I looked up impassively at the large sign over my new high school, wondering if Twilight Town High had a decent library. I shrugged my satchel higher on my shoulder and pushed the double doors open. The people there were totally nuts. Shades of hair color I didn't even know existed were everywhere, and none of the girls looked friendly.

Not that I really cared. I've always had more guy friends than girl friends. I guess because guys are infinitely more interesting, and all most girls talk about are the boys, make up, clothes and gossip. Totally not my area of interest.

Several guys looked nice enough, but I couldn't just walk up and say hi. I told my parents not to move me in the middle of my sophomore year, but did they listen to me? No. Never. But at least I wasn't at the bottom of the pile, even if everyone else had made their friends and cliques. Worst of all, the Drama and Theater classes were all full. That was pretty depressing, because I'm a pretty good actor and love Drama. Plus, you'll never catch me lying.

Just as I dug out the little scrap of paper that the principle had said to give her when she met me for scheduling, the bell rang. Oh horrors of horrors. I'd be late to homeroom and have to make an entrance. Damn. Just what I wanted. Hehehe…Not!

I went into the central office, feeling slightly awkward. I looked down at my boots and took a deep breath, reminding myself of the characters that had been placed in this sort of situation. Reassured, I blinked at the principal came up to me, a genuine smile on her face.

"Ah, Mr. Roxas? Did I pronounce it right?"

I nodded. She smiled again. "As you know, your first period class is going to be Literature. Your parents told me you're very into reading, and we greatly appreciate that here. Let me see…second period is study hall, third is Algebra Two Honors, fourth is World history and lunch, and fifth is…Ah! We did manage to get you a place in the Drama Class, so that's your fifth period. Sixth is Biology Two Honors, and seventh is English. So, does that mostly have you set?"

I started to nod, then paused. She still hadn't given me a homeroom teacher. I opened my mouth to remind her, but she tapped her forehead.

"Dilly-dally shilly-shally! I've forgotten your homeroom teacher. Let's see…It appears that Mr. Sinclair is short a student. Oh, that's right. Pence moved…so we'll just place you with him, okay? Do you need someone to show you there?"

I thought logically, for once. "Yes please, Mrs. Gainsburough," I replied quietly.

She stood up and peered over a divider. "Axel! Demyx! What are you two doing?"

A mellow tenor voice replied, "Detention. We're organizing Mr. Xemnas's file cabinets."

Mrs. Gainsburough rolled her eyes and flicked her braid over he shoulder. "Not any more, Demyx! Get Axel and come out here. I've got a job for you. Xemnas can just organize his own files."

A frosted glass door swung open and a tallish guy with a killer mullet…hawk….thing walked out, followed by an even taller redhead whose hair was slightly spiked, like a lions' mane.

The principal pointed to the dude with the mullethawk and said, "Demyx, I'd like you to meet Roxas. He's new and in your homeroom. Show him there, and if your schedules coordinate at all, show him around. Axel, the same goes for you." She glared at Axel, who was languidly stretching, arms behind his head.

"Yeah, yeah. We get the picture. Show the newbie around, help him figure stuff out. We can totally handle that, got it memorized?"

Mrs. Gainsburough sighed. "Just go, please. Don't be late. Roxas, your locker number is 1327. Don't let them boss you around too much, okay?"

I nodded, but thought to myself that either one could boss all he wanted. They were both(in my opinion) smoking hot. Well, Axel was. Smoking, I mean. Demyx was pretty hot too!

"So, Roxas or whatever, what's your locker number again?" Axel didn't seem to care, but I could tell he was checking me out. The eyes roaming over your anatomy is a pretty clear indication.

I paused, debating whether to take him to task, but decided against it. "1327."

Demyx grinned at me, twirling a little guitar keychain around his finger. "Awesome! Mine's 1326! Right next to each other!"

Axel snorted. "Thanks, Demyx. I feel replaced."

Demyx rolled his eyes, reached around me and hit Axel on the arm. Axel yelped and glared at me. I just glared back. He growled slightly and I curled my lip up at him. He slowed down, bright green eyes widening slightly.

"Damn! I bet those things leave marks!" He grinned cockily at me and I punched him.

"Typical guy, head always in the gutter."

Demyx grinned impishly. "Or somewhere else," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I couldn't help it; I laughed. Demyx was turning out to be very interesting. A little ADHD and kind of nervous, but definitely interesting. Axel muttered something about not being a typical guy and stalked down the hall.

