-Lonely-
-A Kingdom Hearts songfic-
Sittin' in a hotel miles from nowhere
Thought that this would be my happiness
I look at the phone and pick it up
For the millionth time I put it down again
I know I let you go
And I've got no right to know
"Sir, you have a Miss Tora Altona wanting to see you."
"Tell her I'm dead." The young singer in question rolled her eyes from beside the attendant and opened the door, spying the decrepit redhead lying face-down on the plush hotel bed, shirtless and sweating. Whose brilliant idea was it to send the band to Agrabah, anyway?
"I can take it from here, sweetheart." she said to the attendant, who nodded slowly and walked away wondering if he was entitled to danger pay when handling people like that. Tora clapped her hands together and deposited herself by her lead singer's head, crossing her legs at the heel and resting her head on his slick back. The redhead gave a grunt, but didn't move to remove the extra weight. Tora sat up and stared at him.
"Wow Axel, you really are emo." she said finally.
"Shut up, Tora." came the muffled reply.
"Hey, don't take it out on me. I just came in to tell you that you'd better suck it up within half an hour because that's when they want us for a sound check."
"What else have you got for me?" Axel sat up finally, acid green eyes locking onto sunlight golden ones. Twirling one of her four earrings around her finger, the young singer grinned slyly and poked her tongue out at him, the bar through it glinting in the desert light. Both singers were part of a band of their creation, named the Flurry Of Dancing Flames. Tora provided the harmony to Axel's melody as well as piano and keyboard. Axel played lead guitar, and their friends Roxas and Sora played drums and bass guitar respectively. They'd formed when they were all in high school, back when Axel decided to pursue a career with his musical talent. Together with Roxas he recruited the young singer and Roxas's twin brother, the latter almost killing the both of them in a tackle that would make every football player proud.
"I wanna see your cell." The redhead gave up the item, much to Tora's surprise.
"You hardly ever do that; something is definitely wrong with you." Flicking through the menu, she came across the number she wanted and sent it to her own Blackberry, a small ding announcing the receiving of said message.
"You know Axel, you could just call him and talk." Kissing her friend's cheek, the singer walked out and closed the door behind her, rereading the number over and over to commit it to memory. Axel blew out his frustration and rolled onto his side, staring at the phone on his bedside table. He reached over and grabbed the receiver, feeling the cool plastic in his trembling hand.
"I can't do it...Not now..." Replacing the receiver, the redhead rolled onto his back and stared up at his ceiling, the silence of the hotel room seeping under his skin like poison...or like Tora's infectious personality. He suddenly thanked Ifrit he was gay and that she had a boyfriend back in their hometown of Radiant Garden: a college student named Zexion...who was best friends with...
"Demyx..."
"Axel! Fifteen minutes!" Tora yelled through the door, startling him, "And for Shiva's sake, put on a freaking shirt because I refuse to take your place during that song just because you're sunburned!"
"Keep your acid to yourself, I'm coming." Stupid sound checks...
"Do you ever get lonely, baby?
Don't you ever get tired of living that way?
Don't you ever wonder whether there's a better life out there, yeah?
Do you ever think about what we had
And how you'd give anything to get it back
Do you ever think you'll never love that way again?
Wondering if only...
Do you ever get lonely?"
I look around the room and wonder
When it was and how my life has changed
I'm surrounded by a million so-called friends
And I don't even know their names, oh no
When all of your love is gone
And you feel like you don't belong
Oh, tell me
The music ended, and the crowd applauded the young blond on stage with the bright blue sitar. Demyx smiled at them all in thanks and swept off the stage, the light in his teal eyes quickly fading into a dark ocean green. He placed his sitar in its case and closed it, willing himself not to cry. Footsteps behind him made him jump, but he relaxed the minute he recognised slate hair and piercing dark blue eyes, one of which hidden under a long fringe.
"You're tense tonight." Zexion stated.
"I've just got a lot on my mind." Demyx replied, straightening up. The college student nodded and looked down at his phone, where a text message from his girlfriend stared right back at him. He wasn't stupid; he knew the reason for his best friend's depression. How could he not with Tora in Flurry Of Dancing Flames and the media press that it received? Re-pocketing the device, he led the blond out to his car, where he gave orders to put his stuff in the back and get in.
"Where are we going?" Demyx asked as the car rumbled to life.
