This is being written as a collaboration between me and ShadowofThePhoenix on deviantArt. He's also posting this in his gallery. I will be writing the odd-numbered chapters and he'll be writing the even-numbered ones. There's a good possibility that, between the two of us, this might take a while so you'll just have to bear with us, okay?

"You have to stay strong no matter what," Axel remembered his mother always telling him. "People are afraid of what they don't understand. They'll try to get rid of what they don't understand in an attempt to protect themselves from their fear. So you have to be strong. You have to fight back." Those words were the reason Axel didn't yell for help or try to run as he was pushed roughly into a wall the moment he thought he was along in the gym change room. Although he was disoriented by the unexpected hit, he immediately turned around to face his attacker. He recognized the scarred blond wearing a black tuque from one of his classes but couldn't remember his name. Behind him stood a tall, burly black-haired boy and a shorter lavender-haired girl, both of which he also couldn't name.

"What the hell do you want?" Axel grumbled as the three stared silently at him.

"We want you outta our school, y'know?" the black-haired one said, crossing his arms across his wide chest.

The blond nodded. "Exactly. We don't need fags like you running around our school."

"Leave," the girl hissed.

Defensiveness rose in Axel's throat like bile, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. One day in a new school and I'm already getting picked on for getting pushed out of the closet immediately. Fucking fantastic. "Or else what?" he snapped, stepping away from the wall to get in the blond's face. The first fist he was expecting and easily lifted an arm to block. The second he didn't prepare for and made him stumble away with a slight, startled yell. He tried to strike back, but didn't have time to collect himself before the larger boy stepped forward to continue hitting him. Though he managed to counter with a few hits of his own, he could mostly just keep his arms up to protect his face.

By the time the group bored and left, laughing and shouting back insults, Axel couldn't stop himself from trembling violently, not from fear or even the pain throbbing through his body, but from the bubbling anger filling him

Ignoring the protest of bruises, he pushed himself to his feet and slowly left the change room, hands still clenched into fists. I'm sorry, Mom. They caught me by surprise. I'll fight back next time, he apologized silently. He was fully expecting a next time. He knew from experience that people like that wouldn't give up until you listened to every word they said. He was never going to give anyone that satisfaction.

The halls of his new school were, thankfully, empty so late after school, so he didn't have to worry about stares that the bruises mottling his skin would undoubtedly bring. If nothing else, questions would wait until he got home. For that, at least, Axel was grateful.

He had just gotten his jacket from his locker and started heading out of the building, however, when a ripple of vaguely familiar, high-pitched laughter broke the silence. Taking care not to be seen, he looked into the front foyer. The blonds stood there facing each other. One, a spiky-haired boy Axel hadn't seen before, stared wide-eyed at the floor, tightly clutching a bag to his chest. The other Axel recognized as Larxene; a girl from one of his classes, the same class he shared with the boy who lead his attack, who had started shamelessly flirting with him the moment they met and only seemed more amused by his obvious discomfort when he told her bluntly that he was gay. At that moment, she was saying something he couldn't hear to the blond boy. The boy flinched at her words and squeezed his cerulean eyes shut. Larxene laughed loudly again and, with a sassy wave, sauntered away out the door. As soon as the door closed behind her, the boy trembled violently and a few tears fell to the floor, bright in the sun.

Is bullying really this prominent at this school? Axel asked himself, surprised. Though he didn't really want anyone to see his state, he felt the need to reach out to the silently crying boy. As quietly as he could, he approached the blond before lifting his hand towards him. "Hey. You okay?" he asked softly, putting his hand on the other's shoulders as he stopped in front of him.

Letting out a startled yelp, the boy jumped back a step and stared at Axel in surprise for a second. "I-I'm fine," he stammered, wiping at his eyes. Falling silent, he stared at Axel for a second. "Are you new here?" he asked quietly just as Axel was about to open his mouth. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

Realizing the boy was just trying to avoid questions about what just happened to him, Axel just nodded. "Today was my first day. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

Looking confused, the boy nodded. "I'm Roxas." He slowly looked Axel over. "Are you okay?"

"Just a couple bruises," Axel insisted calmly.

Roxas nodded and looked at the floor. "I-I actually heard about you today," he murmured. "It was Seifer and his gang that did that, wasn't it?"

Seifer. That's right. Slightly surprised, Axel nodded. "I guess so."

Chewing his lip, Roxas looked back up at him. "You should be careful. They're not going to stop until the rumours of you being gay do."

Axel sighed. "It's not a rumour. I am gay."

Obvious surprise crossed Roxas' face. "Wait, it's true? Y-you shouldn't have told anyone."

"So I've noticed," Axel attempted to joke, though he was really trying to riddle out what the blond was saying. "But what do you mean?"

"This is a terrible school," Roxas murmured, looking down again. "There are a lot of people who get a lot of pleasure from torturing others and there aren't many students or even teachers who will actually help if someone's picking on you or beating you up."

Hesitating, Axel tried to decide whether what he was about to say would be okay. How much can it hurt? he finally decided. "Are those words from experience?" he asked as gently as he could, trying to show he meant no harm by those words.

The blond flinched again. "Y-yeah..."

When he didn't elaborate, Axel decided not to push him. "Well, if you'd like, I can help you however I can. Larxene seems to have already taken some kind of twisted liking to me, so I'm sure I can help you with her, at least."

"I-it's okay... You don't need to do that."

"I want to."

The slightest hint of a smile touched Roxas' lips. "Th-thank you. We probably shouldn't be seen with each other at school too much, though. Larxene usn't the only one after me, and I don't want the others going after you as well."

Not entirely caring about getting chased by petty tormenters but worried about Seifer and his gang going after Roxas, the first person to actually be nice to him, Axel nodded. "That's fine. Can we hang out after school, though? I'm sure my uncle won't mind me bringing a friend home after my first day."

Startled, Roxas looked back up again. "Y-you want to be friends?"

Axel just nodded.

The smile spread slightly across Roxas' face. "Thank you. I-I'd like that. No one's at my house right now, so no one's going to worry about me."

Nodding, Axel smiled back. "Come on. My uncle's house isn't that far away." Silent expect for the sound of their footsteps, they slowly left the school side-by-side.