Unedited and underappreciated, I give you my first KH2 fanfiction, but don't let that discourage you. XigDem really needs more love.
Pairings: XigDem, AkuRoku, MarLar, RiSo
Warnings: Swearing, Hint of Drugs
Dark clouds hung heavily above the little town of Kendrick, and humans made like small animals to get out of the rain, out of danger. Even the low life, the trash that lingered in all the wrong places, fled to the safety of indoors.
An old man, standing outside his shop, looked up to see the clouds shifting restlessly in the sky. He shook his head and went back inside. Seconds later, after switching the sign in the door from open to closed, he emerged once more, locking up his store with a final twist of a key.
A storm was brewing.
In another corner of the town was a common building to be seen. Kendrick High, school of the ordinary, taught over five hundred teens a year, although not all passed. Amongst the average were two types of extreme students: the ones who got straight As and had a great future ahead of them, and the ones who lacked motivation and were likely to end up in some fast food joint, waist high in debts.
Sitting, sleeping in his seat, was a slacker named Demyx. Already in his Junior year, he felt over confident and decided that he got the whole "high school" thing down. He'd been to it for two years already. To him, it wasn't a big deal. Been there, done that, and still, he only barely managed to slip by with a D-average.
Three seats to his left and one row behind sat a tall, red-haired student who looked a little bit old for a class of Juniors. Axel. Suiting, he'd fallen behind in class and ultimately flunked the year before. It wasn't like he wanted to retake the course, he just had so many things to juggle around including a job, half of the house work, and an eight year old younger sister named Megan. He rarely had time for school, and free time was nonexistent.
Two seats behind him, writing down notes with a bottle of green tea on his desk, was Marluxia. Official health-nut, environmentalist, and whether he looked the part or not, rich boy. He had more money than the class combined because his father owned a big factory that specialized in sodas, juices, and all those other fun drinks. There was once a time when Marluxia drank those juice boxes. When he saw what they were made of, he changed his diet to herbal teas and pure water.
And then there was an empty desk. The student who usually occupied it was out of sight completely, in fact. Roxas, a petite blonde who looked more like a Freshman than a Junior, could be found sitting in the hallway, hands rubbing his temples. He got these goddamn headaches all the time that just wouldn't go away. His doctor had put him on medication, but he was pretty sure that they were just placebos. A few minutes later, he decided that it wouldn't get any better whether he was in the hallway or not, and headed back inside.
The school bell rang, interrupting Demyx's peaceful dream. Groggily, he sat upright and looked around the classroom, dazed. Upon the realization that he could leave the boredom that was supposed to be his education, he jumped up, wide awake.
Quickly packing his bag, he ran to catch up with his friends who were halfway out the door.
"Did you even hear a word the teacher was saying?" asked Axel, nudging Roxas, a small blonde teen, with his elbow.
Catching the redhead's drift, Roxas raised an eyebrow.
"I sure couldn't," he said, loud enough for the others around to hear. "Demyx was snoring too loud."
At that exact moment, said boy caught up to them. A blush on his cheeks revealed that he had, in fact, heard.
Axel snickered, throwing an arm around Demyx.
"Don't worry. We're just teasing. You didn't make a sound."
"Slept like a baby," Roxas added.
The idle chatter continued as the merry trio made their way to their lockers before heading to sweet freedom. Per usual, the hallways were pack, and the journey proved difficult. When they finally reached the doors leading outside, disappointment overtook them. Or at least two of them.
Rain poured down from the sky, threatening to soak them to the core. Students sensible enough in the morning to predict the arriving storm took out umbrellas and ventured out. Those, now regretting that 'I don't need a rain jacket' moment they had, huddled underneath the shelter of the school. And then there was Demyx who just walked right out into the water like he didn't even notice.
"How can you just do that?" Axel asked, stunned.
"How can I just do what?" Demyx retorted.
Axel reached his hand out from beneath the shelter, wet droplets falling onto pale skin.
"How can you stand that... that disgusting stuff falling from the sky?" His expression was one of shock, but quickly changed into one of horror when Roxas followed Demyx into the onslaught of water.
