Chapter One;
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Sky-blue eyes were glued to the iPod as the blond walked down the street, heading for his father's company building. It wasn't because he wanted to, it was because he had to check in with the man. He still lived under his roof. It was a decent part of the town, although there had been a few suicides over the years from people jumping off of the large buildings that lined the streets. It seemed like it was a crowded space, the town, because of how close the buildings were, but that was definitely not the case. The buildings on the inside were huge, leaving one wondering how they fit so closely together when it seemed so small.
And the area was only an hour walk from the school he attended, making it a two hour walk back to the house, but he didn't care, in all honesty. It gave him time to think over what he was going to do when he reached his destination.
And a lot of the time he spent checking on his twin, or just hanging out with him.
Rounding another corner, he continued down the street, unable to hear the people screaming. He was looking at lyrics to a song he had on full blast in his ear. (Imagine that...). The second he did lift his head, his body went rigid, and it felt like the world had just stopped turning, and time stood still.
A loud scream echoed through the small room as Roxas sat straight up in bed, his eyes wide, his body covered in a light sheen of cold sweat, his breathing heavy. No matter how much time had passed, the same dream haunted him almost every night. Looking over to the clock, it was only five minutes till he was suppose to be up for school. Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed, and looked to the picture sitting on the nightstand next to his bed, his eyes becoming half lidded. Exactly a year ago...Happy birthday...He thought, almost bitterly. Some birthday present that was...
Shaking his head, he couldn't exactly be mad. There was just so much going on in their lives that things were getting stressful for the both of them. Roxas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, letting his eyes slide closed. His mother had died giving birth to him, and his twin brother, Ventus. Since, they had lived with their father, who was a big name. He owned a corporation that was huge around the would. Everyone either knew him, or knew of him.
After all, he owned several hospitals around the world. It had started off as a non-profit thing, but in the end, the man became a multimillionaire. And the boys felt they had to try and live up to that.
However, it had began to put stress on the both of them. Roxas put all of his negative energy into skate-boarding to clear his mind. It helped, because it made him focus on how to keep himself from breaking his neck, helped him with his balancing skills. But Ventus...He kept it all inside, only releasing it through his art, which tended to be a bit morbid at times. Though, the majority of it was beautiful art work, and Roxas always praised him for it. In fact, he had received a few pieces of art for birthdays and Christmas'. And those pieces still hung on his walls.
Since Ventus really didn't have a better way to distract himself, everything became too much, and the kids at school weren't helping, so the older blond had decided to end it all.
And Roxas still suffered.
After his suicide, Roxas all but just left his father's house, and stayed at a homeless shelter. During that time, he put all his time and effort into learning to drag race, remembering that Ventus said it would be cool to be able to do something like that at least once in his life for the thrill of it all. And all of this was happening while he was only fifteen. It was only four months ago he had actually gotten the apartment from the earnings of his very first drag race.
Pulling himself out of bed, he walked to the bathroom and refused to look at the mirror as he walked past it, turning the hot water on and stripping out of his night clothes, before stepping into the water. It was hard enough looking at the pictures he kept. He didn't want to look in the mirror and be fooled into thinking his twin was there with him. As the water washed over his back, his eyes drifted close again, and it seemed to relax him a little more. Until he heard his alarm screaming at him from the other room. Washing up, he climbed out, dried off, and got dressed, grabbing his bag and a piece of toast before heading out the door.
No one at his current school really knew his name, or much about him. He had transferred after the so called 'accident', and kept his family a secret. If anyone asked, he just told them he lived with his grandparents because his parents were dead, and that he was an only child. And they always bought it. Hearing his cell go off, he glanced down to see a text message, giving him the time and location of a race that was going on that night, with the offer of taking on one of the best drag-racers. He was gonna take it. He had bills to pay.
Huh, not many sixteen-year-old's can say that. Roxas thought as he sent his reply as a definite show. Pausing, he glanced to his left, where the graveyard was, before he continued walking. The last thing he needed was to bring himself down anymore than he already was. It was hard getting through the day when he had that nightmare.
He had blamed himself for it all. They were twins, after all. He should have seen it coming. He had noticed a change in his twin, but never really thought it was anything too serious. He just figured he was just sad, or was in a rut with his artwork. A bit of encouraging words had escaped his lips, telling his twin he was going somewhere with his art, but nothing about him being able to talk to him had come out of his mouth. Taking in a deep breath, he continued on his way to school, turning his phone off.
Even if he did stupid things, like the racing instead of getting a real job, school was important to him. He and Ventus had made a pact to finish high school at least. And Ventus had planned to go to art school. Roxas made him promise to at least give it a shot once they graduated, and he did. But in return, Roxas had to make a promise to, no matter what, just keep looking forward, and smile.
That was around the time Ventus had began to act a little different.
Why didn't I see that one? Roxas asked himself, his own thoughts bitter towards himself. There were a lot of things he could have done to save his brother, but he didn't.
His blame was silent, and he pushed through the day with a smile, and pretended everything was okay. He made a promise, after all. Though, it was still pretty damn hard. The two were so close, they refused to get their own rooms. Though, their own beds were definitely a must. And when one needed the comfort, they'd walk over to the others bed, and were welcomed with open arms, and a warm smile of comfort. It lasted up until they were just about fifteen.
The night before their fifteenth, Ventus had called Roxas over to his bed, and they had cuddled up together, falling asleep, each with a smile on their lips. Roxas hadn't noticed that Ventus' had been empty. At least he had gotten an explanation in a note that was left for him in Ventus' will, along with all of his art-work.
He was only fourteen, he didn't need a damn will. He thought. He had zoned out so much, thinking back, he hadn't realized he was already in the school building, at his locker.
It wasn't that he didn't want to tell everyone about his twin, but Roxas just refused to do that to himself. People would ask questions, and he was not in the mood for interrogations. On top of that, he didn't want to be associated with his father. He was doing just fine on his own, and hadn't asked the man for a single penny. His excuse was that he wanted to start his life over. To try and make things work out better. To try and be able to cope better with the loss.
No matter what, though, when he woke up in an empty room, it always made his heart drop.
Realizing where he was, Roxas took in another deep breath, put a smile on his lips, shut his locker, and headed for his first class of the day. Art class.
Hey, he wasn't just inspired by his wishes. Roxas was inspired to take up art in the name of his twin as well. It was a little more productive, and would earn honest money. However, that wasn't as much of a motivator as the drag-racing. Ventus had been right. The thrill of it was addicting.
Walking to his first class, Roxas took his usual seat in the middle of the class, and pulled out his sketch book, starting to sketch something out while he waited, making a face as he started.
Nothing compares to you...
It seemed as if eternity had passed before the bell rang, starting classes for the day.
Fuck, why couldn't it be a damn weekend?
~Panda~
