Rox3l: Okay, I know I have like 3 other stories that I need to be working on but this is something that I've had kicking around in my head for a while now. I hope you like it and let me know what you think. I will also try really hard to get a chapter of Roxas' Story and Let's Talk About Sex out by some time next week.
~O~
Roxas Strife was pouting. Not only was he pouting, he was sulking, pissy and just being all around unpleasant. Him and his family were being moved from sunny California, all the way across the country to New Hampshire, a state he had not even heard of until his father had announced that they were moving there. His twins and older brother were really excited about the move, which pissed Roxas off even more. He was leaving behind everything. Everything. His friends, his school, his boyfriend. His life was effectively over. It wasn't fucking fair.
He glared up at the white three story building and placed his feet on the back the front seat. The rest of his family was clamoring out of the van, eager to explore their new home. He scowled, determined to not get out of the car until he was dragged out, probably by Sora. Looking up at the building again he started, sitting up straight and moving closer to the window. The curtains of one of the windows on the second floor were swaying slightly, as if they had just been touched. Roxas' eyebrows came together. He knew he had excellent eye sight, but for a second he was doubt what he had seen. He swore that he had seen someone standing in that window, looking out.
He shook his head and went back to slumping, there must just be someone in there is all. Is what he told himself as his older brother Cloud threw the sliding door open and demanded that he 'get the fuck out.' Sighing in annoyance, Roxas complied. Grabbing his backpack, which was full of his important electronics and dismounted from the car. Stepping out into the sunlight he winced slightly before following his brother across the street to the new house. His father had the keys in his hand and was unlocking the front door. Sora, his eight minute older fraternal twin dashed across the threshold as soon as the door was open. Laughing, his parents followed the brunette, his father's arm wrapped gently around his mother's shoulders. Ventus, his identical twin was just behind them, in step with Cloud and Roxas was bringing up the rear.
Dragging his feet he looked up at the window he had noticed before and froze. A pair of bright green eyes in a pale face stared back at him. His heart stuttering he looked down at the open door and sprinted into the house. He bounded threw the living room, racing for the stairs. His feet pelted up the hardwood steps that would take him to the second floor. When he reached the landing he turned to the door at the end of the hall. His heart was pounding in his chest as he took careful steps toward the wood. He placed his fingertips against the cool surface and gave it a shove. The door swung open, to reveal and empty room. Roxas' brow furrowed and he moved into the room, his eyes glancing into each corner of the room confirming that it was indeed empty. Confused, he moved to the closet and grasped the crystal handle. He pulled the door open and there was nothing. Just a small empty rectangle of space. Closing the closet door again he moved over to the window he had seen the face in and pushed the lace curtains apart. He looked down at the street where he could see the family car and the moving truck pulling up.
"This place is awesome." Sora stated walking into the room.
Roxas didn't say anything and continued to look out the window.
"Uh, Earth to Roxas? Man, what's with you? First you bolt up here like someone lit your ass on fire and now you're just standing here spacing out. What gives?"
Roxas turned away from the window and let the curtain drop, the light fabric swaying slightly for a second as it fell back into place and was still. Taking a breath he looked at his brother, "I thought I saw someone in here."
Sora gave him a look of confusion, "What?"
"When I was outside, I swear that I saw someone looking out this window."
The brunette came forward and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, "It's an old house. It was probably just a reflection or something your brain misinterpreted."
"Yeah," Roxas said softly knowing full well that he didn't believe that. He knew what he had seen.
He father entered the room and gave it a once over before looking at his sons. "Hey boys, you picked out your rooms yet?"
Sora shook his head and skipped out of the room to pick his first bedroom that was all his own. Roxas watched him go then looked up at the older man, "I want this room."
His father gave him slightly confused eyes, "This one? It's rather small. Are you sure you don't want one of the bigger room? Your mom was thinking of using this as an office."
Roxas shook his head and gave his dad the full weight of those big blue eyes, "Please dad? I really like this room."
After a moment his dad smiled and came forward to ruffled Roxas' hair, "If it's the one you really want then of course you can have it. After all, this is the first time all you boys will each have your own rooms."
Roxas gave him a wide grin and hugged his father. The older man ran his fingers threw his son's bright blonde hair, "I'm glad it makes you happy."
The two pulled apart at the sound of a large crash downstairs and Roxas' mother shrieking at Ventus. His father gave him an amused smile before muttering that they should go downstairs and help move everything into the house before Ventus hurt someone. Roxas gave him a smirk, nodding and followed, stopping in the doorway to give a last glance at the room. The curtain was moving in the stillness of the air.
