"Ahem." Blonde hair poked at the messy bed-head that attempted to cover himself in the blankets. "It's time to wake up Kiddo. If you don't, mom will get mad." He mumbled, pulling at the younger boy that got tangled in the blankets. "Besides, Sora's going to call soon. When he does, he expects you to be awake already Rox."
"Yeah, I got it!" Roxas groaned while slowly uncovering himself from the blanket. "See, I'm awake. Give me a bit of time to get in the shower and do whatever." He waved off his brother and slid past him to gather his things.
His brother nodded with a small smile, "Well. Leon offered to take us all to school today anyways."
"You're still with Sora's brother? That's creepy. And kind of disgusting, he doesn't seem like your type, Cloud."
Cloud quietly hissed at his little brother, "Yeah. Whatever you say. Just get ready. I'll meet you downstairs."
Roxas nodded to his brother and wandered off into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, Roxas came running down the steps with his bag in hand. He hugged his mother and spun around Cloud who watched him curiously. "It's just another day of school, you know." Cloud stated.
"Yeah, I know. And school can sometimes be a drag, but not if you're with your best friend that's known you since you were a kid." Roxas explained, sitting in the seat next to Cloud. "So! When are they coming over?"
"Should be here soon, go ahead and eat first." Cloud pointed to Roxas' breakfast and grinned. "Hopefully, you'll like it."
"It looks so good!" Roxas grinned to his brother and took the fork. "I'm guessing both you and mom made breakfast today?"
"Well, of course. If you'd ever wake up earlier, she'd let you help her cook."
Their mother walked over to the window with a wide smile, "Your friends are here. Hurry and eat Roxas." The boys nodded and Cloud turned to watch Roxas scarf down the rest of the food before tossing his messenger bag over his shoulder and opening the door.
"Sora!" Roxas yelled as he ran towards the car, watching as Sora hopped out of the passenger seat and ran towards Roxas yelling his name as well.
"Roxas!"
"Sora!"
"Roooxas!"
"Soooraa!"
The pair crashed into each other and laughed as loud as they could. Cloud walked past the goofy pair and tossed his bag in the front seat, with him sitting right in front of it. "Now, if you two want to be late, that's fine by me. If not, do get into the car." Sora and Roxas nodded and ran into the back seats, still laughing at each other as they buckled the seatbelts.
"We're ready, Leon!" Sora chuckled out.
Leon nodded and began to drive off after waving to Cloud and Roxas' mother. "And, another day of school we go." He stated quietly, resting his free hand onto Cloud's leg. Roxas quietly gagged in the seat behind Cloud and poked at Sora, pointing out the situation in front of them.
"Yeah, I know right?" Sora whispered.
Sora and Roxas ran past Cloud and Leon to make it into the school building. They made their way to the cafeteria to meet with some of their other friends. "Kairi! Olette! Namine! Riku!" Sora yelled as he hugged each one. "Morning!" He smiled to the four.
"Hey there Sora, Roxas." Kairi waved to the best friends. "Here to eat breakfast? If not, we can just head upstairs." She offered.
Olette smiled as she hugged Roxas for her greeting, "It's nice seeing you two again. Sooner or later, you're going to have to get something that symbolizes your friendship with Sora." She told Roxas.
Roxas nodded, "Probably. We'll figure out something."
"Just get one of those really fancy necklaces that have 'BFF' on it. You can have half, and Sora could have the other half." Namine offered.
"I swore I was Sora's best friend forever." Riku fake pouted. "Then again, every time I want to hang out with Sora, it's always 'Oh, I'm with Roxas today' or 'I'm spending the night with Roxas and Cloud'. So much for being a good friend." He teased.
Sora blushed slightly and gave Riku an apologetic smile, "Sorry about that! I didn't realize that you wanted to hang out with me so badly."
"Nah, it's not as bad as you might think."
"You're still my best friend too, don't worry about it!" Sora grinned. "Let's go upstairs!" He offered, jumping up from his seat and practically running up the steps, with Roxas following suit.
"Come on Riku, don't ruin this for them." Kairi stated after she was sure the pair left. She stood and dusted off her skirt before picking up her bag. "Roxas and Sora are so cute together. Let them have their couple's moments." She insisted.
