Hello, people! Yes, I know this isn't a new chapter. A while after I posted this the first time, I realized I was happy at all with it. I had NO idea where I was going to go with it, so I did some major thinking/planning. And within that period I decided to completely rewrite what I had. I promise it's not too much different, but I am much, much happier with this version.

I would like to thank Edge, myXchemicalXwarfare, and NozzleTops, who reviewed when I first posted TT&T nine moths ago.I am so sorry if you were looking forward to any updates. I'd also like to thank anyone else who read it, but didn't review.

I hope to have a second chapter up within two weeks. So, enjoy!

(Also as a side note, I am looking for a beta, so if you're interested, pm me)

*WARNINGS* This is yaoi. So if you don't like it, please leave. There will be swearing, so you've been forewarned about that too. Rating is T for now, but there is a high possibility of it raising to M later on.

DISCLAIMER: I, BuddyCakes, own nothing in this story. At all. It all belongs to Disney/Squeenix/Tetsuya Nomura. If I owned it, there would be copious amounts of gay. That is all.

Through Thick and Thin

Chapter One: The New Kid

*bbbbrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnngggg!*

I sluggishly raised my head from its comfortable place on my pillow, opening my eyes and hissing at the sunlight that assaulted my retinas. I glared at the alarm clock on my nightstand. I had been having quite the epic dream about teaming up with a group of rebels against a ruthless organization of space banditos. A wonderful dream that was rudely interrupted.

I absolutely despise mornings. And apparently they hate me too, because at that moment my door flew open, and I was glomped by none other than my twin brother, Sora.

"Good morning Roxas!" his loud voice rang out, making me wince.

My only response was to roll over and attempt to block out the noise and light with my one lone pillow. Alas, the attempt failed miserably. Before I knew it the fluffy goodness was torn away from my grip and thrown across the room, where it slumped sadly against the wall.

"No more sleeping, dear ol' brother of mine. We have school today!" he said, then skipped his merry way out of my space.

I don't know how he has so much energy at this time of the day. It's only...six-fifteen. I groaned. We didn't have to leave for school until eight o'clock. Damn Sora, he must have snuck into my room to change my alarm clock again. I swear he has the mentality of a five year old. I mean, who gets that excited about school. We're juniors in high school for God's sake. And it's not even the beginning of the year!

Okay, let me explain. It is currently January fifteenth, and my twin brother Sora and I are about to enter second semester of our junior year of high school. We live in an area known as Twilight Town, along with our mother and father. We have an older brother, Cloud, who's in college. He doesn't visit much, except during breaks when he's forced to leave campus. Something about "not having to see this godforsaken place ever again" or some shit. I really don't understand him sometimes. He's always so moody and melodramatic.

Now that the intruder was gone, I forced myself from under the covers and into the bathroom. I grabbed a towel from the cabinet and took a long, hot shower in an attempt to wake myself up a little.

Feeling refreshed, I stepped over to the mirror that hung above the sink to begin my morning ritual. I smoothed some gel first onto my hands, and then into my hair, attempting to persuade it to go into the side swept spikes I usually kept it in. Then came the daily debate; glasses…or contacts? Sora always tells me to wear my contacts because they "bring out my big blue eyes." I pondered this for a moment, then decided on glasses. I partially did it as a mini act of defiance towards Sora in retaliation for waking me up, and partly because I like how I look with glasses. After correcting my vision I brushed my teeth and rinsed with mouthwash.

By the time I re-entered my room, it was already seven-thirty. My morning routine takes up quite a bit of my time. I may not look like it at first glance, but I am a very organized person. I have my schedule, and I do not like it to be messed with. Ever.

Upon reaching my bed, I saw that someone had left a pile of clothes there, along with a note. I picked up the piece of paper, immediately recognizing the childish handwriting of my brother Sora. It read:

"I picked out an outfit for you so you can look good for the first day back! :D -Sora"

I rolled my eyes. Sora is such a child. With reluctance I started getting dressed. I could have just disregarded what my brother had left me and worn something else, but believe me, it's way easier to just suck it up and wear it than risk Sora being offended.

