Haha, this is a just for fun story... I was thinking about it and decided, why not? Besides, I couldn't resist.
Beware: Yaoi!! And lots of it... :3
Multiple pairings :D mainly AkuRoku, SoRiku, and Zemyx... because those are the best ones ever.
Disclaimer- The plot totally is, but the characters aren't... :( I wish.
It all started with a bet.
I know Sora has a different story, but I'm serious. It all started with a stupid bet that Sora pulled me into, and now I'm in way over my head. Honestly, how did this happen? I can remember coming home from school… Sora on the couch waiting for me… and then BAM! Life completely changed. All from talking to my brother for five minutes. See, that's what happens when you actually pay attention to your family. Bad news, I'm telling you.
This entire situation would have never happened if I'd just kept to my business and Sora had kept to his. I mean, this entire thing is the reason why twins have bad reputations. The Derris and Dennis Lewis brothers? That whole murder caused a terrible reputation for twins everywhere. And then don't forget the Han Twin Murder Conspiracy. Honestly, twins were never meant to get along. They're either exactly alike where it's almost scary, or they're so opposite they were never meant to get along. I mean, look at Sora and me. Completely opposite! But, I digress.
Honestly, I was never a betting kind of guy. I have taken AP statistics… I understand the ups and downs of probability and that gambling hardly ever has a good probability of actually ending the way the gambler wants it to end. If I was as smart as my GPA said I was, I would have never taken the bet, and I would have never gotten into the mess that I managed to land myself in.
But you don't know about that.
That's why I'm here. I'm kind of tired of all of this building up, and I think people should understand what exactly is going on. Maybe then you won't see us in the hallways and think we're completely crazy? I'm not crazy. I just had a lapse of judgment.
It happens.
You don't have an idea about what's going on, do you? No, you don't. No one seems to understand where I'm coming from. How did I go from straight A student who takes AP college courses and valedictorian to this?! But, I'm getting way ahead of myself. You don't know what this is, do you? No. I haven't told you what it is yet. I'll get to that somehow… I just have to collect my thoughts.
Fat chance of that happening.
I usually am much more organized than this. I actually have this folder with tabs for each day of the week, and then sub-categories for each period class so that I don't forget which days the teacher hands out what, and…
And you don't want to hear that. You're probably waiting for me to explain about the bet. Fine, I'll tell you how my life spontaneously combusted. I'll let you in on all the dirty little secrets about it that made it what it is today. I'm telling you, it isn't pretty.
Here's to the day my life changed forever. Whether for good or bad, I haven't decided yet.
Sora:
You know, I've never had a problem with being the oddball of my family. I'm the morning person of the family, and I'm the self proclaimed idiot. I'm the only one out of the Strife family with brown hair, and I'm the one who likes baking odd things for breakfast when everyone's still fast asleep. Call me creepy since I like being the only one awake (it's a habit I've never quite been able to break) but it gives me time to think about what I'm going to do for the day.
"Sora, are you going to clean up after yourself this time?"
Or… what I'm not going to do for the day.
Cloud suddenly walked into the kitchen and reached around my mess of attempted brownies, snagging a plain bagel and ignoring the iced chocolate that was closer. Pouting up at him I handed him my delectable treat but he ignored it and began eating the untoasted monstrosity without batting an eyelash at me. Pretending I didn't hear the underlying statement that the kitchen was a mess, I stepped around the egg shell on the floor and plomped myself into a seat, delicious brownie in hand. It would be devoured unmercifully.
"Sora, did you finish that project for your history class?" Naminé quietly walked into the kitchen and also ignored my offerings of brownies and icing, her dainty little hand grabbing an apple instead and turning away from the proffered snack. Crushed at her rejection I set the plate down at stared morosely at the deserts that no one but I would eat. Curse them and their health conscientiousness…
Wait… I had a project due?!
"What?!" I jumped up from the table and glanced around the room, panicked eyes falling onto the poster board that was half done. Well, not even. I think I got around to putting my name on it and doing an outline on the edges, but that was about it. Can you blame me? The teacher assigns us a project and gives us two months to do it… you'd get bored too! Naminé laughed quietly as I jumped up and ran over to the board, picking it up and opening it. Sure enough, the tri-fold opened to reveal… the outline around the edges and my name at the bottom.
