"Axel, would you go to the apartment next door? There's a new family there and I want you to invite them to dinner," My mom said. I sighed.
"Do I have to do this every time someone moves into that apartment? No one even stays in it that long."
"Just do it. Besides, I caught a glance at this family. She's a single mother, and her son seems to be someone you'd get along with," my mom argued.
"Fine, I'll be back soon."
I walked out the front door of our apartment and walked to the one next door. I could hear loud music from the other side of the door. I knocked loudly, hoping whoever was inside could hear me. I heard crashes and swearing. The door swung open, but the only person I saw was a brunette standing halfway across the room. The door was opening itself again?
"Can we help you?" the brunette asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Uh… we? Anyway, I was forced to come over here and tell you you've got a shot for a free dinner."
"Dinner, huh? What's exactly that supposed to mean?" the brunette asked.
"I mean exactly what I said," I answered, rolling my eyes. This kid was starting to annoy me.
"What's the catch, Red? There's a catch, I know there is, so spill." The brunette crossed his arms.
"There's no catch if you tell me your name." I shrugged.
"Name's Sora. And this is- where did he go? He opened the door…" Sora looked around, seeming in a panic.
"Right, well, good luck finding him, I'm in the apartment next door when you're ready. See you later, I guess." I walked off.
"Did you notice how much he looks like-," I started.
"I know. He has a completely different personality though. And what's up with you? You're acting like you're drunk or something."
"Sora, I'm not drunk, I'm just… I don't know, something happened when I tried to get up from the couch." I shrugged.
"Do you think it's him? Do you want to go? You don't have to, you know. I can stay with you if you want, too." Sora squatted down so he was at eye level with me.
I was sitting on the floor with my back to the wall, in a spot that the redhead that had been here hadn't seen me. I sighed and shook my head.
"I'll go. It's just one dinner, right? It's not like it's something I have to suffer through. I can just eat and leave, right?" I said.
"Sure. When do you want to go? Mom's not coming home tonight, so we're on our own tonight."
"We're on our own again tonight? I guess it's dinner with him or greasy fast food. I don't know about you, but I'd rather get free food than pay for something I know is gross." I stood up and walked back out of the apartment. He'd said he lived next door, but on which side?
"Hey Sora," someone said. I turned around. The redhead that had told us about the dinner's eyes widened.
"I'm not-,"
"You're not Sora, sorry. You just looked a lot like him at first. Are you two related?"
"He's my brother. A whole 11 minutes older. Such a big deal," I mumbled sarcastically.
"Definitely," he laughed. I found myself smiling.
"You know, my mom said she saw a woman and her son. She thought I would get along with the son." My smile fell as he spoke.
"She must have seen Sora. There's no way anyone could put up with me," I said.
"You're such a little liar. The proof's right in front of you," he said, smiling again. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to tell him. He had a really nice smile. I got this warmth inside when he smiled at me.
Not again, not after Riku. He'll find it disgusting, I know it. Riku did, I thought.
"Proof of what?" I asked.
"Proof that someone can put up with you. Maybe my mom did see you, because frankly, Sora seems a little…" he trailed off.
"I know. He's always like that ever since-," I stopped, not wanting to explain.
"What happened? Did someone do something to you?" Guess I didn't have to explain, after all. I only nodded.
"My mom told him it was okay… that he shouldn't act like I'm a real person with feelings or something… she said it was crazy for him to treat me like that. She said he should hurt me." I hung my head, waiting for his scoff or laugh or something.
'"Wow… it's amazing you're still here… is she like that with everything?"
"Yeah, but I don't know what you mean by that? Amazing I'm still here?" I asked.
"Well, if any of my friends went through that, they would've… um…" he stuttered. I knew what he meant. My mom always told me to.
"My mom tells me to do that all the time." His eyes widened.
I didn't even know his name. I was guessing that his mom didn't call him by his name. She probably called him "boy" or "kid" when she called him at all. Did she treat Sora like that? I could talk to my mom. I'd noticed the name had said "Strife". My mom knew Cloud Strife, and the blonde looked a lot like him. My mom could tell him what was going on, right?
"Mom, do you still talk to Cloud?" I asked while setting the table.
"Yes, why?" She turned to me. She had a worried look on her face. She must've caught the tone of my voice.
"Just wondering," I lied.
"Ax, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"Does he have a son?" I asked.