"What-? Oh, come on. Roxas and Sora look almost exactly like the other person, that'd just be disgusting. They're already best friends, what else is going to change it?" Riku frowned, following the group of girls.
"See and it's because they're best friends that it's perfectly fine if one gets more of an idea to date the other." Olette pointed out. Riku shook his head and made a slightly annoyed grunt. "Oh come on, just accept it."
"I'm not going to accept something so stupid. They're not going to change their thoughts on the other person, why can't you guys just accept that?" Riku questioned.
"Oh... Riku could be right though. What if their dating experience doesn't work out well, they wouldn't be best friends anymore." Namine questioned Kairi and Olette's logic. "Wouldn't that just mess up the point of all of this?"
"Well... I didn't actually think of it that way." Kairi wondered as she stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button to go to the highest floor. "I know someone who likes Roxas, and Riku likes Sora. How hard do you think it'll be for the best friends to stop being so close to each other for the other to date them?"
"Depends, who's the person that likes Roxas?" Namine and Olette questioned.
"Axel. He's got the ultimate hots for Roxas." Kairi sighed and shook her head as the elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened.
"Axel? Your brother?" Olette questioned. "I thought you were gonna say Hayner. He has an attraction to Roxas too."
"Is this what my life turned to? Listening to girl gossip?" Riku questioned to himself as he walked past the trio of girls. As soon as he past the girls, he was knocked over by the pair of troublemakers. "R-Roxas!" Riku yelled as he saw the blond spikes grinning at him. He looked down to his waist to see the brunette clinging to him as well. "Sora!" He yelled at the other. "Get off!"
Roxas and Sora chuckled as they let go of him and crawled off. "Sorry about that. I thought you guys were going to take the stairs." Roxas explained. "Sora's been chasing me since we got up here."
"Nuh-uh. Don't make me seem like the bad guy, you chased me first." Sora attempted to defend himself.
"It looks like you need some help getting up there, Riku." A red-head with brighter hair than Kairi grinned to the silverette as he held out his hand to help. Riku gratefully took his hand and took the assistance to stand.
"Thanks, Axel. I appreciate that, really."
"Oh, no problem, I think. Watching you get mauled by kids that aren't even the same height as you is kinda funny, you know." Axel chuckled. Sora grinned at the comment while Roxas laughed right alongside him.
"Oh yeah. Fun." Riku rolled his eyes. "All I wanted to do was go to my locker. That's all." He huffed, dragging Axel along with him. "C'mon, you're coming with me. We have to talk."
"Geez, it's that lover's talk stuff again. They're talking about serious stuff." Sora chuckled, pulling Roxas away. "Let's leave them to it!"
"We are not a-..." Riku sighed and rolled his eyes once more, "Sometimes, I wonder why I'm even bothering with those two."
"Really? They're a funny pair. Really goofy that it's hilarious." Axel grinned as he was pulled to Riku's locker. "What's the seriousness about? That was really funny, c'mon."
"It's not that.. Yeah, it was funny. Don't get me wrong. But.. Um, hey Axel. You're interested in someone, right?" Riku questioned as he opened up his locker.
"Well... Yeah. It's more like a stupid crush compared to anything." Axel sheepishly grinned.
"Go ahead, tell me who it is." Riku pushed, though he already knew who.
Axel awkwardly chuckled, "You know. I got to get to my class, or at least find Demyx. When I do, I'll tell you, maybe." He stated attempting to run away. Riku grabbed onto Axel's arm and pulled him back.
"Nuh-uh. Tell me."
"It's.." He whispered the rest.
"Who?"
"R..."
"I can't hear you."
"Roxas!" Axel yelled with a groan. "It's Roxas, okay? God."
"It's alright. I already knew. I just wanted to make sure that Kairi was telling the truth."
"Kairi told you? God!" Axel huffed as he looked around the halls trying to find his little sister, "She promised me she wouldn't say anything about it!"
"Did she really say that she wouldn't say anything about it?"
"She said that she wouldn't tell Roxas about it." Axel cleared his throat.
"She's bound to tell someone else then. You should know that." Riku sighed, "Your brother's going to go crazy. If he finds out that you're interested in another guy like this. Do you really want to spend your time wishing that you could have someone as innocent as.. Roxas?"