It turned out that the outfit Sora had chosen for me actually wasn't too bad. The clothing included my tightest pair of black skinny jeans, and a white t-shirt that had black sleeves, and various shades of grey and black splatter designs covering the front. Come to think of it, I don't even think that shirt is mine. I put on the clothes, but to make up for the small loss of independence I made a few additions of my own. I put on my studded leather belt along with the usual chains adorning the left side, and the checkered wristband I always wear I placed on my left wrist.

"Roxaaaaas! Hurry up, or we're gonna be late!" The voice of Sora floated up to me from below.

I looked to my clock. Crap. I was going to be late. I flew down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Morning, Roxas!" Sora greeted me cheerfully.

"Morning Sor-Riku? When did you get here?"

I looked away from my brother when I noticed our silver-haired friend sitting at the kitchen table.

"Oh, about twenty minutes ago, while you were still primping." He smirked at me, and I glared back in response to his comment.

"Isn't it great?', Sora's voice bubbled with happiness, 'Riku's gonna walk to school with us!" the brunette exclaimed, and then gave Riku a rather enthusiastic kiss on the lips.

Riku and he have been dating since the eighth grade. Despite a few minor fights, they've gotten along the majority of the time. 'A match made in heaven' Sora always tells me. They are a rather comical couple, considering Riku is almost a foot taller than my brother. Yes, I have a gay brother. Two, in fact. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with gay people, considering I am one myself, but I'm just not as…open about it as Sora is.

"So what's for breakfast?" I asked.

Since my parents go to work very early in the morning, Sora had taken upon himself the role of finding food for us in the morning. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uhh, I didn't have time to make anything, so it's fend for yourself." he gave a guilty smile.

Sighing, I opened the freezer and took out a bar of sea-salt ice cream. Improvised breakfast. When all else fails, eat ice cream. My twin saw what I had and lunged to grab it from me.

"What the hell, Sora?" I yelled at him as he tried to tackle me to the ground.

"You have to eat something healthy!"

I held the frozen treat as high as I could manage in an effort to keep it away from him. Not a very effective strategy when you're the same height.

"Then you should have made something healthy!" I retorted. It's true. If he wanted me to eat healthy, he should have made something. After all, it was his chosen responsibility.

That's another thing about my twin brother. He insists that everyone should eat healthy and get lots of exercise. He's always bothering me to go outside, or go to the gym with him. Sora claims that he does this so I 'keep my figure'. Like I said, he's flaming.

The squabble over the frozen delicacy continued until Riku came over, hoisted Sora over his shoulder, and carried him away towards the front door.

"Let's go, Sor." He said, then exited the house.

Re-adjusting my clothes so I looked presentable again, I grabbed my backpack from the table and followed them out. I made sure to lock the door before motioning to Riku.

"Hey, thanks for saving me from my evil twin brother." I said.

He chuckled. "No problem, Roxas."

Sora was still in his place over his boyfriend's shoulder, kicking, squirming, and screaming protests at the taller boy. Riku just laughed at his efforts, and continued on his merry way.

Riku, Sora and I walk to school nearly every day, since our parents have already left by the time we even contemplate waking up. I stayed five or six paces behind Sora and Riku, allowing them to bask in each other's existence. I honestly don't know how they never get tired of seeing each other. There is never one without the other. And they've been friends since pre-school, so it was a total mind fuck to me how they always want to be in the other's presence. I would have gotten sick of the other person by now, I think.

About halfway through our journey (we don't live too far away, the walk only takes about forty minutes), I spotted my friend Hayner approaching the main road from one of the many side streets. I could tell it was him by his signature camouflage clothing. Hayner is always wearing something camouflage, on any given day. He never fails. It's his thing.

"Yo!" My sandy-haired friend greeted me, engaging me in the universal one-armed man hug.

