Atypical
Chapter One
Day One and Counting
...
Axel
The first day of school is always my absolute favorite. Watching the terrified freshmen wander the hallways is always very oddly satisfying to me, which may or may not be a bad thing. Xigbar always tells me it's bad, but I just can't help it. The pain and suffering of others fuels me. ...Well, the harmless high school drama at least.
So I always get to the first day of school super early, just to be sure I don't miss anything. I love being in my classroom anyways, it's like my secret sanctum where real life can't reach me. Er, at least not the part where I live in a shitty studio apartment and have no real friends. The school is the one place I feel like I belong.
"Axel, what the hell are you doing?"
I looked down at the Vice Principal, Xemnas, from my current position; standing on top of my desk with my hands on my hips like Superman. It's a little ritual I have for starting the new year. Makes me feel like I really have ownership over my classroom. "Christ, Xem... You scared the hell out of me!"
"...Again, why are you standing on your desk? We just had those cleaned, you know." He leveled his eyes on me and gave me his famous death glare.
"It's a thing I do, just let me have this," I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath, trying to pretend he wasn't standing there in the doorway like a dark omen.
"Do you even care why I'm here?"
He wasn't going to leave... perfect. "I'm going to say yes, but only to protect my job."
"And I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes on me. "Come down from there so we can talk."
Rolling my eyes, I stepped forward and hopped down onto the freshly waxed tile floor, my red Converse squeaking a little bit as I regained my balance. "And what's so important that it couldn't have been discussed in the big meeting we had last week? I thought we covered all the boring shit already."
"We had a last minute request come in from the local college, and the paperwork just got pushed through yesterday. You've been assigned a student teacher. He'll be interning here for the whole school year, working with your morning classes and then going to his college courses in the evening."
My eyes snapped up to meet his and I shook my head, "Ohhh no, no, no. I am not babysitting some little teacher wannabe this year. Do you remember what happened with Xaldin's student teacher two years ago? The guy was a pedophile. He was arrested."
"I can assure you that Roxas isn't a pedophile. He's just a college student who wants to teach English. For some unknown reason, your students seem to really like you, so I figured you could really show him the ropes."
"Welp, there goes my whole year... Ruined. Absolutely ruined. This classroom is my space! I don't want to have to share it with a fucking child!" I paced back and forth in front of my desk, my brain going into overload. "This is a disaster... a total disaster!"
Xemnas cleared his throat, stopping me in my tracks. "Axel, if you're done ranting..." he trailed off, stepping aside and revealing a short blond kid standing behind him.
"...Oh." He'd been there the entire time. Yay for first impressions. "Right. I'm Axel, and I'm a huge jerk," I stepped forward, offering a hand to him.
He softly shook my hand, trying really hard to avoid making eye contact with me. "Roxas. S...sorry to ruin your year..."
"You weren't supposed to hear any of that. I just didn't see you there behind Xem..." Why did Xemnas have to be so tall anyways? The guy was like a damned brick wall.
"You two get to know each other. I've got to go find the janitor and have him bring in a spare desk for Roxas. We'll have to rearrange a little to fit him in," Xemnas said, pushing Roxas into the room and walking away.
My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. "But... But this is always how I've had my classroom! I don't want to rearrange anything!"
"I don't wanna hear it, Axel," his voice floated in from down the hall.
Now faced with Roxas alone, I ran a hand through my hair and sighed awkwardly. "Well... I guess if I'm stuck with you, we should go over some ground rules here."
"Uhm... okay," he nodded, clinging on to the strap of his messenger bag with white knuckles.
"Rule number one: this classroom is mine. You're a guest here. You don't move or change things without my say-so. Rule number two: these are my students. A lot of them I've been teaching for awhile now. They know me, they like me, they trust me. So you respect my rules and methods of teaching. Rule number three: your desk will stay clean and organized. I can't handle messes and chaos. And rule number four: I'm not your friend. At the most, I'm your mentor. We're not going to hang out after work or eat lunch together or any of that bullshit. We'll discuss our lesson plans after school in the classroom and then we will part ways."
He stared at me for a moment looking incredibly confused, and for a minute I was worried that he was actually braindead or something. "...You're a little OCD, aren't you?" He cracked a sly smile, a smile that I did not like.
"Me? N...no, I'm not OCD. I just like things to be a certain way. It's not a problem."
He raised an eyebrow and walked over to my desk, pushing my cup of pens from one corner to the other and then looking at me in a very daring way. "We'll see."
"I'm not gonna move it back. I don't need to move it back. It can stay there." I wasn't about to let him come in here and accuse me of having a mental disease. If this little fucker thinks for one second that he's gonna push me around... he's got another thing coming.