"What's your excuse this time?" Cloud asked curiously as I let out a strangled cry and dropped the board, rushing across the room to pull out my history book. All of my papers were jammed in between the actual pages in the text, and with a panicked purpose I sifted through them, pulling out the project assignment paper and staring in shock at the due date.
Monday. Today. I was so dead.
"He'll probably say something about a family member being in the hospital." Naminé replied for me as I rushed back into the kitchen and slammed the board onto the table, ignoring the brownie dish as it was pushed off of the table and onto a chair.
"He used that one last year… said a distant uncle had mad cow." Cloud quietly replied as I took a bunch of paper from my book bag and the Elmer's glue, squirting globs onto the board and stamping the papers down in a mad frenzy. Hopefully my teacher wouldn't notice the sporadic organization… she did say half of it was from creativity anyway…
"Oh, that's right. Maybe this time he'll have mad cow?" Naminé looked over at me expectantly but I was busy trying to get the glue off of my hand that I'd somehow managed to get on. How did I do that? Panicked, I grabbed the uneaten part of Cloud's bagel and wiped the mess off, reaching across to stick another paper onto the board. Cloud made a sound in the back of his throat as he snatched the bagel back, but before he took a bite he realized what I'd done and then promptly threw it towards the trashcan with another growl in the back of his throat. I was so dead.
"He has some sort of mad disease." Cloud agreed angrily as he stood up and stomped back to the bagel bag where he grabbed another one. Naminé finished her apple and tossed the core out, giving me a slightly apologetic look before walking up the stairs to go and get ready. As I smoothed out the edges to the crinkled papers I slapped the last one on the board and smiled in relief as I closed the tri-fold up and tossed it next to my bag, successfully completing my soon-to-be-F.
All in a day's work.
Breathing a sigh of relief I reached down and around the table, grabbing another brownie from the plate as I walked back into the living room and looked up at the clock. I had thirty minutes before I had to go to school, so it was definitely time for cram-study.
Yeah… Spongebob sounded good.
"Sora, turn that off; you know we can't afford cable." As I turned it onto the specified channel Cloud walked into the living room and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV and looking me over with a skeptical gaze that always made me nervous. Though he worked part time he also went to college with a military scholarship. He was used to uniforms being in tip top shape, and sadly… mine wasn't. You can't blame me really; I wasn't going into the military!
"Sora… why aren't you more like Roxas?" Cloud asked quietly as he motioned to my tie that wasn't yet tied all the way. Glancing down I noticed that my shirt was a little wrinkled, but in my defense it was on the floor when I'd put it on, so of course it would be wrinkled. My shoes were untied but they were always like that; it took too long to tie them.
Wait… Roxas…
"Did anyone wake Roxas up?" I asked Cloud, ignoring his earlier question. He always asked me that in the mornings because of my disheveled appearance versus my twin's impeccable one. Seriously though, someone had to make up for that kid's perfection. I was the balance that kept everything stable. Without me, there would be too much perfection going on in the house. And that no one wanted to see!
"No, I didn't. Did you?" We looked at each other for a grant total of ten seconds before I burst into action. Running up the stairs I skidded into the hallway and raced down said hallway, reaching Roxas's door and knocking loudly, chirping brightly as I did so.
"Roxas!!! Roxas, it's time to face the day!!! ROXAS!!!!!" Hmm… no answer. Opening the door I looked into the room to see everything in perfect order and pristine cleanliness, the exact opposite of mine. Frowning at the lack of a twin in the room, I turned around to leave and then promptly ran into said twin. Giving a loud oomph! I fell back onto the floor and peered up at my put-together brother, Roxas.
He stared down at me incredulously with an eyebrow raised to his messy bangs as he held a hand out to help me up. Perkily I jumped up to greet him, smiling brightly as he gave me a scathing glare in return. No, Roxas was definitely not a morning person. That specific glare was reserved for mornings only.
"Who made the mess downstairs?" Roxas asked in his usual tone, stepping around me as he walked into the room to grab his things. I followed him as he did so, jumping onto his already made bed and bouncing on it for good measure.
"Oh, I did. I made brownies; Cloud and Naminé didn't want any, so you can have one if you want." I smiled and turned on his radio as he gathered his AP books and binders, stuffing them into a book bag that was already full of other stuff. Roxas always did seem to be tied down to everything. I wonder why? Maybe if he didn't take so many classes he wouldn't seem so stressful. I hardly took any advanced classes, and I was already stressed about a project! Who assigns those anyway?
