Author's Notes: So, my first published story and it's an AkuRoku story. How cliché. I must warn you though, I lived in England for three years. Having said that, the English spellings of words tend to stick to you, so words like "centimetres" and "mesmerise" may look misspelt; however, they're not. My home computer's Word language is set as "English (UK)" actually.
Also, italics indicates a memory/flashback, though I'm sure you could figure that out for yourself. So, with that said, enjoy! :]

--------

The night was young, and the full moon shone brightly into the open window of the only house with a soul awake. The lone boy within that open-windowed room stared blankly at his textured ceiling. He lay above his covers; sleep was nowhere in sight for him that night. His only company was a small teddy bear on his nightstand. The fiery redhead transferred his gaze towards the stuffed animal, fixating on the scarf that wound its way around the bear's neck. Axel had never understood the concept of giving and receiving stuffed toys, but now he thought he could relate a little more. This bear, and the scarf it wore, were a constant reminder of what had happened and of the promise that had been made to him.

Axel leaned over to his nightstand and grabbed the teddy bear from its resting place, settling it upon his stomach. He began to question aloud, as he gave the bear a melancholy look.

"Why'd you have to leave me, Roxas?" he implored unnecessarily. He already knew the answer. However, his question fell upon deaf ears, with no reply from the lifeless toy. Axel almost chuckled at himself.

"See, Roxas? You've been gone so long, I've had to resort to talking to inanimate objects," he tried to joke, waving the bear around. Axel placed the bear next to his hip on his bed, fingering the scarf it was wearing, when suddenly the memory of when he first met Roxas played itself in his head.

---

Axel stared past his maroon skinny jeans to his new pair of Converse with a goofy grin plastered on his face as he walked down the school hallway. His brand-new low-top Chucks were emerald green, the same shade as his eyes. He had been showing them off all morning to every member of his group, and he was currently hunting down his final victim, Larxene. Pacing down the hallway with his eyes set on looking for the blonde, Axel failed to notice the boy walking straight in his path until it was too late.

In a jumble of books, Axel fell onto the boy, knocking the wind from the both of them. The two boys were paralyzed for a moment until Axel was able to catch his breath. He lifted his body from the other boy's and dusted himself off as tried to resume standing.

"Watch where you're going next time!" Axel spat, whilst the other boy rose to his knees, placing his hands on the floor for support.

"I could say the same to you," the boy countered, gaining enough strength to begin collecting his textbooks from the floor.

Axel glared at him, when suddenly he realized that he had no idea who this kid was. The boy was short, and he had blond spiked hair, blue eyes, and a wardrobe that was the complete opposite of his own. He watched as the blonde tried to pack a few of his books into his already overstuffed backpack. Axel searched the floor for some sort of clue as to who this kid was and discovered a school map not seven centimetres from his foot. He bent over to pick it up, when the blonde suddenly snatched it up.

"Hey, you're new, aren't you?" Axel inquired unnecessarily. Any student with a school map halfway through the school year was bound to be new.

"…Yeah, your point?" the blonde responded, stuffing his map into his bag with more force than necessary. Axel could tell the boy was not very fond of him.

"No point, really. Just tryin' to make small talk is all," Axel replied, shrugging. The boy continued to try to cram his bulky textbooks into the limited space of his backpack. Axel watched him as he asked, "Ya need any help there, kid?"

"…First of all, my name isn't kid. It's Roxas," the blonde declared, stopping his task so he could look the redhead in the eyes. "And second of all, no, I can handle it."

Axel stared at Roxas, until the boy resumed his futile efforts and chuckled, "Okay, whatever you say, Roxas." The redhead turned to depart, but quickly halted in his path. "Oh, but before I take my leave, I have a quick question for you. Aren't you going to ask me what my name is?" he queried, moving his hands about as he asked.

Roxas sighed. Even though he had just met the redhead, he knew instinctively that whether he asked or not, he was going to receive an answer, so he questioned unwillingly, "What's your name?"

Axel smirked involuntarily while he spun his head slowly towards the blonde and replied, "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He tapped his forehead as he approached his final words, earning a confused look from Roxas. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a different blonde to search for. Goodbye, Roxas," he waved as he left him on the floor.

"Smartass…" Roxas mumbled.

---

A gentle breeze interrupted Axel's nostalgic memory, forcing him to let out a slight shiver. He glanced over to his open window and watched as his curtains billowed quietly through the air's slow breathing.

"Never woulda thought it'd turn out like this, did ya, Roxas?" he chuckled wistfully. His bed, no longer bringing any comfort to him, was gradually abandoned as he crossed the room towards his open window. Leaning on the windowsill, Axel stared at the cloudy night sky above him. The only cloudless sliver of sky held the glistening full moon. He was slowly mesmerised by the ivory sphere, until slowly Axel no longer saw the pale satellite that normally brightened the sky, but rather a beaming face decorated with a pair of crystal blue orbs.

"Tonight's gonna be a long night…" Axel whispered.