Axel stopped and pointed to three doors. "The first one's the door to the second hallway. Don't use it after lunch, because someone always rips off some bad ones in there. The second door is the Literature classroom. Third is Drama and our homeroom, Mr. Sinclair's room."

He made a face. "I still can't get used to calling him that," he muttered, opening up a locker and rummaging around in it.

Demyx gave me another grin, this one a little shy. "Axel's brother teaches that class, and they always mess around in there. It's pretty funny."

I nodded and glanced at the locker numbers. Finding my own, I debated leaving anything in there and didn't think it was worth it. Who knew where my other classes were, and if I was going to be running from one end of the school building to the other, I'd rather have my books with me.

Demyx patted me on the shoulder, murmuring quietly as he opened the door, "Just watch out for Seifer and his gang. They won't hesitate to rip you a new one."

Just as quietly, I replied, "Well, I hope his parents have insurance."

Demyx laughed and swung the door open. There weren't very many desks, and they were all kind of scattered around in clumps. Demyx grabbed two and shoved them together, motioning for Axel to join them. The redhead flopped down in his seat, eyes closed.

I apologized to Demyx and pulled out my current novel. It's only about three hundred pages, but it's very interesting. Magic, intrigue, torture, all woven together in a deliciously familiar plot with a freaky twist. Reading rapidly, I barely noticed when three other guys dragged desks over and joined our little group.

"Hey, man, who's the pretty boy?" drawled one in a British accent. I stiffened, but didn't shut my book. Instead, I listened.

Axel groaned, yawned and replied, "He's a newbie. Roxas, I think." I nodded and shut my book.

Just then, an eyelash got stuck in my eye and I swore violently but softly, sticking my finger in my eye and fishing it out. Grumbling to myself, I didn't notice the looks Demyx and Axel gave each other. When the damn thing was finally out, I looked up and snapped, "What? Something got in my eye."

Then I blinked. There was a guy not five feet away with an eye patch. Talk about weird. His visible eye was bright yellow and he was decorated with a vicious scar across his face. Despite the friendly grin he was giving me, I swallowed nervously. He looked…intimidating, to say the least.

Axel grinned and slapped the eye patch guy on the shoulder. "See, Xigbar, he can't be that bad, for a pretty boy. At least he didn't run away like that guidance counselor did!!"

Xigbar smiled again, and winked at me. "She didn't think I was 'capable of distinguishin' fact from reality' and tried to dope me up on some friggin' emo kid meds or somethin'."

There was an indignant cough and I automatically glanced to the cougher, a short kid with a silvery-grey fringe falling over one eye and dressed completely in black. Well, so was I, but he was basically the textbook definition of emo. Pretty cute, though, as most emo guys are.

"I am not emo," scowled the kid, his finger book marking his page in a book that looked similar to mine.

Demyx frowned teasingly at him. "But Zexion," he whined, "If you won't cut yourself for us, who will?"

Zexion stood up carefully, setting his book down as he did so and smacked Demyx firmly on the back of his head. "Bastard," was his only comment.

The only one who hadn't been named yet was the blonde Brit. I glanced up at the clock and saw we still had fifteen minutes of homeroom left. I guess that was good, because half the people in the room were scribbling away on their homework, occasionally "borrowing" their friends' work. I sincerely hoped the work here was a bit more interesting than my last hick-town high school's had been.

Just then, Demyx yelped and dug around in his bag. "I totally forgot my Lit homework! Dang it!" He threw down a sheet of slightly crumpled paper and looked desperately for a pencil. I drew a freshly sharpened one from behind one ear.

I tossed it to Demyx, who sighed in relief and murmured his thanks, scratching away hastily at the paper, which turned out to be a worksheet of some form or function.

Looking around, I said, having just realized that it was only students in the room, "Where's the teacher?"

Xigbar laughed. "He's havin' 'coffee' with Cloud, the Lit teacher. Hey, when's your Lit Period?" The Brit snickered, and Xigbar growled, "Shut it, Luxford, or the sky freaks will get you!"

Choosing to ignore that last comment, I glanced down at my schedule. "First, I think."

Demyx looked up and grinned. "Awesome! You can totally help me finish this! That's my period, too."

Axel nodded. "Ditto. Why don't you just read out your schedule so we can help you find your classes?"

"Yeah, sure. Second is study hall," everyone else nodded. "Third is Algebra Two Honors," only Axel and Zexion nodded.

