Hello there, Skaterstar57 here! Wow…this is my third long-running fic on here, and my sixth in total. ;) My other two on here are RikuxSora…so this is my first story that doesn't feature them as the main pairing…and I'm still not sure yet if they'll make an appearance at all.

Well, this fic would not leave me alone, so I just had to write it. ;) I wrote this first chapter pretty quickly—and I have now found out that I ADORE Zemyx. Yes, they are awesome.

(Full) Summary: Zexion hates basically everything in life. But the thing he now currently hates the most is in fact his new next door neighbor, Demyx. Who, for some odd reason, can't remember him after the next day they meet. And then the next day. And the next day after that. Life is horrid, isn't it?

Dedicated to: This story is dedicated to biach-goddess-leah, for being a great beta, a wonderful co-writer, and an amazing friend. This is for you, Leah!

Disclaimer: If I did own Kingdom Hearts (-weeps-) the world would be a better place. ;) And in no way do I own the song, "I Remember You" by Skid Row. I will be using some of the lyrics, but that is it. I no own.

Warning: This fic will contain yaoi (boyxboy love). If you do not care for boyxboy love, I suggest you leave. This fic will also contain language and (perhaps) sexual content.

Reviews: Oh, if you enjoy this story at all, please review for it! I have gotten so many kind and encouraging reviews on here, and I have to tell you—I maybe would have given up on my writing if I did not know people enjoyed them so much. So please, review for this one as well!

A/N: About this fic…updates will be slower. I have the next two chapters written…but I'm not sure whenever I can read through them and post them up. I still have my other two fics going, and I'm co-writing another fic with biach-goddess-leah. So…I expect updates to be every three weeks or so. But I think the second chapter will be posted in two weeks. I'll try and keep the updates coming pretty steadily. :D

Also, the title and idea for this fic came from the song, "I Remember You" by Skid Row. Great power ballad there. I love it. Anyway, some of the chapter titles (such as this one) will be using lyrics from the song. But not all of them, because it would not make sense with the plot. XD Anyway, enjoy!

I Remember You - Chapter 1. Woke Up to the Sound of Pouring Rain

-o-

"Somewhere there is someone that dreams of your smile, and finds in your presence that life is worthwhile, so when you are lonely remember it's true, someone somewhere is thinking of you." -- Anonymous

The clouds were brewing; they were a dark black, and this was always a bad sign. Lightning suddenly flashed, followed by a boom of thunder. The rain poured forth from the heavens, and it just continued to rain all night. It was 1:57 A.M., and there was a full moon, which was half covered by the dark clouds. The storm ceased, but it continued to rain, like it would never ever stop.

Suddenly, a teenage boy with silver hair woke up with a jolt. His head snapped around to look out the window, watching the rain pour down. He looked at the clock to see the time. He groaned and fell back on the bed. "Why now of all times?" he asked himself, running a hand through his hair.

His name was Zexion.

He sat back up and stood up, walking about the room in only his pajama pants. He walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, his cold blue eyes staring at himself for several moments. He tore himself away and walked back to his bedroom.

It was no use going back to bed now. He was never able to fall asleep again once he woke up. It was futile, really. He sighed as he sat down in a chair and hung his head low, hearing the strong sound of the rain hitting the roof and against the window. It was troubling…and somehow, it was a calm feeling—the sound of the rain dropping above his head.

He grabbed his bottle of water and drank nearly half of it. He was thirsty. He looked out the window, mesmerized. His gaze was transfixed. It was…nearly hypnotizing to just watch the droplets of water hit against the window and roll down, as more joined them. Suddenly, Zexion heard thunder in the far-off distance. So the storm was not done after all.

Zexion finally tore his gaze away from the window and placed it in his hands, groaning somewhat. "Oh, what will I ever do?"

And sure enough, Zexion had not gotten another moment's rest that night. He had paced around his room, lay back on his bed, just stared out the window and watched the rain continue to come down heavily. But he never slept. But Zexion looked cool and collected the next morning. He looked as if he had gotten a full night's sleep.

He grabbed a piece of dry toast and took a bite of it, opening the refrigerator to get out some milk. He drank out of the carton and then put it back. A moment later, his mother walked into the room, a disapproving look on her face.

"Now, Zexion, I thought I've told you several times not to drink directly out of the carton," she said, frowning as she got herself a glass of orange juice.

Zexion groaned, placing the milk back in the fridge. "Geez, Mom, it's just us two here. It's not like anyone else is going to drink the milk. I don't think it's a crime."