~O~
Roxas laid on his mattress, the small room he had chosen for himself was filled with boxes, the box spring and frame of his bed shoved up against one of the walls. They had managed to get all of their things unloaded from the truck and mostly into the rooms they were going to be unpacked and kept in, but that had been about it. For the most part, everything was still packed away waiting to be freed. His iHome was sitting on top of an unopened box, the glowing back light illuminating the numbers 3:36. He wasn't sure what had woken him, just that something was out of place.
Laying still for another second he heard it. The creek of the floor boards above him. His brow furrowing he sat up, looking at the ceiling. Sitting there in the stillness of the night he listened to what sounded like a pair of boots walking across the floor, then back again. On the third pass Roxas got out of bed and went to his discarded pants, taking out his iPhone 4S. He scrolled through his apps before he got to the one he wanted and tapped it.
The beam of light seemed painfully bright in the darkness of the room, but his eyes adjusted quickly. Going out into the hall, he passed the closed doors of his parent's and Sora's rooms before coming to the rope that hung from the ceiling, halfway down the hall. Moving a box that was sitting against the wall under the trap door he stood on it and reached out and gave the string a yank. The folding ladder gave a moan of protest but then was silent as he pulled it down, unfolding it. He held his phone awkwardly as he placed his foot on the bottom rung and stepped up. When he could peek his head into the attic he lifted his phone, the beam of light cutting like a knife into the darkness.
His heart was in his throat as he moved the light across the floor and along the walls. A thousand terrifying horror movie scenes flashing through his mind. Nothing was there, and the footsteps had stopped. Sighing, he climbed back down and pushed the ladder back up into its rightful spot. He then shoved the box back against the wall and calmly went back into his room. He placed his phone next to his iHome and laid back down, snuggling back into the covers. Just as he was about to drift back off to sleep, the steps started again but at this point he was too tired to care. He listened as they made their way across the attic then back again a few times before sleep finally pulled him under.
~O~
Roxas' eyes pulled themselves open as the annoying beeping of his alarm dragged him from sleep. Rolling over he groaned and lifted himself up onto his elbows so he could fumble for the off button. Pressing it he sighed in relief and fell face first back into his pillow. He was just this side of falling back asleep when his door slammed open causing him to shoot up in panic. Sora came bounding into the room, dressed and ready for the day. Roxas growled at him and pulled the covers over his head. Sora regarded his twin thoughtfully before taking a hold of the end of the blanket and ripping it from Roxas' body. The blonde gave a cry and lunged for the comforter. Sora dragged it with him as Roxas clamped on the other end and tried to drag it back to his bed.
"Let go!" He hissed planting his feet firmly against the floor and tugging.
"It's time to get uh-up," Sora singsonged.
"Let go, Sora!" Roxas pulled harder at the blanket and Sora relented, releasing the comforter. Roxas wasn't expecting the sudden lack of tension and went flying back, his ass colliding hard with the floor.
Sora doubled over laughing as Roxas swore, the pain in his tailbone causing tears to form in his eyes. "Fuck!" He cried getting to his feet and rubbing his butt.
"Watch your mouth!" Came the shout from down the hall.
Cloud appeared in the doorway of Roxas' room, "You two better be ready to go in ten minutes or I'm leaving your asses here."
"Language!" Came his father's voice again.
Roxas sighed and shooed his brothers out of his room with the promise that he was getting dressed. He then went to an open box and began pulling clothes out of it. After looking at several different articles of dress he settled on a tight black long sleeved shirt and blue jeans. He then tugged on his favorite band hoodie, grabbed a pair of socks and headed downstairs. Sora and Cloud were rummaging threw a couple of boxes marked 'food' as he came into the room and pulled one of the kitchen chairs out, plopping down into it to pull his socks onto his feet. Cloud gave up the search for something to eat before they left for school, Sora on the other hand had found a box of Reece's Puffs and was shoveling handfuls of the cereal into his mouth.
"Where's Ven?" Roxas asked when he had both socks snugly on his cold feet.
Cloud shrugged, "I don't know if he even got out of bed, but if he's not here in the next 2 minutes I'm leaving him here."
Roxas pushed himself to his feet and padded into the living room, pausing at the bottom of the stairs. "Ventus! Get your fucking ass down here or you won't have a ride to school."
His father's face appeared over the banister, "What have I told you boys about your language?"
"Sorry," Roxas called up at him as his twin came hurrying down the stairs.
"We're leaving!" Cloud called from the kitchen just before the side door slammed.