As Roxas shouldered his bag he looked at my clothing with a critical eye before he stepped up and fixed my tie, straightening it and smoothening it down without having to tell me anything. That's how he was though. Roxas didn't really talk and when he did it was usually biting and sarcastic. I don't think he meant to be rude, but it was just how he was. Ever since… well, it was just how he was. Smiling in thanks I followed him out of his room and clicked the light off, ignoring the way it made the room look bleak and unused. Did he really like living like that?
"Your project's due today." Roxas reminded me dully as he descended the stairs and set his book bag down. I followed him into the kitchen where he skirted the mess where I'd made brownies and sat down at the table, absentmindedly grabbing a brownie from the plate and biting into it slowly as he nodded a good morning to Naminé . She was fully dressed now and had her hair combed into its usual style.
"He finished it this morning. Naminé assured Roxas in her laid back, soft voice. Exasperated, I glanced between the two of them, realizing something.
I was the only morning person. Sad, isn't it? Four siblings, and only one of us liked to wake up early!
Disgruntled, I walked back into the front room where Cloud was watching the news and tying up his own tie. He was dressed smartly in some sort of service uniform for his military class, the olive green and tan matching his skin tone, but not his eyes. Cloud had the Strife family eyes, the same blue color as the rest of us. Grinning eagerly I rushed over and helped him smooth out the non-existent wrinkles he always tried to get rid of. It always confused me though; how do you get rid of wrinkles that aren't there?
"The kitchen needs cleaning when you get home." Cloud said as he added a tie clip that was shiny and brass colored.
"I'll get it done tonight." I vowed brightly and looked back into the kitchen where the bowls, spoons, flour, sugar and chocolate coalesced together in one big mass near the stove. Oh… I made that mess? Blinking for a moment I turned back to Cloud, plastering a smile on my face.
"Roxas said he'd help." I informed him, chancing a glance back to the chair where Roxas had been sitting, only to find that he wasn't there. Confused, I turned all the way around and saw Naminé calmly putting her things together so that we could leave for school, but no Roxas. Where did he go!?
"I'll do no such thing." Roxas's voice appeared by my side and I jumped, letting out a rather pitiful squeak of surprise as I did so. How did he manage to do that? I've never been able to sneak up on people. I've always wanted to… but it's just something I can't accomplish. Another odd man out thing with my family… all the others can do it…
Yeah, I was definitely the oddball of my family.
Roxas:
I'm most definitely not a morning person. There's no doubt about it. There's nothing about the morning that I find appealing, and it's a waste of time to get up for it. Then, there's sleeping. Now sleeping I can work with. It's one of the best things about life, really.
"Who's ready for the day?!"
And then… there's Sora.
You'd think that with us being twins we'd be at least a little bit alike. I mean, sure we look alike, I suppose. We have the same facial structure, same mouth and eyes, and the same build. Our hair is different though; he has a shock of chocolate brown hair that spiked off of his head like he had been electrocuted, and I was just a simple blond with hair that no matter what I did I couldn't contain. Our voices were similar, his a bit happier though. If I tried to sound happy maybe I'd sound like him, but I didn't want to try.
What can I say? He's more athletic and I'm more inclined to books. He does track and swimming and I make trips to the library. He had a lot of friends… and I have one or two. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just saying we're different. Do I love him? Yes. I don't know what I'd do without that kid running around in the mornings and waking me up with his unnecessary banging in the kitchen as he made brownies. Which are really good, by the way. They're chocolaty and gooey without being uncooked. They're not burnt on the edges either.
Oh, anyway…
"Come on, Sora, let's get going." We began our trek to school Sora chattering to Naminé and I as I half listened and Naminé nodded politely along with his words. We walked to school because the school was a block away from our house and it didn't make sense to me to get on a bus with screaming, yelling, idiotic children.
Sora would have loved that.
"… and so I told Axel that I might have a birthday party, but only if Roxas wanted it. He said he'd make a big party with lots of people invited, just to spite Roxas, but I put my foot down this time, Naminé!"
"Oh, did you really?" Naminé supplied quietly as she smiled softly.