His mother smiled slightly, taking a sip of her orange juice. "You are right; it is just us now. But Zexion, that does not matter. I could have simply drunk out of the orange juice carton, but I did not. I got myself a glass. It's just as easy, really." His mother looked at his clothes. She raised an eyebrow. "It's the summer now, Zexion, why on earth are you wearing such long and dark clothing? You'll burn up out there."

"Whoever said I'm going outside?" said Zexion as he left the kitchen, toast in hand. He plopped down on the kitchen and hit the remote, turning on the TV. No good. He switched channels. Still no good. He continued to flip through them, none of them really interesting him. He sighed, as he lay down, leaving it on one channel that was okay. He did not really know what to do. He could read, for he loved reading, but he did not care for it early in the morning. His eyes needed to get used to the new day, especially since he had got such little sleep last night, and he did not feel like he could read now.

He crossed his arms behind his head as he placed one of his legs on top of the other. He glanced out the window. While it was no longer storming or raining, it most certainly looked gloomy outside. The clouds covered up the entire sky, refusing to show the marvelous sun. He sighed as he closed his eyes.

What the hell am I doing? he thought. I feel like there is nothing good in life, really. I basically hate everything in it. The only things I can tolerate are my mom and books. I don't even like TV. I hate all the kids at school. They annoy the hell out of me. But you know, it's not really my fault. They're all so damn annoying. It cannot be helped.

Zexion sighed as he tuned out the sound of the TV, and instead got lost in his own thoughts. "Everything's so damn stupid," he mumbled to himself, as he opened one eye to look at the TV. Oh, it was just some stupid show where the girl said she hated the guy, but in reality, she loved him, and he would not relent. And now, it was the climax. He took her in his arms and kissed her. She attempted to shove him away, but eventually melted. Zexion looked disgusted. And I hate romance, too. It's all so friggin' mushy, he thought in disgust.

He finally stood up and turned off the television. He was too annoyed right now for it. He walked back up the stairs and went to his room. He decided to read after all, morning and tired eyes be damned. "Fucking miserable," Zexion grumbled under his breath as he trudged up the stairs. He popped in a classical music CD in his player, and lay back on his bed and opened up his book. It was Wuthering Heights. (1)

Before Zexion even considered the time, he had finished Wuthering Heights in total. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly time for lunch now. He was sort of hungry, so he decided to head down and fix himself a little something. His mom would now be at her job, so he would eat alone. Zexion got out some leftover pizza, and put it on a plate. He sat down on one of the barstools in the kitchen. He ate his pizza without heating it up. He actually preferred cold pizza.

He glanced outside. While still gloomy, you could see the sun sneak in through the clouds ever so slightly, and it began to dry up the remnants of the rain on the streets. Zexion noticed it was rather windy out today as well. He could see the trees and flowers being blown harshly to the right.

He finished up his pizza and put his plate in the dishwasher. He then got out a bottle of water. He was thirsty, after all. He drank it all practically in one giant gulp, and then tossed it in the trash can. He walked back to the living room, and was just about to plop down on the couch when he saw something very interesting out the window. He stopped.

The house next door had been for sale, but Zexion had had no idea that it had been sold. Up until now, anyway. There was a giant U-haul parked right by their driveway, and people were moving boxes and other things out of the truck. Zexion blinked. Several times. He stared at the window, semi-interestedly. After all, he wanted to know who the people were that would annoy his life now. After all, everything basically annoyed Zexion, you know.

But from the window, all Zexion could really see was the side of the truck. Despite himself, Zexion was too interested to see who it was, so he walked over to the door and exited, going outside.

Even though there was really no sun, Zexion found it to be quite hot outside; even the wind was warm. Well, it seemed his mother was right. But honestly, he had not planned to come outside like this. He walked down their driveway and out into the street, seeing several people there. One of the people noticed him immediately, and waved to him, carrying a box inside the house and then coming back out. He walked over to where Zexion was, grinning.

"So, I suppose you're out next door neighbor?" the person asked.

"Yes," was Zexion's curt answer.

The boy held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Demyx," he introduced himself.

Zexion did not take his hand. Demyx looked hurt. His arm fell back down by his side limply. "Aren't you at least going to tell me your name?"

Zexion's lips drew into a fine line. He shook his head slightly.

"Aw, please? We are neighbors, after all," said Demyx.

Zexion groaned. He just wanted him to friggin' shut up! "Zexion."

"What?"

"Zexion," he repeated. "It's my name."

Demyx grinned. "Well, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" He held out his hand again, thinking the boy would surely do so now.

