A/N: Alrightyyyy... ASDFGHJKL; I'm ready to write this fuck of a chapter. I hated being... incognito for a while, but this will make up for it... I guess.
By the way, sorry for the... death. I'm dead, so just read. Please. KTHX~
Disclaimer: Mhm. Yep. Not mine. *Disgruntled Murmur*
I walked home slowly with a wandering mind. I do smile... What does he know, anyway? He's just a Pothead-Artist-Hippie-Dude. But even with my angsting train of thought, that was a harsh and unfair stereotypical judgement. Maybe I should just get to know the guy...?
"I'm... Uh... Back..." I called when I stepped back into Rikku's house, "And I brought your food,"
"Ahh Shhweet!!" Rikku hopped up and yanked the bag from my hand. Nice to see you, too...
"So... Um...?" I stood in the kitchen archway, debating what to do next. Eat? Sleep? Sit in the bathtub for half-an-hour?
"Here," She handed me my box of food and a soda from the dated fridge, "So you found your way alright?"
"Mhm," I mumbled, not comprehending our conversation, "Met two guys,"
"Demyx and Zexion?" She predicted accurately and I nodded, "Yeah. They live in the small house across the way. Best friends since I met them,"
S-"And how long ago was that?" I popped a French fry in my mouth.
Rikku licked some salad dressing off her pinky and speared a few leaves of lettuce in her mouth, "Like... A while back. Like when they were your age. I think that was only a year and a half, though. So not all that long,"
"Mmm..." I opened the can of soda and took a swig.
"They're really sweet. Demyx is just a ball of cute; I love him to death. Zexion, on the other hand... Hmm..." She took a bite of her food and changed the channel to some oldie's music videos, "...He's quite the kid. He's really nice... Just a little icy at first. I'm sure he'll warm up to you over time,"
I felt sorta relieved that it wasn't my fault that Zexion is a bitch, "So Axel works at Kingdom Hearts, too?"
"Oh yeah..." She looked away from Madonna, "...It's amazing. Free food, and it pays relatively well... Since the only other places that sell food are WalMart, Burger King, and the snack bar on the beach,"
"Mmm..." I agreed through a wall of burger in my mouth.
"Actually..." She shoved a piece of lettuce in her mouth, "I think Axel is going to the beach tomorrow... I'm not sure what he's planning to do... But you should consider going with him,"
I chewed as I thought of that, "Um... Sure... It's not like I have any other plans..."
"Okay. Axel's due home around 10, so we can talk to him then," I agreed and took another ravenous bite out of my burger. The clock read 9:34, so I decided to not retreat to my room right away.
Rikku picked up the remote and clicked a few channels, landing on a wrestling match. A huge man in neon green spandex and a mustard yellow boa scarf was parading onto the ring."In THIS corner..." The announcer obnoxiously yelled into the microphone, "We have the infamous SILENT HERO!!" Fans cheered while opponents booed. In my opinion, he should've been named The Booger.
The camera switched to the door on the opposite side, another bulky man in an all-black cloak, with a few bead-necklace-things hanging around his neck. He was wearing a hood, so I couldn't see his face, "And in THIS corner, we have... THE SUPERIOR!!!" As if on cue, the cloaked dude peeled off his hood, revealing tan skin and - silver, is it? - silver hair down past his neck. All this guy needed was a pair of red lightsabers to be labeled off as a complete loony.
Staring at the screen, I spooned more and more food into my mouth and watched The Superior climb onto the ropes and jump and fall fall fall fall fall onto the pancaked Silent Hero. Splat. And I watched the Silent Hero pick up The Superior and twirl twirl twirl twirl him like a helicopter. Oh, and guess what. Yep, The Superior pulled out two red lightsabers - properly titled "Ethereal Blades" - and began beating the referee with them. Rikku loved this.
"Hah!! Take that Superior, you bastard!!"
"Dammit... Get up, Silent Hero!!"
"Fuck you, Superior!! You beat him, Silent Hero!!"
"Crap... I need a beer..."
And so on.
The last one she muttered when The Superior was crowned "Organization XIII Champ." She also said something about losing a bet... I don't even wanna know. The clock said it was 10:30 and so far, my
first day in this crapper... Not too shabby. Rikku stretched, yawned, and put her dishes in the kitchen, then escaped to the uncharted territory upstairs. I, however, closed my eyes and listened to the TV murmur. Until I heard the door open and shut with a bang. "I'm-a home-a!!" Axel's charming voice sang.
"Axel," Rikku came out of a room in short shorts and a tight tank top. How Axel and Rikku weren't together, I'll never understand. Dad said that Rikku has, was, and always plans to be single... And Axel... You'll probably believe me when I say this guy had a screw loose or something. For example, although she is my aunt, I have to honestly say she's attractive. If she wasn't my aunt... I would've volunteered to come here and spend a summer with her. Weird... Moving on...
I tuned back to their conversation with Rikku asking Axel, "So aren't you planning to go to the beach tomorrow?"
He nodded and swallowed a giant bite of Frosted Flakes, "Mhm. Tomorrow's my first day off in a while... and I'd paint... But I'm feeling the need to just kick back and relax... My projects can wait," I knew it, I thought. Art freak.