"I told him he'd have to talk to Roxas if he wanted a party, so I guess there won't be one!" Sora's face fell as he said that, and it was then that I realized who he was talking about.
"Wait, Axel said he wanted to throw you a party? Absolutely not, Sora. That kid is bad news I'm telling you." I felt anger in the back of my mouth and I resisted the urge to spit. Axel. If I ever had an arch-nemesis you could bet that he'd be able to fill the spot. He was one of Sora's friends, and a terrible influence. Sora used to really care about his studies, and now he doesn't. All because of Axel. That guy smokes and drinks and parties and I wouldn't put it past him to do drugs. I told Sora that a million times, but all the kid did was stare at me with big eyes and exclaim, "Roxas, that's not fair! You'd smoke too if you had the problems he did!" His problem? Fighting off his drinking problem. In order not to drink, he smokes. One bad habit for another. I didn't want to break his heart and point out that both were bad habits, so I let it drop.
"Oh, come on Roxas, it wouldn't be what you think! It'd just have our friends and cake and presents!" Sora laughed excitedly at the idea but I wasn't won over so easily. Drinks would be spiked, presents half assed, and then random people we didn't know would show up. Cops would come in and arrest us, and Cloud wouldn't bail us out of jail. He wasn't nice like that.
"And Axel hasn't come up to me to talk about it, so the answer's no." I replied evenly, curling my lip at the idea of that monstrosity actually planning a party for my brother.
"He probably knows what the answer would be, so he didn't bother trying to ask." Naminé suggested quietly, giving me a knowing look as I studiously avoided her gaze. Sora hadn't kept it a secret that I didn't like Axel, and Axel didn't keep it a secret that he didn't like me. We'd never met face to face before, but I was sure I could recognize a failure like him a mile away.
"Well Marluxia and Larxene broke up, so now Larxene is on the move and Marluxia is talking about her to everyone! Oh when Demyx heard about it he got so mad! I don't know why though, he broke up with his boyfriend and now that I think about it, he always did have his eye on Marluxia but he knew that Larxene and him just go together." Sora smiled and waved his hands as he talked, bright and excited about getting to see his friends. Personally, I thought his friends were a little crazy, but wasn't Sora as well?
We reached the school quickly and that was where we'd part ways. The school was divided into two parts, the "smart" side and the "dumb" side. It was really divided into normal classes on the left wing of the school and advanced classes on the right wing, but you get the idea. The middle was connected the long string of lockers and the cafeteria/ commons area where people would hang out. Naminé and I would go to the right whereas Sora would go to the left. Outside I could see his group of friends, their shouting and laughing riling my nerves up for no real reason; I guess it was because I just really didn't like his friends. Bad influences, the lot of them. Why did he stoop so low as to hang out with them? Sora rushed over to them before I could say anything though, so I let it go.
We walked down the hallway quietly as we reached our wing of the school, everything peaceful and laid back. A couple of people littered the hallways, talking and joking but it was mostly quiet, something I'd grown to appreciate. Honestly, school was for learning. Learning was just the ticket to getting out of Twilight Town. The faster you passed, the faster you got out of the small town that wasn't marked on some maps.
"Hey Roxas!" I gritted my teeth and continued walking Naminé to her first period, hoping that the girl that had called my name didn't want a response.
"Selphi said your name." Naminé informed me quietly, and I nodded in response, no desire to respond to her statement. Why didn't these people realize I didn't want to talk to them? As I gave Naminé a hug goodbye I walked down the hall to my first period class, AP chemistry.
"Hey Roxas, you do the homework?" I brushed past Yuna and her group, shrugging as an answer as I made my way to my lab table that had what few friends I had. Zexion's nose was in a book as I sat down next to him, and Fuu was absentmindedly staring out of the window. Setting my books down onto the table I pulled my homework out and my sketchbook as well, doodling absentmindedly as I waited for the bell to ring.
"Riku?" Fuu asked curiously, facing me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged non-committedly and continued doodling, nudging Zexion to inform him he was the one to answer, not me.
"He'll be late today. He had a run in with the office." Zexion answered as he turned the page of the book he was currently reading. Fuu nodded and turned back to the window, light purple/blue hair covering most of her face. I continued to draw but nodded all the same. Riku's credits were messed up for some reason and had been trying to get them fixed but the office couldn't find his tenth grade class credits. How they mysteriously disappeared I don't know, but it was enough to cause all of his older brothers to come rushing to the scene. I don't know much about his family but I do know that his older quadruplet brothers were a terrifying thing to behold when they're riled up.