"It's exactly because he's so innocent that I want him. Roxas is different you know."
"That's what you said about X-"
"Don't mention her. She's not what she used to be."
"How about when you thought it'd be a good idea to go for Saix?"
"He was my best friend. My childhood friend. Now, he's just the principal's pet, that's all." Axel shook his head, "I can't even believe that I decided to try things out with him."
"It was after you guys broke up that he felt something for you. You shot him down right after that."
"That's only because that was the worst dating experience that I ever had. I'd rather be like Reno and go out with Zack."
"Reno's legally an adult, right?"
"Not really, he's only a year older than me."
"Oh."
"Zack doesn't even want to talk to me because I look like Reno. How am I supposed to help that? It's genetics!" Axel groaned and held onto Riku's shoulders. "I don't want to look like that asshole, and because of that asshole, I lost a friend!"
"Well... Zack wasn't really a friend to you anyways. He was kinda shallow to you even when he was dating Reno." Riku stated, pushing Axel's hands off of him. He looked over to the hallway and noticed the raven boy walking with his twin. "Oh look. Right on cue. Hey Zack, Terra!" Riku waved to the raven and the brunette.
Zack turned when he heard his name and waved happily to Riku, Terra doing the same. Zack only stopped and dismissed himself after he saw Axel, and continued his walk to his locker. Terra shrugged and ran over to the pair with a happy smile. "Hey you two." Terra greeted.
"Hey Terra." Axel grinned, "What's up with Zack?" He questioned, acting as if he didn't know already.
Terra shook his head, "You already know. Also, I've been meaning to tell you. When Reno decided to drop out of his senior year, Zack was so pissed off. The school year only just started, I mean, come on. Thanksgiving only just passed." Terra groaned. "It's been irritating me, but Zack keeps saying how he doesn't want to deal with you. He doesn't want to talk to you, Reno, or Kairi."
"What?! Kairi has nothing to do with this." Axel frowned.
"Yeah, I know. I told him that. He's insisting that Reno should just come back and finish his school year, to prove that he does have guts to just... Y'know... Be able to stay in the same building as him during the day."
"So Zack just wants Reno to act like a man, someone with balls." Riku explained.
"Basically."
"He's never going to come back to school. Kairi talks to Reno about it all the time. He wouldn't be able to come back until the next trimester." Axel sighed. "He's really never going to come back."
"He might.. I mean, who else was important to Reno while he was in school?" Terra questioned. "Bring up people that Reno likes."
"He had this attraction to Rude, I think he liked Sephiroth too. Um.. He's got this fetish for Cloud too-"
"Cloud? Like... Cloud Strife? The older brother of Roxas?" Terra questioned.
"Y-yeah, why?"
"Zack's been...Wanting to be with Cloud ever since he broke up with Reno." Terra sighed. "This is never going to work!"
"I doubt... I doubt it would." Axel looked over to where Zack's locker was. He was putting his bag into the locker and picking up his books that he needed. He locked his locker and turned to stare at Terra.
"Hey, Terra!" Zack yelled, "You ready, or should I just go to class first?"
"Oh, you can go ahead, I'll meet you there." Terra waved to his twin, who nodded in response. Terra turned back to the pair questionably. "You could try apologizing to Zack in Reno's place?"
"Zack doesn't even want to look at me, it's impossible to apologize to someone who's acting like a child."
"This is Zack we're talking about." Riku grinned. The trio chuckled at the joke, "We should get going. I'll see you second period Terra."
"Yeah, see you guys later." Terra waved, running over to his locker.
Roxas chuckled as he drew in his notebook while the teacher was saying something about their first trimester midterms. Sora sat next to him, writing something in a smaller notebook that was attached to the inside of his binder carelessly. When the teacher finished speaking, he allowed them to go about their own business since he was sure that the kids knew what they were doing.
Sora instantly turned back and stared at his red-headed friend. "Kairi, what do you think of this?" He asked her, handing her his notebook that he was writing in. "I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I think it's turning out really good right now."
Roxas turned his seat around so that he could look at Kairi as well. "Yeah, how does it look?" He questioned.
Kairi nodded quietly at some parts of the story and slowly began turning the page. "It's really good so far, I didn't know you were a good writer."