Zexion arched an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

Demyx whistled nervously as he took his hand and scratched the back of his head instead. Well, he sure looked like an idiot now. He decided he might as well make himself look even more idiotic. "So…how old are you, Zexion?" he asked.

Zexion stared at the blond. Was he serious? Zexion was prepared to go back inside his house and read until his eyes bled. Now that he had even met one of his new neighbors, he had no further desire to see any of them. They were all probably like him, anyway. Stupid idiots. "What are you doing?" Zexion asked.

"Making small talk; trying to find out a little bit about one of the people I'll be living next door to now," said Demyx. "By the way, I'm 18."

Zexion blinked. He sure did not care for this person. So annoying. "Small talk?" said Zexion, pursing his lips together. "I hate small talk." He then added, "But just to inform you, because you'll probably never leave me alone until I tell you—I'm 17, and will be turning 18 in two weeks."

"Oh, so you're just a little younger than me then, huh?" Demyx said. It seemed he was unable to comprehend that Zexion really did not like him. "Huh, that's funny, because you're quite a bit shorter than I am."

Oh, Demyx, that was obviously the wrong thing to say! But see, Demyx was somewhat of an idiot, and he most definitely was a bit oblivious when it came to certain things. Oh, like when he should learn to keep his mouth shut and such…

"I am at a perfectly normal height for my age," said Zexion. "You…you are just some big buffoon that resembles a giraffe with a mullet."

Demyx gawked at Zexion. "Did you seriously just say that?!"

Zexion looked Demyx up and down, his arms crossed. "Yes."

Demyx's shoulders slumped. Well, he most certainly had a different neighbor. Well, this would surely be troublesome. He then straightened back up, and looked Zexion right in the eye. "Are you always like this?"

"What do you mean?" said Zexion.

"I mean, do you always treat people this way when you've just met? Do you always insult them and make them feel bad? Are you just that kind of person?"

Zexion looked quite a bit taken aback by that. He had most certainly not expected that. "I…I…hate everything in life," he answered.

And if anything, Demyx had most definitely not expected that. "Y-you hate everything? Surely you don't hate everything."

Zexion tilted his head to the side, thinking. "Well, there are a few exceptions."

"Such as?"

Zexion sneered. "As if I'd honestly, tell you. Now I must be getting back to my reading."

Demyx's ears perked up at this. "Oh, so are books one of the exceptions?"

Before Zexion made it all the way back to his house, he stopped and said quietly, "Yes."

And so, Demyx was left there, all alone, until a girl called to him. "Hey, Demyx, get your lazy ass back over here, or else!"

"Or else what, Larxene?" asked Demyx.

"Don't test me," Larxene said, picking up yet another box and carrying it inside.

Demyx held up a hand in defeat. "All right, all right—I already know not to test you, Larxene."

Meanwhile, Zexion had gone back inside, and let me tell you, he pulled out another book, this time David Copperfield (2), and curled up on the couch, the ceiling fan on. He let out a small yawn before he took a sip of his water. He really did need to fix his sleep problem. He tended to just wake up in the middle of the night, just like the night previous, and was unable to fall asleep once more. It was horrible. Zexion cursed himself over it.

Zexion flipped to the 57th page, and just then, a knock at the door. Zexion scowled as he stared at it. No one should ever interrupt Zexion when he is reading, I tell you—because if you do, things get ugly. Very ugly. Ahem. Moving on…

So Zexion stuck a piece of paper in his book and stood up and walked to the door. It had been not longer than an hour when he had left Demyx outside, and he was hoping he would not have to see the blond anymore, unless it was absolutely necessary. So when he opened up the door, to see the blond standing there, a somewhat goofy grin on his face, Zexion looked at him for but a few seconds, before he slammed the door in his face.

Demyx was left there, bewildered. No really, he would just not stand for this! They were neighbors, for goodness' sake! They were supposed to be friendly to each other, or at least courteous! This was absolute lunacy! So, what did Demyx do, you ask? Why, he rang the doorbell of course. Did he really have any other option?

Knowing who it was, since he had just answered it but seconds ago, Zexion ignored the doorbell, and instead plopped back down on the couch, opening up David Copperfield yet again, and just as he was removing the piece of paper, the doorbell rang again. Zexion's eye twitched. Now, you see, if it is one thing Zexion cannot stand (though, that is most everything, to be honest)…well, something he could not stand the most would be to be interrupted when he was in the middle of reading a damn good book. Now, Demyx had just taken this a step too far. He had gone and knocked on his door, and now he had the audacity to ring the doorbell! TWICE!!! Well, obviously, this must be stopped. There was honestly no other option.