"I've got Band," said Demyx. Xigbar and Luxford just laughed. "They're not smart enough," explained Zexion quietly.

"Fourth is World history and lunch," I continued. Everyone but Demyx nodded.

"Damn! I've got beginning instruction!" He frowned. "That's not fair, you know."

I shrugged, diverting him with a question. "What's beginning instruction?"

Axel answered for him. "It means Dem's so damn good, he gets to teach the freshmen that pretend to be rock stars. You still eat lunch with us, Dem," he pointed out, tousling his friend's mullethawk.

"Okay. Fifth is Drama-"

"Yes! That's one me and Axe are both in! Ha!" Demyx punched the air, making me glance around to see if anyone noticed.

"We're all used to it," Luxford said, his eyes dancing.

I nodded again. Was that my only response today or what? "Sixth is Biology Two Honors and seventh is English."

Axel frowned. "We don't have an English teacher, though. I bet she met Visual Arts, seeing as how they're right next to each other. Our Lit teacher takes care of English, too. Well, we're all in that class, so no worries, huh?"

I shrugged. "Right. No worries."

Just then, the bell rang loudly and I jumped slightly. Damn things. I never get used to them.

I stood up and Demyx and Axel each grabbed one of my arms, grinning devilishly.

"You get a guard of honor," teased Axel. I blushed and laughed, saying my guards didn't have much honor.

They both laughed and though I wasn't supposed to notice, Demyx looked from Axel to me and shrugged slightly, and Axel nodded fractionally. Oh boy. Getting claimed, or trying to be claimed was always interesting.

We entered the Lit class and the teacher greeted me with a nod and quiet instructions to sit where I'd like. He asked if I'd read the book White Fang. I nodded and he smiled, even if it was a sad smile.

Demyx and Axel were beckoning me over, Demyx with his hands, Axel with his eyes. I took a seat between them and murmured, "Why is Mr. Strife so depressed?"

Axel hesitated, looking slightly torn. "Well, his boyfriend died recently. Zack Fair was one of the best guys I'd ever met. He was friends with my brother, and my brother's friends with Cloud, so it's all kinda connected."

I shook my head. "That's terrible!"

Axel's eyes darkened and he began, "Now listen here, if you have anything against gays or homosexuals, you can just-"

I glared at him. "I don't have anything against it. I was referring to the fact that his boyfriend died, dipstick."

At least he had the decency to look faintly ashamed of himself. "Oh. Sorry."

I just shrugged. "No, it's okay. I just can't understand why some people have to be so tight-assed about stuff like that. It's not like it is perverted or anything." I hesitated, then murmured, "I'm bi myself."

Demyx nodded. "Not everyone's as open-minded as we are, that's all. Hey, we're about through with the book, but could you help me a little?"

I nodded, feeling the blush threatening to return. I mentally growled and the blush went whimpering back to the corner of my mind where that shit gets stored. I bent over his worksheet from the side, the desks being tables. I had sat between Axel and Demyx and as I leaned over to help Demyx, I felt the unmistakable feeling of eyes on my ass. Smirking to myself, I casually said, "Hey, enjoying the view or what?"

Axel choked, then replied smoothly, "Yeah. Not bad, even if it's stuck with a bitch."

"Axel, how many times have I told you not to swear in my classroom?" Mr. Strife was standing over us, his arms crossed and one eyebrow arched.

Axel scratched the back of his neck, looking away and muttered something. "What was that?"

Sighing, the redhead repeated, "Probably too many, but not enough."

Mr. Strife shook his head, but there was a small smile on his face. "Roxas, are you helping Demyx or cheating for him?"

"Helping him, Mr. Strife." I was pretty quiet, but he heard me anyway.

"Well, that's alright. And my students call me Cloud, please."

I nodded. "Right." Cloud nodded back and walked away. I turned back to Demyx. "So what was your question again?"

He sighed in frustration. "Axel barely pays attention, so it's not good asking him, but what does this series of metaphors mean? I'm getting it's serious, but I don't get what it means!"

I frowned and looked back over the sheet. "These aren't from White Fang, are they?" Demyx shook his head.

"Okay. 'The words preyed upon her mind with ferocity of the winged eagles seeking the snakes they hunted, only the snakes she sought were the kind with two legs.'" I shook my head. "Wow. Pretty deep. Well, basically, this lady's gotten some bad news and she can't get it out of her head. The people that told her she either didn't like or didn't trust or both. Understand now?"