"Two, he has twins. Their names are Sora and Roxas." She set down the hand towel she'd had in her hand.
"I met them. They're the boys in the apartment next door. Sora's a little… off, but Roxas…" I shook my head before continuing. "Roxas was talking to me in the hallway, and their mom treats him like crap. She doesn't treat him like her son, not even a real person. She treats him like he's just a clone of Sora or something."
"Oh, my. Perhaps we should tell someone…"
"No, it seemed hard enough for him to tell me. I don't want to immediately go tell someone. I might have made a mistake, anyway. I can't be sure that's what he meant."
"Should we at least tell Cloud? Is that why you asked if I still talked to him?" she asked.
A knock on the door ended the conversation. I opened it and found Sora and Roxas on the other side. Sora glared at me and Roxas smiled when Sora wasn't looking. I smiled back, and Sora's glare deepened.
"Stop hitting on my brother and let us in already, Red," Sora snapped.
I opened the door, and Sora walked right in, practically pushing me out of the way.
"Sora… that's ru-," Roxas started.
"Shut up. No one cares what you have to say. No one ever has, and no one ever will." I wanted to punch Sora so badly for saying that to Roxas. I looked at him, and he shrugged, as if this was normal.
"Wow, I must say, you boys do remind me of Cloud. Especially you… I'm sorry, what was your name?"
"Don't bother trying to get his name. He doesn't need it anyway," Sora said, stopping Roxas before he could say anything.
"Sora, you shouldn't treat him like that! He's a person, just like you! How can you live with yourself when you treat another human being like that?" I yelled. He stepped back, looking surprised someone had said something like that to him.
"W-what did you say?" He asked.
"You heard me! I don't know what your problem is, but you don't need to treat him like that!"
"Axel! Calm down!" my mom yelled.
"You're going to scare your precious Roxas, Axel!" Sora said mockingly.
Roxas ran out the door, and I took off after him. I thought he'd run back to his apartment, but he ran down the stairs and out the front doors of the building. I followed him as he ran across town and caught up to him as he was about to jump the bank of the river.
"Roxas!" I grabbed his wrist.
"Let me go! I'm supposed to do this!" he yelled.
"I'm not going to let you!" I pulled him back to a safe distance.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Roxas… why do they treat you like that?" I looked at him, but he lowered his head.
"Because I deserve it. I'm screwed up, and I know it. I'm wrong, I'm damaged."
"What are you talking about, Roxas? How are you damaged?" I asked.
Why do you care about this kid? Why do you want to help him so badly? You've seen kids that have been suicidal before, I thought.
"I'm… I'm… I can't tell you… you'll hate me… I don't want to lose the first person who cared about me…"
"Roxas, I do care about you, which means I'm not going to leave you alone. Please, tell me why they called you damaged."
"Sora's friend was talking to me and he said he'd accept anything about me, so I told him a secret. He called me disgusting, told Sora, and Sora told my mom…" he stopped.
"Told your mom what?" I asked.
"Look at this, and if you're okay with it, then that's great."
He pulled something out of his pocket. It looked familiar. I had the same wristband on my right wrist. I didn't think that's why his family hated him, but it did make sense. I smiled at him and pulled up the sleeve of my hoodie, and his widened.
"I didn't think you would be- wait, you are, right? You don't just wear that to show you're okay with it?"
"I swear, Roxas, I am. I couldn't stand Sora talking about you like that. You don't deserve it. I let you in on a secret; I have Cloud's number and he hates when parents treat their kids like that."
"You have Cloud Strife's number? You can call my father for me?" He smiled, his whole face lit up.
"Of course, do you want me to?" I asked.
He didn't say anything; he just got this really weird look on his face. He looked at me, his head tilted slightly. His fingers twitched, and he bent his head again. I thought I saw his face turning red, but I wasn't sure. Did he not want me to call his dad because he was afraid of something? Was he afraid of what his mom would do, or what would happen to him? Suddenly he threw his arms around me and buried his face in my shoulder. I couldn't find myself to see a problem with it, so I returned the hug. He pulled away quickly, looking at me like I was crazy. I cleared my throat.
"No one's ever… done that…" he whispered.
"Roxas, how long has it been since you've had a friend?" I asked.
"I never had a friend before. Will you be my friend, Axel?" He smiled at me.
"Sure, I need a friend too." We sat down against the trunk of a tree. Resque