But Zexion decided to wait, because he figured, surely the blond would go away—for Zexion had no intention of answering that door and hear that idiotic blond speak once more. No, he would much prefer to sit here and read David Copperfield. A much better option, to be sure. But…you see, Demyx would not relent. He rang the doorbell a third time, and then a fourth time, and a fifth time—and then he knocked on the door again. You could almost see a vein about to burst in Zexion's forehead, and his eye's twitching had increased tenfold. Ooh! I believe smoke is beginning to come out of his head!

And now the door had been knocked four times, and the doorbell rang thirteen times, and then finally, Demyx yelled out, "Come out, Zexion! I know you're in there! Geez, you opened the door, for cryin' out loud! Come on—I need something. And we need to get the rest of the furniture in our house! You're holding us up."

Surely, Zexion could take no more. He set David Copperfield aside, and stood up and walked to the door, and threw it open, a gush of wind blowing in, ruffling his hair. Demyx looked increasingly relieved. He let out a sigh. "Finally, you've come."

"Don't push it," said Zexion in a bored manner. After all, this blond was too trivial to be worth his time.

Demyx held up a hand in defeat. "All right, Zexion. I just came over here to ask if we could borrow your glue. Something broke, and we're trying to fix it, and we can't find the glue yet. Things are a bit hectic—moving and all, you know." Demyx smiled; it fell at Zexion's cold glare.

"You dare to ask me to borrow our glue?" he asked.

Demyx nodded slightly. "Yeah, yeah, that's pretty much it."

"No," was all Zexion said.

"Why the hell not? You have glue, don't you?" asked Demyx.

"Of course we do. But it is simply too precious to be wasted on such a trivial person as you," said Zexion, sneering slightly.

Now, Demyx looked downright hurt. "You know, Zexion, you don't have to be so damn mean all the time. I'm only asking you for a favor here." Demyx then added, "And besides, I won't leave you alone until you give me your glue."

Immediately, the vein was seen again. The mere thought of it made Zexion's blood curdle. "Fine," he said and then slammed the door shut. A moment later, he returned with the glue, throwing it open harshly. "All right, here's your fucking glue, now get the fuck out of my face."

But Demyx seemed unhurt by his words this time. Perhaps he was getting used to Zexion's way, by now? Perhaps. "Thank you, Zexion, I'll return it later."

Zexion was about to shout out, "Just keep it! I'd rather not see you again!" But decided not to. After all, he wanted to get back to David Copperfield.

Now Zexion had read 207 pages of David Copperfield, when a knock came at the door. Hoping dearly that it was not the idiotic blond, he slid the piece of paper in his book and stood up, walking to the door yet again. Well, his hope was lost now. There stood Demyx, the same goofy grin on his face, with the glue in his hand.

"Hey, Zexion, I'm sorry it took so long, and we used a lot of the glue, because it just never looked right. But if you'd like, I could go out and buy you some more glue."

Zexion blinked several times as he stared at Demyx. "Please don't."

"Don't what?" Demyx cocked his head to the side, confused. It seemed like he was confused a lot whenever he was around Zexion. It seemed like all in all, Zexion was just a rather confusing person. Well, not really—he was basically sending out hate waves to Demyx, but Demyx seemed quite oblivious to them—well, mostly, anyway.

"Don't buy me any more glue—I wish to see you as minimal as humanly possible—which hopefully means never again after I shut the door in your face," said Zexion, glancing at his watch. He then glanced back up at Demyx. "Which is now."

As Zexion took one step from the door, loud knocking was heard, and Demyx called out, "You forgot the glue!"

With a small growl, Zexion turned back around and opened the door, and snatched the glue from Demyx, and then slammed the door in his face yet again. Oh, poor little Demyx…

It was later in the day, and Zexion was quite well into David Copperfield when the door opened. His eyes shot up and looked at the door. For a split second, he thought that idiot Demyx had just broken in. But he let out a small sigh when he realized it was just his mom. He closed his book as she spoke to him. "So, Zexion, our new neighbors moved in today, I see," she commented as she set her purse and keys on the counter, opening up the fridge to get some water.

Zexion rolled his eyes. "Yeah," was all he said.

She closed the refrigerator and drank a sip of her water. She walked into the living room and sat down beside Zexion. "They seem like really nice people; I met them."

Zexion's eyes bugged wide slightly at this. Was she honestly serious? How on earth could she think they were nice at all? Truthfully, he had only met one of them—but that was obviously enough to tell just what kind of people they were! Insane and idiotic! Yes, they truly were. Well, the big blockhead of a blond, anyway. Zexion remained quiet. He didn't want to get his mom all riled up now, you know.

