hey I've read a ton of fics where Axel's the guy who's messed up and Roxas happens to fall for him or something. I love stories like that so I wanted to try and make my own but with the roles switched. Kinda… ANYWAYS, this will always be told in first person (not always just Roxas or Axel, mind you) because I wanted to try it.

…

And if you do happen to continue in wanting to read this (say yes?), don't judge the characters on their first appearances (especially Seifer)!

awkward Demyx moment

disclaimer me own nada

✖1 Roxas

I've never been fond of the ocean. Or lakes, rivers; anything entirely made of water for that matter really. And so being surrounded by nothing but dark blue, bottomless water and white-capped waves is not what I'd call a happy moment. Mom puts a hand on my shoulder and stands next to me.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She's looking out at the sea with a smile on her face. Her long, blonde hair shines in the bright sunlight.

"Only to people like you, Mom." She blinks and ruffles my equally blond hair. God, how I hate that.

"Cheer up, we're going someplace new! You can start over and make new friends and-" She rambles on again about how moving to Destiny Islands will change my so called 'pathetic' life around for what seems like the millionth time today. I've heard it before, way too many times and I'm sick of it. I don't need to hear it from my principal, psychologist and now my parents too. Once is enough, thanks. I can figure out that stuff myself because, contrary to popular belief, I'm smart. I've made some bad choices, 'mistakes' you might say, but I'm not an idiot.

When she seems done, I continue being silent.

"Fine, ignore me. But when your father comes he's not going to let you just sit there and stare at things." She takes her hand off my shoulder – finally – and walks back to her seat on the passenger boat. I love Mom, I really do, but sometimes she just doesn't get me at all.

Boredom pulls my hand up, through my hair and it feels disgusting. Probably because of the ocean splashing in my face. Curse you, ocean god.

✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-

Mom practically jumps out of the car when we pull up to what I assume is my new jail cell. I, on the other hand, take my time stepping out of the dark green Ford I've been driven around in for the past 15 years. The house in front of us is white with blue shutters and doors. I'm expecting a fairy to fly out of the branches of the tree in front of it but I guess my hallucinogen days are over.

I slam the door, trying to prove how much I do not want to be here but apparently mom's 'ignore-my-son' level has increased since we last chatted. I follow her into the two-story house and try to keep up with her excited skipping. We pass a decent sized kitchen connected to a decent sized dining room and a decent sized living room. Can you tell how enthusiastic I am? I trail her up the stairs, passing cardboard boxes clearly labeled with capital letters for which room they were destined to fill. I roll my eyes at a torn box clearly labeled 'FRAGILE' and wonder what priceless item was shattered.

"Roxas, that's your room. Go and get settled." Mom bounces a little further down the hallway and turns into what I assume is her bedroom. I turn the knob on my new pad and step into a pretty empty room. The room is painted dark blue – a plus since it's one of the better colors – and there's a big window on the longer wall as well as a cream carpeted floor. My possessions, I assume, are still in boxes downstairs but they can wait I guess. As long as the 'FRAGILE' bow wasn't one of mine, I'm fine. There's also my bed and dresser already here and out of the window I can see sturdy-looking tree branches. I make a mental note for when I need an escape route.

For being in an unbearable new environment, this is a plus.

Sighing, I travel downstairs and haul one over-packed box after another over-packed box to my new room.

✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-

"ROXAS! ROXAS! SCHOOL! WAKE UP NOW!"

Ugg, what a way to wake up. Does anyone believe in alarm clocks anymore? I thought I set mine! I bury my head under my black pillow and attempt to block out mom's screeching. It's no use though since moments later I'm thrown out of the bed.

"Mom! I'm naked! God, why don't you knock?" I splutter, pulling a sheet around my body that had been pulled off the bed with me. This is embarrassing! She rolls her eyes.

"Puh-lease. You are not naked. You've got boxers on." Like that makes such a big difference. "You have to catch the bus in ten minutes! High tail it!"

I can just tell this is not going to be a good day.

✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-

After surviving an excruciatingly boring fifteen-minute ride to Destiny Islands High – so original isn't it – I weave my way through the crowded hallways. Considering how short I am for my age, this is an easier task than you might think. I reach room 813 (either it's the biggest school in the world or they just want you to think that) and enter my homeroom. Of course my homeroom has to also be math, my worst subject in school.

Technically, they are all my worst subjects but this is the very worst. I said I'm not stupid but I'm not a genius either.

The classroom is so empty you can almost hear the wind blowing through the desks. The teacher isn't even there. Just some geeky redhead freckled kid who looks up from a thick math textbook when he hears me shuffling in. He eyes me as if I was the newest big celebrity.