"Roxas!" I felt someone come up from behind me and hug me tightly, their light perfume washing over me and making me cough as they attacked. Her voice was smooth and clipped, and it didn't take me long to realize who it was.
"Hey Lulu." I replied dully as she pulled a chair up to our table and sat down next to me. Lulu was a walking, talking, breathing contradiction. She dressed in gothic Lolita dresses, kept her makeup dark and smoky, and listened to musicians who's screaming voices could be heard even if she turned it down to the lowest decibel. She also was a very happy girl who sometimes skipped around from place to place and loved lots of manga. Make her angry though… and she snapped. It didn't help that she got angry very, very easily. Her pale face peered up at me with a smirk plastered across it, and she pushed her thick black bangs to one side of her face.
"So I saw your brother with Axel and the regulars again. Didn't you tell him to stay away from them?" She tilted her head quizzically at me and raised an eyebrow, ignoring the sound of annoyance that Zexion gave as she spoke. Though she wasn't my friend, she hung out with me no matter what I did, and I'd grown to just accept it, but Zexion would never accept it. He hated her just that much.
I gave a grunt in return and continued to doodle on my sketch paper, hoping she'd get the hint and stop talking.
"But honestly, I don't know why you care so much, Axel's not that bad. He hangs with my friends Yuna and Paine and they're still straight laced." She tapped her chin thoughtfully and shrugged, grabbing her lacy Lolita purse and peering into it before pulling something out. "Besides, he's hot." She shoved a picture towards my face of a small group of kids, but I pushed it away, not wanting to see whatever she had to show me.
"Why would you have a picture of him in your purse?" I asked her tonelessly as the bell rang. Our teacher walked in and slammed his briefcase on the desk sourly before jabbing a finger at the board and walking into his back office. Grabbing a sheet of paper I began the warm-up.
Lulu's eyes sparkled deviously. "The question is, why don't you have a picture of him in your purse?" She laughed darkly and grabbed a paper from my binder, copying down the warm-up in a loopy cursive I secretly wanted to learn how to do.
"Roxas doesn't have a purse." Zexion snapped as he closed his book and began the warm-up as well, sending her a scathing glare from beneath his bangs. He too only had one eye visible, much to my surprise. What was with everyone hiding one of their eyes? Looking over at Fuu, I saw that one of her eyes was also covered. What the hell? Without thinking, I reached up and pulled one of my messy bangs down, trying to cover one of my eyes too.
"Yeah cause he's not a flamer like you." Lulu shot back, grabbing my pencil and erasing something from her paper before sending a burning glare towards Zexion. I hunkered away from their brawl, disinterested.
"Problems with flamers?" Fuu asked curiously, glancing up from her work. Lulu smiled thinly and laughed.
"No, just this one." She sweetly replied. Instead of retorting with something biting, Zexion grabbed his book and opened it back up, his glare burning the pages. Ok, not really, but it was seriously a really impressive glare. An 8.9 almost. Though no one else could see because of his bangs, I saw the small smile that threatened to show through. Though Zexion hated Lulu, I was positive he kind of liked her and retaliated by hating her.
"Today we're reviewing for the exams coming up in a few weeks. Pass up your chapter outlines and we'll begin with this packet of work. Kairi, pass it out." Our teacher looked over at our table and he smiled sourly. "Though I'm sure you'll all do well, I'd suggest that if you have any problems, please hesitate to ask me. Roxas will be more than happy to help." I stared at him in blank horror, my face hiding the disgust that was welling up in me as my teacher winked and walked back into the back room. Kairi passed out the packets and smiled at me as well.
"Can I get some help, Roxas?" She asked kindly, settling the thick paper onto my book. Recoiling at the idea of helping the idiots in my class, I opened my mouth to decline.
"Of course he'll help!" Lulu said brightly, her smirk growing as I shot her a dark look. Kairi smiled and rushed back to get her things from her desk, motioning for her friends to follow her over to where I was sitting.