"Stop being such a baby," said the small blonde as he waved for Axel to follow.
Feeling at a loss and a little too proud, Axel threw aside his hate of all things wet and followed his friends to their cars.
Car, actually. Only Axel could drive. His friends often carpooled with him, even though he had work directly after school. Demyx and Roxas had long grown used to doing their homework while they waited for Axel's shift to end. Accounting that the redhead worked most hours over the weekend, their wait was never too long. Three hours at the most.
Demyx, sitting in the backseat, pressed his forehead against the window and gazed outside.
The three of them had been friends since before they could remember. Everyday, no matter how good or bad it could be, shared something in common. Axel worked hard. Determination, passion, and the need to help his family drove him every day. Roxas never faltered in his "duty." He stood by Axel's side and cheered him on when he needed that extra boost.
Demyx stifled laughter when a picture of Roxas in a cheerleading outfit popped into his head. Said blonde, sitting in front of him, turned around.
"What are you laughing at?"
Demyx waved his hand as if saying "don't mind me, I'm just a little crazy."
Demyx, an important part of the trio. He never ceased to put smiles on his friends' faces. He put their emotions before his, and even if he was feeling down, he could get their spirits up. To him, it looked as if he couldn't ever do anything right. Almost everything he did was wrong, he was at the bottom of the teenage food chain, and Axel and Roxas stuck by his side through it. Demyx loved his friends and was willing to sacrifice a bit of his own joy for his friends.
By the time they had arrived, the rain came down harder than before. Axel parked in the employee only section, locked the car, and ran, swearing, towards the restaurant he worked at. Inwardly, he cursed the fact that the employees had to park as far from the work place as the Owner could make it. Of course, the Owner himself had a parking spot near the entrance.
Casually, Roxas and Demyx followed.
The restaurant was an Italian one and quite fancy at that. Fancy, yet family friendly. The lights were dim, the walls were crimson red, and the carpet felt airy and nice when you walked on it.
Once inside, Axel ran to the back of the restaurant to change into his uniform, and probably, to dry off.
The other two, as they'd been doing for the last year, walked to the back of the seating area and took a booth that was next to the restrooms. As they'd found out, the seat was almost always open due to the unappetizing thought of being next to a toilet while eating. Lucky for them, they only had to do homework.
Roxas sat across from Demyx, who had his legs crossed on the seat. Both of them were wet, and water slowly dripped off from their hair and clothes onto the upholstery. The restaurant was warm, so they'd have no trouble drying off, but after a few minutes of sitting in the heating, Roxas took off his jacket. Demyx, unfortunately, only wore a long sleeved shirt and could not take it of. Unless he wanted to be shirtless, but he had far too much modesty for that.
"How do you do this problem?" asked Demyx, pointing to one of the many papers spread across their table.
"Go look it up in your math book," replied Roxas nonchalantly, chewing on the end of his pencil. Nasty habit, but it helped him think.
Demyx looked in his backpack.
"I don't think I have my book with me. I probably left it at home."
"Wow, it's really a great help there." Roxas was so entranced by his own homework that he didn't notice the rapidly approaching waiter.
"Yo."
Both heads looked up to see Axel, now in full uniform. It consisted of a white button up shirt, black pants, and an apron magically morphed into some sort of half man skirt. Axel had never really figured it out.
"Could I start you out with anything? Wine? Margarita? Maybe a fruit juice, or is that too much for you boys to handle?"
Demyx pouted and rested his cheek on his hand and thought for a second.
"Can I have a coke?"
"The drug? No." Axel winked and turned to Roxas. "And anything for you?"
"Pink lemonade with a lemon in it. No seeds. No ice."
Axel raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Aren't we feeling picky today?" he asked with a daring look on his face. Before Roxas could reply, the redhead was speeding away, on to take the order from a newly seated party. He needed as many tips as he could get by the time his shift was over.
