In all of his years living in Boston, not once had Axel seen a sky this blue. Its vibrancy stretched on for miles in every direction until it met with corn fields on the horizon. For a moment he was actually impressed, amazed by the fact that there was no smog to dim its color, but then he remembered why he was here in the first place.

Axel sighed heavily and hiked his backpack higher up on his shoulder. From where he was standing at the end of a dirt driveway he was able to see his uncle Reno working on cars in the garage while his cousin Kairi chatted enthusiastically from the work bench. Whatever she was talking about must have been amusing because he could see Reno's shoulders shake from laughter. His uncle shot the young girl a reply, causing her to pout and flip her auburn hair over her shoulder. It was in that moment that she caught sight of him and bolted down the driveway with her bare feet kicking up clouds of dust. Braced for impact, Axel put his arms out to her.

"Axel, you're here!" Kairi cried happily, arms locked around his neck, which left her dangling a good six inches off the ground due to the height difference.

"Didn't Uncle Reno tell you I was coming?" he asked with a smile. Axel tossed the girl into the air and caught her princess style just to make her laugh because if she was happy, so was he. He was genuinely smiling for the first time in probably three months.

A third voice joined the mix while Axel was preoccupied with his cousin. "It was meant to be a surprise. And if I'm not mistaken, I'd say the little lady is quite surprised at seeing you."

Axel peeked over Kairi's head to see Reno standing there in all of his oil-stained glory. His white button down shirt had dark smudges along the hem and across the chest from where he had and currently was wiping his hands. A pair of goggles were pushed up into the unruly red hair that seemed to run in their family, seeing as Axel's was exactly the same, and he was reminded that the only time Reno had taken them off was for the funeral.

"It's good to see ya, kiddo. I see you finally got those tattoos," Reno continued, striding over to poke the purple inverted tears on his cheeks.

"Mom was pretty pissed but hey, I'd be a disgrace to the men of our family if I didn't get 'em," Axel said. Reno chuckled and ran a thumb over his own tattoos, two red triangles that were placed on his cheekbones.

"Yeah. It hurt like a bitch when I got mine done. I gotta admit that I cried a little. Your grandpa didn't let me live that down for months," Reno told him, a frown twisting his lips downward. Axel scoffed at him and shifted Kairi in his arms.

"Can't blame him for that," he said, "It didn't hurt that bad."

Suddenly a hand was in his hair, messing up the natural red spikes. "You're just trying to look cool in front of cousin. And Kairi, get your butt back inside and help your mom with dinner. I'll help hot shot here with his bags."

The girl in question whined and let go of Axel hesitantly. "Quit treating me like I'm five, I just turned sixteen," she said.

Reno was unimpressed. "Maybe you should start acting your age then, huh? I know you've got your eyes on the Cady but you've gotta shape up if you want it. Now go."

Kairi pecked her cousin on the cheek and padded back up to the house, through the door and to the kitchen where her mom, a slight woman with a quiet disposition, waited.

"So," Axel started casually, "what's all this about a Cadillac?"

"Don't even try it, hot shot," Reno chuckled, punching Axel's shoulder lightly as he grabbed one of the suitcases at their feet. "That car is Kairi's. You get my old Chevy."

Axel scoffed, though it was all in jest. "So much for Southern hospitality."

"Southern hospitality can kiss my ass."

Dinner turned out to be meatloaf, corn bread, and cooked vegetables. Reno's wife had told him that he'd better get used to corn bread because that was just about all they had there. Even though it was delicious, and Axel ate almost the whole basket on his own, Kairi and Reno were making bets on how long it'd take for him to be sick of the stuff. He retaliated by flicking a pea at Kairi, who in turn tossed a carrot at him. The rest of dinner passed with playful antics and general good will. Axel had almost forgotten his entire reason for coming to live with his relatives. It was after the meal, when Reno said he'd help Axel get settled into his new room, that things started going downhill.

The room itself was just an old unused office that was attached to the garage. Reno said this was because their humble little farm house didn't have any open living space for him. With a shrug and a grumble, Axel began putting his things away in the office-turned-bedroom. He didn't care that he was somewhat isolated from his family; he enjoyed a little privacy and independence.

They passed the time with idle chatting, catching up with each other, and jokes about the small town Axel now called home. Only an hour had passed when they finally finished unpacking all of his things. Axel was about to sit down to rest when he saw a small picture propped up against his backpack. The frame itself wasn't anything spectacular; it was plain and made of polished hardwood. But behind the glass was a worn photograph, maybe eight or ten years old, of him and his mother. In the picture she still had most of her hair and was smiling as bright as the sun. Perched on her knee was a young Axel, tiny hands clutching a pair of ballet slippers while he grinned at the camera. He couldn't remember who took the picture but the memory was fresh in his mind. Being a dancer herself, his mother wanted to share that with her son, and enrolled Axel in dance classes when he was still toddling around in Huggies. It started with ballet, then ballroom, and then hip-hop. He knew it all. Him and his mom had a shared passion for dancing. When that picture was taken he had just finished his first recital. His mother was so proud of him; she let him stay up late while they had pizza and ice cream.

"I forgot to ask, how are you holding up?" Reno's voice shattered his reverie like a hammer through glass.

"I'm fine," Axel told him, forcing the words out. He was everything but fine.

They were both silent for a second before Reno sighed. "I know it's hard, kiddo. She was my little sister. She fought through everything but we both knew that when they diagnosed her with brain cancer that she wasn't going to make it. That's not something you survive."