"Anyway, I invited them over for dinner. So we best hurry up and prepare it now; I'll need your help," were the few simple words she said. But to Zexion, they seemed like a death sentence.

His mouth was wide, his eyes just as wide, and his brain seemed to just be full of fuzz, unable to process anything besides the words his mother had just uttered. "A-are…you serious?" he asked.

His mother nodded, standing back up to head off to the kitchen once more. "I most certainly am, Zexion. And you better behave yourself. None of your…weirdness around them, all right? Don't act as if you hate everything—like you normally do."

Now, Zexion's mouth was even wider. Perhaps he should add his mother to the list of the things he cannot stand? "I am not weird, Mom! And I do not hate everything!"

"Like what?"

"You…" said Zexion slowly, "and books…and cold pizza." A pause. "And water," he added.

His mother whistled. "Wow, big list there, Zexion."

Zexion was now growing desperate. "But, Mom, I met one of the boys that lives there! Believe me, they're crazy idiotic people! DO NOT GET MIXED UP WITH THEM!!" he warned.

Obviously, his mother simply shrugged him off. "Oh, do you mean Demyx? Why, I think he's a fine boy. Very nice, polite, and he has the greatest smile." His mother began to get dinner ready. "And I know someone else that has a positively wonderful smile…but I feel like I never get to see it anymore."

Zexion sighed. "I still smile, Mom."

"Well, if you do, I never see it then." His mother shrugged. "Anyway, I expect you to be on good behavior tonight. Because if you don't, I'll take away your books."

Zexion looked absolutely horrified. "You wouldn't dare!"

"I would," said his mother before she began to whistle again, turning on the stove.

"You…you are pure evil."

"Tell me something I don't already know, Zexion."

And so, the horrible dinner was nearly here. And Zexion had had to go and help his mother make it, too. She was positively insane! And evil, too. How could she even dare threaten Zexion with his books? It was…it was positively blasphemous! Oh, his mother was a demon in human form. Yes, yes, she was. She most definitely was being added to the "I Can't Stand" list. Uh-huh, she was.

Anyway, dinner would just need to be cooked a few more minutes, and then it would be ready. Zexion plopped down on the couch, and just at the precise moment, someone had to go and ring the doorbell. Surely it was the evil family.

"Zexion, could you get that for me, honey?" his mother called from the kitchen.

Zexion groaned and stood back up. He walked to the door yet again, and opened it up, not in the slightest surprised to see Demyx there, as well as three other people. All of them had blond/e hair, just like that goof Demyx.

Demyx spoke immediately, "Hey there, Zexion, thank you for having us over for dinner!"

"It is not me you should thank; that would be my mom. If it were left up to me—"

"Oh, you all have arrived!" said Zexion's mother, interrupting him as she emerged from the kitchen, an apron still around her waist. "I'm so glad you all could make it here for dinner tonight. Do you have everything all sorted in your house now?"

"Oh, everything's in the house now, but it's quite chaotic," answered a woman, whom Zexion presumed was Demyx's mother. "Most of everything is still in boxes. We're going to try to sort through more of it tonight, and hopefully do a lot more tomorrow."

And so, Zexion decided to take this as his leave, and escaped from the little group of people, and went back over to the couch, glaring at nothing in particular. Luckily for Zexion, Demyx decided to come over and sit by the boy, until dinner was ready, while Zexion's mother and his parents talked. His sister, Larxene, had wandered off somewhere…and Demyx was not even exactly sure where she had gone off.

"So, Zexion, do you enjoy school?" Demyx asked. Honestly, he had thought up something…really great to say when he headed over to talk to Zexion, but for some reason, when he got there, it just buzzed out, and he could no longer remember.

"It is the root of all evil," said Zexion, as if he were talking about the weather or something as simple as that. "The only good thing about it is English."

"So you like English, then?"

Zexion nodded, crossing his arms even tighter. He needed to turn the air up; it was getting increasingly hot in here.

"By the way, how old are you, Zexion?" Demyx asked looking at what Zexion was glaring at.

Zexion furrowed his brows together. "You already asked me that earlier…"

Demyx scratched the back of his head in confusion, grinning slightly. "Oh, well, it must have slipped my mind then. So…how old are you then?"