"I'm going to get you something to eat and then we're heading home." Zexion replied, pulling away from the concert hall and into the main street. Demyx turned his head to stare out the window as lights of various colours flashed past his vision. He couldn't believe that only six months ago he was still trying to get a break for his own music. That was when Axel had discovered him performing and took a demo tape to his manager Xaldin. Xaldin had contacts locally, and Demyx was employed by his good friend Xigbar. During that time the friendship he had with the redhead singer had blossomed into a relationship that had been dubbed by Zexion's girlfriend Tora as 'the hottest thing since I found out Sora and Riku were practically married!' That perfection had crashed around him when the redhead told him he was going on tour.
"...in there? Demyx, you're fogging up the window." Peeling himself away with a loud squelch, the blond turned to face Zexion, who had stopped at a red light.
"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" he asked. The blond nodded.
"I can't help it..." he replied softly, "I still want to be with him. It's like I don't fit in anywhere unless he's with me."
"That's deep."
"Thanks." The red light turned green, and the car took off toward the closest convenience store. The college student parked and sent Demyx inside with a list of their orders. When the sitarist was well out of earshot, he pulled out his phone and dialled.
"Stripe here, you've caught me at a good time." came the answer.
"Tora, it's me." The loud squeal on the other end would've woken the dead had it been in his vicinity. Replacing the phone to his ear, he sighed.
"Zexy! How in the name of everything noxious and corrosive did you know I wanted you to call me?" she asked.
"Coincidence. How's the tour going?"
"Meh, like there's reason to complain. Sora's bitchy because he and Riku broke up and Roxas took him but Sora's now got Kairi."
"Kairi?"
"That bitchy redhead who once called me a skank because I'd chosen that day to wear my holey jeans and tank top to a rehearsal. She works fashion with Namine."
"I've never met her. Anyway, I called to talk about Demyx. He's depressed about the incident before the tour."
"Still? Axel's the same way. I literally had to drag him to the stage for our concert on the Destiny Islands. Roxas told me that he keeps mumbling Demyx's name in his sleep over and over again."
"We need a plan."
"Way ahead of you, sweetheart. Guess where Flurry Of Dancing Flames' last concert is."
"You're coming back?"
"For at least twelve months...or six, depending on what the fuck Xaldin wants. I swear he changes his mind more often than I do, and that's saying something." Zexion's heart soared at the return of his singer. Switching ears and keeping a lookout for Demyx, who was busy strolling the aisles looking for something, he resumed the conversation.
"Does your plan involve one of us bringing Demyx to the concert?" he asked. Tora grinned on the other end.
"I'll arrange for backstage passes for you all if you do. You just let me know how many will be there." she replied, "I miss you, Zexion."
"I miss you too. Uh oh, Demyx is coming back. I love you."
"Love you too, sweetheart." The call was quickly disconnected as the blond slid into the car, his hands full of plastic bags. Wiping at invisible sweat on his brow, he turned to his best friend and grinned, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. The college student sighed and turned on the radio.
"Thank you Cloud for that 'enlightening' anecdote," the DJ of the local radio station – a scarred man named Leon - said, "And now for all you fans of Flurry Of Dancing Flames, here's an update. The band will be here next month to conclude their tour and promote their new album 'My Heart Is Yours'."
"Oh Leon I had no idea you cared! Anyway folks, call us up if you want to be in the running to win tickets to see the hottest thing since the sun," the other DJ Cloud said. Even in the car, both youths could tell he was smirking at the brunet, "Which member is your personal favourite, Leon? I, myself, would like a piece of Tora."
"She'd give you a piece of herself, alright."
"Shot down and I didn't even do anything!"
"Here's their new song 'Lonely'." As the music began to play, Zexion pulled out of the car park and drove towards their shared apartment, one eye on the road and the other on the single tear that slipped through Demyx's tightly shut eyelids.
"Do you ever get lonely, baby?
Don't you ever get tired of living that way?
Don't you ever wonder whether there's a better life out there, yeah
Do you ever think about what we had
And how you'd give anything to get it back?
Do you ever think you'll never love that way again?
Wondering if only...
Do you ever get lonely?"
I know that this world has changed us
Now we're nothing more than strangers
But do you think about me ever?
Do you think we belong together?
