I really need to finish stories before starting new ones, but I had to. I had to do it. -_- So, this is, obviously, a Kingdom Hearts High School AU. Quite a number of stories like this that I've seen... Well, they aren't that good. I've seen a couple that I adored, though, and I decided to try my hand at it. I hope you will enjoy it and it won't be one of those not-good ones. =D
So, before we get on with it, I'm going to go ahead and give you some information about this story.
1) It takes place in the year 1994. In this chapter, it tells you what month, but I'll go ahead and say that it's February. If you know anything about rock- especially grunge and alternative and classic (e.g. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and bands of the like, who I'd suggest listening to while you read this) you'll know that this is the year, less than two months before Kurt Cobain died (April 5.)
2) I live in a small town. I know how things work when you get a new student.
3) Which brings me to the next one. I /do/ take AP classes, and I've not gotten to the eleventh grade yet. Therefore, I'm not completely sure exactly what standard eleventh grade classes are, though I have a fairly good guess. I won't go into too much detail with those.
4) Most of this crap? It's going to be either exactly what my friends and I do, or based on my friends and my antics. Some of it may seem stupid to you, and it probably is. But, like I said, I live in a small town. We've got to find some way to entertain ourselves. These guys do, too.
5) Obviously, their ages are tweaked. Did I even /need/ to say that? To add to that, they are not the same people they are in the games; there are no Keyblades, Heartless, Nobodies, etc. Their personalities aren't exactly the same as in the games, too; they're a bit OOC. It was needed for the story. Got a problem with it? Don't read the story, then.
6) I know a lot about the music of this era. Everything else? I'm putting a lot of research and crap into. If you know more than I do and if you see any mistakes, please feel free to point it out to me so I won't make it again. =D
Well, okay then. I think that's everything you need to know. Oh, yeah. And don't do drugs or smoke or drink, kids. It'll fuck with your life. (The only thing I really have a problem with is drugs. Even Kurt Cobain, fucking god of stoners, said not to do drugs.)
Disclaimers: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Nor do I own any music mentioned in this story. Basically, the only thing I own is the story idea/plot...
Warnings: Foul language. Tobacco use. If I'm not mistaken, mention of drug/alcohol usage. Gay boys!
Read, enjoy, and leave me a review before you leave, right?
"Roxas, get your ass out of the fucking bed before Dad comes up here and kicks it!" Dakota screamed, relentlessly pounding his fist against the white oak door. Under the dark covers, one large, bright eyes0 all ocean and indigo swirled together- cracked open. The owner was tired and just this side of pissed. Ungracefully, he flipped over on the bed, causing it to squeak loudly, and pulled the covers tighter around his head.
"Go the fuck away, Dakota! I'm sleeping here!" On the other side of the bedroom door, his older brother growled and slammed his fist harder against the wood.
"Look, your suspension is over and you have to go back to school. So be a good little boy and get out of bed," he paused and grinned wolfishly, "Roxy~"
"You son of a bitch!" Roxas vaulted out of his bed and flung the door open, fuming.
"Mom! Roxas is talking about you!"
"Live in peace, children. It's too early to be fighting."
"Oh, good! You're up, Roxas!" That was his father's deep voice. It was a great contrast to his mother's soft, melodic tones only moments earlier.
Roxas looked down at his feet, planted firmly on his light-colored carpet and more than a shoulder's-width apart. "Fuck." he growled, slamming the door in Dakota's face and turning back to his bed. The he stopped. His suspension was over. He had to go back to school today- on Valentine's Day. "Fuuuuu~ck." he moaned again. Already, he was beginning to feel exhausted.
Bitching and complaining to hinself, he trudged into the bathroom; he really had to piss. Then he made an attempt at brushing his naturally-unruly, gelled-beyond-wildness honey-blond hair. With the gel in it, he only succeeded in yanking at his scalp, which darkened his already-foul mood even further. After a couple of swipes, he gave up, slammed the hairbrush down on the bathroom counter, and thoroughly brushed his mostly-straight (not everyone could be perfect, ya know) white teeth quickly. If he didn't hurry, he'd be late. Being late, he didn't mind so much. It was the bitching from the secretary, his teachers, and later, his parents that would piss him off.