"Good plan... " Rikku scratched her arm and yawned, "Geez, I'm tired. C'mon Roxy... Lemme show you your room,"
I nodded and obediently got up, "Roxas," Axel called. I turned and waited for him to speak, "Wanna come with me to the beach tomorrow? I could show you around town... If you want,"
A faint blush painted my beige cheeks and I pursed my lips to fight a smile, "Umm..." I held my breath without thinking about it. At least a few minutes passed with nothing but silence.
"Alright," Axel shrugged, "Maybe some other time,"
"N-No..." I stuttered, "I'd love to go!!" But as soon as the words came out of my mouth, they seemed too loud and too cheesy. If this was back home, I'd get the shit beaten out of me... But instead, a wide grin stretched across Axel's face.
"Sweet," He cracked a knuckle, "Be ready by 10:00,"
I nodded and turned away before I could mortify myself anymore. As soon as my face was out of Axel's sight, I relaxed my cheeks and allowed a smile to grow. Sweet.
"Alright," Rikku met me by a door, "Here is your room. I put all your stuff in there while you were out. Bathroom's right there," She stepped inside the spacious room and gestured to one of the two doors along the wall, "And if you need anything..." She inched out of the room, "...Lemme know,"
I nodded and closed the door behind her, before collapsing on the bed. The room was exceptionally big and nice... Gramma and Gramps must've had quite a few pennies to leave Rikku, considering the nice, big house on the beach. The walls were sunlight yellow, and the furniture was wood and unpainted. Very gender neutral and basic... Which is nice since I expected My Little Pony decor.
Half asleep, I unpacked all my crap and set aside a beach towel and my swimming trunks. I have never owned a flip-flop, so I had to do the best with my Converse. By the time I was done, it was nearly midnight and I was exhausted. All in all, Destiny islands wasn't that bad... Whatever. Good night, moon...
* * *
Waking up and showering was something I couldn't remember. But by the time I was downstairs, dressed in my saggy skinny jeans and a blue t-shirt, spreading fat-free cream cheese on my bagel... Axel had the damn ants in his pants.
"C'mon," He stepped into the kitchen wearing baggy, ripped jeans, a light pink T-Shirt [paint stained, of course], and electric blue sunglasses hanging around the collar. His hair was long and spiky, but not long enough to be completely hippie-annoying. And that was cutting it close. He was barefoot and held his Vans in this hand and car keys in that one, "If we wanna find a good spot, we gotsta gets going!!"
I gripped the dull butterknife in my hand. Sure, the guy was cute... Borderline cute... Okay... Really cute... But his whole hippie/Deadhead crap... Not my thing. I debated the consequences of hacking him to bits with my butterknife and thought better than it, chucking it into the sink and biting down onto my bagel.
"I'm coming..." I walked slowly - very Axel like - toward him, grabbing my bag of clothes and my towel, "...Ready," My large headphones hung around my neck and I followed him out to his Hippie-Mobile. The sun was beating down, and I could feel the sunburns coming already.
His leather seat was hot against my back and the inside was hot and stuffy. After revving his engine a couple times, he finally got his VW van to kick into drive. Axel leaned over and opened the glove compartment, which exploded with ENDLESS pairs of sunglasses. He traded his electric blue ones for lemon yellow ones and collected the rest, shoving them in the compartment, only to reopen and have its contents fall out, "Damn,"
I pretended not to notice, but I spoke anyway, "You have a lot of glasses," We pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road.
Axel laughed under his breath and ran his fingers through a chunk of his hippie-tresses, "Yeah. You need a pair?"
"No,"
He simply shrugged and pushed the yellow aviators up his nose, "Alright. Whatever,"
Again, I tried to avoid the awkwardness and I pulled my earphones from around my neck and onto my ears. Only 3 minutes of peace passed before Axel interrupted my sanctuary, "'Cha listening to?"
We were heading down the road, closer to the beach and boardwalk. I grumbled under my breath, then answered, "November Blessing,"
"Mmm..." He stared at the road, "Plug it in," He pointed to the iPod jack hooked to his stereo – the only thing modern and new in his damn car. I plugged it in and pressed 'Play.' We listened to the rest of a song called 'Haunt Me' and Axel was driving with a pained expression.
"You like that stuff?" He asked so simply.
"Yeah, I do," I unplugged my iPod and slipped it in my pocket.
"Why?" He seemed mildly bewildered.
"Why?" I clarified, "Because I do,"
"It's so..." He pushed up his sunglasses again, "...Depressing,"
"And?" I ran my tongue along the inside of my lip stud, "It's good,"
"Shit," he mumbled. My cheeks burned and I was about to go off about whatever Deadhead crap he listened to, but I saw that Axel was staring out the windshield in horror, mouth agape and everything. I turned my head to see what the fuss was, and two large vans with 'Destiny Islands Day Trips' painted on the side. A large group of people in swimsuits and holding various children were filing into the tiny seaside restaurant.