Roxas looked up from his work to watch his tall friend run back and forth from table to kitchen. Axel, with his height and brain capacity, didn't quite fit the "waiter" category. Surprisingly, he was great at his job. He memorized each order without having to write it down and worked quickly and gracefully at the same time. Often, a group of girls would visit the restaurant. They'd call Axel over and giggle as they ordered. Roxas claimed them as "Axel's Official Fanclub," and he hated their guts.
Three hours and two refills later, the two blondes had their bags packed and were waiting for their friend by the restaurant's door.
Axel ran up to them after changing back into his normal attire. The rain had changed from pouring down heavily to a light drizzle, much to the redhead's relief, so he casually strolled outside. He already had enough running around for that day.
When the trio got into the car and began driving home, Roxas started yawning. No more than five minutes later, the blonde was asleep.
"Axel, he's not wearing a seatbelt."
"So? Do you expect me to do something about it? I'm already driving."
"But Axel, what if he dies? Or what if the police catch us and we have to pay a fine."
Axel scowled, but some reasoning got to him. Waiting to see an empty spot on the side of the road, Axel pulled over.
"Now what? I don't want to wake him up," asked the redhead while turning around to face Demyx. The blonde merely shrugged and suggested Axel just put it on for him.
Axel's cheeks turned several shades of pink. Hesitantly, he reached over Roxas, grabbed the seatbelt, and pulled it over his friend. With a click, the blonde was safely fastened in.
And awake.
"What the fuck?" he asked, looking at the teen that had hovered over him.
Axel jumped back into his own seat.
"You were asleep and your seatbelt was still undone. We couldn't have you going and getting us that one hundred and one dollar fine, could we?"
Roxas scowled, turned to face the window, and fell back asleep.
Axel drove on. First stop, Demy's place.
Demyx's neighborhood was shit. None of that high-quality shit that they always show in movies and TV shows, but the real kind. Houses were falling apart while the occupants lived their lives inside them, homeless slept at every stop sign, and there was a never ending composition of blaring music, cries, and drunken ramblings.
Demyx's actual home was no better. His parents worked nearly 24/7 and were nowhere to be seen. Dishes were piled high in the sink, and bills sat on the counter waiting to be paid. When in that house, the walls seemed to be closing in; Demyx could barely move around with the limited space they had. It consisted of one floor holding six rooms: the kitchen, the living room, an office, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. Demyx's family needed some support for the cost, so they allowed a distant relative to stay in the basement, rented by the week. His name was Luxord, some sort of British half cousin to Demyx's mom. He didn't prove to be much of a help because Luxord gambled. A lot. And when Luxord gambled, he lost. A lot.
Demyx stood in front of his house and walked himself through his pre-entering procedures. He took a deep breath, put on a goofy grin, and walked right in.
"Honey, I'm home!" he said, only to come face to face with silence. He didn't expect an answer, but he'd felt worse if he didn't try. One of these days, he would come home to a family or friends, even a dog would be fine. It was a wish he would never admit to, but he wanted to have someone waiting for him when he got home.
"Welcome back, sweet cheeks."
Demyx shook his head as he threw his backpack into a corner. Luxord lay, assumably drunk, on the couch. The Brit didn't count as part of his wish.
No longer wanting to stay in the room with a drunk (who was beginning to sing), Demyx headed for his room.
It was small and had only a bed, a desk, and a half-sized chiffarobe to store his clothes in.
Demyx laid down on his bed which squeaked under his weight. His stomach growled, but he didn't feel like making dinner. He'd just take a little nap and handle that later.
His alarm clock rang, which, quite frankly, scared the hell out of him.
"Wassat?" he asked to nobody in particular, looking around in the dark for the source of the noise. Upon spotting the clock, he slammed his hand down on it. Hard. Moments later, his eyes widened. 4:30am. Normally, he'd reset it before he went to sleep but last night...
"Fuck fuck fuck." Demyx jumped out of bed and roughly opened the drawer where his morning attire was kept. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a long t-shirt, slipped of his current clothes, and put the new ones on in a matter of seconds.
He started to run out the door, remembered something, and wheeled back inside. Moments later, he emerged carrying a gym bag.
"Crap, I'm gonna be late," he muttered to himself as he ran.