Roxas gave his father one last look before dashing off after his brothers. He let the door slam behind him and ran up to the van, hoping in the back after Ven and sliding the door shut. When they were all settled Cloud started the vehicle and pulled away from the curb. It was literately a five minute drive to their new school. As Cloud pull into a parking spot kitty corner to the school Roxas mentally prepared himself. He hated meeting new people, especially when he was with all three of his brothers. Don't get him wrong, he loved his brothers more then anything.
It was just hard taking the whispers and stares. Ventus took a breath and held it before he climbed over Roxas and pulled the door open, getting out. Hesitating for only a moment he followed, watching Sora get out of the front seat and standing with them. Cloud was already halfway across the street, not waiting for his brothers. Roxas didn't hold it against him in the least. He knew Cloud hated the attention just as much -if not more- then he did.
The triplets stood there for a moment looking at each other before they too moved toward the high school and the massive amount of students that were gathered outside the front doors. As they got closer Roxas could already see them getting noticed and he scowled. Groaning inwardly as he saw person after person tap their friends on the shoulder and point at them. Sora was the only one out of the three that actually enjoyed the attention, he was greeting people and smiling at the girls, waving. Ventus wasn't as bothered by the attention the three of them got as Roxas was, but it still got under his skin sometimes. People often treated them like they were a single unit and not three separate people.
Cloud had already disappeared into the building so they headed in after him, turning to the right and into the main office that was just off the front doors. It was a lot less noisy in here and Roxas relaxed. He saw Cloud at the main desk talking to an older brunette, she handed him 4 sheets of paper and had him sign a few others. He thanked her then turned around and walked to his siblings. He handed each of them a sheet and as Roxas looked at it he realized it was his schedule.
Glancing over it he was pleased to find that he had gotten into all the classes that he had requested. They then headed out of the office and into the cafeteria that sat across of the main doors after you walked in. Roxas ignored the looks that they got as they entered and followed the other three as they say down at and empty table. Him, Sora and Ven then compared their classes. They had all of their core classes together. Math, English, History, Economics and also had Lunch together. Him and Sora had Music Appreciation and he had Advanced Pottery with Ven.
"I'm gonna go mingle," Sora said popping up after they had figured out who had what with who.
Roxas watched him go, Sora had always been very sociably, where as he was more of a wall flower. Ventus stood then and said he was gonna go find out about joining the soccer team. That left Roxas with his eldest brother until the bell rang. Thankfully, Cloud was uninterested in talking, choosing to stare blankly at a brunette across the way. The two of them sat in silence for the next ten minutes, Roxas sketching in his art book and Cloud people watching. Finally, the bell rang and it was like a flood as every student went to get up and leave all at the same time.
"I'll see you later!" Cloud called as he slung his black backpack over his shoulder.
"Alright!" Roxas shouted back as he picked up his pencils and stuffed all his things back into his bag. He then made his way haphazardly toward the mass of bodies trying to fit through the double doors that lead out to the courtyard.
~O~
Roxas sighed as he sat at one of the circular lunch tables, his little Styrofoam tray sitting neglected in front of him. So far it wasn't all that bad here. His teachers seemed really nice and the lessons were, so far, easy to follow. He just wasn't used to not knowing anyone. Sure, he wasn't as sociable as his brothers were, but that didn't mean he hadn't known who people at his previous school were.
"Excuse me?"
Roxas looked up at the pretty blonde girl and the two boys that were standing just behind her.
"Mind if we sit with you?"
Roxas shook his head, "Sure."
The girl smiled at him and the three took seats at the table, sitting opposite him. Just then Roxas spotted Sora and Ventus out of the corner of his eye and he stood, waving them over. Sora saw him and his face lit up, scampering over with Ventus trailing behind him. They each took a seat on either sides of Roxas and the three other occupants of the table stared at them.
"You're twins?" The blond boy asked.
"Triplets," Roxas replied. "This is Ventus and Sora. Ven and I are identical twins, Sora is our fraternal twin."
The girl smiled at them, "That is so cool!" she gushed. "This is Hayner and Pence. I'm Olette," She said after another moment.
"Roxas," He introduced himself.
She gave him another smile and picked up her fork, "So, did you guys just move here?"
"Yeah," Sora answered. "We moved here from Cali."
"Seriously?" Hayner said. "I've always wanted to go out there. I've heard it's amazing."
Sora nodded in agreement, "It's pretty great."
They all fell into a comfortable silence as they began eating. Roxas looked at them thoughtfully, deciding that so far he liked them. They hadn't made a big deal about them being triplets, which was a nice change.
"Where are you guys living?" Pence asked after taking a gulp of milk.
Roxas swallowed what was in his mouth, "The big white house on Dubuque." He answered.
The other three went still and stared at him. "What?" He asked after a moment.
