Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts.

In Joy and Sorrow

Chapter 1

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Roxas put a piece of toast in his mouth as he picked up his book bag. He glanced at his wrist watch quickly and headed out the door.

"Damn," he cursed as he locked the door to his house. "There's no way I'm going to be late. I can't damn it!"

"I can't believe Sora left without me!" he muttered as he swallowed half of the toast. He ran at full speed toward his high school. "My junior year and I'm late! Damn you Sora!!!"

He raced toward the school gates. He finally spotted the building. The school bell began to ring as he tripped over a dog that had decided to run across the street. Roxas caught his balance quickly and tried everything in his power not to choke on the piece of toast that had lodged itself into his throat. He finally reached the gates and slipped through them before they had closed.

"And I am SAFE!!" Roxas exclaimed happily. "Now to get to homeroom!" He fumbled with a piece of paper as he pulled it out of his front pocket. He scanned it to find the room number. Roxas began to run again once finding the number. He began to put the paper away. "I'm almost there!"

Roxas was about to enter a hallway in the school building. He slowed down to take a look at each of the numbers. Roxas turned to look behind him where he heard the voice but he didn't stop running. He suddenly looked forward again and saw black fabric instead of the rest of the hallway. He tried to stop himself from colliding with the teen in front of him, but it was no use. They were both sent falling to the ground with a loud thud.

Roxas raised his head and looked down at the person below him. Roxas's face flushed as he realized that it was a senior. No one dared to mess with the seniors. It's like tradition. They were, after all, at the top of the food chain.

"And where do you think you're going?" the red-headed senior said slyly, a smirk painted across his face.

Roxas got off of him and jumped away. "I-I was just trying to get to class," Roxas stuttered nervously. "I'm so sorry!"

The teen quickly got up and towered over Roxas. "Just be careful next time, sweetie," he said, ruffling the younger boy's hair before stalking off.

Roxas was dumbfounded. He just pummeled a senior to the ground and all he got in return was a warning?? That was unreal... Roxas turned back to see the boy walk away from him casually. He wasn't hard to miss; his bright hair stood out in the mass of students. Roxas shook his head and went to class without any further mishaps.

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Axel casually walked down the hall, getting admiring sighs from a couple of girls along the way. He finally made it to his homeroom, and sat down next to his friends Demyx, Zexion, and Marluxia. Axel eyed his binder and sighed. He knew that kid. He knew him from..what was it? Kindergarten? Right, kindergarten. Ahh the good old days..

Roxas and Axel went to kindergarten together. Axel remembers Roxas getting teased a lot, but that's mostly because he was firing everyone up to do so in the first place. Axel was the kid who picked on Roxas the most; and even to this day he doesn't know why he did it. Axel could just IMAGINE what Roxas would do to him if he found that out... Axel shivered at the though. His friends just stared.

"Dude, you seem like you have a lot on your mind," Demyx said, "I think school has finally gotten to you."

Axel rolled his eyes. "I was just thinking is all."

Demyx's eyes grew wide and he let out a fake, dramatic gasp. "AXEL IS THINKING?!! CALL THE AMBULANCE!"

Axel chuckled lightly as he suddenly got an evil glint in his eye. "Demyx," he began deviously. "This is what it feels like when the skull is hit with cardboard." Axel gripped his binder and slammed it against Demyx's head. The blonde was lucky it was pretty much empty.

"Ow!!" Demyx yelped as he clutched his head tightly. "I was only kidding, sheesh!"

Axel ignored the idiotic blonde and proceeded to have a staring contest with Zexion. Axel cringed and looked away. Zexion always won staring contests; his expression never changes. Axel thought that his muscles tightened and now his face is stuck with a bored, emotionless stare.

Zexion was the quiet one who was unbelievably intelligent In other words, he's a genius. Demyx on the other hand, isn't quite on the same level. He could be Zexion's exact opposite. He was loud, obnoxious and not the brightest kid on the block.

Then there's Marluxia, the other smart one but a bit more down to earth than other students in his state of mind, meaning Zexion. He was Twilight Town's mascot. Why he took it up, is a big mystery no one would dare look into. Messing with Marluxia is like messing with the government. He'll take you down in a second.

Axel eyed his friends, laughing to himself about how different they all were. He had been friends with this group for quite a while; why Zexion even stuck with them is a complete mystery, and Axel was surprised any of them could stand Demyx for so long...

"So," Demyx began as he tried to ignore the pain. "What were you thinking about to begin with?"

"It's nothing," Axel sighed. No one needs to know, not yet at least.

'Maybe this school year won't be such a drag after all,' Axel thought with a smirk. He might have some fun with an 'old friend.'

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TA: Okay, to start things off, I'm Totally Anime. I wrote this story with a friend. Now, the story is starting out pretty good in my opinion. It's short, but it's good.

CloudsGirl: WHOO! I think that was great LOL kind of a short chappie but that's pretty much because our brains haven't been working (well mine anyways -.-;) Anyways, since TotallyAnime is working with me on this, the story is sure to be pretty long o.o;

BRACE YOURSELVES FOR RANDOM STUPIDITY AND SHRIMP! (yes..shrimp)