Chapter One: Axel

Freshman year had been a breeze, it had passed by before anyone had even realized it was gone. The same had followed with Sophomore year. Now that he was a junior, Axel was preparing to buckle down. It was the time to make count as he prepared for the last two years that would lead him up into college.

Today was the beginning of junior year, and already the pyro found himself worrying about what was to come as he stood at the bus stop. Everyone smelled like new clothes, and fresh pencils. That's the only information he could attain as he continued to gnaw on his lip as if nothing else mattered in the world.

Finally, in an attempt to soothe himself he scanned the crowd standing with him at the bus stop. There were more Freshman than anything. He could vaguely remember when he was a Freshman.

Near the edge of the crowd, a lively looking group caught his eyes. Obviously Freshman, they appeared to be eighth graders yet they were at the high school bus stop. Leaving only one option.

The small group consisted of four people, two blondes, one red head, and one with brown hair. The two blondes caught his eye the most. One was male and the other female.

The girl had platinum colored hair, compared to the males sandy blonde hair. Her eyes were a crystal colored blue and they were alive with laughter. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and her mouth was clothed with a small smile. She had the appearance of an eighth grader, but she seemed mature. Her form was developing, an hour glass figure being the prediction of the near future. She wore a loose plain white t's shirt and dark washed jeans with ballet flats.

As he payed attention to the young teen's conversation he learned that her name was Namine. Then there was her companion. The sandy blonde male standing beside her.

He to had blue eyes, darker than Namine's. He had the appearance of a skater. Wearing a loose jacket, shirt, and jeans; along with checker boarded vans slip ons.

Still paying attention to the conversation, Axel learned that he answered to the name of Roxas.

Roxas and Namine, they seemed close. As he watched them, biting his lip as he did so, Axel pulled his lips into a small smile.

Roxas took notice to this, and shot the red head a glare.

"What in the hell are you looking at?" He growled crossly. This sudden invasion of voice made the red head jump. He pointed to himself, thinking that perhaps Roxas had been referring to someone else. Roxas disproved this thought as he nodded.

"Yeah you, bastard! What are you some kind of pedophile?"

Axel released a nonchalant laugh. 'Kitty has claws.' He thought to himself as he stepped towards the group, long legs permitting him to reach them with only two steps. "Pedophile, me? No. Oh no. I'm a sadist." He answered with a large smirk. Roxas' expression contorted into one of horror.

"Really?" The blonde choked, taking a step backwards. This caused Axel to smirk.

"No. I'm just a bored junior, staring at the newbies in search of some amusement." He replied. Roxas scowled, crossing his arms as he continued to glare at the red head.

Axel nonchalantly patted the blonde on the head, laughing as he did. "Now, now Blondie. No need to be so rude." He teased. This only caused Roxas to grow all the more angry.

As if it was meant to save Axel, the rickety yellow death trap otherwise known as the bus rolled into the neighborhood. The small group of Freshman dispersed so as to escape the horror of the invading Axel.

The end of the day arrived faster than the red head would have expected for the first day, which usually moved slower than a sea of melted gremlins. Then again the teachers had spent most of the day going over all the rules and the dress code and what not for those few dull students who enjoyed emptying their brains over the summer.

The bell rang, and the red head gathered up everything he had removed from his binder in last period. Cramming it back into the folder, Axel escaped the room before his teacher could say a single word to him. The teachers had a habit of bugging him, on account of Axel's father was the school principle. What more could he ask for?

Skidding to a halt as he arrived in the bus loop, Axel scanned the buses parked at the curb til' he spotted his own. The bus was crowded, and only a few seats were left open. None were completely empty. Every seat was occupied by at least one person. Smiling, Axel wandered down the aisle a little ways before he plopped down beside a familiar sandy blonde freshman.

"Hi there. Nice seeing you again." The red head said, pulling his lips back into one of his famous smirks. Roxas immediately scowled. "What do you want?" He questioned crossly, directing his gaze which had already hardened into a glare at the offending red head. Axel's face converted into a sad frown.

"I was just looking to be friends. I'm Axel." He announced, extending his hand in Roxas' direction.

"Fuck off." Roxas grunted, turning from the pyro to glare at the seat in front of him. Axel pouted, but played along nonetheless.

"Nice to meet you fuck off, that's a lovely name. What is it? English? Hebrew?"

Axel's sudden smart ass comment resulted in a sudden pain stemming from his nose.

"Holy shit you punched me!" He exclaimed, clutching his nose. Roxas laughed. "Yeah, now fuck off. My father's a lawyer." Axel rolled his emerald colored eyes. "Yeah, well mines the principle. Don't do that again. Got it memorized?"

Roxas gave Axel a spectacle look, as if questioning his motives before he scoffed and turned away again. "Yeah, sure." He said completely blowing the red head off.

Reaching into his bag, Axel produced his ipod slipping the ear buds into his ears. This was going to be a long ride home.