her." She may have told this to Riku before, but she didn't really care what became of her life. As long as Serah had a future, Lightning didn't care what she had to do. Her childhood was already lost anyway.

Riku fought the urge to roll his eyes, aware that he was already ticked off at himself; taking it out on Lightning wasn't going to do much good. "Alright," he said, voice low. "If that's what you want." He ran a hand through his hair and walked past her, toward the bedrooms. Maybe some sleep would do him some good.

Edited July 30, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Lightning watched Riku go in silence. He was leaving, so she wasn't gong to provoke him by asking him what his deal was. She looked back at the laptop after a few seconds and stared at it a good minute before she began her search again. Today was just a stressful day for all of them, that was all.

A few days later

 

Riku sat in the living room, the lights off and the televison screen black. He could care less about lighting up the room, the young man's elbows on his knees, his hands linked together behind his head as he stared at the ground. Ashe contacted him a little bit ago, and the news she had was far from pleasant. Somebody at the restaurant the other day caught them kissing on camera, and now Ashe was being blackmailed. That picture couldn't get out. Not only would the world be judging him, so would his friends and Lightning. It would be a disaster.

Edited July 30, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Lightning went to bed early that night, as she did most nights. Being in a fake relationship was exhausting. That was why she really wasn't happy when her cell phone began to chirp beside her bed. Not many people had the number though, so she was only half surprised when it was her sister. "Serah?" she said into the phone, her voice a little slurred as she came to. What was going on? It was midnight.

 

"Lightning, hey," Serah greeted breathlessly. She was stunned for a lot of reasons. But mostly sad...and angry. He would pay for this. "I'm sorry, but I had to tell you about something." She wouldn't be happy to hear it, but Serah had to tell her this.

 

As Serah spoke into her ear, Lightning dragged herself out of bed and to the living room. She had a habit of pacing when she was on the phone, and the living room was a nice area to walk around in. She didn't think that Riku would still be up though. "Okay, what's wrong?" she asked into the phone as she walked through the hallway.

Riku tensed when he heard Lightning's voice, and he thought for a moment that she was talking to him. But...there's no way she could have seen him. It was pitch black, and only he could see that well in the dark. So...who was she talking to?

"Okay, don't freak out, but I'm at Noel's--"

 

Lightning immediately tensed, though she flipped on a light switch as she listened. "What are you doing at Noel's at this hour?" she asked. Serah was at a boy's house, at midnight! It was a Friday night, but shouldn't Serah have had a curfew with this family of hers?

 

"My guardians are talking to Noel's parents. They came to pick me up about an hour and a half ago," Serah said hastily. "But Noel just found something on the internet. You need to see it, right away. You're not going to be happy about it."

 

Lightning lifted a hand to her forehead, facing away from Riku and looking towards the laptop. "What is it?" she asked again. What was wrong? She could guess that it dealt with the media, even if they did back off a little bit.

Riku obviously couldn't make out what Serah was saying. Clearly it was her, since Lightning took on the motherly role just now. But...what was Serah doing at Noel's right now? That didn't make much sense...and why was she calling Lightning, who was obviously just in bed? Riku could only sit there in silence, not moving as he continued to listen.

"It's something you need to see. It might just be photo-shopped, but..."

 

"For goodness sake, Serah, just tell me," Lightning said sternly, though she walked over to Riku's laptop and opened it. She had free access to it now, so she knew she didn't need to ask permission anymore. She opened up a web browser and went to a search page. "What am I looking for?"

 

"Go to your email. I sent the photo to you. ...It's all over the place, sis. It just came up a few hours ago and it's already on at least ten other sites. I'm so sorry. I wish I was there with you right now to tell you in person, but I knew that you'd need to know before you went out tomorrow, so I called you up and..."

 

As Serah spoke in her ear, Lightning opened up her email and found what Serah sent her. She opened it up and blinked, hearing Serah fall silent in her ear. Or maybe she just tuned her out. There was a picture of Riku along with Ashe, kissing. It was a very recent picture too. The interview. This happened at the interview. If it was even that at all. Looks like it was more of a date.

Riku lowered his hands from the back of his neck, turning his head to see what Lightning was doing. Her back was to him, but he knew she was on the laptop. And she was looking for something... By her silence, she found it. Please don't let it be the picture, he begged, facing forward again and leaning his forehead into his hand. He closed his eyes, knowing that as soon as she turned around, Lightning would see him. And it would be bad if the picture was what she found.

Lightning sensed a gaze on her, so after about ten seconds of staring at the picture, she turned around and saw who was on the couch. One of the two who were in the kiss. While Serah continued babbling in her ear, Lightning interrupted. "Go home right now," she said quietly. "Go to bed. Spend the weekend doing homework. You've spent enough time with Noel for one night."

 

Serah knew that Lightning was mostly doing this just to have control because she was grappling with the picture, so she accepted it without argument. "And you? What are you going to do?" Hopefully not freak out. She sounded calm, but she could snap soon.