"Shouldn't we move your desk to make some room for mine?" he suggested, setting his bag down on one of the students desks and starting to unbutton and roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt.
I looked down at him, snorting a little. This kid couldn't be more than 5'7" at the most and he probably weighed 120lbs soaking wet. "Kid, this desk has gotta weigh twice what you do. Solid oak. I'll move it myself."
"I'm stronger than I look. You take the right side, we'll scoot it over there for now," he said, gripping the left side and waiting for me to help.
"We can try, but I doubt you're gonna be able to pick it up," I told him, grabbing the other side and nodding. "All right, we'll lift on three. And try not to strain your back."
He rolled his eyes at me and sighed, "Right... One, two, three."
I... felt like an absolute moron. Because here I was using literally all of my strength to try and lift the god damn desk and I couldn't do it. That fucker was heavy as hell! "Okay, well... the janitor probably has a dolly or something we can use. We'll just leave it here for now," I told him, gritting my teeth in defeat.
And then I noticed that he had his side lifted up at least five or six inches off the ground. "...Really? You've got like eight inches on me and you can't lift this desk?" he chuckled, not even looking like it was difficult for him.
"Just put it down and leave it! I... I'll be right back. Don't touch anything," I warned him, stalking out of the room in anger. Maybe Demyx was having a bad first day too. That was always fun to watch.
...
Kairi
"I can't believe we're juniors this year! Finally we're upperclassman... no longer on the bottom of the totem pole! Ooh, we're going to have such a good year. I can feel it!"
I pried my twin sister's hands off my arm and shrugged my bookbag back onto my shoulder. "Namine, will you quit shaking me like that? You're gonna make me throw up again."
"Oh, like you have been every morning this week? Jeez, I didn't think you were gonna be so nervous about school starting. I know you're in a lot of AP classes, but it's not the end of the world or anything."
"I told you, it's just been really stressful thinking about all of the accelerated courses this year... I could graduate next year with my associate's degree if I can make it into the college program, and it all hinges on how this year goes for me."
She laughed, leaning against me as we walked down the hall to our lockers. We always had lockers right next to each other... a 'perk' of having the same last name. No escape. "I don't get why you're so into school. Once I've got my diploma in my hand I'm done. No college, nothing. Just me and my art."
"I still think you should reconsider going to college. Even Xion went to college. How else would she have ended up here as the art teacher?"
"Well I don't wanna teach art like her. I just wanna ...do it. Why does everyone just automatically think I'm gonna follow the same path as her just because she's my sister?"
"She's my sister too, Nami. And I'm not saying you need to follow the exact same path as her. I just don't want you to end up regretting not getting a college degree."
She turned and stepped in front of me, folding her arms over her chest. "Stop it. You're being a total buzzkill and it's only the first day of school. Today is supposed to be easy and fun and... well, I heard that Riku is back from boarding school this year and I can't wait to see him."
"Seriously? You're still stuck on Riku?" I asked, opening my locker and hanging up my bookbag. "We haven't even seen him since middle school. He could be totally hideous and dorky now."
"...It's Riku. He's always been hot and he'll always be hot."
"Nobody was hot in middle school, Nam. Remember when you thought it'd be a good idea to perm your hair? You had an afro all through seventh grade."
She whacked me on the arm and sighed dramatically, slamming her locker closed, "Just let me be excited, Kairi. Seeing the guy I've had a crush on since we were toddlers is going to be the best thing that could happen today."
"Right... I guess it'll be good to see him again after so long," I muttered, the lie feeling bitter on my lips. "Anyways, we should get going. I want to get to AP Biology early so I can get a seat in the front row."
"You are... so weird," she mumbled, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder as she checked her schedule. "Ew... I have remedial math first thing. I don't think I can handle math so early in the morning."
I snorted, "Well you're not going to run into Riku in remedial math... I remember him being pretty smart."
"Are you saying I'm not smart?"
"I'm just saying that I wouldn't get your hopes up on seeing him this morning. We'll probably run into him at lunch."
"Fine. We'll meet up at the lockers before lunch period then?" she suggested. We've pretty much always followed the same routine. Separate for classes, together for lunch.
I nodded, shoving my planner into my purse and grabbing my morning binder. "Sounds good. I'll see you later. Good luck with math."
"Good luck with your nerd classes," she quipped, stalking off towards the math hallway.
My stomach was queasy as I headed for the science hall, which was downstairs in the school's basement, far away from where Namine would be. I was kind of glad... I loved my sister, but right now I couldn't even handle looking her in the eyes. My brain was constantly screaming at me to tell her the truth about what I did over the summer, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I... don't think she'd ever forgive me.
Rounding the corner into the AP Bio room, I stopped short as I walked into a tall, wall-like person standing just inside the door. "Ow... jeez, sorry..." I mumbled, trying to regain my composure after plowing into them.