Demyx and Axel nodded. "To be honest, I really didn't get it either," confessed Axel. "It's not like I blow this shit off on purpose or anything."

The air conditioner clicked on and I jumped. Axel and Demyx both stared at me. "Jumpy much? And I thought Zex was bad."

I scowled at Axel. "I'm a bit tense, okay? Leave me alone."

"Okay, class, I warned you Thursday, Friday and Monday that today we'd have a quiz today. Don't say I didn't tell you! It's not too bad. Basically, it's a multiple choice. Come on, guys! Roxas, if you don't want to take the test, I won't hold it against you."

I shook my head. "Nah, I'll take it. If that's cool with you, of course."

He nodded and started passing out the tests. I scanned mine and grinned. It wasn't that bad at all, but I still took my time and marked my answers carefully. It'd been a while since I'd read the book. I turned in my test about fifteen minutes later and sat down, pulling out one of my favorite manga. When Cloud passed back the test back, I grinned to see "100" scrawled at the top.

When Demyx and Axel got theirs back, they groaned as one and stuffed them in their bags. I cocked my head to the side.

"They can't be that bad. Come on guys, quit acting like kindergarteners."

They sighed and fished them back out and tossed them at me. They were that bad. A 59 and a 65. I scanned their answers and saw that for the most part, they picked the next most logical options. So they weren't hopeless.

Just then the bell rang and I jumped again. Man! That was really annoying! As I gathered up my books, I asked Demyx what study hall was.

He grinned cutely at me, and said, "Basically, it's a place where we get to goof off. Unless you want to go to the library or something. I usually either talk to Axe or work on my compositions."

"Compositions?" I arched one eyebrow.

Axel had snuck up behind us and flung his arms over both of us. "Basically his fancy words for his songs. And Roxas you'd better not be stealing my Dem away."

"Huh?" I said, even as I felt hopelessness dumping its whole mournful load on me.

"Oh, Axel and I are kinda going out!" Demyx blushed, but I could tell he was happy. I forced a smile.

"Awesome. Nah, I'm not stealing Demyx away."

Axel grinned back devilishly. "Good, 'cuz he's mine, got it memorized?"

I nodded. "Yeah." Crap! Both of them were freaking taken! By each other! Damn!

When we got to study hall, I crashed by the window and started sketching. For some reason, I was sketching…Axel and Demyx. Sighing to myself, I decided to at least finish what I'd started. It turned out pretty good. I flipped that page over and began on something different. I just let my pencil wander.

Before long, Axel and Demyx walked over, standing behind me and looking at my sketches. Ordinarily I never let people look at them, but I was just so down in the dumps, I didn't care. Demyx cleared his throat after a moment and asked timidly, "Hey, are you…okay?"

I nodded shortly. Okay, yes. Happy, far from it. I added a few more pencil strokes to the rose I was drawing, giving it a bit more depth.

"Hey, man." That was Axel. "Ya just gonna sit there and draw all period?" I shrugged.

"Maybe. Why?"

He whistled through his teeth. "Damn, you're bitchy! You like this all the ti-oof!" I looked up to see Demyx smiled innocently while Axel rubbed his ribs, muttering to himself. I smiled faintly.

"Sorry, guys. I'm not making a very good first impression, am I?"

Axel grinned, all trace of injury vanishing in an instant. "Well, my first impression was that you were hot, but-"

"You shouldn't talk like that in front of Demyx. He's bound to take offense."

Demyx laughed. "Nah, not really. In fact, I happen to agree with him in this matter." He winked. "Although you can probably tell how often that happens!"

I nodded, the dreaded blush returning. I looked out the window and to my surprise, saw that it had started raining.

"Does it rain a lot here?" I asked, knowing I sounded pretty out of it. Demyx smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, lots. It's almost always wet, especially because we're right near the ocean. Axel hates it, but he puts up with it. Why? Is something wrong?"

I sighed. "N-no. It's nothing, really."

Axel looked like he was going to press, but Demyx shot him a dangerous look and he fell silent. For that, I was eternally grateful. I still hadn't gotten over-well, it still hurt, is all. After all, a month isn't really long enough to heal from something like that. Mom and Dad thought moving might help, and they were probably right. I couldn't stand to see all the familiar places.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and waved Axel and Demyx away, shooing them off with a promise of a picture or something. I returned to sketching, but their voices made my pencil stop. They were whispering, but I could hear them loud and clear. I leaned back a little and couldn't hear them at all.

