Hi There! This is xxDarexMe, or Harly if you prefer. I got the plot bunny for this story (which isn't complete, of course.) from one of my best friends. I hope that it's alright and that there aren't too many mistakes in it. This is the first fanfic I've published in.. I don't even know how long.. But if you can, R&R!
-Harly
Axel Layre was lying out on the cold cement of the sidewalk outside his high school, waiting for either his mother to get sober enough to come pick him up, or for it to be 5:30 so he could call his best friend, Demyx, for a ride. The first wasn't likely to happen, so he lay down, hoping to fall asleep and kill some time. He took his crappy cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open
"5:23" He sighed, "Not too much longer I suppose."
His malachite eyes drifted back to the early evening sky, which was barely starting to streak with pink and orange. His school day hadn't been anything really special. He had his usual torture of Government first period with a bunch of morons he didn't really care for. He only did his work because he needed it to graduate. Second period started his musical reprieve of the day, Chorus, followed by Free Musical Study, Music Theory and then Musical Interpretation. It was the only good part of his day. Then he had lunch, where he sat in the corner with Demyx and picked at the schools food, which he got for free. Then his shitty English class with Mr. Saix Lanwoulf, A highly feared and never respected man. Then AP Calculus; Axel secretly enjoyed math. Then he was done. He normally would stay late and strum on his bass and sing a few tunes before retreating to the devastation that was his home.
An odd blast of guitar chords and angry men caught him off guard. He picked up his cell phone and flipped it open.
"Heya Dem." He drawled slightly. He had almost fallen asleep.
"Hiya buddy!" Demyx screamed back. Dem wasn't one to keep quiet, with his voice or with his music. Currently his jam was Azure Ray. Axel could tell by the dark, heavy bass. He could feel the beat through his phone. "Need a ride?"
"You stupid? Of course I do" Axel retorted with a grin on his face.
"Be there in five asswipe!" He heard the music stop abruptly and knew the phone call was over.
Axel was staring out the window of Demyx's huge ass hippie bus. Its name was Merribelle, and it was ancient. It was a wonder the beast still moved. The only thing Dem had changed about her was that he had installed a new sound system. Now the beast had a roar.
"What eating you man? Normally you're quiet, but not like this." Demyx looked over to his friend briefly, before making a turn down Axel's street.
"Just Ma, as usual." He sighed slightly. "But you know how it gets. "Oh I'm getting better dear! I've been sober for three days!" Then BAM! Right back to the coke she goes." Axel's eyes strayed down to his faded and ripped blue jeans.
"I gotcha buddy, If you ever need a place to crash for a few days, Good Ole' Mom and Herb never give a damn." Demyx smiled over to the redhead, hoping to cheer him up.
"I might be over later tonight. Depends on how trashed my mom is." He tried to smile back at his friend, but his house was coming up rapidly. It really killed his mood. Demyx stopped the monster of a van and Axel pushed the door hard to let himself out.
"I'll talk to you later man!" Axel called from his front steps, before taking a deep breath and opening the beige door in front of him. The first thing he heard was the crash of glass as a vase hit the door frame beside him. "Holy shit Ma, it's just me!" the redhead threw up his hands in surrender.
A slurred voice came from the same direction the vase did. "Oh my, baby I'm sorry, come here give Mama a hug." His mother, Lydia Layre, stood at about 5' 4''. She was once beautiful, but drugs had inked circles under her eyes, and sadness in her walk.
Axel sighed and thought to himself "At least it's just vodka tonight. Must mean she's got money." He wrapped his long arms around his small mother and gave her a tight squeeze. "Listen Mom, I'm probably going to head over to Dem's in a few hours, okay? I don't want you to drink too much more tonight though." He looked down at the little redheaded woman, who was pouting like a child.
"But Axelll, Jeremy is coming over tonight and we wanna get rowdy." She whined. Axel hated her like this. She was more of a teenager than he was. And besides, Jeremy was her dealer/fuck buddy.
"Only if Jeremy spends the night, and you call me when you go to bed. I don't care how fucked up you are, just call me." Axel sighed and hugged his mother close.
"You take such good care of me honey" She drawled and then shuffled off to pass out on the sofa.