"And with that last note, we bid you goodnight Radiant Garden!" The large crowd screamed and hollered at the Flurry Of Dancing Flames, who all walked to the front of the stage and bowed low to show their appreciation. That made the crowd cheer louder and continue to cheer as they swept off stage, grinning like madmen. Stepping into the green room, Tora pulled at the microphone that had been looped around her neck by a snarky stage hand and tossed it onto the couch, collapsing in a recliner.
"I fucking hate these heels..." she groaned, waving her legs in the air. Roxas and Sora rolled their eyes.
"We know." they said in unison. The singer sat upright sharply.
"When Ryu and I do it it's normal. When you two do it it's fucking creepy!" she gasped, pointing at the blond and the brunet. Axel rolled his eyes at the argument and replaced his microphone in the large stand with a wide variety of microphones, pushing her microphone aside and laying down on the couch, his long spikes splayed everywhere. It had been a successful sell out concert, thanks to cheap promotion both on television and on the radio, with crowd numbers reaching at least fifty thousand. There was a knock on the door to the green room.
"We're dead!" Roxas yelled.
"Backstage guests." came the gruff voice of their security guard Lexaeus. There was a collective groan from inside the green room.
"Alright." Axel said. The door opened and five people entered, their eyes wide from staring at all of the work that was required to be completed for a Flurry Of Dancing Flames concert.
"Ryu! You said you were in Twilight Town!" Tora flung herself out of the recliner and straight into her twin brother's arms squeezing all life out of his lungs.
"Yeah well, little white lies don't hurt anyone," Ryu replied, returning the hug, "How's my sleep deprived sister?"
"You just answered my question. Zexy!" Switching targets, the older twin was glad that her boyfriend was now having the air squeezed out of him. As Tora nuzzled into Zexion's shoulder, she didn't miss the ice-cold tension that the blond and the redhead caused. The two DJs of the radio station cleared their throats in unison, then glared at each other.
"Hey guys, why don't we go talk to Cloud and Leon separately? We'll call you when it's your turn and when we do the group interview, Axel." Sora said, catching the sunlight gold glare that was giving him shivers, "Besides, we can all catch up while it's happening."
"Good idea, Sora. Demyx, would you mind keeping Axel company?" Roxas quickly pushed everyone away toward the red room all the while throwing his best friend an apologetic smile. Green eyes glared as the party disappeared, but they quickly stopped when Tora threatened to kill him by using body language. Sulking in defeat, he collapsed further into the couch, placing one hand over his eyes.
"Scary, isn't she?" Demyx asked softly. Axel looked at him.
"Huh?" he asked.
"Tora. She's scary." The redhead shook his head and chuckled.
"Nah, that's just Tora for you. She's one of those sorts of people that uses her assertiveness to get what she wants, and if people don't like it then too bad." he replied. The blond nodded and sat down on one of the vacated recliners, laughing when he heard a smack and a "Tora..." from Zexion. Rubbing at his arm, he looked around at the green room, wondering why it was called that when none of the walls were green.
"Do you ever get lonely, baby?" Axel sang softly. Demyx snapped his head to look at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Don't you ever get tired of living that way?
Don't you ever wonder whether there's a better life out there, yeah
Do you ever think about what we had
And how you'd give anything to get it back?
Do you ever think you'll never love that way again, oh yeah." Teal eyes widened. It was the new song that Flurry Of Dancing Flames had released! The same one he heard on Zexion's radio last month! In the background, there was the sounds of Roxas and Sora singing an off-key rendition of the Time Warp with Tora yelling at them to get the fuck off the table and Cloud and Leon yelling at each other about the mechanics of their friendship, most of which involved around their work life.
"Do you ever miss me?" Demyx sang along. Axel stared at the blond, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees.
"Wishing you could kiss me?" he continued.
"If only you could hold me."
"Do you ever get lonely..."
"Axel! Your turn!" Sora bounded into the green room grinning from ear to ear, Zexion following closely behind. He stopped when he saw Demyx's wet eyes and hoisted him to his feet.
"Sora, I'll stay here. You go and tell everyone Axel's on his way." he said, his tone ordering. Sora stopped and nodded at the college student, darting back shivering. Demyx leaned on his best friend and looked back at Axel.
"Like me..." they sang softly in unison.
DISCLAIMER: The disclaimer applies to the characters and place names of 'Kingdom Hearts' – SquareEnix and Disney – the song 'Lonely' – Shannon Noll – and Tora and Ryu – me.