A little ashamed of myself, I leaned back in and listened to their conversation.

"Look, there's got to be something wrong. Did you see the way he zoned out? Dude, he looked like he was going to cry or something."

"Axe, it's his thing. If he wants to tell us, he will…in time. That's something you've got to give him. He's only known us for part of a day. Honestly, I'm surprised he'll hang out with us…the local fags who hang with junkies."

"Damn it, don't put yourself down like that!"

"I was mostly talking about you, but-" Demyx broke out laughing and Axel gently slapped him, promising threats of revenge.

"But seriously…you heard him, though. He's bi. That explains a lot, ya know."

A sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. He seems okay, if you ask me."

"Yeah. Just a few depression issues."

"Lay off, Axe!" There was a warning note in Demyx's voice, and I heard the scrape of a desk across the floor. Quickly scratching a random flower on my pad, I started adding grass and a few trees. Kinda looked like our back yard. First time I'd seen so much grass in forever.

"Hey, Roxas? Seeing as how this really is study hall and everything, will you…ah, never mind. Bell's about to ring anyway."

I shrugged and gathered up my things again. As I got to my feet, I tripped and sent everything flying. I curled into a ball, hoping I wouldn't hit the ground too hard. To my surprise, strong arms caught me and lowered me gently to the floor. I opened my eyes and looked straight up into bright blue eyes that subtly shifted to sea-green and back again.

"Demyx?" I asked, slightly confused. Just then, acidic green eyes peered over Demyx's mullethawk and said, "Dude, you okay?"

I nodded and got to my feet, muttering my thanks to Demyx and Axel who were helping me pick up my stuff. Axel handed me my sketch pad, then glanced down and said curiously, "Who's this guy? He looks a lot like you…"

I automatically looked at the sketch pad and felt the blood drain from my face. There he was, smiling and laughing up from the pad. He had his hand raised in a wave, his bag thrown over one shoulder.

With a physical pain, I fell to my knees, not seeing anything. My hands were trembling like crazy and I stared at them, trying to block out his laugh, his bright blue eyes, his flustered pout when he tried to draw like me and couldn't. It was too much.

Firm hands on my shoulders pulled me back a bit. Someone was helping me to my feet, while somebody else was snapping their fingers in front of my face. Oddly, that was what basically brought me back. I blinked and shook my head.

"Wow. And I thought you zoned before. This was like freakin' meltdown. Damn. Don't do that again! It's fuckin' scary!"

Bright hair, like flames dancing in my vision. Eyes framed by dark lashes and those peculiar teardrop tattoos. Axel. What was he talking about? Oh. Right.

I shook my head again took my stuff back. "Sorry. It…won't happen again. Sorry." I was still shaking, almost shivering, but someone was still keeping a gentle hand on my arm.

"I'll…I'll see you at lunch, Roxas, Axel. Band and everything." Demyx smiled cheerfully. "I look forward to having someone new to talk to." He paused, then continued softly, "You know, if you hang out with us, you'll never be popular. We're…pretty much isolated. Well, us and our group."

I smiled, trying to be cheerful. I had a feeling that Demyx could see right through me, though. "I really don't care. I don't like popular kids anyway."

Axel nodded once, a smirk dancing across his face. It was almost…predatory, in a way. I shivered, and it had nothing to do with my episode. I swallowed and looked away, muttering, "So, where's Algebra?"

Still with a smirk, Axel took an arm and led me away, calling quickly over his shoulder, "Love ya, babe, but you're gonna be late, and so are we. Catch ya at lunch!"

I waved to Demyx, who waved back and took off at a jog the other direction. I noticed he was in really good shape. So was Axel, not that I thought about it. I felt slightly awkward, being a short, lanky guy with no real muscle to speak of. Axel was a twig, though. I hoped he wasn't anorexic or anything.

"This is the doom room itself. Xemnas teaches this class. Hope he likes you, or you're cursed. He won't listen to your questions or help you at all. He hates me!"

"Who hates you, Axel?" Axel paled slightly, leaving no color in his pale face at all. He swallowed and turned around with a bland expression on his face.

"The mailman for our building, sir. He never tells me how much stamps are or what the postal code for Vegas is."