"I'm better at drawing, and Roxas is better at writing. Naturally." Sora chuckled, "I just wanted to switch it up today. I got interested in my own writing that I didn't want to stop."
"Mhmm." Kairi nodded, "Say, is this person in love with their friend here? Or is she just really easy to flush?" She questioned pointing at a line in the story.
"Ah.. She's in love with her friend, she just doesn't want her to know. So she decides to just be really friendly to him and all." Sora explained.
"I see, sounds like someone I know." Kairi chuckled. Sora gave her a questioning look and opened his mouth to question what she meant, but she held her hand in his face and shook her head. "Don't ask. I can't tell, I promise I would if I could though."
"Oh... Okay then."
Roxas shrugged and shoved his picture into Kairi's face as well, "How good does this look to you?"
"Other than a few errors in the picture, it's really nice. Why does that look like me and Axel though?"
"Because it is. You are family after all, right? I just wanted to draw someone that wasn't me or Sora." Roxas awkwardly chuckled.
"If you wanted to draw the whole family, you shoulda' added Reno too."
"I haven't seen him since last school year."
"Yeah, I know."
"Then I shouldn't draw him."
"It's whatever you want Roxas. Your picture is really good though. Have you talked to Mr. Marluxia yet?"
"No actually. I'm kinda scared to go there and talk to him seriously. People apparently always complain that Mr. Marluxia has a habit of touching certain kids. I don't want to be on that list.." Roxas shivered, and once he finished Sora shivered.
"That's really creepy." Sora stated. "I won't let you go alone, it's okay." He insisted. Roxas nodded with a small smile.
"You two are so cute." Kairi sighed, "It's a shame that neither of you wanna make a move on the other."
"W-what?" Sora was the first to question, "Wh-why would I try and make a move on... Roxas?"
"Because it's already like you're dating him."
"N-no.. We're just really good friends." Roxas insisted.
"Yeah, really good friends." The pair blushed heavier while Kairi only laughed. She handed Sora back his book, and Roxas back his picture and waved to the two once they turned around. "It's alright. If you guys stay best friends forever, but focus more on someone that's more special to you, maybe people won't insist that you're butt buddies."
Roxas was ready to turn around, but froze when the bell rung. "You're safe today, red-head." He half threatened his friend. "Watch your back in the halls."
"Yeah yeah. You can't hurt a girl in school though." Kairi grinned as she patted her two friends and picked up her books. "I'll see you boys later!" She skipped out of the classroom to meet with one of her other friends.
Roxas stood and picked up his books, Sora in tow. He walked out of the classroom and literally ran into Zack who was carelessly taking a stroll in the hallway. "O-oh. Sorry about that Zack." Roxas apologized, attempting to get the books that slipped out of his hand.
"Nah, it's alright Rox." Zack grinned as he picked up both of their books. "Here, I think this one's yours." He handed Roxas back his books.
"Thanks. I coulda' got it though, just so you know." Roxas smiled to his friend.
"Yeah, but I could to. And I did. Might as well, it kinda was my fault for colliding into you."
Roxas shook his head, "Oh! Are you seeing Cloud next period? I have some papers that he kept asking me for, but I have to go downstairs and I don't know where his class is-"
"Yeah, I have his class next." Zack interrupted him. "Where's the papers? I hand it to him." Roxas searched through his binder before pulling out a small stack of papers and handing them to the raven.
"Thanks Zack." Roxas grinned, pulling Zack down and kissing his cheek. "I'll see you later. C'mon Sora." Roxas turned and waved to the brunette who was focused on the wall. He turned around and chased after Roxas.
Zack watched the two juniors run to the stairwell before it clicked, the bell was about to ring. Zack quickly began to walk and hurried his way to his class before the bell rung, and he grinned at his amazing time. He grinned to the teacher and waved. "Hey Larx." He greeted.
"It's Ms. Larxene to you. Get to your seat before I really hurt you." Larxene frowned, pointing to where the desks were. "Now, I'm not making you do anything today, but you brats better not annoy me. Your trimester finals are coming up next week, and surely you weirdos know how to take a proper test." She stated before sitting down in her seat and turning her attention to something on her laptop.