A group of several children sat in a row on the edge of a swimming pool, waiting. Their instructor always met them at 5am. It was 5:15 and they were starting to get bored.
"I say he's not going to show," stated the girl in the yellow swimsuit. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail.
"Yeah right, he's just late. I bet he stayed up all night with his girlfriend or something," said a boy with light green hair. The colour was originally blonde, but changed after years of swimming. Despite his parent's warnings, he never used the right type of shampoo.
"His girlfriend?" piped another small girl with big blue eyes and curly brown hair. "I didn't know that he had a girlfriend..." Tears began to form and her breath hitched in her throat, but she didn't want to cry in front of her friends. She kept telling herself that she wouldn't cry.
The others continued their conversation, completely ignoring the struggling girl next to them until wet footsteps could be heard.
All heads turned in the same direction.
"Gah! Sorry I'm late. My alarm clock went off at the wrong time," said Demyx, now dressed in only a pair of bright orange swim shorts. He jumped into the shallow water, feet touching the ground before he could go fully under.
"Come on, boys and girls, we have a lesson to start."
Several bodies followed him into the pool. One stayed on the side, still wiping tears from her eyes.
"What's wrong, Morgan?" Demyx asked with a hand in the air, waving to her.
She sniveled and pulled her act together.
"Do you... I mean, you have- um, you don't have a girlfriend, do you?"
Demyx blinked, completely oblivious to the younger girl's thoughts and feelings. He didn't understand why she was asking the question, but decided to answer fully and truthfully anyways.
"I'm single, but not really looking for anyone at the moment. Why'd you ask?"
Morgan sniffed, feeling better already.
"No reason. Just curious," she replied, putting on a smile.
Demyx returned home and grabbed a bite to eat before going to school. Because he'd not eaten dinner the previous night, his stomach had growled ferociously all throughout his swim lessons.
His house was quiet, as usual, except for the noise coming from the TV. Luxord had fallen asleep on the couch. Demyx, reluctant to the help the man, grimaced when he saw him shivering and went to fetch a blanket. After the deed was done, the blonde's cell phone began ringing from his pocket. He flipped it open with a, "Yo. Demyx speaking. How may I help you?"
"Hey, Demy. We're driving over to your house to pick you up. Be there in about five minutes." The "we" in "we're" meaning Axel and Roxas. It was nothing new that they were together; they always were, even when Demyx wasn't about.
That day of school continued like it always did for Demyx. Go to class, space out, get yelled at by teacher. Go to next class, hum a tune, get a ruler slapped down on desk. Go to third period science, mess up that day's lab, get sent out of the classroom. Lunch.
The blonde sat at the same table everyday. One could call it the "unpopular" table, but both Demyx and Axel preferred the term the "no-shit" table. Quite frankly, it was because the other one was chock full of it. Most of the popular kids consisted of stereotypical and artificial personalities. Dumb blondes, boring brunettes, and the list went on. They tried too hard to fit into society, but their plans somehow always worked.
The other members of the no-shit table consisted of five people in addition to the trio of friends. Zexion, the well known bookworm, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, all friends with Roxas, and Marluxia, the health-nut all sat alongside them. Occasionally, two of the freshmen would come over and sit with them, but that's another story altogether.
Demyx sat down next to Roxas who was eating something out of a bowl.
"What's that?" asked Demyx, pointing to the food.
"Cereal," replied Roxas through a mouthful of honey coated mini wheats. He'd gotten a strange craving for brunch when he'd arrived in the lunchroom.
Seconds later, Axel arrived, carrying paper brown bag.
"Sup?" he asked as he threw his arm around Roxas, sitting down on the other side of him.
"Hey Axelala," greeted Roxas before he scrunched up his nose in disgust. "Ew, what did you spray on this morning?"
Axel grinned.
"Just my dad's aftershave."
"Well don't do it again, it makes you smell like you rubbed yourself with magazine perfume samples. All of them."
Axel leaned in closer to Roxas.
"I bet you secretly like it." He sneered at his friend.
