Roxas

I looked over the contacts paper Xemnas gave me, groaning in remorse for myself. This man I have to positively influence happens to live in Over Street. The street most notorious for drive-by's, gangs roaming around, theft, crack-houses, and crappy police patrolling. And I was required to go there at least four times a week to help Axel.

"I can't believe you did this to me, Cloud. I'll never forgive you for this," I moaned.

Cloud shook his head. "Don't do the crime if you can't pay the time."

"WHAT CRIME?! It was an accident, damn it!" I shouted.

"Hey," Cloud said, turning towards me and waving his spatula in the air. "Inside voices."

I sighed, sliding down in my seat. "Well can you at least drive me there and pick me up? I have to go to his house four times a week and I want to get it done ASAP by starting today."

Cloud laughed loudly. "Roxy, you got me fucked up! You actually think I'm going to risk my life driving you through the hood?! Who do you think I am?! Sorry, bud. You're on your own here. I value my life too much!" Cloud wiped a falling tear.

"But it's okay to risk mine by walking there?! The bus only drops me off at the front of the street! I have to walk to the way down to Axel's house!"

"Now is the time to consider taking up a religion for hope, my brother. I heard Buddhism is doing really well for some people."

I threw a nearby spoon at Cloud for his annoying sarcasm. Unfortunately, it missed. He had no pity for me whatsoever. He just saw all of this as easy entertainment. Won't be all fun and games when your brother turns up DEAD from a gunshot from the local gang.

I trudged towards the door, grabbing my $1.50 for a bus ticket and house keys. "Any last words before I die?" I asked, my hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah. Can you stop by Publix and get milk on the way back?" Cloud replied.

I grimaced in disbelief and stormed out of the house, not even bothering to close the door. I walked down the street to the bus stop and ran when I saw the bus pull up. I dropped the $1.50 in it.

"Where to?" the bus lady asked blandly.

"Over Street," I answered. She gave a quick dry laugh, looked me over, and started to drive.

I roamed the streets cautiously, glancing behind me every ten or so steps. I trembled at every man who walked down the street. Old ladies sitting in front of their houses shook their head at me, already recognizing new, vulnerable meat when they see it. One group of guys sitting on the car trunk, smoking weed eyed me down. I made sure not to give any eye contact and walked forward quickly. A car passed by with shouting people and I froze. But when the car drove by I got to see the man driving it was just rapping extremely loud to the music he was blasting.

Here it is! House 102, I thought, and walked onto the driveway, taking in the house. It was run-down and displayed many signs of neglect. One of the windows were taped up and bars were applied to every window. Graffiti was all over the front of the house, there were only a few brown tuffs of grass left on the dirt. The sidewalks were chipping off and uneven. The car parked outside was a dented 1990 Toyota Corolla. I gulped, walked up to the front door, and pressed the door bell. After about five minutes of waiting, I realized it didn't work. So I knocked. After three minutes, I repeatedly banged, and called for Axel.

Eventually, a man who looked to be in his early thirties opened the door. He had a cigar in his mouth, bags under his bright green eyes, a snarl on his lips, furrowed eyebrows showing aggression, and short spiky red hair, not as bright and long as Axel's.

He pulled out his cigar, tapped it, and jerked it towards me. "The fuck are you?" he asked. He had a heavy New Jersey accent, much much stronger than Axel's.

"Uh..." I said shakily, alarmed at how tall this man was. "I'm uh... I'm here for Axel Sinclair? I'm his peer counselor for-"

"Oh that stupid shit. Hold on." He slammed the door in my face. I heard a lot of screaming in the house before Axel popped out two minutes later, a beanie on his head, a black worn out hoodie, gray sweats, and worn-out Converse. "Roxas?" he asked. He smelled heavily of smoke. He looked around. "It's getting dark out. You trying to get mugged or something?"

"I doubt anyone is interested in four pennies and a school ID card," I assured.

He shrugged. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? Axel, I'm required to visit you here four times a week for an hour session of 'positive bonding reinforcement.'"

He rolled his eyes. "Not today I have guests."