Axel grit his teeth and kept his eyes focused on the ground. "They said that the chemo would help. They said she had a chance. The chemo was what fucking killed her, Reno! It wasn't the cancer at all! If they hadn't done that she'd probably still be here!"

"Her body was already weak," Reno said in a quiet voice. He was picking and choosing his words with the utmost care. "First it was the breast cancer, then it was her lungs. She wouldn't have made it no matter what they did, kiddo. Not doing chemo would've just dragged things out."

Neither of them spoke for what felt like years even though only about a minute of silence passed between them.

"Just try to get some sleep. You've got school starting tomorrow. And if you want to use the bathroom before Kairi you've got to be up at the ass crack of dawn."

Axel appreciated the attempt at a joke, but was too emotionally exhausted to show it. He bid his uncle goodnight and laid down in bed only to stare at the stars outside his window.

Apparently, Reno hadn't been joking about needing to get up early if he wanted a shower in the morning. Kairi took almost two goddamn hours to get ready when all she needed to do was shower, get dressed, and put on a miniscule amount of makeup. She was a natural beauty, a true Southern belle, but she insisted on wearing it. That gave Axel a total of ten minutes to tame his wildfire hair and work on general hygiene before he had to shove Kairi in the truck and speed off towards school.

He arrived at Twilight Town High in an old blue Chevy pickup, looking like he'd just rolled out of bed. Axel could just tell that his first day would be fucking magical.

He didn't hear a word of Kairi's mindless chatter as he slammed the driver's side door closed and made for the front entrance. His cousin skipped past him to cling to a brunette boy which left him all alone, or so he had hoped.

"Okay, I have got to ask, does the carpet match the drapes?" An arm slung itself across his shoulders and a growl rose in his throat.

"What the fuck man? What kind of a question is that?"

"A pretty good one, actually," the blonde beside him said. He had a grin that only the Cheshire Cat could emulate. "I'm Demyx. Care to answer my question now?"

"Axel. And yes, the carpet matches the drapes," he grumbled reluctantly.

"I'm not sure I believe you. Why don't you give me a sneak peek?" Demyx said suggestively, pressing up against Axel's side and waggling his eyebrows. Axel could only stare in wonder at how this boy was acting.

"Are you gay?"

"Absolutely flaming, sir."

"Fantastic."

"Do I get my sneak peek?"

"Fuck no. Why are you still following me?"

"Because we are officially best friends now." Demyx's arm was back around his shoulders. "Plus, I'd feel horrible letting the new kid get chewed up and spit out on his first day. So I'm going to show how things work around here."

Axel wasn't sure if it was the smile or the fact that he already made a friend, but he could feel his mood lightening. This kid just oozed joy. "Alright. What's my first lesson?"

Demyx opened his mouth to speak but stopped when soft laughter and the purr of a motor sounded behind them. The blonde's eyes went hazy and he adopted the look of a lovesick puppy. Axel followed his gaze to the cherry red Mustang parked about ten feet away. A boy with slate colored hair emerged from the passenger's side, laughing at something his companion said and grabbing his messenger bag. He was dressed in a trendy outfit that was mostly black with hints of white and grey.

"That right there is Zexion," Demyx said from beside him in a dreamy tone. All Axel could think was damn, he's in deep. "He's Roxas' best friend. And he is so totally out of my league."

"Who's Roxas?" Axel asked, eyeing his new friend. Demyx grabbed the back of his hair and swiveled his head so they were both looking at the car again.

"That is Roxas. He's the reverend's son. I don't think that there's a single person on this earth who is in the same league as him."

Axel was fairly sure that he was looking at an angel. This boy had pale blonde hair and eyes as blue as the country sky that had awed him when he first arrived in Twilight Town. Like every one of his peers his skin was tan from days spent under the sun, but Axel could just see this boy glowing. He was smiling over at Zexion, who Demyx was still ogling, and saying something that he couldn't quite catch. But he could just picture him with a voice that put every choir in existence to shame.

"Oh no, I know that look. You've got the hots for him already! Well, I don't blame you. Look at his ass in those jeans, I mean, damn!"

Axel punched Demyx in the shoulder lightly and spun on his heel. "Shut up, you fairy. You're gonna make both of us late."

Apparently the blonde wasn't listening. He was too busy trying to chat up Zexion, who had walked up to the front steps with Roxas.

"Morning Zexy," he mewled, sidling up to the shorter boy.

"You know I hate when you call me that, Demyx," was the response he got.

"Deep down I know you love it!"

"No, I really don't…who's the new kid?" Zexion said, nodding towards Axel.

How does everyone know that I'm new? He thought. Is it like a sixth sense of theirs?

"It's a small town," Zexion said again, almost as if he was reading Axel's mind. "Everyone knows everyone whether they want to or not."

"The name's Axel."

Roxas, who had been standing by and getting progressively more annoyed, made his presence known by tugging on Zexion's sleeve. "We're gonna be late to class. You can talk to your boyfriend and fire crotch later."

Oh god, his voice was sweeter than Axel had imagined it.

Zexion shrugged and started walking again, Roxas right by his side.

Axel stood there and frowned until the first bell rang and made him late despite all of his efforts. He didn't really care, though. All he wanted to know was why everyone had to make a comment about his pubic hair.

Teehee! Gotta love dirty jokes ^^ This is probably the longest chapter I've written for anything ever, mostly because I wanted to get everything introduced early on. If you can't tell, this is based off of Footloose. Why? Because that movie is the THE BOMB.

Anyways, let me know what you think about this so I know if it's worth continuing.

Love and hugs for everyone.

~Chickadee