"Could you scoot a little in the other that direction? You're making lose my appetite."
Axel frowned.
"Whatever you say, Princess."
The afternoon classes continued as they always did, and by the end of the day, Demyx was drowned in homework. After his last block was over, he went to go meet his two friends by their lockers. As he stepped out of the room, he bumped into a familiar face, knocking the books out of his hands.
"Oops! I'm sorry," said Demyx as he bent over to retrieve the lost item. When he stood up again, he came face to face with… pink.
"Oh, hi Demyx. I haven't talked to you for a while." Marluxia.
Demyx handed the other teen his books, and hesitantly replied with a quick, "Yeah. We'll have to do it again sometime," and disappeared into the crowd.
Demyx was an unusually happy person, and he loved Roxas like a brother. Right then, Demyx wanted to strangle the other blonde.
"I really hate those girls, you know? They just fawn over Axel and make him do stupid things. I mean, look at them! How slutty can you get?" Roxas's cheeks were red with anger. He glared at the Official Axel Fanclub from his seat in the corner. Demyx watched Roxas with a face of mild horror, and mild annoyance. He really needed to get his homework done. Even if he spent his three hours in the restaurant working on it, he'd probably have more to do at home.
"Roxas, could you maybe be quiet for a few minutes? I'm sure Axel's doing just fine," Demyx tried to reason, but to no avail.
"Fine? How can he be fine when those she-devils are all over him? He's going to die alone and surrounded by sugar-high girls. I can't let that happen to him… could I?" Roxas turned to Demyx, seeking some advice.
"Well, if you really want to do something about it, go for it. I won't stop you. I think I'll step out for a breath of fresh air, okay?"
Roxas nodded, a determined expression on his face, and was off to his friend's rescue.
Demyx, on the other hand, calmly got out of the booth looked around. The parking lot towards the front was no sanctuary, even compared to the closed in restaurant.
The blonde decided to explore a little, starting with the small hallway where the kitchen door was located. He stopped when presented the option of four doors. One, the kitchen, could be eliminated right off the bat. The other three, were a bit more confusing.
One door, at the end of the hall, had a small translucent window on it. Demyx peered inside, but couldn't see anything through the fogged glass. The next thing he did was press his ear against the door, hoping to hear something to tell him what it led to.
Silence, followed by nearly indistinguishable voices. Two of them, one male and one female.
"—cant do this anymore…police…"
"move… location."
Demyx assumed that it was the owner's office, and backed away. He stared at the other two doors. One of them had to lead out.
"Eenie meenie miney moe, catch a tiger by his toe, if he hollers let him go. Eenie meenie miney moe," he recited to himself softly, and when his finger landed on the door to the right, he opened it.
Freedom.
Demyx walked outside into the open are—he realized that he was in an alleyway. No place for fresh air, but as he turned around to go back inside, the door clicked shut. He tried opening it, but it was locked. He doubted that anyone could hear him from the inside, so he would just have to go around the whole building and enter from the front.
Bags of trash and old scraps of cloth littered the sides of the alley. Demyx held his nose close in disgust. A second later, a peculiar sound came to his ears. Sirens.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
"Hwa?" Demyx asked through a stuffed nose and turned just in time to see a black blur crash into him. He fell to the ground with a sickening thud, landing on top of one of the trash bags. He quickly sat up and tried to figure out what happened.
A man with a black trench coat and long raven hair tied into a pony tail sat a few feet away from Demyx. When the man turned to face the blonde, he could clearly see his face. A long scar ran along his left cheek, and an eye patch covered his right eye. Further observing his surroundings, Demyx realized that he was surrounded by a bunch of white powder. Still in a daze, his mind barely processed that the mysterious man had already left, and that he was sitting in a pile of garbage.
"Ew," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He noticed a bag full of the same white stuff that was around him. He picked it up just in time for the rapid approach of footsteps.
Demyx was jerked upwards roughly by what appeared to be a man in a uniform.
Shit, Demyx thought to himself. The police.
R&R. No flames, but constructive criticism is allowed. Btw, I might feel more encouraged to write faster if you review :B