Roxas pulled on a pair of ripped cargoes. While pulling on a slightly-faded black Nirvana t-shirt, he slipped on a pair of dark green Converse high-tops.
"Roxy, hurry and get your ass down here! You're late!" Dakota's voice floated up the stairs to him. He growled and snatched a flannel shirt- it matched his shoes- from his bed before stomping down the stairs, kicking his skateboard down in front of him.
"I'm coming, you bastard! Shut the fuck up!" The blond almost tripped over his own skateboard when he began focusing more on getting his arms through the sleeves of the shirt.
"Grab something to eat. It's raining; I'll drive you to school on my way to the college."
"You've never offered to take me before." Roxas mumbled around an egg squished between the halves of a bagel.
"Do you want to be stuck riding your skateboard?"
"Not really." he answered after a pause. Then he picked up his board and backpack as he rushed out of the front door, calling a goodbye to his parents.
Before Dakota even opened the driver's side door, his younger brother had flopped into his own seat, backpack and skateboard at his feet, and began nibbling away at his small breakfast. He cranked the car up and pulled out of the driveway. That's when it started, just like Roxas knew it would.
"Your lip's almost healed."
"Bruises have almost completely faded, too." he grumbled, though he really didn't want to talk about it. Having to go back to school was bad enough. For a moment, all that could be heard was the rain drumming against the windshield.
"Roxas, what happened? You never used to fight. Now you get into it with someone almost everyday. The principal probably doesn't even have to tell Mom and Dad what's happened when he calls!"
"You know damn well what happened. The whole. Fucking. Town knows."
"You can't let that fuck up your life."
"It already has!" He slammed his fist against his own knee, whipping his head around so he could stare out of the window and Dakota wouldn't see his face. "They found out. They outed me... in one of the worst ways possible. Did you know that those pictures still show up on the walls sometimes? I can't get away from it." Then he leaned forward and turned the radio on- as loud as he could without threat of getting an earful from the other- which told his brother I'm not going to talk anymore just as effectively as if he's actually said it.
The last bit of the bagel sandwich had been stuffed into his mouth mere moments before they stopped in front of the school. He unbuckled and slung his backpack over his shoulder.
"Do you want me to pick you up from the diner later?"
"Nah. I'll get Cloud to bring me home."
"You really need to pass your driver's test."
Roxas shrugged. "Wouldn't have a car even if I did." Then he slid out, holding his board over his head, and jogged up to the front doors, attempting to squash down the dread rising like bile in his throat. On the way to his locker, he almost got hit in the face with too many balloons to count. "Fuck Valentines Day." he grumbled, batting another out of his way.
"Happy Valentines Day, Roxas!" Brown hair tickled his nose and cheeks when a perky, chocolate-smelling Sora suddenly attacked- though he was pretty sure it was meant to be a hug- him.
"Sora. Let go of me."
"I told him not to." the silver-haired teen leaning against the locker beside his side. Of course, he made no move to pull the other off of him.
Sora leaned away, holding his shoulders and looking him straight in the face. "You're in an even worse mood than usual today."
"And both of you are just rays of fucking sunshine." the blond growled, shoving the other away and fiddling with his lock.
"What's your problem today?"
"Drop it, Sora." Riku grumbled, shifting his weight to the other foot.
"Would you two shut up? You of all people know what my problem is." As he fished his science book out of his locker, the other two stared at each other silently.
"Are you gonna go see him after your shift?" Sora finally asked, voice much quieter and calmer than it had been moments earlier. Roxas froze, hand still resting on the spine of his book. Wide blue eyes were staring at it, then he finally jerked it out, making it topple out so fast that he nearly didn't catch it.
"I dunno. I want to." The bell rang. His locker door closed with a clang, blond head dropping just slightly. "I'll see you after class." Then he trudged off in the direction of Mrs. Beauve's room.