I returned the embrace. "Hey."

"How's it goin? Ready for school again?"

"Hell no." I gave a short laugh.

"Ha. Me neither. What classes do ya have?" He questioned.

Ah, the semi-annual comparing of schedules, the time when yoi hope to god you have some of the same classes as your best friends.

"Uhh...Art, Chem, Government, Trig, Lunch, English, Orchestra, and Spanish. You?"

Hayner looked at his schedule. "...Looks like we have Government and English together. And lunch. Damn, I was really hoping we would have chemistry together. Maybe then I would actually have a chance of passing."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You've known that you'd have to do your own science homework eventually, my friend.' I placed a hand om his shoulder. 'And today's the day."

He groaned.

"You'll be fine." I reassured him. By this time we were at the front door of the school. Now go forth an conquer!"

"YAAAAH!" Hayner gave a mighty yell, and ran down the main hallway, one arm thrust into the air.

I chuckled to myself and headed to my locker. It is oh-so-conveniently located on the third floor, whereas my first class, Art, is located on the first floor. Which is on the opposite side of the goddamn building. Luckily we had arrived fifteen minutes early, so I had a good chance of actually making it to first period on time. I opened by locker, number 2315, and looked fondly at the decorations I had put up at the beginning of the year. There was a picture of me, Hayner, and my other best friends Pence and Olette at the beach. Olette was perched on Pence's shoulders, and we were all laughing like maniacs. We take a trip to the beach every summer and during school breaks, excluding Christmas, because, well, it's too fucking cold for the beach in winter. Other decorations include various photo strips of me and Sora (occasionally Riku as well), pictures I'd taken of cool things I'd seen around town, and on the small shelf in the back sat one of my struggle trophies.

I took my materials out of my bag, and attempted to solve the jigsaw puzzle of trying to fit all of my textbooks in with my other stuff. It's quite difficult. You'd think for the amount of materials that are issued by the school that we are required to have, that they would have lockers big enough to hold it all. I guess not.

Successfully settling the balance of my things, I grabbed my supplies necessary for art and made my way down to first floor. I made it with five minutes to spare, a small victory for me. I took my customary spot at the table in the back, and waited patiently for other students to arrive so I could see who I would be spending the semester with.

My face split into a wide smile when I saw my long-time friend Namine walk into the room. She is a petite girl with long, platinum blond hair (which is natural by the way). Today she was dressed in light blue capris and a loose, flowing white shirt. Adorning her neck was the ivory cross necklace I had given her back in the fifth grade as a birthday present. Me and Namine met when we were very young, I believe when we were in second grade. We became friends after I told off a mean boy who was teasing her about her quietness. We became fast friends, and ever since then we've been almost as inseparable as Sora and Riku.

"Hey Nami." I greeted her, pulling her into a hug.

"Hello Roxas." She giggled and wrapped her small arms around my frame, returning the friendly gesture.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." I told her.

I smiled and pulled out the chair next to me for her to sit down, and then I followed suit, taking the seat next to her. The bell rang and the teacher started the long, customary spiel of rules and guidelines. I never understood why they had to so it at the beginning of every new semester. I mean, sure, you might have some new teachers, but I think it's safe to say that the rules of the school do not vary greatly between teachers. I think it's a bit overkill to have to go over every single one of them in second semester.

"Now Roxas, don't exaggerate. It's only been five weeks!" she gently teased and giggled.

Winter break for us is a month long, and Namine had left a week early for a relative's wedding, so I hadn't seen my best friend for /five whole weeks/.

"True. How did the wedding go?"

"Oh, Roxas, it was amazing! My cousin had the most beautiful dress! And the venue was absolutely perfect! Let me tell you all about it!..." Namine talked almost the whole period, telling me about the wedding and what she did over the rest of her break visiting her family.

"And afterwords we-" the bell interrupted, and she blushed. "I'm sorry Roxas, I spent the whole time talking about me!" she looked embarassed.