"Well they can wait. I came to far to be postponed."

He stared at me hard, contemplating his next actions. He then looked around the street, then spotted a couple of guys coming down with guns in their pockets and red bandannas tied to their forearms. He yanked me inside and shut the door, locking the chains.

"You're only in here 'cause I don't wanna be responsible for your death. Gangs come out around this time. And you're not wearing any red. Hang around the living room for a bit. I'll come to you soon."

Red? Is that why his hair was red? And his dad's? Did they dye it that color so they wouldn't have to remember to wear red clothes?

I followed the direction he pointed me to and found three guys, all smoking something, chilling in the living room. The couches were torn up and flat. The TV was bulky like the ones they had in the nineties. They all stared at me blankly, wondering what a guy like me is doing here.

"Uh... hi," I mumbled. All of them simply turned away from me and texted on their phones.

It was crazy awkward in here. At least for me.

I heard footsteps come down from the stairs and sure enough Axel came down, a lit cigarette in his mouth, some cards, and a wad of cash. He walked past me like I wasn't there, and sat with his guests.

"Alright Demyx. No fun and games today. I'm getting my $500 back," Axel warned.

The man who's name was apparently Demyx laughed and shook his head, rubbing his hands together quickly in anticipation. Demyx was dressed kind of like Axel. A beanie, baggy t-shirt with a heavy metal band on it, some sweats, and red Vans.

Another man with brown hair and a scar across his nose just had his eyes closed and his arms crossed, the smoke from the bud he had in his mouth floating in the air slowly. He wasn't sleeping but he was thinking.

Another girl pushed past me roughly and plopped herself next to Demyx. "I hope your sorry asses didn't try to start without me." She grinned. She had a gold canine tooth, blonde hair, and an arm of tattoos. She had no beanie on but had on a red sports bra, over-sized khaki cargo pants and skater shoes.

"Shut the fuck up, Larxene. Ain't no one worried about your ass," the brown-haired man with closed eyes mumbled. Everyone laughed.

"Man! Fuck you Leon before I fuck your face up," Larxene quickly jabbed.

"Nice to have you back, Axel. Ever since you got arrested, we don't have as many nights like these anymore," Demyx noted. Everyone cheered in agreement.

"Ayy everyone chill. My dad is upstairs and he hates loud noise," Axel reminded, decking the cards out.

"Uh, Axel? Sorry to ruin this whole poker thing you got going on but... we need to spend time together so I can put the hours in," I reminded.

Axel groaned. "No one asked you to be here today, kid. It's poker night."

"Hey who the fuck is this?" Demyx asked, jerking his chin to me.

"Some kid they gave to me," Axel mumbled, continuing to deck the cards out and smoke his cigarette.

"Lemme guess: new peer counselor? What happened to the other one?" Larxene asked.

"Kid probably was too scared to come back here after Axel caused him to get ran over," Leon laughed.

"Hey I didn't cause shit. It was his fault he got scared and ran out of the house!" Axel laughed with everyone. I broke a cold sweat. They said he had three counselors before me. If that's what happened to the last one, then what kind of vile things happened to the other two? What kind of vile things will happen to me?! What exactly could be so horrifying that it can cause a kid to run out to the street blindly and get ran over?

"Don't be mean to the poor guy he's all helpless and adorable," Leon observed. He smirked and turned to me. "How old are you kid?"

"No legal. Back off, Sir Twenty-Three year old," Axel mocked. Everyone laughed. If Leon was twenty-three then is this room full of criminal adults? Could Axel be the youngest one in here? Sure he's 18 but what is he doing hanging around people this old? In Destiny Islands a person is not a legal adult until they reach nineteen. Axel has one year left to change his ways before the state gives up on him and releases him from juvi. And the obligation to attend school.

And it was my job to help him see that.

And seeing from how this is going, I think I'm going to be ass successful as the other three counselors.

"Just wait upstairs for a few. Lemme just play one game and I'll have your damn bonding time you want so bad," Axel groaned, arranging his cards in his hand. I sighed and did as he asked, not even caring that much anymore. I climbed upstairs and saw two hallways. Shit, he didn't give me the directions to his room.