"Axel...?" The secretary looked over the rim of her glasses at the lanky student standing in front of her desk.
"Tallarico. Got it memorized?" Axel tapped his own temple. She swore the spiky red hair didn't so much as tremble. Sighing, she glanced over his file, then pulled out a schedule.
"The principal would like me to show you around, then take you to your class. Ready?"
"Whenever you want, sweetheart." He smirked at her scowl, shouldering the mostly-empty backpack he'd dropped on the floor almost as soon as he'd walked through the front office's door. Being the new kid wasn't something he was used to. But, being the way he was, he wasn't going to let anyone- even his dad- know that he was nervous as hell.
"Follow me, Mr. Tallarico." Miss Thompson instructed, motioning as she sashayed out the door. Axel, still smirking, followed her.
The secretary showed him the assistant principal's office- the counselor and principal both had their private offices branching off the main office- the lunch room, the gym, the boys' bathroom, the library, the field house, the home economics building, and all of his classes, starting from the end of the schedule and working to the beginning. By the time they'd finished, it was second period and they'd already gotten caught up in a stampede of students. The number of stares he'd gotten was amazing, the whispers even more so. It made his stomach do a back flip and he had to force the confident smirk back onto his face.
"Alright. I've brought you back to your second period class. Try not to be a bother. That what you promised your dad, right?" Now it was her turn to smirk. She left him standing in front of a door with the word 'math,' the teacher's name, and the grade she taught on it.
Junior year sucks ass. he thought, jerking the door open with the hand that wasn't crumpling the slip of paper from the office to explain to the teacher why he was late. All eyes turned to him. Well, almost all eyes. There was a blond in the back who kept his gaze trained out of the window.
"Who are you?" the teacher- an older woman with poofy blond hair and a frown on her face- snapped.
"New student." Axel handed her the piece of paper, thinking that maybe he shouldn't have crumpled it.
"Axel Tallarico, huh? What kinda name is that?"
"The one my dad gave me." At the smart-ass reply, Mrs. White's expression shifted to one that read I'd-love-nothing-more-than-to-claw-those-poison-green-eyes-out-of-their-sockets.
"Take a seat." she hissed, pointing one long finger to the back of the room.
"Gladly." Up until now, he hadn't noticed that the other students were whispering. He caught a few as he trudged back to an empty seat. 'Are those tattoos under his eyes?' 'What's up with his hair?' 'Is he supposed to be a clown or something? Damn sure looks like it.' His stomach twisted uncomfortably at all the attention.
The Walk of Shame finally ended and he flopped down in his seat with all the grace of a drunken elephant. Now he saw that his seat was right beside the blond boy that hadn't paid him any attention when he'd come in. He could not be in eleventh grade. Axel thought, eyes roving up and down the boy's short, small frame. He looks... kind of... adorable, though.
"What're you gawking at?" Bright blue- damn, those eyes were so blue and... he could swear there was something so tortured about them- eyes bore into his own, narrowed in irritation.
"W-well, I... uh..."
"Put your eyes back in your head and quit. Staring. At me."
"I... Sorry." Axel couldn't quite manage to look away from the intense blue stare. Thankfully, the boy rolled his eyes and returned his attention to whatever it was outside the window that held his attention so completely.
Mrs. White was lecturing about something that really didn't sound like math. A portion of the students looked scared out of their minds. Another didn't seem to be affected at all. The smallest portion- that being made up of him and the blond kid- weren't paying her any attention at all. She didn't even seem to notice, just kept growling at them. Even though the blond had told him to stop staring, he continued to watch him stare out the window.
Somewhere along the way, an assignment was given. He knew because he had to avert his gaze when the other- he really needed to learn the kid's name- tore his eyes from the sky long enough to jot it down on a spare sheet of paper. Though, he noticed, Blondie- that's what he'd call him for now- made no move to actually do the work; just went back to gazing out his window, this time at a tree. What the hell is so interesting out there?