"What the hell was that for?!" I snarled angrily, grabbing the packet and looking at it morosely. I hated helping these kids. I didn't have the patience for it, and I never knew how to explain it. People always looked at me funny or like they were scared of me whenever they talked to me, so I don't really know how to handle them.
Also… I might be… well, you know… just a little bit… shy? Not that I'd admit that out loud, so forget I even told you.
Forgotten? Good.
"You need to make more friends." Lulu informed me as she patted down her dress and crossed her legs. Glowering, I glanced helplessly at Zexion and Fuu, but they didn't come to my rescue. Fuu worked silently on the packet and Zexion continued to read his book, merely glancing up distastefully as Kairi's group of friends arrived.
"I don't want- you don't think I- I have friends!" I defended myself as I gestured to where my excuse for friends did their own thing and let me argue with the girl who claimed to be my friend. Didn't she care that I didn't want to talk to these people!?
"They're hardly your friends. Zexion's been to your house what, three times? And Fuu hardly says a word to you guys, no offense, dear." Fuu shrugged and continued working, not caring that Lulu told the truth.
"Yes, but that's what a friend is to me. I don't want these-" I turned a helpless glare towards the girls that were talking animatedly in front of me. "People disrupting my work!" Lulu shrugged and sent a smile towards Tifa and Aerith who awkwardly saw my predicament.
"So help them and they'll leave." She advised me, smirk still intact. Glaring over at her I let out a frustrated sigh and opened the packet, kicking Zexion's chair as he chuckled under his breath.
Today was going to be a long, long day.
Sora:
I ran over to my group, excited to see Marluxia and Larxene sitting next to each other without hurting each other. Honestly, I didn't get their relationship, but they seemed to like it just fine. They were always off and on. When they were off they were at each other's throat's with daggers, and when they were on they were at each other's throats with a different object of obsession… yeah… anyway, it was apparent that they were on. His arm was draped around her shoulder and she had a hand resting on his leg, fingers tapping to the beat from the head phones that they were sharing. Wait, sharing?! Since when did they share anything?!
"Oh how cute!" I exclaimed as I waved at them and plopped down next to Marluxia. He sent me a dark look but I simply smiled back. Kill them with kindness, that's what Naminé told me.
"Sora!" I was bombarded with a heaping pile of Demyx as he tackled me and huggled me tightly. Laughing I flailed around as he righted himself and hid behind me, mock trembling in fear. Peering around I saw the object of his fear. Axel was walked towards us with a purpose, green eyes glinting dangerously.
"What did you do?!" I exclaimed and tried to wriggle away. Demyx held on tightly though, refusing to release me from the strangle-hold he had. Wide-eyed I fearfully watched Axel loom over us, cracking his knuckles and menacingly glaring.
"Demyx," He said slowly, rolling his neck and shaking his shoulders slightly. "Give me back my cigarettes." He said each word slowly and clearly, eyes narrowed as Demyx hunkered down even more behind me. I held up my hands innocently, hoping he'd see I was the reluctant shield.
"They're going to kill you!" Demyx shouted from behind me. Axel rolled his eyes.
"Death will get us all eventually. All I want is-" his speech broke off as Demyx ran out from behind me and took off at a sprint. Axel followed behind him easily, accidently pushing me and causing me to sprawl over the bench where Larxene watched the entire episode with glittering eyes.
"You ok?" She asked me in a hopeful tone, leaning up to peer over at me. Laughing I nodded and reached into my book bag for the item that would end the whole problem.
"Damn," She muttered, shrinking into her seat. Marluxia laughed at her disappointment and tried to console her, but she punched him in response. Pulling out the lifesaver of the day, walked over to where Axel and Demyx were currently wrestling on the ground for his cigarettes.
"Dem, just give me the stupid-"
"NO!"
"Don't make a scene, just –"
"NO!"
"It's only-"
"NO!"
"CAN YOU SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN NO!?"
"NO!"
"Who wants brownies?!" I shouted to them, holding up the plastic plateful of ooey gooey goodness. Both parties froze and stared at my treats, slack jawed and hunger-lust in their eyes. Shaking the brownies tantalizingly in front of them I slowly walked back to the bench, relieved when Axel released Demyx from his strangle hold and let the blonde boy fall back onto the ground. Demyx scrambled up and they both made it over to me with hunger plain on their faces. Removing the plastic top I offered them some, and each grabbed two and shoved them into their mouths. Demyx made a slight moan in the back of his mouth and fell onto the bench next to Marluxia, draping an arm around him and ignoring the glare sent his way.