Might as well explore a little.

I opened one door and saw a bathroom. Another door was full of boxes and a window. It smelled even more heavily of smoke then the rest of the house. At this rate, I'm going to catch lung cancer just from visiting here a few more times. I creeped towards a half-open door and saw the man that opened the door for me, watching TV on a bulky TV, drinking beer, an ash tray covered with finished cigars next to him. The room was dark, the only light coming from the TV. There were thongs and bras and dirty boxers all over the floor and unpaid bills on the dresser. Seems like a woman also lived here.

Now that I think of it, the man looked a hell of a lot like Axel. Maybe that was his dad. Or older brother like me. Who knows. I'm bound to find out sooner or later.

I walked over to another room with a bunch of skulls placed onto the door. Caution tape draped the borders of the door and an evil Joker lied in the middle of the door. I slowly opened the door and found a regular room. The room's walls were painted red, a twin bed resided in the corner of the room with camo-designed covers. The carpet was ripping off. The one mirror in it was cracked, and the window was open, allowing a breeze to enter. I found it risky and stupid to keep a window open in this kind of neighborhood, but I don't live here. So I don't know what's right and wrong to do. A guitar kept in extremely good condition sat inside a half-open closet. It looked beautiful and brand new, even though the few scratches on the board told otherwise. I wanted to pick it up. It was the best thing this house had to offer. And I've always wanted to learn the guitar.

"Found anything you like?" Axel asked from the doorway. I jumped, quickly turning around and holding my hands up. He lightly laughed and closed the door behind him. "Everyone's downstairs, blondie. I won my $500." He plopped down on the bed. "So what do you want?"

I cleared my throat. "Well the first meeting is suppose to be us getting to know each other."

"You think you're gonna get to know me just by asking, blondie?" Axel asked, smirking and shaking his head.

"Well... yeah. I ask questions, you ask questions. We go off from there."

"I'm not an open book, kid. You wanna get to know me? You're gonna have to move the rocks and find the gold yourself." He searched in his drawer and pulled out a cigarette. I groaned.

"Is that all you do?! Smoke and wreak havoc on society? Can you at least have courtesy and not smoke in front of me?" I snapped.

Axel raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Blondie got heart. I would listen to you if I gave a fuck. Door's that way, kid. Don't like it? Don't hang around." He lit it anyway and smirked and me, putting the cigarette in his mouth.

"By the way, stop calling me that. My name is Roxas."

"Like I give a shit."

"The attitude you consistently give people above you will get you nowhere in life."

"People above me?" Axel scoffed, blinking repeatedly.

"Yes! You're intimidated by those smarter or better than you, so you demonstrate your power by causing chaos to the order of our community. That way, no one bothers you and you can continue to look tough and carefree, when in fact, deep down you probably fear something. Something you don't want anyone to know. Because everyone... fears something."

It was silent for a moment.

And then Axel burst out laughing, clapping his hands. "Ain't no one better than me! Blondie, you're funny man! It's not that I'm some stupid, ignorant child who can't do better than pickpocket people on the street. I'm fully aware of the consequences of my actions."

"So then why do you do them?!" I shouted.

"Because I'm waiting for the day where someone actually cares!" Axel yelled. It got awkwardly quiet. Axel sighed and laid down on the bed. "Ask your fucking questions, blondie."

"So uh.." I mumbled, feeling a little guilty I attacked Axel like that. "What made you start smoking?"

"I just wanted to. It's like a slow suicide. Next question." Translation: I'm not elaborating on that because it's none of your fucking business.

I cleared my throat. "That man that answered the door, is he-"

"My dad. If he made you cry it's not my business. He doesn't really have a heart."

"He didn't make me cry..."

"Oh. Well he did with the other three."

I pointed over to the guitar. "When did you start playing?"

He stared at the guitar, and then looked down to the floor, putting his hands in his hoodie's pockets, continuing to smoke his cigarette. "None of your concern," he muttered, his face turning a little red.