"But I shouldn't have to…" Axel sighed and walked into the kitchen, dumping his bookbag down on the floor next to the table. Strolling over to the fridge, he opened the door and took out a can of cheap grape soda. Flipping the tab up he cracked open the can with a soft hiss. The redhead took a sip of the drink before sighing and putting it down on the counter. For the third time in the last few hours he stared out a window to look up at the sky. "What if I could fly… just… get up and float above the heavens?" He thought aloud.
He thought he heard someone whisper "Anything is possible with your imagination…"
Axel whipped around, trying to locate the voice, but he didn't see anyone. From the opposite side of the house, he heard a loud thump and a snore, which meant his mother had fallen from the couch onto the floor, but Axel didn't care.
He wanted to find that voice again.
After lying around the house for a while, Axel decided that it was time to head to Demyx's. Jeremy and his mother were in the bedroom down the hall, but it didn't mean that he couldn't hear them in his own room. He took his cell out of his pocket and dialed Dem.
"Dude, I'm going to puke my brains out. Get me the fuck out of here." Axel whined. All he heard was a chuckle and a click, signaling the end of the call.
15 minutes later, Demyx's horn was beeping loudly outside. Grabbing a bag that he left permanently packed for Dem's house, he ran out the door and opened the sliding door of the van and yelled "DRIVE MOTHERFUCKER!"
And of course, Demyx's sweet Merribelle could only go about 60 on a good day, so he drove away at a calm 30mph.
"I could hear them again." The redhead shuddered and pulled his knees to his chest. "So fucking disgusting"
Demyx only laughed again and turned off of Axel's street onto his own. Dem's house was a modest two bedroom house on the street perpendicular to Axel's. That's really how they first met. A few years ago, when Axel's mother had still been clean, she took him to meet the boy that had moved in around the corner. There Axel met, with his ever present mullethawk, the blonde moron that would come to be his best friend.
Hopping out of Merribelle, the two teens walked up the steps of the wrap around porch and into the house. Demyx's mother, Chelsea, was in the kitchen, dumping whatever she had attempted to cook into the garbage. "I take it we're ordering out, huh Ma?" Demyx teased her and she flipped him off with a smirk.
That's why Axel loved going over to Demyx's. It was there that he had learned to play bass, and he had come to learn and love music in general. Dem's mom and step dad were the people to give Axel his first bass; which he promptly named Lola. Unfortunately, after his mother's addiction started, Lola had been one of the first things that had been taken from him. She had been pawned away for drug money.
"Axel, my man!" A hard clap on the back made the teen wince, but smirk all the same.
"Herb, what's up you bastard?" Axel turned on his heel to catch the raven haired man in a headlock.
"Oh you know, the usual. I guess your mom's got her favorite buddy over tonight, am I right?"
"You got her shit on lock, don't you?" Axel laughed and let him go. "But yeah, in all seriousness they're over there doing the nasty. I could hear them. I was probably going to die."
"Ew dude, TMI" Dem looked over at him from the fridge.
"Herb asked, not my fault bro."
"Oh whatever." Dem rolled his eyes and smiled. "We're probably just going to fuck around and play halo or something all night, kay?" He looked over to the other teen and his parents.
"Yeah sure, Lemme just order a pizza." Chelsea picked up the phone and dialed the number of the local pizza place.
"I'm just glad to get out of there… something freaky went on earlier man, I'll tell you later." Axel whispered to Demyx as the pair walked up a flight of stairs to the blondes bedroom.
Two large pizza's and a 6 pack of grape soda later, Axel remembered what he was going to tell his friend.
"It sounded like some little kid was whispering in my ear. I can't even remember what he said, but it was weird. Like a ghost or something." The redhead leaned over to look at his friend with wide eyes. "Fucking freaky deaky man."
"Are you sure you just didn't have some of your mom's coke by accident?" Dem teased.
"Nah man, this was legit." Axel was serious.
"Well then maybe you're just fucked in the head." The blonde nodded and promptly fell asleep.
"Well how nice of you dearest best friend!" Axel whisper yelled and flipped off the unconscious boy.
"Oh now come on, you know he cares." A voice popped up behind him. For the second time today, Axel whipped around, only to be face to face with a blonde boy, wearing tights and a.. dress?
"Okay.. A) who the hell are you? B) Why are you here and C) What with the dress man?" Axel blinked, looking at the blonde from where he sat.