Zack stared at her for a moment before turning to where Cloud and Leon were talking with each other. He sighed in disgust and shook his head, but nonetheless, he still stood to give Cloud his papers. "Hey.. Cloud?"
Cloud looked up from Leon and stared at the raven in front of him, "Yeah Zack?"
"Roxas wanted me to give these to you." Zack stated, handing the blonde the papers. "I probably would have forgotten if I waited to hand them to ya."
Cloud chuckled and shook his head, "It's alright. I needed this for my next class anyways. Thank you Zack." He smiled as he took the papers from the raven and glancing at him as he nodded to the pair and left.
"Hey, Cloud. I've been meaning to ask a few things... Do you think, after class we can talk about it?" Leon whispered to Cloud, as if he didn't want the rest of the class to hear. Cloud silently nodded with a slightly nervous smile.
"Oh! The lunch that I wake up in the morning to look forward to eating!" Demyx laughed to himself as he dragged Axel along with him to get into the lunch line. "Do I have to pay? Pffft, of course I do." Demyx shook his head and searched his pockets for his wallet. "That's if... I have my money with me today.." He began to search frantically for his wallet as the line was pushing him up to the cashier.
"Hey, Demyx. You dropped this while you were up and running to get food." Zack stated holding out Demyx's bright blue wallet, designed with waves and starfish. "You're lucky I knew it was yours. Only you would have something like this." He grinned to the mullet blonde.
"Thanks Zack, what could I do without you?"
"Well, you'd hook up with the most annoying brother of my ex." Zack shrugged.
Demyx instantly blushed, "We are not like that. Besides, I'm interested in someone else completely."
"Oh really?" Zack questioned, slipping into the line and standing in front of Demyx. "And who would that be?"
"I can't say! If I do, someone might overhear..." Demyx shut his eyes tight and allowed Zack to pull him through the line and leading him to pay for his food. Axel quietly growled as he followed the pair that went to get their food. He paid for his food quietly and sighed as he took his tray to follow Demyx to their table.
Zack sat next to Demyx and set his food next to Demyx's tray. "Tell me now then." Zack grinned, pushing at Demyx.
"If I tell you, do you promise not to say anything about it?" Zack nodded to the blonde, "Alright... I... I really like Zexion. But he's always with-"
"He's always with Vexen, yeah, I know. If you want, I can help you get along with him. If you know what I mean." Zack winked to Demyx.
"B-but... W-would you really?"
"I mean, yeah. I talk to Zexion a lot of times, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I ask him a few personal things."
"Thanks Zack!" Demyx grinned and hugged his friend. "Thank you so much!"
"Now don't act so obvious about it, alright?"
"Mhmm!" Demyx chuckled as he turned back to eat his food, "Say Axel, where's Riku? I thought he said he'd meet you at lunch." Axel shrugged, and almost instantly, Zack turned his attention to his food and refused to look across the table to the redhead.
This just so happens to be the closest Zack's gotten to me since... The school year started, and he's still giving me the cold shoulder for something that Reno did. Why is he blaming the whole family for this?
There has to be a reason, right?
Of course not, he's just being him.
Like you said, it's Zack. He has his moments, I thought he'd let it die over...
Zack doesn't let things die over. Zack is... He should be easy to forgive you, I mean. Come on, he has such a bond with Angeal, that Angeal calls him 'Puppy'.
He... calls Zack that for a reason.
"Riku texted me, saying he'd meet us here." Axel mumbled, "Hey, Zack. Mind me asking you something?" Axel sighed when he didn't get a response, "Why does Angeal call you Puppy?"
"Oh, that's because whenever Zack's in Angea-" Demyx tried to pout, but Zack was covering his mouth.
"It's none of your business." Zack mumbled.
"You're finally talking to me."
"Not quite."
"Why does he call you that? Or can I just go ahead and make assumptions? And when I do, I'll probably go and tell Cloud about it too." Almost instantly, Zack glared at Axel. "I got you to look at me now too."
"You're just asking for me to hate you, aren't you?" Zack questioned.
"Kinda , but at the same time, no. I just want to talk normally to you. You go and act all jolly with everyone else, but when I'm around it's like you just met the bitchiest person in the world."
"Maybe you are."