The bell rang. Blondie was up and out of the door moments after it had finished. He sure moves fast for someone who seems so spaced out. Axel thought as he hefted his backpack onto his shoulder and followed the other students out the door. During the tour of the school, Miss Thompson had informed him that there was a twenty minute break between second and third period; you could go anywhere on school campus.
Like most students, he opted to go outside. On the way out, something hanging on the bulletin board caught his eye. He paused in the middle of the hallway, staring openly at it. After all, there was no one else to run into him. To really tell what it was, he got closer, tugging on it so that the air wasn't blowing it.
"Is that... Blondie?" he mumbled to himself, leaning just a bit closer. Blondie it was, bent over a desk with another guy's fingers in his mouth. The other guy looked a little like Axel, though his hair wasn't near as vibrant. he was pressed flush against the smaller boy, band disappearing down the front of the blond's pants. Axel had to wonder how the hell the picture was taken without the subjects' knowledge. And now he had two names he really wanted to know. Being the nice guy he was and assuming that Blondie would be pissed and humiliated- he, of course, didn't know that everyone in the school had seen that particular picture more than once- he jerked it off of the board, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the trashcan by the front door on his way out.
Going outside meant he stood awkwardly against the wall near the doors. A shout of "Tifa! Where are you going?" caught his attention and had his head snapping up. A dark-haired girl was making her way towards him.
"To be nice, dickwad!" she shouted back to her group, grinning over her shoulder. "You must be new; I've never seen you around. I'm Tifa." She smiled and offered a hand. Not wanting to be rude, Axel took it and she gave it a firm shake before letting him have it back.
"Axel."
"Yeah. Roxas over there told me." She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at a blond, cigarette sticking out of his mouth, that was leaning over a silver-haired guy's hand. Which the red-head found odd, but he didn't say anything. "Oh, come on. Nobody's ever going to try to talk to you if you don't try, too." Before he knew what was happening, Tifa had dragged him to her small group- Roxas included. "Boys." she snapped, catching their attention. Roxas kept his eyes on what he was drawing, but he stopped humming to show that he was listening.
At an elbow in the ribs from Tifa, Axel glanced away and said, with much more confidence than he felt, "Name's Axel. Got it memorized?" Roxas snorted in what he assumed was amusement. The silver-haired teen grinned. Some of the others, including Tifa, chuckled. Everybody went back to what they were doing after that, and courtesy of the dark-haired girl who'd approached him first, he learned a few of their names. Nobody else paid him much attention, though. He was guessing they were tight-knit and not used to conspicuous city boys.
"Why are you drawing a pot leaf on my hand?" Riku asked, sighing?
"Two reasons: One, it looks like a hand giving you the finger; two, I'm bored and have nothing better to do." Roxas grumbled in reply, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and shifting his position. Much as he fought it, the corner of Axel's mouth quirked up just a bit.
"If I get in trouble, I'm kicking your ass."
"As if you could." At the glare he received, the blond smirked. "You won't get in trouble."
"What's your next class, Axel?" When Tifa addressed him, the red-head was forced to tear his attention away from the other two's 'conversation.'
"Oh. Uh..." He hadn't studied his schedule all that well, and he didn't have a photographic memory, so it took him a moment to remember. "Science."
"Eleventh grade, right?" Axel nodded and she smiled. "I'll show you to the classroom. I've got science next period, too, so I'll be heading down that hall. What about fourth?"
"Um... English."
"Hey! I've got that! Riku's got it, too." A kid with medium-brown hair and eyes as bright blue as Roxas' leaned forward, nibbling on chocolate. "We can take ya."
"You don't need anymore of that, Sora." Roxas grumbled, capping his marker and sticking it in one of the pockets of his ripped cargoes. The brunette scowled and defiantly took another large bite.
"And you need to quit moping around and smoking on campus, Roxas." he snapped.
"What I do is my business. Bastard."
"Oh, ge-"
"Teacher, Rox. Put it out."
