A/N: It's been a long time, FF! Sorry, I've been falling deeper and deeper into original work and Homestuck that I hadn't felt motivated to write in some time. I've been bitten by desire though, and now I present an AkuRoku for the sheer nostalgia I have for the pairing. This is the introductory chapter, short and sweet. I can't say for the rest of it, sadly. Also, fair warning, the rating will bump up over time, for the better or the worse.
Thank you! And reviews are greatly appreciated. You guys motivate me ridiculously so.
Axel stands at six foot two, with loud hair and a bruised right eye, the color of plastic figurines when a child melts them together. His tooth on the far left is chipped and his nose seems to be in a permanent state of broken. His eyes feel incredibly dry until he sneezes. The noise startles the girl beside him. Axel flings her a sheepish smile with chapped lips before he's wrapping his scarf tightly around his mouth and throat. The boy to his right laughs. Axel notes from the corner of his eye how the male's shoulders rise and fall steadily. Nobody makes a comment, nobody acknowledges the event, nobody makes a sound.
The bus arrives ten minutes later than usual, and as a way of apology, Axel lets the girl he scared earlier board before him, following silently. The bus driver spares him a glance, if only for his blaring color of melting plastic. He must smell like it too, he notes before swiping his card and walking to the back. There's nobody waiting for him there. And nobody greets him with a small smile of white teeth and bright oceans. Axel doesn't smile back, sits three seats away from nobody and pretends to listen intently to nothing. Nobody sits beside him and silently listens to nothing too.
The bus moves slowly in the winter and Axel arrives to school thirty minutes late. He doesn't know where he finds the energy, but he drags his legs just as slow as the bus to first period. His pants are soaked from the snow and his toes burn in a way they shouldn't. The teacher looks up when he enters, as do a choice few, offers him an eyebrow and receives a tardy pass with equal communication. Nobody isn't here, and the room is overbearing in whispers. Demyx summons him, and Axel praises Jesus for salvation.
"You are so late."
"Thanks for the update, genius," he snickers back, falling into line and sitting next to the male. Demyx shoots him a grin, reloads and shoots him again. Axel fires back with just as much fire power. "It's not like I missed much anyways."
"Anyway. It's not like you missed much anyway."
"Sure."
Lunch is uneventful, or so Axel likes to think. He grabs his bag out of the rusting locker, and watches as nobody approaches him. He doesn't say word, keeps his lips tightly sealed with hard lines. He'd rather be alone, so he turns sharply on his heels and walks into the cafeteria. Nobody follows silently behind him.
Axel sits, Axel eats, and Axel talks. He watches nobody with the edge of his eye, away at the corner of the table. Someone remarks on the ugly figurines around his face but he only half listens, laughs it off as a stupid incident that involved him and a couple of stairs. Demyx wonders aloud if it only was a "couple" and soon laughs are ringing the room and nobody doesn't laugh. Axel's cheeks hurt.
The day goes relatively smoothly. He ignores his teachers; he eats lunch with a bunch of losers, and he cackles when Saix attempts to explain to him that his rude behavior isn't going to make their science project go any smoother. When ninth rolls around, Axel has forgotten the day already and as he walks out of the class room, his name is called one final time.
Green meets blue when the eyes of Mr. Irino lands on him, narrowing in almost childlike delight. Axel finds himself a bit put off by his eyes. They remind him of something. The older male gestures for a seat and Axel finds his ass firmly planted on a chair as the teacher clasps his hands together. "How are you, Axel?"
Axel lets his long legs stretch, swallowing the floor before he shrugs and offers the brunette a grin. "Great, teach. Wassup?"
"You look tired."
"I feel tired."
"What happened to your eye?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing."
Mr. Irino leans back and though he's young, the chair groans in protest. Nobody notes it aloud. Axel cracks a small smile. "Alright, but you know, if there's something you want to talk about…"
"Nobody."
"What?"
"There's nobody I want to talk about."
"I said something."
Axel just laughs, something from deep in his chest and the teacher is laughing with him. Must be something in the air, nobody jokes and Axel is telling the male that yes, he's fine, and yes, he'll be on time for first period tomorrow and that it's been a long day and he'd give anything to just go home. The teacher gives him a smack on the back in good faith and Axel is out the door, out the building, in the snow and trudging home. Demyx follows until three blocks from Axel's home and splits with the excuse that his mom is cooking. He's left alone with nobody as he opens the door, calls out a greeting to no one in particular. His shoes are thrown haphazardly on the floor and he's removing his pants on the way up the stairs. It's thrown on the desk chair and the moment Axel's head makes contact with the pillow, he opens a single green eye and looks at the sky. The sky narrows as the mouth attached to the face laughs with it.
"Don't you get bored following me around all day?"
"Not necessarily," nobody answers. "Though Demyx is a lot more entertaining in the mornings. Did you know he sings ABBA when he showers?"
Axel groans, rolling his head to the side to avoid looking at anything. "That's something I don't really need to know." The laugh is in the air again, quieter and out of breath. It gets Axel to look up again, gets him to make contact with bright blue and clean white. Contact with perfect teeth and skin the color of melted plastic forks instead of Axel's melted plastic everything.
There's a thick silence and soon Axel hears the tune of a misplaced voice, like it's lagging behind and it's so surreal that sometimes Axel wants to laugh and other times he wants to cry. Neither happen. "I'm sorry about your eye."
It takes all of Axel's will to pull his head from the soft hold of the pillow and glance at something. Something. There's a smile there, but sincerity that Axel can trace with his eyes and he lets himself mirror the small movement of muscles on his lips.
"It happens to the best of us. What fucking ever, man."
"Still, running into a sudden closed door is not something anyone can brag about."
"Maybe next time, you'll warn me before you start haunting the place up."
"It wasn't my fault, it just happened." The laugh floats like ringing bells and Axel rests his head on his elbows to listen to it properly.
Nobody smiles at Axel and floats about, sits cross legged in the air and rests his chin on his palm, like there's something holding something up. Axel never gets tired of it.
Thing is, Axel stands at six foot two, with loud hair and a bruised right eye, the color of plastic figurines when a child melts them together. His tooth on the far left is chipped and his nose seems to be in a permanent state of broken. And one more thing.
He can see ghosts.
Nobody laughs, as if the little shit can hear his internal monologue.