"Stop giving me the god damn cold shoulder."
"Stop asking for it."
"I'm not asking for it!"
"Too bad, it feels like you are. Can you leave me alone now?" Zack questioned, pushing his tray of food away from him. Axel sighed and shook his head.
"Look, I don't know what Reno did to you, but I have nothing to do with this. Neither does Kairi. You don't have to give the whole family the cold shoulder because of something that our older brother did-" Axel stopped when he felt ketchup hit his face.
The brat threw food at me. HE THREW FOOD AT ME.
Axel felt the anger build inside him as he tried to calmly wipe the ketchup and random bread crumbs off his face. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Do you have to keep talking?"
"I'm only saying what's needed to be said."
"And I'm only saying that you need to leave me the hell alone."
"You're the one to throw the damn food at me."
"Then leave me the hell alone."
You know what? That does it. "Alright, fine. I'll leave you alone, but I'm telling Cloud everything." Axel stated, standing up and looking around the lunch room for a specific blond. Zack frowned and jumped up from his seat and chased after Axel, tackling him before he could reach the table. Unfortunately for Zack, his tackle caused them to slide next to the table where Cloud sat. Cloud turned and stared at the pair questionably. Roxas and Sora standing from their seats to look at them as well.
"Hey, Axel, Zack. Whatcha' doin'?" Sora questioned. Zack gave them a sheepish grin as he covered Axel's mouth. "I thought you didn't like Axel."
Zack awkwardly chuckled, "We uh... Made up. You know, it's not cool to keep grudges and all." He continued to chuckle as he pulled Axel by his head, trying to bring him back. "So, we're just playing about and all. I'll uh, see you later guys."
Axel bit Zacks hand, causing him to let go and hiss in pain, "No. I want to tell you something Cloud! You see Z-"
"Zack wanted to tell you that Axel likes Roxas!" Zack said after he smacked Axel back down to the ground. "It's a shame too, Axel is really creepy about it and all."
"You're a fucking liar!" Axel growled as he rubbed his cheek. "Don't touch my face again either."
Cloud chuckled and smiled at the two, "It's alright Axel. Roxas already knew that. Or at least, he told me that he felt like you had an attraction to him."
Axel awkwardly blushed and looked away, "But Zack likes you." He whispered. "That's what he's trying to cover up."
Zack growled and grabbed Axel by his shirt and pulled him away, yelling inaudible profanities at the redhead. "Did they really make up, or what?" Cloud questioned, looking to his brother.
"I don't think so. But this is great! You can prove to Leon that you don't care about him anymore by going out with Zack, how fun does that sound?!" Roxas grinned, pushing Cloud to get out of his seat. "Please, I'd rather you with anyone but Sora's brother. It's so strange!"
Cloud awkwardly chuckled, "I'm actually kind of hoping that... He wasn't serious about that."
"What-..W-why?!" Roxas questioned shaking his brother. "You're so stupid sometimes, oh my god!"
"I don't know.." Cloud stated after he made Roxas let go of him. "I guess I don't really see him as the dating type?"
Roxas and Sora both deadpanned at that statement. "Zack is a flirt. If you see him walking around sometimes, that's all he does." Sora commented.
"I don't want to date a flirt."
"When he's with someone, they get all of his love though. You never see Zack flirting about when he's with someone. Come on! Give it a chance!" Roxas insisted.
"Why are you trying to pressure me on to dating him? I'm not interested in Zack like that, just let it go. Leon and I literally just broke up earlier today, wouldn't it be wrong for me to just randomly hook-up with someone that 'likes me' at the most randomest of times."
"He waited until you two weren't together anymore."
"It's a good thing Leon and I only have that one class together."
"Will you stop thinking about him for a minute and focus on life ahead?!" Roxas frowned, "There's the golden opportunity, why don't you take it? Weren't you always the one that told me that if there was ever a golden opportunity coming at me, I should embrace it and turn it into what I need?"
"Well, yeah but.."
"I don't care what other people think about you. Leon was a douche, simply put."
"Hey.." Sora raised an eyebrow as a warning.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but you know it's true." Roxas stated, causing Sora to nod in agreement. "Cloud."
"How about this, I'll think about it Roxas. Does that make this better?"
"Yeah... I guess."