The tall dude with silver hair and orange eyes smiled at Axel. It was not a nice smile. He turned his eyes to me and said, "Ah. You are the new student. Roxas, I believe? Well, as long as you don't let his mannerisms rub off on you, you'll do fine in this class. Also assuming you can use a calculator, of course."

I smiled weakly and darted into the classroom, sinking into a seat near Axel. "Oh jeez…he's scary. Holy crap…does he, like, rule the school or something?"

Axel nodded grimly. "Yeah. Everybody but my brother and Cloud pretty much bend to his will. Pretty freaky. Uh-oh…textbook time."

Xemnas pointed to a young guy with bright blue hair and a curious "X" scar dead between his eyes. "That's Saix," whispered Axel. "Don't mess with him. I could probably lick him, but you…he'd eat you."

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically. Saix gave me a cool, superficial smile as he gave Axel and me a textbook.

"Nice to meet you, Roxas."

I nodded and made a point to dig for a pencil. After Saix moved off, Axel murmured, "He's also Xemnas's fave. Don't mess with either."

Xemnas scribbled a page number up on the board, along with the problem numbers. I flipped to the page and blinked. "Those…are some massive equations. How many?"

Axel sighed grimly. "Twenty. Not bad, considering. You know how to do 'em?"

I nodded. "Yeah. We're basically at the same part as our old high school. The textbooks look better though. Newer." They did, too. No bent up edges, no shredded binding. I couldn't even see pencil marks on the edges of the pages. That kinda spooked me. I mean, everybody does that. I checked the cover, to make sure they weren't brand new. No, there were seven other users listed before me.

I shrugged to myself and started on the problems. In about half an hour, I was finished. I glanced over at Axel and saw him frown mightily on something, type something into his calculator, frown harder, retype and snort in disgust.

"Need any help?" I asked. Axel nodded defeatedly.

"Freakin' Algebra. Don't understand why the numbers are letters. No, never mind. I'll finish it later." He slammed his book shut and scowled off into space. I considered asking again, but decided against it. He looked a little unstable. His eyes were seething, and I had the feeling something had been going on for a long time.

Twenty strained minutes later, the bell rang and Axel led me to our next class. The teacher looked up from a book when we walked in and pointed to a stack of books. "Take one," he said shortly.

I grabbed the top of the stack and snagged a seat at the back, as far in the shadows as possible. I sank down in my seat, huffing irritably. Axel gave me a funny look before sliding into the seat next to me. Xigbar took the next seat, flashing me a grin. I caught a whiff of smoke from him; cigarette and something else, something strangely sweet.

I must have wrinkled my nose or something, because Axel said, "Hey, Xig! No second hand smoke, man! Don't wanna get Roxas hooked on anything, do we?"

Xigbar grinned. "No worries, dude. It's not whatcha think it is. It's some faggy incense shit from that weirdo counselor chick. I have no idea what she's smokin', but damn I want some!"

I snickered. Axel grinned at me. "Yeah, Xigbar's a junkie. Not the bad kind, but jeez! Take him off his shit and he'll freakin' kill ya! Don't mess with his stash."

Xigbar nodded. "Damn straight, fag. Damn friggin' Nazi's. Taking over the freakin' California government. Stupid laser guns. Frying all my damn shit."

Axel scratched his head. "Yeah. He's a little…weird. You just kinda adapt after a while. Anyway, the teach here is pretty much a perverted bookworm. He stays glomped to that book Loveless like it's porn or something. He's a pedophile, got it memorized?"

I scoffed, "Really? I find that hard to believe. Like Gainsburough would hire a pedophile to work in a high school."

Xigbar nodded, though. "The unicorn sticks his horn up some nice young fairy fag ass, ya know?"

I blinked. "Umm…No?"

Axel laughed. "Genesis likes his men young. Real young. Get it now? Sometimes he kinda makes sense. Sometimes. When he's not completely high."

Just then Genesis clapped his hands and said, "Draw me a map of Europe and label every state, country and territory. If you finish that, make a list of who founded them. Get to it, folks!" He turned, then added, "You may work in groups of…three."

I groaned. I hate World History. I hate Geography worse, though. "I'll make you deal: I draw, you label. I hate Geography and History."

Axel grinned. "Great. One of the few subjects I really am good at. Go ahead and get drawing. I'll list what we need to put on there. You mind doing the founding bit?"

I shook my head. "Nah. That's book work. Not too bad. Is Xigbar…with us?"