 

"I don't know. Maybe take my gun for some target practice. I've got something nice to aim at now," Lightning said lowly while staring at Riku. She could aim for his head or for his head in the picture. Either way-- "Goodnight." She hung up the cell phone and set it on the desk by the laptop. The picture lingered on it, but she wasn't staring at it anymore. She was staring at Riku. Judging by his position, he knew what was up.

Riku knew the last bit was directed at him. Gun practice... He was Lightning's newest target. He kept his eyes closed, though his muscles were tense under Lightning's glare. He didn't say anything, didn't move, didn't do anything. If she wanted to hit him, she could; he would take it. He deserved it for being so careless, and stupid. If she wanted to leave...he would let her. It would hurt, but he would let her go.

Lightning heard her phone going off again--It was Serah, telling her not to kill Riku. She picked up the phone, hung up on the call, and then turned off the device completely. She flexed her jaw and stared at Riku, waiting for him to look up and give her a response. When he didn't, she heard herself speak lowly to him. "You coward," she said lowly. "Look at me. Right now."

Riku tensed even more--if that was possible--at the tone of voice Lightning used, and after a second of hesitation, he followed her order. He lowered his hand and opened his eyes, turning his head to look at her in silence. His expression was blank, the young man not knowing what to do or say. He couldn't find his voice if he wanted to...especially after someone who had seen his strength firsthand called him a coward.

"You were the one who said we should do this," Lightning declared lowly, fighting the tremble in her voice. "Yet on day one, you meet up with your ex and get a picture kissing her? If you didn't want to be in a fake relationship with me, why did you even suggest it? One day. You couldn't even go one day without making googly eyes at another girl." She may have sounded angry even in a quiet voice, but she was feeling another emotion as well. She didn't want to confess to it though. Riku would face her fury.

Riku felt his eyes soften at the accusations thrown at him, not wanting Lightning to think like that at all. "...Light," he tried softly. She couldn't believe that he didn't want to do this, be in a fake relationship with her. He agreed to it, and he was the one who backed Sora up as soon as they got back to the apartment. And he didn't make googly eyes; the kiss just happened. Ashe kissed him, not the other way around.

Edited September 23, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Lightning lifted a finger and pointed it at Riku, even if they were half a room apart. "You had your chance to talk," she said. "You've known about this for days. And you kept it a secret from me. You didn't think it was anything personal, right?" she asked with bite. "That this is just a fake relationship, so I shouldn't be offended that you went off and kissed another girl. Is that it?" This time, she wanted an answer. Maybe. If it wasn't one she liked, she'd interrupt him and keep talking.

Riku looked away, releasing a breath as he closed his eyes. She had to understand... "It wasn't like that," he tried again. He would never do something that shallow. It wasn't who he was, but...Lightning had a point. Why would he have done it if he wasn't that kind of guy? What did seeing Ashe again do to him?

"It wasn't? Huh," Lightning said sarcastically, lowering her finger. "Fake relationship or not, I could kill you for this type of thing. You said this would get the press off my back, but now that you've gone and cheated on me, they're going to be more aggressive than ever. I should have just given in to Cecil." But it was more than that. Much more than that. She didn't care about the press right now. What she cared about was...this betrayal. The thought nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Riku opened his eyes and stared at the wall, not sure what he could do or say to make things easier. So it only left him one option: a question. "...What do you want me to say?" he asked then. What did she want him to do? Lightning was acting like he did this on purpose, but that was the farthest thing from it. He just went for an interview...an exclusive interview. But it seemed like it was far from exclusive.

Lightning didn't respond. There was nothing she wanted Riku to say. There was a lot she didn't want him to say at all. No more promises that he didn't intend to keep. No more telling her lies that his affection was genuine. No more betrayal. Before she even recognized what was happening, her eyes were completely filled with tears. Overflowing. They slid down her cheeks as she stared at Riku, sorrow replacing the anger. You traitor. I thought you liked me.

At the silence, Riku turned his head, and that was when his expression broke completely. Lightning...was crying? He rose to his feet at the sight, his lips parting. "...Light," he said softly. You know I didn't want this to happen. I didn't even see it coming. ...I'm sorry. He could tell by the way she was letting her emotions show that she hated him, and didn't care about the facade they were meant to put on. That charade was clearly over.

Lightning grunted and made a beeline for her room. She slammed the door shut behind her and locked it. She was a fool to have ever opened up to anybody. She should have kept going on her own without inviting Riku into her heart. She shouldn't have made herself vulnerable. She sat down on her bed and buried her face in her hands. It was time to go back to solitude.

Riku stared after Lightning in silence, not knowing what to do. He simply stared at the hallway for a moment before he made a rash decision. Even if he was shirtless, he grabbed his jacket and his keys, throwing his shoes on carelessly and leaving his apartment. He needed air...lots of it, and he knew just the place.

Edited July 30, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Feeling very much like a little girl, Lightning laid down on her bed and buried her face in her pillow. The fabric soaked up tears and muffled the sound of her crying. You're stupid. So stupid. You set yourself up for this. You should have known you weren't good enough for him. She shook a little with the sobbing, finally broken from all the pressure. Maybe even broken beyond repair.