AN: Prompt number 30, and the end of section two - "drugs".

I still remember the first time that I saw him. Blood red hair, in ridiculous spikes, lounging outside the building, facing the playing fields. He obviously wasn't there to play sports, or even to watch – he simply didn't look the type. He looked, for lack of a better word, dangerous. I didn't know his name then, despite us being at the same school. I was pretty certain he was older than me – he definitely looked it, though people say I look younger than I really am.

"Hey, kid." I knew he was talking to me, since I was the only other person still here at this hour. But he'd called me kid, so I was going to ignore him.

"Blondie!" Well, that was slightly better. I turned to look at him, but still didn't speak.

"Don't suppose you've got a lighter, have you?" That was when I noticed the… no, it wasn't a cigarette. At the time, I wasn't sure what was in it.

"No, sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He put the… thing… away somewhere, and strolled over. "Why are you still here, anyway?"

"Had some stuff to do for class."

He was making me feel very uncomfortable – I didn't like him being so close to me. When someone shouted, I've never been so relieved.

"You coming with us or not?"

"Be right there." He turned back to me. "So, you never told me your name, blondie."

"How observant of you." I didn't care that I was being rude; I just wanted him to leave.

"Going to tell me?"

"No."

"Doesn't matter. I'll find out anyway. Bye, now." He ruffled my hair, before heading over to the person who'd called him. They weren't out of earshot, so I could hear their conversation.

"He's far too young for you, Axel."

"Won't be for long. Besides, he's feisty, and you know what that means."

"Definitely…"

So, his name was Axel. And it would appear that he was gay. For some reason, that didn't bother me as much as it should have done. I knew I was; had known ever since I'd seen Cloud and Leon stripping off after a practice session, when I was about fourteen. I was seventeen, almost eighteen then. Axel had to be older, so he must have had to repeat a year of school, at least.

Little did I know that he was going to be keeping a lookout for me from that day onwards.

………………

He searched me out, a couple of days later, in the library. It was the very last place I'd expected to see him, which was partly why I was there. Ok, I'll admit it – I was hiding from him. He sat down opposite me, looking like the proverbial cat who got the cream.

"Roxas."

"So you found out. Well done."

"Roxy, I'm hurt. Whatever did I do to deserve that tone of voice?"

"Hmm, let me see. Firstly, what you're doing could be classed as stalking, and secondly, you interrupted me in the middle of an essay and now I've lost my train of thought." I paused, certain there was something else. "Oh, and third? Don't call me Roxy."

"Consider me warned." He dropped a scrap of paper on top of my books, then stood up. "See you later, Rox."

I started to reply, to tell him that my name wasn't Rox, either, but he'd already gone. Curious, but knowing it was probably a bad idea even at the time, I unfolded the paper he'd dropped.

"Told you I'd find out, didn't I, Roxas? Never underestimate me. I couldn't find out your phone number though, so here's mine… Axel."

So, did he really expect me to call him? I wasn't sure, but equally so, I knew I wasn't going to pick up the phone. I did keep the note, though.

The next day, he managed to catch me while I was eating lunch.

"I knew you wouldn't call."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep. You're scared of me, that's why. I can see it in your face."

"Sure. Whatever you say." But it was the truth. I was scared of him. Partly because he seemed so obsessed with me when we'd only met a few days ago, and partly for the strange feelings that could only be lust, beginning to stir.

"In that case, why don't you come out with us tonight?"

"Us? Who's us?"

"Me and a few friends, that's all." He paused, looking at me so intently it felt as though those green eyes of his were burning straight through me. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Where?"

He gave me the name of a club in town. A club with a strict ID policy, and a pretty bad reputation. "Meet us outside. We'll get you in, don't worry about that. And don't bring ID."

Well, obviously I wouldn't have got inside by myself – I didn't look anywhere near eighteen.

"See you there, Roxy."

"Maybe."

He chuckled, something that seemed out of character, even though I hadn't known him long. "Oh, you'll be there."

I didn't want to go. Really, I didn't. So why in all the worlds was I tearing my room apart all evening, trying to find something suitable to wear? Even Sora, who has to be the world's most oblivious twin brother, noticed something wasn't quite normal. Maybe it was when I burst into his room to check his wardrobe.

"Wear that, and this, and… that." He pushed a bundle of clothes into my arms, then decided to ask where I was going that had me so flustered.

"Just out, ok, Sora?"

"Sure."

He didn't believe me. Hell, I didn't believe me. But I'd put in all this effort, so I had to turn up. I could always leave early, if I hated it, after all.

………………

When I arrived, a queue was already forming at the door. I looked along the line, but Axel was nowhere to be seen. I should have just gone home then, not bothered to wait. My life would have been so much simpler. I wasn't waiting long, though. He appeared in front of me, with two other people that I didn't know.

"That's Demyx, and this is Zexion."

"Hi." Too nervous to say anything else, I figured that it would have to do. No doubt Axel had already told them my name. We walked over to the bouncers, who waved Demyx and Zexion in straight away.

"You can go in, Axel, but not the kid."

"He's older than he looks."

I was prepared for an argument, or even to be sent home. What I didn't expect was what actually happened. Axel's mouth was on mine before I'd realised his plan, hot, wet, teasing. If I'd been uncertain about my feelings before, I definitely wasn't after that. It worked – the bouncer practically pushed us inside. Demyx and Zexion were waiting, and I had to ask.

"Just what in the hell was all that about?"

"I didn't see you complaining out there, Roxas."

"I didn't exactly have time to react, Axel." Axel stalked off in the direction of the bar.

"Better go with him, Dem." Demyx nodded, pushing his way through the crowd in order to catch up. Zexion turned back to me, looking a little unsure.

"As a rule, Axel doesn't go after anyone who isn't of legal age. He's only nineteen, so it's not like there's much of a difference between you two, but that's how it is. And now he probably feels guilty for kissing you like that."

"I… see."

When we found them, Axel was already well on the way to being drunk, and he was sharing a spliff with Demyx, which was promptly offered to Zexion and me. Zexion took it, I didn't. Neither did I touch the drink they'd bought for me. I wasn't stupid – anything could have been in it.

"Loosen up, Roxy, babe." The voice wasn't quite slurred, but it definitely wasn't sober.

"Why did you bring me here, Axel? To get me drunk and stoned so you could do things to me that I wouldn't remember in the morning? Huh? Well, it's not happening." I scrawled my phone number on the back of his hand, using a marker pen that was on the table for some reason. "Let me know if you ever get your shit together. 'Til then, don't bother."

I started to walk away, but his voice stopped me in my tracks.

"I'm sorry, Roxas. Please stay."

"When you're not taking drugs any more, we'll talk. Bye, Axel."

…………………

Five years passed, and I never heard so much as a word from him. I've just turned twenty-two, and he's now twenty-four. I hadn't thought about him for months, until the phone rang, yesterday.

"Hey there, Roxas."

"…Axel?"

"The one and only." He paused, and I waited for him to continue. "Look, I screwed up, back then, and you were the only one with the guts to tell me. You said I could call you when I was off the drugs, so… To be honest, I'm surprised you've still got the same number."

It was an awkward, stilted conversation, but we've agreed to meet, in a café just down the road from here. This time, I'm the confident, unworried one, and it's his turn to be so nervous he's shaking. I hope this meeting is better than the last one, but we'll see. I hope so, for his sake.