Axel rolled those bright green eyes of his. "He'll….study the ceiling or something. He's got shit-faced luck though. He'll guess on all the tests and usually gets at least a B. Damn lucky ass."

I was curious, though. He'd said he was good at this stuff. "What's your current grade in here?" I had to know. My grades never really sucked, but they weren't all As either. Judging from his scores on the Lit test, he wasn't hot in that class, or Algebra either, especially since the teacher didn't like him.

Axel smiled smugly. "A 99.4. I told you I was good at this shit." I just rolled my eyes and started the map, sticking my tongue out slightly. I suddenly felt malevolent eyes on me, and I looked up…straight into Saix's cold eyes. He smirked cruelly and looked away, with the air of someone making a mental note for future reference. I shuddered and went back to the map, finishing in about five minutes.

My redheaded partner had been finished for quite sometime, and was staring off into space, his finger idly tracing circles on the table. I whacked him with the map, a scowl on my face and finished the founding list. The rest of the period passed in silence, until Genesis dismissed us for lunch. I stood up and stretched, waiting for Axel to get his stuff packed away. We were the last people to head to lunch; the hallways were deserted. On the way, Axel stopped and turned to me, tugging me into a subtle niche in the wall. He faced me and put one arm by my head, looking at me steadily. My heart was pounding in my chest. Surely he wouldn't kiss me?! That'd be lunacy!

"Axel, Roxas! Thanks for waiting on me, guys! Hey, Axe…" Demyx's voice trailed off as he took in the sight of Axel practically pinning me to the wall, his mouth inches from mine. I tried to find the breath to protest, to tell Demyx nothing had happened, but Axel cut me off with a swift kiss.

I was paralyzed, but I had enough sense to shove Axel off. "What the fuck?! Damn it, what was that? Holy…fuck, did you see Demyx's face? He's crushed! What the hell were you thinking, you sick little bastard?! God damn it, where'd Demyx go? Fuck it, Axel, I though you were a good guy!"

I would've continued storming and ranting, but Demyx stepped out from another niche. "Wow. That's quite a tirade, Rox. We were just testing you. Apparently, you have a conscience. Can we go get lunch now?"

I stared dumbfoundedly at them. Huh? I was lost. A…test? To see if I'd let Axel cheat on Demyx? Whoa. Completely over my head. I was ashamed to admit it, but I had actually liked the kiss.

Axel was licking his lips. "Mm…I've already had mine, thanks!" At Demyx's glare he grinned and said teasingly, "I was kidding, Mr. Uber-Jealous!"

I just shook my head. "Why do all my friends have to be weird?" I asked plaintively.

After lunch, we went to Drama. Holy shit…If Axel was hot, his brother was, like, almost breaking the thermometer. He was weird and friendly, but he had this hard baton thing that he'd use to whack you into place if you were moving too much or not enough on the stage.( I asked Axel about that, worded it the same way, and he about died. Pervert.)

He didn't use it on me, but he did deliver a stinging blow to Saix. I almost laughed, but remembered Axel's advice and kept my face blank. Reno, as he'd told me to call him in the Drama room, grinned at me and flipped Saix off when his back was turned. I did laugh at that. Saix spun around and glared at me, but I just glared back. He didn't really scare me. If all else failed, I could kick him in the nuts and run….assuming he had any, that is.

Finally, Biology and Art/English were cancelled for a assembly. Axel and Demyx sat together and mouthed Mrs. Gainsborough's words along with her. Apparently, these were a regular thing.

I was walking to my new house when Axel pulled up in a sleek black convertible. Demyx was in the front seat and grin on his face. "Hop in," they called simultaneously. I hesitated, then jumped in the back and gave Axel directions to my place. He cranked up the radio and he and Demyx sang along, both rather well, except when they were making fun of the singers. I laughed so hard my ribs ached.

I was breathless when Axel let me out at my house, but it was a great feeling. As I was about to unlock the door and go inside, Axel called out, "Hey, you want a lift in the morning? I've got room!"

I hesitated. My parents weren't going to be home. It's not like they'd care anyway. I nodded. "Yeah, about seven-thirty okay with you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, fantastic! See ya tomorrow, got it memorized?" I laughed and went inside, hearing the car pull away after the door shut. I leaned against the door and grinned, feeling butterflies in my stomach. I actually had friends…good ones. It felt amazing. Oddly, I kept thinking about bright green and blue eyes, and I couldn't wait for the next day.