"C'mon," He pulled into the tiny, gravel-filled parking lot, "We gotta help," He stepped into his shoes and I jogged to keep up with his suddenly fast pace. We pushed through the giant crowd that was growing impatient for seating.
"Axel!!" Demyx shrieked over the chaos, "Help!!" Axel nodded and scurried through the kitchen door, leaving me to get nudged around violently by the hungry crowd. Zexion's mouth was moving, counting the amount of people engulfing the entire restaurant.
"There's 68 people," He concluded, turning to a panicking Demyx, "And we can sit 55,"
"What!?" Demyx groaned and I was still drowning in the sea of day-trippers, "That's too many!!"
Zexion furrowed his brow and glanced across the room, "We'll be fine. You get this half – All the huge families," He pointed to the smaller side with the bigger tables, "And I'll get all the smaller groups. Just hang in there... There's no other way,"
"C'mon..." Demyx pouted, then straightened up, tightening the apron around his skinny waist, "...Whatever... Who's gonna get the drinks and the phone?"
"Oh yeah..." Zexion locked eyes with me, "You... Yeah, you... Roxas, is it?"
"What?" I looked at him.
He handed me an ice shovel and an apron, "Get to work,"
* * *
The food business sucks. I shoveled ice into each glass cup, and filled each with whatever soda Demyx or Zexion demanded for. "I need two Sprites and an unsweetened ice tea!!" Zexion came through, waiting for me to fill each glass without spilling.
"Here," I gave him his drinks and answered the screaming phone, "Kingdom Hearts Bar and Grill, how may I help you?"
"Axel!!" Demyx came through and I pressed my ear closer into the receiver, trying to comprehend the other person's voice, "Axel!! I need that order for Table 7!!"
"Right-O," He kept his moving and grooving, dancing nonchalantly to the soft music in the background, "Here ya are," He pushed through two baskets of fries and a salad through without missing a beat. I had to force myself from getting distracted by his... Grace. The other cook, a scary guy named... I think Saï-Something, was silent and focused the entire lunch rush. His eyes never tore away from the grill and his long blue hair was tied in a high bun. [1]
"Let's go," Zexion scolded me, "Get whatever stick you have in your ass out, and give me my damn Hawaiian Punches!!"
I jumped at his bitchiness and quickly gave him his drinks. Demyx, however, was nice the entire time, "Roxas," He would call when he passed to grab his food, "I need a refill of Pepsi when you get the chance," His sweet smile shined brighter than his total stress and freak-out moments, "Thanks,"
Axel, I noticed when I snuck a glance through the kitchen window, was always watching me carefully. His green eyes locked onto me and followed me around with my every move. It was sorta... Intimidating to be watched by him so intently, yet strangely reassuring.
"Alright," Zexion came back to the bar and tossed his pen onto the counter, "It's slowing down. There's a few more tables waiting for a check, then all we have to do is clean up,"
"Thank God," Demyx rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, letting out a relieved sigh, "I was so gonna cry,"
Zexion turned to me, "Nice work, I guess. I'm gonna grab the broom and mop so we can start cleaning up," He turned on his heel, "Start filling those bins with the dishes," He pointed me toward a huge stack of empty bins and I growled internally, but regained self control.
"Alright," I did what I was told and impatiently filled the damn bins with the fucking dishes. My legs hurt and my head was throbbing, but I held it all in, wanting to go home. Demyx helped clean up and Axel and Saï-Something were elbow-deep in soapy water in the kitchen.
"Good work, Roxas!!" Demyx smiled at me and counted the tips at the bar after we were done getting the restaurant under control.
"Hmph," Zexion agreed under his breath.
"You know," Axel was inhaling French fries, "We could use a bit more help around here..."
"No, we don't," Zexion narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, please..." Demyx laughed, "If it weren't for Roxas handling the drinks and the call-in orders, we would've been toast. And you know that," Zexion scoffed and Demyx turned to me, "What do you think? Would you want to? The pay isn't all that hot, but the tips get really generous. Not to mention, it could be fun..."
"Yeah, please?" Axel smiled and joined into the prodding. Zexion just chewed on ice and looked at me with a blank face.
I took in a breath and saw the next 3 months stretching ahead of me, "I'm in,"
A/N: Hahaha!! Guess who came from back from the dead!! Me!! :D :D :D So. like, I missed you all and it feels really nice to be back. ((: life got ahead of me and I needed catch up again. Now that I have straight A's [sigh. And one B in health. Oh, and in social studies] and my gymnastics got bumped up one level, I'm queen of the world. :D
So, like, I hope you liked this chapter and I really have a hankerin' for writing, so expect a few updates for my 3-day weekend.... :3 oh, and as for When Roxas Met Axel, I have a serious case of writer's block for that one... So i'm sorry, but I need to take a break from that one. And for the The Organization, I wanna dust that one off and work on it a bit. Lastly, expect one or two more new things... Perhaps a story or two.
I feel generous ((;
Anyway, I'm like, craving Dr. Pepper right now, so I need to get some. Read, Review, and worship, of course.
Love Always,
~~~Sam
P.S. Trust me on the whole Zexion/Bitch thing. I know what I'm doing.