He almost saw a vein twitch in the other boys head.
"Well, smart aleck. A) My name is Roxas Sky, charming to meet you. B) I'm here because I want to be and C) It's not a damn dress. It's called a TUNIC." He fumed slightly, his ears turning red.
"Oh, my b." Axel sat there and grinned, looking over the smaller male. "Well well… what a cutie… I mean. Shit. He's a dude. And he's probably younger than me… and he flies so I mean- WAIT. HE FLIES." Axel snapped out of his reverie when he saw the boy jump up into the air and fly around the room. A golden speck followed him around, and he heard a pitch of high giggles when he finally caught sight of what the speck was.
A tiny, tiny girl. With wings.
"Did I get into my mother's coke, or am I dreaming. Holy shit." Axel stood up shakily.
"What the hell do you mean? You're not dreaming. You never even fell asleep." Roxas stated as he floated upside down before the other boy.
"Well then, Sir Know it All, enlighten me to my current situation." Axel commented sarcastically.
"Well, I've been spying on you the last few weeks… and you're sad all the time.. cause of your mother." The blonde started and flipped upright and sat on air, criss crossing his legs. "and generally, the Pans help out sad children. But you're not really a child anymore… 18 in a few weeks, isn't that right, Axel?"
The redhead was definitely confused.
"Please explain how you can fly. And why you'd spy on me. And why you care. And… why you're so cute" He winked at the younger boy, watching a stripe of pink grace his cheeks.
"All you need is faith, trust and pixie dust. A happy thought might be helpful too, to answer your first question. I spied on you because you're really an interesting person, and I'm not cute." He huffed out the last answer, the pink still evident on his face.
A slight jingle of bells sounded from across the room, where the gold speck was caught in one of Demyx's curtains.
"Namine, I don't know how many times I've told you to stay out of curtains. You're such a silly fairy." Roxas leaped over to the window and whisked the tiny ball of light from the folds of fabric.
A second chorus of bells greeted Axel's ears, and in turn Roxas laughed. "You're right Nami, it's just about time we get going, now isn't it?" Roxas' Atlantic blue eyes glanced over to the redhead. "Do you have a happy thought?" He questioned.
Axel sat for a moment. He closed his eyes and thought about how it felt to play his bass; the constant plucking of the strings, how the thrum of the instrument seemed to control his heartbeat.
"Yeah… yeah I do" He flashed his teeth in a big grin.
"Good!" Roxas hopped up into the air, carrying Namine in his hand. "Go on Nami, do your stuff!" He threw the ball of light into the air and she set off an angry sharp and flew around Axel. As she did this, gold flecks started to fall off of her wings and onto him.
"What the hell?" Axel looked around before sneezing violently. "Shit…" he rubbed his nose.
"So there's the pixie dust and the happy thought. The rest.. well the rest is up to me." Roxas leaned over and grabbed Axels hand tightly. "Do you think you can trust me?"
Axel gave him a disbelieving look. "Well, you just flew in through my best friend's bedroom window, you're wearing a dress, and you're probably a lunatic… But I don' have any reason not to trust you." He sighed "So yes, I can trust you."
Roxas grinned. "Now you have to have faith in yourself, and in me. And I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that dress comment."
"What, why?" Axel questioned before the felt himself being dragged along the floor towards the window. "Hey WHOA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Roxas jumped out the frame, still holding the other boys hand.
"Faith in me, Faith in you, Now Think your Happy Thought and JUST TRUST ME!" Roxas was straining to hold the other boy up as he flew. "You're heavier than I thought you'd be!"
Axel closed his eyes and thought about the first time he played Lola. How the bass felt in his hands. A smile graced his lips.
"Good. There you go Axel. I told you anything was possible, now didn't I?" Roxas said softly. "Open your eyes…"
Cracking one eyelid, led to the other shooting open. "I'm.. flying?" The sky was a dark midnight blue, and the ground below him was gray-green. The stars shone brightly in the heavens above him, and the face of the moon was a circle of pure silver.
"I told you what I needed to fly. It's pretty much the same for everyone. Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust, and a happy thought never hurt either." Roxas smiled down his companion. "Now hurry up! We've somewhere to be you know!"
"Where in the hell would we have to be?" Axel gave the other boy a confused look.
"Why, the Isles of Never, of course."