I chuckled lightly. "It's fine, Nam. I can tell you about my break tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." We picked up our stuff and exited the class room. She gave a little wave to say goodbye, and I waved back.

I watched her walk down the hallway for a few seconds, then began to head the other way. I had chemistry next, on second floor. I was actually a bit excited. Science had always been one of my better subjects, and I loved learning how chemicals and stuff worked ever since I was very little. Teachers often said I had a natural ability at math and science.

Walking into the classroom, I took my seat at a table by the windows, exactly in the middle of the row. Over the years I had found it the best position to be able to work efficiently, as well as maximize goofing off when possible.

Soon, other students began to file in, and by the time the final bell rang, I found myself sitting alone. I was a little bummed to find that I didn't have any close friends in this class, but what can ya do. I did recognize Demyx and Zexion, two boys from my grade. Demyx was kind of hard to miss, after all. He has this cross between a mullet and a mohawk going on, but somehow he is able to pull it off. Zexion is his boyfriend, a shorter, quiet boy, with long, slate-coloured hair that covers his right eye. They are a rather adorable couple, their vast contrast in personality somehow working in sync with one another.

With everyone seated, the teacher, Mr. Bryant, started on his version of the long lecture of class rules/expectations. I pulled out a sketchbook and started to draw instead of paying attention. With this being my sixth semester of high school, I definitely know all the rules by now.

Ten minutes into class, and I had a pretty good drawing of a beach landscape going. Then suddenly the classroom door burst open. A tall, lanky boy burst in, his flaming red hair flying out from his head in long spikes. I mean, his hair was literally red. Not auburn, or orange-ish, but red, like a fire-engine or something.

"I'm here!', he said in an overly-loud, dramatic tone. "You can all rest easy now, guys. I made it."

Mr. Bryant gave him a look.

"...You must be our new student, Axel Lea." he said, voice tired.

"Yes sir!" The boy replied, acknowledging our teacher with a mock-salute.

"I see...Now Mr. Lea, if you would please have a seat, so we can get back to class."

"Sure, teach."

Axel glanced around to find an empty seat. To my relief, I noted several open seats in the class. However, as fate would have it, and to my utter horror, the nuisance walked over and sat next to me. And when I say next to me, I mean right next to me. Like, he scooted his chair over so there was less than five inches between us.

"Hey." he poked me to get my attention. "The name's Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Then he pointed an index finger to his temple, a gesture which I thought made him look absolutely ridiculous.

"Roxas." was all I said back.

"Cool name."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, this Axel kid tapping his pencil on the lab table the entire time. It wasn't long before he broke the silence again.

"Soooo...whatcha drawin'?" he inquired, poking at my shoulder again.

"A beach." I kept my replies short, hoping this douchebag would take the hint that I didn't want to talk to him.

"That's cool. I went to the beach with my parents when I was little."

Man, this guy could not take a hint. I ignored him, focusing on my sketchbook instead.

"One time when we were there, my da-."

"Could you shut up and pay attention to the teacher?" I cut him off. This kid was reeeaally starting to piss me off.

"Ooh, a feisty one, eh?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

I glared at him and went back to drawing again.

Most of the rest of class passed in an awkward, tense silence. However, towards the end of class Mr. Bryant said something that got my attention.

"Now I hope you got a chance to get to know the person next to you a little better while you were ignoring my lecture,' he gave the entire class a look, then continued, 'because they're going to be your permanent lab partner!"

Oh hell no. No, no, no, no, no. No way was I going to be lab partners for an entire semester with the obnoxious new kid sitting next to me.

"Well Roxy, looks like we're lab partners." He accompanied his words with a wolfish grin.

I was about to make a snappy comeback, but the bell saved the boy next to me from my wrath. I gathered my things as quickly as possible. Axel opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but I got up and left before he could. I was pissed off enough as it is, and listening to another word out of that dope's mouth wasn't going to help.

This is going to be a great year, I can tell.