"Damn." The blond begrudgingly dropped the cigarette onto the wet grass and stomped on it, twisting the toe of his Converse for good measure. The teacher- Mrs. White- strode by them, paused, and glanced over.
"One of you has been smoking." Though she'd implied that it could have been any of them, her eyes were locked on Roxas. "Roxas."
"Haven't smoked in a year, ma'am." he replied, smiling fakely.
"You smell like smoke."
"They smell like smoke, too."
Mrs. White paused, glaring and gritting her teeth, then said,. "Don't let me catch you again." and stalked away. Roxas let out a breath and moved his toe.
"Wanted that fucking cigarette."
Axel saw the back of Roxas' head during French. They went to lunch in the middle of that class; they didn't talk, but they sat at the same table. Roxas had his nose in a book. Tifa and Sora talked his ear off; he didn't pay attention to a word they said, focusing on the bookworm instead.
After that, he was sure he and the blond wouldn't have anymore classes together. So it was a pleasant surprise when he got to the gym for P.E. and Roxas was already there, dressed out in a gray t-shirt and black shorts; he was still wearing those dark green Converse. The red-head stopped and watched him for a moment. When bright blue eyes flickered his way, he averted his gaze.
"Axel Tallarico, right?" A man in gym clothes, whistle around his neck and clipboard in his hand, practically marched up to him. Axel blinked a couple of times and slowly nodded his head. "Good. You'll need gym clothes preferably by Wednesday, but at least by the end of the week. As soon as possible."
"Yeah. Okay." He was sure he had a spare t-shirt and shorts at home; that is, if he hadn't left his old gym clothes in the locker at his last school. If not, there had to be a place around here to get something, even if the town was small as fuck.
"Do whatever today. Tomorrow you'll participate."
"Yeah." Axel mumbled as the couch walked away, letting his backpack slip from his shoulder onto the bleachers and following it. He leaned back until his back hit the seat behind him, stretching his long legs out in front of him. most of the time, he watched Roxas mope around and avoid basketballs with a small group of other boys; he recognized Sora and Riku. Every so often, his gaze would wander.
"Shit!" There was a thud. Axel's attention snapped back to the blond. He looked pissed; both Riku and Sora had a hold of his arms. The brunette looked as his he was saying something to Roxas, lips moving fast. Another guy, one he didn't recognize, was on his ass on the floor, hand covering his nose. Blood dribbled from between his fingers, falling onto his shirt and staining the white a bright crimson. The red-head sat up straighter, watching intently as the short blond's shoulders relaxed and slumped just a bit. He saw Roxas' pale lips move enough to form one word: Fine.
"Mr. Hoffmann!" The coach jogged up, looking almost as pissed as Roxas a few moments earlier.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The blond shook his friends' hands off and stomped towards the double doors leading into the hall.
"Where are you going, Hoffmann?"
"The principal's office. Where else?"
What the hell? Axel thought, eyes wide as he watched the door slowly swing shut. I hadn't pegged him as someone who would start fights for seemingly no reason. He watched for Roxas to come back all during the period; he didn't come back.
Roxas finished all of his homework in detention, something he'd be going to for the rest of the week. It wasn't surprising, nor was it something he was unused to. One of the seats even belonged to him. Not that most people knew that. He shoved the rest of his books into his locker; they were organized, with his notebooks, by class, starting from the left and going to the right. Nothing else was in his locker. He hated this place, so keeping anything personal in his locker would be pointless.
The sounds his footsteps made bounced off the walls and echoed back to him. It had been creepy the first few times and he'd tried to ignore it, though he had gotten used to it by now and didn't even notice it. Roughly, he shoved one of the front doors open, stepped out, and stopped. A certain red-head was sitting on the steps, head back and eyes closed. Roxas stared for a few moments, one hand gripping the strap of his backpack and the other holding his board.
"What're you still doing here?" the blond asked, frowning. Axel's head snapped up, eyes opening quickly. He frowned, too, shifting his position on the top step.