"You don't know?" Hayner asked looking at them in shocked disbelief.
"Know what?" Ventus asked setting down his plastic fork. He was finding their reaction to their house odd.
Hayner and Olette exchanged a look, "It's just, no one has lived in that house for a very long time. Like, ten years."
Roxas gave them confused eyes, intrigued. "Why?"
The two other blonde exchanged another look before Olette leaned in closer. "Someone was murdered there."
Ventus snorted, "Seriously? Are you trying to mess with the new kids? Tell them a killer lived in their house?"
No," Olette protested shaking her head. "It's true. Here. I'll show you." She got up and left the table. The five boys waited for her to return, none of them saying anything to each other.
Roxas saw her first almost 10 minutes later weaving through the crowds of people with a piece of paper in her hands. She handed it to Roxas who saw that it was a printout of a newspaper article.
Tragedy In Hollow Bastion
At 7:30 this morning police raided the home of one Ansem Arclight on suspicion that he was abusing his adoptive sons. They found one of the boys in the basement chained to the radiator badly beaten, but clinging to life. The other was found in what the police on scene could only describe as a torture chamber. The young teen was found strapped to a bed and had been raped and tortured to death. Ansem pleaded not guilty to the abuse and murder charges claiming that he loved his boys. The trial is set to start May 23rd 2002.
Roxas stared at the small article with wide eyes. The memory of footsteps above his ceiling last night sending chills down his spine. He passed the paper to Ven who took it and reread it. "Jesus, and this happened in our house?"
Olette nodded, "Yeah. They went to this school, my sister knew them."
Paling Roxas looked at her, "What was his name? The one that died, what was his name?"
She looked back sadly, "Axel. His name was Axel."
~O~
Roxas stretched his arms over his head and took a deep breath. After lunch the rest of his day had been pretty uneventful. He had gone to the rest of his classes, liked his teachers and had even made another friend by the name of Xion. She was a pretty dark haired girl that he shared his last period class with. Roxas liked her. As he headed out the doors he made a beeline threw the other students and jogged across the street to get the the family van. Sora was leaning up against the passenger side door. He grinned at his brother when he saw him and pushed off of the car.
"Hey, how was your first day?"
Roxas shrugged, "Eh, it was alright. My teachers are okay. And they are pretty much behind where I was so I'm not really worried about the lessons."
Sora nodded, "Yeah, I noticed that too." He looked over Roxas' shoulder. "Oh, good, there are Ven and Cloud. I can't wait to get home, I have so much shit I need to unpack."
Roxas snorted. He did too and he was not looking forward to going home and unpacking anything. Cloud didn't say anything as he pulled the keys from his pants pocket and unlocked the doors. Roxas thought it was a bit odd, seeing as Cloud didn't usually cut himself off from the three of them, but he figured he would leave him be. He, himself was still adjusting to the new setting and new life. When the four of them were seated Cloud started the engine and pulled down a side street, not wanting to try and go the way they came that morning, too many students milling over the street. Roxas was looking out the window mulling over everything that had happened that day. He liked the people he had met. None of they were overly in your face, like the people Sora tended to make friends with. Or jocks, Ventus' preferred group of friends. No, they all seemed to suit him well.
It wasn't long before they were pulling into the driveway of their new house again. Cloud cut the engine and was out of the van before any of the other three could move. They all exchanged a glance, wondering if something more then just the move was going on with their brother. He had seem perfectly okay yesterday and this morning, or as okay as Cloud got. What had happened during school hours?One by one the triplets filed out of the car, Roxas sliding the side door closed before following his twins up the front steps and into the house. Roxas was surprised at how homey it looked after only six hours of work. Sora called out for their parents, who were in the kitchen. Roxas tailed after Sora into the kitchen while Ven headed up to his room. Their mother had set a plate of pizza rolls on the table and the two boys dove for the snack, fighting over who would get more.
When they were gone and he had consumed a glass of milk to wash them down, Roxas excused himself up to his room, stating that he had a lot of homework to get done. He trudged up the steps to the second floor, his mind on what he had been told at lunch. He wasn't sure if he totally believed what Olette had told them. Then again, he had seen someone in his window and heard footsteps that belongs to no one last night. Chewing on his lip he pushed the door to his room open and froze. Brilliant green eyes turned toward him. He took in the teen's long red spikes, tattoos under those amazing eyes and his thin form.
"Who are you?" He demanded in a whisper.
"Me?" The redhead replied with a smirk. "My name is Axel. I died in this house."
~O~
Rox3l: I'm actually really proud with how this first chapter came out. Let me know your thoughts on it.