"Your cooking skills are… aaaah…" Demyx sighed and bit into the second brownie. Axel grunted his agreement and finished off his before reaching around to grab a third.
"Oh no you don't!" I jumped away and put the plastic back on top. "Some of these are for Roxas if he comes to lunch with us today." I informed them and pushed the brownies back into my bag. Axel gave a great snort behind me and Demyx shook his head slowly.
"Sora, he never comes to lunch, no matter how many times you offer." Axel said this to me slowly like I wouldn't understand it if he said it any faster. I probably wouldn't have... but that's beside the point!!
"I know, but he might today." I said brightly and grabbed my bag as the bell rang. Our first period teacher wouldn't care if we were late; she was the art teacher and just wanted our assignments by the end of class. I think her thought was it was better than us now showing up at all. It was art class afterall... who cared about art class? Well, probably Naminé but that was beside the point! Axel swung his bag over his shoulder and Demyx followed us as we talked. Marluxia and Larxene had a different class, so they stayed behind, probably not planning on going at all.
"You say that everyday, and everyday he says he's eating lunch with his friends. Does he even have friends?!" Axel exclaimed. I nodded in defense of Roxas as Axel snorted in disbelief. My nodding slowed as Demyx asked cluelessly, "Who're his friends?"
"Well… there's that boy, Zexion." I held up my fingers to tick off the names. "Well, they get along and what not, but I didn't really hear him talk much… um, then I think that girl, Fuu-"
"The one with the purple/blue hair?" Axel asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I saw them talking once… well, she said one word and Roxas nodded… uh, that kid with the silver hair on track team-"
"Don't they just have friendly competition?" Demyx asked me, breaking my third attempt at showing he has friends. I glowered pitifully and Demyx winced at my pathetic attempt at looking fearsome.
"Well, yeah, but they're friends… I think. I mean, he's just not the type to make- wait! That girl, the girl with the Lolita style-"
"The one that scares the living daylights out of anyone who pisses her off?" Axel supplied as Demyx shuddered in fear.
"Yeah! I saw them in the hall together… wait, no, she was following him around…" I stumbled to a stop as it hit me; my brother didn't really have friends. Axel paused next to me and raised an eyebrow, but Demyx kept walking, not noticing my epiphany.
"Sora…?" Axel ran a hand through his really big hair and frowned. I blindly looked up at the red spikes, confused. How did he get his hair like that? He must use a bottleful of gel everyday for it to shoot up like that and stay there all day. And if he did, how much money did it take? I'm pretty sure the guy lost a fortune on gelling products because of his hair being so big. He'd probably given up his college fund for gel just so that his hair would remain all spiky and random like that. If it rained would he look like a drowned cat? Would the gel goop off of his hair? Oh, that would be gross…
Wait, we were talking about my brother.
"My brother doesn't have any friends." I told him with a frown, mind back on the topic at hand. It was true though; Roxas only had Zexion over a few times, and they worked on school stuff. That Lulu girl was almost always with him but he didn't seem to like it. Actually, at school whenever I did see him he seemed to have a permanent unfriendly frown on his face. I didn't see him all that much though... the right wing students and the left wing students lead completely different lives. The two types of students didn't really talk to one another, and the only time to actually associate with each other was lunch.... which my brother avoided like the plague.
"Has he ever had friends?" Axel asked in a sarcastic tone. I frowned and nodded slowly as we began to walk again, stepping up the stairs to art class.
"Yes, he used to have a lot of friends. A few years ago, back in middle school…" I frowned and thought back to when we used to hang out all of the time together, our hobbies almost the exact same. I think I knew why he was like that, but I didn't want to say. Axel knew about it but didn't ask me about it, and for that I was grateful. It wasn't easy to talk about.
"Well if he's changed for the worse you can't fix it, Sora." Axel advised me wisely, rubbing the upside-down tear drop under his eye, a sign that he was agitated. "If he wants to be miserable you should just let him."
"But that's not what twins are for!" I shook my head and gave him a disapproving glance that he knew wasn't real. Sure enough I couldn't hold back the smile that took over.