Zexion just decided to succumb and answer all his idiotic questions. Really, the boy was an idiot for sure now. He did not even remember he had asked Zexion the same question but hours ago. "I will be turning 18 in two weeks, all right? Try and remember it this time, all right? I know it may be hard for you, since you surely have so few brain cells and it is obviously much harder for you to remember and learn things then it is for other people. I know, I know—but I do not take pity on you, believe me." (3)

Demyx simply stared at Zexion for a few seconds. Finally, he said, "You know, you are a very mean person."

Zexion's eyes grew wide at this. Who on earth did this blond punk think he was?! How could he…how could he just be so blunt like that?! It was…it was…utter lunacy! "Wow, blunt much?"

Demyx sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But I've just noticed that you…tend to insult me a lot—and I just think that there may be something behind it. I'm sorry…I was insensitive."

Zexion stared at Demyx incredulously. "You're right."

"About what?"

"That you were insensitive. And besides that, there is nothing behind it, I assure you! I just…hate stupid things—and let me tell you, you bring my insults on yourself."

Demyx merely grinned. "Well, I assure you that there's something behind it—and there's probably a nice side to you after all. I mean, you like English, right? You obviously don't hate everything."

Luckily for Zexion, his mother called out that dinner was now ready, and he slowly trudged to the dining room. Larxene suddenly appeared out of nowhere—no one knew where on earth she had gone. When she spotted Zexion, her eyes immediately glinted evilly. "Oh, so you're this Zexion my little brother has been talking about so much..."

"Little brother?" Zexion questioned.

"By only a few minutes," Demyx clarified.

"You two…are twins?"

Demyx nodded.

Zexion looked to the ceiling. "Oh, Heaven help us!"

"Zexion, behave," his mother sang as she sat down in a chair, pointing at Zexion's chair, implying he better sit down now or else she would seriously get angry. Now, there was no reason for that. So, Zexion took his seat quietly. To his horror, he was sitting across from Larxene, her eyeing him like a shark, and he was sitting right beside Demyx. Zexion decided his mother put him in the worst possible situation ever. She was pure evil. She most definitely was going on his "I Can't Stand" list now. No doubt about it now. So, that would only leave books…cold pizza…and water. Big list there, Zexion.

Anyway dinner was going along rather smoothly. Zexion refused to talk unless he was spoken to, and only then would he nod his head or some small movement like that. He refused to speak. He would act as if he could not speak. He refused to talk to the dumb blond anymore. Now really…how could he have honestly forgotten that he had asked him that same question earlier? It was completely idiotic!

"So, Zexion, do you like sports?" Demyx suddenly asked.

Zexion simply shook his head. He was refusing to speak, I tell you!

"How come?"

Oh, Demyx had now gone and done it! He had had to ask a question that required an answer to be spoken! "I…just don't like them," Zexion muttered.

"Oh, you sure? What sports have you tried?" Demyx continued to go down the road of sports.

"Basketball," Zexion mumbled quietly.

"Basketball, huh? Well, you probably didn't like it because you're not quite tall enough for it, Zexion," Demyx said. Now, Demyx really did never know when he should not say something he should not, and this tended to anger Zexion. A lot.

"I am not too short for it," Zexion ground out. "I simply did not care for it."

"Well, I say you should try soccer, Zexion. I think it would fit you well."

Zexion grumbled something under his breath. Demyx did not hear; Zexion's mother did. She looked at him incredulously; Zexion turned away. Dinner then resumed with neither Zexion nor Demyx speaking to one another.

Now, dinner was over with, and dessert was just being served. Zexion's eye twitched. Why did his mom have to go and make a chocolate cake? He hated chocolate! It was definitely on the "I Can't Stand" list. And it was near the top, as well. Vanilla was obviously superior to chocolate. Anyone who thought else wise obviously had no sense of taste.

"Wow, I love chocolate. Thanks so much, Mrs. Lovelace! (4)" said Demyx, grinning widely.

…Case in point.

Zexion sighed as he stared at the chocolate cake. Another thing he hated was his last name. Now really…what kind of surname was Lovelace? It was…it was completely outrageous! He sighed yet again. His mother then cut him a piece, and to his surprise, it was vanilla. "Half of it's chocolate and half is vanilla, Zexion. I know how much you detest chocolate—I am your mother, after all."

Zexion looked up at his mother, and smiled at her. "Thanks, Mom." Well…maybe his mother would not end up on the list after all.

"You have a nice smile, Zexion," Demyx commented lightly. He then put a fork-full of cake in his mouth. Ah, delicious! he thought.

Zexion stopped, fork in mid-air and his mouth slightly left open. All right…he most certainly had not been expecting that. What did that doofus Demyx think he was doing?! Zexion's stony cold stare remained intact as he looked at Demyx (who seemed to be entirely oblivious to it), but it was undeniable that there…was the slightest bit of color on Zexion's cheeks that had not been there previously.