"It's ...fine," his voice trailed off as he turned around and saw that it was me.
"R...Riku... It's true, you're here," my brain went into panic mode as I looked up into his bright teal eyes.
He smirked, leaning back against one of the lab desks and letting his eyes scan over me. "Of course I am. You knew I would be."
"I can't talk to you right now. I need to... find a seat," I swallowed heavily, brushing past him and beelining for the front middle desk and claiming it. I hadn't thought about it, but he was probably going to be in all of my classes. Great...
"Did I do something wrong? I... thought we had fun this summer. Or have you already forgotten all about med camp?"
I refused to look back up at him, trying to busy myself with arranging my binder on my desk just so. "I went to medical camp because I want to be a doctor. I remember learning about what it's going to take to be a doctor. Nothing else."
"Gee, thanks for the warm welcome... And here I thought I'd have a friend to hang out with this year."
"Don't you have Sora?" I wondered, looking around for his permanent attachment. Or at least, he had been in middle school.
He shrugged, "Sora's not in any of my classes. In fact, I think he's mostly in classes with your sister."
"Who's still in love with you, by the way. Or did you forget?" I mocked him, trying to keep the bile out of my throat.
"I haven't even seen her in nearly three years. How can she still have a crush on me?"
"How could anyone?" I muttered under my breath, looking over and realizing that he was sitting down next to me. "Oh, nuhuh. No way. You are not sitting here. I'm not going to be stuck with you as my lab partner all year. Go away."
He just chuckled and stretched out, his ass staying glued to the lab stool. "Nah, I like it here. Right in the middle. I think I'll stay."
I opened my mouth to whine, but decided to just let him stay. He was going to anyways. "Fine. But don't expect me to do all your work for you this year. I know I was definitely way ahead of you in the rankings at med camp."
"Maybe it's because I wasn't paying attention to the camp," he leaned over and whispered in my ear, sending a chill down my spine.
"Get off me! Scoot your chair over a little, jeez..." I swatted him away, scooting my own stool to the very end of the lab table. My stomach was really unsettled and I felt like I was going to be sick just smelling his cologne.
He moved over a little, chuckling loudly. "Wow. You're just a warm bundle of joy today, aren't you? Here I thought you'd be a little happier to see me."
"Well think again."
...
Demyx
"This is the year, Axe. I'm going to do it this year."
"You've been saying that for like three years now, Demyx. I highly doubt this is going to be any different. Besides, when you say it like that it sounds kinda rapey."
I leaned back in my desk chair and kicked my feet up, leveling my eyes on him. "I'm not talking about ...sex. I mean that this is the year I'm going to break him out of his shell. He's going to talk to me this year. And I'm gonna finally ask him out."
"That's a wonderful fantasy you have there, Dem. But seriously, what makes you think this year is going to be any different? Every time you see him you turn into a babbling idiot."
"Well... I don't know. I have a renewed confidence this year, I guess. It just feels like the right time," I shrugged. "Zexion is... I mean, he's perfect. I've been watching him from afar for so long and I think it's finally time to act."
Axel let out a bark of laughter, "Now you really sound like a rapist. But anyways, I gotta talk to you about this student teacher they've stuck me with. This kid is a jerk. Seriously."
"Yeah, you've said so. About twenty times now. You finally gonna tell me why?"
"Well first of all, he looks like an actual child. I mean, how short can a guy be? But then get this; he's supernaturally strong. Like stronger than me! He lifted my desk like it was nothing!"
I quirked a brow, looking at him quizzically, "So... he's a jerk for being short and strong?"
"No! Listen. He asked me if I was OCD. And then he started rearranging the stuff on my desk like he thought I was going to have a mental breakdown or something. I wanted to smack the smug grin right off his face!"
"Axel... I hate to break it to you, but you are OCD. You've been organizing my desk this whole time without realizing it."
He snarled at me, putting down the stack of papers he'd been tapping into place and sitting down on the couch across from my desk. "I'm not OCD... you just happen to be the biggest slob I've ever met."
"I'm a musician. I'm allowed to be a slob. And besides, this little closet that they call an office isn't nearly big enough for me to stay organized. I've got more sheet music than I know what to do with."
"...Am I really OCD?" he wondered, looking up at me sheepishly.
I just laughed. "Tell me Axel... how badly do you want to go fix your desk right now?"
"It's literally all I can think about," he admitted. "But... it's just 'cause the pencil cup goes on the right side! I'm right handed, so it makes the most sense for the pens and pencils to be on my right side. Why would I keep them in the left corner? I'd have to reach all the way across and then I might knock something else over, and-"
"Axel? Just go fix it," I told him, trying to shoo him out of my office. I had a ton of sheet music to copy for marching practise today, and I was more than eager to get to the library and use the copier.