"My dad hasn't come to get me yet. I guess he got caught up unpacking or something." His voice sounded just a bit raspy, sleepy. The shorter boy bit his lip, assuming the new kid had fallen asleep on the steps while he'd been waiting.
"Oh." He stepped down from the top step, then paused again. "Come on."
"What?"
"I said come on. You can walk to the diner with me and call your dad to come get you from there."
"I- Thanks."
"Yeah. Don't get too used to it." Roxas wasn't one to help other students out, but Axel was the new kid. And, while he didn't really give a fuck, he couldn't just leave the guy stranded here for who knew how long. Anybody else, he wouldn't have cared. The red-head had never done anything to him, though; hadn't even had the chance. Even if today was shit for him, at least he could do something for someone else so that everything wasn't so fucked up about this Valentines Day.
They were both silent for most of the walk to the diner, though Roxas could feel the other's eyes on him. Finally, when the diner was in sight, Axel mumbled, "You don't seem like the person you act like."
"You mean I don't look like it."
"... Yes."
"Outward appearances can be deceiving." The blond didn't say anything for a moment, watching his feet as he walked. "Most of the time, people don't act like the person they really are. And I'm going to be exactly who I am- who I've been made into- no matter what I look like." He pushed open the diner's door; a bell above it tinkled.
"Hey, Roxy, how was school?"
"Hi, Cloud." he replied flatly, rolling his eyes.
"Woah, kid, who's that with ya? Got some damn loud hair." A girl with short, black hair leaned over the counter, eyeing Axel.
"His name's Axel. He's gonna use the phone to call his dad." Roxas leaned over the counter in the opposite direction as the girl and dropped his backpack and board behind it. "Hand me that, would ya, Xion?"
"Yeah, sure. Phone's over there, Red." She pointed a thumb at the phone hanging on the wall above the counter as she grabbed the waiter's apron her coworker had pointed at.
"Thanks." He picked it up and dialed their new number; getting the phone fixed had been one of the first things they'd done. It took a few rings for his father to pick up.
"Hello?" The deep voice on the other end was exhausted and frazzled. Axel was sure he'd been walking home.
"Hey, Dad... School's over."
"Shit, Ax. I'm sorry. But... Well, I'm up to my ears in boxes. And we're not even halfway unpacked."
"Yeah, alright. I'll find my own way home."
"I'm sorry, so-"
"Save it. Bye." Axel hung the phone back up and dropped down onto the nearest stool, resting his chin on his cheek. He'd known it would happen, so he wasn't sure why he felt so disappointed. It was probably because a small part of him had been hoping he wouldn't have to trek home. Especially since it had been raining off and on all day. And it wasn't like his father wasn't trying. He knew that he couldn't do everything. Oh well.
"He coming to get you?" Roxas was standing at his elbow having just finished fiddling with the jukebox in the back corner. The apron was tied around his waist. It went from where it tied down to an inch or so above his knees. And Axel could only thing, Damn. It shouldn't have been cute, but it was.
"No. I've gotta walk."
"Oh..." The blond twisted his pencil in one of the pockets, then sighed. "You want a ride?"
"What? On the back of your skateboard?" Axel snarked, smirking. Roxas scowled at him, crossing his arms.
"No. Cloud's taking me home."
"Who?"
"The other blond behind the counter." Roxas pointed to a mass of blond spikes visible farther back. "Yo, Cloud! Axel's gonna ride home with us tonight!"
"Since when did I become a taxi service?"
"Since you raped me."
"I never raped you."
"You did in your mind."
"... Fine." Cloud griped from behind the counter, going back to what he was doing. Roxas grinned. Axel gave them both a wide-eyed, What the fuck is wrong with you two? look.
"You guys are... really weird."
"You're welcome." Then Roxas walked away to take the order of a couple sitting in a booth near the door, humming along to Maggie May and pulling his pencil and notepad out of his apron as he went.
"Thanks."
Review! =D Ciao!
hugs&kisses~ Madarao