"Has he talked to you at all lately?" Axel asked after a few moments of silence. I shook my head, debating whether or not to tell the truth. Axel didn't like how Roxas would ignore me, but he didn't know that that was just how Roxas was. Roxas didn't talk a lot, and he focused more on school than anything else in the world. He was a really, really shy guy and when he was gruff it was because he was embarrassed. A lot of kids here thought he was an ass, but that was because they didn't know him. He didn't show emotions well, but he did care about me. He just didn't know how to show it.
"We talked a little bit this morning… you know, about the birthday party." I hoped that he wouldn't see the way I stepped around it. Yes, we did talk about the birthday party… no, it wasn't an actual conversation. We walked into the art room and slipped into the chairs at the back table, nodding to Demyx who was leaning over the table and talking to someone in the row in front of us. The assignment was on the board and was due the next class period, so Axel and I kept our stuff put up, knowing we weren't going to do it. I had to accept it; I sucked at art. Naminé and Roxas were amazing at that stuff, but Cloud and I… well, lacked in that department.
"And what did he say?" I shrugged, trying to look casual.
"He doesn't… like the idea of big parties…" I hedged, still telling the truth. It wasn't a lie that Roxas didn't like big parties, but that wasn't his actual answer. Axel gave me a dubious stare, but let it drop. He knew I was defensive of my brother, and even though he didn't like him, he knew it would make me upset to talk about him.
"…And so now he doesn't have his cigarettes!" Demyx's conversation caught my attention and I looked over where Pence and Olette listened with laughter on their face. Axel muttered a curse under his breath and grabbed Demyx by the back of his jacket, yanking him onto his chair with a snarl.
"Will you shut up about that?!" He grumbled, rubbing his tattoo again. Axel had gotten in trouble for having cigarettes in school a few weeks ago, and didn't want the principal finding out again. But why would he care? Axel had a reserved seat in the principal's office, why should he care whether or not people heard? Demyx just laughed though and raised his eyebrows.
"Oh don't be a spoilsport Axie! You might get them back." Demyx giggled maniacally and rubbed his hands together, darkly staring at my slightly scared expression and Axel's amused one. Wait, his amused one? He should be mad that Demyx stole his stuff!
"I think I already did." Axel said with a black chuckle, hand opening to reveal the packet he'd been fighting for earlier. Demyx's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped in shock. He patted his pockets in disbelief before looking up at Axel with a narrowed eyed glare.
"Give them back." Demyx growled non-threateningly, popping his knuckles the same way Axel had. Axel stood up slowly, smirking and holding the object of Demyx's anger.
"Over my dead body." Axel goaded, standing up slowly. Backing away from Demyx he winked at me and then turned his attention back to a glowering Demyx.
"That can be arranged!" Demyx suddenly gave a very loud and attention grabbing war cry, springing from the chair and launching himself at the much taller and stronger red head. People turned to watch them race back and forth in the back of the art room, their eyes rolling as they saw who it was. I watched with amusement, rolling back and laughing as Demyx tackled Axel and scrambled for the bane of Axel's existence. I don't think he could go without cigarettes for a day. That would suck though… was a addicted to anything? Hmm… I could be addicted to brownies… I mean, if I don't have one during lunch time I'll probably go crazy… but don't people already call me crazy? Maybe I was addicted to wearing these big yellow shoes… I don't think I could ever give them up. When Roxas almost threw them out once… ah, I remember when-
"SORA!" I jumped and promptly fell out of my chair as Axel and Demyx came crashing into our table, landing heavily on top of me and tipping the other chairs over too. Axel was trying to get away, laughing and taunting Demyx who struggled to reach the pack that was just out of his arm length.
"Get it, Sora!" Demyx cried out as Axel pushed his head away and then, without noticing, dropped the pack onto my chest. Pushing through the tangle of arms and legs I pocketed the object of Demyx's panicked, spazzy rage and watched as they began wrestling again.
"Boys… can we please keep that sort of thing outside?" Mrs. Megora watched us with an eyebrow raised, and because they couldn't hear her over their shouting and what not, I decided to reply for them.
"Of course!" I exclaimed, kicking Axel and Demyx for good measure when she folded her arms and waited for us to stop. As they did they looked up at her and smiled innocently she rolled her eyes and sauntered back to her seat, motioning for everyone else to continue working.
Yeah… all in a day's work.
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