You know, now that I think of it, Axel didn't look half bad. In fact, he was actually really attractive. If it wasn't for his alarming red hair, bad attitude, and tall stature you would think he was just some soft-spoken, insecure boy.

"Is your naturally red?" I asked.

He gave me a what-the-fuck face. "Who in this entire planet has naturally flame red hair?"

"So why did you dye it such a bright red?"

"It attracts attention. And evokes emotion out of people. Good and bad. Which is what I want. Plus, I don't have to worry about wearing any red article of clothing 'cause my hair handles it." He jerked his chin to me. "Why you so curious?"

"Oh, well I saw your dad with the same color hair but a little more dull and I just wondered if it was your real hair color."

"His just faded. But it's dyed too." He looked me over. "You're not so bad, blondie. Not saying I like you, but you're not so bad."

I smiled a little. I'm fitting in already?

I heard a door slam open from downstairs, and immediate screaming. "What the fuck are you bitch asses doing in my house?! GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE BEFORE I RIP YOUR THROATS OPEN AND SELL IT FOR CRACK MONEY! OUT! NOW!"

A bunch of footsteps were heard along with murmuring. "Shit," Axel muttered, rubbing his eyes warily. "She's home."

Loud thuds became louder as the woman approached upstairs. She kicked Axel's door open. A cigarette resided in her right hand. "You! What the fuck did I tell you the last time you brought these shitheads to my house?! No gambling! Do it again I'll throw you out the window! The fuck is wrong with you?! I know you're a dumbass but are ya fucking retarded?! Do ya want me to murder you?! God, you're just like your deadbeat father! You don't do shit here! I fucking hate you. When are you gonna get a job so you can leave my house? I'm only obligated to take care of ya for one more year, bitch. Make it last, you fucking cunt. And who the fuck are you?" she shouted, jerking her chin at me and putting her cig in her mouth, smoking it, and then pulling it back out.

I was taken by surprise. I stuttered nervously. "Me? I, uh... er..." I mumbled.

"He's my new peer counselor mom. Get off his back," Axel mumbled, continuing to look down at the floor.

"The fuck did you say to me?!" she shouted. She ran over to Axel and punched him hard. Axel winced and clutched his face. "Talk back to me again and see if I don't use my shoe the next time! And you kid! If I catch you gambling here once I will toss you outta here to fend for yourself with the gangs outside, CAPEESH?!" she screamed.

I nodded, sweating from anxiety.

The lady had a hard New Jersey accent like Axel's dad. But her hair wasn't red. It was blonde. She had the same green eyes as her family, long acrylic red nails, a tattoo of a tiger on her left shoulder, and smeared red lipstick from probably doing dirty work outside. She was dressed like a hooker.

"Fuck outta here with all this shit. I'm so fucking tired of it," she grumbled, and she slammed the door shut and started screaming at Axel's dad.

"Axel? Are you..."

"That was my mom Elena. And you met my dad Reno. Congrats, you know the family. Let's not talk about this again." He continued to rub his face. His eye was luckily spared but his cheek looked a bit swollen and bruised. Seems like the mom wasn't quite strong but had a hand.

"Nice people," I retorted quietly. The sound of a beer bottle slamming on Axel's door made me flinch. But Axel was not shaken.

He looked down. "I don't know why they made me leave juvi for this," he muttered, not knowing I could here him. I figured right now wasn't a good time to talk, as things were pretty heated in the house.

"I think I should go now," I said slowly.

"Let me walk you to the bus stop. It's dark out," Axel offered.

"No no, it's fine-"

"It wasn't an option." He glared at me hard. I found it odd how his act of kindness came off as threatening. And sure enough he followed me down the street, easing past suspicious looking people and even exchanging handshakes with a few of them. When we reached the bus stop, he turned around without saying anything.

"Hey wait!" I called.

He turned. "What?" he asked, annoyance in his voice.

I smiled. "Thank you."

He stared at me for a bit, wondering whether he should reply or not, and then just turned back around and walked home. I sighed. I feel like Axel isn't a complete lost cause. I just feel like you... I don't know...

Uncover the right rocks to find the gold.