He stood up and sighed, "This year is gonna suck..."
Maybe it would for him, but I was completely determined to make this year my best one yet.
Once he was gone, I grabbed my folder of music and headed for the library, which was just down the hall from the band room. I had my own copier, but I'd already broken the ass-old thing over the summer while trying to print enough copies of the band handbook. Not that I minded having an excuse to see Zexion.
I... have been in love with him since I first saw him at teacher orientation three years ago. But obviously, I haven't had the courage to say anything to him. He's a super quiet guy anyways, and I just feel like anything more than a friendly "hello" is just going to bother him.
"Demyx, hey."
Hearing his voice almost shocked me, especially because he usually never greeted me first, and he usually wasn't loud enough to even hear. "Uhm... hey Zexion. Have a good summer?"
"I did, actually. What about you?"
"Uhm... band, mostly. Prepping for marching band this year. I don't really get a whole summer, 'cause we started practise back in early July."
He nodded, sitting behind the front counter at his computer. "My girlfriend is a choir teacher in the next school district over. She's been copying music since indepence day to try and get ready."
And just like that, all of my hopes and dreams were crushed, leaving me standing there gaping at him like a moron. "G...girlfriend? I didn't know you had a girlfriend..."
"Yeah... she's been helping me get out of my shell a little, convincing me to talk to my coworkers more. So I've been trying to greet everyone as they come in today."
"Well, that's good. I... just need the copier. Mine kicked the bucket. I'll talk to you later I guess."
Before he could say anything else I ducked into the teacher's copy room and shut the door, starting to hyperventilate a little and feeling tears spring up into my eyes.
"...Demyx?"
I jumped out of my skin, throwing my folder up in the air in surprise and watching all of my sheet music flutter to the ground in a big mess. "Christ, Xigbar! What're you doing in here?!"
"...Copying my syllabus?" he lifted an eyebrow and bent over to help me pick up my music. "What're you doing? And why do you look like you're about to cry?"
"I fried the copier in my office... and I'm not about to cry!" I snapped, fighting back the tears.
"Well I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry," he apologized, standing up and handing me a stack of music. "You, uh... you look good. What'd you do over the summer?"
I started reorganizing my papers frantically, glancing up at him quickly, "Me? I gave private swim lessons and then marching band started in July. I guess I've been out in the sun a lot."
"Oh... you gonna be coaching the school's swim team again?"
"I... don't really have time for small talk, Xigbar. Have a good day," I brushed him off, trying to turn my attentin to the copy machine before I really broke down into tears.
He shrugged and grabbed his folder, heading for the door. "You too, Demyx. Have a good day..."
...
Sora
"So she didn't talk about me at all this summer?"
"Sora, I didn't even see her this summer. She left in early June and came back just in time to start school. I mean, we talked on the phone a couple times, but..."
I shifted sideways in my chair and sighed, "But she didn't say anything? At all?"
"Sora, my sister has never showed any kind of interest in guys whatsoever. All Kairi cares about is school and becoming a doctor. So sorry, but no. I just don't think she likes you that way."
"Fair enough... I know you'd tell me the truth. So have you seen Riku yet? I heard he just got home yesterday."
Namine laughed, "Isn't he your best friend? You didn't see him this morning?"
"Nah, he probably went to class super early like ususal. I waited by his locker for awhile but he never showed up."
"Well I haven't seen him either. As Kairi so kindly pointed out this morning, he's way smarter than me and we probably won't have any classes together. I can't wait, though... It's been so long since we've seen him around here."
I smirked, recognizing that dreamy look in her eyes. "Oh? Someone still has a crush, doesn't she? After all this time, huh?"
"I... can't help it. I've always liked Riku, ever since we were kids. I just can't believe he's really back. I'm so glad his parents moved back into town."
"Namine, his dad lost the job he'd taken overseas. The whole company went under. They moved home because his mom's parents would only help them out financially if they lived with them. They're loaded, remember?"
She cringed, "Oh, thank god you told me that before I talked to him today. That's horrible. Riku hates his grandparents. They're stuck up and snobby."
"Yeah, he's not thrilled about living with them at all. And they've all but completely emasculated his dad."
"Wow... I wonder if Kairi knows what happened. We all just thought they decided to come back home."
I shrugged as the last bell rang, turning to face the front of the classroom. "We should all sit together at lunch. I really wanna catch up with Kairi."
"You're dreaming if you think she'd ever go for you, Sora. Kairi's just... not interested in dating."
"Right, like you've got any kind of chance with Riku," I muttered under my breath, huffing a little as the teacher stood up to start class.
Little did I know...