"Hi." He stays seated but smiles brightly.

"Hi…" I never have been good with meeting people. I seemed to always figure out some way to screw it up.

"Who are you?"

What, no teacher told you 'o kiddies, tomorrow we're having a new student so everybody welcome him with a big hug!'?

"I'm the new guy." He smirks.

"Your name."

"Roxas." Simple.

"I'm Jimmy. Jimmy Miller." Do not get up do not get up. "Nice to meet you."

"Same." Not particularly but then, who am I going to get to do my homework? Jimmy Miller looks like a smart, but weak guy…

"So Mr. Luxord is your homeroom?" Mr. Luxord?

"Apparently." By now I've made it to a seat in the last row, same column as Jim-bo.

"Boy, you're cheerful." I turn. There is some new guy who looks in his late twenties, early thirties so I assume he's the teacher. Mr. Luxord perhaps? Well, whoever he is, he's got nice style. Short cropped blond hair and short stubble on his chin (matching color) with a blue earring and matching blue eyes. He's wearing black jeans with a tight white t-shirt. Good thing the guy was pretty fit, otherwise this could really hurt my eyes.

"Ah, excuse me. I'm Luxord. Your teacher. You must be Roxas. Transfer from Twilight Town correct?" He nods when he talks. It reminds me of a parrot.

I nod but he seems to be the kind of teacher who expects spoken words. "Yes, I'm Roxas." But not a transfer. More like a POW.

"Ok well class starts in-" He looks at his watch like he doesn't already know. "now."

As if on cue, teenagers pour into the room and the bell rings. Most of them look like how I feel, half dead and very uncaring. A few notice me, the scrawny blond kid in the back of the class, and stare or avoid any further eye contact. I like the people who choose option two. It seems like the class is almost full except for the four chairs next to me in the back row. I'm surprised actually, they weren't the first seats to be filled. Luxord writes something up on the board but I watch the last few kids straggle in instead. They are definitely not paying attention to me so they are… let's say, better than the gawkers.

A kid with a light brown mohawk is the first to –practically- skip in, followed by a creepy guy with an eye patch and another kid with pink hair. Are you serious? Pink hair? How gay is that? Then some kid with unruly red hair saunters in. He's the one who sits next to me. Next to him is the mohawk guy. I could care less about queer-eye and Captain Sparrow.

Fortunately, Luxord decides not to embarrass me any more than I already am by making me introduce myself so I just stare out the window. That is, until somebody pokes my shoulder.

"Who are you?" It's the redhead, whispering below the drone of the teacher.

I eye him up and down. He's got a long nose and sender features and purple or black teardrop tattoos under his eyes. At least he has a personality that shows. "Roxas."

"I'm Axel. That's Demyx." He gestures to the smiley mohawk kid who waves. Oi vey. "The pink one is Marluxia and the guy with the bum eye is Xigbar." He sees my boredom and rushes on. "Um, where are you from?"

"Twilight Town." As if it matters.

"Really? Wow that's like, so far! Have we ever had a transfer from there before?" Demyx decides to whisper.

"Never." I can hear the awe in their voices. It's like I'm an alien or something.

"Well now you have." I turn back to the window. It's not like I'm antisocial or anything but I'm not in the mood for making friends right now. Plus it seems like the whole island so far smells like the ocean and it's putting me in a bummed mood. I hate the ocean.

"Axy, he's not nice…" I can hear the mohawk kid 'whispering'.

"Don't say that. Maybe he's just having a bad day." Gee, you read my mind.

I can feel at least one of them staring at the back of my head but it soon goes away and I can try to enjoy the blue sky again. Time passes slowly and I realize Luxord really doesn't care if you do work in his class or not so why bother writing down homework? Taking my time, I walk to gym -where I barely manage to run the required five laps around the track- then literature and science. I recognize some of the kids from homeroom in my classes but pay no heed and they give me none either. Taking longer than I expected, the time comes for lunch but as it seems, I turned the wrong corner because it was the dead end with the janitor's closet and apparently, the resident gang. Three heads turn to me, a blond bulky guy is taking a step closer and an even bigger guy crunching his knuckles together like the Incredible Hulk. I mean, all the guy needed to do was dye his skin green and he'd be a real-life superhero.

Or, maybe not. Villain perhaps? Brainless sidekick?