Before Zexion could even reply to this, Demyx spoke yet again. "So, Zexion, how come you don't like chocolate?"

The comment about his smile was now completely forgotten, as Zexion yet again remembered how much of an idiot Demyx really was. "Well, it is honestly too rich, and does not have nearly as good a taste as vanilla does, which is obviously superior."

"Well, that's your opinion," Demyx said, taking another bite of his delicious chocolate cake.

"No, it is not my opinion, it is a fact. And anyone that believes otherwise obviously has no sense of taste."

"Well, that sounds like you're being a bit ridiculous then, am I right?"

"No, I do not sound ridiculous at all," said Zexion, taking the last bite of his cake. He set his fork down, and with one last sip of his water, stood up and said, "May I be excused?"

"No," was his mother's simple reply.

Zexion's eyes bugged wide. Why on earth would she say that? Was she out of her mind?! "How come?"

"Because I want you to stay here and converse kindly with our new neighbors," she said simply.

With a huff, Zexion sat back down, quite pissed off, indeed. He was prepared to read more of David Copperfield! After all, it was the summer, so no school meant more reading, which meant joy. Demyx had now finished his cake as well.

Mrs. Lovelace decided to have a bit of fun. "All right, Zexion, you may be excused—" Zexion looked at her with hope, "—with Demyx." His hope immediately crashed down around him. "And you two have to talk, get to know each other a bit better. All right?"

Zexion did not stand up.

"Why aren't you leaving, Zexion?"

"I'd rather stay here."

"Well, you already asked to be excused—so you must do it now. Now get along, little Zexion."

Zexion froze at the last part of what his mother had said. Now really…why did she have to go and do that? Puh-lease! Despite what he honestly wanted to do, Zexion stood up and left the room, Demyx doing the same a few seconds later. They met in the living room and sat down on the couch. Zexion's arms and legs were crossed tightly...it seemed he often did this to control his anger. While Demyx, on the hand, looked loose and comfortable. A few moments of awkward silence went by painfully, until finally Demyx decided he might as well be the one to break it.

"So, Zexion, have you lived here all your life?"

"No," Zexion answered rather quickly. "We moved here from Twilight Town…five years ago."

"Really, why?"

There was a moment's silence. "After…my father took off, Mom wanted to go somewhere else; somewhere new, to get a fresh start."

Demyx looked heartbroken. "Zexion, I'm so sorry."

Zexion laughed. "Really, I do not need your pity. I'm quite used to it. Besides, he wasn't all that great. Good riddance when he left, in my opinion."

Demyx decided it would be best to change the subject. "So really now, Zexion, I think you would be good at soccer. When the new school year starts, why don't you try out?"

"No thank you," said Zexion scornfully.

"Why not? What is your reason for not doing it?"

"I look down with scorn on all sports. The human body is not made for all these dangerous things. Like ice skating, for instance. Why the hell should we go on the ice? Yeah, and that's only one of them. What about gymnastics? Yeah, good luck breaking your neck there."

Demyx sighed. "You know, Zexion, not everything is so bad in life. And not all sports are evil. I really…wish you could see that."

"Whatever."

"Well…I'll try my best to show you, okay?"

"Whatever." It was then that Zexion just decided to say "whatever" to anything Demyx said. Yes, it was quite a time saver, indeed.

"So…what things do you like, Zexion? I want to here how long the list is," said Demyx, and there was the slightest bit of teasing behind his tone.

Zexion was appalled. How dare he! Oh, he would get him for this! His list was not all that short, you know. "W-well…books—a-and—and my mom, and cold pizza…and water." Zexion knew he was missing something. "And vanilla."

"Is that it?"

Zexion was shocked. Well, perhaps the list was rather short after all. "N-no! Of course there's more—you just so rudely interrupted me so I could not finish my wonderfully long list!" What wonderfully long list?! Zexion thought, panicked. That stupid blond! What have I gotten myself into now?! "I-I like the cold," Zexion added. Yes, when he did think about it…he much preferred it to the hot weather. "And I like toast. And Wuthering Heights, and Anna Karenina (5)—and Uncle Tom's Cabin (6), and any book by Charles Dickens, really. And Jane Austen (7). She's good too."

Demyx laughed. "All right, now you're just mentioning all your favorite books."

"Books are completely legitimate!" Zexion objected. "They happen to be my favorite things, so if you want to hear the list, then just but out!"

Demyx grinned, nodding his head. "Go on," he said, "I want to hear your other favorite books."