I take a step back from the big people coming closer. I'm not afraid of people like this. I had my time when I ran with a gang and I was pretty high in the pecking order there. I could defend myself then, I even took down a twenty year old after he looked at me the wrong way. Of course, compared to how that was at the beginning of last year and how unfit I was in PE this morning, who knows. Plus, I' kind of curious as to how far this 'gang' will go. I think I'll just let them punch me to see how it feels. But then, maybe I'm just crazy.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around here before." The blond kid sneers while he studies me. He's taller than me by at least a head and has muscles. They're not gigantic I-workout-five-hours-a-day-muscles but they're still there. Bigger than mine.

"New face." The quiet one who I didn't notice before hisses. I can't tell if that's a girl or a guy simply because they're kind of quiet and they have a rather unisex haircut.

"Hey maybe we should introduce ourselves ya, know?" The Incredible Hulk threatens with all of his brain capacity. He is definitely bigger than me, at least two, if not more heads taller than me and he's the one of the group who seems to workout five hours a day. He almost looks Hispanic…

"Good idea big guy." The suspected leader sneers again. He makes some gesture and before I can blink, I'm being pinned up against the wall by Hulk. I groan. How I loathe people like these guys who beat others up for no reason. Even some of the bad guys I knew back home didn't beat people up for idiotic and un-thought out reasons.

"I, am Seifer. This is Rai and that's Fuu." He pounds my stomach hard but I just grin and suck it in. "Now who the hell are you newbie?"

"Why should I waste energy on lowlife scumbags like you?" I spit. I'm good at pissing people off. Ah, a gift and a curse.

He just slaps my face and the fingers gripping my arms become more like bear claws.

"I'm Roxas." I spit.

"Nice to meet-" Punch. "You, Roxas." Punch. "Where's the money?" Punch.

"Pocket." Mr.Leader wastes no time in shoving his hand down my front pocket and pulling out all the coins that had been flung at me this morning before I was shoved out the door.

I do not consider this act to count as giving up per say. It's more of a 'here's what you want now get out of my life' type of thing. I, Roxas, do NOT surrender to anyone no matter what. Even if that equals a punch in the face, I do not wave a white flag for anyone.

He gives me one last punch in the stomach like I haven't co-operated and Hulk drops me to the floor. They walk away without as much as a 'we'll see you again' or 'watch your back' like most petty gangs in Twilight Town would. I raise my shirt until I reach my nipples so I can see he huge soon-to-be bruises going up and down my front. My cheek is sore so I can only assume it's violently bright red as well. I finger the bluish marks on my body and cringe. I am really not up to being beaten up constantly so I better do something.

"Kid." I instantly look toward the voice. It's …Axel? And Demucks? Whatever their names are, they're there, staring at me. I'm an alien again.

"What?" So intelligent, as always.

"You okay?" Demyx pipes up. He looks sad for some reason. It's then I realize why they weren't staring at my face but at my naked stomach and chest. I drop the shirt and they watch me stand up. I take the steps toward them and look up. Everyone's so much taller than lil ol' me.

"Ecstatic." I push pass them and into the cafeteria. I can't hear the words but I know they're talking.

Talking about me.

The tables aren't full but I decide to sit in the corner between the wall of windows and the trashcans. You can obviously see the cliques differing between tables. There's the jocks, matching jackets and all. Next to them are the busty cheerleaders and the other populars. I wonder how much surgery they've already had. Not to mention how many of them have eating disorders. Further away are the geeky/nerdy kids and I recognize Jimmy Miller laughing with somebody. Then there are the skaters and the wannabe pimps and then of course, the Goths but their table is considerably smaller than the others. I look around more and see that sitting at the table closest to the door are the kids from homeroom with some others whom I don't know, all talking about something and picking at the food of the day. The food smells reach me but I'm used to ignoring it.

And then there's me, in the corner, all alone, no food, no money, no friends. This is a first. In Twilight Town I at least had people who would watch my back. The closest people in my life were Hayner, Pence and Ollette and although I considered them 'friends' of a sort, to everyone else they were just troublemakers.

✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-

I make it through the day with as little talking as possible, only to teachers and the random whoever who asked my name. I bump into Red and Mohawk once more and they just stare at me.

Alien.

I swing open the door to our little fairytale home and drop my light bag by the door. Not exactly one to take notes or do homework. Mom bounces into the hall like she's high. Lol

"How was baby's first day?" She squeezes me like I'm on my deathbed but finally lets me go after eternity. Sometimes I wonder how much of her hyper-ness is real and how much of it is a mask in an attempt to keep me happy.

"Just great, Mom." She can pick up my sarcasm in milliseconds.

"No, really. How was it?" She tucks a strand of yellow hair behind her ear.

"Horrid but I'll survive."

"O Honey." She sighs. "Please try to be friendly." As if she remembers how high school was.

"Sure Mom." I go upstairs, hearing another sigh where I left her.

✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-✖-

review…?