So Zexion went on and listed off all his favorite books (which was clearly a long list, you know), and by the time he was finished, Larxene and their parents came out.

"Well, we really must be going now," said Demyx's mother. "Thank you for having us over, and your meal was most wonderfully delicious. When we get things a bit more fixed up, we will really have to have you over some time."

"That would be lovely," said Zexion's mother. Zexion rolled his eyes.

They all headed to the door, and before he was gone, Demyx turned around to look at Zexion and grinned, waving. "Goodbye, Zexion! See you tomorrow!"

"I hope not," Zexion muttered under his breath.

And then he was gone.

---

It was the next day, early in the morning, and Zexion was not having the best morning in the world. Truthfully, he had gotten plenty of sleep last night, but that had nothing to do with it in the slightest. He was pissed because they were out of cold pizza (well, pizza in general, to be honest), and his mother would not let him order another one. Instead, Zexion was given pancakes to him by his mother.

"I hate pancakes," Zexion complained, staring down at the pancake that had a smiley face on it made out of blueberries.

"Well, I love them…and you have tended to skip breakfast lately, or only eat a piece of toast or something. How was I supposed to know you'd want a bigger breakfast today?" His mother drank a long sip of her coffee. "Man, I don't want to go to work!"

"Fine, just stay here then and get fired and no longer get money to support yourself or your son," Zexion said dryly, drinking some orange juice.

Her shoulders slumped. "All right, I'll go—but Zexion would you please get the paper for me before I go?" she asked.

Zexion grumbled but did so; after all, he was not really looking forward to eating pancakes. Perhaps he would just eat a whole bunch of toast and strawberries—it most definitely was a lot better than a happy face stack of pancakes. Well, in Zexion's opinion, anyway. But to Zexion, his opinion was always true…no matter what.

He went outside to the end of their driveway and picked up the newspaper. He grumbled. Why did the newspaper boy always throw it at the very end of the driveway? They had a long driveway, and that was quite a long walk. He was most definitely going to add him to the "I Can't Stand" list. He most certainly deserved it.

As Zexion was prepared to head back inside, someone called out to him. "Hey there!" Zexion turned to see it was Demyx, and the blond came running up to him.

"Oh, shit," Zexion muttered.

Demyx smiled broadly. "I just moved in here. We haven't met yet. My name's Demyx, what's yours?" Demyx asked, holding out his hand.

Zexion did not take it, just like last time. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I want to introduce myself to you, we are new neighbors, after all. Nextdoor neighbors and all that jazz," said Demyx, still smiling.

"What sick game are you playing at? I met you yesterday, and you're a big pain in the ass."

Demyx looked thoroughly confused. He furrowed his brows as his hand dropped to his side limply. "We…have never met before."

Zexion's eyes widened slightly as he stared into Demyx's blue eyes. What…on earth was going on here?

1 - Wuthering Heights—the only novel by Emily Brontë. It is a most wonderful book—and one of my favorites.

2– David Copperfield, one of the many wonderful books by Charles Dickens. I will be reading it soon. :)

3– I have to honestly say that I have been watching too many Scrubs episodes lately. xD I made him sound a lot like Dr. Cox here. Oh, I just love Dr. Cox and Scrubs so much! –Faints from happiness-

4 – LOL. My sister used to take harp lessons from this guy named William Lovelace. I always laugh out loud whenever I think of that surname. It cracks me up. And I decided to give it to Zexion…to torture him even further, of course. ;)

5– Anna Karenina, a novel by Leo Tolstoy. Yet again, I have to read it, but I want to read it very soon. :) I need more time. X-X

6– Uncle Tom's Cabin—a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. My mom loves this book, and I want to read it soon as well.

Next chapter: Meh… I don't feel like giving away things for the next chappy. LOL. So instead, I will give you this: "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME NOW!!" Zexion finally shouted, his hands opting to go in the air. Zexion had wanted to grasp them around Demyx's neck, but his hands had objected so much, that ultimately Zexion ended up giving in. The hands cried in triumph as he threw them in the air. "After watching a movie, you watch the credits! You do not speak during them—and you most certainly do not leave during them, like everyone else in this damn theater! So I would like to watch the credits in peace!" And that is from the next chapter, folks. Don'tcha just love Zemyx? XD

All right, so that's the first chappy. :) I can't think of a good name for Zexion's mom. If any of you guys have an idea for her name—please leave so in your review. ;) I would love to hear your ideas!

Anyway, that's it. :D Hope to see you guys again in two weeks! And don't forget to review! Buh-bye. :)